Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Jul 18, 2011

Engaged:

Looks like former PUSSYCAT DOLL-turned-"X Factor" judge NICOLE SCHERZINGER is ready to settle down with Formula One driver LEWIS HAMILTON. London's Mail on Sunday tabloid says her father, ALFONSO VALIENTE, confirmed the rumor, saying "You know about the proposal? Yes they are engaged... my future son-in-law is a really nice guy, really down-to-earth. My family all like him. The good spirit is there."
The pair have been dating for four years; he's 26 and she's 33.

What's the Buzz:

You've probably seen those new "penny auction" sites (QuiBids, Beezid, Skorit, etc.) where you buy individual bids, and then try to bid on and buy relatively low-priced items like sporting goods, gift cards and electronics. Well, a Michigan man --JONATHAN MASON-- went to one of those sites and was able to buy a brand new $31,000-dollar Chevy Camaro for $5.28.
That's right, five-dollars and twenty-eight cents.
Autoblog has linked to a CNN story about Mason's luck. However, there are folks who think the site Skorit allowed this to happen, knowing the media buzz --and free advertising-- it would create. Others think this guy might be a plant. (Pacelli)

What's Poopin':

Warning: note somewhat disgusting content in the following:
Think MAURY POVICH is the only clown that can use DNA results for a good time?
In Rockville Center, Long Island, they've just ordered a bunch of DNA testing kits so they can figure out if you don't pick up after your doggie!
That's right --doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure this one out. The NY Post (what else) reports if the neighborhood groundskeeper finds an offending pile on the lawns of the Avalon Bay Community complex, they'll grab a sample and then get a swab from everybody's pooch. Just like humans, you get a swab of saliva, and it gets sent to a lab which then sends it off to the DNA World Pet Registry.
Costs $90 per owner, which comes out of the condo complex's $650 one-time pet fee. And if they catch your dog messin' around, it'll cost you a lot more --up to a thousand bucks.
Meanwhile, the Bio Pet Vet Lab in Knoxville, TN, which does the matching says their "Poo Print Program" (whose motto is "match the mess through DNA") is expected to have around 300 franchises opened by the end of the year.

Damage Control:

Update: As we told you Friday, MILA KUNIS will be attending the Marine Corps Ball with Sgt. SCOTT MOORE thanks to a re-arrangement in her schedule which will permit her to fly out to be at the ball. And JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE has also accepted the proposal from Marine Corporal KELSEY DE SANTIS as well.
But the capper came over the weekend, when the Huffington Post reported Sgt. RAY LEWIS issued an invitation via YouTube video to BETTY WHITE to join him at the ball as well! Ray's served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and says Betty has long been his favorite actress. So we'll have to wait and see whether the 90-year-old will take him up on it... and if she does, what will happen on the dance floor!

Stars who were homecoming queens from Star magazine:
--MERYL STREEP
--SISSY SPACEK
--ROSIE O'DONNELL

Overheard on Sunset Blvd:

Big rumor of the day is that NBC's recently cancelled "Friday Night Lights" might be back as a movie.
MovieWeb.com says the movie will pick up right after the series' finale, and will center on Coach Taylor (KYLE CHANDLER) and Tami (CONNIE BRITTON).
No word on the project from Universal studios, whose spokesman said: "We do not currently have a Friday Night Lights project in development."
As we mentioned on Friday, re-runs of the show will be broadcast on ESPN Classic. The show was actually taken from the original 2004 movie of the same name, starring BILLY BOB THORNTON, LUCAS BLACK, GARRETT HEDLUND and others.

Off the beaten path:

Did you make it out to the World Snail Racing Championships (website) on Saturday?
Orange.co.uk says the event has been going on since the 1960s in Congham, England. The 2011 snail racing champion is a snail named ZOOMER who completed the 13-inch course in 3-minutes 23-seconds. A snail named ARCHIE still holds the record of 2-minutes from the back in 1995. (Still)