http://twitter.com/MECHANICALDUMMY

Chris Brown is on the up and up.

At the singer's first checkup hearing since being sentenced for attacking Rihanna in February, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg said she had received "an extremely favorable progress report" on him from the probation department.

Brown, who arrived early for his afternoon appearance today, was sentenced in August to 180 days of community labor, which he's been serving in his home state of Virginia, five years' probation and a one-year anti-domestic violence program.

So far, he's keeping up with the court's expectations. Schnegg said Brown has provided the court with DNA samples, paid all fines and court fees, performed more than 100 hours of community service and completed seven domestic violence classes to date.

The thumb's-up from the judge came at a great time for Brown, who's been busy shooting music videos and working on his new album at a pace that has rivaled only...well, Rihanna.

Plus, he just kicked off his "Fan Appreciation" tour to thank the loyal "Run It" lovers out there for sticking by him through this turbulent year.

He has carte blanche to travel within the U.S. but would need to get the judge's permission if her wants to leave the country.

________

Catch up on Rihanna's side of the story right here.

AP Photo/Chris Miller; AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

Looks like Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Katie's won't be happening this year.

Hearing that his former future mother-in-law, Sarah Palin, is a bit heartbroken by his decision to pose for Playgirl, Levi Johnston thought neither long nor hard and announced that he couldn't care less.

"You know what, I don't care if she sees them," he said of the not-full-frontal photos he took for the magazine when E!'s cameras caught up with him today at L.A. International Airport.

"Who cares about what she says or does? I don't care. Forget about her," he said.

It's very obvious that the 19-year-old father of Palin's grandson, Tripp, doesn't care what she thinks, which is that Levi is "on a road that's not a healthy place to be."

True, the traffic on the road leading out of LAX is an accident waiting to happen...

________

Carrie Prejean, for one, cares what Sarah Palin thinks.

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

Justin Timberlake has just one thing to say to the alleged stalker who wants to get close to him:

Cry me a river.

A judge granted Timberlake a permanent (aka three-year) restraining order against Karen McNeil, who was arrested on the singer's property Oct. 22, having brought a cab full of her belongings along with her.

After a short wait-and-see period for Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Cunningham to decide whether or not Timberlake should have to testify in person, the court decided a signed declaration would be enough.

"He had been originally ordered in, but his lawyer argued that that was exactly what the defendant wanted, to get close to him," court spokeswoman Vania Steulp told E! News.

Keep Reading

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Jennifer Lopez didn't want her dirty marital laundry aired in black and white and she doesn't want it out there in technicolor, either.

Citing the injunction all parties agreed upon two years ago, lawyers for the singer-actress have sent a cease-and-desist letter to her first ex-husband, Ojani Noa, demanding that he finally stop thinking he's going to profit from his brief marriage to the twice-since remarried star.

According to the letter, Noa's been shopping a film project called How I Married Jennifer Lopez: The JLo and Ojani Noa Story and has advertised for players on an open casting website.

"It would strain credulity to the breaking point for those involved in the writing, development and the pre-production of the Proposed Film to claim that they were not aware" of the injunction in place, Lopez attorney John Lavely wrote.

The injunction prevented Noa from publishing a supposed tell-all book a few years back that claimed Lopez, among other things, was hooking up with Marc Anthony while the singer was still married. He was also ordered to pay $545,000 in damages for breaking a confidentiality clause he signed in 2005.

But despite its salacious yet straightforward title, the film's executive producer tells E! News that the movie is going to be more Borat than The Way We Were.

Keep Reading

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Danielle Staub's brief first marriage may not have been a bed of roses, but, according to her ex, it certainly wasn't a bed of broken glass, either!

Kevin Maher, who was married to the Real Housewives of New Jersey star for barely a year in the 1980s, tells E! News that Staub slandered him repeatedly on her show last season and he is planning to take legal action.

"I am filing a lawsuit against my ex-wife, Danielle Staub, stemming from her allegations that I raped her on a bed of broken glass, inserted my handgun inside her and played Russian Roulette, and last but not least, killing her dog by way of hanging it," Maher stated. "She also threatened me on the reunion show that Bravo aired."

Keep Reading

Mike Valdez/National Photo Group; Carlo Allegri/Getty Images

On the eve of Michael Jackson's long-awaited burial, there are still pieces of his life scattered all over the place.

With his estate presumably looking to consolidate, movers from Beverly Hills Transfer and Storage were spotted Monday carrying boxes and other items out of one of the King of Pop's former Las Vegas residences.

Chris Fries, a spokesman for the moving company, told E! News that they were under strict orders not to divulge what was being removed from the house.

"We're under a confidentiality agreement," Fries said. "You name it, we got it—just got a whole lot of stuff."

He said he has not been in contact with any Jackson family members, only business managers, and that he wasn't aware of where the items will eventually end up.

The answer to that may in fact be buried under a whole bunch of paperwork.

Keep Reading

John Shearer/Getty Images

Your move, LeAnn Rimes.

Eddie Cibrian, who is finally romancing the country songbird out in public (sort of), has filed for divorce from his wife of seven years, Brandi Glanville, E! News confirmed Tuesday.

"He filed yesterday and I accepted it," Glanville told E! exclusively. "We're getting a divorce. We talked to each other yesterday."

Which was just in time, apparently, because it turns out that Cibrian is already planning a romantic getaway with his "new" girlfriend, according to his soon to be ex-wife.

Keep Reading

Ethan Miller/Getty Images; VH1

The Law & Order aspects of this case are really starting to pile up.

Not being able to use fingerprints or dental records, authorities ultimately identified the remains of model Jasmine Fiore using the serial number on her breast implants, E! News confirmed Friday.

"Based on the fact that the victim's fingers had been cut off and her teeth pulled out, the coroner had to find other medical means to identify the victim," said Orange County District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Farrah Emami.

"They were able to do that using a serial number on her breast implant. We believe the defendant cut off the victim's fingers and pulled out all of her teeth to make it more difficult for law enforcement to identify Ms. Fiore."

Police have not been able to locate any of Fiore's teeth or fingers.

Meanwhile, the "defendant" whom Emami spoke of is reality-TV contestant turned murder suspect Ryan Jenkins, whom police believe fled to his native Canada after strangling his 28-year-old ex-wife, stuffing her body in a suitcase and abandoning it in a Buena Park dumpster.

The general manager at the hotel where Fiore was last seen alive tells E! News that, as far as he was told, the couple seemed "completely, fundamentally normal" when they checked in last week.

Keep Reading

Pool Photographer/Getty Images; AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

If you in any way examined or treated Michael Jackson over the past decade, chances are you've been in contact with law enforcement recently.

Cherilyn Lee, the nurse and nutritionist who says that the King of Pop once begged her for propofol, confirmed to E! News that the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office was at her office Wednesday to pick up Jackson's medical records.

"Before fourth of July they were contacting me," Lee told us. "They were initially telling me thank you because it helped with their investigation."

The coroner's visit to Lee's office today came as two LAPD detectives, Houston police and Drug Enforcement Administration agents executed a search warrant at the Houston offices of Dr. Conrad Murray, the cardiologist employed privatedly by Jackson at the time of his death.

Lee reiterated that she never administered the anesthetic propofol—or any other drug—to Jackson when he was under her care.

Keep Reading

AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

LeAnn Rimes isn't looking to get unhitched.

That's what the singer's rep, Rhett Usry, told E! News in response to an In Touch Weekly report that claimed Rimes' hubby, Dean Sheremet, was "distraught and heartbroken" because his missus had told him she was ready to make a break.

"Contrary to any tabloid rumors, LeAnn is not seeking a divorce," Usry said.

So she's probably not messing around with the guy she had dinner with last night, either.

The "How Do I Live" songstress was spotted at a Los Angeles sushi restaurant with a mystery man and another couple, but, according to a witness, nothing about the duo's behavior implied a romantic connection.

But really, Rimes should watch who she shares a meal with. She just barely finished shooting down rumors that she hooked up with her married Northern Lights costar, Eddie Cibrian, and was stalking his wife.

______

Follow us on Twitter @eonline and get our free iPhone app

Tim Whitby/Getty Images

Despite the current legal threat to Michael Jackson's ballyhooed comeback, the King of Pop is pressing on with his $20 million production.

With Billboard estimating that Jackson's 50 shows this summer at London's O2 Arena could end up taking in more than $100 million—plus another $15 million in merchandise sales—Jacko is in the process of adding even more bells and whistles to what promises to be one heck of a spectacle, whichever way the ball bounces.

E! News has confirmed that magician Ed Alonzo, who most recently helped trick out Britney Spears' Circus tour, has come aboard to fashion some magical moments for Jackson's shows.

"I met with Michael Jackson a couple of days ago and am now officially creating magic and illusions for his concert," Alonzo said Friday. "I will not be performing in the show as I do with Britney. I'm just creating the magic that Michael has requested in his vision."

Keep Reading

LAPD, Donato Sardella/Getty Images

Authorities are looking into it. And right at it, apparently.

Los Angeles police tell E! News that the investigation is "still underway" into whoever allegedly tried to burglarize Lindsay Lohan's Hollywood Hills home Tuesday afternoon.

A surveillance camera at Lohan's pad captured footage of the cops' suspect wearing a white cap and crouched outside a vehicle that was parked on the street outside the actress' house.

No further details about the person of interest were released—not even whether said person is a man or a woman.

"We're referring to them as a suspect so you can't really be certain," LAPD spokesman Richard French said. "You'll see when you see the photos."

Lohan is currently in Europe. Police told E! News Tuesday that no one else was home at the time of the break-in and that no personal property was taken.

_____

Follow us on Twitter @eonline