Joan Rivers 'Stable but Critical'

Joan Rivers stopped breathing during a throat procedure this morning and is in "stable but critical condition," reports E! Online. The 81-year-old comedian is now at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, but the hospital isn't saying much. The Daily News reports that Rivers has been placed in a medically induced coma and that doctors won't bring her out of it until the weekend to evaluate her condition. Like all the other reports circulating, however, it remains unconfirmed. Rivers was rushed to Mt. Sinai from a nearby clinic when the throat procedure went wrong. "We have somebody in either cardiac or respiratory arrest," said the caller to 911, reports TMZ.

Daughter Melissa and Melissa's son, Cooper, have flown to New York City to be with her. “We are scared,” another family source tells the Daily News. "This is not looking good. No big medical decisions will be made until Melissa arrives." E! reports that the trouble occurred when clinic staff put a scope down Rivers' throat to check her vocal chords. She was sedated at the time, but "this was not major surgery," says the source. A hospital spokesperson said Rivers' "family wants to thank everybody for their outpouring of love and support." (More Joan Rivers stories.)