HEADLINES 9/10 & SHE'S BAAAAACK!

Oh, it's good to have my feet on American soil again, but I miss Africa already!  A DIRTy reader has been to Africa 7 times and before I left I wondered how that was possible when there is so much of the world to see, but now I totally get it.  I seriously thought about not coming back.

Of course I have some stories, but have to settle in a bit before getting to them.  That, and I have to share pics, but I'm not the brightest and sort of left my camera in Africa!  The lodge is sending it to me, so we'll see how long a courier takes from across the world!

But amazing trip, and how awesome to come back to Brit Brit drama in the news again!

Stories soon.

Diane Lane, Marcia Cross, Ethan Zohn and Mark Harmon are set to join more than 100 celebrities for Friday's "Stand Up To Cancer" telethon. Kyra Sedgwick, Jay Leno and Ryan Seacrest also have been added to the list for the hour-long fundraiser, to be simulcast commercial-free by ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and a number of cable channels. / AP, DN102

Britney Spears posted a statement on her website yesterday disputing Fernando Flores' claims of sexual harassment. "This lawsuit is another unfortunate situation where someone is trying to take advantage of the Spears family and make a name for himself," said the statement. / DN4

Jessica Simpson took her seat as guest judge at Thursday's "Project Runway" show at New York Fashion Week. Ten aspiring designers showed their collections to Simpson, Heidi Klum, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia, although several knew they already didn't make the cut and won't be the Season 8 winner. Extra designers needed to participate to keep secret the winners and losers of episodes that haven't yet aired on Lifetime. / AP, DN45, NYP68, NYP62

Jessica Simpson was overheard complaining to her mom, Tina, about how cold the tents are at Lincoln Center as the two left the IMG Fashion Suite yesterday. / DN9

Rev. Terry Jones, the Florida pastor who threatened to burn Korans on 9/11 called off his plan yesterday, claiming he won a deal to move the mosque near Ground Zero in return. However, no such plan was made. Jones said that he planned to travel to NY and hopes to meet with the leaders of the planned mosque. / DN3, NYP5

Donald Trump offered to purchase the site of the proposed mosque near Ground Zero yesterday in order to end the national controversy. He made an all-cash offer of more than $6 million to developers, but this offer was called a publicity stunt. / NYP4

"America's Got Talent" 10-year-old star Jackie Evancho has had 5.4 million views on her debut YouTube video. If she wins the $1 million cash prize from the show she "want[s] to use it to buy a pony… and help baby seals." / NYP121

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino filed an application with the US Patent and Trademark Office earlier this year to trademark "The Situation," but his bid was rejected due to a "Situation" trademark issued last year to a Memphis-based clothing and shoe retailer. / NYP102

Lady Gaga had the fan forum of her website shut down yesterday after a grieving mom claimed the performer copied her late daughter's style and performance techniques. The message-board meltdown came after a Web link was posted directing users to yesterday's Post front-page story about the late Lina Morgana. / NYP11

Rascal Flatts guitarist Joe Don Rooney and wife Tiffany Fallon have a new baby. Fallon gave birth to a girl named Raquel Blue early Tuesday morning. / AP

Naomi Campbell's involvement in Tuesday's Fashion's Night Out runway show was said to be "difficult." Sources said that when Vogue reached out for her participation, she demanded to appear on an upcoming cover. Campbell's people deny it. / NYP26

Penn Badgley and Jeremy Piven were seen at the Lacoste L!VE Sleigh Bells concert at Rose Bar on Wednesday night. Badgley was at a table surrounded by female fans while Piven was being stalked by male "Entourage" junkies. In other news, Jeremy Piven was also seen at SPiN, where he chatted with three ladies before leaving with a brunette. / DN9, NYP68, NYP30

Sean "Diddy" Combs threw a spur-of-the-moment Labor Day party on Monday. The party started around noon, however, he didn't arrive until 5 p.m. By that time the crowd had dwindled down from about 100 to 60. / DN9

Serena Williams avoided getting her picture taken at the Standard Hotel's Le bain Wednesday night. Later, Williams headed to 1Oak for dancing and ran into her ex Common—she then quickly left the club. / NYP27

Teresa Giudice hosted gay night "Closet Sundays" at the Beatles Revolution Lounge at the Mirage in Vegas following her husband Joe's recent homophobic remarks on the show. Sources said that she looked uncomfortable, but her tweets were the opposite—saying how much she loves the gays. Her husband was not in attendance. / NYP27

Liam Neeson was seen out to dinner with Freya St. Johnston at Nick & Toni's Café on Tuesday. They were also seen walking hand in hand last week in London. She is the first woman that Neeson has been spotted with since Natasha Richardson's death. / NYP26

Padma Lakshmi celebrated her 40th birthday with a Moulin Rouge-themed dinner party Tuesday night at Indochine. Guests at the event included Anna Wintour, Diane von Furstenberg, Barry Diller, Richard Meier and Katie Couric. / NYP26

Glenn Beck will donate his speaking fee from his upcoming appearance with Sarah Palin in Anchorage. The fee from Saturday's event at the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center will go to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. / AP

Jimmy Johnson has become a "Survivor" celebrity, even though he has yet to appear on the show. He has found himself talking more about his experience on "Survivor: Nicaragua" than about football. "I had a call from my stockbroker today," said Johnson. "He said, 'Coach, my wife could care less if you won national championships or Super Bowls - and we live in Dallas. Could you send her an autographed picture? Because she's a huge "Survivor" fan.'" / AP

Tim Gunn says he expects "hell to freeze over" if he runs into Anna Wintour this week. The fashion expert wrote in his new book that he saw Wintour being carried by bodyguards down the stairs after a 2006 fashion show—Wintour went "ballistic" at his comments. / NYP30

"30 Rock" star Jonah Friedlander has been working on his book, "How to Beat Up Anybody," for the past seven years. The book is due out Oct. 5. / DN9

LFO band member Rich Cronin died Wednesday after struggling with health setbacks including leukemia and a stroke. He was 36. / AP

MTV mogul Tony DiSanto was seen chatting with "Downtown" Julie Brown at The Lion. / NYP27

Motley Crue singer Vince Neil was accused of grabbing a woman by her arms in an elevator at the Las Vegas Hilton. However, a hotel executive said Thursday that surveillance video showed the allegation was not true. / AP

MTV will air two "Jersey Shore" specials after the season wraps up. The first will be a cast reunion show on Oct. 28 and the second is planned to be a behind-the-scenes special that does not yet have a date set. / NYP121

"The Nate Berkus Show" will launch on Monday around the country, airing locally on WNBC at 3 p.m. / DN103

Jeffrey Richards, the producer of the new Broadway musical "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson," said that if there was a rock musical based on Sarah Palin he would set it to "elevator music." / DN9

Photos in the Daily News: Victoria Beckham leaving her upper East Side home, Tyson Beckford taking pictures at Fashion Week in Lincoln Center, Penn Badgley at Lacoste L!VE in the Gramercy Park Hotel's Rose Bar, Carlos Leon on his bicycle in NY, Jamie-Lynn Sigler in the front row at the season eight finale of "Project Runway," Susan Sarandon and Judah Friedlander hanging out at SPiN's "Ping Pong With the Models" to benefit Haiti, Models walking the runway at the "Project Runway" fashion show for Fashion Week at Lincoln Center. / DN9, DN8, DN4

Photos in the Post: Rebecca Hall laughing with Ben Affleck and Jon Hamm at the Venice Film Festival premiere of "The Town," Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez holding hands as they stroll in London's Chelsea, Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos holding hands on their way to lunch in SoHo, Blake Lively at the reopening of the Chanel SoHo store. / NYP30, NYP27