• A Florida judge refused to block the prosecution in Casey Anthony's murder trial from seeing the death penalty. Lawyers for Anthony, who is accused of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, claimed that the state seeking the death penalty violated her constitutional rights. The judge said whether or not Anthony should face the death penalty is a decision for the jury to make. • Banita Jacks, who was found in her Washington, D.C. home last year with her four daughters' decomposing bodies, was sentenced to 120 years in prison today for murdering the girls. The judge rejected the defense's suggestion that the four 30 year sentences be served concurrently, and their claim that she's wasn't competent when she rejected their advice to plead insanity. • Two British boys have been charged with the rape of an 8-year-old girl. At 10 years old, they are the youngest children to be charged with rape in the history of England. The assault occurred at a park, where the three children had gone to play on the jungle gym. The boys have been released on bail, and will return to court on January 2nd. • Members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voted today to subpoena data from 19 colleges to investigate whether some schools favor men in their admission process. The probe is based on news reports and anecdotal evidence that colleges discriminate against women to maintain an even gender balance. A mix of schools near D.C. were chosen as a sample of U.S. colleges, not because they're specifically suspected of discrimination. •  A new book, The Death of American Virtue, reveals that Monika Lewinsky believes Bill Clinton lied to a federal jury about their affair. The author quotes a letter from Lewinsky, which reads: "There was no leeway on the veracity of his statements because they asked him detailed and specific questions to which he answered untruthfully." •  According to a new study from Canada, 10 to 15% of women have maladaptive eating behaviors. However, out of the 1,500 women interviewed, not one had anorexia, and the most common disordered behavior was binge eating. 2.5% also admitted to using laxatives, diuretics or vomiting to purge. • The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected a motion from Marion Jones' relay teammates at the 2000 Olympics to overturn the International Olympic Committee's decision to strip them of their gold medals after Jones admitted to doping. The ruling was a setback, but the court will hold a full hearing on the case next year. •  Billie Piper, the actress who played Belle in the TV series The Secret Diary of a Call Girl and Dr. Brooke Magnanti, the woman behind the Belle du Jour blog and book, will meet in person on a television documentary, Billie and the Call Girl Bare All. It will be "the last world on what it was like to be Belle - how my sexuality was formed, how I came to the work and what it's like to be portrayed on TV," said Dr. Magnanti. •

Of Piper, Greenblatt says, "The great thing about Billie is she's open to that. And yet it's also tasteful. We're not that explicit with her." While one could easily make the argument that because Call Girl is about a hooker, the show is inherently objectifying, it would be fairly absurd to have a show revolve around sex and yet not show any naked bodies (though somehow, Carrie Bradshaw managed to wear a bra in the sack for six years; big up to Cynthia Nixon and Kim Cattrall for actually showing their naked bodies without shame as the plot entailed).

I don't think actresses should have to choose between going nude and advancing their careers, but there is something ultimately refreshing about a powerful, talented actress (see Mirren, Helen; Jason Leigh, Jennifer) who doesn't mind going bare for a role because it's the right choice for the character. And judgey Witherspoon can stick that in her Oscar and smoke it.

Billie Piper's 'Secret' Is Out [LA Times]
Reese Witherspoon Won't Go Nude To Sell Movies [Us]