News Brief

New York Daily News: SPOILER: Archrivals Alexis and Diane are nominated for the "Litigator of the Year" award next week on "General Hospital," leading to a raucous trip to Philadelphia - and a side trip to a biker bar. "This award is obviously something that Alexis has fantasized about her whole life, career-wise," says Nancy Grahn, who plays the legal eagle. "She gets on the plane and naturally, in soap land, she's sitting right next to Diane." The two start arguing over their respective clients, Kate and Sonny.

Miami Herald: Josh Duhon wasn't feeling confident when he went to read for the role of Logan Hayes on "General Hospital." "I'd auditioned for every soap on television before that at least twice, and I'd never even gotten a callback for General Hospital," says Duhon, whose success rate had been a big fat zero, except for a short stint on "Passions." It turned out that the third time was the charm for Duhon and General Hospital. The show's brass not only called Duhon back but they promptly signed him to a contract to portray young rebel Logan. Duhon attributes it to really connecting with the part.

Jackson Clarion Ledger: Mississippi Families for Kids has postponed a benefit luncheon scheduled for Jan. 11 because of soft ticket sales. Linda West, the group's executive director, said response may not have been as great as anticipated because guest speaker Victoria Rowell has made appearances at events in Mississippi and Louisiana in recent months.

FOX News: American TV Icon: Rick Springfield. "I was pretty burned out in '85 and was getting — starting to get into some issues. I'd lost my dad earlier and hadn't really dealt with it, and suddenly I became a father. And I had to — it was the right time for me to stop and start to look at things."

HeatherTom.net: Heather Tom has signed a three year contract to remain on "The Bold and the Beautiful" as Katie Logan.

LifeNews.: In January 2006, former "General Hospital" star Kari Wuhrer sued ABC and ABC Productions alleging the media outlet killed off her character and dismissed her from the program because she got pregnant. Wehrer sued for $3 million in damages including damages to her career and earnings as well as emotional distress. According to a New York Times article, Wuhrer also alleges that ABC soap opera producers have an anti-pregnancy bias in general and encourage actresses to have abortions rather than have their babies. "Even one whiff that an actress on an ABC daytime soap has conceived a child is enough to have her character killed off the show," the complaint says.

Deadbolt: Mischa Barton (a former young Lily on "All My Children) was arrested for drunk driving and marijuana possession.

The Phoenix: Boston’s first rally supporting the Writers Guild of America strike was held on December 14th. Larry Ramin, ex-writer for "All My Children" and "As the World Turns" was in attendance.