Looks like there's finally some good news for Britney Spears. The singer has been passing her court-ordered random drug tests and has a 50/50 chance of regaining custody of her children, her lawyer Sorrell Trope told People. Also, while Spears has lots of court dates to keep track of these days, she has one less for her calendar this week -- her arraignment on misdemeanor driving charges (for hit and run, causing property damage and driving without a valid California license). Though her arraignment was scheduled for Wednesday, a Los Angeles judge decided Tuesday (October 9) that Spears could have until October 25 to enter a plea. The judge also ordered the singer to be booked by police and show proof of that booking by her arraignment, according to a court clerk. Spears' next hearing in her custody case will be the following day, on October 26. ...

Kiefer Sutherland will serve 30 days in Los Angeles County Jail as part of a plea deal in his DUI arrest, The Associated Press reports. He must also enroll in an 18-month alcohol-education class and go to weekly alcohol-therapy sessions for six months. On Tuesday, Sutherland's attorney Blair Berk entered a no-contest plea on the actor's behalf for driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit, though a second misdemeanor DUI charge was dropped. The actor was most recently arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles in September -- he was already on probation for a DUI arrest stemming from 2004. He will be sentenced December 21. ...

Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Linkin Park and -- yes, you're reading this right -- Daughtry are tied for the most American Music Awards nominations this year, it was announced Tuesday. Each artist earned three nods for various categories. In terms of pop/rock, Akon, Timbaland and Timberlake are facing off for Favorite Male Artist; Beyoncé, Fergie and Avril Lavigne are vying for Favorite Female Artist; Linkin Park, Maroon 5 and Nickelback are competing for Favorite Band, Duo or Group; and Daughtry, LP's Minutes to Midnight and JT's FutureSex/LoveSounds are going head to head for Favorite Album. As for rap/hip-hop, Fabolous, T.I. and Young Jeezy are vying for Favorite Male Artist; Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Pretty Ricky and Shop Boyz for Favorite Band, Duo or Group; and Bone Thugs' Strength & Loyalty, T.I.'s T.I. vs. T.I.P. and Jeezy's The Inspiration for Favorite Album. And on the soul/R&B front, Akon, Ne-Yo and T-Pain are up for Favorite Male Artist; Beyoncé, Fantasia and Rihanna are squaring off for Favorite Female Artist; Beyoncé's B'Day, R. Kelly's Double Up and JT's FutureSex/LoveSounds have been nominated for Favorite Album. There are also Favorite Artist categories for adult-contemporary music (Daughtry, Norah Jones and John Mayer); alternative rock (Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance and the White Stripes) and Latin music (Daddy Yankee, Juan Luis Guerra y 440 and Jennifer Lopez). Daughtry, Plain White T's and Robin Thicke have been noticed for Favorite Breakthrough Artist, while Carrie Underwood landed two country-music noms: for Favorite Female Artist and Favorite Album (Some Hearts). For the first time, the AMAs are opening up voting to the general public online -- it began Tuesday on the AMA site and ends November 2. The show, to be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will be broadcast live at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre on November 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. ...

John Graziano, the young Marine who was injured in Nick Hogan's car crash in late August, is on life support and will require lifelong care, Florida's St. Petersburg Times reports. According to documents obtained by the newspaper, the 22-year-old Graziano will, at best, be able to open and close his eyes from time to time. His mother is petitioning a judge to let her assume guardianship of her son, who remains in critical condition. A hearing will be held Wednesday. ...

Rehab was a "sobering" experience for Lindsay Lohan, she told In Touch in her first interview since leaving Utah's Cirque Lodge Treatment Center on Friday. The actress also insisted that while she [article id="1564780"]went to the clubs right after finishing a rehab stint in July,[/article] she's not going to be rekindling her nightlife anytime soon -- to avoid distractions, she'll be staying in Utah until she starts shooting the upcoming flick "Dare to Love Me." "Going out all the time was very self-destructive," she said. "Partying and having all of those pictures taken distracts from the work that I do. It's not why I started acting. I didn't get into acting to be written about. ... I want to act like a woman rather than a teenager. I am doing the best I can." Lohan also opened up about seeing her estranged father for the first time in more than three years, while at Cirque Lodge. "It was really good for me ... it was really important for me to get a connection back with my dad, because I hadn't had that in a while." And if you heard those rumors about Lohan developing a relationship with a man while in rehab ... well, apparently they were true. "Yes, I am seeing someone," she confirmed. "His name is Riley. I am really happy and taking it day by day." The Riley in question is Riley Giles, a 25-year-old snowboarder from California. Last but not least, just as Paris Hilton said she was committing herself to philanthropic efforts after her [article id="1563367"]own debacle,[/article] Lohan revealed that she's trying to put together a December trip to Africa with the Red Cross. ...

"Hannah Montana" fans will want to change the channel from Disney to ABC on Tuesday night when Miley Cyrus breaks out a new duet with her father, Billy Ray, on "Dancing With the Stars." The two will perform "Ready, Set, Don't Go" on the results show, with the single hitting country-radio stations immediately afterward. ... What do Diddy, Panic! at the Disco's Ryan Ross and Fred Durst have in common? They've all earned the less-than-distinguished honor of being selected for Blender's "The 40 Worst Lyricists in Rock" list. Will.I.Am, Billy Corgan, Anthony Kiedis, Common, Dashboard Confessional, Timbaland and, of course, Kevin Federline, also make the (F) grade, with Sting landing in the #1 spot. The list appears in the magazine's November issue, which streets October 16. ... Kid Rock commented to Dave Letterman about his ex-wife Pamela Anderson's recent remarriage -- she got hitched to Rick Salomon in Las Vegas over the weekend. After making a salty remark about the couple on "The Late Show With David Letterman," he quipped, "I wish them much happiness." ...

Wyclef Jean seems to be the go-to guy for special causes these days. After playing at [article id="1570850"]"CGI and MTV Present: Giving - Live at the Apollo"[/article] late last month, he's now been tapped for another special performance, at supermodel Petra Nêmcová's upcoming Heart of Gold Ball benefit auction. The event, to take place Wednesday at Cipriani Wall Street in New York, will have various sports, travel and event packages up for auction. All proceeds will go to Nêmcová's Happy Hearts Fund, which supports education and medical and emotional support for children affected by natural disasters. ... Say what you will about those rumors of Britney Spears putting in an application for a fall-back bartending gig while staying at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica, California, last week. The manager at the hotel's Cameo Bar tells MTV News that while Spears has been there in the past, anyone applying has to have one to two years of fine-dining experience and must pass a drug test. The manager didn't confirm whether Spears had in fact submitted an application. ...

Avenged Sevenfold will play a free gig at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California, on October 20. The set will be taped for later broadcast on MySpace's "The List." Want in? No problem. Just show up in your Halloween costume and get there early -- entry to the show will be on a first-come, first-served basis. ... Jimmy Eat World are going all in with their new single "Big Casino," fashioning their Chase This Light album-release party after the gambling concept. On Monday, the band will turn Los Angeles' El Rey Theatre into a faux casino, with fans able to play poker, blackjack, craps and other games for prizes -- a flyaway to see the band perform in another city, JEW merchandise, El Rey tickets and more. The band will end the evening with an intimate set as Chase This Light drops at midnight. Entrants will get gambling money and a commemorative poster. ...

Causes, a charity album benefiting three organizations working to stop the genocide in Darfur, will be released on iTunes on November 27 and feature exclusive and rare tracks from Bloc Party, the Shins, Bright Eyes, Animal Collective, the Cure, Death Cab for Cutie, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, Travis and Spoon. All proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam America. The album will only be available on iTunes for 90 days, though a limited-edition CD can be ordered right here. ... Queens of the Stone Age are booked for "The Late Show With David Letterman" on Wednesday and are expected to perform their latest single, "3's & 7's." ...

R.E.M. are teeing up a new album for the spring, and what better place to reveal some of it than on ... CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360"? On Wednesday, Michael Stipe and company will perform "Until the Day Is Done," which will be synced up to clips of CNN's "Planet in Peril" environmental documentary. The song will also play over the doc's closing credits and appear on the band's yet-untitled spring LP. R.E.M. Live, a CD/DVD that stands as the band's first concert release, is due October 16. ... Hot Rod Circuit have called it a day. The band issued a statement about the split but didn't offer a reason for it. The boys thanked their fans for supporting them and said they'll miss playing live gigs. ... Senator Hillary Clinton's 60th birthday bash has just gotten a little bit sweeter: Elvis Costello will perform at the Thursday concert, to be held at New York's Beacon Theatre. Tickets range from $250-$2,300 for the bash, for which 2,800 people are expected to attend. Let's hope Costello isn't planning to jump out of a cake. ...

Capitol/Priority is putting some shine on classic rap material with a pair of releases from the vault. N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton is getting the 20th-anniversary treatment via a bonus-track-laden reissue due December 4. The set will feature five extras: a live version of "Compton's N the House" performed by Dr. Dre and MC Ren, and covers of Compton tracks by Snoop Dogg and C-Murder, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Mack-10 and WC. Also on the way is the label's Featuring ... Eazy-E, which pulls together his top collaborations and hard-to-find solo recordings. Four out-of-print tracks are getting new life on the disc, including his "Beverly Hills Cop III" soundtrack contribution, "Luv 4 Dem Gangsta'z," and a rare "We Want Eazy" remix. That disc hits stores December 4 too. ...

Jammie Thomas, the woman who was hit last week with the first-ever copyright infringement jury verdict, said she plans to appeal the $220,000 fine. She announced the decision on her MySpace page, explaining that her lawyer's appeal will take issue with the jury's decision that making songs available online violates copyright laws. "This would stop the RIAA dead in their tracks," she wrote. "Every single suit they have brought has been based on this making-available theory, and if we can win this appeal, they would actually have to prove a file was shared." At press time, Thomas announced that more than $3,800 had been raised so far on FreeJammie.com. ... TiVo has announced that it will offer users of its set-top boxes access to Rhapsody's library of more than 4 million songs. (Rhapsody is part of a joint venture with Viacom Inc., MTV's parent company.) TiVo subscribers with broadband boxes will be able to listen to music streamed over the Internet from Rhapsody in the coming months, though they won't be able to download songs through their TiVo box.

08.08.07

Mariah Carey has a suggestion for troubled young female celebs: Find your center. When asked by Glamour what words of advice she would give Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, she replied, "I wouldn't want to speak to those people specifically, but I would say you need to be very centered, and spiritually know where you're at, all the time. Don't read the tabloids. Don't be obsessed with what people are writing or saying. Live your life for you. My lifestyle has changed since making it. It's not a financial struggle, but I'm still struggling in a lot of ways." Carey graces the cover of the magazine's November issue. ...

Diddy has had a tumultuous few days -- first he was sued by a former associate who claimed the hip-hop mogul owes him $19 million for work by the Notorious B.I.G., and then he accepted legal responsibility for his sixth child, The Associated Press reports. In the suit, James Sabatino claims he flew the late rapper to Miami in 1994 to play a gig and hit the studio -- he recorded a 17-minute freestyle session, and 90 minutes of Biggie video was allegedly captured on video as well. Since Sabatino paid for the travel expenses and studio time, he says it was understood that the music and video belonged to him, even though a contract was never signed. Diddy claims the delay was due to Los Angeles police naming Sabatino as a person of interest in Biggie's death and that it might be misconstrued if people discovered Bad Boy had paid Sabatino. The ex-associate was later imprisoned on unrelated charges but continued trying to get the money from Diddy and was told it would be coming soon, the suit alleges. Sabatino is seeking $19 million for actual and punitive damages. While that dilemma recently emerged, Diddy put another one to rest when he took legal responsibility for his 15-month-old daughter, Chance -- who is said to have factored into his split with ex-girlfriend Kim Porter. Diddy previously denied he had fathered the child of an Atlanta woman, Sarah Chapman, but has acknowledged that DNA tests have confirmed that he is the father. Diddy has arranged support terms and visitation over his daughter with Chapman. ...

Trent Reznor is a free man. According to a post on Nine Inch Nails' Web site, he and his band have fulfilled their contractual obligations to Interscope. "I've waited a long time to be able to make the following announcement: As of right now, Nine Inch Nails is a totally free agent, free of any recording contract with any label," he said in the post. "I have been under recording contracts for 18 years and have watched the business radically mutate from one thing to something inherently very different and it gives me great pleasure to be able to finally have a direct relationship with the audience as I see fit and appropriate. Look for some announcements in the near future regarding 2008. Exciting times, indeed." NIN were signed to TVT prior to joining Interscope in 1994. ...

Beanie Sigel's attorney says the rapper will surrender to authorities next week after an arrest warrant was issued for his failure to return a rented car, AP reports. Sigel (real name: Dwight Grant) is planning to face the charges on October 15, Fortunado Perri told the news service, elaborating that the Payless rental car -- which was due back in August and reported stolen September 6 -- is being covered. "Whatever money is owed to the company has been paid or will be paid shortly," Perri added. The car was returned to Payless on Friday as detectives were on their way to arrest Sigel at his home in the Philadelphia suburb of Lansdale. It is not yet known who returned the vehicle, which had accumulated $5,000 in late fees. ...

[article id="1569232"]Paris Hilton's alleged bean spillage[/article] during VMA weekend aside, Christina Aguilera isn't doing too good a job keeping her supposed pregnancy under wraps. "Access Hollywood" reports that Aguilera picked out a baby registry at a trendy boutique in West Hollywood, California, on Saturday night. With husband Jordan Bratman and his mother and sister in tow, the singer shopped for blankets, bottles, bags and other items for what "AH" called an "upcoming baby shower." ...

Want to live just like Ozzy and Sharon? Your chance is about to arrive. The Osbournes are planning to auction art, furniture and collectibles from their homes in Southern California and England, with a portion of proceeds going to the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Foundation. Items up for sale include Jack Osbourne's black leather bedroom furniture, a cast-iron crucifix that was hung in Ozzy's den and other memorable objects that appeared on "The Osbournes." The auction will be held November 30-December at the Gibson Guitar Showroom in Beverly Hills -- although bids can also be placed by phone or online -- and Ozzy will also perform a related benefit show at Los Angeles' Staples Center the first night. Expect to hear plenty more from Ozzy in the near future, by the way: In addition to his upcoming tour with Rob Zombie, he'll likely be headlining Ozzfest next year, according to Billboard. When asked if he would be at the top of the bill, he said, "As far as I know." He did not say whether the fest would be free again, stipulating that it was Sharon's decision. He did, however, say he's still up for recording a new Black Sabbath album, though the band's plans are up in the air. ...

Amy Winehouse, the Arctic Monkeys, Paul McCartney and Kylie Minogue were honored at the annual Q awards on Monday (October 8). Winehouse's Back to Black earned Best Album, the Monkeys were named Best Act in the World Today, Macca was awarded as a Q Icon and Minogue landed Q Idol honors. ... Speaking of Winehouse, producer Mark Ronson tells RollingStone.com, "As soon as I finish up the Daniel Merriweather record, I am going back into the studio with Amy Winehouse to work on her new record. ... She is actually dying to go back into the studio already. ... She can't go in November because she is on tour, so we are figuring it out." Winehouse's second album, Back to Black, hit U.S. stores in March. ...

A new book claims that Bono's daughter, Jordan Hewson, was nearly kidnapped by Irish criminals as part of an abduction plot 10 years ago, according to The Irish Examiner. Author Frances Cahill, daughter of murdered crime boss Martin Cahill, says in her recently released book, "Martin Cahill, My Father," that her dad stopped the alleged plot, through which five other Irish criminals were hoping to get a multimillion-dollar ransom from the singer (the U.S. equivalent of roughly $8 million). "He told them it was a bad idea," Cahill reportedly writes in the book. "Martin had nothing against Bono's family. They had never done him any harm and he wasn't going to get involved." ...

Deftones have begun work on the follow-up to last year's Saturday Night Wrist, which took the band more than three years to record and release. According to a MySpace post from the guys, they've been working on the effort since late July and will maintain a blog to document the recording process. ... In addition to the standard CD version of their new self-titled album, Avenged Sevenfold will also be releasing a MVI version of the effort on October 30. The interactive DVD will feature a making-of featurette, a studio tour, pre-encoded MP3s of all the tracks, an animated short and more. ...

Cribs bassist Gary Jarman was hospitalized over the weekend and has been treated for blood poisoning, his publicist confirmed to MTV News. It's believed the rocker contracted the condition after accidentally cutting himself with the strings of his bass during a recent gig. He had complained of pains in his arms on Saturday but managed to make a gig in Sheffield, England, that same night. He was admitted early Sunday morning and is doing fine, according to his publicist. ... Want to get down and dirty with Moby? Stop by New York's Hiro Ballroom on Thursday night when he, Juan McClean, Stretch Armstrong and DFA artist Alex Frankel christen his new DJ series, called "Degenerates." Moby will tinker around with new material as part of the residency, which is expected to be ongoing and will encompass additional DJs. ...

Jena, Louisiana, Mayor Murphy R. McMillin is lashing out over John Mellencamp's new track "Jena," which [article id="1570747"]the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-nominated rocker[/article] recently wrote and posted online (with an accompanying video) in support of the Jena Six. "The town of Jena has for months been mischaracterized in the media and portrayed as the epicenter of hatred, racism and a place where justice is denied," McMillin reportedly told AP. "However, the Mellencamp video is so inflammatory, so defamatory, that a line has been crossed and enough is enough. ... I do not want to diminish the impression that the hanging of the nooses has had on good people. I do recognize that what happened is insulting and hurtful. ... [But] to put the incident in Jena in the same league as those who were murdered in the 1960s cheapens their sacrifice and insults their memory." Prior to the mayor's reaction, Mellencamp discussed his intention behind the track via a post on his site. "The song is not written as an indictment of the people of Jena but, rather, as a condemnation of racism," he wrote. ...

Bruce Springsteen defended his anti-war stance in an interview with "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday, telling correspondent Scott Pelley that it would be "unpatriotic" not to speak out on his new album, Magic, and accompanying tour. "It's unpatriotic at any given moment to sit back and let things pass that are damaging to someplace that you love so dearly and that has given me so much," Springsteen said. "I still feel and see it as a beacon of hope and possibility. That part of America is live and well." He also sounded off on other political issues of the day, saying, "When people think of the American identity, they don't think of torture. They don't think of illegal wiretapping. They don't think of voter suppression. They don't think of no habeas corpus. No right to a lawyer ... you know. Those are things that are anti-American." ...

Not too long ago, the thought of a Police reunion tour was inconceivable. Now comes news that the rock legends, who are currently on tour in Europe, might throw together a new studio effort while they're at it. "I would see it as a challenge, to make an absolutely brilliant pop album at this stage of our career, and that would be something quite remarkable," guitarist Andy Summers told reporters in Dublin, Ireland, over the weekend, according to AP. But he added that the trio have not discussed the project in detail and that the reunion tour is "all-devouring." ...

Maybe the third time will indeed be the charm for Pamela Anderson, who married Rick Salomon -- perhaps best known for making that sex tape with Paris Hilton -- on Saturday in Las Vegas. Anderson wore a white denim Valentino dress, People reports, and the vows were squeezed in between the 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. shows of Hans Klok's "The Beauty of Magic," which Anderson is a part of, at the Planet Hollywood resort. It's Anderson's third marriage and Salomon's second.