NEW YORK (AP) – Call it a pre-emptive paparazzi strike.

Julia Roberts and her husband, cameraman Danny Moder, have released the first photos of their nearly three-month-old twins to People magazine, on newsstands Friday.

“We are releasing these photographs not only to share our happiness, but to ensure the privacy, safety and respect our babies deserve,” the couple said in a statement.

The photographs show Roberts with her sleepy-eyed twins: Phinnaeus Walter (Finn) and Hazel Patricia. The pictures were taken by Moder near their Taos, N.M. ranch.

People also reports in its new issue that Roberts has shed much of her extra weight thanks to regular Pilates workouts. The actress recently finished lending her voice to a new adaptation of E.B. White’s “Charlotte’s Web.”

The twins were born in Los Angeles on Nov. 28. Roberts, 37, and Moder, 36, have been married since July 2002. They are the couple’s first children together.

O’Connor returns to music

LONDON (AP) – Irish singer Sinead O’Connor says that after two years of retirement, she is returning to music – but not the pop scene.

“I want to at least aim my records at a more spiritualized market,” she told Irish music magazine Hotpress.

O’Connor, best known for her song “Nothing Compares 2 U” and for shredding a picture of Pope John Paul II on “Saturday Night Live,” announced her retirement two years ago. She said she wanted to concentrate on raising her children. She also disclosed she was battling a fatigue illness called fibromyalgia.

In 1999, O’Connor was ordained as a priest in the Latin Tridentine Church by a rebel bishop. She then adopted the name Mother Bernadette Mary.

Now, she says her music would have religious qualities.

“Religious songs with bad words, that’s the best way I could describe it,” she said. “I’ve been thinking for years the religious area of music has a huge gap in it. Needs a bit of punky filling.”

The 38-year-old singer said she was already working on material for three different records and would perform in the next few months at a special appearance in Belfast, Ireland.

O’Connor’s third son, Shane, was born last March.

Gibbon’s husband files

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The husband of TV host and producer Leeza Gibbons has filed for legal separation from his wife of 14 years, citing irreconcilable differences.

But Stephen Meadow isn’t seeking divorce and is hoping for an eventual reconciliation, his lawyer said Friday.

“He still loves her,” Rosaline L. Zukerman said. “He hopes that things work out and they can get back together.”

Meadows has been separated from Gibbons since Jan. 28, according to papers filed Monday in Superior Court. The couple were married on Feb. 14, 1991.

Gibbons’ publicist, Leslie Garson, said the couple “care very much about each other and there’s no animosity. They’re very committed to and involved with their children, and if there is a possibility of reconciliation they will explore it.”

Meadows is seeking joint custody of their sons Troy, 13, and Nathan, 7. The original court document said he also was seeking spousal support from Gibbons but that was a clerical error and an amended petition will be filed Monday, his attorney said.

“He wants to make it very clear that he is not asking for support. They have both waived support,” Zukerman said.

Meadows is seeking a separation of property as outlined in a 2002 postnuptial agreement.

Gibbons, who also has a daughter by a previous marriage, spent a decade as a host on “Entertainment Tonight” and had a daytime talk show called “Leeza” from 1993 to 2000.

Celebrities show moves

NEW YORK (AP) – Where else can you see Ice Cube post up Nelly, or Mark McGrath cross over Jermaine Dupri?

Those situations could play out at this year’s NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. Participants have been announced, and hooping it up will be rapper-actor Ice Cube, Danny Masterson of “That “70s Show,” hip-hop star Nelly, “Extra” host and Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath, and producer-singer Jermaine Dupri.

Also playing at the Feb. 18 game, which precedes the NBA all-star game by two days, will be singers Ryan Cabrera and Brian McKnight, “Blind Date” host Rodger Lodge, professional skateboarder Eric Koston and “Entertainment Tonight” correspondent Kevin Frazier.

They will be joined by WNBA players Lisa Leslie, Diana Taurasi, Becky Hammon and Nykesha Sales. Each team will be coached by a Denver Nuggets guard: Andre Miller and Earl Boykins.

Ciara, the 18-year-old R&B singer, will perform during halftime.

The celebrity game will air on ESPN Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. EST. This year in Denver, the 2005 NBA All-Star game is Feb. 20, broadcast on TNT.