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Real Tuskegee Airmen Helped 'Red Tails' Take Flight

Credit Carlo Allegri / AP

Tuskegee Airman Roscoe Brown advised actors on the set of Red Tails.

By Beenish Ahmed

The new World War II saga Red Tails exploded across the big screen last week with action-filled scenes of aerial gun fights waged by the Tuskegee Airmen. Amid the battles scenes, the movie presents an equally difficult fight waged by America's first all-black air force fighting group to earn respect for their combat skills.

The film was not only inspired by true events, but the actors were also instructed by real Tuskegee Airmen — many of whom are nearly 100 years old.

8:17 am

Wed January 25, 2012

Long Live The Smiths' 'Complete Works'

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Credit Wright Photo/Rhino Records

The Smiths.

Credit Rhino Records

By Ed Ward

When Steven Patrick Morrissey was 13, he was watching The Old Grey Whistle Test, a BBC rock television show, when the New York Dolls came on. Later, he called it "my first real emotional experience." It was hardly his last: Growing up awkward, tall and shy in suburban Manchester, he was the archetypal kid who didn't fit in, writing poetry and letters to members of the British rock press, disagreeing articulately with their critics.

8:14 am

Wed January 25, 2012

In Emotional Ceremony, Gabrielle Giffords Resigns From Congress

Credit Susan Walsh / AP

Retiring Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. smiles on Capitol Hill in Washington, prior to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.

By Eyder Peralta

In an emotional ceremony on the floor of the House of Representatives, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords handed her letter of resignation to Speaker John Boehner.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz spoke on the Arizona congresswoman's behalf.

"This is only a pause in her public service," Schultz said with a shaky voice and with tears streaming down her face. Schultz then went on to read Giffords' resignation letter.

8:00 am

Wed January 25, 2012

A Boy's Magical 'Touch' Predicts The Future

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Credit Fox

When Kiefer Sutherland ended his series of very long, very intense days as Jack Bauer on the Fox series 24, few people, including Sutherland himself, expected him to be starring in another TV series right away.

Credit Fox

In the new Fox series Touch, David Mazouz plays Jake, an autistic boy who doesn't talk but can predict future events. Jake also narrates the series.

By David Bianculli

The new Fox series Touch stars Kiefer Sutherland as a father — a widower — raising a withdrawn preteen son with behavioral problems.

But it doesn't begin with Sutherland.

It begins, instead, with the son — Jake, played by David Mazouz — providing the narration that opens the series. By the time the opening narration is over, you already know you're watching something a little different.

7:25 am

Wed January 25, 2012

Sales Contracts On Homes Slightly Down In December

By Eyder Peralta

After hitting a year and half year high in November, the number of contracts to buy homes fell a bit in December.

The AP reports:

"The National Association of Realtors says its index of sales agreements fell 3.5 percent last month to a reading of 96.6. That's down from November's reading of 100.1.
"But the reading is still the second highest since April 2010, the last month that buyers could qualify for a federal home-buying tax credit.
"A reading of 100 is considered healthy.

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8:52 am

Wed January 25, 2012