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Entertainment Today

By DICK KELSEY, United Press International
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SIR PAUL, LIZ AMONG KENNEDY HONOREES

Former Beatle Paul McCartney, actresses Elizabeth Taylor and Chita Rivera and actor James Earl Jones will receive 2002 Kennedy Center Honors.

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Since 1978, the honors salute performing artists who have made "a lifetime contribution to American culture." The 2002 winners were picked by a 103-person panel of fellow artists.

On Dec. 8, the honorees will meet President Bush and the first lady at the White House prior to a gala dinner and performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.


AOL TIME WARNER CONFIRMS FEDERAL INVESTIGATION

Entertainment giant AOL Time Warner has confirmed its accounting practices are the object of an investigation by the Justice Department.

The company said in a statement "it's not surprising" that government agencies would want to do some checking when questions are raised about a corporation's accounting.

Last week, the media titan revealed the Securities and Exchange Commission had launched a "fact-finding inquiry" into its accounting.

This followed stories in The Washington Post the company's America Online unit inflated its ad revenue with "unconventional transactions" from 2000 to 2002. AOL maintains its accounting is in line with accepted practices.

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JACKO CLAIMS FORGERY ON $13 MILLION PACT

Michael Jackson claims someone forged his signature on an agreement that he give his ex-business manager $13 million in back pay.

The former manager, Myung-Ho Lee, claimed in a Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that Jackson signed papers last September promising to pay for his business counseling.

Court documents filed by Lee say Jackson is a "financial time bomb waiting to explode."

In newly filed court papers, Jackson says he signed no such agreement.


SHAQ GOES BIG IN REAL ESTATE

Hoops star Shaquille O'Neal has made a $100 million deal with Urban Inc. to purchase 21 low-income housing developments in Colorado.

The 7-foot-1-inch L.A. Lakers center said he'd rather put his money into low-income housing than invest in homes around a golf course or buy strip malls.

O'Neal began investing in Colorado real estate four years ago.


CONGRESSMAN WANTS QUIET SETTING FOR MARTHA CHAT

The congressman leading the investigation into the ImClone trading scandal says he hopes to interrogate domestic diva Martha Stewart, but not in a public hearing.

Louisiana Republican Billy Tauzin, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, tells the New York Daily News he hopes to avoid such a spectacle. He adds: "You know, I just can't imagine us having to worry about all those place settings."

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Stewart dumped 4,000 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock in December, one day before ImClone shares plunged on a ruling by the Food and Drug Administration. Stewart has denied she did anything wrong.

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