Kim Kardashian

HATERS MAY knock Amber Rose, pointing out that like her rival Kim Kardashian, she's known for nothing more than being gorgeous and dating celebrities. But they can't deny that the Philly homegirl has managed to achieve the glamorous hip-hop lifestyle that many young women only dream about. She's come a long way from Delilah's Den, where she used to be an exotic dancer named Paris. Last week, the 28-year-old model released her first single, "Fame," which includes a verse by her current love interest, rapper Wiz Khalifa.

Let's face it. As much as I love the real-life drama of the news, the doom and gloom of the day's events can really get to you. Like the latest controversy surrounding the public schools. Now nine schools face potential closure, disrupting the lives of thousands of students. Again. Then, there's the city's ongoing two-headed horrors: The ghastly case of Kermit Gosnell, the so-called West Philly doctor who is charged with butchering babies for cash. And, in a scene straight out of Misery, there's the Tacony dungeon horrors.

Perhaps that underappreciated philosopher, Kim Kardashian, said it best: "New Orleans deserves this. " The reality TV star is dating running back Reggie Bush of the New Orleans Saints, who won the Super Bowl Sunday night. The victory came four years and five months after Hurricane Katrina almost wiped the city off the map. The Saints' only championship in their 43-year history is emblematic of New Orleans' recovery. When residents had reason to give up, their spirit prevailed.

It may not have an immortal soul of its own, but Immortals , the R-rated blood, sand, and bare-breasts epic starring a shirtless Henry Cavill , does rule at the box office. Helmer Tarsem Singh's Greek mythology-lite souffle was the weekend's No. 1 film, earning $32 mil domestically and $34 mil overseas, according to studio estimates. Second place belongs to Jack and Jill , an obnoxious comedy featuring Adam Sandler and Katie Holmes as a married couple.

Superintendent Arlene Ackerman is due a $100,000 retention bonus on Thursday, although she said in February that she plans to defer it. But it doesn't sound as if she's giving it back. If she takes it now, she can put it to good use on her rumored upcoming French vacation. Here are our suggestions for spending the windfall: $1,430 Roundtrip tickets on Air France from Philadelphia. $11,000 Seven nights in a deluxe room at the Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris' premiere hotel.

Casey Anthony , recently acquitted of killing her child, Caylee , already has become a pop-cult star. What better proof than this: Larry Flynt tells CNN he's offered Anthony $500,000 to display her nudeness in Hustler. Flynt agrees such a pictorial would appeal "to some sick individuals . . . but that's what life is all about. " It is? Anthony's rep - she has one now - denies she's in negotiations with Flynt. The ongoing commodification of Anthony's Being moves apace.

Aretha Franklin 's biopic is on. Repeat: It's a go. Franklin, 70, has approved the story treatment for what her PR rep calls "an epic tale with probably the most starring and supporting roles since Roots . " And she has started casting. Already cast: Dorothy Norwood , Karen Clark , and La Shun Pace as Franklin's friend (and sometimes backing vocalist), Philly's Clara Ward , and her group, the Clara Ward Singers. So who'll play the Queen of Soul? Franklin says she has a wish list for the supporting cast: Audra McDonald , Nia Long , Kerry Washington , and Blair Underwood . And who'll play Her Soulfulness?

Vanessa Williams was molested by a woman when she was 10 years old, the Desperate Housewives star reveals in You Have No Idea, a memoir she cowrote with her mother, Helen. "She told me to lie down on the rug," Williams, 49, writes about the perpetrator, an 18-year-old family friend. "I was confused. Are we going to play a game? As I tried to make sense of it, pulled down the bloomers of my cotton baby-doll pajamas. 'What are you doing?' I asked. 'Don't worry,' . " In a passage excerpted by People, Williams says the incident drove a wedge between her and her parents.

Paranormal Activity 3 , the latest installment in Paramount's low-cost, high-profit thriller franchise, chilled the competition with a $54 million debut weekend to take the top spot in the box-office sweeps. P.A. 3 outperformed its forerunner, Paranormal Activity 2 , which also claimed the top spot on its debut weekend a year ago, but took in only $40.7 mil. The original Paranormal Activity , produced for a reported $15,000 - yes, you read that right, 15 thou - entered Hollywood lore after word of mouth made it the progenitor of a lucrative line.

The Kardashian konflict kontinues. Ellen Kardashian , relict of the late legal eagle Robert Kardashian Sr ., defends herself to In Touch mag against nasty comments about her from Robert's daughters Kim and Khloé . Seems the gals were a little browned off that Ellen, 72, vouched for a diary in which Robert says ex-wife Kris Jenner abused her offspring. In Touch quotes Khloé as calling Ellen "a piece of trash" and says she married him on his deathbed. That's "completely false and horrible," Ellen says.