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Michael Jackson Fans Pay Tribute; S.C. Gov Apologizes Again; Man's Childhood Dance Moves Resurface to Haunt Him
Aired June 27, 2009 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. It's 11:00 at the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia where we sit. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, hello everybody. And I'm Betty Nguyen. It's 8:00 in Los Angeles, where the story continues to be told right here. We continue to follow it, especially the investigation of the untimely death of Michael Jackson. No word of funeral arguments just yet, but Jackson's body at an undisclosed mortuary.
And the big question is still this: how did he die? The coroner has ordered more tests, and CNN's Susan Roesgen is outside his office in L.A. What is the coroner looking for specifically? Toxicology tests?
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. The toxicology report, Betty, which probably won't come back probably more than a month, and even here, though, even here at the coroner's office where we know that Michael Jackson's body was moved last night, even here people are remembering Michael Jackson. This is just an impromptu memorial here just across the street. This poster here says, "I just can't stop loving you. See you one day when it's my turn. Save me a spot in heaven." Then down here, candles and flowers. This is half a dozen red roses. The note here says, "Dear Michael, shine on. Love Jana, Alex and Dorell."
All these things, you know, who knows who they came from? People just wanted to put something out here. The coroner's office is there, and we want something to show the person we love even though we never knew him, we love him, is remembered. The coroner, Betty, as you mentioned, he is waiting for the toxicology reports. He said preliminarily he believes there were prescription drugs in Michael Jackson's system. Other than that, though, no indication on what led to the cardiac arrest on Thursday.
But we do have what we received last night, this really dramatic 911call that the LAPd released of someone at the rented mansion where Michael was staying calling 911, saying "There's a person here who isn't breathing." He never says it's Michael Jackson. But here is this dramatic call. You almost want him to say it's Michael Jackson. Here's part of this dramatic phone call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your emergency? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. I need to -- I need an ambulance as soon as possible, sir. We have a gentleman here that needs help. He's not breathing. He's not breathing, and we need to -- we're trying to pump him, but he's not able to...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. How old is he?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's 50 years old, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty. Okay. He's unconscious, he's not breathing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he's not breathing, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. And not conscious, either?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. He's not conscious, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Have you -- is he on the floor? Where's he at right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's on the bed, sir. He's on the bed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Let's get him on the floor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. Get him down on the floor. I'm going to help you with CPR now, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need him to get...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We're on our way there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Again, that was part of the 911 tape. As we know now, it was Michael Jackson's personal physician, a doctor named Conrad Murray, who was trying to revive him. He wasn't able to. The ambulance took Michael Jackson to UCLA Med Center, where the doctors tried for more than an hour to revive him and, of course, they weren't successful.
We don't know when there will be a funeral or any kind of official memorial service. But Betty, as you can you see from all the flowers left, you really have to think, who buys flowers for someone they don't know, an entertainer they can't even get close to, maybe never even had the money to go to a Michael Jackson concert. Yet they brought things. This one -- I'll show you the outside. It just says, "For Michael Jackson." It isn't opened. So, I won't open it. Send it up to God and Michael Jackson -- and his friends. Betty?
NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Susan Roesgen. Thank you for that. Appreciate it.
HOLMES: While people are remembering the King of Pop, a lot of people, especially those raising questions, serious ones about the possible prescription drugs he was taking. Here are the questions. How many was he taking? What kind? How long was he taking them, and all importantly, where was he getting them?
Listen now to Dr. Deepak Chopra. This is a physician; you certainly recognize the name and face. Focuses on spirituality. He's written a number of top-selling books. This is what he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. And also, Chopra, you should know, treated Michael Jackson at one point in the past. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEEPAK CHOPRA, PHYSICIAN AND AUTHOR: Okay. So after the trial in 2005, Michael came and spent a week with me, stayed at my house. He came to our center and at one point, he asked me for a prescription. He knew I was a physician, a DEA (ph) license, and he asked me for a prescription for a narcotic. And I said "What the heck do you want a narcotic for?" And it suddenly dawned on me he was already taking these, and that he had seen a number of doctors who were probably giving him prescriptions.
So, I confronted him with that, and at first he denied it, then told me he was in a lot of pain. He said he had back pain. I knew all the pain was muscle aches and muscular skeletal pains from the stress that he was going through. I said, "Michael, you don't need these drugs for that. There's so many ways to do it." And for a while, I lost him. I've had that happen with me with other celebrities in Hollywood. There's a plethora of doctors in Hollywood that are drug peddlers. They are drug pushers. They just happen to be having a medical license.
And I hope that this episode today, this tragic death of a great human being, will bring to light the huge problem we have in Hollywood with some of the medical establishment. The celebrity doctors who not only initiate people into the drug experience, but then they perpetuate it, so that the people become dependent on it. I will be bold enough to identify these people at a certain time, but I think the police should do their own investigation.
I think this is something that really should be investigated, because it's a disease. The number one cause of drug addiction in the world, particularly in the United States, is not street drugs, but medical prescriptions given legally by physicians.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Do you know what drugs he was taking specifically?
CHOPRA: Well, at one time I knew about Oxycontin. I knew he would get injections of Demerol and other narcotics, and I was really desperate to try and help him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Deepak Chopra there.
Even as the world wrestles with the shock of Michael Jackson's death, the fate of his three children, still uncertain, and could set a stage for a potential legal battle over who gets custody. CNN's Erica Hill explains. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Jackson's children were perhaps his best-kept secret. Rarely seen public without something covering their faces, the youngest infinitely dangled over a Berlin balcony, is even known as "Blanket" within the family.
They traveled the globe with him. Despite the appearance of a secluded life, a source close to be family who knew the children when they were younger, tells CNN they were very well-adjusted and loved music, calling them sharp, socially interactive and knowing the family was very close.
In a statement reacting to Jackson's death, his ex-wife, Lisa Marie Presley, noted his children were quote, "everything to him." But whether his children will stay with his family is unclear. One person who could fight for custody, Jackson's ex-wife, and the mother of his two oldest children, Debbie Rowe.
LISA BLOOM, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: In California courts, like almost all courts in this country have a strong preference for biological parent. They want children to be with people who are their blood relatives. So, if Debbie Rowe did not sever her parental rights entirely legally, she's first in line to have custody of those kids.
HILL: When Jackson and Rowe divorced in 1999, she gave up her parental rights, but then fought to have them restored in 2005 during Jackson's child molestation trial. Rowe's former attorney, Iris Finnsilver, tells CNN special investigations unit those rights were reinstated but didn't say whether roe will seek custody of 12-year-old Prince Michael I and 11-year-old Paris.
(on camera): And while courts may favor a biological parent, there's also the matter of the late singer's wishes. It's unclear whether Michael Jackson had a will, and if he did, whether he designated a guardian for his children. Even then, his choice may not be granted custody in the end.
BLOOM: In a will, we can bequeath property. Children are not property. They're human beings. What we can do is set up a guardian that indicates in the will we want that person to take care of our kids after we're gone. And the courts are going to take into account that preference, but child custody is never final. Courts always want to do what's in the best interest for the children.
HILL: Right now, all three children are with the Jackson family. A former attorney for the family tells "People" magazine Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine, is caring for them. Jackson biographer Stacy Brown tells ABC News said Mrs. Jackson wants to keep them, but claims Jackson wanted his long-time nanny to have custody, should anything happen to him.
No matter who gains custody, life for these children will never be the same. Erica Hill, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Tributes to Michael Jackson popping up all over the country. Look at one that popped up here in Atlanta. This is at the "America I am" exhibit. This is a black history cultural exhibit that's traveling around the country. It' here in Atlanta right now. Fans are allowed to read personal messages. This put up not long ago right in the front of that exhibit.
Also, Jackson's fans' tributes scheduled at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem on Tuesday. Fans already there this weekend. Our Susan Candiotti is there as well. Susan what is the scene like there? Sounds like we can hear the crowd gathering behind you.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: More and more people are coming with each passing hour, as they have, of course, since Michael Jackson died on Thursday night. We're here at the entrance of the Apollo Theater, where Jackson first appeared back in 1969. As Michael Jackson, part of the Jackson Five at that time, you see the flowers, you see the candles, you see all kinds of tributes.
And of course, crowds have continued to come here. So, this woman, who just left a homemade memento. Tell me about this.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I love him. And I wanted it to be special. I wanted it to be different, because I loved him through my whole childhood. He was there. I've had two brothers pass on, and when he passed on, it brought back everything, all my childhood, my brothers that have passed on. And I had to do something special for him.
CANDIOTTI: What do you get out of coming here and being with other fans?
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Some sort of peace in my heart to know that he's no longer going to be in pain, nobody can hurt him, nobody can say anything mean about him. You know, we loved him, and people come on TV saying bad things about him, and you know what? This is a time where you've got to forget all of that and focus on what he did for the people. For his fans. You know?
CANDIOTTI: Do you have any lingering questions about his sudden death?
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: He was too young. He was too young to go, you know? And he was in a lot of pain, I believe. He was in a lot of pain, and so maybe he overmedicated himself. Maybe. I don't know, but I believe he was in a lot of pain.
CANDIOTTI: Thank you. Thank you very much.
Let us also give you a look here down the wall here. This is a 12-foot high fence. Twelve feet high. In the middle of it, the Apollo Theater has run a line of cardboard paper, and this contains by now, thousands of signatures and messages to Michael Jackson. Including -- look at his one. Written by a child, obviously. It says, "I am still alive. I was a man of humbleness. I was a man of strength. I was a man of many tears. Michael Jackson." Signed by a young lady, first name Mary Elizabeth.
So, as you look down here, I ask what are you going to do with this once these tributes are done? They might have to add another piece of paper here, actually, but they talked about storing this at the Apollo Theater, perhaps for their archives, perhaps putting it on display, or maybe sending it to the Jackson family later.
And farther down the line here -- I don't know if you kind of see it because there's so many people here now, but there are even vendors that have lined up, starting about a half-block out away from the theater, selling T-shirts, selling posters, selling CDs of Michael Jackson's music. All of this in advance of a special tribute here at the Apollo Theater on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then a huge concert coming up in July. Stay tuned for that one. T.J. Probably see some very big names here, but here, it's clear that fans simply cannot get enough.
HOLMES: Yeah, and you know, the day just getting started there in the heart of Harlem, Harlem 125th there at the Apollo Theater. And like you said, vendors starting to show up. We should have known that was going to happen at some point as well.
Susan Candiotti, we appreciate you this morning. We'll check in with you again.
NGUYEN: But it is kind of odd, I know. Yesterday, shortly after the news broke, they already had T-shirts printed up out there in Los Angeles.
We're hearing from you as well. Want to get your thoughts on the coverage of Michael Jackson. A lot of people are saying "Great, I love Michael Jackson. Takes me back down memory lane." Hearing this through Twitter and Facebook. Some have said, "Enough already. I've heard it."
The investigation does continue. Let me read a couple things from my Facebook page quick. There are complaints we need to hear other news besides Michael Jackson. T.I. Smith says, "If you think about it, Michael Jackson is bigger than God." Wow, that's quite a statement. He goes on to say, "More people around the world across all boundaries, borders, and religions connected with M.J. in a positive way. I'm glad the news network are covering it so heavily. He deserves it."
But again, I will tell you, to be quite honest, a lot of people are saying, c'mon enough of the Michael Jackson coverage already. But you know, they're still an investigation going on right now. Don't know exactly what the cause of death was. Toxicology results won't be back for a couple more weeks. So, you'll probably hear about it quite a bit in the days and weeks to come.
HOLMES: Well, yes. It does deserve to be covered. Yes, still new and fresh in everyone's mind. More details to come. Like you said, could be weeks on the toxicology report.
NGUYEN: What did they say? Six to eight weeks, possibly? HOLMES: It's going to take a while. And still haven't heard a word about funeral arrangements or memorials.
NGUYEN: That is true. More to come on this. Tonight at 8:00 Eastern, CNN's Don Lemon takes an in-depth look at Michael Jackson's life and legacy, his music, childhood, finances and influence. Don't miss the CNN Presents special, "Michael Jackson: Man in the Mirror." Tonight, 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
HOLMES: All right. Stop me if you've heard this one before. Iran's firery president lashing out at the U.S. president. What he had to say about President Obama.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Iran's president aiming another blistering tirade at President Obama today. CNN's Ivan Watson at CNN's Iran desk. All right. We're used to hearing all kinds of things from Ahmadinejad. What's he talking about this time?
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Second time this week he's gone after President Obama. This after President Obama said Ahmadinejad needs to think carefully about his obligations to his people and think about the families of those who were beaten and killed over the course of the past two weeks. Let's take a listen to what he to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD (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 once again, a warning to Western governments to stop criticizing us and accusing them of interfering in Iranian internal affairs, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Ivan Watson, keeping an eye on things at our Iran desk. Appreciate it, as always.
WATSON: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: President Obama is turning up the heat on Capitol Hill today, calling on senators to show courage and do what the House did. Pass a bill limiting green house gases. (INAUDIBLE) pay to pollute scheme that would grow costlier over the years, and presumably companies would switch to cleaner energies to avoid the pollution fee.
(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, spurring the development of low carbon sources of energy. Everything from wind, solar and geothermal power to safe nuclear energy and cleaner coal. It will spur new energy savings, like 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)
NGUYEN: Republicans say the climate bill is nothing but a national energy tax, and Congressman John Boehner used his privilege as a House leader to read from the 1,200-page bill more than an hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: I really hate to do this. When you file a 300-page amendment at 3:09 a.m., the American people have a right to know what's in this bill, and they have a right to know what we're voting on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Tell you, only eight house Republicans voted for the bill, and Senate approval is in doubt. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would cost households about $175 a year.
Today on "Your Money" at 1:00 Eastern, a look how the biggest climate change bill in history could affect you, and why baby boomers might be to blame for the current state of the economy. Again, that is today at 1:00 Eastern only here on CNN.
HOLMES: All right.
Let's look at some video. We're going get Reynolds Wolf up here to explain what we're looking at here. But this is - Reynolds, a Jacksonville woman, caught this waterspout. It's on the St. John's River. It's (INAUDIBLE) to two at one point before coming back together. Split into two. Reynolds, these are essentially tornadoes over the water. Is that right?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You are correct. A lot of times you see these things develop when you have is a frontal boundary, kind of extended its way over parts of Florida. Sure enough, that's what you see here. You can often see these in the Great Lakes. You can see them over any body of water. Doesn't have to be in a tropical setting. More likely to see them in a tropical setting, but they can occur all over the world.
Thankfully, it's not a super-safe thing to see, but certainly not as destructive as with the regular tornadoes in parts of the Central Plains. Cool pictures nonetheless. One thing is not going to be a cool picture. It's going to be the wiping the sweat off your brow in parts of Texas today. Just the brutal heat you'll deal with. Temperatures in triple digits for Dallas, for Memphis. And Atlanta, high expected to be only 95 degrees, but I wouldn't be surprised if some locations around the Atlanta area, inside the I-285 corridor, you could see temperatures getting into the triple digits. Cooler in Kansas City. And also mentioning in Kansas City, you might have thunderstorms pop up, knocking temperatures down into the 70s quickly. Let's hope that happens for you. In terms of the storms, they could develop on parts of the I-70 corridor. From Kansas City back over to say parts of, say, St. Louis in the afternoon hour. We'll see this frontal boundary extend from parts of, say, the Great Lakes, cleared into the Central Plains. It's going to be on the move, moves towards the Southeast, interacting with moist air coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. It's going to be that combined with daytime heating that could give you a chance of storms.
More storms possible in the northern plains and also for the Outer Banks and Carolinas. Look for that. Out to the west, relatively dry for places like southern California. Not a bad day for you at all. Could be an interesting day in parts of the Caribbean. We're watching for the possibility of some developments. Especially in the deep convection you see right to the east, southeast of Cancun. This cluster of clouds beginning to rotate. Possibly developing over are the next 12 to 24 hours as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico.
Certainly something we need to watch carefully. That's what we're going to do here at CNN. We're your hurricane headquarters. Back to you guys.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Reynolds.
The racially charged case drew thousands of protesters to a tiny Louisiana town. Now five of the Jena 6 hear their punishment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: It is the final act in a case that sparked cries of racism across the country.
HOLMES: You may know it better as the case of Jena 6. CNN Sean Callebs has more on the pleas for final punishment. He's coming to us from Jena, Louisiana.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The final chapter in the Jena 6 saga played out heard in the LaSalle Parish courthouse. The remaining five defendants pleading in the Jena 6 case pleading no contest to a charge of simple battery. They will receive no jail time, a fine of $500, and unsupervised probation for seven days.
This is a dramatic difference from the first charges of attempted murder brought by D.A. Reed Walters. Those charges led to a massive civil rights demonstration in the small community, about 20,000 people descending on Jena demanding justice for the six African-American teens at the center of this controversy.
So, the question, could all the controversy have been averted if the D.A. would have initially brought the lesser charges?
DAVID UTTER, SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER: You know, but for decent lawyers in this case for these five young men, we would have had a different result, and I think that it's easy to point fingers at Jena, but getting railroaded and having bad lawyers and having to take bad deals happens to African-American youth every day in this country.
CALLEBS: The trouble began in late 2006. Racial tensions escalated in this community, and came to a head in December when the six African-American teens at centers of the controversy were accused of savagely beating a white classmate, Justin Barker. The D.A., Reed Walters, said he has no regrets on how he handled this case.
In another matter, the civil lawsuits brought by the family of Justin Barker against members of the Jena 6 have all been resolved for a confidential sum. The Barkers say they do retain the right to bring a lawsuit against the school board.
Sean Callebs, CNN, in Jena, Louisiana.
HOLMES: Well, South Carolina's governor admits his affair to the world. His wife says there isn't room for three in their marriage. I think most would agree with that. Got somebody coming up, an interesting conversation Betty's about to have with the lady who talks about what everybody can learn from their troubles.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, it's 11:30 here now, and police are trying to set up an interview with Michael Jackson's personal doctor. Detectives impounded Dr. Conrad Murray's car because it may contain evidence related to Jackson's death. The coroner's office says more tests must be conducted before a cause of death could be determined. That could take some four to six weeks to get results of some tests back. Investigators say, however, as of right now, no indication of foul play.
NGUYEN: In remembrance of Jackson, hundreds of prison inmates, in fact, in the Philippines, created their rendition of the "Thriller" video. You'll remember that. Last time they performed the dance, it was a hit on YouTube. Well, they rehearsed the dance for nine hours into the wee hours of this morning, and in fact, the newest one that they did today was to "We Are the World."
Well, Michael Jackson's death has quickly become one of the biggest stories ever on the Internet. Our Josh Levs has been scanning your comments, your iReports and some very interesting memories as well.
Hey, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hey there to you guys. I'll tell you, it's interesting. We've got so many iReports that I wanted to do something a little different today. I wanted to kind of get behind the obvious. You hear people say a lot of things and ask some of these major fans, who are sending us these interviews -- or these videos, what was it that got you so interested in this one performer?
We have one with us who's joining us on her webcam via Skype. It's Tanika Salmon. We're going to bring her in. There she is. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to take a little clip of her video iReport, and then we'll talk to her. Here's what she said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TANIKA SALMON, MICHAEL JACKSON FAN: And it's something that I will always remember. I was able to take a picture with Michael Jackson, and I'll never forget that. I love you, Michael Jackson. I will always, always, always love you and be your biggest fan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: His biggest fan. All right, Tanika, we have just about a minute to talk to you here. But help us understand. For people out there who don't know, he was a performer. He was legendary. But what was it to you that made you such a huge fan, that made you so committed to him that way?
SALMON: It was the way that he dressed. The way that -- his style. It just made you want to -- for me as a dancer, it made me strive to be like him, the higest of what he was.
LEVS: Let's look at some video as we're talking to you. We're kind of breaking up on the webcam. We have some good video of him dancing around. I know you told me that when you saw him, right, there was something about him physically feeling the music in his body and you're dancer. Tell us about that.
SALMON: Right. I was watching him on CNN yesterday. And he was being interviewed, and he was talking about how the music, he can feel the beat, and then the beat, he makes -- like, each tone, or each instrument that's in a beat, he can bring it out in his body. And that made me -- I can so relate to that being a dancer. So, that's what I got from him the most. I've never heard anyone really speak about it like that and, yes. I could totally relate.
LEVS: And when you met him in person, you said you could feel that, too. There was something musical about his whole presence, about the way he spoke with you, about the way you connected.
SALMON: Yes. I was by the Ferris wheel when I was working at Toys "R" Us, and he was telling me that I was kind of like bobbing my head to the music, bobbing my head.
LEVS: He started bopping with you?
SALMON: And he turned -- right, he turned around to me, and he was telling me that -- he said to me that it's, oh, he's like, it's kind of hard to stop moving your head to the beat, right, when you get a good beat? And I was like, yes.
LEVS: And so, you started bopping your head with him. Well, listen, it really is good to talk with you. Oh, wait, before we go, you told me you're going to give me a little Jackson move right now on camera?
SALMON: OK. As best I can. OK.
LEVS: Your face is pixelated. But we want to see it quick anyway. Well, it looks like we're looking at you through a kaleidoscope. Yes. Unfortunately, it's not going to take.
As soon as we're off the air, you go ahead and you get an iReport of yourself dancing to Michael Jackson, OK? That will be the clear video.
SALMON: OK.
LEVS: We'll take it on there. The power of the webcam. It really does look like a kaleidoscope. But hey, thank you so much for joining us. Tanika Salmon out of New York there.
And this is the thing. We're getting so many iReports. They've been -- they're flooded overnight. There's hundreds more today. Zoom in really quick there. Then we're going to go. This is the main page at ireport.com. Just click on "Michael Jackson" at the top, and you'll see just some of the latest that we're able to show you, including some out in L.A. Over by his star, people swarming the star there.
We keep getting iReports, photos, videos from people out there who are checking out the latest events or part of the latest events, and like Tanika, letting us know why they care so much and what it was that excited him.
Oh, quickly, we've got a graphic for you here, how you can weigh in. We'd love to hear from you. You've got ireport.com. You've got CNN.com. That's our blog. Facebook.com and Twitter.com. Both cases slash-JoshLevsCNN. Join in. We'd love to hear from you.
All right. Betty, T.J., back to you.
NGUYEN: Yes, we'll work on that webcam. Wow.
LEVS: I know, yes, it looked like a kaleidoscope, didn't it?
NGUYEN: Yes. You could you say that.
LEVS: It looked good on the computer over there.
NGUYEN: OK. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
HOLMES: And tonight and tomorrow night at 8:00 Eastern, CNN takes an in-depth look at Michael Jackson's life and legacy, the childhood, the music, the finances, the influence. Don't miss "CNN PRESENTS," special, Don Lemon reporting, "MICHAEL JACKSON, MAN IN THE MIRROR." Again, that's this weekend, 8:00 Eastern, only right here on CNN.
NGUYEN: Well, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is offering more apologies because earlier this week he admitted to an affair with a woman who lives in Argentina.
HOLMES: Yes, now he's facing not only calls to resign, but possible criminal investigations. A lot of people want to know how he paid for trips to see his mistress. Sanford has already agreed to pay back about $8,000. That was for a trip, a state trip he took, but he did see his mistress on that trip. He's apologizing again. This time, he apologized to the state legislature.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. MARK SANFORD (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I wanted generally to apologize to every one of you all for letting you down. I've been making legislative calls throughout the morning and yesterday afternoon on my way back up from Sullivan's (ph), apologizing to them, saying I'm sorry. But I owed that to you all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, Jenny Sanford, that's his wife's name, she's openly talking about her husband's infidelity. In an interview with the Associated Press, she says she was devastated to find out her husband had gone to Argentina. She says she had told him in no uncertain terms not to see that woman again and saying, like most women I imagine would say, there's just no room for three people in a marriage.
NGUYEN: Yes. So, joining us now from Boston is an expert of troubled relationships, psychotherapist Lauren Mackler. And Lauren, I've got to be quite honest with you. When we saw the response from Sanford's wife, a lot of people said, wow, she did not stand there while he made the apology, like we've seen other wives do. And she also made this statement that I want you to take a listen to.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNY SANFORD, WIFE OF SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR MARK SANFORD: His career is not a concern of mine. He's going to have to worry about that. I'm worried about my family and the character of my children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Now, this is a woman who obviously is very fired up about it. She says his career is "not a concern of mine." She is worried about her family. But can her marriage survive something like this?
LAUREN MACKLER, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Well I think the way that she's handling it is actually probably a pretty good way to do it. I think she's -- it's very humiliating to go through this experience. And when you're standing by your partner in public, it's a tough thing to do. I think it's really -- that part is a private matter. The infidelity is between the two of them, and that's a very separate issue than his career issue.
HOLMES: Why is it, then, we don't see more women come out who are put in her position to have a very public affair, if you will, or a philandering husband very publicly, why don't most come out? Why would a woman want to stand there by her husband during that press conference while he apologizes? Why don't more women do exactly what she did? MACKLER: Well, I think there's a lot of different motivations for appearing in public and standing by your partner in that kind of situation. First of all, you have to see, is the person still interested in staying in the marriage? You know, we don't know what's going on behind closed doors.
But certainly, if they're interested in repairing the marriage, it's an effort and a gesture on their part to join their partner and stand by them, but it's not something that everybody can do. And I think people have to just honor what they can do and what they can't do. And she's obviously processing through a lot of feelings, and that's a normal thing, you know, in this kind of situation. And I think she just needs to do it in a way she needs to do it.
NGUYEN: So, you are a relationship expert. Give us some of your expertise on how not only this couple but others out there who face affairs deal with it and how they come out of it.
MACKLER: Well, first of all, there's a real erosion of trust in situations of infidelity. And that's a real hard thing to rebuild. It's not something that can't be rebuilt, but there's some things, some sort of ingredients that have to be present for that to happen.
NGUYEN: What are they?
MACKLER: First, well, first, both people have to be equally committed or at least nearly equally committed to renewing the relationship. And I say renew instead of repairing because if you repair and go back to the norm of what it was, then you're setting yourself up for potentially that to happen again.
The other thing is, it takes a lot of communication, conflict resolution skills, which many of us never learned and we don't know how to communicate effectively. And they have to get the right resources to be able to address the roots of the issues that led to the demise of the relationship and for the factors, you know, to come together so infidelity then happened. You know, it's not an easy thing to do, but it can be done. But unfortunately, the truth is, the minority of couples that go through this really come out of it stronger than they were before.
HOLMES: OK. A lot of women, and we're just talking about women here, it's not all just the men who cheat in relationships. Sometimes women do. But for the sake of this story and this situation, we're talking about the men who cheat. A lot of women would listen to what you just said and, like, come on. How in the world can you ever get that trust back in a relationship? Is that even possible?
I hear people talk about it with people we all know in our -- I mean, just around us. To try to get that back, it really sounds like an impossibility.
MACKLER: Well, there's more at play here than just the infidelity. I mean, that's the symptom. That's not really the root problem. And the other thing that people forget is that it takes two people to make a good relationship, and it also takes two people to make a bad relationship.
So, you have to look at, even though one is the villain and one looks like the victim, there's more at play there. You know, they both had a part in the deterioration of their marriage, and they both have to come together, take their -- be accountable to what their part was. But even though, you know, we blame the villain and we judge the villain, both people have a part in the relationship, and a relationship is a culmination of the dynamics between the two of them.
NGUYEN: And very quickly, what about the people of his state? How do they get the trust back from him?
MACKLER: Well, I think that, you know, we're human beings. We make errors, and we make bad choices. I'm not condoning the choices, but I think that we have to understand that we are human beings and sometimes we learn by trial and error. Now, we also have to be accountable for our actions, and he's got to be accountable. And I hope that he's, you know, he's going to be, and I hope he's genuine in his regret. But I think that also, it's going to take time, and actions are stronger than words.
NGUYEN: Yes, they are. OK.
MACKLER: So, I think they'll be watchful, and I think he has to be accountable, and whatever that looks like. You know, paying the money back and in staying on course for the rest of his tenure, if he is going to stay in office.
NGUYEN: Yes. Psychotherapist Lauren Mackler, thanks so much for your insight today. We do appreciate it.
MACKLER: My pleasure. Thanks for having me.
HOLMES: You know, an expert in troubled relationships. That's got to be some tough work right there.
NGUYEN: Can you imagine the stories she hears?
HOLMES: Oh, you know she heard some stuff. But, yes, some interesting perspective there.
Well, coming up here, you remember Bernie Madoff made a ton of money from his Ponzi schemes. Now, a judge stripping him of his riches, and his victims are seeking some justice.
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NGUYEN: Well, Bernard Madoff's houses, his cars, his boats, his jewels, his bank accounts, all gone.
HOLMES: Yes, it added up to quite the pretty penny. A federal judge stripped the Wall Street financiers of $170 billion worth of assets Friday. Madoff's wife, her name's Ruth, she forfeited some $80 million in assets she claimed were hers. The seizure includes homes in Manhattan, the Hamptons, Palm Beach as well. These and other assets will eventually be sold to compensate some of the victims. Madoff will be sentenced Monday for masterminding a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors out of billions of dollars.
Well, diversity at Symphony Hall. How could it be achieved on the stage as well as in the audience?
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NGUYEN: Well, the NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour with Fredricka Whitfield...
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello.
NGUYEN: ... who joins us now. Hi.
WHITFIELD: Lovely people. How are you guys doing?
NGUYEN: It's great to see you.
WHITFIELD: I know, it's been a very busy morning.
HOLMES: Yes, it has.
WHITFIELD: And it will be a busy afternoon.
HOLMES: Of course it will be.
WHITFIELD: Hopefully, you'll be tuning in, beginning at noontime, OK?
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: Of course. A few minutes away.
WHITFIELD: I know people are paying tribute to Michael Jackson in so many different ways. How about in comic book form? The creator of a comic book is going to be talking to us. He's the creator of Omegaman. He actually started a tribute to Michael Jackson and the Jacksons well before Thursday. He's going to be joining us to talk to us about how he's doing this and why he felt Michael Jackson and the Jacksons were deserving of this kind of tribute.
And Iran. Iran telling the U.S. to stop interfering. We're going to update you on the back and forth between the U.S. and Iran. Ahmadinejad now saying the U.S. stop interfering. The U.S. is still being very careful about its language.
But we're going to be joined by an author who is going to give us his point of view. He was once a translator for President Ahmadinejad, and he's going to be joining us to tell us exactly what kind of role, if any role at all, should the U.S. be playing in all of this.
NGUYEN: Very interesting stuff.
WHITFIELD: All that starting in the noon Eastern hour. And of course, we're going to be spending an entire hour in the 4:00 Eastern hour to Michael Jackson. Many people who have known him or people who have in some way have been part of his career or have some pretty concrete ideas about his death and how he lived his life. Four o'clock Eastern time.
NGUYEN: Yes, there is that investigation that continues right now, too.
WHITFIELD: That's right.
NGUYEN: OK. Thank you, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Good deal.
HOLMES: We'll see you in a couple minutes. Thank you, Fredricka.
NGUYEN: All right, so, if you attend any symphony event across America, you're likely to see more diversity in the audience than you do on the stage, but as our Soledad O'Brien explains, a program in Atlanta is trying to change that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When 17-year- old Drew Forde plays his viola, he says he's communicating his feelings.
DREW FORDE, VIOLA STUDENT: It's magical. It's a magical effect that just lifts all of your worries away. It's amazing.
O'BRIEN: What's amazing is Drew started playing the viola just six years ago after some encouragement from his middle school teacher.
D. FORDE: When I first started out, it was rough. It was really rough. I really had to work at it.
O'BRIEN (on camera): Your teacher said you had natural talent.
D. FORDE: I didn't feel that I had natural talent. I just...
O'BRIEN: You didn't?
D. FORDE: No. I just went home and practiced, practiced every day.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): All that practice hasn't gotten him into Carnegie Hall yet, but it did get him into the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's talent development program, which identifies and nurtures gifted young black and Latino musicians.
AZIRA HILL, FOUNDER, TALENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM: We have some that really needed the help.
O'BRIEN: Azira Hill is a lifelong music lover. She founded the program 15 years ago after first wondering why there were so few faces of color like hers in symphony audiences.
HILL: Then we found out that there were only very few musicians in all around the country in any symphony orchestra...
O'BRIEN (on camera): Who were black or Latino.
HILL: Who were black or Latino.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Through the program, Drew gets free lessons from master teachers, tuition at summer music camps, opportunities his single mother says she never could have provided herself.
KIM FORDE, DREW'S MOTHER: No. It would not have happened. It definitely wouldn't. And, I mean, even if we did get a teacher, I mean, we wouldn't get one from, like, the Atlanta Symphony.
O'BRIEN: The president of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra says the program creates a pipeline that she hopes will help orchestras become as diverse as the communities in which they play.
ALLISON VULGAMORE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ATLANTA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA: This isn't about community service. This is absolutely about changing the face of American orchestras on stage.
O'BRIEN: Right now, there aren't a lot of faces like Drew's on those stages. But he says it only takes opportunity, like the one he's been given.
D. FORDE: It shows you minorities can do it, too. And we are not -- we're not second rate. We can do anything.
O'BRIEN: Soledad O'Brien, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And CNN continues its "BLACK IN AMERICA" series. Watch stories of people stepping up, taking charge, creating solutions. The documentary "BLACK IN AMERICA 2" premiers July 22nd and 23rd only on CNN.
HOLMES: Of course, they say imitation is the sincereest form of flattery. Well, check that out. A lot of folks like to mimic the moves of Michael Jackson, including one fan who started really early.
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HOLMES: Tributes to the life and career of Michael Jackson are pouring in from across the country, each a testament to the impact of the man and the music.
NGUYEN: Yes. Kyla Campbell with CNN affiliate WBRE reminisces with a Jackson fan in West Scranton, Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYLA CAMPBELL, WBRE-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 1984, and 7-year-old Bradley Turi is imitating Michael Jackson in his family's living room. Twenty-five years later, the health and phys ed teacher at West Scranton High School remembers the story we did.
BRADLEY TURI, MICHAEL JACKSON FAN: Well, in the '80s, obviously if you grew up in the '80s he was a household name, great entertainer. In my opinion, I'm sure and I'm justified in saying he's probably one of the greatest entertainers of all time. Yes, I was sad. Like I said, I was more in shock than anything. I never expected him to die that young.
CAMPBELL: Turi's not as big of a fan now as he was in the '80s.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every day after school, he practices for about a half hour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMPBELL: His friends remind him of his Jackson wanna-be days at wedding receptions.
TURI: You know, they'll put on a Michael Jackson song and all calling me out, giving me a hard time.
CAMPBELL (on camera): Can you still do the moonwalk?
TURI: I can't do any of that now. I'm the most uncoordinated dancer. I haven't done it in a while.
CAMPBELL (voice-over): But back in the day, Bradley was confident in his footwork.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TURI: Yes, but I don't want to be in a class or a dancing lesson because I know how they dance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMPBELL (on camera): Do you have your white glove and your glitter coat still?
TURI: I'm sorry to say I don't have that. I shed those long, long ago.
CAMPBELL (voice-over): But Mom has a surprise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saved the jacket and the glove. You know, Bradley doesn't know that.
CAMPBELL (on camera): Listen, and VHS was kind of an '80s thing, too, but I'm going to hand off another copy, so that way, you can watch it later on.
TURI: All right. Thank you very much. I'll try to hide this from my friends.
CAMPBELL (voice-over): Maybe he'll burn it onto DVD or maybe he'll just burn it.
In Scranton, Kyla Campbell, Eyewitness News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: What do you think, burn it?
NGUYEN: Yes. He's probably a little embarrassed after seeing that.
HOLMES: A little bit.
NGUYEN: We were kind of, for him.
HOLMES: All right. Fredricka, it's time for us to move on out of here.
WHITFIELD: Well, maybe he was proud because it was oh, so long ago. Maybe he'd be embarrassed if he were still doing it.
HOLMES: He may be. We haven't seen that video yet.
WHITFIELD: He wouldn't have the same moves.
NGUYEN: That's the lost footage.
WHITFIELD: You know, you get a little bit creakier. It's been a little time.
All right. T.J. and Betty, thanks so much.
