Morning Briefing:
M.Diddy to the rescue! Lil' Kim apparently has Martha Stewart to thank -- at least partly -- for the relatively light sentence -- one year and one day in the clink -- for perjuring herself before a grand jury to protect friends involved in a 2001 shootout in New York. Although the diminutive rapper was eligible to serve up to 20 years, the judge in the case, who was also apparently softened by Lil' Kim's last-minute confession and expression of regret, invoked the spirit of Stewart, who served only five months in prison -- plus the five months of home confinement she's currently enduring -- for lying to investigators, as he imposed Lil' Kim's sentence. "Do you think I could justify a sentence seven times that of another entertainer who happens to be older and whiter and whose following is richer?" Manhattan federal Judge Gerard Lynch said. Nope. Probably not. (N.Y. Post, N.Y. Daily News, Associated Press)
Rush to judgment: Some of Rush Limbaugh's medical records have been released to investigators looking into possible doctor shopping for drugs on his part. Limbaugh's attorney contends that he is "confident that the state attorney will find nothing in these records to support a charge of doctor shopping, because there was no doctor shopping. The records show that Mr. Limbaugh received legitimate medical treatment for legitimate medical reasons. Further, the attorney contends, "The prescription records that are in the search warrant affidavits should be put in perspective. Of the 2,130 pills prescribed, only 1,863 were painkillers, and of those only 1,733 were for hydrocodone. These were to be taken over a period of 217 days, from the date of the first prescription until 30 days from the date of the last prescription. The dose averages out to a little over eight pills a day, which is not excessive and is in fact a lawful dose." Prosecutors, however, contend that the records do show that Limbaugh was "doctor shopping," getting overlapping prescriptions from multiple physicians. (Associated Press, RushLimbaugh.com)
Is Britney Spears pregnant with twins? N.Y. Daily News gossip Lloyd Grove reports, "The 23-year-old Mrs. Kevin Federline has just learned she will be giving birth to twins." Spears' press rep responded, "If she's having twins, I have not been told that yet. Let me make some calls" -- and then didn't call Grove back. Seems unlikely to me that Spears, now about five months along, would just be learning that she's carrying twins, but hey, I suppose anything's possible in Britneyland. (Lloyd Grove's Lowdown)
Details, details: Us Weekly was forced to halt the printing of its magazine after learning that it had erred in reporting several details about Angelina Jolie's adoption of an Ethiopian child. According to the magazine's Web site, "In some early editions of the July 18 issue, Us Weekly inaccurately reported that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were adopting a baby boy together. Her new daughter is, in fact, a girl, and while Pitt was present when Jolie signed the adoption papers, he himself was not a party to the adoption." The magazine says it was not able to catch all the incorrect issues before they were released. The magazine's arch-rival, People, apparently got the story right. In other confusing Jolie/Pitt news, Pitt has either just bought a house near Jolie's country estate in England or the duo is looking to ditch England altogether and buy a house together in Provence, France. (Us Weekly, Page Six, Sify.com)
Together again: Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee have reportedly been seen "kissing and hugging and holding hands" at various events over the past week -- first in Hollywood, then in Maui. Although their reps are refusing to comment, the former (and perhaps reunited) couple's good buddy Courtney Love has seen fit to tell the press that "there's something going down" between them. (Softpedia, Page Six)
Also: It's official: The judge in the wrongful death suit brought by Biggie Smalls' family has declared a mistrial in light of the "deliberate concealment" of records pertaining to the case by members of the LAPD. The case will likely be retried in a few months. (N.Y. Daily News) ... The Star magazine and the National Enquirer have both snagged photos of the Jennifer Garner/Ben Affleck nuptials that reveal that Garner wore white, Affleck wore cream -- and Garner's "Alias" co-star Victor Garber appeared not only to witness the ceremony, but to officiate at it. (Gatecrasher) ... Prosecutors in the Michael Jackson case are contesting his request that they return photos of his penis snapped by cops back in 1993, insisting that he has no legal right to them. (N.Y. Post) ... Dan Rather has reportedly been helping former CBS producer Mary Mapes with her book telling her side of the Memogate scandal. (Page Six) ... Live 8 mastermind Bob Geldof has been nominated for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize by a Norwegian Parliamentarian. (BBC News) ... Several artists whose album sales have skyrocketed since they appeared at Live 8 -- including Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney and Annie Lennox -- say they will donate or share profits from the increased sales to the relief effort in Africa. (Softpedia)
Turn On:
CBS airs the season premiere of -- heaven help us -- "Big Brother 6" on Thursday at 8 p.m. EDT.
-- Amy Reiter
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