Lawyer: Ruffalo's brother shot himself

December 11, 2008

Police released a woman arrested in the shooting death of actor Mark Ruffalo's brother, after she told investigators he shot himself playing with a gun, her attorney said yesterday. Jail records confirmed that Shaha Mishaal Adham, 26, was released Tuesday night. Her attorney, Ronald Richards, said Adham was at the Beverly Hills home of her friend, Scott Ruffalo, on Dec. 1 to recover keys to a car she lent him. With her in the room, Ruffalo shot himself, Richards said. "He plays with guns by pointing them at his head and saying words like 'Russian Roulette' or pop, and he accidentally shot himself," Richards said. (Reuters)

Madonna is causing "impure thoughts" on her first concert visit to Chile, a prominent retired cardinal complained yesterday, as he paused in a tribute to a late dictator to denounce the pop star. Roman Catholic Cardinal Jorge Medina criticized the singer in a homily at a Mass in honor of Augusto Pinochet, who oversaw the deaths of 3,200 dissidents during his rule. "This woman comes here and in an incredibly shameless manner she provokes a crazy enthusiasm, an enthusiasm of lust, lustful thoughts, impure thoughts," Medina said. Hundreds of fans camped for three days outside National Stadium in Santiago to get good spots for yesterday's concert, the first of two. About 60,000 people were expected at each show. (AP)

CBS Corp. chief executive Leslie Moonves challenged Jay Leno to a ratings duel when the late-night talk show host moves his NBC show to a 10 p.m. slot next fall. "I will bet anybody who would like to bet that 'CSI: Miami' on Monday night at 10 o'clock will beat Jay by a lot. Remember that. By a lot," Moonves said yesterday at an investor conference. Leno (inset) said Tuesday that he didn't expect his nightly show to beat any other 10 p.m. show in the beginning but would benefit from running at least 46 weeks of the year. (AP)

Sean Penn and "Milk," Gus Van Sant's biopic about gay rights leader Harvey Milk, gained awards momentum yesterday, winning best actor and best film from the New York Film Critics Circle. On Tuesday, Penn was chosen as best actor by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, though best film went to the animated Pixar movie "WALL-E." Both groups named Sally Hawkins best actress for her role in "Happy-Go-Lucky." (wire reports)