Michael Jackson, the 'King of Pop', is Dead

The 'King of Pop' died of a massive cardiac arrest at the age of fifty.

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LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - The news, old media and new media, are uniform in their headline tonight: Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop" is dead.

It all began today with when an anonymous but reliable source confirmed to the Associated Press that Michael Jackson has died at a Los Angeles hospital. Paramedics had given him CPR in his home where they had found him not breathing.

The circumstances surrounding the event are still not clear, making his death as mysterious as his complicated life plagued with scandals, accusations and ongoing identity issues.

The Los Angeles Fire Department dispatched paramedics to the house around 12:30pm, administered CPR and then took him to the UCLA Medical Center.

All sources now uniformly indicate that he suffered from a massive cardiac arrest in the early afternoon at his Holmby Hills home. There, the uniformity in reporting ends with everyone clamoring to fill in the details as a stunned public responds in disbelief.

Some sources indicated that the performer was dead when the paramedics arrived and they were unable to revive him. Others indicated that there were further efforts at the UCLA hospital upon his arrival.

An unconfirmed report attributed to a member of the Pop Star's staff claimed that the Star had injected Demerol and then began to breathe in a labored manner, slower and slower until all breathing stopped. The same source indicates that they first tried to perform mouth to mouth and then called 911.

Michael Jackson was only 50 years old.

The Entertainment website TMZ was the first to report that the "King of Pop" was dead when other outlets were still reporting that he was hospitalized. The TMZ website stated that "Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. We're told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back."

Credited with helping to launch the extraordinary career of Michael Jackson and having produced his famous "Thriller" album, Music producer Quincy Jones joined the scores of celebrities expressing their shock and grief. He told MSNBC: "'I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news.' He said Jackson 'had it all - talent, grace, professionalism and dedication'. He added: 'I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.'

Michael Jackson is survived by his three children: Prince Michael Jackson I, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince "Blanket" Michael Jackson II.

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