Top Stories
Health officials say a second NBC employee has possible symptoms of anthrax, The Associated Press reports. Authorities initially believed a Sept. 20 letter mailed to anchorman Tom Brokaw from Florida might have carried the bacteria, but the NBC letter was actually postmarked Sept. 18 in Trenton, N.J. In Florida, five more American Media employees tested positive for exposure to anthrax, but none showed symptoms of infection. A letter to a Microsoft office in Nevada also tested positive for the bacteria.
‘N Sync will stage a fund-raising concert on Miami’s South Beach. According to MTV.com, the show, scheduled for Nov. 11, will raise money for the families of New York police and firefighters killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. ‘N Sync also will perform at the Oct. 21 Washington, D.C., benefit United We Stand-What More Can I Give, the Concert for Washington, D.C., and America. Destiny’s Child, Mariah Carey and P.Diddy are among the latest acts added to the lineup, which already includes Usher, the Goo Goo Dolls, Michael Jackson, Backstreet Boys, Ricky Martin, Aerosmith, Kiss, James Brown and Al Green.
Honored
Quincy Jones and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright were among more than 200 inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Saturday, AP reports. Others included Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel, photographer Richard Avalon and lyricist Stephen Sondheim.
Late music star Selena Quintanilla was added Thursday to the Tajeno Walk of Fame at the third annual induction ceremony, CNN reports. Selena was honored along with Esteban Jordan, Sunny Ozuna, Isidro Lopez and Ricardo Guzman for their lifetime contributions to Tejano music in the ceremony at Edinburg Municipal Auditorium in Texas.
Ailing
Grammy-winning pianist Bruce Horsnby hopes to shed the cast he has been wearing since he broke his wrist in a bicycling accident late last month, AP reports. Hornsby, who wrote “The Way It Is,” is scheduled to play the national anthem for Michael Jordan’s first home game with the Washington Wizards on Nov. 3.
In General
The Victoria’s Secret lingerie fashion show will air on television for the first time, CNN reports. The hour-long show will air Nov. 15 on ABC during sweeps week. Last year, the online fashion show attracted 2 million viewers. In 1999, the site was brought down after 1.5 million visitors attempted to log on.
Paul McCartney has urged Yoko Ono to reconsider changing the credits to the Beatles song “Yesterday,” the AP reports. The song was officially credited to both McCartney and John Lennon, but McCartney insists that none of the other Beatles had anything to do with the song. In May, he asked Ono to put his name first on the credit, but she refused. McCartney told Reader’s Digest, “It actually is one of the reasons that we’re not the greatest of friends. But if you’re reading this, Yoko, there’s still time.”
Illusionist David Copperfield said he was bombarded with requests for tips on Saturday’s winning numbers in Germany’s national lottery. According to Reuters, Copperfield predicted the Oct. 13 winning numbers on Feb. 17 and had them sealed by a notary and locked in a box that was kept under around-the-clock surveillance. One hour after the winning numbers were drawn, the box was opened on a live television broadcast to reveal that the numbers on the slip of paper matched the winning draw.
Winnie the Pooh turned 75 years old this weekend. The BBC reports that events are being planned around the United Kingdom to celebrate the world’s most famous teddy bear. AA Milnes’ Winnie the Pooh stories have been translated into more than 40 languages, including Thai, Hebrew and Braille.
An agency that represents songwriters said it has begun a program to license songs that play on cell phone, Reuters reports. The Harry Fox Agency said on Thursday it had created a system for one-step electronic licensing for ring tone providers after some 20 providers approached it to license its work. Ring tones-digitally delivered music files that play melodies for up to 30 seconds to signal incoming cell phone calls-are at the heart of the issue.
Erin Brokovich, the paralegal whose life was turned into a feature film starring Julia Roberts, will star in a TV talk show pilot intended for national syndication. According to Variety, the hour-long show is being developed by NBC Enterprises with Dick Clark attached as an executive producer.
Sigourney Weaver has talked with director Ridley Scott about a fifth Alien movie, the BBC reports. Weaver would reprise her role as Ripley.
Deaths
Bongo, the lion featured in The Ghost and the Darkness was euthanized Thursday due to worsening lung cancer. Bongo died while lying on his usual bed at the Bowmanville, Ontario, zoo where he lived with trainer Michael Hackenberger, AP reports. Born in captivity, Bongo spent his life performing and appeared in George of the Jungle and television shows and commercials. He was 15 years old.
