Actor Tom Wopat faces drunken-driving charge

Actor Tom Wopat facesdrunken-driving charge
RINGWOOD, N.J. -- Tom Wopat, who played Luke Duke on the TV series "The Dukes of Hazzard," faces a drunken-driving charge in northern New Jersey, authorities said Friday.
Wopat was arrested in Ringwood and charged with driving while intoxicated and reckless driving, said Bill Maer, a spokesman for the Passaic County sheriff's department.
He was pulled from a Ford Bronco on Wednesday night after hitting orange traffic cones and nearly striking a Ringwood police car sent to an accident, Maer said.
Wopat, 54, of West Milford, was released into the custody of his girlfriend, Maer said.
In the TV series, which aired from 1979 to 1985, Luke Duke and his cousin Bo, played by John Schneider, were known for driving a speedy 1969 Dodge Charger, the General Lee.
A movie based on the series was released last year.
In recent years, Wopat has worked on Broadway.
Kenny Chesney planssummer stadium concerts
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Kenny Chesney will perform at football and soccer stadiums in several U.S. cities this year, including a July 8 show at Nashville's Coliseum.
"The last time I played this stadium was with George Strait," the 37-year-old country superstar said Thursday at the stadium where the Tennessee Titans NFL football team plays.
That concert was back in 2000, before Chesney became one of the top-selling touring acts of any musical genre. Last year he grossed $63 million, fourth among all touring acts, and his attendance of 1.2 million was second only to U2.
Gretchen Wilson, Dierks Bentley, Big & amp; Rich and Little Big Town will open the concert.
Chesney also will perform at professional football stadiums in Seattle (June 24), Boston (July 16), Detroit and Tampa, Fla., and at professional soccer stadiums in Dallas, Chicago, Columbus, Ohio, and Los Angeles. Dates weren't yet announced for all the shows.
Wearing a blue ball cap instead of his trademark cowboy hat, the Knoxville native said he's excited about the Nashville concert.
"It's been my hometown for 14 years," he said.
Jessica Simpson's dadexplains snub of Bush
WASHINGTON -- Jessica Simpson loves President Bush. She's just not a big fan of Republican fund-raisers.
The Hollywood starlet and tabloid cover girl was on Capitol Hill on Thursday to lobby Congress for Operation Smile, an organization that provides reconstructive surgery to children with facial deformities. But all anyone wanted to know was why she turned down an invitation to attend a Republican fund-raiser with Washington's top star -- Bush.
"We went back and forth and we could never get the details worked out," said her father and manager, Joe Simpson.
"When it became obvious that it was not just a state dinner, it was more of a fund-raising event, that is the wrong purpose of why we are here."
Still, he said of the president, "We are huge fans of him and of his family, his girls. Jessica loves the heck out of him."
In fact, he said they were still trying to squeeze in a meeting with the chief executive. "We are trying to get in and out," he said.
Today's birthdays
Former White House national security adviser Brent Scowcroft is 81. Actor-director Patrick McGoohan is 78. Theologian Hans Kung is 78. Jazz musician Ornette Coleman is 76. Author Philip Roth is 73. Actress Renee Taylor is 73. Actress-singer Phyllis Newman is 73. Actress Ursula Andress is 70. Singer Clarence "Frogman" Henry is 69. Singer Ruth Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) is 60. Actress Glenn Close is 59. Actor Bruce Willis is 51. Rock musician Gert Bettens (K's Choice) is 36. Rock musician Zach Lind (Jimmy Eat World) is 30. Actor Craig Lamar Traylor ("Malcolm in the Middle") is 17. Actor Philip Bolden is 11.