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| JOHN MCCAIN'S MAKE-UP DATE WITH LETTERMAN Blog |
Better late than never?
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain is set to appear on The Late Show with David Letterman Thursday – less than a month after controversially canceling his last appearance at the last minute, the Associated Press reports.
The candidate bailed on his Sept. 24 interview, claiming he had to begin work immediately on the Wall Street bail-out. But instead, McCain appeared on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.
After discovering McCain's other commitment, Letterman quipped, "Now I'm feeling like an ugly date." Clearly annoyed, the comedian spent several minutes ridiculing the Republican nominee on his CBS show.
"This is not the way a tested hero behaves," Letterman said. "Somebody's putting something his Metamucil."
Thursday's make-up visit will be McCain's 13th appearance on the Late Show, the A.P. reports.
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| SARAH PALIN: KATIE COURIC "ANNOYED" HER Blog |
Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has revealed she was "annoyed" with the way Katie Couric handled their interview.
"The Sarah Palin in those interviews was a little bit annoyed," Palin told Fox News correspondent Carl Cameron. "It's like, man, no matter what you say, you are going to get clobbered. If you choose to answer a question, you are going to get clobbered on the answer. If you choose to try to pivot and go to another subject that you believe that Americans want to hear about, you get clobbered for that too."
Palin struggled to answer Couric's questions about foreign and economic policy. She was also unable to name a Supreme Court decision she disagrees with aside from Roe V. Wade.
See photos of Sarah Palin's family on the campaign trail.
"In those Katie Couric interviews I did feel that there were a lot of things that she was missing in terms of an opportunity to ask what a VP candidate stands for," Palin told Cameron.
Palin said that what she really wanted to discuss was Democratic nominee Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, Palin fared better at Thursday night's debate, which drew nearly 70 million viewers, making it the most watched vice-presidential debate ever.
Said New York Times critic Alessandra Stanley: "Ms. Palin spoke far more fluidly and confidently than she had in her devastating interviews with Katie Couric of CBS. Ms. Palin did stumble into a few loop-the-loop non sequiturs, but mostly she stuck to practiced talking points. She didn't answer questions directly, but she spoke out with self-assurance and even cockiness, correcting Mr. Biden when he tried to repeat the Republicans' slogan about oil exploration in Alaska. 'The chant is 'drill, baby, drill,'"
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| US POLL: VOTE! WHO WON LAST NIGHT'S DEBATE? Blog |
According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. 51 percent of those who watched Thursday's vice presidential debates thought Democratic Sen. Joe Biden did the best job, while 36 percent thought Republican Gov. Sarah Palin packed a better punch.
But 54 percent of respondents said Palin -- who peppered her arguments about energy, the economy and global warming with folksy phrases like "doggone it" and "betcha" -- was more likable (36 percent voted for Biden).
84 percent of the people polled said Palin did a better job than they expected.
Said New York Times critic Alessandra Stanley: "Ms. Palin spoke far more fluidly and confidently than she had in her devastating interviews with Katie Couric of CBS. Ms. Palin did stumble into a few loop-the-loop non sequiturs, but mostly she stuck to practiced talking points. She didn't answer questions directly, but she spoke out with self-assurance and even cockiness, correcting Mr. Biden when he tried to repeat the Republicans' slogan about oil exploration in Alaska. 'The chant is 'drill, baby, drill,'" she said.
Added Stanley: "Mr. Biden made few mistakes; he appeared more measured and thoughtful on substance, and made forceful points that contrasted with Ms. Palin's slogans. But she provided the more vivacious, visceral television performance."
But ABC News' George Stephanopoulos said, "Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden did something even more important. He executed the core strategy of the Biden-Obama campaign -- taking the fight to Republican presidential candidate John McCain, and tying him to President Bush. Biden did that in every single answer last night."
Look back at photos of Sarah Palin's family on the campaign trail.
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| SARAH PALIN'S SISTER: TINA FEY'S IMPRESSION 'DEAD ON' Blog |
How close to the mark is Tina Fey's impression of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live?
"[It is] really dead on physically," according to someone who should know – Palin's sister, Heather Bruce.
"[Tina] does a great job," Bruce tells The Insider in a two-part interview set to air Thursday and Friday. "Maybe "[she] goes a little bit overboard with the sarcastic impressions, but I know that's Hollywood."
As for how Palin is standing up to media scrutiny, including her much-dissected interview with CBS's Katie Couric, Bruce says her sister is tough. "I couldn't make myself watch. It just seemed like maybe she was attacking harder than I could have handled," Bruce says. "But [Sarah] is cut from a different mold than I and she can handle this."
When asked to predict how her sister would handle debating Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden on Thursday, Bruce expressed full confidence in Palin. "Sarah's gonna do great," she said. "I have a feeling people will see some of the old Sarah we know and some new great surprises and great revelations."
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| WHOOPI GOLDBERG CRUSHES ON JOHN MAYER! Blog |
Make room for one more on the John Mayer bandwagon!
After the singer's rousing, three-song performance at Tony Bennett's Exploring The Arts Gala in Manhattan Tuesday night, emcee Whoopi Goldberg took to the stage smiling like a teenaged girl.
"Oh my God! How cute is John Mayer?" The View host, 52, said to the cheering crowd, which included Gayle King, Regis Philbin, Terrence Howard and Quincy Jones. "In the old days, I'da snatched him up," she continued to roars of laughter. "Now, I'm too tired." Mayer's main concern was not winning female fans, however. The Grammy-winner – whose exes include Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Simpson – said he was simply "excited" by the challenge of performing with Bennett's band.
"I'm sort of a true musician at heart, in the sense that I like to be thrown [curveballs]," Mayer, 30, told PEOPLE before the show at Cipriani Wall Street. "[I like] being a producer, and then maybe going home and working on hip hop tunes, and then working on a drum machine, working on whatever the next thing is. I want to be a Swiss army knife for music!"
Mayer was also happy to show his support for Bennett's charity, which raises funds for music programs in public schools.
"There's 12-year old John Coltranes and Miles Davises walking around," he said. "They just don't know it yet."
The evening also included a speech by Katie Couric and a gut-busting standup routine by Jerry Seinfeld.
Now, the public can get in on the action with an online auction that includes a dress from Christina Aguilera, lunch with Barbara Walters and the a chance to meet Katie Holmes and check out her Broadway show. (Bidding runs through Oct. 1 at CharityBuzz.com.)
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| MATT LAUER SET TO BE SKEWERED AT CELEBRITY ROAST Blog |
The burning question is, will Matt Lauer still be speaking to them in the morning?
Lauer, 50, is slated to be the victim – that is, "honoree" – when the Friars Club gathers at the New York Hilton Oct. 24 and rakes the Today host over the coals, humorously, at its annual celebrity roast – an event noteworthy for wildly uncensored remarks at the expense of the guest of honor.
Among those scheduled to appear at the by-invitation-only, not-for-broadcast event include Lauer's predecessor Bryant Gumbel, his former sidekick Katie Couric and the current one, Meredith Vieira – as well as his across-the-channel rival, Good Morning America's Diane Sawyer. Some may think Couric should know better. The year Donald Trump was roasted, she sat quietly on the dais only to be the target of a particularly raunchy remark by comic Susie Essman – for which Trump felt compelled to apologize.
Trump now is on the bill to help roast Lauer.
Also promised by the entertainers' fraternity to deliver no-bars-held remarks at its event: Clay Aiken, Joy Behar, Bob Saget, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Vanessa Williams, Aretha Franklin, Eric McCormack, Tony Shaloub, Jerry Stiller, Mario Lopez and others.
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| KEITH URBAN'S JACKET ON THE BLOCK IN FASHION ROCKS AUCTION Blog |
Missing out on the 5th annual Fashion Rocks concert? If you're a devoted eBayer – or just a fan – you can own a piece of music history and give back.
Fashion Rocks, a style-themed concert that takes place during New York City's Fashion Week, announced an online charity auction Thursday in conjunction with eBay's Giving Works.
The good cause? Stand Up to Cancer, a new cancer-research initiative whose leadership team includes Katie Couric and Sherry Lansing. Among the items up for auction: A leather jacket autographed by Keith Urban and seats at Kimora Lee Simmons and Diane Von Furstenberg's coveted runway shows.
The piece de resistance of the auction is a Gibson guitar autographed by Fashion Rocks performers and presenters, including show host Denis Leary and musicians Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, Fergie, and the Pussycat Dolls.
The online auction takes place Sept 5 - 15. Ticket proceeds from the in Fashion Rocks concert will also benefit the charity.
The show airs live from Rockefeller Center on Tues. Sept 9.
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| KATIE COURIC: CANCER 'DESTROYED MY FAMILY' Blog |
Losing her husband and sister to cancer "obliterated" Katie Couric's dream for a happy and intact family. Now she's doing everything she can to fight back and spare others the same pain.
In between raising her two daughters – Ellie, 17, and Carrie, 12 – and anchoring the CBS Evening News, she's teamed up with a group of powerhouse women to create Stand Up to Cancer, a landmark, star-studded fund-raising special airing on Sept. 5 on NBC, CBS and ABC.
"[Cancer] completely destroyed my family twice. My husband, Jay, died when he was 42 and our daughters were 6 and 2," Couric tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week's issue. "Three years after that, my sister, Emily, who had ironically read the eulogy at my husband's funeral, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer." She adds, "My life has never been the same since. Both of their diagnoses were incredibly bleak and devastating."
And husband Jay is never far from their thoughts, Couric says.
"He comes up in conversation a lot. The girls may do something, and I'll say, 'Your dad did this too,' " she says. "My children have lived longer without their dad than they have with him. But that doesn't mean we don't miss him every day. I often think, 'He would be so proud of them.' "
After Jay and Emily's deaths, Couric cofounded the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance in 2001 to continue the fight. More recently, she learned how desperately funding is needed to make important advances in cancer research. And she has high hopes for the Stand Up to Cancer event.
"I hope enough money is raised so cancer researchers can come up with a cure," Couric says. "But realistically I hope that it will put cancer on the front burner and empower people to help move science along so that progress can be made."
For more on Katie Couric and her family's battle against cancer, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands FridayRELATED GALLERIES: • See Katie Couric and other TV anchors on the covers of PEOPLE • See all of Katie's PEOPLE covers!
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| HALLE, ELLEN JOIN CANCER FIGHT Blog |
It's now question of who isn't attending Stand Up to Cancer, the Sept. 5 multi-network TV charity event that's raising money to fight the disease.
New additions to the line-up include Jessica Alba, Halle Berry, Jack Black, Abigail Breslin, Kate Bosworth, Sheryl Crow, Ellen DeGeneres, Melissa Etheridge, Jimmy Fallon, Jennifer Garner, Brad Garrett, Angie Harmon, Tony Hawk, Marg Helgenberger, Diane Keaton, Rob Lowe, Mandy Moore, Sharon Osbourne, Josh Peck, Mekhi Phifer, Keanu Reeves, Jimmy Smits, David Spade and Carrie Underwood.
They are joining a long list that includes Casey Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Christina Applegate, Lance Armstrong, Josh Brolin, David Cook, Dana Delany, Fran Drescher, Kirsten Dunst, Elizabeth Edwards, Jon Favreau, America Ferrera, Neil Patrick Harris, Salma Hayek, Scarlett Johansson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Masi Oka, Danica Patrick, Christina Ricci, Robin Roberts, Homer and Marge Simpson, Meryl Streep, Hilary Swank, Charlize Theron, Goran Visnjic, and Forest Whitaker. News anchors Charles Gibson, Katie Couric and Brian Williams will present news segments on cancer research.
And some of music's biggest stars, including Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Fergie and Miley Cyrus, will perform their charity single "Just Stand Up," which benefits Stand Up to Cancer.
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