(Thursday, 16 July 2009)  Watch the US Weekly video of the burn incident which started the King of Pop on painkillers; Michael Vick is days away from wrapping up his federal sentence; a cop in Columbus is nailed for a bank robbery dating nearly two full years back.  It's all on today's KISS News Now!

• Remember the burns Michael Jackson suffered while filming a Pepsi ad back in 1984?  Now, US Weekly has obtained the video of the commercial shoot, which shows how the pyrotechnics went off too early--causing Jackson's hair to catch fire as he dances down the steps.  Finally, when he starts doing a spin, crew members realize what's happening and swarm him to put the flames out.  Jackson suffered second- and third-degree burns--and that's when he started taking the pain medication to which friends say he stayed addicted until his death.  
  
  
  
  In his autobiography, Moonwalk, Jackson blamed the incident on "stupidity, pure and simple" and remembers "turning around, spinning, not knowing I was on fire.'' Eventually, he says he felt his hands "reflexively go to my head in an attempt to smother the flames.'' Pepsi gave Jackson $1.5 million dollars, which he donated to a burn center named after him.
  
  
   

• Michael Vick is about to say goodbye to the federal system--will he next be saying hello again to the NFL?  Vick's two-month house arrest ends Monday, completing his dog fighting sentence.  Next, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will meet with Vick in the coming weeks, consult with experts and pore over a background check as he decides whether or when Vick should return to the league.  As he prepares for his release, Vick has committed to work with the Humane Society of the United States to stop dog fighting in urban areas.
  
  

• A south Georgia manis freed from jail in Cook County, after more than a year in jail for not paying enough child support.  DNA tests proved Frank Hatley was not the father of the boy as his ex-girlfriend, the mother of the child, told him back in 1987.  The judge accused the State Department of Human Resources of "extremely poor judgment" for pressing Hatley to pay, even after he lost his job and wound up living in his car.
  
   

• After fundraising efforts fell short, Atlanta's proposed civil and human rights museum is expected to pay the balance of a $11.5 million loan on the 10,000-document Martin Luther King Junior Collection. By doing so, The Center for Civil and Human Rights would acquire the rights to exhibit the collection.
  
  

• A huge, $1.5 trillion dollar health-care overhaul is making its way through the House, where votes are planned today in a pair of committees. The legislation would deliver on President Barack Obama's promise to cover some 50 million uninsured people.
  
  

• A Clayton County grand jury indicts a former GBI medical examiner in the January death of Robert James.  Kellie Bennett was driving a GBI SUV to the scene of a suicide with lights and sirens when she allegedly ran a red light striking the car driven by James' wife.
  
  

• Steve McNair's widow is asking to take the reins of his financial affairs. In court filings, Mechelle McNair claims her husband didn't have a will and is asking that she be allowed to oversee his estate.  Permission has been granted and now she will have two months to come up with a list of his assets.  Police in Nashville, Tennessee, believe the retired quarterback was shot to death on July 4 by a girlfriend who later turned the gun on herself. They have ruled the case a murder-suicide.
  
  

• Gwinnett County's fire chief says proposed budget cuts mean eliminating 51 positions by the end of the year and up to 250 future hires over the next five years, which he says could compromise public safety with fewer units to respond, and longer wait times.  Gwinnett's police department may also lose up to 50 officers by the end of the year.  The county commission chairman says because residents voted against a property tax increase, cuts are the only option.
  
  

• Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor returns for a third and final day of questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee.  She's avoided saying much on a range of hot-button issues, such as guns and abortion, frustrating even some friendly Democrats.  Senator Al Franken is still a comedian.  He got some chuckles at Judge Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearing talking about Perry Mason, saying he was surprised that that TV show inspired her to become a prosecutor--since the prosecution lost every case to Mason but one.
  
  
  
  
  For the record, the episode was "The Case of the Deadly Verdict,'' which aired in 1963.  It starred actor Stephen Franken, whose father is first cousins with Al Franken's dad. 

    
  
  

   

• An ex-Columbus police officer faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading to a bank robbery that occurred before she joined the force.  22-year-old Shatoya Nicole Wright worked as a teller in 2007, and had agreed to hand robber Odis Hailstock money after he gave her a demand note--and split the cash with him later.  Two months later, Wright was hired as a cop.  She was arrested in February of this year.
  
  

• Beyonce is taking a page from Jay Leno's playbook--just like the comedian did some free shows in the Detroit area, Beyonce is setting aside 2,500 free tickets for her Saturday show at the Palace of Auburn Hills...for local fans affected by the economy.  They'll have a drawing of names submitted by lawmakers and community service groups.
  
  

• The KISS 104.1 weather forecast:  scattered heavy showers today and Friday; highs in the upper- to mid-80s.