showing whitney houston 10 years ago envisioning a happy ending to her story instead of the one we're watching now. >> 10 years from now, give me the perfect life for whitney houston. >> retired. sitting, looking at my daughter grow up, become a great woman of god. grandchildren. >> a perfect day is like on a sunday or something like that, when we like, like sit and, you know, we either watch tv or like listen to gospel music or have breakfast together. >> that was whitney houston and her daughter 10 years ago. instead, a long flight home after a life cut far too short. the question, of course, now is why. we don't know either precisely or even approximately how whitney houston died. we know she died saturday afternoon at the beverly hilton hotel. a member of her entourage found her in the tub, in the bathroom of her fourth floor suite. she wasn't breathing. an l.a. county coroner official today refusing to say whether or not she drowned or what role, if any, alcohol or drugs might have played. >> you can look at a body and not know what the cause of death is. you might have a suspicion but the person could have suffered a heart attack or embolism or something. no matter what medications they're taking, until we run a tox and see the level and what's in the system, we're not going to speculate. >> she was found under water in that bathtub in that hotel room. that tox that ed winter was talking about, that toxicology report will not be out for as long as six to eight weeks from now although preliminary results could be along a lot sooner. he did say the amount of medicine, prescription drugs recovered was less than found in most overdoses. he did not say, though, which drugs were found. tmz was told the anti-anxiety drug, xanax was among them and dr. pin ski says it only takes one anti-anxiety medication alone or in combination with alcohol to kill you. we'll talk to him shortly. he has very strong views on this latest celebrity death. we'll have a lot more on houston's battle with addiction and reports she was drinking as recently as friday night and thursday with her friend, singer kelly price. we'll hear from kelly price as well. first, though, what we know so far about whitney houston's final days. on thursday night, whitney houston takes the stage in what would be her last public performance. video taken at a party celebrating her friend, kelly price's grammy nomination. she hugs price on stage and launches into an impromptu performance singing "jesus loves me." ♪ >> houston reportedly partied late into the night. these pictures show her looking disheveled. according to tmz.com, houston had a tense argument with another singer at the party. when she left, this photo of her was taken that appeared to show something that looked like blood dripping down her legs. cnn has not independently confirmed this. friends say houston was in good spirits that night, dancing, celebrating and drinking. >> what i can say on thursday night, whitney was partying, happy, sober, maybe a little tipsy because she had some champagne. but we had a good time thursday night, and i will not let anybody else say anything about my friend because it's not true. >> houston was in town for clive davis' pre-grammy party staying at the hilton with her daughter, bobbi kristina. this video shows them speaking to davis at the motel on thursday. her behavior at the hotel was erratic, according to the "los angeles times" saying houston was seen skipping around a ballroom and doing hand stands near the hotel pool. the newspaper also reports houston was seen in mismatched clothing with dripping wet hair. on friday night, according to tmz.com, houston spent a long time at the bar at the hotel drinking with friends and being loud according to the website. the next day, houston was getting ready to attend the party. she reportedly spoke to her mother cissy houston around 3:15 p.m. on saturday afternoon. less than 30 minutes later, a member of houston's entourage found her unconscious and unresponsive inside the bathtub. her staff members pulled her out of the bathtub and called for help. >> when our officers arrived on the hotel room and fourth floor, the fire department and hotel security were already attempting resuscitation measures. but at 3:55 p.m. this afternoon, whitney houston was pronounced dead at the beverly hilton hotel. >> investigators say there were no signs of foul play and will not comment if the prescription pills found in houston's hotel room had anything to do with her death. >> i know there's reports she maybe was drowned or did she overdose, but we won't make a final determination until all the tests are in. >> an autopsy and toxicology tests were completed sunday. the l.a. county coroner's office says it will be six to eight weeks before they have any answers. houston's body has been released to her family who plan on holding a wake wednesday and a burial in her hometown of newark, new jersey, on friday. whitney houston, of course, got her start singing in church. as you heard a moment ago, she sang the last time in public an impromptu short performance thursday. she sang "yes, jesus loves me." ♪ ♪ >> sing whitney! >> her voice may not have been at its best but she was on that stage to support a friend. that's why we played you that video tonight. that is very important to kelly price, her duet partner there i spoke with earlier tonight. >> kelly, we just saw whitney houston singing with you in what turned out to be really her final performance on stage. how did she seem to you thursday night? >> excited to be there. excited to be at the event. happy, celebratory. she was with me there at my pregrammy event and we were having a good time, which is exactly why she came and took the stage. i wasn't expecting her to do it. she wasn't scheduled to perform that night. but everybody was having such a good tame. we had been dancing and singing and she was getting into everybody else's performances, kind of encouraging everybody else along and just cheering everybody along. as i shared a moment with the audience, how she had been such a huge encouragement to me as we met throughout my career, she kind of made her way to the stage and came up. it was a shock to me she came on stage. i wasn't expecting her to. but she wanted to sing. >> did you spend time with her before being on stage after? how long was she there? how did the evening go for her? >> she was there actually almost an hour before i got there. she beat me to my own event. we did, we spent a bit of time together. only to be interrupted by her visiting with other performers that were there and talking to them and communicating with them. we actually got a chance to spend a little time together before it was time for me to perform. we were downstairs in my vip area, more private. we got a chance to catch up a little bit and hug each other and kiss each other and tell each other we love each other. she really expressed to me how proud she was of me doing this project and sticking to my guns to sing the truth. as far as r&b music, which was a big part of the celebration as it goes. she was perfectly okay. she was having a good time. she was laughing. she was greeting the other artists. it became a big moment, i think, because like myself, other artists, when they were around whitney houston, recognized she was whitney houston and it was an honor for any other artist, no matter who they were, to be in her presence. >> there are a lot of different reports what happened that night, a report she had a run-in with another woman at the club. pictures of her with what appear to be blood dripping down her leg. do you know any of that? >> i don't know anything about any blood dripping down her leg. i know that at a point, there was wine that spilled and glass that broke. i don't know anything about any blood. i don't know anything about an arsment that took place. i didn't see one. i sat at the foot of the stage all night long because i sang almost in between every performance of every other artist. she was there with me with bobby chris, with her brother, with her sister-in-law, who is also her manager and we were there together. my husband, who is also my manager was in the corner as well as the background singers entering the stage, a very tight corner. she decided to come and be in that corner with me because the club itself was so crowded, the artists were having a hard time getting to the stage. it was super crowded and super hot almost to the point the fire marshals shutting us down because it was so crowded. i don't know anything of those events. i knew there was wine that spilled, a glass that broke. it was tight. we were knocking glasses over on the stage that were sitting by the speakers. so i can't account for any of that. what i can account for is that everybody had a great time and the whitney that i know and saw was cheering everybody on. she sang, she danced with her daughter, she danced with me. we had a great time. there was nothing wrong with her, that i saw. she was no more than three feet from me the whole night except when i was center stage. >> you say there was nothing wrong with her. obviously, her past battles have been very public. did she seem in any way high to you or intoxicated. i heard you said she had been drinking champagne. >> yeah. everyone pretty much had had champagne at some point in the night. they were toasting the event, toasting the grammy nominations. that's what was going on. she was not high. i'm a girl that group in the projects in new york city. i know high when i see it. she was not high. we were literally having a great time, having a celebratory time. i stick to it because it's the truth. i stick to the truth because i'm so glad, if nothing more, i'm so glad that in this moment, i can say i had the pleasure of spending time with my friend, for the last time, and she wasn't high. she was happy. that's the way i get an opportunity to remember her. >> did it worry you to see her drinking at all, given her past? >> well, no, i wasn't worried about it. i didn't see where it was excessive. i didn't see -- i saw her with a couple of glasses of champagne. and our interactions were normal. there was nothing that seemed over the top. she didn't seem to be intoxicated to me. again, i know intoxicated when i see it. i wasn't worried about it at all. i don't think for her the night was about being in a club to get drunk. that wasn't the purpose. the purpose was to come out and celebrate because everybody was toasting and excited about the moment and excited about what was coming. we were planning on spending some time together at clive davis' event on saturday. it would have been the most time we have had the opportunity to spend at one place at one time in a period of days in a couple years. i was excited about that. she was excited about that. bobby kris was with her and my two teenage kids were with me. i want to stress that, because it was that kind of event. it didn't lend itself to other kinds of behavior. i had my teenage daughter and son with me at the club. they came to celebrate their mother for the grammy nominations and love of r&b, the event. it was that kind of thing. i would have never wanted to bring my children into an environment i would have felt they would have seen something out of the way. i'm a very cautious mother. i was comfortable with the environment that was there, to the point i would have my own kids there. her daughter was there, she was there and it was an enjoyable time. >> i'm glad you were able to have that moment with your friend. i'm sorry how everything has happened and my condolences to you and your family. >> thank you. thank you so much. i appreciate it. >> let us know what you think. we're on facebook, google plus. add us to your circles, a sad story. follow us on twitter. anderson cooper, tweeting tonight. up next, whitney houston's battles with addiction in the past. we don't know what killed her in those final days, those final moments. there seems to be an epidemic of celebrity prescription drug deaths. later, politics -- could mitt romney lose the state he grew up in and is he losing his lead nationwide? paints a pretty dark picture. >> let's check in with isha. >> the syrian government keeps saying the media is lying about the slaughter of civilians but keeping the media out. one of our own reporters made it in no thanks to the regime and telling us and the world what she's seeing. ♪ dave, i've downloaded a virus. yeah. ♪ dave, where are we on the new laptop? it's so slow! i'm calling dave. 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[ female announcer ] discover what's next in your life. get this free travel bag when you join at aarp.org/jointoday. >> as we said at the top of the program, whitney houston will be buried in newark, new jersey, not far from where they heard her first performance. she had been drinking champagne. you heard kelly price say she was happy. no denying her past two decades have been difficult. more from randi kaye. >> reporter: whispers about whitney houston's troubles began to circle shortly after she appeared in this michael jackson tribute. looking rail thin, the appearance fueled rumors her health was rapidly declining. she denied those rumors in this infamous 2002 interview with diane sawyer, insisting she didn't have an eating disorder and didn't have a crack addiction. >> whitney dying. crack rehab hails. >> first of all, crack is cheap. i make too much money to ever smoke crack. let's get that straight. i don't do crack. i don't do that. crack is whack. >> this says $730,000 drug habit. this is a headline. >> come on! 730. i wish. no. i wish whoever was making that money off me could share it with me. no way. no way. >> still, she admitted to battling other demons. >> is it alcohol? is it marijuana? is it cocaine? is it pills? >> it has been, at times. >> all? >> at times. >> if you had to name the devil for you, the biggest devil among them? >> that would be me. >> reporter: houston also had a turbulent marriage to singer bobby brown. married in 1992, some pointed to their relationship as an a primary source of houston's troubles. houston publicly denied that brown abused her. >> has he ever hit you? >> no, he's never hit me, no. i hit him. in anger. >> bobby! bobby! >> reporter: that marriage and her erratic behavior eventually became reality show fodder on bravo's "being bobby brown." but that show did little to burnish her reputation. >> we have to live with anthrax -- >> you watch too much tv. >> kiss my ass! >> in her later years, she attempted a comeback and divorced bobby brown and released an album in 2009 that debuted number one on the charts. but a tour was plagued with vocal difficulties and in 2011, her publicist said she was seeking rehabilitation for her addiction. she was rehabilitating her image speaking with tv "extra." >> i think over the years being a mother and being married, i have matured in so many ways. my daughter is my greatest inspiration. she has trained me for this role. >> she has trained me. >> she trained me good. >> randi kaye, cnn, atlanta. >> officials have yet to pinpoint a cause of death or rule anything out, when a celebrity with a history of substance abuse is found dead long before her time, suspicions obviously turn to drugs and prescription drugs. i spoke about it with addiction specialist, dr. drew pinsky. as you hear the details now that have slowly begun to come out about whitney houston's final hours, what do you make about this? >> think about this, anderson. there are leagues of rock stars that poured terrible amount of drugs in their system, they're still with us because they didn't get into the pharmaceutical spectrum. these days, drugs find their way to benzodiazepines, and oral opiums and a doctor prescribed them and they're all dead. >> what do you mean by ben do diazepimes and oral opiums? >> it's the kinds of medications you're hearing about now having been found at her bedside. it hasn't been yet confirmed but it will be what it turns out to be and oral opiums are pain can i recalls, vicodin, codeine. that combination with alcohol suppresses respiration and people stop breathing. what's happening in hollywood is merely a reflection what's going on in our country. that same day whitney died, thousands of other people with 'dicks died, prescription-related death. >> there is the feeling because of prescription drugs, you need a doctor who gave a prescription, they're somehow not as dangerous. >> that's right. people don't perceive the harm. everyone has been exposed to these and have in their medicine cabinet and their doctor gave it to me, it must be safe. you opened this conversation. what do i think about this? i'm outraged by it, sick of it. how many people do we have to hear about, amy winehouse, whatever it is, prescription related deaths, every single one. >> we heard from kelly price earlier, who said on thursday night, whitney was singing on stage with her, champagne was flowing, people said her voice was raspy, a photo of her looking kind of haggard leaving this club although it was late or early in the morning. i guess one is going to look haggard if you've been in a club. >> anderson, i got to stop you, i got to tell you. when i hear people around her are saying this woman with a long history of addiction, multiple courses of rehab is doing fine, toasting champagne, that's so sad that the people around her didn't recognize that merely by the fact that she's continuing to drink tells them, she was treated just last may as an out-patient where i guarantee you abstinence was the goal and here she is with her friends toasting, that's sad. >> is it everybody is it people in her life that are happy whitney houston showed up at her event and that ire not going to comment or step in. >> that's the issue with celebrities. not the stress of a celebrity makes somebody a severe addict, they don't have the same consequences others do. people pulling them in saying, hey, dude, you've got to take care of this or an employee saying you have to take care of this right now. it's not just the people around them. how about the physician that prescribed this to them? >> there are also reports that whitney was back working on another film project. she tried to have a comeback. could that have contributed to it? >> yes. the fact this was a woman with chronic addictive pathology, treated as recently as may of last year and somebody thinks it's a good idea for her to be back on a movie in the fall or the winter? absolutely outrageous. this woman should be taking 12 months to focus on her recovery. this is the other liability of being a celebrity, aside from the sycophants surrounding them, the people who make money off them push them and they love their work, it's gratifying for them. the paradigm story is robert downey. he kept going back to work. it wasn't until he stopped work, did n