UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — Jay Leno checked into a hospital with an undisclosed illness yesterday and canceled the taping of the "Tonight" show, but was doing well and planned to return next week, his publicist and NBC said. NBC aired a rerun of his show.

Leno left his office at NBC's studios about midday and checked into a hospital for observation, said his publicist — who would not identify what ailed Leno, but characterized it as "mild" and said the comedian continued to work yesterday, making phone calls and writing jokes. It was an unusual situation for the energetic Leno, 58, who routinely fills off-days from his TV show with live appearances on the comedy circuit.

JUDD, CORWIN URGE HELP FOR WILDLIFE

WASHINGTON — Actress Ashley Judd and TV personality Jeff Corwin are urging Congress to spend $7 billion a year to help safeguard America's wildlife from the impact of global warming.

Judd, a longtime environmental activist, told a House subcommittee yesterday that legislation should not just address the causes of global warming, but also the effects already being seen on the ground.

Judd says global warming is already being felt on her farm in Tennessee.

Corwin, a biologist and Animal Planet cable channel host, told the committee that up to 30 percent of the world's species will be on the brink of extinction unless global warming is curbed.

POLICE DROP 'SLUMDOG' CHILD-SALE CASE

MUMBAI, India — Indian police said yesterday they will not charge the father of a child star in the hit movie "Slumdog Millionaire," and ended their investigation into claims he tried to sell his 9-year-old girl to a reporter posing as a wealthy sheik.

Rubina Ali's estranged mother, Khurshid Monish Dewade, filed a complaint against the girl's father Sunday, after the British tabloid News of the World reported that he offered Ali up for adoption for $400,000.

The newspaper — owned by a subsidiary of News Corp., which also owns "Slumdog" distributor Fox Searchlight Pictures — yesterday stood by its report that the deal was offered to one of its journalists. The father, Rafiq Qureshi, has denied any wrongdoing.

'BULGE' DIRECTOR KEN ANNAKIN DIES AT 94

LOS ANGELES — Ken Annakin, a British-born director whose credits include the World War II epics "Battle of the Bulge" and "The Longest Day" and the family classic "Swiss Family Robinson," has died at 94.

Annakin died Wednesday night at his Beverly Hills home, said his daughter. His health had been failing since a heart attack and stroke in February, she said.

Annakin dabbled in many genres, from action comedies and family fare to crime drama and swashbuckling romance, but had not directed since the early 1990s.