by Claudine Zap We're not sure what's stranger: that the The U.S. State Department has a Flickr photo stream , or some odd moments that have been captured. One photo that caught the eye of Gawker is this gem: Barack and Michelle Obama pictured with the Spanish prime minister and his all-in-black, combat-boot-clad daughers. Fine, right? Wrong.

by Mike Krumboltz Love him or loathe him, Glenn Beck is undeniably buzzy. This past week, the conservative commentator was mocked like a nerd in junior-high gym class. There were accusations of frog-cooking )untrue(, an unwelcome homecoming, and an "SNL" skit that's gone viral. And, as a special bonus, video surfaced of Beck from his early-morning radio DJ days. Below, a roundup of Mr. Beck's wild week. Did Glenn Beck just boil a live frog?

by Claudine Zap Here's a mystery. What is " Law and Order: Criminal Intent " without stars Vincent D'Onofrio , Kathryn Erbe and Eric Bogosian ? According to The Hollywood Reporter , all three will exit during the upcoming ninth season. )Yes, it's been that long. But really, who's counting?( Insiders say that despite the popularity of the actors, they're being dumped to make room for Jeff Goldblum to be lead detective.

by Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Stink bugs )Searches increased by 759%(. These little stinkers have invaded Pennsylvania. Jude Law )+445%(. The actor welcomed a fourth child , this time with ex-girlfriend Samantha Burke. G20 summit 2009 )+251%(. The economic conference became the target of major protests . Barista )+250%(. Police broke up a prostitution ring operated by coffee servers at a Washington state espresso stand . Really.

by Vera H-C Chan "Fame" just ain't what it used to be. Nowadays, Times Square is as clean as a policeman's whistle. Crime's down, chains like Applebees and the Disney Store have scrubbed out any traces of adult shops, and pedestrians no longer play Russian Roulette with cabbies . No wonder a remake about kids making it big in the city has dropped down to a PG rating. So far, reviewers are calling the " Fame " do-over pretty much like the original,

by Vera H-C Chan There is warm, but not intense, interest in this weekend's releases, a mix of musical gumption sprinkled into horror. Still, expect a reasonably healthy weekend outing. Top Four Movies of the Week, as ranked by Yahoo! searches 1 )tie(. " Paranormal Activity " )R, limited release(. The documentary-syle freak-out )up 473%( has been traveling the festival circuit for a couple years, accounting for its early buzz . 1 )tie(. " Fame " )PG(.

by Claudine Zap It's that time of year when high schools prepare to welcome back alumni for Homecoming . And that can only mean one thing: Nobody has a thing to wear. Searches on " homecoming dresses " are rocking the Web. The most popular? Sorry, dads: It's " short, sexy homecoming dresses ." So if parents don't lock up their daughters this year, expect to see hemlines on wannabe Homecoming Queens moving up, up, up. And with short comes cheap. We mean cost, of course,

by Mike Krumboltz Attention moms! Can we have your attention please? To everyone who likes to brag about giving birth to 8, 9, even 10-lb. babies, we advise you keep quiet around Ani from Indonesia. The woman recently delivered a 19.2-lb. bruiser, the heaviest newborn ever recorded in the country. Ani's epic delivery scored a lot of attention in the Search box. After the " Today " show ran a segment and Al Roker and Matt Lauer made some lighthearted jokes,

by Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Mikhail Prokhorov )Searches increased by 794%(. Who gets to be called an oligarch any more? This guy. The Russian billionaire just bought the Nets . Health benefits of coffee )+431%(. There must be some, right? Children's Tylenol recall )+355%(. The maker of the liquid cough syrup is voluntarily recalling certain lots of the medicine. The Story of Stuff )+187%(.

by Vera H-C Chan Fussy weather and slim wallets meant many people stayed close to the homestead this summer. Three autumn traditions, though, may tempt wanderlust in ways summer couldn't: apple-picking, leaf-peeping, and pumpkin-pulling. The good/bad news: The same wet East Coast weather that ended up sweetening apples and brightening foliage has also rotted pumpkin vines. Scary prospects are also in store for the gourd harvest because of Southeast and Midwest rains . So,

by Claudine Zap There's been some flak around Obama's appointment of "czars," which don't need confirmation but hold various positions within the administration. One such person, Kevin Jennings , is scoring in the Buzz. He's the assistant deputy secretary of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools , also known as the " safe school czar ." But to some social conservatives on the right, Jennings is anything but safe.

by Mike Krumboltz Attention gossip hounds and game nerds: The Nintendo Wii is rumored to be getting a $50 price cut this weekend. It might be true, it might be false, but if you're thinking about picking up the console, you'll definitely want to wait a few days longer.

by Mike Krumboltz The battle over health care reform continues. The latest news from the front lines: Humana , a health care provider, is being accused of sending out alarmist letters to senior citizens in an effort to stop reform. Humana, based in Louisville , reportedly sent out letters to "Medicare Advantage enrollees suggesting that health-care legislation could lower their benefits.

by Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. David Paterson )Searches increased by 464%(. The NY guv is getting no love from Obama, who asked the unpopular leader not to run again. Even Bill Clinton said he's "not in good shape now." Six Flags )+419%(. The amusement park, along with much of Atlanta, is under water . Funny Or Die )+179%(. A "public service announcement" for health insurers that feels their pain . John Edwards )+164%(.

by Vera H-C Chan In an era of text messages and tweets, punctuation has been the first to go )followed by vowels and articles like "the" and "a"(. Still, National Punctuation Day , founded by a former newsman, continues the fight to uphold order in the English language. Lost cause or valiant effort? Despite tech trends to the contrary, people do care about punctuationâ€"even if they are mostly schoolkids: In the past 30 days, about 44% " punctuation " searches on Yahoo!

by Mike Krumboltz David Letterman is on a roll. The late night funnyman interviewed President Obama on Monday night and gabbed with Bill Clinton on Tuesday. Among the topics of conversation â€" whether Mr. Clinton would like to have his wife's job. You can watch a clip from CBS below.

by Claudine Zap Being governor of California is not looking like the most glamorous job these days, even if you are a former movie star. Still, no matter how big the problems, the top job in the state still beckons. Which could be one of the reasons why Meg Whitman wants the post. Let's examine the resume. The Princeton and Harvard Business School grad is the former CEO of eBay , the online auction site. She left in 2008 as the richest female CEO in American history.

by Mike Krumboltz Plaxico Burress , the former wide receiver for the New York Giants , is now a guest of the state. Despite his accidental gun shot injuring only himself, the Super Bowl star was sentenced to two years in the pokey . The sentence began today. Searches on " plaxico jail ," " plaxico burress prison ," and " where will plaxico go to jail " are all soaring. According to ESPN , the fallen star will initially rest his head at lovely Riker's Island,

by Claudine Zap Our top picks from the day's hottest searches. Diablo Cody )Searches increased by 4,071%(. The writer of the horror flick "Jennifer's Body" called the project her "dream script." G20 )+419%(. The economic meeting is being held in Pittsburgh. Don't laugh . Matt Damon )+254%(. Ah, the bromance: The actor reportedly wants to move to California to be closer to his friend Ben Affleck. Autumnal Equinox )+221%(.Today marks the first day of fall,

by Claudine Zap Imagine it's your turn to host a get-together of dozens of world leaders for the G20 economic summit . You could go D.C. or New York. But instead you pick Pittsburgh, PA . Once you get off the ground laughing, you should know, there are actually some legit reasons for choosing such an underdog. For one thing, the city already weathered a major economic downturn when the steel industry collapsed in the '70s, and as their mayor puts it ,