A disabled cruise ship arrived in port in the island nation of the Seychelles on Thursday morning after three days at sea without power as dozens of officials flocked to the port to help distressed passengers.

The Seychelles Red Cross set up several tents to assist any passengers needing help and officials from the British High Commission and the French and Italian embassies were at the port to receive their citizens. Tour operators lined up dozens of buses ready to take passengers to either the airport or a Seychelles resort. The process was expected to take several hours and the weather is hot and humid.

The Costa Allegra has been at sea with more than 1,000 people onboard and without electricity since a fire in the generator room on Monday. There are no working toilets, showers, lights or air conditioning. The cause of the fire is unknown. A French fishing vessel has been towing the cruise ship to safety.

Travel agents flocked to the port, waiting to help passengers ashore.

"The focus of the operation is to get them a warm meal and a shower," said Guillaume Albert, head of Creole Travel Service. "I think the happy ending is the people coming off the boat."

The average age of passengers onboard the ship is 55 years, he said, and the heat and lack of hygiene could be uncomfortable for some of the older travelers.

"I know it was bad luck for these guys (from the cruise ship company) but they are doing the best they can," he said. "They have a lot of image building to do right now but I've seen a very professional team."

The fire came only six weeks after the Costa Concordia, owned by the same company, hit a reef and capsized off Italy, killing 25 people and leaving seven missing and presumed dead. No one was injured in the fire Monday.........GET MORE CLICK HERE

Most astronomy neophytes might say the best time is when the moon is at full phase, but that's probably the worst time. When the moon is full, it tends to be dazzlingly bright as well as flat and one-dimensional in appearance.

In contrast, the interval when the moon is at or just past first quarter phase, or at or just before last quarter phase, is when we get the best views of the lunar landscape right along the sunrise-sunset line, or terminator. (The terminator can also be defined as that variable line between the illuminated portion and the part of the moon in shadow.)

Along with the fact that a half moon offers more viewing comfort to the eye than a full moon does, using a telescope with just small optical power (magnifications of 20- to 40-power) or even good binoculars allows us to see a wealth of detail on the surface. Around those times when the moon is half-lit or in its gibbous phase, those features lying close to the terminator stand out in sharp, clear relief. [Photos: Full Moon Captivates Skywatchers in February 2012]

Next chance

The moon next arrives at first quarter phase on Leap Day: Wednesday (Feb. 29) at 8:21 p.m. EST. That will be the moment when its disk is exactly 50 percent illuminated. Lunar mountains will be visible as the sun lights them from the right.

How does the moon's brightness compare now with full phase? Most would probably think it's half as bright, but in reality astronomers tell us that the first quarter moon is only one-eleventh as bright as full. This is due to the fact that a half moon is heavily shadowed, even on its illuminated half. And believe it or not, it isn't until just 2.4 days before full that the moon actually becomes half as bright as full.

In contrast to a half moon, a full moon is almost completely illuminated, especially right around its center, where the sun shines straight down into all the microscopic crevices. Except for perhaps around the moon's immediate edges, you will find no shadows at all.

It looks like there might be one more "Jersey Shore" family member on the way. The hit MTV show's petite star, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi is pregnant, a source confirms to both the New York Post and E!'s Marc Malkin.

"Snooki lied -- she's preggers," screams the Post's headline, hoping to end the "is she or isn't she?" rumors that have been following Snooki for weeks.

"Yes, it's true. SNOOKI IS PREGNANT!!! mazel tov!!! Source just confirmed the ny post story with me," Malkin tweeted Wednesday morning, backing up the Post's claims.

According to Malkin, Snooki is "three to four months along."

If in fact the reality star, 24, is expecting, it will be the first child for both her and her boyfriend of over a year, Jionni LaValle -- and the first "Jersey Shore" baby.

Though Snooki and her rep have not commented on this round of pregnancy rumors, Snooki denied she was expecting earlier this month.

"I'm not pregnant," she told The Insider in early February, responding to the onslaught of pregnancy rumors. "Does this mean I'm getting fat again? Where did this come from," she joked.

She also addressed the rumors while appearing on "Live! With Kelly" with her fellow "Jersey Shore" cast mate, Jenni "JWoww" Farley.

"It was crazy yesterday, everyone thought I was pregnant," she said, adding, "I definitely want kids, but I'm not pregnant."

With a rumored baby on the way, we wonder how her new reality show with JWoww is going to play out.

The Pats cheerleading squad was ranked as the best in the NFL this season by CNBC sports business columnist Darren Rovell.

As announced by the Patriots on Thursday, Rovell rated each each NFL cheerleading squad based on how well they interact with their team's fanbase through outlets like community involvement, social media and marketing. In the past year, some cheerleaders have traveled to military bases throughout the Middle East where they have donated their time by assisting in humanitarian projects for the troops, as well as performing for them.

Back home, the squad works with the Junior Patriots Cheerleaders, an organization founded in 2002 that lets youth cheerleaders practice routines with them and get the opportunity to perform on the field at Gillette Stadium.GET MORE DETAIL

Young has told People magazine that she'd like an apology from the folks at the Governer's Ball, where she was arrested: "They need to make a public apology on behalf of their security guard," she said, adding that footage of the incident will exonerate her.

UPDATE: TMZ is reporting that Sean Young was arrested due to an altercation she had with a guard who denied her entrance to a party: "When security asked her to leave again, a guard may have placed his hand on her arm when Sean allegedly slapped him. She was then placed under citizen's arrest for battery."

ET Online reports that Young was released from a Hollywood police station at 2:55 Monday morning after posting $20,000 bail.


PREVIOUSLY FROM AP:
LOS ANGELES -- Actress Sean Young was arrested after a scuffle with a security guard at the official post-Oscars party, police said Monday.

Young, 52, was placed under citizen's arrest at the Governor's Ball at 9:25 p.m. Sunday after the dispute, police Cmdr. Andrew Smith said.

"She was trying to get into the party and couldn't get in," he said.

Young, who has starred in "Blade Runner" and "Stripes," was booked at the Hollywood police station for investigation of misdemeanor battery. She posted $20,000 bail and was released early Monday.

The actress was taken into custody quickly, said Tom Januszewski, an Associated Press business executive who witnessed the incident. He said he saw a guard subdue Young by placing his forearm on her neck and head while other guards placed her in handcuffs and led her away.

"It happened incredibly fast," he said, adding that while the guards were forceful with Young, they didn't use unnecessary force. "I thought it was incredibly well-handled."

Young was wearing a ball gown but didn't speak as she was being led away, Januszewski said..........READ MORE

The Moscow Times reports that yet another sexual-innuendo-filled video promoting the once and (likely) future president has been released. This time, a doctor talks with a pretty young woman about "protection" during the woman's "first time."

"The main thing is to be sure it's safe," the doctor tells the woman, according to a translation by Agence France Presse. "Especially the first time."

After an official-looking stamp on some paperwork, the scene shifts to a calendar of the current Russian prime minister on the wall, followed by the woman embarking to lose her voting virginity at the polls.

The Moscow Times notes that the advertising group Aldus Adv takes credit for the ads, though it's unclear whether they were commissioned or produced by the agency's own accord.

The goal of the ads is to attract more young people to vote for prime minister in the Sunday's presidential elections, according to AFP, with earlier ads depicting a young couple having sex in a polling booth prior to casting their votes.

As the BBC notes, however, not everybody in Russia agrees with the campaign message. Bloggers were quick to rip the idea, with one Twitter user tweeting:

"Putin. Only for love the first time?" the BBC quoted user @step_42. "Obviously the third time is by force."

Putin has come under intense criticism in recent months, with protesters recently forming a human chain and circling central Moscow in cars to voice their displeasure.

The "F*ck You" singer's still-untitled memoir may just transform the lives of its readers, according to the press release.

"Talk about art imitating life? Enter into the super-natural, the surreal, and the extraordinary that is [Cee Lo Green]," it reads, accord to Vulture. "Do you think this is by chance? CRAZY? FORGET YOU? After reading this book, there will be no doubt that I am meant to be CEELO GREEN A.K.A. 'everybody's brother' will make you a believer, not only in me, but also... yourself."

If his past work is any indication, the singer's book will be full of metaphors.

"I'd been recording for three years and I had over seventy songs, and I was ready to be heard," he told Esquire of his famously anthemic tune, "F*ck You," earlier this month. "But my label was just sitting on it, and it was very disheartening, not knowing if what I was doing was good enough. It seemed like I couldn't please anybody. So of course, figuratively, I was like, 'You don't you like me? Well f**k you!' It was very cathartic."

AppleInsider now reports that Apple has specifically been stalling in delivering promised shipments of the device to resellers. In addition, Apple’s own stores are starting to see shortages of the Apple TV as the company reduces the supply ahead of the refresh. Even though the online store, is still showing an “in stock” status, those customers that select for the in-store pickup option will find that many Apple retail stores are currently out of stock. For locations that are currently out of stock of the Apple TV, the company can still ship orders to the stores for pickup, but even those shipments are starting to see extended timeframes.
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What is this even? I’ll tell you what it’s supposed to be – an outfit. An ensemble, if you will. Otherwise known as “what Russell Brand wore after yoga.” But that leads me to wonder, who the hell is he doing yoga with, Mahatma Gandhi? Or maybe he’s taking tips from “tantric” Sting. This getup looks like something Sting’d rock back in the day.

But of course you’re thinking, “Why should I care about what Russell Brand is wearing, Sarah?” And I’m here to tell you that you’re not. Not really, anyway. And also, “I don’t know.” Showing you this photo of Brand was just my not-so-subtle way of saying “What a moronic freakshow of a man,” and “Katy Perry‘s really on the slow side of the track, isn’t she.” Also, Russell’s dating someone new, having moved on fast after his divorce. That chick Jenn told you guys about last week? It looks like it’s official – Russell Brand has figured out how to stick another hapless woman with his debonair, world-traveling pork sword. The Daily Mail confirms it: 

Russell Brand

While most of his contemporaries were out enjoying pre Oscar parties, Russell Brand was busy shopping with his new girlfriend. The 36-year-old comedian was spotted stepping out with his mystery brunette companion yesterday, in West Hollywood, California. The new couple were seen leaving the Crystalarium shop in what is the first major sign that the former Lothario is moving on from his failed marriage to Katy Perry.

The yoga loving pair picked up a small bag full of goodies from the store which specialises in rare gemstones, minerals, and natural crystals.

Oh jeez. “rare gemstones, minerals, and natural crystals.” That seems right up Russell’s alley, doesn’t it? Anyway, the chick was ultimately identified as the Oriela girl that we told you about, and it appears that he’s turning over a new leaf – maybe trying to heal his sexual addictions with, gosh, I don’t know. Even more unstable sex with women he’s just met and … oh, natural crystals, too? Can’t wait to hear how this pans out. Full Article at Film.com

Talk about a baby bump! A very pregnant Jessica Simpson was spotted out in Beverly Hills over the weekend, rocking some serious high heels with her ready-to-pop belly on full display.

You have to give the girl props -- many women have trouble walking in high heels under normal circumstances, let alone while being several months pregnant.

Though Simpson has stayed mum on whether she and fiance Eric Johnson will soon be welcoming a boy or a girl into their family, the singer was reportedly spotted picking up some pink baby gear recently. While the mom-to-be is anticipating her bundle of joy's arrival, she has also admitted she's looking forwar

d to getting back into pre-baby shape.
"New goal: look like @jessicaalba after baby. Job well done lady!" Simpson tweeted earlier this year, later writing, "Looking forward to getting back into Daisy Duke shape ... I forget what having a waistline feels like!"