Milestones

Sunday, Oct. 22, 2006 By MELISSA AUGUST, HARRIET BAROVICK, JENINNE LEE-ST. JOHN
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FILED FOR DIVORCE. Whitney Houston, 43, pop diva; from her husband, former New Edition singer Bobby Brown, 37; after a rocky 14-year marriage during which Brown did numerous stints in jail and Houston twice entered rehab for substance abuse; in Orange County, Calif. The couple, whose tumultuous relationship was on display on last year's reality-TV show Being Bobby Brown, have a daughter, Bobbi Kristina, 13. A six-time Grammy winner, Houston had a record seven consecutive No. 1 pop hits in the late '80s--including Saving All My Love for You and How Will I Know--but hasn't put out an album since '02.

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SENTENCED. Lynne Stewart, 67, civil rights lawyer known for her frequent pro bono work and defense of prominent clients including mobster Sammy (the Bull) Gravano and members of the left-wing terrorist Weathermen; to 28 months in jail for aiding terrorism by relaying messages from her client Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman--who is serving a life term for plotting to blow up New York City landmarks--to his militant allies; in New York City. Prosecutors had sought a 30-year term. Stewart, who is battling breast cancer, said the ruling was a "great victory against an overreaching government."

REPAYMENT ORDERED. For Richard Grasso, 60, former New York Stock Exchange chairman ousted in 2003 amid outrage over the disclosure of his $140 million compensation package; of as much as $100 million of that compensation; by a state supreme court judge; in New York City. The ruling, which Grasso said he would appeal, coincided with other big news from Wall Street: the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 12,000-point mark for the first time.

DIED. Winifred Bennett, 71, who, at a dinner party, breezily suggested to a friend, retired pathologist Eugene Foster, that DNA tests might show whether Thomas Jefferson fathered children with his slave Sally Hemings--which prompted Foster and a team of scientists to investigate and make world news by confirming a familial connection; of kidney failure; in Arlington, Va. The Foster team found that a male Jefferson, probably Thomas, had fathered at least one of Hemings' children. But the finding pre-empted Bennett's plans for a book on the topic--and ended her friendship with Foster.

DIED. Herbert Leonard, 84, producer who created the seminal 1950s-'60s small-screen gems Naked City (New York crime tales); Route 66 (guys roam the U.S. in a Corvette convertible); and The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin (stories of an orphan and his dog in the Old West); in Los Angeles.

DIED. Wang Guangmei, 85, elegant former first lady of China who was targeted during the Cultural Revolution; in Beijing. Wang suffered because of a falling out between her husband ex-President Liu Shaoqi and Mao Zedong--which landed Liu in jail, where he died--as well as the jealous rage of Mao's wife Jiang Qing. The well-educated Wang was also imprisoned and once suffered a public parade in which she was forced to wear a necklace of Ping-Pong balls.