The government said it will step in and take "firm measures" to combat leaks of radioactive water at Japan's crippled nuclear power plant, including possibly funding a costly containment project.

The announcement Wednesday came a day after the operator of the wrecked Fukushima Dai-ichi plant said some of the water was seeping over or around an underground barrier it created by injecting chemicals into the soil that solidified into a wall.

"There is heightened concern among the public, particularly about the contaminated water problem," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said during a government nuclear disaster response meeting at his office. "This is an urgent matter that needs to be addressed. The government will step in to take firm measures."

The latest problem involves water that accumulated over the last month since the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., began creating the chemical barrier to stop underground leaks after detecting radiation spikes in water samples in May.

Government officials said Wednesday that an estimated 300 tons of radioactive water has been leaking into the sea each day since early in the crisis, which was caused by the March, 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami.

Since a major leak occurred from a maintenance pit a month after three reactors at the plant melted following the disasters, TEPCO had denied any further leaks of radioactive water into the sea, despite repeated warnings by experts, until finally acknowledging them last month.

The underground barrier on the coastal embankment has slowed the leaks somewhat, but has caused underground water to swell. To prevent an overflow above the surface, which is feared to happen within weeks, TEPCO will start pumping out about 100 tons of underground water from coastal observation wells this week. Later this month, TEPCO will remove old contaminated water from trenches near the coast – a time bomb that it had left untouched despite repeated prodding from the government.

Shinji Kinjo, an official at the Nuclear Regulation Authority, said faster-than-expected swelling of the underground water following the installation of the chemical barriers accelerated the emergency caused by TEPCO's delays.

Alarmed by the leaks, a fisheries cooperative in nearby Iwaki city decided to indefinitely postpone a test catch planned for September.

Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney jumped into the debate over the GOP's future Tuesday night, warning congressional Republicans against forcing a government shutdown in their quest to stop President Barack Obama's signature health care law.

Romney addressed more than 200 donors on the shores of Lake Winnipesaukee at a fundraiser for the New Hampshire Republican Party, staged just four miles from the vacation home where he has spent much of the summer with his family. The event was closed to the media, but his office released his prepared remarks.

Romney, 66, warned congressional Republicans against letting emotions drive their decisions.

"I badly want Obamacare to go away, and stripping it of funds has appeal. But we need to exercise great care about any talk of shutting down government," Romney said in the first speech of its kind since his November election loss to Obama. "What would come next when soldiers aren't paid, when seniors fear for their Medicare and Social Security, and when the FBI is off duty?"

He continued: "I'm afraid that in the final analysis, Obamacare would get its funding, our party would suffer in the next elections, and the people of the nation would not be happy. I think there are better ways to remove Obamacare."

Romney did not criticize anyone by name, but he dismissed the very strategy employed by some of his party's biggest names – potential 2016 presidential candidates among them. Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah are urging Republicans to swear off voting for any year-end spending bill that includes money for the president's health care law. Parts of the federal government would shut down on Oct. 1 if Congress doesn't approve a short-term funding bill before then.

Several Republicans on Capitol Hill have attacked the plan to strip health care funding from the spending bill in unusually harsh language, although Romney has been silent on this – and virtually every other public debate – for much of the last nine months.

It's unclear what role the former Massachusetts governor hopes to play for the GOP. He has hinted at a desire to remain an active voice on major policy debates, and he maintains ties to a powerful national fundraising operation.

His presence at the New Hampshire GOP fundraiser Tuesday night helped raise tens of thousands of dollars, according to organizers, which is considered a large haul for a state party so long before the next election. Donors paid between $100 and $1,500 and traveled from as far as California to attend the event, which was held at a lakeside mansion used in 2007 as a vacation home for French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
   
   
In his speech, Romney acknowledged that some Republicans may not care for his perspective given his recent loss.

"I'm probably not the first person you'd ask for advice," he said. "But because we all learn from our mistakes, I may have a thought or two of value."

He called on Republicans to "stay smart," in part, by backing candidates who can win. And as the pool of potential candidates for the 2016 presidential contest begins to grow, Romney suggested that most are not electable.

There is one thing every married person will tell you: marriage is hard. Anyone in the midst of that proverbial honeymoon period may have a hard time believing that, though. Those first few months after you tie the knot, you truly understand the notion of wedded bliss. But once life starts to settle in, some inevitable problems crop up for most couples. We asked married women about the biggest issues in their marriages and here's what they had to say:

    Money, money, money. We can barely even talk about it in an objective, budget-discussing sense without getting all testy and defensive. So much emotional murk tied to money.
    It's kind of cliche, but he leaves his sh*t everywhere!
    He never goes to our kids' school activities or plays.
    Our marriage has three people -- me, my husband, and his mother.
    Tempering our expectations of one another. Often we will "expect" the other person to do things in the way that we would have done it, be it showering the kids or acknowledging a birthday, or having dinner on the table after a particularly hard day. And when that doesn't happen, coming back from that disappointment is hard. But we set ourselves up for it a lot of the time because maybe the other person didn't realize you wanted things done in a certain way or maybe our expectations are unfair and unrealistic.
    He doesn't want any more kids, but I want just one more.
    I figured this out a little too late, but I don't think we are actually sexually compatible.
    We don't spend enough alone time with each other. Between work, kids, and house stuff, I feel like I never see him.
    He doesn't help enough around the house. It's like he thinks the dishes miraculously wash themselves. When I ask him to help out, he says that he's too tired. Like I'm not!
    Too much time together. I have NO breathing room.
    He never tells me what he is thinking. It's like talking to a stone wall sometimes.
    He snores as loud as a freight train and won't do anything about it.
    He is obsessed with sports. He even tried to miss our child's birthday party because of some playoff game. I'm like, what's more important here?
    He doesn't respect my career goals as much as his own.
    He spends way too much time at strip clubs.
    He is Facebook friends with his ex-girlfriend. Sorry, but that's not okay.
    We never go on dates anymore. It's just work, home, work, home. Where's the excitement in that?
    He's never around. Sometimes I feel like a single mom.
    We never have sex. Like ever. It's like we are roommates.
    This may sound small, but it drives me nuts. He NEVER replaces the toilet paper roll. He will even open a package and use a new roll and just place it on the counter instead of in the holder. WHY???!!!

Brooks Forester might have been the frontrunner all season on "The Bachelorette," but Desiree Hartsock ended up accepting Chris Siegfried's proposal on the dramatic finale last night (Aug. 5).

Following Brooks' surprising departure from the show last week, Desiree decided to continue on with her journey to find love, ultimately sending Drew Kenney home and choosing Chris to be her fiance. But many were shocked that Chris still wanted to be with Des after she revealed her love for Brooks during their heartbreaking on-air split.

So, what did Chris really think about Desiree's breakup with Brooks? Nothing, because -- wait for it -- he didn't even watch it.

"I actually didn't watch the entire part of it," Chris told "Good Morning America" today (Aug. 6). "We initially talked about watching the episodes and how we would handle that for our relationship going forward and we kind of just decided that maybe it would be best to watch the segments that we just shared together," he added.

Despite opening up about her heartbreak over Brooks leaving the show, Desiree admits that she didn't just choose Chris because Brooks was no longer an option.

"It's a different situation because the feelings are more accelerated, but at the same time I think that helped in me really getting past the hurt from Brooks leaving and being able to see all that was here in Chris," she explained. "Sometimes I think you do need to go through the hard to get to the good."

And speaking of good, Des says that seeing Brooks at the "After the Final Rose" special was fine.

t seems like common sense that sex in porn doesn't mirror what men and women do in their own, non-commercialized bedrooms. But this point gets really driven home in "Porn Sex vs Real Sex: The Differences Explained With Food," a video which shatters the illusion the porn is anything like real sex by going back to basics: fruit metaphors.

Inspired by the video, HuffPost Live spoke to women working in the porn industry, and asked them to share what they believe the difference between porn sex and real sex is.

Jincey Lumpkin, Esq., Chief Sexy Officer of Juicy Pink Box, noted that porn involves, "posturing for the camera," "flattering" angles and "cutting together of the scenes" -- all of which, if reenacted by normal people, can "take away sometimes from the pleasure and enjoyment aspect" of their sexual experiences.

Nina Hartley, an adult film actress, agreed, emphasizing the performative aspect of porn. She told HuffPost Live host Caitlyn Becker:

    Pornography is a paid, professional performance by actors. It is a fantasy, it is not meant to be a rulebook and guidebook or a how to as a general rule. And it goes to show how poor our sex education is in this country that people are reduced to looking at an entertainment medium for information about the body.

Both the "Porn Sex vs. Real Sex" video, and HuffPost Live's conversations with Lumpkin and Hartley, contribute to a greater dialogue about porn as a sometimes unrealistic fantasy. The more we discuss these subjects, the more women and men alike will hopefully realize that they don't have to force themselves to emulate what they see in porn films. Fantasy is great, but the reality of sex based on one's own desires -- and separate from the pressure to look or act a certain way -- can be even better.

Little known fact: Not all divorcés are shedding a river of tears, inhaling tubs of ice cream and blasting "All By Myself" after the split is finalized.

For some folks, a finalized decree comes after months and even years of battling it out with their ex in divorce court. The end of the divorce process is something worth celebrating, which is why we're big fans of the meme Redditor defchan posted on Friday to commemorate his finalized divorce.


A little backstory on the photo: It was originally posted by Redditor zagood about a year ago to celebrate his birthday and his new post-split life. "40th birthday," he wrote. "Going through a divorce. Moved in with my parents. Cheers!"

A sentiment that's perfectly worthy of a meme, if you ask us.

Even though her wardrobe is full of crop tops and itty bitty shorts, Miley Cyrus' skimpy outfits still manage to shock.

The 20-year-old singer makes an appearance in the music video for Big Sean's "Fire." In it, Cyrus wears scintillating outfits like a crop top with torn booty shorts and gold lamé lingerie. Combined with some sensual moves, the final product makes for an explosive piece.

The pop-singer-turned-video-vixen is the main attraction of Sean's new visuals, even though she doesn't sing on the track. He intentionally made Ms. Miley the centerpiece in "Fire."

"I wanted somebody who was beautiful and I wanted to take her out of her element," he told MTV News recently. "People lookin at her like she's twerking and all this stuff, but she's an awesome person and she's cool. She symbolizes the beauty of a lot of women. Women overcoming different relationships and being as beautiful as a flower. You'll see a lot of metaphors in the video."

Cyrus, who topped Maxim's "Hot 100" list this year, is certainly comfortable enough in her own skin to star in something like "Fire."

"If people find that [I'm sexy], [I] take it as a compliment,” she told Amanda De Cadenet last year. "People look to sell it the wrong way, especially if you're young. It's like, 'No, this is just who I am. And thank you for thinking I'm sexy.' People are so scared of seeing a woman being like, ‘This is who I am and you’re not going to change it.’”

Pregnant Hilaria Baldwin looks about ready to pop.

Alec Baldwin's wife, who is expecting the couple's first child, stepped out in the Hamptons, N.Y. on Aug. 2 looking lovely and refreshed. The 29-year-old yoga instructor was glowing in black spandex and a tight tank top as she escorted her husband to a coffee shop. She is reportedly eight months along in her pregnancy.

So how does Hilaria stay in tip-top maternity shape? She admits that moisturizing, as well as exercising, helps her embrace her growing baby bump.

"I work out every day," she told Refinery 29, continuing, "When you get pregnant, you want to stay as moisturized as possible. Your body is going through so many changes and surprises can come up. Dry skin, stretch marks, all sorts of different things. I think one of the reasons my skin has looked so nice throughout my pregnancy is that as soon as I got pregnant, I went out and I bought cocoa butter."

Simon Cowell has reportedly been named in the divorce papers filed by his friend Andrew Silverman, after it was alleged the 'X Factor' boss is having a baby with his wife Lauren.

The New York Post reports Andrew filed for a 'fault divorce based on adultery', following Us Weekly's previous claims that Lauren and Simon only became close 'as her marriage deteriorated'.


Andrew's brother is said to have told the paper: "It is an unbelievable story of betrayal. It is a sad story and a tragic story."

The Daily Mail have also obtained a screen grab of court records which show Simon named as a co-respondent in the divorce case.

Due to Andrew's claim, Simon could face being hauled into court to reveal details of his relationship with Lauren.

"It's really a signal to the spouse who cheated that the wronged spouse is very angry and that it's going to be a very nasty, scorched-earth, high-profile litigation," divorce attorney Martha Cohen Stine reportedly told the NY Post.

However, a source previously told Us Weekly that the divorce had been in the works "for a while".

"Lauren and Andrew have been unhappy in their marriage for some time, and their divorce has been in the works for a while," they said.

"As their marriage deteriorated, she and Simon became close."

According to the magazine, New York socialite Lauren is around ten weeks pregnant with Simon's baby.

When a magazine published the millionth story claiming Jennifer Aniston is pregnant earlier this week, we admit we rolled our eyes. However, our suspicions were raised somewhat when she made an appearance on the red carpet clutching her tummy on Thursday night.

The former 'Friends' star - who has been at the centre of pregnancy rumours for longer than we can remember - was attending the world premiere of her new film 'We're The Millers' in New York, with her tight dress appearing to show a swollen stomach.

Now, we don't know if Jen just had a particularly carb-laden lunch, or whether she really is with child, but InTouch magazine recently claimed she has begun IVF treatment with fiancé Justin Theroux.

A source on the set of film 'Squirrels and Nuts', which she is currently shooting, told the mag: "She definitely seemed to have gained some weight.

"She knows the clock is ticking - she's well aware of it. She's also done her homework. She's explored all methods for having a baby and knows what her options are with IVF. She's educated herself," they added.

Indeed, the figure Jen showed off on the red carpet on Thursday is markedly different to how she appears in 'We're The Millers', where the very-trim star plays a stripper.

However, given the number of false reports over the years (as you can see in our gallery below), we're not believing anything until we hear the happy news from the horse's mouth.