FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, May 30, 2001

ELLEN WHO? Anne Heche is officially engaged to her cameraman boyfriend, Coley Laffoon, the actress' manager confirmed Wednesday. Heche met Laffoon last year while working on a project with her then-girlfriend, Ellen DeGeneres.

DOWNEY UPDATE: His lawyer says Robert Downey Jr. has worked out a tentative deal to avoid jail time for the actor's Palm Springs drug bust last Thanksgiving. Downey will reportedly spend up to a year in rehab.

KEEP AWAY: A judge has issued a restraining order against Nicole Kidman's alleged stalker. The order bars Matthew Hooker from contacting the actress or her family.

NURSERY NEWS, TAKE 1: Country lovebirds Faith Hill and Tim McGraw announced today that they are expecting their third child. The baby is due in January.

NURSERY NEWS, TAKE 2: Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst says he's going to be the father to a boy due early September and he plans on naming the kid Dallas. Meanwhile, Britain's Sun tabloid reports the mom is former Playboy Playmate Jennifer Rovero and the baby will be named Dallas because that's where he was conceived. Durst has a daughter from a marriage that ended in divorce.

MAKING NICE: Poison singer Bret Michaels and Pamela Anderson have settled their lawsuit against Internet Entertainment Group over a sex tape of Michaels and Anderson. IEG has agreed to a confidential settlement including a seven-figure payment and has agreed to terms prohibiting release of the video.

SICK BAY: Five-time Tony-winning actress Julie Harris, 75, is in stable condition at an Evanston, Illinois, hospital. Harris was hospitalized after being found semiconscious in her Chicago apartment over the weekend.

EXIT: Sinead O'Connor has pulled out of this summer's gay-themed Wotapalava tour, citing "unforeseeable family commitments." The 18-date tour, masterminded by Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys kicks off July 13 in Miami.

GIVING THE RAPPER SOME CREDIBILITY: Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, Wonder Boys) has just signed to direct Eminem in a movie based on the rapper's life, the New York Daily News reports.

PAPAL POP POWER: 'N Sync, Faith Hill and Britney Spears are among the artists reading prayers by Pope John Paul II on a spoken-word CD coming due out for Christmas. The CD serves as a companion piece to The Private Prayer Books of Pope John Paul II, a seven-volume collection of his personal writings.

BIRTHDAY BOY: Bob Hope celebrated his 98th birthday Tuesday with a small, private gathering with family and friends in Los Angeles.

ROCK ON: Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Rachelle Ferrell and others will headline a new music festival kicking off this summer in New York City. The Verizon Music Festival will offer a series of concerts from August. 7-11, some of which will be free. The performances will range from Latin music to jazz improvisation.

FOR A CAUSE: Emma Thompson says she'll to take a year off from acting to travel around Africa with her family to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS. The two-time Oscar winner will be going to Africa on behalf of the charity Action Aid, Britain's Daily Mail reports.

DROPPING THE BOMB: Martin Sheen, a veteran anti-nuke activist, has narrated a video that encourages demonstrations against nuclear warhead production at the Y-12 Plant in Tennessee. "Coming to the gates of Y-12 makes a stand for peace," Sheen says in Stop The Bombs, a video produced by the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance.

SCHIZOPHRENIA? "There is probably some chemical reaction that causes me to act in this manner...If I were to stop to think about what I do, I probably would reassess the situation and go fishing." Jackass host Johnny Knoxville tells Playboy. On MTV's top-rated show, Knoxville subjects himself to Tasers, bullets and groin kicks.

SHARE THE WEALTH: BMG on Tuesday said it would share damages--estimated by industry sources to be $20 million--from its lawsuit against MP3.com with all of its artists whose copyrights were infringed by the online music company.

WHO FRAMED WHO? Gary K. Wolf, the author of a novel made into the 1988 comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit, has sued the Walt Disney Co., claiming the studio has not allowed him to look at the film's bookkeeping records.