From Brick&Stones: "Nicole Richie fueled those pregnancy rumors by declining alcohol Thursday night at the YSL Center Dance Arts party at the Beverly Hills Hotel. According the the NYDN, her boyfriend Joel Madden’s ex, Hilary Duff (who was to have been outfitted by YSL), hadn’t been informed of the couple’s attendance, but caught wind of it at the last minute and canceled 30 minutes before the party."

Sucks for Hil. Bet she's thinking about how she wouldn't put out. So there's this Ghoul Pool at my work, and you bet on which celebs and notable figures will die next. Some lady won $1000 when Anna Nicole died. Grim? Yes. Fun? Totally. Profitable? Bonus. While my instinct says "Lindsay Lohan" my mind says, "How will Nicole see a baby to term weighing 83lbs?" So I may vote Nicole Richie in the Ghoul Pool. Let me know in comments who I should vote for.

"I used to cut Howard K. Stern's hair and my personal opinion of him is that he's (Stern) a nut! I've seen him high, I've seen him low and I've seen him weak, I've seen him strung and I've seen her (Anna Nicole Smith) twice. I know what I saw and I know that she became his puppet. I believe that he (Stern) was in control of what she (Smith) did. If she (Smith) was too high, Stern would elbow her. And I think what happened was that he kept her doped up and when she needed to be straight or look straight, he'd give her some sort of an upper."

- Howard K. Stern's former hairdresser, Sasha, told Rick Dees in the Morning on Movin 93.9 FM in Los Angeles on Friday

I haven't been posting because the celeb world has turned into all Anna Nicole, all the time; I can hardly keep up. When will her body be released? She took methadone when she was eight months pregnant! What will happen to Dannielynn, who was underfed per Anna's orders to keep her "sexy"? How many man will step forward claiming to be the baby daddy? Questions and exclamations abound...thankfully we have TMZ.com to keep us informed with minute-by-minute accounts of the ever-changing story. I would suggest their coverage for the least amount of bullshit if you're following the ANS story religiously; they obtain official documents and track down key players in the saga, such as the medical history of the doctor who prescribed Anna methadone while she was pregnant. (I think it's safe to assume his license has been revoked.) I'm trying not to post so much on ANS until more of the truth comes out, and more importantly, definitive decisions as to Dannielynn's paternity and what will happen to her in the coming months. BUT (bear with me) this was on TMZ.com, coming from another website that is holding an online paternity pool. As more men reveal that they believe to be the father of ANS' baby, the charting seems less absurd.

"In the aftermath of Anna's death, several people have come forward saying they could be the father of her baby, Dannielynn. Now a website is looking to settle the matter by using college basketball for inspiration.

You can play "Anna Nicole Paternity Madness" by filling out a bracket of 64 possible baby daddies on celebrityhack.com. Larry Birkhead, Howard K. Stern and Prince von Anhalt are among the favorites, but there are some potential dark horses.

Over in the Trailer Park Region, watch out for the 15 seed, Alf. Meanwhile, in the TRIMSPA Region, the first round matchup of Mary-Kate vs. Ashley Olsen should be a good one. But the ultimate sleeper is the 14 seed in the First Cousin Region -- Satan. The Prince of Darkness is capable of anything -- how else do you explain "Glitter?"

Celeb news is abuzz with the untimely death of Playboy model and reality star Anna Nicole Smith. Picking and choosing sources was a difficult task as most blogs and websites are choosing to report on the story very distinct ways. DListed's Michael K wonders "Why am I so sad?" and is posting everything Anna, scouring the internet for as many pics as he can find of her. Popsugar simply posted "Anna Nicole RIP" with the details from Entertainment Tonight and then moved on to covering Rachel Bilson at NYC Fashion Week. Celebdish hopes to condense this into one post, with the details of her collapse in a Florida hotel room, what will happen to Dannielynn, Larry Birkhead's reaction, and rumors surrounding her death. You will NOT find a link to the Splash video premiering Tuesday of paramedics' attempts to rescusitate her via CPR, which has already sold to Entertainment Tonight for $500,000.

"Former Playboy Playmate and TRIMSPA spokesperson Anna Nicole Smith died Thursday afternoon after she was discovered unconscious in her hotel room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. She was 39.

Cops say Smith's private nurse called a hotel operator at 1:38 PM EST. Before paramedics arrived on scene, Smith's bodyguard performed CPR. One of the first paramedics to arrive claimed that she was dead when he got there. Smith was rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood."

TMZ.com is reporting that illegal narcotics as well as prescription drugs were found in her room, and that Anna possibly choked to death on her own vomit, like many-a stars before her. The cause of death will not be revealed until after the autopsy, which will be performed this morning by the Broward County Medical Examiner, to be followed by a press conference. People from Anna's past are stepping forward, claiming her continued problems with drugs and alcohol and her mother, Virgie Arthur, told "Good Morning America" this morning that she "did too many drugs." She also warned that the paternity battle for Dannielynn "will get ugly." Dannielyn is currently in the Bahamas, and temporary custody will go to Anna's mother until the paternity is decided. Larry Birkhead's lawyer Debra Opri is currently in an emergency court hearing this morning to ask a judge to order Anna's DNA to be tested. Howard K. Stern, her partner at the time of death and the man listed on Dannielynn's birth certificate as the father, has refused DNA testing.

Birkhead posted on his website, larrybirkhead.net, this morning the following:

Chance brought us together, our love couldn't keep us apart. We loved, we laughed, we shared a connection that couldn't be broken, regardless of the challenges. I loved her in life and I will love her long after...

Our daughter, Dannnielynn is a constant reminder of the love we shared and the life that we desired...

My heart is broken, my tears are endless. She called me her angel, I called her my sweet potato, and every night before we went to sleep, she made me say to her...........'GOODNIGHT MY SWEET ANNA BABY'

ANNA NICOLE SMITH
1967-2007"

A lot of deets have yet to pan out...such as, why was Anna in Hollywood, FL and left her baby behind in the Bahamas? Why exactly did the Trimspa website shut down? Do diet pills have some link to her death? There are rumors that Anna was addicted to the heroin subsitute methodone, a drug that was found in her son Daniel's system when he died five months ago. Does Howard K. Stern supply both Anna and her son with drugs as if often rumored? Another more disgusting rumor is that Daniel is actually the father of Dannielynn and that she killed herself as the impending DNA test drew closer to deadline so that the truth would not be revealed. I mean, I know a lot of people thought Anna was trashy, but I think that's just ridiculous. Nevertheless, this rumor is circulating, and I think a lot of people will be disappointed when the truth comes out.

Cord from Mollygood wrote an insightful piece about the death of Anna and the media's conflicting reactions:

There has been an outpouring of grief and kind regards from many pop culture media outlets following Anna Nicole Smith's untimely death yesterday. After hearing many of them very casually throw around words like "tragedy," it occurred to me that I had almost never seen anyone discuss Anna Nicole without a sly grin or a snicker, let alone only in somber tones like they have following her passing.

TMZ's posting of a retrospective of her life here prompted me to take a look into other times they've acknowledged her myriad accomplishments. Here's my retrospective of their coverage:
Take a look at the trial back in 2000, and watch Anna Nicole squirm...

Anna Nicole Smith is five months pregnant, sources tell TMZ. And we're told that the former Playboy Playmate is engineering a way to make money off of the announcement.

Anna Nicole's Son's Death Certificate

TMZ has obtained footage of Anna Nicole Smith taking pills while celebrating Christmas Eve...

If the saga of Anna Nicole Smith has become a Shakespearean tragedy (and it has), then Howard K. Stern is one of the main characters.

[This accompanies a photo of her bare breast]: Anna Nicole Smith is busting out all over the "G-Phoria" award show.

Is Anna Nicole a fit mother?
No 82%
Yes 18%
Total Votes: 24,627

"... you've been around my mother for 12 years and haven't had any pussy either."
--Daniel Smith to Howard K. Stern

Really moving, huh?

Such is the counterintuitive nature of a lot of media: go ahead and say really damaging, awful things about people when they're alive and listening but, once they've died, let's drop the lascivious jabs and be kind. That, guys, is one of the biggest WTFs ever.

I'm not advocating that Anna Nicole's death be seen as meaningless. I'm just saying that most of the people calling this a "tragedy" are probably more upset that they've lost some decent cannon fodder.

Honestly, may Anna Nicole rest in peace. Sadly, something tells me that's not going to happen."

Here's some more links from Mollygood

"If I have to see Anna Nicole Smith one more time on television..." Rosie picked the wrong time to bash her, huh? [BWE]

• Narcotics found in her hotel room. [TMZ]

• Trimspa shuts down their site. I'm definitely not going to be surprised if their product played a role in her death. [Trimspa]

• Bahamian law deems that Howard K. Stern is now the legal guardian. Not good. [ONTD]

• If you're really, morbidly interested, here's excerpts from the death vid shown on foreign television news. [LL]

• Birkhead wants immediate DNA testing done on Smith's body. [FOX]

• Autopsy begins. Toxicology reports soon to follow. [CNN]

I'll try not to overwhelm you with everything ANS, since you've seen my coverage of the lengthy paternity suit and death of her son in chapter-form. But stay tuned for more deets, especially after toxicology reports come in later this afternon.