News Brief

TV Guide Canada: TVGuide.ca is proud to announce our first annual Soap Opera Spirit Award winners. Not too surprisingly, comeback soap, ONE LIFE TO LIVE swept the awards with seven well-deserved wins, while THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL trailed with four trophies.

Monsters and Critics: DVD Review: GENERAL HOSPITAL: NIGHT SHIFT - The Complete First Season.

Hollyscoop: FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS may or may not be canceled, but the game's not over for the show's star Taylor Kitsch, who has just signed on to be a part of X-Men. It's a three-picture deal, and Taylor will play Gambit in the new movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He'll join an all-star cast of Hugh Jackman, Liev Schrieber, Danny Huston, Lynn Collins, and Ryan Reynolds.

American Chronicle: Actress Alicia Cole, a working member of the Screen Actors Guild for 14 years, is known for the many portraits of doctors and nurses, including roles on GENERAL HOSPITAL, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS and PASSIONS. But a year ago, Cole switched from playing a doctor to becoming a real-life patient after contracting Necrotizing Fasciitis (NF), 'Man-eating Flesh Disease'. This lead to six additional surgeries and countless close calls. This also lead Cole to stage a fight to bring awareness of this disease and to the rise in preventable hospital acquired infections.

Seattle Post Intelligencer: Jeffrey Smith, a vigorous fisherman and hunter, began ordering prescription drugs such as Ambien and Viagra over the Internet when he was in his late 40s and the prospect of growing older began to gnaw at him, said his daughter, Michelle Ray Smith, who appears on the television soap opera GUIDING LIGHT. Five days before his 50th birthday, he sat in his sport utility vehicle in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., letting carbon monoxide fill his car.

PGP Blog: In 1980, as Saudi Arabia nationalized their foreign oil companies to manipulate international markets, Iraq invaded Iran, U.S. hostages remained trapped in Teheran and Palestinian terrorists waged their war against Israel by bombing a synagogue in France, TEXAS' first episode featured an, of all things, Arab-Muslim family, headed by Sheik Zehedi (Mitch Gred) and his daughter, Princess Jasmine (Donna Cyrus).

Daily Goss: HOLLYOAKS star Matt Littler, who plays Max Cunnigham, has hit the big time. The actor has made his very own short film Kidnap which has been selected for the prestigious International New York Film and Video Festival.

Digital Spy: Veteran entertainer Lionel Blair has been lined up for a role in EASTENDERS, say reports. The GIVE US A CLUE star could appear as the father of Ronnie (Samantha Janus) and Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons), claims The Sun. He commented: "There's been some talk about me going into EastEnders as Ronnie and Roxy's dad. I would love that. It would also be great to link up with my great friend Babs Windsor."

TV Guide Canada: Justin Bruening dishes about the high-octane KNIGHT RIDER movie.

NBC: Interview with COASTAL DREAMS star Kam Heskin. "I just got back from Sundance, and got to sit next to Colin Farrell on the plane, which was fun."

USA Today: Telenova star Cristián de la Fuente, 33, was named one of the new contestants on DANCING WITH THE STARS: "I guess they needed one Latino per show. They went down the list and said, 'Let's call Cristián.' I don't want to let them down."