By Pop Media Examiner Katrina-Kasey Wheeler

The Michael Jackson Opus will be an extraordinary way to celebrate and remember the life of the King of Pop. Many celebrities including Paula Abdul, and countless others who enjoyed working relationships and friendships with MJ will be featured in the Opus with their written stories on the King of Pop.

Kraken Opus, whose opulent publications focus on major figures and brands in sports and the arts, begins accepting pre-orders today for The Official Michael Jackson Opus at michaeljacksonopus.com, michaeljackson.com and through Ticketmaster. The oversized, 400-page tribute will be driven by photos but also will include essays, illustrations and poetry, at least half of it exclusive — all handbound in leather and enclosed in a silk clamshell case.

According to USAToday, "The $249 book boasts 404 pages of images, more than 80% of them never before seen." Deborah Wald the photo editor of the Opus says: "This is a loving tribute to his legacy and work. We designed this book with his children in mind."

(Read More at Examiner.com)

Filed under: Larry King Live • Michael Jackson

By HELENE COOPER and DAVID STOUT

From The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The celebrity-seeking couple who snuck into a state dinner this week came face-to-face with President Obama and his wife, Michelle, the White House said Friday in a disclosure that underscored the seriousness of the security breach and prompted an abject apology from the Secret Service.

A White House spokesman said the couple, Michaele and Tareq Salahi of Virginia, met the president and first lady in a receiving line at their first state dinner. That disclosure coincided with a statement in which Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan said his agency was “deeply concerned and embarrassed” by the events at the state dinner last Tuesday.

“The preliminary findings of our internal investigation have determined established protocols were not followed at an initial checkpoint, verifying that two individuals were on the guest list,” Mr. Sullivan said.

“Although these individuals went through magnetometers and other levels of screening, they should have been prohibited from entering the event entirely,” Mr. Sullivan said. “That failing is ours.”

Shortly before the disclosure from the White House and the statement by Mr. Sullivan, the Secret Service said it wanted to interview everyone connected with the incident, including the couple, and had not ruled out criminal charges.“Everyone who has some information to contribute” will be contacted, said James Mackin, a spokesman for the Secret Service.

((Read more…))

Filed under: President Barack Obama

(CNN) - Golfer Tiger Woods was taken to a Florida hospital after suffering facial injuries in a car crash early Friday, police said.

The one-car accident occurred about 2:25 a.m. near Woods' home in Windermere, a suburb of Orlando, according to an incident report from the Florida Highway Patrol.

A statement from Woods' publicist and Health Central Hospital called the accident "minor" and said Woods was "admitted, treated and released today in good condition."

Woods, 33, had just pulled out of his driveway in his 2009 Cadillac SUV and had begun to drive down a street when he struck a fire hydrant, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The front of his vehicle then struck a tree.

Windermere Mayor Gary Bruhn told CNN that local police arrived within two minutes of being notified. The golfer was taken to Health Central Hospital, where he was treated for facial lacerations and released, Bruhn said.

"I think it's nothing more than an accident," he said.

(Read more…)

Filed under: Breaking News

By Dan Fletcher

From Time.com

Here's hoping you avoided the food coma: you'll need your wits about you for Black Friday. The traditional day-after-Thanksgiving shopping bonanza has become a full-contact sport, with crazed shoppers determined to find the best deals, sometimes with tragic results. In last year's frenzy, a worker at a New York Walmart was trampled to death when the store opened its doors; two shoppers were shot in a dispute at a Toys "R" Us in California. The ensuing safety concerns may have prompted some shoppers to think twice, but retailers still expect a bonanza: the weekend after Thanksgiving is expected to account for some $40 billion in sales.

As early as the 19th century, shoppers have viewed Thanksgiving as the traditional start to the holiday shopping season, an occasion marked by celebrations and sales. Department stores in particular locked onto this marketing notion, hosting parades to launch the start of the first wave of Christmas advertisements, chief among them, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, running in New York City since 1924. The holiday spree became so important to retailers that during the Great Depression, they appealed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 to move Thanksgiving up in order to stretch out the holiday shopping season. Roosevelt obliged, moving Thanksgiving one week earlier, but didn't announce the change until October. As a result, Americans had two Thanksgivings that year — Roosevelt's, derisively dubbed "Franksgiving," and the original. Because the switchover was handled so poorly, few observed it, and the change resulted in little economic boost.

The term Black Friday itself was originally used to describe something else entirely — the Sept. 24, 1864, stock-market panic set off by plunging gold prices. Newspapers in Philadelphia reappropriated the phrase in the late 1960s, using it to describe the rush of crowds at stores. The justification came later, tied to accounting balance sheets where black ink would represent a profit. Many see Black Friday as the day retailers go into the black or show a profit for the first time in a given year. The term stuck and spread, and by the 1990s Black Friday became an unofficial retail holiday nationwide. Since 2002, Black Friday has been the season's biggest shopping day each year except 2004, according to market-research firm ShopperTrak.

(Read more…)

Filed under: Economy

First Lady Michelle Obama, along with daughters Sasha and Malia Obama, accepted delivery of the official White House Christmas tree this afternoon.  The 18 ½ foot tree, which comes this year from Shepherdstown, West Virginia, will be on display in the Blue Room throughout the holiday season.

Filed under: Michelle Obama

(CNN) - Golfer Tiger Woods has been taken to a hospital after being injured in a car wreck near his central Florida home early Friday, officials said.

The one-car accident occurred about 2:25 a.m. in Windermere, a suburb of Orlando, according to an incident report from the Florida Highway Patrol.

Woods, 33, had just pulled out of his driveway and begun to drive down the street when his Cadillac SUV struck a fire hydrant, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The front of his vehicle then struck a tree. He has been transported to Health Central Hospital, the statement said.

The crash is under investigation and charges are pending, though it was not clear who could face charges. The accident did not appear to have been alcohol-related, the statement said.

Woods lives in Orange County with his wife, supermodel Elin Nordegren, and two children.

Woods has won 93 tournaments, 71 of those on the PGA Tour, including the 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005 Masters Tournaments, 1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007 PGA Championships, 2000, 2002, and 2008 U.S. Open Championships, and 2000, 2005 and 2006 Open Championships, according to his official Web site.

Filed under: Breaking News

By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
From The Washington Post

Michaele Salahi spent seven hours in a posh Georgetown salon getting ready for her big night out. She was going to the White House for the Obamas' first state dinner. Creating the perfect hair and makeup for the glamorous blonde for such a special occasion would take time, of course. But then there were the cameras, the takes and retakes.

The Northern Virginia socialite was being taped by a production crew for Bravo cable channel's forthcoming "The Real Housewives of Washington."

"It was a lot of schmoozing with the staff," James Packard-Gomez, CEO of Erwin Gomez Salon, said Thursday, explaining why the hair and makeup session lasted from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The salon was abuzz because Michaele and her husband, Tareq, were among the 320 VIPs invited to join the president and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "They were asking, 'So, what do you think of them getting invited to this?' "

The stylist doing Michaele's hair asked to see the White House invitation, Packard-Gomez said. "She starts rummaging through her purse, and then said, 'It must be out in the car.' "

Would the film crews get into the White House, too? " 'We tried,' " he says she told them, " 'but they wouldn't let them in.' "

But the White House says there never was an invitation. Somehow the aspiring reality-TV stars managed to get themselves in Tuesday night and were photographed with Vice President Biden and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, causing an international uproar about security at the executive mansion.

The Secret Service said the Salahis crashed the party and that the agency is investigating how the couple penetrated presidential security. The Salahis' attorney, Paul W. Gardner, posted a statement on the couple's Facebook page: "My clients were cleared, by the White House, to be there. More information is forthcoming."

((Read more…))

Filed under: Larry King Live • Politics • President Obama

Superstar Mariah Carey! 

Tune in for Larry’s one-on-one interview with the chart-topping singer and actress as they discuss her fame, new marriage and new album.

Are kids in Mariah’s future?  Tune in to find out…

That’s tonight at 9pm ET / 6pm PT!

Plus...

Shakira Shakes It!

The pop superstar joins Larry.  These hips don't lie.

And....

It’s “Black Friday” - the biggest and busiest shopping day of the year.  So we want to know:

ARE YOU SPENDING THE DAY SHOPPING FOR DEALS...OR RELAXING AT HOME?

Let us know below!

Filed under: Larry King Live

Oprah Winfrey will interview President Obama and his wife, Michelle, next month for a 60-minute program to air before Christmas, the talk show host announced Wednesday.

"Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special" will air at 10 p.m. ET December 13 on ABC, her Web site said.

"The intimate, informative and entertaining hourlong special will include a one-on-one conversation with the president, marking the first time Oprah has interviewed him since he took office, as well as an exclusive sit-down interview with the first couple," it said.

The special "will showcase behind-the-scenes preparations as the White House gets ready for the holiday season," the Web site said.

(Read More)

Filed under: Oprah Winfrey • President Barack Obama

Filed under: Uncategorized