Developing Stories

A jury is now in place in the case against paramedic Tarino Lightbourne and former senator Pleasant Bridgewater. Prosecutors say the defendants threatened to go public with a document that protected emergency responders from liability. Ironically, the document was irrelevant in Jett's death and it's baffling why the pair allegedly would think Travolta would pay $25 million to keep it under wraps.

Travolta will testify -- probably either tomorrow or Wednesday. We're told John's testimony will focus on his interaction with Lightbourne as they tried to save Jett and on his reaction to the alleged extortion demands.

Lightbourne and Bridgewater have both pleaded "100% not guilty" -- legal trivia: OJ Simpson pleaded "absolutely 100% not guilty" in his murder trial.

David Hasselhoff says he wasn't drunk yesterday -- he wasn't even drinking and yesterday's drama was all a misunderstanding over an ear problem.

As we first reported, paramedics went to Hasselhoff's home yesterday and took him to the hospital -- this, after his daughter Hayley called her mom and sounded an alarm. Pamela says she was told David had been drinking and one of her friends then called 911.

Hasselhoff's people tell us he was being treated by his family doctor for an ear infection and was taking Antivert. Hasselhoff was also taking Antabuse, which prevents alcoholics from drinking. The Hoff's camp says the combination of drugs messed up his equilibrium, he was feeling sick and wasn't able to reach his family doctor.

Team Hasselhoff says when paramedics arrived David decided to go to the hospital -- not because he was drinking but to help with the equilibrium problem.

Hasselhoff's people say he was released an hour after being treated at the hospital.

Audrina Patridge's alleged stalker is out of jail and free to go wherever he wants ... except, of course, for the 100 yards or so he's been ordered to stay away from Ms. Patridge.

We've learned 24-year-old Zachary Loring was released from jail yesterday, after being arrested Tuesday on two outstanding warrants.

The warrants were issued after Loring skipped out on a few anger management classes -- which he was supposed to attend following his May arrest for vandalism and disturbing the peace.

Yesterday the judge freed Loring under the condition he finishes the anger management classes within the next two months.

As a result of the ruling, Katherine can now safely challenge special administrators John Branca and John McClain without jeopardizing her position in the will -- she's set to get 40% of the net value of the estate.

The will has a "no contest" clause -- which means any beneficiary who contests the will gets aced out of inheriting anything. But the court has now ruled challenging the special administrators is not a "contest" of the will itself.

Interestingly, the court specifically ruled .... Katherine objecting to the special administrators on grounds there was some sort of "undue influence" imposed on M.J. is not a "contest" under the will.

Law enforcement sources say they believe the woman in the surveillance video is Rachel Lee, who they think helped Nicholas Prugo burglarize Lohan's joint. We're told the pair are also suspected in the burglary of Audrina Patridge's L.A. home.

How's this for detective work -- if you look at Prugo's Facebook page, you'll see a photo of Rachel Lee -- she's a dead ringer for the person caught on Lindsay and Audrina's surveillance cams.

TMZ spoke with Ferrigno's wife, who told us the bodybuilding legend recently underwent a hip surgery -- not to mention he already has "a fake hip and two fake knees."

But here's the rub: Ferrigno -- who was Michael Jackson's personal trainer -- only scheduled his most recent hip surgery after following Michael's advice.

Ferrigno told us that while he was pumping MJ up for the ill-fated "This Is It" tour, Jackson encouraged him to do "Dancing with the Stars." Lou -- who knew he had a bad hip -- listened to MJ and met with the "Dancing" people.

Lou claims the "Dancing" people loved him -- so he decided to get hip surgery so he could be on the show. But Lou says after the surgery, the "Dancing" people "blew him off" and he was never officially invited to do the show.

So now Lou is still recovering from the surgery -- hence the handicap parking. But due to the fact that Lou told us he dominated the stair-stepper earlier this week ... we're assuming he'll be back to parking in a regular spot pretty soon.

It happened outside the Children's Hospital in Orange County earlier this week. Ryan had just finished making an appearance. The alleged attacker -- Chidi Uzomah -- approached Ryan and asked for an autograph. Ryan obliged and then walked to his car.

We're told Uzomah got in between Ryan and his car. The security guard tried blocking Uzomah and then Uzomah allegedly began choking the guard and fighting him.

Uzomah -- who is 25 years old, 6'4" and 200 lbs -- was subdued and arrested. Cops found a switchblade knife on him.

Uzomah will be charged by the O.C. D.A. with assault and battery and possession of a switchblade.

Nicholas Prugo was arrested in the Calabasas, CA area. It was a felony arrest -- we're told for one count burglary. Prugo is 18 years old. He's being held on $20,000 bail.

Story developing...

Up to now we didn't know how much Katherine Jackson was getting by way of allowance while Michael Jackson's estate gets probated. In legal docs just unveiled today, we now know the special administrators asked to pay her $26,804 per month.

As for the kids, the family allowance for them is $60,000 per month.

The docs also say "...the Estate assets consist of real and personal property exceeding $500 million and that the Estate is solvent."

Katherine and Michael's 3 kids will continue to get an allowance -- which is subject to change -- until the estate is probated. That could take between 1 and 2 years from now.

UPDATE: The docs also list Katherine and the kids' expenses separately.

Now, the kids' specific expenses are redacted -- but it doesn't matter, because the totals are still listed ... and they're HUGE:

-- Salaries and payroll benefits: $315,580 per year
-- Basic needs: $141,300 per year
-- Entertainment and other: $159,120 per year
TOTAL: $720,000 per year

Katherine's expenses per month:

Taylor Swift dropped a fat tip at a NY restaurant just 24 hours after the VMAs -- proving Kanye West's overwhelming doucheyness isn't as contagious as once thought.

Swift hit up Serendipity 3 restaurant with Emma Stone for dinner on Monday night, where we're told she munched on cheese ravioli and washed it down with a soda.

When it was time for the young ladies to pay the $60 tab -- we're told Taylor picked up the bill and dropped an extra $24 for the service -- that's a 40% tip!

1) Smiling whilst performing hard labor for beating your girlfriend is generally considered bad form.

2) Felons convicted of assault aren't ideal candidates for wielding a hand saw.

3) Employing the services of a private bodyguard seems like overkill when police have it covered.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ the Michael Jackson homicide case will be presented to the L.A. County District Attorney in 3 to 4 weeks.

We're told the lion's share of the investigation has been completed and Dr. Conrad Murray remains the singular target. Our sources say LAPD detectives have requested opinions from several medical experts who will analyze the evidence and offer their opinions on Dr. Murray's conduct.

The medical experts are supposed to submit their finding in 2 to 3 weeks and we're told detectives need an additional week to assemble their evidence before they make a formal presentation to the D.A.

Law enforcement sources also say an arrest will not be made before Dr. Murray is charged with a crime -- of course that assumes he will be charged.

The case is complicated by the fact that Jackson had been taking various medications, even though the evidence is compelling that Propofol was the direct cause of Jackson's death.

Sources say Michael Jr., Paris and Prince were taken to the happiest place on Earth (the one in California) last Thursday by Michael's brother Jackie. While they were there, we're told the kids were shown a screening of "Captain EO" -- which the Mouse stopped playing in 1998 -- and "they loved" it.

According to Disney blog MiceAge.com, the kids were able to see the movie because on Tuesday, the "Honey I Shrunk the Audience show was quietly closed, and Imagineers moved in with a truckload of equipment used to install the Captain EO show for a special executive presentation."

The personal chef who sued Simon Cowell and Terri Seymour just hit the smallest jackpot we've ever seen in a celebrity lawsuit -- a pair of old sneakers and some gas money!

As TMZ first reported, the chef filed suit against Simon and Terri earlier this month, claiming the "American Idol" judge wouldn't return her running shoes -- equipped with $500 orthopedic insoles. The chef claims Terri made her remove the shoes before entering Cowell's Hollywood Hills mansion.

But yesterday, Team Simon and the chef reached a settlement -- the chef got her shoes back ... plus around $75 in court costs ... and $9 for the gas!

We just spoke to the chef, who told us, "I got my shoes back ... yayyyyyyy!"

Case closed.

There's a new drug problem in the U.S. -- Propofol.

We've called a bunch of hospitals and anesthesiologists who tell us ... since Michael Jackson's death a number of patients were worried sick about being put under with Propofol. The docs have had to walk their patients through the procedures they use to ensure safety.

We're told some patients are outright refusing to be put under with the drug that killed M.J.

The medical experts we've spoken with say Propofol is a great drug that is relatively safe when administered properly -- that was clearly not the case with Jackson.

Donald Trump himself is calling for a boycott of Kanye West, calling his antics last night "disgusting."

Trump tells TMZ he wants to boycott all things Kanye "so this kind of thing doesn't happen again."

Trump also thinks Kanye's hijack to honor Beyonce was B.S. -- "He couldn't care less about Beyonce. It was grandstanding to get attention."