Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, the original "Sam's Club Republican" who now does whatever the Tea Party wants, will announce the formation of a presidential exploratory committee on Facebook today. Expect more dorky action movies in the coming months.

One of Hollywood's perennial second fiddles has been moved up to first chair, and it'll be interesting to see if he can stay there. Elsewhere in movies, Johnny Depp soldiers on and Matthew McConaughey gets serious.

Well, there you have it: Donald Trump says he "screwed" Muammar Qaddafi, in the sack. This is, so far, his greatest qualification in his fake run for the Republican presidential nomination. Oh wait, he just meant he "screwed" Qaddafi in real estate, not via actual sex.

This memo from editor Bill Keller just went out to the New York Times newsroom, celebrating the official release of the four NYT employees who'd been detained in Libya since last week. His comments on the resources the paper calls on to help rescue its staffers are interesting and worth noting.

Tiger Woods' gentle path is in danger. Courteney Cox and David Arquette reunite. Renee Zellweger dumped Bradley because he wouldn't propose. Britney Spears gets a tutor. Monday gossip backslides.

Earlier this month, former Senator Chris Dodd became the new CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, making him, in essence, Hollywood's chief lobbyist. This was notable, since Dodd—a onetime favorite of populists—had repeatedly promised not to become a lobbyist when he left the Senate. Glenn Greenwald reflected on the depressing statement that Dodd's hypocrisy made about the entire American political system:

This is Cpl. Jeremy Morlock, posing next to an Afghan civilian he killed in cold blood in January 2010. Morlock is one of five soldiers accused of forming a drug-addled "kill team" to murder Afghan civilians for kicks.

This leading lady helped get rid of one of her husbands. Now she has the nickname "Black Widow." This actor has a list of requirements for his next famous beard. One of them is that she doesn't kill him.

A man in San Antonio brandished weapons at a Taco Bell, exchanged gunfire with police and spent three hours negotiating with a SWAT team from inside his hotel room. Because Taco Bell raised the price of the Beefy Crunch Burrito.

Newsweek gave the U.S. Citizenship Test to 1,000 Americans, for some reason (boredom?), and 38 percent failed. Twenty-nine percent couldn't even name the vice president! (Is it Jeff something? Or Josh?) How should we react?

AT&T just announced a deal to buyT-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom in a cash and stock deal worth $39 billion.

Yesterday, forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi came under a blistering attack by U.S. and European naval and air forces. Meanwhile, anti-government protests continued today in Syria as U.S.-backed despots violently suppressed those who threaten the status quo. Here's a look at what's happening across the Middle East.

Day three of the music portion of SXSW continued in sun-drenched fashion. While many of the fest's most hyped musicians meandered about the streets, much of the action and popular day parties centered around Red River street, from Spin's event at Stubb's to Club De Ville, Beerland and more. [Previously: Day 1, Day 2]

Tireless independent Libyan journalist Mohammad "Mo" Nabbous was killed today in Benghazi as Muammar Qaddafi's forces assaulted the city. In the audio recording above — Mo's last, from his Livestream channel Libya al-Hurra — you can hear him in the middle of an intense battle when the sound suddenly cuts off.

Artists Oli Beale and Alex Holder have a great, subtle way to piss your friends off. From a post on their site, James' Face: "I like going onto my friend's Facebook page, taking photos of him, changing them slightly, then putting them back up on Facebook. He doesn't like me doing this."

J.Lo's beauty regimen solves unemployment. Renee Zellweger and Bradley Cooper break up. Elin Nordegren moves back to America. Tom Cruise gives Katie Holmes a sewing machine, so she can make aprons. Saturday gossip is high maintenance.

If you live in the Northeast, we say enjoy the nice weather today and then, when it gets a bit chillier on Saturday and Sunday, go see one of these movies opening this weekend. You can pick from Matthew McConaughey in a Lincoln, and alien named Paul in an RV, or a non-alien named Paul Giamatti in some kinda crappy car, probably.

Eric Schmidt has already expressed interest in a book deal and a TV show. But is politics where he's actually headed after his stint at Google is up in April? Rumor has it Obama is "close to naming" Google CEO Eric Schmidt as Secretary of Commerce. This would be an OK idea as long as Schmidt never opens his mouth or offers his weird opinion on anything. Maybe he'll know how to help Obama boost productivity by spying on idle workers in Google Street View.

Toronto tattoo artist Andrew Ottenhof got a tattoo of Charlie Sheen wearing a tiger head. It also has the Twitter bird and a couple of hash tags. One of these days, Andrew is going to wish he could chop this off with a machete. Oh, and next time someone asks if there's anyone stupider and crazier than Charlie Sheen, point them toward Canada.

HIV testing! Fish eyes! Menthol guidelines! Dukan diet! Smoke cancer! Radiation risks! Fat marathon! Fecal stories! And wanton overconsumption of the devil salt! It's your Friday Health Watch, where we watch your health—leaving you no choice in the matter!