Britney Spears ‘getting help’ at area hospital
LOS ANGELES -- Britney Spears was taken from her home by ambulance early Thursday and escorted to a hospital by more than a dozen police officers in cars, on motorcycles and in helicopters.
The 26-year-old pop star was being taken to "get help," said a Los Angeles police officer, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the matter. The Los Angeles Times cited unidentified authorities who said Spears was being placed on a "mental evaluation hold."
Spears was taken to UCLA Medical Center, where her mother, Lynne, was seen leaving its psychiatric hospital at about 5:30 a.m.
George Clooney has new role
UNITED NATIONS– George Clooney is the newest peace messenger for the United Nations.
The Oscar winner (best supporting actor for "Syriana") was selected for his ability to focus public attention on critical international political and social issues. He told reporters it was a tremendous honor for him.
"I am very proud to be here as a messenger of peace, and the message is that the world is watching, and that at this point we cannot afford to fail," he said.
He is a co-founder of Not on Our Watch, a humanitarian group that focuses global attention on Darfur's people and has raised more than $9.3 million for the region.
Other messengers of peace are Michael Douglas, Elie Wiesel, Jane Goodall, Yo-Yo Ma, Daniel Barenboim, Paulo Coelho, Midori Goto and Princess Haya of Jordan.
Clooney said he plans to focus his attention on Darfur and other spots he knows best, but has ambitions to travel broadly in his U.N. role.
Oscars will go on
LOS ANGELES – A back-up plan for the 80th annual Academy Awards show is in the works, academy president Sid Ganis told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
With the writers’strike dragging dangerously close to the Feb. 24 telecast, the film academy is planning two Oscar shows: "The show we would love to do and ... a show that we would prefer not to do," Ganis said.
The traditional, star-studded glamour-fest is in the works in case an agreement is reached. If not, organizers are working on a second show that will include "history and packages of film and concepts that are not normally ones that we would have for the show if we were moving straight ahead."
The show will go on regardless of the talks’ status, he said.
Nominations for this year's Academy Awards were announced last week. Final ballots were mailed Wednesday to the 5,829 voting members of the academy. They are due back Feb. 19.
Animated `Ratatouille' may have been squeezed out of best pic
NEW YORK -- Among the tales of depravity and violence that dominate this year's Academy Awards race sits "Ratatouille."
The Pixar film landed five Oscar nominations and was ranked by many critics as one of the year's best, yet was never a serious contender for best picture. Instead, it was relegated to best animated feature, which the academy began doling out in 2002.
Its five nominations rank as the most ever for a computer-animated film, and rate second among all animated films, surpassed only by the six received by Disney's "Beauty and the Beast." That picture, done in the traditional Disney style in 1991, stands as the only animated film ever to be nominated for best picture.
"It's folly to have a separate animated category because it hurts the chances of a movie like `Ratatouille' for being in the best picture race," said columnist Tom O'Neil. "But considering the academy history and the fact that only once did they have the guts to do it, at least the little rat is getting the chance to be a big cheese in one category."
Swedish prosecutor charges file-sharing site
STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- A Swedish prosecutor filed charges Thursday against the organizers of popular file-sharing site The Pirate Bay, saying it has helped millions of users worldwide violate copyrights.
The Pirate Bay, started in 2004, allows 10 million to 15 million users share films, music and other copyright-protected material. Police seized servers and other equipment in a May 2006 raid.
In charges that included top Hollywood production houses Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and MGM Pictures Inc. as complainants, prosecutor Hakan Roswall focused on four men he said were responsible for the organization, financing and operation of the site.
The prosecutor listed dozens of works that had been downloaded through The Pirate Bay, including The Beatles album "Let It Be," Robbie Williams' "Intensive Care" and the movie "Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire."
If convicted, the men would face a maximum of two years in prison.
By the Associated Press
Produced by
Washington and Lee
journalism students.
Lead Supervisors:
Prof. Brian
Richardson
Prof. Phylissa
Mitchell
Editing supervisor:
Prof. Pam Leucke
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd