WHITNEY HOUSTON Family Sells Funeral FootageTo "Benefit Bobbi Kristina
Whitney Houston's "home going" ceremony has turned into a money maker for her Estate -- which very quietly struck a deal to sell the video of the funeral.
Here's how it went down ... Associated Press provided a live pool feed of the funeral to media outlets around the world (including TMZ) on Saturday -- but everyone had to pull the footage 24 hours later. Why?
A rep for the family confirms the family has now "agreed to license footage to several media outlets." The rep says the family is charging "customary fees" to ... "help maximize the estate for the benefit of Bobbi Kristina."
Here's how it went down ... Associated Press provided a live pool feed of the funeral to media outlets around the world (including TMZ) on Saturday -- but everyone had to pull the footage 24 hours later. Why?
A rep for the family confirms the family has now "agreed to license footage to several media outlets." The rep says the family is charging "customary fees" to ... "help maximize the estate for the benefit of Bobbi Kristina."
WHITNEY HOUSTON Laid to Rest
Pop legend Whitney Houston was buried today at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, NJ.
Houston was laid to rest next to her father, John Russell Houston, who died in 2003. The burial was a small "family only" affair and not the star-studded event that yesterday's moving funeral service was.
Whitney's casket was heavily protected since the funeral yesterday ... with nearly 10 security guards working in shifts to keep it guarded.
Houston passed away back on February 11. A cause of death has yet to be determined.
Houston was laid to rest next to her father, John Russell Houston, who died in 2003. The burial was a small "family only" affair and not the star-studded event that yesterday's moving funeral service was.
Whitney's casket was heavily protected since the funeral yesterday ... with nearly 10 security guards working in shifts to keep it guarded.
Houston passed away back on February 11. A cause of death has yet to be determined.
Canada's Harper talks oil with China as U.S. faces $4 gas
Just as he promised he would do if the United States rejected the Keystone XL pipeline, Prime Minister Stephen Harper headed to Beijing earlier this week on a four-day trade mission in which he is expected to seek a deal to sell millions of barrels of Canadian oil to China. Since China is aggressively pursuing energy deals around the world to support its economic expansion, expect Harper to come home with an official signature on the dotted line.
Harper is accompanied on the mission by dozens of Canadian business executives, including several from Syncrude, the consortium that produces thousands of barrels of oil daily from the Athabasca oil sands. That's the place the Keystone XL pipeline -- proposed by TransCanada, another north-of-the-border energy giant -- would have funneled 700,000 barrels per day to the United States, if not for Obama's rejection. Some portion of the estimated 20,000 new jobs that would have been created here will also be exported to China.
Meanwhile, here in the United States, besides continued high unemployment, drivers endured the most expensive January gas prices ever, according to the Los Angeles Times. "January is typically a month of falling gasoline prices because fuel demand falters in the slower travel weeks that follow the year-end holidays," the Times reports. "Not so this year
Harper is accompanied on the mission by dozens of Canadian business executives, including several from Syncrude, the consortium that produces thousands of barrels of oil daily from the Athabasca oil sands. That's the place the Keystone XL pipeline -- proposed by TransCanada, another north-of-the-border energy giant -- would have funneled 700,000 barrels per day to the United States, if not for Obama's rejection. Some portion of the estimated 20,000 new jobs that would have been created here will also be exported to China.
Meanwhile, here in the United States, besides continued high unemployment, drivers endured the most expensive January gas prices ever, according to the Los Angeles Times. "January is typically a month of falling gasoline prices because fuel demand falters in the slower travel weeks that follow the year-end holidays," the Times reports. "Not so this year
WHITNEY HOUSTON DEATH Hotel Guests Demand Refund ...Hotel REFUSES
Multiple guests staying at the Beverly Hilton Hotel the day Whitney Houston died claim their stay was absolutely UNBEARABLE due to commotion surrounding the singer's death -- and the hotel has done nothing to address their dissatisfaction.
several guests who stayed on the 4th floor when Whitney died -- the same floor Whitney had been staying on -- and they tell us ... the entire floor was on lockdown over the weekend, making their lives miserable.
We're told guests couldn't walk down a hallway without being hassled for their key cards by hotel security -- to prove they were, in fact, guests of the hotel.
Worse ... we're told law enforcement and EMS were running all over the hotel all weekend, creating an intolerable ruckus -- making it impossible to get a moment's quiet, let alone sleep.
When guests asked the hotel to refund their money, or offer a discount -- we're told the hotel refused ... instructing guests to file an official complaint either online or at the hotel's front desk.
A rep for the Beverly Hilton says "Given the extraordinary nature of the events of last Saturday evening, The Beverly Hilton took every precaution to protect the privacy of the Houston Family as well as the hotel guests who may have been impacted by the incident."
The rep adds, "The hotel cooperated fully with the Beverly Hills police which included securing the fourth floor to insure the safety and well-being of all guests ... and regrets any inconvenience that may have occurred in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s events."
several guests who stayed on the 4th floor when Whitney died -- the same floor Whitney had been staying on -- and they tell us ... the entire floor was on lockdown over the weekend, making their lives miserable.
We're told guests couldn't walk down a hallway without being hassled for their key cards by hotel security -- to prove they were, in fact, guests of the hotel.
Worse ... we're told law enforcement and EMS were running all over the hotel all weekend, creating an intolerable ruckus -- making it impossible to get a moment's quiet, let alone sleep.
When guests asked the hotel to refund their money, or offer a discount -- we're told the hotel refused ... instructing guests to file an official complaint either online or at the hotel's front desk.
A rep for the Beverly Hilton says "Given the extraordinary nature of the events of last Saturday evening, The Beverly Hilton took every precaution to protect the privacy of the Houston Family as well as the hotel guests who may have been impacted by the incident."
The rep adds, "The hotel cooperated fully with the Beverly Hills police which included securing the fourth floor to insure the safety and well-being of all guests ... and regrets any inconvenience that may have occurred in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s events."
Man suffers heart attack at Heart Attack Grill
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -The Heart Attack Grill in downtown Las Vegas lived up to its name Saturday night, when a customer dining on a "triple bypass burger" suffered an apparent heart attack.
He was having the sweats and shaking," said ‘Nurse' Bridgett, who was working at the restaurant when the man in his 40s began experiencing chest pains.
"Doctor" Jon Basso, who opened the restaurant in October, told FOX5 at first he thought it was a joke.
"One of the nurses came back to me and said, ‘Dr. Jon, we've got a patient who's in trouble.'"
The restaurant is known for not holding back on its menu.
Signs around the business glorify bad eating habits and the menu includes items like Flatliner Fries, and Butterfat Milkshakes.
One meal, the "Quadruple Bypass Burger," contains 8,000 calories.
The diner who suffered the heart attack was in the middle of eating a Triple Bypass burger when he began experiencing the symptoms.
Despite the clinical atmosphere, Basso is not actually a medical doctor, so he called 911. Paramedics and EMTs arrived in moments.
"The gentleman could barely talk," said Basso. "He was sweating, suffering. Anyone with an ounce of compassion would've felt for him."
Basso tells FOX5 he has heard the man is alive and recuperating. His name is still unknown.
The staff at the Heart Attack Grill willingly glorifies bad health. If you weigh over 350 pounds, you eat for free. And on Saturday night, Basso saw the other side.
"I actually felt horrible for the gentleman because the tourists were taking photos of him as if it were some type of stunt. Even with our own morbid sense of humor, we would never pull a stunt like that," he said.
Tourists were disheartened, but not entirely surprised to hear about the incident.
"I don't think I would walk into a place, even if it's called the Heart Attack Grill, and order food, and expect that I was going to have a heart attack," said Las Vegas resident Debbie Kaye.
Customers, however, continued eating the burgers, fries, and shakes Tuesday night.
"It says right on the door, it's hazardous to your health," diner CJ Beeman pointed out.
Basso said there have been a ‘variety of incidents' in the past, but this is the first full-scale coronary that happened in his restaurant.
He was having the sweats and shaking," said ‘Nurse' Bridgett, who was working at the restaurant when the man in his 40s began experiencing chest pains.
"Doctor" Jon Basso, who opened the restaurant in October, told FOX5 at first he thought it was a joke.
"One of the nurses came back to me and said, ‘Dr. Jon, we've got a patient who's in trouble.'"
The restaurant is known for not holding back on its menu.
Signs around the business glorify bad eating habits and the menu includes items like Flatliner Fries, and Butterfat Milkshakes.
One meal, the "Quadruple Bypass Burger," contains 8,000 calories.
The diner who suffered the heart attack was in the middle of eating a Triple Bypass burger when he began experiencing the symptoms.
Despite the clinical atmosphere, Basso is not actually a medical doctor, so he called 911. Paramedics and EMTs arrived in moments.
"The gentleman could barely talk," said Basso. "He was sweating, suffering. Anyone with an ounce of compassion would've felt for him."
Basso tells FOX5 he has heard the man is alive and recuperating. His name is still unknown.
The staff at the Heart Attack Grill willingly glorifies bad health. If you weigh over 350 pounds, you eat for free. And on Saturday night, Basso saw the other side.
"I actually felt horrible for the gentleman because the tourists were taking photos of him as if it were some type of stunt. Even with our own morbid sense of humor, we would never pull a stunt like that," he said.
Tourists were disheartened, but not entirely surprised to hear about the incident.
"I don't think I would walk into a place, even if it's called the Heart Attack Grill, and order food, and expect that I was going to have a heart attack," said Las Vegas resident Debbie Kaye.
Customers, however, continued eating the burgers, fries, and shakes Tuesday night.
"It says right on the door, it's hazardous to your health," diner CJ Beeman pointed out.
Basso said there have been a ‘variety of incidents' in the past, but this is the first full-scale coronary that happened in his restaurant.
DMX Accused of Owing $1 MILLION In Child Support
DMX has been accused of owing more than $1 million in back child support -- the rapper ain't convinced the woman pointing the finger is really his baby mama.
X's ex, Patricia Trejo, was in L.A. Superior Court Thursday morning, arguing against a motion DMX filed in their ongoing paternity case -- in which the rapper asked the court for permission to perform in Europe.
You see, in paternity cases where significant child support is owed, the owing parent is prohibited from obtaining a passport without a court order -- and X wants a special dispensation.
But Patricia put her foot down in court Thursday -- claiming DMX owed $1 million in unpaid child support, going back to her daughter's birth over ten years ago ... and she was tired of waiting around.
Now here's the twist -- DMX says, he hasn't paid because he's not convinced the girl is his ... and wants a DNA test to prove paternity before he starts handing over cash.
X's ex, Patricia Trejo, was in L.A. Superior Court Thursday morning, arguing against a motion DMX filed in their ongoing paternity case -- in which the rapper asked the court for permission to perform in Europe.
You see, in paternity cases where significant child support is owed, the owing parent is prohibited from obtaining a passport without a court order -- and X wants a special dispensation.
But Patricia put her foot down in court Thursday -- claiming DMX owed $1 million in unpaid child support, going back to her daughter's birth over ten years ago ... and she was tired of waiting around.
Now here's the twist -- DMX says, he hasn't paid because he's not convinced the girl is his ... and wants a DNA test to prove paternity before he starts handing over cash.
