New "Bachelorette" Begins Monday Night
 ABC/Craig Sjodin(LOS ANGELES) -- The ninth season of ABC's The Bachelorette begins Monday night, with Desiree Hartsock beginning her search for long-lasting love.Hartsock, a 27-year-old bridal stylist from Colorado, was rejected by Sean Lowe on the most recent season of The Bachelor.
Fortunately for her, there are 25 men who are waiting to woo her. They include a former pro soccer player, a federal prosecutor, and a drilling fluid engineer.The Bachelorette returns at 8 p.m. Eastern time.Here's a rundown of the men whom Desiree will meet:
Ben, 28, an entrepreneur from Dallas, TX
Brad, 27, an accountant from Denver, CO
Brandon, 26, a painting contractor from Costa Mesa, CA
Brian, 29, a financial advisor from Baltimore, MD
Brooks, 28, a marketing consultant from Salt Lake City, UT
Bryden, 26, an Iraq War veteran from Missoula, MT
Chris, 27, a mortgage broker from Seattle, WA
Dan, 30, a beverage sales director from Las Vegas, NV
Diogo, 29, a ski resort manager from Lake Tahoe, CA
Drew, 27, a digital marketing analyst from Scottsdale, AZ
James, 27, an advertising executive from Chicago, IL
Jonathan, 26, a lawyer from Hickory, NC
Juan Pablo, 31, a former pro soccer player from Miami, FL
Kasey, 29, an advertising executive from San Luis Obispo, CA
Larry, 34, an ER doctor from Berkeley, CA
Micah, 32, a law student from Denver, CO
Michael G., 33, a federal prosecutor from Miami Beach, FL
Mike R., 28, a dental student from Dallas, TX
Mikey T., 30, a plumbing contractor from Winfield, IL
Nick M., 27, an investment advisor from Charlotte, NC
Nick R, 26, a tailor and magician from Chicago, IL
Robert, 30, an advertising entrepreneur from Los Angeles, CA
Will, 28, a banker from Chicago, IL
Zack K., 28, a book publisher from Newport Beach, CA
Zak W., 31, a drilling fluid engineer from Mico, TX
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
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Randy Jackson: Why He's Leaving "American Idol"
 Warwick Saint / FOX(TAMPA, Fla.) -- After 12 seasons of countless auditions, performances and lots of drama involving the judges themselves, American Idol judge Randy Jackson is leaving the show, saying his long stint had run its course.
When the longest-tenured judge announced his departure from America’s stage earlier this month, rumors rapidly ran wild. But Jackson confirms to ABC News’ Bianna Golodryga that he was not forced out, nor was he kicked off the show.
Golodryga caught up with Jackson at the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., where he’s meeting the troops and donating guitars from his home shopping network guitar collection.
“You know, a bit of what I’ve done on Idol for 12 seasons is that same sort of thing. I love inspiring people,” said Jackson.
His response begged the question of why, then, Jackson would give up being on the show now.“I don’t think it’s a ‘Why give it up now?” Jackson said. “I just think that I’ve been through a lot of iterations of the show.”
“If you think back 12 seasons ago when it was you, Paula, Simon, did you ever think that that sort of bond and chemistry was possible on television?” Golodryga asked.
Jackson’s answer was simple: “We got so lucky. Anybody that says that they knew that this show was going to be a hit, knew that we were going to gel together is lying. None of us really knew. We hit the jackpot.”
He added, “It was definitely a little hard to take” when the original judging group disbanded, “Because we rode to the dance together. And we made the dance what the dance was.”
He also avoiding the question of whether Abdul and Simon were ever anything more than friends.
“Paula and Simon, you must be getting ready for the book I’m planning to write,” Jackson joked. “Listen, I think Paula and Simon, it was never anything there. But you know, we often had fun. It was almost, like, I call Idol a romper room for adults.”
It was that early romper that helped make the show the most-watched program on television week after week. But in recent seasons, the Idol ratings have dropped by double digits.
Over the 12-year span, Jackson has shared the panel with a total of nine different judges.
“I really have always felt that people made too much of the judges and not enough of the talent,” said Jackson.
And as for what’s next for “The Dog,” he said, “I may be on some other shows. You never know.”
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
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Mariah Carey Jokes Through NYC Wardrobe Snafu on "GMA"
 Steve Mack/FilmMagic(NEW YORK) -- Mariah Carey had a wardrobe snafu this morning during the Good Morning America concert series when the back of her pink sequined Donatella Versace dress popped open.
"I love you Donatella, but it popped darling," Carey said, laughing on stage after she finished singing her hit, "Always Be My Baby," her first performance of the morning.
"Should we call this the Central Park saga?" the global superstar and best-selling female artist of all time joked with GMA anchor Lara Spencer on the stage in Central Park.
"What we'll do is go to break, adjust, and when we come back we'll talk to Mariah Carey about how gorgeous she looks," Spencer replied.
After the commercial break, Carey emerged on stage in a brand new, stunning, long hot pink gown, a little more loosely-fit to ward off any future zipper problems.
Looking beautiful in the backup dress, Spencer asked Carey, "What's your secret?"
"I've been trying to do the best I can to stay in shape," said Carey. "But I need to catch my breath."
"This is a crazy time to be coming out here singing at the crack of dawn," Josh Elliot chimed in, thanking the Grammy-winner for putting on a fabulous show in Central Park.
Carey went on to complete the GMA concert series with the first-ever live performance of her new single, "#Beautiful," featuring Miguel.
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Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
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VH1's "Hit the Floor" Goes Inside the Scandalous World of Professional Basketbal
 Piotr Sikora/VH1(NEW YORK) -- Hit the Floor is VH1's new sexy and scandalous drama centered on the Los Angeles Devil Girls, a fictional professional basketball dance team, and what goes on inside the big arena.
And a lot goes on as the team captain deals with a new crop of girls coming to steal the spotlight, while veteran dancers deal with the consequences of fraternizing with the players, a big no no for dancers that seems all too common with the Devils.
Dean Cain stars as Coach Pete Davenport, a former All-Star who comes back to coach the team.
Cain says the show portrays some things that really happen in the world of professional sports.
"Obviously we over-dramatize some of things in the show, but a lot of the things that we do, you'd say, 'Oh! That's over-dramatized! And the reality is some of it's under dramatized to what really happens," he tells ABC News Radio. "There's just some crazy stuff [that happens] with that kind of money, that kind of wealth and that kind of fame."
"It's professional basketball where there is a lot of money, a lot of scandal, a lot of gorgeous young people and all the stuff that surrounds that," Cain adds.
Taylour Paige plays Ahsha, a naive young dancer who auditions and joins the team against her mother Sloane's wishes. Paige, who danced with the Los Angeles Laker Girls for three months, says Hit the Floor is a much more salacious version of life than when she danced professionally.
"It's a fictional show and it's obviously a lot more dramatic onscreen than off," the 23-year-old tells ABC News Radio. "A lot of the things that happen in the show, I don't think would be tolerated."
Kimberly Elise plays Paige's mother, a former professional dancer who could write the book on what not to do in that world. The Diary of a Mad Black Woman actress says she's happy to finally show a lighter side of herself onscreen.
"I've done a lot of you know super heavy things," Elise, 46, explains. "I wanted to do something that was different, sort of go back to my roots of doing some funny things, some sexy things and some dramatic things."
Cain says viewers can expect billionaire Mark Cuban, who owns the Dallas Mavericks and stars on ABC's Shark Tank, to make an appearance on the Hit the Floor, along with rapper Akon, model Eva Marcille and Grammy award-nominated singer Kevin McCall.
The season premiere of Hit the Floor airs Monday, May 27 at 9 p.m. Eastern time on VH1.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
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Lego Builds Life-Size "Star Wars" Spaceship
 Lego/Facebook(NEW YORK) -- At nearly 46 thousand pounds, LEGO has landed a record breaking tribute to Star Wars in the middle of New York City.
More than 30 builders from the toy company spent nearly four months building a life-sized version of the X-Wing fighter piloted by Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy. With the exact specs of what the fighter would be in real life, the model is 43 feet long, 11 feet high, and boasts a wingspan of 46 feet, and features glowing engines and thruster sounds from the films.
While LEGO's normal-sized X-Wing toy is 560 pieces, it took more than 5.3 million bricks attached to a steel superstructure to create this super-sized version, which was built in the Lego Model Shop in Kladno, Czech Republic. The ship was transported to the Big Apple, where it was reassembled and officially unveiled Thursday, complete with Star Wars costumers adding to the ambiance.
The model will stay in Times Square for a few days, before it’s packed up again and transported to LEGO Land in California.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
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New Episodes of "Arrested Development" Coming to Netflix This Sunday
 Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The New Yorker(NEW YORK) -- At long last, Arrested Development is back. Seven years after the cult comedy was cancelled by Fox, Netflix will launch a fourth season this Sunday.
The 15 new episodes, which will be made available all at once, will catch up with the dysfunctional Bluth family. All of the original cast members will reprise their roles, including Michael Cera, who plays George-Michael Bluth, the reserved son of Jason Bateman's Michael Bluth who has a crush on his cousin.
The show will pick up in 2013 -- not in 2006, when it was cancelled.
“They're basically living in today, now,” Cera explains. “And we sort of go back and catch up from where they left off. You kind of run through the past six years with all of them, bring everyone up to speed, and then the story kind of begins, goes from there.”
Though the 24-year-old Cera now has a successful movie career, having starred in Juno, Superbad, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and other comedies, he's been open to an Arrested Development reunion since the show was taken off the air.
Cera tells ABC News Radio, "It was easy to say yes for six years and just keep wondering when it was gonna actually come true. You say yes, and then a year goes by and you figure, oh, that wasn't real, and people keep asking about it, and then I didn't believe it was going to happen until we actually were shooting."
Cera likes the fact that Arrested Development fans can watch the new season in only a couple of sittings. He says, "I watch things that way....There's such a blizzard of things to watch now, everyone's kind of just picking and choosing what they see, and the viewing experience has become kind of more individual, I think."
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
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Amanda Bynes Arrested on Marijuana Charge in New York City
 Jason Merritt/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Former child star Amanda Bynes was arrested on Thursday evening in New York City, police confirmed to ABC News.
Bynes, 27, was charged with tampering with physical evidence, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of marijuana, NYPD spokesman Det. Brian Sessa told ABC News.
“There was a 911 call at her apartment building that someone was smoking marijuana in the lobby,” Sessa said, adding that once police arrived, a building official took them upstairs to her apartment and Bynes let them inside.
“There was a heavy smell of marijuana,” Sessa said. “[Then] she took the bong and threw it out the window.”
Bynes is still in police custody, according to Sessa.
Bynes, who has previously been charged with DUI, has displayed erratic behavior recently, tweeting provocative photos of herself and dramatically changing her look. However, just last fall, the actress told People magazine that she was “doing amazing,” and planning to launch a fashion line.
Messages for Bynes’ attorney have not been returned.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio
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