Turn On:
You can spend your morning watching inauguration coverage -- the oath of office, the parade -- on myriad channels on Thursday. And then, Thursday night, you can tune in for the premiere of the next season of "The Apprentice" (8:30 p.m. EST, NBC), which, as we all know by now, pits contestants with "book smarts" against those with "street smarts." Or not.
Morning Briefing:
We see Paris ... Paris Hilton is facing yet another video scandal. The camera-ready heiress was reportedly caught on a surveillance tape last month at the Swing News newsstand in West Hollywood going ballistic after she spotted a copy of her X-rated DVD "One Night in Paris" for sale -- as well as a poster advertising the video. "We took a picture together," newsstand employee Gerry Castro tells CelebrityJustice.com, where parts of the surveillance tape can be downloaded. "But as soon as she saw that we were selling her videos and we had her on display she was livid. She was using profanity to the ultimate." Castro said Hilton turned to her "entourage," pointed to the poster and said, "'Look at what the **** they're doing to me here. Don't you know my young fans come here all the time?'" Then, he said, she tried to rip up the poster and then grabbed a copy of the DVD off the counter and, announcing that she would not pay for it, stormed out. The Beverly Hills district attorney's office is currently weighing whether to bring charges of petty theft and vandalism against Hilton, who, if convicted, could face jail time. (Celebrity Justice)
Chippette off the old block? Sydney Simpson, O.J. Simpson's 19-year-old daughter, was arrested at a high-school bastketball game in Miami on Wednesday after she allegedly "sucker-punched" a 16-year-old high-school student from the rival of her own alma mater and then slapped the girl's friend when she tried to intervene. Police were called to the scene and, unable to calm Simpson down, they charged her with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. "For her safety and the safety of all concerned, the officers decided to remove her from the situation," Lt. Bill Schwartz said. "This upset her even more, and she slapped one of the cops in the hand. Not a good idea." Neither of Simpson's alleged hittees plan to file charges, however. "We told her to forget it," said the father of one of girls. "The girl's got trouble enough. We feel she needs a little help." (N.Y. Daily News, N.Y. Post)
No dumping: The shit has finally hit the fan in the case against the driver of a Dave Matthews Band tour bus accused of illegally dumping 800 pounds of raw sewage into the Chicago River and right onto the upturned faces of a bunch of people on an architectural tour boat last summer. The driver, Stefan A. Wohl, has denied the allegations, but he was nevertheless charged Wednesday by Chicago Police with misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct and discharging contaminants to cause water pollution. If convicted, he could get up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine. The band, which had stood by Wohl early on, said, "We were shocked and saddened to think that one of our buses could have been involved in this terrible incident, and we are continuing our efforts to make things right for all concerned." (Chicago Sun-Times)
Also: Michael Moore's bodyguard was arrested at New York's JFK airport on Wednesday night after he was found to be carrying an unlicensed gun. (Fox News) ... The debut of the new season of "American Idol" drew a whopping 33.5 million viewers, garnering the third-highest ratings for any Fox entertainment show ever. (Associated Press) ... Yikes. Courtney Peldon, of "Boston Public," was stabbed by Tobe Hooper during the filming of a fight scene in the movie "Mortuary" after a prop man accidentally gave Hooper a real knife instead of a faux one. (Rush and Molloy) ... Jennifer Lopez has signed on to have MTV's cameras trail her as she prepares her clothing company for Fashion Week in New York. The resulting show, "Jennifer Lopez: Beyond the Runway," will air Feb. 24 at 10 p.m. EST. (N.Y. Daily News) ... A judge has loosened the gag order on Michael Jackson preventing him from commenting on his child molestation case long enough for Jackson to read a preapproved comment about the charges brought against him and recent testimony leaks during an interview with Geraldo Rivera on Fox. (N.Y. Daily News) ... Lamont Bentley, the 31-year-old actor who played Hakeem Campbell on UPN's "Moesha," was killed Tuesday night in a car crash on the San Diego Freeway. (Associated Press) ... George Clooney has had surgery to address a fluid leak from his spinal column that occurred after he suffered an injury while filming a fight scene in October. Though he'd been in "excruciating pain" before the spinal cap surgery, he is now said to be nearly fully recovered. (Page Six) ... Rock 'n' roll groupie Connie Hamzy tells Spin magazine that Huey Lewis was among the best endowed musicians she ever knew, and Peter Frampton among the smallest. (Page Six) ... Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson are returning to MTV for a third season of "Newlyweds," and Ashlee Simpson will return for a second season of "The Ashlee Simpson Show." (Associated Press) ... A friend of both Johnny Carson and Dave Letterman says that the former sometimes quietly feeds jokes to the latter to use in his monologue. (N.Y. Post) ... Rocco DiSpirito has apologized for dropping the F-bomb on the radio on Wednesday during a live broadcast of his food show. (N.Y. Post) ... British director David Yates has been selected to direct the next Harry Potter movie, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." (RTE)
Money Quote:
Republican donor and veteran actor Dennis Hopper on his last-minute blackballing from the inaugural festivities today: "We were dismayed this week when my invitation to participate in the 'Celebration of Freedom' event . . . was withdrawn by the Presidential Inaugural Committee ... However, I would still like to express my support for President George Bush and our next four years." (Reliable Source)
-- Amy Reiter
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