Her doctor says she is doing better now. But Natalie Cole is battling Hepatitis C. A statement from her publicist says the diagnosis came after a routine examination, which turned up evidence of the virus. It's believed she got the disease as a result of her years of drug abuse. Her doctor says Cole "has had a terrific response to her medication" and no longer has evidence of the active virus in her system. However, Dr. Graham Woolf of Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles says while that gives her an increased chance of being cured, Cole also has "suffered significant side effects" from the medication she had to take to fight off the virus. Those include fatigue, muscle aches and dehydration. In the statement, Cole says she plans to "meet this challenge with a heartfelt optimism and determination."

As if it wasn't enough that Jesse Jackson was caught muttering that he wanted to castrate presidential candidate Barack Obama. Turns out the civil rights leader also used the n-word in the same discussion about the Democratic hopeful. Fox News says Jackson uttered the racial slur during an off-air conversation while taping "Fox & Friends." Jackson was complaining that he felt Obama was "talking down to black people" -- but used the slur to refer to his fellow African-Americans. Fox never aired those comments. But the other remarks about wanting to cut off a key part of Obama's anatomy were aired last week. In a statement after this latest controversy broke, Jackson apologized for his "hurtful words," and said there was "no justification" for using them. But he didn't specify what "words" he was talking about.

Kimberly Caldwell will be handling the host duties when a new reality show kicks off later this year. The show is called "Jingles" and is basically the search for the next big jingle writer. KISS frontman Gene Simmons will take part in the judging of contestants who try to write ads for various products. In case the name isn't ringing a bell, Caldwell was a contestant on the second season of "American Idol" and made it into the top 10 of singers competing for the title which was won that year by Ruben Studdard.