Pop star Michael Jackson died from a lethal dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol given in a cocktail of drugs, leading authorities to suspect his doctor of manslaughter, court documents showed on Monday.

An investigation by state and federal agencies have focused on Conrad Murray, Jackson’s personal doctor who was at his bedside the day he died. The findings, contained in a warrant to search Murray’s home and offices, paint a picture of an insomniac pop star who could not sleep without heavy medication.

View the original search warrant below:

Dr. Conrad Murray, the personal doctor to Michael Jackson who was with the King of Pop when he suffered cardiac arrest and died on June 25, has spoken out in a video statement. And you can read about it here. But to watch his own words, click below.  

Will this video do anything to dampen the public interest in Murray that has arisen since the police probe into Jackson’s death? On Monday, an attorney for Jackson’s mother, Katherine, reportedly said she is considering filing a wrongful death lawsuit against Murray. But while police are investigating Jackson’s death and the treatment he received from doctors, they have not formally charged Murray or anyone with any wrongdoing.

La Toya Jackson will not join the cast of hit ABC show “Dancing with the Stars,” because of what she has been going through since her brother Michael Jackson died in June.

“I’ve been approached to do ‘Dancing with the Stars,’” she told celebrity news show Access Hollywood. “The fact of the matter is, I won’t be doing it, simply because of the circumstances that (are) going on at the moment.”

A spokeswoman for “Dancing,” which matches celebrities with professional dancers to compete in the ballroom, said she would not comment on casting decisions.

Reports surfaced in recent days that La Toya Jackson might join “Dancing.” In her interview with Access Hollywood, the singer and close confidant to Michael Jackson said that her 79-year-old mother Katherine “perked up” at news that her daughter might join the show, because she likes it.

While she’s not up for “Dancing,” La Toya said that she would like to join top-rated Fox show “American Idol” as a judge. Producers on the show are said to be looking for a celebrity to replace 1980s pop star Paula Abdul, who announced her departure earlier this month.

(Writing and reporting by Christine Kearney)

As it gears up for a major re-issue of Michael Jackson’s autobiography “Moonwalk,” Harmony Books on Thursday said Motown founder Berry Gordy would write an introduction with his recollections of the singer he helped launch into pop superstardom.

Gordy, who also ushered the likes of Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye into prominence and signed the Jackson 5 to a recording contract in 1968, will share his thoughts on why Michael rose to fame so quickly and his first impressions of the group’s audition, Harmony revealed.

The 79-year-old Gordy said at Jackson’s public memorial in July (pictured at right) that calling Jackson the King of Pop was simply “not good enough.” Instead, Gordy called him “the greatest entertainer that ever lived.”

The book, which was initially edited by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis along with current Harmony vice president and publisher Shaye Areheart, will go on sale Oct. 13 at a price of $25. Areheart will provide an afterword, but in between her and Gordy the story will be all Jackson’s just as originally published in 1988.

The new edition of “Moonwalk” is one of several media projects that have been announced following Jackson’s sudden death due to cardiac arrest on June 25. Columbia Pictures will make a movie with video footage of him rehearsing for a concert only days before his death, and the executors of his state are planning a traveling memorabilia show and have agreed to numerous licensing deals.

Those projects, along with increased interest and sales of Jackson’s old records, are expected to bring hundreds of millions of dollars to his estate. You can read all about it by clicking here and here.

The economy may be showing signs of recovery, but the music industry just keeps getting sicker. On Wednesday, the country duo Sugarland set a dubious new record by debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart with the lowest tally since Nielsen SoundScan started tracking retail sales in May 1991.

The group’s Wal-Mart-exclusive CD/DVD combo pack “Live on the Inside” sold just 76,000 copies during the week ended August 9. The previous record was set in May, when R&B singer Chrisette Michele’s second album “Epiphany” reached the top with 83,000.

Only three other albums have debuted at No. 1 with fewer than 100,000 copies: rapper Fabolous’ “Loso’s Way” last week with 99,000 copies, Johnny Cash’s “American V: A Hundred Highways” in 2006 with 88,000, and the Notorious B.I.G.’s “#1’s” in 2005, also with 99,000.

Michael Jackson actually outsold Sugarland last week with his 1993 set “Number Ones,” the year’s second-best selling album behind Taylor Swift’s 2008 release “Fearless.” His hits set moved 98,000 copies, taking its tally so far this year to about 1.47 million. But “Number Ones” is ineligible for the Billboard 200, which generally ranks only albums less than 18 months old. All current and catalog releases are grouped on Billboard’s Top Comprehensive Albums chart, which Jackson has ruled for six non-consecutive weeks. The Swift album, meanwhile, has sold just over 1.5 million copies.

Sugarland, consisting of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, previously went to No. 1 last August, when the original version of “Love on the Inside” sold 171,000 copies in its second week, enough to rise one place to the top.  

August is traditionally a quiet sales month. The No. 2 album last week, the “Now 31″ multi-artist compilation, rose two places with 45,000 copies, and the country quartet Gloriana debuted at No. 3 with sales of 44,000 copies for its self-titled debut. Billboard reported that overall album sales last week were down 15.7% from the year-ago period; and year-to-date sales are down 14.3%.

During a court hearing on Monday to deal with issues surrounding the guardianship of Michael Jackson’s children and the administration of his estate, one episode stood out from a morass of legal maneuverings, when an attorney representing Jackson’s dermatologist asked to be heard.

Ears pricked up in the courtroom and the level of tension rose, as attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan made his case for why Dr. Arnold Klein deserves a say in health, education and welfare issues related to Jackson’s children.

Klein has been the subject of unconfirmed rumors that he was the sperm donor for Jackson’s two children with nurse Debbie Rowe, who was married to Jackson from 1996 to 1999. The children are Prince, 12, and Paris, 11, while a third child nicknamed Blanket, 7, was carried by a surrogate mother who has never been identified.

But Kaplan did not confirm those rumors, at least not within earshot of the dozens of reporters covering the proceedings. “Legally, your honor, he’s not a presumed parent,” Kaplan told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff

Beckloff said, “What standings does he have in these proceedings, other than an interested friend?”

At that, Kaplan asked to speak to the judge in private, which he did along with attorneys for Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine, and for Rowe.

After they all finished talking in private, Beckloff said that Klein had no standing to object to the custody proceedings.

And with that, Klein’s attorney backed away, and the court hearing moved on to more mundane matters. But this may not be the last that is heard from Klein. Beckloff mentioned that Kaplan could always file legal papers on behalf of the doctor if he wants to press his case.

Last week, when the British tabloids ran a story saying Michael Jackson had a fourth child — a rumor that had been passed around years ago — it was hard to believe and even harder to verify. But Thursday it seemed too hard to pass up when the King of Pop’s own dad, Joe Jackson, said in an interview he knew Michael had a fourth child.

There are only three children named in Jackson’s will, Prince Michael Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Joseph Jackson II.  But in the days after Michael’s death on June 25, the speculation about a fourth again resurfaced.

London’s The Sun named the child as Omer Bhatti, who was raised by parents now living in Norway, but who spent time during his youth with Jackson at Neverland Ranch. The Sun showed photographs of Bhatti sitting with the Jackson family at the singer’s public memorial earlier this month. On Thursday, website NewsOne published an interview with Joe Jackson and in it, the interviewer asks Joe Jackson if Michael had another child, “Omer is his name … Did u know about Michael’s other son?” the reporter asks.

“I knew he had another son. Yes I did,” Joe Jackson said.

When the interviewer followed with “he looks like a Jackson,” Joe answered: “He looks like a Jackson, he acts like a Jackson, he can dance like a Jackson…” You can watch the video on YouTube here or go to the NewsOne site and watch it by clicking here.

A Jackson family spokesman said the family had no statement on Joe’s interview or on the possibility of a fourth child. Several reports have said that Omer Bhatti may be seeking a DNA test to confirm that he is Jackson’s son, but Bhatti could not be located for confirmation.

So, the speculation remains just that. Or does it? Can Joe be trusted with such a claim?

We may find out at an Aug. 3 court hearing in Los Angeles which will deal with matters of Jackson’s will and his estate — valued in court documents at more than $500 million.

Of all the mysteries surrounding Michael Jackson’s three children, both before and since his death, the origin of the name of his daughter Paris has remained among the most clueless — up until now.

A month after the “Thriller” singer’s sudden demise, socialite Paris Hilton has laid claim to being the inspiration behind the naming of Jackson’s 11-year-old daughter.

Paris Hilton told celebrity TV show “Extra” that her family were close friends with Jackson. Her mother, Kathy, went to school with him for a while in California “and they were best friends since they were 13.”

“So I grew up knowing Michael very well and when he had his daughter, he always loved the name Paris and grew up being an uncle to me. So he asked my mom if it was okay, and of course she said ‘yes’ and I think she’s such a beautiful little girl and I’m proud we have the same name,” Hilton told Extra.

Kathy Hilton is the same age as Michael (50) and was one of the close family and friends who were invited to the singer’s public memorial in Los Angeles earlier this month. Paris made her comments while promoting her documentary “Paris, Not France”, which gets an airing on MTV next week.

But was Paris Jackson really named after Paris Hilton? And does the 11-year-old  know? If she was, then that solves one of the many mysteries surrounding the King of Pop. But now the question is, who was Blanket named for?

The thorny question of who should raise Michael Jackson’s three young children goes back to the Los Angeles courts next week — and there could be three women now vying for custody.

Jacko said in his will that he wanted his Mom Katherine (pictured right) to look after them (with his good Motown friend, singer Diana Ross, as second choice).

But ex-wife Debbie Rowe (pictured left) appears to be considering staking a claim to at least the two kids ( Prince Michael I and Paris) that she gave birth to, if not also young Blanket, whose parentage has never been clarified.

Rowe this week slapped a defamation lawsuit on a woman who claimed she was willing to accept millions of dollars to give up her custody rights.

Now there’s news of a possible third contender — Jackson’s younger sister Janet (pictured right) , who has no children of her own and who according to OK! magazine has formed a special bond with the kids and is willing to raise them.

(It was Janet, remember, who comforted young Paris after she made her heart-felt tribute to “the best father you could ever imagine” at the singer’s public memorial last week.)

So we have a loving but 79 year-old grandmother, a mom who has barely had any contact with her children for 10 years, and a superstar aunt (aged 43) who may be best-known for her “wardrobe malfunction” during the 2004 halftime Super Bowl show.

As for Diana Ross (65, pictured left), she has four grown children of her own and has been very silent publicly on the possibility of raising any more.

For the sake of the children, you’d hope these ladies can come to an amicable agreement between themselves without having to leave the decision to a judge.

But who do you think should be appointed the guardian of what are currently three of the most famous children in the world?

A Los Angeles-based clinical psychologist who says she has personally struggled with grief over Michael Jackson’s death on June 25 has created a special “therapeutic system” to help the King of Pop’s fans cope with the loss of their icon.

Elizabeth Farr calls her therapy “ABC” in tribute to the early Jackson 5 hit song and says she came up with the idea while treating some 10 grieving Michael Jackson fans in her practice in Los Angeles.

“When so many of my clients expressed difficulty dealing with the death of Michael Jackson I decided to formalize a therapeautic approach to help people move forward with their lives after losing someone that meant so much to them for so many years,” Farr said.

“Michael Jackson’s passing is not just another celebrity death,” Farr said. “Many people are having trouble coping with the sudden loss of Michael Jackson and are finding it difficult to perform every day life tasks.  This therapeautic approach helps people get back on track with their lives.”

Farr said that in treating clients who are depressed over Michael Jackson’s death she tries to encourage them to realize that their own feelings are tied up with the superstar and his tragic end.

“In many ways its as simple as A-B-C,” she said. “You Acknowledge what you’re feeling, that’s the A. You look at your Belief system, that’s the B, and the C is your Cognition, your thoughts. Its as easy as A-B-C. We can fix this. When we control how we think, we can alter how we behave.”

Photo: Michael Jackson fans mourn his death in Warsaw (Reuters/ Kacper Pempel)