Actress Lindsay Lohan arrived on time to her court-ordered community service at a morgue on Friday, after nearly jeopardizing her probation one day earlier by turning up late and being refused entry.
The troubled star dressed somberly in black and arrived prior to her 7am start at the Los Angeles County Morgue to begin court-ordered community service, performing tasks such as cleaning toilets, mopping floors and emptying trash bins.
The Mean Girls actress, 25, had been on probation as part of her sentence for stealing a gold necklace from a jewelry store earlier this year, but on Wednesday, a judge revoked probation after she failed to adequately serve her community service punishment at a women’s center in Los Angeles.
The judge sent Lohan, instead, to the morgue and set a new hearing for Nov. 2, to decide if Lohan in fact violated probation and, as a result, should go to jail.
Lohan had been scheduled to begin work at the morgue on Thursday, but was late. Her spokesman blamed the tardiness on confusion over the morgue’s entrance location and the media gathered outside.
Also in trouble with the law is Michael Douglas’ imprisoned son, who pleaded guilty to a new drug charge Thursday, admitting that he managed to get drugs in prison even while he was cooperating with the government in a drug investigation.
Cameron Douglas, 32, pleaded guilty to a narcotics possession charge, saying, “God knows I’m sorry about this situation.”
Although the charge carries the potential for a 20-year prison term, a plea deal with prosecutors recommended Douglas serve between a year and 18 months in prison. His sentencing was set for Dec. 21.
Michael Douglas, who was not in court, said in a statement that his son’s offense involved a small user-quantity of drugs.
“Cameron accepts full responsibility for his conduct,” the father said. “While he has made much progress, he is still not cured. Most people and their families are able to address this illness privately and outside the spotlight. Unfortunately this has not been possible here — for reasons completely outside of his control. He thanks those that have rooted for his recovery and looks forward to the day when he will not disappoint.”
The plea came just two weeks after Cameron Douglas testified as a government witness against a co-defendant facing drug charges. The testimony was part of the cooperation he promised when he was sentenced to five years in prison after his arrest in July 2009 for dealing methamphetamine from a high-end Manhattan hotel.
While Cameron Douglas has admitted his guilt, rapper Soulja Boy has said he is innocent of drug and weapon charges after being arrested and freed on bail last week in Atlanta, Georgia.
“I’m innocent man. I love you all. I just want you’ll to know I’m innocent,” the hip-hop singer posted late Tuesday on Twitter after putting up US$10,000 in bail money to secure his release, reported news outlet CBS Atlanta.
The 21 year-old rapper, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, three of his bodyguards and a driver each were arrested earlier Tuesday on felony charges of possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm.
On Tuesday night, the rapper took to Twitter to thank his fans and promote his new documentary biopic Soulja Boy: The Movie that was also released on Tuesday.
“I missed 10 interviews today for my new movie! to those companies
I’m sorry. you can see I had a lil situation. the show must go on,” the rapper tweeted.
Soulja Boy first rose to fame after his single Crank That became a hit.
In more upbeat news, a satirical pop song implicitly comparing Russians planning to elect Vladimir Putin as their president in March polls to patients of a psychiatric hospital has gone viral on the Russian Internet.
“Our madhouse votes for Putin/Our madhouse will be glad to have Putin,” a rock band sings to video footage of pyjama-clad patients and masked doctors dancing manically.
Last month, Putin announced a plan to reclaim the presidency in March presidential polls in a move that could keep him in power until 2024.
The victory of the former KGB colonel, who already occupied the top Kremlin post between 2000 and 2008, is virtually assured in the March polls.
“I feel that they stole our constitutional right to choose and that is what incenses me most of all,” the band’s frontman Alexander Semyonov said.
The video appeared on YouTube last week and has been watched almost 200,000 times.
To view the video, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuQXfwvwdQE.
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
The corruption cases surrounding former Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) are just one item in the endless cycle of noise and fuss obscuring Taiwan’s deep and urgent structural and social problems. Even the case itself, as James Baron observed in an excellent piece at the Diplomat last week, is only one manifestation of the greater problem of deep-rooted corruption in land development. Last week the government announced a program to permit 25,000 foreign university students, primarily from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, to work in Taiwan after graduation for 2-4 years. That number is a
In a stark demonstration of how award-winning breakthroughs can come from the most unlikely directions, researchers have won an Ig Nobel prize for discovering that mammals can breathe through their anuses. After a series of tests on mice, rats and pigs, Japanese scientists found the animals absorb oxygen delivered through the rectum, work that underpins a clinical trial to see whether the procedure can treat respiratory failure. The team is among 10 recognized in this year’s Ig Nobel awards (see below for more), the irreverent accolades given for achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think.” They are not
This Qing Dynasty trail takes hikers from renowned hot springs in the East Rift Valley, up to the top of the Coastal Mountain Range, and down to the Pacific Short vacations to eastern Taiwan often require choosing between the Rift Valley with its pineapple fields, rice paddies and broader range of amenities, or the less populated coastal route for its ocean scenery. For those who can’t decide, why not try both? The Antong Traversing Trail (安通越嶺道) provides just such an opportunity. Built 149 years ago, the trail linked up these two formerly isolated parts of the island by crossing over the Coastal Mountain Range. After decades of serving as a convenient path for local Amis, Han settlers, missionaries and smugglers, the trail fell into disuse once modern roadways were built