Oprah Winfrey Tops Celeb Charity Givers with $40 Million

Count it! Oprah Winfrey topped the last of celebrity charity givers this year, giving a whopping $40 million to various causes in 2009, according to a report by The Giving Back Fund.

The money was given out primarily thourgh the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, with the media mogul supporting mainly education and programs for women and children.

Novelist Nora Roberts was second in charitable donations, giving $4.45 million to various organizations via her Nora Roberts Foundation, which focuses on literacy in poverty-stricken communities. Next up is actress Meryl Streep, who donated $4 million to the Silver Mountain Foundation for the Arts....Read more

Barbara Walters Interviews Sarah Palin For “Most Fascinating” Special

Sarah Palin was, for the third straight year, named one of Barbara Walters’ 10 most fascinating people of the year. The full version of Walters’ interview with Palin, snippets of which were released already, aired on ABC tonight, and they included another question on Palin’s possible presidential aspirations, more shots at the media, and even an appearance from Palin’s husband, Todd.

Walters, like so many others, tried to get an answer out of Palin as to whether she’d run for president. Like so many others, she left without a concrete answer. Palin more or less stuck to what she’s said so far, saying, “I will run for president if I believe I have the best shot to win the race.” For now, she says she’s just “looking at the lay of the land”…though she did say she thinks she could beat Barack Obama.....Read More

Oprah Winfrey Receives an Award at the White House

Oprah Winfrey Receives an Award at the White House:Oprah Winfrey was one of five celebrities -- along with Sir Paul McCartney, country singer Merle Haggard, Broadway composer Jerry Herman and dancer Bill T. Jones -- honored at the 33rd Kennedy Center Honors at the White House last night.

Oprah and Paul held hands on stage as President Barack Obama addressed the crowd, saying the recipients had “given the nation the extraordinary gift of the arts.”

He added: “Although the honourees on this stage each possess a staggering amount of talent, the truth is, they aren't being recognized tonight simply because of their careers as great lyricists or songwriters or dancers or entertainers.

“Instead, they're being honored for their unique ability to bring us closer together and to capture something larger about who we are -- not just as Americans, but as human beings.”

No Doubt performed the Beatles’ track "Hello, Goodbye" while stars such as Julia Roberts, Claire Danes, Steven Tyler, Angela Lansbury and Sidney Poitier attended the star-studded evening.

After Oprah received the award at the Kennedy Centre Honors, comedian Chris Rock joked "No one deserves this award more than Oprah Winfrey, but no one needs it less.”