Transcripts For CNN American Morning 20110927

opening statements. prosecutors claim dr. conrad murray caused jackson's death by administering a lethal dose of propofol. the defense is expected to argue that jackson gave himself the deadly dosage. cnn's don lemon is live outside the courthouse in los angeles. it is very, very early in the morning there. don, is there already -- are there already people gathering there, or are you alone? >> reporter: i am alone except for the crew and some other reporters. i had to look around. we're sort of in a bubble. you know how that is, but, where do we start, ali? oh my gosh. there is so much to talk about in this case. when you talk about propofol. we didn't know anything about propofol before michael jackson. some people get it when you go into procedures but you didn't know the name of it. as you said, opening statements, starting about 8:45 local time, which is 11:45 eastern. that's when the judge will come in, give the jury instructions, about 15 minutes. after that, the arguments are expected to start in this case. the prosecution and from the defense. that are ge on for a bit. 10:15, they'll take a little breather. after that, ali, they're going to come back, continued with the arguments. we don't expect -- we don't expect -- doesn't always go as planned, we don't expect the first witness to start testifying until a little later on this afternoon. that video you're looking at from "this is it," supposed to be his big comeback, just eight days out. of course, then michael jackson died, and the person who is the choreographer and producer will actually be the first witnesses. >> i was going to ask you who would be the first witnesses, and you think we'll hear from them today? >> reporter: yeah, starting today. as you said, this is what the judge has planned. >> right. >> reporter: you know, ali. you've covered these things. they don't always go as planned. kenny ortega has been with michael jackson for 20 years. even produced his funeral at the staples center and other high-pro file things and produced most of michael jackson's tours. can we talk about the jury? do you want to know about the jury? >> yes. >> reporter: let's talk about the jury. you may have some questions about this. seven men, five women. a lot of people are thinking this is important. six white, five hispanic, one african-american. some say, why one african-american? as they say, it's not race. both of the people here involved are african-american and they don't look at this as a race case, you know, that may have racial overtones to it. it's going to be interesting to hear. >> they could end up being very famous jurors at some point. this is going to be a case everybody in the country is looking at. you've covered it a lot, don. you'll be able to interpret as we go along. don lemon in los angeles this morning as the conrad murray case opens up. we'll talk to you later. for complete statements about the trial check out our sister network hln. and a live partisan budget deal has been reached in the senate. figuring out a way to keep the government operating while keeping the aid flowing for those hit by natural disasters. an agreement not by compromise but by fema. kate bolduan with how the deal got done flrt a series of votes the senate was able to pull off what it hasn't been able to do to this point as another government shutdown looms. reach bipartisan agreement to avert that very scenario. this deal came after fema announced it will be able to stretch its currenten in its disaster relief fund to make it through the end of the week without running dry, which it had previously said was not likely. this is key, because the end of the week is also the end of the fiscal year essentially making a central obstacle to reaching the government operating a moot point. democrats and republicans all along had been battles whether or not the additional funding they wanted to give fema for disaster efforts needed to be paid for by cutting spending elsewhere, but only the money they were offering for the rest of this current fiscal year ending friday. republicans said, yes, it should be paid for. democrats saying, no. now that issue is off the table. the senate approved to fund the government through november 18th and giving some $2.6 billion to fema for the next fiscal year, but that part was not in dispute. now the house needs to have its say on this short-term spending measure. kate bolduan, cnn, washington. and a big staff change in the works in the white house this morning. cnn learned stephanie cutter will leave the west wing to join the president's re-election campaign. she's currently serving as deputy of the white house senior adviser david bluff, a top aide to first lady michelle obama during the 2008 campaign. cutter will assume her new role towards the end of the year, seen with treasury secretary tim geithner there. according to a new cnn orc poll, rick perry is still the top choice among republican voters in the race for the gop nomen ace, but mitt romney poses the biggest threat to president obama in 2012. perry finished seven points ahead of romney as the top choice among republicans and independents who lean republican. but a less than stellar performance in last week's orlando debate may have taken a poll. romney performed best in a head-to-head with the president finishing just one point behind president obama. ron paul had a strong showing, too. he finished four points behind the president, and that was better than rick perry. the texas governor finished five points behind president obama. 51% to 46%. >> it's just a strange season. isn't it? political season. really strange. in the heat of the race for the white house next summer, the supreme court could be deciding the president's signature piece of legislation. an appeals court ruled congress overstepped rts boundaries by mandating health care for all. the justice department confirming last night it will not appeal that ruling to the full appellate court. instead, the white house is not expected to ask the supreme court for a final ruling to boil this all down u.s. supreme court will probably get the case about obamacare right in the middle of the 2012 election. excellent. what timing. just the timing you all need. right? also new this morning, an explosion destroys a section of an egyptian gas pipe that supplies israel and jordan. authorities say an extremist group with links to al qaeda is believed to be responsible. the pipeline has been attacked at least five other times in recent months, leading egypt to crack down on terror groups in the area. coming to a standstill in athens. taxi drivers and public transportation drivers walked off the job protesting new benefit cuts. needed for crucial bailout funds. officials fear without a loan the country could run out of money by next month. >> people are not going along with austerity. they do not like it. >> a big problem in greece. talk about nasa. it's concerned a meteor shower next week could pose a danger for spacecraft. officials are looking at ways to protect the international space station and the hubble space telescope from hits by any orbital debris. they're expecting a shower with 1,000 shooting stars an hour at its peak. >> considering options what could the options be? >> i don't know. >> sending rocket ships up to shoot down the asteroids? >> big shields? >> meanwhile, ozzie guillen considering his option going from the south side to south beach. the chicago white sox granted the manager his release after last night's game refusing to extend his contract. he was fined several times for speaking his mind during his years with the white sox. he was even ordered once to take sensitivity training. he did manage then, their first world championship in 2005. he's expected to take a job with the florida marlins. just ahead on "american morning" a stunning new look inside the washington monument on the day that the earthquake hit last month. we'll tell you how crews plan to get a better look at damage. and president obama is fired up mocking the republican presidential candidates, calling out republicans booing a gay soldier at a recent debate, budget is this new fiery persona resonating? it's our "talk back" question this morning. and this isn't another "batman" sequel. watch a man with wings soar 7,000 feet into a cave. >> yeah. ooh. wow. >> that's a guy. nine minutes after the hour. ♪ and the flowers and the trees ♪ ♪ all laugh when you walk by ♪ and the neighbors' kids run and hide ♪ deep inside you, there's a person who refuses to be kept deep inside you. ♪ but you're not ♪ you're the one be true to yourself. what's healthier than that? 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[♪...] >> male announcer: now, for a limited time, your companion flies free, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. conditions apply. a developing story out of libya this morning. forces loyal to libya's new government seized control of the port in the city of sirte. that's the hometown of the ousted dictator moammar gadhafi. nato aircraft watching air strikes on monday to pave the way for the offensive. they have taken the port during the day but pulled back at night. when an earthquake rocked the east coast in august, the washington monument was hit hard. they discovered a big crack at the top and closed it to the public. for the first time we're seeing pictures from the very day of the quake. >> walls began to shake. people scramble and debris falls from the ceiling. this is what it looked like inside the washington monument when a 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit on august 23rd. announcing monday the monument will remain closed indefinitely and that the damage is worse than they originally thught. >> the heaviest damage appears to be cons traft concentrated i top, called the pyramidian, cracks an inch wide developed through stone and mortar joints. >> reporter: daylight is visible through some cracks and a significant amount of rainwater seeped through them which could cause more damage. the monument remains structurally sound but requires further inspection. their plan sounds more action movie than parks department. >> climbers will rappel all four faces of the washington monument to perform a close-range survey of the exterior surfaces. >> parks officials expect the rappelling inspection to last five days, and in addition to surveying the damage they're going to remove any loose material from the side of the building. the rappelling begins this morning about 8:00 and we hope to bring it to you live right here on "american morning" when it happens. very cool. rappelling down the side of the monument. >> i hope it's not windy. can you imagine? that would be scary. actually, would have been scary to be inside the monument when the earthquake happened. shaking. you'd want to just get out of there. >> and rappelling on a normal day would be creepy. i agree. jacqui jeras is in the extreme weather center this morning. good morning. >> good morning. a foggy start for a lot of people out in this morning. given yourself extra time to get where you need to be. we have fog advisories. when there's an advisory that means visibility will be a quarter mile or less. looking at places like birmingham, huntsville, into eastern kentucky and columbus, ohio, new york city, long island, towards providence and out on to the cape. this will last until maybe 9:00 this morning and is already causing problems at the airports. delays around 40 minutes into philadelphia, that's trying to get into philadelphia. we're expecting more extensive delays throughout the morning and maybe spotty stuff in the afternoon, too. chicago also looking for problems due to heavy rain. expecting delays in new york, boston, d.c. and miami looking for lots of showers and thunderstorms in the forecast as well. most of the weather action today happening across the eastern half of the state. or country, rather. this area of low pressure sitting here since the weekend keeping you cool. keeping you damp. also keeping rain in the forecast. we have area of high pressure offshore working to keep bringing all the tropical moisture up and down the east coast. these two things will finally start sliding off a little bit and we'll start to watch for improvement by thursday. in the meantime a high of 6. minneapolis only 60 degrees in chicago. seen very warm across the southern tier. lots of 90-degree temperatures. 94 in dallas. 96 in houston and we'll stay in the 70s and 80s up and down the east coast as you get rain showers moving in that's going to keep you cooler from time to time. that's the latest on the forecast. back to you. >> jacqui, we're check in with you a little later on. jacqui jeras, extreme weather center. the top stories of the day -- the question of the day, is president obama's new fiery persona resonating? president obama is picking it up a notch these days. hit with low approval number, it's president seems, well, fired up. we're seeing a rock 'em sock 'em obama. listen to the speech before the congressional black caucus. >> i expect all of you to march with me and press on. take off your bedroom slippers. put on your marching shoes. shake it off. stop complaining. stop grumbling. stop crying. we are going to press on. we've got work to do. cbc. god bless you. and god bless the united states of america. >> in case you hadn't noticed, the new alpha obama first appeared in the jobs speech before the joint session of congress and then when he blasted the rich for not paying their fair of taxes. he was feisty saying about rick perry "you've got a governor whose state is on fire denying climate change." and mr. obama said this about the republican debate audiences. "cheering at the prospect of somebody dying because they don't have health care and booing a service member in iraq because they're gay. come on." no question about it. the president is throwing some red meat out to a liberal base upset he seems weak in the face of republican attacks. >> we don't have bedroom slippers. we've been out there for years doing this kind of thing. we take it he just kind of got off the teleprompter a little bit and got fired up, but we want to help him. we want to make sure that the base is protected. >> so the "talk back" question for us this morning -- is president obama's new fiery persona resonating? facebook.com/americanmorning. facebook.com/americanmorning. read your responses later this hour. we found the real batman. this is very cool. an american professional wing suit flier, jeff corliss, the bird man, jumping nearly 7,000 feet, soaring through the skydiving into a cave -- >> no way. >> in central china. banned from the empire state building when he tried to parachute off of it and so he went to chain no to do this. i don't actually see him going in, reports are that he did. take a look at this. does he actually get into that cave? >> he flies right through, it appears. now he'd going to land. >> this is the other part of the trip. flies through it and comes out the other end. didn't it seem like that? the speed he was going at? >> i didn't know there were professional wing suit fliers. >> oh, yeah. >> there you go. still ahead, she was called a diabolic she devil. a diabolic she devil. they called her in court yesterday. court lawyers have their turn in the appeal of the amanda knox conviction. that's next. and no secret the new jersey governor chris christie is no fan of the "jersey shore" crew. he's done away with the so-called snooki -- what? uh-huh. you know it. it's 20 minutes past the hour. >> wow. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ that should do it. enjoy your new shower. [ door opens, closes ] i tell you what i can spend. i do my best to make it work. i'm back on the road safely. and i saved you money on brakes. that's personal pricing. 23 minutes after the hour. welcome back. "minding your business" this morning. a global rally stretching into the united states this morning. stock futures up one day after the dow and s&p 500 both gained about 2.5%. the gains are fueled by reports of a plan to resolve the european debt crisis. efforts under way to secure another bailout for greece. that country's prime minister is in germany and just spoke saying greece will live up to all its commitments. meanwhile, back in athens, more cutbacks and a new property tax to keep the government from defaulting next month. back here in the united states, the big banks were some of the biggest winners in yesterday's stock rally. we'll watch them today, because they could affect your 401(k). jpmorgan chase up. bank of america up, citigroup and wells fargo also up. more ditching free checking according to a study by bank rate. 44% don't come way fee. down 20 percentage foints from last year. you can beat the fee making minimum deposits. and folks are worrying about deflation. a slowdown could cut into demand so much that falling prices will hurt the economy more than rising prices will. now, on a brighter note, retail giant macy's announcing it will add 78,000 temporary jobs this holiday season. that's a 4% increase over last year. the company said the increased hiring is needed because of continued sales growth in stores and online. "american morning" back right after this short break. life insurance companies treat you like a policy, not a person. instead of getting to know you they simply assign you a number. aviva is here to change all that. we're bringing humanity back to insurance and putting people before policies. aviva life insurance and annuities. we are building insurance around you. just about half past the hour. good morning to you. time to check top stories. opening statements begin in the manslaughter trial of dr. conrad murray accused of michael jackson's death by administering a lethal death of the anesthetic proposal faal. the defense will argue murray was trying to wean jackson off the drug and gave the deadly dose, that is, michael jackson dave the deadly dose to himself. and the senate reaching a bipartisan agreement on a spending plan that keeps fema fund and the government operating through november. the house is expected to pass the measure. surveillance video given of the first look at the terrifying moments for people inside the washington monument during last month's earthquake. it has been closed since the quake. crews will rappel down the side to check for additional damage. called a diabolic she serval devil in court yesterday. amanda knox herself is expected to make a personal plea to go free this week. matthew chance is covering the case live in italy this morning. so she's preparing -- i mean, it's just so strange that she can either get a life sentence or walk completely free. >> reporter: well, it's not just a stark choice between that. another option for the court is to find amanda knox guilty of a lesser crime than murder and reduce her sentence. that's certainly a possibility. but, you know, we won't really know for sure, carol, until next week, early next week. possibly as early as monday, when the court has heard all the defense arguments, all the prosecution arguments, all the rebuttals and go in and make its decision. so we are in the final phases but not quite there yet. >> so how is she preparing to make this final statement, amanda knox? because she's been effective in court, and she's been not so effective, to her detriment. >> reporter: yeah. certainly i think it's fair to say that over the past few days here, when the prosecutors have been making their arguments, they really put the boot when it came to amanda knox, telling the jury she was a loose woman, drank beer, smoked marijuana, invited lots of strange men back to her apartment and much worse than that. of course, you mentioned one of the lawyers got up and said this woman is a she devil. a personality that's split between being angelic on the one side and satanic on the other side. colorful phrases used by the prosecution to characterize amanda knox. it's something we spoke to her dad about afterwards. he told us about how difficult it was to listen. take a listen. >> this particular lawyer, even during the first trial essentially did the same thing, and it was extraordinarily hard to listen to, and it was even harder for amanda, because she hears it all in italian and can understand it, where i can only understand bits and pieces of it, and i can, you know, see her wincing in her face periodically. it was very tough for her. >> reporter: well, the tone of the trial, though now, carol, completely changing, because this is the defense this time to sell up their arguments and already the defense lawyer speaking at the moment has been sharply critical of all those comments about amanda knox, alterly rejecting them and being very critical about the police investigation as well which led to her arrest and eventual conviction of amanda knox for the death of meredith kercher. joran van der sloot fou confessed to a mudder of a young woman in purchase roux. aired by a cnn affiliate in peru. in it, van der sloot describes how he hit, strangled and killed stephany flores. he says he did it after she discovered she had looked him up on the web. of course, van der sloot was connected to but never charged with the disappearance of alabama teen natalee holloway when she was with a school trip in aruba. also new this morning, sarah palin seems ready to challenge the author of a controversial new book. palin's lawyer notified the author joe mcguinness may sue for slander in his book called "the rogue." he said she lived and outrageous life and all he did was talk about it. >> and move in next door to her t. was research. charlie sheen making peace with the people who fired him from "2 1/2 men." agreeing to soethettle on a $10 million lawsuit. firing back in march after a public meltdown that included verbal attacks against lori. a tax credit that would have gone to the production company. christie's been a verbal critic of the show. he says taxpayers can't afford to support the program that turnishiturn tarnishing their reputation. this is part of lowering taxes, and renewed attention to run. on three-state tour. donors are trying to really push him into running for the presidency. so i'm not sure chris christie, i don't want to speak for him, cares all that much about the snooki tax on "jersey shore." >> you're obviously not italian. >> i love the "jersey shore." come on. you don't like the "jersey shore"? >> no. >> not a -- >> no. >> the ron-ron juice? >> no. ? even know what that is. >> it's watermelon and vodka and -- >> all right. >> up next on "american morning," president obama reaching out to african-americans who say they've been forgotten, but can he get them back into the fold. >> check the ron-ron juice. >> thanks for clarifying. a lot of guys when they don't have to post their name or show their face. now web trolls aren't anonymous anymore. how facebook is helping bring accountability to the web. it's 34 past the hour. let's see...south western vegetables...60 calories. ya' know those jeans look nice. they do? yup. so you were checking me out? yup. [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less. [ woman ] my heart medication isn't some political game. [ man ] our retirement isn't a simple budget line item. [ man ] i worked hard. i paid into my medicare. [ man ] and i earned my social security. [ woman ] now, instead of cutting waste and loopholes, washington wants to cut our benefits? that wasn't the agreement. [ male announcer ] join the members of aarp and tell washington to stop cuts to our medicare and social security benefits. the healthcare law gives us powerful tools to fight it... to investigate it... ...prosecute it... and stop criminals. our senior medicare patrol volunteers... are teaching seniors across the country... ...to stop, spot, and report fraud. you can help. guard your medicare card. don't give out your card number over the phone. call to report any suspected fraud. we're cracking down on medicare fraud. let's make medicare stronger for all of us. welcome back to "american morning." with his poll numbers slipping among african-americans, president obama is launching an outreach campaign. first, a fiery speech this past weekend before the congressional black caucus, and again last night in an interview with black entertainment television, but the president is also making it clear that no one gets a handout. >> why target the american community? why not say then, this is for you? >> that's not how america work. america works when all of us are pulling together and everybody is focused on making sure that every single person has opportunity. >> okay. let's talk about the challenges facing president obama in the african-american community. i want to talk with robert traynham, the d.c. bureau chief for the comcast network and a formerer republican adviser resident james paterson, director of africana studies at lehigh university. joining us from philadelphia this morning. good morning to both of you. robert, let me start with you. you heard the answer president obama got about weren't of the criticisms he's been receiving, why he's not specifically targeting help for the african-american community. now, the bottom line is, while jobless number, unemployment rates have always been higher for blacks in america, the spread has increased under his administration, which is ironic. do you think he answered the question well about whether things should be done differently for black america than america as a whole? >> no, i don't. here's the reason why. look, i admire this president for saying what he believes and believing what he says, refreshing in american politics when a president speaks with his head and heart and speaking unfiltered, however, you can't have this argument that, you know, all of the largest votes, look at national unemployment, 9.1% across the country, but in the black community, 16% or 17% which tells me you need a very targeted message and a very specific program for brown people and also for urban areas. no question about it. president bush had it, called enterprise zones, president clinton it, startinged in the black community. president obama needs to have that if he wants to win re-election. >> unemployment for blacks in america has always been 50% more now it's greater. the spread is substantially higher. james, listen to a little more of last night's interview, and tell me what you think of this. listen to this. >> all i get from the african-american community as i travel around the country is, we know it's hard, but we're praying for you, and we're behind pup the main thing i want the african-american community to know is those prayers are appreciated, their rooting for me is appreciated. >> jim paterson -- >> peterson. >> james peterson. i apologize. the criticism we've been hearing a lot from some members of the congressional black caucus has been directed at president obama for, as robert said, not doing enough for african-americans. here the president says, the message he gets from african-americans is that they're praying for him. this stood out for you? >> it really did. first of all, the president has promised neighborhoods and promised zones and he does have initiatives that are targeted specifically towards the most challenged urban areas in america right now. so i'm not sure way we can't talk about that, but, yes, this moment in the interview on b.e.t. struck a cord, because i believe this is more an honest assessment of the interaction of the president, what he's experiencing out on the road. i would argue that the cbc speech is similarly thematically construed in the sense that he's tapping into a civil rights era, contribution ethos with the african-american community and out on the road, people are feeling him on that. >> maxine waters has been one of those people, kind of a strange road some of the members of the congressional black caucus are walking. they're critical, maybe they need to be to cater to constituencies. not entirely non-supportive. listen to what maxine waters said last night on the soledad o'bri o'bri o'brien -- "the situation room" with wolf blitzer. >> the work we did was what caused the conversation to take place. we focus on what the needs are, and the president heard us, and because the president heard us, he was saying african-american. he was saying black for the first time in his speech. >> and, of course, robert, she's referring to this congressional black caucus speech that he made on the where he said, expect all of you to march with me and press on, take off your bedroom slippers, put on your marching shoes, stop complaining, grumbling crying, we're going to press on. we've got work to do. do you think congresswoman maxine waters is right, that they've influenced the president to start talking about blacks and saying black, and african-americans? >> i think so. it's not just maxine waters, it's cornell west and others. it's an interesting dichotomy the black community is facing. i'm sure many, many black americans are praying for the president, however, they want a good paying job. praying for his well-being, are sensitive to the fact he absolutely is the first black african-american but however they want a job and it's not just maxine waters. it's grass roots people, but also grass tops people as well. >> you said the president is working in urban areas. hard to believe a guy who was an organizer from the south side of chicago wouldn't care about urban communities. the fact is, i mean it does seem that president obama gets more attention on this issue. is it because these black? is it because thing, worse for african-americans now? is it because the economy is worse or do you think all of it is unfair? >> i don't think all of it is unfair but certainly some of it. when some areas, there's a double standard, but we should focus on the constructive things the president is doing. you can't say he sn working in urban areas and that he doesn't care about black folk. those things don't make sense when you look at his record. money to black businesses, the affordable health care act helps black folks. think about what attorney general eric cantor has done and the prison industrial complex, a lot of things the president has done that directly impacts the african-american community and those thing, important to talk about but my colleague over here is absolutely correct. what the cbc has done, the work they did does help because it shows america that jobs can be put on center stage and sometimes the way politics works is your constituency has to get out there and support you and support the things needed to happen in order for the president to come out stronger and more forceful for the issues we want him to. >> robert, last word. >> quickly, what the american people want, whether you're right-handed, left-handed, african-american or latino. they want to look into the television screen and see that the president is speaking to them, that the president understands exactly they're going through and that's the conversation that the african-american community is having right now. they like him. they love him. we like him. we love him, but the question is, is he look out for my best interests economically? that's the question. >> right. i think we all agree you're right. if a lot more people had jobs, lower proportion of unemployed people, people would be generally happier no matter what color the president was. >> that's that jobs act. and good to talk to you both. thanks, gentlemen. >> thank you for having me. >> thank you. >> great discussion. >> it was good. yeah. still to come on "american morning" -- is president obama's new fiery persona resonating? that's our "talk back" question of the morning. your responses coming up. plus, he came he saw, he put himself into the nfl record books more from this monday night performance. there you go. 46 minutes after the hour. i'm a traveling stand-up comedian from atlanta, georgia, and i'm on the road about 42 weeks a year. >> there ain't no party like -- >> i've done nine different countries, four different continents, been to iraq, kuwait, been to djibouti africa, been to japan. i fly a lot more now. for the first tiv years i was in my car a lot. been through three cars. i hit two deer -- they hit me. my merchandise that i travel with everywhere. ta-da. i have my airplane pillow and it unzips into a blanket and a blowup pillow. i decided to go overseas and do stand-up for the military. as long as they're over there, i'll keep going back. you learn a lot about yourself when you try over iraq. i appreciate you guys for hanging out and learning about what i do and how i spend my life. i hope to see you in a comedy club down the road real soon. 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[ giggles ] good morning. it's 49 minutes past the hour. what you need to know to start your day. the michael jackson death trial begin this morning in los angeles with opening statements. dr. conrad murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter. prosecutors allege he caused jackson's death by administering a lethal dose of the ans theyic propofol. a government shutdown averted of the senate reaching a bipartisan agreement on a spending plan keeping money flowing to fema natural disaster victims and keeps the money flowing through november. the house is expected to approve that deal. and surviving an apparent assassination attempt this morning pap car packed with explosives was detonated by remote control near his convoy. seven yemeni soldiers were injured. terror inside the washington monument. a surveillance camera shows people running for their lives at the moment the east coast earthquake hit last month. engineerless rappel down the sides of the monument checking for additional damage. the dallas cowboys winning monday night football all on the legs of their place kicker. dan bailey scored all the points in an 18-16 win. tying a rookie record. that's the news you need to start your day. "american morning" is back after this. were back to "american morning." they are known at web trolls. people who write whatever they want in the comments section of websites or on message boards no matter how ignorant or flat out untrue. >> or racist. >> the posts are almost always signed anonymous. thanks to facebook, the trolls are being revealed. casey wian has the story. >> reporter: chuck mel is a regular reader of the tribune's website and became a frequent commenter after reading a story about a rock-throwing mexican boy shot and killed by a border a patrol agent last year. he posted a statement critical of the tactics. >> i was astounded by the responses i got from other people. the hateful, hateful responses. >> reporter: on many news sites, readers deteriorate into name calling, racial slurs even threats. the home page editor tom malory adopted a policy this month that seeks to clean this up with around the clock moderators. >> interns monitoring and son, i'm going to expose you to the dark underbelly of the human soul here. be prepared. it's a very rough place. >> reporter: those who want to comment now must use facebook to verify identities. >> real name, real identity makes debate bet perp makes conversation better. it brings respect. it bring as level up there that is lacking when it's i been pimp 201 versus this person and that person. >> reporter: many don't like giving up their anom imty. >> if somebody is unhappy, they can look my name up on the phone book, look me up on the web, make me target. >> reporter: the union tribune says the facebook identification tool will help keep bullies at bay. >> i see no indications this is a real person. >> reporter: and the "los angeles times" and "new york times" are using facebook to some degree. >> i can see it dampening the debate and understand why they could implement this policy. a lot of hate speech, alienate readers. >> if you have to say stupid or teabagger or communist, you're not going to convince the other of the argument. >> reporter: he expects a friendlier environment will attract new voices. not mel, who may start his own blog to protect his anonymity. casey wian, cnn, san diego. we asked you to "talk back" on weren't of the big stories of the day, talking about intelligent facebook conversations we have one going on this morning. the question we asked this morning, is president obama's new fiery persona resonating? this from heather. the great campaigner fired up in 2008 in the same way when he s campaigning. it's a game. he gets fired up when he wants the job. laura, this never hurt anyone. he's resonating loud and clear. daniel says, feel goods to see him get impassioned by the issues as those who supported him in 2008 were. i want this to mean he's finally driven to take dramatic steps. i'm cautiously optimistic in keeping with the batman theme. it's not about who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you. i agree with that one, daniel. face book poin k facebook.com/americanmorning, if you want to continue the discussion. and who will we hear from in the michael jackson opening of the case? (rambling phone conversation) when an investment lacks discipline, it's never this obvious. introducing investment discipline etfs from russell. visit russelletfs.com r a prospectus, containing the investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information. read and consider it carefully before investing. michael jackson's doctor on trial for his death. did he kill the king of pop? opening statements a few hours from now. we are live outside the courthouse. government shutdown, averted. a quake from the top of the washington monument. parents grabbing their kids and sprinting down the stair as debris rains down, and people may not be let back in for quite a while. and justin timberhand, a rare one-on-one interview with sean parker on what's next on this "american morning." good morning. it is tuesday, september 27th. welcome to "american morning." credited with being the guy to take off the "the" from the facebook. >> threw amazing parties. >> that's a good story. looking forward to it. >> first, up next, michael jackson's family will have a front row seat when conrad murray's manslaughter trial begins in los angeles this morning. prosecutors claim he caused michael jackson's death by administering a lethal dose of propofol. the defense will say michael jackson gave himself the lethal dose. outside the courthouse in los angeles is don lemon. good morning, don. >> reporter: oh, yeah. it is very early out here, but you know, two years. it has been two years, christine, can you believe? finally -- finally -- it is getting under way. involuntary manslaughter, dr. conrad murray and the opening statements are going to start 8:45 a.m. 8:45 a.m., that's local time here in california and then after that, that's when it gets under way. the judge comes in at 8:45, gives the jury instructions. this is what you have to do. these are the rules to abide by. this is what you should no. from there, the opening statements start. christine? >> what do we know about the jurors? >> reporter: it's interesting. the jury in this case, seven men, five women. seven men, five women. here's a racial makeup of this and usually when covering trials in california, trials like o.j. simpson, a racial tinge to them. people wonder about the race of the jury. there are six white jurors, five hispanic jurors and one african-american juror and some were concerned, why only one african-american juror? but both people near this case are african-americans and they don't think race is a factor. >> will we be hearing from any witnesses today? >> reporter: we will. we're going it hear from a very high-profile witness. we'll hear from kenny ortega, a director, producer, choreographer. done a lot of thing. been with michael jackson 25 years. he was doing the "this is it." he produced and choreographed that, and they were eight days away from going to london. he was very shocked by that and produced the funeral of michael jackson in july of 2009 and does the high school musicals and he's going to be the first person you're going to hear from. you know why i think he'll be the first person? i've covered this story, done three documentaries on michael jackson. i think it's because there was a meeting at michael jackson's house that kenny ortega called, because michael jackson allegedly wasn't going to some rehearsals and they were concerned about his health and other concerns. so i think that's why he's going to be the first person called, because they believe he's on the inside and he knows a lot, christine. >> don, just to be clear again, this is a manslaughter trial. this is not a murder trial. it's about causing the death of michael jackson. it's not about the murder of michael jackson. >> reporter: absolutely. four years. he can get four year, dr. conrad murray, if he is convicted of this, but it is a manslaughter, not murder. four year, and his medical license will go away if that indeed does happen. but stay tuned. it's going to be really interesting. this trial. i don't know if it will rise to the ranks of casey an then, but very interesting and a lot more high-profile recognizable faces because the jackson family will be sitting in that courtroom. >> all right. thank you so much, don lemon. for complete coverage of today's opening statements and the entire conrad murray trial, check out our sister network, hln. and not shutting down this weekend, the government. democrats and republicans figuring out a way to keep the government operating and the aid flowing to thousands of americans hit by natural disasters. kate bolduan joins us live from washington this morning. kate, a lot of thanks for this goes not to lawmakers, but fema. right? >> reporter: yeah. this was some pretty interesting developments yesterday after i talked to you yesterday morning. the breakthrough came after fema announced its able to stretch current funding in its much depleted disaster relief fund to make it through the end of this week without running dry. it had prevently said that that wasn't likely. now, this is key, because the end of the week is also the end of the current fiscal year. effectively making the central obstacle holding up the agreement a moot point. agreeing they needed to approve a short-term spending measure democrats and republicans all along were battling over whether or not the additional funding they wanted to give fema nor disaster efforts for the rest of the fiscal year needed to be paid for by cutting spending elsewhe elsewhere. republicans said, yes. democrats said no. the senate funded a bill through november 8th. >> so what happens after november 8th? >> reporter: after november 8th, there's a lot of conversations of what's going to happen after november 18th, actually. i may have misspoken there. but they could need to pass the short-term spending bill. a lot of conversations maybe they find an agreement on passing some omnibus bigger spending measures to get the government funded, but that's been one of the interesting points about this all, carol, is that they were arguing and battling over this and threatening a government shutdown, but it really was only getting the government through november 18th. carol? >> okay. so i guess the fight goes on in some shape or form. kate bolduan, live in washington. thank you. >> very sweet, what happens after -- like, you think something good's going to happen? >> i don't know. why not -- i'm not even going to state -- >> what was the range of possible answers to that? oh, things are going to be sweetness and -- >> everything will be fine. >> and come outside on the front lawn and hold hands. >> rainbows and unicorns. >> and i will grow an -- afro! >> you're arched this morning, man. >> back to politics, where it's must nicer. in the race for the gop nomination, rick perry may still be the top choice among republican voters, but mitt romney poses the biggest threat to president obama in 2012. this is according to the latest cnn/orc poll. perry finished seven points ahead of mitt romney. a less than stellar performance in last week's orlando debate may be taking a toll on rick perry. romney performed best in a head-to-head contest with the president finishing just one point behind him. ron paul had a strong showing, too. he finished 4 points behind the president, faring better than rick perry. the texas governor finishes 5 points behind president obama. 56 51% to 46%. and seizing control of the port in the city of sirte, the hometown of ousted dictator moammar gadhafi. nato launched air strikes monday to pave the way for the offensive. they've taken the port in the city before during the day and have had to pull back at night. in egypt, an explosion overnight destroyed a section of the pipeline supplying gas to israel and jordan. an extremist group with links to al qaeda is believed responsible. it's been targeted several times before. officials say the police and egyptian army have been cracking down on terror groups in the region. a meteor shower could pose a danger for spacecraft next week. looking for hits by orbital debris. some forecasters expect a showers with as many as 1,000 shooting stars an hour at its peak. the chicago white sox granted manager ozzie guillen release after last night's game refusing to extend his contract. guillen was fined several times over the years, even ordered to take sensitivity training once. there you can see some of the kind of stuff we got involved in. he did manage to take the white sox to the world championship for the first time in 88 years. he's expected to take a job with the marmelins. new video evidence how terrifying it was to be inside the washington monument when that 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit last month. >> look at that. some democrats are thrilled about the democrats' feisty playbook for the president. it's our "talk back" question this morning. and this isn't another "batman "sequel. watch a man soar from 7,000 feet into and through a cave and come out the other side. you are watching "american morning." whoa. whoa. how do you top great vacations? whoa. getting twice the points on great vacations. whoa! use chase sapphire preferred and now get two times the points on travel, and two times the points on dining and no foreign transaction fees. whoa! chase sapphire preferred. a card of a different color. apply now at chasesapphire.com/preferred were back. in just about an hour, engineers are getting ready to rappel down the washington monument to assess the damage from the outside of last month's earthquake. >> this comes as we get a first dramatic look from inside the observation deck. you can see the monument shaking, debris falling. tourist it's running for the stairs. inside has been declared structurally sound but the monument has remained closed to the public until further notice. joining us from the national monume monument -- >> good morning. >> we love the pictures, rappelling down the outside of the washington monument is more like something from a cool movie than just another day in the life of a park ranger. tell us what you'll be looking for. >> well, the engineering team and the rappelling team, combination of people from denali national park in alaska as well as from an engineering firm will come out of the windows at the 500-foot level later this morning. probably closer to 12 noon. their assemble at 8:00 but go into the monument. you probably won't see much action happening outside of the monument until noontime. what they will do is a very close visual inspection to check to see if there are any smaller cracks that were sustained during the earthquake. we call them shalls, to determine whether those cracks could, in the next couple of years grow, so to speak. that type of examination needs to be done so we can fully repair them. >> what is your worst fear in finding these cracks? this is carol costello. what is your worst case scenario? >> we do know the washington monument is still sound. what we need to find out and gather information is to whether the earthquake on september 3rd has any damage. we need to get up close and see visually, with the human eye, at a close range whether there are in damage that could over the years accelerate into something greater. the only way we're going to know that is to do this sort of rappelling with the trained rappelers and the trained engineers, knowing what to look for. >> bill, let me ask you. look at this video again. i know you've seen it. it was taken from a security camera inside the observation deck. i just want to slow it to our viewers again. what did you think when you first saw this? >> it's pretty dramatic. certainly. but what it shows is that weren't of our rangers, nicky williams. up see her in the park ranger hat as i'm wearing, she's helping visitors. obviously, they're well aware something is happening. something dangerous is happening. she had the presence of mind, the composure, to make certain she got people down to the 490-foot level and started walking down the stairs. she showed a lot of courage, in fact, by coming back up to the 500 foot level to collect the last, remaining visitors and ensure their safety and put their safety ahead of her own in order to get everybody out safely. so we're extremely proud of the work she has done. >> yes. it's quite something. there are few experiences we have where we have seen people going up in a building in danger. a little reminiscent of 9/11. >> and the people are so calm. >> looking orderly. picking up a kid, walking kids down. nice to see people acting calmly. we can't see what she's saying but certainly there's a protocol if something goes wrong. i want to ask about the big marble blocks. that has to be a flexible place to be standing inside of big marble. there's not much sway or is there at any given time in this monument? i mean, there's not much flexibility. you hopefully will be able to see these shalls? these cracks? >> that's correct, and the engineering team and the inspection team has already looked at the interior of the monument. now they're going to move to the exterior, obviously. yes, of course, there are grouting that is the masonry work that is in between each of the stones. that came loose on the inside. we need to check to see obviously if that has happened on the outside. we need to check further as to whether any of the marble stones themselves have had any of this shalling effect to take place. the bottom line is, that inspection, that data gathering still will go on for a while yet. what's most important and what we want the public to realize is that there is only one washington monument, just like there's only one eiffel tower. al national park service needs to have the necessary time, the required amount of time, to allow the team to do a full, thorough complete analysis and examination ever the monument before we begin any repairs before we can then reopen to the public. >> that's the way to do it. bill, thanks for joining us and telling us about it and, of course, we'll watch this morning as the engineering and rappelers rappel down the side of the washington monument. >> you don't want anything to happen to the washington monument. it's so gorgeous. it's just like a -- i don't know. it does something to me emotionally just to look at it. >> i think of a country fum of eighth grade classes taking their class trip to washington, d.c. it's the first thing you want to do. >> they seem to have a handle on this. i'm confident they'll come out and say -- >> i want to know what the winds are going to be today, jacqui jeras? people rappelling down the sides of the washington monument. you wouldn't want it to be windy, right? >> you would not. and it's not going to be. overall, could see a couple showers. a lot of fog. visibility a problem not just in d.c. but everywhere from the gulf coast up into the northeastern quarter. low visibility here. a quarter mile or less. advisories are in effect towards montgomery, birmingham, into huntsville, through parts of tennessee and up towards columbus, ohio, and advisories in new york city, hart fundamental, providence and out into the cape. a lot of caution traveling this morning and anytime you get fog like that and low visibility, it causes problems at the airport. we had a ground stop earlier for washington dulles. that's been lifted but could change going through the morning. 40 minute delays in philadelphia. expecting delaying in chicago, because of heavy rain. new york, philly, as well as boston and d.c., and miami could have problems because of showers and thunderstorms. the big weather story continues to be the'ser level low just sitting here since the weekend across the great lakes. we've got return flow here across the east coast. it's going to be a wet week. you know, this fog is going to stick around. the rain is going to be sticking around and we're probably looking at friday into saturday before you get any significant relief. keeping your temperatures on the cool side. looking at 50s and 60s here across the great lakes and ohio valley, but a little ahead of that front and you're warmer. more of a tropical air mass. 76 in new york city. get used to that dreary start. cheering you up because of that dreary, show you something pretty, quick. check out this ireport from greg choky from lake city, colorado. he took this picture at the top of round top mountain. that is just gorgeous. those fall colors starting to peak in parts of the rockies and parts of new england as well. isn't that pretty? >> that is beautiful. wow. >> love it. >> i'm hopping on a plane right after the show. awesome. thank you, jacqui. >> sure. now's your chance to "talk back" on what are the big stories ever the day. the question for this morning, is president obama's new fiery speeches resonating? hit with low approval ratings, the president seemed plain fired up. we're seeing a rock 'em sock 'em obama. witness this passionate speech before the congressional black caucus. >> i expect all of you to march with me and press on. take off the bedroom slippers. put on your marching shoes. shake it off. stop complaining. stop grumbling. stop crying. we are going to press on. we've got work to do. cbc, god bless you, and god bless the united states of america. >> there you go. in case you hadn't noticed, the new alpha obama. first appeared in a jobs speech before congress and then blasted the rich for not paying their fair share of taxes. in a private democratic fund-raiser, president obama was down-right feisty saying about rick perry, "you've got a governor whose state is on fire denying climate change." mr. obama said this about the republican debate audiences. "cheering at the prospect of somebody dying because they don't have health care, and booing a service member in iraq because they're gay. come on." no question about it. the president is throwing some red meat. throwing that red meat out to a liberal base upset that he seems weak in the face of republican attacks. >> we don't have bedroom slippers. we've been out there's for years doing this kind of thing. so we take it that he just kind of got off the teleprompter a little bit and got fired up, and we want to help him. we want to make sure that the base is protected. >> so the "talk back" question for you this morning, is president obama's new fiery persona resonating? facebook.com/americanmorning. facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your comments later this hour. >> even the way he banged the side of the podium. everything about the entire stage craft of it was very feisty. >> made you want to jump up and go, yeah! you're going, wow. i want to watch this video again. we've been studying it all morning. this is a guy, he's an american professional wing suit flier. his name is jeff corliss. jumps out of a chopper at nearly 7,000 feet. soars through the skies, through sort of a tunnel. a gap in the tiananmen mountain, and pops out the other side. this is his second attempt. on the first he jumped too early had to take a detour to the other side of the mountain. a guy banned -- >> banned in not. >> banned from the empire state building because he tried to parachute off of it last year. >> what's wrong with parachuting -- >> into midtown manhattan. we're all surprised there are professional wing suit jumping. i didn't know about that. >> wing suit fliers. mom, i want to be a professional -- are you kidding, dear? >> a category. still to come this morning, the job market's going nowhere. another threat of a government shutdown. so why is washington so broken and what in the world can we do to fix it. and before we head to break a beautiful, another beautiful shot to show you. >> hmm. >> kind of hazy. this is the sun rising over new york city this morning. good morning, everyone. we'll be right back. it's 22 minutes past. ♪ [ multiple snds ng melodic tune ] ♪ [ malennounc ] at northrop grumman, makthworld a feplace. th's value performance. northr gruan. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. welcome back. "minding your business" at 27 after the hour. stock futures up one day after the dow and s&pa 00 both gained about 2.5%. strong gains in european and asian markets overnight too. that was all fueled by reports of a plan to resolve the european debt crisis. efforts are under way to secure another bailout for greece. that country's prime minister is in germany. he spoke a short while ago saying, "greece will live up to all its commitments." meanwhile, back in athens, the finance minister saying greeks are ready to accept the sacrifices they have to make but there are protests in athens today over the cutbacks and a new property tax meant to keep the government from defaulting next month. your home is most likely your biggest debt and asset. we could learn about its value. at 9:00, the case schiller index will show the number of home prices fell in july, and a report where consumer confidence stands as we head into the all-important holiday shopping season. and one man's attempt to jump-start the economy is dallas fed chief richard fisher. today he'll explain in a teach in dallas why he voted against the stimulus operation known at "operation twist." more banks are ditching free checking according to a study by bank rate dotcom. 45% of checking accounts do not come with a fee. down 20 parsage point from last year. you can beat the fee by carrying a minimum balance or making drebt deposits. specials hundreds of protests across the united states. remember the agency proposed laying off nearly 120,000 workers and shutting a number of post offices as a way to remain solvent. don't forget, for the very latest news about your money check out the all-new cnnmoney.com. mrm some we "american morning" is back right after the break. naomi pryce: i am. i'm in the name your own price division. i find empty hotel rooms and help people save - >> - up to 60% off. i am familiar. your name? > naomi pryce. >> what other "negotiating" skills do you have? > i'm a fifth-degree black belt. >> as am i. > i'm fluent in 37 languages. >> (indistinct clicking) > and i'm a master of disguise >> as am i. > as am i. >> as am i. > as am i. >> well played naomi pryce. [ woman ] my heart medication isn't some political game. [ man ] our retirement isn't a simple budget line item. [ man ] i worked hard. i paid into my medicare. [ man ] and i earned my social security. [ woman ] now, instead of cutting waste and loopholes, washington wants to cut our benefits? that wasn't the agreement. [ male announcer ] join the members of aarp and tell washington to stop cuts to our medicare and social security benefits. backed by the superguarantee®? find a business only& suonline.s®. on your phone. or in the book. go to superpages®. and let the good guys save the day. good morning to you. your top stories developing now, a rear-end collision in a tunnel in shanghai, china. more than 240 passengers reportedly injured in the afternoon crash. no word on any deaths. chinese authorities on the scene guessing a signal is the cause. and nato air strikes pounding the port city of sirte yesterday, one of gadhafi's last strongholds. paving the way for troops to launch a major offensive. the commander of the forces reporting sirte is now under their control. there will be no government shutdown this weekend. the senate reaching a bipartisan agreement on a spending plan that keeps fema funded and the government operating through mid-november. the house is expected to pass the measure as well. a government shutdown averted another few week. when people talk about broken government this is what they're talking about. threats of government shutting down more than once this year, and all this week cnn is taking an in-depth look at why our government is so broken. joining me, president for the committee for a responsible fraught budget, bernard, and joining us from princeton, new jersey. welcome to you both. bernard, ask you first, you wrote to your financial clients saying the single issue affecting consumers stalling economic growth right now is the failure of governing in washington. at a time when so many americans are hurting. the political food fight between the white house and republicans will certainly not hasten economic growth nor create a single private sector job. my question is, you know that. i know that. the american people are sick and tired of what's happening in washington. does washington get this message? >> well, this is about the most ineffectual government that we have had in washington for i would say several decades now, and it's happening at the worst possible time, because the economic recovery is the weakest that we have seen in more than half a century. i mean, we're on the knife's edge here still about to slip into recession. so we're not really getting much help from the government. so there is this national, almost palpable sense of despair that a lot of americans are feeling right noi, because it appears that washington is utterly preoccupied with a presidential election coming up, and it has sort of relegated into the back seat policy matters that are really in the national interest, and so, you know, the only thing, the only way to describe this is utterly disgraceful, because americans are hurting and not much is coming out of washington, could they actually make it worse? >> oh, yes, without a doubt they could make it worse. if we see any significant cuts in government spending in the next one to two or three years that can really hurt the economy, because right now this recovery is starved of demand, and if you were going to cut government spending at this moment, what you're doing is, you're essentially further ex-fix yating an economy starved of stimulus. that's one of the worst things the government can do, commit the policy mistake of dramatically cutting back on spending's they should not do that until the economy grows 3% to 3.5% for several quarters and the econounemployment falls bel. >> we are past the return of showing the world we have our debt and deficits under control and the republican party is very focused on cutting right now. very focused on deficit reduction at the expense of the near-term stimulus and the near-term job creation. so what should they do? >> well, it's such a challenging time, right? so washington's almost paralyzed in terms of coming up with real solutions and the country has major, major challenges. both on the economic front, where this recovery just isn't strong enough and we need to do more to help the economy, but the deficit and debt problem is huge and it's real. if we don't put in place -- what i think we do need to do -- a multiyear deficit reduction plan. it doesn't have to be heavy on spending cuts or revenue increases in the short run but you have to put a plan in place that span as decade nap would offer stability and a reasonable fiscal path to get on. but it takes compromise, and right now washington is so polarized to fighting and negotiating, it's two teams against each other more than understanding, this is about the national interests, with real challenges and putting tricky policies in place that are going to be hard. >> so frustrating. really frustrating. you've been pulling out your hair nearly ten years talking about debt and deficit. saying for a really long time. we need to do this when times are good. when times are bad it's hard to talk about tightening the belt when you really need economic growth and need to put people back to work. so you have democrats who don't just want spending cuts, spending cuts, it will seem they rolled over to republicans, and republicans who will not accept tax increases. where does that leave us? >> a 12-person super committee charged with coming up with major savings phased in over ten years and a very short time frame to do it. they're supposed to save just over a trillion, a trillion and a half. if they go big, do a bigger fix. one, large enough to actually fix the problem. around $4 trillion instead of $1.5 trillion, but, two, put all the issues on the table. we're not having this without entithts reform and we need spends cuts. we need to do all of it. actually going big may make the politics of all of this easier. not easy, but a little easier, because everybody needs to be involved in the solution, and there needs to be something all parties can buy into and they need to spend time talking to each other and understanding the concerns they all have, because they are legitimate. they're different, but they all bring different valuable points of view to the tubal. >> what can congress and the president do right now to restore confidence? >> a couple of things they can do. number one, they can extend the pay roll tax cut into next year. it's important that we make sure americans have as much money in their pockets as possible. number two, they ought to also allow companies to write off 100% of their business capital spending one more year as well. number three, avoid the policy mistake that i mentioned earlier about cutting government spending in the short run too quickly. and fourth, this is a policy recommendation that has not really been discussed very much in washington. and that is, to bring together the 25 million small and mid-sized businesses. that part of the economy that generates 70% of all new jobs and have them do more exports. 99% of these small and mid-size business dos not export. it they don't have the resources or the know-how. what i think the commerce department and the small business administration can do is bring these small and mid-sized business leaders together with foreign companies under one roof, have them cultivate a relationship, do networking. if we get -- if small and mid-size businesses get new orders that will generate much more job growth in the country. >> some solutions, ideas. some sound advice from two broken government -- thank you both today. >> great conversation. all right. so still ahead, do you know who sean parker is? yes, you do. he created napster. he's facebook's founding president. justin timberlake played him in a movie. sitting down with him about his next big internet veadventure. that's coming up next. and known at milk of ma niesha. the drug used in michael jackson's death. generally used at a general anesthetic. how does it work? dr. sanjay gupta takes us inside the operating for for a show and tell as one patient is prepped for surgery. today's "romans' numeral," 7,432,307a hint if you hate your job you may be in this statistic. it also shows all is not lost in the job market. >> i'm curious about this one. >> 39 minutes after the hour. 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thunderstorms. >> i don't believe it. they said that yesterday. the number in the news, 7,432,307. >> something to do with gold? >> the jobs market, kmlly. talking about a paralyzed job market, the number of link'd in members who changed their jobs or switching jobs or careers showing you, talk about net job creations being disappointing, but people throughout are moving around, if they've got to. it is still a very dynamic labor force. >> lincoln has grown right along with the growth of people looking for jobs. unlike other social media sites it's largely associated with networking and professional -- >> a professional network, although there are a lot of different categories on there. more than 300,000 veterans on there. a good way for veterans to try to link in. 4.6% with a college degree. >> just for havinged degree. you actually have to do something about t. talking about networking, that's what we're talking about. >> i post all mine to link'd in and hear a lot of people i get your stuff on link'd in, not on facebook or twitter. on link'd in. interesting. the company filed papers forming a political action committee. giving the pact employees a way to get their voice heard by supporting candidates financially who share their goals of making the world more open and connected. taking facebook into the world of lobbying. >> and the driving force behind that company, a guy named sean parker played by justin timberlake in the movie "the social network" and rarely does interviews, but our dan simon sat down with this, this aun pra tra newer, for an exclusive interview about his next adventure. ♪ say oh, yeah >> snoop dogg performing at a private party for the young eli elite. one of several that included the killers and the band james addiction. an event that incredibly was planned only two days earlier by technology pioneer sean parker. he decided at the last minute to throw a party to coincide with a big facebook conference in san francisco, and to bring attention to his latest internet venture, but more on that in a moment. how much fun are you having? >> putting this event together in the last 48 hours was both incredibly fun and incredibly stressful. >> you're a zillionaire. >> not technically. >> what are you? >> reporter: to me, best known as the guy played by justin timberlake in the movie "the social network." parker, the first president of facebook and to founder mark zuckerberg. >> just facebook. >> it's cool. >> in silicon valley, parker was already a legend as a co-founder of napster, the music piracy site that fundamentally shifted how consumers get their music from store-bought cds to the internet and talked how he and another sean, sean fanning, went from being hackers to internet trailblazers. >> fanning and i immediately realized we had an interest in more than just computers and softd ware and hacking and security. we actually 4 lhad an interest one was napster. >> reporter: 11 years later, parker returned to his music roots as one of the largest investors in spotaphi, he recently helped bring this to the u.s. he steered to where users can now listen and share music with their facebook friends in realtime. >> it's my belief that by bringing network effects and the power of social to the music business we will create the dominant music platform in the world. >> reporter: a bold statement in a business category now dominated by apple. but parker intuition served him well. being rich isn't as glamorous as it seems, it certainly wasn't evident on this night. dan simon, cnn, san francisco. >> yeah, being rich, maybe not glamorous, but it sure is nice. >> sure is rich. >> which i had his rich. >> i know. morning headlines coming your way. inlecluding he confessed twice. joran van der sloot, that's next. it's 46 past the hour. just about ten minutes until the top of the hour. here are the morning headlines. u.s. stock futures trading higher. the gains turning out what is starting out to be a positive day in europe as they work to solve the debt crisis. a government shutdown averted. the senate reaching a bipartisan agreement on a spending plan keeping fema funds flowing to disaster victims and keeps the government running through mid-november. the house is expected to approve the deal. engineering dangling from ropes looking for cracks and other signs of outside damage to the washington monument. it's been closed since the east coast earthquake last month. workers are expected to start rappelling down the monument shortly. the inside of the monument has been declared structurally sound. opening statements will begin in a few hours in the michael jackson death trial. dr. conrad murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter. prosecutors allege he caused jackson's death by administering a lethal dose of the drug propofol. and defense starting closing arguments in italy in the appeal trial of american student amanda knox. knox was convicted of gruesomely killing her british housemate back in 2009. and joran van der sloot confessing on tape to the murder of a young peruvian woman saying he did it after he discovered her looking him up on the web. charlie sheen settling a lawsuit triggered by his firing from "two and a half men." he'll get $ 2.5 million whip chower chuck lorre. that's the news you need to start your day. "american morning" back after a break. kind of all looks the same every one of these shots. cloudy. 69 degrees and cloudy in atlanta. going to get to a high of 83. i have to say, i said something when we talked about the new york weather, i said, i never listen to weather people anyway. that's just not true. new york is unusual. >> jacqui jeras called, didn't she? >> she tweeted. she said she wasn't around yesterday. she wasn't responsible. you know, new york has a combination of like the weather pattern that moves in and then stuff that just happens because it's new york. there are days when it's not forecast to rain and it rains and then forecast to rain and it doesn't. >> can you just send her flowers? >> nuthing to do with the wonderful weather forecasters and meteorologists we use, it's just us. >> are we going to jackie? with the conrad murray trial starting, you'll hear a lot about propofol. our dr. sanjay gupta takes us inside the o.r. to demonstrate just how quickly this drug works. >> so, we are here inside the operating room with the chief of an theseiology here. propofol is a medication all the time. >> milk of amnesia they call it. >> milk of amnesia. you okay? we have to monitor his breathing and see his saturation and make sure he's ventilating. >> that's all typical stuff. >> that's standard of care, yes. >> okay. so the propofol. >> you're going to get a little sleepy, vincent. give me some good, deep breaths. >> take a look at his eyes. how quickly. >> deep breath, vincent, doing great. may feel a little burning. >> deep breath. >> eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. >> there's a reason for his heart rate increasing. >> i have to switch hands. >> his eyes closed. >> what else are you looking for? >> look up here, he stopped breathing. this is watching his nc02 and going to help him breathe. >> take a look over there. all the breathing is taking place with this bag and from that mask. without that medication he cannot breathe on his own without those things. he stopped breathing and he's going to need a breathing tube. >> what's so attractive about this medication? >> in the last ten years or so, even more, 15 years. a quick on, quick off. that may answer why people think this is something they can do at home. because if it gets out of hand, it goes away quickly. the problem is, if it gets out of hand, nobody is there to recesuscitate you and nobody ca bring you back. >> he's gone from being completely awake to completely asleep. >> he's not breathing. i'm breathing for him. >> one thing that is wurlorth pointing out. this is a hospital that uses this medication thousands of times a year. but they use this medication in outpatient clinic. doctors here say they never used it being used in a home. >> that's what we heard many times. this is not something you use at home. serious doctors and -- >> an theeseiologists. >> this is actually part of michael jackson's case in that he was taking a lot of drugs that used a certain way are entirely appropriate. used a different way and procured incorrectly lly are ve very dangerous. >> dr. murray, you know, the guy on trial, administered propofol, he admits that. but his defense attorneys will argue that michael jackson administered propofol to himself and that's what killed him. >> interesting in the trial if they are able to chronicle just how much of a professional michael jackson was with prescription drugs and if he always used them under the prescription of a doctor or not. >> they're going to say he was a long-time drug abuser and it was just part of the way he lived. an interesting trial, which starts today, by the way. we asked you to talk back this morning. the question for you this morning, is president obama's new fiery persona resonating? this from paul, obama can use all the fiery persona that he wants, it's still not going to help him. facts are facts. the nation is heading towards a double dip recession, unemployment is sky high and national debt is out of control. this from david, i think the president has been way too reserved. he needs to bring back that old fire that got him elected and use it to push his current policies. if america backs him, the house republicans will get out of the way. this from craig, nothing more than a rebranding strategy. he's masterful at taking things he already proposed and repackaging them and calling it something new. this is the original change campaign just redone. i'm not convinced. keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolcnn. top stories when we return. it is 57 minutes after the hour. [ female announcer ] you always went for the tall, dark, handsome types. so who'd have ever thought the love of your life... would be short and bald? having a baby changes everything. i'm christine romans. it's a tall order, but a team of engineers are set to repel down the side of a 5,000-foot monument. the budget battle is over. keep the government operating for seven more weeks but then'm. pastries for two bucks. what's the point they're trying to make? on this "american morning." and good morning, everyone. welcome back, it is tuesday, september 27th. >> only three days until friday. >> i thought the same thing. >> for some reason, this week is moving by slowly. >> you were saying that on monday. >> i was saying that on sunday. >> broken government does that to you. dramatic new video from inside the washington monument at the very moment the east coast earthquake struck last month. an inside camera shows the shaking and actually shows debris falling down on top of thes.sitors you could see rushi down the stairs. early on "american morning," national park service spokesman bill line told us why it's necessary. >> what we need to find out and still gather data and gather information is to whether the earthquake on august 23rd resulted in any of the, any of the damage that we could not determine to the naked eye. we need to get up close and personal and see visually inspect with the human eye at a close range whether there are any damage that could over the years accelerate into something greater. >> says the monument is struckally soustruc structurally sound on the inside and no danger of collapse, but will remain closed to the public until further notice. >> i asked what the engineers repelling down the sides will be looking for. cracks in the exterior stones at the top of the monument. rain water was found inside about 400 feet up. they'll check each stone for soundness. the elevator system is not working properly. right now elevators only travel halfway up and also checking for holes and cracks in the mortar. >> we learned a new word. >> s-h-a-l-l. >> the marble shawllls. >> the word of the day, i guess. the senate reached a bipartisan agreement to keep the federal government operating through mid-november, but not the spirit of compromise or a team of engineers repelling down the side that got the deal done. live pictures of capitol hill this morning. democrats and republicans are not suddenly getting along. they just figured out last night that they have nothing to fight about, i guess. kate baldwin joining us live from washington. this is an agreement made possible not by compromise by but fema, right sph. >> it seems a little bit of good fortune was the break through. the break through came after fema announced yesterday that it is able to stretch current funding to make it through the end of the week without the fund running dry. it had previously said that wasn't likely and it was likely about to run out of money. this is key because the end of this week is also the end of the current fiscal year, which effectively makes the central obstacle which was holding up in an agreement a moot point. they were agreeing all along that they need to approve a short-term spending measure. they were battling whether over the additional funding they wanted to give fema for the rest of this fiscal year needed to be paid for by cutting spendingalcy where. republicans said, yes, it should. democrats said, no. now, that issue was taken really off the table with fema's announcement. the senate last night quickly approved a measure to approve the government through november 18th. christine? >> this is passing the senate. is this going to pass the house? >> oh, the hard questions, ali. the house does still need to sign off on this since this is different from what the house passed last week. but with the major sticking point now eliminated, the house presumably could move forward to pass this deal, but, remember, members of the house are not here right now. they are back home in their districts for the week. lition. >> how could the republicans possibly come back as they have now and try to manipulate the agreement we had towards the end of last july. they did that. i cannot imagine they would try it again. i don't think this has been a very happy week for my friends in the house. >> so, the house could pass this deal quickly, without having to call all the members back into town by a voice vote, if no one would object, which that's not clear. what's more likely to happen, ali. they could take this up first thing when the house returns next week and that's made possible, little bit i left out because it's so complex. the senate last night passed a on one-week extension of funding and the house agreed to that. it will bridge the gap when the fiscal gap and the house returns and they can do a full vote. >> all right, kate, thanks very much. we'll have a few more days of reporting on this until it's all done. >> and then we'll break out the champagne. >> washington process makes me crazy. >> it does, except for places that don't have process. things that are just done by presidential decree. i was just having that wrestling match with myself, saying this is what is going to be done. gosh, that sounds stupid. >> that sounds so glass half full. >> i am hoping there are not thunderstorms in new york today. >> something between the dictator and the broken process in washington. also new this morning, president obama wraps up his west coast trip. he will stop by a high school in denver. the president made three stops in southern california urging his supporters to rally behind his policies and his campaign. a big personnel move in the works at the white house this morning. stephanie cutter will be leaving the west wing to join the president's re-election campaign. now, stephanie cutter seen here is currently serving as deputy to david, she will resume her new role at the end of the year. >> right hand to the treasury secretary during the financial crisis and the response from the administration to that. sarah palin seems ready to challenge the author of a controversial new book. joe mcginnis says palin may sue them for the lies and smears. mcginnis defended the book when he was right here on "american morning" said the former governor lived an outrageous life and all he did was talk to people about it. no more snooki subsidies. chris christie vetoed a tax credit that would have gone to the production company behind "jersey shore." he is a vocal critic of the show and the state tax and senate program said taxpayers can't afford to support a program that tarnishes the state's reputation. >> that doesn't tarnish the state's reputation. >> it's brought big money into the state. a bake sale planned today at uc berkeley is being called racist and a slap in the face to people of color. they're selling baked goods with a sliding price scale based on race. $2 if you're white, $1 if you're latino and 75 cents if you're black and women get 25% off those prices. it's meant to get people angry about affirmative action in the admission process. here's both sides. >> it certainly is stirring emotions and that's what we want. it causes people to think more critically about what this kind of policy would do in admissions. >> they mocked the struggles of people of color on this campus is very upsetting to me. >> it was agreed by the club leadership, which includes people of many ethnic backgrounds. still ahead, looking to get married? the marriage rate is plummeting and african-americans are leading the trend. where does that leave successful black women who are looking for a suitable husband? we're sitting down with the author of a provocative new book called "is marriage for white peop peop peop people?" up next, the new york yankees dress the kids up as various '80s music stars, parachute pants, mega hair, spandex. you can't miss this. not your typical road block. wrestling bears stop traffic at yosemite national park. fight. we'll show you what this is all about when we come back. >> where are they? 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[ female announcer ] only from aveeno. it is 12 minutes past the hour. the worst nightmare has become reality in indy. the owner of the indianapolis colts say it is likely peyton manning will miss the entire season, but an outside chance that he will come back in december. of course, the team may be way out of things by then. the colts are off to an 0-3 start without their franchise quarterback. >> you feel for that guy. >> he never missed a game. it's just sad. it's now official the new jersey nets are the brooklyn nets. jay-z made that announcement yesterday. he has been the face of the plan to move the team to brooklyn and the new barclay's center is still under production. the move for the 2012/2013 season. he will open the arena with a concert. he is trying to get people excited. he is throwing in concerts and beyonce might make an appearance. >> would you go to those? i invited carol yesterday to join me for one of my yankees games and she didn't seem -- >> are you kidding? >> unless the tigers are playing. >> she's loyal. carol is loyal. all right, speaking about the yankees, usually all business pinstripes, no goatees allowed. check this out. the team decided to haze the rookies by dropping up from '80s pop stars. milli vanilli, prince, mu doma, mc hammer and slash from guns & roses. manager joe girardi in the middle, not in costume. >> who dressed up as madonna. >> i couldn't see the picture that clearly. let's head to atlanta, jacqui jeras, i hope you heard ali's apology. >> i did. i sent him a tweet back and yellow roses. that was so nice, by the way, thank you. anyway, big weather story today, guys. we're going to be watching this area of low pressure that has been just stuck there over the great lakes in ohio valley for days and is it going to stay there stuck for another couple days. look how impressive this is on the satellite. it's just huge. how much of the country it's covering up. this will continue to bring some showers and keep your temperatures cool and keep you kind of dreary. now, also notice along the east coast, high pressure off shore, which has been bringing in that tropical moisture. that's why our temperatures have been so warm here. why we've been in the fog and why we just had so much moisture. now, this is certainly causing some problems at the airports, as well. a ground stop now in effect at reagan national airport in d.c. there. that's until 8:15. so, hopefully this is lifted here very shortly. newark looking at delays already over an hour. this is departure delays. getting out of newark. philadelphia looking at ground delays. that's arrivals. 40-minute delays. ground delays at chicago o'hare. 15 minutes. we think theads will extend throughout the day today. if you have flights at any of these airports, especially across the northeast, be aware of that for today. that's really the big weather story across the country. very nice across the nation's midsection. speaking of pretty nice, you have to see this video. if you're away from your tv screen. get over right now. look at these adorable bear cubs. can you believe? this is yosemite national park. the cubs stopped traffic as people sat there and watched them wrestle in the middle of the road. there's mama bear, just off to the side of the road. don't they look so lit snl. >> that's adorable. >> they are so cute. >> they are adorable now. >> they're going to get bigger. >> don't leave oreos in the glove compartment and leave to take pictures. >> the little one is the instigator. i'm going to get you, again. >> i don't know they were so small and cute. they are incredible. once you see them on the streets of manhattan, they're much bigger. >> thank you, jacqui jeras. now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. the question for you this morning, is president obama's new fiery persona resonating. hit with polls showing low approval ratings, the president seems fired up. as politico roger simon says, we're seeing a rock 'em, sock 'em obama. >> i expect all of you to march with me and press on! take off your bedroom slippers. put on your marching shoes! shake it off! stop complaining! stop grumbling and crying! we are going to press on. we have work to do. cbc. god bless you and god bless the united states of america. >> in case you hadn't noticed, the new alpha obama appeared at jobs speech and then when he blasted the rich for not paying their fair share of taxes. in a private democratic fund-raiser, president obauma ws down right feisty. you have a governor whose state is on fire denying climate change. president obama said this about the public debate audiences. cheering at the prospect of somebody dying because they don't have health care and buing a service member in iraq because they're gay. no question about it, the president is throwing red meat to a liberal base upset that he seems weak in the face of republican attacks. >> we don't have bedroom slippers. we've been out there for years doing this kind of thing. so, we take it that he just kind of got off the teleprompter a little bit and got fired up and we want to help him. we want to make sure that the base is protected. >> so, the talk back question for you this morning, is president obama's new fiery persona resonating? facebook.com/americanmorning. facebook.com/americanmorning. i'll read your comments later this hour. a check of the early markets, next. plus, billionaire investor warren buffett sees a stock market bargain. what he is buying, next. it's 19 minutes after the hour. americans are always ready to work hard for a better future. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader. the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ welcome back. it's 22 minutes after the hour. efforts under way to secure another bailout for greece. that con's prime minister is in germany and spoke a short while ago saying greece will live up to all its commitments. meanwhile, back in athens, the finance minister saying greece ready to accept the sacrifices they have to make. cutbacks and a new property tax to keep the government from defaulting next month. right now stock futures are up one day after the dow and the s&p 500 each gained about 2.5%. billionaire investor warren buffett opting to use some of his company's $40 million to buy back berkshire hathaway's own shares. one reason for the move, the company's stock might offer the best buyback for buffett. more banks are ditching free checking. according to a study by bankrate.com. 45% of checking accounts don't come with the fee, that's down 20 percentage points from last year. often you can beat the fee by carrying a minimum balance or making a direct deposit. a majority of credit unions don't have fees. retail giant macy's will add 78,000 temporary jobs this holiday season. a 4% increase from last year. the company says the increased hiring is needed because of continued sales growth in stores and online. and dr. seuss fans are in for a new treat. a new book with seven lost stories will hit stores today. there you go, up next, prepare to be inspired. a man is walking from new york to los angeles to find out what it means to be an american. we spoke to him when he took off on the fourth of july. so, what's it been like so far? where is he now and how many pairs of shoes has he walked through? 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[ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. good morning, atlanta. it is cloudy and 69 degrees and it's going to stay cloudy, i'm afraid. but a high temperature of 83. >> which is great if you're walking all across america. >> it is. >> we know someone who is. >> we're going to talk about him right now. really inspiring. nearly three months into his walk across america. now, his goal is to find out what it means to be an american. he is a naturalized american. we spoke to him on the fourth of july when he started his journey right here in new york. then we visited with him in august. he had gotten down to d.c. in northern virginia. he has been hoofing it ever since. we thought he was heading west to l.a. he is 994 miles into his trip, but this morning he joins us from outside the cnn center in atlanta. did you not take a map with you, man, why are you in atlanta? >> i got lost. i took a wrong turn. >> things have changed for you. you're deciding to take the long route to l.a. >> well, i always planned on going south first and i wanted to go to new orleans from the very beginning. but when i was in d.c. and looking how to get is to new orleans from d.c. my plan was to go to kentucky and tennessee and i decided to come down from the carolinas and georgia. i'll meet up with my parents in alabama and i'll keep going to new orleans. >> this is your first time in the south. >> it is. >> what do you think, what do you think? >> i'm really liking it. it's growing on me. i don't know about the sweet tea. i'm still getting unsweet, but, you know. >> well, you said your journey from washington down south was life changing. what do you mean by that? >> you know, it was, okay, so, i live in d.c. for five years and then i've lived in new york for five years. so, that first stretch in some ways i was walking through my backyard for the last ten years. i'm very familiar with that. leaving d.c., that's sort of when the whole emotional aspect of this hit me. you know. i really started feeling like i didn't have a home. you know. i was away from everything familiar and then i spent so much time alone, but, you know, how your mind works. you just start, you can't escape your thoughts. >> that's right because, i mean, a lot of open land when you head down south. a lot of rural america. so, are the people different down there? >> well, people are still very nice. they are different. i have, i still think new yorkers are the friendliest people in the world, even though that's not the stereotype. but people here are friendly, but they're friendly in a different way. >> there's somebody waving behind you, friendly atlantan. let me ask you about the logistics here. how is it that you walk? you walk along highways or interstates or country roads and tell me about where you sleep at night. >> mostly i walk on country roads. it's not legal to walk on the interstate and it would probably not be safe and, also, kind of boring. so, i stick to back roads. i've been sleeping, you know, i've been carrying that tent and sleeping bag since d.c. i only had to use it once. and it's been almost three months. everywhere i go i find people who have been willing to let me crash on their couch or sleep in their guest bedroom. and, you know -- >> i find that amazing that total strangers would open their doors. you said you only lost four pounds after walking 900 miles. they must be feeding you, too. >> they are. that's one thing i'm liking about the south. the food here is great and hearty. >> i'm an unsweet tea guy. >> what is going on with the shoe situation? you said you were going to go through four pairs of running shoes and you're done with one and you sent it back to the folks that diner who helped you get started in new york. was that meant to be a gift or -- >> yeah. i mean, it's -- they were. i have been sending them postcards from everywhere i go. i figure they were all curious about the shoes and all that. i sent that back to them. they were pretty worn out. they were starting to get holes in the soles. >> your goal is to really understand what it means to be an american. this is a quest you're on, as well. >> that's basically the question i have been asking people, you know, people that i meet. like what being an american means to them. there is some common trends like a lot of people say, well, it's freedom. so, we get into a discussion about what does freedom mean? and then a lot of people say safety. every immigrant i've talked to uses the word opportunity. you know, being able to do something that they would have never been able to do wherever they came from. >> nice to know, the land of opportunity. despite broken government and all that we talk about today. >> don't worry. i know you don't feel at home down south, but i lived in atlanta for three years. the people are fantastic and they are friendly. you just got to get to know them and i'm sure you will because you're a friendly guy yourself. >> enjoy your trip. we will follow you with great interest. thank you for doing what you said for popping in and talking to us. walking across america. if you want to follow his journey on facebook. go to a page called like walk and american. >> he is heading west. >> for all the disappointment we talk about and the anxiety in this country, here's a guy who is working hard and breaking a sweat to actually find out what is great about america. >> love it. >> the greatest thing he's finding out there is plenty to be proud of in america. you go. here are your top stories. a rear end collision between two subway trains in a tunnel in shanghai, china. 200 passengers injured in the afternoon crash. chinese authorities on the scene investigating, of course, a signal malfunction is the cause. moammar gadhafi's hometown close to falling to transitional government. pounding surf yesterday, that is one of gadhafi's last strongholds along the mediterranean. that paves the way for the transitional troops to launch an offensive. the sirte port is now under their control. no government shutdown this week. the government on a spending plan that keeps fema funded and the government operating through mid-november. the house is expected to pass the measure some time in the next few days. a first look at how terrifying it was to be inside the washington monument when last month's earthquake struck. a security camera inside the observation deck. you can see the incredible shaking going on. it gets worse, visitors are taking off and they are rushing down the stairs. although, i must admit, they were pretty calm and pretty orderly. engineers say the monument is struckally sound and not in any danger of collapsing. this morning, though, a team will repel down the side of the monument to inspect for exterior damage. a jury is set to hear opening story in the trial of michael jackson's doctor. dr. conrad murray. cnn's don lemon live outside the courthouse in los angeles. good morning, don. >> good morning. propofol. did you know what propofol was before this? >> i certainly did not. >> did you guys have any idea? most of us have not heard about it. i have been doing a lot of research just on the plane yesterday i did a google search for propofol and guess whose picture comes up? conrad murray and michael jackson's pictures come up when you google propofol. we found that and not only about that but prescription drugs and doctors and our relationships with doctors and how much money you have and celebrities. all of that. that is what is going to come out in this case. today, ali, christine and carol, a lot of you sitting on the couch. today we're going to hear and it's going to be the opening statements today and start at 8:45 this morning and california time. so, the judge is going to come in and he's going to give the jury the instructions and then they're going to go into the opening statements and then it's the prosecution's turn. that's what's going to happen today. if you ask me, do we know what is going to happen? it's scheduled, but nothing ever goes as planned, especially when you're dealing wit a case like this and there's celebrities and a lot of money and media involved. >> tell us about that, don. i know conrad murray has received death threats and, of course, major league celebrities inside that courthouse. >> yeah. there's going to be, obviously, a lot of security. itser in downtown. not far from the police headquarters here. people are starting to come out at least earlier here. three hours behind the east coast. it's earlier here, a lot of people have not shown up. there is security here because michael jackson's mother said she will be in court every day. there are seven seats in the courtroom every day. his brothers and sisters are famous. not as famous as he was. but you know most of them had careers in show business. so, it's a very high-profile case and so there's going to be lots of security. people have already started, it's dark here, you can see it. they already started to show up. >> tell me about the jurors, don. >> yeah. ali, the jurors. it's interesting. flz there's seven men and five women and six of them are white and five hispanic and one african-american. we talk about jurors and fairness and when it comes to race. they don't believe race is a factor but some people were concerned about having one only african-american juror. listen, here's the thing, though, that i think is important to point out. the people that they have on this jury are most of them are pretty, pretty successful professionals. and even you have people who work in the legal field. so, and most of them have said through a questionnaire, yeah, i am a fan of michael jackson's, but i think they've gotten people who can discern the difference between being a fan and being able to take the judge's instructions and separating themselves out from liking michael jackson as a fan or whether or not dr. conrad murray was negligent. that's what it is all going to depend on. i don't know how much time we have here. but if you guys want to talk about what's at stake, dr. conrad murray for four years and then he's going to lose his medical license in this. i was here two years ago when it happened and i worked with an attorney and i read something that she wrote, ali, just a couple days ago and i think she really put it concisely. she said the issue here. i'll read this quickly of murray's guilt or innocence will turn on a few discreet questions. did the doctor fail to perform a legal duty that he owed michael jackson? he takes a hippocratic oath and he is supposed to perform his legal duty? did he fail to do that? if so, was his failure so reckless as to create a high risk of death or bodily injury? would any doctor have acted in the same way? did that cause michael jackson's death? that's concisely put. that is what it is going to hinge on. the defense is going to say he did it to himself. they're trying to inject some doubt into the jury there. >> don lemon. thank you. >> don's been following it for a long time. it's going to get complicated, we're going to count on you to keep it simple for us. >> check out our sister network, hln. coming up next, marriage rates are declining, particularly among african-americans, so what's the solution for black women who can't find a husband? a controversial new book is asking "is marriage for white people?" stick around, it's 39 minutes past the hour. [ multiple snds ng melodic tune ] ♪ [ malennounc ] at northrop grumman, makthworld a feplace. th's value performance. northr gruan. 42 minutes past the hour, welcome back to "american morning." supply and demand works for economies, why not marriage? our next guest is stafford law professor richard banks. welcome. >> thank you. good to be here. >> even the title is cause for discussion. >> i had much more boring academic titles initially. "examination of a changing social institution." research institutions said that was boring. >> "is marriage for white people?" what do you mean to convey with this title? >> the title comes from an article that was published in "washington post" where journalists described her visit to a classroom in inner washington, d.c. she was talking about her careers and the children wanted it learn about parenting and she said, great, i'll bring in married couples and one of the kids, said, no, we're not concerned about marriage, just parenting. another kid said marriage is for white people. i thought that was a perfect and shocking expression that for this african-american child marriage had declined so much among african-americans that he thought only white people got married. >>i ivgive us some statistics. >> the book looks among african-americans nearly 70% of black women are unmarried. 70% of african-american children are born to unwed parents. it's also true marriage has declined among whites, as well. 25% of white children are born to unmarried children. >> 70% of black women remain unmarried because they, well, you say supply and demand, right? they don't married outside of their race. some black women say, that's really not thez answer to our marriage woes. >> a pivotal factor is that women have moved ahead and men have fallen behind. this is most extreme among african-americans. one in ten black men, as we speak, are in prison. these are men in their 20s or early 30s. one in four will go to prison. at the other extreme, nearly twice as many black women as men graduate from college. so, there is a numbers problem where women are doing better, but men are doing worse and that screws up relationships in the relationship market. >> not always, though. you know, in reading the book, you know, you say a lot of women who are making money, marry men who make less money, but, oftentimes those kind of marriages can work. >> they can, indeed. and black women marry lower earning men and less educated men. more than half of all college educated black wives are more educated their than husbands. that can work. but also true that problems are more likely to develop based on studies are more likely to develop when the husband is unemployed. when the husband doesn't earn a substantial income. gender roles have changed, but we still, as a society, have an expectation that a man will be a breadwinner. >> when you suggest that african-american women marry outside their race to wide on the field, some don't feel comfortable with that and some may say, nor should they. >> this is not an advice book. ium really describing how broad, economic changes have reshaped. >> why some african-american women don't want to marry outside their race? >> that's a big story. part of their reason, frapgly, is we put a lot of pressure on black women to only marry black men. to limit them selves to black men. black women are assaulted with accusations of betraying the race, of abandoning black men, of leaving brothers behind or being successful and then not worrying about the rest of the race. and those accusations sting. so, a lot of it has to do with social pressure. one of the goals in the book is to alleviate that social pressure so black women could have the same freedom as other women. >> it's a very interesting book. i could go on discussing this with you forever, but we will not. marriage for white people by ralph richard banks, who likes to be called rick. morning headlines coming your way, next. 47 minutes past the hour. 48.5 minutes after the hour. perfect time for your morning headlines. markets open in 45 minutes and u.s. stock futures are trading higher. the gain is following what is turning out to be a positive trading day in europe. a u.s. government shutdown has been avoided. the senate has reached a bipartisan agreement on a spending plan that keeps fema funds flowing to natural disaster victims and keeps government running through mid-november. the house is expected to approve the deal. today a team of engineers will begin repelling down the sides of the washington monument. the monument has been closed since it was damaged during last month's 5.8 earthquake. take five days to inspect every single inch of the monument. more than two years after michael jackson died, the trial of his former personal physician, dr. conrad murray, gets under way this morning in los angeles. murray is accused of causing jackson's fatal overdose of the drug propofol. campus republicans holding a pay by race bake sale. they're selling baked goods with a sliding price scale based on is the buyer's ethnic background. critics are calling it racist and a slap in the face to the people of color. that's the news you need to start your day. "american morning" is back right after this break. i want healthy skin for life. [ female announcer ] improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno. [ guy ] ring, ring. progresso... i love your new loaded potato with bacon. that's what we like to hear. ring, ring. progresso... ...switch our phone service? ...no, i think we're pretty happy with our phones. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. bands that released their first album or single or album in 1986 or earlier were eligible in this year's ballot. >> there you go. >> i'm so happy for heart. they still perform and they're still great. so enjoyable. in am house call now, better get your b12 unless you want your brain to shrink. i think mine has been doing that over time. foods like clams, oysters and mussels your best source. vitamin b 12 deficiency with brain shrinkage. coffee offering a pick me up in a much deeper way. a new study out of harvard says three cups of coffee a day could lower 15% a woman's risk of suffering from depression four cups cut by 20%. no word on what happens when you exceed eight cups a day. getting a second chance with a new pair of hands, a woman now thriving after undergoing a double hand transplant. dr. sanjay gupta has her story in today's "human factor." >> reporter: imagine having to learn to use someone else's hands as your own. >> how about this. pinch, pinch. >> reporter: that's the reality for sheila, the first woman in the united states to undergo a double hand transplant. >> i just remember being rushed to the hospital to the e.r. and that is it, i was out. >> reporter: her hands and feet were amputated eight years ago after she contracted a bacterial infection. >> they were so lifeless and so black. >> reporter: she got prosthetics for her hands and feet, but the idea of a possible future hand transplant was always on her mind. when the opportunity came from the university of pittsburgh medical center, she went for it. >> i'm amazed by my own progress. i had no expectations. >> reporter: it's been a year since she got her new hands and she has already hit several milestones. she can feel temperature, pain, she can feel various textures. the result of a lot of hard work. she undergoes six hours of physical therapy five days a week. >> for me to finally feel these things again, my hair, my face or even, you know, my jeans. that's something big for me. >> reporter: she says her ultimate goal is to live as independent a life as possible. >> this is actually my very first painting. >> reporter: she draws, she paints, she drives, she puts on makeup. find her way around the kitschen and clips her nails. >> i'm not able to pitch the nail clipper yet. so, i was able to figure out how i would do it for myself, but that was my other way of figuring out how to be independent. >> reporter: the last eight years have been difficult, but she's overcome so much by believing it all happened for a reason. no matter how painful she tries to always be positive. >> i don't give myself much of a choice, but to keep going despite of whatever obstacles i encounter in my life. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. >> that is an amazing story. >> i'm speechless. thanks, sanjay, we appreciated that. coming up next, our talk back question of the day. is president obama's fiery persona resonating? we'll read some of your comments. it's 55 minutes past. not a person. instead of getting to know you they simply assign you a number. aviva is here to change all that. we're bringing humanity back to insurance and putting people before policies. aviva life insurance and annuities. we are building insurance around you. delivering mail, medicine and packages. yet they're closing thousands of offices, slashing service, and want to lay off over 100,000 workers. the postal service is recording financial losses, but not for reasons you might think. the problem ? a burden no other agency or company bears. a 2006 law that drains 5 billion a year from post-office revenue while the postal service is forced to overpay billions more into federal accounts. congress created this problem, and congress can fix it. [ cellphone rings ] cut! [ monica ] i have a small part in a big movie. i thought we'd be on location for 3 days, it's been 3 weeks. so, i used my citi simplicity card to pick up a few things. and i don't have to worry about a late fee. which is good... no! bigger! bigger! [ monica ] ...because i don't think we're going anywhere for a while. [ male announcer ] write your story with the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. get started at citisimplicity.com. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. welcome. kristin. kasey. come on in. kasey, kasey! kasey, what about the new edge drew you to it? the look of it. i love the sleek design. i like the rounded edges. what does the technology in your edge make you think of ford? it just makes me think that ford is in it to win it. ford is trying to get to the next level. you really have to make yourself stand out, and i think ford has done that. looking over there, how does your car look? is this my car? (laugh) (laugh) you know that song is called fire burning. 73 and cloudy and get up to 77 with thunderstorms. they all seem to be getting along today relative to other days. >> on the facebook, though, president obama firing. >> that is where the fire is. >> because of a talk back question today. is president obama's new fiery persona resonating. this from don, i do not believe it is. most americans including his own party members view him as a paper tiger who is full of himself this from alex, of course it is. america wants to sthee stand up fight obama and given he is facing another term, now is the time for him to really take control and lead america. this from david. where was this obama during the last few years? this is the man i voted for originally. if he kept his passion open and worn it on his sleeve, then maybe the two houses could have seen eye-to-eye on the issues. this from robin, too little, too late. maybe if he started january 21, 2009. at this point, it's just words. keep the conversation going. as always, thank you for your comments. >> he was fiery. no question. he's been very fiery this week. >> when he pounded the side of the podium. >> i predi

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