The news happens all the time, even while you're catching up on beauty sleep. Check out this brief rundown to bring you up to speed this morning -- a quick heads up from your friends at MTV News.

Here's what we've got:

[article id="1562336"]"Same Girl" video director Lil' X told us[/article] that R. Kelly and Usher did face off while they were shooting the clip -- but they kept their competition strictly on the court. "They were playing basketball on lunch breaks, it was all good. No egos. No gangs. ... Just the chemistry and good vibes. You'll feel it off the screen." ...

John Cusack is in a position where he can pick his co-stars -- requesting Hilary Duff ("She was a revelation every day," he told us) for "War, Inc." -- but he can't just [article id="1562299"]tell us that he wants a role in "Watchmen"[/article] and get it. Or can he? "Maybe this is how people get jobs in the modern world," he told us. "Like, I come on MTV and then [Zack Snyder will] see it and give it to me." ...

Were Fall Out Boy and Winger cut from the same cloth? Are Taking Back Sunday the new Warrant? James Montgomery digs into the [article id="1562329"]similarities between emo punk and hair metal[/article] (critics hate both, girls love both, and hair is really important for both) and asks, "Is 2007 really just 1989 but, you know, worse?"

Quote of the Day: "While I'm a jerk, I'm not the kind of person who would ever lash out at someone simply over [heckling]." -- [article id="1562284"]Pete Wentz[/article]

Here's what everyone else is talking about:

Britney Spears' mother Lynne speaks out on her daughter's recent struggles in the latest issue of Us Weekly. The magazine reports that Britney and her mom -- who seemed to be on the outs judging by the [article id="1560634"]singer's recent statements[/article] -- reconciled on Sunday. "Britney Jean Spears is the sweetest and the most sensitive and loving of all my children," Lynne said in the interview. "She¹s just figuring things out." ...

There's more line-skipping drama at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility thanks to the Hiltons. The Associated Press reports that Paris' parents cut ahead of other inmates' family and friends when they visited their incarcerated daughter on Tuesday, leading to more complaints that the heiress is receiving special treatment. Meanwhile, The "Free Paris Hilton NOW" campaign has surrendered, and Hilton's talent agency dropped her, Reuters reports. ...

Is Kevin Federline going to be a father for a fifth time? New York Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams reports that Shar Jackson is seven weeks into a pregnancy, and K-Fed is the dad. That might put a damper on the Britney-K-Fed reunion rumors that made the rounds last week. ...

Kelly Clarkson has fired her manager just two weeks before her album My December hits stores, Entertainment Weekly reports. And Clarkson also tells Elle magazine that label mogul Clive Davis offered her $10 million to cut five of her December songs for more radio-friendly tracks (she turned him offer down). "I haven't lost my temper about it," she said. "It only drives me more." ...

White Stripes' Icky Thump will be available in a limited 6,666 run of customized 512MB USB flash drives -- half will look like Jack and half will look like Meg, Pitchfork reports. The USB drives will be available June 19 (same day as the disc hits stores) and will be preloaded with the LP in Apple Lossless format. ...

We already know [article id="1556885"]who's playing Lollapalooza[/article], and now we know when. The festival has posted the schedule for the August 3-5 concert, and the nine stages in Chicago's Grant Park will leave fans with a few tough choices -- what's your Sunday 2:15 p.m. pick, Amy Winehouse or Lupe Fiasco? At least when it comes to Pearl Jam, there's no conflict: The band has the closing slot all to itself. ...

Looks like Journey won't be capitalizing on that [article id="1562298"]"Sopranos" finale[/article] buzz. The band announced Tuesday that it is taking the rest of the year off, and splitting with singer Jeff Scott Soto, who joined the group in July to fill in for ailing singer Steve Augeri -- who replaced Steve Perry in the late 1990s. ...

Tool guitarist Adam Jones says the band may be interested in making a movie, but it would have to be pretty awesome -- "not just something thrown together or home movies or some sh---y filmed live show," he told Billboard. "If I had my way, it would be a narrative story in a surreal fashion with as much money and special effects we could throw at it." ...

"The Incredible Hulk" has its hunter. According to The Hollywood Reporter, William Hurt has joined the cast as General Thunderbolt Ross, a man determined to capture the Hulk. General Ross also happens to be the father of Bruce Banner's love interest Betty Ross. ...

Regina King is thawing out "The Big Chill," starring in and producing a remake of the 1983 film -- about a group of old friends who reunite at a funeral -- that will feature a black cast, Variety reports. ...

Jennifer Aniston has signed up to go behind bars as the producer -- and possible star -- of "Goree Girls," a 1940s-set musical about eight women in a Texas prison who form a country band, according to The Hollywood Reporter. ...

And Don Herbert, who taught generations of children science via his 1951-64 series "Watch Mr. Wizard" and the 1980s Nickelodeon show "Mr. Wizard's World," died Tuesday in Los Angeles, AP reports. He was 89.