It’s right out of a movie. The bad guy’s in jail, up to no good of course, when the guards catch him with illegal contraband. He’s thrown into solitary and the rest of the prison population either 1) learns from his mistakes and/or 2) is protected from his evil ways for a month. Only the “bad guy” in this case was Lil Wayne and the contraband was an MP3 player and headphones. Lil Wayne (real name Dwayne Carter Jr.) will be stuck in a room for 23 hours a day with only one phone call a week. He’ll get out to shower and exercise but not to eat. Perhaps he’ll learn the folly of his ways and stop making music altogether. But we sure hope not. Click for more details on Lil Wayne’s time in the hole.(Louis Lanzano / Associated Press)
Justin Bieber is being touted as the new host of a reincarnated version of “Punk’d.” Of course, most of his fan base is probably too young to remember the show, or its granddaddy “Candid Camera,” but they’re sure to enjoy watching some poor sucker get his leg pulled right until it’s about to come off when young Justin will jump out snickering and tugging on his baseball cap, saying something like “nya-na-na-nya-na-na.” Click here for more on Justin’s new gig, replacing old man Ashton Kutcher. (Evan Agostini / Associated Press)
In the wake of the tragic suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi -- after a homosexual encounter he had was recorded and shown online -- there’ s been a groundswell of support from people in the media who’ve been telling their own stories. One of those comes from “Project Runway’s” Tim Gunn, who reveals that he attempted suicide himself as a teen. The deeply personal confession was made in a video for the “It Gets Better” campaign. (Richard Drew / Associated Press)
Its official: Gary Coleman’s death has been ruled accidental. The Santaquin, Utah, police department said “there was no struggle” and the head injury he sustained after falling was accidental. Contributing factors included renal failure and significant blockage of his coronary arteries. Coleman had been on life support after the accident but it was turned off when ex-wife Shannon Price gave the word. Click for more on Gary Coleman. (Richard Drew / Associated Press)
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It’s tough times out there. We all know that. Boy, do we all know that. And joining the back of the hardship line is Toni Braxton, who has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in California. Toni estimates she owes around $50 million. Wait, what? $50 million? Ouch. What’s she been buying? Let’s hope that whatever it was, it was helping prop up the bad economy -- if only until the checks bounced. Click to read more about Braxton’s banking problems.(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
Katherine Heigl pounded the press boards this fall to promote “Life as We Know It” -- and her flacks have warned those who interview her to stay away from any questions regarding her reputation. But that didn’t stop KTLA’s Sam Rubin from asking a question regarding her, well, reputation. Heigl didn’t give anything other than an honest, sweet answer. (Peter Kramer / Associated Press)
Forbes has announced its list of the 100 Most Powerful Women, and topping it off is First Lady Michelle Obama. You might know her -- she’s related to the president by marriage. Coming in at No. 7 is none other than Lady Gaga -- because that’s how Forbes rolls when it comes to rewarding women who wear meat dresses. What’s most interesting about Lady Gaga, Oprah, Ellen and Beyonce is that they all beat out Sarah Palin, who comes in at 16. The lesson to be learned? TV shows and shock-fashion seem to get a girl much further than political ambitions. Were we surprised? Click here to see who else joins Lady Gaga and Michelle Obama on Forbes’ Most Powerful Women list. (Jewel Samad/Getty Images)
Back in the ‘80s, Harry Hamlin was well known for his starring role in the original “Clash of the Titans.” This century, it’s for taking a call on his cell during a live interview on the “Today” show. There he was, chatting away with his wife Lisa Rinna to Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb, when his cell began a-ringing. Kathie Lee urged him to answer it, and he did just that. It was like tag-team interviewing at that point. Lisa threw herself into the ring and began chatting about, well, who knows, we were all glued to Harry. Turns out he was being called to alert him of a robbery of their Sherman Oaks boutique. Click to see the video -- it captures the kind of thing live TV is still fun for. And to see Lisa’s constantly morphing lips, click here. (Henry S. Dziekan III / Getty Images)
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This fall, there was a brouhaha concerning Brett Favre, sports commentator Jenn Sterger, and cellphone pics of Favre’s naughty bits. Favre apparently had the hots for Sterger, and purportedly sent her plenty of texts and voicemails (and pics of the private parts). Now that could be tricky, because Favre’s married. Sterger told us a few months ago that “for every dumb girl that’s willing to lay down for you, at some point there’s going to be one smart enough to know what to do with that.” (Adam Bettcher / Getty Images)
The older brother of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dan Gordon-Levitt, passed away this week. Dan was a fire-spinning artist and pioneering flow-arts teacher who’d gotten the nickname “Burning Dan.” And flow arts? Dan explained it as a combination of performance art, dance, meditation and yoga .” Dan was well-known in the L.A. area for being a very talented performer and passionate, patient teacher. Dan was only 36 and leaves behind a grieving family and an abundance of friends. Click for more on Dan and Joseph’s comments. Pictured here: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)