Report: Minnie Driver gives birth to son

Los Angeles – Minnie Driver has given birth to a not-so-little one.

Henry Story Driver was born in Los Angeles on Friday and weighed in at a hearty 9 lbs., 12 oz, her publicist Jessica Kolstad told People magazine.

Driver, 38, confirmed that she was pregnant during an appearance on “The Tonight Show” in March, when host Jay Leno remarked on her baby bump.

She has not revealed the name of the father.

Driver stars on the FX cable TV series “The Riches” with British comedian Eddie Izzard. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in the 1997 film “Good Will Hunting.”

Lynne Spears’ memoir set to hit shelves

New York – The mother of Britney Spears says that the singer has overcome the tabloid nightmares of the past few years and believes that little by little, her daughter is regaining her “glorious voice.”

Lynne Spears writes of her famous child and her other celebrity daughter, Jamie Lynn, in “Through the Storm,” to be published Tuesday by Thomas Nelson, a leading Christian publisher. The Associated Press obtained an early copy.

The 211-page book, which includes several pages of family photographs, tracks Britney Spears’ life through her precocious early years – she was singing and dancing by the time she was 3 – through her explosive rise to her pill-addicted, near-tragic fall.

In “Through the Storm,” Lynne Spears presents herself as a loving, selfless (she gave up her job as a school teacher for her daughter’s sake) but increasingly powerless parent. After the jolting but pleasant surprise of Britney Spears’ debut smash, ” … Baby One More Time,” Lynne Spears says she felt she was losing control when a 1999 Rolling Stone magazine story featured a racy cover of the singer in panties and a bra.

Lynne Spears recalls feeling “shock and dismay” at seeing her daughter shave her head, at her brief marriages to childhood friend Jason Alexander and dancer-rapper Kevin Federline, and her highly publicized custody battles over her two children. She also recalls feeling she had been “punched in the stomach” when she learned that Jamie Lynn Spears was pregnant at age 16.

No fanfare planned for director’s 40th birthday

Toronto – Guy Ritchie already celebrated a milestone birthday this year: wife Madonna’s 50th. So the filmmaker isn’t thinking much about his own milestone birthday today.

“I’ve thought less about my 40th birthday than almost any other birthday,” said Ritchie, who was in Toronto to promote his new film “RocknRolla,” which opens Oct. 8. “I’m not sure if that’s kind of an unconscious thing. But I have no plans. So I hope someone’s organizing something for me.”

But don’t expect a Madonna-sized bash, he said.

“I paid for Madonna’s 50th,” Ritchie said of his wife’s party. “And unless someone’s prepared to pay the same amount for mine, it’s unlikely to be as big.”

Ritchie still wants gifts though: “Just lots of accolade and money.”

Very nice NYC lawsuit ruling for ‘Borat’

New York – A New York judge has tossed out lawsuits brought by a driving instructor and two etiquette school teachers who said the makers of the movie “Borat” deceived them.

Judge Loretta Preska says all three accepted money and signed agreements releasing the filmmakers from liability. She noted in a Sept. 3 ruling the agreements said the plaintiffs consented to appear in a “documentary-style” movie.

In the 2006 film “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen plays an uncouth and anti-Semitic journalist traveling the United States in pursuit of Pamela Anderson. Cohen often fools people with his gag interviews.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs haven’t returned phone messages seeking comment.

American performer: Security made me dance

Jerusalem – A performer with the famed Alvin Ailey dance troupe on Tuesday said he was twice forced to perform steps for Israeli airport security officers to prove his identity before he was permitted to enter the country.

Abdur-Rahim Jackson, an eight-year veteran of the dance ensemble, said he was singled out by Israel’s renowned airport security because he has a Muslim name. He called the experience embarrassing and said at one point, one of the officers even suggested he change his name.

“To be greeted like this because of my name, it took me back a little bit,” said Jackson, who is black.

Israel is the first stop on a six-nation tour celebrating the New York-based dance company’s 50th anniversary. Earlier this year, Congress passed a resolution calling the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater a “vital American cultural ambassador to the world.”

Jackson said he was pulled aside from other members of the troupe when they arrived at Israel’s international airport on Sunday night. He said he was taken to a holding room, where he was asked about the origins of his name. When he explained he was part of the dance group, he was asked to perform.

Jackson said he received his name because his father was a convert to Islam. Jackson said he was not raised a Muslim, does not consider himself religious and is engaged to a Jewish woman in the troupe who has relatives in Israel.