UPI VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT NEWS 01.22.08

Oscar nominees announced.

Oscar nominations are in. Nominees were announced this morning in Los Angeles. Up for best actress are Julie Christie for "Away From Her," Marion Cotillard for "La Vie En Rose," Ellen Page for "Juno," Cate Blanchett for her role in "Elizabeth: the Golden Age," and Laura Linney for "Savages." In the Best Actor Category Daniel Day-Lewis grabbed a nod for "There Will be Blood," George Clooney is nominated for "Michael Clayton," Johnny Depp for "Sweeney Todd," Tommy Lee Jones for "In the Valley of Elah," and Viggo Mortenson for "Eastern Promises."And rivaling for best picture are "Atonement,""Micahel Clayton," "Juno", "No Country For Old Men," and "There Will be Blood."

In other news, Kiefer Sutherland is now a free man. The "24" star was released from jail yesterday after 48 days there. He was serving time for a second driving under the influence conviction and violating his probation. He was apparently greeted by a swarm of media when he left the California facility. Sources say he looked very happy to be out.

Britney Spears made an appearance at a custody deposition yesterday. She drove to her ex Kevin Federline's attorney's office to attend the session, although apparently arrived late. The singer was reportedly cross examined for more than 2 hours. It's all part of the ongoing custody battle for their two sons two year old Sean Preston and one year old Jayden James. Spears has missed several other appointments to discuss her parenting skills.

John Travolta is backing his buddy Tom Cruise. Travolta says the media attention focused on Cruise lately has gone too far. The "Mission Impossible" star has made the headlines recently after a video was released on the internet, showing Cruise praising the Church of Scientology. Travolta, who also follows Scientology, tells people magazine everyone has a right to practice what they want.

Stars are out in full force at the Sundance Film Festival. Paris Hilton was spotted at the festival, in the middle of all the action as well as director Quentin Tarantino. Sarah Jessica Parker brought her husband Matthew Broderick to the premiere of her film "Smart People." Dennis Quaid, who also stars in the film was at the event with his wife Kimberly. Other stars like Jack Black and musician Mos Def attended the premiere of their film "Be Kind Rewind" along with actor Danny Glover.

UPI VIDEO ENTERTAINMENT NEWS 12.12.07

Alex Trebek suffers minor heart attack.

"Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek is recovering from a minor heart attack. A rep for his show tells People magazine he realized he was having heart problems on Monday night and was then hospitalized. Doctors say he's resting comfortably now and should recover fully. Trebek's rep says he should be able to return to the show when they film new episodes next month.

Sean Penn's film "Into the Wild" is getting a lot of attention from the Broadcast Film Critics Association. The film, starring Emile Hirsch grabbed seven nominations for Critic's choice Awards...including best pictures. Other nods went to Cate Blanchett who scored nominations for best actress for "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" and best supporting actress for "I'm not There." Michael Cera is also up for two awards in the best young actor category for "Juno" and "Superbad." Awards will be presented on January 7.

"24" star Kiefer Sutherland is reportedly receiving plenty of reading material while in jail. A spokesman for the Southern California jail says he's received more than 100 fan letters a day. Sutherland began his 48 day sentence last week for a second DUI charge and violating his probation.

Gwen Stefani is reaching out to victims of the recent California wildfires. The singer is reportedly starting a college scholarship fund for those who lost their homes in the fires last October. The details for the Gwen Stefani After-the-Fire scholarship are still being figured out. Stefani is also donating proceeds from a recent concert to the San Diego Foundation fire-relief fund.

Will Smith has made his mark in front of a famous Hollywood landmark. The actor left an imprint of his hands and feet outside of the Grauman's Chinese Theater on Monday. It was part of a ceremony honoring him for his work in the entertainment industry. A very special friend attended the event...Smith's buddy Tom Cruise who sat with Smith's two children. His wife Jada was away directing a film and could not make it to the ceremony.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 12.11.07

Colorado shooter intended to kill many more.

A gunman who stormed a missionary training center and a church in Colorado Sunday apparently intended to shoot many more victims before he was gunned down himself. Twenty-four year old Matthew Murray killed four people, two at the training center and two at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. At the church, Murray carried an assault rifle, two handguns and as many as a thousand rounds of ammunition. The gunman was fatally shot by a church security guard.

Former NFL superstar Michael Vick is behind bars, serving time for financing a dogfighting ring and helping to kill pit bulls that didn't fight well. Yesterday, he was sentenced to 23 months in prison in federal court in Richmond, Virginia. Federal sentencing guidelines recommended a sentence of 12 to 18 months. In court yesterday, Vick said he's willing to deal with the consequences and accept responsibility for his actions.

Meanwhile, former media mogul Conrad Black is serving time for his role in defrauding shareholders and skimming cash from his Hollinger International newspaper conglomerate. A federal judge sentenced Black yesterday to six and a half years in prison. He was also ordered to pay back 6 million dollars. Black has vowed to appeal his conviction and has ten days to begin the process.

Two car bombings in Algeria have left at least 45 dead. The attacks happened earlier today, hitting a residential area and the U.N. offices in Algiers. There's been no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident and no initial report on the number of people injured. Scores of people have already been killed in Algeria this year. Many of the bombings have been attributed to Al-Qaida militants.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 12.07.07

CIA says interrogation tapes were destroyed.

The CIA reportedly destroyed tapes of terror suspect interrogations. CIA Director Michael Hayden says the interrogations were videotaped in 2002 and then destroyed in 2005...fearing the footage would be leaked to the public. The Agency apparently wanted to protect the identities of the questioners. Senator Patrick Leahy called the destruction "troubling." Hayden says the House and Senate intelligence committee leaders knew of the tapes and knew that the CIA planned to get rid of them. He added that the interrogation practices were all legal.

President Bush has unveiled a plan to help struggling homeowners. Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said yesterday the plan will help about 1.2 million Americans facing possible foreclosures. It will reportedly freeze interest rates on many adjustable rate mortgages for many homeowners. Those who will be affected by the plan are those with loans agreed to from January 2005 through July 2007 that are expected to adjust between January of next year and July 2010.

NASA says the Atlantis space shuttle will stay grounded until at least Saturday. The crew planned on taking off yesterday afternoon but had to be delayed because of problems with the fuel gauges. Mnagers of the space mission have decided to wait until the weekend giving engineers more time to carefully fix the problem. Atlantis is set to visit the International Space Station to deliver a European lab module...used to increase research capabilities.

Shopping malls around the U.S. are expected to start looking at ways to keep shoppers safe. This comes after a man opened fire at a Nebraska mall killing 8 people and himself. A spokesman for the International Council of Shopping Malls says there are often copycats in situations like this and it's important to consider having extra security officers and securing entrances.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 12.06.07

Nine dead in Nebraska shooting.

9 people are dead and 5 others are wounded after a gunman opened fire in a Nebraska mall. Police say 19 year old Robert Hawkins is responsible for killing those 8 people and himself with an assault rifle. He reportedly left a suicide note saying "Now I'll be famous." Hawkins' landlord says he had a history of emotional problems and had a troubled relationship with his family.

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is planning to speak out about his Mormon faith. He's expected to make a speech in Texas today, focusing on religious tolerance in the U.S. Some Americans apparently have negative views of the Mormon religion, seeing it as a threat to Christianity. If elected, Romney would be the first Mormon president to serve in the White House.

The Atlantis space shuttle is preparing for takeoff. If all goes as planned, seven crew members will liftoff this afternoon from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The group is heading to the International Space Station to install the European Space Agency's new Columbus laboratory. The 23 feet long module will apparently improve the space stations research abilities. The mission is expected to take about 11 days.

New U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey is stressing the importance of online safety for kids. Mukasey spoke at the National Project Safe Childhood Conference yesterday in St. Louis. To an audience of about 700 law enforcement officials he spoke about the dangers of online predators and says it's a priority for the justice department. The attorney general also apparently announced 6 million dollars in grants to raise awareness for these issues online.