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Police Investigation Continues into Michael Jackson's Death; Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Slams President Obama; Legal Briefs
Aired June 27, 2009 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After the autopsy, the body was taken to an unnamed funeral home, of course you can understand that, the family doesn't want people coming around to gawk at the funeral home. And we don't know yet any sort of funeral arrangements.
But what we do also have, Fredricka, is this 911 tape. Now, we've got these two things going. We have these memorials here in Los Angeles and then we also have the police investigation into what happened.
So, here is this 911 tape and you'll hear somebody, we don't know who it is, perhaps a bodyguard or friend of Michael Jackson's, on the phone trying to get some help.
Here's part of that tape.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: What is the nature of your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Yes, sir, I need to -- I need an ambulance as soon as possible, sir. We have a gentleman here that needs help and he stopped breathing. He's not breathing and we need to -- we're trying to pump him, but he's not -- he's not
911 OPERATOR: OK, OK, how old is he?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: He's 50 years old, sir.
911 OPERATOR: 50? OK. He's unconscious? He's not breathing?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Yes, he's not breathing, sir.
911 OPERATOR: OK. And he's not conscious either, he's not breathing...
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: No, he's not conscious, sir.
911 OPERATOR: OK. All right, do you have anyone -- is he on the floor? Where is he at right now?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: He's on the bed, sir, he's on the bed.
911 OPERATOR: OK, let's get him on the floor.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: OK. 911 OPERATOR: OK, let's get him down to the floor. I'm going to help you with CPR right now, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: We need him to get...we need him...
911 OPERATOR: We're on our way there.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ROESGEN: So we understand that the person there who was performing CPR was Michael Jackson's personal physician, a doctor named Conrad Murray. And this physician had been hired by AEG Entertainment, the concert promoter that was planning the big comeback tour for Michael Jackson that was supposed to start next month, had agreed to let Michael Jackson have his personal physician with him.
So, that's where things stand right now, Fredricka. The police say that Dr. Murray is not in any way a focus of a criminal investigation. They have talked to him and they say that he is cooperating but, you know, as you can tell, so many people here in Los Angeles and around the world just want some answers.
And what is really touching, Fredricka, when you look at the flowers and balloons, is that people who never knew this big star personally, could never have even gotten close to him are some of the people who seem to be mourning him the most.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And Susan, it seems throughout Los Angeles and we've seen it in many cities across the country, there are lots of different locations that these sorts of tributes are taking place. You've got that right outside the coroner's office, also outside where his star on the walk of fame is, as well.
When people have walked up to that location where you are, have they said anything as they place these flowers? Have they made any particularly poignant remarks to you?
ROESGEN: Yes, I talked to one woman, Fredricka, she's a nurse and she walked a few blocks over here. She said after her night shift, after she had worked all night she walked over here because she said she just felt she had to be here and she was crying, Fredricka, when she talked to me.
And I said, you know, really so many people don't understand this emotion. You never knew him. And she said sort of what some of the signs are saying, but I grew up with him. I loved his songs. My favorite song she says was "I'll Be There." And so people made, you know, an emotional attachment to a person through music and I guess that shows the power of his music.
WHITFIELD: And as it pertains to the investigation, Susan, you mentioned Dr. Murray has been questioned already. He has yet more questions to answer with the authorities and what about the person who made the phone call, that 911 call? Who is being questioned in all as investigators try to piece together exactly what happened preceding his visit to the hospital? ROESGEN: Well, there's a lot of things we don't know, Fredricka, but what we do know is they have talked to Dr. Murray. They say they want to talk to him again. They haven't told us yet who it was that actually made the 911 call. I'm sure they're going to talk to him because they'll want to know what happened? Did you see the collapse? Did you see Dr. Murray performing CPR on Michael Jackson?
Also they towed away a car belonging to Dr. Murray's sister on Thursday night, Fredricka, because they said there might be some evidence, though they didn't say what it was, in his car.
WHITFIELD: Susan Roesgen, thanks so much outside the L.A. Coroner's Office there in Los Angeles. Thanks so much.
So, with all the questions being raised about prescription drugs, it's no wonder people are remembering what happened to one of Michael Jackson's heroes, another musical icon.
Here now is CNN's Tom Foreman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): He was the king. He was the king of pop. And she was the woman in both of their lives.
Lisa Marie Presley says she was talking with Michael Jackson at one point in their two-year marriage, when he stunned her.
"I can't recall the exact subject matter," she writes, "but he may have been questioning me about the circumstances of my father's death. At some point, he paused. He stared at me very intensely and he stated with an almost calm certainty, 'I'm afraid that I'm going to end up like him, the way he did.'"
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was not pronounced dead until 3:30.
FOREMAN: Elvis died in 1977 at age 42 after collapsing at home on a summer afternoon, the cause initially reported as heart failure. But subsequent investigations found Elvis had consumed a large amount of pain killers.
Michael Jackson was 18 at the time, Lisa Marie just nine. So, she says, when she heard Jackson's terrible prediction, "I promptly tried to deter him from the idea, at which point he just shrugged his shoulders. Fourteen years later, I am sitting here watching on the news and the memory of this conversation hit me, as did the unstoppable tears. I wanted to save him from the inevitable."
Presley has hinted at this before, telling ABC's Diane Sawyer a few years back, after divorcing Jackson...
LISA MARIE PRESLEY, MICHAEL JACKSON'S EX-WIFE: I fell into this whole, "You poor, sweet misunderstood man, I'm going to save you." You know, I fell into that. I fell in love with him.
FOREMAN (on camera): In this new Internet posting, however, Presley goes much farther, saying many people were worried that he was engaged in self-destructive behavior. She does not say what precisely.
(voice-over): Only that he could use his power for good "and, when he used it for something bad, it was really, really bad."
She writes, she is devastated by what happened, but "he knew exactly how his fate would be played out someday and he was right."
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: More than a thousand Michael Jackson -- thousands, rather, of Jackson's admirers recreated his "Thriller" video last night and they did it from a prison in the Philippines. These guys became famous two years ago when this YouTube video of the dance got millions of hits around the world.
Well, last night they did it again, rehearsing through the night for nine hours. They say the international acclaim brought back their self-esteem and they did it live in front of a live audience of about 700 people who were right there at the prison, as well.
All right, folks are also remembering Jackson in Iraq, today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, there's a lot of Iraqis who know Michael Jackson because his song, it's like long time ago everybody know Michael Jackson. Everybody like his dance, especially when he's moving. Everybody like him when he's moving he's so hot, everybody like him.
Because when he's song, plays very good song and the second thing, now when his dance, when his movements, you know, is very hot. All the people, all the girls (ph) try like look like him, like his hairs, like his style, everything look like him. That's why people keep asking about Michael Jackson, looking for (INAUDIBLE) Michael Jackson. You know what I mean? Everybody looking for Michael Jackson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: People in Iraq, they're remembering Michael Jackson and really around the world tributes being paid in so many different ways. So, be sure to join us, 4:00, for our special report, "Death of a Legend." We'll devote the hour to the life and career of Michael Jackson. Send your thoughts to my FaceBook page or e-mail me weekends@CNN.com and don't forget my blog at CNN.com/newsroom. We want to hear from you and keep you part of the conversation remembering Michael Jackson.
All right, Iran's president is slamming President Obama today, again. CNN's Ivan Watson is at the CNN Iran desk.
So, what did Mahmoud Ahmadinejad say?
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, I'm going to tell you about that in just a second, but I first want to point your attention to a report that just came out from the New York- based group, Human Rights Watch. And it says that Iran's paramilitary Basij, these militia men, are carrying out brutal night time raids destroying property and private homes and beating civilians.
And here we are seeing video that we got over the course of the last week which appears to show one of these raids. They say, Human Rights Watch says, this is an attempt to stop nightly protest chants which have been a phenomenon in Iran over the past nearly two weeks since that controversial election when locals go out to the rooftops and chant "Allah o Akbar" in defines against the government.
Well, they're getting punished for it. According to Human Rights Watch, cars, homes getting trashed, getting vandalized and people getting beaten in their homes for showing this defiance.
Now on to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he went swinging again against Barack Obama's recent criticism of Iran's bloody crackdown on these opposition protests. Let's take listen to what he had to say about Barack Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (through translator): You should know if you continue the response of the Iranian nation will be strong. The response of the Iranian nation would be crushing. The response would cause remorse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: So, there we have Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the second time this week accusing Barack Obama and Western governments of interfering in Iran's internal affairs -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And so, Ivan, just back to the raids that are taking place, they are just randomly going door to door to people's residences, people who are suspected of having taken part in some of the protests in support of the opposition leader? Is that what's taking place?
WATSON: What happens is every night you've had people on the rooftops chanting "Allah o Akbar" that means "God is great" and that is a chant people heard in 1979 when the shah was overthrown and it's been a show of defiance.
And what we've been hearing from our sources on the ground and from some of these videos that we've gotten from the Internet over the course of the past two weeks, and you can see this here, you have security forces, Basiji militia going in, breaking into a house, beating people, and you can hear the people screaming in the background who are filming this. They're terrified.
This evidently has been going on and we've seen other video evidence of streets and cars damaged in neighborhoods where people have been chanting "Allah o Akbar" against the government. And our sources on the ground say those defiant chants, night after night, they have diminished over the past two nights -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, so that has been in part effective so to speak. Ivan Watson, thanks so much from our Iran desk.
Let's talk a little more about what's taking place there in Iran. Someone who has close ties inside Iran is with us, Hooman Majd is the author of "The Ayatollah Begs to Differ." He was once a translator for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and is also related to Iran's former president, Khatami. He joins us now from New York.
Good to see you. So, when you hear this latest information about the Basij who are conducting these raids on residences, as we just heard from Ivan Watson, what's your initial reaction?
HOOMAN MAJD, IRAN-AMERICAN WRITER: Well, I think it's to be expected. I don't think they were going to put up -- they didn't put up with the street protests and the street protests morphed into this chanting every night from the roof tops which was happening every single night, increasing in the number of people who were participating.
Even on the streets actually people were coming out of their homes on the streets shouting "Allah o Akbar" and that is very easy to identify because in any specific neighborhood you can kind of hear where they're coming from, the chants, and the Basij, I'm not surprised at all they're going into people's homes and...
WHITFIELD: I'm thinking the conventional wisdom may have been that since the numbers have dwindled of people protesting in the streets, even though there were still folks taking to the rooftops that the government would feel like, well we've won. We don't necessarily need to carry out any more force against these protestors, but just the opposite the happening here. Why?
MAJD: Yeah, I don't in Iran everything is slightly different than the way conventional wisdom would indicate. First of all, they've made it very clear at the beginning -- when I say "they," the authorities and the government that is in power -- made it very clear that they were not going to put up with any vocal protests or silent protests, either kind of protests.
Silent protests meaning people the who came out in the streets and weren't speaking or weren't shouting slogans or the vocal protests which is happening every night.
And as your reporter pointed out, this is something that happened in 1979. Although I think it's very dangerous to make analogies between now and 1979. One shouldn't really think there is a real revolution brewing in Iran.
This is people being very angry at something that was taken away from them, in their minds. And even Dr. Larijani (ph) who's a conservative an arch conservative and is a speaker of parliament and very close to the supreme leader, he has admitted that a great numbers of Iranians believe the election was fraudulent. So, it's not surprising.
But, once the authorities made this determination to take these protests off the street and to silence the critics, they want order. They want law and order restored and then whatever negotiations are going on in the background, behind the scenes, between Ayatollah Rafsanjani, who is a very powerful man who's opposing the government's stance right now, he's the number -- really the second most powerful man in Iran.
Dr. Larajani plays a role in this, Moussavi himself, the losing candidate in this case, President Khatami, former President Khatami. All of these people are important people who are playing a role right now. It's not very public and I would say that even they don't know how it's going to end up.
Well, what they do know is that the government does not want this to continue and will use any -- any means it has to stop it.
WHITFIELD: If there was a feeling the government's strength was weakening, especially as a result of the protests that took place in defiance of the ayatollah and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad coming out as recently as today saying once again that the U.S. needs to stop interfering, he says, quote, "he," speaking of President Obama, who spoke of reforms and changes, why did he interfere and comment in a way that disregards convention and courtesy?
Is this Ahmadinejad trying to restore or reclaim some of the strength that some believe may have been weakened during these protests and blaming it on the U.S. as interfering, even though the U.S. has said very little?
MAJD: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, everyone in Iran, in the leadership believes that the U.S. -- when I say the leadership, the current leadership -- believes the U.S. has had a hand in this and they're amassing the evidence that they think they have that the U.S. has had a hand in trying to create a velvet revelation, at a minimum, regime change.
And President Ahmadinejad knows that his supporters and including some of Mousavi's supporters, might believe this. Iranians have had a bad history with the United States. They don't believe a lot of what the United States says. They don't believe a lot of what -- they don't believe in the foreign policy of the United States when it comes to Iran. They have a bad experience from the Iran-Iraq war most recently where the United States supported Saddam Hussein.
So, it's a very good way for the Iranian government, if they want to persuade their people not to demonstrate, not to challenge Ahmadinejad to kind of deflect attention from their own internal problems a little bit right now and say, this is being engineered in the United States. And they're going to amass the evidence.
I'll give you an example. I think the film "The Stoning of Soria M" opened yesterday, I think, across the country here. Even though it's purely coincidental that this movie is opening and we all know it's coincidental, is opening now in America, it's a very anti-Iranian film in many ways. I haven't seen it, but...
WHITFIELD: Yeah, it was advertised months ago, well before this election it would be opening at this day.
MAJD: Exactly, but they will point to that as evidence that months ago they were planning a velvet revolution and some people will believe that. I mean, it's just unfortunate, but it is true that some people will believe that. It's one reason they're kicking out the foreign press, it's one reason they have tight control over the media.
WHITFIELD: Well, Hooman Majd, thanks so much. It's very interesting. I know we're about to lose our satellite window. So, before it cuts us off, I sadly have to cut you off.
MAJD: OK.
WHITFIELD: Appreciate your time, though.
MAJD: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. I know we'll be having you back to talk some more on this. Hooman Majd, thanks so much.
All right, wrapping up a racially charged case. Back here in the states now, you probably know it better as the case of Jena Six. The final defendants learn their punishment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All fright, the summer heat is on. Reynolds Wolf trying to stay cool in the Weather Center. Boy, where is it not hot right now?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, let's see. Maybe, here at CNN where it's like a cool 68 degrees here in the Weather Center.
WHITFIELD: Only in the A.C.
WOLF: Exactly.
WHITFIELD: But, outside brutal, everywhere.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Reynolds. Appreciate it.
WOLF: You bet.
WHITFIELD: All right, talk about a lot of stuff on the plate. How about Bernard Madoff's houses, cars, boats, jewels, bank accounts, all of it now off the plate. The federal judge stripped the Wall Street financier of $170 billion worth of assets, Friday.
Madoff's wife, Ruth, forfeited $80 million in assets that she claimed were hers. The seizure included homes in Manhattan, the Hamptons, and Palm Beach. The assets will eventually be sold to compensate victims. Madoff will be sentenced on Monday for masterminding a ponzi scheme that bilked investors of billions of dollars.
All right, final pleas in the Jena Six case. The last five defendants pled no contest to simple battery charges. They were originally charged with attempted murder in the beating of a white classmate. Those charges led to massive civil rights demonstrations in the small Louisiana town called Jena.
The five teens get probation and a fine. They also reached confidential settlements with the victim of the beating. The sixth defendant Michael Bell pled guilty to second-degree battery and got an 18-month sentence.
All right, and Michael Jackson's music legacy will live on, but apparently so will many of his legal problems. Our legal guys are ready to tackle that right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Michael Jackson's death raises a lot of legal questions, like what will happen to his three children and to his fortune or does he even have a fortune, still? We turn to our legal guys: Avery Friedman, as civil rights attorney and law professor.
Good to see you Avery.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor.
Good to see you.
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hey, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, gentlemen. Let's begin with what about that $400 million debt? Does he even have a fortune which to leave or does he just have debt to leave -- Richard.
HERMAN: I think he's got nothing, Fred. I think that's why he signed on for this tour, 50-concert tour in Europe, and he had to do it to get money and now I just don't think -- he's renting this home that he was living in, there, a hundred thousand a month, probably the...
WHITFIELD: Except, apparently the promoter of that concert was actually paying the rent on that house, so I guess I guess some relief for the family, there.
HERMAN: I know. Just a year -- just years ago he bought the Beatles catalog. He outbid Paul McCartney and now...
WHITFIELD: Which is worth a fortune, right? HERMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: But was he starting to borrow from it? Is that my understanding?
HERMAN: That's my understanding. It's lined up. There's no value to it.
WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.
FRIEDMAN: Well, actually, I'm not sure I agree with Richard, Fredricka. I actually think there are substantial assets. He owns the copyright. The fact is there is enormous value of that Beatles catalog even though it's mortgaged up.
WHITFIELD: And his music, still huge and sizable residuals.
FRIEDMAN: Yeah, well, you know, the real irony here...
WHITFIELD: That would, I guess, go to his estate.
FRIEDMAN: I was going to say the irony is that with his death, his estate becomes enormously valuable, in fact even on iTunes, right now, I think Michael Jackson's either two or three right now. It's rocketed. So, I think there is substantial value to the estate.
WHITFIELD: So, a couple questions, though. Upon someone's death, is it the case that when someone dies almost always their debt dies with them -- Avery.
FRIEDMAN: Oh, no, no, no. When you die, you've got assets and debt.
WHITFIELD: All right, so even if there is no will, his children would inherit his debt? Who would inherit that debt, then?
FRIEDMAN: That is a very important question, because the likelihood is that there is a will, there is a trust. Whatever the obligations and assets that exist will be governed by that instrument. But, what we don't know is that who's getting what, because this sort of morphs into the question of what do the three children wind up with? Do they get the debt? Do they get the assets? And to what extent do they inherit? Nobody knows the answer to that question, right now.
WHITFIELD: And then that brings us, Richard, to the children. These three children, what would their fates possibly be?
HERMAN: It's going to be a three-ring circus there, Fred. It's going to be his parents are going to make -- they're going to be contenders for the kids. It's going to be the long-time nanny, 20- year nanny that Michael Jackson said he wanted his kids to go to if something happened, and then there's the first mother of the two older children...
FRIEDMAN: Debbie Rowe. HERMAN: Debbie Rowe, who at one time had waived her parental rights then had them reinstated, so she could make a claim for at least the two older children.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
WHITFIELD: Well, we're going to talk more about that because we are going to have you back because there is so much in which to delve into, here. So, you know, Avery, when we talk about this estate and we talk about residuals. And isn't there still a question whether there is indeed a will? I know you said most certainly there is a will, there is a trust, but what if there isn't? Then what would happen to what fortune there may be with the name Michael Jackson attached?
FRIEDMAN: The answer is governed by California law. California law, the statute will say where the assets go, but I'm just betting money that there's got to be a will or instrument...
HERMAN: But, there's a lot of discussion that there is not a will and Avery is right. The laws of intestacy, each state has rules, Fred, because many people don't have wills. So in this instance, because the only survivors of his estate are his three children, they'll get everything, one-third, one-third, one-third to his three children, subject to the litigation, the mess of litigation that he's involved in. Now, John Landis...
FRIEDMAN: There are 19 lawsuits out there right now before anything starts.
HERMAN: Including John Landis who produced the "Thriller" video.
FRIEDMAN: Exactly right. A major lawsuit.
HERMAN: So, it's major litigation.
WHITFIELD: Major. All right, thanks so much, guys. We're going to talk to you again. More on the children and what happens to. Do you see some sort of parallels in the possible custody battle of the children with even say the Anna Nicole Smith case. Much more straight ahead with Avery and Richard. Great to see you guys. And I love it that I get to see you twice in an hour. What could be better?
HERMAN: We'll dance the next one, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. No, we're paying tribute. You don't want to see me dance. All right, thanks so much, Richard. Appreciate it.
All right, travel made easier. It's a simple plan. Get rid of the paper. Our Melissa Long takes a closer look at how companies are trying to streamline your summer trip.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA LONG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New developments in self-service technology can help you save time and the environment on your next trip.
TERESA HINDS, NCH: Mobile check-in is very similar to checking in online at home. You download a boarding pass with a 2D bar code that can be used to bypass getting a paper boarding pass. Then, all you have to do is use your phone to go through the TSA checkpoint at security.
LONG: Airports across the nation, including Laguardia and Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson are offering this option for selected airlines. Mobile check-in is also available at hotels.
HINDS: You can bypass the counter, check into your room and sign up for additional amenities.
LONG: And rent a car using self-service kiosks to hit the road quickly without any paperwork.
HINDS: Instead of waiting at the counter, you can make a reservation and pick up your car. You also have the ability to prepay your fuel when you're dropping off and returning your rental car.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, time right now for a quick check of what's happening right now. Michael Jackson's family is trying to determine what plans to make for the singer's funeral. The Los Angeles coroner's office has released the body to an unidentified mortuary.
The autopsy did not reveal a cause of death and it could take up to six weeks before we see the results of toxicology tests that the L.A. County is conducting. Meanwhile, a candlelight vigil to remember Jackson is planned tomorrow night at the original home of Motown Records in Detroit.
And tonight and tomorrow night at 8:00 Eastern, CNN takes an in- depth look at Michael Jackson's life and legacy, his childhood, his music, his finances, his influence. Don't miss this "CNN Presents" special. Don Lemon reports "Michael Jackson, Man in the Mirror," this weekend at 8:00 Eastern only on CNN.
President Obama is pressuring the Senate to follow the House lead and approve a climate change bill. It's designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 83 percent by 2050. But Senate passage is in doubt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The energy bill that passed the House will finally create a set of incentives that will spark a clean energy transformation in our economy. It will spur the development of low carbon sources of energy, everything from wind, solar, and geothermal power to safer, nuclear energy and cleaner coal.
It will spur new energy savings, like the efficient windows and other materials that reduce heating costs in the winter and cooling costs in the summer. And most importantly, it will make possible the creation of millions of new jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The climate bill with amendments at 1,500 pages is longer than the book "War and Peace." Louise Schiavone takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As day dawned on the House energy and climate change debate, the bill's opponents said it had been quite a night at the Rules Committee.
REP. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: Last night at 3:09 a.m., House Democrats filed a 309-page amendment.
REP. JOE BARTON (R), ENERGY AND COMMERCE CMTE.: They were literally hot off the xerox machine when they were handed into the Rules Committee at approximately -- sometime between 2:00 and 3:00 a.m. this morning.
SCHIAVONE: By day's end, a sweeping bill filled with tax measures arrived on the House floor for a vote at more than 1,200 pages. Not a great day for the Democratic process said this public watch dog group.
JAKE BREWER, SUNLIGHT FOUNDATION: This is the kind of bill that's going to affect our economy on a massive scale, our climate, our national security, and is not the kind of thing to be taken lightly. The opacity of this process is -- to be perfectly honest, it's infuriating.
SCHIAVONE: And so, the Sunlight Foundation joined other unlikely allies of Congressional Republicans like Greenpeace, the Congress of Racial Equality, Friends of the Earth, each with their own reasons in opposing the bill. Heavily advocated by the Obama administration and Congressional Democratic leaders, the bill would change the way Americans produce and consume energy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop this addiction!
REP. ED MARKEY (D), ENERGY SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: This bill has the ambition of the moon landing, the moral imperative of the Civil Rights Act, and the scope of the Clean Air Act all wrapped up in one.
SCHIAVONE: Under the bill, energy producing polluters like fuel refineries and coal fired plants would pay the price of their emissions through a system of allowances. Critics say that would make energy more expensive to producers and consumers alike.
REP. PHIL ROE (R), TENNESSEE: The only certainty under this bill is that Wall Street traders sophisticated enough to understand how these credits are traded will make millions.
REP. DAVE CAMP (R), WAYS AND MEANS CMTE.: The speaker's national energy tax is bad for our economy, bad for families who are already struggling to make ends meet, and it will do nothing to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. It's all pain and no gain.
SCHIAVONE: House Democrats produced a roster of dozens of bill supporters, including the AFL-CIO, the Consumers Union, and a number of energy companies.
(on camera): Democratic leaders moved the bill through the House with the most fragile of support, even though it's a safe bet that many if not most in Congress didn't read it all. It's expected to face an even tougher test in the Senate.
Louise Schiavone for CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Michael Jackson as a comic book super hero? This you've got to see.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, Michael Jackson was a lot of things to a lot of people, but a comic book hero? Well, here is the latest issue of "The Omega Man" series, the issue is titled "Current Events and Celebrity Injustice" and is a tribute to Jackson.
Alonzo Washington is the comic book's creator right there. He joins us from Kansas City, Missouri, and a die-hard Michael Jackson fan. In fact, you dressed up just like Michael Jackson as we remember him in "Smooth Criminal" on purpose for this interview today, right?
ALONZO WASHINGTON, COMIC BOOK CREATOR: Oh, yes. We definitely want to pay homage to the blood (ph). So, that's what it's all about.
WHITFIELD: And in fact, I understand you have the Michael Jackson leather jackets. You have t-shirts from many concerts. You loved him for a long time.
WASHINGTON: 100 percent. And don't put it out there like I'm the only one. I'm quite sure some people at CNN ...
WHITFIELD: Oh, no, throngs of us. I'm in there. I love Michael Jackson, too. Who didn't?
WASHINGTON: They're hiding them, but they have.
WHITFIELD: That's right. Well, tell me about this tribute. This comic book tribute came about before his death on Thursday, right?
WASHINGTON: Yes, 100 percent, yes. What we were doing was I decided to do this comic book because "Omega Man" is a time traveling super hero that protects the future and he has aliens that are trying to pervert history. And I always put current events, always put historical figures in it. And I decided to publish this comic book with a Michael Jackson like character in it. We call him the "King of Music." WHITFIELD: And why -- why is that? Why did you choose Michael Jackson, someone that you loved for years? Why did you now see him as a super hero?
WASHINGTON: Well, I saw him that way because I saw the media attacking him and I looked at how important his legacy was. He -- you know, he brought popular culture, R&B into MTV. He's done a lot of things. I mean, Michael Jackson could get into places that many African-American entertainers could not and I wanted to pay him tribute instead of add to all the negativity that was being placed on his name.
WHITFIELD: And then, he passed away on Thursday. Give me your reaction, knowing how much you loved him that you would devote your comic book to him. What was the news like for you?
WASHINGTON: Well, it was shocking and it was, you know, depressing, because it seems as if -- and you know, as we look at networks pay him a little bit of homage now, some of these networks were the same people that was tearing him down.
And I just hate -- I just wish he could see how -- the outpouring, how people really loved him despite all that negativity that was being promoted on his name. People really did love him and he brought a lot of joy to many people.
WHITFIELD: Will there be another "Omega Man" series, a different issue, with Michael Jackson as a center piece given that when you created this tribute, Michael Jackson was very much alive. Now upon his passing, does that imagery mean something else?
WASHINGTON: Well, you know, to me it just makes me feel good that I was able to do this while the man was alive and my body of work that I bring in to my comic books recognized him before all these people that's trying to do it right now.
You know, I think that we may do that, but we deal with all kinds of social issues in the comic book, but I think what we have put into the comic book stands as a good testament of how Michael Jackson influenced people. I'm a comic book creator, I'm an activist, but Michael Jackson's legacy touched me as well.
WHITFIELD: There are a lot of ways in which you could have dressed up in honor of Michael Jackson. What was it about the "Smooth Criminal" that made you feel like you wanted to particularly pay homage to that character that Michael Jackson brought?
WASHINGTON: Well, that video was particularly smooth and I try to be smooth myself, so that's the ...
WHITFIELD: Oh, you got to be smooth to be the artist that you are with your comic book series "Omega Man." And where can people find it?
WASHINGTON: You can get it at www.omega7.com or you can call direct. If you get that Web site, there's a number how you can order and it's a really good tribute to the king of pop.
WHITFIELD: Alonzo Washington, aka "Smooth Criminal."
WASHINGTON: That's right.
WHITFIELD: In honor of Michael Jackson. Thanks so much, Alonzo. Appreciate it.
WASHINGTON: Pleasure to talk to you, ma'am.
WHITFIELD: Well, this weekend, we reveal another CNN hero. Alfa Demmellash is helping others -- in the form of single mothers particularly, build small businesses and better their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALFA DEMMELLASH, CNN HERO: I was born and raised in Ethiopia. My mom, she had to see Ethiopia due to a brutal dictatorship. To save up for me to come to America, she started making these beautiful gowns as a way to make extra money and save. Entrepreneurs, they are at the very heart of what the American dream is all about.
My name is Alfa Demmellash and I co-founded an organization that provides business education to women and minority entrepreneurs like my mom. We believe in your dreams and what that makes possible.
We launched a school so that people could join and really work on the hands on management side of their business. We focus on providing people quality coaching so that they can take their products and services and sell them.
ROBIN MUNN, FLORIST: I was thinking about closing, but once I started taking the classes, I found that the fire came back.
SHAWN WHITE, CLOTHING DESIGNER: I know that I can go out here in this world and sell clothes is crazy because I would never have had that insight if it wasn't for her.
KIM BRATTEN: They put hope back into the community. Now, I'll be able to send my kids to college.
DEMMELLASH: We believe in you, that you are on the beginning of the journey. This is really for us a place where the American dream can be realized. The ability to become self-reliant, the ability to have economic score (ph). That is the fabric of this country. This is something that speaks to people's dreams. We have to fight for it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And you can find out more about Alfa's project and nominate a CNN hero of your own. Log on to CNN.com/heroes. And we're happy to announce CNN Heroes is now on Facebook. So, join the CNN Heroes family to see exclusive footage and get updates on your favorite heroes. That address is facebook.com/CNNheroes.
All right, we have our legal guys standing by ready to talk about what happens to Michael Jackson's three children, the legal options, and who may be fighting for them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, Michael Jackson, the legacy, the estate, and now let's talk about his three children, 12, 11, and six. Our legal guys are back with us, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor and Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor.
All right, gentlemen, you know what's interesting here is Michael Jackson had sole custody of the three children, the first two birthed by his first wife Debbie Rowe handed him full custody as a quote unquote "gift." And so, now at issue, who will actually get the children since he was the single parent of these children?
Now, at issue also, the nanny. Perhaps even the grandmother, Katherine Jackson, and could there be a third party? Avery, how does this battle begin?
FRIEDMAN: Well, it begins everybody's in the mix. I'll tell you why it's really complicated though, Fredricka. There is an assumption that Debbie Rowe relinquished those rights. She did not. The -- Steven Lash (ph), who's the original superior court judge, realized he was wrong when he took those rights away because under California law, there has to be a children and family services investigation. There was not. Therefore, she still has rights.
But listen to this. If there's a will and Michael said that oh, the nanny was to get custody, then you have a battle between Debbie Rowe and the nanny. So ...
WHITFIELD: On what grounds though would that be contested? If that is the will of the estate, if Michael Jackson says I want, you know, Debbie Rowe to get the child or for someone else to get, on what grounds would that be challenged?
FRIEDMAN: Because natural parents generally have rights that are preferred over others. So, the battle is Debbie Rowe -- if she's still in the picture, she apparently is, actually I think may trump the nanny who might be designated in the will.
WHITFIELD: And Richard ...
HERMAN: Except ...
WHITFIELD: Yes?
HERMAN: Except that Debbie Rowe has no right to claim the third child ...
FRIEDMAN: Right.
HERMAN: ...who has nothing to do with Debbie Rowe.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
HERMAN: Courts would like to keep the three children together.
WHITFIELD: And is that an anonymous surrogate?
HERMAN: Yes, it is ...
WHITFIELD: That involved -- right.
HERMAN: ... an anonymous surrogate, yes.
FRIEDMAN: Well, yes, but the surrogate has no legal rights.
HERMAN: They have no right, but the children, 11 and 12, a judge is going to listen to where they want to go and if they want to go ...
WHITFIELD: And that was actually my next question.
HERMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Because at least the 12 and 11-year-old are old enough to express themselves. Perhaps even the six-year-old to say this is who I want to be with, I want to be with grandma, or I want to be with the nanny. How much weight does that have in a court of law as it pertains to such a huge estate conflict?
HERMAN: It's just another factor for the court to consider as the child gets older, more weight goes to that. But, you know, you're absolutely right, Fred. But if the children want to go with Katherine, then you have the issue of old Joe there because right out of Michael's mouth, we know the abuse he suffered physically and emotionally from his father, so ...
FRIEDMAN: Which the court will take into consideration.
HERMAN: Exactly. So, that may knock them out and it maybe this nanny -- this nanny for 20 years who has interacted with these children, been with them 24/7, this may be the person to get custody.
WHITFIELD: So then, something that could further compound all this, too, is all of these legal cases and the gag orders in place. If the gag orders now suddenly dissipate and now what will be revealed is certain testimony or ...
FRIEDMAN: Right.
WHITFIELD: ...certain evidence, how might that potentially impact what happens to these kids? Am I asking a ridiculous question, Avery, or is it ...
FRIEDMAN: No, that's a wonderful question because the truth is the condition of turning the money over by Jackson to these, you know, purportedly abused children was conditioned on the gag. Well, if they violate the gag, who's going to enforce it? I think the answer to that is the estate will then seek a return of the money. I think they'll still keep their mouths shut, but it's clearly a factor. You can see, Fredricka, how unbelievably complicated this whole thing is.
WHITFIELD: Yes, OK.
HERMAN: And a judge will have to determine what is in the best interests of these three children.
FRIEDMAN: That's the standard, exactly right.
WHITFIELD: We think of really messy celebrity, particularly estate cases upon someone's death, Anna Nicole Smith, we think of James Brown, even though with James Brown it wasn't the custody issue, but with Anna Nicole Smith it was. You're seeing -- really quick because my producer is screaming at me, really quick, you guys, do you see this as one that will be just stretched out over years' time as well?
FRIEDMAN: Yes, because of drugs. Yes, because of drugs.
HERMAN: It's going to go over a year. And I think the nanny is going to get it, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Oh boy. OK, all right. Thanks so much. Avery, Richard, I know we're going to be talking about it again.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
WHITFIELD: So, we'll have more time next time. What?
HERMAN: You have take it out with "The Thriller," the zombie dance. Come on, Fred. Avery, come on.
WHITFIELD: You don't want to see me do that right now.
HERMAN: Come on, we got to take it out.
FRIEDMAN: I don't think so. Oh, you started it.
WHITFIELD: This is not the appropriate time.
HERMAN: Pay homage, you got to pay homage, right?
WHITFIELD: OK.
FRIEDMAN: See you later.
WHITFIELD: All right, see you all later. Bye-bye, appreciate it.
All right, a spike in violence now in Iraq's capital and the concern that it's causing as U.S. troops start packing up. We'll take you to Baghdad.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, in three days, most U.S. troops will pull out of Iraq's urban areas and after a series of deadly bombings this week, Iraqi leaders are clearly worried. The prime minister is appealing for national unity. CNN's Michael Ware is in Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In Iraq, one day less until the historic end of the American-led War in Iraq and another day of bloodshed. Two bombings in the capital, Baghdad, have left 16 Iraqis dead. Over the past six days, that brings the death toll to 211 Iraqi civilians and security forces. Many of the dead and among the hundreds of wounded in this intensified bombing campaign leading up to this landmark event are women and children.
In Baghdad, as the deadline starts to draw near, one of Iraq's vice presidents warned his people to avoid crowded places unless absolutely necessary. And he called upon the security forces to act with more vigor and to remain on the alert. By Tuesday, this war will be in the hands of the Iraqi government and American forces will have retreated to their designated bases. What happens next will be something that the world will be watching.
Michael Ware, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Join me at 4:00 Eastern time for my special, "Death of a Legend." Meantime, right now, time for "YOUR MONEY."
