Lee DeWyze refused 'Idol' duties

Lee DeWyze refused 'Idol' duties

According to the executive producer of "American Idol" season 9 winner Lee DeWyze refused to take part in this season's finale. There were rumors swirling about DeWyze prior to the finale.

Dr. Beach's Top 10 Beaches, 2011

Dr. Beach's Top 10 Beaches, 2011: Siesta Beach

 Coastal scientist Stephen P. Leatherman, director of Florida International University's Laboratory for Coastal Research and known as "Dr. Beach," announced his 21st annual Top 10 Beaches list on May 27. He has compiled the list annually since 1991 using 50 criteria. Here are his top 10 picks for 2011.1. Siesta Beach, Sarasota, Fla.: “Siesta Beach in Sarasota boasts that it has the finest and whitest sand in the world, and I cannot argue with this claim; the powdery sand is nearly pure quartz crystal,” Leatherman said. The water is blue, clean and clear, making it particularly inviting to bathers and swimmers.

Hawaii least stressed

For the third year in a row, Hawaii snagged the No. 1 spot as the least stressed state, while Utah and Kentucky kept their distinctions as the two most stressed U.S. states, according to Gallup poll results released Wednesday (May 25).

Overall, an average of 40 percent of American adults reported experiencing stress when asked whether they experienced it "a lot of the day yesterday," according to the survey by Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. As such, Gallup officials say further studies are needed to tease out what drives stress and how it affects people. Past research has shown job stress is linked with weight gain; stress in general can make you more susceptible to health conditions ranging from the common cold to cancer.

Low-stress states — ones that have less than 38 percent of residents experiencing stress — were primarily located in parts of the Midwest. Those with 40 percent or more residents reporting a lot of stress were clustered in the West and Northeast, though they also included other states.

Here are the five most stressed states and the percentage of residents who said they had experienced stress "a lot of the day" the prior day:

* Utah: 45.1 percent

* Kentucky: 44.9 percent

* West Virginia: 43.6 percent

* Idaho: 43.0 percent

* Massachusetts: 42.6 percent

Five least stressed states:

* Hawaii: 30.2 percent

* Wyoming: 34.4 percent

* North Dakota: 34.6 percent

* South Dakota: 35.5 percent

* District of Columbia: 36.7 percent

[See full list of U.S. states and stress]

Stress is a complex emotion, it seems, with no one factor explaining the least- and most-stressed regions. For instance, some frazzled states have more low-income residents, while others are home to wealthier individuals. Stressed-out Kentucky and West Virginia have residents who tended to be poor in health; Utah and Massachusetts, coming in at No. 1 and No. 5 on the most-stress list, respectively, boasted of physically healthy residents. [Read: Happiest States of 2010]

But perhaps stress isn't always such a downer. Residents of the highly stressed Connecticut, Utah and Massachusetts rated their lives highly. (Residents answered a question about which step on a ladder they would rate their lives now and in five years, with the top step representing the best possible life and the bottom rung the worst possible life.)

Kim Kardashian & royal wedding

Hours after news broke of Kim Kardashian's engagement to Kris Humphries after about six months of dating, her little sister Khloe predicted a monstrous, royal bash for her sister. 30.

"It's going to be royal wedding number two," Khloe, 26, told E! News Wednesday. "I could only imagine Kim having the hugest wedding."

Greatest sports traditions

Hairy situation 

 

The dominant New York Islanders teams of the 1980s started the tradition of not shaving throughout the duration of the team’s postseason run. The practice is now copied by hockey teams at almost every level of the sport and even by athletes in other sports. The tradition isn’t for everyone though. In 2003, Adam Oates refused to join his Stanley Cup runner-up Anaheim Mighty Ducks in growing a playoff beard, noting that the supposed superstition works only for one of the 16 teams that make the postseason each year.