Trial likely in Spears drivers license case

Los Angeles – Britney Spears’ trial for driving without a valid California license is all set for next month – and the attorney representing her in the criminal matter isn’t happy about it.

J. Michael Flanagan, the pop singer’s attorney, said the matter is going before a jury due to unfavorable “special treatment” by prosecutors and a judge. Because the violation is a misdemeanor, Spears is not required to attend the trial.

A judge rejected Flanagan’s attempts Thursday to get the case reduced or the charge dismissed.

Flanagan has repeatedly argued that the singer is being treated more harshly than other people who have been caught driving without a valid California license. He said under normal circumstances, Spears should be allowed to pay a $10 fine and not face criminal prosecution.

He said Thursday that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James A. Steele cited Spears’ celebrity status during an in-chambers meeting as a reason for not reducing the case to an infraction.

“He says, ‘But I’ve never done that before. I’d hate to do it the first time and do it for Britney Spears because then it would appear like she’s getting special treatment,”‘ Flanagan recounted Steele telling him.

Steele said through a clerk that he could not comment on the conference in his chambers. A court reporter was not present for the meeting. Flanagan said he will appeal a previous ruling by the judge denying Spears’ motion to dismiss the case.

Opry asks Morgan to become newest member

Nashville, Tenn. – Craig Morgan has been invited to become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Morgan was performing Thursday for U.S. troops at Fort Bragg, N.C., when he received the invitation from Opry veteran John Conlee, who surprised him by walking on stage.

Morgan, 44, was stationed at Fort Bragg from 1990 to 1992 during his 10 years of active duty in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division.

“It’s cool to be invited right here,” he said tearfully.

Morgan will be formally inducted as a member of the long-running country music program on Oct. 25.

Opry General Manager Pete Fisher said Morgan consistently shows a high degree of quality and integrity in his work, whether it’s music or military service.

Morgan’s hits include “That’s What I Love About Sunday,” “Redneck Yacht Club,” “Little Bit of Life” and “International Harvester.”

Scud Stud settles movie lawsuit

Toronto – The NBC reporter who became known as the Scud Stud during the first Gulf War has settled a lawsuit against the makers of “Charlie Wilson’s War” over footage used in the Tom Hanks-Julia Roberts movie.

Arthur Kent, whose live reports on Iraq’s Scud missile attacks on Saudi Arabia made him a celebrity, claimed in a lawsuit filed last April that Universal Studios and other violated his intellectual property rights by using without his consent segments of a 1986 news program he made about the Soviet Union’s war in Afghanistan.

Terms of the settlement are confidential.

“I am very pleased with the terms of the settlement. I brought these actions only to uphold the copyright protection of my work, my voice, and my archive, and to make clear that I do not endorse the account of historical events conveyed by the movie,” Kent said.

The 2007 film, directed by Mike Nichols, also starred Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams.

Natalie Cole in hospital because of hepatitis C

New York – Natalie Cole, who recently revealed she had hepatitis C, has been hospitalized as a result of side effects from her medication and a heavy promotional schedule, her representative said Friday.

The Grammy-winning singer has been in a New York City hospital since Sept. 12, and is expected to remain there for at least a few days, according to publicist Maureen O’Connor of the firm Rogers & Cowan.

Cole announced in July that she was suffering from hepatitis C, a liver disease spread through contact with infected blood. She said at the time that the disease was revealed during a routine examination and was likely caused by her drug use years ago.

O’Connor said Cole had been responding well to treatment but blamed the medicine she has been taking and a busy publicity schedule to promote her new album, “Still Unforgettable,” with causing her problems. Cole had taped several TV appearances and had appeared live on NBC’s “Today” show on Sept. 11, a day before her hospitalization.

Cole is expected to be in the hospital for a few more days and then will return to her home in Los Angeles, where she will be on bedrest, O’Connor said.

Jerry Lewis gun case dismissed by judge

Las Vegas – A Las Vegas judge has dismissed a firearms charge against entertainer Jerry Lewis.

Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Karen Bennett-Haron dismissed the case Friday after attorneys agreed to let the 82-year-old comedian off without fines.

Lewis was cited in July for attempting to carry an unloaded concealed weapon through McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

He later said the weapon was a gift that he’d placed in a carry-on bag more than a year ago. He said he forgot it was in the bag until he was stopped at an airport security checkpoint.

Lewis’ lawyer, Ross Goodman, says Lewis was forced to surrender the engraved gun. Goodman calls the quick resolution “a good result for great guy.”