Developing Stories

Just 4 days after Casey Anthony was released from jail ... her parents were kickin' it in the Bahamas ... and went swimming with dolphins -- and for once, there's hard evidence to back up the story.

George and Cindy Anthony went swimming at Dolphin Cay at the Atlantis resort on July 21 ... and spent all sorts of quality time smiling and making kissy faces with a dolphin named Hercules.

As for Casey ... we're told she was not part of the tropical vacation -- but as TMZ first reported, she did enjoy a Corona minutes after she was released from the pokey.

Margera says he was racing his neighbor up a set of stairs ... and promised the guy he could have one of Bam's skateboards if he won -- but, "Somehow I wound up tumbling down the stairs."

Bam explains, "I tackled my neighbor and fell down the stairs horsing around. I’m still in the hospital."

At first glance, the pics seem to back up reports the Chicago Bears QB was the one who did the dumping ... because why the hell would K-Cav put herself through the misery of a wedding shoot if she was contemplating breaking off the engagement???

The bidding has gone crazy ... we're hearing the bidding for a Casey interview was over $1.5 million.

Now ABC News has just released a statement, saying it will no longer pay for photos and video in exchange for interviews.

The announcement comes days after TMZ published a story ... that Casey's lawyer, Jose Baez, was holed up in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City, taking bids from NBC, ABC and CBS. As we reported, Baez was in the Hotel bar Thursday night, discussing strategy with famed lawyer Mark Geragos.

Our sources say all three networks were offering the same deal -- they would pay a fortune to license photos and video from Casey. Short story -- it's a dishonest way of saying they don't pay for interviews.

We're told NBC -- which paid for Baez' hotel room -- was leading the pack in the Casey bidding war, even though the Network denied it was offering any money for an interview -- which is technically correct.

In its statement, ABC says, "We can book just about anyone based on the strength of our journalism."

Sure they can.

Lohan rolled over to Hilton's beach pad for a small shindig with some of Paris' close friends ... including her sister Nicky, actress Emma Roberts and "Inception" star Lukas Haas.

One source at the party tells us, "Everyone was so surprised when Lindsay walked in and we thought they didn’t get along. But they immediately gave each other a big hug."

The gang kicked it on the beach, in Paris' hot tub and later had a mini dance party ... but not once did anyone see Lindsay take a sip of alcohol.

We're told Paris is "very excited" about rekindling her friendship with Lohan ... adding, "She LOVED seeing her again."

We don't know what her official answer is -- but based on her reaction, we can take a guess.

Marvin's mom Diana Page tells us, "He’s a good son and not capable of this type of behavior. He was a good worker. He takes care of his family."

Diana adds, "He’s a good father, he’s compassionate, and he has a healthy relationship with Dorene" -- Marvin's girlfriend -- who was also arrested in connection with the brutal attack of Stow.

According to Diana, "[Marvin] and his father used to have opposing views regarding sports teams, and they used to tease each other, but it never, ever got heated."

As we first reported, sources connected with Arnold told us ... although he signed his legal response, he never read it and therefore didn't know his lawyer moved to block Maria's bid to get spousal support and her attorney's fees paid by him.

But according to the new docs, Arnold is not asking the judge to block either of Maria's requests.

Katherine, La Toya, Jackie, Tito and Marlon all attended a press conference today to announce the show in Cardiff, Wales on October 8. Katherine said it would be a "world-class event."

But Jermaine and Randy don't see it that way -- releasing their own statement against the concert, saying, "We find it impossible to support an event that is due to take place during the criminal trial surrounding Michael's death ... We feel it is inappropriate to be involved with such an ill-timed event."

As TMZ first reported, Kim filed suit against Old Navy because she felt they were trying to intentionally deceive people into thinking she was a spokeswoman for the company by using a girl who looked just like her in their commercials.

But our sources say ... the suit was filed because Sears felt the Old Navy commercial compromised its ad campaign for the Kardashian Kollection -- an exclusive line of clothing and bedding that launches in about a month and a half.

We're told Sears execs actually questioned if Kim was part of the Old Navy ads. The company feels the ad creates confusion in the marketplace and that happens to be exactly what Kim needs to prove to win her suit.

Bottom line -- Kim doesn't care about KK wannabes ... but she cares a lot about a deal that could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

TMZ has learned ... George and Cindy Anthony reached out to the band's reps this week after hearing the song, "She's Going Places" -- which lead singer Gary LeVox (right) co-wrote with another singer named Cledus T. Judd.

But the band isn't exactly in a hurry to respond -- a rep for Rascal Flatts tells us the band is mulling it over and has yet to decide if they'll meet up with the Anthonys.

If you haven't heard the song, the lyrics are pretty heartrending -- "She was just a baby, barely 2 years old / A story that shouldn’t have to be told" -- so if you're in the mood to tear up, take a listen.

Chris Goodman, a friend and rep for Winehouse, explained, "She was in her bedroom after saying she wanted to sleep and when he went to wake her he found she wasn't breathing."

They were spotted on Friday evening doing a little shopping at Señor Frogs in Nassau.

TMZ broke the story ... Anthony's lawyer, Jose Baez, was holed up at the swanky Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City, negotiating with NBC, ABC and CBS for the first sit-down. And, as we reported, Baez was in the Hotel bar Thursday night, getting tips from high-profile lawyer Mark Geragos on how to negotiate the best deal.

NBC gave a statement to the New York Post, saying, "We've talked with Baez about getting an interview with Casey Anthony, but only under NBC News standards and conditions -- no payment, and absolutely no job offers for any member of her defense team."

Read carefully -- NBC is saying "no payment," but it refers to an "interview." That doesn't cover paying huge money for pictures, video, etc. That's S.O.P. in the network game -- and we're told that's one of the issues Geragos covered with Baez.