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American Morning

New Arrest in Murder of Florida Couple; Sotomayor Not Offering Specifics; NAACP Celebrates 100 Years; Student Credit Cards

Aired July 16, 2009 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: OK. We'll leave it at that.

Hey, good morning.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: That's for you to talk about.

COSTELLO: What a double entendre this morning. Good morning. It's Thursday, July 16th. I'm Carol Costello in for Kiran Chetry.

ROBERTS: Good morning. I'm John Roberts. And here's what's on this morning's agenda. The stories that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.

The investigation into the murder of a couple with 17 kids is snowballing. Police in Florida announcing an eight arrest now and say it may not be the last. Hear the latest from the local sheriff who says they're still looking for more people.

COSTELLO: A question -- was this the turning point? This morning, we're seeing dramatic new video of Michael Jackson's hair on fire on the set of his Pepsi commercial. Some say this was the beginning of his drug dependency that eventually led to his death.

ROBERTS: America's biggest and oldest civil rights organization, the NAACP, is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The group will hear from President Obama tonight, but they also heard from the head of the Republican Party Michael Steele. And we'll talk to him about why the GOP has such a hard time attracting minority voters.

But we begin with the new arrest in the brutal murders of a Florida couple widely known for adopting a number of children, many of them with special needs. Seven men are already in custody. And now, a woman, Pamela Long Wiggins. She may not be the last, either. Earlier, Carol spoke to Sheriff David Morgan who said they'll be interviewing two more persons of interest. He also commented on where the investigation stands now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF DAVID MORGAN, ESCAMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA: We move now to the prosecutorial phase of this case. If we make any misstep in the gathering of evidence or releasing information that shouldn't be released at a specific time, we can jeopardize the successful prosecution of these horrible, horrible murders.

We most certainly want to step through this like waltzing to the mine field.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Our Ed Lavandera is live in Pensacola, Florida with the very latest on all of this.

And Ed, police say that this is turning out to be a crime that was very, very carefully plan, but one that seem to come completely unraveled as they were carrying it out.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, they let us into that theory that they had been looking into as -- and that person that they believe failed to shut down the surveillance cameras that were inside the Billings' home. And obviously that has turned out to be a huge piece of evidence in helping authorities piece all of this together.

But the sheriff also telling us this morning that the latest arrest they made of Pamela Long Wiggins has also been yielding as physical evidence. And whether or not that is the safe that was stolen or the weapons that were used, he's not saying, but that seems to be another piece of this puzzle that is coming together for investigators as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Thursday evening, Byrd and Melanie Billings are at home with nine of their children, the time, approximately 7:00 p.m.

Outside, a red van pulls into the end of the driveway. Three individuals exit the vehicle and burst through the front door. From the woods, more cross the lawn and enter through an unlocked utility door. They're inside the house for less than four minutes. Within that brief time span, the men confront Byrd and Melanie, several shots are fired at point blank range, both husband and wife now dead.

So, what were they after?

WILLIAM EDDINS, FLORIDA STATE ATTORNEY: I think the safest, easiest, clearest thing to say, that the primary motive in this case is robbery, home invasion, robbery.

LAVANDERA: But it doesn't seem that simple. Authorities say a medium-sized safe was taken from the home, but won't reveal the contents of the safe, including how much money may have been inside.

And, as for any connection to narcotics, a federal law enforcement source tells us -- quote -- "This was not a drug hit. There's no connection we know of to the Mexican mafia. It appears to be money-driven."

Another big question, why didn't the killers disable the Billings' security system? The suspects allegedly planned the operation for weeks. Two had military training. Others were familiar with the property. How, then, could they let themselves be recorded on tape?

The answer, it seems, reveals the group's gaping mistake.

DAVID MORGAN, ESCAMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA, SHERIFF: I believe that they entered that compound -- and this is the theory that we're currently working on to conclude this case -- they entered the compound with the belief that they were not under surveillance.

LAVANDERA: Sheriff Morgan said, this crime was planned out to the smallest detail, except they thought the system was off, and it wasn't. What happened? Authorities believe the person assigned to the task abandoned the mission.

MORGAN: We are now looking at anyone that may have had an involvement with the security system, every -- everyone from the company that installed it on back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: And as far as the Billings family memorial services begin today for Byrd and Melanie Billings, there will be a viewing today and funeral services tomorrow.

John?

ROBERTS: All right. Ed Lavandera for us with the very latest from Pensacola.

Ed, thanks for that.

COSTELLO: Turning now to Capitol Hill. In just 90 minutes, Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor faces her last day of questioning. Today, she'll hear from two New Haven firefighters who recently won a Supreme Court decision overturning a case that she decided.

CNN is inside the hearing room. That's where we find Brianna Keilar.

Brianna, what can Judge Sotomayor expect? Fireworks today, may be?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, definitely. She's going to get some tough questions for a few hours at the very beginning of this, Carol. But after that, her time on the hot seat is over, and then we're going to be hearing from those firefighters and some other witnesses testifying for and against Sonia Sotomayor.

I want to give you a sense just how close a couple of these firefighters who are testifying have been sitting to her. Really just about 20 feet away from her yesterday -- Frank Ricci and Ben Vargas. They brought a suit claiming discrimination after the city of New Haven, Connecticut threw out a promotional firefighter exam after African-American firefighters didn't pass it. So they claim discrimination. This case went up the court system, and ultimately, Sonia Sotomayor's Appeals judge panel upheld the lower court's ruling against these firefighters. In the end, the Supreme Court overturned that decision. And Republican say this case is an example of Sonia Sotomayor perhaps showing some bias in her decision. So it's going to be really interesting to hear from the men behind this case that has gotten so much attention.

We should tell you, though, Sonia Sotomayor, as we understand it, doesn't have to stick around and listen to this testimony against her.

COSTELLO: And I bet she won't. And also, she doesn't really have to answer specific questions about the case even if she did decide to stick around.

KEILAR: And we've been hearing a lot of these -- she obviously has been talking a lot about precedent. And that's what she said. She was just upholding precedent and that the Supreme Court essentially made some changes that she would stick by now and adhere to what they have laid out in their decision overturning a ruling that she upheld.

COSTELLO: Brianna Keilar, thanks so much. We'll be watching.

I think our coverage starts at 9:30 Eastern Time this morning at CNN. You can watch it all.

Thanks, Brianna.

ROBERTS: Judge Sotomayor will likely get more pointed questions from senators today. They have shown some frustration in the judge not revealing her own personal feelings on a lot of hot button issues.

Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joins us live from our Washington Bureau.

And, Candy, she seem to successfully talk around just about every issue except for that one question that Senator Franken asked her about what was the only case that Perry Mason ever lost.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's true. You know the phrase, "dancing on the head of a pin" comes to mind here, when it comes to her position as she takes all this incoming questions.

There's a couple of things we do know about the Supreme Court nominee. She is very smart and she is very, very cautious.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This round of questioning from Senator Franken.

CROWLEY (voice-over): The Senate Judiciary Committee finally got around to the questions of its most junior member and clearly he's a quick study. SEN. AL FRANKEN (D), MINNESOTA: Judicial activism has become a code word for judges that you just -- you don't agree with.

Judge, what is your definition of judicial activism?

JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: It's not a term I use.

CROWLEY: Fine questions but Senator Al Franken was no better than more seasoned senators in getting direct answers on simmering issues, on whether abortion law can be limited in certain circumstances.

SOTOMAYOR: I can't answer your hypothetical because I can't look at it as an abstract without knowing what state laws exist on this issue or not. And even if I knew that, I probably couldn't apply them because I'm sure that situation might well arise before the court.

CROWLEY: On gay marriage...

SOTOMAYOR: The ABA rules would not permit me to comment on the merits of a case that's pending or impending before the Supreme Court.

CROWLEY: Even on whether the legal system would be better served if the Supreme Court took on more cases.

SOTOMAYOR: Well, perhaps I need to explain to you that I don't like making statements about what I think the court can do until I've experienced the process.

CROWLEY: The non-answers were frustrating to them and the repetitive questions seemed frustrating to her.

(CROSSTALK)

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (D-PA), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Not what he intended to say, what he did say.

SOTOMAYOR: I heard what he said, sir, but I don't know what he intended in that description.

CROWLEY: They knew she wouldn't answer. She knew they'd ask and just about everything figures she'll be confirmed and it sure sounds like she'll get some Republican yeas.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Elections do matter and that's the point. That the president has earned the right to pick somebody different than I would have picked, and the balance of power, the court's not going to change dramatically if she gets on the court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: The last time a Supreme Court nominee actually told this judiciary committee how he felt about some of these issues, it was Robert Bork. Since that time, the Supreme Court nominees have been very, very careful not to reveal their hand. And for a pretty good reason, John, as you know, Robert Bork was not confirmed. So the fact is while this is all about a legal position, getting there is very political.

ROBERTS: Yes. He said one of the people in the country who's last name has become a verb now. You get borked.

CROWLEY: yes.

ROBERTS: By the way, Candy, I think we have the answer to that question of the only case that Perry Mason ever lost. According to IMDb.com, it's the deadly verdict. And that was 1963, and apparently the outcry from the public about Perry Mason losing a case was so great they never ever went there again.

CROWLEY: Well, I am told by one of our crack researchers that the only reason Perry Mason lost that case was that his client lied to him.

ROBERTS: Oh.

CROWLEY: Little lesson to all those felons out there. Don't lie to your lawyer.

ROBERTS: When that happens. Thanks, Candy. Good to see you this morning.

You can watch the last day of Judge Sotomayor's confirmation hearing, by the way. It starts at 9:30 Eastern right here on CNN. Or if you're away from your television sets, you can watch it online at cnn.com/live.

The chairman of the Republican National Committee is coming up to talk to us in just a couple of minutes. He addressed the NAACP's 100th anniversary convention earlier this week. We'll talk to him about this unique year in which you had two African-American leaders talking to this organization, people who have never been in that position before.

COSTELLO: And the kind of reception he got from the audience at the NAACP was sort of like...

ROBERTS: Yes. Well, that's typically reserved for most Republicans. But we'll talk to Chairman Steele about what the Republican Party can do to try to attract more minority voters.

Stay with us. It's 12 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Oh, yes, we're shaking it up in New York City today. Shot outside the Time Warner Center Columbus Circle. Cloudy and 76 right now. Later on today, scattered thunderstorms and high of 85. It's going to be a steamy one in the "Big Apple" today.

Tonight, in New York City, the nation's oldest civil rights group, the NAACP, will hear from the country's first African-American president. Earlier this week, they also heard from the first African- American head of the Republican Party, Michael Steele.

Steele is the chairman, of course, of the Republican National Committee, and he's in our Washington bureau this morning.

Chairman Steele, it's good to see you this morning.

What does it say about America as a nation that you have the first African-American president addressing the NAACP tonight, just a few days after you did?

MICHAEL STEELE, RNC CHAIRMAN: Well, I think it's a big wow. I mean, obviously, it's historic and it's important. When you're talking about the general progress of the nation and particularly African-Americans over the last 400 years of our history here that we've come to this point. That at this point in time in history, two African-American men sit atop the political world here in the country. And I think that's important.

But it also, I think, speaks to another subplot, if you will, the fact that within the community, there's differences of opinion, there's a wide array of views on a number issues. And I think that's reflected in both the president and myself in terms of how we look at health care and bailouts and the economy, and particularly the progress of African-Americans, which was what I want to talk about while I was there.

ROBERTS: Right. And when you went to the convention and you addressed it, you urged members of the NAACP to see the GOP as an ally.

But history wouldn't suggest that the NAACP exactly sees the Republican Party as a valued ally. President Bush ignored the convention for the first five years of his presidency.

The Republican Party hasn't gotten more than 12 percent of the African-American votes since 1996. In fact, Bob Dole was the high- water mark back then at 12 percent. John McCain got 4 percent. I mean, it just goes on and on and on.

So, what's the problem here?

STEELE: Well, you're talking recent history, but you can't forget the fact, as I pointed out to the delegates at the convention, that there's a historic and inextricable link between the GOP and African-Americans. In fact, Republicans helped found the NAACP back in 1909.

And so that -- you know, that period that you're talking about now is one where I guess you can say the wheels have come off. And basically and largely because the GOP executed certain strategies for political gain or whatever that just fell flat. And you cannot -- you cannot take for granted nor ignore, particularly in these times, political constituencies.

So, my goal was to go back and reach and say, look, let's start to talk about and work on those things together that matter to you. ROBERTS: So what do you do to put the wheels back on?

STEELE: Well, you do what I did. You show up and you go in there and you say, look, I understand the history here very well. I understand the frustration and the anger that you have. Let's talk about health care. Let's talk about education. Let's talk about those things that can begin to bring about real change, substantive change in the community.

If you think my problem was walking in the door, President Obama has one as well, because there is an anxiety about what direction are you leading us and how will it benefit the black community, particularly when you have unemployment soaring under his policies right now and other issues that have not been addressed -- the AIDS infection rate, the recidivism rate and so forth.

So there are some dynamics here that the president's going to have to deal with as well, and it will be interesting to hear what he has to say.

ROBERTS: Let's talk about the president for just a second here, because African-Americans had extraordinarily high expectations in the wake of his election.

CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll asked the same question a couple of different times -- Obama's election, is it the start of a new era in race relations?

Back in December, 51 percent of African-Americans said yes. May of this year, only 44 percent said yes. Is the president failing to live up to expectations? Or is it just a natural process of it's different the day after the election compared to where we are six months into the presidency?

STEELE: I think there's a combination of both. But I think -- I think there have been two glaring examples where African-Americans have come to pause and both occurred at press conferences where the president has been asked directly -- how will your policies benefit the black community specifically?

And he's talked about it in more generic terms. If I help this group, I'll help your -- you know, our community. That's not what black folks want to hear right now.

And I think when you're looking at a number of issues that are really plaguing the community, particularly with respect to employment, the dropout rate in education, the fact that the administration is cutting funding for HBCUs, cut scholarship programs here in the District of Columbia. African-Americans have a real concern that, you know, maybe this is same old, same old.

ROBERTS: Hey, there's one other question I need to ask you about, Chairman Steele. It's Audra Shay.

STEELE: Yes. ROBERTS: She's the new chairman of the Young Republicans. There was some controversy over responses on her Facebook page, in which she appeared to endorse racist attitude. She has denied all of that, of course, saying that she wasn't responding directly to that particular comment on her Facebook page, she was responding to an earlier one. But there are other musings that had been reported on in which she seems to use harsh language.

STEELE: Right.

ROBERTS: Is she really the person who you're comfortable with bringing young people into the Republican Party?

STEELE: Well, it's not a question of whether I'm comfortable with it or not. I think that -- I have not talked to Audra yet, but I did hear and read about her apology and her explanation.

You know, it goes to the fact that, you know, we say and do stupid things sometimes and we don't think about the consequences, particularly when we're in positions of leadership, of how that translates to other people. And I think it's just one more example of how the party as a whole and generally needs to be better suited and listening to the drum beat out there and paying attention to how people are perceiving what you're saying.

You know, I don't think it's a reflection, number one, of the party. I think it's maybe a reflection of, you know, just a crazy comment or two. I don't take this as, you know, while some have been mad about the party in terms of our relations with African-Americans.

But what I think it does mean though is that people got to be better prepared and smarter about how they speak on these issues.

ROBERTS: But if you say and do stupid things, should you be in a position like that?

STEELE: Well, there are enough people in Washington that are saying and doing stupid things right now that I think...

ROBERTS: One more doesn't matter?

STEELE: You know -- I mean, you know, your point could be -- could apply to a number of members of Congress right now who just voted to nationalize our health care system. So, I think that applies across the board.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: Chairman Steele, it's good to talk to you this morning. Thanks so much.

STEELE: All right. Take care.

ROBERTS: We want to know what you think, by the way, has President Obama met the black communities' expectations? Just head to our blog. You can find it at cnn.com/amfix. We're a week away from CNN's examination of what it really means to be black in America. Watch stories of people stepping, taking charge and transforming the black community. The documentary, "BLACK IN AMERICA 2," premieres July 22nd and 23rd only on CNN.

COSTELLO: OK. So you're attacked by a shark and you lose a what -- you lose a leg? Yet, you're coming to Washington to lobby to save the sharks. What is up with that?

We're going to talk to two people who are doing just that. And they'll tell us why after losing a limb to a shark, they feel a love for them.

It's 20 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN": The new Harry Potter film opened nationwide last night.

AUDIENCE: Yes.

(APPLAUSE)

O'BRIEN: You know, who's excited?

Yes. "Star Trek" fans were especially excited because it's the one night out of the year they get to look down on someone.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That was wrong. I love "Star Trek."

(CROSSTALK)

Anyway.

ROBERTS: That explains everything.

COSTELLO: OK, I'm a nerd. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

One word for college students, just one, plastic. They're using it more than ever. They're average credit card balance is more than $1600.

ROBERTS: Wow. Our personal finance editor Gerri Willis here with what your college student needs to know before stepping foot on campus this fall.

How big a problem is this in credit card?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: I got to tell you, it's a very big problem.

Good morning, John.

Good morning, Carol.

Yes, college student credit card debt. It's a serious issue. In fact, some 30 percent of college students are putting their tuition on their credit card believe it or not. Students are carrying almost five cards each. I don't know about you, but I don't carry that many.

And, right, it's a very scary thing. Seventeen percent aren't even paying that bill off regularly. So think about this. They probably don't have a stream of income on a regular basis. They're putting all of this on their credit cards. Bottom line, college is a great time to build credit, but the reality is that you have to be very careful about how you do it.

And the situation out there is changing because the credit card legislation that was just passed is going to change the world come February. When that happens, college students are going to have to have co-signers to get credit cards. And we're being told already, expect those credit card issuers to move their operations, signing up college students for cards off campus, maybe to bars, as they try to get people to sign up. So this September is going to be -- this semester coming up is going to be a critical time for credit card marketers as they try to sign up kids ahead of the change in law.

ROBERTS: Hey, you want to buy your friends a round, sign up for this credit card right here.

If a college is to have a credit card, what is best they can have?

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIS: It's a great combination, booze and credit cards.

COSTELLO: Kind of like drunken people signing up for credit cards.

ROBERTS: Kind of like booze and cars, you know. The two should be kept away from each other.

WILLIS: Well --

ROBERTS: So about credit cards -- what type of credit card would be best for a college student?

WILLIS: Well, you want to look for the right rate. And college students typically can get 17 percent to 18 percent. That's a good rate for them. The rest of us have a better rate of 14 percent to 15 percent typically or even lower. So you want to look for that. No fees obviously. And only get a rewards card if you're actually going to pay that card off each month. Otherwise, it makes no sense to get one of those.

ROBERTS: 17 percent or 18 percent.

WILLIS: That's a good deal for them, seriously. You know, we've seen these high rates. I know a lot of people out there are frustrated with them. They want to see the rates go down. But the average student is paying far in excess of 17 percent to 18 percent.

Let me give you a list of cards that are actually good cards for college students out there. The City Forward SM card, the Chase Plus One Student MasterCard. You earn points on Facebook if you use the Chase card. The Discover Student card actually has a lower interest rate of 14.99 percent. So that's more attractive.

At the end of the day, though, to build good credit, you've got to pay that card off each and every month. And I know for students that's very difficult to do, but now is a great time to build those good habits when it comes to credit. Make sure you do the right thing so that once you get out of school, and you're buying a house, you're trying to get an apartment, you're buying a car, you can pay the best rate available for those products.

ROBERTS: Very sensible advice. Gerri, thanks so much.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

COSTELLO: Thank, Gerri.

We're going to talk more about Michael Jackson, because, you know, this new video has come out, you know, then you can see --

ROBERTS: Did you see that?

WILLIS: I did see that. It was frightening.

COSTELLO: In his Pepsi commercial. And it looks so painful. I don't think any of us realized just how badly he was burned. Some people believe that this was the start of his drug addiction.

ROBERTS: Yes. It made a burned bald patch right at the top of his head.

COSTELLO: Yes. And there are pictures of him in the hospital. We're going to get into that.

And we're also getting into new allegations coming out about who gave Michael Jackson what.

It's 27 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Twenty-nine minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now.

Right now on the ground in Afghanistan. The U.S. military distributing pamphlet asking Afghans to help in the search for an American soldier. U.S. forces have been desperately trying to rescue this serviceman since he was reportedly seen walking off the base about two weeks ago. Last week, the Taliban claimed to have captured the soldier, though, they had offered no proof.

ROBERTS: Could it be a sign of economic recovery? One of America's largest banks, JPMorgan Chase announcing this morning that it earned $2.7 billion in the second quarter. The solid performance easily surpassing Wall Street's expectations.

COSTELLO: Marion Barry is a legendary political figure in the nation's capital. He served four terms as Washington mayor and was once dubbed "mayor for life." He's currently a D.C. city council man. Barry's troubles are also legendary -- alcohol and drug abuse, prison time, failing to pay taxes. Now he's being investigated for hiring his former girlfriend who recently accused him of stalking her.

Barry appeared earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, and settled the stalking charge, he was the victim.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARION BARRY, FMR. WASHINGTON D.C. MAYOR: Let me say very clearly, I was detained for an hour and a half without being charged. Taken to the station and sat there for four hours. They wouldn't even make me make a phone call et cetera. And that the U.S. attorney knew that I had denied. In my 73 years, I've never been accused of stalking and my domestic relationship have never been accused of anything like that and all those things you call trouble have turned out to be none starters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Marion Barry, the stalking charges were dismissed.

You've seen it here this morning. The stunning video of Michael Jackson with his hair on fire while shooting a Pepsi commercial 25 years ago. And now many are wondering if this accident triggered a lifelong drug dependency. Joining me now for that part of the story plus the latest on the investigation into Michael Jackson's death is Jim Moret, lawyer and chief correspondent for "Inside Edition." Good morning, Jim.

JIM MORET, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, "INSIDE EDITION": Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Let's look at the video right off the top here so we can talk about it.

MORET: Sure.

COSTELLO: I mean, I don't think many people realized just how serious this was. In fact, I don't think -

MORET: No.

COSTELLO: Go ahead, Jim. MORET: I'm sorry, I was a local reporter in Los Angeles at the time and we had never seen this view before. You can see here his hair is literally on fire there. The pyrotechnics went off about four seconds too early. They were supposed to be ignited. This was the sixth take of the Pepsi commercial that was being shot at the time. You can see that he wasn't even aware at the time that he was on fire. And people literally patting out the flames with their hand. That's Mico Brandon, who is a guest, several times on "Larry King Live" over the last couple of weeks. And as you see there, he suffered second and third degree burns.

COSTELLO: How deep were those burns and how long was he in the hospital?

MORET: He went to the burn unit in Los Angeles and he had to have several very painful skin grafts and surgeries that continued over months. I mean burns like that are extraordinarily serious and as a result of those burns, the pain required that he take very heavy medication, in particular, Demerol. That's important, Carol, because he became addicted to Demerol and he admitted so later and went into a treatment facility.

So in many ways, I don't think it's an overstatement when you look at that video, to recognize that in many ways, that was the profound shift in his life and that could have been the beginning of a downward spiral for him. Because as a result of those horrible injuries, he became addicted to a powerful drug.

COSTELLO: Well, let's talk about the latest in the investigation. I mean, there are all kinds of rumors flying out there. I mean, are the L.A. police considering this now a homicide investigation? Do we know?

MORET: The LAPD has said it's open to looking at this. Not sure if it's an accidental death or if it's a homicide. And that will be determined in the next few days. When the toxicology reports are released, then the LAPD will make its final determination. And if it deems it's a homicide investigation, it will then turn over its case to the district attorney here in Los Angeles. The California attorney general is looking at this from another perspective.

(inaudible) prescription medication abuse. The DEA is also involved. So you have several law enforcement agencies, the coroner's office has yet to make its final determination. But the LAPD at this point is remaining open. There were some reports that they already consider this a homicide investigation. The police department came out yesterday and said no, not yet but they're not closing the door on it.

COSTELLO: Well, you know, talking about prescription drug abuse in Hollywood. I mean, this stuff has been going on for years, for decades. If some doctor involved with Michael Jackson is charged in this case, might that not set off a chilling effect in all of Hollywood?

MORET: You know, I talked to the director of a treatment facility yesterday. And he treats a number of celebrities. See, he said that some of his patients have actually doctors on retainer for $50,000 a month. Think about that for a second. Because we've heard enormous numbers in this Michael Jackson case. But this is an epidemic, not just among celebrities. This is a problem throughout the country. And that's a good thing, frankly, to come out of this. This head of this treatment facility agreed with me, that if we had talked about prescription drug abuse just a few weeks ago, very few people would pay attention to it. Now, millions will pay attention to it because it affects millions of people. So yes, I think there will be a chilling effect. I think that doctors, pharmacists, have to be the gate keepers, frankly. There are many people who are addicted, but you certainly don't want doctors to be enabling people.

COSTELLO: No. Definitely not. Jim Moret, chief correspondent for "Inside Edition." Thank you for joining us this morning.

MORET: My pleasure.

ROBERTS: Seeing that video again, it's just shocking. Never knew it was that bad. I remember reporting on that back in 1984.

Hey, you're surfing, you're waiting just off the beach in water. A shark comes along, bites off your arm, bites off your leg, severe a tendon, what would you - you probably want all sharks in the world dead, right?

COSTELLO: You bet you.

ROBERTS: Well, there are some people who say don't blame the animal. Blame people. That they are more of a threat to the animals than they are to us. And they are lobbying Congress to protect sharks. We'll talk to two shark attack victims, coming up next and why they want to save these species. Stay with us. 36 minutes after the hour.

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ROBERTS: Well, now to an amazing story. A group of shark attack victims now lobbying Congress to protect the very animals that attacked them, including new restrictions on shark fishing. Joining me now from Washington, two of those shark attack survivors, Debbie Salamone and Mike Coots. Folks, thanks very much for being with us. Debbie, let's just set the stage for folks at home here. What are your personal experiences in terms of shark attacks. Mike, why don't you go first. Tell us what happened here.

MIKE COOTS, SHARK ATTACK SURVIVOR: Well, obviously, I was bitten by a shark in Hawaii a few years back and just realizing that they play such an important role in our marine ecosystem. And people already asked me all the time, well you must be so mad at sharks, you must have hate sharks that you want to kill sharks and stuff like that. And I've just come to realize that they're out there. They predated the dinosaurs. We're in their environment and I have no hatred whatsoever for the animal and feel that they really play an important part in our environment.

ROBERTS: Well, Michael, a little more detail on your attack. You are surfing off of Kauai, what happened?

COOTS: Yes, it was early in the morning in October. I was out paddling with some friends and it was pretty quick. I paddled for a wave. The shark came from underneath me and grabbed my legs and did the rag doll type thing. And it was over pretty much quicker than I thought. And it was done, I looked at my leg. My leg was completely gone. And (inaudible) my friend tried to tourniquet, stem the bleeding, save my life and then they took me to the hospital. I woke up from surgery and went through rehabilitation and back in the water.

ROBERTS: Wow. Well, what about you Debbie. What happened to you? You were in the Canaveral National sea shore in Florida. What happened?

DEBBIE SALAMONE, SHARK ATTACK SURVIVOR: Right. I was just waiting and all of a sudden, a shark just came up from behind me and grabbed on my foot. There was a bit of a struggle, too and I was able to get away, but it severed my Achilles tendon and tore my heel loose. So the same thing as rehabilitation and but I'm about good as new now.

ROBERTS: You know, I read an article, Debbie, on your experience. It was a long time for you to go back in the water after several operations and rehabilitation. How did you feel about sharks right after your attack?

SALAMONE: I was not a big fan of sharks, I have to say. And it took me a while to get over somewhat of an animosity. And so I saw it more as a test of my resolve because I felt very strongly about the environment before this happened, and so I was able to really see this as a test of my commitment to my feeling for environmental conservation. As a result, I sought out work with the two environment group which has a big emphasis on marine and committed to a global shark conservation campaign.

ROBERTS: Wow, that is a big turn around in attitude. This week, you and seven others went to Congress to lobby them for a bill that would ban fining. Tell us what fining is and why you are so against it?

SALAMONE: Well, shark fining is a very brutal process where they slice the fins right off the shark. And oftentimes, the shark will be dumped back into the water, even alive. And it's a very profitable business. These fins can bring up to $300 per pound and we are losing enormous amounts of sharks to this practice, up to 73 million sharks every year are killed just for their fins. And we're hunting some of these species to extinction. It's going to have dire consequences to the entire ocean ecosystem.

ROBERTS: Mike, do you think you bring sort of an instant credibility to this issue because of your experience?

COOTS: Yes. I think just the irony of the whole situation makes for wonderful press, but it also just, who else do you think could be an advocate for sharks other than someone who's been bitten by a shark. And I think it's a great idea and glad to be a part of the Pew Environment Group and hopefully we can make a difference in Congress.

ROBERTS: So in other words, I guess, the issue is bigger than the two of you, right?

COOTS: Yes. It's way bigger the two of us. It's absolutely incredible, just the amount of sharks being killed.

ROBERTS: Mike Coots and Debbie Salamone, thanks for being with us this morning to share your story. I think a lot of the people at home are saying wow, if they can be fans of sharks after what happened to them, maybe we can, too.

COOTS: Thank you.

ROBERTS: That's a tough one to swallow. Appreciate you coming in this morning. Can you imagine?

COSTELLO: Just their shirts were freaking me out.

ROBERTS: I don't know. You have to question, if you ever lost a limb or I mean went through all that they did, could you ever change your views? I mean, obviously not going to forgive the shark because who knows where the shark is now but could you change your views on the animals?

COSTELLO: You see, you're talking to the wrong person because I don't go into the ocean because I have this unnatural fear about that. So I can't understand it.

ROBERTS: After I saw "Jaws" I was afraid to go into a lake.

They're pretty incredible though.

COSTELLO: Very incredible.

Let's talk about something else incredible in a different way. Paul McCartney. He stood on top of the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City and gave an impromptu performance. He was on David Letterman. He got up there and sang. It was incredible. We'll show you more. It's 43 minutes past the hour.

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DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": You know, you're one of the people obviously that we've tried to get on the program as a guest about every week. Maybe every other day, we would call and find out can he be on the show. After the first 15 years, we started to get our feelings hurt. Now, it's been close to 25, 30 years. And I just need to know, going forward, any problems we don't know about?

PAUL MCCARTNEY, FMR. BEATLE: I don't like the show. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: David Letterman though isn't the only one with a good one liner. As you just heard, former Beatle Paul McCartney had some pretty good one liners, too. He sat down last night, returning to the Ed Sullivan Theatre, where he, John, Ringo and George made their American debut 45 years ago.

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MCCARTNEY: But yes, just the memory of being here is great. It was kind of scary the first time.

LETTERMAN: I would think so.

How long had the band been together? How old was the band when you came to this country?

MCCARTNEY: How old was the band? I don't know. I think about six months. No, no, no. I'm just being silly. No, no, no. It was very old. It was an old band. We were like, I don't know, like eight, nine years old. I don't count them. People know my history much better than I do.

LETTERMAN: Oh, my goodness. There they are. How was Ringo thought of in those days? Were you guys nice to Ringo?

MCCARTNEY: Sometimes. He was a good boy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: He was a good boy. He was. Letterman also asked Paul McCartney about working with Michael Jackson.

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MCCARTNEY: We made a couple of records together. Did a video. And we're very good friends. It actually kind of fell apart a little bit later because he was talking to me and asking my business advice and one of the things I said to him, think about getting into music publishing. And then he looked at me and said I'm going to get yours. You know, I kind of thought, oh, you. But it turned out to be true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: There you go. Careful what you tell people. McCartney was Letterman's guest for the whole show and of course, the stage just isn't big enough when a former Beatle plays a classic. Instead, all of Broadway was shut down in front of the theater so McCartney could play from on top of the theater's marquee. Like "Let it be" all over again.

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LETTERMAN: Now, ladies and gentlemen, performing a classic from the marquis of the Ed Sullivan Theatre, here's Paul McCartney. (MUSIC PLAYING)

ROBERTS: Can you imagine? I missed that. I didn't know it was happening.

COSTELLO: I know. I want to look at them more.

Don't you just want to listen? Can we listen for a little bit longer, oh, Mr. Producer? We're going to take a break.

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COSTELLO: Times are tough, maybe the worst time to start your own business, but in some cases, it is the perfect time. This week's "Money & Main Street," an out of work military veteran finds a way to follow her dreams. Turning dirty dogs into dollars. Here's CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti.

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SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the eight years since she retired from the air force, Lori Lawrence has had three different jobs. She quit one and was laid off twice. After the last layoff in February, she started rethinking her options.

LORI LAWRENCE, MY PAMPERED POOCH: I started thinking, I'm tired of this. What would I really enjoy?

CANDIOTTI: Over aging husky Cody who is too old to need much grooming any more. Cody inspired her to set her sights on opening a dog grooming business in the upscale Atlanta suburb of Peachtree City. But money was tight, so she swallowed her pride and opened a fruit stand.

LAWRENCE: It is not doing anything like what I had hoped that it would do, but it's more money than I had last week.

CANDIOTTI: Fruit is only bringing in a few hundred dollars a week. Compared to that, dog grooming looks like a gold mine.

LAWRENCE: People spent $42 billion last year on their pets alone. You know, it's there. How do I get in? I want in, you know.

CANDIOTTI: Lori attended a number of SPA seminars and Googled business plans of other start ups, then drafted her own.

Small business experts Danny Babb and John Rutledge offered to take a look.

DANI BABB, THE BABB GROUP: She has a specific idea in her head about what this is going to look like and what the consumer is going to walk away with.

CANDIOTTI: John and Dani helped Lori reduce her start-up costs from $147,000 to just 35,000. They showed her how to save money on labor and equipment. They suggested she look for free advice online instead of hiring an attorney and CPA and they're helping her negotiate a better lease in that down and out commercial real estate market.

VOICE OF JOHN RUTHLEDGE, RUTLEDGE CAPITAL: In your plan, you also have things like pet sitting, dog taxi, retail, a bakery, all those things, ways of adding more revenues on top of just the basic, wash your dog.

CANDIOTTI: For the time being, dog washing is all Lori offers, but she hopes to be providing the pampered pooches in her area a full range of services by the end of next month.

Susan Candiotti, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Good for her. Good luck. It's 53 minutes past the hour.

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ROBERTS: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta is about to hit a major milestone. Sanjay is less than four months away now from turning 40. To celebrate, he's getting in the best shape of his life and he wants you to join him. There you go. There he is. Come on, Doc. So if you're already sending tweets asking for advice. So in today's mailbag, our first viewer asked Sanjay, what food is best taken for breakfast to keep me full until lunch?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Can I just say something about the whole best shape of your life thing? It's interesting. I read this study that if you keep the same exercise and diet routine right now, and do nothing different, you're going to gain weight every year.

ROBERTS: Yes, I know.

GUPTA: So if you do a good job. Our metabolism starts to slow and this happens as you start to get up in years like I'm about to get, John.

ROBERTS: It's more and more difficult every year. Believe me, I know.

GUPTA: That's right. You got to wrap it up. You got to have more discipline and breakfast is a good way to do it.

ROBERTS: You're preaching to the choir here.

GUPTA: Absolutely. And breakfast is really a good way to do it because a lot of studies have shown that if you eat breakfast, you're going to eat less throughout the day. That's sort of the bottom line. People who eat breakfast, eat less and there are the best types of breakfast when it comes to giving a sort of advice. And full disclosure, I don't eat this kind of breakfast every single day, but if you take a look here, overall, getting oatmeal with skim milk, you got a good source of protein there, you got a whole grain in the oatmeal, protein in the skim milk, heart healthy fats in nuts, good for people who are worried about heart disease. Lots of antioxidants in the berries and lots of vitamins in the orange juice. About 500 calories is a good amount for breakfast. So that's a lot more than most people eat.

ROBERTS: All right. Second question, as you get older, too, you've got to have a lot of protein in your diet as well to maintain muscle mass and muscle tone.

GUPTA: That's right.

ROBERTS: So another question, this one is from Deborah. She is talking about your four months of fitness blog. She says what's the most effective way for a woman to get extra protein without meat, chicken or fish in their diet? I don't know if she's a vegetarian or a vegan but she's looking for other forms of protein. What can you suggest?

GUPTA: We get a lot of questions and a lot of people that are writing in are vegetarian and don't want to eat the meat. And it's not the only source of protein. Vegetarians know this. Because they have to have obviously search for other foods, nuts, a lot of soy products, beans, but also just having a single cup of cottage cheese is a very good source of protein, about 28 grams of protein in a single cup of cottage cheese. About 11 grams and a cup of yogurt. So for most women, about 46 grams of protein is what you need in any given day. You can get that pretty easily, never having to eat any meat.

ROBERTS: All right. Doc Gupta this morning with a lot of good tips. And let me just tell you, doc, you're not getting older, you're just getting better looking every day.

GUPTA: Thank you, sir. I do appreciate it. You do this with me, John. You'll look great too. I appreciate that.

ROBERTS: You're a stud, Sanjay. You're a stud.

COSTELLO: You have a man crush.

ROBERTS: No, no.

GUPTA: It's a bro-mance.

COSTELLO: What is it? It's a bro-mance.

ROBERTS: All right. Sanjay, talk to you soon.

You can follow Sanjay's four months of fitness initiatives too, by the way, there's two ways you can follow, Sanjay in twitter, Sanjay Gupta CNN or just read more on our show blog at CNN.com/amfix.

It's the definition. It's a bro-mance.

COSTELLO: And it's a beautiful thing. We'll see you on Monday.

Let's go to Atlanta and Heidi Collins.