FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, September 20, 2002

CRAZY TRAIN ROLLS ON: Ozzy Osbourne and his MTV family tapped as presenters at Sunday's Emmy Awards. The clan received the Emmy for Best Reality Series at last week's Creative Arts Awards.

EMMY NO SHOW: Meanwhile, reps for Sarah Jessica Parker say the nominated star of Sex and the City, scheduled to present of the Lead Actor Drama trophy, won't make it Sunday. She's in the final weeks of her pregnancy and has been ordered by her doctor not to fly.

WITH GOD AS HIS COPILOT: John Raymond, the 40-year-old pastor from Louisiana, becoming the first victim in Survivor: Thailand. Meanwhile, CBS reports a healthy 22.2 million viewers tuned in for the season premiere Thursday, helping the network win the nightly Nielsens.

SUPER TEAM UP: Audioslave--the much-anticipated project pairing ex-Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell with former Rage Against the Machine band members Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk--will release their self-titled debut November 19 on Epic Records.

BUMP 'N' GRIND: Grammy-winning R&B star R. Kelly appearing briefly in a Chicago courtroom on Friday for a preliminary hearing on child pornography charges. Another hearing is set for November 1. His lawyers say a trial won't likely begin until next year.

SO THAT'S WHY THE NEW BOOK'S LATE: Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling announcing Thursday that she and husband Neil Murray are expecting their first child together next spring. Rowling also has a daughter from her previous marriage.

ABOUT THAT NEXT BOOK: Rowling also saying that a lawsuit that claimed she stole ideas from a series about a Larry Potter was one of things keeping her from finishing the fifth Harry book. Now that the suit has been dismissed, she says she should finish Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix shortly.

DOING FINE, THANK YOU: A spokesman for Johnny Carson confirming a tabloid story that the retired 76-year-old Tonight Show host has emphysema, but said Carson remains "in great shape" and the respiratory disease is "not causing him any major problems."

TWITCHING NOSES: Nicole Kidman in talks to star in Columbia Pictures' comedy Bewitched, a feature film based on the long-running TV series. Mike Myers is reportedly the top choice to play Darrin.

BAD BOY: A man who racked up nearly $33,000 in credit card bills in the name of actor-rapper Will Smith pleading guilty to one count of the use of an unauthorized access device and could face up to 20 years in jail and a $250,000 fine.

TOUGH TIMING? Trapped, a child-abduction thriller starring Kevin Bacon, Courtney Love and Charlize Theron, opening without fanfare or advanced screenings for critics because of several recent, highly publicized child kidnapping cases around the country.

IN THE SPIN: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon snagging a mid-seven-figure deal to rewrite The Amazing Spider-Man, the sequel to the summer box-office smash. The sequel starts shooting early next year.

BACK ON THE BEAT: Ryan Seacrest signing up to return as a host on the second installment of Fox's American Idol: The Search for a Superstar, set to air in early 2003.

PRACTICING THE DARK ARTS: Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson showcasing artwork inspired by bloody corpses and other macabre subjects in a Hollywood exhibit dubbed "The Golden Age of Grotesque."

THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE: FX, War Room documentary filmmaker R.J. Cutler and director Jay Roach teaming up to produce a two-year reality series that will follow a "people's candidate" running for president of the United States in 2004.

AWARD SEASON: Ang Lee, Danny Glover and the producers of Six Feet Under among the recipients of awards at the Producers Guild of America's inaugural Celebration of Diversity. The ceremony is set for October 28 in Beverly Hills.

SMOKED OUT: The Bernie Mac Show and Futurma receiving "Phlemmys" for their positive depiction of smoking, while Friends and 24 picking up Pink Lunk Awards. The Phlemmys are handed out by the American Lung Association of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails.

NATIONAL TRAITOR? Vietnamese government officials debating Friday whether the Vietnamese actor who costarred with Mel Gibson in We Were Soldiers betrayed his country and should be fined, barred from acting and exiled for five years

MEANWHILE, BACK IN METROPOLIS: Christopher Reeve calling on countries to adopt a convention on disability rights as he presented Ecuador with the Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award Thursday at the United Nations.