newsmakers

newsmakers

Houston’s body to be flown to NJ

NEWARK, N.J.

The body of Whitney Houston was flown home to New Jersey late Monday for a funeral to take place at week’s end, said two people who have spoken with the singer’s family.

The two people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak for the family and because funeral arrangements hadn’t yet been completed.

Houston’s family raised the possibility of having a wake Thursday and funeral Friday at Newark’s Prudential Center, an arena that hosts college and professional sport events and seats about 18,000.

The 48-year-old pop star was found dead in the bathtub in her hotel room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Saturday, hours before she was supposed to appear at a pre-Grammy gala.

Grammy Awards show scores big audience

LOS ANGELES

Sunday’s Grammy Awards telecast made sweet music in the ratings, delivering for CBS its largest audience since 1984 and beating last year’s viewership by 50 percent.

More than 39.9 million viewers flocked to the broadcast, making it the second-most-watched Grammys in history, according to preliminary Nielsen Co. figures released Monday.

Helping stoke interest in this year’s Grammys broadcast was recording sensation Adele, who emerged as the night’s big winner with six trophies. Her album, “21,” was by far the year’s best seller and one of its most critically acclaimed.

But the broadcast was an attention-getter not only for the awards dispensed but also for its role as a memorial to Whitney Houston, a six-time past winner.

Associated Press