All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

For the past 7 days now, I have done nothing but cover the death of Michael Jackson and sleep (at least 4 hours each night). While I was always a fan of his music, especially the amazing hits from the 80's, I never closely followed the surreal saga that was his life off stage. However, I find the drama that has played out over the past week to be incredibly compelling. Some of it is tabloid for sure, but it is also a great human drama and tragedy. The other thing that has amazed me is how much of the "news" about Jackson is being driven by the celebrity web site TMZ. They generally traffic in all things celebrity and it’s far from what many would consider reputable journalism. However, TMZ broke the news of Jackson’s death and has basically been one step ahead of EVERY news organization since. Some are calling Jackson’s death the event that will "legitimize" TMZ. That remains to be seen, but right now they are out front.

Some thoughts on Diana Ross and Debbie Rowe:

When Michael Jackson's will was released today, there were two bombshells. First, he asked that his mother be given custody of his children. However, if she wasn't able to care for them, he wanted them to go to Diana Ross. Jackson's biographer, Randy Taraborelli, says the two were extremely close. In fact, when a young Michael Jackson first lived in Los Angeles, he lived with Ross at her mansion and she became a surrogate mother. He was able to see how she raised her kids and apparently decided she did a pretty good job. The two also memorably starred in the 1978 musical "The Wiz." However, Jackson’s biographer says the two have not been in contact in recent years. That Jackson distanced himself from almost everyone after his molestation trial in 2005. Taraborelli does say that he thinks Ross will be delighted that Jackson thought of her in this way.

As for Debbie Rowe, Jackson's former wife who gave both to two of his children, she was specifically cut out of the will. When Jackson signed his will in 2002, he and Rowe had split and were at odds over custody and visitation rights for the children. In 2005, Rowe was called as a prosecution witness in Jackson's molestation trial. However, many believe her testimony is what led to Michael Jackson's acquittal. Shortly thereafter, the two reached an agreement whereby she gave up her parental rights for a reported multi-million dollar settlement.

Sandra Hughes is a CBS News correspondent based in Los Angeles.

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Now that the overheated US housing market is finally cooling off, it’s no surprise that everyone is looking for a deal. But buyers aren’t the only ones. Sellers are in the market to save money too and a number of homeowners are trying to do it by not hiring realtors.

Last year, about 12% of all American home sales were so called “FSBOs” or “for sale by owners." That figure is actually down somewhat from the nationwide peak, which occurred in 1987, when some 20% of all homes in the U.S. were sold by their owners.

When is it a good idea to try selling your home without a realtor? According to the National Association of Realtors, never! They insist that you need the expertise and savvy that a real estate professional brings into what likely will be the most costly transaction of your life. On the other hand, when you’re talking about saving potentially tens of thousands of dollars that would go to a realtor, many people opt to go it alone.

There is some academic evidence to support the FSBO route. Economists looking at the Madison, Wisconsin housing market found homes sold by owner on a local website went for about the same amount as those sold by realtors. But the same study also found that realtors did sell homes faster. And according to a National Association of Realtors survey of home sellers in 2005 using a real estate broker brought a 16% increase in the sales price...

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