NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar didn't have to look far for advice after he was diagnosed with leukemia. His middle son, Amir, 28, is a third-year medical student in San Francisco.

"He was a real great source for me, just that I can talk to him about it. Being a doctor, he understood what was happening, and gave me realistic viewpoint on it," Abdul-Jabbar said in an interview with PEOPLE. "That means a lot to me."

The television news producer accused of trying to blackmail David Letterman asked a judge today to dismiss the charges against him, claiming he was only trying to sell the talk show host a screenplay.

The lawyer for CBS News producer Robert "Joe" Halderman told reporters that his client "did not break the law," but was looking to do business with Letterman. Prosecutors, however, contend Halderman tried to get Letterman to pay him $2 million to keep his affairs with female staffers a secret.

Only six weeks ago, Joe Perry optimistically told PEOPLE that he and his Aerosmith bandmates were "pretty much counting on getting back together sometime in 2010," once lead singer Steven Tyler recovered from the fall he took over the summer.

But now the guitarist has changed his tune, telling the Las Vegas Sun that "Steven quit as far as I can tell." He added, "We'll probably find somebody else, and then we'll be able to move Aerosmith up a notch."

Former Miss California Carrie Prejean on Tuesday defended a recently surfaced erotic video of her as a youthful indiscretion and questioned whether it could actually be called a “sex tape” since no one else appears in it.

“It was me by myself. There was no one else with me. I was not having sex,” the controversial beauty queen told TODAY’s Meredith Vieira in New York.

Prejean admitted to making the video of herself and sending it to her boyfriend when she was 17 years old...

Carrie Prejean says a steamy tape she made for an ex-boyfriend a few years ago was “the biggest mistake” of her life.

The former Miss California USA told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Monday that she shot the racy tape by herself for a boyfriend she loved when she was 17. Later, he “betrayed” her and sold it.

“They can call it whatever they want to call it, but it was the biggest mistake of my life,”Prejean told Hannity. “I was all by myself and I was sending a boyfriend at the time who I loved and cared about a video of me … I was not having sex with anybody and you call it whatever you want.”

Audrina will not be happy about this!

First Kristin Cavallari dated Patridge's ex Justin Bobby in what turned into the nasty saga playing out on MTV's The Hills this season. Now, it's onto another guy, Tal Cooperman, who Patridge dated last summer.

"It's brand new. They're having a lot of fun enjoying getting to know each other better," says a source of Cavallari's relationship with the co-owner of the DCMA Collective clothing line. "It's not for the show. They hit it off and have been hanging out off-camera."

Coming up next: David Letterman on the witness stand?

The late-night TV king is ready to testify against his alleged extorter, the TV host's lawyer announced today -- offering a firm rebuke to defense claims that producer-gone-wild Robert "Joe" Halderman's only intention was to make a legitimate, screenplay deal.

"Mr. Letterman is fully prepared to see this case through to the end, including testifying at trial," his lawyer, Daniel Horwitz, told press after Halderman's latest court appearance this afternoon.

NEW YORK - Rihanna has been forthcoming and revealing during interviews when discussing Chris Brown and the aftermath of his assault on her earlier this year. She has emphasized her desire that the assault be a learning experience for her fans and young women in particular.

Rihanna told MTV News that she also hoped Brown could take something away from the situation.

"I know that he's going to take away something positive about this entire experience," Rihanna told Sway on Monday. "It was a life-changing experience for both of us. The best way that we can both win is if we come out learning from it and sharing with others, so they don't have to go through it like we did."

When The Practice's Marla Sokoloff married Deadsy drummer Alec Puro at Il Cielo restaurant in Beverly Hills over the weekend, everything was picture perfect, from tables laid with dark red roses and tea lights created by celebrity florist Mark's Garden to the free-flowing champagne and wedding cake from Buttercake Bakery.

After Taylor Lautner famously hit the gym to keep his role in the "Twilight" series, and Kristen Stewart told MTV News she was thankful he hadn't been replaced for "New Moon." And as filming began for the sequel, the co-stars were able to build on their relationship for the benefit of the film and their fans.

"I'm so glad they didn't have to find somebody else; we already had him!" Stewart told us back in January, and she continued to support Lautner as the two worked to capture the tentative love story between heartbroken Bella Swan and werewolf-to-be Jacob Black.

After reports circulated that former Miss California Carrie Prejean had a sex tape, the dethroned beauty queen confirmed the erotic video, which she called "the biggest mistake of my life."

See photos of stars' biggest sex tape scandals

“It was me by myself. There was no one else with me. I was not having sex,” Prejean, 22, told the Today Show on Tuesday, one day after admitting the existence of the tape on Fox News.

Prosecutors violated a CBS producer's free-speech rights to sell a tell-all book on David Letterman's randy ways when they busted him for a blackmail plot, his lawyer said Tuesday.

What prosecutors say was Robert Halderman's extortion attempt was really a "hard-driven" business deal to sell rights to a screenplay about a talk show host who "fostered an environment" of sexual harassment, court papers charge.

Taylor Lautner's transformation from skinny teen to hunky werewolf didn't just happen with a full moon – the actor had an exacting regimen to achieve his famously shirt-bereft physique.

"I was exercising so hard that I began to lose weight," the 17-year-old tells Men's Health in its December issue, out Nov. 17.

For most people, that'd be a good thing. But for Lautner, who wants to bulk up even further as the Twilight film series progresses, he had to go on a 3,200-calorie-a-day diet to put on mass.

LOS ANGELES — Ryan Norwalk has cleared his schedule.

The 26-year-old California State University student plans to spend Tuesday gunning down foes in "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," the highly anticipated first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision Blizzard Inc.

Norwalk was among the dedicated fans lined up late Monday for the game outside the GameStop in West Hollywood, Calif.

LOS ANGELES - Ryan Norwalk had cleared his schedule.

The 26-year-old college student was spending Tuesday gunning down foes in "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," the highly anticipated, first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision Blizzard Inc.

Late Monday night, Norwalk was among the dedicated fans lined up for the game outside the GameStop in West Hollywood, Calif. "I want to get a head start before everyone gets it tomorrow," he said.

During our playday at the Four Seasons Hotel in L.A. last week, we got to hang and chat with Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and the rest of the New Moon crew. One of our favorites had to be Taylor Lautner.

First of all, let's all face this one together: It's a crime how good-looking Lautner is. Seriously—he's only 17. While we want Rob as our husband, we want Taylor as our dirty pool boy, or something. Although we won't give anything away, we have a big feeling you'll agree after you all see New Moon.

Imagine, for a moment, a world without "Sesame Street." Young children would become less proficient spellers, counters and performers of musical odes to rubber duckies. Disposable diapers would be plain and void of images of Cookie Monster and Abby Cadabby. Elmo would cease to exist and, consequently, to be tickled.

Thankfully, this doomsday-for-children's-programming scenario stands little chance of becoming reality. As "Sesame Street" celebrates the big 4-0 on Tuesday, Nov. 10 -- an anniversary commemorated with a whole lot of Google-doodle promotion and the release of the new DVD collection "Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days" ($30) -- Ernie, Bert and the rest of the gang have cemented their status as the most influential characters in American kiddie culture.

Over the past few days, rumors have been rampant that frontman Steven Tyler has left Aerosmith to pursue a solo career. The only problem was, no one associated with the band seemed to be willing to confirm those rumors.

But late Monday, there's news that not only is Tyler out of the band he helmed for nearly 40 years, but Aerosmith plan on searching for a new singer to replace him.

That's according to guitarist Joe Perry, who took to his Twitter account yesterday evening to let fans know that "Aerosmith is definitely NOT breaking up ... one of the members is doing his own thing and said so in the press."

After being charged with burglary and criminal trespassing in Coweta County, Georgia, on Sunday, comedian Katt Williams was released on $41,150 bond on Monday afternoon, according to TMZ. The "Wild 'N Out" alumnus reportedly had a crowbar when he entered a home in Newman, Georgia, from which he allegedly stole $3,555 in jewelry and collectible coins.

A lawyer for the comedian (born Micah Williams) told TMZ that his client had been staying at the home of producer Barry Hankerson while filming a movie in the area. Attorney William Briggs added that his client was involved in a dispute with one of Hankerson's employees, who fabricated the incident, Briggs claimed.

NEW YORK - Members of Bon Jovi were supposed to be taking it easy this winter, basking in adulation and just letting the money roll in.

They had a flattering documentary of their last tour airing on Showtime — called "When We Were Beautiful" — and a companion book of photos and reminiscences. They also had a greatest-hits album planned, which would be virtually like printing money.

It seemed time to kick back and recharge those rock 'n' roll batteries.