LONDON – There are wars fought with heavy weaponry — and there are battles waged with a pen. Egyptian playwright and outspoken critic of radical Islam Ali Salem was awarded the $50,000 Civil Courage Prize Wednesday, presented by the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom at a ceremony in London. …

Ever since Ice-T launched this rap music craze with his hit song, “The Message,” I’ve been a dedicated fan of the lively genre. So it pains me to see the depths Ludacris has sunk in order to rehabilitate his increasingly irrelevant celebrity. But here’s the real issue: How do you …

Bigfoot hoaxers Rick Dyer and Matthew Whitton are back in the limelight — and they’re blaming Tom Biscardi, the California promoter who trotted them out for a nationally televised press conference last Friday. Back home in Georgia after their brief moment in the big time, Dyer and Whitton told two …

Why are women so obsessed with shoes? I think it’s because no matter what kind of day you’re having, what you ate last night and whether you haven’t been to the gym in days, a gorgeous pair of shoes is always going to make you feel good and look great! …

Reacting to polls showing Americans are furious about the economic meltdown, John McCain wants to postpone Friday’s debate and is heading back to Washington to involve himself in the bailout process. Now that’s a smart move. By suspending his campaign for a few days, McCain is trying to make himself …

Katie’s Broadway Deal Not Set Yet | Billy Joel Stays PC, Eats Well, Too | Picture This; ‘Criminal Intent’ Gone; ‘Blueberry Night’ Katie’s Broadway Deal Not Set Yet The deal to put Katie Holmes on Broadway is not so signed, sealed or delivered. I’m told that Holmes’ appearance in Arthur …

Crewmembers aboard the International Space Station (ISS) welcomed the arrival of a Russian spacecraft bearing their replacements and South Korea’s first astronaut early Thursday. Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko and South Korean spaceflyer So-yeon Yi pulled in at the station aboard their Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft, which docked with …

It’s always fun to see the first finals week of “So You Think You Can Dance,” where pairing breakdancers with ballerinas and forcing them to learn the salsa is often disastrously entertaining. True to form, this season’s finals opener delivered on the entertainment, but for a different reason: The dancers …

And now, a story that’s rocked New York City: Bill Schulz, everyone’s ideal big brother, has been rejected by the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program with no reason given. Bill has contacted a rep to come on the show, but no reply. So, why did they reject Bill? Was …

On Monday morning, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, desperate to retain an ounce of dignity but equally hard up for their $6 million fee from NBC, will make some kind of announcement about Sunday night’s Golden Globes telecast. The latest I’ve heard is that the HFPA would give NBC a …