Gossip/Celebrity News

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Jessica Simpson Pinpoints When Marriage Ended

Jessica Simpson says she realized that her marriage to Nick Lachey was over when he opted out of accompanying her to Africa on a charity trip in October 2005.

"I went there on our three-year wedding anniversary," she tells Jane magazine for its November issue. "He stayed home"

Simpson was part of a travel contingent representing Operation Smile, a not-for-profit, volunteer medical services organization that provides reconstructive facial surgery to indigent children in remote areas.

Although Simpson and Lachey had both been presented with the organization's Universal Smile Award at a Los Angeles Gala, Simpson ended up traveling to Nakuru, Kenya, with hairdresser Ken Paves, friend Cacee Cobb and her manger-father, Joe Simpson.

Once in Africa, according to the official Operation Smile Web site, Simpson aided the volunteer team with the medical evaluations of more than 280 patients and gave out gifts and spread cheer to the kids as they awaited their medical procedures.


Simpson, 26, says the trip changed her life. "On that day, everything became so clear. I was in hospitals with all these sick kids," she says. "I just knew I needed to find something more in my life, on my own."

She and Lachey separated in November 2005.

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Eric Dane Heats Up Grey's Anatomy

Paging Patrick Dempsey: The competition for sexiest doc alive just got . . . McSteamy! Once a construction worker, Eric Dane joins Grey's Anatomy as surgeon Mark Sloane. The 33-year-old actor took a break from the OR – and revealing shower scenes – to give prescriptions for love, home cooking and washboard abs to PEOPLE's Lisa Ingrassia.

Okay, McDreamy vs. McSteamy – who wins the hotness contest?
I don't feel any competition with Patrick. But he keeps asking me when my calendar is coming out.

Besides the six-pack abs, how are you similar to McSteamy?
We both shower daily! There are a lot of things in common, but just so your mind doesn't go in the wrong direction, it's not the infidelity and deceitful, backstabbing side of him.

How do you maintain those abs?
Weightlifting – it gets the aggression out. No yoga! I'm competitive and you can't score points in yoga.

Unlike McSteamy and Addison, you seem very grounded with your wife, actress Rebecca Gayheart.
(Life with her) has been wonderful. On a whim, we ran to Vegas and got married (in Oct. ’04). We'd been together nine months and we just knew.

What's your ideal Sunday?
Sleep in – for me, that’s about 9:15 – make coffee, quiet my head, make an omelette for my girl and play music. I make a hell of an omelette. And I make great chicken soup too!

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Jen Aniston's Broadway Quickie

What will happen when Jennifer Aniston hits the Broadway stage with less than 24 hours to prepare her role? Find out when the actress – and celebrity guests – take part in The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway. PEOPLE gets an inside look at the event, plus other events to watch out for in the coming week:

SUNDAY, OCT. 22: He struggled with addiction (alcohol, steroids, you name it), tried to save his crumbling marriage and ultimately got clean on the VH1 reality series Breaking Bonaduce. But what will Danny Bonaduce do for his second season (9:30 p.m. ET)? Expect more angst from the former Partridge Family star as he tries to stay on the straight-and-narrow path.

MONDAY, OCT. 23: Fresh off her directorial debut, Jennifer Aniston touches down on Broadway for a limited engagement starring in the benefit event The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway. The slapdash, fast-paced workshop has writers, actors and directors – including Erika Christensen, Edie Falco, Matt Dillon and more – competing against the clock to produce six 10-minute plays with just one day for the writing, casting and rehearsal process. Their results will debut at the American Airlines Theatre at 8 p.m. (and the proceeds support arts education in New York City schools). Phew! We need a water break after just thinking about that.

Dog owners bow at the feet of canine guru Cesar Millan and it's not hard to see why. The Dog Whisperer star, whose motto is "I rehabilitate dogs – I train people," can turn a biting, raging pooch and make him a calm, submissive four-legged friend. Watch the L.A.-based Millan work his magic as he turns clueless owners into pack leaders (National Geographic, 9 p.m. ET)

TUESDAY, OCT 24: As if his album's title, Once Again, isn't clear enough, let's state the obvious: John Legend is back. The silky-voiced R&B crooner gets behind his piano again for a new batch of songs that shake things up a bit by incorporating some rock elements into his sound. And, yes, mentor Kanye West has lent production help for his sophomore outing. Next, Legend will get on the road, embarking on a concert tour Oct. 26 in Washington, D.C.

NEW THIS WEEK:
• Movies (now in theaters): Flags of Our Fathers, starring Ryan Phillippe, Paul Walker and Jesse Bradford; The Prestige, starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson; Marie Antoinette, starring ***sten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman and Rip Torn; Flicka, starring Alison Lohman, Tim McGraw and Maria Bello; Running with Scissors (limited), starring Annette Bening, Alec Baldwin and Gwyneth Paltrow
• Music (in stores Tuesday): Alabama, Songs of Inspiration; Gipsy Kings, Pasajero; Brooke Hogan, Undiscovered; Aimee Mann, One More Drifter in the Snow; My Chemical Romance, The Black Parade; Brian Setzer, 13
• DVDs (in stores Tuesday): The O.C. – The Complete Third Season; Monster House; The L-Word – The Complete Third Season; Mission Impossible III; Nacho Libre

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Boy's Dad Confused Over Madonna Adoption

The father of the 1-year-old boy who Madonna plans to adopt is saying he didn’t realize the pop singer was taking the toddler "for good," the Associated Press reports.

"Our understanding was that they would educate and take care of our son just as they were doing at the orphanage," Yohane Banda, 32, told AP in a telephone interview on Sunday. "I am just realizing now the meaning of adoption."

The statement is a shift from earlier remarks Banda made when he struck out at human rights groups that have tried to stop Madonna from adopting his son, David.

"As David's father I have no problem (with the adoption), so what is their concern?" he told PEOPLE last week. "Are they jealous or what? What I want is good life, a good education for my child."

On Sunday however, Banda said he was confused about the meaning of the adoption papers he signed earlier this month in court, which allowed a Malawian judge to grant the singer and her husband, Guy Ritchie, a temporary order to take David, who was flown to England where the couple and their two children live.

"If we were told that she wants to take the baby as her own we could not have consented, because I see no reason why I should give away my son," said Banda, who put David into the orphanage when he was an infant. David's mother died a week after his birth.

Still, Banda said he does not want David to return to the orphanage. "We are still thankful Madonna has rescued him from poverty and disease; we pray for the good Lord to keep blessing her for her benevolence," Banda said.

Madonna's Malawian lawyer Alan Chinula had no comment when reached by the AP.

Last week, in a message titled "An Open Letter from Madonna," the singer said: "After learning that there were over one million orphans in Malawi, it was my wish to open up our home and help one child escape an extreme life of hardship, poverty and in many cases death, as well as expand our family."

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Gwen Stefani: Hard to Lose Baby Weight

Five months after the birth of her son Kingston, Gwen Stefani managed to drop her pregnancy weight through a combination of healthy diet and exercise.

"Let's just talk about how hard it's been," Stefani told Ryan Seacrest during an interview Monday on his radio show on L.A.'s 102.7 KIIS FM. The singer called in to premiere her latest single, "Wind It Up."

"That's been really hard," she said of losing the weight. "But it's almost gone." Stefani said she's still nursing and that her exercise regimen includes jogging regularly.

"I've just been eating healthy," she said, adding, "I cheat every day at least once."

Stefani also said she's planning to shoot the cover art for her latest album, due out Dec. 5, and then head out on tour in April – with Kingston in tow.

"I'm excited to go out there and have the baby on the outside," said Stefani, who announced her pregnancy during her last tour. Of Kingston, Stefani said: "He's the greatest thing in the world. There was no transition. It was just like, 'Where were you?' "

Stefani – who designs her own clothing line, L.A.M.B. – told Seacrest (after his admission that he admires Kingston's faux-hawk) that she enjoys dressing up her son.

"He finally has enough hair to do something with it," she said. "I was trying to give him some cooler looks."

Stefani's new album – the follow-up to 2004's Love. Angel. Music. Baby. – is tentatively titled The Sweet Escape.

Her single "Wind It Up" features a sample of the song "The Lonely Goatherd" – complete with Julie Andrews yodel – from The Sound Of Music. "It was a dream of mine to put The Sound of Music to a beat, because it's my favorite movie," said Stefani, adding that she cried when she first heard her rendition.

Other songs set to make the album include "Yummy" and "Orange County Girl," a track that Stefani – who hails from Anaheim, in Orange County, Calif. – explains is "about me."

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Anna Nicole Ordered to Move Out

The day after Anna Nicole Smith buried her son Daniel, a letter was hand-delivered to her house in the Bahamas ordering her to leave the residence by Oct. 31, PEOPLE has learned.

G. Ben Thompson, a Myrtle Beach, S.C., developer, says he owns the property in New Providence where Smith has been staying. He says he purchased the house for a bit less than $1 million in August as a favor to Smith, whom he befriended after he met her through neighbors in mid-2005.

Smith was then supposed to sign a mortgage to buy the house from him, he says, but she has refused to do so. "She said it was a gift," Thompson tells PEOPLE. "I never said that. I don't have that kind of money."

An attorney representing Thompson delivered the letter to the house on Oct. 20; if Smith does not leave, Thompson says, he will pursue a formal eviction. "I don't want to embarrass her or humiliate Anna," he says. "I just need my money, or collateral, back."
Ron Rale, Smith's attorney in the paternity case against her brought by photographer Larry Birkhead, who claims to be the father of Smith's 7-week-old daughter, Dannielynn Hope, would neither confirm nor deny that Smith had received the letter.

Rale did say, however, "If that's the case, it's amazing the sequence of events that poor Anna Nicole has had to endure, the one bright light being Dannielynn."

The possible eviction begs the question of whether Smith, who applied for residency based on home ownership, will have to leave the country. If she returns to her home in California, she could also face the paternity suit filed by Birkhead.

Smith's longtime legal counselor Howard Stern has said that he is Dannielynn's father; he's also listed as the father on the birth certificate. But Birkhead has said Smith told him he was the father, and has filed a request in a California court asking Smith to make Dannielynn available for a paternity test.

"We're going to get that paternity test," Birkhead's lawyer, Debra Opri, said last week. "It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow, but I'm not going away."

But Wayne Munroe, Smith's attorney in the Bahamas, told the Associated Press that his client has no intention of allowing the test.

The possible eviction is yet another strange twist in a story that began Sept. 10, when Smith's 20-year-old son Daniel was found dead in her hospital room three days after she gave birth to Dannielynn. Methadone as well as two antidepressants were found in his system. Bahamian police have investigated the death and authorities may order a formal inquest.

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Borat Skewers Mel Gibson, President Bush

While promoting his newest film, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, comedian Sacha Baron Cohen on Friday poked fun at the anti-Semitic comments made by Mel Gibson when he was pulled over for driving under the influence in Malibu.

"I would like to meet the fearless anti-Jew warrior, Melvin Gibson," Cohen, who was playing his character, told reporters at a scripted junket in Santa Monica. "We agree with his comments that the Jews started all wars. We also have proof that they were responsible for killing off all the dinosaurs. And Hurricane Katrina – they did it."

Gibson has since apologized publicly for his anti-Semitic statements, telling Diane Sawyer in a televised interview earlier this month, "Let me be real clear here. I don't believe Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world. I mean that's an outrageous, drunken statement."

Gibson was not alone in being lampooned by Cohen, who is Jewish, as he joked about O.J. Simpson, Pamela Anderson (who appears in Borat ) and President Bush. "Kazakhstan very much admires your mighty warlord, George Walter Bush," Cohen said. "He is a very wise man and also a strong man – but perhaps not as strong as his father, Barbara."

Cohen, the controversial star of HBO's Da Ali G Show, has won attention – not all of it positive – for the comedic faux-documentary feature due out Nov. 3.

Cohen, who has previously appeared in Talladega Nights, is doing all interviews for Borat as the film's character, a fake TV journalist from Kazakhstan.

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Madonna: Boy's Father Has Been Manipulated

In an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show that taped Tuesday and will air Wednesday, Madonna defended her efforts to adopt 1-year-old Malawian boy David Banda – and said the boy's father has been manipulated into saying he didn't intend to give up his son, audience members at the taping tell PEOPLE.

Speaking to Winfrey via satellite from a television studio in London, Madonna was poised throughout the interview, though at times she appeared emotional, audience members say. "She's frustrated with the media because she believes it's the pressure of the media that's prompting the father to change his story," says Brook Carter, 24, from Miami.

Although Yohane Banda, 32, told PEOPLE he had "no problem" with the adoption, he later said, "Nobody told me by 'adoption' it means David will no longer be my son but hers." However, on Tuesday he told Time he does not plan to contest the adoption, saying that doing so would be "killing (David's) future" and that he is "just grateful to (Madonna) for helping my child."

The singer talked about the great lengths she went to in order to follow Malawi's proper adoption procedures and said she got no special treatment, according to audience members. "She said (of Yohane Banda), 'He looked at me straight in the eye and said I'm thankful for giving my son a future and a life because if he stayed with me I would have buried him,' " Carter says.
"Her biggest concern is that (the controversy) is going to stop other people from trying to adopt" from the region, says Susie Lazega, 38, of Atlanta. "That's her biggest worry."

On a happier note, Madonna showed photos of herself with her arms wrapped around daughter Lourdes, 10, son Rocco, 6, and David. Another photo showed the singer's husband Guy Ritchie lifting a beaming David up in the air.

"They look like a happy, loving family. You see her two other children have embraced David," says Robin Ayoob, 54, of Philadelphia.

Madonna said she first saw baby David in a video clip of a documentary she's funding about the region, audience members say. In the video, he was being held by an 8-year-old girl with HIV.

"She said she looked in his eyes and had an immediate connection to him," says Jody Goldstein, 40, of Atlanta. Adds Laura Rader, 38, of St. Louis, "She really wanted to help this little boy (who) had no chance at surviving."

According to audience members, Madonna said that when she met David, he was suffering from malaria, tuberculosis and pneumonia – from which he is still recovering; she also said no family members had visited David in a year. Still, Yohane Banda told PEOPLE, "When he was at the orphanage I visited him on my bicycle as long as I had the time, just to see him, play with him."

Banda also told PEOPLE that Madonna had told him "every three to four years she will be bringing him to me. … We have established family ties – mine and hers." Backing up his claim, Madonna said Banda could see David whenever he wants, and that she plans to visit Malawi once or twice a year with David and wants David to become a spokesman for the country, audience members say.

On the whole, the audience was left feeling sympathetic toward Madonna. Jessica Busch, 25, of Chicago, says she was skeptical when she first heard about the controversy surrounding the singer's adoption efforts, but "after seeing the interview, I genuinely think she loves the little boy. On the larger scale, this will help the village. On the smaller scale, this will help the boy."

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Elisabeth Hasselbeck Fumes Over Law & Order

The View cohost Elisabeth Hasselbeck is fuming mad over an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in which a character, whose name is very close to her own, is raped and killed, she said on Tuesday.

"Last week Law & Order: SVU had an episode where a 30-year-old woman in New York City is raped twice and then murdered – and her name is Elizabeth Hassenback," Hasselbeck, 29, said on The View. "I found this a little disturbing."

Hasselbeck said that after hearing about the show from a friend, she called an SVU executive producer whom she declined to name – though co-host Rosie O'Donnell chimed in, "But you can Google it at home!" – to express her anger.

"I told him 'Look, I want to let you know that I think it's socially irresponsible and gruesomely suggestive to do this in today's day and age," said Hasselbeck, who has an 18-month daughter, Grace, with her husband, New York Giants quarterback Tim Hasselbeck.

She described the executive producer as "defensive right from the jump" and said that he told he her to "chalk up" the name similarity to "coincidence."

When she challenged the idea that the show, which is famous for ripped from the headlines scripts, had coincidentally used a character with a name so close to hers, the producer gave a terse apology, according to Hasselbeck, then said: "Goodbye lady," and hung up on her.

Hasselbeck said that incident made her feel like she never wanted to sit next to an SVU cast member again. "I think those are good actors and good people, but I can't sit next to them without feeling as though I have been disrespected and just put at risk."

A spokesperson for Law & Order: SVU told PEOPLE that before a character can be named on an episode, "all names have to be cleared through legal."

The spokesperson added: "The producers of SVU absolutely love The View and are totally thrilled when one of our actors are on the show. Mariska (Hargitay) has co-hosted the show. Chris (Meloni), (Richard) Belzer and Ice-T have all been on the show."

Barbara Walters, who founded The View, also praised Meloni and Hargitay as "favorite guests" of the show.

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Actor Derek Luke, Wife Expecting First Child

Derek Luke and his wife, actress Sophia, are expecting their first child together, the actor's rep tells PEOPLE exclusively.

The baby is due in early March, according to Luke's rep, Samantha Hill.

Derek Luke is currently promoting his film Catch a Fire, which hits theaters this weekend. Luke stars in the real-life story of Patrick Chamusso, in the intellectual political thriller set in turbulent 1980s South Africa. The film also stars Tim Robbins.

Best known for his starring role in Antwone Fisher, Luke brought his wife onstage, handing her his 2003 Independent Spirit Award for best actor. Luke, 32, and his wife wed in 1998.

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Madonna: 'David Is Amazing'

Madonna says 13-month-old David Banda from Malawi, whom she plans to adopt, is healthy and thriving with her two other children in their London home now that he has overcome malaria and tuberculosis.

"David is amazing," Madonna, speaking via satellite from a TV studio in London, said during a half-hour interview that taped Tuesday and airs on Wednesday's Oprah Winfrey Show.

"What really surprises me is how great my children are with him and how he's transitioned so easily from living in Africa in an orphanage to living in our house," she said.

Madonna, who has two children – daughter Lourdes, 10, and son Rocco, 6 – and husband Guy Ritchie, traveled in early October to Malawi, where she is funding humanitarian initiatives.

David, whose mother died shortly after his birth, was brought to London last week after the Ritchies were granted an interim adoption order.
He has tested negative for everything – tuberculosis, malaria, HIV," the singer told Winfrey. "When I met him he was extremely ill. He had severe pneumonia and he could hardly breath. I was in a state of panic because I did not want to leave him in the orphanage because I knew they didn't have medication to take care of him, so we got permission to take him to the clinic and have a bronchial dilator.

"The doctor found he had pneumonia. He was given an injection of antibiotics and a course of antibiotics, which he took the entire time we were there. He's still a little bit ill. He's not completely free of pneumonia, but he's much better than when we found him."

Madonna also denied that Malawi's adoption laws were bent for her, as some human rights groups have claimed. "If only my wealth and my position could have made things go faster," she said. "I assure you it doesn't matter who you are or how much money you have, nothing goes fast in Africa."

She said a social worker warned her that "there were no known (adoption) laws in Malawi. They were more or less going to have to make them up as we went along. She did say to me, 'pick Ethiopia, go to Kenya,' (but) I'd already started my foundation, Raising Malawi. … It seemed absurd to me to adopt somewhere else.

"I did have my heart set on David," she continued, but because she knew she might not be able to adopt him, "I did meet other children that I was open to adopting, so if it hadn't worked out with David, I would have considered any of those children a blessing."

She also put to rest rumors that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie persuaded her to adopt a child in Africa: "I've never had any discussions with Brad or Angelina about adoption. I've actually never met Angelina Jolie."

Madonna says she met David's father, Yohane Banda, in court. "There is a customary law, a tribal law that if you adopt a child you have to get permission from some living member of the extended family. … No one from (David's) extended family had visited him since the time he arrived. From my perspective there was no one looking after David's welfare. The minister of children's welfare went and found his father, asked for permission, told him exactly what I wanted to do."

Banda needed to give written consent to the adoption, Madonna said. "He came into the courtroom with my husband and I and he looked into my eyes and said to me that he was very grateful that I was going to give his son a life and that had he kept his son with him in the village he would have buried him. I didn't really need any more confirmation that I was doing the right thing and that I had his blessing."

Ultimately, she said, "My goal is that I will give David an education and a chance for a better life. What a better way for David to go back and help his own people and help the Malawians and be a voice for his country than to first have a life?"

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Matt Leinart, Brynn Cameron Have a Son

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart and University of Southern California basketball player Brynn Cameron welcomed a son on Tuesday, PEOPLE has learned.

Cole Cameron Leinart was born at 9:33 p.m. in California, and weighed in at 6 lbs., 7 oz.

"The baby is healthy, and both families are very excited," a source tells PEOPLE. "Matt is thrilled."

Leinart, who was present for his son's birth, had to rush to the hospital from his late afternoon practice. One of PEOPLE's 2006 Most Beautiful People, the football star, 23, graduated from USC in December 2005 and lives in Los Angeles and Arizona.

Cameron, who is a junior at USC, will sit out the 2006-07 basketball season.

"It's an exciting time in their life," a source who knows both athletes told PEOPLE in August when the two announced they were expecting. "They both have support from their families."

Leinart, a Heisman trophy winner and close pal of Nick Lachey, was linked romantically to Paris Hilton in the past.

Through his Matt Leinart Foundation, the football star helps raise money for underprivileged and disabled children. "Kids are important to Matt," his rep told PEOPLE in August.

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Lurid Details Revealed in Hasselhoff Divorce

Lurid details of David Hasselhoff's ongoing divorce from his estranged wife Pamela Bach were inadvertently entered into public record on Wednesday.

A 66-page filing by Hasselhoff's lawyers alleges that Bach, 43, tested positive for cocaine two months ago and claims that she was intoxicated at their daughter Taylor Ann's sweet 16 party last May.

The documents also include numerous allegations of infidelity committed by Hasselhoff, 54, as well as alcohol, drug and physical abuse by him against Bach over 16 years of marriage.

Under court order by Judge Mark Juhas earlier this year, information pertaining to the couple's children would be removed from public record. But large portions of Wednesday’s filing, which also mentions concerns by both parents about how their daughters are being raised, were released by mistake.

"We're all outraged. This was a horrible mistake on behalf of the court," Hasselhoff's attorney Melvin Goldsman told PEOPLE. "David would never intentionally release anything that would be hurtful to his children. He's quite disturbed about this."

Goldsman added, "I don't believe it was intentionally misfiled. It's a mistake that happens, based on the volume of work the court receives."

Bach's lawyer, Susan Wiesner, stated: "I consider this an intentional attempt to besmirch (Bach's) character and reputation. She's a good mother and she wants to protect her children. I have no idea how these documents became public."

A spokesperson for the court told PEOPLE that neither side's lawyer submitted a proper redaction order, and therefore the judge did not rule on it.

Wiesner added that she intended to return to court Friday to unseal all her previous filings so there's "a more balanced record of (this case.) We don't want to have to go there because of the children, but I don't want their daughters to have a lopsided view of their parents."
This is the second time in this divorce that portions of legal documents were inadvertently leaked by the court.

Meanwhile Hasselhoff, looking upbeat, made a taped appearance in Los Angeles yesterday to promote the second season of America's Got Talent. Asked about the personal turmoil he's endured this year, he smiled and replied, "I've had a tough year, but despite all that painful stuff, my career's actually blossomed, thanks to my fans."

Citing irreconcilable differences, Hasselhoff filed for divorce from Bach on Jan. 12. Bach filed her own divorce paperwork the following day, which included claims of domestic violence. The couple currently share joint custody of their two daughters.

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Boy's Father Afraid Madonna Will 'Dump' Son

Yohane Banda, the father of the 13-month-old Malawian boy Madonna hopes to adopt, says he's worried the controversy surrounding her plans will cause the pop singer to back out of the adoption.

"I am afraid Madonna may get angry and frustrated and decide to dump my son because of these people," Banda told the Associated Press on Thursday, in reference to human rights activists in Malawi who claim the law has been bent for the singer.

"These so-called human rights activists are harassing me every day, threatening me that I am not aware of what I am doing," Banda said Thursday. "I'm afraid David may be sent back and the orphanage may not even accept him back. So where will he end up? Here? He will certainly die."

A hearing in the adoption case is set for Friday. The Human Rights Consultative Committee has asked Judge Andrew Nyirenda to review the adoption process and make sure the laws have been followed.
Madonna has denied she's gotten any special favors due to her celebrity status. She told Oprah Winfrey on her show Wednesday, "If only my wealth and my position could have made things go faster. I assure you it doesn't matter who you are or how much money you have, nothing goes fast in Africa."

Banda said that the activists have pressured him to side with them in court: "They want me to support their court case, a thing I cannot do for I know what I agreed with Madonna and her husband."

Madonna also told Winfrey that Banda understood her intentions to adopt David. "He came into the courtroom with my husband and I and he looked into my eyes and said to me that he was very grateful that I was going to give his son a life," she said, "and that had he kept his son with him in the village he would have buried him. I didn't really need any more confirmation that I was doing the right thing."

Earlier this week, Banda told the AP that he didn't understand the full implications of the adoption papers he signed and was unaware that Madonna and her husband, Guy Ritchie, were going to take David "for good." However, on Tuesday he told Time magazine that he would not contest the adoption and that he wanted his son to have a good life.

But HRCC chairman Justin Dzonzi said the group would go forward with its petition in court on Friday. Dzonzi said David could suffer psychological damage if Madonna and Ritchie ever split up, and said that under current laws, David is not entitled to inherit any of Madonna's wealth.

"It's not like we are blocking the adoption, but we want laws followed to the letter," Dzonzi said. "We want these issues clarified."

NBC announced Thursday that Madonna will talk with Meredith Vieira about the adoption in an interview set to air on the Nov. 1 and 2 episodes of Today and Dateline NBC on Nov. 2.

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Sara Evans, Husband Square Off in Court

Country singer Sara Evans and her estranged husband, Craig Schelske, faced each other in a Tennessee court Thursday morning for the first time since Evans filed for divorce on Oct. 12, charging Schelske with adultery and pornography use. (He denied the allegations and later accused Evans of having an affair.)

Though the atmosphere was tense in the Williamson County, Tenn., court room, the couple agreed to divide some of their assets and Schelske, who is under a restraining order and not allowed in the family home in Franklin, Tenn., consented to look for new housing. They also agreed to discuss visitation rights for their three children, ages 7, 3 and 2.

Schelske had asked that the court allow him to move back to their home, saying the allegations of abuse and infidelity were false. His attorney, Anne Russell, told the court that Schelske had not seen his children since Evans filed for divorce and had only spoken to them once a few days earlier.

"Mr. Schelske has been evicted from his home and we do not see a single indication that there is a danger to anyone," said Russell, prompting Evans's lawyer, John J. Hollins, to object, saying that he has additional evidence of Schelske's pornography use and Schelske's profile is posted on a dating Web site.
Judge Robert E. Lee Davies recommended that the two maintain separate residences, saying, "By the nature of this proceeding, there is tension here and there will be tension in the home and the children are going to feel that."

Evans and Schelske decided to split in half a joint bank account of $274,000; Schelske, who told the court he has no independent source of income, was to use his share to find housing.

The two sides also agreed not to speak to the media, although a motion to close the proceedings to cameras was refused by the judge.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Schelske walked over to Evans, whose hair was pulled back in a bun and who was wearing a dark brown trouser suit with a gold cross necklace, and tried to speak with her, calling her name and whispering to her for several seconds. Saying nothing, Evans shook her head and turned away from him.

When asked by reporters outside the courtroom if he still loved his wife, Schelske said, "I do." Asked the same question, Evans made no comment.

Also in court was Ronald J. Burke, a lawyer for the couple's former nanny, Alison Clinton, who Evans claims had an affair with Schelske. Burke said that Evans's lawyers told him they have photographs showing his client and Schelske being intimate, but he says Clinton maintains her innocence.

"They won't show us any photographs and we are convinced that there are no photographs because Alison did not have a sexual relationship with him," he said. He added that Clinton denied any sexual contact with Schelske when she underwent, and passed, a two-hour lie detector test last week during an interview with TV's Entertainment Tonight.

A judge agreed to removed Clinton's name from court documents, a move Clinton priased. "I cannot thank the Williamson County courthouse enough," Clinton said in a statement later. "I'm really grateful."

Reps for both Schelske and Evans had no comment.