Table of contents for August 9, 2021 in Globe

BRITT McHENRY’S sexual harassment lawsuit against FOX News was dismissed after the embattled network reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement, sources say. FOX Nation talking head Britt, 35, had accused co-host George “Tyrus” Murdoch of sending her creepy, explicit text messages. Tyrus, 48, has denied the charges and FOX News claims their investigation of the allegations was “appropriate.” Britt insists she’s “proud to have stood up for my rights” and is ready to “move forward with my career.”…

COVID has thrown a monkey wrench into the family plans of Today host Hoda Kotb, who gripes the pandemic has put the brakes on adopting a third kid with fiancé Joel Schiffman. The 57-year-old morning talker and Joel, 63, already have Haley, 4, and Hope, 2, but are eager to add a third kid. The adoption folks tell her the pandemic has made people want to keep their babies. “They said that people who maybe normally would feel like it would be something they would want to do — have a child and then give it to someone to raise because they couldn’t — are holding onto things because they don’t have anything in that moment,” says Hoda. The advice of the agency is patience. “They say wait wisely and just…

JASON’S WILDE BUST-UP THEORY SNL funnyman JASON SUDEIKIS, 45, apparently is still baffled by being unceremoniously dumped last year by OLIVIA WILDE, 37, who hooked up with One Direction heartthrob HARRY STYLES, 27. “I’ll have a better understanding of why in a year,” says the gutted Ted Lasso star. “And an even better one in two, and an even greater one in five, and it’ll go from being, you know, a book of my life to becoming a chapter to a paragraph to a line to a word to a doodle.” Sounds like sage advice to draw upon! The pair, who share two young kids, were together seven years before the sudden split. THE SHAPE OF CORDEN’S NEW MARRIAGE COMEDY Internet trolls slamming Late Late Show chatterbox JAMES CORDEN for…

FORLORN LeAnn Rimes admits she’s still Blue over the “trauma” of childhood stardom — and feels lucky she didn’t die from it! “Most all of us that start at that age are dead or still really shaken by the whole experience,” says the country sensation, who last year revealed her lifelong battle with skin-ravaging psoriasis. LeAnn, now 38, shot to fame and fortune at 13 — and says she’s still coping with “the traumatic parts” of her journey.…

ARIES March 21 - April 20 A tip for financial gain you receive Monday may lead to trouble, Ram. Consider the source before you commit! Love and romance are starred midweek — plan a date night that involves trying something new! Neptune has you feeling emotional Sunday. Don’t take a passing comment the wrong way! GEMINI May 22 - June 21 Mercury teaming with Leo has you ready to make progress on your goals. Go for it, Twin! But take time to rest, too! A bargain that sounds far-fetched Wednesday probably is. Seek savvy advice before signing up! Trying to sort out a relationship worry? Hold off making snap judgments before Friday! LEO July 23 - Aug. 23 The power of the planets is yours Monday, Lion! Make the most…

THE Christian singer wife of former Chicago Cubs slugger Ben Zobrist has just pitched one out of left field — she wants him to pay her an extra $4 million in their nasty divorce, even though the couple’s relationship broke down over her yearlong affair with the pastor who gave them marriage counseling! Julianna and Ben filed for divorce on the same day in May 2019 after 14 years of marriage and three children. The now-retired superstar, 40, earned millions less than expected on his contract with the Cubs because he quit early in the 2019 season to work on his marriage. Now his 36-year-old estranged wife is claiming in pretrial court documents his decision to leave the team makes him “guilty of failing to preserve marital assets” she insists…

TROUBLED Britney Spears was given pills every week that turned the mentally fragile songbird into a babbling zombie nutcase, her former bodyguard claims. Muscleman Fernando Flores says the Baby One More Time singer, who’s currently fighting to remove the conservatorship that controls her life and $60 million fortune, was turned into a pathetic wreck by prescription meds. Flores worked as the now 39-year-old star’s security in 2010 and recalls a woman — he believes was sent by her conservator — would show up every Friday to deliver a week’s worth of medication. “I’d explain [to Spears] what everything was — three antipsychotic medications and birth-control pills,’’ he recalls. After popping the meds, she’d turn into a head case, he says. “She’d go from sane to talking about parallel universes,” Flores…

Spice Girl EMMA BUNTON, 45, is a married woman! The bubbly Brit singer, formerly known as Baby Spice, secretly wed longtime boyfriend, R&B singer turned chef JADE JONES, 42, after a 23-year romance. The newlyweds, engaged 11 years before tying the knot, share two sons: Beau, 13, and Tate, 10. Supermodel ASHLEY GRAHAM, 33, and photog husband JUSTIN ERVIN, 32, are expecting their second bundle of joy. The pair welcomed son Isaac in January 2020. BELLA HADID, the 24-year-old supermodel daughter of RHOBH alum YOLANDA HADID, has been secretly dating art director MARC KALMAN, 33, for over a year with no one the wiser! She was previously in an on/off romance with singer THE WEEKND. Southern Charm star NAOMIE OLINDO gave the heave-ho to her boyfriend of three years, METUL…

RUBY ROSE has a NEW reason for hanging up her Batwoman mask last year after only one season of the groundbreaking CW series — she now says she was allergic to her costume! “I did find out that I was allergic to latex. Unfortunately, my mask is latex,” she says. But the 35-year-old actress previously claimed her shocking departure was because she needed “emergency surgery” for a back injury she suffered on the set!…

REVENGE-seeking Law & Order: SVU actor Isaiah Stokes gunned down love rival Tyrone Jones in broad daylight — riddling him with nearly a dozen slugs as he sat in his car waiting to pick up a gal, police charge. Stokes, 41, who played the thug Mozzy in Starz’s series Power and also worked on Law & Order: SVU, Blue Bloods and Boardwalk Empire, was arrested for second-degree murder after ambushing Jones, 37, in Queens, N.Y., cops say. “The defendant is accused of unloading nearly 11 shots during this brazen afternoon shooting,” Queens D.A. Melinda Katz says. Sources say the actor, who reportedly has gang ties and previous drug arrests, fought with Jones for flirting with Stokes’ galpal at a birthday party in a Long Island club late last year. According to…

CONVICTED rapist and former Hollywood kingpin Harvey Weinstein has been shipped from his New York prison to Tinseltown to face more charges he forced gals to service his sickening sexual cravings. Serving 23 years in an Erie County, N.Y., clink, the disgraced 69-year-old was transported to L.A., where he’s charged with 11 counts of rape, sexual battery and other revolting crimes. He’s facing another 140 years behind bars if convicted. As GLOBE reported, Weinstein used his powerful position and 300-pound bulk to bully dozens of gals — but recently whined he shouldn’t go to the West Coast because his eyes are bad!…

BRITNEY SPEARS’ new pit-bull lawyer is attacking her dad, Jamie, in a ferocious effort to kick him out of her life and bank account. Shortly after she was granted permission to fire a court-appointed attorney and find her own, newly hired legal eagle Mathew Rosengart declared: “My firm and I are moving aggressively and expeditiously to file a petition to remove Jamie Spears unless he resigns first.” Jamie was part of a court-ordered conservatorship put in charge of Britney’s life and $60 million fortune in 2008 following her binge of bizarre behavior. She says her overseers have prevented her from marrying and starting a new family. “This conservatorship is literally allowing my dad to ruin my life,” Britney charged at a June hearing. Former federal prosecutor Rosengart praises Britney for…

ONETIME American Idol sensation Ron Bultongez was charged with four counts of having sex with a minor in Texas! The Tarrant County District Attorney claims the 25-year-old singer — who made it into the top 24 on the ABC contest in 2018 — committed dirty deeds between December 2020 and February 2021 with a victim under the age of 17. Bultongez was released from custody after posting $50,000 bond and hasn’t yet had a court appearance related to the case.…

What took so long? RHOC star BRAUNWYN WINDHAM-BURKE, 43, and her husband, SEAN BURKE, are finally going their separate ways in what she calls a “trial run separation.” The mom of seven’s reportedly been on platonic terms with her spouse of 26 years since coming out as gay last December. Now, the reality star‘s sailing off to Hawaii for the summer, while Sean rents a Newport Beach home owned by a pal of his wife’s current girlfriend, FERNANDA ROCHA. “We are packing up this house, the one we filmed in last year, and we are moving,” declares the reality diva, revealing: “We have decided jointly that we are going to take a few months apart.”…

POWERHOUSE vocalist Jennifer Hudson is putting her pipes to the test by playing Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin in the biopic Respect. Though the movie’s release was initially delayed by the pandemic, it’s hitting theaters this month — nearly 15 years after J.Hud’s Oscar-winning performance in Dreamgirls. Here are ten things you don’t know about the 39-year-old star. 1 The Chicago native joined her church’s choir when she was seven. 2 She enrolled in Langston University in Oklahoma but left after one semester because she was homesick. 3 Before making a splash on American Idol in 2004, she sang on a Disney cruise ship as one of the Muses from Hercules. 4 She beat out 782 other actresses to score the plum part of Effie White in 2006’s Dreamgirls —…

TWISTED Florida sheriff’s deputy Zachary Wester will spend a dozen years in the slammer for his sick scheme of framing innocent drivers by planting drugs in their vehicles. The 28-year-old lowlife would pull over drivers in Jackson County, west of Tallahassee, for supposed minor infractions and bust them after putting marijuana, meth and other drugs in their vehicles. His crooked antics forced prosecutors to later drop 120 cases. One victim, grandma Teresa Odom, was stopped for a faulty brake light and jailed on drug charges. Pleading no contest, she was put on four years probation and left with a drug charge record. She told the ex-deputy at his sentencing: “You robbed me of my credibility and being a mother and grandmother over the last two and a half years.”…

LOVED-UP Linda Purl is anxious to take the next step in her relationship with Patrick Duffy — and feels it’s time for him to put a ring on it, insiders say! Sources snitch the Happy Days alum thinks it’s taking too long — especially since their love has been no secret since they reconnected over a year ago. “He says he loves her, so she’s got to wonder why he’s lagging,” spills an insider. “He can talk a good game, but now she’d like to see a commitment out of him. “They’re practically married already and have been inseparable. Linda’s putting on the pressure now and openly admits she wants to call him her husband. She’s old-fashioned that way!” Pals tattle the Dallas stud, 72, may not be ready to…

ON THE eve of their 30th wedding anniversary, Willie Nelson’s longsuffering wife, Annie D’Angelo, is fed up with the 88-year-old’s stoner antics and is demanding he grow up, spies dish! Since getting hitched on Sept. 16, 1991, Willie’s Good Hearted Woman has put up with his seemingly constant pot-toking and carousing, but now she’s finally “tired of his partying and cannabis intake and wants him to nip it in the bud,” spills an insider. “He may not smoke the joints anymore, but he sure enjoys the cannabis gummies and chocolates and CBD oils and they make him loopy. “Annie loves him dearly and wouldn’t have it any other way, but she’s using the special occasion of their wedding anniversary as an opportunity for a fresh start.” As GLOBE previously reported,…

EYEGLASSES may offer protection against COVID-19 — because they cause wearers to rub their eyes less frequently than people who don’t sport specs, claims a study! Experts have long warned the bug can enter the body when folks touch their eyes, nose or mouth after coming into contact with the virus. Now, scientists from India’s National Program for Control of Blindness & Visual Impairment say eye-opening research showed folks who wear glasses displayed rates of coronavirus infection as much as three times lower than their peers! “Touching and rubbing of the eyes with contaminated hands may be a significant route of infection,” concludes study author Dr. Amit Kumar Saxena Sr. “Long-term use of spectacles may prevent repeated touching and rubbing of the eyes.”…

CYCLIST Robert Bassett’s relaxing ride through a Florida park turned into a terrifying creature feature when he crashed, tumbled down a bank into a stream and found himself fighting for his life with a huge allegator. An experienced rider, Bassett was hurled from his bike when a tire suddenly blew during his 11 a.m. outing in Martin County’s Halpatiokee Park on July 19. Witness Scott Lorraine of the Airborne Mountain Bike Club says Bassett “went right into the water, and just as bad luck would be, the gator was right there.” The cyclist apparently landed smack on top of the nearly nine-foot female monster, who quickly clamped her jaws around him, sinking her razer-sharp fangs into his upper right thigh and torso. The rider thought he was a goner as…

SUMMER camp counselor Samantha Dreissig is full of pep and life — but according to Uncle Sam’s taxmen — she’s been dead as a doornail for the past SEVEN YEARS! The 25-year-old Linden, N.J., gal has been battling IRS red tape, which turned her life into a dead end because tax collectors have listed her as “deceased” since her mom — who had a different first and last name — passed away from ovarian cancer in 2014. That’s when her dad got rejected by the IRS after he tried to claim his living daughter as a dependent. She’s tried to clear up the blunder countless times, but somehow federal bureaucrats can’t get it through their noggins that she is alive. “They say, ‘Nope, sorry, this account is linked to a…

BATTLING Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have called a cease-fire to their divorce war for the sake of their four kids — but while she acts like a grown-up, the rapper often behaves like a pouting tyke, sources snitch. During their bizarre peace talks and forced family get-togethers, the 44-year-old Stronger singer acts more like a kid than their whelps, North, 8, Saint, 5, Chicago, 3, and Psalm, 2, according to sources, who say West refuses to have direct conversation with his estranged wife. “He covers up in his ski mask much of the time, which Kim finds weird and antisocial,” dishes an insider. “He’ll only direct questions to her via their assistants, or the kids have to ferry messages between mom and dad. “It’s far from ideal, but it’s…

SEX creep Bill Cosby is lapping up the comforts of home after being sprung from a Pennsylvania prison on a technicality — but exclusive GLOBE photos show wife Camille has chucked her wedding ring! Now insiders suspect the couple’s 57-year marriage is heading for a $400 million divorce just weeks after the jailbird was free! The disgraced 84-year-old TV dad is home after serving nearly three years of a maximum ten-year sentence for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. His sentence was vacated and he got out of stir on June 30. But life with the one-time Jell-O pitchman is different now, sources spill. “Camille was excited the day he arrived home, but things quickly took a nosedive,” says a source, who adds Camille is horrified by bizarre…