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Well this doesn’t look good — a day after ABC announced Michael Strahan’s departure from “Live! With Kelly and Michael” to join “Good Morning America” full time, co-host Kelly Ripa was nowhere to be found. Instead, Strahan showed up with substitute host Ana Gasteyer, formerly of the network’s “Suburgatory” and a guest star on “The Goldbergs.” “Kelly’s off today,” Strahan said briskly, introducing Gasteyer to the screaming fans in the audience.

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, April 1, 2009 – Troops from different service branches and different countries eagerly got into a line that wrapped around the inside of a tent here March 24 to meet four former World Wrestling Entertainment “divas.” Servicemembers wait in line to meet former World Wrestling Entertainment divas at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, March 24, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Opal Hood  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. For more than two hours, Terry Runnels, Nora “Molly Holly” Greenwald, Christy Hemme and Shelly Martinez signed autographs and posed for photos with servicemembers and civilians at the Morale,...

DENVER — Amid a spate of awkward on-air conflicts among MNSBC anchors at this week’s Democratic convention, some staff members say there are sharp internal disputes at the cable network over whether its opinion and personality-driven political coverage has crossed the line. “The situation at our channel is about to blow up,” a high-ranking MSNBC journalist told Politico on Wednesday. Two other MSNBC sources said some of the testy on-air exchanges between Keith Olbermann — whose quick-witted and often caustic commentary has fueled ratings growth — and other network personalities were a public glimpse of much more intense behind-the-scenes turmoil....

Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan and other celebrities gathered Sunday to protest a natural gas facility proposed for a site 14 miles off the Malibu coast. "We have to use our voices and band together and stop this," said Oscar winner Halle Berry. The gathering _ also attended by Cindy Crawford, Jane Seymour, Dick Van Dyke and Tea Leoni _ was intended to raise awareness about how the energy industry has invested billions to liquefy and ship natural gas across oceans. There are five facilities proposed for California, with three along the Southern California coastline. One of the world's...

Habitual and enthusiastic singers may be more predisposed to put on weight because exertions in the lungs act as a trigger for their appetite. A new study suggests that hormones released during singing may be responsible for the excess weight common among opera singers. Peter Osin, consultant at the Royal Marsden Hospital, suggests the mechanism of singing encourages the lung cells to release chemicals including leptin, a protein made by the body's fat cells that is involved in the regulation of appetite. (C) 2005 Evening Standard - London. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved

Viking ship cracking upEperts are worried about one of Norway's national treasures. Archaeologists have discovered cracks in the hull of he famed Oseberg Viking ship, which may halt plans to move the vessel to a new museum.The archaeologists have been carefully going over the nearly 1,200-year-old ship, and are concerned about what they see, reports newspaper Aftenposten.Removal of the vessel's top deck has revealed some exciting new details, like graffiti from the Viking age and details of the ship's rigging. But it's also exposed cracks that make archaeologists worry the ship won't tolerate any move to new quarters.There have been...

Sir Elton John is famed for his outbursts and diva-ish tantrums. So when he was invited to a presidential reception, hosted by George W Bush, the organisers must have been praying the Rocket Man would not explode. Two weeks ago Sir Elton hit out at the US president, saying he was "the worst thing that has ever happened to America". "I just wanna scream," he said. "It's a nightmare. These idiots think they can get away with anything ... it enrages me that people can just smirk their way through it." But the 57-year-old entertainer managed to keep his cool...

<p>NOT everyone who works for the "Today" show is a fan of Katie Couric. A loose-lipped staffer called us to claim that Couric demanded a helicopter to fly her to a Greenwich, Conn., memorial for NBC News correspondent David Bloom on Wednesday evening, after she heard that the network was flying Tom Brokaw out on a chopper right after the "NBC Nightly News."</p>

The presidential primaries turn national this week, with states as diverse as New Mexico and Delaware voting to select their Democratic challenger. Contenders must swap the retail politics of Iowa and New Hampshire for a campaign to build national appeal. One group sure to be courted is women. Yet for advice about how to appeal to them, candidates should look beyond the self-proclaimed feminist groups. These dependency divas sell a tired mix of victimization and big government that's out of touch with most modern women. But don't take my word for it. In a recent interview, Martha Burke, chairman of...

Washington, DC, Apr 17 (OneWorld) - A major environmental group has declared a ceasefire in its three-year campaign against Citigroup, the world's largest private financial institution, after new commitments by the giant lender to adopt more responsible social and environmental policies in deciding what projects to finance. Citigroup's decision to more seriously engage one of its main critics, Rainforest Action Network (RAN), came one week after the San Francisco-based group launched a major ad campaign to persuade Citigroup credit card holders to destroy their cards to protest the company's support for projects and industries that environmentalists consider particularly harmful. The...

Rosie O'Donnell, actress, comedian, newly 'out' lesbian, former daytime talk show host and now former publishing impresario, is nothing if not blunt. Here's 'the Queen of Nice', on why a magazine bearing her name would succeed. 'I knew two million Americans would buy it. How? Because that's how many bought my CD - and I can't sing.' Upon such unvarnished marketing certainties are magazine empires built in modern America. Or so it was once believed. In early 2001, O'Donnell, a stalwart of the 'confessional' mid-afternoon talk shows that dominate US television, signed a deal that would take the mix of...