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.

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.

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 …

Jessica on John Mayer: 'I'm in Love!'  —  Jessica Simpson has fallen for John Mayer - and she can hardly contain her delight.  —  "She's head over heels," a source close to the pop star, 26, tells PEOPLE in its new cover story.  "She's telling friends, 'I'm in love.' "

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 …

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.

Scientology was set to show Cruise the money  —  Plus: Paris Hilton wanted too much money to gab on talk show  —  Did Scientology almost show Tom Cruise the money?  —  After the "Top Gun" star was dropped by Paramount, he was shopping around for financiers, and a source reports that top execs …

John Travolta is Friendly  —  For years there have been blind items about a famous executive-star, "Pert Member."  A guy who often lends his private jet to closeted gay actors so they can have sex with their boyfriends without fear of getting caught.  He also has a beautiful Hollywood actress …

Jennifer Aniston & Scott Hardkiss (Producer)  —  Aniston's Music Man  —  Yesterday, it was reported that Jennifer Aniston was spotted leaving a recording studio in Malibu yesterday afternoon.  Thanks to the detective work of Lee, Aniston's music man has been identified …

Publicist: Stefani Not Snubbing VMAs  —  Says Singer Is Too Busy With Fashion Week To Attend  —  (CBS) Gwen Stefani's publicist says a report that the singer will not attend the MTV Video Music Awards because she feels she was snubbed last year is "complete fiction."

Justin & Cameron Bring 'Sexy Back' in NYC  —  Though they can't seem to escape rumors of discord, Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz looked cozier than ever Wednesday night at Timbaland's pre-VMA party in New York City.  —  The couple arrived at the bash at Manhattan nightclub Nikki Beach …

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!"

Candy May Net $130 Mil That Tori Won't Get  —  The stakes in the Candy Spelling - Tori Spelling war just got a lot higher.  The buzz in Beverly Hills real estate offices is that Candy Spelling has unloaded her 56,000 square-foot Holmby Hills mansion for a cool $130 million, and that the new buyer is an Arab prince.

Kanye West Is A Whiny Bitch  —  One of the best videos wasn't even nominated, according to Kanye West, the maker of said video.  West, who's nominated for best pop video at Thursday's MTV Video Music Awards for Gold Digger, says his elaborate Evel Knievel spoof Touch the Sky— featuring Pamela Anderson — was better than that.

Amanda Bynes & Zac Efron on the set of 'Hairspray'  —  Hairspray Pumps Up The Volume  —  Production for the movie version of Hairspray, which opens in 2007, is already well under way in Toronto, Canada.  Above is Amanda Bynes (Penny Pingleton) and Zac Efron (Link Larkin) …

Affleck ponders price of fame in "Hollywoodland"  —  VENICE (Reuters) - Ben Affleck said he drew on personal experience to play 1950s television Superman star George Reeves in a new film which uses his mysterious death to examine the highs and lows of Hollywood fame.

Charlotte Church's Paris ban  —  Charlotte Church has stopped Paris Hilton from appearing on her TV show after the American socialite demanded £350,000.  —  Charlotte, whose debut TV show starts this Friday (01.09.06) on Channel 4, said Paris wanted the "obscene" amount to be interviewed.

Paris Grinds With Pro Skateboarder  —  Paris Hilton did more partying on Paris Hilton Day than we were first aware of.  It seems that she celebrated getting the key to Las Vegas by getting close with her ex, Chad Muska.  —  In the video, Hilton can be seen dancing real close to Muska …

VH1 casts blasts from the past  —  Clay, Sizemore size up cabler's Sunday sked  —  VH1 has found its next pair of "Celebreality" Sunday stars in Andrew Dice Clay and Tom Sizemore.  —  Filling the void left by the highly rated train-wreck docudrama "Breaking Bonaduce," …

With Love, From Hilary Duff  —  Another week, another celeb is dropping their scent.  Hilary Duff has partnered with Elizabeth Arden who are the same folks who brought us the many successful Britney perfumes.  Ms Duff's perfume, called With Love, will be in department stores in September.