Gossip/Celebrity News

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Apprentice's Bill Rancic, E!'s Giuliana DePandi To Wed

Former Apprentice winner Bill Rancic popped the question to E! News anchor Giuliana DePandi Friday night – and she said yes.

"I thought I was dreaming," DePandi tells PEOPLE. "It was the most amazing moment of my entire life. Not only is Bill the love of my life, but he's also my best friend. I couldn't believe my dream guy was asking me to marry him!"

In a scene more worthy of a final episode of The Bachelor, Rancic sent a limo to pick DePandi up at the airport when she arrived in Chicago from L.A. Friday night. Instead of taking her to his apartment, the limo dropped her off at a nearby helipad.

"He met her there with deep-dish pizza, which is her favorite, and champagne," says the couple's rep, Jim Dowd.

Rancic then whisked her off on a helicopter ride over downtown Chicago, including a fly-by of the holiday lights on Michigan Avenue. "He proposed to her mid-air while they were getting a tour of Chicago," Dowd added.

When they got back to his apartment, DePandi was welcomed with rose petals scattered everywhere and chocolate cake.

DePandi, 31, and Rancic, 35, first met when DePandi interviewed Rancic, the winner of the first season of Donald Trump's reality series, more than two years ago. While the pair continued to see each other at other events, it was during an interview at a Boys & Girls Club in Santa Monica 10 months ago that DePandi asked Rancic (on-camera) if he was dating anyone. He wasn't. After the cameras stopped rolling, Rancic asked her out.

Rancic, an entrepreneur who still consults with The Trump Organization, will appear once again as one of The Donald's advisers on the next season of The Apprentice. DePandi, who started as a correspondent on E!, has been serving as E! News anchor and Managing Editor since 2005.

The couple plans to wed in late 2007 in the south of Italy, where DePandi grew up.

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Isaiah Washington's Presidential Run-In

Isaiah Washington may play a doctor on TV – but in real life, he's building his cred as a political activist, hobnobbing with President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush this week in Washington, D.C.

The Grey's Anatomy star met Bush for the first time on Thursday while emceeing the White House Summit on Malaria. Washington called the President "genuine" and tells PEOPLE the First Lady was "very warm... (the summit) is her baby."

The half-day event, organized by Laura Bush, brought together world leaders bent on eliminating malaria, a curable and preventable disease that still kills 1 million people a year, many of them African children. Last year, the U.S. launched a five-year, $1.2 billion plan (www.fightingmalaria.gov) aimed at cutting malaria deaths in half in hard-hit Africa.

Mrs. Bush's own staff pooled the $600 they would have spent on holiday gifts for each other – using it instead to buy 50 bed nets to protect people from malaria-carrying mosquitoes. "It goes to show you that the passion and compassion (for eradicating malaria) is indeed working," said Washington.

For Washington, the brief break from the Grey's Anatomy set wasn't all work and no play. Before jetting back to L.A., he went to Vice President Cheney's holiday party.

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Lindsay Lohan's Bruising Workout: Pole Dancing

Following in the spike-heeled footsteps of Demi Moore, Lindsay Lohan is learning stripper moves for her new movie role – and the lessons have left their mark, literally.

"I've been in pole dancing lessons, S Factor by Sheila Kelley, every day for four hours," Lohan told PEOPLE last week at Hollywood's club Shag. "I have bruises all over. That's why I haven't worn shorts."

The New York Post's Page Six reports that Lohan is telling friends the classes have given her a new appreciation for professional exotic dancers. Her rep, Leslie Sloane, tells Page Six, "Her character is a stripper, and she now realizes that the job isn't easy."

Lohan, 20, will play a stripper in the thriller I Know Who Killed Me, due to film in San Luis Obispo, Calif., in mid-January, according to the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

As for Lohan's preparation for her role, Sheila Kelley's S Factor striptease workouts and pole-dancing classes, which incorporate elements of yoga and ballet, count Kate Hudson, Teri Hatcher and Lisa Rinna as fans.

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Stars Gather to Remember Peter Boyle

Even at the painful end of his life, Peter Boyle still had his famous sense of humor.

"I made him laugh two days before he died," Boyle's close friend Robert Klein told PEOPLE, as he joined Everybody Loves Raymond costars Ray Romano, Doris Roberts and other stars at the actor's private memorial service Monday in New York.

As for what kept Boyle in good spirits, Klein said: "He and his daughter and I sang 'Putting On The Ritz,' what he did for Young Frankenstein, and he was able to smile. He kept on fighting. He lived a wonderful life and he really wanted more of it."

Trumpet maestro Chris Botti performed "Ave Maria" at the service, while Romano, Roberts, Klein and other friends and family members said eulogies to Boyle. Others paying their respects to Boyle included Raymond costars Patricia Heaton and Brad Garrett, Chevy Chase, Alan Alda, Lorraine Bracco and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

The actor, who most recently played the grouchy father on Raymond and in 1974 played the monster in Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein, died last Tuesday at the age of 71 at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Boyle had been suffering from multiple myeloma and heart disease.

Billy Baldwin, who also paid his respects, said the touching eulogies illustrated how Boyle was the opposite of the parts he usually played. "His characters were sort of curmudgeonly and ornery and intense and he was just a big bear of a man who was loving and caring and sweet," says Baldwin. "And of course, he had a marvelous sense of humor."

Boyle, who lived in Manhattan, is survived by his wife, Loraine, and their daughters Lucy and Amy.

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Yogi Bear Creator Joe Barbera Dies

Joe Barbera, who with Bill Hanna created such classic cartoon characters as Yogi Bear, the Flintstones, Scooby-Doo and Tom & Jerry, died Monday at the age of 95, the Associated Press reports.

Barbera died of natural causes at his home with wife Sheila at his side, a Warner Bros. spokesman tells AP.

As the animation team Hanna-Barbera, he and his partner produced a slew of animated TV classics – including The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound and Friends, Space Ghost, and many others.

Hanna, who died in 2001, said that Barbera could "capture mood and expression in a quick sketch better than anyone I've ever known." The pair first teamed up at MGM in the 1930s, experiencing their first success with the cat-and-mouse capers starring Tom & Jerry. The battling cartoon duo went on to earn Barbera and Hanna seven Academy Awards.

Their characters were "not only animated superstars, but also a very beloved part of American pop culture," said Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Barry Meyer, adding that their creations spanned from "the Stone Age to the Space Age and from primetime to Saturday mornings, syndication and cable. While he will be missed by his family and friends, (Barbera) will live on through his work."

Barbera is survived by his wife and three children from a previous marriage, Jayne, Neal and Lynn.

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Star Jones Admits: I Earned 'Diva' Image

Star Jones-Reynolds, who was asked to leave The View in June, is owning up to her reputation as a diva – and says she's learning from her mistakes.

"I've earned that diva image. It's not something that I can hide from," she tells TV's Extra in an interview set to air Tuesday. "I admit sometimes I have enjoyed the celebrity more than I should have. It was well-earned, but it's softened now."

During her tenure on The View, Reynolds developed a reputation for engaging in shameless self-promotion and wanting free products – particularly during her over-the-top wedding to Al Reynolds in November 2004.

Indeed, she told PEOPLE in July that she "believed the hype" about herself. "I was on a hit show, doing (ads for) Payless; I was getting my health together; I met Al. I started to think, 'Oooo, I got it going on!' Now I know: Everything I had was a gift."

Jones, who wrote the self-help memoir Shine: A Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Journey to Finding Love, says she is changing her ways.

"I am rejoicing in learning from my mistakes and missteps and trips and falls," she tells Extra. "I've learned that sometimes modesty and humility shows the most strength and courage. That's the Star that you see right now."

Though Reynolds says she hasn't spoken to any of her former View cohosts, she recently did receive some holiday cheer from the show's youngest member, Elisabeth Hasselbeck. "I'm sure that everybody has gone on with their lives and I've gone on with mine," says Reynolds. "I get some sweet, wonderful cards from Elisabeth all the time�I got the cutest Christmas card.�

In terms of her career, Reynolds announced last week her plans to host a three-hour radio program for the Radio One broadcasting network, which is airing this week.

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Ruben Studdard to Star in Alabama Diet Campaign

American Idol winner Ruben Studdard wants those in his home state of Alabama to follow in his footsteps, now that he is nearly 100 lbs. lighter.

The 28-year-old "Velvet Teddy Bear" – whose third album, The Return, was released in October – is asking the 25 percent of Alabama's overweight residents to shed 10 pounds in eight weeks. Should the "Scale Back Alabama" 8-week plan work, the state will lose a total of 10 million lbs.

"I'm not where I want to be, but I'm on the right track, and I'm excited about encouraging other Alabamians to begin their own weight-loss journeys, the Idol winner, whose own weight-loss success was based on a regimen of diet and exercise, told the Associated Press.

The crooner also said he saw the importance of getting into shape "because I have a family history of diabetes and high blood pressure and things of that nature."

The state-wide campaign, sponsored by Alabama's hospitals, the Alabama Department of Public Health and Barber Diaries, is due to kick off Jan. 4 with an event starring Studdard.

"I felt like it was necessary for me to combat those issues at a young age before it became a bigger issue," he said. "I went to this place called Duke Diet & Fitness Center for a month and learned how to change my eating habits."

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Eminem's Divorce Finalized – Again

Eminem and Kimberley Mathers are divorced – again, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The couple, who have been married to each other twice, reached an out-of-court settlement during a hearing at Macomb County Circuit Court on Tuesday. The pair agreed to share custody of their daughter, Hailie Jade Scott, who turns 11 on Christmas Day, the newspaper reports.

It's not clear if Kim was granted the financial support and attorney fees she'd been seeking from the rapper, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III.

The couple "conducted themselves with dignity and respect," Chief Judge Antonio P. Viviano told Free Press. Eminem declined to comment after the hearing.

Eminem, 34, and Kim, 31, were married on Jan. 14 for the second time. Less than three months later, Eminem filed for divorce. Their first marriage lasted from 1999 to 2001.

In addition to Hailie Jade, the couple adopted Kim's niece Alaina, 12. Kim also has a daughter, Whitney from a previous relationship.

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Britney Spears Moves to Beverly Hills

Britney Spears has moved into a new house – a $7.2 million Mediterranean style home in an exclusive gated community off Mulholland Drive in Beverly Hills, according to real estate sources.

Spears, 25, has already left the Malibu mansion where she lived with her estranged husband, Kevin Federline, and their two children.

"She's moved in," said one nearby homeowner who asked not to be identified. "She's a neighbor."

The new 7,453-sq. foot house has five-bedrooms, six-and-a-half bathrooms, a pool, media room, library and a terrace with a view of Los Angeles, sources say.

Although the property is officially listed as being in escrow, Spears liked the house so much that she has taken possession of the dwelling and the previous owner's contents.

And the pop star isn't the only celebrity in the community. Ed McMahon lives nearby, and Gwen Stefani recently bought a house once owned by Jennifer Lopez for more than $13 million, that's just around the corner.

Given all the high-profile neighbors, the new community will afford more privacy for Spears and her two sons, Sean Preston, 1, and Jayden James, who was born in September.

"It's a great gated community where the tour buses won't be stopping at your front door or lookiloos driving by," said Kurt Rappaport, president of Westside Real Estate Agency. "She got good value for the property."

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Rosie Slams Trump, The Donald Fires Back

Rosie O'Donnell had some fiery words for Donald Trump on The View Wednesday morning, calling him a "snake-oil salesman" following his announcement that he would not fire troubled Miss USA Tara Conner.

After hearing about her comments, Trump fired back to PEOPLE, calling her "a woman out of control" and saying he planned to sue O'Donnell over her statements questioning his financial well-being.

"You can't make false statements," Trump tells PEOPLE exclusively. "Rosie will rue the words she said. I'll most likely sue her for making those false statements – and it'll be fun. Rosie's a loser. A real loser. I look forward to taking lots of money from my nice fat little Rosie."

The battle began on Wednesday's show, when a peeved O'Donnell said: "(He) left the first wife – had an affair. (He) had kids both times, but he's the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America. Donald, sit and spin, my friend."

O'Donnell, who impersonated Trump by deepening her voice and flipping her hair to one side, aimed her criticism at his comment from the Tuesday press conference that, "I've always been a believer in second chances. Tara is good person. Tara has tried hard. Tara is going to be given a second chance."

Conner, who just turned 21, will go to rehab but keep her crown, following reports of alleged drug and alcohol abuse. A grateful Conner apologized for her behavior at the press conference, and she thanked Trump for his compassion.

But O'Donnell was not as touched. After repeatedly saying she "didn't enjoy him," Rosie discussed Trump's finances – saying he went bankrupt, which Trump denies – and likened him to the "snake-oil salesman on Little House On The Prairie. This is not a self-made man," O'Donnell said.

And while O'Donnell and her View co-hosts discussed Conner's alleged drug and alcohol abuse, Rosie was dismissive, saying, "She went out and she was partying – doing what Paris and Lindsay do."

She also turned her wrath toward the Miss USA organization itself. "Miss America is the prestige," she said. "Miss USA is a different thing. It's basically a model competition. Let's be realistic."

Trump's response? "She talked about the Miss USA contest, which has terrific ratings on NBC. Miss America got thrown off of network television! It's (on cable), where nobody watches it," he said, countering her statements. "And my father never gave me tons of money."

He also thinks Rosie's rant against him was personal. Trump says he once sarcastically chastised Rosie about her "failed magazine" and "failed talk show." Added The Donald: "I think she's just terrible."

For her part, O'Donnell seemed to realize she was in for a fight after she criticized Trump, adding: "Here comes the lawsuit. Get ready. This is going to be good."

On Wednesday afternoon The View executive producers, Bill Geddie and Barbara Walters, issued a statement in support of O'Donnell – and Trump.

"Both Rosie and Donald are high-spirited, opinionated people. Donald has been a friend of The View for many years and Rosie, of course, is our enormously popular moderator. We cherish them both and hope the new year brings calm and peace."

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Evangeline Lilly's House Destroyed by Fire

The home rented by Lost actress Evangeline Lilly in Kailua, Hawaii, has been lost in a fire that completely destroyed the residence, Lilly's rep confirms to PEOPLE.

"Yes, it is unfortunately true that her home in Hawaii burned down this morning," said the rep, Cara Tripicchio. "Thankfully, Evangeline is safe as she was on set already when it occurred."

Tripicchio added: "There is no official statement, and I have no further comment or information to provide at this time."

The house, which Lilly reportedly shares with two women who work on the Lost crew, was empty at the time of the blaze. No injuries were reported.

Honolulu Fire Capt. Kenison Tejada said that his department received the alarm at 6:43 a.m. Wednesday, and that crews reached the scene six minutes later.

"When we arrived the house was fully engulfed," Tejada said. "It was a complete loss. Just the roof was still standing."

He confirmed that none of the house's three female residents were home at the time of the fire. Two were at work and the third was off island, he said.

Lilly, 27, who plays Kate on the series, earlier this year has been romantically linked to costar Dominic Monaghan.

Fire investigators arrived on the scene of the early morning blaze later on Wednesday. The cause has yet to be determined.

"I woke up to my dogs barking," Morgan Janus, a neighbor who lives across the street, told the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper. "There were loud popping sounds, like something electrical."

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Jessica Drops Out of Kennedy Broadcast

Don't look for Jessica Simpson when the Kennedy Center Honors are broadcast on CBS Dec. 26.

Unhappy with her attempt to pay tribute to honoree Dolly Parton with a rendition of the country legend's hit song "9 to 5," Simpson has withdrawn from the program, which was filmed Dec. 3.

Simpson botched the lyrics when she originally performed the song live, then recorded it again for the broadcast show. However, ultimately Simpson's spokesperson, Cindi Berger, told the Associated Press after Simpson had viewed the tape, "She really wasn't happy with her performance, and she did want it to be perfect for Dolly, who she idolizes."

George Stevens Jr., the show's producer, said, "We appreciate the time and energy Ms. Simpson put into this event and respect the high standards she has for herself and that of the Kennedy Center Honors."

At the time Simpson flubbed the song at the Washington, D.C., tribute – which also recognized Andrew Lloyd Webber, Zubin Mehta, Smokey Robinson and Steven Spielberg, and was hosted by Caroline Kennedy – she fled the stage in tears in front of a packed house that included President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.

"Dolly you make me so nervous. I can't even sing the words right," said Simpson, 26.

Later that same week, Parton, 60, told TV's Inside Edition, "Jessica is so talented that I'm sure that someday they will be paying tribute to her and I would be honored to perform for her. But I'll probably be so nervous that I'll forget my wig!"

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Miss Nevada Stripped of Title

Miss Nevada Katie Rees has been stripped of her crown for allegedly appearing in steamy photographs that reportedly have been circulated on the Internet.

In a statement released Thursday, Paula M. Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, said: "Katie Rees has been relieved of her duties as Miss Nevada USA 2007. First runner-up Helen Salas will assume the title and compete at the 2007 Miss USA Pageant on March 23 in Los Angeles, California."

The 22-year-old, who was crowned in October, was due to represent her state in the Miss USA Pageant next spring.

In a statement to TV's Extra, an attorney for the dismissed beauty queen says: "Katie Rees ... wants the public to know she was 17 and had a lapse in judgment."

As for the photos in question, the statement says: "The actions on that evening in subject are in no way indicative of the person she is or the person she has become � she is a law-abiding citizen and talented adult. This was an isolated incident that occurred more than five years ago when she was a minor."

Her attorney, Mario Torres, added in statement to PEOPLE: "We think it is inequitable that Miss USA was allowed a second chance for something she did weeks ago and Katie is being punished for something that happened five years ago."

Rees's dismissal comes on the same day that the current Miss USA, Tara Conner, who was nearly removed from her throne earlier this week, entered a Pennsylvania rehab facility as one of the conditions Trump imposed upon the 21-year-old after recent reports of her alleged hard-partying ways.

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Judge Orders Paternity Test for Anna Nicole's Baby

A Los Angeles judge has ordered a paternity test to determine the father of Anna Nicole Smith's 3-month-old daughter Dannielynn Hope, PEOPLE has learned.

The ruling, which was revealed on Thursday, came in a lawsuit filed by freelance photographer Larry Birkhead, who claims that he – and not Smith's fiancé Howard K. Stern – is the father of the infant.

"If I was on anybody's Christmas list, they can scratch me off because this is the best Christmas present I could have ever received," Birkhead told PEOPLE. "I'm one step closer to beginning a relationship with my daughter."

Smith's lawyer, Ron Rale, declined to comment on the details of the ruling, but claimed the judge "threw out 80 percent of their case.

"This isn't nearly the end of the story," said Rale.

Smith, 39, has been residing with Stern, 38, in the Bahamas, where she gave birth to Dannielynn on Sept. 7. Three days later, her 20-year-old son Daniel died in Smith's hospital room.

The former Playboy pinup and Stern returned to the U.S. last week for a hearing in San Francisco in her effort to collect an inheritance from her late husband, oilman J. Howard Marshall II. It's not known whether the baby was with them.

Smith and Stern, who is Smith's longtime lawyer, exchanged vows in a Sept. 28 commitment ceremony. Stern has claimed to be the girl's father, which he revealed that month on Larry King Live.

Smith's ex-flame Birkhead, 33, countered by filing suit demanding that Smith and the child return to the United States to submit to genetic testing.

According to sources, Superior Court Judge Robert A. Schnider ruled that the parties in the case will have to work out whether the tests will be done in the United States or in the Bahamas.

The whereabouts of Smith and Stern are unclear.

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Donald Trump Continues to Blast Rosie O'Donnell

While Rosie O'Donnell chose to button her lip about Donald Trump on Thursday – her only new contribution to their verbal slugfest was to grimace on The View – the object of her detraction launched a new barrage of comments about her.

To Larry King on CNN: "Disgraceful, a horrible human being, a terrible person ... a loser. Her magazine failed. The ratings for her show were terrible. They basically threw her off the air. ... She is not a good person. She makes false statements. She's a bully."

To the FOX News Channel, he said: "(View executive producer) Barbara Walters, in my opinion rues the day she put that animal on her show."

To the Los Angeles-based TV show Good Day L.A.: "Maybe she wanted to put the crown back on Miss USA's head. I think she's very attracted to Miss USA so she probably wanted to put the crown on her head herself."

To the New York Post: "She's an extremely unattractive person who doesn't understand the truth. ... I think she's a terrible person ... She has failed at everything she has done...She's a bully and she sucker punches people."

And the face she made on The View? "She folded," said Trump.

On Thursday, Walters released a statement saying: "Donald Trump is a personal friend of mine and has been a good friend to The View for many years. I'm sorry there is friction between Donald and Rosie."

She added: "That said, I do not regret for one moment my choice to hire Rosie O'Donnell as the moderator of The View. I certainly hope and expect that this tempest will pass quickly."

In response to Walters's words, Trump told Larry King: "I can tell you for a fact that is not what Barbara told me. ... Trust me, that's not what Barbara told me over the phone."

Neither Walters nor O'Donnell mentioned the feud on Friday's View, which was pre-tapped according to a source.

Trump originally took umbrage at O'Donnell's comments about him on Wednesday's edition of the ABC chatfest. Taking him to task for his handling of the Miss USA Tara Conner affair, she said he had no right to serve as a moral compass and that he had gone bankrupt.

While Trump has never filed for personal bankruptcy, he has sought bankruptcy protection for some of his casino concerns.