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

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Indictment Issued: A Manhattan grand jury on Wednesday indicted a 19-year-old associate of rap mogul Sean “Puffy” Combs for attempted murder, assault and other counts stemming from a Dec. 27 shooting that wounded three patrons as a Times Square dance club. But gun possession charges against Combs and two others--his driver and bodyguard--are still “awaiting action by the grand jury,” the prosecutor’s office said. The man indicted, James “Shyne” Barrow, who raps on Combs’ “Bad Boy” label, faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of attempted murder for firing his semiautomatic pistol after another man at the club threw a handful of cash at Combs. Combs has denied allegations that he too brandished a gun.

Bartoli Cancels: Suffering from the flu, Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, has postponed a three-stop U.S. tour with the ensemble Il Giardino Armonico, according to a spokesperson for the Philharmonic Society of Orange County. Bartoli’s scheduled appearances in a Vivaldi program--on Sunday in Berkeley, on Wednesday at the Irvine Barclay Theatre in Irvine and on Jan. 15 in New York City--will now “probably take place in 2001,” Craddock Stropes of the Philharmonic Society said. Ticket-holders who purchased their tickets from Ticketmaster should return them to point of purchase, Stropes advised. For information: (949) 553-2422.

Guess Who Stopped Dinner: Irked New Year’s guests Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and others scattered when singer-actress Jennifer Lopez crashed a Miami dinner party for 75 at the glitzy South Beach mansion of slain fashion designer Gianni Versace, the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Sun-Sentinel reported Wednesday. An unidentified party-goer said that about 30 minutes before midnight, Lopez was spotted at the dinner that Donatella Versace was hosting at the Ocean Drive palazzo where her brother was shot to death in July 1997. Madonna stood and said, “Dinner’s over.” Lopez had criticized Madonna and best actress Oscar winner Paltrow in a trade magazine recently.

Jay-Z’s on Top: Jay-Z’s “Vol. 3 . . . The Life and Times of S. Carter” debuts this week at No. 1 on the nation’s album charts with 463,000 copies sold, a solid debut but far below his record company’s stated expectations that the collection could sell a million copies in its first week. It was a strong week for rap music, with DMX at No. 2, Dr. Dre at No. 5 and 2Pac + Outlawz at No. 7.

QUICK TAKES

CNN was easily the most-watched all-news channel in the United States with its millennium coverage, attracting about 1.7 million homes viewing the network during prime time on New Year’s Eve. That compared to 385,000 and 320,000 viewing Fox News Channel and MSNBC, respectively. . . . Due to a new software glitch at Arbitron, the fall radio ratings are delayed until Feb. 2.