Nicole Richie & Brody Jenner: Heating Up  —  Nicole Richie and Brody Jenner's relationship may look like a typical quickie Hollywood romance, but don't be fooled: The pair go way back - he even predates Paris Hilton.  —  "I was there when (Brody) was born!"

MAD FOR MARIAH  —  MARIAH Carey got a sparkling surprise before her New York concert last week when $4 million worth of diamonds appeared backstage for her.  She was doubly stunned when she found out the rocks were a gift, not a loaner.  Prince Azim, son of the Sultan of Brunei …

Is 'Vixen' fixin' Whitney's woes?  —  Whitney Houston appears to have rid herself of hubby Bobby Brown.  Whether he gets back into the house may depend on hip-hop temptress Karrine Steffans.  —  Houston's friends have long blamed Brown for her woefully heavy eyelids.

Gwen & Kingston  —  Gwen Attending VMAs?  —  Gwen Stefani's publicist Dave Tomberlin confirmed that Gwen is not snubbing the VMAs and plans to bypass this year's ceremony because she's "too busy with Fashion Week to attend."  Please!  Sounds like a publicity stunt to me.  You make time to attend the VMAs.

K-Fed To Play Himself on "Entourage"  —  It has been annouced that Kevin Federline will appear in three episodes of HBO's Entourage, playing a deadbeat husband of a celebrity. … This is weird, because I was just thinking about K-Fed when I was cleaning dog s**t off my carpet this morning.

CLOONEY MAD FOR BARKIN  —  EXCLUSIVE GEORGE SMITTEN WITH OLDER CO-STAR  —  GORGEOUS George Clooney has a new lady in his life - and he's crazy about the twice-married 52-year-old mother-of-two.  —  The eternal bachelor usually dates much younger women - including TV presenter Lisa Snowdon …

'Psycho' scriptwriter and 'The Outer Limits' co-creator Joseph Stefano dies at 84  —  THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Joseph Stefano, who wrote the screenplay for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and was co-creator of television's science fiction anthology series The Outer Limits, has died.  He was 84.

TV ROLE 'WENT TO HER HEAD'  —  CAROLYN KEPCHER, Donald Trump's co-star on "The Apprentice," has heard him say "You're fired!" for the last time - because this time he said it to her, sources told The Post.  —  The icy, 36-year-old blonde - who was running the Trump National Golf Club …

Take, take, take... take your booty  —  Attention IRS!  Celebrities big, small and not at all continued to rake in freebies yesterday in gift lounges set up all over town for tonight's MTV Video Music Awards - and this year the swag is taxable.  —  R&B stunner Rihanna picked up thousands …

MY PAL PARIS  —  COULD it be that Lance Armstrong has taken a break from incessantly working out with his new best friend, Matthew McConaughey - to spend time with Paris Hilton?  The two showed up to the Key Club in L.A. Tuesday night to catch the band the Vacation.

There is Nothing Unnecessary About a Scarlett Johansson Sex Scene  —  It's official.  Movie critics are dumb.  According to ContactMusic, after screenings of Scarlett Johansson's latest film The Black Dahlia, many critics complained that they could not concentrate after seeing Scarlett's steamy sex scene.

John Mayer: Jessica Simpson's New Love?  —  It's the hot headline making waves, as Us Weekly magazine reports that Jessica Simpson and John Mayer have been privately dating.  —  The upcoming issue, due out Friday, claims the pair first met at a pre-Grammy bash last year.  But things only recently heated up.

Madonna and Guy row over schooling  —  For most mothers the start of the new school year is a welcome relief from the hurly-burly of the school holidays.  —  But Madonna has enjoyed seeing her children so much that she wants them to stay on her Confessions world tour with her.

NANCY VS. MARIA ACCESS CATFIGHT  —  The claws are out on the set of Access Hollywood, where an inside source says perky host Nancy O'Dell and sexy correspondent Maria Menounos are each going for the jugular.  —  "It's a real catfight," the source titters.  "They refuse to work together and hate being in the same room with each other.

off the rack  —  When Britney Spears was pregnant with first child Sean Preston last year, most of the time, she looked like she got dressed on a dare or had forgotten that she was no longer blessed with 500-situps-a-day abs.  But now, Britney's dropped the Red Bull can and seriously cleaned up her style (and her hair troubles)!

Beyonce Opens Up To Ellen  —  Justin and Beyonce will be performing on the VMAs tonight, but they must have had a lot of practice while filming The Ellen Show.  We already showed you how JT got down, now here are pics of Beyonce and Ellen.  B will also be one of Ellen's first guests to kick off the new season next week.

BRIT HINTS AT BABY'S SEX  —  For those of you wondering what to buy Britney Spears' unborn baby... never fear.  —  You'll find a modest gift list at a baby boutique in LA.  —  OK, modest it isn't.  —  The Toxic singer has registered for thousands of dollars worth of presents at posh baby shop Petit Tresor.

Vida Brings 'Dat Ass to Your Cell Phone  —  The very bootylicious Vida Guerra is about to turn the world of reality programming right on its...well, you know.  The curvy Cuban model is revealing the secrets to unbridled sex appeal on the first-ever reality show made especially for mobile phones …

Katie's no-longer secret plan to escape Tom's clutches  —  Someone blabbed to Star magazine that they overheard Katie Holmes having a legal-type lunch meeting in which it seemed like she was plotting to leave Tom.  Given the vague content of the supposed conversation, however …