Today, competitive eaters and heartburn enthusiasts competed in Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog-Eating Contest, a tradition that has been going strong since 1916.

The first trailer for Tom Cruise's next action flick Jack Reacher is about what you'd expect: lots of running and shooting and driving. But it comes in the middle of Cruise's very public divorce from Katie Holmes — and the allegations that Scientology has played a significant role.

Every lifeguard wants to be a hero, but you can't just go around saving people willy-nilly. Tomas Lopez learned that the hard way when he got fired for trying to save someone outside of his jurisdiction.

It's Independence Day, and it's time to start barbecuing. But you're a miserable failure, and you've already gotten wasted. How will you grill? Don't worry. Chill out. We've got you covered.

Whether or not you think we need a Spider-Man reboot, a significant chunk of people obviously do. The Amazing Spider-Man, which retells the superhero's origin story, broke Tuesday records with a $35 million opening.

When Odd Future's Frank Ocean came out last night, people praised his method — Ocean wrote about a man he'd been in love with on his Tumblr — and his choice to be honest about his sexuality.

Aimee Copeland, the Georgia Master's student who found herself plagued by necrotizing fasciitis following a zip line accident, is heading home from the hospital soon. This is great news, especially for a person whose recovery was called "mind-boggling."

Independence Day is upon us, which means it's time to watch politicians stumble through the USA PHOTO OP. Mitt Romney will sing unknown verses of "America the Beautiful" with an Ashcroftian solemnity, while Barack Obama—as befits the office—will force two turkeys to have sex so they can sire the ceremonial turkey he will pardon on Thanksgiving. Unless that turkey is Alaskan, in which case it will be shredded for Patriotacos.

Those of you who worried you'd have to wait for your lives to be over before a Dawson's Creek reunion happened have Tom Cruise to blame.

Odd Future member and rising R&B star Frank Ocean announced tonight via his tumblr that he's bisexual or gay. The post, which was originally supposed to be in the liner notes for Channel Orange, his upcoming album, describes the first time he fell in love with a man, and how he's dealt with it in the years since. It's worth reading in full - it's linked below - but here are some highlights:

On Tuesday, the FDA approved OraQuick, the first ever fully-private, over-the-counter HIV test. The test, which relies on a mouth swab and delivers results in 20-40 minutes, should be available in some 30,000 stores by October, according to an executive at OraSure, the company that manufactures OraQuick.

Flora Burkhart was driving home, presumably from the grocery store, when she rear-ended Derek Parker, who was just minding his own business in a turn lane in the middle of otherwise quiet, peaceful and picture-esque Van Buren, Arkansas. Parker gave chase and police eventually found their way to Burkhart's home, where total chaos ensued. There were shootouts and helicopters and hostages and...actually, there was none of that. What happened was Burkhart calmly informed the officers that, "I left because I didn't want my ice cream to melt," which, as excuses go, is pretty good. The officers cited her for leaving the scene of an accident and for following too closely, and then everyone went home and ate ice cream and lived happily ever after.

For conservatives from Washington state, one anti-gay marriage initiative on the ballot wasn't quite good enough, so they pushed for two. Thankfully, one of the initiatives failed.

Last we heard from Clayton Osbon, the disturbed JetBlue pilot who attempted to take down his own plane while yelling probably reasonable things about al-Qaeda and Jesus, his wife was somewhat defending him, saying his actions were not "intentionally violent." Now, in not-so-surprising news, a judge has ruled the 49-year old legally insane and therefore not guilty of of interfering with a flight crew, charges which could have lead to 20 years in jail.

Former Commerce Secretary John Bryson's blood tested positive for Ambien after Bryson was involved in two separate hit and run incidents (including one in which he crashed into the same car twice) in Los Angeles in early June. Prosecutors declined to press charges, stating that the amount of Ambien was consistent with the "low end of therapeutic levels," which makes it impossible for criminologists to prove that Bryson was under the influence.

Gay couples in France will legally be able to marry as well as adopt children beginning in 2013, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Tuesday in a speech before Parliament.

If you are a best friend or close friend or casual acquaintance of or do not really know Kanye West, chances are you are reading these words under the watchful gaze of a $34,000 gold skull statue recently given to you by Kanye West.

All Rep. Becky Carney (D-Mecklenburg) had to do was press the red button and North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue's veto of a bill legalizing fracking in the state would have remained in place.

People have been making a fuss about the domestic use of drones recently. Now the drone industry has come up with a 'code of conduct' to ensure the public's safety and privacy. [Evil robot laugh drifts through the air.] Huh? What was that?

British makeup artist and YouTube personality Lauren Luke shocked her 440,000 subscribers when she appeared battered and bruised in her latest online tutorial.