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Man Ordered to Dance “Moonwalk” at Gunpoint, Police Say Just remember always to think twice before ordering someone to dance the “moonwalk” at the barrel of a gun. An Idaho man has been hit with a felony assault charge for allegedly forcing another man to perform Michael Jackson’s signature “moonwalk” while having a rifle pointed at him, the Bonner County Daily Bee reported. Police accused John Ernest Cross, 30, of using an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle while issuing the bizarre order to mimic a dance the late King of Pop debuted back in 1983. Cross said during an initial court appearance...

As expected, the King of Pop steps aside for the King of Country as George Strait's "Twang" replaces Michael Jackson's enduring "Number Ones" as the best selling album in the country. Strait's new set sold 155,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan, earning the country legend his fifth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. "Twang" follows in the footsteps of Strait's 1997 album "Carrying Your Love With Me," 2004's "50 Number Ones," 2005's "Somewhere Down In Texas" and 2008's "Troubadour." The last time one of Strait's studio albums opened with less than 100,000 was in 1994, when "Lead On" started...

Los Angeles city officials say $1.4 million was spent to provide security, traffic control and other services surrounding Michael Jackson's memorial service. The police department said Wednesday that more than 4,000 officers worked to secure Staples Center, Forest Lawn cemetery, and other areas that attracted fans and members of the media. Their deployment cost $1.1 million in overtime pay.

I got to Staples Center some time after the parade of Ringling Bros. elephants and just before a bikini-clad woman who held aloft a sign that said, "Go Vegetarian for the Man in the Mirror." I suppose it goes without saying that not all memorial services draw the same crowd. Speaking of crowds, this one was way smaller than the city had planned for. There were hundreds of people on the street rather than hundreds of thousands, which means that a few million tax dollars were spent to have police officers stand around with their arms folded.... maybe the only...

When the all-star Michael Jackson memorial ceremony in Los Angeles came to an end today, millions of fans watching the event became curious about the woman who sang lead on Jackson’s “Heal the World.” The mystery singer was Judith Hill, a Pasadena, California-based vocalist who was recruited to be one of the backup singers for Jackson’s This Is It! concerts at London’s O2 Arena. Hill wowed the crowd and the millions watching around the world with her rendition of the Dangerous song, but her identity had most viewers baffled — the “We Are the World” and “Heal the World” performers...

The Jackson family has decided to bring Michael's body to the memorial service being held today at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, putting off the announced plans for a private internment at Forest Lawn cemetery from 8 a.m. PDT to after the service.The 10 a.m. PDT service is being broadcast on all the major American broadcast and cable news networks, as well as in theaters across the country, the Times Square jumbotron in New York City and on TV screens around the world.From Entertainment Weekly, performers and friends expected at the service include: Kobe Bryant, Mariah Carey, Berry Gordy,...

LOS OLIVOS, California (AFP) – The plans for Michael Jackson's funeral remain uncertain, but that did not stop Desiree Crossley and her family from camping out for hours outside of his Neverland ranch. Reports that the King of Pop would be laid to rest at his sprawling fantasy estate prompted a near stampede here to the rolling hills of Santa Barbara wine country, with hundreds of media satellite trucks parking outside the gate. As newscasters broadcast live in multiple languages and traffic crews hurriedly erected no-parking signs, Crossley waited with a friend in foldable chairs, her two daughters sitting in...

Whatever the final autopsy results reveal, it was greed that killed Michael Jackson. Had he not been driven – by a cabal of bankers, agents, doctors and advisers – to commit to the gruelling 50 concerts in London’s O2 Arena, I believe he would still be alive today. During the last weeks and months of his life, Jackson made desperate attempts to prepare for the concert series scheduled for next month – a series that would have earned millions for the singer and his entourage, but which he could never have completed, not mentally, and not physically. Michael knew it...

LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson spent the last years of his life buried in debt. But the King of Pop's death is likely to yield a financial bonanza more lucrative than any comeback tour ever could, as fans snap up his music and memorabilia ... "Quite frankly, he may be worth more dead than alive," said Jerry Reisman, general counsel for the Hit Factory, a recording studio where Jackson produced his best-selling album "Thriller." Jackson's death at age 50 leaves a multitude of questions about a financial empire that included his own music, as well a 50 percent stake in...

If the King of Pop Converts to Islam by Daniel Pipes March 7, 2006 Michael Jackson, the king of pop, is "on the verge" of converting to Islam, CBS News reported last week. If that's true, it fits into a recurring and important African-American pattern. Rumors of Mr. Jackson's conversion first surfaced in November 2003, a month after his arrest on child-molestation charges. Saeed Shabazz, a reporter for the Nation of Islam's publication, The Final Call, announced that Mr. Jackson had joined the organization. He added that NoI's leader, Louis Farrakhan, "sees a lot of spirituality in Michael." But the...

Michael Jackson is happy in his new life in the Middle East – and is doing 300 push-ups a day, according to his brother Jermaine. The superstar has been living a reclusive existence in Bahrain, where he is a guest of the king’s son, since leaving the US for the Gulf island after being cleared of child sex abuse charges last year. Jermaine Jackson told CNN’s Larry King Live his brother was “doing wonderful“. “He’s gained some weight,” Jackson said. “He’s happy and he’s running on the beach. I spoke to him. “He’s doing 300 push-ups a day and doing...

Michael Jackson: Jews are like leeches King of Pop allegedly blasts Jews on message recorded on former adviser's voice mail; Anti-Defamation League: He has anti-Semitic streak Apparently not very fond of Jews. Jackson Photo: Reuters Michael Jackson may be fond of children, but he is apparently not very fond of Jews, according to an audiotape aired Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America" show. The audiotape contains a message allegedly recorded by Jackson two years ago on the voice mail of his former adviser Dieter Wiesner. Referring to Jews, Jackson is heard saying that "they're like leeches…I'm so tired of it…They...

GILLIGAN'S ISLAND Sit back my friends and I’ll tell a tale…about a superstar With boys who stayed with him overnight…he went way too far He got their trust and he gave them gifts…the parents went along And then the stories were surfacing…he showed them his schlong He showed them his schlong And then a kid finally spilled the beans and Michael is in court He played with me, boys had testified…we’re shocked by their report We’re shocked by their report But look where this trial is happening…the state of fruits and nuts The jury pool is dumb as rocks...

SANTA MARIA, CALIF. — A controversial blood circulation machine was delivered to Michael Jackson's (search) Neverland Valley Ranch, a source close to FOX News said. According to Jackson confidant comedian Dick Gregory (search), the controversial blood machine squeezes the legs and allows the heart to rest for a second or two. Gregory said the machine was invented at Harvard University and is used in Japan, but is prohibited by U.S. hospitals. The machine is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (search), Gregory said. The machine was delivered Saturday evening around 6:15 p.m. PST. FOX News has obtained exclusive...

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A forensic accountant testified in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial Tuesday the pop star was spending $20 million to $30 million more every year than he earned, a deep financial problem the prosecution contends underlies conspiracy allegations in the case. The prosecution also tried to undermine earlier testimony from one of their own witnesses — Jackson's ex-wife Deborah Rowe — by calling an investigator who said Rowe told him last year Jackson was a "sociopath." The testimony came as the prosecution neared the end of its case. Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy...

The word in Michael Jackson circles is that the beleaguered pop star has found a white knight: billionaire Ron Burkle. Jackson has gone to the tycoon hoping that Burkle, who is reportedly worth $2.3 billion, can stave off the former King of Pop's much-needed sale of his portion of Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Jackson is currently at risk of defaulting on over $270 million in loans from Bank of America. Burkle owns the largest supermarket chain in America, thanks to his acquisition of Kroger Stores. He is also the largest supplier of produce to McDonald's. His Yucaipa Companies also owns the...

Michael Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe has agreed to be a star witness against the singer during his child molestation trial. Ms Rowe, 37, was married to Jackson for three years and is mother of his children Prince and Paris. But she has now formally been added to the state's list of witnesses. Insiders say her testimony is likely to "blow the lid" off Jackson's bizarre lifestyle. Since the allegations of child abuse first surfaced, the former nurse has filed to regain custody of their children. She was said to have signed all rights over to Jackson after their 1999 divorce,...

That strange cackling noise you might have detected wafting from the south late last week came from MTV executives in New York laughing their heads off after Michael Jackson demanded that the cable channel pull Eminem's latest video. In the clip for "Just Lose It," Eminem mocks several celebrities, including MC Hammer and Pee Wee Herman, but he saves his sharpest jabs for Jackson. Dressed as the entertainer, Eminem's hair catches fire, as Jackson's did during an accident while filming a Pepsi commercial. Later, his nose flies off, and is booted and squashed on a dance floor -- a not-so-subtle...

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Two months after Michael Jackson (news) learned he would be charged with molesting a child, supporters of the multimillionaire pop star were coming by the busload to join the media phalanx anticipating his first court appearance. AP Photo AP Photo Slideshow: Michael Jackson Jackson, a longtime resident of this idyllic Central California Valley, abandoned his fabled Neverland Ranch after the case broke and was planning to come to court Friday from Beverly Hills where he has been holed up in a spectacular leased mansion. Busloads of Jackson fans also were en route from Los Angeles and...