1 Dead, 75 wounded in Canada stage fall down

CAMROSE, Alberta — Coordinators on Sunday lost the closing day of a country music festival in central Alberta a day after a fierce thunderstorm caused an outdoor stage to collapse, killing one person and injuring about 75 others.

Thousands of fans were camped out at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, 60 miles (100 kilometers) southeast of Edmonton, when strong winds and heavy rain struck about 6 p.m. on Saturday, sending people screaming and running for cover. Actor Kevin Costner who was about to perform with his band narrowly escaped serious injury.

The event is billed as Canada's largest country music festival with attendance estimated at 15,000.

Police and festival organizers told a news conference at the site Sunday that one person was killed by falling debris from the stage and about 75 others were injured, most of whom were treated at the site.

Camrose Police Chief Darrell Kambeitz said about 21 of the injured were taken to hospitals, two of whom were in critical condition.

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Michael Jackson’s comedy tops to courts

LOS ANGELES - drop out pop idol Michael Jackson’s vivid family saga continues, as a Los Angeles county judge considers who’ll get custody of Jacko’s children and who’ll control what’s left of his once-sprawling multimillion-dollar estate.

The King of Pop’s heirs - 12-year-old Prince Michael, 10-year-old Paris Michael and 7-year-old Prince Michael II, known as Blanket - learn whether Judge Mitchell Beckloff names their grandmother, Katherine Jackson, their guardian. Debbie Rowe, mother of two of the children, and Katherine Jackson reached a deal last week paving the way for Katherine Jackson.

No such deal has been reached on the Thriller’s finances.

Kathering Jackson and Jacko’s attorney, John Branca, and music executive John McClain, are all vying for control. The judge also will decide how to divy up Jackson’s estate, which has been described in court documents as having an estimated value of more than $500 million; its actual current worth is about $100 million, but could increase in value to $200 million or more with some financial restructuring.

The judge also has been asked to set an allowance for Katherine Jackson and her grandchildren.

Administrator contradicts Crowe ban from hostelry

Russell Crowe's administrator has deprived of a newspaper report that the Oscar-winning Australian actor had been excluded from an English pub near the set of his new film Robin Hood.

The Sunday Express newspaper reported that a lively argument over licensing laws apparently ended with the 45-year-old actor being banned from The Brickmakers in Windlesham, Surrey.

Crowe's manager Grant Vandenberg said the newspaper story was wrong.

"The only truth to the whole thing is that he has been" to the pub, Vandenberg told Nine Network television in Australia.

"He has been there four or five times with his kids. There is a playground in the back," Vandenberg added.

An unnamed duty manager at the pub told the paper: "I'm not exactly sure what he's supposed to have done, but there was apparently trouble and he's been asked not to return."

"It's not the only place he's been barred from. There are at least two others I know of" in the area, the manager added.

An unnamed local resident told the newspaper that Crowe offered money to be allowed to keep drinking at The Brickmakers after closing time.

"Eventually he left, but not before smashing a plate," the resident said.

Crowe, who won a best actor Oscar in 2001 for his starring role in Gladiator, has two sons aged three and five.

George Clooney and Hollywood's Hottest motorist

George Clooney, gal-pal Elisabetta Canalis, supermodel Cindy Crawford and Crawford's husband Rande Gerber may not be the toughest motorcycle gang, but they are most likely the best looking.

The fab foursome took to the road this weekend, and the only bad thing we can say about them is that it's harder to check them out when they've got all that protective gear on.

But Clooney makes a good point, kids: Safety before sexy, always.