Sandra Bullock, Sarah Palin, Justin Bieber among Barbara Walters' 'Most Fascinating People' [Updated]

As dependable as Santa's naughty and nice lists, the annual release of names on Barbara Walters' "Most Fascinating People" list reminds us that the holidays are here.

This year, Walters curates a list of the 10 people (only eight will be revealed prior to the broadcast) who captivated our attention in 2010 -- including scandal survivor Sandra Bullock, teen sensation Justin Bieber, polarizing politico Sarah Palin and princess-to-be Kate Middleton. 

The sit-down is significant for Bullock, who has turned up publicly only for a couple of awards, a "Today" interview pegged to charitable work, and her mildly candid People spread about adopting baby Louis. Read: Expect the juice to flow.

Palin, an alumna of the 2009 list, makes the cut again, while heartthrob Beiber hits it for the first time. Betty White, LeBron James, Jennifer Lopez and the cast of "Jersey Shore" (yes, you read that correctly) will also appear.

Walters will reveal the ninth name, in addition to the identity of her "most fascinating" person, when the show airs Dec. 9. 

Can you guess which luminary will fill the empty spot? Lady Gaga again? Final-season Oprah Winfrey? Mel Gibson? Perhaps a repeat performance from the recently-more-fascinating Brett Favre?

Tell us in the comments section below. 

[For the record, 11:56 a.m.: Justin Bieber's last name was misspelled in an earlier version of this post. As for initially calling Kate Middleton "Katie," well, that's just our little pet name. Thanks to commenter @Emmy for the catch.]

-- Matt Donnelly
twitter.com/MattDonnelly 

Photo: Sandra Bullock at the 2010 People's Choice Awards. Credit: Getty Images

RELATED:

Barbara Walters finds Michael Jackson's kids fascinating

Barbara Walters out of heart surgery, recovering 'as expected'

Barbara Walters' '10 Most Fascinating People of 2009': observations, and a poll

'DWTS' judge Carrie Ann Inaba reveals Sarah Palin 'girl crush'

 

Suuuuuuure, Carrie Ann Inaba — you introduced yourself to Sarah Palin because your dad loves her? If that's your story and you're sticking with it ...

The "Dancing With the Stars" judge fessed up to falling for Bristol Palin's mom's personality, and her possible spray tan.

"She's so charming!" Inaba told "Access Hollywood" on Wednesday. "I was like, 'Girl crush!' "

"One of the crew guys came up and he goes, 'Look at Sarah. Do you think she spray-tanned?' And I looked at her and I'm like, 'I think she did!' "

"It's not that sunny in Alaska,” said co-host Kit Hoover. “I love it!”

That's right, Kit — on Monday in Wasilla, daylight was present for six hours and 37 minutes. Contrast that to sunny Burbank, which enjoyed a 10 hour, 14 minute day. Meanwhile, the Ministry spray-tans only for award shows.

— Christie D'Zurilla

 

Bristol Palin, 'the fighter,' takes third on 'Dancing With the Stars'

The haters rested easy and the world was safe again for televised dance competitions Tuesday as Bristol Palin finished third on "Dancing With the Stars," heading off dire predictions by the likes of Joy Behar and bajillions of hysterical online commenters about what might happen if Sarah Palin's daughter dared to succeed.

Did we mention it's just a TV show?

"Congrats Jen, Kyle, Bristol, et al, for proving competition is GOOD!," Sarah Palin said Tuesday night on Twitter. "Remember: 'They're going to criticize anyway, so you might as well dance!'" (See Mom's reaction at a book signing in Arizona, below.)

Bristol's "DWTS" stint started with the challenge of a five-day drive down from Alaska and finished with reports of a man shooting his TV when she held on to make the final three, and a death threat now being investigated by the FBI. Fan votes for weeks had been mighty enough to bump her and partner Mark Ballas past the pairs with the second-lowest judges' scores. Hostility over results found Ballas taking a break from Twitter during the season's final week.

Judge Bruno Tonioli worked with Bristol and Mark during a final-week rehearsal, leading to some comical moments coming from his over-the-top personality juxtaposed with Palin's more shy demeanor. Tonioli said of the couple's "favorite dance" on Tuesday, "This is the dance that showed us Bristol the fighter, more focused, more confident.

"You found your footing in this competition and you earned your place in the finale I think through this," he said. "Because you've always been a clean dancer, but your performance level started to develop with the tango, and it's still here to be seen." The studio audience seemed to agree, giving a standing ovation that included fellow competitor Kyle Massey pumping his hands over his head in support.

Judge Carrie Ann Inaba had a theory about "Bristol the Pistol's" fan appeal.

Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga top Forbes' list of 100 most powerful women

It's a good year to be a lady, with Lady Gaga and First Lady Michelle Obama topping the 2010 Forbes list of the 100 most powerful women.

Comprising creative, political and corporate influencers, the Forbes list ranks femmes in all kinds of categories. Obama (No. 1) and Gaga (No. 7) are joined in the top 10 by Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and Beyonce Knowles.

Angelina Jolie checks in at No. 21 for her combined box-office stardom and U.N. goodwill ambassadorship. Not far away at No. 29 sits Madonna, for her fashion design efforts, ubiquitous Dolce & Gabbana ad campaign, and film directing.

Sarah Palin makes an appearance at No. 16. Also on the list are media types Katie Couric (No. 22), Meredith Vieira (No. 40) and Rachel Maddow (No. 50).

Levi Johnston assaulted with large words during interview

The Ministry will now publicize the new MSNBC show "The Last Word" -- publicity being the most sensible reason host Lawrence O'Donnell would ask Levi Johnston the same questions Katie Couric famously tossed Sarah Palin's way when the former Alaska governor was running for vice president.

(Johnston, of course, is running for Palin's old job, mayor of Wasilla, for an upcoming reality TV show that's in development.)

We're pleased to report, with an assist from New York magazine: Levi does not support abstinence, and doesn't appear to back abortion (the morning-after pill is "the girl's decision"), and while saying his son Tripp is the best thing that ever happened to him, he also imagines what his life would be like (he "was young") had the kid not come along.

No booing was heard in the background during the Johnston interview, and the Ministry does not expect MSNBC to broadcast any outtakes from the show to explain what was actually going on.

See for yourself -- the video is after the break.

On 'Dancing With the Stars,' Bristol Palin speaks, Sarah Palin gets booed? [polls]

Those boos heard in the background right before Sarah Palin spoke with "Dancing With the Stars" host Tom Bergeron were for the judges, not the former Alaska governor, an ABC spokesperson told Show Tracker.

Asked her opinion on the judges' performance, "guest commentator" Palin said, "It's like before a hockey game, you're not going to chew out the refs before your team is up to, you know, on the ice."

Throwing a double thumbs-up, she said to the trio, "They're great, you guys are doing great!"

The booing, heard from off-camera in the ballroom while host Brooke Burke was doing a post-dance chat with Jennifer Grey and partner Derek Hough, confused Grey and caused a stir among viewers posting to Twitter. The pair had received a total score of only 24 after their crowd-pleasing performance. (See clips from all the dances in the video below, and see the clip with the booing here.)

Bristol Palin moves back in with Sarah Palin, calls off Levi Johnston engagement

They sure can freeze you out fast in Alaska -- take it from Bristol Palin, who, in a matter of hours, called off her engagement to baby daddy Levi Johnston and has reportedly moved back in with her parents, Sarah and Todd Palin.

"It's over. I broke up with him,"  Bristol told People magazine on Monday. "I need a man who's going to be completely honest with me and someone who loves me and Tripp and wants to be with him all the time."

The ring is off, and Bristol has already decamped for the Palin compound with the aforementioned Tripp, the couple's 19-month-old son, says TMZ.

Johnston's manager Tank Jones told the outlet he feels the split was caused by "misinformation" -- likely referring to a recent story claiming Johnston impregnated an ex-girlfriend, which both Johnston and the girl in question have denied.

Jones went on to say that, in time, he believes the pair will reconcile. For now, Johnston will continue to co-parent Tripp and keep up with "financial obligations." 

Does this seem like it's a misunderstanding, or was this just doomed from the start? Tell us in the comments section below.

-- Matt Donnelly

Photo: Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston in happier times. Credit: Daniel Acker / Bloomberg News 

Related dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip:

Bristol Palin, Levi Johnston are engaged again

Levi Johnston apologizes to Sarah Palin for 'not completely true' statements [poll]

Bristol Palin, Levi Johnston are engaged again

Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are engaged again as of two weeks ago, having come back together while working out a custody plan for their 18-month-old son, Tripp, Us Magazine reports exclusively.

The kicker: The two told Us magazine before telling Bristol's parents. Todd and Sarah Palin responded with a statement read on the "Today" show Wednesday: 

Bristol at 19 is now a young adult. We obviously want what's best for our children. Bristol believes in redemption and forgiveness to a degree most of us struggle to put in practice in our daily lives.

Levi apologized to Sarah and Todd Palin on July 6 for "not completely true" statements he made in the wake of his and Bristol's breakup. People magazine had that exclusive.

Bristol described her response to a day three months ago that made a difference for her and Levi -- a day that Levi says featured talking and then a walk: "When he left that night, we didn’t ...

Levi Johnston apologizes to Sarah Palin for 'not completely true' statements [poll]

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Levi Johnston, who famously insinuated awhile back that Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd, were on the verge of divorce, has told People exclusively that, shoot, he might've been a little bit angry at the time over his breakup with Bristol Palin and might've engaged in a little bit of, you know, fibbing and stuff.

Which means that all or part of what he said in October 2009 in a clip from "The Early Show," above, may or may not be true.

So, maybe it's not technically "lying" if you're just saying things that are just "not completely true"? That's what Johnston says he was doing. Because he was upset about breaking up with Bristol. Which happened in March 2009. 

Must've been a hard breakup to get over, because in an October 2009 interview with "Entertainment Tonight," Johnston was asked if he thought the Palin relationship was headed for divorce -- rumors that a Palin representative denied at the time.

"I'm sure it is. Just like she decided she was going to quit [being the] governor [of Alaska], just was waiting for the right time, they're gonna wait it out. They're gonna be smart, they're do it when the time is right." 

That coming after a September 2009 interview with Vanity Fair in which he'd trashed ...

Sarah Palin pokes the press and Taylor Swift gives her stock smile at Time 100 party [pics]

In celebration of its annual 100 list, Time magazine invited the honorees to a party at New York's Time Warner Center on Monday night.

Sarah Palin, Taylor Swift and Ashton Kutcher were among those featured in Time as top influencers in America over the last 12 months. 

While Kutcher tweeted away with wife Demi Moore and Swift did her usual show-up-and-wave-and-country-gal thing, Palin took the opportunity to confront some media folks she's been irked by of late.

"I did talk to a couple of reporters already and said that a bunch of stuff that they write is bogus, but we had a great conversation about it and we agreed to disagree on a lot of things," she told New York magazine.

The magazine insinuated that she was not impressed by the evening's keynote speaker, former President Clinton (Michelle Obama had the gig last year).

Other Time 100 guests included Betty White, J.J. Abrams, "Glee" star Lea Michelle, Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow, Richard Branson, Judd Apatow with Leslie Mann and Elton John with husband David Furnish.

Get more photos from Time's big bash after the jump.