Web posted on: Tuesday, August 31, 1999 6:02:39 PM EDT

• Taylor back home undergoing therapy
• Jack Ford defects to ABC
• 'Yellow Submarine' recommissioned
• California passes kid actors bill
• The WB SHINEs when it comes to sex

Taylor

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Elizabeth Taylor, who broke a bone in her back earlier this month, has been released from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and is undergoing physical therapy at home, according to Warren Cowan, her publicist.

The 67-year-old actress left the hospital on Sunday, 10 days after she fell in her Bel Air mansion and suffered a compression fracture of her 12th thoracic vertebra, Cowan says, adding, "Her recuperation is expected to take several weeks."

Taylor's several back problems over the years have been linked to her fall from a horse while making the 1945 film "National Velvet." Her other health woes have included an apparently benign brain tumor, two hip surgeries, high blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat and two bouts of viral pneumonia.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Jack Ford is jumping networks. He's leaving NBC to be a host and correspondent on ABC's "20/20." As such, he's considered by some to be a leading candidate to replace Charles Gibson on "Good Morning America."

Ford has been the chief legal correspondent at NBC and co-anchor of the "Today" weekend editions. He's expected to report legal stories and anchor one night a week for "20/20." Ford also is slated to sub regularly on "GMA," to which Gibson returned in January amid a ratings free fall. Gibson says he'll hold the spot through spring.

Both Ford and ABC News spokeswoman Eileen Murphy say no one has promised him that he'll end up in Gibson's seat.

The US Postal Service has unveiled a new "Yellow Submarine" stamp

LIVERPOOL, England (CNN) -- Thousands of fans are gathered in The Beatles' hometown of Liverpool to celebrate International Beatles Week. One highlight has been Monday's "Yellow Submarine" Day, which opened with a yellow ribbon-cutting ceremony at Town Hall.

The 1968 cartoon musical "Yellow Submarine" was re-issued with digital enhancements and some previously unused footage. In the film, the the Fab Four travel with Capt. Fred in the Yellow Submarine to Pepperland, where they free the country from the music-hating Blue Meanies.

Across the pond, the United States Postal Service has unveiled a new "Yellow Submarine" 33-cents stamp as part of its "Celebrate the Century" series.

HOLLYWOOD (CNN) -- So-called managers who prey on would-be child stars and demand advance fees from their parents may have a tougher time operating under the terms of a bill approved Monday in California.

The measure -- which awaits the governor's signature to become law -- reins in "advance-fee talent services" run by "unscrupulous scam artists," according to assembly member Sheila Kuehl, Democrat from Santa Monica, who authored the law and is herself a former child actor.

Under Assembly Bill 884, only talent agents can procure employment for their clients. The bill targets people who present themselves as managers, seek out attractive children or adolescents and promise them auditions and stardom -- as long as their parents pay hefty fees first.

Less than a week ago, amendments were passed to the Coogan Law, which protects the earnings of child actors from exploitation by spendthrift parents.

HOLLYWOOD (CNN) -- The WB tops the list of finalists for the 15th annual Sexual Health In Entertainment (SHINE) awards, which honor depictions of family planning and reproductive health on TV.

The network has received four nominations, tying with ABC, while also earning a nod for "Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane" in the category of scene stealer. WB entertainment president Susanne Daniels also is the recipient of SHINE's special achievement award.

Awards are given in eight categories for episodes or story lines dealing with sexuality and birth control. "Ally McBeal," "Jesse," "Providence," "Veronica's Closet," and "Zoe Duncan, Jack and Jane" also are expected to receive recognition as "scene stealers," for important sexual health-related scenes.

"Teens cite television as a primary resource for information about sex," says Kate Langrall Folb, president of the Media Project, a partnership of Advocates for Youth and the Kaiser Family Foundation, sponsors of the SHINE awards. "Therefore, we feel it is more important than ever to acknowledge positive information about healthy sexual behavior and attitudes."

The winners are to be announced at a ceremony October 26 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.