LEGAL FILE

Snipes Fined $1,000: Actor Wesley Snipes pleaded no contest on Thursday to carrying a loaded weapon and was fined $1,000 and placed on unsupervised probation for two years. Snipes, who did not attend the court hearing, was to have been arraigned on two misdemeanor weapons violations stemming from an Aug. 3 arrest in which officers found a loaded pistol in Snipes’ possession after he was involved in a minor motorcycle accident. The second charge was dropped in a plea agreement.

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More Rap Charges: Marion (Suge) Knight, the chief executive officer of Dr. Dre’s Time Warner-affiliated Death Row Records label, has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon and is scheduled to appear Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Knight allegedly used a gun in a July, 1992, attack against two aspiring rappers, Lynwood and George Stanley, at Dre’s Hollywood recording studio. The Stanley brothers claim that the altercation, which controversial rappers Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg allegedly witnessed in part, grew out of a dispute over the use of an office telephone. Knight also manages Snoop, who is scheduled to be arraigned today on murder charges previously filed over a separate incident.

TELEVISION

Down to Second Place: Tuesday’s second episode of ABC’s controversial “NYPD Blue” held on to viewers in about 13.7 million households, but the program was topped by the CBS movie “Precious Victims,” starring Robby Benson and Park Overall, which drew 14.3 million homes. Nearly 15 million homes had turned into the Steven Bochco series for last week’s premiere, and a drop-off was somewhat expected since many of those viewers undoubtedly tuned in merely because of controversy surrounding the racy cop show. “NYPD Blue” aired Tuesday in 92% of the country, up from the 89% last week. The number of ABC affiliates preempting “NYPD Blue” dropped from 57 to 50.

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Joining the Talk Arena: Sitcom star Suzanne Somers (“Step by Step,” “Three’s Company”) is making plans to join the already crowded daytime talk-show arena. “The Suzanne Somers Show,” billed as an issue-oriented “alternative talk/entertainment series” aimed at finding “possible solutions to daily concerns,” will be offered in syndication beginning in the fall of 1994. Somers, winner of the 1986 Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year Award, also plans to perform frequently with a live band.

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Coming to a TV Near You: “Barbarians at the Gate,” the HBO production that won an Emmy this year for best TV movie, makes its non-cable TV premiere Nov. 29 on “Fox Night at the Movies.” James Garner stars in the true story of Wall Street’s $25-billion bidding war for R.J.R. Nabisco. . . . The controversial Academy Award-winning documentary film “The Panama Deception,” which investigates the motives behind the United States’ 1989 invasion of Panama, will be shown on HBO Oct. 13 at 8 p.m. . . . Hot Los Angeles rap group Cypress Hill performs on this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live” on NBC. . . . Cable’s E! Entertainment Television and NBC News are joining forces to provide daily entertainment news reports to all NBC affiliate stations, beginning Oct. 25. Included will be short daily reports, as well as a “week in review” segment each Friday.

THE ARTS

Changing of the Guard: Frank Rich, the influential theater critic of the New York Times since 1980, has resigned from the theater beat as of Jan. 1. He’ll become an op-ed page columnist at the newspaper, writing a twice-weekly commentary on American society and culture. Speculation about his successor focused first on David Richards, the newspaper’s Sunday theater critic since 1990. But a spokeswoman for the newspaper said the announcement of Rich’s successor won’t occur immediately--and probably not until Rich is almost out the door.

Arts Campaign Begins: To kick off this month’s California’s National Arts and Humanities Month, the National Cultural Alliance will launch a $25-million advertising campaign donated by the Advertising Council to foster support for the arts. The National Cultural Alliance is a coalition of 41 organizations, including the newly formed California Campaign for the Arts and Humanities.

POP/ROCK

Bookings: Powerhouse ticket seller Neil Diamond has added fourth and fifth shows at the Forum Dec. 19 and 21. Tickets go on sale Oct. 4. . . . Die-hard Pearl Jam fans will have to journey to the desert to see the band live. The group is skipping Los Angeles, at least on the first leg of its concert tour, opting for a Nov. 5 show at the Empire Polo Club in Indio instead. Tickets go on sale Saturday. . . . Singer Kenny Loggins has been added to the Oct. 14 “Children Under Siege” benefit concert for Bosnian children, which will be held at the Greek Theatre. The bill also features Yanni, Alan Parsons, Roberta Flack and others.

Madonna Cancels German Show: Madonna is canceling her sole German concert in Frankfurt Saturday night, but not because of a German official’s efforts to ban the show as obscene. Concert organizers say 12,000 ticketholders will get refunds because of technical problems--her set and the pyrotechnics involved in the show were too complicated to be put up in time. The show sold out twice last weekend at London’s Wembley stadium.