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April 20, 2000
Web posted at: 4:43 p.m. EST (2043 GMT)

From staff and wire reports

Today's buzz stories:

• 'The Practice' honored by anti-death penalty group
• Lunden crosses marriage bridge again
• Oh boy: Madonna sets record straight
• Turner: Middle-aged women are sexy, too

'The Practice' honored by anti-death penalty group

Camryn Manheim, one of the stars of the ABC show "The Practice"

LOS ANGELES -- Death Penalty Focus, a group working to outlaw capital punishment in the United States, has presented the cast of the ABC legal drama "The Practice" with its Rose Elizabeth Bird Commitment to Justice Award.

The award, given Tuesday, is named for the late California Supreme Court chief justice. David E. Kelley, who created "The Practice," stood by as series star Camryn Manheim accepted the honor during a ceremony in Los Angeles.

"Death Penalty Focus shouldn't be giving awards; they should be getting them," Manheim said. "Thank you for your tireless work to eliminate this barbaric process."

The organization also presented awards to actor Ossie Davis; U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, a Democrat from Wisconsin; Los Angeles Rabbi Leonard I. Beerman; Chicago Tribune reporters Judi Marriott and Martha McKinney; and Dallas Fox TV reporters Jeff Crilley and Guy Hernandez.

Lunden crosses marriage bridge again

NEW YORK -- While media watchers speculated whether Joan Lunden will replace Kathie Lee Gifford on "Live With Regis & Kathie Lee," Lunden recently slipped away to do something more important: She tied the knot.

The former host of ABC's "Good Morning America" married longtime boyfriend Jeff Konigsberg on Tuesday. Two-hundred friends and family members attended the candlelight ceremony, officiated by Rabbi Marc Gellman in Westchester County, a suburb of New York City.

It was Lunden's second marriage and the first for Konigsberg, who operates summer camps for children.

Back to the speculation. Ever since Gifford announced in February that she was leaving her show, Lunden has been considered a leading contender to take her seat gabbing with Regis Philbin. Lunden also has authored three books.

Oh boy: Madonna sets record straight

Madonna

LOS ANGELES -- Quit knitting those blue booties and don't wait for the wedding invitation to come in the mail. Here's the latest from Madonna, mother to be:

"Despite what you may have read, including quotes falsely attributed to me, I do not know the sex of my baby and I have no plans for marriage," Madonna, 41, said in a statement released by a spokeswoman for Warner Bros. Records.

The announcement follows a report in the British tabloid The Sun that the pop star found out through a prenatal exam that she was having a boy and considering marrying its father, film director Guy Ritchie. Several media outlets, including CNN.com, followed with reports of their own based on The Sun's article.

Madonna has a 3-year-old daughter, Lourdes, through a relationship with her former personal trainer, Carlos Leon.

Turner: Middle-aged women are sexy, too

Turner

LONDON -- Middle-aged women, not sexy? Don't say that to Kathleen Turner.

"Women my age aren't allowed to be sexy and I think that's nonsense," the actress told Hello! magazine.

Turner, 45, currently stars as Mrs. Robinson in the London stage version of "The Graduate." In the show, her middle-aged character strips when seducing the son of a friend.

"More and more I find -- in the USA anyway -- when a woman is over 40 and attractive and strong, then she must be evil," said Turner who steamed up movie screens nearly 20 years ago when she starred opposite William Hurt in "Body Heat." "Either she is that, or terribly frustrated," she said. "Men don't really like the idea of us being fulfilled and happy and capable."