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Report: Tori Spelling to Return to 90210
Friday, January 9, 2009


Tori Spelling might find herself in a familiar zip code soon.

The star is in final negotiations to reprise her role as Donna Martin in the new version of the '90s hit show 90210, according to Entertainment Tonight.

This isn't the first time Spelling has been rumored to return to the teen drama. In August, Spelling reportedly pulled out after learning Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty had been offered higher salaries.

If the deal goes through this time, fellow Beverly Hills, 90210 alum Jason Priestley will direct Spelling's debut episode, which is slated to shoot at the end of January, TV Guide says.

Spelling -- whose late father Aaron created and produced the original series -- has had two children with her husband Dean McDermott since leaving the show: Liam, 22 months, and Stella, 7 months.


Rifts show as Obama urges quick action on stimulus



WASHINGTON – Lawmakers are under orders to finish action on President-elect Barack Obama's nearly $800 billion economic recovery plan by mid-February. But already it is plain that a set of serious fissures need to be bridged if the bill is to be completed within five weeks.
Obama urged Congress on Thursday to "act boldly and act now" to fix an economy growing perilously weaker, even as top Democrats said they dislike key provisions, especially the design of his tax cuts.
Democrats such as Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad complained openly that many of the incoming administration's proposed tax cuts wouldn't work. Republicans warned against excessive new spending, with both parties signaling the incoming president they intend to place their own stamp on the economic recovery effort.
Conrad, D-N.D., and Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., also staked a firm position against using the economic recovery plan for permanent spending increases, opening a split with House Democrats hoping to use the plan to broaden eligibility for unemployment insurance and boost education spending.
"Doing things that would have a permanent effect when we face trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see is just unwise," Conrad said.
A call for a $3,000 tax break for job creation drew particular criticism in a closed-door meeting, and numerous lawmakers said Obama had not ticketed enough of his tax proposal for energy.
But there was little or no dispute about the need for action, and Obama's remarks coincided with a pair of government reports showing fresh weakness in an economy already in recession. An updated reading on unemployment was expected to bring even more bad news on Friday.
"If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years," with unemployment reaching double digits, Obama said in a speech at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. "A bad situation could become dramatically worse."
Obama's aides and congressional Democrats have been at work for weeks on legislation to create new jobs, help the unemployed, cut taxes and aid cash-strapped states. There also are subsidies to help the newly unemployed afford their health care, a big new effort to improve the energy efficiency of federal buildings, and tax credits for business investment in plants and equipment.
The details are closely held and subject to change — and the cost of various components seems to be bouncing around daily in the push and pull between the Obama transition team and congressional leaders.
Obama's chief political strategist, David Axelrod, and incoming chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, heard plenty of ideas and criticisms during Capitol Hill meetings Thursday.
"There was what one would expect, which is constructive comments," Axelrod told reporters. "I'm not going to characterize it as push-back. I'm going to characterize it as people doing their jobs."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., promised lawmakers would cancel next month's planned Presidents' Day recess if necessary.
"We are not going home without an economic recovery package," she told reporters, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, at a different appearance, agreed that that allowed enough time to get the job done.
About $300 billion of Obama's package would be for tax cuts or refunds for individuals and businesses.
One tax provision would provide a $500 tax cut for most workers and $1,000 for couples, at a cost of about $140 billion to $150 billion over two years. The individual tax cuts may be awarded through withholding less from worker paychecks, effectively making checks about $10 to $20 larger each week.
Democrats emerging from a closed-door meeting of the Senate Finance Committee had little positive to say about the tax cut proposals. Conrad was critical of the proposed break for workers and their families.
"Twenty bucks a week. How much of a lift is that going to give?" he said.
Nor did he sound positive about a proposed tax break for businesses to create jobs — a $3,000 tax credit for companies that hire or retrain workers.
"If I'm a business person, it's unlikely if you give me a several thousand dollar credit that I'm going to hire people if I can't sell the products they're producing," Conrad said.
Republicans noted forecasts of a record $1.2 trillion deficit for the current year and said too much additional spending could be harmful. "We can't buy prosperity with more and more government spending," declared Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader.


Taylor Swift Was America's Bestselling Album Artist of 2008
Saturday, January 3, 2009

Although overall U.S. music sales were up in 2008 -- with more than 1.5 billion albums, singles, music videos and digital tracks sold -- album sales alone dropped an average of 14 percent across all recorded musical formats.

Sales of country music albums plunged from 62,696,000 units in 2007 to 46,657,000 in 2008, a drop of 24 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the company that monitors actual retail purchases of music.

But there was good news for country as well. Taylor Swift was the bestselling album artist in all popular music formats with 4,003,000 copies sold. Sugarland ranked eighth by selling 2,063,000.

Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III was the single bestselling album of the year, moving 2,874,000 pieces across the scanner.

The Nielsen SoundScan totals cover sales made between Dec. 31, 2007 and Dec. 28, 2008.

Sales of physical albums slumped significantly in every format. Alternative rock dipped from 88,604,000 to 80,919,000; Christian/gospel from 34,017,000 to 29,793,000; classical from 18,044,000 to 13,323,000; jazz from 14,047,000 to 11,791,000; Latin from 31,853,000 to 25,125,000; metal from 52,951,000 to 50,476,000; new age from 3,210,000 to 2,943,000; rhythm & blues from 95,555,000 to 77,014,000; rap from 41,662,000 to 33,410,000; rock from 149,414,000 to 139,666,000; and soundtracks from 24,570,000 to 20,847,000.

Swift had two of the Top 10 bestselling albums: Fearless, which ranked No. 3, on sales of 2,112,000 copies, and Taylor Swift, at No. 6, which sold 1,597,000 units during its second year on the charts. (Sales of Beautiful Eyes, Swift's CD/DVD package available exclusively through Wal-Mart, rounded out her grand total.)

Swift ranked No. 2 among the Top 10 bestselling digital artists with 8,793,000 digital tracks sold. In this category, she outpaced Kanye West, Chris Brown, Britney Spears, the Jonas Brothers, Coldplay, Katy Perry, Leona Lewis and Jordin Sparks. Only Rihanna exceeded her.

In addition, Swift's Fearless was the No. 5 bestselling digital album, racking up a total of 225,000 units. It was also the No. 4 bestselling collection via Internet orders with 82,000 copies shipped.

Five country performers are among the Top 10 bestselling artists of the "SoundScan Era," a period that began in 1991 when that monitoring technology was introduced. Garth Brooks stands at No. 1, with 68,143,000 albums sold. George Strait is No. 6 (40,619,000); Tim McGraw No. 7 (37,591,000); Alan Jackson No. 8 (36,520,000); and Shania Twain No. 10 (33,707,000).

Twain's Come On Over is the bestselling album of the SoundScan Era. It now boasts 15,473,000 copies sold.

Nielsen Broadcast Data System, which monitors radio airplay, reported six country artists among the 10 acts getting the most airplay. They are Rascal Flatts (No. 2), Toby Keith (No. 3), George Strait (No. 5), Tim McGraw (No. 6), Taylor Swift (No. 8) and Alan Jackson (No. 9).

No country songs made it into the Top 10 most popular ringtones last year.

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