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For Mike Tyson, the best defense is a good offense—or in this case, an uppercut to a paparazzo's mug.

The fallen heavyweight champ is hitting back at allegations he intentionally beat down a shutterbug yesterday afternoon at Los Angeles International Airport, prompting police to take both men into custody for assault.

"Mr. Tyson was traveling with his wife and 10-month-old child without security when he was attacked by an overly aggressive paparazzi [sic]. The truth will reveal Mike acted in self-defense as a father protecting his child. We are confident justice will prevail," says Tyson's rep, Tammy Brook.

And besides, there was no ear-munching. He's got to get points for that, right?

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AP Photo/Evan Agostini; AP Photo/Pool, Marc A. Hermann

If you ask the man accused of trying to blackmail David Letterman, he's the victim of a stupid human trick, nothing more.

Which explains why the attorney for suspect Robert "Joe" Halderman has asked a New York judge to dismiss his extortion charges, claiming that Halderman's desire to sell the Late Show host a screenplay treatment about Letterman's sexual liaisons amounted to nothing more than a "pure commercial transaction."

In a motion filed today at Halderman's first appearance in a Manhattan court, defense counsel Gerald Shargel asked that the attempted first-degree grand larceny charge against the 48 Hours Mystery man be dropped on the grounds that the case was being driven by "sensationalism" and the grand jury did not have all the facts to indict him.

"The sensationalism surrounding this indictment, fueled by the celebrity of the purported victim and the deference paid to that celebrity by the district attorney's office, has swallowed the only pertinent issue now before the court," wrote Shargel.

In fact, Shargel maintains, his client should be applauded, not punished.

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AP Photo/Reed Saxon

Redmond O'Neal is halfway home.

After pleading no contest last week to heroin possession and receiving three years' probation, the trouble-prone son of Ryan O'Neal and the late Farrah Fawcett was released from Los Angeles County Jail today and immediately entered a lockdown residential rehab facility, where he will spend the next year.

"He is doing very well," the younger O'Neal's attorney, Richard Pintal, tells E! News. "He is grateful to everyone who is assisting him in his treatment and recovery."

O'Neal, 24, was busted in April for packing heroin while visiting a buddy at a Southern California lockup.

After reviewing his plea deal with prosecutors in court yesterday, Drug Court Commissioner Jane Godfrey gave the OK for the flame-haired Hollywood spawn to enter a Pasadena treatment center.

A typical day will include both individual and group therapy sessions and house chores. Visitation is allowed but not encouraged, at least in the first few months.

O'Neal is due in court for a progress report next Wednesday.

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Neverland? Never mind that, for now. But where exactly will Michael Jackson's remains wind up?

Following today's all-star tribute, Jackson's shiny, flower-adorned casket was wheeled out of Los Angeles' Staples Center.

While the family relocated to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel for a private wake, sources say the coffin was transferred to an ambulance, which was accompanied by a Hummer and destined for...

Well, we're not exactly sure, but we have some ideas.

Although Los Angeles police say there won't be a family motorcade back to Forest Lawn Memorial Park, where the Jacksons held a private funeral service earlier today, family friend and unofficial spokesman Majestik Magnificent told E! News that Michael's body is returning to the famous burial grounds, and the cemetery has ordered all press to clear out.

Indeed, E! News has obtained a copy of Jackson's death certificate listing Forest Lawn as the mortuary. (Just because Forest Lawn is named, doesn't mean he will be buried there—just that his body had been held there after his death.)

View the death certificate

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AP Photo/Lois Bernstein

Michael Jackson will be making one final visit to his beloved Neverland.

The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department has just confirmed to E! News that plans are under way to hold a memorial service at the famed estate/amusement park in the hills outside Santa Barbara.

"Our guys are meeting as we speak with the California Highway Patrol to discuss the security issues," says Lt. Butch Arnoldi, a department spokesman.

Sources close to the family say that there will be some kind of public memorial over the holiday weekend, perhaps with Jackson's body lying in state.

The body is expected to be transported from Los Angeles on Thursday. A public viewing will take place Friday and a private memorial service will be held on Sunday.

"Our role will primarily be traffic, but also crowd control," adds Arnoldi. "We will also be making sure there is no trespassing on neighboring ranches and stuff like that. We would be stationed on the perimeter of the house. The actual roadway will be the responsibility of the CHP."

Jackson's brothers Jackie, Jermaine and Tito visited the grounds over the weekend and earlier Tuesday a delivery truck was spotted dropping off boxes at Neverland.

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INFdaily.com

The glove might be retired, but the suit's still on.

While Michael Jackson was videotaped telling a TMZ cameraman that, in a major 180, he would be performing at a Jackson 5 reunion, organizers for the event say they have yet to hear officially from the Moonwalker—and they are still planning to sue his sequins off.

"We have no confirmation that Michael is still planning on doing the show," Patrick Alloco, a partner of AllGood Entertainment, tells E! News.

Last month, the promoter threatened to file a lawsuit against Jackson, alleging he reneged on an agreement to perform at Texas show with his brothers and sister Janet. The contract (which reportedly paid Michael $3 million and $500,000 for each of his siblings) was signed by the King of Pop's former manager, Frank Dileo.

Alloco says his company is putting the finishing touches on the suit and he expects it to be "filed soon."

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Charley Gallay / Getty Images

Courtney Love's apparently in one heck of a financial hole, and that has her fighting mad.

Her lawyer tells E! News that the "Doll Parts" purveyor is preparing to file a lawsuit "in the next 30 days" on behalf of herself and daughter Frances Bean Cobain against a slew of unspecified parties she claims "looted" millions of dollars from late husband Kurt Cobain's estate.

"Courtney's main interest is ensuring that her daughter gets the assets back that were stolen," says San Diego attorney Rhonda Holmes. "Courtney is pursuing her rights on the criminal end against the people who stole, and her daughter and Kurt's estate are focusing on the financial aspect."

Plaintiffs will also include Cobain's mother, brother and two sisters, says Holmes.

The attorney refused to name names before any complaint is filed, but said the lawsuit will target "former assistants, former managers, CPAs, lawyers and a couple of banks."

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INFdaily.com

Call it a coat checkmate.

Lindsay Lohan has settled a lawsuit with a 22-year-old college student, Masha Markova, who accused the Mean Girls star of swiping an $11,000 fur coat while exiting a New York hot spot last January.

"It was settled about a week ago, and we filed the stipulation this week," Markova's attorney, Merrill Cohen, tells E! News.

"I cannot tell you any terms, because they are confidential...but I can tell you we are happy with the settlement and we believe Lohan is also—otherwise she wouldn't have agreed to the settlement."

The student claimed her coat was swiped from the 1Oak nightcub in January 2008, while she was attending a private party there. Weeks later, paparazzi photos showed Lohan wearing the MIA mink, and the fur began to fly.

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Jerome Ware/ZUMAPress.com; Photo by Farreno Ferguson/ZUMA Press; Farreno Ferguson/ZUMAPress.com

A former Bahamian lawmaker today turned up in court to face charges of conspiring to extort $25 million from John Travolta and Kelly Preston in the wake of their son Jett's tragic death.

Appearing this morning in a courtroom jam-packed with rowdy supporters and critics, Sen. Pleasant Bridgewater was formally charged on one count of "abetment to extort" and "conspiracy to commit extortion." Bridgewater, who has proclaimed her innocence since being arrested a week ago, was not required to enter a plea at this time.

"She was released on $50,000 bail and resigned from her position as senator," Royal Bahamas Police Assistant Commissioner Raymond Gibson tells E! News.

Bridgewater is expected to return to court on Feb. 11.

The other suspect in the case, paramedic Tarino Lightbourne, was charged with conspiracy to commit extortion and attempted extortion and entered his not guilty plea on Monday.

A third person taken into custody, MP Obie Wilchcombe, a family friend of the Travoltas and a former minister of tourism for the island nation, was cleared of wrongdoing and is said to have assisted police in their investigation.

"No criminal charges were brought against him," said Gibson.

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LA County Jail; Dominique Charriau/Getty Images

Too bad his quickie wedding to Britney Spears didn't last as long as his current stint in the slammer.

Authorities in Los Angeles have locked up Jason Alexander—not the Seinfeld star but the childhood pal who spent all of two days married to Spears back in 2004—for a probation violation stemming from a 2006 DUI bust.

Per Los Angeles Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore, the 27-year-old Alexander appeared in court today to explain why he skipped two previous appointments as part of a court-ordered alcohol-education program.

Apparently the judge wasn't swayed by Alexander's excuse, and the former Britney bridegroom was sent to lockup.

"Mr. Alexander will now serve 10 days in the L.A. County jail," Whitmore tells E! News.

In one of her bigger oops moments, Spears swapped vows with Alexander in Vegas Jan. 3, 2004, only to file for annulment 55 hours later on the grounds that she lacked the understanding to know what she was doing.

Sipa via AP Images

Mos Def probably wishes he could Be Kind and Rewind right about now.

That's because Las Vegas police have issued a warrant for the actor-rapper's arrest after he allegedly mistook a staff photographer at a Sin City fashion event for a pestering paparazzo and opened up a can o' whoopass on him.

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