The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • A3

www.tennessean.com THETENNESSEAN Saturday, October 27, 2007 3A NATION ft Beverly Keel COLUMNIST Ford's Theatre plans new Lincoln center Phone: 259-8073 Fax: 259-8057 E-mail: Beverlytennessean.com Snail mail: 1 1 00 Broadway Nashville 37203 Beverly's column is published Sunday through Friday. Custody hearing closed; Spears' mom to pen book By LINDA DEUTSCH Associated Press LOS ANGELES Hollywood's highest -profile custody battle was back in court Friday, with Britney Spears and Kevin Federline going behind closed doors to work out custody arrangements for their two young sons. Both were under court order to attend the proceedings. They were asked to stand, raise their right hands and swear to tell the truth. A few moments later, Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon closed the hearing to the media at the request of Spears' lawyer, Sorrell Trope.

As Spears attempted to regain custody of her children, her mother, Lynne Spears, announced plans to write a Associated Press WASHINGTON The theater where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated will be renovated and made part of a six-building complex that includes multimedia educational displays on the legacy of the nation's 16th president, the Ford's Theatre Society said Friday. A planned education center across the street from the working theater will include new exhibits aimed at providing a deeper look at the events leading up to and following the assassination, as well as a look at 1860s Washington. The theater's notoriously uncomfortable seats also will be replaced and its restrooms renovated. Adjacent buildings will house a new lobby and elevators to make the historic theater handicap-accessible, theater officials said. Plans for the complex include re-created street scenes from the morning after the assassination and a desk with a touchscreen where people can "look over Lincoln's shoulder" at Civil War dispatches, speech drafts and other documents.

The new content "will provide a deeper understanding of the historical context behind not only the days in April of 1865 when Lincoln died, but also behind every day of his remarkable presidency," said Rex Tillerson, chairman and chief executive of Exxon Mobil Corp. and chairman of the theater's $40 million fundraising campaign. FILE ASSOCIATED PRESS Britney Spears and her former husband Kevin Federline are trying to work out custody arrangements for their sons. book about raising her family in the glare of the media spotlight. Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World is set for release May 11, which is Mother's Day, said Curt Harding, a spokesman for Thomas Nelson a Christian book publisher based in Nashville.

He did not release further details. Lorrie Morgan files for divorce from Sammy Kershaw Country singer Lorrie Morgan filed for divorce from Sammy Kershaw on Tuesday in Sumner County Chancery Court, a legal action that came less than a week after he lost his bid to become lieutenant governor of Louisiana. This is an apparent end to one of the most tumultuous marriages in contemporary country music. Morgan cited irreconcilable differences and asks the court to enforce the couple's 2001 prenuptial agree ment. This was her fifth marriage and his fourth.

Lorrie, who is requesting privacy at this time, had no comment on Friday. A call to Sammy's attorney was not returned. Lorrie and Sammy had blended every bit of their personal and professional lives. They shared her Gallatin home, recorded a duets album together and joined forces in a now-closed chicken restaurant in Whites Creek. In Lorrie Morgan and Sammy Kershaw at their chicken restaurant, Hotchicken.com, before it closed.

February, Sammy filed bankruptcy in large part because he had personally guaranteed the debts of Hotchickens.com. The couple, who married in 2001 and separated on Aug. 9, have split before. In 2003, each of them received a temporary order of protection against the other after an argument at Sammy's Whites Creek farm. They reconciled in 2004 and renewed their vows in January 2007.

The couple announced their engagement on ABC's Live with Regis Kelly in spring 2001, about a week after Sammy's divorce from his wife, Kim, was finalized. Wagoner moves to hospice care Country Music Hall of Famer Porter Wagoner, 80, was released to hospice care on Friday, a Grand Ole Opry spokeswoman announced. Porter had been in an undisclosed Nashville-area hospital since Oct. 15, and it was announced on Sunday that he has been diagnosed with lung cancer. He has been visited by numerous Opry I members and musical friends during the past week.

1 "On this day, when we are 1 welcoming our newest mem- 0 ri ber, Josh Turner, into the Opry Mt family, our thoughts turn to our friend and Opry legend and mil or earner rorter wagoner, says Opry chief Pete Fisher. "He and his family are in our prayers," Pete said. "We wish them all much comfort during this difficult time." Porter's last appearance on Porter Wagoner the Opry, which he joined in 1957, was Sept. 29. I hope you'll say a prayer for Porter tonight at 8, which is when the big red curtain would be raised to signal the launch of his regular Opry segment.

If you would like to write some kind words to Porter, address it to him co Grand Ole Opry, 2804 Opryland Drive, Nashville, TN 37214. Calling all hotties and geeks A casting call will be held at Buffalo Billiards, 154 Second Ave. on Nov. 3 for the fifth season of CWs Beauty and the Geek. Casting directors are looking for socially stunted intellectual geeks and beautiful, socially savvy women who can turn the geeks into studs.

The men and women work together to compete for the opportunity to win a large cash prize. The casting session will be held from 1-7 p.m. Morsels Peter Noone, lead singer for Herman's Hermits, was spotted on Belmont University's campus this week. His daughter is interested in attending the college. Brad Paisley has written and recorded a new theme song for GAC's Opry Live.

"From Uncle Jimmy to Justin" makes its debut tonight at 7. Rodney Atkins taped a performance of "These Are My People" in Manchester, N.H., for ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The episode featuring the Voisine family will air during the 2007-08 season. Congrats to WSM-AM's Bill Cody, who will be inducted into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame, along with Arkansas DJ Bob Robbins, on March 4, 2008, at the Nashville Convention Center. BEFORE YOU SIDE BY SIDE! sleep number.

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