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• Last night's state dinner drew quite a crowd. On hand of the occasion: Katie Couric (accompanied by beau Brooks Perlin), Gayle King (sans Oprah), Brian Williams, Mayor Bloomberg (with Diana Taylor), Ari Emanuel, M. Night Shyamalan, Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen (accompanied by his youthful boyfriend). Jennifer Hudson provided the entertainment; Naeem Khan was responsible for Michelle Obama's gold dress. [Politico, Reuters, NYP]
• She may not be in rehab (yet), but Lindsay Lohan is supposedly now in counseling and seeing someone a few times a week. It's a start, isn't it? [MSNBC]
• In what may be the most dubious story ever published by Us, a source tells the tabloid that Angelina Jolie "hates" President Obama because he's "all about welfare and handouts" and is really "a socialist in disguise." Naturally, the source goes on to say that Brad Pitt is still a fan of Obama, which means the two "get in nasty arguments" about politics "all the time." [Us]

• Contrary to recent rumors, Nicole Kidman says she is not pregnant. [SS]
• Adam Lambert isn't apologizing for his risque performance at the AMAs. "I'm proud of the fact that I did get a little carried away," he says. [Us]
• Diddy blew a few million on his birthday party last week. Now it's time to earn it back. In what promises to be a more fiscally conscientious endeavor, he'll be selling two of his fragrances live on HSN next Monday. [People]
• How are celebs ringing in 2010? Well, Rihanna will perform at a New Year's Eve party in Abu Dhabi (and will earn $500,000 for her trouble); Alicia Keys and Green Day will reportedly play here in New York City; Lady Gaga will be in Miami; and Nicole Richie and Christina Aguilera will be in Las Vegas. [P6]
• Britney Spears "does not have a doubt in her mind" that she wants to marry her boyfriend, Jason Trawick, and they've already discussed it, allegedly. Of course, she thought K-Fed was pretty great, too, and look what happened. [OK!]
• Regis Philbin is taking some time off from work to have hip surgery. Get well soon, Rege! [NYDN]
• Rosie O'Donnell isn't all that happy to be without ex-partner Kelli Carpenter. When asked if she was enjoying the single life, she answered glumly, "I'm not. But on we grow, so to speak." [People]
• Michael Lohan has run out of family members to record, it seems. In the latest convo to make its way online—for cold hard cash, naturally—Lohan can be heard chatting with Jon Gosselin, who laments the fact that TLC is making loads of money pimping his kids and not him. [E!]
• Oh, how you disappoint us, Katie Holmes. She recently "talked nonstop" with two friends through an entire screening of New Moon, and "nobody wanted to shush" her since it was Holmes. [Fox News]
• Lady Gaga dressed up as Sponge Bob Squarepants to a CD signing. Oh wait, no, those were just ginormous shoulder pads. [DM]
• Oprah's mom has what's called "a spending problem," as you may have heard. She racked up a $150,000 bill at a Milwaukee boutique; the store filed a lawsuit against her; and now Oprah has personally paid the bill. [TMZ]
• Cynthia "C-Rod" Rodriguez has a new boyfriend. His name is Laszlo Fazekas, and he's clearly no A-Rod, which has him on the defensive. "I don't care what people think," he said. "I'm physically fit and I know I'm not bad looking." [Page2Live, P6]
• Courtney Love went to Scores with her Hole bandmates, proudly announced that she "used to be a stripper," and said she "appreciated" their art. [P6]
• Related: Love had another meltdown on Twitter. What else is new? [ML]
• Proving that she's "quirky," Blake Lively cleared up some rumors with Jimmy Fallon the other night. Yes, she does randomly bust out into Riverdance jigs; yes, she "credit card swipes" her friends in the butt; and, yes, she can recite Waiting for Guffman by heart. [HuffPo]
• Tom Ford's directorial debut, A Single Man, will be released shortly. But don't expect the designer-cum-movie director to give up the craft. "I'd like to make a movie every three to four years," he says. [P6]
• The cover for Heidi Montag's new album—appropriately titled Superficial—is an ode to the '80s and features her wearing a polka dot swimsuit. [People]
• Usher is having all sorts of issues with his mother/manager, new girlfriend, and record label, in case you happen to care about Usher. [NYDN]
• Taylor Lautner tells the December issue of Rolling Stone that he was bullied as a kid for being into acting. Do you care? Didn't think so. [Rolling Stone]
• Meanwhile, the December issue of Details features a "private conversation" between womanizers John Mayer and Gerard Butler. [Us]
• The Pussycat Dolls probably won't be getting back together. A moment of silence, please! [P6]