PRESIDENT OBAMA APPOINTS 2009-2010 CLASS OF WHITE HOUSE FELLOWS

WASHINGTON, DC – The White House announced today the appointment of 15 outstanding men and women to serve as White House Fellows. The 2009-2010 class of White House Fellows represents a diverse cross-section of professions including medicine, business, media, education, non-profit and state government, as well as two branches of the U.S. military. The 2009-2010 class of Fellows and their biographies are included below.

“We are thrilled that these exceptional men and women will be joining us here in Washington for the next year,” said First Lady Michelle Obama. “The program not only allows for a variety of perspectives to come together, offering expertise and experience to benefit the administration’s efforts, but these Fellows in turn carry what they’ve learned to their own communities to benefit Americans far beyond the walls of the White House.”

The White House Fellows Program was created in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to give promising American leaders “first hand, high-level experience with the workings of the Federal government, and to increase their sense of participation in national affairs.” This unique position in our nation’s government encourages active citizenship and service to the nation. The Fellows also take part in an education program designed to broaden their knowledge of leadership, policy formulation, military operations, and current affairs. Community service is another important component of the program, and Fellows participate in service projects throughout the year in the Washington, DC area. Since 1964, over 600 outstanding American men and women have participated in the White House Fellows program, each chosen because of their extraordinary leadership ability and service to others.

Selection as a White House Fellow is highly competitive and based on a record of remarkable professional achievement early in one’s career, evidence of leadership potential, a proven commitment to public service, and the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute successfully at the highest levels of the Federal government. Throughout its history, the program has fostered leaders in many fields including Admiral Dennis Blair, Director of National Intelligence, former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, U.S. Senator Sam Brownback, U.S. Representative Joe Barton, writer Doris Kearns Goodwin, former Travelocity CEO Michelle Peluso, former CNN Chairman and CEO Tom Johnson, former Univision President Luis Nogales, and U.S. Court of Appeals Judges M. Margaret McKeown and Deanell Tacha.

Additional information about the White House Fellows program is available here: www.whitehouse.gov/fellows.

2009-2010 Class of White House Fellows

Mehret Mandefro, 32. Hometown: Alexandria, VA. Mehret Mandefro is a primary care physician and HIV prevention researcher. She most recently was a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania and a Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics. Her research addresses the intersection of violence prevention and HIV prevention and the application of digital media in translating research. She completed a Primary Care internal medicine residency at Montefiore Hospital where she founded a nonprofit called TruthAIDS that is focused on health literacy efforts among vulnerable populations. Mehret is the managing editor for www.truthaids.org and conducts workshops on HIV prevention, health disparities, and the public health uses of media nationally and internationally as part of TruthAIDS’ outreach efforts. Her ethnographic work about HIV positive women’s lives in the South Bronx and Ethiopia is the subject of a full-feature documentary film entitled All of Us, which premiered on Showtime Networks for World AIDS Day and is used nationwide by community-based organizations and universities as an educational tool. Mehret received a BA cum laude in Anthropology and a Medical Doctorate from Harvard University, and a Masters of Science in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as a Fulbright Scholar.

Laura Bacon, 29. Hometown: Weymouth, MA. Laura Bacon is a recent graduate of Harvard Kennedy School, where she studied political and economic development on a Reynolds Fellowship for Social Entrepreneurship. While at Harvard, Laura served as a Technical Advisor and Researcher for Liberia’s Women’s Legislative Caucus, helping draft gender parity legislation. As a Cultural Bridge Fellow, Laura worked at Liberia’s Ministry of Gender and Development, where she closely advised the Minister, wrote speeches for Ministry leadership, and designed leadership workshops for senior management. Laura was a Research Fellow at Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership, where she co-authored several works, including the National Leadership Index: A National Study of Confidence in Leadership and a chapter in Women and Leadership: The State of Play and Strategies for Change. Laura has also conducted research for US News & World Report’s “America’s Best Leaders” project. Laura was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger, where she was the National Coordinator of the Young Girls’ Scholarship Program and founded a community-run grain bank. A cycling enthusiast, she has completed AIDS rides from New York to Boston and across Niger. Laura performed as a cellist in the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and her photography has been featured in several exhibitions, publications, and calendars. She graduated with honors from Harvard College, Phi Beta Kappa, with an A.B. in Psychology.

Nicole Campbell, 30. Hometown: Brooklyn, NY. Nicole Campbell is Vice President of the Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation where she has developed and executed the Foundation’s education investment strategy. In her role, Nicole attracted new, external financial support and created innovative ways for the Bank to meet its Community Reinvestment Act obligations. She created College Ready Communities which facilitates partnerships between housing developers, local education advocacy organizations, and public schools to improve academic outcomes in low-income neighborhoods. Nicole has recruited partners ranging from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the New York City Department of Education. Her prior experience includes work with the New York City Department of Education as well as with government and nonprofit organizations in the Dominican Republic, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Nicole is a founding board member of Achievement First Brownsville, a charter school in Brooklyn, New York. She received a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School where she founded the annual Harvard Black Policy Conference and received the Julius E. Babbitt Alumni Award for Service. Nicole received her B.A. from Amherst College where she received the John Woodruff Simpson Fellowship and was a two time NCAA Division III National Triple Jump Champion in Track & Field.

Jonathan Finer, 33. Hometown: New Haven, CT. Jonathan Finer was a correspondent for The Washington Post. He has reported on conflicts in Iraq, Gaza, Georgia/Russia and Israel/Lebanon. He spent more than 18 months based in Baghdad, and was embedded with the U.S. Marines during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He also covered the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign. Prior to the Post, Jon spent a year reporting and editing for the Far Eastern Economic Review, a Hong Kong news magazine, as a Henry Luce Foundation Scholar. He received the 2002 Young Journalist Award from the Society of Publishers in Asia. While on leave from the Post, Jon earned his J.D. in 2009 from Yale Law School, where he founded the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project, an organization that advocates on behalf of civilians who fled the war. A Rhodes Scholar, he earned an M.Phil in International Relations from Oxford in 2001 and an undergraduate degree from Harvard in 1999. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Truman Security Fellow. Jon was raised in Norwich, Vermont, where his parents still live, and has three younger siblings.

Zheng Huang, 32. Hometown: San Jose, CA. Zheng Huang is a co-founder of Business Connect China, a provider of expert consultation, market intelligence, advisory services, and investments for the China market. Prior to that, he was a Managing Director at Intel Corporation, responsible for Intel’s telecommunications business in China. Under his leadership, Intel struck a number of collaborations and partnerships in China that successfully charted a new path for long term technology standards cooperation and intellectual property resolution between US and China. He holds a MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School, as well as a M.S. in Computer Science (elected President of Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honors Society), a B.S. in Industrial Engineering, and a B.A. in Economics from Stanford University. While at Stanford, he founded the Stanford Society of Asian American Engineers, sending Stanford students to Asia to work with their university counterparts on entrepreneurial projects and selecting student leaders to participate in week-long summits to discuss high technology trends across the Pacific. Today, offshoots of SSAE have established chapters in 15 universities across ten countries. He has lived and worked in Germany (for Bosch), Japan (for Hitachi), India (for Infosys), and China and traveled to over 40 countries.

Kellee James, 32. Hometown: Chicago, IL. Kellee James is an Economist at the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). Her responsibilities include research, state-level public policy outreach and business development at the United States’ first greenhouse gas emissions exchange and cap-and-trade system. Prior to joining CCX, Kellee worked for the World Bank as part of its technology group, as well as for the Inter-American Foundation where she evaluated agriculture, tourism and microfinance projects in Brazil, Mexico and Honduras. Kellee is a co-founder and Board member of Levantamos, a non-profit that works to develop partnerships between Americans and Brazilians of African descent. She also currently serves on the Board of Net Impact, a membership organization of over 12,000 MBA professionals committed to sustainability through corporate responsibility; and is a Fellow with the Truman National Security Project, a leadership training institute. Kellee is a lifelong equestrian, and has trained in the discipline of show jumping under the direction of a former U.S. Olympian. She received her MBA and MA in International Development from American University in Washington, D.C., and completed a BA in Spanish and International Studies from the University of Kentucky.

Sarah Johnson, 29. Hometown: Lexington, KY. Sarah Johnson is a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows, where she pursues research at the nexus of biology and planetary science. For the past two years, Sarah has helped develop a life detection instrument for a future mission to Mars; prior to that, she completed field seasons in Antarctica, Australia and Madagascar, conducted research at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, and worked at mission control for the NASA Opportunity and Spirit Mars Rovers. Her publications address topics ranging from global warming on early Mars to biodiversity in inaccessible ecosystems on Earth, and in 2007 she published a paper announcing the discovery of the world’s oldest living organism. Sarah also co-founded Common Hope for Health, a non-profit organization dedicated to alleviating healthcare deficiencies in Kenya, and she serves as a consultant at United Nations climate change negotiations. She is a Goldwater, Truman and Rhodes Scholar, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow. She holds a B.A. in mathematics and environmental studies from Washington University in St. Louis, a second B.A. in philosophy, politics and economics and an M.Sc. in biology from Oxford University, and a Ph.D. in planetary science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Rob Lyman, 38. Hometown: Walkersville, MD. Rob Lyman is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force. His sixteen year career includes a tour as a squadron commander, plus deployments throughout Southwest and Central Asia. He has served at the U.S. Central Air Forces Combined Air Operations Center supporting Operations IRAQI FREEDOM and ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan and as the Director of Communications for a deployed Joint Special Operations Task Force. As a Captain he was selected for the Air Force Intern program, where he received his master’s degree in organizational management from George Washington University. Rob has been a consistent community volunteer with youth leadership organizations and has supported scholarships for technical education. He has received the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal twice, and was presented the 2008 Leadership Award by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, International. A graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, he holds additional qualifiers as a Strategist, Joint Planner, and Air Operations Officer. He was an Air Force ROTC cadet at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. His military decorations include three awards of the Bronze Star Medal.

Anish Mahajan, 34. Hometown: Poughkeepsie, NY. Anish Mahajan is an internist and health services researcher. He was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar and completed a Master of Science in Health Services at UCLA. Dr. Mahajan is committed to the ideal that health policy formulation should be informed by scientific evidence and stakeholder engagement. He has led innovative research collaborations between academic, government, and relevant stakeholder organizations on an array of domestic and international health policy issues. He has given presentations and published numerous peer-reviewed articles on topics including HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, the private sector response to the South African AIDS epidemic, high-deductible health plans, and adherence to medications for chronic illnesses. His work has addressed health care challenges in the U.S., India, and South Africa and he has previously served as a consultant to The Ford Foundation and RAND Corporation. Dedicated to public service, he is currently serving a 2-year term as a publicly elected council member on a City of Los Angeles neighborhood council. He is Vice-Chair on the council’s Public Policy Committee. Anish received a B.A. in Public Policy and M.D. from Brown University. He also earned a M.P.H. in International Health from Harvard School of Public Health.

Annie Maxwell, 30. Hometown: Santa Barbara, CA. Annie Maxwell is the Chief Operating Officer of Direct Relief International, a nonprofit that through humanitarian assistance improves the quality of life for people affected by poverty or disasters in 59 countries including the U.S. Annie joined Direct Relief in 2002 and now oversees the day-to-day activities of the organization. From 2005 to 2006, Annie was seconded to the United Nation’s Office of the Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery, led by Special Envoy President Bill Clinton. She served as Partnerships and Outreach Officer, focusing on environmental issues and the role of NGOs in the recovery effort. Annie served as chair and vice chair of the Alumni Board of Governors at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy and as a member of the founding Board of Directors for the nonprofit Wizzy Digital; she also volunteers as a youth volleyball coach. In 2007 she was selected for the Marshall Memorial Fellowship. Annie received her Master’s in Public Policy and B.A. in English and Political Science, Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Michigan. She attended the university on a full athletic scholarship and was captain of the university’s Division I volleyball team.

Emil Michael, 36. Hometown: Miami Beach, FL. Emil Michael is Founder and President of Venture Consulting. He works with promising technology start-ups on their business strategy, corporate development activities and executive recruiting. Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President of Field Operations at Tellme Networks where he led various departments throughout his tenure including account management, business and corporate development, legal, procurement, project management and sales. Starting with Tellme while operating out of a garage in 1999, he helped grow the company to over 350 employees and $100 million in annual revenue through its acquisition by Microsoft in 2007. He was also an investment banker with Goldman Sach’s Communication, Media and Entertainment Group from 1998 to 1999. Emil is the Founder of Twin Lakes Investments, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to teach families how best to save for college by providing individualized mentoring and matching funds. Leveraging his experience as an immigrant from Egypt, Emil counsels immigrant families on how best to assimilate to America. He speaks Arabic and passed both the New York State Bar Exam and the NASD Securities License 7 exam. Emil received his B.A. in Government cum laude from Harvard University and his J.D. from Stanford University where he graduated with honors.

Kendric Robbins, 38. Hometown: Albion, ME. Kendric Robbins is a Major in the United States Army. He has held a variety of staff and command positions throughout his fifteen year career. Most recently, he served as the operations officer and later executive officer of Task Force 2-6 Infantry while deployed to Iraq. Prior to that he commanded a cavalry troop serving as part of the NATO Stabilization Force in Bosnia, and as a platoon leader, he operated a remote observation post on the Macedonian and Serbian border conducting UN peacekeeping operations. Ken also served as an assistant professor and executive officer in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point, were he taught courses on American politics and mentored future officers. In addition to his professional pursuits, Ken ran the Boston Marathon twice to bring attention to the plight of homeless veterans and is a 4th Degree member of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic charitable organization. He earned a B.S. in American Politics from the United States Military Academy and an MPA from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government where he was recognized for academic and leadership excellence. Ken and Heidi Robbins are the proud parents of two girls.

Marc Sternberg, 36. Hometown: New York, NY. Marc Sternberg is the Founder and Principal of the Bronx Lab School. Bronx Lab is a non-selective college preparatory high school that serves 430 students from the Bronx and upper Manhattan. Founded in 2004, Bronx Lab has been called one of New York’s high profile new schools by The New York Times, and has earned praise from, among others, the Gates Foundation, The Economist, and Education Week Magazine. The school graduates its second class of students in June 2009. In a borough with a graduation rate of less than 40%, more than 90% of the Bronx Lab Classes of 2008 and 2009 have graduated having earned more than $4 million in scholarship dollars and nearly four college acceptances per graduate. Bronx Lab graduates attend Middlebury, Brandeis, Connecticut College, Syracuse, SUNY Binghamton and scores of other colleges and universities. After earning a B.A. from Princeton University in 1995, Marc served as a Teach for America corps member in the South Bronx where he taught for three years. He then earned a joint MBA and Masters in Education from Harvard University, after which he returned to New York City as Vice President of Victory Schools, an organization that launches and manages charter schools.

Adam Taylor, 33. Hometown: Washington, DC. Adam Taylor is the Senior Political Director at Sojourners. He is responsible for leading the organization’s advocacy, coalition building, and constituency outreach. He formerly served as the Executive Director of Global Justice, an organization that educates and mobilizes students around global human rights and economic justice. Before co-founding Global Justice, he worked as an Associate at the Harvard University Carr Center for Human Rights and as an Urban Fellow in the Department of Housing Preservation and Development in New York City. Adam served as the co-chair of the Jubilee U.S.A. Network and on the Advisory Board of the Global Interdependence Initiative. He currently serves on the boards of Micah Challenge USA and Africa Action. Adam serves as an Associate Minister at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington DC. Adam graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Masters in Divinity from the Samuel Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University in 2009. He received a Masters in Public Policy from the JFK School of Government, Harvard University in 2001. He graduated Cum Laude with a BA in international studies from Emory University in 1998, where he was the recipient of the Marion Luther Brittain Award, the University’s highest student honor.

Presiliano (Raúl) Torrez, 32. Hometown: Albuquerque, NM. Raúl Torrez is an Assistant Attorney General in the Special Prosecutions Division of the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office. He prosecutes complex felony cases including violent crimes, white collar, voter fraud, and Internet Crimes Against Children. He is also the only cross-designated Special Assistant United States Attorney assigned to the firearms section of the United States Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque where he prosecutes felons in possession of firearms and armed career criminals. Prior to his legal career, Mr. Torrez worked for an Internet startup company in New York and Silicon Valley, and he also served as the Development Officer for the César E. Chávez Foundation in Los Angeles. He is an American Bar Association / Young Lawyers Division Scholar, a Deputy Regional President of the Hispanic National Bar Association, and a board member of the Rio Grande Community Development Corporation. Mr. Torrez is also the founder of Albuquerque KIPP, a non-profit organization dedicated to the establishment of a premiere, college-prep charter school for Albuquerque’s low-income students. He received his A.B. in Government, Cum Laude, from Harvard University, his M.S. in International Political Economy, with Merit, from The London School of Economics, and his J.D. from Stanford Law School.

By Andrew Blankstein, Phil Willon and Harriet Ryan | Los Angeles Times

Michael Jackson is rushed into hospital in Los Angeles [Photo: x17online.com]

Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead today after paramedics found him in a coma at his Bel-Air mansion, city and law enforcement sources told The Times.

Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda told The Times that paramedics responded to a 911 call from the home. When they arrived, Jackson was not breathing. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda said.

Hundreds of reporters gathered at the hospital awaiting word on his condition. The sources, who spoke on the condition that they not be named, said family members rushed to Jackson’s bedside, where he was in a deep coma.

Paramedics were called to a home on the 100 block of Carolwood Drive off Sunset Boulevard. Jackson rented the Bel-Air home — described as a French chateau built in 2002 with seven bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, 12 fireplaces and a theater — for $100,000 a month.

The home is about a six-minute drive from UCLA Medical Center.

Jackson has three children — sons Prince Michael 7, and Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., 12, and daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11.

The news comes as Jackson, 50, was attempting a comeback after years of tabloid headlines, most notably his trial and acquittal on child molestation charges.

In May, The Times reported that Jackson was living in a Bel-Air mansion and rehearsing for a series of 50 sold-out shows in London’s O2 Arena. Jackson had won the backing of two billionaires to get the so-called King of Pop back on stage.

The concerts had been scheduled to kick off July 13.

Johnny Caswell, a principal at Centerstaging, the Burbank soundstage where Jackson rehearsed for his London concerts, watched many of the run-throughs and said he was “absolutely shocked” by the performer’s death.

Jackson, he said, was “very frail” but approached the rehearsals with boundless energy.

“He was working hard. Putting four days a week in here. Six hour a day. Working hard. Dancing,” Caswell said. “We’re in shock over here.”

The performer moved from the Burbank facility to the Forum at the beginning of June, Caswell said.

His backers envisioned the London shows as an audition for a career rebirth that could ultimately encompass a three-year world tour, a new album, movies, a Graceland-like museum, musical revues in Las Vegas and Macau, and even a Thriller casino.

Such a rebound could wipe out Jackson’s massive debt, estimated at $400 million.

Jackson needed a comeback to reverse the damage done by years of excessive spending and little work. He has not toured since 1997 or released a new album since 2001, but he has continued to live like a megastar.

To finance his opulent lifestyle, he borrowed heavily against his three main assets: his Neverland Ranch, his music catalog and a second catalog that includes the music of the Beatles that he co-owns with Sony Corp. By the time of his 2005 criminal trial, he was nearly $300 million in debt and, according to testimony, spending $30 million more annually than he was taking in.

Compounding his money difficulties were a revolving door of litigious advisors and hangers-on. Jackson has run through 11 managers since 1990, according to Frank DiLeo, his manager and friend of three decades.

(Times staff writers Richard Winton, Chris Lee Carla Hall, Ari B. Bloomekatz, Anna Gorman and Nicole Santa Cruz contributed to this report.)

Michael Jackson is rushed into hospital in Los Angeles [Photo: x17online.com]

(CBS) – Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told The Los Angeles Times. The entertainment Web site TMZ.com is also reporting his death.

Jackson was rushed to UCLA Medical Center, reports KCBS in Los Angeles.

Jackson was not breathing when paramedics arrived.

Capt. Steve Ruda said paramedics responded to a call at Jackson’s home around 12:26 p.m. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told The Los Angeles Times.

The emergency entrance at the UCLA Medical Center, which is near Jackson’s rented home, was roped off Thursday with police tape.

News trucks were gathered, helicopters flew overhead, and orange cones were laid out to redirect traffic.

“We have no statements as far as transporting Michael Jackson,” Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Devin Gales said.

Jackson had planned to hit the stage at the O2 Arena in London for 50 concerts this summer. Tickets for the series, which kicks off on July 8, sold out in a matter of hours on March 13. By the time the shows end in February 2010, more than 1 million people will have seen Jackson perform.
Jackson, 50, has been in the public eye for more than 40 years.

With his unforgettable catchy Jackson Five tunes and incredible stage presence, the public has been infatuated with the shining child star turned awkward adult, who reached international superstardom. As soon as Jackson glided across the stage with his signature moonwalk dance, it was all over from there – fans were immediately hooked.

His album “Thriller,” released in 1982, was a chart-topper that set the bar for pop music.

In recent years, however, the pop icon has become more of a recluse and somewhat of a lost soul.

Headlines about Jackson were no longer about his music; instead there were stories of plastic surgery and strange behavior. He dangled his baby from a balcony and most damaging to his image was his 2005 trial for child molestation.

(The New York Times)

Update | 6:37 p.m. The Associated Press is reporting that Mr. Jackson is dead.

Reaction | 6:37 p.m. Television news images showed large crowds gathering outside the UCLA Medical Center. “People are already showing up in costume, believe it or not,” said a Fox News correspondent, Trace Gallagher, comparing it to the circus he witnessed during a trial involving Mr. Jackson.

More Reports | 6:29 p.m. “A lot will be said about Michael Jackson as we learn more about this story,” Brian Williams said on the “NBC Nightly News.”

“He was incredibly talented, a child star who was an adult with deep troubles and physical and mental health issues.”

The reports of Mr. Jackson’s death ricocheted around the world with remarkable speed. The news led Friday morning newscasts in Japan.

CBS and ABC are also reporting the news, standing on their own reporting now.

L.A. Times Reports Jackson Is Dead | 6:24 p.m. The newspaper cited “city and law enforcement sources.” The networks and CNN are also broadcasting the news, citing the Times story.

Reports: Jackson in a Coma | 6:15 p.m. Several news organizations including the Los Angeles Times reported that Mr. Jackson “is in a coma.” The newspaper attributed the news to one law enforcement source. CNN is also citing “multiple sources” as saying that Mr. Jackson is in a coma.

Update | 6:11 p.m. LOS ANGELES – An unconscious Michael Jackson was rushed to UCLA Medical Center on Thursday afternoon by paramedics who performed C.P.R., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Early reports indicated cardiac arrest, but a hospital spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment. Mr. Jackson, 50, has been renting a mansion in the Bel Air neighborhood, a short distance from the hospital, and rehearsing for a series of 50 sold-out shows in London.

Joe Jackson told to E! News, an entertainment Web site and cable channel, that the singer’s family was scrambling to determine his condition. “I am in Las Vegas, but yes, people in Los Angeles called me and are with Michael and tell me he was taken to the hospital,” Mr. Jackson told E! News. “His mother is on her way to the hospital now to check in on him.”

Mr. Jackson is scheduled to perform in a series of concerts in at the O2 arena London, beginning next month and continuing into 2010. The shows have been widely seen in the music industry as an important possible comeback for him, with the potential to earn him up to $50 million, according to some reports. But there has also been worry and speculation that Mr. Jackson, who is 50, was not physically ready for such an arduous run of concerts, and Mr. Jackson’s postponement of the first of those shows from July 8 to July 12 fueled new rounds of gossip about his health.

Even though Mr. Jackson has sold millions of albums around the world — “Thriller,” from 1982, has been certified 28 times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America — his eccentric lifestyle took a severe financial toll. In 1987 Mr. Jackson paid about $17 million for a 2,600-acre ranch in Los Olivos, Calif., 125 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Calling it Neverland, he outfitted the property with amusement-park rides, a zoo and a 50-seat theater, at a cost of $35 million, according to reports, and the ranch became his sanctum.

But Neverland, and Mr. Jackson’s lifestyle, were expensive to maintain. A forensic accountant who testified at Mr. Jackson’s molestation trial in 2005 said that Mr. Jackson’s annual budget in 1999 included $7.5 million for personal expenses and $5 million to maintain Neverland. By at least the late 1990s, he began to take out huge loans to support himself and pay debts. In 1998 he took out a loan for $140 million from Bank of America, which two years later was upped to $200 million. Further loans of hundreds of millions followed.

The collateral for the loans was Mr. Jackson’s 50 percent share in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a portfolio of thousands of songs, including more than 100 by the Beatles that are considered some of the most valuable properties in music. In 1985 Mr. Jackson paid $47.5 million for ATV, which included the Beatles songs — a move that estranged him from Paul McCartney — and 10 years later Mr. Jackson sold 50 percent of his interest to Sony for $90 million, creating a joint venture, Sony/ATV. Estimates of the value of the catalog exceed $1 billion.

A member of the pop group The Jackson 5 as a child, Mr. Jackson was a pint-size musical dynamo. He under the aegis of Joe Jackson, spent years in talent shows and performing in seedy Midwestern clubs his dictatorial and ambitious father. Joe Jackson and Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, were the singer’s twin mentors during his early career.

Mr. Jackson eventually broke with his father and the Jackson 5, a move toward creative and financial independence marked by his collaborations with Quincy Jones on a trio of albums. The most memorable of those is 1982’s “Thriller,” which eventually racked up sales of 51 million copies globally, according to the Guinness World Records, making it the best-selling album in history.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department told CNN that rescuers were called to Mr. Jackson’s home at 12:21 p.m. Pacific. “When paramedics went on the scene, they treated the patient, then they immediately transported the patient to UCLA,” the spokesman told CNN. Mr. Jackson’s home is located only a few minutes from the hospital center.

Cable news channels almost immediately started showing paparazzi shots from TMZ, X17Online.com and Hollywood.TV of Mr. Jackson’s entourage arriving at the hospital. By mid-afternoon, television news helicopters were hovering above the medical center.

Entertainment news Web sites including EOnline.com and PerezHilton.com appeared to be loading more slowly than usual, or not loading at all, an indication of the intense interest in Mr. Jackson’s hospitalization.

By Christine Kellett | Brisbane Times

Michael Jackson is rushed into hospital in Los Angeles [Photo: x17online.com]

Media reports have said the star, 50, was taken to hospital in Los Angeles, California, after he was found not breathing following a suspected heart attack in his Bel Air home earlier.

Celebrity website TMZ said 911 operators received an emergency call about 12.12pm local time (5.12am AEST).

“We’re told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back,” the website reported.

Jackson is believed to have gone into cardiac arrest and paramedics performed CPR on him en route to UCLA hospital.

The website quoted family members as saying the Thriller singer was in “really bad shape.”

“We just got off the phone with Joe Jackson, Michael’s dad, who says ‘he is not doing well.” the website had earlier reported.

Jackson was reportedly planning a comeback and was living in Los Angeles while rehearsing a series of 50 sold-out shows in London, the LATimes has reported.

Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics had rushed to the singer’s $100,00-a-month rented home near Sunset Boulevard to find him not breathing, according to the newspaper.

Michael has three children, Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II.

___________________________

Biography Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29, 1958) is an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Referred to as the “King of Pop” in subsequent years, five of his solo studio albums have become some of the world’s best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995).

In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as “Beat It”, “Billie Jean” and Thriller—credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool—helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as “Black or White” and “Scream” made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists.

Jackson has donated and raised millions of dollars for beneficial causes through his foundation, charity singles and support of 39 charities. Other aspects of his personal life, including his changing appearance and behavior, generated significant controversy, damaging his public image. Though he was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993, the criminal investigation was closed due to lack of evidence and Jackson was not charged. The singer has experienced health concerns since the early 1990s and conflicting reports regarding the state of his finances since the late 1990s. Jackson married twice and fathered three children, all of which caused further controversy. In 2005, Jackson was tried and acquitted of further sexual abuse allegations and several other charges.

One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for “Most Successful Entertainer of All Time”—13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and the sales of over 750 million albums worldwide. Cited as one of the world’s most famous men, Jackson’s highly publicized personal life, coupled with his successful career, has made him a part of popular culture for almost four decades.

By MINXIN PEI and ALI WYNE | The New York Times

If, as Iran’s opposition has alleged, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has rigged the country’s presidential election, he will join a long roster of autocrats who have tried to preserve their power through fraudulent means. But election-stealing is a risky gamble. Although the perpetrators have sometimes succeeded, typically by deploying brutal force, they have seldom evaded justice when their ploy failed.

Based on our review of 16 cases of rigged elections in authoritarian or transition countries in the last 40 years, we find that autocratic rulers who attempted to steal presidential, parliamentary, or general elections had roughly an equal chance of keeping their grip on power, succumbing to a quick and decisive defeat, or getting mired in a costly political stalemate.

Autocrats have an excellent chance of surviving crises provoked by disputed elections if the ruling elites are united and if they have the support of military and security forces.

President Robert Mugabe resorted to violence to crush opposition demonstrators following Zimbabwe’s disputed presidential election in 2002. The ruling elites in Ethiopia ordered the police to fire on demonstrators after the opposition challenged the outcome of the country’s general election in 2005. In 1989, the Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega rigged the country’s general election. He would have succeeded in clinging to power had President George H.W. Bush not sent in the U.S. military to depose him.

But when the ruling elites are divided and the military and security forces refuse to back them, autocrats normally fall from power within days or weeks. In the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos was declared the victor of a rigged election on Feb. 7, 1986, but a large segment of his military joined a unified civilian opposition in calling for his ouster, forcing Marcos into exile 18 days later. In Serbia, the opposition drove President Slobodan Milosevic from power on Oct. 7, 2000, less than two weeks after he tried to steal the presidential election. Again, his fate was sealed when the Serbian military refused to prop up his regime.

In the “color revolutions” — Georgia in 2003, Ukraine in 2004, and Kyrgyzstan in 2005 — it took only slightly longer (from one to two months) for the incumbents (or the incumbent’s preferred candidate, in the case of Ukraine) who attempted to steal the elections to be unseated. In each of those three cases, the country’s supreme court played a key role in de-legitimizing the autocrats and empowering the opposition.

Political stalemate (which usually favored the candidates who were declared winners in the disputed elections) prevailed in almost 40 percent of the cases that we examined. However, unresolved election disputes have often triggered long-term internal conflicts.

Nigeria held presidential elections in June 1993, but the military annulled the results, a decision that unleashed protests, military crackdowns and ethnic violence for nearly six years. In a somewhat different situation, the opposition parties in Haiti boycotted the 2000 presidential election, ensuring Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s landslide victory. Violence devastated the country until Aristide was ousted in early 2004.

The protests following Mongolia’s 2008 legislative election produced a coalition government, but only after hundreds of protesters had been killed, injured or imprisoned. The chaos after Kenya’s 2007 election ended similarly, but not until some 1,000 people had been killed.

Although disputed elections have historically produced three different outcomes, the international community normally has little direct leverage in influencing them, short of outright military intervention (as in Panama in 1989).

The reasons are clear. Autocrats who get caught up in election crises have little to lose and are determined to remain in power. They are seldom swayed by outside appeals for restraint or compromise. Given the rapidity with which such crises develop, outsiders are poorly positioned to provide substantive assistance to the opposition.

At the moment, at least part of Iran’s ruling elites appear to have lined up behind Ahmadinejad, thus increasing the odds of a violent crackdown on protesters. But if that falls short of completely crushing the opposition, Tiananmen-style, history suggests that Iran’s opposition forces may still be able to right a wrong.

They have already demonstrated impressive skills in organizing large rallies and using new information technologies to mobilize Iran’s middle class. Such organizational capacity, plus political stamina, will serve the opposition well in exploiting the ensuing political stalemate and gradually eroding support for Ahmadinejad within the Iranian regime.

(Minxin Pei and Ali Wyne are researchers at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.)