CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) – Political columnist Robert Novak broke his hip while in the Miami area for the first presidential debate and was recovering from surgery in a hospital, a newspaper reported Saturday.

The 73-year-old conservative pundit fell early Friday in a hotel bathroom and underwent partial hip replacement surgery that afternoon, The Washington Post reported.

Novak aide Kathleen Connolly said the injury would not slow him down. “Are you kidding?” she told the paper. “He intends to write his column for the weekend and asked me to cancel Monday’s events, but not Tuesday’s.”

Nurses confirmed Novak was at Doctor’s Hospital in Coral Gables on Saturday, but directed all inquiries to the public relations department of CNN, where Novak is one of the hosts of “Crossfire.”

CNN’s public relations did not return repeated calls for comment.

Armstrong participating in cycling relay

DUARTE, Calif. (AP) – Six-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong is taking part in a cross-country cycling relay to raise awareness about cancer and the importance of cancer research.

Armstrong left Duarte at midnight Friday on the first segment of the eight-day trip that ends Oct. 9 in Washington.

Twenty cyclists, each touched in some way by cancer, are taking part in the event sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb, which developed three drugs that helped Armstrong beat testicular cancer eight years ago.

The bikers will ride in continuous 4- to 5-hour segments and Armstrong will ride in selected segments along the way.

During a speech before the ride began, Armstrong credited cancer researchers who created the drugs with saving his life.

“I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t be on a bike, I wouldn’t have won the race, I wouldn’t have won a stage in the Tour (de France) … and I sure as hell wouldn’t have won six” without the drugs, he said.

Sean Patrick Thomas in school financial video

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – Actor Sean Patrick Thomas is hoping to help out students at the University of Virginia, his alma mater, by appearing in advertisements for a new financial aid program.

Thomas, 33, graduated from the university in 1992 and benefited from need-based financial aid. Now he is appearing with current financial aid recipients in a series of television and radio announcements about the “Access UVa” program.

Thomas portrayed Jimmy James in “Barbershop” and its sequel, “Barbershop 2: Back in Business,” and received critical acclaim for his role in “Save the Last Dance.”

The ads feature the theme: “If you’ve got the brains, but not the bucks, the door’s open. Access UVa makes it happen.”

The video spot will first air Thursday night during halftime of ESPN’s national broadcast of Virginia’s home football game against Clemson.

Access UVa is part of the university’s plan to make its education available to those who might not consider applying to the school for financial reasons.

Two down and out on ‘Survivor’ this week

NEW YORK (AP) – This week’s episode of ‘Survivor: Vanuatu – Islands of Fire’ was all about the number two.

Two contestants, one each from the CBS’ show’s two tribes, were eliminated Thursday. Two female tribe members, sassy Mia Galeotalanza and tomboy Twila Tanner, engaged in a verbal spat. And muscle-bound sales manager John “J.P.” Palyok was just too intimidating to his tribe.

“What happened last night was not supposed to happen so soon,” Palyok told The Associated Press Friday. “It was totally shocking.”

The ninth and so far gender-divided edition of the reality competition is less about men versus women and more about old versus new. Palyok, 31, followed former Lopevi tribe member Brook Geraghty, 27, off the island after receiving five votes from the tribe’s tight alliance of older members.

“We had a term for their alliance – the fab five,” said Palyok. “But when they weren’t around, we called them the fat five.”

Over at the Yasur tribe, conditions were more feisty than flabby. Galeotalanza, 30, confronted Tanner, 41, after she complained that the younger women were spending more time on the beach and less time working on shelter.

The rumble in the jungle was damaging enough for the tribe’s elder alliance – and one flip-flopper – to cast out Galeotalanza.

“I never really heard of that before,” she told the AP of the twosome elimination twist. “I knew at that point somebody was definitely going home. Twila and I had just gotten into it so I knew my head would definitely be on the chopping block. … But Twila was just as much a part of that argument as I was.”

At tribal council, Tanner opened up to her all-female tribe, telling them she didn’t get along very well with women. The comment prompted emotional barrista Ami Cusack to implore Tanner to get to know her team members by pampering herself and getting her hair French-braided by her tribemates.

“I’m going to be horrified if it’s actually done next week,” Galeotalanza said.

Chow Yun-Fat found his dream away from America

HONG KONG (AP) – Chow Yun-Fat says he can’t stand the American way of life and has no plans to pursue U.S. permanent resident status.

“I can’t stand talking English every day or the lifestyle there … not to mention the food,” the Hong Kong-born film star was quoted as saying in Friday’s editions of Chinese-language newspaper The Sun. “I only go to America for work. When I finish work, I leave immediately. I won’t stay one day longer.”

Chow rose to fame in Hong Kong with gangster movies including “A Better Tomorrow” before moving to Hollywood, where he has starred in films such as “The Replacement Killers” and “Anna and the King.”

He couldn’t be contacted for comment Friday, a National Day holiday in Hong Kong.

Spanish film on right to die wins award

MADRID, Spain (AP – A movie based on the real-life story of a paralyzed Spaniard who fought a legal battle for his right to die has been nominated by Spain’s Academy of Arts and Film Sciences for best foreign language film at next year’s Academy Awards.

“Mar Adentro (The Sea Inside),” directed by Alejandro Amenabar, won the Silver Lion Jury Grand Prix and best actor award for Javier Bardem at this year’s Venice Film Festival.

The film is a commercial success in Spain. It has been seen by 2 1/2 million moviegoers since its Sept. 3 debut and has generated about $14.4 million at the box office.

“Hollywood still has to make the selection, but still we’re going to celebrate” the movie’s nomination by Spain, Amenabar told reporters Friday.

“Mar Adentro” beat out Pedro Almodovar’s “La Mala Educacion (Bad Education),” a film about young men haunted by an abusive priest from their childhood.

The Academy Award jury will announce its nominations on Jan. 25. The Oscars will be presented Feb. 27 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.

New how-to book includes shoveling techniques

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – When the author of a new how-to book needed to find an expert snow shoveler, she turned to Buffalo Mayor Tony Masiello to write a chapter about his shoveling secrets.

Masiello shares the literary stage with celebrities such as Donald Trump and Jennifer Capriati in Samantha Ettus’ new book, “The Experts’ Guide to 100 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do.”

The book offers tips from experts on how to accomplish tasks ranging from setting a formal table to changing a diaper. Masiello is the only elected official included in the book.

But some Buffalo residents who serve on a task force that is trying to make the city more walkable in the winter questioned how much shoveling the mayor actually does.

In his entry, Masiello pointed out that not all snow is created equal and when there is at least 7 feet of snow, his advice is to call the governor to send in the National Guard and call Congress for federal aid.

Masiello also wrote about the different types of shovels and when to use rock salt and what type of clothing shovelers should wear.

Absent is any reference to a tip his predecessor once gave. When the city was snowed under in a 1985 blizzard, then-Mayor James Griffin told residents to stay home with a six-pack of beer and watch football.