Gordon Gee also took shots at schools in the Southeastern Conference and the University of Louisville, according to the recording of the December meeting of the school's Athletic Council that The Associated Press obtained under a public records request.

The university called the statements inappropriate and said Gee is undergoing a "remediation plan" because of the remarks.

Gee was on a long-planned family vacation and unavailable for comment, Ohio State spokeswoman Gayle Saunders said. He apologized in a statement released to the AP.

"The comments I made were just plain wrong, and in no way do they reflect what the university stands for," he said in the statement. "They were a poor attempt at humor and entirely inappropriate. There is no excuse for this and I am deeply sorry."

Gee, who has taken heat before for uncouth remarks, told members of the council that he negotiated with Notre Dame officials during his first term at Ohio State, which began more than two decades ago.

"The fathers are holy on Sunday, and they're holy hell on the rest of the week," Gee said to laughter at the Dec. 5 meeting attended by Athletic Director Gene Smith, several other athletic department members, professors and students.

"You just can't trust those damn Catholics on a Thursday or a Friday, and so, literally, I can say that," said Gee, a Mormon.

The Big Ten had for years courted Notre Dame, but the school resisted as it sought to retain its independent status in college football. In September, the school announced that it would join the Atlantic Coast Conference in all sports except football and hockey but would play five football games each year against ACC teams.

In the recording, Gee referred specifically to dealing with the Rev. Ned Joyce, Notre Dame's longtime executive vice president, who died in 2004.

"Father Joyce was one of those people who ran the university for many, many years," Gee said.

Gee said the Atlantic Coast Conference added Notre Dame at a time when it was feeling vulnerable.

"Notre Dame wanted to have its cake and eat it, too," Gee said, according to the recording and a copy of the meeting's minutes.

Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown called the remarks regrettable, especially the reference to Joyce, "who served Notre Dame and collegiate athletics so well and for so long." Gee contacted Notre Dame's president, the Rev. John Jenkins, to offer an apology, which was accepted, Brown said Thursday in an email, declining to say when the apology was made.

Notre Dame has a storied collegiate football history and is perhaps the nation's pre-eminent Roman Catholic university. Ohio State, with about 56,000 students on its main campus, is among the country's biggest universities, and it has its own long football tradition.

A message was left with Smith, the Ohio State athletic director who attended the December meeting and who also is a 1977 Notre Dame graduate. NCAA President Mark Emmert declined to comment, saying he hadn't heard the remarks.

Ohio State's Athletic Council meets monthly during the fall, winter and spring and makes recommendations on athletic policy including ticket prices. December's meeting was at Ohio Stadium.

Gee was introduced by Athletic Council then-chairman Charlie Wilson, and Gee's name and introduction are included in written minutes of the meeting. His comments drew laughter, at times loud, occasionally nervous, but no rebukes, according to the audio.

Ohio State trustees learned of Gee's "offensive statements" in January, met with the president at length and created the remediation plan for Gee to "address his behavior," board president Robert Schottenstein said in a statement.

Comments by a university leader about "particular groups, classes of people or individuals are wholly unacceptable," Schottenstein said. "These statements were inappropriate, were not presidential in nature and do not comport with the core values of the university."

Gee has gotten in trouble before for offhand remarks, most recently during a memorabilia-for-cash and tattoos scandal under football coach Jim Tressel's watch.

Gee was asked in March 2011 whether he had considered firing Tressel. He responded: "No, are you kidding? Let me just be very clear: I'm just hopeful the coach doesn't dismiss me." Tressel stepped down three months later.

In November 2010, Gee boasted that Ohio State's football schedule didn't include teams on par with the "Little Sisters of the Poor." An apologetic Gee later sent a personal check to the real Little Sisters of the Poor in northwest Ohio and followed up with a visit to the nuns months later.

Last year, Gee apologized for comparing the problem of coordinating the school's many divisions to the Polish army, a remark that a Polish-American group called bigoted and ignorant.

In 1992, in a moment of frustration over higher-education funding, Gee told a student newspaper reporter, "the governor's a damn dummy." Then-Gov. George Voinovich laughed it off, and the two became allies.

Gee was named the country's best college president in 2010 by Time magazine, and he has one of the highest-profile resumes of any college leader in recent history. He has held the top job at West Virginia University, the University of Colorado, Brown University and Vanderbilt University. He was Ohio State president from 1990 to 1997 and returned in 2007.

Gee, 69, earns about $1.9 million annually in base pay, deferred and performance compensation and retirement benefits.

He is a prolific fundraiser and is leading a $2.5 billion campaign at Ohio State. He is omnipresent on campus, attending everything from faculty awards events to dormitory pizza parties. He is known for his bow ties he has hundreds and his horn-rimmed glasses.

During his comments to the Athletic Council, Gee also questioned the academic integrity of schools in the Southeastern Conference and the University of Louisville.

The top goal of Big Ten presidents is to "make certain that we have institutions of like-minded academic integrity," Gee said. "So you won't see us adding Louisville," which is also joining the ACC.

After a pause followed by laughter from the audience, Gee added that the Big Ten wouldn't add the University of Kentucky, either.

Louisville spokesman Mark Hebert said the university accepted Gee's apology but planned to forward Gee information about the upward trajectory of its academic and athletic programs. Kentucky president Eli Capilouto declined to comment.

During the meeting, Gee also said he thought it was a mistake not to include Missouri and Kansas in earlier Big Ten expansion plans. Missouri has since joined the SEC.

"You tell the SEC when they can learn to read and write, then they can figure out what we're doing," Gee said when asked by a questioner how to respond to SEC fans who say the Big Ten can't count because it now has 14 members.

Gee noted he was chairman of the SEC during his time as Vanderbilt University chancellor. He also told the audience that speculation about the SEC "remains right here," according to the recording.

Despite his SEC comments, Gee gave the commencement address at an SEC institution Louisiana State University's Health Sciences Center on May 16, Ohio State confirmed. Gee's daughter is assistant professor of Public Health and Medicine at Louisiana State University.

Gee took a swipe at Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, one of the most powerful leaders in college athletics, when he answered a question about preserving Ohio State's financial interests in light of Big Ten revenue-sharing plans.

"No one admires Jim Delany more than I do. I chaired the committee that brought him here," Gee said. "Jim is very aggressive, and we need to make certain he keeps his hands out of our pockets while we support him."

Gee's comments "were inappropriate and in no way represent the opinions of the conference," Delany said in a statement, adding he had apologized to Notre Dame and the SEC.

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said Gee called to apologize for the comments about a week ago, saying they might become public. Delany called after that, also to apologize. Both apologies were accepted, Slive said.

"Our focus is on the SEC," he said Thursday. "Our goal is to make us better, and we've been very successful and we're comfortable here. There really isn't much more to add to that."

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Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Tom Coyne in South Bend, Ind., Janet Cappiello in Louisville, Ky., Stephen Hawkins in Irving, Texas, and Mark Long in Destin, Fla., contributed to this report.

British entrepreneur Branson announced on Twitter on Wednesday that Bieber, 19, and his manager, Scooter Braun, were the latest "future astronauts." Bieber tweeted in response, "let's shoot a music video in SPACE!!"

Virgin Galactic commercial space flights, which are slated to begin next year, have reportedly already drawn high profile passengers including physicist Stephen Hawking as well as actors Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

At a charity auction during the Cannes film festival last month, one guest paid $1.2 million to purchase a seat next to actor Leonardo DiCaprio on Virgin Galactic.

Last year, "Two and a Half Men" actor Ashton Kutcher became the 500th person to sign up.

A seat on Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, a six-passenger, two-pilot spaceship, costs $250,000 and will take passengers to an altitude of about 68 miles, giving them a few minutes to experience zero gravity and glimpse Earth from space.

The SpaceShipTwo rocket is currently undergoing vigorous tests in preparation of its first space trip with Branson and his family, scheduled for the end of this year.

Virgin Galactic is a division of Branson's Virgin Group.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Eric Kelsey and Sandra Maler)

is an online personalized finance service that helps "consumers make better decisions about their personal finances, travel plans, or higher education." The company recentlythat named the best places for women in the workforce, and Washington, D.C., was No. 1 on the big city list.

The lists, divided into large, medium, and small cities, were based on an analysis of 366 metro areas and included data from the U.S. Census. Three criteria were examined: median salary for full-time female employees, women's pay as a percentage of men's for full-time employees, and the population growth of each city.

The Study

According to a February 2013 , "Women have made notable changes in their labor force activities." The number of full-time working women has increased considerably since 1970. According to the report, "In 1979, women working full-time earned 62 percent of what men did; in 2011, women's earnings were 82 percent of men's."

NerdWallet examined cities "with characteristics that support working women, including a growing economy, a small gender pay gap, and robust salaries" and divided their rankings based on metro area size.

In an interview with TIME,"We parsed the results because some people aren't looking for jobs in big cities. While many working women want to move to places like New York City, others want to live in smaller cities where they can raise families and send their children to quality public schools. We wanted to make sure we had results that catered to all women, not exclusively young, mobile women who are drawn to big cities."

Why Washington, D.C.?

NerdWallet says that women in D.C. "benefit from a high median salary and high population growth."

While the area offers several employment opportunities for the politically inclined, many women also work in research in area universities. With the-- Washington, D.C., had approximately 16.1 million domestic visitors in 2011 -- more prospects of work have also been added.

With such avenues, the median earnings for full-time, year-round female employees in D.C. is $55,688, and women's earnings in D.C. are 81.9 percent of men's earnings.

After Washington, D.C., NerdWallet listed San Francisco, San Jose, Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Denver, Raleigh, New York City, and Sacramento on the list of the top 10 big cities for working women.

Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, took first in the list of the best medium-sized cities for women in the workforce, thanks to job opportunities at the metro area's universities. Women's pay is 93.5 percent of men's in Durham-Chapel Hill, and the median pay for full-time, year-round women is $41,736.

The small cities list is led by Napa, California, where NerdWallet reports women's earnings are 91.6 percent of men's and median women's pay is $46,949.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - British boy band One Direction has swept the inaugural awards recognizing the most popular people in social media globally, coming top in four out of 10 categories at a star-studded ceremony in Singapore.

One Direction was named most popular music group, most popular UK musicians, most popular in the UK, and most popular in west Europe, at the Social Star Awards, but did not show up to collect their prizes, sending their thanks by videolink.

Canadian pop star Justin Bieber won the award for best solo artist, Selena Gomez for most popular actor, Ellen DeGeneres for top TV show, and Portuguese soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo for most popular sports star.

The awards highlight viral sensations and people who garner the most social media attention globally based on data from Singapore-based Starcount that tracks the social media activity of 1.7 billion people across 11 social media networks.

American actress Jessica Alba and "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven hosted Thursday night's ceremony that ended a 24-hour marathon of 288 online awards awarded in categories ranging from best finance brand to top Indonesia actor.

"It is all about the most popular people on the planet ... Everyday we are sharing, liking, viewing, tweeting and what our awards show does is celebrate the superstars of social media," Starcount CEO Paul Morrison told reporters ahead of the awards.

Many of the award winners were absent from the prize giving but the void was filled with live performances by South Korean rapper Psy, American singer Carly Rae Jepsen, SkyBlu from electronic dance duo LMFAO, and U.S. rockers Aerosmith.

R&B singer-songwriter Eric Benet hailed the impact of social media.

"If you plan on being relevant and have a sustainable career in this day and age social media is about as important as TV was ... in the 1950s," he told Reuters television.

"Way back in the '90s when I started back in the music industry we would have to rely on our PR department and our record label but now in this day and age we, the artist, can take command of our career. It's awesome."

(Reporting by Patrick Johnston, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

With at least 10in one night this week leveling neighborhoods, killing six and injuring dozens it might be tempting to call the twisters yet another instance of climate-fueled weather. But not so fast.

While most climate scientists agree that global warming is driving record heat waves, widespread drought, heavy rain and floods, intense hurricanes, and even monster snowstorms, tornadoes at least for now are a different story.

"With tornadoes, what we don't know is as much as what we do know,'' said Michael Wehner, a scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Global warming is making wet places wetter and dry places drier, and creating moisture-laden air that fuels hurricanes and snowstorms, making them much worse than they otherwise would be in a climate unchanged by human behaviors. []

But we can't necessarily say the same the same about tornadoes, at least not yet. The tornado connection to global warming is tenuous, and for several reasons. Chief among them is the fact that climate change apparently affects the two major factors influencing tornadoes energy and wind shear in completely opposite ways.

Tornadoes, violently rotating columns of air spawned by thunderstorms, occur when available energy warm, moist air at low levels and cold, drier air above meets vertical wind shear, which provides the source of the rotation. Climate change enhances the former, also known as "convective available potential energy,'' or CAPE, and diminishes the latter.

As the planet warms, "the energy goes up, and the shear goes down,'' said Harold Brooks, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Severe Storms Laboratory. "Thus, we have one ingredient expected to become more favorable and another expected to become less favorable.''

Furthermore, the enormous natural variability in tornadoes makes it difficult to sort out any viable climate trends. Also, what seems like an increase in excessive violent tornado activity in recent years may in fact be the result of other factors. []

"Tornadoes are small, and the observational record shows increases that are simply due to more people in more places seeing them,'' said Kevin Trenberth, distinguished senior scientist in the climate analysis section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

There also is a dearth of information about what happens to tornadoes over time. Tornado reporting and record-keeping practices have been fraught with problems. "Our database for evaluating long-term changes in tornadoes is pretty awful, so we really don't know how tornadoes might be changing,'' said Jeff Masters, director of meteorology for the Weather Underground.

Brooks agreed. "Tornado data collection has never been intended as a climate data set,'' he said. "Large changes have taken place in reporting procedures that make interpretation of the past very difficult.''

Tornadoes can be terrifying and destructive, causing about 70 deaths and 1,500 injuries in the United States annually, according to NOAA. The strongest ones feature rotating winds of more than 250 miles per hour; they can be as wide as 1 mile and stay on the ground for distances as far as 50 miles. The year 2011 brought an onslaught of vicious tornadoes, including a catastrophic twister that struck Joplin, Mo., in May, killing 161 people and destroying a third of the city.

They can happen anywhere there is enough moist air at low levels, cold dry air aloft and strong vertical wind shear. "Tornadoes are spawned in particular environments that occur more in the United States than anywhere else,'' Trenberth said. "It relates to the Rockies running north-south and the Gulf of Mexico being where it is. "Tornadoes are small in scale and not modeled in global models,'' he added, explaining why it is so difficult to link them to climate change. "Meteorologists can find two storms that look almost identical and in similar environments, and one spawns a tornado and one doesn't, so there is a large element of chance, evidently.''

Tornadoes are further complicated by the fact that certain small-scale processes friction at the ground, and where and how much rain evaporates within the parent thunderstorm also are critical. "Those are beyond our large-scale observational capabilities or predictions,'' Brooks said. []

No one knows whether tornadoes have increased in number or intensity, since the aforementioned changes in reporting practices "make the intensity question harder to answer,'' Brooks said, adding, "If you take the dataset of reports at face value, it appears intensity has decreased over the years, but there are a number of things that have led to lower ratings for the strongest tornadoes.''

There always have been strong tornadoes, but the intensity picture has become further muddled because "warnings are so much better now and houses are constructed better," Trenberth said.

Most climate scientists believe that clearer answers will be forthcoming with better climate modeling tools and patience.

"Better understanding of the relationships between the large-scale environments and tornadoes would help, but the big thing is waiting long enough to get better trend estimates,'' Brooks said.

Wehner agreed. "We need bigger computers, and better models,'' he said. "But what we really need is time. We don't yet have an answer. But, that doesn't mean we aren't thinking about it.''

Read Cimons' most recent Op-Ed:

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This article was originally published on.

After four years of development, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One entertainment console and touted it as an all-in-one solution for playing games, watching TV and doing everything in between. Microsoft wants the Xbox One to be central to your living room, so it packed the new Xbox with such features as the ability to change TV channels through voice commands.

Although the device won't go on sale until later this year, at a price that hasn't been disclosed yet, Microsoft invited attendees of Tuesday's announcement event to take a closer look at the system.

Based on limited time with the device, the Xbox One feels like an improvement over its predecessor. But it fails to include features some fans have demanded, including the ability to play games bought for the existing Xbox 360 system.

Of course, many particulars about the Xbox One could change between now and when it's released. The specific date hasn't been revealed. More details are expected in three weeks at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the gaming industry's annual convention in Los Angeles.

For now, the system looks to be a thoughtful piece of technology, but there's still a lot that isn't known.

DESIGN: With contrasting matte and gloss finishes, the Xbox One is the slickest video game console so far, although we don't yet know what Sony's upcoming PlayStation 4 will look like. (Nintendo's Wii U is already out, although sales have fallen short of the company's forecasts.) The Xbox's outer shell, which Microsoft calls "liquid black," features vented flourishes and all the inputs and outputs one might need, including multiple USB ports and HDMI pass-through.

KINECT: The new version of the Xbox's camera-based Kinect system comes with better motion and voice detection, including the ability to recognize faces, tell if you're smiling or talking and gauge your heart rate. It appears as sexy as the Xbox console and has been overhauled under the hood. It's three times more sensitive and has a larger, 60-degree field of view. In a demo, the doodad's high-definition camera easily displayed crystal-clear 1080p video and could detect up to seven people, though it lagged as more folks stood in front of it. The basic motion detection appears vastly improved, but the voice detection feature wasn't made available to try out, adding to the list of unknowns.

PERFORMANCE: The system seems to work harmoniously together. For example, by combining the Kinect's face detection ability with the machine's wireless controllers, it recognized almost magically when users swapped controllers.

CONTROLLER: The new controller's layout is mostly unchanged, but the bulky battery bump is gone from the back. The smoother Xbox One controller boasts a new directional pad and vibrating trigger buttons. The triggers pulsated in tandem with such imagery as a character's heart beating and a car revving up during a demo with a prototype controller.

REQUIREMENTS: Luckily, the Xbox One won't require a constant connection to the Internet, but there's a possibility that some of the key features wouldn't work as well or at all. The Kinect system is required and will come with the machine, rather than sold separately as has been the case with the Xbox 360. The Xbox One also will feature privacy settings so it doesn't feel like the Kinect's camera is always watching you.

LIMITATIONS: Xbox 360 games won't work on the Xbox One because the underlying technology is different, according to Microsoft. Microsoft was vague about how the Xbox One will handle previously played games bought from other gamers, though it confirmed used games will work somehow. There had been talk that Microsoft might restrict used games on the new machine.

GAMES: What games? Despite the fact that such titles as "Call of Duty: Ghosts," ''FIFA 14" and "Forza Motorsport 5" were teased during Tuesday's flashy presentation, actual games weren't available to try out afterward. Microsoft said it plans to focus on Xbox One titles at the E3 conference, which starts June 11.

The Xbox One shows promise with a sleek shell and a new Kinect detector that seems to perform fine at least if you don't try to confuse it with too many people at once. But the lack of games is notable, as are lingering questions about what it can do without an Internet connection. There are too many questions about the Xbox One, even after experiencing not just hearing what Microsoft has planned. At this point, it's too early to say whether Microsoft or Sony is leading in the latest round of the console wars. They'll have to duke it out at E3.

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Online:

http://www.xbox.com

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang

The multipurpose stadium could cost as much as $1 billion, with team owner Arthur Blank committed to funding most of it.

Blank, speaking at the NFL's spring meetings, called the decision by the team owners an "important milestone" in moving the project forward.

"The NFL has supported new stadium construction through various means for decades," he said. "Our club owners understand that investments ... are important to the long-term strength of the league, and we thank them for their support."

The stadium also will be built with $200 million from public bonds.

Blank said the design and construction of the Falcons' new home will take place over the next four years and the team plans to open the 2017 season there. The Georgia Dome, which opened in 1992, will be demolished when the new stadium opens.

Later Tuesday, owners will vote on the sites of the 50th and 51st Super Bowls. The San Francisco Bay Area and Florida are bidding for the 2016 game. The loser for that game will face Houston for the righto hold the 2017 Super Bowl.

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York City plans to expedite the removal light fixtures containing toxic PCBs from 645 city schools by 2016, five years earlier than originally planned.

The city Department of Education said Tuesday the new timetable was the result of mediation between the city and New York Communities for Change. The group had filed a lawsuit in 2011 demanding the city move faster to remove lighting tainted by PCBs.

PCBs are suspected of causing cancer and other diseases.

City officials say nearly 800 of 1,400 school buildings could have PCB-containing light fixtures. They agreed in 2011 to remove the lights within 10 years, saying the timetable would allow them to more easily absorb the cost.

The agreement was hashed out between New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and city attorneys.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Congressman on Wednesday called on the Department of Justice to investigate JPMorgan Chase & Co's power trading in Michigan, as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) considers whether to sanction the firm.

Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee, a Democrat who sits on the Committee on Financial Services, said in a letter to the DoJ that it should pursue its own investigation into JPMorgan to see if it manipulated electricity markets.

The bank has told shareholders it has been notified by FERC staff that they intend to recommend that the five members of the commission take action over an alleged manipulative trading scheme in Michigan and California earlier this decade.

JPMorgan has denied that it manipulated power markets, and has vowed to "vigorously defend" itself and its employees.

"These allegations are serious charges, including traders devising deliberate schemes to manipulate energy prices and top bank executives lying under oath," said Kildee in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.

"The people of Michigan, and the American public generally, deserve a marketplace where all participants play by the same rules. I urge the Justice Department to resolve this matter by investigating these potentially illegal practices."

JPMorgan spokeswoman Jennifer Zuccarelli declined on Wednesday to comment on Kildee's letter, but said that the FERC notice to the bank is only a "statement of the staff's views, and does not represent findings of the commission."

She added "we strongly disagree" with the FERC conclusions.

The Commission has not accused the bank of market manipulation. Federal regulators often notify targets of investigations to give them a chance to show why enforcement actions should not be brought.

The regulator has, however, sanctioned the U.S. bank's electricity trading unit for failing to disclose information during the investigation. It imposed a six-month long restriction on its power trading starting April 1.

Pressure has also mounted on the bank since a May 2 New York Times report cited a confidential FERC document saying investigators had found evidence JPMorgan Energy Ventures Corp. devised "manipulative schemes" in Michigan and California between 2010 and 2011.

The alleged scheme saw authorities in California and Michigan make "excessive" payments of around $83 million to JPMorgan, the New York Times report said citing the FERC document.

FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff, who has stepped up enforcement of rules and investigations into Wall Street banks' trading practices during his time at the regulator, on Tuesday submitted his resignation to President Barack Obama.

He will remain at the agency and continue to vote on commission matters until a replacement is nominated and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, a process that could take several months. His term was due to expire at the end of June, and his departure had been anticipated.

(Story is refiled to include "power" in headline, no change to text)

(Reporting by David Sheppard; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)

"I just never in a million years thought he would leave us, or pass away," Stacy Walker told jurors hearing a lawsuit filed by Jackson's mother against concert promoter AEG Live LLC. "It just never crossed my mind."

Walker, who is testifying for AEG, said Jackson appeared thinner than he had been in previous years and wore multiple layers of clothes while rehearing for his "This Is It" shows planned for London's O2 arena. She said despite Jackson missing multiple rehearsals, she was convinced based on his performances the last two days of his life that he was ready for the series of shows.

Her testimony was supported by Travis Payne, an associate director on the "This Is It" concerts. Payne, who rehearsed one-on-one with Jackson and helped craft the creative vision for the show, said he never saw signs that Jackson was ill or impaired in early preparations.

"I thought he was thinner than he was in the past, but I didn't have any reason to be alarmed," Payne said.

He briefly discussed Jackson missing rehearsals, but has not yet addressed Jackson's appearance in his final days. Payne resumes testifying Tuesday.

Walker said she attributed Jackson's multilayered wardrobe to a personal preference. She said she recalled one incident in which Jackson may have appeared groggy or drugged, but she said she couldn't remember whether she witnessed or heard about it from others on the show.

Walker was the first witness called by AEG in a trial filed by Jackson's mother, Katherine, against the concert promoter. Her suit claims AEG didn't properly investigate the doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death and that its executives missed signs that the singer was unprepared for the comeback shows.

AEG denies all wrongdoing, and contends Jackson hid his struggles with prescription drug addiction. Jackson died in June 2009 from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol, which he had been using as a sleep aid.

Previous witnesses have testified that Jackson was shivering, had to be fed by others and appeared unprepared while preparing for the "This Is It" shows.

Walker said she never saw any of that behavior, although she acknowledged that her job was to work with other dancers and not Jackson directly.

"I wasn't looking for things at the time," she said. "I wish I was."

Payne, however, worked with Jackson individually almost every day for the last three months of the singer's life. He ate lunches with Jackson, saying the star's appetite varied daily. The "Thriller" singer was able to perform many of his familiar dance moves, although they had to be modified because the singer was 50 years old and not as limber as he had been decades earlier.

He said Jackson was tired for some of the sessions and that "some days would be better than others."

A medical examiner who conducted Jackson's autopsy testified Tuesday that Jackson was not underweight when he died and appeared to be in excellent health.

Despite testimony from some witnesses that Jackson appeared emaciated, Dr. Christopher Rogers said the singer did not bear the signs of someone who was starving when he died.

Walker and Payne, who have worked with Jackson since the 1990s, were called Monday because they are slated to leave the country for work. The trial is expected to last several more weeks.

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Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP