Britney Spears Wows TVs Viewers in "How I Met Your Mother"

The TV comedy series How I Met Your Mother got a tremendous boost in ratings due to the appearance of Britney Spears in a cameo role as a doctor's receptionist. The figures show that the show was watched by 10.6 million people.

Spears looked good in the show, and her acting was fine too.

This is far from her image that we've come to know during her recent troubles and emotional problems. She says it was terrific to play a part in the show.

We hope this is sign of a new recovered and reinvigorated Britney Spears. She has suffered more than a young person of her age deserves.

The Paul McCartney-Heather Mills Divorce Settlement

Heather Mills married Paul McCartney in 2002. The marriage lasted four years. They have a four-year old child. Mills asked for £125 million for the divorce. The judge granted her £24.3 million, which includes her £7.8 million in assets.

The sums involved are staggering in any currency. For readers still geared towards the US$, £24.3 million is about $48.9 million, and £125 million is about $250.6 million.

It is estimated that she got £700 ($1,400) per hour during her four year marriage.

The separation and divorce was a remorseless battle between McCartney and Mills, with the tabloids having a field day digging into the lurid past of Mills. Mills complained that the media painted her as a gold-digger and a who**.

The real victim in all this is their little daughter, four-year old Beatrice. Financially she will be well taken care of - the judge ordered provision for her of the equivalent of $70,000 a year in addition to school and nanny fees.

Throughout the sordid saga, Mills has been vociferous, which hasn't really helped her cause. She hasn't been quiet even after the judgment, which she plans to appeal, but proceeded immediately to give a press conference.

In her divorce papers she made many allegations against McCartney, with a number of incidents involving physcial attacks and humiliation. These incidents included (allegedly)her being pushed over a coffee table, pushed into a bath, being choked, having wine poured over her head, being cut with a broken wine glass which caused profuse bleeding, being forced to crawl on her hands and knees up the steps of a plane.

If these things happened as alleged, it must have been devastating for Mills, who has been quoted as having said, "Every guy I've been out with has asked me to marry them within a week."

Yet this picture of McCartney does not seem to tally with the quiet dignity with which he appears to have conducted himself. But who knows what demons might have driven him to such acts, if indeed such allegations are true.

Amy Yasbeck, John Ritter's Widow, Fails in Wrongful Death Lawsuit against Two Doctors

A jury has cleared two doctors in the lawsuit brought by Amy Yasbeck, John Ritter's widow, for causing wrongful death. She was suing for $67 million in damages.

Ritter was treated for a heart attack in an emergency room after he suddenly collapsed in the studio. The real cause of his condition was due to a rare aortic dissection, which is a tear in a blood vessel near the heart.

The jury accepted the defence contention that nothing more could have been done to save his life, even had the real condition been discovered.

One of the doctors sued was a radiologist who treated Ritter two years before his death. He was also held blameless. Ritter was warned of his condition but did not follow up on it.

In the course of this celebrity trial, Katy Sagal, Ritter's TV co-star in the series 8 Simple Rules, gave evidence. Henry Winkler, "the Fonz" of Happy Days, also testified. He was doing a guest appearance in Ritter's show and had been rehearsing with Ritter the whole week. He last saw Ritter when Ritter was starting to feel ill and went away for some water.

Casey Knowles - Obama Supporter Stars in Clinton Ad

Casey Knowles, now almost 18, is one of the sleeping kids in the Clinton campaign ad. The message conveyed is that Hillary Clinton in the White House will ensure the safety of Americans, who can sleep soundly and cosily like the kids in the ad.

But (then) sleeping child Casey turns out to be a strong Obama supporter and is nothing less than furious that her image has been used to advance opposition. She calls the ad fear-mongering and a cheap hit.

Apprently the Clinton campaign got the footage from Getty Images who used it 8 years ago for another commercial.

Casey's family saw the ad when it was shown on the Jon Stewart Show and recognised that the girl in the ad was Casey.

Patrick Swayze Is Gravely Ill With Cancer | Star of "Ghost"

Patrick Swayze, well-loved for his starring role in Ghost and "Dirty Dancing" and other movies, has undergone chemotherapy treatment for pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed with the condition in January. Swayze is 55 years old.

A National Enquirer report says that he has not responded well to the chemotherapy, and has only five weeks to live. But a statement from his publicist Annett Wolf has denied that he is terminally ill. His doctor is quoted as saying that the disease is limited and that he has been responding well to treatment.

Let's hope that the alarmist reports are not true.