i'm a.j. hammer, welcome to the special edition of "showbiz tonight: showbiz road to gold." we're live where the 84th annual academy awards will begin in a couple of hours. it is a spectacular day in southern california and there will be incredible oscar showdowns, george clooney up for best actor against pal brad pitt, meryl streep up for best actress against the incredibly talented viola davis tonight and that is just the beginning. the battles are set and we will be one on one with all of hollywood's biggest stars right there on the red carpet where michelle turner is live on the red carpet as all of the stars arrive and kareen wynter, the must see showdowns and joined by our fashion commentator lisa vanderpump, one of the stars of "the real housewives of beverly hills." terrific to see you. you look amazing by the way. >> thank you. >> you have of course your trusty canine companion dressed to the nines tonight. going to take a little nap. lisa, we see on "the real housewives of beverly hills" yo

why was this assignment pawned off to a.j. hammertside of used to be the kodak theater, i don't know the name of it anymore, we look at the gorgeous faces, is that jane seymour, right? you got any favorites for us? tell us what's going on, a.j. >> first of all t is the hollywood and highlands center and the stars are rifg and don you're right, you didn't get this assignment because i got this assignment because "showbiz tonight" is here for the "showbiz road to gold" gets under way in 19:30 from now but there are a lot of favorites and the best picture category all odds on "the artist" at the moment. it's the oscars. "the descendants" nine nominees in the best picture category and the real showdowns everybody's looking are the best actor and actress categories. best actor we've had the great time of having george clooney up against one of his best friends, brad pitt for "money ball" and george for "descendants" they love to play practical jokes on each other everybody has had fun. the competition will be i think between clooney and j

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a.j. hammer joins us live. this is when a.j. gets dressed up. i love it. you're so hollywood with the sunglasses. i can't stand it. >> i haven't put the tie on yet, richelle but george clooney said i could wear my shades this part of the day. >> it's going to be a big night. billy crystal got the call once again. what can we expect from him tonight? >> i think billy crystal will knock it out of the park. coming off last year when james franco and anne hathaway hosted the show to lit critical acclaim, got universally panned, i thought they were a terrific idea at least, eddie murphy was supposed to host this year and that didn't work out so billy crystal who has hosted the show eight times before but not since 2004, is back on stage. i think we can expect lot of comedy. i think we'll see billy certainly involved in some of the old tricks that he used to do see him digitally inserted in the best picture nominees and a big musical number. don't know how he's going to open the show because that is kept very tightly under wraps. what we know is the stage set, a

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a.j. hammer hosts our special live coverage of the oscars. the road to gold. sunday, 6:30 p.m. eastern. >>> americans targeted in afghanistan. by people who are supposed to be u.s. allies. ahead, we'll take you live to afghanistan. you gotta taste this soup. ahah, , wewelclcomome e toto h . ifif y youou'r're e lolookokinio geget t totogegethther, yoyou u cacameme t to o ththe. bebecacaususe e heherere a at, wewe'r're e ononlyly a abob. fifindndining g yoyou u ththe e isis a allll w we e do. wewelclcomome e toto h hot. your doctor will say get smart about your weight. i tried weight loss plans... but their shakes aren't always made for people with diabetes. that's why there's new glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. and they have 6 grams of sugars. with 15 grams of protein to help manage hunger... look who's getting smart about her weight. [ male announcer ] new glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. >>> from cnn center, this is cnn sunday morning.

a.j. hammer live in new york. e never talked about this show. we always talk about "modern family." i am a "house" follow lower. what's going on? >> sat news for you and "house" fans. end of the road for the fantastic tv drama "house." . it's calling it quits after 177 episodes. eight seasons on fox. the producers released what i thought was an eloquent statement breaking the news. i want to read a bit of it for you. since it began house has aspired to offer a coherent and satisfying world in which ever lasting human questions of ethics, emotion, logic and truth could be examined, played out, and occasionally answered. the producers have always imagined house as an enigmatic creature. how much better to disappear before the music stops while there is still some promise and mystique in the air. he says he doesn't see himself going back into television after this, kyra. i know that is a huge disappointment to you and all of his fans. he is certainly not going away. so many accolades over the years for his role in tha

"showbiz tonight" tonight host a.j. hammer is live from new york. j., why are sheen and warner brothers once again fighting? >> both sides are unhappy with each other here, fred. but what else is new? they sent sheen a cease and desist letter and this was after they say he used promotional material that was shot for his old show to promote his new show "anger management." he have said, he's thrilled that they sent the letter and said that he hopes it means he won't have to see himself in that i had otic bowling shirt anymore. he also rather crudely advised warner brothers to worry more about their show and not his new project. that was apparently good ole sheen unfiltered. when we got in touch with his spokesperson we received a tame, no comment. charlie sheen. >> delicately put. okay. meantime, there are reports that kobe bryant may be reconciling with his soon to be ex-wife. is that true? >> well, you know, sometimes these reports can be a little bit sketchy, but kobe and his soon to be ex-wife were seen kissing at the staples center after a lakers

"showbiz tonight" host a.j. hammer is live in new york. ere was a lot of talk about whether houston's ex-husband bobby brown would be among them. the houston family said, yes, he is welcome. >> yeah, that is true, bobby brown is expected to be there, fred. "showbiz tonight" has confirmed he was officially invited although he is still performing on his tour. he was on stage last night with his group, new edition. he'll be back in concert tonight and tomorrow night after the funeral. we've been told, this is certainly understandable, he finds the shows to be a therapy in helping him get through his grief. as for other celebrities expected to be there, fred, the list of people we've con fermd includes tyler perry, aretha franklin, clive davis, steve have i wonder, alicia keys and dionne warwick all expected to be there in newark, new jersey, at the new hope baptist church tomorrow. >> among those actually performing. aretha franklin for one. are there others? >> there are, yes. some of the names i just mentioned, alicia keys is expected to per

a.j. hammering to report live from the red carpet starting at 6:30 eastern time. >>> barack obama could win the presidential election by a landslide. op ed contributor charlie garcia tells us how next. >>> a man vents his frustrations about his estranged wife on facebook. now he has to apologize to her on facebook or go to jail. sos and interactive learning, plus, in-branch seminars at over 500 locations, where our dedicated support teams help you know more so your money can do more. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our teams have the information you want when you need it. it's another reason more investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade. >>> checking stories cross-country now. a man accused of killing his wife during their australian honeymoon is a free man. an alabama judge threw out the case citing lack of evidence. watson's 26-year-old wife tina died in 2003 while the couple was scuba diving off australia. >>> and orlando, officers in riot gear had to

a.j. hammerht now, you want to know where you are, and where you'd like to be. we know you'd like to see the same information your advisor does so you can get a deeper understanding of what's going on with your portfolio. we know all this because we asked you, and what we heard helped us create pnc wealth insight, a smarter way to work with your pnc advisor, so you can make better decisions and live achievement. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. for our free usaa retirement guide, call 877-242-usaa. your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's new glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blo

"showbiz tonight" host a.j. hammer is live in new york with more details on this. a.j.?at he's not wanted at at funeral certainly understandable when you think about his history with whitney. how many people over the years constantly pointed the finger at him for her erratic behavior when they were married. they are reports at this point. when we put the question directly to bobby brown's representative here's what he would tell us. any report or statement that does not oshlg nate from my office about bobby brown or his representatives is not authorized by bobby brown. we are not focused on reports, stories or false reports for that matter. of course it doesn't really answer the question. bobby and whitney's daughter bobbi kristina has been with her father since she got out of the hospital over the weekend. that could be seen, perhaps, as an indication that he would be at the funeral to support her, but theirs has been a tough relationship as well, fred. whitney herself told oprah once in an interview that bobbi kris encouraged her mom to leave her father. complicated dy

. >> tune in sunday night as a.j. hammercial live coverage of the oscars, the road to gold sunday at 6:30 eastern. >>> checking our headlines for you now, two american officers have been shot dead inside the highly secure afghan interior ministry and the gunman is still at large. the taliban is claiming responsibility, saying the shootings were in response to the recent burning of korans at a u.s. base. the burning has sparked riots but the military says it was a mistake. >>> hundreds of protesters took to the streets for a fifth day across afghanistan to demonstrate against the burning of the korans. four civilians were killed, 50 injured, including 12 police officers. the head of the intelligence says the protesters tried to burn down the u.n. building. >>> a relative of nelson mandela says the former south african president is in satisfactory condition after undergoing hernia surgery. he was hospitalized earlier today, sparking fears the 93-year-old anti-apartheid leader was ill. we are told he could be out of the hospita

. >>> i'm a.j. hammer in new york. and this is a special edition of "showbiz tonight."n sunday night and "showbiz tonight" is joining forces with recording academy the folks behind the grammys to bring you up close and personal, biggest stars and biggest showdowns expected on sunday night and i cannot wait to see how those battles play out. you have adelle, lady gaga, the few fighters and bruno mars all fighting for album of the year, kanye west versus kanye west for best rap album. tony bennett's duet with amy winehouse, as well. it's "showbiz tonight" at the grammys that will surely be a night to remember. adelle could win it all at the grammys. music experts agree, she'll have a big night. she's nominated for six grammys including the big three, record, song and album of the year. and no one would be surprised at an adelle clean sweep. >> she loved by fans and critics alike. >> but could anyone pose problems for adelle? bruno mars is nominated against adelle in hothose big three categories. >> bruno mars could probably come in with an upset. >> but still it's probabl

a.j. hammer, okay. what's up with this polite warning? >> yeah.t looks like what they're doing is cutting it off at the pass. that may be the best approach with sasha baron cohen. he publicly ran around in character with those other films. it looks like that was his plan for the oscars. he plays a sex crazed middle eastern despot for the film. we can understand why they might not have wanted him do that on the red carpet. they have let him know. a spokesperson for the academy is saying this to "showbiz tonight." we would love to have him at the oscar show. we have expressed to him that we don't like our red carpet to be used as a promotional stunt. we're waiting to hear from him. we put the ball in his court. apparently they can't simply pull his ticket as has been reported. cohen was in hugo, of course. the way it apparently works is the academy a lots a whole bunch of tickets to each film. the film distributes those tickets to whomever they want. i don't know that sasha barron cohen planned to show up like that. maybe he just wanted us to be tal

a.j. hammer, what is going on? >> well, we're talking about adele this morning, kyra.ck this time. adele got so upset at the brit awards she used her middle finger to let the whole world know how upset she was. here's what happened. she was accepting the brit award for best album. that is the final and most prestigious award of the night. her acceptance speech was cut off. the show, as every awards show does, was running long so they needed to go to the next musical act. apparently they don't play you off with an orchestra. the host of the show had to step in and end her speech as adele was telling the crowd how proud she was to be british. of course, adele didn't like that very much so she gave the cameras a single digit salute and here's what she told reporters backstage about it. i flung the middle finger. that was for the suits at the brit awards, not my fans. i'm sorry if i offended anyone but the suits offended me. you know what, kyra, adele has been nothing but humble and gracious with all of the accolades she has received for her album, 21 over the past year. s

we have to get the inside scoop from a.j. hammer. host of "showbiz tonight."e up the scoop on this. >> well, according to lindsey, yeah, she is on the straight and narrow right now. fred, of course, we're all rooting for her. given her track record, i think everybody is taking a wait and see attitude towards lindsey's recovery. but she is saying publicly that she's done with partying. in fact, she sat down this morning with "today show's" matt lauer and told her that it is not her thing anymore. she went out to a club with a friend and not because she was tempted, but because it's the same thing over and over for her. she really is not into being out in the clubs. so at least, fred, it sounds encouraging. lindsey is in the home stretch her probation. all she has to do is stay out of trouble with the law and then she can get on with her life and career. she's hosting "saturday night live" this weekend. fred, maybe if that goes well, we'll all get to witness lindsey kicking off her comeback again but maybe this time for good. >> the transformation. all right. so

. >>> be sure to tune in tomorrow night as a.j. hammer hosts our special.erage of the oscar, the r road to gold. >>> a bitter battle is brewing in michigan with three days to go until the primary, it's no holes barred for mitt romney and rick santorum. we have the latest on the race coming up on the other side. ♪ [ woman ] i was ready for my trip, but my smile wasn't. [ female announcer ] new crest 3d white intensive professional effects whitestrips. it goes below the enamel surface to whiten as well as a five-hundred dollar professional treatment for a transformation that's hard to believe. ♪ wow, that's you? [ female announcer ] new intensive professional effects whitestrips. and try 3d white toothpaste and rinse. from crest. life opens up when you do. >>> mitt romney and rick santorum are both in michigan today. pair battling it out ahead of tuesday's primary. mitt romney is from michigan, his father was governor there. so why isn't he running away with the state? cnn's senior correspondent joe john's is in michigan. joe, why does it seem like mitt romne

"showbiz tonight" host a.j. hammer joins us. what's the deal? a family mess. his mother is alicia warden. she spoke with "showbiz tonight." she says if she doesn't get help from tracy in the form of $25,000 to pay off the mortgage, her home will go into foreclosure. she said tracy had offered to pay her mortgage after she was laid off but he never followed through on his word. now tracy previously had stayed mum on the story. he did speak to "showbiz tonight." i am saddened that these untrue stories about me have people questioning my commitment to my family for reasons that are between us, i have not seen my mother in 11 years and outside of a random call here and there have had little to no contact with my sister. we all have personal family issues that we have to deal with in life, but i choose to deal with mine in private and not through the media. so the story's not really clear-cut, but a lot of people are asking right now, regardless of any prior family history, should tracy, who forbes says is worth somewhere around 18 million bucks just

. >> i'm a.j. hammer. here's what we're watching. legend roberta flack will bring her personal account of whitney houston's funeral and showbiz road to gold. hollywood's "a" list goes head to head. catch "showbiz tonight" at 11:00 p.m. on hln. >> thank you, guys. time now for no talking points. gay skeletons in the conservative closet. who knew there was any room left in there? i don't mean that in a snark ki way. here's a few examples of many. first a high-profile denial. >> let me be clear, i am not gay. i never have been gay. >> that was former republican senator larry craig denying wide stance allegations of slitting an undercover cop in a minneapolis airport men's room. now, a high-profile rationization. >> it's an innocent thing going back and forth. you know, i wasn't out soliciting people on the internet. i mean, this is not that kind of arrangement. >> former republican congressman mark foley admitting he was gay only after he was exposed for improperly flirting with young male congressional pages in person and through racy

a.j. hammer live from the red carpet for "showbiz tonight" road to gold starts at 6:30 eastern here on -- on cnn. and i will -- i'll be tweeting tonight. let's talk about the awards tonight. if i told you someone was angry over ice cream, you would think i was crazy or linsane, insane, got it? why ben & jerry are saying sorry to basketball phenom jeremy lin. >>> the oscars are not the only major black tie event tonight. president obama and fist lady are hosting the governors at the white house. one governor, though, won't be there, arizona's governor jan brewer. turns out the deep water horizon oil spill won't begin -- the trial won't begin until after tomorrow. it is now set for next monday. that's march 5th. if the settlement isn't reached, a judge will have to decide civil liability and to what extent for the disaster. >>> and ben & jerry's is apologizing for using fortune cookies in the jeremy lin inspired taste, linsanity. they intended to do this in a way to honor the harvard grad, not offe

. >> a.j. hammer, thank you so much. >>> all right.. opposition activists, including the use of citizens as human shields. a deteriorating situation all around in syria. nick paton walsh is reporting from there. >> reporter: it's rare that you get tangible evidence like this video to examine, which appears to show civilians being used to protect a syrian armored unit. looking like a pro government rally but then this youtube video shot on sunday around damascus turns much more sinister. they standstill, pushed forward. their captures have been report that the army was using detained civilians as shields to prevent the opposition from shooting at them. now the video seems to show that. slowly they crotch, then kneel. a child saying, mom, will they shoot them? soldiers advance down the road and then they lie flat. it's unclear what followed in one of the more disturbing videos to emerge from a crackdown felt hardest here in the city of homs shelling devastating lives, blood bags running low. there was credible evidence of war crimes in s

a.j. hammer, this must have been emotional. . what did she sing?t she will be remembered for "i will always love you." it was as therapeutic for aretha as well as the audience. she told organizers there's nothing like music to comfort the soul. one of our local affiliates was allowed to shoot this part of the show. they weren't allowed to be there when she honored her good daught daught god daughter. she said whitney was kind, good, and gentle and added this. when the gates swing open, i'm going to walk through. they sure hope opened the other day for her and she walked in. >> you also spoke to gloria estefan too last night. >> i did. i had gloria booked on the show long before the news broke about whitney houston. we had to talk about her. she was on everybody's minds last night. she was a friend and colleague of whitney's. she attended her wedding to bobby brown. gloria said she thought whitney has one of the best voices she ever heard. she understands the pressure she must have been under as a star and a singer. here's what she told me about tha

a.j. hammer has the details on that.e grammys, but there's an interesting twist. >> this is a very big deal because it was exactly three years ago on the eve of the 2009 grammy awards that chris assaulted his girlfriend, rihanna, and he hasn't appeared at the show since. this year, he is up for three. he's going to be performing sunday night and i've got to believe he is inevitably hoping this return will help people move on from that chapter of his life. he's been hard at work there rehearsing for a performance that he hopes everybody will be talking about him for the right reasons. rihanna is performing at the show. she's up for four awards. brown is still on probation, but has been commended for his work. last year, a judge relaxed the restraining order against him. there's no restriction on him contacting rihanna or being in the same location or same red carpet as her. literally, he is just prevented from harassing her, so it's going to be interesting to me to see what kind of reaction he gets from the crowd from the

a.j. hammerpet sunday night starting at 6:30 eastern right here on cnn. >>> still ahead on this program, mistaken burning of some religious papers including korans, now it's costing lives, including american lives if rage is overflowing in afghanistan. you'll find out what is being done. >>> also, montel williams, you know him as talk show host and a fabulous veteran, too. he's battling m.s. and he's doing it his own way. find out what he thinks is the road to success in battling that disease. you're watching "early start."hd ? with determination. courage. and all the points i earned with my citi thankyou card. [ male announcer ] the citi thankyou card. redeem points for travel on any airline with no blackout dates. forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's