FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, February 6, 2002

NOW SIT RIGHT BACK... CBS introducing the 16 new castaways set to compete on Survivor: Marquesas, the fourth installment that premieres February 28. The contestants include a 35-year-old fishing boat captain, a 28-year-old nature guide and, yes, a 23-year-old bartender.

OOPS...I CAMPED THERE AGAIN: An unidentified man caught camping out in the carport of Britney Spears' Hollywood Hills home. A police spokesman says the man has been caught trespassing at the Spears house at least once before and will be evaluated at a local hospital.

COURT TIME: Winona Ryder showing up in a Beverly Hills courtroom Tuesday afternoon and pleading innocent to all charges stemming from her alleged shoplifting incident. Prosecutors have filed four felony counts against the actress, who faces more than three years in jail if convicted.

PROBED: The U.S. Department of Labor launching an investigation of last year's Screen Actors Guild national election. Last week, five members of SAG filed a formal complaint with the department asking it to suspend a rerun of the election and conduct its own investigation.

EXPLOSIVE: The Berlin Film Festival opening Wednesday with Heaven, a European film starring Cate Blanchett as a woman who plants a bomb in a high-rise building. The film was made before the events of September 11.

INSIDE GROUND ZERO: CBS airing a two-hour special next month with exclusive video taken from inside the World Trade Center on September 11. The footage was taken by French filmmakers Gedeon and Jules Naudet and is believed to be the only video from inside the towers after the planes hit them.

SECRET NUPTIALS: R&B singer Brandy telling MTV Europe that she's been secretly married to songwriter/producer Robert Smith since last year. Smith's credits include work for Michael Jackson and the Spice Girls.

POSTPONED: The competency hearing for the man accused of breaking into a Malibu home and claiming he was the fiancé of Meg Ryan has been postponed until February 21. John Michael Hughes will remain in custody until then.

WRITTEN OFF: The Writers Guild of America ruling that two major Oscar contenders, Memento and In the Bedroom, are not eligible for its screenplay honors, because the films' writers were not members of the WGA at the time the films were made.

SEX MACHINE? Godfather of Soul James Brown testifying that he never touched or sexually harassed a former employee who's suing him for wrongful termination. "I didn't touch nobody, and I would never touch a married woman," he said.

I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW: Former teen popster Tiffany appearing in the April issue of Playboy. The singer, now a 30-year-old mother, says on her Website that she's doing it as "the first step in presenting myself to the world as I am."

BOY NAMED JOHNNY: A handful of albums being released to celebrate the 70th birthday of country legend Johnny Cash, including Kindred Spirits, a tribute disc featuring songs by Bob Dylan, Little Richard and Travis Tritt. Cash turns 70 on February 26.

GOOD GOLLY: Little Richard getting inducted into the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Hall of Fame on February 23.

THE WIZARD OF OZ Director Frank Oz (Bowfinger, the voice of Miss Piggy) heading to TV, directing a pilot for ABC called The Funkhausers. According to Daily Variety, the show revolves around a close, but eccentric family.

HOGWARTS AND ALL: Warner Bros. announcing a May 28 release date for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on VHS and DVD. The DVD version will include interactive games, an interview with director Chris Columbus and a "360-degree self-guided tour of Hogwarts," among other goodies.

SURVIVED: Original Survivor winner Richard Hatch found innocent of assaulting his ex-boyfriend, a ruling that overturns his earlier conviction.