Posted: Saturday, February 18, 2012 --- 5:08p.m.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Whitney Houston's ex-husband, Bobby Brown, has briefly appeared at her funeral before leaving.
Brown arrived as the service began. He walked to the casket, touched it and walked to the back of the New Jersey church Saturday.
Brown says in a statement that he and his children were seated but asked repeatedly to move. Brown says he left because he didn't want to create he a scene.
As he left, Brown appeared upset.
Houston died Feb. 11. A cause of death hasn't been determined.
Houston and Brown were married 15 years and have one daughter together. In 2003, police responding to a domestic violence call about Brown found Houston with a cut lip and bruised cheek. Their tumultuous relationship ended in 2007.
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
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Updated: Saturday, February 18, 2012 --- 5:08p.m.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- The funeral for Whitney Houston is ending at the New Jersey church she attended as a child.
The New Hope Baptist Church in Newark is packed to capacity for the invitation-only service. Houston died Feb. 11 in California the day before the Grammy awards. She was 48.
Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys are among those who sang at the service. Kevin Costner, Clive Davis and others have spoken. The Rev. Marvin Winans has eulogized Houston.
The funeral ended with Houston's casket being taken out the church as her hit "I Will Always Love You" played. Her mother's sobs could be heard throughout the church, and Houston's daughter is crying too.
Houston is expected to be laid to rest near her father's grave in New Jersey.
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
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UPDATED Sunday, February 12, 2012 --- 5:45 p.m.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Whitney Houston's daughter has been released from a Los Angeles hospital after being rushed there the morning after her mother's death.
A source close to the family who did not want to speak given the sensitivity of the matter says Bobbi Kristina Brown was treated and released for stress and anxiety.
The 18-year-old was taken by ambulance to the hospital around 10:30 a.m. Sunday from the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where her mother was found dead Saturday afternoon.
Brown had accompanied her mother to several pre-Grammy events last week.
Coroner's officials received Whitney Houston's body early Sunday morning, but have not yet said when an autopsy will occur. Any cause of death determination will likely be delayed while they await toxicology results.
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
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UPDATED Sunday, February 12, 2012 --- 3:43 p.m.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Paramedics say they took Whitney Houston's daughter to a Los Angeles hospital Sunday morning for unspecified medical reasons.
The Beverly Hills Fire Department says Bobbi Kristina Brown was taken from the Beverly Hills Hilton around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, less than a day after her mother died in a room at the same hotel.
The 18-year-old's condition was not immediately known.
An email message sent to a representative of her father, Bobby Brown, was not immediately returned.
Coroner's officials received Whitney Houston's body early Sunday morning, but have not yet said when an autopsy will occur. Any cause of death determination will likely be delayed while they await toxicology results.
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
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UPDATED Sunday, February 12, 2012 --- 8:15 a.m.
From MSNBC.com:
LOS ANGELES — Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, died Saturday. She was 48.
The 48-year-old singer died Saturday on the eve of the Grammy Awards. She had been expected to attend a pre-Grammy gala but was found dead hours before the event. Paramedics attempted to revive Houston, but were unsuccessful.
Beverly Hills police Lt. Mark Rosen told reporters outside the Beverly Hilton that Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. in her room on the fourth floor of the hotel. A coroner's van left the hotel with Houston's body in the early hours of Sunday, NBC News reported.
"There were no obvious signs of any criminal intent," Rosen said.
An examination had not been scheduled and that investigators are awaiting reports before an autopsy could be conducted, Capt. Brian Elias of the Los Angeles County coroner's office told The Associated Press.
Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, said the cause of death was unknown.
Rosen said police received a 911 call from hotel security about Houston at 3:43 p.m. Saturday. Paramedics who were already at the hotel because of a Grammy party unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate the singer, he said.
TMZ.com reported that Houston's body was found in the hotel room's bathtub, but by the time emergency services arrived she had been removed so it would take an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
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UPDATED: Sunday, February 12, 2012 -- 5:06 a.m.
WHITNEY HOUSTON-BODY
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A coroner's official says Whitney Houston's body has been transported from the Beverly Hills hotel where the singer died and is awaiting an autopsy.
Capt. Brian Elias of the Los Angeles County coroner's office says the examination has not been scheduled and that investigators are awaiting reports before an autopsy can be conducted.
He says he could not release any information about how Houston's body was found at the Beverly Hills Hilton.
The 48-year-old singer died Saturday on the eve of the Grammy Awards. She had been expected to attend a pre-Grammy gala but was found dead hours before the event. Paramedics attempted to revive Houston, but were unsuccessful.
Her body remained at the hotel for several hours before being taken to the morgue.
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
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UPDATED: Saturday, February 11, 2012 --- 9:04p.m.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Police in Beverly Hills, Calif. say singer Whitney Houston died this afternoon in her hotel room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Police Lt. Mark Rosen said in a news conference that the 48-year-old's body is still in her fourth-floor hotel room while detectives investigate her death.
He says police received a 911 call shortly before 4 p.m. local time, and paramedics who were already at the hotel quickly went to her room, but couldn't resuscitate her.
Houston's death comes on the eve of the Grammy Awards. A representative says she was to appear at tonight's annual concert and dinner for her longtime mentor Clive Davis.
A person who had been at rehearsals for the show, says on Thursday Houston appeared disheveled and was sweating profusely as she coached R&B singers Brandy and Monica. The person also says liquor and cigarettes could be smelled on Houston's breath.
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
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Posted: Saturday, February 11, 2012 --- 7:04p.m.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, has died. She was 48.
Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unclear.
At her peak in the 1980s and `90s, Houston was the golden girl of the music industry and one of the world's best-selling artists.
Among her hits were "How Will I Know," "Saving All My Love for You" and "I Will Always Love You." She won multiple Grammys including album and record of the year.
Her success carried her beyond music to movies like "The Bodyguard."
But by the end of her career, drug use took its toll as her record sales plummeted and her voice became raspy and hoarse.
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
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