FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, August 20, 2002

HOUSE KEEPING: Martha Stewart, under investigation for possible insider trading, cooperating with a House panel by turning over related documents Tuesday. Stewart has denied any wrongdoing in the case.

IDOL HANDS: American Idol producers announcing they have the final say in the talent contest, but will only go against phone-in votes if there's some sort of technical glitch. Fox also adamantly denying some Internet fans' claims that the show is fixed. The finale will air September 4.

ENSHRINED: The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences electing tube legends Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, Jean Stapleton, late director John Frankenheimer, producer-director Bud Yorkin and noted designer Bob Mackie to its TV Hall of Fame. The inductions will take place November 6 in Beverly Hills.

DIGGING OUT OF A HOLE: Attorneys for Courtney Love asking a judge Tuesday for yet another extension in the rocker's contract dispute battle with Universal Music Group. Love and her label have been trying to hammer out a settlement. The trial has now been pushed back to September 3.

GOING TO THE DOGS: Us Weekly reporting that Julia Roberts has moved out of her apartment in Los Angeles because of its no-pet policy. Seems hubby Danny Moder just got a black Lab. The couple plan to move into a house "with a yard" in nearby Venice.

BIGGER, TRASHIER--AND IN SONG! Jerry Springer: The Opera, replete with expletives and a chorus line of dancing Klansmen, crack addicts, strippers and adulterers, selling out its daily performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and earning positive reviews. There are also rumors the production may move to London's West End.

NO R-E-S-P-E-C-T? Thousands of fans signing an Internet petition denouncing the Soul Train Awards' decision to give its Lady of Soul Entertainer of the Year Award to 21-year-old R&B newcomer Ashanti. The fans say Ashanti hasn't been around long enough to deserve an award named after the legendary Aretha Franklin.

WHAT LIES BENEATH: Director Robert Zemeckis requesting a three-year restraining order against a 35-year-old screenwriter who believes he's Jesus Christ and is harassing the Oscar-winning director. A hearing is set for August 27 in Santa Barbara Superior Court.

HEE HAW! The Grand Ole Opry honoring the late Minnie Pearl on August 31--its 4,000th consecutive Saturday night broadcast. Vince Gill will host the tribute which will include performances by Clint Black and Steve Wariner.

LENDING A HAND. Barbra Streisand coming out of retirement next month for a one-night $500-a-ticket Democratic fundraiser, Time magazine reports. The gig is being organized by House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt.

RAGING BULL: Lawyers for Robert De Niro preparing a $1 million invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against a photo agency for selling a picture of the actor and Sean Penn at a private birthday party last summer. De Niro contends a shutterbug for Celebrity Vibe snuck in and snapped the picture illegally.

LAST LAUGH: Ana Gasteyer exiting Saturday Night Live after six seasons, her publicist announced Monday. Gasteyer made history as the show's first pregnant performer.

ULTIMATUM: Russia's space agency giving Lance Bass until Friday to come up with $20 million to pay for his planned fall trip to the international space station. The 'N Syncer is vying to become the youngest person--and first pop star--into space.

CODA: More than 2,000 people, many of them fans, attending the funeral of Drowning Pool lead singer Dave Williams on Sunday. Williams, 30, was found dead on his tour bus last Wednesday. No word what caused his death.

FILLING IN: In related news, rocker Tommy Lee taking over for Drowning Pool on the Ozzfest mainstage for the tour's final nine shows beginning August 22 in Denver.

UNDER FIRE: Scott O'Grady, the downed U.S. pilot who was hailed a hero after escaping from Bosnia, suing 20th Century Fox and the Discovery Channel on Monday saying they failed to secure the proper rights. O'Grady said the Fox movie Behind Enemy Lines was based on his 1995 escape from the war-torn country.

ALOHA! Blue Crush writer-director John Stockwell creating and executive-producing a new Hawaii-themed series for Fox called The Break. Meanwhile, Tomb Raider helmer Simon West also readying another Hawaii-based series, 808, for CBS.

LOTS OF COUCH POTATOES: Netizens tuning in to the Big Brother 3 live streams on CBS' Web site in record numbers, according to the network. Subscriptions are up 60 percent from the 50,000 who subscribed to Big Brother 2 last year.

INCOGNITO: ABC giving the green-light to a third edition of its whodunit reality show The Mole. The network also has a celebrity edition in the works.

READ THIS: Humorist and Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor's best-selling novel Lake Wobegon Days selected as the first book for what's being billed as the world's largest book club, the BBC World Service's club. The club will unite millions of readers around the world in monthly discussions.