Sideshow: Wither Katie?

We love rumors, and this is a doozy. The New York Post and TMZ say that with lovely Samantha Guthrie with kid and soon to go on maternity leave, NBC honchitos are thinking about inviting Katie Couric, who left Today in 2006, back to fill the gap. She and Guthrie and cohost Matt Lauer are all buds, and . . . we'll see.

It was a tearful Los Angeles courtroom on Monday, as Ariel Winter, who plays Alex (the smart sister) on ABC's Modern Family, learned the outcome of her guardianship tussle. Since 2012, Ariel, 16, has been living with her sister, Shanelle Gray, amid charges of physical and emotional abuse against Ariel's mother, Chrisoula Workman. Chrisoula agreed to the current arrangement - but requested that Ariel watch a video montage of family photos before court adjourned. She did, with much emotion. Glenn Workman, her father, will control Ariel's finances, and the court will monitor the situation until Ariel turns 18.

. . . by political unrest in Ukraine. Great headline - and it's true! No, really. Five-foot Hayden Panettiere (Nashville) got engaged to 6-foot-6 boxing champ Wladimir Klitschko in October. He lives in Germany, but his older bro Vitali Klitschko, also a boxing god, is in the political party in Ukraine that drove then-leader Viktor Yanukovych out of power, and you know what's happened since. Hayden tells Parade mag, "Everything that's happening in Ukraine definitely put a hold on things. But we have time."

In March, serial rampager Mel Gibson completed his three-year probation period after pleading no contest in March 2011 to a misdemeanor battery charge for hitting then-gf Oksana Grigorieva. Mel's done with his court- ordered requirements: counseling, community service, probation, and peaceful contact with Grigorieva. She dropped her claims in return for a $750,000 settlement and a house. A hearing is set for this month, when it's likely Mel's case will be dismissed and the record expunged.

Monday was singer Adele's 26th birthday. She's been busy raising son Angelo, who's 1.5, and cashing royalty checks from her blockbuster album 21. But on Sunday, she appeared to hint on Twitter at a new CD: "Bye bye 25 . . . See you again later in the year x," with a pic of herself giving the thumbs-up. She reportedly has been writing tunes with Phil Collins. So maybe she'll be releasing 26 this year. . . .