FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, August 29, 2004

CODA: Laura Branigan, the Grammy-nominated popster who shot to fame with her 1982 anthem "Gloria," died of a brain aneurysm Thursday at her home in East Quogue, New York. She was 47.

IT'S A TIE: Front runner Jay-Z taking home four Moonmen Sunday from MTV's Miami-based Video Music Awards, including Best Rap Video, Best Direction, Best Editing and Best Cinematography for his song "99 Problems." OutKast's "Hey Ya!" also scored four trophies, winning Video of the Year, Best Hip-Hop Video, Best Special Effects and Best Art Direction.

BUSTED: Rosario Dawson arrested Sunday while protesting the Republican National Convention in New York City, E! News Live reports. Michael Moore and Jesse Jackson were also among the 100,000 voicing opposition to the GOP.

BIG HERO: The Chinese martial-arts saga Hero captured the top slot at the weekend box office with an estimated $17.8 million, easily beheading Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, which sucked up $13.2 million in second place.

STALKER BOI: A Washington man has been arrested and charged with felony stalking after repeatedly harassing Avril Lavigne and her family over the past year. James Speedy is out on bail pending a Sept.17 court date.

HEAD LIKE A HOLE: Courtney Love telling the Los Angeles Times that's she's "doing well" and even "enjoyed the martyrdom" of her highly-publicized legal problems stemming from her alleged drug abuse.

NO REGRETS: Monica Lewinsky telling an audience at Scotland's Edinburgh International Television Festival that she had no problems accepting tons of money to talk about her affair with President Clinton because the media were making millions off of her story. "As the commodity in the interview, you'd be crazy not to get compensated," she said.

BIG SWIM: Matt Damon's 70-year-old uncle becoming the oldest person to swim the English Channel on Sunday.

RECOVERING: Patrick Stewart recovering at home after undergoing a pre-emptive angioplasty procedure earlier this week to widen an artery. The X-Men star is scheduled to return to work next week on the upcoming movie The Game of Their Lives.

SKIPPING OUT: Olympic champions Paul Hamm and Carly Patterson foregoing the Games' closing ceremony in Athens to attend Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards, according to the New York Daily News.

GOING HIS WAY? Palm Springs renaming Airport Road near Palm Springs International Airport Kirk Douglas Way, in honor of the film legend. The renaming ceremony will take place on Oct. 17.

KNOCKOUT: A California judge rejecting a request by producers of NBC's upcoming boxing reality series, The Contender, to issue a preliminary injunction against Fox's The Next Great Champ, ruling that such an order would violate that network's first amendment rights.

NATURE NO-NO: Bruce Willis fined $21,000 for violating federal wetlands protection laws by clearing a half-acre island in a pond at his central Idaho home. It's the second time he's run afoul of environmental regulations at his estate.

BACK FOR MORE: NBC revealing the 18 new candidates competing on the second season of The Apprentice. The teams have once again been split into men versus women and their first challenge, airing Sept. 9, will be to create a new toy for Mattel.

GOING OUT WITH A BANG: Craig Kilborn hosting his final broadcast of CBS' The Late Late Show on Friday with a slew of guests, including Vince Vaughn, Adam West, Marlee Matlin, Martin Mull and Will Ferrell.

SHE CAN WRITE, TOO? Paris Hilton penning a 198-page memoir Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose, due in stores Sept. 7.

PUPPET FICTION: Quentin Tarantino making a cameo appearance in a Muppet telepic on ABC based on the classic tale The Wizard of Oz. Ashanti and Queen Latifah also star. Production begins next month in Vancouver.

JAY AND SILENT BOB'S REVENGE: Director Kevin Smith has started work on a sequel to his 1994 indie hit Clerks. A new 10th anniversary DVD of Clerks debuts Sept. 7.

STYLIN'? Anna Nicole Smith launching an eponymous clothing line which she is designing with Von Dutch's design team in a style described as "Tex-Sex."

CRAZY TALENTED: Willie Nelson agreeing to record a duet of "Crazy"--the country classic he wrote for Patsy Cline in 1961--with newcomer Carly Goodwin after hearing a demo tape. The new version of the tune will appear on her debut album due out in October.