WET: The Boys of Milan Fashion Week!

Photographer Luca Finotti a few items other than clothes for the male models of fashion week to wear in Milan this year.

Benedict Arnold: Gay Marriage 'Threatens the Future of Humanity'!

Pope Benedict addressed the diplomatic corps assigned to the Vatican and said that same-sex marriage threatens the future of humanity, Reuters reports: He told diplomats from nearly 180 countries that the education of children needed proper "settings" and that "pride of place goes to the family, based on the marriage of a man and a woman."

"This is not a simple social convention, but rather the fundamental cell of every society. Consequently, policies which undermine the family threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself," he said.

He added:"The family unit is fundamental for the educational process and for the development both of individuals and states; hence there is a need for policies which promote the family and aid social cohesion and dialogue."

The Pope last week elevated 22 bishops to cardinals, among them New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, an outspoken opponent of New York's marriage equality law.

PDA: Male Eastern European Sports Fans Kiss in Anti-Homophobia Ad!

"It's OK to be different" is the message of this anti-homophobia sports fan-focused PSA reportedly running in Montenegro.

BEEFCAKE: A Winning Look?

Model Giuseppe Riscitto has my vote in Male Boudoir's 2012 model contest.Does he have the Body and the Look?

LOADED: Meet World's Richest Cat!

Now that's some serious scratch—Tommaso, a 4-year-old former stray, is now the world's richest cat, the inheritor of $13.4 million worth of properties around Italy, reports the Guardian.

Tommaso's rich owner, a 94-year-old childless widow, died last month, leaving her entire estate to her cat. However animals cannot inherit property directly in Italy, so the widow named a cat-loving nurse she met in a park as Tommaso's trustee. "I had no idea the signora had such wealth," said the nurse, identified only as Stefania. Tommaso may be the world's richest cat, but he still has a long way to go to before the can compare to the world's richest dog—Gunther IV, a German Shepherd from Germany, is said to be worth $372 million.

UNHATE: Vatican Threatens Benetton Over Ad Featuring Pope Kissing Imam!

The new Benetton ad campaign has the Vatican furious and they're planning legal action to stop use of an ad featuring Pope Benedict kissing an Imam, Reuters reports: A statement said the Vatican had told its lawyers in Italy and around the world to "take the proper legal measures" to stop the use of the photo, even in the media. It was not clear from the statement if the Vatican intended to sue Benetton directly for damages.

The statement said the ad was "damaging to not only to dignity of the pope and the Catholic Church but also to the feelings of believers."

Said spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said on Wednesday night: "This is a grave lack of respect for the pope, an offence against the sentiments of the faithful and a clear example of how advertising can violate elementary rules of respect for people in order to attract attention through provocation."

Other ads feature Obama kissing Chinese leader Hu Jintao and Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy kissing German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

WELCOME HOME: Knox Finally returns to Seattle!

The "welcome home" signs are out around Seattle, and Amanda Knox can now see them in person. Knox flew into Seattle's Sea-Tac Airport this evening, a day after her murder conviction was reversed in Italy, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer . "I'm really overwhelmed right now," said Knox, who wept upon seeing supporters and a horde of media awaiting her. "I was looking down from the airplane. It seemed like everything wasn't real." She didn't speak long. "I just, my, my family is the most important thing to me right now, and I just want to go and be with them." 

Her parents spoke briefly before her. "All I can say is, thank you," said Edda Mellas, her mother. "It's been a long four years," said her father, Curt Knox. A backyard barbecue is one of the things on the agenda in the near future. "Just normal things that you would want to do after being in prison for four years for a crime you didn't do," said a spokeswoman for the Friends of Amanda Knox, a group that raised money for her defense.

EMBARRASSMENT: Daily Mail Reports Wrong Knox Verdict!

"Amanda Knox looked stunned this evening after she dramatically lost her appeal against her murder conviction," the Daily Mail reported last night—after her conviction was overturned.

The article, which included phony quotes from the prosecution team, stayed up on the British paper's website for nearly half an hour as other outlets reported the real verdict, the Huffington Post reports. "I'm not sure it gets more embarrassing than this for a news site," noted one of the many bloggers who caught the error. It wasn't clear what caused the false story. When contacted by the Hollywood Reporter, a spokesman at the Daily Mail said no one was available to explain what happened.

READY: Tearful Knox IN Court!

Amanda Knox gave an emotional appeal to an Italian court today, insisting, "I did not kill, I did not rape" Meredith Kercher. "I am paying with my life for things that I did not commit," said a shaking and tearful Knox in fluent Italian. "I am not who they say I am. The perversion, the violence, the lack of respect for life—I did not do the things they are saying I did. I did not kill, I did not rape, I did not steal. I was not there." She worked on the speech for three months, her father tells the BBC, and the Telegraph adds that she did not use any notes while speaking.

A verdict is expected late today, Reuters reports. Knox insisted that she had "good relationships" with all her flatmates, including Kercher, even though Knox was "untidy, careless." "I shared my life, particularly with Meredith," Knox said. Her ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who is also appealing his murder conviction, gave his own address, asserting his innocence and denying that he ever accused Knox of the murder.

TAMED: Gladiator Thugs Busted at Colosseum!

Gladiators and centurions clashed in front of Rome's Colosseum this week as police attempted to crack down on thugs targeting tourists. Undercover officers dressed as centurions were sent in to investigate the dozens of fake gladiators, centurions, and Roman legionnaires who make their living outside the ancient stadium, posing with tourists for photos, then demanding exorbitant payments, or offering expensive nonexistent tours. 

Wooden swords were waved in the air as a group of fake gladiators attacked the police centurions, the Guardian reports. Nearby undercover cops posing as street cleaners joined the fray and nine gladiators were taken away in handcuffs. The fake centurions and gladiators come from seven families who jealously guard their turf outside the Colosseum, driving off rivals with threats and sometimes violence, according to authorities.

Hi Diddly De: Pinocchio Has Roots in Old Italian Village!

A computer expert says he has traced the real-life roots of Pinocchio to a village in Italy, Discovery News reports. Allessandro Vegni pored over old maps and concluded that author Carlo Collodi set the 130-year-old tale in the Tuscan village of San Miniato Basso, whose original name he discovered to be ... ta da, Pinocchio. Vegni thinks Collodi based some of the characters in the tale on its inhabitants and drew inspiration from nearby landmarks and villages. Among them: A rural building Casa II Grillo, or Cricket House, a possible reference to the Talking Cricket; the Fonte delle Fate, or Source of the Fairies, which might have inspired the story's Field of Miracles; the village of La Lisca (Fishbone), known for a giant prehistoric fishbone on a house facade, which could have inspired the story of Pinocchio getting swallowed by the giant whale. 

ART: 'Lost Michelangelo' Found on Oxford Wall!

A previously unknown painting by Michelangelo has been hanging on the wall of an Oxford University residence for Jesuit scholars since the 1930s, a respected Italian expert claims. Infrared technology has revealed that the painting at Campion Hall, previously believed to have been the work of Michelangelo's lesser-known contemporary Marcello Venusti, was likely painted by Michelangelo himself, says Antonio Forcellino. 

The painting, bought at an auction in the 1930s, has been removed from the residence and sent to a museum for safekeeping. "It's a very beautiful piece, but far too valuable to have on our wall any more," the master of Campion Hall tells the BBC. "Its value in the three years I've been master has gone up tenfold, even if it's not by Michelangelo. No doubt the art historians will argue the points to and fro."

OBIT: Chocolate Tycoon Hunk, 47, Dies in Bike accident!

The heir to Italy's biggest fortune has died in a cycling accident in South Africa. Pietro Ferrero was chief executive of Ferrero SpA , maker of products including Ferrero Rocher chocolate, Tic-Tacs, and Nutella, which was invented by his grandfather in the family bakery during wartime when chocolate ingredients were in short supply. The 47-year-old fainted and fell off his bicycle during a routine ride, CNN reports.

Ferrero had traveled to South Africa with his father and dozens of company managers to work on opening a new factory and was often seen cycling with employees near the firm's headquarters, reports the New York Times. "Italy has lost a businessman who represented the best qualities of our economic history," Italy's foreign minister said in a statement.