FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, June 11, 2004

CODA: Ray Charles died Thursday morning of complications of liver disease. Blind since age six from glaucoma, the R&B legend went on to win 13 Grammys and was inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Jazz halls of fame. He was 73.

FINAL RESPECTS: Charles' funeral slated to take place at Los Angeles' First A.M.E. Church next week. He will be buried in the nearby suburb of Inglewood.

MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RANCH: Following a state funeral Friday morning in Washington, D.C., Ronald Reagan's remains flown back to California for a sunset burial at his Simi Valley ranch.

SURRENDERED: Courtney Love turned herself in Friday on a felony charge of assault with a deadly flashlight. The trouble-prone rocker allegedly whacked a female friend of her manager with said flashlight and a bottle. Love posted bail and was released.

MINI-MARRIAGE? Model Genevieve Gallen providing a copy of a marriage license to the media stating that she was legally married to Verne Troyer, the diminutive actor best known for playing Mini-Me in the Austin Powers movies. Troyer is seeking an annulment and claiming they never tied the knot.

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST: Rush Limbaugh announcing Friday that he and wife Marta are "amicably" divorcing after 10 years of marriage.

SHE'S JUST A WOMAN: Whitney Houston picking up a lifetime achievement award at the inaugural Women's World Awards in Hamburg, Germany, honoring women who've helped make the world a "more peaceful and humane society."

THEIR PREROGATIVE: Meanwhile, Houston's hubby Bobby Brown telling Sister 2 Sister magazine that he and Whitney are in marriage counseling after the two got into a domestic spat in their Atlanta home in December.

UNDER WRAPS: The judge in the Michael Jackson child-molestation case still refusing to unseal grand jury material as well as media requests for release of unspecified evidence for fear the extraordinary publicity could taint the jury pool.

JACKSON ADD: Meanwhile, the former King of Pop praising the late Ray Charles calling his music "timeless" and adding that the R&B legend's "caring and humility spoke volumes."

GROUNDED: A supervisor in Orange County, California, has scrapped his plan to rename the local John Wayne Airport after Fox's hit soap The O.C. following an outcry by fans of the Duke.

WHO'S THE CLOWN NOW? Robert Blake's former criminal attorney, Thomas Mesereau Jr., fined $18,950 for his "unprofessional conduct" during a January 2003 jailhouse deposition in which he called an opposing lawyer "a clown." Messereau is now defending Michael Jackson.

MONKEY MAN: Andy Serkis, the actor who played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, reuniting with director Peter Jackson to provide motion-capture reference for King Kong in the helmer's remake of the 1933 monster classic. The actor has been cast in a human role as Lumpy the cook, as well.

WELL DESERVED: Meryl Streep receiving the American Film Institute's 32nd Life Achievement Award Thursday night at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles. The two-hour tribute was taped for broadcast June 21 on USA Network.

EXTREME LAWSUIT: A woman filed a $10 million lawsuit Thursday against the producers of Extreme Makeover, claiming they stole her idea for the plastic-surgery show. Diane Locke claimed she pitched a concept similar to Makeover but was turned down.

SIN CITY WITHOUT THE SIN: Reality kingpin Mark Burnett telling Variety he was given "pages and pages" of notes from Fox censors demanding he tone down or cut scenes having to do with sex from The Casino, his new Las Vegas-based series premiering Monday.

MEA CULPA: Jimmy Kimmel apologizing for joking that Detroit Pistons fans would burn down the city if their basketball team won the NBA championship over the Los Angeles Lakers.

THE PUPPETS TAKE SIN CITY: Producers of the Tony-winning Avenue Q set to launch an open-ended Las Vegas-based production of the puppet musical in fall 2005. Show will only play in Vegas and on Broadway, and the national tour scheduled for next year has been scrapped.

MOVIN' ON UP: The 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards will take place next year on Jan. 16, a week earlier than this year's date of Jan. 25.

UNFORGETTABLE TUNES: The Songwriters Hall of Fame inducting the Motown team of Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield, '80s stars Daryl Hall and John Oates, soul man Al Green and folk singer Don McLean at the 35th annual ceremony in New York next Thursday.

BIG SALE: More than $1.8 million worth of items from the estate of Katharine Hepburn, including a diamond and sapphire brooch, selling at an auction at Sotheby's on Thursday.

BIRTHDAY GIRLS: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen turning 18 on Sunday. The twin stars also graduated from Campbell High School in Hollywood this week and plan to enter New York University in the fall.

HUNG OVER? American Idol reject William Hung setting his sights on massacring Queen's "We Are Champions" for his next single, due out Wednesday.

A GOOD THING FOR MARTHA: Martha Stewart's lawyers filing for a new trial Thursday following the federal grand jury indictment Wednesday of a Secret Service ink expert who prosecutors say lied on the witness stand.

PROTECTING ITS PEOPLE: Spanish-language media giant Univision Communications suing Nielsen Media Research claiming its new TV ratings system is flawed and drastically undercounts Hispanics.