Michael Jackson

 

Michael Joseph Jackson’s story was a quintessentially American tale of celebrity and excess that took him from musical boy wonder to global pop superstar to sad figure haunted by lawsuits, paparazzi and failed plastic surgery.

At the height of his career, Mr. Jackson was indisputably the biggest star in the world; he sold more than 750 million albums. He spent a lifetime surprising people, in his last years mainly because of a surreal personal life, lurid legal scandals, serial plastic surgeries and erratic public behavior that turned him — on his very best days — into the butt of late-night talk-show jokes and tabloid headlines.

Mr. Jackson died at age 50 in Los Angeles on June 25, 2009. His death itself became an enormous spectacle. On television and on the Internet, tens of millions of people worldwide watched a memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The cause of Mr. Jackson’s death was a mixture of the powerful anesthetic propofol and the anti-anxiety drug lorazepam, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.

Two days after Mr. Jackson’s death his personal doctor, Conrad Murray, told detectives that he had been using propofol nearly daily for the last two months to help Mr. Jackson sleep. But he said that he had been trying to wean Mr. Jackson off the drug and had tried sedatives instead. Dr. Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter for providing him with propofol.

Michael Jackson Death Trial: ER Doctor Says Murray 'Sounded Desperate' and 'Looked Devastated'

 

The cardiologist called to UCLA Medical Center's emergency room when Michael Jackson was admitted to the hospital June 25, 2009, testified today that Dr. Conrad Murray, on trial for Jackson's death, "sounded desperate" and "looked devastated" in the hospital.

Dr. Thao Nguyen said Murray said to her and other doctors, "Do not give up easily. Please try to save his life."

Nguyen said she was called to the emergency room when she received a page saying that a VIP patient, Michael Jackson, had been admitted to the hospital.

"By the time I came down, the patient appeared lifeless," Nguyen said. "I couldn't find a pulse. My attending couldn't find a pulse."

But Murray told Nguyen's attending physician that he had detected a pulse so, acting in "good faith," Nguyen said, she and her team continued to attempt to resuscitate Jackson. They made an agreement with Murray that if another attempt and resuscitation efforts with a balloon pump proved futile, she said, they would pronounce him dead. The procedure was unsuccessful and Jackson was pronounced dead.

Nguyen also testified that when she began to ask Murray questions he was not able to tell her the time Jackson stopped breathing, when medication was administered to him that day or the interval of time between the two events.

"He said he did not have any concept of time," Nguyen told the court. "He did not have a watch."

Jackson's Doctor's Trial: Fatal Propofol Dose Watch Video

Michael Jackson's Doctor on Trial: Defense Setback Watch Video

Medic: MJ Lifeless, Doc Mute on Propofol Watch Video

She added that when she "specifically asked" Murray if Jackson had taken any other sedatives or narcotics, "his reply was negative."

Murray asked both Nguyen and her attending doctor "that we not give up easily and try to save Michael Jackson's life," Nguyen said.

"In Dr. Murray's mind, if we called it quits at that time, it would be giving up easily," Nguyen said. "[It's] not a case of too little, too late. It seems like a case of too late."

Earlier in the day, an emergency room doctor who attempted to resuscitate Michael Jackson the night he died said that even if Dr. Conrad Murray had told her Jackson had taken the drug propofol, it would not have changed her treatment.

"Had Dr. Murray told you he had given 25 mg of propofol at 10:30, would it have altered your treatment of Michael Jackson?" asked defense attorney Michael Flanagan at the second week of Murray's trial for involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's overdose death on June 25, 2009.

"No," answered the doctor, Richelle Cooper, who was on duty at UCLA Medical Center's emergency room the night Jackson died.

"Would that have altered the result that happened to Michael Jackson?" Flanagan asked.

"As I said, Mr. Jackson died long before he became my patient," Cooper answered. "Knowing more, it's still unlikely I could have done something different to him."

Murray told Cooper that he was treating the singer for dehydration and that Jackson had no history of health problems, witnesses have testified.

On Friday, Cooper and paramedics who responded to an apparently lifeless Michael Jackson said Murray did not tell them that Jackson was taking the powerful anesthetic propofol to sleep.

Murray told Cooper that the only medications that Jackson took regularly were valium, an anti-anxiety medication, and Flomax, which is used to treat an enlarged prostate or someone suffering from a kidney stone, according to testimony at the trial.

Joanna Hunkin: Kardashian divorce just another business deal

Anyone who has ever kept up with the Kardashians could see this was just another publicity stunt.

As the cameras followed the couple in the build up to their fairytale wedding, it was shockingly apparent Kim Kardashian and her supposed true love Kris Humphries barely knew each other.

But am I impressed? Yes.

Kimmy K reportedly scammed a cool $18 million out of her wedding and related endorsement deals.

The event itself was reported to have cost another $10 million (none of which, one imagines, she paid for). 

The divorce papers were filed 72 days after the August 20 extravaganza. Which means the soon-to-be former Mrs Humphries earned an astounding $250,000 a day. No one can deny thats impressive work.

And Kim is all about work. In the lead up to her divorce announcement - and even after the news was out - Kim was busy plugging her wares on Twitter. Not so much as a frowny faced emoticon to mark the shock news.

Her two sisters took to Twitter to express their sadness - and berate the negative Twits coming through. But Kim was all business.

Here in Melbourne (where I am to interview Sarah Jessica Parker, which you can watch on Breakfast tomorrow morning&) Kim was due to make an appearance at the Melbourne Cup.

She cancelled that commitment (seems to be her thing at the moment) but will still be travelling down under to launch her new handbag line on Wednesday.

Like I say, shes all about the business.

A business driven by her mother Kris Jenner and based on not a hell of a lot. A sex tape. An impressively large derriere. And of course, those infernal reality shows.

Bieber urges fans to donate to Starship

Justin Bieber has announced the Starship Foundation is his chosen charity for New Zealand and urged his fans to donate.

The teen singer is backing 20 charities around the world, setting a goal to raise millions of dollars through his "Believe Charity Drive" campaign.

Starship welcomed the endorsement with Foundation CEO Brad Clark saying: "The Starship Foundation is so grateful to have the support of superstar Justin Bieber and we encourage all of his New Zealand fans to get in behind the Believe Charity Drive.

"The proceeds will go towards the rebuild of Starship Hospital's neuroservices and medical specialties wards, which treats conditions including neurological disorders, brain tumours, metabolic and genetic disorders, head trauma and suspected child abuse injuries, respiratory illnesses and infectious diseases."

Fans can go to justinbiebermusic.com/believecharity and donate as little as $1, or donate their time.

"Everything will make a difference," Bieber said.

He has chosen charities with focus on education, youth wellbeing, and music.

Bieber's worldwide charities: Pencils of Promise; Project Medishare for Haiti; City of Hope; Make-A-Wish Foundation; Boys & Girls Clubs of America; Musicians On Call; the Grammy Foundation ( US); Children's Wish Foundation ( Canada), Unesco ( Japan), Triubte To Bambi ( Germany), Starship Foundation ( New Zealand), Teenage Cancer Trust ( UK), Barretstown ( Ireland), Acreditar ( Portugal), Peter Pan Onlus ( Italy), SOS Bornebyerne ( Denmark), Un Juguete Una Ilusion ( Spain), Association Petits Princes ( France), Kinderen Kankervrij ( Netherlands), and Barncancerfonden ( Sweden ).

Contributions will also be made to other charities, his management said.

sexiest vegetarians, claimed the look was easily made without causing harm.

PETA added: "These days, it's easy to have a look that kills without killing - with fake snake, mock croc, python pleather, and other designer items that pay tribute to the beauty of these animals without massacring them."

The group have previously targeted celebrities including Paris Hilton, who was pelted with flour during a fashion show in London in 2006 for modelling for Julien Macdonald, a designer who uses fur.

Critic's Guide to Monday TV: Rock Center, Halloween Marathons, and More!

The biggest TV news of the night comes from a network's news division, as NBC News launches Rock Center With Brian Williams (10/9c), the first high-profile network newsmagazine with serious intent to premiere in a long while, closer in tone to 60 Minutes than Dateline's lurid true-crime fixation. How serious is this? No less a legend than Ted Koppel has signed on as a contributor, though he wasn't on the initial first-night playlist. Top-rated Nightly News anchor Brian Williams hosts live from Studio 3B in Rockefeller Center, and the opening lineup includes a report on Syrian rebellion from star foreign correspondent Richard Engel, a Kate Snow investigation about Chinese women who come to America to give birth and return with U.S. citizenship, and former CBS anchor Harry Smith with a piece about "the one place in America with a negative unemployment rate."

No one's expecting blockbuster ratings, especially on Halloween night, but this project is more about prestige and credibility, and NBC is going to give it time. Besides, it's not as if they could do any worse in the time period.

Gamlin resigns, new CLP leader likely to elected today.

The resolution which stated, "We, the party MLAs, are authorizing Sonia Gandhi to nominate the CLP leader," was read out to newsmen by AICC observer and Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. The party MLAs held a meeting where Shinde and other two observers - former DoNER minister B K Handique and party general secretary and in-charge of Arunachal Pradesh Dhaniram Shandil - were present.

A new Congress Legislature Party leader is likely to be selected by Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday and the swearing-in of the new chief minister will follow, said a Raj Bhavan source.

Sources said Gamlin, while tendering his resignation, has proposed two names for the CLP leader's post, creating confusion in Congress circles. These two names are of environment and forest minister Setong Sena and finance minister Kalikho Pul.

In the 60-member assembly, Trinamool Congress has 5 members, NCP (5), People's Party of Arunachal (4), BJP (3) besides a lone Independent. Trinamool Congress and NCP provide outside support to the Congress government.

Happy Halloween? Not if allergies get in way .

Other allergy threats on Halloween include dust mites in costumes that have been spent time in storage, nickel in tiaras, wands, and other costume accessories, and "cheap Halloween makeup."

Some kids are allergic to latex, which is found in some balloons and rubber toys - another thing parents may want to consider.

"When people think of Halloween-associated allergies, they focus on candy and often overlook many other potential triggers," Dr. Myron Zitt, past president of the College, said in a written statement published on the organization's website.

Happy Halloween! Do giant pumpkins have a size limit?

It all began with Nova Scotia grower Howard Dill, the most famous person in the world (at least when it comes to mammoth pumpkins). All of today's record-shattering fruits come from a single gourd from 1979 named the Atlantic Giant, a member of the subspecies Cucurbita maxima. C. maxima was first cultivated in the early 19th century, by growers who crossed a Japanese kabocha squash with a Hubbard squash.

In addition to the right seeds, there are a few other factors that go into colossal pumpkins. According to the National Gardening Association, the elephantine pumpkins prefer a soil pH of 6.5 to 7, with lots of organic matter. Giant pumpkins take 130 days to mature, and at their fastest rate they can gain up to 50 pounds a day, a rate comparable to that of the largest trees.

Bernie Madoff Exclusive: Barbara Walters' Firsthand Account.

It is a 90-minute flight from New York to Raleigh, N.C., and then it takes about 40 minutes by car to get to the Butner Federal Correction Complex. As you drive east from Raleigh all you can see for miles is farmland scattered with a few small buildings. Butner is a beautiful, rural community, despite being home to several prisons.

The Butner complex itself has four prisons: two medium security facilities, a hospital and a low-security prison as well. Bernard Madoff is in Medium I. All the buildings are white and low to the ground, and from a distance look like an attractive office complex. The area was quiet and extremely well-kept -- if I was expecting doom and gloom, it wasn't what I found. Only as you drive closer to the actual buildings can you see the barbed wire fence ringing each of the four prisons.

Palm Beach County residents speak out on new Madoff book

A rainy day may be the perfect time to curl up with a book; however, you might have a hard time finding “Truth and Consequences,” the new Madoff book by Laurie Sandell, in Palm Beach. Classic Bookshop on South County Road in Palm Beach has already run out.

"It's done well,” said Dan Foster, the store buyer for Classic Bookshop. “It arrived this week and we immediately sold out."

The town the Madoffs called home is eager to hear what the infamous family has to say about the ponzi scheme that cost thousands of investors, including their own friends and neighbors, billions.

"It's going to make money because everyone is interested in this whole Madoff case and how he got away with it for so long," explained Philip Snow of Boca Raton.

"I was in agony over the losses of all my friends,” Ruth Madoff told Today Show Host Matt Lauer. “Everyone I know and loved was a victim."

Ruth Madoff and her son, Andrew, told their story on NBC's Today Show this morning. Ruth Madoff admitted she and her husband tried to commit suicide. Both she and Andrew said they didn't know any wrongdoing was going on.

"It never occurred to me that it was all fake," Andrew Madoff told Lauer.

That’s not sitting well with people in Palm Beach County.

Crime, punishment, and the shame of being a Madoff.

When news broke that Bernard Madoff had swindled thousands of people out of billions of dollars, many assumed that his family must have known all along. But Madoff's wife Ruth and son Andrew tell Morley Safer they were blindsided when Madoff finally confessed that he'd been running a giant Ponzi scheme. In their first television interviews, they describe how their once-happy family was completely destroyed.

One Casualty of Northeaster: ‘Trick or Treat

From New Jersey to Massachusetts, towns called off trick-or-treating on Monday because downed power lines and fallen trees posed a danger in the dark. Other towns in New York and New Jersey suggested what amounted to curfews, urging the candy-seeking ghosts and goblins to ring all the doorbells they wanted — before nightfall.

“One, there’s still downed wires,” said Michael J. Rohal, the administrator of Glen Ridge, N.J., explaining the decision to postpone trick-or-treating until Friday. “We have traffic signals without power. We have a lot of tree limbs that are down. We have large amount of tree debris, making the sidewalks impassable.”

And, with electricity still out in much of the borough, children would have been wandering in total darkness.

Trick-or-treating hours, safety tips

Official trick-or-treating hours in Glen Ellyn and Wheaton are from 3 to 7 p.m. today. The Wheaton Police Department also wants the public to keep the following tips in mind to have a safe Halloween.

• Refrain from crossing the street in the middle of the block or between parked cars. Cross the street only in the crosswalk or at the corner, using caution.

• Trick-or-treat while it’s light outside. If you must be out after dark, wear white or light-colored clothing, put reflective tape on your costume and treat bag, and carry a flashlight so you can be seen. Never carry a lit torch or candle.

• Dress children in non-flammable costumes that fit properly – short enough to prevent tripping. Avoid wearing masks, which obstruct vision. Use face paint and makeup instead.

• Trick-or-treat with friends and stay in a group; there is safety in numbers. Never trick-or-treat alone.

• Make sure young children are accompanied by an adult or a responsible teen, such as an older brother or sister while trick-or-treating.

• Advise children not to enter any residence or vehicle for the promise of anything. Children should wait outside the door for their treats.