People in the News

It was unclear who fired the BB as the photographer was staking out the event at the Malibu home, sheriff's Lt. Steve Smith said. He said firefighters bandaged the man's leg and he went to a hospital.

"It could've been somebody driving by, walking by, we have no idea where it came from," Smith said.

The photographer, identified as Brad Diaz, was about 200 yards from the home outside the home's long driveway when he was hit, Smith said. He was one of about 10 photographers standing in the street.

Smith originally said the home belonged to Spears, but said deputies later learned that it belonged to someone else and that Spears is a frequent guest. He did not identify the owner.

A message left with Spears' publicist was not immediately returned Saturday night.

Cher helps boy with muscular dystrophy

NORTHPORT, Ala. - A donation from Cher helped a 16-year-old boy suffering from muscular dystrophy get vital home health care - at least for a few months.

Joseph Sullivan, who can move his head and fingers but little else, was all but bedridden this summer because his 69-year-old adoptive mother is disabled from two strokes, and home health care was cut off when he lost Medicaid coverage.

The Medicaid money stopped when the boy's survivor benefits from his father's death increased his income $13 over the agency's $599 monthly limit.

Without Medicaid, the family couldn't afford the $190 weekly cost of home health care to keep Joseph bathed and dressed so he could leave the house and eventually return to school.

After hearing about Joseph's ordeal from a dentist in nearby Tuscaloosa, Cher sent $550 for two weeks of home health care, with hopes that it would inspire others to pitch in.

"I've worked with children's charities for a number of years and it just sent up flags for me," said the dentist, Dr. Tony Davis, who said he met Cher while working with the Children's Cranial Facial Association. The pop star has been the group's honorary spokeswoman since 1985, when her role in the movie "Mask" sparked her interest in helping children with facial deformities.

"It's great, isn't it? Shows there's still some good people in this world," said Joseph's mom, Betty Sullivan, a big fan of Cher in the '70s.

Armand Assante plays bad guy in mall movie

OKLAHOMA CITY - Actor Armand Assante, who plays a mall security guard in a thriller currently being filmed, says he was drawn to the project by the quality of the script and the strength of the character.

Assante, 55, plays Harley Waters in "Surveillance." His character's ways of keeping the theft rate down are criminal and horrifying, but so successful the corporate office keeps him on.

"I guess Harley is a metaphor for Big Brother on steroids," he said. "I've actually never played a character quite like this."

"It's a beautiful thriller, very, very well written," Assante said. "I don't go to work unless I feel I really have a story that would be interesting to tell."

Also appearing the film are Laurie Fortier ("To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday") and Nick Cornish ("Cold Case," "Dawson's Creek").

"Surveillance" producer Gray Frederickson said about Harley: "He's strong, militaristic, very moral, and yet at the same time he's doing horrific things behind the scenes that you would never dream were going on at your local shopping mall."

The movie will film for three weeks, two days in Tulsa and the rest in Oklahoma City.

Billionaire Mark Cuban against re-election of Utah senator

SALT LAKE CITY - Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire Mark Cuban said he is against the re-election bid of U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, likening the Utah Republican to a "digital Joe McCarthy."

A self-described "technology geek" and the founder of Broadcast.com, Cuban said during a radio broadcast last week on Salt Lake City's KCPW that Hatch's positions on technology keep the United States from being competitive.

He specifically pointed to Hatch's remarks that computers storing illegally downloaded music should be destroyed.

"The policies and actions of Senator Hatch are very concerning to me from what I read and from my personal interactions with him," Cuban said, comparing Hatch to McCarthy, the Wisconsin senator who in the 1950s tried to hunt down Communist sympathizers living in the U.S. Hatch campaign manager Dave Hansen thinks voters will reject Cuban's comments as "inappropriate" and "atrocious."

"Obviously, Mark Cuban believes in the politics of personal destruction," Hansen said, adding that Hatch "has a very good record in the high-tech industry."

Pamela being sued for breach of contract

LOS ANGELES - Former "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson is being sued for breach of contract for allegedly not making herself available for promotional events.

United Licensing Group Inc., which is arranging for the manufacture of the star's perfume, clothing and other merchandise, claims Anderson has not been sufficiently available at signings, shoots and trade shows, according to a Superior Court lawsuit filed Thursday. United Licensing claims it has a five-year contract but that Anderson repeatedly decided against licensing proposals. The company also claims it was excluded in Anderson's agreement to have her image on slot machines at Bally's casino and hotel in Las Vegas.