Nadine DeNinno

The Fourth of July may mean fireworks, flags and fairs for some, but for those who follow or participate in the competitive eating sport, Independence Day marks a very special occasion: Nathan?s Famous July 4 International Hot Dog-Eating Contest. If you plan on watching the 2012 frankfurter festivities, here?s all the info you need and a video of last year?s competition.

With highly publicized divorce from Katie Holmes dominating headlines, Tom Cruise is celebrating his 50th birthday on Tuesday. According to People, Cruise had plans to vacation with his 33-year-old wife Holmes and six-year-old daughter Suri for his milestone birthday.

Andy Griffith, the beloved actor and star of The Andy Griffith Show, died Tuesday. He was 86. Close friend Bill Friday, the former president of the University of North Carolina, told WITN News that Griffith died around 7 a.m. at home in Dare County, North Carolina.

Despite efforts to hide his daughters from the media in the past, President Barack Obama has had a change of heart when it comes to using 11-year-old Sasha and 13-year-old Malia in campaign ads. The Obama girls have been making more public appearances while trailing their father in his bid for re-election, first in a Father's Day video and now an ad campaign in seven battleground states. But is the president looking to be liked?

After stunning onlookers during her performance over Memorial Day Weekend in Atlantic City at Revel, Beyonce continued to wow at the 2012 BET Awards, flaunting her newly slimmed down post-baby figure in a demure chartreuse dress from the Stephane Rolland Couture collection.

Michael Giannulis was 28-years-old and weighed 493 pounds and on the verge of danger from obesity. That's when he tried his luck as a participant on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition. With the prodding from his brother and trainer Chris Powell, Giannulis embarked on a year-long journey with a goal to lose half of his body weight. Giannulis is celebrating his success today, at 238 pounds, half of his original weight. View the slideshow to see before and after photos of Mik...

Surrounded by her famous parents who split in 1978, Mick and Bianca Jagger, Jade Jagger married DJ Adrian Fillary on Saturday at Aynhoe Park, Oxfordshire. View the slideshow to see photos of the Jagger/Fillary wedding.

Jessica Canseco, Nicole Murphy, Sheree Fletcher, Andrea Kelly and Mayte Garcia found common ground last week during the premiere of VH1's newest reality tv show, Hollywood Exes, last week, sharing their personal lives after divorcing from their famous husbands Jose Canseco, Eddie Murphy, Will Smith, R. Kelly and Prince, respectively. In case you missed the premiere, you can watch the full first episode below.

The five who will compete on the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team in the2012 Olympics, said to be the strongest team since 1996, have been chosen after the four-day Olympic Trials concluded on Sunday at the HP Pavilion. Meet the team, which includes Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman, in photos included in the slideshow.

Hip-hop's elite gathered together on Sunday night in Los Angeles at The Shine Auditorium for the 2012 BET Awards, where Jay-Z, Kanye West, Nicki Minaj and Beyonce scored big. View the slideshow to see photos of the best dressed on the red carpet, which included LeToya Luckett, Jamie Foxx, Tatyana Ali, Monica and Meagan Good.

Shera Bechard, the Canadian model former girlfriend of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and creator of Frisky Friday, was granted a special visa the U.S. government gives to individuals with extraordinary ability. Do you think Shera Bechard deserved a U.S. visa? View the slideshow to see photos of the Playboy Playmate.

When one thinks about the top celebrity fashionistas, it's inevitable that both Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City Sarah Jessica Parker and former Spice Girls member Posh Victoria Beckham come to mind, as both dress impeccably and have had their own clothing lines at one point or another. But can you imagine the duo collaborating on a women's fashion clothing line?

With Independence Day on the horizon, many Americans are looking for remedies to cure that inevitable hangover they will face on July 5 when expected back in the office. But thanks to researchers Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Medlock, there is now a scientific cure for the aftermath of lapping up too much alcohol. In a new video, The Scientific Hangover Cure, that has gone viral, Moffit and Medlock of ASAPScience debunk some of the myths after drinking too much.

Just three short months after having her first baby, former Disney star Hilary Duff stepped out in a bikini with new son Luca, showing off her post-baby body in paparazzi photos. Duff was wearing a flattering black bikini, which showcased her massive weight loss, and large sunglasses while holding baby Luca.

Snoop Dogg was briefly detained in Norway on Thursday when police caught him with marijuana and an excessive amount of cash, making him late for his performance at a Kristiansand music festival. But Snoop isn't the celeb to be arrested for marijuana. View the slideshow to see photos of other celebrities busted for weed.

Visitors at the Los Angeles Zoo were shocked when they witnessed a baby chimpanzee being killed by an adult male chimp right in the middle of the chimpanzee habitat on Tuesday afternoon. The unnamed baby chimpanzee was just three-months-old.

Just six months after announcing that she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, Southern cuisine chef Paula Deen sported massive weight loss on the cover of People magazine, admitting that she shed 30 pounds and dropped from a women's size 18 to a 10 with a diabetes-friendly diet plan. View the slideshow to see before and after photos of Paula Deen.

Gunnar the seal, a real-life U.S. Navy seal part of the marine mammal program, died on Friday at the age of 38, the Smithsonian National Zoo announced on Tuesday.

A new campaign has been making its rounds on the Internet and on posters in major cities, rousing controversy for its slogan, ?Deserve to Die,? targeting hipsters, cat lovers, crazy old aunts and the genetically privileged. While the provocative ad has sparked much anger after it went viral, the message from NoOneDeservesToDie.org is quite the opposite of offensive: To raise awareness about a deadly disease that doesn't discriminate against people nicknamed the killer.

After spending four months in prison for allegedly running a brothel in New York City , Anna Gristina who has been nicknamed the Soccer Mom Madam was released out of the clink on Tuesday night.

For Olympic swimmer Stephanie Rice, wearing a swimsuit is not just work but also a hobby, as the Australian who will compete in the 2012 Olympics tweeted a photo of herself wearing a swimsuit many have criticized as too racy. View the slideshow to see photos of Olympic swimmer Stephanie Rice.

Lena Pettersson was on an international flight from Amsterdam to Tanzania where she was forced to sit near a corpse during the 10-hour flight, prompting Kenya Airways to partially reimburse the Swedish journalist.

Welcome aboard VH1's newest reality tv show, Hollywood Exes, where former spouses of celebrity heavy-hitters who have divorced and moved on talk about their lives after being shadows to their ex-husbands in the limelight. Almost like a first wives club, the cast includes Nicole Murphy, Sheree Fletcher, Jessica Canseco, Andrea Kelly and Mayte Garcia.

Tropical Storm Debby may be one huge Debbie downer, but no one will rain on the Miami Heat's parade to celebrate their 2012 victory in the NBA finals last week, despite the storm drenching northern Florida.

Beginning Monday until July 8, tennis fans will be given two weeks of tennis action during Wimbledon 2012. Matches feature stars like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will be available for viewing at live-streaming websites, mobile apps for both Android and iOS and, of course, televised on the small screen.

Ever make a major boo-boo or typo when posting a Facebook comment and wish you could change the error? Well now you can thanks to Facebook's newest feature, comment editing. Forget deleting the comment or post and creating a new, corrected version. Now you and the other 900,000 Facebook users across the globe can simply edit instead of deleting.

The competition was steep but Mugly, an 8-year-old Chinese Crested pooch was named the World's Ugliest Dog of 2012 at the annual contest held at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in California Friday. View the slideshow to see photos of Mugly, World?s Ugliest Dog 2012, and past winners

New Jersey woman Elizabeth Lloyd filed a lawsuit for more than $150,000 after an 11-year-old baseball player hit her with a ball during a Manchester Little League game two years ago. Lloyd was sitting at a picnic table near a bullpen which had a fence when she was hit in the face with a ball by the catcher, then 11-year-old Matthew Migliaccio. She is seeking $150,000 in damages for medical expenses and an undefined amount for pain and suffering.

Victoria?s Secret model Lily Aldridge and Kings of Leon front man Caleb Followill welcomed a baby girl on Thursday, but now the world knows her name: Dixie Pearl.