Lawless arrested in oil-ship protest
Police arrested and later released actress Lucy Lawless and five Greenpeace environmental activists after the group spent four days protesting aboard an oil-drilling ship docked in Wellington, New Zealand.
Police today removed the group from their perch atop a 174-foot drilling tower on the Noble Discoverer in Port Taranaki. Lawless and six activists climbed the tower early Friday to raise awareness about oil drilling in the Arctic.
Chartered by oil company Shell, the ship had been due to leave over the weekend for the Arctic to drill five exploratory wells.
Lawless, 43, a native New Zealander, is best known for her title role in the TV series “Xena: Warrior Princess.”
Woods to testify on apology bill
Rhode Island officials say actor James Woods will be testifying before a state legislative committee in support of a bill that would allow doctors to apologize for bad treatment outcomes, but ban those apologies from being used against them in malpractice lawsuits.
The Warwick native is set to testify before the House Committee on Judiciary on Wednesday in favor of the so-called “benevolent gestures” bill.
Woods’ brother, Michael, died of a heart attack at Kent Hospital in 2006. Woods sued the hospital, accusing emergency room staff of not doing enough to save his brother, but he settled the lawsuit after a hospital executive apologized and agreed to start an institute in Michael Woods’ name.
Studies show medical malpractice claims decrease when doctors apologize for mistakes and other negative outcomes.
Danza raising funds for school
Actor Tony Danza says he’s disheartened by the reality of major budget cuts this year in the district of a Philadelphia high school where he starred in a reality TV show.
To help, Danza hosted a fundraising talent show at Northeast High School on Thursday evening. He previously spent a year as an English instructor there for the A&E program “Teach.”
District officials are facing a $715 million deficit and have cut hundreds of positions and many programs. They must still cut nearly $39 million by June.
Danza starred in sitcoms including “Taxi” and “Who’s The Boss.”
The birthday bunch
Actress Joanne Woodward is 82. Actor Howard Hesseman is 72. Guitarist Neal Schon (Journey) is 58. Guitarist Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden) is 55. Singer Johnny Van Zant (Lynyrd Skynyrd) is 52. Actor Adam Baldwin (“Chuck”) is 50. Actor Grant Show (“Melrose Place”) is 50. Singer Chilli (TLC) is 41. Singer Bobby Valentino is 32. Singer Josh Groban is 31.