1. If all goes according to plan, Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook will unveil the new iPhone 5 today at an event in California. Rumor is that the device has new voice command technology that will allow users to “make appointments in their calendars, send text messages or e-mails, and surf the Web.” [via Bloomberg]
2. Are you as excited by the teaser for Beyoncé’s new Funny Face-inspired music video for “Countdown” as we are? The dance sequence that shows off that baby bump is out of control!
3. Thanks to a money dispute currently brewing between Fox and the show’s six principal voice actors — studio execs are asking them to take a whopping 45 percent pay cut — this could be the final season of The Simpsons. Says an inside source: “Fox is taking the position that unless they can cut the production costs really drastically, they’ll pull the plug on new shows.” [via The Daily Beast]
4. Billy Elliot, the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical based on the 2000 film, will close in January after over three years of performances. The reason? A recent decline in ticket sales due to competition from shows like The Book of Mormon and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. [via ArtsBeat]
5. Because we know you’re curious, here are the first three chapters of Playground, 50 Cent’s semi-autobiographical YA novel about a bully named Butterball.
Bonus Buzz: The 10 Best Minor Arrested Development Characters Of All Time