Diabetes costs Waylon Jennings his foot

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Doctors have amputated country singer Waylon Jennings' left foot because of an infection related to diabetes, his spokeswoman said.

The surgery was done Dec. 19 in Phoenix, Nikki Mitchell said Friday. She declined to discuss details.

Jennings, 64, postponed two Arizona concerts in early November after undergoing surgery to improve circulation in one of his legs.

Jennings has had dozens of hits, including "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys" with Willie Nelson.

He is expected to return to live performing in the spring.

Lakers' star Bryant buys $4 million home

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. -- Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant has bought a home in the exclusive Newport Coast neighborhood for more than $4 million.

Bryant, 23, co-captain and guard on the two-time defending champion Lakers, bought the Mediterranean-style house in a cul-de-sac from sports agent Dwight Manley.

Privacy was a top priority for Bryant and his wife, Vanessa. They looked at about 15 homes in the area, said Chris Brigandi, a partner at Strada Properties in Newport Beach.

Bryant signed a six-year, $71 million contract in 1999 with the Lakers. He and center Shaquille O'Neal form the nucleus of a Lakers squad that is vying for its third straight championship.

Elvis fans prepare for singer, soldier birthday

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Elvis Presley fans will celebrate his Jan. 8 birthday by remembering the King of Rock 'n' Roll as both a singer and soldier.

Presley served a two-year hitch in the Army and was discharged in 1960 with the rank of sergeant. Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the focus on Presley's military service seem appropriate, said Todd Morgan, a spokesman for Graceland.

"Elvis was a patriot," Morgan said.

Several hundred admirers -- most of them fan club officers -- planned to be in Memphis this weekend for the 67th anniversary of Presley's birth. Presley died at age 42 in 1977.

Ex-playmate says stepson taking her oil inheritance

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Anna Nicole Smith's lawyer blames her stepson for cutting the ex-Playboy playmate out of his oil tycoon father's inheritance.

Attorney Philip Boesch on Friday challenged Pierce Marshall's testimony that his father made his own financial decisions and he just helped with details.

It was Marshall's third day of cross-examination in the battle over J. Howard Marshall II's millions. Final arguments are scheduled Tuesday.

Marshall is appealing a previous court decision to award Smith, a former stripper who met her then 89-year-old husband in a club, about $400 million of his father's estate.

-- From wire reports