NEWS LITE : IRISH CASTLE SETTING FOR `POSH' WEDDING.

Gearing up for the celebrity wedding of Victoria ``Posh Spice'' Adams and her soccer star fiance David Beckham, a steady stream of cars and vans swept through electronic gates Saturday at Luttrellstown Castle in Ireland.

The Spice Girls singer and Beckham arrived at Dublin airport by private jet Friday night, accompanied by their families. The pair, both 24, have a 4-month-old son, Brooklyn.

A huge marquee for today's celebrations was already in place at the 560-acre estate outside Dublin. A covered walkway was being built to shield famous guests from airborne cameras.

The Irish Aviation Authority has reminded pilots that it expected increased activity around the castle and reminded them it was illegal to fly low over groups of people.

The three other Spice Girls and Elton John were expected guests.

Chili Peppers back from big drug binge

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are back after a four-year layoff following severe drug relapses and another switch in guitar players.

The Los Angeles group consisting of Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith and rehired former guitarist John Frusciante have come out with a new album ``Californication'' and the band is back on the road doing concerts.

``That we should make it to the same place and time together again,'' Kiedis says in the August issue of Spin magazine, ``and the fact that we didn't die or become spiritually crippled in the process of going through all these hardships means there was really something in the air that wanted this (reunion) to happen.''

Soda devices jam phones with aid calls

A bizarre computer glitch has left soft drink machines calling for help - literally.

The faulty machines may have placed hundreds of phone calls to Australian police, ambulance and fire service emergency phone lines, blocking true emergency calls, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.

Thousands of the machines around Sydney, Australia, are programmed to automatically call a number at a distribution company when they are near empty.

However, some of the machines dialed a default 000 number, the emergency number, instead of the distribution company number, Adam Redman, spokesman for the National telecommunications company Telstra Corp., was quoted as saying.

Telstra began investigating to find how many of the about 1 million hoax or mistake calls a year received by the emergency number were made by the machines, the newspaper said.

Man regains title as top pit spitter 

Rick ``Pellet Gun'' Krause took in a deep breath, curled his tongue around a cherry pit and let go a mighty spit Saturday.

The pit bounced to a stop 67 feet 2 inches away, giving Krause, 45, his 11th title in the International Cherry Pit Spitting Championship held in Eau Claire, Mich., and a measure of revenge against his son, Brian, who beat him last year.

Brian Krause, 20, who broke his father's record last year with a spit of 72 feet 11 inches, finished fifth Saturday.

The elder Krause said the keys to pit spitting are lung capacity, cleaning the pit off completely before spitting, and the ability to curl the tongue around the pit ``to get a good seal.''

Birthday celebrants to be photographed

On the fourth minute of the seventh hour Sunday, a flash bulb will capture the faces of a century and the future of the millennium in America.

Peering through the camera lens, the photographer will see whites laughing with blacks; wrinkled hands holding young babies; descendants of immigrants standing side-by-side with Native Americans.

Together, these 112 people who were born on July 4 throughout the 1900s, will make up the ``Photo of the Century'' in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

They will include twins, triplets and quadruplets, a man and his dog, a mother and daughter and a husband and wife.

``This is historical, and I'm the one. I'm the oldest one. What an honor,'' said Betty Marx, of Belleair Bluffs, Fla., who was born in 1900.

The silver-haired woman's five caretakers helped pack a suitcase filled with red, white and blue outfits.

``In all my years, I've never celebrated with a bunch of people who have the same birthday.''

Not all the participants will be old enough to understand the historical value of the event - especially the newborn to be chosen between midnight and 7:04 a.m. But the ones who are say Hollywood couldn't have scripted a more dramatic or compelling birthday party.

Karolyn Grimes, who played Jimmy Stewart's daughter in the film ``It's a Wonderful Life,'' will represent the year 1940.

``I can't help but think it's such a privilege. Not only being in that wonderful classic film, but living in this country - America - makes it a wonderful life,'' Grimes said.

The photo will be posted on the Internet, and officials will eventually find a place to permanently display the photo in Philadelphia and other interested cities, event spokeswoman Danielle Cohn said.

In January, Philadelphia was bombarded with photos and essays from people around the country vying to be a part of the photo.

Alton Cotton, 40, of Brownwood, Texas, secretly sent an application in for his mother, Liberty Bell Cotton, 63.

``She raised nine kids by herself, and she's never ever been out of Texas. I figured it was a pretty good once-in-a-lifetime event,'' he said.

After officials picked the participants, the city put together a weekend of freebies for the birthday girls and boys: round-trip plane rides and hotel rooms, special barbecue and prime rib meals, VIP passes to city museums, tickets to a Phillies game, concerts and a parade.

News Lite is compiled from Daily News staff and wire reports.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1) Hang in there, baby

In a scene reminiscent of grade-school classroom wall art, Fawn the cat climbs upside-down on a tightrope during the All-Star Mutts show at Sea World Ohio in Aurora. All the show's stars are animals rescued from animal shelters and trained by park staff.

Amy Sancetta/Associated Press

(2) Betty Marx of Belleair Bluffs, Fla., who turns 99 today, is among the subjects of a portrait that will be snapped at 7:04 a.m.

Chris Gardner/Associated Press

(3) Victoria ``Posh Spice'' Adams shows of her engagement ring from fiance David Beckham, a British soccer star. The two marry today.

John Giles/Associated Press