FIRST LOOK: The News in Brief, September 22, 2004

JACKSON ACTION: Michael Jackson's defense attorney, Thomas Mesereau, issuing a court-approved statement Tuesday claiming that news reports about photos seized from the pop star's home are false. Mesereau didn't specify what the photos contained, but the statement followed a report on an L.A. radio station that several of the photos contained images of a naked boy or boys.

WRATH OF NIPPLEGATE: The FCC fining CBS a record $550,000 as a result of Janet Jackson's infamous wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl.

MURDER WAS THE CASE? Music producer Phil Spector's lawyer, Roger Rosen, fears his client has been indicted by a secret grand jury for the 2003 murder of actress Lana Clarkson, Reuters reports. Rosen told the news agency that he has been asked to appear in court next week with Spector.

KIM'S CREW GETS SMALLER: A bodyguard for Lil' Kim, Suif Jackson, was sentenced to 12 years in prison Wednesday for his involvement in a 2001 New York City shooting incident that left a man from a rival rap crew injured.

FAUX NUPTIALS? Us Weekly reporting that Britney Spears' Sept. 18 wedding to Kevin Federline wasn't legal, due to an ongoing struggle over the couple's prenuptial agreement.

SPLITSVILLE: People magazine reporting that Josh Lucas and Salma Hayek have broken up. Both Lucas and Hayek's agent confirmed the split, which reportedly happened three months ago.

INVESTIGATIVE REPORT: CBS News appointing retired Republican Cabinet member Dick Thornburgh and former Associated Press President and CEO Louis Boccardi to investigate its discredited report on President Bush's National Guard service.

KUDOS: James Garner tapped to receive the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his career achievements and humanitarian accomplishments. The 11th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be broadcast Feb. 5, 2005.

REMEMBERED: Soft-porn pioneer Russ Meyer, known for films such as the 1965 cult hit Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! died in Los Angeles of complications from pneumonia. He was 82.

SING THING: Robert Downey Jr. signing an exclusive recording contract with Sony Classical. The actor-singer's first, as-yet-untitled album is due out Nov. 23.

READING IS FUNDAMENTAL: George Lucas' Educational Foundation launching Edutopia, a new magazine geared toward learning.

FOND FAREWELL: Marlon Brando's ashes scattered in Death Valley and Tahiti, the Los Angeles Times reports. The actor died July 1 of lung cancer at age 80, leaving an estate worth an estimated $21.6 million.

IN DA CLUB: Rapper 50 Cent set to make film debut in the semiautobiographical pic Locked and Loaded, Billboard reports. Sopranos scribe Terence Winter is penning the script for the film, which is expected out in 2005 or 2006.

UNFRIENDLY SKIES: Yusuf Islam, the London-based artist formerly known as Cat Stevens, caused a Washington-bound United Airlines flight to land prematurely in Maine Tuesday after his name popped up on a U.S. terrorist watch list.

YOU GOT SERVED: A Maryland woman filing a paternity suit against DMX, the New York Daily News reports. Monique Wayne, who claims the rapper fathered her 4-month-old son, convinced an autograph-hunting fan to serve him with court papers.

JUST DROPPING BY: Oprah Winfrey heading to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to tape a segment of her show with 640 pregnant military wives expecting babies between September and December.

SKETCHY DETAILS: Two courtroom artists suing Rosie O'Donnell for copyright infringement, claiming that O'Donnell tried to pass off sketches they drew of her during her breach-of-contract trial with Rosie magazine last year as her own work.

HAMMER TIME: MC Hammer set to perform at VH1's inaugural Hip Hop Honors next month, along with the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, Ice-T, Kid Rock, Fat Joe and Grandmaster Flash, among others. Mos Def and Vivica A. Fox will host the awards show.

YEAH! Usher set to perform at the American Music Awards Nov. 14 in Los Angeles. The hip-hopster is nominated for four awards. Kanye West, Usher, Josh Groban and Jessica Simpson are also set to perform.

GETTING OUT THE VOTE: Michael Moore kicking off a 62-speech pre-election trek, dubbed the Slacker Uprising Tour, in Camden, New Jersey, Monday, by reading My Pet Goat to an audience of more than 6,000. The gadfly filmmaker will go to college campuses and arenas and focus on 20 swing states to help get out the vote before the Nov. 2 election.

MORE MOORE: Miramax reportedly planning to finance and distribute Moore's upcoming documentary on the American healthcare system tentatively titled Sicko, per Daily Variety.

FREED: Embattled Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi freed from prison Tuesday after she was found not guilty of helping to kidnap and rape teenage girls who were reportedly recruited to travel with her for musical training.

DANGER FOR DANGERFIELD? Legendary comedian Rodney Dangerfield has slipped into what his wife calls a "light coma." The comic underwent heart-valve replacement surgery Aug. 25 in Los Angeles and has been slow to recover.

CHARGED: Oklahoma City prosecutors charged former child star Macaulay Culkin with two misdemeanor drug counts Monday after police found him in possession of marijuana and Xanax during a routine traffic stop last week.

JUST AMAZING: Southern California couple Chip and Kim McAllister beat out three other teams to win CBS' Amazing Race 5 Tuesday night. The Orange County cuties won $1 million for their globe-trotting reality-show troubles.

MARTHA UPDATE: A federal judge ordering Martha Stewart on Tuesday to enter prison by Oct. 8 stemming from her conviction for lying about a stock sale. The judge also recommended that U.S. prison officials assign the domestic diva to her first two choices: the Danbury, Connecticut, penitentiary, or a prison in Coleman, Florida.