Spears' sons can visit

People

A Los Angeles court commissioner granted Britney Spears three monitored visits a week with her two sons while ordering her to childproof her house and work out a schedule for the visits with ex-husband Kevin Federline, 29. Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon also required that Spears undergo random weekly drug and alcohol tests. Spears, 25, also must continue meeting with a court-appointed parenting coach, and the youngsters — Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1 — must be in car seats when they are being driven, the ruling states.

Tiff investigated

Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan is being investigated on possible assault charges against photographer Robert Rosen, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department said Tuesday. Spokesman Steve Whitmore declined to give details about the incident, which occurred Friday at a mall in Malibu. Web site TMZ.com quoted a witness as saying Rosen and Brosnan, 54, got into a scuffle when the photographer started to compliment the actor on his James Bond films.

No charges in scuffle

No criminal charges will be filed in the well-publicized scuffle between Kid Rock and Tommy Lee at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 9, authorities in Las Vegas said. Representatives for Kid Rock and Lee didn't respond Tuesday to requests for comment. Both are ex-husbands of Pamela Anderson, who was a presenter at the show. Kid Rock, 36, born Robert James Ritchie, was cited by police for misdemeanor battery after he was accused of slapping and punching Lee, 45. Witnesses said Lee appeared to have started the confrontation.

Elephant suit OK'd

Actor Robert Culp can proceed with his lawsuit alleging that the Los Angeles Zoo mistreats elephants, a California judge ruled. Judge Reginald Dunn rejected arguments from the L.A. City Attorney's Office that Culp and real-estate agent Aaron Leider lacked standing to sue. Culp and Leider complain that the zoo withholds medical care from elephants and keeps them in small spaces. Their lawsuit seeks to stop the zoo from building a $40 million elephant exhibit and says the zoo shouldn't keep any elephants.

Harry whodunit

Police questioned Britain's Prince Harry over the shooting of two threatened birds of prey near a royal estate in eastern England, Buckingham Palace said Tuesday. The Norfolk Constabulary says it is investigating a possible wildlife offense after a member of the public reported that two hen harriers were shot Wednesday on the edge of Sandringham Estate, a royal country retreat about 110 miles north of London.

By the Numbers

A hefty raise

The French parliament voted on Tuesday to give the president a pay rise of more than 200 percent. President Nicolas Sarkozy now earns about 6,000 euros ($8,640) a month, far less than his peers in other European countries, but his pay will soon match the 19,000 euros a month earned by Prime Minister Francois Fillon.

Passages

Leslie Orgel, 80, Salk Institute theoretical chemist who was the father of the RNA world theory of the origin of life and who joined with Nobel laureate Francis Crick to postulate that life might have been seeded on Earth by a higher intelligence, died at San Diego Hospice & Palliative Care on Saturday from pancreatic cancer.

Today in History

1517:Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Palace church, marking the start of the Protestant Reformation in Germany.

1864: Nevada became the 36th state.

1999: EgyptAir Flight 990, bound from New York to Cairo, crashed off the Massachusetts coast, killing all 217 people aboard.

Today's Birthdays

Former CBS anchorman Dan Rather, 76. Actress Deidre Hall, 59. Director Peter Jackson, 46. Actor Dermot Mulroney, 44. Actor Rob Schneider, 43. Rap performer Rob Van Winkle (aka Vanilla Ice), 39.

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