J. Lo won’t confirm date

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — Jennifer Lopez is denying rumors she plans to marry actor Ben Affleck on Valentine’s Day.

“We don’t know when the wedding will be. We need to sit down together and choose a date,” the singer-actress said in an interview published Sunday in the newspaper Jornal do Brasil.

Lopez said she was doing everything to prevent the media hype surrounding her engagement to the 30-year-old Affleck. The couple announced in November that they planned to marry.

“I’ve already been in relationships with other famous people, but I confess that it (the media attention) didn’t even come close to the madness it is this time,” she said. The 32-year-old star has been married twice before and had a high-profile relationship with rap mogul Sean “P. Diddy” Combs.

Oprah watching her weight

Chicago — She vowed she’d never do the “d-thingy” again.

But after tipping the scales at more than 200 and complaining of heart palpitations, talk-show host Oprah Winfrey is on a diet.

Winfrey told viewers last week she lost 33 pounds on a custom weight-loss program, designed for her by trainer Bob Greene.

The announcement that Oprah is calorie-counting marks another chapter in her very public battle with the bulge. Over the years, America has watched Oprah’s weight fluctuate wildly and heard her promise to never do a show about diets or diet again. Guess she’s changed her mind.

No jackals allowed

Minneapolis — Celebrities and politicians were among the 500 people who attended Gov. Jesse Ventura’s farewell bash at a downtown hotel.

Several wore feather boas to honor the former professional wrestler before he exits public office this week. The Saturday night party was an invitation-only event and reporters, or “media jackals” as Ventura calls them, weren’t allowed inside.

Ventura spokesman John Woedele would not divulge the names of any celebrities in attendance, but several were seen walking in, including former basketball star Charles Barkley and “Young and the Restless” actor Eric Braeden.

Reubens challenges complaint

Los Angeles — A lawyer defending actor Paul Reubens in a misdemeanor child pornography case will be allowed to challenge the evidence, a judge has ruled.

Superior Court Judge C.H. Rehm on Friday set a Jan. 24 deadline for Reubens’ lawyer to submit a motion challenging the criminal complaint.

Reubens, best known for playing Pee-wee Herman, has pleaded innocent to one count of possession of material depicting children under 18 engaging in sexual conduct. Reubens, 50, is free on $20,000 bail.

The charge, which carries a maximum penalty of a year in county jail and a $2,500 fine, comes from a search of the 50-year-old actor’s home in November 2001. Police seized his art collection and personal computers.