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  • Monstrous amberjack caught in Sea of Cortez could have been a record contender

    The powerful amberjack was so massive it might have been a world record.

    But the fisherman who battled the monstrous fish, and the Mexican crew that helped deliver it from the Sea of Cortez to a remote Baja California beach, were not thinking about records.

    They marveled at the size of the fish and hefted their great prize as if to see if it could, indeed, be hefted—then carved it up for fish tacos and fillets for the grill.
    amberjack

    Capt. Raymundo “Mundo” Lucero Geraldo poses with giant amberjack. Top photo shows another captain hefting the prized game fish. Photos by Esteban Romero

    The International Game Fish Association lists a 156-pound amberjack caught off Japan in 2010 as the all-tackle world record. The fish caught last week by Kevin Shiotani was conservatively estimated to weigh at least 135 pounds.

    As anyone who has done a lot of weight-guessing knows, however, estimates can be wildly inaccurate.

    Regardless of a possible record lost, Shiotani’s amberjack is one of the largest ever caught, although it’s likely that larger specimens have been hooked and lost in the rocks.

    The catch was made after a 25-minute struggle near Cerralvo Island, the southern-most island in the Sea of Cortez.

    Shiotani is a regular customer of Tailhunter International Sportfishing, a La Paz-based charter business that trucks clients to a remote beach to fish Cerralvo and offshore waters out of pangas, or large skiffs.

    Jonathan Roldan, who owns Tailhunter International and Tailhunter Restaurant, explained the catch to Phil Friedman Outdoors Radio.

    “Kevin fought the fish for 25 minutes to a half-hour and got it to the boat and, of course, blew everyone away,” he said. “They stuck a gaff in it, got it back to the beach, and started taking pictures. It’s a magnificent fish.”

    Roldan said there was no scale on the beach and that he was not present when the fish was brought ashore. Had he been, he would have been sure to get the behemoth weighed on a certified scale.

    He said that because amberjacks are so powerful and always lurk near structure, the larger fish are incredibly difficult to land.

    “The largest we’ve put on a scale is 110 pounds, and 60- to 70-pounders have taken an hour or two hours to put on the boat, so this is just a fish that [Shiotani] happened to turn and put the wood to it, and got it back out of the rocks and got it to the boat.

    Damon Lindelof Admits Alice Eve Underwear Scene In 'Star Trek' Was 'Gratuitous'

    Damon Lindelof, producer of "Star Trek Into Darkness," responded Tuesday on Twitter to criticism about his treatment of one female character.

    In the second "Star Trek" film, which was released on May 16th, Alice Eve, who plays Dr. Carol Marcus, one of the few speaking female roles, strips down to her underwear for no explicable reason. This prompted an outcry from "Star Trek" fans such as The Mary Sue's Jill Pantozzi. She explained her issue with the scene thusly:

        Eve’s character of Dr. Carol Marcus was touted to have incredible intelligence, though instead of allowing her to use it to effect the plot, she was used as the most blatant eye-candy I’ve seen in a long time. We see this kind of thing a lot in Hollywood, sure, but the scene in question was akin to an actor holding up and verbally speaking the name of a can of Coca-Cola during a scene about cats or general surgery.

    This morning Lindelof took to social media to address his critics and actually issued somewhat of an apology. He tweeted:

    We respect Lindelof for recognizing the criticism and acknowledging it head on. As io9's Meredith Woerner put it: "It was horribly ridiculous and we're glad they learned from their silly decision to force the one new female character with speaking lines to strip in front of Captain Kirk."

    Massive submerged structure stumps Israeli archaeologists

    The massive circular structure appears to be an archaeologists dream: a recently discovered antiquity that could reveal secrets of ancient life in the Middle East and is just waiting to be excavated.

    It's thousands of years old -- a conical, manmade behemoth weighing hundreds of tons, practically begging to be explored.

    The problem is -- it's at the bottom of the biblical Sea of Galilee. For now, at least, Israeli researchers are left stranded on dry land, wondering what finds lurk below.

    The monumental structure, made of boulders and stones with a diameter of 230 feet, emerged from a routine sonar scan in 2003. Now archaeologists are trying to raise money to allow them access to the submerged stones.

    "It's very enigmatic, it's very interesting, but the bottom line is we don't know when it's from, we don't know what it's connected to, we don't know its function," said Dani Nadel, an archaeologist at the University of Haifa who is one of several researchers studying the discovery. "We only know it is there, it is huge and it is unusual."

    Archaeologists said the only way they can properly assess the structure is through an underwater excavation, a painstakingly slow process that can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. And if an excavation were to take place, archaeologists said they believed it would be the first in the Sea of Galilee, an ancient lake that boasts historical remnants spanning thousands of years and is the setting of many Bible scenes.

    In contrast, Israeli researchers have carried out many excavations in the Mediterranean and Red Seas.

    Much of the researchers' limited knowledge about this structure comes from the sonar scan a decade ago.

    Initial dives shortly after that revealed a few details. In an article in the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology published earlier this year, Nadel and fellow researchers disclosed it was asymmetrical, made of basalt boulders and that "fish teem around the structure and between its blocks."

    'Return Of The Jedi' 30th Anniversary 30 Things You Didn't Know 'Star Wars' Gave Us

    This Saturday, "Star Wars VI: Return Of The Jedi," the capstone of George Lucas' original trilogy, turns 30. Not only does this mean you're old, it means it's time to consider precisely 30 things Lucas and his wildly successful franchise introduced into the world. Some (incest kiss) aren't too popular; others are downright magical. But they're all here thanks to one man and his crazy, mad expensive, dream. Time to scroll, like those revolutionary opening credits.

    1. Crowd pleasing science-fiction. Big budget sci-fi movies before "Star Wars” tended to be apocalyptic, along the lines of "Planet of the Apes," or "Soylent Green". Lucas didn't eradicate that genre entirely, but he made room for a new one. In a matter of a few years after "Star Wars," we got not only "Alien" and "Blade Runner," but the significantly kinder world of “E.T.”

    2. A "used future." Film scholars credit George Lucas for pioneering the concept (made famous again in later sci-fi movies like “Alien”) -- with spaceships that are dingy rather than shiny, furnished with a hodgepodge aesthetic.

    3. An unknown cast, but not for lack of trying. Luckily, Sissy Spacek, Jodie Foster, Al Pacino, and James Caan effectively turned Lucas down, and we landed up with Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, Mark Hamill as young Luke Skywalker, and Harrison Ford, in his first starring role, as Han Solo.
    SOURCE

    Alleged Hit-and-Run Driver Brags on Twitter, Joins Other 'Crime-Braggers'

    The criminal mind can be cunningly brilliant—or stunningly foolish. You can safely put Emma Way of the U.K. into that second category. She’s the aggressive 21-year-old motorist who allegedly hit a cyclist while out for a drive in the city of Norwich, fled the scene, and bragged about it on Twitter on Monday.

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    “Definitely knocked a cyclist off his bike earlier—I have right of way he doesn’t even pay road tax! #bloodycyclists,” she tweeted.

    Her admission was soon retweeted more than 300 times, inspiring angry responses and the nickname “twit and run girl” by fellow Twitter users. They also retweeted her brag to the social-media savvy Norfolk police department, who wrote back, "we have had tweets ref an RTC with a bike. We suggest you report it at a police station ASAP if not done already & then dm us." Though Way deleted her account, the ball kept rolling. The cyclist, Toby Hockley, a chef who had been taking part in an organized ride, came forward, and police said they tracked down Way and are progressing with an investigation.

    On Wednesday, the police department told Yahoo! Shine there was “no further information at this time.” Way later apologized on ITV News, saying "It was a spur of the moment thing and I'm sorry," adding, "I don't want any cyclist to think I have hatred against them." Her lawyer said during the interview that she'd been interviewed by police but that no arrest had been made.

    Way, unfortunately, is not alone in bragging about wrongdoing on her smartphone. The post-privacy generation has given way to a host of accidental confessions and video-taped self-indictments. Get a load of these other social-media users outed by their own Internet mistakes:

    The drunk driver: Oregon teenager Jacob Cox-Brown landed himself in the county jail after posting about his drunk-driving hit-and-run escapade on Facebook earlier this year. "Drivin drunk ... classsic ;) but to whoever's vehicle i hit i am sorry. :P" was the early-morning post that quickly led to his at-home arrest, after Facebook friends alerted the local police department, who had already been looking into the mysterious hit-and-run of a parked car.

    The baby Jesus thief: A York, Pennsylvania juvenile (who has remained unnamed in the press) was charged with theft after stealing a baby Jesus statuette worth $400 from a neighbor’s front-lawn manger scene. The boy’s gaffe? Posting a photo of the swiped statuette on Facebook, where rightful owner Frank McKee spied it after combing through profiles of locals for clues.

    Maria Sharapova Dishes About 'Refreshing' Relationship With Grigor Dimitrov

    Maria Sharapova hasn't been too keen on letting the press into her relationship with fellow pro Grigor Dimitrov, but in a surprisingly open interview with USA Today, she uncharacteristically gushes about Dimitrov -- and says dating a younger man (Dimitrov is 22 years old) is "refreshing."

    "Maybe it makes me really young, too, inside, which is good," Sharapova, 26, told the newspaper.

    As for what she's looking for in a man, she says: "It's about finding the person where you can be yourself all the time, where you're comfortable with being younger girl, the older girl, the mature girl, and the person that understands you and look at you and say you're completely off your rocker!

    "I have so many things going on in my life and I really love them. Of course I want someone to be by my side to enjoy them. You know, I can jump on a plane tomorrow and go somewhere because I want to do it. And it's really important that that person respects me for the decisions that I make and the things that I do in my life."

    She did not, however, offer any of her tips about outrunning the paparazzi.

    The two were first spotted cozying up on a Madrid street earlier this month. Sharapova ended her engagement to basketball player Sasha Vujacic last year.

    Christina Aguilera Wears Bra, Shows Slim Figure On Music Video Set

    Christina Aguilera showed off her slim figure in a bra and skirt on the set of an upcoming new music video on Wednesday.

    Aguilera donned a black bra and bodycon mini-skirt, showing off the weight loss she first debuted back in March, on the set of her music video for "Hoy Tengo Ganas De Ti" -- a track she collaborated on with Alejandro Fernandez. With red lipstick and platinum curls, the 32-year-old resembled a pin-up beauty from yesteryear.

    She tweeted a photo of her slimmer figure, against an ocean backdrop, for fans.

    The singer has previously had to defend her curvy figure from critics who lambasted her in the press for gaining weight. In October, Aguilera said she embraces her body and the changes that have happened over the years -- through motherhood, her 30s and more.

    "I've always been one to make it very clear, love me or hate me, take it or leave it, this is who I am," she told People magazine. "I embrace my body, and I embrace everything about myself. Coming full circle is a celebration of freedom and happiness because that's what [my new album] Lotus is representing. I'm embracing everything that I've grown to be and learned to be."

    This week, it was reported that Aguilera will return to "The Voice" for Season 5, taking her spot back from Shakira, who replaced the "Your Body" singer while she focused on her own music and the promotion of "Lotus." She reportedly inked a deal worth $17 million.

    Demi Lovato On Selena Gomez Feud 'We've Been Through A Lot'

    A feud between Disney Channel stars and former best friends Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez caused their friendship to fall apart three years ago. Now that the starlets have grown up and moved on from the Mickey Mouse House, they are putting the past behind them.

    In an interview with MTV News, Lovato opened up about her feud with Gomez, admitting that there were some difficult times.

    "We've been through a lot together," she said. "We've had periods of times where we grew apart and we just didn't really talk. Now we are in a place where I think we realized that life is so short and that when you have people in your life that love you so much then, you should just always be around them. She's going to be a big sister, and I want to be around for that. Everything about her... she has a great soul, she's talented, she's beautiful, and she will always be really, really close to my heart."

    She said even though they don't talk every day, the ex-best friends -- who first met on the set of "Barney & Friends" when they were little girls -- have been able to pick up right where they left off.

    Where they left off was 2010 and the rift involved players like Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift. Gossip blogs claimed both Lautner (who was dating the "Spring Breakers" star at the time) and Swift came between the two Disney stars. Gomez got closer with the country sweetheart and Lovato turned to Miley Cyrus, later dissing Gomez to the press.

    In an interview with Girl's Life magazine that year, Lovato targeted Gomez head-on, saying: “We’re both busy, and I wish the best for her. True friends don’t let their friends or family be mean to you. If you can’t trust somebody, you can’t be friends with them.”

    Shortly after, Lovato checked into rehab for eating disorders and self-harm. In 2011, she revealed to Billboard that both Gomez and Kim Kardashian called her while she was getting treatment and the sentiment meant the world to her.

    LeAnn Rimes, Brandi Glanville Feud Reignites After Mother's Day Diss

    The ongoing feud between LeAnn Rimes and Brandi Glanville flared again this week when the reality star reportedly dissed the country singer over a Mother's Day gift.

    On Sunday, Rimes sent flowers to Glanville for Mother's Day as a peace offering of sorts, Us Weekly notes. (Rimes is the stepmother of Glanville's children with Eddie Cibrian.) However, it appears the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star did not take kindly to the gesture and failed to thank Rimes.

    The reality star later took to Twitter, saying:

    Rimes responded, tweeting, "[T]his was actually the first acknowledgement of my gesture I was made aware of. I didn't see anything else sent to me. It wasn't for the 'thank you.' It was to just simply say Happy Mother's Day."

    She also retweeted a seemingly cryptic message reading: "Stop giving the people who have nothing positive to say about you an ear. Ignore them and keep doing your thing."

    The feud between Rimes and Glanville has been playing out in the public arena since the singer and Cibrian had an affair in 2009 and married two years later. One point of contention has been Rimes' relationship with Glanville's sons -- Jake, 5, and Mason, 9.

    “I don’t think we’ll be friends, but I hope we can coexist peacefully,” the former model told "Access Hollywood" in February. “I think once she has a child of her own, I think she will understand boundaries and what’s respectful to do and how to handle things a little better.”

    The Bravo star told Andy Cohen in March that she is done "speaking poorly" about Rimes, but she isn't the only one to engage publicly. The 30-year-old "Spitfire" songstress has been vocal about her feelings in the press as well.

    Beyonce Pregnant Singer Expecting Baby No. 2

    The rumors were all true! Beyonce is pregnant again with her second child, multiple sources confirmed to E! News.

    The superstar singer took a "sick day" earlier this week from The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour, which only fueled speculations that she and Jay-Z are expecting. Today the rumors were verified as accurate, according to E!.

    HuffPost will keep updating this story as it develops.

    Rumors started running rampant last Monday when New York Post's Page Six described the singer's Met Gala dress by saying "Bey wore a Givenchy gown with a high, belted waist that carefully camouflaged her midsection, but pictures have emerged on blogs of what looks like a baby bump from recent tour dates."

    As "proof," many media outlets relied on Beyonce's own quotes regarding children and her desire to give Blue Ivy -- her and Jay-Z's one-and-a-half year old daughter -- a sibling. "I would like more children," Beyonce told ABC News earlier this month. "I think my daughter needs some company. I definitely love being a big sister. At some point ... when it's supposed to happen."

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