FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, August 14, 2006

HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN ALMOST SIX YEARS: Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson announcing they have separated after more than five years of marriage, a rep confirmed to E!. The couple wed in Aspen in 2000; they have a two-year-old son named Ryder.

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL: So they're not kissing and making up exactly, but lawyers for Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen stating that an amicable resolution has been reached in the once bitter divorce battle. Bo-ring.

WISHFUL THINKING? A filmmaker who is working on a documentary titled The Truth About Elvis offering a $3 million reward for proof that Elvis Presley is still alive. Guess that would change the ending a bit.

BUM PIPES: The Rolling Stones canceling a concert in Spain Monday after Mick Jagger was ordered by his doctor to rest his voice after coming down with laryngitis. Geez, you'd think these guys were getting old or something.

CRUISE CONTROL: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes coming to the aid of a couple who had been involved in a car crash on a Los Angeles freeway Saturday, and waiting with them until police and the fire department arrived on the scene. And...scene.

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO MOCK HIM? Um, yes. Boy George reporting for his first day of community service, sweeping leaves and trash off New York sidewalks. "This is supposed to be making me humble. Let me do this," he snapped at reporters. "I just want to do my job."

TOO HOT: Jennifer Garner reportedly overcome by heat earlier this month on the Arizona set of her upcoming film, The Kingdom. Her rep telling Access Hollywood the actress was treated at a hospital and released the next morning. "Ongoing all night heavy partying" was not believed to be a factor.

TOON BAN: China yanking The Simpsons, Pokémon and Mickey Mouse from prime-time television, in an effort to eliminate competition with the country's own animation studios, which apparently churn out less popular fare. Sorry, kiddies.

GETTING THE BOOT: Clint Eastwood receiving the Golden Boot Award from the Motion Picture & Television Fund for his contributions to the Western genre. Way to go, pardner.

HE BUILT IT, SO HE CAME: Kevin Costner revisiting Dyersville, Iowa, where he shot Field of Dreams in 1989. Not everyone was starstruck: "My dad pointed him out to me. I didn't even know I was standing next to him," 10-year-old Alexis Turner of Goshen, Indiana told the AP.

OFF THE HOOK: A judge ruling that Louis Gross, the actor who plays Tony Soprano's bodyguard on The Sopranos, won't face a criminal mischief charge if he can stay out of trouble for the next six months. Gross was arrested in April after a woman accused him of breaking into her home. Apparently, he's not such a wise guy.

COMING SOON: Elton John planning to release his next studio album, The Captain and the Kid, on Sept. 19. The album is set as a sequel to 1975's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.

OUT OF TUNE: A band that performed at a Montana state fair last weekend being accused of impersonating the band Redbone, whose hits included the '70s song, "Come and Get Your Love." The real Redbone was performing in Wisconsin at the time, and the band's manager said the fair was conned. Perhaps the fake Redbone, like us, was unaware the real Redbone still existed?

FINISH LINE: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby topping the box office for a second weekend in a row, with $23 million in ticket sales. The uncovering of last week's terror plot apparently whetting moviegoers' appetites for terrorism--World Trade Center finishing third with $19 million, exceeding expectations.

DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH: Lou Diamond Phillips released from jail Friday after being arrested for alleged domestic violence. The Los Angeles City Attorney's office stating that charges could be filed against the actor in the future. Not the greatest way to get back in the spotlight.