Just 11 when she lost her famous father, Paris Jackson still carries him with her.

Michael Jackson may have been worth more than a billion dollars, but his kids didn’t get anything handed to them. “Growing up, it was about earning stuff,” Paris says of her childhood with brothers Prince Michael, 24, and Bigi (a.k.a. Blanket), 19. “If we wanted five toys from FAO Schwarz or Toys R Us, we had to read five books. It’s earning it.”

That’s just one of the lessons the singer/songwriter took from the King of Pop. “It’s earning it, not just being entitled to certain things or thinking, Oh, I got this,” she said. “It’s working hard for [something] … it’s an accomplishment.”

As a result, the 23-year-old shared, she’s not afraid to hustle to launch her own career. “I go to auditions, I study hard,” the model and “Low Key in Love” singer said. “I do my thing.”

PRINCE JACKSON RECALLS TRAUMATIC FIRST TIME HE WATCHED ‘THRILLER’ VIDEO WITH DAD MICHAEL JACKSON

‘MICKEY’ SINGER TONI BASIL CREDITS MICHAEL JACKSON’S DEATH TO RESIDENCY REHEARSALS, INSISTS ‘IT WAS KILLING HIM AND IT DID KILL HIM’

But being the daughter of the most famous man on earth did have its perks. “My dad was really good about making sure we were cultured, making sure we were educated,” she noted about the family’s world travels, “and not just showing us the glitz and glam, like hotel hopping, five-star places.”

To keep the kids grounded, she added, “We saw everything. We saw Third World countries. We saw every part of the spectrum.”

And of course, the two bonded over their shared love of music. “He loved classical music and jazz and hip-hop and R&B and obviously the Motown stuff,” Paris recalled. “So we grew up around all of that, and I feel like all of that somehow influences my stuff.”

For two months, former Russian paratrooper Pavel Filatyev experienced the war in Ukraine first-hand, battling a determined enemy and despairing at a senseless mission and the incompetence of his own commanders.

After he returned home in the summer, Filatyev, 34, poured out his frustrations about the shambolic state of the Russian army in his gripping front-line account “ZOV”, which means “the call” in Russian.

Packed with insights into daily wartime life and an army riddled with corruption and nepotism, the 141-page bombshell was recently released in German and is also available in English as “ZOV: A Russian soldier caught inside Putin’s unjust war in Ukraine”.

Initially published in Russian on the Internet, the first word of its title was then also written in Latin script to highlight the letters “Z” and “V”, the tactical symbols painted on Russian military vehicles that poured into Ukraine on February 24.

The memoir quickly became an international sensation, while Filatyev, who keeps his whereabouts secret while in political asylum in France, faces up to 15 years in jail in Russia for defaming the armed forces.

Nevertheless, he hopes his writing will help to enlighten his countrymen about the senselessness of the war, and even prompt them to rise up in opposition to it. The Russian audio book version published on YouTube alone has more than 600,000 hits so far.

As his unit, the 56th Guards air assault regiment, was sent into southern Ukraine from Crimea, Filatyev naively believed there was a reason for the invasion. He soon realized that nobody there was waiting for the “liberation” that was announced by the Kremlin.

The claim of the Russian leadership that they wanted to preempt an imminent Ukrainian attack is also untrue, says Filatyev, denouncing what President Vladimir Putin stubbornly calls a “special military operation” against Nazis in the neighbouring country.

His criticism is not aimed at ordinary soldiers who have been misled by a lack of information, Filatyev stresses, but at the leadership in the Moscow Kremlin.

“He never served, he was never in a war and doesn’t know what the army is,” Filatyev said of Putin, a former Soviet KGB intelligence service officer, during a video call from a café in Paris.

As the world reels from each successive uncovering of horrors against civilians in previously occupied Bucha, Izyum, Kherson and beyond, he says he can’t personally confirm any atrocities committed by the army during his time in Ukraine.

“Of course I can’t vouch for the whole army, but no one was tortured in front of my eyes, let alone raped,” he writes. But he has no doubt that, as in every war, there are “scumbags” committing war crimes. At the same time, he acknowledges that Ukrainian civilians are being killed and entire cities senselessly destroyed.

Filatyev, a former horse breeder as well as soldier, authentically describes how the military is failing due to a lack of leadership and motivation – and sheer inability to keep the troops supplied with essentials like food.

“I’m a smoker and I’m annoyed with the leadership that we’ve been here for three days and apparently nobody upstairs thought that we need something to smoke, eat and drink,” he writes in his diary-like notes from the front.

Dilapidated equipment and vehicles that constantly break down point to a bleak outcome for Russia’s “technically hopelessly outdated and morally rotten” forces in Ukraine: “An army like this doesn’t need an enemy, we’ll ruin ourselves all on our own.”

Filatyev, who is not married and has no children, paints a dire future also for the country, which is sinking in “lies, fraud and false values”. Everything is atrophied, from defence to health care to the legal system, while the individual counts for nothing.

Ordinary soldiers often have to pay for their medical treatment and medicines themselves, but the Russian elites continue to prosper from the comfort of their villas and yachts.

After years of watching annual WW2 victory parades on Red Square, this, he muses, this should surely be enough for the Russian people to finally grasp the tragedy that is unfolding in Ukraine: “On May 9 we thank our ancestors who ended the war. Have we, their descendants, really started a war now?”

It is a war that not only tore apart Ukrainians and Russians, who once lived in one country and still have close family ties, but also threatens to bankrupt his homeland because of the immense cost of holding the occupied Ukrainian territory.

Kirstie Alley revealed her unwavering love for John Travolta in the years before her death, RadarOnline.com can confirm, revealing how she resisted the urge to act on her romantic feelings.

The longtime friends, who worked together on the three Look Who’s Talking films, shared a special bond that both of them have raved over.

Alley was married to Parker Stevenson from 1983 to 1997 while Travolta tied the knot with Kelly Preston in 1991, keeping the pair’s connection strictly platonic.

“John would agree it was mutual that we sort of fell in love with each other,” Alley said, admitting during an appearance on British podcast The Dan Wootton Interview that not taking their relationship any further was “one of the hardest things” she’s ever done.

“I was madly in love with him — we were fun and funny together,” the star confessed, noting she refused to cheat on her husband. “I consider what I did even worse because I actually let myself fall in love with [Travolta] and stay in love with him for a long time.”

Alley went on to shut down rumors the Saturday Night Fever icon is gay while revealing what made her stop pining over Travolta, noting it was Preston confronting her for “flirting with my husband.”

“And that was sort of when I had to make a decision and that was pretty much the end of that,” said the For Richer or Poorer star, adding that it ultimately worked out for the best.

“John and I would have devoured each other because John and I are so alike. It would be like two blazing stars that just fizzled out,” she explained.

Travolta has since paid his respects to Alley following news of her death at 71 after a battle with cancer, writing via his Instagram caption: “Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had. I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again.”

In recent years, the Pulp Fiction heartthrob lost many women near and dear to his heart including his beloved wife, who died of cancer at 57 in July 2020.

This year, his cherished Grease costarOlivia Newton-John died in August at 73.

While the heartfelt messages in honor of Alley continue pouring in, her ex-husband also shared a tribute.

“I am so grateful for our years together, and for the two incredibly beautiful children and now grandchildren that we have,” the Baywatch alum wrote. “You will be missed. With love, Parker.”

By Karen Freifeld

(Reuters) – Former President Donald Trump’s namesake company was found guilty on Tuesday of scheming to defraud tax authorities.

Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, said the verdict would be appealed.

Here are some of the way in which prosecutors said the company and executives cheated on their taxes.

– The Trump Organization gave executives free, cheap and reduced-rent apartments that were not reported as income.

– Bonuses were paid as if executives were independent contractors, not salaried employees.

– Trump himself signed bonus checks from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, the Trump International Golf Club in Florida, and other Trump entities that could benefit from the deductions. Trump was not charged in the case and has called it politically motivated.

– The Trump Organization leased luxury cars for executives and their wives.

– The company paid for beds, TVs, carpeting and furniture for the Florida home of Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, and for utilities, cable and parking garage fees in Manhattan.

– Trump himself paid the private school tuition for his chief financial officer’s grandchildren.

– Checks were made out to an employee in the mailroom to cash and were booked as “Holiday Entertainment” but given to the CFO for personal tips.

– Tax statements were issued that did not disclose executives’ Manhattan living quarters so they did not pay city taxes.

– The personal expenses were not added to employees’ taxable income. But some expenses were subtracted from salaries and bonuses, leaving the executives with less taxable income and the company with less payroll taxes.

– The scheme was a way to limit raises, while giving executives more money.

– CFO Weisselberg estimated that $100,000 worth of personal expenses he received was worth double that to him – $200,000 – in salary.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Leslie Adler)

By Luc Cohen and Karen Freifeld

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s real estate company was convicted on Tuesday of carrying out a 15-year-long criminal scheme to defraud tax authorities, adding to the legal woes facing the former U.S. president as he campaigns for the office again in 2024.

The Trump Organization – which operates hotels, golf courses, and other real estate around the world – faces up to $1.6 million in fines following the guilty verdicts by a jury on all charges the company faced.

Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, told reporters the company would appeal.

The exact amount of the fines will be determined by the judge overseeing the trial in New York State court. The jury deliberated for a total of about 12 hours. Following the verdict, the judge set a sentencing date of Jan. 13.

The company had pleaded not guilty. Trump himself was not charged in the case.

While the fine is not expected to be material for a company of the Trump Organization’s size, the conviction could complicate its ability to do business by spooking lenders and partners.

The case centered on charges that the company paid personal expenses like free rent and car leases for top executives including former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg without reporting the income, and paid them bonuses as if they were independent contractors.

“The smorgasbord of benefits is designed to keep its top executives happy and loyal,” prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told jurors during his closing argument on Friday.

SEPARATE LAWSUIT

The Trump Organization separately faces a fraud lawsuit brought by New York state Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump himself is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice over his handling of sensitive government documents after he left office in January 2021 and attempts to overturn the November 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Weisselberg, 75, testified as the government’s star witness as part of a plea deal with prosecutors that will allow him to spend no more than five months in jail.

The Trump Organization argued that Weisselberg carried out the scheme to benefit himself. He is on paid leave from the company and testified that he received more than $1 million in salary and bonus payments this year.

“The question here is not whether as a byproduct the company saved some money,” Susan Necheles, a defense lawyer, said in her closing argument on Thursday. “(Weisselberg’s) intent was to benefit himself, not the company.”

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Nov. 19. that his family got “no economic gain from the acts done by the executive.”

Republican Trump, who on Nov. 15 announced his third campaign for the presidency, has called the probe a politically motivated “witch hunt.” Both Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his predecessor who brought the charges, Cyrus Vance, are Democrats.

Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty in August to concealing $1.76 million in income from tax authorities, testified that Trump himself signed the Christmas bonus checks and personally paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in private school tuition for Weisselberg’s grandchildren.

He also said Trump’s two sons – who took over the company’s operations in 2017 after Trump became president – gave him a raise after they knew about his tax dodge scheme.

“The whole narrative that Donald Trump was blissfully ignorant is just not real,” Steinglass said.

The Trump Organization also sought to argue that Donald Bender, an outside accountant, should have caught and blown the whistle on Weisselberg’s fraud.

The company called Bender as its main witness, but his testimony appeared to backfire when he said he trusted that the information Weisselberg gave him was accurate and that he was under no obligation to investigate further.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen and Karen Freifeld in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Grant McCool)

For years, former ScientologistLeah Remini was on a crusade to take down the religion, publically slamming the church and spilling secrets about its famous members — and it never sat well with late actressKirstie Alley, who was a longtime follower of the religious group, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

“Kirstie’s one of the toughest defenders of Scientology and has taken Leah’s betrayal of the church very personally,” an insider explained in 2020, just two years before Alley’s surprising death.

The ladies were once close friends, they revealed, but after Leah left the religion in 2013 — and began making jaw-dropping claims about the church and its leader, David Miscavige — the Cheers alum felt she had no option but to cut ties with Leah and speak out about their nasty feud.

Kirstie didn’t hold back. “I think the most repulsive thing a person can do is attack another person’s faith,” she said in the past, taking a jab at the former King of Queen‘s star. “So when you decide to blanket statement ‘Scientology is evil’ you are my enemy. I just won’t have people in my life that are [like] that. I just think it’s really wrong.”

While her words may have seemed harsh — Kirstie publicly called Leah a “bigot” — those who knew the Look Who’s Talking actress best weren’t shocked.

“Kirstie’s never been one to hold back, and she refuses to let anyone shame her or other members of the church,” the insider warned years ago, adding she wasn’t afraid of a fight.

“That’s why she’s known as Scientology’s unofficial bulldog and the mama bear of the religion,” they continued. “She’ll always stand behind it.”

Kirstie and Leah most recently came to public blows in February, sharing a heated exchange on social media after Alley tweeted she’d “pray” over the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

“She has no comment on these crimes against humanity? But she’s going to pray? Scientology, her ‘religion,’ says Christ is a pedophile and a lie. Scientologists aren’t allowed to believe in anything else other than Scientology. So who is she praying to?” Leah unloaded, but Kirstie hit back.

“I don’t care what the punk a– t—t say. I believe in the power of prayer,” she responded. “I will continue to pray for the people of Ukraine. Putin is a c—t and a coward and I’ll pray his own soldiers refuse to do his dirty work. PS, I pray to the same God you do. So get over your nasty selves.”

As RadarOnline.com reported, Kirstie died unexpectedly after a secret battle with cancer. Her children announced the upsetting news on Monday, revealing she had recently been diagnosed — but they didn’t specify which kind of cancer she had been fighting.

Michael Jackson was the most influential entertainer of the 20th century! Top critics, scholars, showbiz insiders — and the Guinness Book of World Records — believe MJ shaped the future of music, dance, film and fashion with his genius and talent. During his too-short life, Michael produced 13 no. 1 tunes. since his death, his recordings are still red-hot and he’s sold more than 750 Million albums worldwide!

But Michael’s cultural impact runs much deeper. acclaimed jazz choreographer Ginger Cox insists the Moonwalker’s fluid grace inspired generations of dancers, and the instructor of new York’s Broadway Dance center proclaims Jackson is the “reason many people started dancing. his influence is truly extraordinary.”

Jackson’s dance moves were “like quick- silver in motion,” says Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese, who worked with Michael on the “Bad” video. “I was in awe of his absolute mastery of movement on one hand and of the music on the other,” he said.

Certainly, he shaped how we hear and saw music. MJ’s groundbreaking “Thriller,” “Beat It” and “Billie Jean” single-handedly created the music video. Critics say many of the film techniques developed during the filming are being used in mainstream TV today, and the white glove also had a huge hand in the styles we currently wear. The metallic military cues, peg-leg pants, white socks and fedoras seen on the catwalk were inspired by Jackson, whose sense of style is still being mimicked by hot young stars including Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Usher and Justin Timberlake!

PRINCE JACKSON RECALLS TRAUMATIC FIRST TIME HE WATCHED ‘THRILLER’ VIDEO WITH DAD MICHAEL JACKSON

‘MICKEY’ SINGER TONI BASIL CREDITS MICHAEL JACKSON’S DEATH TO RESIDENCY REHEARSALS, INSISTS ‘IT WAS KILLING HIM AND IT DID KILL HIM’

One noted critic said, “The king of Pop reigns supreme because of his exceptional talent and because he simply did what no one had done before.”

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The man who shot and wounded Lady Gaga’s dog walker during the theft of two of the singer’s French bulldogs in Hollywood last year pleaded no contest to attempted murder on Monday and was immediately sentenced to 21 years in prison.

As part of the no-contest plea – the legal equivalent to a guilty plea in California – James Howard Jackson also admitted in court to inflicting great bodily injury on the man he shot in the chest, Ryan Fischer, who survived the attack.

“The plea agreement holds Mr. Jackson accountable for perpetrating a cold-hearted, violent act and provides justice for our victim,” the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in announcing the settlement of the case.

Several other charges Jackson faced were dismissed in the plea deal, according to the Los Angeles City News Service (CNS).

Fischer attended Monday’s court hearing and, according to CNS, made a statement blasting the defendant, saying the shooting had forever altered his life.

Jackson was one of five suspects – four of them identified by authorities as known street gang members – arrested in connection with the shooting of Gaga’s dog walker and the abduction of her two pets on Feb. 24, 2021.

The two purloined bulldogs, named Koji and Gustav, were dropped off unharmed at a police station and turned over to the musician’s representatives two days after they were snatched at gunpoint by two strangers in a car.

A third bulldog owned by Gaga that was out walking with Fischer at the time escaped and was later found safe by police.

Police at the time said evidence suggested the suspects singled out the three dogs because of the high value placed on the breed, but they were not believed to have known the identity of the owner before the robbery.

Gaga, who was filming a movie in Rome when her pets were taken, had issued a public plea on social media for an “act of kindness” to bring them home, and offered a $500,000 reward.

The woman who came forward to report finding the dogs and turn them over to police, Jennifer McBride, was later charged with being an accessory after the fact. Her case remained pending on Monday, the D.A.’s office said.

Another co-defendant, Harold White, pleaded no contest on Monday to a weapons charge and will be sentenced next year, prosecutors said.

Two others, Jaylin White and Lafayette Whaley, each previously pleaded no contest to second-degree robbery, receiving sentences of four years and six years in prison, respectively.

(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Leslie Adler)

By Tyler Clifford and Brendan O’Brien

(Reuters) – Three men accused of aiding a 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were found guilty on Wednesday of taking part in a conspiracy that prosecutors ascribed to hostility over restrictions she imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A jury found Joseph Morrison, 28, his father-in-law Pete Musico, 44, and Paul Bellar, 23, guilty of gang membership, firearm violations and providing material support for terrorism.

They could each face up to 20 years in prison when sentenced on December 15.

The three were among more than a dozen men arrested in October 2020 and charged with state or federal crimes related to the conspiracy. The group planned to break into Whitmer’s vacation home, kidnap her and take her at gunpoint to stand “trial” on treason charges, prosecutors said.

Seven of the accused, including Morrison, Musico and Bellar, have now been convicted by a jury or pleaded guilty to playing roles in the conspiracy.

After the verdicts, Whitmer, a Democrat who is up for re-election in November, said she was not disheartened by the evidence presented in the case, which highlighted the growth of U.S. political militancy in recent years.

“No threat, no plot, no rhetoric will break my belief in the goodness and decency of our people,” she said in a tweet. “And these verdicts are further proof that violence and threats have no place in our politics.”

The verdict, after two weeks of testimony in Jackson County Circuit Court, was a victory for state prosecutors who argued that the men on trial assisted two others who in August were found guilty in federal court of orchestrating the kidnapping conspiracy.

Defense attorneys argued their client did not know of a plan to kidnap the governor and that their actions were protected by the First and Second Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

After the verdict, the defense attorneys – all of them public defenders – said they were disappointed and had advised their clients to appeal.

Prosecutors did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the verdicts.

In the earlier trial, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. were found guilty of plotting to abduct Whitmer from her vacation home. Their convictions followed a first trial earlier this year that ended in a hung jury, while two other defendants were acquitted during those proceedings.

The conspirators hoped that an abduction would lead to a violent uprising and instigate a civil war, prosecutors said.

Morrison and Musico were accused of hosting tactical training sessions on their property in a remote part of Michigan. Bellar was accused of providing plans for tactical maneuvers, coded language for covert communication and ammunition.

All three were members of a militia group called the Wolverine Watchmen, prosecutors said.

In September, a federal judge reduced the sentence of another accused conspirator, Ty Garbin, who pleaded guilty to participating in the plot after his testimony helped convict Fox and Croft.

Kaleb Franks, who also pleaded guilty to playing a role in the scheme, was sentenced to four years in prison earlier this month after serving as a key witness in the case against Fox and Croft.

(Reporting by Tyler Clifford in New York and Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Alistair Bell, Jonathan Oatis and Howard Goller)