Jon & Kate, plus the state

Jon and Kate Gosselin and their eight kids have attracted a huge TV audience, tabloid headlines – and, now, a state investigation.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor is looking into whether the hit TLC reality show “Jon & Kate Plus 8” is complying with the state’s child labor laws.

The series follows the Gosselins as they raise their eight young children.

It drew nearly 10 million viewers for its fifth-season premiere Monday following reports the couple cheated on each other. They deny it, but admit their marriage is in trouble.

“Unfortunately, I think it has come down to all about the ratings,” Kate’s sister-in-law, Jodi Kreider, told CBS’ “The Early Show.” “And no one is looking at these children as what they are going through and the life consequences they are going to have as they get older.”

State investigators will have to decide whether the Gosselins’ house in southeastern Pennsylvania is essentially a TV set where producers direct much of the action – in which case the law may apply – or a home where the kids aren’t really working but are simply living their lives, albeit in front of the cameras.

Boyle can’t take the heat

A judge for “Britain’s Got Talent” says Susan Boyle briefly considered pulling out of today’s final because the pressure was getting to her.

Piers Morgan says on his blog that Boyle, the favorite to win the talent show competition, has been in a “flood of tears” and even “fleetingly felt like quitting the show altogether.”

The Daily Mirror reported Friday that the church-volunteer-turned-Internet-sensation has gone into seclusion.

Idle hands, devil’s keyboard

An Australian woman was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Friday for stalking former “American Idol” contestant Diana DeGarmo over the Internet.

Tanya Maree Quattrocchi pleaded guilty earlier this month to four charges of cyber-stalking for hacking into DeGarmo’s My Space account and intercepting her e-mails.

DeGarmo was the 2004 “Idol” runner-up.

Looking for a big, rich payday

Country star John Rich has been charged with assault and harassment in a dispute with a former “Nashville Star” contestant.

He turned himself in to Nashville police to face the charges filed by Jared Ashley, a fourth-season contestant on the USA show.

Rich (of Big & Rich), who has sued Ashley for defamation, says he rejected an offer to pay $2.9 million to have the charges dropped.

So, has anyone told Maris?

After keeping his private life just that for years, David Hyde Pierce has announced his marriage to longtime partner Brian Hargrove.

Wearing a wedding band, the former “Frasier” star revealed on “The View” that they tied the knot “very quietly” in California last October, before Proposition 8 passed.

The birthday bunch

Fiddler Johnny Gimble is 83. Actor Clint Walker (“Cheyenne”) is 82. Actor Keir Dullea (”2001: A Space Odyssey”) is 73. Actor Michael J. Pollard is 70. Actor Colm Meaney (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”) is 56. Actor Ted McGinley is 51. Actor Ralph Carter (“Good Times”) is 48. Country singer Wynonna Judd is 45. Singer Cee-Lo is 35.