Lisa Ling: I felt like a failure after miscarriage

NEW YORK — Journalist Lisa Ling says she felt like a “complete failure” after suffering a miscarriage six months ago.

Ling, who appeared on “The View” from 1999 to 2002, came back to the show Tuesday to talk about her experience. Her taped appearance will air Friday.

Ling says that after she’d been pregnant for nine weeks, she was told her baby had no heartbeat. She says she “felt more like a failure than I’d felt in a very long time.” Ling, who is 37, says she fears it might happen again, leaving her “devastated.” Ling is married to oncologist Paul Song.

She says she realized that many women she knew had miscarriages but rarely talked about it. She and a business partner have started a website that encourages women to anonymously share their experiences.

Beastie Boys DJ Mix Master Mike to perform in Vail

DENVER — Mix Master Mike has performed around the world on his own and with the Beastie Boys, but there’s one more place the DJ wants to play one day: the moon.

He says, “It may sound corny, but anything can be done.”

For now the turntablist known for pioneering his own style of technical scratching is promoting new headphones he launched with Skullcandy, new albums and an iPhone application set to come out in January that he describes as putting an iPod with two turntables and a mixer in someone’s pocket.

He will play a free concert in Colorado on Dec. 9 as part of Vail Mountain’s annual Vail Snow Daze for early ski season. Weezer, O.A.R. and Dwight Yoakam also are scheduled to perform during the week.

Who’s attacking the plastic snails of Miami Beach?

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Who would want to harm the pink, plastic snails of Miami Beach?

Police are investigating the vandalism of several of the 45 giant art pieces displayed around South Beach as part of an international art fair. So far, at least eight have been targeted, including one that was thrown into Biscayne Bay. Several others were tagged with graffiti.

Galleria Ca’ d’Oro and the Cracking Art Group brought the snails to town ahead of last week’s Art Basel Miami Beach fair, and they’ll stay on display until Jan. 3. They’re made of recycled plastic and meant to make people think about the environment.

Gallery co-owner Glorida Porcella says the snails have previously been on exhibit in Rome and Paris. She says there has never been a situation like the one in Miami Beach.

M.J.’s first posthumous music video precedes album

LINDA DEUTSCH

LOS ANGELES — A new Michael Jackson music video is hitting the Internet preceding the launch of a posthumous Jackson album.

The video, previewed by The Associated Press, debuts at midnight Thursday Eastern time on worldwide websites, including MichaelJackson.com, said Jackson estate co-administrator John Branca.

It showcases Jackson’s duet with Akon, “Hold My Hand,” recorded before the superstar’s 2009 death. It’s the first single release from the 10-song CD, “Michael,” launching Dec. 14.

The hyperkinetic, four-and-a-half-minute video shows Jackson in concert, Akon singing and dancing, sentimental scenes of children, families and old people holding hands and a woman weeping.

The song opens with the prescient line, “This life don’t last forever … So tell me what we’re waiting for … Hold my hand.“

Michael W. Smith to release new book in March

CAITLIN R. KING

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Multi-platinum Christian artist Michael W. Smith is planning to release a new book in March.

It’s called “A Simple Blessing: The Extraordinary Power of an Ordinary Prayer” and was written in collaboration with writer Thomas Williams.

The idea for the book came from Smith feeling deeply troubled by worldwide struggles — everything from the economic downturn to the earthquake in Haiti. He began closing his concerts with a prayer of blessing over his audience, and the response was overwhelming.

Fans wrote in letters and e-mails, explaining how they were touched by his message.

The book is organized into six specific blessings taken from Smith’s prayer. This will be Smith’s 12th book.