Britney’s wild ride left the troubled pop star car-less Monday night, after cops impounded her abandoned vehicle.

“Ms. Spears’s car was impounded,” Lt. David Grimes of the Los Angeles Police Department, West L.A. station, said – after a flat tire had caused the troubled pop star to leave her white Mercedes in the middle of the road in Brentwood, Calif.

“Officers on the scene told me it was blocking the roadway,” said Grimes, “and that it was unsafe enough to leave at the location.”

After she had left the car, Spears – who had ventured away from her Studio City home to go to a drugstore – was given a lift by a paparazzo who had been trailing her.

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After finally returning to her Studio City home from her forced hospitalization, Britney Spears ventured out in her car Monday evening, only to end up with a flat tire.

Driving her white Mercedes and accompanied by her assistant, Spears, 26, popped a tire in Brentwood after visiting a drug store.

With the paparazzi on her tail, she continued to drive with the flat a few miles down the road without her lights on, and even passed by a gas station.

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Dr. Phil McGraw’s visit with Britney in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center was instigated by her family shortly after the pop star was admitted to the facility, the TV therapist confirmed on CBS’s The Early Show Monday.

Saying he wished to set the record straight, McGraw said, “I went to see Britney at the request of her family, I talked to [her mother] Lynne, I talked to [her father] Jamie, I talked to Bryan, her brother. They were very frustrated that she apparently wasn’t going to be held for a longer period of time.”

Spears, 26, was hospitalized early the morning of Jan. 4 under California’s “5150 Hold,” in which she was deemed a danger to herself or others and could be held for 72 hours for evaluation. But Spears left the hospital on Saturday, well before the 72 hours. Patients can be released early if doctors determine they no longer require treatment or evaluation.

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Britney Spears tested free of illegal drugs and alcohol during her two-night stay at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, a reliable source tells People mag.

“She tested clean,” the source says. “This lady is as clean as clean can be, and has been for some time.”

The source adds the pop star never threatened suicide during the four-hour standoff at her Studio City home Jan. 3, saying such rumors were “bull—-.”

Source: People.com

Britney has done the impossible since her discharge early Saturday morning from Cedars-Sinai hospital: slipping out of her Beverly Hills home undetected despite the constant vigil of paparazzi and media outside.

Britney, accompanied by Finalpixx photographer Adnan Ghalib since a few hours after her release, popped into the Daily Grill in Palm Desert around 10 a.m. Sunday.

“She seemed in a really good mood, laughing with the guy she was with,” says the restaurant’s manager.

Spears shielded herself behind large, dark sunglasses and “had a champagne mimosa to drink,” he said.

She stayed at the restaurant about an hour, as Vegas Confidential’s Norm Clarke first reported.

Spears, 26, had been keeping company with Ghalib, 35, before her recent meltdown. The two checked into two hotels over the past couple of weeks, but he was not on hand Friday during her stay in Cedars-Sinai.

Source: People.com

Britney Spears has “suffered from a psychological disease for years,” says a source close to the singer.

Two separate sources who are acquaintances of the family believe the singer has never been formally diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but “there is no question she is bipolar … she’s had manic episodes for years.”

According to Dr. Diana Kirschner, who has not treated Spears but is an expert on the subject, “people who show patterns of behavior like Britney are suffering from a dual diagnosis. They have both a substance abuse problem and a bipolar disorder or manic disorder.” (In September, Spears was characterized by the court in her custody case to be a “habitual, frequent, and continuous” user of drugs, and was ordered to undergo random drug tests, but it’s unclear if any tests returned positive.)

Michael Cartwright, the founder of a high-end treatment center in Malibu, has said that based on media coverage of Spears’s behavior, she appears to have a drug and alcohol addiction and bipolar disorder. “She seems deeply ill to me,” he said last year, when Spears spent time in a rehab facility, the Promises Treatment Center in Malibu.

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As news of Britney’s latest problems became public, horrified family and friends watched the drama unfold along with the rest of the world. After a day of constant media attention, several of them spoke out to People Magazine, expressing concern for Britney, her family and her two sons.

“It was very upsetting yesterday, just worrying about it all day,” says Britney’s aunt, Linda Brandon-Kjos. “We’re all just hoping and praying she’s fine. She’s a sweet, sweet girl and people aren’t seeing that side of her.”

“She’s got to be reaching out for something and no one knows what it is,” adds former dance teacher Renee Donewar. “It is so sad that the people that are close to her can’t reach through to her.”

Doreen Seal, the mother of Jason Alexander, the man Britney married for 55 hours in 2004, expressed some reservations that the latest event was a turning point. “She has not hit rock bottom,” Seal says. “She needs help. If she doesn’t get help, I don’t think anybody wants to see the way this will end.

“When she was younger, she had her friends, her cousin and for the longest time, she had [ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake],” continues Seal. “Now, she has nobody.”

“All I can say is that Britney is a very sick girl,” says another family source. “The tragic thing is that Britney genuinely loves her children and would never knowingly put them in harm’s way. Her mental instability is getting in the way of her making proper judgment and it’s extremely unfortunate. Her family’s taking this situation very seriously though. I just hope people can respect the fact that she needs help and keep the harsh criticisms to themselves.”

Other friends offered support, but no advice. Britney’s former assistant, Felicia Culotta, simply says, “My heart and prayers are with her and her family.”

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“I witnessed Dr. Phil being incredibly influential in helping the family unite. … His meeting with Britney has certainly made a positive impact instilling seeds of encouragement and reality within her.”

- Britney Spears confidant Sam Lutfi, on the TV therapist’s involvement with the singer.

After keeping watch of his daughter at Cedars-Sinai hospital, Britney’s dad Jamie Spears broke into tears shortly after her discharge Saturday morning.

“Jamie was really upset,” a source tells People mag, “He was in tears. When he got to the house and realized the situation there, it broke him down.”

He and his eldest daughter have had a rocky relationship, but with his ex-wife Lynne and youngest daughter Jamie-Lynn traveling back home to Louisiana, he was the sole Spears family member on scene during her mental evaluation. “[Jamie] thought he understood what was going on,” the source adds, but now, “He doesn’t know what to do. Everyone is trying to figure out the best thing to do, but who knows what that is now.”

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Back home, Britney spent the early part of Saturday with dad Jamie after being released from Cedars-Sinai hospital, People.com has confirmed.

Spears left the Los Angeles medical facility Saturday via an underground tunnel and was accompanied by TV therapist Dr. Phil, according to etonline.com, who first reported the news.

A Cedars-Sinai spokesperson declined to comment, but Dr. Phil released a statement to ET saying: “My meeting with Britney and some family members this morning in her room at Cedars leaves me convinced more than ever that she is in dire need of both medical and psychological intervention.

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