MORNING COFFEE: DEREK JETER & MINKA KELLY Engaged? Prince Michael Malachi Jet Jackson: Newest Alleged Michael Jackson Love Child

Are Derek Jeter and “Friday Night Lights” actress Minka Kelly preparing to walk down the aisle? “Derek and Minka are secretly engaged,” an insider told Page Six. The handsome Yankee captain and the actress have been telling friends to “save the date” for nuptials in the fall. “The wedding is being planned and will take place after baseball season is over,” said a source. A rep for Kelly said, “There is no fall wedding planned to Derek Jeter.”

Considering that Derek Jeter is one of New York’s most eligible bachelors, and Minka Kelly is just plain stunning, certainly has me excited. Prior to meeting my handsome husband I was certain that I would marry Derek Jeter some day. But as a fan of “Friday Night Lights” I approve of Minka and would love to see Derek settle down. I’ll be sure to send flowers… perhaps blue carnations.

Prince Michael Malachi Jet Jackson: Newest Alleged Michael Jackson Love Child

The circus surrounding the death of Michael Jackson continues, the latest being a 24-year-old man who has come forward this week claiming to be a long lost love child of Michael Jackson. The alleged son’s name? Prince Michael Malachi Jet Jackson.

Claiming he isn’t motivated by money, Prince Michael Malachi Jet Jackson, who goes by Malachi, has thrown his name in the hat of possible love children of the King of Pop. “Malachi has been told his entire life that he is Michael Jackson’s son. His primary goal is to have closure on whether or not Michael was his father, and he wants a DNA test to prove it. Malachi’s motivation isn’t money,” LaRue Grim said. “Malachi looks exactly like Michael Jackson,” Grim added.

“I’m seeking a DNA test and I’m very concerned that it be reliable and that no one slips in DNA from a stranger. Malachi never met Michael … from what I understand Michael Jackson was very private about his personal life.”

A birth certificate was submitted with his claim lists “Michael Joseph Jackson” of Indiana as the father and Zerline LaVette Dixon as the mother.

Prince Michael is also the name of Michael’s two younger sons. Coincidence?

MORNING COFFEE: MICHAEL JACKSON Death Treated as Homicide, Dr Waited 82 Minutes Before Calling 911; MELANIE GRIFFITH Checks In For Routine Rehab

MICHAEL Jackson’s drug death is officially being treated as homicide after it was revealed that the King of Pop’s death was caused by lethal levels of propofol administered by his doctor Conrad Murray. The Los Angeles Coroner’s ruling means the Jackson’s personal doctor is now the prime suspect.

Forensic tests found that a lethal dose of propofol combined with at least two sedatives caused Michael Jackson’s death, a law enforcement source told the Associated Press. The coroner has not yet released his official autopsy findings, citing a request from detectives to withhold results until their investigation is complete. But the affidavit quotes the coroner report’s “preliminary” results as saying, “Jackson’s cause of death was due to lethal levels of PROPOFOL.” The police probe is focusing on whether Murray was criminally negligent in administering drugs to Jackson in the hours before his dramatic collapse.

Dr Conrad Murray has admitted giving Jackson more than FOUR kinds of painkillers on the night he died. After Jackson first complained he could not sleep at 1.30am, the doctor gave him valium, according to search warrant details. Just half an hour later the singer was still complaining of insomnia, so Murray injected him with another sedative called lorazepam. When that failed, he administered ANOTHER sedative – called midazolam – at about 3am on June 25. Over the next few hours Murray – who had treated Jackson’s insomnia for six weeks – gave various other medications to help him drop off. But at 10:40am, he gave in to Jackson’s pestering and issued the knockout dose of propofol, which the singer referred to as his “milk.” Murray remained with the sedated Jackson for about 10 minutes before going to the bathroom. He claimed that no more than two minutes later, he returned and found Jackson had stopped breathing after suffering a fatal cardiac arrest.

Murray says he began CPR at 11 a.m. and at some point ran downstairs and asked Jackson’s chef to send up Prince Michael Jackson, the star’s 12-year-old son, to continue CPR. But records show Murray made three phone calls totaling approximately 47 minutes beginning at 11:18 am, something he did not reveal to investigators, according to the affidavit. The document suggests Murray was either not paying full attention to Jackson’s monitoring, or was frantically making calls following the discovery that the singer had stopped breathing. The 911 call finally came in at 12:21 p.m. Murray accompanied Jackson to the hospital but refused to sign his death certificate, the affidavit states.

On Monday, Murray’s attorney, Ed Chernoff, said in a statement: “Much of what was in the search warrant affidavit is factual. However, unfortunately, much is police theory. Most egregiously, the timeline reported by law enforcement was not obtained through interviews with Dr. Murray, as was implied by the affidavit. Dr. Murray simply never told investigators that he found Michael Jackson at 11am not breathing.”

Murray has denied telling police he left Jackson alone after administering a powerful anesthetic and returned to find his patient had stopped breathing at 11am on June 25. ‘Dr Murray simply never told investigators that he found Michael Jackson at 11am not breathing,’ Chernoff said. He declined to comment on the homicide ruling, saying, ‘We will be happy to address the coroner’s report when it is officially released.’

Jackson’s family released a statement last night, saying it has ‘full confidence’ in the legal process and the efforts of investigators. It concluded: ‘The family looks forward to the day that justice can be served.’

Melanie Griffith has checked into a rehab facility her rep has confirmed. “She is there to reinforce her commitment to stay healthy,” says her rep Robin Baum. “This is part of a routine plan that was designed between her and her doctor’s years ago.”

Griffith, 52, who is married to sexy actor Antonio Banderas is staying at the Cirque Lodge in Utah which has famously helped Lindsay Lohan, Eva Mendes and Kirsten Dunst in recent years.
In 2000, Griffith revealed that she was seeking treatment for an addiction to painkillers, which she started using after a neck injury. “My doctor has referred me to the Daniel Freeman Hospital to step down from the prescribed medication that I have been taking for a neck injury,” she said. She also spent time at a facility 1988 to battle alcoholism and cocaine addiction.

Melanie is best known for her role as Tess in the 80’s classic “Working Girl,” for which she was nominated for an Academy Award.

The daughter of actress Tippi Hendren, Griffith had an unconventional childhood and fell for first husband Don Johnson when she was only 14. The couple wed when Melanie was only 18-years-old, but the marriage lasted only a few months. During her second marriage to actor Steven Bauer, Melanie found herself turning to drugs and alcohol. After divorcing Steven and her first rehab stint in 1988, Melanie reconciled with Don and they married again the following year.

Her second marriage to Don Johnson collapsed again and she soon fell into the arms of sexy Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, who she wed in 1996. Melanie has three children from her three spouses – Alexander Bauer, 24, Dakota Johnson, 19, and Stella Banderas, 12.

MORNING COFFEE: MICHAEL JACKSON’S Secret Sister Who Split Jackson Family: Vonnie

Michael Jackson had a “secret sister” who sparked a bitter family rift which still drags on today.

News of the World reported that Jackson’s hatred for his father, Joe, was fuelled by his close relationship with love-child Vonnie. The King of Pop loathed two-faced Joe’s “devotion” to Vonnie, the result of a fling with Cheryl Terryl. She was born in Inglewood, California on 30 August, 1974, the day after Michael turned 16-years old.

Sources say that none of the family members in the family have ever met their half-sister and refuse to even acknowledge her out of respect for their mother, all except for Rebbie. Supposedly, Rebbie is the only family member who decided that Joh’Vonnie had nothing to do with what their father did and she continues to have a relationship with the girl to this day.

Michael Jackson biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli told The Insider: “This was a huge embarrassment to the family… She is the Jackson sibling that no one ever really wanted to recognize. Back in the 1970s, Joe Jackson had an affair… and the result was Joh’Vonnie Jackson. This was something that the Jackson family dealt with privately. Katherine Jackson was aware of it; it was very upsetting to her at the time.”

For Michael, finding out about Joh’Vonnie was the straw that broke the camel’s back in his already tense relationship with Joe. Jackson, who claimed he was beaten by his father as a child and bullied into performing, couldn’t forgive Joe Jackson for the kindness he showed to the girl. Family sources say the emotional scars ran deep as Michael felt he was never treated in the same way by his father. Jackson once said: “He never hugged me, but he never had any problem with her. He hugged her – I never understood that.”

Friends of Jackson said: “Michael came to terms with the cruelty and beatings from his father. But their rift was mainly due to Joe’s devotion to Vonnie. He felt that Joe favored her over the rest of his siblings. Jackson hated Joe for betraying his beloved mother Katherine with the fling. That emotional burden stayed with him for many years.”

Vonnie has never spoken publicly about her connection to the Jackson family on the advice of Joe. Sources claim, “When Katherine and Joe ended up living separate lives Vonnie moved in with Joe in Las Vegas (Katherine resides at the family compound in Encino, California). Michael found that unsettling, and it again fuelled the rift. When Michael lived in Vegas, he barely saw his dad in case he ever saw his stepsister.”

Joe Jackson has never commented on the claims he Joe Jackson fathered Joh’Vonnie, but in a magazine article last year she said, “For my father to have had another child… I can’t even fathom what that’s like for my mother.”

MORNING COFFEE: MICHAEL JACKSON Burial Details: BRITNEY SPEARS’ TOP 10 Reason She Should Be President on Letterman

After an endless waiting game which has the nearly 2-month-old body of Michael Jackson awaiting burial, his family confirmed the King of Pop will take his final curtain call at a super-secure funeral in a mausoleum on what would have been his 51st birthday. The announcement follows nearly two months of speculation since his death from a suspected heart attack on June 25.

The legendary singer will buried on August 29 in a private ceremony at Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendale. The burial ground is a different location from the Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills cemetery where Jackson’s family was seen gathering days after his death. The family had delayed burying Jackson for weeks, fearing that ghouls could try to desecrate the gravesite. But Forest Lawn officials have convinced the Jacksons he’ll be safe in their Glendale graveyard because the mausoleum is loaded with security cameras, a family friend said.

Jackson will be interred at the Terrace in its Great Mausoleum. The cemetery’s website describes the mausoleum as featuring replicas of works by Michelangelo. It also features a stained glass recreation of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper. Forest Lawn Cemetery is the burial ground of a host of Hollywood greats, including Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Nat King Cole and Jean Harlow.

The family’s spokesman Ken Sunshine said: ‘The Jackson family once again wishes to express its gratitude to Michael’s fans around the world for their support during these difficult times.’ Details about the ceremony and the whereabouts of the so-called King of Pop’s body, though to be under refrigeration, have been tightly guarded. “The private ceremony will be limited to family and close friends.”

Meanwhile, the singer’s mother, Katherine Jackson, is considering suing her son’s personal doctor Conrad Murray. Her lawyer, Burt Levitch, said: ‘The possibility of a wrongful death action has been floated,’ Levitch said. ‘In that regard, no decision has been finalized… Dr Murray’s name has been floated because he is under investigation.’

Authorities investigating Jackson’s death have been focusing on Dr Murray, who they believe administered a powerful anesthetic to the pop singer the day he died.  In a rare twist, Dr Murray denied his role in the star’s death in a bizarre YouTube video. He protested his innocence in the one-minute clip, insisting: ‘I have done all I could do. I told the truth and I have faith that the truth will prevail. Dr Murray goes on to say in the video: ‘I want to thank all of my patients and friends who have sent such kind emails, letters and messages to let me know of your support and prayers for me and my family.’ He explains that is the reason why he has posted the video on YouTube – to reach out to them because he can’t call or email them personally. The video was later taken down.

Britney Spears Pitch for President…in a bikini

A fresh looking, bikini-clad Britney Spears wants the world to know how the US would be run if she were President.

The pop princess appeared on David Letterman’s Late Show last night as a guest presenter of the Top Ten List. Clad in an eye-popping bikini and a red flower in her hair, Spears appeared flirtatious as she pouts and bats her eyelashes. I’d vote for Britney!

‘Top Ten ways the country would be different if Britney Spears were President’

10. I’d be the first President to wear eye shadow since Nixon
9. We would only invade fun places like [Mexican holiday resort town] Cabo.
8. Free pie for everybody.
7. My situation room would be a cabana at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas.
6. I’d lure Osama out of hiding with the irresistible scent of my new fragrance ‘Circus Fantasy.’
5. Every Presidential news conference would feature costume changes.
4. America might have a more coherent fiscal strategy.
3. Challenge U.S. to put a nightclub on the moon by the end of the decade.
2. Three words: Vice President Diddy.
1. Finally the media would pay some attention to me.

HAPPY HOUR: MICHAEL JACKSON’S Body Set For Birthday Burial; MADONNA Celebrates Birthday in Italy with JESUS LUZ and Children

Can you believe that Michael Jackson died on June 25 and he still hasn’t been laid to rest? Almost two months after his shocking death, the King of Pop’s body will finally be laid to rest on his birthday, August 29.

Joe Jackson confirmed the singer’s coffin would be buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles on August 29 – what would have been his 51st birthday. Jackson went on to say that the burial would take place at 10am next Saturday. Isn’t it peculiar that we would give out specific details like that especially since there has been so much concern over grave robbers and crazed fans trying to steal his body?

Joe claimed the plans had only been made in the last few days, although the family has yet to go public with them. Following Jackson’s memorial concert at the LA Staples Center on July 7, the singer’s remains have been moved around and ultimately moved to a secret location amid fears fans would try to get to it. Michael Jackson is currently being held in a freezer locker at the Freedom Mausoleum in Glendale, California where it is visited often by Michael’s mother, Katherine.

According to reports, Katherine Jackson ordered the move without even telling the rest of the family after being warned her son’s temporary resting place in a crypt belonging to Motown founder Berry Gordy had become a security risk. Now, the gold coffin is held in a small brick ‘cold room’ where it is kept under Perspex to keep out the frost.

According to sources, Jackson has been to see the body of her son several times since it was relocated under tight security, staying until she was shivering with cold. “She cries and says she’s sorry and that she loves him”, a source told the New York Post.  A family friend added: “She just can’t bear to let Michael go. By keeping him in the freezer room Katherine feels like she can still talk to him and keep him close. The thought of burying him still fills her with dread.”

Plans to create a permanent public memorial to Jackson are yet to be finalized.

Madonna and toyboy Jesus take her adopted children for a cruise in Italy

Fresh from her concert in Poland, Madonna jetted to Positano, Italy for a romantic getaway with toyboy boyfriend Jesus Luz for her 51st birthday.

Accompanying the couple were Madonna’s adopted Malawian children, four-year-old Mercy James and three-year-old David Banda in addition to 12-year-old daughter Lourdes and nine-year-old son Rocco. Madonna threw an extravagant dinner party on Sunday night, where she rented out an entire floor at the exclusive Spledido hotel. Afterwards, the Material Girl opted to keep things low-key with a day filled with swimming, relaxing on a boat with her children and snuggling over breakfast with Luz on the balcony of her hotel.

Later, she was joined by 30 friends, including Italian fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana who had arranged a huge dinner party for the singer on the balcony of the hotel. The designers presented her with a huge cake with sparklers on top and also gave her a lace dress which they had designed for the occasion.

The birthday celebration will wrap up soon since the star is scheduled to play a concert tomorrow evening in Munich.

Michael Jackson Vanity Fair September 2009 Tribute Cover

The world was shocked when Michael Jackson suddenly passed away on June 25 at the age of 50. That day, the earth stood still… literally. The internet was frozen, Google crashed, and people even committed suicide. What followed was a media circus of epic proportions with a public memorial that included circus animals.

In the days after Michael’s passing my friends and I reminisced about our youth because his music was the anthem of our childhood. Some wore the famous red jacket while others knew every dance move to the “Thriller” video (myself included, and I still do to this day). I got chills as I recalled the first time I saw him perform “Billie Jean” and moonwalk. I still get goose bumps.

Regardless of the craziness that followed Michael Jackson around in the later years of his life, I’ll always have fond memories of the music, the dance moves, the iconic fashion, and the feeling that came over me when they blasted his songs in the school auditorium at the dance and how those sounds can still take me back to being a kid again.

Fallen King
In a cover story accompanying Annie Leibovitz’s 1989 portraits, Lisa Robinson recalls her 1972–89 interviews with Michael Jackson, who was just 14 when she met him. Here are snippets from her revealing article, illustrated with photographs from the troubled superstar’s career.

Lisa Robinson on Michael Jackson: “The Boy Who Would Be King”

Before his onstage crotch grabbing, his plastic surgeries, his rumored addictions, and, at the lowest point, his child-molestation accusations, Michael Jackson was known for his talent, not his troubles. And for years, Vanity Fair’s Lisa Robinson followed his career, getting to know a singer she describes as “one of the most talented, adorable, enthusiastic, sweet, ebullient performers I’d ever interviewed.”

In her article “The Boy Who Would Be King,” one of two cover stories in the September 2009 issue, Robinson recounts numerous interviews with Jackson, beginning with their first meeting at his family’s home in Encino, California, in 1972, when Michael was 14.

L.R.: So what do you like to do in your spare time?
M.J.: Swim … play pool … We don’t go much out of the gate because we have [everything] here. When we lived in the other house, we would go to the park to play basketball, but now we have it here.

(Michael asks me more questions than I ask him; there are discussions about my maroon nail polish, buying antiques on Portobello Road, the Apollo Theater, Madison Square Garden.)

L.R.: Do you ever get scared onstage?
M.J.: No. If you know what you’re doing, you’re not scared onstage.

Jackson was always electric onstage, but over the years Robinson continued to press him about his offstage life. In 1977, she interviewed him over the phone.

L.R.: Do you go out with girls? Any dates?
M.J.: No, I don’t date, no. I’m not really interested right now. I like girls and everything but [laughs] … Oh, you think I’m one of those? No! I’m just not that interested right now.

In another phone interview the following year, she asked about his relationship with fans.

L.R.: As for reality, do you still enjoy meeting your fans?
M.J.: I enjoy all that sometimes, seeing people who love me, or buy my records. I think it’s fun, and I enjoy meeting my fans and I think it’s important. But sometimes people think you owe your life to them; they have a bad attitude, like “I made you who you are.” That may be true—but not that one person. Sometimes you have to say to them, If the music wasn’t good, you wouldn’t have bought it. Because some of them think they actually own you.

In the ensuing years, Jackson would take control of his career to a degree readers may find surprising. Even more surprising, perhaps, was his declaration in 1984 that the original mix of Thriller, his hit 1982 album, had “sounded like crap.”

L.R.: What?
M.J.: Oh, it was terrible. And I cried at the listening party. I said, “I’m sorry—we can’t release this.” I called a meeting with Quincy [Jones], and everybody at the [record] company was screaming that we had to have it out and there was a deadline, and I said, “I’m sorry, I’m not releasing it.” I said, “It’s terrible.” So we re-did a mix a day. Like a mix a day. And we rested two days, then we did a mixing. We were overworked, but it all came out O.K.

To read “The Boy Who Would Be King,” pick up a copy of the September 2009 issue of Vanity Fair, available on newsstands in New York and Los Angeles on August 5 and nationwide on August 11.

MYSTERY SURROUNDING MICHAEL JACKSON’S “SECRET SON” OMER BHATTI: Bombshell Video Reveals Bhatti Referred to Jackson as “Dad;” Family Portraits of Michael With Children AND Bhatti

In a shocking video obtained by The Sun, Omer Bhatti calls Michael Jackson “Dad” during an action-packed family outing of jet skiing.

The five minute video, which was shot in South Africa, is thought to date from 1997 when Omer was a young teen. In one clip Jackson lets Omer take over the wheel as they whip through the water. After Jackson takes the helm to race back to shore Omer turns to the King of Pop and says: “Dad, are you coming with me?” In the video Bhatti’s nose is taped in what appears to be an attempt to copy a look often sported by his “father” in addition to Jackson’s trademark white socks.

Last week, Jackson’s dad Joe, 80, further fueled speculation if Bhatti is Michael Jackson’s son saying: “I knew Michael had another son. He looks like a Jackson, he acts like a Jackson and he can dance like a Jackson.” In addition to the video, The Sun also uncovered bombshell family portraits of proud father, Michael, posing with son Prince Michael AND Omer Bhatti.

The photos, which are part of a sensational family album featuring Omer Bhatti, shows the youngster with his hand tenderly placed on the singer’s shoulder and lovingly embracing 1-year-old Prince Michael. In the birthday pictures the resemblance between young Omer and Jackson is uncanny.

Omer, now 25, has been staying with the Jackson family at their Los Angeles home following the 50-year-old Thriller star’s heart attack on June 25. Jackson is said to have confessed to pals five years ago that he had a one-night stand with Omer’s mother Pia and the child was his. Sources close to Jackson said: “Omer was always with him. They dressed the same, looked the same and even danced the same. They certainly acted like father and son. Everyone used to comment on how similar they looked. Omer was even nicknamed ‘Little Michael’.”

Our source said of the star’s relationship with Omer: “They would affectionately call each other Doo Doo or Doo Doo Head.” Doo Doo was the childlike term of affection that Jackson reserved for those closest to him including Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin. In the photos it is written on a party hat Omer wears.

MICHAEL JACKSON UPDATE: Katherine Jackson Breaks Silence on Michael’s Death, Granted Custody of Children; Dr. Conrad Murray Claims Jackson Died From Demerol Administered By Aide

On Monday Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine, was granted the right to raise the late pop superstar’s three children.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff ruled Katherine Jackson will be the permanent guardian of her grandchildren Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11 and Prince Michael II, 7. The King of Pop named his 79-year-old mother his first choice to raise his children in a 2002 will. She has been looking after the children since the singer’s sudden death on June 25.

The decision came soon after Katherine Jackson arrived for the hearing in Los Angeles with daughter LaToya and several lawyers.  Last week, Katherine reached a deal on custody issues with Michael Jackson’s ex-wife, Deborah Rowe, who will reportedly have visitation rights with the two older children. A judge still has to decide several issues regarding the King of Pop’s estate, including whether his mother and his kids should get a monthly allowance.

Katherine Jackson Breaks Her Silence

In the first interview since her son’s death, Michael Jackson‘s mother, Katherine Jackson, is speaking out about the loss of her son and the rumors surrounding her family. In a phone interview that aired on Sunday Night’s “Geraldo at Large” on the Fox News Channel, the 79-year-old shot down rumors that her husband, Joe Jackson, is banned from seeing the grandchildren, and banned from the Jackson home. “I don’t know why they’re saying he’s not being allowed in the house,” Katherine says. “My husband’s never done nothing of the sort that they trying to say he did 39 years ago. I don’t understand that, and I just believe it’s something that they cooked up.” When asked if Joe was a good grandfather she replied, “Of course he is. And the children will tell you that he is.”

Katherine also spoke out on the accusations and pending investigation surrounding Dr. Conrad Murray in relation to her son’s death. “All I know is that my son is dead, and I don’t think he just died of natural causes or whatever,” she says. “He’s too young for that. Something happened, I don’t know what it was and I can’t say.”

MICHAEL Jackson was killed by a shot of powerful painkiller Demerol given by an aide as his personal medic Dr. Conrad Murray slept, The Sun revealed.

Dr Conrad Murray

Michael Jackson died after one of his aides gave him a shot of the painkiller Demerol, his personal doctor said. Dr Conrad Murray told police that he, himself, was asleep when Jackson was given the fatal dose. Murray confessed to cops that he had ALREADY given the singer Propofol that same day and when Jackson awoke after the effects wore off and demanded pain relief, Demerol was administered by the compliant aide. The combination resulted in devastating consequences.

The combination of Demerol and Propofol, known by the brand name Diprivan, triggered a massive heart attack. Sources claim the cardiologist was asleep and not aware when his patient’s heart stopped beating. Murray woke to find the 50-year-old Jackson dead and desperately tried to revive him. An insider told The Sun: “Murray would set up a system to give Michael a steady intravenous release of Diprivan through the night. But this time Michael woke up before Murray did and asked one of his aides for some Demerol. The aide gave it to him, but it was too soon after receiving the anesthetic. That’s what killed him.”

Joe Jackson: “Omer Bhatti is Michael’s Secret Son” (VIDEO)

Joe Jackson, who can’t sit in front of a television camera without dropping a bombshell or two and didn’t disappoint today when he revealed that he knew Michael Jackson had a secret son.

Michael Jackson’s father Joe has sensationally claimed that Norwegian dancer Omer Bhatti is the singer’s secret son. In an interview posted on NewsOne.com, Joe Jackson talks about Omer Bhatti and told the reporter that he knew Michael had another child.

When asked about the ‘secret son’ rumors in an interview with NewsOne/TVOne, Joe replied: “Yes, I knew he had another son. Yes I did.”

Interviewer: There are so many things, so many stories coming out now. The one that just came out a couple of weeks ago is that Michael may have had another child — I think Omar [sic] is his name? Everyone is like, “Oh, he was sitting right there next to Rebbie [at the memorial],” so everyone is trying to connect some dots. Do you know if that is Michael’s other son?

Joe Jackson: Yes, I knew he had another son. Yes, I did.

Interviewer: And he, uh, he looks like a Jackson.

Joe Jackson: Oh, yes. He looks like a Jackson, he acts like a Jackson, he can dance like a Jackson. This boy’s a fantastic dancer. Matter of fact, he teaches dance.

Interviewer: So maybe he’s the future of the family.

Joe Jackson: I don’t know. I can’t say that yet, until I see it happen (Laughs)

The 80-year-old’s claims come despite Omer apparently telling a newspaper last week that he is not biologically related to Jackson.

Speculation that Omer hit fever pitch when the 25-year-old joined Jackson family members in the front row at superstar’s memorial and was prominently seated in the front row next to the pop star’s children and siblings. Jackson’s brother Jermaine later said Bhatti would be welcomed into the family, if he’s proven a Jackson. “If Omer’s his son, he’s his son,” Jermaine told Britain’s the Daily Mail. ‘We won’t deny it. We are going to give him the same love and care that we give Prince and Paris and Blanket. I can’t clearly say if he is Michael’s but I saw this kid around him.”

In 2004, Us Weekly reported that Jackson did, indeed, acknowledge that he was the father. A source told the magazine: “Jackson has told his closest associates Omer’s mom’s was a Norwegian with whom he had a one-night stand.”

MORNING COFFEE: Michael Jackson Doctor Administered Death Drug; Assistant Target of Lawsuit After Life Insurance Lapse

The AP is reporting that Michael Jackson’s personal doctor administered a powerful anesthetic to help him sleep, and authorities believe the drug is what killed the pop singer, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Monday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said Jackson regularly received Propofol to sleep, a practice outside the drug’s intended purpose. On June 25, the day Jackson died, Dr. Conrad Murray gave him the drug sometime after midnight, the official said. Though toxicology reports are pending, investigators are working under the theory that Propofol caused Jackson’s heart to stop.

Dr Conrad Murray

Murray, 51, has been identified in court papers as the subject of a manslaughter investigation and authorities last week raided his office and a storage unit in Houston. Murray’s lawyer, Edward Chernoff, has said the doctor “didn’t prescribe or administer anything that should have killed Michael Jackson.” When asked Monday about the law enforcement official’s statements he said: “We will not be commenting on rumors, innuendo or unnamed sources.”

Murray became Jackson’s personal physician in May and was to accompany him to London for a series of concerts starting in July. He was staying with Jackson in a rented Los Angeles mansion and, according to Chernoff, found an unconscious Jackson in the pop star’s bedroom the morning of June 25. Murray attempted to revive him but could not. Police searching Jackson’s home after his death found propofol and other drugs, an IV line and three tanks of oxygen in Jackson’s bedroom, and 15 more oxygen tanks in a security guard’s shack.

Propofol can depress breathing and lower heart rates and blood pressure. Because of the risks, propofol is only supposed to be administered in hospitals. Instructions on the drug’s package warn that patients must be continuously monitored, and that equipment to maintain breathing, to provide artificial ventilation, and to administer oxygen if needed “must be immediately available.”

Jackson had trouble sleeping and the official said he enlisted various doctors to administer propofol, relying on the drug like an alarm clock. He would decide what time he wanted to awaken and at the appointed hour a doctor would stop the intravenous drip that delivered the drug, the official said.

Jackson is believed to have been using the drug for about two years, and investigators are trying to determine how many other doctors administered it, the official said.

The official also provided a glimpse into how the pop star was living in the weeks before he died, describing the room in which Jackson slept in his rented Beverly Hills mansion as outfitted with oxygen tanks and an IV drip. Another of Jackson’s bedrooms was a shambles, with clothes and other items strewn about and handwritten notes stuck on the walls. One read: ‘Children are sweet and innocent.’ Police found propofol and other drugs in the home. An IV line and three tanks of oxygen were in the room where Jackson slept, and 15 more oxygen tanks were in a security guard’s shack, the official said.

Elsewhere, Michael Jackson’s children could miss out on a $20 million life insurance payout because an aide to the King of Pop allowed the policy to lapse. The singer’s family are planning legal action against the assistant who they reportedly believe kept the cash that had been put aside for insurance. Dr. Steven Hoefflin, the plastic surgeon who became one of Jackson’s closest friends, said that the affair highlighted the ‘deception and incompetence’ of the hangers-on who surrounded the singer in his final days.

‘The family have told me that, utterly unbelievably and horrifyingly, one of his aides did not keep up with payments in the last months of his life. They believe he was pocketing the money,’ he told The Sun. Because the final payments were missed it is understood that Jackson’s children will now receive around $2.5 million rather than the $22.5 million to which they would have been entitled. His children Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7, commonly known as Blanket, will inherit his $300 million share in The Beatles back catalogue but the rights are mortgaged up to the hilt and the singer is facing a range of legal claims on his estate.