8A
NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAIRY KANSAN
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 20.2007
》 CELEBRITIES
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this photo made from video provided by KABC-TV, pop singer Britney Spears is at a Sherman Oaks, Calif., tattoo parlor Friday. Spears was there to get a couple of tiny tattoos on her wrist, a pair of pink and red lips, according to KABC-TV.
Spears gets makeover
Pop star adds wrist tattoo to go with newly shaven head
ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES — Britney Spears appeared in a tattoo parlor in the San Fernando Valley with her head shaved completely bald.
Video on KABC-TV showed the newly shorn Spears with tiny tattoos on the back of her neck as she sits Friday night for a new tattoo — a pair of red and pink lips.
"She just wanted something real small on her wrist, something dainty." Max Gott, the tattoo artist at Body and Soul in Sherman Oaks, told the TV station. "She got some little lips on her wrist."
Derrik Snell, who works at the tattoo parlor, said Spears showed up without notice and stayed for about 90 minutes as about 60 fans, photographers and gawkers gathered outside.
"She seemed fine," Snell said. "I didn't really notice (the hairdo) at first, she had a hood on when she showed up."
Before heading to the tattoo parlor, Spears grabbed an electric clipper and shaved her own head at a San Fernando Valley salon Friday night, CNN reported.
"I tried to talk her out of it. I said, 'Are you sure you're not having a bad day and tomorrow you'll feel differently about it? Why don't we wait a little bit?'" salon owner Esther Tognozzi told the network.
"She said 'No, I absolutely want it shaved off now.' Next thing I know, she grabbed the buzzer and she went to the back of my salon and she was shaving off her own hair," Tognozi said.
The appearance came the same day as reports on TV and Web
sites that Spears, who has drawn criticism for her recent partying and sloppy behavior, had briefly checked into rehab.
Larry Rudolph, Spears' manager,
couldn't be reached for comment.
Syndicated entertainment TV show "Extra" first reported that Spears had entered a treatment facility. Celebrity Web site TMZ.com then said the singer had entered a treatment center but had checked out one day later. Neither revealed their sources.
People magazine's Web site, citing "a source," said Spears had gone in and out of rehab, and identified the facility as Eric Clapton's Crossroads center in Antigua, in the Caribbean.
>> NEW ORLEANS CARNIVAL
"Access Hollywood" then said the reports weren't true, but didn't cite a source.
James Gandolfini, Drew Brees highlights of Mardi Gras parade
BY BECKY BOHRER ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW ORLEANS — He was king for the day, and actor James Gandolfini ruled with a doublone-filled tist, pleasing the revelers who braved the cold for one of the highlights of Carnival — the rolling of the Krewe of Bacchus parade.
Sunday evening's parade outside the stars in the clear sky, as brightly-lit, double decker floats, torch carriers and machines that danced light off the oak trees along Napoleon Avenue captured the crowds attention.
In the midst of it were "The Sopranos" star Gandolfini and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, whose passage on separate, elaborate floats elicited cheers and chants of "To-ny!" and "Dreeeeww!!"
"I'm a Saints fan and a 'Sopranos' fan," Guthrie, 36, said after the float carrying Brees passed. "So it's a double-double this year with Bacchus."
Wearing a black derby hat, a
Gandolfini was a hit even before the parade began, mugging for pictures and signing autographs for fans gathered outside a bar.
white tunic over white tights and black knee-high boots, he threw doubloons — commemorative coins bearing his picture — to giddy spectators by the fistful.
The parade was one of several to roll through New Orleans on Sunday, and more were planned in the lead up to Fat Tuesday. Among those set for Monday; the Krewe of Orpheus, whose founders include singer and hometown boy Harry Connick Jr.
Each float Sunday prompted parade-goers, young and old, to wave their arms in the long-standing Carnival tradition and yell,
"Beeeeyee!" in an effort to get a riders' attention — and his or her beads.
Local officials see Mardi Gras as key to helping improve New Orleans' image following Hurricane Katrina and boost tourism in a city that relies heavily on the tourist trade. The signs of the 2005 storm are still obvious in parts of the city but largely unnoticeable to those who stay in the French Quarter and central business district.
One concern going into Carnival had been a rash of violent crime in recent months. After the end of the Bacchus parade about 10 p.m., a 15-year-old boy from the New Orleans suburb of Harvey was shot in the chest, said Sgt. Joe Narcissie, a police spokesman. He was taken to a hospital. Narcissie said police believe the youth was the victim of a targeted attack. No arrests were reported.
primarily busy with people being drunk in public or disturbing the peace, police said.
Chilly, breezy weather did little to deter Carnival revelers.
"Got some fire kicking," said Bryan Young, as he hunched over a grill along Napoleon Avenue, a main parade route, cooking hamburgers and sausages in the 40-something degree weather.
Michael and Missy Flynn brought relatives from Baltimore to watch the parades and found a place around 8 a.m. They said they were impressed with others who marked their territory by camping out overnight.
Michael Flynn, who said he had a table at home filled with beads, cups and other collectibles from Carnival, said he was having a blast: "I just love the shiny floats."
ENTERTAINMENT Actor Liotta arrested after hitting two parked cars
LOS ANGELES — Actor Ray Liotta was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after crashing his car into two parked vehicles in Pacific Palisades, authorities said.
Lliotta, 52, was taken into custody just before 8:30 p.m. Saturday and booked on a misdemeanor DUI charge, said Los Angeles Police spokesman Mike Lopez.
No one was injured in the collision. Liotta was alone in his car, Lopez said.
He was released after posting $15,000 bail and ordered to appear in court next month, Lopez said.
A message left at the office of Liotta's publicist Matt Labov was not immediately returned.
Liotta stars with Tim Allen and John Travolta in the buddy comedy "Wild Hogs" set for release March 2. He is best known for playing gangster Henry Hill in the 1990 movie "Goodfellas."
Until the shooting, officers were
Associated Press
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