The Donald just can't catch a break. On top of his growing feud with the lovely ladies of The View (and, more recently, Madonna), his Miss USA pageant continues to be rocked by scandal. This time, Ashley Harder, Miss New Jersey USA, bowed out of the contest on the grounds of pregnancy, which is a no-no according to the pageant rules. The runner up for 2007 Miss New Jersey USA will take the reigns, as long as she remembers to keep her pants zipped. Harder is only the most recent Miss USA contestant to run into trouble. Miss Nevada USA Katie Rees made the poor decision to follow the footsteps of Britney Spears/Lindsay Lohan and grace the internet with some indecent photographs. Miss USA Tara Conner also couldn't resist the night life, and was caught boozing (underage) in a few New York bars. She was lucky enough to hang onto her tiara after she promised to attend rehab and receive drug testing. With the example our pop stars are setting, it'll be a wonder if anyone will qualify for this contest in the coming years.


The latest episode of the O.J. Simpson book drama unfolded with his announcement that the chapter describing the murders of Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in his, as of yet unpublished, book "If I did it," was largely ghostwritten. His announcement came on the heels of Newsweek's publication of a paraphrased version of the chapter, "The Night in Question," which it obtained from an anonymous source.

Many have said that the book was an admission of guilt by Simpson, who was acquitted of criminal charges in 1994 in the murders but later held liable by a civil jury. He has repeatedly stated that the book was purely for "blood money" that he needs to support his family. He pointed to the ghostwriting as further proof of his innocence, , "I'm saying it's a fictional creation. It has so many [factual] holes in it that anybody who knew anything about it would know that I didn't write it," Simpson said in a phone interview

Newsweek's version of the chapter described Simpson confronting his ex-wife and becoming angry with her and her friend after he accused them of planning a sexual encounter. They quoted him (or, apparently, a ghostwriter) writing, "Then something went horribly wrong, and I know what happned, but I can't tell you exactly how."

Initially, the book was going to be released at the end of last November by News Corp., but was called off by owner Rupert Murdoch after catching fire over the lurid subject matter. Apparently his purported "family values" kicked in only after being threatened by the families of the murder victims.


In an unprescedented move for dramas that have overstayed their welcome, the producers of Lost have declared that they will voluntarily set an end-date for their series. The convoluted, yet popular, show is partway through its third season, having already covered more complicated storyline than many series see in twice as many seasons.

I applaud the Lost crew for taking the classy way out by writing an appropriate, timely ending to their show. Other shows which started with plenty of momentum get caught up in their gimmicks (24), ran out of original material (The X-Files) or simply became ridiculous (Alias). As much as I have enjoyed Lost so far, a few more years with a familiar cast stranded in the ocean could devolve into Gilligan's Island... with monsters.