 Halle Berry 'sexiest woman alive'
 Associated Press
Alongside a photo spread that shows her in little more than a T-shirt, Halle Berry talks about being the sexiest woman alive, a title Esquire magazine gives her in its November issue.
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'Tobacco Road' a vivid rendering of hard times
Oct. 7 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
The Lester family's fortunes are sinking fast. Also, their house.
Forget being upside-down on their mortgage. This clan of Georgia sharecroppers – a family that would be dirt-poor if only they had the good fortune to own the dirt they live on – inhabits a shack that looks ready to slide sideways right into the soil.
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BEVERLY HILLS, 9:49 a.m. Oct. 7 (AP)
A-list women celebrate their own in Hollywood: In the year of “Sex and the City,” perhaps it's no surprise that an event honoring women drew some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
BEIJING, 5:33 a.m. Oct. 7 (AP)
China state TV to air 50-part Bruce Lee biography: Bruce Lee is getting a belated hero's welcome in China, with the country's state broadcaster set to air a 50-part prime-time series on the late kung fu star.
NEW YORK, 5:56 a.m. Oct. 7 (AP)
Campaign Comedy: Monday's late-night TV wrap-up: You'd hardly know the Democrats have even chosen a presidential candidate, judging from late-night comedy monologues. It was Republican John McCain and – oh, by the way – his vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, who claimed most of the jokesters' attention.
Oct. 6 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Symphony opener a tour de force: Murmurs from the furred and feathered crowd shuffling into the Balboa Theater on Saturday night for the San Diego Symphony's opening gala, “Opus 2008,” suggested the show was a hit even before the music started.
Oct. 7 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
For the record
NEW YORK, 9:42 a.m. Oct. 6 (AP)Lohan's estranged father to jump into boxing ring: Michael Lohan isn't the type to back down from a fight. The estranged father of Lindsay Lohan has publicly feuded with the actress, her girlfriend Samantha Ronson and her mother Dina Lohan. ANAHEIM, 3:27 a.m. Oct. 6 (AP)
Miley Cyrus celebrates Sweet 16 at Disneyland: Miley Cyrus' 16th birthday party was more boisterous than sweet. Cyrus celebrated the hallmark birthday at an over-the-top Disneyland celebration Sunday – even though she doesn't actually turn 16 until Nov. 23. NEW YORK, 1:32 a.m. Oct. 6 (AP)
Jimmy Kimmel returns as American Music Awards host: Jimmy Kimmel is coming back to provide more laughs for the American Music Awards. The comedian and talk show host is slated to host the annual event on Nov. 23 live from Los Angeles on ABC. Pink and the Jonas Brothers are among those scheduled to perform.
Oct. 6 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Lee Grant's Outtakes:Showtime's “Dexter” (9 p.m. Sundays) is back, and, once again, it's an opportunity to observe the superb Michael C. Hall, eerie blood spatter expert for the Miami P.D., who splatters the screen with the gruesome task of meting out deadly justice to those who deserve it.
Oct. 6 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Fashion Week catches a heel:For a while, it looked like Fashion Week San Diego was never going to happen. The ambitious, first-time show, inspired by New York and Los Angeles fashion weeks, was supposed to be the biggest style event this jeans and t-shirt city ever saw.
Oct. 6 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
'Fool' is a taut, well-muscled lovers' quarrel:In Sam Shepard's “Fool for Love,” two formidable foes face off in a motel at the edge of the Mojave Desert. On-again, off-again lovers May and Eddie may not draw blood, but they always shoot for the heart.
INDIANOLA, Miss., 9:02 p.m. Oct. 5 (AP)Museum is a tribute to a King: Translucent images of long ago, of black men and women, backs bent, picking cotton under an unforgiving sun, are artistically displayed on standing glass panels in a museum carved out of an old brick gin mill in the Mississippi Delta. NEW YORK, 9:02 p.m. Oct. 5 (AP)
Odd couple: Rachel Maddow and Pat Buchanan: At 19, Rachel Maddow shared a house with friends in Philadelphia and wasn't paying much attention to the 1992 Republican National Convention on television until Pat Buchanan took to the podium. COLUMBUS, Ohio, 4:56 p.m. Oct. 5 (AP)
Bruce Springsteen rocks for Obama at Ohio State: For the second day in a row, rock star Bruce Springsteen sang a few songs and urged thousands of potential voters in a battleground state to register and support Democrat Barack Obama. PARIS, 3:40 p.m. Oct. 5 (AP)
Designers play it safe as economy sours: Paris Fashion Week ended on Sunday, capping a season which saw designers play it safe to coax customers into stores despite the global financial crisis.
LOS ANGELES, 2:03 p.m. Oct. 5 (AP)
Paramount, DreamWorks formalize separation deal: Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks say they are formally separating following DreamWorks' deal to partner with Reliance Entertainment of India.
LOS ANGELES, 11:13 a.m. Oct. 5 (AP)
Audiences adopt 'Chihuahua' with $29M weekend: “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” was barking up the right tree with movie-goers, who put the Disney comedy at No. 1 for the weekend with a $29 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Oct. 5 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Three votes for enlightenment: Three brief documentaries by San Diego filmmakers – Michael Chen's “Absent Voices,” Cheryl Kanekar's “Banana Republic,” Ron Tuatagaloa's “The Greater Good: The Political Journey of Tom Hom” – consider this provocative dilemma: Why Asian-Americans don't vote.
Oct. 5 (UNION-TRIBUNE)Physicians' footsteps: Josh Reicher was in preschool when the teacher asked class members what they wanted to be when they grew up. No fireman or policeman or football player for Josh.
Oct. 5 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
MCASD doffs hat to Davies in exhibit:They are some of Henri Matisse's most famous words. “What I dream of, is an art of balance, of purity and serenity, devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter,” the iconic 20th-century painter wrote in 1908. He then compares a successful work of art to a good armchair.
Oct. 5 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
See Kim's closet before Asian fest:Today, we pop in for a visit with Lee Ann Kim. The former Channel 10 news anchor is the executive director of the Asian American Film Foundation, which hosts its ninth annual film festival Thursday through Oct. 16 in San Diego (SDAFF.org).
Oct. 5 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Old Globe adds hip-hop play to roster and to outreach program:It's been a breakthrough year for hip-hop in theater. In June, the propulsive “In the Heights” won the Tony Award for best musical; locally, La Jolla Playhouse staged “The Seven,” a bold fusion of rap and Greek tragedy.
Oct. 5 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
He uses art as a voyage of discovery:In an out-of-the-way corner of the bustling, vital campus that is City Height's Hoover High School, an 18-year-old senior named Angel Marquez perches before four easels bearing his extraordinary art.
Oct. 4 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Apocalypse soon: The pages of failed end-of-the-world prophecies could make up a whole new testament. Now there's the Rev. David Jeremiah, an East County mega-pastor and TV evangelist who says the end is coming, in the words of a familiar church song, “soon and very soon.”
Oct. 4 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
For elite team of women, a high-level (private) chat: With the nation in the throes of an economic crisis and a high-stakes presidential election a month away, the salad bar at Carlsbad's Four Seasons Resort Aviara was one of the best places to get the inside scoop this week.
Oct. 4 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Rated 'G': Did you know that a potato beetle larva covers itself in excrement poop to make it look less appealing to predators? Did you know that frogs give birth by belching out their babies? These are just a couple of cool facts you learn at the "Animal Grossology" exhibition at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.
Oct. 4 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Have you seen this pup? Dog's tale a stretch, but still funny, endearing: OK, I admit it. I had very low expectations for “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” – a story about a pampered pup named Chloe (Drew Barrymore) and her neurotic owner, Aunt Viv (Jamie Lee Curtis), a cosmetics company magnate, and what happens after Aunt Viv goes on a business trip, leaving Chloe in the care of her equally indulged niece Rachel (Piper Perabo).
Oct. 4 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
'Beverly Hills Chihuahua' is a – cue drumroll! – dog:To put it simply, “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” has about as much substance as the socialite who made the breed famous. With the predictable plot of dog gets lost/dog meets protector/dog gets found, the film is hardly unique.
Oct. 3 (UNION-TRIBUNE)Anti-religion fervor in 'Religulous' is over the top: She laughed. I had invited Cheryl Hall to the screening of “Religulous” to get a faith-based reaction to comedian Bill Maher's diatribe on the divine. Hall's credentials: longtime member of the United Methodist Women and faithful San Diego churchgoer whose husband teaches a weekly Bible study class. Oct. 3 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Lee Grant's Outtakes: 'INFINITE' WISDOM “Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist” (½) is infinitely taken with itself, its cuteness (Michael Cera, OMG, you want to slap the boy), its music (ironically, the one tune that jumps off the screen is Hot Chocolate's three-decades-old “You Sexy Thing”) and how cool New York City is at night (except for street denizen Andy Samberg with the aggressive hots for Cera).
Oct. 3 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Prey for Bill Maher: In his faith-flogging documentary “Religulous,” political cutup Bill Maher snags an interview with Jesus, who was about to be beaten bloody by his captors and crucified at the Holy Land theme park in Orlando.
Oct. 3 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Newman's passing sparks a lifetime of memories: His were the most famous blue eyes in Hollywood history. But Paul Newman, who passed away last weekend at the age of 83, was so much more.
Oct. 3 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Muslims mine delicate vein of humor: The best part of “Allah Made Me Funny” is seeing Muslims in the audience doubled over in laughter as familiar comedians poked good-natured fun at their faith, their customs, their families and their challenges in the not-so-humorous post-9/11 world.
LONDON, 10:02 a.m. Oct. 3 (AP)
3 men in court charged with publisher attack plot: Three men charged with plotting to attack the publisher of a novel about the Prophet Muhammad's child bride made a brief court appearance Friday after being charged with plotting to damage the offices of Gibson Square publishers.
MIAMI, 8:04 a.m. Oct. 3 (AP)
Race driver Castroneves heads to court in tax case: Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and “Dancing With the Stars” champion Helio Castronoves was set to appear in court Friday to face allegations he used offshore accounts to hide millions of dollars in income from the Internal Revenue Service.
NEW YORK, 5:21 a.m. Oct. 3 (AP)
Yo-Yo Ma's new album takes spiritual journey: After musical trips to Appalachia, Brazil, Argentina, the Silk Road and baroque and modern Italy, Yo-Yo Ma has embarked on a spiritual journey.
LISBON, Portugal, 4:54 a.m. Oct. 3 (AP)
Author rejects criticism of film 'Blindness': A Nobel literature laureate said Friday that protests about a film version of his book “Blindness” are unfounded and misguided.
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, 4:09 a.m. Oct. 3 (AP)
Nobel literature prize to be announced on Oct. 9: The 2008 winner of the Nobel Prize in literature will be presented on Oct. 9, the Swedish Academy said Friday, completing the schedule of this year's Nobel announcements.
NASHVILLE, Tenn., 9:45 p.m. Oct. 2 (AP)
Dailey & Vincent big winners at bluegrass awards: New duo Dailey & Vincent dominated the International Bluegrass Music Association awards Thursday, winning entertainer of the year, album of the year, vocal group, emerging artist and gospel recorded performance.
Oct. 2 (UNION-TRIBUNE)
Have yurt, will travel: It took Mekenbek Osmonaliyev and his family about five years to design and construct their decorative yurt, which won a national competition celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of Kyrgyzstan.
LOS ANGELES, 7:15 p.m. Oct. 2 (AP)
'An American Carol' lampoons the left: It's a movie genre you don't hear much about in Hollywood: the right-wing comedy. For that matter, it's not much of a genre at all.
LOS ANGELES, 7:12 p.m. Oct. 2 (AP)
Sneak peek at the upcoming 'Watchmen' film: Who watched some of “Watchmen”? Select members of the press. That's who.
LOS ANGELES, 6:34 p.m. Oct. 2 (AP)
James Earl Jones to get SAG life achievement award: James Earl Jones, who has voiced some of entertainment's most memorable characters, will receive the 2008 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
