July 05, 2007
Paris Hilton's garbage sells big on eBay
LOS ANGELES - An empty can of gourmet dog food taken from Paris Hilton's trash fetched $305 in an eBay auction. The sellers were from a Web site, which also listed several other Hilton items for sale on eBay.
A used toothbrush sold for $305; two envelopes sent to her while she was in jail sold for $510; and a Coke can pulled from her trash went for $51.
The organic gourmet dog food was produced by Party Animal Inc., and can be found in about 150 stores in Southern California and about 40 in New York. It can also be bought through the company's Web site.
Posted by ronnie at 03:50 PM | Comments (0)
June 07, 2007
Paris Hilton released from LA jail
LOS ANGELES - Paris Hilton was released from a Los Angeles County jail early Thursday because of an unspecified medical problem and will fulfill the reminder of her sentence in home confinement, a sheriff's spokesman said.
The 26-year-old hotel heiress was sent home shortly after 2 a.m. fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet. She had spent five days at the Century Regional Detention Facility in suburban Los Angeles for violating probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.
"I can't specifically talk about the medical situation other than to say that, yes, it played a part in this," said sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.
Hilton had been sentenced to 45 days behind bars, but had been expected to serve 23 days because of state rules allowing shorter sentences for good behavior.
Whitmore said that under the new agreement, Hilton would be confined to her home for 40 days.
"Because she has agreed to this through her attorney, her sentence is now back up to the 45 days. She has served already five days so that's 40 days," he explained.
Hilton checked into the Century Regional Detention Facility just after 11:30 p.m. Sunday. She had surrendered to authorities with little fanfare after a surprise appearance at the MTV Movie Awards, where she worked the red carpet in a strapless designer gown.
"I am trying to be strong right now," she told reporters at the time. "I'm ready to face my sentence. Even though this is a really hard time, I have my family, my friends and my fans to support me, and that's really helpful."
Hilton was housed in the "special needs" unit of the 13-year-old jail, separate from most of its 2,200 inmates. The unit contains 12 two-person cells reserved for police officers, public officials, celebrities and other high-profile inmates. She didn't have a cellmate.
After she checked in Sunday, Whitmore said Hilton's demeanor was helpful.
"She was focused; she was cooperative," he said.
Hilton's lawyer, Richard A. Hutton, said Monday after his client's first night in jail that she was doing well under the circumstances.
"She's using this time to reflect on her life, to see what she can do to make the world better and hopefully, in my opinion, to change the attitudes that exist about her among many people," Hutton said after visiting Hilton.
The 13-year-old jail, a two-story concrete building next to train tracks and beneath a bustling freeway, has been an all-female facility since March 2006. It's located in an industrial area about 12 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
When she was sentenced May 4, Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer ruled that she would not be allowed any work release, furloughs or use of an alternative jail or electronic monitoring in lieu of jail.
Officers arrested Hilton in Hollywood on Sept. 7. In January, she pleaded no contest to the reckless-driving charge and was sentenced to 36 months' probation, alcohol education and $1,500 in fines.
She was pulled over by California Highway Patrol on Jan. 15. Officers informed Hilton she was driving on a suspended license and she signed a document acknowledging she was not to drive. She then was pulled over by sheriff's deputies on Feb. 27, at which time she was charged with violating probation.
Posted by ronnie at 10:11 AM | Comments (0)
August 08, 2006
Hillary Clinton on display at NY's Museum of Sex
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A "Presidential Bust" of U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton was unveiled on Wednesday at New York's Museum of Sex, where sculptor Daniel Edwards hopes it will spark discussion about sex, politics and celebrity.
Edwards, the artist who also created a life-size nude of Britney Spears giving birth on a bear-skin rug, said he wanted to capture Clinton's age and femininity in the sculpture.
Clinton's office had no immediate comment.
Edwards said his work features soft "presidential smile" and wrinkles framing her eyes. A floral pattern runs across her breasts, part of Edwards' effort to present Clinton "as a woman -- not a covered up person, but as a woman."
"I didn't want to give her a face lift or change her age," he said of his work.
"The key was to reveal her chest a little bit. She usually covers herself up, but I don't think that's necessary."
Posted by ronnie at 01:59 PM | Comments (0)
July 06, 2006
Rush Limbaugh cleared in Viagra probe
MIAMI (Reuters) - Conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh has been cleared of wrongdoing following his detention at a Florida airport last month, when agents found a bottle of Viagra in his luggage that was not prescribed in his name, authorities said on Wednesday.
Under Florida law, certain prescription drugs, including Pfizer's erectile dysfunction remedy Viagra, must bear the name of the person carrying them. Violation is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine and 60 days in jail.
But the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office said Limbaugh's psychiatrist had agreed to have his name placed on the Viagra bottle, rather than that of his patient, "in an effort to avoid potentially embarrassing publicity."
Limbaugh, an abrasive and often moralistic talk show host, admitted in October 2003 that he was addicted to painkillers. He was returning from the Dominican Republic when he was detained at Palm Beach County International Airport on June 26 after arriving there on a private plane.
Michael Edmondson, a spokesman for the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, said the Viagra incident would have no impact on a deal Limbaugh struck with prosecutors in April to end an investigation into whether he had illegally used different doctors at the same time to obtain large quantities of painkillers.
Under the deal, Limbaugh was booked on one count of concealing information to fraudulently obtain a prescription drug. Prosecutors agreed to drop the charge in 18 months if Limbaugh continued to seek drug therapy treatment, his lawyer said.
Posted by ronnie at 12:11 PM | Comments (0)
June 25, 2006
Rush Limbaugh detained in Florida over Viagra pills
MIAMI (Reuters) - Right-wing U.S. radio commentator Rush Limbaugh, a one-time target of a prescription fraud investigation, was detained at a Florida airport when agents found a bottle of Viagra in his luggage that was not prescribed in his name, police said on Tuesday.
Under Florida law certain prescription drugs, including Pfizer's erectile dysfunction remedy Viagra, must bear the name of the person carrying them. Violation is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine and 60 days in jail.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said Limbaugh was detained for nearly four hours but was not arrested or charged. Details of the case were passed on to the local state attorney's office for possible prosecution.
Limbaugh was returning from the Dominican Republic, according to the police spokesman. He did not know if Limbaugh was with companions.
The incident marks the latest legal trouble for the controversial and often moralistic radio talk show host, who admitted in October 2003 that he was addicted to painkillers.
Limbaugh made the admission after published reports that he was facing an investigation for allegedly using a housekeeper at his Palm Beach mansion to illegally obtain prescription drugs.
Limbaugh struck a deal with prosecutors in April to end a lengthy investigation into whether he also "doctor shopped" -- using different doctors at the same time to get large quantities of painkillers.
Under the deal, Limbaugh was booked on a single count of concealing information to fraudulently obtain a prescription drug. Prosecutors agreed to drop the charge in 18 months if Limbaugh continued to seek drug therapy treatment, his lawyer said.
Limbaugh was stopped on Monday at Palm Beach County International Airport after arriving on a private plane. Customs officers found a bottle containing 29 blue tablets in his luggage, Palm Beach Sheriff's Sgt. Pete Palenzuela said.
"The prescription label had two doctors' names on it and did not have Mr. Limbaugh's name on it," he said. "Mr. Limbaugh said the Viagra was his and was for his personal use."
It was not clear if the incident will affect the deal struck in April. His attorney, Roy Black, was not immediately available for comment.
"Rush Limbaugh was detained by customs agents after they noticed a non-narcotic prescription drug, which had been prescribed by Mr. Limbaugh's treating physician but labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes," Black said in a written statement.
Posted by ronnie at 07:39 PM | Comments (0)
April 02, 2006
Supermodel arrested on assault charge
The British supermodel Naomi Campbell was arrested in New York yesterday and charged with second degree assault after allegedly attacking a woman at her Manhattan apartment.
Ms Campbell, 35, arrived handcuffed at a court last night following an early-morning incident at her flat on Park Avenue which allegedly left a Hispanic woman in her early 40s with lacerations to the head, police told the Guardian. The woman was taken to hospital and required four stitches.
The Streatham-born model was visited by officers at 11am and taken to the Midtown North police precinct, for fingerprinting and photographing. "The police have been really nice," the supermodel said. "They are treating me great."
"We believe this is a case of retaliation, because Naomi had fired her housekeeper earlier this morning," Amanda Silverman, a spokeswoman for Ms Campbell, said in a statement. "We are confident the courts will see it the same way." Another representative insisted Ms Campbell had committed no assault.
It is not the first time Ms Campbell has been linked with allegations of violent attacks on her staff and entourage.
In February 2000, she pleaded guilty in court in Toronto to beating a former assistant, Georgina Galanis, who said that the model had attacked her several times, at one point throwing a telephone at her.
Ms Campbell was given an absolute discharge, clearing her record, and said at the time that she blamed her temper on having been abandoned by her father in childhood. Since then, three other former employees have complained of assault at Ms Campbell's hands, though no charges have ever been brought.
Posted by ronnie at 10:57 AM | Comments (0)
March 29, 2006
Storm brews over 'Pro-Life' Britney Spears sculpture
NEW YORK (AFP) - A life-size nude sculpture of pop star Britney Spears giving birth on a bearskin rug has attracted angry mail from both sides of the US abortion debate, ahead of its exhibit in New York next month.
The sculpture by artist Daniel Edwards, titled "Monument to Pro-Life," will be shown at the Capla Kesting Fine Art Gallery in Brooklyn starting April 7.
"We've received hate mail. There's nothing we haven't got on this, and it continues," said gallery owner Lincoln Capla.
While pro-choice advocates have condemned the sculpture's anti-abortion message, the anti-abortion lobby has expressed some disquiet over the graphic nature of the work.
What the gallery termed an "idealised depiction" of Spears giving birth shows the pop star kneeling on her hands and knees, with widened hips and a posterior view that reveals the crowning of the baby's head.
Requests for comment from Spears's publicist were not immediately answered Wednesday.
"She hasn't made any contact so far," Capla said of Spears, who gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston, six months ago.
"Spears provides inspiration for those struggling with the right choice," Edwards said in a statement.
"She was number one with Google last year, with good reason. People are inspired by the beauty of a pregnant woman," he added.
Edwards said models he used when researching the sculpture included the wax figure of a pole-dancing Spears at the Madame Tussaud's in Las Vegas.
The vehemence of the advance response to the work has prompted the gallery to boost security for the exhibition.
Posted by ronnie at 10:50 AM | Comments (0)