FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, March 7, 2003

COKE PUSHERS: Missy Elliott and American Idol's Simon Cowell joining Chazz Palminteri as the new pitch-people for Vanilla Coke. The ad campaign debuts March 11 during Idol.

WASN'T ME: Tom Sizemore pleading not guilty in a Los Angeles courtroom today to charges that he threatened and assaulted a woman, who claimed to be his girlfriend. A pre-trial hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday.

PAYBACK: Rosa Parks turning down invite to attend the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday because the event's host Cedric the Entertainer goofed on civil rights leaders, including Parks, in the movie Barbershop.

MUSIC WITH HEART: Tim McGraw announcing he plans to donate a portion of ticket sales and merchandise proceeds from his upcoming tour "Tim McGraw and The Dance Hall Doctors' One Band Show" to the Red Cross.

SILENCED: CNN canceling long-running afternoon show Talkback Live after nine years. The slot is expected to be filled by an extended Live From, which came on before Talkback.

TAKING A STAND: Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour canceling a seven-week North American tour to protest the US' potential war with Iraq.

MORE PROTESTS: Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, re-recording two anti-war singles "Peace Train" and "Angel of War" (a spinoff of his tune "Lady D'Arbanville").

BACK OFF: A Chicago man who plead guilty to stalking Master P has been sentenced to a year in Los Angeles county jail. Antwan Kevin Baker was also ordered to stay away from the rapper and his posse for the next 10 years.

GOING HOME: Former Tonight Show host Jack Paar leaving the Connecticut hospital where he spent six days after suffering a stroke.

GOOD NEWS, EH? A grand jury has indicted a couple who accused Celine Dion's husband of rape. The couple had demanded $13.5 million from Rene Angelil to drop the criminal complaint.

TO THE MATTRESSES: James Gandolfini on Thursday suing HBO on a technicality in California Superior Court to get out of his contract for the fifth season. Sources say the suit is just a part of the actor's negotiation process for more money. Gandolfini currently earns about $400,000 per episode and is looking to nearly double that amount.

PRETTY BOY BLUES: Attorneys for a Lance Bass look-alike telling jurors in San Antonio that Richard Brown killed a man in self-defense after he was threatened for looking like the boy bander. If convicted, Brown faces 5-99 years for the January 2002 shooting death of Eric Acosta.

GOOD HAIR DAY: Keri Russell apparently in the running to play Lois Lane in Warner Bros. Superman remake. The Man of Steel himself has yet to be cast.

OSCAR'S ANGEL: Cameron Diaz the latest A-list star tapped to be a presenter at this month's Academy Awards.

MULTI-TALENTED: Paula Abdul hoping to prove she's not a one-trick pony with development deals at the WB for a variety/game show and at MTV for a cheerleading talent competition.

SEE YA: Lazy-minded Jabaru says "Enough of the guilt trips" and extinguishes JoAnna's torch on last night's episode of Survivor: Amazon.

BAD BEHAVIOR: Antoine Fuqua (Tears of the Sun) slapped with a lawsuit by his former mistress, who claims the director threatened to harm her if she confronted his wife, actress Lela Rochon, about their affair. Fuqua has denied the allegations.

LORD OF THE LITIGATION: Lord of the Dance's Michael Flatley filing a defamation suit in Los Angeles Superior Court today against a woman and her lawyer who accused the dancer of sexual assault last fall. Police never pressed charges.

ALL PAID UP: Sean Connery, who's supporting Scottish independence in the country's May elections, providing tax records to Glasgow's The Herald lest anyone accuse him of living in tax exile at his residence in the Bahamas.

PINT-SIZED PRODIGIES: Kids will get the chance to compete on a junior version of American Idol as Fox and the producers announce a spinoff aimed at six to 12-year-olds.

NIGHTCLUB FIRE UPDATE: The death toll in the Rhode Island nightclub fire now stands at 99 after a 39-year-old man died Thursday of injuries sustained in the blaze. Meanwhile, an attorney for Great White says the band's manager always made sure he got permission from clubs for the use of pyrotechnics.