Angelina Jolie tops USA TODAY's Heat Index for 2010

By Lorena Blas and Mary Cadden, USA TODAY

What do Angelina Jolie, Kim Kardashian, Brad Pitt and Kendra Wilkinson have in common?

Not too much, except they're among the most media-exposed stars in 2010, USA TODAY's Celebrity Heat Index shows.

A review of the Heat Index, which measures media exposure, shows that the leading 2010 newsmakers in celebrity news magazines and on websites remain Hollywood A-listers, except for a few reality TV personalities.

MORE: Stars drenched in drama topped the list

INDEX: Top-ranking celebs

Is there a danger that reality TV regulars will overtake talented stars in the celeb magazine world? No, says Samir Husni, director of the Magazine Innovation Center at the University of Mississippi. Hollywood A-listers are likely going to dominate the tabloids "because celebrities sell more magazines (due to the fantasy aspect) than reality TV figures or just reality!"

For example, Husni notes that Angelina Jolie, who ranks No. 1 for the year, remains a popular cover subject because "she is beautiful, rich, famous, a mother, an ambassador of goodwill, hardworking, fun and is (with) Brad Pitt." He adds, "What else do you want in a fantasy woman?"

Celebrity Heat Index

Top 10 stars for 2010

1. Angelina Jolie 5,007 The actress, U.N. goodwill ambassador and mom becomes a quadruple threat, adding director duties to her résumé.

2. Sandra Bullock3,670 What a roller-coaster ride for the actress, who begins the year high by winning awards only to face painful lows thanks to her now-ex husband's philandering/sex scandal. The finalization of the adoption of baby Louis is the highlight.

3. Brad Pitt 3,443 Between film productions, he had a busy year of eco-goodwill and daddy duty.

4. Kim Kardashian 3,343 Body, bikinis and boyfriends: That pretty much sums up her year in headlines.

5. Jennifer Aniston3,237The actress' personal life continues to trump her professional.

6. Kourtney Kardashian 2,709 She and fiancé Scott Disick mark their son's first year with a lot of tabloid drama.

7. Robert Pattinson2,064 He has spent 2010 working hard on film projects and dodging interest in his relationship with Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart.

8. Kendra Wilkinson 1,858 She makes the top 10, but it's a challenge to discern why. Is it the NFL husband, the Playboy cover or the baby?

9. Lindsay Lohan1,828 The troubled star has spent the past year in trouble, in jail and in rehab.

10. Kristen Stewart 1,761 The actress has supposedly become engaged, wed and been impregnated by her Twilight co-star and rumored boyfriend Robert Pattinson. Have the tabloids confused facts with fiction?

kendra wilkinson, mary cadden, kim kardashian, goodwill ambassador, baby louis, roller coaster ride, angelina jolie, tv personalities, fantasy woman, usa today, sex scandal, innovation center, talented stars, director duties, university of mississippi, r 233, kourtney, woman celebrity, fianc, news magazines
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Usatoday.com

Sunderland refuse to give up on signing Aston Villa's Stewart Downing

Sunderland refuse to give up on signing Aston Villa's Stewart Downing

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is setting his sights on the Aston Villa and England winger Stewart Downing.

Target man: Steve Bruce would happily buy Stewart Downing but Aston Villa would be reluctant to let the winger go Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Rob Stewart and Sandy Macaskill 11:00PM GMT 30 Dec 2010

Sunderland will bide their time for Downing but with owner Ellis Short expected to hand over around £12 million in the summer Bruce will use his entire transfer kitty to try to prise away the former Middlesbrough player from Villa Park.

A left-winger of Downing’s calibre has been Bruce’s top priority from the day he took the reins at the Stadium of Light. He went into the transfer market 12 months ago thinking he had Downing’s former Riverside understudy, Adam Johnson, in the bag only for the Sunderland-born player to succumb to Manchester City’s charms.

Since then Bruce has been constantly linked with Charles N’Zogbia.

Downing, 26, has been in impressive form for Villa this season despite his club’s travails and is their top scorer with six goals. While there is no suggestion he is unsettled at a club he only joined 18 months ago, Bruce is closely monitoring the situation at Villa.

Villa would be expected to resist any approach for the player. “We are at a stage where if I am going to get £10-12 million I would spend it on one player,” Bruce said. “We have the nucleus of a good young team. There is no point in bringing in a £2 million player any more.”

Paulo Da Silva, the Paraguay international, will be leaving Sunderland. Da Silva is heading back to Mexico, from where he arrived 18 months ago, Sunderland having accepted a £1.5 million bid from Cruz Azul.

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qtdz
Telegraph.co.uk

Cultural Group with interesting hats at the Mount Hagen Festival

Cultural Group with interesting hats at the Mount Hagen Festival

They are maybe from the coastal area of PNG

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Papua New GuineaMount HagenMount Hagen FestivalPapuaCultureSing Sing

mount hagen, cultural group, coastal area, hats
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Flickr.com

Huli Papai Spirit Man with Mystical Meteorite

Huli Papai Spirit Man with Mystical Meteorite

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Huli

Papua new guinea

spirit man, new guinea
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Flickr.com

Nah-kev-ho-eyea-zim

Nah-kev-ho-eyea-zim

I was going to post a Chirstmas theme picture, but at this point I think we are all have a Christmas hangover of sorts.

This is a Native American art piece outside the Denver Art Museum. The red sculptures represent ten tree forms arranged in a circular shape that is fifty feet in diameter. The trees are aligned to the summer solstice—on June 21, the sun rises in an opening to the east between the first and last trees.

Each tree addresses a specific theme, from conflict over resources to global cooperation among indigenous peoples. And the expression "Each tree addresses a specific theme, from conflict over resources to global cooperation among indigenous peoples. The Indian expression, "nah-kev-ho-eyea-zim" means “We are always returning back home again.”

Who knew?

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denver

colorado

art

museum

indian

clouds

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summer

history

grass

hdr

high

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red

sculptures

matt

santomarco

photography

urban

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mile

artsy

geometric

trees

qtdz
Flickr.com

Bomb Explodes at Athens Court

ATHENS—A powerful bomb exploded here early Thursday outside a court building in a central district of the capital, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.

According to police sources, the blast occurred at 8:20 am local time at the Court of First Instance, located in the residential Ambelokipi district of the city.

The blast was preceded by a warning telephone call to a newspaper and local television station, allowing authorities time to evacuate nearby buildings.

The explosion could be heard for several kilometers in each direction, causing extensive property damage and blowing out windows across the facade of the court building.

Local media reported that the bomb was located on a motorcycle parked outside the building.

View Full Image

European Pressphoto Agency

Firefighters try to extinguish fire from a car parked in front of a court in Athens, which was completely destroyed by a bomb explosion.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack comes after a wave of bomb blasts by Greece's various, shadowy urban-guerilla groups in the past two years. It also follows a series of Greek police raids earlier this month that uncovered weapons caches believed to have belonged to one of those groups, Rebel Sect, as well as a string of parcel-bomb attacks in early November by another group, Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei.

More than a dozen suspected members of the Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei group are due to go on trial in January for their role in the parcel bombings.

Earlier this month, an Italian anarchist group, Informal Anarchist Federation, claimed responsibility for a recent spate of parcel-bomb attacks in Rome, saying it was acting in solidarity with its Greek counterparts.

informal anarchist federation, rebel sect, bomb blasts, italian anarchist, guerilla groups, bomb explosion, anarchist group, parcel bomb, local television station, urban guerilla, court of first instance, weapons caches, bomb attacks, greek police, extensive property, nearby buildings, police raids, police sources, early november, spate
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Online.wsj.com

Grim

Grim

Manukau Harbour, Auckland, NZ.

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Auckland

NZ

New Zealand

December 2010

summer

Nikon D90

Nikkor 16-85VR

Manukau Harbour

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Flickr.com