[Los Angeles, August 31. Image via Bauer-Griffin]

• Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick's surrogate gave birth to their twin girls this morning in Ohio. Sarah Jessica and Matthew are at the hospital with the surrogate and released a statement saying:

• "Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick are delighted to announce the healthy arrival of their two daughters. Marion Loretta Elwell Broderick weighed 5 lbs, 11oz and Tabitha Hodge Broderick weighed 6 pounds. Both Hodge and Elwell are family names on Parker's side. The babies are doing beautifully and the entire family is over the moon. [TMZ, ABC News]
• Kate Gosselin's brother Kevin Kreider and his wife Jodi Kreider were so outraged by Kate discussing her divorce on TV that they agreed to do an interview with Radar Online in their home minutes after last night's Jon and Kate Plus 8 ended. Kevin said, "We're just so heartbroken and sad about the announcement they made... an announcement that could be so life-shattering for a young child. It was used to gain ratings without any regard for my nieces and nephews." [Radar Online]
• Miranda Tozier-Robbins, the woman who was allegedly caught peeping into Britney Spears' home, pled not guilty today to charges of trespassing, peeping, and prowling. A pretrial date was is set for July 17. [TMZ]
• Lil Wayne attended a pretrial hearing in Arizona related to drug posession and weapons charges. The judge set another date for August 11. [USA Today]
• Darryl Hannah and others were arrested at a protest in West Virginia against mountaintop removal mining. Protesters were blocking a road near a coal processing plant. [USA Today]
• E! is now a "Speidi-Free Zone." The network won't cover Spencer and Heidi Pratt, "Barring any actual news (e.g., she gets knocked up, he falls off a cliff or-heaven help us-her album goes to No. 1), consider this their very last post." [E!]
• Audrina Patridge stars in a new Carl's Jr. ad. While wearing a gold bikini, she rolls around on the beach and eats a "healthier" Teriyaki Burger. She says, "To look this good in a bikini, I've got to give up, like, everything. But there's no way I'm giving up that Teriyaki burger. I'm totally obsessed. I have to be a little bad." [The Sun]
• While speaking at the National Conference on Volunteers and Service, Matthew McConaughey talked about expecting his second child with girlfriend Camilla Alves. "We are putting after-school fitness and wellness programs into underserved communities nationwide, teaching physical fitness, nutrition education, with an emphasis on daily gratitude for how much or how little we have," McConaughey said, "And now that I'm blessed to be a father myself – I got one at home [Levi] who's 11 months and as you people know, we have another one in the oven, three months – this foundation and its cause means even more to me." [People]
• Though Nick Cannon says wife Mariah Carey isn't pregnant, he's announced that when the day comes he'll be a great dad. "I want to be a father that's all about love," says Cannon. "That's the main thing to get right and at the end of the day it's just about smothering my children with love. The same way I do to my wife!" [People]
• Would you vote for President Jolie? Supposedly Angelina Jolie is thinking of entering politics. "Ange has admitted she's getting bored with Hollywood. She said she's now got her sights set on Washington," says a friend. "She is passionate about people's rights, war and justice and thinks she can get more hands-on and make even more of a difference by getting into politics. She admires Obama and thinks she could make a big difference too if she were in his position." [The Daily Express]
• Eve will appear in two episodes of Glee as a "no-nonsense girls' choir director from a rival school." Whitney Houston was being considered for the part. [Entertainment Weekly]
• According to the annual report of the British Board of Film Classification, several viewers complained about Dame Judi Dench's swearing in Quantum of Solace. "Almost every time Dame Judi swears in a film, regardless of its category, we can expect a number of complaints," said the report. "It seems that she should not use such language." [The Mirror]
• Nick Jonas is meeting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office this afternoon on behalf of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. [Politico]
• Zac Efron has been signed to star in an untitled "sexy thriller." [The Hollywood Reporter]
• If you want to see some spoilers concerning whether or not Dominic Monaghan will return to Lost, read on: [E!]
• Sam Kinison's widow, Malika Borghese is suing Sam's brother for allegedly forging the comedian's will 17 years ago. She claims he rewrote the will to give himself most of his brother's estate, but she only found out in 2007. [TMZ]
• A coroner has announced that Former Wilco guitarist Jay Bennett died of an overdose of the pain killer fentanyl. He had posted on MySpace that he was getting ready for hip replacement surgery after years of pain. [AP]
• Despite rumors that she was given special treatment in prison, Foxy Brown says, "It was incarceration, not vacation. I only wore the designer clothing I was allowed to have." [The N.Y. Post]
• If you're a great tattoo artist, Megan Fox would like to meet you. "I'm looking for a really good artist," she said, "So if you fancy yourself one, try and find me. Have your people talk to my people, and I'll come see you." [E!]
• Paul McCartney has been telling friends he's confident that he'll live to be 100. "Paul has a hunch he'll still be here to mark his 100th year," says a family source. "At the end of the day he leads a pretty healthy life with a strict vegetarian diet and he exercises regularly. He certainly sees 100 as a reachable target." [The Daily Express]
• Courteney Cox will guest star in an episode of Lisa Kudrow's online comedy series Web Therapy, which is produced by Lexus for their branded entertainment network. Alan Cumming, Steven Weber and Victor Garber will also guest star in the second season. [Brand Week]
• Patti LuPone responded to the New York Times story on her pausing a performance to yell at an audience member who may have been photographing her. She wrote in an email: "I found the tone of your report very snide and feel compelled to write you to ask – what do expect me, or any performer for that matter, to do? Do we allow our rights to be violated (photography, filming and audio taping of performances is illegal) or tolerate rudeness by members of the audience who feel they have the right to sit in a dark theater, texting or checking their e-mail while the light from their screens distract both performers and the audience alike? Or, should I stand up for my rights as a performer as well as the audiences I perform for?" [N.Y. Times]
• Ellen DeGeneres says she and wife Portia de Rossi aren't going to have kids. "We have animals, and we love them. They don't talk back, and they don't explore their vocal chords out in public," said Ellen. "[Portia's] brother and his wife just had a baby girl who's a month old now, and it's fun to be a part of that. But no, I think, you know, we definitely thought about it. And it's something I think most people, as a relationship goes on, explore. But it's just a huge responsibility, and I don't know that that's something we want to take on. We're very happily married without children." [Ok]
• Melissa Auf der Maur says she only recorded background vocals for Courtney Love's solo album Nobody's Daughter because of producer Michael Beinhorn, who worked on the last Hole album, not because the band is reuniting. "Michael Beinhorn and I had an incredible working relationship on Celebrity Skin," Auf der Maur said. "And he called me and asked me if I would sing on [Courtney's] new solo record – which is what I understood it was. And I said 'Yes' because I enjoy working with him and ... well, she and I have a history of making music together. And I'm happy to visit her again in the future." [The Guardian]
• Melissa Leo plays Christian Bale's mom in the upcoming film The Fighter. When asked about her onscreen son's reputation for getting too into his roles, she said, "He does, but that's great. I met him on the airplane to Massachusetts a month and a half ago, before he had met his character Dicky. I watched him meet Dicky and right away saw how [Christian] absorbed him. Then, I saw him again a couple of weeks later when we got together to do work, and the transformation-wow. It has been amazing. It just delights me to see. Acting is so precious to me, and to see someone like Christian who really works at it and enjoys it...He's just amazing." [E!]
• Samuel L. Jackson says the only reason he wasn't in Mamma Mia! is that he wasn't aware his friend Phylida Lloyd was even working on it. He says, "I missed that because a friend of mine actually directed Mamma Mia! And I didn't know it until I saw her last year at the British Film Awards and they won all of these awards. I would have called to be in Mamma Mia! I'm a huge Abba fan." [The Daily Express]

• Lindsay Lohan has supposedly been spending time with "a different man every night" since breaking up with Sam Ronson:

According to this report, she's been in "constant contact" with 90210 star Kellan Lutz and also been hanging out with a British paparazzo named Chris Jepson. A source says she and Jepson were "inseparable" at a Hollywood house party and spent some time in the bathroom together, blah blah blah. [Page Six]

• Heidi Montag and Miley Cyrus have come out in support of gay marriage (and Perez Hilton) via Twitter. Heidi's says: "God says in the bible that we should love our neighbor and he created us all as equals. I know in my heart that gays and lesbians should have the same government rights that Spencer and I will when we get married. So, yes, this blonde Christian believes in gay marriage." As for Miley, she wrote: "Jesus loves you AND your partner and wants you to know how much he cares! thats like a daddy not loving his lil boy cuz hes gay and that is WRONG and very sad! like i said everyone deserves to be happy." [Perez]
• Jesus may love the gheyz but Catholics hate Ron Howard's Angels & Demons. The Catholic Bishops Conference of India want it banned. [E!, Page Six]
• Lauren Conrad says Spencer Pratt has admitted that he started the sex tape rumor about her. "We actually have it on tape. He takes responsibility and apologizes for it." Oh, and also, the peeps from The Hills may not be as vapid as you think: MTV exec Liz Gateley sez: "These folks do talk about a lot of intelligent things — like global warming — we just don't show that on the show." Yes, shield your audience from the big words! [LA Times]
• Stephanie Pratt on being a Speidi bridesmaid: "I've never been to a wedding before. I know that Holly is in it. I'm hoping that she is Maid of Honor because I will screw everything up. I don't know if you watched any of the Kelly Cutrone scenes, but I'm really not good at following direction." [E!]
• LC says of the wedding: "I think that it was very nice of [Heidi] to invite me but I think that she didn't really expect me to come." [Mirror]
• Audrina is in a PETA ad, dressed as an angel wearing some kind of stripper bikini. She copy reads: "Be an Angel for Animals. ALWAYS ADOPT. NEVER BUY." [Just Jared]
• Was Madonna's fall from a horse as bad as it sounded? She is already back to working out with trainer Tracy Anderson. [The Sun]
• Angelina Jolie might star as Dr. Kay Scarpetta in a film based on the best-selling books by Patricia Cornwell. There are 16 Scarpetta books, so the film could potentially turn into a Bourne-type franchise. And! She's neither a hooker, a victim nor a doormat; she's a medical examiner. [Variety]
• Rihanna may go on tour with Ciara and Keyshia Cole, a source says. "Rihanna wants strong women to join her," the insider spills. "This is a 'women empowerment' type of tour." [E!]
• Will Rihanna and Chris Brown have to confront each other at an ASCAP Awards after-party tonight? [Daily Express]
• Hey, remember Britney's restraining order case? It's still going on: Closing arguments were heard yesterday but no ruling was made on whether to extend the length of time Sam Lutfi needs to stay away from the pop star. [People]
• Leonardo DiCaprio and Oprah Winfrey are the greenest celebrities in the world…according to a poll. Hmm. [Daily Express]
• Hugh Jackman put his hand and foot prints in the cement outside of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood yesterday. [Reuters]
• Rachel Bilson will be a "fashion editor" at In Style; she'll write a monthly Q&A answering readers' style questions and talking about her favorite trends. [WWD]
• Congrats to Jill Scott and her fiancé; she delivered a boy named Jett Hamilton Roberts on April 20. Scott, who stars in HBO's The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, found out she was pregnant the day she was supposed to leave for Africa. [People]
• When Steve-O was in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, he was a "cocaine-addicted clown" who "two shows on Friday, three shows on Saturday and three shows on Sunday, and typically I would do cocaine through all of it without sleeping." Jackass. [People]
• Lo Bosworth is guest blogging about The Hills over on E! Here's a sample: " Last night's episode was kind of sad, but there were parts that were really funny, too." Scintillating! [E!]
• Jamie Foxx is being sued by a guy who was severely injured by a vodka display and now can't be a brain surgeon. It's wasn't Foxx's display, but he was the host of the party at a Hollywood club. [TMZ]
• Can you picture Jamie Foxx playing Mike Tyson? [Gatecrasher]
• Movie studios are custom-tailoring scripts for Tom Cruise… Will he have a hit? [Variety]
• Check out what Michael Jackson wore on a 95° day in Beverly Hills. [Concrete Loop]
• In a "legal victory" for Sacha Baron Cohen, a judge ruled that a woman was not subject of libel because "it is obvious that the Ali G character is absurd, and all his statements are gibberish and intended as comedy." [NY Times]
• Here is a detailed run-down of the Mel Gibson family: Mel and his wife have an eldest daughter and "six able-bodied boys," the youngest of whom is 10. How will the divorce affect them? [People]
• Blind item! "What music executive ditched his longtime girlfriend by calling the cops and having her physically removed from their apartment?" [Gatecrasher]
• "For me to go, in the dead of winter, and leave the family, when the kids are in school and they can't come with me - it has got to be pretty damn good." — Michelle Pfeiffer on the script for her new flick, Cheri. [Guardian]
• "My manager keeps it in his house. I got too many people coming to my house. I don't want it to walk off. People stealing it and leaving me with an Oscar Mayer (meat product) instead. Like, what's this doing here?" — Jamie Foxx on his Oscar. [Daily Express]
• "We're like the Green Eggs and Ham of breakers-up: in a box. With a fox. On a train. In the rain. Down at Mel's. On our cells. Over a martini. In a Lamborghini… I will always love him. He's a very special person." — Kristin Chenoweth, on her on-again/off-again relationship with Aaron Sorkin, creator of Studio 60 and The West Wing. Full interview with Chenoweth, who has a new book, here. [The Daily Beast]
• "On April 27 I will begin a fast of water only in solidarity with the people of Darfur and as a personal expression of outrage at a world that is somehow able to stand by and watch innocent men, women and children needlessly die of starvation, thirst and disease." — Mia Farrow, announcing her hunger strike. [Yahoo News via Reuters]

• Justin Timberlake will attempt to finish what Ann Curry started: He'll head to Tanzania and climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

Timberlake's goal is to raise awareness of the global water crisis. Rapper Lupe Fiasco and singer Kenna are going with him (?!). He says: "I've been training four times a week to get my VO2 (oxygen consumption) levels up to expand my lungs. We'll climb a week straight, carrying 30 pounds on our backs. It's going to be intense, but it's going to be so rewarding. We're going to be ready for it." [Mirror via GQ]

• High times: Amy Winehouse and Snoop Dogg collaborated last year, but were too stoned to finish the tracks! [The Sun]
• But Amy has been getting all detoxed in St. Lucia — she does a lot of mud treatments to draw out impurities. [TMZ]
• Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are mentioned as a cheap ploy for attention in this beyond stoopid press release. [Breitbart]
• Mel Gibson has "fled" to Costa Rica with his "mystery blonde." [Daily Express]
• Why hasn't Eminem been on the scene for three years? He's been on drugs. He says: "I wasn't ready mentally. I wasn't ready to give up the drugs. I didn't think that I had a problem. Basically, I went in, and I came out. I relapsed, and I spent the next three years struggling with it. Also, at that time, I felt like I wanted to pull back, because my drug problem had got so bad." He was also impacted by the death of his friend Proof: "I think it kind of hit me so hard. It just blindsided me. I just went into such a dark place that, with everything, the drugs, my thoughts, everything. And the more drugs I consumed, and it was all depressants I was taking, the more depressed I became, the more self-loathing I became." [XXL via The Sun]
• ZOMG Lindsay and Sam ran into each other. [Page Six]
• This report insinuates that Justin Long is super into Drew Barrymore, while she's all, we're just friends. [Gatecrasher]
• Kate Moss had to cut short a vacay in the Maldives because her boyfriend and her gal pal weren't getting along. [Daily Mail]
• Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn have a sex scene in the new movie Management. But poor Jen still can't escape being compared to Angelina; this column notes: "While it's no Mr. & Mrs. Smith, let's just say Mike (Zahn) ends up with his shirt off and his pants down to his ankles and Sue (Aniston) on her back on top of a table." [E!]
• The producers of Slumdog Millionaire have donated $740,000 to children living in Indian slums. [People]
• Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has renewed Martha Stewart's contract and will pay Martha Stewart at least $2 million for the next three years so she can continue living as Martha Stewart. [WSJ]
• Even though In Touch reported that Kate Hudson would be on , she apparently doesn't "do" TV. The rumor is "not true," says her rep. [E!]
• Matthew Perry on Lost? "It is not true," says Perry. "I really don't know why those rumors have been floating about. I have admitted I am a Lost junkie. And at the press junket for [17 Again] I was asked what my favorite TV show was and I said [Lost], so maybe that's how they started." [EW]
• Mandy Moore got help for her new acoustic rock album Amanda Leigh from her "in-home teacher," husband Ryan Adams. [Mirror]
• Lady GaGa rocked the gay bash known as the Palm Springs White Party. She has said: "I love the gay community. Like bleeding heart love the gay community…it's a genuine love I have for them." [NBC Bay Area]
• Audrina on her new reality show: "It's my life after The Hills, my journey. It's going to be a little spicier, edgier, older." We think this means drunken makeout sessions. [People]
• Keisha Knight Pulliam, aka Rudy from The Cosby Show, is getting her own reality show on Oxygen, which involves her live-in boyfriend and will "explore what it's like to be "young, rich, single and co-habitating." The show will be called "Keisha and Kaseem." [AP]
• Guess who else is getting a reality show? Fantasia Barrino. [Reuters]
• Which Idol judge should go: Kara or Paula? [MSNBC]
• It seems that Bruce Springsteen is the "victim" in that NJ divorce scandal where the wife was calling him the other man in her marriage. A source says: "The wife pestered Bruce, but he didn't have an affair with her. He's freaked out that he was named in her divorce because he barely knows her." [National Enquirer]
• Daniel Radcliffe says the kissing scene between Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley is awkward: "Harry's got a real thing for her, and that is slightly odd because when we met I was 11 and she was nine." [Telegraph]
• Speaking of Harry Potter, the Half Blood Prince flick will open two days sooner. [NY Daily News]
• Uh, they are really squeezing the life out of this franchise: There will be a 5th Fast and Furious film. [NY Daily News]
• Miss USA contestants will wear swimsuits from the Jessica Simpson Collection Sunday night. [NY Daily News]
• Real Housewife Jill Zarin had a breast reduction and "feels 20 lbs lighter." [Page Six]
• Sean "Diddy" Combs has just been cast in a Judd Apatow flick, along with Elisabeth Moss and Rose Byrne. Get Him To The Greek stars Jonah Hill and Russell Brand, and the gist of it is that a record label intern (Hill) is hired to get an out-of-control rock star (Brand) from London to a gig at the Greek Theater in L.A. While it might have been interesting if things were shaken up a bit, Diddy plays the record label boss while Moss and Byrne play girlfriends. Of course. [Hollywood Reporter]
• David Duchovny and Tea Leoni are so back on they have matching tattoos now. [Daily Express]
• Catherine Keener has been cast in a fantasy/adventure flick called Percy Jackson, in which she will play a mom whose son is half human (his father is Poseidon). [Hollywood Reporter]
• Here's a profile on legendary producer Jon Peters, whose memoir is "filled with outrageous tales of Jack Nicholson and hookers, and Barbara Walters in her undies." he may have told a room of people that Baba Wawa had "a great rack and nice ass." [The Daily Beast]
• After saying that he "totally understands OJ" Simpson, Hulk Hogan has issued a statement, claiming he "in no way condones the OJ situation. As part of a larger conversation, he referred to it to exemplify his frustration with his own situation." [ET]
• Meanwhile Linda Hogan says she is "taking these recent comments seriously." [ET]
• "Electroclash godmother Peaches and voodoo loving rave producer Drums of Death get together in the latest issue of Dazed & Confused to talk about drugs, power ballads, performance art, their favourite fancy dress costumes, and working together on her new album I Feel Cream." [Dazed Digital]
• Former "pin-up" Heather Thomas has written a novel called Trophies, about Hollywood wives and fundraising. She says: "I researched this and found these wives are responsible for directing about 80 percent of the foundation monies in America. It is the wives who have the time and can draw things to their husband's attention. Trophy wives are seen as charms on a man's arm, but I have come in contact with a lot of billionaires and their wives are busy and often have PhDs and are brilliant businesswomen. I've yet to meet a bimbo trophy wife." [Reuters]
• A former publicist for James Brown is suing for control of his estate. [USA Today]
• Actress Tawny Kitaen has settled a fraud suit against her ex, so you can go back to not thinking about her. [AP]
• Blind item! "Which funnyman doesn't even bother to hide his drug habit? When pals come to visit his pad, they're just as likely to see baggies of cocaine lying around as they are to see throw pillows." [Gatecrasher]
• "Your blob [sic] is very funny and clever. You have so much fun with it. No wonder everyone loves it." — Diablo Cody's mom. [Page Six]
• "When the show started it was such a different beast. It was exciting and dangerous and funny and edgy and bizarre. [Then] it started feeling a little complacent, and that was very frustrating… When you have a jewel, why not polish it and put it out there for all to see?" — Nicolette Sheridan on Desperate Housewives, which she felt never gave her character enough attention. (Her last episode airs Sunday.) [LA Times]
• "Edie's already slept with most of the guys on the street and has caused about as many problems as she could. We will find a new kind of sexiness coming through Wisteria Lane. What I won't do is cast another fortysomething sexy blonde. [Sheridan] performed the aging neighborhood tramp better than anyone has ever done before." — Desperate Housewives creator Marc Chery. [LA Times]
• "I think a wedding is about love, friends, family and fun. I think spending millions of dollars on a wedding is ridiculous and it has never been my dream. I would never do that." — Salma Hayek, denying she is planning an extravagant $2 million ceremony to follow her City Hall nuptials in February. [People]
• "I think this movie presents the relationship between the media and the government - and it's kind of interesting because it says that the institutions are both a little bit corrupt." — Ben Affleck, on State Of Play. [LA Times]
• "I have a little blog that I do with some friends, but beyond that, I'm kind of clueless when it comes to the Internet. I just got e-mail down pat. So I've got to speed it up, I guess. But I tend to get my news from the radio. I don't know why, it's just the way I like it." — Rachel McAdams. [LA Times]
• "I kind of value having people not know where I am or what I'm doing." — Zac Efron, who avoids MySpace and Facebook. [Reuters]
• "I have never seen that (From Justin to Kelly), other than the time I had to sit through it at the premiere. I was contractually obligated to, and I fought that with tears - I did not want to do that movie." — Kelly Clarkson. [MSNBC Scoop via Rolling Stone]

• The FBI has "recovered" jewelry given to Anne Hathaway by Raffaello Follieri. Meaning she gave it up. Two Rolex watches, rings, necklaces, and bracelets. There is no value given yet but every time the paperwork says "clear stones" you can bet that they're talking about diamonds. Sigh. [The Smoking Gun]
• Rosie O'Donnell wrote about Sarah Palin and Elisabeth Hasselbeck on her blog: "sarah p – elisabeth h/identical cousins/women who hunt in high heels/gives one pause." [TMZ]
• Wednesday, a judge said that Nicole Richie has been taking care of herself and is "in compliance" with the terms of her probation stemming from her 2006 DUI bust. She has turned things around since driving the wrong way on the freeway after taking Vicodin and smoking pot, huh? [Yahoo News]
• Post-rehab Kiki Dunst is on the October cover of Harper's Bazaar. Did you know she was in rehab for being "enormously co-dependent"? She says: "Everyone goes through a hard time in their life. They just don't have to do it in front of tons of people and with our media the way it is. I did, and I'm lucky that I had the resources and the money to take care of myself." [People]

• Keira Knightley jokes getting pregnant may be the only way people will stop thinking she is anorexic. [Mirror]
• That dude in the plaid sitting next to Mary-Kate Olsen at the fashion shows is her boyfriend Nate Lowman. [Rush & Molloy]
• Mariah Carey's former record producer is penning an "explosive" tell-all book with details about their "intense four-year personal relationship." Vision of love? [Page Six]
• Madonna got drunk at Guy Ritchie's birthday party last night and had to be helped to a car. She went home at 10 pm; Guy didn't go home until 4 am. [Daily Mail]
• Audrina blogs about her drama on The Hills. [People]
• Another misstep by Solange Knowles. [TMZ]
• You know how Ciara is "nude" on the cover of Vibe? Apparently she posed with clothes on and the magazine airbrushed them off. Scandalous! [Perez Hilton]
• A sofa on which actor Glenn Ford supposedly had sex with Marilyn Monroe is to be auctioned off in October. [Reuters]
• This story, "People Don't Take Heart-Throbs Seriously," is all about Colin Firth! [Telegraph]
• Bret Stirton, the photographer who shot Brad Pitt and Angelina's new kids, talks about that, even though he's not supposed to. He says: "I know Angelina from my work in Sierra Leone… In a world of 15 minute celebrity, where people will use the humanitarian sector to maximize their publicity, she's one of the few honorable people. I feel that any time that I can be of assistance to her, I will do it. I've seen where that money goes. It's built a number of hospitals." Stirton, who won an award for images of gorillas in the Congo, also says: "I could try and shoot good documentary for the rest of my life… and never get close to the kind of direct impact that that kind of money makes in people's lives." [MediaBistro]
• Singer Sarah McLachlan is splitting from Ashwin Sood, her husband of 11 years. Two new songs from her upcoming album, "U Want Me 2" and "Don't Give Up on Us," are about their separation. McLachlan and her husband have two daughters, India Ann Sushil, 6, and Taja Summer, 14 months. [Yahoo News]
• Jessica Alba's public service announcement urging people to vote is not so much "kinky" or S&M-inspired as it is "someone broke in to steal my flatscreen and went nuts with the electrical tape." See it here. [E!]
• Meg Ryan talks about meeting her adopted daughter, Daisy. "She was red-faced, screaming and crying," Meg says, but when officials passed the baby to her, "Daisy stopped crying. I'm not kidding you. She checked me out and then she went to sleep. The next six to eight hours, she'd wake up and be very afraid and then she'd cry and then relax and play with you. I'd do the same thing. Just get really afraid, then really expanded. It was this metaphysical kind of labor, this crazy meeting. I just saw that face and I knew we were just related." [LA Times]
• Garbage's Shirley Manson is on the verge of recording some solo material, but she's also part of the cast of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. She says: "I think musicians in general tend to be quite sensitive, and that helps when you're trying to interact with others on screen." Also, you may not know this, but she's only happy when it rains. [Reuters]
• Matthew McConaughey was on NPR's outpost KCRW-FM's Los Angeles studio as part of its Guest DJ Project. He played John Mellencamp, Ted Nugent and mournful African ballads. [Yahoo News]
• The British press loves making fun of the fact that Heather Mills is writing a book. [Mirror]
• Apparently Colin Farrell threatens to get the creases out of a baby's forehead with a hot steam iron in a crappy movie called Pride And Glory, shown at the Toronto Film Festival. [Fox News]
• Johnny Depp will voice the lead character in a new animated movie from Gore Verbinski and George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic. Prediction: It will be awesome. [Daily Express]
• Dionne Warwick has released a picture book called Say A Little Prayer. "I wanted to write a book about dreams and where everything is possible," she explains. "It really is about me and my childhood and the things that occurred to my in my life. It was a wonderful experience to go back and remember those days. I had an incredible childhood, one which I wish for every child in the world. It was full of love and family and friends." [Reuters]
• DJ Lethal of House of Pain: Cleared of all charges after actress Nicole Eggert accused him of beating her and burning her with cigarettes. [TMZ]
• Nicolas Cage owes the IRS after wrongly writing off almost $3.4 million in personal expenses. [Daily Mail]
• Hugh Laurie's family is moving to America to be with him. [Daily Mail]
• Amy Winehouse might buy a country farmhouse, a quiet spot to sober up in. Hopefully not in a poppy field. [Telegraph]
• Is Paul McCartney getting engaged? [Daily Mail]
• Michael Douglas to play Liberace???? [Guardian]
• A Dixie Chicks song was supposed to be used in an indie flick, but the film distributor didn't want to pay for it. [Page Six]
• This story about how Chicago Sun-Times film Critic Roger Ebert got smacked with a binder because he tapped some other guy on the shoulder — because, due to cancer, he cannot speak, is just sad. [Rush & Molloy]
• Hip-hop mogul Damon Dash's baby mama must return their son to his father, a judge has ruled. The teenage Damon Jr. went to visit his mom in Long Island and she allegedly enrolled him in school there, even though his father has sole custody and he's supposed to be going to school in Manhattan. Drama! [NY Post]
• Um, this report says Damon Dash has two apartments in foreclosure. [Page Six]
• Metallica's new album has leaked but the band is remaining calm. [USA Today]
• Timbaland's Australian tour got all jacked up but he swears the company who arranged his performances is to blame. Which is why he's suing. [NY Sun]
• Young Jeezy registered to vote! [Concrete Loop]
• "She's the most stylish, but I take longer to get ready. If I were more stylish, I would take less time. But I have no vision, so I have to try on everything at first to see if I want to wear it. She can tell right away what's gonna work and what's not gonna work. But I have to put on the pants, put on the shirt, put on the jacket, put on seventeen other jackets." — Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, on hus wife, model Marisol. [Yahoo News]

• Authorities have beef with Shia: A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Mr. LaBeouf — he got a ticket in February for unlawful smoking and never showed up in court. Whoops! [TMZ]
  
• Those Kristin Davis photos? Real! Snapped in 1992 by an ex-boyfriend. [TMZ]
  
• Ethan Hawke: Not over Uma? He recently sang a song at the 24-Hour Plays event with lyrics like "My wife hates me," and "My wife is a big fat beast." WTF. [New York Magazine]
  
• Oh, no. A feud has broken out in Heath Ledger's family regarding his estate. Heath's uncles are not happy that Heath's father, Kim, is in charge of the money — since when Heath's grandfather died 15 years ago, Kim was removed as executor of the estate after mishandling and mismanaging the assets. Messy, and sad. [People]
  
• Does Amy Winehouse really have impetigo? It could also be MRSA! A doc who doesn't treat Amy says she "should not be coming into close contact with other people while she has open sores," blerg. [TMZ]

• Um, Bryan Adams wrote a song about Amy Winehouse. The lyrics to "Flower Grown Wild" go thusly: "Amid the stars and the bars, the pimps and pills... The picture faded and the day was done, went home to nothin' but a loaded gun... She may look like a lady, but she's a flower grown wild... Nobody saw the tears in your silk and lace, the scarred little kid behind your face." [Mirror]
• As previously reported, Halle Berry has named her daughter Nahla Ariela Aubry. Nahla means "honeybee" in Arabic, sez a professor (yesterday we heard it meant "drink of water"). Possible schoolyard taunts: Nuh-uh, nah-nah, nah-nah-nah-I-can't-hear-you. [People]
• Tina Fey insinuates that Jon Stewart prompts applause with a sign. "My friend Seth Meyers coined the term 'clapter,' which is when you do a political joke and people go, 'Woo-hoo.' It means they sort of approve but didn't really like it that much. You hear a lot of that on [whispers] The Daily Show.'" [Page Six]
• Sopranos star and singer Dominic Chianese wants to do a duet with Madonna? Bada bing. [Page Six]
• Even though Heather Mills got a hefty divorce settlement, she's looking to sell her story — and some photos and tape recordings — for $2 million. Any takers? [Page Six]
• Director Anthony Minghella, who died yesterday, praised Jill Scoott in the new issue of Vogue. Minghella directed Scott in upcoming flick The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and said: "She is extremely stellar. I think she can be a real star." [Page Six]
• Lindsay Lohan refused to walk the red carpet of an event until organizers took down a backdrop with Paris Hilton's name on it. Plus: The star "pitched a hissy fit" on the set of a Visa commercial because someone served her a burrito. "She doesn't eat on shoots," he rep says. Eyeroll. [Rush & Molloy]
• Also acting like a diva: Kim Kardashian, who wouldn't pose for photos at a NYC club until she received $5,000. Effing hell. [Rush & Molloy]
• Beyoncé didn't greet fans on the set of Cadillac Records, the Etta James movie, because it was raining and she had to preserve her hairdo. Priorities! [Rush & Molloy]
• "I'm a big Obama supporter." — Ryan Phillippe. [Rush & Molloy]
• Topless pictures of Audrina from The Hills! "I took these photos years ago when I was just out of high school and beginning to model. I was young and very trusting of others and I didn't know to protect myself," she says. So she dressed up like a naughty schoolgirl... from the waist down. [TMZ]
• Kirstie Alley has signed a deal with Oprah's production company to develop TV projects. Cheers! [People]
• In court Tuesday, Howard K. Stern denied giving Daniel Smith, Anna Nicole's son, drugs. He also claimed to be shocked drugs were found in Daniel's system: "He wasn't that kind of kid." [E!]
• Minnie Driver wants to have a water birth at home in Malibu. [Mirror]
• Lily Allen has moved in with a new man! The guy is a producer named Robertson Furze and Lily seems to be happy so good for them. [The Sun]
• Jamie Spears' plan to save Britney's life is obviously about getting her finances in order. "If Britney never goes back to work, there is no reason she and her kids shouldn't be able to live a very comfortable life with the kind of money she has in the bank," says a source. But! She doesn't have as much as people think! "Those figures of $100 million or more were so off the mark," an insider says. It's more like $40 mil, sigh. [MSNBC]
• Simon Cowell paid off the mortgage for the family of a little girl with cancer. "I'm her guardian angel," Simon said. It's easy to snark on the stoopid stuff but when good things happen, what are you supposed to say? [Mirror]
• William Baldwin's wife, Chynna Phillips, puts her underwear on his head when they have sex so she knows where they are when they're done. Romantic! And practical. [The Sun]

[Los (where else?) Angeles, January 8. Image via Bauer-Griffin]