News Brief

As a Lovers’ Kiss Turns a World Around
The New York Times reports on the Luke and Noah storyline: "Class used to be the axis on which so much of the turmoil on soap operas turned. Years ago Luke’s parents provided the drama on the grounds that his mother was an heiress and his father a stable boy. AS THE WORLD TURNS hasn’t done anything revolutionary with its gay kiss — gay characters on ABC’s BROTEHRS & SISTERS on Sunday nights, display their affection for each other constantly — it has merely discovered the currency of the culture wars."

Alderson and Buddy on THE VIEW today
Kristen Alderson and Brandon Buddy from ONE LIFE TO LIVE will appear on THE VIEW today.

Inside Soaps' BOLD Suicide Storyline
TV Guide reports: "As a rule, soaps stay the hell away from suicide. But CBS' THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL went there on April 28, when Storm Logan (William deVry) blew his brains out so his heart could be donated to his dying sister, Katie (Heather Tom). 'It was a hard decision, but the aftermath of Storm's death is some of the finest work we've ever done,' says B&B exec producer Brad Bell. 'It's a decision I don't regret.'"

PURPOSE(R) Skincare continues partnership with Rebecca Herbst
PURPOSE(R) announces that the brand has signed on to be an official sponsor of the 43rd ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC(R) AWARDS honoring country music's top talent as well as the industry's hottest emerging talent. The event will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 18th, 2008 and will be broadcast at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. In addition to the sponsorship, PURPOSE(R) will sign soap star and longtime PURPOSE(R) user, Rebecca Herbst for a second partnership year. Soap star and country music fan Ms. Herbst will be making an appearance at the Academy of Country Music Awards gift Retreat to speak with a few of music's biggest stars to not only share her personal skincare journey with PURPOSE(R), but to also get the inside scoop on how they prepared for the awards, from their outfit choice to their beauty regimen.

EASTENDERS: Samantha Janus' fat retirement
Samantha Janus can't wait to retire - so she can get fat. The EASTENDERS actress - who plays club owner Ronnie Mitchell in the hit soap - says she has to watch what she eats as she needs to stay slim while she appears on TV. She said: "The only reason I'm quite slim is because I spend my life being miserable about saying no to things and always feel hungry. I could easily be 24 stone. When I retire I'm going to eat and eat and triple in size!"

GH's Geary on summer vacation
Anthony Geary starts his summer vacation a bit earlier than most of us when he takes off until fall. Luke exits GH the week of May 19.

Beth Ehlers the new Liza Colby on AMC?
Will Ehlers take over the role made famous by Marcy Walker on ALL MY CHILDREN?

VOTE: Round 1 of Adonis 2008
Barash, Burton, Christian, Fumero, Hansis, Lavoisier, Lucinbill and St. Victor compete in the first round semifinals.

: