FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, November 6, 2003

RIGHTEOUSLY REMEMBERED: Bobby Hatfield, one-half of soul duo the Righteous Brothers, was found dead in his Michigan hotel room Wednesday night, 30 minutes before a scheduled concert appearance. Officials planned to perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death; Hatfield was 63.

HE'LL FIND THE REAL GROPERS: Arnold Schwarzenegger hiring a private investigator to look into allegations that he groped women, but may not share the results with California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who has called for an independent probe.

TRACY TAKES TUESDAY: Saturday Night Live alum Tracy Morgan's The Tracy Morgan Show debuting Tuesday, December 2 on NBC; the show will take the slot currently held by Good Morning Miami, which will move to Thursday to fill the gap left by canceled Coupling.

DEFINITIVE DENIAL: A U.S. appeals court Thursday blocking the release of The Definitive Elvis, a 16-hour documentary about Elvis Presley. The court upheld a decision that the film made improper use of copyrighted materials.

BAD COP: A Los Angeles police officer was fired after he used department resources to access confidential records on celebrities such as Halle Berry, Jennifer Aniston and Dylan McDermott. The officer claimed the research was part of a project to foil stalkers; the LAPD said no such project ever existed.

WHOA: The Matrix Revolutions grossing an estimated $43 million worldwide Wednesday following its unprecedented simultaneous global release. The film unspooled on 18,000 screens in 107 territories.

REMEMBERED: Mary Keach, mother of actors Stacy Keach and James Keach died Wednesday of cardiac arrest. She was 89.

POSTHUMOUS PROPS: The late Johnny Cash winning three trophies, including Album of the Year, Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year to dominate Wednesday night's Country Music Association Awards. Entertainer of the Year went to Alan Jackson, who also won last year.

SUMMER OF '96? Canadian rocker Bryan Adams' ex-galpal, actress Cecilie Thomsen, telling a Danish magazine that he cheated on her with Princess Diana in 1996. That claim seems to be vetted by her royal butler, Paul Burrell, who said the princess had nine secret lovers, one of whom was "a leading musician."

ROSIE'S THORNS: Cindy Spengler, director of marketing at now-defunct Rosie magazine, testifying Wednesday that Rosie O'Donnell accused her of lying and told her that "liars get cancer." Spengler, a cancer survivor, said that O'Donnell made the remarks after a meeting to discuss the magazine's problems.

MORE ROSIE: Meanwhile, O'Donnell took the stand Thursday and said she was promised creative control of the magazine. When she lost that control, she walked.

MARTHA MOUTHS OFF: Martha Stewart telling ABC's 20/20 in an interview airing Friday that she is not a criminal and shouldn't be lumped in with corporate fraud giants like Enron and WorldCom.

RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT: UPN giving a full-season pick up to its rookie drama Jake 2.0. Meanwhile, the WB has yanked its frosh drama Tarzan from the schedule, with no return likely for the Ape Man.

SCREENER UPDATE: The Chicago Film Critics Association following their counterparts in Los Angeles by voting to suspend their annual awards for 2003 in protest of the MPAA's restrictions on screeners being sent to award voters and critics groups.

JOINING FORCES: Sony Music and German media giant BMG signing a 50-50 merger deal that will create a record label, dubbed Sony BMG, which in hopes of competing against industry leader Universal Music.

ON THE OFFENSIVE: Soccer star David Beckham denying that his marriage to former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham is in trouble and insisting that they're happy following his move from Manchester United to Real in Spain.

STICKING AROUND: Oscar-winning director Ron Howard and producing partner Brian Grazer sealing a new deal with Universal that will keep their Imagine shindle at the studio an additional three years.

REMEMBERING ELLIOT: Beckand Beth Orton among the artists Monday night at a memorial concert held at Los Angeles' Henry Fonda Theater that paid tribute to late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, who committed suicide on October 21. Proceeds from the event went to the Elliott Smith Foundation For Abused Children.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: Stevie Nicks snagging Song of the Year for her 1974 hit "Landslide" at the BMI Country Awards Tuesday night, which honors country songwriters. The tune became a huge hit for Fleetwood Mac and more recently for the Dixie Chicks.

GUNS GALORE: The gun collection of TV star and skeet-shooting champion Robert Stack among the personal items being put up for auction this Sunday and Monday at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim, California. Stack died in May at age 84.

GETTING IN SYNC: Warner Bros releasing The Matrix Revolutions in 96 countries around the world on Wednesday on a record 18,013 prints, the largest synchronized release in the history of cinema.

KING DREAMS: Brian Cox reprising his role opposite Matt Damon and Franka Potente in The Bourne Supremacy, the sequel to Universal Pictures' The Bourne Identity that starts filming later this year.

PASSING: Emmy-winning documentarian Robert Guenette, who reenacted historical scenes in such programs as They've Killed President Lincoln, The Crucifixion of Jesus and Victory at Entebbe, died of brain cancer Friday in Los Angeles. He was 68.