People in the news

The latest news on today's hottest celebrities ...

HANK WILLIAMS JR.: ESPN said Monday its football telecast this week will exclude its normal opening after Hank Williams Jr. compared U.S. President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler.

Williams, appearing Monday on Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends" -- in which he said a so-called golf summit in which Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, discussed political matters during a round of golf -- would be "like Hitler playing golf with (Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin) Netanyahu."

"They're the enemy!" Williams said. "Obama! And (Vice President Joe) Biden!"

In a statement, ESPN said the "Monday Night Football" telecast of the Indianapolis Colts-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game at Tampa would not include the customary opening segment that features Williams singing, "Are you ready for some football?"

"While Hank Williams Jr. is not an ESPN employee, we recognize he is closely linked to our company through the opening to Monday Night Football," the statement said. "We are extremely disappointed with his comments, and as a result have decided to pull the open from tonight's telecast."

Williams, 62, has expressed interest in running for the U.S. Senate from Tennessee in 2012, USA Today reported.

ELLEN DEGENERES: U.S. talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres says she doesn't feel she made a mistake when she revealed she is a lesbian more than a decade ago.

The Emmy Award-winning star of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" discussed in an interview to air on Tuesday's edition of the "Today" show her decision to publicly confirm her sexual orientation in 1997.

Asked by co-anchor Ann Curry if she thought she had made a mistake in doing so, DeGeneres replied:

"No. Absolutely not.

"It's the best -- because I'm free. I'm completely able to be exactly who I am," DeGeneres said. "Everybody knows who's gay in this business. Let's face it. I mean, we could sit here, if the cameras weren't rolling, and name all the people that we know are gay in this business. So if it wasn't public knowledge, and I was sitting here having this interview because I'm selling my book, I would be scared to death that you were gonna catch me in something. I'd be scared to death that you're gonna ask me and I'd be figuring out how I'm gonna dodge that, and what I'm gonna say. And just, it's so ridiculous. And so to have to hide anything is just a horrible way to live. And I think you're selling your soul to the devil to just to have fame and have money and have, you know, whatever."

DeGeneres is on the promotion trail for her new book "Seriously ... I'm Kidding."

JENNA FISCHER: Jenna Fischer's publicist says the U.S. actress gave birth to a son.

The child is her first with screenwriter Lee Kirk, her husband since July 2010.

People.com said their son Weston Lee was born Sept. 24.

"Mom and baby are doing great," Fischer's publicist told People.com.

No other details were reported.

Fischer is best known for playing Pam on the U.S. sitcom "The Office."

CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER: U.S. actor and comedian Cedric "The Entertainer" is to serve as host of next month's Soul Train Awards, the show's producers said Monday.

The annual prize presentation, which recognizes the best in R&B music, is to be taped at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta Nov. 17.

It will premiere on both CENTRIC and BET in a special simulcast Nov. 27.

Earth, Wind, and Fire and Gladys Knight are to be among the honorees at the event.

"We are honored to be celebrating 40 years of Soul Train by bringing the Soul Train Awards back to CENTRIC," Paxton Baker, CENTRIC's general manager and executive vice president, said in a statement. "The Soul Train brand has played a fundamental role in shaping American culture. With such a dynamic host and illustrious legends, I am confident that this year's show will be the best yet."

"We are thrilled to have an opportunity to partner with BET/Centric again to produce another Soul Train Awards presentation," added Soul Train Chief Executive Officer Kenard Gibbs. "These annual awards allow us to celebrate the legacy of the Soul Train brand by showcasing amazing new talent that has been influenced by the music icons who have contributed to the success of the Soul Train series."