Martha Stewart Photo by: AFP PHOTO / Don EMMERT
Martha Stewart Makes Statement from Prison
REVEALED: In a message posted on her Web site, Martha Stewart, 63, speaks out about her new life at West Virginia's Alderson Federal Prison Camp, where on Oct. 8 she began her five-month sentence for lying about a stock probe. "The camp is fine; it is pretty much what I anticipated," she writes. "The best news – everyone is nice – both the officials and my fellow inmates. I have adjusted and am very busy. The camp is like an old-fashioned college campus – without the freedom, of course." She added: "I am also touched that supporters have already sent hundreds of letters to me at Alderson in my first week here," but she noted that any gifts or money included with the messages are returned to the senders by prison officials. Instead, Stewart asked that those so inclined donate to the American Cancer Society.

PUBLISHED: Katie Couric, 47, launches her second book for children this week, the 26-page The Blue Ribbon Day (Doubleday, $15.95), a sequel to her 2000 best seller, The Brand New Kid. The book is written in verse, about two friends, Ellie and Carrie, named after Couric's daughters, ages 13 and 8, but not based on them. Couric tells USA Today that her new avocation is "fun, not work. I enjoy writing little ditties. ... A book is tangible, not like an interview that goes off into the stratosphere."

REQUESTED: Andrea Mackris, 33, who in a lawsuit filed last week accused FOX News Channel commentator Bill O'Reilly, 55, of sexual harassment, claims in court papers that she has been locked out of her office as a producer for FOX News as the network prepares to fire her. "FOX told her not to come in," her attorney, David Ratner, tells New York's Daily News. A FOX spokesperson confirms that the network has "asked the court to advise FOX News about the possible termination of Ms. Mackris's employment." The News also reports that O'Reilly hired a security force to keep intruders off his Long Island home and that his wife, Maureen, had no comment when she pulled out of her driveway Sunday.

PROPOSED: In a new reality TV show, Steve Martin is teaming with ABC to give bright, ambitious high school students a chance for a free education at a top university of their choice, says the Hollywood Reporter. Production is slated to begin this year for a premiere next year. "With this show, we intend to empower both students and parents with the knowledge that a higher education is realistic and attainable for everyone," said Martin, 59, in a statement.

ATTEMTPED: Courtney Love's attorneys and the California law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP have agreed to try settling a dispute over legal fees out of court, the Associated Press reports. Superior Court Judge Gerald Rosenberg gave both sides until Feb. 5 to reach a settlement. Last November, the firm sued Love, Hole band mate Eric Erlandson and a company that owns the recording services of the band's members over claims of unpaid lawyer fees.

DIED: Pierre Salinger, 79, press secretary to the late U.S. Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson and a onetime ABC-TV journalist, died of a heart attack on Saturday. Salinger, who moved to southern France following the election of President Bush, died at a hospital near his home in Le Thor, France, his wife told The Washington Post.

VOTED: Angelina Jolie, 29, is Esquire magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive, followed (closely, say reports) by Halle Berry, and the No. 3 choice, Britney Spears. In the cover story, Jolie acknowledges her image as being "kind of wild or bad or weird or crazy." But, she adds, "The tattoos, the blood, cutting myself – it's all very much who I am."