Names and faces

BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) -- Joan B. Kennedy, the former wife of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy who has described herself as a recovering alcoholic, has been charged with drunken driving on Cape Cod over the weekend.

Kennedy, 64, pleaded innocent Monday to charges of driving under the influence and to refusing to provide a license or registration when she was stopped Sunday night.

Her son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., released a statement noting his mother has long struggled with alcoholism.

"What my mother did was wrong and she will pay a price for it through the legal system," he said. "However, my mother has always been very supportive of me and I intend to stand by her side in this very difficult time."

Kennedy has spent time in a number of rehabilitation programs following arrests for drunken driving.

Hill fans can download song

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- A new song by Faith Hill will be available via a free download a week before it hits record stores.

"Never Gonna Be Your Lady" can be accessed starting Tuesday by fans at her official Web site -- http://www.FaithHill.com.

The song was recorded at the same time as Hill's hit album "Breathe." It will be released on CD on Sept. 19 as a bonus song on Hill's single "The Way You Love Me."

"Using the Internet to premiere this song is a great way to let fans enjoy the music early," Hill said. "As an artist, I ... appreciate the fact that the technology not only provides great sound quality but also makes it possible to give people something extra."

Spacey boosts strike fund

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Kevin Spacey, who played a high-level negotiator in a recent movie, is hoping a $100,000 strike-fund donation will inspire the advertising industry to do just that -- negotiate with his fellow actors.

The Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have been on strike since May 1 in a dispute with advertisers over residuals, the money paid to commercial actors each time their ad airs. Negotiations, which broke down in July, are scheduled to resume later this week in New York.

"Since I did a film about it, I have one word for the other side: negotiate," said Spacey, who starred in the 1998 movie "The Negotiator."

The 41-year-old actor, who made his donation Monday, said he hoped it would also spur others to support the strikers.

"As we return to the bargaining table, let us not forget that 80 percent of Screen Actors Guild members earn less than $5,000 a year," said Spacey, who won an Academy Award this year for "American Beauty" and a best supporting actor Oscar for 1995's "The Usual Suspects."

Senator stumbles

NEW YORK (AP) -- Sen. Charles Schumer's misstep during a recent Colorado vacation may keep him on crutches for awhile.

Schumer tore several ligaments in his ankle when he stumbled three feet off the platform of the cabin in Aspen where he and his family were staying in mid-August.

"I heard my ankle go pop," Schumer said Monday.

The New York Democrat is undergoing physical therapy and is wearing a soft cast during the day. He was in a wheelchair for a brief time.

"But I actually walked on it today and it's feeling much better," Schumer said.

The accident came at the end of a cross-country trip with his family that included hiking in the South Dakota Badlands and a trip to Mount Rushmore. Schumer and his family arrived in Aspen late at night and he fell while searching for the cabin's key in the dark.

It's Schumer's second tumble in recent weeks. At the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles, Schumer rode his bike into a car. He was left with bruises on his shin and a slight limp.

"It hasn't been a good month," he said.