FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, December 17, 2004

AND BABY MAKES FOUR: Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards expecting their second child in June, People magazine reports. The couple's daughter, Sam, was born in March. Sheen also has a 20-year-old daughter from a previous marriage.

HE'S HIRED! Donald Trump picking software exec Kelly Perdew as his latest underling in the season two finale of The Apprentice. Perdew beat out lawyer Jennifer Massey for the gig.

HE'S RETIRED: Trump's boardroom advisor, George Ross, reportedly cutting back his participation on The Apprentice by half. He'll be replaced in the boardroom by Michelle Scarborough, a corporate lawyer for the Trump Organization, per the New York Post.

ON THE MARKET: Lisa Marie Presley selling the bulk of the Elvis estate, including rights to her father's name and image, to SFX Entertainment founder Robert F. X. Sillerman, in a deal worth close to $100 million. Presley will hold on to Graceland and the 13 acres that surround it.

X-MAS PLAYDATE: The usually reclusive Michael Jackson invited 200 children to Neverland Ranch Friday for a Christmas play date. Jackson met the kids upon their arrival and, according to the Associated Press, looked as if he wanted to stay and play with the kids. Per AP, when one of the youngsters shouted, "We love you!" Jackson replied "I love you more."

BIG SALE: Oprah Winfrey selling her Indiana retreat, which includes a five-bedroom house, a guest house, a pool house, a caretaker's cabin, a log cabin, stables and an orchard for an undisclosed price to an unknown buyer, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The property was originally listed at $8.7 million, but the price later dropped to $6.9 million.

STEPPING DOWN: Deborah Norville, who hosts both the syndicated Inside Edition and MSNBC's Deborah Norville Tonight, is stepping down from her cable show, citing her need to spend more time with her family. She'll continue with MSNBC through mid-January.

PLUM LAWSUIT: A Los Angeles movie producer sued Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire Friday, accusing the actors of blocking the release of the 1996 indie-film Don's Plum. DiCaprio and Magurire claim they did the film as a favor for friends and never expected it to get a commercial release. The producer, however, alleges DiCaprio and Maguire have "wrongfully denied that the film was intended for commercial purposes."

SPEED FREAK: DMX arrested for allegedly driving more than 100 mph on a highway in upstate New York a week after he pled guilty to driving through an airport gate while on drugs. Because the rapper's license was suspended, he was charged with third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, as well as speeding and driving an unregistered vehicle. He was released on $350 bail and ordered to appear in court Jan. 19.

BLINDED BY THE LIGHT: A California woman is suing the producers of mega-bomb Gigli, claiming she fell after being "temporarily blinded" by sun reflectors, according to Entertainment Tonight. The filmmakers allegedly set up the reflectors so that paparazzi wouldn't be able to get shots of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez kissing between scenes. The plaintiff says she has been unable to work since the inicident and has sustained "pain and suffering" as a result of the fall.

FAST BREAK: Jim Carrey forced to flee London's Claridge's Hotel after a fire broke out Thursday. The funny man was in town to promote his new flick, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.

FIRE ESCAPE: Matt Damon and Brad Pitt were scheduled to give a press conference promoting Ocean's 12 at Claridge's, but were forced to cancel after the fire broke out. Mick Jagger was reportedly also at the hotel for reasons unknown. No one was injured in the fire.

IN HOT WATER: Meanwhile, one of Jackson's lawyers, Brian Oxman, stands accused of contempt of court for allegedly discussing the case with a reporter, per the New York Daily News. Oxman has been ordered to face the judge next week to defend himself. All parties involved in the case are bound by a strict gag order that prohibits them from discussing it.

ALL STAR SET: Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney and Diane Keaton signing on for the untitled Fox romantic comedy previously known as Hating Her, per the Hollywood Reporter. Claire Danes, Luke Wilson and Rachel McAdams are reportedly in talks to join the project.

START ME UP: Mick Jagger's production company, Jagged Films, developing a new series titled Being with A&E, per the Hollywood Reporter. Jagger will serve as executive producer of the project.

TRIAL FILE: A Feb. 23 trial date set for John Rutter, the shutterbug who snapped steamy topless pics of Cameron Diaz before she was famous. Rutter is charged with attempted grand theft, forgery and perjury in connection with the pictures.

KEEPING THE PIECES TOGETHER: Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland, who pleaded no contest to heroin possession in August 2003, due in court for a progress report. Weiland was ordered to undergo detox at a live-in facility.

SPICE OF LIFE: Victoria Beckham, formerly known as Posh Spice, starring in a public service announcement in China that urges the Chinese to be more compassionate toward children suffering from leukemia.

THE WORDS OF ROBERT BLAKE: The judge in Robert Blake's murder case reversing herself Wednesday and opting to allow prosecutors to present parts of a 2003 jailhouse interview the actor gave to Barbara Walters in which he referred to the family of his slain wife as "monsters" and gave the impression there was no trouble in his marriage.

TIN ROOF, RUSTED: The cabin that inspired the B-52's hit "Love Shack" burned down early Thursday morning near Athens, Georgia. The band recorded some of their early hits inside the shack, including 1979's "Rock Lobster."

YA THINK SO? The mother of Nathan Gale, the fan who shot to death heavy metal guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott last week at a concert in Ohio, telling a Columbus TV station her son was diagnosed a paranoid schizophrenic by the Marines before he was discharged last year.

OUTWIT, OUTLAST, OUT-LOVE? Survivor host Jeff Probst, 43, telling People magazine he's now dating Survivor: Vanuatu contestant Julie Berry, 24, now that production on that installment has ended.

HIGH TIMES: Showtime ordering 10 episodes of Weeds, a new comedy series starring Mary-Louise Parker as a responsible housewife, mother and pot dealer living in the suburbs, according to the Hollywood Reporter.