Developing Stories

Fresh off his triumphant "Celebrity Apprentice" win and "American Idol" performance, Michaels is set to perform tonight at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Biloxi, MS. Sources close to Michaels tell us he had a check-up yesterday and everything was fine.

We're told Bret's doctor is not in favor of Michaels performing tonight, noting he's not "100%." But the doctor realizes handcuffing Bret is not an option.

Nevertheless, precautions will be in place tonight. We're told, "Bret will be slower on stage ... not a lot of dancing and will take it easy" on stage. There will also be "medical personnel" in the house ... just in case. And, we're told, the AC will be cranked up.

If you plan on attending tonight's show, be sure to pack your extra warm bandana.

Janet was amazing on Wednesday's "Idol" -- performing "Again," "Nothing," and "Nasty." We're told as of today a concert tour is now on the front burner.

In a midnight Twitter session, Lohan wrote, "can CHANEL please help me out by getting me some stickers to put on my scram bracelet so that i can at least wear a chic dress?! maybe!?"

But TMZ has learned there could be serious consequences if she glams it up -- the people at SCRAM have told us that the person wearing the device is not allowed to alter it in any way.

If LiLo does mess with the SCRAM, we're told she may have to pay for it -- and we're not just talkin' cash.

If SCRAM determines that she altered the device, Judge Marsha Revel could decide Lindsay violated her bail condition and then throw her butt in jail.

So the big question -- is fashion worth the risk?

The call was made by Brittany's mother, Sharon. She can be heard at one point saying, "He's not breathing, he's sleeping ... Hurry up, please ... I'm the only one here."

The 911 operator tried to instruct Sharon to check Monjack's mouth to see if he was choking. The 911 operator walked Sharon through giving him chest compressions before paramedics arrived.

Lindsay was right on time today for her meeting with a new probation officer, a female. Sources tell TMZ Lindsay and the officer went through the prescription drugs Lindsay can take, without SCRAM repercussions -- which include Adderall and Ambien.

We're told the officer went over protocol with Lindsay -- which requires her to make a nightly phone call to the probation office. During that call, Lindsay will be informed whether she will have to go to the probation office the next day and submit to a drug test.

All in all, we're told the meeting "went well."

TMZ has learned ... one of the key players who made "American ldol" a success was so pissed last night after the show, he chewed out "A.I." producers backstage.

Rickey Minor -- who has been the bandleader for 6 seasons -- is leaving A.I. to head up Jay Leno's band on "The Tonight Show."

Minor was fit to be tied after no one thanked him or wished him well -- hell, they didn't even acknowledge him during last night's finale.

Our "A.I." spies tell us ... when the show was over Minor went off on producers, angrily telling them how insulted he was by their silent dis.

Minor refused to go backstage for the champagne afterparty. But producers pleaded with him and then got Randy Jackson to try and smooth it over with an unprepared speech.

Minor then said a few words but we're told, "You could cut the bitterness with a knife."

Check out this picture we got -- showing Joe and Katherine Jackson signing one of the belts ... and according to the official website promoting the belts, MJ's three kids -- Prince, Paris, and Blanket -- also signed their names.

Here's the problem. The belts feature several images trademarked by Michael Jackson -- including dancing feet, MJ's silhouette and the MJ crest -- and MJ's estate must authorize any commercial use of those trademarks, as well as MJ's name or image.

So of course we called MJ estate lawyer Howard Weitzman, who said the belts were news to him and that the executors never authorized the sale. Weitzman says, "The Trustees of the Estate of Michael Jackson did not authorize the making or the sale of the Michael Jackson Tribute Belts." Weitzman continues, "We would never condone the use of Michael's children's signatures to promote the sale of merchandise."

We haven't found out who's behind the website ... but Jerry Olivarez, a PR guy and friend of the Jackson family, has been touting the sale of the belts. We're told the site goes live today and 7,000 belts will go up for sale. And, there will be an auction for the belt signed by Joe, Katherine, and the kids -- opening bid is $5 grand.

TMZ has obtained the invoice from the travel agency Lindsay used to book the flight. According to the Executive Travel and Parking agency in Nashville, Lindsay purchased a $6,860.50 ticket on Swiss International Air Lines, leaving Nice on Wednesday, May 19 at 10:40 AM, stopping in Zurich and ending up in L.A. at 4:40 PM the same day.

The D.A. apparently didn't buy Lindsay's story that she really did buy the ticket before her passport was allegedly stolen. There was talk in the courtroom about producing proof of the ticket.

** warning -- the audio contains graphic content **

In the 911 call, obtained by TMZ, the employee -- a maintenance worker at the Iowa hotel -- tells the operator that he suspects Paul died of a "drug overdose" and that it appeared that Paul had been in the room for "a while."

The employee also told the 911 operator that Paul's mother had called the hotel earlier in the day because she couldn't get a hold of her son.

Sources tell TMZ, Lindsay was pounding Kombucha -- a fermented tea that claims several health benefits -- while she got her hair did yesterday at Andy Lecompte Salon in WeHo.

And this is interesting ... due to the fermentation, the tea contains a trace amount of alcohol -- less than 0.5%.

We're told she emerged ten hours later -- and all she could talk about while she was there was some mystery actor she met at Cannes ... with whom she's allegedly obsessed.

So far, the SCRAM alarm remains silent.

Janina James Coan, who was involved with Jesse's dad since Jesse was 6, tells TMZ she was "appalled" by what Jesse said about Larry James during the "Nightline" interview.

Coan -- who married Larry when Jesse was in high school but eventually divorced -- tells us Jesse had a variety of injuries -- including broken bones -- as a kid, because he was into motocross. But she scoffs at the notion that Jesse was abused.

Coan says, "Larry was the most caring father, the kindest father who would do anything for anybody. He loved Jesse to death and would brag about him all the time."

Law enforcement sources tell us the D.A. and the cops are well aware of the Shakespearean drama between Juan-Carlos and his wife, Jennifer Campbell. TMZ broke the story that Campbell has been despondent for years over the couple's inability to have kids -- and she told members of her church and others she wanted to end her life, but her religion views suicide as a mortal sin.

Sources say Juan-Carlos was making a feeble attempt to end his wife's life and then kill himself, by trying to hire 3 homeless men to murder his wife. We're told the cops and prosecutors believe this was Cruz's MO.

We're told because of the circumstances ... in a plea bargain the D.A. would be inclined to dismiss the attempted murder charge. In return, we're told, the D.A. would be open to a guilty or no contest plea to solicitation to commit murder, which carries a 3 to 9-year sentence.

Among the highlights:

Sources tell us Lindsay has prescriptions for Adderall (a stimulant that treats ADHD) and Ambien. Under the rules of the drug testing program, Lindsay can still take meds, provided they were prescribed by a doctor.

Lindsay will check in with the L.A. County Probation Department on Thursday and provide the case worker and the court with proof of prescriptions. At that point, any prescription that shows up in Lindsay's system during random drug testing will not get her in trouble with the judge.

But here's the issue. Friends of Lindsay ... and her father Michael ... tell TMZ the scripts are a big source of Lindsay's problem.

One day after Suge Knight was released from jail last week, the rap mogul allegedly masterminded a murder plot ... this according to legal documents.

An L.A. County Superior Court judge has ordered Suge to stay at least 100 yards away from a Los Angeles area man after an allegedly frightening encounter this past Friday.

According to legal docs filed Monday, the man claims Suge "had 8 guys come to my house and told them to get me or kill me."

As TMZ previously reported, Suge was arrested Thursday morning for assault with a deadly weapon. It's unclear if the man who got the restraining order was involved in the prior incident -- though he claims Suge later told him that "he was out now and going to take my life."

Suge is ordered to appear in court to respond to the allegations on June 8.

Abdul rolled over to the really fancy ... and really expensive ... Lloyd Klein House of Couture yesterday, where she reportedly picked out an outfit for Simon Cowell's big send-off.

FYI -- Lloyd Klein has designed red carpet dresses for some of the biggest stars in the world, like Eva Longoria, Kate Beckinsale and Renee Zellweger.

Hopefully, Paula won't just let her dress do the talking during the show.