LEGAL BRIEFS The National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report on Aaliyah's fatal plane crash blames overloading for the accident that killed the singer and eight others. ''The total weight of the luggage, fuel on board at the time of the accident, plus the weight of the passengers showed that the total gross weight of the airplane was substantially exceeded,'' the report says. Moreover, the weight was improperly distributed toward the back of the plane, where Aaliyah's two bodyguards were reportedly sitting. The NTSB did not find mechanical problems with the engines or the airframe. However, investigators still don't know all they'd like to know about the plane's maintenance history because Gilbert Chacon, owner of Blackhawk Airways International, has not released the plane's logbooks. Officials are considering issuing a subpoena for the books and other information Chacon has not shared....
Three former bodyguards for Rosie O'Donnell think she's not so nice. They're suing her for allegedly bugging the office they used in her home in Star Island, Fla., and taping their conversations without their knowledge or consent. They also claimed they were fired when they confronted O'Donnell about the recordings. O'Donnell claims she had no knowledge of the monitoring, blaming Kroll Associates, a security firm, for installing the bugs. The bodyguards have also named Kroll as a defendant in the suit....
CBS' ''Boot Camp'' lawsuit has been booted out of court. The network has dropped its copyright-infringement suit against Fox over the reality show it claimed was essentially a ripoff of ''Survivor.'' Fox filed a countersuit, accusing CBS of unfair business practices for its attempt to suppress ''Boot Camp,'' but that suit was thrown out of court on Thursday. Still, CBS dropped its claim the next day, leading to speculation that some kind of financial settlement was reached, though neither side is talking, citing confidentiality agreements.
LARGER THAN LIFE Medical pioneer Howie Dorough and doctors at Boston's Children's Hospital announced a breakthrough on Sunday, an alliance that will make it easier for lupus patients to participate in medical research. Okay, the Backstreet Boy isn't actually a medical pioneer, but he is a founder of the Dorough Lupus Foundation, which he started after his sister Caroline died of the disease. He's been raising money to fight the illness with his chartered cruises and appearances like this one, where he signed autographs and spent time with patients.
TUBE TALK They call them the ''Creative Arts'' Emmys -- like the higher-profile Emmys given out next Sunday aren't for creative work, too? In what might presage a ''West Wing'' sweep against rival ''The Sopranos'' on September 16, the White House drama picked up four Emmys at Saturday's Creative Arts ceremony (for editing, casting, cinematography and sound mixing), while Tony and crew took home just one, for makeup. ''Survivor'' won one of the two new non-fiction awards. It won Outstanding Non-Fiction Program (Special Class), a category honoring ''reality'' shows with a game-show element, beating such programs as MTV's ''Road Rules'' and ''Survivor'' producer Mark Burnett's other show, USA's ''Eco-Challenge: Borneo.'' The other winner, in Outstanding Non-Fiction Program (Reality), was ''American High,'' the high school documentary series that Fox canceled and PBS picked up.
Guest acting awards went to Sally Field for her role as the troubled mom of Maura Tierney's character on ''ER,'' Jean Smart and Derek Jacobi for their work on ''Frasier,'' and Michael Emerson for his killer role on ''The Practice.'' It's the third time ''The Practice'' has garnered the prize in that category, and the second year Smart has won for playing the same character, a Frasier Crane paramour. Overall, NBC and Fox took home 11 trophies each, followed by HBO with 8, 7 for ABC, and 5 each for CBS, PBS, and UPN....
Don't have a cow, man, but the Simpsons are headed for your breakfast table. Later this month, Kellogg's is launching Bart Simpson Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch (what, does it taste like a Butterfinger bar?) and Homer's Cinnamon Donut Cereal (mmm...donuts). So kids, if you want to grow up big and strong and with a yellow complexion and eight fingers...
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