Amy Joins the '27' Club

With the news that British R&B star and tabloid target Amy Winehouse has died from as yet undisclosed causes, two things are clear: the music world lost one of its most passionately soulful voices, and this is a tragedy that has surprised no one. Winehouse's struggles with drugs and alcohol were often in the public eye and even addressed in her own music, like her best-known hit "Rehab."

Throughout her colorful, troubled life, Winehouse fought many demons: addiction, an eating disorder, and a particularly tumultuous love life.

Her struggles to stay sober

Although she first broke through to international audiences with a song that found her saying "no, no, no" to her record company's claims that she belonged in rehab, it didn't take long for fans to realize she did have a problem with alcohol abuse, frequently appearing in what appeared to be a drunken state while onstage (one time she exited the stage to vomit) and during TV appearances. Hospitalizations, allegedly related to drug or drinking binges, were frequent. A leaked video of a woman alleged to be Winehouse smoking what appeared to be crack pipe and snorting cocaine caused a tabloid sensation and caused police to investigate the matter, though charges weren't brought against her.

Winehouse was aware of her problems: while she initially resisted her record company's attempt to put her in rehab, she willingly checked in to a center around that time. And in 2009, Winehouse's father Mitch-who had frequently voiced his concerns over her health to the media-said she had entered a program to deal with her drug addiction, but he admitted that there were "slight backward steps -- not drug backward steps, more drink backward steps if you follow my drift."...More

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AZ Pol Points Loaded Gun at Journalist

A reporter for the Arizona Republic writes in a profile of state senator Lori Klein that the politician pulled a loaded, raspberry-pink handgun from a special zippered case and aimed it straight at his chest during an interview.

The revelation--mentioned off-hand in the original story--has now created a media firestorm about gun safety, and a potential PR headache for gun advocates.

Richard Ruelas writes that Klein said "Oh it's so cute," before aiming the pistol square at his chest so he could see the red laser sight beam appear on his body. It probably didn't help the often adversarial character of relations between the press and political leaders for Ruelas to learn that the .380 Ruger in question had no safety.

"I just didn't have my hand on the trigger," Klein told the reporter, by way of reassurance.

Ruelas was writing about the freshman lawmaker's controversial move of carrying her pistol into the Statehouse just two days after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a Democrat from Tucson, was shot in the head while at a "Congress on Your Corner" event in January. Guards tried to stop Klein from going in with the weapon, but she insisted on her right to carry, and the incident became something of a crusade for the pro-gun movement. Since then, Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce has lifted a weapons ban in the Senate building, despite an existing state law that bans guns in government buildings...More

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IMF Fat Cat Beats Rap, Because Strauss-Kahn

NEW YORK (AP) — A person familiar with the investigation tells The Associated Press that the Manhattan district attorney's office will agree to release Dominique Strauss-Kahn without bail.

The former head of the International Monetary Fund has been free on $1 million bail under house arrest.

The person was not authorized to speak publicly and talked to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Releasing him without bail signals that the accusations of sexual assault may be less serious than thought. A judge must sign off before Strauss-Kahn can be released.

The move comes after a person familiar with the case told the AP that prosecutors raised serious questions about the credibility of the hotel housekeeper accusing Strauss-Kahn. See Comments

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