Lohan divorce settled

August 18, 2007

Lindsay Lohan's estranged parents settled their long-simmering divorce and custody dispute yesterday, winning praise from the judge who presided over their case. "You have both demonstrated to me extraordinarily good judgment in resolving this matter as you did," state Supreme Court Justice Robert A. Ross told Michael and Dina Lohan (both inset). Terms of the divorce agreement, which will become official within 60 days, weren't disclosed. Dina Lohan has custody of the couple's two minor children, Aliana, 13, and Dakota, 10. Neither Lindsay, 21, nor her brother Michael, 19, were involved in the divorce proceedings since they are no longer minors. (AP)

Uncle Kracker (inset), a former disc jockey for Kid Rock, was released on $75,000 bond following his arrest yesterday in Cary, N.C., on a second-degree sex offense charge. Authorities said Kracker, whose real name is Matthew Shafer, was arrested after a 26-year-old woman alleged that a man had committed a sexual act against her at the Ess Lounge, a downtown nightclub. Police detained Kracker, 33, at an Embassy Suites hotel until Raleigh officers arrived. (AP)

Hip-hop star Method Man is going back to school. As part of a plea deal reached following a marijuana arrest this year, the former Wu-Tang Clan member was ordered to visit 15 New York City high schools to warn students about the dangers of drugs. The rapper, whose real name is Clifford Smith, "is thrilled to do it," defense attorney Peter Frankel said yesterday. (AP)

Amy Winehouse has pulled the plug on her August concerts after being hospitalized last week for "severe exhaustion." Spokeswoman Tracey Miller said the 23-year-old British singer was putting her touring commitments on hold "in order to address her health issues." British newspapers reported this week that Winehouse had checked into -- and then out of -- a rehab clinic near London. (AP)

A man who died at the home of actor Ving Rhames most likely did not die from bites from Rhames's dogs, Los Angeles county coroner's officials said yesterday. Jacob Adams, 40, was living on Rhames's Brentwood property as a caretaker for the actor's dogs when he was bitten Aug. 3, police said. The medical examiner who conducted Adams's autopsy Aug. 7 said the bite abrasions and lacerations on the man's body were most likely nonfatal, said Captain Ed Winter of the Los Angeles County coroner's office. "When animals attack humans or other animals, the victims usually end up with bites around the head and neck. He had none," Winter said. "This leads us to believe he went down for some other medical reason." An exact cause of death was still unknown pending a toxicology report, he said. (AP)