Michael Jackson dies in LA hospital

LOS ANGELES, CA (AP) - Michael Jackson, the record-breaking, sensationally gifted "King of Pop" who emerged from childhood superstardom to become the entertainment world's most influential singer and dancer, and the tabloid world's most disturbing celebrity, has died.  He was 50.

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A person with knowledge of the situation says Jackson died Thursday in a Los Angeles hospital.

The person was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.

His death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music's premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

 

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UPDATE: the website TMZ.com is reporting that Michael Jackson has died.

 

Michael Jackson has been rushed to the hospital, a fire department official told the Los Angeles Times.

Capt. Steve Ruda said Thursday that Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m.

The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper. L. Londell McMillan, a lawyer for Jackson, did not have any information.

Messages left for other Jackson associates were not immediately returned.

The hospitalization was first reported by the Web site TMZ. 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.

------ Associated Press entertainment reporters Derrik Lang and Anthony McCartney and special correspondent Linda Deutsch in Los Angeles and music writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody in New York contributed to this story.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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News 4 has breaking news on Michael Jackson Thursday night.

We've just learned the King of Pop has been rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles, reportedly for cardiac arrest.

He was picked up at his home just a short time ago.

We'll have the very latest as it becomes available.