(Friday, 3 July 2009) Legendary producer and composer Quincy Jones says in a magazine interview that he thinks his longtime friend Michael Jackson didn't want to be black.

Jones, who produced many of the King of Pop's most successful hits including the groundbreaking album "Thriller," said to BBC Wales television that losing his friend was like losing a part of his soul. Jones also spoke earlier about his grief, and his thoughts on Michael's changing color, to Details magazine in an interview published online. Here is an excerpt:

DETAILS: Have you been crying?
QUINCY JONES: Oh, man, it's more than that. It's way more than that. It hurts my soul, man. It's just a lump down there.

D: You were there to witness the strange evolution in Michael's appearance. Did you ever step in and saying anything about it?
QJ: Oh, we talked about it all the time. But he'd come up with, "Man, I promise you I have this disease," and so forth, and "I have a blister on my lungs," and all that kind of b.s. It's hard, because Michael's a Virgo, man--he's very set in his ways. You can't talk him out of it. Chemical peels and all that stuff.

D: Did you believe him about the disease?
QJ: I don't believe in any of that bull****, no. No. Never. I've been around junkies and stuff all my life. I've heard every excuse. It's like smokers--"I only smoke when I drink" and all that stuff. But it's bull****. You're justifying something that's destructive to your existence. It's crazy. I mean, I came up with Ray Charles, man. You know, nobody gonna pull no wool over my eyes. He did heroin 20 years! Come on. And black coffee and gin for 40 years. But when he called me to come over to see him when he was in the hospital on his way out, man, he had emphysema, hepatitis C, cirrhosis of the liver, and five malignant tumors. Please, man! I've been around this all my life. So it's hard for somebody to pull the wool over my eyes. But when somebody's hell-bent on it, you can't stop 'em.

D: But it must've been so disturbing to see Michael's face turn into what it turned into.
QJ: It's ridiculous, man! Chemical peels and all of it. And I don't understand it. But he obviously didn't want to be black.

D: Is that what it was?
QJ: Well, what do you think? You see his kids?

D: Did you ever discuss it? Did you ever ask, "Michael, don't you want to be a black man?"
QJ: No, no, no, please. That's not the way you do it.

D: But he was beautiful before?
QJ: Man, he was the most gorgeous guy.

Read Jeff Gordinier's entire interview with Quincy Jones here.

• "Got to be there" for Michael Jackson's public memorial? An event has been confirmed for Tuesday, July 7 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Thousands of free tickets for 17,500 fans will be made available in a lottery-type drawing. You have to register online at www.staplescenter.com; registration ends at 9:00 Saturday night (Eastern) and 8,750 names will be randomly selected to each receive two tickets. Then, Sunday, you will be notified with more details. Excpect it to be swamped; a PR firm tracking visitors says the site got 500 MILLION hits within the first 90 minutes. But don't expect to fly to LA just to hang around outside the Staples Center, hoping to watch it being broadcast on a big JumboTron or something. Authorities, trying to minimize chaotic crowds, say if you don't get tickets, you won't be let near the arena, and your best bet is to stay home and watch on TV.
  
  
  "If you do not have a ticket, if you are not credentialed, not only will you not be allowed at these venues, you will not be allowed in this area," said Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger.
  
  
  The press conference Friday didn't specify the format of the memorial, whether Jackson's body would be there, or who may speak or perform. Not all of the tickets are for admission to the Staples Center; 11,000 are for the arena, and 6,500 will be for a simulcast at the neighboring Nokia theater. Staples is in part owned/operated by Anschutz Entertainment Group, the promoter bankrolling Jackson's farewell/comeback "This Is It" London shows.
  
  
  From CNN: AEG Live released this video clip of Michael Jackson rehearsing at the Staples Center for his tour, just two days before he died suddenly after suffering cardiac arrest at the age of 50. He's performing "They Don't Care About Us."
  
  
  
• The powerful IV sedative Diprivan was found in Michael Jackson's rental house, according to a law enforcement source who talked to the Associated Press. That's the drug that registered nurse Cherilyn Lee this week said Jackson begged her for. It's used to knock out patients for surgery. CNN sources say Jackson had such severe insomnia that he traveled with his own private anaesthesiologist--Dr. Neil Ratner--during his HIStory tour in the mid-1990s. The doctor would routinely "take him down" and "bring him back up," said the sources. Still, official autopsy results for Jackson have not been released as authorities say toxicology results are still pending.
  
  
  
• Reporters were let into Neverland Ranch by the owner, Colony Capital, which is the Los Angeles firm that established a joint venture with Jackson to rescue Neverland from foreclosure last year. Here's a slideshow from the New York Times.

(Thursday, 2 July 2009) Jermaine Jackson says he wishes he had died instead of his brother, and addresses speculation about Michael Jackson's prescription abuse; the GBI warns of a nasty child porn e-mail circulating; blue jeans bandits get stopped at a midtown boutique. Details on today's KISS News Now!

(Tuesday, 30 June 2009) Michael Jackson's body will return to his Neverland Ranch on Thursday morning for a public viewing Friday; Investigators searched the home where Michael Jackson fell ill; Joe Jackson answers criticism; did Michael have a valid will--or didn't he? What do you think of Papa Joe's statements? Who should get custody of the children? Tell us on today's KISS News Now!

(Monday, 29 June 2009) A midtown Atlanta parking deck collapsed during Monday's lunch hour. Other top stories: Stars honor Michael Jackson at the BET Awards; lawyers for Jackson's personal physician deny their client prescribed painkillers to the pop icon; Janet Jackson makes her first public appearance since her brother's death, and Joe Jackson surprises viewers with a bit of his interview on the red carpet. See all the video on today's KISS News Now!

(KISS News Now!/AP) Authorities are seeking to clear up the mystery surrounding Michael Jackson's death, including whether prescription drugs could have been a factor. Listen to the 911 Call

An autopsy was to begin Friday, though results weren't likely to be final until toxicology tests could be completed, a process that could take weeks. However, if a cause can be determined by the autopsy, they will announce the results, said Los Angeles County Coroner Investigator Jerry McKibben.

The 50-year-old musical superstar died Thursday, just as he was preparing for a series of 50 concerts starting July 13 at London's 02 arena.

He died at UCLA Medical Center after being stricken at his rented home in the posh Los Angeles neighborhood of Holmby Hills. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him for nearly three-quarters of an hour, then rushed him to the hospital, where doctors continued to work on him.

His brother Jermaine said Michael died at 2:26 p.m., Los Angeles time (5:26 Eastern), and that it was believed that Jackson suffered cardiac arrest at his home.

"A team of doctors including emergency physicians and cardiologists attempted to resuscitate him for a period of more than one hour, and they were unsuccessful," said Jermaine.

Cardiac arrest is an abnormal heart rhythm that stops the heart from pumping blood to the body. It can occur after a heart attack or be caused by other heart problems.

Police towed the car of a doctor from Michael Jackson's home Friday and said it could contain drugs or other evidence offering clues in the pop star's death.

Los Angeles police spokeswoman Karen Rayner said coroner's investigators were seeking to interview the doctor but said she did not know the doctor's identity. She stressed the doctor was not under criminal investigation.

"His car was impounded because it may contain medications or other evidence that may assist the coroner in determining the cause of death,'' Rayner said.

Grief and Questions

Brian Oxman, a Jackson family lawyer, described the scene inside UCLA Medical Center Wednesday afternoon: siblings LaToya, Jermaine, and Randy, "all sobbing alone in a room by themselves. It's something I will never forget."


His voice shaking, Oxman went on to say he and many of Jackson's relatives had been worried about him for quite some time, worried that he would one day die. Oxman said Jackson had been surrounded by enablers.


"Because of medications he has been on, this family has been trying months and months and months to take care of Michael," said Oxman. "The people who have been surrounding him have been enabling him. If you think the Anna Nicole case was an abuse, it was nothing in comparison to what we have seen taking place in Michael Jackson's life.


"This was something that I feared and something I warned about," Oxman continued, describing Michael in "very fine" physical condition. "I can't be sure...but where there is smoke, there is fire. This is a case of abuse of medications, unless there is some other cause I don't know about." During Jackson's molestation trial in 2005 (right), rumors swirled that the singer was not completely himself when he showed up for court wearing pajama bottoms.

A handful of bleary-eyed fans camped out throughout the night with media outside the Jackson family house in the San Fernando Valley and near his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. People heading to work in New York on Friday were stopping at a makeshift memorial outside Harlem's Apollo Theater, where Jackson performed as a child. The crowd held impromptu singalongs of Jackson songs.

Oxman, who said he was speaking on behalf of no one but himself, and other friends made the rounds among the news outlets Friday, adding to the intrigue of Jackson's early demise. Oxman claims Jackson had prescription drugs at his disposal to help with pain suffered when he broke his leg after he fell off a stage and for broken vertebrae in his back.

"When the autopsy comes, all hell's going to break loose, so thank God we're celebrating him now,'' Liza Minnelli told CBS' "The Early Show'' by telephone.

In 2007, Jackson settled a lawsuit filed by a Beverly Hills pharmacy that claimed he owed more than $100,000 for prescription drugs over a two-year period.

After Jackson was acquitted on child molestation charges in 2005, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon argued against returning some items belonging to Jackson he labeled "contraband.'' Sneddon said those included syringes, the drug Demerol and prescriptions for various drugs, mainly antibiotics, that were in different people's names.

Stephen Hill, an executive producer for the BET Awards, said Sunday's show would be dedicated to Jackson because of his influence on music and pop culture.

"I think what you're going to find is that acceptance speeches for awards will have nothing to do about the artists themselves, but about the influence that Michael Jackson had on them,'' Hill said in a phone interview.

A Unique, Unifying Career

Jackson's death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music's premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.

His 1982 album, "Thriller'' which included the blockbuster hits "Beat It,'' "Billie Jean'' and "Thriller'' is the best-selling album of all time worldwide.

Yet after selling more than 61 million albums in the U.S. and having a decade-long attraction open at Disney theme parks, Jackson died reportedly awash in about $400 million in debt, on the cusp of a final comeback after well over a decade of scandal.

As word of his death spread, MTV switched its programming to play videos from Jackson's heyday. Radio stations began playing marathons of his hits. Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital. In New York's Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died, and people began relaying the news to friends by cell phone.

The public first knew him as a boy in the late 1960s, when he was the precocious, spinning lead singer of the Jackson 5, the singing group he formed with his four older brothers out of Gary, Ind. Among their No. 1 hits were "I Want You Back,'' "ABC'' and "I'll Be There.''

He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his backward-gliding moonwalk, his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched singing, punctuated with squeals and titters. His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks, as was his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.

"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words,'' said Quincy Jones, who produced "Thriller.'' "He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.''

Jackson ranked alongside Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the biggest pop sensations of all time. He united two of music's biggest names when he was briefly married to Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie. Jackson's sudden death immediately evoked comparisons to that of Presley himself, who died at age 42 in 1977.

"I am so very sad and confused with every emotion possible,'' Lisa Marie Presley said in a statement. "I am heartbroken for his children who I know were everything to him and for his family. This is such a massive loss on so many levels, words fail me.''

As years went by, Jackson became an increasingly freakish figure--a middle-aged man-child weirdly out of touch with grown-up life. His skin became lighter, his nose narrower, and he spoke in a breathy, girlish voice. He often wore a germ mask while traveling, kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions and surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, a storybook playland filled with toys, rides and animals. The tabloids dubbed him "Wacko Jacko.''

Jackson caused a furor in 2002 when he playfully dangled his infant son, Prince Michael II, over a hotel balcony in Berlin while a throng of fans watched from below.

In 2005, he was cleared of charges that he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him, and of engaging in strange and inappropriate behavior with other children.

The case followed years of rumors about Jackson and young boys. In a TV documentary, he acknowledged sharing his bed with children, a practice he described as sweet and not at all sexual.

Despite the acquittal, the lurid allegations that came out in court took a fearsome toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble.

Michael Joseph Jackson was born Aug. 29, 1958, in Gary. He was 4 years old when he began singing with his brothers Marlon, Jermaine, Jackie and Tito in the Jackson 5. After his early success with bubblegum soul, he struck out on his own, generating innovative, explosive, unstoppable music.

The album "Thriller'' mixed the dark, serpentine bass and drums and synthesizer approach of "Billie Jean,'' the grinding Eddie Van Halen guitar solo on "Beat It'' and the hiccups and falsettos on "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'.''

Michael's First Moonwalk

The peak may have come in 1983, when Motown celebrated its 25th anniversary with an all-star televised concert and Jackson moonwalked off with the show, joining his brothers for a medley of old hits and then leaving them behind with a pointing, crouching, high-kicking, splay-footed, crotch-grabbing run through "Billie Jean.''

The audience stood and roared. Jackson raised his fist.





During production of a 1984 Pepsi commercial, Jackson's scalp sustained burns when an explosion set his hair on fire.

He had strong follow-up albums with 1987's "Bad'' and 1991's "Dangerous,'' but his career began to collapse in 1993 after he was accused of molesting a boy who often stayed at his home. The singer denied any wrongdoing, reached a settlement with the boy's family, reported to be $20 million, and criminal charges were never filed.

Jackson expressed anger over the allegations on the 1995 album, "HIStory,'' which sold more than 2.4 million copies, but by then, the popularity of Jackson's music was clearly waning even as public fascination with his increasingly erratic behavior was growing.

Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley in 1994, and they divorced in 1996. Later that year, Jackson married Deborah Rowe, a former nurse for his dermatologist. They had two children together: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., known as Prince Michael, now 12 (middle); and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 11 (far left). Rowe filed for divorce in 1999.

Jackson also had a third child, Prince Michael II, now 7 (nearest left). Jackson said the boy, nicknamed Blanket as a baby, was his biological child born from a surrogate mother.

Billboard magazine editorial director Bill Werde said Jackson's star power was unmatched. "The world just lost the biggest pop star in history, no matter how you cut it,'' Werde said. "He's literally the king of pop.''

Jackson's 13 No. 1 one hits on the Billboard charts put him behind only Presley, the Beatles and Mariah Carey, Werde said.

"He was on the eve of potentially redeeming his career a little bit,'' he said. "People might have started to think of him again in a different light.''

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Michael Jackson, the iconic entertainer whose music and stage performances thrilled generations, died today in Los Angeles after suffering cardiac arrest at his home. He was 50.

Jackson collapsed in his rental Bel Air home in California, around 12:20 Pacific time, and it is believed to be a staffer who called 911. A fire department ambulance arrived and found Jackson without a pulse. They tried to resuscitate him and transported him by ambulance to UCLA Medical Center, giving him CPR on the way. Jackson had already fallen into a coma; he never regained consciousness. He was pronounced dead around 2:30 L. A. time.

Jackson was preparing for a major comeback after spending years in isolation. Earlier this year, he announced a series of concerts in London--a 50-show performance in the O2 Arena. It was to be his first major tour since 1997.

Brian Oxman, a Jackson family lawyer, described the scene inside UCLA Medical Center Wednesday afternoon: siblings LaToya, Jermaine, and Randy, "all sobbing alone in a room by themselves. It's something I will never forget." Father Joe Jackson, he said, was in Las Vegas at the time and on his way to L. A.

His voice shaking, Oxman went on to say he and many of Jackson's relatives had been worried about him for quite some time, worried that he would one day die. Oxman said Jackson had been surrounded by enablers.

"Because of medications he has been on, this family has been trying months and months and months to take care of Michael," said Oxman. "The people who have been surrounding him have been enabling him. If you think the Anna Nicole case was an abuse, it was nothing in comparison to what we have seen taking place in Michael Jackson's life.

"This was something that I feared and something I warned about," Oxman continued, describing Michael in "very fine" physical condition. "I can't be sure...but where there is smoke, there is fire. This is a case of abuse of medications, unless there is some other cause I don't know about."

The Los Angeles Coroner will perform an autopsy.

Michael Jackson's London shows were set to begin July 8. It was billed the "This Is It" tour; he said the shows there would be his last in the city and, it was implied, possibly his last tour anywhere. The tickets sold out within hours. He had reportedly been getting in better shape with Lou Ferrigno to pump up and gain some weight before the concerts began. Jackson's last studio album was "Invincible" in 2001, and "Thriller"--which is worldwide, the best-selling album of all time with more than 100 million copies estimated sold--got its 25^th Anniversary re-issue in 2008.

"I love you," Jackson told tour fans during the tour announcement in March. "I really do. You have to know that I love you so much. Really, from the bottom of my heart."

Michael Joseph Jackson was born August 29, 1958. He has three children: Paris Katherine, Prince Michael I (also known as Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr.) and Prince Michael II (nicknamed "Blanket"). His older two were by ex-wife Debbie Rowe; the third was by a woman whose identity he kept private but he said the boy was from a surrogate mother using his own sperm.

The Los Angeles Coroner confirms that superstar entertainer Michael Joseph Jackson, 50, has died. Jackson suffered cardiac arrest at his home around noon Pacific time.

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(CNN) -- Michael Jackson, the show-stopping singer whose best-selling albums -- including "Off the Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad" -- and electrifying stage presence made him one of the most popular artists of all time, died Wednesday.

Michael Jackson, shown in 2008, was one of the biggest pop stars in history.

He was 50.

He collapsed at his residence in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, California, about noon Pacific time, suffering cardiac arrest, according to brother Randy Jackson. He died at UCLA Medical Center.

Jackson's blazing rise to stardom -- and later fall from grace -- is among the most startling of show business tales. The son of a steelworker, he rose to fame as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, a band he formed with his brothers in the late 1960s. By the late '70s, as a solo artist, he was topping the charts with cuts from "Off the Wall," including "Rock With You" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."

In 1982, he released "Thriller," an album that eventually produced seven hit singles. An appearance the next year on a Motown Records 25th-anniversary special cemented his status as the biggest star in the country. Timeline: The life of Michael Jackson »

For the rest of the 1980s, they came no bigger. "Thriller's" follow-up, 1987's "Bad," sold almost as many copies. A new Jackson album -- a new Jackson appearance -- was a pop culture event.

The pop music landscape was changing, however, opening up for rap, hip-hop and what came to be called "alternative" -- and Jackson was seen as out of step.

His next release, 1991's "Dangerous," debuted at No. 1 but "only" produced one top-ranking single -- "Black or White" -- and that song earned criticism for its inexplicably violent ending, in which Jackson was seen smashing car windows and clutching his crotch.

And then "Dangerous" was knocked out of its No. 1 spot on the album charts by Nirvana's "Nevermind," an occurrence noted for its symbolism by rock critics.

After that, more attention was paid to Jackson's private life than his music career, which faltered. A 1995 two-CD greatest hits, "HIStory," sold relatively poorly, given the huge expense of Jackson's recording contract: about 7 million copies, according to Recording Industry of America certifications.

A 2001 album of new material, "Invincible," did even worse.

In 2005, he went to trial on child-molestation charges. He was acquitted.

In July 2008, after three years away from the spotlight, Jackson announced a series of concerts at London's O2 Arena as his "curtain call." Some of the shows, initially scheduled to begin in July, were eventually postponed until 2010.

Rise to stardom

Michael Jackson was born August 29, 1958, to Joe Jackson, a Gary, Indiana, steelworker, and his wife, Katherine. By the time he was 6, he had joined his brothers in a musical group organized by his father, and by the time he was 10, the group -- the Jackson 5 -- had been signed to Motown.

He made his first television appearance at age 11.

Jackson, a natural performer, soon became the group's front man. Music critic Langdon Winner, reviewing the group's first album, "Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5," for Rolling Stone, praised Michael's versatile singing and added, "Who is this 'Diana Ross,' anyway?"

The group's first four singles -- "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There" -- went to No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart, the first time any group had pulled off that feat. There was even a Jackson 5 cartoon series on ABC.

In 1972, he hit No. 1 as a solo artist with the song "Ben."

The group's popularity waned as the '70s continued, and Michael eventually went solo full time. He played the Scarecrow in the 1978 movie version of "The Wiz," and released the album "Off the Wall" in 1979. Its success paved the way for "Thriller," which eventually became the best-selling album in history, with estimates of over 100 million copies sold worldwide.

At that point, Michael Jackson became ubiquitous.

Seven of "Thriller's" nine cuts were released as singles; all made the Top Ten. The then-new cable channel MTV, criticized for its almost exclusively white playlist, finally started playing Jackson's videos. They aired incessantly, including a 14-minute minimovie of the title cut. ("Weird Al" Yankovic cemented his own stardom by lampooning Jackson's song "Beat It" with a letter-perfect parody video.)

On the Motown Records' 25th-anniversary special -- a May 1983 TV extravaganza with notable turns by the Temptations, the Four Tops and Smokey Robinson -- it was Michael Jackson who stopped the show.

Already he was the most popular musician in America, riding high with "Thriller." But something about his electrifying performance of "Billie Jean," complete with the patented backward dance moves, boosted his stardom to a new level.

People copied his Jheri-curled hair and single-gloved, zippered-jacket look. Showbiz veterans such as Fred Astaire praised his chops. He posed for photos with Ronald and Nancy Reagan at the White House. Paul McCartney teamed with him on three duets, two of which -- "The Girl Is Mine" and "Say Say Say" -- became top five hits. Jackson became a Pepsi spokesman, and when his hair caught fire while making a commercial, it was worldwide news.

It all happened very fast -- within a couple years of the Motown special. But even at the time of the "Motown 25" moonwalk, fame was old hat to Michael Jackson. He hadn't even turned 25 himself, but he'd been a star for more than half his life. He was given the nickname the "King of Pop" -- a spin on Elvis Presley's status as "the King of Rock 'n' Roll" -- and few questioned the moniker.

Relentless attention

But, as the showbiz saying has it, when you're on top of the world, there's nowhere to go but down. The relentless attention given Jackson started focusing as much on his eccentricities -- some real, some rumored -- as his music.

As the Web site Allmusic.com notes, he was rumored to sleep in a hyperbaric chamber and to have purchased the bones of John Merrick, the "Elephant Man." (Neither was true.) He did have a pet chimpanzee, Bubbles; underwent a series of increasingly drastic plastic surgeries; established an estate, Neverland, filled with zoo animals and amusement park rides; and managed to purchase the Beatles catalog from under Paul McCartney's nose, which displeased the ex-Beatle immensely.

In 1990s and 2000s, Jackson found himself pasted across the media for his short-lived marriages, the first to Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie; his 2002 claim that then Sony Records head Tommy Mottola was racist; his behavior and statements during a 2003 interview with British journalist Martin Bashir done for a documentary called "Living With Michael Jackson;" his changing physical appearance; and, above all, the accusations that he sexually molested young boys at Neverland.

The first such accusation, in 1993, resulted in a settlement to the 13-year-old accuser (rumored to be as high as $20 million), though no criminal charges were filed, Allmusic.com notes.

He also fell deeply in debt and was forced to sell some of his assets. Neverland was one of many holdings that went on the block. However, an auction of material from Neverland, scheduled for April, was called off and all items returned to Jackson.

Interest in Jackson never faded, however, even if some of it was prurient. In 2008, when he announced 10 comeback shows in London, beginning in July 2009, the story made worldwide news. The number of concerts was later increased to 50.

Seventy-five thousand tickets sold in four hours when they went on sale in March.

However, when the shows were postponed until 2010, rumors swept the Internet that Jackson was not physically prepared and possibly suffering from skin cancer.

At the time, the president and CEO of AEG Live, Randy Phillips, said, "He's as healthy as can be -- no health problems whatsover."

He is survived by his three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.

(Thursday, 25 June 2009) Metro police and state troopers bring the 'Summer Heat;' South Carolina's governor admits he flew out of the country for an affair, but says he won't quit his job; new mom Jill Scott confirms her breakup, but Jermaine Dupri says don't believe all the gossip you read. It's all on today's KISS News Now!

(Wednesday, 24 June 2009) Another college student is robbed near the Georgia Tech campus; new tapes and documents show President Nixon thought abortion was acceptable to prevent biracial births; a Tennessee Titan wants you to Tweet him some ideas on how to celebrate his next touchdowns. Details on today's KISS News Now!