MORNING REPORT - News from Nov. 30, 2000

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Madonna Sets Internet Mark: A record 9 million fans worldwide tuned in to the Internet Tuesday to see Madonna’s concert at London’s Brixton Academy, Microsoft’s MSN Web site said. The audience was three times larger than the previous record holder, last year’s MSN Webcast of Paul McCartney’s Liverpool club concert. Only about 2,800 fans were able to watch Madonna’s six-song, 29-minute show in person. She performed wearing a T-shirt emblazoned on the front with the name of her baby son, Rocco Ritchie, and on the back with “Lola,” her daughter’s nickname.

Michelangelo Discovery?: Italian scholars say they may have discovered an early version of a Michelangelo statue of Christ, discarded by the painstaking artist for a flaw in the marble. The recognized final version of the statue--depicting a sorrowful Christ with the cross--is at the church of St. Mary over Minerva in Rome. But scholars took note of the look-alike at a church at Bassano Romano outside Rome two years ago, calling it “almost identical” to the Christ of Minerva. Subsequent research found early documents describing a first version of the statue. A 1521 letter has Michelangelo setting aside the early version because of a flaw in the marble--a black line on Christ’s face. The Christ of Bassano has such a stain, Rome art historian Silvia Danesi Squarzina said.

KROQ Christmas Lineup: After being displaced at Universal Amphitheatre by the Rockettes for the past two years, the annual KROQ-FM (106.7) Almost Acoustic Christmas charity concerts return to their original venue on Dec. 16 and 17. Both nights will be headlined by Anaheim’s No Doubt, with Papa Roach, the Deftones, Moby, Incubus and Weezer on both bills. The Saturday show also features At the Drive-In, Fuel, Coldplay and Three Doors Down, while Sunday’s lineup includes Green Day, Everclear, Disturbed and Linkin Park. Tickets are expected to go on sale late next week, with details to be announced on KROQ Monday.

Downey Returns to ‘Ally’: Robert Downey Jr. has returned to work in his recurring role on Fox’s “Ally McBeal,” and network executives say he could do more episodes than his current 10-show commitment. Insiders declined to say whether Downey, who was arrested in Palm Springs Saturday after police allegedly found drugs in his hotel room, was on the Manhattan Beach “Ally” set on Wednesday, though he was on the set Tuesday. Downey is expected to complete the episode now in production and one other installment before his Dec. 27 court date in Indio. Fox Television Group President Sandy Grushow said Tuesday, “Nobody has closed the door on him coming back to do more.” Fox officials also noted that Anne Heche will appear on “Ally McBeal” later this season.

Quick Takes: A Philadelphia judge has ordered Wu Tang Clan rapper ODB held without bail pending a Dec. 8 extradition hearing. The rapper, who was wanted by authorities on both coasts for drug-related offenses, was arrested in Philadelphia Monday. . . . KMEX-TV will have coverage from Mexico City of Mexican President-elect Vicente Fox’s Friday inaugural, airing today through Saturday, at 5 and 6 a.m. and 6 and 11 p.m. . . . Whitney Houston and husband Bobby Brown joined other celebrities including James Earl Jones, Ossie Davis, opera star Denyce Graves and the Dance Theatre of Harlem in paying tribute in New Jersey Tuesday night to the late actor, singer and activist Paul Robeson. “Now I understand that why I stand here today is because of Paul Robeson,” Houston said.