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• "That layer is gone now. It gives me a little more room to breathe," she told an interviewer.
• Nearly five years after assuming the first lady's role following a bruising campaign in which she sometimes became a target, Mrs. Obama is showing increased comfort in what amounts to a volunteer position with a host of responsibilities and outsized expectations. Not to mention a sometimes-unforgiving spotlight.
• "I have never felt more confident in myself, more clear on who I am as a woman," the first lady told Parade magazine when asked about the birthday. She started the celebration last week by spending extra time with girlfriends in Hawaii after her family's holiday vacation there. It was an early birthday present from the president. On Saturday, she'll be toasted at a White House party where guests have been advised to come ready to dance, and to eat before they come.
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• Amy Poehler made out with Bono, Tina Fey mocked George Clooney's taste in women and Matt Damon emerged, bizarrely, as the night's recurring gag.
• But at the end of a madcap Golden Globes (Fey toasted it as "the beautiful mess we hoped it would be"), the major honors soberly ended up with the favorites. David O. Russell's con-artist caper "American Hustle" led with three awards, including best film comedy. And despite missing out in the other six categories it was nominated in, the unflinching historical drama "12 Years a Slave" concluded the night as best film drama.
• "A little bit in shock," said director Steve McQueen, before shrugging "Roll, Jordan, roll" -- the lyrics to the old gospel song sung in the slavery epic.
• Russell's 1970s Abscam fictionalization "American Hustle" had the better night overall, winning acting awards for Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence. Best picture was the only award for "12 Years a Slave," which came in with seven nominations, tied for the most with "American Hustle."
• The awards returned Lawrence, a winner last year for Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook," to the stage for an acceptance speech -- something she said was no easier a year later.
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