Kennedy Center honorees announced

September 10, 2008

Barbra Streisand, actor Morgan Freeman, and country singer George Jones will be honored by the Kennedy Center in December along with choreographer Twyla Tharp and musicians Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of the Who, it was announced yesterday. Performers will salute the honorees at a Dec. 7 gala to be aired later on CBS. For the last time, President Bush and first lady Laura Bush will host the honorees at the White House before the performance. The awards are presented the night before at a State Department dinner hosted by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. (AP)

Two first-time novelists were among six finalists announced yesterday for the prestigious Man Booker prize for fiction. Indian novelist Aravind Adiga was nominated for his debut, "The White Tiger," which tells the story of a man's dreams of escaping poor village life for success in the big city. Australia's Steve Toltz was nominated for "A Fraction of the Whole," about a father-son relationship. Ireland's Sebastian Barry, a finalist with "The Secret Scripture," was previously nominated in 2005 for "A Long Long Way." The other three authors in the running are Indian writer Amitav Ghosh for "Sea of Poppies," English author Linda Grant for "The Clothes on Their Backs," and England's Philip Hensher for "The Northern Clemency." The winner, who receives $88,700 and a likely boost in sales, will be announced Oct. 14. (AP)

Actress Minnie Driver has given birth to a not-so-little one. Henry Story Driver was born in Los Angeles on Friday and weighed 9 pounds 12 ounces, her publicist told People magazine. Driver, 38, confirmed that she was pregnant during an appearance on "The Tonight Show" in March but has not revealed the name of the father. (AP)

"You know who I'm voting for? I'm voting for God because he's in the party of freedom, dude." -- Hulk Hogan's daughter Brooke, after uttering "Who's that?" to Defamer.com when asked for her opinion of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin