Names and faces
Carrie Fisher died from sleep apnea and a combination of other factors, but investigators were not able to pinpoint an exact cause, coroner’s officials said Friday. Among the factors that contributed to Fisher’s death was buildup of fatty tissue in the walls of her arteries, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said in a news release late Friday. The release states that the Star Wars actress showed signs of having taken multiple drugs, but investigators could not determine whether they contributed to her death in December. Her manner of death would be listed as undetermined, the agency said. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for additional details about whether a full autopsy report and toxicology results were available. Sleep apnea is a condition in which a person’s breathing pauses during sleep. The pauses may be brief or last several minutes, according to information from the National Institutes of Health. Fisher, 60, suffered a medical emergency on an international flight on Dec. 23 and died four days later. Her mother, longtime movie star Debbie Reynolds, died the next day.
Sir Paul McCartney and J.K. Rowling are being upgraded with a Companion of Honor award for his services to music and for her services to literature and philan- thropy, in the queen’s Birthday Honors list. The former Beatle and the Harry Potter author join a raft of heroes, luminaries and other notables being recognized for their contributions to life in the United Kingdom. “I’m very happy about this huge honor and with the news coming on my birthday weekend and Father’s Day it makes it colossal!” McCartney said. Others winning recognition included Police Constable Keith Palmer, who was killed as he confronted an attacker with a knife outside Parliament, and Bernard Kenny, a passer-by who tried to protect lawmaker Jo Cox from being stabbed and killed. Academy Award-winner Olivia de Havilland, who turns 101 next month, also became a dame — as well as the oldest woman to become a dame in this centenary year of the modern-day system. The Gone with the Wind actress was honored for services to drama.