After fears that the newest BP fix would have to be scrapped, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen will announce that the "integrity test" on the ruptured oil well will go forward, the results of which will determine whether the leak can be capped to stop the flow or have the flow contained. Allen announced yesterday that the test would be delayed to give scientists and other experts time to analyze and determine the risks of the new custom cap. The integrity test is expected to measure the pressure inside the well, and will last between six and 48 hours, officials have said. Its outcome could help determine if and when an end will be in sight for the spill.

The White House fired a memo to House Democrats Wednesday defending their campaign actions after complaints that the administration isn't doing enough to keep a Democratic majority following the 2010 elections. The memo highlighted all campaign appearances President Barack Obama has made for congressional Democrats, as well as "40 or so" upcoming scheduled events. The memo comes shortly after Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of her caucus attacked White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who said Sunday on Meet the Press that Democrats could lose the House. House members have also grumbled that the White House has a bias toward the Senate, although a staffer told Politico, "the whole notion that we're not doing enough or that we have a Senate bias is [BS]."

Iranian scientist Shahram Amiri, who American officials said provided nuclear secrets to the U.S. and then had second thoughts, has returned to Iran, the latest development in a strange tale of international espionage and Iran-U.S. relations. Although American officials said Amiri voluntarily gave up Iranian nuclear secrets, Iran has insisted Amiri was kidnapped from Saudi Arabia and imprisoned and tortured in the U.S. Amiri made several conflicting YouTube videos, where he claimed to be held involuntarily or that he was a Ph.D. student who came to the U.S. under his own free will. The radiation specialist was in a program similar to the Witness Protection Program run by the CIA. Three days ago, Amiri went to the Iranian Interests Section of the Pakistani embassy and asked to return to Tehran.

The Food and Drug Administration panel reviewing the diabetes medicine Avandia has voted to allow the drug to stay on the market, despite finding clear evidence that it increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. The committee was divided, with 12 members pushing to withdraw Avandia, 17 voting to keep it on with additional warnings on the label, and only three voting for it to be sold as is. The drug has been the source of much controversy, with opponents saying it's dangerous, even deadly, and proponents saying it's the only medicine that works for some diabetics. "In making this plea to keep Avandia on the market, I believe I am pleading for my life," said one patient, who has been taking Avandia for 10 years. For him and others like him, "a negative decision about Avandia may be a death sentence."

The Afghan government agreed Wednesday to a NATO-backed program that will establish local defense forces to fight the Taliban, a concession by President Hamid Karzai, who had long resisted it. After 12 days of intense discussions between Karzai and newly appointed NATO commander David Petraeus—who helped enable the similar Sunni Awakening in Iraq—Karzai agreed to the program. American officials said they hoped the program would grow to 10,000 members, although Afghan officials hope to keep it small. All local police will be merged into one police force. The new police force comes after a violent week in Afghanistan.

As conservative activists voice opposition to government-mandated free access to birth control, the Obama administration has left contraceptives off its initial list of preventive health services that must be offered co-pay-free to consumers of new health plans under the health-care reform law. Other women’s and sexual health services—including STD testing, prenatal care, genetic screenings for breast cancer, mammograms, interventions to support breast feeding, and cervical cancer screenings—were included in this first round of guidelines, which go into effect Sept. 24. The White House may be approaching the issue of contraception with political caution, but that doesn’t mean birth-control coverage will never be free. Reproductive rights advocates are pushing for birth control to be included in regulations on women’s health that will be released sometime in the next six to 18 months.

Believe it or not, the worst of Mel Gibson’s antics may not have been caught on tape: RadarOnline.com, which so far has been owning the Gibson story, is reporting that Gibson allegedly pulled a handgun on ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva and waved it in her face while shouting, “I will show you how to get out of here fast.” RadarOnline.com learns this from a source close to the LAPD’s investigation into Gibson for domestic abuse. The confrontation with the handgun allegedly happened on January 6, as Grigorieva was trying to escape the house after she says Gibson hit her.

You mess with the Tea Party, you mess with Sarah Palin: The former governor of Alaska is attacking the NAACP after the civil-rights group passed a resolution denouncing “racist elements” within the Tea Party movement. She called the NAACP’s resolution “a regressive and diversionary tactic.” In its resolution, the NAACP cited racist signs at Tea Party rallies and reports that black congressmen were spit on and slurred by protesters when they voted for health-care legislation.

Police said Wednesday that a Coppell, Texas, mayor, Jayne Peters, shot her 19-year-old daughter Corinne in the head before killing herself in an apparent murder-suicide. A Coppell city council member asked police to go to Peters' home after she failed to show up for a city council meeting Tuesday night, where they found a note on the door warning officers of what was inside the house. Additional notes were found inside the house with instructions for things such as caring for the pets, but no clues as to Peters' motive. Daughter Corinne was set to begin at the University of Texas at Austin in the fall. Patriarch Donald Peters died in January 2008, and friends said the women had a rocky relationship after his death.

Lindsay Lohan has reportedly finally found someone—to legally represent her, that is. The fallen starlet hired a new lawyer, Robert Shapiro, according to TMZ, although sources tell the website he will not be appealing her upcoming prison sentence. Shapiro, who was part of O.J. Simpson’s original legal “dream team,” will reportedly be asking Judge Marsha Revel to put Lohan in a rehab facility to reduce—or possibly eliminate—her jail time, according to TMZ. Lohan is set to turn herself in for a 90-day jail sentence next Tuesday. Shapiro, who had a son die of a drug overdose in 2005, reportedly wants Lohan to go to a rehab facility that he is involved in with his charity, The Brent Shapiro Foundation.

Mad Men fans with AT&T cable may want to start making plans to view the show’s season premiere elsewhere, as AMC’s hit drama may be the latest victim of the programming-fee wars. The agreement between AT&T and Rainbow Media Inc. (a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.) for AMC, IFC and WE tv will expire at midnight Wednesday—and AT&T says Rainbow is not budging. If a deal is not reached by that time, the channels will go dark for customers in 22 states, including California and Texas—just prior to Mad Men’s fourth season premiere, which is July 25.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, who in his lifetime has suffered five heart attacks, underwent surgery last week in which doctors implanted a pump to combat congestive heart failure. A Left Ventricular Assist Device was implanted, according to a family spokesperson. The American Heart Association describes the device as "a battery-operated, mechanical pump-type," that "helps maintain the pumping ability of a heart that can't effectively work on its own."

President Obama and Oprah are among the 500 A-list guests invited to Chelsea Clinton’s July 31 wedding to Marc Mezvinsky, a ceremony some are calling the “wedding of the year.” Clinton and Mezvinsky will marry at Astor Court, in the charming town of Rhinebeck, New York. The president will fly to Stewart Airport in Newburgh, New York, then helicopter across the Hudson River to Rhinebeck. Other bold-faced names set to attend include Barbra Streisand, Steven Spielberg, Harold Ickes, Terry McAuliffe, former British Prime Minister John Major, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Ted Turner, and Denise Rich. Whether the Salahis will manage to worm their way in is yet to be seen.

This is as scary as the news out of Arizona: An anonymous group in Utah has leaked the personal info of 1,300 people it says are illegal immigrants. The list was sent to local media and state agencies and included a demand that the persons on it be deported immediately. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the list included 31 social security numbers, the names and dates of birth of 201 children, and the due dates of six pregnant women. Almost every surname is Latino. Utah state agencies are now investigating to see whether one of their employees could have been the source of the leak. The letter, signed by “Concerned Citizens of the United States,” says the group "observes these individuals in our neighborhoods, driving on our streets, working in our stores, attending our schools and entering our public welfare buildings. We then spend the time and effort needed to gather information along with legal Mexican nationals who infiltrate their social networks and help us obtain the necessary information we need to add them to our list.” The former director of Utah’s office of Hispanic affairs says that Latinos “are feeling terrorized. They’re very scared.”

Sarah Palin has blessed her daughter Bristol’s engagement to Levi Johnston in a statement to Good Morning America, but see if you can smell the underhandedness here: "As parents, we obviously want what is best for our children, but Bristol is ultimately in charge of determining what is best for her and her beautiful son. Bristol believes in redemption and forgiveness to a degree most of us struggle to put in practice in our daily lives. We pray that, as a couple, Bristol and Levi's relationship matures into one that will allow Tripp to grow up graced with two loving parents in his life."

This could be one of the fastest work leaves ever: God of Carnage co-writer Yasmina Reza said Wednesday that Roman Polanski will direct the film version of the play, set to be released in 2011. The announcement came only two days after a Swiss judge refused to extradite Polanski to the U.S., where he has been sought for three decades since pleading guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl. God of Carnage won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Play, and Reza said the drama will still be set in New York, but it will not be filmed there because Polanski will not travel to the U.S. Reza said she and Polanski had discussed collaborating when he was under house arrest in Switzerland.

Hopefully they traded more than stock tips: President Obama met with billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett for an hour on Wednesday. People familiar with the meeting tell CNN that the duo discussed the state of the economy and other issues, including energy reform. Buffett endorsed Obama in 2008.

Few and far between are the diet gurus who espouse a low-cal lifestyle that includes Cool Whip, Funyuns, and Cap’n Crunch, but Lisa Lillien has bravely broken ground in this territory. As a reward for her unique stance, she has been rewarded—she has 1 million subscribers to her free daily newsletter, and both of her first two books debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list. “I live in the middle of the supermarket,” she said, where the processed foods are, and where most American women shop and eat. “I live in the real world, and my people don’t need me to tell them they should be eating steamed halibut.” Lillien has a new cookbook out, Hungry Girl Happy Hour, and her publisher, St. Martin’s Press, has agreed to pay her $10 million for her next eight cookbooks. “I feel like I was made to do this,” she said.

Is this Joaquin Phoenix’s big comeback? His documentary I’m Still Here, filmed by Casey Affleck, has found a distributor: Magnolia announced that it will release the film to the general public on September 10. In the movie, Affleck chronicles Phoenix’s rap career and his accompanying meltdown, although whether the events that take place in the film are real or an elaborate joke still remains unknown. Magnolia called the film a "striking portrayal of a tumultuous year in the life of internationally acclaimed actor Joaquin Phoenix ... a portrait of an artist at a crossroads."

Be very afraid: Two strange, bald dog-like creatures have turned up in Northern Texas, and some are saying that they’re the legendary chupacabras, or “goat suckers.” One of the animals was discovered by a farmer who heard it growling inside his barn. He called animal control, which killed the animal. “I’m not sure on that part,” says Animal Control Officer Frank Hackett when asked if it was a chupacabra. “It was ugly, really ugly. I’m not going to tell no lie on that one.” According to legend, the animals attack and drink the blood of livestock.

Did you miss him? Karl Rove is back in the fold, as the House Republican Conference met with him behind closed doors on Wednesday morning. Sources in the room tell Politico that Rove advised the House GOP to publicly dampen expectations about November, since Republicans aren’t much more popular with the public than Democrats. The DNC will certainly appreciate the opportunity to argue that returning the Republicans to power will be a return to the age of Bush.

Guess this means they’ll be showing music videos on MTV again: The network is bringing back Beavis and Butthead after a 13-year hiatus. Series creator Mike Judge, who went on to write and direct films like Office Space, will return to direct the new episodes of the show about the two immature couch potatoes who work at a fast-food restaurant and make fun of the music videos they watch on TV. Apparently, they have not aged since 1997: They’ll still be in high school, though the music videos they watch will be updated. The show’s humor was always controversial in the '90s, but figures to inspire less outrage in a post-South Park world.

After weeks of silence, the State Department is talking about the WikiLeaks case. Pfc. Bradley Manning is charged with two counts of illegally transferring and transmitting classified information when he allegedly downloaded a video of an Apache helicopter attack that killed two reporters in Iraq and gave it to WikiLeaks. The government also says Manning obtained 150,000 secret diplomatic cables while he was deployed in Iraq. The State Department told BBC News that post-9/11, the department made its information available on the Defense Department’s Secret Internet Protocol System network, which is where Manning allegedly got the info, to promote information sharing that would strengthen national security. Manning is "suspected of violating the trust and confidence given to him," an official said.

Thanks to an imminent agreement between NBC Universal and Turner Broadcasting, Piers Morgan has a clear path to taking over Larry King’s time slot on CNN. NBC has made it clear it’s willing to share Morgan with CNN, allowing the star to directly negotiate for his likely next gig. He could sign the dotted line in just a few days. Morgan, the mean judge on America’s Got Talent is pretty huge in Britain, but the new job would instantly propel him among the ranks of the best-known interviewers in the U.S., like Oprah and Katie Couric. With the anticipated deal, CNN is signaling it thinks there’s still an audience for the long-form interview format, though in going with a reality-show star, it hopes to draw younger viewers.

Hollywood has a new A-couple: Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem married earlier this month in a ceremony before family members in the Bahamas. The pair has been dating since 2007, and has mostly kept out of the public eye. Cruz, 36, wore a gown designed by John Galliano.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, filed for divorce from his wife of 16 years, Mary Richardson Kennedy, The Journal News reports. The divorce papers were filed May 12, and is one in a series of rocky incidents for the Kennedys. On May 10th, Mary Kennedy called police alleging her husband was “verbally abusive to herself and children,” but officers on the scene reported she was “visibly intoxicated” and had “great difficulty collecting her thoughts and her reason for calling.” On May 13th, police were called to their residence after an alleged domestic incident where Mary Kennedy was reportedly intoxicated, and finally, on May 15th, Mary Kennedy was arrested for drunk driving. The couple has four children, and this will be the second divorce for Kennedy. He has refused to comment on his personal life.

In a landmark ruling, a federal appeals court in New York struck down the Federal Communications Commission’s strict rules governing indecency as a violation of the First Amendment. Broadcast TV networks sued the FCC after being slapped with huge fines when celebrities such as Bono, Nicole Richie, and Cher all uttered expletives on live broadcasts of awards shows. Under the Bush administration and after Janet Jackson’s flashing at the 2004 Super Bowl, the FCC began cracking down on indecency on television. The court said the FCC’s policy was “unconstitutionally vague” and created a “chilling effect” on the programs networks could air. “Under the current policy, broadcasters must choose between not airing or censoring controversial programs and risking massive fines or possibly even loss of their licenses, and it is not surprising which option they choose," the ruling judge wrote in her decision.

Let the shouting match commence: The NAACP passed a resolution on Tuesday condemning the racism of Tea Party activists at its annual convention in Kansas City. NAACP President Ben Jealous said the Tea Party needed to be “responsible members of this democracy” by making sure bigotry isn’t tolerated. Meanwhile, a CBS poll this spring found that 52 percent of the conservative group’s activists think the problems of black Americans have been overhyped (overall, 28 percent of Americans agree with that.) More than 2,000 delegates voted on the measure. It's language is to be finalized and approved by leaders this fall. The original language offered said the Tea Party displayed signs and posters that degraded black people, especially President Obama; it also condemned “racist elements” and an incident in which black congressmen said Tea Party activists hurled racial epithets at them.

The law of averages has prevailed: After a 13-year drought, the National League won Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game on Tuesday night. It was shaping up to be another defeat, until Braves catcher Brian McCann hit a three-run double off in the seventh inning. The American League’s sole run came off a sacrifice fly by Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano in the fifth. As a result of the victory, the National League will have home-field advantage in the World Series.

Nothing in return, this time: A 12th person connected to the Russian spy ring was deported Tuesday, even though he was not charged with any crimes. Alexey Karetnikov, 23 years old, was living in Seattle and working as a software tester for Microsoft when he was detained June 28. He admitted he was in the country in violation of immigration laws and voluntarily went back to Russia. If Karetnikov returns to the U.S. without express government permission, he’ll face criminal and civil charges.

Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston have taken to the cover of Us Weekly to announce to the world that they are now engaged, again. The decision will be a surprise to many—including Sarah Palin. The couple, both 20, doesn’t have the approval of their parents. Having broken up shortly after their son Tripp was born in December 2008, Palin and Johnston were working out a custody arrangement three months ago, and their romance rekindled. "I really thought we were over," Johnston told Us. "So when I went, I had no hope. I think we both just started talking—and then we took Tripp for a walk." Added Palin: "When he left that night, we didn’t hug or kiss, but I was thinking how different it was. He texted me: 'I miss you. I love you. I want to be with you again' ... I was in shock." Now Palin only has to worry about her mom, who has sharply criticized her fiancée in the past: "It is intimidating and scary just to think about what her reaction is going to be. Hopefully she will jump on board."

This can’t be a good sign: BP delayed a crucial test of its new containment system late on Tuesday, meaning oil will continue to spill into the Gulf. BP has claimed the new cap will collect all the leaking oil, but apparently now the company is worried that it may not be able to withstand the pressure from the spewing oil once it seals the cap. BP and U.S. officials gave no indication of when the test will be rescheduled, but the Coast Guard admiral said the entire oil flow will still be contained by mid-July: If the cap is not sealed, oil tankers will be able to siphon all of the oil to the surface.

We get it already! There’s a fourth Mel Gibson recording out, for those who have the patience. In this one, Gibson rages at ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva for falling asleep before they could go to the Jacuzzi to have sex. “I should’ve woken you up and said f----- blow me bitch!” he yells. “I should’ve f----- woken you up and said blow me! You would’ve liked that better, yeah? But you need the goddamn sleep!” This was apparently a point of contention, as he yells at another point, “I deserve to be blown first! Before the f----- Jacuzzi! OK, I’ll burn the goddamn house up, but blow me first! How dare you!??!”

What a mess: BP may now have to call off its plan to cap the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico amidst fears that it could actually make the leak worse. The federal government is apparently worried that the cap’s piping and casing will not be able to withstand the pressure of the leaking oil. The oil, meanwhile, has been leaking into the Gulf unabated since Monday, when BP began to implement its current plan. BP has also ceased work on the two relief wells it is drilling. The company and government officials are set to meet this afternoon to discuss the next step.