Levi's Mom Pleads, Will Likely Get 3 Years

Blame prescription drugs for drug-related deaths doubling over decade

(NEWSER) - For the first time since the government started tracking drug-related deaths in 1979, narcotics have topped traffic fatalities—37,485 for drugs vs. 36,284 for accidents in 2009 (the most recent year available), reports the LA Times . But the big culprit isn't street drugs: it's prescription pills like Xanax, OxyContin, and especially Vicodin, which kill more people than cocaine and heroin combined. "The problem is right here under our noses in our medicine cabinets," says a Santa Barbara sheriff. More»

Now she's naked and still spilling so-called dirt

(NEWSER) - Levi Johnston's sister posed nude for September's Playboy, but because people read it for the articles, we have to listen to her babble on about her tenuous connection to the Palins of Wasilla. The New York Post has tidbits from the interview:

• On Sarah Palin as president: "I think she'd have had a mental breakdown. As governor she quit on us. What does that say about her?" Also, "I would say 70%" of Wasillans "can't stand" the ex-governor...
• Despite that: "It's hard to get a job in this town because of the Palins. People say, 'Oh, Mercede Johnston, I don't know if people are going to come in if she works here.' "

Rapper slams claims he was trying to look good ahead of court date

(NEWSER) - After T.I. talked a man threatening suicide out of jumping from a downtown Atlanta building, some are calling the move a publicity stunt—but that couldn’t be further from the truth, the rapper tells CNN . The video he made, which police played to the man and is credited with helping to save the man’s life, was not an effort to improve his image ahead of a hearing today that could send the musician back to jail, he says, calling such claims “preposterous.” More»

(NEWSER) - Plaxico Burress pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree this morning, as part of a plea deal that will send him to prison for two years, Newsday reports. “Unfortunately, there was no legal defense we could offer,” his attorney said. Burress will also receive two years' probation. More»

States opt for cheaper routes to justice

(NEWSER) - With the recession squeezing their finances, many states are opting to cut the high costs surrounding incarceration—meaning fewer criminals are heading to jail and prison, and more are getting out earlier, the Washington Post reports. Some states are sending drug offenders and drunk drivers to special courts that allow them to avoid jail; states are also shortening probation and making parole more available to those who are eligible. More»