Gwyneth Paltrow: I'm helping Madonna over split

by AP

Gwyneth Patrol is helping her friend Madonna through breakup of her marriage.

The actress told reporters that she's supporting the pop star following Wednesday's announcement that she's separated from filmmaker-husband Guy Ritchie.

"She's a very good friend. I'm supporting her in all the ways that I can. I'm just there for her. I speak to her a lot," Paltrow said as she attended the premiere of her film "Two Lovers" at London's Film Festival.

Like Madonna, Paltrow who's married to Coldplay singer Chris Martin lives partly in London.

Madonna and Ritchie, who were married at a Scottish castle in December 2000, have two children: Rocco, 8, and David Banda, 3, who was adopted in Malawi in 2006. Madonna also has a 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes, from a previous relationship.

Madonna's publicist said Sunday that details of a divorce settlement are yet to be finalized, dismissing reports that the couple had agreed to a custody arrangement for the couple's children.

The couple own homes in London, Los Angeles and New York, and a 1,200-acre retreat in Wiltshire, England.

by Y!News

Spears Scores Record-Setting Hot 100 Jump

Another week, another record-breaking jump to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Britney Spears makes a near-maximum 96-1 rise with "Womanizer," returning to the top of the list for the first time since her debut single "...Baby One More Time" hit No. 1 in January 1999.

This is the third time in the past two months that the mark for the biggest jump to No. 1 has been shattered. On the Hot 100 dated Sept. 6, T.I. soared 71-1 with "Whatever You Like" and last week he sprinted 80-1 with "Live Your Life."

Spears' single is spurred by first-week download sales of 286,000, the biggest opening-week tally by a female artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking digital downloads in 2003, besting Mariah Carey's take for "Touch My Body" by just over 200 units.

In between her nearly 10-year gap between No. 1s, Spears has placed four other top 10s on the Hot 100, the last being "Gimme More," the first single from her last set, "Blackout." That song jumped 68-3 last October with first-week download sales of 179,000.

"Womanizer" previews Spears' sixth studio set "Circus," due Dec. 2 via Jive.

by Billboard

Madonna and Ritchie to announce divorce

Photo by AP

Madonna and filmmaker Guy Ritchie are to end their marriage after nearly eight years, British newspapers reported Wednesday.

Citing unnamed sources, The Sun and Daily Mail said the couple hoped to have a divorce finalized by Christmas. The Sun said that Madonna, 50, had wanted to wait until her latest world tour wraps up in Brazil in December before announcing the split.

The singer will perform concerts Wednesday and Thursday in Boston as her "Sticky and Sweet" tour continues.

Barbara Charone, Madonna's spokeswoman in London, declined comment on the reports. Ritchie's mother, Lady Amber Leighton, told reporters the family wouldn't be making any statement to the media.

This is the second time this year that the superstar couple's marriage has come under the media microscope. Over the summer, Madonna was linked — unfairly, she said — to the breakup of New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez and his ex-wife Cynthia.

In July, Madonna's U.S. publicist released a statement that said the singer and Ritchie had "no plans to divorce."

Madonna and Ritchie married in December 2000 at a Scottish castle. The couple have two children: Rocco, 8, and David Banda, 3, who was adopted from Malawi in 2006. Madonna also has a 12-year-old daughter, Lourdes, from her relationship with personal trainer Carlos Leon.

The couple are reportedly worth some $525 million, the bulk of that belonging to Madonna. Ritchie has an estimated $35 million fortune. They own homes in London, Los Angeles and New York, and a 1,200-acre retreat in Wiltshire, England.

Alan Kaufman, head of family law for London firm Finers Stephens Innocent, said he would be surprised if Madonna and Ritchie hadn't come to some arrangement before they were married.

Kaufman, who isn't involved in the case, also said he doesn't expect the case to end up in court because the couple would likely prefer to come to a private agreement both custodially and financially.

"They both had substantial assets and don't really need any money from each other," Kaufman said.

"This is not like the McCartney divorce," he said, referring to the acrimonious split between former Beatle Paul McCartney and Heather Mills earlier this year.

By Y! news

Janet Jackson's Mystery Illness Revealed – Migraines!

Janet Jackson onstage in Vancouver Sept. 10
Photo by: John Darch / JDJ, Inc.

After much speculation, the cause of Janet Jackson's mystery illness – which caused her to cancel a trip of tour dates – has been revealed.

The 42-year-old was suffering from vestibular migraines, her rep said in a statement, an unusual condition that creates the sensation of vertigo.

But Jackson is now receiving treatmet – and she's anxious to get back on stage.

"[Janet is] a world-class entertainer and needs to be at the top of her game to give her fans the show they expect," manager Kenneth Crear said in the statement. "She's feeling much better and is ready to hit the road again."

She is scheduled to resume her Rock Witchu Tour Wednesday night at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.

Jackson's show at Madison Square Garden, originally slated for Thursday, has been rescheduled for Nov. 1.

New dates for the other postponed concerts are being worked out and will be announced shortly, her rep said.

Double Debuts Beyonce

by Sony

After recording more than 70 songs for her upcoming album – due out Nov. 18 – Beyoncé debuted, count 'em, two new singles on the radio Wednesday morning.

In the ballad, if I were a Boy, Beyoncé, 27, sings how she'd "chase after the girls" and "put myself first," and belts out in the chorus how she'd "be a better man" because she knows "how it hurts when you lose the one you wanted/cause he's taken you for granted."

Beyoncé's second single, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" aired on Z100's sister station Power 105.1.

In the song, the secretly married performer croons, "We just broke up/I'm doin' my own lil' thing/And you decided to dip/ Now you wanna trip/Cuz another brutha noticed me/I’m up on him/He up on me."

Check 'em out for yourself!

by People

Angelina Jolie Says, 'Everybody's Great'

Photo by: B. Ach / INF

Having landed in NYC earlier in the week, Angelina Jolie arrived with Brad Pitt and walked the red carpet at the New York Film Festival for Saturday night's premiere of her movie Changeling, a 1920's thriller directed by Clint Eastwood.

Asked if she felt nervous to be back in the spotlight, Jolie told PEOPLE, "Not nervous as much as I just took a deep breath because it¹s been so long. It felt a little strange."

The Manhattan visit marks the first time since the birth of the twins, Vivienne and Knox, that Jolie and Pitt have been in the city with their children.

"Everybody's great," she told PEOPLE. "The babies are getting big and healthy and developing personalities."

Breastfeeding Helps

As for being in the city that never sleeps, Jolie, 33, said, "We are a little bit [sleep deprived]. We have some help a couple of nights a week, so on those nights we catch up on our sleep."

Still, as ever, she looked ravishing – decked out in an Atelier Versace dress, Sergio Rossi shoes and Mikimoto pearl earrings and ring – after a day of taking her three eldest kids (Zahara, Maddox and Pax Thien) to Lee's Art Store midtown, while Brad went downtown to see photographer Jerry Spagnoli at his studio.

"I run around with all the other kids, and I'm breastfeeding, which I think is a part of your body's recovery," Jolie said. "I feel great [and] feel very happy that they're healthy."

On Her Movie

Of her new movie, in which she plays a mother whose son is kidnapped, Jolie said, "Your worst fear is anything happening to your kids. The reason I didn't want to do the film for a long time … every day I came home, and I was so clinging to my kids. I was grabbing them. And checking them in the night. It scares me."

As for adopting more children, she said, "I think we're going to wait a little while."

by People

O.J. Simpson: This Time He's Guilty!

Getty Images

Oct. 3, 1995: O.J. Simpson acquitted of killing ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.

Oct. 3, 2008: O.J. Simpson found guilty of a dozen of crimes, including armed robbery and kidnapping, that could put him away for life.

Exactly 13 years after he skated on the murder rap, and after 13 solid hours of deliberations, a Las Vegas jury convicted the Hall of Fame running back and erstwhile Naked Gun star of masterminding a raid on two sports memorabilia dealers.

Tasked by District Court Judge Jackie Glass to reach a verdict or work through the weekend, the nine-woman, three-man panel stayed late at the Clark County Courthouse, even having dinner delivered, before reaching the verdict shortly before 10 p.m.

About 40 minutes later, Simpson entered the room to learn his fate. After the judge read the verdict, Simpson, 61, and codefendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart, 54, were cuffed and hauled away. They will remain locked up until their Dec. 5 sentencing.

Simpson's daughter, Arnelle, and sister, Carmelita Durio, clutched each other as each count was ticked off. They cried as Simpson was led out by officers and then Durio collapsed, prompting a call to paramedics.

Simpson attorney Yale Galanter—who in Thursday's closing arguments called his client "stupid" for staging the so-called "sting" operation but said he did nothing criminal—has already vowed an appeal.

Jurors declined to talk to the media about their reasoning.

According to authorities, Simpson and five other men barged in on the two memorabilia collectors, Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley, at the Palace Station, an off-Strip Las Vegas hotel, on Sept. 13, 2007. Simpson believed the two men had items that had been swiped from him.

Several of his accomplices cut deals, leaving Simpson to stand trial with Stewart, a Vegas mortgage broker.

All told Simpson and Stewart were convicted of 11 felonies (conspiracy to commit kidnapping; conspiracy to commit burglary; burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon; and two counts each of first degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon; robbery with use of a deadly weapon; assault with a deadly weapon; and coercion with use of a deadly weapon) and one gross misdemeanor (conspiracy to commit a crime).

Leonardo DiCaprio: I Want Marriage and Kids

Photo by: Tony Barson / WireImage

Once the poster child against romance – professing he feels "few emotions," has "never been in love" and "does not believe in marriage" – Leonardo Dicaprio is now singing a different tune.

"I want to get married and have children," the star of the upcoming Body of Lies and Revolutionary Road , 33: "In saying that, I realize I am contradicting everything I've said before. I absolutely believe in marriage."

Linked for the past two years with 23-year-old Israeli model Bar Refaeli – in a relationship that has run both hot and cold – DiCaprio says, "What I definitely feel a need for is to make my life about more than just my career. Just last night I was thinking to myself how little of my life has been lived normally and not spent on some far-off movie location."

As for his declarations of the past – and shooting an arrow through Cupid's heart – he says, "No, I don't agree with any of that. It sounds like the ignorance of youth to me. When did I say that? Three or four years ago? Hey, we grow up real fast."

Looking for Love

A one-time child model and actor (Growing Pains), DiCaprio says, "My parents never tried to steer me in any direction. I wanted to be an actor, but I never thought it was a real possibility, ever. I thought I'd be a marine biologist, because nature and evolution fascinated me."

His reason for entering the profession, he admits, was because "[w]e're all after love, aren't we? Love is what people are hungry for. That's absolutely why I became an actor."

And, having starred in the most successful box-office hit of all time, 1997's Titanic, a reflective DiCaprio (who is also lamenting the recent loss of his beloved grandmother, Oma), says, "I do appreciate it. I know how lucky I am."

He adds, "I hope I never get cynical. I think you need youthful energy, excitement and optimism in life. There is a lot I want to do, and the more cynical you become, the more you sit on your butt and do nothing."

Emphasizing what he finds important, DiCaprio lists family and environment, then says, "What I want is to be known as someone who stood for something."

By People