PEOPLE
MALIBU, Calif. — Simon Cowell will miss the season's start of “America's Got Talent” live shows because of a back injury requiring surgery.
Cowell broke his back Saturday while testing his new electric bicycle at his home in California and was to undergo surgery, according to a spokesperson for the entertainment mogul.
He will be absent when NBC's “America's Got Talent” kicks off its run of live shows beginning Tuesday and Wednesday.
Cowell, who fell off the bike while in the courtyard with his family at his house in Malibu, created the talent show and serves as a judge. The show's other judges are Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Sofia Vergara, with Terry Crews as host.
NEW YORK — A new book by former President George W. Bush will highlight an issue which now sets him apart from many of his fellow Republicans — immigration.Crown announced last week that Bush's “Out Of Many, One: Portraits of America's Immigrants” will be published March 2. The book includes 43 portraits by the 43rd president, four-color paintings of immigrants he has come to know over the years, along with biographical essays he wrote about each of them.Bush, who served as president from 2001-2009, has often praised the contributions of immigrants. As president, Bush supported a bipartisan immigration reform bill that narrowly failed to pass in 2007.Bush has become a dedicated portrait painter and best-selling author since leaving the White House. His memoir “Decision Points” has sold more than 3 million copies, and his other books include “41,” about his father, former President George H.W. Bush; and a collection of paintings of military veterans, “Portraits of Courage.”He will donate a portion of his “Out Of Many, One” proceeds to organizations that help immigrants resettle.
NEW ORLEANS — Comedian Andy Dick has filed a lawsuit in New Orleans against the man who punched him last year outside a French Quarter nightclub.Documents in the July 30 lawsuit were made public last week.Dick, 54, said the punch by David Hale, 47, caused “serious, permanent and disabling injuries.” He seeks compensation for medical expenses and lost wages, among other damages.Hale has maintained that Dick provoked him into hitting him by grabbing Hale's genitals and winking at him outside the club where Dick had performed. Dick has denied he touched Hale.On July 28, the New Orleans district attorney's office said it was dropping prosecution of Hale because Dick had not been cooperative and had not kept in touch with prosecutors.
