Vibe Magazine Folds, Immediately

Vibe is closing immediately, a day before the music/urban magazine's 16th anniversary.

Tracy Nguyen, the company's spokeswoman, said the Vibe staff was formally notified this afternoon. She said she did not know how many people would be laid off as a result of the closure.

The closure of Vibe leaves just two large-circulation music magazines, XXL and The Source, focusing on hip-hop and R&B. The Source has had its own troubles, going through a bankruptcy and emerging under new ownership last year. A rock-focused magazine, Blender, folded last year.

In a memo to staff members announcing the closure, Steve Aaron, chief of the Vibe Media Group, wrote that for months, the company tried in vain to either find new investors or “to restructure the huge debt on our small company.”

“The print advertising collapse hit Vibe hard, especially as key ad categories like automotive and fashion, which represented the bulk of our top 10 advertisers, have stopped advertising or gone out of business,” he wrote.

Danyel Smith, Vibe's editor-in-chief, released this statement:
On behalf the VIBE CONTENT staff (the best in this business), it is with great sadness, and with heads held high, that we leave the building today. We were assigning and editing a Michael Jackson tribute issue when we got the news. It’s a tragic week in overall, but as the doors of VIBE Media Group close, on the eve of the magazine’s sixteenth anniversary, it’s a sad day for music, for hip hop in particular, and for the millions of readers and users who have loved and who continue to love the VIBE brand. We thank you, we have served you with joy, pride and excellence, and we will miss you.

Update:
Quincy Jones is hoping to buy back the magazine. In a conversation with Ebony magazine's Senior Editor Adrienne Samuels Gibbs, he said:

"I'm trying to buy my magazine back now. They just messed my magazine all up, but I'm gonna get it back. You better believe it, I'm'a take it online because print and all that stuff is over."

Jones says that all publications must figure out how to live online. That's where he's going to take Vibe once he recovers from the death of his friend and protégé Michael Jackson.

"We gotta get into the 21st century you know," Jones said. "Print and all that stuff is over, we gotta remember that. The Chicago Tribune, The Seattle Post Intelligencer. The Miami Herald. They're over the same way as the record business. We have got to get into this century."

While Jones sees an online-only presence as the future of VIBE, the magazine's Web site was already robust and, according to its CEO, profitable. Industry analysts say that without the burden of paying for the printed page, there might be a digital opportunity for VIBE if the brand's name and archives could be bought without having to assume the company's debt.



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Supermodel Arrested for Threatening Her Plastic Surgeon

French-Dutch supermodel Karen Mulder isn't walking the Parisian runways today, she's sitting in one that city's cold jail cells after threatening her plastic surgeon.

According to police, Karen called her surgeon repeatedly to reverse an unnamed cosmetic procedure. She "was screaming and shouting about the operation and became extremely threatening," report the Telepgraph.

As an in-demand model in the '90s, Karen made $20,000 per day, but in 2001 she checked into a psych ward citing chronic depression and and an addiction to prescription painkillers. A year later she overdosed on sleeping pills.


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Kellie Pickler and Kid Rock are Dating?

Rocker Kid Rock is secretly dating "American Idol" star Kellie Pickler, according to tabloid reports.

The hitmaker showed up at the recent CMT Video Awards in Nashville, Tenn., with ex-girlfriend Sheryl Crow, but he was really at the award show to be close to his new love, according to the Globe.

A source tells the publication, "The romance between Kellie and Kid has been the worst-kept secret in Nashville."

Insiders claim Pickler was talking about Kid Rock when she recently told a radio interviewer, "I'm seeing someone. I got a man. He's a great, great guy. We've been seeing each other for over a year."

Rock, real name Robert Ritchie, has been linked to a string of lovely ladies and was briefly married to Pamela Anderson in 2006.

Kid Rock is 38 and Kellie is 23.


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Charlamagne Grills Jeremih, Advises Him to Stay Away From 'Devils' Lil Wayne, Drake

Jeremiah -- oops, Jeremih -- called into the Morning Beat with Charlamagne this morning to promote his self-titled debut album, which is out today.

Jeremih's big first single "Birthday Sex" has catapulted him into a position in which he is expected to do bring numbers. Anything else, and he's be considered a one-hit wonder, a flop. But his second single, "I'm a Star" is also worth listening to, although some listeners say the entire is trash.

On the topic of "birthday sex" Charlamagne wanted to know if his mother had cheap birthday sex or were she tired after giving labor that she forgot to add an "a" to Jermih.

He mentions he will be touring with Drake and Lil Wayne.

"I don't give a damn about Lil Wayne and Drake. Lil Wayne and Drake are devils, you stay away from them, you be a nice wholesome kid, you don't let them freakin' suck you in," Charlamangne tells him. He also advises Jeremih to talk about condoms on a remix.

Charlamange's criticism of Wayne and Drake more than likely stems from the duo's performance at last weekend's BET Awards, where they sang about having sex with every girl in the world while several pre-teen girls danced around them on stage.

Go here to listen to the interview.

Michael Jackson Fans Commit Suicide

Devastated Michael Jackson fanatics have committed suicide because of the superstar's death, according to the singer's biggest online fan club.

As of this writing, 13 people have taken their own lives.

"I know there has been an increase, I now believe the figure is 12. I believe there may have been one Briton who has taken their life, Gary Taylor, who runs MJJcommunity.com, said. "It is a serious situation that these people are going through but Michael Jackson would never want this. He would want them to live."

A young Tunisian girl took her life, too.

"She spent the day in her bedroom watching Jackson videos and later swallowed a large amount of tablets<' reports the Barcelona Reporter.

Another Russian fan Pável Talaláyev was found bleeding heavily at his home in Moscow just hours after it was announced that Michael had died. (An ambulance crew found him in time on Friday and managed to save his life.)

If you need help, please call National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Simon Cowell Offered $144 MILLION A Year to Stay on 'American Idol'

Everyone loves to hate Simon Cowell, now here's one more reason to add to that running list.

He made $36 million last year as judge of American Idol and when his contract expires next May, Fox is willing to pay up to $144 million (no, that's not a typo) to keep him on the top-rated show.

Wow!

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Michael Jackson's Body Will Be on Display Friday at Neverland

Michael Jackson's body will return to his Neverland Ranch on Thursday morning for a public viewing Friday, reports CNN.

A private memorial service is scheduled for Sunday.

Also, a Jackson will, written in 2002, has been found, according to family lawyer Londell McMillan.

It was not immediately clear whether Jackson's body would be interred at Neverland.

Michael Jackson's Friend Claims to Be Father of 'Blanket'

A friend of Michael Jackson has claimed he is the real father of the singer's youngest child.

Al Malnik (pictured with "Blanket", above) - a restaurateur with alleged Mafia links - insists he is the biological parent of seven-year-old Prince Michael II and has pledged to help raise the boy following Michael's death.

He is quoted as saying: "I'm the one who saved Michael from bankruptcy and, in return, he said he would name me the executor of his will. I was a father figure to Michael and I intend to be a father figure to the son who is rightfully mine. He asked me, if anything happened to him, if I would become godfather and parent to Prince Michael."

The mother of Prince Michael II - known as Blanket - is unknown.

Michael's ex-wife Debbie Rowe is also now said to be a just a surrogate and not the biological mother of his two eldest children, Prince Michael, 12, and Paris, 11.

However, photographs showing the resemblance between Paris and Malnik's own daughter with his wife Nancy have sparked speculation he is also the father of the older children.

"Malnik has made no secret of the fact that he has a special relationship with Michael. And now he claims he is the father of his third child. If you look at pictures if Michael's daughter Paris and Malnik's own daughter, they both have a very similar look about them," said Britain's Daily Star newspaper.

"For many people there has been a question mark over this area of Michael's life."

Malnik's claims have been dismissed as "ridiculous" by a family spokesperson.

Michael is rumored to have met the businessman at a Beverly Hills cosmetic surgery clinic.

Malnik reportedly helped out his friend with a $70 million loan when he was struggling financially in the aftermath of his legal battles stemmed from child sex abuse allegations.



In other News:
Dr Arnold Klein,Michael’s L.A.-based dermatologist and Debbie Rowe’s former boss, says he's the father of the two older children, Prince Michael, 12, and Paris Michael Katherine, 11.

“He is the dad,” says a source told Us Weekly. “He and Debbie signed an agreement saying they would never reveal the truth.”


Update: Malmik now claims he's not Blanket's father. Go figure.
He says, "It would be very interesting to realize that I didn't meet Blanket until he was two years old. So that wouldn't qualify as a rippling event I think. Of course I'm not the biological father."



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Al Franken Declared Winner of Minnesota Senate Seat

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Democrat Al Franken the winner of a tight U.S. Senate race over Republican Norm Coleman, which should give Democrats the 60-seat majority they need to overcome procedural obstacles and push through their agenda, Reuters reports.

Coleman has said in published reports he is unlikely to appeal the state court's decision to the federal courts. Under state law, the court's decision gives Franken the right to occupy the seat, which has been up for grabs since last November's election.

Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty has said he will certify the election winner based on what the state court decides.

If the decision holds up, Democrats will control 60 of the 100 Senate seats -- enough to overcome Republican procedural roadblocks in a clear boost to President Barack Obama's agenda.

Democrats hold a solid majority in the U.S. House.

However, Senate Democrats may not be able to count on Arlen Specter's vote. Specter, a former Republican from Pennsylvania, switched parties in April but has said he will vote his own way and not necessarily along party lines.

The Minnesota contest has seen several switches. Coleman, seeking a second term, held a razor-thin lead after the November 4 election over Franken, a well known satirist and a former writer and actor for the popular Saturday Night Live television show.

But the close vote triggered an automatic recount of the 2.4 million ballots cast for the two men, and Franken edged to a 225-vote lead. That result was challenged by Coleman, and a judicial panel agreed to add only a few hundred previously rejected absentee ballots. That tally expanded Franken's lead to 312 votes.


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Chilli, Pepa Get Reality Shows

VH1 is giving two '90s female hip-hop icons, Sandra (Pepa) Denton of Salt-N-Pepa and Rozonda (Chilli) Thomas of TLC, their own reality shows.

The as-yet-untitled Pepa project will follow the former rapper as she looks for love after four years of self-imposed celibacy. Pepa and three of her closest female friends, who are also single, will meet for brunch every week to discuss the highs and lows of the past seven days.

Chilli's series, which is also untitled so far, will show its star, a single mother, enlisting Brooklyn relationship expert Tionna Smalls to help her find a long-term relationship.

Both series are set to premiere next year.

Michael Jackson's Doctor Has 6 Kids With 5 Baby's Mothers

Michael Jackson’s personal doctor has six kids by five different women, it was claimed yesterday.

Dr Conrad Murray, who is being questioned by investigators about Michael’s death — has also failed to pay child support.

One of those baby's mothers — nurse Nenita Malibiran — took him to court in 1998 for child support.

“We went through all the different children that Murray had — and who all the mothers were," her lawyer Julie Brown said. “The father was not paying support. Ms Malibiran had to go to the district attorney’s child support division to get a collection against him.”

Dr Murray filed for bankruptcy in 1992 and also owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in debts. He has been hit with nine lawsuits in three years for unpaid bills.

Last month office - leasing company Rogers Northwest filed a suit for $201,898 against Murray and Acres Home Heart and Vascular Institute — the practice he runs in Houston, Texas, with his sister — for unpaid rent, according to court records.

Los Angeles police quizzed Dr Murray for three hours as a witness on Saturday. He is suspected of giving the star a shot of Demerol before he collapsed.


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Betty White Says PETA Plays Dirty, Doesn't Know Facts

The lovable Betty White is taking on the folks over at PETA to task over their scare tactics and misinformation. Yes, it's the same Betty White who once starred in an anti-fur PSA for PETA. And yes, it's the same Betty White who sent Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley a letter asking him to stop wearing fur.

Betty did this interview with the Canadian media yesterday.

White has been active with animal organizations for more than 40 years. The Denver-based Morris Animal Foundation funds "humane" studies dealing with the health problems of dogs, cats, horses, zoo animals and wild life. "I've also been with the Los Angeles Zoo for 41 years. Life is divided in absolute half. Half is my show business work and half is my animal work."

But she is not an "animal rights activist" - "health and welfare, that's all I'm interested in" - and she is critical of militant bodies like PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

"They play dirty. They not only give misinformation but disinformation . . . . They won't listen, and it infuriates me. I'm sure they love animals but they should find out the facts."

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Usher Wants Paternity Test Performed on 6-Month-Old Son

Things are not looking good for Tameka Foster Raymond. First Usher filed for divorce without her knowing. Then the divorce attorney she hired was apparently doing what she wanted, so she put out a plea to hire another. Now, Usher is seeking a paternity test for their young son 6-month-old Naviyd.

According to the Enquirer, Usher grew suspicious when Tameka announced she was pregnant because well, not that, because he wan't having sex with her.

“The first thing Usher said was, ‘How did this happen?’ - because he was gone a lot, and their sex life was very, very limited,” said a friend of Usher. “People have been telling him that around the time the little boy was conceived, Tameka got together with another man.”

But Tameka is fighting back. She claims Naviyd is Usher's child and it was Usher who was unfaitful.

“Tameka also insists that Usher is Naviyd’s father. She says that although they weren’t spending much time together, they did get together for one night of passion. And that’s when she got pregnant," the source said.

The tabloid says Tameka is hell-bent on fighting this divorce to keep what she has; she refuses to go poor.

Obama Picks Church, Far Away From White House and Groupies

After months of searching for a new church -- having aides check for insane pastors, personally visiting a select few -- the Obamas have decided to join Evergreen Chapel, a nondenominational church at the Camp David presidential retreat.

Why did they find it necessary to stray so far from home to find a suitable place of worship?

Because for Obama, going to church in D.C. was much like going anywhere else -- meaning he's usually the center of attention instead of, you know, God.

When Obama dropped by Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in January, lines formed outside the doors three hours before he arrived, and at St. John's worshipers snapped photos of him on their cell phones as he took communion.

But as George W. Bush discovered before him, Obama won't have that problem at Evergreen Chapel, which serves only Camp David's 400 military personnel and their families and usually hosts 50 to 70 people each Sunday. Plus, Evergreen's chaplain is Johnny Cash's great-nephew, which seems like it might make going to church that much more interesting.


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Michael Jackson's Autopsy Report

An autopsy on Michael Jackson revealed that the King of Pop's emaciated body was riddled with needle marks and scars, and his head was virtually bald, it was reported today.

Michael's body had wasted away to a mere 112 pounds, and his stomach was completely empty except for partially dissolved pills, according to the London Sun, who got their hands on the autopsy report.

Here are the details:
At 5ft 10in Michael was “severely emaciated” weighing 112 pounds. It appeared to be anorexic; had been eating just one small meal a day.

Pathologists found his stomach empty aside from partially-dissolved pills he took before the painkiller injection which stopped his heart. Samples were sent for toxicology tests.

He had lost virtually all his hair. He was wearing a wig when he died and pathologists said little more than “peach fuzz” covered his scalp.

A scarred section of skin above his left ear was entirely bald — apparently the result of a 1984 accident when his hair caught fire as he filmed an ad for Pepsi.

He suffered several broken ribs as frantic rescuers pumped his chest after he collapsed in cardiac arrest. Four injection sites were found above or near to his heart.

All appeared to result from attempts to pump adrenaline directly into the organ in a failed bit to restart it.

Three of the injections had penetrated the heart wall — causing damage — but a fourth missed and hit one of the 50-year-old star’s ribs.

The autopsy also found unexplained bruising on his knees and on the fronts of both shins. And there were cut on his back, indicating a recent fall.

His face bore a network of plastic surgery scars, while the bridge to his nose had vanished and its right side had partially collapsed.

As inquiries into the tragedy last night focused on the star’s personal physician Dr Conrad Murray, a source close to the Jackson entourage said: “Michael’s family and fans will be horrified when they realize the appalling state he was in.

“He was skin and bone, his hair had fallen out and had been eating nothing but pills when he died. Injection marks all over his body and the disfigurement caused by years of plastic surgery show he’d been in terminal decline for years.

“His doctors and the hangers-on stood by as he self-destructed. Somebody is going to have to pay.”

Cardiologist Dr Murray was thought to have given Michael the final injection of painkiller Demerol.

He is facing serious questions about his resuscitation attempts, which began when he started CPR as Michael lay unconscious on a bed. Basic first aid guidance says patients must be face-up on a hard surface before compressions.

Experts yesterday expressed amazement that a trained cardiologist could have made such an error, potentially wasting vital minutes.

Additional damage was believed to have been caused by oxygen masks and tubing inserted during resuscitation attempts. But in an ironic twist, the probe found Michael was recovering well from skin cancer — with an op to shave cells from his chest a total success.

A second autopsy demanded by the Jackson family was carried out at a secret location on Saturday after the first ruled out foul play.

Family friend Rev Jesse Jackson said the family were deeply suspicious about what caused his death.

Dr Murray was hired just days ago by AEG Live — the firm masterminding Jacko’s 50-date residency at London’s O2 Arena, which was due to start next month.

Sources claimed the family were preparing a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the cardiologist.

Detectives were unable to find the doctor at Jackson’s home and his car was taken away for analysis as police sought him for questioning. He surfaced late on Friday and was quizzed over the weekend.


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Debbie Rowe Says Michael IS NOT the Father of Her Kids, She Was a Paid Surrogate

Michael Jackson's ex-wife has confessed the late star is not the biological father of their two children, according to a news report.

Debbie Rowe, the mother of Prince, 12, and Paris, 11, has spoken of her "sham marriage" to Jackson in her first public interview with British tabloid newspaper News of the World.

Debbie, who married Michael at the Sheraton Hotel Sydney in November 1996, said she was artificially inseminated by an anonymous donor and likened herself to one of the thoroughbred mares she now keeps on her California ranch.

"I was just the vessel. It wasn't Michael's sperm," she said. "I got paid for it, and I've moved on. I know I will never see my children again."

Debbie revealed she and Michael never had sex and did not share a bed during their three year marriage, describing the union only as a friendship.

Prince and Paris now face an uncertain future, effectively orphaned, although they and their younger brother Prince Michael II - born to an anonymous surrogate mother - were reported to be in the care of Jackson's 79-year-old mother Katherine at the family estate in Los Angeles.

Debbie, who met Michael when she was a receptionist at a Beverly Hills dermatology clinic, where he went for skin treatments, said Michael was lonely and desperately wanted children.

"Michael was divorced, lonely and wanted children. I was the one who said to him, 'I will have your babies'. It was a place in both of our lives when we were both very lonely. We both loved animals. That's how we got talking.

"He started letting me into the treatment rooms, letting me help the doctor with him. He would come in three or four times a week. I started talking to him about his divorce from Lisa Marie (Presley, his first wife).

"I offered him my womb...it was a gift. It was something I did to keep him happy."

No longer bound by a legal agreement following Michael's death, Debbie has revealed Michael had nothing to do with her babies' births.

"I went to the 'office', which is what we called the medical clinic. They impregnated me. It's just like I impregnate my mares for breeding. It was very technical," she said.

"Just like I stick the sperm up my horse, this is what they did to me. I was his thoroughbred."

However Michael wanted nothing more to do with her after the birth of her second child Paris, which left her unable to have more children.

"The delivery was so hard. My insides were all torn up and I was barren. When he knew I couldn't have any more babies he didn't want anything to do with me," she said.

She reportedly then gave away her parental rights to the children in exchange for a $8.4million payout over nine years.

She said their's was a shotgun wedding.

"He wanted to pretend that we were a family."

She was 37 and pregnant and he was 38. Their best man was an eight-year-old boy.

"We never lived together as a couple. We never had sex. He was on the road, doing his thing.

"He never wanted to live with me. That's why he bought me a house. There was always 'my house' and 'his house', never 'our house'.

"We would jump in bed together and read magazines and watch movies, with all the animals around us before the kids were involved. We used to hang out with each other.

"But that was his life. That's Michael. That was what it was like."

Rowe said she was "never cut out to be a mother".

"I was no good. I don't want these children in my life. My children are my animals now."

Britain former child acting star Mark Lester, who is godfather to Prince and Paris, has indicated he would be happy to assume guardianship.

However, the Jackson family lawyer Brian Oxman has already indicated that any court decision would probably be made in favor of grandmother Katherine.



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Doctor Who Treated Michael Jackson After Morphine Overdose Speaks

As you are all aware, the autopsy of Michael Jackson showed that he had several prescription drugs in his system, which bolster claims that the late King of Pop was addicted to the substances.

Now, a doctor who was called to treat Michael December 29, 2003 after Randy (his brother) found unconscious. Michael overdosed on morphine after watching himself on that infamous ABC interview - the one in which he admitted to sleeping in the same bed with young boys and didn't see a problem with it. The doctor who spoke with UK newspaper The Daily Mail, was not named, but he sheds further light into the very private life of Michael Jackson.

The Mail reports:

Referring to handwritten notes he made at the time, the doctor, who asked not to be named, said: "I’d been treating Michael’s brother Randy for several months when I was awakened by a phone call from him at 1.51am. I was told someone wasn’t well and that they couldn’t call 911 [the US emergency services number] for security reasons."

Randy sent a car to pick up the doctor, who lived nearby. "When I got in it, I asked the driver who was sick and he said, 'Michael'." Once at the house, the doctor led to a first-floor bedroom where he found the singer, wearing pyjama bottoms, propped up in bed, but unconscious.

"Michael did not respond to his name but his heartbeat was regular," he told The Mail on Sunday. "Randy asked, 'Is he going to make it?'."

As the doctor then checked Jackson’s breathing and blood pressure, the pop star seemed to murmur something.

"I couldn’t understand it but Randy said Michael needed to use the bathroom. Randy and I each took an arm to get him there," the doctor said.

‘We then helped him back to bed. His frame was light but not severely malnourished. He probably weighed about 11stone.’

After carrying out further checks, the doctor reassured Randy that he believed his brother "would be fine."

He added: "Randy said Michael had been under severe stress because of the television program which had aired that night.

"I recall him saying that an earlier TV documentary had caused all manner of problems and that Michael had worked himself into a frenzy of anxiety over this one.’

The first documentary was Living With Michael Jackson, in which British journalist Martin Bashir interviewed the singer over eight months, from May 2002 to January 2003.

In that program, broadcast in Britain in February 2003, Jackson admitted that many children had shared his bed although he denied any sexual contact. However, the disclosure led to Jackson being investigated by police in California and on December 18, 2003, he was charged with seven counts of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy.

On December 28, Jackson appeared on US news program 60 Minutes, during which he was pressed about the allegations. He strongly denied them but maintained it was not wrong to share a bed with a child. At his trial in 2005, Jackson was acquitted of all charges.

The doctor remained in the house until nearly 4am, regularly checking on his famous patient. ‘Randy said he couldn’t call anyone but me when Michael collapsed because he was terrified of the publicity. It was all cloak-and dagger-stuff and once people in the house realized Michael was going to be all right there was a palpable sense of relief.

"But I was deeply disturbed by the event. I told Randy that his brother should voluntarily go to a rehabilitation center to deal with his obvious addiction problem.

"I advised that Michael must be kept upright that night in case he vomited and inhaled the material, which could possibly cause his death.

"I told them that his body would break down the narcotics and that he would be fine in several hours.’

Before leaving that night, the doctor left strict instructions that he or the emergency services should be called if the singer showed further signs of distress. He also asked that Jackson be brought to his surgery later that day for an evaluation.

"I wanted to discuss with Michael directly the damage he was doing to his health and the very real concerns I had for his well-being. I never heard from any of them again."

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Nanny Claims She Pumped Michael's Stomach 'Many Times', Mom Katherine Wants The Money

Grace Rwaramba, who worked for Michael Jackson for 17 years, first as a secretary then as a nanny for his three children (whom she refer to as her "babies) before she was fired (for the final time) last December, claims she pumped Michael's stomach after ODing on prescription drugs.

She gave this exclusive interview to the London Times' Daphne Barak.

You need to sit down for this one.

On mom Katherine's reaction after learning Michael was dead:
Early on Friday, Jackson’s mother, Katherine, contacted Grace from his house. Shockingly, she wanted to know where his money was. Grace recounted: “Katherine just called me. She said, ‘Grace, the children are crying. They are asking about you. They can’t believe that their father died. Grace, you remember Michael used to hide cash at the house. I am here. Where can it be?’

“I told her to look at the garbage bags and under the carpets. But, Daphne, can you believe this? This woman just lost her son a few hours ago and she is calling me to know where the money is!

“I asked to speak to the children. She said they were sleeping. But she just said they were crying. She never let me speak to them. She said, ‘Grace, where are you? Come. I will pick you up from the airport.’ She sounded so strong. So strong!”

Within a few hours, all her dignity gone, Grace was on the phone again begging a “brother” from the Nation of Islam at the Jackson house to let her talk to Paris, Prince and Blanket. The answer was no.


On the children:
“I love my babies,” she told me. “I miss my babies. I used to hug them and laugh with them. But when Michael was around, they froze. He didn’t like me hugging them. But they needed love. I was the only mother they knew.”

She described Prince as “very smart” and said that Blanket, the youngest, “makes me laugh so much. One day before I was fired he decided to do a concert for me. He was so cute, singing to me Billie Jean and others of his father’s songs. I was laughing so hard. Prince and Paris were playing around. It was such a happy moment”.

“Then suddenly Michael walked in. He surprised us. Usually, the security would alert me that he was about to come. Blanket immediately stopped. The kids looked frightened. Michael was so angry. I knew I would be fired. Whenever the children got too attached to me, he would send me away.”

Grace said the children disliked the masks they had to wear in public. “It wasn’t my idea. I hated it as well. So whenever I had a chance, I misplaced the masks or forgot to pack them. Michael always got angry and asked, ‘How come we keep losing children’s masks?’ He didn’t notice that we were losing them only when I was around.”


On Michael's drug addiction:
Grace was a witness to Jackson’s abuse of prescription drugs. She said he took a mixture of them — in her words, “he always ate too little and mixed too much”.

“I had to pump his stomach many times . . . He always mixed so much of it. There was one period that it was so bad that I didn’t let the children see him.”

She claims he was furious with her for getting his mother and sister Janet to help. “We tried to do an intervention. It was me, Janet, his mother. I co-ordinated it. He was so angry with me.

“He screamed at me, ‘You betrayed my trust. You called them behind my back.’ I told him, ‘Michael I didn’t betray your trust. I try to help you.’ But he didn’t want to listen. That was one of the times he let me go.”


On Michael's financial woes:
“Michael had no idea about money. He got a proposal to make an appearance in Japan for $1m.

“I knew how many people were involved.

“I told him, ‘Michael, by the time everyone takes his cut you will end up with a very small amount.’ He didn’t want to hear. He flew to Japan. By the time everyone took their share, he ended up with $200,000.

“Then he got a second proposal to go to Japan. This time there was only $200,000 on the table. I refused to go.” Jackson went and then decided suddenly to fly to the birthday party of Prince Azim, the son of the Sultan of Brunei. By the time he had paid his huge hotel bill, “all the Japan money was gone”.

Back in California, Jackson rented a house from the Nation of Islam. According to Grace, he was grossly overcharged.

“The Nation of Islam was telling him that the house we had in Los Angeles, after Neverland was sold, cost $100,000 a month. I checked with many real estate agencies.

“To rent this house should not have cost more than $20,000-$25,000. He had no clue.”

Equally, he did not read his O2 contract before signing it and did not realise he had committed himself to 50 concerts. “Fifty performances! I told him, ‘What are you doing?’ He said, ‘I signed only for 10.’ He didn’t know what he was signing. He never does!”

My sense of shock increased when Grace showed me documents proving not only that Michael had not paid her salary and expenses since October 2008, but according to her, that he had not paid her medical insurance since she was with him and the children in Bahrain.

“Michael owes so much money to so many people. And why does he not pay them? Is it because he thinks of those working for him as an owner (would)? He always told me, ‘Grace, nobody cares about you. They only talked to you about me’.”


Update:
Malika Chopra, the daughter of Deepak Chopra and a close friend of Grace, says the Times' article is not entirely true. In the below piece for the Huffington Post, Malika says Daphne used her friendship with Grace to solicit information.

Grace’s quotes are now being picked up by other tabloids and will find their way into more magazines and articles. (People Magazine is also featuring some today, including the inaccurate claim the Grace pumped Michael’s stomach several times. For the record, Grace never pumped Michael’s stomach. She has no idea how she would even do such a thing.) Which quotes are true, which are in context, (many are not) to me frankly doesn’t matter. I will not be surprised if Daphne releases audios or videos soon.

Grace feels used, insecure and shaken that she could have been so naïve, particularly having witnessed so many vultures in Michael’s world over the years. She made a mistake. The sad truth is that when you are a celebrity, or a close friend or family of one, in a world of tabloids, you must be impeccable in what you say and to whom. Michael probably faced the epitome of vultures, bloodsuckers and hanger-ons displayed in his endless cycle of managers, enabling doctors, and new business partners. How could anyone blame him for becoming so paranoid in his life?

In the article, Daphne tries to portray a rift between Katherine Jackson and Grace. This is not true.

I would like to go on record, with Grace’s permission, to say that Grace firmly hopes that the Jackson family gets custody of Prince, Paris and Michael. It would be detrimental to the children to be separated, and they should be with Michael’s family. They should know their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and they should learn about who he was as a person, not just as an icon. She has no interest in custody, and just wants the children to be happy and secure. She will be there for them whenever they need or want her.

As for the appetite for the salacious details of Michael’s life, my hope is that we let him go in peace. We already know he led a tortured life. He also led a great one in which he loved, and was loved, by many.




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Rihanna's Dad: Chris Brown Should Be in Jail

Rihanna's father, Ronald Fenty, is furious an Los Angeles judge failed to imprison Chris Brown over the attack of his daughter - insisting justice has yet to be served.

After pleading guilty to beating Rihanna, Chris will serve six months of hard labor, complete five years of probation and enroll in a domestic violence counseling program. Ronald Fenty doesn't think that's enough.

"He should be in jail. Chris should have been sent to jail for what he did to my girl. He's got off lightly. Chris put her through hell, she's just relieved it's all over."


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Doctor Who Was With Michael When He Died Was Hired 13 Days Prior

The doctor who was with Michael Jackson in his final hours had started work only 13 days ago after quitting his medical practice, reports the Daily Mail.

Dr Conrad Robert Murray, who is believed to have injected the singer with the painkiller Demerol and later tried to resuscitate him as he lay unconscious, had a history of financial problems.

He wrote to his patients on June 15 to tell them he was taking up a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" and would stop working at his medical practices in Las Vegas, Houston and San Diego.

Dr Murray was employed by AEG, the organizers of Jackson’s planned London concerts, on the star’s insistence to ensure that he was fit enough to perform.

Around the same time he is understood to have moved into Jackson’s rented home in Los Angeles, along with his sister, Susan Rush, who worked with him as a nurse. Dr Murray’s financial problems began at least 17 years ago when he filed for bankruptcy in California.

Tax liens – charges imposed on a property to secure payment – were also filed against him in California and Arizona in the later 1990s, according to the Boston Globe newspaper, an indication that he was failing to pay his taxes.

And last year three legal judgments totaling $433,000 were filed against Dr Murray or his company, Global Cardiovascular Associates, in a Nevada court. They include $71,000 for school loans. Two other cases are pending from companies that claim he owes them further funds.

It has also emerged that Dr Murray is not "board certified" in his two specialisms, cardiology and internal medicine. In the US, Board Certification is not required to practice medicine but it is taken as evidence that the physician has received extra training to be certified in a particular speciality.

Dr Murray is believed to have first met Jackson after treating him for a cold in Las Vegas around three years ago.

But last night Jackson’s closest adviser said: "I don’t know Dr Murray, I have never met him."

Dr Tohme Tohme, who had been with the singer since 2005, also contradicted claims by Jackson’s family that his personal physicians were helping him abuse prescription painkillers.

"Michael was in very, very good health," he said. "I have no knowledge of him taking painkillers."

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Joe Jackson's Bizarre Interview About His Dead Son

Joe Jackson, father of the late Michael Jackson, walked the red carpet at last night's BET Awards.

He stopped to talk to CNN's Don Lemon. Good. But, we are thinking he should of kept on walking because this interview is part uncomfortable, part comedy.

Everyone wants to know how he and the family are dealing with the sudden loss of his son. So, instead of telling us, Joe brought his publicist into the the shot to read his statement about how he and his family are coping. Weird.

But the hilarity doesn't end there. He also brought his attorney into the fray to add his two cents. And oh, lets not forget: Joe Jackson took the time to plug his new record label. And he brought his business partner into the interview too.

We all deal with grief differently. This right here is a lot different.

First Michael Jackson Tribute Song

The first, of what's expected to be many songs dedicated to the life of the late Michael Jackson, has been released.

"Better on the Other Side" features The Game, Usher, Chris Brown, Diddy, Polow Da Don, Mario Winans, and Boyz II Men.

Someone was in the lab working real hard to knock this out this quickly.

Good job fellas.

Janet and Jermaine Have Broken Up?

With all this Michael Jackson coverage, we've totally overlooked this story about his sister: Jermaine Dupri and singer Janet Jackson have broken up.

The National Enquirer says JD and Janet, who have been together for four years and were reportedly pondering marriage, began battling over her recent tour — managed by JD — which was a dismal failure, with a string of canceled concerts due to poor ticket sales.

The Enquirer, citing unnamed sources, said the fading superstar has moved out of Jermaine’s Los Angeles home.

“Janet and Jermaine finally hit a wall,” the source was quoted as saying. “They were fighting over his management of her career. In the end, she decided to make a break.”

This is all too much.

A few months ago, before his incarceration, T.I. said Janet and JD were married. That revelation came just about the same time Jermaine did this to himself.

So, did they break up as boyfriend and girlfriend, or is someone getting a divorce again?

Deepak Chopra Says Drug Abuse Killed Michael Jackson, He's Willing to Name Doctors Who Prescribed Pills

The official cause of Michael Jackson's death has yet to be determined, but Deepak Chopra, who was a long-time confidant and friend for 21 years, said the singer was killed by his abuse of prescription drugs.

Chopra said Michael had lupus and vitiligo, but insists he knows it was drugs that was "responsible" for Michael's death. Not just contributing, he said, it was "the thing".

"I think that drugs killed him," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer moments ago. The same claim was made by family attorney Brian Oxman.

"There are a plethora of doctors in Hollywood. They're drug peddlers, they're drug pushers, they just happen to have a medical license," Chopra said. "I hope this episode today. this tragic death of a great human being will bring to light the huge problem we have in Hollywood with some of the medical establishment. The celebrity doctors who not only imitate people into the drug experience, but then they perpetuate it so that the people become dependent on it. I will be bold enough to identify these people at a certain time, but I think the police should do their own investigation. I think this is something that really should be investigated because it's a disease. The number one cause of drug addiction in the world - and particularly in the United States - is not street drugs, but medical prescriptions given legally by physicians."

Chopra said Michael, who was living at his home for a week after the 2005 child molestation trial, asked him for a prescription for a narcotic; Michael claimed to have back pain. Chopra scolded Michael and did not give him the prescription.

When Wolf asked if Michael was addicted to prescription drugs, Chopra said: "In my belief, and from what I know, he was."

Chopra said he knew Michael was taking Oxycontin, Demerol shots and "other narcotics."


Meanwhile, People magazine reports:

As far back as 2006, members of Michael's family were terrified that his escalating dependence on prescription drugs had become a danger to his life – and attempted an intervention in Las Vegas.

"The family believes Michael is addicted," a family insider said. "There was an intervention in Las Vegas. Janet was on the phone, but Randy, Jackie and Rebbie were there in person," the source said, referring to several of Michael's eight siblings.

"Michael got p---ed off. He said he wasn't on drugs. But they didn't believe him."

At the time of the Vegas intervention, another source close to the family blamed a Jackson aide for supplying the superstar with drugs from prescriptions acquired from multiple doctors.

"[The aide] has contacts wherever they are," said the source. In addition to consuming alcohol, Jackson takes "straight morphine, Demerol and opiates like Oxycontin. He also takes Valium and Xanax," said the insider.

"Michael is a clinically functioning addict and these are the most dangerous," the source continued. "They stop and start. These are the ones that OD ... It could happen any minute."


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Lisa-Marie Presley Tried to 'Save' Michael, He 'Knew' His Fate

Lisa-Marie Presley took to her blog to express her deep thoughts and emotions about Michael Jackson, her former husband of 20 months.

This is really chilling.



He Knew.

Years ago Michael and I were having a deep conversation about life in general.

I can’t recall the exact subject matter but he may have been questioning me about the circumstances of my Fathers Death.

At some point he paused, he stared at me very intensely and he stated with an almost calm certainty, “I am afraid that I am going to end up like him, the way he did.”

I promptly tried to deter him from the idea, at which point he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded almost matter of fact as if to let me know, he knew what he knew and that was kind of that.

14 years later I am sitting here watching on the news an ambulance leaves the driveway of his home, the big gates, the crowds outside the gates, the coverage, the crowds outside the hospital, the Cause of death and what may have led up to it and the memory of this conversation hit me, as did the unstoppable tears.

A predicted ending by him, by loved ones and by me, but what I didn’t predict was how much it was going to hurt when it finally happened.

The person I failed to help is being transferred right now to the LA County Coroners office for his Autopsy.

All of my indifference and detachment that I worked so hard to achieve over the years has just gone into the bowels of hell and right now I am gutted.

I am going to say now what I have never said before because I want the truth out there for once.

Our relationship was not “a sham” as is being reported in the press. It was an unusual relationship yes, where two unusual people who did not live or know a “Normal life” found a connection, perhaps with some suspect timing on his part. Nonetheless, I do believe he loved me as much as he could love anyone and I loved him very much.

I wanted to “save him” I wanted to save him from the inevitable which is what has just happened.

His family and his loved ones also wanted to save him from this as well but didn’t know how and this was 14 years ago. We all worried that this would be the outcome then.

At that time, In trying to save him, I almost lost myself.

He was an incredibly dynamic force and power that was not to be underestimated.

When he used it for something good, It was the best and when he used it for something bad, It was really, REALLY bad.

Mediocrity was not a concept that would even for a second enter Michael Jackson’s being or actions.

I became very ill and emotionally/ spiritually exhausted in my quest to save him from certain self-destructive behavior and from the awful vampires and leeches he would always manage to magnetize around him.

I was in over my head while trying.

I had my children to care for, I had to make a decision.

The hardest decision I have ever had to make, which was to walk away and let his fate have him, even though I desperately loved him and tried to stop or reverse it somehow.

After the Divorce, I spent a few years obsessing about him and what I could have done different, in regret.

Then I spent some angry years at the whole situation.

At some point, I truly became Indifferent, until now.

As I sit here overwhelmed with sadness, reflection and confusion at what was my biggest failure to date, watching on the news almost play by play The exact Scenario I saw happen on August 16th, 1977 happening again right now with Michael (A sight I never wanted to see again) just as he predicted, I am truly, truly gutted.

Any ill experience or words I have felt towards him in the past has just died inside of me along with him.

He was an amazing person and I am lucky to have gotten as close to him as I did and to have had the many experiences and years that we had together.

I desperately hope that he can be relieved from his pain, pressure and turmoil now.

He deserves to be free from all of that and I hope he is in a better place or will be.

I also hope that anyone else who feels they have failed to help him can be set free because he hopefully finally is.

The World is in shock but somehow he knew exactly how his fate would be played out some day more than anyone else knew, and he was right.

I really needed to say this right now, thanks for listening.

~LMP


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911 Call in Michael Jackson's Death Released

A 911 caller from Michael Jackson's home says the singer wasn't breathing or responding to efforts to revive him.

The Los Angeles Fire Department released the 911 call Friday.

The caller reported that Michael was on a bed, he wasn't breathing and wasn't responding to CPR.

The unidentified caller said Michael only was with his personal doctor at the time.

Investigators were looking for the doctor, but he has since made contact.

Reports Claim Michael Collapsed After Demerol Shot, Police Search For Doctor

Michael Jackson allegedly collapsed shortly after an injection of the painkiller Demerol, reports the Sun newspaper who was able to get unnamed sources to share information on the singer's final moments.

An Emergency Room source at UCLA hospital said Michael's aides told medics he had collapsed after an injection of potent Demerol — similar to morphine.

“Shortly after taking the Demerol he started to experience slow shallow breathing," a source said. “His breathing gradually got slower and slower until it stopped.

“His staff started mouth-to-mouth and an ambulance was called which got there in eight minutes “But found he was in full respiratory arrest, no breathing and no pulse. They started full CPR and rushed him to hospital.

“When he arrived they started resuscitation, giving him heart shocks and inserted a breathing tube and other supportive measures to try and save his life.

“He never regained consciousness. The family was told that he had passed.”

Investigators are looking to question Michael's personal physician who was treating - and might have prescribed Demerol, which Michael was self-injecting, according to reports. According to TMZ, that doctor's name is Conrad Robert Murray and he was living in Michael's home. His car was towed away from the singer's home last night by by investigators.

"We have not been able to interview the doctor yet. His car was impounded because it may contain medications or other evidence that may assist the coroner in determining the cause of death," Los Angeles police spokeswoman Karen Rayner

She stressed that Dr. Murray was not under criminal investigation but coroner's investigators wanted to contact him.


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Mom Katherine Will Take Custody of Michael's Three Kids

Michael Jackson's mother Katherine will be given custody of his three children, according to the family lawyer.

The late King of Pop is survived by his three children Michael Joseph Jackson. Jr, who he later dubbed Prince, 12, and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 11, from his marriage to ex-wife Debbie Rowe, and Michael Jackson II, known as "Blanket", seven. Michael said "Blanket" was conceived using a surrogate he has never met "and my own sperm cells," but, it's been rumored that the he adopted the child from Europe.

Michael's former partner gave up her rights to her two kids after their divorce in 1999, with the superstar being handed full custody, and Rowe is believed to have had little contact with the youngsters since the split.

The children are believed to be staying with a nanny in Los Angeles as they cope with the sudden death of their father, and the Jacksons' longtime lawyer Brian Oxman admits they could now be permanently cared for by the Michael's mother.

"Probably Mrs. Jackson will take care of them, she loves them dearly. Everyone is crying and it's very sad," he told Radaronline.

Brian made a bombshell revelation yesterday: He said Michael had an alarming addiction to prescription pills.

But Katherine may encounter challenges.

According to ABC News, Michael wanted his nanny to have the children if anything ever happened to him.

The parents are again looking to adopt the children but Jackson said he wanted Grace Rwaramba to have custody, says Stacey Brown, Michael's friend and biographer.

"Michael's wishes were known. He wants Grace to have the kids. They love her," she said. "If the kids had the choice. I think they'd pick Grace."

Before his death, Jackson was in regular contact with his mother but had a notoriously contentious relationship with his father.

Following his acquittal in the molestation trial, Jackson, Grace and the children moved to Bahrain and then later to Ireland. Grace and Michael were rumored to be engaged in 2006.


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Chris Brown & Rihanna Want to Get Rid of No-Contact Clause

Earlier this week, Chris Brown pled guilty to beating Rihanna. As part of the plea deal he struck to stay out of jail, a judge ordered that he can't come within 50 yards of her (10 yards of her at music events). However, according to a mutual friend, the two are not happy with that.

"They think it's unnecessary and ridiculous," the friend told the NY Daily News. "After [the proceeding], Ri and Chris talked on the phone for almost an hour and really worked at becoming friends. They're solid now."

The friend said the two are no longer romantically involved, but we are still sticking with the story that Chris and Rihanna are still getting it in.


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Flavor Flav Turned Away At Jackson Home

Flavor Flav, who considers himself to be a member of the Jackson family, showed up at Michael Jackson's home yesterday to pay his respects to the family. However, when he rung the intercom, requesting to enter the compound, he was denied entry. According to TMZ, he told the person on the other end: “Tell mother Jackson I’ll be back later this evening.”

Oh, did we forget: Flav held an impromptu press conference in where he said, "God needed an extra angel, so he came and got Michael to work for him."

Michael Jackson's Autopsy Expedited, Results Expected Today

Los Angeles County Coroner Lt. Fred Corral says an autopsy will be conducted today on the body of pop superstar Michael Jackson – and that results could be known by Friday afternoon, several sources report.

Corral says a team will first do a physical exam of his body. Then during the autopsy, they will examine his organs for any deformity and take blood samples. His body will then be released to a mortuary to be prepped for burial.

Officials say paramedics were called to his home in Holmby Hills, an exclusive area of Los Angeles, after someone called 911 at 12:21pm PST. Paramedics arrived at the home within minutes. They found him unresponsive and in cardiac arrest. For 42 minutes, paramedics performed CPR--- both at his home and while en route to the UCLA Medical Center in L.A. They were unable to revive him.

Corral says Michael was pronounced dead at the hospital at 2:26pm pm PST.

At this time, officials have not determined the exact cause of death. More will be known after the autopsy is performed.

The former King Of Pop is now case number 2094415 at the Coroner’s Office.

Update:
Los Angeles County medical officials, having completed a preliminary autopsy, said Friday that Michael Jackson had taken prescription medications, but that the cause of his sudden death on Thursday would not be known for weeks, pending toxicology tests.

Craig Harvey, chief investigator for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, said that there was no evidence of trauma or foul play and that the family was free to claim Jackson’s body on Friday evening.

“There will be no final ruling as to the cause and manner of death until requested test results have been received and reviewed in context with the autopsy findings,” Harvey said. That process will take four to six weeks.

Will 'Bruno' Edit Out Michael Jackson Prank?

Michael Jackson’s death—and online images of a tearful La Toya Jackson running into the UCLA Medical Center—may be creating a dilemma for Universal Pictures and its upcoming release, Brüno.

The film, featuring Sacha Baron Cohen as an outrageous gay Austrian fashion maven, includes a sequence with Brüno conducting an interview with an unsuspecting La Toya Jackson, enticing her to eat sushi off the stomach of a nude Latino gardener and pestering her about her brother. Brüno tries to get Michael’s number from her phone.

It's an extremely funny bit, but will it be too insensitive?

Brüno will be released on July 10 and coincidentally, its US premier was last night in Hollywood.

Update: That scene was deleted from the premier last night. Producers felt it would be in bad taste to poke fun at LaToya hours after her brother died. It's still unknown if it will be deleted from the theatrical release on July 10. Brüno is already very short; it's only about 70 minutes long.


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Break Up With Marilyn Manson and He May Kill You

Marilyn Manson tells Spin magazine he fantasized about murdering ex-girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood after they broke up last October. In the new interview to promote his upcoming album, the rocker said he wrote about that fantasy of beating a former lover's brain to a pulp on one of the tracks. Although he doesn't name Evan, one can speculate he was he was talking about her. Note the December 2008 mention - they had only broken up a few weeks prior.

"I sing about it on 'Into the Fire.' I say, 'If you want to hit bottom, don't bother trying to take me with you.' My lowest point was Christmas Day 2008, because I didn't speak to my family. My walls were covered in scrawlings of the lyrics and cocaine bags nailed to the wall. And I did have an experience where I was struggling to deal with being alone and being forsaken and being betrayed by putting your trust in one person, and making the mistake of that being the wrong person. And that's a mistake that everyone can relate to. I made the mistake of trying to, desperately, grasp on and save that and own it. And every time I called her that day -- I called 158 times -- I took a razor blade and I cut myself on my face or on my hands.

"I look back and it was a really stupid thing to do. This was intentional, this was a scarification, and this was like a tattoo. I wanted to show her the pain she put me through. It was like, 'I want you to physically see what you've done.' It sounds made up but it's completely true and I don't give a shit if people believe it or not. I've got the scars to prove it. I didn't want people to ask me every time I did an interview, 'Oh, is this record about your relationship with your ex-girlfriend?' But that damage is part of it, and the song "I Want to Kill You Like They Do in The Movies" is about my fantasies. I have fantasies every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer.”

Craziness!

Mistress of S.C.'s Republican Governor Identified (photo)

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford's mistress is a 43-year-old employee of an international agriculture company who speaks several languages and lives in an upscale apartment building in Buenos Aires, Argentina, local media there are reporting.

Though details are sparse, Terra Noticias reported Thursday that the woman's name is Maria Belen Shapur and she works for the international agribusiness firm Bunge y Born.

A video of her doing a news report surfaced on the Internet yesterday (below).

The newspaper, along with Buenos Aires Continental Radio, reported that she lives next to the Buenos Aires Zoo in a 14-story building. A witness who works in the building described her as a beautiful brunette with big eyes who plays tennis on a nearby lawn and runs every morning in her neighborhood.

The witness told the radio station that Sanford arrived at the complex, alone, with a small sports bag last week and asked to go inside the building.

Sanford admitted Wednesday to having an affair over the last year and covering up a secret trip to visit his mistress last week. The admission rocked the South Carolina political scene and has also captured the attention of the Buenos Aires media, as the governor provided few details about his lover.

Terra Noticias reported that Belen speaks English, Portuguese and Chinese, and that the company she supposedly works for is massive, with 25,000 employees in more than 30 countries, including 1,000 in Argentina, according to a profile on the Bunge Limited Web site.

Cocaine Prices from Around the World

For all people doing research (and just that, research) on cocaine prices from around the world, The Economist was kind enough to provide you with this map of the cheapest and most expensive countries to purchase the ILLEGAL drug.

"Worldwide, prices range from $2 a gram in Panama to over $300 in New Zealand, according to the UN's World Drug Report. Generally, the farther away a country from the main producers and the more isolated it is, the higher the price charged. The priciest places for a cocaine habit are New Zealand and Australia, where a gram typically costs $312 and $285 respectively. Prices in Canada and America, after years of cheaper drugs for Canadians, are now on a par at around $97 a gram."


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Michael Jackson Had Serious Prescriptrion Drug Addiction, Confirms Family Attorney

Singer Michael Jackson died today. Although the circumstances around his death have not been confirmed, a close family friend confirms that Michael had a serious prescription drug problem and had many enablers around him.

"We are stunned," Brian Oxman, the Jackson family attorney told CNN moments ago. "The family is in a room by themselves. They are very quiet and they are sobbing."

Brian confirmed speculations that Michael was highly medicated and was prescribed copious amounts of medications - even worst than the situation with Anna Nicole Smith.

"This was something that was not unexpected... because of the medications Michael Jackson was under," Brian told CNN's Kitty Pilgrim. "This family has been trying for months and months and months to take care of Michael Jackson. The people who have been surrounding him have been enabling him. If you think of the case of Anna Nicole Smith was an abuse, it is nothing in comparison to what we've seen taking place in Michael Jackson's life."

Brian said he feared this day would come. He said he warned the family, but no one would listen.

"When you warn people that this is what's going to happen and then it happens. Where's there's smoke there's fire this is a case of abuse of medications unless there's another cause which I don't know about."

He also says Michael was always in fine condition and he never saw him in any "weakened condition" during rehearsals for what was billed as his big comeback.

Michael Jackson is Dead at 50

Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center this afternoon by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics in a deep coma after suffering from cardiac arrest. When paramedics arrived, Michael was not breathing.

The circumstances of Jackson’s death remain unclear. Law enforcement sources told the LA Times that Los Angeles Police Department robbery-homicide detectives have opened an investigation into the death, though they stressed that there is no evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

The detectives plan to interview relatives, friends and Jackson’s doctors to try to figure out what happened. The L.A. County coroner’s office will determine a cause of death. A Los Angeles Fire Department source told The LA Times that Jackson was in full cardiac arrest when rescue units arrived.

Update [8:40pm]:
Brother Marlon Jackson told CNN's Roland Martin a doctor was called to Michael's home last night after the singer felt ill. A doctor checked him out and didn't see a need for him to go to the hospital. Marlon said he doesn't know what happened from last night until he was found lifeless this afternoon.

Entertainment Tonight as published this photo they acquired of Michael being transported to the hospital.

Michael Jackson Suffers Heart Attack, May Be Dead

Michael Jackson is believed to have suffered a heart attack at his home in Los Angeles this afternoon.

Reports say that Michael went into cardiac arrest and has been rushed to the hospital.

He was seen being taken into an ambulance by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics and moved to the UCLA Medical Center, reports TMZ.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Jackson was not breathing when paramedics arrived at his home.

TMZ is now reporting that Jackson has died, although this has yet to be confirmed by other sources.

It is believed a call to 911 was made from his home in Holmby Hills at 12.21pm. Captain Steve Ruda told the Times that paramedics responded arrived at Michael's home around 12:26pm.

The parademics performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Michael and took him to UCLA Medical Center where his mother, Katherine, was waiting.

Joe Jackson, Michael's father, said of his son: "he is not doing well."

If you recall, last January a source projected Michael would be dead in six months.

Come back to us Michael.

Alfonso Ribeiro Says First Aunt Viv, Janet Hubert, Is Crazy

Alfonso Ribeiro, who played Carlton on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, was speaking to students at the State University of New York, Oneonta this year. During the conversation he talked about Janet Hubert, who was the first Aunt Viv, before she was fired. He said she was a difficult person to work with, made tome together uncomfortable and oh yeah, she was crazy.

To quote Alfonso, Janet was "cuckoo."

Coincidentally, Janet is writing a book, throwing Will Smith under the bus.

Here's the video of Alfonso speaking on life on the Fresh Prince and Janet's crazy behavior.

Evander Holyfield's Home Faces Foreclosure - Again

Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield continues to face financial woes.

His $10 million masion in suburban Atlanta is under foreclosure for the second time in a year.

A legal notice published last week in the Fayette Daily News revealed the former heavyweight boxing champion is in danger of losing his 109-room Fairburn mansion. The lien holder is demanding full repayment of the original $10 million loan, with an auction scheduled for July 7 on the Fayette County Courthouse steps, reports the AJC.

The 5,000-square-metre home — located on Evander Holyfield Highway — has 109 rooms, including 17 bathrooms, three kitchens and a bowling alley. It's worth an estimated $20 million and costs more than $1 million to maintain each year.

Last June a similar legal notice was published which then lead to a foreclosure notice being issued for the 5,000-square-metre home — located on Evander Holyfield Highway — has 109 rooms, including 17 bathrooms, three kitchens and a bowling alley. However, before the home was auctioned off, he was able to reach a deal to keep the home.

He also has defaulted on a loan for a second home and that's in foreclosure, too.

That home, located at 592 and 596 West Bridge Road, had an original loan amount of $216,000.


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Jennifer Hudson is About To Pop

For all the naysayers, Jennifer Hudson is either very pregnant or very fat. We'll go with the former.

Now let's discuss this look from head to tow.

On another note, lets not.

Did Mathew and Tina Knowles Split?

As Beyoncè tours the world, rumors that momma Tina has come to wits end with Mathew Knowles' "controlling ways" have surfaced via this e-mail received by Destiny Child Rumors. The report claims Tina and Mathew have separated -- and living in separate homes.

"My mother is a friend of Tina Knowles. They often go to the same nail/hair salon together and catch up whenever Tina is in town. Tina told my mother that her and Mathew have been seperated (sic) for at least a year now and are living in different homes even though they have kept their main house. Tina spends all her time running around after Beyonce and Solange and focusing on the clothing line which has kept her busy through the seperation (sic). You won't see them getting divorced anytime soon and they also remain dedicated to supporting both of their daughters. Mathew's narrowmindness (sic) and lies have seen Tina turn her back on him and his dealings. She will always love Mathew but she can no longer live in his controlling ways."

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Farrah Fawcett Has Died

Farrah Fawcett, the "Charlie's Angels" star whose feathered blond hair and dazzling smile made her one of the biggest sex symbols of the 1970s, died this morning after battling cancer. She was 62.

The pop icon, who in the 1980s set aside the fantasy girl image to tackle serious roles, died shortly before 9:30 a.m. in a Santa Monica hospital, spokesman Paul Bloch said.

Ryan O'Neal, the longtime companion who had reunited with Fawcett as she fought anal cancer, was at her side, along with close friend Alana Stewart, Bloch said.

"After a long and brave battle with cancer, our beloved Farrah has passed away," O'Neal said. "Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world."

She had been diagnosed with cancer in 2006. As she underwent treatment, she enlisted the help of O'Neal, who was the father of her now 24-year-old son, Redmond.

This month, O'Neal said he asked Fawcett to marry him and she agreed. They would wed "as soon as she can say yes," he said.

Her struggle with painful treatments and dispiriting setbacks was recorded in the television documentary "Farrah's Story." Fawcett sought cures in Germany as well as the United States, battling the disease with iron determination even as her body weakened.


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Tameka Was 'Surprised' When Usher Filed For Divorce, She Still Loves Him

A close friend of Tameka Foster Raymond is setting the record straight. Nyeisha DeWitt, who has been friends with Tameka for more than 20 years, wants everyone to know that everything being reported is not true. She tells Essence magazine that Tameka and Usher have not been separated for more than a year and, although she's in pain, Tameka still loves him. Furthermore, she claims Tameka wasn't after Usher's money. She defends Tameka by saying the soon-to-be-former-Mrs-Raymond built a successful styling business billing clients like Lauryn Hill and Usher (amongst others) roughly $500,000 annually.

Here are some jewels from that interview.

Essence:Is it true she first learned that Usher filed for divorce after reading about it?
She didn't know that he was going to file. Of course, she knew that there were challenges in their relationship and had been some discord since March and was aware there were some things that needed to be worked through. But did she know that divorce was imminent? No. It was a total surprise.

Is it true she flew to Brazil to have liposuction and subsequently went into cardiac arrest during surgery?
Yes, she went to Brazil with friends but decided to have the surgery on a whim. And yes, she did go into cardiac arrest but she never had the surgery. What she had was an allergic reaction to the anesthesia which prevented her from going through with the surgery.

Do you think she still loves him?
You're married until the divorce is official. Just because she's going through this process doesn't mean that the loyalty and love she has for him is gone. It would be dishonest to say that she doesn't still love him and isn't hurting. Again, the idea that people are excited to see her in pain and going through this with her children is so beyond my comprehension. These bloggers talk about her as if she has personally harmed them. They don't know the woman I know, and to discredit her as a mom or wife is insane. My hope is that people will not rejoice in anyone's failed marriage and allow Usher and Tameka to go through their process privately.


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Judge Rules on 'Real Housewives' Sex Tape

A judge granted "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Danielle Staub's request yesterday for a temporary restraining order to stop her former boyfriend Stephen Zalewski from releasing a sexually explicit videotape and images of her, reports the Associated Press.

State Superior Court Judge Thomas F. Brogan also ordered Stephen to produce all copies of the video and pictures of Danielle, and he set a hearing for July 21.

Danielle also filed a lawsuit against Stephen, who wasn't in court Wednesday, seeking damages for invasion of privacy, defamation and infliction of emotional distress. She claimed she was unaware Zalewski was taping her and only found out about it when someone read her a Star magazine article in which Zalewski discussed the tape.

"It sickened me," she told the judge during the brief hearing.

Danielle said Stephen was trying to get back at her and her two daughters, ages 11 and 15, for her breaking up with him. She said the couple dated from May 2008 to December 2008.



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