NEW YORK (AP) – Jessica Simpson’s schedule is getting even busier now that she’s co-hosting the Teen Choice awards.

The eighth annual special will air live Aug. 20 on Fox (8 p.m.). Her co-host will be announced at a later date, Fox said Tuesday.

At “Teen Choice 2006,” Simpson is nominated for choice movie breakout performance for her role as Daisy Duke in “The Dukes of Hazzard,” choice red carpet fashion icon and choice hottie.

In the youth-centric ceremony, teen-friendly stars of film, television, music, sports and fashion win surfboard awards.

Voters can cast their ballots until Aug. 11 on the Web sites Teenpeople.com, MySpace.com, Ign.com and Fox.com.

Simpson, 26, stars in the comedy “Employee of the Month,” which opens Sept. 15. Her new album, “A Public Affair,” debuts Aug. 29.

She and Nick Lachey, who co-starred in the MTV reality show “Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica,” recently divorced after three years of marriage.

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On the Net:

http://www.teenpeople.com

http://www.myspace.com

http://www.ign.com

http://www.fox.com

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CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) – A cast member on MTV’s “The Real World” was arraigned on a misdemeanor assault charge after police said she bit her boyfriend during a domestic dispute.

Paula Ann Meronek, 25, allegedly bit her boyfriend several times when he refused to let her into their home early Sunday morning, police said.

“I think it was an argument that led to one thing then another,” said Cromwell Police Chief Anthony Salvatore. “He attempted to keep her from the house. It got physical and we were contacted.”

Meronek, who was arraigned Monday, was charged with third-degree assault, which carries a potential penalty of a year in prison. She is due back in court Aug. 11. No lawyer was listed in court documents.

Her boyfriend, John Alyward, was charged with disorderly conduct. The arrest was first reported by The Middletown Press.

“The Real World,” now in its 17th season, puts seven strangers together in an exotic locale – this time in a Key West, Fla., beach house.

George Cabico, a spokesman for the show’s producers, said filming is complete and the arrest will not affect the show.

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On the Net:

http://www.mtv.com/onair/realworld/

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NEW YORK (AP) – Kathy Griffin says her 4½-year marriage ended in divorce after she discovered her now ex-husband was taking money from her bank accounts.

In an interview on CNN’s “Larry King Live” that aired Monday night, the comedian accused Matt Moline of taking $72,000 over a period of time.

“My ex-husband, without my knowledge, was sneaking into my wallet when I was asleep in the mornings and taking my ATM cards of my own private accounts and withdrawing money,” Griffin alleged. “That money totaled $72,000. … over about a year and a half.”

He “admitted it and apologized,” she said. They went to couples therapy, but couldn’t “get beyond the trust issue.”

In a statement released to CNN, Moline said he was upset about Griffin’s comments.

“Since our divorce, I have not made any public comments about my ex-wife or our marriage,” he said. “It saddens me that she would choose to make such accusations at this time. I have no intention of engaging in a public debate over private matters.”

Griffin and Moline were married in February 2001. She filed for divorce last September, citing irreconcilable differences. They have no children.

“Eventually, I end up putting everything into the act,” Griffin, the star of Bravo’s “My Life on the D-List,” said. “I kind of turn tragedy into comedy and I find that that’s a great way for me to kind of deal with it.”

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On the Net:

http://www.cnn.com

http://www.bravotv.com/Kathy-Griffin/

http://www.kathygriffin.net/

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HONG KONG (AP) – Jackie Chan disrupted a concert by Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jonathan Lee and exchanged insults with the audience.

The 52-year-old action star was quoted in a news report as saying onstage that he was drunk.

Chan jumped on the stage Monday night and demanded a duet with Lee. He then tried to conduct the band but stopped and restarted the music several times, Ming Pao Daily News reported Tuesday.

As the awkward interruption dragged on, audience members started to heckle Chan, who replied with an insult, according to the report.

A spokesman for Chan, Solon So, said he hadn’t seen Chan since the alleged incident and had no immediate comment. He said he didn’t attend the concert.

Concert organizers didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.

Chan, whose Hollywood credits include the “Rush Hour” series and “The Tuxedo,” was an invited performing guest at Lee’s show Sunday night.

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On the Net:

http://www.jackiechan.com/

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NEW YORK (AP) – Keri Russell may have been a tomboy growing up, and TV audiences know her as a college coed on the TV series “Felicity.” But now she’s gone glam as a CoverGirl.

The 30-year-old actress joins Christie Brinkley and Queen Latifah as a spokesmodel for the venerable beauty brand. The new TV ad for Outlast Double Lipshine debuts this month, and the print ad will be in August magazines.

Being a makeup model isn’t what Russell expected in her career.

“When I first started, I did do a commercial for a deodorant or something. I don’t even think it aired. This is the first thing I’ve done like this. It’s a lot less stressful than doing a film. This take two days, not a few months or the whole year of a television show,” she told The Associated Press recently.

But the CoverGirl shoot wasn’t just about looking pretty. Russell described the TV ad more as a mini action movie, in which she fights a group of ninjas. Looking pretty, of course.

Thanks to her role in “Mission: Impossible III,” Russell said, she probably knew more about the stunts than applying makeup.

Brinkley, a CoverGirl for 30 years, is in some ways her role model in the beauty world, Russell said. “Fresh and natural – it’s what she is, too. … I’m not really the sexy vixen type.”

She’d rather be in jeans and sneakers than the designer evening gowns she wears on the red carpet. “When I find a dress I really like, I say, “Can’t I wear this dress again? It’s really pretty.’ I guess it doesn’t work like that. I’m learning.”