Morning Links: Body 'believed to be' Jennifer Hudson's nephew
Police in Chicago have found the body of a boy inside the SUV belonging to Jennifer Hudson's slain brother, and family members were expected at the morgue this afternoon to identify the body. The FBI says the body is "believed to be" that of Julian King, 7, and the Amber Alert asking people to search for him has been canceled.
The discovery followed the murder of Jennifer's mother and brother and dread over the fate of Julian, whose mother is Jennifer's sister, Julia. Julia's estranged husband, William Balfour, is in custody, and police say there was "trouble in the marriage" although earlier reports say the problem may have been a dispute over a car. Balfour's mom says he's innocent; on his MySpace page, Balfour calls himself a "proud parent" of his stepson.
On her MySpace blog, Jennifer, a former "American Idol" contestant and Oscar winner for her role in "Dreamgirls," thanked fans for their prayers. Jennifer had to identify the bodies of her mother, Darnell Donerson, and brother, Jason, in the morgue.
Barack Obama, who represents the Hudson family's hometown of Chicago and who invited Jennifer to sing the national anthem at the Democratic Convention, said he and wife Michelle "are absolutely heartbroken." Also issuing condolence statements were Jennifer's "Dreamgirls" co-star Anika Noni Rose and Idol judge Randy Jackson, as well as other former Idol contestants.
Amy Poehler and husband Will Arnett have welcomed their first child, an 8-pound-1-ounce boy they named Archie Arnett. Poehler appeared on the Thursday pre-election show, and last weekend rapped about Gov. Sarah Palin (with Palin keeping time at the end of the desk).
Amy Winehouse blew off an appointment to give London police an interview in connection with an incident last month in which Winehouse allegedly struck a fan who asked to have her photo taken with the troubled singer.
One of the best costumes at Kate Hudson's Halloween party was Cindy Crawford as Amy Winehouse, although Courtney Cox as a witch and David Arquette as a wizard looked pretty good too.
Michael Jackson, wearing flannel pajamas, visited Liz Taylor for a pajama party just days after appearing unmasked in public for the first time in forever.
Jerry Lewis referred to the sport of cricket as "a fag game" on an interview for Australian TV, the second time he's used the slur on the air; the first time was during his telethon last year.
In this morning's "The Daily Dish", you posted a picture of Jerry Lee Lewis on a story about Jerry Lewis.
Posted by: Tim Brown | October 27, 2008 at 08:10 AM
The first edition did indeed have a photo of Jerry Lee Lewis -- but it was corrected in later editions and online.
Posted by: Anne Neville | October 27, 2008 at 10:48 AM