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American Morning

Republicans Waste No Time with Health Care Reform; Shocking; Murder Mystery; Mega Millions Jackpot Approaching Record; Bumpy Biking Record; Can't Put a Face to a Name

Aired January 04, 2011 - 08:00   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 this AMERICAN MORNING for this Tuesday, January 4th. 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 to talk about this morning so let's get right to it.

Republicans are wasting no time trying to take aim at health care reform. Just hours from taking control of the House, the GOP is already talking about trying to repeal the president's health care reform. We're live on Capitol Hill with House Democrats defending their ground on their last day in power.

ACOSTA: It is a murder mystery shocking people who knew the victim. A Pentagon official and a man that helped build the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., found dumped in a Delaware landfill. And it seems like no one knows exactly who would want to kill him. The latest as police look for new leads this morning.

CHETRY: Three-hundred thirty million and counting. The mega millions jackpot approaching a record this morning, and some people already spending the money. We're going to take a look at the frenzy -- well, you know, in their heads, of course.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: Frenzy over the huge jackpot ahead.

ACOSTA: But first, the renewed battle of health care reform -- it is going to be heating up in Washington this week. House Republicans don't even have the gavel yet and already, they are working to repeal it.

CHETRY: That's right. GOP actually officially takes over Wednesday, plans to take the first step toward rolling back health care reform before the end of the week.

Congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar is live on Capitol Hill this morning.

Now, realistically and we have heard the rhetoric a lot of the rhetoric saying, you know, repeal. You know, this is, you know, number one issue. This is why we've been brought to Congress.

But, realistically, what can they do?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, an all-out repeal, which is what House Republicans are going to be attempting here right out of the gate. That's not seen as likely because Democrats, although they have a diminished majority in the Senate, they still have a majority. President Obama still wields the veto pen.

But as you said, Wednesday, this is the first day in the House. It's actually Thursday, though, that we're going to see the first votes and it's Friday that we're going to be seeing this procedural vote that lays the groundwork toward a vote on repealing health care.

So, Jim and Kiran, this is straight out of the gate, a confrontation between House Republicans and President Obama, and Republicans saying they made this promise on the campaign trail and they're going to deliver on it with this initial vote on Friday.

ACOSTA: And they obviously have the votes in the House to pass a repeal. But it's not going to get very far after that. As we know, the Democrats control the Senate. The president obviously is not going to sign a repeal of his own -- of his own law.

So, what will the GOP do to work around that?

KEILAR: They have a plan B and I sort of think of it at least conceptually as a death by 1,000 cuts kind of plan. What they're going to try to do is pull out some of the more unpopular parts of health care reform. They're going to not only hold investigations about how this might be implemented and obviously try to win the PR battle there. But also use the power of the purse that Congress has to try to perhaps defund some of these parts of the health care reform bill that aren't popular.

So, yes, even though the bottom line is no one is really expecting this initial effort to really go anywhere, that it is more of a statement, they do have this plan B that they're going to try to execute, guys.

CHETRY: And Democrats aren't looking forward to a fight over health care, of course. We went through this before and, you know, they're really trying to push for economic stimulus and trying to do something about jobs. So, what's going to happen within the walls of Congress as this takes center stage and that GOP sort of is at the reins?

KEILAR: Well, this is what's so interesting because Democrats really shied away from health care reform as a topic during the campaign. But this go round as they are going to be confronting Republicans, especially in the House, they feel like they have do some opportunity. The kind of leg -- they have a leg to stand on. Why is that?

Well, because there are some popular parts of health care reform that are kicking in even here at the beginning of the year. You got 26-year-olds who can be on their parent's insurance. You have essentially coupons for seniors who find themselves in the donut holes -- in the donut hole there for prescription drug coverage.

So, you have Democrats saying, you know, if we're going to have a fight about this, at least we can this fight with some of these reforms kicking in, some of these popular reforms kicking in and that really gives us, you know, at least some sort of tool as we go through this debate.

ACOSTA: And a lot of Democrats on Capitol Hill in the minority in the House like the new minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, some of the folks chomping at the bit for this fight. So, it's going to be fascinating to watch.

Brianna Keilar live on the Capitol this morning -- thanks so much.

CHETRY: All right. Well, also new this morning, President Obama is considering a major move within his administration. Senior White House officials confirm talks that could bring former White House William Daley into a senior role, possibly as chief of staff. The administration is adjusting to Republican gain in Congress, and also getting ready to reelection campaign.

ACOSTA: A man who many are calling a great patriot is at the center of a murder mystery this morning. Sixty-six-year-old John Wheeler, a former Pentagon official was found dead in a Delaware landfill on Friday. Wheeler was a Vietnam vet and a driving force behind the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. His body was found dumped in Wilmington's Cherry Island landfill on New Year's Eve.

CHETRY: The case has now been ruled a homicide and police are asking the public for leads. They say no one reported Wheeler's body missing before it was found in the landfill. The only thing coming to mind right now could be a property fight that Wheeler had with a neighbor but his attorney says the dispute never reached a level like this.

A statement from the family saying, "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."

ACOSTA: Also new this morning, it's being called a major medical breakthrough in cancer research. A blood test so precise it can spot a single cancer cell among a billion healthy ones. Doctors say it could revolutionize the way cancer is detected and treated. It may be another five or 10 years before it's widely available.

CHETRY: Well, for the first time, we're hearing from the "Spider-Man" stunt seriously hurt during in a preview performance on "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" on Broadway. Christopher Tierney talked to a local TV reporter about his latest -- about the accident and the latest word on his recovery. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened that night when you fell?

CHRISTOPHER TIERNEY, SPIDER-MAN 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 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 really quick so I wasn't going to fall on my head and crashed on my back. The last thing I remember was just going -- oh, and that's it. And I kind of passed out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, he's certainly lucky things that are OK for him now. He had a fractured skull, four broken ribs, three cracked vertebra among other injuries. He is now, though, out of the hospital and he says he's ready, can't wait to get back up there on the stage.

ACOSTA: And Brett Favre is facing new sexually charged allegations. He's being sued for sexual harassment by two massage therapists who worked for the New York Jets when Favre was on the team in 2008. The suit alleges they were fired after complaining about sexually suggestive text messages from Favre. He was just fined $50,000 by the NFL for not fully cooperating with the league's investigation on lewd text messages and photos that he allegedly sent to a former Jets employee.

CHETRY: Parts of Illinois are still cleaning up this morning from a New Year's Eve tornado. The twister rolled through the town of Greenville, packing 85-mile-per-hour winds. No one, though, was seriously hurt.

ACOSTA: Rob Marciano in the extreme weather center and some extreme weather there. But so far, so good this morning?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. As a matter of fact, this year for the most part, guys, last year or 2010, last week of it, when it out with a lot of rough weather. And you mentioned the severe weather across Missouri and parts of the South. New Year's Eve, that a record setter there as far as the destruction there, and also the blizzards. A couple of them rolling across different parts of the country last week, but today a little bit more tranquil.

But, check out this video or these stills I should say taken. That's the southern edge of the Sierra Nevada's, which, you know, you might say, OK, the mountain's great, fine. You would expect snow there. But the next couple of shots we're going to highlight exactly where they are. This is the Mojave Desert. So, cool. We've been showing you snow in Las Vegas. Certainly rare and record setting yesterday, but snows in the Mojave Desert -- that's unusual to say the least. Not completely unheard of but definitely on the unusual side. Thank you for sending those photos in to the iReport. And, of course, we encourage you to do that especially when it's this rare.

Sixty-three degrees is the expected high temperature in Los Angeles today. That is a little warmer than yesterday, certainly will be drier. So, a little bit quieter on the western front. And then the front that's moving -- slicing across the Mississippi River there is a fairly weak one. So, relative to what we saw last week, we'll take weak front, so to speak.

Temperatures in the upper 20s right now across the I-95 corridor, lower 30s. It will be relatively mild day. Top out around 40.

There are some snow showers rolling across the Great Lakes that's affected -- that's with a weak system that's just tapping some of that moisture. Don't expect a whole lot of that. But maybe a few inches of snow in spots and the winds will keep some of the travelers slowed down just a little bit in Boston and New York City.

But we'll talk more about tomorrow's forecast which looks a little bit more interesting than today. But interesting for me is, you know, not -- is what we look for, but maybe for you is not necessarily good news.

Take a cool or quieter weather when you got it -- guys.

CHETRY: Interesting for you means we need to get our snow shovels, right? I mean, come on.

MARCIANO: Maybe so.

CHETRY: We need a break. Winter is not even half over. Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right, guys.

CHETRY: Well, did you get your ticket yet?

ACOSTA: I have. And a number of us here at the office have gotten tickets.

CHETRY: Yes, all independently of one another.

ACOSTA: Not that we're going in together.

CHETRY: Of course not. The mega millions jackpot approaching a record high for tonight's big drawing. I want to look at the mad rush to strike it rich.

ACOSTA: Going up, a biker bunny hops the way into the history books. How high did he go? We'll tell you in "Morning Talkers."

CHETRY: Also, Michael Jackson's doctor headed to court today. Wait until you hear what he's expected defense may be. We'll check in with Casey Wian, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

ACOSTA: Yes. That's just one of the money themed songs we've been singing here this morning on AMERICAN MORNING.

CHETRY: Oh, yes. We are all dreaming of what life would be like if we had those 330 million clams.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: That's the latest projection for tonight's mega million jackpot.

ACOSTA: Why do they say clams?

CHETRY: I don't know. But I just love saying it.

ACOSTA: I know. It sounds good. It sounds old school. I like it.

CHETRY: Three hundred thirty million smackers.

Well, if one person wins it, he or she will receive -- I'm going with "she." But, anyway, the single largest payout in U.S. lotto history.

ACOSTA: Mega million is played in 41 states and Washington, D.C. And thank goodness, New York state. And the fever is building as fast as the jackpot.

Allan Chernoff is in New York. He may be catching the mega million mania himself. I believe you bought roughly $300 worth of those tickets this morning. Is that right, Allan?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the winner. Jim, did I have tell you my middle name is "mega"?

ACOSTA: There you go. Mega Chernoff.

CHERNOFF: That's how I know this baby's the winner, huh? No doubt.

But for some reason, all these other people seem to think that they are buying the winning ticket this morning, as well. We're here at the New York Port Authority bus terminal and I can tell you -- since 6:00 this morning, there's been a steady line, people lining up. It's been actually 15 drawings and there has not been a big jackpot winner. That's why we're now at $330 million for the jackpot.

Karen here from New Jersey -- she's just bought 24 tickets?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's correct.

CHERNOFF: OK. I would imagine among those 24, you would expect to be winning at least something, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope so. I hope I get the big one. CHERNOFF: What are you going to do with the big one? Assuming that I don't win. I don't know how that possible happen, but --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to enjoy it, travel, you know? Maybe stop work.

CHERNOFF: Maybe?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe.

CHERNOFF: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe.

CHERNOFF: I hope your boss is listening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope so. I hope this -- one of them is a winner. I hope you're lucky.

CHERNOFF: Thank you. OK, good luck, Karen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, thank you.

CHERNOFF: A lot of people here also believe that they got plenty of luck on their side. You know, this is actually the jackpot that we've got, $330 million, only three times in history has the jackpot been higher than this right now. So, lots of fever, lots of people buying. And remember, it's all over the country, 41 states, plus the District of Columbia. The drawing tonight, 11:00 Eastern -- Jim, Kiran.

CHETRY: I guess we'll have to wait until we wake up in the morning to find out if we were the lucky ones.

ACOSTA: I think that's right.

CHETRY: Allan Chernoff -- Allan "mega" Chernoff for us this morning, thank you.

You know, the funny thing is --

ACOSTA: We'll be calling him Mr. Chernoff if he wins, though.

CHETRY: Exactly. Sire.

We always forget, though, that life doesn't really turn out so great for a lot of lottery winners.

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: No. There is such a thing as the lottery curse, right?

CHETRY: Yes. We all think we want it, but maybe we don't.

ACOSTA: Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business."

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You live in Maryland, right?

ACOSTA: I do. I do.

ROMANS: OK. So, if you took the cash option right off the top with your taxes and all that, you would have $136 million in the end.

ACOSTA: Wow.

ROMANS: You know? If you chose --

CHETRY: Be cursed with $130 million.

ACOSTA: I wouldn't be living in Maryland anymore if that were the case.

ROMANS: And you gave out $8 million a year for the rest of your life -- there are 26 payments -- 26 years if you wanted to break it out that way.

ROMANS: I'm just going through trying to figure out what state best to live in if, you know, when I -- where I'm going to put my residency after I get the ticket.

CHETRY: Well, Jim's taking his money, and he's going back to Trinidad and Tobacco.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: That was so cute. Well, what could you do with $330 million? I mean, that is a big number. You pay taxes to take a lump sum. You even work it out a lot with your accountant and your spouse later, but this is what you could do with it. You could run the United States for 47 minutes. That's how much --

CHETRY: You love that. That cracks you up.

ROMANS: I know. It really does crack me up, actually. Also, you could buy 1,549 houses. How many know there are a lot of houses for sale? That's at the median home price in this country right now. You could buy 2,775 Maserati Gran Turismo. Personally, I don't know why you need one.

(CROSSTALK)

ROMANS: Yes, but we know that a woman ride --

ACOSTA: Just one would be fine with me.

ROMANS: Yes, exactly. Wow, you could more than make up for the entire GDP of the Federated States of Micronesia. And, well, take a look at the payroll of 2010 of the Yankees, 213 mil. There you go. Boom. You could be writing checks to --

ACOSTA: A Steinbrenner overnight.

ROMANS: There you go. That's how much money that is. It is a lot of money.

CHETRY: Why doesn't it always turn out that way for people that win?

ROMANS: Because you know what?

CHETRY: Why do you suddenly see that these people have horrible things happen?

ROMANS: Because money can't buy you happiness. Take that to the bank when you don't win the lottery today.

ACOSTA: And you certainly have hundreds of millions of new friends.

ROMANS: As people want you (ph). You know, I know the story of a guy who didn't want his story publicized that he won the lottery. He bought all of his neighbors a John Deere riding lawn mower, and he said, don't ever ask me for any money. I (INAUDIBLE) so your kids can go to college, but I don't ever want to talk about this ever again. He turned out just fine. That's the only person -- I can --

ACOSTA: That's a great idea.

CHETRY: That's an amazing story.

ROMANS: He doesn't want it publicized, even though, I just did. Can't say it.

CHETRY: You kept the secret well.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: Thank you.

CHETRY: He's got to be one of the most uncomfortable bigrads ever, 150 floors up to steps, the incredibly, bumpy, jumpy ride in your "Morning Talkers."

ACOSTA: I'm feeling uncomfortable already.

And the tortoise and the meerkat know it is not a Disney 3D movie coming to a theater near you. It is one wild ride you're not going to want to miss. It's coming up in just a few moments in talkers. It's 17 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: "Morning Talker" time now, and ay caramba, a Spanish cyclist has set a world record for cycling up the stairs. Guys, you may not want to watch this one. The 2,700 steps of a tower in Barcelona in one hour, 42 minutes and 9 seconds. He only needed to climb over 90 floors to achieve the record, but he made it up 150.

CHETRY: Wow.

ACOSTA: And that's why I'm saying ay caramba because --

CHETRY: So, was the record to do it the fastest or just to get up there?

ACOSTA: I think it was to get up that high.

CHETRY: Very creative. He didn't fall once.

ACOSTA: Check it out. Not bad.

CHETRY: Well, not every New Yorker was snowed in, by the way. This guy got out to ski and did something quite dangerous but fun to look at at the same time.

ACOSTA: And probably illegal.

CHETRY: He barely snow ski/jet skied down Park Avenue on the back, you know, holding on with that rope being towed 40 miles an hour.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: Hitched a ride from his friend. This was late Sunday night of the blizzard when the streets were totally empty except for a foot of snow and that guy.

ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: Clouds couldn't get out so he could skate.

ACOSTA: Glad all the manholes were in place. That's all I got to say about that.

And check out play time by the pool for a cute pug pup. There is a surprise waiting under the volleyball as you watch the little pug that could here, pushing the volleyball. Oh, my goodness! And there he goes, right into the pool skimmer, but have no fear. The little pug is OK. He made it out just fine, and those little guys, I mean, they have to bounce back, right?

CHETRY: Yes.

ACOSTA: They're just so small and adorable.

CHETRY: So cute. Well, got a little wet, but he's okay.

Hey, how about this one? The meerkat. I love meerkats to begin with. They're hilarious where they stand and is really cute. But when the riding in tortoise, all the more adorable.

ACOSTA: Absolutely.

CHETRY: These pictures were taken by a cnn iReporter, Katherine Daveys (ph). This is at Cheetah Rehabilitation Center in South Africa. So, this is all part of cheetahs rehab to get to see the meerkat riding the tortoise. This helps, you know, make the time go. ACOSTA: Yes.

CHETRY: Anyway, so --

ACOSTA: It amuses the cheetahs.

CHETRY: Yes, of course.

ACOSTA: This is funny for the cheetahs.

CHETRY: And, apparently, at some point, the meerkat bit the turtle who didn't really notice.

ACOSTA: That is not right.

CHETRY: And kept on his way.

ACOSTA: Good thing he has a protective shell. If only we all had a protective shell, Kiran.

CHETRY: From the meerkats riding on our backs.

ACOSTA: All right. Now, off to a story we've been talking about and getting a lot of viewer reaction, the majestic wild mustangs of the west being forced from their homes. Is the government going too far by using helicopters to round up these horses? That's straight ahead.

CHETRY: Also, who killed Michael Jackson? The singer's doctor is in court today, and he may claim that the pop star actually killed himself. We have details on the defense coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It's time now for an "A.M. Original." The story that we've been telling you, guys, about is the plight of these wild mustangs in the Great American West. These days, they're not running free. In fact, they're actually running from the federal government.

ACOSTA: That's right. 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's has animal rights activists very angry about that. John Zarrella live in Miami for us this morning with an "A.M. Original," a story you only see right here on AMERICAN MORNING. Fascinating images and a real pickle for the government.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's no question about it, Jim. You know, the government calls these gathers. The rest of us call them roundups. And activists say that they're cruel. The government says they're absolutely not cruel and that they have nothing to hide. So, we went along on one of these roundups to see for ourselves.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) 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 hefting 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA (on-camera): The Bureau of Land Management told me that all of the roundups are different and that had we been at a different one, perhaps, we might have been able to get a lot closer. I pressed them saying, all right, if we go on another roundup, can we get close? We didn't get any guarantee at all. You know one other interesting thing at that Manhattan roundup there, there's actually no water on that range at all, and the horses actually have to go and drink water over at a state recreation area. So, I asked, why was it ever designated for wild horses to begin with if there was no water there? And the Alan Shepard there said, well, he really didn't know. That was before his time.

ACOSTA: Wow.

ZARRELLA: Jim, Kiran.

ACOSTA: And John, you know, when we look at those images, you just have to wonder, what are the long-term effects for these horses? Are they traumatized by this experience?

ZARRELLA: Well, certainly, the activists say there's no question the horses are traumatized. The Bureau of Land Management again insists, certainly, for a short period of time, they may be traumatized, but after that, they're fine. And again, you'll get a heck of an argument from the activists about whether these horses are really fine.

CHETRY: All right. Well, we know you're going to have part three tomorrow. We're going to see what happens after this, where they go long term, and where the mustangs are kept and how they're faring. Again, a great series. Thank you so much, John Zarrella, this morning.

ACOSTA: Thanks, John.

Time for this morning's top stories. Police in Delaware trying to find out who killed a decorated Vietnam vet and a hero to other people who served. 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 go to Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.

CHETRY: A flight taking off from Chicago diverted to Toronto late last night. United flight 940 was on the way to Frankfurt, Germany, but the airline says an electrical issue cut the trip short. The airport in Toronto tells us that the plane landed safely last night and today passengers will be put on another plane to Frankfurt.

ACOSTA: And hot on the heels of a sex scandal that tarnished Brett Favre's Hall of Fame reputation and left him with the $50,000 fine from the NFL, the quarterback has been hit with a sexual harassment lawsuit. Two female massage therapists who worked for the Jets claim they were fired after complaining about lewd text messages allegedly sent by Favre when he was with the team in 2008.

CHETRY: A courtroom bombshell expected in the Michael Jackson death case as Jackson's doctor heads to court today and some attorneys telling us they believe the defense will argue that the king of pop actually killed himself. Our Casey Wian is live in Los Angeles this morning with the latest on the court appearance for Conrad Murray. What is the latest, Casey? CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, later this morning prosecutors will try to persuade a Los Angeles judge they have enough evidence to put Michael Jackson's former physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, on trial for manslaughter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My brother, the legendary king of pop, Michael Jackson, passed away on Thursday, June 25th, 2009, at 2:26 p.m.

WIAN: 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 focus of a 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 got ready for a grueling series of performances.

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 as his home. An autopsy found 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 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 sedating people.

WIAN: He was, however, allowed to continue seeing patients.

ED CHERNOFF: There was no way Dr. Murray would pump Michael Jackson full of Propofol sufficient for major surgery and walk out that 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. Murray has pled not guilty. Last week his defense attorneys indicated that they may focus on a mysterious syringe found near Jackson's body. They're arguing that perhaps the singer killed by an injection of Propofol from someone else. Kiran, Jim?

CHETRY: All right, Casey Wian for us this morning, thank you. ACOSTA: Coming up, Stanford didn't have a little luck beating Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl, they had lots of it, as in their star quarterback Andrew Luck who may be on his way to the NFL.

CHETRY: Also, the thrill of the hunt. There's a new Travel Channel series featuring outdoorsman Steven Rinella hunting and gathering in way to make our ancestors proud. We'll meet him just ahead. It's 34 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: It's 37 minutes past the hour right now. In his new Travel Channel series host Steven Rinella travels the globe, he hunts for food, puts it on the table and eats. Here's a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN RINELLA, HOST, "THE WILD WITHIN": What startles people about hunting is that we go out here and we have a very visceral experience of saying, oh, that's where that comes from. It's not just something that appears wrapped in cellophane in a grocery store.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And "The Wild Within" premiers this Sunday night at 9:00 eastern on the Travel Channel and Steve Rinella joins us now. And what made you decide to go out there? There's plenty of food at the grocery store. What made you decide to go out there and live this kind of life?

RINELLA: Well, originally, I started hunting and fishing long before I can remember, fishing by three, hunting small game by seven, I've been writing about the outdoors profession for ten years. But what brings me out there now and what brings other people out there, other people have said there's a continuing and growing appreciation for where your food came from, how it was handled, prepared.

ACOSTA: Sure.

RINELLA: And the outdoors is like the original supermarket. We hear the terms now "free range," "organic." That used to be called "wild game." So that is my primary motivation now.

CHETRY: It's important to point out you eat what you kill. This is not trophy hunting, right? This is going out there and showing people, you know, how you hunt and gather the food that sustains us, which our ancestors have been doing for generations. Why is it important for people to keep that in mind?

RINELLA: I think it's important to keep in mind because hunting is portrayed if two ways. You have survival shows with a guy pretending he fell off a cruise ship with a knife and brand new set of technical clothing and he needs to get out of the woods before something terrible happens to him.

"The Wild Within," you're not trying to get out of the woods. I want to get into the wild, you know? I think that kind of the operating premise of the show is -- there's a great quote by a writer from the '30s who said "We used to live in the wild and had civilization inside us. Now we live in civilization and have the wild inside us." I think people want to cultivate that wild and experience it. And especially in our increasingly urban lives, it is a great escape to see where your food comes from and have these experiences.

ACOSTA: So it's like one of those survivor shows meeting the Food Channel, something like "Sarah Palin's Alaska" meets Paula Dean, something like that?

RINELLA: Yes. Rather than living on platypus eyeballs, this is great food to share with your friends and your family.

ACOSTA: What else will we see on the show?

RINELLA: Well, go and explore -- we explore cultures around the U.S. everywhere, Texas, even San Francisco. Go to Alberta, Scotland, Guyana, Montana. Everywhere I go, I discovered the same thing.

Everywhere I go, I discovered the same thing. I find a community of people who have the same values, same motivations I have that love the wild, love wild foods, and we celebrate that together. The culmination of every episode is a great feast where we share in the experiences and the bounty, and it's a celebration of nature and a celebration of wilderness.

CHETRY: Let's show another clip I think of you grilling venison steaks. This is what people like me, I'm a hypocrite. I eat meat but the thought of killing a deer is sad, very horrible. They're so cute. But on the flipside, does it give you a respect for animals with what you do?

RINELLA: Yes. Think about this way. My brothers grew up the same way I did. They both became Ph.D. ecologists.

CHETRY: I thought you were going to say "vegetarians."

RINELLA: No. They haven't done that. They're ecologists and work on wild issues, wilderness issues, environmentalists. I think if done properly you cannot approach the outdoors from this angle, you cannot approach with this angle without feeling a connection to the preservation of wild places. Habitat becomes key. It's like, I don't destroy my own kitchen. You know? I think that --

ACOSTA: So there's an environmental message here, too?

RINELLA: Very much so. Like I said, it's impossible to love these things without loving these places and wanting to take care of the places. I -- you know, the predator husband is his prey, and that's the way I feel toward places. I feel strongly about the preservation of habitat and conservation.

CHETRY: And for people that won't pick up a gun and shoot anything, I may try to fish, but maybe not even that, how can people who aren't necessarily outdoors inclined still have an appreciation for the food that makes it to our table?

RINELLA: Yes. I go to great lengths in the show to give people tips and strategies and helpful things from basic issues like how to handle a fish, how to take care of a crab you caught, to really technical issues like how to disassemble a 1,000-pound animal. So anyone's going to take a lesson about this.

Even if you don't feel inspired to go out and catch a crab or shoot a rabbit and squirrel and eat it, if you don't feel inspired, you will look at the own food differently and see it and know there's a story behind it and have an awareness of where things come from.

And I think you'll look at hunters in the life differently after watching this and watching honest portrayal of a hunting and gathering life style. If you have an uncle you never quite connected with, maybe now you will understand.

ACOSTA: It's good to know you prepare some of the food back at the home or back at your hotel or something opposed to out there in the wild, because my question would be, how do you put cheese on it? But anyway.

CHETRY: Where do you get the ketchup?

RINELLA: That's all I eat.

ACOSTA: Butter makes it better. I don't know if you heard that expression.

RINELLA: I do fry things in butter. That's one thing I do buy at the stores.

CHETRY: I can't look at the snow crabs the same without thinking about "The Deadliest Catch." It's amazing.

RINELLA: It teaches you. I have an eight-month-old son and two nights ago he had his first taste of meat. And my wife said all right, and I ground up some deer meat and let him eat it.

CHETRY: And he loved it?

RINELLA: He ate it, loved it. I feel now he's going to be a lifelong hunter.

CHETRY: Congratulations on the baby, too.

RINELLA: Yes, he's cute.

CHETRY: The show premiers Sunday, January 9th on the Travel Channel. Thank you for joining us.

RINELLA: Thank you for having me on. It was great.

CHETRY: Well, seeing the world through his eyes is never being able to see a face, actually. Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks to Oliver Sacks about the oddities of the brain ahead. It's a "Human Factor." ACOSTA: And a bit of a warm up on the east coast today. Rob is up next with a look at the travel forecast. It is 43 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Well, it is 8:46 here on the East Coast, time for this morning's top stories. They don't take charge in the House until tomorrow but Republicans plan to move fast on the first order of business, repealing health care reform.

They'll hold a procedural vote on Friday. A final House vote on repeal is scheduled for next Wednesday. The repeal vote will be largely symbolic because it is not expected that the Democratic-led Senate will take it up.

CHETRY: Well, if you're New Year's resolution was to win $330 million, you're in luck. The mega millions jackpot is up for grab in 41 states and in Washington, D.C. and that the anticipation grows, the jackpot's growing as well as people scramble out there to buy the tickets. The lucky numbers will be draw at 11:00 tonight.

ACOSTA: And a big night for Stanford in the Orange Bowl. The Cardinal routed Virginia Tech 40-12 behind star quarterback Andrew Luck who threw four touchdown passes. It is Stanford's first Bowl victory in 14 years. Luck was the game's MVP. It could be his last collegiate game.

Luck is a junior but may decide to turn pro and enter this year's NFL's draft and he was very coy about it last night, apparently, when he was asked whether or not he might enter the NFL. And there are plenty of owners out there who are sort of just waiting there you know, licking their chops --

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: Absolutely.

ACOSTA: -- just hoping that he just makes that move.

CHETRY: Yes, he's played great and holding the cards close to the vest.

ACOSTA: Absolutely.

CHETRY: Its 47 minutes past the hour. Let's get a check at the weather this morning. Hey, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. Yes, Pac 10 having a good year, that's for sure we'll see how they do at the national championship --

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: That's true.

MARCIANO: -- against the SCC, that's going to be a test.

All right. Temperatures in the 20s and lower 30s across parts of the northeast; it will be about average today, maybe a couple of degrees warmer than average and that certainly would -- would be nice.

Let's switch gears real quick and show you what's going on in Australia. Eastern parts of Queensland, boy they've been hammered with heavy rainfall from this La Nina and this is what it looks like in the town or large town, city of -- of Rockhampton.

About 200,000 people affected if not evacuated there with this thing. And the crest at nine and a half feet is the main River, nine and a half meters, the main river that cruises through town tonight. And this is worst flooding they have seen in about 50 years. And to give you an idea of how many -- how -- the scale of this, it has basically the size of Texas, if not a little bit larger than the size of Texas, the amount of real estate that has been inundated with that -- that system.

Meanwhile, back in the home country, southeastern part of the U.S. is looking good. Here's a live shot of Atlanta from our tower camera here as the sun comes up over the southeastern horizon over downtown. Not looking too shabby albeit a little bit chilly today. But it will be dry for the most part.

I think most of the action will be south of town. Some areas north of New York City will see some snow showers today and a little disturbance across the Gulf Coast will drop some showers across the upper coastline of Texas and that will roll across New Orleans.

I think Sugar Bowl tonight. Right, there's a dome, no worry there.

Thirty to 60 minutes delays in Boston, New York metros, Chicago maybe seeing some delays and finally drying out in Los Angeles after the rain and snows inundated parts of the southwest yesterday; 63 degrees for the high temperature in Los Angeles.

Jim and Kiran, good luck tonight in the lotto.

ACOSTA: Thank you sir.

CHETRY: Oh thank you, thank you. We'll share the wealth, of course, if we win.

MARCIANO: I love it.

ACOSTA: That's right.

CHETRY: Hey, is there a new iPad killer out there? A new competition, the new Toshiba tablet is out there.

ACOSTA: Oh wow.

CHETRY: I'm reading about that. ACOSTA: Yes, that's -- I can't wait to see if it can hold up with the competition. Because you -- you certainly like the competition. It is here almost every morning.

Its 49 minutes after the hour. We'll be right back after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Fifty-two minutes past the hour.

Today we're going to introduce you to a famous neurologist, his name is Oliver Sacks, who knows from personal experience that sometimes an otherwise normal brain can just go haywire.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta spoke to him and he joins us now from Atlanta with today's "Human Factor." Hey, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning.

You know it's about two percent to three percent of the people in the country have the condition that Oliver Sacks has. What's interesting is that despite the fact that he's a neurologist and despite the fact that he's very interested in rare conditions he himself didn't know that he had this until recently.

And now he's finally talking about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice-over): Oliver Sacks may be a world famous neurologist but there's one simple thing, something important, something most of us take for granted that he can barely do at all. That's to recognize a face, even a famous one.

(on camera): How about this one?

DR. OLIVER SACKS, NEUROLOGIST: I'm so focused. The owner of this face is -- is looking tough. But I -- I don't know who it is. Sometimes I fail to recognize myself.

GUPTA: Even yourself?

SACKS: Yes. I -- I have occasionally started apologizing to a clumsy bearded man only to realize that this is a mirror.

GUPTA (voice-over): He is face-blind, it's a rare and incurable condition that he's had since birth. Sacks suspects it's genetic since his brother suffers from the same condition. He can see each facial feature just fine but putting it altogether that's the problem.

(on camera): How about this -- this picture?

SACKS: Well, that is a beautiful a model or an actress. Well, I suppose one thinks of Marilyn Monroe. GUPTA: You're looking at me right now or -- or can you describe what you're seeing?

SACKS: You have very beautiful, white teeth. So, I would recognize you especially by your teeth.

GUPTA (voice-over): You see, he finds a way, a way to adapt.

SACKS: I -- I mean, now I have outed myself about face blindness. It makes it easier.

GUPTA (on camera): Would you -- would you want to be cured of this if you could?

SACKS: Yes, I think so. I think if I was suddenly presented with thousands of familiar, potentially familiar faces, I think this might overwhelm me.

GUPTA (voice-over): A doctor of the mind always looking to see the world with fresh eyes. He's still writing, he's still practicing as a physician even makes house calls.

SACKS: I want to get the whole picture and not only get a diagnosis of -- of the matter, but how the condition is affecting the person. How they're reacting to it. What I can do but the whole person is very important for me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Wow. I mean, he seems like such an amazing man. I mean, you've got to spend time with him. He's very candid about it and also, you know, he seems to take it in stride. Can he see normally besides faces?

GUPTA: You know, when's interesting is recently he also developed a tumor of his right eye, a melanoma. He started to have problems with his peripheral vision first. And again, you know, I tell you this because he's a neurologist who spends his life studying these sorts of things.

So he's sitting in a movie theater, starting to have problems out of his peripheral vision and sort of begins to diagnose himself. Ultimately, he was found to have a melanoma right behind his right eye. That was treated but as a result of that treatment he lost vision in his right eye, as well. He is now adapting to that in addition to the face blindness.

CHETRY: Unbelievable. So, he certainly has a lot of challenges but it was interesting when you said "Would you want to be cured of this?" I'm sure he wants to find out, as you said, what's behind it. It's amazing.

GUPTA: I think he's so fascinated with how people adapt that he actually has taken that on as a challenge and embraces that to some extent.

CHETRY: All right. The "Human Factor" today. Sanjay, thanks.

GUPTA: Thank you.

Chetry: Fifty-five minutes past the hour. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Two minutes to the top of the hour now. Some of the top stories this morning, they have the early test results in now showing that it was massive trauma that likely caused thousands of birds to drop from the sky in Arkansas on New Year's Eve. Wildlife experts now say they think the birds were roosting and were then startled by the fireworks high in the sky, so they flew low, colliding with each other as well as houses and trees. Many of the dead birds were red-winged blackbirds said to have very poor night vision.

ACOSTA: And they didn't sign up for this in southern Cal. Snow and ice in the L.A. area closed a 30-mile stretch of I-5 north of the city. Things are back to normal this morning. It took some people two hours to go five miles. Others just slept in their cars. My goodness.

CHETRY: What a mess.

Is it the iPad killer? Toshiba set to unveil the first new tablet of 2011 this morning. Here's a side by side look courtesy of CNet. It runs a new version of the Google android software. It also has a slightly larger screen than the iPad. The price is expected to be competitive with Apple but it's not expected to be on sale until June.

More than how it looks, can it run Adobe Flashplayer? Can it do some of those things that are restricted on the iPad and will that change things for people who'd love to have a tablet?

ACOSTA: For those that didn't come up with the idea for Apple Computers, there's always mega millions.

CHETRY: That's right, exactly. You didn't invent Facebook, you didn't invent anything from apple but there's always the lotto.

ACOST: There is that chance for all of us. Kiran and I are going to go run out and buy our tickets now but "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips, she is starting right now.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Thanks, guys. Good morning.

CHETRY: We'll see you here tomorrow.

ACOSTA: That's right.

PHILLIPS: Ok, good. I don't know. You two are up to no good. I'm getting this vibe.