The finding makes it more likely criminal charges will be filed against the doctor who was with the pop star when he died.

The official says the coroner determined a fatal combination of drugs was given to Jackson hours before he died in his rented Los Angeles mansion on June 25. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the findings have not been publicly released.

Forensic tests found the powerful anesthetic propofol in Jackson’s system along with two sedatives, the official says.

Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson’s personal physician, is the target of a manslaughter probe headed by Los Angeles police.

Fernandez, 18, inherited the Miss Universe crown from another Venezuelan, Dayana Mendoza, who won the competition in 2008.

She bested young women from 83 countries (not 84 as earlier reported), including Bianca Manalo, the Philippines’ bet to the contest this year.

Of the 83 women, those who made it to the top five were the contestants from Dominican Republic, who is first runner-up, followed by Kosovo, Australia, and Puerto Rico.

The official decision was made at the Atlantis Resort by a 12-person judging panel that included Andre Leon Talley, the editor-at-large for American Vogue, actor Dean Cain, and supermodel Valeria Mazza.

The main event Sunday was hosted by Celebrity Apprentice star Claudia Jordan and Access Hollywood co-anchor Billy Bush, and included performances by rapper Flo Rida, singers David Guetta and Kelly Rowland, and reality star Heidi Montag.

Miss Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez photos

Both American and British sailors have passed on legends of getting pierced as an initiation for having passed an important latitude or longitude, (i.e. Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn or the International Date Line, etc.). There is enough folklore and photos to substantiate the old tales of “sailors with pierced nipples adding links each time the sailor crossed the equator.”2 However, the adding of links seems to be a lesser known practice. Additionally, there exists an abundance of sailor stories for earlobe piercing. Since the turn of the century, sailors such as Le Captain Ringman or The Great Omi, heavily tattooed and pierced, would sometimes reenter mainland society as sideshow human oddities.

The 1950s and ’60s were a time for self-exploration and sowed the seeds of the modern day body modification and S/M communities. Men such as Fakir Musafar (Rowland Loomis) and Jim Ward compelled to pierce their own nipples, bravely figured out their procedures in an information vacuum.3

Let’s count our blessings, times have changed!

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Jackson gathered with about 50 members of his family for dinner at an Indian restaurant a few weeks before he died, Taj Jackson, the 36-year-old son of Tito Jackson, said outside a courtroom during a hearing Friday.

That night was the last time he saw his uncle, who “was just enjoying being with the family.” He said they spoke only of the future.

“He had his next chapter mapped out,” Taj Jackson said. “He wanted to do this (tour) and get on to the next chapter. The last words he said to me were, ‘We’re gong to do film after this.’” He said Jackson was interested in directing.

Taj Jackson said he was one of the family members who argued against burying the singer at his Neverland estate because after his trial on child molestation charges, Jackson came to hate the place. He remembered spending idyllic times there as a child, but after the trial, “it destroyed the magic.”

“Neverland was never an option to us,” he said. “It brought so much pain to him.”

Taj said that in his last years, Jackson had few people he could trust and sometimes turned to his nephew for assistance.

“He really had an innocent heart,” he said, “and that was something people took advantage of.”

Taj Jackson took the stand Friday at hearing to determine whether a proposed deal to display his uncle’s memorabilia could go forward between the estate and concert promoter AEG live. His testimony was meant to bolster his grandmother’s opposition to the deal, but a judge approved it later Friday.

It was suddenly discovered that the entertainment King’s ordeal is not the only victim of American highhandedness. All sorts of ultra-patriots, went out of the way to condemn to the “humiliation” suffered by the great Indian icon. The minister for information and broadcasting who has assumed the role of the guardian of culture went to the extent of wanting ‘tit-for-tat’ to billionaire visitors from US.

Before running like headless chickens any further, these worthies should just ponder one hypothetical question. Suppose a reigning Hollywood celebrity such as Tom Cruise or Johnny Depp makes a trip to say Hyderabad or Bangalore for a “cultural show.” Supposing the organisers happen to be under the radar of security agencies, believed to be connected with a front of the “D Company.” It is well known that Bollywood celebrities die to star in such events. Assume that the international star claims he came with his luggage missing. On top of it, presume that he creates a big scene, threatening to call the embassy guys or even some US Senator! Would he be pestered by officials for autographs and asked to walk the red carpet, waiving any security or will he be shown his place?

It now appears that such was the scenario at Newark airport. Lake County South Asian Entertainment Inc, the company owned by a London-based businessman Farhath Hussain and his Chicago-based brother Altaf Hussain, it is learnt, is under scrutiny for suspected tax evasion and underworld links. The “organisers” whom Khan wanted to contact before being inspected happen to the Hussain outfit.

Bollywood showbiz events in the US, before Lake County, were controlled by Elite Entertainment. Its boss Vijay Taneja was convicted in a mortgage fraud and had to wind up in 2008. With such “credentials” to boot, no wonder, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) refused to let the superstar walk through. To make matters, anyone who arrives without the baggage booked along with him is mandated to be further investigated. The royal air worn by the “king,” noisily exhorting New Delhi VIPs and embassy officials to intervene and apply pressure, upped lingering doubts about his presence in the country that witnessed 9/11 catastrophe. It looks like every “disrespectful” question probing his sponsors had some rationale and the ultra-patriots may have to hang their heads in shame.

Ironically, a “light-hearted” remark of the superstar after undergoing the “ordeal” has escaped the notice of the ultra sensitive women’s right brigade of India. When asked whether he was such a VVIP to get offended at being screened, he answered in the negative saying that he could “frisk” Angelina in India anytime he wanted to. The grace shown by California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to his poor cousin from Bollywood is worth noting here. Despite the display of unprofessional responses when Khan had to be inconvenienced inevitably, Schwarzenegger is understood to have extended him an invitation to visit Hollywood in September 2009.

For the record, the Austrian-American billionaire is a real-life bodybuilder, whose Terminator itself would have grossed more than all SRK movies put together. He doesn’t accept the Governor’s salary worth close to Rs one crore per year.

SRK hasn’t yet commented whether or not he would accept the invitation of the second term Governor of California, which has a GDP that is one-and-a-half times that of all 1.2 billion people of India. If he does land in Los Angeles at the invitation of the Governor, he sure will not be asked the “bizarre” questions he had to face as the guest of Hussain brothers! And that has nothing to do with discrimination against Muslims, browns, etc! The least that Sharukh can do to salvage some of his credibility – and of crazy Indians who cheered him all the way – is to tender an unconditional apology to CBP for all the unfair accusations leveled on his behalf.

The man charged with Jasmine Fiore’s murder, reality TV show contestant Ryan Alexander Jenkins, has been on the run since reporting her missing the evening of Aug. 15. Her nude body had been found that morning, stuffed in a bloodstained suitcase in a trash bin in Buena Park, an Orange County city about 20 miles southeast of Los Angeles, but authorities wouldn’t be able to identify her for a few more days.

Detectives tracked the serial number on the implants because they could not use fingerprints or dental records, said Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Authorities believe Jenkins, a contestant on VH1’s “Megan Wants a Millionaire,” may have fled more than 1,000 miles to reach his native Canada.

VH1 cancelled the show, in which wealthy young men tried to win over a materialistic blonde, network spokesman Brett Henne said Friday. The network previously said the show was postponed after three episodes.

Alexander also was a participant in an as-yet-unaired competitive reality series, “I Love Money 3.” A VH1 spokesman said no decision has been made on whether or not to run the show.

Some Canadian media reported late Friday that Jenkins had been taken off a plane at Toronto’s Pearson International airport. However, Peel Regional Police Staff Sgt. Keith Brodie told The Associated Press that a gentleman resembling Jenkins who was taken off a flight from Vancouver is not him.

Buena Park police Lt. Steve Holliday said Jenkins, a native of Calgary, Alberta, is possibly armed with a handgun. Prosecutors recommended bail of $10 million upon his arrest and said he had significant resources to finance his flight.

Earlier Friday, prosecutors said the U.S. Coast Guard had briefly pursued a boat Wednesday off the coast of Washington state that was registered to Jenkins, but the Coast Guard disputed that claim late Friday.

The Coast Guard said it was contacted Wednesday by the Customs and Border Patrol and the Royal Mounted Police to assist in the search, but it was the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office that found the boat in Point Roberts, Wash.

Canadian authorities have since ended a massive border search using helicopters, ground police and dogs but continued their investigation, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Duncan Pound said. Tips in Canada were “on the low end,” he said.

Jenkins is a real estate developer and investor who is also the son of a prominent Canadian architect. On the reality show, he said he had between $1 million and $2.5 million, said Tom Hession, chief inspector for the U.S. Marshals Service’s regional fugitive task force.

Hession declined to say if authorities were watching Jenkins’ assets as part of their investigation.

“When we’re looking for someone who’s a fugitive, we try to find out everything we can about that person,” he said. “We’re going to turn every rock over.”

Fiore and Jenkins were briefly married in a quickie Las Vegas wedding in March and had been fighting in recent months. Prosecutors said the two checked into a San Diego hotel on Aug. 13, and Jenkins checked out the next morning. Fiore was not seen alive again.

Fiore’s mother, Lisa Lepore, told the AP her daughter had the marriage annulled in May. However, there were no court records of an annulment in either Clark County, Nev., where the couple was married, or in Los Angeles County, where they most recently lived.

Court records show Jenkins was charged in June in Clark County, Nev., with a misdemeanor count of “battery constituting domestic violence” for allegedly hitting Fiore in the arm and was set to be tried in December.

Neal Tomlinson, a partner at the law firm representing Jenkins in that case, declined to comment.

In his hometown of Calgary, Jenkins was sentenced to 15 months probation in January 2007 on an unspecified assault charge.

Alain Hepner, Jenkins’ attorney in that matter, said as part of the judgment the judge also ordered counseling for anger management, domestic violence and sexual addiction. Hepner said there was also a civil restraining order.

In Calgary, Paulina Chmielecka said she was engaged to Jenkins for 2 1/2 years and never saw a violent side.

“The guy was a great guy, as far as I knew he was very happy,” she told the Canadian TV network CTV. “In our relationship, we had our fights — everyone does — but I would never say, ‘Well, he could have murdered someone.’ There’s no way.”

A resume posted on the professional networking site LinkedIn.com showed that Jenkins has a license to fly commercial airplanes and has dabbled in several development enterprises and investments since graduating from college in 1999. Those include Townscape Development Inc., a condo project undertaken in Calgary with his father, architect Daniel Jenkins.

The elder Jenkins did not return phone or e-mail messages at his office.

After taping for “Megan Wants a Millionaire” finished in early March, Jenkins met Fiore in a Las Vegas casino and the two got married, said Lepore, Fiore’s mother. Court records show the date of marriage as March 18.

But in May “they had a big blowout” and fought because he was jealous of her ex-boyfriends, Lepore said.

Jenkins then went to Mexico to do another reality TV show but struggled to get Fiore back when he returned.

“He convinced her during that month that he was really the guy for her,” Lepore said. “He wrote poems and stories, and prayed, and (claimed he) had this huge spiritual awakening.”

Britain has condemned the scenes of jubilation in Tripoli at the return of bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi and has flatly denied there was any trade deal linked to his release.

But opposition politicians say comments from Gadhafi’s son — who said the release was often brought up during trade talks — should be examined.

“It is very important, I think, for the reputation of our institutions of justice that it is made clear beyond any doubt that this was not connected with some political trade,” David Lidington, the opposition Conservative Party’s spokesman on foreign affairs, told the BBC.

Gadhafi hugged the only man convicted of the 1988 bombing that killed 270 people — many of them American college students — in a meeting Friday after al-Megrahi’s return home late Thursday. Al-Megrahi kissed the Libyan leader’s hand as the cameras rolled.

Libyan television showed pictures of Gadhafi singling out British Prime Minister Gordon Brown by name, as well as “the Queen of Britain, Elizabeth, and Prince Andrew, who all contributed to encouraging the Scottish government to take this historic and courageous decision, despite the obstacles.”

A Buckingham Palace spokesman on Saturday said the release was “entirely a matter for the Scottish government.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with palace policy.

Gadhafi’s embrace fueled outrage that has simmered since thousands of young men greeted al-Megrahi’s plane at a Tripoli airport Thursday night after he was released from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds. Some threw flower petals as the 57-year-old former Libyan intelligence agent stepped down from the jet.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Friday condemned the scenes as “deeply distressing.” U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer issued a statement Saturday appealing for a U.N. resolution condemning the homecoming.

Miliband says any suggestion that the release was spurred by commercial interests is “a slur both on myself and on the government.”

British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson also expressed offense Saturday, telling reporters that London and Tripoli did not barter over al-Megrahi’s release.

While Britain does have oil interests in Libya — notably a $900 million exploration deal between BP PLC and Libya’s National Oil Co. — they are small compared to investments by Italy’s Eni SpA.

Even so, Gadhafi’s son, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, said al-Megrahi’s release was a constant point of discussion during trade talks. In comments aired on the Libyan television station he owns, he said those discussions stretched back to the government of former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

“In fact, in all the trade, oil and gas deals which I have supervised, you were there on the table,” Gadhafi’s son told al-Megrahi. “When British interests came to Libya, I used to put you on the table.”

Blair, who resigned in 2007, told CNN on Saturday that the Libyans did raise the issue of al-Megrahi, but Blair said he told them he did not have the power to release the bomber.

Britain has walked a fine line — condemning al-Megrahi’s reception without criticizing the decision to free him, which was made in Edinburgh under Scotland’s separate judicial system.

Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill decided to release al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds because the Libyan has prostate cancer and was given only months to live by top British doctors. MacAskill said he rejected an option to release al-Megrahi under a prisoner transfer deal between Britain and Libya.

There have been 30 requests for compassionate release in Scotland over the last decade, 23 of which were approved. Al-Megrahi also was released just in time to arrive home for the beginning of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.

Al-Megrahi is the only man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The explosion of a bomb hidden in the cargo hold killed all 259 people on the plane and 11 on the ground in Britain’s worst terrorist attack.

His trial at a special Scottish court set up in The Netherlands, which came after years of diplomatic maneuvering, was a step toward normalizing relations between the West and Libya, which spent years under U.N. and U.S. sanctions because of the Lockerbie bombing.

Although Libya has accepted formal responsibility for the attack over Scotland, many there see al-Megrahi as an innocent victim scapegoated by the West.

The former Libyan agent has maintained his innocence even as he dropped his appeal so that he could be released from prison.

His lawyers have argued the attack was the result of an Iranian-financed Palestinian plot, and a 2007 Scottish judicial review of al-Megrahi’s case found grounds for an appeal of his conviction.

During an interview published Saturday in the Times of London, al-Megrahi said he had abandoned the appeal to spend what time he had left with his family. He promised to release what he described as evidence that would exonerate him — but offered no details.

“There was a miscarriage of justice,” he was quoted by the Times as saying.

In the interview, al-Megrahi told the Times he understood that the families of many Lockerbie victims were furious, but he appealed for understanding.

“They believe I’m guilty, which in reality I’m not,” he told the Times. “One day the truth won’t be hiding as it is now. We have an Arab saying: The truth never dies.”

The President gave the assurance in his weekly radio address broadcast on Voice of Maldives early yesterday morning.

President Nasheed, in his radio address threw light on to this point, referring to the ongoing speculations that defense cooperation agreement to be signed between India and Maldives may affect the Maldives sovereignty and may pave way for India to control Maldives through military means.

President said due to such speculations, he has met with Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, the deputy leader of main opposition, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) who heads the party’s parliamentary group, and has provided him with a detailed explanation on the matter.

“What I have to say is that the stories are all outright lies, I hope that you all will know that; I know very clearly what the ‘lap’ of protection is, some years back , by the will of God , I was able find out in detail how this country fell in to the lap of British protection in 1887, so I don’t think , that you, the general public , will consider that under my leadership this government will do something that may affect the country’s sovereignty and independence or employ such policies, I assure you that our independence , by will of God, will not feel slightest of tremors, I assure you all , that our future is very bright” President Nasheed said.

In his radio address given this morning, the President also spoke on the country’s fiscal and economic policies. He also spoke on the government’s thinking on providing salaries and Ramazan allowances to government employees as well as on reducing the number of civil servants.

The President said in order to pass on the country to future generations, the country’s fiscal and economic policies, need drastic changes. As part of such changes, the 32,000 people employed by the civil service would be reduced by year 2011, he said.

President Nasheed also focused on the high number of foreigners working in the Maldives. The President noted that approximately, 100,000 foreigners are employed in the country and that a minimum of Rf.4500 is spent on each one of them on a monthly basis. However, if a Maldivian were to employed in the same jobs carried out by expatriates , around Rf. 6500 and Rf.7000 are incurred monthly, causing difficulties for locals to get employed. For these reasons, the government has decided to raise foreign workers to the same levels as the locals, by levying work permit fees and raising the cost of certain types of expatriate jobs, he said. He further expressed hope that this policy will facilitate more jobs for locals and many of the civil servants who are made redundant to find employment in the private sector.

Attorneys for Katherine Jackson, who opposes the deal struck with concert promoter AEG Live, said they will not call Randy Jackson. They will also not call concert promoter Leonard Rowe, who has been a critic of AEG.

The deal, valued at up to $6 million, has been stymied for weeks because of the objections from Mrs. Jackson, the King of Pop’s mother.

The judge sealed the courtroom to hear testimony from several witnesses, including John Branca, a current administrator of Jackson’s estate.Michael Jackson’s nephew, Taj, was expected to testify during Friday’s hearing.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff is expected to rule on whether the proposed memorabilia tour — which AEG wants to open to coincide with a movie based on Jackson’s final rehearsals — is a good deal for the singer’s estate.

Mrs. Jackson has opposed the deal, saying it should have been competitively bid rather than offered exclusively to AEG. Her attorneys say more is at stake than money; they are concerned about Jackson’s lasting legacy.

Kathy Jorrie, an attorney for AEG, expressed frustration Friday morning that Rowe was shown a confidential contract because he was originally listed as an expert witness by Mrs. Jackson, only to be withdrawn.

Screenings of about 16 minutes of the film were being held worldwide Friday to fans who scored free tickets online. “Avatar” was to be shown on 102 screens domestically and 342 screens internationally, across 58 countries in total.

Reactions to the mammoth marketing blitz were rolling in Friday on the Web.

Many were struck by its visual splendor, including Hong Kong moviegoer Jason Poon, who tweeted that it was “probably the best CG and 3-D I’ve ever seen.” James Hilder in London said it was “mega impressive.”

Not all the early reactions were laudatory.

In Tel Aviv, Shay Ringel tweeted after a screening: “What was THAT?! … Everyone walked out (scratching) their heads saying, `Why are we here?’”

Analyzing the trailer, several movie blogs — including Movieline.com and Spout blog — noted the film’s similar appearance to the 2008 animated flop “Delgo” and other science fiction movies.

The screenings were an effort by Cameron and Twentieth Century Fox to build buzz for the film, Cameron’s first since 1997’s “Titanic,” which holds the box-office record, grossing $1.84 billion worldwide.

Studios usually closely guard footage of movies before their release, only occasionally offering glimpses to the public at special events.

“Avatar,” which tells the story of humans who embody avatars to explore the spectacular, but otherwise unsafe, planet of Pandora, will be released in its entirety Dec. 18.