Leaving Neverland puts Jackson’s estate in jeopardy
When Michael Jackson died in 2009, the singer had hit a low point, dogged by personal scandals and diminishing star power that paled in comparison to the rarefied heights he achieved in his record-setting career. But the decade since his death has seen a wholesale rehabilitation of his image, returning the King of Pop to a billion-dollar brand.
Now, a documentary detailing graphic allegations of child sexual abuse has created a new wave of public outrage against Jackson, imperiling his legacy as a music superstar — and the business that his estate has rebuilt into an empire.
The entertainer’s estate, once roiled by hundreds of millions of dollars of debt, has flourished remarkably since his death, pulling in a reported $2 billion through posthumous deals, including the forthcoming Broadway musical “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough,” a Cirque du Soleil tribute spectacle performed five nights a week in Las Vegas, and the $287.5 million Sony paid for Jackson’s share of EMI Music Publishing.
Click here to read more in the Washington Post
Democratic investigations now target Trump’s entire world
Nearly everyone in Donald Trump’s world just became a potential witness.
House Democrats are laying down a vast net as they ramp up their investigation into deep tracts of the President’s personal, business and political life, with a breathtaking document request from a list of 81 people, agencies and entities.
They went after the Trump Organization, Trump employees, the Trump presidential campaign, the Trump transition team, the Trump inauguration committee, the Trump White House and blood members of the Trump clan.
The intent of the sweeping oversight offensive designed to encircle the President, launched by Rep. Jerry Nadler, the New York Democrat who’s the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is clear. Democrats are eyeing a case that Trump is not fit to continue in his job.
“Our goal is to hold the administration accountable for the obstruction of justice, the abuse of power and the corruption,” Nadler said on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront” on Monday.
“Our goal is to protect the rule of law in this country. We have to find out what is going on and we have to lay out a case to the American people and we have to reveal it.”
Click here to read more on CNN.com
Is Starbucks redesign a ‘keep out’ sign for Philly’s homeless people?
On Mondays, members of a running group with the organization Back on My Feet like to end their early-morning workout by lingering over coffee at the Starbucks at Broad and Pine streets in Center City — “Monday motivation,” they call it.
But a couple weeks ago, the group of volunteers and homeless individuals arrived to find that the usual tables and chairs were gone.
“The space looked really empty,” said Sophie White, 26, of Queen Village, who had noticed an increase in homeless people lingering at the cafe since the coffee giant overhauled its policies following a viral incident last year.
“Starbucks said, ‘Everyone is welcome. After this incident, we don’t want to turn anyone away; you don’t have to buy anything.’ It seems like people have taken that to heart, maybe too much — so now they’re trying to find a more natural way to deter people.”
The Starbucks in question is just five blocks from the Starbucks cafe where two black men were arrested last year after refusing a manager’s demand that they leave, fueling a national media firestorm and inspiring the company to devote a day to anti-bias training.
Click here to read more on Philly.com
