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CLEM'S CHRONICLES: MICHAEL JACKSON/OBESITY/SANFORD

July 01, 2009 9:27 PM

Howdy-Clem Lane here with tonight's editorial doings.........

MICHAEL JACKSON-
--THE WILL-Michael Jackson’s will was filed today in a Los Angeles court. The 2002 document, gives his entire estate to a family trust and names his 79-year-old mother Katherine and his children as the beneficiaries. The will also estimates the current value of his estate at more than $500 million. The losers? Jim Avila, filing for WORLD NEWS, tells us “Michael’s father Joe..who is not named in the will and Debbie Rowe, Jackson’s 2nd wife and the birth mother of 2 of his 3 children.” Jackson’s will leaves no doubt Rowe was not forgotten-“I have intentionally omitted to provide for my former wife, Deborah Jean Rowe Jackson.”
--THE DEATH INVESTIGATION-Vic Walter/Rich Esposito report: “Federal drug agents have been asked to join the investigation into Michael Jackson's death ABC NEWS has learned. Until now, the probe into the pop star's death has been managed by the LAPD alone. The Drug Enforcement Administration's diversion division, which looks into issues of doctor shopping, over shopping, and pill mills, and has regulatory authority over prescription drugs, is now involved with the investigation, two separate sources tell ABC NEWS. Further details are expected to emerge. The Jackson case has so far been riddled with questions about prescription drug abuse, and bio hazard bags, believed to contain hypodermic needles, were removed in a police search of his residence.
--THE FUNERAL-Despite other media reports that suggested Neverland would be the site of Mr. Jackson’s funeral, Avila told us on WORLD NEWS “Neverland is now out and we’re told the funeral is likely to be next Tuesday in Los Angeles.”

PRESSURE MOUNTS ON GOV. SANFORD: The pressure continues to mount on South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford as top state Republicans and several newspapers in the state are calling for his resignation after he told the Associated Press yesterday he had more romantic meetings with his Argentinean mistress than he previously admitted. Even senators considered to be some of the Governor’s key supporters are also in favor Sanford resigning. STEVE OSUNSAMI reported on WORLD NEWS tonight that in a letter, “the heads of the Republican controlled state senate said the Governor’s affair and his taxpayer funded trips have caused a constitutional crisis. ‘We must have strong leadership from a Governor who is focused and trusted,’ they wrote, ‘Governor Sanford is neither.’” Sanford made no public appearances today and took back a promise to release financial records he said would prove he did not spend state money to see his mistress. Sanford’s spokesman issued a statement saying Sanford “is focused on being governor, on rebuilding his marriage and on building back the trust of South Carolinians.” (thanks to Greg Croft for this entry)

OBESITY RATE INCREASES IN AMERICA: “Americans keep getting fatter,” DAN HARRIS reported on WORLD NEWS tonight, as a new report out today from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that obesity rates among adults rose in 23 states over the past year. Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity with 32.5% while the slimmest state of Colorado even had an adult obesity rate of 18.9%. The study also found that child obesity rates have tripled since 1980 and again it was worst in Mississippi where 44.4% of kids ages 10 to 17 are obese or overweight. Dan Harris reported that “this trend may be only be exacerbated by the recession as the price of healthy food rises and so do rates of depression and stress, which are often linked to obesity.” Even President Barack Obama noted today how the obesity crisis is going to cost all of us because obese people require more expensive health care. “If we can help somebody control obesity, they are less likely to get diabetes. And if they are less likely to get diabetes, that means that we are going to be saving a whole lot of money in hospital costs.” The author’s of today’s report say the government needs to take rapid and dramatic steps such as regulating food advertising to kids or require building good sidewalks in communities so people can walk more instead of drive. (thanks to Greg Croft for this entry)
 
HONDURAS- Thousands of Hondurans demonstrated today for the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya, while the country’s international isolation in the wake of the coup continues to grow. France, Spain, Italy, Chile and Colombia joined other nations today in recalling their ambassadors. The Pentagon suspended joint U.S.-Honduran military operations and the World Bank said it was freezing loans. Honduras' three neighbors have suspended cross-border trade. Jeffrey Kofman, reporting from Tegucigalpa for WORLD NEWS was at the pro-Zelaya rally today and reports “Zelaya the people are with you they’re chanting and it’s clear Zelaya does have support here but it’s far from unanimous. A lot of people in this country were happy to see him go, no matter how it happened.” In his first US Network TV interview, the “new” Honduran President Roberto Micheletti told Kofman “the moment (Zelaya) arrives in this country, we will order him arrested.” That doesn’t sit well with the Organization of American States, who gave Micheletti until Saturday to step aside before Honduras is suspended from the group, an ultimatum Secretary-General Jose Miguel Insulza said was meant "to show clearly that military coups will not be accepted. We thought we were in an era when military coups were no longer possible in this hemisphere." Zelaya had previously said he would return to Honduras Thursday, but today, appearing in Panama for a presidential inauguration event, Zelaya said he would “respect those 72 hours that the OAS asked for” and not attempt a return to Honduras until Saturday. As Kofman noted in his WORLD NEWS close “one country…two Presidents…heading towards a stand-off.”

JUNE AUTO SALES- Analysts were hoping car sales would top 10 million last month---close but no cigar. Dan Arnall tells us “the seasonally adjusted annual sales pace (SAAR) was 9.69 million units last month. The industry overall is still being bombarded by a massive pullback in consumer spending. With fears about jobs and personal finances at the forefront of most people’s minds, purchasing a new car or truck isn’t a top priority right now. Sales were off by 27.7% during June. That’s not great, but it is an improvement over the -33.7% the industry saw in May.” Barbara Pinto, reporting for WORLD NEWS notes that “Detroit is trying everything. General Motors, fighting for survival in bankruptcy court, now offers zero-interest loans to qualified buyers. Chrysler is slashing prices on inventory leftover from closed dealerships. But incentives only go so far.” What about Ford? Pinto says “Ford…is seeing demand pick up for its’ pick-ups and cars. They’ll ratchet up production starting tomorrow.” June’s sales figures broken out by Arnall: “Ford – the only American car brand to NOT enter bankruptcy during the Great Recession – fared best, with sales off by a measly 10.7% from their sales pace in June ‘08. It’s the first time Ford’s annual drop has been below 20% this year. Ford’s confidence is evident in the company’s announcement on Monday that it will boost production in the third-quarter by 25,000 cars. General Motors is still the best selling car company in North America, but saw sales drop by 33.4% during June – the month when they filed for bankruptcy, something people once thought could never happen.  Chrysler, which emerged from bankruptcy last month saw sales fall by an abysmal 41.9%. Interestingly, this is the smallest annual sales decline Chrysler has posted since March. Asian brands Toyota (-31.9%) and Honda (-29.5%) both saw sales off by a significant amount.”
 
MARINE OFFENSIVE/AFGHANISTAN-Luis Martinez reports “4,000 US Marines and 650 Afghan Army and Police have pushed into the central Helmand River Valley in the first major offensive into the southern reaches of Helmand Province since their arrival.   The offensive is known as Operation Khanjar  that translates as ‘Strike of the Sword.’ 

KARL MALDEN-Oscar-winning actor Karl Malden has died of natural causes at the age of 97. Malden won his Oscar for his role as Blanche DuBois' naive suitor Mitch in "A Streetcar Named Desire"- a role he also played on Broadway. But to many Americans, Malden will be best-remembered as Lt. Mike Stone in the 1970s television show "The Streets of San Francisco," in which Michael Douglas played the veteran detective's junior partner. Among Malden's more than 50 film credits were:  “On The Waterfront”, "Patton," in which he played Gen. Omar Bradley, "Pollyanna," "Fear Strikes Out," "The Sting II," "Bombers B-52," "Cheyenne Autumn," and "All Fall Down." Charles Gibson noted that "for more than half a century, (Malden was) one of Hollywood's greatest character actors,"
 
YEMENI PLANE CRASH SURVIVOR-(Associated Press)- A French official says the 14-year-old girl who is the only known survivor of a crashed Yemeni jetliner is headed home to Paris after being hospitalized in the Comoros with a fractured collarbone. French minister Alain Joyandet said Wednesday that Bahia Bakari left this island nation on a chartered executive jet.  The Yemenia Airbus 310 jet was carrying 153 people when it went down in howling winds early Tuesday in the sea north of the Comoros Islands. She is expected to be hospitalized immediately in Paris.

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