Winehouse drops appeal

Winehouse drops appeal

OSLO, Norway — British singer Amy Winehouse dropped her appeal in a Norwegian drug case and will accept a fine for illegal marijuana possession in 2007, her attorney said Tuesday.

Winehouse and her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, were arrested during a concert stop in the western city of Bergen in October 2007 on charges of possessing 7 grams (a quarter-ounce) of marijuana.

They were held overnight and released after paying fines of $428.

Winehouse, 25, later appealed the fine, claiming Norwegian police made mistakes in the case. An initial trial date in March 2008 was postponed at the request of her attorney, and Winehouse was summoned last month by the Bergen appeals court to make her case Jan. 12.

Brolin charges dropped

LOS ANGELES — An attorney for actors Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright says prosecutors have agreed to drop all charges in an incident at a Louisiana bar last year.

Brolin, Wright and five crew members of the Oliver Stone film “W.” were arrested on misdemeanor charges at the Stray Cat Club on July 12. Brolin and Wright were charged with interfering with police officers after a disturbance involving a crew member broke out.

Los Angeles attorney Blair Berk, who represented the actors and five others, says prosecutors in Shreveport have agreed to drop all charges against the group within 60 days. She declined to comment further.

Lohan: It’s not over

LOS ANGELES — Lindsay Lohan says she hasn’t split with DJ Samantha Ronson, despite media reports they had publicly sparred several times over the holidays.

In a brief post on her MySpace blog, the 22-year-old actress wrote: “We did NOT break up!”

Lohan asked several media outlets “AND every GOSSIP Web site” to get their stories straight.

The “Mean Girls” star also complained Monday that her friends had been e-mailing her to console her about the rumored breakup with the 31-year-old Ronson. The pair had confirmed their relationship last September.

Lohan’s publicist, Leslie Sloane-Zelnik, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Prince reveals plans

Rock star Prince summoned a Los Angeles Times music critic to his Los Angeles mansion last week for a scoop.

Prince told critic Ann Powers that he will release not one, but three new albums in 2009. One will be called “MPLSOUND,” an obvious reference to his Minneapolis roots. He told Powers he recorded the album, full of experimental pop songs, at his Paisley Park studio in Chanhassen, Minn.

Prince said he won’t be working with a record label this time. Instead, he’s in talks with “a major retailer” to sell the album, a la the recent Guns N’ Roses album, which was sold exclusively at Best Buy. “The gatekeepers have to change,” he told Powers.

Prince also will release the previously announced “Lotus Flower.” The third album he talked about was “Elixir,” for his new prot g , Bria Valente. Though the album is overtly sexual, Prince said it doesn’t conflict with his devotion to being a Jehovah’s Witness. “This music is nasty, but it’s not dirty,” he said. “There’s no profanity. It isn’t promoting promiscuity.”

Today’s birthdays

Singer Kenny Loggins is 61. Singer-songwriter Marshall Chapman is 60. Actress Erin Gray (“Silver Spoons,” “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century”) is 59. Actor David Caruso is 53. TV personality Katie Couric is 52. Country singer David Lee Murphy is 50. Bassist Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s is 50. Actress Hallie Todd (“Lizzie McGuire”) is 47. Actor Nicolas Cage is 45. Singer John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting is 44. Actor-rapper Doug E. Doug is 39. Actor Kevin Rahm is 38. Country singer John Rich of Big and Rich is 35. Actor Dustin Diamond (“Saved by the Bell”) is 32. Actor Liam Aiken (“Lemony Snicket”) is 19.