This Week: Minor Concerns
While Britney Spears popped in and out of rehab and the hearing over Anna Nicole Smith's remains dragged on in Florida, the lives of children were hanging in the balance.
After shaving her head last week and getting new tattoos, Spears entered and left treatment programs twice before finally re–entering a Malibu treatment center on Thursday. Because her estranged husband, Kevin Federline cancelled an emergency child custody hearing after Spears returned to treatment, there is speculation that he is seeking custody of their two sons, 17-month-old Sean Preston and 5-month-old Jayden James.
Addiction experts and lawyers say the former teen idol has some growing up to do, but completing treatment could help her case in any impending custody battle.
The Anna Nicole Smith hearing that dragged on all week in Florida revealed more about the troubled former model's early life, but did little to stabilize the future of her infant daughter, Dannielynn. Finally late Thursday, the judge gave custody of Smith's remains to attorney Richard Milstein, who was appointed to act as guardian for Dannielynn. The judge said he wants Smith to be buried in the Bahamas next to her son Daniel who mysteriously died in September at only 20-years-old.
Anna Nicole Smith: The Latest Photos
Before the ruling, there were days of childish legal drama that featured 18 squabbling lawyers, a courtroom fainting spell and tear-soaked ruling from a now-famous Broward County judge.Anna Nicole Smith: A Who's Who
The lengthy hearing, however, did nothing to resolve the question of who is Dannielynn's biological father. That court battle is still going on.
And these three youngsters weren't the only ones making news this week.
Eleven- year-old Abigail Breslin is jockeying to enter an exclusive club Sunday - child stars who have won Academy Awards. The "Little Miss Sunshine" star is one of the nominees for Best Supporting Actress.
A British woman claiming to be the mother of Jackson's three children has filed a motion, demanding to be part of the custody settlement between the singer and his ex-wife Deborah Rowe. The judge said the woman hadn't provided "credible evidence."
While one would argue that nothing surrounding Jackson is ordinary, how often do you hear of a maternity battle?
Singer Brandy Norwood is still grappling with very serious legal troubles, made worse by a new civil suit filed this week. She is being sued for wrongful deathby the two sons of a woman killed in a freeway crash involving the singer.
In happier news, "Desperate Housewives" star Marcia Cross gave birth Tuesday to fraternal twin girls with her stockbroker husband, Tom Mahoney. And Trista and Ryan Sutter, who found love on "The Bachelorette," announced that they are expecting their first child this summer.
Also expecting this year is actress Bridget Moynahan, who is three months pregnant with the baby of her former boyfriend, New England's three-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Tom Brady. Both Moynahan and Brady, who split up in November after a three-year relationship, say they are delighted by the news.
By Caitlin Johnson