Celebrity News

Tom Cruise a little
too political
In Italy Cruise and director Steven Spielberg were asked by reporters at a press conference for their views on President’s Bush’s proposal to go to war against Iraq and its leader, Saddam Hussein. Cruise, 40, replied that he did not have all the information that the president had on the situation, “but I believe that Saddam has committed many crimes against humanity and against his own people.” Many took that as an endorsement from Cruise on the war but Cruise says, “I was actually misquoted on that,” the star told TV’s “Extra”. “I don’t know what Bush and (British) Prime Minister Blair know, so I can’t sit here and judge.” Spielberg, 56, a past supporter of former president Bill Clinton and the director of the war epics “Saving Private Ryan” and “Schindler’s List,” was quoted as saying, “If Bush, as I believe, has reliable information on the fact that Saddam Hussein is making weapons of mass destruction, I cannot not support the policies of his government.” At least that was the presses version of his statement. Spielberg later stated in a pres release, “It was never my intention to give an endorsement (of the Bush plan).”

Letterman gets robbed
Some $4,000 in petty cash has been stolen from the offices of David Letterman in Manhattan, The New York Times reports. The money, along with a change purse, was taken around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, police told the paper, adding that the burglar was camera-smart enough to know to cover the surveillance equipment that was keeping an eye on the premises.

Martha, Martha, Martha
K-mart is having a few headaches this year slipping behind competitors Target and Wal-Mart, and even filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. But it does have Martha Stewart. Stewart’s exclusive line of products for the store chain (around 5,000) includes such products as pillowcases to flower pots. But with all the attention focused negatively on Stewart recently, will that change? The Wall Street Journal reports that the ImClone scandal is likely to affect Stewart’s Kmart sales, and that her products “are no longer hotter than everything else in the store, Kmart conceded recently, though it said the weak economy could be the reason.” Stewart, 60, is a target of a Justice Department probe into alleged insider trading over some 4,000 shares of the biotech company that she sold last December, a day before the firm’s stock price plunged in light of news that the FDA would not be approving ImClone’s new cancer drug. Stewart has denied any wrongdoing, however her broker’s assistant pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge as part of a plea bargain in which he is expected to “tell all”. Stewart has since resigned her post as a board member on the New York Stock Exchange.

Woods keeping time
Tiger Woods, 26, who for the past five years has promoted Rolex’s Tudor watch, is now keeping time with competitor TAG Heuer, the Wall Street Journal reports. The paper says Woods is being paid an estimated $2 million annually to pitch the $5,550 timepiece. Observers, however, tell the Journal that shifting allegiance may not be a good move for Woods, as it may make him appear to be only interested in money.