Britney Spears is getting a helping hand from an ex-flame. Superstar Justin Timberlake will record a duet for her new album, OK! reveals exclusively. OK! also takes a closer look at Britney’s custody settlement over her sons, and why her shocking decision is helping her get her life back on track.

Source: OK! Magazine

I wouldn’t normally post a rumour like this (we’ve heard it a million times before), but OK! magazine have been pretty tight with Britney’s family lately so… let’s just wait and see!

Britney Spears is in the red, and I don’t mean lipstick or anything sexy.

Her Britney Spears Foundation has a deficit — nearly $200,000 to be precise.

The foundation’s Form 900 tax filing has just arrived, and it shows that Spears came up short $195,445 for the year 2006.

Total revenue was $148,614. But total expenses came to $344,063.

Among the expenses were two salaries that each came to a little less than $40,000. One employee is Corina O. Biggar, who’s run Britney’s foundation from her home in Massachusetts. The other is listed as John McMahon, a former New York City cop.

In 2002, according to the Wall Street Journal, McMahon was involved in scandal concerning the Spears fund and the Boston-based Giving Back Fund, the umbrella group managing her donor-advised charity.

According to the Journal, the Giving Back Fund “alleged that the agent for Ms. Spears threatened to move the pop star’s charity giving to another firm if the fund manager refused to hire her friend John McMahon, a former New York City police officer. The dispute was concluded with a settlement.”

Another $50,000 was listed as a contribution for Britney’s summer camp for kids — although no one seems to know what’s happened to the camp, where it is, or what kids attend it — if any.

Then there’s a big chunk — $214,930 — that’s annotated as miscellaneous grants. Unfortunately, none of those grants is specified. In 2005, the Spears Foundation gave away nearly $600,000 to a variety of arts and AIDS groups and New Orleans relief efforts as well as $30,000 to the Kabbalah Center in Los Angeles.

The 2006 tax return is signed by an accountant in Tennessee. Britney’s older brother Bryan, age 30, signed the return in his role as president on Dec. 1, 2007.

The woman who answered the phone at the Tennessee CPA’s office had no comment and couldn’t answer where Spears’ money had gone or whether the summer camp was still in business.

Source: Fox News

Here are the producers who have been officially confirmed to be either writing or producing Britney’s new album.  I have also included a list of rumoured producers underneath.  If they have worked with Britney previously, the song titles are next to the names.

Confirmed:

Bloodshy & Avant (”Toxic”, “Piece Of Me”, “Do Somethin’”)
Keri Hilson (”Gimme More”, “Break The Ice”, “Perfect Lover”, “Outta This World”)
Sean Garrett (”Toy Soldier”)
JR Rotem (”Everybody”)
Guy Sigworth (”Everytime”, “Someday (I Will Understand)”, “Over To You”)
Danja (”Gimme More,” “Break The Ice”, “Get Back”, “Perfect Lover”, “Outta This World”)
Jim Beanz (”Gimme More,” “Break The Ice”)
Kara Dioguardi (”Heaven On Earth”, “Brave New Girl”)
Darkchild (”Overprotected” Remix, “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll”, “Intimidated”)
Dallas Austin
Fredwreck
Taio Cruz
Lady GaGa

Rumoured:

Cathy Dennis (”Toxic”, “Showdown”)
Bryan-Michael Cox
Babyface
Polow Da Don
Damon Elliott
The Runawayz

Carlo from BritneyBoards.org, an ExtraTV reporter, recently attended an MTV press conference and got to ask Keri Hilson whether she was working on Britney’s new album.

Here’s the full scoop:

“The Insider” has confirmed that two members of the paparazzi were arrested near Britney Spears’ home Monday night.

The North Hollywood Police tell “The Insider” that the the two photogs were “trying to affix themselves to get a better vantage spot” on a city fire access road near the pop star’s home. The men were transported to the station where they were cited for loitering and released. They did not go through the booking process. The police officer stated that the “city is working on getting “No Trespassing” signs back up.”

Source: The Insider

Lady GaGa, who is currently climbing up charts worldwide with her hit “Just Dance”, has confirmed to Toronto based radio station 999Mix FM that she has worked with Britney on songs for her album.  She has written two songs for Britney.

She said Britney’s new album is going to be amazing, saying “It’s gonna be a big comeback for her,” and that she loved the last one, 2007’s “Blackout”.  The upcoming star said that Britney is still in the studio and she expects the album to be out sometime in 2009.

You can hear the interview with Lady GaGa at the radio station’s website.

Access Hollywood have released footage of Britney at Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy’s Generation Rescue event on Saturday night.  Britney looks so freaked out when they touch her hair!

Watch it here.

Britney Spears is definitely in the studio and working on a new album.

Yes, despite unclear signals from various gossip sites, I am told that Spears is working on a CD that Jive is expecting to get out by mid-December.

The album is a follow-up to “Blackout,” the Spears album that tanked quickly after its release in late 2007.

How different will the new CD be from “Blackout”? Well, not a lot, really. Many of the same producers and writers will be on this one, too. The main difference will be that this time Spears won’t first self-destruct on the MTV Vide Music Awards and then have a public nervous breakdown while the album is being released.

One reason for the big push to put Britney back in stores is that she owes Jive a lot of money. If they can finish the album and get it out without incident, my guess is that Spears will go out on tour in 2009. Paparazzi, bloggers, this is advance notice to get ready!

Source: Fox News

According to Socialite Life, Britney was spotted leaving a recording studio in the early hours of this morning.  She must have headed straight for the studio after leaving the Generation Rescue event she attended earlier in the evening.

This marks the 5th time this month that Britney has been seen at the studio, after sessions on the 1st, 10th, 13th and 14th of July.  Keep it up Brit, it must feel good for her to be working again!

Britney is seen last night arriving at the Generation Rescue event in Los Angeles, hosted by Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy.

Britney looked great! Click the thumbnails to view the pics, and don’t forget to leave a comment.

Less than eight months after an epic meltdown that led to a court taking away her children, Britney Spears is reclaiming her role as a mother — to the point where she may be with her boys nearly half the time.

Attorneys for the pop singer and ex-husband Kevin Federline reached an agreement Friday that allows Spears three visits a week from Sean Preston and Jayden James, including two overnights with potential for more. If all goes well, she could have 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James roughly 40 percent of the time, her attorney, Laura Wasser, told The Associated Press.

The agreement not only increases Spears’ time with her sons, but also removed need for a trial scheduled for next month to resolve lingering visitation and financial issues.

The positive change on the home front comes as Spears’ career also seems to be rebounding. She is spending the summer working on a new album, recently taped an appearance that will be shown during Madonna’s upcoming tour, and made a couple of well-received cameos on the television show “How I Met Your Mother” earlier this year.

Spears’ increased involvement in her boys’ lives was almost unimaginable in January, when the 26-year-old twice had to be removed from her home by authorities and was committed to a psychiatric ward.

Federline was awarded full custody shortly thereafter and Spears did not see her sons for nearly two months.

Since then, Spears has gradually been granted longer visits. In late June, she was was alotted one overnight visit a week with her sons, Wasser said.

Spears will gain more overnight visits between now and the end of the year, Wasser said. The agreement also includes a “slight increase” in child support payments to Federline and covers his attorney’s fees.

“The fact is, it’s a win for the family,” Wasser said.

Federline’s attorney, Mark Kaplan, whose fees have been paid by Spears and have been the subject of disputes, also lauded the outcome Friday.

“This has been a long ordeal and to have that over is something that makes him extremely happy,” Kaplan said in a brief statement after the courthouse meeting.

The couple were married in 2004 and finalized their divorce last July and have wrangling over custody issues for several months since then.

Kaplan declined to discuss specifics of the agreement, which still needs to be filed to Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon. Gordon met with Wasser and Kaplan for more than 40 minutes Friday, but did not issue any rulings or take up the case in open court.

Friday’s agreement is fairly typical of custody disputes even if the parties are not, said Charlotte Goldberg, a family law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

“The courts do like parties to agree to custody rather than go through a trial,” she said.

A trial would have almost certainly garnered throngs of reporters and photographers, which Goldberg said could have stymied Spears’ progress.

“I think for Britney’s sake, it would be better to avoid more publicity,” Goldberg said.

The scene Friday was in stark contrast to previous court appearances, when Spears has been mobbed by photographers and in one incident, set foot in the courthouse in cocktail party attire only to suddenly leave before attending her hearing.

The cameras came Friday. Spears did not.

Wasser said Spears has been motivated in recent months by her children and re-establishing her career, which eight months ago seemed to be as teetering as her personal life.

Her legal woes, however, are not over.

A hearing has been scheduled for July 31 about whether her father, James Spears, will continue to control her personal and financial affairs. Once that is resolved, a misdemeanor driving without a license charge can dealt with.

But Wasser acknowledged that Spears has come a long way in eight months.

“The difference from the beginning of this year to now is astonishing,” Wasser said.

Source: The Associated Press

Kevin Federline may be on his way to receiving sole custody, but he’s not the sole winner in his battle with Britney Spears.

Attorneys for both sides met with Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon this morning in a bid to get final approval for a deal that would give K-Fed retain primary physical custody of sons Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1. Spears, meanwhile, will get a boost to her current visitation rights—with the possibility of much more to come.

The deal would also preempt a trial in the case.

“She gets increased visitation and additional overnights, and once the conservatorship ends, she will ask the court to change it back to a shared 50/50 legal and physical custody,” a source close to Spears told E! News.

Laura Wasser, attorney for the 26-year-old “Gimme More” singer, told reporters outside the courtroom that Spears is more than happy with the terms of the deal.

“Britney is really pleased,” she said. “She has the kids today.”

Pleased or not, while the deal is as good as done, it’s not yet on the record books, despite this morning’s hearing.

“I believe we will come to an agreement and the agreement will be converted into a legal document sometime in the future,” Kaplan said. “I will not comment on the terms of the agreement. It will not be filed today.

“Right now it is a private agreement. It has not been turned into an order.”

“Nothing has been filed,” court spokesman Alan Parachini confirmed. “A resolution is imminent. What that is, don’t know, because we haven’t seen it yet.

“Neither Britney nor Kevin came to court today. But [the attorneys] did indicate they are working on a settlement.”

Meanwhile, when the conservatorship of Spears’ estate ends, a source says the singer plans to ask the commissioner to restore shared custody—terms similar to what the couple had prior to her January meltdown.

News of a settlement in the long-gestating, headline-grabbing case broke last night, when Federline attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan told E! News “all the issues that would have been addressed at trial have been settled.”

Source: E! Online

According to X17 Online, Britney was at Ben Kitay Productions in Hollywood from 9PM until 10:30PM auditioning dancers for a new project.

How do they know what she was doing there though?  Stay tuned for more info… (if there is any!)

Britney Spears and her ex Kevin Federline have reached a custody settlement in their epic court battle over their two sons – averting a scheduled trial.

According to the agreement, which still needs to be signed off on by the court, Federline retains sole custody of the couple’s two sons, Preston, 2 1/2, and Jayden, 1 1/2. Spears – who’s currently allowed two visits and one overnight per week – will get more visitation rights.

“The case has been settled,” Federline’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan (working with attorney James Simon), tells PEOPLE. “This is the end of a two-year journey.”

Spears’s attorney, Laura Wasser, said outside the courtroom after the hearing: “Britney’s doing great. She’s very pleased [with the settlement]. The kids are with her right now.”

Without giving details, Wasser confirmed that Spears did win “more custodial time” with the boys. A source close to Spears confirms the singer will gain an additional overnight by year’s end, barring any setbacks.

Spears, 26, and Federline, 30, split in November 2006. When their divorce was finalized in July 2007, they shared 50-50 custody. But things took a dramatic turn when Spears – the pop powerhouse worth an estimated $100 million – was twice forcibly hospitalized early this year for mental health issues.

Spears lost all visitation rights with her kids until the following month, and her father Jamie stepped in to take legal control of her affairs.

Despite the settlement, a judge can always modify custody arrangements.

“Until the kids turn 18, we can expect in years to come that Britney and Kevin will be back in court,” says L.A. family lawyer Lynn Soodik, who is not involved with the case. “Britney will have a better chance of winning more custody once she regains her health. This is just the end of Round One.”

Source: People Magazine

In a shocking new development, OK! has learned exclusively that Britney Spears has ended her battle to win back custody of her children, Sean Preston and Jayden James, from ex-husband Kevin Federline.

In an exclusive interview with OK!, Kevin’s attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan says both Britney and Kevin reached and signed off on a settlement in their custody case today.

Kaplan tells OK!, “At about 8 p.m. PT, a final settlement in the Kevin Federline-Britney Spears custody case was signed. All parties have agreed to the following: Kevin will retain sole legal and physical custody of Sean Preston and Jayden James. Britney will continue to have visitation rights which may increase over time. The agreement will be presented to the court in the morning for approval by the commissioner.”

Kaplan adds, “Kevin is ecstatic and the boys are thriving.”

Britney, who remains under the legal conservatorship of her father Jamie Spears, lost custody of her sons to Kevin last October. At the time she had visitation privileges but they were severely restricted following her January hospitalization for psychiatric evaluation.

She currently has monitored visitation with her sons two days a week and one overnight.

Source: OK! Magazine

This is really sad, but obviously Britney and her lawyers think it’s the best decision for now.  Who knows what would have happened if this went to court next month, she could have ended up losing visitation.  It will be better for her to fight it out it in court after the conservatorship has ended.