4th ‘Idol’ judge a straight-shooter

New York – Scooching in between Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson sounds intimidating, if not a little scary.

But Kara DioGuardi, the newly-installed fourth judge on “American Idol,” is confident she’ll find her niche within the bickering, ratings-tested judges’ panel where the line between love and hate is blurred with every critique.

“I’m just gonna speak to Simon the way I speak to everybody,” DioGuardi told reporters during a teleconference Monday. “I’m just gonna have my opinion, be honest and I don’t foresee any problems. I’m really excited about this, and up for the challenge.”

The Grammy-nominated songwriter will make her debut when the eighth season of “Idol” premieres in January, the Fox network said Monday.

Songs by DioGuardi, 37, have been recorded by Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, Celine Dion, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood and Pink, among others.

Her TV experience includes appearing a judge on the short-lived ABC reality series “The One: Making a Music Star” in 2006.

Matthews, Crow kick off Democratic convention

Morrison, Colo. – Singing at the Democratic convention, Sheryl Crow dedicated her song “Strong Enough” to Barack Obama and then added a twist to the lyrics for the occasion.

“Are you strong enough to be my man, or my president?” Crow sang to her party’s nominee and his newly announced running mate.

Dave Matthews and Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles also sang at the kickoff concert Sunday night at Red Rocks Amphitheater outside Denver. The national convention was to begin in earnest Monday at the Pepsi Center following Obama’s weekend announcement of Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden as his vice presidential running mate.

“What I’m hearing from Sen. Obama is a lot like what we heard from Robert Kennedy,” Crow told the crowd between tunes. “No matter what campaign ad we see or how it’s spun, hope is important. It’s what this country was based on.”

Matthews, playing with Tim Reynolds, was less pointed with his commentary, while Nettles played up the night’s theme of environmentalism. Denver’s mayor has worked with hotels, restaurants and organizers to make the convention a green event.

“This is the first time that a political convention of any sort has been surrounded with the awareness of environmental issues,” Nettles told The AP before playing. “So that feels like it’s on the cutting edge.”

Sean Connery launches his autobiography

Edinburgh, Scotland – He’s recognized around the world as the iconic face of James Bond. But in Britain, Sean Connery is also well known as a proud Scot, and on Monday he returned to his hometown to launch his autobiography.

“Being a Scot” looks at Connery’s early life as a milkman in Edinburgh’s Fountainbridge neighborhood, then delves into a wide-ranging look at Scottish culture including the work of poet Robert Burns, novelist Sir Walter Scott and Mary, Queen of Scots.

Connery is a vocal supporter of the pro-independence Scottish National Party. He lives in the Bahamas and has said he will not reside in Scotland until it gains independence from the United Kingdom.

The unveiling of “Being a Scot” coincides with Connery’s 78th birthday.

The Edinburgh event is one of Britain’s leading literary gatherings, and runs alongside jazz, comedy and performing arts festivals in the Scottish capital each August.

Among the 800 authors who appeared at the Aug. 9-25 festival are Salman Rushdie, Louis de Bernieres and Margaret Atwood.

Fourth child on the way for Charlie Sheen

Los Angeles – Make that “Two and a Half Men,” three daughters and a baby on the way for Charlie Sheen.

The actor is expecting a child with wife Brooke Mueller, Sheen announced Monday in a statement.

Sheen has three daughters: 25-year-old Cassandra Jade Estevez, whose mother is Sheen’s former girlfriend Paula Profit, and two girls with ex-wife Denise Richards. Sheen and Richards are still embroiled in a bitter custody battle over 3-year-old Sam and 2-year-old Lola.

Sheen and Mueller, a real estate investor, tied the knot in late May.

Barenaked Ladies singer survives crash

Toronto – The lead singer of the Canadian pop band Barenaked Ladies and three other people survived a plane crash in rural southeastern Ontario, authorities said Monday.

Ed Robertson’s Cessna 206 floatplane crashed in a wooded area near Bancroft, Ontario, on Sunday afternoon as he was trying to take off from Baptiste Lake, Ontario Provincial police Sgt. Bruce Quigg said. Quigg said no one in the plane was injured.

Robertson’s friend Gord Peel told The Belleville Intelligencer newspaper that the other passengers were Robertson’s wife, Natalie, and their friends Julie and Jeff Jones.

Peel arrived on the scene shortly after the crash and found the four friends walking on a road, shaken but unharmed.