Esquire names Berry ‘sexiest woman alive’

Los Angeles – Alongside a photo spread that shows her in little more than a T-shirt, Halle Berry talks about being the sexiest woman alive, a title Esquire magazine gives her in its November issue.

“I don’t know exactly what it means, but being 42 and having just had a baby, I think I’ll take it,” says Berry, who gave birth to her daughter, Nahla, in March.

“Sexiness is a state of mind – a comfortable state of being,” she says. “It’s about loving yourself in your most unlovable moments.”

But Berry, who won an Oscar for her role in “Monster’s Ball,” can’t claim the sexiest-woman honor all to herself.

“I share this title with every woman, because every woman is a nominee for it at any moment,” she says.

Nick Nolte escapes burning home in Malibu

Malibu, Calif. – Nick Nolte escaped a fire that caused an estimated $1.5 million damage to his Malibu home on Tuesday, authorities said.

The 67-year-old actor scraped his arm and inhaled some smoke but was not hospitalized, Los Angeles County fire Inspector Sam Padilla said.

“He is seeing his private physician” for the injuries, he said.

The fire was reported at 11:34 a.m. at Nolte’s secluded Bonsall Drive home. The electrical fire started in the living room, and Nolte apparently tried to put out the fire before firefighters arrived, Padilla said.

Televised reports said firefighters found Nolte outside the house with a hose but Padilla said he did not have any details. He didn’t know whether anyone else was in the home.

It took firefighters about 10 minutes to douse the blaze, which damaged part of the house, Padilla said.

A statement from the county Sheriff’s Department said Nolte broke a window to escape the home but Padilla said he could not confirm that account.

The statement also said the Fire Department estimated the damage at $3.5 million but Padilla said the estimate actually was $1.5 million.

Nolte’s publicist, Arnold Robinson, said in an e-mail statement that there was an electrical fire at the house but no one was injured and there was no structural damage.

Nolte has appeared in such films as “The Prince of Tides,” “Down and Out in Beverly Hills” and “Tropic Thunder.”

Court denies appeal in Spears’ license case

Los Angeles – Britney Spears may have to stand trial for driving without a valid license after all.

A three-judge panel in Los Angeles on Tuesday denied a motion by Spears’ attorney seeking a delay in the trial and a possible reduction in the charge.

Spears’ attorney, J. Michael Flanagan, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

The move was not unexpected. Flanagan said after a recent hearing that the court might reject his filing and that he would appeal a conviction in the case. Spears is not expected to appear during the case.

She is scheduled to go to trial later this month. She was charged with not having a valid California license after she hit a parked car in August 2007 and left the scene.

Duchovny checks out of sex addiction rehab

New York – An attorney for David Duchovny says the actor has checked out of a rehabilitation facility for treatment of sex addiction.

Duchovny, who plays a sex-obsessed character on Showtime’s “Californication,” voluntarily entered the facility in late August.

Says lawyer Stanton Stein: “David has successfully completed his rehabilitation, he is out of rehab and will be starting a movie soon.”

The 48-year-old actor and his wife, actress Tea Leoni, have two children. The couple married in 1997.

It’s a girl for ‘Idol’ singer Paris Bennett

Minneapolis – Former “American Idol” contestant Paris Bennett has given birth to a daughter named Egypt.

Bennett was in labor for five hours before her 5-pound, 15-ounce baby was born Monday.

The first-time mother is reportedly doing well.

In a news release, the 20-year-old says she’s “so excited to finally see my little angel.” Bennett adds, “Man, does she have lungs on her. I guess she’s gearing up to be the next American Idol.”

Bennett is scheduled to release her first Christmas CD, “A Royal Christmas,” on Tuesday.

‘Dancing with the Stars’ contestant has surgery

Los Angeles – Two-time Olympic beach volleyball gold medalist Misty May-Treanor had surgery to repair a torn Achilles’ tendon on Tuesday, a day after she said on “Dancing with the Stars” that she was dropping out of the competition.

May-Treanor appeared at the conclusion of Monday’s show on crutches and with a cast on her left leg to announce that she injured herself while rehearsing on Friday and would withdraw from the popular ABC dancing competition.

“I was like, ‘OK, I’m an athlete. Tape it up and get back out there,”‘ she said in a release issued by USA Volleyball. “I never thought in a million years, especially in ballroom, that I would hurt myself.”

May-Treanor and her professional dance partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, scored 21 out of 30 for their previous foxtrot, mambo and paso double routines.