Veteran singer Billy Joel has crashed his car for the third time in two years, after his vehicle slid and smashed into a Long Island, New York house. The 54-year-old Piano Man star - who escaped the accident with minor cuts and bruises - lost control of his car on Sunday when it swerved on a patch of wet road, launching it into a nearby house. Last year Joel was rushed to hospital after his car hit a tree in Long Island, and he escaped serious injury in a crash in East Hampton in June 2002. Police have confirmed no other person was involved in the accident, and there was no evidence that drugs or alcohol were involved. Nearby resident Thomas Phillips Jr was on his front lawn when he heard the crash and went over to see what happened. He claims Joel "seemed embarrassed that he lost control of the car". Phillips Jr adds, "He said, 'I can't believe I got in another accident.' He was just going out to get a pizza."

Michael Jackson has declared he personally "terminated" his two lead defense attorneys in his child molestation case, suggesting they had failed to give him their full attention. The 45-year-old Bad singer replaced his high-profile lead attorneys Mark Geragos and Benjamin Brafman with veteran Los Angeles lawyer Thomas Mesereau, but says he's keeping two other members of his defense team, Steve Cochran and Robert Sanger. He says in a statement posted on his website, "I have terminated the services of attorneys Mark Geragos, esquire, and Benjamin Brafman, esquire, effective immediately. Let me make it clear, I have not replaced my defense team. I have replaced the lead attorneys. And contrary to reports, this is a decision I have personally made." While the case proceeds in Santa Barbara, California, Brafman is based in New York and Geragos has been busy in Northern California defending a man accused of murdering his wife. Jackson continues, "It is imperative that I have the full attention of those who are representing me. My life is at stake. Therefore I must feel confident that my interests are of the highest priority." Jackson, who was indicted last week by a Santa Barbara County grand jury, adds, "I am innocent of these false charges and will aggressively seek to clear my name. I feel very confident that when I am able to defend myself I will be exonerated by a jury of my peers." In February, Mesereau abruptly resigned as attorney for actor Robert Blake in his Los Angeles murder case.

Pop princess Britney Spears will earn more than $10 million in merchandise alone during her European tour. The "Toxic" singer, who begins the five week tour in London next Monday, will get to keep half of the huge sum - according to Signature Networks, the firm handling Britney products. Signature boss Dell Furano also reveals Britney's merchandising sales averaged $150,000 - $170,000 for each night of her recent 25 date North American Onyx Hotel tour, during which her career merchandise sales reached the $30 million mark. Furano says, "Many times what happens is, as your audience ages, you still can sell tickets and albums, but your merchandise sales will start to decline. With Britney, as she's gone to an older audience, her audience is still as passionate about her. Ultimately, merchandise is a reflection of the passion they feel for the artist and the show."

Hollywood couple Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas' custom built house in Wales has hit problems - after builders made a series of blunders. The $1.8 million home is being built in Zeta-Jones' native Mumbles, but plans to move into the house have had to be delayed after a string of mistakes. Included in the problems are a garage too small to accommodate Zeta-Jones' dad's car, windows and doors having to be sent back to America because they were the wrong type and the scrapping of all the radiators in the house in favor of underfloor heating after Catherine voiced her disapproval at their placement. A source tells British newspaper The Sun, "Things aren't going smoothly at all. It's going to be a big job to rebuild the garage."

Movie stars Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal broke down in tears as they heard their son admit in court on Friday he is still addicted to heroin. However, Redmond O'Neal was granted a reprieve by Judge Brian Rains - who agreed to dismiss a forgery charge from last year on the condition the 19-year-old completes a year-long rehabilitation program in Mississippi. As the judge told O'Neal that this was his last chance, his father, 63, gave Redmond the thumbs up sign and later predicted, "He'll do it." O'Neal and Fawcett split in 1997 but have recently reignited their romance.

Hollywood movie producer Lew Rywin has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison in Poland for bribery. A Warsaw court convicted the Schindler's List producer for soliciting a bribe of $17 million from a newspaper editor in return for promoting changes to Polish media law. Rywin, who was also fined $25,000, told the editor he was acting on behalf of senior politicians. The 58-year-old promised to lobby for a change in law that would allow the newspaper's parent company to buy a television station - but the conversation was secretly recorded and the editor approached the police. Throughout the trial Rywin denied the charge maintaining he was set up by the newspaper - his lawyers have said they will appeal the verdict.

Cosmetics impresario Estee Lauder has died of a heart attack. She was 97. Lauder - whose products have been endorsed by celebrities like Elizabeth Hurley in recent times - died late on Saturday at her New York home, according top her spokeswoman Sally Susman. In 1998, Lauder made the record books when she was named in Time magazine's listing of the 20 most influential geniuses of business of the century - because she was the only female entree. Her company landed in 349th place in last year's top 500 list of America's largest companies, clocking a revenue of $4.7 billion. Lauder once explained of her success, "I have never worked a day in my life without selling. If I believe in something, I sell it, and I sell it hard."

Sexy Hollywood star Kirsten Dunst is relieved she's a normal 21-year-old - because her child stardom should have made her a drug-addicted wreck. The 21-year-old Spider-Man star has been acting since she was seven, scoring her first high profile role opposite Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in Interview With The Vampire at the tender age of twelve. However, Dunst is relieved she managed to miss the pitfalls of many child stars by managing to steer clear of excessive partying and an over-inflated ego. She laughs, "You know, I'm lucky I'm not at some bar at night doing coke because I'm so messed up. I mean, I am very young. I've been working for a really long time but it's so important in this business to stay open and childlike. You don't want to block yourself. It's really important to be affected by things."

Revered actress Ingrid Bergman's greatest regret during her illustrious career was turning down the opportunity to appear in Planet Of The Apes. The Casablanca star was offered a part in the 1968 movie opposite Charlton Heston and, according to her actress daughter Isabella Rossellini, was keen to appear so she could "disregard her regal bearing". Rossellini tells London's Time Out newspaper, "She badly regretted turning down a part in the Planet Of The Apes franchise. I remember going to see one of those monkey movies with her and she was astounded at how well it had turned out. I know she was tired of playing roles which wouldn't allow her to discard her regal bearing. I think she realized that all those putty muzzles the ape actors would have liberated her from her image in an instant. But she hesitated, the part went to someone else, and she and Charlton Heston never again came as close to working together."

Eccentric Hollywood star Angelina Jolie amused assistants at a Los Angeles store recently - when she took some towels into the changing rooms to try them out. The Tomb Raider beauty - famed for her unusual behavior - approached workers at Macy's to ask if she could take some Ralph Lauren towels into the changing rooms to check whether they were suitable or not. She explained, "I need to rub them against my body to feel if they are soft enough."