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Rosanne Cash to undergo brain surgery

NEW YORK, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash has canceled the four remaining dates on her "Black Cadillac: In Concert" tour so she can undergo brain surgery.

Cash's upcoming recording session has also been postponed while she has the operation

at New York Presbyterian Hospital to treat a rare, but benign condition.

The daughter of country music icon Johnny Cash is expected to make a full recovery and will return to the studio to complete the recording of her debut for Manhattan Records, the label said in a statement.

Cash also plans to resume her live performance schedule in the spring and complete a new book to be published by Viking in early 2009.

WGA: Both sides want to resume talks

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Both the Writers Guild of America and the studios and networks they are striking against reportedly want to resume talks to end the walkout that began Monday.

"I think both sides want to continue negotiations," WGA West executive director David Young told Variety. "We are not getting a divorce."

The trade paper said five key stumbling blocks remained at the start of talks Sunday and two were left by the dinner break, prompting members of both camps to feel progress could have been made had negotiations continued.

Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers president Nick Counter said the talks collapsed when the WGA East Web site reported the strike had started while talks were still in progress.

"We asked the WGA if they'd be willing to put a pin in the strike so we could continue negotiations, and (WGA East leader) Mona (Mangan) and David Young said no," Counter said. "I'm shocked and chagrined over what happened."

Young said he told the AMPTP at noon Sunday the WGA was willing to talk all night, but would not call off the strike.

No new talks are planned.

"The outlook for future WGA negotiations is pretty bleak," Counter said.

Stars support WGA strike

NEW YORK, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- TV stars Tina Fey, Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler hit the picket lines in New York to show their support for the Writers Guild of America.

The WGA's first walkout in 19 years immediately shut down late-night talk shows such as "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Late Show With David Letterman," forcing networks to air reruns Monday, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday.

A lengthy strike could also affect hit shows like "Lost," "24" and "CSI: Miami," which only have so many scripts completed ahead of the show's shooting schedules.

"This is a battle of wills," Fey told the Daily News.

"I'm a writer first. ... I would never have an acting job if I hadn't written first," said Fey, who started out as a writer and player on "Saturday Night Live" and who now co-produces, writes and stars in the NBC comedy "30 Rock."

In Los Angeles, Leno rode up on his motorcycle and passed out doughnuts to writers on a picket line.

"I've been working with these people for 20 years. Without them, I'm not funny. I'm a dead man," Leno told the Los Angeles Times

Offended woman won't accept Dog's apology

HONOLULU, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- The woman at the center of the Duane "Dog" Chapman racist remark firestorm refused to accept the U.S. TV star's apology because it was issued through a lawyer.

Chapman was caught on tape calling Monique Shinnery, his son Tucker's African-American girlfriend, the N-word.

Tucker Chapman reportedly sold the tape to a tabloid, sparking a media frenzy and prompting emotional apologies from Duane Chapman.

A&E has since yanked his show "Dog the Bounty Hunter" from its schedule and suspended production, pending an investigation.

Shinnery said she doesn't accept Chapman's apology.

"I think Duane's apology was pathetic because it was not directed toward us. He didn't personally call Tucker or me to apologize. His attorney, Brook Hart, did. So, I personally don't accept it," Shinnery told WITV-TV in Honolulu.