Gossip/Celebrity News

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Brad & Angelina Donate $100K to Daniel Pearl Foundation

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have made a $100,000 donation to the Daniel Pearl Foundation in memory of the American journalist who was kidnapped and eventually killed in Pakistan in February of 2002, PEOPLE has learned exclusively.

The gift, made through the recently formed Jolie-Pitt Foundation, was presented on Tuesday, which would have been the late Wall Street Journal reporter's 43rd birthday.

"On this day our thoughts go out to Danny's family," Pitt and Jolie said in an exclusive statement released by their political advisor, Trevor Neilson, to PEOPLE. "The Daniel Pearl Foundation is celebrating this day, his birthday, with music festivals around the world. The festivals are a great reminder of not just Danny's work as a journalist but of his life and his love of music."

Pitt and Jolie arrived last week in Pune, India, to film the Pearl biopic, A Mighty Heart, based on the book written by the journalist's widow, Mariane Pearl, whom Jolie portrays in the film.

At the time of his death, Pearl was investigating links between the terrorist group Al Qaeda and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.

Pitt and Jolie formed their foundation last month in order to give away $2 million, to be evenly divided between the Global Action for Children and Doctors Without Borders, to help families affected by HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty.

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Mel Gibson: I Need to Heal Myself

Speaking at length for the first time about his drunk-driving arrest and anti-Semitic comments this summer, Mel Gibson characterizes those remarks as the "stupid rambling of a drunkard."

"The last thing I want to be is that kind of monster," Gibson tells Diane Sawyer in a two-part interview for ABC's Good Morning America, set to air Thursday and Friday mornings.

Gibson also tells Sawyer he is committed to make amends, according to excerpts of the interview on the show's web site. "What I need to do (is) to heal myself and to be assuring and allay the fears of others and to heal them if they had any heart wounds from something I may have said," Gibson says.

Gibson was pulled over shortly after 2 a.m. on July 28 on the Pacific Coast Highway for speeding. He reportedly made anti-Semitic comments during his arrest, for which he later apologized, calling the remarks "despicable."

In August, he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of driving with an elevated blood-alcohol level and was sentenced to three years probation.

Sawyer will ask Gibson about alcoholism and drunk driving in Thursday's portion of the GMA interview. On Friday, she will ask him about his anti-Semitic remarks.

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Tara Reid undergoes surgery to reverse bikini "nightmare"

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Tara Reid, whose botched breast surgery made her a Hollywood laughingstock two years ago, underwent additional surgery to repair the damage, according to a report in Us Weekly.

In an interview released on Wednesday, the "American Pie" actress told the magazine she had surgery last month to reduce the scarring on her breasts and to even out her stomach after cosmetic surgery in 2004.

Reid unwittingly exposed the disastrous results when she posed for pictures at a November 2004 party and her dress strap fell down.

"I was on Web sites as having the ugliest boob job in the world. I was devastated," Reid, 30, told the magazine.

Reid said the surgery hurt her professionally and personally.

"Guys I was dating would be like, 'What's wrong with them? They look really bad. You know, you should really get them fixed.' So embarrassing, I mean, you definitely had to turn off the lights. And then there was my stomach."

Reid said she had liposuction on her stomach at the same time because she wanted "a six pack."

"But it went all wrong. My stomach became the most ripply, bulgy thing."

She told Us Weekly it took her two years to regain her confidence and trust another cosmetic surgeon to sort out the problems.

"I couldn't wear a bikini. I lost a lot of work. I lost my confidence," she said. "This was a nightmare I lived through."

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"Grey's" Dempsey, Washington Get Physical

Come Emmys season, does a series win extra points if its characters engage in some off-camera drama of their own?

Grey's Anatomy docs Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey--who's no stranger to the on-camera tussle--reportedly threw down Monday, resulting in a temporary halt in production while the two hunky attending physicians cooled off in separate corners.

A source told E! Online TV columnist Kristin Veitch that tensions mounted while the men-masquerading-as-boys were off on location last week shooting a camping sequence. By the time the crew returned to Los Angeles, something was apparently bothering the actors enough to cause a s***mish on the set.

It seems that Washington was prepared to shoot a particular scene Monday and was peeved that his fellow cast mates weren't ready to go. He ended up making a nasty remark to T.R. Knight and Dempsey stepped in on Knight's behalf.

According to the New York Daily News, Washington then grabbed Dempsey by his McDreamy throat and shoved him. Washington told People Wednesday that no punches were thrown.

Not confirming that two of the stars from its biggest hit were engaged in an altercation that turned physical--but not denying it either--ABC has remained mum on the subject.

But all is well now, on the surface at least, back at Seattle Grace. E! Online's source said that Washington and Dempsey both met with the big cheese, executive producer Shonda Rhimes, and proceeded to metaphorically hug it out.

"There was an argument on set," a rep for Dempsey said. "In any close-knit family, sometimes people argue. But everybody made up and went back to work."

Washington's publicist echoed the sentiment, saying in a statement to E! News: "Differences are inevitable. They were aired, resolved, and everyone has moved on."

With their bizarrely good looks intact, luckily.

And as for those outdoorsy scenes that the gentlemen were filming last week, Dempsey told E! Online Sunday (the day before the "incident") that it was good being away with the guys and nice to not have to shave for awhile.

"We have a good time together," the actor, whose wife is expecting the couple's second child, said. "We bonded a little bit, in a good way."

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Anna Nicole Gains Baby Daddy, Loses Lawyer

First, Anna Nicole Smith got committed. Now comes word that Howard K. Stern is certifiable.

The Bahamian Registrar's Office has listed Stern, Smith's longtime legal sidekick turned paramour, as the father of her month-old daughter on the girl's birth certificate.

Per the document, issued from the Nassau office and obtained by several news outlets, Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern was born Sept. 7 in the private Doctors Hospital on the island of New Providence.

Two last names and neither one is Birkhead? Let the protestations begin.

Last week, paparazzo Larry Birkhead filed suit against the former Playboy Playmate, demanding she and Dannielynn Hope return to California and undergo paternity and drug testing.

In the lawsuit, Birkhead claimed, among other particularly damning accusations, that he was the father of the baby girl, that Smith (whose legal name is Vicky Lynn Marshall) has a methadone addiction facilitated by Stern, that Stern is claiming to be the father for reasons of financial gain, and that the mourning mother fled to the Bahamas to give birth to avoid routine drug testing for her and her daughter.

Birkhead's challenge came in response to Stern's declaration on Larry King Live that he was the "proud father" of Dannielynn.

Two days after the CNN appearance, Stern and Smith held a so-called "commitment ceremony" aboard a private yacht in the Bahamas--though, apparently, it wasn't that private. The couple exchanged vows, but because there was no officiant present, the union was not legal.

The paternity squabble has played out against the backdrop of the death of Smith's 20-year-old son, Daniel. He died Sept. 10 while visiting his mother and newborn sister in the hospital.

Earlier, Michael Scott, another member of Smith's legal entourage who had been her de facto spokesman in the wake of her son's death, announced he had withdrawn as her counsel.

"A disagreement on a commercial transaction made it difficult for us to remain as counsel," Scott told the Associated Press. He was apparently referring to Smith having sold photos of her commitment ceremony to People magazine and the fact that the ceremony was held prior to her making funeral arrangements for Daniel. (Billy Smith, Anna Nicole's ex-husband and Daniel's father, held a memorial service for his son in Texas over the weekend. Anna Nicole did not attend.)

"It was not an amicable parting," Scott told the wire service, adding that there were "strong differences of opinion between myself and Howard over strategies."

Scott said that he notified Smith of his decision to withdraw as her lawyer on Tuesday.

While authorities have yet to officially confirm the cause of Daniel's death, a private pathologist hired by Smith announced last month that the young man died from a lethal combination of methadone and the antidepressants Lexapro and Zoloft.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force is expected to wrap up its international investigation into the death later this week, at which point the findings will be submitted to coroner's officials, who will determine whether a full inquest is necessary.

In the meantime, Smith and Stern remain in the Bahamas, where Daniel's body is currently being held embalmed at a funeral home awaiting burial.

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Anna Nicole Smith's Bahamas Lawyer Quits

Anna Nicole Smith's attorney in the Bahamas, Michael R. Scott, is no longer representing Smith, he confirms to PEOPLE.

Scott, an attorney at Callenders & Co. in Nassau, says: "We have in fact terminated representation of Anna Nicole Smith because of differences that have arisen in relation to strategy and matters arising out of the death of Daniel Smith."

Scott was also the lawyer for the estate of Smith's son but has relinquished that role as well.

Scott represented Smith during a turbulent six weeks: On Sept. 7, Smith gave birth to a baby girl, Dannielynn. Three days later, her 20-year-old son Daniel died in her hospital room. (A private pathologist hired by the Smith family to investigate Daniel's death says Daniel was killed by cardiac dysrhythmia caused by a lethal combination of methadone, Zoloft and Lexapro.)

Then, on Sept. 26, Smith's lawyer and confidant, Howard K. Stern, told Larry King that he is Dannielynn's father. And two days later, he and Smith held a commitment ceremony in the Bahamas.

Photographer Larry Birkhead, who alleges he had a relationship with Smith in California, also claims to be the father of the newborn, and has filed papers in a California court to establish paternity of the child.

Meanwhile, police in the Bahamas say their investigation into Daniel's death could be completed by the weekend. Once it's finished, a report will be forwarded to the country's attorney general, who will decide whether to have an inquest.

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Sara Evans Quits Dancing with the Stars

Country star Sara Evans has decided to pull out of the Dancing with the Stars competition due to personal reasons, an ABC spokesperson confirms to PEOPLE. In a statement released by her personal rep, it was revealed that Evans had filed for divorce from husband Craig Schelske on Thursday.

Evans, 35, who's the mother of three young children (ranging in age from 2 to 7), made the decision to leave the show "to give her family her full attention at this difficult time," it said in the statement. "Ms. Evans hopes her fans and TV viewers ... will respect and understand her need for privacy in the face of these recent events."

The singer, who was partnered with professional dancer Tony Dovolani, will make her final appearance on the show on October 17. "This has really taken me by surprise," Dovolani told PEOPLE about her departure.

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Hilary Duff Seeks Restraining Order Against Stalkers

Hilary Duff has been aggressively stalked by two men over the last six weeks and fears for her life, according to court documents filed today on behalf of the singer-actress in L.A. Superior Court.

Duff, 19, claims the two perpetrators are a 19-year-old immigrant from Russia, known only by the first name Max, and his roommate, David Joseph Klein, a 50-year-old self-proclaimed celebrity photographer.

According to the documents, the two men have made repeated contact with Duff's manager, showed up at Duff's mother's house, a Hollywood venue where her boyfriend Joel Madden, 26, of the band Good Charlotte performed last month, and even an L.A. market the couple frequents.

Disturbingly, Max allegedly has made claims that he intends to purchase a weapon and "has threatened to kill himself and to engage in dramatic actions" to get Duff's attention because he "believes they belong together."

The documents also state that Max emigrated to the U.S. two years ago with the sole intention of entering into a romantic relationship with Duff and that he would "remove enemies" who may stand in his way, namely her boyfriend, Madden.

Duff, claiming "substantial emotional distress," and her boyfriend are requesting that both Max and Klein stay 100 feet away from the couple and their family members.

A hearing on the matter is set for Nov. 15.

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Singer Sara Evans Accuses Husband of Adultery

Country star Sara Evans, who on Thursday announced she is quitting ABC's Dancing with the Stars after filing for divorce from Craig Schelske, has accused her husband of adultery and inappropriate conduct, court papers reveal.

In divorce papers filed Thursday in Williamson County, Tenn., and obtained by TV's Extra, Evans, 35, cites adultery as the grounds for divorce, along with irreconcilable differences and inappropriate marital conduct.

She and Schelske, 43, married in 1993 and have three children ranging in age from 2 to 7.

In the papers, Evans alleges that Schelske, among other things, cheated on her, drank and smoked cigarettes in the presence of their children and frequently threatened her and told her that she is crazy.

She also requests, and is granted, a temporary restraining order.

The singer's attorney, Nashville-based John Hollins Sr., told PEOPLE on Friday, "My son has spoken to her. He's working with me on this case and she seems to be doing very well." As for why Evans decided to file such a detailed divorce complaint, he said, "There was (a reason), but I really can't discuss it with you. She felt like under the circumstances she had no alternative."

Schelske could not immediately be reached for comment.

On Thursday Evans's rep released a statement saying the singer had decided to leave Dancing with the Stars "to give her family her full attention at this difficult time."

She will address her departure to Dancing with the Stars fans on the Oct. 17 live telecast, which will likely be her final appearance on the show. ABC has no comment at this time on how Evans's departure will affect the rest of the competition or future broadcasts.

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