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A judge on Wednesday ruled the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Michael Jackson's mother can proceed against concert promoter AEG Live, setting up a legal showdown between Katherine Jackson and the company she blames for the "Thriller" singer's demise.

The lawsuit accuses AEG of being responsible for medical decisions made by Jackson's physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, whose care was funded by the company.

Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Jackson's June 25, 2009, death, age 50, from an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol which the doctor gave as a sleep aid and other sedatives and painkillers.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos on Wednesday denied a motion by AEG, a subsidiary of the Anschutz Entertainment Group, to dismiss Katherine Jackson's case against the company.

But the judge said lawyers for the singer's 80 year-old mother would need to show evidence of fraud, negligent infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy.

Palazuelos said she had doubts about civil conspiracy, because there were no details in the lawsuit saying AEG and Murray had an agreement to break the law, in providing medical care to Jackson.

"If the object was to get him to rehearsals, I don't see that as a wrongful or illegal act," she said.

Jackson was preparing for his "This Is It" series of 50 comeback concerts in London when he died, and Murray was going to accompany him to Britain for the shows.

AEG attorney Marvin Putnam, in arguments before the judge, said the company could not have realized beforehand that Murray's medical decisions would lead to Jackson's death.

"It's not foreseeable that Michael Jackson or anyone else was going to die in their own home of propofol," Putnam said.

During a preliminary hearing last month in the criminal case against Murray, witnesses testified that propofol is administered in surgery and never recommended for home use.

The judge in that separate case found there was sufficient evidence to try Murray, and he wondered out loud why the doctor would have used propofol on Jackson as a sleep aid.

Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial is scheduled to begin on March 28. He faces a maximum of four years in prison.

Katherine Jackson's wrongful death lawsuit was filed in September and includes the singer's three children as co-plaintiffs.

Kenny Ortega, a choreographer who was directing Jackson's rehearsals, was originally named as a defendant. But Katherine Jackson's attorneys recently dropped him from the suit, citing new information.

In court papers, AEG's attorneys said the company "did not choose or hire Dr. Murray" and merely conducted negotiations aimed at "retaining him as an independent contractor."

The next hearing in Katherine Jackson's civil case is scheduled for March 22.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Michael Jackson's mother can go forward with her civil lawsuit against entertainment giant AEG Live involving the death of the pop superstar, a judge ruled Wednesday.

City News Service reported that Superior Court Judge Yvette M. Palazuelos turned down a motion by AEG Live to dismiss the case that claims the company is responsible for medical decisions made by Dr. Conrad Murray, who has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death.

The lawsuit filed Sept. 15 on behalf of Katherine Jackson and the pop star's three children suggests Jackson was forced to maintain a grueling rehearsal schedule for his planned "This Is It" concerts in London, and was showing signs of physical stress in the months before his June 25, 2009 death.

The judge said she had doubts about a conspiracy claim in the suit because there were no details in the complaint stating AEG Live and Murray had an agreement to do something unlawful, City News Service reported.

"If the object was to get him to rehearsals, I don't see that as a wrongful or an illegal act," Palazuelos said.

Attorneys for AEG Live have said Jackson made his own medical decisions and hired Murray to accompany him on the tour.

Attorney Marvin S. Putnam, who represents AEG Live, argued that his clients could not have realized Murray's decisions would lead to Jackson's death.

"It's not foreseeable that Michael Jackson or anyone else was going to die in their own home of propofol," Putnam said.

A coroner found that Jackson died of an overdose of the powerful anesthetic combined with other drugs he was using to induce sleep.

Katherine Jackson's lawsuit claims the star was cold and shivering during the summer rehearsals for his show while others were perspiring from the heat. She claims he was told by AEG to stop taking medication, and that if he missed even one rehearsal the tour would be cancelled.

The suit also claims Michael Jackson's eldest son, Prince Michael, suffered "great trauma and severe emotional distress" when he saw his father suffering on the day he died.

The judge commented, "The question is, did he witness the negligence and did he understand what was going on."

She gave the plaintiffs' lawyers 20 days to amend their complaint and set a case management conference for March 22.

AP
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An auction of some 100 items of Michael Jackson memorabilia has fetched more than $1 million, with a basketball autographed by the late singer and Michael Jordan netting $245,000.

Showing the lingering appeal of the "King of Pop," the sale Saturday in the southern Chinese city of Macau drew bidders from around the world.

An unidentified Internet bidder paid $180,000 for a black crystal-studded glove and an arm brace Jackson wore while filming a promotional video for his 1995 album "HIStory." An Internet bidder also bought the basketball.

Of the 435 items up for sale, other non-Jackson items sold included a costume worn by Bruce Lee during the filming of "Game of Death" and a costume Madonna donned during her Girlie Show world tour.

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Michael Jackson's video for One More Chance is being released for the first time.

The clip is included in a complete library of the late star's videos which is being restored and rereleased.

The Michael Jackson's Vision box set includes more than four hours of material, including the full version of Black Or White, which was cut short after its initial release due to violent imagery and Jackson's gyrations.

Jackson also made a short film for the song One More Chance, which was never released. He was charged with sexual molestation in 2003, right around the time the single was released. He was acquitted in that case.

Other videos include Martin Scorsese-directed Bad and his most famous video, Thriller.

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The man who spearheaded the record-breaking deal in which Michael Jackson's estate will get up to $250 million in the next seven years said Sony Music Entertainment bought a treasure trove of new Jackson music, some of it recorded "quite recently," some in collaboration with other artists.

John Branca, who negotiated the deal along with co-executor John McClain and team of attorneys, was clearly elated about the deal. He said in an interview with The Associated Press that this is only the first of more deals that will bring Jackson's music to his fans and introduce it to a world of potential new fans.

"The remarkable thing is to make the biggest deal in history in a market with declining record sales. It's a pretty big thing," Branca said. "It's a testament to Michael's incredible talent and his music. It's really an honour to be part of this."

He added that "there's more to come" but declined to elaborate. He also would not discuss the finances or specific details of the deal.

Branca is the lawyer who met the superstar singer when both were young men and is seen as the architect of Jackson's financial empire. They worked together for 30 years.

He and John McClain, a lifelong Jackson friend and music producer, are co-administrators of the Jackson estate. The estate has benefited from their deal to release the movie This is It compiled from footage of rehearsals for a series of concerts that was in preparation when Jackson died last June at age 50.

Branca said he is convinced that Jackson would be delighted with the results of their negotiations.

"John McClain said it best," Branca said. "He said that Michael probably wouldn't have wanted This is It released because he was such a perfectionist and it was rehearsal footage. But if he had seen that we could get $60 million for his mother and children and it became the biggest concert movie of all time, he would have said, 'Thank you very much.' "

He said he has not heard all of the 60 plus songs discovered by McClain but he said what he has heard is "classic Michael Jackson." Among the songs are two recordings that were never released that he made for charity with other stars. There are also songs he recorded for his famous albums that were never included in the final product.

"Michael had a tendency to over-record," Branca said. "He would record 20, 30, 40 songs for one album. These are the vintage songs."

The recent material was recorded within the last three years. The old and the new are likely to be combined on some of the albums to come, he said.

Among the songs in Jackson's vault is a collaboration with Paul Anka on a song called, "Love Never Felt So Good," which Branca described as "quite good."

Beyond the recorded material, he said Jackson left more songs that he composed but that don't have his voice on them. They would not have the same value, he said.

When he died, Jackson left recorded music including studio sessions from some of his most-popular albums and recently recorded songs made with the likes of Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am.

Branca noted that Jackson did not release a huge number of albums in his lifetime and his last one was nine years ago. He said the legacy of unreleased material is far more than what was left by Elvis Presley. He said Jackson's fan base is also larger, stretching around the globe.

"He is one of the most recognized figures in the world, along with Muhammad Ali," said Branca. He noted that two-thirds of record and movie ticket sales for This is It were outside the United States.

Under the deal officially announced Tuesday, Sony has guaranteed Jackson's estate $200 million for 10 projects over the next seven years. (The total includes last year’s soundtrack to This Is It.) If certain conditions are met, the payment could rise to $250 million.

Since Jackson's death, McClain has combed through boxes of tapes and recordings Jackson left behind. McClain and Branca each stand to make 5 cents on every new dollar of revenue brought into the estate.

Even if only half of the 60 songs discovered by McClain are commercially viable, that would be enough for two or three albums. And some songs could also be packaged with already-heard material. That likely wouldn't detract from a new album's value. It might even add to it, because fans have been flocking to known commodities in music.

For example, 14 remastered albums from The Beatles catalogue sold 13 million copies worldwide in the four months after they were released last September. Bob Seger's Greatest Hits, an album that came out in 1994, was the best-selling catalogue album of the last decade, with 9 million albums sold to date.

Jackson's own two-disc set that accompanied the concert rehearsal footage in This Is It has sold 5 million copies, and it had only one new song. That was the title song, which Jackson wrote with Anka around the time the Thriller album was becoming a blockbuster.

With the album selling for $10 to $14, the revenue generated from sales is already well beyond the tens of millions of dollars needed to cover the per-project guarantees Sony is promising.

"He always said his children would never have anything to worry about because he had volumes of songs to release," said Raymone Bain, who began representing Jackson during his child molestation trial in 2005, in an interview Tuesday.

Bain, who is also suing the estate for fees, said Jackson told her he had "thousands of recordings" that he wanted to aim at a youthful audience, and spent nights during the trial writing new tunes as therapy.

"He wanted to prove to a new demographic group that he was still a major player in the industry," she said. "That's why he added Akon and Fergie and will.i.am to the 25th anniversary recording of Thriller."

Releases from well-established artists have other advantages. An older fan base is more accustomed to buying whole albums than are younger fans familiar with free song-swapping online. A long sales history also makes it easier to evaluate what catalogues are worth.

"It's unusual for a deal like that not to make money for a distributor," said Lawrence Kenswil, an entertainment attorney at Loeb & Loeb in Los Angeles and former executive with Universal Music Group. "It's a safer bet than betting on the future of unknown artists."

Speculation on exactly what unreleased songs exist (and how good they are) has been rampant since the King of Pop's death. Many who collaborated with Jackson in his later years have discussed their work with him, including will.i.am and Akon, who is a Senegalese R&B singer.

Whatever the unreleased material comprises, the Sony deal suggested that repurposing Jackson material across several formats — from DVDs to video games — will be of particular importance.
Linda Deutsch and Ryan Nakashima The Associated Press
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The record-breaking deal in which Michael Jackson's estate will get up to $250 million in the next seven years probably isn't a huge gamble for the company that will pay the money out, Sony Music Entertainment.

Before he died last June at age 50, Jackson, a prolific songwriter, left dozens of unreleased recordings that are sure to be in high demand. Those include studio sessions from some of his best albums and recently recorded songs made with the likes of Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am.

Under a deal officially announced Tuesday, Sony has guaranteed Jackson's estate $200 million for 10 projects over the next seven years. One of them, a movie and album called "This Is It," was already completed. If certain conditions are met, the payment could rise to $250 million.

Since Jackson's death, estate co-administrator John McClain, a childhood friend and Jackson producer, has combed through boxes of tapes and recordings Jackson left behind. McClain and the other co-administrator, John Branca, who cut the Sony deal, each stand to make 5 percent on every new dollar of revenue brought into the estate.

McClain found about 60 songs in various forms that have never been released, according to people familiar with the songs, who spoke on condition of anonymity because what will be done with the material remains in flux.

Even if only half of them are commercially viable, that would be enough for two or three albums. And some songs could also be packaged with already-heard material. That likely wouldn't detract from a new album's value. It might even add to it, because fans have been flocking to known commodities in music.

For example, 14 remastered albums from The Beatles catalog sold 13 million copies worldwide in the four months after they were released last September. Bob Seger's "Greatest Hits," an album that came out in 1994, was the best-selling catalog album of the last decade, with 9 million albums sold to date.

Jackson's own two-disc set that accompanied the concert rehearsal footage in "This Is It" has sold 5 million copies, and it had only one new song. That was the title song, which Jackson wrote with Paul Anka around the time the "Thriller" album was becoming a smash hit.

With the album selling for $10 to $14, the revenue generated from sales is already well beyond the tens of millions of dollars needed to cover the per-project guarantees Sony is promising.

"He always said his children would never have anything to worry about because he had volumes of songs to release," said Raymone Bain, who began representing Jackson during his child molestation trial in 2005, in an interview Tuesday.

Bain, who is also suing the estate for fees, said Jackson told her he had "thousands of recordings" that he wanted to aim at a youthful audience, and spent nights during the trial writing new tunes as therapy.

"He wanted to prove to a new demographic group that he was still a major player in the industry," she said. "That's why he added Akon and Fergie and will.i.am to the 25th anniversary recording of `Thriller.'"

Releases from well-established artists have other advantages. An older fan base is more accustomed to buying whole albums than are younger fans familiar with free song-swapping online. A long sales history also makes it easier to evaluate what catalogs are worth.

"It's unusual for a deal like that not to make money for a distributor," said Lawrence Kenswil, an entertainment attorney at Loeb & Loeb in Los Angeles and former executive with Universal Music Group. "It's a safer bet than betting on the future of unknown artists."

Speculation on exactly what unreleased songs exist (and how good they are) has been rampant since the King of Pop's death. Many who collaborated with Jackson in his later years have discussed their work with him, including will.i.am and Akon, who is a Senegalese R&B singer.

Tommy Mottola, who from 1998 to 2003 was chairman and CEO of Sony Music, said last summer that Jackson's posthumous releases could outsell even those from Elvis Presley, whose voice has graced around 300 compilation albums since his death in 1977.

Several unreleased Jackson songs have leaked, though many of them are in dubious forms. A 24-second clip of the song "A Place With No Name" was on TMZ.com shortly after Jackson's death. A track Jackson recorded with Lenny Kravitz, "Another Day," also got out last year, though Kravitz said it wasn't a proper, finished version of the song.

Whatever the unreleased material comprises, the Sony deal suggested that repurposing Jackson material across several formats — from DVDs to video games — will be of particular importance.

Last week, Sony Music's Legacy Recordings, in partnership with Jimi Hendrix's estate, released a new album of Hendrix material nearly 40 years after his death. "Valleys of Neptune," which cobbled together unfinished recordings mostly from 1969, has received largely positive reviews.

But even that album, which follows many other posthumous releases from Hendrix, is just a part of a new legacy launch. The Experience Hendrix, which is led by Hendrix's stepsister Janie Hendrix and oversees his musical estate, also rereleased Hendrix's "Live at Woodstock" in Blu-ray and regular DVD and the three Jimi Hendrix Experience albums. There's also a Hendrix "Rock Band" video game in the works, as well as a larger anthology collection.

The Hendrix reboot could very well serve as a mere rehearsal for what Sony has in store for Jackson.

___

AP Entertainment Writers Jake Coyle in New York and Anthony McCartney in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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Plans to honor late pop icon Michael Jackson and his family's Gary roots have expanded to possibly include a golf course and an amusement park with characteristics of Jackson's Neverland Ranch and the former Riverview Park amusement park in Chicago.

The latest addition to plans that already include a Jackson family museum, a performing arts center and a 300-room hotel is slated to be built on about 100 acres of city-owned vacant land along I-94, said Odie Anderson, who is president of the project.

The museum, performing arts center and hotel likely will be built on 10 acres of city-owned land downtown, Anderson said.

"Everything is in the planning stages at this point, but we're moving on a fast track and we're looking forward to actually breaking ground sometime in 2010," Anderson said.

The project likely will be built in phases, with the museum, arts center and hotel first, followed by the golf course and theme park.

Private donors would foot most of the bill, but Anderson said he's looking to Gary for tax incentives. By Kristen Schorsch / Chicago Tribune
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Michael Jackson's classic THRILLER video will go down in U.S. history as a national treasure - the 1983 promo is set to be inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.

The work of the late King of Pop is the first music video to make it into the archives, which preserves original copies of classic film, TV and other recordings at the Packard Campus of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center near Culpeper, Virginia.

However, Library officials will have to battle to obtain a copy of the horror video for preservation because it's currently the subject of a lawsuit between music video director John Landis and the tragic star's estate.

Landis, who directed and co-wrote the Thriller script, filed suit against Jackson in January 2009, claiming he's owed royalties for his work on the video.

Thriller will be entered into registry on Wednesday (30Dec09) alongside 24 other films including 1979's The Muppet Movie, 1957 sci-fi epic The Incredible Shrinking Man, Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), and Jezebel (1938), which starred Bette Davis. Share

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DAVID GEST is planning to purchase a historic hotel in the U.K. and renovate it to include a museum for his late friend Michael Jackson.

The music producer, who divorced Liza Minnelli in 2003, is in talks to purchase the seaside St. Elizabeth's House in Plymouth, England - and he's already making plans for the hotel to house a tribute dedicated to the King of Pop.

He says, "I'm thinking of turning it into a whole different kind of hotel with more nightlife and atmosphere for Plymouth. My people are in touch. If the price is right - and not outrageous - I plan to buy it. I think my name would make it work.

"I'd like to see football teams staying there. I've always wanted to own a hotel and there's a consortium of friends who are entertainers that St. Elizabeth's would look good to. I want to bring a little bit of showbiz to the city."

Gest, who boasts an enormous collection of Jackson memorabilia, would also exhibit pieces once owned by The Doors rocker Jim Morrison.Share

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Michael Jackson's stunning death made him the Internet's biggest star this year.

The quest to find out what happened to Michael Jackson in his final hours on June 25 and celebrate his legacy elevated the late entertainer to the top of the Internet's search charts for 2009. On Yahoo, it ended singer Britney Spears' four-year reign on top.

The annual lists released Tuesday were compiled separately by Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc., which combined handle two-thirds of the world's Internet searches.

Jackson also grabbed the top spot on the third-largest U.S. search engine, Microsoft Corp.'s Bing, which announced its rankings Sunday. AOL, which relies on Google's search technology, also had Jackson at No. 1.

The lists are meant to provide a reading on our cultural pulse.

As usual, people using Yahoo's search engine in 2009 seemed to be most interested in celebrities and other diversions, even against the sobering backdrop of the worst recession in 70 years.

Google's audience seem more interested in using the Internet to connect with friends and family.

The online hangout Facebook and Tuenti, a similar socializing site in Spain, both made Google's Top 10, as did the popular communications tool Twitter. Microsoft's latest Windows operating system also grabbed a spot. Singer Lady Gaga was the only other celebrity besides Jackson on Google's Top 10.

Google, which processes more than six times the search volume that Yahoo does, has had a more diverse mix in its annual search rankings. The self-proclaimed King of Pop follows former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (2008) and Apple Inc.'s iPhone (2007) in Google's top spot.

Besides Michael Jackson, the other new entrants on Yahoo's Top 10 list this year were: No. 2, "Twilight," the vampire story that has spawned two movies, including the recently released "New Moon," that are drawing hordes of teenage girls and their mothers; No. 4, Megan Fox, an actress who starred in the movie "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen;" No. 8, Kim Kardashian, part of a family with their own reality TV series; and No. 9, NASCAR, an automobile racing league.

"New Moon" also made Google's Top 10.

The other half of Yahoo's list consisted of 2008 holdovers. With the defending champion Spears dropping to fifth, the others were: No. 3, WWE, or World Wrestling Entertainment; No. 6, Naruto, a character created for the Japanese art form known as anime; No. 7, top-rated television series "American Idol;" and No. 10, RuneScape, an online video game.

Barack Obama made Yahoo's top searches list in 2008 as a presidential candidate and the President-elect, but fell off after he took office in 2009. The others falling out of the Top 10 were all actresses: Miley Cyrus, Jessica Alba, Lindsay Lohan and Angelina Jolie.

Google also said Obama was among search requests that declined the most in 2009. Others losing steam included singer Amy Winehouse and actor Heath Ledger, whose January 2008 death triggered a searching frenzy.

Although the economy couldn't compete with entertainment in 2009, the hard times clearly weighed on people's minds. "Coupons" and "unemployment" were the most requested searches tied to finances, according to Yahoo.

Ask.com, another major search engine, focused its list on the most popular questions posed on its search engine. "How do I get out of debt?" was the second-ranking question of the year.

No. 1? "How much should I weigh?"
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Write

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Artist Nate Giorgio recalls the last time he saw Michael Jackson, just days before the singer's death.

The pop icon wanted Giorgio to create dazzling murals of his children as well as artwork for his "This Is It" concerts, and Giorgio got out his pen during their talks.

"I was doing little drawings on the spot of him, and he loved it," says Giorgio of his black-and-white sketches. "He was great, he was really excited."

Those never-before seen sketches, as well as other rare artwork and photos of Jackson, are now part of a lavish new leather-bound book, "The Official Michael Jackson OPUS," out Dec. 7.

The book, the only publication officially sanctioned by Jackson's estate, not only contains unseen images of perhaps the world's most famous face, it also has essays about the superstar written by friends and those who worked with Jackson over the years, from Motown founder Berry Gordy and Paula Abdul to John Landis and David Blaine.

While many Jackson books have been printed since Jackson's June 25 death at age 50, Jeff Wald, president of OPUS Media Group, which published the book, says his stands out.

He and his team decided "this would not be a red carpet sound bite kind of a book," he says. "It wasn't about, 'Yeah, he's a great singer, a great dancer.' It was much more in depth about the human being that he was."

To that end, OPUS executive vice president Jordan Sommers elicited essays that weren't quite tributes, but personal reflections. Some talk about Jackson the jokester; others recall his artistic genius; still others reflect on his friendship.

"There's a lot of information from the book that comes directly from sources that will clear up a lot of misconceptions," he says. "There are stories told directly from the likes of Smokey Robinson (and others) that they've never told before."

The photos, some of which were provided by friends like Gordy, range from Jackson's childhood to his many transformations as an adult.

"Our mandate ... was to have most of the photos either not be seen ever before or never ever seen in the format in which they had been (shown)," says Wald.

There are also drawings of Jackson done by Giorgio and other artists. Giorgio says Jackson was a voracious art collector and was very specific about the kind of imagery he wanted of himself, jotting down instructions, some of which are included in the book.

While Wald talked about the book (which costs $249) benefiting the Jackson children and his mother, the Jackson family did not play any role in the creation of the 400-page, 26-pound book.

"We just decided this would be something apart from the family," Wald said. "It was about Michael... We really stayed narrowly to that."

Jackson's continuing appeal is highlighted by the success of the film "This Is It," which has become the all-time top-grossing music documentary, and the honors that still arrive, such as Jackson posthumously winning four American Music Awards on Sunday night.

Wald first met Jackson as a teen and stayed in touch with him throughout the years. Jackson reached out to him earlier this year because he was a fan of the OPUS books and wanted two done on him: one based on the "This is It" concerts and another chronicling his career.

Wald said Jackson, who at times had battled an addiction to prescription drugs, was lucid and energetic when they met for two hours at his home.

"He seemed clear eyed, not drugged... he was in great spirits," he says. "He was just happier than hell, he had a sense of humor about him... it was nothing like you hear on all those breathless reports on television."

Giorgio, who illustrated the book's cover sketch, recalls Jackson being anxious for him to start work on huge murals he planned to put in his Las Vegas residence: He wanted a painting of himself and his children walking through a forest.

"He kept telling me, come on, we gotta start on this — the kids are growing, and they are changing," he says.

While Giorgio drew elaborate, fantasy images of Jackson for the legend, he says the quick sketches he took of Jackson just before he died reveal the most: "They really capture more of the essence of him." By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer

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A casino in the Chinese gambling haven of Macau will open Asia's first Michael Jackson shrine after its owners bought the late King of Pop's iconic white rhinestone glove for $350,000 at a U.S. auction.

The shrine will be located in the lobby of the casino-resort Ponte 16, adding to Macau's attractions which already include the world's largest casino, The Venetian.

"MJ's distinctive musical sound, vocal style and choreography inspired numerous pop, rock, R&B and hip hop artists," said Hoffman Ma of Success Universe Group, who has teamed up with Macau gaming tycoon Stanley Ho in the Ponte 16 venture.

"We aim to create a rendezvous to reminisce this great performer of the 20th century," he added in a statement.

During Saturday's auction of Jackson memorabilia in New York, Ma's firm paid $350,000 for the glove, almost eight times the pre-sale estimate amid stiff bidding.

Ponte 16 also snared nine other items that were owned by Jackson, which will also be housed in the "MJ Gallery," including a signed drawing of Charlie Chaplin, a pair of acrylic tube socks, Jackson's "zombie" shirt which he wore in the video of "Thriller" and a platinum record awarded for the album "Bad"

"These precious items can revitalize MJ's legendary career to all his fans, providing them another place to house MJ memorabilia besides the Neverland Ranch in California," the resort said in a statement, without giving an opening date.

The white glove, which auctioneers Julien's Auctions, called "the Holy Grail of Michael Jackson," was worn by the performer when he first staged the famous moonwalk dance at the 1983 Motown 25 television special.

Made of cream leather and studded with hand-sewn rhinestones, the left-handed glove is considered an iconic accessory by Jackson fans.

(Reporting by James Pomfret, editing by Miral Fahmy)

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The glove Michael Jackson wore during his legendary performance at "Motown 25," can now be found at the Ponte 16 Resort Hotel in Macau.

The glove was sold over the weekend to a bidder from Hong Kong, who paid $350,000 for it ($420,000, plus taxes and fees). The bidder, like many others, attended the Michael Jackson auction, held by Julien's Auctions Saturday at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York's Times Square. Profits from the event totaled a whopping $2 million.

"The glove" as many people simply coined it, was worn by Jackson during his performance at Motown's 25th anniversary TV special in 1983, where Jackson debuted the moonwalk. It was originally owned by Walter "Clyde" Orange of The Commodores. According to CNN, Orange asked for Jackson's autograph at the taping, but instead Jackson generously gave him the glove.

Other items auctioned off included a signature black jacket from Jackson's "Bad" tour, which went for $270,000. A Jackson drawing of Charlie Chapin sold for $33,480, and the fedora Jackson rocked at the 1995 MTV Music Awards where he kissed ex Lisa Marie Presley, went for $73,800. -- Linda Hobbs. Share

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Michael Jackson's doctor returned to work at his Houston medical clinic on Monday for the first time since the pop star's death and his patients welcomed him back without reservation.

Dr. Conrad Murray was greeted by several patients and the pastor of his church when he arrived at the Armstrong Medical Clinic. One church member held up a handwritten sign that read "Welcome Back."

Patients later praised Murray's work as a cardiologist and called him a community role model, saying they have no concerns about being treated by the man under investigation in Jackson's June 25 death.

The doctor has been the focus of a Los Angeles police homicide investigation since telling investigators he administered propofol, a powerful operating room anesthetic, to Jackson to help the pop star sleep. The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled Jackson's death a homicide, caused primarily by propofol and another sedative.

Murray, who was with Jackson when the 50-year-old singer died, has not been charged with a crime.

"He's a good doctor, he's a kind man," Ransom Craddock, 81, said as he sat outside the clinic, a nondescript brown brick building next to a supermarket in a lower-income area of north Houston. "We all in this community welcome him back. We need him in this community."

Ruby Mosley praised Murray for providing care to low-income patients and said she believes very little about what the media has reported about his possible role in Jackson's death.

"I can't tell you the joy. We were proud to see him," Mosley, 80, said of the visit she and a group of patients had with Murray at the clinic on Friday. "I see him as a physician and a friend."

Murray, who was scheduled to see six patients on Monday, didn't speak with reporters before entering the clinic.

But on Sunday, while attending services at Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Houston, Murray stood before parishioners and told them he returned to serve his community.

"I am taking my life back step by step. I wanted to come home," Murray said in video shot by Houston television station KPRC.

Murray has been primarily living in Las Vegas, where he also has a clinic. His attorney, Edward Chernoff, said the cardiologist has been unable to earn a living since Jackson's death.

"His legal fees are enormous and his debts have mounted to the point where it is unclear whether he will be able to keep his house or support his family," Chernoff said. "His intentions are to attend to these patients who have continued to support him, despite the attention and despite the threats."

Murray, who wore sunglasses as he spoke to parishioners on Sunday, did not mention Jackson or the investigation directly, only saying "It appears I was at the wrong place at the wrong time" and "I know what trouble is."

Murray, licensed in Nevada, Texas and California, was hired to be Jackson's personal physician during a world tour.

Authorities searched Murray's Houston clinic and a rented storage unit on July 22 and conducted searches later at Murray's home and office in Las Vegas, at properties in Los Angeles and at a Las Vegas pharmacy where police say Murray bought five 100-milliliter bottles of propofol.

Chernoff said Murray has been followed and threatened since Jackson died and felt he had to close his Las Vegas office because patients were being harassed as they came and went. Chernoff said Murray will eventually reopen that office.

Associated Press Writer Ken Ritter in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

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MICHAEL JACKSON29

Grieving La Toya Jackson claims to be talking to her dead brother Michael – from beyond the grave.

She says: “When I go to his house I say, ‘Hello, Michael. How are you? If you’re here, please, please let me know’. And the lights start blinking. I can feel him.

“I can smell his Tom Ford cologne and I’ve felt him brush past me. It’s the most wonderful feeling and the biggest smile comes over my face.

“I tell him I love him so much and ask him to show me he’s here again. The lights blink again.

“I know he’s there, answering me and knowing he’s watching me is a huge comfort. I never believed that people could speak, hear and communicate in that sense. But I’ve witnessed it several times now and I want to investigate it further. I am certainly open-minded to speaking to a medium.

“No other members of the family have experienced it. Just me.”

La Toya has also witnessed Michael’s pet macaw, now with mother Katherine and the children at the family compound in Encino, conversing with the Thriller star.

She says: “Michael had a macaw and he was saying, ‘Everything’s OK, Michael. Everyone’s fine, don’t worry. The kids?

How are the kids doing? Well, see

how the kids are playing. They’re playing and they’re having fun’.”

La Toya also believes Michael is helping the police investigate his death. She says: “I ask Michael to help me understand what took place. I’ve told him to find a way to let me know. A person’s name will pop into my head out of the blue, I’ll call them, they give me information and I’ll find the connection I’ve been looking for. It’s amazing.”

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MICHAEL JACKSON29

Kenny Ortega was responsible for some of Michael Jackson's biggest concerts, including what were to be his comeback shows in London. But in the singer's final days, the producer-director-choregrapher felt like he needed to take on another responsibility — making sure Jackson stayed healthy.

"Michael had sleepless nights and we had to look after him. (I'd say to him), 'Stay hydrated, have a protein shake — Did you eat today before you came?'" Ortega said in an interview Thursday to promote the new Jackson documentary, This Is It.

When Jackson would say he had, a skeptical Ortega would say — "Michael?"

"Michael's an adult. ... We didn't want to baby him," he said. "(But) I had concerns and we had conversations, wanting to make sure he was doing everything he could to build himself and not break himself down."

Jackson died June 25 at age 50. The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled Jackson's death a homicide, caused primarily by the powerful anesthetic propofol and another sedative. Jackson's personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, has not been charged with a crime but is the focus of the police investigation.

Ortega's work with Jackson included world tours for Jackson's Dangerous and HIStory albums. He was directing the This Is It shows — which would have marked the performer's comeback concerts in London's O2 Arena in July — and was brought on to direct a film adaptation of those taped rehearsals after Jackson's death.

This Is It will premiere globally on Tuesday and run for two weeks. The soundtrack for the film, which includes the newly released title track as well as some of his best-known hits, is being released Monday.

In a 12-minute clip previewed for media on Thursday, a strong-voiced King of Pop is shown enthusiastically practicing some of his biggest hits.

Jackson, though frail-looking, is shown warming up his vocals during a performance of Human Nature. That's followed by the singer running through the song in various outfits.

Later, he playfully dances with a woman as he sings The Way You Make Me Feel, touching her thigh and holding her waist.

"One more time," Jackson says toward the end of the song after being told the last eight bars were to be cut.

Ortega says although he worried about Jackson's health, he doesn't believe the preparation for the shows wore the singer down. In fact, he says it was the opposite.

"I can tell you this experience, working on this show, was invigorating, was nourishing. ... (it) wasn't taking away from Michael," he said.

Travis Payne, a choreographer who worked on This Is It and other Jackson tours, says he remembers spending one-on-one time with Jackson — especially visiting websites like YouTube.

"I used to love sitting and just surfing the 'net with him," Payne said. "And we would just do that and we would be able to have our creative reference time in a different way now."

Musical director Michael Bearden recalls Jackson's lofty goal to try to capture all of his music in one, over-the-top show.

"He had so, so much music that we tried to get everything in but not cheat the audience at the same time, which is a delicate balance if you will to try to get everything in and still feel like you're getting a full song," he said.

Ortega says Jackson was very adamant about the look of the tour — from the length of the songs to the stage's lighting.

"From the very beginning Michael was very vocal, and very upfront about what he wanted to do and why he wanted to do it," Ortega said.

"That's what This Is It, Michael Jackson's This Is It the film, is about — it's a privileged peak into the final creative process of Michael's last theatrical work."
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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MICHAEL JACKSON29

A Carmel businessman whose company distributes Michael Jackson memorabilia was sentenced to two years in prison for tax evasion.

Eugene Cappello, 57, admitted he dodged more than $200,000 he owed to the Internal Revenue Service by having paychecks issued to a family member who then deposited funds in bank accounts Cappello controlled. While underreporting his income to the IRS, Cappello used the hidden cash to buy a $34,781 country club membership and a $91,000 yacht.

Cappello owns Connecticut Marketing and Consulting, a company that sells Chinese-made Michael Jackson memorabilia to a company called Bravado, which has exclusive rights to sell such items connected to the deceased singer.

Cappello also has done the same for tours involving the Rolling Stones, Rob Zombie and another dozen bands, according to court papers filed by his lawyer, David Moraghan. In those papers, Moraghan asked U.S. District Judge Alvin Thompson to sentence Cappello to probation.

"He has suffered not only financially," Moraghan wrote, "but he has been humiliated as a result of the publicity inherent with a conviction."

Cappello pleaded guilty in August to tax evasion and illegally structuring money transactions.

Federal prosecutors asked Judge Alvin Thompson to sentence Cappello to the agreed upon range of 24 to 30 months, noting that at the same time Cappello was evading taxes he was living a "lavish lifestyle."

"This is an egregious case of tax evasion that warrants a period of incarceration," Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond Miller wrote in a memorandum to Thompson.

In addition to the prison term, Cappello has also paid the IRS more than $400,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest.

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MICHAEL JACKSON29

The secret turmoil of Michael Jackson’s grieving children can be revealed today by the King of Pop’s closest sibling.

Behind the closed doors of the Jackson family’s Californian compound, Prince, Paris and Blanket have been left shattered by grief at the death of their superstar father.



In a searingly honest interview, Michael’s sister La Toya confides that, four months after his death, each child is having counselling

to help them cope with their loss amid worldwide attention.

And she admits that while daughter Paris, 11, appears to be handling her heartache, the family are worried about the two boys.

Prince, 12, has bottled up his pain, refuses to talk about his feelings and can’t even bring himself to look at a picture of his dad.

And traumatised little Blanket, the youngest at seven, spends long periods sobbing, unable to comprehend that he’ll never see again the only parent he has ever known.

Speaking at a London hotel during a whirlwind visit to Britain, La Toya says: “Paris thinks and talks about her father all the time. She’s doing very well, writes a lot and she wears his shirts every day. They still smell of him and it helps her feel close to him.

“Her bedroom is covered in posters of Michael and she watches tapes of him all the time. After he passed, the kids went up to the house to get whatever they wanted.

“Paris took anything with a picture of her father on and brought it back to her new room at my mother’s house.

“She was so upset that she would never see her father on stage. She said, ‘Now I’ll never get the chance to see Daddy perform live’.

“Prince just doesn’t want to speak about it. He won’t even watch the DVDs – he just walks right past the TV. It’s too soon, too touching. I do worry about him very much.

therapy

“And Blanket is just a very sad, shy little boy. He cries – he really does cry. It’s so painful for him. No one can bring his daddy back and it hurts so much.

“They all go to therapy and I truly hope Prince especially will be able to open up.”

Routine, says softly spoken La Toya, has helped the home-schooled children deal with the horror of their dad’s death, currently at the centre of a murder investigation.

Michael’s mother Katherine, 79, is their legal guardian but the whole of the family have dedicated themselves to raising the children exactly how their father would have wished.

They’re even planning a lavish Christmas Day, the kind Michael loved, despite the annual festive celebration being against Katherine’s Jehovah’s Witness religion.

“They still have the same nannies so it’s the same routine,” says La Toya, 53. “They don’t watch TV apart from the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon and only for two hours a day.

“They’re with each other all the time. All of them are taught at home together, although they say Blanket goes to school upstairs because he has his lessons on the next floor.

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“They never fight. Michael has preached nothing but love and, boy, did he instil right from wrong in those kids. He did an incredible job of raising them.

“They have so much innocence but are also highly intelligent. Prince especially knows everything about everything. He can tell you fascinating things about the moon in great detail or where certain rocks come from.

“Michael made sure they were always reading books and he was very particular about what they read. I’m not even sure if they read things like Harry Potter – it was always about knowledge and how that is key.

“We grew up Jehovah’s Witnesses and so didn’t celebrate Christmas. But I think it’s very important that Michael’s children celebrate it because that’s what he did with them.

“I want them to continue to have that. I’ve spoken to my mother about Christmas and she said she will be celebrating.”

The children were in the LA mansion 50-year-old Michael was renting when, drugged to the eyeballs with prescription medication, he collapsed with a heart attack on June 25. La Toya was one of the first on the scene and has played an instrumental part in supporting the children through the last few months – including their appearance at Michael’s memorial service, seen across the world.

La Toya adds: “Paris talks about her dad a lot, even little things. I’m terrified of cats and Paris has two kittens.

“She said, ‘Daddy told me you pretended to be allergic to cats when really you’re just afraid of them’.

“Or she’ll say, ‘Daddy says everything always has to be neat for you Auntie La Toya’. She remembers him all the time. I try to stay strong as they have lost their father. It’s like a bellyache that doesn’t go away.” The family know that Katherine’s age means she may not be fit enough to care for the children in the long-term.

La Toya, who has no children, would be more than happy to step into the breach.

She says: “According to the will, Diana Ross will be the guardian if anything happened to my mother. I know Diana would do a good job with them but I think the kids will stay in the family and I’d be more than delighted to look after them.”

La Toya brushes off any suggestions that the children’s natural mothers – whoever they are – might help out.

And she admits the family were baffled by ex-Oliver! star Mark Lester’s claims that he had donated sperm to Michael in the mid-90s and could be the father of Paris.

“My mother didn’t understand it,” says La Toya. “It was a very sensitive time to be bringing that up. Why not approach my parents for a private conversation? It’s interesting how many people suddenly want to be the parent.

“Thank God the children haven’t heard about it as they don’t watch TV. Do you know how many people in America have said they’re the parents? It’s amazing. All these women saying, ‘I’m the mother. I’m the mother’. Michael was always the father and the mother to those children.”

La Toya has vowed that they will never forget their famous dad. “The children will always remember him because the world won’t let anyone forget him,” she says.

“You will always hear his music and see his posters, which is wonderful. They’re young and may forget the moments he caressed them or disciplined them or took them shopping and the house which was filled with laughter. Sadly those memories will fade. But they’re surrounded by their cousins and they adore having all these children to play with.”

La Toya accepts they will now grow up in the public eye but, despite the problems fame and fortune created for Michael, she would support them if they wanted to pursue a career in showbiz.

La Toya, whose single Home is available on iTunes with profits to Aids Project Los Angeles, says: “Paris doesn’t know it but she has all the makings of a star. If she wants to go into showbiz I can see that happening. The boys like the idea of directing which is what Michael wanted to do.

“Kids are resilient. He gave them so much love and that is helping them.” (mirror.co.uk)

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MICHAEL JACKSON29. A Florida woman who told a television interviewer that Michael Jackson's ex-wife was only interested in getting money from the singer's family and wasn't interested in gaining custody of her two children is being sued.

In a filing last week, Deborah Rowe's attorneys said the mother of Jackson's two oldest children should be awarded $490,000 in general and punitive damages.

Rowe sued Rebecca White in July for White's comments to the television show "Extra." White hasn't responded to the lawsuit and Rowe is seeking a default judgment against the Key West, Fla. resident.

Rowe's defamation and invasion-of-privacy lawsuit sought to recoup any money that White may have been paid for the interview, which aired in July. Rowe's attorneys estimated those earnings at $100,000 on a court filing.

They are also seeking $100,000 for emotional distress, $45,000 for medical and attorney's fees and $245,000 in punitive damages.

A hearing on Rowe's petition to issue a default judgment against White is scheduled for November.

Rowe has some visitation rights with the two children under an August agreement with the singer's mother. No money is believed to have changed hands in the arrangement.

Stories aired by "Extra" were based on White's description of e-mails she said were exchanged with Rowe after Jackson's June 25 death. Rowe, 50, denies she sent any recent e-mails to White.

White was described in the segments as a "close friend" who said Rowe had emphatically stated in an e-mail exchange that she didn't want custody of Jackson's children. Rowe's attorneys have denied that White and Rowe are friends.

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