Is Oprah paying a price for backing Obama?

BY ROBERT FEDER Sun-Times Columnist

It was the summer of 1996, and the Democratic National Convention was about to open just six blocks away from Harpo Studios on the Near West Side.

Though the center of the political universe had come to her own backyard, Oprah Winfrey wanted no part of it.

Oprah Winfrey (AP/Harpo Productions)

"I've been asked to do everything, but I'm trying to stay out of it," she told me at the time.

Except for taping an interview with John F. Kennedy Jr., Winfrey was determined to let the convention -- and the parade of presidential politics -- pass her by.

"I've tried to stay out of politics for my entire tenure on the air," she said. "Basically, it's a no-win situation."

Now fast-forward to 2008 and consider just how right Winfrey may have been.

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Varsha Sabhnani sentenced -11 Years in prison

It’s 11 years in prison for a New York millionaire who inflicted years of abuse on her two enslaved Indonesian housekeepers at her Long Island mansion.

Varsha Sabhnani (sahb-NAH’-nee) was convicted with her husband in December of forced labor, conspiracy, involuntary servitude and harboring aliens. Her husband will be sentenced tomorrow.

The victims testified that they were beaten with brooms and umbrellas, slashed with knives, and forced to climb stairs and take freezing showers as punishment.

Their slavery ended in May of last year, when 1 of the women fled early on Mother’s Day and wandered into a Dunkin’ Donuts wearing nothing but rags. Employees called police.

The women said they were tortured and beaten for sleeping late or stealing food from trash bins because they were poorly fed. Both women also said they were forced to sleep on mats in the kitchen. The maids’ relatives in Indonesia were paid about $100 a month for their work, but the maids themselves were not paid.

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JLo in Pic

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Jolie-Pitt Foundation donates $1 mil to Iraqi kids

Wed Jun 25, 6:32 PM ET

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Voice actor Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt arrive for the screening of the animated film 'Kung Fu Panda' by directors Mark Osborne and John Stevenson at the 61st Cannes Film Festival May 15, 2008.

(Vincent Kessler/Reuters)

LOS ANGELES - Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's love for children is by no means limited to their own: The couple has donated $1 million to help kids affected by the war in Iraq, the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict announced Wednesday.

The organization will distribute the donation, made through the couple's Jolie-Pitt Foundation, to four organizations working on behalf of children who have lost parents, homes and schools in Iraq. Children in the U.S. who have lost parents in the conflict will also benefit.

"These educational support programs for children of conflict are the best way to help them heal," said Jolie in a written statement from Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which she co-chairs.

"We hope to encourage others to give to these great organizations," Pitt added in the statement.

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George Carlin dies in history

In a Feb. 28, 2007, file photo comedian George Carlin opens the 13th annual U.S. Comedy Arts Festival at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, Colo. A publicist for George Carlin says the legendary comedian has died of heart failure at a hospital in Santa Monica, Calif., Sunday June 22, 2008.

(AP Photo/E. Pablo Kosmicki/file)

This is an undated file photo originally released by HBO of George Carlinto promote his HBO special, 'Its Bad For Ya'. A publicist for George Carlin says the legendary comedian has died of heart failure at a hospital in Santa Monica, Calif., Sunday June 22, 2008.

(AP Photo/HBO, Robert Sebree,file )

In a May 1, 2001 file photo comedian George Carlin gestures in New York. A publicist for George Carlin says the legendary comedian has died of heart failure at a hospital in Santa Monica, Calif., Sunday June 22, 2008.

(AP Photo/Jim Cooper/file)

US comedian George Carlin, seen here in 2007, died on Sunday aged 71. Carlin was identified as a voice of the 1970s counterculture and was one of the country's best known funny men.

(AFP/Getty Images/File/Mark Mainz)

Winehouse taken to hospital after fainting spell

Jazz Soul diva Amy Winehouse, from England, has a drink while performing to 90,000 spectators on the main stage of the Rock in Rio Lisboa music festival at the Bela Vista Park, Lisboa Portugal in this May 30, 2008 file photo.

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LONDON - Amy Winehouse fainted Monday at her north London home and was hospitalized, her spokesman said.

Winehouse lost consciousness but an assistant caught her before she hit the ground, spokesman Chris Goodman said.

"She quickly recovered and her father, Mitch, took her to hospital as a precaution," Goodman said in a statement.

Winehouse had spent the afternoon signing autographs for Canadian fans who were standing outside her house. She collapsed after they left.

Goodman said doctors are unsure what caused the collapse and the 24-year-old singer was undergoing tests.

She may stay in the hospital overnight as a precaution, he said.

Winehouse's career has prospered despite wild nights, missed concerts and stints in drug rehab. The Sunday Times newspaper's annual Rich List has estimated her wealth at $20 million.

Jessica Alba welcomes baby girl

Actress Jessica Alba, seen here in March 2008, has given birth to a baby girl three weeks after marrying long-term boyfriend Cash Warren, her publicist confirmed on Monday.

(AFP/Getty Images/File)

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Actress Jessica Alba has given birth to a baby girl three weeks after marrying long-term boyfriend Cash Warren, her publicist confirmed on Monday.

Honor Marie Warren was born on Saturday in Los Angeles, Alba's spokesman Brad Cafarelli confirmed in an email to AFP. Honor is the couple's first child.

Alba, 27, and Warren, 29, tied the knot in a secret ceremony on May 19 in Beverly Hills.

Alba, who met Warren on the set of the "Fantastic Four" in 2004, confirmed her pregnancy in December last year.

She shot to fame in the hit television series "Dark Angel." In addition to the two "Fantastic Four" movies, her recent films include "Sin City," "The Eye" and "Good Luck Chuck."