Renee Zellweger, that you, girl? The 44-year-old actress went super casual while dining with her parents Emil and Kjellfrid Zellweger in Santa Monica, Calif., on Thursday (Dec. 26). (The half-up, half-down hairdo is an apparent fave, judging from the same hairstyle Zellweger wore back in November).

Zellweger has remained relatively out of the spotlight since starring in 2010's "My Own Love Song," though fans of the actress have been putting up her name for bid ever since Helen Fielding released a third Bridget Jones book, "Mad About A Boy," in October.

Meanwhile, Zellweger has been spotted hitting town with her new beau, guitarist Doyle Bramhall II, whom she has been dating since at least last December.

The 46-year-old actress sat down with Amy Kaufman from the Los Angeles Times to talk about her transition into motherhood and how it reflects on her career. "I think people like to say that I'm super picky because of how much I l-oo-ve my kids. But as an actor, I sort of pride myself on the fact that I've always been picky," Roberts explained to the paper.

Roberts has been married to cinematographer Daniel Moder for 11 years, and the couple have three children together. At this point in her life, those kids have become her top priority. "We try to protect our kids. We just want to have our family life and not have that intruded upon," Roberts told USA Today in a separate interview.

Speaking to the Times, Roberts also explained how age plays a part in her decision making. "For one, I'm 46 years old, so falling out of chairs isn't as funny. I could break a hip," Roberts said. "Certain scenarios that worked 10 years ago aren't as appealing, as applicable, as believable, as original -- all those things." These factors have directed Roberts away from many of the big romantic comedies she became famous for, and have allowed her to focus on the roles that inspire her most, like "August: Osage County." The new film finds Roberts in unfamiliar territory, playing a depressed mother on the cusp of a divorce.

"Julia, when we first started talking about it, that was our question," director John Wells told HuffPost Entertainment when asked about the decision to cast Roberts in such an against-type role. "This is an embittered, angry woman in her mid-40s, and it's going to be a lot of time spent not being a very nice person. Julia has a screen persona that she has not exclusively done, but done often, where people sort of expect her to be a certain way. None of that was going to be what we're doing. She said, 'Yeah, that's exactly why I want to do it.'"

The actress credits her career's development and success to finding fame in a time when she was allowed to be herself. "Nobody expected me to be anybody but myself, really," she recalled.

Enough is enough. The new year is fast approaching and we'd like to look at it as an opportunity for a fresh start. A clean slate. A chance to start anew without many of the repetitive, lazy, worn out tropes and trends that pop culture wielded at us in 2013. From twerking to tired storylines -- we're just over it.

What hath "Marvel's The Avengers" wrought? Just a bunch of expensive and loud movies with shared universes that will keep multiplexes filled from now until forever. This past year saw Warner Bros. reboot Superman with a good standalone film ("Man of Steel"), and then immediately explode plans for its sequel by turing the continuation into the kitchen sink. (Why just have Superman when you can have Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and maybe even Joaquin Phoenix?) It's even worse for Spider-Man fans, as Sony announced in December that Peter Parker's friendly neighborhood opponents will get movies too. (Hope everyone loves the Sinister Six! Because that's a movie people will pay money to see somewhere around 2017.) It's all so exhausting; the tyranny of synergy writ large in an industry increasingly devoid of ideas. Lo for the simple days of part two. - Christopher Rosen

Jennifer Aniston is definitely not pregnant, guys. As much as we try to wish and pray and hope for a baby to start growing in her belly, it is not going to happen, because that is not science. I know, I know. We all just want Jen to be happy, but the incessant rumors are just making her run out of fun talk show anecdotes. Besides, now she has Justin Theroux, a $21 million mansion and chickens! Shouldn't that be enough? - Lauren Duca

Aamir Khan-starrer big-budget action thriller Dhoom: 3 has collected Rs 69.58 crore -- which includes earnings from Tamil and Telugu versions -- in two days of its release, an official statement said.

Directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, the third instalment of Yash Raj Films' popular Dhoom franchise came out on Friday (December 20, 2013) and opened to mixed reviews. But it seems the box office collection is satisfactory.

On Friday, the well-packaged enrapturing drama clinched a total of Rs 36.22 crore at the box office, while on Saturday the earnings were recorded to be Rs 33.36 crore.

Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra, who have been constant in the cast since Dhoom, reprised their roles of cop and sidekick, respectively. Katrina Kaif added glamour to the film and the actress was seen in beautifully designed sequences.

A crucial meeting of the Political Affairs Committee of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) began on Monday to discuss the results of the public referendum on whether or not to take Congress support in forming government in Delhi.

According to reports, meeting is being attended by all top AAP leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Dr Kumar Viswas and all newly-elected MLA of the party.

After the meeting, the AAP chief is likely to hold a press conference to announce his party's decision on the issue of government formation in Delhi.

Kejriwal is also due to meet Delhi Lt Governor Najeeb Jung in the afternoon to apprise him about his party's stand on ending the political stalemate in Delhi.

Kejriwal's meeting with the Lt Governor comes amid clear signs that his party is preparing to take power in Delhi with Congress support.

After five days of a virtual referendum on whether or not AAP should form a minority government, there were enough indications - but no announcement - that the one-year-old AAP was ready for the plunge.

Officially, senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who could become a minister if Kejriwal forms a government, told that the final decision would be taken only Monday morning.

“I can't say now if we will indeed form a government,” he said late Sunday. “We still need to hold a few meetings. The final decision will be taken only on Monday.”

Kejriwal said earlier Sunday that “a major announcement” would be made Monday. The party said the activist-turned-politician would meet the media Monday before meeting Jung.

As the party's campaign to elicit a 'yes' or 'no' from people in the capital on government formation entered its final phase, the AAP said that most voters favoured an AAP government.

“Majority of the feedback we have received is 'yes',” spokesperson Ashwathi Muralidharan told reporters.

The party has got responses from over 6.5 lakh people through SMS, interactive voice response (IVR), Facebook and the AAP web site, she said.

Separately, AAP held public meetings in some 270 municipal wards across Delhi where too most people rooted for an AAP government by raising their hands, party leaders said.

A former Indian Revenue Service officer whose social activism won him the Ramon Magsaysay award, Kejriwal indicated that his party was readying to take power with Congress backing.

He denied that the promises made by his party – providing 700 litres of water daily to homes and sharply cutting power tariff among others – were utopian in nature.

“We will deliver whatever assurances we made in our manifesto. It (manifesto) was prepared after wide consultations, and a lot of thought went into it,” he told the media.

“Moreover, the people of Delhi are expecting much more from us, and we will perform.”

Later in the evening, Kejriwal told a public meeting in Sarojini Nagar in south Delhi that his party will keep “returning to the people” on major issues – even after forming a government.

“This is democracy, this is real democracy,” he said, denying criticism that the AAP decision to seek a referendum on whether or not to take power was “nautanki” (drama).

But AAP leaders made it clear that there would be no alliance with the Congress, which has only eight seats in the 70-member Delhi assembly but which, after being ousted from power, agreed to prop up a government of AAP (28 seats) in order to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) away.

The BJP, which finished as the largest group with 31 seats, decided not to form a government after falling short of the half-way mark by five.

The BJP's 'no' led the Lt. Governor to invite the AAP to try form a government. Kejriwal then said he was in a moral dilemma on whether or not to take power with Congress help.

So he decided to seek the views of the people in the capital, a move which again Sunday came under criticism from the BJP.

BJP leader Arun Jaitley said on Facebook: “The AAP had categorically stated that it represents alternative politics. It is guided by idealism. It will neither support nor accept support from either the Congress or BJP.

“Obviously, if the AAP stands by its publicly stated commitment, the Delhi assembly becomes a deadlocked assembly wherein after a reasonable time a fresh poll has to be ordered.

Ballerina Mary Helen Bowers is about to give birth to her first child, and has been dancing through pregnancy with unbelievable agility and breathtaking grace.

Bowers, the woman behind the Ballet Beautiful fitness company and the trainer who helps get Victoria's Secret models into runway form, has been documenting the stages of her pregnancy in a series of stunning photographs. She has been sharing these steps of her journey to motherhood on her Instagram account.

"I've found the entire process of being pregnant to be such a miraculous, beautiful time," she told The Huffington Post in an email Friday. "As a first-time mom I am so excited! My instinct has been not only to capture this special time, but [also] to share it with others, too. Pregnancy is magical, I've never felt more connected to my body. Looking back I'm so happy that I've taken so many photos and really documented the different stages."

The 33-year-old, who is most famous for working with Natalie Portman for her "Black Swan" role, is due to give birth next week, according to TODAYMoms. She has been dancing through the entirety of her pregnancy, with her doctor's approval.

"The changes that your body goes through during pregnancy are so radical, I've really tried to embrace and celebrate my new body and hopefully I can encourage other women to do the same," she told HuffPost. "I've also spent a lot of time over the last nine months developing a new prenatal series for Ballet Beautiful to help other moms-to-be stay healthy and active during pregnancy."

She previously told ELLE.com that ballet has helped her avoid back pain and swelling through her trimesters.

Hormone-disrupting chemicals linked to cancer, infertility and a slew of other health problems have been found in water samples collected at and near hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," sites in Colorado, according to a new study published in the journal Endocrinology this week.

Researchers say they found elevated levels of these chemicals -- known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) -- in surface water and groundwater samples collected in the state's Garfield County, a fracking hotspot with more than 10,000 natural gas wells.

Water samples taken from the Colorado River, a drainage basin for the region, were also found to have significantly higher-than-normal levels of EDCs, the researchers said.

EDCs, which have the ability to interfere with normal hormone action, have been linked to a number of health issues. Last year, the World Health Organization issued a report highlighting the health risks associated with the chemicals, including cancer, infertility and impaired neural and immune function. Previous studies have also suggested that EDCs may have adverse effects on the reproductive system in both women and men.

"With fracking on the rise, populations may face greater health risks from increased endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure," Susan Nagel, a veteran endocrinologist at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, told the Los Angeles Times. Nagel was the lead author of the recent study on fracking and EDCs.

In 2010 and again in 2012, Nagel and a team of researchers collected several water samples at five natural gas sites in Garfield County, where fracking wastewater spills are known to have occurred in the last few years. The researchers then tested the samples for four different classes of EDCs. "Of the 39 unique water samples, 89 percent, 41 percent, 12 percent, and 46 percent exhibited estrogenic, anti-estrogenic, androgenic, and anti-androgenic activities, respectively," the report says. The team also gathered water samples from the Colorado river, as well as from areas in Garfield County that are located a significant distance away from natural gas wells. Other samples came from an area in Missouri where there is no fracking.

The researchers said water samples collected from the spill sites and the Colorado river had significantly higher levels of EDCs than those gathered from the control sites in Garden County and Missouri.

Water can contain small amounts of estrogenic substances naturally. However, "Nagel said that although estrogenic substances can be found naturally occurring in water, she did not know of similar sources of anti-estrogenic or anti-androgenic chemicals," the Times reports.

 Undaunted hobbits trumped princess power at the multiplex.

Per studio estimates Sunday, Warner Bros. "Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" was No. 1 at the weekend box office with $73.7 million, besting last weekend's No. 1 film, Disney's animated fable "Frozen."

Melting down to the No. 2 position, "Frozen" earned $22.2 in its third weekend, bringing its impressive overall domestic ticket total to nearly $164.4 million.

Despite its first place position, "Hobbit" fell short of topping its prequel's debut. "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," which opened this same weekend last year, gained $84.6 million.

"'Hobbit' rules this date and Warner Bros. has linked this brand to this time of year very effectively," said box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak.

"We had an excellent weekend," said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. "Of course, it could have been a little better, but the weather back East was really tough last night and probably took a couple million dollars out of my pocket. But our box office will survive. We are right on target to do very similar numbers to the last 'Hobbit,' which grossed a $1 billion worldwide (overall)."

Lionsgate's holiday-themed "Tyler Perry's a Madea Christmas" came in third place with $16.2 million.

"All of the Tyler Perry movies have done in that $20 million plus range, but the weather was a factor in some of the performances of these films," said Dergarabedian.

Another Lionsgate film, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," earned $13.2 million for the fourth place slot. To date "Catching Fire" has grossed $739.9 million, surpassing the worldwide box office total for "The Hunger Games," which brought in $691 million.

If you felt like Beyoncé's surprise album release was Christmas coming early, you're not alone. Celebrities have been expressing their excitement on Twitter and spreading the word about Queen Bey's latest triumph.

As the West Coast was tucking into bed Thursday night, the singer rolled out one of the best-kept secrets in recent music history: The album she had spent the last year teasing was now available for purchase on iTunes.

The self-titled set comes as a “visual album” featuring 14 new tracks and 17 music videos.

currently available as an iTunes exclusive. Manufacturing of physical albums begins Thursday and a double disc CD/DVD will be available before the holidays, according to her label.

Working with Jay Z, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams, Drake, the Dream, Sia, Ryan Tedder, Miguel, Frank Ocean and Hit Boy, the singer churned out her most ambitious project to date, without ever actually saying she was putting out an album any time soon.

"I didn't want to release my music the way I've done it. I am bored with that. I feel like I am able to speak..

Tension prevailed at Andhra Pradesh state secretariat Friday as the employees of Seemandhra and Telangana nearly came to blows over the bill sent by the centre for formation of separate Telangana state.

Employees of Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra) took out a rally when officials were transporting the bill to the state assembly amid tight security. After the convoy of vehicles left for the assembly, Seemandhra employees intensified their protest.

Raising slogans in support of the united state, the employees marched in the high security zone and even set afire an effigy of Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh to protest his visit to Hyderabad.

Employees from Telangana began a counter protest. The secretariat was rocked by the slogans from both the sides. The two groups even tried to push each other.

Police had a tough time in controlling the two groups, who almost clashed in front of 'C' block which houses the office of the chief minister.

Both sides blamed each other for the situation. Leaders of Seemandhra employees said they had been peacefully protesting against the centre's decision for bifurcation of the state. They alleged that the rival group created the trouble.

Telangana Employees Joint Action Committee (JAC) leader V. Srinivas Goud said they would not tolerate Seemandhra employees creating hurdles in formation of Telangana state. He said as a large number of people from Seemandhra are living in Hyderabad, the Seemandhra employees should not do anything which vitiate the peaceful atmosphere.

Srinivas Goud also asked police to be impartial while handling the situation. He wondered how Seemandhra employees were allowed to use loudspeaker, take out rally and burn effigy in a restricted area.