Birth of Jolie twins may be weeks away

Nice, France – Are the Brangelina twins boys or girls? Will they be delivered naturally or by Caesarean?

Angelina Jolie’s obstetrician, Michel Sussmann, declined to answer several burning questions about the highly anticipated birth to Hollywood’s hottest couple, but he did make one thing clear during a five-minute news conference Wednesday: “She is a patient like any other. And she’s very simple. I have a lot of respect for her.”

Apparently unaware that the stars are unmarried, the doctor said: “Mrs. Angelina Jolie and her husband, Mr. Brad Pitt, told me to tell you that she is doing absolutely fine.”

He said her hospitalization “was scheduled for a long time.”

“This is not an emergency situation,” he added. “Her hospitalization at this stage in her pregnancy is totally normal for a patient who had a Caesarean (section) during her first pregnancy.”

Her stay at the seaside hospital here could be a relatively long one. The doctor said she would remain in the hospital until the babies are delivered and that could be “in the weeks to come.”

“I can’t give you a date,” he said.

Salacious details launch Brinkley divorce trial

Central Islip, N.Y. – A $300,000 payoff to a teenage mistress. Thousands of dollars worth of online porn. Extramarital trysts in the office and his supermodel wife’s Hamptons homes.

Sensational testimony about Christie Brinkley’s estranged husband opened their divorce trial Wednesday, giving the public a salacious peek into the former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model’s fourth marriage.

The husband, architect Peter Cook, testified that he and Brinkley used pornography “to get the mood going.” Alexa Ray Joel, Brinkley’s daughter with “Piano Man” Billy Joel, said Cook once shoved her head into a bucket of water.

And Diana Bianchi, the young woman whose affair with Cook set off a tabloid frenzy and ended the couple’s marriage, testified that he hid cash for her under a rock and gave her $15,000 to help her buy a Nissan Maxima in 2005.

“That is the man who’s come before this court and asked for custody of his 13-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter,” said Brinkley’s lawyer, Robert Stephan Cohen.

Brinkley, 54, and Cook, 49, wed in 1996. She filed for divorce a decade later, after his affair with Bianchi exploded into public view.

Cook and Brinkley are mainly disputing custody of the children.

TMZ reposts portion of actor’s sex tape

Los Angeles – The woman in a sex tape featuring Verne Troyer – best known for his role in the “Austin Powers” movies – says she allowed celebrity Web site TMZ to broadcast snippets of the tape.

Troyer’s ex-girlfriend, Ranae Shrider, signed a declaration filed in federal court in Los Angeles stating the tape was created with her video camera. Her statement prompted a judge to allow TMZ to reinstate a post featuring snippets of the tape.

The judge had temporarily barred TMZ from showing or broadcasting any portion of the tape on its Web site or TV show. The post was restored by Tuesday evening.

The judge has still barred a porn distributor named in a $20 million lawsuit filed by Troyer from distributing or taking orders for the 50-minute tape.

Troyer starred as Mini Me in two “Austin Powers” movies. His lawsuit alleged the tape was stolen. Shrider’s statement says she believes she also owns the tape, but so far has only given permission to TMZ to air it.

Former lover wanted Michael Lohan exposed

Los Angeles – The father of a 13-year-old girl who may be Lindsay Lohan’s half-sister said the family went public with the story after Lohan’s father, Michael, repeatedly refused to provide support.

The Montana girl’s family is looking into legal options to pursue once they establish that Michael Lohan is the father, Daryl Kaufmann said in a phone interview. He said his wife, Kristi Kaufmann, had been trying to get Michael Lohan to support their daughter for years.

“She had enough,” Kaufmann said of his wife when reached by telephone at their home in Florence, Mont. “She just wanted it exposed. So he’s going to end up having to do something.”

Michael Lohan told reporters Friday he learned of Kristi Kaufmann’s claim after receiving letters and photos from her while incarcerated on drunk driving charges. Lohan acknowledged having a sexual relationship with Kaufmann while he was separated from wife Dina Lohan 13 years ago.

Rocker urges preserving wild mustangs

Nashville, Tenn. – Sheryl Crow is urging people to get involved in saving America’s wild horses.

“I think it will be a real shame when we look back and we don’t have these incredible species, and I guess my best hope would be that people, individuals, step up at this point and really protect these animals,” the 46-year-old Grammy-winning singer says in an upcoming documentary, “Saving the American Wild Horse.”

The program airs 8 p.m. CDT Monday on the Documentary Channel. Directed by James Kleinert, it’s narrated by Peter Coyote and features Viggo Mortensen.

Crow, who lives in Tennessee and owns a wild mustang named Colorado, says the animals are part of American history but are being sacrificed in big business’ drive for Western lands.