Clooney, other celebrities to join Haiti telethon
By David Daniel, CNN
(CNN) -- In the wake of the earthquake in Haiti, George Clooney and other celebrities are signing on for a telethon to aid the devastated island nation.

The Oscar-winning actor will take part in a fundraising program to be telecast on all MTV networks on Friday, January 22, according to a posting at MTV.com. The article notes that other actors and musicians will be announced as taking part in upcoming days.

It's Hollywood's latest philanthropic gesture in reaction to the catastrophic situation in Haiti.

Parties at this weekend's Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills are being turned into fundraisers.

Musician Wyclef Jean, a Haitian native, has traveled to the country to help and is soliciting donations to his charity, Yele Haiti.

Doctors Without Borders says Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have donated $1 million to the group's emergency medical operation as it responds to the disaster.

Tuesday's 7.0 earthquake has devastated the poverty-stricken country's infrastructure. Haitian President Rene Preval said Wednesday that he had heard estimates of up to 50,000 dead, but that it was too early to know for sure.

Damage has closed the port and limited airport operations in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, and the quake buckled many roads, making it extremely difficult for aid groups to bring in emergency supplies and search for survivors in the rubble.