LOS A
NGELES – The criminal driving-without-a-license case against Britney Spears in Los Angeles has been dismissed. A mistrial was declared Tuesday morning when jurors said they couldn’t come up with a unanimous decision following two full days of deliberations. Jurors were deadlocked 10-2 in favor of acquitting the pop singer of any wrongdoing.
A couple of hours later, prosecutors said they would not pursue the criminal case further, and the case was dismissed.
(CNN) — Pop star Madonna and her film director husband Guy Ritchie are to divorce, Madonna’s UK spokeswoman, Moira Bellas, confirmed to CNN.
A statement e-mailed to The Associated Press from Madonna spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg says the couple has agreed to divorce, and asks the media to respect their privacy.
The statement, co-signed by Ritchie’s representative, says the couple had not agreed to a settlement.
The Sun newspaper — a British tabloid — first reported Wednesday that the couple would announce the split imminently.
Ritchie, 40, and Madonna married seven years ago at a lavish ceremony in Scotland, but rumors have been circulating in the press recently that their relationship was increasingly under strain.
No prenuptial agreement for Madonna »
Earlier this year, the singer denied being involved romantically with New York Yankees baseball player Alex Rodriguez. Rodriguez was eventually divorced from his wife.
The last time the couple was seen together in public was in September, when Madonna took a break from touring to celebrate her husband’s birthday at a London pub.
A recent escalation in rows led to Madonna and Ritchie communicating via their personal assistants, The Sun reported.
“Despite huge attempts to patch things up they both know deep down that divorce was on the cards. It wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when,” The Sun, quoting a source, reported.
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WASHINGTON - Janet Jackson took the stage to exploding fireworks, clouds of smoke and the sounds of some early hits Wednesday in her first concert since she was sidelined for two weeks by a bout of vertigo.
Sporting a huge mohawk and light-colored body suit, the Grammy-winning performer opened with “Pleasure Principle,” followed by “What Have You Done for Me Lately” from her 1986 album “Control.” Soon after, she sang her latest single, “Feedback.”
“It feels so good to be back after being down just a little bit,” Jackson told the crowd at the less-than-full Verizon Center.
The two-hour, high-energy show went smoothly, but Jackson did appear winded at times. At one point, she paused to admire her backup dancers, and the audience roared with approval.
“She was perfect. If she was sick, she’s not sick anymore,” said Maurice Bell, 28, of Washington. “She can still do it at 42.”
At the end of the show, a teary-eyed Jackson told the crowd: “I love you D.C. so much.
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WEST HOLLYWOOD, California (CNN) — The date was October 13, 2007. In four hours, T.I. was scheduled to appear at the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was nominated for nine trophies.
Instead, the hip-hop superstar found himself handcuffed in a downtown parking lot for attempting to buy machine guns and silencers in an undercover sting. He pleaded guilty to illegal weapons possession and was sentenced to seven months of house arrest, 1,500 hours of community service and one year in jail — which he begins serving next March.
In the meantime, T.I.’s new CD, “Paper Trail,” has become his third consecutive No. 1 album. And if that isn’t enough, he sits at No. 1 and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with “Live Your Life” and “Whatever You Like.”
CNN Senior Producer Denise Quan spoke with the multiplatinum rapper, born Clifford Harris Jr., backstage before a recent show at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California.
CNN: When I first heard about the charges, I said, “You have got to be kidding. WHY?”
T.I.: Well, in order to fully understand the answer to that question, you will have to put yourself in my shoes. You know how many attempts have been made against my life? There are people out there that would rather kill you than to tell you “Good luck” or “I am happy for you.” So until you understand that, you wouldn’t understand my train of thought.
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LOS ANGELES - Maureen McCormick never opened up to her “Brady Bunch” siblings about her new tell-all book.
“She’s been pretty quiet about it,” said Barry Williams, who played Greg Brady, “because I’ve asked her.”
McCormick chronicles her romance with Williams, her on-screen stepbrother, in the new book, “Here’s the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice.” She also discusses her bouts with addiction and depression, as well as dates with Michael Jackson and Steve Martin.
McCormick’s “Brady” co-stars said they weren’t privy to the details she planned to reveal. Nor was she around for a recent reunion of sorts — she was too busy promoting the book, published by William Morrow, which went on sale Tuesday.
“We don’t know what’s in the book,” said Eve Plumb, who played middle sister Jan.
“I’m excited to read it,” said Susan Olsen, who played the youngest one — Cindy — and who’s also working on a “Brady” book.
McCormick’s former co-stars — Williams, Plumb, Olsen, Christopher Knight and Mike Lookinland — reunited backstage Monday at the Sunset-Bronson Studios during a break from filming five “Brady Week” episodes for the new “Trivial Pursuit: America Plays” syndicated game show, hosted by Knight.
“The Brady Bunch” aired from 1969-1974. Over the past decades, the group has somehow formed a family. During their candid interviews, they didn’t hesitate to talk over one another, or finish each other’s sentences.
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LOS ANGELES - An adorable talking dog remained just the sort of escapist movie hero audiences wanted after a week of awful economic news.
Disney’s family 
comedy “Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” with Drew Barrymore providing the voice of the pooch, was the No. 1 flick for the second-straight weekend with $17.5 million, raising its 10-day total to $52.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
“Beverly Hills Chihuahua” is the only light comedy in a market heavy on drama. Chuck Viane, Disney’s head of distribution, said movie-goers may be turning to the perky pooch to help forget the market free-fall on Wall Street.
“This is only word-of-mouth coming back to us from theaters. I don’t have any statistical proof. But they’re telling us we’re getting more unaccompanied-by-children adults coming on their own. They’re looking for a little entertainment,” Viane said. “The axiom we’ve always lived by is funny is money. People come out for comedy. They love to sit back and let someone give them a couple of hours of escapism.”
The weekend’s No. 2 flick — the fright film “Quarantine,” which debuted with $14.2 million — filled the escapism needs for the horror crowd. The Sony Screen Gems release centers on a contagion that turns an apartment building’s tenants into flesh-hungry monsters.
“It’s probably the perfect kind of movie for today’s climate,” said Rory Bruer, Sony head of distribution. “Let’s just get away from the news, from all that’s going on, and go someplace else, and this is something that’ll take you someplace else.”
source: yahoo.com
TORONTO, Ontario (AP) — Keira Knightley is happy to reign as Hollywood’s current queen of the costume drama. She just wishes that playing dress-up in period outfits could be a bit more comfortable.
Knightley delivers her latest historical pageant with “The Duchess,” a saga of the 18th century equivalent of a tabloid celebrity who happens to be an ancestor of Princess Diana.
The story of Georgiana Spencer holds notable parallels to the tragedy of Diana. Both were adored by the public. Both saw their fairy-tale romances with men at the apex of Britain’s aristocracy devolve into loveless marriages. Both sought escape and diversion with social causes, high-profile friendships and dalliances that hurtled them into the center of scandals.
Knightley knew nothing of the blood relation between Georgiana and Diana when she first read the screenplay for “The Duchess,” based on the biography “Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire.” The film, which opened in limited release last month, has a wider release Friday. Watch Knightley dazzle in “The Duchess” »
Just 11 years old when Diana died and coming from a family immersed in political theater, not celebrity gossip, Knightley preferred to think of the connection as nothing more than a footnote.
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You probably know
Evan Handler as Harry Goldenblatt, Charlotte York’s husband on HBO’s "Sex and the City," or as Charlie Runkle, the agent for David Duchovny’s character on "Californication." What you probably don’t know is that he’s a passionate patient advocate, based on his experience being treated for leukemia in the mid- and late-1980s.
In many ways, Handler is the ultimate empowered patient. "I learned that I must always remain in control, double-check everyone’s work, and trust no one completely," Hander wrote of his approximately eight months in the hospital. "I must have been sheer hell to be around. But I know that my cantankerousness saved my life on several occasions."
In his books "It’s Only Temporary," and "Time on Fire," Handler wrote that during his months in the hospital, he was given intravenous drugs that were supposed to go to another patient, that nurses tried to give him medications his doctors had forbidden for him and that staff members refused to follow the hospital’s posted hygiene precautions for immunosuppressed patients like himself.
Handler survived when statistics said he shouldn’t have. He endured round after round of chemotherapy, one infection after another and a bone marrow transplant. In this conversation with CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, Handler discusses firing your doctor, tattooing medical directives on your stomach and the importance of not doing exactly what you’re told.
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NEW YORK - Janet Jackson was released from a Montreal hospital just two hours after she arrived, a spokeswoman for the facility said Tuesday, but it was still not clear why she was admitted.
The 42-year-old singer became "suddenly ill" and was taken to Royal Victoria Hospital on Monday night shortly before her scheduled concert in Montreal, which was canceled, according to a statement released by W&W Public Relations.
Jackson was at Royal Victoria but was released two hours later, said Rebecca Burns, representative for McGill University Health Centre, which runs the hospital. Representaives for Jackson would not elaborate on her condition Tuesday, simply saying that she was ill and was "recuperating."
Meanwhile, Jackson’s shows in Boston and Philadelphia on Wednesday and Thursday were postponed and she was due to resume her tour in Greensboro, N.C. on Saturday. There was no information on when those shows would be rescheduled.
Jackson, who is on her first North American tour in seven years, dropped out of her scheduled "Saturday Night Live" performance in March because she had the flu, and her publicist said at the time that she went to the hospital for treatment but was not admitted.
Source: yahoo.com
(CNN) – Paul Newman, the legendary actor whose steely blue eyes, good-humored charm and advocacy of worthy causes made him one of the most renowned figures in American arts, has died of cancer at his home in Westport, Connecticut. He was 83.
He died Friday, according to spokeswoman Marni Tomljanovic.
Newman attained stardom in the 1950s and never lost the movie-star aura, appearing in such classic films as "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "Exodus," "The Hustler," "Cool Hand Luke," "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "The Sting" and "The Verdict."
He finally won an Oscar in 1986 — on his eighth try — for "The Color of Money," a sequel to "The Hustler." He later received two more Oscar nominations. Among his other awards was the Motion Picture Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
"Paul took advantage of what life offered him, and while personally reluctant to acknowledge that he was doing anything special, he forever changed the lives of many with his generosity, humor, and humanness," said Robert Forrester, vice chairman of the actor’s Newman’s Own Foundation. "His legacy lives on in the charities he supported and the Hole in the Wall Camps, for which he cared so much."
He was often willing to make fun of himself. Early in his career he was mistaken for fellow Method actor Marlon Brando; Newman obligingly signed autographs, "Best wishes, Marlon Brando." 
Read more reaction to from Paul Newman’s friends and family »
Newman was a Method-trained actor who blazed his own career trail and didn’t shy away from risky roles — inside and outside films. Watch a look back at Newman’s career »
A portrayal as a race-car driver in 1969’s "Winning" led to his actual competition in races; at 70, he participated in the 24 Hours of Daytona and he was still racing at age 80.
He stumped for liberal causes, including Eugene McCarthy’s 1968 presidential candidacy, and earned a spot on Richard Nixon’s enemies list — "the highest single honor I’ve ever received," he said.
Read more on CNN.com
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