Following is a summary of current people news briefs.
Team to hunt for Amelia Earhart’s plane off remote Pacific
islet
HONOLULU (Reuters) – Seeking to chronicle Amelia Earhart’s
fate 75 years after she disappeared over the Pacific,
researchers prepared on Monday to look for wreckage of her
airplane near a remote island where they believe the famed U.S.
aviator died as a castaway. Organizers hope the expedition will
conclusively solve one of the most enduring mysteries of the
20th century – what became of Earhart after she vanished during
an attempt to become the first pilot, man or woman, to circle
the globe around the equator.
Mel Gibson’s stepmother seeks stay-away order
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Mel Gibson’s estranged stepmother
filed for a stay-away order against the actor on Monday
claiming he was violent with the elderly woman, who is
embroiled in a bitter divorce from Gibson’s father. The legal
action is the latest against Gibson, an Oscar winner for
”Braveheart” and star of the ”Lethal Weapon” movies, to raise
issues of anger control.
Holmes faces Cruise, Scientology in fight for Suri
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actress Katie Holmes faces two
strong adversaries in her legal fight for sole custody of
6-year-old daughter, Suri, as she battles estranged husband Tom
Cruise and his Scientology religion, experts said on Monday.
The ”Dawson’s Creek” actress, 33, made headlines last week when
she filed for divorce from ”Mission: Impossible” actor Cruise
after nearly six years of marriage and one child.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper says ”the fact is, I’m gay”
NEW YORK (Reuters) – CNN’s Anderson Cooper said in a public
statement on Monday that he is gay, adding that while privacy
is important for journalists, he did not want to give the
impression he was hiding something and wanted to stand up
against bullying. ”The fact is, I’m gay, always have been,
always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable
with myself, and proud,” the 45-year-old anchor of CNN’s
”Anderson Cooper 360” told The Daily Beast.
Actor Alec Baldwin weds Hilaria Thomas in NY
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actor Alec Baldwin, star of TV show
”30 Rock,” married his fianc ?e, Hilaria Thomas, on Saturday in
New York City, then posted a picture showing off his new
wedding ring on Twitter. Baldwin, 54, and yoga instructor
Thomas, 28, announced their engagement back in April. The
couple have been dating for over a year and have appeared
together at numerous events.
Strauss-Kahn and wife have separated: source
PARIS (Reuters) – Former International Monetary Fund chief
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is facing a probe into his alleged
involvement with a prostitution ring in France, and his wife
have separated, a source said. Anne Sinclair, a wealthy heiress
who recently relaunched her media career as a news editor at
the Huffington Post’s French edition, and Strauss-Kahn
separated about a month ago and they are living in separate
residences in Paris, said the source, who is close to
Strauss-Kahn.
Savannah Guthrie replaces Curry as ”Today” co-host
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Savannah Guthrie will replace Ann
Curry as co-host of NBC’s ”Today” Show, NBC announced on
Friday, a day after Curry made an emotional early exit from one
of America’s most high-profile television slots. Guthrie, 40,
who previously served as co-host of the morning program’s third
hour, will join Matt Lauer in the main hosting chairs in a
shake-up of the show’s line-up aimed at curbing a recent
decline in ratings, the network said.
U.S. ”Genius” visa attracts entrepreneurs and Playmates
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Shera Bechard, the Canadian-born
former girlfriend of Playboy Enterprises founder Hugh Hefner,
would not be an obvious candidate for the special visas that
the U.S. government reserves for ”individuals with
extraordinary ability.” Playboy magazine named Bechard Miss
November in 2010, and she also started an online photo-sharing
craze called ”Frisky Friday.” Neither seems quite on the level
of an ”internationally recognized award, such as a Nobel
Prize,” which the government cites as a possible qualification.
