Marcus Lattimore weighs options regarding NFL future

NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday that the San Francisco 49ers running back is weighing his options after experiencing soreness in his surgically repaired right knee and legs, according to a team sources and a source close to the player. Lattimore was not on the sideline during Sunday's 13-10 loss to the St. Louis Rams.

"(I) did not see Marcus," 49ers coach Jim Harbaughsaid during his Sunday postgame news conference. "I'm sure we'll have an announcement about that."

Lattimore returned to practice this week, a big step forward in his attempted comeback from a devastating knee injury suffered during his final college season at South Carolina. He moved well in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but sat out Friday's practice when soreness developed.

The 49ers invested a 2013 fourth-round pick in Lattimore, who rehabbed the knee during his rookie season and was expected to contribute this season.

"Nobody knows Marcus' body like Marcus, so he has to think some things over," a source told CSN Bay Area.

We'll likely have more clarity on the situation by Monday, but it's beginning to look less likely that Lattimore will be a contributor for the Niners. 

Terminally Ill Woman Brittany Maynard Has Ended Her Own Life

Brittany Maynard, who became the public face of the controversial right-to-die movement over the last few weeks, ended her own life Saturday at her home in Portland, Oregon. She was 29. 

"Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love. Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me … but would have taken so much more," she wrote on Facebook. "The world is a beautiful place, travel has been my greatest teacher, my close friends and folks are the greatest givers. I even have a ring of support around my bed as I type … Goodbye world. Spread good energy. Pay it forward!" 

Doctors told Maynard she had six months to live last spring after she was diagnosed with a likely stage 4 glioblastoma. She made headlines around the world when she announced she intended to die – under Oregon's Death with Dignity Act – by taking a fatal dose of barbiturates, prescribed to her by a doctor, when her suffering became too great. 

"My glioblastoma is going to kill me and that's out of my control," she told PEOPLE last month. "I've discussed with many experts how I would die from it and it's a terrible, terrible way to die. So being able to choose to go with dignity is less terrifying." 

On Oct. 6, she launched an online video campaign with Compassion & Choices, an end-of-life choice advocacy organization, to fight for expanding death with dignity laws nationwide. 

"For people to argue against this choice for sick people really seems evil to me," she told PEOPLE. "They try to mix it up with suicide and that's really unfair, because there's not a single part of me that wants to die. But I am dying." 

Arriving at her decision was a gradual one, she said. 

"It's not a decision you make one day and you snap your fingers," she told PEOPLE. 

She said she began thinking about death with dignity in January – when she was first diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor – after coming across an article on it while researching possible treatments. 

"Really, from the beginning, all the doctors said when you have a glioma you're going to die," she told PEOPLE. "You can just Google it. People don't survive this disease. Not yet." 

Doctors removed as much of the tumor as they could, but it came back larger than ever two months later, she said. 

After researching her options, she decided not to try chemotherapy or radiation. 

"They didn't seem to make sense for me," she said, because of "the level of side effects I would suffer and it wouldn't save my life. I've been told pretty much no matter what, I'm going to die – and treatments would extend my life but affect the quality pretty negatively." 

In June, she moved to Oregon with her husband, Dan Diaz, 43, her mother, Debbie Ziegler, 56 , and her stepfather, Gary Holmes, 72, so she could have access to the state's Death with Dignity Act, which allows physicians to prescribe life-ending medication to certain terminally ill patients. 

Maynard originally told PEOPLE she'd chosen Nov. 1 to end her life, but on Thursday she released a new video saying she might not do it that day. 

"I still smile and laugh with my family and friends enough that it doesn't seem like the right time now," she said in the video recorded Oct. 13 and 14, "but it will come because I feel myself getting sicker; it's happening each week." 

Strictly Come Dancing 2014: Halloween week review

All sorts of strange phenomena happen on Halloween. True to form, the theme threw up a suitably eventful instalment of Strictly Come Dancing (BBC One). The spooky motif was flogged to death, a stand-in co-host materialised on the balcony and the first “proper 10s" of the series were issued on pumpkin-shaped scoring paddles. If Donny Osmond was dead, he’d be spinning in his grave.

With Clau

dia Winkleman absent due to a sick child (get well soon, Winkle Junior), Zoe Ball stepped in alongside Tess Daly. Both tall, blonde and black-clad, the duo might have looked overly similar but hey, so do Ant and Dec.

Ball's wit wasn't quite as razor sharp as Winkleman's but she still did a terrific job in difficult circumstances, displaying easy familiarity with the couples due to her day job on spin-off show It Takes Two. It also lent credibility to have a co-host who'd been there, done that, learnt the dances - Ball finished third in the 2005 series. What odds a Winkleman and Ball double act within the next year or two?

As it always does, the annual Halloween edition went way over-the-top with themed trimmings. The dressing-up box had been thoroughly ransacked for daft wigs, fancy dress and zombie make-up. There were cringe-worthy VTs, pumpkins everywhere and incessant ghoulish wordplay. I blame the Americans.

The one-off nature of the show even seemed to affect the dancing. Standout male Jake Wood had his worst week yet, lacking shape during his paso doble. Sunetra Sarker and Steve Backshall, both solidly mid-table until now, dipped alarmingly after a jinxed jive and skeletal Charleston respectively.

As always, the worst performers were Judy Murray and Scott Mills. Murray threw everything at her 101 Dalmatians-themed American Smooth: a flying car, a frock studded with 7000 crystals and even two dogs on the dancefloor. They duly misbehaved, much like Murray’s feet. None of it could distract from her stiff frame and stilted style. Mills, meanwhile, turned in a horror show of an Addams Family foxtrot.

Should this four left-footed pair continue to be saved by viewer votes, Backshall, Sarker, Alison Hammond and Simon Webbe could be in dance-off danger tomorrow.

The best was saved until last, the show closing with the two top routines. Mark Wright continued his remarkable turnaround with a jumping jive, before Frankie Bridge’s magical tango overtook him. Bruno Tonioli gave it a maximum, which meant a lot more than Osmond’s over-excited scoring during his disastrous guest judge stint.

Ball went to the ball, Bridge took it to the bridge and choreographic tricks turned into televisual treats. It might not have been Strictly at its classiest but it was still shamelessly entertaining.

Fast and Furious 7: What Paul Walker Would Have Said About The First Trailer

It's an emotional time for the cast of Fast & Furious 7 as the film's first trailer is just a few hours away.

Last week, Furious 7 star Michelle Rodriguez told E! News how Paul Walker would have reacted to the film's first trailer which is all set to premiere Saturday at 3pm ET/12pm PT (7pm GMT) on theofficial Fast & Furious Facebook page.

"He would gaze with his beautiful blue eyes and that wonderful, amazing, childlike smile that he would get whenever he'd have, like, a cargasm… [he] would just go from ear-to-ear, and he'd be like, 'Finally, it's in the f**king can!'" she said.

"Cause that's his whole thing, the entire franchise, after every single one," Rodriguez said, "'I just don't think it's in the can yet.' That was the ongoing thing."

Talking about Walker's presence in the upcoming film, actress Jordana Brewster told E! News that the experience will be "bittersweet" for fans as they bid final goodbyes to the late 40-year-old star.

"I think the beautiful thing is that they get to see Paul again… and in a way celebrate him," she shared. "I've heard he's really really good in it, so I look forward to seeing him too. Obviously it will be bittersweet, but I think it's a way for fans to revisit him."

Walker was killed in a car crash 11 months ago, while the seventh installment in the blockbusterFast & Furious franchise was still filming. His brothers Cody and Caleb helped finish the scenes that still required the actor.

Breeders' Cup: Bayern holds on for Classic victory

Bayern held off the challenge of English challenger Toast of New York to win the $5m (£3.13m) Breeders' Cup Classic - America's richest race.

Bayern, ridden by Martin Garcia and trained by Bob Baffert, led from the start at Santa Anita, California, and tried to kick on turning from home.

Toast of New York, ridden by Jamie Spencer and trained by Jamie Osborne, just failed to get past the winner.

But Bayern had to wait for a stewards' inquiry before the win was confirmed.

The horse, whose trainer Baffert is a three-time Kentucky Derby winner, had swerved to his left out of the starting gate and collided with the favourite Shared Belief, hampering his chances of maintaining his unbeaten run.

Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner California Chrome was third, having filled that spot for much of the race.

The only European-trained winner on Saturday's second day of the event, known as the thoroughbred world championships, was the French challenger Karakontie, who beat fellow French hope Anodin and the David Simcock-trained Trade Storm in the Breeders' Cup Mile.

The Richard Hannon-trained Toronado, who led early on, faded in the home stretch.

Racing on the dirt track for the first time, Toast of New York was ridden expertly by Spencer, 34, who is due to retire at the end of the year to pursue a management role.

Owner Michael Buckley said: "This has brought me to tears, I so desperately wanted Jamie Spencer to win on this horse before he goes off into retirement.

"We can carry on dreaming because the Dubai World Cup is only five months away but he has got to get there in good shape.

"This is an amazing horse and is the toast of lots of things in my heart."

Osborne added: "This is a huge emotional thing for myself, Michael and Jamie - he has run his heart out and nearly pulled off the impossible.

"I'm incredibly proud of him and all the team. Yes, it hurts to come second."

Are Starbucks Customers Over the Pumpkin Spice Latte?

After an autumn in which companies seemed to inject pumpkin spice flavoring into just about every conceivable baked good and beverage on the market, there are creeping signs that America has finally had enough. The evidence? Starbucks' recent earnings report.

Starbucks and @TheRealPSL Twitter account set many a pumpkin spice lover heart aflutter in late August when they hinted that Starbucks' signature pumpkin spice latte was rolling out a few weeks early for its 11th season. The unspoken subtext of this decision was that not only would an early release of the pumpkin spice latte please fans—it would also help sales.

That's why it was surprising to see Starbucks this week report sluggish growth in traffic and sales. In its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday, Starbucks said its same-store sales globally and in the Americas grew only 5 percent over the last three months while traffic barely budged, with an increase of 1 percent.

"We are not satisfied with 1 percent traffic growth in the Americas and are taking immediate steps to grow traffic," Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Troy Alstead told investors. He noted that the company has been gaining more midday customers from about 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. John Culver, Starbucks' group president for channel development and emerging brands, added that the traffic slowdown was part of a "macro shift" in people shopping less at brick-and-mortar stores and more online through mobile devices.

At the same time, this is a shift that's been underway for a while, and aside from a perfunctory mention that the pumpkin spice latte "did very well for the season," discussion of it was largely absent from the earnings call. Compare that with the call from the same quarter in 2013, when Alstead pointed out that the "pumpkin spice platform" had "once again delivered strong growth." That year, Starbucks reported comparable sales growth of 8 percent driven by a 5 percent boost in

Halloween season rides a shriek-filled draw for theme parks

(Reuters) - Chainsaw-wielding ghouls draw screaming crowds so large to Universal Orlando's "Halloween Horror Nights" that traffic snarls around the Florida theme park on fall evenings, just another nightmare in the industry's soaring thrill season.

U.S. theme parks have turned Halloween's shriek-filled haunted houses and bloodied zombies into one of their largest promotional events of the year. Universal warns ticket-buyers that it sells out some nights of what it stretched this year into a month-and-a-half-long season.

"It is just like everybody goes," said Steffanie Weisman, a horror buff who celebrated her 37th birthday this month at Universal's Halloween, the only time she and her husband visit the Orlando park, less than an hour from their home.

 

Such is the lure of parks with spooky thrills, especially for local and in-state visitors, invigorating what was once a slow season between the peak summer travel months.

Today, theme parks drawing mostly regional crowds look to Halloween for as much as 20 percent of their annual attendance, said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, a global consultant based in Cincinnati.

“It’s a season maker and breaker in some cases,” he said. "A lot is riding for a lot of companies on Halloween."

At destination parks, such as Universal Orlando, Halloween events can draw as many as 600,000 visitors, Speigel said, making the holiday among the industry's top performers.

The Orlando theme park, which is owned by NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corp, declined to release its figures to Reuters.

This year, the Halloween season could also help chase away a summer that fell short of expectations at some regional parks, Speigel noted.

Universal Studios Hollywood was packed on the Sunday before Halloween. Visitors lined up for nearly 90 minutes to ride roller coasters in the dark, or enter mazes inspired by the hit AMC zombie drama, featuring gore-filled rooms and rotting zombies.

The $129 front of lines passes, allowing holders to skip the lines once on each attraction, were sold out for the evening.

The Six Flags chain has been marketing its Halloween "Fright Fest" in parks since August, and rolled out paid advertising for its most popular special event in September.

Knott’s Berry Farm in Southern California is credited with starting the trend in 1973, when it launched its "Scary Farm" event over a weekend with two mazes and a handful of roaming monsters.

"It has become something that people want to spend money on," said Lara Hanneman, director of entertainment production at the theme park. "They love the spiky kind of feeling, the adrenaline you feel when you get scared."

Today, the six-weekend promotion is the most intensive of the four busy seasons, including the summer months, at the park owned by the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company.

“Per day, it’s our busiest time,” said Raffi Kaprelyan, the park's vice president and general manager.

(Additional reporting and writing by Piya Sinha-Roy in Los Angeles and Letitia Stein in Tampa, Florida; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)