Late last night, minutes after NBC aired the much-anticipated cuticle-picker that was the Olympic women's all-around gymnastics finals—hours after the event actually took place, of course—the broadcast director cut from an on-floor interview with gold medalist Gabrielle Douglas to a broadcast booth somewhere nearby. In it sat longtime NBC commentator and sports journalism veteran Bob Costas, his prime-time-friendly, man-child hairdo in perfect position.

"You know, it's a happy measure of how far we've come that it doesn't seem all that remarkable, but still it's noteworthy, Gabby Douglas is, as it happens, the first African-American to win the women's all-around in gymnastics," Costas intoned, his besuited left elbow resting comfortably on the anchor desk. "The barriers have long since been down, but sometimes there can be an imaginary barrier, based on how one might see oneself."

In a political and cultural environment in which the patriotism—the very Americanness—of people of color (including the current president of the United States) is often called into question, Costas's scripted deep thought—his "little homily,” as one Twitterer called it—was at worst dishonest, at best naive. What leveled barriers, I wondered, was Mr. Costas referring to? Who, excepting the most Pollyanna-ish or cloistered of cultural observers—the type who assert the legitimacy of phrases like "post-racial"—would believe that Gabby Douglas' challenges were primarily psychic, a statement that can be contradicted by pretty much any news story or feature profile on the 16-year old gymnast, all of which make no secret of the undeniable whiteness of being that is high-level American gymnastics? "Bob Costas just re-affirmed that the success of a black person means we're not racist anymore. THANK GOD THAT'S OVER," wrote the political writer Ana Marie Cox. A few moments later she offered a revision of sorts: "Ok what he said was 'a barrier has fallen' or somesuch but one person over the wall does not a fallen barrier make. TAKES NOTHING FROM GABS."

Costas, of course, did have a point: Our ideas about ourselves, no matter our color, often prove as limiting and toxic as the external and institutional roadblocks put in our way. But you can't have one without the other. In this, Douglas' triumph seems extremely remarkable, both because of the commonality of her situation—the big dreams, the economic hardships, the one-parent household—and its unusualness: a minority in a historically "white" sport.

Army marksman Vijay Kumar gave India its second medal of the London Olympics, winning the silver in the men's 25 metre rapid fire pistol event after his compatriot and rifleman Jaydeep Karmakar narrowly missed a bronze, finishing fourth in the men's 50-metre prone event here Friday.
Leuris Pupo kept his cool to win Cuba's first gold of the Olympics. Pupo scored 34 to edge out India's Vijay Kumar, who took silver with 30.
China's Ding Feng won bronze after being edged out by Kumar by one point in the final elimination round at the Royal Artillery Barracks.
Russia's Alexei Klimov had set a new world record of 592 in qualifying, but struggled in the final after two low-scoring rounds early on, and eventually finished fourth after failing to make it into the final two medal rounds.
It was an exciting battle as the rapid fire pistol event was being held under new rules, where one of the six shooters was being eliminated after every round. German Christian Reitz was the first to be eliminated followed by Chinese Jian Zhang and Russian Alexei Klimov.
In the final round, all the six shooters had to start from scratch as their qualification scores are not counted unlike other shooting events.
Vijay, who was fourth in the qualification, was in his element right from the start in the final round. He shot a perfect five in the first series to take joint lead. Vijay followed it up with a series of 4, 4, 3, 4, 4 and 4 to stay in the medal contention. But going into the final round it was all over for Vijay and he managed just two, his worst, in the final series.

The marksman became the first Indian pistol shooter to win an Olympic medal. He is also the second Indian after double trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore to win a silver medal. Rathore won the maiden individual Olympic silver for India at 2004 Athens.
Vijay's medal was second for India in the 2012 London Games after rifle shooter Gagan Narang had won bronze in the men's 10 metre air rifle event here Monday.
Narang, however, flopped Friday in the men's 50m rifle prone event where his teammate Karmakar excelled.
Karmakar finished a creditable fourth in the finals while Gagan Narang failed to qualify for the final round.
Karmakar shot an overall score of 699.1, including 595 in the qualification and 104.1 in the medal round. His score in the final was third highest among the eight shooters.

Miley Cyrus reportedly took some steamy photos for her beau, Liam Hemsworth, and now they are making the rounds online.

A photo of Cyrus naked in a bathtub covering her breasts -- showing off her signature sideboob look and her dreamcatcher tattoo -- was taken by friend and photographer Vijat Mohindra. The sexy photo is featured on his website along with several other steamy, but fully-clothed photos.

The blog Life of the Rich and Famous first posted the photo and claims it was taken in 2011, when Cyrus was just 18. Mohindra and Cyrus are known to be close friends as he actually documented the singer's Gypsy Heart tour in the spring of 2011.

The photo was allegedly intended to be for Liam's eyes only, but it is now prominently featured on Mohindra's website. Request for comment from the photographer's reps were not immediately returned.

Regardless of whether or not the photos were meant to be private, it's strange that the photo is reminiscent of Miley's 2008 Vanity Fair cover shot by photographer Annie Leibovitz. The cover photo famously featured Cyrus at the age of 15 wearing nothing but a white sheet.

From teen bride to reality TV star: Those of you who feel a morbid curiosity when it comes to Courtney Stodden, the 17-year-old bride of 52-year-old B-list actor Doug Hutchison, can now rejoice. The aspiring actress has finally landed her own reality television show, a goal of the sexed-up, perpetually bikini-clad Stodden ever since saying "I do" to Hutchison one year ago.

"People are going to be very excited," Stodden's mother and manager Krista Keller told Celebuzz. She also confirmed to the publication that filming would last three weeks at an undisclosed location.

Stodden also exercised uncharacteristic restraint about the details on Twitter, saying only: "FYI Stoddenista's: Will be m.i.a. for about 3 weeks - packing up & heading out to shoot a reality show! Love you all xxx God Bless, Courtney."

Stodden and Hutchison married in August 2011, despite a 35-year age difference and the fact that Stodden was just 16 years old. Hutchison is a character actor who has appeared in "The Green Mile" and "Lost"; no word on whether he will have a role in Stodden's reality show.

 The President, Vice President and Prime Minister have greeted the nation on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan being celebrated on Thursday.

President Pranab Mukherjee in his message said, "On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, I extend my greetings and good wishes to my fellow citizens in India and abroad."

He said Raksha Bandhan is the celebration of the unique relationship that exists between brothers and sisters and the tying of a Rakhi symbolises love, affection and mutual trust between sisters and brothers.
President, PM greet nation on Raksha Bandhan

"May the spirit of this festival strengthen fraternal feelings in our society, and remind us of the importance of unity and harmony, as we strive collectively for the well- being of our people," he said.

Vice President Hamid Ansari in his message said, "Rakshabandhan signifies the protective bond between brothers and sisters and the celebration of this festival plays an important role in spreading the message of unity and harmony in our society."

He called upon people to follow the ideals associated with the festival to promote the spirit of amity, harmony and goodwill.

In his greetings to the people of the nation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for celebrating the joyous occasion to strengthen the bonds of love and affection in family and society.

"We should use this occasion to promote peace, harmony and brotherhood in our country," he said.

After a fake Taiwanese animation teaser spoof hit the Web in May, the official trailer for Lee Daniels' controversial film "The Paperboy" has finally been released. And we're not going to lie: We really wanted a glimpse of the highly buzzed about scene where Nicole Kidman urinates on Zac Efron after his character gets bit by a jellyfish.

Alas, perhaps it's best to leave some things to the imagination. (Besides, at least we get to see the two dance around in their underwear!)

Based on Pete Dexter's 1995 novel, "The Paperboy" follows a reporter (Matthew McConaughey) who investigates the potential wrongful conviction of a Hillary Van Wetter (John Cusack), a sleazy inmate on death row. Efron plays McConaughey's onscreen brother, with Kidman starring as Charlotte, a woman who falls in love with Hillary and is convinced he's innocent of murdering a Florida sheriff.

While the film represents a turning point in Efron's career, it's Kidman -- and her Southern drawl -- who steals the show in the trailer. Back in May, Kidman told reporters she wasn't really uncomfortable with the film's more personal scenes. "I think I had to step into a place to play the character where I didn't step out of it and look at myself, so it wasn't hard to shoot," she said at Cannes, where the film premiered. Not only did Kidman do her own hair and makeup on set, but she also took the time to pose for a few provocative pictures for the director. Obviously, Kidman was really getting into her character.

Watch the "Paperboy" trailer above. Look for the film in theaters later this ye

 Nathan Adrian of the United States won the men's 100-meter freestyle by the smallest of margins at the London Olympics on Wednesday.

Adrian clocked 47.52 seconds to win by 0.01 ahead of world champion James "The Missile" Magnussen of Australia.

Magnussen touched in 47.53 to take the silver medal and Brent Hayden of Canada finished in 47.80 for bronze.

Robyn Lawley is a size 16 and proud of it. Australian Vogue's first 'plus-size' cover girl has just broken another boundary in the fashion industry as the new face of a U.K. lingerie line for women with curves.

"I am delighted to be chosen as the face and body of Boux Avenue lingerie," Robyn said in a press statement."The brand is striving to promote a healthy body image and their size range reflects this."

Demand for more body types in fashion grows

Notice she didn't use the term 'plus size.' "I'm a normal size. I wish we could all be known as models, rather than 'plus-size,'" she told The Australian in a recent interview.

At 6'2, the 23-year-old Sydney native spent the early part of her modeling career struggling to be the opposite of "normal" to suit fashion industry standards.

'I stumbled across pro-anorexia websites and scoured them for tips,' she admitted in a 2011 Fabulous Magazine interview. "I began starving myself and making myself sick after meals."

Watch: When did size 6 become plus-size?

But by the time she turned 18, her mindset changed and so did her potential impact on the industry. She signed with a modeling agency for natural body types and in 2011 landed on the cover of French Elle.
Robyn modeling polka dots in her new campaign. (Boux Avenue)
Now part of the growing movement of fashion insiders challenging the industry's unhealthy body expectations, she's embraced her foodie instincts with the blog Robyn Lawley Eats, a collage of recipes, indulgences and firsts ("Trying oysters for the first time properly!") It's everything the pro-anorexia sites are not: the only models on her tumblr are from cooking store displays. In a recent post she wrote: "A simple pan $1000 at Willams-Sonoma...not gonna lie I want it."

She can probably afford it now. After replacing the campaign's former plus-size model, Ola Jordan, who was six sizes smaller, Robyn is making headlines with her viral photoshoot. Lets be honest, the pictures aren't only popular with female supporters. Dressed in a pink satin and lace bra and skimpy underpants, lounging on a sheepskin rug, normal isn't the first word that comes to mind. Neither is "plus size."

Former Plus size model: Size 10 model Ola Jordan was the company’s brand ambassador before Robyn (Boux Avenue)And that's just the point. The UK brand's Hidden Allure and After Hours Glamour lines, with sizes ranging from 8 to 20, are far from girdles. These lacy bras, undergarments and animal print slips, aren't about reigning in waistlines but vamping them up. For now the mid-priced line (think $20-$40 range) is only available in the UK, but according the Boux Avenue website they "do their best" to accommodate international requests over email.

From an industry standpoint, Robyn's campaign is proof that Victoria's Secret skinny Angels aren't the only skimpily clad models with cross-over sex appeal. (Remember when those runway models were considered "normal" because they had muscles?) From a consumer's perspective, it's also a sign of what's to come: lingerie designed for showing off your curves, not hiding them.

Elected officials have urged Chick-fil-A to stay out of their cities, the Jim Henson Company has severed ties, and gay rights groups are organizing national protests against the fried chicken chain. But at the Chick-fil-A where Andrew works in northern Alabama, business has been booming over the past few weeks.

On Wednesday -- dubbed "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" by former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee -- lines are stretching out the front door and the parking lot is packed with customers coming out to support company chief executive Dan Cathy, who recently came out against same-sex marriage with statements that have polarized lovers of the fast-food chain.

Andrew, a gay 24-year-old who has been working at the northern Alabama Chick-fil-A since January, sat in his car smoking a cigarette and watching the crowd during a break earlier Wednesday.

"I call it hater appreciation day," said Andrew, who asked that his last name be withheld out of fear he'd be fired. "It's very, very depressing."

Chick-fil-A has long come under fire from activists for giving millions to groups that advocate against gay rights and even support ex-gay therapy, but the fire has ratcheted up in recent weeks, following interviews in which Cathy said he was “guilty as charged” of supporting “the biblical definition of the family unit" and that gay marriage invites "God's judgment on our nation."

Now, Chick-fil-A sits at the center of furious debate over same-sex marriage, gay rights and free speech, with politicians, activists, and newspaper editorial boards weighing in from all sides.

The company has remained mostly silent on the issue. On the company's Facebook page, a post declares, "The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their belief, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender." (On the page, the company also maintains that it severed ties with the Jim Henson Company, first). The company did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Huffington Post, and Dan Cathy has not given any subsequent interviews since the controversy began.

Another group staying mostly silent on the issue are the gay, lesbian and bisexual employees who staff the restaurants. They say that, like most employees of the company, they aren't allowed to speak to the press.

For these employees, the last couple of weeks have been very difficult.

One gay employee who works at Chick-fil-A headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., and asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job, says he is getting it from both sides. On the one hand, there is the customer who came in and said he supported Dan Cathy and then "continues to say something truly homophobic, e.g. 'I'm so glad you don't support the queers, I can eat in peace,'" the employee, who is 23 and has worked for Chick-fil-A since he was 16, wrote in an email. On the other hand, he continued, "I was yelled at for being a god loving, conservative, homophobic Christian while walking some food out to a guest in a mall dining room."

He disagrees with Cathy's views, but the reaction from the public has been just as hard to swallow.

"It seems like very few people have stopped to think about who actually works for Chick-fil-A and what those people's opinions are," he wrote. "They are putting us in a pot and coming to support us or hate us based on something they heard and assume we agree with."

Eight female badminton players were thrown out of the Olympics on Wednesday for trying to lose matches the day before, the Badminton World Federation announced after a disciplinary hearing.

"After a hearing this morning before the BWF’s Disciplinary Committee the following pairs were disqualified: Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang (China); Greysia Polii and Meiliana Jauhari (Indonesia); Jung Kyung Eun and Kim Ha Na (Korea); and Ha Jung Eun and Kim Min Jung (Korea)," read a statement from the Badminton World Federation.

The players from China, South Korea and Indonesia were accused of playing to lose to face easier opponents in future matches.

The Indonesian and South Korean pairs appealed the decision, the BWF said, and a decision on their appeals is expected later on Wednesday.

The eight players concerned had all already qualified for the quarterfinals of the tournament before the final matches of the group stage on Tuesday night.

But the results of the last group matches mean the Chinese pair, Wang Xiaoli and Yu Yang - ranked No. 1 in the world - avoid potentially facing another top Chinese duo until the final on Saturday.

The two lackluster contests in London angered the watching crowds.

British sports fans going into the Olympic Park on Wednesday called it "shocking" after seeing parts of the matches on television.

"It's not in the spirit of the thing," said Kevin Button, from Ashford in Kent, just outside of London.

"And it's so disappointing for the people who came to see it," his wife Tina said. "It leaves a bit of a sour taste."

Remember in high school when you and your friends spent that Saturday night trying to sync up "The Wizard of Oz" with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon? (Press play on the third MGM lion roar, man!) Well, now someone has gone ahead and put the two together on YouTube.

First posted by YouTube user Hisashibeta on April 18, and recently unearthed by the website I Heart Chaos, the clip -- entitled "Dark Side of the Rainbow" -- brings the denizens of Oz together with Pink Floyd. (If you've never seen this and have 101 minutes to kill, watching is highly recommended.)

Of course, the combination is nothing but a coincidence, despite what you may believe.

"It was an American radio guy who pointed it out to me," Alan Parsons, the Dark Side of the Moon audio engineer, told Rolling Stone. "It's such a non-starter, a complete load of eyewash. I tried it for the first time about two years ago. One of my fiancée's kids had a copy of the video, and I thought I had to see what it was all about. I was very disappointed. The only thing I noticed was that the line "balanced on the biggest wave" came up when Dorothy was kind of tightrope walking along a fence. One of the things any audio professional will tell you is that the scope for the drift between the video and the record is enormous; it could be anything up to twenty seconds by the time the record's finished. And anyway, if you play any record with the sound turned down on the TV, you will find things that work."

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.

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.
source

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."

When Amy Childs debuted her new boobs in a high-necked top earlier this month, we thought she may have turned over a new leaf.

But this is AMY CHILDS we are talking about. They were never going to stay under wraps for long.

And with the temperatures still riding high, there was no better excuse for the former TOWIE star to introduce her new pups to the sunshine.

As she stepped out with current squeeze David Peters yesterday, Amy showed off her assets in a plunging maxi-dress.

But Amy wrote in her new! magazine column this week she wasn't sure if David was a fan of the augmentation.

"He hasn’t said, “Ooh, I like them!” He’s more like, “I want you to be happy and I want you to be comfortable”' she said.

Well by the looks of this pic, we'd say it's probably safe to say he's a fan.

As the Games of the 30th Olympiad take over this city steeped in so much history, London will be celebrating — while thumbing its nose at tradition.

    World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus practices at a decked out Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Historic Wimbledon will host Olympic tennis.

    By Clive Brunskill, Getty Images

    World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus practices at a decked out Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Historic Wimbledon will host Olympic tennis.

Enlarge

By Clive Brunskill, Getty Images

World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus practices at a decked out Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Historic Wimbledon will host Olympic tennis.

Beach volleyball and bikinis will appear not far from No. 10 Downing St. Hot pink will crash all-white Wimbledon. Marathoners will huff past Westminster Palace, the Tower Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral. Equestrians will pass time at Greenwich Park on the meridian from which the world's time is set. Rowers will look to make history in the shadow of Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world.

Thanks to the city's iconic backdrop and a number of Olympic firsts, the London Games are poised to be unlike any other, providing fans across the world with real-time images and memories as indelible as the Games themselves.


The beach volleyball stadium — situated at the Horse Guards Parade on the prime minister's doorstep in central London — has its own unique soundtrack.

"We got ding-donged by Big Ben during practice," Czech beach volleyball player Petr Benes said this week. "That was fantastic."

To celebrate the start of the Games today, Big Ben will chime more than 40 times during a three-minute span. At the same moment, thousands of bells — school bells, church bells, bicycle bells and door bells — will ring across the country as Britons recognize that their grand moment on the world stage has arrived, welcoming athletes and fans from more than 200 countries.

Queen Elizabeth will ring in these Games at today's opening ceremony, with a royal entourage that will include Prince Charles and Camilla, Prince William and Kate and Prince Harry. After the sterility of the 2008 Beijing Games, London is looking to achieve a different vibe, kicking off the evening with a three-hour extravaganza featuring Paul McCartney, David Beckham and a pastoral set at Olympic Stadium with scores of farm animals intended to paint for the world a picture of a quaint British countryside.

LONDON, England, July 28. DANA Vollmer decided to kick it up a notch in prelims of the women's 100-meter butterfly at the 2012 London Olympics.

Vollmer, who already held the American record with a 56.42 from the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, a time which also stood as the textile best, put on the afterburners in prelims with a scorching time of 56.25. That swim not only bested her American and textile best time, it also wiped out the Olympic record of 56.61 set by Inge de Bruijn of The Netherlands at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.


Vollmer's effort is the fourth fastest off all time, with her still standing as the fourth performer behind Sarah Sjostrom (56.06), Liu Zige (56.07) and Jessicah Schipper (56.23). Vollmer is in line to become the first American to win the event since Amy van Dyken claimed the title in 1996 with the closest finals swim in the Olympic event's history. Van Dyken clipped China's Liu Limin, 59.13 to 59.14, at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

"I felt really good," Vollmer said after her race. "I like to push myself in the prelims and see where I'm going in my body. I did feel like I was kind of pacing myself and building up to get faster. Walking in I just had to remind myself that I love racing and the 100m fly is my favorite event. I feel so much better. I'm a completely different person to what I was four years ago."

China's Lu Ying raced to second in 57.17 to move to 15th all time in the event's history. She will be attempting to win China's first gold medal in the event since Qian Hong topped the 1992 race with a 58.62.

"I am doing good as normally in training I swim around 58ish, so this morning's swim (57.17sec) was not at my standard level," Lu said. "I feel good about it."

Australia's Alicia Coutts (57.36), Sweden's Sjostrom (57.45) and Denmark's Jeanette Ottesen Gray (57.64) qualified third through fifth. Australia is riding a two-Games win streak in the event with Petria Thomas and Libby Trickett claiming the last two gold medals. Sjostrom, meanwhile, did enough to advance, but will be looking to better her world record of 56.06 set during the techsuit era. Denmark has never medaled in this event.

China's Jiao Liuyang (57.71), USA's Claire Donahue (58.06) and Great Britain's Fran Halsall (58.23) rounded out the top eight.

Great Britain's Ellen Gandy (58.25), The Netherlands' Inge Dekker (58.30), Singapore's Li Tao (58.34), Italy's Ilaria Bianchi (58.42), Belarus' Aliaksandra Herasimenia (58.50), Sweden's Martina Granstrom (58.70), Japan's Yuka Kato (58.72) and Greece's Kristel Vourna (58.73) also made the semifinal rounds.

Phelps on Saturday morning qualified for the eighth and final spot in tonight's final of the 400 individual medley. That puts him in an outside lane tonight.

"A final spot is a final spot," Phelps said. "The only thing that matters is getting a spot in. You can't win a gold medal from the morning."

No, but you can lose one if you don't qualify, and Phelps very nearly didn't. He won his heat in 4 minutes, 13.33 seconds, barely beating Hungary's Laszlo Cseh, who finished in 4:13.40. Cseh will miss the final after winning silver in 2008 and bronze in 2004.

Lochte qualified in third place overall.

"My first race is always the worst one," Lochte said. "I'm glad I got the cobwebs out."

And what of his rival and village suitemate qualifying last?

"You can't count him out," Lochte said.

"Even though he just squeaked in eighth, he's a racer. We're going to do everything we can to go 1-2 tonight."

Count Japan's Kosuke Hagino in. He finished first overall in 4:10.01, a national record. The hotly anticipated Splash of the Titans between Phelps and Lochte could end up as Hagino's party, which would make him the first Japanese swimmer to win the Olympic 400 IM.

Lochte (4:12.35) came second in his heat behind South Africa's Chad le Clos, who qualified second in 4:12.24.

Phelps hopes to be the first male swimmer to win the same individual event at three consecutive Olympics. Lochte, who won bronze in the 400 IM in 2008, beat Phelps in the event at the Olympic trials and won the world championship in the medley distance in 2009 and 2011.

Tonight's other qualifiers are Thiago Pereira of Brazil, Thomas Fraser-Holmes of Australia, Luca Marin of Italy and Yuya Horihata of Japan. None was expected to be ranked above the

When it comes to covering Syria, the fog of war is especially thick.

For 17 months, President Bashar al-Assad's regime has severely restricted press access in the country as his soldiers first brutally cracked down on peaceful protests and now battle opposition forces in a war that has claimed more than 19,000 lives.

Western journalists have occasionally snuck into Syria, but on a daily basis primarily rely on information provided by opposition activists, residents, state-controlled media, rebel commanders, social media and anti-regime groups operating outside the country. Meanwhile, each warring side simultaneously fights a public relations war in the media.

Several Beiruit-based correspondents told The Huffington Post that their outlets have gotten better at vetting information throughout the lengthy conflict and have built a large network of reliable sources in the process. Still, news reports on the latest explosion, firefight or alleged massacre routinely acknowledge that key details cannot be independently verified and correspondents say that this is not the ideal way to cover a war.

"It's the most frustrating situation I've ever been in and potentially the most challenging," said Arwa Damon, a Beirut-based correspondent for CNN. "Now you're trying to newsgather via remote."

Damon last reported inside Syria in February, an ordeal chronicled in CNN's documentary "72 Hours Under Fire." After three days, she left the war-ravaged city of Homs, north of Damascus, alongside veteran war correspondent Marie Colvin, who later reversed course and was killed in the city. Colvin is one of 16 journalists killed so far, according to information provided by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The Only Way Is Essex star Maria Fowler is calling for a campaign to stop internet bullies after she was taunted on Twitter for asking why Parkinson's stricken Muhammad Ali needed help walking during the Olympic Opening Ceremony.

The TOWIE beauty was ridiculed last night by Olympic torchbearer and founder of youth broadcaster SB.TV Jamal Edwards after she posed the Twitter question.

She wrote: "Ahhh wish I was there so bad. Muhammad Ali. No disrespect though but why can't he stand now?"

Edwards quickly voiced his disgust on his Twitter page: " You are so DUMB! If I don't know a question I would go on the net first to find out especially what I'm talking about. Not go to Twitter & ask."

Fowler replied: "I did Google and couldn't know why. Parkinson's is so sad. I lost my granddad to Parkinson's. Ali is a legend."

She then attempted to taunt Edwards, writing: "Had to google u too but not much came up. Goat"

Jamal replied again: "I put in work! What do you do? Your (sic) famous for no reason S***!"

Fowler then wrote: "Hahaha exactly. Sit on my a**e and richer than u probs (sic) Like I said you are a goat internet troll"

Following the Twitter spat, she is now desperate for cyber bullying to stop.

Fowler said: "Right I am seriously going to see what can be done about internet bullies. It's pathetic how people can be filled with such hate. Actually sickens me the vile comments that get written on here. I actually would back any campaign to combat this. I am disgusted."

Friday's Opening Ceremonies mark the official launch of the 2012 London Olympics, and Britain called in a bevy of performances for director Danny Boyle's grand party.

The festivities started with an illustrious trip through England's early years and the industrial revolution. Kenneth Branagh performed an excerpt from Shakespeare's "The Tempest," which Boyle had said inspired the show.

Other characters figuring prominently included Daniel Craig's James Bond, who appeared in a pre-recorded skit with the Queen. A stunt version of the pair parachuted into the stadium as the Bond theme played.

Among the surprises was Mr. Bean himself. Rowan Atkinson appeared among the London Philharmonic, looking annoyed at the dull keyboarding duties he was assigned. He then went joined some athletes for training, though he tired quickly of a beach run and called for a taxi. A cab promptly appeared and took him zooming past the supposed Olympians.

Harry Potter villain Lord Voldemort also appeared during the proceedings, but fear not: He was vanquished by a fleet of Mary Poppinses. The segment included a number of villains from children's books, including Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Dizzee Rascal performed during a musical montage, rapping his 2009 hit, "Bonkers." After the athlete march, the Arctic Monkeys took the stage to perform a medley of their song "You Look Good on the Dance Floor" and The Beatles' "Come Together."

Of course, the biggest music moment of the evening was Paul McCartney's performance. The Beatle sang "Hey Jude," eventually leading a gigantic sing-a-long with the entire crowd in the stadium. It was a special moment, as the beautiful and intricate Olympic torch had just been lit.

McCartney implored "just the men" and then "just the women, just the girl" to sing the song before bringing the entire crowd in for a cathartic final few verses.

It's hard to imagine how expectations for Friday's event could have been higher. London's Olympiad follows Bejing's 2008 masterful ceremonies, during which, for example, over 2,000 drummers worked in unison to create a once in a lifetime light show. Boyle and the Olympic committee repeatedly said they were not trying to mimic the scale of 2008's proceedings.

The renowned "Slumdog Millionaire" filmaker pleaded with those present for dress rehearsals to not tweet or leak details from the show. Though a surprisingly small amount of information has made it out, here's what the Associated Press was able to gather in advance:

    The ceremony will open at 9 p.m. with the sound of a 27-ton bell – the largest harmonically tuned bell in the world – forged at London's 442-year-old Whitechapel Bell Foundry, which made London's Big Ben and Philadelphia's Liberty Bell.

    A pre-recorded segment has been filmed inside Buckingham Palace, reportedly involving Queen Elizabeth II and Daniel Craig as secret agent James Bond. If rumor is to be believed, a stuntman dressed as 007 will parachute into the stadium to start the show.

    The opening sequence will evoke a pastoral idyll, the "green and pleasant land" described in William Blake's poem "Jerusalem," which has been set to music and is regarded as England's unofficial national anthem. There's a meadow, livestock, a farmer plowing his field, a cricket match – and, in a nod to Britain's plethora of rural summer music festivals, a mosh pit.

Matthew McConaughey is the latest A-lister to go NC-17. He plays the title role in "Killer Joe," which carries the Motion Picture Association of America's maximum restriction because of "graphic disturbing content."

Directed by Oscar winner William Friedkin, "Killer Joe" is only the second NC-17 theatrical film to be released in the U.S. this year, because no one under 17 can be admitted no matter who accompanies them and limited audiences mean limited revenues.

Still, more and more of Hollywood's top talent like McConaughey, Friedkin, and co-stars Emile Hirsch, Gina Gershon and Thomas Haden Church are embracing edgy projects that require the stiff rating.

Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche starred in the NC-17-rated French film "Elles," released earlier this year. "X-Men: First Class" and "Inglourious Basterds" star Michael Fassbender won raves for his turn as a sex addict in last year's only theatrically released NC-17-rated film, "Shame."

"The NC-17 rating is about to go mainstream," said box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com. "If Matthew McConaughey and Michael Fassbender are giving their stamp of approval to the creative freedom that NC-17 allows, people might go for it. While it may affect the ability to market a film, it brings a whole new cache of subversive marketing, and mainstream actors who give it legitimacy, credibility and raise it to a whole new level."

"Let's wear it as a badge and keep it shined!" McConaughey said of the NC-17 rating for "Killer Joe."

"That's certainly true of "Killer Joe," which opens in New York on Friday and other major cities next week. The MPAA says it contains "graphic disturbing content involving violence and sexuality, and a scene of brutality."

Adapted from the stage by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts, it's a story about a small-time drug dealer (Hirsch) who hires a cop moonlighting as a hit-man (McConaughey) to kill his mother for her life-insurance benefits, and offers his virgin sister as collateral. It's adult material.

Still, Friedkin was prepared to edit the film to potentially qualify for an R-rating, "but they wanted to go so far" with the cuts.

"I often say what (the MPAA) wanted to do is what the generals said we had to do in Vietnam, which was destroy the country in order to save it," said the director, who won an Oscar for 1971's "The French Connection" and an Oscar nomination for 1973's "The Exorcist."

"We're not targeting a teenage audience, so it's the correct rating," Friedkin continued. "But there are other films that I think are far more graphic in every way — language, sex and violence — that are playing with an R, because you won't see an NC-17 — which is an 'X' really — on a major studio film."

McConaughey, who has been breaking out of his broad rom-com appeal with edgier roles, described "Killer Joe" as "a wild, raunchy, cheerfully amoral piece."

With its hilariously quirky Olympic opening ceremony, a wild jumble of the celebratory and the fanciful; the conventional and the eccentric; and the frankly off-the-wall, Britain presented itself to the world Friday night as something it has often struggled to express even to itself: a nation secure in its own post-empire identity, whatever that actually is.

A maypole, still a staple of May Day celebrations in Britain, was part of the opening ceremony, conceived and directed by the filmmaker Danny Boyle. More Photos »

The noisy, busy, witty, dizzying production somehow managed to feature a flock of sheep (plus a busy sheepdog), the Sex Pistols, Lord Voldemort, the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a suggestion that the Olympic rings were forged by British foundries during the Industrial Revolution, the seminal Partridge Family reference from “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” a group of people dressed like so many members of Sgt. Pepper’s band, some rustic hovels tended by rustic peasants, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and, in a paean to the National Health Service, a zany bunch of dancing nurses and bouncing sick children on huge hospital beds.

It was neither a nostalgic sweep through the past nor a bold vision of a brave new future. Rather, it was a sometimes slightly insane portrait of a country that has changed almost beyond measure since the last time it hosted the Games, in the grim postwar summer of 1948.

Britain was so poor then that it housed its athletes in old army barracks, made them bring their own towels and erected no buildings for the Games. The Olympics cost less than £750,000, turned a small profit and made the nation proud that it had managed to rise to the occasion in the face of such adversity.

There was that same sense of relief intermingled with self-satisfaction this time. But such was the grandeur of 2012, even in these tough economic times, that 80,000 people sat comfortably in a new Olympic Stadium, having traveled by sleek new bullet trains and special V.I.P. road lanes to a new park that has completely transformed once-derelict east London.

A little rain fell, but it hardly mattered. Queen Elizabeth II was there, after co-starring with a tuxedoed Daniel Craig, also known as James Bond, in a witty video in which she appears to parachute from a helicopter (in fact, she entered the park the usual way). Looking mystified at times — the ceremony was pitched to a generation different from hers — she presided over a bevy of lesser royals and Prime Minister David Cameron.

The first lady, Michelle Obama, was in the audience to cheer on the United States athletes, who, it must be said, did a lot of cheering for themselves anyway during the athletes’ procession. And Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was there, too, although he was practically Public Enemy No. 1 around here after he appeared to question the British capacity for enthusiasm, something only Britons are allowed to do.

One of the biggest secrets of the night — who would light the Olympic caldron — was revealed at the end of the 3-hour-45-minute show, when seven teenage athletes took over from the British rower Steve Redgrave, who carried the torch into the stadium.  The ceremony, conceived and directed by the filmmaker Danny Boyle, was two years in the making. As is the case almost every Olympics, much of the speculation around it centered on how Britain could possibly surpass the previous summer host, China. In 2008, Beijing used its awe-inspiring opening extravaganza to proclaim in no uncertain terms that it was here, it was rich, and the world better get used to it.

But outdoing anyone else, particularly the new superpower China, was not the point for a country that can never hope to re-create the glory days of its empire. Mr. Cameron, the prime minister, said this week that London’s are “not a state-run Games — it is a people-run Games,” and Boris Johnson, the London mayor, noted sharply that Britain was not planning to “spend our defense budget” on “pyrotechnics” but would take pride in being “understated but confident.” 

When you've ridden to the Opening Ceremony in a helicopter with James Bond, watching 500 athletes march into a stadium just can't compare.

Queen Elizabeth, who appeared in an amusing short film with actor Daniel Craig during the kickoff to the London Games, wasn't too impressed with Team Great Britain on Friday night. As 80,000 fans roared at the arrival of the nation's athletes into Olympic Stadium, the Queen was shown on television intently picking her nails, seemingly oblivious to the pandemonium around her.


Earlier in the ceremony, Queen Elizabeth and James Bond were shown taking a helicopter away from Buckingham Palace. Director Danny Boyle filmed the scene in March. It culminated with a live shot of two stuntpeople dressed as the Queen and Bond parachuting out of the helicopter into Olympic Stadium.

All that adrenaline must have taken its toll on the 86-year-old monarch. Displaying her usual stoicism, the Queen couldn't have been less interested in the Great Britain delegation marching in last during the parade of nations. The pool television feed cut to her for three seconds as the team walked on.

The moment created a massive buzz on Twitter after it was broadcast live during the BBC's telecast of the Ceremony. A small sampling of the tweets:

The Queen not caring about athletes marching? Not surprising. The Queen picking her nails in public? That's the stunner here. That's an action not befitting royalty. It's downright plebeian. What was she doing when the camera wasn't on her: Sipping on a Budweiser and burping? If Kate Middleton picked her nails on camera, she'd get the Anne Boleyn treatment!