Chloe Dao
In a surprise victory Wednesday night, the Houston-based Chloe Dao was the only designer to escape Heidi Klum's auf weidersehen and be crowned the winner of Project Runway.
Dao, 34, beat out fellow finalists Santino Rice, the designer viewers loved to hate, and Daniel Vosovic, the recent FIT grad long considered the favorite to win.
"I'm still shocked that I was chosen," Dao told the Associated Press.
In addition to joining the ranks of season one winner Jay McCarroll, Dao will receive $100,000 in seed money to start her own fashion line and a mentorship from a Banana Republic design team.
Her designs, as well as her partnered model, Grace, will be featured in a fashion spread of an upcoming issue of Elle magazine. She also drove away with a $24,000 Saturn convertible.
SourceBritney's Pregnancy -- New Details!
Britney Spears
Britney Spears and husband Kevin Federline are telling friends that they're expecting a second child — less than six months after their first, Sean Preston, was born.
"I'm pregnant!" revealed the 24 year-old pop star to another woman in the spa at Maui's Four Seasons Hotel where Britney, Kevin and their baby son are staying.
But no one's more surprised than Federline, who, sources tell Star, had no idea he was about to become a dad again.
In fact, Kevin had only a slight jump on Brit's fellow spa-goer — a source says he only got the news just days before from Brit in New Orleans just before he joined her on Feb. 27 for Mardi Gras.
Brit, 24, the sources tell Star, is near the end of her first trimester and found out in early January that she was expecting.
Why wouldn't she share the news with her husband then? Why wouldn't he notice? One reason, sources say, is that the two had been having a particularly rocky time — and Brit was probably afraid Kevin wouldn't want the baby.
As it turned out, sources tell Star, Britney was absolutely right in her concerns. A friend of Federline says that Kevin, 27, wasn't very enthusiastic when he shared the latest baby news. "Kevin said, 'Britney's pregnant,'" the friend tells Star.
"When I expressed surprise, Kevin said, 'Yeah, it shocked the sh** out of me, too!'"Finding out that she's pregnant again may actually come as a relief to Britney.
As previously reported, she was extremely frustrated at her inability to lose the 50 lbs. she put on during her first pregnancy. Plus, she was experiencing moodiness and junk-food cravings.
In fact, a friend of Kevin tells Star that the mood swings had become an issue. "He's totally stressed out," the friend says. "When I asked him what was wrong, he went off on Britney, saying: 'One minute she's nice and the next she's cursing me out about nothing.'"
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Jessica Eyes 'Lovers'
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson is so in love with Jackie Collins' latest novel, Lovers & Players, that she wants it developed into a movie so she can play the female lead. "She's read the book several times.
She loves it so much because because it's so steamy and sleazy and fun," a source tells Star People. Collins' murder-and sex-drenched novel centers around a billionaire, his three sons and a 19-year-old waitress and aspiring singer named Liberty. Jessica, 25 — who is currently filming Employee of the Month in Santa Fe, N.M. — thinks Liberty's role "is perfect for her," the source says. "Jessica feels this part will showcase both her sexiness and her serious-actress side."
Hasselhoff Accused Of Domestic Violence
Pamela Bach and David Hasselhoff
Pamela Bach, the wife of David Hasselhoff who filed for divorce less than a month ago, has now filed for a court order on a claim of domestic violence by the former Baywatch star.
According to court records, Bach asked for a temporary restraining order against Hasselhoff, but a judge denied the request, instead instructing the two to stay away from each other. Bach was granted custody of one of their daughters while Hasselhoff was given custody of the other, publicist Judy Katz said Wednesday.
On Thursday, Hasselhoff — who was arrested in June — pleaded no contest to a charge of driving under the influence and was ordered to enroll in an alcohol program for six months.
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Dayanara Torres Lands in Hospital
Dayanara Torres
Dayanara Torres, the beauty queen ex-wife of Marc Anthony, endured a rough landing after her latest flight from Los Angeles to New York.
The former Miss Universe was rushed to a hospital Mar. 1 upon landing at JFK International Airport. On Friday, she underwent three-hour surgery to remove scar tissue blocking her intestine, Us Weekly reported. She experienced severe abdominal pain on the plane, according to witnesses but told the pilot, who was ready to make an emergency landing in Chicago, that she could make it to New York.
A friend of Torres told Us she was in stable condition and would be ready to go home in about five days. "She's in good spirits but a lot of pain," the unnamed friend said.
Torres' two sons with Anthony, Cristian and Ryan, were scheduled to arrive in New York Thursday night after spending the week with their grandmother in Torres' native Puerto Rico.
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CW Rejects, Woos Nick Lachey
Nick Lachey
After an initial rejection, the CW seems ready for a relationship with Nick Lachey.
Earlier this week, the newly fused network elected to pass on a sitcom originally intended for the WB's airwaves, according to Us Weekly. In the show, the former boy-bander starred as a just-married baseball player.
"There are only so many openings on the new network," a source told the magazine. "Nick's show didn't make the cut."
However, as it turned out, the CW had something else in mind for Lachey that didn't involve airing the WB's leftovers.
According to published reports, the ex-Newlyweds star is now in negotiations to star in the network's very first comedy, He Said, She Said, about the hilarious differences in the way that men and women view certain situations.
Though the show's title could also be used to describe the current state of affairs in Lachey's divorce proceedings, lest there be any confusion, the two projects actually share little in common.
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Locklear Judges Judge Unfit
Richie Sambora and Heather Locklear
Heather Locklear is on the hunt for a less judgmental judge.
One week after her soon-to-be ex-husband, Richie Sambora filed court papers challenging the objectivity of the first judge assigned to handle their divorce case, Locklear has filed similar documents, alleging that the second judge assigned to the case is prejudiced against her.
Locklear's attorney, Lance Spiegel, filed a preemptory challenge on Monday, claiming that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Juhas' alleged bias against his client would prevent Locklear from receiving "a fair and impartial trial or hearing."
The court accepted the challenge and the case will be reassigned, according to court documents.
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Lance Armstrong Comforts Dana Reeve's Son
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Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong spent Wednesday morning comforting 13-year-old Will Reeve, less than two days after his mother, Dana Reeve, died of lung cancer.
"I would say that his spirits were pretty good considering that, in the last 18 months, he's lost his father, his mother and his grandmother," Armstrong told syndicated entertainment show "Inside Edition."
"In situations like this," Armstrong said, "all you can do is say, `Hey buddy, I'm here if you want to go hang out, if you want to play games, whatever you want to do, I'm here.'"
Will's father, Christopher Reeve, died in October 2004 from complications from an infection. The former "Superman" actor was nearly totally paralyzed in a horse-riding accident in 1995.
Armstrong said he became close to Will during his mother's illness and the two spent time together during the last few months.
"I love hanging with him," the cyclist said. "I never thought I'd say that about a 13-year-old, but he's a great kid. He's a big sports fan. He's an athlete himself. Will is not your normal 13-year-old. He's a smart, well-adjusted, mature, humble kid."
Dana Reeve was her husband's constant companion and supporter during the ordeal of his rehabilitation, winning worldwide admiration. With him, she became an activist in the search for a cure for spinal-cord injuries.
The Christopher Reeve Foundation is yet to announce plans for a funeral.
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Jackson ordered to close Neverland
Michael Jackson
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson was ordered to shut down his Neverland Valley Ranch on Thursday by California authorities who have fined the pop star $169,000 for failing to pay his employees or maintain proper insurance.
Jackson's sprawling ranch in the central California foothills was closed, at least temporarily, by an agent of the State Labor Commissioner after the office discovered that his worker's compensation policy had lapsed in January.
"We went out there this morning and issued a stop order to the security guard at the front gate," state Department of Industrial Relations spokesman Dean Fryer told Reuters. "We asked to be escorted in to meet management, but we were refused and turned away, so we gave the order to (the guard)."
Fryer said local animal welfare officials had been asked to care for the inhabitants of Neverland's zoo.
He said that Jackson could reopen the ranch if he obtains workers compensation insurance but may face legal action by the state if he fails to pay the back wages.
Jackson, who was cleared last June of criminal charges that he sexually abused a young boy at Neverland, has spent much of his time since the trial in Bahrain and was not at his ranch when authorities arrived. His representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.
The order prohibits Jackson from employing anyone at the 2,800-acre (1,130-hectare) ranch until the insurance issues are resolved, Fryer said. "So it looks like this would mean for Neverland Valley Ranch that they would be closed down."
Jackson on Thursday was fined $69,000, or $1,000 per employee, for allowing his insurance to lapse. Earlier this week, authorities cited him for violating state labor law by failing to pay at least 30 employees since December of 2005. A letter for that citation imposes a $100,000 fine and demands that he make good on $306,000 in unpaid wages.
Fryer said his office learned of the workers compensation issue after a Neverland employee making an unpaid-wage claim remarked that a co-worker had been injured on the job and was uncertain about filing a claim due to the lapsed insurance.
If an employee were hurt at Neverland while Jackson was uninsured, Fryer said, "the medical expenses associated with that injury would have to be picked up by the state."
Prosecutors asserted during Jackson's child molestation trial that the pop singer was in precarious financial shape due to mounting debts.
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