While we're waiting for Arnie to decide whether he's in or out, ponder this, if you will: Larry Flynt as governor of California. The porn king suggests raising money for the ailing state budget by expanding slot machine gambling. And he notes, "California is the most progressive state in the union. I don't think anyone here will have a problem with a smut peddler as governor." He's got a point. (Washington Post)
"Law and Order" rips its plots from the news quite often, and the latest rumor is that next season one of the shows will be based on the incredible Jayson Blair fiasco at the New York Times. The story supposedly will deal with a charismatic black reporter who fabricates aspects of a rape story. A spokesperson for the show would say only that "'Law and Order' is fiction." Well, at least they're honest about it. (N.Y. Daily News)
Most bizarre story of the week: A Russian man says his father was one of the first into Adolph Hitler's bunker at the end of the war and hacked off the dictator's penis as a souvenir. Ivan Zudropov says he wants to sell the item and is willing to put it through DNA tests to verify its origins. He added that the penis was two and a half inches long. That explains a lot ... (Ananova)
First the New York Times started putting same-sex couples in their wedding announcement pages, and now Bride's magazine will be the first mainstream glossy to publish an article on same-sex weddings -- in the September-October issue. The article, titled "Outward Bound," will include interviews with gay and lesbian couples, as well as advice "not to panic" if one is invited to a gay wedding. (New York Times)
A New York bar is threatening to sue the producers of "Sex and the City" for presenting it in a bad light. Lawyers for Down the Hatch in Manhattan say that this weekend's episode has one of the fab four gals going to the joint to pick up a joint -- and that could damage the establishment's rep. The legal eagles want HBO to cancel the show or change the plot. The episode is scheduled for this Sunday. (Sky News)
--Karen Croft
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Arnold Schwarzenegger may have yet to make an official announcement as to whether he'll run for California governor -- that'll come next Wednesday night on the "Tonight Show" -- but Cindy Adams is reporting not only that the actor won't run, but also why. "It's because the one person who wouldn't vote for him is the missus, Maria Shriver, " Adams writes in her New York Post column. "Arnold's had some alleged allegations of allegedly bad-boy behavior. She knows the tabloids have heard it. She knows what happens in politics. She knows that stories might creep out of the woodwork and embarrass the kinfolk, the Kennedys, the kiddies."
Also playing footsie with a run for office but refusing to commit: Jerry Springer. Springer has confirmed that he, too, will wait until next Wednesday to announce whether he will seek a Senate seat for the state of Ohio. "It's obviously a huge decision with many ramifications -- not just for Jerry and his family but also for the constituency he cares about and the Democratic Party he loves," campaign spokesman Dale Butland told the press. (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Best of the Rest Page Six: Publicist Nancy Seltzer has lawyers write threatening letter to ex-employee turned stand-up comic; Elizabeth Smart sighted dining with family at the Palm restaurant in New York, said to look pretty enough to "easily be a fashion model"; Rosie O'Donnell starts tour group catering to gay couples with kids; Stella McCartney's rep denies rumor that Stella is so hirsute her rivals call her "Wookie" behind her back.
Rush and Molloy: Hearst descendants say guy claiming to be one of the family on VH1 reality show "Hopelessly Rich" is no kin of theirs; Beyoncé Knowles speaks out in favor of curvy women ("I'm glad curvier people are being more accepted [in Hollywood these days]"); Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen head for college in NYC; Madonna's brother shows naked-butt photos in Provincetown, Mass., gallery; Carl Bernstein and Christine Kuehbeck tie the knot in Reykjavik, Iceland.
U.K. Sun's Bizarre: Sean "Puffy/P.Diddy" Combs said to have flirted with Lisa Marie Presley, splashing out about $8,000 on vintage Cristal champagne for her and her entourage.
-- Amy Reiter
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