Michael Jackson's Mother Gets Temporary Guardianship Of Kids

Among the many unresolved issues that have emerged since Michael Jackson's death on Thursday is what will become of his three children, Prince, 12; Paris, 11; and Prince Michael II, 7. The children were under the full custody of their father, and since his death, they have been staying with their grandparents, Katherine and Joseph Jackson, at the couple's Encino, California, estate.

A short time later, The Associated Press reported that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff approved her request for temporary guardianship of the children but did not grant her authority to serve as guardian of the children's estate.

In making the case for guardianship, the petition filed on Monday reportedly states that the children have "no relationship with their biological mother" and that they are currently in the care of Katherine, with whom they have a "long-established relationship." Debbie Rowe, the mother of the two elder children, was briefly married to Jackson but gave up her custody rights after she and Jackson divorced in 1999, and the petition lists her whereabouts as "unknown." The identity of the mother of Jackson's youngest child, commonly referred to as "Blanket," has never been publicly revealed, and on the petition, the box next to mother is checked as "none."

The petition says that the value of Jackson's assets is not known yet and does not mention if he left a will, but it states that Katherine would be the best guardian for the children because they are "currently residing with paternal grandmother. They have a long-established relationship with paternal grandmother and are comfortable in her care." According to the petition, it is "not known at this time" if Rowe agrees with the action. A hearing to determine whether Katherine will be the children's permanent guardian is set for August 3.

UsMagazine.com reported that Katherine Jackson was spotted at a Los Angeles Target store over the weekend, stocking up on toys, sleeping bags and other supplies, and an attorney for the family said they had not yet heard from Rowe in the wake of Jackson's death. Her former attorney told the magazine last week that she was "inconsolable" about the death of her ex-husband.

Michael Jackson died

Michael Jackson died


The death of Michael Jackson brings to a sudden end the life of a performer who captivated pop audiences with the Jackson 5 and matured into a performer of electric charisma and unprecedented crossover appeal, before living out his final years as a virtual recluse.

Jackson died June 25 after reportedly being found unconscious in his Bel Air, Calif., home. Paramedics rushed the 50-year-old icon to UCLA Medical Center, where he was declared dead. Jackson was in Los Angeles rehearsing for a 50-date run of concerts at London's O2 Arena that was to begin July 13.

Born Aug. 29, 1958, in Gary, Ind., Jackson was the seventh of nine children born to Katherine and Joseph Jackson. Along with older siblings Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon, Jackson first rose to fame as the pint-sized lead singer of the Jackson 5. Formed in 1964 and signed to Motown in 1968, the group quickly scored four back-to-back No. 1 pop and R&B hits, beginning with its 1969 debut single, "I Want You Back." That was followed by "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There."

Jackson's expressive tenor, electric dancing and natural charisma soon made him the group's popular focal point, so much so that he began moonlighting as a solo artist early in the group's tenure at Motown. He recorded four solo albums for the label, scoring his first top five pop/R&B hit with "Got to Be There" in 1971. One measure of Jackson's unique talent was his ability to turn a song about a rat, "Ben," into another top five smash.

In 1976, the Jackson 5 left Motown in a quest for more artistic freedom, signing with Epic Records and rechristening themselves the Jacksons. The group remained with that label until 1984, scoring seven top 40 hits during that time, including "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" and "State of Shock."

It was during this time that Jackson began to come into his own as a creative force. Teaming with legendary producer Quincy Jones, Jackson released his first solo album for Epic, "Off the Wall," in 1979. It was a pivotal step in Jackson's evolution into "the King of Pop." But it was on his second solo album, the 1983 mega-hit "Thriller," when Jackson left his contemporaries in the dust. The album earned the singer a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards in 1984. His 1983 performance of "Billie Jean" on the "Motown 25" TV special became an iconic moment when he introduced his James Brown-inspired moonwalk to a national audience.

Beyond music, Jackson showed his humanitarian side on the 1985 benefit song "We Are the World," which he co-wrote with Lionel Richie. Proceeds from the song were donated to the charity USA for Africa.

report of michael jackson died

Regina Spektor, 'Far' (Sire)

Regina Spektor, 'Far' (Sire)
album review

Three years after her major-label splash Begin to Hope, New York pianist Regina Spektor went back into the studio with four (!) multiplatinum producers of varying pop backgrounds, including Dr. Dre/Eminem/Fiona Apple enabler Mike Elizondo and former McCartney/Harrison/Wilbury collaborator and ELO founder Jeff Lynne. Yet despite so many hands at the controls, the only prints and smudges to be found are Spektor's own. Far snuggles between her previous efforts, linking the heady sweep of 2003's Soviet Kitsch to the roundabout pop treats of Begin to Hope.

On lead-off track "The Calculation," Spektor purrs a scenario of love and hurt that plays out in the breakfast nook, her rubberband vocal tics flush with an almost Caribbean piano hook. In fact, the hiccups that drove songs such as her last album's hit single "Fidelity" sweeten the melodies even further here. "Eet" takes its title from the hilly phonetics of its near-yodeled chorus, while "Folding Chair" features Spektor singing as she dreamed dolphins might.

Her Joan Osborne–esque look at G-O-D on "Laughing With" is heartbreakingly sharp. But it's "Folding Chair," which refines Spektor's blend of classicist flourish and pure pop sense, that best encapsulates her talents and gnarly eccentricities. After opening with ivory wisps of the sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen," she quickly guns it back to the islands, unfurling a balmy new melody like a beach towel. Just in time for summer.