Jeff Giles

Peanut butter has been a staple for frugal food lovers for years, but a looming price increase could make it more of a luxury item before the end of the year. Facing shortages after a dismal peanut harvest, producers have begun implementing steep price hikes, and consumers will start feeling the pinch this week — adding to a general rise in the cost of food throughout 2011.

In a study that may come as a stunning New Age challenge to artists like Yanni and Enya, a group of UK scientists have gotten together and clinically determined the most relaxing song ever made. The track, titled ‘Weightless’ and performed by a Manchester-based band named Marconi Union, was described as “even more relaxing than a massage, walk or cup of tea.”

It may not do anything to save his long-running gig as the musical kickoff for ‘Monday Night Football,’ but Hank Williams, Jr. has issued a personal statement in response to the brouhaha that erupted after his recent appearance on ‘Fox and Friends.’ Williams, who compared a golf match between President Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner to “Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu,” attemp

He’s an in-demand producer, chart-topping artist, and multimedia entrepreneur — and now will.i.am can add “cultural ambassador” to his list of job descriptions. Responding to a request from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Black Eyed Pea has agreed to lead a benefit concert in Beijing, with the goal of encouraging more American students to study in China.

Does New Jersey need a governor, or a Boss? According to a recent poll, many voters think the answer is both. With New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s poll numbers dropping, an organization named Public Policy Polling decided to see what would happen if Bruce Springsteen ran against Christie for the office — and found that he’d enter with nearly half the popular vote.

Michele Bachmann has now been told by Tom Petty that his song ‘American Girl’ is off limits for her presidential campaign. Petty’s outspoken protectiveness of his music is certainly nothing new — in the ’80s, he engaged in a protracted public legal battle with his former label, MCA, over rising record prices, and more recently, he asked the Bush campaign to refrain from using his songs at campaign

Here in the States, we may not have thought of Victoria Beckham much since the end of the Spice Girls’ reign, but in the UK, she and her husband, Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham, are the focus of such intense scrutiny that a bit of a tabloid ruckus has erupted over whether or not Eva Longoria will be named their unborn daughter’s godmother.