News Brief

Jessica's baby brings out the Bess in her on OLTL
Jessica's baby dies during childbirth Friday on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, kicking off a huge story that will play out for months.

"Jessica goes to the cottage and ends up giving birth alone," says Bree Williamson, who plays Jessica and her alternate personality, Tess. "The baby isn't crying. Tess' last words before Bess comes out are, 'Why aren't you crying?'"

Yup - the personality-plus Jessica is getting another one.

"Bess comes out and wipes up the mess," says Williamson. "And then she calls the hospital and asks if Starr has given birth. She knows that Todd was going to get the doctor to take the baby and tell Starr it died, so she realizes the baby is probably in the office. She sneaks in, switches the babies, and then hides in the closet."

CORRIE's Ken celebrates 50 years in the soap
CORONATION STREET veteran Bill Roache has landed a two-year deal which will see him celebrate 50 years in the soap. Bill, 76, is delighted that new boss Kim Crowther has rewarded his loyalty in playing mild-mannered Ken Barlow for half a century. Big storylines are being planned for unlikely lothario Ken to mark the show's 50th anniversary in 2010.

Dad-of-three Bill appeared in the first episode of Corrie on December 9, 1960, and is the only remaining member of the original cast. Only Don Hastings, who has played Bob Hughes on AS THE WORLD TURNS since October 1960, has a longer soap service record.

Iraq war veteran Lasko appeared on Thursday's AMC
Thursday's installment of ABC's ALL MY CHILDREN featured a lot of typical soap opera trappings: a missing daughter, a character in a coma, some cutthroat corporate dealings. Then in the middle of all this, a lengthy scene involving a group of wounded Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, telling stories of how they were injured.

It was an unusual scene, made all the more so by the fact that these were all real veterans, including Marine Cpl. Danny Lasko of Palmer Township, who lost part of his leg in Afghanistan in 2004. Lasko could not be reached for comment for this story. Bob Lasko, his father, said his son is doing well, married and attending college. "The community ought to be proud of Danny," Bob Lasko said. "He's a hero. I'm very proud of my son."

Lasko's story begins on Sept. 11, 2001. As he told the ALL MY CHILDREN documentary crew, he was sworn in as a Marine that morning. Less than three years later, he was in Afghanistan.

In April 2004, Lasko was on patrol in a Humvee near the city of Kandahar when he spotted what he thought was a Taliban fighter. He got out of the Humvee and ran to tell his superior officer what he had spotted when a rocket-propelled grenade exploded, shattering his right foot.

The veterans featured on the show with Lasko had suffered similar injuries. One was a longtime soldier who was the "grandpa" of his unit, and whose wounds cost him both of his legs.

"I felt kind of robbed when I got hurt," he said in the interview, because it meant that he couldn't protect the other members of his platoon.

Backstage: Why DANCING WITH THE STARS made Susan Lucci cry
Monday night's pre-dance video package showed Lucci starting to cry in rehearsals out of frustration. She says it wasn't the first time. "It seems to be part of the process with me," she says. "Just before I'm there — before I get it — I think I can't do it and I feel completely overwhelmed. And then Tony [Dovolani, her pro partner] comes in and says, 'Get over it!'"

CADY MCCLAIN: It’s a New World
"Well that is how it feels. Yesterday I walked around feeling truly hopeful for this country for the first time in a long while. My friends who are from Europe seemed to feel a special sense of pride about this win, like 'yeah, America is still pretty cool, still an inspiration…'. This president-elect DOES give us all something new to aim for. It’s a re-birth for the world, in a way, but most especially for us Americans.

Now the big challenges that are ahead of us feel more manageable somehow. Change is NOT easy, but it is within everyone’s reach. How to start? I guess where ever you are is usually a good way to go. Maybe there is someone you know that needs a little extra compassion, or a neighbor who could use an extra bag of groceries this month. If you know any American war veterans, you might turn them on to www.restoreoursoldiers.com, a site built to help those who suffer from PTSD to voice their experience and look for healing from others who can relate."

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: DAYS' Camilla Scott aims to rock Toronto crowd
Camilla Scott has taken over the role of Khashoggi, the evil henchman to the Killer Queen in Ben Elton’s dystopian fantasy, "We Will Rock You," about a world where live rock music is illegal. It’s a part that has always been played by a man. So how did Scott react to a call from Mirvish Productions asking her if she’d take on the challenge?

“I said, ‘Well, I’ve got a little hair on my chest; I think I’d be good.’ Seriously, I miss stage work, I’ve been doing too much film and TV.”

Scott has always been known as a straight-ahead, take-no-prisoners kind of gal. It’s something she started early on in life. One day she heard that DAYS OF OUR LIVES was looking for a young actress who could sing. Scott crashed her way into the casting office.

“Sing something,” the woman behind the desk commanded. Momentarily flummoxed, Scott thought of the last song she had heard on the car radio and immediately broke into her best Whitney Houston.

She started filming the next day and stayed on the series for two years as Melissa.

TV writers test gay fans’ patience with twists
Scott Sode of the Washington Blade reviews the latest happenings with the gay characters on television: "I enjoyed Luke’s (Van Hansis) foray into college politics on AS THE WORLD TURNS. It gave my favorite couple some airtime, allowed St. Luke to succumb to his more devilish impulses (by stuffing the ballot box) and was much more grounded in reality than their previous We must protect this Iraqi refugee who showed up on our doorstep storyline. I especially liked the dynamic between Luke and his first-crush-turned-opponent, straight Kevin (Karl Girolamo). What exactly are Luke’s motives for running against Kevin? Gay rights? Trying to show up his former crush? Or as Noah (Jake Silbermann) perhaps too wisely suggested, because he’s not completely over his “first love”? Whatever the case may be, I hope Kevin sticks around longer now that the election is over. This may be the closest thing to an all-male triangle on television, and a seriously interesting one at that."

Springboard open house set for today
Springboard Center, an inpatient alcohol and drug treatment center, will have an open house at noon today. But it won’t be in the traditional sense because the 11,300-square-foot building at 200 Corporate Drive isn’t quite complete.

“We sent out invitations to everyone who donated to us to give them a sneak peek, to see their money at work and see all the progress being made,” Executive Director Tim Baker said.

As she has been throughout the process, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS star Jeanne Cooper will be on hand for the festivities. Cooper is the national spokesperson for the Springboard Center.