FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, May 2, 2001

PRETTY PEOPLE: Catherine Zeta-Jones is the cover girl for People's annual countdown of its "50 Most Beautiful People in the World." Julia Roberts made the list for the sixth time, Halle Berry for the fifth time and George Clooney for the fourth.

SICK BAY: Love Story star Ryan O'Neal is being treated for leukemia in Los Angeles, his agent says. The leukemia is described as "treatable" and not life threatening. O'Neal, 60, is reportedly "doing great."

CONTROL: Janet Jackson's latest disc, All for You, dominated the charts in its first week. The album sold 605,000 to open at number one on the album charts, while the title track remains atop the singles chart.

STARRED: 3rd Rock from the Sun star John Lithgow honored today with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

KING OF THE NURSERY James Cameron, 46, and wife Suzy Amis are parents of new baby. The director's publicist says Amis gave birth four weeks ago to the couple's first child but there's no word if it's a boy or girl. Cameron and Amis got married last year and each have a child from previous marriages.

UPDATE: Supermodel Niki Taylor is in critical condition with life-threatening liver damage and internal bleeding. Doctors say they won't know for weeks whether the 26-year-old will recover. Taylor was a passenger in a one-car accident, which was allegedly caused when the driver looked down to answer his cell phone.

NO MORE HOLDING HANDS: Hootie and the Blowfish's longtime manager Rusty Harmon resigned last week for undisclosed reasons. Harmon is credited with guiding the group from South Carolina bar band to international hitmakers.

ON THE DOCKET: West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin pleaded not guilty to drug charges stemming from an airport arrest last month. He is facing felony charges of crack and illicit mushroom possession and a misdemeanor count of pot possession. He's due back in court June 4.

LOONEY LOG IN: Warner Bros. has launced www.looneytunes.com, a Website dedicated to Bugs, Daffy, Porky, Elmer and the gang. The site currently features "Toon Marooned"--a Survivor parody starring the famous cartoon characters.

STILL TALKING: Hollywood screenwriters and studios continuing contract talks despite the expiration of the Writers Guild contract at midnight. Negotiations resumed today at noon to try and avert a potentially damaging strike.

THAT'S SOME MAGIC! Harry Potter marking a major publishing milestone, having sold more than 100 million copies worldwide and been translated into over 42 languages since its debut in 1995.

SETTLING: John Travolta agreeing to an out-of-court settlement with two production companies who sued him for breach his contract when he walked off the set of the Roman Polanski movie The Double in 1996.

GETTING WEAKER: NBC's new game show, The Weakest Link, stumbling in the ratings for its third week, losing more than 20 percent of its audience.

KUDOS: Whoopi Goldberg named the fourth recipient of the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which will be presented October 15.

OK, AMERICA: Radiohead announcing a 19-date summer tour in support of its fifth album, Amnesiac, which will be out in stores next month. The North American jaunt kicks off June 18 in Texas and wraps up on August 20 in Los Angeles.

GONE PHISHIN': Phish releasing six live albums this summer featuring complete, unedited concerts of the jam rockers, including some sound check material.

PHISH ADD: Meanwhile, the Mockingbird Foundation, a not-for-profit group of Phish fans, planning to release a Phish tribute album in June. Sharin' the Groove: Celebrating the Music of Phish will feature the likes of Dave Matthews, Jimmy Buffet, Arlo Guthrie, the Tom Tom Club and Little Feat covering favorite Phish tunes.