FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, May 3, 2006

SLIM BILLFOLD: Kim Mathers, Eminem's former ex and currently estranged wife, filing a response to the rapper's divorce petition, requesting physical custody of their 10-year-old daughter, Hailie, and asking that he pay her attorney fees and the mortgage, insurance and utilities payments on the house they shared. At least it should make for some good material for his next album.

SAY WHAT?! "Heather knows why and when her marriage ended with Richie, and she knows why my marriage ended with Charlie."
--Denise Richards, who has been photographed getting cozy with Heather Locklear's estranged husband, Richie Sambora, giving TMZ.com her response to being called a backstabber

SPACE AGE: Warner Bros. moving forward on a live-action, big-screen adaptation of The Jetsons, the trades report. We wish car companies would move forward on live-action adaptations of those nifty flying bubble mobiles.

IN THE NAME OF LOVE: Jon Stewart and Comedy Central teaming for Comedy Love Call, an Oct. 15 special that will raise money for autism education and research. The show will feature performances by Stephen Colbert, Adam Sandler and Jack Black, among others. Sounds TiVo-worthy to us.

BY THE NUMBERS: Seventy--the ranking of last week's Daytime Emmys telecast, which finished behind reruns of Wife Swap and The King of Queens. Six million--the number of people who watched the Daytime Emmys, compared to 7.5 million, which was the number of people who watched the Daytime Emmys last year. Almost 22 million--number of people who watched the Daytime Emmys in 1993.

PITY THE VIEWING PUBLIC: Mr. T getting his own advice show beginning in October on TV Land. The show, called I Pity the Fool, will feature the macho man traveling the country and dispensing help and inspiration. As long as he's not offering fashion tips.

AILING: Celine Dion suffering from a rare ear disease called labyrinthitis, which she has been telling her fans could last anywhere from a couple of weeks to a year, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Funny, we too have long been suffering from an ear disease, called thatTitanicsongmakesuswanttoripourearsoff. Unfortunately, there's no known cure for our ailment.

LEGITIMATE QUESTION: During an appearance on The Late Show, David Letterman reminding Tom Cruise that he is not married to Katie Holmes, the mother of his newborn daughter. "Did you have to bring it up?" Cruise replied, adding, "I can't wait to get married." Call it a hunch, but we're guessing that'll happen right around the time of his next promotional gig.

HEARTBREAKER: Teri Hatcher telling Oprah Winfrey that she hasn't seen Ryan Seacrest since they were photographed kissing in March because he broke things off shortly thereafter. "Maybe I ate too much lobster?" Hatcher wondered. We're just wondering if he used his trademark exit line--"Seacrest. Out!"

STORK WATCH: The Mummy's a daddy again. Brendan Fraser and wife Afton Smith welcoming their third child together Tuesday, Us Weekly reports.

CHART ATTACK: Godsmack's IV topping the charts, with more than 221,000 copies sold, per Nielsen SoundScan numbers, while Rhianna's "S.O.S." topping the Billboard Hot 100, Pop 100, Hot Digital Songs Chart, Hot Dance Club Play Chart and Billboard Monitor and R&R Pop charts. And to think, neither of them even played Coachella.

STAR IN THE MAKING: Tennessee native Chris Young triumphing on Nashville Star Tuesday night. Too bad virtually everyone in America was too busy watching American Idol to notice.

CASHING IN: "Like the 309," the last song written by Johnny Cash before his death in 2003, will be included on American V: A Hundred Highways, due for release on July 4. So, that makes a hit movie, a Broadway musical and a posthumous album. Whatever happened to letting the guy rest in peace?

IDLE TIME: Former 98 Degrees member Jeff Timmons busted Apr. 23 for alleged drunk driving and driving without a valid license, TMZ.com reports. With his former bandmates busy divorcing starlets, winning dancing contests and losing bids for office, we're guessing Timmons had to do something to reclaim the spotlight.

BAD SCENE: A member of T.I.'s entourage shot and killed in a gun fight early Wednesday that began as a disagreement at a party at an after-hours club in Cincinnati. The rapper emerged unscathed.

REMEMBERED: Bestselling author, columnist, lecturer and television host Louis Rukeyser died Tuesday in Connecticut after a battle with multiple myeloma, a rare bone marrow cancer, according to his brother. He was 73.