HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Paul Newman is joining fellow actor Katharine Hepburn, humorist Mark Twain, baseball great Jackie Robinson and others as members of the Connecticut Hall of Fame.

Happy Birthday to *NSync member Justin Timberlake (1981), "Arrested Development" actress Portia de Rossi (1973), British actress/singer Minnie Driver (1970), Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman (1964), British singer/songwriter Lloyd Cole (1961),

Director Spike Lee is struggling to win financial backing for a planned movie about late soul legend James Brown, insisting there's simply not enough interest in the star's life for the film.

Happy Birthday to *NSync member Justin Timberlake (1981), "Arrested Development" actress Portia de Rossi (1973), British actress/singer Minnie Driver (1970), Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman (1964), British singer/songwriter Lloyd Cole (1961), American actress Kelly Lynch (1959),

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver announced the inductees for the 2007 California Hall of Fame, a landmark destination of The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts.

Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson has landed another major honor - she'll sing the National Anthem at a celebration honoring the life and career of baseball legend Jackie Robinson.

Dreamgirls star Jennifer Hudson is using her Oscar win in a bid to help her land another dream role - in a new movie about sports hero Jackie Robinson. The former American Idol contestant is using her post-Oscars interviews to let Robert Redford know she wants a part in his new film about the Brooklyn Dodgers star.

Happy Birthday to *NSync member Justin Timberlake (1981), "Arrested Development" actress Portia de Rossi (1973), British actress/singer Minnie Driver (1970), Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman (1964), British singer/songwriter Lloyd Cole (1961), American actress Kelly Lynch (1959), "Without a Trace" star Anthony LaPaglia (1959), Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten (1956), seven-time no-hitter hurler Nolan Ryan (1947), blues harp player Charlie Musselwhite (1944), American actress Jessica Walter (1940), "The Bob Newhart Show" actress Suzanne Pleshette (1937), baseball legend Ernie Banks (1931), English actress Jean Simmons (1929), author Norman Mailer (1923), actress Carol Channing (1921), first African-American MLB player Jackie Robinson (1919; d. 1972), and Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797;d. 1828).

* Kirsten Dunst is in talks to play Blondie star Debbie Harry in a new biopic of the punk queen's life, according to Hollywood trade magazine Daily Variety. * Robert Redford has signed on to play baseball executive Branch Rickey in a new biopic about the life of sports legend Jackie Robinson, the African-American athlete who broke through the color barrier in baseball.

Happy Birthday to *NSync member Justin Timberlake (1981), "Arrested Development" actress Portia de Rossi (1973), British actress/singer Minnie Driver (1970), Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman (1964), British singer/songwriter Lloyd Cole (1961), American actress Kelly Lynch (1959), "Without a Trace" star Anthony LaPaglia (1959), Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten (1956), seven-time no-hitter hurler Nolan Ryan (1947), blues harp player Charlie Musselwhite (1944), American actress Jessica Walter (1940), "The Bob Newhart Show" actress Suzanne Pleshette (1937), baseball legend Ernie Banks (1931), English actress Jean Simmons (1929), author Norman Mailer (1923), actress Carol Channing (1921), first African-American MLB player Jackie Robinson (1919; d. 1972), and Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797;d. 1828).