The Politico reports Sen. Barack Obama’s “go-to Hollywood hottie is Scarlett Johansson, a starlet who trades frequent e-mails with the presumptive Democratic nominee, campaigns tirelessly on his behalf, hosts lucrative fundraisers and even appeared in that ‘Yes We Can’ viral video that got 10 million views in its first week online.” Johansson is “not alone. Jessica Alba is for Obama. So are Ryan Phillippe, John Legend, Anthony Kiedis, Taye Diggs, Kate Walsh and countless others.” Meanwhile, The Hill reports this morning that Jennifer Lopez “slipped into the Hart Senate Office Building on Wednesday afternoon for a mysterious meeting inside” Obama’s office. Lopez “surprised staffers when she was spotted walking through the Hart atrium and taking the elevator to Obama’s seventh-floor office.” Rumors “circulated that Lopez may be writing Obama a song.”
USNews & World Report

Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez slipped into the Hart Senate Office Building on Wednesday afternoon for a mysterious meeting inside presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama’s (Ill.) office. The Hollywood star, sporting a black cocktail dress and carrying an orange handbag, surprised staffers when she was spotted walking through the Hart atrium and taking the elevator to Obama’s seventh-floor office. When asked what brought her to the Hill, Lopez smiled. “I’m not ready to do any press yet,” she said, her eyes hidden behind a pair of big, black sunglasses. Word spread fast of Lopez’s presence, and a herd of staffers and tourists — thinking they were waiting to see Obama — amassed, their cell phone cameras at the ready. As it happens, Obama was scheduled to be in St. Louis, Mo., today at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Rumors circulated that Lopez may be writing Obama a song. As the throng continued to gather, Sens. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) walked by with little fanfare, and Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) stopped short of walking into a photo visitors were taking by the nameplate outside Obama’s door. The security detail guarding Obama’s door grew from two to four as Lopez’s meeting continued. After an hour and a half passed, an Obama staffer came out to break the bad news. “She’s gone,” he said, explaining that she left even more secretively than she entered.
The Hill

When it was announced that Jennifer Lopez would do a reality show, many wondered why she’d submit herself to an such an intrusion, not to mention the accompanying public scrutiny. Now, a clue: J.Lo is gearing up to launch a new line of clothing, and, wouldn’t you know it, the creation of the line and the publicity from her show will dovetail nicely. A source told OK! magazine that the idea behind the line is that Lopez wants to look great in the gym and in the street. This isn’t Lopez’s only clothing brand: She created the J.Lo, Sweetface and JustSweet brands. Sounds like Lopez, who with husband Marc Anthony is raising twins (without a nanny!), is going to have plenty of material for the cameras.
MSNBC

TMZ has learned not only has Jennifer Lopez sold her baby pics to People mag for a cool $6 mil — she got the mag to agree to stop calling her J.Lo! A source tells TMZ J.Lo made the deal and threw in the moniker clause as well. We’re also told J.Lo instructed People, in addition to the loot and the name thing, that her hubby, Annie Leibovitz wannabe Marc Anthony, has to be the one to shoot the photos. Reps for mom were mum.

UPDATE: A rep for People tells us, “This is absurd, but thanks for the additional publicity on the photos.”
TMZ

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are reportedly set to hold a $200,000 party for Jennifer Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony to celebrate the birth of their twins. Cruise, 45, and Holmes, 29, are good friends with Lopez and Anthony and have arranged a ‘Welcome to the World’ bash for the couple’s newborn boy and girl. A source said: “Tom and Katie are thrilled for Jennifer and Marc and have offered to throw a party for the twins next month.” The party, which is to be held at Tom and Katie’s vast LA mansion, will have a pink and blue theme and guests expected to attend include fellow Scientologist John Travolta, Eva Longoria Parker and David and Victoria Beckham.

The private room being held for Jennifer Lopez at North Shore University Hospital is finally occupied. Monday, we reported the room, which is furnished with a leather couch, had “been sitting empty for two weeks” in preparation for the pop diva’s twins. But a recent patient at the hospital told Page Six that during her visit, staffers were aflutter, exclaiming, “J.Lo is here!” A rep for the expectant songstress did not return calls for a comment.
PageSix

People magazine is poised to pay Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony between $4 million and $6 million for exclusive U.S. rights to the first photos of their expected twins, people familiar with the negotiations said last week. At the high end, the payout would not only match box-office receipts for J.Lo’s “Gigli,” maybe a modest achievement even for newborns, but also set a stratospheric standard in the market for celebrity baby photos. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, after all, only generated $4 million — if that.

People magazine and the stars’ representatives denied last week that any deals were complete. “I have no comment on these particular pictures,” said Larry Hackett, People’s managing editor. In the Lopez camp, Leslie Sloane Zelnick said she had heard inquiries, but declined to say more. Simon Fields, Ms. Lopez’s production partner at Nuyorican Productions, said no deal was done. Asked whether one would be, he said, “I don’t know.” Fran DeFeo, a rep for Mr. Anthony, did not respond to messages.

But the tentative arrangement that others described divvies the rights into domestic use for People and international use for OK magazine, whose many editions abroad now include a start-up in Spain, at a reputed $2 million. The Lopez camp declined to confirm a due date, but staffers at the publications are expecting the babies to be born in the next few weeks.
AdAge

If all goes according to plan, Jennifer Lopez will be receiving two special valentines: namely, her twin babies, who are due on Thursday, Feb. 14. While this date has been bandied about before, a source close to Lopez said Valentine’s Day is the date she’s been focused on since the beginning of her pregnancy. “She didn’t just like it because of the obvious correlation, which is sweet, but she also was happy that it … would easily make the deadline for the weekly magazine covers.” The source said that Lopez would love it if she was able to have the first photo shoot take place in one of the three nurseries she’s had designed by Petit Tresor. “She spent over $120,000 on them (the nurseries),” said the source. There’s no overall theme to the nurseries, but all of them include cribs, changing tables and armoires imported from France and England and “some of it has 18 karat gold on the legs and knobs. The rooms will even have crystal chandeliers.” The twins, who are rumored to be named Anna Maria and Marc Ruiz, will be sharing a room, at least at first.
MSNBC

Despite a new report that Jennifer Lopez was at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, there was no sign Sunday of the pregnant singer.

A story Sunday in the New York Post said the hospital’s maternity ward had been “buzzing” late Saturday amid reports that Lopez had arrived to give birth to two babies. The report said two nurses had confirmed that Lopez was at the hospital, and that security appeared to have been tightened. On Sunday, however, there was no evidence either of Lopez’s presence or of heightened security in the maternity ward or at the hospital. Several calls to a hospital spokesperson went unreturned. Calls to Lopez’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, also were not returned.
NewsDay

Considering Jennifer Lopez has spent the bulk of her pregnancy swaddled in Roberto Cavelli, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that the mom-to-be is planning on going couture during her stay on the maternity ward. A source close to Lopez said that the singer’s scheduled a Caesarean section, has packed her bags and will be checking into the hospital with four pastel-colored couture hospital gowns and a coordinating robe all designed by dearjonnies.com in tow.
MSNBC

As rumors swirled that a pregnant J.Lo had checked into a Manhasset medical center, the hospital Tuesday denied that the Bronx-born superstar was there. Jennifer Lopez kept coy when first asked if she was expecting, and that air of mystique continued as the buzz on the Web and on newsday.com was that J.Lo had checked into North Shore University Hospital under a false name.

“She is not in the hospital,” said hospital spokeswoman Adina Conn. “She is not here under a pseudonym.” A hospital source, however, said Lopez, who is expecting twins, was “in the house.” Lopez, 38, and her husband, singer Marc Anthony, live in Brookville and announced in November they were expecting. Rumors circulated throughout the hospital yesterday that Lopez, who has not announced her due date, was there.

Visitors to the hospital in recent days have reported hearing staff talk about “the J.Lo room,” and — no surprise — it’s a little more lavish than what you find in the average maternity ward. Representatives for Lopez and Anthony did not return e-mail requests for comment. On Monday, usmagazine.com reported that Anthony’s representatives said that online reports that Lopez was in labor were “not true.”
NewsDay