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.