Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd‘s lives are on hold, but their love is not.
The Americans, imprisoned for the past 10 months after straying into Iranian territory while hiking, have gotten engaged, according to their mothers, who visited them for the first time last week.
“Shane told me that he proposed to Sarah in the yard of Evin Prison on Jan. 6, the very same day that we applied for our visas to go visit them,” Bauer’s mother, Cindy Hickey, said in a joint statement from all three mothers. “We’re all so overjoyed at the news but it’s obviously impossible to know when the wedding will take place. We just hope and pray that Iran will do the right thing and release them so they can get on with their lives.”
The third hiker in the group, Josh Fattal, will serve as best man at the eventual wedding, according to People.
Bauer fashioned engagement rings from threads from his shirt. “Sarah couldn’t wait to show me her ring,” Nora Shourd said. “It’s one of the things that keeps her going – knowing that she and Shane have this unbreakable bond and a friend in Josh who will always be there for them.”
The three were detained on July 31, 2009, after reportedly crossing into Iran by accident while hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan. Bauer and Fattal, both 27, share a prison cell. Shourd, 31, is being held alone but is able to see the others twice a day for 30 minutes.
The mothers – including Fattal’s mom, Laura – were granted visas to visit their children for 48 hours last week.
Law enforcement sources say Simon Monjack may have died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, TMZ reports.
One source says, “There were a number of pill bottles on the nightstand in the bedroom, and some were empty.”
Monjack’s follows the death of wife Brittany Murphy five months ago. In her case an array of prescription drugs were found on the nightstand of the same bedroom where Monjack died. Many of the drugs on Simon’s nightstand were the same as the ones found after Brittany died, the source told TMZ.
One law enforcement source says the two causes of death that seem most plausible at the moment are “natural” and “accidental drug overdose.”
Monjack told TMZ recently he had suffered a heart attack during the incident last November when he had a medical emergency aboard an airplane. Monjack was scheduled to have bypass surgery in September, TMZ says.
Brittany’s mother, Sharon Murphy, discovered Monjack’s body last night. She is also the one who found her daughter, Brittany, unconscious and on the floor of the bathroom five months earlier.
TMZ has learned Simon was scheduled to have bypass surgery in September.
Lindsay Lohan won’t have to go to jail if she follows the conditions of her bail as set forth by a Los Angeles judge Monday morning.
Judge Marsha Revel ruled that the actress, 23 (who showed up to courtroom about 10 minutes late, which her lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, blamed on a “security issue” with her SUV downstairs), must put a SCRAM alcohol-monitoring bracelet on within 24 hours, avoid drinking alcohol, submit to random drug testing once a week and attend the remainder of her alcohol education classes at a rate of one per week.
Her lawyer argued that it will be difficult for Lohan — who showed up in oversized sunglasses, her hair pulled back into a pony tail and a black blazer and white-collared shirt — to wear the bracelet, US magazine reports.
“I’d like to make the court aware of a couple of things and an alternate suggestion. Miss Lohan has a number of upcoming photo shoots and well as (she’ll be) continuing to film a movie in Texas,” Holley said. “The SCRAM device would interfere with all of that. Miss Lohan is not, however, getting out of being monitored. For that reason, our alternative suggestion is that she be randomly tested for drugs and alcohol.”
Replied Judge Revel, “She needs to submit to random drug testing here, not in Texas. (I want) no excuse for her to say it’s random (when it’s not)… I’m afraid she’s going to have to delay (filming) for now.”
Said Judge Revel: “Will Lohan accept the conditions of her bail?” Lohan could have faced 180 days in prison if she violated the terms of her probation after she was convicted of her second DUI in 2007.
Holley whispered to Lohan for about a minute, and then turned to the judge and said, “We’ll accept the court’s conditions.”
Judge Revel then set a formal hearing for July 6 at 8:30 a.m. to determine if Lohan had violated her probation. “Just to remind you, you’re not allowed to drink any alcohol or beverage, you need your SCRAM bracelet on within 24 hours, and you’ll submit to random drug testing.”
Paula Abdul is returning to her dancing roots.
The former “American Idol” judge has been hired as the executive producer and judge on a new series called “Got to Dance,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The CBS series is based on the British hit of the same name and is billed as an all-genre dance reality show.
Abdul’s dance history makes her the ideal judge for the show.
Before forging a successful career as a singer, Abdul was known throughout the ’80s as primarily a choreographer. The former L.A. Lakers cheerleader was discovered by The Jacksons, who hired her to choreograph their video for the single “Torture.” The gig launched her career as a choreographer for music videos and singers throughout the 1980s.
Since Abdul left “American Idol” in 2009 after serving eight years as a judge, networks gave been courting her for various reality series.
In January, ABC reportedly made her an offer to appear on “Dancing with the Stars,” which she declined, and Fox supposedly wants the songstress back for a spot on the U.S. version of Simon Cowell’s British hit “The X Factor,” to launch next year.
lsmith@denverpost.com
