AEG Live to put Michael Jackson on trial in his own death

Michael Jackson's last concert promoter will defend itself in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the pop icon's family by arguing that Jackson was responsible for his own demise.

Child molestation accusations against Jackson, for which he was acquitted after a trial, and evidence of his drug addiction will likely be presented by AEG Live's lawyers as they argue that the company had no liability in his death.

The Jackson v. AEG Live trial, which could last two or three months, begins in a Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday.

8 April Fools’ jokes you may have missed

April Fool's Day is a tricky time of year when bizarre but often hilarious headlines and products flood our newspapers, Twitter streams and Facebook feeds.

This year has seen a fantastic plethora of pranks from the likes of Google, BMW, Twitter and more. But did they manage to trick you? CNN rounds up some of the best April Fools Day jokes from 2013.

President Obama attends church on Easter

President Barack Obama and his family attended a church service on Easter at St. John's Episcopal Church, which is across the street from the White House.

"Happy Easter, everybody," he said while walking to the service with first lady Michelle Obama and the couple's two daughters.

The sermon was delivered by The Rev. Luis Leon, whom Obama tapped in January to deliver the benediction at his second inauguration after controversy forced his first pick for that slot to step aside.

Former Klansman who apologized for racist past dies

He'd said his daddy always told him that a fool never changes his mind. And Elwin Wilson didn't want to be a fool.

Wilson, a former Ku Klux Klan member who apologized for his racist past and specifically for beating a black man who went on to become a U.S. congressman, has died. He was 76.

Wilson came to national attention when he publicly apologized to Georgia Rep. John Lewis. He and his friends attacked Lewis at a bus station in South Carolina some 50 years ago.

Dr. Ben Carson apologizes for homosexuality comments

In the midst of a tidal-wave of criticism, the GOP's latest minority darling, Dr. Ben Carson, has apologized for homophobic remarks made during an interview with FOX's Sean Hannity, reports TheHill.com.

During the controversial interview, the famed John Hopkins' neurosurgeon compared consenting homosexual relationships with pedophilia and bestiality:

"My thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman. It's a well-established, fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality – it doesn't matter what they are – they don't get to change the definition..."

Human traffic: Africa’s lost boys

It has been a starting point for some of the world's top soccer players.

As youngsters, the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Andrea Pirlo, Carlos Tevez, Javier Mascherano, Thierry Henry and Nicolas Anelka all played in the Mondial Montaigu youth tournament in France.

Known as "Mondial Minimes," the 40-year-old competition is contested by under-16 national teams over Easter, with an event also held for club sides.

A device that interprets language to aid emergency responders

A device that can interpret language between emergency on-scene responders and the people they transport is being touted as the latest technological advancement in rescue operations.

Rural Metro Ambulance, a company that provides ambulance service in Shelby County, including the unincorporated areas, is believed to be the first group in the country to use such a device.

"Our on-scene responders, or emergency rescuers, are sometimes faced with the inability to communicate with the people they are called to transport to area hospitals and other facilities," said Nikki Gast, Rural Metro Ambulance market general manager.

President Clinton named Howard’s commencement speaker

President Bill Clinton will deliver the Commencement address at Howard University on Saturday, May 11, on the Upper Quadrangle of the main campus, President Sidney A. Ribeau announced Tuesday.

"We are thrilled that President Clinton has agreed to deliver this year's Commencement address," Ribeau said. "As a preeminent leader, humanitarian and advocate, his extraordinary global work and commitment to public service will inspire the class of 2013 as they prepare to make their mark on the world."

William Jefferson Clinton was the first Democratic president in six decades to be elected twice – first in 1992 and then in 1996. Under his leadership, the country enjoyed the strongest economy in a generation and the longest economic expansion in U.S. history, including the creation of more than 22 million jobs.

Bill Gates to geeks: build a better condom

Bill Gates is putting out a call to inventors, but he's not looking for software, or the latest high-tech gadget. This time he's in search of a better condom.

On its Grand Challenges website, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is offering a $100,000 startup grant to the person who designs "the next generation condom that significantly preserves or enhances pleasure" and promotes "regular use."

It may sound like the setup for a joke, but the goal is deadly serious. While researchers call condoms one of the best ways to stop the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, getting people to use them is another story.

Couple’s 500-pound weight loss just one success story

Two years ago, Angela and Willie Gillis decided they were ready for a healthier lifestyle. Through diet changes and daily exercise they lost a combined 500 pounds.

CNN readers were inspired by the Gillises' story, posting more than 1,000 encouraging comments for the couple. They also showed that weight loss success stories come in all shapes and sizes.

Seems our readers are doing their part to make America a Fit Nation.

Conrad Murray defends lawyer as appeal nears

LOS ANGELES – Dr. Conrad Murray defended his appellate lawyer from "a slew of disparaging remarks" just days before she files the appeal of the doctor's involuntary manslaughter conviction in Michael Jackson's death.

CNN has obtained sections of that 300-page appeal, including the defense argument that the trial judge erred by not allowing the testimony of Dr. Arnold Klein, a dermatologist the defense contended addicted Jackson to Demerol in his last weeks.

Murray's appeal, which will be filed Monday, also argues that prosecutors never proved Jackson was hooked up to an IV drip of the drug that killed him. The defense theory was that Jackson had administered the fatal dosage himself while the doctor was away.

The coroner ruled that Jackson died from an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol in combination with sedatives on June 25, 2009. Murray told investigators he used propofol to induce sleep because Jackson was suffering from insomnia.

Is it time for ‘COPS’ to go?

ColorOfChange.org and its members are urging FOX, and corporate advertisers of the television show "COPS," to make the 25th season of show its last in primetime.

Since its debut in 1989, FOX, "COPS" producers, and corporate advertisers have built a profit model around distorted and dehumanizing portrayals of black Americans and the criminal justice system.

American culture unfairly views young men like Trayvon Martin and Jordan Russell Davis with suspicion. Moreover, in the last decade, New York has had close to 5 million incidents of "stop and frisk" by police officers, most of which have targeted black and Hispanic males, so right now the stakes couldn't be higher for minority communities or their families.