From wire reports

Hasselhoff's star isn't shining in America

PASADENA, Calif. - David Hasselhoff's superstar status as a singer in Europe hasn't carried over to America but he says "if it happens, it happens."

"I'm a big punching bag," he told the Television Critics Association's summer meeting Friday. "I just kind of go with the flow. I never really desperately tried to break this market."

The 54-year-old actor is best known in the States for his TV hits "Baywatch" and "Knight Rider." He currently co-stars with Adam Sandler in the movie "Click" and is a judge on the NBC reality series "America's Got Talent."

Hasselhoff said his new single "Jump in My Car" is headed toward the top 10 on the British charts.

"If it breaks over here, fine," he said.

Hasselhoff is still recovering after severing a tendon in his right arm last month in an accident in London. He was shaving when he hit his head on a lamp and it broke.

"A big piece came down and sliced four tendons and an artery," he said. "The good news is it didn't hit a major nerve. I had some nerve damage, but I can still use it, and that's good."

Fey leaves Saturday Night Live

BURBANK, Calif. - Tina Fey is leaving the anchor chair at "Saturday Night Live."

Fey says she's quitting the show after six seasons as head writer and co-anchor of the "Weekend Update" fake news segment to focus on her new NBC prime-time series, "30 Rock."

"The new show's going to take a lot of time," Fey said while appearing on Friday night's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

"I wanted to stop doing 'Saturday Night Live' so I could spend more time with Star Jones," she joked, referring to last month's dramatic departure of "The View" co-hostess.

Fey, 36, first joined "Saturday Night Live" as a writer in 1997 and became head writer in 1999.

In 2000, she first appeared on camera on "Weekend Update" alongside co-anchor Jimmy Fallon, who was replaced by Amy Poehler two years ago.

Fey plays the head writer of a fictional late-night sketch show in "30 Rock," a show she developed for NBC that also stars Alec Baldwin.

"This is the big leap I'm making, it's a show about working at a late-night comedy show," she told Leno. "I'm very creative."

Jackman's pricey pants

SYDNEY, Australia - A pair of old jeans owned by actor Hugh Jackman have been sold at a fundraising auction for $22,476, more than double the amount paid for Nicole Kidman's denim duds.

Jackman's jeans - decorated by a local artist and signed by the "X-Men" star - were among 17 pairs auctioned late Thursday at a "Jeans for Genes" fundraising event for the Children's Medical Research Institute in Sydney.

The Australian-born actor's pants were the hit of the evening, outselling Kidman's, which went for $8,200, and model Megan Gale's, which raised $7,500.

ATLANTA - Janet Jackson says finding love with longtime boyfriend and producer Jermaine Dupri gave her a new perspective on life while recording her new album.

"I always wanted to find love," she said. "Now, that I found love, I'm in a different space now.

"Jermaine is drama-free," the 40-year-old singer said at news conference Friday to promote the upcoming album, "20 Years Old." "He's a very giving person. The challenges have been all joy working with Jermaine."

Dupri produced a few tracks on the album, which is set for release on Sept. 26. Longtime collaborators Jimmy "Jam" Harris and Terry Lewis pitched in as well.

When asked about having a family, Jackson said: "I would love to have kids. I never thought I would ever want any. But being with Jermaine really changed my mind on all that. I don't mind adopting."

Jackson lost 60 pounds after passing on a role in the upcoming movie "Tennessee" to finish the album. The pop star won't be slowing down anytime soon, saying she currently is weighing five movie scripts.

"I know sometimes I want a little escape and have a good time," Jackson said. "I hope there are people out there I can make feel good through my music."

Asked if she used the same type of sexual material this time as on past albums, she said: "I enjoy talking about it. It shouldn't be any different from before."

PASADENA, Calif. - Calista Flockhart says it's time to get back to work.

The former "Ally McBeal" star has spent the last five years at home with boyfriend Harrison Ford and her 5-year-old adopted son.

She returns to TV this fall as a right-wing radio host turned pundit in the new drama "Brothers & Sisters." The show, which co-stars Sally Field and Rachel Griffiths, debuts Sept. 24 on ABC.

"I really want to go back to work. It just seemed like the perfect time and the perfect project," Flockhart told the Television Critics Association's summer meeting this week.

She said she was especially happy to find a show with an ensemble cast of top actors.

"I wasn't going to be responsible for carrying the show and I would have a better schedule," she said.

Field also has kept a lower profile in recent years.

"It's a very interesting time in television," she said. "Television obviously is having to compete with a lot of other things and it's having to change and grow and try new things."

Griffiths has taken time off for motherhood.

"I was thinking of not doing television for a while for many reasons, mainly the kind of schedule and being away from my homeland," the Australian actress said. "Calista was a big draw for me. She's an icon. I watched that show (`Ally McBeal') and it carried me through my lonely 20s, and so it just felt right."

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - John Stamos will become a regular on "ER" this fall, when Sally Field, Andre Braugher and John Mahoney will make guest appearances during the NBC medical drama's 13th season.

Stamos resumes his previous guest role from last season as Tony Gates, a savvy paramedic and medical student, network officials announced at the Television Critics Association's summer meeting this week.

Paula Malcomson ("Deadwood") will appear in a multi-episode arc as the widow of Gates' dead best friend and war buddy who is a single mother.

Stamos' previous series, "Jake in Progress," was left off ABC's fall schedule.

Field reprises her Emmy-winning role as the bipolar and problematic mother of Dr. Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney) in the season's second episode.

Braugher ("Homicide: Life on the Street") will appear in a six-episode arc as a carpenter who arrives in the emergency room with a simple cough. But he suffers a stroke while waiting to be seen, and his life eventually falls apart as a result of his paralysis.

Mahoney ("Frasier") will portray a drag queen who wants to assume legal authority for his dying partner's medical care.

"ER" will premiere Sept. 21 with 12 continuous new episodes until its cliffhanger in December. The show will then resume after "The Black Donnellys" completes its first season.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Ani DiFranco announced she's pregnant while being honored for her contributions to the feminist movement at the National Organization for Women's 40th annual convention.

The 35-year-old singer said Friday she is due in February. The baby's father, Mike Napolitano, produced her upcoming album "Reprieve."

NOW presented DiFranco with the Woman of Courage award.

Latifa Lyles, NOW's vice president of membership, presented the award and called Difranco an inspiration, not only for her music but for her independent ideals. DiFranco founded her own record label, Righteous Babe, in 1990 after becoming frustrated with other music labels.

Past recipients of the annual award include Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and playwright Eve Ensler. Difranco, a Buffalo native, is the first musician to receive the honor.

"Reprieve," a collection of a dozen songs and spoken-word pieces, will be released next month. It will be Difranco's 18th full-length album since her debut was released in 1990.