Whitney Houston: Death an accidental drowning; cocaine found in system

For the saga of Whitney Houston's sudden death in February, a sad conclusion came on Thursday: An autopsy confirms accidental drowning as the official cause, and a screening revealed cocaine in the singer's system. 

L.A. County Chief Coroner Craig Harvey also confirmed marijuana, Xanax, Flexeril (a muscle relaxant) and Benadryl in Houston's system, though those drugs weren't connected to her death.

While the amount of cocaine Houston took is still being determined, the coroner's report said the drug "exacerbated her heart condition."

Just two days before this year's Grammy Awards telecast, Houston's body was discovered in her bathtub at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los Angeles. The music industry and fans worldwide mourned the singer for weeks, as did her famous peers.

Houston was survived by daughter Bobbi Kristina, who inherited her estate.  

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-- Matt Donnelly
twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Photo: Whitney Houston onstage during the taping of "25 Strong: The BET Silver Anniversary Celebration" in 2005. Credit: Vince Bucci / Getty Images

Gwyneth Paltrow denies she used ghostwriter for cookbook

Gwyneth Patlrow is swatting off reports that she used  a ghostwriter for her popular (and very personal) cookbook "My Father's Daughter."

This weekend, Paltrow took to Twitter to call out the New York Times' dining section for suggesting that the book, inspired by and dedicated to the memory of her late father, Bruce, was largely written by Julia Turshen. 

"Love @nytimes dining section but this weeks facts need checking. No ghost writer on my cookbook, I wrote every word myself," she tweeted on Saturday. 

In a piece from March 13 headlined "I Was a Cookbook Ghostwriter," the paper names Turshen as a writer on "Daughter" and says she's currently assigned to a second book with the "Contagion" actress. (Paltrow has confirmed a second cookbook in various interviews but not Turshen's involvement).

Paltrow detractors are pointing to a dedication to Turshen in "Daughter" that says Paltrow could "not have written this book without the tireless, artful assistance of Julia Turshen, who stood over my shoulder at the stove and chopping block for the better part of a year, bringing a method to my freestyling madness."

If you ask the Ministry, this sounds like Turshen assisted heavily in the creation of dishes and their relatability to the reader. Many of the sections (side dishes, entrees, a guide to stocking a pantry) are accompanied with sweeping narratives from Paltrow's own life. Then there's the text on ingredients and how to execute the recipes. Quite frankly, all that gray area crowds our palate. 

Tell us your thoughts on the cooking kerfuffle in comments. Or just stop talking and just cook the food already, like this delicious Baja style family dinner.

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-- Matt Donnelly
twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Photo: Gwyneth Paltrow attends the opening of Louis Vuitton - Marc Jacobs: The Exhibition at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris on March 7. Credit: Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images

 

Jennie Garth, Peter Facinelli deny 'hurtful' infidelity rumors

Recently separated pair Jennie Garth and Peter Facinelli are standing together on more than the care of their daughters. Both actors are speaking out about allegations of infidelity. 

Facinelli and Garth announced Tuesday that they mutually decided to end their 11-year marriage, with follow-up reports suggesting "Twilight Saga" star Facinelli was involved with another woman.

"There are rumors out there which are completely untrue and hurtful to our family," Garth and Facinelli said in a joint statement Wednesday. "We just want to make it very clear — there are no third parties involved."

The defunct couple previously expressed that they remain friends and will work together in raising their girls. Facinelli is a star of Showtime's "Nurse Jackie," and will release "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2" in November.

Garth, a fan favorite as Kelly Taylor on Aaron Spelling's original "90210," is currently involved in a children's literacy campaign. 

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— Matt Donnelly
twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Photo: Peter Facinelli and Jennie Garth in June 2010. Credit: Matt Sayles / Associated Press

 

Anne Hathaway: Meet my inner Lindsay Lohan

Anne Hathaway says she's more like Lindsay Lohan than we might assume — talk about a princess diary we'd like to read!

Do tell, Anne. The "Dark Knight Rises" actress made the reveal in an international interview, reflecting on life lessons she got from her mother and show business. 

"I never sit in judgment. Lindsay Lohan and I have more in common than people think," Hathaway teased to the Sun about her earlier years. 

"We've all done things we shouldn't. It is just that I did stuff at college when nobody knew about it. I'm not a saint. I wasted time doing self-destructive things. I found out you can only dance on so many table tops," she said. 

This missive from Annie is pretty well-timed for Lohan, given that LiLo's road to redemption begins this weekend with a hosting gig on "Saturday Night Live." 

Dream skit: Anne Hathaway in stuffy British character from the movie "One Day," advising Lohan as to the best table-tops on which to dance.

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— Matt Donnelly
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Photo: Anne Hathaway at the "One Day" premiere in New York in August 2011. Credit: Jemal Countess / Getty Images.

Lindsay Lohan: 'I'm beginning the process to prove myself'

Lindsay Lohan, a veteran of the sometimes bumpy road to redemption, is once again mounting a journey back to sobriety, accountability and perhaps box-office success.

Sitting down with the "Today" show in an interview that will air Thursday, Lohan discusses efforts in motion aimed at helping the industry and the public forgive her for a marathon of bad behavior.

Her first chance: hosting "Saturday Night Live" on March 3, with musical guest Jack White. 

"Do you think people have gotten back, or can get back to the point where they trust you?" anchor Matt Lauer asked about folks such as "SNL" honcho Lorne Michaels, who will need Lohan on point for the live show.

"I think that takes time," Lohan said, "and I think that it's actions. Because people can say things all they want, but I think I still need to go through the process of proving myself, you know, with 'SNL,' being on time, being, you know, keeping my -- can't say the word, but -- stuff together."

Indeed.

The second opportunity to turn it around: Being cast as Elizabeth Taylor in the forthcoming Lifetime movie "Liz and Dick," which will focus on Taylor's romance with Richard Burton.

"She's always been a fascinating woman to me. So I'm really honored. And I will not let anyone down, especially myself," she said. 

And her third chance? That would be with the law. Lohan is doing well, actually, in clearing up probation debacles from a 2007 DUI and that theft of a necklace last year. Her next hearing is March 29, and if she keeps her community service in order, she could be off the formal-probation hook. 

That road to redemption is much sweeter when you're making good time. 

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-- Matt Donnelly
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Photo: Lindsay Lohan attends Domingo Zapata's Oscar Art Show in Beverly Hills on Feb. 22. Credit: Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images

Amanda Knox lands book deal with reported seven-figure advance

Amanda Knox has landed herself a book deal, after numerous publishing houses battled for the rights to the American student's memoir.

Knox was cleared of murder in October in an Italian appellate court, after years of turmoil surrounding the death of Meredith Kurcher, Knox's roommate at a study-abroad program in Perugia, Italy. 

A tabloid sensation (and inevitable Lifetime movie), Knox and then-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were both convicted of the crime. The conviction was later overturned and both were released. 

Knox was shipped back to her sleepy hometown outside Seattle, where requests for explosive first interviews and this very book deal have been pouring in. No word from publisher HarperCollins on when the book will hit shelves, but the advance is reported to be in the seven-figure range. 

In terms of content, expect musings on her life before Kurcher's tragedy, her police questioning and life in the clink. Would you read Knox's book? Tell us in comments.

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-- Matt Donnelly
Twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Photo: Amanda Knox speks at a news conference shortly after her arrival home at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle in October. Credit: Elaine Thompson / Associated Press

Kris Humphries targets Kim Kardashian, reality TV in divorce duel

After a period of silence and some wristwatch-endorsing, Kris Humphries is emerging from his emotional locker room and looking to take down soon-to-be ex-wife Kim Kardashian -- and reality TV as a whole. 

Humphries and his divorce attorney are reportedly knocking on the doors of Kim, momager Kris Jenner and several E! executives and accusing the lot of fraud. 

Though Kim pulled the trigger last October and filed for divorce after only 72 days of marriage, Humphries filed a response in December asking for an annulment. Citing religious reasons for the request, the NBA player listed fraud as his grounds for marital dissolution. (She'd gone with "irreconcilable differences.)

Cut to the current season of "Kourtney & Kim Take New York," where Kris is heavily featured in a storyline about the couple's demise. Humphries reportedly intends to prove that some scenes were shot after their breakup to beef up the notion of Kim's unhappiness during the union. 

Still with us? Great. Kim is reportedly not cool with any of this. Especially her former man's request to have their divorce proceedings broadcast (so meta).

"A public trial is the last thing that Kim wants, and she has instructed her lawyer to formally petition the court so that the divorce can be heard by a mediator," a Kardashian source told the Radar Online. "She wants the mediation to be private, confidential, and legally binding. ... Kim just wants this over and done with."

How ugly is this going to get? Tell us in comments. 

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-- Matt Donnelly
Twitter.com/MattDonnelly

Left photo: Kim Kardashian. Credit: Sam Morris / Getty Images

Right photo: Kris Humphries. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas / US Presswire

Demi Moore plot thickens: Pursuing Zac Efron, fountain of youth?

Demi Moore isn't having the best week, as far as newsstands are concerned. The actress has reportedly been battling massive insecurity with age and weight, as well as chasing young things like Zac Efron.

After her January hospitalization, allegedly thanks to a bad reaction to nitrous oxide and a smoke inhalant, reports are charging the "Margin Call" star with massive insecurities surrounding the breakdown of her marriage — all leading to this current crisis.

"She's been really down, and she's surrounding herself with young people to make her feel better," Us magazine cites one source as saying.

And by "surrounding" the report suggests Moore "tracked down" 24-year-old actor Zac Efron for companionship. This proposed hunt led to a party in L.A.'s Venice Beach neighborhood, prior to Moore's medical treatment. 

"As Demi got older, she convinced herself that she needed to stay young and skinny to remain attractive to her husband," People magazine added to the party, via their own inside source.

"[She] was always fixated on being young. And the only thing that tied her to that, as she got older, was her marriage to a younger guy and hanging around young people."

Following the hospital visit, Moore's rep said she would seek "professional assistance to treat her exhaustion and improve her overall health." On the work front, Moore was replaced by Sarah Jessica Parker in the adult film biopic "Lovelace."

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— Matt Donnelly
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Photo: Demi Moore attends the premiere of "Margin Call" in New York on Oct. 17, 2011. Credit: Peter Kramer / AP Photo

Mark Wahlberg's 9/11 gaffe: 'I was there to talk about the movie'

Mark Wahlberg has apologized and apologized again for ill-considered remarks about what he might do if he were on one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

On Friday, the "Contraband" star put a little context around his remarks, and his apologies -- and described the role of the journalist who conducted the interview in question.

"Because of the fact that I had a reservation on one of those flights, it's always a topic of conversation," Walhberg noted in a chat with WPLJ-95.5 radio's morning team, coming off 13 hours of work.

This past week, with the release of promotional blurbs for the Men's Journal interview in which he made the comments, "I got blindsided by the fact that people thought I was being disrespectful to the victims of 9/11 and that was, to me, a horrific thing and i wanted to address it right away," Wahlberg said. Hence, the quick apologies.

The gaffe, for those who missed it? "If I was on that plane with my kids," Wahlberg told the magazine, "it wouldn't have went down like it did. There would have been a lot of blood in that first-class cabin and then me saying, 'OK, we're going to land somewhere safely, don't worry.'"

So how did those ill-considered words make their way out of his mouth?

"I've got this journalist who's asking all the questions, and I'm trying to promote a movie and he's asking me, you know, about sex and this and that and I'm like, dude, I've got a wife and four kids and this is not appropriate. ... It wasn't a Q&A, it wasn't like all of a sudden I decided I was going to get on this soapbox and talk about my opinion about 9/11. I was there to talk about the movie," Wahlberg explained.

Before the radio interview aired, several families of 9/11 victims told the New York Post they thought an apology was great, but that Wahlberg should use the opportunity to publicly visit the 9/11 Memorial and possibly help with fundraising for the memorial and museum.

On Wednesday, Wahlberg told TMZ, "To speculate about such a situation is ridiculous to begin with," adding, "I deeply apologize to the families of the victims that my answer came off as insensitive, it was certainly not my intention."

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— Christie D'Zurilla
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Photo: Mark Wahlberg at the 69th Golden Globe Awards show Sunday. Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Sandra Bullock lured back to acting, felt 'permanently broken ... time-wise'

This post has been corrected, as indicated below.

Sandra Bullock is opening up about the time following the implosion of her marriage to Jesse James, a time, she said, when she thought she'd never return to acting. 

"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" lured her back on set, but not without some persuasion from director Stephen Daldry.

Bullock had been at the center of the 2010 scandal that saw James' repeated infidelities revealed just days after her best actress Oscar win for "The Blind Side."

REVIEW: "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

"I was perfectly content to be permanently broken," she said. Recognizing how that might sound in print, she smiles at the unintended hint of her personal turmoil, and adds "time-wise" to clarify the break as one from moviemaking.

"I honestly didn't think I was in a place where I wanted to work or wanted to step out of where I was. ... I wasn't prepared. But the opportunity was louder than my head," Bullock told the Associated Press' Jake Coyle.

That loud opportunity was actually "Extremely Loud," a 9/11 drama costarring Tom Hanks. Daldry, director of "The Hours" and "The Reader," made a house call to Bullock to rope her into the job.

"I needed a partner in the project, somebody that would be a leading lady and look after me, look after herself, look after the character," he said.

Bullock, awesomely aware of the indulgent nature of movie-star struggles, said she now feels gratitude for being pulled from her personal storm.

 "So we had a great time. It's no longer 'selfish actress' in the moment," she said. "I wanted to have an amazing time with him and, fortunately, Mr. Daldry presented it. In every possible way, it was the best!"

[For the record, 11:35 a.m., Dec. 28: This post and its headline originally referenced the quote "permanently broken" from Bullock's interview with the Associated Press. During that interview, Bullock next added the word "time-wise." The full paragraph from that AP story has been included above for clarification, and the word "time-wise" has been added to the headline.]

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-- Matt Donnelly
twitter.com/MattDonnelly

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: Sandra Bullock at the 2010 Academy Awards. Credit: Evan Agostini / Associated Press