A Midwest amusement park is closed after a 12-year-old girl fell 40 feet and hit the ground because the net that was supposed to catch her was too close to the concrete. The Wisconsin State Journal says she was on something called Terminal Velocity, which bills itself as a “free fall thrill ride,” when the accident happened. VIDEO

It was really just a matter of time, wasn’t it? The New York Post says Snooki was hauled off to jail yesterday for being, what else, too drunk. She was carousing on the beach in Seaside Heights with her fellow cast members in “a tight pink leopard print tank top with the word ‘Slut’ and an even tighter miniskirt that revealed the bottom of her buttocks” when she got into an argument with some cops. VIDEO

According to the Wall Street Journal, the fastest growing Internet business is the business of spying on people. The first in a series of investigative pieces, the Journal says they discovered that 50 of the top websites in the country were responsible for installing, on average, 64 pieces of tracking technology onto a visitor’s computer with no warning.

They’re taking it beyond just a dance down the aisle. A Wisconsin couple decided for their wedding, a two-act play was in order. So they wrote, directed and will star in their wedding story this weekend as their guests, who paid for tickets in lieu of giving a gift, look on says the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

It was a “somber” ethics committee that delivered a list of ethics charges to Congressman Charles Rangel, reports the New York Times. A 40-page report outlines the allegations against the veteran lawmaker. While many of the allegations have been widely reported, the Times says the committee unearthed new charges and said Rangel’s actions “reflected poorly on the institution of the House.”

The global population will top seven billion next year, and scientists say there’ll be little to celebrate when we hit the milestone. The dwindling birth rate in developed countries, and the exploding one in the developing world, will continue to threaten the environment and worsen poverty says the New York Times.

Sandra Bullock wants no part of her latest film. The New Orleans Times-Picayune says the actress has asked to be removed from a video she recently shot promoting the restoration of the Gulf region. Bullock says she’d like proof that the non-profit that produced the ad does not have ties to the oil industry. Apparently, a blog recently outed the America’s Wetland Foundation as a front for several major oil companies. VIDEO

If you thought being put on interminable hold was the worst thing that could happen when calling tech support, think again. The Reno Gazette-Journal has the bizarre tale of a woman who says she called a Mumbai-based Dell support center to get help locating some erotic pictures on her hard drive. Next thing she knew, the pictures were up on an adult website. VIDEO

If Reagan was the Teflon president, then President Obama is the Velcro one says the LA Times.  After two years of being blamed for the world’s troubles, aides are trying to protect his image by keeping the president out of the public eye.

It’s become an unofficial sport on the Internet to critique the show “Mad Men” for historical accuracy. The show’s producers do such a good job recreating the 1960s that it’s often a losing battle. But USA Today columnist Rhonda Abrams says when it comes to creating an accurate portrayal of starting a business from scratch, the “Mad Men” cast gets as many things right as they do wrong.

For all of Apple’s efforts to keep x-rated content off the iPhone, it’s one of the company’s own innovations that has opened the floodgates, reports the New York Daily News. Apparently, the adult entertainment industry is lining up “nude models for steamy sex talk” via the much lauded iPhone application, Facetime. 

Welcome to the DMV. For those not in the know, that’s an abbreviation: “D for the District, M for Maryland, and V for Virginia.” It’s also the cool new way to refer to the nation’s capital says the Washington Post. DC, it turns out, has felt left out all these years listening to New Yorkers talk about their Big Apple and Chicagoans go on and on about how windy it is in their hometown.

There’s been a different American Idol rumor every day this week, but the picture is becoming clearer. The post-Simon Cowell judging table won’t resemble the panel that led the show through its first nine seasons. Ellen DeGeneres announced yesterday that her first season with the show was her last. The LA Times says Fox “hustled out” out a news release yesterday to confirm her departure.

Hey, Hollywood, the Wall Street Journal‘s got some advice for you: First, “stop trying to pass off Shia LaBeouf as the second coming of Tom Cruise.” Second, “stop casting Gerard Butler in roles where he is called upon to emote.” And finally, “if ‘Legion’ and ‘Edge of Darkness’ and ‘The Back-up Plan’ and ‘Hot Tub Time Machine’ are the best you can do, stop making movies, period.”

One might consider it a crime, or a punishment, to try and get through some serious reading when the temperature is so high. To that end, USA Today has put together a list of breezy novels, perfectly suited for a day at the beach. The selections include stalwarts of chic lit (“Bridget Jones’ Diary”) and the latest from Sidney Sheldon (“After the Darkness”).

Move over Madonna, there’s a new Material Girl in town. But according to the New York Post, it’s more of an ascension to the throne than an overthrow. Madonna has handpicked Taylor Momsen of Gossip Girl fame to be the face of her daughter’s new fashion line.

As we become an increasingly pet-centric society, Beth Teitell of the Boston Globe says there’s a new term we should familiarize ourselves with: the pet snub. That’s when you get an invitation to a party or a weekend at the beach and your four-legged friend explicitly does not. Owners say that for them, a pet snub is usually a deal-breaker.

One of Missouri’s most famous cold cases was reopened after a key piece of evidence—the murder weapon—was found in the backseat of a police car, forty years after it went missing. The Kansas City Star says authorities are using new technology to lift fingerprints from the weapon used to kill a black political leader in 1970.

South Carolinians aren’t too concerned that they’re considered the country’s eighth laziest state—the Island Packet says being number one would be too much work. Business Week put a bunch of Southern states at the top of its annual list. Making ample time for sleep and TV watching were two of the qualifiers.

Remember the Rachel? Well, according to the Houston Chronicle, Justin Bieber is doing for modern hairstyles what Jennifer Anniston did in the 1990s. For those in the know, it’s called “the Bieber,” and stylists say its appeal lies in the absence of hair products: “[It’s] all about the haircut.” VIDEO

In its 91 years, it’s been married 20 times. The St. Petersburg Times profiles a veil that has been worn by 20 brides of the same family. And the women who’ve worn it are sure if it could talk, it would have some stories to tell.

Maybe Americans should spend some time on a topless beach and realize it’s just not that big a deal.  A Las Vegas company is taking advantage of our collective self-consciousness by introducing Flying Pasties. Aimed at people who’d like to keep their private parts private during airport security checks, the Sun Sentinel says there’s a catch: Anything deemed an “anomaly” during the screening process usually results in a pat down.

As temperatures continue to soar, the Boston Globe has some advice to keep your face from “resembling a Gulf of Mexico oil slick.” Skincare experts say contrary to popular belief, women should avoid using powder on their face. Drinking lots of fluids and avoiding caffeine will also keep the shine down.

The Grateful Dead were more than just great musicians, they were great marketers too. The Boston Globe says Jerry Garcia and company created the prototype for how things are marketed on the Internet. By encouraging fans to swap bootleg albums and produce Dead-themed wares, the band created a “freemium’’ model, which created a dedicated fanbase and became a great long-term investment.

I’ve never been tempted to put anything growing between the cracks of a New York City sidewalk near my mouth. But for those who live in more bucolic settings, there’s a good piece in the LA Times about deciphering what’s edible and what’s not in your lawn. Advocates say “wild foods” are full of vitamins and minerals, so full in fact, that you might have a strong reaction to them.

The governor of Arizona has filed an appeal against a federal court’s ruling yesterday that blocked key parts of the state’s controversial immigration law from going into effect. The judge in the case said that “the United States is likely to suffer irreparable harm” if she didn’t not block the legislation. After the ruling, the Arizona Republic says there was a frenzy to explain what can and cannot be enforced when the law went into effect today.

It’s your right to wear your pants as low as they’ll go says the New York Post. A Bronx judge told a man who’d received a summons for his baggy pants that “while most of us may consider it distasteful, and indeed foolish, to wear one’s pants so low as to expose the underwear . . . people can dress as they please, wear anything, so long as they do not offend public order and decency.”

Gambling websites are the destination for those looking to make a quick buck and the New York Times says the US government is the latest to consider placing a wager. Just four years after it banned Internet gambling, Congress is considering a reverse course as they look for new avenues in which to make money.

There’s a better way to perform CPR say two recent studies. Instead of using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, experts urge people to focus on performing chest compressions. The Wall Street Journal says the simplified technique is meant to encourage more people to step up in an emergency.

As the Wall Street Journal put it, “there will never be another s— deal at Goldman Sachs.” Since their embarrassment on the Senate floor last April, the company has decided to ban their 34,000 employees from swearing when writing an email. Even words disguised with asterisks will be screened out using software.