Whitney Houston and her daughter Bobbi Kristina were spotted making a grand arrival LAX Airport here in LA this weekend … Whitney looked very happy to be back in SoCal as she flashed her signature smile and Holla!ed to everyone in sight (much to her daughter’s chagrin, I’m sure):

Ah! I love Whitney Houston!! It’s great to see her back on the scene again — and looking relatively uncrazy, too! Mebbe she’s in town to work on that LONG-AWAITED comeback album we’ve been hearing about for the past couple of years? I really hope that is the case. She looks really happy to be photographed again … as am I! I’m also very thrilled that Bobby Brown is nowhere in sight. Woot!! More Whitney, please. Thanks!!

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin]

Gwen Stefani and newborn son Zuma Nesta Rock were joined by a friend for an impromptu photoshoot on a beach in Malibu, CA yesterday … the group were shot by none other than former Bush frontman, current Stefani husband and renowned amateur photographer Gavin Rossdale:

First, Gavin shot a photo with a cellphone and then used a videocamera to, presumably, make a home movie. Clearly the Stefani-Rossdales were not at all interested in partaking of the SuperBowl hubbub yesterday … a nice quiet afternoon/evening on the beach was all they were up for. Cute!!

[Photo credit: X17]

Well, well now … lookie here! After quite a few weeks out of the public eye together, Madonna and her much younger (rumored) romantic interest Jesus Luz have been spotted together in public in NYC this weekend. Madonna, Jesus and her children Lourdes and David Banda (not pictured) were seen making their way out of Nero restaurant on their way to do some shopping in the East Village. This is the first time the couple have been seen together since the closing night party for Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet World Tour in Brazil last December:

This is the closest proximity that the pair have been seen in … when last we saw them, they exited the closing night party separately and were not photographed standing next to one another. After all these weeks, it looks like Maddy is no longer concerned with appearances … the couple are not only going out together in NYC but they are doing so with her children. This seems like a very big step to me. I wonder if we’ll be seeing more of them in the coming weeks.

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin]

Courtney Love updated her official blog on her My Space profile to show off her new hair ‘do. Unlike previous attempts on C. Love’s part to wax ecstatic about whatever the hell is going on in her mind at the time (which usually reads like a completely incomprehensible mess), this time around Court lets the photos do the talkin’ for her (much easier to understand) … tho, she does post one line of text …

do u like my new hair color?

Actually, I do. Black is a great look for her … coupled with her pale white skin, I think her hair looks nice. See, photos are much easier to understand than the mental diarrhea that spews from her fingers onto her My Space blog … tho, they’re not quite as entertaining to poke fun at. Ah well. Court posted another photo showing off her new ‘do in this post as well:

The make-up is a bit drag-queenie but … I like the hair. Finally Courtney, we are in agreement. What do y’all think?

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Ruh roh! Big trubs in Britney Spearsland today … TMZ is reporting that Britney Spears is threatening to cancel her upcoming concert tour The Circus starring Britney Spears if her ex-husband Kevin Federline does not allow her to bring her sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, on tour with her. According to TMZ, private negotiations between Britney, her father/conservator Jamie Spears and K-Fed fell apart after his lawyers caught wind of the talks and stepped in to muck everything up. If an agreement to allow her sons to tour with her is not reached, Britney vows (reportedly) to call off her entire tour:

Britney Spears will cancel her upcoming tour if K-Fed’s lawyers continue to block an agreement allowing her to take the kids on the road — informed sources tell [TMZ] … For weeks, Britney, K-Fed and Jamie Spears have been privately hashing out a plan to let the kids travel with Brit while she goes on tour. The plan is to have homes in three bases — New Jersey, New Orleans and Los Angeles. Sean Preston and Jayden James would stay in one of these three bases and mom would commute back and forth while doing concerts in each region … We’ve learned Britney will pay Kevin in excess of $4,000 a week for each week she’s on tour. The way the deal goes… Brit would get K-Fed his own pad in each of the three bases and he wouldn’t even have to show up to get the money! … Britney, K-Fed and Jamie worked out the arrangement without the help of any of the lawyers. We’re told a week ago K-Fed’s lawyers became aware of the plan and were furious, thinking Jamie went behind their backs. Sources tell us K-Fed’s lawyers have said they object to the plan but won’t specifically say why. And Kevin apparently doesn’t have the cojones to stand up to his lawyers. Britney WILL cancel the tour if she can’t take her kids… we know that for a fact. By the way, Britney now has close to 50/50 custody and the trio has also worked out a long-term agreement, which would extend the arrangement. That too, could be compromised.

AHHHHH! If Britney cancels her tour, for whatever reason, I will go seriously ballistic. To be honest, this is the exact reason I didn’t want to get to excited about a tour when the reports first started to come out about her possibly going on tour. I had a feeling that K-Fed might throw a wrench into plans for her to see her children while she is on the road, jeopardizing the entire enterprise before it even got underway. It’s very clear that Britney needs and wants to be with her children as much as possible, I suspect that quality time has much to do with her successful rehabilitation … for her to be parted from them for so long prolly seems incomprehensible to her at this point. In the end, money talks and I suspect that K-Fed will end up getting a big pay day to allow Britney to see her children. I hope and pray this tour happens … for pretty much everyone’s sanity.

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Yesterday morning we saw a pretty amazing photo of 14-time Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps puffin’ on, by all accounts, a humongous marijuana pipe (more commonly referred to as a bong). After some speculation on the Internets by anyone with an opinion as to what damages could result from a photo like that in regards to his Olympic career (ie. what could be proven, what could not), Michael Phelps released an official statement admitting wrongdoing (while never expressly discussing specifics of that wrongdoing) which makes a solemn vow to fans that he will never transgress in such a manner ever again:

Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps admitted to “regrettable” behavior Sunday and vowed it wouldn’t happen again after a British newspaper published a photograph of the swimmer smoking a marijuana pipe. “I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment,” the record-setting American athlete said in a statement issued Sunday. “I’m 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me,” Phelps said. “For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public — it will not happen again.” Phelps won a record eight gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, four years after he won six gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. He has received numerous corporate endorsements totaling millions of dollars. His statement was also posted on his Facebook page, followed by comments of both support and admonishment from fans. In a separate statement, the U.S. Olympic Committee said it was “disappointed in the behavior recently exhibited by Michael Phelps.” “Michael is a role model, and he is well aware of the responsibilities and accountability that come with setting a positive example for others, particularly young people,” the committee said. “In this instance, regrettably, he failed to fulfill those responsibilities.” However, it added, “Michael has acknowledged that he made a mistake and apologized for his actions. We are confident that, going forward, Michael will consistently set the type of example we all expect from a great Olympic champion.” The picture, billed as an exclusive by the tabloid News of the World, showed Phelps using a water pipe during what it said was a November party at the University of South Carolina. In 2004, Phelps was arrested on charges of driving under the influence in Salisbury, Maryland. Phelps pleaded guilty and received 18 months probation in that incident, issuing an apology afterward. “Getting into a car with anything to drink is wrong. It’s dangerous and it’s unacceptable. I’m 19, but was taught that no matter how old you are, you take responsibility for actions, which I do,” Phelps told ESPN. The Olympic swimmer is one of 12 Olympic athletes that have pledged to “My Victory,” an initiative launched last year by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to keep competitive sports clean of cheating and drug use.

Honestly, this was his best course of action … to deny and play around with admittance of guilt would’ve been foolhardy, I think. And you gotta love that every time he apologizes publicly he has to remind folks of how old/young he is, as if that were enough of an excuse. He was 19 when he got arrested for drunk driving, he was 23 when he got caught using drugs. Whatever your feelings on marijuana use is (ie. whether it’s dangerous and illegal or harmless and “no big deal”), I think the fact that Phelps made a very public vow to join My Victory (which is STRICTLY anti-drug use) is what painted him into the corner. I’m bothered also by his promise that “it will never happen again”. That is the surest way to get busted in the future, should this ever happen again. Personally, marijuana use is not that big a deal to me … but considering the role model title that he took upon his self (as evident by his public endorsement of My Victory) I contend that getting busted with a bong was in very bad form. I’m sure he will not suffer any consequences from this action … but he does seem a bit tarnished, at least to me, as a result … no matter how old/young he is.

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