Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation’s press.

MUSIC

Grammys Returning to L.A.?: The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, which puts on the annual Grammy Awards show each February, is expected to announce this morning at a Beverly Hills news conference that the prestigious event is returning to Los Angeles next year after two years in New York. L.A.’s bid to host the event probably was enhanced by the recording academy’s feud with New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who said in February that he didn’t care if the show moved out of the city. Giuliani reportedly was upset with Michael Greene, president of the recording academy, over the tone and manner in which Greene told a city hall staff member that Giuliani would be making only a cameo appearance when Grammy nominations were announced in New York last January.

POP/ROCK

Concert Mixes Music, Politics: More than two dozen bands drew about 130,000 fans to Washington, D.C.’s RFK Stadium over the weekend for the two-day Tibetan Freedom Concert, which mixed political messages with music by acts ranging from Pearl Jam and the Dave Matthews Band to Radiohead and the Beastie Boys. Though Saturday’s show was cut short by severe weather--lightning crashed into the stadium, seriously injuring a concert-goer--reviewer Richard Harrington of the Washington Post said the event “resembled a postmodern be-in where pleasure and politics casually intertwined.” R.E.M., led by singer Michael Stipe, performed for the first time since the departure of drummer and founding member Bill Berry, introducing four new songs and three temporary percussionists--Joey Waronker, Barrett Martin and Scott McCoy--during its Sunday set.

ART

Getty Trust Appoints Mitchell: The Getty Trust has appointed Theodore R. Mitchell, 42, as vice president for education and strategic initiatives, a new position. Although Mitchell will be leaving his post at UCLA as vice chancellor for external affairs and dean of the graduate school of education and information studies, he will retain his faculty appointment at UCLA as well as his position as senior education advisor to L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan. . . . Meanwhile, the J. Paul Getty Museum is losing its curator of paintings, David Jaffe, 44, to the National Gallery in London, where he will become senior curator. Jaffe, who has overseen the paintings collections since his arrival in 1994, came to the Getty from the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.

PEOPLE WATCH

Shields Lawsuit Settled: Brooke Shields accepted “very substantial” libel damages and a public apology over a newspaper article that falsely reported she was questioned by police about drugs as she left the Cannes Film Festival. During a court appearance Monday in London, lawyers for the actress and the Mail on Sunday newspaper said her lawsuit over the May 24 story had been settled. The amount of the damages was not disclosed.

QUICK TAKES

Another public memorial service will be held for Linda McCartney, the late wife of Paul McCartney, Monday at Riverside Church in New York. . . . Free tickets are available for tapings of a new American version of the British improvisational comedy show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?,” premiering on ABC later this summer. Drew Carey will host the program, which also features “Drew Carey Show” co-star Ryan Stiles. Tapings are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, and June 26-27. Tickets are available by calling (818) 753-3470, Ext. 5463. . . . ABC has announced plans to air “The New Adventures of Spin & Marty: Suspect Behavior,” a ‘90s update of the beloved “Mickey Mouse Show” serial, next season as a two-hour “Wonderful World of Disney” movie.