The National Board of Review picked Martin Scorsese's 3-D "Hugo" as the year's best film, an unusually kid friendly choice sure to add further intrigue to the Oscar hunt.

The group also picked Scorsese as best director for his whimsical film about an orphan who lives in a 1930s Paris train station. It's the director's first film in 3-D but one in which the adventure leads back to the early days of cinema and the wondrous films of French filmmaker George Melies.

The private world of Michael Jackson, fiercely shielded by the superstar in life, was exposed in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. But rather than suffering harm from revelations of drug use, experts say Jackson's legacy and posthumous earning power will survive any damage done and could actually grow after he was portrayed as a victim of a money-hungry doctor.

Jackson died before he could launch a series of highly anticipated comeback concerts in London as he tried to regain the towering status he enjoyed when he released the "Thriller" album in 1983.

From the colorful, couture frocks worn during her two weddings with actor Richard Burton, to the dazzling ruby and diamond Cartier jewelry set, a gift from her third husband, film producer Mike Todd, "The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor" on display at Christie's auction house in New York tells a passionate story, spanning seven husbands and nearly five decades.

"(Through the collection) you can see that all the men were really, really fundamentally in love with her," said Orianne Collins, a jewelry designer and Taylor aficionado who hosted a preview of the exhibition Thursday before it opens to the public on Saturday.

For anyone who needed official word, a new study confirms that many of us - and the majority of young adults - go online for no good reason at all.

The report from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project found that on any given day, 53 percent of 18 to 29 year-olds go online just to have fun or pass time.

A week after slowing Manchester United's title challenge, Newcastle will look to do the same to struggling Chelsea and provide further evidence of its ability to compete with the Premier League's top teams this season.

Newcastle is holding its own among exalted company at the top of the division, with a 1-1 draw at second-place United keeping the northeast side in the Champions League positions.

The U.N.'s human rights chief called Friday for Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court over allegations that its crackdown on opposition protesters has led to crimes against humanity.

Navi Pillay, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said fresh reports from the country — including that 307 children have been killed since March — reinforced the need for the Security Council to submit the situation in Syria to the Hague-based court.

French authorities have increased security for Syrian opposition members based in France who have come under threat, the interior minister said Friday.

Claude Gueant did not specify the nature of the threats or of the new security measures.

Al-Qaida claimed responsibility Thursday for the kidnapping of a 70-year-old American aid worker in Pakistan in August, and issued a series of demands for his release.

In a video message posted on militant websites, al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri said Warren Weinstein would be released if the United States stopped airstrikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen. He also demanded the release of all al-Qaida and Taliban suspects around the world.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, two of the world's most recognizable women leaders, pledged on Friday to work together to bring democracy to Suu Kyi's long isolated and repressive nation.

Wrapping up a historic three-day visit to Myanmar, Clinton held hands with Suu Kyi on the porch of the Nobel peace laureate's lakeside home where she spent much of the past two decades under house arrest and thanked her for a her "steadfast and very clear leadership." The meeting was the second in as many days for the pair who appeared to have bonded almost as sisters after a private, one-on-one dinner in Yangon on Thursday.

Argentina decided to hold back David Nalbandian, opting instead to send Juan Monaco up against Rafael Nadal in the opening singles match of the Davis Cup final.

Nadal will take on Monaco on Friday in the opening match of the best-of-five series on clay at the Olympic Stadium, with Nalbandian picked to play in Saturday's doubles.