Hotel heiress Paris Hilton was charged with felony cocaine possession but denied the drugs found in the purse she carried were hers, US media reported.

People magazine said Hilton faces up to four years in prison if convicted on the drug charge.

Following the socialite’s weekend arrest with her boyfriend, Las Vegas nightclub executive Cy Waits, police said they found 0.8 grams (.03 ounces) of cocaine, wrappers typically used to roll marijuana cigarettes, asthma medication and 1,300 dollars in cash.

Police pulled over the black SUV Waits was driving on Las Vegas’ renowned Strip after smelling marijuana emanating from the vehicle. Hilton was conditionally released shortly afterwards.

An arrest report cited by US media said Hilton was escorted to a hotel “at her request” to use the bathroom shortly after police stopped the car.

While in a holding room, she took lip balm from her purse.

“As she began to open it, I saw a small bundle of what I believed to be cocaine in a clear baggy begin to fall from the purse and into my hand,” Lieutenant Dennis Flynn of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department wrote in the report.

Asked whose cocaine was in the purse, Hilton told Flynn she “had not seen it” and thought it was chewing-gum, according to the report.

Hilton also told police she had borrowed the purse and that the cosmetics did not belong to her, though the asthma medication, cash, credit cards and Zig-Zag wrappers were hers.

Her lawyer, David Chesnoff, encouraged people “not to rush to judgment until all of the facts have been dealt with in a court of law,” according to a statement released to US media.

It has been an eventful few months for Hilton, 29, who was briefly detained by police in July on the French island of Corsica after being caught with less than a gram (.04 ounces) of cannabis in her handbag.

An now a message from Janice Dickinson.

Fresh out of rehab and a 13-day stint in jail, Lindsay Lohan returned to Twitter on Thursday — and blasted the paparazzi who have been following her every move.

“Clearly.. Paparazzi shouldn’t be allowed to take pictures or video while someone’s driving or at a stop light. 4every1’s sake,” Lohan said in her first Tweet since the eve of being locked up on July 20.

Lohan, who was released on Tuesday after just 23 days of a court-ordered 90-day rehabilitation program, has also got back behind the wheel, after the suspension of her driving license for a 2007 drunk driving and cocaine possession charge.

The 24-year-old actress got her license back on Wednesday and was soon seen driving a Maserati sports car and picking up friends after midnight in Los Angeles.

Lohan, whose promising acting career in movies like “Freaky Friday” and “Mean Girls” has been eclipsed since 2007 by headlines about hard partying, has been trailed by photographers since her release.

She is also reported to have been inundated with offers, including interviews and celebrity endorsements.

One New York-area radio station has offered Lohan and her mother $1 million to host a morning radio talk show together that would cover fashion tips and entertainment news.

However, Lohan was ordered by a judge on Wednesday to remain in Los Angeles until November 1 to undergo twice weekly drug and alcohol testing, and continue drug and behavioral therapy.

Get your New York Yankees hats here — with a Jay-Z logo.

The hip-hop mogul is teaming up with his favorite baseball squad on co-branded clothes that will be sold exclusively at Yankee Stadium beginning next week. All the items, from baseball caps to T-shirts and hooded sweat shirts, will feature Yankees and Jay-Z logos.

In a news release Thursday, the Yankees said the attire was created to commemorate the first official concerts at the new Yankee Stadium on Sept. 13 and 14, when Jay-Z and Eminem will co-headline.

The shows mark the second half of their “Home and Home” tour, following joint performances at Detroit’s Comerica Park on Sept. 3 and Sept. 4.

The new merchandise will be available at Yankee Stadium from Aug. 30 to Sept. 14.

A mediation session meant to resolve a lawsuit filed by rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight against hip-hop star Kanye West was not successful.

Knight’s attorney, Marc Brumer, says the two sides did not reach an agreement during Thursday’s meeting in Miami, which West attended by phone. The attorney says the case will likely go to trial.

Knight is seeking more than $1 million in damages from West and his companies. Knight was shot in the leg at a 2005 Miami Beach party hosted by West, whom Knight blames for lax security.

The shooter has never been identified, and the case is unsolved.

West’s attorney, Adam Josephs, said he couldn’t comment on the case.

Lindsay Lohan’s judge on Wednesday laid out a path paved with therapy sessions and 12-step program meetings that could lead to the actress’s recovery and an end to a three-year-old drug case.

It also would allow the starlet to return to work after spending more than a month in jail and inpatient rehab.

For the next 67 days, Lohan will be expected to attend psychotherapy, drug and alcohol counseling and random drug and alcohol testing several times a week, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elden S. Fox ordered during a hearing.

If the 24-year-old star succeeds, Fox said he will allow Lohan to return to unsupervised probation and to leave Los Angeles permanently if she wishes.

If she fails to show up or doesn’t pass any of the drug screenings, the judge threatened her with a 30-day jail sentence for each violation.

Lohan’s attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, said her client was eager to demonstrate that she could comply with the rigid outpatient rehab requirements laid by the judge.

“She is very serious about her sobriety,” Holley told the judge. Lohan, who was released from rehab hours earlier, did not attend the hearing.

Despite the rigid schedule, Holley said Lohan will resume working. She returns to the big screen on Sept. 3 in Robert Rodriguez’s film, “Machete.” She said the actress would skip a screening of the film scheduled for Wednesday evening.

Lohan has also signed on to play porn star Linda Lovelace in a biopic that has not yet started filming.

Holley said she was confident Lohan would be able to juggle her rehab responsibilities — which include two psychotherapy, two behavior therapy and five 12-step sessions a week — with her personal and work life.

“She has changed,” Holley said. “She’s healthy. She’s clear-headed. She is positive at looking forward.”

The star of “Mean Girls” and several Disney films has repeatedly struggled with the terms of her probation for a drug and driving under the influence case filed after a pair of arrests in 2007. Lohan failed to complete her alcohol education classes in time and had her probation extended for a year, then missed seven weekly sessions between December and May.

The absences prompted Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel to sentence Lohan to three months in jail followed by three months in rehab. The actress ended up serving 14 days in a women’s jail and 23 days of inpatient rehab at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.

Revel recused herself from the case after a prosecutor complained about the judge meeting with defense attorneys without notifying her and contacting rehab officials directly.

Wednesday’s sentence was the first time Fox weighed in on Lohan’s case. He said he agreed to release her from inpatient rehab after reviewing reports by her doctors and medical records from a three-year period.

Holley credited doctors and staff at UCLA for taking a fresh look at Lohan’s issues.

Despite ordering an intense regimen of counseling and therapy, Fox gave Lohan some incentives to succeed. He dismissed two drug counts to which the actress pleaded guilty in 2007.

He also said Lohan will be taken off supervised probation in November, which would give her more freedom to travel, and reduce court and media scrutiny for her off-screen actions.

Celebrity heiress Paris Hilton called police on Tuesday after seeing a man wielding two large knives and banging on her windows, apparently trying to break into her Los Angeles home.

“So Scary, just got woken up to a guy trying to break into my house holding 2 big knifes. Cops are here arresting him,” Hilton said in a Twitter message early on Tuesday morning.

She also posted a photo of police outside her house and a man in handcuffs.

Police confirmed they had arrested a man in his 40s who appeared to have been trying to break in. No injuries were reported and the man did not gain entry to the house.

Sources close to Hilton, 29, said the socialite saw the man on her security cameras and called police immediately. She did not know the man and it was unclear if the heir to the Hilton hotels group was targeted, or whether it was a random incident, celebrity website TMZ reported.

Hilton, the great-granddaughter of Hilton hotels founder Conrad Hilton, has worked as a model, singer, actress, fashion designer and reality TV star. She runs a multimillion dollar business based on her name, including clothing lines, fragrances, wine, and red carpet appearances.

The world’s No. 1 golfer, Tiger Woods, and his Swedish wife, Elin Nordegren, divorced on Monday following the torrid sex scandal that engulfed Woods late last year.

Woods, reputed to be the world’s wealthiest sports star, and Nordegren, a former model and nanny, issued a statement confirming the divorce, which had been widely anticipated for months after his public confession of infidelity in a blaze of publicity.

The couple were at the Bay County Circuit Court in Florida when their marriage was dissolved.

“The marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken,” read a court document published by the celebrity website TMZ.

The joint statement by Woods and Nordegren through their lawyers made no mention of any monetary settlement involved in the divorce and the attorneys declined to comment on the existence of any such settlement.

The statement said the divorce judgment provided for shared custody of their two young children and asked for privacy for the family.

“We are sad that our marriage is over and we wish each other the very best for the future,” said the joint statement, which was also posted on Wood’s website, http://web.tigerwoods.com.

Woods, who has won 14 major championships, returned to the game in April after losing up to $35 million in sponsorship revenue as his private life unraveled over allegations that surfaced in late November and December about affairs between him and several women.

The revelations surfaced after a bizarre middle-of-the-night car accident at the couple’s luxury Florida home where Woods crashed into a tree and a fire hydrant. Nordegren told police she smashed the car’s back window with a golf club to get him out.

In February, he apologized publicly for cheating on his wife and underwent therapy. “I was unfaithful, I had affairs, I cheated,” Woods said at the time.

STRUGGLING GOLF GAME

Woods and Nordegren have a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.

“While we are no longer married, we are the parents of two wonderful children and their happiness has been, and will always be, of paramount importance to both of us,” the statement said.

“The weeks and months ahead will not be easy for them as we adjust to a new family situation, which is why our privacy must be a principal concern.”

Woods’ golf game has been erratic since his return to the sport. He has yet to win this year after nine starts on the U.S. tour and he conceded before the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational he had been unable to practice as much as normal.

After revelations of his martial infidelities, he lost endorsement deals with companies like Accenture Plc and AT&T Inc.

Other sponsors like Procter & Gamble Co’s Gillette, Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s NetJets unit, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA’s Tag Heuer and TLC Vision, shifted away from using Woods in marketing, but did not end their contracts with him.

With his divorce being finalized and golf tournaments keeping him on the road for at least a week at a time, Woods has tried to see his two young children whenever possible.

“Life has changed,” he said. “I haven’t practiced as much as I used to, nor should I. My kids are more important.”

The greatest player of his generation, Woods has lost the aura of invincibility he once enjoyed over his golfing rivals since his double life was exposed at the end of last year.

He has not won anywhere in the world since the Australian Masters last November.

Pop star George Michael pleaded guilty Tuesday to drug offenses and a judge suspended his license and warned him he could face jail after an incident in which his car crashed into a photo shop and he was found slumped at the wheel.

In a 15-minute appearance at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court, Michael admitted driving under the influence of drugs and possession of cannabis following the July 4 crash, where police say they found him “spaced out” and with dilated pupils.

Judge Robin McPhee banned the hitmaker behind “Faith” and “Father Figure” from driving for six months, and sternly warned he could face a prison sentence.

“It is a serious matter. Your driving was extremely poor and there was an accident,” McPhee said, adding that Michael has already had one conviction.

Three years ago, Michael was found slumped over the wheel of his car, which was blocking an intersection.

Michael, 47, whose real name is Georgios Panayiotou, spoke only to enter his pleas and confirm his identity. The former Wham! lead singer needed help from police to get through a swarm of photographers and cameramen as he arrived at the court.

Police said they found the star in his car after it crashed into a Snappy Snaps photo shop in north London, near his home, in the wee hours of July 4.

The car’s engine was still running when police arrived but Michael had to be roused, police said. They described Michael as appearing to be “spaced out,” sweating profusely and having dilated pupils.

He pleaded guilty to driving while unfit. Tests showed he had taken a therapeutic quantity of an antidepressant as well as gamma-hydroxybutyrate, a so-called “date-rape drug” because it leaves people groggy and powerless.

Grammy-winning singer Faith Evans has been arrested after being stopped at a drunken driving checkpoint in the Los Angeles area.

Officer Cleon Joseph of the LAPD says the 37-year-old Evans was arrested Saturday night near Marina del Rey on suspicion of misdemeanor drunken driving. He says Evans was held for a few hours and released on bail Sunday morning. Her car was impounded.

The R&B singer is the widow of rapper Christopher Wallace, also known as the Notorious B.I.G. She won a Grammy in 1998 for the song “I’ll Be Missing You.”

A reality series chronicling Evans’ life is reportedly in production, and a new album is scheduled for release in October.

A message left with Evans’ agent Sunday was not immediately returned.

A sheriff says reality TV actress Tila Tequila complained that audience members pelted her with stones and feces during an outdoor music festival in southern Illinois.

Hardin County Sheriff Tom Seiner told a Carterville TV station it happened early Saturday at the Gathering of the Juggalos. That’s a weekend festival based around the band Insane Clown Posse and other groups from Psychopathic Records.

Seiner told WSIL-TV that Tequila, whose real name is Tila Nguyen, complained that she was injured when audience members threw rocks at her. Seiner said Nguyen also complained that feces were thrown.

“How I Met Your Mother” star Neil Patrick Harris is going to be the father of twins.

E Online reports that the actor and his partner, David Burtka, were expecting the children via a surrogate in October.

Harris confirmed the report via Twitter on Saturday, writing, “So get this: David and I are expecting twins this fall. We’re super excited/nervous/thrilled.”

Harris is nominated for three Emmys this year: best supporting actor in a comedy series, guest actor in a comedy for his appearance on “Glee” and best special-class program for his turn as Tony Awards host. The later nomination was added this past week after the Los Angeles Times notified the TV Academy that Harris’ name had been omitted from the group of names in the category.

Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan, fresh out of jail on charges of violating her probation, may be released early from a court-ordered stint in drug and alcohol rehabilitation, a prosecutor said on Thursday.

Danette Meyers, who recently prosecuted Lohan for violating probation on drunken driving charges, told celebrity news website RadarOnline.com that the “Mean Girls” star may be able to avoid her full 90-day sentence in rehab.

Meyers said she was unsure exactly when Lohan might get out and that a release date would depend on recommendations from people treating the actress. The prosecutor further said that Lohan may have to undergo “follow up treatment.”

In July, a California judge sentenced Lohan to 90 days in jail and another 90 days in rehab for missing alcohol education classes imposed as part of her probation on the 2007 charges.

Her prison sentence was cut to 13 days due to overcrowding and on August 2, she left a jail to enter rehab at a facility at the University of California Los Angeles, where she is currently.

Talk radio host Dr. Laura Schlessinger has issued an apology for saying the N-word several times in an on-air conversation with a caller that she said was “hypersensitive” to racism.

Schlessinger said on her website Wednesday that she was wrong in using the word for what she called an attempt to make a philosophical point.

“I articulated the N-word all the way out — more than one time,” Schlessinger said in comments from the opening of her radio show that she posted on her site. “And that was wrong. I’ll say it again — that was wrong.”

She said she “realized I had made a horrible mistake, and was so upset, I could not finish the show.”

Schlessinger said she pulled herself off the air at the end of the hour.

During the exchange on Tuesday’s show, Schlessinger said the woman who called herself Jade was too sensitive for complaining that her husband’s friends made racist comments about her in their home.

When the woman asked if the N-word was offensive, Dr. Laura said “black guys say it all the time,” then went on to repeat it several times.

Schlessinger did not direct the epithet at the woman, but said she used it to suggest how often she hears it, and that it should not automatically be cause for offense.

When the caller objected, Schlessinger replied: “Oh, then I guess you don’t watch HBO or listen to any black comedians.”

Schlessinger also said that if the caller did not have a sense of humor about race, she shouldn’t have entered into an interracial marriage.

Many people have bad hair days, but one that cost $35 million? Not even Paris Hilton could do that — at least, that’s what she says.

Lawyers for the hotel heiress and socialite on Thursday said they “will pursue all of our defenses vigorously and any potential counter claims” against a company that sued Hilton for $35 million claiming she broke a contract to wear its hair extensions.

One day earlier, Beverly Hills-based Hairtech International Inc filed its suit alleging Hilton, a member of the family that founded the hotel chain bearing her name, broke a contract in 2008 when she wore a rival company’s extensions.

Hairtech also blamed Hilton for missing a product launch party in 2007 because she was in jail, and said her failure to appear cost the company $6.6 million, according to reports.

Hairtech declined to comment on the lawsuit.

The suit caused headlines around the world as the media seized upon it as a way to tease the wealthy heiress who has acted on TV and in movies, and endorsed products ranging from jewelry to apparel, cosmetics, perfume and hair products.

Singer George Michael has been charged with possessing cannabis and being unfit to drive after allegedly crashing his car into a photography shop last month, police said Thursday.

The “Careless Whisper” star has been bailed and is due to appear before magistrates in London on August 24.

He was previously arrested and bailed after the incident in the plush Hampstead district of north London, near his home.

London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed he had been charged, in a statement which referred to him by his real name.

“Georgios Panayiotou, aged 47, of Highgate, N6 returned on police bail today,” it said. “He was charged with possession of cannabis and driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs.”