Namibia officials were duped, Jackson camp says

Namibia officials wereduped, Jackson camp says
WINDHOEK, Namibia -- Namibian government officials were surprised to learn that Michael Jackson wouldn't be arriving Friday as they had thought.
An American organization claiming to represent Jackson, St. Louis-based Adventure in Africa Tours, had sent a letter to President Sam Nujoma saying the singer planned to visit Namibia as part of a 12-day African cultural tour.
A meeting was scheduled for Jackson with the president at noon, Nujoma's personal assistant, Andre Hashiyana, said Friday.
However, Jackson spokeswoman Raymone K. Bain said the travel company had acted without the singer's permission.
"I guess we will do our due diligence to look into how this happened," she said by telephone from Washington. "These things do happen quite often. There are a lot of misrepresentations and misinformation."
Bain noted that Jackson couldn't leave the United States because he had turned in his passport to Santa Barbara County prosecutors in California as a condition of his release after he pleaded innocent to child molestation charges. A pretrial hearing in the case is scheduled April 30.
Reba McEntire to receiveCMT's visionary award
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It seems a little thing, but it left a big impression on Reba McEntire.
Nearly 20 years ago, McEntire was staying at a Holiday Inn in the Northeast when the video for her hit song "Whoever's In New England" came on HBO.
"In between movies they played music videos, and right after mine they played one by Aretha Franklin," she said. "I was floored by that, to even be in the same breath as Aretha Franklin."
McEntire went on to become one of country music's most successful singers, as well as an actress and author. On Wednesday, she'll receive Country Music Television's Johnny Cash Visionary Award.
The award -- renamed this year in honor of Cash, who died Sept. 12 -- will be presented during CMT's Flame Worthy Video Music Awards show. Hosted by Dolly Parton, the fan-voted awards show airs live from Nashville at 8 p.m. EDT.
"I'm very honored," McEntire told The Associated Press recently. "To be put in that category is a huge honor."
Cruise project raises 1.2Mfor toxin-exposed workers
NEW YORK -- The New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project, co-founded by Tom Cruise, has raised $1.2 million to expand a program to treat rescue workers exposed to potential hazardous materials released in the air after the Sept. 11 attacks in New York.
The program, which consists of exercise, sauna sweat-out and vitamins to help cleanse the body of toxic residues, was developed by the late L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology, of which Cruise is a member. More than 200 workers have been treated so far.
Today's Birthdays
Rock promoter Don Kirshner is 70. Composer-musician Jan Hammer is 56. Actress Olivia Hussey is 53. Rock singer-musician Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks) is 49. Rock singer Maynard James Keenan (Tool) is 40. Actress Lela Rochon is 40. Singer Liz Phair is 37. Actress Jennifer Garner ("Alias") is 32.
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