Celebrity news

First someone posted photographs of what appears to be every page of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" online for all the world to download. Now copies of J.K. Rowling's hugely anticipated novel appear to have been shipped to some customers days too soon. Scholastic Inc., the US publisher of the series about the boy wizard, is accusing book distributor Levy Home Entertainment and retailer DeepDiscount.com of breaching the on-sale agreement, and announced it was taking "immediate legal action" against them. Retailers had signed a contract requiring them not to sell copies of the seventh and final installment of the fantasy series before 12:01 a.m. Saturday. Scholastic said in a statement: "The number of copies shipped is around one one-hundredth of 1 percent of the total US copies to go on sale" -- or 1,200 copies of the 12 million first printing. "We are also making a direct appeal to the Harry Potter fans who bought their books from DeepDiscount.com and may receive copies early, requesting that they keep the packages hidden until midnight on July 21st." Rowling posted a similar plea on her website, www.jkrowling.com: "I'd like to ask everyone who calls themselves a Potter fan to help preserve the secrecy of the plot." It is not known whether the photographs of what appear to be pages from the book, posted on the Internet this week, are from the books allegedly shipped early. Donna Coyne, Levy's director of product management, declined to comment. (DAVID MEHEGAN)

Like many wars before it, the one between Martha Stewart and some of her neighbors in New York's Westchester County has inspired a protest song. Written by Katonah resident Marc Black, the song takes aim at Stewart's attempt to trademark the village's name for use on a line of furniture and home products. That idea has outraged many residents, who say that no one should own the name "Katonah," and some American Indians, who say the name is taken from a beloved 17th-century tribal chief. "We love you Martha," Black sings in the video, strumming an acoustic guitar as he lounges in a hammock on his porch. (AP)

Hootie & the Blowfish are again delaying the start of their summer tour as lead singer Darius Rucker recovers from a staph infection in his left knee. Rucker, 41, has undergone three surgeries to clear the infection and is still trying to rehabilitate the knee, the band said in a statement. They canceled four shows and postponed eight more. The band already postponed the first 13 shows of the tour that was set to begin June 29. (AP)