Brittany

Actress Brittany Murphy's sudden death at 32 was due to pneumonia exacerbated by anemia and a harmful combination of medications. Ending weeks of speculation in the entertainment media over the Dec. 20 death of the "Clueless" and "8 Mile" star, the Los Angeles County coroner announced Thursday that the primary cause was "community-acquired pneumonia," with contributing factors of "iron deficiency anemia" and "multiple drug intoxication." The drugs involved were prescription and over-the-counter medications she took orally, said Ed Winter, assistant chief at the L.A. County coroner's office.

Why did the cow cross the road? To get to the udder side! Madeleine, 5 Todd Elementary Corona What do you call a boomerang that doesn't come back to you? A stick. Brittany, 7 Point Vicente Elementary Palos Verdes

Brittany Murphy, the actress who broke out with the teen comedy "Clueless" and gained critical acclaim for her role as rapper Eminem's love interest in the hip-hop drama "8 Mile," died Sunday morning of sudden cardiac arrest, police said. She was 32. Los Angeles firefighters responded to a medical call about 8 a.m. at the 8,000-square-foot home Murphy shared with her husband, British screenwriter Simon Monjack, in the hills above the Sunset Strip. There were conflicting reports as to whether Murphy was discovered by Monjack or her mother.

A body found near Lake Skinner in Riverside County has been identified as that of 22-year-old Brittany Dawn Killgore, a Marine wife missing since Friday, the San Diego County medical examiner's office announced Wednesday. Meanwhile, Marine Staff Sgt. Louis Ray Perez, 45, considered a person of interest in the case, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in San Diego County Superior Court in Vista to charges of receiving stolen property and possession of a stolen assault rifle. Bail was set at $500,000.

One of the first things Brittany Murphy did when she showed up on the Oregon set of her indie thriller "Something Wicked" last June was acknowledge -- and apologize for -- her weight. "I met her on the first day she arrived [on set] in Eugene with her husband," said Scott Chambers, a principal at Chambers Productions and an executive producer on the picture. "She looked ill, as much as 10 pounds underweight, and she's a small person to begin with. She easily could have made an excuse not to come to work, but she didn't.

Sharon Gabet, who formerly played Raven on "Edge of Night" and Brittany on "Another World," is returning to television's soap opera scene in "One Life to Live." She'll be seen for the first time on the ABC serial Sept. 22, playing Melinda Kramer, sister of Dorian Lord.

Why did the cow cross the road? To get to the udder side! Madeleine, 5 Todd Elementary Corona What do you call a boomerang that doesn't come back to you? A stick. Brittany, 7 Point Vicente Elementary Palos Verdes

There is a shriek indigenous only to 'tween girls, and if there were any justice, it would be heard only by others who consider body glitter essential. The shriek happens when that really cute guy asks one of them to hang out at the mall, or when one of them gets a terrific pair of shoes. The shriek knows no ethnic or socioeconomic boundaries.

Call them what you want -- bazookas, muskets -- the wide-mouthed guns used to zing T-shirts into the stands are one of America's greatest inventions, along with Weber grills and the telephone, not merely life-altering advances but social achievements that bring us closer as people. Sports sociologist that I am, I have wanted to fire a T-shirt bazooka for years. When I first spotted one, I got the same sensation that Gretzky must have had when he first spotted a hockey stick. Or Dolly Parton a synthetic wig. So here I am, on this hot August night, during the most significant homestand of the Angels' season, learning to properly fire the T-shirt gun. Obviously, I make the most of my free time.

The Trinity Broadcasting Network, which bills itself as the world's largest Christian network, is embroiled in a legal battle involving allegations of massive financial fraud and lavish spending, including the purchase of a $100,000 motor home for family dogs. Brittany Koper, a former high-ranking TBN official and the granddaughter of its co-founder, Paul Crouch Sr., was fired by the network in September after discovering "illegal financial schemes" amounting to tens of millions of dollars, according to a lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court.

SAN DIEGO -- A body, possibly of a Marine wife missing since Friday, has been found in rural Riverside County near Lake Skinner, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said Tuesday. Authorities also have arrested a 27-year-old woman on suspicion of homicide in connection with the disappearance of 22-year-old Brittany Dawn Killgore, Sheriff's Capt. Duncan Fraser said. The suspect, Jessica Lynn Lopez, was found Tuesday morning in a San Diego motel after an apparent suicide attempt and was taken to UC San Diego Medical Center, Fraser said.

Cancale and Locmariaquer are dots on the Atlantic coast of France. Also places that produce my favorite food: Brittany oysters. Served raw on the half shell, with no more sauce than a squeeze of lemon, they are generally smaller than other varieties but intensely flavored, more precious than pearls to people who know their oysters. French King Henri IV could down 20 dozen in a sitting. Diderot, Voltaire and Rousseau ate them for inspiration, as did Napoleon Bonaparte before going into battle.

Call them what you want -- bazookas, muskets -- the wide-mouthed guns used to zing T-shirts into the stands are one of America's greatest inventions, along with Weber grills and the telephone, not merely life-altering advances but social achievements that bring us closer as people. Sports sociologist that I am, I have wanted to fire a T-shirt bazooka for years. When I first spotted one, I got the same sensation that Gretzky must have had when he first spotted a hockey stick. Or Dolly Parton a synthetic wig. So here I am, on this hot August night, during the most significant homestand of the Angels' season, learning to properly fire the T-shirt gun. Obviously, I make the most of my free time.

Last year, while she was recovering from a second surgery on her right foot, Brittany Viola considered that her diving career might be over. And it's not as if she has no plans for the rest of her life. The 24-year-old, who is the daughter of former major league pitcher Frank Viola, has her degree from University of Miami. Her major was electronic media and sports administration. "I want to do something in sports," Viola said Saturday at the Spieker Athletics Center at UCLA. But for the near future anyway, that "something in sports" is still going to be diving.

Just as France's holiday season reaches its peak, the carcasses of wild boars are appearing on Brittany's celebrated coastline, raising fear that a potentially lethal algae is at work that could threaten the health of humans as well. The bodies of more than 30 of the animals have been found in the sea or on the slimy, seaweed-covered beaches around the bay of Saint Brieuc, where some coastal areas have been sealed off. Environmentalists believe the potentially fatal algae is the result of a buildup of nitrates from fertilizers used by the region's farmers, many of whom raise pigs, seeping into the sea. July and August are the busiest months for France's seaside resorts as the country's schools close for vacation.

Easy. That's how Brittany Lincicome described her six-under-par 66 Thursday in the first round of the $2-million Kraft Nabisco Championship at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage. Stacy Lewis described her afternoon of golf a little differently. Lewis actually made a bogey in the 100-degree heat and had to step up and make a six-foot putt to save that bogey. But then came a stretch of three straight birdies and so, like Lincicome, Lewis also shot a 66. That puts the sometime roommates and frequent dinner companions together in the lead after the first round of the LPGA's first major of the season.

"Ivanov," the play in which Anton Chekhov was still testing the formula for his dramatic breakthrough, is usually revived in somberly autumnal shades. So the opportunity to see the play thrillingly brought to life in brazen color, courtesy of director Bart DeLorenzo, is one that no serious aficionado of modern classics should pass up. A co-production between DeLorenzo's the Evidence Room and the Odyssey Theatre, where the show opened last weekend, this deliciously vivid, deliriously accelerated staging respects both the gravity and gaiety of Chekhov's 1889 play (nimbly translated by Paul Schmidt)

A Breton separatist group protesting against "the destruction" of the Breton language claimed responsibility for two explosions that damaged government offices in Brittany, police said Thursday. No one was injured in the overnight attacks, in the western cities of Quimper and Rennes.

Yani Tseng of Taiwan shot her second consecutive four-under 68 on Friday, taking a four-shot lead after the second round of the Women's British Open at Southport, England. The American duo of Brittany Lincicome and Christie Kerr joined Amy Young of South Korea in the chase entering the weekend. "There was no wind this morning and it was very calm, so it was nice out there," said Tseng, who is trying to win her third major championship. "The course played totally different than what we played the last three days, so it was really nice."

The airbag introduced itself, a rude facial jab that left a dozen cuts. UCLA gymnast Brittani McCullough, then a freshman, was jolted awake. Her behind-the-wheel nap, the culprit in this mess, was ruined. So was the cherry red 2005 Toyota her grandfather had bought her five months earlier. She remembers the smell of burning rubber, metal and fluids — and worrying that her car might explode. At first, she couldn't escape. The driver's side door was jammed and her left foot was stuck in the floorboard.