Woman Sues Hasselbeck Over Cookbook Plagiarism

It seems so unlike the feel-good talk show host...

(NEWSER) - Oprah Winfrey, plagiarist? That's what a Philadelphia writer claims in a new lawsuit. Charles Harris, who authored a booklet called How America Elects Her Presidents in 2000, says he mailed 10 copies to Winfrey in 2008 hoping she would promote it. Instead, he claims, she recited portions of the work without giving him credit, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Her production company told Harris the books were never received, he says, but he claims to have delivery confirmation. More»

Some are allergic; others just want to lose weight

(NEWSER) - Everyone in Hollywood seems to be allergic to gluten—or at least off it—these days. Celebrity practitioners like Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Gwyneth Paltrow have helped propel the gluten-free lifestyle into the spotlight, with more of us mere mortals following suit in an effort to get thin. It's no wonder that avoiding the stuff can help us lose weight: it's in everything from fried chicken to pizza to beer. The Daily Beast lists eight celebs who’ve ousted the difficult-to-digest protein from their diets: More»

Potter scribe named in suit brought by late author's estate

(NEWSER) - JK Rowling is being accused of copying material for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth book in her record-breaking series. Her name was recently added to a multimillion-dollar suit against her publisher, Bloomsbury, brought by the estate of the author of another wizard-themed book. The suit alleges that a substantial part of the 2000 bestseller was lifted from a 1987 book called The Adventures of Willy the Wizard: No 1 Livid Land by Adrian Jacobs. More»

Deceptively Delicious wasn't plagiarized, federal judge rules

(NEWSER) - A federal judge in New York has tossed out a suit claiming that a cookbook by Jerry Seinfeld's wife plagiarized a rival's book. Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious, like Missy Chase Lapine's The Sneaky Chef, shows parents how to sneak vegetables into their kids' food—an idea nobody can copyright, the judge said. She added that Seinfeld's book is "bright and cheerful" while Lapine's is "dry and text-heavy," the New York Daily News reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Coldplay has denied guitarist Joe Satriani's claims that the band lifted elements from one of his songs for its Grammy-nominated hit, “Viva la Vida,” the BBC reports. Papers filed in Los Angeles assert that the tune uses “substantial original portions” of Satriani’s “If I Could Fly,” an instrumental piece. Coldplay called any similarities “entirely coincidental” in a statement responding to the allegation. More»