FROM THE COURTROOM TO THE DELIVERY ROOM

STILL PUFFY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS
Jennifer Lopez was ready to dump Sean "Puffy" Combs after his involvement in the 1999 nightclub shooting but apparently was too fearful of the rap czar's explosive temper, The New York Post reports. The couple reportedly split six months ago but have chosen to present a united front in an attempt to help Puffy in his guns-and-bribery trial. Meanwhile, Puffy's defense lawyers accused prosecutor Matthew Bogdanos Wednesday (1/24) of illegally challenging potential jurors because they are black or Hispanic. Bogdanos denied the charge, and Judge Charles Solomon ruled that the prosecutor had challenged the jurors for race-neutral reasons. Bogdanos exercised nine peremptory challenges, all of which were black or Hispanic. Defense attorneys used five preemptory challenges, removing four white jurors and one Asian American. Four jurors were sworn in to serve on the case. No confirmation that the four were asked to wear bulletproof vests.

A REALLY BAD WAY TO LIVE UP TO YOUR NAME
A lawsuit claiming Slayer and their record label are partially responsible for the 1995 ritual murder of a 15-year-old girl hit a stumbling block this week. In a pre-trial hearing Tuesday (1/23), Judge Jeffrey Burke ruled that the plaintiffs had not presented sufficient evidence to take the case to a civil trial. The plaintiffs, David and Lisanne Pahler, the parents of victim Elyse Pahler, now have 60 days to either re-file their complaint or present an entirely new one. The Pahler's accused the band of violating the California business code by marketing and distributing harmful and obscene products to minors. Said one insider, "The burden of proof was just too insurmountable," said one insider, "not just to prove the link between the band and the killing but, most importantly, that anyone had actually heard of Slayer."

GRAMMY TRIPLE WHAMMY
The Recording Academy has teamed up with Capitol Records to release the trio of 2001 Grammy-related albums: one each for Pop, R&B/Rap and Latin. This is the seventh year that NARAS has released compilations honoring many of the year's nominees. The Pop CD features all of the nominees in the Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, Best Pop Performance By Duo Or Group With Vocal and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance categories—and thus runs the gamut from Aimee Mann to NSYNC to Radiohead to Steely Dan. The R&B/Rap CD features all the nominees from the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance and Best Rap Solo Performance categories as well as two nominees (Beastie Boys and Dr. Dre f/Snoop Dogg) from the Best Rap Performance By Duo Or Group category. The Latin CD features all the nominees from the Latin Pop, Latin Rock/Alternative and Salsa categories. "A Grammy nomination elevates an artist and a recording in a very public way; as a result, the record buyer sees this as the ‘best of the best' in music," said NARAS President/CEO Michael Greene. "It's also not a bad way to make a few bucks."

IF C-SPAN IS TOO RACY FOR YOU…
Andreas Schmidt, President/CEO of Bertelsmann's BeCG; Hank Barry, CEO of Napster; Howard Stringer, CEO of Sony USA; and artist/Internet pioneer Peter Gabriel are among those scheduled to take part in "It's Showtime," a panel at the World Economic Forum slated for Tuesday (1/30) in Switzerland. The panel will discuss new technology's impact on entertainment production and distribution. The Forum should decide once and for all which is more boring: new technology's impact on entertainment production and distribution or panels about that subject.

HER DELIVERY WILL GO ON
Pop diva Celine Dion gave birth to a baby boy, Rene-Charles, early Thursday morning. Husband/manager Rene Angelil was credited with an assist. The 32-year-old French-Canadian warbler had been trying to have a baby for many years and had resorted to in vitro fertilization. The newborn was automatically given voting rights in both the Grammy and Juno awards.