'Lincoln' leads Academy Award contenders with 12 nominations

With a conspicuous diss of Kathryn Bigelow, the un-nominated director of “Zero Dark Thirty,” the Academy Awards nominations were announced Thursday morning.

“Zero Dark Thirty” was one of nine films given the best picture nomination nod. The others: “Beasts of the Southern Wild”; “Silver Linings Playbook”; “Lincoln”; “Les Miserables”; “Life of Pi”; “Amour”; “Django Unchained”; and “Argo.” With 12 nominations total, director Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” led this year’s pack, unusually full of films that have reached a broad mainstream audience. “Life of Pi” came in with 11 nominations; “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Les Miserables” received eight.

The best actress Oscar nominees include the oldest-ever performer in that category (Emmanuelle Riva, 85, for “Amour”) as well as the youngest (Quvenzhane Wallis, 9, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”). They’ll compete for the Feb. 24 Oscars against Naomi Watts (“The Impossible”), Jessica Chastain (“Zero Dark Thirty”) and Jennifer Lawrence (“Silver Linings Playbook”).

To the surprise of no one on this planet or any other, Daniel Day-Lewis led the best actor competition for “Lincoln.” His fellow nominees: Denzel Washington, “Flight”; Hugh Jackman, “Les Miserables”; Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”; and in the year’s most unsettling performance, Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master.”

“Silver Linings Playbook” fared well, against some predictions, scoring a supporting actor nomination for Robert De Niro and a supporting actress nod for Jacki Weaver. Other supporting actors nominated include Christoph Waltz for “Django Unchained”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master”; Alan Arkin, “Argo”; and Tommy Lee Jones,” Lincoln.” All have won Oscars before.

Along with Weaver, Sally Field received a supporting actress nomination, hers for “Lincoln.” The competition: Anne Hathaway, singing her guts out all the way to the podium on Feb. 24 (I’m guessing) for “Les Miserables”; Helen Hunt for “The Sessions” (more of a leading role, in fact); and Amy Adams as the Lady Macbeth of the action in “The Master.”

It’s a huge showing for “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” whose director, Benh Zeitlin, goes toe to toe against his fellow directing nominees David O. Russell (“Silver Linings Playbook”), Ang Lee (“Life of Pi”), Michael Haneke (“Amour”) and Spielberg. Along with “Zero Dark Thirty” director Bigelow, “Argo” helmer Ben Affleck, widely expected to be nominated ... wasn’t.

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Can Social Media Help You Lose Weight?

At the start of the New Year, when weight loss is often a priority, building a support team to help keep us on track can be extremely helpful. This might typically consist of family members, friends, co-workers, or perhaps even a nutritionist or registered dietitian. But today, support can also be found online. Plenty of Web sites focus on losing weight, and include communities that provide support and encouragement. Since many of us spend a lot of time on social media sites–maybe too much if you ask my husband!–why not use these platforms as another tool for support? In fact, one study suggests employees participating in a workplace wellness program who also joined the company’s Facebook page, run by a registered dietitian, stayed with the program longer than those who didn’t.

[See Already Struggling With Your New Year's Resolution?]

Could it actually make sense that gluing ourselves to our mobile device or computer could help us shed pounds? It sounds like quite the oxymoron, since increased screen time doesn’t usually equate to weight loss. But here’s how to make social media sites work for you:

Facebook

Facebook is a place where you can share what’s going on in your life with friends, but you may not feel comfortable announcing what you weigh or that you’re trying to lose weight. On the other hand, you may enjoy posting fitness milestones, such as training for and completing your first marathon, or a bike ride for your favorite charity. Sharing your fitness goals with the Facebook universe may be helpful, because the more people who know about it, the more likely you are to stay committed.

[See Small Steps, Big Change: How to Lose 50 Pounds Without Really Trying]

Rather than simply connecting with friends on the site, you can also connect with health and fitness professionals, such as registered dietitians, or pages for diet books, like mine, The Small Change Diet. You can also “like” the pages of health and fitness magazines and your favorite brands. The folks who run these pages may post articles that provide you with helpful weight-loss tips, and many organize regular Facebook chats, allowing you to ask an expert your questions. The more that healthy information is “in your face,” the more likely you are to stick to it.

Most importantly, you may discover a weight-loss community on Facebook, where like-minded individuals share their weight losses (or gains) and offer support. Daily accountability could be just what you need, and knowing others are rooting for you can make a world of difference. If you can’t find a Facebook community you like, start your own.

Twitter

So many of my patients don’t have Twitter accounts, because they think they have nothing clever or witty to say. My advice to them is always the same: You don’t have to “say” anything; you can just follow, at least at the beginning. Registered dietitians (I’m @kerigans) have great tips and, if they’re like me, are more than happy to answer questions via Twitter. I’ve had followers tweet a picture of their dinner and ask what my dietitian colleagues and I thought of it–priceless information for free.

[See Best Plant-Based Diets]

Just as you do on Facebook, follow fitness professionals, health magazines, and other sources that provide weight-loss motivation. Once you feel comfortable, you may decide to join in the conversation, since that’s what social media is all about. Perfect example of how it can benefit you: One morning, I tweeted that I felt more like staying in my pajamas than going to yoga. Some of my followers chimed in that they were feeling the same way, BUT stressed that we should all still exercise. And so we all did. And trust me, none of us regretted going–rather, we were thankful for each other.

[See Are Mobile Health Apps Helpful?]

Seek out people on Twitter and Facebook who you find inspirational, and hopefully a little of what they do will rub off on you. Since nothing is etched in stone, you can unfollow, unlike, or unfriend them if they aren’t helping you. And please keep in mind that while social media can be another tool in your pursuit of weight loss, it’s not the end all. Healthy eating, fitness, and plenty of sleep actually need to happen away from a screen.

Hungry for more? Write to [email protected] with your questions, concerns, and feedback

Keri Gans, MS, RD, CDN, is a registered dietitian, media personality, spokesperson, and author of The Small Change Diet. Gans’s expert nutrition advice has been featured in Glamour, Fitness, Health, Self and Shape, and on national television and radio, including The Dr. Oz Show, Good Morning America, ABC News, Primetime, and Sirius/XM Dr. Radio.

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Timberlake hints return to music in video

NEW YORK (AP) — Is Justin Timberlake bringing his music career back?

The superstar has concentrated almost exclusively on his acting career over the last few years. But on Thursday, he posted a video on his website that showed him walking into a studio, putting on headphones and saying: “I’m ready.”

Timberlake hasn’t made an album since 2006′s Grammy-winning “FutureSex/LoveSounds.” In the video, Timberlake is also heard saying that he obsesses over his music and doesn’t want to put music out that he doesn’t love — and that you have to wait for music you love.

Timberlake — who recently married longtime girlfriend Jessica Biel — has been in several movies, including “The Social Network,” ”Bad Teacher,” ”Friends With Benefits” and most recently “Trouble With the Curve.”

___

Online:

http://www.justintimberlake.com

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City Room: How Are You Warding Off the Flu?

Sure, you could go out and get a flu shot like everyone keeps telling you to do. It’s relatively cheap, and available just about everywhere.

But the shot is not 100 percent effective. And it takes two weeks to kick in. Although influenza can be deadly, some have been making light of the virus’s symptoms.

On the bright side, having the flu was a great start to my spring break diet.. eating nothing and still managing to puke

— Allison (@Ally_YM) 6 Jan 13

Turns out I don’t have the flu, I just really like NyQuil and hate wearing pants.

— NYC Blonde (@NYC_Blonde) 10 Jan 13

If you’re holding out, or procrastinating, or have decided against getting vaccinated altogether, what alternative means are you using to keep those bad bugs away? Comment in the box below.

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Jewel-Osco stores to be sold to Cerberus group

Jewel-Osco stores will be sold to a consortium of investors led by Cerberus Capital Management, Jewel's parent Supervalu said today. (WGN - Chicago)

Jewel-Osco stores will be sold to a consortium of investors led by Cerberus Capital Management, Jewel's parent Supervalu said Thursday.

The deal, valued at $3.3 billion, also includes the Albertsons, Acme, and Shaw stores.

The announcement ends months of speculation that all or parts of the troubled grocery chain would be sold to New York-based Cerberus, an investment firm. Supervalu acquired Jewel in 2006 as part of a larger, complex acquisition of the Albertsons company.

Supervalu also reported earnings of $16 million, or 8 cents per share, in the third quarter ended on Dec. 1, compared with a year-earlier loss of $750 million, or $3.54 per share.

Excluding an after-tax gain related to a cash settlement from credit card companies and after-tax charges primarily related to store closures, it earned $5 million, or 3 cents per share.

As part of the deal, which includes $100 million in cash and $3.2 billion in debt, the five grocery chains will be acquired by AB Acquisition, an affiliate of Cerberus. Other investors in the deal include Kimco Realty Corp, Klaff Realty, Lubert-Adler Partners and Schottenstein Real Estate Group.

Following the sale, which is expected to close in the spring, a newly formed entity called Symphony Investors, led by Cerberus, will purchase up to 30 percent of Supervalu's outstanding shares for $4 each, representing a 50 percent premium over the stock's 30-day average. If Symphony cannot acquire at least 19.9 percent of the outstanding shares at that price, Supervalu must issue additional stock.

Wall Street has long expected Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Supervalu to sell some or all of its assets.

Following the deal, Supervalu will consist of its wholesale grocery business, the Save-A-Lot discount chain, and traditional grocery chains like Cub, Shop N' Save and Hornbacher's.

In a call with investors, outgoing CEO Wayne Sales said the deal brings Supervalu "a very strong balance sheet," and the ability to focus on investments in price reductions, fresh produce, and customer experience at its remaining chains. 

The new company is smaller, "with more bandwidth and leadership" to focus on its wholesale business, Save-A-Lot, and its traditional grocery stores, he said.

Sam Duncan, 61, will replace Wayne Sales as CEO. Duncan was CEO of Office Max from 2005 to 2011, and prior to that, was CEO of ShopKo, a Midwestern grocery chain. Five unidentified board members will resign as part of the deal, making room for Duncan, Albertsons CEO Robert Miller, and three new appointees. The size of the board will shrink from 10 to seven.

Concurrent with the announcement, Supervalu announced that it has secured access to a $900 million asset-based credit facility, and a $1.5 billion loan.

This deal ends a long and difficult year for one of the country's largest grocers.

Last April, Supervalu reported a loss of $1.04 billion for fiscal 2012, which included a $519 million operating loss and $509 million in interest expense. Sales also declined 3 percent, to $27.9 billion. In July, the company said it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a sale. Soon after, the company dismissed CEO Craig Herkert, with Chairman Wayne Sales stepping in to helm the troubled grocer.

Cerberus, an investor in the deal to acquire Albertsons in 2006 was long seen as the leading candidate. Last week, rumors that Supervalu was near a deal with Cerberus sent stock soaring nearly 15 percent.

In September, Supervalu said it would 60 underperforming stores, primarily from the Save-A-Lot and Albertsons chains. No Jewel locations were identified at the time. The announcement was particularly troubling to investment community because Save-A-Lot, a hard discount chain, has been Supervalu's primary growth vehicle.

Supervalu has long acknowledged that many of its stores are not price competitive. In 2012, it homed in on Jewel-Osco and the Chicago market. Supervalu surveyed customers and lowered prices throughout the store. When the company reported results for its second fiscal quarter in September, (Supervalu CEO Wayne) Sales said that Jewel had been "competitively priced throughout the store" for about six weeks.

Sales said that the initiative had resulted in "dramatic improvement" in how consumers "think about the quality of products we sell, how they feel about the service they get in various departments" and that the company was pleased with increased unit sales.

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More turbulence for Dreamliner

Chicago-based Boeing Co. has "extreme confidence" in its new and highly trumpeted  787 Dreamliner, and the plane is safe, Mike Sinnett, the chief project engineer for the 787 said during a news conference Wednesday.

The public statements came on the third day in a row that different Boeing 787s sustained high-profile problems, including an electrical battery fire on Monday, a fuel leak on Tuesday and a reported problem with the braking system on Wednesday.

"Clearly, there are issues," Sinnett said, adding that he won't be happy until the Dreamliner is completely reliable. However, all new planes have such "teething pains," and the 787 problems are similar to incidents experienced when the Boeing 777 went into service, he said.

"Just like any new airplane program, we work through those issues and we move on," he said. "I am 100 percent convinced that the airplane is safe to fly. I fly on it myself all the time."

Aviation experts, industry analysts and some Boeing customers have echoed that, saying that all new aircraft have such problems for the first year or two and that such glitches don't make flying in a 787 unsafe.

The first 787 Dreamliner was delivered 15 months ago -- more than three years late because of design and production delays -- to a Japanese airline, and there are now 50 Dreamliners in service with various airlines around the world.

Chicago-based United Airlines has six 787s. Since early November, the airline has been flying a temporary 787 route between Chicago O'Hare and Houston, as well as on other domestic routes. The Chicago route is scheduled to end March 29, when United will move the 787s to international routes. United conducted a special inspection of its 787s after an electrical fire occurred on a Japanese Dreamliner on Monday, but United has not released results of that inspection.

LOT Polish Airlines will operate the first regular 787 route out of O'Hare -- to Warsaw -- starting with an inaugural flight scheduled for next week.

The Dreamliner is touted as offering greater passenger comforts and better fuel efficiency than any other airplane in its class, largely due to far more use of light composite materials rather than metals.

However, it has seen its share of problems, including a rash of incidents recently.

Japan's All Nippon Airways said Wednesday that it was forced to cancel a 787 Dreamliner flight scheduled from Yamaguchi prefecture in western Japan to Tokyo due to brake problems. That followed a fuel leak on Tuesday that forced a 787 operated by Japan Airlines to cancel takeoff at Boston's Logan International Airport, a day after an electrical fire on another 787 after a Japan Airlines flight to Boston from Tokyo.

Last month, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered inspections on 787s for a problem with fuel leaks.

In a news conference Wednesday dominated by technical discussions of the 787's electrical systems and batteries, Sinnett emphasized the "redundancies" or backup protections built into the aircraft's electrical systems. For example, the plane has six power generators but can fly with just one functioning, he said.

The 787 more heavily relies on electrical components than any other aircraft, in an effort to shed the weight of traditional pneumatic systems and improve fuel efficiency, he said.

Overall, the plane is meeting goals for fuel efficiency and passenger comfort, Sinnett said. "We're very, very happy with how the airplane is performing," he said.

Asian customers rallied behind the Boeing, saying such troubles were not uncommon on new planes and confirming they had no plans to scale back or cancel orders for the aircraft, which has a list price of $207 million.

Japan is by far the biggest customer for the Dreamliner to date, with JAL and All Nippon Airways (ANA) operating a total of 24 of the 49 new planes delivered to end-December. The aircraft entered commercial service in November 2011, more than three years behind schedule after a series of production delays. Boeing has sold 848 of the planes.

JAL spokesman Kazunori Kidosaki said the carrier, which operates seven Dreamliners, had no plans to change orders it has placed for another 38 aircraft. ANA, which has 17 Dreamliners flying its colors, will also stick with its orders for another 49, spokesman Etsuya Uchiyama said.

State-owned Air India, which on Monday took delivery of the sixth of the 27 Dreamliners it has ordered, said precautionary measures were already in place and its planes were flying smoothly.

"It's a new plane, and some minor glitches do happen. It's not a cause of concern," said spokesman G. Prasada Rao. There was no immediate suggestion that the 787 Dreamliner, the world's first passenger jet built mainly from carbon-plastic lightweight materials to save fuel, was likely to be grounded as investigators looked into the fire incident.

Air China, which sees the 787 as a way to expand its international routes, and Hainan Airlines also said they were keeping their orders for 15 and 10 of the planes.

"New airplanes more or less will need adjustments, and currently we have no plans to swap or cancel orders," said an executive at future 787 operator Hainan Airlines, who was not authorized to talk to the media and did not want to be named.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, who has previously criticized technical problems or delays with Boeing or Airbus jets, said there were no technical problems with the five 787s currently in use by the Gulf carrier. "It doesn't mean we are going to cancel our orders. It's a revolutionary airplane," he said.

gkarp@tribune.com

Reuters contributed

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Nintendo president describes Wii U sales as ‘not bad’

Nintendo’s (NTDOY) new Wii U gaming console came out of the gate strong and saw first-week sales reach 400,000 units in the U.S., however sales have since stalled and the system has been labeled a flop by some. While consumer interest in the company’s new console has slowed right out of the gate, Nintendo’s president recently said that he isn’t worried even though sales aren’t where he hoped they would be.

[More from BGR: Smooth sailing is over for Apple]

“At the end of the Christmas season, it wasn’t as though stores in the U.S. had no Wii U left in stock, as it was when Wii was first sold in that popular boom,” Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said in an interview with Reuters. “But sales are not bad, and I feel it’s selling steadily.”

[More from BGR: New ‘higher-end’ iPhone reportedly launching by June, low-end model could be coming as well]

The executive declined to give specific details on sales or forecasts, although he did say that Nintendo plans to focus on developing attractive software for its 3DS handheld to appeal to new users, and will seek new ways to increase Wii U sales in a changing market.

Nintendo previously announced that it hopes to sell 5.5 million Wii U devices by the end of March and more than 24 million Wii U games in the same timeframe.

This article was originally published by BGR

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Bette Midler returning to Broadway as Super Agent Sue Mengers

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Bette Midler will return to Broadway for the first time in 30 years to play legendary agent Sue Mengers.

The Divine Miss M will star in John Logan‘s new play “I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers.”

For Midler, it is a chance to return to her theatrical roots at a time when her career is experiencing something of a revival. Largely absent from screens for much of the past decade, Midler is starring in the unexpected family comedy hit “Parental Guidance,” which has grossed nearly $ 70 million worldwide since debuting last month.

The chain-smoking, unapologetically brash Mengers was an icon among the New Hollywood set. In a male-dominated time and profession, she became the first female “super agent,” representing the likes of Nick Nolte, Burt Reynolds, Candice Bergen, Ryan O’Neal, Steve McQueen and Barbra Streisand. She rose up the Hollywood ranks despite modest beginnings as a refugee from Nazi Germany. In addition to her professional achievements, her dinner parties were legendary and a ticket to a Mengers’ gathering was considered a sign that a new talent had arrived.

Mengers kept her real age secret, although she was widely believed to be around 80 when she died in 2011 after suffering a series of small strokes. Graydon Carter, her friend and the editor of Vanity Fair, first reported Mengers’ death in a blog post. Carter is one of the producers of “I’ll Eat You Last.”

Logan, who wrote the play, won a Tony Award for “Red,” which examined the life of painter Mark Rothko. He recently wrote the screenplay for the last James Bond movie, “Skyfall,” which has grossed north of $ 1 billion at the worldwide box office.

Logan said he only met Mengers one time at a dinner party, but he was drawn to her wit and sense of sadness.

“At one point I asked her what had changed most about Hollywood since she had arrived,” Logan recalled in a statement. “She didn’t hesitate for a second: ‘Honey, we used to have fun…’ Later in the evening she settled back and lit up a joint. There she was: a joint in one hand and a cigarette in the other. At that moment I knew I had to write the play.”

Tony Award-winning director Joe Mantello (“Wicked,” “Take Me Out”) will stage the play. The show will open April 24 at a Shubert theatre to be announced.

Midler got her start appearing in the Broadway productions of “Fiddler on the Roof” and the rock musical “Salvation” in the 1960s, before becoming a Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated singer and actress.

In addition to her work in films, such as “The Rose” and “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” Midler’s stage work includes the Tony Award-winning “Clams on the Half Shell,” the Radio City Music Hall concert “Experience the Divine” and “The Showgirl Must Go On,” which headlined at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace.

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Pap Test May Prove Useful at Detecting More Types of Cancer, Study Suggests

The Pap test, which has prevented countless deaths from cervical cancer, may eventually help to detect cancers of the uterus and ovaries as well, a new study suggests.

For the first time, researchers have found genetic material from uterine or ovarian cancers in Pap smears, meaning that it may become possible to detect three diseases with just one routine test.

But the research is early, years away from being used in medical practice, and there are caveats. The women studied were already known to have cancer, and while the Pap test found 100 percent of the uterine cancers, it detected only 41 percent of the ovarian cancers. And the approach has not yet been tried in women who appear healthy, to determine whether it can find early signs of uterine or ovarian cancer.

On the other hand, even a 41 percent detection rate would be better than the status quo in ovarian cancer, particularly if the detection extends to early stages. The disease is usually advanced by the time it is found, and survival is poor. About 22,280 new cases were expected in the United States in 2012, and 15,500 deaths. Improved tests are urgently needed.

Uterine cancer has a better prognosis, but still kills around 8,000 women a year in the United States.

These innovative applications of the Pap test are part of a new era in which advances in genetics are being applied to the detection of a wide variety of cancers or precancerous conditions. Scientists are learning to find minute bits of mutant DNA in tissue samples or bodily fluids that may signal the presence of hidden or incipient cancers. Ideally, the new techniques would find the abnormalities early enough to cure the disease or even prevent it entirely. But it is too soon to tell.

“Is this the harbinger of things to come? I would answer yes,” said Dr. Bert Vogelstein, director of the Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics at Johns Hopkins University, and a senior author of a report on the Pap test study published on Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine. He said the genomes of more than 50 types of tumors had been sequenced, and researchers were trying to take advantage of the information.

Similar studies are under way or are being considered to look for mutant DNA in blood, stool, urine and sputum, both to detect cancer and also to monitor the response to treatment in people who already have the disease.

But researchers warn that such tests, used for screening, can be a double-edged sword if they give false positive results that send patients down a rabbit hole of invasive tests and needless treatments. Even a test that finds only real cancers may be unable to tell aggressive, dangerous ones apart from indolent ones that might never do any harm, leaving patients to decide whether to watch and wait or to go through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation with all the associated risks and side effects.

“Will they start recovering mutations that are not cancer-related?” asked Dr. Christopher P. Crum, a professor at Harvard Medical School who was not involved in the research.

But he also called the study a “great proof of principle,” and said, “Any whisper of hope to women who suffer from endometrial or ovarian cancer would be most welcome.”

DNA testing is already performed on samples from Pap tests, to look for the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes cervical cancer. Dr. Vogelstein and his team decided to try DNA testing for cancer. They theorized that cells or DNA shed from cancers of the ovaries and the uterine lining, or endometrium, might reach the cervix and turn up in Pap smears.

The team picked common mutations found in these cancers, and looked for them in tumor samples from 24 women with endometrial cancer and 22 with ovarian cancer. All the cancers had one or more of the common mutations.

Then, the researchers performed Pap tests on the same women, and looked for the same DNA mutations in the Pap specimens. They found the mutations in 100 percent of the women with endometrial cancer, but in only 9 of the 22 with ovarian cancer. The test identified two of the four ovarian cancers that had been diagnosed at an early stage.

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Boeing backs its Dreamliner after 3 incidents

Chicago-based Boeing Co. has "extreme confidence" in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and the plane is "absolutely 100 percent safe to fly," Mike Sinnett, the chief project engineer for the 787 said during a news conference Wednesday.

The public statements come on the third day in a row that different Boeing 787s have had high-profile problems, including an electrical battery fire on Monday, a fuel leak on Tuesday and a problem with brakes on Wednesday.

"Clearly there are issues," Sinnett said, adding that he won't be happy until the 787 is 100 percent reliable. However, all new planes have such "teething pains," and the 787 problems are similar to incidents experienced when the Boeing 777 went into service, he said.

"This is par for the course for any new airplane program ... just like any new airplane program we work through those issues and move on," he said. "There are no metrics that are screaming at me that we have a problem."

Aviation experts, industry analysts and some Boeing customers have echoed that, saying all new aircraft have such problems for the first year or two and that such glitches don't make flying in a 787 unsafe.

The first 787 Dreamliner was delivered 15 months ago -- more than three years late because of design and production delays -- to a Japanese airline. There are now 50 Dreamliners in service with various airlines around the world.

Chicago-based United Airlines so far has six 787s. Since early November, the airline has temporarily been flying a 787 route between Chicago O'Hare and Houston, as well as on other domestic routes. The Chicago route is scheduled to end March 29, when United will use the 787s on international routes.

LOT Polish Airlines will operate the first regular 787 route out of O'Hare -- to Warsaw -- starting with an inaugural flight scheduled for next week.

The Dreamliner is touted as offering greater passenger comforts and better fuel efficiency than any other airplane in its class, largely due to far more use of light composite materials rather than metals.

However, it has seen its share of problems, including a rash of incidents recently.

Japan's All Nippon Airways said Wednesday it was forced to cancel a 787 Dreamliner flight scheduled to from fly from Yamaguchi prefecture in western Japan to Tokyo due to brake problems. That followed a fuel leak on Tuesday that forced a 787 operated by Japan Airlines to cancel take-off at Boston's Logan International Airport, a day after an electrical fire on another 787 after a JAL flight to Boston from Tokyo.

Last month, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered inspections on 787s for a problem with fuel leaks.

In a news conference Wednesday dominated by technical discussions of the 787's electrical systems and batteries, Sinnett emphasized the "redundancies" or backup protections built into the aircraft's electrical systems. For example, the plane has six power generators but can fly with just one functioning, he said.

The 787 more heavily relies on electrical components than any other aircraft, in an effort to shed the weight of traditional pneumatic systems and improve fuel efficiency, he said.

Overall, the plane is meeting goals for fuel efficiency and passenger comfort, Sinnett said. "We're very, very happy with how the airplane is performing," he said.

Asian customers rallied behind the Boeing, saying such troubles were not uncommon on new planes and confirming they had no plans to scale back or cancel orders for the aircraft, which has a list price of $207 million.

Japan is by far the biggest customer for the Dreamliner to date, with JAL and All Nippon Airways (ANA) operating a total of 24 of the 49 new planes delivered to end-December. The aircraft entered commercial service in November 2011, more than three years behind schedule after a series of production delays. Boeing has sold 848 of the planes.

JAL spokesman Kazunori Kidosaki said the carrier, which operates seven Dreamliners, had no plans to change orders it has placed for another 38 aircraft. ANA, which has 17 Dreamliners flying its colors, will also stick with its orders for another 49, spokesman Etsuya Uchiyama said.

State-owned Air India, which on Monday took delivery of the sixth of the 27 Dreamliners it has ordered, said precautionary measures were already in place and its planes were flying smoothly.

"It's a new plane, and some minor glitches do happen. It's not a cause of concern," said spokesman G. Prasada Rao. There was no immediate suggestion that the 787 Dreamliner, the world's first passenger jet built mainly from carbon-plastic lightweight materials to save fuel, was likely to be grounded as investigators looked into the fire incident.

 Air China, which sees the 787 as a way to expand its international routes, and Hainan Airlines also said they were keeping their orders for 15 and 10 of the planes.

"New airplanes more or less will need adjustments, and currently we have no plans to swap or cancel orders," said an executive at future 787 operator Hainan Airlines, who was not authorized to talk to the media and did not want to be named.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker, who has previously criticized technical problems or delays with Boeing or Airbus jets, said there were no technical problems with the five 787s currently in use by the Gulf carrier. "It doesn't mean we are going to cancel our orders. It's a revolutionary airplane," he said.

gkarp@tribune.com

Reuters contributed

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