Monitor

RELEASED
Actor Patrick Swayze, 56, checked out of the hospital after a brief stay for pneumonia. In other positive news, the Beast star, who is battling pancreatic cancer, will be publishing a book co-written by his wife, Lisa.

AILING
Stockbroker Tom Mahoney, the husband of Desperate Housewives star Marcia Cross, 46, has been diagnosed with cancer. He is currently responding well to treatment.

SETTLED
On Jan. 15, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros. reached a resolution in their copyright-infringement dispute over rights to the upcoming Watchmen movie.

COURTS
Oh, Boy. On Jan. 16 in London, singer Boy George (né George O'Dowd), 47, was sentenced to 15 months in jail for falsely imprisoning a male escort in his home last April....On Jan. 16, Speed-the-Plow's producers announced they have filed a grievance against Jeremy Piven, 43, who quit the Broadway show in December after citing high mercury levels in his body. Piven's lawyer issued this statement: ''It is ironic that the producers have filed a grievance against Mr. Piven, since if anyone has legal claims relating to this matter, it is Mr. Piven. Among other things, he has been defamed in the media by their false accusations.''...On Jan. 21 in Chelsea, Vt., a lawyer for Matt Dillon, 44, pleaded not guilty to careless and negligent operation of a vehicle on the actor's behalf. Dillon was busted Dec. 30 for speeding in Newbury, Vt....Jackass star Johnny Knoxville certainly lives up to his show's name: The Los Angeles city attorney has scheduled an office hearing to examine an incident involving the TV prankster, who was found to be carrying a prop grenade at LAX on Jan. 15. Knoxville, 37, said the grenade was from his new MTV show Nitro Circus. He says on the Jackass website: ''I should have checked my...luggage through and through, but I didn't and now we have this incident....It was a mistake.''

ARRESTS
Kelly Osbourne, 24, turned herself in to authorities Jan. 2 for common assault, five months after she allegedly slapped a gossip columnist in a London club. Osbourne was released and will return to police in March to face possible charges.

EXPECTING
Rachel Griffiths' two kids will soon have another brother or sister. The actress, 40, will give birth to her third child with artist husband Andrew Taylor....Nick Carter who? There will soon be a new Backstreet baby: Howie Dorough, 35, and wife Leigh will bring home their first child in June.

BIRTHS
He's survived rough terrain and arctic subzero temperatures, but Bear Grylls, 34, has an even tougher quest ahead of him: playing dad to three. On Jan. 15, the Man vs. Wild star's wife, Shara, had the couple's third baby, Huckleberry Edward Jocelyne.... We're wishing Jo Dee Messina, 38, well. The country star had her first child with husband Chris Deffenbaugh. Noah Roger was born Jan. 19 in Nashville. — Kate Ward, with additional reporting by Stewart Allen