MONDAY, OCTOBER 14

NATIONAL HEADLINES:

REID “OPTIMISTIC” SHUTDOWN, DEBT DEALS WILL BE REACHED.

Discussions Sunday between Sen. Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to end the ongoing government shutdown and reach an agreement to end the debt ceiling impasse left Reid feeling “optimistic” about finding a solution. On Sunday, Reid said on the senate floor, “I’ve had a productive conversation with the Republican leader this afternoon. Our discussions were substantive and we’ll continue those discussions. I’m optimistic about the prospects for a positive conclusion.” The partial government shutdown reached its 14^th day today, while the deadline to raise the debt ceiling looms this Thursday.

SOCIAL SECURITY RECIPIENTS BRACE FOR HISTORICALLY LOW INCREASE.

Preliminary figures indicate millions of Social Security recipients can expect historically small increases in their benefits come this January. According to estimates, recipients can expect to see their benefits increase by a mere 1.5 percent, which would be among the lowest increase since automatic increases were adopted in 1975. Since that year, annual Social Security raises have averaged 4.1 percent. Analysts say next year’s increase will be small because consumer prices, as measured by the government, have stayed relatively flat in the past year.

AMERICAN ARRESTED IN EGYPT FOUND DEAD IN POLICE STATION.

An American arrested in August following a car bomb explosion in near a northern Sinai police station was found dead in an Egyptian jail on Sunday. James Lunn was discovered hanging by his shoelaces and a belt from a bathroom door in a waiting area of the Awai police station. An investigation has been ordered to determine is the death was a suicide. According to a statement from Egypt’s Interior Ministry, Lunn’s death came on the same day his detention was extended for another 30 days. An Egyptian official said personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo were “in regular tough with Mr. Lunn during his detention.”

TWO ARRESTED TIED TO SHOOTING OF 5 AT HMONG FESTIVAL IN TULSA.

Police have arrested two men in connection with a shooting Saturday night that wounded five at a Hmong New Year festival in Tulsa, OK. Tulsa Police Detective Christine Gardner confirmedBoonmlee Lee, 21 and Meng Lee, 19, believed to be cousins, are in custody on suspicion with intent to kill after shooting into a crowd of nearly 200 people with what is believed to be a 40-caliber gun. CNN reports two victims were struck in the upper body, while the other three were struck in the arm and leg. Police Capt. Mike Williams said, “One of the individuals will probably lose his lower leg.” No motive has been established in the shooting. The Hmong people are an ethnic group with ties to southern China.

PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OSCAR HIJUELOS DEAD AT 62.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Oscar Hijuelos died Saturday from sudden cardiac arrest, his agent said Sunday. He was 62. Hijuelos was born in New York to Cuban parents in 1951 and became the first Latino to win the coveted award for fiction for his 1989 novel, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. In a 2009 interview with CNN, Hijuelos said, “The truth is that before that period, that book really, there were very few publishing houses in New York City dealing or publishing main, you know, Latino writers.”

THE WEEKEND BOX OFFICE FROM BOX OFFICE MOJO

SHOWBIZ NEWS:

HUNNAM DROPS OUT OF FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

The producers of Fifty Shades of Grey are going back to the drawing board. On Saturday it was announced that Sons of Anarchy’s Charlie Hunnam dropped out of the much-anticipated film. The actor was expected to play the lead role of Christian Grey opposite Dakota Johnson, as Anastasia Steele. Producers claimed he bailed on the project due to his “immersive TV schedule which is not allowing him time to adequately prepare for the role.” But some insiders doubt that excuse is true, since many believe his TV schedule would have been worked out way before he signed on for the project.

DOUGLAS LIED ABOUT CANCER

Michael Douglas has admitted he lied when he told the public he had battled throat cancer. In reality he had tongue cancer, and fibbed at the recommendation of his doctor. “The surgeon said, ‘Let’s just say it’s throat cancer.’ I said ‘OK, you don’t want to say it’s tongue cancer?… Why’s that?’ and he said, ‘Well, if you really want to know why, if we do have to have surgery it’s not going to be pretty. You’ll lose part of you jaw and your tongue and all of that stuff,’” Douglas told Samuel L. Jackson during a UK TV show interview. So the actor decided to stick with the lie to avoid having to talk to reporters about the possibility of losing part of his face.

GRAMMER HAS SURGERY AFTER CANCER DIAGNOSIS

Former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Camille Grammer had a radical hysterectomy last week after doctors diagnosed her with early stage endometrial cancer. “The surgery went well and she is expected to make a complete recovery following a significant recuperation period,” her rep told People. Camille, 45, had been at a greater risk of cancer due to her genetic history. Said the rep, “[She] has been diligent about regular checkups and monitoring, which explains the early detection and rapid treatment.”

ONCE UPON A TIME STARS ENGAGED

Looks like Snow White and Prince Charming are making it legal. Once Upon A Time co-starsGinnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas are engaged, a rep for the couple tells People. Dallas popped the question last Wednesday in L. A. "We are so thrilled to announce our engagement and can't wait to celebrate with our friends and family, including our second family at Once Upon a Time," the pair said in a statement. The couple first met in 2011 on the set of the ABC series, but Dallas was married at the time. Still, Ginnifer said she felt an “immediate connection when they met,” although they remained “just friends.” Dallas split from his wife in fall 2011, and a source says, “it was then that his connection to Ginnifer deepened and they fell in love." [See Spotlight On for more.]

LAUREN CONRAD ENGAGED

Former The Hills star Lauren Conrad has gotten engaged to boyfriend William Tell. “I am very excited to share with you guys that William and I got engaged over the weekend,” she announced on her blog, along with a picture of her engagement ring. “I am beyond thrilled!” Conrad and Tell, a musician, began dating after meeting on Valentine’s Day 2012.

SHIA ATTACKED FOR VIDEOTAPING VOMITING GIRL

Shia LaBouf was attacked in London last week after he tried to videotape a woman vomiting on the street. According to The Sun, the 27-year-old Transformers star was visiting Leicester Square when he began filming Ash Nawaz and her sister Isis, while hey were throwing up on the street. When they objected to his filming, and he refused to stop, a passerby came to their defense and punched Shia and kicked him in the groin. Eventually bouncers at a nearby club separated the pair, and Shia was able to get away. Ironically, Ash says had she known it was the actor it would have all turned out differently. “I only realized it was Shia after he'd been beaten up,” she told the paper. “If I'd known, I'd have let him film me as much as he liked. I have a massive crush on him.”

MASTERCHEF FINALIST COMMITS SUICIDE

Masterchef finalist Josh Marks was found dead Friday from an apparent suicide. The 26-year-old, who was runner up during season three, was found in an alley on Chicago’s South Side. He died of a gunshot wound to the head, and a gun was found next to his body. According to his mother, just days before Marks, who has bi-polar disorder, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. In July, Marks was arrested in Chicago for assaulting a police officer. At the time he was ranting that his body had become possessed by MasterChef judge Gordon Ramsay.

A WEEKEND OF SEMI-CELEBRITY WEDDINGS

Former Charmed star Rose McGowan married artist Davey Detail at the Paramour Mansion in Los Angeles Saturday. The couple, who started dating last year, got engaged over the summer. This is McGowan’s first marriage, although she’s been engaged two times before, to Marilyn Manson in 2001 and director Robert Rodriguez in 2009.

Former The Hills star Jason Wahler (whose ex-girlfriend Lauren Conrad just got engaged) married model Ashley Slack Saturday in front of 180 friends and family at the Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, CA. The couple, who met through mutual friends, became engaged last November.

Grammy award-winning producer Pharrell Williams married model Helen Lasichanh Saturday in Miami, Florida. The couple’s star-studded guest list included Usher and Busta Rhymes, who sources say put on a “mini concert” at the wedding. The pair is already parents to a four-year-old son, Rocket.

Mad Men’s Ben Feldman (Michael Ginsberg) married girlfriend Michelle Mulitz Saturday at the Smokey Farm in Glen Farm in Gaithersburg, Maryland. 350 guests celebrated the couple’s happy day, including CNN journalist Wolf Blitzer and Veep sar Reid Scott.

Olympic gold medal winning diver Greg Louganis married partner Johnny Chaillot Saturday in Malibu, CA. Louganis, 53, and Chaillot, 52, became engaged in July, after less than a year of dating.

30 Rock’s Keith Powell (Toofer) married visual artist Jill Knox in New York City Saturday. About 200 family and friends celebrated at the Tribeca Rooftop, including Powell’s 30 Rock co-starsKatrina Bowden, Judah Friedlander and Maulik Panchol. The couple, who’ve been dating for four years, became engaged last summer.

MILEY CLOSES CHAPTER ON LIAM RELATIONSHIP

Miley Cyrus opened up about her recent split from fiancé Liam Hemsworth during Friday’s Ellen DeGeneres show. “People spend more time thinking about it than I do,” she told Ellen about the breakup. “I believe when a chapter is done, you have to close it and start that new one.” Miley adds that she’s been so busy promoting her new album Bangerz she hasn’t had much time to dwell on her unhappy love life. “I have so much to be thankful for at this time that my energy hasn’t really been focused on that,” she explained.   She also insists she’s okay being on her own. “I really am genuinely happy … finally with myself, which I think sometimes it takes separating yourself from someone else to really be happy with who you are," she says, adding, "I've never been able to be alone, and I'm obsessed with being alone and hearing my thoughts."

KRIS & BRUCE SHOW UNITED FRONT

Kris Jenner is fighting back against a TMZ report that claimed Bruce Jenner’s two sons Brodyand Brandon were happy about the separation because they hated her. On Thursday, Kris posted a picture on Instagram showing her happily posing with all three men, with the caption, “Another amazing night. Sorry TMZ got it wrong AGAIN.”

KRIS & BRUCE SPLIT NOT AMICABLE

While Kris and Bruce keep telling the press their separation is amicable, a source close to Bruce says they’re lying. The unnamed insider tells Radaronline the split has turned nasty, and Bruce barely talks to his estranged spouse. “The separation isn’t amicable…it’s all PR spin that they aren’t going to get divorced,” claims the source. “Bruce only talks to Kris when he absolutely has to and it’s only about the girls (Kendall and Kylie).” Adds the insider, “He can’t stand her and Kris thinks Bruce is boring….America needs to stop drinking the Kardashian Kool-Aid!!!”

KRIS TO CHANGE NAME

Finally, sources say Kris may be ready to drop the Jenner name. “Kris has seriously been thinking about changing her last name back to Kardashian,” said a source. “Their family empire is built on the Kardashian name. It would be so much simpler if Kris changed her name back.” In 2011 she thought about making the change during an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, but Bruce and the family were insulted by it, and she decided to stick with Jenner.

DANCING COUPLE EXPECTING

Former Dancing with the Stars couple Edyta Sliwinska and Alec Mazo are expecting. “I’m due in January and we are having a boy,” Sliwinska, 32, told People. “We’ve been together for 13 years; married for six. We were both so ready for it and we’ve been planning on this for the past couple of years.”   Both Sliwinska and Mazo joined Dancing in its first season in 2005. She competed for ten seasons, while Mazo only competed for four, although he won the first season with partner Kelly Monaco.

HOUGH DIDN’T DISS BALLAS

Julianne Hough insist she wasn’t intentionally dissing her friend Mark Ballas on Dancing with the Stars last week. Julianne was a guest judge on the ABC program and in her critique of his performance with Christina Milian said, “I’ve danced with Mark, you have to stand in front to make sure you’re seen.” Many thought Julianne was insulting Mark, and even he thought she was being a “hypocrite,” but she insists she didn’t mean to offend. “I judge the same way I teach so it all comes from love,” Julianne told Us Weekly. “It's not to diss anybody. It's not to hurt anybody's feelings. It's about constructive criticism so that they can get better for next week and that was not a direct attack to anybody."

LEANN’S EX ON HOW HE FOUND OUT ABOUT HER INFIDELITY

LeAnn Rimes’ ex-husband Dean Sheremet tells Access Hollywood he clearly remembers how he found out his wife was having an affair with Eddie Cibrian. “I had a call…from LeAnn," Dean said. "She said, 'Well, Us Weekly may or may not have a picture of me and Eddie kissing.' I'm like, 'Whoa! What do you mean may or may not have a picture? What does that mean?' So then…it unfolded from there." Dean says he never thought LeAnn would cheat on him. "I guess you have that assumption that the person that you're with would never do something like that,” he said. “How close we were, I just never saw it coming." Sheremet has since gotten remarried, tying the knot with photographer Sarah Silver in 2011. "I don't know [if I] dodged a bullet…every relationship you learn from," he said. "I think that was my learning experience of what I needed to do to pick myself up and kind of do what I needed to do."

TV TIDBITS

●  Southland’s Michael Cudlitz and Retired at 35’s Josh McDermitt will join the cast of The Walking Dead this season. Cudlitz will play Army Sgt. Abraham Ford, while McDermitt will play Dr. Eugene Porter, a former high school science teacher. In the comic books, Eugene claims to know what caused the zombie outbreak, but is actually lying.

●  MTV has renewed Teen Wolf for a fourth season. In addition, to accompany season four the network will debut Wolf Watch, a talk show to air after each episode, similar to AMC’s Talking Dead and Talking Bad. It will be hosted by cast member Jill Wagner.

● Glee’s Max Adler (Dave Karofsky) and comedienne Sandra Bernhard have landed recurring roles on ABC Family’s Switched at Birth. Bernhard will play a professor at a local college where Bay (Vanessa Marano) is taking classes. Adler will play a fraternity brother Bay befriends in art class.

● Breaking Bad’s Bob Odenkirk has joined the cast of FX’s limited run series Fargo, based on theJoel and Ethan Coen movie.

ROCK NEWS:

PEARL JAM, FOX SPORTS TEAM ON WORLD SERIES COVERAGE

Nothing says America more than baseball, moms, apple pie…and grunge? Seattle superstarsPearl Jam, whose new album, Lightning Bolt, arrives tomorrow, and Fox Sports have partnered to include 48 of the band’s songs (including all 12 from Lightning Bolt) throughout the network’s World Series coverage later this month. The deal also includes featuring the band’s music throughout November as Artist of the Month across all Fox Sports properties. Band manager Kelly Curtissaid of the teaming, “There was a period of time when we didn’t license music much. The band loves baseball, so this won was a no-brainer.”

PEARL JAM, FALLON PARTNER FOR FULL WEEK OF TRIBUTES

The music of Pearl Jam will be inescapable for the better part of the second half of October as the band announced NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon will devote the entire week of October 21-25 to the band’s music. On Monday the 21^st, Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell and the Avett Brothers will collaborate on “Footsteps.” The following night, Fleet Foxes singer Robin Pecknoldwill perform “Corduroy” with special guests. On Wednesday the 23^rd, country singer Dierks Bentley will join the Roots and PJ guitarist Mike McCready for what is being billed as “a one-of-a-kind” performance. Then, Pearl Jam will take over the stage Thursday and Friday.

CORNELL CONVINCED TEMPLE OF THE DOG REUNION “WOULD BE FUN”

Count Chris Cornell in for any possible reunion shows by a reunited Temple of the Dog. TheSoundgarden frontman is all for a staging some shows with the Seattle super group, stating in a recent radio interview, “We’ve talked about it, we’ve talked about it a bunch of times but we don’t have any plans to do it.” He added, “For us to actually be able to play a show, we only ever played one show, so I think that would be fun to do if everybody wanted to do it.”

SLAYER FROZEN OUT OF FIRST ALASKA GIG IN 17 YEARS

Hard rock heroes Slayer have been forced to scrap their planned October 22 gig in Anchorage, AK, citing logistics as the reason for putting what would have been their first show in Alaska in 17 years on ice. In a statement, the band said “they ran into trucking and air freighting logistical issues” but “hope to get up there in the new year.”

FINAL DAY OF AUSTIN CITY LIMITS FEST WIPED OUT BY HEAVY RAIN

Yesterday’s final day of the annual Austin City Limits Festival was cancelled due to torrential rain, according to Austin’s American Statesman, which reported the region received between five and 11 inches of rain overnight. Acts whose performances were axed include Atoms for Peace, The National, Phoenix, Franz Ferdinand, Dawes, Grouplove and icon Lionel Richie.

HALFORD ANIMATED ABOUT UPCOMING SIMPSONS APPEARANCE

Longtime Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford is elated he’ll soon make an appearance on the animated hit the Simpsons, where he’ll sing a parody of the classic cut “Breaking the Law” in the upcoming episode “Steal This Episode,” slated to air in January. Meanwhile, the “Metal God” toldBillboard he recently finished writing the band’s 17^th studio album. He said, “It’s heavy. It’s something we think our Priest fans will be thrilled with. The album is going to be full of all the great things you love about Judas Priest.”

POGUES PAY TRIBUTE TO LATE GUITARIST CHEVRON

It will be one week tomorrow since the passing of longtime Pogues guitarist Philip Chevron, who succumbed to throat cancer following a seven-year fight. On Friday, his former bandmates paid tribute to their late friend, issuing a group statement to UK music magazine NME, which reads in pa