ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

TV & MOVIES

CNN’s War Casualties: CNN estimates that $1.1 million of its equipment has been stolen, confiscated, damaged or destroyed in Yugoslavia since NATO bombing began in late March. The most costly item, a $400,000 satellite transmitter, was destroyed in the bombing of a Serb TV facility in Belgrade. And three CNN-owned vehicles, a camera, a night scope and other equipment worth more than $250,000 was damaged or destroyed by a Serbian mob that attacked correspondent Brent Sadler before CNN crews evacuated from Kosovo. “In CNN’s existence of nearly 20 years, we’ve never encountered anything like this,” said a top CNN executive. “It’s unprecedented for us and, as far as I know, it’s unprecedented for any news organization.” The CNN losses dwarf those of other U.S. networks, and executives believe CNN has been targeted specifically because it is seen in Yugoslavia.

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Enemy of the Cinema?: “Saving Private Ryan,” “Enemy of the State” and other U.S.-made films have been removed from Chinese cinemas, casualties of the NATO bombing of China’s embassy in Yugoslavia. Replacement fare includes documentaries on the 1950-53 Korean War, in which Chinese troops fought for North Korea against American-led U.N. forces. “The company thought it was not the proper time to show any U.S.-made movies,” said one Chinese film distributor, noting that American films would resume playing “as soon as the Chinese people are satisfied with the explanation and apology of NATO and the United States.” State-owned distributors in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou decided on their own to cancel U.S. films, but the China Film Distribution Assn. later urged other distributors to do the same. Beyond political symbolism, a ban on U.S. films is expected to have a limited impact, since China lets in only about 10 foreign titles a year.

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‘Powers’ That Be: Singapore’s Board of Film Censors has drawn the line against racy British slang, causing the title for the forthcoming “Austin Powers” movie sequel to be changed in the country from “The Spy Who Shagged Me” to “The Spy Who Shioked Me.” A Warner Bros. official in Singapore said the company chose “shioked”--which means “good” or “nice” in Singapore’s mix of English, Malay and Chinese dialects dubbed Singlish--after censors rejected the original title, calling the British slang term for sexual intercourse “crude and offensive.”

POP/ROCK

McGraw in Chart-Toppin’ Country: Country singer Tim McGraw’s “A Place in the Sun” debuts at No. 1 on the nation’s album charts this week with 252,000 copies sold, easily outpacing TLC’s 11-week-old release, “Fanmail,” at No. 2 (174,000 copies). The score to “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace,” landed at No. 3 (173,000 units sold) in its first week in stores.

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Jones’ Plea Bargain: Country star George Jones, 67, pleaded guilty Wednesday to drunken driving in a March 6 accident that nearly killed him, and he promised to get help for his drinking problem. “I’ll get my mind straight,” Jones vowed in court. The plea bargain calls for a $550 fine but no jail time.

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Jackson Loses Plagiarism Case: An Italian judge has ruled that pop star Michael Jackson plagiarized Italian songwriter Al Bano’s “I Cigni di Balaka (The Swans of Balaka)” in “Will You Be There,” a song from Jackson’s 1991 album “Dangerous.” The judge fined Jackson a mere $2,200, which he immediately suspended, but ordered Jackson to pay Bano’s court costs. The decision contradicts a 1998 Italian copyright infringement ruling in Jackson’s favor. In a 1997 Rome hearing, Jackson testified that there was “some similarity” between the two songs, but called it “completely coincidental,” noting that he had never heard of Bano’s song prior to the lawsuit. Jackson’s lawyer vowed to appeal Tuesday’s ruling.