Usa Weekend

SAN FRANCISCO - By all measures, it wasn't a good day for employees of Yahoo or USA Today : Pay was cut, and so were thousands of jobs. And it didn't matter that one was part of the supposedly bright digital future and the other allegedly a part of journalism's past. In his first three months on the job, Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson has imposed the largest layoffs in the company's 17-year history, reshaped the board of directors, picked a potentially disruptive fight with a major shareholder and sued Facebook for patent infringement.

QUOTE "I hear from people who watch six and seven times a day. It scares me. " - "ER" star Alan Alda, in USA Weekend, on fans who catch him in widely syndicated "M A S H" reruns Camryn Manheim, star of "The Practice" and author of the in-your-face memoir "Wake Up, I'm Fat," has two words on those studies showing we're all getting fatter: "So what. " The actress elaborates on the latest obesity news in an essay in the new Time. "Do you think the shrewd folks at Jenny Craig, Slim-Fast and Weight Watchers could make billions scaring the bejesus out of you about pestilence?"

QUOTE "Thith ith wha gah me thired. " - Body-piercer Cooper Hazen, pointing to the half-inch post with tiny metal balls through his tongue that lost him his Santa Cruz hospital gig THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARTH Now isn't this a country music kind of way to act? Garth Brooks said that his zipper problem only made his marriage stronger. "The wife I got back after my infidelity was 15 times the woman I had," said Brooks of his brief separation from Sandy, his wife of 6 years.

In case you were wondering, although we certainly were not, the person Diane Sawyer most admires is not her husband, Mike Nichols, nor her former employer, the late Richard Nixon, nor her most famous interview subject, Michael Jackson. No. She loves her plumber. "We all know we don't deserve as much (money) as a great teacher or, in my mind, a great plumber," the $7 million-a-year reporter says in the upcoming issue of USA Weekend. "Given a choice between Baryshnikov and a plumber, I would have to choose a plumber.

Ever since he was a young boy Pete Townshend , who penned two of the best rock operas in that sub-genre's long history, has done it again. Townshend, 62, who explored teen angst and alienation in 1969's rock tragedy Tommy and went on to dissect teen alienation and angst in 1973's Quadrophenia , is scheduled to give his latest piece, The Boy Who Heard Music , a trial run with three performances this weekend at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Townshend, who says he began writing the piece as an Internet novella, says The Boy is "a hallucinatory tale about the rise and fall of a band made up of three teenagers from different ethnic backgrounds as seen through the eyes of an aging rock star.

Prince Charles and his longtime paramour, Camilla Parker Bowles, are off on a Grecian cruise. This isn't the first time the lovers have vacationed together. But in the past, they traveled separately and met up as part of a large group. This time, they're with just two other couples. Royal-watchers say it's part of a discreet campaign to win public acceptance for frumpy, old Parker Bowles, who Princess Di nastily nicknamed the Rotweiller. But in the end, Parker Bowles could get the last laugh.

Queen Elizabeth II marked her 40th anniversary on the British throne yesterday with typical English understatement by making a single public appearance - a visit to a hospice for cancer patients 90 miles north of London. She was cheered by 500 people. Later she spent a quiet evening with friends at her nearby country estate. There were two London gun salutes - one in Hyde Park and another at the Tower of London - and eight bags of congratulatory mail. But the most significant event of the day was an intimate, two-hour documentary on the queen, televised over BBC. During the program Elizabeth repeated her intention to stay on the throne until she dies.

If you're like Tattle, you're wondering how Larry Fortensky could have hurt himself falling down the stairs in his home when, last you heard, he was living in a trailer. Turns out the former construction worker - who remains in stable condition at a California hospital after Thursday's fall - lives in a nice home purchased with money from his divorce settlement with Elizabeth Taylor. And that he fell because he was loaded, despite the fact that his ill-fated romance with Liz began in rehab at the fabled Betty Ford Center.

E! ONLINE got an early peek at Stephen King's interview with USA Weekend and the horror master is obviously at the stage of his career and life when he just doesn't give a s---. It's so refreshing to hear one best-seller crap on another. Asked about the huge success of the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" series, King analyzed the talents of the two creators. "The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn," King said.

SAN FRANCISCO - By all measures, it wasn't a good day for employees of Yahoo or USA Today : Pay was cut, and so were thousands of jobs. And it didn't matter that one was part of the supposedly bright digital future and the other allegedly a part of journalism's past. In his first three months on the job, Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson has imposed the largest layoffs in the company's 17-year history, reshaped the board of directors, picked a potentially disruptive fight with a major shareholder and sued Facebook for patent infringement.

E! ONLINE got an early peek at Stephen King's interview with USA Weekend and the horror master is obviously at the stage of his career and life when he just doesn't give a s---. It's so refreshing to hear one best-seller crap on another. Asked about the huge success of the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" series, King analyzed the talents of the two creators. "The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn," King said.

Ever since he was a young boy Pete Townshend , who penned two of the best rock operas in that sub-genre's long history, has done it again. Townshend, 62, who explored teen angst and alienation in 1969's rock tragedy Tommy and went on to dissect teen alienation and angst in 1973's Quadrophenia , is scheduled to give his latest piece, The Boy Who Heard Music , a trial run with three performances this weekend at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Townshend, who says he began writing the piece as an Internet novella, says The Boy is "a hallucinatory tale about the rise and fall of a band made up of three teenagers from different ethnic backgrounds as seen through the eyes of an aging rock star.

QUOTE "The girls went crazy. After that, it was like, 'Oh man, to hell with basketball.' I got an all-right game, but they don't be whooping and hollering like that. On the court, you gotta score points for them to holler. All I gotta do on stage is open my mouth. " - R. Kelly, on the talent show that turned him from basketball to R & B. We don't know if he's been hangin' out with DMX or what, but comedian Drew Carey certainly is keeping it real in the upcoming issue of USA Weekend magazine.

QUOTE "I hear from people who watch six and seven times a day. It scares me. " - "ER" star Alan Alda, in USA Weekend, on fans who catch him in widely syndicated "M A S H" reruns Camryn Manheim, star of "The Practice" and author of the in-your-face memoir "Wake Up, I'm Fat," has two words on those studies showing we're all getting fatter: "So what. " The actress elaborates on the latest obesity news in an essay in the new Time. "Do you think the shrewd folks at Jenny Craig, Slim-Fast and Weight Watchers could make billions scaring the bejesus out of you about pestilence?"

If you're like Tattle, you're wondering how Larry Fortensky could have hurt himself falling down the stairs in his home when, last you heard, he was living in a trailer. Turns out the former construction worker - who remains in stable condition at a California hospital after Thursday's fall - lives in a nice home purchased with money from his divorce settlement with Elizabeth Taylor. And that he fell because he was loaded, despite the fact that his ill-fated romance with Liz began in rehab at the fabled Betty Ford Center.

Just as you might expect, you get nothing but tough love from "Xena: Warrior Princess" star Lucy Lawless. And don't try to drag the strapping star into any Calista Flockhart-centric discussion of Female Body Image Issues. "I've got to say anorexia sort of bores me," Lawless announces in the upcoming issue of USA Weekend magazine. "You think you're going to get respect, attention, blah blah blah, and it's quite the opposite. " Surprisingly, the big, healthy Lawless speaks from experience.

Prince Charles and his longtime paramour, Camilla Parker Bowles, are off on a Grecian cruise. This isn't the first time the lovers have vacationed together. But in the past, they traveled separately and met up as part of a large group. This time, they're with just two other couples. Royal-watchers say it's part of a discreet campaign to win public acceptance for frumpy, old Parker Bowles, who Princess Di nastily nicknamed the Rotweiller. But in the end, Parker Bowles could get the last laugh.

In case you were wondering, although we certainly were not, the person Diane Sawyer most admires is not her husband, Mike Nichols, nor her former employer, the late Richard Nixon, nor her most famous interview subject, Michael Jackson. No. She loves her plumber. "We all know we don't deserve as much (money) as a great teacher or, in my mind, a great plumber," the $7 million-a-year reporter says in the upcoming issue of USA Weekend. "Given a choice between Baryshnikov and a plumber, I would have to choose a plumber.

Queen Elizabeth II marked her 40th anniversary on the British throne yesterday with typical English understatement by making a single public appearance - a visit to a hospice for cancer patients 90 miles north of London. She was cheered by 500 people. Later she spent a quiet evening with friends at her nearby country estate. There were two London gun salutes - one in Hyde Park and another at the Tower of London - and eight bags of congratulatory mail. But the most significant event of the day was an intimate, two-hour documentary on the queen, televised over BBC. During the program Elizabeth repeated her intention to stay on the throne until she dies.