European Cloud Over Ford

DETROIT — Last year, Ford Motor broke ranks with other auto companies when it announced major cuts in its troubled European operations, including the closing of three factories, to address a sharp downturn in sales on the continent and an oversupply of vehicles.

On Tuesday, Ford, the second-biggest American automaker, behind General Motors, startled the industry again by predicting that Europe, a critical market, would get worse before it begins improving later this year.

Ford said European auto sales, including commercial vehicles, could fall as low as 13 million this year, and its own annual losses in the region could reach $2 billion. Europe is Ford’s second-largest market, after North America.

“The industry did 14 million last year, and that was the worst in 20 years,” Bob Shanks, Ford’s chief financial officer, said in an interview. “But the industry is continuing to decline, and we think 13 million is the trough.”

The dire predictions for Europe overshadowed what were otherwise positive fourth-quarter results, which Ford reported on Tuesday.

The company reported a 54 percent gain in adjusted fourth-quarter profit as strong earnings in North America compensated for heavy losses in Europe. Ford said it earned $1.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to $1.03 billion a year earlier, excluding the impact of tax-valuation allowances in 2011. Those allowances inflated last year’s fourth-quarter net income to $13.6 billion.

For the full year, Ford said it earned $5.67 billion, a 5 percent drop from $5.97 billion in 2011, not including the tax-valuation changes, which increased the 2011 earnings to $20.2 billion.

The auto market in Western Europe remains abysmal, but some analysts agree with Ford’s assessment that sales may be close to their low point and could start to recover late this year as the euro zone crisis subsides.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs forecast that European auto sales would fall an additional 2.2 percent in 2013, to 12.9 million vehicles. But they will rise 3.9 percent in 2014, Goldman predicted, as car buyers start to feel more secure about their economic prospects.

In the meantime, though, companies like General Motors’ Opel unit and PSA Peugeot Citröen are trying to make broad reductions in jobs and production capacity.

The recovery, if it comes, could be too late for many workers and even some of the manufacturers.

The companies that have suffered the most are those that depend on the mass market and on southern Europe, including Fiat, Peugeot and Renault. Steady declines in sales since 2007 have left two-thirds of European auto plants operating at a loss, Goldman Sachs analysts estimated.

North American sales have been a bright spot for the world’s automakers, and Ford is no exception. Ford’s overall revenue in the fourth quarter was $36.5 billion, a 5 percent increase from $34.6 billion in the same period a year earlier. For all of 2012, revenue was $134.3 billion, 1 percent less than $136.3 billion in 2011.

Healthy sales of new vehicles in North America resulted in good profit margins, particularly in the United States, where the overall industry grew 13 percent last year.

Ford said it had $1.87 billion in pretax earnings in North America during the quarter, a 110 percent increase from $889 million in the fourth quarter of 2011. For all of 2012, Ford had pretax profit of $8.34 billion in North America, compared to $6.19 billion in 2011.

But the company’s European operations continued to struggle as overall demand plunged, particularly in southern Europe.Ford reported a $732 million pretax loss in Europe for the fourth quarter, compared with a $190 million loss in the same period in 2011.

For all of 2012, Ford said it had a pretax loss of $1.75 billion in the region. By comparison, the company reported a loss of $27 million in Europe for all of 2011.

Investors, apparently shaken by the scale of the losses and Ford’s dismal forecast for 2013, sent the automaker’s shares down nearly 5 percent to $13.14 in Tuesday’s trading.

Jack Ewing contributed reporting from Frankfurt.

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Bipartisan group sees change in politics on immigration reform

A bipartisan coalition of senators said Monday they have created a set of principles based upon which they hope lawmakers will pass immigration reform by summer.

WASHINGTON — Declaring that the politics of immigration  “have been turned upside down,” a bipartisan group of senators Monday outlined common principles for comprehensive immigration reform and expressed optimism that legislation granting legal status to most of the country's 11 million illegal immigrants could be realized by this summer.

One day before President Obama launches a campaign-style push for his vision of immigration reform, representatives of the so-called Group of Eight senators acknowledged previous false starts on the issue, and obstacles that probably lie ahead — particularly in determining how to increase the flow of legal immigration.

But, after an election in which the share of the nonwhite vote continued to grow and swung overwhelmingly toward Obama, the lawmakers said that the path forward was as clear as ever.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the GOP’s 2008 presidential nominee and a past proponent of comprehensive reform, said the change in favor of taking action came down to one word: “Elections.”

PHOTOS: President Obama’s second inauguration

“The Republican Party is losing the support of our Hispanic citizens. And we realize that there are many issues in which we think we are in agreement with our Hispanic citizens, but this is a preeminent issue with those citizens,” he said at a Capitol Hill news conference. 

“For the first time ever, there's more political risk in opposing immigration reform than in supporting it,” added Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).

The Senate blueprint, drafted during weeks of closed-door meetings by leading senators from each party, is more conservative than Obama's proposal, which the president plans to unveil Tuesday in a speech in Las Vegas. But its provisions for legalizing millions of undocumented immigrants go further than measures that failed to advance in Congress in previous years — a reminder of how swiftly the politics of immigration have shifted since the November election.

The Senate proposal would allow most of those in the country illegally to obtain probationary legal status immediately by paying a fine and back taxes and passing a background check. That would make them eligible to work and live in the U.S. They could earn a green card — permanent residency — after the government certifies that the U.S.-Mexican border has become secure, but might face a lengthy process before becoming citizens.

Obama is expected to push for a faster citizenship process that would not be conditional on border security standards being met first. The structure of the citizenship process will probably be among the most hotly debated parts of any immigration plan.

PHOTOS: A look ahead at 2013’s political battles

Less controversial provisions would tighten requirements on employers to check the immigration status of new workers; increase the number of visas for high-skill jobs; provide green cards automatically to people who earn master's degrees or PhDs in science, technology or math at U.S. universities; and create an agricultural guest-worker program.

Schumer said lawmakers are aiming for full legislative language to be put forward by March, which will then work its way through the committee process. A vote in the Senate could come by late spring or summer, he said.

“We still have a long way to go, but this bipartisan blueprint is a major breakthrough,” he said.

Though their effort was running parallel to the president’s, Democratic Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois said he and Schumer spoke with Obama on Sunday and that the president “cheered us on.” McCain said Obama’s public campaign for it would be helpful to their cause.

Still, many conservatives on Capitol Hill remain skeptical about sweeping immigration legislation and could prove a major obstacle to any compromise.

“The last time we talked about this in 2007, it sounded very seductive. When we saw the details, it was clear it wouldn’t work,” Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said in an interview Monday. Sessions said he was particularly concerned that the Obama administration is not committed to securing the borders against future illegal immigration.

Similar criticism from Republican lawmakers doomed a 2007 immigration bill pushed by President George W. Bush and seniors Senate Democrats.

PHOTOS: President Obama’s past

Today, 22 GOP senators who opposed the 2007 plan remain in the Senate, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). By contrast, just two of the 12 Republicans who backed the compromise six years ago are still in Congress — McCain and South Carolina's Lindsey Graham.

Republican resistance to an immigration overhaul promises to be even more intense in the House, where many conservative lawmakers are leery of any proposal that would provide a mechanism for immigrants here illegally to gain citizenship, a key demand on the left.

“When you legalize those who are in the country illegally, it costs taxpayers millions of dollars, costs American workers thousands of jobs and encourages more illegal immigration,” said Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “By granting amnesty, the Senate proposal actually compounds the problem by encouraging more illegal immigration.”

Staff writers Brian Bennett and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

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Supernova Remnants: Dazzling Entrails of Violent Stellar Death

Even in death, there can be great beauty. Consider supernova remnants, the results of massive stars dying in great explosions, creating some of the most spectacular cosmic objects around.

Every 50 years or so, a star in our galaxy with more than 10 times the mass of our sun will expire. When such stars die, they go supernova, one of the most violent events in our universe. These explosions shoot off tons of material from the central star at up to 10 percent the speed of light.

Though the area surrounding stars seems empty, it is usually home to vast amounts of interstellar gas and dust. The supernova’s outburst runs into this surrounding material, creating a shockwave and heating it to temperatures greater than 10,000 Celsius. Over thousands of years, the local structure of the gas and dust shapes the stellar outpouring into shells, filaments, and other diffuse forms. Astronomers call these objects supernova remnants.

Supernova explosions and the remnants they leave behind have wide-ranging effects. They heat up the interstellar medium, creating complex chemistry out in space, and are responsible for accelerating protons and other atomic nuclei, which go zipping around the universe as cosmic rays. Perhaps most importantly, supernova explosions generate and liberate heavy elements, such as oxygen, carbon, and all metals, distributing them out into the wider cosmos. These elements eventually find their way into planetary systems, making life possible on at least one world that we know of.

Here, we take a look at some of the most famous and beautiful supernova remnants, giving you a chance to contemplate life, death, and cycles of renewal in the universe.

Above:

The supernova remnant N186 D appears as a bright pink spot at the top of this new image released by NASA on Jan. 28, spewing off tremendous amounts of X-rays. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud about 160,000 light-years away, the remnant is blowing a huge bubble (the giant structure below the bright spot) as hot wind carves out a shock wave in the surrounding material.

Image: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ of Michigan/A.E.Jaskot, Optical: NOAO/CTIO/MCELS

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The CW orders “The Hundred” drama pilot, two others

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – The CW has gone post-apocalyptic with its pilot orders.

The network has placed an order for the drama pilot “The Hundred,” based on the upcoming book series by Kass Morgan (which has received an initial two-book order from Little, Brown).

The pilot will be set 97 years after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization, when a spaceship housing humanity’s lone survivors sends 100 juvenile delinquents back to Earth in hopes of possibly re-populating the planet.

Jason Rothenberg is writing as well as executive producing the project, which comes from Warner Bros. Television and Alloy Entertainment, with Alloy’s Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo also executive-producing.

The network has also ordered the sci-fi drama “Oxygen,” about a romance between a human girl and an alien boy.

“Passion and politics threaten the peace and an epic romance ignites between a human girl and an alien boy when he and eight others of his kind (The Orion 9) are integrated into a suburban high school ten years after they and hundreds of others landed on Earth and were immediately consigned to an internment camp where they’ve been imprisoned ever since,” a logline for the show explains.

Meredith Averill (“The Good Wife”) is writing and executive-producing “Oxygen,” which comes from CBS Television Studios, Ole Productions, Isla de Babel SL and 360 Powwow LLC.

Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, Scott Rosenberg, Richard Shepard, Bryan Furst, Sean Furst and Daniel Gutman are also executive producing.

Finally, “Reign” promises to tell the “previously unknown and untold story of Mary Queen of Scots,” detailing the secret history of survival at French Court “amidst fierce foes, dark forces, and a world of sexual intrigue.” Stephanie Sengupta (“Hawaii Five-0″) and Laurie McCarthy (“Ghost Whisperer”) are writing and executive producing the pilot, which is being produced by CBS Television Studios.

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Personal Health: Keeping Blood Pressure in Check

Since the start of the 21st century, Americans have made great progress in controlling high blood pressure, though it remains a leading cause of heart attacks, strokes, congestive heart failure and kidney disease.

Now 48 percent of the more than 76 million adults with hypertension have it under control, up from 29 percent in 2000.

But that means more than half, including many receiving treatment, have blood pressure that remains too high to be healthy. (A normal blood pressure is lower than 120 over 80.) With a plethora of drugs available to normalize blood pressure, why are so many people still at increased risk of disease, disability and premature death? Hypertension experts offer a few common, and correctable, reasons:

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Jane Brody speaks about hypertension.

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¶ About 20 percent of affected adults don’t know they have high blood pressure, perhaps because they never or rarely see a doctor who checks their pressure.

¶ Of the 80 percent who are aware of their condition, some don’t appreciate how serious it can be and fail to get treated, even when their doctors say they should.

¶ Some who have been treated develop bothersome side effects, causing them to abandon therapy or to use it haphazardly.

¶ Many others do little to change lifestyle factors, like obesity, lack of exercise and a high-salt diet, that can make hypertension harder to control.

Dr. Samuel J. Mann, a hypertension specialist and professor of clinical medicine at Weill-Cornell Medical College, adds another factor that may be the most important. Of the 71 percent of people with hypertension who are currently being treated, too many are taking the wrong drugs or the wrong dosages of the right ones.

Dr. Mann, author of “Hypertension and You: Old Drugs, New Drugs, and the Right Drugs for Your High Blood Pressure,” says that doctors should take into account the underlying causes of each patient’s blood pressure problem and the side effects that may prompt patients to abandon therapy. He has found that when treatment is tailored to the individual, nearly all cases of high blood pressure can be brought and kept under control with available drugs.

Plus, he said in an interview, it can be done with minimal, if any, side effects and at a reasonable cost.

“For most people, no new drugs need to be developed,” Dr. Mann said. “What we need, in terms of medication, is already out there. We just need to use it better.”

But many doctors who are generalists do not understand the “intricacies and nuances” of the dozens of available medications to determine which is appropriate to a certain patient.

“Prescribing the same medication to patient after patient just does not cut it,” Dr. Mann wrote in his book.

The trick to prescribing the best treatment for each patient is to first determine which of three mechanisms, or combination of mechanisms, is responsible for a patient’s hypertension, he said.

¶ Salt-sensitive hypertension, more common in older people and African-Americans, responds well to diuretics and calcium channel blockers.

¶ Hypertension driven by the kidney hormone renin responds best to ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers, as well as direct renin inhibitors and beta-blockers.

¶ Neurogenic hypertension is a product of the sympathetic nervous system and is best treated with beta-blockers, alpha-blockers and drugs like clonidine.

According to Dr. Mann, neurogenic hypertension results from repressed emotions. He has found that many patients with it suffered trauma early in life or abuse. They seem calm and content on the surface but continually suppress their distress, he said.

One of Dr. Mann’s patients had had high blood pressure since her late 20s that remained well-controlled by the three drugs her family doctor prescribed. Then in her 40s, periodic checks showed it was often too high. When taking more of the prescribed medication did not result in lasting control, she sought Dr. Mann’s help.

After a thorough work-up, he said she had a textbook case of neurogenic hypertension, was taking too much medication and needed different drugs. Her condition soon became far better managed, with side effects she could easily tolerate, and she no longer feared she would die young of a heart attack or stroke.

But most patients should not have to consult a specialist. They can be well-treated by an internist or family physician who approaches the condition systematically, Dr. Mann said. Patients should be started on low doses of one or more drugs, including a diuretic; the dosage or number of drugs can be slowly increased as needed to achieve a normal pressure.

Specialists, he said, are most useful for treating the 10 percent to 15 percent of patients with so-called resistant hypertension that remains uncontrolled despite treatment with three drugs, including a diuretic, and for those whose treatment is effective but causing distressing side effects.

Hypertension sometimes fails to respond to routine care, he noted, because it results from an underlying medical problem that needs to be addressed.

“Some patients are on a lot of blood pressure drugs — four or five — who probably don’t need so many, and if they do, the question is why,” Dr. Mann said.

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How to Measure Your Blood Pressure

Mistaken readings, which can occur in doctors’ offices as well as at home, can result in misdiagnosis of hypertension and improper treatment. Dr. Samuel J. Mann, of Weill Cornell Medical College, suggests these guidelines to reduce the risk of errors:

¶ Use an automatic monitor rather than a manual one, and check the accuracy of your home monitor at the doctor’s office.

¶ Use a monitor with an arm cuff, not a wrist or finger cuff, and use a large cuff if you have a large arm.

¶ Sit quietly for a few minutes, without talking, after putting on the cuff and before checking your pressure.

¶ Check your pressure in one arm only, and take three readings (not more) one or two minutes apart.

¶ Measure your blood pressure no more than twice a week unless you have severe hypertension or are changing medications.

¶ Check your pressure at random, ordinary times of the day, not just when you think it is high.

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Media Decoder: Tsujihara to Succeed Meyer as Head of Warner Brothers

LOS ANGELES — Kevin Tsujihara will succeed Barry M. Meyer as chief executive of Warner Brothers, the studio announced on Monday, ending a disruptive and lingering competition for one of the biggest jobs in Hollywood. But, with two senior Warner executives publicly passed over, disorder at the studio could continue.

Home to Batman, Bugs Bunny, “Two and a Half Men” and TMZ.com, Warner is Hollywood’s largest movie and television studio. It has also been the industry’s most stable. Mr. Meyer, who is retiring, has led Warner since 1999; a single management team oversaw the studio for the previous 18 years.

A two-year succession contest, however, has brought escalating internal tension, a slowing of routine business and low morale, according to Warner employees and people who have had business dealings with the company. Jeffrey L. Bewkes, chief executive of Time Warner, moved on Monday to end that distraction by promoting Mr. Tsujihara, 48. Scheduled to take over on March 1, Mr. Tsujihara most recently ran Warner’s home entertainment unit, which includes video games and the online distribution of movies and television shows.

“Kevin’s experience is very balanced and has touched all parts of Warner,” Mr. Bewkes said in a telephone interview. “He also has the right temperament to be an effective unifier and leader.”

Mr. Tsujihara immediately faces the challenge of retaining the two executives he beat out for the job. They are Bruce Rosenblum, president of Warner Television, and Jeffrey Robinov, president of Warner’s movie division. Mr. Bewkes said he wanted to “keep everybody on the field,” adding that Mr. Rosenblum and Mr. Robinov both have “very big, full jobs.”

Even so, Mr. Rosenblum, who runs Warner’s most profitable division and had been seen by many in Hollywood as the leading candidate to succeed Mr. Meyer, did not hide his displeasure at losing. “Obviously, I’m disappointed; who wouldn’t be?” he said in a statement. He added that Warner “will be in good hands with Kevin.”

Mr. Robinov was more effusive about his new boss. “I am truly happy and proud of Kevin,” he said in a separate statement. “We are both good friends and colleagues, and I think he’s an excellent choice for the job.”

Will Mr. Rosenblum and Mr. Robinov ultimately leave? “We both hope they will stay and support Kevin,” Mr. Meyer, 69, said in a telephone interview. He added, however, “This is news to everybody, and I think they’re thinking it over.”

In some ways, Mr. Tsujihara’s ascendance can be seen as a clear statement of what Time Warner thinks its studio most needs to face the challenges ahead.

While he is respected in Hollywood’s creative community of producers, writers, directors and agents, Mr. Tsujihara does not come from the trenches. Instead, he has been grappling with the Web as a disrupter of distribution and business models. He has also been Warner’s point person on piracy.

Mr. Meyer said Mr. Tsujihara’s qualifications went well beyond that. Calling Mr. Tsujihara “deliberate and thoughtful,” he underscored his successor’s creative skill. In recent years, for instance, Mr. Tsujihara has played a role in deciding what movies Warner puts into production, even routinely reading scripts, Mr. Meyer said. Mr. Tsujihara was also the executive that Warner dispatched to New Zealand in 2010 to solve a labor dispute that threatened “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and two sequels.

Speaking by telephone, Mr. Tsujihara said his immediate plans are “to do a lot of listening” and to work with his former rivals to “create the right transition and the right organizational structure moving forward.”

“I’m coming in at a great time, not a time when we have to make massive changes because we’re not successful,” he said.

Warner, which was founded in 1923, produces more than 50 television programs for various networks, including “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” “The Middle” and “The Mentalist.” Last year Warner movies took in about $4.3 billion at the global box office, with hits that included “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Magic Mike.”

Still, the studio faces significant competition in television production from 20th Century Fox and has struggled to bring its stable of DC Comics superheroes — Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, the Flash — to movie audiences as Disney’s Marvel Studios has introduced one superhero hit after another.

Mr. Tsujihara joined Warner in 1994 to help with its interest in the Six Flags theme parks. Before taking over home entertainment in 2005, he worked in the studio’s business development and strategy department.

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Berlusconi defends Mussolini at Holocaust event

ROME — Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been condemned by Jewish groups after he defended fascist dictator Benito Mussolini at an event commemorating victims of the Nazi Holocaust.

Speaking on Sunday on the sidelines of an event in Milan marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Berlusconi also defended the Italian wartime dictator's decision to ally with Adolf Hitler.

"It's difficult now to put yourself in the shoes of people who were making decisions at that time," said Berlusconi, 76, who is campaigning ahead of elections in February.

"Obviously the government of that time, out of fear that German power might lead to complete victory, preferred to ally itself with Hitler's Germany rather than opposing it," he said. "As part of this alliance, there were impositions, including combating and exterminating Jews. The racial laws were the worst fault of Mussolini as a leader, who in so many other ways did well."

In 1938, Mussolini passed laws barring Jews from academia and many professions. After 1943, when Germany occupied parts of the country, more than 7,000 Jews were deported to Nazi concentration camps, with many perishing at Auschwitz.

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said Saturday that Germany had an "everlasting responsibility" for Nazi crimes, but Berlusconi said Italy "did not have the same responsibility," adding that the country's collusion in the Holocaust was initially "partly unwitting."

Reacting to the three-time prime minister's statement, Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, called it "the height of revisionism to try to reinstate an Italian dictator who helped legitimize and prop up Hitler as a 'reincarnated good guy.' "

Berlusconi's comments were described as "disgusting" by Italy's center-left Democratic Party, which is leading the polls ahead of Berlusconi's coalition.

Berlusconi has long faced criticism for gaffes, notably after he joked in 2008 about then-President-elect Obama's "suntan." Later Sunday, he appeared to backtrack on his Mussolini remarks, claiming he had always criticized dictatorships.

But his comments call attention to the number of politicians in his coalition with far-right backgrounds, not least the dictator's granddaughter, Alessandra Mussolini.

His defense of Mussolini may also have been aimed at the many Italians today who defend the dictator's record on infrastructure programs and overlook his racial laws.

According to Renzo Gattegna, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, Berlusconi's statement "demonstrates how Italy still struggles, above and beyond the rhetoric, to seriously take stock of its own history and its own responsibilities."

Kington is a special correspondent.

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Lace 'Em Up: 4 Running Shoes Reviewed

Hitting the streets to get fit by spring? We review four new specialty sneakers for runners.

Adidas' Adizero Feather 2.0 runners are so light (barely 7 ounces) and so responsive, running in them feels more like bouncing on fluffy clouds than pounding on pavement. OK, I'm exaggerating, but I was really blown away by the light weight when I took them out on long-distance runs. So effective was the feather-weight design on a 5-mile outing, I could actually notice the reduced effort in my legs.

The shoe is topped with a barely-there breathable mesh that runs from the toes all the way back to the heel. Ventilation is therefore excellent, with a constant flow of cool air delivered directly to your piggies. And, unlike most shoes that make use of fancy, lightweight materials, they're actually quite sturdy.

These sneaks are compatible with Adidas' miCoach data reporting system and its companion apps. So if you already have a miCoach Speed_Cell sensor, just lift up the shoe's insert and pop it in (You can also attach the sensor to your laces). The sensor can be synced with your iPhone to track your speed, acceleration, distance, and pace during runs.

The only problem is that the miCoach system needs some work, including the inconsistent syncing and the iPhone app's interface. If you're used to the Nike+ app, you'll be struggling to work your way through using Adidas' lesser creation. That said, it's an add-on to the shoe and not a primary feature, so miCoach's shortcomings don't detract from the sneaker's quality.

WIRED Obscenely light at only 7 ounces. Flexible mesh upper keeps your tootsies cool and dry. Durable, despite the lightweight design. miCoach-compatible for tracking your runs. Great styling. Affordable at $115. Men's and women's versions.

TIRED If you're not into light shoes, these aren't for you. The miCoach system needs a lot of work -- it's adequate, but could be so much better.

Photos by Ariel Zambelich/Wired

Rating: 8 out of 10

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Witch-hunting “Hansel & Gretel” wins box office

(Reuters) – A grown-up “Hansel & Gretel” grabbed the weekend box office title, pulling in $ 19 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales with its reinvention of the fairy tale characters as fierce bounty hunters.

“Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” knocked last weekend’s winner, low-budget horror flick “Mama,” into second place. “Mama” earned $ 12.8 million from Friday through Sunday, according to studio estimates, followed by “Silver Linings Playbook” with $ 10 million.

CIA drama “Zero Dark Thirty” came in fourth with $ 9.8 million.

Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton star in “Hansel & Gretel” as crossbow-wielding adult siblings who travel the world taking out evil witches. MGM and Viacom Inc’s Paramount Pictures produced the action comedy for about $ 50 million. Paramount had predicted opening weekend sales in the high-teens or low $ 20 million range.

Don Harris, Paramount’s president of distribution, said the film performed well despite the very cold temperatures and snow that hit the eastern United States.

“We are pleased that we were on our number on a worldwide basis. It looks like we are on or exceeding our numbers but we did get dinged with the weather on Friday,” he said in an interview.

“The impact of the weather was certainly more than I had predicted.”

“Mama” features Jessica Chastain as a woman forced to take care of two orphaned nieces who have been living in the woods. The $ 15 million production has now earned $ 48.6 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters through two weekends.

Chastain also stars in “Zero Dark Thirty” in an Oscar-nominated role as a dogged CIA agent searching for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The best picture nominee, which has sparked debate over depictions of torture, has grossed $ 69.9 million since its release in late December.

“Silver Linings Playbook” stars Bradley Cooper as a former mental patient trying to rebuild his life with the help of a young widow played by Jennifer Lawrence. Total sales for “Silver Linings” reached $ 69.46 million. The movie, Cooper, Lawrence and co-star Robert De Niro are all nominated for Oscars.

New crime thriller “Parker” finished in fifth place, taking in $ 7 million at domestic theaters. The film is based on a series of novels by Donald E. Westlake and stars Jason Statham as a thief seeking revenge against a crew that double-crossed him. Jennifer Lopez plays a woman who helps with his mission.

“Movie 43,” a film with an ensemble of Hollywood directors and stars, was in seventh place, according to Hollywood.com, very close behind “Django Unchained.”

The film is a series of interconnected short movies following a washed-up producer as he pitches hilarious and insane story lines featuring some of the biggest stars in Hollywood, including Hugh Jackman, Seth MacFarlane, Kate Winslet and Dennis Quaid. Privately held Relativity Media produced the film for about $ 6 million.

“Mama” was distributed by Universal Studios, a division of Comcast Corp. Sony Corp’s movie studio released “Zero Dark Thirty.” “Parker” was released by independent studio FilmDistrict. The Weinstein Co distributed “Silver Linings Playbook.”

(Editing by Bill Trott)

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Ariel Sharon Brain Scan Shows Response to Stimuli

JERUSALEM — A brain scan performed on Ariel Sharon, the former Israeli prime minister who had a devastating stroke seven years ago and is presumed to be in a vegetative state, revealed significant brain activity in response to external stimuli, raising the chances that he is able to hear and understand, a scientist involved in the test said Sunday.

Scientists showed Mr. Sharon, 84, pictures of his family, had him listen to a recording of the voice of one of his sons and used tactile stimulation to assess the extent of his brain’s response.

“We were surprised that there was activity in the proper parts of the brain,” said Prof. Alon Friedman, a neuroscientist at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and a member of the team that carried out the test. “It raises the chances that he hears and understands, but we cannot be sure. The test did not prove that.”

The activity in specific regions of the brain indicated appropriate processing of the stimulations, according to a statement from Ben-Gurion University, but additional tests to assess Mr. Sharon’s level of consciousness were less conclusive.

“While there were some encouraging signs, these were subtle and not as strong,” the statement added.

The test was carried out last week at the Soroka University Medical Center in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba using a state-of-the-art M.R.I. machine and methods recently developed by Prof. Martin M. Monti of the University of California, Los Angeles. Professor Monti took part in the test, which lasted approximately two hours.

Mr. Sharon’s son Gilad said in October 2011 that he believed that his father responded to some requests. “When he is awake, he looks at me and moves fingers when I ask him to,” he said at the time, adding, “I am sure he hears me.”

Professor Friedman said in a telephone interview that the test results “say nothing about the future” but may be of some help to the family and the regular medical staff caring for Mr. Sharon at a hospital outside Tel Aviv.

“There is a small chance that he is conscious but has no way of expressing it,” Professor Friedman said, but he added, “We do not know to what extent he is conscious.”

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