Days of our Lives stars Kristian Alfonso (pictured above), Alison Sweeney, Galen Gering and Lisa Rinna appeared at the NBCUniversal Press Tour All-Star party on January 6, in Pasadena, California.  The event also featured soap alums Tia Carrere, Mark Valley and Matt Bomer. Carrere will appear in the upcoming season of Celebrity Apprentice. Valley stars in NBC’s legal drama Harry’s Law opposite of Kathy Bates, while Bomer leads USA’s White Collar. See more photos from the event after the jump!

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On today’s Pop Confidential podcast Jamey Giddens, Luke Kerr, Jillian Bowe and Melodie Aikels dish all the latest pop culture headlines, including:

Beyonce gives birth to a baby girl. Katy Perry and Russell Brand get a divorce. Chaz Bono is saving up to for a surgery.

Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice announces its new cast. Chelsea Handler gets a new studio. Kathy Griffin gets a talk show on Bravo. Tyler has a meltdown on Revenge. Damon and Elena kiss on The Vampire Diaries. Is The Secret Circle better than TVD? Teddy finds out her husband died on Grey’s Anatomy.  Shameless returns for its second season. House of Lies premieres on Showtime. Which midseason series are the PC gang looking forward to most?

The Devil Inside scares its ways to the top of the Box Office.

Selena Gomez is putting her music on hold to focus on movies. Jason Derulo cancels UK tour after fracturing his neck. 

All this and much more on today’s Pop Confidential podcast.

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Dancing With the Stars winner and former All My Children star JR Martinez has earned widespread recognition, but now he’s helping shine a light on every day heroes.  Parade magazine caught up with Martinez and talked with him about being a presenter at the American Giving Awards (AGAs) on December 10.  The award show, recognizing local heroes, airs on NBC at 8 PM EST.

On the American Giving Awards.
"Anybody that knows me, knows that I'm all about helping and giving back, so for me to be asked to participate in this event is an honor. I love helping out good people who are doing good things."

Visit Parade to read its entire interview with JR Martinez.

Oprah’s OWN network has been struggling to find an audience since it premiered.  According to Adweek, the cable network’s executives believe they may have found a way to help grow channel’s ratings. They want to focus more on the black audience that helped make Sweetie Pies the channel’s highest-rated show.

“Anytime you have a program that pops like Sweetie Pies did, you start looking at what drove it,” Logan told Adweek. “And we saw that the African-American audience really had a connection with that show. . . . We’re going to look at ways to nurture and grow that.”

Reportedly, Sweetie Pies pulls in around 418,000 viewers. However, on average, OWN earns 216,000 viewers in primetime. Don’t expect to see OWN become to niche specific, though. Harpo's Erik Logan tells Adweek. READ MORE

The Real Housewives of New York alum Bethenny Frankel's branding machine just hit a snag in its quest for TV domination. The New York Post is reporting, the Bethenny Ever After star's daytime talk show's development has gotten the axe. According to the newspaper's site, Telepictures, Frankel's distributor was unable to secure a syndication deal. The site claims Frankel has gotten offers from cable channels, after Telepictures gave her the boot, while The Hollywood Reporter claims nothing has been given.

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Regis Philbin may have hung up his hat at Live With Regis and Kelly, but don’t count him out just yet. According to the New York Post, Philbin is exploring a primetime talent show.

“We’re contemplating a show that is sort of a talent show, but it involves the whole family,” Philbin told Page Six, adding, “a family competition, which is something new in our business. It’s going to be on prime time when it happens.”

Photo by PR Photos