Morning Briefing:
TomKat's illicit sonogram? It may be nice to be able to afford to buy your own sonogram machine, but that doesn't make it a good idea. As it turns out, the machine Tom Cruise so proudly picked up for the pregnant Katie Holmes could be bad news for baby, at least according to the American College of Radiology. "Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes may be placing their unborn child at risk if fetal ultrasound is performed on Ms. Holmes without medical supervision and should not, in any way, view fetal keepsake ultrasound images thus obtained as a substitute for appropriate medical attention," the group said in a statement. Though the use of ultrasound is generally safe, prolonged use "can produce physical effects in tissue." What's more, it might be illegal: "Use of such medical equipment by unlicensed individuals may also be a violation of federal law." (Softpedia, American College of Radiology)
Let the bloodbath begin: The New York Post's Page Six reports on something we'd been wondering ever since hearing about the Nick Lachey-Jessica Simpson split: Did they have a prenup? The answer, apparently, is no. That means things could get downright ugly during the divorce proceedings, especially as Simpson's income last year was $35 million, according to the paper (which gives no figures for Lachey, but it's a safe guess he's nowhere close). Page Six also notes that Simpson has hired Laura Wasser, the heavyweight divorce lawyer who oversaw Angelina Jolie's divorce from Billy Bob Thornton, to work on the case. (Page Six)
Jackson no baby daddy? Debbie Rowe, the mother of two of Michael Jackson's children, Prince Michael Jr., 8, and Paris, 7, now says -- surprise -- that Jackson didn't actually father either of them, but that they came from a sperm bank (not to be confused with Prince Michael II -- aka Blanket -- whom Jackson says he had with a surrogate mother). "Michael knows the truth -- that he is not the natural father of Prince Michael Jr. and Paris," the Irish newspaper Sunday World reports Rowe, who once said she wanted to give birth to Jackson's children as a gift, as saying. "He has to come clean." Rowe and Jackson are in the middle of a legal tussle over custody of the kids. (The Scoop)
Maybe there's something to those rumors after all: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, if you'll remember, used to appear decidedly removed from each other at press events for "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," lest the world get the impression they were a couple. But on Tuesday, at a press conference for the film in Japan, the two appeared -- gasp! -- to be flirting. Sample banter:
Pitt: "She's very difficult to get along with on the set, a lot of star tantrums."
Jolie: "He takes more time in hair and makeup than I do."
Pitt: "It's true. I take more time. It's just preparing myself for the attitude. And I'd just like to say, I would never do it again."
For diehards, there's a video here (Windows Media) -- skip to the 2-minute mark to see the start of the press conference. (Perez Hilton, Yahoo! Japan)
Also:
Someone -- for reasons unknown -- has made off with Gregory Peck's Hollywood star. "Somebody went out there with a cement saw and carved it out of the black terrazzo," says Hollywood's honorary mayor, Johnny Grant. (Associated Press) ... Antiwar protesters in Denver on Tuesday tried to block President Bush's bus, and when that failed resorted to flicking off CNN's cameras -- see the video here (Windows Media). (The Political Teen via Drudge) ... Doth he protest too much? Ben Affleck -- via his publicist -- strongly denies rumors that he and wife Jennifer Garner have an exclusive seven-figure deal to promote Starbucks by being photographed regularly with their lattes. (N.Y. Daily News) ... Despite not having appeared in a movie since last year, Julia Roberts remains Hollywood's highest-paid actress, with a fee of $20 million per film, according to the Hollywood Reporter's annual ranking, followed by Nicole Kidman ($16-$17 million) and Reese Witherspoon and Drew Barrymore (each $15 million). (Hollywood Reporter) ... Either he's really quick to get clean, or he just doesn't care: Either way, it looks like Pete Doherty is out of rehab after only a week . (Ananova)
Money Quote:
George Michael on going through with marriage in Britain -- which will allow gay couples full civil partnerships starting Dec. 21 -- to his partner Kenny Goss: "We want to do it, just in case. You never know, I could get hit by a bus and the poor man could have nothing." (Associated Press via USA Today)
Turn On:
It's a cheesy Christmas special faceoff: Al Roker and Megan Mullally lead the 73rd annual tree-lighting festivities with "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" (NBC, 8 p.m. EDT), while the red nose yet again saves the day in "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (CBS, 8 p.m. EDT). Also: Get the back story on Kate's past in a new episode of "Lost" (ABC, 9 p.m. EDT).
-- Scott Lamb
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