HE'S HIRED! Donald Trump picking software exec Kelly Perdew as his latest underling in the season two finale of The Apprentice. Perdew beat out lawyer Jennifer Massey for the gig.
BANG-UP JOB: Whitney Houston rear-ending a city bus with her Porsche in Atlanta, Georgia, but no one was injured. The singer was given a citation for failure to yield.
OFF THE WALL: Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe subpoenaed by prosecutors in his child molestation case, according to Entertainment Tonight. The legal action comes a day after the popster's lawyers asked a judge to seal some documents related to a family-law matter between Jackson and Rowe. A hearing date on the request has been set for Feb. 2.
BETTER THAN A MERLOT: Sideways grabbing a leading eight nominations, including Best Picture, for the 10th annual Critics Awards. It was followed by Finding Neverland with seven nods and The Aviator with six.
LIKE A FINE WINE: Meanwhile, Sideways also named 2004's Best Picture by the Toronto Film Critics Association, while stars Paul Giamatti and Virginia Madsen won for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress.
FAST BREAK: Jim Carrey forced to flee London's Claridge's Hotel after a fire broke out Thursday. The funny man was in town to promote his new flick, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.
THE WORDS OF ROBERT BLAKE: The judge in Robert Blake's murder case reversing herself Wednesday and opting to allow prosecutors to present parts of a 2003 jailhouse interview the actor gave to Barbara Walters in which he referred to the family of his slain wife as "monsters" and gave the impression there was no trouble in his marriage.
TIN ROOF, RUSTED: The cabin that inspired the B-52's hit "Love Shack" burned down early Thursday morning near Athens, Georgia. The band recorded some of their early hits inside the shack, including 1979's "Rock Lobster."
OFF THE HOOK: Don Johnson planning to emerge from bankruptcy soon after paying off all of his creditors, his lawyer told the Associated Press.
ON THE CATWALK: 19-year-old Los Angeles native Eva Pigford besting 26-year-old Amanda Swafford to claim the title of UPN's America's Next Top Model Wednesday night.
SICK BAY: Doug Robb, frontman for Hoobastank, sidelined with bronchial pneumonia, forcing the hard rockers to postpone the remaining dates on their current tour which runs through the end of this month.
YA THINK SO? The mother of Nathan Gale, the fan who shot to death heavy metal guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott last week at a concert in Ohio, telling a Columbus TV station her son was diagnosed a paranoid schizophrenic by the Marines before he was discharged last year.
OUTWIT, OUTLAST, OUT-LOVE? Survivor host Jeff Probst, 43, telling People magazine he's now dating Survivor: Vanuatu contestant Julie Berry, 24, now that production on that installment has ended.
MOTLEY FIGHT: The Dallas Morning News reporting that an arrest warrant has been issued for Motley Crue singer Vince Neil for allegedly assaulting an employee at a local nightclub after the two got into an argument over sound levels during an Oct. 30 show.
HOLDING COURT: The ladies of ABC's Desperate Housewives (Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria and Nicollette Sheridan), taping a controversy-free NBA-themed promo that will air Christmas Day during the Miami Heat-Los Angeles Lakers game, according to TV Guide Online.
CUTTING COSTS: Also in TV Guide, NBC planning to produce two less episodes of Medical Investigation and Crossing Jordan this season in a bid to save some bucks. Both shows' orders have been reduced from 22 to 20 episodes.
JACK'S BACK: Fox planning to launch its fourth adrenaline-pumping season of 24 with a two-day, four-hour season premiere Sunday and Monday, Jan. 9 and 10, starting at 8 p.m.
POPPING OUT OF THEIR SHELL: Two founding members of '60s popsters the Turtles suing Applebee's, alleging the restaurant chain stole the band's signature tune "Happy Together" in its TV spots. They seek at least $75,000 in damages.
COPYCAT? British television production company RDF Media filing a lawsuit against Fox, accusing the network of ripping off the concept of its ABC series, Wife Swap, for its new unscripted series, Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy.
HE FEELS GOOD: James Brown resting comfortably Wednesday after undergoing surgery to treat his recently diagnosed prostate cancer. The Godfather of Soul is out of the hospital and his doctors expected him to make a full recovery.
REMEMBERED: Clint Eastwood's family mourning the death of Michael Combs, the boyfriend of his daughter, Alison Eastwood, whose body was found at the base of a Vail, Colorado ski slope. No word yet how he died.
FORD'S WAR: Variety reporting Harrison Ford has signed on to play a key character for an upcoming feature film about the current war in Iraq. The production company Double Feature is set to produce the drama, tentatively titled True Glory: The Battle for Fallujah, with backing from Universal.
HIGH TIMES: Showtime ordering 10 episodes of Weeds, a new comedy series starring Mary-Louise Parker as a responsible housewife, mother and pot dealer living in the suburbs, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
LEARNED ITS LESSON: Time Warner Inc. settling criminal securities fraud charges on Wednesday, agreeing to pony up $210 million to end a government investigation as well as $300 million to settle separate charges. The media behemoth will also cough up $150 million for a compensation fund and pay a $60 million fine.
KUDOS: NBC'S The West Wing and HBO's Sex and the City snagging two nominations each in the television competition for the 57th annual Writers Guild Awards, while Fox's The Simpsons earned four out of five nods in the animation category. Honors will be doled out Feb. 19 at the WGA's annual gala.
GOT THE BLUES: New York trio the Holmes Brothers scoring the most nominations for the 2005 W.C. Handy Blues Awards presented annually by the Memphis-based Blues Foundation.
NO FUR: A topless Pamela Anderson will grace Chinese billboards in a new anti-fur campaign launched by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, that is, if it gets the okay from government censors.
ON THE AIR: The Federal Communications Commission refusing a request Wednesday to issue indecency standards for satellite radio.
YOUR MOVE: The government of Iceland granting Bobby Fischer a residency permit, but it's not known if the controversial former chess champ will head to that country from Japan, where he's still battling deportation to the United States.