FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, June 19, 2002

NO KYDD-ING? X-Files star David Duchovny and actress wife Téa Leoni naming their new son Kydd, according to gossip columnist Liz Smith.

BABY BING: DNA tests have shown that Hollywood producer Steve Bing is the father of actress Elizabeth Hurley's baby son. The test results were revealed on Wednesday at a hearing in the court's Family Division in London.

CAPTAIN JACK IN REHAB: Billy Joel checking into the Silver Hill hospital in Connecticut last week for treatment of chemical substance abuse, according to local paper the Advocate of Stamford.

HOSPITALIZED: Bobby Brown admitted to a Fredericksburg, Virginia, hospital to be treated for an infection, his spokesperson confirms. The R&B star was traveling with his wife, Whitney Houston, in their tour bus when he began running a fever. He was given antibiotics through an IV and is expected to be fine.

OFF THE HOOK: Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson pleading no contest to sexual misconduct for allegedly gyrating his pelvis against a security guard at a Michigan concert. A judge ordered fined the performer $4,000.

SPLITTING: Longtime Wheel of Fortune letter-turner Vanna White filing for divorce from her husband of 10 years, George Santo Pietro. The couple, who have been separated since November 2001, have two children together.

BOLDY BIDDING: William Shatner will be on hand at the L.A. Airport Marriott June 27 for a live auction via eBay of his original Star Trek command chair. Bidding opens at $100,000.

A TRIAL SHALL RISE: Two Australian men going on trial Wednesday for allegedly attempting to blackmail Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe. Authorities say the men demanded Crowe pay them for a videotape they had of him involved in a bar fight or else they were going to release it to the press.

MOURNED: Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck, who started calling games for the St. Louis Cardinals back in 1954 and has been behind the microphone for countless World Series, Super Bowls and even pro-bowling for five decades, died Tuesday night after complications from lung cancer. He was 77.

BONO FOR PRESIDENT! U2 frontman Bono meeting with French President Jacques Chirac Thursday to talk about debt relief for Africa before the upcoming G-8 summit in Canada. The singer recently accompanied U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill on a 12-day trip to the continent.

RUN FOR THE BORDER? Prosecutors opposing actor Robert Blake's release on bail because they say he's a flight risk who was planning to escape to Mexico after his wife was killed last year. On Tuesday, a judge postponed ruling on whether to grant the actor bail until next week so he can review the case.

BLAKE ADD: Robert Blake's bodyguard telling a judge Tuesday that he wants an attorney hired by the TV star to continue representing him on a charge of conspiring to murder the actor's wife, despite being advised of a potential conflict of interest.

THE NEXT FRIENDS? NBC purchasing the remake rights to the hit BBC show Coupling, a comedic account of love and lust among thirtysomethings, as a potential replacement for Friends.

ON A ROLL: Thanks to strong debuts from shows like producer Dick Wolf's Crime and Punishment, NBC snagging the biggest prime-time audience for the seventh week in a row, averaging 9.5 million viewers, its longest winning streak since 1997. CBS came in second with 8.5 million viewers followed by Fox and ABC.

ALL-STAR JURY: Rachel Weisz signing on to play the female lead in The Runaway Jury, the feature adaptation of the John Grisham novel. She'll join a cast that already includes John Cusack, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman.

REMEMBERED: J. Carter Brown, who oversaw the development of a host of monuments and architectural attractions, including the Vietnam Memorial in the nation's capital, died Monday after a six-week battle with cancer. He was 67.

MUSIC TO HER EARS: Sisterella creator Larry Hart developing a musical based on the life of late singer-songwriter-actress Peggy Lee titled Is That All There Is? The show will begin touring next May.

MUSIC TO THEIR EARS: Recording artists scoring a strategic win Tuesday as the California Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill announcing its intention to review a controversial exemption to California's Labor Code that ties artists to record deals for more than seven years.