ESTRANGED WIFE: DE NIRO'S ON DRUGS

It's pretty bitter around the De Niro household lately. Robert De Niro and
his estranged wife, Grace Hightower, the mother of the actor's 3-year-old
son, Elliot, stood before Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Judith Gische this
week in the latest round of their custody battle.

"The only issues that the parties have any dispute about are child-related
issues," the jurist said in the courtroom. "All other issues are resolved."

Both parents were in court on Tuesday for the hearing, in which Hightower
charged that the star should undergo drug testing, reports New York's Daily
News. The charge was blasted by De Niro's spokesman, Stan Rosenfield, after
the hearing.

"Mr. De Niro does not have a drug problem," Rosenfield told the News. "Drug
tests are not necessary."

Meanwhile, De Niro, 57, claims that Hightower, 48, fractured one of his
ribs in a skirmish aboard the yacht of Latin singer Marc Anthony last May.

The judge ended up praising both parties before the end of Tuesday's
hearing for their having settled some of their issues by themselves,
reports The New York Post, though she also ordered a mental-health expert
to meet with both parents and help resolve the custody battle.