FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, April 24, 2000

HERE THEY COME: Limp Bizkit announcing a month-long tour kicking off July 4 in Chicago to support the upcoming album Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water. All shows will be free. Napster is bankrolling the whole shebang.

LET FREEDOM RING: The University of Southern California, named in a copyright infringement suit by Metallica, says it will not join other schools in blocking students' access to the popular Napster site, which lets people swap MP3 files.

AND IN OTHER TOUR NEWS... Rappers Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg joining forces for a summer tour. Eminem also participating on the tour, which opens June 14 in San Diego.

STORK TIME: Butt-kicking actor Jet Li (Romeo Must Die) and his wife, Nina, have announced the birth of their first child, according to his publicist. Jane Li was born last Wednesday in L.A., tipping the scales at 6 pounds, 13 ounces.

MILLIONAIRE MILESTONE: Last night's episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire had a black contestant in the hot seat for the first time. Steven Maurice Clark of South Carolina won $32,000.

NO SUIT FOR YOU! A federal judge rejecting a lawsuit O.J. Simpson filed against GTE over telephone records. Simpson hoped to use the records to prove Nicole Brown Simpson was talking to her parents when he was en route to the airport, showing he could not have killed her.

ALSO ON THE DOCKET: Latin popster Enrique Iglesias suing his label, Fonovisa, claiming it is withholding some of the profits due him from sales of his recordings.

ANOTHER COURT REPORT: A Tribe Called Quest rapper-gone-solo Q-Tip pleading not guilty to two counts of assault in the third degree and one count of attempted assault in the third degree in New York City. Q-Tip (Kamall Fareed) is accused of punching and breaking the jaw of Kenrick Miranda in Times Square on March 15.

STILL MORE LEGAL BRIEFS: The rap group Wu-Tang Clan sued Thursday for breach of contract and fraud arising from the group's alleged failure to pay legal fees for a 1998 lawsuit by a female dancer who said she was assaulted, verbally abused and defamed during a video shoot.

BACK AGAIN: The Hawaii Supreme Court ordering a trial to sort out issues regarding a dispute involving George Harrison's property on Maui.

HEAR THIS! Three deaf men filing a national class-action lawsuit against AMC and Loews Cineplex theater chains accusing the exhibitors of failing to make first-run movies available to moviegoers who are hearing impaired. The lawsuit seeks compliance with the "public accommodations" mandate of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: Tammy Wynette will be the first posthumous recipient of the Pioneer Award from the Academy of Country Music during the CBS broadcast May 3. Trisha Yearwood, The Judds and Patty Loveless participating in the tribute.

JUST A SEC: Leonardo DiCaprio's controversial 20-minute Earth Day chat with President Clinton was edited down to three questions that took up only about two minutes of air time on ABC's Saturday special.

BOAT LAUNCH: The World War II submarine adventure U-571 torpedoed all competition as the number one movie of the weekend. It captured an estimated $19.6 million, according to final studio figures.

SORRY, DEARY! British Airways offering compensation to Posh Spice Victoria Beckham after her luggage was stolen at Heathrow Airport, the airline said on Sunday. Britain's Sunday Mirror said Posh is demanding fist class tickets for herself and family for life.

LET'S GO WILD: Matt Dillon, Frankie Muniz and Deborah Harry joining the ensemble cast of Deuces Wild, a drama set in 1958 Brooklyn, which starts shooting today in Los Angeles.

PLAY IT AGAIN: The Fox network is revving up for a second season of Titus, the surprise hit show comedy about a dysfunctional family.

FAMILY AFFAIR: Charlton Heston and his wife, Lydia Clarke Heston, performing Love Letters during a June 24 trip to Idaho.

POLITICAL DRAMA: The wife of New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will join the cast of the play The Vagina Monologues. Donna Hanover, an actress and television correspondent, begins a two-week run in the controversial play in Manhattan May 30.

NEXT STOP, EMMY: One of Playboy titan Hugh Hefner's three girlfriends joining the cast of Baywatch Hawaii as a female lead. She plays Leigh Dyer, a lifeguard.

NEW GIG: Debbie Matenopoulos, formerly of ABC's The View, hosting three new segments for the TV Guide Channel starting in June, the Hollywood Reporter reports.

CODA: One of Elvis Presley's backup singers, Neal Matthews Jr., a member of The Jordanaires, died Friday of an apparent heart attack at his home outside Nashville. He was 70.

DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB: Master P signing on with the Atlantic City Seagulls of the United States Basketball League. The hip-hopster says basketball is where his focus will be, though he still wants to rap and run his entertainment empire. It's his fourth go-round as a wannabe hoopster.