The dawg days are over at "American Idol" ...TMZ is reporting Randy Jackson is officially LEAVING the judge's table ... but will still remain a part of the show as a "mentor."
Sources connected to "Idol" are saying... there's some concern among the brass that Jackson is not well-suited for the mentor role ... but they feel they need him because he's the glue that helps keep the show together.
As for his replacement ... sources tell us Nicki Minaj's deal is 99% done ... but still not a sure thing just yet.
Turns out Cookie Monster doesn’t just eat cookies, he bakes them, too. Cookie Monster’s very own original cookie recipe has now resurfaced. It first appeared in the 1970s in “Big Bird’s Busy Book.”
And contrary to popular belief, Cookie Monster’s favorite cookie is not chocolate chip. He apparently prefers good old fashioned sugar cookies.
He introduces the recipe with a friendly note to readers:
“Dear Reader, Hello, There! Me Cookie Monster and my favorite thing is eating cookies. In this wonderful set of books me going to show you how to make all kinds of cookies! But first… me tell you secret recipe for Cookie Dough (It been in my family for years.)”
And in case you can’t read the fine print, here are the instructions for you to bake them at home:
Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking flour
1 teaspoon salt
Equipment
Medium-sized mixing bowl
Measuring cup and spoons
A fork
Instructions
1. Put 3/4 cup of butter or margarine (that’s a stick and a half) into your mixing bowl.
2. Measure 1 cup of sugar.
3. Pour sugar over butter.
4. With fork, squash butter and sugar together until they are blended.
5. Crack open two eggs and pour eggs over mixture in bowl.
6. Measure 1 teaspoon vanilla and pour over mixture.
7. With fork, blend everything in the bowl together.
8. Measure 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and pour over mixture in bowl.
9. Measure 1 teaspoon baking powder and sprinkle over flour.
10. Measure 1 teaspoon of salt and sprinkle over flour and baking powder.
11. Mix everything together either with the fork or with your hands.
12. Put dough in icebox to chill (at least one hour).
Cookie Monster says you can make lots of dough at once, and save it in a plastic bag in your freezer for future baking. However, he must have been preoccupied, eating all the dough before he got around to including the baking time instructions. Thankfully TheKitchn.com comes to the rescue, recommending rolling out the cookies 1/4 inch thick, sprinkling with sugar, and baking at 400 degrees.
We now live in a world where Snooki is someone's mother.
The "Jersey Shore" store popped out a baby boy at around 3:00 AM Sunday at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, NJ.
A rep for Snooki released a statement, saying, "The world just got another Guido!!! Lorenzo Dominic LaValle has entered the world weighing 6lbs, 5oz. Nicole, Jionni & Enzo are doing great!"
Kelly Clarkson has been touring the world this summer and she's having fun doing it! Kelly asks her fans to make cover song suggestions. At each show, she picks one suggestion and tries it. Here's a small sample of the songs she's attempted:
When April and Owen Beaver's 16-year-old son, Caleb, suddenly passed away last Christmas, they thought they would never hear his heartbeat again.
But on Thursday, the grieving couple from Saucier, Mississippi, were given a chance to reconnect with their boy when they met the man who received his heart.
The emotional encounter took place in a Mississippi airport, where the Beaver family came face-to-face with Charles Shelton, his wife, Amy, and their two sons.
Caleb had a condition known as arteriovenous malformation, which causes defects in the circulatory system that develop either before a baby is born or shortly after, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.
His parents were not aware that anything was amiss with their athletic, musically gifted son until he suddenly fell ill on December 23 while they were away in Arkansas.
The 16-year-old boy suffered two strokes and was flown to Memphis for treatment, but he slipped into a coma, and soon after doctors told his parents he was brain-dead. Caleb was taken off life support two days later.
The devastated parents of the teen who had dreamed of becoming a doctor one day honored his memory by donating his heart, kidneys, lungs, liver, pancreas and even skin tissue.
Thousands of miles away, Charles Shelton, a psychiatrist from Kentucky, had been diagnosed with an inflammatory disease that causes the formation of clumps of cells similar to scar tissue in his heart.
He waited months to hear about a donor heart, and on December 26, he received Caleb's heart.
Shelton wrote a letter to the Beavers, saying that he wanted to meet them in person to thank them for the life-saving gift.
As fate would have it, the 'thank you' letter arrived in the Beaver family's Saucier home the next day after Caleb's mother prayed for a sign to feel close to her son again, according to WLOX.
'I was talking to God and crying out and I asked God to let me have a dream or something. I wanted to feel close to Caleb's heart. I wanted to hear his heart beat,' April Beaver recalled.
Miracle: April Beaver said she prayed for God to give her a sign from Caleb and let her hear his heart beat one day before getting a letter from Shelton
The two families began communicating, and on Thursday, they met for the first time in the terminal of Gulfport Biloxi International Airport. Although they have never seen each other before, Mrs Beaver and Shelton embraced and wept together like old friends.
The Beavers then pulled out a stethoscope to hear their son's heartbeat coming from Shelton's chest.
'That's Caleb,' April Beaver said as she listened to the familiar sound and sobbed. 'Yes, that's Caleb. It's very strong.'
The mother said that is what her son would have wanted.
'It's a gift and it's just indescribable,' Shelton told WLOX.
'This heart is amazing. It's given me life so I can be with my wife and boys. Caleb still lives through me. Caleb's in heaven, but he's still here,' he later told his hometown paper.
However, both families have agreed that this moment was bittersweet.
'It's kind of like the dream meets the nightmare,' Amy Shelton said. 'It's hard for them, and I can see their pain.'
Three Delaware day care employees have been accused of encouraging toddlers to fight each other while the children were under their care.
CBS Philly reported that Tiana Harris, 19, Lisa Parker, 47, and Estefania Myers, 21, employees of the Hands of Our Future Daycare in Dover, were arrested after a cellphone video emerged of them allegedly encouraging two 3-year-olds to fight in an organized battle.
Police said in the video one child is heard yelling, "He’s pinching me!" A day care worker allegedly responded, "No pinching, only punching."
"It was a difficult video to watch," Dover Police Capt. Tim Stump told FoxNews.com. "One of the kids involved ran over to one of the adults for protection, but she turned him around back into the fight."
The video was taken in March, Stump said. Two of the suspects could be seen encouraging the fight, while the other filmed it with her cellphone camera, he said.
Stump said neither of the toddlers suffered serious injuries, but said it was "painfully clear that they were hurting each other."
"The bottom line is that the kids were whaling on each other and the adults were doing nothing to stop it," Stump said. "In fact, they were egging it on."
Parents of day care students went to a meeting Monday and were informed about the alleged video. Stump said the parents voiced concern, but commended them for their composure.
"It's very disturbing to think anything like that could go on," Amy Bickerling, whose 4-year-old son is enrolled at the center, told Delaware Online. "I know these teachers. I go on all the field trips. I've never seen anything irregular."
Stump said a full investigation is under way. There is no evidence yet to suggest these fights occurred more than once, but authorities will be conducting interviews with some of the students, he said.
He called the suspects "cooperative" and said they posted $10,000 bond.
The three women were charged with assault, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangering and conspiracy.
Mayim Bialik sustained serious injuries in a car accident in Los Angeles this afternoon ... and sources tell us the actress is in danger of losing her finger.
It all went down on the corner of Hollywood Blvd. and La Brea around noon ... sources tell us the former "Blossom" actress was traveling alone in a white Volvo which was struck in the intersection by another vehicle filled with tourists from Chile.
We're told emergency responders raced to the scene. One source tells us there was "tons and tons of blood everywhere."
Sources tell us Bialik sustained major damage to her hand . We're told 36-year-old Mayim was rushed to a nearby hospital where she is being treated.
I was reading how ND transportation has "penciled in" $600,000 for a re-paint of the blue walking bridge over I94 for summer 2013. Some people want to paint it multiple colors or Bison colors or a host of other things. I grew up a few blocks away from the bridge so to me it's always the blue bridge! I don't want to see it multi-colored. Maybe I'm too close to the forrest on this one. What would you do if you had carte blanche to paint the walking bridge? - Big Dog
Check out this ad promoting the internet made by a group of Montana kids from 1995. They nailed it!
Telephone? Check. Television? Check. Shopping center? Check. Workplace? Check.
However, I think Becky was lying about the "cat food cupcakes". I can't seem to find a recipe anywhere!
Miley Cyrus shocked fans (and everyone else) when she tweeted this photo over the weekend of her new haircut. The caption said "never felt more like myself."
What do you think? Does she look better with short hair or long hair?
If you love drinking wine, but hate having to constantly refill your glass, Kouichi Okamoto's Glass Tank is your answer.
The device consists of a bulb shaped container with the glass below. When the amount in the glass decreases, a constant amount is poured from the tank into the glass. The wine will never overflow because of the balance between air pressure and water pressure.
So you can just keep drinking...a lot!
Fair warning....the Glass Tank is pricey. It sells for $419.00.
Disney will soon give children a chance to become their favorite Disney Princesses through a high-tech process that will create a custom figurine. Much like the popular Carbon Freeze Me experience recently offered during Star Wars Weekends, Walt Disney World’s newest D-Tech Me experience will capture the likeness of participating kids and feature it on 3-D printed 7-inch Disney Princess collectibles.
Announced today on the Disney Parks Blog, the Disney Princess D-Tech Me experience will launch on August 26 at the World of Disney in Downtown Disney Marketplace for a limited time. But unlike the Carbon Freeze Me experience, only guests ages 3-12 will be allowed to participate.
The process will take roughly 10 minutes, during which an array of cameras will capture children’s faces from a variety of angles, ultimately producing a 3-D scan of their expression and features. Children can then choose to become one of seven Disney Princesses: Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White or Tiana.
And unlike the grey overtones of the Carbon Freeze Me figures, the new Disney Princess custom figurines will be in full color, with hair, skin and eye color matching the child’s own.
The cost is $99.95 for each figurine, plus $15.95 for shipping within the United States. Shipping to Canada or other countries starts at $75. Additional 7-inch figures are $74.95 and 3-inch versions are $39.95.
It’s worth noting that the Carbon Freeze Me figurines are quite fragile and definitely not toys, so children interested in becoming their favorite Disney Princess shouldn’t expect to “play” with their custom figurine, but rather just have it on display.
Disney is estimating an arrival time for the custom figure at 5-6 weeks, though many anxious fans have reported their Carbon Freeze Me figures have taken more than 10 weeks to arrive, despite being quoted 4-6 weeks at the time.
Also included for guests to purchase the package will be a Princess silver link necklace and gem charm.
Reservations can be made by calling 407-WDW-TECH (407-939-8324).
Eagle Stadium, in Allen, TX, a Dallas suburb, opens later this month after three years of construction, and tongues are wagging at its $60 million price tag.
The state-of-art-facility boasts 18,000 seats (all bleachers), two luxury suites, a pro-quality press box, and a 3,400-square-foot HD video scoreboard. The project was funded by a $119 million bond package approved by 63 percent of voters three years ago.
"It shows that the people of Allen support their kids," said Allen head football coach Tom Westerberg.
Meanwhile, by the 2011-2012 school year, the Allen school district was facing a $4.5 million budget shortfall and was forced to cut 44 teaching positions and 40 support positions.
Luckily for Allen football fans, the school's operating budget was separate from construction; voters eventually agreed to increase property tax rates by $0.13 to offset state education cuts.
Source: Deadspin
What do you think: A good investment or unnecessary expense?
It was just announced that Pink is the new celebrity face of Covergirl! She'll be joining the ranks of Ellen Degeneres, Taylor Swift, Drew Barrymore, and other famous Covergirls. Pink's campaign is appropriately called "Beauty With An Edge".
Chronic exposure to an artificial butter flavoring ingredient, known as diacetyl, may worsen the harmful effects of a protein in the brain linked to Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.
The findings should serve as a red flag for factory workers with significant exposure to the food-flavoring ingredient, researchers from the University of Minnesota said in the report published in a recent issue of the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.
Diacetyl is used to give a buttery taste and aroma to common food items such as margarines, snack foods, candy, baked goods, pet foods and other products.
The investigators pointed out that previous studies have already linked diacetyl to respiratory and other health problems among workers at microwave popcorn and food-flavoring plants.
Although diacetyl forms naturally in fermented beverages, such as beer and wine, its chemical structure is similar to a substance that makes beta-amyloid proteins clump together in the brain. This clumping, the study authors noted, is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.
In their study, the researchers found that diacetyl also increases the amount of beta-amyloid clumping in the brain. And it worsened the beta-amyloid protein's harmful effects on nerve cells grown in a lab when the cells were exposed to the same levels of diacetyl that factory workers might be exposed to in their jobs.
The study authors pointed out that other experiments revealed that diacetyl also crosses the "blood-brain barrier," which helps protect the brain from dangerous substances. Diacetyl also prevented a beneficial protein from protecting nerve cells.
"In light of the chronic exposure of industry workers to diacetyl, this study raises the troubling possibility of long-term neurological toxicity mediated by diacetyl," Robert Vince and colleagues concluded in a news release from the American Chemical Society.
The study was funded by the Center for Drug Design research endowment funds at the University of Minnesota.
While the study found an association between chronic diacetyl exposure and certain brain protein processes, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
A man who threw a bottle at the finalists of the Olympic men's 100 meters was arrested by London police on Sunday night and could face a prison sentence.
Seconds before the starter's gun went off and with the runners already positioned in their blocks, a beer bottle sailed from the stands and landed close to podium finishers Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, and Justin Gatlin.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told Yahoo! Sports that the suspected culprit was immediately detained and is expected to appear in court on Monday.
"A man was arrested inside the Olympic Stadium earlier this evening on suspicion of creating a public nuisance," the spokesperson said. "The man had been heard to shout abuse and seemed to throw a plastic bottle onto the track immediately prior to the men's 100-meter final."
Creating a public nuisance is a common law offense in the United Kingdom and can carry a punishment of a custodial sentence, a fine, or both. For an infraction such as that which took place, a fine would be the most likely outcome, although British lawmakers have been keen to clamp down on any incidents that affect the reputation of the Games.
Michael Phelps took three of his closest friends out clubbing in London this weekend -- gold medal, gold medal and gold medal.
Just hours after swimming the last race of his career, Phelps -- the greatest Olympian in the history of the Olympics -- hit the party scene in Soho ... along with 3 of his 18 gold medals ... and a mystery blonde.
Phelps and his medals partied responsibly ... after they partied themselves out, they all piled into the backseat of a waiting SUV and got a ride home.
