News Brief

Allentown Morning Call: Victoria Rowell has a cold and sore throat, but the Emmy-nominated former "The Young and the Restless" star is determined to stick to her busy schedule, from accepting media interviews to running her charity, the Rowell Foster Children's Positive Plan (RFCPP), to promoting her new, best-selling memoir, "The Women Who Raised Me." "I'm trying to hold it together here," the 48 year-old actress and advocate says optimistically, though with a slightly raspy voice, during a recent early morning phone interview from her Los Angeles home.

PR-USA: Students are winning the battle in a one-of-a-kind fantasy football league created by the author of the Fantasy Sports and Mathematics Series. The celebrities involved are David Henrie, an actor in Disney Channel's "Wizards of Waverly Place" and the hit series "That's So Raven," Michelle Stafford, the Emmy Award winning actress from "The Young and The Restless," and Whitney Wolanin, a 17-year-old pop star from Ft. Myers, Florida.

New York Daily News: David proposes to Alex this week on "One Life to Live," but love has nothing to do with it. "Just a couple of idiots trying to pull the wool over each other's eyes," says Tuc Watkins, who plays the gold-digging groom. Unbeknownst to David, he is Asa Buchanan's son and is therefore entitled to a piece of his fortune. Alex overheard this, which explains her sudden attraction to David and the cockamamie plan to marry him."David is working at Dreamland, which is a high-priced rehab center to the stars," says Watkins. "He figures he will meet some rich starlet and after a couple massages, she will invite him to live in her pool house.

Fort Worth Star Telegram: Performer David McDonald has had a variety of gigs in his career, from writing for and starring in children's theater in New York to a recurring role in "All My Children". But at heart, he's a musical-theater actor. "My career goal was always to do Broadway," he says in a deep, resonant voice.

Assodigitale: Dennis Haysbert, Jack Wagner ("The Bold and the Beautiful"), Corinne Touzet and Mark Burnett join forces with Roger Bart to host the International Interctive Emmy Awards at MIPTV 2006.

Digital Spy: "EastEnders" actress Kara Tointon has split from her former co-star James Alexandrou. Kara and James decided to end their 18-month relationship this week. The pair realised that they had drifted apart after spending much less time with each other this year. Alexandrou toured with the Royal Shakespeare Company after quitting his role as Martin Fowler on the soap in February.

Sunday Mirror: Duelling weddings in soapland and Albert Square's Cockney rabble are pulling out all the stops. Reluctant bride Stacey Slater is consumed by doubts and you can tell the situation is tense because her shabby brother Sean has adopted his crazy Neanderthal expression. Meanwhile, in "Coronation Street" - surprise, surprise - simpering Sarah Platt's latest attempt to force moron Jason Grimshaw up the aisle has also hit an eleventh-hour snag.