An American Idol contestant from the current season of the popular show that climbed the ranks to finish in third place is the topic of discussion all over the web after he was eliminated from the show, leaving only two contestants remaining. Lee Dewyze and Crystal Bowersox will battle it out for the chance to claim the winning spot on season 9 of American Idol. His departure has left some people searching more deeply about his background, which as a quick search reveals is far from exemplary. Casey James has had prior arrests in both 2001 and 2002 related to drunk driving, for which he served time. He has also been in trouble with the law for driving with a suspended license and in a reckless manner. There is no denying that there is pattern in this former star’s checkered past. Just prior to joining the American Idol cast, James had spent time in jail for a reckless driving charge.

James failed to woo American Idol judges in his last performance, and his departure from the show doesn’t seem to be particularly shocking. The latest issue of Star magazine features a mugshot of Casey James from the time of his last arrest. You can pick up a copy to view it for yourself.

Rumors that Megan Fox won’t be appearing in Transformers 3 were confirmed today when it was announced that the starlet would no longer be part of the series. Paramount studios announced today that Fox won’t be reprising her role as Mikaela Banes alongside Shia Lebouf in the popular series. Reports from Variety and other publications have it that Michael Bay, the producer of the films and Paramount want to take the series in a different direction, one that might not be to Fox’s liking. Fox has had an ongoing feud with Bay, once comparing him to Hitler. Although she claims to have left the project on her own accord, it seems more likely that tension has built between the two to the breaking point. Paramount also seems fond of the idea of introducing a new love interest for Shia Labeouf in the newest film, making Fox a disposable asset.

The latest installment of Transformers is set to hit theaters this summer. Both of the last films scored well over $700 million at the box office, making them one of the most profitable projects that Paramount Studios has pursued. The company was planning to delay the release of the latest installment, but it is now slated to be released earlier this year.

Arizona residents are relieved to see that their education system won’t be seeing any budget cuts for the foreseeable future. Voters approved a proposition that would increase the state’s sales tax to 6.6%, effectively generating nearly $1 billion in tax revenue during the first year. Arizona has been experiencing cash flow problems for some time now, and the passage of this bill will allow the state to maintain the quality of its educational system as well as other public departments, including law enforcement. According to estimates made by advocacy organization Arizona Education Network last month, had voters not approved the proposition 15%-20% of teachers at the primary and secondary levels could have been laid off due to the over $800 million worth of budget cuts that the state would have to make. Universities as well as community colleges in the state also lobbied for the passage of the bill, which would have collectively cost them over $130 million dollars.

Right wing political organizations within Arizona claim that the bill infringes on American rights. Former presidential hopeful John McCain, who is a senator from Arizona, has expressed that he is against the bill. Some organizations also claim that the tax hike will not be enough to shore up the deficit.

Megan Fox is in the news once again, this time after topless photos of her leaked online from the set of her new movie Passion Play. Fox stars alongside Mickey Rourke and Bill Murray in the film, which showcases the story of a trumpet player who saves Fox from the hands of a gangster. These photos are believed to have been taken with a cellphone, although they say seem to be of a fairly decent resolution. It is unclear who managed to snap the pictures on the set of the film.

The actress was apparently unaware that the photos had been snapped until she was asked about them during an interview for the magazine Allure. Fox responded with a outburst, threatening the person behind the cellphone camera with physical harm. She claims that she takes her professional life very seriously, and that she’s not vying for attention from the paparazzi and media. During later parts of the interview, Megan indicated that she wasn’t exactly absorbed into the Hollywood culture. She’s not the typical Hollywood starlet that likes to be complimented on her talents.

Topless photos of Megan Fox have leaked online in the past, most notably during the filming of Jennifer’s Body. It is unclear whether legal action will be pursed against the photographer who took the pictures.

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A quick glance at Adam Wheeler’s credentials would have impressed most anyone at first glance. At 23 years of age, Wheeler had already attended some prestigious institutions including MIT and Phillips Academy, won numerous awards, and collaborated on several books. Harvard found Wheeler’s accomplishments equally impressive and offered him a full ride at the university. Too bad he was nothing more than a sham. Harvard officials discovered the illegitimacy of the student’s background after having reviewed his application for the Rhodes and Fulbright scholarship. It turns out that Wheeler submitted the work of a professor from the school with his application. Following an investigation, the student was turned over to police officials. Wheeler is now facing criminal charges, among them fraud, for conning some prestigious institutions out of nearly $45,000 worth of grant and financial aid money.

The student managed to maneuver his way into Harvard after submitting falsified teacher recommendations from MIT professors, SAT scores, and transcripts. The student attended none of the schools which he listed on the application, but rather had a short stint at Bowdoin College in Delaware before he was dismissed for academic dishonesty. According to the Boston Globe, Wheeler was very careful to ensure that the forged documents he submitted to schools were as close to the real thing as possible. They would have been passable had it not been for an English instructor at Harvard that questioned the student’s essay submission. When confronted about the issue, Wheeler said he was no longer interested in attended Harvard and took off. It was then that the full extent of his trickery was exposed. He is in custody in Cambridge waiting to be arraigned on nearly 20 charges stemming from his scheme.

Yet another Miss USA controversy has materialized after Rima Fakih, Miss Michigan USA was crowned Miss USA 2010 yesterday. Racy pictures of Fakih hit the internet shortly after she was esteemed with the title. The pictures, taken at a stripping class subject to discussion on a radio show depicted Fakih in some very provocative clothing. According to Mojo in the Morning, the talk radio show which hosted the event, the pictures have been publicly available online since 2007. It was not until the beauty was crowned that the radio station posted a congratulations notice and for some reason decided to use the racy picture of Rima Fakih that they had on file.

So far, it seems that the pictures haven’t drastically altered the public opinion on Fakih. Many continue to congratulate her on the victory and realize that the circumstances surrounding the incident fail to indicate any sort of lapse in character. The radio station has said that the strip lessons occurred in a closed strip club that was open only to women during the lessons. So-in-all, while headlines are making this sound like some sort of juicy scandal, it is nothing more than a ploy to attract readers and stir controversy. There is no outrage warranted against Fakih given the circumstances as she was clearly not actively involved in anything morally questionable.

BP officials are working desperately to try and get a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico under control as it continues to seep barrel after barrel of oil into the pacific ocean. The spill started following an explosion on an oil platform and has continued to rage on nearly 30 days later. Despite efforts to contain the spill, nothing has panned out quite as expected. The most recent effort to quell the spill has involved the use of a mile long tube used to redirect the oil to the surface of the water. BP crews managed to attach the end of this tube to one of the pipes leaking oil under the Pacific ocean. They are now working to burn off the natural gas released by the underwater pipe. According to the Wall Street Journal, there are nearly 500 BP crew members actively working at the site of the spill trying to contain it. Some critics continue to charge that the giant hasn’t been doing enough to address the problem. Questions continue to mount as to why measures weren’t taken to have prevented the initial explosion that caused the mess.

Even if the latest technique does work, it is not a permanent solution. Oil will continue to surge out of the pipe until it is properly clogged. BP estimates that this could take at least two months.

A group of nearly 80 Rhode Island teachers and administrators that were swiftly given pink slips in their mailboxes this past February may be rehired as part of union negotiations with the school district. The firings over poor student performance stirred an immense amount of controversy, with some pointing the blame elsewhere. When we reported on this story a few months back, we discussed the possibility that a lack of administrative oversight may have played a huge role in declining student performance at the school.

Under the new agreement that has been OK’d by the Central Falls school board, the teachers who were fired will be allowed to return to their teaching positions for the remainder of the school year. They will also be permitted to retain their teaching positions into the 2010-2011 school year, although afterwards they will need to reapply to retain their respective positions within the school. An interview and assessment process will be conducted to ensure the teachers are still qualified for the job.

The agreement also requires teachers to put in some extra hours for after school tutoring sessions and calls for a long school day. All this in hopes of seeing an uptick in student performance. With a largely Hispanic demographic, over half which are English language learners, the staff has a tough challenge ahead of them.

Juan-Carlos Cruz is being held on $5 million dollars bail in Los Angeles after being apprehended by authorities for alleged solicitation to commit murder. Cruz, a star from Food Network’s “Calorie Commando” is alleged to have attempted to recruit a homeless many to carry out a murder. The man alerted authorities, who managed to nab the TV star at a dog park in Cheviot Hills. Police are continuing to remain tight lipped about the investigation, not letting as much as a detail pertaining to the intended target or the motive leak out. According to the Los Angeles Times, those who knew Cruz are having trouble accepting the possibility that he would have any roll in the alleged murder plot. Neighbors identified Cruz as a kind and well-intentioned man. According to them, he was also immersed in religion.

Cruz’ television show featured him cooking family favorites while trimming off the calories. The show ran for nearly forty episodes before it was pulled by Food Network. Cruz was apparently inspired by his drastic weight loss on the show Discovery Health Body Challenge to create the low calorie foods. He received his formal culinary education from California Culinary Academy, and went to become a celebrity chef. Prior to creating his own show, Cruz ran an online businesses under the domain Pastrydude.com.

There has been an increase in searches for “Temblor en Puerto Rico Hoy,” which is translated to earthquake in Puerto Rico today. According to the United States Geological Service, the nation suffered a 5.7 earthquake epicentered five miles north of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The quake struck at 1:16 am local time. At the time of this writing, there were no immediate reports of injuries. This quake is the most recent in a chain of powerful temblors that have rocked various parts of the world this year. In January, the nation of Haiti experienced a 7.0 earthquake, causing considerable damage and a quarter million deaths. The quake is believed to have displaced nearly 1,000,000 people from their homes. Celebrities and the general public came together to help raise money towards recovery efforts, which were concluded in mid-January.

Earthquakes in Chile and Taiwan later followed these quakes, the former producing fatalities as well. With the large amount of earthquake activity, concerns have been mounting that a big earthquake may strike California or some other area along the pacific coast very soon. Seismologists have confirmed that the area is due for a big earthquake sometime in the near future, although they are unable to give any precise time frame. What we do know is that the San Andreas fault line is continuing to build stress, stress which it cannot tolerate forever.