FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, January 4, 2005

SICK BAY: Jennifer Garner scrapping a series of TV appearances to promote the new season of Alias and her upcoming feature, Elektra after coming down with a viral infection, according to TV Guide. Her rep also denied rumors the actress is pregnant.

BOMBS AWAY: NBC officials saying they haven't received any calls complaining about its live New Year's Eve broadcast of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno when Mötley Crüe rocker Vince Neil dropped the F-word shortly after midnight Friday. However, that's not stopping the Federal Communications Commission from launching a probe into Neil's profanity slip.

HAMMER TIME FOR NEIL: Meanwhile, Vince Neil will marry his longtime girlfriend Lia Gerardini Sunday in Las Vegas. Neil's ex-Surreal Life costar MC Hammer will conduct the ceremony.

WHO'S POPULAR: Tom Hanks topping this year's Harris Poll, an annual survey asking American adults who their favorite movie stars are. Mel Gibson came in at number two followed by Julia Roberts and Johnny Depp at three and four respectively.

HOLLYWOOD TO THE RESCUE: NBC plans to hold an hour-long telethon on Jan. 15 to benefit victims for the tsunami tragedy. The show, featuring an as yet unnamed lineup of celebs and musicians, will air simultaneously on NBC, USA, Bravo, Trio, Sci Fi Channel, MSNBC and CNBC.

ALSO LENDING A HAND: Sandra Bullock has written a $1 million check to the Red Cross for tsunami relief, while Leonardo DiCaprio has made a "sizable" pledge to UNICEF. And American Idol reject William Hung is donating sales of albums and posters to vicitms.

MEANWHILE, ACROSS THE POND: Several pop stars are gathering in Britain to record a charity single called "Grief Never Grows Old." Participants include Boy George, Olivia Newton-John, Cliff Richard and Robin and Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees. Meanwhile, U2 and Coldplay among the A-list acts invited to headline a Live Aid-style concert Jan. 22 in Wales.

REMEMBER AFRICA: Irish rocker and Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof urging governments Tuesday in the wake of the tsunami disaster to take action in Africa as well and release nations there from increasingly crushing debts. "The tsunami...is an act of God, an act of nature," he told BBC radio. "Africa's an act of man. Millions die each year completely unnecessarily and that can be adjusted."

IT'S A MATCH! Reps for supermodel Heidi Klum confirming that she and pop singer Seal got engaged December 23rd while on a ski vacation in Whistler, Canada.

FLYING HIGH: Martin Scorsese's The Aviator snagging seven prizes from the Las Vegas Film Critics Society, including Best Picture. Jamie Foxx snagged Best Actor for Ray, while Kate Winslet won for Finding Neverland and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

KNOCKOUT: Meanwhile, the Dallas-Fort Worth film critics voting Million Dollar Baby Best Picture, and named its star Hilary Swank, Best Actress.

LAW OFF THE MARKET? Actor Jude Law is reportedly engaged to his girlfriend, actress Sienna Miller, after proposing to her on Christmas Day, English tabloid The Sun reports.

SHADY SHOOTING: The owner of the Detroit area studio where rapper Eminem recorded the The Slim Shady LP was found shot to death Tuesday inside the studio. Police have yet to determine a motive in the slaying.

ROCKING FOR BUSH: The band 3 Doors Down playing a Washington D.C. club show sponsored by the Recording Industry Association of America in honor of President George W. Bush's second inauguration on Jan. 20. Tickets are going for $1,000.

KUDOS! Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Art Blakey, the original members of the Carter Family, Jerry Lee Lewis and Jelly Roll Morton among the recording artists set to be honored with The Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award during this year's Grammy Awards.

FUMBLE: Fox's controversial new reality game show, Who's Your Daddy?, attracting 6.3 million viewers Monday, placing fourth in its time slot, according to Nielsen Media Research. On the other hand, the Sugar Bowl drew 14.8 million viewers.

COME TOGETHER: Late Beatles guitarist George Harrison, actor Nigel Hawthorne and author Douglas Adams among the 195 individuals added to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Britain's annual list of the great and the good.

WHO'S BAD? Celebrity Justice reporting that the mother of a cancer-stricken boy accusing Michael Jackson of child molestation duped a reporter for SoCal's Mid-Valley News into running a story requesting donations to pay for her son's medical bills, which were already covered under an insurance policy.

JACKSON ADD: With less than a month to go before the popster's trial, the judge in his case continuing to keep a tight lid on all the evidence, releasing rulings and motions to the public with blacked-out pages.

BRILLIANT BUT CANCELED? NBC Universal's celebrated Trio cable network losing 12 million subscribers over the weekend, or more than half its 20 million subscriber base, courtesy of Rupert Murdoch, whose DirecTV satcaster dropped the channel.

DESPERATE TO BE HOUSEWIFE: Desperate Housewives star Nicollette Sheridan is engaged to her Swedish-born boyfriend Nicklas Soderblom, the actress' publicist confirms. No word on a wedding date. Sheridan was preivously married to Harry Hamlin.

WORLD DOMINATION: Not only did Warner Bros. Pictures cross the $1 billion mark at the domestic box office, but it also became the first studio to break the $2 billion mark internationally in a single year.