Following an inspiring return to Congress in August – one that took place just months after she was shot in the head during a campaign event in Arizona – Rep. Gabrielle Giffords announced today that she is resigning from her position.

“A lot has happened over the past year. We cannot change that,” Giffords said in a video on her website. “I don’t remember much from that horrible day, but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice.”

“Thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. I have more work to do on my recovery. So to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week.”

Giffords is expected to attend the State of the Union Address Tuesday and then submit a letter of resignation to House Speaker John Boehner and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer.

The state will hold a special election to fill the Democrat’s seat later this year.

The Hollywood Gossip

Kris Humphries is getting really good at this break up thing.

The New Jersey Nets power forward/E! star has called it quits with Anderson Public Relations, TMZ confirms, following disagreements between the company and the Humphries over how to best promote the latter off the court.

The PR team was especially upset with how Humphries handled an appearance on Good Morning America in December, where he brushed off questions about Kim Kardashian and looked confused about why they were even being asked. He instead talked about baking with his mom.

Kris’ relationship with Anderson lasted 73 days, so, hey, that’s an improvement of 24 hours for the guy!

Sources say he now wants to focus solely on basketball, which ought to be welcome news for the woeful Nets. Humphries scored 12 points and pulled down 16 rebounds in their 84-74 loss last night to the Thunder.

The Hollywood Gossip

Mark Wahlberg is continuing to walk back his recent comments about September 11, saying he made a mistake but attempting to put it in some context.

In the latest issue of Men’s Journal, the actor said that he would have handled things differently had he been on one of the planes downed by terrorists.

Wahlberg’s 9/11 comments were widely criticized and he quickly apologized. Speaking to Kidd Kraddick in the Morning on Friday, he explained it as such:

“I would never disrespect the victims of 9/11 or their families. It was misunderstood. My only intention was to explain that I would do anything to protect my family – I would put myself in harms way to protect my family or innocent people.”

“That was it. First and foremost, I am not speaking as an actor.”

“I am a real guy from the streets and I’ve been in a lot of situations, so I was very out of line and I wasn’t thinking about the real heroes and the guys, women, children, fathers, sons, daughters who were on those flights.”

This came up because Wahlberg was initially booked on one of the flights hijacked out of Boston on 9/11/01, before serendipitously moving his flight.

“If I was on that plane with my kids, it wouldn’t have went down like it did,” he told the magazine. “There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, ‘OK, we’re going to land somewhere safely, don’t worry.’”

His comments greatly offended some victims of 9/11.

“People are much more vigilant now than they were on 9/11,” Mary Shetchet, a spokesperson for the support group Voices Of 9/11, explained.

“10 years later it easy to say you would have responded differently.”

The Hollywood Gossip

Katy Perry’s parents are conservative Christian ministers, so you would assume they would be devastated by her divorce. If so, they’re definitely not showing it.

It’s been reported that Russell Brand filed for divorce in large part so Katy, who was raised in a devout Christian household, wouldn’t have to do so.

God works in mysterious ways, though, and in the eyes of Katy’s parents, her recent split from Russell is one of those ways. Say what now?

Because He used to the divorce to fill the rafters of their church, they say.

Pastors Keith and Mary Hudson preached at Church On The Rise in Westlake, Ohio, on Wednesday, in an appearance advertised by the church.

Perry’s mom, Mary, speaking for the first time about the split, half-joked, “I’m sure Katy is trending on the internet just to get you to church tonight.”

“All over the world, who knows how God is bringing them in? The most important thing is you are here and God wants to put the fire in you in 2012.”

It is a solid glass-half-full attitude if nothing else.

Perry’s dad Keith added, “What has taken place in my daughter’s life has opened many opportunities to go in and be with guarded and gated people.”

“God has given us a new platform to go in and meet people – and they like us because you know what, we are cool. We are not threatening.”

They do actually sound pretty cool.

SIDE NOTE / FUN FACT: Katheryn Elizbaeth Hudson uses her mom’s maiden name, Perry, because she felt Katy Hudson would be confused with Kate Hudson.

According to reports, a video was shown beforehand featuring the Hudsons with Katy. The Hudsons are scheduled to appear tomorrow at a church in Georgia. This video (below) is posted on the church’s site promoting the appearance:

Katy Perry With Her Parents

The Hollywood Gossip

Mariah Carey has good news regarding her ailing husband.

Just a couple days after saying that Nick Cannon was in “a lot of pain” due what has been described as mild kidney failure, the singer updated fans today via another Tweet.

With a laptop, balloons and gorgeous wife by his side, things could be a lot worse for Nick Cannon.

“Nick is in stable condition with a good prognosis, hopefully he’ll be discharged within 2 days,” Carey wrote this afternoon, adding: “As always he’s laughing and in good spirits.”

She also included the following caption with the new photo, posted above: “Thank you everyone for all the love & concern.”

The Hollywood Gossip

Brock Lesnar went down hard against kickboxer Alistair Overeem in the first round at UFC 141 last night. A few minutes later, he announced his retirement.

The former heavyweight champion finished his own meteoric mixed martial arts career on a losing note at Friday’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event.

Lesnar retired from the UFC after Overeem stopped him with one vicious kick to the body at 2:26 of the first round in their much-touted heavyweight bout.

“Tonight is the last time you’ll see me in the octagon,” Lesnar said.

That leaves the UFC heading into 2012 without its biggest star.

Brock Lesnar Retires

Even though he fought only seven times in the UFC, Lesnar was a pay-per-view audience magnet because of his compelling past as a WWE “champion.”

He reigned as heavyweight champ, headlined UFC 100, generated the most Internet traffic of any MMA fighter and actually has fights left on his contract.

UFC President Dana White and Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta took the high road with Lesnar even after the fighter blew off the post-fight news conference.

White said, “When a guy decides he wants to retire, you let him do it. This is not, ‘Go hit a ball with a stick for the next two or three years on your way out.’”

“This is the real deal, guys. Â?We’ll figure it out.” He said regardless of how many fights Lesnar has on his contract, “Doesn’t matter. If he’s done, he’s done.”

The Hollywood Gossip

Yes, Taylor Armstrong really is coming out with a memoir that details the alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of late husband Russell Armstrong.

It will be titled “Hiding from Reality: My Story of Love, Loss and Finding the Courage Within,” and Taylor unveiled the book cover last night on Bravo:

“My book takes readers behind the glamour of Beverly Hills to show them the terrible violence I suffered, and the slow and painful process of rebuilding my shattered life,” Armstrong said in a statement. “I want readers in abusive relationships to learn from my suffering and use my book to help them find their own courage within.”

Yes, fellow abuse victims, you can learn a lot from Taylor, namely: if you are rich and famous and have a televised platform from which you can promote, you, too, can profit from the suicide of your estranged husband.

What do you think of Armstrong releasing this book?

The Hollywood Gossip

Drew Ryniewicz is no longer a contestant on The X Factor. She was surprisingly eliminated last night, following Tuesday’s seated cover of “Billie Jean.”

But there is a bright side for the 14-year old singer: her musical hero, Justin Bieber, gave Drew a shout-out soon after the results show came to an end.

“@drewryniewicz keep your head up,” Justin wrote. “I lost my first competition too. this is just the beginning for u. never say never. best wishes.”

Drew Ryniewicz – Listen to Your Heart

On a conference call with reporters this morning, meanwhile, Ryniewicz said she’s come to more peace with her elimination than her mentor, Simon Cowell.

“He feels guilty,” Drew said. “I don’t think he should feel guilty at all because I got to the top 7. Not everybody can win this show, and he has two girls left representing him.”

Still, the young crooner admits to wishing she could have showed viewers “that side of me that is a teenager who dances around — the fun side. I’m definitely going to do that with my album.”

Overall, Drew refers to The X Factor as “the greatest experience of my life,” adding:

“And everyone’s going to be going home, whether they’re the winner or someone else, in the next few weeks. So for me to have made it this far is an honor. For me to be on the first X Factor [in the] U.S.A. and, you know, just to be able to say that I’ve worked with Simon Cowell, and I’m best friends with Melanie and Rachel Crow.”

It’s certainly not a bad position to be in. We wish Drew all the best.

The Hollywood Gossip

They tried. They really did.

But Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher simply could not move past the latter’s wandering private parts, as the actress announced this afternoon that she is filing for divorce.

Moore did not specifically cite Kutcher’s alleged affair with a 22-year old named Sara Leal – or the fact that he was also accused of stepping out on his wife in 2010 – but one scarcely needs to read between the lines of her statement to understand the basis for this split. Demi wrote:

“It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I have decided to end my six-year marriage to Ashton.

“As a woman, a mother and a wife there are certain values and vows that I hold sacred, and it is in this spirit that I have chosen to move forward with my life. This is a trying time for me and my family, and so I would ask for the same compassion and privacy that you would give to anyone going through a similar situation.”

Responded Kutcher, in a Tweet we assume was approved by his editorial team: “I will forever cherish the time I spent with Demi. Marriage is one of the most difficult things in the world and unfortunately sometimes they fail.”

[Photo: WENN.com]

The Hollywood Gossip

Will Chaz Bono die young because he became a man?

That’s the implication of a story in the National Enquirer. One that has him threatening to sue, claiming the article is a “smear campaign” and “blatantly false.”

The “story” is plastered right on cover of the November 11 issue with a headline that screams, “Chaz Bono: ONLY 4 YEARS TO LIVE.” Pretty overt, and awful.

The article cites “expert” opinions about Chaz’s weight, stress and medication linked with gender reassignment, concluding he’ll likely kick it by 2015.

The Dancing With the Stars cast member, understandably, is royally pissed, and has fired off a letter demanding a retraction and apology for this ASAP.

In the letter, Chaz’s lawyer calls the story, “blatantly false and defamatory,” not to mention “salacious and inflammatory,” and “crafted for the malicious purpose of discriminating against our client’s gender and sexual orientation.”

Enraged over the “misleading and blatantly false” medical “opinions,” his lawyer says if the tabloid does not retract the story pronto, Chaz Bono will sue.

Your move, Enquirer.

The Hollywood Gossip