"A CHRISTMAS CAROL" - JIM CARREY

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The irony doesn't escape Jim Carrey. He's now played Santa's two greatest enemies on screen. First the Grinch, and now Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol." Carrey says they're both kind of the same story. He says "Scrooge is the original Grinch." And what makes Carrey the right one to play both characters? He jokes that it's because he hates Christmas. A Christmas Carol opens today.

"PRECIOUS" - THE STAR COMPLETELY FORGETS HER MEETING WITH OPRAH

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- It was one of the biggest moments of her life and Gabby Sidibe doesn't remember any of it. Sidibe got to meet Oprah Winfrey, who helped produce "Precious," the movie Sidibe stars in. Asked what she remembers most about the meeting, Sidibe says she "forgot everything about it." She says even though Winfrey is "such a big deal" to her, she didn't hear anything she said. She says it was like "hysterical blindness." Precious opens today in selected cities.

"SURVIVOR" - ERIK EXITS

UNDATED (AP) -- Two guys, two Hidden Immunity Idols and one blindside. That's what happened at the Tribal Council on "Survivor: Samoa" last night. Russell and Erik both went into the council with Hidden Immunity Idols. Russell played his, but he didn't need it. Erik kept his in his pocket and was voted off. The Southern California bartender says you can't defend against something that's invisible. He says he was blindsided after the two tribes merged. But Erik says he gave 100 percent while he was still in the game.< 00100 ""

Excerpt of theme for "Survivor: Samoa"

Here's an excerpt of the "Survivor: Samoa" theme. COURTESY: CBS and Mark Burnett Productions. )

"THE OFFICE" NOOSE - NOT FUNNY TO SUICIDE PREVENTION GROUPS

NEW YORK (AP) -- People at some suicide prevention groups aren't laughing over a scene in "The Office" where Steve Carell's clueless character tries to scare children by struggling in a hangman's noose. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and other mental health organizations say NBC and other entertainers should stop using suicide as a punchline. They worry it could encourage mentally ill people to take their own lives. A spokesman from one of the groups says the scene from "The Office" "kind of crossed the line."

RUE MCCLANAHAN - RECOVERING FROM HEART SURGERY

NEW YORK (AP) -- Rue McClanahan is recovering from heart surgery. She had a heart bypass at a hospital in New York on Wednesday. McClanahan, who's 75, says she's having "some maintenance on the old ticker." A friend says the surgery went very well and McClanahan is expected to be up and working again soon. Her heart problem was discovered while she got ready for a knee operation. McClanahan's heart surgery is preventing her from being at a tribute in her honor in San Francisco so it'll be rescheduled. It was set for a week from tomorrow. And, she had been planning to perform later this month at a New York club. It's being postponed. Rue McClanahan played Southern belle Blanche Devereaux on "Golden Girls."

MORGAN FREEMAN - CRASH SETTLEMENT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Morgan Freeman and the woman who was in the car with him when it crashed in the summer of last year, have settled her lawsuit. Details of the settlement are not being released. Demaris Meyer sued Morgan accusing him of being negligent when the car ran off the side of a rural highway near his Mississippi Delta home last summer. The car flipped several times but landed upright. That car, a 1997 Nissan Maxima, belonged to Meyer but Freeman was driving it with her as a passenger.

VANESSA WILLIAMS - HER PARENTS BELIEVED IN HER

NEW YORK (AP) -- Vanessa Williams knows how lucky she is to have had parents who nurtured her interest in the arts. Williams says she didn't have one of those upbringings where her "success was revenge" for people who never believed in her. Instead, Williams says her mom and dad always believed in her and made sure she "had the training to back it up." She says her parents encouraged to take dance lessons. Plus, she played piano and French horn. She sang and did theater. Vanessa Williams is in the fourth season of "Ugly Betty," which airs tonight on ABC.

<

BETTE MIDLER - THE SHOWGIRL WILL STOP IN LAS VEGAS

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Bette Midler's Las Vegas show, "The Showgirl Must Go On," is getting ready to stop. After nearly two years, Midler will end her run at Caesar's Palace on January 31. Midler says "these legs have had such a great run in the desert. It may be time to haul them to places with more humidity and fewer slot machines."