England international footballer Steven Gerrard was found not guilty of affray by a court in his home city on Friday. The jury at Liverpool Crown Court took a little over an hour to clear Gerrard of charges relating to a fracas in a nightclub bar in the north-western of England city on December 29 of last year. They accepted the Liverpool captain's version that he acted in self defense in punching businessman Marcus McGhee. The 29-year-old was the only one ...

English football star Steven Gerrard has admitted punching a man in a bar, but the Liverpool captain insisted in his court testimony that it was in self-defense. The 29-year-old is facing a charge of affray after an incident in the early hours of December 29, when he attacked businessman Marcus McGee following a dispute about the music that was being played. If found guilty, Gerrard faces a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a fine of $7,200. ...

A chemical plant explosion early Wednesday in Luoyang, China, killed a factory worker and hospitalized 108 others, seven of them seriously, state-run media said. The U.S. Navy tailed a North Korean ship that was believed to have been carrying weapons bound for Myanmar. Diplomats bemoaned the state's reluctance to return to the negotiating table even as the regime in Pyongyang celebrated American Independence Day by lobbing seven short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan. But a worldwide network of amateur ...

Moby describes himself as "a 43-year-old bald guy who likes to make music in his bedroom." If people like the music, that's OK, he says. And if not, that's OK, too. "I'm at my happiest when I'm working on music for myself," he says. "The moment I start thinking about market forces or radio play things start to go wrong. If I try to craft a radio-friendly pop song I end up with garbage." Moby, who calls his alter-ego ...

There is no concert and the only music heard will be the tinny sound of portable speakers blaring Michael Jackson's greatest hits. But event organizers expect thousands of the singer's fans to converge on the O2 Arena in London Monday to mark what would have been the opening night of the singer's long-awaited comeback, the first in a grueling 50-date "This Is It" concert tour. They will be bringing candles, flowers and photos for an impromptu memorial service organized over ...

When Glynis McCants looks at Michael Jackson's life, she sees the number five. Jackson's talent was discovered when he was 5 years old, he came to fame as a member of the Jackson 5 and he planned a series of 50 concert dates in London, England, as part of a comeback tour before he died on June 25 at the age of 50. For McCants, a noted numerologist and author, those facts are very telling: "Five is the number for ...

As the funeral for Michael Jackson got under way in California Tuesday, fans of the King of Pop gathered in locations across the globe to pay homage to their idol. Thousands of fans poured in to Los Angeles en route to the public memorial service at the Staples Center arena, while Jackson's family and closest friends attended a private gathering at the Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn cemetery before going on to the memorial downtown. In Germany, thousands of Jackson fans ...

On July 4, Casey Kasem counted down the hits one last time. Thirty-nine years to the day after he premiered his American Top 40 program — playing the most popular songs, calling out listeners' long-distance dedications and paving the way for the American Top 20 and American Top 10 spin-offs — the velvet-throated DJ with the unmistakable voice has turned off his mike for good. "Hosting various versions of my countdown program has kept me extremely busy, and I ...

The rehearsals ended on a high note that night. Michael Jackson was energetic and excited. He popped his signature moonwalk and dance spins that gave chills to some of those watching. As he walked to his car, he put his arm around concert promoter Randy Phillips and -- as Phillips later recounted -- in his soft voice, whispered: "Thank you, I know we're going to get it there together. I know I can do this." That was late Wednesday night, ...

Michael Jackson appeared healthy in a video clip -- obtained by CNN -- of his rehearsal two nights before he died. AEG, promoter of Jackson's planned London shows, released the short video of Jackson rehearsing on a stage in the Staples Center arena on June 23, 2009. Jackson sang "They Don't Care About Us" -- a song from Jackson's "HIStory" album -- as he danced along with eight male dancers. The Staples Center will also be the site of ...