NEW YORK (AP) -- Talk-show hosts Jerry Springer and conservative Tucker Carlson of MSNBC will be among the celebrities competing on the third season of ABC television's "Dancing With the Stars."

The new season of the show -- which pairs 11 competitors of sometimes dubious celebrity and varying skill with professional dancer-partners -- premieres Sept. 12, the network announced Monday.

Also heading to the dance floor: Vivica A. Fox, Harry Hamlin, Joe Lawrence, Mario Lopez, Sara Evans, Willa Ford, Monique Coleman, former beauty queen Shanna Moakler and three-time Super Bowl champion Emmitt Smith. Hamlin's wife, Lisa Rinna, competed last season.

This season, the celebrity and professional dance pairs will perform choreographed Latin and traditional ballroom routines to popular live music.

Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba will return to judge the performances, ABC said.

Scores from the judges and the voting public will be combined, and the couple with the lowest score will be eliminated during a results show the following evening.

The winner receives the "Dancing With the Stars" mirror ball trophy.

Flight evacuated at LAX

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Police safely evacuated an Alaska Airlines flight on Monday after a report that a "suspicious item" was found on board, a Los Angeles International Airport spokeswoman said.

Reported U.S. bird flu no threat, feds say

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists have discovered the possible presence of bird flu in the United States -- in wild swans near the banks of Lake Erie -- but it does not appear to be the worrisome strain that the government has long feared.

Coast Guard increases security around bridge

CARO, Michigan (AP) -- The U.S. Coast Guard has increased patrols near the bridge connecting Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas after prosecutors said they believe three men jailed on terrorism charges were targeting the five-mile-long span.

Lamont: Attacks on war policy 'offensive'

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The thwarted terrorist airline plot in Britain is sparking a bitter new round of finger-pointing in Connecticut's bruising Senate race.

Bush in talks on overseas challenges

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush was huddling with top diplomats and military advisers Monday on the inaugural day of a Mideast truce, with a list of challenges spreading far beyond the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.