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Despite the cast being pulled in a myriad of directions ("The Pauly D Project" and "Snooki and JWOWW vs. the World," to name two spin-off shows), apparently all of the cast members have time for the OG -- that's "Original Guido" -- "Jersey Shore."

It was announced yesterday that production for the sixth season of the show is set to begin this summer in Seaside Heights, N.J.

"America's favorite housemates will all return to their home-away-from-home, and the house dynamic is headed into unchartered territory ... as their lives outside the 'Shore' take off in exciting new directions," MTV said in a press release. "While things will definitely be a little different this time when they hit the boardwalk, their trademark hilarity and family dysfunction will remain the same."

A sixth season? Talk about beating a dead meatball, MTV. But I'm sure they'll still get the audience, if only rubberneckers who are tuning in to see what kind of maternity swimsuit the knocked-up Snooki is going to wear.

A little more than a month since her mom, Whitney Houston, passed away, Bobbi Kristina Brown is reportedly engaged to Nick Gordon, the man raised as a son by Houston, according to People magazine. "Yes, they are engaged, but the family is trying to coax her away from it," a source says, while a second source confirms that "Nick asked Krissi about a week ago to marry him." Brown has been spotted sporting a diamond ring that is thought to have been Whitney's.

Ah, being engaged to her "brother." I think we can all agree that this is going to end very well for everyone involved..

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The Word: ‘Jersey Shore' to return for Season 6

EAST RUTHERFORD Computer beats are eclipsing rock riffs on the concert scene, as electronic music has become the soundtrack for teen rebellion.

"Rave" parties, debaucherous techno dance gatherings, are crossing over from the underground to the mainstream, and stirring up controversy in the process. The rebirth of rave culture is coupled with a comeback of the club drug Ecstasy, or MDMA.

The Electric Daisy Carnival, the countrys largest remix mega-fest, is making its Garden State debut at MetLife Stadium in May. Tickets were sold out within three hours of going on sale earlier this month.

"Were witnessing an explosion of electronic dance music in America," says Kerri Mason, a Billboard magazine columnist. "Young people arent going to see big rock bands in this cultural moment. Right now, with the recession, things are kind of marginal and bordering on crappy and all kids want to do is bounce around to happy dance music.

"Its communal. Its energetic," he says.

Its also alarming to parents and public health advocates. Electric Daisy Carnival was banished from its hometown, Los Angeles, after a 15-year-old girl died of an Ecstasy overdose two years ago. It relocated to Las Vegas last summer and drew an audience of 230,000 with no fatalities. Two drug-related deaths were reported, however, at an EDC spinoff in Dallas the same month.

Unprecedented safety measures are being mapped out for the MetLife tour stop on May 19-20. It will be the first Meadowlands concert with an 18-plus age restriction.

"We encourage adult responsibility among our fans," says Erika Raney, spokeswoman for Electric Daisy organizer, Insomniac Events, via e-mail. "MetLife Stadium has well-planned security procedures in place. Insomniac works closely with local and regional law enforcement at all events."

Thousands of glowstick-twirling fans are expected to sway around four stages as the sports complexs parking lot is transformed into a psychedelic theme park with rides and a vendor village. The lineup includes U.K. remix pioneers Fatboy Slim and John Digweed.

"Making the show 18 and older is a way for the promoters to protect themselves," says Jersey-based concert promoter John Scher, whose credits span from the Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen to the problem-plagued Woodstock 99.

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Electronic music mega-festival getting slapped with Meadowlands' first concert age restriction

The ex-president of Spain's tourist-heavy Balearic Islands has been sentenced to jail on corruption charges. Jaume Matas' sentence is part of a major graft case that may also implicate the son-in-law of King Juan Carlos.

Jaume Matas was sentenced to six years in prison at a court in Palma on Tuesday, after being found guilty of corruption charges.

The former Spanish environment minister was on trial because of allegations pertaining to his time as president of the Balearic Islands, a popular area for tourists including places like Mallorca and Ibiza.

Matas was found guilty of fraud, falsifying official documents, embezzlement trafficking influence. Judges also said he paid nearly 500,000 euros ($660,000) between 2003 and 2007 to companies owned by columnist Antonio Alemany, who was also employed as Matas' speechwriter.

The son-in-law of Spanish King Juan Carlos has appeared in court to answer questions about suspected fraudulent deals. The case comes at a time of rising disillusionment and anger over the countrys financial state. (25.02.2012)

Alemany, meanwhile, was convicted for forgery, among other charges, and was sentenced to three years in prison.

The sprawling corruption case, which has also implicated King Juan Carlos' son-in-law, Duke of Palma Inaki Urdangarin, also revolves around the 100 million euro project building the "Palma Arena" sports venue on Mallorca. Urdangarin, who has denied any wrongdoing, is suspected of funneling public funds into his own pocket.

Matas served as president of the Balearic Islands twice, between 1996 and 1999 and again from 2003 and 2007. The former cabinet minister is banned form public office for 10 years as a result of the sentence, which is subject to appeal.

msh/acb (AFP, AP, dpa)

Originally posted here:
Former Balearic Islands leader jailed for graft

(AP) SEATTLE - When Justin Bassett interviewed for a new job, he expected the usual questions about experience and references. So he was astonished when the interviewer asked for something else: his Facebook username and password.

Bassett, a New York City statistician, had just finished answering a few character questions when the interviewer turned to her computer to search for his Facebook page. But she couldn't see his private profile. She turned back and asked him to hand over his login information.

Bassett refused and withdrew his application, saying he didn't want to work for a company that would seek such personal information. But as the job market steadily improves, other job candidates are confronting the same question from prospective employers, and some of them cannot afford to say no.

In their efforts to vet applicants, some companies and government agencies are going beyond merely glancing at a person's social networking profiles and instead asking to log in as the user to have a look around.

"It's akin to requiring someone's house keys," said Orin Kerr, a George Washington University law professor and former federal prosecutor who calls it "an egregious privacy violation."

Questions have been raised about the legality of the practice, which is also the focus of proposed legislation in Illinois and Maryland that would forbid public agencies from asking for access to social networks.

Since the rise of social networking, it has become common for managers to review publically available Facebook profiles, Twitter accounts and other sites to learn more about job candidates. But many users, especially on Facebook, have their profiles set to private, making them available only to selected people or certain networks.

Companies that don't ask for passwords have taken other steps -- such as asking applicants to friend human resource managers or to log in to a company computer during an interview. Once employed, some workers have been required to sign nondisparagement agreements that ban them from talking negatively about an employer on social media.

Asking for a candidate's password is more prevalent among public agencies, especially those seeking to fill law enforcement positions such as police officers or 911 dispatchers.

Back in 2010, Robert Collins was returning to his job as a security guard at the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services after taking a leave following his mother's death. During a reinstatement interview, he was asked for his login and password, purportedly so the agency could check for any gang affiliations. He was stunned by the request but complied.

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Job seekers asked to give Facebook passwords

If you had to describe Andy Roddick in one word, what would it be?

There are plenty that apply to him, but the one I would use to describe him is "resilient."

Tennis fans have enjoyed watching him on the tennis court, with his huge serve and fighter's mentality. His unwavering dedication to his craft and desire to squeeze every last bit of success out of his talents has always endeared him to his fan base.

If there was one thing you knew about Roddick going into a match was that he was going to fight as hard as he possibly could until the last point.

There are so many examples of Andy's unbelievable determination but the one that stands out most to me is from a match he lost. And no, it isn't the 2009 Wimbledon final, although that wouldn't be a bad match to pick to prove how resilient Roddick has been throughout his career.

The match that best illustrates Roddick's resiliency was his 2010 quarterfinal loss at the Australian Open to Marin Cilic.

In this match, Andy hurt his shoulder that led to the numbness of his racket hand.

To make matters even worse he was being outplayed slightly by his younger opponent and was two sets down.

It is completely feasible to believe that their are players that would have retired at that point in the match. Or at the very least other may have bowed out gracefully, knowing they have an legitimate excuse that was affecting their game.

Roddick, however, dug down and won the next two sets before succumbing to Cilic in the fifth set.

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American Men's Tennis: What One Word Best Describes Andy Roddick