Rather mocking

Though battles between news anchors have historically been between rival networks, the latest feud is a purely CBS affair: Katie vs. Dan. The rivalry took a humorous turn when a video was posted on the Web this week showing Katie Couric (above) mocking Dan Rather (inset) while preparing to anchor a broadcast from Nashville last week. A video of Rather surfaced last month, showing the former "CBS Evening News" anchor obsessing over his appearance before a remote broadcast - particularly questioning the wearing of an overcoat. While her CBS crew prepared for the Nov. 8 evening broadcast and makeup was applied to her, Couric joked, "I'm going to be like Dan Rather on YouTube," fiddling with her coat. "Geez, don't you think he deserves a little payback?" The video of Couric was posted by comedian Harry Shearer on MyDamnChannel.com, a video website he co-founded. Jen Farley, a spokeswoman for CBS, would not comment on whether someone from CBS had supplied the video. (AP)

A video believed to show Britney Spears running a red light was submitted to a Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday, the latest piece of evidence entered in the child-custody battle between the pop star and ex-husband Kevin Federline. The celebrity website TMZ.com reported the video showed the 25-year-old singer running a red light at a Hollywood Hills intersection while driving with the couple's two young sons in the back seat of her car. An unidentified witness who had been subpoenaed also appeared briefly at yesterday's court hearing. His testimony was postponed. The case is due back in court Nov. 26. (AP)

In the first big-screen casualty of the Hollywood writers strike, Columbia Pictures said yesterday it had postponed production on "Angels & Demons," a prequel to its box-office hit "The Da Vinci Code." The film distributor also said the planned release date for the religious thriller starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard, originally set to open during the 2008 holiday season, has been pushed back to 2009. The studio said in a statement that the script by Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldman needed further work. (REUTERS)

After playing only a handful of shows in 2007, Kiss will be back in action next year for a series of "Kiss festivals around the Indy car racing series," bassist-vocalist Gene Simmons told Billboard magazine. The first date to be announced is March 16 in Melbourne, in conjunction with the Formula 1 ING Australian Grand Prix. Meanwhile, it's been nine years since Kiss' last studio album, but Simmons says fans shouldn't hold their breath for another one. "There is nothing in me that wants to go in there and do new music," he said. (BILLBOARD)

Actor Chris Noth and his girlfriend, Tara Wilson, are expecting their first child, his representatives said yesterday. "Chris and Tara are very happy and have always agreed to keep what is most personal in their lives private," Noth's manager and publicist said in a statement.(AP)

A $30 million gift from Herb Alpert will fund a new music school at the University of California, Los Angeles. The Grammy-winning trumpeter pledged the money through his Herb Alpert Foundation. The money will bring the university's departments of ethnomusicology, music, and musicology under a single umbrella for the study and performance of world, popular, and classical music, jazz, and other genres. (AP)

"Love is really odd. It is a funny old thing. It can be inconsistent. It is beautiful, but love has an ebb and flow." - Pop star Seal, talking about his marriage to supermodel Heidi Klum.