David Magee

He had a year plagued by scandal at News Corp. in 2011, and he was accused of working too hard to avoid public comment. But Rupert Murdoch is starting 2012 off in a different way -- he's opened a Twitter account and apparently isn't afraid to tweet.

ICE February Brent crude futures rose $2.97 to $110.35 a barrel in trading, while U.S. crude futures were up $2.70 to $101.53 a barrel. U.S. crude futures were up as much as $101.68 in the trading day.

The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl 2012 features one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the college game, Stanford's Andrew Luck. He's expected to be the first player taken in the April 2011 NFL draft.

On a warm day in Pasadena, Wisconsin scored first, driving 77 yards in seven plays when Russell Wilson passed complete to Jared Abbrederis for 38 yards and a touchdown.

The Rose Bowl 2012 looks more like a track meet than a football game. With 635 total yards between #5 Oregon and #10 Wisconsin and a new Rose Bowl record for points in a half -- 56 -- the score is tied 28-28.

The 2012 NFL Playoffs are poised to begin -- the field is set and games will start on Jan. 7 with Wild Card matchups culminating with the Super Bowl on Feb. 5 in Indianapolis.

An off-duty state trooper hunting in Massachusetts thought he saw deer. He fired, hitting and wounding a 66-year-old woman who was out walking her dogs instead. He thought the dogs were deer, but in fact they were two retrievers out for a walk with their owner, the woman who was shot and injured.

The media mogul's Twitter handle is rupertmurdoch. And in the first day of tweets he had almost 50,000 followers. He didn't let them down, either, delivering tweets with perspective on the New Year and more. A spokesperson for News International confirmed that the user rupertmurdoch wasn't a fake -- it is really Murdoch.

The 2012 NFL Playoff schedule begins next Saturday, Jan. 7, with AFC and NFC Wild Card games.

Rodman knew that Rick's Cabaret had momentarily launched a topless basketball league with Spud Webb, a former NBA star with the Atlanta Hawks. Currently, Webb is in charge of the NBA Development League team the Texas Legends. But Rodman hopes his topless team -- once he gets it together -- can face Rick's Cabaret's team in a charity game.

The drama happened on New Year's, one day before the big game. Reporters covering the Flyers practice asked Sergei Bobrovsky who was starting in the goal. They were told, It's very confidential. The coach, Peter Laviolette, had planned to announce it today, just before the game. On Sunday, he said there was no decision yet.

The developers of the Apple TV MobileX project have just released a new, longer, more in-depth video explaining a jailbroken Apple TV running iOS apps running at 720p resolution.

The Colts locked up the first pick in April's NFL draft today by losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars 19-13.

Gov. Soria and his wife, Susana, were reportedly in their bedroom early Sunday after spending New Year's Eve at their home in General Roca, according to authorities. Emergency personnel received a call and arrived at the home just before 5 a.m., local media reported. Gov. Soria was found bleeding in bed, yet alive. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 shook Japan off the country's coast on Sunday, the first day of the new year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS said the earthquake struck 495 kilometers (307 miles) south-southwest of Tokyo.

Negotiations between MSG Network and Time Warner Cable didn't yield a last minute result and as the clock struck midnight on New Year's eve a blackout began for MSG and MSG Plus channels on Time Warner Cable in New York City.

Rodman heard that Rick's Cabaret was launching a topless basketball league with Spud Webb, a former NBA star with the Atlanta Hawks. Currently, Webb is in charge of the NBA Development League team the Texas Legends. Rodman hopes his topless team and face Rick's Cabaret's team in a charity game, according to MSNBC.com.

In uploading the video, which has received more than 167,000 views in less than 24 hours, Ray Wilson did as many do in the twenty first century, turning to the Internet and social media when hope fades. There's also a Help Find Haley Faith Wilson page on Facebook that posts information, hopes from well-wishes, and more. The saga has also gained traction on Twitter.

Lohan's rep Honig concurred that Lohan will not be in Dubai, according to TMZ: Lindsay is not going to Dubai, nor had she ever considered doing so. She will be spending New Year's Eve in Los Angeles with a few close friends and family.

As America begins to put its military pieces back together again after the end to a nine-year campaign in Iraq amid threats from Iran that it may close the Strait of Hormuz, the most vital corridor for oil-tanker traffic in the world, the reality is that another conflict may be looming in the Middle East.

The Possum Drop New Year's Eve celebration in Tallapoosa is an annual event for the west Georgia town. Some 4,000 spectators are expected to turn out for this year's possum drop. It's not like the tens of thousands who watch the ball drop in New York, but it's a big event for Tallapoosa.

Somebody in New York had a very lucky day this week, claiming the Mega Millions jackpot worth $206 million. Or maybe that person wasn't so lucky, since they haven't stepped forward yet with the winning ticket.

Among the trends that seems to be gaining momentum heading into 2012 is eating horse meat. It all started over the likelihood that horse slaughter will return to the U.S. early in the next year since Congress changed federal funding to permit horse slaughterhouses in America after a five year ban.

Apple's iPad 3 will be unveiled at iWorld, scheduled for Jan. 26, 2012, according to sources at supply chain partners, the online newspaper reported.

The winning ticket drawn Tuesday night in the Mega Millions lottery, bought at a market in Long Island, New York, was still unclaimed as of Thursday morning.

Called God's Igloo by a German newspaper, the temporary ice church cost $200,000. Villagers wanted to have it completed and open in time for Christmas, but they were hampered by unseasonably warm weather and little snow

Sorenson had championed Bachmann, and had attended an event for her as recent as Wednesday afternoon. Hours later, according to the Des Moines Register, Sorenson appeared at a Ron Paul rally announcing his endorsement. Sorenson was first elected to Iowa's state senate in 2010, in part due to support from Paul. Announcing his Paul endorsement at the rally Wednesday before a crowd estimated at 500, the news was greeted with robust applause.

Video seen of Kim Jong Il's funeral procession on a cold, snowy day in North Korea's capital of Pyohgyang shows that many in North Korea were apparently moved to tears by his death and funeral procession. Some wonder if it was all a fake, however.

Seems it doesn't take much these days to have a hot viral video but a pet that does something funny.. And so goes a video that's hot on YouTube and being shared around the social Web that features a dog wearing Santa pants that runs down the stairs on its front legs.