Lupus issues force Braxton into hospital
Singer Toni Braxton has been hospitalized in Los Angeles.
The R&B performer says in a Tweet on Friday that she’s been hospitalized because of “minor health issues” related to lupus. A spokeswoman confirmed the hospitalization but had no other details. “But no worries!” Braxton wrote to fans. “I will be out any day now.”
The 45-year-old singer of “Un-break My Heart” revealed two years ago she has lupus, a potentially deadly autoimmune disease that killed Braxton’s uncle. She also suffers from a narrowing of the blood vessels in her heart.
Braxton said in a recent “20/20” interview that doctors told her the Lupus diagnosis meant her performing career would likely be diminished, and the disease helped push her into a recent bankruptcy.
Lady Gaga has expressed “her gratitude” to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev for opposing regional laws that make it a crime to provide minors with information about homosexuality.
The pop star tweeted Saturday that she thanks the former president for “not standing by your party’s anti-gay propaganda law.”
Gaga’s tweet followed her arrival in St. Petersburg, one of the three Russian cities that have recently passed bills imposing fines of up to $150,000 for providing minors with information on homosexuality, which the laws term “homosexual propaganda.”
Asked about the laws, Medvedev said in a televised interview Friday that “not all relations between people can be regulated by law.”
Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993, but homophobia remains strong, and gay rallies been dispersed by police and militant Orthodox activists.
The birthday bunch
Actor Kirk Douglas is 96. Actor Dick Van Patten (“Eight Is Enough”) is 84. Actor-writer Buck Henry is 82. Actress Judi Dench is 78. Actor Beau Bridges is 71. Singer Dan Hicks is 71. Football player-turned-actor Dick Butkus is 70. Singer Joan Armatrading is 62. Actor Michael Dorn (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”) is 60. Actor John Malkovich is 59. Country singer Sylvia is 56. Singer Donny Osmond is 55. Bassist Nick Seymour (Crowded House) is 54. Actor Joe Lando (“Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”) is 51. Actress Felicity Huffman is 50. Country keyboardist Jerry Hughes (Yankee Grey) is 47. Guitarist Brian Bell (Weezer) is 44. Singer-guitarist Jakob Dylan (The Wallflowers) is 43. Actress Allison Smith (“The West Wing,” “Kate and Allie”) is 43. Country singer David Kersh is 42. Drummer Tre Cool (Green Day) is 40. Rapper Canibus is 38. Singer Imogen Heap is 35. Actor Jesse Metcalfe is 34. Actor Simon Helberg (“The Big Bang Theory”) is 32.