• Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Tuesday that the Bush administration will do whatever it takes to overcome the nation’s current financial crisis but that it will take time before things can get turned around.    I imagine when he was a kid, the president probably left a lot of messes for other people to clean up, too…
• John McCain returns to New Hampshire Wednesday, hoping to hold onto the state that launched both this and his 2000 presidential campaign amid signs that it is now favoring Barack Obama.  Maybe he needs to remind them that they really are one of Sarah Palin’s "pro-American" places…
• An Associated Press investigation has learned that Sarah Palin charged the state of Alaska for her children’s airfare and hotel accomodations when they traveled with her on state business, amending earlier submitted expense forms by stating it was because they had been invited to attend or participate with her–although event organizers said they were either surprised the children showed up or agreed to a request by the governor to allow them to attend.  One thing is for sure–she definitely acts like a politician who’s been at it for years…
• An air passenger screening program designed to more accurately identify the actual identity of travelers is now expected to launch early next year–a long overdue effort that would end the misidentification of thousands of innocent US residents as potential terrorist threats.  Personally, I consider many two-year-olds a real danger to my safety…
• India has launched its first moon flight Wednesday, sending a unmanned satellite on a two-year mission to redraw maps of the lunar surface.  You know how it seems sometimes that tech support people are on another planet–maybe it’s true…
• Over 30 letters containing a suspicious powder were mailed to Chase bank branches and federal banking regulators’ offices in 9 states this week in what investigators say may be an extreme public backlash to the nation’s finiancial crisis.  While it’s possible that the powder was sent to mimic deadly poisons like anthrax, it’s also possible that it was all that was left of their portfolios…

• After months of denials by spokespeople, Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie made it official–they announced Wednesday that they are divorcing after 8 years of marriage.  There are financial details to work out, since Madge is worth about a half-billion dollars and Ritchie, well, isn’t….
• Billboard magazine reports that Britney Spears is definitely hitting the road next spring after cutting a tour deal with AEG Live, that it will be international, and visit midsize venues rather than theatres or stadiums.  It sounds like another carefully-planned step made by her father, which proves that all celebrity parents aren’t publicity-seeking boobs that are painfully unaware of their childrens’ problems–but enough about Brit’s mom…
• Tina Fey still doesn’t know if she’ll return to Saturday Night Live this weekend to do her spot-on Sarah Palin impression–but CNN says that Palin herself will be a guest on the show.  Wow–maybe Palin will do her Tina Fey impression…
• MTV’s Total Request Live, or TRL, says a final farewell November 16 and Beyonce will be there to mark the moment, telling the show Monday during an appearance that she owes a lot of success to them–both for her and Destiny’s Child.  Maybe she’ll get husband Jay-Z to buy it and start his own channel–you know, Jigga TV…
• The mystery is over surrounding whatever was ailing Janet Jackson to force her to postpone 9 dates on her Rock Witchu tour–her reps announced Tuesday that she was diagnosed with a rare type of migraine-induced vertigo, but she’s receiving treatment and returned to performing Wednesday night in Washington DC. It must be great for her to resume her tour, and to realize that her only big headache isn’t brother Michael…
•  ohn McCain tried to make peace with David Letterman Thursday night, telling the late-night host that "I screwed up" by canceling an earlier appearance on the show, then endured some pretty sharp questioning by Letterman about his campaign and Sarah Palin.  I think afterwards, he probably would have preferred a debate with Hillary Clinton…

• Fall Out Boy has decided to postpone release of its new CD so it won’t coincide with Election Day, as the band explains in a website posting: "Six months ago, we thought it would be fun to release our album on election day but this is not the election to be cute. This is the most important election of our time…we felt as though rather than making a commentary, we were only riding the wave of the election. This seemed less and like what we intended to do and more of a gimmick"…
• Britney Spears has reportedly struck a deal with event producer AEG–but the details of when and where are still unclear.  She hinted recently that she’d like to do a world tour, and her new album Circus will be out December 2–so the tour is either planned for early next year, or she’s going to a lot of trouble to establish a play date…
•  Justin Timberlake and steady squeeze Jessica Biel attended an Obama rally in Las Vegas, where he told the crowd that he wasn’t there "as some dude who writes goofy songs", but rather, "Me and Jess, we’re here as Americans. We’re here as humans because this something we had to do."  JT later sang Vote In A Box–an off-shoot of the wildly popular Saturday Night Live sketch song you may remember, only this version was more political and less scatological…
• Tina Fey says she is done impersonating Sarah Palin after Election Day–especially if John McCain wins the election, telling TV Guide, "We’re gonna take it week by week. If she wins, I’m done. I can’t do that for four years. And by ‘I’m done,’ I mean I’m leaving Earth."  Does that mean that Palin would take over on 30 Rock?
• A new autobiography by Brady Bunch star Maureen McCormick called Here’s The Story: Surviving Marcia Brady And Finding My True Voice is a frank discussion of her drug abuse as well as her romance with co-star Barry Williams.  Can you imagine Alice catching Marcia and Greg making out–that would be a totally creepy threesome…
• Gossip says The Emmy Awards people are considering a new category for best reality show judge, which would certainly include Idol’s Simon Cowell–but what about David Hasselhoff from America’s Got Talent?  As long as the category was Least Possible Negative Judge Ever In The History Of Judging…
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According to Pussycat Girls member Nicole Scherzinger (the Doll in front), vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin would make a great addition to PCD because, "She seems like a headstrong woman, a tough chick. And she’s hot!" These of course are ideal qualities–if you’re looking for a lap dancer for the Cabinet…

Britain pop superstar Leona Lewis is a bit peeved about a London label’s plans to release an album of her before she became a houshold name, and in fact her attorneys are talking lawsuit against the label if they decide to move forward.  Leona says she did the songs just for the experience of recording–which probably means she’s about as proud of them as one of William Hung’s memorable Idol performances..

A Boston musician who claims Bon Jovi’s song I Love This Town–which has been used extensively to promote baseball’s postseason–was based on his similarly-titled (Man I Really) Love This Team and is suing the band for $400 billion, based on damages of a hundred grand for each of the 4 million CD’s the band sold with the song on it.  While there are those who say his copyright claim may have some merit, it’s likely any settlement would be reduced–by, say, 8 or 9 zeroes…

Janet Jackson’s people continue to postpone shows on her Rock Witchu tour–after announcing Friday that she would resume the tour Saturday in Connecticut, and then scrapping it later in the day, they claimed her show Monday in upstate New York would be next, only to postpone that performance over the weekend.  Since she’s probably put off more shows than she’s done, they could refer to the makeup gigs as the Broken Leg of the tour…

Former The View host Star Jones is pulling no punches when she talks about her time on the show, referring to her co-hosts in an Essence magazine interview by saying, "Those girls were hateful."  Gosh, Star, you’d be mad too if someone asked you 15 times a day, "You’re rich–you better buy me something nice for my wedding!"…

Late-night TV’s David Letterman and John McCain have kissed and made up, with McCain again scheduled to appear on Letterman’s show Thursday night–after a flap that developed when McCain canceled a previous appearance at the last minute.  Letterman may have a little fun with him though–you know, calling him "that one" pretty much all night…

• Britney Spears isn’t suprised that so many of us were asking, "What was she thinking?" when she exhibited all that bizarre behavior a year ago–she told MTV in an interview for an upcoming documentary that she was actually thinking the same thing at the same time.  This totall explains how she married Kevin Federline…
• Reps for Janet Jackson say she’s well enough now to return to her Rock Witchu tour Saturday, after scrapping shows in 6 cities due to a mystery illness that kept her under a doctor’s care.  I’m still not convinced she didn’t get sick from her hairdo…
• Rapper T.I. knows his musical success has given him a lot of influence over teens, and he takes it seriously–he says, "When I’m speaking to young people and they say, Who you voting for?,’ I say, Cut your PlayStation off and turn to CNN and listen…to each of the candidates’ platforms. Whoever you think is speaking passionately and intelligently and will do the things you think need changed, that’s who you vote for"…
• British singer Estelle has a huge hit with Kanye West called American Boy, and to hear it you’d think he’s that dude–but she says otherwise, telling the Houston Chronicle it would be more like, "Will Smith. Just a general, all-around sexy guy. I’m not too fussy."  Apparently, too fussy for Kanye…
• Gossip columnist Cindy Adams of the New York Post reports that Saturday Night Live is set to welcome Sarah Palin as a guest on its October 25th show.  This could turn out to be a huge opportunity for Palin–if things don’t work out next month, she could join the cast as a Tina Fey impersonator …
• Look for Angelina Jolie to grace the November cover of W Magazine–breastfeeding one of  her twins– Knox Leon or Vivienne Marcheline.  Why do I guess that this issue will be snapped up by millions of Lara Croft fans?