Celebrity Scoop

The Dixie Chicks' tour bus was rear-ended early Thursday while parked along a highway on the outskirts of San Antonio, city police said. Emily Robison, the only member of the popular country-music trio aboard the bus, was not injured. According to the accident report, the bus pulled over on an overpass in northwest San Antonio at 3:30 a.m. after being struck with an unknown object. Police say the parked bus was partially blocking a westbound traffic lane. As driver Ross Ellis looked for damage, a pickup truck driven by Larry Cox of Corpus Christi struck the back of the bus. Police said Cox was taken to a hospital for treatment of a cut on his right arm. Cox told police he took his eyes off the road briefly to answer his cell phone as he was approaching the parked bus, and didn't see the other vehicle in time. Ellis had activated the emergency flashers on the bus, but still was partly to blame because the bus was parked in the roadway, the investigating officer wrote in the report. The Dixie Chicks played a concert in Houston on Wednesday, a night after performing in San Antonio.

Oprah Winfrey, already the owner in Hawaii of 100 shorefront acres in Hana, is reportedly is shopping for more Maui real estate. Winfrey and Bob Greene, her friend and former personal trainer, have made offers on several properties in Kula, the Maui News reported Wednesday. According to the paper, the maven at the helm of a multimillion-dollar media conglomerate has had some bids accepted and others turned down. One sale reportedly underway is of the 31-acre Thompson Ranch. Jerry Thompson, whose father started the ranch in 1901, said Tuesday he "had mixed feelings" about the sale. Down the road, Carmen Goble of Goble's Flower Farm said she told Winfrey's agents, "No way!" when they inquired about buying her property. "We are not selling," Goble said. The Maui News says other neighbors are also selling their property or in serious negotiations. Winfrey's agent on Maui had no comment.

Dancehall star Sean Paul sent his lawyer to enter his plea of guilty of using profanity during last week's music festival in Montego Bay, but the judge wouldn't accept the plea. Lawyer Tom Taveres-Finson said Paul was unable to appear in court Wednesday because he was on tour. Judge Valrie Stevens refused to accept the plea. She said Paul had to appear in court to answer the charges and set a new court date for Sept. 1. Police said Paul's performance during the Reggae Sumfest had been laced with expletives, which are illegal in public in Jamaica. The 30-year-old Jamaican-born singer, whose hits include "Get Busy" and "Gimme the Light," faces a maximum fine of $20 or community service.

Elizabeth Hurley is in Bucharest to start work on a new movie called "The Method," a film company said Wednesday. The model-actress arrived on Monday and will stay for more than a month to play a leading part in the film by British director Duncan Roy, said Bogdan Moncea, a spokesman for Romanian Castel Films. Hurley, 38, will play an actress who gets the role of a 19th-century serial killer and begins taking on some of the killer's characteristics in real life. Most of the movie will be shot in the studios of Castel Films in the lakeside resort of Snagov, north of Bucharest. Several Romanian actors also have roles in the American-British-Romanian production. Romania has become attractive for film productions because of low costs and unspoiled scenery. Recently it was the location for "Cold Mountain," starring Nicole Kidman.

Heavy D isn't so heavy anymore. The rapper-turned-actor says he's dropped 135 pounds in the last year. Although he didn't say what he previously weighed, or how he lost the weight, Heavy D (whose real name is Dwight Myers) said the loss wasn't prompted by health concerns. "I went on a couple auditions and one director was kind enough to say, 'Look, you would've had this part but you're not fitting, you're stifling yourself,'" he told the Television Critics Association last week. "He was right. I kind of always knew it in the back of my mind." Heavy D plays a mechanic in "The Tracy Morgan Show," a proposed show starring the former "Saturday Night Live" comic. It's not yet on NBC's fall schedule. Heavy D composed and performs the show's title theme. The 36-year-old has no plans to lose the moniker he's used since he broke into the music business. Heavy D and the Boyz earned three Grammy nominations and scored a hit with "We Got Our Own Thang." "There's a lot of checks involved with 'Heavy D,' so that name stays," he said. His credits include the movies "Life," "The Cider House Rules" and "Big Trouble."

Entertainer Carlos Ponce will try the other side of the microphone, joining "Entertainment Tonight" as a correspondent. Ponce will report on film, television, music and fashion for the syndicated entertainment newsmagazine, it was announced Tuesday. "I guess being interviewed so many times, you get a feeling for what you like and don't like, questions you like to be asked," Ponce tells "Entertainment Tonight" on its Web site. "Some questions you need to ask, but there's a diplomatic way of getting the answer." Ponce is a well-known singer in the Latin American market, and has been the host of the Latin Grammys. The former star of the telenovela "Sentimientos Ajenos" on Univision, Ponce has appeared in "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Once and Again," and will have a recurring role in the WB's "7th Heaven."