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AEG Not Liable in Michael Jackson's Death, Jury Finds
A Los Angeles jury decided Wednesday that AEG Live hired Dr. Conrad Murray, but also concluded that the concert promoter was not liable for Michael Jackson's drug overdose death.
The jury decided that Murray was competent, so even though AEG Live hired him, it was not liable for Jackson's death and didn't owe the Jackson family millions of dollars in compensation, CNN's Miguel Marquez reports.
"I counted Michael Jackson a creative partner and a friend," the company's CEO Randy Phillips said. "We lost one of the world's greatest musical geniuses, but I am relieved and deeply grateful that the jury recognized that neither I, nor anyone else at AEG Live, played any part in Michael's tragic death."
The verdict brings the five-month-long trial to a close.
"We have said from the beginning that this case was a search for the truth. We found the truth. AEG hired Dr. Conrad Murray, the man who is in jail for killing Michael Jackson," according to a statement from family matriarch Katherine Jackson and her lawyers. "All options regarding the balance of the jury verdict are being considered."
Government Shutdown: Day 2
While up to 800,000 federal workers faced life without a paycheck as Day One of the government shutdown kicked in, Democrats and Republicans persisted in talking past each other without actually talking to each other to end the nation's latest fiscal crisis.
The Republican-led House offered its latest gambit on Tuesday night but failed in separate votes to approve piecemeal funding for three specific programs - the District of Columbia, veterans affairs and national parks, CNN's Brianna Keilar reports.
The votes required a two-thirds majority for passage, which would have required hefty Democratic support. That did not materialize, though House leadership aides say the plan is to bring up the same measures again Wednesday in a way that would require only a simple majority to pass.
Aside from conservative political calculations that calling these votes would put their ideological foes in a tough spot, it appears they'll have little practical impact since the Democratic-led Senate wasn't about to acquiesce and the White House promised a veto.
Colorado Rock Slide Kills 5 Members Of One Family; Teen Survives
The rescuer didn't see the teen trapped under the rubble at first. But he heard her scream.
Then he saw a hand sticking out of the rocks, Chaffee County Undersheriff John Spezze told reporters Tuesday, and he started digging.
Authorities say Gracie Johnson, 13, was the only survivor of a deadly rockslide Monday that killed five members of her family - including her parents, sister and two cousins who were visiting on vacation, CNN's Kyung Lah reports.
The horrifying details of their deaths on a popular mountain trail have shaken this close-knit town of about 3,000 people.
But no one seems to be surprised by what the teen reportedly told the man who helped pull her from the rubble - that her father saved her life.
"She said her dad jumped on top of her to protect her right at the last moment when the rocks were coming down," Sheriff's Deputy Nick Tolsma - the rescuer who first spotted Gracie's hand sticking out from the rocks - told ABC's "Good Morning America" Tuesday.
Government Shutdown: 800,000 Workers Go Without Pay
The game of chicken failed. Neither side blinked. Now millions will pay the price.
Americans watched a colossal failure by Congress overnight - and the shut down of their government.
For weeks, the House and the Senate blamed and bickered, each claiming they're standing up for what the public wants.
In the end, it led to the one outcome nobody wanted - one that will stop 800,000 Americans from getting paid and could cost the economy about $1 billion a week.
This is the first time the government has shut down in nearly 18 years. The last time it did, the stalemate lasted 21 days.
But the largely polarizing Affordable Care Act is funded, and it’s government operations that screech to a halt. CNN's Brianna Keilar reports on Day 1 of the closure.
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