You can always count on TMZ to – if one may be permitted to weave a particularly unsavory metaphor right about now – lift the motel linoleum out from under a dead hooker’s decaying body to go after the juicier aspects of a headline-spewing story. The news organization’s founder, Harvey Levin, recently crafted a series of Tweets taking CNN to task for holding a hypocritical stance when it came to reporting the identity of the former housekeeper with whom Arnold Schwarzenegger had an extra-marital affair and, up until this month, a secret child. And Levin was able to do this not because TMZ has a strict ethical code revered by the media and public at large, but because, by staying true to its own unique code, TMZ has been able to own this story.

CNN reports this morning that the son fathered by Arnold Schwarzenegger with his housekeeper was born just days after wife Maria Shriver also gave birth to a son. The network cites records obtained Wednesday, including the birth certificate for the recently-revealed boy, whose father is listed as the man married at the time to the mother, Schwarzenegger family housekeeper Mildred Patricia Baena. CNN says the couple divorced less than three weeks after the birth.

The revelations have rocked Shriver and the couple’s children, along with friends of the family:

Media coverage of scandals involving sex is often fraught with common pitfalls, none more insidious than the nomenclature surrounding questions of consent. For those seeking to draw a bright line between former Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s just-revealed love child, and IMF chief  Dominique Strauss-Kahn‘s attempted rape case, yes, there is a huge difference, but Bill Maher‘s advice to “get a yes” before you “go after the household help” ignores the inherently coercive relationship between employee and employer.

With the big news this morning being the out of wedlock child that led to the dissolution of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver’s marriage, many have been waiting for some comment from the couple in volved. People Magazine has received a brief statement from Shriver.

The sordid story emerging from the collapsing relationship of Arnold Shwarzenegger and Maria Shriver has fueled a frenzy among media types for the first on-camera interview with the former first lady of California. TMZ is reporting Oprah Winfrey has the inside track. “Oprah met with Maria last week, trying to convince her to become a talk show host on Oprah’s OWN Network. We’ve also learned Maria is going to be a guest on Oprah’s final show.”

Last week news broke that Maria Shriver and former Califorina Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had announced they were splitting up after 25 years of marriage. The LA Times is reporting a new development that explains why the two are now ending their relationship: it seems that Schwarznegger has acknowledged that he had fathered a child with a staff member that worked for the family for 20 years.

California’s former first couple, Arnold Shwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, have announced their separation–releasing a statement Monday night that said the couple will live apart and “decide on the future of their relationship.”

The couple–introduced to each other by NBC’s Tom Brokaw–have been together 25 years and have four children. Those close to the family say they have been living somewhat separate lives in recent years, with Schwarzenegger focused on politics and Shriver devoted to charity work:

Activist and politician Sargent Shriver died today at the age of 95 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. A member of the Kennedy family, Shriver was instrumental in founding the Peace Corps in addition to being remembered as a political organizer for then-presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, a Special Assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson, the U.S. Ambassador to France from 1968 to 1970, and as a former vice presidential candidate in 1972.

Over at Gossip Cop, a new video clip has surfaced of the First Lady of California, Maria Shriver, politely yet effectively dismissing a nagging paparazzo. The cameraman confronts Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s wife and son at the mall, calling himself a “big fan” before urging that Shriver “talk some sense into her husband.” In a terse response Shriver shoots back, “I think you can do better than this, okay?” and carries on with her day. Check out the clip inside.

Coverage of Senator Edward Kennedy’s funeral and burial dominated this weekend. Both the networks and the cablers carried Saturday’s service live and then returned later in the day in order to broadcast Kennedy’s motorcade past the Capitol, and burial at Arlington National Cemetery. In case you missed any of it here’s a look at the top five moments from this weekend’s coverage.