Ellen DeGeneres has been named Special Envoy for Global AIDS Awareness for the U.S. government by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Zap2it reports. Clinton had this to say about daytime’s funny lady. 

"[Ellen] is going to bring not only her sharp wit and her big heart, but her impressive TV audience and more than 8 million followers on Twitter, to raise awareness and support for this effort. I know we can look forward to many contributions from Ellen and her loyal fans across the globe."

Photo by PR Photos

Regis Philbin may be ending his run at Live with Regis and Kelly later this year, but his expected departure isn’t hurting the morning show’s ratings. According to Broadcast & Cable, Live with Regis and Kelly’s ratings climbed 12 percent in February.

The Oprah Winfrey Show, in its 25th and final season, was flat in the ratings, but maintained its No. 1 ranking. Her protégés Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz had varying results. Dr. Phil moved up three percent and ranked at No. 2.  The Dr. Oz Show was flat, but tied with Ellen, which improved 4 percent. Meanwhile, Maury rounded out the top 5, up 5 percent for the month.

Photo of Regis Philbin by PR Photos

Darren Criss is making more bold face fans. The Glee breakout star recently performed a special song for Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show. Watch the clip after the jump! READ MORE

EW.com is reporting Portia de Rossi's petition to legally take her wife's (Ellen DeGeneres) last name is now complete and official. The two were married in 2008 and de Rossi expressed a desire this year to take her wife's name as (partly) a political statement. She released this statement to EW:

“I am thrilled to legally adopt my wife’s name. I will continue to use Portia de Rossi for professional purposes.”

READ MORE

Broadcasting and Cable has a promising new article up on their website today detailing how local NBC affiliates plan to refocus on the Peacock's daytime lineup, and according to the article, long-running, daytime sudser Days of Our Lives appears to be key to that strategy!

The group also will get an assist from its network and syndication marketing arms. They are partnering to create a cross-promotion featuring the network’s soap opera, Days of Our Lives, and Real Housewives that will rebrand the reality show as a new sort of daytime soap.

“From a network, we see it as a benefit for us,” says Scot Chastain, NBC’s senior VP of affiliate marketing and development. “By pairing the two, we send more of a youth audience to Days, and we expose an older audience to Housewives. There’s a lot of cross-blending potential there.” READ MORE

What could be better than one O Magazine? Two. The highly anticipated cover(s) of O Magazine with Ellen and Oprah on it were revealed today on The Oprah Winfrey Show.  See the second cover after the jump. Which do you like best? READ MORE