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Walker autopsy results coming
The Los Angeles County coroner's office expects to release some information from the autopsies of actor Paul Walker and financial manager Roger Rodas on Wednesday, the coroner's office told CNN.
The autopsies were completed Tuesday, but investigators placed a "security hold" on the results. The coroner's office did not give a reason for the secrecy.
The coroner has not publicly identified the two people killed in the crash, but the victims are widely known to be Walker and Rodas.
Four days after the crash that killed the two men, key questions remain unanswered.
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Folk singer Richie Havens dead at 72
Folk singer Richie Havens, the opening act at the 1969 Woodstock music festival, died Monday of a sudden heart attack, his publicist said. He was 72.
Havens, who retired three years ago, toured for more than 30 years and recorded 30 albums.
"While his family greatly appreciates that Richie's many fans are also mourning this loss, they do ask for privacy during this difficult time," a statement from his publicist, Carrie Lombardi, said.
After Havens, a Brooklyn, New York, native, gained attention at Woodstock, he recorded a soulful-voiced cover of the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun," which rose on the pop charts in 1970.
Havens returned to Woodstock for the 40th anniversary festival in 2009.
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Jackson wrongful death case jury chosen
A jury of six men and six women has been chosen to hear the Michael Jackson family's wrongful death lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live.
Another six jurors must now be selected to serve as alternates in the trial, which is expected to last two or three months, in a Los Angeles courtroom.
Jackson's mother and three children are suing AEG Live, claiming the promoter was liable in the pop icon's death in 2009.
The judge has not set a date for opening statements and testimony to begin, although the trial opening could happen later this week.
Jackson died two weeks before his "This Is It" comeback concerts, organized by AEG Live, were to have debuted in London in the summer of 2009.
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Promoter to blame Jackson for own death
Michael Jackson's last concert promoter will defend itself in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the pop icon's family by arguing that Jackson was responsible for his own demise.
Child molestation accusations against Jackson, for which he was acquitted after a trial, and evidence of his drug addiction will likely be presented by AEG Live's lawyers as they argue that the company had no liability in his death.
Jackson died two weeks before his "This Is It" comeback concerts, organized by AEG Live, were to have debuted in London in the summer of 2009.
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Porn legend Harry Reems dead at 65
More court drama awaits Lindsay Lohan
The soap opera that is Lindsay Lohan offers more drama after the actress missed a Sunday night flight to Los Angeles, where she goes on trial Monday morning.
With no more red-eye flights heading west, Lohan called on a Los Angeles-based beverage company for which she has made promotional appearances.
"Thanks Mr. Pink for the private jet see you all in a few hours in LA," Lohan tweeted early Monday. Mr. Pink makes "premium ginseng-infused wellness beverages," according to its website.
Fortunately for Lohan, the courthouse where her trial is set to begin at 8:30 a.m. is just two miles from Los Angeles International Airport.
FULL STORYDoctor won't testify in Jackson death trial
Dr. Conrad Murray, who was Michael Jackson's personal physician, is refusing to testify in the wrongful death lawsuit that the singer's mother filed against concert promoter AEG Live.
If called, he will plead the fifth so as not to incriminate himself, the doctor said in a statement sent to the Jackson family.
FULL STORYJury convicts New York cop in cannibal plot
New York police officer Gilberto Valle conspired to kidnap women, who prosecutors argued he planned to rape, torture, cook and eat, a federal jury decided Tuesday.
Valle's lawyers argued the former police officer's e-mails and online postings were just "fantasy role-play" and"dark improv theater," but prosecutors said he was "deadly serious."
Valle faces life in prison for the kidnap conspiracy conviction. He was also found guilty of illegally accessing a federal law enforcement database.
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Cowboy actor Dale Robertson dead at 89
Dale Robertson learned that he had Stage 4 cancer just last week, while he was being treated for pneumonia.
Robertson, whose horse expertise, Oklahoma roots and handsome looks helped him win cowboy roles in 1950s and '60s, died this week at age 89, his wife said Thursday.
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Classical pianist Van Cliburn dead at 78
Van Cliburn, a classical pianist honored by a New York ticker-tape parade for winning a major Moscow competition in 1958, died Wednesday after a battle with bone cancer, his publicist said.
"He died peacefully in his Fort Worth, Texas, home ... surrounded by loved ones," spokeswoman Mary Lou Falcone said.
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Bobby Brown ordered to jail for DUI
After two drunken driving convictions in a year, singer Bobby Brown is going to jail for 55 days.
Brown, 44, has been ordered to report to Los Angeles County jail on March 20 after he pleaded guilty to charges including driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license, according to city attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan.
Brown's most recent arrest came in October, when he was pulled over on Ventura Boulevard. His license had been suspended because of an earlier drunken driving charge from an April arrest.
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Jackson kids' death lawsuit set for trial
The lawsuit filed by Michael Jackson's three children and mother that accuses a concert promoter of contributing to the pop icon's death can go to trial, a Los Angeles judge tentatively ruled Monday.
The trial for the wrongful death lawsuit against AEG Live, filed by Jackson matriarch Katherine Jackson and his children, Prince, Paris and Blanket Jackson, is set for April. A final order on Monday's decision has not been issued yet.
Body in hotel tank: Cause may take weeks
An autopsy on a woman whose body was found in a hotel water tank in Los Angeles is complete, but the cause of death is deferred pending further examination, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said Thursday.
That may take six to eight weeks, according to Ed Winter, the assistant chief of the coroner's office.
The decomposing body of Elisa Lam, 21, of Canada, was found floating inside a water tank on the roof of the Cecil Hotel on Tuesday. The body was in the tank for as long as 19 days while guests brushed their teeth, bathed and drank with water from it, officials say.
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Joe Jackson suffers 'mild' stroke
Joe Jackson, the Jackson family patriarch, suffered a stroke Thursday morning and is being treated in a Las Vegas hospital, a source close to the Jackson family said.
Jackson, 83, "is in very good spirits" and expects to be sent home from the hospital Friday, said the source, who asked not to be identified.
The "mild" stroke is similar to two others he suffered in the past five years, another source close to Jackson said.
FULL STORYMotivation guru Zig Ziglar dies at 86
Motivational speaker and author Zig Ziglar died Wednesday in Dallas "after a short bout with pneumonia," his spokesman said. He was 86.
The self-described Undisputed King of Motivation was known for his seminars, which grew into large gatherings held in packed arenas.
Ziglar wrote more than two dozen books on salesmanship and motivation over the past five decades.
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Gay men sue over conversion therapy
Before Sheldon Bruck told his orthodox Jewish parents he was gay, the teenager looked for a way out of homosexuality.
His search led him to JONAH - Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing - which claimed on its website to help people "struggling with unwanted same-sex sexual attractions."
JONAH co-director Arthur Goldberg promised Bruck, then 17, that "JONAH could help him change his orientation from gay to straight," according to a consumer fraud lawsuit filed Tuesday against JONAH, Goldberg and a JONAH counselor.
"This is the first time that plaintiffs have sought to hold conversion therapists liable in a court of law," said Samuel Wolfe, a lawyer with the Southern Poverty Law Center.
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Jesse Jackson Jr. quits Congress, cites health reasons
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned from Congress effective Wednesday, citing the need to spend time "restoring my health."
Jackson, 47, announced his resignation in a letter sent to House Speaker John Boehner Wednesday.
"For 17 years I have given 100% of my time, energy, and life to public service," Jackson wrote. "However, over the past several months, as my health has deteriorated, my ability to serve the constituents of my district has continued to diminish. Against the recommendations of my doctors, I had hoped and tried to return to Washington and continue working on the issues that matter most to the people of the Second District. I know now that will not be possible."
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Voice of Elmo quits after underage sex lawsuit filed
[Updated at 1:10 p.m. ET] Kevin Clash, the puppeteer who provides the voice of Elmo on "Sesame Street," resigned Tuesday after a man filed a lawsuit accusing him of conducting an underage sexual relationship.
The lawsuit was filed in a New York court Tuesday, a week after another accuser recanted his claim that Clash, now 52, engaged him in underage sex.
"I am resigning from Sesame Workshop with a very heavy heart," Clash said in a written statement Tuesday. "I have loved every day of my 28 years working for this exceptional organization. Personal matters have diverted attention away from the important work Sesame Street is doing and I cannot allow it to go on any longer. I am deeply sorry to be leaving and am looking forward to resolving these personal matters privately."
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Chris Brown renews 'friendship' with Rihanna
Chris Brown acknowledged Thursday he has renewed his "friendship" with Rihanna, the woman he was convicted of beating on the eve of the Grammys in February 2009.
Brown, 23, has two more years of probation to serve for his felony assault conviction, although the judge lifted the "stay away" order that kept him from his victim last year.
The singer sent an unsolicited statement to CNN announcing he was breaking up with Karrueche Tran, the 24-year-old model he began dating a year after he was arrested for the felony assault.
"I have decided to be single to focus on my career," Brown said. "I love Karrueche very much but I don't want to see her hurt over my friendship with Rihanna. I'd rather be single allowing us to both be happy in our lives."
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'Sons of Anarchy' actor dead in Hollywood murder mystery
The violent deaths of "Sons of Anarchy" actor Johnny Lewis and an elderly woman in an affluent Hollywood neighborhood Wednesday is a murder mystery for Los Angeles police.
Lewis, 28, whose acting resumé included "The O.C." and "Criminal Minds," died in the driveway of a three-story home in the Los Feliz neighborhood near Griffith Park, apparently after climbing on the roof and falling, police said Thursday.
Police, responding to a call from neighbors saying they heard screams for help from a woman inside the house, found Katherine Davis, 81, dead in what a police spokesman called a "gruesome scene."
"It appears that some type of altercation occurred inside the house, resulting in the death of the woman, then this individual ran outside and had an altercation with a couple of neighbors," LAPD Commander Andrew Smith told reporters.
Autopsies will be conducted Thursday on the bodies of Lewis and Davis, Los Angeles County Coroner's Lt. Larry Dietz said.
Police would not comment on the possibility of drugs being involved in the case.
Lewis is credited with playing Kip "Half Sack" Epps in 26 episodes of "Sons of Anarchy" in the FX Network drama's first two seasons, according to the Internet Movie Database. His character was killed off in the finale of season two.
"Sons" creator Kurt Sutter, in an extended Twitter posting Thursday, called Lewis' death "a tragic end for an extremely talented guy, who unfortunately had lost his way."
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