by Claudine Zap Groundhog Day is almost upon us, when rodent meteorologists take over the weather report to answer the pressing question: Is spring almost here, or are we subject to six more weeks of winter? Searches on Yahoo! have forecasted a storm of interest, including " what is groundhog day ," " when is groundhog day ," and " history of groundhog day .

by Claudine Zap Two teens from Toronto successfully launched a Lego figure into near space - and launched a storm of interest on the Web. Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad, 17-year-old classmates at Agincourt Collegiate Institute, took four months, many Saturdays, and $400 to carry a Lego figurine and four cameras miles above the earth, a project that the two did for fun, not for class. "We didn't really believe we could do it until we did," Ho told the Toronto Star .

by Mike Krumboltz George Clooney is a respected actor, director, and activist. But he's also a born prankster. The star of " The Descendants " recently visited " Inside the Actors Studio ," where he dished about his plans for pulling one over on his good friend and rival Brad Pitt . In the clip, an audience member asks Clooney about some of his favorite pranks that he's pulled. Clooney says, "I'm a big believer in making )movie( sets fun .

by Vera H-C Chan In today's modern world of Internet hoaxes, celebs must spend time reassuring people of their continued existence. There are celebrity death generators online, in which you can choose the place, time, and manner of death - often abroad and in a car off the cliffs. This Cher rumor, however, was traced to a Tweet from someone whose handle is @Lorraine_Star : She falsely claimed that CNN reported of the 65-year-old mega-star's untimely demise in her Malibu home.

by Mike Krumboltz Alert Principal Rooney! Ferris Bueller, that righteous dude we all know and love, is making a return. A 10-second teaser for an upcoming Super Bowl commercial shows a modern-day Matthew Broderick opening bedroom curtains, turning to the camera, and saying, "How can I handle work on a day like today?" Then the familiar "boom-boom-chick-chicka-chickah" music from the John Hughes movie plays over a black screen that reads, "2.5.12" )the date of the Super Bowl(.

by Claudine Zap Timing is everything, and when news broke that Demi Moore had been hospitalized for " health and exhaustion issues ," ex Ashton Kutcher was living it up in Brazil. The two split last November after the " Two and a Half Men " star reportedly cheated on his wife of six years. But even though the two are kaput and Kutcher appears to be partying with supermodels in Sao Paulo, it doesn't mean he doesn't care.

by Mike Krumboltz Va-va-va-voom! Salma Hayek , 45, showed off her famous figure at two recent events, proving once again that she can't not look good. The stunning star attended the Paris premiere of " Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy " in a black leather ensemble. Hayek paired the dress with a glamorous updo and suede boots. The belted outfit, with its three-quarter-length sleeves, struck that so-difficult-to-hit balance between provocative and demure. A few days later,

by Claudine Zap Demi Moore is seeking treatment for exhaustion and health issues. The news of the star's health concerns adds to a troubled time for the actress. TMZ confirmed that Moore was taken to a hospital after paramedics responded to a 911 call placed from her home. A rep for the actress told People , "Because of the stresses in her life right now, Demi has chosen to seek professional assistance to treat her exhaustion and improve her overall health.

by Claudine Zap News flash: Mitt Romney is way richer than you. How rich? A very cool - if incredibly maddening tool - can tell you exactly how long it takes for Richie Romney to make your salary )hint: not very long(. Based on the presidential candidate's 2010 tax return, on a $40,000 annual income, the Slate calculator tells us: "Mitt Romney made $40,000 in 16 hours 10 minutes and 34 seconds." After facing growing criticism by his Republican competitors,

by Claudine Zap Newt Gingrich, the Republican presidential candidate on a roll right now, has been invoking a little-known name in his criticism of President Obama: Saul Alinsky . As a result, the 20th-century community organizer has caused a surge of searches on the Web. After winning the South Carolina GOP primary, Gingrich said in his victory speech , "The centerpiece of this campaign, I believe, is American exceptionalism versus the radicalism of Saul Alinsky.

by Vera H-C Chan What the saxophone did for Bill Clinton , might a ringtone do for Barack Obama? At a time of declining job ratings , the man who once fueled rock-star fervor got another shot of cool for crooning the 1972 tune "Let's Stay Together." His Apollo Theater singing performance lasted only a few notes, but that was enough to perk up the Twitterverse and online curiosity. Yahoo! searches for the tune soared nearly 17,000%, elevated Rev. Green's profile by 1,008%,

by Claudine Zap First, " Jersey Shore " star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi shed some weight. Now, she's dumped her overly made-up face. And her fans looooove it. The Web gushed over a makeup-free pic Snooki posted on Twitter with the comment: " No make up day :( and IDC :(" )I don't care(. Over on Yahoo! , a flurry of positive comments like this were typical: "She looks amazing without all the goop!" and, "She should go for the natural look, it looks much prettier!

by Claudine Zap They're beautiful, fashionable, and always red-carpet-ready for their close-ups. But there's one accessory these stars don't have: a stylist. So they say. Blake Lively , the " Gossip Girl " star, has become the poster child for going stylist-free . What does this mean, exactly? The 24-year-old says fashion is her favorite hobby, so she prefers to go with her gut. "I just like whatever I'm feeling. Sometimes things are really beautiful,

by Claudine Zap If you tried to look something up on Wikipedia today, you may have been surprised to learn not about whatever obscure fact you were hunting down, but that there's a war being waged over what you can see on the Web. Two bills, Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act , are seeking to limit copyright infringement online, and the web is in revolt. On Wednesday, Wikipedia )which blacked out its site( and Google,

by Mike Krumboltz In a recent interview with Men's Journal, actor Mark Wahlberg made a remark about the 9/11 attacks that could spark a considerable controversy. Wahlberg was originally scheduled to fly on one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center. Fortunately for him, he took a different flight a week earlier. When he spoke to Men's Journal about what could have been, Wahlberg remarked, "If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn't have went down like it did.

by Mike Krumboltz The Gap is getting ready to do battle with reality star Kim Kardashian. Folks might remember that Old Navy )which is a Gap brand( ran a commercial starring an actress named Melissa Molinaro, who boasts a not-so-subtle similarity to Kardashian. Ms. Kim promptly sued the retailer, claiming, according to a buzzy article from the Hollywood Reporter , that the commercial "created confusion in the marketplace and violated her rights to her name and likeness.

by Mike Krumboltz The two-hour premiere of Fox's " Alcatraz " drew an impressive 10 million viewers . The series, produced by J.J. Abrams , also inspired a slew of searches on Yahoo!. One related search caught our eye - "Alcatraz real escape." So, did anybody ever escape the fortress? Or is "Alcatraz" )the TV show( just a science fiction fantasy? While it's unlikely that scores of prisoners ever vanished at once )as they do in the show(,

by Claudine Zap The cruise was a 60th-birthday gift from her children. But Nicole Servel ended up receiving the gift of life from her husband, Francis, who died that night. After the cruise ship Costa Concordia crashed on the rocks, he gave their only life jacket to his wife, who couldn't swim. According to Emirates247.com , the widow of the sacrificing Frenchman told RTL radio, "I owe my life to my husband." Just hours into the Mediterranean cruise,

by Claudine Zap Martin Luther King Jr ., the slain civil rights leader, is honored with a federal holiday on Monday, January 16. Along with working to integrate the country's buses, schools, and lunch counters through nonviolent protest, the reverend inspired with his words. Searches on his most well-known speech, " I Have a Dream ," have surged in the last week.

by Mike Krumboltz The media loves )LOVES!( to ride the wave of whatever's popular. Whether it's a presidential candidate, a new diet craze, or, in this case, a young quarterback named Tim Tebow. Indeed, ESPN is doing its darnedest to take Tebow-mania to a whole other level. It has gotten to a point that you'd think they own stock in the guy. During a one hour episode of SportsCenter, the Denver Broncos quarterback was mentioned or referenced a staggering 160 times.