Anyone sick and tired of being asked to "vote for your favorite" stand up and be counted. Ok now to be fair I actually rarely exercise my right to vote on TV. I felt bad for Billy Ray Cyrus after judge Bruno called his first dance "crap" but couldn't muster up enough sympathy to vote. I tried dialing up for Melinda Doolittle several times last night after "American Idol" but alas, could not get through. After two busy signals I gave up.

I did however successfully vote in the last presidential election. No busy signals there. It's sad that there were more votes cast at last years Idol finale than our 2004 election. Maybe if the Idol Executive Producers, Nigel Lythgoe and Ken Warwick, were brought in to produce a results show more people would step up and perform their civic duty. Forget Tom Brokaw or Katie Couric's marathon coverage on election night. Maybe a one-hour results show with musical performances, dancing celebrities and a final last minute jaw-dropping, nail-biting reveal is just what this country needs. Ryan Seacrest could host it.

by Buddy Singer, Access Senior Field Producer

With apologies to my wife, Robin, and her husband, Michael, I have to say - I love Maureen McCormick.

If there is a nicer, sweeter, more open and honest person in Hollywood then Maureen, I've yet to meet her. At this point I should also add this disclaimer; Maureen is my neighbor, has been for many years. Our kids went to summer day camp together. My oldest daughter, Jenna, used to baby-sit her daughter, Natalie, who's now 17.

In years past Maureen would walk the neighborhood on the 3rd of July, placing small American flags on everyone's lawn so we'd have a flag on display for the 4th.

Yesterday, I was with Billy as she put him through one of her kick boxing exercise routines. And yes, she kicked butt. Maureen has been in the news a lot lately, admitting that she had once been bulimic and, for a time, a cocaine user.

by Eric Anderson, AccessHollywood.com Senior Editor

Remember in high school when you finally confided your secret crush to a friend and by the end of the day, the student body had the two of you as long time lovers ready to walk down the aisle?

Fun, right?

Well sadly, Hollywood is much like high school in that regard -- it's amazing how fast rumors and false reports can spread and Friday's "report" that Jay-Z was killed in a plane crash is a prime example.

Hearing the news of anyone's demise is heart wrenching, but as a huge hip hop fan who appreciates the contributions Shawn Carter has brought to the industry, it was extremely saddening.

Of course, we all know now that Jay-Z is alive and well. So with that, it's time to take a closer look at the anatomy of a rumor…

10:55 a.m. - (West Coast time) - TMZ.com posts a story saying that a small plane carrying three passengers went down in the Smoky Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina and according to rumors that were "swirling," one of the passengers was the rap impresario himself.

Quickly, the Access Hollywood news room responds and calls are made to Jay-Z's publicists, record label, manager and even personnel at his NYC club 40/40 personnel trying to verify if it is true.

It is hard not to be pleased with the Paris Hilton sentencing of 45 days in county jail. Let it be submitted that It is wrong to derive pleasure from someone else's penalty, especially if you believe that God is always watching and rejects jealousy and vindictiveness.

But my sense of relief stems from this:

I have three young daughters and its important to me that they learn about consequences. Paris has created a high profile for herself and somewhere along the way it seems an aura of invincibilty crept in. She is surrounded by sycophants, parents included, who are quick to defend and slow to reason. Accountabilty is for others. They say she's a victim of her own high profile, and that she was and has for a long time been singled out by law enforcement because she's 'Paris'.

Hmmmm.

I think it will be hard to convince people into feeling badly for her stake in life..and they might if she was even partly known for good deeds of any kind.

I always have the best of intentions but it seems more times than not my big mouth always gets me into trouble. Thursday night I had the enviable position of interviewing Phil Stacey and Chris Richardson on our Access Hollywood stage. All was going well, despite the fact that these poor guys had been up since 3am and it was now after 7pm. We had to wait for them to finish taping both "The Tonight Show" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." They arrived with quite the entourage of family members including Phil's adorable 8-month-old daughter, McKayla. As if Chris isn't cute enough, while Phil was warming up his pipes for his performance, Chris was holding onto and playing with McKayla on his lap. I sent our photographer over to snap some photos of them together because I knew my friends would be kicking themselves for not coming to watch.

They all wanted to come over but because of the late time, everyone had plans. The girls go crazy for Chris around here but really it's my gay friends who are constantly asking me about whether or not he's cute in person and what I think of him. So, while Phil is singing "I Could Not Ask for More" (he sounded great!) I start texting my friends to tell them how cute Chris is with the baby and they are missing it. This sets off an entire funny email chain which is too private for print. Needless to say it made me laugh how big of a gay fan base Chris has. While there have been some jokes about the close friendship about Blake Lewis and Chris Richardson (affectionately nicknamed Cake) I absolutely believe that Chris is 100 percent straight. He's been spotted out and about with the likes of Lindsay Lohan and MTV's Lauren Conrad. He worked at Hooter's for goodness sake and had a girlfriend for 3 1/2 years. So, it was with love for my gay friends and no hidden motive when I asked Chris during our interview if he was surprised that he had such a huge fan base. I was not implying anything. I simply thought it was sweet that besides teenage girls and young women, Chris was getting votes from a lot of men in the gay community. He chuckled and by all means did not seem upset when he replied, "I'm not surprised by anything at this stage in the game. I just, I appreciate anybody who's a fan of what it is I do. It doesn't matter. However you choose to live your lifestyle I respect it, I think it's great you know."

by Rob Silverstein, Access Executive Producer

I’ve been privileged to cover the coming and goings in Hollywood for 11 years and I still love the action as much today as I did back in 1996 when Access Hollywood debuted and I was the weekend show producer. From Brad and Jen to Brad and Angelina and from Tom and Nicole to Tom and Katie, I thought I had seen it all, but I hadn’t.

What’s going on with stars and their marriages….It’s common to have break ups galore, but things are now way out of control.

Now it’s not if, but it’s when for a high profile couple to call it quits. Most use the lame excuse that they have busy schedules, pressure, yada..yada..yada..and other publicist speak. The reality is, as some of the favorite tabs say, “Stars, they are just like us.” They get divorced and get divorced a lot.

But where stars and non pros differ, is in the publicizing of marital problems. It’s bad enough that the world knows…it gets worse when both parties are just out of control.

They sure do love Chris around Access Hollywood. Every time his name comes up, someone is always telling me how cute he is. The good news is... he's single. The bad new for many of my friends is... he's straight. Not that there is anything wrong with that. All season long he's been compared to Justin Timberlake in looks, sound and popularity with the ladies in Hollywood. He was spotted out and about with Lindsay Lohan and seen getting cozy with MTV reality girl, Lauren Conrad. This prompted the tabloids to claim they were a couple.

In a conference call with reporters this morning Chris set the record straight, "You know what, I just got out of a 3 ½ year relationship back home. All the other rumors and stuff are just rumors. Those people are just my friends. They are acquaintances. I'm single but still respect the fact that I just got out of a relationship with my girlfriend."

Now that he has been voted off of "American Idol", Phil Stacey's future is up in the air. Speaking to reporters on a conference call this morning, Phil explained to me when I asked whether or not he is going on tour, "My primary responsibility is to the U.S. Navy. The possibility exists that they will need me for a mission."

He will have to await the final decision but did tell me he's hopeful right now it will work out, "The last that I spoke with my commanding officer it was looking good for me to be able to go. So, I’m not really worried about it at this point. It would break my heart not to be able to go on tour but what’s important is that I fulfill my responsibility to the Navy."

by Keith Freshwater, Access production assistant

Last week I said I wanted the opportunity to say, "I told you so." Be careful what you wish for, I guess, 'cause after spoiling so much, I don't really feel like being so smug. Apparently my predictions were a little too on, according to coworkers. So I'm going to reign in the spoiler info. Expect no invisotext, dialogue, or otherwise overt clues.

Tonight's episode, "The Brig," allegedly will give the answer to a question raised all the way back in Season One. I won't dare say which question other than to say I believe two of the 815 survivors will finally learn they are connected...the only hint I'll give is that it involves this letter (pictured above).

It's a prediction I called a full two seasons ago after episode 1.19, "Deus Ex Machina" . If I'm not mistaken, this will be the first time any of the survivors will learn they're connected.

So, while I was at home resting my injured shoulder and watching "American Idol" from my couch... wincing more at Jordin Sparks misstep last night then from my own pain... My friend and Access Hollywood producer, Bryant Huddleston, was having a strange encounter with Idol judge Paula Abdul.

As I've mentioned before, "Dancing with the Stars" and Idol tape at the same studio. They overlap on Tuesday nights. Just behind the CBS studio where both shows tape is a popular outdoor mall called The Grove that has lots of restaurants.

After each of the shows wrap many of the audience members, show staff and press will go grab a bite to eat. This is where Paula and Bryant collided.

Here is his own personal account of what went down...