NEWSMAKERS

April 12, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

NEWSMAKERS

Ex-Miss USA reaches plea deal in DUI case

HIGHLAND PARK, Mich.

Rima Fakih, the first Arab-American to be crowned Miss USA, pleaded no contest Wednesday in a Michigan drunken-driving case.

The former beauty queen offered the plea to driving while visibly impaired.

A no-contest plea isn’t an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing, which will take place May 9. She faces a maximum of 93 days in jail.

Fakih, whose family moved to New York from Lebanon in 1993 and then to the Detroit suburb of Dearborn 10 years later, won the Miss USA Pageant in 2010, becoming the first Arab-American to do so.

Police say no crime in Houston’s death

LOS ANGELES

Beverly Hills police say they have concluded Whitney Houston’s death investigation and found no signs that a crime occurred.

Lt. Mark Rosen said Wednesday the determination was made after reviewing the Grammy- winning singer’s full autopsy report, which attributed her death to accidental drowning. Coroner’s officials ruled heart disease and cocaine use contributed to the 48-year-old singer’s death.

Houston died in a bathtub of the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 11 on the eve of the Grammy Awards.

Mellencamp unhappy with Wis. governor

MADISON, Wis.

Musician John Mellencamp wants Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker to know he supports collective bargaining and union rights and says Walker should know that before using his song “Small Town” on the campaign trail.

Mellencamp’s publicist Bob Merlis told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he sent Walker’s campaign an email not asking him to stop using the song, but to inform him of Mellencamp’s liberal leanings.

Merlis says that is a standing policy of Mellencamp’s whenever a politician uses one of his songs. Merlis says he became aware Walker was using “Small Town” after reading a news story about a campaign stop Tuesday in Milwaukee.

Merlis says he sent an email to Walker’s campaign spokeswoman Ciara Matthews. She did not immediately return a message to AP seeking comment.

‘Hunger’ director says no to sequel

LOS ANGELES

Proving the adage that there’s nothing as complicated in Hollywood as a hit, Gary Ross won’t direct “Catching Fire,” the second installment in Lions- gate’s massively popular “The Hunger Games” franchise.

After several weeks of reports that the parties were haggling over money and deal points, both studio and director made statements in an email from Lionsgate that sought to dismiss those reports even as they confirmed that they were parting ways.

The second installment of the Jennifer Lawrence-starring franchise based on Suzanne Collins’ book series is scheduled to come out in November 2013.

Red Hot Chili Peppers top Lollapalooza lineup

CHICAGO

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Keys and English indie darlings Florence and the Machine will headline this year’s three-day Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, Jane’s Addiction lead singer and Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell announced Wednesday.

The list also includes acts such as Black Sabbath, Jack White and Sigur Ros. The festival in Chicago’s sprawling Grant Park begins Aug. 3.

Vindicator wire reports