Nude and Pregnant in London's Heart

A nearly 12-foot-tall white marble statue of a nude pregnant woman, born without arms and with stunted legs, is to be unveiled today in Trafalgar Square in the heart of London, Reuters reported. The statue, "Alison Lapper Pregnant," carved from a single block of white Italian marble by the British artist Marc Quinn as a special commission, depicts the disabled British artist of its title when she was eight and a half months pregnant. The statue will remain for 18 months on a plinth in the northwest corner of the square dominated by the 145-foot-high Nelson column. "Nelson's column is the epitome of a phallic male monument, and I felt the square needed some femininity," Mr. Quinn said. Ms. Lapper said, "It is rare to see disability in everyday life, let alone naked, pregnant and proud." The statue was selected by a commission to occupy a plinth largely vacant since 1841.

Pop Charts: Stones Back With a 'Bang'

The Rolling Stones entered this week's Billboard chart at No. 3, selling 129,000 copies of "A Bigger Bang" (Virgin), according to Nielsen SoundScan. The band, performing tonight at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., has seen 44 of its releases make the Billboard 200, with the last 23 reaching the Top 5. Kanye West remains at No. 1 with "Late Registration" (Roc-A -Fella/Def Jam), which includes the hit "Gold Digger," currently No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Jumping an impressive 33 positions to No. 2 is 50 Cent's "Massacre" (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope), reissued this week as a combination CD/DVD, while the Black Eyed Peas' "Monkey Business" (A&M/Interscope) moved up two slots to No. 4, and "The Emancipation of Mimi" (Island/IDJMG) by Mariah Carey stayed solid at No. 5. Returning to the Top 10 were Green Day's "American Idiot" (Reprise/Warner Bros.) at No. 8, and Young Jeezy's "Let's Get It: Thug Motivation 101" (Corporate Thugs/Def Jam/IDJMG) at No. 10. GRANT JAMES VARJAS

Rapper Faces Tougher Charge

A judge in Philadelphia has reinstated a charge of first-degree murder against the rapper Cassidy, 23, whose real name is Barry Reese, The Associated Press reported. He is accused of taking part in an ambush shooting in April that left one person dead and two wounded in a van on a street behind his home. The ruling by Judge Benjamin Lerner of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, overturning a decision last month that Cassidy could be tried only on third-degree murder, attempted-murder and weapons charges, means that he is no longer eligible for bail. His lawyer, Fortunato Perri Jr., who has said Cassidy is not guilty, said, "We are ready for trial right now."

HMV Lets Dylan Know It's Irked

Nettled by a deal of Bob Dylan that gave Starbucks exclusive rights for 18 months to sell his new album, "Bob Dylan: Live at the Gaslight 1962," HMV Canada, a leading record retailer, has yanked his entire catalog from its shelves, The Globe and Mail of Toronto reported. The album went on sale on Aug. 30 for $13.95 at 4,600 Starbucks outlets in the United States and Canada. HMV, which earlier struck back at Alanis Morissette, Elton John and the Rolling Stones for similar exclusivity arrangements, said the retaliation would last for the duration of the Starbucks deal.

Strictly Business

The Corleones are coming back. Using the assassination of President Kennedy as a plot element, a new novel by Mark Winegardner, who wrote the 2004 best seller "The Godfather Returns" with the permission of the estate of Mario Puzo, is in the works. G. P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Group U.S.A., expects to publish "The Godfather's Revenge" next year. In a statement, Dan Conaway, Putnam's executive editor, said that it was fitting that " 'The Godfather's Revenge' overlays the resonant mythology of the Corleone family onto the most vexing real-life mystery of our age, with a story line that explores the role organized crime may have had in the assassination of a charismatic young president."

'House': For Fox, Just What The Doctor Ordered

"House" rules. The return on Tuesday of the Fox medical series, in which Dr. House (Hugh Laurie) cured a man on death row (LL Cool J, a guest star), drew 15.7 million viewers. That catapulted the network into first place for the night in Nielsen's estimates for total viewers and adults 18 to 49. Preceding "House" on Fox was the series premiere of its crime show "Bones," which also delivered high ratings, with an audience of 10.48 million. On the WB, "Gilmore Girls" began its sixth season - Luke said yes to Lorelai's marriage proposal (yay), but Lorelai and her daughter Rory still aren't speaking (sob) - and brought in 6.08 million viewers. And the debut of "Supernatural" retained a large part of that audience: 5.49 million watched the new creepfest. The combination put WB behind only Fox for the night in the 18-to-34 demographic it targets and gave the network its highest 18-to-49 ratings in more than a year. NBC rolled out a premiere, too. The 90-minute return of "The Biggest Loser," the weight loss reality series, attracted 7.76 million viewers and helped NBC place second among 18-to-49-year-olds. KATE AURTHUR

Louisiana Orchestra Regroups

The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, based in New Orleans, will play a special benefit concert in Nashville on Oct. 4 at Andrew Jackson Hall in the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. The Nashville Symphony said it would play host - literally. Nashville players and staff members will put up the Louisiana musicians, who have spread out across the country after fleeing Hurricane Katrina and the flooding. Nashville players will fill in for any Louisiana players who cannot make it. For those who can, American Airlines will fly them in for free. Alan D. Valentine, president and chief executive of the Nashville Symphony, said: "The Nashville Symphony and our entire city has been moved by the heartache and suffering of the people of New Orleans. Reuniting our colleagues at the Louisiana Philharmonic and providing them with a forum to play together again will be an incredibly enriching experience for us all. This performance will certainly transcend all traditional definitions of a benefit concert." The proceeds will go directly to the Louisiana orchestra. DANIEL J. WAKIN

Footnotes

Radio City Music Hall is joining the previously announced Madison Square Garden as a site for the all-star concert "From the Big Apple to the Big Easy" to benefit Hurricane Katrina relief on Tuesday. Appearing at Radio City, among others, will be Dave Matthews, Tom Waits, Trey Anastasio, the John Mayer Trio, Joss Stone, Galactic with the Wild Magnolia Mardi Gras Indians and Ray Lamontagne. Tickets for the Radio City concert go on sale today through Ticketmaster (212) 307-7171. ... The book collection and the working library of Walter Kerr, the Pulitzer Prize-winning theater critic for The New York Times who died in 1996, have been donated by his family to DeSales University in Center Valley, Pa., where his son Gregory is an associate professor of philosophy and theology. A formal dedication of the Walter Kerr Collection, including more than 2,500 titles that Kerr used while writing reviews and other works, was held on Monday. ...Shirley Temple Black is to be given the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award at the 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, to be seen on TNT and TBS on Jan. 29.