Singer Amy Winehouse arrested

People

Amy Winehouse was arrested Wednesday in connection with a January video that allegedly shows her doing drugs at a party at her north London home. London's Metropolitan Police said the Grammy winner was released after several hours of questioning at a police station in the city. Britain's The Sun tabloid in January published still images from a video that it claimed showed Winehouse, famous for her hit "Rehab," inhaling fumes from a small pipe during a party at her home. She has not been charged with an offense but can face more questioning at any time.

"CSI" actor charged

Gary Dourdan, 41, a "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" co-star, has been charged with three felonies for alleged drug possession (one charge each for heroin, cocaine and Ecstasy), reports TMZ.com. The charges stem from Dourdan's arrest April 28 in Palm Springs, Calif., where the actor was found snoozing in his car at 5:21 a.m. Dourdan, who is leaving the series, is due back in court May 28.

Ripa rated top mom

A USA Today poll of 13,300 readers has revealed that the mom we most love, aside from our own, is talk-show maven and actress Kelly Ripa. Ripa, a mother of three, had 25 percent of the vote. Angelina Jolie, who is working on her fifth child, is in second place with 23 percent, while Julia Roberts (three kids) and Jada Pinkett Smith (two kids) tied for third place with 22 percent each.

Save the date

Charlie Sheen's wedding to Brooke Mueller is scheduled for May 30.

Election expert: Giuliani

Former GOP presidential candidate and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is offering his expertise to a candidate for mayor of Kiev, Ukraine. His firm, Giuliani Partners, said Wednesday that it is advising the campaign of Vitali Klitschko in the May 25 election. Klitschko is a former heavyweight boxing champion who is running against the incumbent mayor of Kiev, Oleksandr Omelchenk.

Culture corner

Chinese concert for pope

The China Philharmonic Orchestra performed for Pope Benedict XVI in a landmark concert Wednesday that could indicate warming relations between China and the Vatican. China's officially atheist Communist Party cut ties with the Vatican in 1951, and the two sides have not restored formal ties. China objects to the Vatican's tradition of having the pope name his own bishops, calling it interference in China.

Passages

Elaine Dundy, 86, a novelist, biographer, journalist and memoirist who wrote about her turbulent marriage to legendary critic Kenneth Tynan and their life among the rich and famous, died May 1 at her Los Angeles home of a heart attack.

Today in History

1541: Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto reached the Mississippi River.

1958: Vice President Richard Nixon was shoved, stoned, booed and spat upon by anti-American protesters in Lima, Peru.

1973: Militant American Indians who'd held the South Dakota hamlet of Wounded Knee for 10 weeks surrendered.

1978: David R. Berkowitz pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courtroom to murder, attempted murder and assault in connection with one of the "Son of Sam" shootings that had terrified New Yorkers.

Today's Birthdays

Comedian Don Rickles, 82. Singer Toni Tennille, 68. Actor James Mitchum, 67. Actor David Keith, 54. Actress Melissa Gilbert, 44. Singer Enrique Iglesias, 33. Actress Julia Whelan, 23.

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