Monitor

BIRTHS
Actor Chris O'Donnell (Batman & Robin), 30, and wife Caroline Fentress delivered a 7-pound 9-ounce son, Christopher Eugene Oct. 24 in L.A. Their daughter, Lily Anne, is 1.... The Talented Mr. Ripley's Jude Law, 27, and wife Sadie Frost (An Ideal Husband), 32, welcomed daughter Iris, Oct. 25 in Santa Monica. The couple has a son, Rafferty, 4; Frost has a son, Finlay, 10, from a marriage to actor and ex-Spandau Ballet member Gary Kemp.

ENGAGED
MTV's host for all seasons Carson Daly, 27, got engaged to American Pie's Tara Reid, 24, in New York City Oct. 29. The two met in March on the Cancun set of MTV's Spring Break and have not set a date; it will be the first marriage for both.

SPLITS
Superstars Bruce Willis and Demi Moore officially ended their 12-year union Oct. 19 when they filed for and were granted a divorce in Blaine County, Idaho. The pair have been separated for more than two years and share three daughters, Rumer, 12, Scout, 9, and Tallulah, 6.

DEVOTED
It girl Jennifer Aniston, 31, who wed hunky Brad Pitt, 36, in July, reportedly lined up at Santa Monica's Dept. of Motor Vehicles on Oct. 25 to legally change her last name to Pitt. The bride's rep confirmed only that her client will still use her maiden name professionally.

DEALS
On Oct. 31, German media giant Bertelsmann AG announced a partnership between its new e-commerce group, BeCG, and file-funneling website Napster, pledging to build a ''new business model'' for Internet music distribution. They plan to provide a membership-based service that will continue Napster's free song swapping but will also offer users new options (including access to Bertelsmann's catalog) that remunerate artists and publishers. The surprise alliance comes at a time when Napster is embroiled in a copyright infringement suit brought by the Recording Industry Association of America on behalf of five major labels — including Bertelsmann's BMG — and their imprints to remove the material in question; the case is currently being argued in a U.S. court of appeals in San Francisco. Bertelsmann said it will drop the suit once membership service is implemented. ''Today's announcement does not bring an end to the court case.... It is important for everyone, Napster included, that the ground rules of the Internet music business be established once and for all,'' said the RIAA in a statement.

LAWSUITS
Pop star Elton John filed a $29 million claim against accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and an ex-business manager Oct. 30 in London, charging misappropriation of funds and professional negligence. The firm would not comment.... The Walt Disney Company was slapped with a $50 million copyright infringement suit Oct. 30 in L.A. by Suzanne Lloyd Hayes, grandchild of silent-film star Harold Lloyd and a trustee of the Harold Lloyd Trust. Hayes claims 1998's Adam Sandler movie The Waterboy lifted from Lloyd's 1925 silent The Freshman. ''Harold Lloyd and Walt Disney were very good friends.... Now Disney refuses to settle with Mr. Lloyd's grandchildren,'' says the plaintiff's lawyer, who listed 56 similarities between the two films in the suit. Disney had no comment.