New season of 'Celebrity Apprentice' begins with Trump claiming his 1st victim

NEW YORK - Writer-comedian Carol Leifer is the first person to go as NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" starts a new season.

Leifer called her fellow female teammates "dumb" on Sunday's premiere. She was deemed the weak link in their initial project: to make more money from a startup diner than their rival team of seven men.

Rock-star wife Sharon Osbourne, singer Cyndi Lauper and actress Holly Robinson Peete are among the women. Next week they face another challenge against a men's team including baseball great Darryl Strawberry, comedian Sinbad and former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.

The celebrities play for their favourite charities. But they can meet swift ends in the boardroom with the words "you're fired" from "Apprentice" boss Donald Trump.