People: Sotomayor to preside over NYC ball drop
The countdown to the new year in Times Square is getting some high-profile help: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
The organizers of the annual celebration announced Sunday that Sotomayor will lead the final 60-second countdown and push the ceremonial button to signal the descent of the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball.
Sotomayor was appointed to the court in 2009. She is a native of the Bronx.
Roberts thanks girlfriend for support
Robin Roberts thanked her longtime girlfriend, Amber Laign, in a year-end post published on the ABC News anchor’s Facebook page on Sunday, confirmed Heather Riley of ABC. The message comes after Roberts’ battle with a life-threatening illness.
This is the first time the “Good Morning America” anchor has publicly acknowledged her 10-year, same-sex relationship with Laign, a massage therapist from the San Francisco Bay Area.
The host reached a 100-day benchmark on Sunday following a bone marrow transplant she underwent in September 2012 to treat the blood and bone marrow disease.
In May, Grand Central Publishing announced Roberts will write a memoir telling the story of her battle with the life-threatening illness and the life lessons she continues to gather following her return to “GMA” in February.
Jepsen heading to Broadway
“Call Me Maybe” singer Carly Rae Jepsen has had her calls returned by Broadway.
Producers of “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella” said Sunday that the Canadian singer-songwriter will take over the role of Cinderella starting Feb. 4 for 12 weeks. She’ll take over from Tony Award nominee Laura Osnes.
The Grammy Award nominee began performing in musical theater in high school. She starred in “Annie,” “The Wiz” and “Grease” before attending the Canadian College of Performing Arts.
She’ll join the cast alongside Fran Drescher playing Cinderella’s stepmother. Drescher is an Emmy Award winner for “The Nanny” and takes over Harriet Harris’ role.
The birthday bunch
Actor Joseph Bologna is 79. Actor Russ Tamblyn is 79. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Sandy Koufax is 78. Folk singer Noel Paul Stookey is 76. Actor Fred Ward is 71. Singer-musician Michael Nesmith is 71. Singer Patti Smith is 67. Rock singer-musician Jeff Lynne is 66. TV personality Meredith Vieira is 60. Country singer Suzy Bogguss is 57. “Today” show co-host Matt Lauer is 56. Actress-comedian Tracey Ullman is 54. Radio-TV commentator Sean Hannity is 52. Sprinter Ben Johnson is 52. Golfer Tiger Woods is 38. TV personality-boxer Laila Ali is 36. Actress Lucy Punch is 36. Singer-actor Tyrese Gibson is 35. Actress Eliza Dushku is 33. NBA player LeBron James is 29.