A U.K. publication claims to have spoken with Liberty Ross' brother about the alleged affair between Rupert Sanders and Kristen Stewart, but sources close to Ross deny that anyone from her family has disclosed any information to the public.

The People recently published a story saying that Leopold Ross, Liberty's 28-year-old musician brother who is living in Los Angeles, revealed details about Stewart and Sanders' relationship, claiming it lasted "from the last half of filming and all through post-production, clear into last week.”

The story was in stark contrast to People magazine's original report about the affair, in which sources claimed the "Twilight" actress and the married director only engaged in a "fleeting moment that never should have happened."

Although The People is standing by its story, a source close to Ross and her family told People magazine that all quotes in the article are false.

"Contrary to inaccurate reports, neither Liberty Ross nor any member of her family has spoken to the media," the source told People magazine. "Quotes that are being attributed to the Ross family have been completely fabricated."

People also maintains that the fling between Stewart and Sanders was short-lived and began only recently.

Us Weekly, the first to break the news about the cheating scandal, published its story last week. The magazine hit newsstands on Friday and the photos of Stewart and Sanders were published online Monday.

Stewart and Sanders both issued statements apologizing for their indiscretion, but so far, their significant others have remained silent.

Ross reportedly posted some cryptic messages on her social media networks, including the Marilyn Monroe quote: "Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together" and a photo of a drunken Snow White.

Robert Pattinson moved out of the Los Angeles home he shared with Stewart. Stewart and Pattinson met while filming the first "Twilight" movie in 2008 and began dating shortly thereafter.

Although Stewart issued a very publicly apology to him, Pattinson has not yet made a statement, but sources said he is devastated.

Have you ever wondered what music would accompany Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele on their journey toward everlasting love? Or, you know, what they would play in the car during that one particularly naughty scene? Well, now you do.

Fifty Shades of Grey author E L James has curated her own playlist -- and it pretty much includes every song that you think it should. From Britney Spears' "Toxic" (which James writes would play as Christian and Anastasia "drive to chase the dawn") to Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire" (which Anastasia blasts on her drive back to Washington State University) and Kings of Leon's "Sex of Fire" (do we really need to explain this one?) James' soundtrack is every bit as gratifying as Christian Grey himself.

The Fifty Shades of Grey book trilogy follows Anastasia Steele, a headstrong but innocent recent college graduate, as she navigates an erotic sexual relationship with complicated billionaire businessman Christian Grey. Not only did the series reign over the New York Times best-seller list, but before you could say "safe word," the movie rights were also snatched up by Universal Pictures and Focus Features.

In more Fifty Shades of Grey news, the casting search for the perfect leading pair to play Christian and Anastasia is still in full-swing. "Harry Potter" actress Emma Watson recently nixed rumors that she would play the WSU college student in the movie adaptation of the best-selling novel. Meanwhile, "Vampire Diaries" star Ian Somerhalder has said he would "absolutely" be up for portraying Christian Grey.

"It could be very, very amazing. I have the book and I just started reading it," he said in April. "That would be a pretty incredible thing, and hopefully that could pan out," he said. "Beyond the shadow of a doubt, I think that would be a phenomenal opportunity!"

The Internet got all sorts of excited last week when rumors began to surface that Emma Watson was in talks for the role of Anastasia Steele in the film adaptation of  Fifty Shades of Grey. Not so fast, says Watson. “I haven’t read the book, I haven’t a read a script, nothing,” Watson tells EW. “There are so many movies you become attached to when I’ve literally never even received a phone call. It was the same way with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – I never even saw a script!”

Watson is plenty busy: she has The Perks of Being a Wallflower in theaters this fall; she recently wrapped Sofia Coppola’s  The Bling Ring and is currently working on Darren Aronofsky’s Noah. She adds that even some friends and family asked her about Grey since so many different items linking her to the film have popped up online. “I told them just because there are 60 articles on the Internet doesn’t mean it’s any less true than if there are three or four.”

And a word to the wise for those who believe everything that they read about the actress: “The thing is I’m not going to go out there every time someone attaches me to a film to say no or release a statement.”

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.