Michael Jackson glove among items at music auction
A collection of Michael Jackson memorabilia, including the rhinestone-studded glove he wore when he unveiled the moonwalk in 1983, is being sold at auction.
The glove and other Jackson items are part of a music memorabilia auction being held by Julien's Auctions at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York's Times Square on Saturday.
Jackson wore the left-handed glove and a fedora, when he performed what was to become his trademark dance on Motown's 25th-anniversary TV special. It's a modified, store-bought glove covered with a mesh of rhinestones.
The glove's pre-auction estimate is between $40,000 and $60,000.
The pop icon, who died June 25 at age 50, gave the glove to Walter "Clyde" Orange, of the singing group the Commodores, after the 1983 performance.
Jackson fans waited hours Saturday for his costumes and other memorabilia to come up for sale.
Linda Derogene, 54, said she was willing to spend up to $5,000 for a piece of her idol, who she never got a chance to see in concert.
"I can't even tell you what it would mean for me. It would be like a dream come true," she said.
Anita Bailey, 43, of Queens, said she hoped to be able to bid on a jacket or outfit, but felt the glove was out of her price range.
"I'm going to leave the holy grail alone," she said.
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On the Net:
Julien's Auctions: http://www.juliensauctions.com
Sheryl Crow takes up cause of wild horses in West
Sheryl Crow is joining others in calling on the federal government to halt wild horse roundups in the West, branding them as inhumane and unnecessary.
The Grammy Award-winning singer is asking President Barack Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to scrap a proposed roundup of 2,500 mustangs in northern Nevada.
Crow campaigned for Obama last year and performed at his inauguration. She opposes Salazar's plan to move thousands of wild horses to preserves in the Midwest and East to protect horse herds and the rangelands that support them.
U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials say they plan to remove 11,500 wild horses and burros from the range over each of the next three years because booming numbers of the animals are damaging the range.
Motown caps 50th anniversary with hometown gala
Berry Gordy founded what would become Motown Records a half-century ago with an $800 loan. Today, that would get you two tickets with a bit to spare to the Motown 50 Golden Gala.
For $200 more, you can attend a VIP event and a swanky party afterward.
The event is set for downtown Detroit Saturday, with a scheduled appearance by Gordy and planned performances by Aretha Franklin, The Temptations and duet partners Stevie Wonder and Kid Rock.
The high-wattage night is a fundraiser for the Motown Historical Museum _ the original site of Motown Records Corp. _ and tickets start at $350 apiece. A ticket that includes the pre-gala VIP reception and "Afterglow" party costs $1,000.
The gala is a regular event for the museum but it's taking a higher profile this year to mark the 50th anniversary of the label's founding.
The musical mingling of classic Motown artists like Wonder and The Temptations with non-Motown hometown heroes Franklin and Rock reveals the reverence for and relevance of the label, which had its run in Detroit from 1959 to 1972 before moving to Los Angeles. Detroit's output included scores of hits, including "My Girl" by The Temptations, "The Tears of a Clown" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye.
Rock showed his affection for the Motown sound and city in his 2008 video for the song, "Roll On." It features footage of his band in the former Motown studio on West Grand Boulevard. And Wonder performed this year on the Grammy Awards telecast with one of the music world's hottest young acts, the Jonas Brothers, and the trio couldn't hide their glee.
The gala also will include special tributes to Motown alumni who have died, including Michael Jackson. Gordy, at Jackson's memorial service in July, talked about the 10-year-old prodigy he signed, calling him "the greatest entertainer that ever lived."
Homecomings are rare these days for Gordy, who lives in California, but bonds remain: His sister, Esther Gordy Edwards, founded the museum now overseen by his great-niece, Robin Terry. He's also a premier sponsor of the gala.
Gordy was cheered by hometown fans in March when he and best friend Robinson came back to the former Hitsville USA to meet with contestants on the smash Fox singing competition "American Idol."
"I called it 'Motown,' rather than 'Motor City,' because there was more warmth here," Gordy told reporters that day. "The town was just beautiful. ... I may have left Detroit but wherever I go I carry Detroit with me."
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On the Net:
Motown Historical Museum: http://www.motownmuseum.com
'New Moon' takes record $72.7M box office bite
Vampires and werewolves have vanquished a dark knight. "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" took in $72.7 million in its first day to break the single day domestic box office record previously held by "The Dark Knight," which had a $67.2 million opening day last year.
The Friday haul for the "Twilight" sequel includes a record $26.3 million from midnight screenings alone.
If "New Moon" maintains its pace, it might have a shot at the all-time best opening weekend record of $158.4 million, also held by "The Dark Knight."
"New Moon" continues the story of teen romance between a girl and a vampire (Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson), with the sequel adding a love triangle with a teen werewolf (Taylor Lautner).
Travolta appears at fundraiser in Fla. hometown
John Travolta and his family made their first public appearance in their adopted Florida hometown since his son's death, helping raise thousands of dollars for charity at a screening of the actor's new comedy Friday night.
Travolta, wife Kelly Preston and daughter Ella Bleu greeted hundreds of fans for a sneak preview of Disney's "Old Dogs," which opens Wednesday.
An emotional Travolta thanked the crowd for supporting the family since 16-year-old Jett Travolta died Jan. 2 at the family vacation home in the Bahamas.
"We know that we are loved," Travolta said. "We appreciate it. Jett appreciates it. We love you, Ocala."
The private gala raised at least $37,500 for five nonprofit agencies: The Jett Travolta Foundation, Florida Highway Patrol Advisory Council, Project Hope, the Marion County Public Safety Assistance Trust and the Humane Society of Marion County.
The Travoltas live just north of Ocala, about 90 miles northwest of Orlando.
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Information from: Ocala Star-Banner, http://www.starbanner.com/
Travolta, family attend opening of 'Old Dogs'
John Travolta and his family have helped raise money for charities in their home state of Florida with a screening of his new comedy
The actor, his wife Kelly Preston and their daughter Ella Bleu greeted hundreds of fans on the red carpet Friday for Disney's 'Old Dogs.'
The family expressed its appreciation to the community, ending their thanks with: "Love you, Ocala."
The private gala raised money for five nonprofit agencies selected by Travolta: The Jett Travolta Foundation, Florida Highway Patrol Advisory Council, Project Hope, the Marion County Public Safety Assistance Trust, and the Humane Society of Marion County.
In January, the couple's 16-year-old son Jett died at the family vacation home in the Bahamas.
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Information from: Ocala Star-Banner, http://www.starbanner.com/
John Travolta, family attend opening of new movie
John Travolta and his family have helped raise money for charities in their home state of Florida with a screening of his new comedy
The actor, his wife Kelly Preston and their daughter Ella Bleu greeted hundreds of fans on the red carpet Friday for Disney's 'Old Dogs.'
The family expressed its appreciation to the community, ending their thanks with: "Love you, Ocala."
The private gala raised money for five nonprofit agencies selected by Travolta: The Jett Travolta Foundation, Florida Highway Patrol Advisory Council, Project Hope, the Marion County Public Safety Assistance Trust, and the Humane Society of Marion County.
In January, the couple's 16-year-old son Jett died at the family vacation home in the Bahamas.
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Information from: Ocala Star-Banner, http://www.starbanner.com/
Warrant: Drug in Jackson case came from Vegas firm
A powerful anesthetic recovered from Michael Jackson's bedside after he died had been purchased in Nevada by his doctor who had it shipped to California, court documents show.
Search warrant records released Friday show that Dr. Conrad Murray bought the sedative propofol from Applied Pharmacy Services on May 12, according to receipts found in his Las Vegas medical office.
The Los Angeles County coroner blamed propofol in ruling that the 50-year-old pop music icon's June 25 death was a homicide. The coroner also cited the sedative lorazepam.
Murray, 56, is the focus of a Los Angeles police homicide investigation, but has not been charged with a crime.
The cardiologist, who is licensed in Nevada, California and Texas, told police he used propofol along with other sedatives to help Jackson sleep.
Propofol is usually used in medical settings by anesthesia professionals to render patients unconscious for surgery. Officials say it is not meant for use as a sleep agent. However, the milky liquid drug is not regulated by state and federal authorities as a controlled substance.
Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman Sarah Pullen in Los Angeles said a doctor who is licensed in two states can buy propofol in one state and administer it in the other.
Records show he obtained the propofol about the same time he was hired in May to accompany Jackson on a world tour. He told police he administered 50 milligrams of the drug intravenously per night to help Jackson sleep, but was trying to use less.
In the warrant documents, investigators said Murray told them he gave propofol to Jackson in the hours before he died in a rented Los Angeles mansion.
Through a spokeswoman, Murray maintains that he didn't prescribe or administer anything to Jackson that should have killed him.
Murray's attorney, Edward Chernoff, issued a statement Friday saying he found no surprises in the newly released affidavit.
"The fact that Dr. Murray ordered five bottles of propofol is consistent with what he told investigators," Chernoff said.
The affidavit showed that authorities tracing the manufacturing lot numbers of propofol bottles found in Murray's medical bag and on Jackson's bedside table learned that Murray bought five, 100-milliliter bottles of the drug from the Las Vegas pharmacy as part of an order costing $853.
He paid $65 extra to have it sent to him by overnight express, the document states.
Authorities said the amount of the drug purchased did not appear improper, the fact that it was moved across state lines from Nevada to California was not illegal, and because propofol is not a controlled substance it would not be tracked.
A veteran DEA investigator in Las Vegas, Jayne Tomko Griffin, said the five bottles of propofol could have provided 100 doses of 50 milligrams each.
Los Angeles police fought to keep records of the Aug. 11 search sealed. A detective argued that releasing the documents before Jan. 18 would jeopardize the investigation.
Attorneys representing The Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, TMZ Productions Inc. of Los Angeles and Stephens Media LLC, the parent company of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, argued there was no reason for the documents to remain secret.
Clark County District Judge Valerie Adair decided Thursday to unseal the records. Her order was signed Friday.
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Associated Press staff writer Thomas Watkins in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Britney Spears' ex sentenced to jail
Britney Spears' ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib is being sent to jail for 45 days for leaving the scene of an accident.
Los Angeles District Attorney's spokeswoman Jane Robison says Ghalib was taken into custody immediately after being sentenced Friday.
He pleaded no contest last month to leaving the scene of an accident that injured a man who was trying to serve him with a restraining order. The order was sought by Spears' father and was eventually granted.
The process server has sued Ghalib, a paparazzo. That case is still pending.
Robison says Ghalib was also ordered to serve three years of formal probation and perform 45 days of roadside cleanup duty.
The 37-year-old was facing up to a year in county jail.
Jennifer Lopez, Adam Lambert ready for AMA stage
Jennifer Lopez plans to include fireworks and an on-stage costume change in her performance at the American Music Awards. "American Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert will incorporate leather and chains into his.
Lopez and Lambert will be among more than a dozen performers at Sunday's ceremony, and they took time out Thursday to perfect their performances.
Lopez is in top form, but she's still a little nervous. She'll be singing a song fans have never heard before and performing live on TV for the first time in years.
"You know what you're doing and you feel very good about it, but at the same time, you wouldn't be human if you're not afraid," she said after her rehearsal.
She's set to perform "Louboutins," the first single from her new album, "Love?" _ due in stores next year. Flanked by backup dancers, the 40-year-old entertainer busts out her Fly Girl moves in a number that begins in a boxing ring and ends in the audience. Famed sports announcer Michael Buffer is in the act, too.
"I think it's going to be good," she said. "Dancing again, singing, the lights and the costumes _ it all feels like second nature."
Veteran choreographer Kenny Ortega, director of "Michael Jackson's This Is It," gave Lopez's performance a positive review.
"Awesome," he said after dropping by the Nokia Theatre to watch her rehearse.
Lambert, 27, said he's eager to see how the star-studded crowd responds to his provocative performance, a sexed-up rendition of "For Your Entertainment," the first single off his upcoming album of the same name.
"I can't wait to see people I look up to as artists in the audience watching. I think that will be a trip, and exciting and motivating all at the same time," he said after his rehearsal. "It will be really interesting to see what kind of reaction the number gets. It's different. It really does have an edge to it."
The performance is heavy on leather and chains and includes Lambert dragging a woman across the stage.
Other artists set to perform at the 37th annual American Music Awards include Rihanna, Whitney Houston, Green Day, Lil' Wayne, Lady Gaga, Eminem, Keith Urban, Jay-Z and Carrie Underwood.
Janet Jackson will open the show with a medley of songs, but producer Larry Klein wouldn't say whether her performance would be a tribute to her late brother.
"It's a surprise," he said.
Fans voted online to choose the winners of the American Music Awards, which honor the year's top-selling artists in eight popular genres. The ceremony will be broadcast live on ABC from the Nokia Theatre.
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On the Net:
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AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang contributed to this report.
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