2 held in alleged plot to extort Travolta

Nassau, Bahamas — Authorities in the Bahamas have detained an island lawmaker and a paramedic in an alleged plot to extort money from actor John Travolta after the death of his son, police said Friday.

One of the suspects, ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne, was detained on Friday. Earlier, several tabloids quoted him describing efforts to revive the celebrity’s chronically ill son, Jett, who died of a seizure this month at their family vacation home on Grand Bahama.

Authorities did not reveal what the alleged extortion involved. Travolta and his wife, Kelly Preston, returned home to Florida with the ashes of their 16-year-old son, and Travolta’s publicist Paul Bloch said Friday he has no comment.

Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater, an attorney from Grand Bahama, has been held for questioning since Thursday, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Marvin Dames told The Associated Press.

Sienna Miller set for Broadway debut this fall

New York — The Roundabout Theatre Company says Sienna Miller will make her Broadway debut this fall in its production of “After Miss Julie,” playwright Patrick Marber’s riff on a 19th-century Strindberg classic about class, sex and power.

The three-character play will be directed by Mark Brokaw. Other casting, the performance schedule and theater will be announced later.

In “After Miss Julie,” Marber has updated Strindberg’s “Miss Julie” to 1945 on the eve of the Labor Party’s election victory in England. The 27-year-old Miller will portray the title character, a wealthy young woman involved with a family manservant.

Patrick Swayze to write book with wife

New York — A representative for Patrick Swayze says the cancer-stricken actor plans to write a memoir and his wife, Lisa, will collaborate with him on the book.

Publicist Jayme Phillips says plans for the book are “extremely premature.”

Swayze, who has battled pancreatic cancer for the last year, spent a week in the hospital earlier this month after contracting pneumonia.

The 56-year-old actor stars in the new A&E drama “The Beast.”

Aretha gave Obama collection of sermons

Detroit — Aretha Franklin did more than sing “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” at President Barack Obama’s inauguration. She also came bearing gifts.

Her spokeswoman, Gwendolyn Quinn, says Franklin gave Obama a collection of 17 sermons by her late father, prominent Detroit minister the Rev. C.L. Franklin.

Quinn says the 66-year-old singer also gave Obama a biography of her father and a Bible “engraved with a personal message.”

Franklin gave first lady Michelle Obama a gold brooch with diamonds. Franklin’s 15-year-old grandson, Jordan Franklin, gave Obama daughters Malia and Sasha a collection of gospel/Christian hip-hop music.

Hero pilot giving first interview to Couric

New York — Katie Couric has landed the first interview with hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger, who brought his distressed plane down in the Hudson River with all his passengers surviving.

The interview with Sullenberger and his crew will be shown on CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Feb. 8.

It’s a coup for Couric — and it may have come at the expense of her old show. Sullenberger had been set to speak first to Matt Lauer of NBC’s “Today” show, but that interview was postponed during the investigation of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 and its water landing on Jan. 15.

Sullenberger was praised as a hero for a deft landing after both of the plane’s engines were disabled following a collision with a flock of birds. All 155 passengers and crew members were rescued.

Slash wins round in lawsuit over house

Los Angeles — A judge says Slash and his wife can pursue their lawsuit against the brokers who sold them what they thought was a party-worthy Hollywood Hills home.

The former Guns N’ Roses guitarist claims real estate agent Gregory Holcomb and Sotheby’s International Realty misrepresented the house they bought in 2006 and later sold.

They wanted enough size and parking for parties, but say the home was smaller than advertised and on a public street with parking restrictions. The 2007 suit seeks more than $1 million and punitive damages.

Ledger’s family ‘proud, excited’ by Oscar nod

Perth, Australia — Heath Ledger’s family said Friday they were “proud and excited” by his posthumous Academy Award nomination, but that it could not heal the pain caused by his untimely death.

Exactly one year after he died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, Ledger was nominated for best supporting actor for his portrayal of deranged criminal mastermind the Joker in the Batman movie “The Dark Knight.”

“To us … it seems like merely yesterday, and we are all still nursing broken hearts,” Kate Ledger, the actor’s sister, said Friday.

She and Ledger’s two other sisters, Ashleigh Bell and Olivia Ledger, read from a prepared statement to reporters Friday at one of the actor’s favorite places, picturesque Cottesloe Beach near his hometown of Perth.

“Although we would love to have him here with us, we are so proud and so excited on his behalf,” Bell said.

“In Heath’s words, he had the time of his life portraying the Joker and said that it was the most fun he’d ever had working on a film,” Bell said.