A Hilton faces DUI rap
Barron Nicholas Hilton, Paris's 18-year-old brother, was charged yesterday with four misdemeanor counts stemming from his arrest last month on suspicion of drunken driving. Charges include driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and being an unlicensed driver. Hilton (inset) was stopped Feb. 12 after a witness reported seeing a black Mercedes-Benz weaving on Pacific Coast Highway, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said. He was freed on $20,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned April 14. (AP)
Being the father of Britney Spears is now a paying gig - through most of the summer, at least. A court has ordered the troubled pop star's estate to pay James Spears $2,500 in weekly compensation and authorized him to lease a car. His authority to handle his daughter's affairs, which was to expire Monday, has been extended until July 31. Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz ordered the weekly payments in documents that had been signed Wednesday and released by the court yesterday. James Spears, who recently worked as a caterer, was named conservator of his daughter and co-conservator of her estate after she was hospitalized twice in January. (AP)
The producers of the Fox series "24" are developing a two-hour prequel to the upcoming seventh season. The movie, designed to bridge the two-year gap between seasons 6 and 7, is targeted to air in the fall, leading to the January return of the real-time drama. "24" was one of the biggest casualties of the writers' strike. Three days into the work stoppage, Fox decided against airing a partial season of the serialized drama with the eight episodes produced before and during the first weeks of the strike. The upcoming seventh season is set in Washington and features the first female US president, played by Cherry Jones. (AP) 