Monitor

BIRTHS
Actress Salma Hayek, 41, and her fiancé businessman François-Henri Pinault, 45, welcomed daughter Valentina Paloma on Sept. 21 in Los Angeles.... U.K. singer Charlotte Church, 21, and her boyfriend, rugby player Gavin Henson, 25, greeted daughter Ruby Megan on Sept. 20 in Cardiff, Wales.... Dancing With the Stars cohost Samantha Harris, 33, and husband Michael Hess, a financial wholesaler, welcomed daughter Josselyn Sydney on Sept. 23 in Los Angeles.

INJURED
Actor George Clooney, 46, fractured his rib, while his companion, Fear Factor winner Sarah Larson, 28, broke her foot during a motorcycle accident Sept. 21 in Weehawken, N.J. The two were riding on Clooney's bike when they collided with a car. No charges have been filed, although the incident remains under investigation by police.

COURTS
24 star Kiefer Sutherland, 40, was arrested on suspicion of DUI after police pulled him over for making an alleged illegal U-turn in Los Angeles on Sept. 25. The actor, who received five years' probation for a 2004 DUI charge, will appear in court on Oct. 16; he could face up to one year in jail if found guilty. A rep for Sutherland could not be reached for comment.... Former news anchor Dan Rather, 75, sued CBS and its former corporate parent, Viacom Inc., for $70 million on Sept. 19 in New York City. Rather's suit claims the network ''damaged his reputation'' by mishandling the controversy surrounding his September 2004 story that accused President George W. Bush of receiving preferential treatment from the Texas Air National Guard 35 years ago. Documents used in the report were later discredited, which prompted Rather's departure from his CBS job last June. ''These complaints are old, and this lawsuit is without merit,'' said a CBS rep.... On Sept. 21, Britney Spears, 25, was charged with property damage stemming from an Aug. 6 incident in which she allegedly failed to report hitting a parked car with her vehicle in a Los Angeles lot. Spears' arraignment is set for Oct. 10. Reps for the singer did not return calls for comment.... Rapper Snoop Dogg (né Calvin Broadus), 35, was sentenced to 160 hours of community service on Sept. 20 in Santa Ana, Calif., after pleading guilty to possessing a collapsible baton in his carryon bag at a local airport in September of last year.... Die Hard director John McTiernan, 56, was sentenced to four months in prison on Sept. 24 in Los Angeles for lying to the FBI about his association with private eye Anthony Pellicano. (The feds maintain that McTiernan hired Pellicano to wiretap an associate's phone.) The director, who was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine, must turn himself in to authorities by Jan. 15. McTiernan will appeal the ruling.

DEATHS
Tony-winning actress Alice Ghostley, 81, who played Esmerelda on Bewitched and Bernice on Designing Women, of colon cancer, Sept. 21, in Los Angeles. — Additional reporting by Stewart Allen

Legacy: Marcel Marceau (1923-2007)
Marceau entertained audiences around the world for over 60 years without ever uttering a word. In addition to his stage work, the iconic French mime, who died at age 84 on Sept. 22 in Paris, appeared in both movies (Barbarella) and on television (The Tonight Show). He even left his mark in the music world: Marceau's ''Walking Against the Wind'' sketch is said to have inspired Michael Jackson's famous moonwalk. — Adam Markovitz

Hobbit-Nobbing
The Hobbit just might be saved from Mount Doom. On Sept. 18, a judge fined New Line Cinema $125,000 for failing to produce accounting documents in Peter Jackson's suit against the studio. Both parties declined to comment, but insiders say the ruling could encourage New Line to settle the suit, which Jackson filed two years ago over disputed revenue from 2001's The Fellowship of the Ring. Since the legal battle has kept the two sides from striking a Hobbit deal, a resolution could mean they'll bury the hatchet — and Jackson might be involved in the Lord of the Rings prequel after all. Middle-earth fans are already planning a mega-bender at the Shire. — Missy Schwartz