Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted to cheating on wife Maria Shriver and fathering a love child with a member of their household staff in the 1990s. Now, The Governator is admitting to another affair with actress Brigitte Nielsen.

Schwarzenegger admits to having had a “hot affair” with Nielsen while he and Shriver were dating in the pages of his new autobiography “Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story," TIME magazine reports.

He and Shriver were not only dating, but also living together at the time the affair began, but Schwarzenegger writes that he knew the affair with Nielsen would not last. It only made him realize he truly wanted to marry Shriver, according to TIME.

TMZ reports that the affair started when Schwarzenegger and Nielsen were filming the 1985 film "Red Sonja." Nielsen first disclosed the “outrageous affair” with Schwarzenegger in her own memoir, published last year. The former California governor had not confirmed it until now. Nielsen claimed that she did not know he was involved with Shriver.

The 49-year-old actress has since been married five times, including a marriage to Sylvester Stallone. She was also involved with rapper Flavor Flav in 2005. In 2008, she appeared on "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" for alcoholism.

Schwarzenegger went on to marry Shriver in 1986. The two split in 2011. In his tell-all memoir, which will be released Oct. 1, the action star offers a glimpse at his betrayal of his wife of 25 years.

He describes the moment Shriver learned of his infidelity, according to CNN, writing: “The minute we sat down, the therapist turned to me and said, 'Maria wanted to come here today and to ask about a child -- whether you fathered a child with your housekeeper Mildred.' “I told the therapist, ‘It's true.’”

During an interview with "60 Minutes," Schwarzenegger admitted, "I think it was the stupidest thing I've done in the whole relationship. It was terrible. It inflicted tremendous pain on Maria and unbelievable pain on the kids."

Have you ever compared Miley Cyrus to Faye Dunaway? Thanks to a new project from Lifetime and the History Channel, that comparison is now inevitable, since Cyrus is reportedly in talks to star as the infamous bank robber Bonnie Parker in a new "Bonnie and Clyde" miniseries, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Deadline also reports that the four-hour biopic was originally developed for History Channel in the vein of their recent hit, "Hatfields & McCoys," but since the network is now a sibling of Lifetime under the A&E Networks umbrella, the project will be aired for both the male-skewing History audience and the female-centric Lifetime viewership.

The series is being executive produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who are set up at Sony Pictures TV. According to THR, Cyrus is reportedly meeting with directors for the role. Aside from a recent guest appearance on "Two and a Half Men," this will be Cyrus' first major TV role since "Hannah Montana." No word yet on who would play her partner in crime, Clyde Barrow. Lifetime currently has another high-profile biopic in the works -- the Lindsay Lohan vehicle "Liz and Dick," focusing on the tumultuous relationship between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton -- which is scheduled to air in November.

Vogue and its editors -- specifically the head honcho, Anna Wintour -- have a tendency to develop crushes on athletes.

For a long time it was tennis players, as avid tennis fan Wintour cast the Williams sisters, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in Vogue shoots and sat beside Maria Sharapova and Andy Murray at Fashion Week. Then it was basketball stars, with Dwayne Wayne and Carmelo Anthony crowding the front row and Amar'e Stoudemire shooting an original Vogue.com video with Hamish Bowles.

Now it's Olympians, with Ryan Lochte still captivating the starry-eyed gaze of Vogue editors over a month after the London Olympics wrapped. The New York Post reports that the Olympic swimmer dined with a pack of Voguettes this week in New York City, followed by drinks with designer Richard Chai.

Lochte's already landed a Vogue cover (remember that "Baywatch"-esque photo shoot back in June?) but he's got good reason to stay in touch with his magazine contacts. His his much-feared fashion line is in the works and will likely be needing some support to get the bedazzled project off the ground.

Which means, much to our chagrin, that the goofy swimmer with the hot bod isn't going anywhere. This is one celeb who knows how to push the limits of his 15 minutes... and he's got Anna Wintour to help him do it.

More bad news for Amanda Bynes this week: The former teen star is being dropped by her agent, publicist and entertainment lawyer, according to TMZ.

Bynes, 26, has had a rough ride in the past year, but especially in the past week after her car was impounded due to driving on a suspended license. She's also recently showcased a series of increasingly bizarre antics, including allegedly being thrown out of a gym class for distracting behavior and locking herself in public settings such as a Starbucks restroom and store boutique dressing room.

TMZ's report says that the star's erstwhile management team "made multiple efforts to help Amanda" before finally concluding that "they can't help someone that doesn't want to be helped."

Still, Bynes insists that she is okay. She told People in a statement Thursday that she is "retired as an actor" and plans to move to New York to launch a fashion line. "I am doing amazing... I am retired as an actor. I am moving to New York to launch my career. I am going to do a fashion line. I am not talking about being arrested for DUI because I don't drink, and I don't drink and drive. It is all false," she said.

I know I already posted some sexy Lucy Pinder lingerie pictures earlier today. But I figured since it’s always important to finish the week off right, what better way than with a few more? Of course, Lucy Pinder in lingerie is also a great way to begin the week. Or to help get through the middle of the week. Or just about any time of the week, really. That Lucy is one versatile gal. Enjoy.

 Asleep at the Chateau is a new book that features celebrities like Justin Theroux, Usher, Orlando Bloom, Eva Longoria and more sleeping at the famous Chateau Marmont hotel in West Hollywood.

 Before Lindsay Lohan thought she was A-list enough to live there for months without paying her bills, the property was rich with history.

James Dean climbed through a window of the hotel to audition for Rebel Without a Cause, Jim Morrison fell off the hotel's roof, Howard Hughes had an extended residency there, and many more actors, directors, writers and artists have found solace and privacy at the Chateau.

Desperate Housewives actress is stripping down to her bare necessity in a sexy new project with photographer, Jork Weismann.

Eva and several other celebrities are baring it all for Weismann’s new book, Asleep at the Chateau. Some of the celebs featured in book include Orlando Bloom, Kirsty Hume, Usher and Sally Singer.

The images show the celebrities, well, sleeping in various rooms inside the famed Chateau Marmont in Hollywood.

Asleep at the Chateau will be released in October, but can be pre-ordered now. To find out more about the proejct check out Weissman’s NSFW official website.

She may be one of the least popular cast members of the "Real Housewives" franchise, but now Teresa Giudice is disputing her sister-in-law's accusation that Giudice attacked her, saying it was the other way around.

"I usually don't comment on stories about me, but I cannot ignore Melissa Marco's vicious lie that I assaulted her at my own children's birthday party while she was holding my baby nephew,” says Giudice. “It is completely untrue in every way. To make such a horrible accusation that involves our children is beyond despicable and speaks to her true character."

Melissa recently did a round of interviews, including an Us Weekly cover and an appearance on Wendy Williams' show, where she had some tough criticism for Giudice. However, Giudice and her friends refuse to remain silent over accusations that she "roughed up" anyone.

“This supposedly happened at Gia and Milania's very big, very public joint birthday party in January,” a friend of Giudice tells me. “The party was at Space Odyssey, owned by Elvira Grau, who was with Teresa the entire time. Elvira has publicly tweeted that it's untrue. It was a very public party with a hired photographer there. No one saw them do anything but talk. They didn't even hug because Melissa was holding her baby, so Teresa just kissed the baby. If anything had happened, why didn't Melissa immediately go to the press about it then? She puts every other little complaint on Twitter. Nothing.”

In what is expected to be the most dramatic "Real Housewives" reunion of all time, viewers will get to see for themselves how bad things have gotten between these two family members.

“Melissa lost it at the reunion and put her hands on Teresa,” one Bravo insider tells me. “Teresa started yelling that she was going to 'sue' Melissa, but has not taken any legal action yet.”

Kimye has only existed for six months but it appears Kim Kardashian is already envisioning what the couple's offspring might look like.

The reality star opened up about her relationship with Kanye West on “The View” recently, telling the hosts she thinks Kanye West is her “perfect match" and that he will in fact be around "permanently."

When asked if she has plans for children, Kardashian, who is reportedly off her birth control, replied, “Kids is definitely something I want, I think I wanted that before.”

So much so, that Kardashian (known for her no-holds-barred attitude) took to her Twitter page yesterday to reiterate the point to her fans.

    Mom- want any coffee? Me- yes please Mom- how do u take it? Me- half coffee half milk. Just make it the color of what my kid would be

It looks like Marc Webb is going to get "pregnant again." As first reported by Variety and confirmed by Deadline.com, the "Amazing Spider-Man" director will return for the film's sequel, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2." Not surprisingly, star Andrew Garfield will don the red-and-blue costume again as well. (Emma Stone is still negotiating, but will likely appear too.)

In an interview with HuffPost Entertainment over the summer, Webb was unwilling to talk about the sequel.

"You know, I want to finish this up and go to a beach and think about the future," he said. "People ask about the sequel and I'm like, 'Well, you know, I don't know if I want to do that, but I love the process.' I love Andrew and Emma. But it's like asking someone who has just given birth, 'Do you want to get pregnant again?'"

In July, it was reported that Webb might not have the chance to get "pregnant again" for "Amazing Spider-Man 2." The director owed Fox a film from a previous contract, and it was unclear if that would prevent Webb from working for Sony again on such a short turnaround: "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" is out in theaters on May of 2014.

All turned out well, however, as Webb will be back along with his key collaborators. "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," which was rewritten by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci ("Star Trek") from an original treatment by James Vanderbilt, is scheduled to start filming in early 2013.

For more on Webb, including what projects he has on the burner at Fox, head over to Variety.

Viewers of Katie Couric's talk show were doubtless surprised on Monday when, during the discussion of eating disorders, Couric disclosed that she had had her own struggles with that cruel, sometimes deadly condition.

"I wrestled with bulimia all through college and for two years after that," she said, describing the guilt she felt at eating a single cookie or chewing a stick of gum that wasn't sugar-free.

But the bulk of the show was devoted to her guests, who included experts on the subject as well as its sufferers, notably singer and new "X Factor" judge Demi Lovato.

During the hour, Couric said little more about her experience, which she had never before made public.

"I kind of hesitated to even bring it up," she told The Associated Press after the taping. "But I felt that if I expect people on my show to be honest, then, when relevant, I owe it to people watching to be honest myself.

"I wanted to focus on my guests," she said, "while acknowledging one of the reasons this issue is so important to me: I went through it."

It's all part of a balance Couric is striving for on her new syndicated daytime show, "Katie," between sharing her experiences and turning her show into a personal confessional.

But in an exclusive interview with the AP, Couric, 55, shared details about the illness that first plagued her as a senior at Yorktown High School in Arlington, Va.

It began, she said, when she learned she had been turned down by the college she most wanted to attend.

Couric was a likely candidate for an eating disorder.

"Like a lot of young women, I was struggling with my body image," she said, "and feeling like I wasn't good enough or attractive enough or thin enough."

She termed her figure at the time as "curvy," and not the cultural ideal, which she identified as "five-foot-eight and weighing 115 pounds. It can be so difficult to embrace the body that you have if it doesn't fit with the ideal. Women get praised for being super-thin, so you keep striving to be that way."

She said her disorder "ebbed and flowed" through the years.

"Some periods were worse than others, when I was binging and purging a lot," she said. "I'd have a piece of gum that wasn't sugarless and then say, 'Oh! I've been bad,' and then feel so terrible that I would eat and throw up. It was awful.

"But what I'm describing is something so many people have gone through or are going through," she noted, "and it's so damaging, both psychically and physically."

Couric attended the University of Virginia, then landed her first job at the ABC News bureau in Washington, D.C. And even then, she was waging a battle with food.

With the help of a therapist, she had a grip on her condition by her early 20s, though "it didn't mean that I didn't still have issues and feel bad about myself."

But since then, she said, "I've learned how to have a much healthier relationship with food, and how to enjoy my life without obsessing about food."

She said she was glad she had shared with viewers her ordeal with bulimia, "because it's so commonplace."

And it's not the first time Couric has let the public in on a personal ordeal. Her audience shared her pain from the death of her husband, Jay Monahan, of colon cancer in 1998. The tragedy led Couric, then a co-anchor of "Today," to become an advocate for colon cancer awareness and for colonoscopies. In 2000, she underwent a colonoscopy on the air.

In an interview to air tonight on CBS's 60 Minutes, President Barack Obama will refer to Israel's concern over Iran's march toward a nuclear program as "noise."

"When it comes to our national security decisions -- any pressure that I feel is simply to do what's right for the American people. And I am going to block out -- any noise that's out there," Obama says, according to AFP.

 STEVE KROFT: "How much pressure have you been getting from Prime Minister Netanyahu to make up your mind to use military force in Iran?"

PRESIDENT OBAMA: "Well—look, I have conversations with Prime Minister Netanyahu all the time. And I understand and share Prime Minister Netanyahu's insistence that Iran should not obtain a nuclear weapon, because it would threaten us, it would threaten Israel, and it would threaten the world and kick off a nuclear arms race."

STEVE KROFT:  "You’re saying, you don't feel any pressure from Prime Minister Netanyahu in the middle of a campaign to try and get you to change your policy and draw a line in the sand? You don’t feel any pressure?"

PRESIDENT OBAMA: "When it comes to our national security decisions—any pressure that I feel is simply to do what's right for the American people. And I am going to block out—any noise that's out there. Now I feel an obligation, not pressure but obligation, to make sure that we're in close consultation with the Israelis—on these issues. Because it affects them deeply. They're one of our closest allies in the region. And we’ve got an Iranian regime that has said horrible things that directly threaten Israel’s existence."

Debt collectors and district attorneys are teaming up to bully bad-check writers into paying their debt, including a California woman who bounced a $48 check to Walmart and was threatened with jail time.

In a practice that has spread to more than 300 prosecutors' offices, collection companies are sending signed letters on D.A. letterhead that threaten jail time unless the check writers settle up and pay for a "financial accountability" class, reported the New York Times.

Even petty amounts owed can invite harsh treatment. Single mom Angela Yartz told the paper she was unaware that a $47.95 check she had written to Walmart had bounced. She later received a letter signed by the Alameda County (Calif.) district attorney that she better fork over $280.05 or face up to a year behind bars.

Intimidation tactics are nothing new on the bill collection front, of course. Even hospitals are accused of using them. The University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis is now being probed for allegedly harassing very sick patients into paying up or risk losing medical care.

Debt collection is a $12 billion-a-year business, and 30 million people are now in the cross-hairs of bill collectors, reported the Los Angeles Times. So it should be no surprise that firms are stepping up their strong-arm tactics.

Last year, the Federal Trade Commission received 180,928 complaints about the debt recovery biz, the LAT said.

In the arrangement between debt collectors and district attorneys, the agencies secure their share plus the class fee and the district attorneys get paid by the agencies or receive a share of the money collected, reported the Times.

Above the Law pointed out the potential conundrum of threatening someone with imprisonment on prosecutor letterhead before a lawyer has even considered the case. District attorneys explained to the Times that the letters reduce their caseload, and that only those who ignore merchant warnings are contacted.

Yartz, the Walmart customer, noticed that part of her jacked-up settlement bill from the D.A. included $180 for the budgeting class. The Times said she eventually paid $100.05 to cover the bounced check and penalties, and took her chances with the rest.

A Michigan appeals court ruled this week that a Walmart employee with an inoperable brain tumor and cancer was not wrongfully fired over medical marijuana use.

Upholding a decision by a federal judge in Grand Rapids, Mich., last year, the appeals court said that "Michigan law doesn't stop employers from firing people who use medical marijuana," the Associated Press reports.

Joseph Casias was an inventory-control manager at a Walmart in Battle Creek, Mich., until he was fired after he tested positive for marijuana in 2009.

According to a 2010 report by the Associated Press, Casias uses medical marijuana to treat symptoms of an inoperable brain tumor and cancer. The married father of two has been in remission for several years, but the medical condition causes him pain and interferes with his ability to speak.

His oncologist had prescribed the treatment after Michigan voters approved medical marijuana use in 2008.

"No patient should be forced to choose between adequate pain relief and gainful employment, and no employer should be allowed to intrude upon private medical choices made by employees in consultation with their doctors," said Scott Michelman, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, in 2010. The ACLU and its Michigan branch, along with attorney Daniel W. Grow, represented Casias in the lawsuit against Walmart.

"For some people, working at Walmart is just a job, but for me, it was a way of life," Casias said in a statement released in 2010. "I came to Walmart for a better opportunity for my family, and I worked hard and proved myself. I just want the opportunity to continue my work."

Addressing the case, Walmart said that marijuana use "conflicts with its safety policy in stores."

"The doctor prescribed treatment was not the relevant issue. The issue is about the ability of our associates to do their jobs safely," the company said in 2010.

ACLU insists that Casius complied with "all applicable state laws and never once smoked marijuana at work or came to work under its influence."

Nonetheless, a federal appeals court said Wednesday that the "state medical marijuana law provides some immunity in criminal cases, but it doesn't offer protection to people in the workplace," according to the Associated Press.

Ever wonder what it would look like if Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan were photographed in bed together? Wonder no more, you masochist! The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films have released a first still from "Scary Movie 5" to Coming Soon, and it features your favorite tabloid fixtures in what could be viewed as a post-coitus moment. (Sorry.)

Lohan and Sheen are set to appear in the film -- though only briefly. It is widely assumed the characters they play will get brutally murdered, as is the custom of the "Scary Movie" franchise, which spoofs the "Scream" franchise, which is a horror spoof in its own right. Earlier this month, Page Six reported that Lohan was balking at the film's script because it cast her in a negative light. She eventually reported to the set after Dimension allegedly threatened legal action, but many were still concerned with her ability to perform.

"Even Charlie Sheen worried she might not be able to do the scene,” a source told Page Six.

Check out the new still below. "Scary Movie 5" -- also starring Ashley Tisdale, Erica Ash, Terry Crews, Heather Locklear, Molly Shannon and Kate Walsh -- hits theaters on April 19, 2013.

Tim Pawlenty quit as co-chair of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign on Thursday to become one of Wall Street's top lobbyists in Washington. Pawlenty, a former governor of Minnesota, will lead the Financial Services Roundtable.

The move came with Romney's campaign struggling to find its stride with just seven weeks left before Election Day. Polls show the former Massachusetts governor running neck and neck with President Barack Obama in a contest both sides predict will be very close. But Romney's campaign has been grappling with a video showing him seemingly writing off Obama supporters as having a "victim" mindset and being reliant on government handouts. And Republicans outside the campaign have been grumbling that the campaign needs a shot in the arm.

"It is an honor to call Mitt and Ann my friends," Pawlenty said in a written statement released by the Romney campaign. "As the campaign moves into the home stretch, he has my full support and continued faith in his vision and his policies."

"Tim Pawlenty is a dear friend," Romney said in the same statement. "He's brought energy, intelligence and tireless dedication to every enterprise in which he's ever been engaged, and that certainly includes my presidential campaign.

"While I regret he cannot continue as co-chair of my campaign, his new position advancing the integrity of our financial system is vital to the future of our country," Romney said. "I congratulate him."

Romney passed over Pawlenty in his search for a vice presidential candidate, eventually settling on Congressman Paul Ryan. Pawlenty had been discussed as a possible running mate for Sen. John McCain in 2008, but the veteran lawmaker picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin instead.

In June Apple announced it would stop using Google Maps in favour of its own system, created using data from navigation specialist TomTom.

Apple is yet to comment on the complaints about the software, which comes already installed on the new iPhone.

TomTom said it provided only data and was not responsible for how it worked.

The software is packaged with iOS6, the latest version of Apple's operating system, which runs on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Previously, the system had an app running mapping software from Google.

But users are now forced to use Apple's new maps once they upgrade or buy the latest iPhone - which goes on sale on Friday.

There is not currently a Google Maps app available in Apple's App Store, although Google's system is still accessible via the phone's web browser.
Museum in river

Among the user complaints regarding Apple's maps sent to the BBC were:
Screenshots of satellite coverage in Dingwall Users have complained about the quality of satellite images in the new software (bottom)

    Some towns appear to be missing, such as Stratford-upon-Avon and Solihull.
    Others, like Uckfield in East Sussex, are in the wrong location.
    Satellite images of various locations, particularly in Scotland, are obscured by cloud.
    A search for Manchester United Football Club directs users to Sale United Football Club, a community team for ages five and above.
    Users also reported missing local places, such as schools, or strange locations. Another screenshot showed a furniture museum that was apparently located in a river.

The Twitter account which posted the screenshot, @fake_iOS6maps, has since been suspended.

TomTom, which also licenses data to a range of other mobile manufacturers, defended its involvement.

A spokesman told the BBC that its maps provided only a "foundation" to the service.

"The user experience is determined by adding additional features to the map application such as visual imagery," a spokesman said.

HTC has just announced its flagship Windows Phone handset, the Windows Phone 8X. The ‘X’ in the name makes it clear that this handset is the Taiwanese maker’s hero WP8 handset. Externally, the WP8X is made up of poly-carbonate plastic and will be available in bright colors like Nokia’s Lumia series. Frankly, the 8X looks too similar to Nokia’s Lumia handsets, and Nokia might just sue HTC for this.

    “Pairing HTC’s beautiful new Windows Phone 8X and 8S with our brand is a big milestone for both companies,” said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft. “Together we are offering customers a clear choice and a truly unique experience. I’m thrilled to take our longstanding partnership to the next level.”

Internally, the WP8X packs in the same internals as any other high-end WP8 handset. This includes a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Krait processor clocked at 1.5GHz, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, quad-band GSM support, LTE support, a 4.3-inch 720p (1280×720) S-LCD2 display, NFC and an inbuilt 1800mAh battery. The 8MP snapper at the back of the handset sports the same ImageSense technology as found on the One X, along with an f/2.0 lens, aided by a single LED flash. The front 2.1MP camera has an ultra-wide 88 degree lens. The 8X will also be the first Windows Phone from HTC to sport the Beats Audio logo. HTC also states that the handset has “an enhanced amp” for improved audio quality. Quite a far cry from the poor audio quality of their Android handsets.

Like the One series, HTC has taken great efforts to make the 8X. Each of the 245 speaker grilles at the back of the phone is individually drilled showing how dedicated the company is.

Like Nokia, HTC did not announce a specific shipping date except a vague November on over 150 carriers worldwide at an unknown price.

A new doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows that, in contrast to traditional scholarly claims, Dionysian cultic activities may very well have occurred in archaic Rome in the decades around 500 BC.

Maenad playing a tambourine, satyr blowing pipes, and the young god with his panther dance. From the Villa Quintiliana on the Appian Way.Roman, 100 CE A strong scholarly tradition rooted in the 19th century denies the presence of Dionysian ecstatic rites, cults, and satyr plays in Roman society. Although people in nearby societies evidently engaged in such behaviour around the same time in history, the Romans simply did not, according to early scholars. British scholars often stressed how much their people had in common with the Romans, not least as statesmen and colonists.

'They even claimed that they had the same mentality. This perception is reflected in modern research on the Roman society and religion as well', says the author of the thesis Carina Hakansson.

Religious research has also been influenced by the Christian tradition. For example Dionysian cults have had problems gaining acceptance as a 'real' religion since the possibility that religion could ever be connected with bawdy behaviour and drunkenness has generally been rejected. This argument alone was enough to make early scholars neglect and reject the thought of Dionysian cult as religion proper.
Alternative interpretations

Our modern secularised view of the world offers alternative interpretations, and this is something Hakansson is eager to stress.

'However, there is no doubt that this secularised perspective will sooner or later be criticised and questioned that's the nature of research', says Hakansson.

While Dionysos is associated mainly with the Greek region, various forms of wine gods were worshipped across the entire region of Greece-Etruria-Rome. Hakansson therefore uses findings from the Greek and Etruscan areas for comparative purposes.

Satyrs are strongly linked to the Dionysian cult, and Hakansson shows that satyrs presumably were present in archaic Rome, and furthermore formed a link between ritual and theatre/performance. Hakansson concludes that the Dionysian sphere in Rome may very well constitute the seed of the subsequent Roman dramatic tradition.

 It will be the world's most-watched sporting event of 2012 – aside from that little summer shindig in London – yet the chances are you have never heard of it.

The T20 Cricket World Cup began this week and over the course of the next 16 days will be watched by an estimated 1.5 billion people, or around a quarter of the global population.

India takes on Afghanistan in a T20 Cricket World Cup match.The tournament will captivate the top 12 nations in cricket, of which the United States is not one, perhaps the primary reason why the sport and its showpiece competitions float by without registering so much as a blip on the American radar.

It was not always thus; trace back a couple of centuries and the U.S. was a powerhouse of cricket, even taking part in (and losing) the first ever international match against Canada in 1844.

Nowadays, cricket in the U.S. is mainly played by expats, although there is a smart new stadium in Lauderhill, Fla., where 16,000 watched an international game between New Zealand and the West Indies – representing several small Caribbean islands – a few months back.

Given the diverse cultural topography of this country, the market for cricket (immigrants hailing from India, Pakistan, Australia and the United Kingdom) is still solid, strong enough for ESPN to broadcast every match of the T20 World Cup on its digital platform.

And while cricket may come laced with tales of bamboozling rules and customs, there is actually plenty to like about T20 – the most action-packed and exciting version of a game thought to have begun more than 300 years ago.

As times have moved on, so has cricket been forced to evolve. Even if you have never seen a bowler hurl down a googly or a leg-spinner, you have probably heard of one of cricket's most bizarre quirks: the fact that it takes an extraordinary amount of time to play.

Test cricket, the most prestigious version of the game, involves matches lasting up to five days, with often seven hours of play per day. And at the end of it all, there is no guarantee there will be a winner, if the weather or the nature of the match slows proceedings. Yep, that's 35 hours of playing time with the possibility of no result. That's more than a boxer might spend in the ring in his entire career or twice as much as most NFL players will spend on the field in a season.

Such elongated affairs were all very well when the game was played by the genteel classes in Victorian England, but they aren't so conducive to the modern world. Hence, in the late 1960s, a reduced version of cricket that spanned a single day was invented. This also sparked such innovations as colored clothing instead of the traditional all-white uniforms, an easily visible ball (white instead of red) and music instead of polite applause paired with tea and scones.

The 21st century, though, is the era of the ever-dwindling attention span, and it became clear even a full day was too long for the younger generation. As attendances dropped, cricket's organizers responded and a special task force borrowed heavily from Major League Baseball to come up with T20 – short for Twenty20 – a version of cricket that can be completed in around three hours.

The "20" comes from the amount of batting time each team is given. In all forms of cricket, six balls (or pitches) constitute an over. At the end of each over a different bowler (or pitcher) takes "the mound," which in cricket is a playing strip situated in the middle of the field.

Last month, Samsung finally unveiled the much-awaited Samsung Galaxy Note II at the IFA 2012 in Berlin. It is the successor of the company’s first phone/tablet (phablet) hybrid device, the Galaxy Note. This handset comes with a large 5.5 inch display and a powerful 1.6 GHz quad-core processor. Unlike the Galaxy S III, this device runs on the latest Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) Operating System out of the box.

Samsung has already announced the availability of this device in the US. Now, it seems that the folks living in India will soon get their hands on the Galaxy Note II. Samsung India eStore is currently taking the pre-orders of this device. If you are planning to buy one, then check out the complete specs after the break.

Samsung Galaxy Note II features a 5.5 inch Super AMOLED HD display, sporting a resolution of 1280 × 720 pixels, 1.6 GHz quad-core processor, Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) OS, TouchWiz UI, 8 megapixel rear camera with auto-focus and LED flash, full HD (1080p) video recording and playback, 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera for video calls, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, 4G Connectivity and so on.

Other features include a 3.5 mm headset jack, FM Radio with RDS, GPS with A-GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, S-Pen, S Note, S Planner, Samsung Hub, DLNA, 2 GB RAM, 16 GB internal memory, MicroSD card slot, 64 GB expandable memory, Google Play Store, Wi-Fi Direct, NFC (Near Field Communication) and a 3100mAh battery.

Samsung has not yet announced the price of this device in India. However, you can pre-order this device just by paying Rs.5000. The remaining amount has to be paid as soon as the device is available in stock. Samsung Galaxy Note II is currently available for pre-order in both Marble White and Titanium Gray colors. You will also get a free desktop dock worth Rs.2399. To pre-order this device, head over to this page at Samsung India eStore.

Archaeologists have unearthed remnants of what they believe is a 1,000-year-old village on a jungle-covered mountaintop in the Philippines with limestone coffins of a type never before found in this Southeast Asian nation, officials said Thursday.

National Museum official Eusebio Dizon said the village on Mount Kamhantik, near Mulanay town in Quezon province, could be at least 1,000 years old based on U.S. carbon dating tests done on a human tooth found in one of 15 limestone graves he and other archaeologists have dug out since last year.

The discovery of the rectangular tombs, which were carved into limestone outcrops jutting from the forest ground, is important because it is the first indication that Filipinos at that time practiced a more advanced burial ritual than previously thought and that they used metal tools to carve the coffins.

Past archaeological discoveries have shown Filipinos of that era used wooden coffins in the country's mountainous north and earthen coffins and jars elsewhere, according to Dizon, who has done extensive archaeological work and studies in the Philippines and 27 other countries over the past 35 years.

Aside from the tombs, archaeologists have found thousands of shards of earthen jars, metal objects and bone fragments of humans, monkeys, wild pigs and other animals in the tombs. The limestone outcrops had round holes where wooden posts of houses or sheds may have once stood, Dizon told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview.

The tombs were similar to ancient sarcophagus, which have become popular tourist attractions in Egypt and Europe, although the ones found in Mulanay were simple box-like limestone coffins without mythological or elaborate human images on the tops and sides.

Archaeologists have only worked on a small portion of a five-hectare (12-acre) forest area, where Mulanay officials said more artifacts and limestone coffins could be buried.

A preliminary National Museum report said its top archaeologists found "a complex archaeological site with both habitation and burial remains from the period of approximately 10th to the 14th century ... the first of its kind in the Philippines having carved limestone tombs."

The discovery has been welcomed with excitement in Mulanay, a sleepy coastal town of 50,000 people in an impoverished mountainous region that until recently was best known as a major battleground between army troops and Marxist rebels.

"Before, if you mention this region, people will say `Oh, that's NPA country,'" Mulanay Mayor Joselito Ojeda said, referring to the New People's Army rebels. "But that era is past and now we can erase that image and this archaeological site will be a big help."

Mulanay tourism officer Sanny Cortez said that after archaeologists have finished their work in a few years, his town plans to turn Mount Kamhantik's peak into an archaeological and ecotourism park. A museum would also be built nearby.

Despite the loss of thick tree covers in the 1,300-foot (396-meter) mountain's foothills as villagers clear the jungle for homes and farms, the forested mountain still harbors a rich wildlife, including rare hornbills, wild cats and huge numbers of cave bats, including a white one recently seen by environmental officials. The mountaintop offers a scenic view of Tayabas Bay and the peak of Mayon volcano, famous for its near-perfect cone, Ojeda said.

Pop sensation Britney Spears has dabbled in acting in the past — who can forget her movie masterpiece, Crossroads? — and has appeared as a guest star on some major sitcoms, including How I Met Your Mother and Will & Grace. Is Modern Family next?

Yesterday, Britney tweeted about her love of the show, declaring, "I know everybody is excited about the Super Bowl, but I personally can't wait to see the next episode of Modern Family! Funniest show on TV."

This inspired some of her fans to start a #GetBritneyOnModernFamily Twitter hash tag. Brit then retweeted some of their supportive tweets, saying "Ahhhh I would love to be on it!"

So far there has been no official response to Brit-Brit's causal offer of her services. But who knows? We could actually see Britney working as a guest star. She was pretty funny in her past sitcom roles, and she could even play herself. The writers could get a lot of comedic mileage out of the Modern Family gang reacting to a run-in with such a major star.

Think about it: Wouldn't a Britney vs. Gloria (Sofia Vergara) diva-off be amazing? Weigh in at our Facebook page.

A British soldier has given birth to a boy while serving in Afghanistan at the same desert camp where Prince Harry is deployed and a Taliban attack last week killed two U.S. Marines.

The birth in a field hospital is thought to be the first time a serving member of Britain's military has gone into labor in a combat zone.

The solder, a Fijian national serving as a gunner with the Royal Artillery, delivered the child Tuesday at Camp Bastion. The sprawling British base in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province last week suffered a major attack in which two U.S. marines were killed and six American fighter jets destroyed.

Britain's defense ministry said Thursday it had not been aware the soldier was pregnant, and stressed that it does not allow female soldiers to deploy on operation if they are pregnant. It declined to say whether the soldier, who has not been named, was aware of her pregnancy.

"Mother and baby are both in a stable condition in the hospital and are receiving the best possible care," the ministry said in a statement. It said a team of doctors would fly out to Afghanistan in the coming days to help the solider and her son return safely to Britain.

The woman had deployed to Afghanistan in March, meaning her child was conceived before her tour of duty began. She is one of about 2,000 Fijians who serve in the British military, even though the country became independent from Britain in 1970.

Camp Bastion, which hosts the U.S. Camp Leatherneck, is home to most of Britain's 9,500 soldiers in Afghanistan, including Prince Harry – who arrived there earlier this month to serve as an attack helicopter gunner.

"This sort of thing makes life difficult for everyone else, but the important thing is the welfare of the female soldier. This could have gone wrong and we don't know if the attack on Camp Bastion might have forced the birth," said Maj. Charles Heyman, a retired officer and author of "`The British Army Guide."

Heyman said it may have been "that the excitement of the tour masked the symptoms of the pregnancy."

Belinda Phipps, chief executive of the National Childbirth Trust, a British parenting charity, also suggested the soldier's demanding duties could explain why she either didn't know she was pregnant or attempted to ignore the signs.

"It could be that she was so very focused on other things, and because she was in a life-or-death scenario, that she simply didn't recognize that she was pregnant," Phipps said.

Phipps said the pregnancy may not have been obvious to the soldier's colleagues. "Not everyone has a very big baby bump, some women carry their baby far inside," she said.

Patrick O'Brien, a consultant obstetrician at University College London Hospital, said cases of unnoticed pregnancies were unusual but he encountered at least one each year.

There might be 25 years between them, but Nick Knowles dismissed any concerns about the age gap between himself and girlfriend Jessica Rose Moor as the pair wed in a romantic ceremony in Rome.

The DIY SOS star, who turns 50 this year, posed up with his 25-year-old bride as he told Hello! magazine that Jessica 'makes everything sweeter'.

He told the magazine: 'I came to the conclusion that you can't spend your life worrying about everybody else.

'She makes everything sweeter!' Nick Knowles, 49, opened up about his love for new wife Jessica Rose Moor, 25, as the pair wed in Rome

'I'd looked after other people for as long as I could remember and what I knew for sure was that Jessica made me a happier, calmer, far nicer person.

'She makes everything sweeter. As one of life's romantics, I'd always hoped that I'd find someone who would make me truly happy and with whom I could look into the future long-term - and I have.'

Father-of-three Knowles looked dapper in a grey suit teamed with a pink shirt and tie for the occasion, while Jessica opted for a modest white lace off-the-shoulder gown and matching veil.

And despite the fact that the pair hit the headlines when they started dating due to the age difference, Jessica said she was never put off the relationship.

She said: 'Because of Nick being in the public eye and because of the age difference between us and the fact he has children, there was a lot to consider and I wasn't prepared to enter the relationship lightly.

'When we started dating, of course I was aware that there was a big age difference, but there really is no sign of it in our day-to-day relationship.

Her body is pretty much a work of art already, so Sofia Vergara was happy to let her figure become a canvas for a body painting session.

The sexy Modern Family star was snapped stripping down to her underwear at her Los Angeles, Calif home to let her artist pal, Domingo Zapata slap paint all over her.

Wearing nothing more than a black bra and panties, Vergara, 40, still managed to look stunning despite the bizarre doodles she ended up covered in.

So what did she get out of the artistic session?

Vergara turned the tables and got her own back on the contemporary artist and daubed his torso with black and white paint.

The Colombian actress isn’t the only celebrity who has been body painted, however. Kim Kardashian, Ashley Greene and Demi Moore are just a few of the stars who have bared almost all for body art.

Before the days of Colombian 40-year-old Sofia Vergara stripping down for body painting sessions and sassing it up and getting nominated for Emmys in the hit show "Modern Family," she was already an award winning model and hugely popular actress on Hispanic television.

But before that?

Everybody has to start somewhere, and for Vergara, one of her early appearances included bouncing around in a blue bikini while working out in a pool. Watch the video above.

Any more commentary on this is quite unnecessary.

(Hat Tip / Worldwideinterweb)

Check out the gallery below for more of Sofia's looks:

Although some people think SNL is on the decline, it still catapults some of our favorite comedians into super stardom. Like, Bridesmaids star and writer Kristen Wiig. Wiig found her way into America’s heart playing the wacky and brilliant characters we’ve all come to love. Now, those characters are joining the ranks of Rachel Dratch’s Debbie Downer and Will Ferrell’s George W. Bush. This past Saturday Wiig danced her way to a good-bye in her touching final episode. Now, we can at least hope for a cameo here and there.

Even though she’s only just left, I’m looking forward to the reprisal of some of her best characters. Some of her memorable were recurring roles and others only graced our televisions once. Either way, here are some that I’ll never forget.

The Wolf Pack may get a little bigger. According to Variety, Melissa McCarthy is considering a small role in "The Hangover III." No word yet on what part McCarthy would play, nor if she even could appear due to a busy schedule that includes the television series "Mike and Molly."

Since co-starring in "Bridesmaids" last year, McCarthy has exploded. She hosted "Saturday Night Live," won an Emmy for "Mike and Molly," and filmed three highly anticipated comedies, including "This Is 40" (with Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann) and "Identity Theft" (with Jason Bateman). This summer, McCarthy reunited with "Bridesmaids" director Paul Feig for "The Heat," a buddy-cop comedy with Sandra Bullock.

Last year, Feig compared McCarthy success to Steve Carell. "It’s these people who have been trying for a long time and working for a long time and laying the groundwork," the "Bridesmaids" director said to HitFix. "And when this opportunity hits, they’re ready for it and they appreciate it and they take advantage of it. And she’s doing that in the smartest possible way."

The "Hangover" franchise has often utilized cameo appearances for comedy, starting with Mike Tyson in the first film. For "The Hangover Part II," director Todd Phillips wanted Mel Gibson to appear as a tattoo artist. The cast reportedly balked at that suggestion and Liam Neeson was cast. After Neeson departed due to scheduling conflicts, controversial director Nick Cassavetes replaced him and played the role in the finished film.

The Pakistani authorities had earlier called on the army as police struggled to contain the crowd of thousands with tear gas and live rounds.

Some protesters had said they would not leave the diplomatic enclave until the US embassy was on fire.

Protests over the film, Innocence of Muslims, have claimed several lives.

It was made in the US and is said to insult the Prophet Muhammad.

Streets leading to the enclave, where most of the embassies are housed, were earlier blocked off by shipping containers in an effort to increase security.
'Out like a light'

Television pictures showed chaotic scenes as police tried to gain control of the situation.

Protesters burned an effigy of US President Barack Obama and threw missiles at the polcie.

One demonstrator told reporters: "The infidel who produced the movie should be hanged, or hand over him to the Muslims. And we don't want any (US) diplomat or embassy in Pakistan: all relations should be cut off."

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad, who did not see any evidence of the army at the scene, said the protest was "turned out like a light".

He said it was amazing, given the strength of feeling at the the protest earlier, that the crowd left as peacefully as it did.

He says the area is still shrouded in tear gas.

A demonstration in the same area on Wednesday saw around 500 protesters gather outside the gates of the enclave.

The US State Department earlier issued a warning against any non-essential travel to Pakistan.

It also "strongly urged" US citizens in Pakistan to avoid protests and large gatherings.

Anti-US sentiment has been growing since people became aware of the amateur film earlier this month.

The US Ambassador to Libya was killed in an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, on 11 September.

Protests in countries around the world then took place.

Tensions with the West have been further inflamed by the publication by a French magazine of obscene cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad on Wednesday.

The Pakistani government has called a national holiday on Friday to enable people to demonstrate peacefully.

If you were taking a college course called iPhone 101, your professor might identify three factors that have made Apple’s smartphone a mega-success.

First, design. A single company, known for its obsession over details, produces both the hardware and the software. The result is a single, coherently designed whole.

Second, superior components. As the world’s largest tech company, Apple can call the shots with its part suppliers. It can often incorporate new technologies — scratch-resistant Gorilla glass, say, or the supersharp Retina screen — before its rivals can.

Third, compatibility. The iPhone’s ubiquity has led to a universe of accessories that fit it. Walk into a hotel room, and there’s probably an iPhone connector built into the alarm clock.

If you had to write a term paper for this course, you might open with this argument: that in creating the new iPhone 5 ($200 with contract), Apple strengthened its first two advantages — but handed its rivals the third one on a silver platter.

Let’s start with design. The new phone, in all black or white, is beautiful. Especially the black one, whose gleaming, black-on-black, glass-and-aluminum body carries the design cues of a Stealth bomber. The rumors ran rampant that the iPhone 5 would have a larger screen. Would it be huge, like many Android phones? Those giant screens are thudding slabs in your pocket, but they’re fantastic for maps, books, Web sites, photos and movies.

As it turns out, the new iPhone’s updated footprint (handprint?) is nothing like the Imax size of its rivals. It’s the same 2.3 inches wide, but its screen has grown taller by half an inch — 176 very tiny pixels.

It’s a nice but not life-changing change. You gain an extra row of icons on the Home screen, more messages in e-mail lists, wider keyboard keys in landscape mode and a more expansive view of all the other built-in apps. (Non-Apple apps can be written to exploit the bigger screen. Until then, they sit in the center of the larger screen, flanked by unnoticeable slim black bars.)

At 0.3 inch, the phone is thinner than before, startlingly so — the thinnest in the world, Apple says. It’s also lighter, just under four ounces; it disappears completely in your pocket. This iPhone is so light, tall and flat, it’s well on its way to becoming a bookmark.

Second advantage: components. There’s no breakthrough feature this time, no Retina screen or Siri. (Thought recognition will have to wait for the iPhone 13.)

Even so, nearly every feature has been upgraded, with a focus on what counts: screen, sound, camera, speed.

The iPhone 5 is now a 4G LTE phone, meaning that in certain lucky cities, you get wicked-fast Internet connections. (Verizon has by far the most LTE cities, with AT&T a distant second and Sprint at the rear. Here’s a cool coverage comparison map: j.mp/V5wEwN.)

The phone itself runs faster, too. Its new processor runs twice as fast, says Apple. Few people complained about the old phone’s speed, but this one certainly zips.

The screen now has better color reproduction. The front-facing camera captures high-definition video now (720p). The battery offers the same talk time as before (eight hours), but adds two more hours of Web browsing (eight hours), even on LTE networks. In practical terms, you encounter fewer days when the battery dies by dinnertime — a frequent occurrence with 4G phones.

The camera is among the best ever put into a phone. Its lowlight shots blow away the same efforts from an iPhone 4S. Its shot-to-shot times have been improved by 40 percent. And you can take stills even while recording video (1080p hi-def, of course).

Are Obama insiders secretly making retirement plans for the Obamas with the expectation the president will lose his bid for re-election in November?


Very quietly, Obama’s chief financier, Penny Pritzker, has entered the Hawaii housing market to buy a retirement home for the president and his family that will be available not in 2016, but in January 2013, according to a confidential source within Pritzker’s Chicago organization

Pritzker, a wealthy Chicago business executive and heiress to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, served as national finance chairman for Obama’s 2008 campaign and is the co-chairman of his 2012 effort.

The source told WND that highly confidential internal polls conducted by the Obama campaign indicate Obama cannot win re-election, despite public surveys that show him in the lead.

“The public polls are mostly political,” the source argued. “Obama radicals want Romney supporters to feel discouraged and give up. Truth is that Romney’s winning.”

Fed up with Obama? Get your personally autographed copy of the New York Times bestseller “Fool Me Twice” exclusively from WND!

The source further told WND that Pritzker is experiencing frustration in her fundraising efforts, as wealthy donors who contributed generously to Obama in 2008 are not even returning her phone calls.

The source said Pritzker is “reminding everyone how generous to their supporters the Clintons were when they left office.”

“Everything is for sale. Ambassadorships, government grants, stimulus money – you name it,” the source told WND.

“There’s nearly three months between the Nov. 6 election and the Jan. 20 inauguration – plenty of time to hand out goodies to friends from the Oval Office.”

Aloha

Pritzker is telling potential donors that the Obamas have no intention of returning to Chicago when they leave the White House, according to the source.

She is also raising money for the Obama presidential library and museum, which also are slated for Hawaii.

Pritzker’s search for a developed property, suitable for occupancy four months from now, instead of property where a custom-designed estate might be built, is further indication that insiders believe Obama will not be re-elected.

Kevin DuJan, founder and editor of HillBuzz.org, first reported Pritzker was acting as a proxy to purchase a $35 million oceanfront estate in Kailua, the “Beverly Hills of Hawaii,” on the northeast shore of the island of Oahu.

DuJan reported billionaire Pritzker herself may contribute up to half the $35 million purchase price of the future Obama residence.

Madonna took a moment out of her Saturday show in Atlantic City to borrow some relevance from send a message to Lady Gaga. The Material Girl told the crowd she wanted to dedicate her song, "Masterpiece," to none other than Mother Monster. Here's Madonna's benediction: "I'm going to dedicate this next song … to Lady Gaga. You wanna know something? I love her. I love her. I do love her. Imitation is the highest form of flattery. But one day, very soon, we're going to be on stage together. Just you wait. You think I'm kidding? I love Lady Gaga." Madonna had previously covered Gaga's "Born This Way," which has been compared to "Express Yourself," a hit off Madonna's 1989 album, Like a Prayer. She also called "Born This Way" "reductive" in an interview . Gaga eventually responded, though she didn't mention Madonna by name -- just by age. "I don't even want to fight back because it's more important to me to keep writing music. Because that's really all I care about, is the music," she said. "Things are really different than they were 25 years ago, and that's what makes 'Born This Way' so relevant for me. We're socially in a different place and it's OK, we don't have to all slice and hate each other anymore." Then again, we're not really sure why we're talking about this. Elton John already said Madonna's career is over.

 An actress who appears in the anti-Muslim film trailer that has sparked riots in the Middle East is suing the filmmaker for fraud and slander, and is asking a judge to order YouTube to take down the clip.

Cindy Lee Garcia's lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles claims the actress was duped by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the man behind "Innocence of Muslims" who has been forced into hiding since its 14-minute trailer rose to prominence last week. She was unaware of the film's anti-Muslim content and the pages of the script she received had no mention of the prophet Muhammad, religion or sexual content, according to her complaint.

The lawsuit states Garcia responded to an ad and thought she was appearing in an ancient Egyptian adventure film called "Desert Warriors." Dialogue in the amateurish film was later dubbed to include anti-Islamic messages and to portray Muhammad as a fraud, a womanizer and a child molester, and it was also translated into Arabic.

"The film is vile and reprehensible," Garcia's attorney, M. Cris Armenta, wrote in the document. Her client has received death threats since the film's trailer began drawing attention, and she is no longer able to care for her grandchildren, the lawsuit states.

"This lawsuit is not an attack on the First Amendment nor on the right of Americans to say what they think, but does request that the offending content be removed from the Internet," the complaint states. Garcia's attorneys plan to seek an injunction against the film Thursday in a Los Angeles court.

YouTube has refused Garcia's requests to remove the film, according to the lawsuit. The complaint contends that keeping it online violates her right of publicity, invades her privacy rights and the post-filming dialogue changes cast her in a false light. "(Garcia) had a legally protected interest in her privacy and the right to be free from having hateful words put in her mouth or being depicted as a bigot," the lawsuit states.

YouTube said it is reviewing the complaint and its lawyers will be in court on Thursday. The site is owned by search giant Google and has blocked users in Saudi Arabia, Libya and Egypt from viewing the "Innocence of Muslims" trailer. It has also blocked the video from being viewed in Indonesia and India because it violates laws in those countries.

Garcia, who lives in Bakersfield, Calif., claims her association with the film has harmed her reputation and caused "shame, mortification, and hurt feelings" and will impact her ability to get future acting roles, according to the lawsuit.

A man who answered the phone at the law offices of Steven Seiden, who represents Nakoula on any criminal repercussions he may face, declined comment. He said Seiden does not represent Nakoula, who is on probation for a bank fraud case in which he opened 600 fraudulent credit accounts, in civil matters.

According to the terms of his probation, Nakoula was allowed to only access websites with the permission of probation officials and for work purposes. It is unclear who uploaded the film to the site.

The lawsuit also names Sam Bacile, an alias that Nakoula gave to The Associated Press after the trailer was linked to protests that have since killed at least 30 people in seven countries, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.

When you're a pop star of Madonna's stature, you get to call in any number of favors. Like having progressive house superstar Benny Benassi produce your single, "Girl Gone Wild," and open for you in Abu Dhabi.

Benassi and Madonna have a long history together. The Italian Stallion remixed both "Celebration" and "Vogue" (though the latter was a bootleg). If Madonna stays in the game after MDNA, she's likely to link up with Benassi again. (Other house heads she's worked with: Avicii, who remixed "Girl Gone Wild," and Martin Solveig, who produced a good chunk of the album.)

Ultra Music is premiering footage from the July concert tomorrow on the label's YouTube channel, but HuffPost Entertainment has an exclusive preview. Watch the teaser below and let us know what you think in the comments.

It has been a strong year for women in television, but only in some aspects. According to the Center for Study of Women in Television and Film the annual study, women make up 26% of all creators, directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors, and directors of photography, which is up one point from the previous year and five points from the 1997-98 season. But 68% of all shows don’t even have a female writer on staff.

The study, written by the center’s head Dr. Martha Lauzen, looks at individuals working on prime-time dramas, sitcoms and reality shows on ABC, CBS, CW, Fox and NBC. It compares those employment figures with figures from the 1997-98 season. In the last year we have seen a major shift in television to more female-driven shows, especially comedic ones. Comedies that have debuted in the last year include New Girl, Girls, Suburgatory. All of these shows were created by and focus on women. Plus, we are looking forward to new shows such as The Mindy Project, co-created by Mindy Kaling as well as Emily Owens MD and Nashville premiering in the next few weeks. Shonda Rhimes also added to her television empire with Scandal (which is the first major network show to have an African American woman in 38 years.) But clearly we are still behind with getting women in the writing rooms. For every Lena Dunham and Tina Fey, there are…I can’t do fancy math…but there are just a lot more male writers.

Last year  Jezebel wrote an article that addressed the issue of the lack of female writers in the world of late-night comedy shows. Chelsea Handler had the most with five female writers (and five male writers) followed by Saturday Night Live with four female writers out of a staff of 16. Then the numbers get really sad: Jon Stewart has two out of 13, Jimmy Fallon has two out of 15, Jimmy Kimmel has one out of  10 (and she is also his girlfriend),  Craig Feguson has one out of 10 (and she is his sister), Conan O’Brien has one out of 15, Stephen Colbert has one out of 16, Jay Leno has one out of 20 and Bill Maher has no women on his staff of nine writers. The Late Show With David Letterman made history in July 2011 when it hired Jena Friedman as its second female writer. It was the first time in the history of the show that two female writers were ever on the payroll.

“It’s harder; there are less women looking for work. It’s easier to have an all-white male writing staff,” said Dan Harmon, the creator and former showrunner of the NBC sitcom Community. He was challenged to hire women for half of the writing staff of the show when it started in 2009 by then-NBC Entertainment president Angela Bromstad and he succeeded.

AOLTV writer Maureen Ryan takes spoke with a wide variety of writers and creators, both male and female on this topic. Everyone seems to agree that gender diversity leads to better television. As one female writer told Ryan, “A balanced writers’ room is like a balanced world. Everyone thrives, good work gets done, people like each other and the show is better for it. Women keep the room moving. They’re great at multitasking and getting along with others. They don’t procrastinate and they open up with lots of personal anecdotes that make for great stories on the show and great character beats. They tend to smell good.”

Midway through a routine Internet search, James Carter IV stumbled upon a video that just didn't seem right.

The grandson of former President Jimmy Carter and a self-fashioned Democratic opposition researcher, the younger Carter had watched countless hours of footage of Republican Mitt Romney and made it a habit to search YouTube every few days for keywords like "Romney" and "Republicans."

But on this day in August, one clip jumped out. There was Romney, in an undisclosed location, bluntly discussing a visit to a Chinese factory with substandard conditions.

"The hidden camera video — it was all blurred out at the beginning, and it was mysterious," Carter said. "It piqued my interest."

Something told him there might be more there than the brief clip posted on the YouTube channel "Anne Onymous." Although not affiliated with any campaign or super PAC, Carter had made it a personal mission to help get Democrats elected in 2012 — and to do his part to push back against Romney's relentless campaign-trail mockery of his grandfather.

So Carter, 35, of Atlanta, set out track down the source of the video. He sent a message to the YouTube user seeking details. No luck. But then, after sharing links to the video on Twitter, Carter realized he had a new follower with the same name as the YouTube account. He quickly shot off a direct message.

"They were wary at first," Carter said in an interview with The Associated Press. "But they did respond."


In a string of Internet conversations, Carter showed the source evidence that he had helped David Corn, a journalist with the magazine Mother Jones, report a story about Global-Tech Appliances Inc., a Chinese firm that Romney's Bain Capital briefly invested in. Both Carter and the source suspected it was that firm's factory that Romney was speaking about in the video.

"That gave me credibility," Carter said. "They opened up to me a little bit."

Soon after, Carter persuaded the source to trust Corn with the full video — on the condition that he keep the source's identity a secret. Corn ran with it, using clues in the video to triangulate when and where it had been recorded.