Rather clarifies

Dan Rather is speaking out for the first time since the release of that scathing report on Memogate earlier this week, TV Guide Online reports.

In an e-mail to his colleagues at CBS News, the embattled anchor, who was portrayed in the report as “pushed to the limit,” said: “I have been here through good times and not-so-good times. I have seen us overcome adversity before. I am convinced we can do so again. That must be our focus and priority. And we can fulfill that objective by getting back to business and doing our jobs better than ever.”

Star’s view

Los Angeles — Star Jones Reynolds has finally cut ties with her former law career.

A host of ABC’s daytime talk show “The View,” she listed her profession as TV personality instead of lawyer for the first time last year while filling out customs forms during a European trip.

“I guess I’ve crossed over to the dark side,” she said. “It felt truthful. I’m sure it’s strange for my father, who wants to know where all the money went for law school.”

Jones Reynolds worked as an assistant district attorney for six years and has been doing television since 1992.

She drew criticism for plugging on “The View” her lavish November wedding to banker Al Reynolds and for a Web site that promoted the companies that donated items for the wedding party’s gift bags.

“I wouldn’t do one thing different,” she told The Associated Press. “I don’t want to be rude and make people think I don’t care what other people think, but it was my wedding and I don’t care what other people think. I live my life that way.”

Not feeling the Pitts

Five days after announcing his split from Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt appeared optimistic and energetic when he arrived Wednesday in Japan, Hellomagazine.com reports.

Sporting a flame-emblazoned burgundy scarf, the 41-year-old star was upbeat and smiling as he stopped to sign autographs for the throngs of waiting fans at Narita international airport just outside Tokyo.

Pitt is in town with George Clooney, Matt Damon and Catherine Zeta-Jones for the premiere of “Ocean’s Twelve,” the follow-up to the 2001 blockbuster “Ocean’s Eleven.”

Though the Pitts announced their breakup last week, they have continued living together in their newly renovated home in the Hollywood Hills, leading to continued speculation about a reconciliation.

‘Milkshake’ singer marries

Atlanta — Rapper Nas and R&B songstress Kelis were married Saturday during an intimate ceremony.

The musical couple had been dating for two years. They were married in an Atlanta church, and their reception took place in the city’s upscale Buckhead neighborhood, publicist Tony Ferguson said Tuesday.

Kelis, 25, is best known for her chart-topping single “Milkshake.”

Nas, 31, snared the hip-hop world’s attention with his 1994 debut album, “Illmatic.” He has since released several albums and has appeared in the movies “Belly” and “Ticker.”

‘Greatest American’ search

Los Angeles — Discovery Channel and America Online are joining in a national contest to name the “Greatest American” ever.

Starting today, online voters can throw their support behind the person they believe “most influenced the way they think, work and live,” according to a statement from Discovery Channel and AOL.

The top nominees will be listed in March, with Discovery planning a seven-hour, four-night series in the spring about the leading vote-getters and the winner.

The first episode will air in May and will profile a selection from the top 100 nominees. The list will be pared down by further online voting, with the No. 1 choice profiled on the final episode in June.

From March through May, Discovery Channel will provide AOL with biographies of leading candidates in news, sports, entertainment and other categories.

Vote online at http://tv.channel.aol.com/greatestamerican.

Kid Rock case over

Lansing, Mich.– A federal appeals court agreed that trademark and copyright infringement claims brought against singer Kid Rock should be dismissed.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati upheld Tuesday a lower court ruling that Kid Rock’s former associates waited too long to file a lawsuit.

The Detroit rap-rocker, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, first sued Alvin Williams and Earl Blunt of EB-Bran Productions Inc. in May 2001. He said a 1989 contract that gave EB-Bran sole ownership of the Top Dog trademark and established a partnership with Kid Rock was a fraud. Williams and Blunt countersued.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds dismissed the countersuit in February 2003, saying that even if EB-Bran did acquire ownership of the trademark in 1989, the company abandoned its interest by not using the trademark for at least a decade.

The appeals court agreed, noting that Kid Rock wrote a letter to Williams and Blunt in December 1990 stating that he didn’t intend to work with them on his songs.

“The plaintiffs have simply waited too long to bring their action,” the court wrote.

Bob Marley to be exhumed

The wife of reggae legend Bob Marley said Wednesday that she planned to exhume his remains in Jamaica and rebury them in his “spiritual resting place,” Ethiopia.

No date has been set for the reburial, but it will be after February when monthlong celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Marley’s birth are planned in Ethiopia. Both the Ethiopian church and government officials support the project, Rita Marley told The Associated Press.

“We are working on bringing his remains to Ethiopia,” said Rita Marley, a former backup singer for her husband’s band, The Wailers. “It is part of Bob’s own mission.”