Partying With Bieber? Sign Crazy Waiver

If you aspire to attend a party at Justin Bieber's house, first you'll have to score an invitation ... and then you'll have to sign a Liability Waiver and Release. TMZ got a copy of the fairly insane document, which says that if you tweet, blog, text message, or otherwise talk...

Lawmaker Comes Out as Atheist During House Prayer

The Arizona House and Senate typically convene with a prayer, which members take turns delivering. But Democratic Rep. Juan Mendez did something unusual yesterday: He took the opportunity to announce that he's an atheist (he referenced his "secular humanist tradition") and encourage other members not to bow their heads in...

As GMO Corn Weakens, Pesticides Are Back

In 2003, Monsanto debuted corn seeds with a gene—Bt—that generates pest-killing toxins designed to resist the ravages of rootworm. Soil insecticide use cratered as a result, with only 9% of corn acreage nationwide treated with it in 2010, down from 25% in 2005. But then things started to...

One Pistorius Brother Is Off the Hook

One Pistorius brother is free of charges—acquitted yesterday of culpable homicide in the death of a woman in a road accident. Carl Pistorius cried tears of relief as the magistrate ruled that the 28-year-old was not negligent and that Maria Barnard, 32, was driving her motorcycle excessively fast when...

Star Trek Writer Sorry About That Underwear Scene

There's a scene in the new Star Trek movie in which a female character, played by Alice Eve, strips down to her underwear before donning a torpedo-disarming outfit. Cue uproar. It seems that fans felt the scene was completely unnecessary, and writer Damon Lindelof recently issued a sort of mea...

Bernanke to Congress: Stop Screwing the Economy

The Federal Reserve isn't planning to take its foot off the gas pedal anytime remotely soon, Ben Bernanke told Congress today, while rebuking legislators for not doing their own part to juice the economy. The Fed's interest rate has been near zero since 2008, and Bernanke said he expects it...

Okla. Mayor: We'll Mandate Storm Shelters in New Homes

The mayor of the Oklahoma city devastated by a tornado this week says he'll push for a new law requiring all new homes to be built with storm shelters or safe rooms. "We'll try to get it passed as soon as I can," the Moore mayor told CNN . Many Oklahoma...

Think You're Pretty Hot? You're Probably Wrong

The latest video in Dove's "Real Beauty" campaign featured women describing themselves to an unseen forensic sketch artist, who drew them as they were described by themselves and then as they were described by a stranger. The sketches based on the stranger's description turned out more attractive, hence Dove's message:...

33 Years Later, Mugabe OKs Term Limits— for Successor

What a mensch: After 33 years in political office, Robert Mugabe has changed Zimbabwe's constitution to impose a limit of two five-year terms on the president. Only, the rule doesn't apply retroactively, so the 89-year-old could still serve another decade as leader, Reuters reports.

US Power Co. Cyberattacked 10K Times a Month

Could foreign hackers take out America's electric grid? A new congressional report says it's a very real threat, with more than a dozen of nearly 100 electric utilities surveyed reporting constant or frequent cyberattacks, Reuters reports. One utility said it was battered by a staggering 10,000 attacks a month;...

Teens Name Their Biggest Beefs With Facebook

The vast majority of teens (to the tune of 94% in 2012) are on Facebook, but many of them are gravitating toward Twitter and other social media sites that their parents don't tend to use, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. Researchers found that teenage Facebook users—70%...

Pentagon Wants $200M— for 10-Year Gitmo Upgrade

If you're already upset about the fact that Guantanamo is still open, your head may actually explode at this next bit: The Pentagon wants Congress to grant it more than $450 million to maintain—and upgrade —the prison, according to a budget request from the Obama administration. Specifically, $200 million...

FBI Killed Man Who Knew Tamerlan Tsarnaev: Friend

An odd Boston-bombing sidebar: A man was fatally shot overnight by an FBI agent in Orlando, and multiple sources say the dead man was connected to Tamerlan Tsarnaev in some way. NBC 's anonymous sources say Ibragim Todashev had previously been questioned about his relationship with the suspect and had...

Apple's 'Offshore' Billions? They're in Manhattan

Tim Cook went before the Senate yesterday, answering accusations that Apple is keeping billions from the IRS' clutches by holding it in overseas subsidiaries. Only that money isn't actually overseas, the New York Times reports—its $102 billion in offshore profits is managed by a subsidiary based in Nevada and...

Mystery Illness Kills 2 in Alabama

State and federal officials are scrambling to investigate a mysterious respiratory illness that has killed two people and left five others hospitalized in southeast Alabama. Officials describe the outbreak as a cluster of illnesses with flulike symptoms, with fever, coughing, and shortness of breath as the most important symptoms to...

Notre Dame Suicide: Anti-Gay Marriage 'Sacrifice'?

The suicide of a far-right writer/activist at Paris' Notre Dame yesterday is being hailed as a "political act" by other far-right leaders. Dominique Venner, who shot himself in front of an estimated 1,500 people inside the vaunted cathedral, had posted a final essay on his website decrying both the...

NASA Wants to 3D-Print Pizza in Space

Still no jetpacks, but your inner 9-year-old has to be excited about this: NASA is developing a 3D printer that can print "nutritious and flavorful" food during space travel. The agency says its current space food is "not adequate in nutrition or acceptability through the five-year shelf life required for...

Okla. Tornado: Inside the Leveled School

As the massive tornado hit the Plaza Towers Elementary School, "it sounded like rivets being pulled out by a monster," a teacher's assistant tells the Wall Street Journal , recounting how she and some 10 other adults huddled and tried to protect as many children as they could during the minutes...

Weiner Officially Jumps Into NYC Mayoral Race

Anthony Weiner—possibly inspired by Mark Sanford's shocking comeback —has made it official: He's running for mayor of America's biggest city. The former congressman launched his run for New York City mayor with a video posted on YouTube at midnight, in which he says, "I made some big mistakes and...

Sergio Sorry for 'Not Racist' Fried Chicken Jab at Tiger

The Sergio Garcia-Tiger Woods feud sank to a new low last night when the Spaniard dropped an ill-advised racial stereotype to dig at his rival. When asked at a European Tour awards dinner if he would have Woods 'round for dinner during the US Open, Garcia said, "We will have...

Vatican: This Is Not an Exorcism

Pope Francis was merely praying in a video that some claim shows him performing an exorcism on a Mexican pilgrim, the Vatican says. In the video—broadcast on a TV station owned by the Italian Bishops' Conference—the man convulses and then goes limp after the stern-faced pontiff places his...

Riots Shake Stockholm for a 3rd Night

Groups of youths smashed shop windows, set cars ablaze, and burned down a cultural center last night as the riots that started in a Stockholm suburb after a fatal police shooting spread to other low-income areas of the Swedish capital. A police spokeswoman says 30 vehicles were set ablaze in...

Voters Keep Portland Biggest Fluoride-Free US City

The voters of Portland, Oregon have once again rejected plans to add fluoride to their water to combat tooth decay, keeping it the biggest American city without fluoridation. The city voted 60% to 40% to stay fluoride-free last night, the fourth such rejection since 1956, the Oregonian reports. Fluoridation passed...

Inventor: I've Cracked Cold Fusion

This is either bombshell, world-changing news or "one of the most elaborate hoaxes in scientific history," reports Mark Gibbs at Forbes . An Italian engineer who claims to have achieved cold fusion—the holy grail of clean energy—says his E-Cat device has been deemed credible by an independent team of...

Senate Panel Clears Immigration Reform

Far-reaching legislation to grant a chance at citizenship to millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a solid bipartisan vote tonight after supporters somberly sidestepped a controversy over the rights of gay spouses. The 13-5 vote cleared the way for an epic...

Nepal Furious About Phone Call Atop Everest

One more sign that climbing Everest just ain't what it used to be: When a British mountaineer got to the summit over the weekend, he pulled out his smartphone and gave the BBC a video billed as "the world's first live video call ... from the rooftop of the world." Now...

Freedom Goat Runs for Her Life, Snarls Traffic

It's hard not to root for the goat in this one: One believed to have escaped en route to a slaughterhouse snarled the morning commute along one of the busiest roadways in northern New Jersey today, leading police on a nearly two-hour chase. The small female eluded five Jersey City...

IRS Figure at Center of Scandal Will Take the Fifth

She is probably the IRS official most closely linked to the agency's recent mess, but Lois Lerner plans to reveal nothing when she testifies on Capitol Hill tomorrow, reports Politico . The attorney for Lerner, who oversees the IRS nonprofits division, says his client will invoke the Fifth when she goes...

Cops: We Can't Solve Susan Powell Case

Josh Powell reportedly had an affair just months before his wife disappeared, and his brother may have been "heavily involved" in getting rid of her body, Utah police revealed as they announced they couldn't solve the sensational case. The West Valley City Police Department yesterday opened its books on the...

For $1.2K, Club Will Let You Peep Into Ladies' Bathroom

Be careful if you're a woman at Glasgow's Shimmy Club and find yourself having to use the restroom: It's installed with a two-way mirror, and clubgoers who want a look are charged as much as $1,200 to peep in. After complaints, Scotland's police force launched an investigation into the...