Nitrous oxide: Demi Moore collapse focuses attention on whip-its

Nitrous oxide may or may not have been involved in the collapse and hospitalization this week of celebrity Demi Moore -- media reports have varied -- but those reports nonetheless seem to have caused many people to pause and ask one question: "What is nitrous oxide?"

"Nitrious oxide" and "Demi Moore" were two of the hottest Google search terms Thursday morning, a one-two punch that's drawing back the curtain on a drug that hasn't quite made its way into the nation's drug spotlight as have marijuana, cocaine and heroin.

Nitrous oxide belongs to a category of drugs known as inhalants and is more commonly known by its street names: whip-its, poppers or snappers. The chemical vapor is "huffed," or intentionally inhaled, by users, triggering mind-altering sensations resembling extreme alcohol intoxication, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The problem? Nitrous oxide -- and other inhalants -- can fry your brain.

"By displacing air in the lungs, inhalants deprive the body of oxygen, a condition known as hypoxia. Hypoxia can damage cells throughout the body, but the cells of the brain are especially sensitive to it," the institute says.

It adds: "If sufficient amounts are inhaled, nearly all solvents and gases produce a loss of sensation, and even unconsciousness. Irreversible effects can be hearing loss, limb spasms, central nervous system or brain damage, or bone marrow damage. Sniffing high concentrations of inhalants may result in death from heart failure or suffocation (inhalants displace oxygen in the lungs)."

The high from nitrious oxide and other inhalants is fleeting, lasting just a few minutes at most. That can lead to extended huffing sessions, creating even more risk.

The tabloids will no doubt make much of this factoid: Nitrous oxide is considered a young person's drug, mainly because many inhalants -- not just nitrous oxide -- are cheap and plentiful. (Cleaning fluids, hair spray and the like are also huffed.)

In 2009, 2.1 million Americans age 12 and older had abused inhalants such as nitrous oxide, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. A 2010 study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that 8.1% of eighth-graders had abused inhalants at least once in the year prior to being surveyed.

Moore, 49, was hospitalized after paramedics rushed to her home near Benedict Canyon on Monday night. She has been in the news of late amid the spectacular crash-and-burn of her marriage to Ashton Kutcher, 33,  following allegations of infidelity on his part.

As for the conflicting media accounts linking nitrous oxide to Moore, TMZ offered an unconfirmed report that directly contradicts the statement that Moore's representatives told The Times this week. They said the actress was suffering from simple exhaustion. 

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Photo: A silver canister containing nitrous oxide. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

-- Rene Lynch

Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel seeks reduced murder sentence

Michael Skakel, the Kennedy family cousin  convicted of the murder of a teenage girl more than 25 years after the killing, goes before a Connecticut court Tuesday in hopes of having his sentence reduced.

Skakel was convicted in 2002 and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison for beating Martha Moxley to death with a golf club in 1975, when they were neighbors in the tony suburb of Greenwich, Conn. Skakel, who is a nephew of Robert F. Kennedy's widow, Ethel Kennedy, was 15 at the time of the crime, as was the victim.

The Halloween eve killing confounded police for decades, prompting allegations that the Kennedy family's clout had hampered the investigation. Skakel was 41 by the time he was convicted. His trial relied on circumstantial evidence and featured recollections of former Skakel classmates who testified about incriminating statements the defendant had made years earlier.

Skakel, who has always maintained his innocence, failed in a 2010 attempt to get his conviction overturned by the Connecticut Supreme Court after the justices said his allegations that two other men could be responsible were not credible. He also has alleged that his first defense attorney was incompetent.

The Hartford Courant reported that Skakel's attorneys would offer several arguments to a three-judge panel in Middletown, Conn., including the position that because Skakel was a juvenile when the crime was committed, he should have been sentenced under laws that capped juvenile sentences.

-- Tina Susman in New York

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Photo: Michael Skakel is escorted from court after a hearing on Aug. 17, 2000, before his trial in the slaying of Martha Moxley 27 years before.. Credit: Michael McAndrews / Hartford Courant

Steven Tyler take heart: Why the national anthem bedevils so many

Steven Tyler, you are not alone. "Fiendish" is how one expert describes the national anthem. "The Star-Spangled Banner," a song that American schoolchildren learn and sing with regularity, is notoriously difficult -- striking fear in the hearts of even the most-seasoned performers.

The song requires remarkable dramatic range of its performers -- a full octave and a half, explained  Brian Zeger, artistic director for vocal arts at the famed Juilliard School in New York City. "Even most operatic arias don't encompass such a range," he said, adding that most popular songs require less than an octave's range.

"It's incredibly hard to sing. It has an incredibly wide range. You need an incredibly strong low voice and an incredibly strong high voice as well," he said.

Photos: Bungled 'Star-Spangled Banner' performances 

It's something that Tyler, the Aerosmith frontman and "American Idol" judge, has learned the hard way, turning in what some said was a screechy, pitchy version of the song before Sunday's AFC Championship game.

It marks the second time that Tyler has been taken to task for his "Star-Spangled Banner" duties, and he joins an ever-growing list of celebrities who have found themselves taking heat for their performances.

Steven Tyler's national anthem: Worst ever? [Poll]

We asked Zeger to break this "fiendish" song down for us:

First off, "The Star-Spangled Banner" starts low and quiet ("Oh, say can you see...") and builds to full-volumed, full-lunged, skyscraper-high notes ("O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave / O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?"). That's challenging for anyone.

But most troubling, Zeger said, is that the high note in "free" requires the singer to ramp up on an "e" vowel. That's actually quite rare in music, he said.

And then there's the unfamiliar language that we've all memorized -- but that's incredibly easy to forget when, say, singing at the Super Bowl. Blame all those O'ers and thro's. And really, does anyone know what "ramparts" are? (They're protective walls surrounding a fort -- but we had to look it up.)

"The Star-Spangled Banner" has an unusual history, according to Scout Songs. It started out as a poem written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 titled "Defense of Fort McHenry." It was turned into a song by adding the somewhat modified tune of John Stafford Smith's "The Anacreontic Song." The song was retitled at that time as "The Star-Spangled Banner," and Congress proclaimed it the U.S. national anthem in 1931.

"It has bedeviled singers ever since," Zeger said.

The song's unusual history is partly to blame for the song's difficulty, said Zeger, who stressed that he means no disrespect to the artists involved. But usually, a song's words and music are written together from the start. In this case, the song and the music were forced to become one, creating some vocal challenges where "music and words don't fit very well together," he said.

If there's anything to be thankful for, it's that we all sing only an abbreviated version of the song. It actually goes on for four stanzas.

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-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

Elizabeth Smart -- kidnapping survivor -- getting married

Elizabeth Smart is getting married. And when she does, she'll have a nation wishing her happily ever after.

Smart was a Salt Lake City 14-year-old when she was kidnapped from her home in the middle of the night by a self-proclaimed prophet and street preacher, and then raped repeatedly during nine months of captivity.

The nation was first riveted by the news of her rescue, then by her poise as the teenager testified against the captors who had threatened to kill her and her family if she did not comply with their demands.

Smart's testimony led to lengthy prison terms for the man who abducted her, Brian David Mitchell, and his companion who helped cover it up, Wanda Barzee.

Smart, a senior at Brigham Young University, has become an outspoken advocate for kidnap victims.

Her father confirmed the engagement to People magazine, but refused to divulge a wedding date, the name of the groom or other details, saying that the family wanted privacy.

(Note to the soon-to-be newlyweds: If you want privacy, don't register at Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma under your real names. Or else the Salt Lake Tribune will write about it, with a story that starts, "Break out the Martinelli's" because Smart is a devout Mormon.)

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--Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

File photo: Elizabeth Smart on the steps of the state Capitol building in Salt Lake City. Credit: Kristin Murphy / Deseret News

Mark Wahlberg apologizes for 'irresponsible' 9/11 comments

Mark Wahlberg has learned the hard way: Just leave 9/11 alone.

The star of the new movie "Contraband" found himself starring in a 9/11 controversy this week when he revealed that he had been scheduled to fly on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center -- and suggested that he could have single-handedly prevented the tragedy.

"If I was on that plane with my kids, 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.'"

The comments, made to Men's Journal in a cover story article, met with swift criticism. It seemed especially cruel considering that the passengers on another hijacked jetliner -- United Flight 93 -- did indeed rise up against the terrorists, sacrificing their own lives and crash-landing near Shanksville, Pa., rather than allow the plane to fly into a target in the nation's capital.

Now, Wahlberg is trying to leave those 9/11 magazine comments on the cutting room floor, telling TMZ, "I deeply apologize to the families of the victims that my answer came off as insensitive, it was certainly not my intention."

He added: "To suggest I would have done anything differently than the passengers on that plane was irresponsible."

Many Americans likely tried to put themselves in that 9/11 scenario, imagining themselves getting the upper hand or taking revenge on the terrorists. But for Wahlberg to suggest that he could have somehow single-handedly stopped the hijacking, and then landed the plane safely in Manhattan (perhaps a la Captain Sully Sullenberger)? For many people, that was just too much.

And so Wahlberg become the latest celebrity to wade into treacherous 9/11 waters. Among them: Tony Bennett, Rosie O'Donnell and Jesse Ventura. 

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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar named U.S. global cultural ambassador

-- Rene Lynch

Photo: Mark Wahlberg. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times 

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar named U.S. global cultural ambassador

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA Hall of Famer and Laker legend who continues to reign as the league's all-time leading scorer, transcends basketball with his latest gig: global cultural ambassador.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made the appointment Wednesday, tasking Abdul-Jabbar with engaging young people worldwide and "using people-to-people diplomacy as a means to create opportunities for greater understanding."

First up is a trip to Brazil, where Abdul-Jabbar "will lead conversations with young people on the importance of education, social and racial tolerance, cultural understanding, and using sports as a means of empowerment," according to the secretary of State's website. And, of course, there will be basketball clinics.

Compare that with Abdul-Jabbar's website, where he says he is honored for the appointment and adds: "My first assignment will be in Brazil, a country that I’m thrilled to visit. The culture there is so vibrant and engaging. I’m a big jazz fan and Brazilian jazz is a very popular part of the nation's cultural profile. I think I’ll get a chance to sample some of the current jazz on this trip. And of course there’s basketball. I’ll be involved putting on some clinics for the local hoopsters! All in all this is going to be a fun and exciting trip both educationally and culturally."

Abdul-Jabbar is an intriguing choice for cultural ambassador. He was born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. and raised Roman Catholic in New York City. He later changed his name and converted to Islam.

Although he was a superstar on the court, he continues to be a powerhouse off of it, promoting social justice as well as African American history.

Among his post-NBA career projects: the acclaimed 2011 documentary "On the Shoulders of Giants," starting the Skyhook Foundation to help children through sports and schooling, and his new book, "What Color Is My World? The Lost History of African-American Inventors."

He has also received a Lincoln Medal for continuing Abraham Lincoln's legacy through commitment to education and equality.

In accepting the appointment, Abdul-Jabbar may have triggered some lighthearted controversy.

The 7-foot-2 Abdul-Jabbar was bearing gifts when his appointment was announced. First was a Lakers jersey bearing his now-retired number 33, which could double as a nightgown for the secretary of State.

"I’m not going to be able to keep that away from my husband, you know," she said, drawing laughter.

Abdul-Jabbar then gave Clinton a copy of his book, "For when you start to read to your grandchildren."

"Well, let us hope. From your lips to God’s ears, right?" Clinton said, also to laughter.

"I hope that Chelsea doesn’t mind me putting that pressure on her," Abdul-Jabbar responded.

"Yeah, well, I won’t say a word. And I’m sure my friends won’t either." More laughter, of course.

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-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

Photo: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton accepts gifts from Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the announcement of his appointment as U.S. global ambassador. Credit: Michael Gross / U.S. State Department

Tucson zoo fight involves elephants, Bob Barker

Connie is an Asian elephant, Shaba an African one. Nonetheless, they formed a bond, paling around together for three decades at Tucson’s Reid Park Zoo.

So when zoo officials announced plans last year to move Connie to the San Diego Zoo –- without her buddy Shaba -– animal activists were enraged.

The Tucson zoo was planning to bring in a herd of African elephants from San Diego, the Arizona Daily Star reported. Because zoo accreditation standards demand that new herds not mix African and Asian elephants, "due to multiple species differences and possible disease transmission issues," Connie would join other Asian elephants in San Diego.

But local activists Tracy Toland and Jessica Shuman considered the separation cruel. It “defies everything we know about elephants: their intelligence, profoundly deep social bonds (females remain with their mothers for life) and the capacity for deep emotion,” they wrote in the Daily Star.

The women launched a campaign to keep Connie, 44, and Shaba, 31, together and added some celebrity sizzle to the debate. At their behest, former “Price Is Right” host and well-known animal advocate Bob Barker recently offered to contribute $500,000 to send the elephants to a California sanctuary if others could raise matching funds.

This week, Tucson zoo officials reversed course, announcing that Connie and Shaba could both move to San Diego, the Daily Star said. Turns out, San Diego’s Asian elephant herd already has an African member, so Connie and Shaba’s cross-species kinship will fit right in.

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--Ashley Powers in Las Vegas
Twitter.com/ashleypowers

Photo: Some African elephants at San Diego Zoo's Safari Park, shown here in a July photo, are destined for Tucson's Reid Park Zoo. Credit: Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times

Paula Deen: Public critical, 'Dancing With the Stars' intrigued

Paula Deen is in unfamiliar territory: The Queen of Butter is feeling the heat after she revealed this week that she kept her Type-2 diabetes secret while continuing to serve up the rich foods that some say led to the disease.

Not helping matters? She disclosed her illness while simultaneously announcing she's repping a diabetes drug. Reaction was swift, and almost universally negative toward Deen, who's much more accustomed to a warm reaction from the fans who swarm her wherever she goes. Here's a sampling from Twitter:

--"the paula deen thing is horrible. she waits 3 yrs, now is a sponsor for her meds? the world needs better people to teach them how to cook"

--"After years of promoting unhealthy foods, Paula Deen has won a sweet gig as a pharmaceutical spokeswoman. Pass the butter."

Perhaps it's no surprise that celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain also got in a little dig. Although he denies calling Deen a "diabetic scam artist" as TMZ's headline screamed, he did offer up this tart Twitter take on Deen's actions:

"Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business, so I can profitably sell crutches later."

Bourdain, of course, once famously called Deen the ''most dangerous person to America" for proudly serving up food that she knows is bad for viewers.

Not everyone is bashing Deen. Time magazine's Healthland blog offers a thoughtful reality check about the multiple factors that lead to Type 2 diabetes, quoting Constance Brown-Riggs, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, as saying, "It’s an oversimplification to say that her cooking brought about her diabetes."

And in this "knock-'em-down-so-we-can-build-'em-back-up" media-and-entertainment world we live in, there's this new development: HollywoodLife.com says it has exclusively confirmed that ABC producers are trying to lure Deen onto Season 14 of its hit show, "Dancing With the Stars." (Would it be snarky to suggest that ABC might also be hoping for a little Novo Nordisk ad buy? OK, forget we said anything.)  

A representative for Deen said she wasn't available for comment this week, but might be available next week.

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-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

Photo: Paula Deen. Credit: Carlo Allegri/Associated Press

For sale: Hearse that carried John F. Kennedy's body in Dallas

An auto auction company in Scottsdale, Ariz., plans to sell a 1964 Cadillac hearse that company executives say transported the body of President Kennedy after he was assassinated in Dallas. The car was used to take the body from Parkland Memorial Hospital to Love Field Airport, where Air Force One was waiting to return it to Washington.

The Barrett-Jackson company has posted photos of the hearse on its website, along with a history of the vehicle.

The hearse was the first 1964 model built by Miller-Meteor Co. of Ohio, and it was the show car at the National Funeral Directors Assn. convention. Funeral home director Vernon O’Neal purchased it there in October 1963, a month before the assassination.

In the late 1960s, the O’Neal funeral home went out of business, and the hearse was sold. About a decade later, the title passed to Arrdeen Vaughan, now a hearse dealer in Texas. Vaughan restored the hearse and put it up for auction in 2007 at the Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook, Texas.

Vaughan set an asking price of $1 million, and stuck to it, turning down a bid of more than $900,000.

When the hearse was put on the block again in 2009, the high bid was only $165,000 and was not accepted. The current owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, is being represented at this week's auction by Mesa, Ariz.-based Desert Autosport.

"It is titled to us and we have copies of the previous titles," the owner says on the auction website.

Until recently, the hearse was listed on eBay for $1.5 million, according to a post on the Antique Automobile Club of America’s website. Barrett-Jackson has no asking price set for the hearse, meaning there will be no minimum starting bid.

The Times spoke with Steve Lichtman, who serves on the board of directors of the Lafayette, N.J.-based Professional Car Society. The association has about 1,200 members, many of whom have been awaiting the auction of the hearse.

How do we know this is the actual hearse that transported Kennedy's body?

We have kept track of this car over the years. People have seen it; they know that it has the correct serial number. Various members of the club have seen it, and the history is correct. We know who has owned it and where it has been.

Does it look the way it did back then?

A collector -- a member of our club -- owned it after the second funeral home painted it a brown, sort of a dark gold color, and he repainted it white and restored it in the 1990s.

There was some debate when this same car auction company sold an ambulance that it said had transported Kennedy after the assassination. Some people believed the real vehicle had already been destroyed in a junkyard. Was the ambulance authentic?

Unlike the hearse, the ambulance was government-owned, and we had to track down its ultimate demise. There was ample evidence that the ambulance had been crushed and destroyed.

How did you confirm that?

We contacted the Sixth Floor Museum [in Dallas] for archival information on both vehicles. Last year, we also contacted the Kennedy Library, which had signed affidavits.

When I spoke to the woman there, I said, "What would seal the deal is if we had a picture of the ambulance in he crusher.” She said, "Give me 15 minutes," and it was in my inbox.

Who ended up buying the ambulance?

It was bought by a museum and put on display in Grand Junction, Colo.

But you're pretty convinced that the hearse is authentic?

Members of the club have photographed the hearse over the years. This really is the correct car. I'm willing to say when it's wrong, but also when it's right. 

How much do you think people will bid for it?

It's hard to say the value. The value that is going to come with it is the value that people place on a collectible that relates to President Kennedy’s assassination.

There's nothing to compare it to. It’s going to be a wait-and-see thing what the value is.

Will the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination make a difference in terms of the hearse's significance to collectors?

I'm not sure. There are a lot of us that feel this is sort of a morbid reminder of the assassination. It may be something that people may not want. But clearly there would be antique car museums interested.

What happened to the convertible Kennedy was riding in when he was shot?

The convertible is at the Henry Ford museum in Michigan. It was modified after the assassination by the Secret Service with a hardtop roof.

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-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske

Photo: The 1964 Cadillac hearse that transported the body of President Kennedy from Parkland Hospital to Love Field in Dallas is scheduled to be auctioned in Arizona this week. Credit: Barrett-Jackson / European Pressphoto Agency

Golden Globe winners: Workers salute ‘The Help’s’ Octavia Spencer

Golden Globe winner Octavia Spencer is destined for Oscar gold -- that is, if the nation's domestic workers have anything to say about it.

Spencer won a Golden Globe on Sunday night for her turn as a maid who takes delicious revenge in "The Help." The feel-good drama offered a window to the lives of black servants and their white employers in the Segregated South -- but was criticized in some corners for a too-rosy view. The film also sparked plenty of debate about today's complicated relationship between employers and "the help."

Spencer accepted the award on behalf of domestic workers everywhere, and added: "With regard to domestics in this country, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best: All labor that uplifts dignity in this country is worthwhile."

PHOTOS: Golden Globes red carpet

The National Domestic Workers Alliance issued a statement on Monday cheering Spencer's win:

"Domestic workers around the country watched with pride .... After generations of exclusion and invisibility, we are so grateful to Octavia for helping bring recognition and light to this workforce. And we're thankful for all of the performances in 'The Help' that gave life and dignity to domestic workers stories."

"We have a dream that one day all work will be valued equally. Together we can be 'the help' needed to bring respect to domestic work."

A Golden Globe doesn't always foretell an Oscar win -- but it doesn't hurt the odds either. It's possible that Spencer's win pushed her into front-runner status. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce its Oscar nominations Jan. 24.

If you're looking for another reason to cheer Spencer on, consider how she got real with the media during backstage interviews Sunday night: “I’m sorry y’all, I love you but I have to kick these shoes off."

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-- Rene Lynch

Twitter / renelynch

Photo: Octavia Spencer arrives at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night. Credit: Chris Pizzello / Associated Press