FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, January 14, 2005

ROCKER MOM: Courtney Love regaining custody of her daughter, Frances Bean, after a judge ruled Monday that the rocker had made strides in turning her life around. "Life is about choices," Love said in a statement, "and I've chosen to move forward with my life in a healthy and positive way. Having my daughter back with me is exciting."

CHANGING LANES: Disney announcing that it is pushing back the release of Herbie: Fully Loaded, starring Lindsay Lohan, from June 3 to June 24, per Daily Variety. As a result, Sony will release Lords of Dogtown, starring Heath Ledger, on June 3.

DEER HUNTER? A spokesman for Fox's The Simple Life denying allegations that a deer was illegally killed in New Jersey so that Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie could gut it on camera.

FOR A GOOD CAUSE: One of Jennifer Garner's bustiers from the film Elektra up for sale on eBay. All proceeds were to be donated towards tsunami relief; bids had already topped $3,000.

TSUNAMI ADD: Sandra Bernhard, Cyndi Lauper and Nancy Sinatra set to headline a Jan. 27 benefit in New York with proceeds going to Oxfam International's Tsunami Relief and Global Emergency Fund.

AID ADD: Waxploitation Records setting up an eBay auction of items donated by musicians to raise money for victims of genocide in Sudan. The Dixie Chicks, Wilco, Korn and Limp Bizkit are among the groups participating.

ON THE MEND:Dick Clark still hospitalized six weeks after suffering a stroke, but progressing in his physical therapy and getting closer to going home, his publicist said. Clark will watch the Golden Globes, which he's produced for more than 20 years, from his hospital bed Sunday.

REMEMBERED: Sal Pacino, father of Al Pacino, died Wednesday of a heart attack, per the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. He was 82.

ONE IN A MILLION: Paul Haggis' screenplay for Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby winning the Scripter Award from the University of Southern California. Award honors best adapted screenplay.

BLAKE UPDATE: A crime scene investigator telling jurors Friday that there was no blood on the clothes Robert Blake was wearing on the night his wife was shot to death. The witness did note that the lack of blood did not eliminate Blake as the shooter.

DIAPER DUTY: Lou Rawls and his wife, Nina, welcoming son Aiden Allen in Ohio Monday. The child is the first for the couple; Rawls has three other children.

STRAIGHT UP: Sideways star Paul Giamatti tapped to host Saturday Night Live Jan. 22 with Ludacris as the musical guest. Giamatti has been nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award and a Golden Globe for his performance.

MUSICAL ARTIFACT: A Minneapolis man donating one of the earliest recordings of Bob Dylan to the Minnesota Historical Society. The tapes were made two years before Dylan did any formal recording.

REPRIMANDED: Fox, which has been drawing criticism for depicting Muslims as terrorists on 24, planning to provide its local affiliates with public-service announcements that portray Muslims in a favorable light.

SWITCHING GEARS: Kiefer Sutherland will play a Secret Service agent involved in a plot to assassinate the president in the upcoming film The Sentinel, per Daily Variety. Production is set to begin in May.

SPLITSVILLE: James Cromwell, who played a farmer in the Babe movies and currently stars on Six Feet Under, filing for divorce from his wife, Julie Cobb, after more than 18 years of marriage. Cromwell cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split.

BAD VIBES: Young Buck, the rapper charged with stabbing a parolee who punched Dr. Dre at the Vibe Awards in November, pleading innocent at an arraignment hearing Friday.

STIR IT UP: Thousands of musicians from around the world expected to flock to Ethiopia next month to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Bob Marley's birth. Performers including India.Arie, Angelique Kidjo and Shaggy will appear with members of the Marley family at events to celebrate the reggae icon's Feb. 6 birthday. Organizers of the celebration denied recent reports of plans to exhume Marley's body and rebury it in Ethiopia.

PUSHED BACK: MTV delaying the launch of Logo, its gay and lesbian-themed network, from February to June in order to secure more carriers and develop additional original programming.

STRIPPED: A dress worn by Gwen Stefani on the cover of No Doubt's 1995 album, Tragic Kingdom was stolen from the Orange County museum where it was on display. The dress is said to be worth as much as $5,000.

OUT OF TUNE: Norman Whitfield, who cowrote songs such as "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone," pleading guilty to failing to report more than $2 million in royalty income. Whitfield is due to be sentenced Apr. 18.