Nicole Richie charged with misdemeanor DUI

Los Angeles – Nicole Richie was charged Friday with misdemeanor driving under the influence.

In addition to the single count, the case contains an allegation that Richie had a prior misdemeanor DUI conviction in June 2003, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said.

The California vehicle code specifies that if convicted of DUI twice within 10 years, a person can be sentenced to between 90 days and a year in jail, fined between $390 and $1,000, and have driving privileges suspended.

The complaint alleges Richie was under the influence of an alcoholic beverage and an unspecified drug when she was arrested Dec. 11, said prosecution spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons.

Arraignment was scheduled for Wednesday in suburban Glendale Superior Court.

Richie, 25, was arrested Dec. 11 after 911 callers reported her car headed the wrong way on a freeway in Burbank about 12:30 a.m.

Eminem’s ex-wife says rapper is unfaithful, uncaring

Detroit – Kim Mathers blasted ex-husband Eminem during a radio interview Friday, saying she has come to despise the man she twice married and divorced.

Mathers described Eminem, 34, as unfaithful and uncaring – and went as far as to disparage the Grammy winner’s sexual prowess.

“I vomit in my mouth whenever I’m around him,” she said during the interview on WKQI-FM in Detroit.

In a statement released through his publicist, Dennis Dennehy, Eminem replied: “It’s a shame that I’ve moved on and Kim hasn’t. Her ongoing press campaign is doing nothing but harm to the children, and for that I feel truly sorry. For their sake, I wish she would stop.”

The pair, who have a 10-year-old daughter, Hailie Jade Scott, grew up in the suburbs along Eight Mile Road, Detroit’s northern border.

Conflicting reports swirl about Spears and rehab

New York – Britney Spears was the subject of intense media scrutiny Friday: Had the 25-year-old pop star checked in – and quickly out of – rehab?

Larry Rudolph, Spears’ manager, couldn’t be reached for comment late Friday.

Syndicated entertainment TV show “Extra” first reported that Spears, who has drawn criticism for her recent excessive partying and sloppy behavior, had entered a treatment facility. Celebrity Web site TMZ.com then said the singer had entered a treatment center but had checked out one day later. Neither revealed their sources.

People magazine’s Web site, citing “a source,” said Spears had gone in and out of rehab, and identified the facility as Eric Clapton’s Crossroads center in Antigua, in the Caribbean.

Richards won’t attend mock trial about racial rant

Los Angeles – Michael Richards won’t attend a weekend mock trial with four black people he targeted during his racial rant at a comedy club because the gathering is open to the media and amounts to a publicity stunt, his attorney said Friday.

Attorney Douglas Mirell said any meeting between Richards and the three men and one woman should be private.

Richards portrayed Kramer on the television sitcom, “Seinfeld.”

The incident occurred Nov. 17 at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood. The comedian launched into a string of obscenities that included the “n-word” and a reference to lynching blacks after someone in the group of friends told him he wasn’t funny.

Oscar-winning songwriter Ray Evans dies at 92

Los Angeles – Oscar-winning songwriter Ray Evans, whose long collaboration with partner Jay Livingston produced such enduring standards as “Mona Lisa,” “Buttons and Bows,” “Silver Bells” and “Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera),” has died. He was 92.

Evans died late Thursday of heart failure at a Los Angeles hospital, Frederick Nicholas, Evans’ longtime attorney, said Friday.

“I talked to him the day he died. He was just full of energy and excitement. When I heard last night that he died, I couldn’t believe it,” Nicholas said.

Singer Michael Feinstein, a close friend, said he spoke with Evans on his birthday, Feb. 4.

“He said to me, ‘I lived a great life and everything now is gravy. I take it day by day,”‘ Feinstein said in a telephone interview from New York. “He was always thrilled that his work survived.”