Getting caught in the crossfire
Madonna is again arousing the wrath of religious leaders.
The pop diva wears a crown of thorns and sings while hanging from a mirrored cross on her “Confessions” world tour.
The prospect of the scene being repeated at a concert Sunday in Rome’s Olympic stadium – some two miles from the Vatican – is drawing fire from Catholic officials.
“To crucify yourself in the city of the pope, and the martyrs is an act of open hostility,” says Cardinal Ersilio Tonini.
Muslim and Jewish leaders in Italy also have joined in the criticism.
Madonna, meanwhile, says she plans to raise at least $3 million to support orphans in the AIDS-ravaged African country of Malawi, crediting her faith in the Jewish mystical practice of Kabbalah for shifting her priorities.
“One of the main precepts of Kabbalah is that we’re put on this Earth to help people,” she says. “And your job is to figure out how you can help, and what it is that you can do.”
Reaching home safely
The Newark Bears, a minor league baseball team in New Jersey, is hosting a Britney Spears Baby Safety Night tonight to spread the message about keeping infants safe in vehicles.
The pop star drew criticism when she was photographed with her baby son, Sean Preston, sitting on her lap as she drove and, later, in a car seat facing forward rather than backward.
Fans attending the game will receive safety information and a chance to win a free car seat. Those who bring a baby or baby toy – or dress as a baby – will get in free.
Almost idled again
“American Idol” runner-up Katharine McPhee, who joined the “American Idols Live” tour last week after a bout of bronchitis and laryngitis, now has fractured her left foot.
McPhee tripped backstage before a performance Tuesday night in Charlotte, N.C., but still was able to appear and sing two songs.
She went to a hospital after the show, and plans to remain on the tour.
So, she was set up?
Marie Osmond was hospitalized following a bad reaction to medication, not a suicide attempt, her spokeswoman says.
The National Enquirer reported that Osmond’s hospitalization was the result of a failed suicide attempt.
“We deal with those tabloids all the time,” says Osmond’s manager, adding: “You get tired of responding. It’s like punching Jell-O.”
The teardrops are falling faster
Musician Freddy Fender has incurable cancer, discovered after tumors were found on his lungs, and his wife says the couple are “hoping for a miracle.”
“I’m one year away from 70, and I’ve had a good run,” says the three-time Grammy winner. “I cannot complain that I haven’t lived long enough, but I’d like to live longer.”
Fender’s hits include “Before The Next Teardrop Falls,” “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights” and “You’ll Lose A Good Thing.”
The birthday bunch
Actor-comedian Richard Belzer (“Homicide”) is 62. Actor Billy Bob Thornton is 51. Producer Michael Gelman (“Live with Regis and Kelly”) is 45. Actor Daniel Dae Kim (“Lost”) is 38. Actors Dylan and Cole Sprouse (“Grace Under Fire”) are 14.