Halfway through the insane, over-the-top Madonna halftime show, M.I.A. apparently decided she was just not getting enough of the worship fest going on. So, the “Paper Planes” singer raised her middle finger in a rude gesture and  rapped out “I don’t give a s**t*” at the cameras. NFL censors tried to blur out the obscene middle finger salute, but they didn’t quite get the timing right. So, 100 million fans watching the Super Bowl halftime show were gifted with a f**k you from M.I.A.

M.I.A.’s middle finger flip-off will now go down in history as yet another example of performers using their body parts to get attention in a negative way. Now, while we don’t think M.I.A.’s middle finger salute is quite as offensive as Janet Jackson’s bare breast hanging out, it was still a just as much of a pointless display and juvenile cry for attention.

We’re sure her child will be so very proud of Mom.

The NFL and NBC have both now apologize over the incident, although both entities seem to be trying to blame the other for the middle finger malfunction.

“There was a failure in NBC’s delay system,” NFL Vice President of Communications Brian McCarthy said in a press statement. “The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, every disappointing, and we apologize to our fans.”

NBC, however, is taking the NFL to task because they “hired the talent and produced the halftime show.” A spokesman for the network said in a press statement that the “system was late to obscure the inappropriate gesture and we apologize to our views.”

So far, M.I.A.’s representatives have not commented on the middle finger malfunction incident during the Madonna Super Bowl halftime show. A source allegedly close to the hip-hop star, however, reportedly claims it was all a mistake. “She wasn’t thinking,” the source said, according to the Daily Mail. “It wasn’t any kind of statement… She was caught in the moment and she’s incredibly sorry.”

“I have a very addictive personality,” the 22-year-old actor told Heat magazine. “It was a problem. People with problems like that are very adept at hiding it. It was bad. I don’t want to go into details, but I drank a lot and it was daily – I mean nightly.”

“I can honestly say I never drank at work on Harry Potter. I went into work still drunk, but I never drank at work. I can point to many scenes where I’m just gone. Dead behind the eyes,” Radcliffe said. Well, we hate to admit it, but there were some times when Harry Potter did seem a little wasted… we just thought it was too much butter beer.

Daniel Radcliffe said he has learned from the experience and no longer drinks alcohol. “You either have to change something,” he told the magazine, “or give into that shame.” Radcliffe is currently on a promotional tour in support of his new horror film, Woman in Black, which opened on Friday.

The Harry Potter star isn’t the only celebrity to come forward recently to admit they were drunk on the job. Pat Sajak confessed in a recent interview that he and Wheel of Fortune letter turner Vanna White used to get drunk before doing the show.

“Vanna and I would … have two or three or six and then come and do the last shows and have trouble recognizing the alphabet,” he says. “I had a great time. I have no idea if the shows were any good, but no one said anything, so I guess I did okay.”

The awesome play came in the third quarter of the Los Angeles Clippers game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night. The Blake Grifin dunk flying over the head of Kendrik Perkins helped lead the Clipps to a 112-110 victory over the Thunder.

“Almost a Mozgov,” Clippers commentator Ralph Lawler said after the Blake Griffin dunk, referring to New York Knicks player Timofey Mozgov. Griffin’s previously most celebrated dunk shot came at the expense of Mozgov. “It’s better than a Mozgov!” commentator Michael Smith, contended. “I didn’t think it was possible to top him.”

“That’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen,” Clipper guard Chris Paul said of the awesome Blake Griffin dunk over the head of Kendrik Perkins.

LeBron James, who heard his shot over the head of Chicago’s John Lucas III called the “Dunk of the Year” back on Sunday night, was wowed by Griffin as well.

“Dunk of the Year!! @blakegriffin just dunked on Kendrick Perkins so hard!! Wow!! I guess I’m #2 now,” James posted on his Twitter feed.

NASA

“Geomagnetic storms are likely in the hours ahead,” as a result of the solar flare, Spaceweather.com reported. “If it’s dark where you live, go outside and look for auroras.” Auroras have already been reportedly in many places worldwide, including Northern England and Norway. “It’s a minor to moderate storm,” Yihua Zheng, a lead researcher at the Space Weather Center, told SPACE.com. “Probably in the next 10 hours or so, people at high latitudes can see auroras. This could maybe cause communication errors at the polar caps, but the magnetic activities are probably not too strong.”

According the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center (NOAA), the most significant issue with such a solar storm is the possibility of disruption to satellites, power grids and High Frequency radio communications.

The 2012 solar storm could cause power surges and interference in GPS navigation, radio, TV and telephone signals. Due to this threat, some flights going through the polar region have been re-routed.

“We know that some airlines did not fly the polar routes yesterday,” NOAA physicist Doug Biesecker said in a press statement. Delta is one of them, rerouting flights between Hong Kong and the U.S. that usually fly over the pole.

“We are adjusting the flight pattern of a few of our flights,” Anthony Black, a spokesman for Delta, told FoxNews.com. “We’re flying further south than we would normally fly.”

Delta and other airlines will be keeping a close watch on the solar storm situation and re-route additional planes as needed. While the primary concern with flying planes through the solar radiation is a disruption to communications, there is also an extremely rare possibility of a “proton hitting an electronic component and killing it,” according to Biesecker.

According to NOAA and NASA, the massive solar storm and accompanying radiation does not pose a threat to the astronauts aboard the International Space Station or the people of Earth.

We are still waiting on the Dark Shadows trailer video to come out, but at least now we have a few yummy photos from the upcoming film to keep us occupied. Director Tim Burton‘s adaption of the cult TV series is due to open on May 11th, but the premiere just can’t come fast enough!

In the Dark Shadows movie remake, Johnny Depp stars as the lead character of vampire Barnabas Collins. Immigrating with his parents from London, England to America in 1752, Collins grows into a rich and powerful playboy enjoying the fabulous life. Unfortunately for the master of Collinwood Manor, he makes the terrible mistake of breaking the heart of a witch (Eva Green). The witch curses him with a terrible fate by turning him into a vampire and burying him alive.

Centuries later, Collins is freed from his earthy tomb and suddenly finds himself in a very different world. After being buried for 200 years, Collins attempts to reintegrate into society in 1972, restore the faded legacy of Colinwood Manor and deal with the remains of his totally crazy and dysfunctional family.

In addition to Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, the film also stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Johnny Lee Miller, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green and Chloe Moretz.

For those who never watched the original Dark Shadows TV series, which ran from 1966 to 1971, it was great cheesy fun with terribly bad acting. Director Tim Burton calls his film remake a “weird soap opera” and we are hopeful that means he’ll be giving us a lot of the fabulous camp that made the Dark Shadows TV series so entertaining. (And yes, we know the original series was not intended to be campy, it just was. Especially if you were born 15 years after it originally aired and watched it in re-runs with your mom laughing through half the scenes.)

The Costa Concordia cruise ship was carrying more than 4,200 people when it ran aground on a reef off the Tuscan island of Giglio, rolled onto its side and began sinking. Eleven people are confirmed dead and over 25 are still believed missing. The captain of the Italian cruise ship has been blamed for taking the huge vessel off course and steering it too close to shore to give passengers a better view of the island, resulting in the ship running aground.

Captain Francesco Schettino is alleged to have abandoned the Costa Concordia Italian cruise ship after it crashed into a reef and began sinking, leaving passengers and crew to fend for themselves. An Italian Coast Guard official reportedly caught the captain fleeing the ship and demanded he return to the vessel. The Captain repeatedly refused to do so even after being warned he would face prosecution for deserting the ship.

Schettino has insisted he remained on board the sinking Costa Concordia until the ship was evacuated, but a recording of his conversation with Italian Coast Guard Captain Gregorio De Falco appears to expose this as a lie.

“You go on board and then you will tell me how many people there are. Is that clear?” De Falco yells at Schettino in the audio tape, which was released to the public on Tuesday. The Costa Concordia captain responds that the ship is tipping and dark and so he  was coordinating the rescue from a lifeboat. He said he would not go back aboard the ship.

De Falco yells back: “And so what? You want to go home, Schettino? It is dark and you want to go home? Get on that prow of the boat using the pilot ladder and tell me what can be done, how many people there are and what their needs are. Now!” Furious, De Falco continues to berate Schettino, telling him: “You go aboard. It is an order. Don’t make any more excuses. You have declared ‘Abandon ship,’ now I am in charge,” De Falco shouted.”

On the tape, Schettino finally says he will go back on board, but the Italian Coast Guard says he never did step foot back on the Costa Concordia.

Captain Francesco Shettino was interrogated by prosecutors on Tuesday before being released and sent home under house arrest by a judge, his lawyer, Bruno Leporatti, said in a press statement. Prosecutors had hoped to keep Shettino in prison while awaiting trial. The captain could face up to 12 years in prison just on the charge of abandoning ship.

Emergency 911 personnel received a call from Healther Locklear’s sister shortly after 2PM. According to TMZ.com, Locklear’s sister allegedly told 911 operators she was afraid the actress was in danger after combining a mix of prescription drugs and alcohol.

“Emergency response personnel responded to a medical emergency call at Ms. Locklear’s residence,” Ventura County Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Aranda told People. “Once they arrived, it was determined that Ms. Locklear needed to be transported to the hospital for further medical attention.”

Healther Locklear was transported by ambulance from her home in Westlake Village to the Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks. According to a hospital spokesperson, Locklear arrived conscious and responsive. She is currently in stable condition and may be released later today.

“[Locklear's] parents wanted everybody to know that she’s doing well, she’s fine, she’s not in any danger, she’s healthy,” hospital spokeswoman Kris Carraway-Bowman said in a press statement. “She is out of harm’s way… she is in no danger.” Locklear’s family is “looking forward to her getting very, very well again and bringing her home,” Carraway-Bowman said.

This is not the first time Heather Locklear has been the cause of a frantic 911 call. In 2008, Locklear’s doctor called 911 in fear that the actress had overdosed on prescription medications. The call was later reported as a false alarm.

A source allegedly told Radar Online that Locklear has been “distraight over her relationship with Jack (Wagner), it is on and off and it has upset her lately.” Locklear and former Melrose Place co-star Wagner broke off their engagement in November.

Joyful parents Jay-Z and Beyoncé released a dual announcement officially declaring the birth of their first child on Monday, saying they are “in heaven” over the new addition to their family.

“Hello Hello Baby Blue!

We are happy to announce the arrival of our beautiful daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, born on Saturday, January 7, 2012.

Her birth was emotional and extremely peaceful, we are in heaven.

She was delivered naturally at a healthy 7 lbs and it was the best experience of both of our lives.

We are thankful to everyone for all your prayers, well wishes, love and support.

Beyoncé & JAY Z”

The New York Lennox Hill Hospital, where Beyonce labored to bring little Blue Ivy into the world, also released an official statement regarding the birth on Monday. In particular, the hospital wanted to addres rumors that Beyoncé had taken over an entire floor of the maternity ward and that some mothers had been denied access to certain areas of the ward during the birth.

“Lenox Hill Hospital and its staff were delighted to welcome the Carter family for the birth of their firstborn on Saturday evening, but we are troubled by the misinformation being circulated in some news media reports. The suggestion that the couple paid $1.3 million to rent an entire maternity floor is simply not true. The family is housed in an executive suite at the hospital and is being billed the standard rate for those accommodations. Our executive suites are available for any patient, including the food service and amenities provided to the Carter family.

The family does have its own security detail on site. However, the hospital has been and continues to be in control of managing all security at the facility. We have made every effort to ensure minimal disruption to other families experiencing the births of their own children over the past three days. No security plan that we or the Carters’ security team put in place would have prevented or delayed families from gaining access to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and to date, no families have complained to the hospital about being denied access to the NICU.

Lenox Hill Hospital takes patient privacy and safety very seriously. And while we congratulate the Carter family on the birth of their child, we value the loyalty of ALL of our patients and always strive to ensure a positive experience, knowing that the birth of a child is a wonderful moment producing memories that last a lifetime.”

Congrats to the happy couple!

Michelle Bachmann finished in dead last place in the Iowa caucus results. Republican front-runner Mitt Romney took home the win, narrowly squeaking by former Senator Rick Sanatorum. After failing to pull any significant number of votes, Michelle Bachmann quits the race, but announced her decision with a smile.

“The people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice, so I decided to stand aside,” Michelle Bachmann said at a press conference after the Iowa caucus results were officially announced. “I have no regrets, none whatsover. We never compromised our principles.”

“I look forward to the next chapter in God’s plan,” Bachmann said, surrounded by her family at the news conference. “I’m grateful to have been a part of this presidential contest.”

Bachman did not offer an endorsement, saying only that supporters should “rally” around whomever receives the Republican nomination, and her campaign manager said in a press statement that the conservative Minnesota congresswoman had “no time frame or person” chosen for one. Bachmann said that although her race for the GOP nomination may be over, she will “continue to fight for you, for more liberty and to stop the over-spending in Washington.”

“I ran as the next stepping stone to passing on the torch of liberty,” Bachmann said. “Make no mistake: I will continue to fight for our country…My Lord God almighty, this republic is unshakable. There is always something around the corner. I have been blessed to live a great life.”

Gossip about a Katy Perry and Russell brand split have been swirling around for months, with rumors of a possible divorce in the works escalating in December. Despite telling Ellen DeGeneres earlier this month that there was nothing to the rumors, Russell Brand spent his Christmas holidays in London while wife Katy Perry was thousands of miles away in Hawaii.

Fans of the couple were left wondering exactly why a happy couple would spend one of the most important holidays of the year apart from each other. Especially since it was rumored the two would be vacationing together in the UK for a family trip. According to the gossip, the two had a major fight and that’s why they both ended up spending Christmas alone.

Now Russell Brand has been seen walking around London without his wedding ring, just a week after Katy Perry was also spotted out without hers. Now, when Perry was photographed without her ring, she was playing at the beach — a reasonable time to leave your jewelry behind in your room. Brand, however, was just strolling down the street without his bling on. That is much more suspicious behavior.

Reps for Katy Perry and Russell Brand have so far refrained from commenting about the break-up rumors. The couple, who were married last October, have been firm in their denials of a spit or possible divorce despite all the gossip.