SELECTED: Asked whom he would choose to succeed him as James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, 49, reportedly said: "I find myself saying Colin Salmon, who plays Robinson in the Bond movies. I think he's a great actor." The London-born Salmon, 37, has played Robinson in three Bond films, including "Die Another Day." He also appeared in this year's "Resident Evil" and as Oonu on TV's "Dinotopia."

QUOTED: As she embarks upon her third marriage, Jennifer Lopez, 32, told InStyle magazine (a sister publication of PEOPLE) that she doesn't mind being compared to the eight-times-married Elizabeth Taylor, 70. "I'm not mad if people call me the modern-day Liz Taylor," Lopez says. "We've all had a love of our life and failed love affairs. I'm just the biggest romantic -- it's really sad ... I tell people that but nobody listens. They're too busy writing about the thread count they think I demand."

SUED: "Nightline" newsman Ted Koppel, 62, is sparring with his neighbors over the size of their houses in the Washington suburb Potomac, Md., The Washington Post says. In a lawsuit, Koppel reportedly contends that residents in the area have disregarded an agreement limiting the size of houses to 10,000 square feet. The developers of nearby properties countersued, claiming that the only house exceeding the limit will belong to the Koppels, reports the Post. The case is headed to trial.

WON: Andrew J. Whittaker, 55, of West Virginia, had the winning ticket in the $314.9 million Christmas Day Powerball lottery, making him the biggest jackpot winner in history. "The very first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to go home, I'm going to sit down and make out three checks to three pastors for 10 percent of this check," Whittaker reportedly said at a press conference. "I don't have luck," said the big winner. "I'm blessed."

CITED: The hot trend among American actresses is going out with British men, reports USA Today. The paper cites the current instances of Gillian Anderson, 34, and her relationship with Julian Ozanne, 38, a Financial Times foreign correspondent turned film producer; Jennifer Love Hewitt and British actor Paul Nicholls, both 23; as well as Gwyneth Paltrow, 30, and Chris Martin, lead singer of the British rock group Coldplay. (And let's not forget that Madonna, 44, is married to British director Guy Ritchie, 34.) "American women tend to find the British accent to be quite sexy. It's somehow softer, more intimate," Trish McDermott, vice president of romance for Match.com, tells the paper.

SET: "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest, 28, plans to compete with traditional Times Square TV host Dick Clark, 73, this New Year's Eve, reports the Associated Press. Seacrest plans to emcee FOX TV's 90-minute "America's Party" special at 11 p.m. EST on Dec. 31 from Las Vegas's Venetian Hotel, to include live performances from Sheryl Crow, Ashanti and Sugar Ray. The Rolling Stones and Bon Jovi will appear in taped segments.

BETTER: Hollywood personality Zsa Zsa Gabor, 86, is recovering rapidly after a Nov. 27 car accident that left her seriously injured and may return home shortly after the New Year, her eighth husband, Frederic von Anhalt, tells the AP. "I must say she is recovering very quickly," he said. "At the beginning she was very moody; she wanted to give up. Now she wants to go home fast. She wants to recover and to ride her horses." Gabor remains in fair condition at L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.

SOLD: Miss Piggy and Minnie Mouse will not be sisters, after all. Despite reports that Disney was interested in purchasing the Jim Henson Company, which currently belongs to the beleaguered German media company EM.TV, the Muppet factory will go instead to an investment group headed by Dean Valentine, former president of the UPN TV network, reports The New York Times. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.