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Essence Fest begins

NEW ORLEANS - The celebration of black music and culture at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans will provide comfort to artists and fans alike after a tough week following Michael Jackson's death.

Singer Lionel Richie, above, a longtime friend of the pop superstar and festival headliner, says performing at Essence will give him and others a chance to regroup.

"We'll celebrate his life and come together as a family down there," Richie said. "It's New Orleans. The spirit of what the music business is all about is there. It really is to me one of those places that's like visiting my foundation."

The festival, which began in 1995 to celebrate the birthday of Essence Magazine, begins Friday and runs through Sunday. It will include a tribute to Jackson, as well as performances by Beyonce, John Legend, Ne-Yo, Anita Baker and others.

Holmes on 'Dance'

So Katie Holmes, below, thinks she can dance - and in few weeks, she'll display her moves before a discriminating audience.

Nigel Lythgoe, who is the producer of Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance," confirms the 30-year-old actress will perform for the reality contest's 100th episode, airing July 23.

Holmes will pay homage to Judy Garland. In a taped number, she'll sing and dance to the Garland classic "Get Happy."

Her TV cameo is meant to promote the new foundation she launched with Lythgoe and "Dancing With the Stars" judge Carrie Ann Inaba. The nonprofit, called Dizzy Feet, aims to support dance education and programs, and talented dancers who can't afford training.

Leno masters his domain

GENEVA - Television host Jay Leno has won control of a Web address using the name of his new show.

The U.N.'s World Intellectual Property Organization says current owner Guadalupe Zambrano, of Katy, Texas, will have to transfer the domain name - thejaylenoshow.com - to the comedian.

The agency says Zambrano failed to demonstrate he had a legitimate reason for registering the address five years ago while Leno was still hosting "The Tonight Show."

Zambrano used the site to redirect Web surfers to his real estate business.

Jermaine Jackson mourns

NEW YORK - Jermaine Jackson, below, says he would like to see Neverland Ranch as his brother Michael's final resting place.

In an interview broadcast Thursday on NBC's "Today" show, Jermaine Jackson also said he wishes he had died instead of his younger brother, and that Michael was "a gift from Allah."

"He went too soon. I don't know how people are going to take this, but I wish it was me," Jermaine Jackson said.

When asked why he felt that way, Jermaine Jackson said he always felt that he was Michael's "backbone."

"Someone to be there for him. I was there, and he was sort of like Moses. Things he couldn't say, I would say them. During the trials, during everything."

On Wednesday, Jackson family spokesman Ken Sunshine said a public memorial was in the works but it wouldn't be held at Neverland.

New Michelangelo treasure?

VATICAN CITY - The restoration of Michelangelo's frescoes in the Vatican's Pauline Chapel may have produced a special prize - a previously unknown self-portrait of the artist.

Chief Vatican restorer Maurizio De Luca said Thursday that the face of a man on horseback in the artist's "The Crucifixion of St. Peter" could well be the artist, although he told AP Television News that nobody will ever know "with absolute certainty that the face is Michelangelo's."

The Vatican announced earlier this week that the restoration had been completed after five years at a cost of 3.2 million euros ($4.5 million).

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Al Franken's torn over who he'd like to see turn the parody tables on him.

As a former "Saturday Night Live" cast member headed to the U.S. Senate, he could be a prime spoof target for his former show.

When asked Wednesday who'd be best for the role, Franken first told The Associated Press it may be Fred Armisen, who portrays President Barack Obama in SNL skits. He then said occasional guest Alec Baldwin might be a better fit.

NBC Entertainment declined comment.

School sets out on its own

LOS ANGELES - A high school that was the location for a racy photo shoot by Sacha Baron Cohen's character "Bruno" has broken away from the nation's second-largest school district.

Birmingham High School in Los Angeles had already been planning to become a separate charter school before Wednesday's decision.

The move came one day after officials with the Los Angeles Unified School District disciplined two administrators over violating the district's policy on using the school's name in the film.

The charter proposal ends the district's authority over school employees, so the disciplinary action will be moot.

The photos feature the actor's latest incarnation as gay fashionista "Bruno." He wears shoulder pads and tight red shorts and poses with student football players on the campus field.

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