Week of July 1, 2009

The prescription painkillers Percocet and Vicodin should be banned, and Tylenol,

sold over the counter, should be taken in reduced doses, because one of the

three medications' ingredients, acetaminophen, is linked to liver damage, federal

advisers said. Outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted 20 to

17 yesterday for a ban on the pain drugs. The panel agreed earlier that Johnson

& Johnson's Tylenol should be given in lower doses than recommended and that

the extra-strength version should be sold by prescription only.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a fiscal emergency to address

California's deficit and has ordered state offices closed three days a month to

save cash. The Legislature will have 45 days to send him a plan to balance the

state's budget, which ended the fiscal year with a $24.3 billion deficit. The

shortfall is expected to grow by $7 billion because the Legislature did not enact

several stopgap measures Tuesday.

Insurgents have captured an American soldier in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S.

military said Thursday. Spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias said the soldier

went missing on Tuesday. "We are using all of our resources to find him and

provide for his safe return," Mathias said.

Employers cut a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June, driving the

unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, suggesting that the

economy's road to recovery will be bumpy. The Labor Department report,

released Thursday, showed that even as the recession flashes signs of easing,

companies likely will want to keep a lid on costs and be wary of hiring until they

feel certain the economy is on solid ground.

Alaska Governor Sarah

Palin, Republican John

McCain's vice presidential

running mate in 2008, said

on Friday she will resign

this month and will not run

for re-election as governor.

Palin took no questions

after a brief news

conference in her

hometown of Wasilla,

Alaska, with Lieutenant

Governor Sean Parnell and

much of her state cabinet

Week of July 1, 2009

at her side. She gave no indication of her future plans.

"I'm not seeking re-election" in 2010, Palin said, adding she would transfer

authority to Parnell on July 26.

The circumstances surrounding Michael Jackson's death have become a federal

issue, with the Drug Enforcement Administration asking to help police take a look

at the pop star's doctors and possible drug use. Following Jackson's death,

allegations emerged that the 50-year-old King of Pop had been consuming

painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants.

Former NFL quarterback Steve

McNair’s shooting death was a

homicide, police said Sunday, but

authorities stopped short of saying it was

a murder-suicide committed by the 20-

year-old girlfriend found dead by his

side. McNair, 36, was shot four times,

twice in the head, by a semiautomatic

pistol, Nashville police spokesman Don

Aaron said. The woman, Sahel Kazemi,

was killed by a single gunshot wound

and the pistol was found under her body,

Aaron said.

A roadside bomb in northern

Afghanistan killed four American soldiers

Monday, while a suicide attack in the

south killed two civilians, officials said.

The bombing in the northern Kunduz

province targeted an American military

convoy, said Kunduz Gov. Mohammad Omar.

President Barack Obama opened his first Moscow summit with confidence on

Monday, predicting "extraordinary progress" out of meetings set to test his

diplomatic skills on important priorities such as nuclear arsenal reductions and

the fight in Afghanistan. "The United States and Russia have more in common

than they have differences," Obama said he sat down in an ornate Kremlin room

with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Iran's supreme leader warned Western governments on Monday of a "negative

impact" on relations over what he called their meddling in Iran's post-election

riots, state television reported. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments reflect

Week of July 1, 2009

continued efforts by the regime to blame Western powers such as the U.S. and

Britain — not internal anger — for unrest following the country's disputed

presidential election. They also come one day after the American vice president

said the U.S. is still open to negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program.

Riots and street battles killed at least 140 people in China's western Xinjiang

province and injured 828 others in the deadliest ethnic unrest to hit the region in

decades. Officials said Monday the death toll was expected to rise.

Police sealed off streets in parts of the provincial capital, Urumqi, after discord

between ethnic Muslim Uighur people and China's Han majority erupted into

violence. Witnesses reported a new, smaller protest Monday in a second city,

Kashgar.

Passing - Karl Malden, the Academy Award-winning actor whose intelligent

characterizations on stage and screen made him a star despite his plain looks,

died Wednesday, his family said. He was 97. Malden died of natural causes

surrounded by his family at his Brentwood home, they told the Academy of

Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. He served as the academy's president from

1989-92.

Michael

Jackson's 7-

year-old will was

filed in a Los

Angeles court,

giving his entire

estate to a family

trust and cutting

out his former

wife Debbie

Rowe. The will,

dated July 7,

2002, estimated

his estate at that

time at more

than $500

million. It names

his mother,

Katherine

Jackson, as a beneficiary of the trust and the guardian of Jackson's children, who

are named in the will.

It also names entertainer Diana Ross as a successor guardian for the children

and their estates if something happens to Katherine Jackson.

Week of July 1, 2009

Hilary Duff is The CW's newest

"Gossip Girl." The network

confirmed to Access Hollywood on

Wednesday that the singer-actress

is joining the show's cast for its

upcoming third season. She's set

to debut in the fourth episode on

October 5.

Vibe magazine - a hip hop and rap

staple since 1993 - folds.

Fans will get a chance to say

goodbye to Michael Jackson at a

public memorial service to be held

at L.A.'s Staples Center on

Tuesday, a spokesman for the

singer's family confirmed. "The

memorial has to do with

accommodating as many fans as

possible," spokesman Ken

Sunshine said at a press

conference announcing plans for the service in Los Angeles Friday. Madonna is

set to pay tribute to her late friend, Michael Jackson, at her concert in London on

Saturday. Madonna will debut a special song and dance in tribute to the late

singer, her rep, Liz Rosenberg, told the Associated Press.

Michael Jackson's concerts always were difficult to get tickets to, but that's

nothing compared to the pop star's memorial service. On eBay, bids for tickets

for Tuesday's event were reaching as high as $1,000 and $3,000, though it was

impossible to verify the seriousness of those bids. Others on Monday were

submitting offers more in the $100-$200 range.

Officials on Monday continued to investigate the first fatal accident in the 38-year

history of Walt Disney World's monorail, a one-time symbol of founder Walt

Disney's vision for future transportation. Austin Wuennenberg, the operator of

one of the monorail trains, was pronounced dead at the scene after two

monorails collided at about 2 a.m. Sunday at the Ticket and Transportation

Center near Magic Kingdom.

Michael Jackson fans came from near and far Tuesday to say last goodbyes to

their pop music hero, some traveling from across the U.S. and Europe for his

public memorial in Los Angeles. Near the service site in downtown's Staples

Week of July 1, 2009

Center, vendors sold Jackson memorabilia such as T-shirts, collages, buttons

and bouquets of snapdragons and dahlias. "His music will live forever. That's

why I'm here today. It's like closure. I'm a person who believes in miracles, and

I'm witnessing one today," said Jenee Huitt of Los Angeles, referring to her gold

wristband allowing her to be among the lucky fans to attend the memorial

service.

M ore Michael Jackson -

Mariah Carey, Stevie

Wonder and Usher sang

emotional farewells

Tuesday to Michael

Jackson, who was hailed

as "the greatest entertainer

that ever lived" and

described by his tearful 11-

year-old daughter Paris as

"the best father you could

ever imagine." Some

18,000 fans, family

members and friends took

part in a public memorial

for Jackson in the Los

Angeles sports arena

where the singer had

rehearsed the day before

his death for a highly

anticipated series of comeback concerts.

Jackson's brothers, each wearing a single sequined glove in homage to his

signature look, carried the singer's golden casket into the downtown Staples

Center. Carey performed Jackson's 1970 ballad "I'll Be There," Usher’s voice

cracked as he sang "Gone Too Soon" and the King of Pop's three children made

a rare public appearance without veils used for years by Jackson to shield them

from the media.

Top movies -

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Public Enemies

The Proposal

The Hangover