Perfect performances in finale give former pop star win over favored Mya

After about an hour and 52 minutes of filler, host Tom Bergeron began by announcing the third-place couple, which was, to the surprise of no one, Kelly Osbourne and Louis van Amstel. The crowd booed lustily, but Kelly took it gracefully.

And then it was time to reveal the champion. Would it be Donny Osmond or Mya? Crowd appeal or technical skill? The winners were … Donny and Kym. The lesson? Crowds love Donny Osmond. Leave it up to them, and they will reliably pick a familiar ham over the best dancer.

An estimated 19.2 million people watched the season 9 finale — the smallest audience for the show’s finale since the first season. The Nielsen Co. said Wednesday ratings have been down all season for the show, an indication that viewers weren’t as attached to the contestants as they had in the past.

Donny inches closer: Each of the finalists repeated one of the season’s dances. Kelly repeated her Viennese waltz from the very first week, Mya repeated her jive and Donny repeated his Argentine tango. Rather than score each dance, the judges ranked the couples, giving 30 points for first place, 28 for second place, and 26 for third place. For the second night in a row, Kelly finished in third place, but this time, Donny finished ahead of Mya — placing those two in a tie in overall judges’ scores and guaranteeing it would come down to fan votes. Right then, Donny should have smelled victory.

Big name: The “special musical guest” was Whitney Houston. Her voice is not the peerless instrument it was perhaps 15 years ago, but she demonstrated that she’s still a solid performer. The first number was a song from her new album, but the second reached all the way back — “I Wanna To Dance With Somebody,” serving a little nostalgia to the eager crowd.

A festival of filler segments: There is never any shortage of fluff in a two-hour finale in which almost nothing happens. The Losers’ Club, made up of those eliminated first, welcomed this year’s inductee: Ashley Hamilton. (Remember him?) Hamilton was roasted by loser Jeffrey Ross, then performed briefly and painfully with his former partner. In other news of returning bad dancers, Adam Carolla did a segment in which he played the “mean coach” trying to get a victory for a man this time.

There were, of course, lengthy looks back at the events of past weeks, from Tom DeLay’s broken feet to Aaron Carter’s crying jag, and the past contestants all returned with varying degrees of success — including DeLay, who finally got his shot at the Texas Two-Step. Nothing was too goofy for those who were back: Donny even crooned his big hit “Puppy Love” for the dance of Chelsie Hightower and Louie Vito. Michael Irvin’s return meant a dance-off with former contestant (and fellow NFL star) Jerry Rice, in which Michael emerged victorious.

What used to be a quick holiday trip home now stretches to a week or more

CHICAGO - Airports big and small will be packed on Wednesday, just as they are every year on the day before Thanksgiving.

But the long lines and frayed nerves actually started last week, as many penny-pinching travelers booked earlier, and less expensive, flights.

As a result, what used to be a quick holiday trip home is now stretching to a week or more.

I took my boys out of school for a couple days because it was so much cheaper,” said Peggy Edwards, who flew into New York last Friday from Atlanta with her two sons, and figured she saved at least $100 on each fare by flying earlier.

“That’s why we decided to make a week of it, to get our money’s worth,” she added.

Executives at several major airlines said they noticed the shift this year, with the crush starting several days earlier than usual.

And the airlines, because of the way they set airfares at peak times, gave deal-seeking travelers plenty of reasons to hunt for cheaper alternatives to flying right before the holiday.

Rick Seaney, the chief executive of FareCompare.com, a travel Web site, said passengers could have saved up to half off airfares this week by flying the Friday before Thanksgiving and returning the Monday after.

‘Worried about their jobs’
Mr. Seaney said the poor economy prompted many travelers to seek the lowest fares, even if it meant adjusting their travel dates.

“Everybody’s looking at every dime,” Mr. Seaney said. “They’re all worried about their jobs.”

Two years ago, before the recession, budget-conscious travelers were willing to spend up to $375 round trip to fly home. This year, Mr. Seaney said, many people balked at anything more than $240.

Many people are indeed staying home, or driving. Air travel is expected to fall 6.7 percent this holiday from last year, according to AAA, the travel group, which predicts 2.3 million people will fly this week.

The airport crowds late last week surprised many travelers.

“It was mobbed today,” said Linda Moxley, who decided to save money by flying with her family into New York last Friday from her home near Atlanta.

“Big surprise,” she added. “Very crowded.”

Authorities struggle to turn militants into trusted government agents

SHINKAY, Afghanistan - A battered taxi sped up a dusty road toward a squad of Afghan soldiers searching for bombs planted in the dirt. Army gunmen who had fanned out for protection readied for a suicide attacker. The car screeched to a halt.

The soldiers recognized a local Taliban fighter in the passenger seat and pointed their guns at him when they saw he was armed.

“Relax guys,” said Rahimullah, the Taliban fighter. He nervously stepped out of the taxi, holding his Kalashnikov rifle by the barrel to show he didn’t intend to shoot.

“Can’t you see it’s a new Kalashnikov?” said Rahimullah, who like many Afghans goes by one name. “It’s from the government: I’ve changed sides.”

The soldiers grabbed the weapon for a closer look. It was, indeed, newly issued. Rahimullah said he’d received it for leaving the insurgency to become a police officer.

No proof he changed sides
But the scruffy 22-year-old still wore an insurgent’s typical uniform: a white gown, ragged camouflage jacket and black bandanna that soldiers recognized from when they battled his faction in the Tagab valley a few weeks earlier. He had no identification on him or proof he had changed sides.

The tense encounter, fraught with risks for both the soldiers and Rahimullah, illustrates the challenges facing NATO and Afghan authorities as they try to turn former enemies into trusted government agents.

Officials say a key measure is peeling off small-time local fighters from extremist militants. But securing these shifting loyalties is tricky. Hundreds of police and some soldiers are known to have switched back once they were trained and armed. In October, a policeman opened fire on the British troops training him, killing five. Last year, police officers turned against American soldiers in two separate incidents, killing and wounding several.

The soldiers were stunned to see Rahimullah casually come up the road in broad daylight, claiming to be with the government. Rahimullah claimed he was heading to Kabul, the capital some 50 miles to the west, where officials had promised him a police uniform and card.

“We’ve got to be very careful with these people, we never know,” said Capt. Abdul Hashem, the Afghan army officer commanding the mine clearance team that stopped Rahimullah last week. Hashem made a round of calls on his cell phone to check the turncoat’s story.

Hashem reluctantly gave Rahimullah back his gun when senior officers confirmed the farmer belonged to a Taliban faction whose commander was now slated to become the local police chief.

Fallout with other Taliban chiefs
The commander, Sayyed Ahmed, had fallen out with other Taliban chiefs in Tagab valley, where NATO officers estimate some 300 militants operate. His group of about 30 men was cornered by Afghan soldiers, who said they killed about a dozen during a clash in September. Ahmed called it quits and offered his services, they said.

“We have proof of his loyalty,” said Capt. Romaric, a French mentoring officer living with a handful of men at an Afghan combat outpost on Tagab valley’s front line next to Shinkay village, where Rahimullah lived.

Romaric, who gave only his first name because of French army field rules, said he and Afghan officers had confirmed that senior Taliban leaders were now after Ahmed and his men.

“They’ve called from Pakistan to say they assigned a suicide bomber to finish him,” he said.

Swiss adventurer, who was carried by a home-made wing, plunges into sea

Swiss Yves Rossy in the water off Tangiers after ditching at sea after trying to fly from North Africa to Europe using a jet-powered wing attached to his back.

ATLANTERRA, Spain - A Swiss adventurer went down in the Atlantic on Wednesday while trying to fly from Morocco to Spain with jet-powered wings strapped to his back. A rescue helicopter pulled him from the water and he appeared unhurt.

Yves Rossy took off from Tangiers but five minutes into an expected 15-minute flight he was obliged to ditch into the wind-swept waters.

“The good news is that he fine,” Stuart Sterzel, spokesman for sponsors Webtel.mobi, told reporters on a beach outside this southern Spanish town, where Rossy was supposed to land.

“He gave the thumbs-up sign through the door of the helicopter,” said Sterzel.

Sterzel said the wing malfunctioned, possibly due to engine failure, but said Rossy had deployed his parachute and landed in the water in a controlled fashion.

Rossy was flown to a hospital in the southern city of Jerez for a precautionary checkup.

Sterzel said a full rescue rehearsal with Rossy in the water had been carried out Tuesday and the team had been fully prepared.

He said Rossy would probably attempt the crossing again in the new year.

Homemade wing
The Spanish coast guard was expected to retrieve the wing and the parachute from the sea.

Rossy, a 50-year-old former fighter pilot, had attempted the feat wearing a homemade wing spanning 8 feet and powered by four kerosene-fueled jet engines.

A small plane took him to an altitude of 6,500 feet, Rossy then jumped out and began his flight.

His endeavor had been billed as the first intercontinental crossing by man using jet-powered wings — over the North Atlantic between Africa and Europe.

Rossy provided the first public demonstration of his homemade aircraft in May 2008, doing figure eights over the Alps before touching down near the eastern shore of Lake Geneva.

He flew across the English Channel in September last year, going from Calais, France, to Dover, England.

This time the weather was of particular concern because Rossy had to fly over the spot where the Atlantic flows into the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar. This makes for high winds that can suddenly change direction, or blow in two directions at once at different altitudes, organizers said.

“We are very proud of him,” said Sterzel. “We are extremely satisfied with his attempt but if something is easy it’s not a challenge.”

Obama to take goal of 17 percent emissions cut to Copenhagen talks

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will attend the U.N. climate summit next month in Denmark, taking with him a target to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent by 2020, the White House said Wednesday.

The pledge will not be part of a binding international treaty — the hopes for which have been dashed by the lack of a climate law coming out of Congress — but it will mimic the cuts passed by the House earlier this year. The Senate is still debating climate legislation.

“This provisional target” of 17 percent “is in line with current legislation in both chambers of Congress and demonstrates a significant contribution to a problem that the U.S. has neglected for too long,” the White House said in a statement.

The president will attend the summit on Dec. 9 before heading to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize.

Obama’s negotiating position for the talks in Copenhagen has been hampered by slow progress on a climate bill in the Senate.

The House bill sets a 17 percent reduction target for emissions by 2020 from 2005 levels. A Senate version aims for a 20 percent cut.

The European Union is pressing for more aggressive cuts and has pledged a 20 percent drop in its emissions compared to 1990 levels.

Template, not treaty expected
The conference had originally been intended to produce a new global climate change treaty on limiting emissions of greenhouse gases that would replace the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. However, hopes for a legally binding agreement have dimmed lately, with leaders saying the summit is more likely to produce a template for future action to cut emissions blamed for global warming.

While Obama himself tried to tamp down expectations during his eight-day trip to Asia earlier this month, he also called on world leaders to come to an agreement that has “immediate operational effect” and is not just a political declaration.

Administration officials said earlier this week that the U.S. would present a target for reducing carbon dioxide emissions at the summit.

The development came as the European Union urged the United States and China to deliver greenhouse gas emissions targets at the summit, saying their delays were hindering global efforts to curb climate change.

The administration has indicated for nearly a year that it would eventually come up with specific targets for quick reductions in pollution that causes global warming, as part of international negotiations. Those targets will soon be made public, officials said.