Geez, the federal government sure has made the last year so tough for struggling oil companies to get new offshore drilling leases. And if there's one sector that needs a helping hand these days, well, it's oil. But thanks to House Republicans those dark days will soon be over! Yesterday a bill was passed — creatively titled the Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act — by a vote of 266-to-149 to bring back offshore drilling auctions, which had been shelved in order to make sure safety and environmental concerns were addressed — a long, drawn out mess that was probably pretty annoying for oil companies.

From time to time on Late Night, Jimmy Fallon graces us with 'Jersey Floor,' his 30 Rock-set Jersey Shore parody. And while any installment is worth watching, tonight's offering—featuring cameos by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as skanky stalkers who tussle with Rachel Dratch's Snooki—was pretty much perfect.

Amal al-Sadah, 29-year-old wife of Osama bin Laden, told Pakistani investigators she spent five years in a single room in the Abbottabad compound. Her husband split that time between two rooms. This just gets weirder and weirder. [NYDN]

Ever since Mel Gibson's abusive meltdown coincided with his filming of the Jodie Foster-directed The Beaver, his friend of 15 years has been defending the hot-headed star. On tonight's Late Show, however, Foster's narrative seemed to change from "God, I love that man," to a more canned, publicist-friendly, "He's wonderful in the movie, he's extraordinary in the film" one. What gives?

Chorus boy-hobbling megamusical/bottomless comedy font Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark is back from a months-long hiatus, and great news: It's fully retooled!

Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski was on CNBC today promoting her book, and took the opportunity to reveal that at one point, she was making one-fourteenth of what co-host and show namesake Joe Scarborough was making. [Jezebel]

On tonight's Report, Stephen Colbert had one major complaint: The media won't talk about anything other than Osama bin Laden! After lamenting the fact that "the TV people won't let [him]" focus on anything else, Colbert gathered his thoughts long enough to bring us up to speed on a few of the stories currently trending online—including the nude pictures of Kate Middleton's brother—before making a few confessions of his own.

Yellow Pages. I cannot throw those things in the recycle bin fast enough. And yet they keep coming! When was the last time you actually used one, and what did you use it for? As makeshift booster seats for your child's third birthday party? Under-sweater bulletproofing for driving through rough neighborhoods? All-purpose instruments of blunt force trauma? Hey, Yellow Pages: 1983 called. They would have called sooner, but they had to use a Yellow Pages to find your number! You get the point. I hate Yellow Pages. But I love Seattle, for being the first city in the country to actually take active measures to get rid of them.

On the night Republican presidential contenders duked it out in South Carolina, Jon Stewart opened The Daily Show with a segment about Sarah Palin and Donald Trump, two potential GOP candidates who didn't take part in the debate. So what are "the Tom Arnold and Roseanne Barr of the Republican field" up to? Stewart explains.

Cute and cantankerous Broadway writer/director Arthur Laurents has died at 93. A demigod among showtune fans, he's best known for the books to West Side Story and Gypsy, and directing several of their revivals. RIP Arthur. Heaven's Gypsy awaits. [Deadline]

The season finale of 30 Rock aired this evening. The best part about it? An unexpected—and inexplicably perfect—cameo by the Barefoot Contessa herself, Ina Garten, who found herself at the center of a scandal recently (but has since made up for it). Now, would anybody like some bruschetta?

When Jennifer Lopez signed on to judge this season of American Idol, many wondered why a star of her caliber would sit on the panel of a talent competition. Her performance of "On the Floor" on tonight's live results show answers that question.

An ongoing fight between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has taken a turn for the weird, as several of the president's closest advisers have been arrested and charged with being "magicians" and invoking djinns, or spirits.

Five Republicans — Herman Cain, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Gary Johnson, and Ron Paul — are debating political stuff in South Carolina at tonight's First Republican Presidential Debate. Where are the "good candidates," you ask? They're busy, doing anything else. But that's no matter; The Pizza Man and Anal Leakage don't need Mitt Romney's help to put on a show. Let's record all the slaps in this Palmetto Punchout, right here. Turn on the Fox News Channel, now!

Today we heard the troubling news that, like so many other American cities, Washington D.C. has been invaded by a "young, hip vibe." Oh no! Can this be true? Yes, says one commenter.

The Wall Street Journal is trying to make a play for whistleblowers with its very own Wikileaks clone, SafeHouse. But SafeHouse is the opposite of safe, thanks to basic security flaws and fine print that lets the Journal rat on leakers.

After ditching his jockey, jump-racing horse Banna Strand proved to be a little too good at leaping over tall barriers when he leaped over an 8-foot fence and landed in a crowd of spectators at the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival in Victoria, Australia.

Our slutty sister site Fleshbot published some shirtless (and pantless!) photos of Kate Middleton's sexy younger brother, James, earlier this week. Then they got some emails from a lawyer demanding Fleshbot take the images down. But it wasn't a real lawyer, it turns out. It seems it was James pretending to be a lawyer.

A great male hope from the late '90s/early '00s just landed a pivotal role in a sure-to-be-big movie. Also today: your real estate dreams could come true, Simon Cowell has a new coworker, and let's look at the boys of the new X-Men.

The Royal Wedding is over, but the weird commemorative crap keeps coming! Since there's a chance you might forget the epic televised event so relentlessly covered by the media, you'd better get yourself a souvenir. Luckily, you have options. [Jezebel]