ENGAGED: Melissa Etheridge, 41, and her companion of two years, actress Tammy Lynn Michaels("Popular"), 28, plan to wed at the end of this year. Etheridge's publicist, Marcel Pariseau, says, "This is the first wedding for both of them." He declined to reveal plans for the ceremony, other than to say it will occur in Los Angeles. The rocker shares custody of a daughter and a son with former partner Julie Cypher, who carried the children. David Crosby donated the sperm, the two parents eventually revealed.

SUGGESTED: The California Highway Patrol will recommend a felony charge against former "Wild, Wild West" star Robert Conrad, 74, whose car crashed head-on into another vehicle two weeks ago, seriously injuring the driver, police tell the Associated Press. Authorities declined to release details of Conrad's blood-alcohol test, but they said Monday the results will warrant the felony charge of driving under the influence with injury to another person.

WON: Movie producer Steve Bing won "substantial" libel damages from Britain's Daily Mail on Wednesday over an article claiming he had tried to tarnish the reputation of his former lover, actress Liz Hurley, reports Reuters. The article said the millionaire had "orchestrated a vicious campaign" to destroy the reputation of the actress, Bing's lawyer Nathalie Paterson had told the High Court. Bing, 38, dated Hurley, 37, for about 18 months when she became pregnant. He then publicly raised questions about his paternity. (DNA tests eventually put those questions to rest.) No financial details about the Mail's settlement were disclosed.

SET: Despite 80-degree temperatures on Tuesday and (predicted for) Wednesday in New York, cold weather is due to return this Friday, when NBC's "Today" show launches its new season of outdoor concerts in Rockefeller Plaza. Rain or shine, the lineup will include Fleetwood Mac, this week; Jewel, May 2; Mariah Carey, May 9; Ashanti, July 18; Shania Twain, Aug. 1; LL Cool J, Aug. 8, and Sting, Oct. 2. (Can't Sting show up any earlier?)