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BEN AFFLECK is selling the $300,000 (£154,000) Bentley his ex-fiancee JENNIFER LOPEZ bought him as a gift.
The movie star is shopping around the motor to private collectors to avoid the publicity of a big auction, according to America’s In Touch magazine.
Sources say Affleck plans to donate the proceeds from the sale to a children’s hospital in his native Boston, Massachusetts.

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BRITNEY SPEARS made sure one homeless Los Angeles man had a happy New Year this week (10JAN07) - she handed him $300 (£154).
The pop superstar made a special trip to her bank to get the cash for the beggar, who was stunned when she handed over the windfall as he approached her car.
An eye witness tells magazine Us Weekly, "Britney rolled down the window and handed the guy $300. She said, ‘Good luck and happy New Year.’ The guy almost had a heart attack."

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Soccer superstar DAVID BECKHAM turned to pal TOM CRUISE to make sure he’d made the right decision to sign up for life in Hollywood.
The English sports hero stunned fans on Thursday (11JAN07) when he announced he’d signed a five-year $250 million (£128 million) contract to play for America’s Major League Soccer team the LA Galaxy.
And he has been calling Cruise, who invited Beckham and his wife VICTORIA to his Italian wedding last year (06), to get advice.
Speaking via satellite from his current home in Spain at a hastily-organised press conference yesterday (12JAN07), the former England soccer captain said, "I was on the phone to him for about an hour last night and then an hour the night before.
"I asked him for his advice… because he’s a very wise man, he’s a very good friend of mine… He couldn’t speak any higher than what he was saying about LA and that’s gonna be a big help for us, to have friends actually when we arrive in LA." Cruise was one of the first people to find out about his pal’s move to the US.
Beckham adds, "I phoned him and said there might be an announcement."

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Workaholic MATERIAL GIRL MADONNA once sang about a HOLIDAY, but she’s terrified to take one.
The pop superstar admits she has a panic attack whenever husband GUY RITCHIE suggests they take a family vacation, which is why a New Year’s getaway in the Indian Ocean was a real landmark moment for her.
She says, "We actually celebrated New Year’s in this very small island in the middle of the Indian Ocean with not many people… It was tropical, it was private, it was quiet. It was beautiful.
"I don’t take holidays very often, in fact I get panic attacks thinking about them, but I actually enjoyed this one."

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Politicians in upstate New York are trying to persuade LINDSAY LOHAN to run for public office in 2009.
Officials at the New York State Independence Party have let it be known that they’d like Long Island Lohan to consider a future in politics.
Party leader FRANK MORANO is deadly serious about his offer to the party girl and has written to her asking Lohan to stand for something.
He writes, "Many celebrities have made the transition from Hollywood to politics… Few, if any, though, had the enormous potential that you possess."

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CHRISTINA AGUILERA is to follow in the footsteps of fellow pop princesses BRITNEY SPEARS and KYLIE MINOGUE by launching her own perfume.
The DIRRTY singer is teaming up with Procter and Gamble Prestige Products to create her own signature scent, which is expected to hit stores later this year (07).
She says, "I love trying new things in my music and in fashion. To have a perfume of my own is the beginning of an exciting adventure. Procter and Gamble is the ideal partner for this new experience."

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Pop superstar MADONNA was forced to phone for police help after two cars allegedly tried to ram her off the road on New York City’s Fifth Avenue.
Thursday’s (11JAN07) street scare saw the singer’s driver call cops over fears their pursuers had evil designs on the star.
A source tells British newspaper the Daily Star, "Madonna’s driver noticed there were two big vehicles driving closely behind her and tried to ditch them by turning onto Fifth Avenue. He was particularly concerned as Madonna has recently been sent some disturbing mail - which has been somewhat threatening to say the least.
"But as he turned to go along Fifth Avenue, the two following cars tried to ram Madonna’s car off the road and she was forced to dial 911. Eventually, after a high-speed chase, her driver managed to lose them and they reported it to the police in a lengthy phone call.
"Madonna is carrying on as normal but she’s stepped up security."

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JOHNNY DEPP is rumoured to be starring in a new movie about poisoned ex-KGB spy ALEXANDER LITVINENKO, after Warner Bros bought the film rights to a book on his murder.
Depp’s production company Infinitum Nihil is to make the movie for Warner Bros, sparking rumours Depp himself will take the lead role.
British police are still investigating the death of Litvinenko last year (06) after traces of lethal polonium-210 radiation were found in his body when he was admitted to London’s University College hospital three weeks before he died.

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Proud papa-to-be PATRICK DEMPSEY has been dubbed ‘The Sexiest Dad Alive’ after posing for touching photographs with his pregnant wife.
The GREY’S ANATOMY star and his wife JILLIAN, who is expecting twins this month (JAN07), struck a pose for America’s Life magazine.
For the cover shot, taken by photographer MATT JONES in October (06), hunky Dempsey put his cheek against his wife’s pregnant belly, while, in another shot, he gazes lovingly up at his partner, who admits the actor is already a great dad to their daughter TALULA.
She says, "He’s the doting daddy… He’s very hands-on."

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Actors WILLEM DAFOE and GAEL GARCIA BERNAL will be part of the jury at this year’s (07) Berlin International Film Festival.
The two film stars, along with jury president PAUL SCHRADER, German actor MARIO ADORF, Palestinian actress HIAM ABBASS, film producer NANSUN SHI from Hong Kong and Danish film editor MOLLY MALENE STENSGAARD, will decide who takes home the prestigious Golden Bear and the Silver Bears at the festival in the German capital next month (FEB07).
And festival director DIETER KOSSLICK thinks, it won’t be easy for the stars and experts to pick the winners. He says, "I wouldn’t like to be in their shoes. But if anyone can master this difficult task, then these seven."

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Two Indian TV channels have sparked controversy by showing footage of a man dressed as late Indian leader MAHATMA GANDHI performing a pole dance and brandishing an AK-47 rifle.
Hindi-language channels IBN-7 and Sahara have been forced to apologise for showing the footage after it caused a public outcry.
PRIYARANJAN DASMUNSI, India’s Broadcasting Minister, said the channels tried "to denigrate Mahatma Gandhi" and were guilty of an "assault to the dignity of the Father of the Nation".

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Author JOHN GRISHAM must appear in court to answer allegations he deliberately caused a woman emotional problems, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled yesterday (12JAN07).
The court reinstated KATHARINE ALMY’s lawsuit against THE FIRM writer and a couple he knows, teacher ALAN SWANSON and his wife DONNA, after Almy alleged they caused her severe mental distress by blaming her for a series of anonymous letters they’d received.
The case centres on several handwritten letters Donna Swanson received between 1996 and 1998 accusing her husband of infidelity, and one anonymous letter Grisham received in 1998.
Almy claims Grisham and the Swansons launched a campaign to prove she wrote the letters, hiring a handwriting expert and sending a police officer to her home to confront her, allegedly causing her upset.
THOMAS E ALBRO, the attorney for Grisham and the Swansons, declined to comment on the ruling.

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The brother of former A-TEAM star DIRK BENEDICT is refusing to relive the moment he shot his father dead in the press.
The family’s troubled past has been dredged up by British newspapers this weekend (13-14JAN07) after Dirk became a contestant on hit reality show CELEBRITY BIG BROTHER earlier this month (JAN07).
But despite his smiling persona on the small screen, viewers are intrigued by his tragic past which saw elder sibling ROY shoot his abusive father in the chest to stop him brutally beating their mother.
Roy, who was cleared of any wrongdoing, insists, "We don’t speak about those things. My brother has told me to keep quiet. Out of respect for him I can’t tell you anything." In the past Dirk has described the moment, aged 18, he saw his father killed as confused. He said, "The moment spins out of control. My mother sits in the bay window seat by the fireplace. She turns her battered face to me. I am in her arms all a-blur."

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Supermodel NAOMI CAMPBELL has reportedly ditched her manager of 15 years in a bid to distance herself from her troubled past.
The 36-year-old has dispensed with the services of CAROLE WHITE and she’s plotting a spectacular comeback in 2007.
Campbell’s last 12 months were marred by claims she beat and racially abused her former maid and threw a mobile phone at the head of her former housekeeper.
However, a source tells British newsaper The Daily Telegraph, "Naomi is keen to start 2007 afresh. She is to start work as a roving reporter for GQ magazine, among other projects.
"She is also signing up to a global agent who is behind some of the biggest names in showbusiness."

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LATEST: SOPHIA LOREN’S film producer husband CARLO PONTI has been buried in a private ceremony in his hometown in northern Italy.
Relatives and close friends attended a Mass at a church in Magenta, 20 miles west of Milan, where Ponti was born in 1912, before the late producer was buried in his family’s tomb at a nearby cemetery yesterday (12JAN07).
About 200 locals congregated to watch Loren and her sons enter the church, and the town later opened the cemetery to allow the public to pay their respects to Ponti, who produced more than 140 movies, including LA STRADA and DOCTOR ZHIVAGO.
Ponti died on Tuesday (09JAN07) at a hospital in Geneva, Switzerland. He was 94.

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Former heavyweight boxing champion MIKE TYSON has been formally charged in Arizona with felony drug offences and driving under the influence.
The 40-year-old has been indicted on felony possession of narcotics, felony possession of drug paraphernalia and two misdemeanour counts of driving under the influence of drugs after police found three bags of cocaine in his car last December (06) after stopping him for dangerous driving.
BARNETT LOTSTEIN, a representative for the Maricopa County Attorney’s office, said Tyson could face seven and a half years in jail if convicted on all four counts.
Lotstein confirmed Tyson is ineligible for the state’s drug treatment programme because he has been convicted of crimes before, including rape 14 years ago, saying, "The law exempts those individuals (from the programme) who have been previously convicted for prior serious offences."

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MARTIN SCORSESE’s elusive Oscar dream looks closer to being realised after he was named Best Director by the Broadcast Film Critics Association last night (12JAN07).
His gangster movie THE DEPARTED also picked up the Best Film prize at the 12th annual Critics Choice Awards.
Receiving his gong, Scorsese joked, "I am pleased by this award and surprised. Maybe it’s because this is the first picture I made with a plot." DAME HELEN MIRREN was named Best Actress for her role as British monarch QUEEN ELIZABETH II in THE QUEEN, while FOREST WHITAKER took the Best Actor prize for his portrayal of Ugandan dictator IDI AMIN in THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND.
Movie musical DREAMGIRLS won four awards, including a Best Supporting Actor gong for EDDIE MURPHY and a Best Supporting Actress prize for JENNIFER HUDSON.
Quirky family comedy LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE did equally well, picking up four gongs too.
The prizes are decided by the 200-member Broadcast Film Critics group and are usually a good forecast for Academy Award wins.

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TEXAS singer SHARLEEN SPITERI has spoken of her grief at hearing a teenage friend with a rare heart problem has died of the condition.
SARAH AMATO passed away yesterday (12JAN07) aged 19 after a 10-year battle with her illness.
She was hailed an inspiration when Spiteri and actor EWAN McGREGOR met her while fundraising for a children’s hospice in Scotland in 2003.
Spiteri says, "When I first met her, I was humbled by both her immense joy and lust for life.
"She lived this too-short life to the full, experiencing as much as she possibly could and delighting in it all." McGregor has also sent his condolences to Amato’s family.

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