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The lead American negotiator in talks over a long-term security agreement with Afghanistan has privately warned the Obama administration that its efforts to persuade President Hamid Karzai to sign the document on the U.S. timetable are likely to fail.

There has been a sharp increase in the suicide rate among the youngest male veterans, and a smaller but still significant jump among women who served in the military.

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved and sent to the Senate floor four civilian nominations yesterday: Jessica Wright to be undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness; Jo Ann Rooney to be undersecretary of the Navy; Jamie Morin to be director of cost assessment and program evaluation; and Frank Klotz to be undersecretary of energy for nuclear security.

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The Air Force's newest and most senior leader will hold a service-wide, online town hall meeting today at 3:30 p.m. EST, addressing issues relevant to today's airmen.

Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James will answer questions from airmen at the Pentagon, and also speak to her goals and priorities as the service's 23rd secretary.

You can live stream the town hall at www.af.mil/live.aspx, and a recording will be posted on www.af.mil for those who are not able to watch live.

James was formally sworn in Dec. 20 in the Pentagon, making her the second female in Air Force history to serve in the role.

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The U.S. Air Force says one of its Pave Hawk helicopters has crashed in eastern England, killing the four crew members.

Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Abu Sufian bin Qumu is suspected to have played a role in the 2012 Benghazi attack. 

Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army general who led U.S. forces through some of the most deadly years of the Iraq war, says he opposes sending U.S. combat troops in response to the recent gains in that country by Islamic militants.

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Every Tuesday, "Check This Out" recommends movies available at your friendly local library. So you can satisfy your next film fix at the place with the books.

Before all the salad dressing and philanthropy, Paul Newman didn't always play the nicest of guys onscreen. Early in his long career, he seemed to favor unlikable characters, roles that contrasted sharply with his all-American good looks and screwed with audience expectations. Two of Newman's most iconic parts - as "Fast" Eddie Felson in The Hustler and Hud in Hud - I happened to find sitting almost next door to each other on a shelf in the library, and make sense as neighbors given their common skill at being glorious bastards.

The Hustler starts with Newman as just that - a pool shark who cheats amateurs out of their money by feigning inexperience. His constant boyish grin disarms his victims and us, for only about five minutes. But Eddie's grin fades quickly when up against the bemused smirk of fellow pool prodigy Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). When he (s)mooches his way into the life of Sarah (Piper Laurie), a lonely alcoholic, we eventually see Eddie in a darker light, that of the selfish con man who has a disturbing addiction to losing (in) everything, including love. If some night you find yourself in the mood for a beautifully shot black and white downer with a love-to-hate rogue as your hero, The Hustler will do it.

At least Eddie finds some salvation in the final scene; Hud, on the other hand, stays bitter until the bitter end. With a Texas accent that Newman manages to make sound both lyrical and harsh, like blowing cigarette smoke on a flower, his cowboy has no qualms with bedding as many married women in town as he can, while from his lips always is heard a discouraging word for his impressionable teenage nephew Lonnie and salt of the earth father.

You keep expecting a catharsis from Hud when he finally succeeds in pushing away for good the only family he has, but sadly it never comes. He simply closes the door in our faces in the film's last shot and retreats into an empty house. It's an astonishing lack of remorse and refusal from a protagonist to change by the end of his tale, which must make Hud a must-see.

Before you get too excited, let's just get this out of the way: no, The Legend of Hercules is not the Kevin Sorbo comeback vehicle we've all been waiting for.

Instead, this is a $70mil action-adventure picture that looks appallingly cheap. It makes old YouTube clips of Xena: Warrior Princess look like Avatar. It makes the recent, baffling 47 Ronin look like a Terrence Malick film. The special effects chosen to be put on display - in the thing that's supposed to make you want to see the movie - look about as elegant as that old flying toasters screensaver from the '90s.

Luckily, we've got one hell of a beefcake around to carry this quickly approaching flop on his broad shoulders. That beefcake? Some guy named Kellan Lutz (from the Twilight movies, evidently) who, tellingly, is never shown uttering one single line of dialogue. One assumes this is because the very idea of that meathead face forming a syllable is too much for modern audiences to take. Seeing him speak would be like those old-timey audiences ducking at the sight of that on-coming movie train.

Even in the movie mass grave that is January, this is an astonishingly shabby-looking product, including many scenes designed to rip off and gain credibility from 300. Never have I more yearned for Zack Snyder's involvement in a film. Instead, at the helm, we have Renny Harlin (The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, The Long Kiss Godnight, Deep Blue Sea), that purveyor of batshit action movies that defy classification and confound critical thought.

I think it's safe to say that The Legend of Hercules is destined to be a box office bomb (much like Harlin's own Cutthroat Island, which was long classified as the biggest box office flop of all time) because, I mean, had you heard of it before just now?

But I kind of hope that it finds its audience with bad movie connoisseurs on home video. 'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished, for a movie that looks this terrible.

See Also

A Nerd Alert has been issued for the South Sound

TUESDAY, JAN. 7 2014 >>>

1. The Broken Circle Breakdown tackles a very true-to-life story in a very true-to-life way, largely shying away from any of the cinematic tropes so common to this kind of tale, save for a few fleeting moments which serve as welcome respites from the film's uncompromising realism. This is a film that totally immerses you in its story from the very beginning and leaves you absolutely emotionally drained by the final curtain. It plays today at 2 and 6:30 p.m. in The Grand Cinema. Read Jared Lovrak's review of the flick here.

2. Karen Litfin embarked on a journey to many of the world's ecovillages - intentional communities at the cutting-edge of sustainable living. From rural to urban, high tech to low tech, spiritual to secular, she discovered an under-the-radar global movement making positive and radical changes from the ground up. She documented her discoveries in her book, Ecovillages: Lessons for Sustainable Community. Hear her adventures first hand at 7 p.m. in Orca Books.

3. Guitarist Randy Linder brings his Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute show to The Red Wind Casino at 6:30 p.m.

4. Quick! Tell us who played Violet Bickerstaff, Screech's love interest, on three episodes of the television show Saved by the Bell? If you said "Tori Spelling," then going to a trivia night might be for you. There are trivia competitions all around the South Sound on a Tuesday night, where you can unleash your inner Ken Jennings. And while you won't approach Jennings-like earnings, you can win some cool stuff, ranging from gift certificates, to concert or sports tickets, to a VHS copy of All of Me, the film starring Lily Tomlin and Steve Martin. Sweet! One of the newer Tuesday trivia contests is the 6:30 p.m. free on at Treos in Old Town Tacoma. Tonight's categories include man movies, chick flicks and American automobiles. 

5. OK, when you take a shower you make a bucket with your arms to catch as much water as you can and splash it all onto the shower floor, but did you ever think the Kareem Kandi Band would perform on a Tuesday night? It's true. The jazz band will perform at 8 p.m. in Uncle Thurms Finger Licken Ribs & Chicken in Tacoma's Lincoln District. Well, cool ...

LINK: Tuesday, Jan. 7 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area

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Republicans slammed the White House yesterday over the resurgence of al Qaeda in Iraq, calling on the administration to do more to help the Iraqis push back against the affiliate groups.

The top enlisted sailor aboard the USS Germantown has been temporarily relieved in the wake of allegations of sexual assault made by a crewmember.

The Defense Department announced the rotational deployment of the U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st U.S. Cavalry Division from Fort Hood, Texas to Camps Hovey and Stanley, Republic of Korea, will go down Feb. 1.?This combined arms battalion, comprised of approximately 800 soldiers and its own wheeled and tracked vehicles, will deploy to conduct operations in support of U.S. Forces Korea and Eighth Army.

The fight to control Iraq's biggest province, Anbar, has intensified, with air attacks by the military killing dozens of people and the army preparing an assault on a city controlled by al-Qaeda linked fighters.

Civil war lingers in Iraq and al Qaeda's comeback in Anbar province raises new questions about whether the U.S. should have left troops there.

The images of al-Qaeda militants surging back into cities that were secured at an enormous sacrifice has chilled Americans who fought in Iraq.

Former Army Spc. Chance Darby was reunited at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl with the Advanced Combat Helmet that saved his life in Afghanistan, he said the headgear had successfully stopped an enemy rifle bullet, but left him with two big headaches.

The Army's rapid fielding of network systems to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan led to vastly improved communications capabilities on the battlefield - but also increased network complexity.

U.S. Army conducting joint study to improve bone health in military personnel.

What was learned from the five-part Beyonce documentary.

Albert Camus: Hot.

Star Wars-styles 3D hologram phone on the market in five years, it could.

Rolling Stone hosts the new Bruce Springsteen album for streaming.

See Nirvana dedicate a song to River Phoenix in this rare concert footage.

Siri dissess the movie Her.

Smellcome to Manhood ...

JAN. 9-11: MATT BRAUNGER AT THE TACOMA COMEDY CLUB

One of the pleasures and pains of being nerdy about pop culture is that you will inevitably watch as certain people and things you love grow in popularity and visibility. Frequently, and unfortunately, the nerd will respond by then boycotting what he or she once loved ("I was there in the beginning, before they were a total sellout!" the nerd will yell, like John Lithgow telling Harry that he doesn't love him any more).

Personally, I'm always happy to see success come to things of which I'm a fan. Matt Braunger is a comedian I've been following for a while. With a boisterous and animated style reminiscent of Brian Regan, Braunger has been receiving a lot of attention for the past couple years, culminating in the release of his 2012 Comedy Central special, Shovel Fighter.

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Defense officials see cyberattacks as the greatest threat to U.S. national security, according to a survey released today.

Iraq's prime minister Nouri al-Maliki urges residents and tribes of Fallujah to "expel" al-Qaida militants from this western city to avoid an all-out battle - remarks that may signal an imminent military move to retake the former insurgent stronghold.

Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States is ready to help Iraq in any way possible as that country began a major offensive to wrest control of two cities from Al Qaeda-linked militants. But he made it clear that no American troops would be sent.

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The Department of Defense announced yesterday the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Sgt. Jacob M. Hess, 22, of Spokane, Wash., died Jan. 1, 2014, while supporting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Hess was assigned to Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 26, Marine Aircraft Group 26, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The commission that could trigger historic changes to military pay and benefits system was granted an extension and will not conclude its work until February 2015, which means the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission is not likely to influence this year's budget negotiations and decision-making on Capitol Hill and at the Pentagon.

The 14th annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl will be played Saturday in San Antonio, and the festivities include Army soldier mentors battling in a Dream Challenge.

The U.S. is pulling more personnel from the U.S. embassy in Juba, South Sudan, as the security situation there continues to deteriorate. Two KC-130J aircraft assigned to the Marine Corps' crisis-response force have responded.

An Air Force report says a mechanical malfunction that started in a fuel leak caused the crash of an Ellsworth Air Force Base B-1B bomber during a training exercise in August over southeastern Montana.

The military has been unwilling to spend the time training their troops to use pain rays and stun grenades, even for situations where they hypothetically could help.

Futurist David Brin uses pattern recognition to suggest that the 21st century really begins now, in 2014.

Geoffrey Ingersoll of Business Insider shares "31 Phrases that Only People in the Military Will Understand," including the fun "Mandofun" - short for "mandatory fun."

The Wolf of Wall Street appears to have set a record for the most uses of the f-word in a single film.

Truth is stranger than fiction: A Florida man who won a raffle to watch the series finale of Breaking Bad with the cast has been charged with running a drug distribution operation.

Here comes the duck soldiers...