Michael Jackson autopsy expected Friday

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- An autopsy on entertainer Michael Jackson has been scheduled for Friday and results are expected by afternoon, according to the Los Angeles, California, coroner's office.

Autopsy results due out Friday may shed light into the death of pop star Michael Jackson.

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The "King of Pop," who was preparing for a comeback tour, died Thursday at age 50.
Jackson, under apparent cardiac arrest, was taken from his home by paramedics to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where a team of physicians tried to resuscitate him for more than an hour, said Jackson's brother Jermaine. He said the music idol was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. (5:26 p.m. ET).
Another one of Jackson's six siblings told CNN that he learned of Jackson's death through his manager, Frank Dileo.
"Frank told me that Michael last night was complaining about not feeling well. He called to tell him he wasn't feeling well," Marlon Jackson said. "Michael's doctor went over to see him, and Frank said, 'Marlon, from last night to this morning, I don't know what happened.' When they got to him this morning, he wasn't breathing."
Fire Capt. Steve Ruda told CNN that a 911 call came in from a west Los Angeles residence at 12:21 p.m. Jackson was treated and transferred to the UCLA Medical Center, Ruda said. Watch CNN's Sanjay Gupta discuss Jackson's death »
At the hospital, security guards blocked every entrance to the emergency room. Even hospital staffers were not permitted to enter. A few people stood inside the waiting area, some of them crying.
Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department remained at Jackson's home late Thursday, with some officers providing crowd control outside as fans gathered in surrounding streets. iReport.com: Share your Michael Jackson memories
At one point, three tow trucks arrived at the residence and a silver BMW with Texas license plates was later removed. No reason was given by police.
During a career that began at age 5 singing with his brothers, Jackson had numerous No. 1 hits. "Thriller" is the best-selling album of all time, at an estimated 50 million copies worldwide.
But after dominating the popular music scene for years, Jackson became reclusive and mired in scandals that include molestation charges. He was acquitted after a well-publicized trial in Santa Maria, California, in March 2006.
Last year, Jackson announced a comeback tour that was to start in July. When some of the shows were postponed till next year, rumors spread that the entertainer was weak and suffering from skin cancer.
However, Marlon Jackson said he last saw his younger brother at a May 14 family gathering and he "looked great."
"He was looking well. He was getting ready to go into rehearsals for his tour. I don't know what happened," Marlon Jackson said.
"Janet Jackson is grief-stricken and devastated at the sudden loss of her brother," said her manager, Kenneth Crear. "She is ... flying immediately to California to be with her family."
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A large crowd gathered outside the hospital, according to video footage. Michael Jackson fans across the world reacted with sadness.
Some, including actress Elizabeth Taylor and musician Stevie Wonder, were too distraught to issue statements.
Producer Quincy Jones, who helped Jackson craft his hit albums "Off the Wall" and "Thriller," said, "I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news."
"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," Jones added in a statement.
Jackson's music continues to be heard throughout the world "because he had it all -- talent, grace, professionalism and dedication," Jones said. He called Jackson a consummate entertainer, whose legacy will be felt around the world.
"I've lost my little brother today and part of my soul has gone with him," Jones said.
Berry Gordy, producer and founder of Motown Records, said Jackson's death was "like a bad dream."
"As a kid, Michael was always beyond his years. He was an innovator. He was a genius at what he did," Gordy said. "He had a knowingness about him. At 9 years old, when I first started working with him, he seemed to me like he had been here before. He was just so knowledgeable about life."
Lisa Marie Presley, Jackson's former wife, said she was "shocked and saddened" by his death.
"My heart goes out to his children and his family," she said.
Jackson is survived by his three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.

Feds lend Tesla $465 million to build electric car

WIRED) -- The Obama Administration will lend Tesla Motors $465 million to build an electric sedan and the battery packs needed to propel it. It's one of three loans totaling almost $8 billion that the Department of Energy awarded Tuesday to spur the development of fuel-efficient vehicles.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk behind the wheel of a Model S electric car in March.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that the Department of Energy is also lending $5.9 billion to Ford to retool factories in five states. Nissan will receive $1.6 billion to refurbish a factory in Tennessee to produce electric cars.
The loans are the first awarded under the $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program to help automakers offset the cost of retooling to build eco-friendlier cars that are at least 25 percent more fuel-efficient than 2005 models.
"We have a historic opportunity to help ensure that the next generation of fuel-efficient cars and trucks are made in America," the president said in a statement. "These loans -- and the additional support we will provide through the Section 136 programs -- will create good jobs and help the auto industry to meet and even exceed the tough fuel-economy standards we've set while helping retain our competitive edge in the world market."
The Obama Administration announced last month that it is raising fuel-efficiency standards from the current average of 27.5 miles per gallon to 35 miles per gallon by 2016. Chu said the loans will help automakers achieve that goal.
"The American innovation machine, when it revs up, is the greatest in the world," he said during a press conference at Ford's headquarters in Detroit, according to the Detroit News. "Today, we're putting that engine into gear."
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Tesla said its share of the pie will help get the Model S sedan (pictured) on the road by the end of 2011.
"We are honored to receive one of the first loan awards in this program," company CEO Elon Musk said. "I'm confident we'll put the money to very productive use. We look forward to producing the Model S."
Tesla has long been counting on the loan to help it build the sedan it unveiled in March and had been in discussions with the agency for about nine months. It had sought $350 million to retool a factory to build the car and $100 million to manufacture battery packs and drivetrain components. Those packs and components will be used in vehicles built by Tesla and other automakers  most notably Daimler, which recently bought nearly 10 percent of Tesla to jump-start development of the Smart EV.
Musk said the money will be disbursed on a monthly basis. Repayment will commence within one year of the start of Model S production and the loan must be repaid by 2022.
"There are incentives for early repayment," he said, without elaborating, "and I suspect we will have repaid the loan well before 2022."
There's still no word on where the factories will be located, but Musk said they most likely will be in California. An announcement could come as early as next month, he said. As for the Model S, Musk said it could share components with Mercedes sedans now that Daimler has a stake in Tesla.
"There's a possibility the car will use a Mercedes-derived suspension and other components such as safety systems, crash structures, interior fit and finish," he said. "There are a number of areas where Daimler can be quite helpful."
Musk said Daimler's investment in Tesla coupled with the federal loan and revenue from the Roadster leaves the company "in pretty good shape" financially. Tesla has gotten the cost of goods for the Roadster  the materials and labor cost to build the car  down to about $80,000 and the company expects to be profitable in July, he said. The company has delivered more than 500 Roadsters and received more than 1,200 refundable deposits  at $5,000 apiece  for the Model S.
Ford was the big winner, walking away with a promise of $5.9 billion in loans through 2011. The automaker says it will use the money to retool 11 factories in five states to build more-efficient gasoline engines and electric vehicles. It also will use the money to convert two truck factories to automobile production. Ford has said it will have an EV by 2011, and it plans to spend $14 billion on advanced technology during the next seven years. It expects to begin drawing on the government loan within 35 days.
"This is the kind of partnership that will help American manufacturing not just survive, but thrive," company president Alan Mulally said after Chu announced the loans at Ford's headquarters in Detroit, according to the Detroit Free Press. "Ford intends to be the fuel-economy leader."
Nissan is charging ahead with plans to put an electric car in showrooms next year. Although the first cars will be built in Japan, Nissan says it will use the $1.6 billion loan to retool a factory in Smyrna, Tennessee, to take over production by 2012. Construction on the factory is slated to begin by the end of the year. Nissan says the factory will employ 1,300 people and build 50,000 to 100,000 cars at full production.

Bodies of Air France captain, steward foundStory Highlights

(CNN) -- Search crews have recovered the bodies of the flight captain and a steward from the Air France flight that crashed off the coast of Brazil.

A Brazilian diver floats on wreckage of Flight 447 earlier this month. The search for more debris continues.

The two flight members are among the victims that have been identified, Air France said in a statement Thursday.
About a dozen victims have been identified among roughly 50 bodies recovered from the crash of Flight 447, which killed 228 people on June 1, authorities in Brazil said this week.
Crews continue to search for bodies, wreckage and flight-data recorders that apparently rest deep on the ocean floor. Data from the recorders may be crucial in helping investigators determine what caused the plane to crash. Watch more wreckage recovered from crash »
Autopsies conducted on some of the 50 bodies found so far show they suffered broken bones, including arms, legs and hips, Brazilian authorities have told French investigators, according to Paul-Louis Arslanian, head of the French accident investigation board.
Such injuries suggest that the plane broke apart in midair, experts have said.
Asked about that theory, Air France Chief Executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told France's RTL radio this week that he would not go that far.
"What I know is that the investigators would like to know the causes of death," Gourgeon said. "That knowledge of causes of death will better clarify what exactly happened. Were the victims killed before the impact, or during impact?"
Searchers have found dozens of pieces of debris in the water and think they know the general location of the wreck, but Arslanian said this week that there is a chance the entire aircraft may never be found.
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Air France plans to pay relatives of the victims an initial compensation equivalent to about $24,500, or 17,500 euros, for each victim, Gourgeon has said.
The airliner said this week that it has been in touch with about 1,800 relatives of the people who died when the Airbus A330 crashed, but that it has been difficult tracing the relatives of all 228 victims
"The modern world is different and we often have only a cell phone, and as you can imagine, this cell phone is unfortunately in the aircraft," Gourgeon said. "So we probably (will put in) more hours to access all the relatives."

Egyptian tycoon, ex-cop face executionStory Highlights

(CNN) -- An Egyptian court on Thursday confirmed the death sentences of a business tycoon and a former police officer convicted of killing rising Lebanese pop star Suzanne Tamim.

Hisham Talaat Moustafa, a real estate mogul, has been found guilty of Suzanne Tamim's murder.

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In a case that has captivated Egypt and the region because of the fame of the victim and one of the defendants, a judge sentenced to death real estate mogul Hisham Talaat Moustafa and former officer Muhsen el Sukkari last month. Tamim's body was found stabbed, with her throat slit, in her apartment in the United Arab Emirates in July 2008.
The court's latest decision came after a review of the sentence by Egypt's grand mufti, the country's highest religious official. Because the two men were sentenced under Islamic law, it is widely expected they will be hanged.
The court usually seeks to get the Mufti's "advice only on any death sentence, according to the law," a legal source in Cairo told CNN.
"However, the Mufti's advice to the court is not binding at all," added the source, who asked not to be named.
"Even if the Mufti was against the death sentence, that will not have any effect on the judge's decision, who will have the final say," the source said.
Since his 2003 appointment as grand mufti, Sheikh Ali Gomaa has received about 480 cases from the court that included death sentences. He supported the judge's decision in 478 and opposed twice, but the rule was implemented according to the court conviction.
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Moustafa's lawyer previously told reporters that he would appeal the conviction, saying there was "a 1 million percent guarantee" the sentence would be overturned.
Prosecutors alleged Moustafa, a parliament member for the ruling National Democratic Party, paid el Sukkari $2 million to kill Tamim.
During the trial, Moustafa's lawyer told CNN his client loved the singer but could not take Tamim as a second wife because his family objected.
Polygamy is legal in Egypt, and it's not unusual for men such as Moustafa, a married father of three, to take on additional wives.
Prosecutors have said Tamim's death was a "means of taking revenge" but have not elaborated.
Moustafa and el Sukkari claim the prosecution's evidence could have been fabricated or tampered with by UAE authorities and should not be used against them.
Although Tamim was killed in the UAE, the Egyptian judiciary tried the case in Cairo because the accused were arrested in Egypt.

Sexual assaults on the high seas come under scrutiny

(CNN) -- It's the midst of peak cruising season, and millions of travelers are eagerly embarking on exotic vacations without thinking they could ever fall victim to a crime at sea.

Cunard Cruise Lines' Queen Mary 2 sails into Sydney. Cunard says it has kits to aid rape investigations aboard.

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But sexual and physical assaults were the leading crimes committed onboard cruise ships in recent years, the FBI says. In March, a 42-year-old female passenger aboard the Coral Princess says a Portuguese crew member sexually assaulted her during a cruise, according to an FBI affidavit.
The woman met the 38-year-old crew member for drinks in a dining room on the cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises, which did not respond to CNN's request for comment. The friendly encounter turned terrifying, the woman told the FBI, after her assailant blocked the doors to the room, trapping her inside, and forced her to perform oral sex.
"Travelers have this idea they are in a special cocoon where nothing bad can happen," says Charles Lipcon, a leading maritime lawyer in Miami, Florida, who is representing the alleged victim from the Coral Princess and has handled more than a hundred cruise assault cases in the last decade. "That's just not true."
Addressing cruise ship violence has become an important issue for lawmakers as the $22 billion cruise industry proliferates. About 12 million North Americans will set sail on a cruise this year, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, a trade organization representing the industry.
Cruise crimes have made headlines in recent years, like the Connecticut newlywed who vanished from his Royal Caribbean honeymoon cruise in 2005. Last Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard began searching for a passenger who went missing on a Carnival cruise ship.
Though cruise companies don't display crime statistics to the public, they are required to report serious incidents involving Americans to the FBI and U.S. Coast Guard. Salvador Hernandez, deputy assistant director at the FBI in 2007, told lawmakers that the FBI opened 184 cases on crimes that occurred aboard cruise ships between 2002 and early 2007.
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The cruise industry points out that those numbers are small when compared with the number of passengers served by the industry -- about 64 million in that same five-year period.
Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Rep. Doris Matsui of California have introduced the 2009 Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act, which requires the cruise industry to publicly report crimes and improve safety on board. It mandates peepholes and security latches in cabins. This week, several victims of cruise crimes will meet with senators to discuss the issue.
The cruise industry says that it is "working closely" with lawmakers on the bill and that passenger safety is a top priority.
Royal Caribbean International, the second-largest cruise vacation company, has closed-circuit television cameras in hundreds of public locations on its ships, according to the company's Web site. Cunard Lines, which operates luxury cruises, wouldn't share security details with CNN but said its ships carry kits that investigators need to gather evidence of rape.
The number of attacks on ships is probably higher than reported, sexual assault experts say, because rape victims are afraid to come forward on an isolated ship with perpetrators in close quarters.
They also say cruise travelers are at a higher risk for attack because of readily available alcohol and a partying mentality on the vessels, which haul an average of 2,000 passengers each from across the globe. Of the attacks investigated by the FBI, a majority involved the use of alcohol.
Cruise lines disagree, saying people are safer on the ships than they are in their own communities. The companies provide 24-hour security and screen passengers' belongings.
"The cruise ship is a closed community," said Michael Crye, executive vice president of the Cruise Lines International Association. Security officers "have absolute access to everyone onboard," he said, because each person has been documented before boarding the ship.
Authorities say passengers should report crimes immediately to a cruise line security officer or staff member on board. There are no U.S.-mandated "cruise police," nor are FBI agents assigned to cruise ships.
"It's unclear what you should do when you're on a ship," says Evelyn Fortier, vice president of policy at the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. "1-800 numbers don't always work when you're at sea."
Some attorneys say the security and medical authorities aboard the ships may be biased in their investigations.
"The cruise workers are paid by the cruise lines. Do you honestly think the cruise ship doctor will be favorable toward the victim?" says Michael Ehline, a maritime attorney in Los Angeles, California.
Vessels need independent, third-party security officers and cruise doctors, critics say. They point out that even the airline industry has federal air marshals on planes with international itineraries.
Attorneys for the victims also point out that FBI statistics on cruise crime show that in nearly half of the incidents, a crew member is the suspect, which may deter victims from coming forward because they don't know which employees to trust.
The Cruise Lines International Association says on its Web site that the industry's work force is prescreened by the U.S. State Department, which is responsible for issuing work visas to foreigners working on ships that stop in U.S. ports.
Many passengers are unaware that being on a cruise ship is equivalent to being in a foreign country. Vessels are typically foreign-flagged from countries like Liberia and Panama.
Cruise lines aren't obligated to follow the crime investigation and reporting guidelines that law enforcement would follow on U.S. soil, attorneys say. Filing lawsuits can also be difficult when the crime occurs in foreign waters because the trials can sometimes take place in courts abroad.
"They [cruise lines] will commit to nothing," says Ken Carver, president of International Cruise Victims, a nonprofit group. "They will sell you the tickets," he says, "and then fail to take responsibility."
Carver's daughter disappeared on a Celebrity cruise ship in 2004. He filed a lawsuit in 2005 accusing the cruise company of hiding information about her disappearance. The suit was settled a year later.
Some attorneys question the training of private cruise ship security officers.
Laurie Dishman, 38, testified before Congress that she was raped aboard a Royal Caribbean ship three years ago. She said cruise staff instructed her to gather evidence, so she and a friend went to the cabin where the assault occurred and piled her clothes and bed sheets into plastic bags they were given.
"We didn't know what we were doing," says Dishman. She said she was later told by authorities there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute a criminal case. "It makes me frustrated looking back that the cruise lines didn't handle evidence properly."
Dishman's suit against Royal Caribbean was settled in early 2008. She says she can't disclose the amount.
Cruise industry officials say their security officers are trained in how to preserve evidence. Carnival Cruise Lines, the largest cruise company in the world, says its security personnel must have previous security, military or law enforcement experience.
Even if evidence is gathered properly by cruise security, the time that elapses between the crime and FBI involvement may threaten the integrity of an investigation. In the Coral Princess case in March, three days passed before the ship docked in California and FBI agents could step aboard.
That incident, however, was handled in exemplary fashion, say attorneys and even some cruise line critics. The evidence was sufficient enough for the U.S. District Attorney's Office in the Central District of California to charge the alleged offender, Jorge Manuel Teixeira, with aggravated sexual abuse.
Teixeira is pleading not guilty to the federal offense, which carries a possible life sentence. Teixeira says the encounter was consensual, according to his attorney.

Does Apple still need Steve Jobs?Story Highlights

(CNN) -- Apple is known for building excitement over its latest gadgets, but the company's next closely watched event has nothing to do with a product. Instead, anticipation is growing over the scheduled return of Apple's charismatic CEO.

Steve Jobs looks gaunt at an event in October. He began a leave of absence three months later.

It's been almost six months since Steve Jobs -- who co-founded Apple and has thrilled the public by launching consumer tech favorites such as the iPhone and the iPod -- announced that he was taking a medical leave of absence until the end of June.
As that time quickly approaches, Apple fans, investors and observers have been gripped by questions.
Will he come back as promised? If so, in what capacity? And how crucial is he still to the company's success?
Jobs, who is a pancreatic cancer survivor, revealed at the beginning of this year that a hormone imbalance caused the considerable weight loss that had some speculating whether his cancer had returned. See a timeline of Jobs' life and career »
"The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I've already begun treatment," Jobs wrote in a letter addressed to the "Apple community" on January 5.
"But, just like I didn't lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this spring to regain it."
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There had been little news since. But that all changed Saturday when The Wall Street Journal reported Jobs, 54, had a liver transplant about two months ago in Tennessee. He has been recovering well, but may work part time for several weeks when he returns to work, the newspaper reported. Fortune: Inside Steve Jobs' liver transplant
The fact that the article appeared just hours after Apple began selling its new iPhone 3GS had some bloggers questioning the timing of the report, with some suggesting that the excitement over the rollout helped draw attention away from the revelations about Jobs' health.
Apple didn't comment on The Wall Street Journal report directly, answering media questions with the same statement.
"Steve continues to look forward to returning to Apple at the end of June, and there is nothing further to say," said Apple spokesman Steve Dowling.
Dowling declined to provide a specific date for Jobs' return or say whether Jobs would be making any public appearances or statements.
'Iconic figure'
"This feels like they're clearing the way for his return. But it wouldn't be out of character for Apple to let the deadline slip a bit," said Philip Elmer-DeWitt, who writes the Apple 2.0 blog for Fortune magazine and has been covering the company since 1982.
"The real issue of Steve coming back is: How much does the company need him?"
How much, indeed?
Investors have been painfully aware of how any development regarding Jobs' health -- real or rumor -- can affect Apple's stock price. But experts say Apple has been taking steps to ensure that its fortunes are not linked with Jobs taking an active role in the company. Watch how Jobs' health has affected Apple
"He's an iconic figure that everybody wants around, he's the world's greatest salesman and that's irreplaceable," said Gene Munster, a senior research analyst at Piper Jaffray who has been covering Apple since 2003.
"But as far as the product direction and the product quality, the road map for the next five years is already in place [at Apple]."
Munster described Jobs as a visionary and someone with the ability to figure out what the next big thing is. But he said Piper Jaffray's "Buy" recommendation on the company's stock wouldn't change even if Jobs doesn't come back, based on the strength of products such as the iPhone.
Still, few companies have been so closely associated with their CEOs. Munster likened the situation to Henry Ford and the car company he founded at the beginning of the 20th century. Elmer-DeWitt said it could be compared to Walt Disney and the entertainment giant he created.
Jobs is also much more than just a CEO. His knack for developing must-have gadgets, his signature black turtlenecks and dramatic delivery during product launches have made him a cultural icon beyond Silicon Valley. He was even hilariously impersonated on "Saturday Night Live."
Smaller role
Observers say Apple and Jobs himself have made efforts in recent years to "wean" the public off his presence, such as including other people onstage with him during events and de-emphasizing his role.
"Last year a lot of pundits were [saying that] if Steve Jobs left the company, the company would just immediately fall into ruin," said Daniel Eran Dilger, a contributing editor for AppleInsider.com.
"And what's interesting is after he went on leave, and he's been gone for six months now, the company has had a couple of major announcements and events and has gone on fine."
When he began his leave of absence, Jobs put Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook in charge of the company's day-to-day operations. If Jobs decides to step down, Cook can take over and probably will, Elmer-DeWitt said.
"There are lots of smart people at Apple and most people have sort of accepted the idea that ... Jobs trained an executive team to operate the company without him," he added.
"And that his DNA, the thing that makes Apple different from all the other companies, has been baked into the leadership team and that the company will do fine."
What may be lacking years down the road if Jobs retires or leaves is his "X-factor" and his unique stamp on every little piece of design.

Toyota 'prince' takes wheel of automaker at a crossroadsStory Highlights

CNN) -- The "prince" is taking the wheel of Toyota as the world's largest automotive manufacturer stands at a crossroads.

Putting a Toyoda at the helm sends a "back to basics" message for the firm, an analyst says.

Akio Toyoda, the grandson of company founder Kiichiro Toyoda, was formally approved as president of Toyota Motor Corp. on Tuesday by the company board. Toyoda, 53, has been with the company for 24 years.
Nicknamed "the prince" by Japanese media, Toyoda is the first family member to run the company in 14 years. (His grandfather slightly altered the family name when christening the company "Toyota," which has eight brush strokes in Japanese -- a fortuitous number).
Toyoda takes the helm of a company whose current fortunes are decidedly mixed. Last year, Toyota became the world's largest carmaker, overtaking General Motors for the first time. Unlike GM, which filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month, Toyota was ahead of the eco-wave by becoming the industry leader in hybrid cars, led by Prius.
But like other global automakers, Toyota has been hit by the financial crisis, posting its first ever loss annual loss of $4.5 billion for the year ending March 31; the company lost $7.7 billion alone in the first three months of this year.
The company's perch on the industry's pole position also faces a long-term threat due to its relatively weak market share in emerging markets such as China, Russia and Brazil, analysts said.
"Toyota's current strengths are its technological improvements, which you see with the Toyota Prius with hybrid cars," said Yoshiaki Kawano, an automotive analyst with CSM Worldwide in Tokyo.
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In Japan, the company has 180,000 orders for its new Prius model, which sells for below $20,000. "They cut the price by $3,500 to remain competitive," Kawano said.
"On the other hand, the company's weakness is dependence on the North American region and Japan," he added. "For getting into developing markets like China, they came in slower than Volkswagen and GM."
Putting the wheel back in the hands of the founding family sends a "back to basics" message for the company, Kawano said. "He's a car guy ... he's not going to get the company involved in selling houses and motorboats," he said.
Strategically, it is an ideal time to put the relatively young Toyoda in place, Kawano said.