(Image: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/S.Mineo et al, Optical: NASA/STScI, Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Sparks are flying between these two spiral galaxies as they collide, producing a spectacular x-ray light show about 130 million light years away from Earth. Some of the brightest x-ray bursts from supernova activity ever detected are captured in pink.
The x-ray wavelengths, which were picked up by NASA's Chandra satellite observatory between galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163, indicate the intense rate at which new stars are forming during the galactic encounter. Shockwaves from the collision cause gigantic gas clouds to collapse, which sparks the birth of new stars.
Russian Lawmakers Propose FX Revenue Sales to Halt Ruble’s Drop
Lawmakers from Just Russia, the third-biggest party in parliament, proposed mandatory sales of foreign-currency revenue as the ruble weakened to a record and the economy slows.
The bill would require Russian companies to sell as much as half their foreign earnings within seven working days after they hit their bank accounts, according to a draft submitted by five lawmakers to the State Duma. The central bank would be allowed to set the level at less than the 50 percent maximum.
The Bank of Russia failed to halt the ruble’s slide with an increase of its main interest rate to 10.5 percent yesterday. The currency has lost almost 43 percent against the dollar this year as the conflict in Ukraine and oil trading at a five-year low take their toll on the world’s biggest energy exporter, pushing it toward its first recession since 2009.
The central bank reiterated that it’s against administrative restrictions, especially mandatory sales of foreign-currency revenue, the monetary authority’s press service said in response to an e-mailed request.
Russia is urging exporters such as state-controlled oil producer OAO Rosneft to convert more of their foreign revenue into rubles to ease pressure on the currency. The Finance Ministry proposed the government have its representatives on corporate boards initiate talks on currency-sales policies, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev told reporters in Moscow Dec. 4.
President Vladimir Putin said Nov. 10 at the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chinathat Russia doesn’t plan to impose restrictions on capital flows.
The ruble is the world’s worst performer this year after Ukraine’s hryvnia among more than 170 global markets tracked by Bloomberg. It traded 2 percent weaker at 57.5430 per dollar at 6:30 p.m. in Moscow.
In 2006, the central bank made the ruble fully convertible by scrapping currency controls and easing restrictions on investors. Before then, the regulator required that companies use special accounts and collateral to transfer funds.
“Emergency measures are needed to support the national currency” and reduce the impact of deprecation, such as higher food prices and an increased cost for the same standard of living, according to the bill.
For Related News and Information: Russian Exporter Currency Plan May Signal Capital Controls Medvedev Enlists Russian Companies in Bid to Halt Ruble Drop Russia Central Bank Under Pressure as Rate-Increase Bets Surge
EU could consider new Libya sanctions if it helps talks-diplomats
BRUSSELS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The European Union could consider new sanctions on Libya if U.N. Special Envoy Bernardino Leon thought it would help efforts to end the political crisis there, EU diplomats said on Friday.
The prospect of more sanctions had been raised in EU discussions, but had not been discussed in detail, one diplomat said.
"The question is at what point does it become useful as a tool to incentivise (the Libyan parties). At the point that Leon thinks that it would be useful, there will be a discussion," the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He did not say what type of sanctions could be considered. (Reporting by Adrian Croft; editing by Foo Yun Chee)
Bulgaria’s Credit Rating Cut to Junk by S&P on Banking Weakness
Bulgaria’s sovereign credit rating was cut to junk by Standard & Poor’s, which cited weakness in the banking system that’s prompted government support.
The rating was lowered to BB+ from BBB-, putting the nation on par with Indonesia and French Polynesia. S&P assigned a stable outlook. Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service both rate Bulgaria at investment grade.
“Persistent deflation and an overhang of impaired private sector debt represent future risks to growth, financial stability, and budgetary outcomes,” S&P said in a statement from London. “The stable outlook balances the risks we see from potential vulnerabilities mounting in the financial sector against still-low levels of government indebtedness.”
The economy of the European Union’s poorest country by per-capita output is under pressure after political turmoil caused five government changes in two years and Corporate Commercial Bank AD, the fourth-largest lender, failed in June. Economic growth will slow to 0.8 percent in 2015 from an estimated 1.5 percent this year on low consumption and investment, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov said Dec. 8.
Pope Francis will not meet the exiled Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama because of the "delicate situation" with China, the Vatican says.
The Dalai Lama, who is visiting Rome, had requested a meeting.
A Vatican spokesman said that although the Pope held him "in very high regard", the request had been declined "for obvious reasons".
Correspondents say the Vatican does not want to jeopardise efforts to improve relations with China.
China describes the Dalai Lama as a separatist and reacts angrily when foreign dignitaries meet him.
The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after Chinese troops crushed an attempted uprising in Tibet.
He now advocates a "middle way" with China, seeking autonomy but not independence for Tibet. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
"Pope Francis obviously holds the Dalai Lama in very high regard but he will not be meeting any of the Nobel laureates," a Vatican spokesman said, adding that the pontiff would send a video message to the conference.
The Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989
The Dalai Lama told Italian media that he had approached the Vatican about a meeting but was told it could create inconveniences.
Analysts say the Vatican and China are at odds over control of the Catholic Church in China, which is believed to number about 12 million people.
The Church is divided into an official community, known as the Patriotic Association, which is answerable to the Communist Party, and an underground Church that swears allegiance only to the Pope in Rome.
A serious bone of contention between China and the Vatican is which side should have the final say in the appointment of bishops.
A Vatican official said the decision not to meet the Dalai Lama was "not taken out of fear but to avoid any suffering by those who have already suffered".
The last time the Dalai Lama was granted a papal audience was in 2006 when he met former Pope Benedict XVI.
The Dalai Lama is in Rome for a meeting of Nobel Peace Prize winners. It was initially to be held in South Africa but was relocated to Rome after South Africa refused the Dalai Lama a visa.
Flights disrupted after computer failure at UK control centre
Passengers are facing widespread flight disruption after a computer failure at the UK's air traffic control centre.
Nats said it was in the process of returning to normal operations after a "technical problem" at its Swanwick control centre caused delays and grounded some flights.
Problems were reported around the UK.
The government said the scale of the disruption was "unacceptable" and said it had asked for a "full explanation" of what had gone wrong.
This included delays at Heathrow and Gatwick, where departing flights were grounded for a time. Other UK airports reported knock-on effects.
It comes a year after a telephone glitch at the Hampshire control room caused huge disruption - one of a number of technical hitches to hit the part-privatised Nation Air Traffic Services since the centre opened in 2002.
Reported problems around the country include:
Heathrow: Fifty flights cancelled. Others delayed but planes now landing and taking off
Gatwick: Flights are now departing but still subject to delays
Stansted: Flights still landing, no flights departing
London City: Cancellations and delays
Luton: All flights experiencing delays
Bristol: Limited departures reported
Luton: All flights experiencing delays but planes now leaving
Edinburgh: No queues but passengers being advised to check with their airlines
Glasgow: Some delays to departures
Southampton: Experiencing ''problems''
Oxford: Experiencing "some delays", mainly to services arriving from overseas
Leeds Bradford: All flights out and most flights in suspended until 1900
Birmingham: Some departures are being re-routed to avoid flying through London airspace
East Midlands: Departures and arrivals delayed but passengers advised to turn up as normal
One source told the BBC the problem was caused by a computer glitch that co-ordinates the flights coming into London and puts the flights in sequence as they come into land or take off.
He described it as a "flight planning tool problem".
Travel body Abta encouraged passengers expecting to take a flight to contact their airline.
One source told the BBC the problem was caused by a computer glitch that co-ordinates the flights coming into London and puts the flights in sequence as they come into land or take off.
He described it as a "flight planning tool problem".
Travel body Abta encouraged passengers expecting to take a flight to contact their airline.
Flight-tracking maps show Friday's disruption
Vicky Lane, a passenger on a grounded London to Dublin plane at Gatwick said: "We've been stuck on a Ryanair flight... for over an hour.
"The doors are open and we're really cold. I'm not sure when we will be leaving."
Another passenger, on a flight to Paris, said his plane had "circled around the Lake District for half an hour before turning back to Edinburgh".
Ed Bott told the BBC he was: "Currently sitting on the tarmac. None the wiser. Waiting for news as to what's happening."
The US secretary of state John Kerry will arrive in Lima today to push forward global climate negotiations, taking place in the city.
Mr Kerry is the most senior American official to attend the talks since President Obama went to Copenhagen in 2009 - an event that didn't end particularly well.
The Secretary of State has long been the most engaged American politician on the issue of climate and environment and his attendance at these UN negotiations is being seen as further evidence that the US is determined to make up for the failures of Copenhagen in 2009 and deliver a strong agreement in Paris next year.
For once, the US is not being seen as the Great Satan of CO2.
Thanks to their joint initiative with China, the two countries are taking a bow as leaders of the fight against rising temperatures.
The change in atmosphere could be seen on the poker face of US special climate envoy Todd Stern, who in recent days has been a veritable ray of sunshine.
The way he sees it, the deal that is being negotiated here - and will likely be signed in Paris - is a truly historic event.
"We are trying to do an agreement that is intended to last for decades. This is supposed to be not an agreement that we come back and renegotiate every five years, but an agreement that establishes a stable and durable structure."
Here in Lima, the parties are trying to get the "elements" of a deal together, which essentially means a chunky negotiating text with plenty of options still on the table.
One of the ideas that's getting a lot of attention from environmental activists is the aim to have zero emissions by 2050.
This item is still alive in the draft text and has support from a large number of developing countries. Green groups believe that the politicians are heeding the message from the streets.
"The public call for 100% clean energy has gone mainstream, and finally leaders are starting to respond with ambitious targets," said Iain Keith from Avaaz.
But the idea is not popular with the boys from the black stuff, the countries who make their living from oil and coal.
"The zero-emissions concept - or let's knock fossils fuels out of the picture without clear technology diffusion and solid international cooperation programmes - does not help the process," said Saudi Arabia's chief negotiator in Lima, Khalid Abuleif.
"I do not think this is realistic when two billion people do not have access to energy," he added, a tad sniffily.
While arguments about the long term goal are unlikely to be settled by Mr Kerry, his presence might increase the pressure on the countries that are dragging their heels on their commitments.
India has been noticeably silent on the idea that it might peak its emissions at a specified date in the future.
The Indians are said to be feeling a bit bruised after their great ally, China, seems to have sided with the US.
Perhaps they are waiting for the kind of in-depth love and attention the US lavished on China to get them to move forward?
Don't hold your breath says Mr Stern.
"We don't have that kind of process going on with India," he told reporters.
Another challenge for Mr Kerry will be the need to try and usher some recalcitrant countries to join the party - especially Australia.
The Lucky Country has been vilified here for its stance on climate change.
"Since the Abbott government came in, it has replaced Australia's comprehensive climate legislation with a regime where emissions are now set to increase substantially, against decreasing trends in the US," said Bill Hare, from the Climate Analytics think-tank.
"Many in the government are denying the yeti-scale footprint of climate change impacts being felt by people from one end of the country to the other."
The Australians have surprised many attendees by making a $160m contribution to the Green Climate Fund.
According to foreign minister Julie Bishop, it was part of Australia's "commitment to play our part in the global response to climate change".
But money doesn't seem to buy friends here in Lima. Green groups have given the country their mocking "fossil of the day" award several times during this conference of the parties.
Lima climate talks: Old divisions surface between rich and poor
Climate talks in Lima have entered their final day with long-running issues still dividing the parties, despite an impassioned appeal from US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Mr Kerry told the negotiators that the world was "still on a course leading to tragedy".
An ambitious deal he said was "not an option, it is an urgent necessity".
But ongoing battles are threatening to limit any progress in the Peruvian capital.
Many developed countries want to see a change in the way the nations are classified in the UN process.
Until now, the rich have been obliged to take on commitments to cut emissions while the poor have not.
Countries such as the US say that the old divisions are outdated and they want everyone to take on some form of obligation.
'Red lines'
In his speech, Mr Kerry reinforced this idea. No country should have a "free pass" anymore, he said.
"I know this is difficult for developing nations. We have to remember that today more than half of emissions are coming from developing nations, so it is imperative that they act too."
But this approach is being resisted by a number of countries, including China and many others, who want to adhere to the idea of "common but differentiated responsibilities".
The negotiations were hosted by Lima, the Peruvian capital
Conference runs from 1 to 12 December, attended by 195 countries
Negotiations aim to advance the outline text of an agreement on climate change, to be finalised in Paris by the end of 2015
Progress on approving the text has been slow
Countries are divided over whether developing countries should take on obligations to cut emissions
The talks come amid some of the hottest global average temperatures ever on record.
Some countries are suspicious that the text being developed here in Lima is an attempt to get round the concept of differentiation, which is embedded in 1992's UN framework convention on climate change.
The issue has become critical as the chairs of the talks introduced a new draft text that many felt watered down the original commitment.
A large group of developing nations known as the G77 objected.
"This whole exercise is not meant to rewrite the convention, this is a firm basic position of the G77," said Antonio Marcondes, Brazil's representative at the talks.
"We stand behind the differentiation, we stand behind 'common but differentiated responsibilities', these are issues we hold very strong and these are definite red lines."
Another key battle was over the initial commitments that countries are expected to make by the end of March next year.
Known in the jargon of the UN talks as the "intended nationally determined contributions" or INDCs, rich and poor are still divided over what should be part of this package.
The developed want to restrict them to carbon cuts. The developing want them to include finance for adaptation.
Long night ahead
A further argument is over the idea that there must be some sort of review process before a new deal is signed.
It would essentially be an effort to ratchet up ambition by comparing and contrasting what countries had promised in the run up to Paris.
The idea, called an "ex-ante review", is seen as very important by some, especially the European Union.
But developing countries including India are dead set against it.
They say it is an issue of sovereignty. Outside parties, they argue, should not have the power to review what countries commit to by themselves.
"We favour a transparent presentation of country issues, but we think that an ex-ante review next year would be an unnecessary effort," said Mr Marcondes.
"It would detract from the main goal of reaching Paris with a new agreement."
These divisions are all variants of long-running splits between richer and poorer nations that have existed in the UN talks for 20 years.
The climate debate has often been neutered by the depth of these differences. It had been hoped that the positive signals from the US, China and the European Union before the meeting would help bridge the gaps, but trust is still short on the ground.
The president of the meeting, Manuel Pulgar-Vidal from Peru, urged the parties to move forward as he indicated that through-the-night talks would be needed.
He told delegates they would not "leave Lima with empty hands".
"We can deal with this problem and we can send a strong signal. Don't leave me alone, we can work together. It won't be me that thanks you, it will be the world."
Earlier this week, Mr Pulgar-Vidal had said that he was looking forward to drinking a pisco sour with the delegations at 6pm on Friday when the talks are officially set to close.
Few believe that the deadline will be met.
Mr Pulgar-Vidal may well be sipping his drink alone.
Inherent Vice Review Roundup: Did Critics Like the R-Rated Joaquin Phoenix Stoner Crime Comedy Film?
Joaquin Phoenix and former co-starReese Witherspoon reunite in the racy crime comedy movieInherent Vice, which was released on Friday.
In the film, which is set in 1970 in Los Angeles, the actor sports a sweet set of mutton chops as stoner and private investigator Larry "Doc" Sportello, who takes on a case that may hit a little close to home; He helps his ex-girlfriend (Katherine Waterson) try to locate her married boyfriend (Eric Roberts) who is being targeted by his wife (Serena Scott Thomas). During his investigation, he encounters a slew of different characters, including neo-Nazi bikers, a musician, a drug-addicted dentist and the mysterious group Golden Fang.
Witherspoon, who starred with Phoenix in the 2005 filmWalk the Line, which won her an Oscar, plays a prosecutor who gets close to his character. The cast also includes Benicio del Toro,The Hunger Games'Jena Malone,Josh Brolin,Owen Wilson,Maya Rudolph,Martin ShortandPretty Little Liars'Sasha Pieterse.
Paul Thomas Anderson, who directed films such as Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood and The Master, which starred Phoenix, helmed Inherent Vice and wrote its screenplay, which was adapted from a 2009 novel by Thomas Pynchon.
The movie is rated R for sexual content—including graphic nudity, drug use, explicit language and violence.
Check out what five critics said about Inherent Vice.
1.The Los Angeles Times'Betsy Sharkeysays that "Phoenix and the terrific acting ensemble that joins him in this pot-infused '70s-era beach noir create such a good buzz you can almost get a contact high from watching."
"For all of its darker themes, the movie never loses its wicked sense of humor," she writes, adding, "Indeed,Inherent Viceis Pynchon and Anderson at their funniest, loosest and most accessible. The cast seems to thoroughly enjoy being in on the joke. Maybe it's all the weed."
2.Rolling Stone'sPeter TraversgivesInherent Vice three out of four stars and says the movie "is packed with s--tfaced hilarity, soulful reveries, stylistic ingenuity and smashing performances that keep playing back in your head."
"The actors earn the close attention, most of all Josh Brolin, who gives the film a seismic charge as buzz-cut cop Bigfoot Bjornsen, who does extra work on the TV series Adam-12," he adds."Not only does Brolin get big laughs, he breaks your heart when he finally opens up to Doc about who he really is."
3.Vanity Fair'sRichard LawsonsaysInherent Vicehas "plenty of interesting flourishes, but is too stoned for its own good" and that to him, the movie is "a little too zonked, meandering and overly long, an ultimately pointless story told by a stoned person."
He praises the "fine performances" of del Toro, Brolin and Short and adds that he thinks "the film's women get short shrift."
"Mostly they are stringy-haired beach pixies, or cool hippie chicks, or sprightly sex workers, who act as winking-cool window dressing until their body parts present some narrative function," he writes. "At least Jena Malone makes a funny, sad impression in her one scene as a recovering heroin addict, while Waterston is often captivating in her haunted, dazed murmur," he writes, adding, "In the film's defense, the men don't do all that much either."
4.USA Today'sClaudia PuiggivesInherent Vice two and a half out of four stars and says the movie "will leave viewers dazed and confused."
"The cast members are working at the top of their games, particularly the fully committed Joaquin Phoenix as an ultra-convincing doper, sporting some impressive mutton chops," she writes. "The pulpy story, augmented by a voiceover narration (by Joanna Newsom),goes on too long — two and a half hours — absorbing fever dream tangents in a tangled assortment of detours and overlapping subplots. When contrasted with other Anderson films, Vice's pieces don't mesh as seamlessly. Or even add up to much."
5.The Village Voice'sStephanie Zachareksays that "Inherent Vice is in some ways "indulgent in a way a less respected director would never be able to get away with," adding, "And it's two and a half hours long not because it needs to be, but because it can be."
"But there's some zip to it, and Anderson appears to be reconnecting with the pleasure of directing a large ensemble of actors: Some of them come and go in the plot like casual visitors, kicking their shoes off for a moment and then disappearing for long stretches," she writes. "Inherent Vice is just that kind of movie: an open house for all sorts of weirdos and misfits and gloriously off-kilter savants, the sort of thing Anderson pulls off best."
For the geek in your life, you know you've got to deliver with holiday gifts. They're up-to-speed on everything new in the tech world, so finding them a gift they'll obsess over (and don't already own) is tricky. But don't sweat it; we've got you covered this year.
For the musically inclined tech guru, try these Beats by Dr. Dre headphones in champagne. The reimagined headphones offer up an unparalleled sound experience, plus the sleek new color is limited-edition. Added bonus? Theses headphones will literally be music to their ears.
Here's a gadget gift that all your friends can appreciate: a Jackery Giant iPhone charger. Because everyone has a cell that always seems to die at the worst times. With this little phone helper, your friends anyone will be thanking you for the rest of the year.
Ready for more techie holiday gifts? Check out the gift guide below!
E! News has confirmed that Emma Watson and Matthew Janney have broken up. TheHarry Potter star, 24, and the Oxford University student, 22, were first linked in January after they were seen packing on the PDA in the Caribbean. The private pair were seen rarely after that, though Janney did accompany his then-girlfriend on press trips in Spainand the United States. Things seemed to be going well heading into the fall, as photographers snapped Watson and Janney moving boxes out of the actress' apartment. It was not confirmed at the time if they had moved in together, but that didn't put a stop to speculation.
Per the U.K.'s Daily Mail, the exes broke up in an "amicable" fashion and never cohabitated.
Watson, who diversified her post-Potter acting résumé with roles in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Bling Ring, This Is the End and Noah, is currently filming a political drama,Colonia Dignidad, with Daniel Brühl and Julian Ovenden in Buenos Aires. She also shot a thriller, Regression, co-starring Ethan Hawke, and the actress will soon begin production on the film adaptation of Erika Johansen's best-selling young adult novel, The Queen of Tearling. Earlier this year, the famous Brit was named a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador. In her first major speech, she launched the popular #HeForShe gender equality campaign.
Life isn't so bad for Janney post-split.
The rugby player helped his team defeat the University of Cambridge 43-6 Thursday.
And it's not as if Watson doesn't have her pick of the litter when it comes to men. Earlier this month, the internet practically begged the actress to start dating One Direction'sHarry Styles after the superstars met at the British Fashion Awards. (The 20-year-old pop star gave Watson with the British Style Award.)
Watson has yet to date another celebrity, but maybe she'll make an exception for Styles.
He is, after all, quite charming. Just ask Taylor Swift .
Jimmy Fallon and Dwayne Johnson Ponder the Universe in an Intense Staredown—Watch Now!
If anyone is going to dish out the secrets of the universe, it should be Jimmy Fallon andDwayne Johnson.
The two mentally offer "unwritten laws" that everyone "must obey" while sitting on a snowy mountaintop, and knowing Fallon and The Rock, you know you're in for a treat! Not only are their "laws" mentally stimulating—yeah, right!—they're also definitely original. Kicking off the tete-a-tete was the former wrestler, giving some sage advice just in time for the holiday season.
"If we unda that mistletoe, we've gots to get our freak on," the Fast and Furious star thought out loud.
Clad in brown robes and long black wigs, Fallon and The Rock went back-and-forth with little nuggets of "truth."
"Shhh. Listen closely and you will hear the wind whisper my name, Jessica Collins," mused Fallon while looking around his snowy surroundings.
For about three minutes the comedic duo offered up different adages to their viewers (some you might want to consider and some you might just laugh at), but despite their hilarious words of wisdom, the two somehow maintained a sense of seriousness.
"Rain rain, go away, I'll wet my pants another way," Johnson said.
But perhaps the best moment of all was when Johnson went all meta and called himself out for his well-known reputation.
"I am the pebble. I am the stone. I am the boulder. I am The Rock," he said.
Now that Fallon is a father for the second time, we have to wonder if he'll pass on his intense staredown-isms onto his newborn daughter, Frances Cole Fallon. If not him then maybe Franny's older sister, Winnie Rose!
Ashton Kutcher Is "Terrified" by Two and a Half Men Series Finale...Because It Involves Charlie Sheen?
It wouldn't be the final season of Two and a Half Men without some Charlie Sheenrumors and drama. Current series starAshton Kutcher stopped by The Ellen DeGeneres Show and discussed the upcoming series finale and whether the rumor about Sheen's return (which seems to have been started by the actor himself) was true. When the news originally broke, Warner Bros. TV denied Sheen was in talks to return. But...well...
Ellen DeGeneres asked if they had shot the finale to the 12-year-old sitcom and Kutcher said, "No, we haven't shot it, but I got pitched yesterday what the story is going to be."
It seems the ending as a "clause." "It's uh, I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about it," he said. "But I'm scared...Yeah, I'm a little terrified."
That's when DeGeneres asked the Sheen question.
"Does Charlie come back?"
"No. I'm like, I don't...here's the thing if you're working on the Warner Brothers lot," Kutcher said. "If there's sirens, come save me."
"So, Charlie comes back?" the talk show host pressed.
"I didn't say that," Kutcher said. "I'm not saying that. Did I say that?"
So...Sheen might be back? Is the whole series going to be a dream a la Newhart? Will Jon Cryer wake up next to Molly Ringwald and everything will have been for naught?
Let's recap: Sheen was the star of Two and a Half Men for a while and made a ton of money. Then he started bashing the show and had that infamous implosion. The show was shut down, Sheen was fired and his character was killed and Kutcher replaced him the following season. Sheen went on to talk about "tiger blood" and "winning" and star in Anger Management on FX.
In September, word came that Sheen had floated the idea about a return to the series toChuck Lorre.
"I just want to do it classy," Sheen told us about his potential return to Two and a HalfMen. "I want to do it in a way that still services what the show is today, and also honors what it was when I was there. Who knows? I'm sure they are over there right now, pen to paper, trying to figure something out. If it's not done properly, then there is no reason to do it. But it's a pretty smart group over there and I'm sure they will figure something. Something that makes sense to everyone."
But a source told E! News in September that there have been zero talks.
"We haven't discussed that, really," Lorre told us over the summer about Sheen's possible return. "We've been really focused on finding a storyline that puts Jon and Ashton front and center in a really interesting, provocative, hopefully funny story. That was our priority going into this year, was to do a storyline that puts these two guys right in the middle of it. So outside characters will come in as they do, but that's not the focus."
As we mentioned, the character was killed off. His ghost has already appeared...played byKathy Bates.
