Report: Queen of pop given royal treatment on Virgin Atlantic flight

(CNN) -- Like a virgin? Try liked by Virgin.

Madonna and her entourage were let off a Virgin Atlantic plane that was stuck on a snowy tarmac two hours before any of the other passengers, according to London's Daily Mail.

The flight from New York was originally destined for London's Heathrow Airport but instead landed at Stansted Airport due to bad weather, where the plane sat for about three hours, said the Daily Mail.

"As the plane was diverted to Stansted due to very difficult weather conditions, disembarkation was delayed while ground staff waited for buses to transport customers back to London Heathrow," said a statement from Virgin Atlantic. "We apologize for any inconvenience this diversion caused, but for safety reasons this action was unavoidable".

According to other first-class passengers, Madonna and her associates were let off the plane first and were taken by bus to the terminal, said the story.

Virgin said in their statement, "It is common across airlines that business and first-class passengers disembark first and this is reflected in the higher cost of the ticket".

Still, no other first-class passengers were allowed off the flight for another two hours, though they were reportedly treated to a performance from the Queen of Pop herself, passengers told the Daily Mail -- a yoga performance in the aisles, that is. CNN

UK coalition vows to stand firm on cuts

(FT.com) -- The Liberal Democrat minister behind Britain's austerity program has vowed that the coalition will "stand firm" in implementing its £81bn of cuts next year, facing down political opponents and threats of a "battle" with trade unions.

Danny Alexander, Treasury chief secretary, said on Monday that there was no alternative plan and the coalition would resist pressure to spend more money next year to lessen the pain of the cuts.

"The plan is right," he told the Financial Times. "The government is absolutely going to stick to it. People should be in no doubt at all.

"The most important thing is for the government to see the plan through. That's what is going to establish confidence in the economy and the credibility we need going forward".

Alexander's comments came as David Cameron met trade union leaders for a "mince pies and coffee" summit in Downing Street, the unions' first official meeting with a Tory prime minister for 25 years.

Brendan Barber, Trades Union Congress general secretary, claimed the cuts would be "socially divisive and economically dangerous", while Len McCluskey, the new leader of Unite, has urged trade unions to prepare "for battle".

Meanwhile, Labour is demanding that the coalition scales back the cuts, and even Sir Gus O'Donnell, Britain's most senior civil servant, has privately called on the Treasury to put emergency stimulus measures on standby. CNN

Twitter: Pacman to fight "Sugar" Shane Mosley next?

The worst secret in boxing is out of the bag: "Sugar" Shane Mosley is the most likely opponent for Manny Pacquiao's next fight.

The 39 year old American boxer used Twitter to announce that discussions between the two camps are at an advanced stage, with confirmation expected in the next 24 hours.

"Just excited about the fight with Pac [Manny Pacquiao]. I know you're going to be there," he tweeted to former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.

"The ink hasn't dried yet but it's pretty much a go".

Speculation has mounted over who would fight the Filipino eight division world title holder in May, 2011 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with Juan Manuel Marquez mooted as another possible opponent. CNN

Judge allows Twitter into English, Welsh courtrooms

(CNN) -- In a nod to the digital age, a British judge ruled Monday that reporters may send messages to microblogging site Twitter from courts in England and Wales.

"The use of an unobtrusive, hand-held, virtually silent piece of modern equipment for the purposes of simultaneous reporting of proceedings to the outside world as they unfold in court is generally unlikely to interfere with the proper administration of justice," Lord Chief Justice Igor Judge said in a decision published online.

Judge said media personnel may seek permission to use Twitter in the courtroom on a case-by-case basis.

"When considering, either on its own motion, or following a formal application or informal request, whether to permit live text-based communications, and if so by whom, the paramount question will be whether the application may interfere with the proper administration of Justice," the justice wrote.

Cameras and recording equipment remain banned in courtrooms, leaving Twitter as the only source of live coverage during court proceedings in England and Wales.

"The most obvious purpose of permitting the use of live, text-based communications would be to enable the media to produce fair and accurate reports of the proceedings," Lord Chief Justice said.

The interim ruling comes after reporters covering the trial of WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, this month received two contradictory decisions.

On December 14 during Assange's bail hearing, The Times' correspondent Alexi Mostrous tweeted, "judge just gave me explicit permission to tweet proceedings "if it's quiet and doesn't disturb anything". #wikileaks".

Two days later, a judge banned the use of Twitter in the courtroom. Guardian reporter Esther Addley stepped out of the court to live blog the judge's rulings.

"I recognize the calls for debate ... the issue involving Twitter may involve the potential for disruption to the atmosphere of the court, which one might call its dignity," Addley quoted the judge as saying. CNN

U.N. Security Council extends peacekeepers' time in Ivory Coast

United Nations (CNN) -- The United Nations Security Council on Monday extended its peacekeepers' mission in Ivory Coast through June 30, despite an expulsion order days earlier by the West African nation's disputed incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo.

The peacekeepers' mission had been scheduled to end December 31.

The U.N. Security Council joined several other world bodies in calling for Gbagbo to step down after a contested election, with many world leaders saying Alassane Ouattara won the November runoff.

On Monday, the Obama administration joined that international chorus.

"The results are clear, and it's time for him to go," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said of Gbagbo.

Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Monday that she was aware of reports of Gbagbo hiring mercenaries but couldn't confirm them.

"If they are confirmed, they would be of grave concern not only to the United States, but to the entire Security Council," Rice said.

A U.N. spokesman said Monday that "any attack on peacekeepers will be held accountable".

In a statement Saturday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, "the international community has spoken with one voice regarding Mr. Gbagbo's attempt to hold on to power," noting statements also from the African Union and Economic Community of West African States.

Yet Gbagbo has remained defiant, and earlier Saturday he ordered all U.N. peacekeeping forces out of the country.

Ban responded by saying the peacekeepers will remain to "monitor and document any human rights violations, incitement to hatred and violence, or attacks on U.N. peacekeepers".

Two U.N. military observers were hurt Saturday in an attack by what Ban called "Young Patriots," according to the statement issued by the secretary-general.

On Friday, six armed men wearing military uniforms and traveling in a civilian vehicle opened fire on U.N. peacekeepers in Sebroko, according to a statement Saturday on the peacekeeping operation's website. The U.N. troops returned fire. There were no reports of injuries. CNN

Economy squeezes armies worldwide: Jane's

LONDON, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The economic situation is forcing militaries around the world to cut back, Jane's Defence Weekly reports in its annual year-end survey.

Ambitious procurement projects are being scrapped and modernization programs postponed. Many countries will be unable even to maintain current weaponry levels, the report said.

In Britain, drastic cuts recommended in the Strategic Defense and Security Review will spell "nothing less than a substantial degrading of the nation's ability to act upon the world stage," Jane's said. The Royal Navy is mothballing or selling one of two carriers it ordered, and maritime reconnaissance aircraft will be canceled before they can even enter service.

Not all nations are reducing arms spending, however. In Asia, North Korea's aggressive moves and China's expansion are leading neighbors to boost their forces.

With the United States officially ending Iraq combat operations, the Afghan war was the world's largest active armed conflict in 2010.

The Pentagon is undergoing a major budget overhaul after Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced an initiative to streamline spending and transfer funding from overhead to war-fighting. Gates is looking for $100 billion in savings over the next five years.

Whole units like the Joint Forces Command, which is charged with developing operating concepts, have been recommended for abolition.

Meanwhile, financial pressures forced the U.S. Navy to largely scale back its goal of a 313-ship fleet.

In the fiscal year 2011 budget, it is recommending a 30-year shipbuilding plan averaging $15.9 billion a year. The fleet would meet the 313-ship target between 2020 and 2026 but then fall to 288 vessels in 2032.

In Europe, Germany, Spain, Norway and the Czech Republic are joining Britain in various cutbacks, and NATO's Lisbon summit focused on cost savings.

NATO is reducing the number of headquarters in its command structure from 11 to seven, and personnel from more than 13,000 to 8,950. Russia is boosting cooperation with the alliance on both missile defense and Afghanistan.

With conflict zones from Israel-Palestine to Korea, Jane's termed Asia "the world's most eventful region".

India improved its ties with the United States in 2010 but saw relations with Pakistan and China deteriorate. And it faces persistent internal security crises from a widespread Maoist insurgency and a renewed campaign of resistance in Kashmir.

As for China, "a territorial row with Japan, obstruction over North Korea and saber-rattling over its 'sovereignty' of the East China and South China seas saw the Communist Party's carefully choreographed narrative of 'peaceful rise' take a series of hits to its credibility," Jane's said. UPI

2 children found dead in Edmonton

EDMONTON, Alberta, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- A man was in custody Monday, the day after two children who were under government supervision were found dead in an Edmonton, Alberta, home, police said.

The names of the young boy and girl and the 31-year-old man, who had non-life threatening injuries, were not being released pending autopsies on the children, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Edmonton police found the children's bodies after being called to a townhouse at 11:30 p.m. Sunday to check on the welfare of its occupants, the CBC said.

The Edmonton Sun reported a Children and Youth Services spokesman said the children were "under our care" when they were killed.

"It is very sad, a tragedy," Sam Tarabain, a neighbor, said.

"They have not been here long. My children have not played with them".

Another neighbor, Patricia Antony, said the family had seemed peculiar, the newspaper said.

"They never used the front door and covered the windows, I've never seen them," Antony said.

"This is the first time something like this has happened. We have had small things but never a situation like this". UPI

U.S., Mexico announce water agreement

MEXICO CITY, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The governments of the United States and Mexico have announced an agreement to ensure water gets to areas devastated by an Easter Sunday earthquake.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Mexican Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada said the agreement would adjust water deliveries from the Colorado River to areas damaged by the April 4 earthquake in Mexicali, an Interior Department release said Monday.

They also announced a commitment to initiate, in January, high-priority discussions between the two governments on a comprehensive long-term agreement on the management of the Colorado River.

"Through this water agreement, the United States, Mexico and the seven Colorado River Basin states are bringing resources together for our mutual benefit and for the benefit of our neighbors whose irrigation systems and livelihoods have been damaged by the Easter Sunday earthquake," Salazar said after meetings in Mexico City.

The agreement "is a remarkable achievement from a humanitarian perspective, but it also lays important groundwork for a much-needed comprehensive water agreement with Mexico on how we manage the Colorado River," he said. UPI

Assange claims death threats by GIs

LONDON, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Julian Assange in England says he is getting death threats from American soldiers and his appearance after his release was cut short for his safety.

In an interview with Spain's El Pais from the mansion where he is under house arrest, the WikiLeaks founder said, "I receive death threats all the time. My lawyer receives them, my son receives them. Most of them seem to come from members of the United States armed forces".

Assange's son Daniel, 20, who works for a software design company, is believed to be in hiding in Australia.

Assange said, "I feel very determined. I have seen that we received support on a global scale, especially in South America and Australia, and it seems as if everybody everywhere is supporting us".

He said police feared he would be assassinated when he left court after being granted bail Thursday.

Assange said he had been held in a wing of London's Wandsworth Prison housing "people who have been convicted of sexual offenses, child killers. … "There were crazy pedophiles who shouted all night about their crimes".

But said he the guards supported him. One gave him a card reading, "I only have two heroes in this world: Martin Luther King and you," he said. UPI

Severe weather crowds European airports with frustrated passengers

London (CNN) -- Frustrated passengers crammed Europe's major airports Monday as heavy snowfall forced new cancellations and delays for fliers across the continent.

London's Gatwick Airport was closed until Tuesday morning after 5 cm (2 inches) of snow fell in an hour Monday night, airport officials reported. Airport staff was working to make stranded passengers "as comfortable as possible," but it advised other travelers to check before they left for the airport to make sure their flights were still scheduled.

And London's Heathrow Airport, Britain's busiest, only a third of scheduled flights were likely to operate Monday night, according to Donna O'Brien, head of commercial communications for Heathrow Airport operator BAA. Many of those stranded there may not get their Christmas wish of being home for the holidays, she added.

"Passengers should anticipate further delays and cancellations in the following days and potentially beyond Christmas Day," O'Brien said. Airlines are currently updating which flights have been cancelled and the airport is showing the latest available flight information on its website, she said.

British Airways announced earlier Monday it had canceled all short-haul flights from Heathrow, but an airport official told CNN that other carriers' short-haul flights were still operating. Passengers who use the Heathrow Express to travel to and from the airport on Monday are being offered the service free of charge. Tickets normally cost between 16 and 30 pounds ($25 to $46) for single and return trips. CNN

Report: Harmful chemical found in tap water of 31 U.S. cities

Millions of Americans in at least 31 U.S. cities could be drinking tap water contaminated with the harmful chemical hexavalent chromium, according to a report released Monday by the non-profit Environmental Working Group.

While the dangerous carcinogen, otherwise known as chromium-6, may sound foreign to most people, perhaps the name Erin Brockovich will ring a bell.

After chromium-6 was discovered in the water supply of Hinkley, California, Brockovich helped bring about a lawsuit that ultimately ended in 1996 with the utility company, Pacific Gas & Electric, paying more than $330 million in damages.  Norman, Oklahoma; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Riverside, California, top the non-profit organization's list of cities with water supplies contaminated by chromium-6.

The Environmental Protection Agency has classified the toxin as "likely to be carcinogenic to humans" as part of a risk assessment the agency is currently conducting on total chromium. The agency says water utilities are required to test for total chromium levels in the water but not explicitly for chromium-6. Chromium-6 is a natural byproduct of total chromium.

"In order to protect people's health, EPA has had drinking water standards for total chromium, which includes chromium-6," the agency said in a statement to CNN. "When this scientific assessment is finalized in 2011, EPA will carefully review the conclusions and consider all relevant information, including the Environmental Working Group's study, to determine if a new standard needs to be set".

"I was expecting to find hexavalent chromium in some of the cities we checked, but I didn't expect it to be so widespread," said Rebecca Sutton, a senior scientist with the Environmental Working Group and the lead author of the study.

Sutton said there is a well-documented corollary between exposure to chromium-6 and a greater risk of stomach cancer in humans. Additionally, there is ample animal evidence showing a broad risk of gastrointestinal tumors in rats and mice exposed to the toxin, she said.

Worse, skipping tap water in favor of bottled water does not guarantee you'll be protected.

"Bottled water is not necessarily any safer than tap water," said Sutton. "We just don't have any guarantee that hexavalent chromium isn't in that water."

So how can you protect yourself? Sutton says your best bet is buying an effective water filter.

"Getting the water filter is a great way to protect yourself and your family," says Sutton. "It's a step you can take yourself; you don't have to wait for government action".

Samples from the test provided a "one-time snapshot" of water systems that serve 26 million people, the Environmental Working Group said. But the organization said the results show that more federal regulation of the cancer-causing chemical is needed.

The National Toxicology Program has said that chromium-6 in drinking water shows "clear evidence of carcinogenic activity".

California's state environmental agency has proposed capping levels of the chemical in drinking water at 0.06 parts per billion. The Environmental Working Group said 25 of the cities it tested showed exceeded that level.

To conduct its test, the organization said it recruited volunteers in 35 cities to collect tap water samples "from unfiltered taps in homes or in public buildings such as hospitals, libraries and malls," the report said.

Here are the cities

1. Norman, Oklahoma

2. Honolulu, Hawaii

3. Riverside, California

4. Madison, Wisconsin

5. San Jose, California

6. Tallahassee, Florida

7. Omaha, Nebraska

8. Albuquerque, New Mexico

9. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

10. Bend, Oregon

11. Salt Lake City, Utah

12. Ann Arbor, Michigan

13. Atlanta, Georgia

14. Los Angeles, California

15. Bethesda, Maryland

16. Phoenix, Arizona

17. Washington, D.C.

18. Chicago, Illinois

19. Milwaukee, Wisconsin

20. Villanova, Pennsylvania

21. Sacramento, California

22. Louisville, Kentucky

23. Syracuse, New York

24. New Haven, Connecticut

25. Buffalo, New York

26. Las Vegas, Nevada

27. New York, New York

28. Scottsdale, Arizona

29. Miami, Florida

30. Boston, Massachusetts

31. Cincinnati, Ohio

Not detectable: Indianapolis, Indiana; Plano, Texas; Reno, Nevada; San Antonio, Texas

For the levels in these cities, check this graph. CNN