Neil Patrick Harris, Rob Reiner and Busy Philipps host a fundraiser reception at The Hollywood Museum for one of L.A.'s oldest children's charities; Anne Heche helps open this year's International Beverly Hills Film Festival with a screening of one of the first feature films to be fully shot in post-invasion Afghanistan; Emmanuelle Chriqui and Peter Facinelli shop for charity on West 3rd Street; Luke Perry shows up to Nick Santora's book launch party at the Grove; despite the gloomy weather, Wednesday saw plenty of L.A.'s stars out and about. Read all about it in this edition of Last Night's Parties. More»

• VIDEO: A shwasted Charlie Sheen swaggers out of the Guns N' Roses Friday night show in Hollywood asking the same question we all have: "WHERE'S SLASH??" Then he got political and shouted, "Palin in o-twelve!!" before being whisked away in his town car. [TMZ]
• As part of the reconstruction of the Mulholland Bridge project, the 405 freeway southbound lanes will be closed from the 101 to Getty Center Drive tonight and Tuesday night, northbound lanes to close Wednesday and Thursday night. [KABC]

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• It's Groundhog Day and Punxsutawney Phil, the famous Pennsylvania groundhog that humans think can predict the behavior of seasons, apparently saw his shadow this morning which is supposed to mean the U.S. will have six more weeks of winter. [KTLA]
• Washington State Senate passes a bill to legalize same-sex marriage which the House and Governor Chris Gregoire are expected to approve and sign into law. [HuffPo]

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• Former Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger on the run since 1994 as one the FBI's most wanted for over 15 years arrested, found living a normal, open life with girlfriend on 3rd Street in Santa Monica. [LATimes]
• President Obama announces Afghanistan troop withdrawal plans, 5,000 to return this summer, another 5,000 by the end of 2011, another 20,000 to return by September 2012, leaving 70,000 troops in the region. [KABC]
• Head of Wimbledon Ian Ritchie says fans are put off by female tennis pros loud grunting (ahem, Venus and Maria) and it's spoiling the game. [HuffPo]
• Toxicology reports and an autopsy reveal Ryan Dunn's blood alcohol level was over twice the legal limit at .196 while driving at 130 MPH when he crashed his Porsche killing himself and passenger Zachary Hartwell. [PE]
• Lindsay Lohan tests positive for alcohol while on house arrest, L.A. County Probation Department wants her jailed, due in court today to appear in before Judge Stephanie Sautner. [TMZ]

• The most ghetto airline is finally offering rates commensurate with the Southwest Airlines flight experience in honor of its 40th birthday, with airfares on their hooptie crafts as low as $40. Justice? [KTLA]
• After a decade of fighting a war in Afghanistan and over 13,000 U.S. casualties, President Obama is expected to outline his plans tonight to withdraw troops. [KABC]
• Chinese government claims to have released outspoken Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, detained in April for alleged tax crimes, on bail for his "good attitude" despite his family having no knowledge of his whereabouts or a release. [Telegraph]
• I said it before and I'll say it again: Mother Nature is seriously menopausal and may decide to put SoCal heatwave temps in the triple digits this week. [LATimes]
• Hey ladies, George Clooney ditched that Elisabetta Canalis chick who was totally messing up my vibe and is single, so feel free to get in line behind me. [PE]

• The Obama administration is weighing a sharper draw out of troops from Afghanistan than it had planned. [NYT]
• One of Argentina's top polo players has formed an alliance with a US genetics lab to create clones of his top polo horses. [Guardian] More»

• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) calls for a bill that will require the administration to give definitive dates for the withdrawal phases and completion of U.S. forces in Afghanistan [HuffPo]
• Japanese government warns those within 20 miles of the Fukushima nuclear plant to stay indoors as dangerous levels of radiation emanate from compromised reactors [LATimes]
• Alice Cooper, Tom Waits and a severely disoriented and jet-lagged Neil Diamond inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [PE]
• Blink 182's Mark Hoppus auctions off his valuable mementos like music video wardrobe, dressing room memorabilia and hand-written song lyrics to raise funds for tsunami relief [TMZ]
• CA DMV extends validity of temporary drivers licenses from 60 to 90 days due to an extreme backlog of completed license renewals [DN]

• America still hates BP, and is re-writing the rules to allow the family members of those killed or injured in the BP explosion to receive more compensation [HuffPo]
• USAID workers killed in Afghanistan after suicide bombers attack compound.  Attach took place at a D.C. based firm's stronghold [WashPo]
• Mel Gibson is, for lack of a better term, a piece of shit [PerezHilton]
• When people over think Twitter: Politico slams Obama's health care initiative's Twitter account for liking Diddy too much.  And, Politico doesn't do its homework: it's just Diddy, not P. Diddy.  Didn't they get the press release? [Gawker]
• No one is safe these days.  Not even Chelsea Clinton can keep the deets of her impending nuptials a secret [NYMag]

• Forget liquid gold--Afghanistan's got the real thing [HuffPo]
• So far, Strasburg and strike outs synonymous [ESPN]
• Obama heads South to survey BP's damage, will address nation Tuesday night [NYT]
• Fenty boo'd from all corners of DC [WashPo]
• Guest of a Guest NY shout out in Page 6 [NYPost]