Holy Moly! Octuplets Born in California

A woman has given birth to eight babies at a local hospital just south of Los Angeles. This is only the second time ever that a set of octuplets have been born alive.

Dr. Karen Maples told TV station KCAL that the babies were born Monday at Kaiser Permanante in Bellflower and were "doing quite well."

The mother, who asked not to be identified, gave birth to six girls and two boys weighing between 1.8 pounds and 3.4 pounds this morning starting at 10:43 AM. It took only five minutes to deliver all of the little ones. Two of the preemies are on a respirator. Maples said that doctors were hopeful the babies would all survive, but the first 72 hours are always the most critical time. "So we'll have to just pay attention for the next few days," she said. Dr. Maples says they were expecting seven babies, and were shocked to find another one during delivery. "My eyes got to be the size of saucers," she told the LA Times. "We just went on and delivered the babies." Maples said there were 46 people involved in the deliveries.
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New Amazing Racers Include Deaf Contestant, Hollywood Screenwriter

CBS' The Amazing Race heads into its 14th season next month, which will feature the show's first hearing-impaired contestant.

Luke Adams, 23, who's been deaf since age 2, will team with his mother, Margie, to take on the world — and 10 other teams — in pursuit of $1 million. Their competition includes pairs of 4-foot-9-inch-tall brothers who are also stuntmen, former NFL cheerleaders, flight attendants, and screenwriter Mike White (Nacho Libre, School of Rock) and his father, Mel. At 68, Mel is the oldest contestant, while Luke and Amanda Blackledge, half of a dating couple, are the youngest.

The teams' 22-day global trek will span 40,000 miles and nine countries, including Romania and Siberia (both firsts for the show) and India, an Amazing Race favorite destination.

"Heading into our 14th season, I wanted to pull out all the stops," said Bertram van Munster, the show's executive producer. "We have extreme climates, intense roadblocks and less time in airports, which adds up to an exhausting course for the Racers. Whether you're a screenwriter, a Harvard graduate, a jockey or a carpenter, this Race will test your stamina, your heart and your will to win."

The Amazing Race 14 premieres Feb. 15 at 8 pm/ET.
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DeAnna Pappas on Upcoming Bachelor Appearance: It’ll Be ‘Worth the Wait’

Bachelorette DeAnna Pappas didn’t get her fairy-tale ending after enduring two seasons on the reality dating show, but that hasn’t stopped her from helping other frazzled brides-to-be plan their big day as the host of Get Married, a wedding advice show that airs every weekday on Lifetime.

In a recent phone interview from Atlanta, where she lives and tapes the series, the 27-year-old chatted about, yes, weddings, hinted at why she and ex Jesse Csincsak called it quits and talked about her much-anticipated visit to The Bachelor pad now inhabited by her Bachelorette runner-up Jason Mesnick.

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Mariska Hargitay Returns to Work

Mariska Hargitay has returned to the Law & Order: SVU set, two weeks after news broke that the actress had suffered a partially collapsed lung.

"She's back at work," her rep confirms. A rep for the production company also confirmed that Hargitay was on SVU's set as of Monday afternoon.

Hargitay's absence caused filming to cease last week, according to sources. Although she was nominated for both a Golden Globe and a SAG award for her role as Det. Olivia Benson, Hargitay was absent from both of those awards ceremonies this month.

Hargitay, 45, has not released any information about what may have caused her partial lung collapse.
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Paramedic Charged in Travolta Extortion Case

Ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne - the second suspect in the John Travolta extortion case - was formally charged Monday with attempting to extort and conspiracy to extort, Minister of National Security.

Lightbourne, 47, allegedly tried to extort $25 million from the Travolta family. At his arraignment, he pleaded not guilty.

The details of the alleged extortion plot -- which involved Travolta's late son, Jett, 16 -- have still not been made public.

Authorities arrested Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater on charges of abetment to extort and conspiracy to extort. She was released Friday on $40,000 bail. Bridgewater - who has since resigned - said she plans to fight "untrue and unfair charges."

Police also had detained former tourism minister Obie Wilchcombe, but he "has not been charged," Turnquest tells Us. "He was not arrested; he was questioned on Friday."

Wilchcombe, a longtime friend of Travolta, denied any criminal involvement and said he was only trying to help the actor and his family.

Said Wilchcombe, "I did a noble thing."
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Oprah Winfrey "Amused" She Was Considered for Open Senate Seat

Will Oprah Winfrey trade her seat as a talk show host for one on the United States Senate?

"Absolutely not," she said Monday, after hearing that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich considered appointing her to President Barack Obama's now-vacant spot in the Senate.

"I would have said, ‘Where would I fit it in with my day job? My mid-day job, my night job, my radio job, my magazine job?'" Winfrey said to her friend Gayle King on King's Sirius radio show.

During a visit to ABC's Good Morning America to defend his innocence in connection with accusations he tried to auction off the open Senate seat, Blagojevich said he thought she would be a fitting replacement.

"She seemed to be someone who had helped Barack Obama in a significant way to become President," he said.

Where was Winfrey when she heard the news?

"My plan was to get up and watch Good Morning America and work out and then I just thought, 'Let me just lay here another half hour.' If I had been watching, as I normally watch — from the treadmill, I would have fallen off the treadmill," Winfrey said. "I’m pretty amused by the whole thing."

Although Winfrey has no plans to go into politics, she does think she's qualified.

"I think I could be Senator too," the talk show host said on The Gayle King Show. "I’m just not interested."
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Fergie, Josh Duhamel Return From Honeymoon

The honeymoon is over for Fergie and Josh Duhamel.

The tan newlyweds were spotted arriving at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday.

Their honeymoon -- which kicked off in the Maldive Islands on Jan. 13 -- was "romantic relaxation — lying in the sun, tanning, just having a relaxing time," a source says, adding that they sailed the Indian Ocean on a rented luxury yacht.

They stayed at a private villa atop a lagoon at the super­exclusive One & Only Reethi Rah resort (villas range from $1,250 to $6,150 per night).

Also on their itinerary? Cooking classes, private yoga and tennis lessons, spa treatments, scuba diving and, of course, fishing.

Duhamel is due to attend a Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen press event later today.
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Jessica Simpson Shows Off New Curves

Jessica Simpson showed off new curves as she performed songs from her country album Do You Know at a concert over the weekend.

At Sunday's Kiss Country Chili Cookout in Pembroke Pines, Fla., the singer, 28, bounced on stage in high-waisted jeans and a double belt.

She has long had her weight ups and downs but said she never minded when she packed on a few extra pounds.

In a 2007 interview with Harper's Bazaar, she recalled a conversation she had with pal Ken Paves.

"Do you think the guys in here are all really looking at all those skinny girls and thinking, Wow, I want to get with her? Or are they looking at the girls with the curves and thinking, Yeah, I want to get with her!" Simpson said.

"Curves are better," Simpson added. "I don't get the whole rail thing. It's not good for your heart, it's not good for your mind; it's emotionally destructive, it really is."
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Paula Abdul: What "Bugs" Simon About the Fourth American Idol Judge

Does Paula Abdul think American Idol is better off with a fourth judge?

"That's up to the public," she said at Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles.

Of Kara DioGuardi, she added, "It's great for me because she's my old roommate, and we're friends.

"And that bugs Simon," Abdul said. "So it's good for me."

DioGuardi and Cowell clashed during an Idol audition show last week.

On the Jan. 20 show, she got annoyed because Cowell kept interrupting her critique.

"Can I say something now?" she snapped when he tried to cut her off.
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Janet Jackson Cancels Tour Due to Global "Economic Crisis"

Janet Jackson has pushed back her "Rock Witchu" Japan tour next month "due to the impact of economic crisis."

The shows were scheduled between Feb. 14 and Feb. 22 in Japan. The events are part of the world tour that started in 2008 - her first in nearly seven years.

Japan concert organizer Kyodo Yokohama said the tour will be rescheduled for later this year.

Jackson, 42, cancelled seven performances in the U.S. last fall because she was suffering from migraines.
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Drew Barrymore: Being Single is Great!

Drew Barrymore might struggle with dating in the new movie He's Just Not That Into You, but off-screen, she's happy being on her own.

"I've been single for eight months. I'm not in the wrong relationship, and it's great!"

Barrymore stars in the upcoming film with an ensemble cast that includes her ex-boyfriend Justin Long -- and she insists they are still friends.

Perhaps it's because he followed one of Barrymore's rules for ending a doomed relationship: honesty.

"Not telling me? That pisses me off more than anything," she says. "I can take it. I’m a big girl. At least you know what you’re working from. 'Oh, he told me he’s not into me?' Well, I guess there’s nothing to analyze there. What a time saver!"

The actress, 33, also reminisces about her first love, Alex Rubenstein.

"He used to leave me love letters in the trash," Barrymore says. "I don’t know what was up with that, but he used to make sure I was looking and then throw them in the trash, run away and then I’d grab the letter.

"Not much came of that relationship. We were six or seven. It was pretty tame and mild."
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