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Sideshow: Amy, poisoned by alcohol

Amy Winehouse, who was found dead in her bed in her London home on July 23 at age 27, died of alcohol poisoning, a British coroner ruled Wednesday. Suzanne Greenaway said Winehouse had a blood alcohol level of 0.4 percent, more than five times the British

Amy Winehouse, who was found dead in her bed in her London home on July 23 at age 27, died of alcohol poisoning, a British coroner ruled Wednesday. Suzanne Greenaway said Winehouse had a blood alcohol level of 0.4 percent, more than five times the British drunken-driving threshold. Winehouse is thought to have resumed drinking after weeks of sobriety. Her bedroom was littered with empty vodka bottles. "The unintended consequence of such potentially fatal levels [of alcohol] was her sudden and unexpected death," Greenaway said. Winehouse had a public battle with drugs and alcohol throughout her brief career, which included only two studio albums, Frank (2003) and Back to Black (2006). The singer's parents are relieved "to finally find out what happened to Amy," their rep said. "The court heard that Amy was battling hard to conquer her problems with alcohol and it is a source of great pain to us that she could not win in time."

No bull

Professional bull rider Ty Murray tells People mag that he hopes his 3-month-old son Kase Townes will never follow Daddy into the rodeo ring. Murray, 42, a nine-time Professional Bull Riders champion, says he and wife Jewel would prefer their offspring avoid tangling with taurine terrors. "It's the most dangerous sport in the world," Ty said. "It would give me and Jewel gray hair instantly." Still, he acknowledges it might happen. "It's our job to protect him and shepherd him the best we can if that's what he really wants to do," concedes Ty, lead analyst for the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas through Sunday.

A role a mother can love

New mom Penelope Cruz is pretty happy with the single-mother character she plays in a new Italian movie, Venuto al Mondo (Having Come to the World). Fact, the role is the most beautiful she has ever played, Pen said during an appearance in Rome Wednesday night in advance of the Rome Film Festival. The movie, directed by Sergio Castellitto and filmed in Bosnia, tells the story of a single woman who brings her teenage son to Sarajevo, where his father died during the fighting of the 1990s. Cruz and husband Javier Bardem became parents of a baby boy in January.

Lionel to whoop it up country style

Lionel Richie will release Tuskegee, a CD of country duets, in March, featuring Tim McGraw, Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles, Blake Shelton, Shania Twain, and Kenny Rogers. "I was born and raised in Tuskegee, Ala. I am a country boy and proud of it," Richie says. He'll also perform at the Nov. 9 CMA Awards.

A prince's shameful secret

Prince Harry, third in line to the crown currently worn by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, has been seen shopping at the American workin' man 'n' woman's store, Wal-Mart. Us Weekly says Harry, who is in California completing helicopter training, bought $6.45 worth of snacks. "He stood in line like everyone else," Anonymous Witness says.

Bruce Willis to become dad again

Ashton Kutcher's ex-husband-in-law (?) Bruce Willis, 56, is expecting his first baby with wife, model, and designer Emma Heming Willis, 33, USAToday.com reports. Bruce has three kids, Rumer, 23, Scout, 20, and Tallulah Belle, 17, from his previous marriage to Ashton's wronged wife, Demi Moore

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Adele takes album chart back!

British chanteuse Adele whose CD, 21, has been in the Top 10 on the Billboard album charts for about three gazillion weeks, is back at No. 1, baby! The CD sold 106,000 copies this week, bringing its total sales to 4 mil, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Adele's CD has been at No. 1 for 13 (nonconsecutive) weeks, becoming the first album since the Titanic soundtrack to do so. Come to the Well from Christian rockers Casting Crowns debuted at No. 2 with 99,000, while American Idol hero Scotty McCreery's Clear as Day is at No. 3 with 57,000.

Love for Love-Cobain child?

OC Weekly in California reports that Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain's daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, 19, has become engaged to her bf of a year, some neo-grunge dude named Isaiah Silva, who is the lead singer of some (Nirvana-inspired?) band named Rambles. Frances writes on Facebook, "Getting to spend the rest of my life loving my best friend makes me the luckiest woman in the world."

Tidbits 'n' pieces

"This Week anchor Christiane Amanpour isn't getting along with the bosses at ABC News, and has reached out to the honchos at CNN to return to the network where she started her career," the New York Post says. . . . TMZ says Lindsay Lohan will reveal every aspect of her anatomy in her Playboy photo spread.   

Tom Cruise defies death. Again!

A new vid proves that Tom Cruise performed death-defying stunts on Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and he's not even a stuntman, but a cute sex symbol! Here's how People describes the hair-curling feat: "In the gasp-inducing sneak peek, Cruise, 49, dangles from a suspension cord and runs up, down and sideways along the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in downtown Dubai, which stretches 2,723 feet . . . into the sky."

Money well deserved

The Guinness Book of World Records says the highest-grossing actor since the creation of space and time is Shaft and Unbreakable star Samuel L. Jackson. He's not the highest paid, mind you. It means his oeuvre has grossed the most: $7.5 billion

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Too much information

Bette Midler admitted on HLN's Joy Behar Show Tuesday that her affair with Fox News' Geraldo Rivera wasn't the most, er, stimulating. Bette says she was nonplussed when she read that Geraldo includes the affair in his memoir. Bette would gloss over it in her life story. "I wouldn't write about having sex with Geraldo. Ew!" she said. "I had sex with [him] but I don't think I would write about it. It was nothing to write home about!"