Dancing with the IRS

Race car driver and "Dancing With The Stars" champion Helio Castroneves is facing federal tax charges in Miami. A grand jury yesterday returned a tax evasion indictment against the 33-year-old, who lives in a Coral Gables mansion. Castroneves (inset) is charged with conspiracy and six counts of tax evasion from 1999-2004. The driver's sister, business manager, and attorney were also indicted. Castroneves, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, has won the Indianapolis 500 twice and is currently second in the IndyCar Series points standings. He and partner Julianne Hough won the 2007 "Dancing With the Stars" TV reality show competition. (AP)

The Screen Actors Guild announced yesterday that James Earl Jones will receive the organization's 2008 Life Achievement Award. SAG President Alan Rosenberg called Jones "a vocal presence without peer." The 77-year-old actor will be presented with the Life Achievement Award at the SAG Awards on Jan. 25. (AP)

NBC said yesterday that Rosie O'Donnell will emcee an hourlong variety show Nov. 26, the night before Thanksgiving. "Rosie's Variety Show" will be O'Donnell's first television gig since she left her seat on "The View" in May 2007. (Los Angeles Times)

With British publication in doubt for Sherry Jones's "The Jewel of Medina," the US publisher of her controversial novel about the prophet Mohammed has moved up the release date from Oct. 15 to Monday. "By speeding up the publication, we wanted to reduce or eliminate the chance of violence," Eric Kampmann, president of Beaufort Books, said yesterday. (AP)

Broadway theaters will dim their lights for one minute tonight at curtain time in memory of Paul Newman, who died last week at age 83. Newman appeared in five Broadway productions, starting in 1953 in William Inge's "Picnic." (AP)