Jackie O, to be played by Katie Holmes

Katie Holmes To Play Jackie O – The History Channel has revealed the cast for its eight-hour The Kennedys miniseries, due in 2011: Greg Kinnear will play John F. Kennedy Jr., Barry Pepper will portray Robert Kennedy, Tom Wilkinson will play Joe Kennedy Sr. and, yes, Katie Holmes will take on the role of Jackie Kennedy. In response to this news, Rachel Weisz, who will be playing the icon in the upcoming film Jackie, cackled and said, “Frankly, I’d be more threatened by Suri.” [nymag]

SA Prepares Red Carpet For Obama – The top South African World Cup organiser says his country is prepared to have United States President Barack Obama visit during the tournament. Obama met last summer at the White House with Fifa president Sepp Blatter, and South African officials have said Obama has told them he might try to attend if his schedule allows. [mail&guardian]

Mandela To Skip World Cup Ceremony – Nelson Mandela plans to skip the opening ceremony of the football World Cup finals in South Africa in June and will watch the tournament from home. Asked if the former South African president, 91, would be present as hoped for by organisers, Chief Mandla Mandela replied: “He’s said he would prefer to be at home in the rural countryside to spend time at the farm,” [timeslive]

Chavez Sends His First Tweet – Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president well known for his marathon TV addresses to the nation, has taken to Twitter to share his thoughts. After he promised to “let loose” on Tuesday night, a Spanish-language tweet duly appeared on his new chavezcandanga account 14 minutes after midnight. It was a simple message to say he was off on a working trip to Brazil. Yawn, raise your game, Hugo. [bbc]

Brazil Official Urges More Sex For Better Health – Brazil’s health minister has a remedy for the nation’s high-blood- pressure problem: More sex. Minister Jose Temporao says adults should be exercising more to help keep their blood pressure down — and he says a good cardiovascular workout includes sex! It will come at n surprise that Paul Snodgrass sent me that link. [associated]

Ice Discovered on Asteroid, Suggests Earth’s Oceans Came From Space – Water ice and organic molecules have been discovered on the surface of an asteroid for the first time. Researchers glimpsed the ice on 24 Themis, the largest member of an asteroid family located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, using the NASA Infrared Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. This frosty little rock could be the key to understanding how Earth became the blue planet. [wired]

Redstone Slams Murdoch – Sumner Redstone thinks Rupert Murdoch’s obsession with the Wall Street Journal and with newspapers in general is cockamamie and nearly suicidal. Murdoch and Redstone are as mindful of each other as they are of anybody else in their business. They perhaps understand each other better, too. This is partly generational: They are the two octogenarian media conglomerate owners. Get a room, guys. [vanityfair]

Gordon Brown Caught Off-Camera Calling A Voter “Bigoted” – Just one day before the final televised prime minister debate, and while stumping for his campaign, Brown was caught calling a voter “bigoted.” Cabinet members fear that the prime minister’s off-camera comment about voter Gillian Duffy may cost the Labour Party big time. Brown hadn’t realized his microphone was still on upon entering his car, and called her “a bigoted woman.” [telegraph]

Alexander McQueen Autopsy Reveals Cocaine, Sleeping Pills & Tranquilizers – Yesterday, a London coroner released the results of Alexander McQueen’s autopsy. It was concluded that the designer had ingested “’a significant level of cocaine,’ sleeping pills, and tranquilizers.” McQueen had “‘killed himself while the balance of his mind was disturbed,’ and stressed that the designer ‘had a history of depression and anxiety, and was grieving for his mother.’” [vanityfair]

HP To Buy Palm For $1.4Billion Cash – Palm Inc. a pioneer in the smart phone business that couldn’t quite make the comeback it needed, has agreed to be bought out by Hewlett-Packard Co. for about $1.4 billion in cash.The two Silicon Valley companies announced Wednesday that the deal will see HP pay $5.70 for every Palm common share and certain preferred shares. Palm had closed trading Wednesday at $4.63 but traded as high as $18.09 in the past 52 weeks. [msnbc]

Sandra Bullock dopts Child And Files For Divorce – Sandra Bullock has filed for divorce from her husband, Jesse James, and is adopting a baby boy as a single parent. Bullock and James, 41, began the adoption process four years ago, the report said, and brought 3 1/2-month-old Louis Bardo Bullock home in January but decided to keep the news to themselves until after the Oscars. The rest is sordid Hollywood history. [hamptonroads]

[thanks paul]
[happy birthday sam]