Britney Spears’s family members tightened their grip on her finances Thursday as the court extended her father’s co-conservator role and granted her brother a share of oversight of her trust.

L.A. Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz made the rulings amid signs that the singer’s family has helped keep Britney out of trouble since her early release from a psych ward.

Her father Jamie Spears has been overseeing his 26-year-old daughter’s well-being and her estimated $100-million fortune since Feb. 1, when Goetz named him and Andrew Wallet temporary co-conservators – giving them the right to employ bodyguards who control Britney’s actions and restrict her visitors.

On Thursday, Jamie and Wallet requested that the status quo be maintained until March 10 because a psychiatric evaluation of Britney, due Wednesday, had not yet been submitted. The commissioner granted the extension, scheduling a hearing that day to consider extending the conservatorship even further.

Britney’s father and Wallet were also granted the power to handle the singer’s taxes, and Britney’s brother Bryan, 30, was named as a trustee of her trust.

Attorney Jeryll Cohen, representing Jamie, says they still haven’t been able to serve a restraining order against Britney’s pal Sam Lutfi who, Cohen says, seems to be avoiding service. Lynne Spears has accused Lutfi of drugging and verbally abusing her daughter.

Since Britney’s father has taken charge of her affairs, she has kept an uncharacteristically low profile with relatively low-key outings: shopping with her mom, Lynne, and regular trips to the Millennium Dance Complex.

“She’s getting proper medical care and has professional security. The chaos has been removed from the situation,” says one legal insider.

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Her second baby is “kicking like a maniac” – and Melissa Joan Hart is getting ready for its arrival by making major changes around the house.

“We actually moved [2-year-old] Mason into a big boy room and left the nursery the way it is,” Hart recently says about rearranging her house to prepare for her second child with husband Mark Wilkerson. “It’s very neutral.”

And while Mason will soon have a new sibling, his parents are still doting on him, Hart said.

“We made him a big fish [themed] room,” she says. “It was his birthday a few weeks ago, so we got him a bed from Pottery Barn – and my stepmom came and put murals on the wall of fish, whales and turtles. It’s huge, and he’s got a fish tank now.”

With all the activity, one thing still hasn’t slowed down: her baby is still kicking. “[The baby’s] been way more active than our first son,” Wilkerson said. “Every day [the baby’s] doing aerobics in there.”

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Lane Garrison calls life behind bars an “eye-opening and harrowing” experience in a letter sent by the former Prison Break star from his current residence, the Donovan State Prison.

Being behind bars “is pure irony coming from the show and now living the real deal,” the actor, convicted of vehicular manslaughter after a car accident that killed a 17-year-old high school student, states in the message he sent to Access Hollywood. “It’s surreal and mind-blowing to say the least.”

In what was likely a truly surreal moment, Garrison, 27, describes watching the show’s season premiere with “a crowd of tattooed felons.”

Garrison, who was sentenced to 40 months, also says he hopes his story is seen as a cautionary tale about the perils of drinking and driving.

“I have much to say about the pain I’ve felt and seen inside of prison,” he writes. “It has been an eye-opening and harrowing experience.”

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Brad Renfro’s girlfriend told a 911 operator that she thought the 25-year-old actor “might have taken a couple pills,” according to a recording of the call released Wednesday.

The woman, who found his body on Jan. 15, tells the operator: “We’re not sure if he’s breathing or not. His nose is bleeding. … We can’t tell if he’s breathing.”

The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office announced Friday that Renfro, who starred in The Client, had died of an accidental heroin overdose.

In the 911 call, when asked by the operator what happened, Renfro’s girlfriend responds, “I’m not sure. I mean, I think he might have taken a couple of pills last night. … He had an audition at 1 o’clock this afternoon. I’ve been trying to wake him up to get ready, and he just won’t move.”

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Miley Cyrus and father Billy Ray Cyrus are admitting they goofed.

“We got caught up in the moment of filming, and we made a mistake and forgot to buckle our seatbelts,” Billy Ray Cyrus says about a gaffe in the hit 3-D movie Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour – one that’s caused a head-on collision with controversy.

“Seatbelt safety is extremely important,” he adds.

Editors at Consumer Reports took issue with a scene in the film in which Miley and her dad are “riding in the back seat of a Range Rover on the way to rehearsal for the concert tour. Neither was wearing a seat belt,” said a posting on the magazine’s blog.

“Why should we care?” the posting continued. “Because, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in about 55 percent of passenger vehicle fatalities in 2006 (the latest data available), the occupants were not wearing seat belts. Even worse, in the 13- to 15-year-old age group, that percentage climbs to 65 percent.”

Observed Consumer Reports: “It seems to us that Miley, her father, and Disney had a perfect opportunity to help influence teens and counteract – rather than encourage – this trend. Then again, as Hannah herself sings, ‘Everybody makes mistakes.’ ”

Mistake noted.

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Max is ready for his close-up: PEOPLE has your first exclusive look at Christina Aguilera and her baby Max, born Jan. 12 in L.A. Go inside their home as the 27-year-old pop star and husband Jordan Bratman, 30, speak out about parenthood and pose for an exclusive family photo album (all in the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday). Says Aguilera of little Max: “He’s completely changed my life.”

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Britney Spears has class – dance class, that is.

The 26-year-old singer – who’s in the midst of a custody battle over her own kids, Preston, 2, and Jayden, 1 – logged some quality kiddie time Monday, teaching dance an hour-long dance lesson to a group of six children.

“The class was amazing,” Robert Baker, director of the Millennium Dance Complex, says.

In addition to choreographed routines to vintage Madonna songs “True Blue” and “Material Girl” and “Holiday,” Spears – wearing ripped fishnets, red boy-shorts and a blue top – also allowed her pupils to free-style dance.

“She even played age-appropriate games in a circle, pretending to be a choo-choo train,” Baker said. “Britney was just amazing with the kids and everyone ended up having a blast. At the end of the hour class, all the kids hugged Britney and she seemed very happy.”

Kids ‘Thrilled’
The kids, aged 4 to 7, were selected from the studio’s junior program. “The parents gave their permission,” Baker said. “They were thrilled. One parent summed it up: ‘It’s a once in a lifetime event.’”

Well, maybe not. Spears had so much fun, “She asked to please teach a class tomorrow,” said Baker, a longtime Spears friend. “We plan to put together a group of about 20 kids for her.”

After the class wrapped up at 7 p.m., Spears – who has rehearsed at Millennium three times since Friday – spent another hour and a half working on a dance routine for her single “Hot as Ice.”

“She seems very focused about getting back into her old life,” said Baker. “[She’s] focusing her energy on creating and dancing.”

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Jamie Spears got permission to fire daughter Britney Spears’s business manager after complaining the manager didn’t follow directions and failed to turn over documents, court papers show.

The allegations are contained in a motion filed Feb. 7 by probate court attorneys for Jamie and Britney Spears. The motion was granted, allowing Jamie to fire manager Howard Grossman.

“The temporary co-conservators believe that they cannot trust Mr. Grossman to follow instruction,” says the motion, made public Monday.

The motion alleges that when Spears was released from a psychiatric hospital, Grossman arranged for her to meet with visitors and attorneys in violation of court orders.

Grossman could not be reached Monday for comment. He previously said that he didn’t understand why the conservators would want to fire him.

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When it comes to Amy Winehouse’s progress in rehab, her mother Janis Winehouse is pleased – and relieved.

“She’s on the road to recovery,” Mrs. Winehouse told the U.K. morning show GMTV, “and that’s what it’s all about.”

The mother added, “She’s definitely on the road back.”

The worried mom also thinks it was a wise decision for her daughter to perform at the Grammys via satellite from England rather than to leave rehab (where she has been since last month) and fly to Los Angeles for the ceremony – where she ended up winning five awards.

“I think it would have been too much for her because all of the traveling and flying there,” she said. “I mean seeing what the Grammys were like, I thought if Amy were there, she’d be a little girl lost in it.”

Then again, observed the mother, “It was a case of Amy couldn’t get to L.A., and my feeling was L.A. came to Amy.”

Stellar Night
Winehouse won five Grammys – including record of the year, song of the year and best new artist. She also rocked the crowd inside Los Angeles’s Staples Center with a live-via-satellite rendition of “You Know I’m No Good” and “Rehab.”

“We all felt, the family, well everyone that saw her felt that’s the best she’s performed, definitely,” said her mother.

Sunday night (actually Monday morning in the U.K.) Winehouse, 24, addressed the intimate crowd gathered at London’s Riverside Studios – including her mother, father Mitch and older brother Alex – and said, “I can’t believe I’ve won five awards. It’s a shame I couldn’t be there to accept the awards but I’m so proud and happy that I had the opportunity to perform for the Grammys in my hometown of London with my family and friends around me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“Amy is as she is,” said Mrs. Winehouse. “There’s no sort of double standards – what you see is how she is. She’s a very, very genuine and sincere girl.”

‘She Looks Good’
Janis Winehouse also told GMTV, “As you saw, she looks good. She’s on the road to recovery.”

And a long road it’s been. “Where I know about addiction,” says Janis, “addiction is something that once it’s got hold of the person, it’s like whoa, you know – very hard to get the off.”

Mrs. Winehouse admitted the entire family had feared for Amy’s health. “She was sort of with it but not with it,” she explains. “She’s got a solid family and we’re all there for her,” she said.

“I was helpless because there was nothing I could do. Amy had to do it for Amy and that’s the way it is.”

As for what is still ahead, “She will see a therapist, and she will still be getting help,” says her mother, “because she still wants the help.”

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Joel Madden is in love with his new baby daughter, Harlow, and she is in love with her mother – at least for now.

She’s “definitely a mama’s girl,” the rocker said before a gig as a deejay at Prive Las Vegas on Friday. “Right now she needs mom because all she does is eat. I have a feeling that when she starts talking she’s going to be a daddy’s girl.”

Harlow Winter Kate Madden, who was born Jan. 11, is the first child for Madden, 28, and girlfriend Nicole Richie, 26.

The night in Las Vegas was the Good Charlotte singer’s first one away from his daughter, and the reason he agreed to deejay was because the club donated its door proceeds to the Richie-Madden Children’s Foundation, he said.

“It’s really hard being away from her. I think after having Harlow we are already in love with being parents,” he said. “It’s cool to watch Harlow with Nicole because they already have a real special bond. It’s cute. I have my own little bond with her too.”

As far as Madden’s bond with Richie, that’s stronger than ever too. “She’s a wonderful mother and she looks really hot already,” he said. “The girl is gifted, man. Women hate her because she looks good being pregnant and then has the baby and looks sexy. There’s something so attractive about her now. It’s a motherly glow.”

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