A new study shows that less than 5 percent of actors in top Hollywood films are Hispanic, and that Latinas are more likely than women of any other ethnicity to appear partially or totally naked on screen.

The study of the top 100 grossing films in 2013, by the University of Southern California's Annenberg school, found that the make-believe world of movies generally does not reflect what America looks like in real life.

About 74 percent of the actors in the study were white, compared with a U.S. population that's 63 percent non-Hispanic white.

Hispanics, who are 17 percent of the nation but had 4.9 percent of film roles, were the most underrepresented group on screen. That's despite the fact that Hispanics bought about 25 percent of all movie tickets and are more likely than any other group to go to the movies, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

Black characters represented about 14 percent of those in the films, which is comparable to America's 13 percent black population. However, 17 percent of the films examined in the study did not have a single black speaking role, and half the films had a smaller percentage than the population, which indicates that a few movies with predominantly black casts balanced out the many movies with few black actors.

2013 was called a banner year for black actors, due to the success of films such as "Fruitvale Station," ''Lee Daniels' The Butler" and "12 Years a Slave," which made Steve McQueen the first black filmmaker to direct a best-picture winning film.

Hispanic stars such as the Dominican Zoe Saldaña, the New York-born Puerto Rican Jennifer Lopez and the Spaniard Antonio Banderas appeared on the big screen.

Yet there has been no significant change since 2007 in the number of non-white actors in top films, said Stacy L. Smith, director of USC Annenberg's Media, Diversity & Social Change Initiative and author of the study being released Monday.

"The only obstacle here is imagination," Smith said in an interview.

She said that the number of black directors remained low — 6 percent of all directors in the study — and they were much more likely to use diverse casts. Hispanic directors were not counted.

"What we're seeing in the aggregate is very few folks not white and male being able to participate behind the camera," Smith said. "So the (on-screen) landscape remains primarily white and male. When you do have diversity behind the camera, things start to shift."

The study examined all 3,932 actors who spoke at least one word in the top 100 films of 2013. USC did similar counts in 2007-2010 and 2012.

Asians filled 4.4 percent of roles in 2013, compared with their 5.3 percent of the U.S. population. One percent of roles were played by "Middle Eastern" actors, less than 1 percent by Native Americans, and 1 percent by "other."

Almost 38 percent of Latina actresses appeared partially or fully naked on screen, the study said. That compared with 32 percent of white females, 24 percent of black females and 18 percent of Asian actresses.

"Latinas have this stereotype that we're sex symbols ... that we walk sexy and (have) this flavor," said Roselyn Sanchez, a Puerto Rican actress who has appeared in such films as "Act of Valor" and "Rush Hour 2."

She had no explanation for why Hispanics have so few movie roles. "It's not about talent," she said.

About 17 percent of Hispanic males were shown in "tight, alluring, or revealing clothing," the most of any group. Some 14 percent of Asian males, 13 percent of black actors and 8 percent of white actors were shown in similar attire.

Black males were more likely than those from any other group to be shown in a committed relationship, at 68 percent. Asian males were the least likely, at 29 percent.

Blanca Valdez, who runs a Hispanic casting agency in Los Angeles, said it's difficult for Latinos to audition for roles unless the call specifically asks for "diversity" or "multiethnic." That often keeps them out secondary roles such as the neighbor, the lawyer, or the bank teller.

She said some actors with Hispanic surnames who look white will only put their first name on their casting photographs, just to get a foot in the door.

But Valdez said things have been changing rapidly in commercials and television, with more calls than ever for Hispanic and "multiethnic" actors. She hopes that studios will "follow the money" since Latinos are such big movie fans.

"I hope this improvement continues," Valdez said, "because there's so much talent out there that doesn't get seen."

[readon1 url="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/entertainment/2014/08/04/top-hollywood-movies-still-lack-hispanics-in-leadings-roles-study-finds/"]Source:latino.foxnews.com[/readon1]

A video released by Brazil's National Indian Foundation, or FUNAI, shows an an isolated Indian tribe's first contact with civilization in Acre, a state on the border with Peru, and how the Indians interact with a nearby indigenous community.

Members of the tribe were first spotted on June 27, when FUNAI personnel out fishing saw two Indians who had dropped a basket of lemons on the banks of the Envira River.

The video, which was released on Tuesday, shows the first direct contact with the tribe on June 29.

Ashaninka Indians from Simpatia, a village on the banks of the Envira River, who receive medical care from the agency helped in making contact with the new tribe, the FUNAI said.

The video shows the Ashaninkas making contact with some members of the isolated tribe, who make signs that they are hungry and are given bananas.

The meeting between the Indian groups was not friendly, with the new tribe, armed with bows and arrows, looting the Ashaninka dwellings and stealing hatchets and clothing, the FUNAI told Efe.

It is still not clear why the tribe contacted the Ashaninkas, but it may be that the isolated group came under pressure from Peruvian loggers, FUNAI anthropologists said.

The previously unknown tribe had a shotgun that may have been stolen from a logger or abandoned by an outsider.

[readon1 url="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/07/31/video-shows-first-contact-with-indian-tribe-in-brazil/"]Source:latino.foxnews.com[/readon1]

 Crocodiles, though natural predators, are a big tourist attraction in Costa Rica for their immense size and because they're easy to observe.

The experts, however, call on visitors to respect their habitat to avoid attacks on humans.

Seeing people approach crocodiles to feed them, giving them food with their own mouths, is a common pastime among foreigners who visit the Central American country.

Such behavior worries the Crocodile Conservation Commission, which says that humans are invading the reptiles' space and for that reason might provoke attacks.

"Crocodiles are naturally aggressive and attack to defend their territory," crocodile researcher Ivan Sandoval said.

The Tarcoles River, which empties into the Pacific Ocean, is known in Costa Rica for the large number of enormous crocodiles living there and as a tourist attraction, since it's easy to take their picture from a bridge while they are sunning themselves.

The Crocodile Conservation Commission, which in 2004 calculated 9.22 of the reptiles per linear kilometer (14.87 per linear mile), now estimates their population density at around 9.5 per kilometer (15.3 per mile).

There are also river tours in the area where even locals risk their lives feeding the reptiles from just a short distance away from them.

Commission records indicate that since the year 1995 in Costa Rica, some 32 attacks on people have been reported, of whom 15 were killed by the crocodiles.

[readon1 url="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2014/07/28/crocodiles-become-tourist-attraction-in-costa-rica/" ]Source:latino.foxnews.com[/readon1]

HAVANA (AP) – Cuba marked the 61st anniversary of the beginning of Fidel and Raul Castro's revolution on Saturday with a leading official calling on islanders to be united and to defend the nation's communist system.

President Raul Castro, wearing an olive-green military uniform as he sat in the front row with other top leaders, ceded speechmaking duties to Vice President Ramiro Valdes, a former commander in the rebellion.

"We must preserve this unity above all things," Valdes said. "We have no alternative but to keep fighting every day, until the last breath, for the country, with the revolution and with socialism."

The Castro brothers' failed attack on a military barracks in the eastern city of Santiago on July 26, 1953, is considered the onset of the revolution, which culminated in 1959 when strongman Fulgencio Batista fled the island.

The date is a national holiday celebrated each year with musical performances and patriotic speeches. On Saturday, the main ceremony took place in the provincial capital of Artemisa, west of Havana.

"There is no place in our hearts for discouragement, and the word defeat has been erased from our vocabulary," Valdes said.

[readon1 url="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/07/27/cuba-celebrates-61st-anniversary-castro-revolution-with-call-for-unity/"]Source:latino.foxnews.com[/readon1]

MEXICO CITY – A 32-year-old schizophrenic man was arrested in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León after he confessed to murdering his fiance's mother in a Facebook post, officials said Monday.

Roberto Alejandro Santos was arrested on Sunday and is being held in connection with the killing of 61-year-old Lucila Reyes, Nuevo León deputy prosecutor's office spokesman David Perales told Efe.

Reyes's body was found Saturday afternoon at her house in the city of San Nicolas, but investigators suspect she was killed in the early morning hours.

"I did it, I don't know how they can allow me to live another day," Santos said in a Facebook post.

Santos was already a suspect in the case because his fiance, 25-year-old Julibeth, had filed a complaint with police after he beat her.

The suspect is being held on a preventive arrest order of up to 30 days, prosecutors said, adding that a judge will decide whether to charge him once the order expires.

Santos's confession is not enough to charge him and the case will depend on what he tells prosecutors.

[readon1 url="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/07/21/mexican-man-arrested-after-posting-murder-confession-on-facebook/"]Source:latino.foxnews.com[/readon1]

The home where Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis spent her elementary school years is on the market. The former home of the iconic first lady has been remodeled but remains one of the finest New York addresses available — with a historic pedigree to match.

The 19-story art deco building at 740 Park Avenue has only 31 apartments and gaining entry past the tough co-op board remains as difficult as it was when Onassis’ grandfather developed the home.

The New York Post reports the current owner, hedge fund investor David Ganek, is selling the sixth and seventh floor apartment after an insider trading scandal at his investment firm.

The 8,000 square-foot apartment features tall windows, a curving marble stairway, state-of-the-art kitchen, library and staff quarters. The master bedroom suite and living room provide views of Park Avenue.

Assuming a standard 20 percent down payment on the $8.8 million asking price, the monthly mortgage would be nearly $212,000, according to Zillow’s mortgage calculator. But with Jackie O’s name attached to such a highly desirable address in Manhattan, the home might just be priceless.

Another property tied to Onassis is for sale in Virginia. The horseback riding retreat that was built while she was married to John F. Kennedy sits on pastoral land in Middleburg. Jacqueline went to that home overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains after his death to grieve, but sold the estate within a year.

[readon1 url="http://www.forbes.com/sites/zillow/2014/07/21/jackie-kennedy-onassis-childhood-home/"]Source:www.forbes.com/sites[/readon1]

International arrivals to Puerto Vallarta’s international airport (PVR) increased by 17% in the first 6 months of 2014 when compared to 2013 (GAP) and with new flight and additional frequencies scheduled for the upcoming Fall and Winter season, Puerto Vallarta is way on track to black.

A direct result of the efforts undertaken and financed by the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board, the State of Jalisco, the destination’s hotels and tour operators, the Riviera Nayarit Visitors and Convention Bureau and the Mexico Tourism Board, the increment in international arrivals is expected to continue increasing with the Vallarta-Nayarit campaign continuing to grow this year.

Confirmed new flights include the Alaska Airlines direct flight from Portland, Oregon to Puerto Vallarta from November 4, 2014 until April 26, 2015; last month, Delta announced it will open service this winter from Seattle to Puerto Vallarta and Aeromexico will be increasing frequencies from its Mexico City hub to Puerto Vallarta.

New flights from Houston to Puerto Vallarta are also expected to be announced soon by United Airlines and Southwest has also suggested it is looking at Puerto Vallarta as one of its new international destinations in the near future.

[readon1 url="http://www.eturbonews.com/48170/puerto-vallarta-welcomes-double-digit-increase-international-arr"]Source:www.eturbonews.com[/readon1]

TORTOLA - British Virgin Islands sailor Rayne Duff - who won the 22nd International Youth Optimist Regatta on St. Thomas last month - paced the field of nine U.S. and British Virgin Islands sailors at the Optimist World Championships, which wrapped up Wednesday in Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit, Mexico.

Duff was 15th overall in the Yellow Fleet for the highest placing of the territories representatives, with the USVI's Teddy Nicolosi finishing 23rd and Mateo Di Blasi 27th. Christopher Sharpless and Mia Nicolosi were 57th and 59th, respectively.

The USVI's Robert Hunter was fourth in the Blue Fleet, with the BVI's Thad Lettsome placing 11th and Julian Van Den Driessche finishing 19th.

Nathan Haycaraft of the BVI took 39th place, the highest local finish in the Red Fleet.

In team racing, the U.S. Virgin Islands advanced to the semifinals with victories over Mexico I and Canada I, before falling to USA I and USA 3 in the semis.

[readon1 url="http://virginislandsdailynews.com/sports/duff-leads-local-sailors-at-opti-world-championships-1.1721161"]Source:virginislandsdailynews.com[/readon1]

It's Nelson Mandela International Day, a day of service celebrated on July 18, Mandela's birthday.

Mandela, the former president of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, died at 95 on Dec. 5, 2013. This is the first time the day has been celebrated since his death.

The day was unanimously approved in 2009 by the U.N. General Assembly. It was created to honor Mandela and inspire others to carry on his efforts to "take responsibility for making the world a better place, one small step at a time," according to a statement from the Nelson Mandela Foundation Initiative.

Here's a selection of USA TODAY coverage of Mandela in the wake of his death.

Nelson Mandela, rights activist, dies Dec. 5, 2013

Mandela's full obituary includes a timeline of his life and photographs from over the years. Mandela's health had been failing for months prior to his death. "We've lost our greatest son," South African President Jacob Zuma said when announcing Mandela's death at a press conference.

Recalling Nelson Mandela: 'Everyone was in awe of him' Dec. 5, 2013

Several individuals reflect on meeting Mandela in person in South Africa and when he visited Detroit in 1990. "He seemed to be speaking just human being to human being," Trudy Gallant-Stokes, then a freelancer for Black Entertainment Television, said. "He was so humble in spite of all he'd accomplished."

Nelson Mandela saw sport as a way to connect S. Africans Dec. 5, 2013

Mandela's support of Francois Pienaar, the white captain of the traditionally white Springboks rugby team, helped to unite the country.

15 of Nelson Mandela's best quotes Dec. 5, 2013

Mandela once said, "Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people." His words offered hope and inspiration to millions.

9 lesser-known facts about Nelson Mandela Dec. 5, 2013

Even giants of history have aspects of their lives that aren't as widely known. Did you know sports were a part of Mandela's life even during his time as a political prisoner at Robben Island? There, he helped to form a very limited sports program in the isolation section. He and other prisoners became fans of the prison soccer teams that would play weekly matches in the general section of the prison.

South Africans on Mandela: 'He is the person who saved this country' Dec. 5, 2013

USA TODAY Network talked to South Africans about how this transformative figure left a lasting impression across generations.They reflect, in their own words, on their country's "greatest son."

Why Nelson Mandela is called Madiba Dec. 6, 2013

Mandela's clan name Madiba emerged in condolences around the world after his death. The clan or family name represents a person's ancestry. The meaning is deeper than a surname and is used as a sign of respect and affection.

 Nelson Mandela

[readon1 url="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/07/18/nelson-mandela-day/12780115/"]Source:/www.usatoday.com[/readon1]

A Malaysia Airlines passenger plane has reportedly crashed in Ukraine, on the border with Russia. All the latest details here.

Interfax reports that a Malaysian plane has crashed in Ukraine
• The plane was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur
• 295 people were on board
• Reports that the plane could have been shot down

With pressure mounting from the U.S. government, Mexico on Tuesday appointed a czar to take charge of largely unimpeded migration from Central America, which sees tens of thousands of people each year enter southern Mexico and cross the country en route to the United States.

Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, in an announcement before reporters in Mexico City, said the new system would guarantee the safety of migrants as well as their eventual repatriation.

He called on the mayors and governors of key states along the migration route -- Quintana Roo, Campeche, Tabasco and here in Chiapas -- to cooperate with federal authorities to eventually stem the flow of migrants. Most of those traveling north board the notorious "La Bestia," or "the Beast," the freight trains that traverse the country toward the northern border with the U.S.

Migrants have been clambering atop the trains for years. Many die every year, falling from their precarious perch or being tossed off by marauding gangs who attempt to extort or rape the migrants.
With new attention focused on the latest surge of young migrants, some of them children traveling without parents, U.S. authorities are urging Mexico, Honduras and other Central American origin countries to do their part in stopping the flow.

Osorio Chong’s announcement was bereft of concrete details and fell far short of what many observers had expected. He did not specify security measures for "La Bestia" and merely named Humberto Mayans, a senator from his Institutional Revolutionary Party, as the head of an agency that would be independent of the Interior Ministry.

Osorio indicated that independence would make it more efficient, but many in Mexico saw yet another layer of bureaucracy.

He did not take questions from reporters.

Mexico has largely turned a blind eye to the thousands of Central American who have crossed the country for decades, despite millions of dollars from the U.S. government allotted for tightening the southern border. In the last several years, the numbers of Central Americans have increased as gang violence, poverty and a growing presence of Mexican drug cartels have made life at home impossible for many.

Previously, Mexico has said it will issue temporary permits for Hondurans and citizens of Belize to remain in this country briefly, but only in border states.

Mexico’s announcement Tuesday came a day after American authorities began deporting Honduran mothers with children and other migrants who arrived in recent days. The deportation flights will continue, the Obama administration has said.

Also on Tuesday, Thomas A. Shannon, a senior U.S. State Department official with extensive experience in Latin America, was expected in Tapachula to observe how Mexico was securing its southern border.

[readon1 url=http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-mexico-migrants-czar-20140715-story.html"]Source:www.latimes.com/world[/readon1]

(Reuters) - At least 20 people were killed and more than 120 were injured when a Moscow underground train derailed during the morning rush hour in one of the worst accidents on the Russian capital's subway system in years.

President Vladimir Putin, who is away in Brazil, ordered a criminal investigation into the accident, which is likely to raise further questions over Russia's transport safety record. There was no suspicion of a militant attack - the cause of scores of deaths in Moscow's subway system in years past.

Three carriages derailed on a train travelling between two stations at 70 km per hour (44 miles per hour) at around 8:35 a.m. (0435 GMT) on the world's busiest subway system.

"It braked very hard. The lights went off and there was lots of smoke," a man, his nose bloodied, told Rossiya-24 television.

"We were trapped and only got out by some miracle. I thought it was the end. Many people were hurt, mostly in the first rail car because the cars ran into each other."

Rescue workers evacuated more than 1,000 people from the area of the accident, the Emergencies Ministry said. Injured passengers were carried on stretchers, bloodied and bandaged, out of both metro stations.

Helicopters ferried the most seriously hurt to hospital and passengers helped to the surface by emergency services looked stunned or were crying. "There is no one alive left," Moscow deputy mayor Peter Biryukov said. "The cause is not known, the work continues."

Some bodies were recovered from the wreckage but others remained underground, crushed in the accident, he said.

The Investigative Committee put the toll at 20 dead. Russian news agency Itar-Tass quoted Health Ministry representative Oleg Salagai as saying that 129 people were injured, 42 of whom were in a serious condition.

NO SUSPICION OF MILITANT ATTACK

The Investigative Committee, which answers to Putin, said it had opened a criminal case on suspicion of failure to meet safety guidelines but that it had not yet determined the cause of the accident, although no militant involvement was suspected.

A power surge may have caused the train to stall and several cars to come off the rails between the Slaviansky Boulevard and Park Pobedy stations, the Investigative Committee said.

Russians regularly criticise the country's transport safety record. Recent disasters included the 2011 sinking of a ferry boat that killed 128 and an airplane crash that killed the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey team the same year, both of which were blamed on lax safety regulations and technical errors.

On weekdays as many as 9 million people use the subway system.

Famed for its high-vaulted halls adorned with Soviet socialist realist art, the underground network has expanded from 13 stations opened in 1935 to 194 stations across the megalopolis today.

Islamist militants have previously carried out deadly attacks in Moscow, including twin suicide bombings that killed 40 people on the subway in 2010.

[readon1 url="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/15/us-russia-accident-idUSKBN0FK0I720140715"]Source:www.reuters.com[/readon1]