New York - In a tragic turn of events, former Blink-182 drummer Travis barker is one of two survivors of a Learjet crash in South Carolina. The other survivor is DJ AM, a famous DJ once engaged to Nicole Richie. Both survivors are currently in critical condition and are being treated for severe burns.
Barker was headed to Van Nuys, California after playing a free T-Mobile concert in Columbia with Gavin DeGraw and Perry Farrell, the former frontman for Jane’s Addiction. DJ AM and Barker have been performing together as TRVSDJ-AM, focusing on blending drum and dance beats.
Barker was taken to the Joseph Still Burn Center in Augusta, GA, and is said to be critically injured. The pilot, Sarah Lemmon, and co-pilot, James Bland, were killed in the crash, as was Barker’s assistant Chris “Little Chris” Baker and Charles Still of Los Angeles, California.
Kathleen Bergen, the Federal Aviation Administration’s spokeswoman, said the jet was taking off at 11:53pm on Friday and that air traffic controllers reported that they saw sparks. The plane then went off the runway and crashed on a nearby road.
Barker and Goldstein had performed together under the name TRVSDJ-AM at a free concert in Columbia on Friday night.
New York - After weeks of rehearsals Katie Holmes’ finally made her Broadway debut last night alongside costar John Lithgow.
Katie and the rest of her All My Sons cast mates received a standing ovation from a star-studded audience that included Dustin Hoffman and Katie’s beaming hubby Tom Cruise.
Tom will have many more chances to cheer Katie on, All My Sons runs on Broadway through to January 11, 2009.
New York - Baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez finalized the divorce with his wife Cynthia on Thursday.
“Cynthia and Alex Rodriguez have amicably resolved their dissolution of marriage proceedings,” the player’s lawyer, Alan Kluger, said on the newspaper’s Web site.
“They deliberately engaged in a private negotiation. This was and remains a personal family matter for both of them.”
Cynthia Rodriguez filed for divorce in July after more than five years of marriage, citing the marriage was “irretrievably broken because of the husband’s extra-marital affairs and other marital misconduct.”
Rodriguez is in the first season of a $275 million, 10-year contract with the Yankees, a deal that allows him to earn up to $305 million. He made $185.45 million from 2001-2007 from his contract with the Texas Rangers and Yankees.
Los Angeles - Tatem O’Neal’s father, Ryan, and younger half brother, Redmond, were arrested on Wednesday for suspected illegal substance possession, specifically methamphetamines.
According to Associated Press, their lawyer, Mark Werksman, denied Ryan was involved in any wrongdoing and believes he will soon be cleared of all charges. Werksman did not mention Redmond’s connection and declared he did not know which lawyer would represent him.
The two were released after $10,000 bail was posted. The prosecutors are still deciding whether to press charges against them or not.
Tatem recently told People magazine that she was worried about them afterwards but hopes they will get the help needed.
She was arrested in New York in June for trying to buy crack and cocaine and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. Redmond also has a history of arrests, drug abuse and rehab. In June 2008, he was charged with drug possession and a misdemeanor DUI charge, which he pleaded guilty to.
Tatem released the following statement: “Addiction, if untreated, can lead to jail, institutions and death. I love them both and I am sorry to hear about this.”
She admits that this addiction runs in the family and believes it is a disease. She hopes that her father will take this opportunity to get the help he desperately needs.
She also stated she will continue to pray for them and her entire family as well to overcome this difficult time ahead of them.
New York - Candace Bushnell, author of the original “Sex and the City” novel, is now writing two novels entitled “The Carrie Diaries”.
These books will focus on Carrie Bradshaw’s teenage years with an inside look at her friendships, relationships, and how she became a writer.
Bushnell said “I’ve always been interested in exploring Carrie’s teenage years. Carrie in high school did not follow the crowd–she led it. It was there that she began observing and commenting on the social scene.”
This pair of books will be the first young adult fiction novels Bushnell has written. She is also the brains behind “Lipstick Jungle” and “Four Blondes”.
The first of “The Carrie Diaries” is scheduled to be in stores in 2010.
Los Angeles - Brad Pitt is fighting for gay marriage.
The Brangelina man has donated $100,000 to the battle against Proposition 8, a political initiative to overturn legal same-sex marriage in California.
Should the proposition pass, it would add to the state constitution language defining a legal marriage as one between a man and a woman
Pitt said in a statement that he was supporting the fight against Prop 8, “because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it.”
New York - Allegedly some hackers came across Sarah Palin’s Yahoo email password and posted the contents online.
The internet hacker known as Anonymous took credit for the intrusion.
The screenshots and some of the emails, family photos, and address book were published on the Wikileaks site and Gawker.
There was no real dirt on the governor or any scandalous bikini pictures.
Beyond the voyeuristic issues, there are apparently questions about her use of personal e-mail for conducting state business as Alaska governor.
“This is a shocking invasion of the governor’s privacy and a violation of law. The matter has been turned over to the appropriate authorities and we hope that anyone in possession of these e-mails will destroy them,” the McCain campaign said in a statement.
The e-mail account of Palin has since been shut down. Many of the images are still online though, as well as the contact list.
New York - Miley Cyrus will star in a new movie written especially for her.
Author Nicholas Sparks, who wrote The Notebook is currently writing a screenplay for the 15-year-old.
The plot isn’t yet known but Miley has reportedly been looking for a more ‘mature’ project.
According to E!, Cyrus wants to showcase her acting skills in the new film and will not sing.
Sparks has seen several of his books adapted for the big screen, including “The Notebook,” “A Walk to Remember” and “Message in a Bottle.”
Los Angeles - Miley Cyrus is denying reports that she is currently dating underwear model/country singer Justin Gaston.
Cyrus, 15, Claims Gastin, 20 is just a “a friend.”
Cyrus has previously been dated Nick Jonas of The Jonas Brothers, and was recently linked to her Hannah Montana co-star Cody Linley.
This weekend Cyrus and her family were seen with Gastin at a church services in Pasadena, California on Sunday.
Gaston also attended Disney’s Concert for Hope later that night, where he watched Cyrus perform alongside The Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato.
A source close to Cyrus - a Nashville, Tennessee native - says, “They’ve been spending a lot of time together while he’s in town.”
But the teenager’s representative has denied the rumors, insisting their relationship is purely platonic.
The spokesperson tells People.com, “(Gaston’s) a friend from Nashville.”
Gaston’s rep, Allen Osborne, adds: “He’s visiting Los Angeles for the week.”
The pair met earlier this year when Gaston was a contestant on Nashville Star, which was hosted by the singer/actress’ father, Billy Ray Cyrus.
New York - After winning three MTV Video Music Awards, Britney Spears appears to be making a comeback and has just announced that her latest album titled “Circus.”
The new album will be released on December 2, her 27th birthday with the first single being released for radio play on September 22.
In an interview with OK magazine earlier this year Spears mentioned this album and called it “more urban” and that she’s been writing at her piano every day.
This new record comes just over a year after her “Blackout” album which was overshadowed by all of the publicity surrounding her custody battle with Kevin Federline, her stint in rehab and constant erratic behaviour.