1 of 8

(Associated Press)

1.	Lawmakers knew of surveillance, ex-CIA chief says
2.	As the Hollywood machine abandons L.A., its supporting workers struggle
3.	Honduras had a new kind of coup
4.	Arturo Gatti, former boxing champion, found dead in hotel room
5.	Cheney linked to secrecy of CIA program

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Dr. Phil's celebrity advice

By Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

In today’s episode of the Britney Spears saga, we learn that television personality Phil McGraw (Dr. Phil) was asked by the Spears family to visit her in the hospital.

The entrance of Dr. Phil is a nice twist to this Dickensian tale, but it is not entirely unexpected. Dr. Phil, who got his start as a “relationship and life strategy expert” on “Oprah” in the late '80s, has been poking his nose in celebrity business for years.

This morning we learned that after meeting with Spears and her family, McGraw believes the singer “is in dire need of both medical and psychological intervention.”

Here are some other bits of advice he’s doled out over the years.