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Nation in brief
Michael Jackson speaks; trial today
By Times wire
Published January 31, 2005
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Fourteen months after a small army of sheriff's deputies entered Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch seeking evidence of alleged lewd acts with a 13-year-old boy, jury selection is set to begin today in California's latest celebrity trial.
With his liberty, his livelihood and what is left of his reputation riding on the outcome, Jackson made a pre-emptive move on Sunday. He released a videotaped statement, approved by the judge, in which Jackson responded to reputed grand jury reports leaked to the media that said his accuser, now 15, had testified that the entertainer groped him and plied him with alcohol two years ago.
On Sunday, Jackson denied the accusations, pleaded for a fair hearing, and predicted that ultimately he would be "acquitted and vindicated."
"In the last few weeks, a large amount of ugly, malicious information has been released into the media about me," Jackson said in the video, which he released on his Web site www.mjjsource.com
Jackson, 46, is expected to be in court on Monday as jury selection begins for a trial that court officials project will last into the summer. Nearly 1,000 reporters, photographers, television technicians and artists have applied for credentials to cover the trial.
Also ...
GEORGIA ICE STORM: More than 168,000 customers had no electricity Sunday in Georgia while crews worked to repair power lines snapped by an ice storm, and Atlanta's airport reopened all its runways as temperatures rose above freezing.
[Last modified February 1, 2005, 18:11:37]
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