Goody Gets Statue; Hubby $500K House

Plus, Rihanna house hunts, and more

(NEWSER) - The funeral for Jade Goody, the British reality star who died of cervical cancer, will be held April 4, the BBC reports. A funeral procession will go from her house to a nearby church. Elsewhere:

• Rihanna was spotted house-hunting yesterday in the Hollywood Hills, the Sun reports.
• Struggling-for-cash Lindsay Lohan probably ain't too happy that her assistant scuffed up her $115,000 Maserati, according to TMZ.

Funeral promises to be extravagant event

(NEWSER) - Michael Jackson’s funeral could be as lavish as one of his concerts. His body will reportedly be transported in a horse-drawn carriage, and he could be on view in a glass coffin. “The glass casket idea would create so much public interest it would take time to organize,” a source tells the Sun. “People would make the pilgrimage from the other side of the world.” More»

Private service set for this afternoon

(NEWSER) - Redmond O’Neal was given permission to leave his California detention center for mother Farrah Fawcett’s funeral today. “That’s an absolute yes” for his attendance, his attorney tells People. The ceremony will be held in a downtown Los Angeles cathedral at 4pm, and will be closed to the public and the media, CBS adds. More»

They're getting even more popular, with families citing savings

(NEWSER) - The dismal state of the economy has prompted more Americans to choose cremation over traditional burial services to save money, reports the New York Times . Cremations have been steadily rising in popularity since 1985 (41% now vs. 15% then) but the spike has been more pronounced in the last decade. A study last year found that one-third picked cremation mainly to save money, up from 19% in 1990. More»

Arid climate, lack of moisture all helped

(NEWSER) - How did Yvette Vickers, former Playboy playmate and cult horror film star, turn into a real-life mummy ? After all, she didn't have anyone to wrap her in linen bandages. But mummification does not actually refer to the process undertaken by ancient Egyptians—it refers to the effect that process has on the body, writes Adam Martin in the Atlantic . Namely, preserving the skin, organs, and soft tissue and halting decay. More»