Nick and Jessica split up after months of rumors

Nick and Jessica split upafter months of rumors
LOS ANGELES -- Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, who turned mid-level music careers into Hollywood superstardom by celebrating their marriage in an MTV reality show and television specials, are calling it quits after months of persistent breakup rumors. The couple announced their separation Wednesday. "After three years of marriage, and careful thought and consideration, we have decided to part ways," they said in a joint statement released by their publicists. "This is the mutual decision of two people with an enormous amount of respect and admiration for each other." Calls seeking further comment from publicists Meredith O' Sullivan and Rob Shuter were not immediately returned early Thursday. The couple have been dogged by rumors that their marriage was in trouble -- Us Weekly reported that they split in an Oct. 17 issue -- but Simpson, 25, and Lachey, 32, brushed the speculation aside and insisted they were still together.
Elton John and partnerprepare to tie the knot
LONDON -- Elton John says he and his partner, David Furnish, will tie the knot next month under Britain's new civil union law. The ceremony will be held Dec. 21, the effective date of the legislation creating partnerships to give gays many of the legal protections available to married heterosexuals. "It'll be a very small family affair, and then in the evening there'll be a soiree somewhere, which we have yet to work out," John told Attitude magazine in an interview released Thursday. The only guests at the ceremony itself, he said, will be his parents and Furnish's parents. Furnish, a Canadian-born filmmaker, and John have been together for 12 years, and John has publicly credited Furnish with helping him to overcome addictions to alcohol and drugs.
Actor Crowe downplaysphone-throwing episode
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Russell Crowe says he believes the press blew his phone-throwing incident out of proportion. The Oscar-winning actor pleaded guilty earlier this month to third-degree assault, admitting to a judge that he threw a phone that hit a New York hotel concierge in June. He had to pay a $160 court charge and was sentenced to conditional discharge, which means he must not get arrested for one year. "I got a $160 court-cost fine for something that would have had more newsprint about it than some very horrific and specific things that we should know about in our community," he told reporters in Melbourne. Had Crowe been convicted of the more serious charges initially filed against him -- assault and criminal possession of a weapon, the telephone -- he could have lost his right to work in the United States and might have faced seven years of prison time.
Today's birthdays
Former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet is 90. Actor Ricardo Montalban is 85. Actress Kathryn Crosby is 72. Actor Matt Clark is 69. Singer Percy Sledge is 65. Actor Tracey Walter is 63. Author, actor and game-show host Ben Stein is 61. Singer Bob Lind is 61. Actor John Larroquette is 58. Movie director Jonathan Kaplan is 58. Singer Amy Grant is 45. Rock musician Eric Grossman (K's Choice) is 41. Rock singer Mark Lanegan is 41. Singer Stacy Lattisaw is 39. Rock musician Rodney Sheppard (Sugar Ray) is 39. Rapper-producer Erick Sermon is 37. Actress Jill Hennessy is 36. Actress Christina Applegate is 34.