The news happens all the time, even while you're catching up on 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:

NBC has received a package that Cho Seung-Hui mailed Monday morning, containing video and photos that the Virginia Tech gunman took after the first shooting that claimed two lives but before the second shooting. NBC News President Steve Capus described the video as "rambling" and "absolutely horrifying." The package did not include images of the shooting, but did reference it. "When the time came, I did it. I had to," Cho said in one of the clips. ...

The real Kelly Clarkson will be on display on her next album, My December, she tells us. "There's more 'me' on this record. ... I wrote the entire thing. It wasn't planned like that, because I don't think you have to write everything you sing, but on this one I had a lot to say." ...

And Sanjaya Malakar was cut from the "American Idol" running last night and went out with a wink, ad-libbing "Let's give them something to talk about ... other than hair" into his final performance.

Quote of the Day: "People need to understand, there are families involved. It's not right." — Simon Cowell responding to allegations that he rolled his eyes at a mention of the Virginia Tech tragedy on Tuesday's "Idol"

Here's what everyone else is talking about

One Lindsay Lohan interview can go a long way. Her quotes published in the May issue of Allure are currently getting a lot of mileage — People is going with the "I don't know that I'm necessarily an addict"/ "I just felt safe" angle; the extra-juicy TheBosh.com couldn't help but zero in on Lohan's "I always said I would die before I went to rehab" comment; and the New York Post's "Page Six" was most fascinated Wednesday with Lohan's claim that she's the one who keeps her friends "safe." ...

50 Cent makes today's "Page Six", with news that he was ordered to pay $10,000 in child support for his 10-year-old son on Monday. The Post gossip column claims that 50's tough time in court started the moment he arrived. "He balked at going through metal detectors and caused a commotion as he vainly demanded VIP treatment," "Page Six" reports. ...

Variety reports that Laurence Fishburne will provide the voice of the Silver Surfer in the upcoming "Fantastic Four" sequel. Early buzz had Fishburne playing the villain Galactus in "Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer," but according to Variety, "the studio hasn't decided whether Galactus will even speak." Fox will have to sort that one out soon — the movie is scheduled to premiere June 15. ...

Hits Daily Double predicts that Avril Lavigne will be sitting on top of the albums chart next week, on pace to sell 250,000 copies of her Best Damn Thing according to first-day-sales reports. Nine Inch Nails' Year Zero is expected to rack up 200,000 sales, while season-five "Idol" finalist Bucky Covington will likely move 60,000 copies of his debut its first week out — probably good enough to open in the top 10. See that, Sanjaya? And Bucky didn't even make the top seven on "Idol." ...

In other news that may ease the sting of the "Idol" boot, season-five finalist Elliott Yamin is heading out on a headlining tour that kicks off May 15, liveDaily reports. Sure, the Great American Rib and Music Fest doesn't sound glamorous, but top billing at New York's Bowery Ballroom, Seattle's Showbox and L.A.'s the Roxy is nothing to sneeze at. ...

And the Arctic Monkeys' upcoming LP Favorite Worst Nightmare has some strange inspirations, the NME reports. The band told British radio station XFM that they were listening to Ricky Martin, music from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and wearing MC Hammer's parachute pants while they recorded the disc.