NEWSMAKERS

May 27, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

NEWSMAKERS

Court dismisses suit against Brady

NEW YORK

A New York judge has dismissed a lawsuit by two photographers who said they were shot at by bodyguards of quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel Gisele Bundchen. The April 2009 incident occurred during a party in Costa Rica celebrating the couple’s marriage two months previously.

Photographers Yuri Cortez and Rolando Aviles as well as the news agency Agence France Presse charged that the guards shot at the photographers and narrowly missed their heads.

The lawsuit was originally filed in federal court in New York and then in Manhattan state Supreme Court. Justice Judith Gische says Brady and Bundchen don’t live in New York, and the lawsuit doesn’t belong in the state.

Pigtails are gone: Nelson cuts hair

AUSTIN, Texas

Country music fans have come to expect a little eccentricity from legendary crooner Willie Nelson, but he pulled off a real shocker this time. He cut his hair. Nelson’s waist-deep, reddish pigtails have long been one of the singer- songwriter’s signature features. But spokeswoman Elaine Schock said Nelson, who’s been hanging loose in Hawaii, got his hair cut in the past couple of weeks.

Angel Network shutting down

CHICAGO

Oprah Winfrey’s charity, The Angel Network, is shutting down as her talk show draws to a close. The network stopped accepting donations this week and said on its website that it plans to dissolve as soon as its remaining funds are disbursed.

The Angel Network was launched in 1998 with donations from viewers of Oprah’s talk show; its demise stems from Oprah’s decision to end her Chicago-based show in 2011 after 25 years on the air, Angel Network spokeswoman Angela DePaul said. The website notice said Winfrey and the network’s directors are “extremely grateful” to the nearly 150,000 donors who gave more than $80 million to the charity.

Roman Colosseum underground to open

ROME

Tourists will soon be able to visit the underground of the Colosseum, where gladiators once prepared for fights, and lions and tigers were caged before entertaining a bloodthirsty public. Rome culture officials said Wednesday that, after several months of work to make the area safe for visits, the public will be allowed to add the underground section to tours of the arena starting in late summer. No exact date has been set.

Architect Barbara Nazzaro told Associated Press Television News that tourists will be able to see the spaces where lions, tigers and bulls were kept in cages before they were hoisted on elevators to ground level for entertainment in the ancient arena. The ingenious system of lifts allowing wild animals to suddenly pop up at ground level made for an awesome sight, Nazzaro said.

Ellen DeGeneres starts record label

NEW YORK

After a season judging singers on “American Idol,” Ellen DeGeneres is delving deeper into the music business with her own label.

The talk-show host announced on her show Wednesday that she is starting a label called eleveneleven. Her first act will be 12-year-old Greyson Chance, who recently became a sensation on YouTube with his piano version of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi.”

There’s no word on when the label will start. It was formed with Telepictures Productions.

Besides DeGeneres, Greyson has some other strong people behind him: Madonna’s manager and Lady Gaga’s manager.