President Robert Mugabe's government has attacked the suspense thriller "The Interpreter," starring Nicole Kidman, claiming it is part of a propaganda campaign by the CIA that shows "Zimbabwe's enemies did not rest."

The Herald, the government-controlled daily newspaper, also linked the film to efforts by Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer last week to have Mugabe indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

In the film, Kidman plays a United Nations interpreter who overhears two people discussing an apparent assassination plot against the president of a fictional Republic of Matobo. The president, Edmond Zuwanie, is accused of ethnic cleansing and plans to address the U.N. General Assembly in an attempt to forestall indictment by the International Criminal Court.

Two months after Zimbabwe's official censorship board approved the film's screening here, acting Minister of Information and Publicity Chen Chimutengwende told The Herald in Saturday's editions: "The CIA-backed film showed that Zimbabwe's enemies did not rest."

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Former Saturday Night Live comic Kevin Nealon, 51, married actress Susan Yeagley, 33, in the Italian lakeside town of Bellagio on Saturday.

The couple, who were engaged last December, exchanged vows at the town hall at midday in front of four witnesses. The ceremony lasted 45 minutes and ended with a round of applause.

As the happy pair emerged from the hall and posed for photographers, Nealon was asked if they were going to follow the Italian tradition of having children soon. "WeÂ’re going to follow the Italian tradition of having a huge bottle of wine," he said.

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I haven't posted on the hurricane because frankly, my blog isn't exactly known for being the source of poignant news. Plus, I'm sure you've all been keeping up on it through news, other blogs, etc.

However, there were a couple stories I wanted to alert you to:

--I'm so thinking Lord of the Flies after reading this story. Poor Piggy.

--This shows the spirit of the French Quarter. I'm sure no one noticed that the beer was warm.

--I know there are THOUSANDS helping out with the relief efforts. I wish everyone I know, namely Bryan S. and Kelly, a safe return to Indiana. You guys are my heros!

Posted by: Lawrenkm at 10:28 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Last week: Preston. Yesterday: London. Now: Vegas?

A friend of the Britney and Kevin tells Star Magazine: "Britney wants to call him Jamie, after her father and younger sister," but Kevin thinks the name is too feminine for his son-to-be. "Instead, he's voting for the name Vegas [after his favorite party town], or the name Preston."

Brit is considering Preston, but has nixed Vegas. The friend explains, "She has too many bad memories of Kevin's party days there." Not to mention that it was the site of her 55-hour first marriage to Jason Alexander. Kevin and Britney — who's so on edge that a source says last week she stormed out of a dinner with her mom at Santa Monica's Houston's Restaurant — are also arguing about Britney's devotion to Kabbalah (which her rep also denies).

"Kevin was never really into Kabbalah. I think he tolerated it because it means a lot to Britney," another source tells Star. "But now that she's talking about raising their baby in the faith, he's put his foot down." What pushed him over the edge? The source says it's Brit's recent whopping $35,000 donation to Kabbalah's Spirituality for Kids program. "Money has been somewhat of an issue lately, and Kevin didn't think that was a wise investment." Especially since, the source says, Kevin would rather give his boy "a traditional Christian upbringing."

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This season's "College GameDay" on ESPN will feature entertainer Nick Lachey providing features as a regular contributor, including onsite appearances.

"Nick is a huge sports fan and will add a unique perspective to the show," said Norby Williamson, senior vice president and managing editor for ESPN. "He will provide wide-ranging, off-the-field features spotlighting the tradition of the game, its fans, athletes and personalities."

Host Chris Fowler and analysts Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit will return for their 10th season together when the program airs Sept. 3. In addition to Lachey, Desmond Howard, a 1991 Heisman Trophy winner with Michigan and 1997 Super Bowl MVP with Green Bay, will join as a weekly contributor, providing analysis and features.

--I'm a huge sports fan, too. Doesn't mean anyone wants to hear me babble about it on national TV.

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1 This is absolutely horrific. It HAS to be a push to get more female viewers, because no guy I know wants to see Nick Legay on our "Gameday" dammit!

Posted by: Iceman at September 02, 2005 08:54 AM (nWYjv)

2 I knew something was up when he was picking a fantasy squad on NFL Primetime last monday, but I had no idea it was going to be this bad. I am very disappointed. When will the networks realize that entertainers bring nothing of value to sports shows (see Dennis Miller, Rush Limbaugh). The only notable exception to this is Tom Arnold, who STILL would have been nothing if not for Roseanne.

Posted by: ren at September 02, 2005 09:55 AM (wPIeZ)

3 I'd like to hear you babble about sports on national TV Mills. I think it'd be entertaining.

Posted by: The Politician at September 02, 2005 09:56 AM (QbyU1)

4 Maybe that's my calling...I mean, everyone already asks me if I'm a newscaster all the time.

Posted by: Lawren at September 02, 2005 10:20 AM (bJB+W)

5 This is all part of ESPN's stupid melding of Hollywood and sports on their flagship network. This is why I keep saying ESPN is fast becoming an Evil Empire and is ripe for competition. From what I'm hearing OLN is looking to give them a run for their money. I'm not saying they'll overtake ESPN, but a little competition would be good.

Posted by: Kevvy the Unnamed Source at September 02, 2005 10:54 AM (Im0lz)

6 He's Jessica's Husband, RIght?

Posted by: JR at September 02, 2005 11:15 AM (6ESs7)

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Sometimes a musician, through no fault of his or her own, is left with a foot in the mouth.

More than just a one-hit wonder, Katrina and the Waves was the band that gave us 1985's "Walking on Sunshine." Twenty years later, frontwoman Katrina Leskanich, now living in the United Kingdom, is planning to launch her first commercial solo album on Oct. 17.

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Barbara Streisand fans must be in heaven. Not only is she re-teaming with Barry Gibb to release "Guilty Pleasures" this fall, but now comes word that Rhino is releasing on DVD all of Streisand's classic TV specials: "My Name Is Barbra" (1965), "Color Me Barbra" (1966), "The Belle of 14th Street" (1967), "Barbra Streisand: A Happening in Central Park" (196 and "Barbra Streisand . . . and Other Musical Instruments."

Said one fan who sings along to "Funny Girl," "The Barbra fanatics will go insane." Highlights include a duet with Ray Charles and a scene she acted with Jason Robards.

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Lindsay Lohan has angered yet another young female star - wrestler Hulk Hogan's teen daughter Brooke.

Lohan, who recently patched up a reported feud with Ashlee Simpson, has long been locked in a very public war of words with fellow teen star Hilary Duff. And now aspiring singer Brooke has a few choice words for the star.

She tells Star magazine, "(I) don't like Lindsay Lohan. But I don't want to go into that. I don't want to kick anybody's a*s, but I could if I wanted to."

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The sure sign of a film festival getting under way is when the A-listers hit the red carpet. And, with the arrival of George Clooney, the party's really getting started in Venice.

George made his grand entrance on a water taxi. He is at the festival to promote his new film, Good Night, And Good Luck. Clooney directed and wrote the screenplay for the drama, based on the true story of broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow.

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Legendary R&B singer Fats Domino, feared dead among the thousands of people presumed lost to the floods that hit New Orleans in the wake of Monday's Hurricane Katrina, has been identified as a survivor, CNN reports.

His daughter, Karen Domino White, a New Jersey resident, spotted her father in a photo taken Monday night by the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper as the 77-year-old singer was being lifted into a boat from his house, says the news channel.

His location since the photo was taken has not been determined. Also, friends say there is no information about his wife, Rosemary.

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Juliette Lewis exploded at a fan during a webchat when he asked about her past drug use.

Lewis battled an addiction to drugs during her youth - but the actress insists reports about her use of illegal substances have been exaggerated, claiming she had a cheap habit and was never hooked on cocaine.

When asked during the chat, "Now you have kicked your drug addiction, what do you spend your cash on?" she snapped, "What a stupid question! I did have a drug addiction 10 years ago, but it was never a cocaine addiction so it doesn't follow that I necessarily spent loads of money on it. I did do drugs, but cocaine was just not the drug of choice. And anyway, I'm only really little so I actually didn't consume that many drugs. I never needed much so it was quite a cheap habit! Drug addiction costs much more in how it corrupts the soul than in how it corrupted my bank account."

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Jennifer AnistonÂ’s Vanity Fair front cover proved the magazineÂ’s best selling issue of all time.

The much-publicised September issue, featuring the Friends actress posing provocatively in a white shirt, sold more than 650,000 copies in the US. Aniston poured her heart out in the article, tearfully speaking about her break-up with Brad Pitt and his relationship with Angelina Jolie.

The sales beat Carolyn Bessette KennedyÂ’s posthumous September 1999 cover which sold 640,816. She died alongside her husband, John F Kennedy Jr., in a plane crash in the Atlantic in July 1999.

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Apple is poised to unveil a mobile phone that plays music just like its best-selling iPod.

Made by Motorola, the handset will have Apple iTunes onboard and will be available via the US Cingular phone service, the BBC reports. The news was broken by analyst Roger Entner, who said he had been briefed about the device and the partners producing it. None of the companies involved were prepared to comment on the revelations.

Speculation that the music phone was about to be unveiled began when Apple issued teasing invites for a press conference on September 7. The company famously never talks about unreleased products but it did let slip that the press conference was "music related."

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Michelle Pfeiffer's car was stolen during a shopping trip in London on Tuesday afternoon.

The actress was enjoying a visit to Camden market when the thieves struck. The Press Association reports that she and her driver were distracted by one of the culprits as they loaded shopping into the boot.

Another man then apparently dashed into the car and sped off in, the keys left in the ignition. The other thief escaped on foot.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "A man aged in his 60s reported the theft in Hawley Crescent, Camden, on Tuesday at 2.30pm."

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Sellin' jeans from the beyond:

To persuade hipsters to spend $200 on a pair of jeans, Levi's has enlisted the help of Andy Warhol, the granddaddy of all things hip. Called "Warhol Factory X Levi's," the jeans are priced between $150 and $250 and will be available next Spring.

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Britney Spears has a capital idea for the name for her new baby.

The singer - who is expected to give birth to a boy next month - was previously thought to be calling the baby Preston... but another UK city is now the preferred choice. Brit is keen to call the tot London because it was where she started her romance with dancer hubby Kevin Federline.

She said: "Ever since I was a little girl I thought, for a boy I love Sean Preston - or London Preston. Isn't London pretty? And for a girl I love Addison Shye. I think that's pretty."

--Addison Shye? Good God.

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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are reportedly set to go public with their romance in a TV interview.

The Hollywood couple have so far remained tight-lipped about their relationship, which started shortly after Brad's split from ex-wife Jennifer Aniston.

However, sources claim the 'Mr and Mrs Smith' co-stars will finally confess they are dating to famed TV interviewer Barbara Walters. An insider is quoted by Britain's The People newspaper as saying: "Brad and Angelina had not gone public as he wanted to get his divorce out of the way and not hurt ex-wife Jennifer's feelings.

"But most people realise what's going on and they want the public to know they're serious."

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It's looking more and more likely that Sienna Miller is pregnant with Jude Law's spawn.

The actress was supposed to hit the Roland Mouret fashion show at the tents on Sept. 13, but she pulled out early this week. An insider said she's expecting.

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Lindsay Lohan claims that she tried to end the infamous feud between her and Hilary Duff, but, she says, she got hung up on when she called.

“I called her last week, and I was like, ‘Do you wanna hang out?’ And her sister hung up the phone on me!” Lohan told the magazine Australian. “I don’t like having enemies ... and there’s the saying, keep your friends close but your enemies closer.”

The feud supposedly started when Lohan learns that Duff is dating her ex-sweetie, singer Aaron Carter. “It was like, literally, four years ago when that happened, we were 14, 15, we liked a boy, it was like a crush," Lohan says. "Eurgh, it was so stupid! And I was like, ‘We have a lot of similar friends in LA, let’s just be cool, so if we see each other everything’s fine.’ I don’t wanna have fights with people.”

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While NBC and MTV have already announced their own telethons to raise money for victims of Monday's Hurricane Katrina, ABC, CBS, FOX, UPN and the WB Network are said to be working with those two other broadcasters to produce a simulcast benefit show similar to the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon held in 2001 a week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. That event nearly four years ago drew nearly 90 million viewers and raised more than $100 million for victims.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday NBC, MSNBC and CNBC announced they would simulcast A Concert For Hurricane Relief in high-definition live from Rockefeller Center this Friday night, with viewers encouraged to donate to the American Red Cross disaster Relief Fund.

To be hosted by Today show anchor Matt Lauer, the special (which will be tape-delayed for West Coast viewers) will feature performances from Tim McGraw, Wynton Marsalis and New Orleans favorite son Harry Connick, Jr., and appearances from celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio. "I am heartbroken by the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in my home state," McGraw, who was born in Delhi, La., said in a statement.

MTV and its sister music cable channels VH1 and CMT also announced that their live benefit program will air Saturday with hook-ups to performers in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Nashville. They are, so far, set to include Green Day, Usher, Rob Thomas and Alicia Keys.

Maintaining the momentum, BET has announced a Sept. 9 telethon to feature Russell Simmons, Master P and jazz artist Marsalis, and veteran comic Jerry Lewis said he would devote a portion of his annual Labor Day telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association charity, which starts on Sunday, to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, reports Reuters.

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