Best Bets: Woody Allen's ode to Rome, HBO's "The Newsroom" and Fiona Apple's new album

(CBS News) Just in time for the summer travel season, director Woody Allen, who has paid cinematic tribute to several world capitals in recent years, is turning his camera on the Eternal City.

Pictures: "To Rome With Love" premiere
Pictures: 2012 Summer movies

His movie "To Rome With Love," which premiered last weekat the Los Angeles Film Festival, opens in theaters Friday. It stars Penelope Cruz, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Page and Jesse Eisenberg. Allen's recent output includes "Match Point" (about London), "Vicki Christina Barcelona," and "Midnight in Paris," which won an Oscar for best original screenplay in February.

Also coming to the big screen this week is "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World," the romantic comedy about an asteroid threatening Earth with Steve Carell and Keira Knightley and "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," a fantasy-horror film about a vampire plot to take over the U.S. during Lincoln's presidency.

TV viewers can look forward to a new Aaron Sorkin drama on HBO. In "The Newsroom," which debuts Sunday Jeff Daniels is a cable news anchor who is determined to do the news justice in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles. Also in the cast are Emily Mortimer, Alison Pill, Dev Patel, and Olivia Munn.

The "Jersey Shore" spinoff "Snooki & JWOWW" makes its debut Thursday on MTV and "The Glass House," an ABC reality show about a group living together in a house where the cameras are always on, makes an appearance tonight. CBS has gone to courtto stop it from airing, claiming it is a duplicate of "Big Brother" but a judge said Friday he is likely to let it debut while the copyright infringement case is pending.

Also debuting on the small screen this week is "The Great Escape," TNT's action-adventure game show, and the ABC sitcom "Baby Daddy."

DVD and Blu-Ray releases this week include the Jason Segal comedy "Jeff Who Lives at Home," the first season of Lisa Kudrow's "Web Therapy," and season two of Louie C.K.'s "Louie."

Among the new musical releases out Tuesday is "The Idler's Wheel...," the fourth studio album from Grammy-winning singer-wongwwriter Fiona Apple, and Justin Bieber's second full-length album, "Believe" which includes the already released single "Boyfriend."

There is also new music coming from country superstar Kenny Chesney ("Welcome to the Fishbowl"), who is touring with Tim McGraw this summer under their Brothers of the Sun banner. The alt-rock band The Smashing Pumpkins is releasing "Oceania," its ninth studio album and its first since 2007.

Biographies of both President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hit store shelves on Tuesday. You've probably already seen details that have come out in advance from "Barack Obama: The Story" about the president's Harvard days and former girlfriends. The book is written by David Maraniss, an associate editor at the Washington Post.

"American Tapestry: The Story of the Black, White, and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama" looks at the first lady's family going back for generations. It was written by New York Times staffer Rachel L. Swarns.

Finally, best-selling author Janet Evanovich, whose by-the-numbers Stephanie Plum crime series has millions of fans, has a new book, "Wicked Business" out Tuesday. It is the second in a new series featuring Diesel, a character from the Plum novels, and cook Lizzie Tucker.