FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, March 29, 2006

SO LONG, LISA: Lisa Tucker, 16, voted off of American Idol Wednesday night. Nine hopefuls left to compete during next week's country music-themed episode.

FOREVER YOUR JUDGE: Paula Abdul signing a contract extension that will keep her judging American Idol contestants for at least three more years.

HOT COLLABORATION: Oscar winners Three 6 Mafia set to record and produce tracks for Paris Hilton's upcoming debut album.

IDOL ADD: A judge declaring Daniel Young, a 60-year-old California man accused of stalking ex-American Idol finalist Jessica Sierra, mentally incompetent to stand trial, which means he'll likely be placed in an institution.

JULIA DOES BROADWAY: Julia Roberts making her Broadway debut Tuesday night as she began previews in director Joe Mantello's production of Richard Greenberg's Three Days of Rain. Producers say the play has nearly sold out its entire three month run.

PURPLE REIGN: Prince's latest album, 3121, debuting atop the Billboard charts this week, selling 183,000 copies. It's his first number one record since 1991's Diamonds and Pearls and the fourth overall in his career.

SICK BAY: Veteran PBS newsman Charlie Rose set to undergo heart surgery in Paris Wednesday after experiencing shortness of breath while on assignment in Syria. He's expected to be away from The Charlie Rose Show for several weeks to recuperate.

HAD A BAD DAY: Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora breaking arm after falling in his Los Angeles home last week, People reports. He was treated, and his arm is in a sling, but he'll be better in time for the Japanese leg of the band's Have A Nice Day tour kicking off Apr. 8.

OOPS! Britney Spears' songwriters accusing a South Korean pop composer of ripping off her song "Do Something" and using it as the basis of the Lee Hyo-lee tune "Get Ya," according to Universal Music Publishing Korea, which is seeking damages for the alleged plagiarism.

SCULPTURE 4 U: Meanwhile, a New York artist is set to unveil a life-size sculpture of a naked Britney giving birth at Brooklyn's Capla Kesting Fine Art Gallery next month.

SPEAKING OF BABIES: Jessica Simpson's publicist says the 25-year-old singer is looking to adopt kids following her divorce from Nick Lachey, though nothing's been finalized.

YOU CAN CALL HIM PAUL: Paul Simon set to release his first album in six years, Surprise, on May 9. The album features the cut "Wartime Prayers," his first socially conscious tune in three decades.

GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD DEED: George Clooney's Oscar gift bag fetching $45,100 in an online auction that raised money for the United Way's Hurricane Response and Recovery fund.

GETTING HIS STAR: Comedian George Lopez receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Wednesday, the same day ABC broadcasts the 100th episode of his comedy, George Lopez.

PASSING: Eugene Landy, the psychologist who made headlines for his controversial treatment of Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson and who also worked with such celebs as rocker Alice Cooper and actor Richard Harris, has died of lung cancer. He was 71.

EXPANDING ENTOURAGE: Mark Wahlberg and longtime girlfriend Rhea Durham welcoming their second child, a baby boy. No word yet on his name.

WHAT'S NEW, PUSSYCAT? Welsh singer Tom Jones knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday for making female fans swoon for the past four decades.

EXTENDED SENTENCE: Fox reupping Prison Break for a second season, the network announced Tuesday. Next season will focus on the convicts' post-breakout activities.

PAPER AND FIRE: John Mellencamp looking to score a new album deal with Universal Records after spending eight years with Columbia, according to Indiana's Bloomington Herald-Times.

SPECTOR UPDATE: A former assistant filing a $5 million sexual harassment countersuit against Phil Spector after the embattled record producer, who's awaiting trial for murder, sued her in September alleging she bilked hundreds of thousands of dollars from his accounts.

HE'S BACK: Wayne Brady tapped to star in the CW pilot Flirt as the only man working at a women's magazine.

NEW DEVELOPMENT: Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz quitting the show, reducing the likelihood that it will be revived on Showtime, per Daily Variety.

A FAMILY AFFAIR: The American Film Institute set to honor the Arquette family--which includes actors Clifford, Lewis, Rosanna, Richmond, Patricia, Alexis and David--with its sixth Platinum Circle Award for their contributions to movies and television.

BUSTA FAN: Per the New York Post, a touchy Busta Rhymes went ballistic and chewed out a gay fan who tapped him on the shoulder to praise the rapper on his comeback early Sunday morning at a diner next door to Miami's gay club Twist.