Just days after I cancelled the "Elmogate" banner I requested from our designers, it appears there is a need for it again. I have a feeling I'll have to do it myself this time.

Sheldon Stevens, a now 23-year-old male model who claims to have had an underage relationship with 52-year-old puppeteer Kevin Clash, has decided to retract his retraction — and in turn, forfeit the $125,000 settlement he reached with Clash, who earned his fame as the man behind Elmo, Sesame Street's fuzzy red megastar.

From TMZ:

We've learned Stephens has met with lawyers in Los Angeles and told them he was pressured into recanting his allegation and insists he's telling the truth when he says he had sex with Clash when he was 16.

Stephens — who is now 23 — is telling lawyers he will gladly forfeit the $125,000 to restore his name. Stephens is saying he was literally crying during the final negotiations and repeatedly said he didn't want to sign.

So there's that. We'll keep up on this childhood-crushing story, if our souls don't break in the process.

Kevin Clash, the longtime puppeteer of Sesame Street sensation and constantly in-demand red monster puppet Elmo, has been cleared of accusations that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with an underage boy after the accuser recanted.

The accuser, who is now 24 and remains unidentified, had this to say, according to the New York Times's Media Decoder blog:

Andreozzi & Associates, a law firm that said it represented the accuser said in a statement that “he wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship.” The statement added, “He will have no further comment on the matter.”

The accuser’s identity has not been disclosed.

Mr. Clash said through a spokeswoman: “I am relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest. I will not discuss it further.”

Which finally puts this whole stupid matter of what two grown-ups do with each other in their personal time to rest, and makes me wonder why people give a damn what gossip mongers like TMZ have to say which brings up this note from the end of the Times blog's post:

Harvey Levin, the editor of TMZ, did not respond to a request for comment about its decision to run with the unproven allegations of underage sex.

I could rant for a few paragraphs about how scummy it was for TMZ to run with a story that is likely to never be forgotten by tabloid-reading parents who will pull their children away from Sesame Street-related products because the man controlling the puppet is gay, but I'll save the energy media rants at other media outlets tend to come off as exercises in ego-stroking and moral posturing.

What matters here is that there's a chance that a man's name has been tarnished with a terrible stain: the accusation of being a sexual offender, which is made worse by the fact that he's a major player in a children's television show. He's guilty of no real wrong-doing, even according to his accuser, but there's a chance that his professional life may not recover because of a case of less-than-stellar judgement both on his part, and on the part of TMZ.

Say what you will about Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert, the Colbert Report and his cohorts over at The Daily Show, but his work satirizing the existence of Super PACs and political ads this election cycle (and "supporting" Herman Cain) was fantastic.

But now, with the election over, the Colbert Super PAC known as Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, has to come to an end. The problem is, what happens to the money? It turns out, Colbert's lawyer, Trevor Potter (former general counsel to John McCain's political campaigns) has a few ideas:

To summarize, it turns out that after Super PACs and their accompanying 501(c)(4)s have outlived their usefulness as giant, nigh-untraceable houses in which candidates and their donors can support each other without actually supporting each other, they can become giant, nigh-untraceable black holes of money, from which the government may never see a dime.

It's enough to make you want to hug an eagle in an Uncle Sam costume.

Something new to file in the "destruction of innocence" category: Puppeteer of the beloved "Elmo" character on Sesame Street Kevin Clash is taking a "leave of absence" from the show in the wake of accusations of an inappropriate relationship with a then-16-year-old boy.

From Yahoo! News, via the Associated Press:

Sesame Workshop said puppeteer Kevin Clash denies the charges, which were first made in June by the alleged partner, who by then was 23.

"We took the allegation very seriously and took immediate action," Sesame Workshop said in a statement issued Monday. "We met with the accuser twice and had repeated communications with him. We met with Kevin, who denied the accusation."

The organization described the relationship as personal and "unrelated to the workplace." Its investigation found the allegation of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated. But it said Clash exercised "poor judgment" and was disciplined for violating company policy regarding Internet usage. It offered no details.

"I had a relationship with (the accuser)," Clash told TMZ. "It was between two consenting adults and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to make it into something it was not."

Don't worry, parents: According to the story, Elmo should be fine.

"Elmo is bigger than any one person and will continue to be an integral part of 'Sesame Street' to engage, educate and inspire children around the world, as it has for 40 years," Sesame Workshop said in its statement.

"Sesame Street" is currently in production, but other puppeteers are prepared to fill in for Clash during his absence, according to a person close to the show who spoke on condition of anonymity because that person was not authorized to publicly discuss details about the show's production.

"Elmo will still be a part of the shows being produced," that person said.

It appears that, finally, after years of being carried by Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg, Saturday Night Live is starting to be funny again. It helps, of course, that they've finally gotten some quality guest hosts, such as the eternally hilarious Louis C.K.

C.K., the native resident New Yorker, took a brilliant turn in this portrayal of Abraham Lincoln, generally playing himself as our 16th President. If you find C.K. funny, and you're a fan of historical humor made contemporary, you'll love this extended cut of "Lincoln," SNL's presidential riff on C.K.'s fantastic show on the FX cable network.

Just in time for Halloween: Joss Whedon's endorsement of Mitt Romney because "Romney is ready to make the deep rollbacks in health care, education, social service, reproductive rights that will guarantee poverty, unemployment, overpopulation, disease, rioting—all crucial elements in creating a nightmare zombie wasteland." Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Browncoats everywhere will enjoy this.

In a move that makes a strange amount of sense, Family Guy creator, Ted film star and writer of dick jokes fine comedy Seth MacFarlane will host the upcoming 83rd Annual Academy Awards.

MacFarlane has shown that he does have presence on TV — he MC'd Comedy Central's Roast of Charlie Sheen last year, and pulled off hosting duties during Saturday Night Live's season opener a few weeks ago. Plus, it doesn't hurt that the man has shown himself capable of carrying a tune (see any and all Family Guy musical episodes), and is actually, y'know, funny, even if his TV shows tend to come off as a bit one-note.

I mean, I'm relatively certain that this will be a success — even if he can't work as blue as he would tend to given free rein, MacFarlane is a smart guy and a hell of an entertainer. The only catch would come if he happens to skewer some of Hollywood's A-Listers a bit too much — but, given the circumstances, isn't that what we want to see anyway?

For a look at MacFarlane's SNL monologue, click below the jump.

Say goodbye to the guido and guidettes of Jersey Shore. MTV announced that the show will conclude after it's upcoming season, which starts on Oct. 4.

At its height, the show drew more than 8 million viewers. According to a June report at nationalledger.com, the "stars" salaries are:

Snooki, Mike and Pauly are each paid $150,000 per episode, and every season has roughly 12 episodes, which gives them each an estimated grand total of $1.8 million dollars per season.

Those figures are a very big increase over their $10,000-per-episode take for Season 2 (premiering July 29) — and a huge increase over the $5,000-per-episode they earned in Season 1.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, JWoww earns a bit less and brings in about $100,000 per episode and Vinny Guadagnino makes $90,000 per.

Ronnie and Sammi each bring in about $80,000 per show installment, while newcomer Deena Cortese earns $40,000 an episode.

Meanwhile, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2011 yearly mean pay for a firefighter was $45,250. A family social worker: $44,410. An EMT: $34,030.

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Tonight on Arizona Public Media's Political Roundtable: City Councilman Steve Kozachik, Republican National Committeeman Bruce Ash and Pima County Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Rogers talk about Paul Ryan joining Mitt Romney on the GOP presidential ticket, the thickening mud in the primary races for the Pima County Board of Supervisors, the pros and cons of the sales-tax and jungle primary propositions, Gov. Brewer's immigration executive order, the controversy over a tudent-housing high-rise near the UA and more. Tune in at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 6.

I'm not a Doctor Who guy (mostly just out of ignorance and my general ambivalence toward science fictionish things), but I know a lot of people are (including some employees of the Weekly), so here's a trailer for season 7.

Also, if you're into animated GIFs...AND I TOTALLY AM...head to the Doctor Who tumblr for your fill.