Water Cooler Talk

• 32% more households watched the vice presidential debate between Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin than the previous week's presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama.
• Instruments on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander have detected snow falling from the clouds over the Red Planet, although it vaporizes before reaching the ground.
• Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and former "Dancing With the Stars" champ Helio Castronoves is being accused of using offshore accounts to hide millions of dollars in income from the IRS. The 33-year-old driver was indicted Thursday on six counts of tax evasion.
• Jimmy Smits picked up the wrong knife and stabbed a stunt man for real during a fight scene for TV's "Dexter." Fortunately, stunt man Jeff Chase was saved by a piece of plastic placed over his heart, which Smits miraculously hit.
• Shia Labeouf was injured after an accident on the set of the new Transformers movie which reportedly left him needing stitches above the eye.
• Channel 73 on the Dish Network is now The Obama Channel, that features non-stop campaign ads for Barack Obama.
• All meats, fish, and fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables must be identified by their country of origin under a new law that took effect last week.
• Nick Reynolds, one of the founding members of the Kingston Trio, has died at age 75.
• Interesting... Jodie Foster was spotted in a restaurant recently wearing a hearing aid. She's 46, by the way.
• Elisabeth Hasselbeck says she's not leaving "The View" for a job with Fox News. That's just a rumor.
• It's being reported that John McCain is taking an herbal supplement to improve his memory.
• Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley are co-hosting the Country Music Awards, coming up November 12th.
• Howard Stern and his long-time girlfriend, Beth, were married over the weekend.
• Natalie Cole has been released from the hospital and is back at home again.
• Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney – who costar in the FX comedy "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" – were married last week in Malibu.
• James Earl Jones, the voice of Star Wars' Darth Vader and some of entertainment's most memorable characters, will receive the 2008 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.