Martin Singer

A British newspaper apologized to film producer Steve Bing Wednesday and admitted it falsely accused him of orchestrating a campaign of defamation against actress Elizabeth Hurley, the mother of his son. Associated Newspapers Ltd., Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre and journalist Daniel Jeffreys had agreed to apologize to Bing and to Los Angeles attorney Martin Singer, Bing's lawyer, Nathalie Paterson, told the High Court in London.

A British newspaper apologized to film producer Steve Bing Wednesday and admitted it falsely accused him of orchestrating a campaign of defamation against actress Elizabeth Hurley, the mother of his son. Associated Newspapers Ltd., Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre and journalist Daniel Jeffreys had agreed to apologize to Bing and to Los Angeles attorney Martin Singer, Bing's lawyer, Nathalie Paterson, told the High Court in London.

It was an improbable Cinderella story. "The Shack," William Paul Young's novel about a man rediscovering lost faith after the murder of his 5-year-old daughter, started out as a manuscript no one would touch. Finally, pastors Wayne Jacobsen and Brad Cummings discovered the book and created a start-up, Windblown Media, to publish it. The novel sold a million copies for them in the first year, eventually ending up at No. 1 on the New York Times' trade paperback bestseller list. Then Hachette Book Group got involved.

In the movies, action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger never needs rescuing. But at the surreal intersection of Hollywood, the media and California politics, where a star's popularity at the box office has been known to translate into success at the ballot box, it's another story. The muscular actor, who has recently been putting out tiny feelers about his prospects as a future Republican candidate for governor, has been mugged, his Hollywood friends say, by an article in the March issue of Premiere.

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.

Barring Conversation: Roseanne Barr's husband wants a gag to work--one from a court, not from her hit TV show. Tom Arnold filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Superior Court charging that Barr's former husband and his attorney violated a court order by discussing the comedian's divorce publicly. Arnold said ex-husband William Pentland and his attorney, palimony lawyer Marvin Mitchelson, discussed the divorce on "Donahue" in November.

It's turning into a big year for Martin Scorsese. The 64-year-old filmmaker won his first Academy Award for directing in February (for "The Departed"), and on Tuesday he was named one of this year's recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime contributions to American culture. The others who will be honored at the annual Washington event in December are comedian Steve Martin, singer Diana Ross, singer-songwriter Brian Wilson and pianist Leon Fleisher.

THE EX FILES: The California Department of Corrections, official keeper of convicted killer Lyle Menendez, is debunking reports of his pending divorce from his conference-call bride, Anna Eriksson. Because as far as Lyle's jailers are concerned, he wasn't legally married in the first place.

Parents-to-be: Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow is expecting a child with boyfriend Chris Martin, lead singer for the British rock band Coldplay. * New gig: Evan Marriott, the bachelor on Fox's first installment of "Joe Millionaire," has been named host of "Fake-a-Date," a series that will premiere on the Game Show Network in March.

for Buffalo Springfield Bruce Palmer, 58, the bassist and an original member of the rock band Buffalo Springfield, died Oct. 1 in Belleville, Ontario, Canada, after a heart attack. Born in Canada, Palmer played with Neil Young in a band called the Mynah Birds. Palmer and Young moved to L.A. in 1966 and joined Stephen Stills, drummer Dewey Martin and singer-guitarist Richie Furay to form the Buffalo Springfield.

Roseanne Barr's husband wants a gag to work--one from a court, not from her hit TV show. Tom Arnold filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Superior Court charging that Barr's former husband and his attorney violated a court order by discussing the comic's divorce publicly. Arnold said ex-husband William Pentland and his attorney, palimony lawyer Marvin Mitchelson, discussed the divorce on the "Donahue" show in November.