Any time now

By Mark Shanahan & Paysha Rhone  |  January 1, 2009

By the time you read this, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner may have another bundle of joy. The couple have kept the due date of their second child under wraps, but those pesky paparazzi popped the pair arriving yesterday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in LA. (Ben and Jen's daughter, Violet, is 3.) Earlier this week, Garner was snapped while taking a stroll with sex therapist Dr. Holly Hein, who's famous for her book "Sexual Detours: The Startling Truth Behind Love, Lust, and Infidelity." (As the title suggests, Hein is not opposed to affairs.) Is Affleck's marriage in trouble? Bah. If we had to bet, Garner's just researching a role.

Change in the air

Is the city ready for a two-woman anchor desk? WLVI thinks so. Starting Monday, Kim Khazei will join Frances Rivera on the 10 p.m. newscast, making Channel 56 the first Boston station to feature a permanent team of female anchors. Khazei replaces Matt Lorch, who will continue to report and anchor afternoon newscasts on WHDH (Channel 7), which owns WLVI. "We think it's a strong move for us, doing something that is new, cutting edge, and different at 10 p.m.," said Chris Wayland, vice president and general manager of WHDH and WLVI. Linda Miele, news director for both stations, said the newscast will showcase more viewer-generated content such as video, photos, and tip-driven stories. WCVB (Channel 5) briefly experimented with a pairing of two women in the fall of 2007 while searching for a replacement for Natalie Jacobson. The station briefly paired Liz Brunner and Heather Unruh as co-anchors at 6 p.m. but soon split them up.

Tom and Gisele: psychic connection

Why waste time guessing if Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen are getting married when you can look into a crystal ball? Alex Palermo, owner of the Original Tremont Tearoom, the nation's oldest psychic salon, and Darlene at Regina Russell's Tea Room in Quincy, both say the Pats QB will, in fact, make a blushing bride of the Brazilian supermodel in the new year. Palermo: "Oh yeah, it's going to happen." Darlene: "It will never break up. It's forever. They are kindred old souls together." The soothsayers also say Brady's playing days are basically behind him because of the knee injury he suffered this season. "Even if he comes back, it'll be limited," said Palermo. "Tom's leaving football, and the Patriots are scrambling behind the scenes to figure out what to do." While we had them on the horn, we asked for a few other new year's predictions. Both believe Caroline Kennedy will take Hillary Clinton's Senate seat. "That girl grew up surrounded by politicians," said Darlene. "If she doesn't know her way around the Senate, I don't know who does." Palermo isn't expecting big things from Republican VP pick Sarah Palin . "Sarah who?" he said. "Bill Weld has a better chance of getting a talk show, and he's as exciting as a cantaloupe." And what about House Speaker Sal Di Masi? Are his days numbered? "No way. He's the Massachusetts version of the Teflon Don," said Palermo. But Darlene disagrees. "He's going to step down, thank God. He has nowhere to turn but to go home." The Tremont Tea Room, by the way, is moving from its longtime Winter Street location. Effective today, the tea room's prophets will be telling fortunes at 101 Tremont St.

How coldhearted are today's media moguls? Consider this: Nat Hentoff, who's been writing a column for the Village Voice since 1958, was told over the phone this week that he was being laid off. "People are calling to talk to me about it," the legendary scribe told us yesterday. "It's a little like reading your obit while you're still here." Hentoff (inset), a Roxbury native who graduated from Boston Latin and Northeastern, said his editor, Tony Ortega, called and told him he was the victim of the weekly's shrinking ad revenues. (Ortega did not return our call yesterday.) Aside from his work at the Voice, where he opined about politics and jazz, Hentoff, 83, continues to write a weekly syndicated column and also contributes to The Wall Street Journal. "Fortunately, I'm not at a point where I have to begin selling used books on the street," he said. Lamenting the huge number of layoffs in the newspaper business of late, Hentoff recalled working at Sunday's Candies as a boy in Boston. "We were making 35 cents an hour, and I told the boss that Christmas was coming, and he'd have to pay us 50 cents or we'd walk," he said. "That was my first union experience." Hentoff had plenty of opportunities to leave the Voice, but always decided to stay. "I felt loyal," he said.

Matt Dillon was busted by Vermont State Police for allegedly driving 106 mph on an interstate highway. The 44-year-old movie star (above, in booking photo) was pulled over by a trooper on Interstate 91 in Newbury Tuesday night. The actor was behind the wheel of a rented 2009 Chevrolet Impala. The posted speed limit is 65 miles per hour, so Dillon was charged criminally under a statute that bans going more than 30 miles per hour above the limit while traveling 60 miles per hour or more. He's scheduled to appear in Vermont District Court on Jan. 21. He could get three months in jail and a $300 fine. "We're trying to treat him no different than we would anyone else," said State Police spokeswoman Tara Thomas.

We haven't seen the last of Hazel Mae after all. Comcast announced yesterday it's adding the MLB Network to its digital cable lineup in New England. Mae, you might remember, was a NESN anchor but jumped ship when she and her bosses couldn't agree on equitable compensation. (They were fighting over money.) Mae now works for the MLB Network's show "Hot Stove," the off-season studio show, and "MLB Tonight," the network's live, in-season studio show that'll air every night.

In town for an appearance at The Estate, former "America's Next Top Model" winner CariDee English stopped by the gift suite at marlo marketing yesterday. English snagged some goodies and signed a few items, which will be auctioned to raise money. Others who've dropped by the suite in recent months include Aerosmith's Joey Kramer, actor James Brolin, and "Mall Cop" actors Keir O'Donnell and Jayma Mays.

Johnny Diaz of the Globe staff contributed. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253.