While it was widely reported that Jacko’s brain was not in the casket with the rest of him, an insider claims, “The coffin was empty. There was no body there at all.” Another wag added, “There were two autopsies done but now there’s a criminal investigation. Why would they release the body in a week if there’s a criminal investigation? And if they charge someone with his death, that person will want his or her own autopsy done.” A rep for the Jacksons said, “I will try to find out,” but didn’t return calls.

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This is an occasion for genuinely tiny knickers: Bridget Jones is coming back to the big screen.

Renee Zellweger will reprise her role as the charmingly befuddled British publishing exec in the third installment of the franchise, Variety.com reports.

The script will likely be based on author Helen Fielding’s columns for British paper The Independent about Bridget trying to have a baby and her continuing search for love.

The first two movies, “Bridget Jones’s Diary” in 2001, and “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” in 2004, were based on Fielding’s best-selling books of the same titles.

The film will be produced by Working Title and is expected to go into production at the end of next year. There is no writer or director as of yet.

And now that the films’ heroine is into her 40s, it remains to be seen whether Zellweger will have to put on even more weight than usual to literally flesh out the character.

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The spunky star’s new show on Bravo this fall will be called “Skinny & The City.” Our tipster said, “The show will follow her planning her wedding to [fiancé] Jason Hoppy.” Life & Style also reports Frankel is penning a second book about “romance, money and friends” inspired by her feud with co-star Kelly Killoren Bensimon. Bravo had “no comment.”

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Shocking photos have emerged showing how drugs ravaged Michael Jackson’s legs as it was revealed that detectives are treating his death as homicide.

Bruises, needle marks and a gruesome black wound can be seen in the previously unseen images which were broadcast to millions by U.S. TV network ABC.

They had been released by the singer’s father Joe to show his son had vitiligo, the skin-whitening disease, which Jackson had always claimed he’d had.

However their release has raised more questions about the star’s drug use.

The black wound appears to have been caused where an intravenous line, fed into his leg, was removed and fluids dripped into his lower leg.

Normally, IV tubes go into the arms.

There are also puncture marks (circled in a picture below) peppering the skin on his legs which appear to have been caused by needlemarks.

Dr Debra Jaliman, a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Dermatology, told the ABC network: ‘It looks like there are multiple punctures from intravenous placement.

‘If the IV fluid went into his skin it may have destroyed it.’

The specialist said of the 2002 pictures it was ‘unusual’ to inject drugs into the legs, but that the measure would be taken if no veins in the upper body were accessible.

The blackness of the wound is believed to be the result of necrosis, the death of most or all the cells in tissue due to disease.

The website TMZ, which broke the news of Jackson’s death, reports that the initial investigation has pinpointed the anaesthesic Propofol as the primary cause of his death. Vials of Propofol were found in Jackson’s home after he died.

The site stated: ‘The evidence includes various items found in Jackson’s house, including the Propofol, an IV stand and oxygen tank.’

It also reported that the Los Angeles Police Department has had ‘multiple conversations’ with the L.A. County District Attorney’s office, although the case has not been formally presented to the district attorney who would decide on any prosecution.

The developments come as a Los Angeles coroner’s official visited the office of Jackson’s dermatologist to serve a subpoena seeking additional medical records.

Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter went to Arnold Klein’s Beverly Hills office and spoke afterwards to reporters.

He said Klein had been co-operating in the investigation. Craig Harvey, the coroner’s chief of operations, says it’s the second time coroner’s investigators have served Klein a subpoena.

They are focusing on the role drugs played in causing Jackson’s death.

Klein has recently given TV interviews saying he sedated Jackson for medical procedures. He denied ever giving the pop star an unnecessary dose of drugs.

Jackson was taking a combination of painkillers when he died on June 25 and had been regularly using the drugs since he burned his hair during the filming of a Pepsi advert in 1984.

Video footage of the star’s hair catching on fire, which it has never been seen before, has been obtained by magazine US Weekly, it claims.

The incident happened during the filming of a Pepsi commercial in 1984.

Jackson suffered severe burns after the pyrotechnics mishap.

Still photos of the accident have appeared, but the new video on the magazine’s website shows the moment Jackson’s hair caught on fire and the top of his head became engulfed in flames.

Jackson doesn’t appear to know his hair is on fire. In the video, he’s still dancing as the flames are on his head. When he spins, the flames go out. People on the set then tackle him to extinguish the fire. When Jackson emerges, the top of his head is bald.

Meanwhile, Jackson’s older brother Tito, 55, said the family once raided the singer’s former home Neverland looking for drugs.
Tito said his younger brother had ordered his bodyguards to prevent the family from visiting his California ranch without permission.

Tito told the Daily Mirror: ‘I never saw him on drugs. Not once. He deliberately did it away from us. He didn’t want his family to know anything about that part of him.

‘He did almost everything in his power to make sure we didn’t know.

‘We had to act. It was me, my sisters Janet, Rebbie and La Toya and my brothers, Jackie and Randy.

‘We bust right into the house and he was surprised to see us to say the least.

‘We kept asking him if it was true what we had heard that he was using drugs.

‘He kept denying it. He said we were over-reacting. We also spoke to a doctor and he assured us it was not the situation. He said he was there to make sure Michael was healthy.’

In a further development, the lawyer of Jackson’s former wife Debbie Rowe angrily denied claims she’d accepted $4million from the Jackson family in return for giving up custody claims for her and Michael’s children, Paris and Prince Michael.

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Whitney Houston appeared at the world premiere of her new album, “I Look to You” (Arista), in London last night (July 14).

A healthy-looking Houston appeared briefly on stage at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge after Sony Music chief creative officer Clive Davis played nine tracks from the album, due to be released Sept. 1 in the U.S. The U.K. release is via RCA on Aug. 31.

Houston thanked Davis for his work on the album, saying: “When Clive called me I was pretty ready to buy my island home [and retire] but he said, ‘No, you’re going to sing again, people want to hear you.’”

Describing the album as “a labor of love” she said: “I hope that these songs stay with you for a lifetime.”

Davis - who worked with Houston for the first time in 10 years on the album - stressed the album is “by no means done,” while many of the songs played were still in unfinished form.

“We didn’t try to fit Whitney Houston into the market,” Davis said. “The copyrights associated with Whitney in the 1980s and ’90s are part of the fabric of music today.”

Nonetheless, collaborators on the album read like a who’s who of contemporary pop/R&B, with songwriters and producers including Alicia Keys, Diane Warren, Stargate, R Kelly and Akon, who duets with Houston on “Like I Never Left.”

The tracks played were “Million Dollar Bill,” “Nuthin’ But Love,” “Call You Tonight” (which Davis said was a likely lead single), “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength,” “Like I Never Left,” “For the Lovers,” “I Look to You,” “Worth It” and a cover of Leon Russell’s “A Song for You.”

The overall feel of the album was notably contemporary, while retaining Houston’s trademark vocal flourishes. The up-tempo songs “Nuthin’ But Love” and “A Song for You” received the best reaction from the invited audience of international media, while Davis particularly praised slower songs like the Warren-penned ballad “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength” and R Kelly’s title track, hailing Houston as “the premium balladeer of our time.”

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A couple of weeks ago Jon and Kate announced: “During this very difficult time we will be working to focus solely on the needs of our family. This includes no longer commenting publicly or reacting to media stories and speculation.”

But then the magazine covers stopped and the couple began to slip into irrelevancy, so guess who’s now commenting to People on his relationship with his 22-year-old party girl Hailey Glassman?

“Hailey and I have been family friends for several years and only very recently began dating,” Jon Gosselin explains. “What began as friendship has grown into something more.”

He goes on: “I genuinely enjoy spending time with her. It’s nice to be with someone who I can confide in and trust and who accepts me for who I am.”

Now, the TLC reality star understands that parading around the French Riviera with some new ladyfriend right after filing for divorce is kind of a douche move, but he just wants everyone to understand he’s a regular guy and that’s what regular guys do to move forward.

“I know that my decision to appear publicly with Hailey this weekend will be scrutinized, but I hope that people can see I’m a regular guy who is going through a very difficult time in [my] life and wants to move forward.”

And as for anyone questioning his devotion to his eight, he assures People he thought of his kids every 10 minutes in between smoke breaks and challenging Ed Hardy designer Christian Audigier to a tan-off.

You know what would make this more fun? An engagement rumor!

Oddly, it’s now just In Touch Weekly pushing engagement on the new couple, and Audigier and his people are also trying to make it happen.

One member of the Ed Hardy posse told People he referred to Hailey as Jon’s fiancée, while Audigier proclaims, “This guy is in love. No question about it.”

However, Jon denies any engagement plans to the mag, “No. We’re just having a cool time and enjoying each other.”

That cool time has sadly come to an end for now. Jon told photographers Hailey is staying in France while he had to come back to the States last night in order to “work” (i.e., spend time with his family for the cameras).

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Usher kicks off his annual Camp New Look this week. The two-week program brings in kids from all over the country to Atlanta and focuses on service leadership and social entrepreneurship.

Campers will learn the importance of citizen power and the origins of personal power.

In a two-day Power Summit, Usher explains, campers will take an in-depth look at relevant social issues and design campaigns utilizing their artistic talents and abilities to bring awareness to the issue. Once campers return to their home cities, they will utilize their personal power to implement the service campaigns and to incite local youth into action.

“When I started New Look I had reached a point where writing a check for charitable causes just wasn’t enough,” Usher says. “I wanted to know that I’ve made a difference in a child’s life; that I’ve significantly used my own talents, passion and resources to impact the lives of young people (and ultimately their families and communities) in positive and stable ways.”

This year’s theme is Issue, Action…Power! and it’s interwoven throughout the business component curriculum as well as the sports and entertainment components.

“Through Camp New Look, we are creating new paths of entry and opportunities to learn and improve skills and are supporting the growth and success of young people from disadvantage circumstances,” Usher shares.

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David Arquette, known for Scream (and being married to Courtney Cox), will be spending his time today and tomorrow in a glass box above MSG! He’s trying to raise $250,000 for Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger-relief charity. Mars, as in Snickers, is sponsoring the Bar Hunger Campaign, so Arquette gets to cheat a little and snack on chocolate…

“I’ve seen firsthand the impact of hunger, which is why campaigns like Bar Hunger are so critical,” said David Arquette, who will be spending approximately eight hours each day in a Plexiglas box above the marquee.

“Snickers and I can’t do it alone. We need to educate all Americans about this issue and mobilize them to do something. The only way we can truly ‘Bar Hunger’ is together.”

If you’re in NYC, be sure to head down to MSG and take a look at David Arquette in a box… and make a donation. You can also donate via text of Facebook, check it out:
http://blogs.msg.com/themonitor/2009/07/14/david-arquette-camps-out-on-madison-square-garden-marquee/

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