Fantasia Barrino Welcomes a Baby Boy

Fantasia Barrino has a new little backup singer. The American Idol season 3 winner gave birth to a baby boy, Dallas Xavier Barrino, her rep says. Baby Dallas made his debut on Tuesday in North Carolina at 7 lbs., 9 oz. and 21 inches long. He joins big sister Zion, 10. "I feel so blessed that my son Dallas Xavier was born healthy, and is a wonderful new addition to our family," Barrino, 27, said. "I thank all my fans for their well wishes and continued support." Barrino has not spoken about the baby's father, but the singer has been romantically linked to Antwaun Cook since summer 2010.


Katie Couric & Brooks Perlin Split
Katie Couric and her boyfriend, entrepreneur Brooks Perlin, have called it quits after five years together, a rep for Couric confirms. The couple were "at different stages in their careers," says a friend of Couric's, who adds, "the split was inevitable." Couric, 54, and Perlin, 37, met at a 2006 fundraising event for cancer research. Couric's husband, Jay Monahan, died of colon cancer in 1998, at age 42. After her breakup, Couric, who hosts ABC's The Year, a two-hour special collaboration with PEOPLE that airs Dec. 15 and looks back at the newsmakers of 2011, is "full of energy and just as active and engaged as always," says the friend.
 Meet Hattie Margaret McDermott! Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott introduce their 9-week-old new addition, who arrived the morning of Oct. 10. Joining siblings Stella Doreen, 3½, and Liam Aaron, 4½, as well as 13-year-old Jack from McDermott’s first marriage, the Home Sweet Hollywood stars say their delivery surprise really was a shock. “We thought we were going to have a boy,” Spelling, 38, admitted recently.


The Iceman
Winona Ryder has signed on to star with Michael Shannon and Chris Evans in Ariel Vromen's "The Iceman" for Millennium Films/Nu Image. The story follows a family man (Shannon) who secretly carried out contract killings for the mob. Ryder will play his wife who was unaware of her husband's alternate life.


Lindsay Stands Up Ellen 
After leaving Matt Lauer hanging this summer, Lindsay Lohan has done it again. She didn't show up for her much-hyped appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," which was set to tape Tuesday and air Thursday. Since LiLo didn't make it back from Hawaii in time, Michael Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson tapped in to talk about life as a Jackson and also promote her first movie, "Lundon’s Bridge and the Three Keys."
 Jessica Alba and 4-month old baby Haven

Brooke Mueller Enters 'Long-Term, In-Patient Treatment Center'

Brooke Mueller may finally be getting the help she needs. Charlie Sheen's ex wife has checked herself into a "long-term, in-patient treatment center" following a recent arrest for alleged cocaine possession and assault, her rep Steve Honig says in a statement. "Brooke has decided to remove herself from the media spotlight ... [so] she can focus on her recovery without distraction," the statement reads. "Brooke's goal is to maintain her sobriety, and she believes this is the best option to reach that goal." Mueller, 34, will still have custody of her and Sheen's twin boys Bob and Max, says Honig, who adds that he will not be releasing further info about treatment, and that her parents "recognize the importance of maintaining the children's normal routine." This is not Mueller's first time at a treatment facility. In Feb. 2010, she sought help shortly after a huge fight she and Sheen, 46, had on Christmas Day. She also entered rehab during an episode of The World According to Paris, a reality show on which she costarred with Paris Hilton.


TV NEWS
Chris Meloni has booked his first post-SVU gig — and it’s a bloody good one. The former star of the Dick Wolf drama will join HBO’s True Blood  in season 5 as ”ancient, powerful vampire who holds the fate of Bill and Eric in his hands.” He will be a series regular. Meloni’s role on Alan Ball’s drama marks a homecoming, of sorts: The actor previously played Chris Keller on the pay cabler’s gritty drama Oz from 1998 to 2003. Earlier this year, Meloni decided to step down from playing Detective Elliot Stabler on the long-running NBC drama.


FX has renewed its fantasy football comedy, The League, for a 13-episode fourth season.


It’s time to meet Grandpa Grayson on ABC’s Revenge: the soap vet William Devane has just been cast as Edward Grayson, the father of Conrad Grayson (Henry Czerny) and patriarch of the powerful Hamptons clan. Edward Grayson is summoned to Southampton by none other than Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe), to help in her divorce battle against her estranged husband Conrad. The Grayson divorce storyline will only continue to heat up when the series returns on Jan. 4.


Steven Weber has booked a cool gig on Hot in Cleveland. The veteran actor has landed a guest spot in an upcoming episode of the TV Land comedy, playing the man who left Jane Leeves’ Joy standing alone at the altar.


George Stephanopoulos will return to This Week while Christiane Amanpour — who hosted the political talk show since 2010 — will become ABC’s global affairs anchor. She’ll continue hosting a daily show for CNN International. Stephanopoulos will start back at the morning show on Jan. 8, but will still keep his gig on Good Morning America.