The MTA released some mesmerizing photos of the subterranean mega-project, started in 2007 and slated to be completed in 2016, when New York will run a brand new subway line through the tunnel from the Financial District all the way up to 125th Street along the East side.

The photos reveal some serious progress, and puts into jaw-dropping perspective the immensity of the task at hand.

And for some more photos, and specifically portraits of the construction workers doing all the dangerous mining, check out Gina Levay's "Sandhogs," or watch the documentary by the same name (see the trailer below).SEE MORE

Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle expressed disappointment with Lamar Odom's ongoing absence from the team and bluntly stated that the forward will face scrutiny upon his return, from owner Mark Cuban to the players in the locker room.

Odom will play Saturday night for the Mavs' D-League affiliate in nearby Frisco and then is expected to re-join the Mavs for the first time since Feb. 20 when the team travels to Oklahoma City for Monday's game, Carlisle said.
Odom left the Mavs on Feb. 22 to tend to a family matter and missed his fourth consecutive game Friday night when Dallas played New Orleans. He will also miss Saturday's game against the Utah Jazz. Odom left the team to attend to his ill father in Los Angeles, sources told ESPNDallas.com.

The Mavs need Odom's presence off the bench in the midst of nine games in 12 nights, the most grueling stretch of the season.

"Mark asks a fundamental question of anybody in our franchise: Are they in or are they not in?" Carlisle said. "Our fans want to know that Lamar's in. Our players want to know that Lamar's in. It's not about how many points he's scoring or rebounds; those things are a factor. Our fans, our players want to see the guy playing like his pants are on fire and we haven't seen that so far and that's got to change."

Texas Legends owner and Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson confirmed Friday that it was Odom's idea to play with the Legends first.

Carlisle said he would expect that Odom will address his teammates before Monday's big road game against the Western Conference-leading Thunder.

"It's got to be few words and strong action and it's got to go from there, and I'm sure he'll address the team," Carlisle said. "But, from this point going forward it's attitude and action.

"We're going to do everything we can to get the guy ready to play ... but he's well aware now of exactly what's expected. And it's not about the stats. It's about how he approaches it in terms of his actions on the court, his engagement in the game, being into it and intensity, passion, all those kind of things."

Carlisle acknowledged that Odom is dealing with a personal issue, but he said he does not know specific details. Even so, Carlisle said that Odom's underwhelming season, the worst in his 13-year career, combined with the off-court drama, is wearing thin on a veteran core of players attempting to defend its championship.

"There is a personal issue here and we do not know the extent of it or the details of it," Carlisle said. "There is a fine line between compassion, which our owner is showing, and gross insensitivity."

Mallika Sherawat had something lethal in her Cannes wardrobe – a 22 ft python that she draped around herself on Sunday. And just to make sure no one misses her latest stunt to promote the snake drama Hisss, the Bollywood Bombshell has been tweeting about it for days: “with the Producers of Hisss, makin Hissstory”

Her other tweets on the subject include: “And now for a very special and private photo shoot in Cannes with my date, Rudy the Sssnake” and “All the Sssnakes have just entered the Majestic Hotel in Cannes! Hissstory is being made

Mallika Sherawat is at the Cannes Film Festival to unveil the first look of her home production Hisss. According to reports, her Love, Barack will also be introduced at the gala event. Directed by Jennifer Lynch and produced by Govind Menon and Vikram Singh Lamba of Split Image Pictures, Hisss also stars Irrfan Khan, Divya Dutta and American character actor Jeff Doucette.
In fact Mallika has much to cheer about at Cannes this year. A French fashion website reportedly voted her among the 13 best-dressed celebs at the Festival. While opinion remains divided about her status as style icon, the actress was clearly over the moon for being noticed above other beauties like Aishwarya and Deepika: “WOW! 1 of the 13 best-dressed @ Cannes?! and me the only Indian listed!?”
From >>>>>>>>>>>>

If there was ever anything to make you wish to God (with a capital G) that Molly Ivins were alive and sitting right next to you with a glass of Maker's, providing a running commentary, it is ABC's new series "GCB." I will not be as good at reviewing this fictional Texas scenarios as Ivins was at critiquing things that actually happened in Texas. Have you ever read her take on the Texas legislature? It was a beautiful thing to behold, but I am not there yet. Additional handicaps: 1) I am from the South and grew up visiting relatives in Texas, but I am not a Lone Star native. 2) My taste in television tends toward "The Bachelor" and "Criminal Minds." Consider your source.

Here's what I do know: Generally speaking, it's not terribly effective to give a film or series that you want people to remember a name that is an acronym -- especially an acronym easily confused with CBGB or BCBG. Fortunately, there's an easy way to remember this one -- just remind yourself what the series was going to be called before a lot of people got very upset: "Good Christian Bitches." (For a while, the title was going to be "Good Christian Belles," which would have been no fun at all.)

Billed as a Texas version of "Desperate Housewives," the show is based on the book "Good Christian Bitches" by Kim Gatlin, who also co-wrote the series. The premise is this: Recently widowed former mean girl Amanda Vaughn (Leslie Bibb) is forced to move back to her hometown of Dallas with her two kids to live with her socialite mother, played by Annie Potts. The women Amanda terrorized in high school, who in her absence have grown up to control the Dallas society machine, are less than thrilled by Ms. Vaughn's return, especially since their husbands definitely are thrilled. The GCBs, led by Carlene Cockburn (Broadway veteran Kristin Chenoweth), thus conspire to make Amanda's life hell. A lot of the conspiring and hell-raising happens to take place in church.

As Brooks Barnes noted in the New York Times, "If the first episode is any guide, the series ... will be way, way (way) over the top."

I'd say so. The entire thing begins with a failed Ponzi scheme and oral sex that proves fatal to both parties.

It's understandable that some Christians feel that this show misrepresents them: God here is made an accessory to the GCBs outfits and their antics. Some have argued that naming any show "______ Bitches" is demeaning to women in general. That's probably true, and if so, an acronym hardly fixes the problem. And I suppose it threatens to misrepresent Texas women, specifically, to the larger world.

Harvey Weinstein really wants to get into the Katy Perry business. During a pre-Oscar party at Soho House in Los Angeles, Weinstein was talking to Perry about co-starring in new drama about British opera singer and reality television star, Paul Potts.

"I was talking to Katy about a new project, a possible dramatic role in the Paul Potts movie, which will be shooting in England soon," Weinstein told Page Six. "We'd really like someone like Katy or Adele to play the role of Potts' wife, and Katy seemed genuinely interested."

What makes that sorta funny? Potts's real-life wife, Julie-Ann, isn't a singer at all.

As for Paul Potts himself, if the names sounds familiar-ish, perhaps that's because you are one of the 89 million YouTube users who watched the former mobile phone salesman sing "Nessun Dorma" on "Britain's Got Talent." Potts went on to win the reality competition, which launched him to international fame.

This isn't the first time Weinstein has courted Perry for something. Last year, Weinstein said he wanted Perry to play Marilyn Monroe in a stage version of "My Week With Marilyn." He also used her song, "The One That Got Away," during marketing for "Marilyn." Guy really loves "Teenage Dream," apparently. (Who doesn't, but still.)

Mallika Sherawat Sizzles at Cannes Film Festival. Mallika Sherawat sizzles at the premiere of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps during ongoing Cannes International Film Festival 2010. Mallika Sherawat looks horrible at the event in that dress. Mallika Sherawat who is almost forgotten in bollywood by her movies, remains in news due to public appearances in particular her lust to get place in Hollywood. Mallika Sherawat is planning to host a bash at Cannes with some of the big names in world cinema at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival. Mallika is throwing a big bash at the festival and sources say she is inviting top bosses of several Hollywood production companies and other international personalities. Let’s see how much success she get with this gimmick. Checkout Mallika Sherawat Cannes Pictures.

Deepika Padukone clearly loves her tattoos. First it was the RK tattoo at the base of her neck and then another one depicting an anklet. No wonder, she was chosen as an ambassador by the organizers of the first Tattoo Convention.

The remixed version of the iconic song ‘Mit Jayee gham’ sees Deepika sporting a scorpion tattoo and swinging to the tune with an attitude. After watching the song, IndiaInk Invention got in touch with her and requested her to visit their first ever convention which took place on Sunday, 10th April 2011.

However, the actress was shooting in London for ‘Desi Boyz’ and was unable to attend the convention.She forwarded the invitation to the ‘Dum Maaro Dum’ team. Abhishek Bachchan, Prateik and Rohan Sippy attended the convention instead.
Manoj Thakur, Partner at Par Excellance Entertainment says, “Deepika Padukone’s absence was felt, especially at an event that she would have readily identified with. With her own much-written about the tattoo at the base of her neck and the cutting-edge tattoo she’s seen sporting in the movie, she would have been the perfect ambassador for this tattoo expo.”

The cast of Dum Maro Dum launched the special Dum Maaro Dum tattoo at the convention.

A wealthy New York woman is facing criminal charges after being accused of keeping an illegal immigrant as an indentured servant and forcing her to live in a closet for nearly six years.

Documents posted on the Smoking Gun allege that Annie George, 39, and her now-deceased husband, Mathai Kolath George, hired an illegal immigrant from the Indian state of Kerala. The immigrant, identified only as "V.M.," was promised about $1,000 a month in wages to live in the family's 34-room, 30,000-square-foot home, known as Llenroc mansion, which houses a helicopter pad, 15 fireplaces, marble flooring, 24-karat gold gilded ceilings and a glass elevator. V.M. was tasked with taking care of the Georges' four young children, along with performing household duties in the mansion located about 20 miles north of Albany.

New York's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Even if V.M. had been allowed to leave the residence at the end of a regular 40-hour workweek, she would have been entitled to a minimum, pretax income of $290 per week, or $1,160 per month.

Instead, the "forced labor situation" (as described in the court papers) was even worse than the already-below minimum wage offer of $1,000 month. V.M. received 85 cents an hour, working 17-hour days, seven days a week, over the 67 months she was kept inside the George residence.

All told, V.M. received only about $29,000 over the five and a half years she was forced to work for the George family.

Georgia O’Keefe once wrote to Mabel Dodge Luhan, “I feel there is something unexplored about women that only a woman can explore.” With this in mind, we present the work of Claiborne Swanson Frank, a photographer living and working in New York. Swanson Frank was formerly Anna Wintour’s assistant at Vogue, and from the photos below we can see the magazine’s influence on this budding photographer.

We talked to Swanson Frank over the phone as she walked her dog and answered questions about her work. Slightly breathless, she was excited to discuss her debut photo collection from Assouline, titled, “American Beauty" -- which features over 100 photos of inspirational women from their twenties to mid-forties.

After taking a class, she decided to follow her dream of becoming a professional photographer in 2010. Her first project was “Indigo Light” -- a series of 29 portraits of her female friends and family members that present the women on their own terms. To Swanson Frank, portraiture is a collaborative process; she works with each woman to present her at her very best, but also remembers that the clothes should always be the woman’s own; it’s not a fashion shoot, but a moment of being, crystallized in time.
CSF: To be a woman in America is such a gift because we have such a freedom to express ourselves and to celebrate our accomplishments. I wanted to tell that story through portraits of these women, through these conversations. There’s been two wars, the collapse of the economy, 9/11, and women in America are wildly different now than ever before -- this really hasn’t been explored on this level before. This is the new creative guard, in a sense.

Andrew Breitbart used the Internet relentlessly to ignite political scandal and expose what he saw as media bias, even if he sometimes had to edit the facts to do it.

The fiery online publisher and blogger who collapsed and died Thursday at 43 relished public combat with liberals -- a YouTube clip last month shows him bellowing at Occupy Wall Street protesters, "Stop raping people, you freaks!" Yet the conservatives and tea party activists who loved him said he exposed corrupt leaders and what he called the hopelessly liberal "old media guard."

The converted Hollywood lefty who partied his way through Tulane University was also a soft-spoken father of four. The conservative warrior chose to live on enemy turf, Brentwood, the tony Los Angeles enclave favored by the Hollywood elite he so often mocked.

Breitbart used his website to promote a hidden-camera video with actors posing as customers that led the downfall of the liberal Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN. He posted explicit photos of former Rep. Anthony Weiner that caused the New York congressman to resign in a sexting scandal, and an edited video that caused former U.S. Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod to resign over since-reversed perceptions she was a racist.

In a new media age, Breitbart argued that anyone with a laptop could reshape public discourse. He used his skills at sites like Big Journalism and Big Government, and his takedown of Weiner established him as a conservative media star.

He was filled with contradictions. He was a self-avowed enemy of the mainstream media, yet he subscribed to The Associated Press and admitted loving the venerable news agency's photos that came from afar. "It's a love-hate relationship," he confided at a quiet moment. He pleaded with conservatives to drive relentlessly forward -- walk into the line of fire, he would say -- yet the final sentence from his prolific and often caustic voice on Twitter was, ironically, an apology for calling a follower a "putz," just in case he misunderstood a message to him.

His business partner and lifelong friend, Larry Solov, once said Breitbart had two speeds: lighthearted jokester and fiery culture warrior.

"They flip back and forth," Solov said. "And there is not that much in between."

Breitbart died after collapsing shortly after midnight during a walk near his home. He was rushed to the emergency room at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Breitbart suffered heart problems a year earlier, but his father-in-law, actor Orson Bean, said he could not pinpoint what happened. Larry Dietz, watch commander at the Los Angeles County coroner's office, said an autopsy was likely.
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When Zac Efron dropped a Magnum condom at The Lorax premiere, you’d just assume it was a simple mistake at best or a deliberate message to the ladies at worst. Except if you’re The National Enquirer, you immediately assume it’s a clever stunt to woo his two decades older The Paperboy co-star Nicole Kidman away from Keith Urban which makes all the sense in the world. I don’t know how we missed it. Via Gossip Cop:

“He thinks she’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever laid eyes on,” reveals a so-called “insider,” adding, “Zac said if Nicole wasn’t married, he’d put the moves on her hard.”
…
The Enquirer alleges that Efron’s recent red carpet miscue was all part of a plan to “impress” Kidman.
Efron dropped the “gold magnum condom – which is used by well-endowed men” because, as the magazine’s source explains, “He knew reports of the incident would get back to her.”
“He wanted to let her know what kind of man he really is,” says the Enquirer insider. CLICK HERE

In Mumbai the rich build helipads atop their houses, the poor beg not just for food but also water. The condominiums of the wealthy tower above the tarp roofs of the poor so that when they turn to the heavens in prayer they see instead the rich at play. Obvious disparity is a defining feature of Mumbai, and the city's survival and relative harmony despite this is what makes it so fascinating to writers.

I don't recall when I slipped from writing about the mainstream to writing only of the margins. But one evening a few years ago I found myself accompanying a young hijra, an Indian transgender, to the home of her guru for a story I was reporting. I was then invited to attend a brothel madam's birthday party in the red light district. Thereafter it seemed only natural that when the brothel workers went on pilgrimage to a shrine high up in the hills outside Mumbai, that they would invite me along.

With every interview, I learnt a little more of the intimate hardships of poverty. Through every shared experience I saw how great a struggle it was for an already marginalized person to survive in a city with eyes only for the prize of power and wealth. For the courage they displayed, everyone I met deserved to have his or her story told. Then in 2005 I was introduced to a girl called Leela who didn't just have a story, but who became part of a story that captivated India.

Leela was 19, and a bar dancer. Every night she danced fully clothed to Bollywood music in a seedy little bar called Night Lovers. The more energetic and calculated her dancing, the more likely it was that her customers, the men who'd come to watch her, would reward her. If they liked what they saw, they flung money at her. On a good night Leela earned the equivalent of $50. Customers also showed their appreciation with gifts of perfume and offers of money for sex.

Leela was one of 75,000 women who danced in bars. And at the time there were 1,500 such bars in Mumbai. Their aesthetic was a curious blend of a 1970s nightclub and a Bollywood set. But even among the crowd, Leela stood out. Most bar dancers were illiterate. Leela read novels. She had a wicked sense of humor. And she knew without a doubt that she deserved better than her customers. Through hundreds of hours of interviews I found that despite the physical hardship and routine degradation at the hands of customers and cops, Leela's life, relative to the alternative of the street or back in the village was under her own control, and, as far as she was concerned, a happy one.

In the summer of 2005, the local government decided to ban dancing in bars. The decision was a bald attempt to capture the middle class vote, and cost thousands of women their livelihood. Innumerable bar owners, waiters, bouncers, even taxi drivers and tailors who'd earned money from the bars also suffered losses.

Leela's life, which I chronicle in my book Beautiful Thing, was now out of her control. Like the Bollywood films to whose music she danced, it was chaos in the extreme. READ MORE

"Punk'd" is back, and its causing some series drama for its Hollywood targets. In this sneak-peek of the wedding-crashing premiere, Justin Bieber -- who is celebrating his 18th birthday -- punks his good friend, pop superstar Taylor Swift, and from the look on her shocked face, you'd think she won an award.

This season, Ashton Kutcher is passing the torch to a different celebrity host each week, including Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Kellan Lutz, Hayden Panettiere, Bam Margera and “Punk’d” alum Dax Shepard, among many others, who will punk their unsuspecting famous friends, including Khloe Kardashian Odom, “Teen Wolf’s” Tyler Posey, Demi Lovato, and more.

This just in: President Obama will be re-elected president in 2012.

At least, that's what the newly discovered Academy Awards/Golden Globes Rule suggests.

With only two exceptions over the past 50 years, a Democrat has won the White House when the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture (Drama) and the Oscar for Best Picture have not gone to the same film. When the same picture takes both honors, a Republican wins.

This year, "The Descendants" won Best Motion Picture (Drama) at the Globes, and "The Artist" won Oscar's Best Picture. (Full disclosure: "The Artist" also won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical).)

CNN's OutFront blog spotted the pattern (and yes, even they float the question of whether or not they have too much time on their hands), and the details are pretty intriguing. Of the two times the rule failed to hold true, one can be somewhat easily explained away:

In 1976, when "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" won both awards, things went crazy, and Gerald Ford failed to win.

But as Ford was never actually elected as president or vice president in the first place, there is an argument to be made he was never a true incumbent.

The other, CNN notes, was when the filmic adaptation of Steinbeck's "East of Eden" won the Golden Globe but failed to capture the Oscar. Steinbeck himself was fiercely political and published a long memo outlining a plan that he hoped would keep Eisenhower from a second term.

Every other election cycle, the award shows have "predicted" the party of the next president. Reagan won his second term the year that "Terms of Endearment" won both honors, and Bill Clinton won in 1996 when "Braveheart" and "Sense and Sensibility" split the statuettes.

The Conservative Party is reviewing tapes of every call made by the Responsive Marketing Group call centre in Thunder Bay, Ont., in the last election before Elections Canada investigators arrive next week, CBC News has learned.

Investigators are planning to interview the centre's staff, which the Conservative Party hired to make phone calls to identify and rally supporters in the 2011 federal election.

The news comes on a day when Conservative MPs' counterattack backfired after they accused the Liberals of being behind mysterious election calls — but mixed up two similarly named call companies, naming the wrong one as the smoking gun.

After a week of denials over the role the Conservative Party and a campaign team played in phone calls directing voters to the wrong polling station, and opposition party allegations over harassing calls in other ridings, Prime Minister Stephen Harper pushed back in question period.

The Liberals, Harper said in the House, have said people got misleading phone calls from numbers in the United States. But when two of his MPs tried to offer more details, they named a U.S.-based company that the Liberals have never used.

Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae said Harper was smearing thousands of Canadians complaining about the calls.

"The prime minister and his colleagues have remarkable ability to turn themselves into victims," Rae said.

"The prime minister cannot deny the fact that two of the companies that are involved with respect to [campaign] activities are now under serious investigation. Nor can he deny the fact that there is an RCMP investigation ongoing with respect to what happened in Guelph."

Elections Canada is investigating automated robocalls in Guelph, Ont., that tried to send voters to the wrong polling station on election day.

Opposition MPs say they have reports of robocalls or strange, harassing live calls from more than 45 ridings in the lead-up to the May 2, 2011, election. They allege the Conservative campaigns made the rude calls, claiming to be the Liberals, in an attempt to make the Liberal campaigns look bad. Harper says the opposition parties didn't report the calls at the time and are acting like sore losers.

This just in: President Obama will be re-elected president in 2012.

At least, that's what the newly discovered Academy Awards/Golden Globes Rule suggests.

With only two exceptions over the past 50 years, a Democrat has won the White House when the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture (Drama) and the Oscar for Best Picture have not gone to the same film. When the same picture takes both honors, a Republican wins.

This year, "The Descendants" won Best Motion Picture (Drama) at the Globes, and "The Artist" won Oscar's Best Picture. (Full disclosure: "The Artist" also won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical).)

CNN's OutFront blog spotted the pattern (and yes, even they float the question of whether or not they have too much time on their hands), and the details are pretty intriguing. Of the two times the rule failed to hold true, one can be somewhat easily explained away:

In 1976, when "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" won both awards, things went crazy, and Gerald Ford failed to win.

But as Ford was never actually elected as president or vice president in the first place, there is an argument to be made he was never a true incumbent.

The other, CNN notes, was when the filmic adaptation of Steinbeck's "East of Eden" won the Golden Globe but failed to capture the Oscar. Steinbeck himself was fiercely political and published a long memo outlining a plan that he hoped would keep Eisenhower from a second term.

Every other election cycle, the award shows have "predicted" the party of the next president. Reagan won his second term the year that "Terms of Endearment" won both honors, and Bill Clinton won in 1996 when "Braveheart" and "Sense and Sensibility" split the statuettes.

This news, if you can call it that, comes amid signs that Hollywood isn't as Obama-mad as it used to be. Four years after the likes of Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney and Halle Berry effusively praised the "Yes We Can" candidate, the relationship appears to have cooled considerably.

Could they be fighting over who gets to wear the prettiest bra? Or who gets the most close-ups and magazine covers? Whatever anger they're channeling, a cat fight has never looked as glamorous as these pictures of Adriana Lima and Doutzen Kroes.

The Victoria's Secret models are pitted against one another in the latest edition of V Magazine.

In pictures taken by photographer Mario Testino, the women go to battle in fish nets, heels... and not much else.

The magazine said the sport theme for their spring edition was a natural choice with the London 2012 Olympics taking place this summer.

"We wanted to pay homage to these incredible icons past and present with our own Fashion Olympics. The talents who grace these pages face challenges, obstacles, victory, and defeat in an open forum almost every day," they state

Armed with a new 10-page report he commissioned, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Thursday he suspects the birth certificate President Obama released last year is a “computer-generated forgery” — and also raised questions about the authenticity of the president’s selective service registration card.

In an extensive — and at times combative — press conference in Phoenix, Sheriff Arpaio repeatedly said he is not questioning the president’s legal status under the Constitution nor alleging fraud on Mr. Obama’s part, but did say there is evidence crimes have been committed by someone and his investigation continues.

“Based on all of the evidence presented and investigated, I cannot in good faith report to you that these documents are authentic,” Sheriff Arpaio said. “My investigators believe that the long-form birth certificate was manufactured electronically and that it did not originate in paper format as claimed by the White House.” CLICK HERE

The 38-year-old supermodel posed topless on the cover of Another Man magazine, showing off her youthful chest.

Kate 'wore' an Alexander McQueen design for the shoot, for a limited edition of the publication coinciding with the start of Paris Fashion Week.

Kate, who was spotted out and about in London yesterday, appears to have recovered from a nerve disorder that rendered her 'temporarily paralysed', according to friends.

She was diagnosed with the condition last weekend after returning from Paris, where she woke up at the Ritz hotel unable to move her right arm and hand.

Although she will make a full recovery, the illness is a blow for Kate who is about to move into her £7.25million new home in Highgate, North London, with husband Jamie Hince.

The event, which was held at the Kensington Roof Gardens in west London, quickly turned into a battle between the female stars as the most tanned reality TV personalities fought it out for the most revealing dress competition.

Sam Faiers covered all bases by wearing a dress that was both short in length and low cut in the chest area.

The 22-year-old may have been dressed more demure than her sister but she may have over done it with the fake tan on her legs.

Jessica Wright sent pulses racing as she turned up in a black sheer dress that left little to the imagination.

The 21-year-old brunette looked slightly elegant in her short dress which she teamed with black peep toe heels, but, on closer inspection it looks like she forgot a vital piece of her wardrobe.

Newcomer Billi Mucklow opted for a purple sequined dress which featured black under netting, but the halterneck, teamed with pink lipstick and big earrings, made the 24-year-old look like a little bit like EastEnders' Pat Butcher.

Her boyfriend Tom Kilbey looked uncomfortable in front of the camera and he wore a white Vivienne Westwood shirt with a silver blazer.

The Mean Girls star has now spoken out, discussing how her jail stints terrified her and she didn’t want to admit to herself she was an addict.

Speaking candidly to the TODAY show's Matt Lauer, Lindsay revealed she is now 'clean and sober' but she uses the interview to reflect on her previous struggles with drug addiction.

The 25-year-old also discussed in the candid chat about her terrifying stints in jail over the past year.

But she seems to have learned from the ordeal as she dressed in an elegant LBD and spoke coherently during the chat in a bid to prove herself to viewers when it airs in the US on Thursday night.

Lindsay admits she has experienced how easy it is to 'fall into that world' of substance abuse.

And although she eventually realised she had a problem, it took a long process for her to admit she was an addict because she 'was scared' to face her issues.

She tells Lauer in the pre-recorded interview: 'I've experienced things like that. It's a really sad factor that can come into play in people's lives sometimes if you don't recognize it.

Just past the security gate for the world's largest cell phone trade show in Barcelona, executives of big mobile carriers can't avoid walking past a booth they would probably rather not see: It's for "Pinger," a small California company that offers free texting in the United States and Germany and has global expansion plans.

Pinger – along with an explosion of smartphone messaging services like iMessage, BlackBerry Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber Media, Facebook Messenger and KakaoTalk – have managed in just a few years to slash away at the important revenue that cell phone companies get from text messaging, and analysts say there's no end in sight to the financial blood letting.

They do it by offering messaging applications that let phone users chat for free on the carriers' data networks or Wi-Fi. Some, like Pinger, make money from advertisements and work on computers as well.

The London-based Ovum research firm estimates telecommunications companies lost nearly $14 billion last year in text-messaging revenue as consumers migrated to applications allowing them to send messages over cell phone data networks.

Ovum said the companies still took in an estimated $153 billion, but that was down 9 percent from a year earlier, and Pinger co-founder Joe Stipher wants to reduce the amount even more.

"Text messaging is free, and calling is going to be free," said Stipher, wearing jeans in contrast to the dark suits favored by thousands of cell phone company executives attending the four-day 2012 Mobile World Congress that ended Thursday. "Data is going to be like electricity or water, not totally free, but do you worry about giving someone a glass of water at your home or letting them plug in? No."

Needless to say, mobile companies are not happy at the flood of free messaging services piggybacking their networks. Telecom Italia SpA chief executive Franco Bernabe told MWC that free messaging services are undercutting the ability of phone companies to invest in their networks. Paid texting, or SMS, has been a cash cow for phone companies that uses minimal network capacity.

The new "players have based their innovation in the mobile domain, without a deep understanding of the complex technical environment of our industry. This is increasingly creating significant problems to the overall service offered to the end user and driving additional investments for mobile operators," Bernabe said.

Google’s plan to collapse 60 privacy policies into a single one and combine information it collects about its users has sparked outcry among privacy advocates and scrutiny from lawmakers around the world. Privacy experts have slammed the approach as “frustrating,” “a little frightening,” and even “illegal.”

But users will not notice much of a change when the new privacy policy takes effect on March 1, experts say, noting that the update is, in part, codifying practices that have long been routine.

“Users are not likely to see any difference actually because most of what Google is doing they have been always able to do,” said Jules Polonetsky, director of the think tank Future of Privacy Forum. “They were already tracking, personalizing, and tailoring profiles for users based on the different things that you did. There now will be some more data that will be available to do this.”

The new privacy policy does not allow Google to collect more information about its users, though it does allow Google to do more with the information it has already been collecting across its services. Specifically, the terms permit Google to merge data it has compiled about its users as they engage with Google products, as well as build more comprehensive portraits by drawing on data from a greater number of Google services. YouTube, Gmail, Blogger, Google TV, Google+ and Web History, which records all searches performed on Google.com, will now be able to communicate with each other about a user’s preferences and practices. Some Google products will still maintain standalone privacy policies, such as Google Books, Chrome and Google Wallet.

Merging information gleaned across multiple services isn’t anything new for Google. A Google spokesman noted, “Privacy policies for a long time now have allowed us to combine information that’s associated with a particular Google account.”

But the policy being introduced Thursday will help Google develop richer profiles of its users, cobbled together from data about what videos they’ve watched on YouTube, what their Gmail emails say, what searches they perform and which topics they follow on Google+. Rather than keeping information about your Gmail usage separate from specifics on what you write about on Blogger, Google will pull all of those details together. All Google users will also be required to submit to the new terms, a fact that has privacy advocates up in arms.
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When we think of Anne Hathaway, we often imagine little cartoon birds helping her get dressed in the morning, but she wants us to know she hasn't always been such a good girl.

The 29-year-old actress is comparing herself to -- of all people -- Lindsay Lohan. Hathaway swears she's not the "saint" she seems and revealed to the U.K. paper The Sun that, in her college days, she too was fond of dancing on tables and "doing self-destructive things."

"I never sit in judgment," she told the newspaper. "Lindsay Lohan and I have more in common than people think. We've all done things we shouldn't. It is just that I did stuff at college, when nobody knew about it. I'm not a saint. I wasted time doing self-destructive things. I found you can only dance on so many table tops."

It's a lesson many party girls have to learn, and it looks as if Lohan is finally trying to put her table dancing days behind her as well. After five trips to rehab and multiple stints in jail, the 25-year-old actress is slowing piecing her life and career back together. In addition to earning a glowing report from a judge at her most recent probation hearing, Lohan is lined up to host "Saturday Night Live" for the fourth time, and has been cast as legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor in a forthcoming TV movie about her life.

Hathaway may not have always been a "saint," but she's conducted herself as nothing but professional during her time in the public eye -- even after her ex-boyfriend, Raffaello Follieri, pled guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy and Hathaway had to give the U.S. government all the jewelry and gifts given to her by Follieri. CLICK HERE

Khloe Kardashian recently discussed her supportive relationship with husband Lamar Odom, so she understandably wasn't too thrilled when her brother-in-law of 72 days, Kris Humphries, dismissed her marriage upon their initial introduction.

"When I met Kris the very first time, I had just landed in New York and it was late at night," Kardashian told Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" Tuesday night. "He was in Kourtney and Kim's suite. And I went in there to say 'hi' because Kim was like, ‘I want to introduce you to my friend.' They had just started dating. And one of the first things that came out of his mouth -- like within the first five minutes -- was, 'So, how much you getting paid to fake your marriage? Like how long are you gonna keep this up for?' And I was like, 'Okay, dude, I don't know if you're trying to make me laugh ... But he just rubbed me the wrong way. So ever since then I had a very defensive wall brought up. I'm a very good judge of character, if I do say so myself."

Halle Berry has dumped another man ... but this one has been with her way longer than all the others -- her longtime lawyer/confidante, Neal Hersh ... TMZ has learned.

Read the whole story: TMZ

Just days after she stunned at the Oscars in a lacy Louis Vuitton gown, Michelle Williams stepped out for a low-key lunch with daughter Matilda. The 31-year-old actress was seen toting her 6-year-old daughter, from late actor Heath Ledger, in Los Angeles for a casual play date.

The "My Week With Marilyn Star" told Tim Gunn on the red carpet on Sunday that Matilda had helped out in picking out what to wear for that night's ceremonies, where Williams was nominated for her third Academy Award.

Williams also dedicated her award to Matilda when she picked up the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, in January.
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A study conducted by the data-driven review site Bundle analyzed data from over 700,000 PC and Mac buyers on how and where they spend their money.

Their conclusion: Mac users really are more fashion-forward and style-conscious than PC users.

Bundle's research examined which stores computer users tend to favor. They found that while Mac users are more likely to drop tons of cash at luxury stores like Jimmy Choo, PC users lean towards more modest price points, like Old Navy. Even while outlet shopping, Mac users seek to score bargains at stores like Coach and Last Call by Neiman Marcus; PC users tended to be fans of the Van Heusen outlet and Columbia Sportswear.

So, maybe Apple fans are more likely to shell out for a pair of Tory Burch flats than their PC counterparts. But can you boil this argument down to the fact that Macs are simply more expensive than PCs, and thus its users tend to be more affluent? Perhaps: Bundle found that 40 percent of the anonymous Mac users they examined earned more than $100,000, compared with 29 percent of PC users.

In addition, demographic data has long shown that Mac users skew younger, which could account for Apple fans' proclivity for hipper, trendier stores while their parents scour the racks at stodgier mainstream retailers.

The nurses involved in a scandal surrounding a Fox News reporter and Kennedy scion spoke out on Thursday, telling the "Today" show that he had violently assaulted them.

Douglas Kennedy, who is the son of Robert F. Kennedy, has been charged with harassment and child endangerment after a confrontation with nurses at a Westchester hospital, who say they tried to prevent him taking his newborn baby out of the maternity ward without clearance. Fox News chief Roger Ailes has backed his employee.

"To be assaulted because you're protecting the best interests of a baby? That's not OK," Anna Margaret Lane, one of the nurses, told WNBC's Jonathan Dienst.

Lane and Cari Maleman Luciano said that they told Kennedy he couldn't take the baby out without permission. According to Lane, when they followed him into an elevator, he twisted her arm. Luciano then described an even graver alleged assault/

"He brought his leg up and kicked me and I went flying through the air," she said, beginning to cry.

Kennedy, they said, then fell to the ground with the baby still in his arms. In a statement, he said that the nurses were at fault, and that he had received permission from others to leave the ward.

Actor Morgan Freeman and his business partner are ending their 10-year run as owners of an upscale restaurant in the heart of the impoverished Mississippi Delta.

Freeman's partner, attorney Bill Luckett, told The Associated Press that Madidi Restaurant in Clarksdale would have its closing party Wednesday night.

In separate statements, Luckett and Freeman said the restaurant had helped spur redevelopment in Clarkesdale.

Freeman said have they have watched downtown Clarksdale take on a new life and they "are proud to have been a part of that."

Yet Luckett said the restaurant "has never made money," and neither he nor Freeman has the time to run and manage it.

The restaurant offered what Luckett called "Americanized French" cuisine, a good wine list and fancy tablecloths and silverware.

Widely read conservative Internet publisher Andrew Breitbart has died, his attorney confirms.

The websites he founded ran a statement Thursday morning announcing that Breitbart, 43, died "unexpectedly from natural causes" in Los Angeles shortly after midnight.

"We have lost a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a dear friend, a patriot and a happy warrior," the statement said. "Andrew lived boldly, so that we more timid souls would dare to live freely and fully, and fight for the fragile liberty he showed us how to love."

Breitbart was a prolific commentator who founded several websites devoted to covering politics, entertainment and everything in between. Earlier in his career, he worked for the Drudge Report before breaking off to start his own outlets -- including Big Government, Big Hollywood and Breitbart.tv.

The statement on his sites quoted the concluding passage from his book, Righteous Indignation.

"I love my job. I love fighting for what I believe in. I love having fun while doing it. I love reporting stories that the Complex refuses to report. I love fighting back, I love finding allies, and-famously-I enjoy making enemies. Three years ago, I was mostly a behind-the-scenes guy who linked to stuff on a very popular website. I always wondered what it would be like to enter the public realm to fight for what I believe in. I've lost friends, perhaps dozens. But I've gained hundreds, thousands -- who knows? -- of allies. At the end of the day, I can look at myself in the mirror, and I sleep very well at night," Breitbart wrote.

The statement ended: "Andrew is at rest, yet the happy warrior lives on, in each of us."

Breitbart was walking near his house in the Brentwood neighborhood shortly after midnight Thursday when he collapsed, his father-in-law Orson Bean said.

Someone saw him fall and called paramedics, who tried to revive him. They rushed him to the emergency room at UCLA Medical Center, Bean said. Breitbart had suffered heart problems a year earlier, but Bean said he could not pinpoint what happened.

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The lifelong mental benefits of exercising have long been known, from improving learning in kids to staving off dementia in seniors. Yet how working up a sweat leads to better cognition is much less clear. A study in the Journal of Applied Physiology reveals that the key may lie in the body’s power supply.

Just as a booming metropolis might build new power plants to meet a rising need for electricity, our muscles respond to the demands of exercise by producing new mitochondria, the tiny structures inside cells that supply the body with energy. J. Mark Davis, a physiologist at the University of South Carolina, and his colleagues wondered if brain cells might do the same thing. While studying mice, they found that quantities of a signaling molecule, dubbed by researchers “a master regulator” of mitochondria production, increased in the brain after half an hour a day of treadmill running. The mice’s brain cells also had more mitochondrial DNA—distinct from the regular cellular DNA found in the nucleus—providing “gold standard” evidence of more mitochondria. It appears that the brain “adapts and changes by bringing more of these power­houses” online, Davis says. The increased energy supply allows the brain to work faster and more efficiently.

The finding could help scientists understand how exercise staves off age- and disease-related declines in brain function, because neurons naturally lose mito­chondria as we age, Davis explains. Although past research has shown that exercise encourages the growth of new neurons in certain regions, the widespread expansion of the energy supply could underlie the benefits of exercise to more general brain functions such as mood regulation and dementia pre­vention. “The evidence is accumulating rapidly that exercise keeps the brain younger,” Davis says.

Imagine your spine is a credit card. In the same way that repeatedly flexing and extending a credit card will eventually lead to wearing out of the plastic, repeatedly doing crunches can put damaging strain on your back.

Here's why:

Each of your spinal discs is only able to support a limited number of bending motions over the course of your lifetime before you get low back pain, a disc bulge or a disc herniation.

And since crunches involve lying on your back and repeatedly bending and extending your spinal credit card, they place excessive strain on the part of your low back that has the most nerves and is most prone to wear and tear.

Perhaps you've heard that if you pick a heavy object off the ground, and you don't want to hurt your spine, you should "Bend at the knees, and not at the back." But think about crunches this way: Anytime you do a crunch, you're bending at the back -- over and over and over again!

And that's not all: A crunch simply doesn't burn as many calories as necessary for you to get rid of any fat that is obscuring your stomach muscles -- so it's an inefficient way to get your gut looking good.

Ultimately, there are better ways to get a flat stomach. Here are my top 10 crunch alternatives that will avoid back pain and burn many more calories than crunches. For each exercise, choose a weight that allows you to do 10-15 repetitions and click on the exercise name for a demonstration.

Davy Jones -- lead singer of The Monkees -- died after suffering a heart attack this morning ... TMZ has learned.

An official from the medical examiner's office for Martin County, Florida confirmed with TMZ they received a call from Martin Memorial Hospital informing them that Jones had passed away.

We're told Davy suffered the heart attack at a ranch near his Florida home, where he was visiting his horses. Davy began experiencing distress while he was sitting in his car, and that's where a ranch hand found him.

The ranch hand told Sheriff's detectives ... the singer began to complain that he was not feeling well and was having trouble breathing. Paramedics were called and Jones was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. Authorities say there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

Jones is survived by his wife Jessica and 4 daughters from previous marriages. He was 66-years-old. Jones was married to Jessica Pacheco -- his 3rd wife.

Jones joined The Monkees in 1965 ... along with Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork ... and together they churned out a bunch of hugely popular songs including 3 number 1 hits -- "Daydream Believer," "Last Train to Clarksville" and "I'm a Believer."

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has announced the result of Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2011, roll numbers of the candidates who have qualified for Personality Test for selection to the Civil Services.

The services include Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service and other Central Services (Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’). Personality Tests of these candidates will commence from 19th March, 2012. Personality Tests, to be held at UPSC, will be intimated individually to the candidates, the commission said.

For more information, visit the Commission’s Website at http://www.upsc.gov.in. The candidates who do not receive any communication regarding their Personality Test, should immediately contact the office of the Commission through letter or on Phone, Nos. 011-23385271, 011-23381125, 011-23098543 or Fax Nos. 011-23387310, 011-23384472, said a press note.

No request for change in the date and time of the Personality Test intimated to the candidates will be entertained, it said. The candidates are advised to notify change(s) in their address, if any, to the Commission immediately through letter or Fax at Telephone numbers indicated above.

Candidature of these candidates is provisional subject to their being found eligible in all respects. The candidates will be required to produce the original certificates in support of their claims pertaining to age, educational qualifications, community, physical handicap and other documents such as Questionnaire, Attestation Form, TA form, etc. at the time of their Personality Test. The formats of SC/ST/OBC/PH certificates and Questionnaire, Attestation Form and TA form can be downloaded from the website of the Commission. They are, therefore advised to keep the said documents ready with them.

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Now Swedish group myFC says its water-powered charger could be the fix anywhere while battery giant Duracell is championing a push for cars and even stadiums to be built with energy "mats" that would power up phones.

A Californian firm, meanwhile, has launched a phone that it claims can remain charged for up to 15 years, making it the perfect spare in emergencies or disasters.

"The difference between the energy on a phone and the energy we consume is increasing. We need to charge more often but you don't want to be hooked onto a wall," said myFC chief executive Bjorn Westerholm.

His firm has therefore come up with a portable fuel cell charger which is slightly larger than a compact camera and which uses just one spoonful of water and a small metallic device called a fuel puck, to fully charge an iPhone.

The PowerTrekk could appeal most to campers, aid workers or the military, said Westerholm, who is exhibiting the charger at the world's biggest mobile fair in Barcelona.

"It could be sea water, fresh water. You need to carry water with you to survive anyway and the PowerTrekk needs just one spoonful," he told AFP.

"So you can Facebook, email even when you're in the outdoors for hours.

"Our value proposition is that you don't need to go to the grid. You don't need to wait to charge your phone."

Competition for solutions to power up phones is fierce.

XPAL Power rolled out a phone with a battery that "lasts 15 years," said Christian Scheder, chairman of the Californian firm.

The so-called Spareone, which will be commercialised in March, remains charged for up to 15 years if the phone is turned off, and for two months if it is on.

"This is great for emergency, disaster situations," Scheder said.
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Hong Kong Airlines may cancel an order for 10 Airbus superjumbo A380 jets, a report said Thursday, as Chinese opposition to the European Union's airlines carbon emissions fee intensifies.

Beijing has banned its airlines from complying with the EU scheme, which was imposed from January 1 although no airline will face a bill until 2013.

Hong Kong Airlines, a subsidiary of Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines, said it was under pressure to cancel the acquisition -- reportedly worth about $3.8 billion at list prices -- following China's decision.

"We cannot do something which is against our country's interest," Hong Kong Airlines president Yang Jianhong told the South China Morning Post newspaper in Hong Kong.

The airline might review its fleet expansion plan if the order is dropped, the newspaper quoted a source from the firm as saying. The 10 jets were intended to serve its European and North American markets.

Hong Kong Airlines could not be immediately reached for comment. A Singapore-based spokesman for Airbus told AFP "there is no change to the status of the order" at the moment.

The European aircraft manufacturer has reportedly said it plans to deliver the first A380 to Hong Kong Airlines in 2015.

China was among more than two dozen countries including India, Russia and the United States that opposed the EU scheme, which is imposed on airlines taking off or landing in Europe.

The EU has said the carbon tax will help the 27-nation EU bloc achieve its goal of cutting emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and that it will not back down, despite claims the charge violates international law.READ MORE

Actor Ali Zafar is known for his singing and acting skills worldwide. He is also a good painter and he recently proved it. In a promotional event for his upcoming movie London, Paris, New York, the actor painted the bareback of his co-star Aditi Rao Hydari in front of media in Worli, Mumbai yesterday.

Ali Zafar made his debut in acting through the movie Tere Bin Laden and his second release 'Mere Brother ki Dulhan' was a big success at the Box Office. Now, the actor is ready to rock the screens once again with next movie London, Paris, New York, which features Aditi Rao Hydari alongside him.
Ali Zafar paints Aditi Rao Hydari 'bareback' READ MORE

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated the first bits of tsunami debris will make landfall soon on small atolls northwest of the main Hawaiian Islands. Other pieces were expected to reach the coasts of Oregon, Washington state, Alaska and Canada between March 2013 and March 2014.

NOAA's tsunami marine debris coordinator, Ruth Yender, told an online news conference Tuesday that agency workers were boarding Coast Guard flights that patrol the Hawaiian archipelago. NOAA also asked scientists stationed at Midway and other atolls to look for the debris.

Debris initially collected in a thick mass in the ocean after tsunamis dragged homes, boats, cars and other parts of daily life from coastal towns out to sea. Most likely sank not far from Japan's eastern coast.

In September, a Russian training ship spotted a refrigerator, a television set and other appliances west of Hawaii. By now, the debris has likely drifted so far apart that only one object can be seen at a time, said Nikolai Maximenko, a University of Hawaii researcher and ocean currents expert. CLICK HERE READ FULL STORY

Poonam Pandey's controversial nude picture with cricketer Sachin Tendulkar not only miffed the sleaze queen but also shocked the legendary Tendulkar.

Sachin got the shock of his life when he learnt that some morphed nude pictures of him and Poonam Pandey were doing the rounds on the internet. A nude image of Poonam Pandey holding Sachin Tendulkar's portrait – the morphed image of the cricketer in Lord Vishnu's avatar - has grabbed the attention of her fans.

On the other hand, a miffed and upset Poonam expressed her disappointment on this issue through Twitter. "TweetHrts & all my Fans round d World i do appreciate ur Love towards me but such edited pix really hurt me as for me Cricket is a RELIGION(sic)," she tweeted.
Poonam Pandey has been hitting the headlines with her bold stripping acts since the time of the cricket world cup. Later, she again came into limelight with her bikini poses and half nude pictures that she daringly posted on twitter. Her clothes shedding act made it evident that the young model is an attention starved girl, who somewhat follows an agenda that might read, "Attention ke liye saala kuch bhi karega"