Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton revealed this morning during a live radio interview that despite days of plans indicating otherwise, the coffin containing the body of the late King of Pop Michael Jackson will be taken from the earlier private funeral at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills to the Staples Center, where it will be on stage during the memorial event.* more ›

A lot of people wouldn't be caught dead in downtown LA around midnight. But to catch a glimpse of the dead? That's a whole different story. One of several dozen fans standing on the corner of Olympic and Figueroa checked her iPhone and squealed when TMZ reported that Michael Jackson's body may be brought to the Staples Center for today's memorial service, even though she didn't have tickets. more ›

Tomorrow morning's public memorial service for Michael Jackson has not only been an epic ticketing drama and financial burden, but will also impact how vehicle and public transit traffic moves--or, rather, doesn't move--through the streets of Downtown Los Angeles tomorrow. more ›

Details about the Michael Jackson memorial event tomorrow have been kept under wraps, but the Jackson family has just come forward with a list of people who they expect to be participating in the highly anticipated service, according to KTLA. As of now, "the list includes family friend Ron Boyd; Kobe Bryant; Mariah Carey; Andrae Crouch Choir; Berry Gordy; Jennifer Hudson; ``Britain's Got Talent'' finalist Shaheen Jafargholi; Magic Johnson; Martin Luther King III; Bernice A. King; John Mayer; Lionel Richie; Smokey Robinson; the Rev. Al Sharpton; Brooke Shields; Pastor Lucious Smith; Usher; and Stevie Wonder." Prior to this public memorial, which will be broadcast live on all three major US TV networks, the King of Pop will be laid to rest in a private service at Forest Lawn in Hollywood Hills. Jackson's ex, Debbie Rowe, mother to his two eldest children, will not be in attendance at the Staples Center. more ›

1.6 million people signed up to be eligible to win tickets to attend Tuesday's highly anticipated public memorial service for late music icon Michael Jackson, according to MyFoxLA. The Staples Center's website caved under the pressure of the hits several times since the lottery was announced and until the cut off time last night at 6 p.m. local time. Initially the registry was open only to US residents, but soon expanded to allow anyone around the world to sign up for the chance to win a pair of tickets to the event, about which few details are known, save that there will be no funeral procession, and that it will cost the City of Los Angeles a pretty penny to host. more ›

So the City of Los Angeles is going to put their hands deep into the Piggy Bank to pull out the cash needed to foot the bill for Tuesday's public memorial service for Michael Jackson at Staples Center. That means shutting down the streets around LA Live's Downtown "campus" and lots of bucks to pay LAPD officers to serve as security to police the anticipated throngs of crowds. And don't bother showing up if you aren't on the list: "Officials said that there would be no funeral procession and that no one would be allowed inside a large area around Staples unless they had a ticket and a wristband, a media credential or could prove they live or work there," notes the LA Times. more ›