Daily News Digest: Entertainment - Reuters Celebrity/Gossip News Headlines - Yahoo! News

Yahoo! Alerts

Yahoo! News | My Alerts | Edit Alert

Wednesday, December 28, 2011 12:10 AM PST

Today's Entertainment - Reuters Celebrity/Gossip News Headlines - Yahoo! News: NY Times to sell regional newspapers for $143 million Review: Gay coming-of-age "Pariah" has come of age Review: "Darkest Hour" full of dimwitted alien prey Condoms for porn actors to be on Los Angeles ballot New "Hobbit" production video shows captures cast and crew "Fast Five," "Hangover II" among most pirated in 2011 "Hunger Games" producers under fire for skirting music union Oscar ballots are in the mail Abstract painter Helen Frankenthaler dies at 83 Viacom challenges final payment to Harmonix Robinson exit to cost New York Times over $15 million Report: Maria Shriver may be re-thinking Arnold divorce "SNL" writer Joe Bodolai dead of apparent suicide Heavy D death caused by pulmonary embolism Adele sells most albums in a year since 2004 Dan Aykroyd joins 'Dog Fight' with Will Ferrell Univision edges out networks on repeat-heavy night AMC renews "Hell on Wheels" for second season People says gay Taylor Lautner cover "100 percent fake" Sinead O'Connor ends fourth marriage after 16 days Tracey Gold stars in spider drama "Arachnoquake" Animal Planet's "Whale Wars" renewed for fifth season Thanks to Gaga, Adele, music business finally improves in 2011 Woody Allen's first stab at 'Midnight' was 1971 short story Thatcher's "Iron Lady" image softened by new movie Indie Box Office: Wim Wenders' "Pina" opens big Actor Matthew McConaughey proposes to girlfriend Van Halen unveils new tour with Roth aboard Tom Cruise returns to box office form with "MI4" The top films at the North American box office Holland Taylor on life, love and Charlie Sheen Bollywood rediscovered heroes in 2011 "Mission: Impossible" cruises to top of box office Taylor Swift, T-Bone Burnett on "Hunger Games" album Mel Gibson, wife finalize divorce How comedian Louis C.K. made $1M and gave half away Robert De Niro welcomes baby girl Louis Vuitton sues over knockoff bag in "Hangover 2" Gaunt George Michael says "fortunate to be here" Stephen Colbert will sponsor South Carolina's GOP primary NY Times to sell regional newspapers for $143 million Tue,27 Dec 2011 11:36 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - The New York Times Co said it will sell 16 regional newspapers spread across the U.S. Southeast and California to Halifax Media Holdings for $143 million in cash as it looks to cut costs and focus on its most important papers and their websites. Regional newspapers have struggled recently because of weak local retail and national advertising, partly reflecting the economy's broader travails. The company said it will record an after-tax gain on the sale -- expected to close in a few weeks -- in the first quarter of 2012. ... Full Story Top Review: Gay coming-of-age "Pariah" has come of age Tue,27 Dec 2011 05:40 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - If you've ever been to a gay and lesbian film festival, you've seen the story a million times -- teen hides sexuality from closed-minded parents, sneaks into a gay bar, finds true love, moves to the big city, dances to house music under the closing credits. First-time writer-director Dee Rees avoids all the usual clichés with the powerful "Pariah," a moving story that's told with intelligence, heart and a working knowledge of the real world we live in. ... Full Story Top Review: "Darkest Hour" full of dimwitted alien prey Tue,27 Dec 2011 05:39 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Despite the fact that "The Darkest Hour" was smuggled into U.S. theaters on Christmas Day with no advance press screenings, I went in full of residual holiday good cheer, prepared to give this sci-fi movie the benefit of the doubt that all B-movies deserve. By the time the closing credits came up, however, I felt drained of my Yule joy, dispirited by this aggressively idiotic movie. It's the sort of film where our plucky band of survivors learns ways to resist their invisible alien foes, but then never use that information. ... Full Story Top Condoms for porn actors to be on Los Angeles ballot Tue,27 Dec 2011 04:51 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A ballot initiative requiring Los Angeles porn actors to wear condoms has qualified to go before city voters in a presidential primary election in June, organizers said on Tuesday. America's second-largest city is home to the multibillion dollar U.S. porn industry, which health advocates say is riddled with sexually transmitted diseases. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation said the city clerk certified the over 71,000 signatures it helped collect, far more than the 41,000 needed for the ballot initiative. ... Full Story Top New "Hobbit" production video shows captures cast and crew Tue,27 Dec 2011 04:33 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Welcome back to Hobbiton. The fifth, 12-minute production video capturing the making of Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit," was posted Saturday on The Hobbit Blog, the official site for the two upcoming movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien's classic novel. The first film, "An Unexpected Journey," arrives in theaters December 14. The new video captures Jackson and his crew on location throughout New Zealand. It sheds light on the logistics of location shooting and offers peeks at some of the scenic spots where filming is taking place. ... Full Story Top "Fast Five," "Hangover II" among most pirated in 2011 Tue,27 Dec 2011 03:44 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Fast Five," "Hangover II" and "Thor" were among the most-pirated movies of 2011, according to a new list from the blog TorrentFreak. But some of the year's other biggest grossers at the global box office -- including the latest "Pirates" movie -- are notably absent from the top 10. "Fast Five," which grossed $626.1 million worldwide, was downloaded nearly 9.3 million times on BitTorrent, according to TorrentFreak. That's a far cry from last year's chart-topper, "Avatar," which was downloaded more than 16 million times. ... Full Story Top "Hunger Games" producers under fire for skirting music union Tue,27 Dec 2011 02:56 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Taylor Swift, Arcade Fire and the Decemberists are contributing songs to "The Hunger Games" -- but the film's soundtrack isn't music to everyone's ears. In a video posted on YouTube, American Federation of Musicians union President Ray Hair slams the producers and Lionsgate for recording the score in London instead of with musicians contracted to the American Federation of Musicians' union in the U.S. and Canada. ... Full Story Top Oscar ballots are in the mail Tue,27 Dec 2011 02:55 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The ballots are in the mail. Ballots for the 84th Academy Awards were mailed to the nearly 6,000 Academy members on Tuesday, the Academy has announced. Those voters now have until January 13 to decide upon their favorite films, performances and/or accomplishments of the year, and to get their choices back to PricewaterhouseCoopers in time for a week and a half of detailed and complex counting. The basics about the Oscar ballots that were mailed on Tuesday: They're color-coded by category, and cover 15 of the 24 Academy Awards categories. ... Full Story Top Abstract painter Helen Frankenthaler dies at 83 Tue,27 Dec 2011 02:52 PM PST Reuters - _Dec (Reuters) - U.S. painter Helen Frankenthaler, who poured thinned pigments directly onto untreated canvas to create ethereal fields of color seen as seminal works in the development of abstract expressionism, died at her home in Darien, Connecticut, on Monday evening at the age of 83. She died following a long illness, her nephew Clifford Moss said on Tuesday. He declined to give further details. ... Full Story Top Viacom challenges final payment to Harmonix Tue,27 Dec 2011 02:51 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - Viacom Inc said it has challenged the final payout due to former shareholders of music-based games developer Harmonix Music Systems, which it had acquired in 2006. A private dispute resolution process on December 19 determined that Viacom, the company behind MTV and Paramount Pictures, owed an additional $383 million as compared to the $700 million sought by the former shareholders. ... Full Story Top Robinson exit to cost New York Times over $15 million Tue,27 Dec 2011 02:43 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - Janet Robinson, who will step down as chief executive of the New York Times Co on December 31, will receive an exit package in excess of $15 million, according to people familiar with the situation. In addition to a $4.5 million consulting fee, the Times Co will pay Robinson $10.9 million in pension benefits that she accrued over 28 years of service, they said. According to a regulatory filing, Times Co's policy previously stipulated that Robinson, 61, would not be eligible for full pension benefits until she was 63 and had been with the company for 30 years. ... Full Story Top Report: Maria Shriver may be re-thinking Arnold divorce Tue,27 Dec 2011 01:50 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Is Maria Shriver ready to continue the long tradition of Kennedy women who've forgiven their husbands' extracurricular activities? TMZ reports it just may be so, as the estranged wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger is re-thinking the idea of pulling the plug on her marriage to the actor and former California governor. Shriver, TMZ says, is struggling with the decision to divorce because of her Catholic background. ... Full Story Top "SNL" writer Joe Bodolai dead of apparent suicide Tue,27 Dec 2011 12:55 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Joe Bodolai -- who wrote for "Saturday Night Live" for the 1981-1982 season and co-wrote the first draft of the "Wayne's World" movie with Mike Myers -- has died in an apparent suicide, according to various reports. He was 63. The body of Bodolai was found Monday in a hotel room in Hollywood. Near his corpse was a mixture of anti-freeze and Gatorade that he is believed to have consumed. While a suicide note was not found near his body, an apparent suicide note was published Friday on Bodolai's blog, "Say It Ain't So, Joe. ... Full Story Top Heavy D death caused by pulmonary embolism Tue,27 Dec 2011 12:28 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The sudden death in November of rapper Heavy D was due to a pulmonary embolism caused by deep leg vein thrombosis, the Los Angeles Coroner's office said on Tuesday. Heavy D, 44, who rose to fame in the 1990s with hit singles such as "Now That We Found Love," was found struggling to breath outside his Beverly Hills apartment on November 8 and died later at a nearby hospital. The coroner's office said in report that no drugs or alcohol were involved, but said that heart disease was a contributing factor in his death. ... Full Story Top Adele sells most albums in a year since 2004 Tue,27 Dec 2011 12:22 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - That Adele's "21" will rank as the year's top-selling album is no surprise - the English singer-songwriter's hits "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You" dominated playlists in 2011. What is surprising is that "21," released by independent British label XL Recordings, sold more than 5 million copies. The last time an album topped the year-end chart with more than 5 million copies sold was in 2004, when Usher's "Confessions" moved 7.9 million, according to Nielsen Soundscan, which supplied all sales data for this story. ... Full Story Top Dan Aykroyd joins 'Dog Fight' with Will Ferrell Tue,27 Dec 2011 12:14 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Dan Aykroyd has joined Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis in the political comedy "Dog Fight," TheWrap has confirmed. "Dog Fight," due August 10, stars Ferrell and Galifianakis as bumbling, rival politicians battling for a congressional seat in North Carolina. All three are producing the movie, along with frequent Ferrell collaborator Adam McKay. It is not yet clear what role Aykroyd will play in the Jay Roach-directed film, however. Ferrell and Galifianakis have some history with politics. Ferrell famously spoofed President George W. ... Full Story Top Univision edges out networks on repeat-heavy night Tue,27 Dec 2011 11:54 AM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - If Univision has its way, the future will look a lot like last night: Aided by repeat-heavy slates on the Big 4 networks, the Spanish-language network edged out CBS for the highest overall ratings of the night. The finale of popular novela "La Fuerza del Destino" scored a 2.3 rating/6 share and 5.4 million total viewers from 8-10 p.m. An interview with the cast at 10 on "Don Francisco Presenta" scored a 1.5/4 and 3.6 million total viewers. The ratings averaged out to a 2.0 overall for the night, just ahead of CBS's 1.9 average for a night of all reruns. ... Full Story Top AMC renews "Hell on Wheels" for second season Tue,27 Dec 2011 10:53 AM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - AMC has renewed its second highest-rated show for a second season. "Hell on Wheels," which premiered in November, is averaging 3.2 million viewers as it tells the post-Civil War story of Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) as he seeks revenge against his wife's killers. Bohannon's journey puts him in the middle of construction of the first transcontinental railroad, overseen by greedy Doc Durant (Colm Meaney). ... Full Story Top People says gay Taylor Lautner cover "100 percent fake" Tue,27 Dec 2011 10:47 AM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - People magazine said on Tuesday that a cover apparently featuring "Twilight" actor Taylor Lautner coming out as a gay man was "100 percent fake." "The cover in question is 100 percent fake. This began as a ridiculous Twitter joke that went viral," said People Magazine spokeswoman Julie Farin. The fake People cover, dated Jan 7 2012, was circulated on the Internet over the holidays. It featured a picture of Lautner, 19, with text saying "Tired of rumors, the Twilight star opens up about his decision to finally come out. ... Full Story Top Sinead O'Connor ends fourth marriage after 16 days Tue,27 Dec 2011 10:44 AM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - Irish singer Sinead O'Connor has ended her fourth marriage after just 16 days, blaming pressure and disapproval from the family and friends of her new husband Barry Herridge. O'Connor, 46, said on her blog that the marriage went wrong three hours after the Dec 8. ceremony in Las Vegas and that the pair had lived together for only seven days before splitting on Christmas Eve. "Within 3 hours of the ceremony being over the marriage was kyboshed (ruined) by the behavior of certain people in my husband's life. ... Full Story Top Tracey Gold stars in spider drama "Arachnoquake" Tue,27 Dec 2011 09:32 AM PST Reuters - NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Former "Growing Pains" star Tracey Gold is the latest '80s icon to sign on for an impossibly silly Syfy drama: "Arachnoquake," which somehow doesn't have an exclamation point in the title, will find her battling giant albino spiders unleashed by earthquakes. Also appearing in the TV movie are be Bug Hall ("The Little Rascals"), Ethan Phillips (" Star Trek: Voyager" ) and Edward Furlong, who is somehow listed only fourth in Syfy's news release despite starring in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day. ... Full Story Top Animal Planet's "Whale Wars" renewed for fifth season Tue,27 Dec 2011 08:40 AM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Whale Wars" star Capt. Paul Watson and his Sea Shepherds are returning to Animal Planet for another whale defense campaign in June. A fifth season of "Whale Wars" will revolve around Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's "Operation Divine Wind" campaign. The engagement, which is already under way, includes Watson, his crew, nearly 100 volunteers and three ships -- the Steve Irwin, Bob Barker and Brigitte Bardot -- taking on the Institute of Cetacean Research, the Japanese whaling group. ... Full Story Top Thanks to Gaga, Adele, music business finally improves in 2011 Tue,27 Dec 2011 07:51 AM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Among musicians, "flat" is a word you don't want to hear. But to the industry, flat is truly music to everyone's ears. Soundscan's sales year doesn't end until January 1, but current year-to-year comparisons have album sales for 2011 ahead of comparable 2010 business. OK, it's only by a whisker of 1 percent. But it is welcome news in an industry where album sales for 2010 were down 13 percent from 2009. And prior to that they'd been down an average of 8 percent every year through the 2000s, suggesting an incredible shrinking music business. ... Full Story Top Woody Allen's first stab at 'Midnight' was 1971 short story Tue,27 Dec 2011 07:27 AM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - With his hit "Midnight in Paris," Woody Allen wrote a humorous piece of fiction in which the protagonist hung out with the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and Salvador Dali. It wasn't the first time he'd done that. "They were easy for me to capture in the writing," Allen said in a recent interview with TheWrap. "I could write them off the top of my head. Because after all, who was I dealing with? Salvador Dali, Gertrude Stein, Picasso, the Fitzgeralds -- these are people we know from high school. ... Full Story Top Thatcher's "Iron Lady" image softened by new movie Tue,27 Dec 2011 05:06 AM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Making a film about an iconic politician like Britain's Margaret Thatcher is akin to walking into a movie minefield, and casting an American -- even one as revered as Meryl Streep -- is asking for more trouble. Yet the makers of new movie "The Iron Lady," which opens in U.S. theaters on Friday, went one step further. They chose to depict Thatcher, now 86, as a confused, lonely woman looking back on past glories, and doing so takes the kind of guts once exhibited by the former British prime minister herself. ... Full Story Top Indie Box Office: Wim Wenders' "Pina" opens big Mon,26 Dec 2011 06:22 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Pina," Wim Wenders' 3D documentary about dancer-choreographer Pina Bausch, opened to an impressive $88,399 at three New York locations over the weekend, leading the specialty market. The PG-rated movie, distributed by IFC films, had a per-location average of $29,466. Angelina Jolie's directorial debut, "In the Land of Blood and Honey," struggled to attract moviegoers in its first days of release. Jolie wrote, directed and produced the R-rated love story set during the Bosnian war. ... Full Story Top Actor Matthew McConaughey proposes to girlfriend Mon,26 Dec 2011 03:35 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood leading man Matthew McConaughey has proposed to his longtime girlfriend and the mother of their two children, model Camila Alves, the actor said in a posting on celebrity website Whosay.com McConaughey, star of such films as "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" and "The Lincoln Lawyer," posted a picture of him and Alves kissing near a Christmas tree on Sunday with the message "just asked camila to marry me, merry Christmas." WhoSay.com is a website that hosts many celebrity accounts. ... Full Story Top Van Halen unveils new tour with Roth aboard Mon,26 Dec 2011 03:33 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Veteran rockers Van Halen unveiled plans on Monday for a tour with original lead singer David Lee Roth returning to the stage. In a video posted on the band's website, http://www.van-halen.com, Eddie Van Halen, brother Alex and son Wolfgang play the hit "Panama" while Roth runs around on stage. Underneath reads "Van Halen On Tour 2012" with tickets going on sale January 10. No other details were announced, but the video confirms music industry buzz that the band is together again with Roth. ... Full Story Top Tom Cruise returns to box office form with "MI4" Mon,26 Dec 2011 11:51 AM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" easily beat its rivals in the race to No. 1 at box offices over the Christmas holiday weekend, returning action star Tom Cruise to winning form after several recent flops. "Ghost Protocol," the fourth movie in Cruise's "Mission: Impossible" series, earned an estimated $46 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters in the four days ending on Monday, according to its distributor Paramount Pictures. Its total estimated ticket sales have reached $78.6 million after debuting in Imax and other large-screen theaters last weekend. ... Full Story Top The top films at the North American box office Mon,26 Dec 2011 11:51 AM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Following are the top 10 movies at North American box offices for the four-day, Christmas holiday weekend ending on Monday with "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" at No. 1, according to studio estimates compiled by Reuters. 1 (3) Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol..$ 46.2 million 2 (1) Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows....$ 31.8 million 3 (2) Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked..$ 20.0 million 4 (*) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.......$ 19.4 million 5 (*) The Adventures of Tintin..............$ 16.1 million 6 (*) We Bought a Zoo.......................$ 15. ... Full Story Top Holland Taylor on life, love and Charlie Sheen Mon,26 Dec 2011 05:37 AM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Holland Taylor offers no apologies for never settling down, getting married or having children. The 68-year-old Emmy-winning actress, currently starring in her one-woman show "Ann" at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center, simply never had the time. "I always did think I would be married and settled down by now but maybe I ain't ready," she said, sounding a lot like the over-the-top mother of Jon Cryer she portrays in the CBS comedy "Two and a Half Men." "Then again, maybe I won't ever be ready. ... Full Story Top Bollywood rediscovered heroes in 2011 Sun,25 Dec 2011 06:02 PM PST Reuters - MUMBAI (Reuters) - Bollywood struck gold in 2011, revving up lacklustre box offices in India with help from its leading men who wooed audiences back to cinemas after a dismal 2010. Domestic revenues hit 19.25 billion rupees ($363.2 million) this year, up from 14.5 billion rupees in 2010, and an unprecedented four films crossed the billion rupee milestone. Two of those blockbusters starred actor Salman Khan. The solid performance contrasted sharply to the previous year when there were hardly any hits. ... Full Story Top "Mission: Impossible" cruises to top of box office Sun,25 Dec 2011 11:34 AM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" cruised to No. 1 at box offices on Sunday, even as major new movies opened on Christmas Day which may change top 10 results when final numbers are tallied. The new Tom Cruise movie rang up an estimated $26.5 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales over the three-day weekend, according to studio estimates, after expanding from a limited release in Imax and other large-screen theaters last week. ... Full Story Top Taylor Swift, T-Bone Burnett on "Hunger Games" album Fri,23 Dec 2011 04:44 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Country singer Taylor Swift will lead a host of musicians collaborating with Oscar-winning artist T. Bone Burnett for a companion album to the upcoming film, "The Hunger Games." Movie studio Lionsgate said on Friday that Burnett has joined forces with Swift, The Decemberists, Arcade Fire and The Civil Wars to create original songs for the film, set for release in March 2012. "We are thrilled to have such a hauntingly beautiful companion album taking shape," said Joe Drake, co-COO of Lionsgate. ... Full Story Top Mel Gibson, wife finalize divorce Fri,23 Dec 2011 03:54 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A judge on Friday approved a divorce settlement between actor Mel Gibson and his estranged wife Robyn, ending their 31 years of marriage. Robyn Gibson will return to using her maiden name, Robyn Denise Moore, but other details of the divorce were kept confidential. The settlement becomes effective on January 9. Gibson, 55, and his wife married in Australia in 1980 and have seven children together. The couple separated in 2006 after Gibson was arrested for drunk driving in Malibu, California, and made anti-Semitic remarks that generated headlines around the world. ... Full Story Top How comedian Louis C.K. made $1M and gave half away Fri,23 Dec 2011 03:37 PM PST Reuters - NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Louis C.K. cut out TV networks by selling his latest comedy special online -- then used network airtime to promote it. The strategy helped him earn a cool million dollars in a matter of days, half of which he's giving away to his staff and charities. It's hard to think of a more stick-it-to-The-Man approach to distributing your work. But The Man -- in this case TV networks and the conglomerates that own them -- don't seem to mind. ... Full Story Top Robert De Niro welcomes baby girl Fri,23 Dec 2011 03:01 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Robert De Niro and his wife Grace Hightower have become the proud parents of a baby girl born via a surrogate, the actor's spokesman confirmed on Friday. The child is the second for De Niro, 68, and Hightower, 56. She is named Helen Grace Hightower De Niro, and weighed a healthy 7 lbs 2 oz at birth. The "Meet the Parents" star married actress Hightower in 1997, and the couple have a son, Elliot, born in 1998. De Niro also has a son and adopted daughter with ex-wife Diahnne Abbott and two twin sons with former girlfriend Toukie Smith. ... Full Story Top Louis Vuitton sues over knockoff bag in "Hangover 2" Fri,23 Dec 2011 01:57 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - It might be more expensive, but sometimes it really pays to buy name-brand. French luxury brand Louis Vuitton has filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros. over the use of a Louis Vuitton knockoff bag in "The Hangover: Part II." According to the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York on Thursday, an airport scene in the film makes use of a counterfeit bag made by a company named Diophy, which is currently being sued by Louis Vuitton for trademark infringement. ... Full Story Top Gaunt George Michael says "fortunate to be here" Fri,23 Dec 2011 05:47 PM PST Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - A gaunt and breathless George Michael tearfully thanked his doctors and fans on Friday for seeing him through a "touch and go" battle with pneumonia. A thin and visibly weak Michael told reporters outside his home in north London that he wasn't supposed to speak for very long and was still recovering from a tracheotomy. "I got streptococca-something...It's a form of pneumonia and they spent three weeks keeping me alive basically," Michael said of the doctors in the Austrian hospital where the singer has been receiving treatment since he fell ill last month. ... Full Story Top Stephen Colbert will sponsor South Carolina's GOP primary Fri,23 Dec 2011 01:29 PM PST Reuters - LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "The Colbert Nation Super PAC Presidential Primary" -- can you picture it in big, bold neon letters? The Comedy Central funnyman is continuing his fight to sponsor the South Carolina GOP presidential primary, offering half a million dollars to cover the counties' "shortfall" in a guest editorial in The State. State officials have been fighting over who should fund the primary, which is the first of the season in the South. Colbert, a Charleston native, has offered to help out through his Colbert Super PAC. ... Full Story Top

You received this email because you subscribed to Yahoo! Alerts. Use this link to unsubscribe from this alert. To change your communications preferences for other Yahoo! business lines, please visit your Marketing Preferences. To learn more about Yahoo!'s use of personal information, including the use of web beacons in HTML-based email, please read our Privacy Policy. Yahoo! is located at 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089.