CULTURE

From the streets of Rio de Janeiro, the 2012 Brazil Carnival put on a good showing for greater events to come.

2012 Oscar nominee The Descendants strips Hawaii of its exotic tropes and offers a glimpse of paradise rarely seen by tourists.

Justin Bieber has landed his second book deal after his first literary success, First Step 2 Forever: My Story, which sold over a million copies in 25 languages. According to MTV, Bieber's upcoming book Justin Bieber: Just Getting Started is scheduled to be released in September by publishing giant, Harper Collins.

The first annual Gaon Awards were handed out in Seoul on Wednesday.

Robert Pattinson has opened up about performing sex scenes in his new steamy film, Bel Ami, where he plays the part of a young man in 19th century Paris, who manipulates influential and wealthy women (not including Kristen Stewart) to rise to power.

On the renovated 13th floor of an imposing government building sits Clocktower Gallery, wedged on Leonard street somewhere between Tribeca, City Hall and Chinatown; on Tuesday, Feb. 21 Taraka Larson presented a lecture on the formation of Now Age aesthetics and their implications for Ghost Modernism-an examination of the Symbol's loss of power and it's occult move to kitsch, all within an architecture of Utopia.

Style icons Kate Beckinsale, Rooney Mara and more stepped out on Tuesday night in Beverly Hills to celebrate the Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards.

Biel reportedly showed off her new diamond with Amy Poehler and Kristen Wiig.

On the heels of sulking in shame at the water cooler for epically losing that Super Bowl office pool you were forced to engage in, why not try your luck at an Oscar pool for the 84th Academy Awards? Here is a guide for setting up the betting pool, tips for how to win and a guide for selecting the best of the nominations on the 2012 Oscars ballot.

Mardi Gras 2012 Photos! Over the four-day weekend there was drinking, dancing, and King Cake eating as the streets of New Orleans flooded with flamboyant costumes, frivolous floats, and frolicking late night flesh-flashers.

School Officials at Santaluces High School in Florida have increased the presence of police after two white female students posted a video making derogatory comments about their black classmates, according to reports by CBS News.

Within three days of returning to London from Los Angeles, Victoria Beckham has been put under the microscope, with critics calling her skinny, gaunt and malnourished.

Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

A coat lined with fake fur triggered PETA to step in after the International Fur Trade Federation called it a classy fur-lined coat.

For those in a hurry this Ash Wednesday, one Ohio church has a solution: drive-thru Ash Wednesday blessings.

Whitney Houston's cause of death has yet to be officially announced. Fans and the media continue to ask - how exactly did the superstar singer die? The New York Post reported on Wednesday, via information published by RadarOnline.com, that Whitney Houston supposedly consumed a deadly drug cocktail of Valium, Xanax and alcohol before dying at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 11.

Barrymore and fiance Will Kopelman were recently seen leaving a doctor's office with sonogram.

The Mumbai police Wednesday registered a case against Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan under section 325 of the IPC for allegedly assaulting a patron of the Taj Mahal Hotel in south Mumbai.

It wasn't your average show at London Fashion Week when an eight month pregnant model strutted her stuff on the catwalk...completely nude, minus a hat for the Fall 2012 season. Former Miss Wales Sophia Cahill, a glamour model, kicked off Welsh milliner Robyn Coles' debut show. Cole, 31, wanted an eccentric showcase, and that is certainly what she got.

From the time Beti B is born there have been speculations about her name and her first photo.

Archaeologists have discovered ruins of two huts at Kharaneh IV, one of the largest Late Pleistocene sites in southwest Asia, located about 70 km east of Jordan's capital Amman.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is demanding Poland's Association of Folk Artists to stop giving out the People's Oskar. The Academy that hands out Hollywood's Oscar Awards has demanded the Polish to drop its Oskar awards.

Pregnant glamour model Sophia Cahill turned heads at the debut show of Welsh milliner Robyn Coles' Autumn/Winter 2012 collection during the London Fashion Week Tuesday.

Adele, the singer who recently won six Grammy awards last weekend and two prizes at the Brit Awards ceremony in London, found herself in the middle of controversy, after flipping the bird on TV. The 23-year-old singer who certainly made Britain proud with her recent achievements, showed the gesture, after being interrupted while giving the acceptance speech.Wasn't it blurs half hour speech that caused a shortage of time. Shame on ITV cutting Adele, said a fan on Twitter.

Those who dared cut off Adele in the middle of her speech at the Brit Music Awards regretted it after the singer's completely unladylike behavior in response to that.The singer, who won two awards at the ceremony held in London found herself in the middle of a controversy, soon after her act on live TV. Her speech was interrupted after she picked up the prize for best British album. She also won the best British Female Artist Award that was presented by George Michael.

Glee's Finn and Rachel have been a couple in the show since the first season, but it looks like a romance has finally bloomed off screen, according to Life & Style magazine.

British pop boy band One Direction, known to their fans as 1D, emerged victorious from the 2012 Brit Awards. Their hit single, What Makes You Beautiful, beat out Adele's Someone Like You, and eight other nominated songs, riling up the group's legions of teenage fans who turned to Twitter to express their excitement, causing the hashtag #proudof1D to trend worldwide.

When watching CBS comedy “How I Met Your Mother,” some familiar faces include ‘American Pie’ actress Alyson Hannigan, “Muppets” star Jason Segal, and “Harold and Kumar” side character Neil Patrick Harris. But last night’s episode got a special surprise visit from a famous talk show host.

Fans are squealing over Zoe Saldana and Bradley Cooper's progressing romance, as Saldana and Cooper's mother were seen out together yesterday without the actor.