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The Swedish Palace Confirms Racy Rumors
The Swedish palace has confirmed that dashing Prince Carl Philip is indeed entwined with nude python model Sofia Hellqvist. The two have been dating since January, and the Prince even introduced the knockout brunette to his parents, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, earlier this month. Nina Eldh, a spokesperson for the royal family, spilled the beans on the royal romance in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, saying she found it "regrettable there are people who want to take advantage of the relationship [Sofia Hellqvist] has with the prince." Until last year, the Prince was engaged in a 10-year relationship with Emma Pernald, who works in public relations. Miss Hellqvist, in contrast, is famous in Sweden for appearing on the rather randy reality-TV show Paradise Hotel, kissing Jenna Jameson, and posing in Slitz, a Swedish men's magazine. Persistent googling reveals that Hellqvist seems to have made a humanitarian trip to Africa last year?maybe there is more to this Swedish eyeful than meets the eye!

Fashion Face-Off: Starlets in Minidresses
Every Friday VF.com pores through the crème de la crème of party pictures to find two contenders for the best outfit of the week. Tell us your favorite in our Fashion Face-Off. Perhaps to beat the heat, minis became de rigueur for movie premieres this week. Blake Lively attended a screening of Twelve on Wednesday in a Chanel tweed dress with a sheer panel at the waist. Anna Kendrick fêted her role in Scott Pilgrim in a strapless number that combined animal prints and beading. Which outfit do you like best?online surveys

Your Expanding Lexicon: Meet This Week?s Additions to the Vernacular
For your edification, a look back at the phrases, nouns, and neologisms that have, for better or for worse, shaped the week?s national discourse.

Lady Gaga Is the Star of Vanity Fair?s September Cover
For once, the Internet rumors are true: Lady Gaga will grace the cover of our September Style issue. Here is a preview of the cover, photographed by Nick Knight. Tune in Monday morning for additional details, and more from the upcoming issue.

Ed Hardy Hand Sanitizer: For Slimy People
Ed Hardy hand sanitizer is the perfect complement to Ed Hardy lubricant and condoms. Turn on your local top-40 station and rejoice, for safety must no longer abandon style in the Meatpacking District whence it came! (For the club-goer on the go, there are Ed Hardy sanitizing wipes, inspired by vintage tattoos, which ?capture brilliance with their visually stimulating hypnotic package?. The ad copy promises, ?Using the wipes is a lavish and very healthy sanitary habit.?) The hand-sanitizing lotion comes in 8-ounce and 2.3-ounce sizes, and both editions feature a sketch of a roaring saber-toothed tiger displayed prominently on their packaging, suggesting that this hand sanitizer can?t be tamed and/or is doomed for extinction.

When Buying a New Car, Which Extras Are Essentials and Which Are a Waste of Money?
How much for a private island? Which M.B.A. program has the richest grads? Who sleeps where on Air Force One? When readers ask VF.com questions, our experts are there to answer. Heated leather seats, satellite radio with iPod input, and an integrated navigation system are non-negotiable. If you dislike dying, you'll also want high-intensity headlamps, to avoid wildlife obstacles, and Bluetooth wireless, to avoid cellular ones. Renounce frivolities such as a keyless start and lane-departure sensors, and unless you're a tacky bitch, you'll forgo supplementary chroming. And skip the big-engine upgrade. The base motor provides ample power and often makes driving more engaging.

Charlie Rangel Never Had a Chance
Politics is as much about ignominy as about winning. Many careers have both experiences. Charlie Rangel, one of the most successful political figures of his generation in New York, is now, in the Washington Post?s estimation, a ?pariah.? He?s a pariah partly because?quite unable to believe he is no longer a man of far-reaching influence, a fixer of legendary power?he has down to the wire refused to get out of the way of Democratic efforts to get him out of the way. In the end, his minor entitlements (a collection of rent-controlled apartments), his small-time tax avoidance schemes (on a house in the Dominican Republic), and a two-bit vanity project (exchanging favors in order to get a college building named after him), won?t be held against him as much as his refusal to go quietly. Continue Reading at Newser.com »

China Is Now World?s Second-Largest Economy, Should Soon Overtake U.S. for Top Spot
China?s chief currency regulator, Yi Gang, revealed today that China has overtaken Japan as the world?s second-largest economy, and is now dwarfed only by the United States. However, projections from banks and economists suggest that China will trump the U.S. by 2025. Reuters reports: ?China?s economy expanded 11.1 percent in the first half of 2010, from a year earlier, and is likely to log growth of more than 9 percent for the whole year, according to Yi. China has averaged more than 9.5 percent growth annually since it embarked on market reforms in 1978.? It?s a rate that the Chinese official claims is ?unprecedented in human history.?

The Tony Hayward Exit Interview: ?I Became a Villain for Doing the Right Thing?
Tony Hayward granted The Wall Street Journal his first interview since it was announced that he would be stepping down as BP C.E.O. for the greener?well, certainly larger?pastures of Siberia. During the chat, Hayward detailed the many things have recently been bothering him. Such annoyances include: his vilification by the media (?I understand that people find it easier to vilify an individual more than a company?), his vilification by the Obama administration (?I understood their frustration?), and his displeasure?but understanding, naturally?at having to leave BP (?Because I love the company, I must leave BP?).

July Marks Deadliest Month in Afghan War
? Three U.S. troops died in Afghanistan yesterday, bringing the death toll for July to 63, making it the deadliest month for American troops in the 9-year-old war. [AP] ? That $30,400 you forked over to dine with President Obama at the Four Seasons won?t even get you a meal with our nation?s leader. But he will speak to you before heading to a private room for steak and potatoes! [Page Six] ? Sam and Charles Wyly, Dallas billionaires with a penchant for donating to conservative candidates, made a whopping $550 million in undisclosed profits over 13 years, according to a S.E.C. lawsuit filed yesterday. [Huff Post] ? Disney has finally reached a deal to sell Miramax films after months of negotiations. Filmyard Holding, an investor group led by Ron Tutor, purchased the production company for more than $660 million. [LA Times] ? How do illegal immigrants make their way home? [Slate]

Merle Haggard Has Some Helpful Prison Advice for Lindsay Lohan
Photo byTravis Huggett. You don’t have to like country music to think Merle Haggard is a badass. Sure, he wrote and recorded some of the most timeless classics in American music, from “Okie From Muskogee” to “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here And Drink." But just as relevant to his legend, he’s rubbed elbows with train hobos, gone through wives like tic tacs, and served time in more prisons than even the most committed career criminals, including a stay in the infamous San Quentin (where he first saw Johnny Cash perform in 1958). Over a decade later, he was given a full pardon for his legal indiscretions by then California Governor Ronald Reagan. And more recently, he was inducted by Governor Schwarzenegger into California’s 2010 Hall of Fame, in a roll call that included non-perps like Barbra Streisand and James Cameron. Now 73 years old, Haggard continues to live up to his outlaw reputation with more authenticity than musicians half his age. He survived lung cancer with the unblinking grit of John Wayne (although, unlike the Duke, he quit smoking after losing a chunk of his right lung.) Last week, he was the subject of an American Masters’ documentary called Learning to Live With Myself (now streaming on the PBS Web site), where everyone from Keith Richards to Robert Duvall testified to Haggard’s badassness. He released a new album earlier this year, I Am What I Am—yes, I asked him, and no, it has nothing to do with Popeye—and it’s already one of his best-selling records in almost 25 years. For a guy who’s cheated death more than most of us cheat on our taxes, the fact that he’s still making music and touring the world and not, as common sense would suggest, on life support in some unbearably sad Nashville hospital, waiting for a helpful roadie to pull the plug and let him die with dignity, is proof that he’s exactly as hardcore as his legion of fans have always believed.

Know Your News Cycle: Sam and Charles Wyly
Meet Samuel and Charles Wyly, Texan co-founders of Sterling Securities, a company which they eventually sold for $4 billion. It might be a good idea to learn to properly spell ?Wyly? now, as yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission hit the brothers with a $550 million fraud charge, as well as allegations of insider trading. According to The New York Times, ?[i]f the S.E.C. is successful in proving all of its allegations, it could result in one of the biggest judgments ever in a securities fraud case. The commission is seeking disgorgement of the $550 million in gains and prejudgment interest and financial penalties.? The Wylys used their riches to collect art and jewelry and to finance expensive real estate holdings in Aspen and Texas. A lawyer for the two men has responded that the S.E.C.?s case is ?without merit.?

Arden Wohl and Family Adopt Another Cause
Feeling the family love: Leelee Sobieski, Waris Ahluwalia, and Arden Wohl. From PatrickMcMullan.com. Last night at the cozy Wooly lounge, in New York City, the Party to Save the Pelican was held to benefit the Endangered Species Coalition. Despite the significant cool-person presence?the event's hosts included society fixture Arden Wohl, artist Tom Sachs, jewelry designer Waris Ahluwalia, and actress Leelee Sobieski?there was a palpable warmth in the room. It didn't hurt that the snugly Wooly, nestled below the Woolworth building, feels like a well-curated version of a heartland family's basement, complete with mismatched furniture, wood-beam ceilings, and some pastoral woolly-mammoth oil paintings. Original works of art and luxury services were up for silent auction, proceeds going to the coalition. One got the impression this was a labor of love from close-as-family friends who want to raise awareness and money for the endangered species that are suffering as a result of the B.P. oil spill. ?Keep bidding," Wohl said. "We all know why we?re here. We?re all family.? Like in any family, everyone pitched in. Earlier in the evening Wohl and writer Julia Nasser were gamely writing up labels for the auction pieces, while Carlton DeWoody, who created his own work for the auction, hung the pieces on the Wooly walls. (His contribution, Daytona Beach, used a pyrographic technique to burn images into a wood surface. Shading was done with essential oils.) Outside the gallery over a cigarette, DeWoody and fellow artist Sebastian Errazuriz, who was auctioning off a piece called We're Really Fucking Angry (a golden spray can filled with oil with a rubber band pushing down to create constant pressure and a pin plugging the spout) showed each other a little brotherly love. ?It?s the perfect expression of unrealized frustration [over the oil spill],? said DeWoody of Errazuriz?s work. Errazuriz?s paid back the compliment. ?It?s a printed grain over natural-wood grain. The idea of these layered facades speaks to how fake B.P. is,? he said. ?With everything they say, we?re always rubbing away one story to get to another.?

Barack Obama and 50 Cent Conspire to Inconvenience New York Society
Chace Crawford and 50 Cent. From PatrickMcMullan.com.Society mavens approaching the Landmark Cinema on New York City's Lower East Side last night for the Cinema Society and 2(x)ist screening of Twelve faced some unusual obstacles: all of East Houston Street was on lockdown as President Obama made his way to Sullivan Street for a party at Vogue editor Anna Wintour’s house. Filmgoers waited patiently. Pushing past Secret Service is a no-go—even when a besuited Chace Crawford awaits you inside. When the roadblocks eventually eased up, a well-heeled group made its way inside from the sticky heat and praised the blowout-preserving central air. Models and magazine editors found their seats alongside the film’s very youthful cast, as Crawford claimed a spot with Gossip Girl–ers Blake Lively and Penn Badgley. Congratulating their co-star on his starring role, Lively and Badgley joined Crawford in a genuine three-way hug. All seemed well in the world of Gossip Girl until Jessica Szohr was spotted across the theater, fueling rumors of a cast feud.

The Revolution Will Not Be Belted: A Verdict on the Low-Hanging-Pants Debate
From NYSenate.gov.A New York City judge has ruled in favor of low-hanging pants today in a Bronx court, dismissing the disorderly-conduct charge against a man whose trousers hung conspicuously close to his ankles. ?The Constitution still leaves some opportunity for people to be foolish if they so desire,? Judge Ruben Franco said, adding, ?The issuance of this summons appears to be an attempt by one police officer to show his displeasure with a particular style of dress.? The sagging-pants debate has been splitting the seams of civil sartorial discourse since as early as May 2004, when Louisiana and Virginia lawmakers attempted to outlaw excessively slouching slacks. ?I don?t see any way that something constitutional could be crafted when the intention is to single out and label one style of dress that originated with the black youth culture, as an unacceptable form of expression,? an A.C.L.U. official said in 2007, when the issue again became the subject of mass discussion.