Does Paris have a fan in Lily?

She's 'amazing' and 'hideous'


Sarcasm doesn't always translate well in the written word, so it's hard to tell if Lily Allen is a fan of Paris Hilton or not.

"I think Paris is amazing. I mean she's hideous, but I think she's amazing at the same time," the Smile singer told Star magazine.

"I love her. I think The Simple Life is genius. I can never figure out if she plays up to it or not."

Allen's either seriously sarcastic or has heinous taste.

Hotel heiress Paris Hilton walked out of a Los Angeles-area jail

Hotel heiress Paris Hilton walked out of a Los Angeles-area jail early Tuesday with a big smile on her face after serving 23 days for violating her probation on a reckless driving conviction.

With paparazzi and reporters swarming behind a police barrier, Hilton waved and beamed but ignored shouted questions as she left the jail about 12:15 a.m. PT.

She walked past sheriff's deputies into a sport utility vehicle where her parents waited. (Watch as Hilton walks free )

The media dogged Hilton as she made her getaway, jockeying for position and snapping photos of the socialite for miles along the Los Angeles freeway system.

When her SUV had to stop at a red light, photographers jumped out of their cars and surrounded it, The Associated Press reported. (Blog: Much ado about nothing)

CNN affiliate KTLA-TV in Los Angeles reported that Hilton went to her grandparents' home in the Benedict Canyon area of Beverly Hills.

Her arrival there initially provoked amusement among residents out for early morning walks, according to the Associated Press.

"What I think is funny is every single news person here apologized to me," said 50-year-old retired attorney Martha Karsh, out for a stroll with her college-age daughter, Katie, told the AP.


"It's not real news. What's the story here?" asked Karsh, adding that she wasn't aware that any Hiltons lived in the neighborhood until TV satellite trucks and other news vehicles crammed the street.

Later in the day, the AP added, neighbors were less blase as traffic built up amid the frenzy of media personnel and equipment. The news service noted that one motorist made an obscene gesture to reporters while driving by.

Hilton, 26, was sentenced to 45 days for the 2006 probation violation but served about half the term, gaining credit for good behavior. (Gallery: Stars who have done time)

"She has fulfilled her debt to society and it's now concluded," said sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Hilton is scheduled to give her first post-jail television interview Wednesday on CNN's "Larry King Live" show after ABC and NBC dropped rival offers last week.

The imprisonment -- and temporary release -- of Hilton ignited a global media storm and raised questions about celebrity justice.

Her jail time was sparked by her arrest in September on a drunken-driving charge. (People.com: Full Hilton coverage)

She admitted alcohol-related reckless driving in January and was sentenced to three years' probation but was caught driving the following month on a suspended license. Superior Court Judge Michael Sauer ruled in May this violated her probation.

He rejected Hilton's defense that her publicist had misinformed her about the status of her license.

Hilton surrendered to authorities on June 3 to begin her sentence and spent all 23 days -- bar one -- at Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, California. (Watch what might be next for Hilton )

'Hardest thing I've ever done'
Three days after Hilton began her jail stay, she was released by the Los Angeles County sheriff to home detention with electronic monitoring because of an unspecified medical condition.

She was at home a little more than a day before the judge ordered her back to jail to complete her sentence. Hilton was led out of the courtroom weeping.

"This is by far the hardest thing I have ever done," she said in a statement. "I have had a lot of time to reflect and have already learned a bitter but important lesson from this experience."

Hilton's probation will end in March 2009, as long as she keeps her driver's license current and doesn't break the law, according to the AP.

The city attorney's office has said she can cut 12 months off that time if she does community service, which could include a public-service announcement, the AP reported.

Nicole Richie: I'm worried I might go to jail

Does Nicole Richie think she's next?

Paris Hilton's good buddy told David Letterman during a taping for his talk show on Wednesday that she's worried about landing in the pokey, too.

"I'm just keeping my fingers crossed, and, you know, of course, I'm scared also, but, you know, I'm willing to face whatever consequences come my way, and I take responsibility for what I've done," she said.

Richie, the 25-year-old daughter of pop singer Lionel Richie, pleaded not guilty in February to driving under the influence. She was arrested December 11 and volunteered she had smoked marijuana and taken the prescription painkiller Vicodin, but no drugs were found on her or in the car, police said.

Richie already had a 2003 misdemeanor DUI conviction. The California vehicle code says if convicted of DUI twice within 10 years, a person can be sentenced to between 90 days and a year in jail and have his or her driving privileges suspended.


During the "Late Show" taping, Letterman asked Richie, who acknowledged previous legal troubles, when she'll learn her fate.

"Probably the end of this month," she responded.

A sympathetic Letterman wished her the best, saying, "I hope you don't have to go to jail."

Richie starred in the TV reality show "The Simple Life" with Hilton, who has had similar problems. The 26-year-old hotel heiress checked into the Century Regional Detention Facility in suburban Los Angeles on Sunday to serve 23 days

Paris Hilton sent back in jail

LOS ANGELES - A sobbing Paris Hilton was sent back to jail Friday a day after her early release under house arrest triggered outrage that one of Hollywood's rich and famous was getting special treatment.

Hilton, who had spent little more than 72 hours behind bars, cried and wailed "Mom, Mom, Mom" as Superior Court Judge Michael Sauer ordered her back to prison to serve out her 45-day sentence imposed for driving on a suspended license.

Earlier when the 26-year-old heiress to the Hilton hotel fortune failed to turn up at court on time, having reportedly asked to appear by telephone, police turned up at her home in the Hollywood foothills to fetch her.

She was seen tearfully hugging her mother, before being handcuffed and put in the back of a police car.

Shots taken from helicopters buzzing overhead showed her sobbing uncontrollably as the police convoy, speeding through the crush of waiting media, took her back to court where the judge ruled she must go back to prison.

The pictures of a distraught Hilton were very different from the shots of her strutting her stuff in designer clothes at red-carpet soirees.

Hilton, the multi-millionaire hotels heiress and star of the TV reality show "The Simple Life," had been sent home early Thursday after entering prison late Sunday following a red-carpet MTV music awards ceremony.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, citing unspecified "medical reasons," released her under house arrest with an electronic monitoring bracelet on her ankle.

But her release stunned prosecutors, who quickly filed a motion seeking to haul Hilton back behind bars to complete her sentence for violating probation by driving on a suspended license.

They were also bombarded by a barrage of angry phone calls, emails and faxes from people protesting the preferential treatment being handed out to Hilton.

Black civil rights leader Al Sharpton said: "This early release gives all of the appearances of economic and racial favoritism that is constantly cited by poor people and people of color."

"This decision sends the message that no individual -- no matter how wealthy or powerful -- is above the law. Today justice was served," City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo said in a statement after Friday's decision.

Hilton's stunned parents were watching the proceedings, and her mother, Kathy, began crying and hugging her husband, Rick, wailing, "Oh my God!" as the judge made his ruling.

The saga surrounding Hilton has sparked a media frenzy around one of the world's most photographed women, who is a A-list guest on the Hollywood party circuit.

She is mainly well-known for being rich and famous, and shot to international fame thanks largely to a sex tape of her and an-ex boyfriend which appeared on the Internet.

She has also released a music album and appeared in films such as "House of Wax," "Pledge This," and the forthcoming "The Hottie and the Nottie."

Earlier in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Sheriff Lee Baca had defended his department's decision to release Hilton on Thursday.

"My message to those who don't like celebrities is that punishing celebrities more than the average American is not justice," Baca was quoted as saying.

"The problem here is that there is a medical issue and it isn't wise to keep a person in jail with her problem over an extended period of time and let the problem get worse," Baca said, refusing to describe the medical problem.

But City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo said that Los Angeles jails were well-equipped to deal with the medical needs of inmates and the decision to release her was "puzzling."

"If law enforcement officials are to enjoy the respect of those we are charged with protecting, we cannot tolerate a two-tiered jail system where the rich and powerful receive special treatment," Delgadillo

Hutchison: Paris Hilton gets mansion-detention

Hutchison: Paris Hilton gets mansion-detention






Not too fast Paris HiltonDaily Entertainment Break: Paris Hilton out of jail, confined to Hollywood mansionCassidy: There's a better punishment for Paris HiltonParis Hilton ordered back to courtOh come on, you knew it was going to happen didn't you? You knew there was no way that poor li'l rich girl Paris Hilton was going to have to serve out her time in the slammer.
Barely five days after she arrived at the Los Angeles County jail, she's back in her Barbie Dream House for the remaining 40 days of her sentence, sporting an electronic monitoring bracelet (Gucci?). Reports are that she had some sort of medical condition which prompted her early release. At this point, it's anyone's guess what it is. Dandruff? An unattractive rash from the chafing of her prison-issue jumpsuit?

We know she didn't contract anything from her cell-mate because she didn't have one. The Associated Press reports that her jail accommodations were in the "special needs" division which is separate from the other un-pedicured miscreants. (Can you even imagine Paris' "special needs" in jail? Just the shampoos alone boggle the mind.)

Home-confinement chez Hilton is pretty plush punishment for violating probation, as Paris did when she was caught twice early this year boppin' around in her Bentley despite having had her license suspended for alcohol-fueled reckless driving. As her clubbin' buddy Britney would say, "Oops! I did it again!"

Considering all the other injustices and crises in the world such as, oh, the continued mayhem in Iraq, global warming and the alarming failure of so many of our public schools, it seems awfully frivolous to give a rat's posterior about the trials of an airhead celebutante. Why waste the energy?
Maybe it's because the Hilton-irritant seems like something that should be very manageable. She's a blond mosquito who so needs to be swatted. How many times have you seen that ridiculous commercial of her making love to a cheeseburger and thought, "Can't we at least throw this bimbo in jail?'`

Of course, there are legions of Paris' fans who think she's being treated unfairly. These are the same people she insulted on her Web site by posting a get-out-of-jail-free petition that claims her lasting gift to humanity is bringing glamour and excitment into their otherwise `mundane lives.'

I don't get it. My first reaction when I saw that petition was, "You know what would brighten up my mundane life? Send Paris to Gitmo!"

Yet, apparently, she got a gazillion signatures on that thing.

So, in a world turned upside down by celebrity obsession - and Paris is a celebrity mainly for being a beautiful, rich do-nothing - it makes twisted sense that she would get off with mansion-arrest.

There was one moment during this fiasco when our gal Paris had a chance to actually learn something and impart it to her fans. She showed promise when she was interviewed on the red carpet at the MTV awards, just before her incarceration, and said she was ready to be strong, do the right thing and serve her time like a good little inmate.

Now she's probably getting her electronic bracelet fitted with diamond studs while she has a margarita out on the sun deck.

Who knows, maybe she'll end up having Scooter Libby over for a pre-jail spa day, if he goes to jail at all. Paris can give him tips on how to avoid that sort of inconvenience.

Lindsay Lohan Plays With Knives, Has No Friends

News Of the World, the fine folks who brought us pictures of Lindsay Lohan snorting lines of coke in the loo, has now obtained some frightening pics of Lilo playing with knives.



Lindsay, who entered rehab at Malibu Promises last week, is seen holding a knife to a friend’s throat and also putting a knife in her own mouth. Never one to avoid a photo op, Lindsay appears quite out of it in these pictures taken at a house party four months ago. This once again proves that Lindsay’s first visit to rehab was NOT successful, much like her efforts to find trustworthy and good-hearted friends. Lindsay must have been coked-out-of this-universe to allow such candid shots of herself to be taken.


I must say, Ms. Lohan has made some outrageously stellar choices in friends. And when I say “friend” in Lindsay’s case what I mean is: people who would drug you, rape you, steal your wallet, hump your corpse, run over your dog, stab your grandmother, mooch your drugs, spit in your beer, leave you stranded, let your wear something that makes you look fat, screw your boyfriend, and possibly take unflattering and incriminating photos of you while you’re high on illegal substances. Real pals, that’s what I’m saying.

Lindsay, when you get out of rehab (if you get out) here’s a definition of a friend. Write this down, refer to it often, and make a mental note, for this information will serve you well in life.

A Friend is someone who looks out for you, who holds your secrets in confidence, who has your back when needed and who tells you the truth, not just what you want to hear. A friend is someone who would tell you if the guy you liked hit on them, rather than making out with them. A friend is someone who might take a silly photo of you, but also let’s you watch them delete it. A true friend is someone you can have fun with WHILE NOT fried out of your mind.

And ultimately Lindsay, a friend is someone who you choose, not who fate has chosen for you. A real friend doesn’t want anything from you, they don’t care about how much money you have or what you can do for them, they just care about you.

I think it’s safe to say that you don’t have any of these in your life, so how about you dump all these other a-holes and start all over? Your mom is not your friend, btw, that’s not her job. If she isn’t doing her job, you should fire her ass too.

Also, one last thing, in order to have a true friend, you need to be a true friend. Perhaps start with yourself and then work your way up to others, ‘cuz if you don’t like yourself, how can anyone else like you.

No need to thank me Lindsay, I’m just telling you what any person who actually cared about you should have told you long ago.

THEY WERE BOUND FOR TROUBLE !!

Paris Hilton Mocked by Sarah Silverman at the MTV Movie Awards

Sarah Silverman gave it hard Paris Hilton at the MTV Movie Awards just hours before Paris changed clothes and headed to jail. The comedienne cracked a crude joke at the expense Paris in her opening monologue. She said to the audience, "In a couple of days, Paris Hilton is going to jail." Silverman then went on to say that "The judge says that it’s going to be a no-frills thing and that is ridiculous. She is totally going to get special treatment."


Paris Hilton Mocked by Sarah Silverman at the MTV Movie Awards

The came the inevitable penis joke at Hilton's expense and the concern that Paris may have to need some dental work done after the jail stint. The usually confident and happy Hilton looked anything but happy when the camera panned to her following Silverman's remark. Jack Nicholson loved it though.



"Why do I feel dirty," Silverman deadpanned. Star Magazine reports that Hilton appeared awkward and uncomfortable following Silverman's jokes. Earlier in the evening Paris told reporters on the red carpet, "I'm really scared but 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."

Michael K has the video here. Paris should have known she would be teased and mocked at the show. She should have just laughed it off.

PARIS GOES TO JAIL !!

WHAT A BUNCH OF BULLSH!T

Paris Hilton Gets 45 Days in Jail



Paris Hilton has successfully completed her first night at a US jail, reports says.

Celebrity socialite Paris Hilton went from a red-carpeted Hollywood soiree to a spartan Los Angeles prison cell early on Monday, surrendering ahead of schedule for a minimum 23-day incarceration.

Hilton, 26, an heir to her family's hotel fortune, surrendered to police at the Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles late on Sunday in an attempt to foil the crush of media attention, a spokeswoman with the county sheriff's office, Maribel Rizo, said.

Hilton was accompanied by her mother, her younger sister Nicky, and her lawyer Richard Hutton.

Police then drove her to the Century Regional Detention Facility, the county women's jail in the Los Angeles suburb of Lynwood, about 25 km from her mansion in the Hollywood foothills.

A judge sentenced Hilton to 45 days for violating the terms of her probation, after being arrested for driving with a suspended licence.

Police had pulled the heiress over in February while she was on probation for a previous drink-driving violation.

Although sentenced to serve 45 days, she could be released after 23 days for good behaviour, court officials said.

Just ahead of checking in to jail Hilton made a glittering red-carpet appearance wearing a black strapless dress at the MTV Music Awards. She was the centre of attention, with event hosts cracking jokes about her difficulties.

The roundabout route to prison one day earlier than expected was designed to throw off the army of paparazzi camped out in front of the women's jail, creating a potential safety hazard, police said.

Hilton "was cooperative during the (booking) process, which included being fingerprinted, photographed, medically screened," said Sergeant Diane Hecht of the Los Angeles Sheriff Department.

The celebrity prisoner was "issued jail clothing, an orange top and pants, and personal hygiene items", then escorted to her cell about 1am on Monday (1800 AEST), he said.

In a change from earlier plans, Hilton will be in solitary confinement 23 hours a day and "segregated in a special housing unit from the general population", Hecht said.

Hilton will be allowed to spend an hour a day outside the cell to shower, use the jail telephone and watch television, he said.

"Although I am scared, I am ready to begin my jail sentence," Hilton said earlier in a statement. "During the past few weeks, I have had a lot of time to think and have come to realise I made some mistakes.

"This is an important point in my life and I need to take responsibility for my actions. In the future, I plan on taking more of an active role in the decisions I make," said Hilton.

A high-school dropout, Hilton was first noticed as a model represented by property tycoon Donald Trump's agency, then rapidly acquired a reputation as a party girl alongside sister Nicky.

But it was the 2003 release of an internet home sex video featuring her and then boyfriend Rick Salomon which made her permanent tabloid material.

Hilton starred with Nicole Richie in the reality television show, The Simple Life.

Hilton has also appeared in supporting roles in some Hollywood films such as Nine Lives, Raising Helen, The Hillz, and House of Wax.

Last year, she released a music album called Paris, which peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 chart for a week and then dropped out of sight.

In her private life, she has been engaged to male model Jason Shaw and Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis, but both relationships ended in break-ups. She also dated Stavros Niarchos, the scion of another Greek shipping family.

IS PARIS IS GOING TO JAIL ?

Thursday, May 10, 2007
Like a dutiful mom, Kathy Hilton goes to bat defending wayward Paris
Media-savvy mother describes her jail-bound daughter as eccentric.
By SANDY COHEN
The Associated Press
The Hilton who made the most noise in and out of court last week wasn't named Paris.

Kathy Hilton, mother of the notorious party girl, became a media magnet herself at her daughter's probation-violation hearing. She laughed in the courtroom when a city prosecutor argued that Paris deserved jail time. When a judge ordered the 26-year-old Paris to serve 45 days in county jail, Kathy Hilton blurted out: "May I have your autograph?"

She also shared her feelings with reporters outside: "This is pathetic and disgusting, a waste of taxpayer money with all this nonsense. This is a joke."

While her media exposure doesn't rival that of her famous daughter, Hilton is no stranger to the spotlight.

She was a guest star on "Happy Days" in 1977 and appeared on "The Rockford Files" in '78. She hosted a program on QVC and starred in her own NBC reality show in 2005, "I Want to Be a Hilton," in which contestants competed for a chance to live like a socialite for a year.

Accompanying her adult daughter to court made Hilton a public face again. She was likely on hand out of typical parental concern, said Dorian Traube, a professor of social work at the University of Southern California.

"Any time your kids stumble, you question yourself as a parent," she said. "She has one daughter that's done really well and another that keeps stumbling in the public eye. For a family that's very prominent, it's probably quite humiliating."

While it is common for families to come and show support in high-profile court cases, Hilton's outspoken behavior during and after the session was a little unusual, Traube said.

"Kathy Hilton acted as if her daughter was a minor in the way she had to give a statement," Traube said. "Not only is she enabling Paris' behavior, she's perpetuating it."

Kathy Hilton was 19 when she gave birth to Paris in 1981, two years after marrying Rick Hilton, a real estate developer and an heir to the Hilton Hotel fortune. The couple has another daughter, Nicky, and two sons, Barron and Conrad.

Hilton has publicly defended Paris before, calling her vulnerable.

"She's eccentric, she's herself and she never hurts anybody," she told the London newspaper The Guardian in December 2005. "It upsets me that she gets taken advantage of, but I think we've all learned to deal with it."

Hilton compared her daughter to Bambi in a 2005 interview with The Times of London.

"She's like a little deer," she said.

When a homemade sex tape featuring Paris Hilton surfaced, Hilton characterized her daughter as a victim.

"Well, that was very painful. Very painful. Very painful," she told Newsweek in June 2005. "But it taught me that I really can't trust everybody."

Kathy Hilton's spokeswoman did not return calls for comment. Meanwhile, Paris Hilton rehired her publicist, Elliot Mintz, late Monday. They had parted ways over the weekend after her court appearance, during which Mintz testified that he gave her erroneous advice about the status of her suspended driver's license.

"She continues to be my client," he said Tuesday. "I'm delighted and honored to represent Paris. I think the world of her."

Man has arm reattached after croc bites it off

The severed lower left arm of a Taiwanese veterinarian is seen in the jaws of a crocodile, Wednesday, April 11, 2007, at the Shoushan Zoo, near Taipei, Taiwan.


Croc Attacks

Arm rushed to hospital


TAIPEI, Taiwan A zoo worker had his forearm reattached Thursday after his colleagues recovered the severed limb from the mouth of a 440-pound Nile crocodile, an official said.

The crocodile severed Chang Po-yu’s forearm on Wednesday at the Shaoshan Zoo in the southern city of Kaohsiung when the veterinarian tried to retrieve a tranquilizer dart from the reptile’s hide, zoo officials said.

The Liberty Times newspaper said Chang failed to notice the crocodile was not fully anesthetized when he stuck his arm through an iron rail to medicate it.

As Chang was rushed to the hospital on Wednesday, a zoo worker shot two bullets at the crocodile’s neck to retrieve the forearm, said Chen Po-tsun, a zoo official.

“The crocodile was unharmed as we didn’t find any bullet holes on its hide,” Chen said. “It probably was shocked and opened its mouth to let go of the limb.”


The 17-year-old reptile is one of a pair of Nile crocodiles kept by the Kaohsiung zoo. The crocodile is listed as an endangered species, and is rapidly disappearing from its native African habitat.

Chen said the zoo purchased the crocodile from a local resident who had kept it as a pe

Joe Francis, 34, the multi-millionaire founder of Girls Gone Wild films, was arrested

Girls Gone Wild founder in federal custody
Joe Francis surrendered to marshals, ordered held without bond

Joe Francis, 34, the multi-millionaire founder of Girls Gone Wild films, was arrested on contempt of court charges after lawyers for seven women complained he shouted obscenities and threatened them during civil suit settlement negotiations.




PENSACOLA, Fla. - The founder of the “Girls Gone Wild” video empire was taken into custody by federal marshals early Tuesday to face a contempt of court citation after initially defying a federal judge.

Joe Francis was booked into the Bay County Jail, said Ruth Sasser, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office. “His attorneys continue to work toward a settlement,” Ronn Torossian, a Francis spokesman, said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press.

Francis, 34, makes an estimated $29 million a year from videos of young women exposing their breasts and in other sexually provocative situations.


He appeared Tuesday afternoon before federal Magistrate Larry A. Bodiford, who ordered him held without bail. Torossian said Francis would likely be held until at least Thursday, when he is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak, the judge who issued the contempt citation.

He drew the contempt citation during negotiations in a civil lawsuit brought by seven women who were underage when they were filmed by his company on Panama City Beach during spring break in 2003.


Lawyers for the women told Smoak that Francis became enraged during the settlement talks, shouting obscenities at the lawyers and threatening to “bury them.” Smoak ordered Francis to settle the case or go to jail for his behavior.

Negotiations continued with the help of a mediator, but broke down Thursday, and Smoak issued a contempt of court warrant.

Francis initially refused to surrender and called Smoak “a judge gone wild.”

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta refused to let him remain free pending an appeal.

THAT'S HOT !

Birkhead the father of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter

Larry Birkhead got the news he's been waiting months for Tuesday — he's Dannielynn's dad.





Baby's guardian to take custody of Anna Nicole Smith's body







Another mystery in the Anna Nicole Smith saga has been solved: Photographer Larry Birkhead is the biological father of Smith's 7-month-old daughter, Dannielynn, experts announced today.
Birkhead was "determined to be the father based on DNA testing" Michael Baird, of the DNA Diagnostics Center in Fairfield, Ohio, told reporters. "I told you so," a teary Birkhead said, adding, "it's been a long road."



The Bahamian judge told reporters outside the courthouse that a custody hearing is scheduled for Friday.

The child has been living with Smith's longtime companion, Howard K. Stern, who is listed on the birth certificate as Dannielynn's father. Monday, Stern withdrew his last-ditch effort to block paternity test results from being introduced as evidence. Before the hearing, Stern's attorney told the Associated Press that Stern and Birkhead would cooperate in the transition of Dannielynn to Birkhead's custody if test results proved the photographer is the father.


Birkhead also gave signs the men would work together. "The thing we both want to do is what's best for Dannielynn," Birkhead told Access Hollywood. "And it does not do Dannielynn justice for her name to be out there and all these fights. … We both just agreed that there would be no fights, you know, after the results are revealed."

Birkhead filed suit in Los Angeles and the Bahamas last October, weeks after Dannielynn's birth, claiming he was her father and contesting the birth certificate. Legal squabbling turned vitriolic after Smith's death Feb. 8 in Florida. Medical examiners concluded the death was an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

Stern, Birkhead and Smith's mother, Virgie Arthur, were all involved in hearings to determine custody of Dannielynn as well as guardianship of Smith's body. As Smith's only child, Dannielynn could inherit the bulk of the former pinup's estate. Smith, who was married to oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall, had been involved in decade-long legal battle with Marshall's heirs over the estimated $500 million fortune.

But while the paternity issue has been resolved, a new legal twist has been added to the Smith saga this week. Stern hired Atlanta-based powerhouse law firm Powell Goldstein LLP to fight media speculation that Stern was involved in Smith's death or in the death of Smith's son, Daniel. Daniel was 20 when he died of an accidental drug overdose while visiting his mother in the Bahamas in September. An inquest into Daniel's death has been put on hold.

"Accusations that Mr. Stern is guilty of murder have been recklessly and maliciously invented," L. Lin Wood said in a Monday statement that threatened to file lawsuits against media outlets that make "false attacks on (Stern's) reputation." Wood has represented Richard Jewell, John and Patsy Ramsey, and former congressman Gary Condit. "Stern is an innocent individual who has never been charged with any crime but finds himself on trial in the media. … The nightly television, tabloid and Internet trial of Mr. Stern in the court of public opinion based on sensational lies, speculation, rumor and gossip is over."

TEAM OF 2006/2007