FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, December 20, 2004

BLAKE WATCH: Robert Blake's murder trial finally commencing Monday, about three and a half years after the shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakely. Prosecutors say Blake tried to hire stuntment to kill Bakley, while defense lawyers say there is no physical evidence linking Blake to the killing.

JACKSON WATCH: In pretrial hearings in Michael Jackson's child-molestation case Monday, the judge denied defense requests to throw out the charges and to delay the trial for three months. The trial is still slated to begin Jan. 31.

BAD VIBE: Young Buck, the rapper accused of stabbing an individual who punched Dr. Dre at the Vibe Awards last month, charged with assault with a deadly weapon on Monday. He's set to be arraigned next month.

STILL SINGLES: Sources close to Enrique Iglesias telling E! that the Latin crooner did not wed former tennis hottie Anna Kournikova several weeks ago in Mexico as published reports had indicated.

CAUGHT ON FILM: The American Film Institute naming its nine Moments of Significance--noteworthy events that were determined to have an impact in the entertainment world in 2004. Included were the series finales of Friends, Sex and the City and Frasier; Marlon Brando's death at age 80; and Janet Jackson's exposed nipple at the 2004 Super Bowl.

CHI-TOWN GOES SIDEWAYS: The Chicago Film Critics Association has named Sideways the best picture of 2004, Variety reports. The Chicago pundits join San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Toronto critics in hailing the movie as the year's best.

POTTER FODDER: J.K. Rowling announced Monday that she has completed her sixth Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The author's publisher, Scholastic Inc., will announce a release date for the book Tuesday.

WRITE IDEA: Lucy Liu, James Gandolfini and Julianne Moore designing free holiday email stationary for Yahoo! Mail. Users can send holiday greetings on the stationary free of charge; in return, Yahoo! Mail will donate $60,000 to the celebrities' charities of choice. To send a greeting, visit http://celebrity.mail.yahoo.com.

BAD SCENE: Josh Brolin arrested Sunday in Los Angeles on a charge of spousal battery after an argument with his wife, Diane Lane. Brolin paid $20,000 in bail and was released. Lane says she does not want to press charges.

NOT PUMPED: A lawyer who paid $7.95 million for the Pacific Palisades home of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver suing the couple, claiming they hid damage to the pool and tennis court and failed to disclose a mold problem in the screening room, according to documents posted on the Smoking Gun Website.

QUITE A SIGHT: The seven contenders vying for the 2004 Visual Effects Academy Award nomination are The Aviator, Spider-Man 2, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Day After Tomorrow, I, Robot and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Three of the films will go on to be nominated for the Oscar, which will be awarded Feb. 27 at the 77th Annual Academy Awards.

YES, THEY KNOW: Band Aid 20's reworked version of the original "Do They Know It's Christmas?" clinching the Christmas Number One spot on the U.K. pop charts, the Official U.K. Chart Company said Sunday.

SNIPES GRIPES: Wesley Snipes sued the City of New York Monday to invalidate a paternity-related arrest warrant issued by an NYC family court. He says New York has no jurisdiction to seek his DNA in a paternity suit filed in Indiana by a woman he claims is a former crack user.

HIGH TIMES: Showtime set to produce a musical remake of the stage version of Reefer Madness that hit Hollywood in 1999 and went off-Broadway in 2001, per the Hollywood Reporter. The musical satirized the original 1936 over-the-top film that was made to educate parents about the dangers of marijuana.

GOOD DEEDS: A poster signed by Jennifer Lopez and a guitar signed by Wyclef Jean are among the items up for sale in an MTV Internet auction. Seventy-five percent of the proceeds with go to Americans Red Cross efforts in Haiti, Grenada and the Cayman Islands to benefit hurricane victims.

REMEMBERED: Italian soprano Renata Tebaldi, renowned for her voice and her media-fueled rivalry with Maria Callas, died Sunday at her home in Italy after a long illness. She was 82.

A FORTUNATE EVENT: Jim Carrey's Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events taking in $30.1 million to top the weekend box-office charts. Ocean's Twelve came in second with $18.1 million, while Adam Sandler's Spanglish debuted in third with $8.8 million.