9:20pm Saturday – AlaskaReport.com receives letter from Palin lawyer Van Flein evidently confirming some details (will post when we clarify missing information)

AlaskaReport has learned that Todd Palin and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin are to divorce. Multiple sources in Wasilla and Anchorage (including a former Palin staffer) have confirmed the split. The sources preferred to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions from the Palins and their coworkers.

A National Enquirer story exposing previous affairs on both sides led to a deterioration of their marriage and the stress from that led to Palin’s resignation as governor of Alaska last week.

The Palins were noticeably not speaking to each other for most of last Sunday’s resignation speech in Fairbanks. Sarah ditched Todd (MSNBC) right after the speech and left without him. Sarah removed her wedding ring a couple of weeks ago.

According to the ImmoralMinority blog Sarah has recently purchased land in Montana and is considering moving the family there. Sarah Palin is originally from Idaho.

Todd Palin told Fox News last week that he was heading back to his job in the oil fields of Alaska, yet Sarah recently signed a book deal reportedly worth $11 million.

Editor’s note: AlaskaReport was the first website to report that Sarah Palin was running for governor of Alaska and the first website to report that Sarah was picked as John McCain’s VP candidate.

Related stories:
Sarah Palin’s silence on affair deafening

Palin lawyer threatens to serve papers at kindergarten

Sarah Palin on “hurt feelings” – November 5th, 2008

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin says politicians need to have thick skin “just as I’ve got” Which of course is hilarious since she quit as Alaska’s governor complaining about her hurt feelings from Alaska’s bloggers reporting on her 21 ethics violations.

Sarah Palin on “hurt feelings” from Dennis Zaki on Vimeo.

President Obama says unemployment is likely to tick up for several months as the economy recovers from its deepest downturn in decades.

The president said Tuesday that renewed employment typically lags behind other signs of improvement as a swooning economy turns around.

More than 2 million jobs have been lost since Congress passed Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package. The unemployment rate stands at 9.5 percent, the highest in 26 years.

Obama said the single biggest challenge for the U.S. and other nations is the creation of enough jobs that pay good wages.

He spoke in the Oval Office after meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

Officials made three arrests over the weekend and a fourth Monday evening in the Pensacola killings of Byrd and Melanie Billings, which happened during a home-invasion while several of the children were home.

After saying he hoped to make another one or two arrests Tuesday, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan later announced that two more suspects were caught in the fatal shootings.

A spokeswoman with the sheriff’s office said that more information would be announced later Tuesday by authorities from Escambia County. A press conference was planned for 1 p.m. EDT.

The new arrests, both in a nearby county, bring the total to six.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the arrests but declined to identify the latest suspects or release other details.

Morgan told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that authorities have tied at least seven people to the crime but that nothing links any of the suspects to the family directly.

Morgan said day laborer Gary Lamont Sumner was arrested on a murder charge in a nearby county Monday after he was pulled over in a traffic stop. The sheriff said investigators have placed Sumner at the scene of the killings, though he wouldn’t provide details.

The couple took care to make their nine-bedroom house a safe place for their growing brood of children, wiring it with surveillance cameras in every room.

It was those cameras that captured images of the masked men who shot the wealthy couple Thursday in a break-in executed with chilling precision.

Morgan said that the crime appeared to have “numerous motives,” though robbery was the only one he would mention.

“Mr. Billings was well-to-do. He was an entrepreneur and he opened his home to the community. You are asking me to speculate on a motive. That could have been one reason,” Morgan said, likening the killings to the 1959 slayings of a Kansas farm family. In that case, chronicled by Truman Capote in the book “In Cold Blood,” the killers mistakenly believed the prosperous family kept a safe full of cash at home.

When asked if the Billings kept much money at their home, Morgan replied, “That has not been verified.”

The video from last Thursday showed three armed, masked men arriving in a red van, entering through the front of the house and then returning to the vehicle. Others dressed in what the sheriff called “ninja garb” went in through an unlocked utility door in the back. They were in and out in under 10 minutes.

The sheriff would not say what, if anything, was stolen.

Some of the nine children in the house at the time were sleeping, but several others saw the break-in, authorities said. One left the house and went to get a neighbor, who called 911.

“I think you’ll find this particularly chilling and here’s why: We have a team that enters at the rear of the home and another that enters at the front of the home,” Morgan said. “It leads me to believe this was a very well-planned and methodical operation.”

Morgan said, however, that there was no indication anyone had unlocked the door for the intruders, adding that people in the community felt comfortable leaving their doors unlocked. He also said he knew of no connection between the men under arrest and the Billings family.

The couple owned several local businesses, including a finance company and a used-car dealership. They lived in Beulah, a rural area west of Pensacola, near the Alabama state line, in a house set deep in the woods. They had 16 children in all — 12 of them adopted.

Tips from the public led police to the van on Saturday. Day laborer Wayne Coldiron, 41, turned himself in on Sunday, and Leonard P. Gonzalez Jr., 35, was arrested the same day in a neighboring county. They were charged with murder and home invasion. The two were expected to have their first court appearances Tuesday.

Authorities also jailed Gonzalez’s father on a charge of evidence tampering. Police said the 56-year-old tried to paint over and hide damage on the van.

Ashley Markham, an adult daughter of the victims, said she plans to carry on with her parents’ legacy. The husband and wife were 68 and 43, respectively.

“My mother always told me some people grow up wanting to be doctors or lawyers or teachers. She wanted to be a mommy,” Markham said in a statement. “Her lifelong dream was loving her babies and being a voice for them.”

People close to Sarah Palin say national political reporters and pundits have missed the real reasons for her surprising decision to resign as Alaska governor. The national media have dismissed or downplayed her real motives, which had little to do with any plans to run for president in 2012.

Sarah Palin

Contrary to most reports, her decision had been in the works for months, accelerating recently as it became clear that controversies and endless ethics investigations were threatening to overshadow her legislative agenda. “Attacks inside Alaska and largely invisible to the national media had paralyzed her administration,” someone close to the governor told me. “She was fully aware she would be branded a ‘quitter.’ She did not want to disappoint her constituents, but she was no longer able to do the job she had been elected to do. Essentially, the taxpayers were paying for Sarah to go to work every day and defend herself.”

This situation developed because Alaska’s transparency laws allow anyone to file Freedom of Information Act requests. While normally useful, in the hands of political opponents FOIA requests can become a means to bog down a target in a bureaucratic quagmire, thanks to the need to comb through records and respond by a strict timetable. Similarly, ethics investigations are easily triggered and can drag on for months even if the initial complaint is flimsy. Since Ms. Palin returned to Alaska after the 2008 campaign, some 150 FOIA requests have been filed and her office has been targeted for investigation by everyone from the FBI to the Alaska legislature. Most have centered on Ms. Palin’s use of government resources, and to date have turned up little save for a few state trips that she agreed to reimburse the state for because her children had accompanied her. In the process, though, she accumulated $500,000 in legal fees in just the last nine months, and knew the bill would grow ever larger in the future.

“The Alaska ethics elves had painted such a target on Sarah’s forehead that she had begun turning down pretty much every invitation she got — even though they were pouring in every day by the dozens,” a confidant of the governor’s told me. “It is not throwing in the towel. It is deciding that she was ineffective in fighting for her principles and could do more in another role.”

Family considerations also played a role. Ms. Palin gave birth to a baby with Down’s Syndrome in 2008, and also has a six-year old. Everyone in the family was weary of endless personal attacks, including mean-spirited suggestions on liberal blogs that all of her children should have been aborted and that she would run on a presidential platform promoting retardation.

Governor Palin tried hunkering down. She ignored offers of help from outside and kept media outlets at a distance. “Palin had become so suspicious of the media that she rejected hundreds of requests by even friendly reporters to interview her. Her press aides say that before considering interviews, she insists that they comb through reporters’ work, even if they write for a friendly, conservative publication,” writes Ron Kessler of NewsMax.com. I can also attest to the difficulty of reaching Governor Palin’s staff and getting simple requests answered — the problem is that such standoffishness can sometimes result in more negative coverage rather than less.

Karl Rove acknowledges the unusual battering Ms. Palin has endured in recent months, but told Fox News that GOP leaders are still puzzled by her decision. “If she wanted to escape the ethics investigations and save the taxpayers money, she’s now done that,” he said. Unfortunately, he added, her decision “sent a signal that if you do this kind of thing to a sitting governor like her, you can drive her out of office.”

But Palin friends say such commentary misses the real point. “The Beltway media can’t understand someone not consumed with presidential ambition,” one told me. “Maybe Sarah Palin won’t run for president and maybe her family situation made it tougher to handle the barrage of attacks that come with that territory. The real issue that should be asked is why a mean-spirited system has to treat people who run like that, instead of why someone may choose not to go through it.”

All good points, and they lead me to conclude that Ms. Palin mostly likely will not run for president — in 2012, at least. She made many mistakes after suddenly being thrust into the national spotlight last year, but hasn’t merited the sneering contempt visited upon her by national reporters. She simply was not their kind of feminist — and they disdained the politically incorrect life choices she had made.

In helping to convince Sarah Palin that her road forward in national politics would demand even more sacrifices and pain than exacted from most politicians, the media did nothing to encourage women or people of modest means to participate in politics. By sidestepping her critics, Sarah Palin is now moving to another playing field where she has more control over the rules of the game. Her friends say her critics may call her a “quitter” now, but they should wait and see what new role she decides to fill. She may wind up having the last laugh.

On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 6 in response to the ongoing global spread of the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus. A Phase 6 designation indicates that a global pandemic is underway.

More than 70 countries are now reporting cases of human infection with novel H1N1 flu. This number has been increasing over the past few weeks. Some of the cases were involved in travelling, others were local community outbreaks. WHO designation of a pandemic alert Phase 6 reflects the fact that there are now ongoing local outbreaks all over the world.

WHO’s decision to raise the pandemic alert level to Phase 6 is a reflection of the spread of the virus, not the severity of illness caused by the virus.

Learn More About A Natural Immune Booster That Is Recommended >>

It’s uncertain at this time how serious or severe this novel H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic will be in terms of how many of the infected people will develop serious complications or die from novel H1N1 infection. This virus has not been around long enough and influenza by its nature is already unpredictable. One concern is that because novel H1N1 is a new virus, many people may have little or no immunity against it, and without extra immune support the illness may be more severe and widespread. In addition, currently there is no vaccine to protect against swine flu virus. Therefore many health-informed people are using this 2 Step Immune Booster To Stay Healthy:

2 Step Immune Boosting Virus Defense:

Step 1: Drink Twice as Much Spring Water as Normal
Step 2: Take This Natural Immune Booster named Cold & Flu Essentials

Fighting For Your Health…

Swine flu outbreak prompts U.S. government preparation for pandemic
by Kathrine Harmon in 60-second Science Blog

With the number of confirmed U.S. swine flu cases double the 20 it was yesterday, the government says that it is closely monitoring the swine flu outbreak and is preparing for further spread.

“This is obviously the cause for concern and requires a heightened state of alert, but it’s not a cause for alarm,” President Obama said today at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

Obama signs bill funding swine flu fight.

Obama on Swine Flu: Urges ‘Utmost Precautions’ And Advises Schools with Cases to Close

Background
The Swine flu virus is causing illness in infected persons in the United States and countries around the world.  That illness may continue for some time. As a result, you or people around you may become ill. If so, not only do you need to recognize the symptoms and know what to do, but you also need to take action to strengthen your immune system.

Symptoms
The symptoms of this new swine flu virus in people are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with this new swine virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting.   It’s expected, but not known for sure, that the high-risk groups for the swine flu are the same as those for seasonal influenza.

People at higher risk of serious complications from seasonal flu include people age 65 years and older, children younger than 5 years old, pregnant women, people of any age with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), and people who are immune-suppressed (e.g., taking immunosuppressive medications, infected with HIV).

2-Steps for Boosting Immunity and Protecting From Viruses:

1. Drink twice as much water.
2. Take This Natural Immune Booster named Cold & Flu Essentials

Step1– Drink twice as much water

Surprisingly, drinking more water is a simple and effective way to keep your body’s natural immunity strong. It does this by keeping your body hydrated, which helps your lymphatic system circulate properly. The lymphatic system is a network that carries non-blood fluids (known as lymph or interstitial fluid) through the body. It’s the body’s natural ability to heal and to keep diseases at bay. Lymph is a clear, watery fluid that moves around the body via organs, ducts, and nodes to distribute immune cells and other factors. It is vital in fighting off infection and in draining out “bad” fluids from the body, acting as a kind of cleanser that reaches almost every cell in the body. Plenty of pure spring water helps the lymphatic system flush toxins away, keep the immune system strong and more able to fight off disease and viruses.

Step 2– Take This Natural Immune Booster named Cold & Flu Essentials

Cold & Flu Essentials is an all natural immune booster herbal formula. It includes botanicals that are documented as having anti-viral and anti-inflammatory components. These botanicals are made from herbals that have been used in China for hundreds of years to fight off epidemics and viral-infections.

also

Russia has tightened preventive measures to stop the spread of swine flu, which has already killed at least 81 people in Mexico. Anyone arriving from North America with symptoms of the deadly virus will be quarantined.

Meanwhile, swine flu cases were confirmed in New York on Sunday while potential cases were reported from New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Spain.

Also, Russian authorities have limited imports of pork from Mexico, a number of U.S. states and the Caribbean.

Russian Chief Veterinarian Inspector Nikolay Vlasov told Itar-Tass:

“We have blocked the delivery of pork from the area between Colombia, California and Florida.”

In addition, it’s now prohibited from bringing any kinds of meat products into the country carried in the hand luggage of air and sea passengers traveling through Mexico and the U.S. states of Texas, California, and Kansas.

Russian chief sanitary doctor Gennady Onishchenko, in an interview with Vesti-24 channel, said that even though the disease is not fatal when quickly diagnosed and treated, it’s still not recommended to travel to Mexico.

Also, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has set up a governmental commission to prevent the spread of swine flu in the country

July 9 (Bloomberg) — Former National Football League quarterback Steve McNair was murdered by his “distraught” girlfriend, who then committed suicide, Nashville police said.

McNair and his 20-year-old girlfriend, Sahel Kazemi, were found shot to death July 4 at a Nashville condominium that the former Tennessee Titans player owned with a friend.

Nashville Police Chief Ronal Serpas said at a televised news conference that Kazemi was “spinning out of control” in the days before the shootings, upset by money concerns and the belief that McNair was seeing another woman.

“While we may never know exactly what drove Miss Kazemi to make that decision on that Saturday morning, the totality of the evidence clearly points to a murder-suicide,” Serpas said.

Investigators determined that McNair was probably asleep sitting up on the couch when Kazemi shot him once in the right temple, twice in the chest and then once in the left temple. She then positioned herself next to him and killed herself with a single gunshot to the head.

McNair, who was married with four children, had been dating Kazemi for several months before the shootings. She bought the semi-automatic pistol two days before the killings.

“Over the last five to seven days of Miss Kazemi’s life, our investigation is learning that she was very distraught,” Serpas said. “On two occasions she told friends and associates that her life was all messed up and she was going to end it.”

Co-MVP

McNair was the NFL’s co-Most Valuable Player in 2003, sharing the award with Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts. He retired from the NFL in April 2008 after 13 seasons with the Houston Oilers-Titans franchise and the Baltimore Ravens.

McNair met Kazemi about six months ago while she was working as a waitress at a Nashville restaurant and took her on trips to Florida, Las Vegas, California and Hawaii, the Tennessean newspaper reported. He bought her a Cadillac Escalade for her 20th birthday and told her he planned to get a divorce, Kazemi’s nephew told the Tennessean.

Police said Kazemi was helping to make payments on the Cadillac as well as a second vehicle, and her roommate was about to move out, doubling her rent payments.

In addition, police said Kazemi thought McNair had another girlfriend. She had followed a woman who left the condominium several days before the shootings, Serpas said. McNair co-owned the residence with sporting goods dealer Wayne Neeley, who found the bodies.

“One of the stressers was whether or not her relationship with Mr. McNair was unraveling,” Serpas said. “We can’t put ourselves in the minds of people who do these terribly irrational acts, but we do believe there’s evidence that she was spinning out of control.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net

According to his publicist Howard Bragman, the former “Tonight Show” announcer passed away at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in California this morning.

Earlier this year, McMahon was in and out of the hospital for pneumonia and other medical issues, according to sources close to him.

While Bragman did not give a cause of death, he said McMahon had “a multitude of health problems the last few months.”

McMahon had bone cancer, among other illnesses, according to a person close to the entertainer. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

FAST FACTS: Ed McMahon’s Life and Career

Best known for his famous catchphrase “Heeeeeere’s Johnny,” said every night when Johnny Carson took the stage, McMahon spent three decades as the legendary comedian’s sidekick.

McMahon and Carson had worked together for nearly five years on the game show “Who Do You Trust?” when Carson took over NBC’s late-night show from Jack Paar in October 1962. McMahon played second banana on “Tonight” until Carson retired in 1992.

“You can’t imagine hooking up with a guy like Carson,” McMahon said an interview with The Associated Press in 1993. “There’s the old phrase, hook your wagon to a star. I hitched my wagon to a great star.”

PHOTOS: Click here for photos of Ed McMahon through the years.

McMahon, who never failed to laugh at his Carson’s quips, kept his supporting role in perspective.

“It’s like a pitcher who has a favorite catcher,” he said. “The pitcher gets a little help from the catcher, but the pitcher’s got to throw the ball. Well, Johnny Carson had to throw the ball, but I could give him a little help.”

VIDEO: Death of a Television Icon.

The highlight for McMahon came just after the monologue, when he and Carson would chat before the guests took the stage.

“We would just have a free-for-all,” he told the AP. “Now to sit there, with one of the brightest, most well-read men I’ve ever met, the funniest, and just to hold your own in that conversation. … I loved that.”

When Carson died in 2005, McMahon said he was “like a brother to me” and recalled bantering with him on the phone a few months earlier.

“We could have gone on (television) that night and done a ‘Carnac’ skit. We were that crisp and hot.”

His medical and financial problems kept him in the headlines in his last years. It was reported in June 2008 that he was facing possible foreclosure on his Beverly Hills home.

By year’s end, a deal was worked out allowing him to stay in his home, but legal action involving other alleged debts continued.

Among those who had stepped up with offers of help was Donald Trump.

“When I was at the Wharton School of Business I’d watch him every night,” Trump told the Los Angeles Times in August. “How could this happen?”

McMahon even spoofed his own problems with a spot that aired during the 2009 Super Bowl promoting a cash-for-gold business. Pairing up with rap artist MC Hammer, he explained how easy it is to turn gold items into cash, jokingly saying “Goodbye, old friend” to a gold toilet and rolling out a convincing “H-e-e-e-e-e-ere’s money!”

Born Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. on March 6, 1923, in Detroit, McMahon grew up in Lowell, Mass. He got his start on television playing a circus clown on the 1950-51 variety series “Big Top.” But the World War II Marine veteran interrupted his career to serve as a fighter pilot in Korea.

He joined “Who Do You Trust? in 1958, its second year, the start of his long association with Carson. It was a partnership that outlasted their multiple marriages, which provided regular on-air fodder for jokes.

While Carson built his career around “Tonight” and withdrew from the limelight after his retirement, McMahon took a different path. He was host of several shows over the years, including “The Kraft Music Hall” (1968) and the amateur talent contest “Star Search.”

He was a longtime co-host of the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon, a Labor Day weekend institution, and was co-host with Dick Clark of “TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes.”

McMahon and Clark also teamed up as pitchmen for American Family Publishers’ sweepstakes, with their faces a familiar sight on contest entry forms and in TV commercials. McMahon was known for his ongoing commercials for Budweiser as well.

He had supporting roles in several movies, including “Fun with Dick and Jane” (1977) and “Just Write” (1997). He took on his first regular TV series job in the 1997 WB sitcom “The Tom Show” with Tom Arnold.

McMahon married his third wife, advertising executive Pam Hurn in 1992, and adopted her son. McMahon and his second wife, Victoria Valentine, had an adopted daughter, and McMahon and first wife Alyce Ferrill had four children.

One son, Michael Edward McMahon, who worked as a counselor for abused children, died of cancer in 1995 at 44.

Ed McMahon released his autobiography, “For Laughing Out Loud: My Life and Good Times,” in 1998. In it, he recounts the birth of “Tonight.”

“Let’s just go down there and entertain the hell out of them,” Carson told him before the first show. Wrote McMahon: “That was the only advice I ever got from him.”

In 1993, he recalled his first meeting with Carson after they left “Tonight.”

“The first thing he said was, ‘I really miss you. You know, it was fun, wasn’t it?”‘ McMahon recalled. “I said, ‘It was great.’ And it was. It was just great.”

Besides his wife, McMahon is survived by children Claudia, Katherine, Linda, Jeffrey and Lex.

Bragman said no funeral arrangements have been made.

Her spokesman, Paul Bloch, confirmed that the iconic actress died Thursday morning at 9:28 a.m. PDT.

Her long-time partner Ryan O’Neal told People magazine Thursday, “She’s gone. She now belongs to the ages … She’s now with her mother and sister and her God. I loved her with all my heart. I will miss her so very, very much. She was in and out of consciousness. I talked to her all through the night. I told her how very much I loved her. She’s in a better place now.”

Other “Charlie’s Angels” stars paid tribute to her.

“Farrah had courage, she had strength, and she had faith. And now she has peace as she rests with the real angels,” Jaclyn Smith said.

Said Cheryl Ladd: “She was incredibly brave, and God will be welcoming her with open arms.”

Her former producer Craig Nevius told FOXNews.com, “She will be remembered as
the modern Mona Lisa and so much more. I will remember her as my friend.”

Fawcett was diagnosed with anal cancer in September 2006 and, despite going into remission and enduring extensive chemotherapy and surgery both in the U.S. and Germany, it was revealed earlier this year that the cancer had spread to her liver. She stopped receiving treatment in May.

Fawcett documented the trials and tribulations of her battle with cancer in the NBC documentary “Farrah’s Story.”

VIDEO: The life and death of an icon.

FAST FACTS: Farrah Fawcett Biography

Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1947 to a homemaker and an oil field contractor, Fawcett was encouraged to pursue a career in Hollywood while attending the University of Texas at Austin after her photo as one of the “Ten Most Beautiful Coeds” landed on the lap of a Los Angeles publicist. After scoring a string of commercials for consumer products and a few small television roles she finally hit the big-time with “Charlie’s Angels.” But Fawcett, eager to pursue greater acting challenges, left the show after just one season.

Police said there were no signs of forced entry to Mays’ residence and foul play is not suspected. Authorities said an autopsy should be complete by Monday afternoon.

“Although Billy lived a public life, we don’t anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days. Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times,” Mays wife, Deborah, said in a statement on Sunday.

Mays was well known for his numerous television promotions of such products as Orange Glo and OxiClean. He was also featured on the reality TV show “Pitchmen” on the Discovery Channel, which followed Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing jobs.

Born William Mays in McKees Rocks, Pa., on July 20, 1958, Mays developed his style demonstrating knives, mops and other “as seen on TV” gadgets on Atlantic City’s boardwalk. For years he worked as a hired gun on the state fair and home show circuits, attracting crowds with his booming voice and genial manner.

After meeting Orange Glo International founder Max Appel at a home show in Pittsburgh in the mid-1990s, Mays was recruited to demonstrate the environmentally friendly line of cleaning products on the St. Petersburg-based Home Shopping Network.

Commercials and informercials followed, anchored by the high-energy Mays showing how it’s done while tossing out kitschy phrases like, “Long live your laundry!”

Recently he’s been seen on commercials for a wide variety of products and is featured on the reality TV show “Pitchmen” on the Discovery Channel, which follows Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing jobs. He’s also been seen in ESPN ads.

His ubiquitousness and thumbs-up, in-your-face pitches won Mays plenty of fans. People line up at his personal appearances for autographed color glossies, and strangers stop him in airports to chat about the products.

“I enjoy what I do,” Mays told The Associated Press in a 2002 interview. “I think it shows.”

Mays was on board a US Airways flight that blew out its front tires as it landed at a Tampa airport on Saturday, MyFOXTampa.com reported.

US Airways spokesman Jim Olson said that none of the 138 passengers and five crew members were injured in the incident, but several passengers reported having bumps and bruises, according to the station.

Authorities have not said whether Mays’ death was related to the incident.

Discovery Channel spokeswoman Elizabeth Hillman released a statement Sunday extending sympathy to the Mays family.

“Everyone that knows him was aware of his larger-than-life personality, generosity and warmth,” Hillman’s statement said. “Billy was a pioneer in his field and helped many people fulfill their dreams. He will be greatly missed as a loyal and compassionate friend.”

Police said there were no signs of forced entry to Mays’ residence and foul play is not suspected. Authorities said an autopsy should be complete by Monday afternoon.

“Although Billy lived a public life, we don’t anticipate making any public statements over the next couple of days. Our family asks that you respect our privacy during these difficult times,” Mays wife, Deborah, said in a statement on Sunday.

Mays was well known for his numerous television promotions of such products as Orange Glo and OxiClean. He was also featured on the reality TV show “Pitchmen” on the Discovery Channel, which followed Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing jobs.

Born William Mays in McKees Rocks, Pa., on July 20, 1958, Mays developed his style demonstrating knives, mops and other “as seen on TV” gadgets on Atlantic City’s boardwalk. For years he worked as a hired gun on the state fair and home show circuits, attracting crowds with his booming voice and genial manner.

After meeting Orange Glo International founder Max Appel at a home show in Pittsburgh in the mid-1990s, Mays was recruited to demonstrate the environmentally friendly line of cleaning products on the St. Petersburg-based Home Shopping Network.

Commercials and informercials followed, anchored by the high-energy Mays showing how it’s done while tossing out kitschy phrases like, “Long live your laundry!”

Recently he’s been seen on commercials for a wide variety of products and is featured on the reality TV show “Pitchmen” on the Discovery Channel, which follows Mays and Anthony Sullivan in their marketing jobs. He’s also been seen in ESPN ads.

His ubiquitousness and thumbs-up, in-your-face pitches won Mays plenty of fans. People line up at his personal appearances for autographed color glossies, and strangers stop him in airports to chat about the products.

“I enjoy what I do,” Mays told The Associated Press in a 2002 interview. “I think it shows.”

Mays was on board a US Airways flight that blew out its front tires as it landed at a Tampa airport on Saturday, MyFOXTampa.com reported.

US Airways spokesman Jim Olson said that none of the 138 passengers and five crew members were injured in the incident, but several passengers reported having bumps and bruises, according to the station.

Authorities have not said whether Mays’ death was related to the incident.

Discovery Channel spokeswoman Elizabeth Hillman released a statement Sunday extending sympathy to the Mays family.

“Everyone that knows him was aware of his larger-than-life personality, generosity and warmth,” Hillman’s statement said. “Billy was a pioneer in his field and helped many people fulfill their dreams. He will be greatly missed as a loyal and compassionate friend.”

Well, to be honest, I had all these great things to say about the Michael Jackson memorial, but then the sight of his young daughter sobbing into a microphone just completely knocked the snark out of me. Honestly, that poor kid. My god. It’s going to take me a while to get over that. But the blog must go on! And since this was the biggest televised event in the history of televised events, let’s run down some of the highlights and lowlights of Hollywood’s tribute to the biggest star the world has ever known.

This probably sounds weird, but I actually loved all the Jackson brothers wearing one sparkly glove. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but it just felt like a nice, loving gesture. Also, sparkles for the win, in any situation.

Brooke Shields gave the most genuine, heartfelt eulogy by any non-Jackson of the morning by far. It was like she was the only person there who understands what funerals are. She was also one of the few people there who never made money off of Michael, as our lovely recapper Cindy McLennan reminded me. Very classily done, Brooke.

And while that may have been the most appropriate eulogy, Magic Johnson had the best Michael anecdote ever. KFC with the King of Pop? Amazing. I don’t know if he has, because I follow basketball about as closely as I follow professional curling, but he should have been telling that story to everyone who would listen for years by now.

This is going to be controversial in the comments, but for my money, Jennifer Hudson’s performance blew me away the most out of anybody’s. Did not expect anyone to sing the Free Willy song, and I certainly never expected the Free Willy song to be so powerfully entertaining. She looked fantastic, too, despite being 47 months pregnant.

Now for some less-than-impressive moments. First of all, there was a tendency throughout the whole thing to express that Michael Jackson did supernatural things like make Magic Johnson a better point guard just by being such an amazing entertainer, for example. And of course Michael Jackson was an amazing entertainer and in several aspects a very inspirational figure, but Magic Johnson was a phenomenal point guard because Magic Johnson was a phenomenal point guard. It is possible to pay tribute to someone without cheapening it by just making overreaching crap up. Brooke Shields managed to do it without saying the Thriller album made her Calvins fit better.

Al Sharpton was Al Sharpton. Nothing more, nothing less.

Personally, I was disappointed that the rumors of a Beyonce performance turned out to not be true. You already know how I feel about Justin Timberlake, so it shouldn’t be a shock that I was relieved he didn’t show up.

So let me get this straight — that Congresswoman came to shout a lot and then alert us to the fact that she’s enacting a congressional resolution that declares that Michael Jackson was a very famous person? Now, I know that congressional resolutions are often meaningless like this — I’ve seen The West Wing — but, you know, c’mon, lady. This was a funeral, not a voter’s rally, and her speech was ridiculously tacky.

Usher sang with aviators on, and then had the nerve to touch the casket during his performance, the only performer to do so. I understand he may have had the glasses on because he was embarrassed about crying or something, and I do admit that he sounded great, as he always does, but take those sunglasses off, jackass.

And how dare you, John Mayer.

Lionel Richie sounded so good! I’m not familiar with the song “Jesus is Love,” but I guess it’s really well-known? It sounds familiar? Anyway, he did a nice, tasteful job, and didn’t seem to me like he was making it all about him. Ditto for Stevie Wonder.

And now, it’s time to talk about the Britain’s Got Talent kid, Shaheen Jafargholi. Obviously, the kid is wildly talented, and a genuine Michael Jackson superfan. I am not questioning those two things. But yikes, bringing him on to perform at a funeral for someone who was so psychologically damaged from (among many things) entering show business at too young an age, seemed… inappropriate. But, hey, more power to the kid. He sounded great.

And Janet was just breathtakingly gorgeous. Her helping Paris with her mic stand and then hugging her when she cried just killed me. So sad.