Ellen DeGeneres named U.S. Special Envoy for Global AIDS awareness

Popular talk show host and comedienne Ellen DeGeneres has been appointed the U.S. government's Special Envoy for Global AIDS awareness.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made the announcement on Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at the National Institutes of Health as part of an address on AIDS and the HIV virus.

"I'm honored to have been chosen by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as Special Envoy for Global AIDS awareness," DeGeneres, 53, said in a government statement. "The fight against AIDS is something that has always been close to my heart. And I'm happy that I can use my platform to educate people and spread hope."

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go look up what 'envoy' means," she joked.

DeGeneres' self-titled talk show airs in national syndication and she has almost 14 million followers on social networking websites.

Clinton said that DeGeneres "is going to bring not only her sharp wit and her big heart, but her impressive TV audience and more than 8 million followers on Twitter, to raise awareness and support for this effort," adding: "I know we can look forward to many contributions from Ellen and her loyal fans across the globe."

The United States government is stepping up efforts to combat the AIDS epidemic, Clinton added.

"We recently granted more than $50 million to three of the world's leading academic institutions to develop rigorous studies that test what works in various settings," she said. "The United States ... will commit an additional $60 million to rapidly scale up combination prevention in parts of four countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and to rigorously measure the impact."

Jennifer Lopez to play Carmen Sandiego?

Deadline reports that a live-action movie based on the computer game “Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?” is in the works, and Jennifer Lopez may step into Carmen's globe-trotting shoes.

Sandra Bullock was once slated to don the big red hat on the big screen, but now that J. Lo’s signed on to produce, rumors are swirling that the diva will also take the lead as the elusive detective.

The plot will bring about a "cat-and-mouse" game between Carmen and her former ACME agency partner when it's suspected that Carmen has become "the world's greatest thief." The former partner takes on the role of the one who follows her clues to figure out her location. According to Deadline, they're aiming for a "National Treasure" meets "The Thomas Crown Affair" feel to the film.

In addition to the educational computer game, “Carmen Sandiego” also landed at PBS in the '90s as a geography-based game show for kids.

50 Cent: How my son inspired me to write 'Playground'

There's always two sides to every story, and the problem with bullying is no exception.

A topic often discussed from the victim's perspective, rapper/author/actor 50 Cent is trying to provide insight into the mind of the aggressor with his young adult novel, "Playground," published earlier this month.

The protagonist is 13-year-old Butterball, a teen who has separated parents, a love of filmmaking and a lot of trouble on his hands after he lashes out violently at a classmate at school.


50 Cent, also known as Curtis Jackson, has written before, but says he became inspired to tell this particular story while talking to his 15-year-old son.

"Bullying is a major issue right now, not for him personally, but he’s told me of things that he’s seen with other kids. I found myself explaining it to him from this perspective because I was previously the aggressor, and I went through a time period when I was dealing with my feelings in the wrong way," the 36-year-old says. "I had to talk to him...and explain the mistakes that I made."

He continues, "I pointed it out to him when I was a teen that I got into a physical altercation with someone who was my best friend...At that point, I was conditioned to go as hard as possible when those types of situations came up."

50 Cent started working on the book last year, after coming across the popular "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" novel and says in the introduction to "Playground" that there's "a lot of me" in the book's protagonist, who's actually subjected to taunting himself at various points because of his size.

"I had a weight issue when I was younger, and I had feelings towards that that I wasn’t actually expressing or dealing with," 50 Cent says. "You don’t wake up and say, 'I’m going to be a bully.' But in my environment, people who were aggressive didn’t have to worry."

"So when you’ve offered examples of you not having a problem [with being an aggressor], people don’t come to you with it. Where I’m from, the kid in the schoolyard that doesn’t want to fight always leaves with a black eye, because no one throws a punch unless they see that you’re not going to stand up for yourself."

50 Cent also admits in the book's introduction that some of his actions haven't been "role model material," and he tells CNN that he does understand where his critics are coming from. But he's also hoping that using his experiences to develop "Playground" will draw in kids who relate to Butterball's perspective.

"The kid who is actually involved in those activities may be attracted to it for the wrong reasons, and it may open his eyes to [what he’s doing]," he says. "I’m offering a solution through sucking the kids into the character, allowing them to enjoy Butterball’s [story] and then define where those mistakes were made as we gradually go through the process, and to enlighten them in areas where they can not make those mistakes."

Lindsay Lohan released hours after checking into jail

Lindsay Lohan was released from jail Monday, less than five hours after checking in to serve her 30-day sentence for violating her probation, officials confirmed to OnTheRedCarpet.com.

The 25-year-old had until Nov. 9 to report to jail, but she checked into the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, Calif., at 8:48 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

A sheriff's department spokesperson had said that because the "Mean Girls" star is a nonviolent offender facing less than 90 days in jail, she was expected to get out early due to jail overcrowding.

The department website earlier listed that Lohan's projected release date was Nov. 16.

Lohan's probation was revoked last month after a judge ruled the actress violated it by skipping community service appointments at a women's shelter.

Lohan was earlier this year ordered to complete 480 hours of community service at a women's shelter and at a morgue as part of a sentence handed down for a misdemeanor theft charge, which had in itself constituted a violation of her probation for a 2007 drunken driving and cocaine possession case. The judge reinstated the actress' probation after handing down her sentence on Wednesday, Nov. 2.

Lohan's next court appearance was scheduled for Dec. 14.

Justin Bieber to take DNA test after Mariah Yeater's baby claim?

Teen pop star Justin Bieber plans to take a DNA test to try to prove he is not the father of the baby of Mariah Yeater, a report says.

The 20-year-old woman had filed a paternity suit against Bieber, 17, on Oct. 31, 2011 at a San Diego court, legal records show. Bieber said last week he had never even met Yeater and said on NBC's "Today" show that "it's crazy some people want to make up such false allegations. But to set the record straight, none of it is true."

Bieber plans to take a paternity test after he returns to the United States from Europe next week, People magazine quoted an unnamed source as saying, adding that he is also likely to sue Yeater. He and the woman have not commented about the report.

Yeater was quoted by the tabloid Star magazine as saying that she became pregnant with her son, who is now 3 months old, after having sex with Bieber backstage at a Los Angeles concert in October 2010. The publication said that Yeater had demanded the singer take a paternity test.

Despite the baby drama, Bieber and girlfriend Selena Gomez are still together. The two recently visited Belfast, where Gomez hosted the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards at the Odyssey Arena. Bieber performed on stage (pictured, above) and took home awards for Best Pop and Best Male (see full list of winners below).

"Great job tonight @selenagomez tonight at the EMA's," Bieber Tweeted on Sunday. "Proud of u."


The couple met up with a few celebrities during their visit. The two posed for a photo with David Hasselhoff on Friday and Bieber Tweeted about meeting up with Lady Gaga.

"Ran into @LadyGaga last night at dinner. had a good talk. great talent and really good people," the 17-year-old singer wrote on Saturday.

Beyonce expecting a baby girl, according to former bandmate

Beyonce Knowles and her husband Jay-Z have yet to announce the gender of their baby, but the pregnant pop star's former Destiny's Child band mate Kelly Rowland has spilled the beans.

"I have no idea what I'm going to buy Beyonce at the baby shower because Jay is going to buy that little girl every single thing possible," Rowland told Bang Showbiz at an awards show on Thursday, People reports.

The 30-year-old first announced her pregnancy back in August during her performance on the MTV Video Music Awards.

"I put a lot of thought into how I wanted to unveil it. It was important to me that I was able to do it myself," Beyonce explained about her decision to reveal her pregnancy during the award show. "I was extremely nervous. It was the toughest red carpet I ever did."

"I didn't want a crazy picture or gossip story to break the news," she added, "so I decided to say nothing and proudly show my baby bump. I felt it was more powerful to see the love and enthusiasm as opposed to saying anything."

The singer recently revealed that she is due in February.

The baby will be the first child for the singer, who married 41-year-old rapper Jay-Z on April 4, 2008. The nuptials were so secret that no photos or video from the event were released. The couple got married with a close circle of 40 friends and family members after dating for six years.

The singer recently used her pregnancy as an opportunity to branch out her House of Dereon fashion collection with a maternity line.

Beyonce also showed off her baby bump in her new video for the single "Countdown," which debuted on October 6. Beyonce can be seen wearing several skin-tight outfits which accentuate her baby bump and at one point she turns to the side and her pregnant stomach can be clearly seen.

Drew Barrymore tops Forbes list of Most Overpaid Actors

Drew Barrymore ranks as the Most Overpaid Actor on the Forbes list. Barrymore suffered a blow with last year's romantic comedy 'Going the Distance,' which earned $42 million on a budget of $32 million. According to the magazine, 'For every $1 Barrymore is paid, her films return an average 40 cents.'