Levi Johnston

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin hasn't yet said anything publicly about her four-day-old grandson, Tripp Johnston, but she does want people to know that Tripp's parents – Palin's daughter Bristol and her fiancé Levi Johnston - are hard at work.

"You need to know that both Levi and Bristol are working their butts off to parent and going to school and working at the same time," Palin told People in a phone message Wednesday. "They are certainly not high school dropouts."

The former GOP V.P. candidate said she wanted to be clear about their continuing work toward high school degrees because suggesting otherwise "harms Bristol's reputation and Levi's reputation and their chances for good work opportunities."

Sarah and Todd Palin became proud grandparents when their oldest daughter Bristol Palin gave birth to her first child, Tripp, with Levi Johnston.

Bristol Palin, 18, who gave birth Saturday, is intending to finish her high school degree through correspondence courses. Levi, also 18, has said that he left high school to enroll in an apprenticeship program training him as an electrician.

Sarah Palin said at the time that she hoped Levi would eventually earn his GED, adding that "I respect that Levi is out there working hard."

We recommend that Levi follow the same career path as his mother, Sherry Johnston. Prescription drug dealing is a pretty recession-proof field.

When Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin confirmed that her teenage daughter, Bristol Palin, was expecting a baby, the celebrity gossip world believed the first photos of her newborn child would likely spark a bidding war among several publications.

Looks like Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, born December 28 to Bristol and her baby daddy, Levi Johnston, is already delivering on that promise.

According to one source, bidding for the celebrity baby photos began at $100,000. People won out in the end, but In Touch Weekly was the only other weekly to make serious bids, according to several sources involved in the process.

STRAIGHT TRIPPIN': That's actually Trig Palin, Sarah Palin's son, with Bristol and Levi. No photos of their baby, Tripp, have been released yet, but People won the rights.

The price didn't soar immediately, according to sources, because Sarah Palin gossip just doesn’t sell all that well for the magazines on newsstands.

“Sarah was on the cover of People, Us Weekly, and OK! the same week, and really only People saw a bump in sales," says an inside source.

But then the recent, felony drug-related arrest of Levi Johnston's mother, Sherry Johnston, caused the price tag for the photos to go up suddenly.

"The bidding started well before the baby was born, but once Levi Johnston’s mom was arrested - well, then you had a story,” says one editor.

None of the magazines would confirm the exact figure for how much Bristol Palin made from the deal - most estimates hover around the $300,000 range.

No word on whether the money from the pics will go to charity, or whether it will all be spent on Sarah Palin's wardrobe and/or 2012 presidential bid.

Bristol Palin, the 18-year-old daughter of former Republican V.P. candidate Sarah Palin, gave birth Sunday to a healthy baby boy in Palmer, Alaska.

"We think it's wonderful," said Colleen Jones, the sister of Bristol's grandmother Sally Heath (Sarah Palin's mother), who confirmed the exciting news early this evening.

"The baby is fine and Bristol is doing well. Everyone is excited."

The baby's name is Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston. Yes, Tripp. His name is actually less weird than we were predicting, considering that we're talking about Bristol Palin here. But at the same time, she lived up to the family standards nicely.

Tripp Johnston weighed seven pounds and four ounces at the time of his birth.

The little guy takes his surname from his dad, Levi Johnston, 18, a former Wasilla High School hockey player who has been dating Bristol for three years.

THE PROUD, UNWED PARENTS: Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston, both 18 and seen here at the Republican National Convention in August, have welcomed baby Tripp!

Bristol Palin is currently residing in her hometown of Wasilla, laying low and completing her high-school diploma through some correspondence courses.

Levi Johnston is in the process of studying to become an electrician. His mother, Sherry Johnston, was recently busted on several felony drug charges.

The eldest of Sarah and Todd Palin's three daughters (the couple also have two sons, Trig and Track), Bristol Palin made headlines with her pregnancy last summer, just as her mom was being selected as John McCain's running mate.

Bristol plan and Levi to wed in 2009 and raise the child together.

Sherry Johnston, mother of Bristol Palin boyfriend/fiance/baby-daddy Levi Johnston, was charged with six felony counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance, Alaska's Anchorage Daily News reported early Friday morning.

Johnston was served with a search warrant and arrested shortly thereafter by the Alaska State Police and then charged with second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance – typically manufacturing or delivering drugs.

Police also charged her with fourth-degree misconduct involving controlled substances, or possession. An undercover narcotics investigation focusing on Sherry Johnston had been going on "a while" prior to the search and her arrest.

Sherry Johnston did not comment to reporters on the subject. She reportedly was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond just after 2 p.m. Thursday.

A rep for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, mother of Bristol Palin, said Thursday:

"This is not a state government matter. Therefore the governor's communications staff will not be providing comment or scheduling interview opportunities."

Hey, at least the celebrity gossip media heat will be off Levi Johnston for awhile as a result of these drug charges. Way to take one for the team here, Sherry!

Troopers released no other information, including the kind or amount of drugs, because details could jeopardize an ongoing investigation, said a spokeswoman.

Levi Johnston and Bristol, who is nine months pregnant, are expecting their first child any day now. Both are 18. Bristol Palin's due date is tomorrow.

The first grandchild of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will be a boy, her father, Chuck Heath, revealed to the website Grandparents.com, which apparently exists.

Heath, who apparently needs some money or attention, said that his pregnant granddaughter, Bristol Palin, has a due date of December 20 - this Saturday!

Asked what Bristol and her baby-daddy-turned-fiance Levi Johnston will name their baby, Heath answered, "Oscar ... No, I'm just kidding." Good one, Chuck!

Seen here at the RNC in August, Bristol Palin cradles baby brother Trig while Levi Johnston stares solemnly at the floor, lamenting not using a condom.

In reality, Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston don't have a name for it yet, but there are 87 boxes of unopened mail that might contain some suggestions.

Here are some baby names we think would be fitting of Sarah Palin's grandson. Vote for your favorite, and/or leave a comment with your own!

As 2008 winds down, it's time to reflect upon those - from household names to relative unknowns, from A- to D-list - who made this year so memorable.

The Hollywood Gossip is unveiling 10 finalists for its 2nd Annual Celebrity of the Year award. They've given us their best, their worst, even their nude pictures in some cases. Now it is time for us to give something back with this moving tribute.

We previously profiled the political Home-Wrecker or the Millennium, Rielle Hunter. Today, we present Celebrity of the Year finalist #9 … The Palin Family!

When Sarah Palin burst on the scene at the end of August as the Republicans' nominee for Vice President, she took the political and celeb gossip worlds by storm.

Rumors that Sarah's daughter Bristol was actually the mother of Sarah's son Trig led to the revelation that Bristol Palin was pregnant with boyfriend Levi Johnston.

While Sarah invigorated the GOP base and ignited a media firestorm, incredible sound bytes from SNL look-alike Tina Fey and the candidate herself soon followed.

What a great ride it was. Click to enlarge more photos of the self-styled maverick, hockey mom and Joe Six-Pack candidate, along with her husband and kids ...

MEET THE PALINS: After an election-day thumping at the hands of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Sarah and family are gone, but not forgotten. We can't wait for 2012.

Like some sort of governor with a rifle inside a helicopter, taking aim at a defenseless moose, Levi Johnston has his sights set on parenthood.

The soon-to-be son-in-law of Sarah Palin, and impending father to a baby with Bristol Palin, has spoken out to a reporter from the Associated Press. Here's what young Levi had to say. Forgive The Hollywood Gossip staff from editorializing when necessary, we couldn't help it...

On marrying Bristol: "We were planning on getting married a long time ago with or without the kid."

** THG Note: A long time ago, huh, Levi? You're 18, Bristol is 17. She's six months pregnant. Were you planning this marriage over an Easy Bake Oven, or during an episode of Barney and Friends?

On being a father: "I'm looking forward to having him. I'm going to take him hunting and fishing. He'll be everywhere with me... We're up for it. I'm excited to have my first kid. It's going to be a lot of hard work, but we can handle it."

** THG Note: Sort of like the Iraq war. After impregnating Bristol, we wonder if Levi hung a banner in the bedroom that read Emission Accomplished.

Levi Johnston was nervous before appearing on stage at the Republican National Convention in August... but whatever.

On joining the Sarah Palin campaign, which included sitting in open view at the Republican National Convention: "At first, I was nervous. Then I was like, 'Whatever.'"

** THG Note: This is actually more articulate than Governor Palin has been about her foreign policy experience.

On Barack Obama: "I don't know anything about him. He seems like a good guy. I like him."

** THG Note: You don't know anything about him, Levi? Seriously, do they have access to national newspapers, the Internet and/or news channels in Alaska?

On Sarah Palin: "I just hope she wins. She's my future mother-in-law. She better win."

Bristol Palin, the pregnant teenage daughter of Republican V.P. candidate Sarah Palin, and her boyfriend, Levi Johnston, are considering a summer wedding.

Bristol, 17, and Levi, 18, haven't set a date yet, according to the boy's mom, Sherry Johnston. They announced their engagement and pregnancy last month.

The two "have been considering getting married next summer, but that could change," she said during a short interview outside her Wasilla home.

Meanwhile, the London Times, quoting an unnamed source, claims that "expectation is growing" inside the John McCain campaign that there may be a "popularity boosting pre-election wedding in Alaska." Don't bet on it, though.

Not long after Levi was finished thrusting into Bristol Palin, the couple was thrust into the national spotlight after her mother, the first-term Governor of Alaska, was unexpectedly selected as John McCain's running mate in late August.

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Leave it to the UK's News of the World - also known as the super-trustworthy English equivalent of In Touch Weekly - to make up dig up probably the funniest batch of lies gossip yet about America's sweetheart pregnant teen Bristol Palin.

According to the publication, Levi Johnston, Bristol Palin's baby-daddy, was in a three-year relationship with her best friend, Lanesia Garcia, when he and Bristol - Republican V.P. candidate Sarah Palin's daughter - started hooking up.

Bristol then started pressuring Lanesia to break up with Levi Johnston when rumors started flying that he was cheating on her with other girls.

Lanesia Garcia said she was devastated to find out through another friend that Bristol Palin - her friend since the age of six - was one of them:

"I didn't believe it, I never dreamt she was capable of doing that to me. But when I called her she just said, 'I'm so sorry, I couldn't help it. Levi and I are together now and I think he's the man for me.' I put the phone down and have not talked to her since. I was distraught for a year - I missed Bristol desperately but also Sarah, who was like a second mom to me. Neither of them have tried to contact me, though - which says something about how ruthless they can be. The phrase Sarah used comparing herself to a lipstick-wearing pit bull is spot on."

Yeah, Lanesia Garcia totally produced this quote. Lies. All of it. Doesn't make it any less funny or entertaining, but come on, News of the World.

At least try to make it semi-believable next time?

Nothing new here - just a photo from the Republican National Convention last week in St. Paul, Minn. But it's a cute picture we had to pass along.

With Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin expecting a child soon, they need all the practice they can get! Fortunately, Bristol's mother - Alaska Gov. and GOP Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin - just gave birth to a son, Trig, earlier this year! See below ...

AWW: Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston look like naturals tending to Trig Palin.

Regardless of your political views, the Palin family has made for some cute baby photos and funny commentary in the last week and a half. On that note, if you haven't already, be sure to check out this week's Caption Contest!