French actor Gerard Depardieu has denied accepting Russian citizenship to escape the taxman in France.

In an interview Monday on L'Equipe 21 sports channel, he said: "I have a Russian passport, but I remain French and I will probably have dual Belgian nationality. But if I'd wanted to escape the taxman, as the French press say, I would have done it a long time ago."

Kate Winslet's new husband has gone to court in London to stop a tabloid newspaper from publishing photos of him at what he called an "outrageous" costume party.

Ned Rocknroll is asking the High Court to bar The Sun from running the pictures pending the outcome of his invasion of privacy claim against the newspaper.

The Divine Miss M is returning to Broadway, and not as just a producer.

Bette Midler will star in John Logan's new play "I'll Eat You Last: A Chat With Sue Mengers" in the spring, marking the first time the Grammy, Tony and Golden Globe winner has been on Broadway in 30 years.

It's a six-month expedition in almost constant darkness, in the coldest place on the planet, with no chance of rescue if things go wrong. British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes calls it one of the last remaining polar challenges: crossing Antarctica during the region's winter.

Against the backdrop of Cape Town's majestic Table Mountain, Fiennes, 68, and his five-member team left the South African port city on Monday aboard a South African polar vessel, the SA Agulhas, for what they have dubbed "The Coldest Journey."

A new estimate released Monday suggests that the Milky Way galaxy is home to at least 17 billion planets similar in size to Earth.

It doesn't mean all are potentially habitable, but the sheer number is a welcome starting point in the search for worlds like our own.

Thousands of Spanish medical workers marched through downtown Madrid on Monday to protest against budget cuts and plans to partly privatize their cherished national health service.

The march is part of a series of such demonstrations, described as a "white tide" because of the color of the medical scrubs many protesters wear. Participants on Monday walked behind a large banner saying, "Health care is not to be sold, it's to be defended."

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday announced his choice of Chuck Hagel as his next defense secretary and counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan to lead the Central Intelligence Agency, two potentially controversial picks for his second-term national security team.

Hagel has faced tough criticism from congressional Republicans who say the former Republican senator is anti-Israel and soft on Iran. Brennan, a 25-year CIA veteran, withdrew from consideration for the spy agency's top job in 2008 amid questions about his connection to criticized interrogation techniques during the George W. Bush administration.

Heart disease and diabetes get all the attention, but what about the many other ways obesity can damage your health?

Carrying too many pounds may lead to or worsen some types of cancer, arthritis, sleep apnea, even infertility. But a new poll suggests few Americans realize the links.

Roll up a sleeve for the blood pressure cuff. Stick out a wrist for the pulse-taking. Lift your tongue for the thermometer. Report how many minutes you are active or getting exercise.

Wait, what?

On his upcoming NBC comedy, Michael J. Fox will play a newscaster who had quit his job due to Parkinson's Disease but returns to work in the show's first episode because a new medical regimen has helped him control many of the disease's symptoms.

It mirrors the life of the former "Family Ties" and "Spin City" star, who said last year that drugs have helped minimize the physical tics of Parkinson's and have enabled him to take on more acting jobs.