Jennifer Love Hewitt gets engaged

Jennifer Love Hewitt is engaged to her boyfriend, Scottish actor Ross McCall. Hewitt, star of the CBS drama "Ghost Whisperer," became engaged last week, her publicist, Sarah Fuller, told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Fuller said she had no details on the couple's wedding plans.

The engagement was reported Wednesday on Us Weekly's Web site.

Hewitt, 28, also starred in the TV series "Party of Five" and "Time of Your Life." Her film credits include "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "The Tuxedo."

McCall has appeared in the TV miniseries "Band of Brothers," "CSI:NY" and "Ghost Whisperer."

Matsuzaka says child to motivate him

Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka voiced hope Thursday having a second child would boost his performance next season after criticism that he fell short of expectations in his rookie year.

Matsuzaka, 27, already has a two-year-old daughter and his wife is due to have their second child in the spring.

"It will be the best source to give me power. I will aim for a second straight World Series title," Matsuzaka told a sponsor's event in Tokyo.

"Personally I will have to achieve more and I am convinced I can do better than what I did this season," he said.

Matsuzaka returned last week from his rookie season in the US Major Leagues in which he helped lead the Boston club to the World Series title.

But he finished the season with 15 wins and 12 losses, a record seen as mediocre considering his giant 52-million-dollar six-year contract with the Red Sox.

The birth of his second child may also give Matsuzaka a dilemma, however. The due date is perilously close to the time that the Red Sox are due to open their season.

In a bid to cash in on Matsuzaka's popularity in Japan, the Red Sox will open the season in Tokyo, playing the Oakland Athletics on March 25 and 26.

Boy George faces trial for 'chaining up male escort'

Former Culture Club singer Boy George will stand trial in February charged with falsely imprisoning a male escort by chaining him to a wall, a court ruled Thursday.

Thames Magistrate Court in London set a date of February 25 for the trial after the 1980s pop star was indicted last week over an alleged incident at his flat in the trendy Shoreditch area of east London.

Boy George -- famous for 1980s hits such as "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" and "Karma Chameleon" -- spoke during the minute-long hearing only to confirm his real name, George O'Dowd.

It is alleged that the 47-year-old singer-turned DJ falsely imprisoned a 28-year-old at his home in Ravey Street, Hackney, east London, on April 28.

The musician, who was released on conditional bail, made no comment to reporters before leaving court in a blacked-out silver estate car. His trial will be held at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Last August, he traded his microphone for a broom to complete a week of community service in New York after admitting that he falsely reported a burglary at his lower Manhattan apartment.

Police who responded to the call found a stash of cocaine.

Boy George left Culture Club in 1987 and embarked on a brief solo career before reinventing himself as a club DJ and launching a fashion label, B-Rude.

Boy George in court charged with false imprisonment

Singer Boy George appeared in a London court on Thursday charged with the false imprisonment of a male escort.

The former Culture Club frontman fought through a huge media scrum after a minute-long hearing in which he spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth.

The 46-year-old, dressed in a black jacket and shirt, was released on bail, with the condition that he cannot contact the alleged victim.

The offence is alleged to have taken place at the star's home in east London in April this year.

Prosecutor Nicholas Paul told the court the case centered on an "allegation of false imprisonment" but did not provide further details.

George, who did not enter a plea, will appear again at Snaresbrook Crown Court on February 25 next year.

As the star left the court house he was surrounded by photographers, and it took six burly policemen to force a way through the crowd to George's car.

George refused to make any comment outside the court.

(Editing by Astrid Zweynert)

Kidman tells court of paparazzi chase

Nicole Kidman told a courtroom Monday how she was reduced to tears and feared a car accident after a celebrity photographer pursued her two years ago.

Kidman, who divides her time between Los Angeles and her hometown of Sydney, Australia, was testifying in the photographer's defamation suit against a Sydney newspaper that slammed him for allegedly hounding the Oscar-winning actress.

Kidman, who wore a gray knee-length skirt, cream-colored blouse and pale pink cardigan and had her long, curly hair drawn up in a loose bun, appeared calm and composed during the session in the New South Wales state Supreme Court.

Her poise contrasted sharply with her description of the ride from her house in Sydney to her parents' home in another part of the city for dinner on Jan. 23, 2005.

Kidman described hunkering down in the car's back seat — leaning over in her chair in the witness stand to demonstrate — to try to avoid being spotted by photographer Jamie Fawcett.

She said the trip quickly turned into a hair-raising chase as a vehicle carrying Fawcett and another vehicle, believed to contain his assistant, lurched through traffic around Kidman's car.

"I was frightened and I was worried there was going to be an accident," Kidman said.

Kidman said she was "really, really scared" during the car ride and that she was "in tears and distressed" by the time she reached her parents' house.

Fawcett, a well-known celebrity photographer in Sydney, is suing The Sun-Herald newspaper for defamation over an article that said he was Sydney's most disliked freelance photographer and was determined to "wreak havoc" on Kidman's private life.

A jury has already found that the article defamed Fawcett. The current hearing is to decide whether the newspaper's publisher, Fairfax Media, should pay the photographer damages, and how much.

Kidman described two other times that Fawcett had allegedly been intrusive when trying to photograph her — once while she was on her honeymoon with country music star Keith Urban in Tahiti in mid-2006, and once after Christmas in Sydney last year. She said he was one of the reasons she employed full-time security guards.

"I have been pursued many times," Kidman said. "I have had this happen in relation to this particular man ... so many times.

"I employ people to protect me now. I employ people 24 hours to protect myself because I don't feel equipped to handle things," she said.

Martha Stewart's mom - and mentor - dies

Martha Kostyra, whose daughter Martha Stewart credits her with teaching her many domestic tricks and techniques, has died at a hospital near her home in Weston. She was 93.

Stewart announced her mother's death Saturday on her blog, and Weston selectman Glenn Major confirmed the death.

Kostyra, a retired teacher whose family long ago nicknamed her "Big Martha," died Friday at Norwalk Hospital of undisclosed causes, according to a notice published Saturday in local newspapers.

Kostyra and her husband, the late Edward Kostyra, raised the future domestic doyenne and her five siblings in Nutley, N.J., where, Stewart said, she learned many tricks of what later turned into her trade.

In an appearance together in December 2003 on CNN's "Larry King Live," Kostyra described herself as "very proud" of her daughter's accomplishments.

"And you know, the first thing people say to me when they meet me for the first time, they'll say, 'Did you teach her everything she knows?' Well, I'll take the credit, certainly," Kostyra said in the interview.

Until recently, Martha Stewart lived in a Colonial-era estate in Westport, not far from her mother's Weston home. Stewart put the estate on the market and now lives primarily in Katonah, N.Y., about 20 miles away.

Some of Stewart's siblings still live near Kostyra's Weston home, including a sister who lives in town and was often spotted on errands with the matriarch.

"We all knew who she was, but she was low-key and nobody made a big deal out of it," Major, the selectman, said Saturday. "There are a lot of well-known people who live here, so nobody thinks anything of it to see them around."

'9 ot 5' sets its world stage premiere

Dolly Parton's stage version of "9 to 5," the 1980 film in which she starred with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, has found a home.

The show, which has a score by Parton and a book by Patricia Resnick, will have its world premiere in September at the Center Theatre Group's Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. It opens Sept. 21, 2008, according to CTG's artistic director Michael Ritchie. Preview performances begin Sept. 3 for a run through Oct. 19, 2008.

The musical will star Allison Janney in the Tomlin role, Stephanie J. Block in Fonda's part and Megan Hilty in Parton's role as a sexy executive secretary.

The plot concerns three office workers who plot against their sexist boss, who will be played by Marc Kudisch. The musical will be directed by Joe Mantello, the director of "Wicked" and the current Broadway revival of Terrence McNally's "The Ritz."

"I will say this about Dolly Parton, she is unbelievable in her (theater) skills," Ritchie said Thursday in a telephone interview. "She really understands the Broadway idiom. It's this great mix between her own personal style and sort of a classic Broadway show. The score sounds great."

No word yet on whether the production will transfer from Los Angeles to Broadway, but Ritchie said, "It has the potential."

No turning back for jazz great Joshua Redman

Tenor saxophone great Joshua Redman is content to leave the past just where it is.

Some 15 years after critics christened him one of the best young jazz musicians of his generation, the 38-year-old Californian says he will never return to the way he played in his early career.

"I wouldn't play that way, and I couldn't play that way (or) write that way, now if I wanted to," Redman said interview in Rome during his European tour.

"Sometimes I might hear myself come on the radio ... and I'll be like: 'Wow. That's so cool -- it's so simple and almost naive in certain ways'.

"But there's a quality that I appreciate about it, but I also know that was then, and if I tried to write a tune like that now it would come off as contrived."

It seems to all be about forward motion for Redman, a Harvard graduate who turned down an invitation to Yale law school in 1991, and instead stormed onto the jazz scene. He took first place in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition that same year and has never looked back.

After winning praise in recent years for his very non-traditional, plugged-in Elastic Band, which could just as easily play tunes from Led Zeppelin as Ornette Coleman, Redman has now taken his first stab recording in an acoustic jazz trio.

Redman's not reinventing himself though, he says, or rolling back the clock.

"I don't see it as reinvention as much as continual evolution, education, growth," he said.

"I get very deeply into certain projects, and try to give them time to really develop. And then, at a certain point, I feel I need to move into another musical context."

LAST RECORDING WITH FATHER

Critics say his new album, "Back East," is one of the best of his career. It is his 11th record as a band leader and its name is itself a nod to Sonny Rollins' album "Way Out West," recorded a half-century earlier.

But "Back East" is arguably more of a personal than professional milestone for Redman.

It was last time he was able to play with his father, fellow tenor saxophonist Dewey Redman, who died shortly after the two recorded together last year. He was 75.

"Neither of us knew at the time that it would be the last time we played together. The last time we saw each other," Redman said.

Redman, now himself a father of a 20-month-old toddler, said he didn't think Dewey would agree to appear on the album "because every time I played with him before it had always been in one of his bands, in one of his situations."

"But I asked him and he said yes," he said.

"It was an amazing experience, first just to get to play alongside one of my favorite tenor players ... and second, to get to know my father, because I did not grow up with him."

Asked what music he was listening to, Redman joked that becoming a father himself had affected his listening habits.

"I've been really focused on being a Dad, and I'm on the road a lot, so, sometimes I worry -- I don't pick up the iPod or pick up the CDs as much as I used to," he said.

"KICK MY BUTT"

On tour, Redman plays in a trio along with just a bass and drums -- a big challenge, he says, because there isn't the support of a piano or other dedicated harmonic instrument.

"There's that much more weight placed on each note because there are so few notes being played," he said.

"In every way it takes incredible focus and discipline and energy -- and I don't just mean physical energy, but mental energy and spiritual energy. Clarity."

For audiences, it's an engaging show that gives plenty of space for Redman to express more than a decade and a half of self-described musical "evolution."

His upcoming tour dates include Nov 15 in Madrid and Nov 22 in London.

"It's been really hard and it continues to kick my butt night after night. But what's great about it is that there is a tremendous amount of freedom," he said.

Reuters

Cameron Mathison done 'Dancing'

All those red-eye flights finally ground soap opera star Cameron Mathison down. After working to become the consensus most-improved celebrity on "Dancing with the Stars," Mathison, who spent the season shuttling between Los Angeles and New York (where "All My Children" is filmed), was eliminated Tuesday night.

"In five seasons, no one has traveled as much, or has had as much on their plate, as you have," host Tom Bergeron told Mathison moments after the elimination was announced.

Still standing for next week's semi-final were two-time Indy 500 champion Helio Castroneves, Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown, "Beverly Hills, 90210" alum Jennie Garth and singer/performer Marie Osmond.

Mathison and partner Edyta Sliwinska impressed Monday night with an elegant Viennese Waltz, but all three judges agreed that their Cha-cha-cha was wooden and lacked flow.

Gracious to the end, Mathison, who plays Ryan Lavery on the long-running ABC daytime drama, praised his fellow competitors. "Not one single bit of me wanted to go home. Clearly this has been a great competition."

Moments after judge Carrie Ann Inaba told Mathison that he was the season's most improved dancer, his partner, Sliwinska, put it another, less political way: "I'm truly, truly proud of Cameron. I've got to tell you, I never thought you were going to go so far."

Osmond, who returned to the competition after missing last week's elimination show following the death of her father, looked shocked when Bergeron announced early on in the show that she was safe.

She appeared to utter a single-syllable word under her breath, causing Bergeron to chuckle as he said: "Did you say what I think you said?"

Next week's semi-final airs at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.

West doctor sought Hollywood limelight

The doctor who performed a tummy tuck and breast reduction on the mother of Kanye West is a plastic surgeon to Hollywood's elite and something of a celebrity himself, with a TV show of his own and a host of appearances on programs from "Extra" to "Oprah."

What Dr. Jan Adams hasn't publicized, however, is that the state medical board is investigating whether to revoke or suspend his license over alcohol-related arrests; that he has been the target of malpractice lawsuits; and that he's paid out nearly $500,000 in civil settlements.

Adams, through his spokesman Kevin Williams, confirmed for The Associated Press that he operated on Donda West, who died Saturday night at Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center in Marina del Rey after she stopped breathing at her home. She was 58.

Adams would not say when and where the surgery was done, citing doctor-patient confidentiality.

"I first want to express my deepest condolences to the West family at a very difficult time," Adams said in a statement read by Williams. "Out of respect for the West family and in the absence of other verifiable information, any comment from me without first discussing that information with the family would be unprofessional."

She underwent cosmetic surgery Friday in Los Angeles and went home, said Capt. Ed Winter of the county coroner's office.

The coroner's office said initial indications were that West died from surgical complications, but an official cause of death won't be made for six to eight weeks pending further tests, Chief Coroner Investigator Craig Harvey said Tuesday after an autopsy was conducted.

Adams, 53, told celebrity Web site TMZ.com that West's death was not caused by the surgery, but could have been caused by a heart attack, a pulmonary embolism or vomiting.

Some patients who sought treatment from Adams said they learned of him through TV, where he appeared as an expert guest on "Oprah," "The Other Half," CNN, "Entertainment Tonight," E!, ABC, NBC and "Extra." Adams, who had his own show on Discovery Health, also appeared in a TV advertisement for Chanel's Allure perfume, according to his Web site.

Adams also sells a line of skin care products, including a product that lightens skin, and has written two books on plastic surgery, including the 2000 title "Everything Women of Color Should Know About Plastic Surgery."

In 2001, two malpractice lawsuits against Adams ended in payouts of $217,337 and $250,000, state medical records show. Further details were not disclosed.

A woman suing Adams for medical malpractice in Orange County in 2006 alleged that she had to be hospitalized with a high fever and fluid in her left breast after botched surgery to remove excess skin and reshape her chest and abdomen. Plaintiff Jana Beighle eventually had the implants removed because of complications, her attorney, Thomas Gourde, said.

"She saw him on Discovery Health, so she decided to check them out," Gourde said. "He never told her that he'd had these ongoing problems."

Beighle's case, as well as two others filed in Orange County, are pending.

The Medical Board of California is also investigating whether Adams' license should be revoked or suspended after two alcohol-related arrests in the past four years, according to records.

Earlier this year, David Thornton, the board's executive director, filed a complaint against Adams alleging he violated the Medical Practice Act with his arrests. A hearing is pending in the matter.

In a 2006 case, Adams was found guilty of driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or greater, according to the records. He pleaded no contest in 2003 to driving under the influence. In 1994, he also pleaded no contest to another alcohol-related charge.

Adams graduated from the Ohio State University College of Medicine in 1985 and says on his Web site that he received an undergraduate degree from Harvard University.

___

Associated Press Writer Alicia Chang contributed to this report.

Richard Gere wins humanitarian award

Richard Gere, who has donated time and money to the causes for Tibetan independence and HIV/AIDS care, on Monday accepted a prestigious humanitarian award given by the city of Philadelphia.

The actor was given the Marian Anderson Award, named after the black American opera singer who achieved international acclaim by the mid-1930s but faced racial segregation at home.

Gere, 58, accepted the honor and its $100,000 honorarium at a gala at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

"I'm not worthy of this award in any way whatsoever," Gere said. "I can't tell you how this makes me feel. My heart is so wide open."

Gere was lauded for taking on the dual role of artist and activist before it became fashionable, lending his fame and finances to global issues.

Gere, a Buddhist, has advocated Tibetan independence from Chinese rule since 1978. He co-founded the Tibet House and is board chairman of the International Campaign for Tibet.

He established Healing the Divide, a public charity for improving care for HIV/AIDS patients, and a philanthropic foundation bearing his name helps humanitarian organizations.

His three-decade film career includes "An Officer and A Gentleman," "Pretty Woman" and "Chicago," which won him a Golden Globe.

Anderson became the first black person to perform at the White House in 1939 and the first black soloist at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1955. She received the Medal of Freedom in 1963 and died in 1993 at age 96.

Kim Jong-Il's eldest son seen at Parisian dentist

A man purported to be the colourful eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has resurfaced in Paris, saying he went to see a dentist, Japanese television said Tuesday.

Kim Jong-Nam, who in 2001 was expelled from Japan after trying to visit Disneyland, had last been spotted living the high life in southern China's casino haven of Macau, where he has reportedly been staying for several years.

Japan's Fuji Television showed footage from Paris of a stoutly built man in a fashionable pin-stripe suit whom it identified as the 36-year-old eldest son of the North Korean strongman.

Leaving a luxurious hotel and heading by limousine to a building near the Champs Elysees, the man was seen smiling and comfortably dodged questions in French.

"I just went to the dentist and I can't talk much. I'm sorry," he said, covering his mouth with his hand.

Asked about his French skills, he responded: "Everyone knows I studied in Europe."

He was approached by a reporter from Fuji News Network, of which Fuji Television is the flagship station. The network said it shot the footage this month and that Kim had spent about a week in France, which has no diplomatic relations with North Korea.

Kim Jong-Nam is the love child of a liaison between Jong-Il and well-known actress Sung Hae-Rim, according to his cousins who defected to the West.

Around 2000 the North Korean regime began dropping hints that Jong-Nam might be groomed as next leader to continue the country's father-son succession.

But in 2001 he embarrassed the father when he was very publicly expelled from Japan for trying to enter the country on a forged Dominican Republic passport issued in the Chinese name Pan Xiong.

The incident was intensively reported in Japan and abroad as Kim reportedly told investigators he wanted to take his little son to Tokyo Disneyland.

However, a recent South Korean media report has hinted that the younger Kim is back in the loop and returned to Pyongyang to take a key position in a Workers' Party agency.

Donda West death may be surgery-related

An autopsy was scheduled for the mother of Kanye West after preliminary information suggested she died of surgical complications, a coroner's investigator said Monday.

What kind of surgery Donda West, who was often seen at the musician's side, had was not immediately clear. West had approached a plastic surgeon months ago about a procedure, but he never performed it because she did not return with a medical clearance for a condition that concerned him, the surgeon's publicist said Monday.

West died Saturday night at age 58 at Centinela Freeman Regional Medical Center in Marina del Rey, where paramedics took her after she stopped breathing at her home, according to Deborah Ettinger, a hospital vice president.

"We tried to resuscitate her, but were unsuccessful," Ettinger said, adding that she did not have surgery at the hospital.

Preliminary information indicated she died from "complications of surgery," Lt. Fred Corral told The Associated Press. An autopsy was expected to be conducted by Wednesday, Corral said.

"Kanye West, his family and friends would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support and kind words that have come in from across the country since the death of his mother," publicist Maureen O'Connor said in a statement. Reached by phone, she declined to provide details on West's death.

Patricia Green, a consultant who has worked as a publicist for West in the past, had previously told news agencies that West died after cosmetic surgery. She backed away from those comments in later interviews with the AP, saying she was not sure of the cause because she had received conflicting information.

West met with Dr. Andre Aboolian of Beverly Hills in June to inquire about cosmetic surgery, said the surgeon's publicist, Jo-Ann Geffen. Aboolian told West two weeks ago that she needed to get a medical clearance before he would agree to do the surgery, but never heard back from her, Geffen said.

Aboolian was concerned about a condition West had that may cause a heart attack during surgery, said Geffen, declining to elaborate because of patient privacy rights.

"He simply said that in order for him to be comfortable, he felt it necessary to have a medical clearance before he'd touch her," Geffen said.

Geffen said she didn't know whether West had cosmetic surgery elsewhere.

"He feels terrible because he said she was such a sweet lady," Geffen said.

West was known for the strong bond she shared with her hip-hop star son. She was often seen with him at parties and awards shows. Kanye West often spoke of his close relationship with his mother, who raised him alone after her husband left when Kanye was 3.

The former chairwoman of Chicago State University's English department, Donda West served as chief executive of West Brands LLC, the parent company of her son's business enterprises. She also was chairwoman of the Kanye West Foundation, an educational nonprofit that works to decrease dropout rates and improve literacy.

Hasselbeck to announce newborn's name

Elisabeth Hasselbeck is expected to call in to "The View" on Monday to announce the name of her newborn son.

"The View" co-host gave birth Friday at an Arizona hospital to a 7-pound, 15-ounce boy, ABC announced this weekend.

Hasselbeck, 30, began a 2 1/2-month maternity leave from the daytime talk show Oct. 23. Her husband, Tim Hasselbeck, is a backup quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals.

The couple have a 2-year-old daughter, Grace.

Report: Prince Harry, girlfriend split

Prince Harry and his Zimbabwean-born girlfriend have ended their three-year romance, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The News of the World said the Chelsy Davy, who has been studying at a college in England while dating the prince, broke off the relationship this week after losing patience with his playboy lifestyle and lack of commitment to her.

Clarence House, where Prince Harry lives with his father Prince Charles and his brother Prince William, declined to confirm the report, saying it doesn't comment about the royals' private lives.

Prince Harry, 21, graduated this year from Britain's elite Sandhust military academy after training to become an army officer. He hopes to one day serve on the front line alongside his colleagues if called to wars such as the one being fought in Afghanistan.

Witnesses say O.J. Simpson had no gun at Vegas hotel

O.J. Simpson never drew a gun during what prosecutors say was an armed robbery of his own sports memorabilia and may not even have seen one brandished during the incident in a Las Vegas hotel room, a key witness in the case testified on Friday.

Thomas Riccio, an auction house owner who helped Simpson carry out what he called a bid to recover the ex-football star's stolen property, was testifying for a second day in a hearing to determine if Simpson and two others should face trial on a dozen charges.

Riccio, testifying under cross-examination by Simpson's lawyer, said he and the one-time "trial of the century" defendant spent weeks planning the September 13 confrontation with two sports collectors at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino.

Asked by Simpson attorney Yale Galanter if guns were ever mentioned during the planning, Riccio said: "No, never at any time in the whole six weeks did he ever mention a gun."

Riccio said Simpson, 60, never had a gun during the incident and when it was over repeatedly said he hadn't seen any firearms in the hotel room.

"He said over and over again that he didn't see a gun and there was a good chance he didn't see it," Riccio said. "He was three or four feet in front of the guy with the gun. There was a good chance he didn't (see it)."

Simpson has attended both days of the hearing so far but has not addressed the court and at times on Friday closed his eyes at the defense table, seeming to struggle to stay awake.

'BEWILDERED'

Riccio also said one of the two men whom Simpson and his co-defendants are charged with stealing from, Alfred Beardsley, made it plain the memorabilia was Simpson's stolen property and even told that to police.

"He (Beardsley) came right out and said (the memorabilia) was stolen from O.J.'s trophy room. Those were his exact words," Riccio said.

Simpson is charged along with Clarence Stewart and Charles Erlich with conspiracy, kidnapping, armed robbery and burglary and could face life in prison if convicted.

Two others, Charles Cashmore and Walter Alexander, have pleaded guilty to lesser charges in exchange for their cooperation. Michael McClinton, who is accused of brandishing a weapon in the hotel room, has agreed to enter a guilty plea.

Cashmore followed Riccio on the witness stand, testifying that he was introduced to Simpson only hours before the September 13 incident by Stewart, who asked him to help move some of the former star athlete's belongings.

The union laborer told the court he did not expect to take part in a robbery, saying he was frightened and confused when McClinton brandished the gun.

Cashmore said he was later "bewildered" by the events in the hotel room, but echoed Riccio's testimony that Simpson had never held a firearm or directed anyone else to carry one.

Leaving the hotel, Cashmore said, he overheard Simpson denying to an unidentified person over the phone that weapons had been drawn or that anything had been stolen.

Defense attorneys asked Judge Joe Bonaventure to strike Cashmore's testimony because he had discussed the case the night before on a cable TV news program.

Bonaventure rejected that request, saying he was "disturbed" to learn that Cashmore had granted a TV interview but found no direct violation of his orders that witnesses avoid watching live coverage on the case.

Simpson, who parlayed his fame as an athlete into a career in Hollywood, was acquitted of the June 12, 1994, murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman after the sensational trial that transfixed much of the world.

A civil court jury later found Simpson liable for the deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5 million in damages to the victims' families, a judgment that remains largely unpaid.

The proceedings recessed Friday afternoon and were to resume on Tuesday after a three-day holiday weekend.

O.J. due in Vegas court on 12 charges

When O.J. Simpson returns to a courtroom to face armed robbery charges, the former football star will also be facing years of doubts and questions about his acquittal on murder charges more than a decade ago.

A Las Vegas justice of the peace will be asked to determine after a two-day hearing starting Thursday if there is enough evidence to take Simpson and two co-defendants to trial on charges that they robbed two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room.

In Simpson's mind, according to a close friend, the charges are rooted in Simpson being found not guilty in the 1994 slayings of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

"He believes he's being tried for that now," said Tom Scotto, 45, a North Miami Beach, Fla., auto body shop owner.

The men arrested in the Sept. 13 incident were brought together by Scotto's wedding.

Simpson and co-defendants Clarence "C.J." Stewart and Charles Ehrlich face 12 charges, including kidnapping, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy and coercion. A kidnapping conviction could result in a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. An armed robbery conviction could mean mandatory prison time.

"He's taking this serious," Scotto said. "It is serious."

No one disputes that Stewart, Ehrlich and former co-defendants Michael McClinton, Walter Alexander and Charles Cashmore went with Simpson and California collectibles broker Tom Riccio to meet memorabilia dealers Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong in a casino hotel room.

Simpson has maintained that he wanted to retrieve items he claimed had been stolen from him by a former agent, including the suit he wore the day he was acquitted in Los Angeles.

The case is likely to pivot on Simpson's contention that he didn't ask anyone to bring guns, that he didn't know anyone had guns and that no guns were displayed.

Three of Simpson's co-defendants have pleaded guilty or agreed to do so and are expected to testify against him.

Cashmore, 40, a journeyman laborer, said McClinton displayed a gun.

Alexander, 46, of Mesa, Ariz., told police after his Sept. 15 arrest that he and McClinton carried guns, but that he kept one in his waistband while McClinton displayed his as Beardsley and Fromong were frisked.

"O.J. said `hey, just bring some firearms,'" Alexander said, according to a transcript of his tape-recorded statement to detectives.

McClinton, 49, of Las Vegas, who later turned two handguns over to police and surrendered his concealed weapons permit, is expected to bolster that account.

Nevertheless, the prosecution's case has certain weaknesses, including some unsavory witnesses.

Of the eight men who were in the room with Simpson, six have run afoul of the law before, with convictions for arson, theft, cocaine trafficking and assault among them.

Moreover, Simpson's lawyers have argued that the men who turned against him lied to win generous plea bargains for themselves.

"He's got a bunch of people making up anything they can make up, just to get out of trouble," Scotto said.

Simpson and the others are likely to be bound over for trial "because the burden of proof is such that all they have to show is that some evidence suggests a crime occurred," said Tom Pitaro, a veteran Las Vegas defense lawyer who teaches trial advocacy at the Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger and prosecutor Chris Owens declined comment on their plans for the hearing.

Priest accused of stalking Conan O'Brien

A priest has been arrested on charges of stalking late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien by writing him threatening notes on parish letterhead, contacting his parents and showing up at his studio, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The Rev. David Ajemian, a priest in the Archdiocese of Boston, was arrested last week while trying to enter a taping session of NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" at New York's Rockefeller Plaza, said Barbara Thompson, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan prosecutor's office.

Ajemian referred to himself as "your priest stalker" in one note and complained of not being allowed in to see an earlier taping of the O'Brien show, court papers say.

"Is this the way you treat your most dangerous fans?" the note said.

The letters and e-mails, which started coming in September 2006, continued even after Ajemian was asked to stop and were "intended to cause annoyance and alarm," Thompson said.

"I want a public confession before I ever consider giving you absolution — or a spot on your couch," wrote Ajemian, who signed the notes "Padre," Thompson said.

Ajemian also has been in contact with O'Brien's parents, Thompson said.

A telephone message left Wednesday night at St. Mary-St. Catherine of Siena Church in Boston, which Ajemian gave as his address, was not immediately returned.

O'Brien is not commenting, an NBC spokesman said.

The Boston Archdiocese said in a statement that Ajemian had been placed on leave and was no longer allowed to minister publicly. O'Brien has participated in fundraising activities for the archdiocese.

The priest and the late-night host may have attended Harvard University at the same time. O'Brien graduated in 1985, and Ajemian graduated from high school in 1979 before attending the Ivy League school, according to an alumni magazine published by his high school.

The priest could face up to a year in prison if convicted of aggravated harassment and stalking.

Strikers get support from celebrities

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jay Leno rolled up to a picket line on his motorcycle with doughnuts for striking writers at NBC.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus marched with pickets at Warner Bros. in the shadow of a giant billboard advertising her CBS show, "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

Even Democratic presidential candidates weighed in Monday, as writers got a little help from their famous friends during the first day of their strike against movie studios and TV networks.

Barack Obama said he stands with the writers and urged producers to work with them to end the strike.

Hillary Rodham Clinton called for a contract that recognizes the contributions writers make to the entertainment industry.

Each candidate has received more than $2 million in campaign contributions from the entertainment industry.

In Burbank, Louis-Dreyfus wore a cap, sunglasses and Screen Actors Guild T-shirt as she joined strikers chanting, "Hey, hey, pencils down. Hollywood's a union town."

"How this is resolved will directly affect our union, too," she said, referring to the actors union contract that expires next year.

In New York, Tina Fey of "30 Rock" joined strikers outside Rockefeller Center, the headquarters of NBC.

Ellen DeGeneres wasn't spotted on the picket lines, but her publicist Kelly Bush said she took the day off in support of the writers on her daytime talk show.

Noise and other disruptions caused by a picket line interfered with filming at a location being used for the CBS show "Cane."

About 20 writers chanted, screamed and used a bullhorn outside a cafe near the CBS lot in Studio City, causing the production to move back onto the nearby CBS lot.

Tom Hogan, a location manager for the show, said filming began hours before the pickets arrived and involved a script that was finished several weeks ago.

"But you know what? I support them," said Hogan, a member of Teamsters Local 399, which represents truck drivers, casting directors and location managers.

Strikers near Universal Studios marched across a freeway bridge and waved signs at passing motorists.

Outside the landmark gate of Paramount Pictures on Melrose Avenue, drivers honked their horns in solidarity with strikers.

Despite the support, the financial reality of a work stoppage loomed large for many striking writers.

Michelle Mulroney, 40, and her husband both write feature films.

"I'm fortunate. I can strike for a while," she said. "But most people I know will feel the crunch today."

Zoe Green, 26, certainly will. She sold her first pilot, but the strike is preventing her from writing the script.

"This will be very tough for me personally, but I 100 percent support our cause," said Green, who was on the picket line. "I'm going to be struggling on $6,000 until this ends."

Oprah "cleans house" in school abuse case

U.S. television magnate Oprah Winfrey said on Monday she was "cleaning house" at her exclusive all-girl academy in South Africa after a dormitory matron was charged with abusing students at the facility.

Describing the charges -- including soliciting under-age girls to perform indecent acts -- as one of the most devastating experiences in her life, Winfrey said she had not renewed the head mistress's contract and was taking other tough measures.

"We are removing the dorm parents, and as I have said to the girls, (we are) cleaning house from top to bottom," she said in a video news conference from Chicago.

"It has shaken me to my core."

Former dormitory matron Virginia Mokgobo, 27, was arrested on Thursday on charges including assault, indecent assault and soliciting under-age girls to perform indecent acts.

She was freed on 3,000 rand ($458) bail on Monday after a brief court appearance and left the Sebokeng magistrate court, south of Johannesburg with a blanket over her head. The court postponed the case to December 13 to allow for more investigations.

FOUR MONTHS OF ABUSE

Superintendent Andre Neethling, head of the police's child protection unit in Gauteng province, told reporters after the video conference that Mokgobo was charged with 13 counts of assault.

"There were at least three cases of serious indecent assault and these escalated for roughly four months."

Winfrey, 53, a billionaire philanthropist, praised students who came forward to report the alleged abuse as exhibiting the kind of leadership qualities she hoped to foster in the school.

"My experience with child predators is that no one ever, ever abuses just one child," said Winfrey, is also a book critic and magazine publisher.

Winfrey's $40 million academy has been dogged by controversy since it opened in January with a launch attended by singers Mariah Carey and Tina Turner, actor Sydney Poitier and filmmaker Spike Lee.

In March, some parents complained the school was too strict and its restrictions on visits, phone calls and email contact were comparable to rules in prisons.

Then in May, some parents complained their children were not allowed junk food and, when they visited the school, they had to go through a security gate.

The abuse charges have assumed a high profile in South Africa, where activists accuse the government of neglecting often overcrowded and inadequately funded public schools lacking such basic items as textbooks.

High levels of classroom violence, teenage pregnancy and drug abuse exacerbate the poor standard of education, which still suffers from inequalities left by apartheid.

Winfrey said she cried for half an hour after hearing of the abuse allegations and had done her best to protect the students.

"Knowing what I know now the screening process was inadequate even though I was not directly responsible for recruiting dorm parents," she told a room packed with journalists listening to the video conference.

"No, I don't think as a school we have failed the girls. I feel there are systems within the school that failed the girls. I don't feel that it has harmed my personal reputation because I have done nothing wrong."

(Reporting by Muchena Zigomo, writing by Michael Georgy, editing by Giles Elgood)