Sideshow: Kanye West is arrested at LAX

Hip-hop megastar

Kanye West

, 31, and a companion - described as his road manager (by the Los Angeles Times) or his bodyguard (Associated Press) - were arrested yesterday at L.A. International Airport after they reportedly had a confrontation with a photographer.

Police say West, who was arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism, and his unnamed friend (felony vandalism and battery) faced off with a number of paparazzi at the American Airlines terminal and had an altercation with one (unnamed) photog, allegedly smashing his camera, which is valued at more than $10,000.

Meanwhile, TMZ.com reports that when one of its cameramen began shooting the incident as it was occurring, West grabbed his equipment and threw it to the ground.

As of yesterday afternoon, police were continuing to interview witnesses and were expected to book West later in the day.

No doubt eager to reap another gazillion dollars in profits from the Batman epic

The Dark Knight

, which has earned the studio a mere

$512 million

since its July release (making it the second-highest-grossing movie of all time in the U.S.), Warner Bros. will rerelease the picture in early January.

The Hollywood Reporter says money is not Warner's only craven motive: The studio hopes to inspire members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to nominate

Christopher Nolan

's flick for an Oscar, or a dozen. (Odds are the late

Heath Ledger

will garner a supporting-actor nod.)

According to the musicochartographers at Billboard, rock pioneer

Chubby Checker

's classic tune "The Twist," which helped inspire a global dance craze, is the single most popular No. 1 hit single of the last half century.

"I'm glad they've finally recognized it," Checker, 66, said of his song, which ruled the charts twice, in 1960 and 1962. C.C. said the tune was as important to history as the creation of the telephone.

Santana

's "Smooth," featuring

Rob Thomas

, is the No. 2 most popular, followed by

Bobby Darin

's "Mack the Knife,"

LeAnn Rimes

' "How Do I Live," and the perpetrator of that other dance craze, "The Macarena" by

Los Del Rio

.

Say it ain't so! E!Online reports that

Shannen Doherty

, who was praised by millions of fans for signing up to star in the

Beverly Hills 90210

spinoff,

90210

, says she may bail after the first four episodes. True, Shannen had officially signed to do only four shows, but producers had - vainly - hoped to keep her longer.

Insufferable, foul-mouthed celebrity chef

Gordon Ramsay

and soccer mom extraordinaire

Victoria Beckham

are reportedly opening an eatery in L.A. E!Online suggests this is the super-svelte Posh Spice's way to prove that she does, indeed, eat food.

In a charming scene out of the Beat Generation, a barefoot

Jimmy Buffett

strummed on his guitar Wednesday night at the Library of Congress as

Herman Wouk

, 93, read from his journals. The event was part of a celebration of Wouk, who has been awarded the library's first prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Writing of Fiction.

Literature is about to have its final reckoning, its bloody apocalypse: C-list celeb

Lauren Conrad

, charitably described by Gawker.com as "the pleasantly vacant star of scripted reality show

The Hills

," has signed a

three-book

deal with HarperCollins to pen a series of novels for young adults. The theme will seriously challenge Lauren's imaginative muscles: As Gawker puts it, it's "about a girl who moves to Los Angeles and 'unexpectedly' ends up starring in a reality show."

Desperate Housewives

'

Kyle MacLachlan

, 49, tells People mag his son

Callum Lyon

, who was born July 25, is the picture of Buddhist balance, inner peace and equanimity: "He's very calm - he's not an obsessive crier," Kyle says. "He has a thoughtful, Zen-like presence."

Kyle says he and his wife,

Project Runway

exec producer

Desiree Gruber

, see perfection in Callum's face: "You're looking at him going, 'Wow, this is something we created. This is life.' It's so perfect."

Maxine Hong Kingston

, 67, the Chinese American author famed for her fictionalized memoir,

The Woman Warrior

, has won an honorary National Book Award for "distinguished contribution to American letters."

The National Book Foundation has also awarded a second honorary medal to publisher

Barney Rosset

, 86, who helped overturn U.S. censorship laws by championing

Henry Miller

's

Tropic of Cancer

and other controversial works.

"This year's distinguished honorees broke new ground in American literary publishing," said foundation exec director

Harold Augenbraum

. Nominations for competitive categories will be announced Oct. 15, and awards will be presented at a Nov. 19 ceremony in New York.