CAN'T GO MUCH HIGHER: Creed's Weathered debuting at number one on the album charts by selling a whopping 887,000 copies last week--better than Britney Spears, and the second biggest opening of the year.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Soul legend Aretha Franklin filing a $50 million defamation lawsuit against the Star tabloid, after it claimed alcohol abuse had put her career and health in jeopardy.
A PATRIOTIC HOLIDAY: First Lady Laura Bush and New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani joining Tony Bennett, Vanessa Williams and Marc Anthony Wednesday night to flip the switch on 30,000 red, white and blue lights on the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
MAC DADDY: Fox announcing it has picked up full seasons of its critically acclaimed rookie shows 24 and The Bernie Mac Show.
TAKING FLIGHT: Jim Carrey planning to play billionaire aviator Howard Hughes in a film to be directed by Chris Nolan. Daily Variety reports the pair are still searching for an appropriate way to tell the story.
THE BIG MAN: Steven Spielberg named the recipient of the National Board of Review's Bill Wilder Award for Excellence in Film Direction. The honor will be presented at the organization's annual awards gala January 7 in New York.
NO MORE TEARS: Metal god Ozzy Osbourne returning to the stage tonight for the first time since fracturing his leg three weeks ago. He'll be playing Grand Forks, North Dakota, after he hurt himself while stepping out of the shower on Halloween.
IT'S ALL DOWNHILL FROM HERE: Sun Valley Resort in Idaho renaming a ski run "Arnold's Run" after Arnold Schwarzenegger, who owns a home nearby.
HASTA LUEGO: Latin talk-show queen Cristina Saralegui ending TV's The Cristina Show next month after a 12-year run. The host chose not to renew her contract with Univision because she wants to work on other projects.
THE DEVIL WENT DOWN THERE: Country mainstay Charlie Daniels expected to fully recover after undergoing successful prostate surgery. His doctor says the cancer was contained within the prostate and completely removed.
76 TROMBONES: Tony-winning actress (and short-lived NBC sitcom star) Kristin Chenoweth costarring opposite Matthew Broderick for ABC's upcoming remake of The Music Man.
ABUSE? Mexican singer Gloria Trevi claiming she was raped repeatedly by federal police while she was held in jail. Trevi, who is seven months pregnant, had been held in Brazilian jails for 19 months after she was arrested on Mexican charges of corrupting a minor.
WEDDING BELLS: Howard Stern confirming on his radio show that his ex-wife Alison got remarried last week, to an unnamed "garment center gazillionaire," as the New York Post described the groom.
BEATLES FOR SALE: The church hall stage where John Lennon and Paul McCartney first met going unsold in a recent auction. The price tag might be to blame--The stage had been expected to sell for around $73,000.
MONKEYING AROUND: Johnny Carson donating $20,000 to Zoo Nebraska, which will use the money to renovate its primate building. The old building will be converted into the new Carson Center for Chimps.
STRIKEOUT: A federal judge dismissing a defamation lawsuit against Paramount Pictures over the film Hardball, after a Little League claimed the movie's hard-drinking, ticket-scalping coach was supposed to be him.