John Travolta's rep is knocking down reports that he is contemplating leaving Scientology. Of course, Scientology can be a tough habit to kick if you are, say, a closeted gay man who was forced to privately confess in auditing sessions.

• Remember when Bethenny Frankel announced a few weeks ago that she was engaged to "a real estate bigwig" named Jason Hoppy? According to one "insider," the engagement may be a big publicity stunt, and Hoppy may be a "medical sales rep/personal trainer," not some property-owning master of the universe. [Fox News]
• A treasure trove of Madonna memorabilia, collected by one of her long lost ex-boyfriends, is going up for auction. Yes, 17 minutes of "erotic phone messages" could soon be yours. [P6, NYDN]
• Kim Kardashian and Reggie Bush have broken up. Tragic! [People]
• It looks like Dr. Conrad Murray gave Michael Jackson a dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol right before his death and that was what killed him. And it looks like Murray could face manslaughter charges because of it. [TMZ, NYDN]
• Mischa Baron says she's feeling better and is ready to go back to work. [Us]

• Poor J. Lo. She threw a big 40th birthday party for herself over the weekend and some guests actually had the nerve to show up late! [NYDN]
• It's been a rough ride for Kate Major, the former Star reporter who said she was Jon Gosselin were in love. On Saturday, Gosselin said he was single; on Sunday, the tabloids suggested Major was a former escort. So now she's supposedly planning to get revenge by writing a tell-all. [People, NYDN, NYDN]
• In other Gosselin news, he was seen buying himself $950 wingtips over the weekend, or "two pairs of shoes for each of his kids." [P6]
• Although they've been dating for months now (and haven't exactly been doing a very good job of keeping their relationship a secret), Kate Hudson and A-Rod went public with their romance on Saturday. [NYDN]

There's a rumor going around that one of Scientology's most powerful proponents, John Travolta, is looking to leave the draconian religion once and for all. After the year he's had, it would make sense.

The movie about drunks and their drunken ways keeps hitting the big time. As does the movie about white people in the jungle. Meanwhile, Eddie Murphy and John Travolta have both seen better days.

According to a Bahamian police report taken in February after his son Jett's death last year, Travolta acknowledged in his own words that "Jett suffered from a seizure disorder and was autistic." That's a big no-no in Scientology.

Lindsay Lohan's stalking of Samantha Ronson brings them back together, Anne Hathaway prepares to play Judy Garland on Broadway, NBC denies the Speidi torture allegations, Susan Boyle seems to have found sanity, and the Gosselin's get investigated for animal abuse.

Designer Doo-Ri Chung turns 36 today. Matt Dillon is 45. Yoko Ono is celebrating her 76th. John Travolta is turning 55. Magazine icon Helen Gurley Brown is 87. Writer Toni Morrison is 78. Molly Ringwald turns 41. Breakfast Club director John Hughes is 59. Singer Regina Spektor turns 29. Dr. Dre is 44. Cybill Shepherd is 59. Hedge fund manager Mark Kingdon is 60. Film director Milos Forman is turning 77. And Wheel of Fortune's very own Vanna White is 52 today.

With the tighter confines of a New York City subway car to contain him, Travolta has downgraded his Parisian bazooka for a more conveniently terrorizing handgun. And as the heavily tattooed hijacker to Denzel Washington's transit worker-turned-crisis negotiator, he's surrendered the adorable leather-daddy exterior we had hoped he'd maintain for at least a few more roles. Alas, the savagery is complete. As for the rest, we're still not convinced the 1974 original required a visit from the End of Ideas fairy, but who can say really say no to Tony Scott? Oh. Well, give it a look anyway.

So the mystery $25 million document at the center of the John Travolta extortion case was a waiver, relieving emergency services from any liability had Travolta opted to airlift his son to a Florida hospital.

Travolta extortion plot said to concern "refusal to transport" document.

An alleged extortion attempt against John Travolta, the Scientology-believing Hairspray star whose teenage son Jett died January 2 in the Bahamas, is drawing a wider investigation. The FBI is now looking into the case.

• Why didn't Anderson Cooper and the "attractive Hispanic man" he flew to DC with sit next to each other on the flight? [Page Six, previously]
• Paul McCartney and girlfriend Nancy Shevell may be getting ready to marry now that Nancy's divorce has been finalized and Paul has gotten approval from daughter Stella. [NYP, NYDN]
• Someone hacked into Kanye West's MySpace and Gmail accounts. [P6]
• Prince Harry and girlfriend Chelsy Davy have split up. [People, Daily Mail]
• Execs from Amy Winehouse's record label have flown to St. Lucia to "drive some common sense" into her. Good luck! [The Sun]

Either John Travolta has evil friends, or everyone who spoke publicly about Jett Travolta's death is being rounded up. The star's lawyers say three Bahamians wanted $20 million in exchange for not making "false claims."

The unfolding John Travolta extortion case looks to have been keeping TMZ busy this week. They initially reported that it involved demands of $20 million for pictures of a dying Jett, which they later retracted.

• There were bound to be a few dramatic moments at the inaugural parties last night: Sheryl Crow had an awkward run in with her ex, Kid Rock, in the lobby of Donovan House. John Legend was forced to make a last-minute stop at Bloomingdale's because his girlfriend didn't have a gown. Susan Sarandon got a reporter kicked out an event for daring to ask a question. And Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony showed up so late to the Neighborhood Ball, they almost didn't get in. [P6, WP, Politico]
• One possible explanation for Lopez's late arrival: She was spotted at the Scientology Center in LA yesterday morning, trying to sneak out of the building without being noticed. [NYDN]
• Another headache for John Travolta and Kelly Preston: A politician in the Bahamas may have been part of a plot to extort money from the couple following the death of Jett Travolta. [OK!]

Lawyers for John Travolta and Kelly Preston claim officials in the Bahamas tried to extort millions from the celebrity couple with "false claims" about the tragic but controversial death of their teenage son Jett.

Now that Tom Cruise's appearance on The View has aired, we can bring you the whole, Scientology-defending Jett Travolta conversation without any delightfully premature interruption by the Us Weekly bumper.

Has anything the celebrity family of Jett Travolta said about the teenager been the unvarnished truth? If so, we missed it. Even the publicity photos of Jett they sent out after his death are Photoshopped.

Now that Jett Travolta's death has shone a spotlight on Scientology's tenuous relationship with medicine, Lisa Marie Presley has taken to her Myspace blog to announce that Scientologists can pop any pill they want.