• Dutch prosecutors announced today that they have dropped their murder investigation into a late-term abortion that a woman had performed in Spain because the woman suffers from "psychological problems." • The Australian Parliament passed a landmark law today that allows single and lesbian women access to fertility treatment and gives gay partners and parents of surrogate children legal parenting rights. • A former park ranger at the Belair National Park in South Australia claims that rescued koalas that are turned over to park rangers are shot. • An English study of personal ads finds that the myth of the "dirty old man" is true, with most men seeking younger female partners. • A group of English actresses claim they were tricked into auditioning for a porn film when they thought they were auditioning for a Little Britain-style adult comedy. • Why do so many men buy sex? • A UK PSA features a dog drug mule with his chest cut open talking to drug users.• Meanwhile, a new study suggests that dogs have evolved to chase more efficiently over long distances and cats have evolved to creep up on prey, rather than chase. • A painting by Giambattista Tiepolo hidden in an attic of a French chateau for decades because it was deemed "risque" fetched $4.1 million at a Christie's auction in London. • China has told artists performing on its annual TV gala on Chinese New Year's Eve to not lip-synch their songs. • A judge in Arkansas issued a gag order on Wednesday in the murder case against a man accused of beating Anne Pressly, a local news anchorwoman, to death. •

Kuczynski talks about the deep pain and secrecy many women face when they are infertile, and "the terrible, wishful math" she tortured herself with each passing month because of her own infertility. Alex wasn't getting any younger and at age 39 enlisted a surrogate to carry her and her husband's baby to term. Kuczynski is self-aware enough to know that paying a ton of money (about $25,000) for a baby-carrier when so many foster children need a good home will be considered by some to be immensely selfish, and this is how she explains her unremitting desire for a biological baby.

What began as wistful longing in my 20s had blistered into a mad desire that seemed to defy logic. The compulsion to create our own bloodline seemed medieval, and I knew we could enjoy our marriage — our lives — without a child. Yet I couldn’t argue myself out of my desire…Die without having created a life, and die two deaths: the death of yourself, and the death of the immense opportunity that is a child. Not being pregnant suddenly seemed like a public statement, one that left me feeling exposed and vulnerable.

The thing to remember is that, for all women, regardless of socioeconomic status, decisions surrounding fertility are fraught with incredibly deep and often ambivalent emotions. In 50 years we're all going to be gestating babies in free floating artificial uteri anyway, so everyone needs to give other ladies a damn break.

Her Body, My Baby [NY Times Magazine — not online yet]

Earlier: Scientists Predict That Babies Of The Future Will Be Born To Centarians With Artificial Wombs

Kathryn Knight of the Daily Mail takes a look at the Maguire's strange situation, focusing on Yvette's inability to bond with her adopted child, who only stayed with the couple for two short weeks. "I have a very strong memory of looking at him in the first couple of days that he was with us, and thinking: 'He didn't come from me,'" Yvette recalls, "I felt no bond with him whatsoever."

Yvette claims that she tried everything to feel connected to Ben, but her inability to bond with her new son led her to break down into tears in front of a social worker who visited the home, causing the social worker to recommend that Yvette not be allowed to be with Ben unsupervised. "That was very difficult to hear," Yvette says, "I knew they were only protecting the child, but I would never ever have hurt him." A psychiatrist then diagnosed Yvette with "post-natal depression" and "suggested that her inability to grieve over her infertility lay at the root of her feelings."

The Maguires have taken quite a bit of grief from friends and family members who can't understand their decision to give away their adopted child so quickly, viewing Yvette as cold, selfish, and questioning how she could have made such a major decision after only two weeks with Ben. Yvette defends herself by pointing out that she only had Ben's best interests at heart: "Ben did absolutely nothing wrong. It wasn't about him, it was about me. You hear so many different stories about adoption being difficult, but they are always centered on the children. No one looks at it from the point of view of a woman who has not been able to have a child of her own and the effect that can have. I simply wasn't prepared for it emotionally."

So the question, then, becomes this: how could this couple have gone through an 18-month adoption process without anybody seeing the warning signs? And does Yvette really understand the impact her actions may have had on Ben? It's hard to argue that Ben should be with the Maguires; obviously it wasn't a healthy environment for him. But shouldn't there have been some type of system in place to avoid a situation like this? Were Yvette's actions selfish or selfless? Or perhaps a bit of both?

On the bright side, Ben, who has been in four foster homes over the past two years, is now "flourishing" with his new foster family. The Maguires, meanwhile, have accepted that they most likely will never have children. "I wanted the fairy tale: the husband, the lovely home, and the babies," Yvette says. The fairy tale, of course, didn't come true, and now there are three lives that have been forever changed by the strange reality that life provided instead.

Why After Waiting Years For A Baby, I Gave My Adopted Son Back [DailyMail]

It's not international adoption, as only 19,000 foreign-born children are adopted each year, mostly because of the prohibitive cost. And it's not even the fact that some kinds of children are more "desirable" than others. 521,400 people said they were willing to adopt black children, compared to 41,591 black children in foster care; 351,600 people said they would adopt children between the ages of 6 and 12, compared to 46,136 children between those ages in foster care; 185,400 people said they would adopt children over the age of 13, compared to 30,654 teens in foster care. Katz believes the discrepancy is related to an entirely unwelcoming bureaucracy.

Katz founded an organization called the Listening to Parents project, and he found that "Far too many agencies view their primary response in adoption as screening out 'bad' parents rather than recruiting good ones." For example:

Contrast two of the locations we studied for a 2005 report: In San Jose, everyone calling to inquire about adoption was invited to a meeting designed to inform prospective parents about the children available and to get parents into the training program. In Miami, everyone calling to inquire about adoption was required to fill out a two-page questionnaire, over the phone, that included sensitive personal and financial information. Those who "passed" the call were invited to an information meeting that began with an announcement that all attendees would be fingerprinted at the front of the room. Is it any wonder that a prospective parent in San Jose was 12 times more likely to adopt than a prospective parent in Miami?

In the U.K, non-traditional parents say they find judgment from some social workers who are still looking for the ideal heterosexual married couple as adoptive parents, the Independent reports. However, parents in the UK are less colorblind than those in the U.S. as adoption agents say they have difficulty placing black children, particularly black boys. According to family lawyer Nina Hansen, "As for black boys, the media really works against them; people believe the future will bring serious trouble with the police. It is much harder to place boys, especially those over five, but little black boys? Well, you can pretty much forget it."

Adoption's Numbers Mystery [Washington Post]

Adoptive Parents Believe Boys Are 'Too Much Trouble' [The Independent: UK]

While having your dad elected to the U.S. presidency is exciting enough, we're sure that the girls are probably overwhelmed with giddiness over the prospect of having a pup to call their own. To help Obamas out, we decided to make a list of the best dogs for their family using Petfinder, a website that lists adoptable dogs in shelters across the nation.

Malia, the eldest Obama sister, has allergies so we had to take that into consideration when picking out potential puppies. We also tried to stick to dogs in the Washington D.C. area.

The girls have expressed interest in a Goldendoodle, a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Standard Poodle that is said to be hypoallergenic. They sure are cute and a good mix of a "All American" and hypoallergenic to suit Malia's allergies. Colton, a Goldendoodle located in Denver, PA might be the perfect puppy for the Obamas!

Obama also told reporters that his family had been looking into Labradoodles, another mix of a typical American dog (Labs) and a Poodle. Boston, a Labradoodle in Washington, D.C. would be happy to play with the girls on the South Lawn.

The American Kennel Club has a list of dogs that are generally considered to do well with people with allergies. On the list is one of our (okay, my) favorite dogs, the Schnauzer. A Schnauzer would be great for the girls since they are both hypoallergenic and temperamentally well-suited for children. Lady, a Miniature Schnauzer from Laurel, MD whose owners lost their home would be safe and sound in the White House.

Since the girls seem to like the Poodle mixes, perhaps a Schnoodle (or Schnauzer-Poodle mix) would appeal to them. Elise, a Schnoodle in Hedgescille, WV would be happy to run around the feet of the younger Obamas.

A Bichon Frise is also recommended for allergy-sufferers. Bichon Frise's have an excellent temperament with a "cheerful attitude" and a playful but gentle-mannered behavior that is great for children. Sammy, an adult Bichon Frise in Potomac, MD would use his years of dog experience to help the Obamas adapt to the doggy-owning lifestyle.

The American Kennel Club also recommends Malteses for people with allergies. A Maltese would be a great dog to play with since they are fearless little balls of fur that are incredibly affectionate and mild-mannered. Arthur in Monkton, MD is a friendly little fellow that would have no trouble rubbing paws with foreign heads of state.

A plain Poodle would also be a great dog for the Obamas. Poodles have that hypoallergenic coat that Malia would need in order to enjoy snuggles without sneezing. Sydney, a cute Poodle in Chantilly, VA that came from a puppy mill will be ready to part with her pups when they are 8 weeks. The time lapse would be perfect for the Obamas who won't move into the White House until next year!

The most American choice of all would be a mutt. Hope, a mutt in Forestville, MD has some Poodle in her so she would be well-suited for Malia. And since her name is Hope, you know that she was meant to be with the Obamas.

Although our last two picks for First Pup aren't hypoallergenic, they'd still make excellent dogs for the family.

An energetic boxer would be great for an active family with growing children. The friendly breed would also be great for meeting with guests. Rocky in Washington D.C. looks like he is ready to meet his new family.

A perfect family dog — and a favorite of conservative writer and big Obama supporter Andrew Sullivan — is the carefree Beagle. The girls would probably enjoy watching this curious dog explore their new home. Beagles also naturally enjoy the company of other dogs and people, making them the perfect addition to a family that will be meeting a lot of people. Cracker in Washington D.C. would fit in nicely at the White House, but the Obamas might want to change his name.

Obama's First Appointment, A First Dog [Chicago Breaking News]
Obama Promises A First Dog To Sasha And Malia [NBC Chicago]
Dogs For Allergies [American Kennel Club]
Petfinder

India-based human-rights lawyer D. Geetha estimates that at least 30 of the nearly 400 Indian children brought into Australia in the last 10 to 15 years were trafficked. The Time investigation found dubious agencies, illegal practices, false signatures; stolen children shipped to wealthy countries. The children were processed through an adoption agency and orphanage known as Malaysian Social Services. According to Time, Australian authorities knew that MSS was a suspect agency. Its license was suspended in 1999 after one of its staff was arrested for handling four babies stolen from a hospital.

Here's the problem: The chances of the biological parents reclaiming their children? Slim. Former Australian Family Court Judge John Fogarty says: "I wouldn't like to be acting for the Indian parents. You might get pro-bono lawyers, but the bottom line would be the best interests of the child, and that may be a one-way street. If you compared the position of the child in Australia returning to poverty in India, you would have to be a pretty dramatic judge to send a child back to the slums."

Meanwhile, Zabeen's biological mother would love to see her: "I am yearning," she says. "I must embrace her."

Let's just say for a minute you were an Australian judge. Would you send Zabeen back to her Indian family after eight years? Or would you let her stay with her new parents, who are "horrified" that they unknowingly adopted a trafficked child?

Stolen Children [Time]
Children 'Kidnapped For Aussie Adoption' [News.com.au]
Earlier: In China, Child Kidnappings Are An Equal Opportunity Affair

• A choir teacher in San Diego called a student an "ugly brat," then literally kicked her out of the classroom. • Disturbing fertility news: even half a serving of soy a day can lower a man's sperm count — effects are more pronounced if he's overweight. • Disturbing adoption news: DNA tests show an abducted Guatemalan baby was adopted by a US couple. Several more abducted babies have been found in Guatemalan orphanages, leading some to believe the practice is widespread. • And some reassuring news: belly and thigh fat is a great source of stem cells, which could cure disease and even remove wrinkles. So eat that donut — unless you're a man, you want a baby, and it's made of soy.

• Domestic violence directed towards men goes largely ignored by the media. • A new analysis found that their are no well-constructed studies that show the benefits for removing ovaries during a hysterectomy, meaning that doctors are often guessing based on a woman's age if they should remove the organs or not. • A new study has found that many widowers are not told their wife's illness is terminal and are usually only informed within a week of the wife's death. • Cancer patients are seeing the benefits of writing about their emotions as they go through cancer treatment. • Artist Jocelyn Foye gets roller derby girls from LA Derby Dolls to make indentations in clay with their knees for an exhibition in California. • Women between the ages of 50 to 79 who get nine or more hours of sleep have a 60-70% increased chance of getting a stroke. • The 1995 film version of Sense And Sensibility sparked a rise in wedding requests for a 15th-century church in England, but a broken bell has seen those requests cool off. • A man found with bestiality porn (including octopus porn) avoids jail in Australia after it is revealed he is the most awkward and lonely dude in the world. • Girls in Tech, a group for women in the male-dominated technology field, opens a chapter in LA. • An Indian man tries to use an impostor wife to get a divorce. • Finally, some happy animal news: here's video of a bunny adopted by a cat (via Cute Overload).

And Juno, which I finally saw (and cried during, but I was on a plane) and thought, "How is this not a pro-life movie?" Because you know, you wouldn't call it pro-choice, because she doesn't take advantage of the "choice" that's so endangered, even though you could make a Juno: China and you'd have a story that's slightly more P.C. And did it depict a kid for whom having a child was just one more oddball alternakid consumer choice she made, like with her collection of gory horror movies and retro flannel jackets, and thus a cynical GOP-funded marketing ploy whose appeal to a certain psychographic of bored punk rock-listening teenagers must now be answered by the Starbucks of reproductive health? Because I could argue that point with crystal clear logic in a Diablo Cody hit piece wryly referencing the opening line of Sex & The City about how women move to New York for the "two L's: Love and Labels," but the truth is I have no desire to diss Diablo Cody or the Indiana Planned Parenthood, not until I see the documents detailing the Build-A-Bear-bankrolled conspiracy, and that's the cool thing about opinions is they're also a "choice."

Clinic Teams With Adoption Agency In NWI [Post-Trib]
Earlier: How Pretty, Profitable, Should Planned Parenthood Be?
Portland Builder Drops Planned Parenthood For Fear Of Pro Life Protesters

Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute in New York, which commissioned the study, has issues with this thinking. "If you're white and you're adopting a black kid, maybe you could use a little coaching on that issue as you help your kid grow up," he argues. "The law says you can't be trained to do that. Are we giving parents the optimal tools to succeed in bringing up their families?" In a word: No. But there are challenges to so-called "transracial" adoption. Before the MEPA law was passed, black children ended up staying in "temporary" foster care an average of nine months longer that white children. Social workers often attempted "race-matching," teaming white children with white families and black with black. But what is more important, the report stresses, is that white parents are prepared for life with a black child. A 2006 study found that when dark-complexioned children were adopted into white homes, "For many children… a white skin color was so desirable that they rubbed themselves with white body lotion, cream or white chalk, or, alternatively, tried to wipe off the brown color." Adopted black children in white homes may also have identity, self-esteem and discrimination issues that their new parents are not equipped to handle.

On the other hand, recruitment of black families as adoptive parents has not been very successful. "Black people are significantly poorer than white people and less likely to be in a position to come forward," says Elizabeth Bartholet, director of the Child Advocacy Program at Harvard Law School. "Recruitment efforts bump up against that fact."

But since 32% of 510,000 children in foster care were black in 2006 (and only 15% of all U.S. children are black), how can we solve the problem of the disproportionate number of black kids in foster care? And should white parents who would like to adopt a black child be "trained" to care for one? Do we not trust the parents to get on-the-job training? (Angelina Jolie recently said, "A thing very important to us in the house is culture, is culture for our kids, even the color of the children in the cartoons. There's still not a Disney princess who's African, and it's very difficult because our daughter's getting into princesses right now . . . these are things we're very conscious of.") Is it hard for us to face the truth: That when it comes to adoption, love may not be enough? As Adam Pertman of the Donaldson Institute says: "The view that we can be colorblind is a wonderful, idealistic perspective, but we don't live there. If we want to do the best for the kids, we have to look at their realities."

Major Changes Urged In Transracial Adoption [AP, via MSNBC]
Study of '94 Adoption Law Finds Little Benefit To Blacks [Washington Post]
Related: Adoption Study Tackles Race [Chicago Tribune]
Jolie Takes Her Twins To The Movies [The Gazette]

• Angelina Jolie confirms: She is having twins. You knew that, right? Anyway an exclusive interview scored by NBC's Today show was lifted by NBC's Access Hollywood and now NBC producers are pissed at each other. [Page Six]
  
• It was Jack Black who spilled the beans about Angie's twins, actually. [People]
  
• Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo might still be together. Unfortunately, that's not as interesting as if they were broken up. [E!]
  
• Um, more Britney pregnancy rumors. I'm scared. Someone hold me. [Mirror]
  
• Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty kissing. This is one of those pictures where obviously the buss was on the cheek but it kind of looks like they were heading for the lips. In any case, the paper calls them a "gruesome twosome." [Mirror]
  
• To be honest, Pete's got something weird on his lip and face. It is kind of gruesome. [The Sun]
  
• Meanwhile, Blake Incarcerated says Amy Winehouse will die without him, but he doesn't want to go back to her when he gets out of jail because she is doing drugs. [News.com.au]

• Madonna's court adoption ruling has been delayed. The judge needs to review some paperwork. [Reuters]
• Mariah Carey's ex-boyfriend, producer Mark Sudack, whom she was with for almost four years, is "shattered" that MC is suddenly married to someone else. He and Mariah just broke up in the beginning of 2008. [MSNBC]
• Fantasia was a "trainwreck" on American Idol. [Perez Hilton]
• Sean "Diddy" Combs is looking for sponsors for his Cannes yacht party. Any takers? [Mirror]
• Actress Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy, Gossip Girl) fainted in the middle of a downtown NYC party. But! Homegirl rallied and stayed out the rest of the night. That's how Georgina Sparks would do it! [Page Six]
• Rumor has it Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz will be getting married this weekend in a seven-figure ceremony. Friends and family were notified via Evites, haha. The good news is they were apparently made for each other; a source says: "Ashlee is so needy, she just hangs all over Pete. But he loves it. He's always had a thing for vulnerable girls...They complete each other." [Rush & Molloy]
• Blind item! "Which young actress may be a little too much like her TV character? At a wrap party for her show, the tween got totaled at the bar and had to crawl into a waiting taxi." [Rush & Molloy]
• Anne Heche's show, Men In Trees, was canceled and now she can't afford to pay child and spousal support. Unemployment sucks. [People]
• Halle Berry has a new diamond ring! On her ring finger. But it's not from her baby daddy. She bought it for herself. So very modern. [People]
• Star Jones is "sexy, single and heating up the Cannes Film Festival." Wait, what? [ET]
• The Season 3 finale of Flavor of Love is the show's finale episode. Ever. It's the end of the series. Well, we'll always have Under One Roof. Ugh. [UPI]
• A contestant on Australia's Next Top Model came close to a nervous breakdown from being bullied by the other girls in the house. [News.au.com]
• Hugh Grant, Liz Hurley and her husband Arun Nayar won £58,000 in damages for invasion of privacy over photographs taken of them on holiday. That's enough cash for another trip! [BBC News]
• Superbad star Jonah Hill in a modern-day 21 Jump Street? Dude is no Johnny Depp. Or Peter DeLuise, for that matter. [Variety]
• A hybrid car was flown from Japan to Paul McCartney in London and critics are saying that any environmental benefits from using the car would be undermined by its mode of delivery. Sigh. [Guardian]
• Sean Penn lit up two cigarettes at the Cannes Film Festival, in violation on French laws against smoking in public buildings. Badass! [USA Today]
• The ladies of Sex And The City are on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, because they have not had enough publicity lately. [Just Jared]
• Oprah's dead dogs, commemorated in sculpture and sitting on her head. [TMZ]
• PETA still hates Mary-Kate Olsen. [Peta2]
• James McAvoy in Mean magazine: Hot. [ONTD]
• "I put on 40 pounds with Moses. And I found it really hard to loose the last 20 pounds. I didn't mind having the big boobs. But it was the stomach roll, the back fat, and the post-pregnant butt. And it was so hard to get rid of." — Gwyneth Paltrow. [People]
• "Samantha, she's Aphrodite. She loves them and leaves them. She has no guilt about her desires. If I'm associated with sexuality until the day I die I'll be happy — because I intend to be sexual until the day I die." — Kim Cattrall on her Sex And The City character. [The Sun]
• "When I see pictures [of myself] I do sometimes think, 'You miserable cow!'" — Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham. [Mirror]

• Mischa Barton claims she is a PhotoShop Of Horrors victim: A new batch of paparazzi beach shots showed her legs riddled with cellulite. "Those photos are doctored," Barton's rep, Lisa Perkins, says. "I'm not saying she's perfect, nobody is. But they've given a 22-year-old woman the legs and bottom of an 80-year-old." The pix were taken by the dude she's pissed at for snapping topless shots; the same one who ran Nicole Kidman off of the road. [Rush & Molloy]
  
• You can see the pictures here, with a regular paparazzi shot as well. Photoshop? [Daily Mail]
  
• Apparently Mariah Carey wanted a $3 million wedding with doves and orchids and Nick Cannon wanted to get married ASAP with no fuss. Mariah agreed because, as she has said, "We really do feel we are soulmates. I never felt a love like this was in the cards for me." Aww, that should be sweet but somehow it's fucking annoying. [Mirror]
  
• Lindsay Lohan: Seen doing shots of tequila with Lauren Conrad! LL turned her back so no one would see; unfortunately she was facing a window and the whole bar could see her reflection. Whoops! [Rush & Molloy]
  
• Meanwhile: You know how Lindsay had finally gotten a movie role? In that Manson Girls flick? Well she's been kicked off of the project. Producers "discovered that they couldn't find any name actresses who wanted to co-star with her," says Nikki Finke. [Deadline Hollywood via ONTD]

• It looks like officials in Malawi are all set to grant full adoption rights to Madonna. A document says: "Mr and Mrs Ritchie have shown a strong commitment in providing the infant with all essential needs like love, safe home environment, care, protection, material as well as emotional support." [Yahoo News]
• Jessica Simpson will be little sister Ashlee's maid of honor. At Ashlee's yet-to-be-scheduled wedding. [People]
• Jeremy Piven and Pink: Seen "all over each other" and "dancing really close." [Page Six]
• Alec Baldwin may want to switch careers. "In a matter of weeks, I'm going to be 50," he says. As long as he doesn't leave 30 Rock! [Page Six]
• Even though Tom Cruise told Oprah that he regrets his infamous argument on the Today show, Matt Lauer, Lauer says, "I don't think he needs to apologize. I don't feel there are any hard feelings. It was an interview. It was a good moment on television." Oh Matt. You're glib, Matt. Glib. [People]
• Jessica Alba challenges you to a staring contest. [People]
• Katie Holmes "has got the itch" to have another baby. Praise Xenu! [E!]
• Poor Uma Thurman may be in court again! Lancôme is suing Uma as a preemptive strike: Her contract as the face of the cosmetics company expired in 2005; yet her picture was seen in ads on Asian websites and on a Canadian billboard recently. [E!]
• Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt get their locks lightened by the same colorist. News you can use. [E!]
• Josh Brolin as George W. Bush. [E!]
• Daisy Lowe, 19, is loving hanging out with new boyfriend Mark Ronson, 32. Sigh. [Daily Mail via ONTD]
• Um, Chloe Lattanzi, daughter of Olivia Newton-John and contestant on Rock The Cradle, seems to have had quite a bit of collagen injected into her lips. And maybe a nose job. [ONTD]
• When Simon Cowell was a teenager, he hated school so much he was practically suicidal. He says, "I was so bored. I didn't like rules or discipline. So when someone said, 'These are the best days of your life' I actually thought about jumping off a bridge." [Mirror]
• Foxy Brown pleaded guilty to "menacing" a woman with her BlackBerry in 2007 and thereby avoided going on trial for assault. Time for a kinder, gentler Foxy! [Reuters]
• There is audio of the domestic violence 911 call involving Vanilla Ice, if you care to hear it. [The Superficial]
• Madonna is endorsing secondary ticket sales for her upcoming tour, which means if at first it seems like it's sold out, it might not be — if you have the cash. [Financial Times]
• Ashton Kutcher slept around before he met Demi Moore, surprise, surprise. [The Sun]
• Daniel Depp got his debut novel published, maybe because he is Johnny Depp's (half) brother? [Independent]
• Hot hottie Gary Dourdan of CSI has been charged with felony drug possession. Maybe I'm old but I remember him best as the gorgeous man in the Janet Jackson video. [Yahoo News]
• Rihanna kissing Chris Brown at KFC! LOL! [Concrete Loop]

The Minnesota research team assessed 540 non-adopted adolescents, 514 internationally-adopted adolescents and 178 domestically-adopted adolescents from the ages of 11 to 21, according to a press release. The study also interviewed adoptees directly, as opposed to relying on questionnaires filled out by parents, as prior studies had.

Keyes made sure to emphasize to Time that even though adoptees are more likely to have a rough time during adolescence, potential parents shouldn't be deterred. "Males are likelier to have behavior issues... But no one is overly concerned about having boys," Keyes said. She also added, "All adolescents struggle with finding their identity. It makes sense adopted children would struggle more than most."

Adoptees More Likely to be Troubled [Time]
US Teens Adopted As Infants Appear To Have Moderately Increased Odds Of Mental Health Problems [EurekAlert]

• Cameron Diaz and Gerard Butler: Three dates in ten days. Touchy-feely everywhere. It's like, so on. Yeah, this is the kind of news that makes us ache inside. You, too? [Mirror]
  
• Neither Beyoncé nor Jay-Z have confirmed that they were married. But on stage in North Carolina on Saturday, Mary J. Blige (who is on tour with Jay) shouted "Congratulations to my man, Jay-Z, and my girl B," during the show. If Mary says it, you gotta believe! [People]
  
• Oooh, apparently guests at the Z-Knowles wedding were asked to leave all cell phones, cameras and guns at home and were frisked at the door — yet three guns were left in an "amnesty box" outside Jay-Z's apartment. Dangerously in love! [Mirror]
  
• Pregnant Jamie Lynn Spears spent her 17th birthday eating at Ruby Tuesday and shopping at Wal-Mart with her fiancé. [People]
  
• "I work with underprivileged girls, mostly minorities, who hate themselves because they don't look like Lauren Conrad. Who the fuck wants to look like the girls on The Hills? They're complete nitwits. Success is about more than acquiring a Hermes bag." — Stacy London of What Not To Wear. [Rush & Molloy]

• Click here to see what Scarlett Johansson's album cover looks like. (She's lying on some ferns inside of a stump or something, but it looks prettier than it sounds.) [People]
• Jessica Alba had a baby shower on Sunday; Rashida Jones, Jaime King and Kim Kardashian were in attendance. The menu featured chicken, tiger shrimp, dark chocolate-dipped strawberries and cupcakes. Jess received strollers, cradles, Dr. Seuss books, rattles and clothes. Yawn. [E!]
• Lily Allen and Kelly Osbourne turned up at the same event wearing the same Vivienne Westwood dress. Horrors! [Mirror]
• Madonna will adopt a kid from India after she finishes promoting her new album. Namaste! [The Sun]
• Um, unless, as this paper says, David Banda is the last child she ever adopts. [The Sun]
• Thandie Newton is going to play Condi Rice in Oliver Stone's new movie??? Love her, but she doesn't look like the Secretary of State. Then again, Josh Brolin doesn't look like W, so. Sigh. [LA Times]
• Nicky Hilton, who is dating Mary-Kate Olsen's ex, David Katzenberg, is becoming good friends with The Hills' Whitney Port, who is dating Ashley Olsen's ex, Matt Kaplan. Are you keeping up? Think of it this way: Hollywood is one giant bacteria swap. [Page Six]
• Dane Cook's neighbors hate him because he doesn't pick up after his dog. Gross. [Page Six]
• Paul McCartney and Heather Mills' daughter Beatrice was seen shopping with her nanny, picking out her own clothes without her parents there, poor thing. She is 4. [Page Six]
• Meanwhile, Sir Paul has praised ex-wife Linda (and taken a swipe at Heather) by noting that Linda (who died in 1998) "didn't go on TV and say, 'This is who I am - hello' and try to ingratiate herself. Her priorities were private rather than public." [Mirror]
• Oh, and Paul's new girlfriend, "millionairess" Nancy Shevell, seems kind of great. [Daily Mail]
• Unfinished Kelly Clarkson tracks have leaked on to the Internet. That "sucks," says Kelly Clarkson. [Reuters]
• As previously reported, there's an X-rated blow-up doll based on Sarah Jessica Parker and Sex And The City. Will there also be a lawsuit? [UPI]
• Porn star Mary Carey announced "I'm 37 days sober!" at a NYC restaurant last week, then had a glass of wine. [Gatecrasher]
• Jessica Simpson is "shaving" on the new cover of Esquire. [Gatecrasher]
• Ashlee Simpson's album will be released almost at the same time as Mariah Carey's. Doesn't look good for Ash. [MSNBC]
• Did Mariah lipsync on a UK TV show? [Perez Hilton]
• Dina Lohan is "worried" about tabloid attention on daughter Ali, who stars in Dina's upcoming reality show. "It's scary because I did it with Lindsay and got her to the level of success that she is at and with the tabloids ... so with Ali now it's scary ... they are already making things up about her," Dina says. Thrusting her into the spotlight will certainly solve the problem! [UPI]
• Blind item! "Which Disney youth act's gay stylist had the suits in a dither because he insisted on dressing the boys in the tightest possible clothes? The execs had to back down when the "beyond metrosexual" look was a smash with their target 'tween audience." [Gatecrasher]
• George Clooney received an anonymous voice mail from a man telling him to ditch girlfriend Sarah Larson. The man said, "Dude, your friends asked me to give you a message: Dump the bitch before you're sorry!" Clooney had the call traced to a pre-paid cell phone but still doesn't know who left the message. Maybe the person who "writes" IDontlikeYouInThatWay? [TMZ]
• Photo agency x17 has apologized to Tony Parker and Eva Longoria for posting the claims of model Alexandra Paressant, who said that she'd had an affair with Tony after he married Eva. Tony had never even met Paressant. Friday the agency said: X17online.com and X17 Inc. regret having been misled by Ms. Paressant and her representatives and apologize to Mr. Parker for any damage or inconvenience this may have caused him or his wife." [TMZ]
• The reason Naomi Campbell had a hissy fit on a British Airways flight? When they lost her luggage, she reportedly said, "I must have the clothing that is in the suitcase because it is a brand that I have got to wear otherwise I don't get paid." [Mirror]
• Dancing With The Stars champ Cheryl Burke has opened her own dance studio in San Francisco. [ET]
• Jennie Garth might make a cameo appearance in the pilot of the 90210 spinoff! [LA Times]
• Rickrolling has actually spurred sales of Rick Astley songs. Amazing. [Reuters]
• Colin Farrell toured Bosnia in preparation for a new film. ""I felt sick," he says. "It is hard to describe how obviously the air and the land has been poisoned by the act of killing 8,000 people in the space of a day. But you really do get the sense of the pain and the loss and I am sad, I really am sad." [Reuters]
• 21 was number one at the box office again, beating George Clooney's Leatherheads. [E!]
• Charlton Heston is dead. [People]

• One report says that Lindsay Lohan is in a Sundance, Utah rehab facility which previously hosted Mary-Kate Olsen and David Hasselhoff. [EntertainmentTonight]
  
• Two other reports say Lindsay Lohan is with her mother on Long Island. We hope the first report is true! [People, PageSix]
  
• There's some cuckoo baby mama drama between Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards, if you care. [PageSix]
  
• Gwyneth Paltrow uses snake venom to keep her skin looking young. We always knew there was something sinister about her! [PageSix]
  
• Director Brett Ratner got a blowjob from a tranny. As the kids say, ROTLFLMFAO! [PageSix]

• Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, fighting? "I've even heard her telling friends things like Brad's always too busy highlighting his hair to keep up with her UN briefs," says a source. It seems like we hear about them breaking up every day, and yet they are still together. [Mirror]
• Justin Timberlake filmed his scenes for a new video away from scantily-clad models. Hmm, wonder if he's trying not to piss off Jessica Biel? [TheSun]
• Does Jack Nicholson have a crooked penis? [TMZ]
• Usher finally married his pregnant fiancée in Atlanta. We sure hope these two crazy kids will be happy together! [People]
• Hermione has a boyfriend! They drink champagne and eat lobster together! Go Emma Watson! [DailyMail]
• There's some sort of snafu regarding Madonna and the court-appointed adoption official from Malawi. Will the kid will be 25 by the time this crap gets worked out? [CNN]
• George Clooney: incurable bachelor or closeted gay? [DailyMail]
• Actress Thandie Newton admits she was bulimic for a year. [People]
• Bratz: Number 10 at the box office. [BoxOfficeMojo]