Gossip

It was billed as a "shocking tell-all" and a "world exclusive," but the National Enquirer's March 26 cover story landed with a thud. TMZ, Page Six and other major players in celebrity gossip ignored the article in which a masseur claimed John Travolta offered money for sex. FOR THE RECORD: An earlier version of this article used the term "masseuse"; it should have said "masseur. " Five weeks after the issue left the checkout aisle, a DUI attorney from Pasadena put the anonymous masseur's tawdry tale in a lawsuit and it became an overnight pop culture sensation, topping Google News, trending on Twitter and meriting a segment on "Good Morning America.

Imagine a well-appointed table on a stone balcony overlooking Italy's storied Lake Como. Red wine, white roses, Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford, perhaps a drop-in from Brad and Angelina — it's a possible scenario for Oscar-winner George Clooney, who will celebrate his 51st birthday Sunday and has a home there. Those Angelenos not invited to Italy can still enjoy a meal themed for the date, however, at Santa Monica's Locanda del Lago, which specializes in Italian cuisine. For the second year in a row (the 50th birthday was a big deal)

 Neil Diamond and Katie McNeil were married Saturday, the "Sweet Caroline" singer announced Sunday on Twitter, the same place he told the world of their engagement back in September. "Katie and I got married last night, we wish you all could've been there," the singer-songwriter told his more than 300,000 followers. "It was magical! Love, Neil. " The couple - he's 71, she's 42 - tied the knot in L.A. in front of friends and family, his rep told People. It's McNeil's first wedding, and the third for Diamond, who was previously married to high school sweetheart Jayne Posner, then to Marcia Murphey.

After leasing her West Hollywood house out last year, "Gossip Girl" actress Kelly Rutherford has returned it to the market at $1.099 million. The Spanish bungalow, built in 1926, features a living room with fireplace that opens to a sky-lighted dining room, an updated kitchen, two bedrooms and 13/4 bathrooms. The deck contains a bar and a built-in barbecue. Rutherford, 43, plays husband-hopping Lily van der Woodsen on "Gossip Girl" (2007-present). She was also in the series "E-Ring" (2005-06)

Last week, news of Jared Paul Stern's Page Six payola scandal rippled through New York's media circles with all the force of an 800-pound bomb. The story has all the stranger-than-fiction twists you could ask for: media figures accused of Mafia-like strong-arm tactics, boldfaced names in compromising positions -- and at its core is a terrific Los Angeles story, hinging on a Southland billionaire and with tantalizing implications about the entertainment industry's backroom dealings.

Famous folks ringing in Memorial Day at Marquee day club at Las Vegas' Cosmopolitan resort include Kevin Connolly, Jenny McCarthy and Cheryl Burke. The Thursday before the holiday, Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez, along with Andre Agassi, attended the opening of Nikki Beach at the Tropicana...The Mondrian's Skybar hosting a VIP champagne and caviar bash attracting Ryan Phillippe, with actor pal Jesse Bradford, and a well-dressed David Arquette. The men mingled around the pool while Kim Kardashian's ex-boyfriend Reggie Bush kept his distance from her current fiancé, Kris Humphries...British transplant Tom Felton has been exploring L.A. of late, recently spotted at Rodeo Drive's Lacoste boutique, stocking up on summer gear...John Krasinski sharing a cheese plate and rosemary lamb chops with two friends at Melrose Place's Fig & Olive...Christina Aguilera taking in some drinks and dancing at the Beverly with boyfriend Matthew Rutler...Taylor Swift and a female pal sharing sangria and samosas at RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen in Century City...expectant mom January Jones, rocking a fedora and her baby bump, stepping out in Malibu.

HOT: Maternal Charlize Theron Churchill on Sundays Snow cones Scott Conant (Scarpetta executive chef) crush NOT: Awesome and mean "Young Adult" Charlize Theron The Hudson on Sundays Cupcakes Jamie Oliver ("Food Revolution") crush — Matt Donnelly

When "Hunger Games" premieres Monday, the Nokia Theatre at L.A. Live will be more than just a screaming mass of fans watching stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth enter the building. For just one night, the L.A. Live plaza will be a version of "The Hob. " Named for the fictional black market where Lawrence's character Katniss Everdeen sells the fruits of her hunting in her native District 12 (the Hunger Games-era Appalachia), the Hob will take over L.A. Live plaza as a sort of small village where fans can interact, to some degree, with their new favorite movie.

Warner Bros.' international television unit is teaming with two Chinese production companies to create a Chinese teen drama series inspired by "Gossip Girl," which airs in the United States on the CW Network. "Gossip Girl," about a group of wealthy back-stabbing Manhattanites, has been a cult hit for the cable channel for the last five years and launched the careers of actresses Blake Lively and Leighton Meester. Tentatively called "China Girl," the show will be in Mandarin and launch in November on satellite television, with "Gossip Girl" creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage consulting.

There's less office gossip being whispered around the water cooler at work - and what's being said is nicer too, according to a new report. The rumor mill is a mainstay at 63% of companies, according to a new survey from staffing service The Creative Group. Four years ago, 84% of firms said chit-chatting at the company was commonplace. Six out of ten times, the gossip is inoffensive and light-hearted, according to the report. And while 20% of the talk is negative, respondents said it wasn't meant to be hurtful.

Anyone want to peek at Steve Jobs' FBI file? Yes, please! On Thursday the FBI released a 191-page file that the agency compiled on Jobs in 1991. It contains multiple confirmations of Jobs' dabblings in marijuana and LSD, as well as some notes on a bomb threat he received in 1985. But the juicy stuff is in pages and pages of notes of interviews the FBI conducted with Jobs' friends, ex-friends, neighbors, employees and colleagues, one of whom described the computer industry icon as "willing to twist the truth and distort reality in order to achieve his goals.

We detailed the major tidbits from Steve Jobs' just-disclosed FBI files in an earlier post . But we've scoured the 191-page document for some minor Jobs trivia as well. Jobs' high school GPA: How about 2.65? Jobs wasn't much for school, choosing to go to Reed College in Oregon for a few semesters before he dropped out. Note to young people: Don't try this without adult supervision. Jobs also told agents he could think of nothing that could be used to blackmail him, was not a member of the Communist Party and did not belong to any organization that "espoused the overthrow of the government.

Here's your floy-joy Friday roundup of consumer news from around the Web: -- Is a merger in American Airlines' future? With the bankrupt carrier expected to cut as many as 13,000 jobs, some in the industry say the time may be ripe for a corporate marriage . US Airways, whose management has a history of making bids for larger airlines that are in bankruptcy, confirmed that it has hired investment advisors to weigh the opportunities presented by...

Higher Gossip John Updike Alfred A. Knopf: 502 pp., $40 Life Sentences: Literary Judgments and Accounts William H. Gass Alfred A. Knopf: 350 pp., $28.95 Partway through "Higher Gossip," the seventh and final collection of reviews and occasional pieces by the late John Updike, I began to understand the problem I've always had with the author's work. It's pleasant enough - congenial, intelligent, fluidly written - but only rarely is it great. As to why this is, "Higher Gossip" offers an unintended answer by revealing not so much the range of Updike's interests as the chatty conventionality of his ideas.