Rihanna

Rihanna's late night on the town last night ended with another run-in with the police - but this time it was her driver, not Chris Brown, answering questions.

Shortly after 2:00 AM PDT, cops pulled over her driver for no front license plate (who ever heard of license plates on a car), and for overly tinted windows.

Rihanna was sitting in the backseat of the vehicle while LAPD issued the ticket, with security standing guard around the huge SUV to prevent good photos ...

Rihanna was totally in the back of this tricked-out Escalade!

RiRi had just wrapped a night of partying at Les Deux. For the first time since her savage beating, Rihanna went out sans shades, as you can see below.

No sign of good ol' Chris Brown, who she is "taking a break" from, whatever that means. Maybe it means they aren't broken up officially, but aren't dating.

Click to enlarge more photos of Rihanna leaving Les Deux ...

[Photo Credits: Splash News Online]

Guess it's no coincidence that Rihanna and Chris Brown are on opposite ends of the country right now. According to a source, they are "taking a break."

The source tells E! News that the pair are not calling it a formal breakup, but have decided to "put some distance between them" for the time being.

Rumor has it that they plan to see each other soon, however, Reps for both singers have not returned calls for comment on the breakup (or whatever it is).

Last Thursday, Rihanna flew to New York City, where she, Brandy, Beyoncé and Jay-Z reportedly enjoyed a quiet dinner together at the Spotted Pig Friday.

Then on Saturday, she continued moving on with life, dining with friends at Da Silvano. The "Umbrella" singer was reportedly in good spirits all weekend.

Meanwhile, Brown has remained in Los Angeles.

Two of music's hottest stars remain entangled in a surreal story that has not only dominated celebrity gossip, but put domestic assault back in the national spotlight.

The singer has spent the entire time working on his album, most recently at the Record Plant in Hollywood: "He's just putting ideas down for some songs he wrote," says a Brown source. "He needs to feel like he's moving forward."

A hearing in Chris Brown's case is scheduled for March 23. The court date will likely establish whether Rihanna will testify against him going forward.

Lawyers for both sides are trying to prevent that scenario.

Brown is charged with assault and criminal threats after "allegedly" using Rihanna as a speedbag and saying he was gonna kill her on February 7.

Should Rihanna and Chris Brown be together after what happened?

Following her "alleged" beatdown at the hands of boyfriend Chris Brown, who she has since reconciled with, Rihanna is eager to move on with her life, a source close to the singer says, and she's not shying away from the public anymore.

"She's out and about now," the source reports, saying the singer is looking to put the events of February 8 behind her. "She's not hiding at this point. She's trying to get her life back in order. She's trying to figure it all out. It's going to be hard."

Rihanna has been quietly stepping out on both coasts recently.

On Saturday, she headed to dinner in New York at Da Silvano in the West Village with three people. Over pasta, she "was relaxed," according to a fellow diner.

"She looked fantastic, like a superstar. She did look rather serious." She may be stepping out, but she hasn't been seen with Brown in public since the attack.

While in the Big Apple, Rihanna also went to the Spotted Pig on Friday night.

Accompanied by Brandy, the R&B star met up inside with Jay-Z and Beyoncé.

Last week, the singer hit the town in Los Angeles, where she celebrated her belated birthday with girlfriends. The following night, she headed to the Geisha House with some friends, and "was in very good spirits" during the night.

We will see if she can truly move on. She may still have to testify against Chris Brown, though both his lawyer and hers are trying to get her off the hook.

Click to enlarge more Rihanna photos, featuring her out and about ...

[Photo Credits: Splash News Online]

There is no Rihanna-Chris Brown duet being recorded by the stars despite previous reports that the pair had recorded a song together, a label source confirms.

"Contrary to published reports, Chris Brown and Rihanna did not record a new duet after the incident," the source told People, alluding to Chris Brown's alleged assault of his girlfriend before the Grammy Awards on February 8.

Conflicting reports about the couple's supposed duet may have arisen because of a standard practice used during the development of new material. Last year, Brown and producer Polow da Don did write a song together, the source says.

"Around August or September of 2008, Chris and Rihanna's vocals were recorded as the reference vocals for this demo only. [But] the song was never conceived or intended to be a duet between them, and was later recorded by other artists."

Reference vocals are created to indicate how the writer intends a song to be sung on demo tracks sent out to other artists before the final recording process.

These two are making beautiful music together - it's just not being recorded.

Turns out, the song was called "Bad Girl" - with lyrics focused on a woman who spends too much on designer goods – and was recorded by the someone else (The Pussycat Dolls) and is featured on the Confessions of a Shopaholic soundtrack.

However, the reference vocals for the song made by Rihanna also leaked to the Internet in January. More confusion may also have been caused by the fact that Brown and Rihanna did record a duet last year called "Stronger."

This was meant for Rihanna's album, but was never released. Brown, who faces assault and criminal threats charges, is said to have been in the recording studio since the attack, but has not worked with Rihanna on any songs.

They may not be recording, but they are definitely on the same track relationship wise. With Brown's arraignment set for April 6, lawyers for both stars are attempting to get Rihanna off the hook as far as testifying against her man.

The subject of the new hearing in the Chris Brown case we reported on yesterday has been revealed, and is pretty much along the lines of what we predicted.

Sources close to Brown and Rihanna say Brown's lawyer, Mark Geragos, wants the judge to give Rihanna a pass from testifying because of leaks in the case.

Geragos and Rihanna's lawyer, Donald Etra, believe Rihanna was "compromised" when her name surfaced as the alleged victim in the February 8 beating.

The cops did not officially name her as the victim, but as often happens in high-profile criminal investigations, the info made its way into the press just the same.

They claim this and other leaks - presumably her battered face photo will be Exhibit A at the hearing - violate her privacy rights and therefore she should not have to further expose herself to the public by testifying against Brown.

Will lawyers for Rihanna and Chris Brown succeed in their legal strategy to excuse the former from testifying about how the latter used her as a human speedbag?

Geragos asked for, and was granted, a hearing with the judge in chambers, along with the prosecutors, on March 23 to discuss letting Rihanna off the hook.

Brown's arraignment is set for April 6. He is charged with two felony offenses - assault and making criminal threats - and could face up to four years in jail.

Will the judge, Patricia Schnegg, go for it? If she does, would the LAPD's case against Brown be a lost cause? Both of those questions are unclear, but this is certainly proof Rihanna and Brown are back together and forming a united front.

In breaking news from the Chris Brown case, his lawyer, Mark Geragos, requested an unscheduled hearing two weeks before Brown's upcoming arraignment.

The hearing has to do with whether or not Rihanna will testify.

The case has been officially moved to L.A. County Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg. She is the judge who signed the search warrant in the case.

Chris Brown's hearing is set for March 23. He did not enter a plea at his first appearance in court, and has been actively seeking to end the case since.

The meeting, supposedly has nothing to do with the plea bargain Brown is said to be seeking, which would let him off the hook with no jail time served.

Brown faces serious felony charges stemming from his February 8 arrest. He allegedly got violent with Rihanna after receiving a text from Tina Davis.

What will result from this surprising new hearing in Chris Brown's case?

His arraignment had been scheduled for April 6. The March 23 meeting will take place in Schnegg's chambers. Prosecutors will be there; Brown will not.

Geragos is the one who requested the meeting, which is said to involve Rihanna's possible testimony in the case, according to sources close to the case.

Will he ask the judge to block prosecutors from calling Rihanna or limit her testimony? Does he hope he will be offered a more appealing plea bargain?

Rihanna has indicated, through her lawyer, that she will testify - if required by law. Having patched things up with Brown, she's clearly not hoping to.

Will it come to that? We'll see. Unless the case is settled before or on that date, the arraignment of Chris Brown is still set for April 6.

Sources connected with Rihanna and Chris Brown say there is friction in the two camps - and while no one has been pummeled unconscious (yet), peeps are at each other's throats over whether Rihanna and Brown should be seen in public together.

Rihanna's PR people are said to be on high alert to make sure no one gets a photo of the alleged battery victim and the alleged maniac felon together.

They believe at this point it would be "extremely damaging" to her career.

This may explain why video surfaced earlier today on TMZ of Rihanna leaving a club around 4:00 a.m. this morning, with Chris Brown nowhere in sight.

On the flip side, with Brown angling for a plea deal to let him off the hook, his people want nothing more than to show that he and Rihanna are tight.

Obviously, letting celeb gossip sites run some pics would do that.

And then there's this: A number of people who interact with Rihanna both personally and professionally want her to cut Brown out of her life for good.

They resent him and are outraged at what he did. Not hard to believe!

For their part, the newly-reconciled Brown and Rihanna are said to be working on a duet - which, ironically, is about overcoming challenges as a couple.

Brown's manager, Tina Davis, who reportedly sent a three-age "booty call text message" that triggered the February 8 incident, is nowhere to be found.

As we reported yesterday, Rihanna and Chris Brown have been participating in secret, late-night recording sessions - ones that have been jam-packed with emotion and serious drama, along with some playful touching. Yes, we are serious.

The idea for the duet arose when they decided to get back together shortly after the February 8 incident in which Brown "allegedly" used Rihanna as a speedbag.

Music producer Polow Da Don convinced both Chris Brown and Rihanna to get in the studio and record a love song ASAP, stressing that timing was important because the heightened emotions would translate powerfully into the music.

Both Rihanna and Chris agreed and snuck in a couple of "late night" sessions that TMZ says were "very emotional ... the feeling in the room was pure love."

Is it good to see Rihanna and Chris Brown collaborating again?

Nothing like a mad dash to cash in on felony assault and criminal threats. Time may heal all wounds, but the almighty dollar heals them faster, apparently.

As for how they got along working together, a source says the two stars were "playfully touching each other." Presumably, no open-hand slaps were involved.

The song was originally written for just Rihanna, but after the intense walloping Brown administered, the producer believed the track - which ironically focuses on overcoming difficult challenges as a couple - would be an ideal duet.

No word on whether they will dedicate it to Tina Davis.

Celebrity news sources say that Tina Davis, Chris Brown's manager, has been ID'd as the woman behind the text message long believed to have triggered the fight that left Brown charged with a pair of felony offenses and Rihanna beaten senseless.

Davis allegedly sent a three-page text message to Brown's cell phone that sent Rihanna flying off the handle and caused Brown to respond with brutal force.

Davis, who turns 40 this month, was rumored to have had a relationship with Chris Brown when he was only 16. Brown and Davis have denied this took place.

However, the detective's affidavit in the assault case refers to the text message as being "from a woman who Brown had a previous sexual relationship with."

Was Chris Brown cheating on Rihanna with manager Tina Davis?

Law enforcement sources say the text message to Brown talked about hooking up later - and it royally pissed off Rihanna, who slapped and hit him in a jealous rage.

He retaliated, to put it mildly.

Tina Davis could not be reached for comment.

No one can say for sure whether Chris Brown - who is seeking a plea deal with no jail time - is fully on the same page with Rihanna after everything that happened, but the lovebirds are reportedly working on the same track.

Literally! The seemingly reconciled duo is working on a duet that Brown is hoping to include on his new album, which is due out later this year, a studio source dished to E! Online. "They've been working on it together," the insider says.

Wonder if his manager/possible past lover set the duet thing up. Our guess is probably not. In any case, click to enlarge more photos of Tina Davis ...

According to reports, Chris Brown is looking to cop a plea, but only to a misdemeanor and with no jail time, in the assault and criminal treats case against him.

TMZ reports that Brown's people have consulted with outside legal advisors - including law school professors - who have opined that Rihanna's own aggressiveness in the February 8 incident takes it out of the felony category.

Sources say that in fact, Rihanna was the first one to strike - slapping and striking Chris Brown "numerous times" while he was driving his rented sports car, after seeing the "booty call text message" he got from another woman.

Rihanna was fighting Brown as he punched, choked and threatened her. Much of this is even reflected in the police report based on what Rihanna told authorities.

As a result, some feel this is not a case that demands a felony plea.

Can Chris Brown possibly escape with no jail time?

On the flip side, there are plenty of cases in which the woman engages the man in a physical altercation but the jury convicts the male anyway, as it represents an unfair fight and the man could have simply walked away.

Brown did walk away - but only after beating her nearly unconscious.

The infamous photo of battered Rihanna - one less graphic than some which haven't been seen by the public, police say - proves Brown's superior strength.

Add to that the fact that Brown had no significant injuries and it presents problems for him. Perhaps even worse for Brown, sources tell TMZ Rihanna told cops he had beaten her before and his violent streak had been escalating.

Oh, according to the search warrant papers, Brown sent a text message to Rihanna's assistant in which he apologized for what did and said he was getting help.

That could be admissible and damaging in court - as a legal admission.