Channing & Jenna Dewan-Tatum Take Pregnant Pause for Dog Walk















01/16/2013 at 12:50 PM EST







Channing and Jenna Dewan-Tatum with dogs Lulu and Meeka


All Access Photo/Splash News Online


Pregnancy sure isn't slowing down Jenna Dewan-Tatum!

The American Horror Story actress, who has stayed active while expecting, was joined by husband Channing on Tuesday for a trek through L.A.'s Runyon Canyon with the couple's two dogs, Lulu and Meeka.

"They are my kids," Dewan-Tatum told PEOPLE in October of the pair's furbabies. "I always joke around, 'If I can love my actual kids as much as my dogs, we're golden.'"

Meanwhile, the Magic Mike star has expressed his excitement over expanding the couple's human family.

"The first number that pops into my head is three," Tatum said about the number of children he'd like, "but I just want one to be healthy and then we’ll see where we go after that."

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ER visits tied to energy drinks double since 2007


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A new government survey suggests the number of people seeking emergency treatment after consuming energy drinks has doubled nationwide during the past four years, the same period in which the supercharged drink industry has surged in popularity in convenience stores, bars and on college campuses.


From 2007 to 2011, the government estimates the number of emergency room visits involving the neon-labeled beverages shot up from about 10,000 to more than 20,000. Most of those cases involved teens or young adults, according to a survey of the nation's hospitals released late last week by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.


The report doesn't specify which symptoms brought people to the emergency room but calls energy drink consumption a "rising public health problem" that can cause insomnia, nervousness, headache, fast heartbeat and seizures that are severe enough to require emergency care.


Several emergency physicians said they had seen a clear uptick in the number of patients suffering from irregular heartbeats, anxiety and heart attacks who said they had recently downed an energy drink.


More than half of the patients considered in the survey who wound up in the emergency room told doctors they had downed only energy drinks. In 2011, about 42 percent of the cases involved energy drinks in combination with alcohol or drugs, such as the stimulants Adderall or Ritalin.


"A lot of people don't realize the strength of these things. I had someone come in recently who had drunk three energy drinks in an hour, which is the equivalent of 15 cups of coffee," said Howard Mell, an emergency physician in the suburbs of Cleveland, who serves as a spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians. "Essentially he gave himself a stress test and thankfully he passed. But if he had a weak heart or suffered from coronary disease and didn't know it, this could have precipitated very bad things."


The findings came as concerns over energy drinks have intensified following reports last fall of 18 deaths possibly tied to the drinks — including a 14-year-old Maryland girl who died after drinking two large cans of Monster Energy drinks. Monster does not believe its products were responsible for the death.


Two senators are calling for the Food and Drug Administration to investigate safety concerns about energy drinks and their ingredients.


The energy drink industry says its drinks are safe and there is no proof linking its products to the adverse reactions.


Late last year, the FDA asked the U.S. Health and Human Services to update the figures its substance abuse research arm compiles about emergency room visits tied to energy drinks.


The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's survey was based on responses it receives from about 230 hospitals each year, a representative sample of about 5 percent of emergency departments nationwide. The agency then uses those responses to estimate the number of energy drink-related emergency department visits nationwide.


The more than 20,000 cases estimated for 2011 represent a small portion of the annual 136 million emergency room visits tracked by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


The FDA said it was considering the findings and pressing for more details as it undertakes a broad review of the safety of energy drinks and related ingredients this spring.


"We will examine this additional information ... as a part of our ongoing investigation into potential safety issues surrounding the use of energy-drink products," FDA spokeswoman Shelly Burgess said in a statement.


Beverage manufacturers fired back at the survey, saying the statistics were misleading and taken out of context.


"This report does not share information about the overall health of those who may have consumed energy drinks, or what symptoms brought them to the ER in the first place," the American Beverage Association said in a statement. "There is no basis by which to understand the overall caffeine intake of any of these individuals — from all sources."


Energy drinks remain a small part of the carbonated soft drinks market, representing only 3.3 percent of sales volume, according to the industry tracker Beverage Digest. Even as soda consumption has flagged in recent years, energy drinks sales are growing rapidly.


In 2011, sales volume for energy drinks rose by almost 17 percent, with the top three companies — Monster, Red Bull and Rockstar — each logging double-digit gains, Beverage Digest found. The drinks are often marketed at sporting events that are popular among younger people such as surfing and skateboarding.


From 2007 to 2011, the most recent year for which data was available, people from 18 to 25 were the most common age group seeking emergency treatment for energy drink-related reactions, the report found.


"We were really concerned to find that in four years the number of emergency department visits almost doubled, and these drinks are largely marketed to younger people," said Al Woodward, a senior statistical analyst with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration who worked on the report.


Emergency physician Steve Sun said he had seen an increase in such cases at the Catholic hospital where he works on the edge of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.


"I saw one young man who had mixed energy drinks with alcohol and we had to admit him to the hospital because he was so dehydrated he had renal failure," Sun said. "Because he was young he did well in the hospital, but if another patient had had underlying coronary artery disease, it could have led to a heart attack."


___


Follow Garance Burke on Twitter at http://twitter.com/garanceburke


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Wall Street flat as Apple gains, Boeing weighs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Wednesday as concerns about global economic growth and a drop in Boeing shares offset strong bank results and gains in technology stocks.


Goldman Sachs shares hit their highest level since June 2011 as earnings nearly tripled on increased revenue from dealmaking and lower compensation expenses, while JPMorgan Chase said fourth-quarter net income jumped 53 percent and earnings for 2012 set a record.


JPMorgan shares edged up 0.2 percent at $46.43 and Goldman was up 2.5 percent to $139.01. The KBW bank index <.bkx> gained 0.3 percent.


But with only 37 companies in the S&P 500 having reported earnings so far this season, investors are exercising caution until signs of growth can emerge.


A slow economic recovery in developed nations is holding back the global economy, the World Bank said on Tuesday, as it sharply scaled back its forecast for world growth in 2013 to 2.4 percent from an earlier forecast of 3.0 percent.


"Domestically, we are pretty well positioned," said Marc Helman, Vice President, Institutional Services at HFP Capital Markets in New York.


"But globally it's more of a mixed bag and that is where we have some of our concerns, so you are going to continue to see people wait on the sidelines until they get a little more clarity through the earnings season."


Shares of Dow component Boeing fell 3.1 percent to $74.59, the biggest drag on the Dow, on safety concerns for its new Dreamliner passenger jets. Japan's two leading airlines grounded their fleets of 787s after an emergency landing, adding to safety concerns triggered by a series of recent incidents.


The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> shed 19.70 points, or 0.15 percent, to 13,515.19. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> edged up 0.32 points, or 0.02 percent, to 1,472.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> gained 7.26 points, or 0.23 percent, to 3,118.04.


The Nasdaq moved higher on gains in Apple shares, which were up 3.2 percent at $501.66 after losses in three straight sessions. Morgan Stanley stamped the tech giant as a "best idea," citing overblown concerns about iPhone shipments.


Talks to take Dell Inc private were at an advanced stage, with at least four major banks lined up to provide financing, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Shares fell 4 percent to $12.65 after jumping more than 21 percent over the past two sessions.


U.S. consumer prices were flat in December, pointing to muted inflation pressures that should give the Federal Reserve room to prop up the economy by staying on its ultra-easy monetary policy path.


(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Nick Zieminski)



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Pakistan turmoil deepens as court orders PM's arrest


ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered the arrest of the prime minister on Tuesday on corruption allegations, ratcheting up pressure on a government that is also facing street protests led by a cleric who has a history of ties to the army.


The combination of the arrest order and the mass protest in the capital Islamabad led by Muslim cleric Muhammad Tahirul Qadri raised fears among politicians that the military was working with the judiciary to force out a civilian leader.


"There is no doubt that Qadri's march and the Supreme Court's verdict were masterminded by the military establishment of Pakistan," Fawad Chaudhry, an aide to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, told Reuters.


"The military can intervene at this moment as the Supreme Court has opened a way for it."


However, the ruling coalition led by the Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) has a majority in parliament and lawmakers can simply elect another prime minister if Ashraf is ousted. In June, Ashraf replaced Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, who was disqualified by the Supreme Court in a previous showdown between the government and the judiciary.


Also, elections are due in a few months and President Asif Ali Zardari hopes to lead the first civilian government in Pakistan's 65 years as an independent nation that will complete its full term.


But power struggles will distract the unpopular government from tackling an array of problems - a Taliban insurgency, economic stagnation and growing sectarian tensions triggered by bomb attacks and tit-for-tat shootings.


The military, which sees itself as the guarantor of Pakistan's stability, has long regarded the PPP-led government as corrupt, incompetent and unable to prevent the nuclear-armed country from falling apart.


Pakistan's powerful army has a long history of coups and intervening in politics. But these days generals seem to have little appetite for a coup. Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani has vowed to keep the military out of politics.


But many believe top military leaders still try to exert behind-the-scenes influence, and any moves by the military in the latest crisis could not happen without a green light from Kayani, arguably the most powerful man in Pakistan.


"Extra-constitutional regime change, or "outside of the political calendar" if you will, is only possible in Pakistan with the tacit nod of the military, on account of it being a long-time stakeholder in Pakistani politics," said Shamila Chaudhry, an analyst at Eurasia Group.


"The Qadri march was like a trial balloon. The military indirectly sent it out to see if it would work."


Some politicians believe the military will try to dominate the caretaker administration that will oversee the run-up to the polls after parliament is dissolved, which is due to happen in March. An election date has yet to be announced.


The protest by Qadri and his followers has also been seen by commentators as being orchestrated by the military to add to the pressure on Zardari's government, although the military has denied any ties to the cleric.


PEOPLE'S MONEY


Thousands of followers of the populist cleric camped near the federal parliament cheered and waved Pakistani flags as television channels broadcast news of the Supreme Court's order to arrest Ashraf on charges of corruption.


"We don't want any of those old politicians. They just take all the people's money," said 19-year-old student Mohammed Wasim. "We congratulate the whole nation (on the Supreme Court's order). Now we have to take the rest of the thieves to court."


Government officials said they were baffled by the arrest order, which came hours after Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said elections should go ahead as scheduled.


"This was totally unexpected," an official in Ashraf's office told Reuters. "The prime minister and two or three of his friends were watching Qadri speak on television and this suddenly happened."


Pakistan's stock exchange fell by more than 500 points, or nearly three percent, on news of the court order, due to fears over fresh political turmoil, which comes against a backdrop of militant bombings and tension on the border with India.


Qadri, who played a role in backing a military coup in 1999, threatened to remain camped out near the federal parliament with thousands of supporters until his demands for the resignation of the government were met.


The fiery orator returned home from Canada less than a month ago to lead a call for electoral reforms to bar corrupt politicians from office that has made him an instant hit among Pakistanis disillusioned with the state.


In a speech from behind a bullet-proof shield in front of parliament, Qadri praised the military and the judiciary, the country's two other power centers.


"(The government) has wasted and brought a bad end to our armed forces, those armed forces who are highly sincere, highly competent and highly capable and highly professional," he said, alternating between Urdu and English.


"Even they can't do anything because the political government isn't able to deliver anything from this land. Judgments are being passed by our great, independent judiciary but the government is not ready to implement them."


Qadri is demanding that the government dissolve the legislature and announce the formation of a caretaker government to oversee the run-up to elections.


One senior military officer, who said he was speaking in a purely personal capacity, said there was no appetite in the military to repeat the coups seen in Pakistan's past, but added the stand-off could be resolved if the army played a role in the formation of a caretaker government as a "moderator".


"We should try as far as possible to abide by the constitution and law in looking for change. The army chief has made this clear," the officer told Reuters.


"But things seem to be moving beyond control," the officer added. "It is totally incorrect to say the army is behind Qadri. But if he brings thousands of people to the streets and things get worse, there may be very few options."


(Additional reporting by Matthew Green and Mubasher Bukhari in ISLAMABAD and Jibran Ahmad in PESHAWAR; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)



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Cuban hospital carefully guards Hugo Chavez’s privacy






HAVANA (Reuters) – You would never guess that one of the world’s most famous heads of state, Venezuelan president and self-proclaimed revolutionary Hugo Chavez, is battling cancer at Havana’s Center for Medical-Surgical Research (CIMEQ).


At the weekend there was no visible increase in security at the hospital’s main entrance, where guards in olive green uniforms checked the comings and goings of visitors and waved on dallying reporters.






The sprawling, three story complex that is run by the Cuban Interior Ministry is located in leafy Siboney, one of the country’s most exclusive neighborhoods on the western edge of the Cuban capital, and just minutes from the home of Fidel Castro.


It has been a month since the once feisty and now cancer-stricken Chavez, leader of one of the world’s biggest oil producing nations, was operated on for a fourth time at the hospital. This time around, there have been no glowing reports of recovery.


CIMEQ’s best known patient, Fidel Castro, 86, has been treated there since 2006 when he was operated on for intestinal bleeding, forcing him to cede power to his brother Raul Castro.


Ironically Chavez, who often visited the man he refers to as his mentor during Castro’s ordeal, has now become CIMEQ’s second best known patient. In a dramatic reversal of fate, it is Fidel Castro who has been repeatedly at the 58-year-old Venezuelan president’s bedside, beginning with his first operation in 2011.


Hazy Venezuelan government communiques speak of unexpected bleeding during Chavez’s most recent surgery and a lung infection that has kept the 58-year-old Chavez in a “stable” but “delicate” state since mid-December.


There has not been a word, nor even a tweet from the usually vociferous Chavez. His Twitter account, with almost 4 million followers, went silent after November 1.


Meanwhile, Chavez’s family has been holding vigil in Havana, as other Venezuelan leaders and various Latin American heads of state come and go in a show of support. The presidents of Argentina and Peru visited over the weekend.


What the operation involved, and even the type of cancer attacking Chavez and its exact location, are considered state secrets.


VIP FACILITIES OFF LIMITS


CIMEQ, according to various Cuban doctors and nurses, is the Caribbean island’s finest medical facility, boasting up to date equipment and pharmaceuticals and with the authority to call in the country’s top specialists and support staff from other hospitals, as has been done in Chavez’s case.


“CIMEQ exists in the 21st century and is the equal to some of the best facilities in the world, while the rest of the country’s hospitals remain at 20th century levels,” said one local doctor who requested her name be withheld.


“There are no shortages of supplies and medicines and the food is great,” she added.


The hospital treats mainly interior ministry personnel, their families and area residents free of charge.


In a land where complaints are common, it is hard to find anyone with a bad word to say about the place, except that it is reserved exclusively for the elite.


“Unfortunately, I lost my father to cancer at CIMEQ less than a year ago,” said 47- year-old Agustín Daniel.


“He was treated for years at CIMEQ and the care was exquisite. He died because cancer kills and sometimes there is no solution,” the self-employed interior decorator said.


CIMEQ also boasts a wing for foreigners willing to pay for their care, as well as special VIP facilities for Cuba’s top leaders and important figures from other lands.


“Distinguished personalities from the arts, sciences and politics from all over the world have received attention in its modern and efficient installations,” the hospital‘s Web Page (www.cimeq.org)states.


Little is known about the hospital’s VIP accommodations, where Chavez is being treated, except that they are equipped with the latest technology and that those who work there are often sequestered for periods of time. Like all CIMEQ staff, they are sworn to secrecy at the risk of losing their licenses and criminal prosecution.


“The VIPs are treated on the third floor which is off limits to most staff even if they work for the Interior Ministry and wear uniforms under their white coats,” a doctor who has worked at CIMEQ said.


“The elevators to the third floor have guards and if the patient goes outside part of the grounds are closed off,” he said, adding, “no one knows what goes on up there.”


(Editing by David Adams and Andrew Hay)


Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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The Biggest Loser's Alison Sweeney Blogs: We're All to Blame for Childhood Obesity






The Biggest Loser










01/15/2013 at 12:10 PM EST



Alison Sweeney hosts NBC's The Biggest Loser and is the award-winning star of Days of Our Lives, in addition to being an author, director, producer, wife and mom. Like she has for the past two seasons, Alison will blog each week about the latest episode of The Biggest Loser. Follow her on Twitter @Ali_Sweeney

Monday's episode of The Biggest Loser featured "Cut the Junk" week on campus. Can you believe approximately 17 percent of American children ages 2 to 19 years are obese? How about this fact: approximately 60 percent of overweight children ages 5 to 10 already have at least one risk factor for heart disease? We are all to blame for this – parents, schools, kids – all of us.

During this week's quiz, the contestants were shocked by the staggering statistics, as was I. The childhood obesity epidemic in our country needs to be fixed. I battled with my weight as a teenager, partly because there wasn't the information or conversation about how to live a healthy lifestyle. This season's contestants and kids are being armed with that information. The adults are learning to pour orange juice over everything in the temptation room to not succumb to temptation and the kids (and their families) were forced to make changes when Dr. Joanna visited them in their homes.

On a lighter note, what did you think of the gumball challenge? Being there I felt the weight of the goo from the contestants and their struggles were very real. Plus, it was disgusting on their clothes when they were done. I've got to say, that is one challenge I'm glad I didn't have to do!

At the end of the week, I think each team learned a lot, especially the blue team who was stuck in that temptation room for four hours a day. If you're spending four hours a day eating junk and playing video games, try the last-chance workout challenge that Bob did with his team instead!

At the end of the week, the weigh-in was again intense. I felt for Jackson as he again had a small weight loss but I love that Dolvett continues to support him and keep him positive. At the end, it was Kate who went home but we all had faith she'd be fine in continuing her journey at home, and her "Where Are They Now" package shows we were right.

Favorite moment of the week: Pam's reaction to losing 9 lbs. It was hilarious!

Make sure to tune in next week, when the trainers head to the homes of Sunny, Lindsay and Biingo and leave the adults to train on their own at the Ranch. How do you think they'll do?

The Biggest Loser's Alison Sweeney Blogs: We're All to Blame for Childhood Obesity| Celebrity Blog, The Biggest Loser, Alison Sweeney, Bob Harper, Jillian Michaels

The Biggest Loser contestants

Tyler Golden / NBC

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Experts: Proposed NY gun law might hinder therapy


NEW YORK (AP) — Mental health experts say a proposed New York state gun control law might interfere with treatment of potentially dangerous people and even discourage them from seeking help.


One provision would require therapists and doctors to tell government authorities if they believe a patient is likely to harm himself or others. That could lead to revoking a patient's gun permit and seizing the gun.


Dr. Paul Appelbaum, director of law, ethics and psychiatry at Columbia University, said that provision might discourage people from revealing thoughts of harm to a therapist, or even from seeking treatment at all.


Dr. Mark Olfson, a psychiatry professor at Columbia, said if the law is crudely applied, it could erode the trust patients have in their doctors which is needed for effective care.


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Apple stock's continuing decline drags Wall Street lower

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - "The Muppets 2" will open in theaters March of 2014, "Maleficent," a reimagined "Sleeping Beauty" tale starring Angelina Jolie moves to July of the same year and Brad Bird's "1952" will open before Christmas of 2014, Disney announced on Monday. The news was part of an omnibus announcement, as Disney also announced "Pirates of the Caribbean 5" will open July 10, 2015. The next "Pirates" will star Johnny Depp with a script by Jeff Nathanson, but no director has been attached. Disney's planned 3D re-release of "Little Mermaid," set for September 13, has been called off. ...
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Syria war envelops region in "staggering" crisis: aid agency


BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's civil war is unleashing a "staggering humanitarian crisis" on the Middle East as hundreds of thousands of refugees flee violence including gang rape, an international aid agency said on Monday.


Opposition activists said an air strike on rebel-held territory southwest of Damascus killed 20 people, including women and children, adding to the more than 60,000 people estimated to have been killed in the 21-month-old conflict.


Over 600,000 Syrians have fled abroad - many to neighboring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan - as violence has spread and international efforts to find a political solution have sagged.


Refugees interviewed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) cited sexual violence as a major reason they fled the country, the New York-based organization said in a 23-page report on the crisis published on Monday.


Gang rapes often happened in front of family members and women had been kidnapped, raped, tortured and killed, it said.


"After decades of working in war and disaster zones, the IRC knows that women and girls suffer physical and sexual violence in every conflict. Syria is no exception," the group added.


Rebels and government forces have both been accused of human rights abuses during the conflict, which began with peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011.


The unrest turned violent after government forces fired on demonstrators and has since become a full-scale civil war.


Fierce winter weather has worsened the plight of hundreds of thousands of refugees. The IRC urged donors to step up planning and funding in the expectation that more Syrians will flee.


"Nearly two years into Syria's civil war, the region faces a staggering humanitarian disaster," the IRC report said.


AIR POWER


Despite advancing in Syria's north and east and winning support from regional powers like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the Syrian rebels have been unable to break a military stalemate with government forces elsewhere.


They have struggled to counter government air power in particular, making it hard for them to take and hold territory crucial to Assad's grip on power, including major cities.


An activist in Moadamiyeh, a rebel-held town southwest of Damascus, said an air strike there killed 20 people on Monday.


Activist video footage showed images of the limp body of a boy being pulled out from broken concrete, his back covered in dust and his front in blood.


The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said at least 13 people had died in the air raid but the toll was likely to rise.


Syrian state television said "terrorists" - its word for rebels - had fired a mortar from the Damascus suburb of Daraya on a civilian building in Moadamiyeh, killing women and children.


The reports could not be independently verified because of government restrictions on independent media in Syria.


Syrian warplanes also bombarded the strategic Taftanaz air base that rebels seized last week, the Observatory said.


In another sign of escalating bloodshed, Human Rights Watch said it had evidence that government forces had used multi-barrel rocket launchers to deliver Egyptian-made cluster munitions in recent attacks.


"Syria is escalating and expanding its use of cluster munitions, despite international condemnation of its embrace of this banned weapon," it said.


DEADLOCK


Syria's rising death toll has brought international intervention no closer. The United States and Russia have been deadlocked over how to resolve the crisis.


Moscow - which has continued to back its long-standing ally and arms client Assad - urged the opposition on Sunday to make its own proposals in response to a speech by Assad a week ago.


The speech, which offered no concessions, was criticized by the United Nations and United States. Syrian rebels described it as a renewed declaration of war.


Talks between Russia and the United States in Geneva on Friday failed to produce a breakthrough.


As diplomatic efforts have stalled, the conflict has continued to draw in Syria's neighbors.


A mortar round apparently fired from Syria crashed in a field in Turkey overnight close to a refugee camp housing thousands of Syrians along the border, Turkish state media said.


NATO troops have begun deploying Patriot defense missiles in Turkey against a potential attack from its southern neighbor. The missiles are expected to be operational by the end of the month. Turkey is a strong supporter of the Syrian rebels.


NATO said Syrian government forces had launched a short-range, Scud-style ballistic missile on Sunday, bringing to more than 20 the number launched in the past month.


The missiles, apparently fired against opposition targets, landed in Syrian territory, mostly in northern Syria, a NATO spokeswoman said in Brussels, but some of the missiles landed "quite close" to the Turkish frontier.


(Additional reporting by Laila Bassam in Beirut and Adrian Croft in Brussels; Writing by Alexander Dziadosz; Editing by Mark Heinrich)



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Come for a Tour of China’s Unlicensed ‘World of Warcraft’ Theme Park






World of Warcraft Theme Park


Image credit Francesca Timbers


Click here to view this gallery.






[More from Mashable: 20 Tweets That Prove Skittles’ Social-Media Team Inhaled the Rainbow]


Changzhou, China is home to a bizzarre world of rides, food and fun: A World of Warcraft-style theme park that’s completely unlicensed by Blizzard, maker of the Warcraft series.


The park opened in the summer of last year. It reportedly cost $ 48 million to build and is “pretty huge,” according to Reddit user Francesca Timbers who originally posted these pictures republished here with permission.


[More from Mashable: 10 Amusing Cubicle Makeovers [VIDEOS]]


“I thought it was great,” posted Timbers. “A lot of the rides used 4-D and special effects, which I hand’t experienced much of before. There was a good roller coaster with loops, where you are lying horizontally, face forward, like you are flying. That was my favourite ride. The water log ride (‘splash of monster blood’) was pretty good too.”


Another weird tidbit: Some rides have a “happiness index,” showing, we believe, the intensity of the ride.


While most of the park is Warcraft-flavored, one section is dedicated to another Blizzard favorite: Starcraft.


For the rest of Timbers’ pictures and more details about her trip to the utterly weird theme park, visit her Reddit thread. Would you book a trip to China to get out to this theme park?


Images courtesy Francesca Timbers


This story originally published on Mashable here.


Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News




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