EXPECTING
Naomi Watts (King Kong), 38, and Liev Schreiber (The Manchurian
Candidate), 39, are expecting their first child.... Designer Trista
Sutter, 34, and her firefighter spouse, Ryan Sutter, 32, who met on The
Bachelorette, will greet their first baby this summer.
BIRTHS
It's fraternal twins for Desperate Housewives' Marcia Cross, 44, and her
stockbroker husband, Tom Mahoney, 49. Daughters Eden and Savannah
arrived on Feb. 20.
FINED
Univision Communications Inc., the nation's largest Spanish-language
broadcaster, has agreed to pay the FCC's biggest-ever fine: $24 million.
The FCC took issue with Univision classifying some of its
telenovelas — such as Còmplices al Rescate, about tween twins who switch
identities — as educational programming. (Broadcasters are required to air
at least three hours of educational kids' shows each week.) A Univision
rep declined to comment.
APOLOGY
The studios behind Dreamgirls wrote a mea culpa to Motown founder Berry
Gordy Jr., 77, on Feb. 21 after label legend Smokey Robinson, 67,
claimed that the film led viewers to believe its plot was based on
Motown's early days. Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks took out
full-page ads in industry trade magazines apologizing for ''any confusion
that has resulted from our fictional work.''
COURTS
Singer Bobby Brown, 38, was arrested Feb. 25 in Massachusetts on a
warrant for missing a child-support hearing in October. (Brown owes
money to ex-girlfriend Kim Ward, mother to two of his kids.) ''Sometimes
it's not financially feasible for him,'' says Brown's lawyer. ''[But] the
payment will be forthcoming.''... Universal Pictures sued gossip blogger
Perez Hilton (né Mario Lavandeira), 28, Feb. 20 in L.A. for copyright
infringement after he ran a topless photo of actress Jennifer Aniston,
38, on his site. The studio says that the image, an outtake from The
Break-Up, was stolen, and wants the picture to be seized. No monetary
damages have been specified. Hilton's lawyer says his client has ''done
nothing wrong'' and that the snapshot had been published previously on
numerous other sites.... On Feb. 15, FBI agents searched the Orlando
home and offices of Lou Pearlman, 52, the Svengali behind the Backstreet
Boys and 'N Sync. Agents did not specify what documents they were
looking for — or even what specific crimes they were investigating — but did
say that the FBI would take over the probe into Pearlman's Trans
Continental companies. He's been slammed with a suit on behalf of
potentially 1,400 investors for what officials estimate is $100 -- 300
million in losses. Pearlman, meanwhile, remains in Europe. His reps did
not return calls for comment.... The fight over Anna Nicole Smith's body
is headed to court again. Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, 55, filed an
appeal Feb. 26 in Florida to gain control of her daughter's remains.
Arthur wants Smith to be buried in the family plot in Texas, but a judge
awarded that decision to a court-appointed attorney, who is acting as
guardian to Smith's 5-month-old daughter. As for the baby's ongoing
paternity saga: Lawyers for Larry Birkhead, 34, and Howard K. Stern, 38,
will convene in the Bahamas in mid-March to argue their clients'
cases.... Actor-comedian Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), 35, was sued for an
unspecified amount on Feb. 9 in L.A. by an unnamed female acquaintance.
The suit claims that Baron Cohen and HBO violated an agreement to remove
a verbal reference to the plaintiff in a 2004 episode of Da Ali G Show.
(The complaint alleges that a version with her name in it was still
being aired.) HBO declares, ''We don't believe this claim has any merit,''
while Baron Cohen's publicist says, ''We haven't seen the suit.''
DEATHS
British drummer Ian Wallace, 60, who toured with Bob Dylan in the '70s
and '90s, of complications from esophageal cancer, Feb. 22, in L.A....
Walker Edmiston, 81, one of the voices of the Keebler elves, of cancer,
Feb. 15, in Woodland Hills, Calif.... Grammy-nominated audio engineer
Ethan Willoughby, 30, who worked with Justin Timberlake, of car-accident
injuries, Feb. 18, in Sherman Oaks, Calif.... Guitarist Al Viola, 87,
who worked with Frank Sinatra and played the mandolin on The Godfather's
soundtrack, of cancer, Feb. 21, in Studio City, Calif.
UPDATE
The Week in Britney
After her bald breakdown and rumors of two short rehab stints, Britney
Spears, 25, reportedly checked into Malibu treatment center Promises on
Feb. 22. (The news came after pictures surfaced in which Spears appears
to bludgeon a photographer's SUV with an umbrella.) Estranged husband
Kevin Federline, 28, and their two children are said to have visited
Spears at Promises, while her manager has said Spears isn't on suicide
watch and is ''[trying] to get better.'' — Hannah Tucker
Monitor Hall of Fame
Busta's been busted...again. Rapper Busta Rhymes, 34, pleaded not guilty
after getting arrested on Feb. 22 in New York City for driving with a
suspended license. Rhymes (né Trevor Smith) has a history of car
troubles: He was reportedly ticketed last November for talking on his
cell phone while driving in Manhattan; he allegedly roughed up a fan for
spitting on his car in August; and a former chauffeur claimed he was
beaten by the hip-hop star over money on Dec. 26. A judge is offering
Busta probation as part of a plea bargain for the two assault charges,
which his lawyer says he's ''considering.'' Either way, we consider this
rap sheet worthy of our hall of fame.
Barba Burned: Inside the Latest 'Idol' Scandal
Is Antonella Barba this season's Frenchie? The American Idolsemifinalist and New Jersey native, 20, has been at the center of a
controversy over photos that have recently turned up online in which a
woman — who bears a striking resemblance to Barba, though the images have
not been authenticated — is shown partially topless, as well as performing
a sex act. While season 2 contestant Frenchie Davis was kicked off the
show after it was revealed that she had once modeled for an adult
website, Fox is not commenting on the Barba situation. Idol producer
Nigel Lythgoe told EW on Feb. 23 that he had not seen any of the
sexually explicit shots. ''We have really good background checks on
everybody, and we deal with that every season,'' he says. ''It's sad,
isn't it, that your best friends are the ones that come forward with
information that will go to Smoking Gun or put your photographs on the
Web?'' Then, on Feb. 26, Barba's friend (and Idol audition partner)
Amanda Coluccio told Newark's Star-Ledger that some of the photos were
not of Barba: ''The really bad ones aren't her. I've studied them.'' — Tim Stack
