Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe INSERT YOUR OWN HEADLINE HERE Michael Jackson says he's never had so much fun in his life than he's had being a parent. In an interview in the March issue of Vibe magazine, the "King of Pop" confesses: "Because I'm this big kid, and now I get to see the world through the eyes of the really young ones. I learn more from them then they learn from me." Advertisement Jackson also says he careful not to include offensive lyrics in his songs. "We weren't raised to be like that. Mother and Joseph (Michael's father) wouldn't say stuff like that," he says. Jackson released his platinum-selling "Invincible," his first album in four years, last November. Recently named the American Music Awards' Artist of the Century, Jackson is slated to perform at the Grammy Awards next month. THINGS WE DON'T UNDERSTAND Advertisement NBC anchor Tom Brokaw reportedly had a bit of trouble getting in the White House last Wednesday. Brokaw doesn't have permanent White House credentials and was stopped at the security gate until a press office aide could clear him with the U.S. Secret Service. The thing is, Brokaw has been preparing a documentary on the Bush White House and spent a full day with the president last week. Guess the NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw is not must-see TV for the guards at the White House. (From UPI's Capital Comment) NEWS OF OTHER LIFE FORMS Pop diva Britney Spears says she and longtime beau Justin Timberlake are indeed engaged and plan to marry sometime in the future. TODAY'S SIGN THE WORLD IS ENDING New York Gov. George Pataki has spearheaded a campaign to increase the amount of money the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks received from the federal Compensation Fund and while the families may indeed get more, the public campaign has also resulted in a backlash. E-mails to several groups organized to aid the victims, as well as comments from the public submitted to the Department of Justice, use the word "greed" a lot. Advertisement While most people want to help those who have lost a loved one and a breadwinner, the more then $1 million payments seem excessive to some. "I felt your pain and now I feel your greed," has been a comment bandied about on numerous talk radio programs. More than 2,000 people have written comments to the Department of Justice during the month-long comment period that ended last week. The comments are listed on a Web site but names have been erased. "I strongly doubt that any of the victims' families will ever want," one New Yorker wrote. "The generosity of the American people has been tremendous. Many of the victims left their families provided for -- indeed, the firefighters and police had tremendous benefits provided for by union contract. The taxpayers have enough burdens. No money should be provided." Kenneth Feinberg, appointed Special Master to determine how the federal compensation fund would be distributed, has estimated federal compensation would be about $1.6 million per family on average. The federal act designated that life insurance, Social Security and pensions had to be subtracted from the federal payments. However, Feinberg determined that charitable contributions from the more than $1 billion donated in the wake of the attacks will not be subtracted. Advertisement People injured in the attacks are also eligible for payments. Those hospitalized for a week or more could receive $25,000. Many families of high-earners who worked in the financial sector and some firefighters' families had complained that because retirement benefits and life insurance had to be subtracted from the amount, they would receive nothing from the federal funds. Several have said that their hard work to earn good salaries, financial planning and the fact that they paid for life insurance should not penalize them from getting federal compensation. Many sympathize with the widow who wrote: "My husband went into the tower one, never to return. ... In the grander scheme of things, monetary increments will never replace the loss of my husband. I've been emotionally devastated behind this event." However, a resident of Short Hills, N.J., wrote, "Provide for the true needs of the families, but don't just give away tax money in a misguided and hopeless attempt to equate dollars with empathy." AND FINALLY, TODAY'S UPLIFTING STORY Doctors in San Antonio, Texas, confirm that kidney transplant surgery for singer/songwriter Freddy Fender went smoothly. The kidney was donated by his 21-year-old daughter Marla Garcia of Jacksonville, Fla. The operation lasted several hours. Advertisement Fender had been on regular dialysis for more than a year awaiting a suitable donor organ. The singer may be hospitalized for some time while he gains strength. Fender is now 64 and is up for another Grammy this year for a CD containing music from his Hispanic roots in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. (Thanks to UPI Feature Reporter Dennis Daily)
