Morning Briefing:
Naomi arrested again: Supermodel Naomi Campbell was arrested on Wednesday afternoon in London on assault charges. The Sun reported that Campbell attacked her drug counselor, scratching at her face. The model's rep says, "We believe there has been a misunderstanding. Once police have investigated we are sure this will be resolved satisfactorily." The incident is Campbell's third assault incident this year -- in March, she was charged with assault in New York for throwing a phone at her housekeeper; in July, a former assistant sued her for assault and false imprisonment. (Sky News, the Sun)
Madonna says there were no laws: While Yohane Banda again begged human rights groups to leave the issue of Madonna's adoption of his son alone -- "I am afraid Madonna may get angry and frustrated and decide to dump my son because of these people" -- the singer herself went on "Oprah" to defend her actions, calling into question the notion of Malawi's reportedly strict adoption guidelines: "There are no adoption laws in Malawi. And I was warned by my social worker that because there were no known laws in Malawi, they were more or less going to have to make them up as we went along. And she did say to me, 'Pick Ethiopia. Go to Kenya. Don't go to Malawi because you're just going to get a hard time.'" Also during the interview, Madonna talked about first seeing David: "I became transfixed by him," she said. "But I didn't yet know I was going to adopt him. I was just drawn to him." She also defended her impulse: "I think if everybody went there, they'd want to bring one of those children home with them and give them a better life." (BBC News, Daily Mail)
Also:
"Grey's Anatomy" star Isaiah Washington has publicly apologized for his on-set scrap with costar Patrick Dempsey, in which he reportedly grabbed Dempsey by the throat and hurled a homophobic slur: "I sincerely regret my actions and the unfortunate use of words during the recent incident on-set. Both are beneath my own personal standards." (People) ... Reichen Lehmkuhl, boyfriend of former 'N Sync star Lance Bass, has been facing threats over his recent memoir about being gay while serving in the Air Force. (Yahoo News) ... The Wall Street Journal reports on Thursday about the nascent MySpace backlash, with "a fringe of Internet users now renouncing MySpace and other social-networking sites -- not in spite of their popularity, but because of it." And indeed, according to Nielsen/Net Ratings, both MySpace (and college social-networking site Facebook) lost visitors in September. (Wall Street Journal) ... Kate Moss and Pete Doherty are reportedly engaged, having returned from a recent tour through Italy apparently sporting engagement rings. (Stuff)
Money Quote:
Jessica Simpson worries she'll never tie the knot again: "My fear is that I won't ever date anybody, because they'll think I'm going to ruin their career. That they'll be on the cover of every tabloid and it will automatically take away their credibility, to be bluntly honest with you." (WENN via the Scoop)
Turn On:
It's the season premiere of "Iconoclasts" (Sundance, 9 p.m. EDT) on Thursday night, featuring singer Eddie Vedder hanging out with surfer Laird Hamilton, Showtime airs "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" (8 p.m. EDT), and David Cross' "Freak Show" (Comedy Central, 10:30 p.m. EDT) moves to a new time slot.
On the Talk Shows:
Larry King (CNN, 9 p.m. EDT): "America's Most Wanted's" John Walsh
David Letterman (CBS, 11:30 p.m. EDT): Explorers Club exotic foods chef Gene Rurka, Tim Robbins, Russell Thompkins Jr. and the New Stylistics
Jay Leno (NBC, 11:35 p.m. EDT): Tiger Woods, Emeril Lagasse, Chingy (repeat)
Conan O'Brien (NBC, 12:35 a.m. EDT): Lucy Liu, Jon Lovitz, beer expert Michael Jackson (repeat)
Craig Ferguson (CBS, 12:35 a.m. EDT): Brooke Hogan, Jason Schwartzman
Jimmy Kimmel (ABC, 12:05 a.m. EDT): Justin Timberlake, Kate Walsh (repeat)
Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, 11 p.m. EDT): David Mark (repeat)
Stephen Colbert (Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. EDT): Gov. Brian Schweitzer (repeat)
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