FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, October 2, 2006

FATHER'S DAY IN COURT: Anna Nicole Smith's ex-boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, filing a paternity suit, demanding that she return to California with newborn daughter Dannielynn Hope to submit to paternity and drug tests. In his petition Birkhead alleges that Smith was addicted to methadone and that her lawyer Howard K. Stern--who announced last week that he was the father of the TrimSpa spokeswoman's child--was facilitating her habit.

GOOD "BOY": U.S. District Court dismissing copyright infringement lawsuit brought against Beyoncé Knowles, Jay-Z, Sean Paul and their fellow creative types behind the hit single "Baby Boy." Singer-songwriter Jennifer Armour had claimed that the crew ripped off her song "Got a Little Bit of Love for You," which she supposedly submitted to Mathew Knowles on a demo tape in 2003. The court ruled that the songs were "substantially dissimilar" and that Beyoncé is "substantially famouser."

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT BABIES: Jennie Garth and hubby, Can't Hardly Wait star Peter Facinelli, welcoming their third child togther, daughter Fiona Eve Facinelli, Saturday morning. The little lady, weighing in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces, joins sisters Luca Bella and Lola Ray in the house that 90210 built.

ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL: George Michael arrested and released with a warning in London early Sunday, after cops found the aging pop star slumped at the wheel of his car and in possession of cannabis. As it's the third time in the past eight months Michael has been nabbed in such a fashion, Elton John has generously agreed to hold off on ripping him a new one until later this week.

IT'S HIS PREROGATIVE: A Massachusetts judge has issued an arrest warrant for Bobby Brown after the singer failed to show up at a hearing over delinquent child support payments. Kim Ward, the mother of two of Brown's children, is seeking $11,000 in back payments. If this is being Bobby Brown, we're not interested.

WHAT ABOUT BLANKET?: Michael Jackson and his ex-wife, Deborah Rowe, have settled their three-year custody battle over the duo's two children, though neither side's lawyer has disclosed the financial terms of the deal or the visitation rights. Still, that's one lawsuit down, 86 more to go.

STILL SEARCHING: Bahamian police announcing plans to continue their investigation into the sudden death of Anna Nicole Smith's son, Daniel, despite toxicology test results indicating that the 20-year-old was killed by a lethal combination of prescription drugs.

BAD RAP: A 29-year-old woman was struck on the head with a metal folding chair and taken to a hospital for lacerations, after a fight broke out between DMX's entourage and several concertgoers at the rapper's New York show Saturday. The fracas reportedly kicked off when the sound cut out mid-performance, and the posse mistakenly believed they were at the Vibe Awards.

COMIC'S RELIEF: Robin Williams claiming Mel Gibson was his inspiration to enter rehab earlier this summer, telling Access Hollywood, "Well, if [rehab] was good enough for him, I'll go. I just think it was kind of like, well, he's in, let's go now." Yes, but he's also made two films in extinct languages, and we don't see you jumping onto that bandwagon.

DOUBLE DUTY: Ashton Kutcher starring in both the number one and two films at the box office over the weekend. The animated flick Open Season, for which Kutcher voiced a deer, raked in $23 million, while The Guardian tallied up $17.7 million. Does this mean he'll start getting more work? What hath Middle America wrought?

IDOL HANDS: American Idol third place finisher Elliott Yamin recovering from surgery on his left pinky finger, after breaking it while engaging in Virginia's answer to cow-tipping. Per People, the would-be superstar broke his finger when it got "caught on a rod holding down a rock" which he was trying to throw at a street sign. Start the candlelight vigils.

KISS OFF: Former KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent losing his Supreme Court appeal claiming he's owed royalties from his former bandmates for his contributions to the 1983 album Lick it Up. As if Gene Simmons needed another ego boost.

CRUISE CONTROL: Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy telling the Los Angeles Times the show's fourth season will offer an inside look at Scientology, as one of its characters, Kimber, joins the religion. Per Murphy, the characters will audit each other, go through cleansing rituals, discuss "havingness," slam prescription drugs, have silent births and urge absolutely no A-list stars to come out of the closet.

FACE THE MUSIC: Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello arrested last Thursday while rallying at a protest in support of hotel workers' rights in Los Angeles. The rocker was charged with unlawful assembly and released on $5,000 bail the following morning. Consider it his penance for trashing all those hotel rooms.

BEAUTIFUL THING: ABC's Ugly Betty becoming the most watched new show of the fall season, drawing 16.3 million viewers Thursday night.

WEDDING BELLE: Amanda Peet tying the knot with screenwriter David Benioff in New York Saturday night. The expectant couple made it official at the actress' Quaker school alma mater, in front of famous friends Mark Ruffalo and Elizabeth Berkley, who entertained the reception by recreating her Showgirls pole dance. Okay, we made that last part up.

MMM...BRIDE: Meanwhile, Isaac Hanson, the eldest floppy haired brother from Hanson, also tied the knot in Oklahoma over the weekend to longtime girlfriend Nicole Dufresne, per People.

HOT DOCS: Move over, McDreamy. McSteamy's moving in. Eric Dane has been made a regular cast member on Grey's Anatomy this season, signing on to play the wife-stealing Dr. Mark Sloan.

PERFECT HARMONY: Fresh Prince of Bel Air alum Alfonso Ribeiro winning Celebrity Duets Friday, beating out Lucy Lawless. Ribeiro announced he'll donate his $100,000 prize to Fresh Start Surgical Gifts, which serves children and young adults with physical deformities. Another $50 will go toward the Fresh Prince reunion fund.

RACY TALK: Matt Dillon continuing to milk his Crash association for all it's worth, telling reporters that "racism in America is obviously a problem," but that race relations are nonetheless "cathartic." Coming next week: Mel Gibson's thoughts on prohibition.

CZECH MATE: 18-year-old Tatana Kucharova, a student from the Czech Republic, taking the crown at the Miss World 2006 pageant Saturday. A 17-year-old Romanian beauty placed second, while Australia's 20-year-old entrant placed third, as judges don't look kindly on old maids.

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? Netflix offering a $1 million prize for the best software-based recommendation to improve its movie offering system. We'll save you the time: "Make the envelope redder" is not the sort of suggestion they're after.

SNAKES ON A DVD: New Line setting a Jan. 2 release date for Snakes On a Plane. There's no better way to ring in the New Year.