MTV drummed up publicity for Jersey Shore by promising controversial footage of Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi being punched. Now that it has everyone's attention, MTV is backing out, pulling the footage and trying to erase it from the Internet. Good luck!

Awkward, unexplained live television moments—a la Spaghetti Cat—have been popping up a lot recently. Last month, it was Miss Piggy on Dancing with the Stars. Tonight, we present a plethora of WTF, courtesy of Larry King Live.

24-hour news networks fill their days with non-stop rambling. But sometimes it would be nice if they could just calm down for one second. For those in need of a break, here's a full minute of awkward tv silences.

Perez Hilton (nee Toptastic, nee Mario Lavandeira) was to appear on KTLA's morning show yesterday, but his segment was canceled. KTLA said he showed up too early. Hilton called them liars. And today, Sam Rubin ripped him a new one.

At a press conference in Paris a shoe was thrown at the Iraqi shoe-thrower. Thankfully for him this guys aim was just as poor as his own.

Really? An iron? This Massachusetts woman who was "down on her luck" sees an image of Jesus in her iron and everything magically becomes better. Here's to hoping her lord and savior can pay off credit-card debt!

The Salahis went on The Today Show this morning to clear the air over what happened when they sneaked past security to attend a dinner at The White House.

Sherrie Westin, VP of Sesame Street Workshop, went on The O'Reilly Factor to make peace for making fun of Fox News. They brought out a puppet in Bill O'Reilly's spitting image: Spill O'Reilly. Hey, that rhymes with Bill! Clever!

There's a new subculture popping up in all over schools across the nation, it's called "emo" and it could potentially be lethal to your child's health. Is your child "emo?" What you need to know below.

Politico—it is a tiny niche newspaper in DC with a money-losing website—is expanding! They are going to do a "local news" thing out there in Washington, where "local news" means "The Redskins."

Mary Crowley loves to sail. But a few years ago, she discovered a problem. A problem fondly called The Great Garbage Patch.

Remember Anthtrax? Terrorists were supposed to use it to kill democracy, but nothing much ever came of it all. Until now: an ER was evacuated after someone saw a white substance. Turns out it was just cocaine. Oops! [Salt-Lake Tribune]

There's something wrong with American college students these days. First there was poor Annie Le's murder at Yale. Now an unidentified man has been arrested for allegedly stabbing a female student at a UCLA chemistry lab. What the fuck's happening?

The New York Times traced the first lady's family tree and found that her great-great-great-grandmother, Melvinia Shields, was a slave who was raped by a white man. This is news why?

France has long relied on fashion for its prestige and economy. And fashion relies on advertising. And that advertising has to manipulate a consumer's aspirations. It's a delicate, ugly and ultimately international balance. Now its under attack.

A Johns Hopkins student used a Samurai sword to kill an alleged home burglar.

The community group ACORN has come under heavy fire after two employees were filmed giving a fake hooker advice on how to commit tax fraud. Now they're thinking of suing Fox News for airing the footage. But does it matter?

Democrats claim that Barack Obama's ideological opponents are nothing but backward racists. That makes sense.

People have their panties in a twist because an Indian cosmetic company is selling their skin lightening cream by telling dark-skinned men they're ugly and will never get laid. Um, isn't the fact that this cream exists problem enough? [CNN]

Lawmaker-turned-dancing machine Tom Delay astutely pointed out that politics is showbiz. And few politicians have mastered the fine art more than Rod Blagojevich, who at once relishes in and scorns the spotlight. He is, simply, the Joker of media gaming.