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

ENTERTAINMENT

Flying High: The Dixie Chicks’ new album, “Fly,” has landed atop the nation’s album chart. The follow-up to the trio’s breakthrough “Wide Open Spaces” sold 341,000 copies in its first week, the strongest debut by a country artist other than Garth Brooks since SoundScan began tracking music sales in 1991. “Wide Open Spaces” also remains among the nation’s bestsellers--it’s at No. 28 this week--and has sold more than 5 million copies in 18 months. Last week’s No. 1 album, Christina Aguilera’s self-titled debut, slides to No. 2 (218,000 copies sold), the Backstreet Boys’ “Millennium” remains at No. 3 (184,000), and at No. 4 is the summer’s surprise hit, Santana’s “Supernatural” (133,000).

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Combs Pleads to Harassment: Rapper-producer Sean “Puffy” Combs, accused of assaulting a record executive in April, pleaded guilty in New York Wednesday to a lesser charge of second-degree harassment and was sentenced to a one-day anger management program. Combs, 29, was accused of striking Universal Records executive Steve Stoute with a chair and a champagne bottle in a dispute over a music video. Stoute suffered a broken arm, a broken jaw and cuts to his head.

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TV Ratings: With “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” gone, last week’s prime-time ratings returned to dreary summer levels. “Monday Night Football” topped the network fare with 12.8 million viewers, putting ABC second behind CBS for the week, according to Nielsen Media Research. UPN’s wrestling show “WWF Smackdown!” continues to do well but slipped 8% compared to its premiere, to 5.7 million viewers. The complete list will run Friday.

QUICK TAKES

Cedric the Entertainer, who was to host Black Entertainment Television’s late-night show “BET Live,” has left the program just days before its Monday premiere. A show spokesperson said that Cedric “just didn’t work out.” Comedian Michael Collier will replace him, and the series is still slated to debut Monday. . . . CBS officially announced Wednesday that Jane Clayson will join Bryant Gumbel as co-anchor of the network’s new morning program, “The Early Show,” which debuts Nov. 1. . . . Vice President Al Gore met with leaders of the Directors Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild late Tuesday to address the problem of entertainment productions leaving the U.S. for Canada and elsewhere. The groups said they hope that the “substantive discussion” leads to “a national dialogue about protecting one of America’s most valuable industries.” . . . L.A. Philharmonic music director Esa-Pekka Salonen and pianist Yefim Bronfman will sign CDs following the Philharmonic’s Hollywood Bowl concert tonight, at the Tower Records outlet on the Bowl lot.