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American Morning

Pentagon Official Murdered; "Spiderman" Speaks; Mega Millions Jackpot Hits $300 Million; New Cancer Test, a Breakthrough; Hate Your Job? Get "Unstuck"; Who Killed Michael Jackson?; Wild Horse Roundup

Aired January 04, 2011 - 06:00   ET

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


JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. And welcome to AMERICAN MORNING for this Tuesday, January 4th of 2011. I'm Jim Acosta.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good to see you this morning.

ACOSTA: Good to see you.

CHETRY: I'm Kiran Chetry. We have a lot of big stories going on this morning, but we start with a murder mystery. It's rocking Washington this morning and shocking people who knew the man who died.

An aide to three Republican presidents and the man who helped build the Vietnam wall found dumped in a Delaware landfill and it seems that no one knows why anyone would want to kill him. We're live as police dig for new leads this morning.

ACOSTA: And a simple new blood test could be a life saver for cancer patients. It can detect a single cancer cell among billions of healthy ones and could revolutionize how doctors treat the deadly disease. A closer look at the exciting new research ahead.

CHETRY: Are you feeling lucky? All it takes is a dollar, and the mega millions jackpot could make you a millionaire several times over. Tonight, it's up for grabs. There's a lot of anticipation growing and so is the potential payoff. The jackpot is expected to soar well over $300 million before the lucky numbers are drawn.

ACOSTA: Yes. More than a few people paying attention to that story in the next 24 hours.

But up first, a man who many are calling a great patriot at the center of a murder mystery this morning. 66-year-old John Wheeler, a former Pentagon official and aide to three Republican presidents was found dead in a Delaware landfill on Friday. Wheeler was a Vietnam vet and a driving force behind the creation of the Vietnam wall. His body was found dumped in Wilmington's Cherry Island landfill on New Year's eve.

CHETRY: And now the case has been ruled a homicide. Police are asking the public for leads. They say that no one reported Wheeler's body missing before it was found. The only thing coming to mind right now is a property dispute that Wheeler had with a neighbor, but his attorney says the dispute never reached a level like this. The family also releasing a statement saying, quote, "This is a tragic time for the family. We are grieving our loss. Please understand that the family has no further comment at this time. We trust that everyone will respect the family's privacy."

Meanwhile, our Sarah Hoye joins us live via Skype from Philadelphia this morning. Give us an update of the investigation today, where investigators are going to go and possibly check out other locations.

SARAH HOYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning. Investigators here, they're checking all leads. As said earlier there was a dispute with a neighbor. However, they're not saying neither here nor there if that is the case, if there's an issue with that. They are checking all leads. They're making sure to leave no stone unturned really.

CHETRY: What about this argument that they're talking about, Sarah, with his neighbors? Are investigators serious at looking into that as a possible connection to his death?

HOYE: Well, they want to keep all their options open. So it's one facet in the investigation. There's a number of things that they want to check out. This is something that kind of came as a shock to the entire community. Here you have a man who's found at the landfill. And so investigators really are looking at any help that the public can give between the 28th of December through the 31st of December -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Sarah Hoye for us this morning. I know you're going to be back out there today as they check more locations and you'll give us an update. Thanks, Sarah.

ACOSTA: Also new this morning, "Spiderman" speaks. We've been following the story closely. Christopher Tierney, the stunt devil who was seriously hurt during a preview performance of Broadway's "Spider- Man: Turn Off the Dark." He talked to a New York TV reporter about his accident on stage last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA TYLER: What happened that night when you fell?

CHRISTOPHER TIERNEY, SPIDERMAN STUNT ACTOR: It was just, you know, a bit of human error. I'm supposed to jump off the bridge, but it catches me. And I was tethered to my back but the -- it had just didn't get tethered to the stage. And so when I went out and as I do with everything, I just go for it, there was no pulling myself back.

I was falling and then I saw once I hit the darkness of the stage I had to just turn it real quick so I wasn't going to fall on my head, and I crashed on my back. The last thing I remember was like, just going oh, God and that's it. And then I kind of passed out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: That's Christopher Tierney with Dana Tyler with CBS (ph) here in New York. Tierney's injuries included a fractured skull, four broken ribs and three cracked vertebrae. He's now out of the hospital and says he can't wait to get back to the show. And he looked like he was in pretty good spirits there.

CHETRY: Yes, he did. They said it was a hairline fracture.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: I mean, when you have skull fracture --

ACOSTA: Right.

CHETRY: -- but that is really scary for him to be ready to jump back on the horse again.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: And jump back off that stage is amazing.

ACOSTA: Glad to see he's doing well.

CHETRY: Well, early test results show massive trauma likely killed thousands of birds that dropped from the sky in Arkansas on New Year's eve. A lot of people are saying, of course, if they dropped from the sky and hit the ground that would be massive trauma.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: But wildlife experts are now saying that they think what happened is the birds were startled. They were roosting. They were startled by fireworks that went off high in the sky. They flew low, collided with each other, in some cases, hit houses and trees, and many of the dead birds were red-winged blackbirds said to have very poor night vision.

ACOSTA: And now to the NFL quarterback who probably wished he didn't come back to the NFL last season. New sexually charged allegations now against Brett Favre. He's being sued for sexual harassment by two massage therapists who work for the New York Jets when Favre was with the team in 2008. The suit alleges the women were fired after complaining about sexually suggestive text messages from Favre. The Jets and a team massage coordinator are also named in the lawsuit. Favre was just fined $50,000 by the NFL for not fully cooperating with the league's investigation into lewd text messages and photos he allegedly sent to a former Jets employee.

CHETRY: Well, did you buy your ticket yet?

ACOSTA: I did buy my ticket. I think I'm going to buy more.

CHETRY: Yes, you should. It's up to $330 million. And see, you're planning to buy more and so are many.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: This could possibly go up to $400 million.

ACOSTA: Incredible.

CHETRY: This mega millions jackpot.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: Tonight is the drawing and if one person wins it, he or she will receive the single largest payout in U.S. lotto history.

ACOSTA: Amazing. Mega millions is played in 41 states, in Washington, D.C. and the fever is building as fast as the jackpot. Allan Chernoff is monitoring the madness on the busy streets of New York where we hope they're just a little busy this morning at 6:00 a.m. He's also finding a lot of aspiring retirees this morning. Is that right, Allan?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Jim, you know, my wife and I were making plans just last night. She wants a butler for every room and then only then will she create a foundation in her name to promote world peace. This is the ticket, of course, the winning ticket. All these other people, they're feeling lucky too this morning. In fact, this lady just -- you bought something?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I just bought my quick pick, hoping to win, give some to charity and head back to my lovely island, Trinidad and Tobago.

CHERNOFF: There we go. Off to the islands, have some to charity. Yes.

As you know, the jackpot this morning, well, $330 million. My goodness. Only three times before in history has the jackpot for mega millions been this high. So that's why there is so much fever. So many people buying, yes, at this hour. Just imagine how long these lines are going to get later on in the day. And yes, people can buy all the way until 10:45 p.m. Eastern Time tonight. The drawing this evening at 11:00. Jim, the chances, 1-176 million.

ACOSTA: Wow.

CHERNOFF: I'm feeling lucky anyway. Good luck to you guys, too.

CHETRY: If you join some sort of pool, let's say, do you shrink your chances or better them?

ACOSTA: Not that there are any pools going on here.

CHERNOFF: Well, you know --

CHETRY: I'm just saying theoretically.

CHERNOFF: The ticket itself still has the same odds, still has the same odds. You'll just be splitting it up amongst yourselves. But who's complaining, you know?

ACOSTA: Allan is going to keep it all to himself, right? Allan --

CHERNOFF: Goes to my wife's foundation. ACOSTA: There you go. That's a good excuse. Thank you so much, Allan Chernoff. Appreciate it. It's this old -- it's the old my wife's foundation line. That's always a good line.

Speaking of somebody whose number may be coming up soon, it's time to get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Let's spin down to Atlanta where Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather center. You're feeling lucky, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, I just caught a bit of that, Jim. When you say some of these numbers coming up, that could mean a number of things.

CHETRY: Yes, exactly. We're talking lotto.

ACOSTA: And I meant it that way. I'm just kidding.

MARCIANO: I appreciate that. No, I haven't bought the ticket yet, but maybe. Maybe I'll take some of the scratch-offs. My winnings from the Christmas scratch-offs and buy a couple of the mega lottery tickets.

ACOSTA: There you go.

MARCIANO: Hey, you know what? Tell you what. If you were going to bet on it snowing in Vegas, just about any time of the year, that would be a long shot. Not quite as long shot as the mega lottery ticket, but it snowed yesterday, and it accumulated. These are some of our iReport pictures that just outside or off the strip, accumulating snows of one, two, in some cases, three inches. There's the ruler. It doesn't lie. There wasn't a whole lot of drifting, so pretty accurate stuff. On the strip itself, just pretty much a trace. But nonetheless, certainly a sight to behold for those weary gamblers strolling back at the wee hours of the morning, probably in disbelief.

All right. Snowed a little bit more regularly across the Great Lakes. That's where we're seeing it now. This is kind of lake-enhanced snow, part of a weak system that's drifting across the Great Lakes. It shouldn't amount to a whole lot of accumulation, at least in larger cities. Comfortably or seasonably cool in places like Boston, New York, in D.C. Temperatures in the 20s and lower 30s, and we'll be getting to about where we were yesterday with maybe just a few more flurries and then some showers across the Deep South. A storm system is developing there. We'll talk more about that as the morning rolls along.

Sixty-three, a warmer and drier day today in Los Angeles and you'll get into dry weather for at least a couple of days after an extremely wet December. Fifty-four degrees in Atlanta with partly sunny skies and the clouds rolling in New York, but don't expect a huge storm system there. We'll talk more about the extended outlook which gets a little bit more interesting in a little bit. Of course, we'll take dull or relatively dull after last week's mayhem. That's for sure.

CHETRY: I don't know what you mean by interesting. If you mean snow, we don't need any more. MARCIANO: I know. We're putting the order in for you. I know you're snow-weary.

CHETRY: All right. Rob, thanks so much.

MARCIANO: All right, guys.

CHETRY: Coming up next, this is exciting news. The one that broke yesterday afternoon.

ACOSTA: Oh, yes.

CHETRY: A new blood test that could be on the horizon that some experts say could revolutionize the way doctors diagnose and treat cancer. We're going to be speaking with the American Cancer Society's chief medical officer ahead.

ACOSTA: And hate your job and feel like you're stuck? You're not alone. Christine Romans tells us why this could be the year to make a move.

CHETRY: Also, who killed Michael Jackson? The singer's personal doctor is facing a court hearing later today. We're going to have details of some of the allegations he is making.

It's 10 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Twelve minutes past the hour right now. A simple blood test could be a powerful new weapon in the fight against cancer. In fact, it's said to be so precise that it can detect a single cancer cell among a billion healthy ones in a person's bloodstream. Now it still could be five or 10 years before this test is widely available, but experts are calling it a major breakthrough in cancer treatment and diagnosis.

Dr. Otis Brawley is the chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. He joins us now from Atlanta.

Good morning, Doctor. Thanks for being with us.

DR. OTIS BRAWLEY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

CHETRY: You hear it, you know the headline that there could be a test that can detect a single cancer cell. It sounds amazing. Why is this such a big deal?

BRAWLEY: Well, you know, early detection actually is very helpful for cure. This actually allows us to perhaps follow people who have been treated so we can see if the treatment is actually working or not working, save them from getting a needless treatment. This also could be a great screening tool. So there are a lot of reasons to be hopeful. But you're right. It's going to take five to 10 years to sort this out. CHETRY: So would it be -- how would it work out? Would it be simple as getting your blood drawn, sending it off to a lab and finding out if you have cancer?

BRAWLEY: That's exactly right. You know, right now women who have breast cancer have to get mammography. They have to go to a place that actually has the machine. And, of course, they're exposed to radiation. There are no tests for a number of different diseases. This has the potential for testing for a number of cancers and it's simply drawing blood and sending it off to the lab. But you're absolutely right. This is probably five years, perhaps 10 years down the horizon.

CHETRY: So if they can figure out, you know, how it's working, and obviously they're trying to perfect it and then make it widely available, is there any chance that this could be speeded up? I mean, you know, a decade down the road sounds like a long time if you're, you know, worried about cancer now.

BRAWLEY: Yes. Unfortunately, some of the tests that actually need to be done scientifically actually involve doing the study on people and then watching to see what happens to them. And unfortunately, that's something we cannot speed up. It's going to be at least five years and for screening, there's actually no screening test that's ever been validated in a study that was less than 10 years long.

CHETRY: I got you. When it comes to how this would be used, would this be part of a routine physical? Meaning, you know, you get your, you know, full blood workup, your total blood count, everything, cholesterol and a cancer screening? Or would this be for somebody that has already been treated for cancer and you want to make sure that it has not recurred?

BRAWLEY: You know, the -- I think initially the study will be used for the latter group. People who have had cancer in the past or people who are under treatment. Perhaps in 10, 20 years, this - this may very well be used as a routine screening test, but that's really blue sky. That's really far off into the future.

CHETRY: This test, will it be available to the general public and affordable for everybody? I mean, as we know, Johnson & Johnson putting several million dollars into it. I mean, this is quite expensive. Is it going to be affordable and readily available for most people?

BRAWLEY: You know, the natural history of all of these tests is they frequently cost quite a bit of money, sometimes $10,000 or $15,000 initially.

CHETRY: Right.

BRAWLEY: But over time, as we get better technically, they usually do get cheaper and hopefully we will have something that's actually going to be affordable and useful.

CHETRY: Well, hopefully. This is certainly a bright sign that they're moving forward on this. And we'll see what happens down the road.

Dr. Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer with the American Cancer Society, thanks for joining us this morning.

BRAWLEY: Thanks for having me.

CHETRY: Jim?

ACOSTA: Exciting news, Kiran.

Oprah's new network is on the air. Have you seen it? We'll take a look at the ratings from the opening weekend to see if it's holding its own?

And an environmental news, (INAUDIBLE) our cultural icon, these wild horses are being forced from their home in the American West. Is the government going too far by using helicopters to round them up?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: OK, everybody. Time for "Morning Talkers".

Oprah's new network, have you seen it yet? It is on the air and so far it's more than holding its own. One million viewers turned - tuned in on Saturday. About 850,000 checked out the Oprah Winfrey Network on Sunday. OWN took over the channel position formerly occupied by Discovery Health, and the number of viewers quickly quadrupled. OWN is available in 67% of U.S. homes.

CHETRY: Well, there was "Huck Finn," there was "War and Peace," "Moby Dick," "Catcher in the Rye". Well, now there's "A Shore Thing."

ACOSTA: Sounds like a classic.

CHETRY: We're getting our first look at excerpts from Snooki's first literary work this morning. Like, "He had an OK body. Not fat and all. And naturally toned abs. She could pour a shot of tequila down his belly and slurp it out of his navel" - I can't believe I'm reading this - "without getting splashed in the face."

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: I'm just - you know - (INAUDIBLE) from the book.

ACOSTA: Somebody call the Library of Congress, because this just needs to go in there right away. And I'm supposed to read - is this another -

CHETRY: No. We should just move -

ACOSTA: -- section here?

CHETRY: -- past this.

ACOSTA: OK. We're just going to move past that, because, you know?

CHETRY: Yes.

ACOSTA: You get the idea.

CHETRY: It's available.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: It's available soon.

ACOSTA: Yes. You can -

CHETRY: Whatever (INAUDIBLE).

ACOSTA: -- apparently find it in a bookstore near you.

Get in here, Madge (ph). They got a meerkat riding a turquoise - turquoise?

CHETRY: Tortoise.

ACOSTA: Oh, my God. Tortoise.

CHETRY: Sorry.

ACOSTA: I'm so thrown off by the Snooki story.

These pictures were taken by CNN iReporter Catherine Davies at a cheetah rehabilitation center in South Africa.

CHETRY: So cute.

ACOSTA: It was, as you might imagine, a slow ride. Testing the meerkat's patience, no doubt. We're told that at one point, it bit the tortoise on the head. That is not nice. But the tortoise - not turquoise - didn't seem to notice or care.

CHETRY: That's why he's got his shell for, right?

ACOSTA: That's right.

CHETRY: Tuck that in.

Well, check out pool time - play time by the pool. For a cute little pug, this is a surprise waiting under the volleyball for him. The little guy finds out the hard way as he -

ACOSTA: Oh, my goodness gracious.

CHETRY: Oh, here he goes. See. He's trying to move the ball, and oop! Down the hatch.

ACOSTA: Oh, wow.

CHETRY: He's fine, though.

ACOSTA: Poor little fellow. CHETRY: he fell right in the middle of the skimmer. He's fine. Never saw it coming, though. So cute. That's a big ball for him to be playing with anyway. So little.

ACOSTA: Very much so. But, hey, you know, size - listen. Size doesn't matter, right?

CHETRY: Not for that pug.

ACOSTA: Especially - especially if you're a pug. You got no choice. You're a little guy.

Coming up in "Minding Your Business", if you're dreading another year at your current job, it may be time to do something about it. Christine Romans tells us why now may be the time to make your move.

CHETRY: And what really happened the night Michael Jackson died. We could learn more as the doctor accused in his death heads to court.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Twenty-four minutes past the hour right now. We're "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Christine Romans joins us with some interesting news. We talk a lot about, you know, joblessness and -

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right.

CHETRY: -- unemployment numbers being high. But, at the same time, if you're in a job, you want to move on.

ROMANS: Oh, yes, and I think this is going to be the year because people have been stuck in neutral for so long. I mean, most people have a job in this country, with very high unemployment rate, but most people who are at work taking on more responsibilities, because of the mass layoffs, and maybe not seeing the pay raises over the past couple of years that they - that they had wanted.

America loves to work, and when you have job satisfaction at only something like 45 percent, that's a serious problem. A recent survey by Manpower found that 84 percent of workers who have a job, they want to quit their boss. They want to quit. They want to find a new job in 2011 and actually plan to do so.

So, what do you do if you can't wait to quit where you are right now? Is this a good time to be looking? Many experts say yes. They are looking for a job carousel this year as people with jobs start moving around, trying to find a little more satisfaction.

Some advice for you to get unstuck at work, either in the job you have or while looking for a new one. Be on top of your game every day. The people who are succeeding right now, you guys, are the top 20 percent performers. You need to know how you exceeded expectations recently and make sure your boss knows - you know, gently make sure your boss knows too. Ask for a new project. If you have been given a new project that you didn't ask for, ask for the title that goes along with it. A lot of people have extra responsibilities. Now's the time to say, hey look, I stepped up, I'm doing 20 percent more work, you know, I'm - I split somebody else's job, let's try to see if I can get a better title to go along with that.

Results get results. I can guarantee you that in the corner offices, they know your sales goals have been met or exceed. They know what you've done to cut costs in the company. They know what you've done to actually add to the bottom line, and that's how they're keeping score right now.

So, make sure you know -

CHETRY: So those things are to do better at your own job or to get a new job?

ROMANS: Do better at your own job, and be upfront with your boss about the fact that there are other opportunities out there -

ACOSTA: Yes.

ROMANS: -- that people are starting to move, and that if you've got a good reputation, you've done all of these things, that you are incredibly valuable to someone else, even in another division within your company.

ACOSTA: Well, people have been frustrated lately at work because so many of these companies have been tightening their belts -

ROMANS: Oh, yes.

ACOSTA: -- and getting by with less and saying, hey, you know, be grateful that you have a job. You know, there are all these other people lined up out there who are willing to take your job. And so we're - it's - this year, what, we're going to be playing a game of chicken between -

ROMANS: Yes.

ACOSTA: -- employees and employers?

ROMANS: Basically. And I think also you've got job satisfaction at the lowest in 20 years, in a country where - we love to work in this country. When we - many people define themselves by - by their work.

So I think this year you're going to see people trying to make a step forward and playing offense in their career again.

CHETRY: And some of this is also underemployment as well.

ROMANS: Oh, yes.

CHETRY: There are people who want to be working more, actually, and aren't getting the hours, and so they're - they're looking as well. ROMANS: That's right.

CHETRY: I mean, people - as you, said when you're unemployed for a very long period of time, you're just less desirable for - for future employers, and so people are taking anything.

ROMANS: That's right. And you've got the - you've got the employed - unhappily employed, you've got the underemployed, and you have the long-term unemployed, and the conditions are very different for each of those groups.

But you mentioned the underemployed. As companies start to come back, maybe they're going to start adding more hours, they're going to give more responsibility. You're going to be in a position where you can start to move up.

We've also reported many times, you guys, that bosses want to hire a known quantity. You know, they're not looking through thousands of resumes and picking somebody out of the blue. So the connections you're making at work, even with people who are moving on to other companies -

CHETRY: Right. Important.

ROMANS: -- are incredibly important.

I mean, it sounds so cliche, but don't burn bridges, work really hard, be at the top of your game. I mean, I know that it sounds like kind of chicken noodle soup for the workplace stuff, but it actually is very important this year because I feel like the labor market is going to start moving forward.

Some people are going to be left behind, so these are the things you need to do to make sure you're not.

CHETRY: Don't want to be left behind.

ACOSTA: Yes, and you're giving seminars at this later today, is that -

ROMANS: I am. I am. And - I am.

ACOSTA: That's right. Christine Romans, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Top stories now. Police in Delaware trying to find out who killed a decorated Vietnam vet who served under three presidents. The body of 66-year-old John Wheeler, a former Pentagon official, was found dumped in a Wilmington landfill on New Year's Eve. Wheeler led efforts to build the Vietnam Wall on the National Mall.

CHETRY: President Obama's Hawaiian vacation is now over. He's on his way back to the White House right now. He should arrive at 10:30 Eastern this morning.

The president's expected to sign the Food Safety Act into law today, and he's reportedly considering changes to his senior staff. Some sources say that former Commerce Secretary William Daley may be in the running to take over as the president's Chief of Staff.

ACOSTA: And talking about hitting the ground running, they don't officially take charge until tomorrow, but House Republicans are getting a jumpstart on their first order of business, repealing health care reform. They'll hold a first procedural vote on all of this on Friday. A final House vote on the repeal is scheduled for next Wednesday.

The health care repeal vote will be largely symbolic, because the Senate, within is still in Democratic hands, will not consider it.

CHETRY: Well, new this morning, Michael Jackson's personal doctor, Conrad Murray, is getting set to defend himself in court in just a matter of hours.

ACOSTA: Dr. Murray was with the singer the night he died in the summer of 2009. A judge will decide if he'll be tried for involuntary manslaughter, but Dr. Murray is expected to argue that Jackson killed himself.

Casey Wian is live in Los Angeles this morning. Good morning, Casey.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Jim, Kiran.

Later today, prosecutors will try to persuade a judge that they have enough evidence to put Michael Jackson's former personal physician on trial for manslaughter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JERMAINE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S BROTHER: My brother, the legendary King of Pop, Michael Jackson, passed away on Thursday, June 25th, 2009, at 2:26 P.M.

WIAN (voice-over): More than a year and a half later, the cause of Michael Jackson's death is clear - acute intoxication of Propofol, a powerful surgical sedative. But who caused the death remains the subject of Los Angeles criminal court case focusing on Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson's personal physician. Murray was treating Jackson with the drug and several others to help Jackson sleep as he prepared for a grueling series of performances.

ANNOUNCER: Hold for applause.

WIAN: Hours after Jackson died, investigators had Murray's car towed from the estate where the singer drew his last breath. They searched his offices in Las Vegas and Houston as well and home. An autopsy reported concluded that proper procedures were not followed in administering Propofol to the 50-year-old singer.

SANDI GIBBONS, LOS ANGELES D.A.'S OFFICE: Today, the district attorney's office filed one felony count of involuntary manslaughter against Dr. Conrad Murray in connection with last summer's death of Michael Jackson. ED CHERNOFF, MURRAY'S ATTORNEY: Dr. Murray did not cause the death of Michael Jackson. The fact that the circumstances may be unusual, may be demonstrated to be unusual does not make it egregious.

WIAN: A judge released Murray on $75,000 bail and ordered him to discontinue administering heavy sedatives.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want you to sedating people.

WIAN: He was however allowed to continue seeing patients.

CHERNOFF: There's no way that Dr. Murray would pump Michael Jackson full of Propofol sufficient for major surgery and walk out of the room. It's not going to happen.

WIAN: If ordered to stand trial and convicted, Murray faces a maximum four-year prison sentence.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN: Dr. Conrad Murray has pleaded not guilty. Last week, his defense attorneys indicated that they may focus on a mysterious syringe found near Michael Jackson's body to determine if someone else may have injected the singer with that fatal dose of Propofol -- Jim, Kiran.

CHETRY: How likely is it, Casey, that it's going to go to trial?

WIAN: Most legal observers say it is very likely it will go trial. These preliminary hearings in California generally result in a trial. The burden of proof for the prosecution is very, very low. They don't have to prove the case. They just have to show that there is enough evidence to take this to trial.

The defense is not even expected really to put on much of a defense. The prosecution has a burden, and it's a very low burden. So, most observers are expecting the trial will happen.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: And, Casey, we know juries can be unpredictable there in California. How will prosecutors portray Dr. Murray? Because, you know, when we run the banner, it says, "Who killed Michael Jackson?" There's just a lot of folks out there who think Michael Jackson killed Michael Jackson.

WIAN: Well, that's one of the theories the defense may try to explore. We have to point out, though, that the autopsy report concluded that it's very unlikely that Michael Jackson was able to inject himself with Propofol.

What prosecutors are expected to focus on is their contention that Dr. Murray was operating outside of the medical norms in administering these narcotic agents to Michael Jackson to help him sleep, that they had not prepared him and prepared the area with the right amount of equipment to make sure that he did not overdose or did not die.

They're also expected to try to show that he was in deep financial trouble and that he was receiving somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000 a month to be Michael Jackson's personal physician, that this was sort of a financial gold mine for him and that he was willing to do just about whatever it took to keep that income stream coming.

ACOSTA: Casey Wian in Los Angeles for us this morning -- thanks, Casey.

CHETRY: So, we're talking about celebrities and addiction.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: David Arquette announcing that he is headed to rehab.

ACOSTA: Right.

CHETRY: Lindsay Lohan coming out of rehab. The very latest on a very public battle with drugs. Just ahead -- what others struggling with addiction may be able to learn from it.

ACOSTA: And helicopters chasing down wild mustangs out west. Is there something wrong with this picture? Is the government going too far?

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ACOSTA: After more than three months in court-ordered rehab, Lindsay Lohan is finally free to leave. The troubled actress sounds hopeful, tweeting over the weekend about the first day of the rest of her life.

CHETRY: And while Lohan is checking out, David Arquette announced he is checking in to Betty Ford for help with alcohol abuse and depression.

Dr. Jeff Gardere has been looking at their stories and what we can all learn about the cycle of addiction. He's a clinical psychologist and a contributor to HelpGuru.com. He joins us now.

Dr. Jeff, great to see up.

DR. JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Good morning. Thank you.

CHETRY: So, we're talking about this. This is Lohan's fifth stay-in rehab. And this was ordered by a judge in lieu of her going to jail for, I guess, violating probation and those DWI cases. But, I mean, are you just destined to repeat the same things or three months in Betty Ford a good start?

GARDERE: Well, I think it's an excellent start. The fact that you're going into a rehab, a live-rehab, inpatient, versus just doing it outpatient or just attending 12-step programs, as some people do. So, there is some sort of an emotional investment, even though it's court ordered. As the old disco song goes, "10 percent of something is better than 100 percent of nothing at all."

ACOSTA: And how much does life-style play into this? Kiran and I were talking about this. When you're a celebrity and everybody is saying yes to you, I mean, that adds fuel to the fire. We saw the issue with Tiger Woods and his issues. We're not necessarily saying whether or not he had addictive tendencies.

GARDERE: Sure.

ACOSTA: But -- I mean, how much does lifestyle feed into this?

GARDERE: Life-style is probably one of the major components that leads someone to maintain an addiction, and we see it in Hollywood. We see it with people who are so high profile, who have a lot of power. Because just as you said, people won't say no to them as AA likes to say --

ACOSTA: They think anything goes.

GARDERE: Anything goes, people, places and things. It's the environment that supports that addiction and why you have to stop being with certain people or in certain places, such as Lindsay, where they told her you can't be anywhere where they serve alcohol. We don't want you there.

So, it's not about being draconian, it's about common sense. Just don't be there or just don't be with those people that support you addiction or who won't help you break your addiction.

CHETRY: Right. The enablers.

You know, celebrities aside, 22 million Americans suffer with addiction issues. And, you know, we talk about this. A lot of it starts with self-medication perhaps for depression, anxiety, alcohol, you know, as well as other drugs.

How do you know when you've crossed the line? Say maybe I need some help here?

GARDERE: Well, let's look at David Arquette, for example. This is a guy who had gone on Howard Stern's radio show, talked about how depressed he was, he's breakup with Courtney Cox, how that affected him.

And so, what he started doing is getting even more into alcohol. I'm sure he was using that before, but it became that crutch. So, if you find that you're not talking about your issues, you're not dealing with it in a positive way, that all you're doing is trying to kill those emotions through alcohol and through drugs, and you are doing it to the point where you can't show up to work, your social responsibilities are just being put to the side, you're hurting other people, other than yourself, and then there is an addiction going on. You just can't stop. It becomes impulsive.

ACOSTA: And every time I see one of these stories, I think about the families of these celebrities who get into the trouble and end up going into rehab. And let's say you're not a celebrity. Let's say you are the family member of just somebody who is addicted.

What's your advice? What do you tell folks who love somebody who has this problem and can't seem to get their act together?

GARDERE: You have to be able to help them hit rock bottom. And the way that you do that, is to give them the bottom line. You don't want to push them towards getting treatment, because that doesn't work. You don't want to shame them.

But you have to be able to tell them: I am not going to help you get drugs. I'm not going to give you the money. I'm not going to look the other way.

I will simply tell you that if you want to be part of this family, these are the rules that you have to follow. You want to stay in this marriage this is what you need to do. I will not -- as the term goes -- enable you to do this.

ACOSTA: Yes, you hear about interventions. Do those really work?

GARDERE: Sometimes, interventions do work because it lets that person know who's addicted, that you can't get away with this behavior anymore --

CHETRY: Right. You hear that, we'll do everything in our power to help you stop, but we won't do anything if you continue.

GARDERE: We will be there --

CHETRY: Right. Oftentimes, what happens is, you know, your natural inclination is to try to make things better in the family, so you find yourself covering up instead of helping which is difficult.

GARDERE: And sometimes family -- and sometimes family members really get tired. And so, they become emotionally black mailed by that person who's using the drugs and alcohol and they just say, OK, fine, fine. Just have some peace in the house. But all you're doing is taking a shortcut toward disaster when you're doing that.

ACOSTA: If you were sitting down with Lindsay Lohan right now, what would you tell her? What would you say to her?

GARDERE: I would say: I am so glad you that you decided to stay a couple extra days at Betty Ford. Make sure that you follow your aftercare treatment. Make sure that you attend your 12 steps program. Go to a meeting, an N.A. meeting, every single day. It's important, especially now because she can still recover her career, because more usage of drugs or alcohol will not only destroy her career, but it will destroy her physically.

CHETRY: It's a lifelong -- it's a lifelong (INAUDIBLE) for people. It's sad.

GARDERE: It is a life long struggle or battle. And that's why a lot of people say we are recovering alcoholics or addicted persons, we're not cured, because are you never cured. But you can fight it. You can be strong. You can be sober.

ACOSTA: All right. CHETRY: All right. Dr. Jeff, always great to talk to you. Thanks for joining.

GARDERE: My pleasure.

ACOSTA: Great advice.

GARDERE: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Still to come this morning: Rob will have this morning's travel forecast, right after the break.

CHETRY: Also, the federal government using helicopters to round up wild mustangs in the great American West. Some are questioning the tactics. Animal rights groups are very upset. We're going to take you along with John Zarrella as he goes on one of these roundups.

It's 43 minutes after the hour.

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CHETRY: Forty-five minutes past the hour. Beautiful shot of New York City this morning where it is 28 degrees. And, you know, wind gusting sometimes 15 miles per hour. It feels even colder than that. But a bit later, it's going to get warm-ish. Forty degrees for a high today.

ACOSTA: And if you can believe it, there are still piles of snow around this city this morning, but 40 degrees --

CHETRY: I can see them through the garbage.

ACOSTA: That's right. Forty degrees ought to help with that, not with the garbage, but with the snow. It's 45 minutes after the hour. Time to get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines, and Rob, when you were showing that weather map earlier, boy it just looked absolutely delightful nearly coast to coast. I mean, except for, you know, some of the lake effect areas and so forth, but --

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Relative to what we've been dealing with, you're right, Jim, and good morning, Kiran. Yes, it's a little bit more tranquil nowadays. Yesterday, we had some rain in Los Angeles and some snow in places they don't typically get snow, in Las Vegas, in the Mojave Desert. And today, that storm is beginning to extinguish itself. I think what we're going to see, though, is temperatures that will remain cold.

I kind of was thinking that by the time we get to January, we'll see a bit of reversal, at least for the eastern half the country and see temperatures maybe swing the other way to where there were above average for several days if not a week or two, but we're really looking at temperatures to stay about where they are, if not, get colder over the next seven or ten days. So, you have that to look forward to.

Forty-seven degrees are expected high temperature in New York City. That's about where you should be 24 in Chicago. It's a little bit below average, 12 in Minneapolis. So, the cold air continues to be refed down from Canada. Thirty-nine degrees for a high temperature in Denver. It will be 55 in Atlanta, Georgia.

All right. As for as what we're looking at for the lake-effect snow that Jim mentioned, this is more of lake-enhanced. We got a weak system that's rolling across the Great Lakes that will actually intensify when it gets up into the Maritimes and Canada, but nonetheless, from Buffalo up to Rochester, Syracuse, getting a little bit of snow with this. Ithaca, New York as well, not a significant amount expected. And the lower hand of Michigan also getting a little built of this and some flurries maybe across parts of New York and getting into Boston.

Right now, it's 27 degrees in New York, 32 are the freezing mark in Boston, and temperatures in the mid-20s in D.C. again about where you should be for this time of the year. Down to the south, we're watching a little storm system develop across parts of the Gulf Coast, and with that, will be some rain from Texas eventually to southern parts of Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama, but that will be a slow developer as well, developing for the next day or two.

All right. D.C. and New York -- or New York metros and Boston, maybe 30 to 60-minute delays, still kind of blustery up there. You felt that. Chicago at 30 to 60-minute delays as well and Houston seeing 30 to 60-minute delays. There are spots that you expect to see some decent weather, Austin, Texas, 62. Not too shabby. Thirty-nine degrees in Denver. It will be 29 in Milwaukee with flurries and 40 degrees in Portland. Oregon.

All right. Some unusual pictures for you. How about this? Mojave Desert. Actually, this is closer to the Sierra Nevada Mountain, but nonetheless, very close to the Mojave Desert also. They saw a trace of snow in Vegas yesterday. I haven't seen that in several years. Actually, never seen it on January 3rd. So, that was a record-setting snowfall just to the suburbs and hills around Vegas, seeing two, three, and four inches.

So, unusual stuff for sure and getting this year off to a bit of a whacky start, but much more calm than what we saw last year's end wrap up.

ACOSTA: And Rob, your correction is dually noted. Lake-enhanced, not lake-effect.

MARCIANO: Yes. Well, you know, one kind of goes with the other.

ACOSTA: That's right. Potato, potato.

CHETRY: Oh, I was just about to say tomato, tomato.

ACOSTA: Oh!

CHETRY: We're terrible here.

MARCIANO: Let's call the whole thing off. CHETRY: By the way, I loved that picture. That was a neat shot of like all the white tundra.

ACOSTA: Awesome stuff. Thanks, Rob.

CHETRY: Thank you so much, Rob.

We have our top stories coming up in just a couple of minutes, including the mysterious death of a Pentagon official who served three presidents. His body found in a landfill in Delaware. Police are hitting some dead ends this morning.

ACOSTA: Yes. And Brett Favre is probably wishing he didn't come back for this season. The sex scandal is getting a lot worse this morning for Brett Favre and the New York Jets. Two massage therapists filing a sexual harassment lawsuit against the quarterback and his former team, claiming they turned him down and lost their jobs. What does this mean to Favre's legacy and what does he have to worry about legally?

CHETRY: And did you get your ticket yet? Don't bother, we're going to win. Just kidding.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: The mega million jackpot --

ACOSTA: I don't think they're listening.

CHETRY: It's growing. It's growing this morning. A record high for tonight's big drawing.

ACOSTA: The line is growing, too.

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CHETRY: Fifty-two minutes past the hour. It's one of the most majestic sights you can imagine. Wild mustangs on the run in the great American west, but these days, they're not running free. They're actually running from the federal government.

ACOSTA: Yes. If you haven't heard about this, they're being rounded up by the thousands. The Federal Bureau of Land Management using helicopters to chase the herds and corral them and that has animal rights activists very angry about. Our John Zarrella live from Miami this morning with an "A.M. Original" you'll only see right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

And John, the images are just stunning. Whenever we see these horses out in the wild, it's just beautiful and reminds me of just, you know, the rich heritage of wildness that we have in this country. But then, you know, to see this -- I guess this interference coming in with the federal government, it makes you wonder what's going on here. And I don't know, John, it sounds like the government is in a tough position here. JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, that depends on who you talk to. And some people say they put themselves in that tough position. You know, Jim, Kiran, the government calls these gathers. Everyone else calls them roundups. Activists say they're absolutely cruel. The government says they're absolutely not and that the government doesn't have anything to hide at these roundups. So, we went along on one to see for ourselves.

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ZARRELLA (voice-over): From behind the hillside, the helicopter appears, then the horses. The chopper herds them toward a trap. These wild mustangs never knew anything but freedom. Now, the gates of the makeshift corral close behind them. Animal rights groups say these roundups must stop.

RICHARD "KUDO" COUTO, ANIMAL RECOVERY MISSION: The issue is that the wild horses should not be rounded up at all, hence, the word wild.

ZARRELLA: The BLM, Federal Bureau of Land Management, responsible for controlling herd sizes, insist the number must be reduced dramatically. At this Nevada roundup, more than 100 horses will be taken, less than a dozen left behind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We realize ten is a low number here, but if that's what the range in this particular herd area can support, it is what it is.

ZARRELLA: For activists, too many horses taken and what they believe is the excessive use of helicopters has turned a year's long simmering controversy into boiling anger.

ALAN SHEPARD, NEVADA BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT: Helicopters are much more time efficient. We can do our management quicker, shorter period of time. That reduces that level of impact.

ZARRELLA: Impact is precisely the problem activists charge. At this roundup, a chopper's skid bumps a horse. Here, one horse dodges the track, running for freedom. The helicopter gives chase. At this California roundup, a burrow is knocked down. Isolated incident says the BLM, perhaps, that's true, but we were in no position to document it.

ZARRELLA (on-camera): The Bureau of Land Management insists it has nothing to hide at these wild horse roundups, yet, look where they have us. We're about a quarter of a mile away at this observation point to where the horses are corralled way down there.

SHEPARD: We're trying to be as safe as we can for the horses, and the folks that are having to do the work. They're wild animal.

COUTO: It's ridiculous. It's pathetic. It's a pathetic excuse. They do not want the issue on camera, OK? Period, bar none.

ZARRELLA (voice-over): After the horses are gathered, they're trucked to another corral. Behind the green mesh of securing our view, one exhausted horse struggles to stand, but can't. Here too, we are kept at a distance.

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ZARRELLA (on-camera): The BLM told us that conditions are different at every roundup, and that at some roundups, you can get a lot closer than we were. So, we pressed them and said all right, if we go on another roundup with you, will you allow us to get right up close to where everything is going on? And we were told, well, there's no guarantee -- Jim, Kiran.

ACOSTA: Wow.

CHETRY: You know, one of the questions is that a lot of people have because we've been getting a lot of input from this story, a lot of reaction. Are these horses going to be OK? I mean, where do they go next and can they live out their lives?

ZARRELLA: Yes. They are protected. And, ultimately, they end up in long-term -- long-term holding facilities, most of them out in Oklahoma and in Texas. And right now, it's estimated there are 40,000 wild horses out there that just were never adopted. Now, you can go online. BLM has a website. So, if anybody is out there interested. They're wild, so you got to break them, but you can go out, and for about $125, you can go ahead and adopt one of these wild horses.

ACOSTA: Great story, John. We can keep going on and on about this, but interesting to see the government's handling of your position out there and great reporting out there. Thanks, John Zarrella, for us this morning.

So, what's next for these mustangs? In part three of our exclusive series, we'll show you that the holding facilities where the horses are being kept. We'll also take a look at how much this roundup is costing you, the taxpayer. That's tomorrow right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

CHETRY: We're going to take a quick break. We have your top stories coming up.

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