Celebrity Scoop

Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise was honored Thursday night in New York City for his role in starting an educational Mentoring Program. The actor arrived at the event with girlfriend Penelope Cruz by his side dispelling recent rumors of a split. The two posed on the red carpet for press photographers, kissing before Penelope dashed inside leaving Tom to talk to the media about his award. The National Mentoring Partnership presented Cruise with an "Excellence in Mentoring" Award for Program Leadership for his role as founding board member of the Hollywood Education and Literacy Project (H.E.L.P.). The community-based literacy and mentoring project delivers one-on-one tutoring and mentoring for students and their families -- all at no cost to participants. When asked about his own kids and if he's able to successfully balance family with a high-powered career, Cruise told APTN that he thinks he and former wife, Nicole Kidman are doing a good job. Other honorees at the event were NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw, Bank of America Chairman and CEO Kenneth D. Lewis and Ernest & Young Chairman James S.Turley. Comedian Jon Stewart hosted the program. Actor Paul Newman introduced Cruise and presented his award.

Former President Bill Clinton and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani shared a backstage handshake at a charity luncheon. That wouldn't be news ordinarily, but a New York Post columnist reported Wednesday that organizers of Samsung's Four Seasons of Hope luncheon had labored to keep the Republican ex-mayor and the Democratic former president far apart because they "can't stand each other." Giuliani arrived at Cipriani's restaurant after Clinton had left the podium Wednesday but met him backstage and offered his hand. Later, he told the crowd: "I want to make it clear that on the way in I shook hands with President Clinton." As the crowd tittered, he added, "And I don't want you to read anything into this but I also -- just in order to prove that any allegation to the contrary is untrue -- I gave him a little hug. Don't read anything into that. We don't need any more rumors." The Post reported that Giuliani didn't want to shake hands with Clinton publicly. "He just doesn't want to share the limelight together," an unnamed source told the newspaper. Giuliani spokeswoman Sunny Mindel denied the report and said Giuliani arrived late because he was watching his son, Andrew, in a golf tournament. Jim Kennedy, a spokesman for Clinton, said: "President Clinton has been at events with Mayor Giuliani recently and enjoyed visiting with him at this charitable luncheon."

Rodney Dangerfield will not perform at the MGM Grand Garden Arena next month as planned. Dangerfield, 81, needs more time to rest after recent surgery, said Kevin Sasaki, the comic's Los Angeles-based publicist. Sasaki said Dangerfield's doctor decided the July 19 show would have been too demanding and advised rescheduling it later this year. "Rodney is in pretty good health," Sasaki said. "The doctor just feels that Rodney needs more time to recover before undertaking a big concert." Dangerfield was released from the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center on April 21, nearly two weeks after undergoing surgery meant to improve his blood flow for an upcoming heart valve replacement. The bug-eyed comic is best known for his self-mocking line, "I don't get no respect," and for his roles in the films "Ladybugs," "Back to School" and "Caddyshack."

Prince William got a taste of local spirits during a tour of a Welsh agricultural fair. William, who turns 21 on Saturday, sipped locally produced liqueurs and real ale as he attended the Welsh Food Fair Thursday with his father, Prince Charles. "I don't normally do real ale, I like cider, but this is good," said William as he sampled a beer called Amnesia. The prince revealed in an interview with Britain's Press Association news agency last month that his favorite tipple is alcoholic cider rather than beer. Britain's drinking age is 18. The prince, who is on summer vacation from his studies at St. Andrews University in Scotland, was greeted by a children's choir who sang "Happy Birthday" in English and Welsh as he arrived in Bangor, north Wales, aboard the Royal Train. William blew out 21 candles on a cake bearing the words "Penblwydd Hapus William" -- "Happy Birthday William" in Welsh.

Call it a case of life imitating art. Early in the upcoming season of HBO's "Sex and the City," actor Jason Lewis plays a hunky waiter at a trendy Manhattan restaurant populated largely by women who want to get close to him. The women engage in an unspoken competition for his romantic attention won, of course, by the man-eating Samantha, played by Kim Cattrall. At a party celebrating the new season Wednesday night at the American Museum of Natural History, Lewis stood chatting with a buddy a few feet away from a bar serving key lime martinis. More than a dozen women hovered nearby, most checking his movements out of the corner of their eyes. Stars Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Jessica Parker -- and many of their TV men -- circulated at the party in the museum's whale room. Parker hugged singer Sheryl Crow. Financier Donald Trump, "Everybody Loves Raymond" actor Peter Boyle and much of "The Sopranos" cast also made the scene. The sixth season of "Sex and the City" premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. EDT.

Willard Scott is talking about his battles with alcohol abuse in hopes of helping other people get sober. The longtime weatherman on NBC's "Today" show said he attended his first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting two months after his wife, Mary, died of cancer in October 2002. "I didn't fall down to the gutter but I had my problems," Scott, 69, said in an interview for C-SPAN's "Booknotes," where he was discussing his book "The Older the Fiddle, the Better the Tune." The interview airs at 8 p.m. EDT July 13. "I think I drank pretty good. And Mary used to always keep me in line," he said. "I drank three or four drinks every night. I mean I was up to about 12 ounces of scotch seven nights a week. Loved it, loved it, loved it. And then after she died, there was nobody to keep me straight." Scott, who's based in Washington, says he enjoys going to AA meetings in other cities. "You show up. It's all between you and God. You don't owe these brothers and sisters anything," he said. "I don't think I've ever had more peace and more confidence and just plain love in my life than I have received from this, Alcoholics Anonymous. It's just fantastic."

Soccer superstar David Beckham and his pop star wife Victoria (a.k.a. "Posh Spice") were swamped by large Japanese crowds as they embarked on the third day of their promotional Asian tour on Friday. Beckham arrived at a primary school near the fashionable Ginza shopping and entertainment district and was wildly cheered by thousands of admirers at the entrance. Nervous fans then waited for the player to emerge from the school where he had put on an exhibition of his skills after 350 students in blue and white school uniforms lined up in orderly rows on the school sports ground, each carrying a pink carnation, before Beckham, making his entrance amid screams of "konnichiwa" (hello), accepted a bouquet of red flowers from a little girl and kissed her on the cheek. Meanwhile, the office workers got a good vantage point to increase the level of screaming as Victoria emerged from a limousine, resplendent in a designer black dress and matching handbag, before stopping for a photo opportunity and waving to the crowds. According to Japanese media, the couple's trip will help earn them about one billion yen (8.44 million U.S. dollars) thanks to lucrative deals to sell chocolates and beauty treatments in Japan.