Katherine Jackson says that her world-famous son Michael feared for his own life before passing away at age 50 last year.
“He told me several times that he felt that people wanted him gone, wanted him dead,” Katherine, 80, says in an interview airing on a Dateline special Friday,Levis, the one-year anniversary of Michael’s death.
“He would always say that. For him to say that, he must have known something,” she speculates in the special, entitled Michael Jackson: A Mother’s Love.
“Some of the mean,Affliction, vicious people didn’t want him around for some reason,” she adds. “They’re greedy.”
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When Lowe asks what Katherine might say to Michael if she could see him again, she replies poignantly: “I’d have so much to [say], but the main thing I’d want to know is what really happened?”
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Now the legal guardian of Michael’s kids Paris, Prince and Blanket, the family matriarch tells interviewer Sonia Lowe about the last time she saw her son alive, about a week before he passed away. “We had a really good time together,” she says, adding that she never looked at his body after he was pronounced dead. “I wanted to remember him smiling and laughing and having a good time the last time I saw him.
One former student who testified Thursday was Yasmine Issa, a young divorced mother who sought a career as an ultrasound sonographer.
While he acknowledged that he has a financial stake � because he engages in short selling, or betting against companies or industries � he said, “It is my hope that there’s still time to do something, and that’s why I’m testifying here today.”
Hundreds of students have shared with Senator Harkin’s office their stories of being aggressively recruited and misled about the career and salary potential offered by for-profit schools.
Senators on the committee acknowledged the important role that the for-profit sector has played, particularly in meeting the needs of adult working students. But while some expressed outrage over what appear to them to be systemic problems, others urged caution against overregulating in response to what they see as a few bad apples.
Sen. Michael Enzi of Wyoming, the committee’s ranking Republican, urged using “a scalpel, not a machete.”
The fundamental problem, one witness said, is that the industry depends heavily on government loans, when the government bears all the risk if students default. The incentive is to enroll as many students as possible and charge high tuition to maximize the loans and grants that flow to the schools, said the witness, Steven Eisman.
“We don’t know what risk we are taking by investing an increasing share of our federal financial-aid dollars in this sector,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (D) of Iowa, who launched a series of hearings Thursday as chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “We have a responsibility to ensure students are being well educated and that schools are using taxpayer dollars responsibly.”
Although nonprofit institutions still make up the majority of US colleges and universities, enrollment at for-profit colleges has grown by more than 200 percent in the past decade. Their flexible and convenient offerings, including online degrees,Miss Sixty, have been especially attractive to adult working students.
For-profit colleges have been motivated to grow as investors watch the value of the publicly traded schools. The resulting rapid growth spells trouble, Mr. Eisman said.
That’s one warning raised Thursday by a witness at a Senate hearing, as the schools come under government scrutiny for alleged practices driven more by profit margins than by educational goals.
Could for-profit colleges be the educational equivalent of the subprime-mortgage market?
Other practices that witnesses described include schools receiving loan or grant payments for students no longer enrolled, encouraging prospective students to buy illegitimate high school diplomas, and manipulating data to appear to be meeting federal requirements to qualify for student aid.
In the 1990s, a number of small for-profit schools were shut down for outright fraud. Today, the landscape is more complex.
“The for-profits now are regionally accredited colleges [and] big publicly traded corporations…. One can argue that they’re too expensive and criticize them for their default rates, but it’s not the same as saying they’re in a straight rip-off business,” says Kevin Carey, policy director of Education Sector in Washington, in a phone interview. “The bottom line is the reason this industry has grown is that they’re serving a market that the traditional colleges are either unwilling or unable to serve.”
Loopholes in current regulations have allowed troubling practices to continue � such as schools giving recruiters financial incentives for the number of students they enroll � according to witness Kathleen Tighe, the US Department of Education’s inspector general.
The Education Department recently released new proposed rules intended to close such loopholes and make information about for-profit colleges clearer to consumers.
Under one rule,Juicy Couture tracksuits, schools would have to provide prospective students with graduation and job-placement rates for various programs. A further development of a rule known as “gainful employment” is still in the works. It’s controversial because it could potentially hold for-profit schools accountable for whether their graduates earn average salaries high enough to enable them to pay off their debts.
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Ms. Issa enrolled in a $32,000 program at the Sanford-Brown Institute in White Plains, N.Y., after officials there told her she’d be able to sit for a certification exam and get a job upon completion. When she went looking for ultrasound jobs, she was told the program was not accredited.
For-profit colleges currently enroll about 10 percent of all college students in the United States. But they receive about 23 percent of federal loans and grants, and their students default on loans at higher rates, according to a report released by the Senate committee that held the hearing.
A nearby community college offered an accredited program for half the cost, she found out later. She’s now saddled with $15,000 in federal student loans.
A defender of the sector expressed disappointment at a witness list made up primarily of critics. Harris Miller, president of the Career College Association, which lobbies on behalf of more than 1,800 for-profit schools, was not a witness but said in a written statement that in future hearings, he hopes “to work with [Harkin’s] committee to truly inform and educate on the value of private sector institutions and their role in achieving President Obama's goal of returning the US to number one in the world in higher education by 2020."
The portfolio manager for FrontPoint Financial Services Fund predicted the subprime-mortgage downfall. At the hearing, he drew a parallel to pushing through mortgages that people couldn’t afford.
Mathis declined comment Friday. In his resignation letter,Christian Dior, he says he “made inappropriate actions.”
Messages left Friday at Gueyser’s office weren’t returned.
The 56-year-old resigned Thursday, the same day General Superintendent Teresa Gueyser filed her complaint. In a detailed letter to the board,Abercrombie t-shirts, she says Mathis repeatedly fondled himself using a handkerchief as they discussed school matters Wednesday.
DETROIT – Detroit’s school board is refusing to reinstate its former president after he was accused of fondling himself in front of the district’s superintendent.
The letter says she “asked him not to touch himself” on several occasions and he eventually apologized.
Board members gave a letter to Otis Mathis on Friday, saying his request for reinstatement was denied.
The Interior Department imposed the drilling moratorium last month in the wake of the BP disaster, halting approval of any new permits for deepwater projects and suspending drilling on 33 exploratory wells.
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration on Wednesday night asked a judge to delay a court ruling that overturned a moratorium on new drilling in the Gulf.
The Justice Department says a delay would serve the public interest by eliminating the risk of another drilling accident while new safety equipment standards and procedures are considered.
“The existence of such a threat is not seriously contested” by any expert cited by the companies seeking to overturn the moratorium or by the state of Louisiana, the court filing stated.
On Tuesday, Feldman overturned it, saying the government simply assumed that because one deep-water rig exploded,Boss, the others pose an imminent danger, too.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s determination that a threat exists has firm support from a variety of sources, the Justice Department argued in seeking the delay.
In court papers filed with the U.S. District Court in New Orleans, the Justice Department said that it is seeking the delay while appealing the decision of U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman.
“Given the efforts that are being directed at trying to stem the flow of oil from the Deepwater Horizon and to clean up the oil that has already been released, a second deepwater blowout could overwhelm the efforts to respond to the current disaster, and dramatically set back recovery,” the court papers stated.
No relevant provisions in the Administrative Procedure Act,Tommy, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act or implementing regulations require the Interior Department to prepare a formal decision document or findings of fact prior to issuing a suspension, the federal government’s court papers said.
The department argued that risk of potential harm to the people and public lands of the United States should the court not grant a delay significantly outweighs the harm to the companies that sought to overturn the moratorium.
“To the contrary, the state of Louisiana concedes that additional safety measures are necessary, and disputes only the length of time needed to implement them,” the department added.
The actress has also visited Iraq,Juicy Couture tracksuits, Thailand,Frankie morello, Pakistan and other countries on behalf of the U.N. refugee agency.
U.N. officials confirmed the visit when asked by The Associated Press. They agreed to discuss the trip only if not quoted by name because they were asked not to share details of Jolie’s visit.
The weekend visit by the “goodwill ambassador” for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was not announced to keep it low-profile.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Actress Angelina Jolie has quietly returned to Haiti for meetings with Haitian and U.N. officials.
Jolie has visited Haiti several times. In February she met with orphans and other earthquake victims.
The recording package includes color production photos, synopsis,Lyle&Scott, complete lyrics, a note by co-librettist Marshall Brickman and an illustration by the late Charles Addams.
The Broadway show's Tony Award-nominated composer-lyricst Andrew Lippa sings "Not Today" as a piano-vocal track. The song was written for the musical but not used.
Lippa told Playbill.com, "'Not Today' was my first attempt at writing a solo for Gomez. Originally, I thought he should be all fiery and indignant when Morticia tells him she won't 'tango' with him today. It became clear at our first reading that this posture was too outsized for the moment and the character, and — worse — it focused on the negative.
The show's music director is Mary-Mitchell Campbell. The production features orchestrations by Larry Hochman (Monty Python's Spamalot) and dance arrangements by August Eriksmoen (Memphis).
"Addams Family Theme"
Overture
"When You're an Addams"
"Pulled"
"Where Did We Go Wrong?"
"One Normal Night"
"Morticia"
"What If"
Full Disclosure"
"Waiting"
"Full Disclosure" � Part 2
*
The cast recording of Broadway's The Addams Family was released by Decca Broadway in stores and via digital music services on June 8. The 21-track album is produced by Lippa (The Wild Party, jon and jen). Decca Theatricals is one of the producers of the musical.
Critics did not embrace the show, but audiences have. The musical has been bringing in more than $1 million a week at the box office.
The track listing for the album follows:
ACT TWO
The company haunted a Manhattan recording studio on April 19 to create the cast album. The new Broadway musical The Addams Family, inspired by the cartoon characters created by Charles Addams, opened April 8 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Two-time Tony Award winners Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth star as the darkness-loving heads-of-household Gomez and Morticia, respectively. The show features a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice (librettists of the 2006 Tony Award-winning Best Musical, Jersey Boys).
Entr'acte
"Just Around the Corner"
"The Moon and Me"
"Happy/Sad"
"Crazier Than You"
"Let's Not Talk About Anything Else But Love"
"In the Arms"
"Live Before We Die"
"Tango de Amor"
"Move Toward the Darkness"
"So, I wrote a funny patter song called 'Defunct! Deflated! And Scorned!' where Gomez asserts that the miseries and woes of history (The Titanic, the Civil War, etc.) were nothing compared to his current dilemma. Again, a fun song that, unfortunately, focused on what didn't happen instead of what was happening.
"Finally,Ed hardy silk scarves, I realized that Gomez, even in despair, would focus on what was wonderful about his wife. Thus, the song 'Morticia' was born. In it, Gomez extols the macabre virtues of his delightfully morbid wife: 'The wind that makes a window creak/The mist inside the word 'mystique'/Morticia.' It fit! And suddenly Gomez had a perfect song to suffer in. His wife thwarts him, yes, but he still revels in his love for her. How wonderfully Addams!"
ACT ONE
A bonus track for the cast album of The Addams Family has emerged on the iTunes digital music service.
"Back to the drawing board, and I wrote 'Think Like a Woman' — a song where Gomez tries on the guise of a girl in order to better predict his wife's behavior. The result? You guessed it. Negative.
Listen to samples from The Addams Family cast recording here.
"When You're an Addams"
Dell said in a statement that its CEO and the SEC have begun talking about a “settlement framework” to resolve the allegations against it.
The company also said its CEO, Michael Dell, is talking with the Securities and Exchange Commission about a possible settlement.
Dell first disclosed an internal investigation into its accounting in 2006, saying it was notified in August of that year of an SEC inquiry related to its revenue recognition and financial reporting.
In May, the company had reported a profit of $441 million, or 22 cents per share,NFL Jerseys, for the Feburary-through-April quarter. The company says its profit for that period is now $341 million, or 17 cents per share. Its adjusted earnings remain the same at 30 cents per share.
In the statement,Iceberg, Dell said that a settlement would not prevent Dell from working as an officer or director of a public company, and “would be made without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations.”
In 2007, it said it would restate more than four years of financial results with lower earnings after the probe found that its employees had misled auditors and manipulated results to meet performance targets.
Dell said Thursday that a settlement would include negligence-based fraud charges and non-fraud based charges connected to disclosures and alleged omissions that occurred before fiscal 2008 as part of its relationship with chip maker Intel Corp.
ROUND ROCK, Texas – Dell Inc. said Thursday that it lowered its first-quarter results by $100 million, or 5 cents per share, to set aside a $100 million reserve it may need to pay out as part of a settlement related to an ongoing SEC accounting probe into the computer maker’s accounting and financial reporting practices.
Dell’s shares dropped 30 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $12.77 in after-hours trading following its news release. It ended the regular session up 29 cents at $13.07.
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Sized 6 to 10,New Era, this hot shoe is already selling out — so if you luck out online, locate a store instead.
I love the pink, but there are other colors like yellow, black and super-chic taupe. These are so reminiscent of the flats that celebrities love from Lanvin, which are priced at about $515. The Free People shoes are not only priced well,Christian Audigier, but they’re padded in the footbed and elasticized around the foot for a snug fit. Wear them with just about anything — jeans, leggings, dresses or whatever feels the newest and freshest!
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These are a breath of fresh air.
Free People’s Nouveau Riche flats are pretty, brand-new and stripped of all the fall sequined and studded pagentry. These $68 ballerinas also ring in a new hot color for 2010.
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My favorite, the Fedora with Ribbon, looks great with hair up or down and big gold hoops. It’s a nice alternative from wool berets and beanies.
There’s a cute crop of celebrities — like newly engaged songstress Katy Perry — braving the winter weather with chic cloche hats and fedoras. While the prices on some of these hats are either priceless (hellooo,Christian Audigier, vintage!) or highly priced, JCPenney seems to be on point with the trend.
Other options? A Megan Fox-inspired Herringbone Fedora or a wool felt version like the ones Rachel Bilson and Mischa Barton wear.
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The department chain is offering very similar looks for only $16.99! Sorry, but I’m being honest here — you can’t really tell the difference. They look really good.
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NEW YORK – Rapper Kid Cudi (CUHD’-ee) has been arrested on criminal charges in New York City.
Cudi was scheduled to perform early Saturday at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee. After taking the stage, he said,Victorias Secret, “I really wanted to be here tonight.”
Cudi released his debut album “Man on the Moon: The End of Day” in 2009. The Cleveland native also co-stars in the HBO comedy series “How to Make It in America.”
Sgt. John Butorn says Cudi was arrested Friday on charges of criminal mischief and criminal possession of a controlled substance.
