Freedom for Paris

LYNWOOD, Calif. -- It's back to the not-so-solitary and far-from-simple life for Paris Hilton. Dressed in a sage jacket with white trim and skinny jeans, the hotel heiress flashed a beaming smile as she walked out of jail early yesterday into a frenzied gathering of photographers and reporters.

Hilton ignored the media but waved and slapped hands with excited well-wishers. Her parents, Kathy and Rick Hilton, waited in a black sport utility vehicle. Hilton, her blond hair pulled back in a braided ponytail, hurried to the vehicle, where she hugged her mother through the SUV's window.

Hilton, 26, wrapped up her three-week stay at the all-women's jail in Lynwood at about 12:15 a.m. She had checked into the Century Regional Detention Facility late June 3, largely avoiding the spotlight, after a surprise appearance at the MTV Movie Awards.

Chased by photographers in the air and on the street yesterday, the celebutante and her parents drove to her grandparents' mansion in fashionable Holmby Hills. She spent the morning behind the mansion's gates while people in more than a dozen cars came and went.

At one point, a black Cadillac Escalade arrived carrying balloons and a cake with the words "Welcome Home" in pink frosting. At another, a van from Dream Catchers Hair Extensions , Hilton's own company, passed through the gates. Dream Catchers receptionist Crystal Armijo confirmed the heiress was having extensions added to her hair.

The star of the TV reality series "The Simple Life" plans to appear on CNN's "Larry King Live" tonight.

During her stay at Lynwood, Hilton was mostly confined to a solitary cell in the special needs unit away from the other 2,200 inmates. After spending only three days there, she was released to home confinement by Sheriff Lee Baca for an unspecified medical condition that he later said was psychological. The following day, Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer, who had sentenced Hilton, called her back into court and ordered her returned to jail, saying he hadn't condoned her release.

Hilton's path to jail began Sept. 7, when she failed a sobriety test after police saw her weaving down a street in her car on what she said was a late-night run to a hamburger stand. She pleaded no contest to reckless driving and was sentenced to 36 months of probation, alcohol education, and $1,500 in fines. In the months that followed, Hilton was stopped twice by officers who discovered her driving with a suspended license. The second stop landed her in court , where Sauer sentenced her to 45 days in jail. She was released after three weeks for reasons including good behavior.

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Lindsay Lohan, who checked into rehab after a wild Memorial Day weekend, plans to extend her stay, says her mother, Dina Lohan. "She's going to be doing extended care," Dina Lohan said in yesterday's editions of the (L.A.) Daily News. "It was her choice." The actress, who will turn 21 on Monday, checked into rehab in Malibu, Calif., after she crashed her Mercedes - Benz into a curb and was photographed slumped in the passenger seat of a friend's car. It was her second rehab stint this year. Lohan said in January she had checked into a rehabilitation center for substance abuse treatment. Dina Lohan, who appeared Monday for a hearing at Nassau Family Court in Mineola, N.Y., said she speaks with her daughter every day. "She's doing great," Lohan said. (AP)

A first edition "Harry Potter" book fetched $18,000 at auction yesterday. The winning bid for the first novel by J.K. Rowling that launched Pottermania went to an anonymous buyer. Bonhams auctioneers had estimated the book would sell for between $10,000 and $20,000. First editions of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" -- published in the United States as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" -- are valuable because of their rarity, the auction house said. The publishers produced between 500 and 1,000 copies in the book's first run. That a book that is relatively new would fetch such large amounts is unprecedented, said Luke Battenham, Bonham's book specialist. (AP)

Rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson is in final negotiations to join Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in "Righteous Kill," a crime thriller that starts shooting in September. (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)

Carrie Underwood and Kevin Eubanks have been named the "world's sexiest vegetarians" in PETA's annual contest. Results were released yesterday by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Country singer Underwood, 24, won the title in 2005. Eubanks, 49, leader of NBC's "Tonight Show" band, is a newcomer to the winner's circle. Eubanks leapt ahead of his competitors with help from Jay Leno, who encouraged viewers to vote for Eubanks. Runners-up in the contest, which the animal-rights group said drew more than 110,000 votes on its website, included Joaquin Phoenix, Milo Ventimiglia, Kristen Bell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jared Leto, and Lisa Edelstein. (AP)