Pujols hits club-record 4th slam in Cards 7-4 win

By Rogelio V. Solis (AP)

Corey Carter could hear snippets of music in his head _ a calm and subtle melody that hadn\'t found its shape. The 19-year-old college student simply needed a hero to visualize before he could finish his composition for wind ensemble.

He found inspiration in an unexpected place. And instead of a hero, he found a heroine.

Standing in line at a Walgreens\' one day a few months ago, he casually flipped through a book about African-American history in his hometown of Jackson, Miss. There, he ran across the 1961 mug shot of a jailed civil-rights worker.

The 19-year-old white...

By Lennox McLendon (AP)

The celebration of black music and culture at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans will provide comfort to artists and fans alike after a tough week following Michael Jackson\'s death.

Singer Lionel Richie, a longtime friend of the pop superstar and festival headliner, says performing at Essence will give him and others a chance to regroup.

\"We\'ll celebrate his life and come together as a family down there,\" Richie said. \"It\'s New Orleans. The spirit of what the music business is all about is there. It really is to me one of those places that\'s like visiting my...

By Ed Rode (AP)

As much as he enjoys singing about the double lives of computer geeks (\"Online\") and amorous country boys (\"Ticks\"), Brad Paisley says there\'s too much going on in the world to be too lighthearted on his new album, \"American Saturday Night.\"

\"I think this country has turned on a dime in a way that none of us foresaw coming a year ago,\" Paisley, whose sons are 2 years old and 2 months old, recently told The Associated Press. \"I think all of that and the birth of a son and the bold new times we\'re living in ... it\'s hard to ignore.\"

Paisley, who co-wrote all 14 new...

By Chris Carlson (AP)

With Peter Pan as inspiration, Michael Jackson turned his lush Neverland ranch into a whimsical retreat with carnival rides, a chimpanzee named Bubbles and even a Disney-like train station where he could recapture his lost childhood.

But like the superstar\'s career, the property\'s idyllic image was tarnished when Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor there in 2003. He was acquitted, but the scandal nearly ruined Jackson and drove him from Neverland forever. Over the last four years, the property fell into disrepair, and at one point it was weeks from...

By Mark Avery (AP)

Just when the slowing global economy figured to put a crimp in spending for NHL free agents, Marian Hossa hit the open market again.

And instead of taking a discount on a one-year deal to take a shot at a Stanley Cup title, Hossa cashed in a megadeal with the up-and-coming Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

A few hours after the NHL free-agent season was open for business, the Blackhawks said goodbye to Martin Havlat and set their sights on Hossa. It didn\'t take long to come to terms on a 12-year, $62.8 million contract.

It was the headline move on the typically busy...

By Mark Avery (AP)

Just when the slowing global economy figured to put a crimp in spending for NHL free agents, Marian Hossa hit the open market again.

And instead of taking a discount on a one-year deal to take a shot at a Stanley Cup title, Hossa cashed in a megadeal with the up-and-coming Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.

A few hours after the NHL free-agent season was open for business, the Blackhawks said goodbye to Martin Havlat and set their sights on Hossa. It didn\'t take long to come to terms on a 12-year, $62.8 million contract.

It was the headline move on the typically busy...

By Jeff Christensen (AP)

Michael Jackson had a mountain of unreleased recordings in the vault when he died _ music that is almost certain to be packaged and repackaged for his fans in the years to come.

The material includes unused tracks from studio sessions of some of Jackson\'s best albums, as well as more recently recorded songs made with Senegalese R&B singer and producer Akon and Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am.

\"There are dozens and dozens of songs that did not end up on his albums,\" said Tommy Mottola, who from 1998 to 2003 was chairman and CEO of Sony Music, which owns the distribution...

By Joe Cavaretta (AP)

Those familiar with Michael Jackson\'s vaults say the pop star has left behind a trove of unreleased music.

Executives and lawyers who know the material anticipate the swelling demand of fans should be satisfied with unreleased tracks from studio sessions of some of Jackson\'s best albums, as well as more recently recorded songs made with Akon (AY\'-kahn) and will.i.am (will eye AM\').

Tommy Mottola (mah-TOH\'-lah) is the former chairman and CEO of Sony Music, which owns the distribution rights to Jackson\'s music. He described the unreleased material as...

By D. Morris (AP)

Mississippi\'s still king of cellulite, but an ominous tide is rolling toward the Medicare doctors in neighboring Alabama: obese baby boomers.

It\'s time for the nation\'s annual obesity rankings and, outside of fairly lean Colorado, there\'s little good news. Obesity rates among adults rose in 23 states over the past year and didn\'t decline anywhere, says a new report from the Trust for America\'s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

And while the nation has long been bracing for a surge in Medicare as the boomers start turning 65, the new report makes clear that...

By Chris Shinn (AP)

Workers are toiling in the thick summer heat, trying to bring the campus of Oral Roberts University into the current century.

Parking lots are torn up on the 1960s-era grounds, dormitory walls have been stripped to the studs and crates of new stainless-steel appliances wait to be put in the cafeteria.

Two years ago, this kind of large-scale remodel _ about $20.5 million worth _ would have been impossible because the evangelical school was mired in debt. Morale was circling the drain, too, as then-school president Richard Roberts was accused of spending university money on...

By Donna McWilliam (AP)

Marlon Byrd homered twice to drive in five runs and the Texas Rangers again had their way at home against Joe Saunders, beating the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels 9-5 on Tuesday night.

Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz and David Murphy also went deep for Texas, which ended what had been one of the worst offensive months in team history with a season-high five home runs _ four in 3 2-3 innings off Saunders (8-5).

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus had four stolen bases, the first AL rookie to do that since 2000.

Saunders is 0-5 with an 11.67 ERA in five career starts at Rangers...

By DAN STEINBERG (AP)

Kris Kristofferson will be honored by BMI as a music icon during the music licensing organization\'s country awards in November.

BMI announced the selection Tuesday morning. The group gives the honor to songwriters and artists who have had a \"unique and indelible\" influence on generations of music makers.

Past honorees include Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, the Bee Gees, James Brown and Crosby, Stills & Nash.

Kristofferson\'s classic songs include \"Sunday Mornin\' Comin\' Down,\" \"Help Me Make it Through the Night\" and \"Me and Bobby McGee.\" He\'s also an actor who...

By AKIRA SUEMORI (AP)

More than 750,000 Michael Jackson fans can get full refunds for the pop star\'s canceled 50-night \"This is It\" concert extravaganza _ or opt to receive souvenir tickets instead, the promoters announced Monday.

In a move that could help recoup some of its losses from the ill-fated tour, Los Angeles-based AEG Live said fans could choose to receive the actual tickets, which it said feature graphics \"inspired and designed\" by Jackson himself.

Images of the tickets, complete with a 3-D effect, can be viewed on the Web...

By (AP)

Elvis had one. So did Anna Nicole Smith and Marilyn Monroe. They are the doctors who cater to celebrities, dispensing powerful painkillers and sedatives to some of Hollywood\'s best-known entertainers.

Now, as police investigate Michael Jackson\'s sudden death, questions are swirling around the King of Pop\'s personal cardiologist and his actions in the superstar\'s final days.

Dr. Conrad Murray reportedly was with Jackson when he stopped breathing Thursday and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. An ambulance crew worked on Jackson at his home for 42 minutes before...

By (AP)

The cliche is that rock stars want to be movie stars, and movie stars want to be rock stars. Michael Jackson was content to be the King of Pop.

Unlike the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Madonna and others in the music pantheon, Jackson made only a few forays onto the big-screen, most notably co-starring as the Scarecrow alongside Diana Ross as Dorothy in 1978\'s \"The Wiz,\" a musical adaptation of \"The Wizard of Oz.\"

Movies might have seemed a natural next mountain to scale for Jackson after reaching the peak of his stardom in the 1980s era of dance flicks such as...

By Mary Ann Chastain (AP)

Texas Gov. Rick Perry was raising money at campaign headquarters when an Associated Press reporter called his press staff to ask what he was doing. An hour later, he walked into AP\'s statehouse bureau to show he was alive and well and not, say, in South America for a romantic rendezvous.

Most of the nation\'s governors were willing _ even eager _ to prove they were on the job after revelations that South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford ditched his security detail and disappeared for a secret weeklong tryst with a mistress in Argentina.

The day after Sanford admitted his...

By LEFTERIS PITARAKIS (AP)

Michael Jackson insisted that his concert promoter\'s payroll include his personal physician, a financially troubled cardiologist who was with the entertainer when he collapsed.

Dr. Conrad Murray was hired by AEG Live to accompany the pop star to London for his comeback series of concerts, said AEG Live President and Chief Executive Randy Phillips.

\"As a company, we would have preferred not having a physician on staff full-time because it would have been cheaper without the hotels and travel, but Michael was insistent that he be hired,\" Phillips told The Associated Press....

By MICHEL LIPCHITZ (AP)

The final act of Michael Jackson\'s life came into clearer focus Friday, a picture of a fallen superstar working out with TV\'s \"Incredible Hulk\" and under the care of his own private cardiologist as he tried to get his 50-year-old body in shape for a grueling bid to reclaim his glory.

While the exact circumstances of his death remained unclear, early clues suggested he may simply have pushed his heart too far.

Police said they had towed the doctor\'s BMW from Jackson\'s home because it may include medication or other evidence, and a source familiar with the situation told...

By MICHEL LIPCHITZ (AP)

The final act of Michael Jackson\'s life came into clearer focus Friday, a picture of a fallen superstar working out with TV\'s \"Incredible Hulk\" and under the care of his own private cardiologist as he tried to get his 50-year-old body in shape for a grueling bid to reclaim his glory.

While the exact circumstances of his death remained unclear, early clues suggested he may simply have pushed his heart too far.

Police said they had towed the doctor\'s BMW from Jackson\'s home because it may include medication or other evidence, and a source familiar with the situation told...

By LEFTERIS PITARAKIS (AP)

The final act of Michael Jackson\'s life came into clearer focus Friday, a picture of a fallen superstar working out with TV\'s \"Incredible Hulk\" and under the care of his own private cardiologist as he tried to get his 50-year-old body in shape for a grueling bid to reclaim his glory.

While the exact circumstances of his death remained unclear, early clues suggested he may simply have pushed his heart too far.

Police said they had towed the doctor\'s BMW from Jackson\'s home because it may include medication or other evidence, and a source familiar with the situation told...

By Laura Rauch (AP)

Twenty-one pieces of Michael Jackson memorabilia have sold for a total of $205,000 at an auction held in Las Vegas just a day after his death.

A crystal beaded shirt worn by the performer during his 1984 Victory tour was the top-selling item in the collection, at $52,500. Prices include a 25 percent auction commission.

The celebrity auction Friday at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino was planned for months and featured Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe items.

Other items sold include a drawing of Mickey Mouse done by Jackson as a child and handwritten lyrics for his...

By Reed Saxon (AP)

\"Ladies and gentlemen, Michael Jackson has just died,\" the woman called out breathlessly upon boarding a Manhattan bus, moments after the news had broken. Not a word was spoken in response. But nearly every passenger reached for a Blackberry, a cell phone, whatever device was at hand.

\"People are already texting about it, putting it up on Facebook, remembering his greatest moments,\" noted Delmar Dualeh, sitting in the back. At 17, he confessed, the news didn\'t really move him emotionally. He was too young to recall the 50-year-old entertainer in his prime. But he was fully...

By LEFTERIS PITARAKIS (AP)

Michael Jackson apparently suffered a heart attack, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Friday. Police sought to talk to the doctor who was with the pop icon during his last minutes and pumped his chest in a vain attempt to save his life.

As grief for the King of Pop poured out around the world, from the icons of music to heartbroken fans, an autopsy showed no sign of trauma to Jackson, whose death came just weeks before he was to launch an epic comeback bid in a series of 50 concerts in London.

The person, who was not authorized to speak...