Stewart: I was supposed to fire Trump on the air

Stewart: I was supposed to fire Trump on the air
Stewart: I was supposedto fire Trump on the air
NEW YORK -- Sometimes there is too much of a good thing. Martha Stewart believes her version of NBC's popular reality show featuring Donald Trump flopped this past fall because of too much "Apprentice." Her show was supposed to be the sole show, starting out by having her fire Trump on the air, she told Newsweek for its issue on newsstands today. "Having two 'Apprentices' was as unfair to him as it was unfair to me," she said. "But Donald really wanted to stay on." The domestic diva lost an appeal last month, ending her criminal case for lying about a stock sale that sent her to jail for five months and nearly six months of house arrest. Her company's stock was down by more than half during the past year, but the company is doing better now, and "we're back in spirit and in business dealings," Stewart said Advertisers and subscribers are returning to Martha Stewart Living, her magazine. And she has new projects planned, including a Sirius Satellite Radio show and a new magazine, Blueprint. "You just have to do what you have to do and get on with it," Stewart said.
Bring on the backlash,says Britney's husband
NEW YORK -- Kevin Federline is ready for a backlash over his brand-new role as white-boy rapper. But it already can't get worse, the dancer and husband of pop star Britney Spears told Newsweek for its issue on newsstands today. "'He hates his children, he treats his wife like dirt, he gets high all day,"' he said, quoting his critics. "If I was that bad, you think anyone, let alone Britney, would put up with it?" He has released his single "PopoZao" on his Web site. It got 2 million hits in eight days, he said, which proves there's interest. He plans to release his debut album by this spring, but without featuring his wife on the album, said Federline, 27. "We have collaborated," he said. "But I'm not going to put the songs on this album because it's like, 'Respect me first; then I'll show you what I've done with my wife."' Federline has two children with his former girlfriend Shar Jackson. He and Spears had a son, Sean Preston, in September. They married in 2004.
Seagal to be monarchfor NOLA parade group
NEW ORLEANS -- Actor Steven Seagal will reign as this year's celebrity monarch for the Krewe of Orpheus, the lavish parade group started by musician and New Orleans native Harry Connick Jr. Seagal will be celebrity spokesman for Rebuilding Together, the nation's largest volunteer home rehabilitation group, which has partnered with the Mardi Gras krewe to publicize the group's efforts to rebuild 1,000 homes damaged in the Gulf Coast area by Hurricane Katrina. Seagal will lead the 27-float parade Feb. 27, or Lundi Gras. Mardi Gras -- Fat Tuesday -- is Feb. 28.
Notable death
Richard Bright, a character actor who appeared in all three "Godfather" movies and more recently on "The Sopranos," was struck and killed by a bus, police said. Bright, 68, was hit by a private Academy Bus as he crossed the street at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday in his Manhattan neighborhood, police Detective Bernard Gifford said. Bright played mob enforcer Al Neri in the "Godfather" movies, a bodyguard to the Corleone family patriarchs played by Marlon Brando and Al Pacino.
Today's birthdays
Fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt is 82. Movie director Robert Altman is 81. Actor Sidney Poitier is 79. Actress Marj Dusay is 70. Jazz-soul singer Nancy Wilson is 69. Singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie is 65. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Phil Esposito is 64. Actress Brenda Blethyn is 60. Actress Sandy Duncan is 60. Rock musician J. Geils is 60. Country singer Kathie Baillie is 55. Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst is 52. Actor Anthony Stewart Head is 52. Country singer Leland Martin is 49. Basketball player Charles Barkley is 43. Actor French Stewart is 42. Actor Ron Eldard is 41. Model Cindy Crawford is 40. Actor Andrew Shue is 39. Actress Lili Taylor is 39. Singer Brian Littrell (Backstreet Boys) is 31. Actress Lauren Ambrose ("Six Feet Under") is 28. Actor Jay Hernandez is 28. Actress Majandra Delfino is 25. Singer-musician Chris Thile is 25. Actor Jake Richardson is 21.