Morning Briefing:
The nasty McCartney/Mills split gets even nastier: In court papers that somehow made their way into the hands of British tabloid editors, Heather Mills McCartney accuses soon-to-be ex-husband Sir Paul McCartney of repeatedly abusing her, once even stabbing her in the arm with the broken stem of a wine glass during a fight earlier this year. Through his lawyers, Sir Paul responded that he plans to "vigorously" contest the allegations -- but only in court. "He recognizes, on advice, that the only correct forum for his response ... is in the current divorce proceedings," said his lawyer's statement. (Daily Mail, BBC News)
Groups move to block Madonna adoption: Apparently unmoved by Madonna's statement yesterday that her adoption has followed all legal channels, a human rights group in Malawi says it will attempt to get an injunction against the adoption next week. The adopted child's dad, Yohane Banda, had some scathing criticism of the group's intentions on Wednesday, wondering "Where were these people when David was struggling in the orphanage? These so-called human rights groups should leave my baby alone." Madonna has reportedly decided to give her new son her husband's last name, announcing that the boy's new, very full name will be David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie. (The Scotsman, BBC News, Monsters and Critics)
Page Six says, so sorry: Vince Vaughn's threat of legal action against papers that said he was cheating on Jennifer Aniston seems to have paid off. The Thursday edition of the mighty Page Six column in the New York Post grovels: "We apologize to Vaughn for reporting on Oct. 11 that the 'The Wedding Crashers' star had been photographed 'making out' with a 'mystery blonde' at a party in London ... Any suggestion that the actor was being unfaithful to Aniston is totally false." (Page Six)
Also:
Yoko Ono filed suit against EMI/Capitol Records for $10 million on Wednesday, claiming she was never paid certain royalties owed her from the sale of her late husband John Lennon's music. (Associated Press) ... Rod Stewart's "Still the Same ... Great Rock Classics of Our Time" is the No. 1 album in America this week, selling 184,000 copies for its debut. Stewart's "Every Picture Tells a Story" was his first to top the charts, 35 years ago. (E Online) ... Stephen Hawking, 64, and his second wife, Elaine, 55, are filing for divorce. (The Sun) ... O.J. Simpson has reportedly signed a $3.5 million book deal to pen a hypothetical account of the 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman -- the National Enquirer reports the working title is "If I Did It." (Enquirer via the Scoop) ... Jeffrey Sebelia won last night's finale of Bravo's "Project Runway." (Associated Press)
Money Quote:
Nicole Kidman on the slippery slope of different types of cheating: "I don't think that sexual faithfulness is the most important one. It is the easiest type to define, but mental unfaithfulness is far more subtle and dangerous." (People)
Turn On:
On Thursday, Showtime broadcasts "After Innocence" (8:25 p.m. EDT), a documentary about what happens to wrongly accused prisoners after they're freed; ABC Family starts counting down to Halloween with "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride" (8 p.m. EDT); and Forest Whitaker (of "The Last King of Scotland") makes a cameo on "ER" (NBC, 10 p.m. EDT).
On the Talk Shows:
Larry King (CNN, 9 p.m. EDT): Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.
Charlie Rose (PBS, check local listings): Also Sen. Barack Obama
David Letterman (CBS, 11:30 p.m. EDT): Willie Tyler and Lester, Dr. Phil McGraw, "Survivor: Cook Islands" castaway Sekou Bunch (repeat)
Jay Leno (NBC, 11:35 p.m. EDT): Sally Field, bug man Ruud Kleinpaste, Kevin Federline
Conan O'Brien (NBC, 12:35 a.m. EDT): Nathan Lane, Ben Folds
Craig Ferguson (CBS, 12:35 a.m. EDT): Michael Caine, Mario Vasquez (repeat)
Jimmy Kimmel (ABC, 12:05 a.m. EDT): Jennifer Tilly, oldest worker in America R. Waldo McBurney, Xzibit
Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 11 p.m. EDT): Kirsten Dunst
Stephen Colbert (Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. EDT): Dr. Peter Agre
-- Scott Lamb
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