FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, August 8, 2002

BRITNEY TIME: Britney Spears' publicist confirming the pop princess is taking a six-month break, but denies tabloid reports claiming she's so exhausted and broken-hearted that she was "running home to mom." "The girl works harder than anyone in the business and she is taking a break," publicist Lisa Kasteler tells Reuters.

AILING IDOL: American Idol contestant Christina Christian taken to a Los Angeles hospital hours before Wednesday night's show to be treated for extreme exhaustion. The Florida college student, who's expected to fully recover, wound up being voted off.

MOTLEY SINGER: Police in Los Angeles issuing an arrest warrant Wednesday for Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil on a misdemeanor battery charge after he attacked a music producer outside a club last April.

MORE MOTLEY NEWS: Former Crüe drummer Tommy Lee engaged to dancer Mayte Garcia, the ex-wife of Prince. Lee proposed Wednesday in between concerts in Kentucky and Louisiana. The couple have been dating for a year.

SOAP STUD? Jack Osbourne, the 16-year-old son of rocker Ozzy Osbourne and one of the stars of MTV's The Osbournes, filming a cameo on Friday for Dawson's Creek.

JEREMY THE JANITOR? While waiting for a flight at Ireland's Shannon Airport, Oscar winner Jeremy Irons grabbed a janitor's mop and cleaned up a beer-soaked mess in a traveler's lounge--to the surprise of fellow passengers.

REHABBING: Oscar winner Tatum O'Neal reportedly spent a month in a Los Angeles rehab center following her public battle with ex-husband John McEnroe over his autobiography, You Cannot Be Serious. The former child star lashed out at what she claimed was an unfair depiction in the book.

PAIRING UP: NBC and DreamWorks signing a two-year partnership deal that will see the mini-studio develop prime-time series for the network. The network will also provide financial backing for the series in return for majority ownership.

THAT THING HE DOES: Actor Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do) is checking in to NBC's ER for a multiepisode run. He'll play the brother of Maura Tierney's nurse Abby Lockhart.

MOUNTAIN MASH: A teenager suffered a fractured shoulder and head injuries during shooting of the new Nicole Kidman-Jude Law film Cold Mountain when he was trampled by a crowd trying to audition as extras, according to the Transilvania Express. The Civil War-themed movie, being filmed in Romania, has been plagued by trouble since production began. Aside from the injury, Law was involved in a fracas with a local official and floods have delayed shooting

SMELLS LIKE TROUBLE: A cosmetics company called Glow Industries suing Jennifer Lopez and the makers of her new perfume--Glow by J.Lo--for copy infringement. The complaint , filed Wednesday in federal court, claims the Lopez scent will confuse consumers and amount to unfair competition.

LIZA LAWSUIT: A couple who are trying to buy Liza Minnelli's Beverly Hills home have filed a breach-of-contract suit against the performer, claiming they have put down an $82,500 deposit on the $2.75 million home, but have been unable to move in because Minnelli's stepmother hasn't yet moved out.

DEATH BECOMES THEM: A Los Angeles screenwriter has filed a $30 million federal suit against AOL Time Warner claiming execs stole her script for a funeral-themed show called The Funk Parlor and transformed it into HBO's Six Feet Under.

SIR WHAT?! Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards calling Mick Jagger's knighthood "a paltry honor" in Blender's September issue. Richards jokes that his longtime sparring partner should have held out for a lordship instead of being thrown in "the same bin" as Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John. "You can call him what you like; we have other names for him," Richards says.

PAY UP, COMRADE: Russian space agency officials saying they might scrap plans to include 'N Sync popster Lance Bass in their October space flight if he doesn't come up with the reported $20 million by the payment deadlines, Reuters reports.

HIS LESS AMBITIOUS BANDMATE: 'N Sync member Chris Kirkpatrick joining pop starlet Willa Ford to host the Miss Teen USA pageant, live from South Padre Island, Texas, August 28 on CBS.

THE (SALES) RISING: Bruce Springsteen's new album The Rising debuting at number one on the album charts, selling 526,000 copies in its first week. It marks the best debut of Springsteen's career.

MY HOMETOWN: Bruce Springsteen kicking off his U.S. tour Wednesday night on his home turf at the sold-out Continental Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

LIFTED: Cincinnati police temporarily lifting a ban on festival seating for a Springsteen concert November 12 at U.S. Bank Arena. The ban on festival seating was established after 11 people were trampled to death in 1979 during a Who concert.

START YOUR ENGINES: Kid Rock taking to the big screen on two wheels opposite Lawrence Fishburne in DreamWorks' Biker Boyz, a contemporary western set in the world of black motorcycle clubs.

MOVIN' ON UP: Now that the Oscars have been moved up to late February starting in 2004, the Screen Actors Guild switching its own televised awards ceremony for 2004. The 10th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will air on TNT Sunday, February 8.

SHE'S BACK! Demi Moore ready to make a big-screen comeback--she's in talks to join Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu in Columbia Pictures' Charlie's Angels 2. Moore would star as a fallen Angel who has turned to the dark side.

COURTHOUSE: R. Kelly making a brief appearance in a Chicago courtroom Wednesday during a status hearing in his child pornography case. The judge received a package containing an episode of the Judge Mathis Show Kelly's brother, Carey, who purportedly looks like the singer. Kelly, who claims he's not the person in a scandalous sex tape, is due back in court September 20.