CBS dominates week in TV ratings

NEW YORK (AP) — CBS had little competition for dominance last week in the television ratings.

The network had 17 of the 25 most-watched programs on the air last week, according to the Nielsen company. It beat second-place NBC by an average of nearly four million viewers a night last week, and also took the 18-to-49-year-old demographic that advertisers seek.

"60 Minutes" and "NCIS" were the most popular shows on CBS last week. As is typical in the fall, NBC's Sunday night football matchup was the week's most-watched show.

One end-of-year tradition, Barbara Walters' survey of the year's most popular personalities, finished No. 27 in the week's ratings with 7.6 million viewers.

On cable, Showtime's "Dexter" and "Homeland" both hit series records for their season finale episodes on Sunday. "Dexter" had 2.8 million viewers and "Homeland" had 2.3 million. Showtime preceded each episode with a disclaimer, warning that audiences might find the shows too intense so soon after the Connecticut school killings.

CBS averaged 11.9 million viewers for the week in prime time (7.3 rating, 12 share). NBC had 7.3 million (4.5, 7), ABC had 5.1 million (3.3, 5), Fox had 4.4 million (2.7, 4), the CW had 1.7 million (1.1, 2) and ION Television had 1.3 million (0.9, 1).

Among the Spanish language networks, Univision led with an average of 3.2 million viewers (1.7, 3). Telemundo had 1.3 million (0.7, 1), TeleFutura had 850,000 (0.4, 1), Estrella had 340,000 (0.2, 0) and Azteca had 140,000 (0.1, 0).

NBC's "Nightly News" topped the evening newscasts with an average of 9.4 million viewers (6.3, 12). ABC's "World News" was second with 8.3 million (5.5, 11) and the "CBS Evening News" had 7.2 million viewers (4.9, 9).

A ratings point represents 1,147,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 114.7 million TV homes. The share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

For the week of Dec. 10-16, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: NFL Football: San Francisco at New England, NBC, 23.23 million; "60 Minutes," CBS, 19.63 million; "NCIS," CBS, 17.65 million; "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 16.74 million; "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 15.12 million; "Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick," NBC, 14.62 million; "Person of Interest," CBS, 14.08 million; "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 13.34 million; "The Voice" (Monday), NBC, 12.33 million; "Criminal Minds," CBS, 12.01 million.

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ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is owned by CBS Corp. CW is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp. Fox and My Network TV are units of News Corp. NBC and Telemundo are owned by Comcast Corp. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks. TeleFutura is a division of Univision. Azteca America is a wholly owned subsidiary of TV Azteca S.A. de C.V.

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Online:

http://www.nielsen.com

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McDonald's urging franchisees to open on Christmas

McDonald's Corp. is urging U.S. restaurant owners to take the unusual step of opening on Christmas Day to deliver the world's biggest hamburger chain with the gift of higher December sales, AdvertisingAge reported Monday.

The request -- which comes as McDonald's tangles with resurgent rivals such as Wendy's, Burger King and Yum Brands' Taco Bell chain -- would be a break from company tradition of closing on major holidays.

"Starting with Thanksgiving, ensure your restaurants are open throughout the holidays," Jim Johannesen, chief operations officer for McDonald's USA, wrote in a Nov. 8 memo to franchisees -- one of two obtained by AdvertisingAge.

"Our largest holiday opportunity as a system is Christmas Day. Last year, (company-operated) restaurants that opened on Christmas averaged $5,500 in sales," Johannesen said.

"The decision to open our restaurants on Christmas is in the hands of our owner/operators," McDonald's spokeswoman Heather Oldani told Reuters.

Don Thompson took over as chief executive at McDonald's in July and has the difficult task of growing sales from last year's strong results in a significantly more competitive environment.

McDonald's monthly global sales at established restaurants fell for the first time in nine years in October, but unexpectedly rebounded in November.

The November surprise was partly due to a 2.5 percent rise in sales at U.S. restaurants open at least 13 months.

"Our November results were driven, in part, by our Thanksgiving Day performance," Johannesen wrote in a Dec. 12 memo to franchisees.

Oldani said 1,200 more McDonald's restaurants were open on Thanksgiving this year versus last year -- not 6,000 more as AdvertisingAge reported.

Still, the company has a high hurdle when it comes to posting an increase in restaurant sales this month because its U.S. same-restaurant sales jumped 9.8 percent in December 2011.

"It's an act of desperation. The franchisees are not happy," said Richard Adams, a former McDonald's franchisee who now advises the chain's owner/operators.

The push to open on the holidays goes against McDonald's cultural history, said Adams. In his first published operations manual, McDonald's Corp. founder Ray Kroc said the company would close on Thanksgiving and Christmas to give employees time with their families, Adams said.

"We opened for breakfast on Thanksgiving the last couple years I was a franchisee. It was easy to get kids to work on Thanksgiving because they want to get away from their family, but not on Christmas," Adams said.

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University of Chicago's Indiana Jones mystery solved

A mystery at the University of Chicago unfolded like the dotted lines on an old map in classic Indiana Jones movies.

Last week, the university posted photos of a package it had received, addressed to none other than Henry Walton Jones, Jr., better known to most as Indiana Jones. Inside was a replica of the fictional U. of C. professor Abner Ravenwood's journal from the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" film. With no explanation, the university reached out via Tumblr, asking visitors to the blog help solve the mystery. Was it a hoax? A clever admissions stunt? A misaddressed Christmas gift? Senior Admissions Adviser Grace Chapin found out the answer Monday morning, and it was none of the above.

The journal and packaging originated from Guam, where an Ebay seller who specializes in replica Indiana Jones props sent it off to the highest bidder who lives in Italy. On its way, the smaller package, addressed to Indy at U. of C., fell out of a larger package. Not realizing what had happened, USPS apparently inserted the correct zip code and shipped it to Chicago.

“What we can piece together, USPS honored the postage, which happens to be fake,” she told RedEye, adding that the Ebay seller confirmed Monday he had received a letter from USPS explaining what happened.

But before the mystery was solved, the university received tons of suggestions and conspiracy theories as to the origin of the package (see photos of it here). It even made international news, with outlets from Norway to Spain to Germany asking for permission to use the photos.

“We’ve been so amused that other people have thought this was so funny,” she said. “This is how fun the world is at this point, something being sent from Guam to Italy and it finds its way to us.”

Chapin said the Ebay seller has told the university it can keep the journal, and that currently several groups on campus are offering to put it on display or archive it, though no solid plans have been made. 

Want more? Discuss this article and others on RedEye's Facebook page. 

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U.S. could wrap up Google probe this week: sources

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators this week could drop their investigation of how Google ranks certain searches, without requiring any major changes in how the online giant does business, according to two people knowledgeable about the investigation.

Google had been accused of giving competitors in lucrative areas like travel a lower ranking in search results, thus making it harder for their customers to find them.

But the Federal Trade Commission is expected to conclude that Google's actions were legal and end its more than two-year probe of the company.

FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz has said he wanted the case wrapped up by the end of the year. He is widely expected to step down within a month but has not announced his resignation.

Google is expected to agree to some changes in its business practices, however. For example, it is expected to end the practice of "scraping," or using reviews from other websites, for its own products, the sources said.

And it is also expected to allow customers who use its advertising network to be able to export data on the effectiveness of those ad campaigns, the sources said.

Google and the FTC are also expected to reach an agreement on when the company can request sales bans when filing patent infringement lawsuits.

The company is expected to agree to strict conditions when filing these lawsuits if the patent in question has been determined to be essential to a standard, the sources said.

The European Commission, which is also probing Google on the issue of search fairness, is expected to announce a decision next month.

Google's U.S. critics, anticipating disappointment from the FTC, have already said they would take their evidence to the Justice Department to press the antitrust division to take up the case.

(Reporting By Diane Bartz)

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AP source: Blue Jays, Dickey agree; trade close

NEW YORK (AP) — R.A. Dickey and the Blue Jays agreed to a new contract Monday, clearing the way for the New York Mets to trade the NL Cy Young winner to a Toronto team that's spending a lot of money trying to join baseball's elite.

A person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press the trade could be completed once the 38-year-old knuckleballer passes a physical. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because neither team made an announcement.

The Mets would receive top catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud as the centerpiece of the multiplayer swap.

New York also would get catcher John Buck, minor league pitcher Noah Syndergaard and cash. There was speculation Toronto would receive catchers Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas.

Dickey was already signed for $5.25 million next year. The Mets began to look at trade possibilities for the 20-game winner when the sides couldn't agree to extend his deal for two more seasons. Multiple reports say the reworked contract adds two years and $25 million to his existing deal.

The Blue Jays have missed the playoffs since winning their second straight World Series crown in 1993, and have boldly moved to reshape a team that went 73-89 last season in the rugged AL East.

Last month, they acquired a high-priced trio of All-Stars — pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle and former Mets shortstop Jose Reyes — in a 12-player trade with the Miami Marlins.

Toronto then signed free agent outfielder Melky Cabrera, an All-Star outfielder with San Francisco whose season ended when he was suspended 50 games for a positive testosterone test.

Dickey was 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA last season, capping his rapid rise from the majors' scrap heap to an ace pitcher. He did it by perfecting a way to throw his floater faster than previous knuckleballers, and tossing it with exceptional control.

Dickey is set to become part of a stellar rotation that includes Johnson, Buehrle and returning starters Ricky Romero and Brandon Morrow.

Thole would give the Blue Jays a catcher who is familiar with handling Dickey's knuckleball. He'd join a lineup that features former home run champ Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, who hit 42 homers last season.

D'Arnaud turns 24 in February. He hit .333 at Triple-A Las Vegas with 16 homers and 52 RBIs before tearing a knee ligament trying to break up a double play in June, resulting in season-ending surgery. D'Arnaud has been an All-Star at several levels during his climb through the minors.

The Los Angeles Angels and Texas also had been interested in Dickey before the Blue Jays swooped in.

Popular with Mets fans, Dickey perturbed team management when he spoke about his contract situation last week during a club event at Citi Field for children displaced from their schools by Superstorm Sandy.

Dickey said he enjoyed playing for the Mets and added it would be "disappointing" if he went through his option year without a new deal and became a free agent.

"If that's the decision that they make, I feel like it would be unfortunate because it probably is going mean that I'm not going to be back," Dickey said then. "And that would be sad."

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Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan-Tatum expecting baby

NEW YORK (AP) — The Sexiest Man Alive will soon be a sexy dad.

Actor Channing Tatum and his wife Jenna Dewan-Tatum are expecting their first child in 2013, their reps confirm.

The news was first reported by People.com, which named Tatum the Sexiest Man Alive in November.

The couple, who recently co-starred in the film “10 Years,” met on the 2006 dance film “Step Up,” and wed in 2009.

Besides a baby, the new year will be a busy year for the parents-to-be. Tatum has at least four movies in the works while Dewan-Tatum appears on this season of “American Horror Story: Asylum” and has a TV movie called “She Made Them Do It” premiering Dec. 29 on Lifetime.

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Experts: No link between Asperger's, violence

NEW YORK (AP) — While an official has said that the 20-year-old gunman in the Connecticut school shooting had Asperger's syndrome, experts say there is no connection between the disorder and violence.

Asperger's is a mild form of autism often characterized by social awkwardness.

"There really is no clear association between Asperger's and violent behavior," said psychologist Elizabeth Laugeson, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Little is known about Adam Lanza, identified by police as the shooter in the Friday massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school. He fatally shot his mother before going to the school and killing 20 young children, six adults and himself, authorities said.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the unfolding investigation, said Lanza had been diagnosed with Asperger's.

High school classmates and others have described him as bright but painfully shy, anxious and a loner. Those kinds of symptoms are consistent with Asperger's, said psychologist Eric Butter of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, who treats autism, including Asperger's, but has no knowledge of Lanza's case.

Research suggests people with autism do have a higher rate of aggressive behavior — outbursts, shoving or pushing or angry shouting — than the general population, he said.

"But we are not talking about the kind of planned and intentional type of violence we have seen at Newtown," he said in an email.

"These types of tragedies have occurred at the hands of individuals with many different types of personalities and psychological profiles," he added.

Autism is a developmental disorder that can range from mild to severe. Asperger's generally is thought of as a mild form. Both autism and Asperger's can be characterized by poor social skills, repetitive behavior or interests and problems communicating. Unlike classic autism, Asperger's does not typically involve delays in mental development or speech.

Experts say those with autism and related disorders are sometimes diagnosed with other mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"I think it's far more likely that what happened may have more to do with some other kind of mental health condition like depression or anxiety rather than Asperger's," Laugeson said.

She said those with Asperger's tend to focus on rules and be very law-abiding.

"There's something more to this," she said. "We just don't know what that is yet."

After much debate, the term Asperger's is being dropped from the diagnostic manual used by the nation's psychiatrists. In changes approved earlier this month, Asperger's will be incorporated under the umbrella term "autism spectrum disorder" for all the ranges of autism.

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AP Writer Matt Apuzzo contributed to this report.

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Online:

Asperger's information: http://1.usa.gov/3tGSp5

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School shooting compels entertainment changes

NEW YORK (AP) — The Connecticut school shooting rampage compelled Hollywood to air disclaimers before violent television shows, swap some programs for others, cancel film openings and present somber specials on daytime TV shows that are usually more focused on entertainment.

The responses came in addition to news specials on Friday's killing of 27 people, most of them school children, in Newtown, Conn., by a gunman who later took his own life.

Showtime gave its viewers a special warning Sunday before the season finales of the thriller series "Homeland," and "Dexter," a series about a serial killer.

"In light of the tragedy that has occurred in Connecticut, the following program contains images that may be disturbing," said the disclaimer before both programs.

Another cable network, HBO, postponed airings of the 2012 crime thriller "Contraband" over the weekend. The film with Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale was replaced by airings of "Crazy, Stupid Love" and the remake of "Arthur," the network said.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York canceled Monday's screening of Tom Cruise's violent new movie, "Jack Reacher," that was to include a conversation with the actor. A scheduled premiere of the movie in Pittsburgh had also been postponed over the weekend.

The TLC network postponed a Dec. 27 special, "Best Funeral Ever," about a colorful Dallas funeral home. The show, considered a pilot for a potential series, will instead air during the first week of January.

In one of the odder substitutions, NBC pulled a Blake Shelton holiday special at the last minute Friday and replaced it with one starring Michael Buble. That's because the Shelton special had an animated segment about a reindeer killing, which NBC would be removed from any future showings of the special.

It's a ritual for entertainment companies in the wake of national tragedies, noted Chris Ender, CBS entertainment spokesman: The network's series and promos are all looked at carefully with an eye toward whether any of them could be considered insensitive with the news still fresh in mind. CBS has made no changes other than doing two prime-time news specials, he said.

Fox on Sunday night replaced new episodes of its animated comedies "Family Guy" and "American Dad" with repeats amid worries they could be seen the wrong way. The "American Dad" episode featured a demon who punished naughty children at Christmas.

Several daytime talk shows, including "Katie," ''Dr. Oz," ''Dr. Phil," and "The Doctors," responded with shows Monday that were dedicated to Friday's shootings. That's unusual for these shows, which are usually taped much further in advance.

Katie Couric's show featured interviews with two families that had lost children in the shootings. In one interview, Couric asked the sobbing brother of one child killed, "Is there something you want people to know about your little brother?"

News reporters had been criticized in the immediate aftermath of the coverage for interviewing children who had been in the Newtown school during the shooting.

Both Couric and "Dr. Oz" featured interviews with spiritual leader Joel Osteen.

Talk show host Phil Graham, in addition to devoting his own program on the shooting, also appeared in Monday's episode of "The Doctors."

"Doctor's orders: Hug your family a little bit tighter today," said Travis Stork of "The Doctors."

"The View" invited ABC News' Chris Cuomo and forensic psychiatrist Michael Welner to talk about the incident. One of the show's co-hosts, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, asked Welner with tears in her eyes, "How can this happen?"

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Associated Press writer Nicole Evatt contributed to this report.

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Reyes goes craft with Windy City deal

Independent breweries are still a niche category in the marketplace, but interest in them continues to grow.

Reyes Beverage Group, a division of global food and beer distributor Reyes Holdings of Rosemont, said Sunday it has reached an agreement to purchase Windy City Distribution, a well-regarded distributor of craft beers.

Brothers Jim and Jason Ebel founded Windy City in 1999. The firm operates as a distributor across eight northern Illinois counties for more than 40 craft breweries, such as Tyranena, Lagunitas and Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales. The Ebels also are the brewers behind Warrenville-based Two Brothers beer.

The deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year, is yet another sign of the coming-of-age of the craft beer scene, which is now much more part of the mainstream beer industry. In 2012, 442 craft breweries opened, according to the Beer Institute. The Brewers Association, a trade association, said sales of craft brews increased 14 percent in the first half of 2012 and volume jumped 12 percent.

While the beer industry overall has shown limited growth, the explosive interest in craft beer is enticing giants such as Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser, and MillerCoors, both of which have struggled to enter the craft market on their own. Since acquiring Chicago's Goose Island in 2011, Anheuser-Busch has aggressively expanded that well-known label. Earlier this year, it revealed plans to increase Goose Island's distribution to all 50 states, making it one of the few craft brands with a true national footprint.

Reyes' Chicago Beverage Systems and Windy City will not integrate their operations. Windy City's president, Bob Collins, and his management team will join Reyes. Chicago Beverage Systems distributes Miller, Coors and Heineken brands, among others.

"Windy City Distributing will be a new entity in our network focused solely on the craft beer market," said Ray Guerin, chief operating officer of Reyes Beverage Group. "I look forward to working with Windy City to learn more about servicing the craft beer industry while providing Reyes Beverage Group's expertise to help Windy City expand."

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Both companies are privately held.

mmharris@tribune.com

Twitter @chiconfidential

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Gunman's school rampage may have been stopped short

CBS 2's Lou Young reports.

NEWTOWN, Conn.—

The gunman in the Connecticut shooting rampage was carrying an arsenal of hundreds of rounds of especially deadly ammunition — enough to kill just about every student in the school if given enough time, authorities said Sunday, raising the specter that the bloodbath could have been far worse.

Adam Lanza shot himself in the head just as he heard police drawing near to the classroom where he was slaughtering helpless children, but he had more ammunition at the ready in the form of multiple, high-capacity clips each capable of holding 30 bullets.

The disclosure on Sunday sent chills throughout this picturesque New England community as families sought to comfort each other during church services and vigils devoted to impossible questions like that of a 6-year-old girl who asked her mother: "The little children, are they with the angels?"

With so much grieving left to do, many of Newtown's 27,000 people wondered whether life could ever return to normal. And as the workweek was set to begin, parents pondered whether to send their own children back to school.

Gov. Dannel Malloy said the shooter decided to kill himself when he heard police closing in about 10 minutes into the attack.

"We surmise that it was during the second classroom episode that he heard responders coming and apparently at that decided to take his own life," Malloy said on ABC's "This Week."

Authorities said they found multiple 30-round magazines and hundreds of unused bullets at the school, which enrolled about 670 students.

"There was a lot of ammo, a lot of clips," said state police Lt. Paul Vance. "Certainly a lot of lives were potentially saved."

The chief medical examiner said the ammunition was the type designed to break up inside a victim's body and inflict the maximum amount of damage, tearing apart bone and tissue.

Newtown officials couldn't say whether Sandy Hook Elementary School, where the shooter killed 20 children and six adults, would ever reopen.

"We're just now getting ready to talk to our son about who was killed," said Robert Licata, the father of a boy who was at the school during the shooting but escaped harm. "He's not even there yet."

Jim Agostine, superintendent of schools in nearby Monroe, said plans were being made for students from Sandy Hook to attend classes in his town this week.

The road ahead for Newtown was clouded with grief.

"I feel like we have to get back to normal, but I don't know if there is normal anymore," said Kim Camputo, mother of two children, ages 5 and 10, who attend a different school. "I'll definitely be dropping them off and picking them up myself for a while."

Also Sunday, a Connecticut official said the gunman's mother was found dead in her pajamas in bed, shot four times in the head with a .22 caliber rifle. The killer then went to the school with guns he took from his mother, got inside by breaking a window and began blasting his way through the building.

As President Barack Obama prepared to visit later Sunday and churches opened their doors, federal agents checked out dozens of gun stores and shooting ranges across Connecticut, chasing leads they hoped would cast light on Lanza's life.

Malloy offered no possible motive for the shooting, and police have found no letters or diaries that could shed light on it.

School officials were discussing how to send survivors back to class, but Newtown police Lt. George Sinko said he "would find it very difficult" for students to return to the school. But, he added: "We want to keep these kids together. They need to support each other."

Jennifer Waters, who at 6 is the same age as many of the dead but attends another school, came to Mass at Saint Rose of Lima Roman Catholic church with lots of questions.

"The little children — are they with the angels?" she asked her mother.

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