Michael Jackson, 1958-2009: The Talent and the Tragedy

The tragedy of Michael Jackson’s death at age 50, reportedly from cardiac arrest, pales in comparison to the tragedy of his life. To understand all that Jackson had and lost requires wiping away three decades of plastic surgeries that deformed him, erratic behavior that made his name synonymous with the warping powers of fame, and a 2005 trial for sexually abusing a child that, even though he was spared of any finding of wrongdoing, made him a pariah to all but the most brainwashed of fans. But if you can forgive or forget all that, underneath was one of the most talented entertainers of the 20th century

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Report: Michael Jackson Hospitalized

South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has never shied away from talking about his religious faith. So perhaps it should have come as no surprise that he invoked “God’s law” throughout his long, rambling press conference on June 24 — after going missing in Buenos Aires for six days — to confess his yearlong extramarital affair with an Argentine woman. But in acknowledging his infidelity, Sanford was actually admitting that he had broken a state law: adultery is still punishable in South Carolina by up to a year in prison and a $500 fine

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Lakers take NBA title with win over Magic

The Los Angeles Lakers secured their 15th National Basketball Association (NBA) title at the Amway Arena on Sunday after a 99-86 win over Orlando Magic in Game Five gave a 4-1 victory in the best-of-seven finals. Leading light, Kobe Bryant, capped a fantastic finals weighing in with 30 points, five assists and six rebounds to pick up the personal accolade of Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the first time in his career en route to the win.

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Injured Nadal will travel to Wimbledon

Rafael Nadal has not given up on defending his Wimbledon crown and will travel to London next week as he battles persistent knee problems. The world number one has undergone two days of medical tests in Barcelona amid fears he would be forced to miss the grass court grand slam.

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White House responds as GOP continues Sotomayor attacks

Republicans kept the pressure on the president’s Supreme Court pick Friday, pushing the idea that Judge Sonia Sotomayor is an activist judge who will bring a leftist agenda to the bench. Meanwhile, the White House tried to soften remarks Sotomayor made in 2001 that have rankled conservatives, who say her assertion that her experiences as a Latina woman might make her judgments more sound than those of a white man brands her as a racist. “I’m sure she would have restated it, but if you look at the entire sweep of the essay she wrote, what’s clear is that she was simply saying that her life experiences will give her information about the struggles and hardships that people are going through that will make her a good judge,” President Obama said in an interview with NBC’s Brian Williams.

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