Larry Birkhead

• Film director Anthony Minghella, who won an Oscar for The English Patient, died early this morning at the age of 54. He suffered a brain hemorrhage following routine surgery at a hospital in London. — PopSugar UK
• Soleil Moon Frye and her husband, Jason Goldberg, welcomed their second daughter, Jagger Joseph Blue, yesterday. — lilsugar
• Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are denying the stories that say they're the new face of Scientology. Will says, "I am a Christian. I am a student of all religions. And I respect all people and all paths." — Rush & Molloy
• Larry Birkhead testified yesterday in an inquest into the death of Anna Nicole Smith's son, Daniel, but could not confirm that Daniel had been using drugs in the months before his death. Howard K. Stern testifies today. — TMZ
• Iran's Culture Ministry has shut down nine pop culture publications for using photos and stories about "corrupt" foreign stars. — CitizenSugar
• Diddy is angry about the LA Times report claiming his associates planned and carried out the 1994 murder of Tupac Shakur, saying, "it is beyond ridiculous and completely false." — AP
• Project Runway winner Christian Siriano may guest star on an upcoming episode of Ugly Betty. — The Scoop

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Paris Hilton took the sequins party dress to a whole new level with a multi-colored homage to herself while hosting the NYE event at LAX in Vegas last night. Next to her Nicky looks downright demure. For the third night in a row, Paris was joined by Kevin Federline when he was done hosting his party down the strip at Tangerine. Also in the house was other famous baby daddy and part of the most shocking story of the year, Larry Birkhead. Meanwhile, Pam Anderson looks a little worse for the wear, but at least is in a better dress than her other yikes-worthy New Year's look. Looks like the Hilton girls have another successful party hosting gig in the books. Happy 2008!

To see more of the Vegas party goers including DJ AM, Larry Birkhead and others just read more

• Shaquille O'Neal has filed for divorce from his wife of 5 years, Shaunie. The couple have a "Cohabitation/Prenuptial Agreement" so hopefully the split will stay clean and they will keep their kids out of the legal issues. - Miami Herald
• Both Larry Birkhead and Howard K. Stern are planning on suing Rita Cosby and Grand Central Publishing, on charges that her new book is filled with lies about the two men. This probably will only help sell more copies. - AP
• Jerry Lewis has apologized for using a homophobic slur during his telethon over the weekend. This whole story sounds all too familiar. - E! Online
• Faith Hill told Ellen DeGeneres that she and Tim McGraw were absolutely livid about the crotch-grabbing incident that took place at one of Tim's shows back in July. Can't say we blame either of them. - People
• Drew Barrymore and Justin Long were spotted making out at Jet club in Las Vegas on Sunday. Sounds like Justin had a pretty lucky weekend. - R & M

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• Jerry Lewis helped raise a record breaking $63 million for muscular dystrophy during a 3 day telethon this weekend. We would've been happier to hear this news if he hadn't used a homophobic slur in the process. - TMZ
• This morning, Whoopi Goldberg helped kick off a new season of The View as a permanent host. We wonder if the show will finally have a drama-free season. - People
• Kelly Clarkson has announced new tour dates for October through December after canceling her summer tour. Looks like Kelly is ready for a fresh start. - KellyClarkson.com
• Pete Doherty's stint in rehab has pushed back his sentencing hearing to October. The never ending story - we wonder how this one will end. - BBC News
• The Today Show has canceled their interview with Rita Cosby about her book claiming that Larry Birkhead & Howard K. Stern were romantically involved, but Bill O'Reilly is planning to go ahead with his interview, despite legal threats. We just wish this whole story would be laid to rest already. - TMZ

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• New official daddy Larry compared winning custody of Dannielynn to bringing home an Oscar yesterday and wants to make it clear he will not share custody of Dannielynn. Howard said he would not fight. Does this mean the ANS saga is over? We think not. - TMZ
• Rumor is CNN is set to offer Anderson Cooper a deal worth $50 million for 5 years. That's a lot of money but who doesn't want to watch those baby blues. They're ratings gold. - Page Six
• Johnny Cash's lakeside home in Tennessee was destroyed by fire yesterday. What a sad way to see such a legendary estate go. - AP
• Last night it was Leeza Gibbons turn to go home on Dancing with the Stars after one of the judges called Leeza and her partner "dull, dull, dull." Funny, that's what we were thinking about the entire show even with surprise guest Drew Lachey. - People
• Katie Couric seems to have fallen for a much younger man. The 50-year-old CBS news anchor was spotted dining with Brooks L. Perlin, 33 and the two have apparently been hanging out for several months. Way to stay young at heart, Katie! - Gatecrasher

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As the Anna Nicole Smith saga barrels along, it's almost impossible to keep up with everything at once. As promised, we will try to keep you abreast of all the important stories (and ignore the multitude of unnecessary ones). The two biggest controversies continue to be Anna's cause of death and Dannielynn's paternity, and while headway has been made on both fronts (kind of), there are no answers yet.

• The over/under on how many different kinds of meds she was on when she died is currently at 10. Plus, she treated Howard K. Stern like "a mosquito."
• The reason for some of those may have been the two surgeries she recently had on her breasts to repair an issue from a previous surgery.
• Anna's mother thinks Birkhead is Dannielyn's father. Also, she really hates Howard K. Stern.
• Anna's fridge contained Slimfast, like, a lot of it, and Methadone, like, a lot of it.
• ET is all over this, with footage of Anna's last days with Dannielynn. Watch it on TV all week!
• While The Insider is just happy to pay a boatload for the first words with Howard K. Stern (preview here). Watch it on TV all week!
• While Anna's life is getting raided by the press, her Bahamas residence is getting raided by enterprising thieves.
• Howard K. Stern is meeting with the Bahama police today to speak about things, including Daniel's death. Maybe they should just keep him there for a while.
• Oh, and Rosie tried to talk herself out of her unfortunate Anna Nicole situation by rambling about balloons. Obviously.

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Whew, as tons of information pours in about Anna Nicole Smith's life, death, and legacy, we will continue our updates trying to sift through the mass to bring you only the important stories. The whole saga is still taking place at absolute whirlwind speed, that's for sure.

As many of you know, the final moments of Anna's life, while her bodyguard was administering CPR were caught on tape and sold for a disgusting sum of at least $500,000 to Splash News and were later broadcast on Entertainment Tonight. We're not going to link to the video, but if you're looking it shouldn't be too hard to find.

This morning's hearing did not rule in Larry Birkhead's favor and the DNA swab will not be taken; however, Anna's body will be preserved at least until February 20th when another hearing is scheduled. In the meantime, Anna's mother is on her way to the Bahamas to try and retrieve Dannielynn.

We have also learned that Anna Nicole has been suffering severe depression since the death of her son, Daniel, but was happy that she and Howard K. Stern were planning to legally wed at the end of the month. Their first ceremony in the Bahamas, performed soon after Daniel's death, was not legally binding.

Finally, more and more accounts of the scene of death are saying that it appeared like Anna suffered from a drug overdose. Of course, official toxicology results will not be available for some days. Anna's mother has spoken out as well about her daughter's past with drugs.

Howard K. Stern was interviewed by the local police last night. He was reported as being cooperative.

And the award for the most random person throwing his chips in the pile goes to: Zsa Zsa Gabor's Husband, who now claims that he is, in fact, Dannielynn's father. Uh, sure.

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Today, the day after Anna Nicole Smith's Death, the wheels have already been set in motion to sort out the truth of what happened yesterday, and what should happen with her infant daughter. Though it will probably still take some time to get the results, an autopsy is already underway.

Reports are coming in about Anna's last moments, but it's still undetermined what, if any of it, is worth believing.

The other issue being addressed immediately is the pending paternity suit over Anna's daughter Dannielynn. A hearing is expected to take place this morning to determine whether a court-ordered DNA sample may be taken from Anna's body in order to help determine the paternity of the baby.

Larry Birkhead, the ex who claims paternity, has written a message on his website about his love for Anna, while his lawyer has stated that she feels the infant should be put in the care of Anna's mother while the paternity is sorted out.

Assuming that the court rules in favor of Birkhead, the issue at hand would next be how to get a DNA sample from the baby, who was in the Bahamas at the time of her mother's passing and is still down there in the care of the mother of the Bahamas' Immigration Minister, Shane Gibson, a friend of Anna Nicole and Howard K. Stern's.

As far as we know, Stern was not at the hotel when Anna died, but he was at the hospital where she was taken. No one seems to have seen or heard from him since.

After the tragic news early this afternoon, we know tons of you are wondering what will become of the many loose ends in Anna Nicole Smith's life. Here is a quick look at what has emerged as of yet:

• The autopsy is scheduled to take place tomorrow.
• Anna's Lawyer/Husband/Boyfriend Howard K. Stern has yet to make a statement.
• At the time of Anna's death, she was with her nurse. Her bodyguard was also there and performed CPR on her before the paramedics arrived.
• Her infant, whose paternity is still in question, Dannielynn is currently in the Bahamas in the care of a friend.
• Larry Birkhead, the ex who claims to be the father of Dannielynn, has not issued a statement, but his lawyer has said that he is "not ok."
• The ramifications this will have on the legal proceedings surrounding her late husband's inheritance have not been discussed at this time.
• For statements from Hugh Hefner, PETA, The Marshall Family, Trimspa, E!, etc, check in with TMZ who are covering every move of this story as it unfolds.

While we are seriously unsettled by this story (and its eerily similar tone to that surrounding her son's death five months ago), hopefully concrete facts will emerge soon so we can get a better read of what actually happened. We will keep you updated.

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