Whether you liked her or not, Dr. Cuddy was as vital to House as organs are to people: She provided one half of the will-they-won’t-they drama. She was the corporate, civilized ying to Dr. House’s unbridled, disgruntled yang. She wore really tight, low-cut shirts. Though we often cursed her for reigning in our unmanageable hero, we still couldn’t imagine a House without her. And now, with the news that Lisa Edelstein is exiting the show prior to its eighth season, it’s hard to imagine I’ll sit down for another whole season without her. Come on: Despite all the mysteries, gross-out moments, and there’s-the-guy-from-Harold-and-Kumar-oh-no-wait-he’s-gone-what?! revelations, House was leading to one thing: That’s right, Huddy. We wanted so badly for our grumpy doc to find happiness with his foil, finally ending all the emotional pain he’s suffered, even if he’ll never fully be rid of the physical pain. But with Edelstein’s Cuddy gone, Cl Sandals that seems impossible. Unless the network casts a cardboard cut-out in her place? (That could have worked for Amber, but Cuddy? No.) I’m stuck, PopWatchers. What should we do? Will you still watch a House without Cuddy? Or are you too hurt to tune in? Speaking of Spielberg, all three networks that have unveiled their schedules this week have trotted out new Spielberg shows. On Fox, it’s the much-delayed “Terra Nova”; on NBC, it’s the new let’s-put-on-a-Marilyn-Monroe-musical, “Smash.” In scary times, people turn to superheroes, monsters and yearning for the glory days, Lee explained to The Reporters Who Cover Television early Tuesday morning at ABC’s Upper West Side HQ, when they turned to him for an answer to the question: “What’s up with all the fairy tales and ’60s romps and musicals about Marilyn Monroe and relaunches of silly old TV series?”

On Saturday night, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee confirmed what most of the political world had long suspected: He will not be running for president in 2012. Although he would have been something short of a clear Republican front-runner had he entered the contest, he was still a well-known and well-liked figure whose decision not to enter the race leaves a major void. Nature and politics abhor a vacuum, so the candidates will quickly move to fill the space left by Huckabee. Before they do, let’s take a look at the winners and losers from Huckabee’s no-go announcement. Winners l?Michele Bachmann: With Huckabee out of the race, the Minnesota congresswoman would be the best-known social conservative in the contest. (Bachmann has not formally announced but is expected to run.) Given the power that social conservatives hold in the Iowa caucuses and the South Carolina primary — two of the first four nominating contests — emerging as the preferred candidate of that group would give Bachmann a real foothold in the race. The one complicating factor for her as she seeks to consolidate social conservatives? Sarah Palin. If the former Alaska governor runs, her celebrity could overshadow even Bachmann. l?Iowa: Huckabee’s victory in Iowa in the 2008 presidential contest and his continued strong support in the state would have made him a heavy favorite in next year’s caucuses. 2011 air max It also would have given candidates already looking for a way to skip Iowa or play down the state’s influence on the nominating fight a ready-made excuse. (Mitt Romney, we are looking at you.) Now Iowa is wide open, and that means that winning or overperforming/underperforming expectations will matter in the broader race. That should work to former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty’s benefit since he is building a serious organization already in the state. l?Jon Huntsman: The former Utah governor’s path to the nomination will be inconceivable without a win in New Hampshire or South Carolina. With Romney looking like a solid front-runner in the Granite State, a Huckabee candidacy would have made Huntsman’s South Carolina calculus that much more difficult. Although former House speaker Newt Gingrich, a Georgian, is likely to make the “son of the South” argument, it’s not clear how much traction he will get. Huntsman’s window of opportunity is now very much open in the Palmetto State. l?Fox News Channel: Not only did Huckabee’s “very important announcement” almost certainly provide a major boost to the show’s ratings, but Fox is now largely free of the problems caused by having potential presidential candidates on its payroll. (The network terminated the contracts of Gingrich and former senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania this month.) And, with Huckabee staying out of the race, Fox won’t have to fill the hour of Saturday-night airtime he currently occupies. Win, win, win.

Proving to be quite the trooper, Kym Johnson showed up for "Dancing With the Stars" practice today sporting a HUGE neck brace after her injury on Friday. At least 12 people were injured, two of them critically, while eight to 10 people who lived in the apartment where the fire originated survived, officials said. Five people were taken to Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, including a 60-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl who were listed in fair condition, said Barb Douglas, a hospital spokeswoman. The girl was transferred to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove. A second girl, air max 2011 a 2-year-old, was transferred to Loyola University Hospital's burn unit in critical condition, Douglas said. Six other people were taken to Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora. Of the injured, four were children and two were adults, said Courtney Satlak, a hospital spokeswoman. Two children and one adult were treated and released and two children and one adult were in fair condition at the hospital, she said. Each of the three floors appeared to have sustained heavy fire damage. Curtains hung out of the building where the windows were shattered and a baby crib appeared to be near a front window on the second floor. Officials from the Aurora Police Department, including its K-9 unit, were at the outside the building with fire officials and members of the Illinois State Fire Marshall's office. Investigators from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also on-scene. Tom Ahern, a Chicago spokesman for the ATF, said the agency offers its investigative expertise to local authorities in "large-scale" fires. The American Red Cross of Greater Chicago was providing food and warm drinks to firefighters and assistance to the survivors, according to Red Cross spokesman Josh Morton. They are sending officials to area hospitals to assist the survivors, he said. "This is a terrible tragedy. Every fire is obviously different. This one is extremely tragic," he said.

Pakistan's parliament threatened Saturday to cut off access to a facility used by NATO forces to ferry troops into Afghanistan, signaling a growing rift that began when U.S. commandos killed Osama bin Laden during a raid on a Pakistani compound. A resolution adopted during a joint session of parliament condemned the U.S. action. It also called for a review of its working agreement with the U.S., demanded an independent investigation and ordered the immediate end of drone attacks along its border region. Failure to end unilateral U.S. raids and drone attacks will force Pakistan to "to consider taking necessary steps, including withdrawal of (the) transit facility" used by the NATO's International Security Assistance Force, according to the resolution. U.S. lawmakers have questioned how the world's most wanted terrorist managed to live in plain sight for years in Pakistan -- near the country's elite military academy -- without being detected. Pakistani and U.S. Cl Sandals intelligence officials have said there is no evidence that any active members of Pakistan's military or intelligence establishment knew about or actively protected the al Qaeda leader. Publicly, leaders in both countries have downplayed a rift. But the unanimous resolution made clear there was a growing dissatisfaction among Pakistani lawmakers. The resolution also ordered a review of its counter-terrorism cooperation agreement with the United States. The government is deeply "distress(ed) on the campaign to malign Pakistan, launched by certain quarters in other countries without appreciating Pakistan's determined efforts and immense sacrifices in combating terror," the resolution said. It also said more than 30,000 Pakistani civilians and more than 5,000 military personnel had been killed in its fight against terror "and the blowback emanating from actions of the NATO/ISAF forces in Afghanistan." Anger over U.S. drone strikes has mounted during the past year after it stepped up efforts along the Pakistani-Afghan border. On Friday, a suspected U.S. drone strike killed four suspected Islamic militants in the Datta Khel region of North Waziristan, according to two Pakistani intelligence officials. They said an unmanned aircraft fired four missiles at a militant's vehicle on the border area. The demands by the Pakistani civilian government come as new details emerge about the raid on bin Laden's Abbottabad compound. Members of the U.S. Navy SEAL team that attacked the compound were wearing helmet-mounted digital cameras that recorded the mission, a U.S. military official told CNN on Friday. The official described the digital recording as hazy, fast-moving and subject to poor lighting in the rooms. The source also said it is hard to get clear images from the footage. "This is not movie-quality stuff," the official said. An official familiar with the material seized from the compound said Friday that Navy SEALs recovered a stash of pornography. The official would not discuss exactly where it was found, what it was or whether it is believed to belong to the al Qaeda leader or to someone else living at the site, such as bin Laden's couriers or his son. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. Bin Laden's compound is also undergoing intense analysis, and U.S. officials say he apparently enjoyed a support network in Pakistan that allowed him to stay in one location for the past several years. He had no escape plan or means to destroy his reams and gigabytes of documents in the event of an enemy assault, according to the U.S. sources.Two U.S. lawmakers joined a public chorus for the release of photos of bin Laden's body after seeing the images themselves. "These are very graphic, gruesome pictures," said Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Republican from Colorado. But seeing them "gave me a sense of finality and closure." A conservative legal watchdog group has filed the first lawsuit seeking the public release of the video and photographs of the raid and its aftermath. Judicial Watch is asking the Department of Defense to comply with a Freedom of Information request for the material, especially photos of bin Laden's body. The legal complaint to force compliance was made in federal court in Washington on Friday.

Matthew Perry, who has struggled with prescription pills and alcohol in the past, is going back to a treatment facility as part of his ongoing recovery. The Friends star, 41, confirms the move in a statement that ends with a Chandler Bing-style dry quip. "I'm making plans to go away for a month to focus on my sobriety and to continue my life in recovery," he says. "Please enjoy making fun of me on the World Wide Web.” Perry, who most recently appeared in Mr. Sunshine on ABC, was in rehab twice in 2001 and 1997. At one time the SEALs’ favored haunt was the Raven restaurant, which Hollywood commandeered for some scenes in the 1990 movie “Navy SEALs” with Charlie Sheen. air max 2011 On the walls are Vietnam paraphernalia and some framed pictures of ponytailed Marcinko and his “Rogue Warrior” series of books. “We’re the original SEAL team hangout — I don’t know why,” said Bobby Dunnington, 64, who bought the Raven with his twin brother, Ricky, after a stint in Vietnam with the Seabees a few years after President Kennedy created the SEALs. Having seen a few, the Dunningtons say it’s possible to make a probable visual identification of a SEAL in public but trickier to get confirmation. “They do not talk about business,” Bobby Dunnington said. “All they want to do is pick up babes.” “You need to talk to their girlfriends,” Ricky Dunnington added. Still, the Dunningtons and many other seasoned SEAL spotters say they can pick one out in a crowd by certain telltale signs. Chief among them is a buff, zero-percent-body-fat, V-shaped physique coated with tattoos, perhaps sprouting a beard or other facial hair to avoid attracting notice in Middle East war zones. But above all, SEAL watchers say America’s premiere commandos give off an aura, a hint of swagger, as if the excess of self-confidence emanates from their bodies. “You can notice the way they hold themselves — maybe a little cocky,” said Jennifer Bell, 31, a Navy corpsman from Stockbridge, Mich., on the USS Cole, one of the ships struck by terrorists several years ago. Scanning the bar at C.P. Shuckers on Saturday, Bell, who has been part of medical crews that treated SEALs, finds zero candidates. But the trail heats up at Chicks, a dockside oyster house whose walls feature lots of photographs from hot spots around the world showing purported SEALs and other military personnel in CHX T-shirts with their backs to the camera.

Europe has moved ahead with plans that will allow states to restore internal border controls in case a massive wave of migrants overwhelms the continent's passport-free travel area. EU interior ministers vowed at a special meeting to protect one of Europe's most celebrated achievements, the Schengen zone which allows unfettered travel across 25 states, as they responded to populist-driven fears that unrest in north Africa will trigger a massive exodus. "There was a clear position from every minister: the free movement of people is one of the union's key achievements and we have to maintain and safeguard this," said Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter, who chaired the talks. At the same time, most backed a European Commission plan to allow, as a last resort and under strict conditions, the temporary return of border guards to deal with a sudden surge in migration, or if an EU state fails to control its frontier with non-EU nations. "A very wide consensus, if not near unanimity, was reached on the commission proposals," said French Interior Minister Claude Gueant. A wave of migrants risking their lives to cross the Mediterrenean, combined with the rise of far-right parties, has raised the spectre of a return to internal border controls in the Schengen travel area much appreciated by EU citizens and tourists alike. Fifteen of the EU's 27 states backed the changes. Cyprus was the only vocal opponent during the closed-door talks although Belgium, Spain and Malta voiced reservations, gucci outlet a European Union diplomat said. "Some countries say we need to restore border controls. That is certainly not the right response," said Belgian Migration Minister Melchior Wathelet. He said the EU should instead focus on striking deals to return illegal migrants to their home countries and reinforce borders with non-EU nations. Denmark came under a barrage of fire from European lawmakers over its sudden decision on the eve of the talks to restore customs controls at its borders with Sweden and Germany within the next few weeks. "If Denmark wants to question the consensus in Europe on this issue, then it should withdraw from the Schengen accord in which case Danish citizens would quickly feel the disadvantages," said the head of the conservative European People's Party, Joseph Daul. The European Commission is reviewing the decision and said it would "not hesitate to take action" should it conclude that Denmark breaches EU rules. Danish Integration Minister Soren Pind defended the move, saying it was aimed at preventing cross-border crime and drug trafficking, and said the EU needed a frank discussion about the "dark side" of open frontiers. Pind said his country was merely deploying customs agents to check cars for crimes such as drug trafficking, and that the goal was not to check passports. "I think that when this model is studied carefully, everyone will see that it is, if I may quote Shakespeare, much ado about nothing," he said. "We don't want to bring back the borders." The EU's external borders have been under strain for some time in Greece, where the debt-stricken government has struggled with an influx of migrants sneaking in from neighbouring Turkey, with guards sent in from other EU states to help manage the frontier. But since the Arab Spring, France and Italy have lobbied intensively for the temporary return of internal borders - after Rome forced the issue by handing temporary residency permits to 20,000 migrants allowing them to travel freely throughout Schengen. "Very few people so far have come to Europe but enough of course to make us think about how we receive these people and how we deal with this," said EU home affairs commission Cecilia Malmstroem.

Osama bin Laden went to the bizarre length of trying to calculate how many more American deaths it would take to force the US to retreat from the Middle East, his writings have revealed. The al-Qaida leader was convinced that only a massive blood-letting on the scale of 9/11 would have the necessary shock factor to effect a change in US policy around the region. He told his followers that a sprinkling of smaller attacks would not have the desired effect. The revelation of Bin Laden's morbid emphasis on another mass atrocity comes from the large stash of his writings that was discovered in his hideout in Pakistan and brought by Navy Seals to the US after they killed him. The horde, which has been compared in size to a small college library, included five computers and about 100 removable digital storage devices or flash drives. It also included a diary that Bin Laden wrote by hand. US intelligence officers poring through the data told the Associated Press the information underlines how proactive Bin Laden continued to be even when al-Qaida as a movement was on the defensive. Though he didn't appear to have the ability directly to co-ordinate specific attacks from his lair in Abbottabad, he did have input into every major al-Qaida plot, including those across Europe last year, the officials said. He was also in touch with many of the most dangerous al-Qaida offshoots around the world that some had assumed were working independently, such as the branch in Yemen that has become a leading centre of al-Qaida activity. He pointed the network in certain directions. One of his missives to his supporters was to stop focusing on the big cities, particularly New York, and spread their targets out to include Los Angeles and other smaller cities. That, he said, would make it easier to have the impact he sought– a high number of American deaths at the same time. Similarly, he urged them not just to focus on planes but to target trains as well – an instruction that chimes with last week's warning from US authorities alerting people to be especially vigilant on trains. And in a further indication of the al-Qaida leader's thinking, AP says that he also plotted ways to encourage politicians in Washington to war with one another. The insight into air max 2011 Bin Laden's activities during the six years he is believed to have been hidden away in Abbottabad came as his adult sons called for the UN to launch an inquiry into the killing of their father. In a joint letter the family said it wanted to know "why an unarmed man was not arrested and tried in a court of law so that truth is revealed to the people of the world". "Arbitrary killing is not a solution to political problems," they said. The letter was sent to the New York Times under the name of Omar bin Laden, the 30-year-old fourth son of Bin Laden who lived with the al-Qaida leader in Sudan and Afghanistan but has publicly denounced his attacks on civilians. Drawing comparisons with Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic, the statement said "international law has been blatantly violated" and, referring to the shooting of others in the compound, said Barack Obama had ordered "the execution of unarmed men and women". Bin Laden said it was "unworthy" of US special forces to kill an unarmed female family member and one of Osama bin Laden's sons, identified in news reports as 22-year-old Khalid. Bin Laden's family said it was calling on Pakistan to repatriate his three wives and several children, who are in military custody. In a eulogy to Osama bin Laden posted on the internet yesterday, the leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, Nasser al-Wuhayshi, said his group would fight on. "What is coming is greater and worse, and what you will be facing is more intense and harmful."

FacebookTweetLindsay Lohan drank alcohol the night she scuffled with a Betty Ford employee and failed a random alcohol test after she left rehab, according to a probation report. The report, released Wednesday after her no-contest plea to misdemeanor theft of a $2,500 necklace, also states that Lohan "has been suspected of similar conduct in other jewelry stores," but no charges were ever filed. The probation report says Lohan indeed drank alcohol after sneaking out from the Betty Ford Center in December, citing local police interviews with restaurant and nightclub employees. Charges that she battered a rehab employee that night were dropped for lack of evidence. And Lohan, 24, Christian Louboutin tested positive for alcohol in February, one week after her assistant surrendered the allegedly stolen necklace to the LAPD. "The probation officer believes that substance abuse is the root of the defendant's problems," the report says, although L.A. Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner disagreed with that assessment on Wednesday. Instead, Lohan was ordered to psychological counseling instead of more rehab, in addition to a four-month jail term and community service. For now, Lohan will not be randomly tested for drug and alcohol use. She is expected to be allowed to serve her jail term in home detention because she's a nonviolent offender and is eligible for early release for good behavior as well as budget constraints.But Gingrich has a known advantage over his competitors, thanks to a network of profit and nonprofit organizations he assembled since leaving Congress. The various organizations, including American Solutions and ReAL, have together collected more than 1.7 million voter and donor contacts and raised more than $30 million in 2009 and 2010, outpacing fundraising during that period by any other potential presidential candidate. Gingrich also has long-standing credibility within the party on fiscal matters, in part because of his work on a balanced budget as House speaker. But casting his economic message in moral terms now is crucial, said Dennis Goldford, a professor of politics at Drake University in Des Moines. "Because the economy has become such a predominant issue, you've got a lot of social conservatives concerned their issues are going to be pushed into the background," he said. Whether the former speaker can appeal to them is an open question, Goldford said, adding that Gingrich "carries a lot of baggage." Gingrich has done his best to dispel those concerns in private meetings with pastors, expressing contrition for his past personal failings. Publicly, he has stressed a need for the party to emphasize morality.

This was no flash flood, and it's going to be no flash disaster either. The misery will last long after the waters leave, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann. The Mississippi has leveled off in Memphis. But the crisis has yet to crest for flood victims like Diane White, in North Memphis. "I've never been through anything like this," said White. "The whole neighborhood devastated. Things you see on T.V. you never think it will happen to you." Mississippi Delta braces as flooding moves south Pictures: Mississippi River flooding Flooding wreaks havoc in Memphis The good news: most of the city -- built on a series of bluffs -- sits untouched. And where waters pressured levees, the levees held. "We'll see seepage as the river stays high," said Col. Richtling. "There is no risk of overtopping levees or floodwalls." But in one swamped neighborhood, "Everyone's basically going to have to start over," said Sgt. Chuck Mays. Mays patrols where rooftops peek above twelve feet of water. And this water will sit here for another couple weeks. "People are stressed emotionally because of the loss of their homes," said Mays.supra shoes "They're stressed financially. There's a huge impact that comes from a lot of different angles involved here." Another issue: the water is filthy with diesel fuel, household chemicals, pesticides, raw sewage. And whatever's in the water is also in some houses. And as those floodwater move down downriver, so will the misery. A series of flood crests will push the crisis all the way to the Gulf through the end of May: At Vicksburg, the river will crest May 19 Baton Rouge, May 22, with water 12 feet above flood stage. New Orleans a day after Baton Rouge In Tunica, Miss., an hour's drive south of Memphis, all 350 homes were lost -- and floodwaters stranded one deer on a rooftop. Every single resident, homeless. Like Charlotte Smith, who is staying at a Red Cross shelter. "I'm just really in bad shape," said Smith. "And I'm not admitting it." And back in North Memphis, in some neighborhoods, police are still keeping away flood victims, adding to their frustration.

Texas A&M's Mark Turgeon has agreed to become the next coach at the University of Maryland, a source tells CBSSports.com. An official announcement is expected shortly. Maryland is replacing Gary Williams following his sudden retirement last week after 22 years leading the Terrapins, a run that included winning the national championship in 2002. Turgeon took over at Texas A&M for Billy Gillispie, who was hired by Kentucky. Since taking over the Aggies, he has a record of 97-40, taking the team to the NCAA tournament in each of his four seasons. Before going to College Station, 2011 air max he spent seven seasons at Wichita State. Endeavour's STS-134 mission was originally slated to last 14 days, but NASA has officially extended it to a 16-day voyage to allow the astronauts to complete more get-ahead work on orbit. Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, urged the administration to press China on the currency and also said Congress should pass legislation to protect American workers from an undervalued yuan. Brown and Senator Olympia Snowe, a Republican from Maine, have proposed a measure to allow additional sanctions to address currency issues. “China’s unfair currency manipulation has gone on for far too long, and it’s clear that legislation is needed to level the playing field,” Brown said in a statement. Geithner used the first day of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue to emphasize signs of progress in relations between the two nations. On “Charlie Rose,” he said China is moving “gradually” to avoid upsetting its economy, allowing the yuan to rise about 5 percent against the dollar since last June, or about 10 percent in inflation-adjusted terms. “The Chinese economy is certainly in a position where it’s strong enough it can withstand the pressures that come with letting your currency rise,” Geithner said. If China doesn’t allow its currency to strengthen, then “China will face a higher risk of inflation going forward.” Consumer prices in China grew 5.4 percent in March from a year earlier, the fastest pace in 32 months, partly driven by rising oil and food prices. Wang said China’s inflation is “the most pressing problem we face right now” and is an issue the government needs to tackle this year. Its solution will involve not only monetary and fiscal policies, but also how China will shift its economic structure, he said. The U.S. job market has been improving along with overall economic growth, Wang said. At the same time, the housing market has not yet recovered from the financial crisis and could cause further problems. “The policy of quantitative easing in the United States has brought back some confidence in the U.S. capital market, and that, in turn, has created some wealth returns,” Wang said. “Still, I believe housing is a big issue we have to take seriously and start being fully addressed.”