News Brief

New York Daily News: Jack, Carly, Brad, Katie and Henry converge in Chicago this week on AS THE WORLD TURNS, culminating in Henry's being freed and Jack getting shot. "Brad and Katie go to this warehouse looking for Henry," says Austin Peck, who plays Brad. "Jack and Carly are there looking for Kit, so they all work together." Kit is wanted back in Oakdale, where teenager Parker is on trial for murder. "Kit is the key to keeping Parker from being sent to prison for killing Sam. [Parker] fired one shot that hit Sam, but Kit fired the second shot that killed him," reveals Peck.

Great Reporter: The 100-day writers' strike provided just the free time and creative stimulation writers needed to resurrect back burner projects and develop new material, but it isn't destined for your TV. For the writers who went to work every day on the picket line, the strike offered creative inspiration for new material, if not the time to pursue it. Judy Tate, a writer for DAYS OF OUR LIVES, worked on a dramatic screenplay about overcoming personal plight to make sacrifices for the good of the community--that is, when she was not being a strike captain for the guild. "Who knew striking was such a full-time job," Tate said. But it also "inspired the script." Tate said she was creative in her organizing techniques and picket signs, and when the time was right, she would write--her screenplay or one of several other projects she began. "The creative process is at work everywhere," she said.

Güncel Haber: Profile of former DAYS star Krista Allen.

Washington Post: An ABC soap opera has waded into the controversial subject of teenage sex with a story about the first sexual experience of a 16-year-old girl that parallels the real-life situation of teen idol Jamie Lynn Spears. A producer for daytime soap ONE LIFE TO LIVE said on Friday that before Spears announced she was pregnant, the show's writers and producers had already begun planning episodes in which teen character Starr Manning, played by Kristen Alderson, has sex with her 17-year-old boyfriend.

Allentown Morning Call: Now that the writers strike has been settled, former RYAN'S HOPE and MELROSE PLACE star Grant Show has swung back into action. Show plays Tom Decker, an airplane pilot and lead character in the '70s-themed CBS series SWINGTOWN, about a group of married couples living in Chicago during the disco era. Production on the series resumed at about the same time that Show, 46, put his gated Hollywood Hills home on the market at close to $2 million.

Northwich Guardian: HOLLYOAKS star Ricky Whittle, who is a patron of Jacob's Unique Memory Pot (J-U-M-P) - a charity that captures memories for children with health challenges - appeared on a celebrity edition of BBC quiz show, THE WEAKEST LINK in January. Promising to donate any winnings to the charity that was founded in 2004 in memory of Jacob Hawthorn, who died at the age of three from a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy, Ricky missed out on first place to THE BILL actor Rav Wilding, but had a surprise up his sleeve. Before the show the pair had pledged to share the winnings between their chosen charities should they win the game.

Digital Spy: EASTENDERS producers have been forced to scrap plans to film a week's worth of episodes in Spain. Chiefs had hoped to send the Mitchell family abroad for a special summer storyline, but they were told that it would not be possible due to cutbacks at the BBC.

Serial Drama: A Lynn Marie Latham Y&R survivor speaks out.

Arkansas Democrat Gazette: Some fans of As the World Turns have started a letter campaign and Web site in protest over the relationship between gay characters Luke Snyder and Noah Mayer. Soap opera watchers aren’t enraged because they are affectionate, but because they’re not affectionate enough and haven’t smooched since September (or in 162 days, 10 hours, 19 minutes and 49 seconds since the writing of this, according to the site’s “liplock clock” ). Can’t everyone just kiss and make up?

EOTS: AUDIO: Listen to Episode #17 ("Secrets") of radio soap EYE OF THE STORM.