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Matt Lauer has softened his position about leaving the Today show in December at the end of his contract ... if NBC will pay up big time, that is.

The sexy beast currently earns $17 million a year. Negotiations are currently ongoing that could net Lauer could as much as $30 MILLION a year.

That will make a lot of people soften positions about retiring, we would have to imagine. But was Lauer's change of heart motivated by something else?

Some say Lauer changed his mind about leaving when network execs showed interest in Ryan Seacrest as a replacement ... and got jealous.

Others say Lauer wanted to re-sign all along and is merely using the end of his current deal and his plan to possibly leave as a tactic to get paid.

Either way, he's about to do pretty well for himself.

Today makes roughly $450 million a year for the network - more than any other show on NBC - so in that context, $30 million for Lauer?

Not a steal for NBC, but probably a worthwhile investment.

[Photo: WENN.com]

New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw has apparently developed a very special relationship with former Jersey Shore train wreck Angelina Pivarnick.

Seriously, he has.

Here's a pic of the self-proclaimed Kim Kardashian of Staten Island, who left the show in Season 2 (and Season 1), cuddling up to the Super Bowl champ:

Angelina and Ahmad have been spotted out together recently.

She was at Saddle Ranch in L.A. on Thursday and asked about the relationship. Ange was awkwardly silent, before adding, "I'm not dating him ... like, no."

"We've hung out ... we're really close, he's a cool dude. I think he's a hot black ... I'm not gonna deny that. I would be lying if I told you he wasn't hot."

There you go. Further comment rendered unnecessary.

Ellen DeGeneres and Bill O'Reilly on the same side of an issue? Yes, folks, anything is possible.

This pair of seemingly opposite celebrities came together this week in light of an organization known as One Million Moms pushing to get Ellen fired as the JC Penney spokesperson, with the Fox News anchor referring to the protest as un-American and, simply, wrong.

Ellen also commented on the flap during a monologue this week, and then took a few moments later to express gratitude to O'Reilly. Watch her do so below:

Ellen DeGeneres Thanks Bill O'Reilly

"I don't want to be some skinny mini with my tits out. I really don't want to do it and I don't want people confusing what it is that I'm about."

So says Adele in an interview with Anderson Cooper on Sunday, one taped prior to this singer landing in the news this week for reasons beyond her incredible ability: first, fashion guru Karl Lagerfeld referred to her as fat. Then, he apologized.

The timing for this 60 Minutes piece, therefore, could not be better, as Adele speaks at length about her body image and her goals as an artist; namely to just write "love songs" and nothing more. She isn't going for shock. She doesn't care about sex appeal. She just wants to sing.

Isn't that refreshing?

Adele 60 Minutes Interview Snippet

Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert is truly one of a kind.

More than a comedian who reports the news, Colbert makes himself (or a farcical version of himself) the news, mainstreaming political satire like no one else.

Now, he's actually being used for political purposes.

In a new TV ad, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi takes aim at Colbert’s Super PAC, suggesting that their former friendship has been torpedoed by the faux-conservative pundit’s refusal to disclose the complete sources of his funding:

Stop Colbert

Pelosi is in on the joke - and Colbert’s thinly-veiled campaign to expose the abuses of Super PACs - of course. She's been pushing hard for the Disclose Act.

The bill was introduced to expose the sources of “secret money from special interests” in electoral campaigns. A Super PAC, or political action committee, can receive and spend unlimited sums of cash on behalf of whomever they chose.

Colbert has been pointing out the absurdities of this system by starting his own Super PAC, which has labeled Mitt Romney a serial killer and now supports Herman Cain, who dropped out of the Republican presidential race months ago.

The details are spelled out on a Stop Colbert Facebook page.

The odds are apparently in our favor today, as Lionsgate has given us yet another awesome look at Jennifer Lawrence in the role of Katniss Everdeen.

Below, the actress graces the cover of the upcoming Hunger Games soundtrack, which is scheduled for a March 20 release, three days before movie lines around the country extend for blocks when this film actually opens.

Look for the CD to be comprised of tracks from "District 12 and Beyond," aka Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars, the Decembrists, and Arcade Fire, among other artists.

Meanwhile, have you entered to win tickets to The Hunger Games premiere in Los Angeles yet? Our friends at Movie Fanatic are offering readers the chance to be there in person!

Shanna Widner is speaking out for the first time in nearly two decades about the scandal that saw her mother convicted of trying to kill off her cheerleader rival.

Now 34 and a mother of two herself, Widner is finally sharing her side.

Widner tells People that her mother's 1991 arrest, trial, conviction and brief jail sentence for a crime that inspired TV movies left her with scars she still carries.

Then 14, Widner would rock herself to sleep at night, sobbing and cursing God: "I kept thinking, 'Why are you doing this to us?'" she remembers. "'I hate you!'"

Her mother, Wanda Holloway, was facing charges for allegedly hiring a man to kill Verna Heath, an ex-neighbor whose daughter, Amber, competed with Shanna.

Both girls vied for junior high school cheerleading squads.

Prince William who?

Kate Middleton, the lovely 30-year-old Duchess of Cambridge, made her first solo public appearance since marrying into the royal family earlier this week.

Attending a preview of Lucian Freud paintings at the National Portrait Gallery in London, Kate donned an affordable gray Jesire dress and four-inch heels.

Take a look at the Kate Middleton pictures below!

Middleton spoke with photographer Mary McCartney and Freud's daughter, Bella Freud, inside the museum, smiling as always.

The National Portrait Gallery is one of the five charities Middleton - an art history major at St. Andrews University - supports as part of her royal post.

William, meanwhile,is currently deployed 7,500 miles away in the Falkland Islands, near South America, as a search-and-rescue helicopter pilot.

[Photo: WENN.com]

It's unclear if anyone actually watched season one, but The Real Housewives of Miami will be back, Bravo confirmed yesterday.

The lowest rated edition of this franchise has earned a second season pick-up, although only three original cast members - Marysol Patton, Lea Black and Adriana De Moura - will return when production begins next month.

New additions are expected to be announced any week now.

"The Real Housewives of Miami follows a group of the most beautiful, connected and influential women in town who work hard and play harder," reads a Bravo press release. "This season will give viewers an inside look at these aspirational women as they juggle family, work and the fabulous social scene in a city where the food is spicy, and the drama is even spicier."

Not really, of course. With no arrests, trips to rehab or suicides by any estranged husbands, life in Miami - for viewers at least - has been decidedly mild so far.

Poor Taylor Swift. Not only did this singer recently lose out on a role in Les Miserables (the part of Eponine went to Samantha Barks instead), but she reportedly lost a new love interest in the process.

According to Us Weekly, Taylor met British actor Eddie Redmayne (My Week with Marilyn) while auditioning for the character in October 2011 and "they hung out in New York City with the movie's execs. Taylor developed feelings for him fast."

Redmayne, who actually attended Eton College with Prince William, felt something for Swift, as well, an insider confirms, meeting up with her on January 24 in London and staying over the next night in Taylor's hotel room. It's unclear why.

Alas, Swift returned home, learned she did NOT win the part in Les Miserables and then received doubly bad news: Redmayne was "not interested in a long-distance relationship," this source says.

Seriously, will Swift's guitar ever be free from tear drops?!?

[Photos: WENN.com]