Reuters - More than half a million fans from around the world applied for 17,500 free tickets to Michael Jackson's public memorial service next week, organizers said on Friday as a massive security operation got underway.

AP - When Rabbi Shmuley Boteach brought his children to play with Michael Jackson's kids at Neverland Ranch some eight years ago, the rabbi's youngsters naturally made a beeline for the fabulous rides — the Ferris wheel, the roller coaster, the bumper cars.

AP - No matter how unusual their lives may have been so far, Michael Jackson's children now face a universal trauma felt by all kids who suddenly lose a parent.

AP - Questions about Michael Jackson's use of prescription drugs are intensifying after a powerful sedative was found inside his home.

AP - As U2 kicks off its world tour, the Irish rockers are turning a spotlight on Myanmar's jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Reuters - Since he swept into power 50 years ago, Cuba's Fidel Castro has been honored in poems, movies and paintings and now in reggaeton, a form of music widely popular among Cuban youth but not island leaders.

Reuters - For a reunited band bent on having a future, Stone Temple Pilots spent most of its House of Blues show Wednesday visiting the past -- the distant past.