Palin-drone

(Newser) - Sarah Palin’s fellow grandmother says she’s getting a bad rap in the press over her recent drug arrest. Sherry Johnston—mother of Levi, who recently fathered a son with Bristol Palin—tells People she has been addicted to OxyContin since a hysterectomy 8 years ago. “I was in pain,” said Johnston, 42, “and I’m still in pain.” More »

(Newser) - Sarah Palin says the media is lobbing softballs at Caroline Kennedy because of the would-be New York senator’s class status, Politico reports. The Republican governor of Alaska speculates that “there is a class issue here also that was such a factor in the scrutiny of my candidacy,” which hasn’t arisen during the Kennedy scion’s efforts at appointment. More »

(Newser) - Unwed teen dad, high school dropout, and future Palin in-law Levi Johnston can now add "unemployed" to his resume after a media kerfuffle over his lack of diploma led him to quit his job in an oil field. Johnston left to quell suspicions that Sarah Palin helped him land his electrical apprenticeship, which requires a high school diploma—a diploma Johnston famously lacks, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Palin denies having a hand in Johnston’s placement, but did write him a generic letter of recommendation. More »

(Newser) - The Alaska drug arrest of Bristol Palin's future mother-in-law was deliberately delayed until after the November election to spare Sarah Palin embarrassment, an investigator involved in the case claims. Representatives of the state troopers' union—which has clashed with Gov. Palin over other issues—say a number of investigators have verified the charge, the Anchorage Daily News reports. More »

(Newser) - Sarah Palin is blasting media reports that her daughter and future son-in-law are high school dropouts, reports the Anchorage Daily News . The Alaska governor told several news outlets that eldest daughter Bristol, who just gave birth to Palin's first grandchild, starts her last semester in high school next week, and that proud poppa Levi Johnston, who left school to work as an apprentice electrician, is working to finish his degree online. More »

(Newser) - People magazine has denied it paid Bristol Palin $300,000 for the first pictures of her newborn son, the AP reports. Contrary to an MSNBC report yesterday, People ’s managing editor said that the magazine had been in talks with the Palins but that no deal had been made. "Would I like the pictures? I would love the pictures but I don't have them," editor Larry Hackett said. More »

(Newser) - Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are unwed teen parents—and about to make enough money to buy her mom’s campaign wardrobe twice over by selling the first pics of new son Tripp, MSNBC reports. Bidding among the celeb weeklies began at $100,000, with People winning out. The couple's unconfirmed net for the photos is around $300,000—boosted in part by Grandma Johnston’s recent OxyContin-peddlin