Wall St. Novel Bear-ly Fiction  —  IS the main character of Doug Stumpf's "Confessions of a Wall Street Shoeshine Boy" a thinly disguised tale based on accused pervy billionaire Jeffrey Epstein?  —  The novel, which centers around rogue trader "Jeff Steed" and an insider-trading scandal …

CALMING EFFECT  —  ROCKER and eyeliner connoisseur Pete Wentz counts on his groupie girlfriend, Ashlee Simpson, to help him overcome his anxieties.  Although the Fall Out Boy was terrified to fly, the couple took a seaplane to the Hamptons last Friday night so he could DJ at Hamptons club Dune.

Britney, mom engage in 'shocking slapfest'  —  Plus, Timberlake, Biel ready to take their romance public  —  The bad blood between Britney Spears and her mother has turned physical.  —  The troubled pop princess and Lynne Spears had a "shocking slapfest" in mid-June that …

Winona Ryder Finally Speaks Out About Her Arrest  —  With her career getting back on track after several years of self-imposed exile, Winona Ryder is talking for the first time about her December 2001 arrest after she'd been videotaped trying to make off with merchandise from the Beverly Hills Saks Fifth Avenue.

Chris Benoit on Steroids During Murder-Suicide  —  Professional wrestler Chris Benoit was on testosterone, painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs when he killed his wife and son and later comitted suicide in his Atlanta, Georgia, home last month.  —  Over the weekend of June 23, Benoit, 40 …

ON HER OWN  —  NOBODY can control Britney Spears.  Now she's taken over as her own business manager and publicist.  Though she's still signed to Jive Records, a source told Page Six, "She is doing all of her own business now."  Our spy saw Spears at Aspen on West...

Fanning Usher's ire  —  You know things are rough when you're fighting with your own No. 1 fan site.  —  Sources say Usher is trying to shut down usherforever.com because the woman behind the site, Erika Jackson, doesn't care for his fiancee, Tameka Foster.  —  "He's had his lawyer send her papers," said an insider.

She'd Rather Be Laughing  —  Actress Jessica Biel gladly sets aside "sexy sexy" for "funny sexy" in her latest film  —  Jessica Biel has had an image-changing year with serious roles alongside big-name actors in The Illusionist , Home of the Brave , and Next .

Hollywood Dating Hell  —  If Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston can't find a guy, is there any hope for the rest of us?  —  Actually, it turns out that being a beautiful, successful, rich woman in Hollywood can make it even harder to make a love connection.

Britney Takes Her Two Sons For a Spin  —  Britney Spears takes her two sons — Sean Preston, 1 1/2, and lookalike brother Jayden James, 10 months — for a spin around Starbucks in Los Angeles on Tuesday.  (To clarify, JJ is the one in green.)  —  After circling the Starbucks parking lot four times …

DROWN THE PAIN  —  O.J. Simpson has been hitting the bottle since he was tricked into semi-confessing to double-murder last year with his "If I Did It" book project.  Simpson was at The Ivy in Aventura, Fla., the other night "falling all over himself and couldn't stand up, even though he tried several times," said our disgusted spy.

NICKY BUTTS OUT  —  CASEY Johnson might be second-guessing her choice of Nicky Hilton as godmother of Ava Monroe Johnson, the baby girl she adopted from Kazakhstan.  At Casey's recent baby shower at an L.A. restaurant, Paris' little sister was out on a balcony smoking a cigarette …

NBC Gives 'Second Chance' to Isaiah Washington  —  When Isaiah Washington was fired from Grey's Anatomy, it took nothing short of bionic powers to revive his career.  —  "We believe in second chances," said David Eick, executive producer NBC's upcoming Bionic Woman, which has hired Washington for five episodes.

Attack of the TwinkyClones  —  Life after fantasy blockbusters and magically permanent adolescence can get a little hairy.  One of these actors used to be an apprentice Wizard (and is this month's cover star of US metromag Details).  One used to be a Hobbit.  One used to be a nerdy Spidey.

Michael Vick Busted for Illegal Dogfighting  —  It's dog days for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and others, after being indicted today on federal charges related to illegal dogfighting.  —  Vick was charged with illegal competitive dogfighting, which involves training pit bulls to fight against other dogs.

"Home Improvement" Star's House — A Real S**thole  —  Once you get past the smell of s**t and piss, and cryptic messages spray-painted everywhere and massive holes smashed into the walls, Taran Noah Smith's former home isn't really that bad ... for a dump!  —  TMZ got video of the house today …