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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

So will the worm turn for Mel?

From Wire Reports The Spokesman-Review

Mel Gibson calls his DUI arrest “a blessing” and says he needed “public humiliation on a global scale” to get sober.

Beads of sweat collected on Gibson’s upper lip during a “Good Morning America” interview Thursday as he denied being an anti-Semite and said alcohol makes people “act, feel and behave in a way that is not you.”

The filmmaker again apologized for telling the officer who arrested him that “the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”

“This is the last thing I want to be is that kind of monster,” he told ABC’s Diane Sawyer.

Gibson, who recently finished shooting his new film, “Apocalypto,” in Mexico, also detailed his relapse into alcoholism:

“Years go by, you’re fine. And then all of a sudden in a heartbeat, in an instant, on an impulse, somebody shoves a glass of Mescal in front of your nose and says, ‘It’s from Oaxaca.’

“And it’s burning its way through your esophagus and you go, ‘Oh man, what did I do that for?’ “

More children at her feet

It’s official: Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie took custody of a motherless 1-year-old boy from Malawi on Thursday after receiving interim approval from a judge in the impoverished African nation.

“They are a lovely couple,” said Yohame Banda, the boy’s father, whose wife died a month after giving birth.

“She asked me many questions. She and her husband seem happy with David. I am happy for him. Madonna promised me that as the child grows she will bring him back to visit.”

Prepare for the worst, Kate

Tom Cruise‘s ex, Nicole Kidman, is reportedly helping Katie Holmes – the mother of Cruise’s baby girl, Suri – prepare for her upcoming nuptials.

Word is the couple will tie the knot within the month in Lake Como, Italy.

You, me and baby?

Jonathan Baker and Victoria Fuller, those combative contestants from “The Amazing Race,” have something new to fight about: They became first-time parents last week.

Trease Alynett Baker weighed 6.6 pounds at birth and measured 19 inches.

Baker and Fuller, who became notorious from their constant bickering on the sixth season of “The Amazing Race,” will appear on today’s “Tyra Banks Show” to discuss their new reality series, “You and Me Baby.”

Black, blue and ‘Grey’s’

And speaking of combative, Patrick Dempsey and Isaiah Washington – who play Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd and Dr. Preston Burke, respectively, on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” – got into a heated argument while filming this week.

While Washington reportedly grabbed Dempsey by the throat and shoved him, they didn’t come to blows.

“Our faces are too beautiful for that,” Washington says, adding: “I’ve never been that close to (Patrick) before. He has really pretty blue eyes.”

The birthday bunch

Actress Melinda Dillon (“A Christmas Story”) is 67. Musician Paul Simon is 65. Singer Sammy Hagar is 59. Singer-actress Marie Osmond is 47. Actress Kelly Preston is 44. Actress Kate Walsh (“Grey’s Anatomy”) is 39. Country singer Rhett Akins is 37. Singer Ashanti is 26.