Monday, February 13, 2006

Conan O'Brien was greeted by hundreds of fans Saturday upon his arrival in Helsinki, where he expects to be rewarded for talking up Finnish President Tarja Halonen's reelection bid with a mock ad campaign on his late-night TV show last year. He told the Associated Press that he plans to ask "Tarja" for a special cabinet position when they meet tomorrow. "I'd like to be the inspector of saunas, mostly women's saunas," said the comedian, who felt an affinity to the Finn because of their supposed resemblance. Some 2,000 Conan fans waited for hours in sub-zero temperatures to see the TV host, who has become very popular in this northern nation of saunas.

Two of Bollywood's brightest stars, Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan, are planning to wed and, according to the Times of India, astrologers say they are a perfect match. Rai, 32, is one of Bollywood's most recognizable ladies, a former Miss India who starred in the movie "Bride & Prejudice." Bachchan, 30, is the son of legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan. The couple have been in the news with a series of high-profile relationships -- Rai dated heartthrob Salman Khan and actor Vivek Oberoi, and Bachchan was previously engaged to actress Karisma Kapoor .

Newlyweds Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese don't have a show on MTV, but they do have a spread in Vogue chronicling their nuptials in December. Shock rocker Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner , and his burlesque dancer of a wife, real name Heather Sweet , both have a flair for the dramatic, but who knew they loved high fashion so much? As well as preening for Vogue, the couple, known for letting their inner Goth get the best of them, have been hitting the fashion show circuit hard.

· 3 Doors Down lead singer Brad Arnold was sent home from a Mississippi hospital Saturday to recover from injuries sustained in a car accident earlier this month. Arnold, 27, was a passenger in the car driven by wife Terika when the mishap occurred. Band mate Todd Harrell told the Associated Press that Arnold has "35 or 40 stitches in the side of his face" and that a plastic surgeon "sewed his ear back on."

· The Rolling Stones are hitting the sands next Saturday to play the biggest rock concert ever on Rio de Janeiro's famous Copacabana. Organizers are expecting more than a million people to fill the beach for the free event.

· Game show host Bob Barker is arguing over questions of truth and consequences with the Los Angeles Zoo. Zoo Director John Lewis told the Associated Press on Saturday that comments Barker made to the City Council on Friday about the condition of the zoo's three elephants were "just factually untrue." Barker, a longtime animal activist, stood by the remarks he had made in pleading with the city to close the zoo's elephant exhibit. Barker also denounced the zoo's plan to build a new two-acre, $19 million elephant exhibit.

"I put it on so quickly I was anxious to get it off. The depressing thing was that I could put on 35 pounds in 30 days"

-- George Clooney at Berlin's annual film festival, on the weight he gained for his role in the Oscar-nominated "Syriana."

-- Compiled by Ashby Strassburger from wire reports

"I put it on so quickly I was anxious to get it off. The depressing thing was that I could put on 35 pounds in 30 days"

-- George Clooney at Berlin's annual film festival, on the weight he gained for his role in the Oscar-nominated "Syriana."

-- Compiled by Ashby Strassburger from wire reports