Kobe Bryant and his wife, Vanessa
Kobe Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, welcomed their second child on Monday in Orange County, Calif., the Associated Press reports.
A daughter, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, was born at 2:03 a.m. Monday, weighing 6 lbs., 7 oz. She is 18 1/2 inches long. "The arrival of our daughter early this morning is an incredible blessing for me and my family," Bryant said in a statement.
"We are all full of beautiful emotions after what has been such an incredible day." The Los Angeles Lakers star won Sunday's playoff game against the Phoenix Suns with a last-second shot in overtime. Bryant then went to the hospital, where Vanessa gave birth early Monday morning, ESPN reports.
Bryant, 27, and Vanessa, who will turn 24 this week, also have a 3-year-old daughter, Natalia.
Last May, PEOPLE reported that Bryant shelled out $50,000 to surprise his wife with a recommitment ceremony in Laguna Beach, Calif.
The pair dined privately in a beachfront tent decorated to resemble a favorite L.A. restaurant Dolce.
The baby news comes more than two years after Bryant, 27, was accused of sexual assault by a 19-year-old Colorado woman.
The case was eventually withdrawn and Bryant, who claimed that the sex was consensual, settled a civil suit filed by the woman last March.
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Shaquille O'Neal & Wife Have a Girl
Shaquille O'Neal and his wife, Shaunie Nelson
Shaquille O'Neal and his wife, Shaunie Nelson, welcomed a new daughter, Me'arah Sanaa O'Neal, on Monday. The baby girl, who weighed 8 lbs., 1 oz., and was 21 1/2 inches long, was born at 4:57 a.m. in Miami. O'Neal, 34, made it back from Chicago, where his team, the Miami Heat, were playing the Chicago Bulls, in time for the birth. "Shaq is thrilled," a source tells PEOPLE. The couple already have three children together, sons Shareef, 6, and Shaqir, 3, and daughter Amirah, 4. O'Neal has a daughter Taahirah, 9, and Nelson has a son Myles, 8, from previous relationships.
O'Neal is expected to play Tuesday in Game 5 of the Heat, Bulls playoff series, which is tied at two games apiece. "What most people don't know about (O'Neal) is what a great dad he is," Mindy Weiss, the party-planner who organized a recent baby shower for the couple, told PEOPLE in March. "He loves having lots of children, and I think he'd like to have more. But they've decided this is their last one, since they now will have six children." The basketball great and Shaunie, 31, wed in 2002, in a private ceremony before 248 guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
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Anna Nicole Chalks Up Supreme Victory
Anna Nicole Smith
The onetime Playmate of the Year won another shot at getting her hands on her late husband's fortune Monday after the United States Supreme Court unanimously overturned a U.S. appeals court ruling that the curvaceous widow was entitled to nothing.
The high court sent the case back to the federal appeals court in California for yet another round in the long-running battle over oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II's fortune.
Smith, who married Marshall in 1994 when she was 26 and he was 89, has steadfastly claimed that her husband promised her half of his estate, estimated to be worth more than $1.6 billion at the time of his death in 1995.
However, the TrimSpa spokesmodel's former stepson, E. Pierce Marshall, has maintained that he was his father's sole heir and that Smith was only entitled to $6 million in gifts that she received in 1994.
A state probate court in Texas sided with Marshall, awarding him his father's entire estate, while a federal bankruptcy judge in California ruled in favor of Smith, awarding her $474 million, because of her claims that Marshall had interfered with the inheritance she was supposed to receive.
The amount was later reduced by a federal district judge and then tossed out all together by a federal appeals court, which ruled the court in Texas, where the Marshalls lived, trumped any other jurisdiction.
Not so, according to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the appeals court was wrong and that the federal district court properly asserted jurisdiction over Smith's claims against her stepson.
The ruling only addressed whether the federal courts can decide Smith's claims, not the merits of her argument as to why she is entitled to the money.
Marshall called his ex-stepmother's win a "technical issue" and said he would have his lawyers ask the appeals court to overturn the district court's ruling in Smith's favor.
"I will continue to fight to clear my name in California federal court. That is a promise that [Smith] and her lawyers can take to the bank," he said in a statement issued in Texas. "I will continue to fight to uphold my father's estate plan and clear my name."
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Tom Cruise Promotes Movie in Mexico
Actor Tom Cruise mingles with photographers at the end of a news conference in Mexico City, Mexico on Monday May 1, 2006. Cruise is in Mexico to promote his new film, Mission Impossible III.
Tom Cruise whipped off his sunglasses with flair and flashed a winning smile as he greeted a hotel ballroom packed with journalists in Mexico's capital.
The 43-year-old new father traveled south of the border to promote "Mission: Impossible III," which he produced and starred in and which hits Mexican theaters May 5, the same day it debuts in the United States.
"We really wanted a story that's going to leave the audience feeling emboldened and empowered when they leave the theater," he said Monday.
Cruise previously starred in 1996's "Mission: Impossible," directed by Brian De Palma, and the blockbuster's sequel, which was directed by John Woo and debuted four years later.
The third installment of the film based on the 1960s television series comes amid controversy about Cruise's interest in Scientology and his relationship with 27-year-old actress Katie Holmes. The couple's first child, daughter Suri, was born in April in Los Angeles.
Cruise also has two other children both adopted from his marriage to ex-wife Nicole Kidman.
"The hours go by so quickly as I just stare at her," Cruise said of spending time with his newborn.
When a reporter asked about a widely circulated comment Cruise made during an interview with GQ magazine about eating his child's placenta, Cruise laughed and said, "That's ridiculous."
He later said he doesn't pay attention to media reports that criticize his personal life.
When he was done fielding questions, Cruise came down from the stage and mingled with journalists. At one point he even produced a small digital camera and snapped some pictures of those jockeying for position to photograph him.
As secret agent Ethan Hunt in the movie, Cruise battles international arms dealer Owen Davian, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. The adventure begins when Hunt's boss, John Brassel (Laurence Fishburne), asks him to rescue a captured agent in Berlin. Other supporting stars include Billy Crudup, Ving Rhames, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell and Maggie Q.
The plot explores the conflict between love and work, friendship and the possibility of failure. The film features several realistic-looking explosions, complicated intrigue and political references, but some viewers at Thursday's Mexico City premiere reacted with joking disbelief during several scenes.
Cruise said he began prepping for the role of Hunt while starring in Steven Spielberg's "War of the Worlds," which grossed US$591 million (€468 million) worldwide, a career-record for Cruise. The film also set Paramount Pictures' highest-earning opening weekend.
"Mission: Impossible III" was directed by J.J. Abrams, who also created the U.S. television shows "Lost" and "Alias."
"He's a sensational filmmaker," Cruise said. "I wanted a J.J. Abrams 'Mission: Impossible.'"
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Brooke Shields: 'It's a Gift Having Kids'
U.S. actress Brooke Shields poses for the press in the courtyard of a hotel in central London, Thursday, April 14, 2005.
Brooke Shields says "the irony is perfect" that her daughter, Grier, and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' daughter, Suri, were born on the same day.
Shields and Cruise had a public beef last year after the "Mission: Impossible III" star criticized the actress for taking antidepressants after the birth of daughter Rowan, who turns 3 this month, her first child with TV producer-husband Chris Henchy.
"You know, the irony is perfect," Shields tells newsmagazine "Access Hollywood" in an interview that was to air Monday night. "The world works in an interesting way, but we (were) both pretty busy that day."
Both children were born April 18, reportedly in the same Los Angeles hospital. "Yeah, rumor has it," Shields, 40, says. "Again, I was pretty distracted."
When asked if she had any run-ins with Cruise at the hospital, she replied: "No. God, no, and it's a gift having kids, you know, so it's a beautiful thing rather than anything else."
Cruise, echoing the position of Scientology, said in an appearance on NBC's "Today" show that depression can be treated with exercise and vitamins rather than drugs.
Shields, who wrote "Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression," has dismissed the actor's remarks as a "ridiculous rant" and "a disservice to mothers everywhere."
"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Mr. Cruise has never suffered from postpartum depression," she wrote in an op-ed piece in The New York Times last July.
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Keira's Oscar Gown Auctioned for Charity
British actress Keira Knightley, nominated for an Oscar for best actress in a leading role for her work in "Pride & Prejudice," arrives for the 78th Academy Awards Sunday, March 5, 2006, in Los Angeles. Knightley is wearing a silky one-shoulder gown by Vera Wang. The custom-made gown was sold in an online auction Monday May 1 2006 for 4,301 pounds (US$7,855; euro 6,220) to fund relief work in East Africa, Britain's Oxfam charity said. The burgundy silk-taffeta one-shoulder gown, designed for the 21-year-old Oscar nominee, was bought by a bidder based in Chicago, Oxfam official Katie Abbotts said Knightley, who was nominated for a best actress Oscar for "Pride & Prejudice," said she had wanted to support the British-based charity's efforts to provide food and clean drinking water in East Africa.
A custom-made gown worn by Keira Knightley to this year's Oscars ceremony sold for $7,855 in an online auction to fund relief work in East Africa.
The burgundy silk-taffeta one-shoulder gown, designed by Vera Wang for the 21-year-old actress, was bought by a bidder based in Chicago, Oxfam official Katie Abbotts said Monday.
Knightley, who was nominated for a best actress Oscar for "Pride & Prejudice," said she had wanted to support the British-based charity's efforts to provide food and clean drinking water in East Africa.
"It's brilliant that this dress has raised this much," Knightley said in a statement. "I know it will go a long way to help the people facing this food crisis in East Africa."
Wang supported the decision to put the dress a U.S. size two up for sale. She displayed it at her Manhattan flagship store while the online auction took place last month.
"All of us can do something to support this fantastic work and it will make a real difference," Knightley said Monday.
Abbotts said 79 bidders had competed for the gown on the Internet auction Web site eBay.
"We know little about the winner, but from looking at their profile, we know they are from Chicago.
We have contacted them by e-mail and asked them to get in touch," said Abbotts.
A casino and a used-car salesman were among other bidders and 2,500 users logged on to watch the closing minutes of the auction, she said.
Oxfam is appealing for $35 million to help 11 million people it says are at risk of hunger as a result of drought in East Africa.
Paul Smith-Lomas, the charity's East Africa director, said one of the worst droughts in a decade has devastated livestock and threatened nomadic herding communities in countries including Kenya and Somalia.
"The money Keira's dress has raised will make a vital contribution to Oxfam's work helping the 11 million people at risk," Smith-Lomas said.
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Bender's Family Sues Rapper's Estate
Keith Bender is shown in an undated file image from video, originally provided by Fox 2 television on Wednesday, April 12, 2006. Bender, 35, who was critically wounded in a Detroit nightclub shootout early Tuesday, April 18, 2006 that ended with the fatal shooting of Detroit rapper Proof. Bender, a former sergeant with the U.S. Army, died early Tuesday, April 18, 2006 .
The family of 35-year-old Army veteran Keith Bender have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the estate of rapper Proof, who police say shot Bender before he was killed.
Proof, whose real name was Deshaun Holton, died April 11, the day of the early morning gun battle at the CCC nightclub. Bender was hospitalized in critical condition and died a week later.
Proof "violently assaulted and battered (Bender), culminating with the infliction of a gunshot injury that caused the death of Mr. Bender," according to the lawsuit filed Monday by Bender's wife, Jacqueline, and his mother, Leona.
A message seeking comment was left for Proof's lawyer, David Gorosh.
Police have said Bender's cousin, Mario Etheridge, who helped with security at the club, shot Proof. Etheridge has been charged with carrying a concealed weapon and discharging a firearm in a building in the incident.
Etheridge's lawyer, Randall Upshaw, said last week that Proof was drunk and angry about a game of pool when he approached Bender at the club. The two argued and were separated, and Proof returned with a gun, pistol-whipped Bender and then shot him in the face, Upshaw said.
"It is shameful that Mr. Holton is being lauded as a hero and martyr, when, in fact, it was his own criminalistic conduct that not only led to his death, but took the life of an honorable, innocent man," Michael Cafferty, a lawyer for Bender's family, said in a statement.
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"Just My Luck"
Lindsay Lohan
Just My LuckTrailer Stream
Starring Lindsay Lohan and Chris Pine, and featuring McFly in their first movie role, 'Just My Luck' will be released across the UK on July 21st. Lindsay Lohan plays Ashley, a young professional just out of college. She also happens to be the luckiest woman in the world, who has lived a super-charmed life and has always taken her good luck for granted. When she kisses a handsome stranger (played by Chris Pine) at a costume party, Ashley accidentally swaps her good fortune for his horribly bad luck, and her charmed life turns into a living hell.
Release date: July 21st 2006 Running time: TBC Certificate: PG
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Winfrey Honors Late Teen Activist
Oprah Winfrey
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Oprah Winfrey made a rare public appearance to honor her "angel friend" — late teen poet and peace activist Mattie Stepanek.
"Mattie lived the biggest, greatest life of anyone I've ever known. He lived his life with the light of love, and each of us has the power to do that in our own way," Winfrey told 200 people gathered Sunday at Borders books on State Street.
The event was a celebration of 13-year-old Stepanek of Maryland, who published several books and was a guest and friend of Winfrey's before his death from muscular dystrophy in 2004.
The teenager's final publication is "Just Peace: A Message of Hope," a posthumous book of essays and poetry.
"At the roll call of your life, at the end of your life, what really matters is who did you love and who did you offer love to," Winfrey said.
Also on hand was Mattie's mother, Jennifer Smith Stepanek, who lost all four of her children to muscular dystrophy and suffers from the disease herself.
Stepanek, on a national book tour to support her son's last book, told of being at a thrift store with then 6-year-old Mattie, who picked out a book called "Oprah Winfrey: A Self-Made Woman of Many Talents."
The boy read the book and said, "Mommy, Oprah Winfrey is part of God's plan for me," Stepanek said.
Winfrey described Mattie as "a dear, sweet, angel friend of mine."
"I've met a lot of people in my life, but I've never met anyone like this little boy, who seemed to come from another world," Winfrey said.
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Jessica Alba to Host MTV Movie Awards
Jessica Alba
Jessica Alba has a new starring role: host of the MTV Movie Awards.
"It's always a crazy, fun show, and I can't wait to be right in the middle of the action," the 25-year-old actress said Monday in a statement to The Associated Press.
Alba is nominated for three golden popcorn trophies — sexiest perform
ance for "Sin City" and best hero and best on-screen team with Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans and Ioan Gruffudd for "Fantastic Four."
The 2006 MTV Movie Awards will be filmed June 3 at Sony Picture Studios in Culver City, Calif. The show will air June 8 (9 p.m. EDT).
Alba, who starred in the TV series "Dark Angel," appears opposite Hayden Christensen in the upcoming film "Awake," a psychological thriller.
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