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Michael Jackson's Memorial in L.A. Today; Fans Still Wondering What Killed the King of Pop; A Strong Russia is Good for America, According to Obama; Palin Speaks Out For the First Time Since Bombshell Announcement; Zelaya Supporter Killed at Honduras Airport; Ways to Save Money

Aired July 07, 2009 - 09:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The final good-bye to the King of Pop. We have team coverage of the Michael Jackson memorial from Los Angeles.

Thousands of fans will get into the Staples Centers, millions more will watch on TV or online. We'll talk to some of them about their memorials and their memories of Michael.

And the investigation into the singer's death goes on. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the latest on that.

It is Tuesday, July 7. Good morning, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

This morning, we do have an awful lot going on. In fact, we're watching some other very big stories, as well, around the world. First off, President Obama, as you well know, is in Russia. He's wrapping up his second day there. We'll have the very latest on that trip.

Also, outgoing Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who you see there with our Drew Griffin, is talking about why she made the decisions that she made. So we'll have the latest on that story, as well.

And finally, in Afghanistan this morning, a deadly helicopter crash east of Kandahar. Three coalition soldiers are dead. We'll find out what happened there.

But this morning, we do begin with Michael Jackson. We want to go out to Los Angeles now and our own Don Lemon, he's at the Staples Center this morning where the public memorial service for Michael Jackson will be held just a few hours from now.

Don, good morning.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning. And you know what? It looks like it started hours ago because, Heidi, people have been out here since yesterday. Those people who came to pick up their tickets.

I want to tell you what we know right now before we move on and tell you about this event. The gates are just opening here at the Staples Center for the thousands of fans who are going to be here for this huge memorial service, a massive memorial service. They believe it is going to be the biggest sendoff for a celebrity ever.

Now as for the investigation into Michael Jackson's death, police, with the help of the DEA, are trying to piece together Jackson's prescription drug history. We'll have more on the medical investigation in just a few minutes for you.

COLLINS: But meantime, we are covering all of the angles of the Michael Jackson story. Our Ted Rowlands is at Forest Lawn, where the private ceremony will be taking place. Our Kara Finnstrom is watching the crowd at the Staples Center, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on the medical investigation.

But we're going to start with you, Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a huge police presence. We are expecting the family to start arriving within the next few hours for an 8:00 Pacific time, what they are calling gathering. We don't know any more details than that.

Last night, family members were out here, as well, gathering, and there was also a hearse out here last night. Again, not a lot of details. The family is being very private about this portion of their celebration, if you will, of Michael Jackson's life and their mourning process.

We haven't been told officially whether or not Michael Jackson will be buried here today. Maybe there's also a possibility, and a lot of speculation that the body could be moved from here and actually go to Staples Center as part of the public memorial.

A lot of questions at this point, but what we do know is that security here is very intense. Every car coming in and out of here is being pulled over and checked and the public access road here has been completely closed off. Don?

LEMON: All right, Ted, thank you very much for that. Ted, I want to -- we have these blue bands, and as I got in here this morning, security was checking them as close as you can get, I had to walk about five or six blocks. How tight is security over at Forest Lawn where you are?

ROWLANDS: It's extremely tight, Don. In fact, there are dozens and dozens of police cars that are surrounded around this general area, some are inside the mortuary, many are on the outside street.

This is the main thoroughfare, this road that goes across Forest Lawn. A lot of commuters use it to get into Hollywood and that has been completely sealed off as a precaution. So I would say extremely tight. A lot -- mirroring basically what you're seeing down at Staples Center. It's in place here, as well.

LEMON: All right. Ted Rowlands, thank you very much for that.

Michael Jackson's mother lost her bid to control her son's estate. Instead, the judge named the two men originally appointed in the will as executors. Katherine Jackson's attorney says his client has concerns about handing over the keys to her son's kingdom.

Attorney John Branca is one of two men who now control the estate. I spoke with him yesterday, exclusively, and he told me he just wants to carry out Michael Jackson's final wishes.

Branca and music executive John McClain will be in charge until August, when another hearing is scheduled.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE WEITZMAN, JOHN BRANCA'S ATTORNEY: The judge basically implemented Michael's plan by appointing the two people he wanted to be executors as special administration until August 3.

Michael's will very specifically provides that a certain percentage go to charity, and the rest of his estate is split between his mother and his children, and that's clearly what we intend to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. That is Bruce Weitzman, who is representing John Branca and also John McClain.

As we said earlier, police outside the perimeter set up here at the Staples Center started opening the gates to fans just a few minutes ago. And our Kara Finnstrom has more on the crowd here at Staples.

Kara, it is not just fans, but we're also expecting a lot of celebrities, a lot of people here, aren't we?

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are. And Don, let me just pan across the street. You can see the crowd that's starting to grow. This couple here just came up by a limousine service. And then there's -- just crowds over here. We've got media, we've got fans that have come out.

It's continued to grow throughout the morning and if we pan right across the street, you can see where the barricades are set up. And just down the street here is where you are at the Staples Center.

You can also see the police presence out here. We were told this morning that there's 300 officers when we arrived a couple of hours ago and that number would continue to grow until about -- they reached a force of about 3,000 at the time the memorial begins.

We've got lots of fans out here, as we mentioned, and I want to bring in a mother and daughter who actually have coffee in their hands because they haven't slept overnight. You came out here from Texas. Tell us why you are such a diehard Michael Jackson fan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I grew up with him. His dancing is just -- it's like ice, and I cannot -- it's hard to be here in one way, but I'm so excited to be here and be part of it.

FINNSTROM: Now, you said there's been some confusion about exactly where you're supposed to go, what time, all of that this morning. Tell us what's happened since you got those tickets.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we got in -- we got the tickets yesterday and we were at the hotel, like, midnight and just nothing, we didn't know what time to be here, where to go, where to park, kind of back and forth, couldn't get on the Internet. It was just kind of (INAUDIBLE), but we figured it out, and now we're here.

FINNSTROM: And Don, we've been hearing that -- thank you so much, both of you -- from a lot of the fans out here. A little bit of confusion about exactly where they're supposed to go, what they're supposed to do.

Many of them getting out here early because they want to make sure that they get in there and get their seats for that memorial.

LEMON: And you know what, Kara, I've never seen anything like this. Just getting here this morning in the car was very difficult because they blocked off the exits from the interstate, which is about a mile away.

Talk to me a little bit about the security perimeter around the Staples Center this morning. This is really unprecedented.

FINNSTROM: Yes, well you see right behind me here, we're told this is the closest point to the Staples Center. This is about, we're told, half a block. In some areas, the perimeter is set up two or three blocks out. We walked up there and the first thing they said is, "Where's your media credentials? Do you have a wristband?".

They're very closely checking anyone that, you know, is approaching that perimeter. As you can see, there's no crowd on that side of the street. Everyone on this side.

Also, everywhere around here, there are all kinds of no parking signs. I don't know if you can pan across the street there. There's one on a tree over there. But nobody allowed to stop and loiter. Everything very secure.

LEMON: All right, Kara, thank you very much.

As Kara said, it's a big perimeter. It's just getting underway. Some huge celebrities going to be here. I see music producer Teddy Riley is standing there, the Reverend Jesse Jackson is here also. The representatives for the Jackson family, Ken Sunshine, is here.

We're going to speak to those people coming up throughout the day here on CNN. So that's it for now. We'll get back at the bottom of the hour with more from the family and what they're doing today.

Also we have special coverage of the Michael Jackson coming up at noon Eastern here on CNN. I'll throw it back to you in Atlanta now, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Thanks so much, Don. Appreciate that.

Meanwhile, Michael Jackson's memorial today is bittersweet for the millions of fans looking for closure as to why he died.

I want to go ahead and bring in our chief medical correspondent now, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's been working on this story all week long, and the week prior, quite frankly.

But Sanjay, are officials getting any closer now to determining -- we know what the cause of death was, but as to why that happened?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, my guess is they probably already know. These tests do come back relatively quickly. A lot of focus, obviously, as you know, Heidi, on the toxicology tests.

COLLINS: Yes.

GUPTA: And, you know, it does take some days for those tests to come back. But it's been a period of time now. My guess is they have the results of those tests and they're trying to piece it together with everything else that goes into an autopsy.

COLLINS: Yes.

GUPTA: So, for example, looking at the various tissues in the body, examining those tissues under the microscope, whether it be the brain, the liver, and trying to piece this all together.

That's what's taking place. If you ask them the official response is it's still in process two or three weeks away, but that's sort of how this works.

COLLINS: Yes. Because originally they said something like six to eight weeks, but I think everybody knows that if you need to rush those results, you can go faster than that. Specifically, though, this Diprivan that we've been talking so much about...

GUPTA: Yes.

COLLINS: ... and hearing so much about. Will the toxicology reports zero in on that?

GUPTA: It's very interesting, actually. And I got -- you know, as a starting point, I have to tell you, I've never heard about this even happening where you have to check for this in a nonmedical setting because Diprivan is always used in hospitals.

COLLINS: Yes.

GUPTA: Or some sort of medical settings.

COLLINS: Yes.

GUPTA: So I think it's safe to say it's not part of any routine toxicology test. I called coroners as well as anesthesiologists to sort of check this, and everyone's sort of scratching their heads a little bit, in part, because it has what is known as such a short half-life. This is a medication that's sort of disappears... COLLINS: Doesn't stay in the body.

GUPTA: ... within a few minutes. So if you haven't taken samples very, very quickly, you may not be able to test for the exact substance. Now, what I hear is it breaks down into certain byproducts, and you can measure those byproducts potentially and sort of try and piece this all together.

But that is going to be a very interesting thing. And my guess is for most coroners, something they really haven't come up against previously, checking for this hospital substance that you can't write a prescription for, is given by -- usually continuously and disappears from the body.

COLLINS: Yes. By an anesthesiologist. Really?

GUPTA: By an anesthesiologist. Right.

COLLINS: Yes. Yes. All right. Well, you let us know if you hear any more about that.

GUPTA: I -- we're digging into it.

COLLINS: Certainly interesting. Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you.

GUPTA: Thanks, Heidi. Sure.

COLLINS: And just a reminder to stay with us for all-day coverage of Michael Jackson's memorial. You can also follow us at CNN.com/live.

A strong Russia is good for America. President Obama gets that message across in Moscow.

CNN White House correspondent Ed Henry talked one on one with the president.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano at the CNN Severe Weather Center. We have more thunderstorms that will be rumbling across the south. Six inches of rain yesterday across parts of North Carolina.

That stationary boundary you see across the Gulf Coast, well, that's going to stay there. It's stationary so rain will continue to pour over places that have seen a lot of rain thus far. But it will keep them cool.

Speaking of cool, the northeast remains cool in this pattern. Today you have a better chance of seeing thunderstorms than you did yesterday. How long will this pattern last? We'll talk about that more later in the show.

You're watching the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: President Obama reiterating his call for a reset in U.S.-Russian relations. The president delivering his message in a commencement address at a Moscow Graduate School of Economics.

Mr. Obama in the second day of a week-long overseas trip which takes him to Italy next for the G-8 Summit.

CNN's Ed Henry spoke with the president just a short time ago and is joining us now from Moscow.

Good morning to you, Ed. What did you talk with the president about?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Heidi. We started, obviously, with Russia. You noted the president right now at a business summit with the Russian president Medvedev. But he earlier had his first face-to-face with the Russian prime minister, the former president Vladimir Putin, who many people around the world believe is the real power here.

Asked the president about their private meeting, and the president used a very interesting adjective to describe Putin saying he was unsentimental, which certainly suggests that relations are not quite as warm as President Obama had with the Russian president, that maybe it's a little tougher with the prime minister.

But the president was quick to add that he believes that he can do business with Mr. Putin. He believes they can agree on some areas like stopping nuclear weapons from spreading around the world. One of those nuclear hot spots, obviously, Iran.

I also asked about the president about Vice President Biden's comments over the weekend which suggested the U.S. would standby and not stop Israel from basically launching a preemptive strike against Iran's nuclear sites.

I asked, "Is that a green light?". The president made some news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Are you giving Israel a green light?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Absolutely not. And I think it's very important that I'm as clear as I can be. And our administration is as consistent as we can be on this issue.

I think Vice President Biden stated a categorical fact, which is we can't dictate to other countries what their security interests are. What is also true is it's the policy of the United States to try to resolve the issue of Iran's nuclear capabilities in a peaceful way through diplomatic channels.

This is a tough job, and nobody's under any illusions that it'll be easy and I've always said that we, the United States, preserve the right. And I as commander in chief reserve the right to take whatever actions are necessary to protect the United States. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, I also asked the president about his plans to have outreach maybe direct diplomatic talks with Iran. Is that difficult right now given the disputed election given signs from Iran that maybe they don't want to sit and talk? The president acknowledged that is a problem, but said, look, my policy is basically a door of opportunity. It's now up to the Iranians whether or not they want to open that door. Heidi?

COLLINS: So you were able to talk with him on all of these different fronts. I am very curious to know what this will mean when he returns from Moscow on the Iran front. What likely is the next step here?

HENRY: Well, certainly the U.S. is still pressing to try to get Iran to the table. The president went on in the interview, and we were posting a lot of it at CNN.com, so people can get more of it there.

COLLINS: Great.

HENRY: Basically saying, look, we're giving this opportunity to the Iranians. It's basically ball in their court. So they're going to try two tracks there. Try to continue to reach out, but also talk about putting pressure, maybe down the road more sanctions before the U.N., but the president said he's under no illusion this is a very tough, delicate diplomatic situation, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Understood. We'll be watching very closely, obviously, when he comes back from the G8.

Ed Henry, live from Moscow, great interview. Thanks so much.

Ethnic tension still running high in western China one day after 156 people died in the worst riot there in decades. Chinese state media report the government-imposed curfew across Xinjiang until 8:00 p.m. tomorrow. They've also restricted Internet access.

Earlier today, Muslim Uyghur women in head scarves protested, saying their husbands and sons have been arrested. Riot police are still patrolling the streets. There are also new reports of protesters attacking people on the streets again today.

We'll continue to follow that story for you.

Meanwhile, Governor Sarah Palin speaking out for the first time since her bombshell announcement that she's resigning. CNN's Drew Griffin caught up with her in a remote part of Alaska.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: She's Alaska's governor for 19 more days. But Sarah Palin says just because she's leaving office early does not mean she's a quitter. Our Drew Griffin caught up with the governor on her family fishing trip. He is back in Anchorage now. And hey, that was a very interesting spot for an interview, Drew. Good morning.

(LAUGHTER)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT: Yes, good morning. Yes, we got the call about 1:00 yesterday afternoon to get out to Dillingham, Alaska. And the governor would give us 10 minutes. We had to find Dillingham, Alaska. It's about an hour-and-15-minute flight from here in Anchorage.

But we did find her, and we asked her about this whole idea that she's being labeled a quitter, you know. Halfway through this first term as governor she bows out. She insists she is not a quitter, but what about the erratic resignation, the sudden dropping off of the political map? She said there was nothing sudden about it. It was all planned coming for months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: The reason that we're, I'm sure, all here is because we're left with so many questions. "A sudden, abrupt, she cashes it in and quits." Is that really how it was?

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: No, it was a long and deliberative internal process deciding how best will our state progress. Everything changed August 29 in Alaska, the date that I was tapped to run for VP. That was obvious.

A new political blood sport came into being in our state. And when I returned from the campaign trail, I'm trying for those months to not allow the distractions to find me or paralyze our administration, and yes, conditions pretty tough in terms of the opposition research that had bombarded Alaska and never let up over all these months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: The political tags, the ethics complaints that she says are unwarranted that have weighed her down, all these things culminating in a kind of ineffectiveness, or what she felt might be ineffectiveness for the rest of her term as governor, which is why she bowed out.

And deliberately now, the term we're getting, deliberately picking July 3 as her exit date.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: July 3 was deliberate. That's a good catch because that was the eve of Independence Day. Yes.

GRIFFIN: I'm told by your attorney that was your declaration of independence? PALIN: Well, it was a declaration of "come on, Alaska, let's move forward." I am willing to step aside and allow our state to progress. I love Alaska that much. I don't want to hamper its progress and its potential and our path on reaching our destiny.

Our destiny is to contribute more to the U.S. to provide that energy independence and that national security aspect. I don't want to get in the way of that. And I'm willing to step aside and fight for what's right on a different path. So it's not retreat, it's progress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Is she going to step aside for good? Not run for president? Not run for any other political office? She dodged the question three times.

COLLINS: No?

GRIFFIN: And in the end would only commit to being involved in public service. Heidi?

COLLINS: OK. All right. Well, we will continue to follow this story, obviously. Drew Griffin coming to us out of Anchorage, Alaska this morning.

Drew, thank you.

And we do have more coverage from the site of the Michael Jackson memorial. We'll be talking with a spokesman for the Jackson family.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Well, as you know, we are covering the Michael Jackson memorial today, of course, and we'd love to know what you think. So head on over to our blog, if you would. Our question today is what is your favorite MJ moment.

You can go ahead and get into CNNnewsroom.com, and just click on my name, Heidi, and let us know all about your memories of Michael Jackson.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Quickly now to the opening bell for this Tuesday morning, July 7. Wall Street stocks are set for a quiet start to the trading day after the Dow gained about 44 points yesterday, even though investors do remain pretty anxious over the global economic outlook.

Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange now with a preview of all of the day's action.

Hi there, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Yes, we're looking at a flat open this morning. We're in this news vacuum. We're a day ahead of the G8 meeting, and also we're ahead of corporate earnings.

Why do corporation earnings matter? Well, not only the numbers themselves, what the second quarter brought, but what companies of all types, of all sizes are saying about the second half of the year.

Are things going to get better? It's a big debate. Everybody's talking about it on Wall Street. Everybody's talking it about on Main Street, as well. In the meantime, analysts expect trading volume to be light while investors take a wait-and-see attitude.

The G-8's economic summit begins tomorrow. As I mentioned, leaders of Japan, Britain, France, Germany and other industrialized nations will meet in Italy to talk about the global economic recovery.

Oil prices, well, they're recovering. They're pretty flat right now after falling sharply over the last several sessions. Crude currently trading lower by 30 cents at around $63.80 per barrel. It's been dropping over the sense that maybe demand won't be so great. Again, the debate over economic recovery.

One day after laying out its plans to restructure, Leer has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The struggling auto parts maker was able to wean support from its lenders and bond holders like many of its peers. Leer has been weighed down by sharply lower demand from automakers along with heavy debt loads.

And Microsoft is warning its users this morning that hackers are targeting a previously unknown flaw in Windows XP and Windows server 2003 systems. The hackers exploit the security home to install viruses or other software on a victim's PC.

Oh, goody. Well, the first minute of trading, well, we're not seeing hackers here, we're just seeing not a whole lot of anything. Just slightly to the downside. We'll be watching it all for you, and we'll get back to you on any news that developments here.

COLLINS: Terrific. All right.

Susan Lisovicz, appreciate it. Thank you.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Let's get back now to our Michael Jackson memorial coverage. CNN's Don Lemon is outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles this morning.

Hello, once again, Don.

LEMON: Hi, Heidi, thank you very much.

Here's what we know right now when it comes to what's going to happen here in Los Angeles today. As we said, the gates opened about half an hour ago at the Staples Center for thousands of fans who are going to be here for this really just massive memorial service. Now as for the investigation into Michael Jackson's death, police with the help of the DEA, they're trying to piece together Jackson's prescription drug history. So, there's a lot to go on, and a lot as far as the investigation. But today, today, we are honoring the memory of Michael Jackson. This is a memorial service and a tribute.

I want to welcome in now Ken Sunshine. He represents a number of high-profile clients. He's in public relations, including the Jackson Family.

So, thank you so much for being with us. I know that it's been very busy time for you. This is -- I'm hearing that this is going to be the biggest sendoff for any celebrity and possibly the biggest such event in history.

KEN SUNSHINE, PUBLICIST FOR JACKSON FAMILY: It's kind of mind boggling. I mean, several billion people are going to watch this live across the world. When Elvis died, it wasn't the digital age, John Lennon, perhaps. But I don't think there's ever been a world entertainment figure like Michael Jackson who has reached throughout the world to absolutely every type of person, every demographic. It's unparalleled. And one of the things on behalf of the family that they just like to express is their love for all the affection.

LEMON: I want you to take a look at the monitor there, because you see that video of Michael Jackson performing, this is the night before his death, and a lot of people say, you know, he looked healthy, he was, you know, dancing, you see him there with the guitarist, and really moving.

When you see that, then you hear all, you know -- about the investigation and drugs and what have you, what do you say to that?

SUNSHINE: Remember him what he was on stage and as the symbol of love and understanding. There's so much nonsense out there. And there's so much that is beyond the scope of most people can understand, because he's a majestic figure in cultural history in the world. And remember him for the good times, the great effect he had on people.

If anybody's been to a wedding or an event where a Jackson 5 or a Michael Jackson song came on, it was at the highlight of that event.

LEMON: I don't think I've ever been to one where it didn't come on, you know. Yes, where it didn't come on.

SUNSHINE: And this is a captivating person that we knew virtually his whole life. And remember the best of him.

LEMON: Yes. There are so many rumors and so many things out there that are not true as you know. We're hearing about investigations.

Do you know anything, is the family being briefed on the investigation at all? Are they focusing mostly on the tributes right now? SUNSHINE: Focusing on the memorial and mourning their son and brother. This is a family that's grieving.

LEMON: OK. A memorial service. We understand there was a private gathering held last night at the cemetery with the family.

SUNSHINE: There was no -- from the beginning, we're just not commenting on anything private because it's private. And I'm going to maintain that throughout.

LEMON: It has been reported in some media organizations and we have been hearing that Michael Jackson's body will be here at the Staples Center.

Do you know anything about that?

SUNSHINE: I cannot confirm, and frankly, whatever reports came in. If I counted the number of false and phony and untrue reports that have been reported even on CNN, it's kind of mind boggling, but I'm not going to comment on any of them.

LEMON: All right. Ken Sunshine, thank you.

SUNSHINE: Thanks a lot.

LEMON: We really appreciate that, representing the family and he represents a lot of high-profile people. We really appreciate it.

Ken, thank you.

You know, the Internet has become one of the places to go for all things Michael Jackson. And, today, well, you can participate in his memorial.

Our Josh Levs is in Atlanta to tell us all about that.

Josh, you know, I've got my iPhone here. I've got my BlackBerry. I'm sending videos. I'm sending pictures. I've been twittering people. So we are joining in as well because everyone wants to know.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. In fact, people are going to be following your tweets throughout the day, and a lot of tweets right here on cnn.com.

You were talking about how this is going to be so huge. I've never seen anything like this online, either. You're all going to be amazed at some of the things CNN.com is laying out today.

Let's just zoom in, the main place to go, cnn.com/michaeljackson. Can't forget it. Really easy to find.

Now within that, we'll link you to all sorts of things. But one thing I want to show you at the very top here is our video player that we'll have throughout the day. It's, again, hooked up with Facebook. And I've shifted it a little bit over to the left so you can see the Facebook system we've got going here. Basically, we will have the entire video streaming throughout the whole event. And if you're on Facebook, you can sign in here. You can communicate with everyone or just your friends, talk about Michael Jackson memories. It's the idea of a social community while you're seeing our full coverage of the event itself. And you can see I signed in up there at the top. Lots of people already weighing in even though it hasn't begun yet.

All right, let's get back here, because I want to show you just a few more features really worth checking out during the day.

First of all, one of our main stories now talks you through events that are happening today in the memorial, including some of the stars who are going to be here.

And you can see Mariah Carey, John Mayer, Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson -- just a few of the stars who are going to be there today. We also are going to be following photos for you, updating them throughout the event, showing you some of the key photos. If you're joining in later on, you'll want to see some of the events you missed. We're going to have still photos as well as video.

One more time I want to zoom in, because there's another thing you should check out. So many iReports coming our way.

I was just taking a look at this. This is our main page, on iReport.com where we're getting these. This, I just clicked latest to see some of the latest ones. We've just gotten some from Japan and South Korea and we're getting some from around the United States, as well. We continue to update these all day long. We would love to hear your views in all of that. Everything I just named will be easily findable in one place cnn.com/michaeljackson. Keep checking it out.

And, Don, I'm telling you, we're expecting huge traffic today and we are ready for it.

LEMON: Yes, absolutely. Josh, we really appreciate it. Thank you very much.

You know, among the notables here, Michael Jackson's -- at the memorial services -- Reverend Jesse Jackson, he joins us.

Reverend, you have been with the family since this happened, speaking to Katherine Jackson, and all of the family members.

I want to ask you, though, that is one brave woman. I saw her the other day. She was coming out of the Encino home and was on her way to court. And she's focused.

REV. JESSE JACKSON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Devoutly religious, you know. She has faith. She leans on faith as her own understanding. And people of faith -- when crisis come, are insulated, not isolated. She has an inner strength. She is the grand matriarch of this family. And you cannot separate Michael the celebrity from the roots of this. I cannot get away from the Gary story. I mean, the little white house on the side of the road. The 11 people in four rooms. You know, six boys on bunk beds and the parents and the three girls.

LEMON: Shifts for bathroom and for eating.

JACKSON: Yes. And out of that comes a father who's working two jobs.

LEMON: Right.

JACKSON: (INAUDIBLE), teaching music and dance, disciplinarian. Mother making all of their uniforms. This is a great story. And they leave very untarnished. I mean, no kids have abnormal social behaviors and mishaps because they come out of a strong, strong family values, strong work ethic, and that must be in the mix of this analysis.

LEMON: I'm sitting here, and I'm looking at the monitors, and there's video of Michael Jackson playing in there, pictures playing. You're in Chicago, very close to Gary, Indiana. Your kids, your children were friends with them.

I'm looking at pictures of them with Michael Jackson.

What goes through your mind when you look at all of that? Can you believe we're here?

JACKSON: Well, you know, just saying Michael Joseph Jackson is dead is a lot to say. The more you say it, the sadder it gets, because Michael left us very quickly. He was on an up note, pull out 50 venues, was practicing diligently. For 25 years, he was out dancing then. He's getting great physical shape. We were supposed to be in London today. And then, (INAUDIBLE).

So there is the sadness of his swift transition, but the joy of the global response to Michael in some sense quite a pop news analysis of him, just global redemption of Michael as a musician.

LEMON: I've got to tell you that I've been, you know, I was out shopping last night because I was in, actually, in Chicago doing a story with you on prisons, and then went to a "Black in America" event and got pulled here. So I had one day's clothing to change, right?

So I went to Target last night, right? I was shopping. Luckily, I had a suit. No, I'm good.

And people from Japan, from Hong Kong, from Africa, they were wearing wristbands saying we won, we got tickets to Michael Jackson. We're here. We flew all night to get here. And as you said, global response. I was floored just shopping and being in the supermarket.

JACKSON: Well, Michael's impact was beyond local, national, from political analyst. You now, we kind of see -- we think we are the world, we really just -- we are the nation.

I was in Russia about 25 years ago, and even the walls are real tall and the iron curtain was tall, but all night long they were playing Michael Jackson, Jackson 5, Diana Ross, Supremes, Motown Nights. So political walls came down. Even before something came down, music was the conduit for the message of hope.

LEMON: And he did it. And he did it.

(CROSSTALK)

JACKSON: The only one that's ever did it. Most records, most video, most cultural impact, most magic.

LEMON: Reverend Jesse Jackson...

JACKSON: Most Michael.

LEMON: ... thank you very much.

JACKSON: Thank you, sir.

LEMON: We really appreciate it. We really appreciate it.

Heidi, back to you. We're going to say that is it for here for now. But we'll be back at the top of the hour, and I'm going to speak with a reporter to interview Michael Jackson, someone who knew him. A lot of people who knew him very well.

Also our special coverage of the Michael Jackson memorial coming up at noon. You can also watch cnn.com/live. You heard our Josh Levs say that. Also, we're on Twitter and on Facebook, as well.

Heidi, I'm going to throw it back to you in Atlanta.

COLLINS: All right, Don. Thanks so much.

We'll check back with you later on. Appreciate it.

A family takes the long trip home to bury their teenage son. A victim of the post-coup violence in Honduras. It's a story you won't forget.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Another deadly attack in Afghanistan. One day after 10 NATO-led troops were killed. The U.S. military said the soldier died today from injuries in a roadside bombing attack on a convoy in western Afghanistan.

Yesterday, two Canadian air crew members and a British soldier were killed when a helicopter crashed during takeoff in a Zabul Province. Seven Americans were also killed in separate incidents.

Supporters of an interim government in Honduras are planning a rally today. But the country's deposed president is not giving up on returning to Honduras even if it means being arrested.

Jose Manuel Zelaya is expected to be in Washington today for meetings with U.S. officials. Zelaya's plane, if you remember, was turned back from an Honduran airspace on Sunday while his supporters protested outside the capital's airport.

CNN's Karl Penhaul reports on one protester who was killed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN VIDEO CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A grieving sister curses the soldiers she believes shot her brother.

(VIDEO CLIP)

"They didn't have to kill him," she sobbed. "They didn't have to shoot him."

This is the spot where 19-year-old Isis Murillo fell, marked by a pool of blood and handwritten tributes. He was one of thousands of supporters who turned out Sunday hoping for the return of Manuel Zelaya, the Honduran president ousted a week ago in a military coup.

Protestors lobbed rocks and tried to breakthrough the airport perimeter, the military opened fire with bullets and tear gas.

(on camera): In a statement Monday, the U.S. State Department said it deplored the use of force against demonstrators. The Honduran military has issued no statement.

(voice-over): This video shows the teenager Murillo dying in moments. He took a bullet to the head, a Red Cross official told CNN. His comrades loaded him onto a truck, but it's too late.

His sister, Rebecca, went with him to the march, but they split up when the shooting started.

"I realized somebody had been shot, but I never imagined it was my brother. I realized a few minutes later when his friends told me," she says.

Murillo was unemployed. His father is a pastor and a small-time coffee grower on the country side. His father says the whole family backed Zelaya and trusted his leftist social reforms would slash poverty. But business elites opposed reform and feared Zelaya was orchestrating an illegal power grab to extend his presidency and set up a socialist regime.

Murillo's father says it's a battle between rich and poor.

"I'm going to bury my son and if this struggle continues, then we will join it. I'm proud because my son did not die a criminal, he died for a better Honduras."

As Zelaya supporters continue protest, Monday, they took donations from Murillo's burial. And his family loaded his humble plywood coffin aboard a pickup truck and set off on the long drive home.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Relief in Gaffney, South Carolina, after a man suspected of killing five people dies in a shootout with police. Investigators say 41-year-old Patrick Burris was a career criminal. He was shot to death by officers investigating a burglary complaint at a home in Dallas, North Carolina. That's about 30 miles from where the killing spree began on June 27.

Investigators say they have evidence that places Burris at the scene of the killings, but have no motive at this point. Two people who were with him were also taken into custody, but we don't know right now if they will be facing charges.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We are starting a new series today to help you save money on things you really need.

Our personal finance editor Gerri Willis is here to help us out with this.

So, Gerri, good morning to you.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good morning, Heidi.

COLLINS: You say start with cell phones and credit cards. Like get rid of them all?

WILLIS: Well, no. Shop for them smarter, right? You may think, I'm paying too much for this. Well, a great place to go to find out if you are, billshrink.com.

You just enter info about, say, your phone usage and you'll get a list of other cell phone plans in the market. Plus, an estimate of how much you can save annually by switching. And if you are looking for a new cell phone, don't spring for insurance. You'll likely spend more for the policy than you'll ever get back if you lose or damage your phone. That's according to consumer report, so avoid that.

COLLINS: All right. Well, what about cutting your car costs? Because, obviously, that's a biggie.

WILLIS: Well, yes. Look, if you're driving around in a really old car, a rust bucket, you may want to think about dropping collision or comprehensive insurance coverage. You may also want to consider raising deductibles. This will lower your costs substantially, and what you do for a living, can also save you some money.

Some insurance companies give you discounts depending on what kind of profession you're working. Let's say you're a teacher, maybe an accountant. You might be able to reduce your bill simply by telling your company that's what you do for a living.

COLLINS: All right. What about prescription drugs? Obviously, some of them are very expensive.

WILLIS: Right. A huge drain on people's wallets, absolutely. And you can save money by knowing where to go. Some big buck stores like K-Mart, Costco, Sam's Club and BJ's, they have what they called discount pharmacy services. Membership is not required.

If you are uninsured or have no drug coverage, be sure to tell your doctor. You may be able to get a healthy dose of samples. And think about pharmacy assistance programs. You may qualify for free or low-cost medicines. These are run by drug companies. Keep in mind that many have stringent income cutoffs at around $20,000 per family. For more info, check out RXassist.com. Partnership for prescription assistance at Pparx.org and Needymeds.org. So three great Web sites.

If you can't pay for your drugs, there's help out there for people.

COLLINS: OK. Very good.

Gerri Willis, we sure do appreciate it. Thank you.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

COLLINS: As you well know, there's a whole lot going on in the next hour of NEWSROOM. CNN crews are in place now to break it all down for you. Let's go ahead and begin with Don Lemon in Los Angeles.

Don, good morning.

LEMON: Good morning to you, Heidi. Breaking news coming out of Los Angeles. We are learning about Michael Jackson's body. CNN has confirmed that Michael Jackson's body will indeed be here at the Staples Center for the memorial service, all coming up this hour.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ted Rowlands at the Forest Lawn Cemetery where soon Michael Jackson's family will be gathering for a private ceremony. We'll have details on that coming up at the top of the hour.

COLLINS: All right, everybody, we will of course stay on top of that story for you. We'll have a couple of other reporters there as well. We will be following the story throughout the day as you might imagine right here on CNN.

Also, we are going to be looking at the cost involved in all of this. Very interesting question. In fact, who is helping the city as it struggles to make ends meet? Who is going to be paying for this bill?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: I want to take a moment now to get over to the severe weather center where Rob Marciano is standing by.

You are talking about some nasty weather in the South, is that right? (WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: All right. Very good, Rob. Thank you. We'll check back a little bit later on.