FIRST LOOK: The News In Brief, January 23, 2005

GOODNIGHT, JOHNNY: Johnny Carson, the supremely deft, witty talk show host of the Tonight Show from 1962-92, died this morning of complications from emphysema. He was 79.

YOU'RE HIRED! Donald Trump marrying model Melania Knauss Saturday at a blow-out, star-studded wedding in Palm Beach. Trump told People that he has no prenuptial jitters. "If I didn't have a great woman, I would be much more nervous," Trump said.

IN THERE: Blizzard conditions in the Midwest and Northeast kept large portion of the nation's moviegoers home, but those who ventured out made Ice Cube's comedy Are We There Yet? the new number one movie, with an estimated weekend gross of $18.5 million.

BIG-SCREEN SEX? Kim Cattrall saying she would consider making a Sex and the City movie if the script and the money were good enough. Hollywood trades have reported that Cattrall demanded the same salary as Sarah Jessica Parker to make a film version of the hit series--a project that has now been put on ice.

SKY HIGH: The Producers Guild of America selecting The Aviator as the year's top film Saturday. The award is usually an accurate Oscar predictor.

NOT WORTH PAYING FOR? Paris Hilton is being investigated by California cops for allegedly stealing a copy of her own porn DVD from a newsstand in West Hollywood. Los Angeles prosecutors say charges will be presented next week and then a decision will be made on whether petty theft charges will be filed.

JACKSON UPDATE: The judge in the Michael Jackson trial will allow expert testimony on behaviors of child molestation victims. Jackson's attorneys argued against the motion, claiming it could strengthen unreliable testimony.

A BAD COS? A female acquaintance of Bill Cosby making an allegation against the comedian that has prompted a police investigation in Pennsylvania. No charges have been filed against the entertainer. His attorney called the allegation "utterly preposterous" and said it amounted to, at most, "inappropriate touching."

QUEER SPONGE FOR THE CHRISTIAN EYE: Christian Conservative groups claiming that SpongeBob SquarePants, Barney and other children's favorites have been enlisted in a "pro-homosexual video" that seeks to "indoctrinate children to accept homosexuality." The music video in question is a remake of the hit 1979 song "We Are Family" and is designed to encourage tolerance and diversity, according to its creators, the We Are Family foundation.

PIRATE PLAGUE: Beck's latest album, Guero, will be released as planned on March 29, despite an unmixed version of the album turning up on the Internet last weekend.

BENEFIT BUCKS: NBC estimating the total raised by the Jan. 15 celebrity-studded telethon to benefit tsunami relief to be $18.3 million.

COUNTDOWN TO COACHELLA: The sixth Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival set for Sat., Apr. 30 and Sun., May 1 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, California.

MELROSE OFFSPRING: Melrose Place alums Laura Leighton and Doug Savant, aka Sydney and Matt, expecting their second child in June. The couple already have a four-year-old son together. Savant also has two daughters from a previous marriage.

OUT OF ORBIT: CBS pulling Center of the Universe, starring John Goodman, from its schedule. King of Queens reruns will fill the vacated slot until Yes, Dear takes over the Wednesday 9:30 p.m. time slot beginning Feb. 16.

CRACKING THE CODE: France allowing Ron Howard to shoot scenes from the upcoming movie The Da Vinci Code inside Paris' Louvre museum, the Culture Ministry said Friday. Shooting is due to start in May.

NIPPLE SLIP: Tara Reid telling Access Hollywood that her wardrobe malfunction at P. Diddy's 35th birthday party last year was entirely accidental. "I swear to you, I had no idea that had happened," Reid said on the show Thursday. "I had a fur coat on, so when I took the coat off, the coat was heavy, and the strap came out with the coat."

BOLLYWOOD MOURNS: Indian actress Parveen Babi, who starred in of dozens of Bollywood films, was found dead in her suburban Bombay apartment Saturday, Reuters reports. Her career peaked in the late '70s and early '80s, during which she appeared on the cover of Time magazine as the face of the modern Indian woman.