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Celebrity couple BRAD PITT and ANGELINA JOLIE paid a visit to Panama City on Friday (29DEC06) where they spent time shopping for souvenirs and touring the Panama Canal.
On Thursday (28DEC06), the pair dropped in on a former US military base and the construction site of Panama’s new Biodiversity Museum, which will trace the country’s natural history and include a botanical garden.
Residents were shocked to see the high-profile couple, with one amazed citizen shouting, "Are you Brad Pitt?" According to the newspaper Panama America, the actor smiled and replied, "Sometimes." The couple were touring the museum, which was designed by Los Angeles-based architect FRANK GEHRY, a close friend of Pitt’s.
The FIGHT CLUB star, who is an architecture buff, is collaborating with Gehry on a seaside development in Britain.

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The father of the Malawian baby MADONNA is the process of adopting has asked the pop star for an update on his son.
YOHANE BANDA has told local Malawi newspaper the Daily Times that keeping in touch with Madonna and husband GUY RITCHIE since baby DAVID was taken last year (OCT06) has so far proven difficult.
The impoverished farmer, who gave his son up for adoption, says, "I don’t have her phone and mailing addresses. All I want is to find out how my son is but I don’t know how I can do it." Banda made the comments after the newspaper presented him with a £400 ($788) check from Scottish nun, CHRISTINE WEBSTER, who told the paper she believes the infant would have been better off if Madonna had left him in Malawi.
Madonna and Ritchie are bringing up baby David in England, but the pop star insists she’s planning regular trips back to Malawi, where she has set up a charity foundation, so that her adopted son-to-be will know his homeland.
But the one-year-old boy’s father can’t wait to hear about his son’s new life: "I want to talk to her (Madonna) now and find out about my child." But Yohane Banda has dismissed all suggestions that he feels he made a mistake in letting Madonna take his son away from Malawi.
He adds, "All I want is to find out how my child is doing and not to have him back."

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CHRISTINA AGUILERA, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, country trio RASCAL FLATTS, TONI BRAXTON and rap group THREE 6 MAFIA were among the celebrities who performed to over a million revellers on a chilly New York night in Times Square to mark the New Year (01JAN07).
The Times Square party set new litter records with city workers picking up more than 3.5 tons of confetti from the streets around New York’s party central.
But New York wasn’t the only place for celebrity parties staged to welcome in 2007 - Las Vegas also staged a series of starry bashes.
Former couple KID ROCK and PAMELA ANDERSON hosted rival club parties, but BRITNEY SPEARS was the main attraction at Caesar’s Palace nightclub Pure.
More than 3,000 people bought a $250 (£128) ticket for the New Year’s Eve party, including one rich fan, who paid $50,000 (£25,600) for a table next to the pop star.
Meanwhile, another of Pamela Anderson’s exes also got 2007 off to a great start in Las Vegas - TOMMY LEE’s supergroup ROCKSTAR: SUPERNOVA headlined a Sin City street party that also featured OK GO and CHICAGO.

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Pop star JESSICA SIMPSON and rumoured boyfriend JOHN MAYER have officially rekindled their romance after being seen celebrating together on New Year’s Eve (31DEC06). The couple attended a party at New York City’s Hudson Hotel hosted by fellow music star CHRISTINA AGUILERA.
An eyewitness tells the New York Daily News, "He was scratching her back, they were kissing, it wasn’t subtle." The couple, who have been linked in the past, arrived together just after 2am and sat on a sofa across the room from Aguilera and her entourage.
Simpson and Mayer also spent time together in the days leading up to New Year’s Eve (31DEC06) - they were spotted having dinner at The Mercer Kitchen on Friday (29DEC06), walking around posh department store Barney’s New York on Saturday (30DEC06) and hanging out at the Comedy Cellar that

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Hotel heiress PARIS HILTON is one of the world’s richest women, but that didn’t stop her from skipping out on a bill at a cafe in Sydney, Australia on Sunday (31DEC06).
The STARS ARE BLIND singer left the remains of her hamburger sitting on a plate at Sloanes Cafe in Paddington and wandered off to continue shopping, having forgotten to pay $9.80 (£5) for a mineral water and a frappe.
Waitress JO PFAHL tells the Sydney Morning Herald, "She’s got bucketloads of money and she didn’t pay for her drinks. "(Paris) had a little chat with a waiter up front, then they all got up and walked out without paying." Hilton didn’t forget to pay when it came to shopping at Arianne Lingerie next door, where she spent $2750 (£1410) on stockings, jewellery, a camisole and a U-bra, an undergarment designed for plunging necklines.

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The psychedelic bus that became a huge part of the hippie movement in America is to be restored for a planned documentary road trip.
The vehicle, owned by writer KEN KESEY, featured at many peace and love gatherings throughout the late 1960s and 1970s and housed Kesey and hippie culture icons THE MERRY PRANKSTERS.
The bus was made famous when it featured in TOM WOLFE’s 1968 book THE ELECTRIC KOOL-AID ACID TEST.
Kesey’s son ZANE and his wife STEPHANIE are searching for a film deal and financial help to restore the broken down bus. Country star and environmentalist WILLIE NELSON has already offered to install a biodiesel engine in the vehicle, which has spent the past 15 years slowly sinking into a swamp in northern California.
Kesey bought the school bus in the late 1930s with the money he made from his novel ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST and toured the country with his Merry Prankster friends.

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Hit crime drama CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION is expanding to Chicago, Illinois as an interactive museum exhibit.
The exhibition will debut this spring (07) at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry and is designed to teach adults - and older kids - about the wonders of forensic science.
Visitors will be able to gather evidence from fake crime scenes, then test it inside lab and autopsy rooms.
Guests will be guided through the process be pre-recorded video messages from various stars of the three CSI series.
After spending the summer in Chicago, "The CSI Experience" will begin a tour of science museums in September (07) around the US and is expected to continue touring for up to seven years.

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Former DALLAS star VICTORIA PRINCIPAL is recovering from her recent divorce by training for a June 2008 journey into space.
The 56-year-old star filed for divorce in May (06) from her husband of 21 years, Beverly Hills plastic surgeon HARRY GLASSMAN.
She explains, "I spent almost 24 years in a relationship, and now I’m learning to live my life about what I want, instead of what we want.
"Some days it’s incredibly exciting, and some days it’s incredibly painful." She says she finds her ’50s to be "a wonderful opportunity for physical, mental and spiritual change." A big part of the change includes preparing for a trip on RICHARD BRANSON’s manned journey into outer space in 2008.
She adds, "I have a thing for speed - fast planes, fast cars."

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SIR IAN McKELLEN is set to return to the realm of fantasy again after signing on to play the narrator in a new star-studded film called STARDUST.
The LORD OF THE RINGS star will add his voice to the production, which stars MICHELLE PFEIFFER, ROBERT DE NIRO andCLAIRE DANES, according to trade paper The Hollywood Reporter.
The film follows the adventures of a lovestruck teen who promises his sweetheart he will retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the land of the fairies.
The movie, which wrapped late last year (06), was adapted from NEIL GAIMAN’s novel of the same name. Stardust began life in 1997 as a comicbook mini-series.

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JERRY MAGUIRE star JAY MOHR and his actress girlfriend NIKKI COX rang in 2007 as husband and wife after exchanging vows in Los Angeles on Friday (29DEC06).
The couple staged a low-key ceremony at the Hotel Bel-Air.
Cox, 28, met comedian Mohr, 36, in 2004 when he guest-starred on her hit TV show LAS VEGAS. The pair became engaged in February (06).
This is the first marriage for Cox, who was formerly engaged to POLICE ACADEMY star BOB GOLDTHWAIT. Mohr was previously married to model-turned-actress NICOLE CHAMBERLAIN from 1998 to 2004 and they have one son together, JACKSON.

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BEN STILLER and WILL SMITH have started off 2007 on a high note by taking charge of the US box office for a second week.
Stiller’s family comedy NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM starts the New Year as it ended 2006 - on top - with a stunning second-week take of $46.7 million (£24 million), while Smith’s THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS becomes the actor’s 10th $100 million- (£51.2 million-) plus movie. It holds on to second place with an impressive third week take of $24.7 million (£12.6 million).
Star-studded musical DREAMGIRLS continues its steady rise to the top after five weeks of limited engagements, jumping from number 25 to number three with a $18.7 million (£9.6 million) weekend box office take.
Meanwhile, SYLVESTER STALLONE’s ROCKY sequel ROCKY BALBOA seems to have found a knock-out punch - it turned in a healthy $13.6 million (£6.9 million) haul to take the film’s three-week total past the $50 million (£25.6 million) mark.

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LATEST: A New York city judge has dismissed a $30 million (£15 million) lawsuit filed against actor SEAN CONNERY alleging he was a rude and noisy neighbour.
State Supreme Court Justice DEBRA JAMES threw the case out of court Friday (29DEC06), on a technicality after the plaintiff failed to rewrite the petition in the case.
DR BURTON SULTAN complained that Connery blasted loud music in his Upper East Side apartment and carried out a poor renovation job that attracted rats.
The lawsuit called the 76-year-old star a "rude, foul-mouthed, fat old man," which led the judge to order that the petition be rewritten in a more professional manner.
Connery and his wife, MICHELINE, denied the allegations and contended that Sultan was a "tyrant" who had tried to block them from making much needed repairs and who was trying to evict them from their apartment.
Sultan’s lawyer said his client intended to appeal the judge’s decision.

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CHARLIE’S ANGELS star LUCY LIU has had recent UNICEF trips to Sri Lanka and Darfur cancelled due to fears for her safety.
The globe-trotting actress and humanitarian was planning to visit refugees and children in trouble spots when camp violence and sickness led to charity officials pulling the plug on her visits.
She explains, "The UN (United Nations) pulled the plug at the last minute because it was too dangerous to go in.
"There were 20 aid workers in Darfur that were murdered bringing food and medical services to some of the refugee camps. They were either shot to death or they were burned alive.
"The idea of being burned alive for people who were only there to bring attention and help the kids is horrifying. It’s unfortunate because there are so many children who are in need of that attention and it can bring so much more fundraising if we could just get in there."

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Rocker LOU BARLOW is to reform cult group SEBODOH in 2007.
Barlow, who has been touring as a member of the reformed DINOSAUR JR, is planning a major Sebadoh tour this spring, which will begin in San Diego, California in late February (07).
Barlow will be joined on the road by former bandmates JASON LOEWENSTEIN and ERIC GAFFNEY.
Sebadoh last toured in support of their self-titled 1999 album. (KL/BB/JC) WENN - FOURTH - HOLLYWOOD, SHOWBIZ & PEOPLE NEWS - 02 JANUARY 2007

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Rockers SYSTEM OF A DOWN had a New Year’s Day (01JAN07) to remember yesterday when their TOXICITY hit was performed as a marching band anthem during half-time of the US college football Rose Bowl festivities.
The 200-strong band from the University of Southern California (USC) performed the track with the rockers earlier in the season and revisited the track for the half-time show, which also featured their version of COBRA STARSHIP’s SNAKES ON A PLANE.
The marching band representing USC’s Rose Bowl opponents, Michigan University, added to the rock-meets-horns celebration by performing a medley of LED ZEPPELIN hits at the big New Year’s Day sporting spectacular.

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LATEST: JAMES BROWN’s band will continue to tour and carry on the soul singer’s musical legacy after his death on Christmas Day (25DEC06).
Brown’s band, the SOUL GENERALS, may be touring by February (07), according to the singer’s agent, FRANK COPSIDAS.
The 11-member troupe, which performed an informal jam session on Saturday night (30DEC06) at the Soul Bar in Augusta, Georgia, will decide this week whether or not to bring in a new singer or share vocal duties.
Brown was buried Saturday in Augusta after a public memorial attended by more than 8,000 people.

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BEYONCE and rapper NAS have kicked off 2007 in style by claiming the top spots on the first US singles and album charts of the New Year.
Beyonce’s IRREPLACEABLE is proving to be just that by securing a fourth week at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, while Nas scores his third number one on The Billboard 200 this week with his eighth album, HIP HOP IS DEAD.
The rap star’s new release moved 355,000 copies in the last week of 2006 to claim the New Year number one.
Another rapper, BOW WOW, also starts 2007 on a high note - his latest album, THE PRICE OF FAME, has debuted at number six on the New Year chart.

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GOOD CHARLOTTE rocker BENJI MADDEN and Australian actress SOPHIE MONK are engaged.
The couple flew to Australia to spend the holidays with Monk’s family, where Madden popped the question with a platinum diamond ring from celebrity jeweller NEIL LANE, according to America’s People magazine.
Monk’s publicist KACEY SPIES says, "Benji proposed to Sophie in Australia on Christmas Eve. They are very excited and enjoying this time with family and friends." In September (06), Madden and Monk, both 27, were first spotted as a couple when they were photographed kissing over lunch at a Los Angeles cafe.
Madden’s twin brother JOEL, recently split with HILARY DUFF and is now reportedly dating socialite NICOLE RICHIE.

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