Two days into her jail term and by all accounts Lindsay Lohan is adjusting okay. People.com has a report this morning that Lohan's mother Dina, and sister Ali attempted to visit the prison to see Lindsay, but it was unclear whether they were able to see the troubled actress. Visiting hours at Century Regional Detention Facility are on weekends for family and friends, however, the prison can make some exceptions. But the magazine's source said that they left the prison "stone-faced" and without comment, leaving it unclear as to whether they were allowed visitation.
But sources inside the prison have indicated that Lohan is a model inmate through two days of her 90-day sentence. (Lohan could be released at as early as two weeks, according to some legal observers, if she remains cooperative with prison authorities.) The magazine's insider says that Lohan remains slightly concerned about mixing with other prisoners, but she has been repeatedly assured that she won't. But even those small concerns are not enough to disrupt her eating & sleeping.
The insider says that she has "devoured all the food served to her" since entering the prison, and has "slept soundly for most of her time in custody." Of course, the sleeping may be aided by a sleeping pill which the prison doctor approved for Lohan to take. The doctor also gave the green light for Lohan to take her ADHD and anxiety medications.
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The Los Angeles sheriff's office has agreed to take up Mel Gibson's request to investigate estranged girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva for an alleged extortion scheme. The alleged extortion revolved around the nasty tapes that have been released weekly by RadarOnline. Sources tell E! News that Grigorieva was allegedly demanding $10 million from Gibson, or she would leak them to the media and ruin his already tarnished reputation.
The Hollywood Reporter says that Gibson's team is using a text message allegedly sent by Grigorieva to bolster their case that it was a shake-down. According to THR, in the text message from Grigorieva, the model tells Gibson that she recorded their phone conversations because "you broke your agreement with me."
Grigorieva's rep, however, denies that she is behind any extortion attempt telling E! News, "To specifically address the allegations, my client, Ms. Grigorieva, has repeatedly stated that there is no credible evidence whatsoever of extortion by her, and she stands steadfastly by that statement."
A bar in New York, meanwhile, is having a little fun at Gibson's expense. They have launched a drink named after Gibson which they call a "bipolar" cocktail. The drink features an ounce of gin, with a shot of vodka. But it isn't just any vodka, it is one named after Vincent van Gogh, the 19th century painter who suffered from manic depression, of which Gibson has stated in interviews that he has as well.
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The Los Angeles coroner's office says that Simon Monjack died of the same ailments as his wife, actress Brittany Murphy. The coroner's report says that Monjack died from acute pneumonia and severe anemia. Officials say that while some prescription drugs were found in Monjack's system, they were not at levels that would be considered lethal.
Monjack died five months after Murphy, who passed in December 2009. The final coroner report on Murphy said that the actress died of acute pneumonia, but anemia and drugs were contributing factors.
Brittany's mother, Sharon Murphy, was glad to hear the findings. "It is with great relief that Simon's preliminary autopsy findings have been released, so the media speculations can stop. As I was sure of, just like my daughter Brittany, there was no kind of drug overdose," Murphy told CNN.
One more test will be performed on Monjack's body before they release the final report, in approximately two weeks.
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Kate Gosselin is not breaking any child labor laws, so says Pennsylvania's Department of Labor. The Department of Labor was pressed into investigating the reality TV mom after it received a letter from a state lawmaker. Rep. Thomas P. Murt sent a letter to the agency requesting an investigation into whether the show and cable network TLC had violated any of the state's child labor laws.
Murt pointed to a statute that permits children under the age of seven to perform temporarily in movies, but not on television shows. It is unclear how documentary-style reality television falls under that statute, but Murt wanted a ruling.
The agency said that they were "assured during its investigation, visit to the site, and issuance of permits that protections applied to these children and that they were not unlawfully exploited."
A previous investigation set a standard which the production company is following. The regulations stated that the Gosselin children "can only work between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., except during the summer; they cannot work more than four hours on a school day and no more than 18 hours a week during the school year; and kids can't go longer than five hours without a break."
The Department of Labor rep assured Murt that those standards were met, and that the children's interest were protected.
-- Dave Valenzuela
