Today in Sacramento, the California Air Resources Board is planning to once again relax rules requiring automakers to produce more nonpolluting cars. Instead of demanding more zero-emission vehicles, the relaxed rules would call for more hybrids and higher fuel-efficiency standards, which would satisfy air-quality goals and save automakers $1.3 billion. The program originally called for ten percent of autos on California roads be emission-free by 2003. Tesla Motors is, of course, against the rules revision — but even former Secretary of State and San Francisco éminence grise George P. Shultz is in the awkward position of lobbying Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to intervene in favor of more stringent government regulation (PDF). What is the world coming to? Oh, right. (Photo by John M. Heller)

After Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California, Maria Shriver was in an awkward spot. Not only was she married to Arnold Schwarzenegger, but being the first lady of California was sort of a conflict of interest with her Dateline gig. So she left the show, with an option to return. Because of that option, NBC has only paid her a "fraction" of her salary during the past few years, instead of the full amount they'd have owed her had they fired her. And after Anna Nicole Smith died, Shriver decided that she wouldn't go back to broadcast journalism because, well, it's a little gauche. The gruesome coverage of Anna Nicole Smith ended up saving NBC millions of dollars. Is there anything this woman can't posthumously do?

In the greatest act of child bribery by a sitting governor since Bill Clinton withheld his 44th birthday cake from a young, broccoli-boycotting Chelsea, Arnold Schwarzenegger recently recalled his vintage M47 Army tank from its Ohio museum exile as an enticement to California's at-risk youths to just behave already, for Christ's sake.

When Anderson Cooper is not working out like a madman, or asking whether steroids will shrivel his "friend's" testicles, he loves to tell everyone this story about how Arnold Schwarzenegger once admired the CNN diva's biceps. He loves this story so much he gets all giggly whenever anyone brings it up, but here's the thing: other people at CNN tried to confirm the story after Cooper told it on Conan O'Brien's show and they couldn't make heads or tails of it. Which begs the question, what other sorts of imaginary conversations is Cooper having with Arnold? Do they involve spotting? Bench presses? The phrase "girly man?" Perhaps it doesn't really matter, as long as the chats continue to make the Coop as adorably proud and bashful as this one:

• Britney Spears asked California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, through like 10 intermediaries, why he couldn't free her from the mental hospital like he did with Sarah Connor in the second "Terminator" movie, all because Maria Shriver was accidentally nice to her in the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel and now Britney thinks they're all friends. [Gatecrasher]

Can it possibly be that Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger is already tired of the emotional demands of enveloping the panicked citizenry of Malibu in his strong arms each time a wildfire cuts a new swath through some eight-figure weekend homes, and might be planning a return to the Hollywood superstardom he's briefly forsaken to dabble in public service? THR's Ray Richmond blogs that some picket-line chatter amongst the writers of Schwarzenegger's signature blowing-shit-up fare indicates that he may have his eye on a possible comeback:

As the writers strike creeps into double digits (we wish we had a photo of the WGA Ring Girl defiantly holding up a DAY 10 sign, but we suppose one of Kathy Griffin with a dick joke will do for now), here's today's morning round-up of news:

"That is not a drug. It's a leaf. My real drug was pumping iron, trust me." — California Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger to GQ magazine, regarding a scene in a 1977 documentary in which Arnie puffs on a lit joint of BSD-sysadmin-grade bud.

We've long been skeptical about our Governor's ability to inspire his fellow Californians during a time in crisis, but following his Malibu address of earlier today, we're utterly confident that he's ready to rise to the challenge placed before him.

Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed — okay, okay, "terminated" — a proposed California state law, AB 779, which would imposed stronger consumer data protection on California businesses. Why? Because the law was overly broad and confusing. Too bad. A host of businesses would actually benefit from strict privacy laws. Why? Because actually extracting a business advantage from consumer data is extremely tough. Laws that hamstring their savvier competition would actually benefit the vast number of companies who have no clue how to violate their customers' privacy for fun and profit.

· "So tell me slowly, Heather Graham, about how much touching is involved in giving you a Tantric orgasm?"
· Universal Stage One Salon is getting the boot.
· TSG presents When the Terminator Met Uncle Miltie.
· $47,000 gets a kid an extra gig on the new Will Ferrell movie.

Since the great "Hot Coffee" scandal of 2005 — when a sex minigame was discovered in the code of "Grand Theft Auto III: San Andreas" — legislators have redoubled efforts to save the children from violent videogames. Everyone from Hillary Clinton to California state senator Leland Yee has attempted to regulate the sale of violent games to minors. Most efforts have died horrible deaths thanks to this little thing we like to call the First Amendment. Just last month California's 2005 videogame law (which would require violent game packages to be marked "adult only" and be plastered with a giant "18," and it would fine retailers who sell games to minors up to $1,000) was ruled unconstitutional in federal district court. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will have none of that. On Wednesday he appealed the decision, stating, "We have a responsibility to our kids and our communities to protect against the effects of games that depict ultraviolent actions." Of course, for every study that "proves" violent videogames cause violent behavior, there's a study debunking it. Never mind that the Governator is hardly the best antiviolence role model for kids.

PrivacyWatch celebrity sightings are submitted by our readers, and are posted several times a week, so send them in often. Submit yours to tips[AT]defamer.com (please put "sighting" or "PrivacyWatch" in the subject line so we don't lose them) and tell everyone about the time you spotted The Office's Toby exactly the way he should always be seen—nearly naked and sopping wet.

PrivacyWatch celebrity sightings are submitted by our readers, and are posted several times a week, so send them in often. Submit yours to tips[AT]defamer.com (please put "sighting" or "PrivacyWatch" in the subject line) and tell everyone about the time you spotted Napoleon Dynamite doing comparative breast pump shopping.

PrivacyWatch celebrity sightings are submitted by our readers, and are posted several times a week, so send them in often. Submit yours to tips[AT]defamer.com (please put "sighting" or "PrivacyWatch" in the subject line) and let everyone know about Gwyneth Paltrow's passive aggressive way of saying that you and your kid are taking too much time at the candy counter.

· The 12th annual Critics' Choice Awards Friday night gave The Departed best picture and best director, while Dreamgirls and Little Miss Sunshine take four awards apiece, and Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker take lead acting awards in the races for which they were considered the favorites. Scorsese's Oscar hopes are raised as never before, but the threat of a Lucciesque disappointment lingers. [The Envelope]
· The AFI Awards keeps the proceedings painless, with few speeches, lots of clips, and everyone out the door by 2 p.m. [Variety]
· The Scripter award—going to the pairing of a screenwriter and the author of the book upon which its based—goes to The Children of Men author P.D. James, and the movie's screenwriting team. [THR]
· The Golden Globes air tonight (with a three-hour delay for us—thanks, NBC!), and you know what that means: Yes, a song that's gotten an obnoxious amount of radio play this year will be rerecorded by session singers, with lyrics rewritten to incorporate many nominees! ("I remember when, I remember, I remember when I saw Dreamgirls! Do Globes make us crazy? Globes make us crazy!") [HFPA.org]
· Bonus Golden Globes Governator surprise: Arnold Schwarzenegger will announce the Best Motion Picture Drama. [NBC4.tv]

The LAT examines the circumstances surrounding Arnold Schwarzenegger's recent skiing accident in Idaho and subsequent leg surgery (see accompanying cyborg specs). It's a trip no one seemed to know about, like most of his frequent journeys out of state—1 of every 5.6 days in office, they report—terminating in an accident about which the Governor's people are being extremely reticent. It seems our operative in Idaho was on to something, however, as their investigation indicates Schwarzenegger was careening down the hill at reckless speeds of around 0 mph when the femur snapping occurred:

Good news, concerned voters and fans of Jingle All The Way alike! It looks as if Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will recover fully from his recent leg-shattering skiing accident, as his surgery was a resounding success. But while ABCNews.com postulates that his broken femur was "likely a result of high speeds rather than weak bones," a Defamer operative nearer to the carnage tells us the word on the Sun Valley street is that Arnold wasn't exactly engaged in a wintry version of alpine Predator when the mishap occurred:

There won't be any jubilant Hora dancing with Jewish community leaders for the Governor any time soon, as an increasingly accident prone Arnold Schwarzenegger has managed to do some serious damage to his leg after a skiing accident this weekend in Idaho:

On Thursday night, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger met with Jewish community leaders from all over California to celebrate Hanukkah at the State Capitol, and while photographs from the event seem to show Schwarzenegger generally enjoying himself, things got momentarily tense when he approached the Hollywood contingent and tried to do a little lobbying for a close, yet misunderstood, pal who recently may have said some terrible things he really didn't mean. Unfortunately, even after joining some of his guests in a dance to show good faith, the Governor was politely but firmly told the best they could do for his buddy's "bloody little movie" was an Oscar nomination in a technical category or two, and then only if the friend finally started showing up to some of those healing meetings he promised back in the summer.