Why would MTV invite Britney Spears back to the Video Music Awards? Why did Amy Winehouse lunge at a fan? And why in the world are honeybees disappearing? This past weekend, Buzz visitors wanted answers.

A comeback to a comeback?
Britney’s comeback attempt at last year’s Video Music Awards was, for lack of a better word, disturbing. You’d think MTV wouldn’t want to subject its audience to another spectacle, but you might be mistaken. According to Access Hollywood, the folks at Music Television may want to give the train wreck another try at this year’s gala. No word on whether Britney is interested, but the booming buzz indicates the gawking public certainly is.

Hands off the hair.
Last week, Tim McGraw nearly came to blows with a belligerent concertgoer. This past weekend, the always interesting Amy Winehouse took a swing of her own. According to Us Weekly, Winehouse threw a punch at a fan who grabbed her hair at the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, England. The incident didn’t garner the same buzz as Tim McGraw’s dustup, but more than a few folks took notice of Amy’s strictly enforced “keep your hands off my hair” policy.

Hug a bee (not literally).
Unless they’re threatening to sting you, honeybees aren’t something most people bother to think about. Maybe they should. CitizenSugar and the Huffington Post reported that honeybees are disappearing at an alarming rate. In case you think this is good news, remember—fewer bees, less pollination. Less pollination, fewer crops. Fewer crops, higher food prices. Fortunately, there is some good news. Haagen-Dazs is doing its darnedest to alert the public. 

Also buzzing this weekend…
• Bill Gates, the billionaire founder of Microsoft, officially retired from day-to-day operations on Friday. Various articles detailing his last day “working for the man” scored big in the Buzz.
• When word leaked that Verne Troyer (best known as Mini-Me from the Austin Powers films) made a randy sex flick, folks searched for confirmation. The bad news: It’s true. The good news: A judge halted its release. Who says the justice system is broken?

Of all the politicians to put a damper on fireworks, who knew it’d be Arnold?

Governor Schwarzenegger, as Californians say with a straight face, recently pled with residents to abstain from pyrotechnics because of wildfires plaguing the Golden State.

Maybe that’ll dissuade a few do-it-yourselfers who have been looking online for ways to fire up the Fourth. Besides checking out brands like “phantom” and “tnt,” people have been pondering “how to make fireworks,” “how to transport fireworks,” “fireworks laws” and, whew, “fireworks safety“. (Feeling indestructible? Watch the Consumer Product Safety Commission re-enact fireworks accidents by abusing fruit and decapitating mannequins.)

For those who prefer to leave the sky show to the professionals, “july 4th fireworks” queries have climbed 116% in the past 7 days. Californians may want to catch a flight to Motor City, which puts on the most popular spectacle in the U.S. of A: Searches for “detroit fireworks 2008” have skyrocketed 483%, surpassing online enthusiasm for Chicago’s “navy pier fireworks.”

 

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A Hollywood writer goes on strike, and summer television overflows with the stench of reality TV. Who knows then what horrors await should the Screen Actors Guild strike in July.

The New York Times reports that while the writers’ strike actually helped some TV shows get ahead, major film projects may be endangered. We can imagine: Would director Ridley Scott be forced to defy Hollywood tradition and hire an actual Englishman to play Robin Hood for his film “Nottingham”? Will all comic-book ensemble movies end once and for all if the Justice League project dies? The upside: A delay could help knock Judd Apatow off the Farrelly and Wachowski brothers’ creative downward spiral.

Slate doesn’t believe any walkoffs will happen, but in the event they do, Tinseltown talent could take up a summer project: Follow the Weinsteins down the Great White Way. The movie producers plan to make Broadway shows, including “Finding Neverland,” “Shakespeare in Love,” and “Chocolat.” Check off-Broadway for Michael Myers for his chainsaw serenade in “Phantom of the Opera: Halloween Special.”

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Important safety tip: Do not do anything stupid or violent in the presence of Tim McGraw. If you do, there is an excellent chance he will pull you up on to the stage by your belt and shove you into the waiting arms of security.

Such an incident transpired at a recent concert. A audience member apparently struck a woman. Whether on purpose or accidental, we’re not sure. What we do know is that Mr. McGraw did not like what he saw. After motioning for security, the leather-vested singer personally yanked the offending fan on to the stage and tossed him over to a collection of burly guards with a look of disdain normally reserved for stepped-in dog feces.

Video of the dustup soon hit the Web and searchers went wild. Lookups for “tim mcgraw” surged 181% and related terms like “tim mcgraw fight” and “tim mcgraw concert“ spiked enormously. Newspapers, websites, and blogs picked up on the story and recapped it blow-by-blow. People magazine notes that “the man and McGraw seemed ready to get into a full-fledged fracas, with McGraw cocking his fist back as if to throw a punch.” iVillage explains that after the ruckus, Tim “went right on singing.” A consummate gentleman and a true professional—no wonder wife Faith Hill wants him all to herself.

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Wimbledon is a tradition. And we say that in the most traditional sense of the word. What other sporting event asks that players wear all white?

You might think that the stuffy restriction wouldn’t leave room for fashion, but you’d be mistaken. Though the tournament is barely under way, fans have already been treated (or subjected to) several memorable outfits from the players.

Maria Sharapova got the fashion show started early with a top that looked to have been inspired by a high school prom. An article from the New York Post declared the tuxedo-style outfit a hit.

While Sharapova’s short shorts and wild shirt drew leers, rival Lindsay Davenport‘s outfit won points for keeping it real. The former champ sported a sleeveless top and pleated skirt that looked like a homage to the 1980s. Though not as unusual as Sharapova’s, Davenport’s look drew plenty of buzz.

Lindsay’s duds may have been a flashback to the days of Chris Evert-Lloyd, but Serena Williams‘ warmup trenchcoat defies categorization. Ms. Williams took the court in a stark white jacket reminiscent of Bellevue Hospital. Love it or hate it, the look brought in the lookups, and a related article from Sports Illustrated buzzed loudly.

Finally, fashion isn’t just for the ladies. Perennial powerhouse Roger Federer made some noise with a very traditional cardigan sweater. The top-ranked player is looking like he could easily advance to the finals… with style.

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On Monday, radio showman Don Imus was jawing with a co-host about Dallas Cowboys player Adam “Pacman” Jones. Upon hearing that the beleaguered cornerback has been arrested six times since 2005, the shock jock asked, “What color is he?” Response: “He’s African-American.” Imus: “Well, there you go, now we know.”

And just like that, the Don bounded back into a media firestorm about race. A flurry of articles on the comment ignited in Buzz. “Imus in hot seat again,” pronounced CNN. “Did Don Imus make another racial gaffe?” queried New York Magazine.

In Search, demand for “don imus” vaulted more than 4,700%, landing the professional jabber-mouth in our top 10 fastest movers for the day. Related queries for “don imus comments” and “don imus pacman jones” spiked.

On Tuesday, Imus lashed back at the brouhaha. He was making “a sarcastic point,” he says, about the treatment of African-American men. A news story on the response immediately rose to the top of Buzz, where it drew hundreds of votes. Whether that’s a good sign for Imus or not remains to be seen, though some bloggers have refused to be mollified. Portfolio.com (“Don Imus: Racist, or Just Clueless?“) and Bleacher Report (“Why is this guy still on the air?“) are just two of many skeptical blogs to gain traction in Buzz today.

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Even in an age when cynical sleuths can hyper-analyze stories for truth and accuracy, the occasional hoax still slips through the cracks. Such was the case with a so-called “lost Amazon tribe.”

A few months ago, mainstream news outlets (including, ahem, Yahoo!) reported that a photographer had found a lost tribe of warriors near the Brazilian-Peruvian border. Photos of the tribe backed up his claim.

As it turns out, the story is only half true. The men in the photo are members of a tribe, but it certainly ain’t “lost.” In fact, as the photographer, José Carlos Meirelles, recently explained, authorities have known about this particular tribe since 1910. The photographer and the agency that released the pictures wanted to make it seem like they were members of a lost tribe in order to call attention to the dangers the logging industry may have on the group.

The photographer recently came clean, and news outlets, perhaps embarrassed at having been taken for a ride, have been slow to pick up the story. Now, the word is starting to spread and articles in the Buzz are picking up steam. Expect a lot more brutal truth in the coming days.

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