Buzz Briefs: Ellen DeGeneres, Teena Marie

Newlywed DeGeneres Returns With First Show

Ellen DeGeneres premiered her sixth season as host of "Ellen" with two notable changes: a new studio and a wedding ring.

The syndicated talk show returned Monday with a taped episode from the show's new set on the Warner Bros. studio lot in Los Angeles. It was DeGeneres' first show since marrying actress Portia de Rossi in August.

"This is my first show as a married lady," DeGeneres announced, flashing her wedding ring.

The audience gave her a standing ovation.

DeGeneres, 50, and de Rossi were wed in an intimate ceremony at their Beverly Hills home. The Emmy-winning host and de Rossi had dated for four years and announced that they would marry after the California Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages in May.

"Who knew John McCain and I would have something in common," she joked. "We both chose female running mates."

Teena Marie, Chaka Khan Honored With Pioneer Award

Teena Marie was first recognized as an R&B talent in the 1970s when she signed a recording deal with Motown at the tender age of 19.

Now, the self-proclaimed "Ivory Queen of Soul" is being recognized for a nearly 30-year career that has included collaborations with industry giants from Rick James to Smokey Robinson, as well as a Grammy-nominated solo repertoire.

Marie is one of nine artists receiving a Pioneer Award from the Philadelphia-based Rhythm & Blues Foundation at a gala ceremony Tuesday night.

The other honorees are Chaka Khan, Kool & The Gang, Bill Withers, The Whispers, The Funk Brothers, Donny Hathaway, Sugar Pie DeSanto and Al Bell. The awards were last given in 2006 by the R&B Foundation, which is dedicated to celebrating and preserving the genre, and to assisting artists in need.

Marie, 52, has been a pioneer in more than one sense. Besides being a white woman in a mostly black genre, she also won a precedent-setting lawsuit against Motown in 1982.

But her robust, soulful voice is what put her on the R&B map - and what has kept her there for nearly three decades. Admirers also cite her versatility; some of her later work includes a pairing with hip-hop star Kurupt, and her songs have been sampled by artists including Ludacris and The Fugees.

Stern's Fiancée Focused On Marathon, Then Wedding

Howard Stern's bride-to-be Beth Ostrosky says her No. 1 priority these days is training for the New York City marathon. No. 2: planning her October wedding to the radio shock jock.

"I ran 10 miles this morning and 18 miles on Thursday, and every day my mileage is going up and up - so I don't even think about the wedding. I'm thinking about that November marathon!" Ostrosky said at the Monday afternoon presentation of Jill Stuart's spring collection at the New York Public Library.

Despite her earlier workout, the leggy blond model looked fresh in a blue sleeveless Jill Stuart dress and shiny beige heels. Her accessories: a quilted Chanel purse and a bright smile.

Stern proposed to the outgoing Ostrosky in February 2007 after a long courtship.

"It's amazing," she said. "I can't wait to marry Howard. I know, everyone laughs! `What? You're going to marry Howard Stern?"'

She said they will wed in Manhattan and honeymoon at their home on Long Island in the Hamptons. She'll wear a dress designed by Georgina Chapman of the high-fashion line Marchesa and later that night some "hanky-panky underwear and that's about it!"

Urban, Jackson Among CMA Music Festival Highlights

Highlights of this summer's CMA Music Festival will air Monday on network TV, with musical performances by Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Dwight Yoakam, Faith Hill and many more.

"CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" will air 9-11 p.m. Eastern on ABC. This is the fifth year the four-day festival has been filmed for network TV.

Swift, Kellie Pickler and Julianne Hough will host the special.

Besides musical performances, the show will feature behind-the-scenes moments between the artists and their fans.

Attendance at this year's Country Music Association festival hit an all-time high - averaging 52,000 a day. That's up nearly 9 1/2 percent from last year's daily average of 48,000.

Known as "Fan Fair" when it started in 1972, the festival is a chance for fans to see performances and maybe even meet their favorite country singers.

Coen Brothers Return To Home State To Film Next Flick

Oscar-winning Coen brothers are returning to their home state of Minnesota to shoot their next movie.

Joel and Ethan Coen are scheduled on Monday to start shooting "A Serious Man" in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The movie, about a professor whose life is falling apart, is set in 1967 in an unspecified suburb similar to St. Louis Park, where the Coens grew up.

It's the first time the Coens have filmed in Minnesota since 1996's "Fargo," which won Oscars for screenplay and best actress, Frances McDormand. The brothers won this year's best picture Oscar for "No Country for Old Men."

Colbert Sends DNA Into Space In A Time Capsule

Should this world ever cease to exist, Stephen Colbert will live on.

The comedian's DNA will be digitized and sent to the International Space Station, Comedy Central was to announce Monday. In October, video game designer Richard Garriott will travel to the station and deposit Colbert's genes for "Immortality Drive."

"I am thrilled to have my DNA shot into space, as this brings me one step closer to my lifelong dream of being the baby at the end of 2001," Colbert said in a statement, referring to the 1968 landmark science fiction film "2001: A Space Odyssey."

Garriott, one of few private citizens to travel into space, is collecting material for a time capsule of human DNA, a history of humanity's greatest achievements and personal messages.

The host of "The Colbert Report" will essentially be preserved so that aliens can clone him.

"In the unlikely event that Earth and humanity are destroyed, mankind can be resurrected with Stephen Colbert's DNA," Garriott said in a statement. "Is there a better person for us to turn to for this high-level responsibility?"

Eva Longoria Parker: Fashionable While Plane-Hopping

Eva Longoria Parker is running a tight schedule.

The "Desperate Housewives" actress hopped on a red-eye flight from California to help launch the new M&M's Premiums candy collection at New York Fashion Week on Sunday. Later that day, she planned to meet up with husband Tony Parker - in France.

If Longoria Parker was exhausted, she didn't show it while hosting a presentation to introduce M&M Premiums, a new variety of the candy.

Wearing a dark brown beaded minidress designed by Pamella Roland, she said she's always been "kind of an outspoken chocolate lover."

Since her breakout role in ABC's "Desperate Housewives," the star has been a fixture on red carpets and best-dressed lists for her chic style.

When asked how she stays so stylish, she said, "It's all smoke and mirrors - it's the hair and makeup." She was less candid about speculation that she and France-born NBA star Parker are expecting their first child together.

Her response to how she deals with the rumors: "I don't."

MSNBC's Olbermann, Matthews Take The Bench

MSNBC says Keith Olbermann and Chris Matthews are out as co-anchors of political night coverage.

Veteran reporter David Gregory will anchor coverage of the presidential and vice presidential debates, along with election night. Olbermann and Matthews will stay on as commentators on the cable news network's coverage.

The change reflects tensions between the more opinionated MSNBC and the impartial reporters at NBC News.

MSNBC's executives have spent months arguing that Olbermann and Matthews could be dispassionate anchors on political news nights while offering their opinions most other nights, and that viewers would accept them in that role.

But things fell apart during the conventions, when Olbermann, Matthews and MSNBC pundits engaged in a series of on-air spats.

Christian Book Publisher To Release Book On Palin

Zondervan, the Christian book publisher known for releasing Rick Warren's million-selling "The Purpose Driven Life," is coming out with a biography of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company said Monday that Joe Hilley's "Sarah Palin: A New Kind of Leader," about Alaska's 44-year-old governor, goes on sale Oct. 10 and will "explore themes from her career in politics, her life as a hockey mom, and her strongly held Christian faith."

Zondervan is a division of HarperCollins.