Gossip/Celebrity News

VIENNA (AFP) - Human rights activist Bianca Jagger's 200,000-euro (295,000-dollar) ring which she lost last month in Salzburg has been recovered, local police said Friday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The rock group Heart, angry that its 70's hit "Barracuda" is being used as the unofficial theme song for Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, is biting back at the Alaska governor.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Hulk Hogan and his estranged wife are wrangling over how much money the celebrity wrestler is worth.

VIENNA (AFP) - Former Colombian guerrilla hostage Ingrid Betancourt was named woman of the year Friday by the World Awards Association, headed by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

NEW YORK - Many stylish women worship the color black, but not Jamie-Lynn Sigler.

NEW YORK - The publisher that took on O.J. Simpson's "If I Did It" after it was dropped in the face of public outrage has signed up another rejected project: Sherry Jones' "The Jewel of Medina," a novel about a wife of the prophet Muhammad that Random House canceled out of concern that it would anger Muslims.

NEW YORK - No soup for Microsoft?

ROME (AFP) - One year after his death, a slew of concerts and programmes commemorating Luciano Pavarotti will be held across Italy and the world, starting Saturday in the tenor's hometown of Modena.

"Oh, please. They've been speculating whether we've been getting divorced I think almost since we got married. The same can be said as to whether she's pregnant or whether we're adopting another child. I think that's just the nature of gossip. ... Everything seems fine. As far as I'm aware." — Guy Ritchie, on his marriage to Madonna.

TORONTO - Crime just never stops paying for Guy Ritchie.

NEW YORK - A drug addict who was arrested on charges of burglarizing Kirsten Dunst's New York City hotel penthouse suite has been sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison.

WASHINGTON - Actress Sally Field had some advice for the mature crowd celebrating AARP's 50th anniversary on a sunny day at the Lincoln Memorial: Don't get burned.

LOS ANGELES - After seeing what "An Inconvenient Truth" did for environmental awareness, Hollywood producer Laura Ziskin wanted to make a documentary about cancer, a disease she has fought since 2004.

Not since Jacqueline Kennedy first donned her signature pillbox hats have fashionistas paid such close attention to what the women of politics are wearing.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Jacksons were crowned icons at the BMI Urban Awards, but the King of Pop was an absentee.

Los Angeles (E! Online) - Ann and Nancy Wilson are hoping the Republicans change their tune—and aren't planning on waiting until November to find out.

NEW YORK (AP) — David Spade is the father of Playboy playmate Jillian Grace's newborn daughter, Spade's representative said Thursday. The baby girl was born Aug. 26 in Missouri, and Spade plans to visit her on his first break from filming the CBS sitcom "Rules of Engagement," publicist Meredith O'Sullivan said.

NEW YORK (AP) — Usher, Keith Urban and Natasha Bedingfield are kicking off the NFL season with a free concert that's expected to draw thousands to Manhattan's Columbus Circle.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Alan Ball may not be a household name, but his TV shows and films have made him an A-lister in Hollywood.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A year after vowing never to perform on the MTV Video Music Awards again, hip-hop star Kanye West will close the show's 25th annual ceremony in Hollywood on Sunday, joining a lineup that includes Christina Aguilera and the Jonas Brothers, organizers said.

NEW YORK - It's been 70 years since Judy Garland first clicked her ruby slippers in "The Wizard of Oz," yet even the well-heeled celebrities who inhabit the wonderful land of Hollywood still find the shoes a thing of beauty.

WASHINGTON - Troubled by the Bear Stearns debacle, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is advocating a new way of dealing with government bailouts of companies whose sudden collapse could wreak havoc on the country's economic and financial stability.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Anthony Edwards, one of the original stars of the NBC hospital drama "ER," will return to the landmark TV show in November in flashback scenes playing his now-deceased character of Dr. Mark Greene.

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) - Real-life husband and wife Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly have signed on to play a married couple in "Creation," director Jon Amiel's film about the life of Charles Darwin.

LOS ANGELES - Britney Spears may not sing at MTV's Video Music Awards, but Christina Aguilera will.

LOS ANGELES - An air conditioning repairman pleaded not guilty Thursday to the stabbing deaths of two women, including a former girlfriend of actor Ashton Kutcher.

LOS ANGELES - Dr. Mark Greene is coming back to "ER," but he's not coming back from the dead.

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Target and Target.com (http://www.target.com/) will be the sole retailers to carry Christina Aguilera's first greatest hits collection, "Keeps Gettin' Better - A Decade of Hits," due November 11.

NEW YORK - Inspired by Neil Young and Radiohead, Michael Moore will release his new film online and for free.