Hollywood headlines: A celebrity week in review

Lindsay Lohan has put a dent in her outstanding tax debt, paying off the nearly $94,000 she owed for 2009 and tossing some change at the bill still looming for 2010. Lohan reportedly used the $100,000 she was gifted by Charlie Sheen -- which, incidentally, she finally did thank him for, according to TMZ. She was blaming her perceived lack of manners on a broken phone and missing contacts, the website said, sending a written thank-you note and flowers after she saw his comments asking for at least a text to acknowledge his gift.

Full story: Lindsay Lohan: $93K tax lien paid, one more tax bill remains | PHOTOS: A Lindsay Lohan career retrospective  (AFP/Getty Images)

Is Tom Cruise healing his heart with a new girlfriend, so soon after being bounced by Katie Holmes? So it seemed when In Touch reported Wednesday that the 50-year-old “Jack Reacher” star was spotted out at a New York nightclub a week before Christmas, hitting the dance floor with a woman half his age. “At one point, they began grinding together,” a witness told the mag. “It was straight out of ‘Dirty Dancing.’ Tom seemed to be in his own world, completely smitten.”

Full story: Does a little dirty dancing mean Tom Cruise is romancing? | PHOTOS: Famous Scientologists  (Theo Wargo / Getty Images)

Just days after the Season 2 finale of “The X Factor” comes word that Britney Spears -- the pop singer hired to bring ratings sizzle to Simon Cowell’s TV singing extravaganza -- is getting the heave-ho as a judge after just one season. According to Us Weekly, Cowell is close to canning Spears because he doesn’t feel she’s earned her $15-million paycheck. “He wanted crazy Britney, but he got boring Britney,” Us Weekly quoted an unnamed insider as saying.

Full story: Britney Spears reportedly dumped from ‘The X Factor’ | Best TV shows of 2012: The year of Sherlock Holmes  (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

Brandy is engaged to be married, according to reports out Thursday. The groom-to-be is one Ryan Press, a music exec she’s been dating for at least a year. “They are thrilled and happy and Brandy feels this is so right,” an insider told Us Weekly. The couple went public with their romance last New Year’s Eve, and Brandy openly discussed her desire to marry Press in an interview with People in March. “My daughter Sy’rai loves Ryan, and he loves me for me,” said the 33-year-old, full name Brandy Norwood, adding that she’d marry Press “with a bubble-gum ring.”

Full story: Singer Brandy engaged to music exec Ryan Press  (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

On Christmas Day, Rihanna and Chris Brown boldly went where they haven’t gone for a long time: out in public together. The two were very visible in courtside seats Tuesday as the Los Angeles Lakers took on the New York Knicks in a holiday game in downtown L.A. The two could be seen cheering and sipping drinks, with Rihanna occasionally whispering in Breezy’s ear and draping herself onto him in a serious public cuddle. She was also wearing what appears to be her new favorite piece of jewelry: a gold collar necklace believed to be a gift from Brown.

Full story: Rihanna, Chris Brown make their togetherness public at Lakers game | 2012 in review: Pop music’s most memorable moments  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Actor Nick Stahl was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department on suspicion of lewd conduct at an adult movie shop in Hollywood on Thursday. The “Terminator 3” star was taken into custody during a routine undercover operation by Los Angeles police officers, officials said. The 33-year-old faces a misdemeanor count of lewd conduct.

Full story: Actor Nick Stahl arrested in alleged lewd conduct at adult movie shop | PHOTOS: Celebrity mug shots  (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)