In up and down year for cable news, Fox dominates

NEW YORK (AP) — It was a good year in the ratings for cable news networks. Or a rough one. It depends on your perspective.

Fox News Channel continued its dominance, with an average viewership that exceeded CNN and MSNBC combined in prime time and for the entire day, the Nielsen ratings company said Wednesday. Fox typically had 1.87 million viewers in prime time this year. The top 13 programs in cable news all aired on Fox.

Yet Fox was alone among the cable news networks in losing viewers — down 8 percent in prime time and 5 percent for the full day, Nielsen said. The 2010 midterm election year was particularly engaging for Republicans, who make up a big part of Fox's audience.

CNN was up 17 percent in prime-time viewership with a revamped lineup that includes a double dose of Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan replacing Larry King. CNN is third behind Fox and MSNBC in prime time but second for the day as a whole.

CNN's rivals acknowledge its gains but are quick to point out that last year represented CNN's worst year ever in the ratings.

MSNBC can take pride in surviving the exit of its most popular prime time personality, Keith Olbermann, who defected to Current. The network is up 2 percent over last year in its prime-time average, Nielsen said.

However, MSNBC is down 11 percent for the 8 p.m. time slot, which Olbermann occupied. Along with the continued popularity of Rachel Maddow at 9 p.m., MSNBC is showing rating gains at 10 p.m. because it replaced the Olbermann rerun that used to air at that time with an original show, currently hosted by Lawrence O'Donnell.

HLN, the former CNN Headline News, is up 20 percent over last year, with its popular blanket coverage of Casey Anthony's trial a big factor.

NBC had a rare win in the prime time rankings, with its Sunday night football programming leading the way.

During Christmas week, NBC averaged 7.2 million viewers in prime time (4.0 rating, 7 share). A ratings point represents 1,147,000 households, or 1 percent of the nation's estimated 114.7 million TV homes; the share is the percentage of in-use televisions tuned to a given show.

CBS was second with 6.9 million viewers (4.4 rating, 8 share). When a network has a higher rating despite having a smaller audience, as CBS did, it indicates that more people were watching the network alone. NBC had more cases of several people gathered around the TV — probably watching its Sunday night football game.

Fox had 5.5 million (3.2, 6), ABC had 4.4 million (2.6, 5), Ion Television had 1.1 million (0.7, 1) and the CW had 960,000 (0.6, 1).

Among the Spanish-language networks, Univision led with 3.3 million viewers (1.6, 3), Telemundo had 1.3 million (0.7, 1), TeleFutura had 450,000 (0.2, 0), Estrella had 220,000 (0.1, 0) and Azteca had 160,000 (also 0.1, 0).

NBC's "Nightly News" topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.6 million viewers (5.6, 11). ABC's "World News" was second with 8.2 million (5.4, 10), and the "CBS Evening News" had 6.4 million viewers (4.3, 8).

For the week of Dec. 19-25, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: NFL Football: Chicago at Green Bay, NBC, 24.02 million; "Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick," NBC, 18.67 million; "Football Night in America," NBC, 14.73 million; "The X-Factor" (Thursday), Fox, 12.59 million; "NCIS," CBS, 12.37 million; "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 11.43 million; "The X-Factor" (Wednesday), Fox, 11.23 million; "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 9.28 million; "The Mentalist," CBS, 8.47 million; "Person of Interest," CBS, 8.14 million.

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ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co. CBS is owned by CBS Corp. CW is a joint venture of Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp. Fox is a unit of News Corp. NBC and Telemundo are owned by Comcast Corp. ION Television is owned by ION Media Networks. TeleFutura is a division of Univision. Azteca America is a wholly owned subsidiary of TV Azteca S.A. de C.V.

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Top 25 concert tours' sales flat at $2.1 billion

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Perennially popular Irish rockers U2 were again the top touring band in the world in 2011, repeating their globe-topping haul from 2009, according to trade magazine Pollstar.

The band brought in $231.9 million in 34 shows, narrowly beating out British boy band Take That, which took in $224 million after reuniting with its popular front man, Robbie Williams. U2's 2009 concerts took in $311 million worldwide, the magazine said.

Globally, the top 25 tours of 2011 reaped $2.1 billion, about the same as last year. But North American gross ticket sales from the top 25 tours were $1.19 billion, about 4 percent less than in 2010.

Pollstar editor-in-chief Gary Bongiovanni said that decline probably resulted from promoter Live Nation Entertainment Inc.'s effort to cut down on money-losing shows.

But he said he expects a rise in North American revenue next year as the Beach Boys celebrate their 50th anniversary. He said the Rolling Stones, also marking 50 years together, also are likely to hit the road, though there's been no official announcement.

Madonna is likely to tour to promote her first album in five years, set for release in March. And Justin Bieber, who rocked the world but not the U.S. in 2011, may return to play gigs closer to his Canadian roots.

Adele, the British singer whose second album, "21," has been the top-seller this year, also is expected to draw big crowds in 2012 after undergoing throat surgery recently to correct a problem that had led her to cancel many concerts.

"When she comes back, she'll be doing incredible business next year. There's obviously a lot of pent-up demand to see her," Bongiovanni said.

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Mel Gibson, wife finalize divorce

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A judge on Friday approved a divorce settlement between actor Mel Gibson and his estranged wife Robyn, ending their 31 years of marriage.

Robyn Gibson will return to using her maiden name, Robyn Denise Moore, but other details of the divorce were kept confidential. The settlement becomes effective on January 9.

Gibson, 55, and his wife married in Australia in 1980 and have seven children together.

The couple separated in 2006 after Gibson was arrested for drunk driving in Malibu, California, and made anti-Semitic remarks that generated headlines around the world.

The actor's wife sued for divorce in April 2009, citing irreconcilable differences following Gibson's relationship with Oksana Grigorieva, with whom he has a 2-year-old daughter.

The "Lethal Weapon" star pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery following an altercation with Grigorieva in 2010, and was sentenced to three years' probation.

He recently settled a custody battle with his former girlfriend, agreeing to pay Grigorieva $750,000 and share custody of their daughter.

The Oscar winner's turbulent five years since his arrest and the anti-Semitic rant have tarnished his reputation and set back a remarkable career that had made him one of Hollywood's highest paid actors, directors and producers.

While no details of the divorce settlement were released, the actor was previously estimated to be worth $900 million, and he owns several properties in the wealthy, seaside enclave of Malibu, outside Los Angeles.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Etta James on breathing machine in Calif. hospital

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Grammy-winning singer Etta James, who has been deemed terminally ill with leukemia, has been hospitalized in California and placed on a breathing machine, her long-time manager and friend said on Friday.

James, 73, best known for the blues ballad "At Last," was taken to the hospital near her home in Riverside, east of Los Angeles, earlier this week because she was struggling to breathe.

"They took her to the hospital. She was having trouble breathing, so they intubated her. She is on a breathing machine and is resting," Lupe De-Leon, the singer's manager for 30 years, told Reuters.

The singer has been in failing health for a number of years and suffers from leukemia, kidney disease and dementia but had previously been cared for at her Southern California home.

Her live-in doctor said last week that James was considered terminally ill, and that she communicates mostly with nods and simple words.

The three-time Grammy Award singer earlier battled obesity and was addicted to heroin for many years.

"It is really sad. She is like my sister," De-Leon said on Friday.

James was a key figure in the early days of R&B music with hit songs like "The Wallflower" and "Good Rockin' Daddy". But it was her 1961 recording of "At Last" that put her on the map.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Will Taylor Armstrong Return To 'Real Housewives'?

Following her tumultuous year, will Taylor Armstrong return for another season of Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills"?

The reality star stopped by Access Hollywood Live on Thursday, where she chatted with Billy Bush and Kit Hoover about her future in front of the cameras.

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"We're gonna see. We haven't been picked up for a third season, so were gonna see how the year plays out," Taylor said when asked if she would return to the hit Bravo series.

Taylor explained that the suicide of husband Russell Armstrong, whom she was divorcing at the time of his death, is something she still deals with every day.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Stars We Lost In 2011

"I spend sleepless nights trying to figure it all out," she said. "I haven't been able to put all the pieces together, but I think there were some bigger things at play... I'm gonna talk about a lot of it later."

"On the show?" Billy asked.

"No, just in life," she continued, adding that her emotions surrounding the tragic situation can come up at any time. "Sometimes I'm just curling my hair and I start to ball. It just comes out of nowhere. I'm just keeping myself busy to avoid feeling a lot of it... Sometimes you just break down and cry."

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Taylor, who told Billy and Kit that daughter Kennedy is her "focus" at the moment, said dating is not on her radar.

"I'm not ready, I just need to focus on me and Kennedy and my friends," she explained. "I'm just trying to get strong as a woman."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: I Do! Celebrities Who Got Married On TV

In addition to "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," which airs Monday's on Bravo at 9 PM, Taylor is hosting a Bravo/Ciroc Vodka-sponsored New Year's Eve event in Chicago. Other Real Housewives" franchise stars will also be hosting events in Houston, Miami, New York and Los Angeles to celebrate 2012.

Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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American dean of Paris literary scene dies at 98

PARIS (Reuters) - The man who nurtured a generation of aspiring writers at a rickety English-language bookstore in Paris, offering supper and a bed to literature fans providing they dusted the shelves or penned their memoirs, has died aged 98.

George Whitman, an American, died in the little apartment at the top of his Shakespeare and Company bookstore where he hung with Beat poets Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac half a century ago and until recently hosted literary tea parties on Sundays for anybody who cared to come by.

Decorated with a French medal for his contribution to the Paris literary scene, Whitman became a father figure over six decades to a stream of would-be writers from around the world who would curl up in his second-floor library for weeks on end.

Henry Miller once called his store, open since 1951 on the arty left bank of the Seine, "A wonderland of books."

"Thousands of people from around the world ate his clam chowder and strawberry ice cream and survived thanks to his generosity," said Pia Copper, 38, an art dealer who worked at the store in the 1990s and remained a close friend.

"He offered them the possibility of living across from Notre Dame for free while they penned their first novel or painted a picture. There were a lot of books and poems written there."

The green-fronted store was shuttered on Thursday and well-wishers left votive candles, flowers and novels at the door, where a formal announcement of his death said he would be missed by bibliophiles around the world.

Handwritten tributes cellotaped to the store thanked Whitman for his generosity in providing a haven for "aficionados" of literature or apologized for not finishing novels.

"I'm sorry I was so bad at the poetry reading," said one note. Others were left inside a wine bottle whose label read: "Messages in a bottle: For George. Something for you to read on your trip."

RAG AND BONE

Whitman, who liked to dub his bookstore "The Rag and Bone store of the heart," after a T.S. Elliot poem, was born in New Jersey and spent part of his childhood in China.

After studying journalism and travelling extensively, he moved to Paris in 1948 with a bicycle and a cat as his only possessions and slept in a university garden, as he liked to tell the story. Once settled, he began collecting books and started a lending library in his dingy hotel digs.

He opened his bookshop, "Le Mistral," in 1951 and renamed it several years later as he incorporated books from the original Shakespeare and Company store frequented by James Joyce and Ernest Hemingway before it shut down during World War Two.

Opened by American-born Sylvia Beach in the 1920s, also on the Left Bank, the original store won fame for publishing James Joyce's banned book "Ulysses."

Whitman's shop became a stopover for writers like Miller, James Baldwin, Samuel Beckett, Anais Nin and later on Lawrence Durrel, William Burroughs, Gregory Corso and Ginsberg. Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti became one of Whitman's closest friends.

It grew into a tourist landmark and gathering point for Anglophone expatriates, attracting eccentrics, nomads and dreamers. When an American ambassador once popped in for a visit, Whitman cheekily offered her a corner to sleep in.

Living by a motto taken from Yeats -- "Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise" -- Whitman helped out bohemian souls in return for them lending a hand in the shop or cooking supper. Hundreds left behind handwritten notes telling their life story.

"I was in my early 20s and just arrived in Paris when I wandered in and sat down to read. George appeared and said 'You're an old China hand like me. You start work tomorrow," said Pia, who was just starting out importing art from China.

Whitman suffered a stroke in October, but refused to stay in hospital. He had an ambulance crew carry him home, up two cramped flights of stairs and past wall-to-wall bookshelves to his bed, laughing with happiness to be back.

The store was his whole life and he rarely left it, except to take the odd trip to wildly exotic locations, Pia recounted.

Whitman, who penned many essays but never wrote a book of his own, will be buried on December 22 in Pere Lachaise cemetery, resting place of such literary luminaries as Oscar Wilde, Moliere and Jim Morrison. His family plans to mark his grave with a statue of Don Quixote, one of his favorite fictional characters.

His daughter Sylvia, who sat at his bedside as he grew weaker but refused to stop reading, will now run the store.

(Additional reporting by Tim Hepher, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Fantasia Welcomes Baby Boy

Fantasia Barrino has a new bundle of joy!

The "American Idol" Season 3 winner gave birth to her second child on Tuesday in North Carolina, her rep told People. The singer welcomed baby boy Dallas, who weighed in at 7 lbs., 9 oz. and measured 21 inches long.

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"I feel so blessed that my son Dallas Xavier was born healthy, and is a wonderful new addition to our family," the 27-year-old told the mag.

Adding, "I thank all my fans for their well wishes and continued support."

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Baby Dallas joins big sister Zion, 10, who Fantasia has from a previous relationship.

In July, the singer announced she was expecting during a concert in in Jacksonville, Fla.

"You are the first persons that I share this news with," she told the crowd at the time. "And I share this with you because I can relate to you. And for a while I walked around, figuring out what will they say and what will they think about me. But now, I tell you, I don't live my life for folk... So this child that I carry, God has given me this child and I don't have to hide it from none of y'all."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hollywood’s Hottest Moms & Their Loveable Little Ones

Fantasia has remained mum on who the father of Dallas is, but she has been romantically linked to Antwaun Cook since summer 2010. Antwaun is reportedly in the midst of a divorce from his estranged wife, Paula.

Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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'New Year's Eve' leads slow box office sales

Holiday romance "New Year's Eve" led North American box office charts over the weekend, although sales were sluggish, industry data showed Monday.

The star-studded romantic comedy featuring Michelle Pfeiffer and Zac Efron, with appearances by Robert de Niro and Halle Barry, scored $13 million for its opening weekend, according to Exhibitor Relations.

That pushed it ahead of adult comedy "The Sitter," with Jonah Hill starring as a reluctant babysitter. Also showing in theaters for the first time this week, it raked in $9.9 million.

Blockbuster vampire heart-throb flick "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 1," came in third after three weeks at the top of box office. It rang up $7.8 million, pushing it past the quarter-billion-dollar mark for a total of $259.4 million so far.

That put the teen vampire sequel ahead of "The Muppets," the new film based on Jim Henson's puppet characters, which grossed $7 million for its third week in theaters.

In fifth place was animated family comedy "Arthur Christmas," about Santa's son tasked with completing a mission by Christmas morning. It pulled in $6.5 million.

Martin Scorsese's first 3-D film "Hugo" came in sixth place. The adventure drama based on Brian Selznick's novel "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" about a boy who lives alone in a Paris railway station raked in $6.1 million.

In seventh was George Clooney comedy-drama "The Descendants," with $4.4 million, enough to push it ahead of penguin tale "Happy Feet Two," which got $3.7 million.

Adam Sandler's "Jack and Jill" comedy, in which he plays both a successful Los Angeles advertising executive and his needy twin sister, came in ninth. It got $3.1 million.

Big-budget 3-D epic "Immortals" rounded out the top 10, with $2.5 million.

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Sky's the limit for Elizabeth Taylor gem sales

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wealthy jewelry collectors, movie fans and the just plain curious are training their eyes on this week's auctions of Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor's collection of jewelry, haute couture and memorabilia.

And if the monumental exhibition at Christie's, which was more elaborately staged than many a museum show, is any indication, interest will be sky high. The 10-day sale preview sold out, with 25,000 tickets fetching $30 apiece.

The auctions, which begin on Tuesday night with Taylor's world-renowned jewels, "have generated unprecedented presale interest with registrants from all corners of the globe," said Marc Porter, president and chairman of Christie's Americas.

"We're delighted with the worldwide interest in the live auction," Porter said. "And participation in the online-only auctions in each category -- jewelry, fashion and memorabilia -- continues to increase."

The vast collection of the Hollywood actress, who died in March at age 79, includes some 1,000 lower-priced pieces in a special online auction running December 3-17.

Even the sale's various catalogs, with some signed special editions priced over $2,000, have virtually sold out.

A world tour of highlights from Taylor's collection drew crowds in Hong Kong, Moscow, Los Angeles and London.

Porter, who worked closely with Taylor for over a decade as she made plans for her collection after she was gone, said the star "provided us with the vision of the sale that she wanted, and gave us a specific instruction about her collections that we've taken very seriously: "Give them a really good home!"

Taylor, one of Hollywood's last great stars, was beloved for her earthiness even as she lived a glamorous life far removed from that of most fans.

GIFTS FROM RICHARD BURTON

As her couture, fine art, decorative objects and accessories hit the auction block in a week of sales expected to raise well over $50 million, it is the Tuesday and Wednesday sales of her jewelry that are most anticipated.

Some 269 diamonds, pearls, rubies, rings, necklaces and even a tiara will be sold, with several of the most valuable, storied pieces tied to Taylor's lengthy, complicated romance with actor Richard Burton, whom she married and divorced twice.

Christie's, with no argument, has billed the assemblage as the greatest private collection of jewelry ever auctioned, trumping even those of Doris Duke or the Duchess of Windsor.

Leading the Tuesday gala evening sale of 89 top lots is Taylor's iconic, 33.19-carat white diamond ring, a 1968 gift from Burton who purchased it at auction for $300,000.

The trustees of Taylor's estate have renamed it The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond, and it is estimated to fetch $2.5 million to $3.5 million. But prices for items from other historic estates such as those of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Marilyn Monroe and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor soared many, sometimes hundreds, of times past pre-sale estimates.

Taylor's fame, as well as her eye for quality, are expected to drive interest and prices.

"It is her depth of knowledge about fine jewelry that truly impresses," said Christie's' international jewelry director Francois Curiel said. "It was clear that she possessed an expert's eye for craftsmanship, rarity, quality and history. She collected the best pieces from the best periods."

Among the most historic pieces is a 203-grain (equivalent to 55 carat) pear-shaped 14th-century pearl once owned by England's Mary Tudor and later by Spanish queens Margarita and Isabel.

Burton bought it in 1969 at auction for $37,000, and Taylor commissioned Cartier to design a new ruby-and-diamond necklace mount. It is estimated to sell for $2 million to $3 million.

At the other end of the spectrum, bidders will have a chance at Taylor's two, diamond-set wedding bands from her marriages to Burton, estimated at only $6,000 to $8,000.

From Mike Todd, another of Taylor's seven husbands, there is an antique diamond tiara which the star wore to the 1957 Academy Awards at which Todd's "Around the World in 80 Days" won best picture. It is estimated at $60,000 to $80,000.

Some 70 of Taylor's most iconic looks will be auctioned on Wednesday night, followed by hundreds of other fashion items and accessories later in the week.

Highlights include a Versace beaded evening jacket arrayed with portraits of the actress in some of her famous movie roles, which is estimated to sell for up to $20,000.

The sunflower yellow dress by Hollywood designer Irene Sharaff that Taylor wore to her 1964 wedding to Burton has an estimated sale price of $40,000 to $60,000.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

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Levi jazzed to host Spike Video Game Awards

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Zachary Levi has performed at the Oscars, and now he's hoping to pump dignity into the Spike Video Game Awards.

"As a gamer, I definitely want to bring as much legitimacy and respect to the game community as I possibly can," said the "Chuck" star, who performed a song from Disney's "Tangled" with Mandy Moore earlier this year at the Academy Awards, and is serving as the host of Saturday's ninth annual Spike Video Game Awards.

The show, which will be broadcast live from Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, will honor outstanding achievements within the gaming industry over the past year, as well as debut never-before-seen footage from such upcoming games as "Metal Gear Solid: Rising," ''Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6 Patriots" and "BioShock Infinite."

"I'm jazzed about hosting the awards," said Levi earlier this week during a break from filming on the "Chuck" set. "I'm very excited and very nervous all at the same time. I've always had so much respect for guys and girls who host awards shows."

"Portal 2," the mind-bending puzzler from Valve, leads this year's batch of nominees with 12 nods, ahead of a pair of fellow game of the year nominees: Rocksteady's superhero sequel "Batman: Arkham City," which is up for 10 awards, and Naughty Dog's globe-trotting adventure "Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception," which has nine nominations.

Other titles up for game of the year include Bethesda Softworks' role-playing epic "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" and the latest entry in Nintendo's "Zelda" franchise, "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword." The fantastical 25-year-old series will be honored as the show's first-ever hall of fame recipient.

"So many people appear to appreciate 'The Legend of Zelda,'" said Japanese "Zelda" creator Shigeru Miyamoto through a translator Friday. "I'm very, very thankful for all the 'Zelda' fans, especially the 'Zelda' fans in the United States."

The winners of most of the show's categories are chosen by an advisory council, while the best trailer and most anticipated game winners will be selected by viewer votes.

___

AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang . AP Entertainment Writer Ryan Pearson contributed to this report.

___

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Evangelist Billy Graham released from hospital

(Reuters) - Billy Graham, one of America's best-known evangelists, was released on Tuesday from a North Carolina hospital after a bout with pneumonia, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Graham, 93, returned to his home in Montreat, North Carolina, after a six-day stay in the hospital.

"I am grateful for the many thoughts and prayers expressed by individuals across the country and around the world during my stay at Mission Hospital," Graham said in a statement.

He will continue a program of physical therapy at home, his staff said in a statement.

"We are gratified that he has had a good response to treatment and we're committed to good home care to continue his improvement," Graham's personal physician, Lucian Rice, said in a statement.

Graham, a preacher of Christian gospel to millions of followers worldwide and a spiritual adviser to several U.S. presidents, was treated in May for a previous bout of pneumonia.

His wife, Ruth, died in June 2007.

(Writing by Mary Slosson; Editing by Jerry Norton)

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Charlie Sheen ex-wife seeks end to drug case

(Reuters) - Brooke Mueller, the ex-wife of actor Charlie Sheen, has hired a defense lawyer who will ask prosecutors to drop recent cocaine and assault charges filed against her in Colorado, her spokesman said on Wednesday.

Mueller was arrested this past weekend in the posh ski resort town of Aspen following a claim by another woman that Mueller assaulted her at a bar this past Friday night. Mueller, 34, was arrested sometime after midnight at a different club.

"Brooke is back home in Los Angeles spending quiet time with her children. She has retained her longtime attorney Yale Galanter, who is currently in Aspen investigating the case. Mr. Galanter will vigorously defend Brooke with the goal of having all charges dropped once the facts of the case come to light," Mueller's spokesman said in a statement on Wednesday.

Aspen police said they were conducting "a routine walk through" of the Belly Up bar late Friday night when a woman reported she was assaulted by Mueller.

Police later arrested Mueller and charged her with felony possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and misdemeanor assault. She posted bond, was released and is due back in an Aspen courtroom on December 19.

Mueller and Sheen, who is coming off a turbulent year in his personal and professional life, have twin sons who continue to reside with Mueller, her spokesman said.

"Both Charlie and Brooke's mother have offered to support Brooke in any way they can," the spokesman said.

(Editing by Jill Serjeant)

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Rosie O'Donnell Engaged!

Rosie O'Donnell is engaged to Michelle Rounds, a businesswoman, her rep confirmed to Access Hollywood on Monday.

The rep told Access the two became engaged several weeks ago and will continue to split their time between New York City and Chicago, where Rosie films her Oprah Winfrey Network talk show, "The Rosie Show."

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Rosie and Michelle first went public with their romance at the red carpet for the Building Dreams for Kids Gala in New York City in September.

When news of their romance first broke, a source told People that Rosie and the IT company headhunter met at a coffee shop earlier this year.

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"They met at a Starbucks a few months ago," a source told the mag's website at the time. "They are adorable together and are very, very happy."

Rosie and her last girlfriend, Tracy Kachtick-Anders, reportedly split in February 2011 after more than a year of dating.

The talk show host was with Kelli Carpenter, a television marketing executive, from 2004-2007.

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The pair have four children together -- Parker, Chelsea and Blake, who were all adopted and Vivienne Rose, who Kelli gave birth to in 2002.

Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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