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What Killed Michael Jackson?; The Power of Propofol

Aired August 25, 2009 - 15:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The other thing is, Mayo Clinic, that you talked about having good practices, is one of the ones that Senate -- President Obama has cited as being the type of medical facility that we should pattern our health care reform on.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Yes, they just don't agree with his -- they just don't agree with his proposals.

(CROSSTALK)

MCCAIN: Go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They -- they -- they suggest some of the same things that the Mayo Clinic is doing.

And I have some experience with the Mayo Clinic. My husband, who was on Medicare, chose to stay on just regular Medicare. So, he had the choice of going to Mayo's. I chose an HMO with Medicare. And I am wondering, when we have that choice with our government-provided Medicare, why are so many people opposed to a government-provided health care option?

I believe -- I believe you -- I believe, Senator Kennedy. I just promoted you.

(LAUGHTER)

(BOOING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator McCain. I'm sorry. I believe you have had access to government-provided health care for most of your life. And, you know, I would imagine that most of us here are on Medicare. And there may be some who would like to give up their Medicare.

CROWD: No!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, none of us do. So, what is so wrong with government-provided health care?

And...

(APPLAUSE)

MCCAIN: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have one more question. In the proposals you were suggesting, I didn't see any way to control costs. That's been one of our major problems, not only the denial of care, the rationing of care by health insurance companies, but that the costs have gone out of control.

So, how would you propose that -- how would your system control it?

MCCAIN: What I -- I will send you a cope of that poster board there.

(LAUGHTER)

MCCAIN: But I don't want to get into it with Mayo Clinic.

But, ma'am, in all due respect, here is what they said. The proposed legislation misses the opportunity to help create higher quality, more affordable health care for patients. In fact, it will do the opposite.

That's a fairly clear-cut statement from Mayo. Wellness and fitness, risk pools, ability to go across state lines to purchase health insurance, reform medical malpractice, give people a $5,000 -- every family a $5,000 refundable tax credit to go any place in America and get the health insurance that they think best meets their needs.

Eliminate this problem that this wonderful nurse and I were just talking about of hospital readmissions, which is a tremendous increase in costs.

We can do so many reforms. And so many things, we can change if we are incentivizing wellness and fitness as well, without adopting a government plan.

All the way in the back, the young woman with her hand in the air. And then I will go back to you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Senator McCain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Coming at you right now, what killed Michael Jackson? The affidavit, Valium at 1:30 a.m. He is awake. Ativan at 2:00 a.m. Still awake. Versed injections at 3:00 a.m. Still awake. More Ativan at 5:00 a.m. Still awake.

Finally, 10:40 a.m., propofol, unbelievable detail. We will take you through it.

He is alleged to have helped tax cheats hide $14 billion in offshore accounts from you, $14 billion. So, why is he playing golf with the president?

Man at town hall calls himself a proud right-wing terrorist. Republican Congressman Wally Herger responds, "Amen. Got bless you. There's a great American." And you will find out why this mother is using a hoe to defend her granddaughter's honor in today's national conversation for Tuesday, August 25, 2009.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez.

It's just a little bit after 3:00, so let's get started with what is the next generation of news, a conversation, not a speech, and, as always, your turn to get involved.

We told you right here, Thursday, about Americans, hiding money from the government by putting it in offshore accounts, billions and billions of dollars that are being denied you, the taxpayer, by certain individuals.

The finger points right at an international banking conglomerate, UBS, which is creating secret accounts in Switzerland and in different parts of the world, including the Caribbean, by the way.

There is something I want to show you now. Let's go ahead and go to this video. That is President Obama playing golf on Martha's Vineyard. Look closely and you will see his partner there. You know who he is playing with, the man in the white shorts and the light blue shirt? That man is this man.

That's Robert Wolf, president of UBS Americas, yes, that UBS, the Swiss bank, this last month, as I had mentioned, copping to facilitating massive tax fraud against the U.S. government -- the company, not him.

Now, here we see them again, the president playing golf with Robert Wolf, head of UBS Americas. Now, let's be clear again. Wolf faces no charges. He, himself, has not been implicated in anything at all.

But we do know this. He raised $250,000 for the president's election campaign. He is also a member of the president's economic advisory team.

Joining me from New Orleans, appropriately so, the Ragin' Cajun, Democratic strategist CNN's political contributor James Carville, and from Philadelphia, Ron Christie, former special assistant to President George W. Bush.

My thanks to both of you gentlemen for being here.

Well, we were just watching John McCain, so I will go ahead and start with this question to you, James.

Is this change we can believe in?

(LAUGHTER)

JAMES CARVILLE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it's change that it's coming about. Boy, you see this consumer confidence number today. People are starting to feel better. You see the stock market, people are feeling better about the way things are going.

I think America is starting to get its footing back a little bit. But does this president have a lot of challenges ahead of him? Of course he does, yes.

(CROSSTALK)

CARVILLE: It's going to be a tough haul.

SANCHEZ: Does he have a challenge in terms of perspective, the appearance of a guy who said that he was going to be a progressive who was going to be fighting for the little guy playing golf with a guy who is considered one of the big Wall Streeters, after his association with Geithner, after his association with Summers, and on and on?

CARVILLE: What was his relationship with Wolf before? Did this just sort of crop out of nowhere? If they sort of went back and they were friends, I mean, I have friends that do all kinds of things.

And, by the way, listening to our report, he is the head of UBS America. My guess is, is that UBS Switzerland, of which he's a subsidiary of, and had to do with this, but it -- I think that this guy is an old friend of the president's. He is on vacation. And he can play golf with someone. And, by the way, he didn't try to hide it.

SNOW: By the way, here is what he did today. I asked one of our guys over here in our political segment, Steve Brusk (ph), to check and see who the president was going to be playing golf with today. And, apparently, he is playing golf. You know who he is playing golf with? The assistant White House chef.

I don't know if that is telling or not. But it certainly is different from the president of a bank conglomerate, is it not?

CARVILLE: Yes, well, look, he is on vacation. And if he is like -- if he is anything like me, I like to have a lot of different friends. And I just don't find it very sort of troubling if he and Wolf were old friends and he is on vacation and he's playing golf with the guy, or if he likes the assistant chef. I like to cook.

(LAUGHTER)

CARVILLE: I would love to -- I'm not a -- it would take me four hours to play two holes of golf.

(CROSSTALK)

CARVILLE: I just find it -- yes, he is on vacation. His kids are getting ready to go back to school. I have some sympathy for him for that

SANCHEZ: Let me ask Ron Christie the same thing. Ron Christie, if President Bush had been recorded playing golf with one of the big Wall Street bankers or somebody whose company, as James said, is being associated with offshore investments being hidden from the America taxpayer, wouldn't the media be going after him?

RON CHRISTIE, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT BUSH: Oh, the media would be in revolt, Rick. And I appreciate the opportunity to join you. Sorry about being on a train.

But, listen, when President Obama and his administration came into power, they said that they were going to have the most transparent administration and that they were going to redo the way that Washington conducted business.

And unlike what James just said a second ago, these gentlemen aren't old friends. They met when President Obama was the then senator from Illinois and he was running for president. And this is a company that's at the heart of a Department of Justice investigation and the Internal Revenue Service for illegally keeping billions of tax dollars away from the American people.

And just when we hear that there is a new estimate that the deficit is going to be an additional $2 trillion higher, I think it sends a very, very bad message to the American people that the president of the United States is off on a golf course for five hours with a company that's under investigation, and, I might also say, that the administration has curtailed the way that lobbyists and other individuals who curry favor before the White House are able to conduct business.

They want it posted it on the Internet. They wanted the opportunity to see and read for themselves what the business was. I would like to know what the president talked about with this gentleman yesterday.

CARVILLE: James, let me ask you, just directly, what -- does the problem -- does this president have a problem with the left in the United States, where they are thinking maybe they are not getting what they got with this guy?

(CROSSTALK)

CARVILLE: Look, part of being president is you have trouble -- yes, the left doesn't think that he is moving fast enough for them. And the right doesn't think he was born in the United States.

You know, and what can you say? This kind of stuff, you know, it crops up. Like I say, the truth of the matter is, is, people are starting to feel a little bit better. He was dug the biggest hole you can imagine by this crowd that was in before. It is just stunning.

And it's always -- you know, you look at what they have been able to do. They have been able to get the country on some kind of a footing. Who knows how long this is going to last, but people are finally getting some sort of confidence in the leadership of this country. And that's a good thing. SANCHEZ: You know what's ironic, though?

Ron, Let me bring you back into this. Here James and I are having a discussion about how the left in this country is apparently, at least in some circles, very disappointed with this president, because they don't think he is fulfilling his promises. And, yet, the right is obliterating the guy.

I mean, pardon my mispronunciation there, but they really are. You look at the health care debate, they are not giving the guy an ounce. How can it be that he can be criticized equally from both sides?

CHRISTIE: Well, I think that the people on the left are very (INAUDIBLE) that they want a public option. And they don't feel that the president is willing to fight hard enough for a public option and that he hasn't shown enough leadership.

And quite to the contrary, Rick. I think if you look at the Republicans, if you look at Senator Bennett, a Republican from Utah, he has teamed together with Senator Wyden from Oregon. If you look in the House of Representatives, there's a bill, HR-3400, which is chaired -- which has been introduced by the chairman of the Republican Study Committee, which offers serious health care alternatives.

I think the president has had the opportunity...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Then why are people like my father-in-law in Moultrie, Georgia, saying -- who are die-hard Republicans saying that their own party is starting to turn into the party of no?

CHRISTIE: As I said on "LOU DOBBS," if the tree falls in the woods and no one heard it, did the tree really fall?

I think the Republicans really have made a concerted effort to work with the president and members of the Congress. But, again, the media hasn't covered it.

SANCHEZ: Really?

(CROSSTALK)

CHRISTIE: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: James, do you believe that the Republicans have made a concerted effort to work with this president?

(LAUGHTER)

CARVILLE: Look, the president took 180 Republican amendments in four committees. Thus far, there hasn't been a single Republican vote for anything. He had three in the entire Congress that voted for the stimulus bill.

This goes back to -- the truth of the matter is, is, they don't have any intentions of voting for anything. And they are saying it. I give them credit. I mean, Coburn, Pawlenty, all these guys are saying -- Senator Kyl says he is not going to get a single vote. I give them some credit for honesty.

Look, you had Dick Cheney today saying that the administration was politicizing the Justice Department. I thought I was reading "The Onion," OK?

(LAUGHTER)

CARVILLE: I said, this cannot be true.

(CROSSTALK)

CARVILLE: What they can do is they can with a straight face say things that normal people couldn't say. They're not -- most of them have at least the honesty to say, we are not voting for any of this, because we are going to bring this president down.

And you have got to admire that at some level.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: You do have to admire it. It's called -- well, in some circles, it's called sticking to your guns.

Ron, last words from you. Down to 20 seconds, my friend.

CHRISTIE: Well, I love James, because I knew James and I couldn't have had a conversation without mentioning my old boss, Dick Cheney.

(LAUGHTER)

CHRISTIE: Look, if you look at what's going on in the Senate, you have Senator Grassley and Senator Snowe, you have a number of Republicans who are trying to work across the aisle right now in bipartisan manner.

I think the Republicans are trying to be very constructive and trying to move something forward, rather than being the party of no. Let's just hope that this new sense of optimism that James and I have today on (INAUDIBLE) this interview will move something forward together in the...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: All right. My thanks to both of you, Mr. Carville and Mr. Christie. I enjoyed it. Great conversation.

CHRISTIE: Take care, gentlemen.

CARVILLE: Thank you, sir. CARVILLE: All right.

Well, the details of how Michael Jackson died are -- have you heard? They are astonishing. If you doubted or if you questioned just how hooked he was on drugs, you won't be after you hear this report. It is truly astonishing.

Also, this woman uses a hoe to defend her granddaughter's honor. And you will see it. And there is more than meets the eye in this report. Stay with us.

And then of course at 4:00, the after-show, we are going to be talking about one of my favorite subjects today, Cuba, the embargo. Lift it. Don't lift it. In fact, entertainers are now getting involved in this thing. And it gets nasty.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: It was really great having the Ragin' Cajun and Ron Christie on last segment. And many of you are reacting to what they had to say, some of you disagreeing with one and agreeing with the other, and vice-versa.

We call this a national conversation, so let's go to some of the conversation we're having with you.

On Twitter first: "I can't believe people at town halls fighting for insurance companies are charging people to death."

Now, this is an interesting comment. This is the one I was talking that was referring to what Carville said. "I am pretty sure that playing golf with the president didn't hurt when it came to offshoring $14 billion."

But here's the opposite reaction. "If the president breathes, it sends the wrong message to some. Can he not have a life? This is ridiculous."

All right, we're going to have more on those in a minute, but let me tell you what else we're going to have coming up in just a moment. An anonymous blogger called a model a skank on the Internet. The model sued and outed the blogger. So much for anonymous. What does that mean for your privacy on the Internet?

What can you say about me? What can I say about you? And does it depend on how private or public either one of us are?

New case being made. We will study it. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: I was going to find you one of these on the Twitter board to share with you exactly what I'm talking about. But you know what? I can't, because there's just too many horrible and bad words and bad things on there for me to show you, and my bosses would probably get mad at you. So, I won't. So, don't, whatever you do, Robert, point that camera right now at Twitter board, because I don't want people to see some of the things that are being written.

But here is the point that I'm trying to make. The number of horrible things that people blog about me that are completely crazy or made up or fabricated are nothing short of astonishing. It is enough to make my mom pick up the hoe and go after somebody.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: But, actually, it comes with the territory when you are a public person. I got a laugh out of you, didn't I, Colleen (ph)?

Here is the point. If the person that you are blogging about is a public person, like me, your chances of winning a lawsuit, well, usually aren't pretty good.

But here's a case study: a model who says she was defamed by being called a skank. This is a pretty young lady. Her case because she is really a private person has opened up a real can of worms on the Internet that we should all be aware of.

Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the kind of photo spread no model would want, featured on a blog called skanks in New York City, former "Vogue" cover girl Liskula Cohen ended up on the blog telling CNN's Campbell Brown she was determined to find out who was behind putting her there.

LISKULA COHEN, SUED GOOGLE AND WON: I wanted it gone. And I didn't want it to be there for the rest of my life. And I knew the only way for it to be gone was to call my lawyer.

CARROLL: She's not the only one calling a lawyer. So is the woman behind the blog, Rosemary Port, a 29-year-old fashion student and casual acquaintance of Cohen. Port's attorney saying she's the real victim.

SALVATOR STRAZZULLO, PORT'S ATTORNEY: I not only feel my client was wronged, but I feel now it sets a precedent that anyone with money and power can get the identity of anyone that decides to be an anonymous blogger.

CARROLL: Port's name released after a judge sided with Cohen, who sued Google to reveal information about the anonymous blogger. The blog had appeared on Google's Web site. The court rejected Port's claim that blogs like hers serve as a modern day forum for conveying personal opinions and shouldn't be regarded as fact.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: The court said, look, there was specific evidence that this one person may have libeled another person. In that circumstance, we're going to disclose that name.

CARROLL: Google says it complies with court orders saying we have a legal team whose job it is to scrutinize these requests and make sure they meet not only the letter but the spirit of the law. Port still says Google should have kept her name private and plans on suing Google for $15 million. Cohen's attorney says he can't believe Port's nerve.

STEVEN WAGNER, COHEN'S ATTORNEY: Her being a victim here? I have trouble understanding that, in its entirety.

CARROLL: Web watchers like "Wired" magazine's Nicholas Thompson say, this is a lesson for all anonymous bloggers.

NICHOLAS THOMPSON, "WIRED" MAGAZINE: Some of the effects will be good. People will recognize, wait a second, the law does apply to the blogosphere. Some of them may be bad. There will be people who won't publish things that maybe they should publish. It may be good for society.

CARROLL (on camera): Port's attorney says his client should have had the chance to appeal the judge's decision before information about her identity was revealed. Cohen's attorney says much of this could have been avoided if Port had simply apologized for what she had done.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why you all knocking on my door? Hey, don't put the camera in my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) face, man! Now (EXPLETIVE DELETED) right now! Get...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Yes, right now. She is angry and she has got a hoe. But at the end of the day, she is just defending her granddaughter's honor. That is in "Fotos Del Dia," what is quickly becoming our favorite segment of the day and yours.

And then Michael Jackson's last hours included a litany of drugs that would have put an elephant in a coma. How is it possible -- now that the affidavit is out and we have got the document, and we're going to share it with you -- how is it possible that a person can take that many drugs? It's crazy. It's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. You are about to be completely blown away what you are about to hear regarding Michael Jackson. The police affidavits are out.

And it is a combination of astonishing and really sad. As you hear this information, I think you will agree, how many drugs he took, how he got those drugs, from who he got the drugs -- or from whom he got the drugs, right, and how many he took the day that he actually died.

Listen to what he took on his final hours of life, because he couldn't sleep. I'm going to take you through this list. You ready?

The affidavit says that at 1:30 a.m., Dr. Conrad Murray gave Jackson 10 milligrams of Valium to ease his insomnia. You and I would be out easily at this point. I know I would. OK. That didn't work. So, a half-hour later, Dr. Murray injected Jackson with two milligrams of the anti-anxiety drug Ativan. Jackson still couldn't sleep.

So, an hour later -- now it's 3:00 a.m. -- he comes back, and Dr. Murray administers two milligrams of the sedative Versed. Now, that's enough to knock out a horse at this point with everything he has got in him.

Jackson still awake. So, at 5:00 a.m., the doctor comes back. Obviously, we have got a problem here and the doctor recognizes it. Dr. Murray gives Jackson another shot of Ativan, again two more milligrams. Two-and-a-half-hours later, now it's 7:30 in the morning. You staying with me here. Jackson gets another two milligrams of Versed. But Jackson still couldn't go to sleep.

Finally, it's 10:30 a.m. Dr. Murray gives Jackson what he seemed to be addicted to and what he really wanted bad in the first place, what he was pleading for. He gave him the propofol, 25 milligrams. Finally, he goes to sleep. The problem is, he never wakes up.

Before I share with you what an investigative reporter is finding about propofol and how incredibly addictive it is, not only to Michael Jackson, but apparently to some other people out there, I want you to understand what propofol really is. I want you to understand how it is administered. I want you to know how it is supposed to work when it is used legitimately by doctors and how carefully they have to administer this.

And who better to do this man my friend and colleague, Dr. Sanjay Gupta?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We are here inside the operating room with Dr. Gershon. He is the chief of anesthesiology here. Propofol is a medication he uses all the time.

So, is this it right over here?

DR. RAPHAEL GERSHON, CHIEF OF ANESTHESIOLOGY, GRADY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: Yes.

GUPTA: It looks like -- milk of amnesia, they call it.

GERSHON: Milk of amnesia.

Vincent, you OK? We have to monitor his EKG, we have to monitor his CO2, we have to make sure he's breathing, we have to see his saturation, we have to make sure he's ventilating.

GUPTA: That's all typical stuff.

GERSHON: Standard of care, yes.

GUPTA: OK, so the Propofol...

GERSHON: You are going to get a little sleepy, Vincent. Give me some good, deep breaths.

GUPTA: Watch this go in. Take a look at his eyes, how quickly this...

GERSHON: Deep breath, Vincent, doing great. You may feel a little burning, OK? Deep breath.

GUPTA: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

GERSHON: There is a reason for his heart rate increase. His eyes are closed.

GUPTA: His eyes closed. And what else are you looking at?

GERSHON: I would look up here. He stopped breathing. This is watching his CO2. And he is not breathing anymore. And my wonderful anesthetist is going to help him breath.

GUPTA: Take a look over here. All the breathing right now is taking place with this bag and this mask. With that medications you can would be able to breath on his own with those things.

There you can see part of the problem. With that much Propofol there, he has stopped breathing and he will need a breathing tube.

What's so attractive about this medication?

GERSHON: It has really been in the advent in the last ten years and even more, 15 years, and it is just a basically quick on, quick off. And they may answer why people may think that this is something they could do at home, because if it gets out of hand, it goes away quickly.

But the problem is if it gets out of hand and there is nobody there to resuscitate you, then nobody could bring you back.

GUPTA: That was pretty quick. You just gave some of the medication...

GERSHON: Five, ten minutes.

GUPTA: He has gone from completely awake to completely asleep.

GERSHON: He is not breathing. I am breathing for him.

GUPTA: This is obviously an operating room. This is a medication used thousands of times in a setting like this. But it can also be used in outpatient medical settings.

What Dr. Gershon will tell you, other things here, they have never heard it being used in the home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: By the way, in case you're curious, the patient you just saw there was going under anesthesia during a piece. He is doing fine. He woke up shortly after surgery without any complications from the anesthesia, because the health professionals were there to take care of him.

When we come back there is an investigative reporter I want you to meet who will share with you some of the details he has uncovered about Jackson, what he has uncovered about Propofol that I and I guarantee you never knew, and about this investigation in general and where it is going to lead. That's next. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Just before the break we were talking about Propofol and some of the other drugs that Michael Jackson remarkably was able to withstand before being given the Propofol that may have eventually led to his demise.

Gerald Posner is a chief investigative report from the TheDailyBeast.com and he joins us now from plantation, Florida.

Thanks, Joe, for being with.

GERALD POSNER, CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, THEDAILYBEAST.COM: Great to be with you, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Good to see you again. How does a person get to a point where they can even withstand, forget need, withstand those drugs that we were just listing that he took from 1:30 a.m. until 10:30 the next morning?

POSNER: You know, Rick, you asked the key question. As you were going over that litany of drugs, 18 milligrams of anti-anxiety, strong drugs, as you said, that you would knock an elephant out, what you were doing was telling everybody who was listening to this program the extent of Michael Jackson's addition, because when you are an addict, you build up a tolerance.

So if you are an addict, you're an addict to any of the opiates, say you're an addict to morphine, the more you have used it, the longer you have used it, the more you need to get the high or have the effect, in this case, to go to sleep.

The fact that he was able to take that much and not get to sleep without actually getting Propofol will tell you how long he has been using heavy, heavy sleep aids and has been addicted.

And what's interesting, as you know, is Dr. Murray, two days before he had died, had not given him Propofol. He was trying to wean him off because he knew he was addicted. And on this night, he was going through the same routine that had worked two nights earlier. It didn't this time.

And so finally, at 10:40, he gave him the Propofol and it was deadly.

SANCHEZ: Well, if Dr. Murray was weaning him off of the Propofol, this it must have been other doctors in the past, and I know there are a bunch of names out there, and you don't have to I have go us the names because we don't want to get in the whole legal hassle at this point, but there must have been other doctors who had introduced him to this in the past, right?

POSNER: No question. Listen, Rick, Propofol was approved in 1988. And without names, as you said, in the mid-1990s, Michael Jackson went on tour with an anesthesiologist on his tout. That should have rang a bell for a lot of people that something was wrong.

I don't know of many people, not even Keith Richards in the Rolling Stones, traveling with an anesthesiologist. And whether he was getting Propofol at that time or another anesthesia to put him out, he was getting accustomed to this.

There are reports of when he left the United Arab Emirates in 2006, he flew to Germany in order to get Propofol.

I have spoken to DEA agents who have told me that Dr. Murray does not have an order for Propofol filled in his name from any hospital or supply service, that some of the Propofol they found in the Jackson residence actually does go back to Germany.

So he was getting enabled, he meaning Jackson, for years. And Murray is, unfortunately, as he calls it, the last man standing there at the end when the pop star died. But there were plenty of doctors beforehand that have some culpability here.

SANCHEZ: This is amazing, and I have been reading in some of the reports that you have been filing, I have been reading your stuff, and it's unbelievable the digging you have done on this.

Even some of the aliases Jackson used in the past, Jack London, Josephine Baker, Prince Jackson, which is the name of his son.

You know, what I'm most curious to get from you is, I was reading just before I came on the air some of the stories you filed about what Propofol is and other people who have become addicted to this drug. Tell our viewers what you found out about this. Some of the case studies you cited were remarkable.

POSNER: It is interesting because this is not a problem like Oxycontin, or it is not growing into one yet. The numbers are small, but they are increasing.

What's happened is there are only two civilian cases that we know of. One was a fellow in Germany who was getting his Propofol from a veterinarian nearby because he was saying he needed it for his fish, believe it or not, in his aquarium. The veterinarian believed it, and he ended up using it, and another one who got it from the Internet who died from using it.

But the big problem that's growing and seeing the biggest numbers are among medical residents, residents in the anesthesiology programs across the country.

Dr. Paul Wishmeyer (ph) did a study two years ago and found more than half of them had found residents who were injecting themselves up to 100 times a day, little mini-injections of Propofol, not to go out, as you showed in your piece, with the patient who was put under when Sanjay Gupta was there, but to give themselves a sort of dopey feeling that they are somewhat in & out of this world just for a minute or two.

The problem is it is very easy to cross the line, go into unconsciousness, and then you lose all control and you can die.

SANCHEZ: Great stuff. You know what, we're going to have you back. The information that you are sharing with us is head-turning. And it's amazing to think that someone can get hooked on something as complicated and as bizarre as this drug, not to mention some of the others we have listing.

Gerald Posner, thanks so much for being with us.

POSNER: Rick, always great, thank you.

SANCHEZ: All right, man.

He is running from the police and he pulls off the most amazing escape we have seen in a long time. But does he get away from the cops? And what happens to the woman in the car when the car crashes?

Stop it right there. Let's go to the next tape.

And why is President Obama playing golf with a man whose company allegedly defrauded U.S. taxpayers for billions of dollars? That's an important question, so we've been asking it throughout this newscast, and we want your involvement as well.

We will be talking some more in the after show at 4:00, cnn.com/live. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We started this newscast by questioning the president's choice of golf partners, given that it was the man who was the head of UBS Americas.

Well, the White House spokesman Bill Burton has replied to our question about President Obama's interesting choice of golf partners and the impression that may leave with the American people.

"Mr. Obama enjoyed a round on Martha's Vineyard with Robert Wolf." He's the president of UBS Americas, as I mentioned, and UBS once helped taxpayers avoid their obligations to the IRS to the tune of billions of dollars. That means people were looking for offshore accounts and UBSs helped them do so.

Keep in mind, Wolf isn't accused of anything, the person himself. Now, UBS is cooperating with the federal government.

Still, spokesman Bill Burton tells us this, quote, moments ago, "Roberts is a member of the president's economic advisory team as well as a friend.

The president has led the way on financial reform and regulation and I can assure you that his feelings on the matter will remain the same regardless of who he spends some of his well-earned vacation with," stop quote. That's what we just got moments ago.

Wolf, by the way, also raised $250,000 for the president's election campaign.

Have you heard this one? A grandmother armed with a hoe, defending her granddaughter's honor. That and more next in what is becoming a favorite around here, "las fotos del dia."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez here in the world headquarters of CNN.

Even death row inmates have mothers who still love them and they believe in them. You've heard about that, right?

So, what do you think would happen if a reporter or a group of reporters show up at a woman's house to question her about her daughter's honor, her daughter's ethics, because they believe her daughter may be underage and possibly dancing at a strip club?

It is now time to bring out the hoe? Wouldn't you think? Wouldn't you say? And, boy, does she. And you are about to see in today's "fotos" segment.

They showed up at Rosemary Lumpkin's house, who apparently called police about her daughter working at a strip club. The woman who answered the door said, "I'm not Rosemary Lumpkin," and then began Lumpkining (ph) anybody she could find with the hoe.

Foto number dos takes us to San Paulo, Brazil, where a shanty town goes up in smoke. And it isn't pretty. Watch. This happens more often than you think in Latin America. It's called an illegal settlement. Police move in to evict the 200 squatters, but they use stun guns and tear gas. And squatters resist with hand-made bombs, and kaboom.

And now, numero uno. If there were such a thing as an Olympic event of car chases, this guy would be a top qualifier. Police say he ran from them with a stolen car with a woman inside.

Then just before crashing, he jumps out, rolls once and gets away.

Here, watch it again. Now, watch as the woman gets out of the car after it crashes in a daze and sits down.

As for Mr. Olympic car chase, he is under arrest. And they are throwing the book at him, because police say he has done it before.

Good segment.

Fidel Castro is alive and well and there is new fuel on the fire about lifting the Cuban embargo. And this time it is coming from some of the world's most famous singers going at it.

And remember the after show at 4:00 when we continue the conversation about all things on our show, but most particularly about the Cuban embargo. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Let's go to the twitter board. Doctor Ari Afia (ph) says "You now you know that hoe woman has issues. She doesn't have anything else going for herself." Well, she knows how to protect her granddaughter, that's for sure.

And this then one -- come on. "Las fotos del dia deserves better graphics than that. Did one of your kids design it?"

I will share with you that we are in the process of having a really nice graphics package for that segment because it has become such a hit due to be unveiled hopefully by the end of this week or the beginning of next week. So there.

All right, just the music concert. Now, more than a music concert. And when it comes to Cuba, nothing is ever quite that simple, nothing. Cultural exchange or lending legitimacy to a dictatorship? This gets real ugly.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.

Right now, New Mexico governor Bill Richardson is in Cuba and he is on a trade mission, a mission to promote agricultural and cultural partnership.

Cultural partnerships in most places would be low drama, hardly mentioned. But when it comes to Cuba, there's no such thing as low drama.

Here is who else is going Cuba. That's Juarez. He is one of the hottest musicians in Latin America. Next month he will be in Cuba headlining the Peace without Borders show on Havana's revolutionary square, the revolutionary square where Fidel Castro would give 20 hour speeches from time to time. What is going on is that is starting to get ugly. It is getting ugly because of what people are saying about it. It is today's installment of "Connection."

Juarez says the concert is intended to set aside differences and mental walls, mental walls. Instead he has a lot of anti-Castro activists who are yelling why reward Fidel Castro with a multimillion dollar, huge celebrity concert.

I will talk to Willie Chirino who is vehemently the anti-Castro. He sings about it, as a matter of fact, is internationally renowned, smart guy, know him for years.

But first I want to bring in Lewis Head. He's with the U.S.-Cuba cultural exchange. Lewis, thanks so much for being with us.

LEWIS HEAD, U.S.-CUBA CULTURAL EXCHANGE (via telephone): Thanks a lot for having me, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Sure. The critics will say this is simply rewarding Fidel Castro. Why would you do something like?

First of all, let's clarify a couple of things. I will say on behalf of U.S.-Cuba cultural exchange, which is a network of artists all art presenters all over the country that we do welcome the Juarez initiative and we also welcome the initiative of the New York Philharmonic, which will be in Cuba in October, and the recent visit by the Cuban theater group to the University of Alabama.

Obviously, things are reopening a little bit.

But let's clear up a misconception, because I don't think there's anything unprecedented about the Juarez trip to Cuba. Cultural exchange with modern Cuba began in the 1970s and then became extensive in the 1990s up until 2004 when the Bush administration shut it down.

SANCHEZ: Why is this one getting so much heat? What is it about Juarez? Is it maybe the fact that he is Hispanic going to this country that sparks a fire?

HEAD: I think that is probably part of it. But I think cultural, or collective memory, being what it is sometimes in the United States, people just don't realize how extensive things were in the 1990s up until 2004. They were literally thousands of visual and performing and literary and other kinds of artists.

SANCHEZ: So you are saying this is a good thing.

Lewis, thanks so much for being with us. I want to bring in the other side before you run out of time. I want to bring in my old friend Willie Chirino from South Florida. Willie, good to see you.

WILLIE CHIRINO, CUBAN-AMERICAN SINGER: Good to see you, my brother.

SANCHEZ: Listen, when we look at this, we can't help but wonder if maybe the time has finally come for the United States to do these kind of programs to see if they can break down the barriers and the borders, especially for the young kids who had nothing to do with the problems that your dad and my dad had. Is that not a possibility?

CHIRINO: Yes, but we are not talking about that. We are talking about a concert that will be held in Cuba by an internationally renowned artist with a bunch of other artists. And that's great. As a matter of fact, I myself have tried to sing in Cuba for many years, and they don't answer. You know?

SANCHEZ: Really? So let me stop you. You are saying right now, Willie Chidino, international known artist, that if you could, you would be a part of this concert to go to Cuba and sing at la Plaza del Revolution?

CHIRINO: No, no, no. I have tried for many years to perform in Cuba, to do my concert in Cuba. Of course, I am a free man, Rick, and I sing my music. Part of my music deals with social and political issues regarding the Cuban revolution and the government over there.

SANCHEZ: Good songs, like (inaudible), one of the greatest songs I have ever heard.

CHIRINO: Thank you, Rick, you have great taste.

(LAUGHTER)

But the thing is that I won't allow myself not to sing that song inside of Cuba. I sing everywhere I go. Why shouldn't I sing it in my own country? Those songs don't claim violence.

SANCHEZ: So your argument is freedom of speech argument. You're saying if I were to go to Cuba, I would want to be completely free to see who I want and sing what I want?

CHIRINO: Definitely. I am a free man and I don't allow that to happen anywhere in the world I go. I sing my songs, and those are some of my songs.

The Juarez issue, let's go back to that. It's a great thing. I applaud the fact that he wants to sing for me people and give them a little bit of entertainment for awhile. And that's a great thing.

But there are a couple of issues that I...

SANCHEZ: Will, hold on to those issues, because I want to discuss them with you. We are continuing the show on CNN.com/live, really interesting.

In the meantime, here now is Suzanne Malveaux in THE SITUATION ROOM.