Middle-earth fans, you may need to sit down for this one: Peter Jackson has confirmed "The Hobbit" will become a trilogy.

It is only at the end of a shoot that you finally get the chance to sit down and have a look at the film you have made," Jackson wrote on Facebook. "Recently Fran [Walsh], Philippa [Boyens] and I did just this when we watched for the first time an early cut of the first movie -- and a large chunk of the second. We were really pleased with the way the story was coming together, in particular, the strength of the characters and the cast who have brought them to life. All of which gave rise to a simple question: Do we take this chance to tell more of the tale? And the answer from our perspective as the filmmakers, and as fans, was an unreserved ‘yes.'"

Rumors of a third film emerged at Comic-Con, when Jackson told a HitFix reporter that he was considering splitting the second and final part of "The Hobbit" -- titled "The Hobbit: There And Back Again" -- into two films.

"We have certainly been talking to the studio about some of the material we can't film, and we've been asking them so we can do a bit more filming next year," Jackson told HitFix at the time. "Which, I don't know what would come of that, whether it'd be extended editions or whatnot. But those discussions are ongoing."

Currently, the third "Hobbit" film is slated for a summer 2014 release date. Meanwhile, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" arrives on Dec. 14, and "The Hobbit: There And Back Again" is out on Dec. 15, 2013.

Skeptical fans might be concerned over the third film's plot; after all, some felt that there was lack of material in J.R.R. Tolkien's original book. It is rumored that Jackson will use material from the appendixes Tolkien wrote at the end of "Return of the King," the final chapter in the "Lord of the Rings" series, to close "The Hobbit" trilogy.

Of course, plot worries might not matter that much in the long run. Jackson's last Tolkien trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings," grossed nearly $2.9 billion worldwide.

The M1 Abrams tank has survived the Cold War, two conflicts in Iraq and a decade of war in Afghanistan. No wonder – it weighs as much as nine elephants and is fitted with a cannon capable of turning a building to rubble from two and a half miles away.

But now the machine finds itself a target in an unusual battle between the Defense Department and lawmakers who are the beneficiaries of large donations by its manufacturer.

The Pentagon, facing smaller budgets and looking towards a new global strategy, has decided it wants to save as much as $3 billion by freezing refurbishment of the M1 from 2014 to 2017, so it can redesign the hulking, clanking vehicle from top to bottom.

Its proposal would idle a large factory in Lima, Ohio, as well as halt work at dozens of subcontractors in Pennsylvania, Michigan and other states.

Opposing the Pentagon’s plans is Abrams manufacturer General Dynamics, a nationwide employer that has pumped millions of dollars into congressional elections over the last decade. The tank’s supporters on Capitol Hill say they are desperate to save jobs in their districts and concerned about undermining America’s military capability.

So far, the contractor is winning the battle, after a well-organized campaign of lobbying and political donations involving the lawmakers on four key committees that will decide the tanks’ fate, according to an analysis of spending and lobbying records by the Center for Public Integrity.

Sharp spikes in the company’s donations – including a two-week period in 2011 when its employees and political action committee sent the lawmakers checks for their campaigns totaling nearly $50,000 – roughly coincided with five legislative milestones for the Abrams, including committee hearings and votes and the defense bill’s final passage last year.

After putting the tank money back in the budget then, both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees have again authorized it this year — $181 million in the House and $91 million in the Senate. If the company and its supporters prevail, the Army will refurbish what Army Chief of Staff Ray Odierno described in a February hearing as “280 tanks that we simply do not need.”

It already has more than 2,300 M1’s deployed with U.S. forces around the world and roughly 3,000 more sitting idle in long rows outdoors at a remote military base in California’s Sierra mountains.

The $3 billion at stake in this fight is not a large sum in Pentagon terms – it’s roughly what the building spends every 82 minutes. But the fight over the Abrams’ future, still unfolding, illuminates the major pressures that drive the current defense spending debate.

These include a Pentagon looking to free itself from legacy projects and modernize some of its combat strategy, a Congress looking to defend pet projects and a well-financed and politically savvy defense industry with deep ties to both, fighting tooth-and-nail to fend off even small reductions in the budget now devoted to the military – a total figure that presently composes about half of all discretionary spending.

Seven people have died in a crash on Interstate 10 near Phoenix after a semitrailer truck crossed the highway's median and struck a van head on.

Carrick Cook, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Public Safety, says the victims were all inside the van when the crash happened Sunday about 60 miles west of Phoenix.

Cook says the driver of the semitrailer truck and his wife were taken to a hospital.

Cook says the vehicles caught fire after the force of the crash pushed them into a culvert.

At least seven people were in the van. The identities and hometowns of those who died in the crash weren't immediately released.

Cook says the van was registered to someone from western Arizona.

It's been said there's no such thing as bad publicity, but when the stars of your own show give it a thumbs-down, that might be the exception.

The National Geographic Channel premiered "Chasing UFOs," an eight-episode reality TV show last month, focusing on a trio of investigators traversing America in search of the truth of unexplained UFO reports, alleged alien abductions and reported military cover-ups.

On the heels of less-than-positive reviews and viewer comments, two of the show's stars -- James Fox and Ben McGee -- revealed their own dissatisfaction with "Chasing UFOs," complaining that the show had placed more emphasis on entertainment value than a serious look at the UFO subject.

    Fox: "I know how disappointed all of you are. I am too. It's not the show that was sold to both myself and scientist Ben. Two months into it, we were off to a great start; good locations, solid witnesses and some opportunities for Ben to apply his field research as a geologist at some crash sites. Very exciting stuff. Unfortunately, when we actually got out in the field, we began to realize that they were more interested in poking around at night than allocating the time necessary during the day as, apparently (so we were told), Americans love watching others sneak around at night from the comfort of their couches. For the most part, it was gratuitous nighttime baloney. ... I promise I'll either quit or change my position within the show because at least I can make it all make some sense. The show does get a bit better further down the road, but not a lot. ... My credibility and reputation has, deservedly, taken a serious hit."

    McGee: "When we were brought onboard, the project certainly had a much harder inclination than its final realization, and as a career scientist, I was excited that NatGeo was at the helm (unaware of their desire for a major shift in programming flavor). Our intentions were very sincere. ... James and I both had expectations and (for our own reasons) hopes of an ultimately serious product. We both saw the project heading i
n a different direction as time went on and were powerless to influence it. Injecting science into mainstream media is also problematic, and I am suffering heat in my own circles for the lack thereof on the show."

Fox and McGee wrote their comments on the Facebook page of New York Times best-selling author Leslie Kean.

NatGeo put up a brave face and tried to spin the criticism, suggesting what the two stars said could be taken out of context.

"I think, naturally, they're going to get more comfortable with their roles and they're all figuring out what their roles are in the series and how best to be authentic and represent their point of view in a way that viewers can relate to," said Michael Cascio, NatGeo Channel's executive vice president of programming.

A missing 12-year-old girl has been found safe after authorities discovered the bodies of the couple she lived with, Arkansas police said.

Amber Whitlow was found Saturday night in Memphis, Tennessee, local police said. She was found with her 33-year-old brother, Antonio Whitlow, who is a suspect in her abduction as well as a double homicide, Memphis police spokeswoman Alyssa Moore said.

Antonio Whitlow is in custody, Moore said. Amber was taken to a children's hospital as a precaution, and the Tennessee and Arkansas departments of child services were notified.

Earlier Saturday, the man and woman whom Amber lived with were found dead inside a home in Little Rock, Arkansas, police said.

Authorities received a call from a man who attended the same church as the slain couple and had found the woman just inside the home's doorway, Sgt. Cassandra Davis said.

Officers investigated and found that woman and the dead man, who was further inside the residence. Both of the deceased were in their 60s, Davis said.

Authorities have not released the names of the couple, nor have they indicated how they died. But Davis said Amber is either the daughter or granddaughter of the deceased couple.

Sherlyn Chopra, a Bollywood film actor, will become the first woman from India to strip naked in Playboy.

The 28-year-old knockout wrote to the magazine and suggested the idea herself, the BBC reported. They got back to her within a few days to accept.

Fans will have to wait till the November issue circulates to get a glimpse of Chopra. A press conference earlier this week heralded the addition of a "Bollywood goddess" to the pantheon of beauties who've appeared on the pages of Hugh Hefner's magazine.

But her decision to pose caused a controversy in her native India where the granddaddy of all adult magazines is banned. A critic cited by the Daily Mail wrote "one wonders if Sherlyn Chopra’s pictures wound a woman’s integrity."

Chopra, who has had small roles in a handful of Bollywood flicks, is unfazed by the criticism.

"I have become the first Indian to pose naked for Playboy," she said to the BBC, "and nobody can take away that achievement from me,"

She uploaded snapshots from her tour of the famous Playboy mansions in Los Angeles to her Twitter account.

Invicta FC will hold their second show in the same location as their first, Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.

The 14-bout card will be streamed live and free on InvictaFC.com at 7 p.m. ET.

In the main event of the evening top prospect and Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann takes on her toughest foe to date, Shayna Baszler.

In the co-main, Strikeforce bantamweight Alexis Davis returns to action following her defeat to Sarah Kaufman in March to battle Hitomi Akano.


Main Card
Shayna Baszler (133.6) vs. Sara McMann (135.4)
Hitomi Akano (135.8) vs. Alexis Davis (134)
Kaitlin Young (135) vs. Liz Carmouche (135)
Lacey Schuckman (115.4) vs. Ayaka Hamasaki (114.6)
Raquel Pa'aluhi (134.4) vs. Amanda Nunes (135.4)
Vanessa Porto (133.6) vs. Sarah D'Alelio (136.2)*
Bethany Marshall (124) vs. Barb Honchak (124.2)
Elina Nilsson (144.6) vs. Julia Budd (145.2)

Preliminary Card
Carla Esparza (115.2) vs. Sarah Schneider (116)
Nicdali Rivera-Calanoc (105.2) vs. Angelica Chavez (105.4)
Sarah Moras (134.8) vs. Raquel Pennington (134.4)
Jessamyn Duke (135) vs. Suzie Montero (136)
Cheryl Chan (124.2) vs. Jocelyn Lybarger (124.8)
Jessica Philippus (107.2) vs. Liz McCarthy (104.2)*

*Sarah D'Alelio was able to weigh-in under 136-pounds on her second weigh-in. Jessica Philippus was unable to cut more weight. The fight will still proceed and she will be penalized 25% of her fight purse.
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Glory be to Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings, who will maintain the old school by keeping the bikini look in the London Olympics.

The New York Post's Marc Berman reports May-Treanor and other USA Olympic Volleyball athletes will still don bikinis despite a London rule that maintains players can now wear shorts and a T-shirt.

This is hardly a matter of style or sexy undertakings from the part of the athletes. Simply, they wear what is comfortable and what got them to this stage in their respective careers.

Kerri Walsh Opens Up About Her Athlete Crush

Jen Kessy was one of the more vocal proponents of the bikini, and had this to say to The New York Post. She even goes so far as to cite the horrendous heat wave in London as one of the benefits.

    "We’re not uncomfortable in our bikinis. Growing up in southern California, that’s what you wear from when you’re a little kid to now in the summertime.

    "This is the most comfortable thing for us to wear...If it is cold, we will put clothes on. But we won’t be playing in shorts. For us, that’s not comfortable. You get sand everywhere in the pockets. But for others, it’s now their choice...If the weather stays like this, we’ll be in our bikinis all night."

The report states the biggest reason for the change in clothing is for athletes from other countries and various religions who may be precluded from playing because of the dress code.

Hi-res-91223450_crop_exact Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Even Kessy sounds off on the great benefit of the new rule. The fact is, the US women may be more comfortable with less, but that sentiment hardly extends around the world. She finds any preclusion because of clothes, "not OK."

This is a win-win across the board.

Women who would rather play in shorts and shirt are allowed, as they should be from the start. We want the best athletes playing at their most comfortable.

Uniform codes shouldn't deter anyone, because there is nothing Olympic about that.

Michael Phelps’ reign as the world’s most dominant Olympic swimmer took a serious hit in his first race at the London Games.

Ryan Lochte captured the gold medal in the 400-meter individual medley on Saturday, while Phelps finished fourth – failing to medal for the first time since the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney when he was just 15 years old. Lochte showed why he has been considered the world’s best swimmer over the last year, holding strong throughout the race before making his move in the backstroke and then steadily pulling away in the breaststroke and freestyle.

And while Lochte’s performance was brilliant, Phelps' struggle was equally captivating as the race wore on. Phelps has typically been able to make his move in the butterfly leg of the medley and finish strong in the freestyle, but he struggled to make up ground or mount a charge in any of the four legs of the race.

Japan’s 17-year-old Kosuke Hagino held off Phelps down the race's final 50 meters during the freestyle leg, touching at 4:08.94 and nudging Phelps off the medal stand. Phelps finished at 4:09.28.

"It was a crappy race," Phelps said. "I felt fine for the first 200 meters and then I just don’t know. They just swam a better race – a smarter race than me. They were more prepared. That’s why they are on the medal stand."


Phelps moved from third to second position in the second 50 meters of the race, but was never able to mount a serious charge from there. His splits gradually faded as the race went on, and he slipped from second to third during the second half of the backstroke leg. Hagino overtook Phelps in the front end of the freestyle and was never seriously threatened for third place.

USA's Michael Phelps competes in a heat of the men's 400-meter individual medley at the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Saturday, July 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)Michael Phelps couldn't keep up in the men's 400m IM. (AP)Phelps arrived at his block in typical fashion – goggled up and under a set of headphones. He toweled off his block and shook his arms, loosening up before taking his perch. But his departure was far different than anything we’ve seen in an Olympic games. After touching, he stared at the video board in mixture of disgust, disbelief and anger.

"The biggest thing is to get past this and move forward," Phelps said. "I have a bunch of other races. Hopefully we can finish a lot better than we started."