Formal inquiry set for March 27 in the Bahamas in death of Anna Nicole Smith's 20-year-old sonNASSAU (AP) — A formal inquiry into the death of Anna Nicole Smith's 20-year-old son has been scheduled for March 27 in the Bahamas, the chief magistrate said.The reality TV star, who gave birth to a daughter three days before Daniel Smith mysteriously died at her hospital bedside on September 10, will be among the witnesses required to testify before the jury inquest, Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez said.

"It's to try and answer all the unanswered questions that have been raised in this matter," he told reporters. "We hope by going through this process and having lawyers cross-examine witnesses that more information would come out."

The inquest at the coroner's court will be open to the media, he said.

A private pathologist concluded that Daniel Smith died from a lethal combination of methadone and two antidepressants. Gomez didn't disclose the conclusions of the official pathologist or a police investigation.

Smith, 39, has said she was seeking privacy when she came to the island chain during her pregnancy.

The former Playboy Playmate has remained in the Bahamas while embroiled in feuds with former boyfriends over the paternity of her daughter and ownership of her waterfront residence.

Jurors' responsibilities will include assessing potential liability in Daniel Smith's death, and they could recommend that prosecutors pursue criminal charges, Gomez said.

Wayne Munroe, a lawyer for Smith, said he didn't know her opinion on the matter, but said he didn't believe an inquest was necessary.R. Kelly drops lawsuit over guardhouse at his mansionOLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. (AP) — R. Kelly is ending his feud with this south suburban village over a guard shack.The Grammy-winning R&B singer recently agreed to drop his legal challenge against Olympia Fields that claimed the community improperly denied him the right to build a guardhouse outside his mansion.

The Chicago native, whose real name is Robert Kelly, also agreed to pay the village of 4,700 residents more than $20,000 to cover attorney fees and code-violation fines.

"Robert Kelly wants to be a good neighbour," said John Touhy, his attorney.

The community 20 miles south of Chicago doesn't allow guard shacks at houses and sued Kelly after the building was constructed without proper permits.

But Kelly, 40, filed a lawsuit of his own, arguing that he should be granted an exception to village code because of his status as "a nationally known, Grammy Award-winning recording artist".

The offending guard building has been torn down, and the village dropped its lawsuit.

Village officials say the spat never was personal and even honoured Kelly for his holiday decorations.

"He had streams of lights running up and down the roof of this huge house, lights on the trees, all kinds of stuff," said Village President Linzy Jones, also one of Kelly's neighbours. "It was spectacular."

Kelly is awaiting trial in Cook County on 14 counts of child pornography after prosecutors said he videotaped having sex with an underage girl. He has pleaded not guilty.Michael J. Fox to be guest of congressman at State of the Union speechWARWICK, R.I. (AP) — Michael J. Fox, whose stem cell research advocacy ads created a stir in last fall's elections, will attend President Bush's State of the Union address next week as a guest of Rhode Island Rep. Jim Langevin.Both are staunch supporters of embryonic stem-cell research.

Fox, 45, suffers from Parkinson's disease. As the 2006 elections neared, he appeared in television campaign ads for political candidates who support the research.

"Congressman Langevin is a tireless champion for the advancement of medical research, and I am honoured to join him next week at the State of the Union," the actor said in a statement.

Langevin, who has been confined to a wheelchair since an accidental shooting that occurred when he was a teenager, addressed his colleagues in the House of Representatives last week in support of a bill that would bolster embryonic stem cell research.

The Democratic-controlled House passed the legislation, but the White House has promised to veto it.

Langevin invited Dana Reeve, Christopher Reeve's widow, as his guest to the State of the Union address in 2005. She died of lung cancer last year.

"I am sure Michael will help to further Chris and Dana's legacy and underscore for the President just how serious I am about pursuing the promise of stem cell research," Langevin said in a statement Tuesday.Diana Ross says she's too busy to see DreamgirlsNEW YORK (AP) — Diana Ross says she's a busy woman these days. So busy, in fact, that she hasn't had time to see the hit film Dreamgirls, which is loosely based on her life as a Motown starlet.The 62-year-old singer told CBS Late Show host David Letterman on Tuesday that she is going to be a mentor on Fox's American Idol and is planning a world tour in March to promote her new album, I Love You.

Ross said she didn't see the musical version of "Dreamgirls," either.

When Letterman asked her whether she was curious about the film, Ross joked: "Yes, I've heard a lot about it. I'm going to see it with my lawyers."

The film, which won a Golden Globe on Monday for best musical or comedy, tells the story of a Motown trio similar to the Supremes and their rise to fame. Eddie Murphy also won for best supporting actor, and newcomer Jennifer Hudson, a former American Idol contestant, won for best supporting actress.

Ross went on to say that she's heard there is a lot of her image and likeness in the movie. Beyonce Knowles' character, Deena Jones, looks like Ross during her early solo days.

"What I would like to do is to be able to see it," Ross said. "I like to inspire the talent that it is out there today."K-Fed to star in Super Bowl adCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Britney Spears no longer wants him as her husband and audiences have been cool to his attempt at a rap music career, but Kevin Federline has Nationwide on his side.Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., known for its "On Your Side" slogan, plans to run a national ad during the Super Bowl, and K-Fed has been tapped to star, the Columbus-based company announced Wednesday.

The 30-second spot, to air during the third quarter of the Feb. 4 game, will be the latest installment in Nationwide's "Life Comes at You Fast" ad campaign. Previous celebrity ads in the series have featured Fabio and M.C. Hammer.

In the new commercial, Federline, 28, goes from starring in a rap video surrounded by beauties and bling to working at a fast-food joint.

"No one has personified 'Life Comes at You Fast' in the media better than Federline," said Steven Schreibman, Nationwide vice president of advertising and brand management.

"Our partnership with Kevin shows the world that he has a great sense of humour."

Spears, 25, filed for divorce from Federline in November after two years of marriage. The couple agreed to share custody of their sons, 3-month-old Jayden James and 1-year-old Sean Preston, for this month, but after that, Federline will be allowed visits three afternoons per week.

His debut rap album, "Playing With Fire," sold a dismal 6,500 copies in its first week of release last fall.Gus Van Sant pleads not guilty to drunk drivingPORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — Gus Van Sant, director of "Good Will Hunting," pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of drunken driving and reckless driving. He was ordered to a February 9 alcohol diversion hearing.Van Sant, 54, was arrested the night of December 21 near the city centre. Police said he registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent, more than double Oregon's limit of 0.08 percent.

An officer saw that Van Sant's headlights weren't on, Portland Police Bureau spokesman Sgt. Brian Schmautz said.

Van Sant had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, smelled of alcohol and failed sobriety tests, Schmautz said.

Van Sant wasn't required to appear at the arraignment in Multnomah County Court. He was represented by attorney Richard Oberdorfer.

The February hearing will help determine whether the Portland filmmaker enters a diversion programme, which could eventually remove the charge from his record.

Judge Leslie Roberts imposed the standard conditions that while the case is pending, Van Sant must avoid alcohol and not drive without a license or insurance.

Several of Van Sant's movies have been set in Oregon, including Elephant, about a high school shooting, which won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003. He has been shooting Paranoid Park in and around the city.

His films also include My Own Private Idaho, Drugstore Cowboy and Finding Forrester.Paul Sorvino, as deputy sheriff, was entitled to weaponSTOWE, Vermont (AP) — Goodfellas actor Paul Sorvino, who pulled a gun on his daughter Amanda's ex-boyfriend in a confrontation, was allowed to carry it and never pointed it at the man, police Chief Ken Kaplan said.Amanda Sorvino, 36, told a Monroe County judge in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, that she had locked herself in a bathroom and called both police and her father after the man pounded on her Stowe Motel room door and made threats on January 3.

"He got in my father's face and said, 'Go ahead, Paul, shoot, I ain't done nothing wrong'," Amanda Sorvino testified.

The judge granted her request for a protection-from-abuse order against Daniel Snee, 21, of Effort, Pennsylvania.

Sorvino, a deputy sheriff in Pennsylvania, is entitled to carry a weapon from state to state, Kaplan said.

"He expressly stated there was no way through his training that he aimed the gun at this person, he didn't even threaten him," Kaplan said of Sorvino.

"He just said, 'I have a gun, I want you to stay away from my daughter, back off', because the guy was out of control, and he was."

An affidavit filed by Stowe police Officer Frederick Whitcomb said Amanda Sorvino had broken up with Snee earlier that night.

After being arrested, a handcuffed Snee escaped through an open window of a police cruiser and was found hiding in trees behind the motel about an hour later, the affidavit said. He was charged with escape and disorderly conduct.

The affidavit said Snee had a blood-alcohol content of 0.175, more than double the legal limit for driving in Vermont.

He was being held Wednesday at the St. Johnsbury Regional Correctional Facility in lieu of $5,000 bail.

Paul Sorvino starred in 1982's That Championship Season. His film credits also include Goodfellas and The Cooler.

He is also the father of Mira Sorvino, who won an Oscar for her role in Woody Allen's 1995 comedy Mighty Aphrodite.British singer James Blunt moving to SwitzerlandVERBIER, Switzerland (AP) — British singer James Blunt plans to move to an exclusive Swiss ski resort, local officials said.Patrick Messeiller, director of tourism for Verbier, confirmed a report in the Swiss daily Le Matin that Blunt, who is a frequent visitor to the mountain village, had registered with the tax office there.

Blunt, 32, is the latest celebrity to move to the alpine nation. French rock legend Johnny Hallyday took up residence in nearby Gstaad last month.

Hallyday's move prompted a heated debate in France about rich people and multinational companies fleeing the country for Switzerland because of low taxation there.

But Messeiller wouldn't comment on whether Blunt would receive similar preferential tax treatment as Hallyday. "That's a private matter," he said.

Each Swiss canton (state) sets its own tax rates, and can cut special deals with wealthy foreigners that allow them to pay only a fraction of what they would have to pay elsewhere.

London's Daily Mirror reported last year that Blunt, a former tank commander in the British army, earned $9.8 million with his 2005 album "Back to Bedlam," released by Atlantic Records.

Warner Music Group Corp. is home to Asylum, Atlantic, Reprise and Warner Bros.Now that she has her master's degree, Monica Lewinsky is job huntingLONDON (AP) — Monica Lewinsky is looking for work in London after getting her master's degree."She's job hunting," Lewinsky's publicist Barbara Hutson said.

Asked how long Lewinsky planned to stay in Britain, Hutson replied: "Awhile."

The 33-year-old Lewinsky, the woman at the centre of the scandal that nearly toppled former President Clinton, graduated from the London School of Economics last month.

Hutson refused to go into further detail or to specify in which discipline Lewinsky had earned her degree.

"She's not doing any press," Hutson said.Group demands apology from 'Grey's Anatomy' star Isaiah WashingtonLOS ANGELES (AP) — A gay and lesbian advocacy group demanded an apology from "Grey's Anatomy" co-star Isaiah Washington for comments made following the Golden Globe Awards.During a backstage interview Monday, Washington denied involvement in a heated on-set incident last year during which an anti-gay slur was reportedly uttered.

"No, I did not call (co-star) T.R. (Knight) a f****t," Washington told reporters. "Never happened, never happened."

On Wednesday, Neil Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said he had contacted Washington's representatives in hopes of meeting the actor to discuss "the destructive impact of these kinds of anti-gay slurs."

"Washington's repeated use of it on-set and in the media is simply inexcusable," Giuliano said in a statement.

Washington's publicist declined comment Wednesday.

Knight, who said soon after the October fracas that he is gay, appeared in Tuesday's taping of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" to discuss the original incident and Washington's recent comments.

"He referred to me as a f***t. Everyone heard it," Knight said of the October incident.Usher fined $425, gets 20 hours of community service for speeding in Ga. last yearCARTERSVILLE, Georgia (AP) — Usher has been found guilty of speeding in a July 4 incident in which he was pulled over on Interstate 75 for driving 103 mph.The 28-year-old R&B singer appeared in Bartow County court Tuesday to face a speeding citation. He was fined $425 by Probate Court Judge Mitchell Scoggins and told to perform 20 hours of community service.

After the ruling, Usher spent 30 minutes signing autographs for fans inside the courthouse, said a representative for Scoggins.

Usher is a five-time Grammy winner. His hits include Confessions, Burn, You Make Me Wanna and Yeah!