Will Phelps Lose Medals Over Ad Blunder?

Michael Phelps could be in hot water -- not the cold bathtub he appears to be in -- for his recent photo shoot with the French luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton. Photos of Phelps taken by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz were leaked on the Internet late last week, violating the International Olympic Committee's controversial Rule 40, which states athletes can't promote any non-Olympic sponsors from July 18 to Aug. 15. Punishments for the rule range from fines to a stripping of medals. The campaign was set to begin on Aug. 16 in order to comply with the IOC's campaign against ambush marketing. Someone jumped the gun and the photos appeared on a wide variety of websites starting on the second Tuesday of the Olympics. Louis Vuitton denies releasing the photographs, as does Phelps' camp. Rule 40 states "a competitor or a team may lose the benefit of any ranking obtained in relation to other events at the Olympic Games at which he or it was disqualified or excluded; in such case the medals and diplomas won by him or it shall be returned to the IOC." In other words, Phelps could theoretically be stripped of his medals from London....More

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Momma Jackson Says She Was Duped, Reported Missing

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The mother of Michael Jackson said in court papers she was kept from communicating with outsiders while at a resort in Tucson and was unaware she had been reported missing. Katherine Jackson declared in the documents obtained Thursday that she had no idea she was the subject of a search until she accidentally heard a TV report. She said she was told her doctor had ordered her to rest and she was flown to Arizona. At a spa, her cell phone was confiscated along with her IPad and she said she was kept in a room with no working phone or TV service. She said she asked about Michael's children and was told they were fine. The disclosure marked the latest development in a series of events that began when Katherine Jackson was reported missing but later turned up at the spa with family members. The documents were released after a judge reinstated Katherine Jackson as the guardian of the children in an arrangement that also keeps their cousin as temporary co-guardian. Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff said during a hearing that an investigator who looked into the children's care found that the late pop star's 82-year-old mother was an excellent guardian and the children love her very much. "I think the kids are in terrific hands," the judge said. "It appears from the report that Katherine Jackson has done a wonderful job and cares about the children very much." Beckloff noted that the children, Prince, 15, Paris, 14 and Blanket, 10, also have a close relationship with their 34-year-old cousin TJ Jackson, who was named temporary guardian last week after working closely with Katherine Jackson since Michael Jackson died. TJ is "incredibly respectful" of the family matriarch and she is respectful of him, the judge said. Beckloff said he will finalize the arrangement later in the month but for now will issue letters of co-guardianship allowing both Jacksons to make decisions about the children's welfare. TJ Jackson's new co-guardianship status is temporary, but the judge could make it permanent when he convenes the next court hearing on Aug. 22....More

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