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Michael Jackson May Need Lung Transplant

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 22, 2008

Michael Jackson is suffering from a rare lung condition and needs to undergo an emergency transplant operation, according to a report that continues to gain steam.

His normally outspoken publicist hasn't denied the allegations.

The King of Pop may even be fighting for his life, New York Times bestselling biographer Ian Halperin told In Touch magazine and Britain's Sunday Express newspaper.

Halperin, author of such tomes as "Love & Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain" and "Stalking Britney: Under Siege With Britney Spears," said Jackson has been diagnosed with Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, an occasionally fatal genetic condition.

"He's had it for years but it's gotten worse," Halperin told In Touch. "He needs a lung transplant but may be too weak to go through with it."

According to Halperin, Jackson "can barely speak" and is having trouble seeing: "The vision in his left eye is 95 percent gone."

Bunny Changes Ways

Bridget Marquardt may have lived in the Playboy Mansion with Kendra Wilkinson, but she hardly recognizes her former housemate anymore.

"She's doing amazing, she's so in love," Marquardt said of Wilkinson, 23, who recently became engaged to Eagles wide receiver Hank Baskett. "She's changed so much. She's not even the same person. I mean, she is the same, but she's different."

One big difference? "She doesn't flash anymore," said Marquardt, who will be a bridesmaid at Wilkinson's wedding at the Playboy Mansion.

Scottish Lawmaker Salutes AC/DC

Just think: There was a time the lads in heavy-metal band AC/DC were accused of being Satan's spawn by parents across the English-speaking world. Today, they are considered cultural heroes.

Christine Grahame, a member of the Scottish Parliament, has filed a parliamentary motion titled "AC/DC, We Salute You," which calls for official acknowledgment of the group's achievements.

(Though they founded AC/DC in Australia, Angus and Malcolm Young were born in the Scottish city of Glasgow, and former singer Bon Scott was born in Kirriemuir.)

"I think they have long deserved official recognition from their homeland" for their "major musical contribution," Grahame said.

She'll Sing For Big Supper

Rihanna will sing for a president and a cause when she rocks the nation's capital on President-elect Barack Obama's Inauguration Day.

The Grammy winner's performance for the Recording Industry Association of America's Charity Ball will benefit Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization.

Today's Birthdays

Actress Barbara Billingsley is 93. ABC News correspondent Diane Sawyer is 63. Baseball All-Star Steve Garvey is 60. Rapper Luther Campbell is 48. Actor Ralph Fiennes is 46. Singer Jordin Sparks ("American Idol") is 19.

Sources: McClatchy-Tribune, The Associated Press, The New York Daily News

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