Kennedy Center honorees feted

Washington — Elton John called his Kennedy Center Honor “icing on the cake,” but actor Robert Downey Jr. got a frosty reception when he introduced the rock legend as “the other first lady.”

John, opera diva Joan Sutherland, conductor John Williams and actors Warren Beatty, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee were honored Sunday with a star-studded tribute at The Kennedy Center. The six recipients of the 27th annual Kennedy Center Honors were saluted for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts.

But Downey stole the show with his rambling tribute to John. The actor said he — like losing presidential candidate John Kerry — was suffering “from acute symptoms of another dual-diagnosis disease of mine: the ADD, of course, the altruistic Democrat disorder.”

That drew nervous laughter from the audience, which included Sen. Kerry as well as President and Mrs. Bush.

At a reception at the White House Sunday afternoon, John said winning the honor “is about the icing on the cake. … It’s incredible for someone who’s British to be given such an accolade from America, which has given me so much already in my career.”

Beatty, 67, is an actor, writer, producer and director. He has been nominated for Academy Awards 15 times, and won an Oscar in 1982 as best director for “Reds.”

Australian-born soprano Sutherland, 78, was saluted by fellow opera singers Sherrill Milnes and Marilyn Horne, a previous honoree.

Composer and conductor Williams, 72, has won five Academy Awards, 17 Grammys and two Emmys and is best known for his film scores for “Star Wars,” “Jaws,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “E.T.”

Husband-and-wife acting team Davis, 86, and Dee, 80, were feted for their long careers on stage and screen.

Michael Jackson gives DNA sample to authorities

Los Olivos, Calif.– Michael Jackson voluntarily gave a DNA sample to authorities, returning to his Neverland Ranch estate a day after he left during a search by sheriff’s deputies, a source close to the case said Sunday.

When sheriff’s deputies arrived with search warrants Friday, his lawyer instructed him to leave and take his children with him, the source told The Associated Press.

On Saturday, when the deputies returned, they asked for a DNA sample and Jackson returned by car to the estate and supplied the sample voluntarily, the source said.

Authorities had never before asked for a DNA sample, the source said. A cotton swab was used to collect the sample from Jackson’s mouth.

It wasn’t immediately clear how authorities planned to use the DNA in Jackson’s child molestation case.

Married to the ‘mob’?

South Orange, N.J.– Comedian Joe Piscopo wants to change the popular stereotypes of Italian Americans promoted on television and in movies.

The former “Saturday Night Live” star attended a panel discussion at Seton Hall University in New Jersey that examined why, according to one attendee, prejudice against Italians was tacitly accepted in popular culture.

Piscopo, who said he was embarrassed by some of the stereotypical Italian characters he had played, is at work on a movie that portrays an Italian-American family from northern New Jersey. He is determined to get the film made, though he said he had run into difficulties because it was not gangster-related.

‘Treasure’ keeps up gold streak at box office

Los Angeles — The Founding Fathers keep earning interest on their loot. Nicolas Cage’s “National Treasure,” about a race to find a fortune hidden by the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was the top movie for a third straight weekend with $17.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The action flick lifted its total to $110.2 million after 17 days in release, dominating a quiet post-Thanksgiving weekend with no new movies debuting in wide release.

Mike Nichols’ caustic sex drama “Closer” starring Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen opened strongly in narrower release, taking in $7.7 million for the No. 6 spot.

Oliver Stone’s historical epic “Alexander,” which opened to poor reviews, grossed $4.7 million, down 65 percent from its debut the previous weekend, at No. 7.

An expensive ‘fire’

New London, Conn. — Donald Trump got fired. Now he’s asking for $500 million.

The real estate mogul and television star is offering to drop his breach of contract lawsuit against the Eastern Pequot tribe and the casino investors who replaced him in exchange for a half-billion dollars.

“The figure was arrived at very carefully by people in the Trump organization who determined what likely income would have been generated had the Trump organization gone forward with the Eastern Pequot casino,” Trump’s lawyer, Robert Reardon, told The Day of New London.

The Eastern Pequots’ attorney, however, says the tribe is not interested.

“I think a more appropriate valuation is the one he (Trump) put in his bankruptcy filing, which is zero,” lawyer Robert Tobin said.