DAILY UPDATE: AUGUST 17

BRITNEY BREAK-UP NEWS...
The "National Enquirer" says that BRITNEY SPEARS' boyfriend, her agent JASON TRAWICK, has broken up with her. A source says, quote, "It was just too fast, too soon for Jason."




HUDGENS/EFRON MARRIAGE?...
Britain's frequently-unreliable "News of the World" tabloid says that VANESSA HUDGENS definitely thinks she'll get ZAC EFRON to marry her.

She tells them, quote, "We haven't set a date and if we did we'd keep it secret for as long as possible.

"Why? What if one of us was offered a major film part? Then we'd have to postpone our marriage and people would say we'd split up. And we don't want that."





METRO STATION vs. JONAS BROTHERS....IS IT ON BETWEEN THEM!?!?!?!
MILEY CYRUS' 20-year-old brother TRACE would like you to know that he could, if necessary, defeat any of the JONAS BROTHERS in hand-to-hand combat.

In an interview for the September issue of "Details" magazine, Trace was asked if he could take the Jonases.

And he said, quote, "I don't think any of them would be much trouble. I'd never lay a hand on NICK...I love that kid...but the other two better not get in my way."

Keep in mind that "Details" BAITED Trace into talking about this. So I doubt that he's trying to BEEF with the Jonas Brothers. He was just playing along with the interviewer.

However, he did have a little more to say about them, while discussing his own musical path. He said, quote, "I'm not trying to clean up my image to make anyone happy.

"I could have gone the route of the Jonas Brothers. Those guys can't live their lives freely. They have to put out this image that's totally fake."

Trace is the guitarist and singer for a rock band called METRO STATION. He also has lots of tattoos. He's SUCH a rebel.






PINK DOESN'T LIKE MICHAEL VICK...
One fan who won't be welcoming MICHAEL VICK to the Eagles is Philly native and animal lover PINK.

Here's what she said about it on Twitter...quote, "wow. michael vick in MY hometown, Philly. of all the places. I hope the fans tear him to pieces like his beloved dogs."





MARY J. DOES "IDOL"
"American Idol" has picked up yet another guest judge. MARY J. BLIGE will sit in on the Atlanta auditions, which begin taping TODAY.

VICTORIA "POSH SPICE" BECKHAM took Paula's seat for auditions in both Denver and Boston. (We've heard that KATY PERRY will also be serving as a guest judge, but we don't know what city she'll be doing.)

By the way, the not-always-reliable British tabloids say "Idol" is thinking about offering Victoria around $5 million to be PAULA ABDUL'S permanent replacement. From what we've heard, that's about what they were offering Paula.

Last week, Victoria's rep DENIED that she was in talks to be a permanent judge.





NEW JAY LENO SHOW, FIRST LINE-UP...
JERRY SEINFELD will be the first guest on "The Jay Leno Show", which premieres on September 14th.

If you haven't heard, the musical guest will be JAY-Z...who will be bringing RIHANNA and KANYE WEST with him to perform his song, "Run This Town".





DRUMMER FROM LIT, PASSES ON FROM CANCER...
ALLEN SHELLENBERGER...the drummer from the band LIT...passed away last Thursday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 39 years old.

Doctors discovered a malignant tumor in Allen's brain last year...and he immediately began radiation and chemotherapy treatment. (In May of last year, his cancer fight was profiled on an episode of "ABC World News Tonight".)

The band issued a statement...saying, quote, "To know Al was to know laughter. He had a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone. Words cannot begin to express how much he will be missed.

"This was our brother and not a day will go by that we won't think about him. Right now we're trying to find the balance of mourning his loss and celebrating his life."






JORDIN JOINS BRIT BRIT ON TOUR...
Former "American Idol" champ JORDIN SPARKS has joined BRITNEY SPEARS for the second leg of her North American tour. She'll begin opening for Britney on August 24th in New York City. (You can see all the dates, here...)

http://www.britneyspears.com/2009/08/breaking-news-jordin-sparks-added-as-opening-act.php






MAYOR OF MILWAUKEE GOT BEAT DOWN (!!!)...
Now it's time to recognize our Hero of the Day...55-year-old Tom Barrett, a.k.a. the mayor of Milwaukee.

On Saturday, Tom was leaving the Wisconsin State Fair with his family when he heard an unidentified woman screaming for help. So Tom went to see what was going on.

He found an elderly woman protecting a baby from a 20-year-old guy named Anthony Peters who was carrying a METAL PIPE.

According to a spokesman from the mayor's office, quote, "The mayor stopped and said something like, 'Let's all cool down here, I'm going to call 911' . . . [But] when he took out his phone, that's when [Anthony] attacked him."

Anthony hit Tom in the head and torso with the metal pipe. But Tom fought back and punched Anthony so hard that he FRACTURED HIS HAND. (!!!)

Tom was rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery to repair the broken bones in his hand. He's in stable condition.

Anthony was arrested but, as of last night, he hadn't been charged with anything yet. Fortunately, the woman and baby were both unharmed.