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Prince Addiction Revelation; Trump is Presumptive GOP Nominee. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired May 05, 2016 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[08:30:37] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: New revelations into Prince's death. A frantic effort to get him help for an parent battle with painkillers in the house just before he died.
CNN's Stephanie Elam is live at Prince's Paisley Park estate outside of Minneapolis with more.
What have you learned, Stephanie?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, according to the doctor - the lawyer representing the doctor in California, he was called the night before Prince died. And, remember, he died that morning. So this could have been a call for help that just came too late.
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ELAM (voice-over): The night before he died, Prince's representatives making a desperate call to Dr. Howard Kornfeld, who specializes in treating people who are addicted to pain medication.
WILLIAM MAUZY, ATTORNEY FOR ANDREW AND DR. HOWARD KORNFELD: He set into motion a plan to deal with what he felt was a life-saving mission. That mission was to get Prince to a doctor in Minnesota on Thursday morning.
ELAM: Unable to travel from California immediately, Kornfeld and his son, Andrew, who works at his father's treatment facility, on an overnight flight to Minneapolis. Andrew arrived at the Paisley Park estate Thursday morning, with two of Prince's associates. Anxiously searching for the singer, but discovering him unresponsive.
MAUZY: One of the staff members started screaming. Andrew heard the screams, and went to the elevator, where he saw that Prince was unconscious.
911 DISPATCHER: Rescue unit for a medical at Paisley Park. Person own, not breathing.
ELAM: Andrew Kornfeld now identified as the 911 caller, telling the dispatcher, quote, "the person is dead here and people are just distraught."
This, as a former lawyer for two of Prince's dead siblings says they revealed the icon battled an addiction to Percocet decades before his sudden death. He says half-brother Duane Nelson told him he used to get the drug for Prince to help him calm down after shows, adamant he was not just a recreational user.
MICHAEL PADDEN, FMR. ATTORNEY FOR PRINCE'S SIBLINGS, DUANE AND LORNA NELSON: He mentioned it to me in the context of how stressful it was for him having to fulfill that need and how hard it was for him.
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ELAM: Now, since both of these half-siblings have already passed away, CNN cannot independently verify what this lawyer has said. But we do know that Duane Nelson, at one point, worked for Prince at Paisley Park and was fired, and then ended up suing his famous half-brother.
John and Alisyn.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Stephanie Elam for us in Minnesota. Thanks so much, Stephanie.
Joining us now to talk more about Prince's death and the frantic effort we're just learning about to get him treatment in the final hours, addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of HLN's "Dr. Drew On Call."
Drew, thanks so much for being with us.
You know, obviously, this story, you know, if all the details are true, so tragic. They had people on the way to Prince to try to get him help for what appears to be some kind of addiction.
DR. DREW PINSKY, HOST, HLN'S "DR. DREW ON CALL": Yes.
BERMAN: You know, I suppose the question is, was it fast enough? I mean if you are close to Prince, trying to get him help, if someone needs to come all the way to California, were there other measures that maybe should have been taken?
PINSKY: Right. It's a great question. First let me address whether he had addition. I'm not certain he did. He had - clearly had abuse history and he had dependency. But we don't see the typical pattern of a life-long arc of a progressive disorder, or increasing behavioral problems, multiple treatments, people concerned about his relationship with substances. What we see is abuse, abuse, abuse, and then a sudden severe problem later in life.
As far as could they have done something different than calling out of state for a physician to give him special care, the fact is, guys, he lived four miles from the premiere treatment center in this country. The Hazelden City Center is eight minutes from his house. The fact that no one threw him in the car and took two right - two left turns and took him to Hazelden is, to me, egregiously problematic.
CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, look -
PINSKY: He could have been saved easily. CAMEROTA: And, Dr. Drew, you know, he, obviously, was very concerned about privacy. He wanted -
PINSKY: That's too bad. No, listen, that is - that is the worst thing you can do for an addict in the celebrity is to let that be the priority and not their care. The fact is, it is a hospital. The confidentiality will be maintained. He can be assured of that. What you have is an addict dictating how the care goes in an insulated surrounding of people who are also cosigning that and you end up with a dead person.
[08:35:01] CAMEROTA: All the reports -
PINSKY: Hey, listen, if we learn - did we learn nothing from Conrad Murray. Whenever you have special care for a special person, you end up with a terrible outcome.
CAMEROTA: The reports do suggest that this doctor, Kornfeld, that he was working with in California, had tried to coordinate or been in contact with a doctor in Minneapolis, that was also going to administer care hours - but, you know, they had agreed to this hours before he died. So who knows, OK, Dr. Pinsky.
But I want to get back to what you were saying because there are millions of people in this country who are addicted to painkillers. So I want to get back to the difference that you draw between addiction and dependency. And I know what you mean, because nobody who saw Prince performing days before he died thought, oh, he looks like an addict, or, oh, he must have some drug problems.
PINSKY: Right.
CAMEROTA: He looked normal. So what is the difference between dependence and addiction?
PINSKY: It's a hard line to draw. And I can't, from what we know so far, make it with any strict determination. But the fact is, addiction is a biological disorder of the brain. It has a genetic basis. It's a progressive disorder, as opposed to dependency, which is what we see very commonly these days, is people get involved with pain medication, a little - dirty little secret about opiates is that they intensify chronic pain overtime. So people get in this cycle of pursuing meds, intensing (ph) pain, pursuing med, intensification of pain, and they look, for all intents and purposes like an addict.
The problem here, my friends, in this country is that 81 percent of the Percocet prescribed between 1991 and 2013 on the globe was prescribed in this country. Nearly 100 percent of the Vicodin. Eighty to ninety percent of the opiates overall prescribed on earth, prescribed in this country. It's really a profound problem here. Do we have more pain in this country? Are we more enlightened with how we approach pain? Or is there really a serious, cultural problem with how we deal with our prescription medication?
BERMAN: It does appear that Prince did suffer from pain.
PINSKY: Sure.
BERMAN: He had - he had operations, you know, in the 2000s to deal with -
CAMEROTA: Right.
BERMAN: You know, some of the injuries he made, you know, performing.
CAMEROTA: Yes, his hip surgery, maybe, yes.
BERMAN: His hips. You know, the guy worked hard on stage and wasn't that big of a man, so he did have pain. How does someone who is such a control freak, as Prince apparently was, you know, how can he manage that pain without becoming, you know, dependent on these pain killers? Because pain killers can be effective after surgery like this.
PINSKY: Of course they can. They're excellent. They're for cancer pain, for acute pain, for surgical pain. The problem is for chronic pain there really isn't good science that suggests that should be what we're using for pain. The problem is, we do, and patients get caught in this cycle. And the patient sees it as a solution.
The treatments are varied depending on what the particulars of that pain syndrome is. And Dr. Kornfeld may have been the person for that problem. I'm not saying he's not. But the problem I have is that the - they have a treatment center that is really one of the world's premiere treatment centers around the corner and they have to call out of state for special care. It drives me crazy to see the special care of special people. What you end up is getting substandard or inappropriate care. The reason the standard of care is the standard is because it's the best. They need to just take the care and rely on the confidentiality, to which they're entitled, that operates for all of us.
CAMEROTA: So, Dr. Pinsky, if somebody is listening and they are having a problem with pain killers, what's the answer?
PINSKY: Well, it's not - again, not a simple answer. This is a nuance story. It's hard to tell in three minutes on the television. But make sure you are, first of all, have a goal of getting off opiates and opioids. They tend not to be a good treatment for chronic and there usually are multiple other modalities available. If you are also - if you're triggered a second problem, we call addiction, make sure the addiction gets treated as well.
BERMAN: Dr. Drew Pinsky, thanks so much for being with us. Good advice. Appreciate it.
PINSKY: You bet.
CAMEROTA: I mean it's such a unique story because Prince is so unique, and then such a universal story because millions of people are struggling with it.
BERMAN: Just a few miles away from the Hazelden Clinic, though.
CAMEROTA: I know. I know.
BERMAN: All right, 38 minutes after the hour. What a difference a day makes in the 2016 presidential race. Donald Trump now all alone. He is the presumptive Republican Nominee. Up next, we're going to discuss the road to 270. We're talking about the Electoral College. That's next.
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[08:43:17] BERMAN: Time now for the five things to know for your NEW DAY.
Some conservatives struggling over whether to back the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump. He is moving forward now, vetting a short list of running mates, which includes, he says, some of his former rivals.
Hillary Clinton is unleashing a new line of attacks against Donald Trump. She tells CNN's Anderson Cooper that the United States cannot risk a Trump presidency, calling the Republican presumptive nominee a loose cannon.
New revelations in pop icon Prince's death. The U.S. Attorney's Office and the DEA now joining the investigation. Prince's team reportedly reached out to a painkiller addiction specialist the day before Prince died.
Former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel faces a Texas judge today. He was booked Wednesday on a misdemeanor charge stemming from a domestic violence complaint by his former girlfriend.
And happy Cinco de Mayo. The unofficially holiday is not Mexican Independence Day, but it does mark Mexico's victory against the French during the Battle of Puebla. It is a bigger deal in the U.S. than Mexico. Fun facts this Thursday morning.
For more on the five things to know, go to newdaycnn.com for the latest.
Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: All right, John.
To be America's next president, Donald Trump would have to turn some blue states red. We'll see where he could do that, next.
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TABER MACCALLUM, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, WORLD VIEW: The future of space tourism is when, for most people, it's a lifestyle decision to go to the edge of space and see the world that they live in. Before the age of rockets and the great space race, we were using high
altitude balloons to take people to the edge of space. And so it's this really old idea that's laid dormant really for the last 60 years and it seems it was time to bring it back.
[08:45:07] JANE POYNTER, CEO, WORLD VIEW: We're working to make space as accessible as a commercial airline flight. So imagine looking out the window when it's completely dark out and there's an incredible star scape outside. It's only the most extraordinary sight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think I'm going to do very well, but I'm going to - I will put states - I will put states in play that no other Republican will even talk about or go to.
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CAMEROTA: All right, that was Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, talking confidently about the general election and claiming that he can win some states the Republicans have not won in decades. But the electoral math suggests an uphill battle.
So let's discuss the road to 270 with CNN Politics executive editor Mark Preston.
Hi, Mark.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICS EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Hey, how are you?
CAMEROTA: Thanks for being here.
OK, let's look back in time -
PRESTON: Right.
CAMEROTA: Because that will be instructive for what is going to happen in the future, perhaps. What do you see here?
PRESTON: Well, this is the baseline that we're working off right now, you know. What we're seeing here is a map where Hillary Clinton thinks that she can win and -
BERMAN: This is where President Obama won.
CAMEROTA: And this is what Obama won. BERMAN: This is Obama 2012.
[08:50:00] PRESTON: Correct. Correct. This gets you victory at this point, OK. And this is based upon public polling. This is we're at.
BERMAN: They think, though, the Clinton campaign thinks or hopes or is spinning that they can actually expand this map.
PRESTON: They are. Now, what's interesting here is that two of these states, Nevada and Colorado, Barack Obama won back in 2012. Hillary Clinton thinks that she can pick up this state right here, which is the state of Arizona. And when you do that, add in electoral votes, she increases her lead up to 343.
CAMEROTA: OK.
BERMAN: Of course, John McCain in a tough Senate race there as well.
PRESTON: Correct.
BERMAN: They think, the Clinton campaign, if you get them to paint their rosiest picture -
PRESTON: Right.
BERMAN: They'll also include this right here, Georgia, right?
PRESTON: Correct, which now, if they were to win Georgia, that gets you 16 more. We haven't added it into this total right now. And the reason why they think that is that if you go back to 2012, the Obama campaign, in the closing weeks, though that they could pick up Arizona, they thought that they could pick up Georgia. Given the Trump rhetoric right now on the issue of immigration, that's why they were looking at Arizona now. And if you talk about increasing the African- American vote down in Georgia, and if you have the likes of Erick Erickson and other conservative types that cannot vote for Trump, they think that Georgia could be in play.
CAMEROTA: Donald Trump has suggested that Hillary Clinton will be venerable in the rust belt and that he'll do better there, so let's look at that scenario. What do you see here?
PRESTON: Right. And if you look at there - a rosy scenario right now, looking at historical precedent right now, for Donald Trump. The reason why he's looking at these states is that he's been preaching this populist message about bringing back jobs. You look at Pennsylvania, you look at Ohio, you look at Michigan, you look at Wisconsin, all states that have been hurt, rust belt states that have been hurt by trade packs, NAFTA and others. Donald Trump has been preaching that populist message.
But if you look at, again, historical analysis, the last time they won Pennsylvania, Republicans, back in 1988, George W. Bush won Ohio in '04, and then you have to go to '88 for Michigan as well, the last time Republicans won there. And then you have to go all the way back to Reagan's second term back in '84 when they won Michigan.
BERMAN: There is a sense, though, there is a sense that Wisconsin, though, is drifting more Republican over time, as is Minnesota, by the way, but Wisconsin drifting more Republican. But Pennsylvania here, which is in this group, drifting more Democratic, and it could be even harder for Trump now. PRESTON: Right. Specifically when you - when you look at Pennsylvania
and you look at the two core cities, Pittsburgh, very big union stronghold still in Pittsburgh at a time when unions are collapsing a little bit. And then you're looking at Philadelphia, a big urban area that always votes Democratic.
BERMAN: The suburbs as well.
CAMEROTA: Here are some other places, though, that Donald Trump thinks that he will have the advantage, namely places that he lives and has homes.
PRESTON: Right. Right.
CAMEROTA: So, New York, Florida.
PRESTON: Right.
CAMEROTA: Now, New York, it's interesting to look at where the polls were recently.
PRESTON: Right.
CAMEROTA: Stop.
BERMAN: Oh, certainly, yes.
CAMEROTA: It's - thank you. It's - Hillary Clinton has the advantage as of a month ago -
PRESTON: Right.
CAMEROTA: In New York, 61 to his 32.
PRESTON: I mean, look, the bottom line is, is that where we stand right now is not the epicenter of conservatism by any stretch of the imagination. You know, the last time Republicans won New York, again, let's go back to Reagan's second term. 1984 is the last time they did. And, of course, when you look at these rust belt states, it was in the '80s when you look at Michigan and Pennsylvania. Florida, again, a battleground down there. But, again, Democrats, specifically the Hillary Clinton campaign, is going to hammer home the message that Trump is anti-Hispanic down there and you're also talking about Puerto Rico in all of the Central American immigrants that have moved into Florida.
BERMAN: One of the things you here in the primaries is, look, Donald Trump, he won Florida. He almost got 50 percent in Florida.
PRESTON: Right.
BERMAN: Donald Trump, he won New York.
PRESTON: Right.
BERMAN: He got, you know, nearly 60 percent in New York. Why doesn't a primary win translate to a general election, you know, hope?
PRESTON: Because you're looking at a small sliver of the pie of the electorate. You're not necessarily talking about independents and you're certainly not talking about Democrats. He won 50 percent of a Republican vote that was split across the board. Now, he did very well. If you all recall, we thought that Jeb Bush, the former governor, or the current senator, Marco Rubio, were going to walk away with New York. Donald Trump, though, ended up winning it. When we get to the general election, you're looking at a bigger pile of voters that are going to be divided up.
CAMEROTA: Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, in Florida, do they hold any sway?
PRESTON: I - yes, they hold a little sway, but I do think that endorsements are much overrated.
BERMAN: What about VP picks? Anywhere on this map for Trump that picking a VP could help him?
PRESTON: Look, he would be very helpful, if you want to go back to Ohio there, I think that, you know, his best option would be to go to Ohio. And, of course, we saw John Kasich, his one-time rival, get out of the race yesterday. John Kasich not only could help deliver the 18 electoral votes that he would get out of Ohio, probably Trump would win Ohio with Kasich on the ticket, but Kasich coming back to Washington as a legislature would be much helpful to Donald Trump.
CAMEROTA: Kasich says he's not interested, also. There's that. I mean -
PRESTON: And I'm not - and I'm not surprised, quite frankly.
BERMAN: Rob Portman also - who is on the short list.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
PRESTON: Right.
BERMAN: Mark Preston, great to have you with us. Thank you so much.
PRESTON: Thanks, guys.
CAMEROTA: Thank you.
BERMAN: All right, up next, a Wisconsin couple and their 300 children, 300.
CAMEROTA: Wow.
BERMAN: It's "The Good Stuff."
CAMEROTA: That's - that's busy. Very busy.
BERMAN: It's a lot of good stuff -
[08:55:00] CAMEROTA: That's a lot. BERMAN: Right after this.
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BERMAN: All right, time now for "The Good Stuff."
A few decades ago in Appleton, Wisconsin, Art and Joyce Snell when disturbed while reading a local story about child abuse. It was then that they were inspired to open their home to foster care.
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ART SNELL: Life is precious. And the little ones especially. And I think they need so much protection.
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BERMAN: Up to 10 children a month need foster care in their community. So within the past 20 years, they have fostered 300 children and made each one feel special.
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SNELL: And as we close the bedroom door, we say "I love you." And for the first two or three nights there was no response. And about the third night, out of the darkness, you'd hear, "I love you too."
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BERMAN: It's amazing what those words can do.
Art and Joyce were just honored with the county's Best Badge Career Service Award. Well deserved, I would say.
CAMEROTA: That's so beautiful.
BERMAN: Isn't that nice?
CAMEROTA: I mean foster parents are so necessary. God, that's wonderful, what they're doing there.
OK, see you tomorrow?
BERMAN: Time for NEWSROOM now with Carol Costello.
Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thanks so much. Have a great day.
NEWSROOM starts now.
[09:00:00] Happening now in the NEWSROOM, Donald Trump, a Republican uniter? Or a divider? Riling the Republican Party, with some conservatives now eyeing a third party candidate.
And, Hillary Clinton facing her own dilemma.
