Nelson Mandela

• After just one episode, Nurse Jackie has been renewed for a second season. — TV.com
• Rosie O'Donnell may star in a Broadway revival of the 1937 Rodgers and Hart musical Babes in Arms. — Variety
• David Letterman beat Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show for the first time on Tuesday. — The Hollywood Reporter
• The Screen Actors Guild has officially approved a new contract. — New York Times
• Jay Leno promos and mini-monologues will air every night this Summer at 10 p.m. — Variety
• Director Rob Cohen will direct the action film Medieval, described as "The Magnificent Seven in the Middle Ages." — ComingSoon
• Plus-size model Emme will host Fox's dating series More to Love. — The Hollywood Reporter
• Aretha Franklin, Wyclef Jean, Queen Latifah, Josh Groban, and TLC will headline a tribute concert honoring Nelson Mandela on July 18 in New York. — Billboard

Photo courtesy of Showtime

• Nelson Mandela Turns 90:
  Marking his 90th birthday today, Nelson Mandela celebrated by urging generosity:"there are many people in South Africa who are rich and who can share those riches with those not so fortunate who have not been able to conquer poverty." He said he was tickled people wanted to celebrate the birthday "of a retired old man who no longer has power or influence".



• EU to Give Billion to Africa:
  The EU has a plan to give $1 billion euros of unspent EU farm subsidies in aid to African farmers. The money was allocated to EU agriculture, but hasn't been spent — sending the cash to Africa could help fix food shortages and soaring prices. Some question the move's legality, but EC President Barroso says: "The impact of high food prices is particularly severe for the world's poorest populations."
• Arrests in Plot Against Bush:
  Israel arrested six Arabs today for attempting to set up an al Qaeda cell in Israel and claiming that one of the men had planned to attack helicopters used during a visit by President George W. Bush. One of the suspects had allegedly used his cell phone to film the landing site of the president, and then used al Qaeda websites to ask advice in how to shoot down the helicopter. Bush's last visit to Israel was in May.

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• A Perfect Rescue Operation:
  French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages freed from FARC rebels in a daring rescue mission has called her release after more than 6 years, a "miracle." She says, "there is no historical precedent for such a perfect operation." The mission was accomplished without a shot fired after the Colombian military penetrated the highest level of FARC and tricked them into handing over the hostages. Among those rescued were three American military contractors and 11 members of the Colombian security forces, all said to be in relatively good health. FARC has been trying to overthrow the Colombian government for 40 years, and still holds over 40 high-profile hostages, among up to 700 other captives.




• Mandela Not a Terrorist:
  US President George W Bush signed a bill removing Nelson Mandela and South African leaders from the US terror watch list. Mandela and ANC party members will now be able to travel to the US without a waiver from the secretary of state. The African National Congress (ANC) was labeled as a terrorist organization by South Africa's former apartheid regime.
• Jobs and Airlines in Trouble:
  The number of former workers signing up for unemployment insurance rose sharply last week. According to a Labor Department report, new applications jumped by 16,000 to 404,000, the highest level since late March. Meanwhile, the airline industry is predicting a $6.5 billion loss for the year, having been hit harder by fuel costs than expected.

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Will Smith says that Barack Obama is only the second political figure he has ever thrown his support behind — the first being Nelson Mandela (Will just helped celebrate Mandela's 90th birthday). BBC got the details about the actor's endorsement, while Will was in London promoting his new film this week.

On why he supports Obama: "I travel around the world a lot, and I was kind of used to people being happy when the Americans showed up. That sort of changed over the last eight years. So I'm excited about the new possibilities of hope and change that Barack is bringing."

On whether celebrities should share their politics: "Individuals have to decide what they want to do. I think I'm a pretty good judge if someone's a good person. So I just lend my support to people that I believe are good people."

Do you agree? Will also had time to stop by the Colbert Report this week, where he mentioned his ears again. He also admitted that he wants to play Barack in a movie! To see Will's interview with his big fan Stephen, read more

London's Hyde Park turned into a party scene this afternoon as Nelson Mandela kept on celebrating his ninetieth birthday with a star-studded concert. Will and Jada were up and at 'em after last night's Elton John party to get on stage, while Geri Halliwell and Prince William's girlfriend, Kate Middleton, surveyed the scene. Amy Winehouse, who was looking unusually tan, managed to take the stage despite her recent health problems. A crowd of 46,664, a number chosen as that was Nelson's prison number during his 27-year incarceration in South Africa, turned out to mark the occasion. Between this big show and dinner with his friends on Wednesday evening, hopefully Mr. Mandela had a perfect and memorable birthday.

To see more from behind the scenes at Nelson's concert just read more

• Chris Noth is leaving Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Jeff Goldblum is joining the show in his place, writes Variety.
• Bob Saget is the newest target of a Comedy Central roast, reports Broadcasting & Cable.
• Musicians and fans gathered in London to celebrate Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday, the AP writes.
• Showtime is producing a Dexter-ish drama called Hilary Jones about a female Los Angeles cop who works as a prostitute on the weekends, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
• According to ComingSoon, Marcia Cross's first feature film role since joining Desperate Housewives will be in an indie comedy titled Peck.
• Bravo's Real Housewives series is heading to Atlanta; details are at The Futon Critic.
• James Gandolfini's wardrobe from The Sopranos raised almost $188,000 at a charity auction benefiting soldiers injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Associated Press reports.
• Variety has the news that the excellent Korean horror-thriller The Host will be getting a sequel.

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• Comedy Central has renewed "Lil' Bush" and "Mind of Mencia," Zap2it reports.
• Variety has the news that Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas will be starring together in the caper drama The Code.
• According to Hollywood Reporter, NBC has picked up a drama series based on the Daniel Dafoe classic novel Robinson Crusoe.
• Eve's next album, which was pushed from August to October, now won't be released until sometime 2008, for unexplained reasons, Billboard reports.
• "Grey's Anatomy" is the most expensive show for advertisers this fall, Mediaweek reports, but it still can't touch "American Idol."
• Nelson Mandela's next international AIDS awareness concert will be held in Johannesburg on Dec. 1, writes the AP.
• Dakota Blue Richards, the 13-year-old actress starring soon in The Golden Compass, has been cast in The Secret of Moonacre, based on the classic children's novel The Little White Horse, Variety reports.
• In TV casting news, Lourdes Benedicto has joined "Cashmere Mafia" to play the love interest for Bonnie Somerville's character, writes the Hollywood Reporter. Meanwhile, former "Invasion" star Eddie Cibrian will show up on two new shows, Zap2it reports, playing the love interest each time.

Photo courtesy of Comedy Central

After the marriage ceremony and the honeymoon, the fun begins. Right? Well, according to Chris Rock, it's nothing short of torture. With all due respect, dudes--I'm sure the feeling's mutual.