Jackson’s jury faces daunting instructions during deliberations

Santa Maria, Calif. – Jurors deciding the child molestation case against Michael Jackson may have to reach as many as 20 separate decisions because of the complicated instructions given to them by the judge.

It could take them a long time to sort it all out.

A detailed study of the 98 pages of legal instructions shows the panel is facing a task that could be confounding even to people familiar with the law. One of the toughest decisions could be whether Jackson participated in a conspiracy.

“Jurors are locked in the jury room without a lawyer, and they are expected to master one of the most complicated areas of the law – conspiracy,” said Jim Hammer, a former San Francisco prosecutor who is now a legal analyst for Fox News.

Within the single conspiracy count are three other allegations – conspiracy to commit the crime of extortion, the crime of child abduction and the crime of false imprisonment. Each of those crimes requires a specific intent and must be decided individually.

Along with conspiracy, the indictment charges Jackson, 46, with molesting a 13-year-old boy in 2003 and giving him wine. He has denied the charges.

Jurors have spent more than 28 hours since June 3 weighing the 10 total counts against Jackson. Deliberations resume Monday.

On most days, the panel has spent six hours in court, with three brief breaks but no lunch hour. The court has said the jury asked just one question, but the query made last Monday and its resolution were not publicly disclosed.

Beyond the specific crimes alleged in the conspiracy charge against Jackson, the count also alleges 28 “overt acts” in furtherance of the conspiracy with a group of unindicted co-conspirators. Jurors were told to disregard the fact that the other alleged conspirators were not charged and did not appear in the trial.

To find Jackson guilty of that count, the panel must decide unanimously that one or more of the acts is true.

Jurors were told to decide if Jackson was a member of the alleged conspiracy and “whether he willfully, intentionally and knowingly joined with any other or others in the alleged conspiracy.”

Poll shows Cruise should control coverage of love life

New York – Tom Cruise says girlfriend Katie Holmes “digs” the Church of Scientology.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Cruise says the 26-year-old “Batman Begins” actress is curious about Scientology, founded by L. Ron Hubbard.

“Yes, absolutely. She digs it,” the 42-year-old actor tells the magazine.

When asked if he’s become more passionate about Scientology, Cruise says: “I’ve always been passionate about it.”

He also confirmed there was a Scientology massage tent on the set of his upcoming film, “War of the Worlds.”

In an EW.com poll, 61 percent of respondents said they liked Cruise less now after the recent exhaustive attention to his personal life, 3 percent said they liked him more, and 36 percent said their viewpoint of the “Top Gun” star hadn’t changed.

When asked by the interviewer if he’s going to propose to Holmes, Cruise whispered, “It’s gonna happen, man. It’ll happen.”

Pop star to premiere newest video on reality show

New York – Britney Spears has a parting gift for fans of her UPN reality show: the world premiere of the video for her new single, “Someday (I Will Understand).”

The video will be shown during the one-hour series finale of “Britney and Kevin: Chaotic” on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET), the network announced Thursday.

“Chaotic” has featured the courtship, engagement and wedding of Spears and Kevin Federline through home videos, shot mostly by the couple with their own camera.

Backstreet’s back with ‘Never Gone’

New York – The Backstreet Boys will launch a 28-city tour to promote their new album, “Never Gone,” which is set for release Tuesday.

The tour will open July 22 in West Palm Beach, Fla., and end Sept. 2 in Portland, Ore.

In addition, Clear Channel Music Group announced Thursday that it is teaming with the Backstreet Boys and AOL Music to offer two-for-one tickets. Fans who visit the Web site aolcityguide.com and buy two reserved seats for the summer dates will get two free lawn or mezzanine seats to the same show.

Tickets go on sale to the public Friday.

“Never Gone” is the first studio album from the Backstreet Boys in almost five years.

Prince William celebrates getting master of arts degree

London – Prince William learned Saturday that he had achieved a master of arts degree in geography.

The 22-year-old son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana logged onto the Internet to discover that he had received a 2:1 grade for his four-year course at St. Andrews University, Scotland.

A 2:1 denotes an upper second-class degree, a very respectable achievement.

The prince, who is second in line to the British throne, did better than his father, who received a 2:2, or lower second class degree for his honors degree in history at Trinity College, Cambridge.

William said last year that he was hoping to get a 2:1 but a lot depended on his 10,000-word dissertation on coral reefs.