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American Morning
U.S. Soldier Kidnapped in Afghanistan; North Korea Appears Ready to Test More Missiles; Memorial Planned for Michael Jackson Next Tuesday
Aired July 03, 2009 - 06:57 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Well we're coming up to the top of the hour. It's a couple of minutes now before 7:00 on the east coast. It's Friday, the 3rd of July. It's the holiday today because the 4th falls on a Saturday. So if you're getting up to go to work, you made a mistake. That is, of course, unless you're like us, and you have to work.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Exactly. So you'll be able to enjoy tomorrow.
But meanwhile, here's what's on the agenda, the bit stories we're breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
A potential bombshell regarding the custody of Michael Jackson's two older children. The singer's ex-wife Debbie Rowe first said she wanted her kids, be now her lawyer is saying that it's actually something different than that.
There are new details, though, on exactly what's being said about whether or not Debbie Rowe is going to try to obtain custody of those children. And also details on a public memorial.
ROBERTS: Also this morning, information on Michael Jackson's history with prescription drugs. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks for the doctor who according to sources worked for Jackson while he was on tour in the late 1990s.
Sources tell Sanjay that he was part of Jackson's traveling, quote, "mini-clinic."
CHETRY: Also, breaking overnight in Pakistan, officials there say that a U.S. drone attack killed at least 15 people, all of them believed to be Taliban fighters.
Officials confirmed that strike, saying it targeted a suspected Taliban hideout. CNN crews on the ground are tracking the story for us this morning.
First though, this morning, as fans around the world gather outside of Michael Jackson's one-time home, Neverland, his family is firming up details for a public memorial. That will be taking place in downtown Los Angeles.
Our Kara Finnstrom is live in L.A. for us this morning. And are we learning more detail? We keep getting new information. What are we learning about how this memorial is going to go down?
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are starting to get some details now, Kiran. First off, I want to say that Jermaine Jackson, Michael Jackson's brother, also says that on Tuesday there will be a private ceremony for family and friends.
Some other news overnight. The lawyer for Debbie Rowe, the mother of Jackson's two oldest children, scurrying a little bit to make sense of some comments that she made yesterday. She told a Los Angeles TV station that she did want her children.
Now, Rowe's lawyers saying, well, those comments were accurate. That's what she said. But taken, you know, by themselves, not really a true representation of our stance.
He's saying that Debbie Rowe has not made a final decision regarding custody of her children and that they will be continuing to consider that.
We can also tell you that there is a guardianship custody hearing coming up on July 13th now, that's been pushed back. Right now, temporary guardianship is with Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson. And that what the judge will consider is whether it should continue along those lines -- Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Kara Finnstrom for us there outside of where thousands are expected to gather on Tuesday for that memorial. Thanks, Kara.
And also as Kara just told us, another bombshell. Michael Jackson's ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, was left out of the singer's will and she may end up fighting for custody of his older kids.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Randi Kaye has been looking into all that. A judge pushed back a hearing until the 13th of July. Rowe's lawyer says his client has not yet reached a final decision. Here's what Randi found out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She is the woman Michael Jackson picked to have his children, and Debbie Rowe was happy to help as she told "The Insider" back in 2005.
DEBBIE ROWE, MICHAEL JACKSON'S EX-WIFE: If someone needs something, I'm there.
KAYE: Their brief marriage which seemed to be more of an arrangement gave Jackson two children. Michael Jr. now 12, and Paris now 11. Rowe waved her parental rights in 2001 telling a Los Angeles court "they are his children," all part of an $8.5 million settlement in which the pop star got full custody. Rowe explained on FOX in 2003.
ROWE: I did not leave my children. My children are with their father. KAYE: But now with their father dead, Los Angeles TV station KNBC spoke to Rowe and reports she wants her children back. CNN legal analyst Lisa Bloom.
(on camera): Does Debbie Rowe have any custody rights at this point?
LISA BLOOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: As a biological mother, Debbie Rowe is first in line to get custody under California law which favors a biological parent.
KAYE (voice-over): Rowe's attorney said yesterday he had no reason to dispute KNBC's report but insisted she has not reached a final decision. Jackson's will names his mother, Katherine Jackson, as guardian.
BLOOM: Katherine Jackson can claim she's had no connection to these kids for a number of years. That makes her an unfit mother, but I don't think that will be enough for the court to sever her parental rights.
KAYE (on camera): KNBC also reported Debbie Rowe is willing to submit to psychological testing and DNA testing to prove she's the children's biological mother. Legal experts told me that will likely come into play in a custody showdown.
Rowe now 50 lives on a horse farm about an hour outside Los Angeles. As part of her agreement with Jackson, she said she wasn't even allowed to have pictures of the children in the house. If she does decide to fight for custody and wins, she won't need the pictures. She'll have the real thing.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And now there are new potentially disturbing revelations in the Michael Jackson investigation that you're going to see only on CNN. We told you that a registered nurse claimed that Jackson begged her for a powerful intravenous sedative before his death. But now there's more uncovered by our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
CHETRY: And Sanjay tracked down an anesthesiologist who according to this, actually was on tour with Jackson in the late 1990s. And I understand that there's some real questions that are going on about this doctor's past and what may have happened on that tour.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been really interesting to piece together. Good morning, guys. Here's what we know so far.
Sources close to Michael Jackson, they tell us that during the History tour -- that was back in '96, '97, 12 years ago, Jackson was traveling with what looked like a mini clinic, including an I.V. pole, drips, what looked like this rack with lights and monitors. Sources had the opportunity to see Jackson in various points in the tour, say Jackson was traveling with at least two doctors as well. One of whom was an anesthesiologist, this guy named Dr. Neil Ratner.
Now one source asked Ratner about all those laboratory equipment and Ratner said he was there because Michael couldn't sleep. Ratner went on to say, according to the source, "I take him down at night and then I bring him back up." Sources say Michael Jackson often appeared groggy. And when the source asked Jackson about the equipment, he just said, look, I just simply need sleep.
ROBERTS: You know, we've been talking over the past several days, Sanjay, about the dangers of these powerful sedatives, in particular, propofol or Diprivan, which is what Cherilyn Lee, the nurse practitioner said that Michael Jackson was asking her for.
GUPTA: Right.
ROBERTS: Do you know if any precautions -- what precautions were taken to protect him back during the history tour?
GUPTA: We asked that same question. There are so many answers that we certainly do. Now sources say Ratner would keep equipment in his hotel room next to Jackson's that was used for monitoring specifically Jackson's vital signs. Now they said they did it when he was asleep or "under" as a source put it to me.
Now there's a "Vanity Fair" article as well and a business associate of Jackson said the singer had a "sleep disorder" and Ratner confirmed that to me on the phone yesterday as well.
I really want to talk to him some more. He seemed to be at the center of all this, so we tracked him down to Woodstock (ph), New York, where he lives with his wife. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: We've come here because your name was obviously associated with Michael Jackson and people said that there was a question of whether or not you gave anesthesia to him while he was on tour. And we just wanted to come to the source, you, and hear and find out if that had happened.
DR. NEL RATNER, MICHAEL JACKSON'S DOCTOR: I'm very upset, I'm distraught. Michael was a good person. I can't talk about it right now.
It's really something I don't want to talk about right now. I lost a friend and I feel very badly about that.
GUPTA: There were two people. And I just want to allow you to respond to this. You can or you don't have to. But I think it's important that you hear this.
We have a couple of different sources who said they would see I.V. equipments, what sounded like pumps. They describe it as sort of an audio rack sort of looking thing in a hotel room with Michael. And they made it sound like that was your stuff. Are they wrong? RATNER: Really I don't want to talk about this topic at all now. I really have nothing to say about it right now. You know, the man hasn't had a funeral and the man hasn't been buried. It's inappropriate.
I don't want to talk about it right now. I would appreciate it if we could end this now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: What do you make of it? Of talking to him?
GUPTA: This guy, who is he exactly? You know, we got a lot of information about him. And we have been talking on the phone all day so I thought he'd be a little bit more forthright in all of this. But he's a board certified doctor. As we know, he was one of Michael Jackson's doctor on this history tour that spanned between '96 and '97, 80 performances incidentally on that tour.
Ratner also had his license suspended back in 2002 for insurance fraud. So he has this history and I think that was part of the reason he was so nervous about things. But that's who he is. And it was so interesting to me to have an anesthesiologist traveling along with a rock star on a tour.
ROBERTS: You talk again about this drug propofol or Diprivan. We were talking about it the other today. The sources who talk to you about this fellow, do they say whether they ever saw that particular drug.
GUPTA: No, they did not. And to be fair with the sources that we're talking to, you know, we're not medical people. So they may not even recognize this particular drug or the name. And also we're talking about 12 to 13 years ago. And I can tell you at that time, propofol was not a drug that was nearly as widely used today. It's become much more common since then.
CHETRY: Right. And the other question is, taking Dr. Ratner out of it because, again, you know, he didn't say yes or no to your questions about that. But would it be against doctor practices to put a patient "under" to bring them back out of anesthesia if they were not getting operated.
GUPTA: It's a great question and not as clear an answer as I thought I would find as I started to investigate this. The answer is not necessarily. What the laws say specifically and it varies from state- to-state is that the patient has to be monitored. There has to be a person who's been trained to monitor that person, and they have to have all the right equipment. What it doesn't say is where the patient necessarily needs to be, in a hospital, in a medical setting, which I thought was very interesting. Again, the language if you look at it very closely from state to state varies, but it's a little bit vague here.
ROBERTS: Fascinating stuff. Sanjay, thanks for joining us with that this morning. Also new this morning in Pakistan, there are reports that U.S. drones attacked a Taliban training facility in a hideout for militants killing at least 15 people. The strikes by the unmanned planes happened in South Waziristan near the Afghan border.
CHETRY: Also across the border, some 4,000 U.S. Marines in the middle of a major offensive. They're pushing deeper into Taliban strongholds this morning. American troops have suffered their first casualty of this massive campaign. And coming up later on AMERICAN MORNING, we're going to speak to a former CIA official about what is going on in that volatile region of the world.
ROBERTS: President Obama gearing up for a visit to Russia and the G-8 summit in Italy next week. In an interview with "The Associated Press," the president warmed Russia's government against using old cold war tactics when dealing with Washington.
President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also plan to discuss Iran's political situation and its nuclear program, what to do about it.
Ten minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: That's the stones.
ROBERTS: The Stones. Not the stone. Or not the stone. It's kind of like the big rock --
CHETRY: Called it a (INAUDIBLE).
ROBERTS: If you're planning on hitting the road for the big holiday weekend, there's good news to tell you about today. According to AAA, gas prices have dropped from the 112th -- did I say 112th -- the 12th consecutive day. Wishful thinking. The average cost of a gallon of regular now $2.62. In July last year, that same gallon would have cost you about $4.11.
CHETRY: Right.
ROBERTS: So we don't want to go back to those.
CHETRY: Right. So when you're ready to freak out about the traffic, just think, hey, I'm paying less for gas.
ROBERTS: There you go. So it doesn't cost me as much to sit in traffic.
CHETRY: Well, he may be in big trouble with his wife but apparently not the law. South Carolina law enforcement officials are saying that they reviewed Governor Sanford's travel records and they did not yield any evidence of a crime. Investigators also say there is no reason to believe the governor used public funds while visiting his mistress in Argentina. The governor and his wife and children will be spending the Fourth of July together in Florida. ROBERTS: And Vice President Biden is in Iraq this morning. The surprise visit comes as American troops withdraw from key areas of the country. The VP will meet with U.S. troops and Iraqi leaders. He's also going to re-emphasize President Obama's promise to draw down U.S. forces in Iraq.
CHETRY: Well, we are learning some new shocking details this morning from Michael Jackson insiders about the singer's relationship with prescription medicine. Sources as you just heard telling our Sanjay Gupta that Jackson toured back in the '90s with what amounted to a mini clinic complete with an I.V. pole and anesthesiologist as well that would medicate him.
Suspicions about Michael Jackson's prescription drug use and sudden death are also putting a new focus on a serious and growing problem, and that is the misuse of prescription drugs in this country. It is now actually the second leading cause of accidental death. This is prescription drug overdoses after auto accidents.
Andrew Wainwright kicked his addiction more than a decade ago and created an organization to help others do the same. And he joins me this morning.
Andrew, thanks for being with us.
ANDREW WAINWRIGHT, PRESIDENT & CEO, ASSISTANCE IN RECOVERY, INC.: Thanks, good morning.
CHETRY: So you've been clean for 12 years now. You know firsthand how hard it can be to battle an addiction to drugs. Tell us your story.
WAINWRIGHT: I was a -- I grew up on the east coast in Washington, D.C. and struggled with drugs and alcohol through college. I got sober when I was 26 and sober for 12 years.
And you know, white collar background. Wasn't expecting to grow up and be a drug and alcohol addict. But these are the kinds of things that happened. I think they were genetically predisposed, and that's exactly what happened to me. And I think that the rise of prescription drug abuse is beating right into that.
I think that people believe that an addict looks a certain way, and that's not exactly true at all. I think that lots of folks are -- addiction is accessible to lots more folks. I believe it can happen.
CHETRY: Right. And the danger that we're learning about with prescription drugs is I mean when used as they're supposed to be, they can be safe and they're fine. But because they're prescribed by a doctor, oftentimes people don't believe it's a problem.
And this was an interesting stat here that approximately 50 million Americans reported or at admitted to non-medical use of a prescription drug at some point in their lifetime. How big of a problem is it when you're taking medicine that you're not necessarily prescribed to treat something that you have? WAINWRIGHT: I think it's a tremendous problem and growing. I think that the perception is there's less stigma, less shame, as it were, taking prescription drugs for off-label uses. Somehow that's OK. And I think that decidedly (ph) it's OK because it was given to me by a doctor. Things from doctors are supposed to be good. It's supposed to make things better, not worse.
And I think there's a lot of surprise when folks get sick or strung out or addicted from these same meds that are supposed to make them better. And I think that more and more -- I think we sort of co- signed it a little bit as a society that since it comes from a doctor that it should be OK. And so, since friends or family tell me that this is why have a prescription for this it should be all right and we think that it is OK. And then we're surprised when it turns out that folks get very, very ill.
CHETRY: Right. And you know deaths caused by overdosing on prescription painkillers, drugs like oxycodone or methadone, fentanyl, they jumped more than 90 percent just between the years of 1999 to 2002. This is according to stats cited by "The Washington Post." Why are we seeing this jump?
WAINWRIGHT: Well, a couple of reasons. I think the big reason we're going to put our finger on it is in 1996, when OxyContin first hit the market, we saw drug companies actively marketing their drugs, both the doctors and the consumers. And I think that big marketing push or big advertising campaign nationally told people to buy these drugs, to ask their doctors for them and gave doctor's permission to prescribe them in larger numbers to more people for more different types of syndromes. Therefore, the use escalated.
CHETRY: And the question is, you talk about how it's easy to get your hands on it. Doctor shopping in some cases, the ease at which you can get one of these prescriptions for painkillers or anxiety conditions. And when you truly have pain and you truly have anxiety, it's understandable that you would want to be able to take something for that.
But why does it seem that it's easier to get your hands on medications like this when you don't necessarily have a condition that warrants it?
WAINWRIGHT: Well, one of the things we can point to is this. It's that with the rising managed care at the end of the '80s, at the end of the '90s, we step away from everyone having a primary doctor who had a long history with an individual, also have understood what they've been through, where they're going, and how to treat them.
As we became sort of individually taking orders (INAUDIBLE) for the medical records, moving through the '90s and to the 2000s, we're seeing more rise of people going to more different doctors for more different things and the doctors with less time and less capability to follow up and to know where those patients are coming from and what they're being treated for. Doctor shopping, the ease with which people are able to visit multiple doctors for the same ostensible real condition... CHETRY: Right.
WAINWRIGHT: ... and get medicines from all of those different doctors.
CHETRY: Do you think that a national registry could make possibly make a difference where you have to report all the stuff and every doctor would have access to it? Is that something that is in the works any time soon?
WAINWRIGHT: Well, the Bush administration talked about it. The Obama administration certainly talked about it. And it's something we'd love to see. The unfortunate piece is it's many years down the road to get everybody onboard so in effect you're walking around with a piece of paper or a chip, electronic record to tell you exactly who you are, what type of blood type you have, all of the things that you need and all the things that you're taking.
So in terms of short term, it's not something we're going to see anytime soon. So I think we need to look at more immediate short-term solutions to the problem that's in front of us.
CHETRY: All right. Well, it's certainly is a growing problem. And so we need to try to find those answers.
Andrew Wainwright, president and CEO of Assistance in Recovery. You also wrote the book "It's Not Okay to Be a Cannibal" joining us from Minneapolis, Minneapolis this morning. Thanks so much.
WAINWRIGHT: Thank you.
CHETRY: Eighteen minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-one minutes after the hour. Christine Romans here "Minding Your Business" this morning. We're talking about small business loans.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
ROBERTS: We're going to need one to fix the camera.
ROMANS: Yes. They're all right. Everyone's OK.
Earlier this week I talked to a guy in Dallas who was opening up a hair salon. Couldn't get any small business loans. Couldn't get any help from anywhere. Found out some investors, people he knew.
It was all cash. All their own money, couldn't even take out loans on credit cards. And I thought, God love you for taking this time to try to open a small business.
There are people out there who are going to their banks trying to find out if they can qualify for a small business loan to try to get something going to take advantage of a downturn to try to build a business and they're having a lot of trouble. And the latest numbers from Small Business Association bear that out.
In fact, there are 30,000 fewer loans backed by the SBA and its flagship program compare with a year ago, and 55 percent fewer loans since the start of the recession. So in the most recent quarter, about 11,500 and some loans are backed by the SBA -- 11,500 or so, that's a lot less than we usually see.
Now, to be fair, the SBA says that actually since the stimulus measures were passed and began to be enacted, they have seen the situation thawing a little bit. But when you compare it with a year ago, when you compare it with before the recession, small business owners who've been complaining to us that it's been tough, we know it. They're right. The numbers bear it out.
But there are people out there, and I've been hearing from them, there are people out there who are starting to build their businesses. A lot of very successful businesses have been started in downturn. So I'd say...
ROBERTS: Yes.
ROMANS: ... go for it if you can, but you might not get that thing.
ROBERTS: The real entrepreneur look at this as an opportunity to consolidate and build something new.
ROMANS: That's right.
CHETRY: There you go. So your numeral today? Your "Romans' Numeral" for us?
ROMANS: That number is 80 percent. And it has to do with why small businesses are so important in the economy and why they do need those loans.
ROBERTS: I was going to say 80 percent is the number of hours of the day that I am awake.
ROMANS: Pretty good.
CHETRY: Small business.
ROMANS: Yes, exactly.
CHETRY: Get some sleep. Is it all business? Eighty percent of businesses are small businesses?
ROMANS: It's pretty close. It's a percent of new jobs every year by small business up to 80 percent. Some estimates are closer to 60, buy up to 80 percent of all new jobs every year from small businesses.
We want to have them capital. We want them to be able to go out there and to expand and the like. And if you are a small business, look, there is this 35,000 emergency safety fund that you can get, a loan that you can get. It's just kind of getting up to speed. I encourage you to try to look at the Small Business Administration Web site and also to let us know at amFIX at Christine Romans on Facebook. You can e-mail me Christineromans@facebook.com.
I want to know if it's working for you if you're able to get these loans. When it starts to thaw, we want to be able to really tell people that it's working.
CHETRY: Christine-dot-Romans.
ROMANS: That's right.
CHETRY: You're going to give your e-mail to us.
ROMANS: That's right.
ROBERTS: Christine.romans "Minding Your Business" this morning.
ROMANS: There you go.
ROBERTS: Christine, thanks so much.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
ROBERTS: Twenty-four minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: You know, Jeff Johnson is just about perfect summer music.
CHETRY: Love it.
ROBERTS: Just about perfect.
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Kid -- Kid rock, now he's perfect.
CHETRY: Kid rock? Well, more on developing stories this morning.
South Carolina's governor is going on vacation again out of state but he's not seeing his "soul mate." Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joins us live with the latest on this political soap opera.
And boy, we heard -- I mean, we got another statement from Governor Sanford's wife. Very interesting.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. A very busy pre-vacation exchange, a written statement. Look, what we have here is the governor of South Carolina worried about two things -- whether he can keep his job and whether he can save his marriage. As far as we can see, he's trying on the latter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY (voice-over): The Sanfords of South Carolina are on holiday weekend in Florida, together. Prior to the family vacation, the governor put out words through his office that he's not resigning and remains committed and determined to repair the damage he has done in his marriage and to building back the trust of the people of South Carolina.
After more than a week of rambling apologies, unnecessary details, and purple prose e-mails to his soul mate mistress, trust is hard to come by.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think his mind is somewhere else. And it's not with the people of South Carolina. It's with the mistress in Argentina.
CROWLEY: Jenny Sanford, the wife the governor says he's trying to fall back in love with, issued her own statement. She quoted the bible and Desmond Tutu on the subject of forgiveness, and said for the sake of her boys she leaves the door open for reconciliation. "I am willing to forgive Mark for his actions," she said. "It is up to the people and elected officials of South Carolina to decide whether they will give Mark another chance as well -- or not."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, we didn't need one more thing to embarrass the state. My, gosh, we're good at embarrassing this state.
CROWLEY: Even in the face of Sanford's refusal to step down, critics have not backed down. One longtime Sanford ally said there are two kinds of South Carolina politicos, those who have publicly called for Sanford's resignation and those hoping to talk him into it privately.
The governor can cross one thing off the to-do list. He got an A-OK after an investigation into who paid for those trips to see the mistress.
REGGIE LLOYD, DIRECTOR, SC STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION: In regards to this relationship, we have found no improper use of public funds. That is the bulk of our review.
CROWLEY: Terse but helpful to a man who has not done much to help himself and who needs any help he can get.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: What next? Well, the governor said in his statement that he hopes for a longer family vacation later this month. Politically, it appears that he does intend to hold on to that office. If there are politicians in South Carolina who want him out, they may have to force him out -- Kiran.
CHETRY: And so is that kind of talk tamping down after this investigation came out and said, you know, he didn't -- he didn't violate any law?
CROWLEY: Well, I think it was probably more that we had a day when the governor didn't come out and say something that got him in more trouble. He seems to now have decided not to talk anymore about this in public. So that has helped. But privately, I have to tell you that the people I talked to yesterday were no less forceful in their real desire to see him step down.
CHETRY: All right. Candy Crowley for us this morning. Thanks.
CHETRY: All right. Candy Crowley for us this morning. Thanks.
ROBERTS: Checking our top stories now across the bottom of the hour. A U.S. drone strike killing at least 15 people in western Pakistan. All of them suspected Taliban fighters. That is according to Pakistani intelligence officials. The Pentagon routinely offers no comment on such strikes. Pakistan's government has complained the drones have killed hundreds of civilians.
CHETRY: And in Afghanistan, U.S. forces are trying to rescue one of their own. They're talking about the kidnapped U.S. soldier this morning. We're learning more about him. He's not taking part in a huge offensive in the south. The military says that the private first class walked off his base without his body armor or weapon and is believed to be the first U.S. soldier kidnapping of the eight-year war in Afghanistan.
ROBERTS: Brand new this morning, British embassy workers will be put on trial in Iran. That's according to a top cleric who is accusing the U.K. of helping instigate days of bloody election protest. British officials say they are very concerned and will investigate. They're also asking Britain's allies for help.
CHETRY: All right. Text messaging services back up again in Iran. It's from one of the country's semi-official news agencies. The same news outlet reported the service was cut just the day before the presidential vote in June 12 and would not give a reason why. Opposition supporters are posting messages on-line in sites like Twitter, warning that the government could still track communication.
ROBERTS: All the way around the other side of the world now. North Korea starting the fourth of July weekend with some fireworks of its own. Four short range missiles and plenty of talk that a possible long range missile test could be headed toward Hawaii. They tried one on the fourth of July in 2006 and failed in less than a minute. But it certainly rattled nerves around the world.
So what should President Obama's next move be? Let's bring in former chief weapons inspector for the United Nations, Charles Duelfer. He's in Washington for us this morning. Charles, it's good to see you this morning. The rumblings of a possible long range missile test from North Korea over the fourth of July weekend. Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have said he doesn't think it's going to happen this weekend. Do you agree?
CHARLES DUELFER, FMR. UNSCOM CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR FOR IRAQ: Well, I suspect it's not. These are difficult tests to arrange. The long range missile take a lot of preparation. It's under development. This is not an easy thing to do. They had a recent test as you know which led ultimately to the new set of U.N. sanctions and for them to develop and to reconfigure their efforts on that takes a certain amount of time. The short range missiles though are something they can pull off of the shelf. ROBERTS: All right. Those U.N. sanctions as you said passed in the wake of May nuclear tests that North Korea undertook. Do you think they are having any kind of effect? Are they causing Pyongyang to pause, to maybe thing twice about what they are doing?
DUELFER: Well, I think so. North Korea is a tricky case and very dangerous. Because they really have nothing to lose. They're in a corner and so we need to be careful about that. But what the sanctions can do is control the customers. I think the sanctions are going to limit what the customers, the recipients of that which North Korea has to sell is going to go after. This ship you may recall that's being followed by the navy appears to have stopped and perhaps is even now returning to North Korea.
I think that may be an indication of some successful efforts on the part of the United States and other countries in deterring not North Korea specifically but the potential customers.
ROBERTS: So what you just said, Charles, about Kim Jong-Il being in a corner here. And we have these missile tests and belligerence and saber rattling and threatening to wipe the United States off of the face of the earth, which prompted somewhat of a glib reply from the Pentagon when the spokesman said why and with what? What do you think Kim Jong-Il is playing for here?
DUELFER: Well, I think - it's hard to know. We know so little really about North Korea. I think we even knew more about Saddam's Iraq than we know about North Korea. We don't really know what his incentives are. We can invent reasons. We can imagine why he's seeking attention or things like that but there's a lot going on in North Korea which we don't understand. There may be internal power struggles. One key thing that we have, I think, to work with in terms of developing a strategy is, regime change I going to take place in North Korea. Kim Jong-Il is not well.
ROBERTS: Um-hmm.
DUELFER: Nature will take its course. And I think, you know, part of our strategy should be to play for time because a new leader will emerge with a new set of priorities and a new set of supporters in North Korea. And we may be able to adjust our - the structures and the incentives for them with new leadership.
ROBERTS: There are some people with knowledge of North Korea who say that this is designed to sort of consolidate power, flex the muscles of the regime in Pyongyang, tell the world, leave us alone while they pave the way for Kim Jong-Il's youngest son, Kim Jong-Un to take over as supreme leader. If he does rise to power, and something else doesn't happen, will the relationship be different between North Korea and the United States under Kim Jong-Un's rule?
DUELFER: Well, it certainly provides an opportunity for an improved relationship. I mean, the current circumstances are bad. We have a long history of Kim Jong-Il which doesn't, you know, bode well. More youthful and very young, I might add, leader would obviously be different. It will take him time if it is him to consolidate his power. But just the change in and of itself will provide opportunities. It's important for North Korea to have something to lose.
Right now they really have nothing to lose. And that makes them very dangerous. How do you deter them from doing something when they've really got nothing that they - that they can put a - in the case of Iraq, they obviously had a lot of oil and the sanctions bit to be hard on that.
ROBERTS: Yes. I mean, when you've got nothing and your back's against the wall, that's when you really do become dangerous. I guess, you know, CNN opinion research corporation poll just want to throw this up as we go out here -- does North Korea threaten the United States? The majority of people, 52 percept said yes, they believe that North Korea is a very serious threat to the U.S. Charles Duelfer, the former chief U.N. weapons inspector, thanks for being with us this morning. It's good to see you. Happy fourth of July.
DUELFER: All right.
CHETRY: In all between the very serious or moderate, 80 percent of people think there's a reason to take notice.
ROBERTS: Yes, some kind of threat. Yes.
CHETRY: Absolutely.
All right. Well, it was just two days before his death that Michael Jackson was rehearsing with his dancers getting set for the tour that had already sold out. We have more of this video of Michael Jackson's final rehearsal. 36 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: It is the footage that everybody is talking about. It's the last-known video of Michael Jackson. It was shot just two days before he died. It was a dress rehearsal for the show that would never happen. Take a loot.
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CHETRY: Able to move. I mean, you know, he does not look like somebody that was near death. That's for sure.
ROBERTS: You know what's interesting though is I looked at the music video for that that was shot in Brazil. And he looks so different than he did back there in '96. I mean so different.
CHETRY: Gone through many transformation as we've all seen through the years but again, rare video of just two days before we all learn the news that he passed away.
ROBERTS: You know, what's interesting too is that in 1996, he looked so different - CHETRY: -- in '83.
ROBERTS: '83, '84. Yeah.
CNN was given a rare tour of Jackson's dream home during Larry King's primetime exclusive with Jermaine Jackson. We saw the views that gave Jackson the inspiration to write some of his most beloved songs. CNN's Ted Rowlands takes us inside Neverland this morning.
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TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mikko Brando, the son of the late actor Marlon Brando spent much of the last 20 plus years at Michael Jackson's side. He was our guide taking us through Neverland Ranch.
(on camera): Mikko, you spent a lot of time up here. This place is so big that obviously this isn't just for decoration. This train station is a real train station with a real train.
MIKKO BRANDO, MICHAEL JACKSON'S FRIEND: Real train. Steam engine train. Large one, he used it for years to get from the residence up to the theater and the zoo.
ROWLANDS: Which is about a quarter mile away.
Michael would put on videos of each of the monitors.
BRANDO: He would put videos, cartoons, whoever wanted could sit here and watch it on all of the screens, sit here and eat the candy, all of the sweets he'd want. And the kids would just hang out here and watch the videos all night long.
ROWLANDS: And this just a miniscule part. Obviously, of the compound here. One small portion of it where people would come and hang out. The outside, here's where the train would come through, Mikko. This room is what?
BRANDO: This is a living room. Piano used to be here with a bunch of photos on the piano. A castle he had built sitting over here. Living room chairs, furniture, sofa, the TV on the wall. He had a beautiful marble front here in front of the fire place. He had the Oscar that he got that was standing on the right side of the fireplace.
ROWLANDS: The Oscar from -
BRANDO: "Gone with the wind."
ROWLANDS: "Gone with the wind" that he apparently paid some million dollars for?
BRANDO: Yes, sir.
ROWLANDS: Inside the house, 13,000 square feet. As for Michael Jackson's bedroom, you're looking at the doors. You can see the locks on the doors, Mikko, privacy was key in this room obviously. BRANDO: Yes. He liked his privacy. And when the doors were opened. It was OK but when he locks it he wants some privacy. He had his privacy.
ROWLANDS: This is one the bathrooms. There are two bathrooms in this suite. And this is the area where Michael Jackson also slept sometimes. There's a staircase up there. The small bedroom upstairs. You say, he slept on both levels.
BRANDO: Yes, he slept wherever he felt like. He'd crashed out and he had a choice of two.
ROWLANDS: There's been a lot of talk about this closet. It is massive. In the corner of it is a secret compartment, a secret little area. And Mikko, you said this is a safe room just in case.
BRANDO: Yes. This was just someplace, you know, in case something ever happened. It would be where he'd go.
ROWLANDS: When you look at the house now, Mikko. It is unfurnished, obviously. Give us a sense of how different it was fully furnished.
BRANDO: Oh, it was the place. I've seen a lot of houses in my life. But this was the house.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Ted Rowlands, CNN, at the Neverland Ranch.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And now the question is, what becomes of that? It's such a big place, but it's so remote on a little tiny road. Can you make it into Michael Jackson's Graceland? I don't know if the county would allow that.
CHETRY: Yes. We'll have to see. Santa Barbara County, I believe. And even when they were talking about possibly having a public memorial there, they said it's going to be a logistical nightmare.
ROBERTS: Yes. So the county said, have it somewhere else.
CHETRY: Exactly.
All right. We're going to continue to follow the latest details. Speaking of that memorial, it's going to be set for Tuesday, the public memorial that's taking place for Michael Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. And AMERICAN MORNING will be there.
ROBERTS: Yes, you'll be there live, right?
CHETRY: Starting at 6:00 a.m..
ROBERTS: It will be the one time because it will be 3:00 a.m. in Los Angeles. But it will be in the one time on the west coast where you will be surrounded by thousands of people.
CHETRY: Yes. At that hour, exactly. All right. 44 minutes past the hour.
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ROBERTS: We're back with the most news in the morning. At 47 and a half minutes after the hour.
Right now in Afghanistan, American forces are trying to rescue one of their own. We're learning more about what happened. The military says the private first class walked off his base without his body armor or weapon. It's believed to be the first U.S. soldier kidnapped in the eight-year war in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, in southwestern Afghanistan, 4,000 U.S. marines are pouring into villages where the Taliban had had free reign. Already one marine had been killed in action. We're tapping into our global resources here at CNN to get the very latest on the biggest battle of the year so far. Atia Abawi takes us to the front lines.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIA ABAWI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Operation "handar(ph)" -- strike of the sword, began in the dark hours of Thursday morning, the biggest single offensive since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
CAPT. DREW SCHOENMARKER, MARINE CORPS CAPTAIN, BRAVO COMPANY: The aim of the assault was to put marine corps forces back expeditionary wise out behind enemy lines. We dropped in to a few places that nobody had been.
ABAWI: Helmand is one of the most volatile areas in the country. Several offensives by coalition forces in recent years have failed to expel the Taliban. Sharing a porous border with Pakistan, Helmand is reputed to be the top opium producing region in the world. Opium that is known to fund the militants.
The marines say that so far they have exchanged light and sporadic fire with the enemy. But that's no surprise. The Taliban is known to melt in to the mountains and choose its moments. The Taliban claims to have killed more than 30 coalition troops. The U.S. military says that is a fabrication. Helmand is seen as critical to President Obama's influx of troops to Afghanistan. Until recently, there were some 7,000 coalition troops in Helmand. Mainly British. Now that's more than doubled.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Atia Abawi reporting for us this morning. 50 minutes now after the hour.
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CHETRY: Pretty shot of New York City this morning where it is 70 degrees, a little bit cloudy right now. And going up to a high of 77, but bring your umbrella if you live here in the Big Apple, we have some afternoon thunderstorms on tap for today.
Meanwhile, it's 52 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the most news in the morning. We fast forward through some of the stories that will be making news later today.
At 10:00 a.m. Eastern at the Museum in Washington, people will have a chance to sign steel beams that will be used to build the National 9/11 Memorial. Representatives from the Pentagon Memorial Fund and Flight 93 National Memorial will also be there.
At 9:30 Eastern this morning, the funeral mass for infomercial king Billy May's will be held outside of Pittsburgh. TV stations there report that the family held a viewing last night. Medical examiners say it was heart disease that's the likely cause of death, but they will not know for sure until they get the toxicology results.
And also looking forward to the weekend, seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong is back in the grueling race for the first time since 2005. The race officially starts tomorrow in Monaco. Cycling officials tested all the racers yesterday for any signs of doping.
And meanwhile we're joined right now by Rob Marciano who is lucky to be in beautiful Orlando, Florida, today. A lot going on. That's the best place to be for the fourth of July weekend, Disney World.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You know they have fireworks here I think every night but you can bet that this weekend though is extra special for sure. We are here for a couple of reasons, one of which is the hall of presidents exhibits. Well, they re-do it when a new president comes on board. As you know, we have one. So there, not only have they added Barack Obama but they've also revamped the entire thing. It's a 25-minute show that goes back 220 years of presidential history. And it's quite a site to be seen and they're debuting here in the Magic Kingdom this weekend. More on that a little bit later.
Meanwhile, out west, speaking of something that's all American, baseball, right? The Padres-Astro game yesterday got shut down for 52 minutes because the killer bees that swarmed the stadium. The 52- minute delay and they managed to get the bees out of there, but it was one of the rare events where an animal will actually stop a baseball game.
Speaking of baseball, it's the fourth of July. So let's talk about the forecast. We've got a little bit of rain chance across the central and eastern part of the country. But I think the rain is in the northeast today and for the most part will move out although Boston may hang out to a couple of showers. Daytime highs tomorrow will be still comfortably cool across much of the northeast and is still hot across parts of Texas and the southwest. 79 in New York. It will be 79 degrees in Chicago, and 81 degrees in Kansas City.
The other reason, John and Kiran that we're here, behind me, they're going to be swearing in immigrants, 1,000 of them from 100 different countries here on this fourth of July weekend. So naturalized citizens will be taking their oath and becoming citizens just like me and you later on this morning.
John and Kiran, back over to you.
ROBERTS: I did that back in 2001, a week after September 11th, and it's a very moving ceremony. It's a great thing to be a part of.
CHETRY: It sure is. And, of course, Rob, let's just rescue that video for a second. The swarm of bees at that game. They had to call in a beekeeper.
MARCIANO: All right.
CHETRY: I love that they just have one that can come nearby. And he basically said it was a chair and one of the ball girls' jackets that attracted those bees. What do you think she had in there?
MARCIANO: Maybe some honey.
CHETRY: Oh, goodness.
You know, the fact that they had to delay the game because of that. Wow. I wonder what he sprayed -
MARCIANO: You don't want to mess with killer bees. As you may remember back in the 90s, the Astros had their own killer bees. They had -
ROBERTS: Just a second, Kiran just said, what do you think he sprayed inside that jacket and then he's scooping up these dead bees, I guess we know.
MARCIANO: It wasn't bee food.
ROBERTS: No.
MARCIANO: That's for sure.
ROBERTS: Maybe just anesthetized them.
CHETRY: Yes, liquid honey.
ROBERTS: You feel better now?
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
ROBERTS: All right.
MARCIANO: We've got the prop manager out here fourth of July weekend.
CHETRY: We love it.
ROBERTS: Excellent. Well done.
MARCIANO: Happy birthday, America.
ROBERTS: Rob, have a lot of fun down there. We'll see you soon. MARCIANO: All right.
ROBERTS: Hey, you know, things are starting to open up in Cuba just a little tiny bit, it could be a sign of things to come. But kind of a momentous occasion the other day. The very first flight and it's a regularly scheduled flight now from Los Angeles to Havana. Touch down. Our Shasta Darlington is there to tell us all about it. Stay with us. She's coming right up. 56 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. We've heard President Obama talk about starting a new beginning with Cuba. And right now the building blocks seem to be put into place. For the first time in years, there is now a nonstop flight from Los Angeles and Havana. That would be from Los Angeles to Havana. CNN's Shasta Darlington was there for the arrival.
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SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tensions mount at Havana's International Airport. Finally Continental flight 1923 taxis in. The first direct flight from Los Angeles in five years. Cuban Americans can now travel back to the island freely. Gabriel and Kendall Yberal have never been to Cuba.
GABRIELLA YBERAL, CUBAN AMERICAN: I'm going to visit my mother's family, my uncles. I have four uncles here, lots of cousins we've never met, people we've never met. And I'm just excited to be able to come with my daughter and share this experience. I've been wanting to come all my life.
DARLINGTON: Washington eliminated restrictions on Cuban Americans visiting their relatives. And also broadens the definition of family.
YBERAL: That's my uncle. I haven't seen him ever.
DARLINGTON: Next up, U.S. lawmakers are piling pressure on Congress to lift travel restrictions on all Americans.
(on camera): Two million tourists visit Cuba every year and even by conservative estimates that figure could double if Americans are free to travel here. The more, the merrier as far as these artisans are concerned.
(voice-over): But is Cuba ready? The U.N. World Tourism Organization seems to think so.
TALEB RIFAI, U.N. WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION: Cuba is absolutely ready. The supply always follows and goes hand in hand -
DARLINGTON: This Canadian tourist isn't so sure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They need some money to come and build up what they have before a whole bunch of people come. I don't know if they can handle it. There's no transportation here to move a lot of people.
DARLINGTON: It won't happen overnight but the airline industry is already gearing up with more flights from more cities. For the time being, they'll connect Cuba's divided families.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
