Ruben Studdard

• The director of the New Village Academy, the soon-to-open LA school funded by Will Smith, has denied that the institution will be influenced by Scientology despite the fact that it will teach using methods devised by the religion's founder, L. Ron Hubbard. — AP
• A friend of Raffaello Follieri, Anne Hathaway's jailed ex-boyfriend, believes that the actress testified to the FBI in exchange for the Feds holding off on arresting him until she was out of the country promoting Get Smart. — NY Daily News
• Pixar's Wall-E took the top spot at the weekend box office, followed by Wanted in second and Get Smart in third. — BuzzSugar
• Spain triumphed over Germany on Sunday night to win the Euro Cup for the first time in 44 years. — CitizenSugar
• Kazakh supermodel Ruslana Korshunova died on Saturday in an apparent suicide after falling from her ninth-story apartment in Manhattan. — AP
• Weekend wedding wrapup: Tennis star Chris Evert wed golf legend Greg Norman on Saturday in the Bahamas; former American Idol winner Ruben Studdard married Surata Zuri McCants near Birmingham, AL, on Saturday; actress Joy Bryant tied the knot on Saturday with stuntman David Pope in Amagansett, NY; former SNL funny man Chris Kattan married model Sunshine Tutt in Yosemite Valley, CA, on Saturday.

Source

• Anne Hathaway's ex-boyfriend Raffaello Follieri was arrested on wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering charges and is due in court today. — TMZ
• Michelle Williams is worried that daughter, Matilda, will not see any of her inheritance as a beneficiary of Heath Ledger's will. — Page Six
• Mary-Kate Olsen will guest star in an episode of next season's Samantha Who? on ABC. — E! Online
• Heather Locklear has checked herself into an Arizona psychological facility to help deal with issues of "anxiety and depression." — People
• Amy Winehouse has been released from the hospital and it turns out her father exaggerated her diagnosis of emphysema, she only has early signs of what could eventually be full blown emphysema. — People
• Diana Bianchi, the alleged other woman involved in Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook's divorce, will appear to testify in court. — ET Online
• Ruben Studdard is engaged to girlfriend Surata Zuri McCants; the couple obtained a marriage license in Alabama yesterday. — Us Weekly

Source

Recently, AOL's Switched had the pleasure of talking with American Idol Season 2 winner Ruben Studdard about his love for his BlackBerry, how he still wants to get an iPhone, and his annoyance with the short battery life on his iPod, phone, and laptop. Here are some of the highlights from the interview:

• On what was the longest time he's ever spent playing a video game in one sitting and what game it was: "About three hours. It was NCAA college football from EA Sports. I played against my brother and my friends and I came out the tournament victorious."
• Discussing whether he's a Mac or PC kinda guy: "I have a Mac but I really don't know why. . . . I just love it. I guess since all of my other artist friends had one, and it's the industry standard in every major recording studio I have been in, it just seemed like a really good move. Peer pressure is still alive and well."
• On what gadget he would want to have with him on a stranded island: "If I was on a desert island I would need a battery-operated refrigerator with an automatic fire starter and a GPS tracking device on the side."

Source

Alabama is right next door to the fattest state of the nation Mississippi, and not far behind it statistically in terms of residents on the heavier side of a healthy weight.

Alabama healthy officials have created Scale Back Alabama, an eight-week program beginning in January designed to help people lose weight and learn how to eat smarter. Here's how it works:

Hospitals are taking the campaign into their communities to sign up businesses and other organizations. Teams of three to five members will compete to see who can win the most weight on a percentage basis, with the winning team receiving $1,000 per person, compliments of Barber Dairies.

The contest sounds like a great idea with team building built in to the program. American Idol winner and Alabama resident Ruben Studdard is the campaign's spokesperson.
He recently told the Associated Press, "I'm not where I want to be, but I'm on the right track, and I'm excited about encouraging other Alabamians to begin their own weight-loss journeys." He has lost almost 100 pounds with a diet and exercise regimen.

Right on Ruben! Good luck Alabama!

• Eminem and his high school sweetheart Kim Mathers have divorced for the second time. Hopefully, they won't go for a third. - AP
• Ruben Studdard, who has lost 100 lbs. since his AI win, is taking part in a campaign that's asking Alabama's overweight residents to lose 10 pounds in eight weeks. Looks like they've got a great role model in Ruben. - People
• The FBI has released its final surveillance documents on John Lennon to a historian that's been fighting for them for the past 25 years. Wonder if he'll sell them on Ebay. - AP
• Actor Mark Ivanir says costar Matt Damon saved his life during a torture scene on the set of The Good Shepherd. Matt was already a hero in our book. - US Weekly

Source

Thanks to Princezz we have found out that old AI favorites are showing up at Kelly's concerts. Just another reason to try to win free tickets from TeamSugar. Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard made a special appearance at Kelly's show in Raleigh, NC. Apparently the duo waved to the crowd, signed autographs and even sang along to Kelly's tunes. Not sure why everyone makes a big deal out of whether or not Clay is gay but his recent makeover to try to convince us he is stylish is simply hilarious.

A few more so read more