GRIEF STRICKEN: ABC's Diane Sawyer expected back at Good Morning America Wednesday, after excusing herself for two days due to the presumed death of John F. Kennedy Jr., a friend.
JERRY! JERRY! Talk-show referee (and former politico) Jerry Springer being wooed by Democrats in Ohio to run for the U.S. Senate, the Cleveland Plain Dealer says.
YOU WIN SOME... In Los Angeles, a judge clears the way for a breach of contract lawsuit by an ex-personal assistant against Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman to proceed to trial.
YOU LOSE SOME... The judge dismissed the part of the case where the woman, who claims she was axed without cause, alleged fraud.
STORK WATCH: ER's good Nurse Hathaway possibly to give birth to twins in a Very Special Thanksgiving episode, TV Guide says. TV dad Dr. Ross (aka George Clooney) likely to be MIA.
DRE DAY: Rapper Dr. Dre suing the embattled Death Row label for allegedly infringing on his rights to the handle "The Chronic" with an upcoming release.
FANTASTIC VOYAGE: Onetime screen siren Raquel Welch, 58, wed restaurateur Richard Palmer, Saturday in Beverly Hills. Comic Jon Lovitz inexplicably in attendance.
SEQUELITIS: At Sony, a screenplay in the works for a followup to 1997 sci-fi/comedy hit Men in Black; at Warner Bros., talks about two new Matrix flicks confirmed by the Hollywood Reporter.
TOO LATE: The movie ratings board president tells USA Today "we probably made a mistake on South Park," regretting it awarded the foul-mouthed toon an R, instead of an NC-17.
BLEEP YEAH! The South Park film, by the way, is so profane it outcusses even friggin' classic Pulp Fiction, a movie-minded Colorado bean-counting company says.
SURVEY ADD: Quentin Tarantino's opus contained 411 bad words, but ran more than two hours; South Park packed in 399 salty sailor terms in just 80 minutes.
WINSOME WATCH: Sandra Bullock to produce and possibly star in The List, a romantic comedy about a wedding to-do list, Daily Variety says. For more casting news, see Dotted Line.
CAMERA SHY: The Motion Picture Academy suing Sotheby's auction house for using a picture of an Oscar in a sale catalog.
UNITED WE STAND! The sweaty, violent antics of ABC's Monday Night Football the only prime-time show to rank in the Top 10 among white, black and Latino households, a new study says.
TUNED OUT: Internet-wired households watch 13 percent less TV than non-online caves, yet another new survey says.
NIELSEN UPDATE: NBC won the weekly ratings race. The Major League Baseball All-Star game was the top-rated show.
SHOW OFF: Grammy-winning rocker Melissa Etheride planning to attend her 20th high-school reunion in Kansas.
HAMMERTIME OVER: TLC's 1994 CrazySexyCool topping MC Hammer's Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em as the biggest-selling hip-hop album of all time, with 11 million copies sold.
STUNT CASTING: Verne Troyer, who made it big as Mini-Me in the Austin Powers sequel, to do a guest shot on UPN's upcoming rap sitcom, Shasta McNasty.
HOT WATER: In Mexico, native pop star Gloria Trevi due for police questioning about a 16-year-old girl the singer stands accused of corrupting.