Lauren Bacall

Lauren Bacall isn’t a woman likely to sit still. Last weekend, the actress flew from her home in New York to Washington, D.C., to attend Sen. Ted Kennedy’s 77th birthday gala. And this evening, Bacall appears in Houston for a screening of To Have and Have Not at Landmark River Oaks Theatre, followed by a Q&A with the audience. Chronicle reporter Maggie Galehouse spoke with the actress — born Betty Joan Perske — about smoking, aging, politics and leading men.

Lauren Bacall was spotted going to the Lenox Hill Hospital in New York to visit Natasha Richardson about an hour ago. According to columnist Liz Smith, Richardson was taken off life support today at 1:30PM ET. Bacall was one of the many celebrity guests at Richardson's wedding to Liam Neeson in 1994. At Richardson's bedside over the past day were her mother Vanessa Redgrave, aunt Lynn Redgrave, sister Joely Richardson and ex-husband Robert Fox. Among those paying their respects have been actress Meryl Streep, author Joan Didion and actress Lauren Bacall.

Following the screening of To Have and Have Not,Bacall answered questions from the audience then moved on to the Wyatt home for a private reception, where she regaled guests with Hollywood tales. The lucky ones included Christina Girard, Franelle Rogers, Joelle Rogers, Jay Jones, Terry Wayne Jones and Jacqueline Hamilton. Proceeds benefited Brilliant’s youth leadership programs.

Alison Sweeney

Alison Sweeney wasn't expecting to give birth on Jan. 12. But when she dropped into the hospital for a check-up in full hair and makeup after a long day on the set of NBC's The Biggest Loser, the host, then 9-months pregnant with a baby girl, recalls, "My doctor was a little concerned and said, 'I don't want to leave her in there one more day!'" After having labor induced, Sweeney, 31, gave birth to Megan Hope Sanov at 11:48 that same night.

Sweeney describes her surprise – and her husband Dave Sanov's mad dash to the delivery room just in time for the birth – in the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday. At home in Los Angeles, little Megan already has her dad, a California Highway Patrolman, "wrapped around her little finger," Sweeney says. Not to mention her big brother, Ben, 4: "He pets her on the head and calls her cutie-pie!"

Alison Sweeney has been chosen one of the 12 participants. Sweeney is the host of “The Biggest Loser,” so she’s a recognizable face for the program, which uses the Nintendo Wii Fit. The EA Active 30 Day Challenge kicks off with a retreat in my neck of the woods, Santa Barbara, on April 14. The challengers will spend a weekend there before heading home to continue their fitness program at home. They’ll report their progress via Twitter updates, video diaries and blog updates.

Internet Explorer 8

Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft plans to give the browser a good and proper launching today at noon EDT. You'll be able to download the browser from the IE8 page at that time. Right now clicking the download link will get you Internet Explorer 8 Release Candidate 1. The latest version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer is now available to download, and I've been taking a look at the newly released browser.

Browsers have arguably become more important than the underlying OS in the modern, connected world. So take note when Microsoft announces an update to the Web-dominating software favored by your IT department. When the clock strikes 12:00 noon in New York, Microsoft says it'll release its much anticipated Internet Explorer 8 software to the world.

Overall, IE8 is a welcome improvement over previous Microsoft browsers, and I believe it is on a par with rivals such as FireFox and Safari in terms of features, performance and ease of use. This may not be enough to tempt back users who have defected to FireFox over the last few years, but it is definitely worth the upgrade for those still using older versions of IE.