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.