Forbes Names Suri Most Influential Baby

Hollyscoop.com: Suri Cruise can't even tie her own shoes, and she's already being called an influential person?! Forbes has put Suri at the top of their list of the World's Most Powerful Tot Under Age Five. We must say, for a two year old, she is intriguing, and her taste in clothes is enviable.

Suri beat out Shiloh Pitt for the top honors. Here's a snippet from the article, and the top ten. Pick up Forbes magazine for the full article.

10. Sam Sheen: The older of the Sheen sisters took the Hollywood stage with a bit part in her mom's E! reality show, Denise Richards: It's Complicated! Of course, she grabbed even bigger buzz earlier this year when her dad, Two and a Half Men's Charlie Sheen, lost a court battle to prevent the Sheen sibs from appearing on the show.

9. Sean Preston Federline: Without his pop-star mother stealing headlines for head shavings and psych-ward stints, Sean's tabloid presence has diminished some. Of course, his heavily publicized custody battle kept the tiny tyke in the news and on this list.

8. David Banda: Controversy over the Malawi adoption of Madonna and Guy Ritchie's youngest child sparked headlines from the beginning. David's biological father was uncertain of the terms of adoption, while human rights organizations accused Madonna of violating Malawi's laws, all of which elevated David's Web presence to No. 1. The latest wrinkle: Madonna and Guy's announced divorce.

1. Suri Cruise
2. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt
3. Zahara Jolie-Pitt
4. Pax Jolie-Pitt
5. Sam Alexis Woods
6. Cruz Beckham
7. Matilda Rose Ledger
8. David Banda
9. Sean Preston Federline
10. Sam Sheen

Hillary to Accept Secretary of State Job Offer

Guardian: Hillary Clinton plans to accept the job of secretary of state offered by Barack Obama, who is reaching out to former rivals to build a broad coalition administration, the Guardian has learned.

Obama's advisers have begun looking into Bill Clinton's foundation, which distributes millions of dollars to Africa to help with development, to ensure that there is no conflict of interest. But Democrats do not believe that the vetting is likely to be a problem.

Clinton would be well placed to become the country's dominant voice in foreign affairs, replacing Condoleezza Rice. Since being elected senator for New York, she has specialised in foreign affairs and defence. Although she supported the war in Iraq, she and Obama basically agree on a withdrawal of American troops.

Clinton, who still harbours hopes of a future presidential run, had to weigh up whether she would be better placed by staying in the Senate, which offers a platform for life, or making the more uncertain career move to the secretary of state job.

Nearly 700,000 U.S. Kids Went Hungry Last Year

Almost 700,000 American children went hungry during 2007, according to an annual government survey released Monday.

This staggering number is up 50 percent from the previous year and is at its highest point since 1998.

The survey, conducted by the Agriculture Department, also determined that more than 36 million adults and children struggled with hunger last year. These are individuals who didn't have enough money or food aid to help them maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Nearly a third of these people are categorized under what the government calls "very low food security," meaning they had a severe disruption on the amount of food they normally eat.

Mother Turns in Her Own Children After Robbery

A Wisconsin mother turned in her own children to authorities after they committed robbery.

The woman saw her 16-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter on a gas station security video that was broadcast over a local TV station.

Police say that the woman did the right thing by calling the cops and hopes that she will be an example to others with information about crimes.

Steamy Magazines Make Men Feel as Bad as Women

Men who look at sexy females in magazines like Maxim have more body image issues than their peers.

Researchers discovered that when looking at the idealized women, men become convinced that they need to be more attractive to get such a mate.

"Men make the inference that in order to be sexual and romantic with women of the similar caliber they see in Maxim magazine, they also need to be attractive," said Jennifer Aubrey, researcher at the Department of Communications at the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Aubrey says that these types of magazines send out the message that men should be having a lot of sex.

"So you have that in your head while you're looking at these magazines, " Aubrey adds. "If you want to get as much sex as possible with these types of women, then what's left but the feeling you need to look a certain way in order to do that."

Wanda Sykes: 'I'm Proud to be Gay'

Comedian Wanda Sykes announced she was gay during a Proposition 8 protest on Saturday.

"I'm proud to be a black woman, and I'm proud to be gay," said Sykes, 44, at the Las Vegas rally.

The "New Adventures of Old Christine" star married her wife on Oct. 25 and is taking a stand for gay rights.

"If we had equal rights, we shouldn't have to be standing out here demanding something that we automatically should have as citizens of this country," Sykes said. "I said, 'You know what, now I gotta get in your face.' And that's what we have to do now. They have pissed off the wrong group of people!"

Vermont City Declared Healthiest in U.S.

Associated Press: What's the healthiest city in America? It appears to be Burlington, Vermont.

Vermont's largest city is tops among U.S. metropolitan areas by having the largest proportion of people -- 92 percent -- who say they are in good or great health.

It's also among the best in exercise and among the lowest in obesity, diabetes and other measures of ill health, according to a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This New England city of 40,000, on the shores of Lake Champlain, is in some ways similar to the unhealthiest city -- Huntington, West Virginia. Both are out-of-the-way college towns with populations that are overwhelmingly white people of English, German or Irish ancestry.

But there the similarities end:

-- Burlington is younger, with an average age of 37, compared to 40 in Huntington, according to the Census Bureau.

-- Burlington is better off financially, with 8 percent living at the federal poverty level, compared to 19 percent in Huntington.

-- It's much more educated, with nearly 40 percent of area residents having at least a college bachelor's degree. Only 15 percent in the Huntington area do.

The cultures are significantly different, too. Bicycling, hiking, skiing and other exercises are common in Burlington. Neighborhood groups commonly focus on improving parks, working in community gardens and repairing and improving sidewalks.

"There's this norm of a lot of activity," said Chris Finley, Vermont's deputy health commissioner, who works in Burlington.

And though college staples like pizza are common, healthier foods are also popular. Grass-fed beef is offered in finer restaurants, vegan options are plentiful, and the lone downtown supermarket is run by a co-op successful in selling bulk rice and other healthy choices to low-income residents. Burlington is helped by the presence of IBM and other employers offering more generous health benefits and corporate wellness programs than companies in Huntington, some experts suggested.

Father Uses Two Young Sons in Attempted Burglary

Associated Press: Police say a 28-year-old man used his two young sons -- 7 and 4 -- to help him attempt to steal nearly $8,000 worth of goods from the Burlington Kmart.

Jesus Barragan of Sedro-Woolley has been charged in Skagit County Superior Court with second-degree burglary, first-degree theft and two counts of illegal possession of the drugs Clonazepam and Flexeril in the attempted burglary.

Police say when they arrived at the store, which was closed, at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, they found a van with its doors open and motor running parked in front of the front entrance. They say an automatic door to the store was open and they saw Barragan's two sons with their arms loaded with merchandise. Later, Barragan gave himself up to police.

The father told officers he had recently lost his job and needed food to feed his children.

Court documents say the merchandise added up to nearly $8,000 and damage to the store totaled more than $2,000.

Barragan is being held at the Skagit County Jail in Mount Vernon on $50,000 bail.

Cigarette Smoking May Worsen PMS Woes

REUTERS: Here's another reason not to smoke, if you're a woman: PMS.

Women 27 to 44 years old who smoke are twice as likely to develop premenstrual syndrome over the next two to four years, especially hormonally-related symptoms like backaches, bloating, breast tenderness and acne, Dr. Elizabeth R. Bertone-Johnson of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and her colleagues found.

"Our findings lend further support to the idea that smoking increases the risk of moderate to severe PMS, and provides another reason for women, especially adolescents and young women, not to smoke," Bertone-Johnson said in an e-mail message.

Up to 20% of women have PMS severe enough to affect their relationships and interfere with their normal activities, Bertone-Johnson and her team note in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Smoking has been shown to affect levels of several different hormones, and the handful of studies looking into PMS and smoking have suggested that women with the syndrome are more likely to be smokers, the researchers add.

To investigate the relationship further, they analyzed data from the Nurses' Health Study II, which has been following 116,678 US registered nurses since 1989. The researchers looked at a subset of women who were PMS-free during the first two years of the study, comparing 1,057 who did go on to develop PMS to 1,968 who did not.

Palin Could Rake in $7 Million From Book Deal

MSNBC.com: After she spent the last few weeks talking to just about any camera put in front of her, it should come as no surprise that former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is moving closer to inking a book deal.

Just how much could the Alaska governor make from putting pen to paper? About $7 million, according to some estimates.

Sound like a lot? Not necessarily, says one literary insider.

"Bill Clinton made more than $10 million when he signed his deal in 2001 and that was the most for a former president," says the source. "Sarah brings something different to the table -- there is so much curiosity surrounding her and her life. If they move fast and get this thing on shelves, then a $7 million advance could be worth it."

As if there wasn't enough proof already that Palin has achieved full pop-culture phenom status, consider this: Paparazzi photos of the governor have surfaced.

In the photos, which have popped up online, Palin is pictured lounging poolside (in T-shirt and shorts) doing, well, nothing.

"Even photos of her of her just sitting there, but looking like a normal person, could go for solid five-figure sums," says one magazine editor.

Another editor disagrees. "If it's an all-rounder (meaning: the photos can be sold to other outlets) it would sell for probably about $300 per picture. If it's exclusive, $7,000, max. SHe's over in print ... she's doing so much press that she's overexposed."

Will President Obama Turn Off His Blackberry?

Would you be able to give up your crackberry  Blackberry? These days, so many of us are addicted to having access to email and the Web in the palm of our hands, even President-Elect Barack Obama.

Obama was the first candidate for prez to successfully use email and the Internet to target voters across the country. As he gets closer to Pennsylvania Avenue, President-Elect Barack Obama most likely will surrender his beloved Blackberry.

Depressed People Watch Move TV

A survey of over 30,000 Americans from 1975 to 2006 found unhappy people watch 30 percent more television than those who are happy.

People who say they are happy watch an average of 19-hours of television per week compared to the 25-hours unhappy people watch.

British Teen Embarks on World Journey

Michael Perham, a 16-year-old British boy, wants to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world.

Yesterday afternoon, Michael left Portsmouth on an "Open 50 racing yacht" by himself and hopes to beat the world record of a solo sailing trip around the world, currently held by Australian Jesse Martin.

Ex-View Co-Host Splits with Husband

Debbie Matenopoulos, the original "young one" on The View and now the host of E!'s Daily 10 is getting divorced from her music executive husband after seven years.

The ex-View gabber says she was "hurt" and "surprised" to learn from the Internet that her husband filed for divorce.