Those registers keep on ringing
By the time you read this, Britney Spears may well have been beamed back up to Mars.
But in the meantime, let’s catch up with the latest in her ongoing saga:
Police were called to Spears’ L.A. home again Monday night in the wake of a reported argument between her and manager Sam Lufti – who earlier in the day was quoted as saying she was seeing a psychiatrist.
On ABC’s “The View,” Barbara Walters said Lufti told her over the weekend that Spears “is suffering from what he describes as mental issues which are treatable.”
Walters said Lufti added that Spears has been having mood swings and sleep problems.
Police arrived at her home in a gated community that night amid reports that a swarm of paparazzi was trespassing.
Spears was seen crying and clutching her puppy, People magazine reported, and her parents arrived later.
Meanwhile, a new report says Spears contributes close to $120 million annually to the U.S. economy – including $4 million for the paparazzi, $30 million to $40 million for music companies, and $75 million for the media.
Fighting a losing bottle
Actress Sean Young has entered rehab for alcohol abuse following a weekend outburst in which she was heckling from the audience at the Directors Guild of America awards.
Young was escorted from the ceremony Saturday night after shouting at “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” director Julian Schnabel while he was at the podium.
A spokesman said she “has struggled against the disease for many years.”
Getting better by the hour
Newsman Mike Wallace is recovering from triple heart bypass surgery last week that his doctors call “a great success.”
The veteran “60 Minutes” correspondent, who turns 90 this spring, is already walking following the surgery Friday to bypass blockages near his heart.
Recovery from heart bypass surgery generally runs about six weeks.
Back on the nest
Martie Maguire of the Dixie Chicks and her husband, Gareth, are expecting a third daughter.
Maguire, 38, announced her pregnancy on the group’s Web site Monday, saying that her 3-year-old twin daughters, Eva and Katie, “are very excited to have a new baby sister.”
Miley’s walking in her shoes
It’s official: Miley Cyrus is legally herself.
The 15-year-old singer/actress, better known as Hannah Montana from the hit Disney TV show, has officially changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus, which she’s been using anyway.
She was born Destiny Hope Cyrus, but her country singer dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, started calling her “Smiley” as a kid, and the “S” dropped off along the way.
The birthday bunch
Comedian Dick Martin is 86. Actor Gene Hackman is 78. Actress Vanessa Redgrave is 71. Musician Phil Collins is 57. Comedian Brett Butler (“Grace Under Fire”) is 50. Country singer Tammy Cochran is 36. Actor Christian Bale is 34. Singer Josh Kelley is 28. Actor Wilmer Valderrama is 28. Actor Jake Thomas (“Lizzie McGuire,” “AI”) is 18.