Saturday, August 29, 2009 LOS ANGELES: Michael Jackson's death was declared a homicide by Los Angeles coroners on Friday as they revealed the singer had a lethal cocktail of six different drugs in his body when he died. Ending several weeks of feverish speculation following Jackson's sudden death in Los Angeles on June 25, the county coroner's office issued a brief statement ruling that the superstar's death was unlawful. The statement said that while "acute intoxication" from the powerful anesthetic propofol was the primary cause of death, Jackson, 50, had also suffered from the effects of other drugs in his system. As well as propofol, powerful drugs including lorazepam, midazolam, diazepam, lidocaine and ephedrine were found in Jackson's body. The coroner's statement said police investigators and public prosecutors had ordered that the full toxicology report concerning Jackson be withheld until further notice. Jackson's family welcomed the findings. "The Jackson family again wishes to commend the actions of the coroner, the LAPD and other law enforcement agencies, and looks forward to the day that justice can be served," the family said in a statement. The coroner's announcement will fuel speculation that authorities are likely to charge Jackson's personal physician Conrad Murray in connection with the death. Cardiologist Murray was the last person to see Jackson alive. A lawyer for Murray issued a barbed statement to Friday's announcement, saying the coroner's release "contains nothing new." "For two months we have been hearing the same information, usually from leaks out of the coroner's office," attorney Ed Chernoff said in a statement. "One has to wonder why the coroner felt compelled to release anything at all if the police investigation is not yet complete."
BAGHDAD: Nearly 500 U.S. Army combat engineers who specialize in clearing roads of explosives started shifting to southern Afghanistan."We are probably going to be the beginning of the influx you are going to see to Afghanistan," Lt. Col. Kevin Landers, commander of the Fort Carson, Colo.-based 4th Engineer Battalion, said as crews packed crates and cleaned vehicles for the flight to Kandahar.Obama has ordered 17,000 more U.S. soldiers and Marines to Afghanistan to bolster the 38,000 American troops already battling the resurgent Taliban."We are going to take this footprint out of Iraq," said Landers, whose battalion received word of its reassignment last month just after taking command of clearing roads in Baghdad of bombs and debris.
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