Beyonce's January cover of Elle magazine reveals some "Whaaaat?" stories about her past, including a lovely gem courtesy of her mother, Tina Knowles.

You see, B was acting "like a diva" during a promotional appearance, so Tina openly admitted to slapping her daughter across the face: "My husband came up and said, 'Tina! She's got the No. 1 record on the radio!' I said, 'I don’t care!' I taught my girls to pick up their own suitcase. Pretty is as pretty does. Like my mother said, 'You got to be cute on the inside.'"

This entire story makes us uncomfortable, and it's probably not something one ought to share in a national publication, but that's just us.

(And, by the way, we plan on getting "You got to be cute on the inside" crocheted on a pillow.)

The seven-page questionnaire being sent to those seeking high-ranking positions in the Obama administration is being called "considerably more detailed than we had to fill out" by a former Clinton aide and "invasive" by other Washington insiders.

Among the 63 questions – some of which have multiple parts – are queries about gun ownership (of you and your family), Internet aliases, embarrassing experiences at work and embarrassing family members (above).

Thinking of applying? Keep this in mind: your drunk, gun-owning cousin who can't get his shit together is going to be loyal to you far longer than the US government.

What can we say about the Jennifer Hudson tragedy that hasn't already been written? Our thoughts are with the surviving family members, who seem to be getting more and more terrible news, the latest involving the discovery of a body believed to be Jennifer's 7-year-old nephew. Losing a mother, brother and nephew in such a violent and inexcusable act is unfathomable to most of us, so all we can hope is that justice will eventually be served.

After the jump are two videos: One featuring Jennifer talking about her family ties, complete with a clip of her mother standing by her side after her Oscar win in 2007 (starting around the 1:00 mark); the other showing her family at home in Chicago during her Oscar win. We'll keep you updated on any new developments, but until then, keep Jennifer's family in your thoughts.

CONTINUED »

In light of Maureen McCormick's latest attempt to stay relevant (in which she admitted to abusing drugs, dating Michael Jackson and having a fling with her on-screen brother), we got to thinking: Just how wholesome and pure was The Brady Bunch, after all? While most of the cast members went on to embrace the newfound fame thanks to the show, nobody truly lived up to the Brady name when all was said and done.

So perhaps growing up in a feel-good group like the Bradys isn't exactly the best idea for your physical and emotional health. After the jump: A real look into the lives of one of America's favorite families.

CONTINUED »

All those rumors about Lynne Spears' parenting book, Through the Storm, detailing Britney's sex life and drug use turned out to be false. Obviously. Lynne knows not to bite the hand that feeds her. But Britney, in a rare moment of wisdom, has still cut off contact with her mother:

While the book doesn't dish on Britney's sex life or drug use, it blames all of Britney's problems on her daughter's former managers. Spears — who already considered her mother a siphon on her purse — is 'upset' about the book, spies said, especially when she feels Lynne herself caused so many of her problems and issues.

We'd have to agree with Brit on this one; while we'd normally get onto her for not accepting part of the blame, it's not really a 14-year-old girl's responsibility to make sure her mother isn't whoring her out. And we applaud her for recognizing that Lynne is still doing just that.

[Source]

You're aware that Bono is a self-indulgent, hypocritical Muppet, right? If not, do read up about how the Nobel-nominated singer and his band ran away with their publishing empire to the Netherlands in order to avoid the tax laws of Ireland and keep their many millions of dollars away from social welfare programs.

When you're done with that, laugh hard at how much sense it makes that the "benevolent" rock star is now the godfather of Brad and Angelina's new twins, who have sparked protests in Nice for being of more interest to the local government than murders.