Lady Gaga’s “Artpop” has serious artistic pretentions, right from the album’s title and cover: a Jeff Koons statue of the star with a Botticelli montage. Gaga has described the album as “a celebration and a poetic musical journey.” Yeah, right. Well, at least “Artpop” — out on Nov. 11 and already leaked online — is more ambitious than its predecessors.

Marvel has a fairly solid track record of keeping actors around for the inevitable sequels, largely by signing them ambitious multi-picture deals. Of course, there are a few exception, most notably Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, and Terrence Howard, who was replaced as James Rhodes in Iron Man 2 after reaching a salary impasse with the studio. Appearing last night …

Barry Bonds put his estate in the gated Beverly Park community on the market for $25 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. The colossal estate is a home run: The seven-bedroom, 13-bathroom home sits on 1.85 acres and boasts a music room, theater, wine room, gym, spa and elevator. There’s also a pool, a basketball court, a guesthouse and a …

The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to make $250 million in low-interest loans available to retrofit residences and businesses in rural communities to improve their energy efficiency, the agency announced Wednesday. Through the Energy Efficiency and Loan Conservation Program, the USDA will make the money available to rural energy cooperatives, which in turn will offer loans to business and residential …

Bust out your all denim, Britney Spears just gave the cutest quotes about Justin Timberlake ever! Okay, so we’ve sadly accepted that Justin is married, and Brit’s in a great relationship… but we’re still pulling for Britney and Justin to happen; and on a Dec. 3 appearance on The Ellen Degeneres Show, Brit reaffirmed our belief that it’s always been …

About 30 pilot whales were stuck in shallow waters Wednesday off Everglades National Park, according to Florida media reports. At least four died among nine whales that beached themselves overnight, The Miami Herald reported. The others were freed alive and returned to the pod, which remained in danger.

Estranged couple Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart have reportedly rekindled their romance and the actress apparently is keen on going public with it. Stewart, 23, and Pattinson, 27, who parted ways earlier this year, have reportedly been meeting secretly since sometime, reported Hollywood Life. “Kristen doesn’t want to keep her relationship with Rob a secret anymore. She doesn’t want to …

The Michael Kors capsule collection for Goop hits the Web today and will include three exclusive-to-Gwyneth Paltrow pieces: a gray cashmere cape, a merino sweater, and a black wool peacoat (above). “We’ve got all these new fabrics, so today we can make a sweater that looks like it has some heft but, in fact, won’t leave you melting once you …

Rihanna and her mother took center stage at the American Music Awards as the singer received the first Icon Award. Monica Fenty presented her pop star daughter with the award midway through Sunday night’s show at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. “Can we talk about how cute Rihanna’s mom is?” Justin Timberlake asked while accepting one of his three …

We didn’t think it was possible for the Beckhams to be any more likable than they already were. Then they had to go and prove us wrong, those good-looking sons of guns. According to a British Red Cross memo tweeted out by Victoria, she and her ex-soccer player husband David have donated a boatload — make that a 500-foot-yacht-load — …

NEW YORK, NY – Days after New York’s Metro-North Hudson train crashed, killing four people and injuring 67, a search for exactly what went wrong immediately went underway. The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed Monday that speed was a factor, saying the train was going 82 mph into a curve, nearly three times the 30 mph limit for the curve. …