Exclusives

Heather Locklear just got her driving under the influence case dismissed, and she's pled to a much lesser offense.

Heather pled no contest to reckless driving, a misdemeanor. She'll be placed on three years informal probation, pay a $700 fine, and she must attend a 12-hour drug education course.

Heather was arrested last September after she was allegedly driving under the influence of prescription meds. The D.A. says Locklear's blood tests showed prescription drugs were indeed in her system. No alcohol was involved.

You may have heard Diddy is groveling for four measly tickets to the Inauguration of the century. You heard wrong.

Not only does Puffy have tickets to Obamapalooza, we're told he got 'em straight from the top.

His peeps tell TMZ, "The story is ridiculous and untrue. Diddy was offered tickets by the Obama inaugural committee because of his work on the campaign trail with Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige and Kevin Liles. He never asked for tickets and he was never asked to pay for them."

We're told it started in the American Airlines Admirals Club. Once on the plane, as one person put it, "Lindsay was so inconsolable the flight attendants asked if she'd like to disembark."

We're told there was lots of crying, tears, etc.

It comes a few weeks after another epic fight Lindsay and Sam had at Sam's Hollywood Hills home. The screaming (and glass-crashing) was so loud it kept neighbors up.

They flew back to L.A. yesterday. The pic is from happier times -- i.e., the day before, when Linds and Sam celebrated New Years at Club Mansion in Miami Beach.

Rick Salomon, Paris Hilton's sex tape partner, is being sued by a woman who claims he and his roommate are responsible for a brutal beating.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in L.A. County Superior Court, Gertrude Harutunian claims Salomon hosted a drug-fueled party last July at his home in the Hollywood Hills,. The alleged drugs of choice -- cocaine, meth, pot and alcohol which were "freely given out...."

Harutunian claims the drugs and alcohol caused Buddy Segal, his roommate, to pull Harutunian from a bed by her hair, "strike, hit and throw" her while Salomon watched. She claims Segal then dragged her across a room to a shower and threw her inside as "Salomon watched and conspired with Segal to hurt and injure [her]."

Harutunian is seeking unspecified damages.

The not-so-proud owners of the house are suing both Joe Francis and the person who sold him the house -- famed NBA coach Rudy Tomjanovich -- claiming more than $3 million in damages.

Francis is listed as the owner/builder who "substantially remodeled the Property" from 2000 to 2003. He sold it to Rudy Tomjanovich and his wife in 2004. Rudy then sold it to the plaintiff, Steven Bardack -- the guy who founded Strata Capital and also served as a head honcho at Yahoo.

Among other things, Bardack claims the Tomjanovichs defrauded him by not disclosing problems with the decks, the paint, the caulking, the walls, the travertine, the skylight, the windows, the glass -- basically, he claims the house is a disaster.

The suit alleges Francis had a duty to make sure the remodel was up to par -- but the final product was allegedly far from it.

We're guessing we know why the Jacuzzi is on the fritz ...

Kooky Courtney Love took to her MySpace blog to trash Robert Kardashian -- and now the whole family is hella pissed!

C. Love accused the Kardashian bro of a hate crime -- saying he attacked one of her employees and repeatedly called him a faggot. Courtney says she tried reporting the incident to cops, but they brushed her off. If she was as incoherent in person as she is online, it's not really that startling.

The Kardashian family is none-too-pleased. A rep for the fam tells us, "We are so saddened to hear that someone is blogging this insanity on Christmas Eve. Everything this apparently unstable person writes is obviously untrue and we will forward this terrible nonsense to our attorneys. Merry Christmas!"

The other shoe has dropped. DJ AM has just filed suit in the jet crash last September that killed four people.

In the lawsuit filed this afternoon in L.A. County Superior Court, Adam Goldstein, aka DJ AM, claims as the jet reached takeoff speed the pilots became aware one or more of the tires had blown. The suit contends, "Rather than proceed to takeoff, they decided to abort and/or reject the takeoff in a negligent manner." The plane overshot the runway and burst into flames.

DJ AM is suing the estates of the two pilots, Sarah Lemmon and James Bland, both of whom were killed in the crash. He's also suing Clay Lacy Aviation, Global Exec Aviation, Inter Travel & Services Inc, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co, and Learjet.

DJ AM is suing for pain and suffering, lost earnings, property damage, past and future medical and health-related expenses, and punitive damages.

Travis Barker has already filed a similar suit.

We asked AM about the lawsuit last night, he was mum.

Before Jeremy Piven ditched his Broadway show due to sushi-related mercury poisoning, producers say the actor was worried he was suffering from mononucleosis -- the dreaded kissing disease.

The show's producer tells TMZ Piven had complained of illnesses from the beginning of the show's run in October. First, says the producer, Piven reported "low-level mono." After that, Piven told producers he was worried he might have Epstein-Barr virus. The final diagnosis, as his doctor stated publicly, was mercury poisoning from a two-a-day raw fish habit.

We contacted Jeremy's people for comment; haven't heard back yet.

UPDATE: We spoke to Piv's doctor Carlon Colker, and he says he's not aware of any mono issue, but did confirm Piven was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr.

FremantleMedia -- the massive corporation that created "American Idol" -- is suing the owners of the Palazio Men's Club in Texas -- which the suit describes as "a gentlemen's club at which women remove off their clothes while dancing to music" -- over a $500 stripper competition they held called "Stripper Idol."

In the lawsuit, filed this week in U.S District Court in Texas, Fremantle claims Palazio's competition -- which allegedly jacked Idol's name and trademarked logo -- has tarnished the singing show's good name.

Fremantle is looking to strip away the club's profits from "S.I." -- along with collecting on all damages sustained and legal fees accrued from the suit.

Jeremy Piven claims he's been way too sick to show up for his Broadway show -- and the illness is so bad, it could be curtains for good.

Piven missed last night's performance, today's matinee, and will also be missing tonight's showing of "Speed-the-Plow." His rep tells TMZ, "Jeremy has not been feeling well and the doctors have advised him that he should end his run in 'STP' immediately."

Piven was scheduled to perform throughout the show's run, which goes until Feb. 22.

Our "American Idol" spies tell us Season 8 is going to look more like "Big Brother" than a true singing competition.

We're told producers have decided to show how the contestants interact with each other off the stage. They will show a lot more "behind the scenes" than ever before. But here's the problem -- the show is a cash cow and they've already taken time out of the singing competition for more commercials. Now they're going to take even more time out for the whole "bitch-you-stole-my-blouse" thing.

And we're now told firmly the new, fourth judge is not there to replace Paula. Producers think four is the magic number. The downside -- when one or two judges tell contestants they suck, is it overkill to hear it from four?

And no "Idol Gives Back" this coming season. After all, they gotta pay Simon ...

Paula Abdul was told in no uncertain terms before her "Letterman" appearance last night to put a lid on her feud with "A.I." producers.

Our sources say Paula is "extremely pissed" at "A.I." producers for putting Paula Goodspeed on the show, despite the fact Goodspeed had been harassing Abdul for years -- mad enough to make a stink on Dave's show.

But before tape rolled, we're told "A.I." suits got in touch with Abdul and demanded that she not stoke the coals. "A.I." made it clear -- they were paying Paula's bills so she needed to play by their rules.

Ultimately, Paula played ball, though somewhat insincerely. But it may have paid off. We've learned "A.I." has already opened negotiations with Abdul for Season 9 -- the talks have gone on for more than a month. That goes against the prevailing view that the fourth judge who debuts in the upcoming Season 8 will replace her.

The surviving wife and son of one of the crash victims in the Travis Barker/DJ AM plane crash is suing the aviation and tire company for wrongful death.

Chris Baker, Travis Barker's best friend and assistant, died in the private jet crash last September. His wife, Otilia Villar Baker, and son, Sebastian, claim in a lawsuit filed today in L.A. County Superior Court that the pilots "negligently decided to abort and/or reject the takeoff." In other words, the lawsuit claims the proper procedure should have been to take off with the ruptured tire/tires.

The suit claims Baker suffered "severe pre and post-impact injury, damage to property, pain, suffering, and emotional distress, and ultimately died due to fatal injuries sustained from said crash including but not limited to the post-impact fire." And there's this ominous line: "The death was not immediate."

The mother of Kandice Hutchinson -- the "Double Shot at Love" star who died in a car accident -- is telling MTV thanks but no thanks for cutting her daughter's craziest moments from the show.

Valerie Campbell told us she's not happy MTV edited out scenes of Kandice's most outrageous moments -- something MTV did out of respect for the family -- because she says that's just how her daughter was, and that's how she wants to see her.

One thing Valerie is grateful to MTV for: The fruit basket they sent her.

Kandice died in a car accident in October -- after a driver rear-ended her, causing her to be ejected from her car.

We're told the producers of the show -- which features two bisexual twin sisters (above left ) looking for love -- edited her scenes to remove some of the more outrageous behavior, out of respect for the family. Sources close to the show tell us the producers have been in touch with the girl's family and they are supportive of MTV's plan to keep her in the show.

According to KDFW in Texas, Hutchinson died on October 21 after her car was rear-ended causing Kandice to be ejected. Police said she died on the scene.