Miss USA's Vegas b'day bash pulled  —  The party is over for disgraced Miss USA Tara Conner.  —  Tonight's birthday bash for the martini-swizzling belle - who turned 21 yesterday - was canceled as she awaits word on whether she'll be dethroned.  —  Instead of prepping for a chic fete …

Cartoon pioneer Joe Barbera mourned  —  LOS ANGELES - Joe Barbera and Bill Hanna were hired within a month of each other in 1937 by the MGM cartoon factory.  They soon hit on the idea of a cat named Tom and a mouse named Jerry.  —  "When we started, people said, `Cat and mouse?

Britney Named Worst Celebrity Dog Owner of 2006  —  Britney Spears' parenting skills are being called into question once again.  This time she's been voted the world's worst celebrity dog owner in an online vote conducted by two dog magazines.  —  "Britney was the overwhelming choice," …

CRUISE CASTS VICTORIA BECKHAM AS AN ALIEN!?!  —  good evening everyone!  ok - this story is completely insane...i almost cannot believe it!  y'all know this year i totally fell in love with victoria beckham (although some of my readers have been concerned about my new BFF) …

Mamet renders his 'Verdict' on H'wood  —  'Hollywood is like cocaine," says David Mamet. "  You cannot understand its attraction until you are doing it.  And when you are doing it, you are insane.  Mamet hasn't quite kicked the habit.  The playwright, who won a Pulitzer for "Glengarry Glen Ross …

Actress Kim Fields: Pregnancy Is 'Wonderful'  —  The Facts of Life star Kim Fields is expecting her first child in May with boyfriend Christopher Morgan, and she tells PEOPLE pregnancy is "wonderful."  —  "It is amazing, surreal," says Fields, 37.  "For as maternal as I've felt all my life, it still has the 'Wow!' factor."

Yo!  Ventimiglia gets into the tough-guy act  —  LOS ANGELES — Steeped in vintage Scarface machismo, Milo Ventimiglia enters the lobby of a refurbished Culver City hotel.  —  A fedora is pulled down over one eye, and three days' worth of stubble toughen up his baby face.

Gibson says controversial tirade was 'a gift'  —  Plus, Courtney Love wants to make peace with Madonna  —  Despite making anti-Semitic comments earlier this year, director Mel Gibson's new film "Apocalypto" opened at No. 1 in its first weekend in release.  —  Slide show

Flashy performance by Brit  —  So much for Britney's pledge to clean up her act.  —  The newly single pop star continued her hard-partying trampage Sunday night at a Los Angeles burlesque club 40 Deuce, when she jumped onstage between striptease acts.  —  Britney and some girlfriends gyrated …

Sitcom legend now teaching `The Class'  —  BURBANK, Calif. - The core cast of the freshman CBS sitcom "The Class" is crammed around a dining table on a Warner Bros. soundstage rehearsing a dinner-party scene.  —  Lina's done the cooking and Richie is apologizing sotto voce for the result.

SEX AND THE CITY MOVIE BACK ON!  —  Since the show ended in 2004, rumors have swirled about the making of a Sex and the City movie, and finally, Kim Cattrall has confirmed to Star that fans will be getting their Christmas wish this year — the movie is officially back on!  —  But Catrall was apparently the last to know!

Lindsay Lohan's Bruising Workout: Pole Dancing  —  Following in the spike-heeled footsteps of Demi Moore, Lindsay Lohan is learning stripper moves for her new movie role - and the lessons have left their mark, literally.  —  "I've been in pole dancing lessons, S Factor by Sheila Kelley …

Paris Is Only Spreading Her Legs For The Camera These Days...Supposedly  —  This is the part where I insert a joke that Paris Hilton actually thinks that the word "celibacy" is the exact opposite of what it means...sluttitude?  Did I just make that up?  Am I reaching?  Most probably...

SEAN PENN: IMPEACH GEORGE W. BUSH, DICK CHENEY  —  Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn called for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney in an impassioned speech Monday night in New York.  —  The occasion was Penn's winning the first annual Christopher Reeve First Amendment Award …

JUST ASKING  —  WHICH veteran baseball player's wife is worried he will start up another affair?  The long-suffering missus demanded he switch to a team 1,500 miles away when she caught him the last time . . . WHICH "socialite" has high-society circles buzzing that she originally joined their inner circle as a high-class hooker? . . .

FUR REAL, DOG: Puff Daddy Coats Using Dog Fur?  —  Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to possibly throw out your winter jacket.  Because if you happen to be the proud owner of a Sean John puffy coat with "fur" trim, there's a slight chance that fur is actually made from the skin of a dog.