WWE's John Cena grants 300th Make-A-Wish

Professional wrestler and actor John Cena granted his 300th wish to a 7-year-old Pennsylvania boy with a spinal condition, continuing his streak as the most popular celebrity granter in Make-A-Wish Foundation history. ASSOCIATED PRESS Enlarge

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- WWE superstar John Cena granted his 300th wish to a 7-year-old Pennsylvania boy with a spinal condition, continuing his streak as the most popular celebrity granter in Make-A-Wish Foundation history.

Jonny Littman wanted to meet his hero, and the WWE accommodated that wish Monday night before an episode of Raw live from New York's Long Island. But Jonny got a bonus to his wish.

On Wednesday morning, Jonny was being interviewed on Good Morning America when Sam Champion asked him about his green T-shirt. After Jonny told him it was Cena, Champion asked if anyone knew the WWE Superstar.

The pro wrestler and actor walked out to Jonny's surprise and presented him with another gift. This time it was tickets for him and his family to attend the 1,000th episode of the WWE show.

To put Cena's 300 granted wishes in perspective, Michael Jordan has granted around 200 and Kobe Bryant is in the 100-wish range.

"I truly give hats off to Make-A-Wish for keeping statistics," Cena said Monday before the show. "They had a nice little celebration for me at 200, and I humbly said we should do it at 1,000.

"We're just getting started," he said enthusiastically.

But Cena was clearly touched by the latest one.

"I'm just flattered completely that I could be the wish," he said.

Jonny, from Hop Bottom, Pa., has severe congenital malformation and spina bifida and uses a wheelchair. He spoke to his hero for a few minutes and took some pictures with him.

He even put on his WWE Championship belt. His mother, Ruth, says his surgeons wore it during his last surgery.

After signing T-shirts and WWE merchandise and presenting him with a video game system, the superstar graciously walked out of the room. Cena prepared for his featured match, and Jonny and his family waited to go into the Nassau Coliseum for a live televised weekly show, Raw.

After he left the room, Jonny chanted: "Cena. John Cena. Cena."

Cena is following a WWE tradition of granting wishes. The organization grants about 140 wishes per year between requests to meet WWE Superstars or attend its live shows. The tradition started in the early 1980s with Hulk Hogan being the most requested.

-- ASSOCIATED PRESS

Baldwin to Letterman: 'I kind of pushed him'

NEW YORK -- Alec Baldwin denied punching a newspaper photographer during a confrontation outside a marriage license bureau.

"If I had punched him, I would be in jail right now, rightfully so," Baldwin said during an appearance on David Letterman's Late Show Wednesday. "I kind of pushed him out of the way because he almost hit me in the face with the camera."

Baldwin's confrontation with New York Daily News photographer Marcus Santos was splashed on the newspaper's front page. Police have confirmed that Santos filed a complaint against Baldwin, saying he was punched while taking pictures of Baldwin and his fiancee on Tuesday.

The New York Press Club condemned Baldwin, saying his actions "should not be tolerated." The club said he is a public figure and that his activities are legitimate subjects of media interest.

Baldwin, to Letterman, said the photographer is a master at getting close enough to a subject that he thinks he is going to be hit by the camera. "They want you to react," he said.

Baldwin said that if he were charged in the case, he would have pressed charges against Santos.

-- AP

Singer Wynonna Judd marries for third time

LOS ANGELES -- Country singer Wynonna Judd has tied the knot for the third time, marrying her drummer fiance Cactus Moser.

Judd, 48, told Us Weekly magazine on Wednesday that the wedding took place June 10 on her farm at Leiper's Fork in Tennessee.

"I felt a joy that hasn't been there before," Judd told Us Weekly of the wedding.

Judd and Moser, 55, a drummer in the singer's band The Big Noise, announced their engagement in December. It's the third marriage for the flame-haired singer.

Us Weekly said neither mother Naomi Judd nor half-sister actress Ashley Judd attended the wedding.

-- REUTERS

'Halloween' actor Richard Lynch dies

LOS ANGELES -- Halloween actor Richard Lynch, who became a staple in horror and science-fiction movies with his scarred facial features, has died at age 76, his spokesman said Wednesday.

Lynch's representative, Mike Baronas, told Reuters that Lynch's body was discovered by one of the actor's friends, who had stopped by Lynch's house in Palm Springs, Calif., after not hearing from him in days. She found the door open and Lynch lying on the kitchen floor, "cold and lifeless."