Relive the shocking moment the world learned of the King of Pop Michael Jackson's passing with these raw, unfiltered breaking news reports. The celebrity death sent shockwaves globally, and this archive video captures the initial reactions and reports from Los Angeles.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Shocking news from Los Angeles tonight. NBC News has confirmed pop superstar Michael Jackson is dead at the age of 50.
00:10Los Angeles Times is reporting that Michael Jackson has died. Los Angeles Times saying Michael Jackson has died 50 years old.
00:18Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles this afternoon. Fox News cannot confirm this, but Associated Press has just reported a person with knowledge of the situation says Michael Jackson has died.
00:30But NBC News has now confirmed the earlier reports that Michael Jackson, planning on the verge of his greatest or certainly most difficult comeback of many in a long and varied career in entertainment,
00:40and one of the most controversial figures in American pop culture, if not in the society as a whole, is dead tonight at the age of 50, having succumbed apparently to cardiac arrest.
00:49Fire, paramedic 33, what is your emergency?
00:52Yes, sir, I need an ambulance as soon as possible, sir.
00:55Sir, we have a gentleman here that needs help, and he's not breathing yet. He's not breathing, and we need to, we're trying to pump him, but he's not breathing, sir.
01:05Okay, okay, how old is he?
01:06He's 50 years old, sir.
01:0850, okay. He's unconscious, he's not breathing?
01:11Yes, he's not breathing, sir.
01:13Okay, and he's not conscious either?
01:15No, he's not conscious, sir.
01:16Okay. All right, do you have him, is he on the floor? Where's he at right now?
01:20He's on the bed, sir. He's on the bed.
01:22Okay, let's get him on the floor.
01:24Okay.
01:24Okay, let's get him down to the floor. I'm going to help you with CPR right now, okay?
01:27We need him, we need a gentleman.
01:28Yes, we're already on our way there. We're on our way. I'm going to do as much as I can to help you over the phone.
01:32We're already on our way. Did anybody see him?
01:34Yes, we have a personal doctor here with him, sir.
01:37Oh, you have a doctor there?
01:38Yes, but he's not responding to anything. No, he's not responding to CPR or anything, sir.
01:43Oh, okay. Well, we're on our way there. If you're guys doing CPR on your, I'm instructed by a doctor, he has a higher authority than me.
01:49And he's there on scene.
01:51Okay.
01:53Did anybody witness what happened?
01:55No, just the doctor, sir. The doctor's been the only one here.
01:59Okay, so did the doctor see what happened?
02:01Doctor, did you see what happened, sir?
02:04Sir, you just, if you can please.
02:07We're on our way. We're on our way. I'm just passing these questions on to my paramedics while they're on our way there, sir.
02:12Thank you, sir. He's pumping his chest, but he's not responding to anything, sir. Please.
02:16Okay, okay. We're on our way. We're less than a mile away. We'll be there shortly.
02:21The breaking news involving pop star Michael Jackson, and there's every indication at this hour that the news is very serious.
02:27According to a number of reports, including the Los Angeles Times, Michael Jackson was taken to the UCLA Medical Center approximately two and a half hours ago
02:34after paramedics were called to his home in the Holmby Hills.
02:38We're getting some breaking news coming into the situation right now about Michael Jackson, the king of pop, who's 50 years old.
02:44Let's go to Deborah Farrick. She's working the story for us. What are we picking up, then?
02:48Well, here's what we can tell you. This is what's being reported by KTLA.
02:51Apparently, Michael Jackson suffered cardiac arrest this afternoon. He was rushed to UCLA Medical Center.
02:56This is Brian Oxman. He is the family attorney for the Jackson, and he says that, according to Randy Jackson, Michael Jackson's brother,
03:04Michael Jackson collapsed in his home in West Los Angeles this morning, and they called paramedics.
03:09He says that the family is either at UCLA Medical Center or en route.
03:14This afternoon, the Los Angeles 911 operators took a call in regards to a need for a medical emergency
03:20at the 100 block of Candlewood Drive, which is in West Los Angeles.
03:24When the paramedics got on scene, they treated the patient.
03:28A lot of effort to try to find some confirmation to try to determine exactly what Jackson's condition was
03:33when he arrived at the hospital and what his condition is now.
03:36But again, the Los Angeles Times, which has some pretty good, pretty solid sources in the story,
03:40in Hollywood is reporting that Michael Jackson was taken to a hospital this afternoon
03:44and that he was not breathing when the paramedics arrived home.
03:48Our NBC affiliate station in Las Vegas is attributing quotes to Jackson family members,
03:54including Joe Jackson, the dad, saying that he had been alerted to an emergency condition
03:57but did not have the details but was en route to the UCLA Medical Center.
04:01In addition, there are reports from our affiliate and from others that Jackson's brothers have gathered at the medical center
04:06and that Janet, the sister, has not, but she is also en route.
04:10Again, a very serious-seeming situation this afternoon with Michael Jackson.
04:14E! Online is quoting Joe Jackson, Jackson's father, as saying he had a heart attack.
04:19He is not okay.
04:20His mother is on her way to the hospital now to check in on him.
04:24The Los Angeles City Fire Department, a spokesman, actually not a spokesman,
04:27and somebody is quoted also in the story, unidentified, saying the call came in because a person was not breathing.
04:32Hi, David, you're absolutely right.
04:34It's an extremely confusing situation.
04:35All signs do point that it is very, very serious.
04:37However, it's been impossible to get somebody directly related to Michael Jackson on the phone right now,
04:41as you can understand.
04:42Everybody's rushing to be by his side.
04:45Really confusing also with inside the tour.
04:47They were scheduled to practice at the Staples Center in just a few moments, literally,
04:51and everybody there was in place and expecting Michael Jackson to arrive momentarily.
04:55So there's a lot of confusion inside the tour.
04:58I've been speaking to his managers and people inside his circle for literally months,
05:02since news broke that he was going to be going to London's O2 Arena to do this big comeback series.
05:07And they've been saying every step of the way, he's healthy, he's healthy, he's healthy.
05:10CNN sources are now saying, multiple sources, that Michael Jackson is in a coma at UCLA Medical Center,
05:17suffered from cardiac arrest, and is now in a coma.
05:21When they arrived on scene, he was not breathing.
05:23They attempted CPR along the route to the hospital, but we have nothing to indicate that along that time,
05:28they were able to revive him.
05:30We also know that the original report from his family was, or the people who were in the house with him,
05:34was that he had slipped into cardiac arrest and was not breathing at the house.
05:37EMTs tell us it was 10 minutes before they got to the house and then another 10-minute ride to the hospital.
05:41That's a long time with no breathing.
05:42And if unless someone is there to do CPR, then that's the cause of death.
05:50Well, we certainly don't know what the situation is now.
05:53It could very well be that when he was brought into the hospital, they were able to revive him.
05:56We simply don't know.
05:57Look at the aerials that you're showing on air,
05:59and you see the number of people that have already gathered outside the hospital.
06:03If that isn't testament to the star power of Michael Jackson, I don't know what is.
06:07The gates actually opened up.
06:08Standing behind those gates was a very large man.
06:11Can only presume and assume it was a bodyguard here at the estate.
06:14A lot of fans here who have shown up, who have been able to gain access to the area that has since been roped off.
06:20We had a little bit of trouble getting in here.
06:22This street completely blocked off.
06:23This is off of a major road here through the homely hills.
06:26Update you now on tonight's breaking news.
06:28Multiple media outlets are now reporting that pop singer Michael Jackson has died.
06:32Jackson was not breathing when paramedics arrived at his home after a 911 call.
06:37We are watching for any new developments on this breaking news.
06:40We will bring them to you as soon as we learn them.
06:43Good evening, everybody.
06:44Breaking news about Michael Jackson.
06:46Now, in the past few minutes, the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press have reported that Jackson has died.
06:53CNN cannot confirm those reports, but earlier the entertainer was taken to the hospital in Los Angeles in cardiac arrest.
07:00Sources familiar with his condition told CNN that he went into a coma.
07:05Now, Kara Finstrom is outside Jackson's house in Los Angeles now.
07:08Kara, what can you tell us?
07:11Well, this is a Bel Air home where he was staying.
07:14You know, this is a multi-million dollar neighborhood.
07:16He was renting this home.
07:17We understand paramedics came here, took him on about a six-minute ride to the L.A. hospital,
07:23where, according to the L.A. Times, he has died.
07:27You can hear helicopters overhead, lots of media out here.
07:31The police have come out now and blocked off the street so that fans cannot continue to come up.
07:35But you can see that a number of people from the neighborhood have come up.
07:39Kitty, what we understand, though, is that his diehard fans, those that actually camp out,
07:43there's about six vans that we understand are camped out here every day,
07:47have moved to the hospital now to be closer to this pop superstar
07:50and to try and get the latest information.
07:54Kara, what kind of people are you seeing here?
07:56Are they very young?
07:57What's the age demographic?
07:59I know he had universal appeal.
08:02Yeah, we are seeing a little bit of everything out here today.
08:05And many people have actually brought out their Blacksberries.
08:07They're texting the latest information they can to family and friends.
08:11Some people are taking some pictures.
08:12And I want to bring in a couple of the neighbors here who have walked over.
08:16And you've been hearing these reports from the L.A. Times that he has passed away.
08:21You say you've walked through these neighborhoods.
08:23And we've got two generations of fans here.
08:26Tell us a little bit about your thoughts upon hearing this news.
08:29It's very devastating to hear this.
08:32He was an icon, and he invented the moonwalk.
08:35He created the moonwalk.
08:36And I just passed on his dancing and his music to my children.
08:40And my daughter, Chloe, has danced to his songs.
08:43And it's just devastating, absolutely.
08:46Chloe, I know you said you and your friends all loved Michael Jackson.
08:49And you actually did some dance routines to his music.
08:52Tell us about that.
08:53At school, we were just like, he had a couple of routines that we would do to like Thriller and a couple of his songs.
08:59And we just had fun with his music.
09:01And he would always like put a smile on our face.
09:04So it's sad.
09:05He was amazing.
09:06He was absolutely amazing.
09:08Kitty, the sentiment that we seem to be getting over and over from people out here is they heard helicopters in the air.
09:13They turned on the TV sets.
09:15They heard this news.
09:16And they just couldn't believe it.
09:17So they wandered out here to try and get some confirmation.
09:20And they're just kind of standing here in the streets kind of in disbelief.
09:24This was a man known for his dramatics, known for theatrics.
09:27And they just can't quite believe that this is true.
09:30Kara, for fans all around the world and throughout the country, give us a little bit of a scene set for where you are now, what his neighborhood is like.
09:37And are you seeing some of his neighbors actually come to this site?
09:42Yeah, many of these people are his neighbors.
09:44Now, they told us, especially the two women we just spoke with, they were getting tours to go see him, tour tickets to go see him in London.
09:51They hadn't been able to meet him here in their own neighborhood.
09:53So that kind of gives you a feel for the exclusivity of this area.
09:57Lots of gates.
09:58These are multimillion dollar homes.
10:00Lots of stars live around here.
10:02When we first arrived, there were still tour buses driving by his home.
10:05People, you know, seeing all the commotion going on, kind of even leaning out of these tour buses, asking what's going on.
10:12Since that time, police have sealed off the area.
10:15But we did speak with one of those tour bus drivers earlier.
10:18She saw the commotions.
10:19She saw the fire trucks come out.
10:21She saw the paramedics arrive.
10:23She didn't actually see Michael Jackson being escorted out.
10:27But a lot of emotion here today from a lot of fans who also happen to be his neighbors.
10:33All right.
10:33Thanks very much, Kara Finstrom, on the scene in Los Angeles.
10:37I feel sorry for his family, his parents.
10:40Can you imagine?
10:41Can you imagine losing a child?
10:43Who would know that Joe Jackson would outlive Michael Jackson?
10:46I mean, that's...
10:47Five-year-old Michael Jackson.
10:50You know, and my daughter's an actress and all that.
10:53And I guess that's another reason why it hits me, because I know he has worked so hard from day one.
10:59Thank you so much.
11:00What's your name?
11:01Halene.
11:02Halene, and what's your name?
11:03Cheyenne Haynes.
11:04Cheyenne Haynes.
11:05And they're here from where you live?
11:07We just live in Glendale.
11:09But I just wanted to be around like-minded people.
11:12I don't want to hear any negative about him today, because I want to celebrate his life.
11:17And that's why I came here.
11:19Thank you so much.
11:20The Haynes is from Glendale.
11:22A new fan and a fan from back in the day.
11:26This is what's happening here.
11:28Let me just give you, right before we leave, just a short pan of, I would guess, close to 75 or 100 people here.
11:35This is so shocking.
11:36I mean, even for you and I, we've been covering this since news first broke that he was taken to the hospital.
11:41It's really hard to wrap your brain around this, especially since I know people who were literally dealing with his management hours ago,
11:47trying to work out some additional tour dates and some more appearances.
11:51Michael Jackson, by all accounts, the people I spoke to within his Serpo, was full of life up until this point.
11:56He had been wanting to add rehearsals to his day.
11:59He'd been completely enthusiastic, not struggling with rehearsals for his upcoming concert series in London.
12:04This comes as an absolute, absolute shock.
12:07You know, I was thinking back to just what Jeff Toobin said 30, 40 minutes ago,
12:11that this was extremely sad news, not altogether shocking, given the way Michael Jackson looked in the last few years.
12:18But obviously, it's a stunning, stunning development on this day where we've already suffered the loss of Farrah Fawcett.
12:24That was expected because she's been ill for some time.
12:27This clearly is really out of the blue.
12:29Even though Jackson looked frail to many people, he was embarking and planning to embark on this worldwide comeback tour.
12:36It was always his dream to come back bigger than he was.
12:41Whether that was possible or not, we'll unfortunately never know.
12:44But, you know, still, as a young man, I think a relatively young man, we certainly wouldn't have expected something like this.
12:50I think that he has been sickly.
12:51I think that ever since his trial, there have also been psychological concerns about him.
12:57So I think that a lot of the people closest to him may not be as surprised as those of us who are not.
13:03Now, as we reported, the cause of Michael Jackson's reported death was cardiac arrest.
13:08Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now from Atlanta.
13:12Now, Elizabeth, what can you tell us about cardiac arrest and its impact?
13:16Right.
13:16Cardiac arrest, sometimes people confuse that with a heart attack.
13:19They are two very different things.
13:21In a heart attack, the heart, it loses some oxygen.
13:24Some of the muscle loses oxygen.
13:26Sudden cardiac arrest, heart function stops.
13:29The heart stops working.
13:31And that's why, with sudden cardiac arrest, someone needs help, ideally, within three to five minutes.
13:39There are some really sobering statistics I'm going to tell you right now, Kitty, about cardiac arrest.
13:43Few attempts at resuscitation succeed after 10 minutes.
13:47It's estimated that more than 95% of cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital.
13:56Now, Kitty, I was on the phone with a cardiologist, and I said, gosh, he was only 50.
13:59What do you think, is that young?
14:01And they said, no, 50 is not young for cardiac arrest for a man, and particularly not for an African-American man.
14:07African-American men have a higher rate of cardiac arrest than white men.
14:11Kitty?
14:11Elizabeth, his general health.
14:13Of late, he had the appearance of fragility.
14:17Tell us what you think about and what you're hearing from doctors about underlying health conditions
14:22and the survivability of cardiac arrest with those conditions.
14:26Right.
14:26I wish I knew more about Michael Jackson's chronic conditions.
14:29Unfortunately, there's all these rumors, and it's hard to know what's true.
14:31But there is no question that if someone has chronic conditions, they are much less likely to survive cardiac arrest,
14:38which is extremely difficult to survive anyhow, even in someone who doesn't have chronic conditions.
14:44So if someone has chronic heart disease to begin with, or diabetes, or really any other serious chronic disease,
14:50it makes it harder to survive.
14:52Now, what we're hearing here at CNN, what we've confirmed, is that he is in a coma.
14:57That is what happens when the brain doesn't get enough blood.
15:00When the brain doesn't get oxygen, those neurons die, and people go into comas.
15:05I asked a cardiologist at Mass General, a doctor who teaches at Harvard,
15:09I said, what percentage of the time, when you've had patients with cardiac arrest go into a coma,
15:15what percentage of the time do they wake up after that coma?
15:17And he said, a small percentage.
15:20Okay, so this has been developing for some time,
15:21and we have yet to hear an official from UCLA Medical Center come out and tell us what happened here.
15:26So that's what you're looking at.
15:27The crowd that's been gathered out there outside UCLA Medical Center is moving to an auditorium.
15:31And it's interesting to think, who are these people?
15:34Why are they there?
15:35We talked to Jane Yamamoto, who had fans with albums.
15:38Apparently, they want to go and hear officially what has happened.
15:41I'll tell you, after covering the John Lennon murder in front of the Dakota,
15:45that people just instantly go to wherever this happened, wherever the scene was,
15:50just to pay tribute and to mourn with other fans who love the particular performer.
15:54I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.
16:04The emergency medical technicians in Los Angeles tell us that they arrived on scene at his home in greater Los Angeles.
16:12He was in coronary arrest and was not breathing.
16:15What do you do?
16:15Well, this can be a complication of a heart attack.
16:20This is because of an abnormal rhythm of the heartbeat of the heart,
16:23and essentially the heart is no longer able to pump blood.
16:27So no blood in oxygen gets to the brain, and that could be the cause of a coma.
16:31Obviously, the paramedics start CPR and give shocks to the heart to try to get the heart started.
16:38This was potentially, clearly a massive heart attack,
16:42but even smaller heart attacks can cause this abnormal heart rhythm,
16:46which is the cause of death in the setting of heart attacks.
16:49It's our understanding that when the authorities,
16:52our understanding from authorities, by the way, doctor,
16:54that when they arrived on scene, he was not breathing.
16:58They attempted CPR along the route to the hospital,
17:01but we have nothing to indicate that along that time they were able to revive him.
17:05We also know that the original report from his family was,
17:09or the people who were in the house with him,
17:10was that he had slipped into cardiac arrest and was not breathing at the house.
17:14EMTs tell us it was 10 minutes before they got to the house,
17:17and then another 10-minute ride to the hospital.
17:19That's a long time with no breathing.
17:22Yes, the lack of breathing.
17:24As soon as the brain doesn't get blood and oxygen,
17:26and that happens within three or four minutes, you will stop breathing.
17:31And obviously, once you stop breathing,
17:34then if unless someone is there to do CPR,
17:39then that's the cause of death.
17:43Well, we certainly don't know what the situation is now.
17:46It could very well be that when he was brought into the hospital,
17:49they were able to revive him.
17:50We simply don't know.
17:51But I can tell you that the Los Angeles Times is reporting,
17:54as our viewers who are watching on television across the United States and around the world can see,
17:59but not necessarily on XM and satellite radio,
18:02Michael Jackson is now in a coma,
18:04according to the reporting of the Los Angeles Times in its online edition right now.
18:07I guess a coma doctor, after not breathing for a while,
18:12I mean, that's what happens next.
18:13No blood gets to your brain, and that's a coma's next, right?
18:17That's exactly right, unfortunately.
18:21And again, unless you are able to get the blood flowing again through CPR,
18:26you literally only have a few minutes.
18:29That, of course, is why the presence of defibrillators around the country now
18:32is such an important new health care addition.
18:35But obviously, you need to have someone able to do CPR or administer a defibrillator right then and there.
18:42There's literally only minutes to spare.
18:44AJ, what was Michael Jackson doing in Los Angeles before he was taken to the hospital?
18:50Well, we don't know what he was doing immediately today or in the past few days, Kitty,
18:54but we do know, generally speaking, that he was preparing for this major concert event,
18:58this undertaking he was going to be doing in London coming up this summer,
19:03originally scheduled for July,
19:05originally scheduled as a rigorous 50-show concert series.
19:09Now, when you're preparing for it, yeah, there is certainly a lot involved,
19:14and Michael Jackson's shows, and this was going to be no exception, are big, they're bold,
19:18and there's a lot of onstage activity.
19:20Michael Jackson, of course, very well known for his dance moves
19:23and for keeping the energy level at his shows very high.
19:27If we take it back a couple of months to when this concert series was first announced,
19:32Michael Jackson appeared at a press conference to let the world know that he was back,
19:36that he was doing these shows.
19:37And I remember remarking on my show that night and to various people here at CNN
19:43that Michael looked terrific, relatively speaking.
19:46You mentioned earlier that we're used to seeing him sort of frail.
19:49We saw him get up on that stage, albeit for a very brief time,
19:54and really show us that he certainly had the enthusiasm,
19:58he appeared to have the energy to take on this massive concert event coming up in London.
20:03Now, anybody who signs on to do any kind of a concert event of a decent scale
20:09is going to have to undergo a physical.
20:11Well, Michael Jackson, for something that inevitably was having millions upon millions of dollars poured into it,
20:16had to undergo a rigorous physical.
20:19A couple of months ago, there were some rumors floating around, Kitty,
20:21about the possibility that Michael was having health issues,
20:24that perhaps even he was suffering from cancer.
20:26That was one of the rumors that was out there.
20:28So, we spoke with the head of AEG, that is the concert promoter,
20:32who put together this deal with Michael Jackson for these shows this summer in London.
20:36At the time, back in May, the head of AEG told us that Michael was, in fact, in terrific health,
20:43that Michael underwent a vigorous physical exam,
20:47and that he came out with flying colors,
20:49and that before performing and going through with the concert event,
20:53he would have to undergo another physical exam.
20:55I'm not a doctor, I would have to imagine if there were some serious health and heart problems at that time,
21:02they certainly would have shown up in the type of exam that is typical
21:05before they will sign on the dotted line for a multi-million dollar event.
21:10Again, as we show live pictures from the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles,
21:14again, NBC News reporting that Michael Jackson has died, 50 years old, from Gary, Indiana.
21:20And our MSNBC coverage, of course, is going to continue, and again, a very dramatic and big story,
21:26perhaps as big as they get in the world of pop culture and music,
21:29and so it's appropriate that our coverage should be led now by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann here in New York.
21:35Keith?
21:36David Schuster, thank you, and thank you for your good work.
21:38Yes, we await an official announcement, but NBC News has now confirmed the earlier reports
21:43that Michael Jackson, planning on the verge of his greatest or certainly most difficult comeback
21:49of many in a long and varied career in entertainment,
21:53and one of the most controversial figures in American pop culture, if not in the society as a whole,
21:58is dead tonight at the age of 50, having succumbed, apparently, to cardiac arrest this afternoon,
22:04and having been taken from a home that he was renting in the Holmby Hills section of Westwood, California,
22:11part of Los Angeles, of course, and taken from there to the UCLA Medical Center,
22:16which is what you're seeing there in those pictures in the other box here with me.
22:20The crowds began to form quickly, and as you can see, they are quite deep.
22:24They began to form probably about half an hour ago now,
22:27when word got out that Michael Jackson was very sick, certainly in a coma,
22:34to what degree he was resuscitated after firefighters went to that Holmby Hills house
22:39and reported him not breathing is not clear.
22:42Whether or not he ever gained anything resembling consciousness or survivability after that point
22:48is not clear as an official announcement is yet, and when that might occur is not yet clear.
22:53But those crowds began to form because well before there was an announcement from a news organization per se,
23:03the website TMZ.com had reported that they never got him going again,
23:09never had awakened him from his coma, and that Michael Jackson was dead.
23:14That story began to get out a little bit before 3 o'clock Pacific time this afternoon.
23:19By 18 minutes past this hour, 3.18 in the West and 6.18 in the East,
23:25the Los Angeles Times had been reporting that he had been pronounced dead by doctors at the UCLA Medical Center.
23:31And then as we mentioned, as David Schuster has continually reported to you in the last 20 minutes or so,
23:36NBC News was able to confirm through a family friend that Michael Jackson passed away,
23:41concluding certainly one of the most extraordinary lives in American 20th century and 21st century history.
23:50Michael Jackson, of course, the former king of pop, one of the most famous men on all the planet,
23:56who's had extreme ups and downs throughout his life,
23:59who at the age of 10 in 1968,
24:01was a member of the Jackson 5 when they signed with Motown,
24:06whose career has stretched across lowly's many years,
24:09whose thriller album changed the music world probably forever,
24:13and who has been through very difficult times with lawsuits and his own personal problems,
24:19his own skin and health problems throughout.
24:21Throughout a series of 50 concerts across the United Kingdom to begin,
24:24not this, that were set to begin this July,
24:27Instead, they were pushed back one year in hopes of what he said would be a perfect, perfect concert tour.
24:35And now, as of 3.15 this afternoon,
24:38the Los Angeles Times is reporting that Michael Jackson was pronounced dead at 3.15.
24:44That's 3.15 Pacific Daylight Time, 6.15 Eastern Time here on the East Coast.
24:52Michael Jackson, dead this afternoon.
24:55Absolutely unthinkable.
24:56Michael Jackson is one who had promised to have a comeback.
25:01Michael Jackson had promised that he would be able to get this concert tour going again,
25:05but so many who were close to him and close to his family and close to his life
25:08were insisting his health was very frail.
25:11Geraldo reported a short time ago he had not hired choreographers,
25:14he had not hired dancers.
25:15There was simply no way to get this going.
25:18In the meantime, he had so many financial problems along the way.
25:21Michael Jackson, hundreds of millions of dollars in debt,
25:25lost his Neverland ranch,
25:28and now ended up moving to Bahrain on the heels of those child abuse charges,
25:33of which he was found not guilty in a court of law,
25:36moved to Bahrain,
25:37and then began this idea of another series of concerts.
25:41The United Kingdom is a place where he is still very much loved.
25:44In the United States, some of his star may have faded in some quarters,
25:49but not in the United Kingdom and not across much of Europe,
25:52certainly not across Asia.
25:54He is one of the biggest stars in all the world
25:57and may be the most famous man in all the world.
26:01And the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press are reporting
26:04he was pronounced dead this afternoon,
26:063.15 Pacific Time,
26:086.15 Eastern Time.
26:10Michael Jackson is dead.
26:13Our chief Fox Report correspondent, Jonathan Hunt,
26:15is live with the rest of the story as we have it from our Fox Newsroom in New York.
26:18Jonathan.
26:18Shep, I literally just got off the phone with Jerry Greenberg.
26:22He was the president of MJJ Music.
26:26That is Michael Jackson's label from 1993 to 2000.
26:30I broke the news that the AP is reporting to Jerry Greenberg
26:34that Michael Jackson had in fact died.
26:36He could barely speak when I told him that.
26:39He then said the world has lost a major, major talent.
26:44Michael Jackson, Jerry Greenberg said to me,
26:46was right up there with Elvis Presley.
26:49He also said this is such a sad, sad time for this to happen
26:53because he told me that Michael Jackson,
26:54who he had spoken to in the last couple of weeks,
26:57was so looking forward to doing those series of concerts in London.
27:01In fact, he was in L.A. right now
27:04because he was rehearsing for those concerts.
27:06I was told by Jerry that they had been rehearsing at the Forum in L.A.,
27:10but it simply wasn't a big enough venue, wasn't the right size venue.
27:13So they had moved in the last few days to the Staples Center in L.A.
27:17If you weren't reading the reports either on the computer or watching television,
27:22you would certainly know just by passing through here
27:24that something very serious is happening.
27:27Choppers are buzzing overhead.
27:28Crowds are forming on the streets.
27:30We're talking about an area of some four large city blocks at least.
27:33And as far as I can see,
27:34there are people teaming on the sidewalks everywhere
27:36trying to get a look at what exactly is happening here.
27:38And of course, media vans have started arriving on the scene.
27:41Those familiar orange and yellow cones have been placed on the sidewalks,
27:45on the streets to redirect traffic.
27:47Again, obviously a major scene here at the UCLA Medical Center.
27:516.30, they loaded the body of Michael Jackson onto that helicopter.
27:54And in just a couple of minutes,
27:55they're making their final approach now to County USC Medical Center.
27:58In the skies over Los Angeles,
28:00news crews track the helicopter carrying Michael Jackson's body.
28:03In death, the king of pop,
28:05just as much a figure of fascination as he was in life.
28:07In a plain white body bag,
28:10Jackson was transported into the care of the Los Angeles coroner.
28:13He will establish how exactly it all came to an end.
28:17At this point, we have not and will not determine cause of death.
28:22The autopsy will probably last several hours,
28:25and we will be out to give an update.
28:27The cameras had even been there as the ambulance took Jackson from his home,
28:33as paramedics fought to save his life.
28:35Photographers trying to get a shot inside.
28:41Within hours, what was feared had been confirmed.
28:43Upon arriving at the hospital at approximately 1.14 p.m.,
28:51a team of doctors, including emergency physicians and cardiologists,
28:58attempted to resuscitate him for a period of more than one hour,
29:04and they were unsuccessful.
29:06Sisters Janet and Latoya Jackson were also at the hospital.
29:09As fans texted each other for information outside,
29:13for a while, confusion reigned.
29:15I don't know what to believe right now.
29:19I already had a heart attack.
29:21I heard they brought him back.
29:22I heard they couldn't revive him.
29:24I don't know who to believe or who to trust right now.
29:28I just want to know what's happening.
29:30And I love him so much.
29:33And now he's gone.
29:37I can't believe that.
29:38He's not supposed to go.
29:40When confirmation came, fans swarmed to the hospital
29:43to mourn their hero, but also to celebrate his life,
29:47the dance moves and the music.
29:49Because people always told me,
29:51be careful what you do.
29:53Don't go around breaking young girls' hearts.
29:56This is something that is going to be life-changing
29:59that people are going to remember forever.
30:00And it's the day the music died.
30:02This is definitely something that's going to hit our generation forever.
30:05This seems so unreal.
30:07I just cannot believe that this is happening.
30:09Reports that the star have become reliant on prescription drugs
30:12have added more mystery.
30:14The family's lawyer says they were concerned.
30:17Everyone of this family had said to Michael
30:20that this is something which must be controlled.
30:23It must be stopped.
30:24It was to no avail
30:26because it just was not something which he would listen to
30:30and the people around him would not listen to it.
30:33And as a result, nothing was done.
30:36I don't want to point fingers.
30:37I don't know if that is a cause.
30:39We know that Michael used prescription medications
30:42because he was in pain.
30:45Jackson always paid tribute
30:46to some of the most devoted fans in the world.
30:48Those who knew the star well
30:49were clearly shocked at his death.
30:52Paul McCartney, who worked with him, said,
30:54he was a massively talented boy-man with a gentle soul.
30:58His music will be remembered forever
30:59and my memories of our time together will be happy ones.
31:03Madonna added,
31:04I can't stop crying over the sad news.
31:07I've always admired Michael Jackson.
31:09The world has lost one of its greats,
31:11but his music will live on forever.
31:13The one side of Michael that we all knew was
31:16the singing and the dancing.
31:20He was as tough
31:21as he was talented.
31:25The actress, Brooke Shields,
31:26called Jackson an extraordinary friend
31:28and said she was overcome by sadness.
31:30So, too, the man who made him a star.
31:33He was like my son.
31:35One, he had warmth, sensitivity,
31:39and two personalities.
31:43You know, when he was not on stage,
31:44he was loving, respectful, and shy.
31:48When he was on stage,
31:49he was so in charge,
31:52he would not believe that this was the same person.
31:55A showman from his toes to the top of his head.
31:59The vigils spread from the hospital
32:01to the Jackson family home.
32:03These are the people who hope Jackson's legacy
32:06will be the music, not the scandal.
32:08In the sometimes weird world of Michael Jackson,
32:11there were moments of normality for him
32:13and his children.
32:15They are now without a father,
32:17and it seems the end of his extraordinary story
32:19cannot quite be written yet.
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