Popocatepetl Volcano, Vanessa Williams, Star Trek Captains: What’s Spiking (Tuesday)

The weekday report for the topics and people that are trending on

Yahoo! and across the Web for Tuesday April 17, 2012.

 

Research by Search editor Liz Streng

Mother Nature blows some volcanic steam in Mexico. Meanwhile, a celebrity and her mother team up for a tell-all book that reveals some terrible secrets. And the mother of all geek conventions is set, thanks to an unprecedented intergalactic reunion. Here now, the mother lode in online buzz.

STANDOUT SPIKES

  • Popocatepetl Volcano: Mexican authorities raised the alert level Tuesday morning after the volcano coughed up some burning hot rocks. Nearby residents have Tweeted messages of the eruption and posted images of the ash cloud. The real concern: Will this be harder to pronounce than Eyjafjallajökull?

 

 


NEWS & POLITICS


SCIENCE & NATURE


BUSINESS & MONEY

  • GSA: General Services Administration whistleblower Susan Brita testified at a congressional hearing Tuesday about big bucks dropped at a 2010 Las Vegas conference. “I share your anger and disappointment in GSA’s conduct,” she said, a contrast to conference organizer Jeff Neely, who repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment on Monday.
  • Lamborghini on Fire: A nice Saturday test-drive turned into a costly inferno when a $376,000 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 combusted in southern California. Lucky for all of us, the episode was caught on video.
  • Mark Cuban: The mobile app developer Vringo saw its shares rise 50 percent Monday after when word got around that the Dallas Mavericks owner had acquired a major stake.
  • Titanic Auction: Items from the wrecked luxury liner sold at Bonhams auction house on the 100th anniversary of the ship’s sinking. An original launch ticket received the winning bid of $56,250.
  • Karl Wlaschek: Wedding bells get recycled a fifth time for the 94-year-old Austrian billionaire. The lucky lady is Friederike Ricki Schenk, who hasn’t revealed her age but appears to be 30 years younger.

ENTERTAINMENT

  • Ernest Hemingway: A new trailer for HBO’s film “Hemingway & Gellhorn” premiered. The film, which stars Clive Owen as the American writer and Nicole Kidman as his journalist wife Martha Gellhorn, airs May 28 on HBO.
  • DeLuna Fest: The Florida lineup features Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, and Florence and the Machine. The music fest takes place Sept. 21-23 on Pensacola Beach.

CELEBRITIES

  • Nicki Minaj: Should the singer change her mind about deleting her Twitter account to protest online song theft (“Like seriously, it’s but so much a person can take. Good f—ing bye”), she has 30 days to change her mind and get her 11 million fans back. The Miami New Times profiled four other quitters…who all came back.
  • Ryan O’Neal: His rep reports the actor has stage 2 prostate cancer, not stage 4 as was reported previously, and expects a full recovery. Ryan is currently working on the TV show “Bones.”
  • Daphne Selfe: You go, octogenarian: The 83-year-old is the world’s oldest supermodel, according to People.
  • Mila Kunis: Another rep clears the air after photos circulate showing Kunis and Ashton Kutcher hanging out: “They’re so not dating.” Breathe easy.

SPORTS


HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE WEB

What’s popular on Yahoo!, Twitter, Google Trends, CNN, BBC, Hollywood Reporter, and other sources.

Yahoo! News (popular)

Twitter Trends (International)

This post originally appeared on Yahoo! News