FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, May 24, 2005

JACKSON WATCH: Tonight Show host Jay Leno testifying as a defense witness in Michael Jackson's child-molestation trial, telling jurors that he was suspicious when the popster's young accuser sounded "a little scripted" and acted "overly effusive" in repeated phone calls, but said the boy never asked him for money.

MORE JACKSON: Chris Tucker also took the stand briefly on Tuesday. He's expected to resume testimony Wednesday on what could be the final day of the defense's case.

SPECTOR UPDATE: A Los Angeles judge ruling on Monday that prosecutors may introduce past evidence showing Phil Spector had a history of threatening women with guns when the famed record producer stands trial for allegedly murdering actress Lana Clarkson.

THE DARK SIDE: A man wearing a Darth Vader mask robbing a movie theater in Springfield, Illinois, over the weekend. Police have no suspects.

BADA BING! The Sopranos mastermind David Chase telling the New Yorker that while he thinks HBO's hit mob drama has run its course creatively, he's still left the door open for a possible seventh season.

DIDDY THE DADDY: Sean "P. Diddy" Combs vowing to appeal a New York appeals court ruling that approved a hike from $5,000 to $21,782 per month the amount of child support he must payto an ex-gal-pal, reportedly the highest child support payment in state history.

GET A ROOM, GUYS: An exuberant Tom Cruise declaring his love for new gal-pal Katie Holmes on Monday's The Oprah Winfrey Show. He repeatedly jumped up on the couch, told how dating the actress was "beyond cool" and did not discount the idea that the two might marry.

WHAT A BOSS! Meanwhile, Winfrey giving her entire Harpo Productions staff all-expenses-paid vacations to Hawaii.

KENJEN RETURNS: Comedy Central announcing a deal with Jeopardy! genius Ken Jennings to develop a new game show.

HE'S BACK, BITCH: Various residents of Yellow Springs, Ohio reporting sightings of comedian Dave Chappelle, per MTV News. Chappelle, who lives in Yellow Springs and Manhattan, recently went to South Africa on a "spiritual retreat," forcing Comedy Central to halt production on the third season of his hit televsion show.

GOLDEN EYE: CBS at the top of the ratings heap this week thanks to the series finale of Everybody Loves Raymond, which drew 32.9 million viewers and the Quentin Tarantino-directed two-hour season finale of CSI, which attracted 30.7 million viewers.

HOT COP: Annabella Sciorra signing on to play Detective Carolyn Barek, the female partner of Chris Noth's Detective Mike Logan on NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent this fall, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

MATERIAL SUIT: Madonna sued by a Belgian songwriter who claims he wrote the song, "Frozen," which was a hit for her in 1998, Celebrity Justice reports.

TOO HOT? A Website streaming Paris Hilton's sexy TV spot for burger chain Carl's Jr. crashing for four hours due to overwhelming traffic. Meanwhile, the Parents Television Council watchdog group is organizing a protest of the ad, which it deems "soft-core porn."

QUOTH THE RAVEN, "YO!" According to Daily Variety, Sylvester Stallone will direct his own screenplay about the life of literary giant Edgar Allan Poe. Robert Downey Jr. is being considered for the lead and shooting is expected to begin in Europe in the fall.

ON THE BEACH: Rob Lowe and Julia Ormond set to costar in Lifetime's Beach Girls, a six-hour miniseries about a grieving widower who retires to a New England coastal community.

MAYBERRY'S BARD: Howard Morris, best known for his role as the poetry-happy hillbilly Ernest T. Bass on the Andy Griffith Show, died of natural causes Saturday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 85.

DIDN'T GET THE JOKE: Alabama Republican congressman Spencer Bachus accusing Bill Maher of treason and demanding HBO yank Real Time with Bill Maher from the air after the comedian noted in his May 13 episode that the Army missed its recruiting goal by 42 percent in April. Maher released a statement Monday defending his support for America's armed forces.

OFF THE AIR: The BBC's news and live programming mostly off the air on Monday as more than two-thirds of its television, radio news and live production staff have gone on strike.

NEW BEAT: Beat Generation, a previously unknown play written by Jack Kerouac the same year his classic On the Road was released, will be published by Best Life magazine. The manuscript was discovered in a warehouse in New Jersey.

PUPPET DEMOCRACY: First Lady Laura Bush paying a visit on Monday to the set of Alam Simsim, Egypt's version of Sesame Street, with Suzanne Mubarak, wife of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.