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NASSAU, Bahamas — A boater who disappeared off Jaws Beach – on an island where one of the "Jaws" movies was filmed – is likely the person whose remains were found in the belly of a shark, police say.

Authorities used fingerprints to identify Judson Newton, although they are still waiting for DNA test results, Assistant Police Commissioner Hulan Hanna said late Tuesday.

It is unclear if the 43-year-old Newton was alive when he was eaten.

Newton went on a boating trip with friends off Jaws Beach on New Providence Island on Aug. 29 and encountered engine trouble. Rescuers who responded to a call for help found three men aboard who said that Newton and a friend jumped into the water to try to swim back to shore. Officials launched a search for them, but neither was found.

On Sept. 4, a local investment banker caught the 12-foot (3.6-meter) tiger shark while on a deep-sea fishing trip and he said a left leg popped out of its mouth as they hauled it in.

When officers with the island's defense force cut the shark open, they found the right leg, two severed arms and a severed torso.

One of Newton's friends, Samuel Woodside, 37, told The Associated Press that he was surprised when he heard police say Newton probably drowned.

"To me, he was always a strong swimmer," Woodside said. "I don't know what happened."

LONDON (RNS) Seemingly unfazed by months of protests from secularist critics, Pope Benedict XVI deployed unusually forceful language on Friday (Sept. 17) to defend the "legitimate role of religion" in public life.

Benedict, on the second day of his four-day visit, seemed to be taking cues from the general temperament of his British hosts: polite and gracious but nonetheless firm and to the point.

Addressing parliamentarians and other dignitaries at the Palace of Westminster, Benedict denounced the "increasing marginalization of religion, particularly of Christianity" that is afflicting Britain and other liberal Western societies.

"There are those who argue that the public celebration of festivals such as Christmas should be discouraged, in the questionable belief that it might somehow offend those of other religions or none," the pope said.

Benedict insisted, however, that religion has played a vital role in public discourse, as a "corrective" to "social evils" such as slavery and the "totalitarian ideologies of the 20th century."

The Obama administration is not budging from its position that the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy should be allowed to expire this year and is taking subtle jabs at conservative Democrats who argue otherwise.

In a briefing with a small group of reporters on Friday, a senior administration official encouraged Blue Dog Democrats in the House to remember that they have been the ones barking about exploding deficits for the past three cycles.

"I don't think there is any Blue Dog Democrat that is coming out against extending tax cuts for people up to $250,000 a year," said the official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity. "And I would say to anyone, one of the things I appreciate about the Blue Dogs is that they have been so assiduous about reminding us about the dangers of this deficit. And so I would urge them to stand, and anyone to stand with us, for some fiscal responsibility here."

The remark was offered playfully, if not with a bit of chiding. In recent days a host of Blue Dogs have pushed the White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pass at least a temporary extension of all Bush tax cuts until the economy finds stronger footing. The president hasn't budged, arguing that it would be fiscally irresponsible to extend the tax cuts for the wealthy, and morally wrong to allow the rates for those making under $250,000 to rise at year's end (they will by law).

Even a temporary extension has been viewed skeptically by the administration, which is wary that it would result in the can being kicked down the road in perpetuity. And in the briefing on Friday, the senior administration official predicted confidently that they will get the measure to a vote, either in this session or "after the election."

"It is a spurious argument to suggest that we should go ahead with budget-busting tax cuts because somehow it is better for our economy. It would be better for our economy if we moved forward with the middle class tax cuts and allow the others to expire," the official said. "The truth is, the Republican Party... they have made clear that their goal is to extend this permanently. And I think that they will encourage this as a means of biding time until the next vote."

GLASGOW, Scotland — Susan Boyle has dreamed a dream and is singing for the pope.

Boyle, the unlikely pop star who shot to global Internet fame after she sang on the TV show "Britain's Got Talent," was to reprise her winning performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" from "Les Miserables" during a Mass on Thursday celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI.

Boyle was also joining an 800-strong choir in singing hymns at Glasgow's Bellahouston Park.

In a pre-Mass statement, the Scottish-born Boyle said "it's a great honor to sing for the pope and it's something I've always dreamed of."

Benedict was capping off his first day of a four-day state visit to Britain that included a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II at Holyroodhouse Palace in Edinburgh.

Don’t you want hair like mom-of-two Denise Richards?
Denise Richards, 39, has been seen all over NYC this week attending all the hottest fashion shows. She was looking extraordinarily beautiful Sept. 14 at the Badgley Michika show, so we had to ask… how do we get hair like that? We spoke to celebrity hairstylist Luca Blandi from the famous Oscar Blandi salon, and he shared amazing tips with us for getting Denise’s sexy hair:

“I do a blow dry and then what I do is smooth it down.”
“I usually use an inch and a half curling iron for a little more looser wave.”
“Go clockwise with one inch sections with a barrel curling iron around the head. Take an inch of hair and wrap it around the barrel. Then slowly go around the head.”
“Once we finish all the waving what I find works great is dry shampoo, like Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo.”
“To give volume,  I massage the scalp for a minute once the dry shampoo is applied, Then I use my hands or a pick comb to pull through and open up the curls. This really gets the volume.”
“To finish it off, use a little hairspray to firm everything in place.”
It’s that easy! And the best part of these curls… they ‘ll only take you about 20 to 25 minutes!

Public opinion of the Republican Party's legislative platforms has hardly been polled to date, in large part because few specifics have been offered in detail.

But on Tuesday SHRM/NJ/Pew Congressional Connection released a survey of public opinion on four main proposals that have -- in however vague terms -- been put forward by members of the GOP leadership. And the results indicate that the Republican Party faces a fairly obvious deficit in public trust on policy matters even as it seem poised to make major political gains this November.

According to the results, a proposal to extend all the Bush tax cuts (including those for the wealthy) was supported by just 29 percent of respondents.

Calls to repeal the health care reform law passed by President Obama were favored by just 32 percent of the public.

Creating vouchers for Medicare was supported by just 33 percent of the public.

Amending the constitution to disallow automatic citizenship for children of illegal immigrants who were born in the United States, was favored by 46 percent of the public (49 percent opposed).

The one policy proposal that the GOP has put forward that has majority support is creating personal accounts for Social Security, which was favored by 58 percent of respondents.

Making a relatively rare television appearance on Sunday, Imam Feisal Rauf, the man behind the controversial Islamic cultural center in downtown Manhattan, said that if he were forced to move the project it could spur terrorist activity among radicals abroad.

"My major concern with moving it is that the headline in the Muslim world will be 'Islam is under attack in America,'" said Rauf. "This will strengthen the radicals in the Muslim world, help their recruitment, this will put our people -- our soldiers, our troops, our embassies, our citizens -- under attack in the Muslim world and we [would] have expanded and fueled terrorism."

In the interview with ABC's "This Week," Rauf said he was not making threats to the American public in hopes that critics would change their tune on the construction of his project. He was merely offering insights into how the debate was playing out in the Muslim world. His interview touched on topics beyond the Cordoba House project, dealing additionally with the broader perception of Islam within American. Asked, for instance, about Sarah Palin's infamous tweet that "peaceful" Muslims should "refudiate" the "Ground Zero Mosque," Rauf noted the heavy political hand that had made its way into a basically settled constitutional debate. There was, he added, "growing Islamophobia in this country."

"How else would you describe the fact that mosques around the country are now being attacked? We are Americans, too. We are treated and talked about today as if American Muslims are not Americans. We are Americans. We are doctors. We are investment bankers. We are taxi drivers. We are store keepers. We are lawyers. We are part of the fabric of America. And the way that America today treats its Muslims is being watched by over a billion Muslims worldwide."

When pressed about a Florida pastor's now-canceled plans to burn Qurans in protest of radical Islam, Rauf expressed a bit of relief that the burnings didn't take place and horror at what could have been sparked by such an image.

"[The Quran burnings] would have created a disaster in the Muslim world. It would have strengthened the radicals," he said. "It would have enhanced the possibility of terrorist acts against America and American interests."

Gossip Girl creator Stephanie Savage spilled season 4 secrets with HollywoodLife.com – including when Little J is making her big comeback!
We’ve all heard that rumors that 17-year-old Taylor Momsen’s real-life bratty behavior was affecting her work on Gossip Girl, and we’ve got the scoop on her return to the small screen as Jenny ‘Little J’ Humphrey. So when will Taylor be returning, if at all?

“She’s definitely back, and I don’t want to say exactly when, but it will be much later than episode 4,” the CW series’ creator, Stephanie Savage, revealed exclusively to HollywoodLife.com during a phone interview Sept. 10. Well, that’s a relief for Jenny fans — but will she be the changed woman we hoped she’d become last season?

“The changes we’ve been tracking in Jenny on the show are definitely related to her growing up and becoming comfortable on the Upper East Side, which is what we’ve seen building since season 2. She’s come back to us as a slightly different version of Jenny. She’s definitely thinking about her future, trying to clear her head and get out of the Upper East Side game and focus on fashion. Of course, that clear-headedness WILL be challenged!”

So what other secrets did Stephanie spill?
Well, Chuck (Ed Westwick) and Blair (Leighton Meester) may be doing the nasty, but there’s a good chance they’re NOT getting back together — this season, at least. “Happiness does NOT generate a lot of story,” she said, adding, “Blair and Chuck will very much be in each other’s stories and are very much working out their issues with each other. As Serena (Blake Lively) says to Blair in the second episode, ‘You don’t have to forgive him.’ They’re a long way from reconciliation and peace.”
There are cameos galore! “We’ve been lucky with our cameos – we have two episodes that focus on Fashion’s Night Out, including a party at the Boom Boom Room hosted by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Tim Gunn also appears as himself. Blair has a big 20th birthday party too and there are some fun cameos there!”
Gossip Girl plans on jet-setting! “We had so much fun doing the Paris episodes, but now that we’ve done it we’re pretty fearless and ready to do it again. We want to take the show on the road, to Tokyo or somewhere in Italy or Buenos Aires. World travel is pretty organic to these guys!  We’d love to do a spring break episode where they go skiing in Aspen or Whistler.”
Real-life lovers Blake Lively and Penn Badgley are NOT trying to get their characters to reunite! “There’s no pressure from them – not at all! The actors are really open to doing whatever, but the fans definitely want [Dan and Serena] back together.”
WILL we ever find out who Gossip Girl is? “Maybe on the last episode ever,” Stephanie told us. “It’s a larger conversation for the entire series [of Cecily von Ziegesar's books] and not just for the television series!”

WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Warren, a popular but polarizing consumer advocate, met with President Barack Obama at the White House Tuesday, adding to speculation she could be named to head a new consumer protection agency.

Warren also met with senior administration officials last month. However, White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said other candidates are still being considered and that no decision has been made on who will lead the agency, which was created under terms of the financial overhaul bill Obama signed into law earlier this year.

The agency will have vast powers to enforce regulations covering mortgages, credit cards and other financial products. Consumer advocates and labor groups want Obama to nominate Warren to lead the agency, but she has little support within the financial community and her nomination could set the stage for a divisive Senate confirmation hearing.

Warren now heads the Congressional Oversight Panel, which has been a watchdog over the Treasury Department's bank bailout fund.

Others mentioned as contenders to lead the consumer agency are Michael Barr, an assistant treasury secretary who was a key architect of the administration's financial regulatory plans, and Eugene Kimmelman, a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's antitrust division.

SAN FRANCISCO — California's highest court on Wednesday refused to order Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state's attorney general to appeal a federal ruling that overturned the state's gay marriage ban.

The state Supreme Court denied a conservative legal group's request to force the state officials to defend the voter-approved ban.

The court did not explain why it rejected the emergency petition filed by the Pacific Justice Institute. The institute had argued that the attorney general and governor were required to uphold all laws, including initiatives passed by voters.

Earlier Wednesday, lawyers for Attorney General Jerry Brown and Schwarzenegger filed letters with the court maintaining state officers have authority to choose which laws they challenge or defend in court.

"The governor, like any litigant, has complete discretion over his own litigation strategy, including whether or not to appeal an order," counsel Andrew Stroud wrote for Schwarzenegger. "Here, the governor exercised his discretion and decided not to file an appeal."

Both men have declined to appeal Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's Aug. 4 ruling that found the ban, known as Proposition 8, violated gay Californians' civil rights.

The measure approved by 52 percent of California voters in November 2008 had amended the state Constitution to outlaw same-sex unions five months after the state Supreme Court legalized them.

Schwarzenegger, who has been under pressure from fellow Republicans to appeal Walker's decision, has said he supports the judge's verdict. Brown, who is the Democratic nominee to succeed Schwarzenegger as governor, has said he cannot defend Proposition 8 because he agrees it is unconstitutional.

"Although it is not every day that the attorney general declines to defend a state law, the state Constitution or an initiative, he may do so because his oath requires him (to) support the United States Constitution as the supreme law of the law," Deputy Attorney General Tamar Pachter wrote on Brown's behalf Wednesday.