The X Child

BIRTHS David Duchovny and Tea Leoni welcomed their first child on Saturday. The baby as-yet-unnamed girl weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces.

CASTING For someone who recently claimed he might give up acting, Anthony Hopkins is taking a hell of a long time to say goodbye. He's just signed to play Tom Cruise's boss in ''Mission Impossible 2,'' now shooting in Australia, with John Woo directing.... In his goal to play every villain imaginable, Gary Oldman has signed up to portray Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who ordered Jesus Christ's crucifixion, in the CBS miniseries ''Jesus,'' which will likely air next year.... Heath Ledger brought Shakespeare to the present in ''10 Things I Hate About You,'' and now he's heading back to the past as Mel Gibson's son in the Revolutionary War drama ''The Patriot,'' to be directed by Roland Emmerich (''Godzilla'').

SORRY Leonardo DiCaprio's bodyguards apologized to Taiwanese paparazzi after the press complained that they were shoved and insulted when trying to snap the star's photo in a Taipei airport, according to Chinese papers. The photographers and cameramen had filed a complaint about DiCaprio's handlers, but charges were dropped when the guards admitted their tactics were a bit rough and said they were sorry. DiCaprio was in Taipei for a layover while flying back to Los Angeles after wrapping ''The Beach'' in Thailand.

ALSO SORRY Denver papers and radio stations have been heaping abuse on Howard Stern for making light of the Columbine shootings. In question is the comment Stern made when he wondered on his syndicated radio show whether the gunmen had tried ''to have sex with any of the good-looking girls.'' This morning Stern devoted a healthy chunk of his show to explain that the comments were taken out of context, saying he had spent most of the past week talking about how appalled he was by the Littleton disaster.

TOURING How is Brandy spending her summer vacation? On a six-week U.S. tour to promote her album ''Never Say Never.'' The gigs start on June 18 in Wallingford, Conn., and she'll be joined by Tyrese, Silk, and C-Note.

CHARITY WATCH Rappers Jay-Z and DMX will be donating the proceeds from their concert tonight in Denver (part of the Hard Knock Life tour) to the families of students killed during the Columbine shootings. ''It was never a question,'' Jay-Z told MTV News. ''We've known first hand how pointless and senseless violence always is, and we wanted to show our support in a real way.''

EXECUTIVE SWITCH Frank Mancuso is likely to resign as president of struggling MGM after six years in the top position. Mancuso, 67, who was also once president of Paramount, has reportedly been vocal about wanting to retire from the film business. The studio's owner, Kirk Kerkorian, is replacing Mancuso with Alex Yemenidjian, 43, who is currently president of Kerkorian's casinos, the MGM Grand.

NEW PROGRAMMING MTV will unveil many new music shows this summer and fall, according to Billboard. Specialized video shows will include ''Beat Suite'' (hip-hop), ''Hot Spot'' (top 40), and ''Spankin' New Music'' (alternative and budding artists). Also among the debuting series will be ''Diary,'' on which musicians tape their own lives; ''Phenomenon,'' a look at abruptly famous artists like Eminem; and ''Masterworks,'' a semiannual concert where artists pay honor to their influences.

FOUND RELIGION You won't catch Sinead O'Connor tearing up any more pictures of the Pope. She has been ordained as a priest herself for the Latin Tridentine Church, a faction of the Roman Catholic Church. After six more weeks of instruction from a bishop, O'Connor will be ordained as Mother Bernadette Mary, and has said that she may release any further recordings under that name.

RECOVERING ''Cheers'' veteran John Ratzenberger broke his ankle and damaged his ribs after crashing his motorcycle on the way to a charity event in Orlando, Fla. He is recovering nicely at his Los Angeles home, but he told Variety's Army Archerd that his injuries could have been much worse and said, ''I'm the luckiest man alive.''