Bits & Pieces

Sad bitch stalked by sad bastard

    MANHATTAN BEACH, Calif. – Police have arrested a New York resident on suspicion of stalking pop star Hilary Duff.

    Maksim Myaskovskiy, 18, was arrested Friday on felony counts of stalking and making criminal threats against the singer-actress, police said. He was being held on $200,000 bail.

    An arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday. It was not immediately known whether Myaskovskiy had retained a lawyer.    

    Duff and her family sought an order of protection against Myaskovskiy on Oct. 12, alleging in court documents that he tried to make contact with her by visiting her neighborhood, the neighborhood of her boyfriend – Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden – and her mother’s home.

    Court documents said Myaskovskiy "admitted to being ‘obsessed’ with her, has stated his intention of purchasing a weapon, and has threatened to kill himself and to engage in dramatic actions to get her attention … and that Joel Madden stands in their way."    

    Duff is best known for starring in the long-running Disney Channel show, Lizzie McGuire.

Unknown culprit buys ticket to hell    

    SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Millions of dollars worth of wedding gowns were stolen from a company that uses its profits to grant wishes to women dying of breast cancer.

    Thousands of gowns worth an estimated $3 million were inside a trailer parked in a hotel parking lot. The trailer, which went missing between 7 and 9 a.m. Sunday, is owned by Making Memories, an Oregon-based nonprofit.

"They’ve stolen the last wish and dream and hope of someone who is terminally ill," said Fran Hansen, the group’s director and co-founder.

    The group was on its way to a charity event in Los Angeles after going to Washington, D.C.

In addition to the 40-foot trailer, the group’s 2006 white Ford truck also was stolen from the parking lot of Country Inn & Suites in central Scottsdale, police said.

    Authorities have few leads because there were no witnesses. The truck’s license plate has been entered into a national database of stolen vehicles.

    Hansen said she hopes someone will spot the large trailer, which displays the organization’s name.

A $400 VCR

    REDMOND, Wash. – Microsoft Corp. has teamed up with a handful of Hollywood studios to sell TV shows and movies that can be downloaded through the software maker’s Xbox Live online video-game service and beamed straight onto television sets.

    The company announced Monday that, beginning Nov. 22, Xbox Live users with the latest console will be able to choose from shows including South Park, which airs on MTV’s Comedy Central, CBS Corp.’s CSI and movies including Warner Bros.’ V for Vendetta and Paramount Pictures’ Mission Impossible III.

    In addition to CBS, MTV Networks, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Viacom Inc.’s Paramount, Microsoft has signed agreements with Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. and Ultimate Fighting Championship, a privately held Las Vegas company that primarily broadcasts pay-per-view fights.