INDIO, Calif. — Three years ago it was Madonna. Last year, Prince. This year's Coachella music festival is anchored by perhaps rock's biggest icon — Paul McCartney.

The former Beatle was the headliner yesterday at the first night of the Coachella extravaganza. Morrissey, Leonard Cohen and Hold Steady also performed.

The three-day festival includes some 120 musical acts, from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs to TV on the Radio.

Las Vegas-based Killers and M.I.A. headline a more youthful lineup today. My Bloody Valentine and The Cure cap off tomorrow night.

KUTCHER NOW RULES IN TWITTER LAND

For now, Ashton Kutcher is the king of Twitter.

Kutcher triumphed over CNN in their much ballyhooed race to be the first ever to reach a million followers on the microblogging Web site. Kutcher passed that mark in the early morning hours yesterday, narrowly edging out the breaking news feed from the Time Warner Inc.-owned network.

"We have shown the world that the new wave is here," Kutcher said on a live webcast on ustream.tv shortly after passing the million mark.

Kutcher had long trailed CNN, but staged a rally in recent days that captured the attention of the Web. The million-mark race reflects the huge upswing of Twitter's popularity. The site allows users to type "tweets" of 140 characters or less on their computers or cell phones, which others "follow" on Twitter like a stock ticker.

KILMER PUTS $33M PRICE ON N.M. RANCH

Val Kilmer is trying to sell his ranch near Santa Fe, N.M., for $33 million.

A buyer would get almost six miles of Pecos River frontage, a fishery and wildlife, including bears and bobcats. The nearly 6,000-acre ranch has a Southwest-style main house, a caretaker's home, guest homes, barns, garages and outbuildings.

The 49-year-old Kilmer, who has had the ranch for 13 years, has said he is considering a run for governor of New Mexico next year. His screen credits include "Top Gun," "Batman Forever," "Tombstone" and "The Doors."

JUDGE SENDS O'NEAL'S SON BACK TO REHAB

A judge is giving the son of Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal another chance to kick his drug habit.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Millington yesterday transferred two felony drug cases against Redmond O'Neal to a court that could send him to a stringent rehab program. But he warned the 24-year-old that if he fails at rehab — as he has at least three times before — he's going to prison.

"Understand if I see you in that seat again, it's not going to be pretty," Millington told a somber O'Neal.

O'Neal appeared in a jail jumpsuit and told Millington he is motivated by his mother's ailing health to stay clean. He said Fawcett weighs 86 pounds and that he is ashamed of his recent relapses and his April 5 arrest on suspicion of taking heroin to a jail he was visiting.