Word out of the UK today is that Kanye West was arrested on assault charges in Newcastle early this morning after ALLEGEDLY whippin’ a paparazzo’s ass. You may recall that Kanye got into a similar altercation with the paps at LAX airport in SoCal back in September … but no charges came from that incident. Well, guess what … no charges came from this latest incident either:

Oh dear, Kanye West’s been a naughty boy. Allegedly. The rapper was arrested in Newcastle early this morning for assaulting a photographer outside a nightclub. Kanye had been partying at Tup Tup in the city, but left the club just after 1am. Photographer Terry Blackburn claims to have suffered cuts and bruises after Kanye pushed his camera into his face and shouted at him. He was then arrested at the Hilton Hotel but released without charge.

And so … Kanye West is, once again, free to ALLEGEDLY beat the ass of any photog that strikes his fancy. Meh. I guess it comes with the territory. Who knows how long Kanye will be able to get away with assaulting paps around the world but my guess is that he’s going to keep enjoying the practice for as long as he can.

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Leave it to TMZ to sniff out the dirt on the newest “Girls Next Door”. Earlier today we learned that Hugh Hefner confirmed his split with former girlfriend Holly Madison (and soon Kendra Wilkinson) (after Holly broke the news on Tuesday) and also learned that Hef is lookin’ to replace his old girlfriends with a pair of twin sisters. It turns out that the twins, Karissa and Kristina Shannon, were busted at the start of this year for felony aggravated battery in Florida. Here are their very unflattering mug shots:

Turns out Hef’s 19-year-old handpicked twin successors to the throne of Holly, Bridget and Kendra come with a checkered past. Karissa (top) and Kristina Shannon (bottom) — who have recently moved into the Playboy Mansion — were both busted by St. Petersburg, Fla. police for felony aggravated battery back in January. They both received probation and were ordered to pay restitution to the two victims. Karissa also has a misdemeanor battery charge on her record from 2007. Atta girl! Playboy had no comment.

I only have one comment, LOL! It really sounds like these twins were vetted by Hefner about as well as Sarah Palin was by McCain.* Hef sure knows how to pick ‘em, don’t he?

*It’s a joke, y’all … no angry comments please :)

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Yesterday morning TMZ broke the news that Heather Locklear was arrested over the weekend on suspicion of driving while under the influence … this morning they provide photos of Heather’s actual arrest — from Breathalyzer to handcuffs to mugshot — which, even if she never has to actually pay for her crimes, should be detrimental to her attempts to win custody of her daughter away from ex-hubby Richie Sambora. Click HERE to see the pics:

TMZ has obtained photos of Heather Locklear’s DUI arrest on Saturday near Santa Barbara. The actress looks somewhat dazed as she’s taken into custody. But after taking a closer look, she could have an interesting defense. A resident called authorities after allegedly seeing Locklear driving “erratically” in a parking lot. But the CHP didn’t see her driving — she had pulled over on her own accord before they got there. There are reports she was arrested for driving under the influence of prescription medication — but we’re told the tests are still being analyzed. As we posted yesterday, no alcohol was involved. The bottom line — Locklear has a lawyer with a Ty Cobb batting average, Blair Berk. Especially given that deputies apparently didn’t see her driving, look for a plea bargain and very possibly a reduced charge — e.g., reckless driving. By the way, check out the huge rock on her finger. She was apparently staying at the San Ysidro Ranch in Montecito with Jack Wagner.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure since the police have no evidence that Heather was actually driving while under the influence of whatever it is she may have been under the influence of, the prosecutor is going to have a tough time getting anything substantial to stick. Plea bargain looks they way to go … which is pretty much what I predicted yesterday. Also, I gotta say that I’m pretty disturbed by the photo of the police officer taking a cellphone photo of Heather getting arrested … can they actually do that? Are police officers allowed to take photos like these (which can be sold, for example) while they are on the job? Just wondering. In any event, altho Heather will prolly not have to serve any sort of real punishment for this arrest, I’m sure these photos will come back to haunt her. Is that enough to keep her clean? I guess time will eventually tell.

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TMZ is reporting that Heather Locklear (who is currently going thru a custody battle for the child she has with Richie Sambora — who has also been busted for DUI) was arrested in the Santa Barbara, CA area last night under the suspicion that she was driving while under the influence … of something:

TMZ has learned Heather Locklear was arrested yesterday on suspicion of driving while impaired. Locklear was pulled over while driving in the Santa Barbara area. Law enforcement officers tell us alcohol was not involved, however they are conducting tests to determine if Locklear was under the influence of drugs. We’re told she was released on her own recognizance, without having to post bail. This could set up a bizarre custody battle given that Locklear and ex hubby Richie Sambora have both been busted for similar charges.

You may recall that Heather voluntarily checked herself into a medical facility in Arizona to treat depression last June … but could she be dealing with substance abuse issues as well? I’m actually pretty floored that the police just let her go on her own recognizance just because she’s a celebrity. It’s really just … mind-boggling that these sorts of things happen in our justice system and no one really bats an eyelash. In any event, I’m sure we’ll know soon enough if she was under the influence of something and whether or not she’ll be punished for this alleged crime. My guess … nothing will ever come of this at all.

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BBC News reports that aging 80’s popstar George Michael has been arrested for possession of Class A drugs (ie. crack cocaine) while in a public restroom yesterday in the UK. You may recall that Michael has experience with getting arrested in public restrooms, except the last time he got busted it was for “holding” another man’s biz … this time he got busted for just holding drugs:

The singer George Michael has been cautioned after being arrested in a public toilet for possession of drugs, thought to include crack cocaine. “A 45-year-old man was arrested on 19 September on suspicion of possession of drugs in the Hampstead Heath area,” a Metropolitan Police spokesman said. The singer was taken to a police station and given the caution for possessing class A and class C drugs. Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said drug laws needed to be “flexible”. Asked why Michael had been given a relatively mild punishment for the possession of class A drugs, Mr McNulty said he did not know the details of the case. But he added that the law provides a wide range of punishments for possession of drugs, and “circumstances and context” had to be applied. The Home Office website says possession of class A drugs can result in up to seven years in prison, an unlimited fine or both. Mr McNulty told the BBC: “The biggest message is that drugs are wrong and people will be punished, but it must be right that there is flexiblity in the law.” But the government has the balance “about right” between being tough when it needs to be and providing treatment for individuals “to get off that horrible spiral of drug dependancy and crime”, he added.

So … the lesson for George Michael here is that because he qualifies for “flexibility” in adjudication of the law then he doesn’t have to worry about being properly punished for his crimes, which I’m sure won’t do much to dissuade him from thinking he can commit the very same crime again in the future and, again, not get punished. Sounds like a winning plan to me. Don’t get me wrong, I like George Michael, but I think a nice hefty punishment (say, 7 years in prison, as the law states) might teach the man to behave in public restrooms from now on.

PS: It’s interesting to note that George Michael’s first public restroom arrest was in 1998, this one occurred in 2008. HMM … mebbe this is just interesting to me.

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More bad news today for Diff’rent Strokes child actor turned late night infomercial spokesman Gary Coleman. Gary has gotten himself embroiled in some new legal drama this week after getting into an altercation with with a guy at a bowling alley in Utah. Apparently, there was an incident with a cameraphone which led to an incident where Coleman allegedly hit a guy with his car before speeding off. Tho Coleman has not been taken into custody, he has since been charged with misdemeanor reckless driving and disorderly conduct and is currently at large:

Gary Coleman was formally charged Wednesday with reckless driving and disorderly conduct following an altercation at a bowling alley in Utah. “Mr. Coleman was notified today of the charges through his attorney,” said Lt. Bill Wright of the Payson, Utah, Police Department. “(Coleman) never spoke to us about what happened, but we gathered evidence after speaking to witnesses and the other party involved.” Both charges are misdemeanors. Coleman, 40, was backing out of a bowling alley around midnight on Sept. 6 when his truck hit Colt Rushton, 24, as well as another car. Rushton was taken to a local hospital and treated for minor injuries. Witnesses said Coleman became irritated after Rushton photographed him. The two argued in the bowling alley and then moved outside, Lt. Wright said. Rushton’s attorney, Dustin Lance, said in a statement: “This wasn’t a situation of paparazzi or stalker-razzi, this was a fan snapping two photographs with a cell phone.” Rushton has since filed a lawsuit against Coleman, seeking damages for medical bills, pain and suffering, and punitive damages. A rep for Coleman wasn’t immediately available for comment.

The way I understand it, Gary Coleman really can’t afford to have these sorts of lawsuits brought against him as the poor guy barely has two nickles to rub together. Despite the fact that he was a wildly successful child actor in the ’80s who made a lotta money, his unsavory parents not only worked him to death but they also took all of his money and pilfered it away … leaving the poor kid essentially broke for most of his adult life. These days, Coleman makes money doing commercials and infomercials for the money lending company Cash Call. This isn’t the first time that Gary Coleman freaked out on a fan … but, as far as I know, this was his most severe reaction. Hitting someone with your car is a very bad idea.

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