So it comes down to this: Donny Osmond, Kelly Osbourne and Mya. The showman, the Cinderella, and the … person who is a much better dancer than either the showman or the Cinderella.

Neither Donny Osmond nor Kelly Osbourne is a poor dancer, but neither of them touches the natural ability that Mya has shown in her performances with Dmitry Chaplin. Moreover, Mya has never had a single dance in which she performed poorly — something that can’t be said of either Donny or Kelly.

Each of the three final couples — Mya and Dmitry, Donny and Kym Johnson, and Kelly and Louis van Amstel — performed three dances Monday night, and the combination of their scores from those dances will be combined with viewer votes and a final set of judges’ scores for a performance on Tuesday night’s finale in order to crown the winner. It looked from the beginning like it was destined to come down to the most skilled dancer versus the most popular one.

Kelly and Louis went first with an Argentine tango. As performed, the dance wasn’t perfect, but Kelly’s footwork was sharp and her natural flair for acting gave it drama, despite the fact that the Argentine tango tends to look a little small, in that it occurs in a tight space without moving much across the floor. Carrie Ann Inaba said saw the “intimacy” she was hoping for, and the judges awarded Kelly and Louis two 9s and an 8 — not an especially high score for the finals, but a great score for Kelly in a tango.

Mya and Dmitry took on the paso doble. Their performance, to a very oddly speeded-up version of “We Will Rock You,” looked rushed in places, but also featured some very high-energy stomping. The judges fell entirely and predictably in love with it and gave it yet another perfect 30 — Mya and Dmitry’s third of the season.

Donny and Kym tripped all over their clothes last week, so they were looking to get back on track with this week’s cha-cha-cha. While their performance was sound and Donny sold it, it looked like a lot of it was not taking place at a particularly high level of difficulty. There was one small mistake, which led to Donny’s receiving three 9s, putting him a whisker ahead of Kelly — and both of them behind Mya.

The second round was a “Megamix Challenge,” in which all three couples performed the same choreography side by side, the better to compare them directly. The judges were not charged with giving each couple a score, but with putting the three couples in rank order.

The Megamix included segments of Viennese waltz, samba and jive. Aside from the fact that Kelly looked frazzled during the closing jive section, they all danced largely as they often do, with no obvious departures from the pattern. In a repeat of the scores they gave in the first round, the judges scored Mya and Dmitry first, Donny and Kym second, and Kelly and Louis third. That netted Mya 30 points, Donny 28, and Kelly 26, which stretched Mya’s lead and spread out Kelly and Donny a little more.

And then there was the freestyle
The third round was the one that tends to be the least predictable: the freestyle. Kelly and Louis chose “I Will Survive.” Louis came up with a bag of tricks, some of which rather terrified Kelly, but she vowed to try whatever he asked her to. Kelly clearly loved the dance, and when they performed it, even after one of the lifts went awry and she fell right on the floor, she continued beaming. For once, she didn’t let herself get rattled, and in a way, that was emblematic of what she’s accomplished. The judges, however, couldn’t ignore the mistakes — what Len Goodman called “worrying incidents” — and Kelly walked away with three 8s, which will make it hard for her to win without a massive infusion of fan support.

Mya told Dmitry she wanted to “take a risk” in her freestyle, and she chafed a little at Dmitry’s suggestion of a happy, upbeat number from “Hairspray.” What ultimately emerged was a dance that was a lot of fun to watch, but wasn’t quite spectacular enough to fully stress how much more technically proficient she is than the other finalist. In fact, her dance was probably not significantly more difficult than Kelly’s, though it was faster and she performed it without making mistakes. The judges responded with rare disappointment, but even that disappointment netted her three 9s and extended her lead over Kelly.

Donny stressed during rehearsals with Kym that he just wants to beat his sister Marie’s showing a couple of seasons ago. He and Kym performed a glitzy Broadway number that put Donny in tails, offered 100 percent what Len always calls “razzmatazz,” and played up every showbiz cliché Donny has at his disposal. Len called the routine a “show-stopper,” and all the judges were so thrilled by it (though again, it wasn’t high in technical difficulty) that Donny’s three 10s were a surprise to no one.

So here is where we stand: Mya is two points ahead of Donny, and Donny is nine points ahead of Kelly. In all likelihood, Kelly is too far behind to catch up, so the race is between Donny and Mya. And in the end, because Mya didn’t get any significant distance from him in judges’ scoring, it will probably come down to fan voting.

As fine of a dancer as Mya is, none of her dances on Monday night was the kind of exciting, motivating performance that really drives people to pick up the phone. We know, on the other hand, that Donny has been saved by the fervency of his fans. So who’s going to win? Bet on Donny Osmond.

Series finale shows new reality as parents go their separate ways

Viewers saw the fighting get more intense between Kate and Jon Gosselin around the time the “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ episode aired showing them renewing their vows in Hawaii.

“I feel like it’s been taken from us, from me and the kids.” Kate Gosselin was talking about “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” the TV series that ended this week after five seasons due to the disagreements between Jon and Kate. The hour mixed direct-to-camera, separate interviews with Kate (“The kids are already missing [the show]”) and Jon (“I became more educated about myself… I felt like I was free [after the separation]”).

The last edition followed its now-usual format: separate activities with each parent. Kate took the kids to an organic farm where cows were milked. Jon organized a lemonade stand to raise money for the local fire department. In a repulsive moment that typified why this series had to end, the older kids, twins Mady and Cara, started bickering and complaining as they worked on signs for the lemonade stand. One of them whined, “I like stuff we do with Mommy.” Jon, as though stung by this, immediately snapped, “Alright, you’re gonna go into the house. Both of you… You’re unappreciative.” Only the sextuplets were allowed to go to the firehouse and sell lemonade. The punishment didn’t fit the crime.

At one point, the fireman raised a truck ladder high into the sky and we heard one of those comments that used to make “Jon & Kate” such a pleasure. As the ladder rose, one of the kids chirped to a fireman, “You’re gonna hurt the birds!”

Many of you have asked why I continued to write about this show week after week. First, let’s be honest: It’s partly because so many of you wanted to talk about it in the Comments section. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the Gosselins inspired a lot of response.

But there’s another reason. I started watching the show during its first season. I was just a casual viewer; the series didn’t have a season pass on my DVR. But if I was home or in a hotel room and an episode came on, I’d find that I’d always end up watching the entire thing, because the series was (hard as this is to believe now) completely charming. I remember most of the episodes they showed this last night in a quick montage, whether it was family movie-night, or the clan’s once-annual walk to the local Fourth of July parade, the little ones waddling along behind Jon and Kate like ducklings. The kids were adorable and funny, and the interactions between Jon and Kate seemed unguarded, fresh, often amusing, and sometimes provocative.

Provocative because Kate’s strict rules about order, discipline, cleanliness, and healthy nutrition sometimes smacked into Jon’s more laid-back, what-did-I-get-myself-into attitude. But the yelling and the bickering was always the exception, not the rule.

I would guess that the majority of those of you who’ve written negative comments about “Jon & Kate” here only started watching less than a year ago, after the episode in which Jon and Kate renewed their marriage vows in Hawaii. You’d probably read something that was just starting to emerge on-camera: The fighting was more intense, it was bitter. It was reality TV that wasn’t a goof or a lark; these weren’t (yet) wealthy celebrities; these weren’t zonked-out, pampered pop stars, or spoiled-brat L.A. or Manhattan twerps. These were suburban parents trying to come to terms with the dissolution of their union and their sudden fame as tabloid figures.

Each day at five, staff members of the Humane Society of Elkhart County close the animal shelter and hold a meeting. And each day, like clockwork, they begin hearing a “thump, thump, thump” from outside.

That is the sound of pets being abandoned by owners who either do not want them or cannot care for them anymore.

Among the recent arrivals left in “drop boxes” — kennels that are accessible through doors on the outside of the facility — are Sweet Pea, a Chihuahua being nursed back to health from near starvation, a cocker spaniel named Cookie and a “family” of three pets left together — a dog, a cat and rat.

These animals add to the usual traffic of strays, rabid raccoons and animals rescued from abuse. When the drop boxes are full, the Humane Society finds pets tied up at the door, or — as was the case with a domesticated ferret — running around in the parking lot. Recently a whole litter of kittens was left in the Humane Society dumpster.

With as many as 600 or 700 animals arriving each month — sometimes 30 animals in a single day — the facility, which has space for only 266, is in crisis mode.

‘Unsavory position’
The numbers are “staggering” and resources are stretched, said Ann Reel, the Humane Society of Elkhart County’s executive director.

“Since the economy has been like this, even rescuers have been down,” she said, referring to nonprofits that provide temporary homes until animals can be adopted. “(Now) we’re in the unsavory position of having to euthanize because we just can’t turn animals around fast enough.”

The Humane Society staff believes the poor economy is behind the high rate of abandonment — forcing people to give up pets when they run out of money to feed them or lose their homes and move into apartments or in with relatives. It’s impossible to know for sure because many people drop off their pets anonymously in the drop boxes and don’t fill out the forms that would help the Humane Society staff understand the animal’s health background and breeding. Since October 2008, the shelter has handled 5,783 animals, 42 percent of which were abandoned anonymously.

“For the most part, people just cram the animal in the door, get in their car and speed away as fast as possible,” said Reel. “Occasionally we have someone walk through the front door and say ‘I’ve been laid off my job, we’re moving into an apartment, we can’t find anyone to take them,’ and do it responsibly.”

Looming cuts?
The number of cats dropped off is especially high, perhaps because people have been reluctant to spend money to spay or neuter their cats under current economic conditions.

The Humane Society is struggling to meet the increased demand. Its budget for free spaying and neutering of cats was shot by April. The pet assistance program, which provides free pet food to help owners who are struggling financially, had 444 requests this year, about two-thirds of them first-time requests. This program is important because it keeps pets with their owners, avoiding unnecessary abandonment.

Meanwhile, Reel brought in a fatigue specialist to work with the staff of 16.

“We are overwhelmed in trying to decide who stays and who will have to be eliminated,” she said, referring to animals that have to be euthanized. “It takes a toll on our staff. It is not a pleasant job. “

The staff also  grapple with a year caring for and cleaning up after all these creatures — many which are in terrible condition by the time they are dropped off, with severe such maladies as ringworm, fleas and mange. That requires careful handling, and a lot of bleach to prevent the spread of disease.

When people ask Reel, “How can I help?” she tells them to “adopt, donate or send bleach.”

Up to 23 journalists are believed to be among victims of Philippines attack

MANILA, Philippines - Two southern provinces were placed under emergency rule Tuesday as Filipino security forces unearthed more bodies from one of the worst incidents of election violence in the nation’s history, pushing the death toll to 46.

Police and soldiers found 22 bodies in a hillside mass grave Tuesday, adding to the 24 bullet-riddled bodies recovered near the scene of Monday’s massacre in Maguindanao province, said Chief Superintendent Josefino Cataluna of the Central Mindanao region.

This southern region of the Philippines is wracked by violent political rivalries, in addition to a long-running Islamic insurgency, but the killings have shocked this Southeast Asian nation. One adviser to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has described the massacre as the worst in the country’s recent history. A media rights watchdog also says that it appears to be the world’s worst mass killing of journalists, with as many as 23 feared dead.

Pregnant woman killed
The gubernatorial candidate, Ismael Mangudadatu, who was not a part of the convoy, accused a powerful political rival from the Amputuan clan of being behind the slayings. There is a longstanding bitterness between the two families.

Mangudadatu’s wife, Genalyn, and his two sisters, were among the dead.

The bodies found in the grave, about six feet deep, were dumped on top of one another. They included a pregnant woman. Grieving relatives helped identify their loved ones before they were given the bodies, covered by banana leaves, for burial.

Officials were still trying to determine the exact number of people intercepted by the gunmen and whether any had survived. Authorities have said the convoy comprised about 40 people, but Cataluna said at least five other people were still missing.

Arroyo declared an emergency in the provinces of Maguindanao and nearby Sultan Kudarat, allowing security forces to conduct random searches and set up checkpoints to pursue the gunmen.

Arroyo said she ordered police and the military “to conduct immediate, relentless pursuit against the perpetrators to secure the affected areas.”

The emergency will remain in place until the president is confident that law and order have been restored in the region, her spokesman Cerge Remonde said.

‘Largest single massacre of journalists ever’
Police and Joy Sonza, head of a small private TV station, UNTV, identified at least three journalists among the dead.

Noynoy Espina, vice chairman of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, said at least 20 other journalists were believed to be among those killed, based on reports from union chapters in the area.

If confirmed, it would be the “largest single massacre of journalists ever,” according to Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.

The government stressed that it would go after the culprits, regardless of where the investigation leads.

“No one will be untouchable,” Remonde told reporters, calling Monday’s killings “unconscionable.”

National police chief Jesus Verzosa relieved Maguindanao’s provincial police chief and three other officers of their duties and confined them to camp while they are investigated. One of the police officers was reported to have been seen in the company of the gunmen and pro-government militiamen who stopped the convoy, police said.

Fierce rivalry
Mangudadatu said Tuesday that four witnesses had told him the convoy was stopped by gunmen loyal to Andal Ampatuan Jr., a town mayor belonging to a powerful clan and his family’s fierce political rival.

He refused to name the witnesses or offer other details.

“It was really planned because they had already dug a huge hole (for the bodies),” Mangudadatu said.

The Ampatuans could not be reached for comment.

The region, among the nation’s poorest and awash with weapons, has been intermittently ruled by the Ampatuan family since 2001. It is allied with Arroyo.

Arroyo’s political adviser Gabriel Claudio said he was meeting with Zaldy Ampatuan, governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, where Maguindanao province is located, to try to mediate in the long-running rivalry between the the Ampatuans and the Mangudadatus.

He said the most important thing was to ensure there was no more violence.

“There has to be swift and decisive justice,” Claudio said.

Philippine elections are particularly violent in the south because of the presence of armed groups, including Muslim rebels fighting for self-rule in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation, and political warlords who maintain private armies.

The last elections in 2007 were considered peaceful, even though about 130 people were killed.

The decades-long Muslim insurgency has killed about 120,000 people since the 1970s.

Julkipli Wadi, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of the Philippines, said he doubted the national government’s resolve in trimming the powers of political dynasties like the Ampatuans because they deliver votes during elections.

“Because of the absence of viable political institutions, powerful men are taking over,” he said. “Big political forces and personalities in the national government are sustaining the warlords, especially during election time, because they rely on big families for their votes.”

Even some green groups now see power source as ‘part of the answer’

Three energy firms are in the running for a $27.8 billion expansion of the Temelin power plant in the Czech Republic. From China to Brazil, 53 plants are now under construction worldwide.

LONDON - Nuclear power — long considered environmentally hazardous — is emerging as perhaps the world’s most unlikely weapon against climate change, with the backing of even some green activists who once campaigned against it.

It has been 13 years since the last new nuclear power plant opened in the United States. But around the world, nations under pressure to reduce the production of climate-warming gases are turning to low-emission nuclear energy as never before. The Obama administration and leading Democrats, in an effort to win greater support for climate change legislation, are eyeing federal tax incentives and loan guarantees to fund a new crop of nuclear power plants across the United States that could eventually help drive down carbon emissions.

From China to Brazil, 53 plants are now under construction worldwide, with Poland, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia seeking to build their first reactors, according to global watchdog groups and industry associations. The number of plants being built is double the total of just five years ago.

Rather than deride the emphasis on nuclear power, some environmentalists are embracing it. Stephen Tindale typifies the shift.

When a brigade of Greenpeace activists stormed a nuclear power plant on the shores of the North Sea a few years ago, scrawling “danger” on its reactor, Tindale was their commander. Then head of the group’s British office, he remembers, he stood outside the plant just east of London telling TV crews all the reasons “why nuclear power was evil.”

‘Greater evil’
The construction of nuclear plants was banned in Britain for years after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in what was then the Soviet Union. But now the British are weighing the idea of new nuclear plants as part of the battle against climate change, and Tindale is among several environmentalists who are backing the plan.

“It really is a question about the greater evil — nuclear waste or climate change,” Tindale said. “But there is no contest anymore. Climate change is the bigger threat, and nuclear is part of the answer.”

A number of roadblocks may yet stall nuclear’s comeback — in particular, its expense. Two next-generation plants under construction in Finland and France are billions of dollars over budget and seriously behind schedule, raising longer-term questions about the feasibility of new plants without major government support. Costs may be so high that energy companies find financing hard to secure even with government backing.

But experts also point to a host of improvements in nuclear technology since the Chernobyl accident and the partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania in 1979. Most notable is an 80 percent drop in industrial accidents at the world’s 436 nuclear plants since the late 1980s, according to the World Association of Nuclear Operators.

So far at least, the start of what many are calling “a new nuclear age” is unfolding with only muted opposition — nothing like the protests and plant invasions that helped define the green movement in the United States and Europe during the 1960s and 1970s.