Vatican Faces Money Probe

Vatican Facing Money Laundering Probe – Italian authorities are investigating the Vatican Bank over possible violations of money laundering regulations. Another Italian bank alerted Bank of Italy investigators to two Vatican Bank transactions that did not appear to comply with anti-money laundering requirements, the Bank of Italy said. When Bank of Italy investigators told legal authorities about the transactions, they were told that judicial authorities were already investigating the Vatican Bank. They love a good probe. [cnn]

Gigantic Spider Webs Made Of Silk Tougher Than Kevlar – A spider discovered deep in the jungles of Madagascar spins the largest webs in the world, using silk that’s tougher than any known biological substance. Named Caerostris darwini, or Darwin’s bark spider, the inch-wide arachnid’s webs can cover 30-square-foot areas, hanging in mid-air from 80-foot-long anchor lines. The webs’ size generates enormous structural stresses, magnified by the struggles of trapped prey. [wired]

Stephanie Seymour and Rich Husband Call Off Contentious Divorce – Model Stephanie Seymour and her paper mogul husband Peter Brant called off their divorce today. They now say they’re reconciling, which is strange given how intense the battle was. Sadly, this means we won’t get to watch the juicy he-said-she-said. [gawker]

Murdoch Calls Blair For Help – “Rupert understands that his problem with Labour politicians is greater now than it might have been with a Labour prime minister in power. Labour doesn’t have a beholden prime minister trying not to antagonize Rupert. But Rupert does, however, still have a Labour prime minister who is beholden. Within recent days, Murdoch is reported to have consulted Tony Blair on his hacking problem and how best to defend his company and himself. This in turn is causing consternation within News Corp…” [michaelwolff]

The Hoff Gets Booted Off Dancing With The Stars – He was king of the beach on “Baywatch,” but David Hasselhoff didn’t fare so well on “Dancing With the Stars.” The 58-year-old entertainer was the first celebrity voted off the new season of “Dancing With the Stars.” Hasselhoff and his professional partner, Kym Johnson, were ousted from the program Tuesday after performing just one dance. They landed in last place on Monday’s episode for a cha-cha that judges roundly criticized. Blind. [associated]

Funniest Photoshop Fails Off All Times – It’s no secret that all magazines, advertisements, and catalogs are given the Photoshop treatment before being shown to the world. Legs are lengthened, tummies flattened, and sometimes photos are changed completely, but a good graphic designer hides all traces of his or her manipulation. Fortunately, sites like Photoshop Disasters have been catching the worst Photoshop mistakes for a few years now, so we just had to put together our favorite ones for you. [huffpo]

World’s Oldest Man Turns 114 – A Montana resident believed to be the world’s oldest man celebrated his 114th birthday today at a retirement home in Great Falls. Walter Breuning was born on Sept. 21, 1896, in Melrose, Minnesota, and moved to Montana in 1918, where he worked as a clerk for the Great Northern Railway for 50 years. Unreal. An aside: were you aware that Malema is only 29? He was born in the 80’s. Explains a lot. [newser]

Twitter “Mouseover” Bug Affecting Thousands Of Users [Warning] – A new Twitter security flaw has been widely exploited on thousands of Twitter accounts, redirecting users to third-party websites without their consent. The bug is particularly nasty because it works on mouseover only, meaning pop-ups and third-party websites can open even if you just move your mouse over the offending link. Geeks, you have been warned! [mashable]

Jodie Foster In Full Support Of Mel Gibson – Despite the release earlier this year of angry phone calls Gibson allegedly had with ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva, Foster has told More magazine that he is the “easiest, nicest person I’ve ever worked with… The second I met him, I said, ‘I will love this man for the rest of my life’.” Foster co-starred with Gibson in the 1994 film Maverick and recently reunited with him for The Beaver, which she also directed. The Beaver? Nice. [abc]

Man Gets Priest His Molester To Confess On YouTube – A New York Web designer obsessed with finding the person who molested him 40 years ago finally tracked down and confronted his alleged attacker. Then the man admitted to the sexual assaults in a covert videotape that is now on YouTube. Ron Tebo, 47, says he and one of his three younger sisters were sexually assaulted in 1970 by a teenage neighbor nicknamed “Butch,” who brought a brother along as a lookout. [aolnews]