NEW YORK – Michael Douglas says his family’s fame and history of substance abuse helped drive his son into drug addiction and crime in New York.

The Academy Award-winning actor has asked a federal judge in a handwritten letter to show leniency toward Cameron Douglas at a sentencing today. Michael Douglas says he’s not blind to his son’s actions, but in his words: “I don’t want to see him break.”

Cameron Douglas was arrested in July 2009 at a Manhattan hotel. He has admitted dealing methamphetamine and cocaine. The 31-year-old pleaded guilty in January to a drug charge that carries a mandatory 10 years in prison. His attorneys are arguing for less.

Michael Douglas’ letter points to relatives’ drug and alcohol problems and “the pressure of finding your own identity with a famous father.”

Luci Baines Johnson recovering

 

ROCHESTER, Minn. – A doctor for the youngest daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson says she continues to recover from a rare autoimmune disorder.

Luci Baines Johnson, 62, remains in St. Marys Hospital in Rochester, Minn., where Mayo Clinic doctors are treating her for Guillain-Barre syndrome.

The autoimmune disease attacks the nervous system and can cause paralysis.

Dr. Alejandro Rabinstein said Monday that Johnson’s case may be “less severe than usual.”

She was admitted to a hospital in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday and was flown by air ambulance Friday after she experienced extreme muscular weakness.

Osbourne to have breast implants removed

NEW YORK – Sharon Osbourne says she’s having her breast implants removed this summer and will give them to her husband, rocker Ozzy Osbourne, as a paperweight.

The 57-year-old reality TV star said the implants will be better on Ozzy’s desk “than on my chest ’cause they’re awful.”

She confirmed reports of her plans to do so during an appearance Monday on the “Today” show.

Osbourne is competing on NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice.” She says the show is the hardest thing she’s ever done in her career, but also the best.

Singer plans concert for Chernobyl victims

MOSCOW – The Russian-born singer and songwriter who split from actor Mel Gibson said Monday she will perform a charity concert in Moscow to aid victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Oksana Grigorieva said the concert proceeds will pay for vital surgery for children born in the area affected by radioactivity from the 1986 nuclear plant explosion and fire.

Grigorieva told journalists she already has funded operations for 50 children with heart conditions and leukemia in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.

“Children’s pain hurts me too,” she told a news conference. “I always wanted to help children through music.”

Grigorieva and Gibson split this month after a three-year romance. She said they had agreed to raise their baby daughter, Lucia, together.

She denied media reports that Gibson asked for a DNA test to prove his fatherhood.

“It’s not true,” she said. “There has been a lot of lies written about us.”

She also said she would remove a hammer-and-sickle tattoo on her ankle, which Gibson had advised her to get.

After announcing his relation with Grigorieva last year, Gibson filed for divorce from his wife, Robyn, after 28 years of marriage and seven children together.

Grigorieva also has a son with actor Timothy Dalton.