Olympic gold medalist Hughes meets Bush at White House

Washington  President Bush on Friday greeted Olympic figure skater Sarah Hughes at the White House.

The president met privately with the 16-year-old gold medalist in the Oval Office, said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. Hughes arrived and left outside the view of reporters.

The high school junior from Great Neck, N.Y., shocked the sports world Feb. 21 when she turned in a gold medal-winning performance in the figure skating finals, after finishing fourth in the Olympic short program.

‘Survivor’ cleared for Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand  “Survivor” creator Mark Burnett received approval from the government to shoot the fifth season of his reality series on a tropical island where political prisoners were once sent to languish, an official said Friday.

The approval Thursday came over the objections of some environmentalists, who were concerned that the filming of the Leonardo DiCaprio movie “The Beach” on another island two years ago caused coastal erosion and other blight.

“After going through the entire production process, we’re confident there won’t be any problems,” said Sidhichai Jayant, director of the Film Board Secretariat. “There won’t be any landscape changes. Everything is under our control.”

He said the show’s producers would spend at least $4.55 million and be allowed 40 days to film the show on Tarutao Island National Park. Shooting begins in July.

Son revives Old Blue Eyes legacy

Las vegas  Frank Sinatra Jr. will bring his famous dad’s songs back to the Las Vegas Strip next month in a show called “Sinatra Sings Sinatra.”

“Since my father’s death four years ago, a lot of people have made it clear that they’re not ready to give up the music,” the 58-year-old performer said.

“Sinatra Sings Sinatra” will run May 8-15 at the MGM Grand hotel-casino. It will feature songs that the elder Sinatra sang during his more than four decades on Las Vegas stages, including “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” and “Luck Be a Lady.”

Frank Sinatra died of a heart attack at age 82 in 1998.

Newtons resort to surrogate

Las vegas  Wayne Newton and his wife are using a surrogate mother to have their first child, their Los Angeles-based publicist said.

Newton, 60, and his 38-year-old attorney-wife, Kathleen Newton, are expecting a girl in May, the publicist said Thursday.

The Newtons celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary Tuesday.

“It’s just the best news ever,” Tricia McCrone, sister of Kathleen Newton, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It’s something they’ve been planning for a long time and they’re so excited.”

No other details were released.