A 43-year-old so-called Dallas socialite was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to transporting and shipping child pornography. youtube HLN
The Los Angeles County Coroner has released the official cause of death for Whitney Houston. According to the report, the singer passed away due to an “accidental drowning” that was related to heart disease and also the presence of cocaine in her system. An insider tells TMZ that it’s “very possible” the heart attack caused Whitney to pass out and fall under the water. It’s also likely this was triggered by the use of cocaine. It should be noted, however, that no cocaine was found in the hotel room where Houston passed away. Law enforcement officials have said from the beginning that no foul play was involved in the tragedy and nothing in this report suggests anything different. Perhaps now folks such as Nancy Grace can let Whitney rest in peace.
It seems like only yesterday when we SKINtroduced you to the last new cast of Dancing with the Stars. And it pretty much was- the last cast announcement was a mere six months ago in August 2011. But now the producers of the reality show juggernaut are strapping on their dancing shoes for the fourteenth time, and they’ve got another outstanding (by which we mean adequate) cast list to reveal. Leading the pack this year is Jaleel White – aka Urkel – with Entertainment Tonight ‘s Maria Menounos filling the “hot TV host” slot and The View ‘s Sherri Shepard performing Nancy Grace duties, leaving Little House on the Prairie ‘s Melissa Gilbert as the only cast member this season with nudity on her resume. Hey, we’ve always got Karina Smirnoff ! Relive the wardrobe malfunctions and network nip slips of seasons past with Dancing with the Stars, right here at MrSkin.com
Dan Abrams is our new hero. The Good Morning America host remained calm and reasonable in the face of Nancy Grace’s condescending absurdity today, as he tried to get Grace to admit that she shouldn’t have wondered about whether or not someone pushed Whitney Houston’s body under water in her hotel room last Saturday. What prompted Grace to hint at that possibility? Nothing in this case, merely her experience as an attorney overall, which gives her a unique view on what comes next. Nancy Grace on Good Morning America “There is nothing delicate or nice about a murder, a death, an unexpected death, or an autopsy,” Grace said. “What that means in the real world, not the ivory tower of Harvard Law School… an autopsy, of why her body was transported to the Coroner’s Office, is to determine cause of death whether it be overdose, natural causes, accident, or homicide. It is not a homicide and I am thankful for that, but I still want the truth.” Okay. That makes her the same as about 100 million other Americans. Why utter a word about anyone shoving Whitney’s head under water? Abrams tried to get his guest to focus on this specific question. “I’m arguing with you over going on television and making a comment that I think was rightfully viewed as inappropriate,” he says in the video above. “And sometimes there’s a time to say ‘you know what, I shouldn’t have said that in retrospect. A nicer way to say that, or a more accurate way to say that, would have been x, y, or z.'” Of course, Grace remained obstinate, and Robin Roberts ended the segment with a simple, obvious point. Well… an obvious point to anyone not looking cash in on a well-publicized death. Why not just wait until the autopsy results are released before commenting at all?
Let’s all stop and give thanks for Nancy Grace, shall we? Seriously, without this attention-starved egomaniac, we might not know just how low humanity can sink. Earlier today, during an appearance on CNN Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin, the blowhard evoked the instances of Anna Nicole Smith and Michael Jackson when talking about Whitney Houston, wondering whether someone else played a role in the singer’s death. “I’d like to know who was around her, who – if anyone – gave her drugs… following alcohol and drugs, and who let her slip, or pushed her, underneath that water?” Grace asked, referring to reports that Whitney’s body was found in a hotel room bathtub. “Apparently, no signs of force or trauma to the body. Who let Whitney Houston go under her water? ” Forget the fact that initial reports indicate Houston did NOT die by drowning ; and forget the fact that it seems perfectly reasonable someone could overdose on pills and pass out in a bathtub… Grace is on a role, folks! Grace claims that three prescription drug containers for the same drug – benzodiazepine – were found on the scene, each from three different doctors. No other source corroborates this assertion and CNN itself has released a statement saying “we don’t know that to be true,” but, come on, people! Grace simply MUST weed out a potential Conrad Murray for ratings justice’s sake. “They were medicating her out the yin-yang,” she said.
Taylor Swift will be featured on tomorrow night’s installment of 60 Minutes and, in a few excerpts released from the upcoming interview, the star makes it clear that she’s open to her status as a role model. “I definitely think about a million people when I’m getting dressed in the morning, and that’s just part of my life now,” Swift tells the news magazine. “I think it’s my responsibility to know it and to be conscious of it.” While other artists may have gotten into trouble over the years for drunk driving or the smoking of substances , Swift won’t ever use her age as an excuse for any behavior of this type. “It would be really easy to say ‘I’m 21 now, I do what I want. You raise your kids!'” Swift says. “But it’s not the truth of it. The truth of it is that every singer out there with songs on the radio is raising the next generation.” Have we mentioned recently how much we adore Taylor Swift? [Photo: WENN.com]
The last two weeks of Dancing With the Stars haven’t surprised us. Nancy Grace lasted longer than people expected, and Hope Solo couldn’t hang with the top three. Going into the finals, it really is anyone’s game. J.R. Martinez, Rob Kardashian and Ricki Lake all deserve to be there, and have decent shots at the Mirror Ball. Who’s technically the biggest favorite, though? According to Bodog, an online gambling site, J.R. Martinez has the best odds to win at 1 to 2. Ricki Lake holds 3 to 1 odds, while Rob has a 4 to 1 chance of winning. That’s right, even after an ankle injury left him in a distant third last week, the Iraq War vet, motivational speaker and actor is considered the top dog right now. Says a lot about his fan support, but Ricki and Rob are no slouches in that department, either. If they all perform well Monday, the results will be very interesting. Fan votes account for 50 percent of the aggregate score, with the judges’ scoring making up the rest. So if no one has a big lead, anyone could take this thing. The finals for DWTS on Monday include four dances from each finalist, so that can also change a lot. What do you think? Who’s your pick to win Season 13?