Patty Jackson Weekly 411 courtesy 2 Down Front Entertainment

Here is the latest on the Michael Jackson investigation. As we await the official autopsy report, a preliminary report is saying The King Of Pop could have died from a drug overdose. The heat is on Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, who was with Jackson when he died. Investigators have raided his office and looked at everything related to Jackson. Could it be murder? Not likely, but a charge of involuntary manslaughter could be brought up. Michael’s older brother Tito, 55, finally opened up about his brother. Tito said the family tried two interventions. He said the first time Michael cried to them denying drug use. The second time, Michael’s security team turned them away. Tito says it was a conspiracy. He believes the problems started with his brother after his scalp got burned during the filming of the infamous1984 Pepsi commercial. Katherine Jackson will most likely get custody of the Michael’s kids. She is working out an agreement with Debbie Rowe, who is the biological mother of Michael’s two oldest children. Rowe does not want these kids. She doesn’t want to appear callous, but she wants money, not the kids. Katherine is seeking control of the Jackson estate, and she’s trying to work an agreement to have more of a say on what happens with the estate. This is going to be Katherine’s biggest challenge. According to the will, the estate was left in the hands of his lawyers, John Branca and John McClain. They want Katherine Jackson to stay in her lane, deal with the kids and let them take care of the property. LaToya Jackson is headed back in the studio to record a song in memory of her late brother and her family. The single is called Home, and proceeds will go to The Los Angeles AIDS Project, a charity that Michael was close to. Janet Jackson is back to work on the set of Tyler Perry’s new movie Why Did I Get Married Part II. She is also back with Producer Jermaine Dupri. The two are reportedly keeping their romance on the low. Joe Jackson is gearing up for his birthday party. Jackson turns 80 on August 22nd, and he is planning a big party in Chicago with proceeds going towards a cultural center in Gary, Indiana.

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Whitney Houston is gearing up for her comeback. The new album, I Look To You, is weeks away and sources say Whitney is back, stronger and better than ever. Whitney is about to turn 46, and she looks amazing. The new album comes out Sept. 1st, and she is scheduled to perform on Good Morning America. R Kelly produced two tracks for her album. Plus, she got contributions from Alicia Keys, Dianne Warren and her cousin, Dionne Warwick. I hear Whitney does a remake of the Donny Hathaway classic A Song For You, and the first single could be the Alicia Keys cut, Million Dollar Bill. I hope this comeback is the one for Whitney. We have been through the craziness. Now it’s time to get back to business and hear one of the greatest voices of our generation. On a side note, at Whitney’s listening party, Alicia Keys was all hugged with her boo, Producer Swizz Beats. I guess his wife signed those divorce papers.

Can Oprah save Chris Brown’s career? Ever since the Rihanna beatdown, Brown has not been able to catch a break. His career has stalled, and his money is drying up. Earlier this week, he released a rehearsed, videotaped message for his fans and the public apologizing for that infamous night in February. Was it too little too late? Why now five months after the fact? A lot of people felt he wasn’t being sincere. Can Oprah help? Is he willing to go on her show and talk about what happened and why? Will Brown talk about the incident from his perspective, and how he is dealing with his anger issues? I think this is the only way he can go. He needs to show you can fall down, make mistakes, but you can get back up. What he did was awful, but he is young. Should he pay for this mistake for the rest of his life?

Forbes magazine recently listed their richest of the rich, and Tyler Perry and Chris Rock made the list. Perry pulled in $75 million last year. Rock made the list with $42 million. Rock, who has a new hair documentary coming out this fall, had a stellar year with a new HBO deal, a sold-out concert tour and voicing a character in the animated movie Madagascar: Escape To Africa. Now speaking of Perry, he recently made a lot happy campers. It was Madea to the rescue for the campers at The Creative Steps Day Camp. The 65 kids made headlines when they were turned away from a suburban swim club outside of Philly because of their race. Perry was so upset about what happened that he is sending the kids and their parents to Disney World. The campers are set to take the trip in early August.

If you thought you saw Denzel Washington taking in the sites of Philly, you’re probably right. His son is attending school here for the summer.

Jill Scott is not letting any grass grown under her feet. The new mommy recently broke up with Drummer Lil’ Jon Roberts, and now she is dating Actor Lamman Rucker, her co-star in the Tyler Perry movie Why Did I Get Married. They are currently filming the sequel, which comes out April 2010.

Please Give Me A Divorce Before I Die! This was the plea that Don Cornelius made to a judge to get out of his marriage. Cornelius, the creator and original host of Soul Train, who is 72, cited numerous health issues in his divorce petition. He says he wants to divorce his wife before he dies. Cornelius is currently on 36 months probation for beating up his wife.

Tyrese wants out of his marriage too. The Transformers star wants his soon to be ex-wife Norma to get a job and stop mooching off of him. Tyrese says he was only married to her for 10 months, and it has cost him close to $75,000 to get out of the marriage. Tyrese and his wife have a young daughter. He currently gives his ex-wife $4,000 a month for clothes, $2,200 for dining and $1,900 for groceries. Tyrese is best known for the movies The Fast And The Furious and Baby Boy. He has a new G.I. Joe movie on the way, but other than that, he has no new projects lined up. Sources say he has been secretly dating Actress Sanaa Lathan, but he won’t go public until he is divorced.

Reverend Run’s son got off easy. Joe Simmons, Jr. pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and marijuana possession. He will have to serve one day of community service. Simmons was arrested earlier this year after a fender bender.

Comedian Katt Williams is shooting down reports that he is about to go bankrupt. Williams has had a rough year with his mental issues, but he insists he will not let the haters get him down. He says his finances are just fine.

NBA Player Richard Jefferson is explaining why he left his fiancée at the alter. Jefferson says there was a lot of stress and tension surrounding his relationship with Kesha Ni’Cole Nichols. They have been a couple for five years, and he felt he couldn’t go through with marrying her. Jefferson says he is not gay….he just couldn’t do it. Jefferson used to play with the New Jersey Nets. He is now signed with the San Antonio Spurs.

Ice Cube’s movie Are We There Yet is being made into a TV series. The TBS network has signed up the rights for the show. The TV version will star Actor Terry Crews, who is best known for playing the dad on the hit show Everybody Hates Chris. The new show is set to debut next summer.

Congratulations to Singer BeBe Winans and Televangelist Bishop T.D. Jakes. They are going to be inducted into The Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Thursday, July 30th marks the return of The Real Housewives Of Atlanta second season on the Bravo Network. NeNe, Sheree, Lisa and Kim are going to be joined by Grammy award-winning Songwriter/Producer Kandi Burruss. Burruss is not married. The second season is going to profile her and her engagement to a man who has six kids by various baby mommas. Her mother can’t stand the fiancé, so will the wedding happen? In season two, expect lots of drama and more fighting. DeShawn Snow, the wife of Basketball Player Eric Snow, will not be back for season two. Produces felt she was too nice for the show.

What is going with LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers? Everybody is buzzing about his bad attitude. For years James was known as one of the nicest guys in the league. James made headlines this past spring with his on court behavior after the Cavs lost to the Orlando Magic. James refused to shake hands or acknowledge the winning team. He also started wearing t-shirts claiming how great he is. True, he did win the league MVP, but if you don’t win a championship, it means nothing. Has success gone to his head? He hasn’t been making friends at basketball camps. At one camp, an unknown dunked on him. At a camp in Mississippi, he left the campers, who paid $150, hanging. He wouldn’t do pictures or sign autographs. There were no handshakes or hugs. He just gave a quick speech, shot a couple of free throws and bounced. Let’s hope his attitude gets better when the new season starts. This could hurt his endorsement deals. Speaking of the new season, James future teammate, Shaquille O’Neal, is making headlines. Shaq’s wife is very sore, but she escaped serious injury when her car was hit head on by a teen driver. Shaq is about to start filming his new reality show on ABC. The show, Shaq Versus, will feature the basketball superstar taking on his favorite sports against top athletes. Shaq plans to tackle football, swimming, boxing and tennis, to name a few. The show debuts August 18th and his special guest include Tennis Sensation Serena Williams, Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps and Boxer Oscar De La Hoya.

Barry Bonds is getting another chance with his wife. The baseball slugger’s wife, Liz Watson, filed for a legal separation in early June. She says she loves her husband and they will work on their marriage. They have been married since 1998 and have a young daughter.

Former NFL Quarterback Steve McNair had a significant amount of alcohol in his system when he was gunned down by his mistress. The 20-year old mistress, Shaleh Kazemi, had a lot of marijuana in her system. The official autopsy ruled it a murder/suicide. McNair left behind an angry widow, no will and four children. McNair’s widow, Nechelle, has already had her two children named as heirs of his estate. The older two children will most likely have to take DNA tests to prove they were McNair’s sons. He did pay child support for his older kids, but Mrs. McNair wants to make sure everything is legit, and she wants to make sure her kids are taken care of.

Simon Says: Paula Abdul is staying! In what is being seen as a contract ploy, Abdul’s manager put out a statement that she would not be retuning to American Idol. He says she was not offered a new deal. Abdul wants more money, and that’s the bottom line. Simon Cowell says she will be back for season nine. He stated everything will work out. Abdul wants execs to show her the money. American Idol Host Ryan Seacrest just signed a three-year deal worth $45 million. Cowell is about to become the richest man on TV with a deal worth between $100-144 million. What can Paula get, and what about Randy: oh yeah, and the new judge Kara? Some insiders on the show wish Abdul would leave. They feel she is too much trouble.

Soon everybody is going to want to sit in the back of the car. That’s because the cars of the future will be able to broadcast satellite TV.

KeKe Palmer is coming out with a clothing line. The young star of the Nickelodeon TV series Tru Jackson VP is teaming up with Wal-Mart stores with a clothing line based on her popular TV character. The line will be out just in time for back to school shopping.

Tennis Sensation Serena Williams is also coming out with something new as well. Williams will debut her new line of beauty products next month on the Home Shopping Network.

Tyler Perry is gearing up a busy fall. The promos have already started for his new Madea movie, I Can Do Bad All By Myself. The movie hits theaters on September 11th, and will star Taraji P. Henson, Mary J. Blige and Gladys Knight. Of course, Perry returns as “Madea.” He’s also has his new project with Oprah Winfrey, the Lee Daniel film Precious. Precious hits theatres on November 6th, and is based on the novel Push by Sapphire. Precious stars Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Sherri Shepherd and newcomer Gabourey “Gabby” Sidibe.

Since I mentioned Mary J. Blige, The Queen Of Hip Hop Soul is releasing a new CD in November called Technical Difficulty. Blige says she’s excited about the project. She is going to be everywhere this fall. She is one of the stars of the new Tyler Perry-Madea movie, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, which comes out in September. Mary’s co-star in the movie is Gladys Knight. Knight is coming out with a jewelry line. The singer/actress and business woman is exited about her new venture. The Gladys Knight Jewelry Line will be sold at major department stores and through The Home Shopping Network. The Gladys Knight Jewelry Line debuts in December.

The VH1 network is getting ready to unveil a new lineup of reality shows, and the ladies are taking charge and looking for love. There’s Fantasia with a show based on her life and career. The Fantasia show debuts in January. Pepa from Salt and Pepa is looking for love. She is on the hunt after a disastrous marriage to Rapper Treach from Naughty By Nature. Chilli from TLC is famous for her past relationships with Producer Dallas Austin and Singer Usher. Chilli is still hot and looking for love in her reality show, which debuts next year.

Actor Hill Harper (CSI-New York) is back with a new book. Harper’s previous books (Letters To A Young Brother and Letters To A Young Sister) topped the New York Times Best Sellers List. Harper’s new book, The Conversation: How Black Men and Women Can Build Trusting Relationships, is available in stores now. Harper says the dynamics of being in a relationship can be so complex, but dialogue can bring together a better understanding between men and women.

This year’s VH-1 Hip Hop Honors will pay homage to Def Jam Records. The famed label celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. In addition to honoring the labels founders, Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin, they will pay tribute to the great Def Jam artists such as Public Enemy, The Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Jay-Z, Ja Rule, DMX, Ludacris and Kanye West. Tracy Morgan is hosting The Hip Hop Honors, and it will air on Oct 12th on VH1.

The BET cable network has picked up the syndicated TV rights to The Wendy Williams talk show.

CNN Presents Black In America 2: Today’s Pioneers and Tomorrow’s Leaders.

TODAY! July 23rd on CNN

Hosted by Soledad O’Brien