collect urine when you're knocked unconscious for surgical procedures. this is what he sees on the body when he comes into the room to see what he appears to be a dead michael jackson. conrad murray begins instructing alberto alvarez upon entry and tells him grab a bag and conrad murray grabs a bottle of viales and drops them in the bag and tells him to grab the saline bag hanging from the iv stand. alberto alvarez does so and he notes it was actually a bag that appeared to be clear in nature and had a bottle inside of it. a bottle that we later learned to be a propofol bottle. alvarez complies with the request of dr. murray. what we know is subsequently this is corroborated by law enforcement because when they go back to search the house on june

29th, they find a bag. and inside that bag is an empty saline bag which you'll see in court but it's slit open from top to bottom. you'll hear from the coroner, investigator, they found this 100 milliliter bottle of propofol inside the bag. you'll hear testimony about the significance of that when the medical experts come in and explain it to you. following the commands of conrad murray, alvarez is then told to call 911 and does so. that 911 call was made at 12:20 p.m. what you'll also learn from the evidence is that phone call was not made at 11:56 or thereabouts when sade had heard the phone go dead and heard commotion in the

background. that 911 call was not made at 12:12 p.m. when the defendant called michael amir williams to say there had been a problem. that 911 call was not made at 12:15 when michael amir williams returned the call and spoke to conrad murray who only relaid he needed to get there right away. the 911 call was instructed to be given at 12:20 p.m. now, emergency response was on the scene immediately. however, it was all together too late because michael was already dead. but the paramedics did respond to the scene and took every effort they could to revive mr. jackson. you'll learn that they got on scene on top of the patient at 12:26 p.m. his pupils, mr. jackson's pupils were fixed and dilated. there was no pulse noted by any of the paramedics on scene.

murray had indicated he felt that jackson had been down only a minute. i was just talking to him. no one felt a pulse, murray claimed he did. this was not felt by any of the emergency medical personnel on scene. and when specifically asked what have been giving him, what has he taken? the paramedics were told lorazepam. specifically asked what had been administered and they were told lorazepam and conrad murray never once mentioned the administration of propofol during the entire dealings with these emergency medical personnel. ucla was on the phone with the paramedics and pronounced michael dead. conrad murray indicated he wanted to take over responsibility and would accompany mr. jackson in the paramedics rig.

that was agreed upon. so they transported michael jackson to ucla in this photo here is the paramedics arrival to ucla this is conrad murray here in the loose pants and white t-shirt, nearby i believe is some security, faheem mohamed and alvarez and michael williams. when they enter the emergency room area, obviously the emergency room doctors now want to know what transpired. they inquire, both dr. cooper and dr. nguyen, what have you given him? he indicated he had been taking flomax, he had some valium, the only agent he gave them was lorazepam. never once mentions to these medical emergency room doctors that are trying val yantly to save michael jackson's life,

never once mentions that he had administered any propofol whatsoever. michael is eventually pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. on june 25th, 2009. following this is a search at the house at 100 north carolwood. propofol bottle was found lying on the floor. various prescription medicines are found on the night stand, the majority of which are prescribed by conrad murray, some prescribed by other doctors. a bag is found on the floor which i'll talk about briefly in a moment. this syringe is found on the night stand. and this syringe tested positive for propofol and lid oscane. >> hello, i'm randi kaye, live in los angeles, you're watching

the trial of dr. conrad murray. that is michael jackson's physician. we're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back with more of these opening statements. accept it. you can't change the way banking works. just accept it, man. free ? doesn't close at five ? try nature. it's a bank. what do you want, a hug ? just accept it. hidden fees, fine print, or they'll stick it to you some other way. stay with the herd, son. accept it. just accept it. accept it. just accept it. accept it. if we miss this movie, you're dead. if you're stuck accepting banking nonsense, you need an ally.

ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. even though i'm a great driver and he's... not so much. well, for a driver like you, i would recommend our new snapshot discount. this little baby keeps track of your great driving habits, so you can save money. amazing! it's like an extra bonus savings. hah-hah! he's my ride home. how much can a snapshot discount save you? call or click today.

[♪...] >> male announcer: now, for a limited time, your companion flies free, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. conditions apply. and welcome back, everyone, to cnn's live coverage of the trial of dr. conrad murray. we want to return you now to opening statements where the prosecutor is discussing a meeting between the doctor and detectives just two days after michael jackson's death. >> 30 days a month, roughly, every day. >> 30 days a month, roughly every day for the over two months of his care that he was administering to michael

jackson. conrad murray then proceeded to give a time line of events of that night and estates he first put an iv leg in michael jackson's leg to hydrate him. started with valium at 1:30 a.m. at 2:00 a.m., he switched to lor lorazepam, michael remained awake, according to conrad murray. 3:00 a.m. he switches to midazolam. until 4:30, michael is still awake according to conrad murray. at that point again, according to conrad murray -- >> he was awake and it was 4:30 in the morning and he was wide awake. and then he complained. i got to sleep, dr. conrad. i have these rehearsals to perform. i must be ready for the show in england. and tomorrow i will have to

cancel my performance. i have to cancel my trip because you know, i cannot function if i don't get the sleep. >> following that statement, according to conrad murray, at 5:00 a.m., he gave another round of lorazepam followed by a round of midazolam. mr. jackson requested propofol at 10:00 a.m. >> i said, if you got propofol now, which of course he referred to as the milk, how much time, how much sleep you expect to have? you know, you're going to be needed to be up no later than noon. and he said, just make me sleep. doesn't matter what time i get up. i said what will happen to you?

your rehearsal is already scheduled for today. he said, i can't function if i don't sleep. they'll have to cancel it. and i don't want them to cancel it but they'll have to cancel it. so i, i agreed at that time that i would switch the -- over to the propofol. >> so the evidence will reveal according to conrad murray's words that once michael jackson indicated or desired to cancel the rehearsal, conrad murray decided to give propofol. once he knew that he did not need to get up at noon, conrad murray decided to give propofol. now, what conrad murray indicates is that he gave just 25 milligrams of propofol diluted with lidokaine, whether or not this was followed with a

continuous drip will be for to you decide. but the amount he specifies is 25 himilligrams of propofol. this according to expert this would have put michael to sleep for minutes. when you know from his own words, michael jackson said cancel the rehearsal, i need to sleep. the evidence will reveal that much more than 25 milligrams of propofol was given in order to put michael jackson to sleep. according to conrad murray it was slowly infused over three to five minutes then he went to sleep. to give you an idea of what a min xul amount of propofol we're talking about, 25 milligrams equals 2.5 mill liters in your standard 10 cc syringe, this is how much propofol conrad murray is admitting to giving on june 25th. but the evidence also shows as already discussed from the time

of april 6th, 2009 to michael's death, over 155,000 milligrams of propofol had been shipped to nicole alvarez's apartment. according to conrad murray he gave 25milligrams conrad murray indicates -- >> i monitored him, i sat there and watched him for a long period that i felt comfortable. then i neededed to go to the bathroom. i go up, went to the bathroom to relief myself of urine and also consider getting rid of some of his urination he put in the jugs overnight. then i cam back to his bedside and was stunned in the sense that he wasn't breathing. >> the medical experts will tell

you, that is called abandonment. to take a patient with valium, lorazepam and propofol and leave them unattended in that state is medical abandonment. but according to conrad murray, he was gone for about two minutes. >> we will continue to follow these opening statements here as they take place in the trial of dr. conrad murray. michael jackson's doctor, here in los angeles. i'm randi kaye covering the trial from los angeles. we'll take a quick break and be right back.

hello, everyone, i'm randi kaye in los angeles, we'll continue to watch the trial but we would like to give you other news of the day that you may be interested in. the government may not shut down this weekend after all. in a rare display of bis partisanship, the senate has approved a funding bill to keep the government running into mid-november. after fema officials concluded that the agency has enough money to get through the rest of fiscal 2011, which ends on friday. the house is out of session but a special vote is expected later this week on a temporary extension and the full measure will go before the house next week. an unusual sight high above the nation's capital. a special team is getting ready to repel along the washington monument to look for damage caused by last month's earthwake. a repelling team is joining a

team of engineers for the inspection. 550-foot high monument has been cloegsed since the earthquake struck on august 23rd. they have determined the interior is structural sound but need to get a close-up look at the exterior. president obama visits denver today, expected to push for passage of the american jobs act at the speech at abraham lincoln high school. in california he made stops in mountain view and san diego and los angeles. 1,000 joined the president for a fundraiser at the house of blues nightclub. greek prime minister is still passing the hat. he was in berlin seeing more germans to help avoid bankruptcy. he says greece will fight its way back to financial stability but back at home his aus teteri measures are meeting strong opposition.

there were strikes and demonstrations in athens today protesting a proposed property tax. the greek parliament was scheduled to vote on the tax later today. all right, we will take a quick break here and be right back with much more news and more coverage of dr. conrad murray's trial right after this. let me tell you about a very important phone call i made. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses.

if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the prices are competitive. i can keep my own doctor. and i don't need a referral to see a specialist. call now to get a free information kit. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. and the advantages don't end there. choose from a range of medicare supplement plans... that are all competitively priced. we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits your needs and budget. with all medicare supplement plans,

there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare. and best of all, these plans are... the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp... i had only one thing to say... sign me up. call the number on your screen now... and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now.

he's arguing his case, dr. murray didn't say this, didn't

say that. that's really partially an argument, i do like that. he's laying the facts out to the jury and pushing emotional buttons. and that's the amount of propofol that the doctor bought. believe me, jurors tuned in on that one. >> obviously, that is the drug at the heart of this case, that is the drug they believe did kill michael jackson, whether or not it came from dr. murray directly or whether or not as the defense we believe will say that michael jackson may have ingested even more on his own when dr. murray left the room. they are so focused on the amount of propofol that was not only present in the home, but also that dr. murray had apparently been ordering and store being at his girlfriend's house. >> what the defense has to do is keep reminding the jury, propofol is not against the law. he can buy as much as he wants. that's why i think in this trial he's got to take the stand. i know a lot of defense attorneys say no, don't put him on the stand. but this jury will want a lot of

explanations about why didn't you tell them about the propofol. remember when the medics came or the emergency came, what did you give him? he left out the propofol. that's interesting. what did you give him? again, he leaves out the propofol. what's that, a guilty state of mind? that's why to my mind he's got to get on the stand and explain that, whether he wants to or not. get up there. >> not only did he leave it out but also apparently according to opening statements at least asked michael jackson's security and bodyguard to get rid of what could have been evidence in the house. >> and that you have to explain. why would you do that? i guarantee you the district attorney is going to talk about a guilty con shens. why would you not concentrate on saving michael's life? even if you think he's dead at that time you keep trying. he didn't do that. his first thought, let's get rid of this evidence. that won't play well with the jury. >> what does the defense need to do in its opening statement here

today? >> the defense needs to layout number one, as i said propofol is legal. that michael jackson was suffering, he was an addict by all proportions. so you have to lay that out. you do have to attack michael jackson, i know a lot of people will not like that. a lot of people say, that doesn't work in a trial. but they have no choice in this case, michael jackson had to go on this tour for financial reasons and that's why the judge keeping out the financial aspect of this is going to hurt the defense. they went away screaming you've got to let it in, judge, he's not going to let that in. that was important. what they have to do is attack jackson and at least create the possibility, a reasonable amount of possibility that he reached up and pushed that needle and put more propofol in his system so michael jackson was to blame. >> a minute amount was found in the stomach.

>> from my understanding, what's found in the stomach is not going to kill him. i think the only thing the defense can go to, jackson must have reached up -- because when the doctor left the room there was propofol in the needle, he didn't get it all to him and jackson must have reached up and pushed the needle and injected himself. swallowing it, according to experts won't do anything to him. >> one other quickly one other thing, you mentioned when he left the room, apparently he left the room drk i know he said he left the room for a few minutes. there's a question of how long was he really out of the room, right? >> that's true. i believe probably what will happen, thinking at it from a defense perspective, he will probably say, well, if he testifies or the defense will get it in somehow, he was in the room, he was watching jackson. he was on the phone making calls to people, to his office, to his girlfriend. and then at some point, he left the room to go to the bathroom, but that was just for a few

minutes, the majority of that time he was actually watching jackson. you have to convey that to the jury too, that he was vigilant in his care and that he really cared about michael jackson. when other doctors have walked away from him, he cared about him and wanted to wean him off the propofol. he was being a good guy in that aspect. that's what you have to sell to the jury. >> a lot of selling -- >> on both sides. >> michael cardoza, thanks so much. we'll return with more on the trial of dr. conrad murray. keep it here. 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. hold on a sec... progresso... i love your new loaded potato with bacon. that's what we like to hear. where was i? oh right... our rich & hearty soups.. people love the thick cut carrots... we do too! where was i? progresso. right, our new rich & heart soups... [ ring, ring ] progresso... switch our phone service? [ ring, ring ] [ ring, ring ] ...no, i think we're pretty happy with our phones. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

it is half past the hour, here are some of the stories you may have missed today.

the government may not shut down this weekend after all it turns out. in a rare display of bit partisanship, the senate has approved a funding bill to keep the government running into m mid-november. after fema officials concluded that the agency has enough money to get through the rest of fiscal 2011, which ends on friday. the house is out of session but a special vote is expected later this week on a temporary extension and the full measure will go before the house next week. in california, a bake sale planned today at uc berkeley is being called racist. campus republicans are selling baked goods on a sliding scale based on race and gender. $2 if our white, $1 if you're latino and 75 cents if your -- he says it's to get people thinking about affirmative action and to protest a state bill that would allow colleges to consider race and gender in

the admissions process. berkeley student government says it condemns the use of discrimination by any student group. in afghanistan, an explosion kills 16 people including 11 children and four women after their bus ran over a land mine. the civilian mini bus struck the mine in herat province. the group was returning from a wedding party. they believe taliban militants planted that mine. joran van der sloot confessing on tape to killing a young peruvian woman. listen to his confession when police interrogated him. >> so it is true and i'm going to ask you this, and you can say yes or no, did you kill stephanie tat yan a? >> yes. >> you killed stephanie flores, right? >> yes. >> van der sloot admitted he hit and strangled flor res last year in his hotel room after he found her reading news about him on

his computer. he was arrested more than a year ago but not formally charged with the killing until this month. he was previously arrested in the disappearance of alabama teen natalee holloway who vanished while in aruba but he was never charged. holloway's disappearance remains unsolved. a bit of a you might call it a wardrobe malfunction on "dancing with the stars." nancy grace had a minor mishap with her dress. abc producers cut to a shoud of the crowd during the program. the host tried to make light of the situation saying in europe it was perfectly fine. nancy agreed there was a little bit of movement and handled it with grags. another court case atacting international attention, defense doernz lawyers back their closing statements in italy. they are trying to overturn their convictions for the 2007

murder of knox's roommate meredith kercher. senior international correspondent matthew chance joins us from italy. did the ex-boyfriend's lawyer really compare amanda knox to a cartoon character? >> reporter: yes, she did. she said that amanda knox is more like jessica rabbit, not bad, just drawn that way. that was a line out of the movie, which she appeared in. and it was an attempt to try and explain to the jury that this characterization the prosecution had made of amanda that she's some kind of she devil and had this split personality between an gellic on one side and satanic on the other was totally off the mark as far as she was concerned. she was a woman in love at the time and very loyal. and she was just trying to canter those kind of what she would say are false characterizations of amanda knox

to the jury, randi. >> what did the lawyers say about the evidence against the defendants? >> reporter: the defense lawyers have all along said the evidence against both of them has simply not been there. the physical evidence that in the original trial linked amanda and rafaela to the place where the murder of meredith kercher took place, which was dna evidence on a bra clasp and on a knife which was alleged to be the murder weapon, that's been essentially cast aside by the independent forensic experts brought in by this court to basically go through all of the forensic details and to assess the police work that was done originally. and that's been the big boone for the defense in this appeal. that there is essentially this dna evidence which was very important physical evidence has

been criticized very severely, undermined by the independent experts that have been brought in. well the defense lawyers are saying now, you take away the dna evidence, there's nothing linking amanda or rafaela to the crime. >> when will we hear from amanda knox's lawyers? >> reporter: amanda knox's lawyers will be speaking on thursday. the court is adjourned to then. it's night time and there's no hearings on wednesday here in perugia, thursday is when amanda knox's lawyers will put out their version of events as to what they think will happen. it's been told to us as well, we could have an end to this trial, a decision by the court as early as saturday afternoon or saturday evening. so they brought that forward a few days as well. this might be coming to an end sooner than we otherwise thought. >> matthew chance in perugia italy, thank you.

a lot happening still at that trial. and certainly a lot still happening in the trial of dr. conrad murray, michael jackson's physician. we'll return you to this trial after this very quick break.

welcome back to our live coverage here in los angeles, i'm randi kaye, we've been watching the trial of dr. conrad murray and the prosecution has now finished its opening statement for the day. they are in a short recess. so i'm joined once again by well known california defense attorney michael cardoza, thanks

for joining us on this day. >> you're welcome. >> you and i have been watching the opening statements so far. what do you think the prosecution really had to do to get the jury's attention fast? >> well, let me start by saying in an opening statement, you want to begin to convince a jury that in the da's case, it's easier to convince somebody than to change their mind, that's why it's important for the district attorney to make the first opening statement. if he can convince them, the defense has to change the minds of the juror and that's hard to do. the district attorney laid the case out from a to z, did it rather methodically and pushed emotional buttons for the jury, the amount of propofol then asked to bring back the guilty

verdict because he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. i thought he did a good job. >> he's charged with involuntary manslaughter. how does that charge come through? >> when i was district attorney, what you do is go through the elements of each, you look at the first degree murder, the intent to kill. obviously he didn't have the intent to kill. second degree murder has the same intent to kill but you can get implied malice as what they call it for a second. involuntary manslaughter you didn't mean to kill anybody, voluntary you meant to kill. they go to involuntary manslaughter thinking we have the best chance of proving this. i don't think a jury would convict the doctor of a second degree murder because most people know that's 15 to life. that's not going to happen in a case like this. the most that can happen here if he gets convicted is four years. >> how critical is negligence in a case like this in proving negligence? because we've heard in the opening statement this morning and heard it before, that conrad murray, here he is, he's a

physician, was apparently according to at least one witness doing cpr on michael jackson with one hand on michael and one hand on the bed. shouldn't he have been on the floor? how critical is something like that? >> he should have been on the floor. the cpr for simple people, put them on the floor, hard surface. but in an emergency situation, he's hooked up to the iv, do you pull him off the bed and maybe disconnect everything or do you take the circumstances as you find them. that's what you do in a case like this. and that's what the defense has to explain. it was chaotic in there. they were trying to save michael's life. the da will try to prove the exact opposite, no, it was very calculated after it happened, he starts to hide evidence. so that's getting back to my theory that he's got to testify in this case, like it or not. >> well, day one so we have a little time on that one. michael, stick around if you don't mind. >> we'll take a quick break and

be right back with much more here on cnn.

welcome back, let's see what's happening in the world of politics. for that we turn to peter hamby in washington. let's talk about rick perry, he disappointed in florida. what does he need to do to change this and turn things around? >> he's certainly doing damage control after a disappointing debate performance last week where conservative opponents

raised questions on his record in immigration in texas. last night we put the story up online, sources in south carolina and iowa told me the perry campaign organized what's call a tell a town haul where they called into thousands of households across both states and talked to republican activists and conservatives to reassure them and explain to them his positions on these matters. now, one source said it sounded like perry was very much on defense trying to explain these issues. so they are certainly trying to move past that disappointing debate performance and shore up some of their support among republican primary voters, randi. >> what's happening with new jersey governor chris christie, is he in or out? do we have any idea if he's going to enter the gop field? >> this drama has been incredible. there's been three or four christie boomlets over the past three months and after perry's debate the other night, those republicans who are looking for somebody other than mitt romney to run for the republican

nomination, they don't quite trust rick perry. a lot of donor types and some people from the ex-bush administration have been calling christie relentlessly trying to get him into the race. i talked to three different advisers who say nothing has changed, he's flattered by all of the input and attention and listening to them. human nature at some point kicks in and you have to at least listen to them. but at the end of the day christie's people, ats least from what i'm hearing, nothing is changed, he's not going for president but he is speaking in california this evening at the ragen library, a speech that i'm told he wrote most of it by himself and going to talk about america's role in the world. amid all this buzz, i guarantee that speech will get a lot of attention tonight, randi. >> oh, yeah, a lot of attention. i'm sure the speculation will continue. peter, thank you for the update. and we'll be right back after this quick break.

it's salonpas. pain relief that works at the site of pain... up to 12 hours. salonpas. what makes us number one in motorcycle insurance? we love bikes. we love riders. and most of all, we love to ride. perfect hair every time. leading the pack in motorcycle insurance. now, that's progressive. call or click today.

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.

add listerine® total care for more complete oral care. ♪ it works in six different ways to restore enamel... strengthen teeth... freshen breath... help prevent cavities... and kill bad breath germs for a whole mouth clean. so go beyond the brush with listerine® total care, the most complete mouthwash. now get all the benefits... without the alcohol. new listerine® total care zero.

a dangerous drug, a dependent patient and allegedly reckless physician. a formula for trouble in any case, but this case centers on the death of michael jackson, the king of pop. so the trial of dr. conrad murray on a single count of involuntary manslaughter is a made for hollywood spectacle. as you may have seen live here on cnn or our sister network hln, opening statements are well under way. they come more than two years after jackson went into fatal cardiac arrest while dr. murray was treating his chronic insomnia with an anesthetic propofol. at issue is whether murray should have or could have prevented jackson's overdose.

lead prosecutor david wall gren spoke for an hour 15 minutes but the most powerful 53 seconds may have came from michael jackson himself. let me play an audiotape, recorded on conrad murray's cell phone weeks before jackson died. it's michael jackson like you've never heard him before.

>> michael jackson's own words. the defense statement is just about to start, but right now let me bring in cnn senior analyst jeffrey toobin. he is watching this along with us from new york. what was that jackson clip there to prove? >> the intent there was to show that michael jackson was deeply troubled and not -- someone who was not getting the medical attention he needed. but i'll tell you, as dramatic as that was, there was another moment in that opening statement that i thought was the most devastating of all. because, fi first of all, conra murray delays and delays calling 911 while he talks to his

girlfriends. but then when the emts finally do according to the prosecution, lies about the drugs michael jackson is getting. think about that, the emts are trying to help he him, need to know what drugs he's taken. but conrad murray knows he shouldn't be giving him propofol and lies about the drug. i thought that was absolutely devastating evidence, if it turns out to be born out by the actual evidence. >> of course. but not only did they lay that out they showed he was apparently trying to get michael jackson's bodyguard when he came to the house to do away with some of the medications and v e vials in the bedroom, including some that was propofol. how critical is it to paint him as this untrustworthy sort of guy? because you know the defense will come out and try to paint him as this angel trying to wean michael jackson off propofol. >> right. that's why i think the lying is

so important, because if conrad murray was simply acting in good faith and trying to deal with a very sick, very drug-addicted man, then, you know, that is a fairly sympathetic posture. but that certainly wouldn't explain why murray would lie to the doctors and the emts who were trying to save michael jackson's life. that's why i think the lying, if it's born out by the evidence, will just show consciousness of guilt, know that conrad murray knew he was doing something wrong. i think that's going to be very hard for him to overcome. >> and, to some extent, do you expect had that the defense will, in a way, put michael jackson on trial here, even though he's gone? p. >> absolutely. i think that's their only alternative. basically, what the defense has to do here is say, you can't look at this one night in isolation. you have to look at the way michael jackson had been living

for the past several years. you have sto look at the stew o drugs he had been taking. you have to look at all the enablers around him and only then can you understand how conrad murray dealt in this very difficult circumstance. i mean, i'm not sure that's a winning defense, given the facts as we know them, but i think that's pretty much the only option available to the defense, given the facts as we know them. >> and looking at this just in legal terms, how does this differ really from a malpractice case? >> well, i mean, it's similar to a malpractice case, but i think the burden on the prosecution is just of higher. fist of all, it's a criminal case so there's proof beyond a reasonable doubt, not the civil case standard of simply preponderance of the evidence. but more importantly, the degree of negligence, the degree of bad behavior that the prosecution is going to have to show is, you

know, in laymen's terms just egregious negligence. not just violating the standard of care, they have to show a degree of recklessness, of really awful behavior by conrad murray in order to win a criminal case. but, if the evidence bears out what david walgren, the prosecutor's opening statement said, they may have a very good chaps chance of doing that. >> what would dr. murray have to say on that stand? >> well, there's a lot. he's going to have to answer for, fortunately for him his lawyer will have a chance to put his best foot foefd, brward. but he's going to have to explain why he gave him all these dangerous drugs, why he did it not under the supervision of a hospital, which is where propofol is supposed to bed add minu minutesterred. and most importantly to me is, why didn't he tell the emts and doctors who came on the emergency call, why didn't he

tell thel the truth about what michael jackson had been taking because that's the only way you can get proper medical help to someone, if the treating doctors know what he's been taking in the first place. >> all right. jeffrey toobin, fascinating conversation, fascinating trial really. already a couple of hours into it. >> awfully interesting, yes. >> it sure is. we'll continue to watch it along with you. we'll check back in with you a little later on. jeffrey, thank you. we'll take a quick break here. the defense is supposed to make its opening statements in the trial of dr. conrad murray. just minutes away, we'll bring it to you when it happens. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. your core competency is...competency. and you...rent from national. because only national

lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. i'm getting an upgrade. [ male announcer ] as you wish, business pro. as you wish. go national. go like a pro. now through january earn a free day with every two rentals. find out more at nationalcar.com. just having some tender chicken and some tasty noodles. 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. we aren't going to get too far away from the trial of dr. conrad murray, the defense opening statements will start at any moment. but we do want to get you caught up on some other news of the day we think is important. the government may not shut down this weekend after all a. in a rare display of bipartisanship, the senate approved a funding bill to keep the government running into mid-november. senators sidestepped a disagreement after fema officials concluded that the agency has enough money to get

through fiscal 2011 which ends friday. the house is out of session but a special vote is expected later this week on a temporary extension and the full measure will go before the house next week. president obama finishes his western tour with a visit to denver today. he's expected to push for passage of his american jobs act during a speech at abraham lincoln high school. in california yesterday, he made stops in mountain view, san diego and los angeles. 1,000 supporters joined the president for a fund-raiser at the house of blues nightclub in west holly whood. an italian court may announce its decision in the amanda knox case as early as saturday. she was convicted of murdering her roommate meredith kercher. they're trieg to get the convictions overturned. knox's lawyers are expected to offer their arguments on thursday. court officials tell cnn's matthew chance that a decision could come saturday afternoon or evening he.

greek prime minister is still passing the hat. he was in berlin today seeking more german help to avoid bankruptcy. he says greece will fight its way back to financial stability. back at home, his aus terty measures are meeting strong opposition. there were strikes and demonstrations in athens today, protesting a proposed property tax. the greek parliament was scheduled to vote on the tax today. all right. take a look at this. dramatic new video from inside the washington monument at the moment the east coast earthquake struck last month. a surveillance camera inside the observation deck shows the shaking. you can see it there and the debris raining down. visitors can be seen rushing down the stairs. later, interior assessment found the monument structurally sound so today the park service is cho checking the exterior. you can see it live there,

that's the folks brave enough to check the exterior of the washington monument. very brave engineers and a team from the park service in alaska. these are live pictures checking every nook and cranny for cracks an other exterior damage. national park service spokesman bill line told us why it's so necessary. >> what we need to find out and still gather data, gather information, as to whether the earthquake on august 23rd resulted in any damage that we could not determine to the naked eye. we need to get up close and personal, so to speak, and to really see whether -- visually inspect with the human eye at a close range whether there is any damage that could over the years accelerate into something greater.

>> joining me now, kevin poolen, the former president of the structural engineers association of new york. kevin, you have 20 years of experience designing and renovating buildings. what is it exactly that these engineers are looking for, these very brave engineers, i might add. >> they're looking for some p up close cracks, looking to evaluate the structure by looking at the cracks on the exterior compared to what they found on the interior. >> so what if major damage is found, what do they do next? >> if they find damage, then they have to assess, do an evaluation to figure out what was the cause of the damage, was it primarily because of the shaking from the earthquake, or was it also made worse because of hurricane irene? so once they analyze it, then they'll have to figure out ways to repair it. they could be replacing some of the mortar. they may be replacing some of the bricks or some of the marble

blocks that have potentially displaced or cracked during the shaking and the earthquake. >> all right. kevin poulin, thank you for coming in and sharing your expertise on that. we want to take you now back to the courthouse here in los angeles where the defense has started its opening statement in the case of the death of michael jackson, dr. conrad murray on trial for involuntary manslaughter. let's listen in. >> you will be asked to determine, what was, who was the cause of michael jackson's death? the science in this case, the pure science, the evidence in this case we believe is going to show you this -- despite everything that had gone on in the past, despite anything that had gone on during that day, during the ten hours on june 25, 2009, while michael

jackson was frustrated because he could not sleep, frustrated because his doctor refused to give him a drug that he preferred, that he wanted, he did an act without his doctor's knowledge, without his doctor's permission, against his orders, he did an act that caused his own death. h what we believe the evidence will show you is, during those ten hours, the science will show you that michael jackson swallowed eight two-milligram lorazepam pills, pushing his blood concentration of lorazepam to 0.169 micrograms per

milliliter. the experts will tell you that that's enough to put six of you to sleep. and he did this when dr. murray was not around. we believe the evidence will show you the scientific evidence will show you that when dr. murray left the room, michael jackson self-administered a dose of propofol that, with the lorazepam, created a perfect storm in his body, that killed him instantly. had when dr. murray came into the room and found michael jackson, there was no cpr, there was no doctor, no paramedic, no machine that was going to revive michael jackson.

he died so rapidly, so instantly, he didn't even have time to close his eyes. one of the -- the judge has told you that we do not have -- the defense does not have the requirement to put on any evidence. we will. we will provide you the science to show you what happened. but we intend to, in this case, provide to you answers to two question questions.

first, how did michael jackson get to this point, this desperate point? and, secretary, what happened when dr. murray was out of the room? one of the things mr. walgren told you in his opening was that michael vjackson was preparing for a concert at the o2 arena. and he was. but he undersold it just a little bit. because what michael jackson was really preparing to do, what he was actually going to do at the o2 arena with "this is it" was create history. not just for us, for himself. you will hear from randy phillips who is the president of aeg live. you will hear from kenny ortega,

a co-choreographer of the "this is it" production. you will hear from part of the production team for "this is it." what they will tell you is that michael jackson had not performed for ten years, and this particular series of concerts, these shows, were going to be his absolution. he needed to do these shows. they were going to tell you that he was intimately involved in every aspect of the production. i don't know what impression you came in with about michael jackson. he wasn't just brilliant artistically, he was a smart man. he was involved in every aspect of that production, the dance,

the music. he chose the songs. he wrote the songs. the effects, the 3d effects in the show, the movie clips, these we were his, this was his show. this was how michael jackson was going to be remembered. it doesn't matter what happened in the past. this was going to be his memory. he needed to do these shows. randy phillips will tell you that it was not just going to end with "this is it." the contract provided that, if he were to complete these shows, if he were to do what he set out to do, he would have the ability to pack it all up for a world tour. there would be -- i believe randy phillips will tell you -- four segments of a world tour that he could attend, that he could perform at. and it wouldn't end at that.

randy phillips will tell you and you'll see in michael jackson's own handwriting his plans for four to five movies, including a 3d version of "thriller." randy philips will tell you that this equated for michael jackson at the age of 50 hundreds of millions of dollars. randy philips will tell you that with the world tour there would not even be a close second of what he could earn. and all he had to do, you will hear, all he had to do was the o2 show to set this in motion. all he had to do was complete the show.

the problem was, he was never going to be able to do these shows because michael jackson had a problem. he had a problem that no amount of determination, no dedication, no talent would ever overcome. and he knew that he needed help. and in the spring of 2009, michael jackson went out looking for that help. in the summer of 2008, you'll hear from randy phillips, he'll tell you in that sul esummer th was the initial negotiations for "this is it." he will tell you that on october

31, 2008, he met with michael jackson at the bel air hotel along with his financial adviser, along with two bodyguards alberto alvarez and michael williams. you'll meet all of those people in this trial. and the parameters of the show were set out. randy phillips will tell you that during that meeting michael jackson cry ied. he said, i'm tired of being a vagabond. i just want a house for me and my kids. in january 2009, michael jackson met with randy phillips again, this time to sign the contract,

paul gongawear was there. you'll meet him. they met at michael jackson's residence. at that residence they signed the contract. michael jackson signed in his name, and he signed as president of michael jackson company. randy phillips will tell you that michael jackson was nervous. the contract read for up to 31 shows. michael jackson was -- michael jackson, of all people, was afraid he wouldn't sell the ticke tickets. you will learn that it sold so quickly, that ticket sales were so fast, that a mere week after presales -- these are not the real sales, these are presales -- they had to increase the shows to 50.

michael jackson said he would do it, he would increase those shows to 50, on two conditions. one, that he had a house for him and his children with 16 acres and horses they could play at. and, two, that the guinness book of world records would be there to record what was a historical event. see, 50 shows with a 50-year-old man in one arena that seats 25,000 people, over 1 million people would have come to see michael jackson. that has never been done before, and mike ochael jackson knew it. this was it for him, and he named the tour himself. "this is it." and for him it was. in march of 2009 he made the announcement -- >> you've been listening to

defense attorney ed chernoff, the defense attorney for dr. conrad murray in his involuntary manslaughter case. he's beginning his opening statements. we have to take a very quick break. i'm randi kaye in los angeles. we'll be right back with much more in just a moment.

welcome back, everyone, to our live coverage of the trial of dr. conrad murray. i want to return you now to opening statements by the defense. >> community development association for 40 years, and she will tell you that she met dr. murray's at his father's funeral. you see, his doctor, dr. andrews, was the only doctor that acres homes had. acres homes is the poorest section, poorest community, in my hometown. paved roads came in the '70s. and dr. murray -- when dr. andrews his father died, dr. murray vowed to open up a cardiologist practice in acres homes because of the vacuum of care that had been created when

his father died. ruby moseley will tell you, you know, people say things all the time about acres homes, but dr. murray two weeks later came in, built a cardiology practice and started treating patients. ruby moseley will tell you, ladies and gentlemen, there's no money to be made in acres homes. the odds of anybody in that community seeing a cardiologist was about as likely as going to the moon. ruby moseley and other patients will tell you that when they came to see dr. murray, nobody asked how you're going to pay. if you couldn't pay, dr. murray wouldn't charge you. if you had medicare, he wouldn't charge you any extra than what medicare paid. he would buy prescriptions for these patients if they couldn't

afford to do it. look, i'm not telling you that this information, this evidence, is provided you because we're going to ask you to do -- we don't ask you that he's been a good guy so acquit him. we don't have to do that. if the prosecution is going to get up here and tell you he's greedy and callous and reckless, you need to hear the full story about him. and we'll provide you that information. now, what you'll learn about dr. murray is, as mr. walgren pointed out, he met michael jackson in 2006. it's the only celebrity he's ever known. and he met michael jackson because one of michael jackson's bodyguards while he was in vegas knew dr. murray because he had saved or helped his father and

one of michael jackson's children was sick and dr. murray was called out to the hotel. that's how he met michael jackson, fortuitously. you will learn in the statements that he made to the police -- please understand what was played you is only part of that conversation. you will get to hear all of it. but in the statement that he made to police, he explained that michael jackson and him became friends, friends first. michael jackson would share with him things about his childhood, about his family, about his life, his dreams, his hopes. they were friends first. you will learn through medical records that will be provided to you by us that between 2006 and 2008 dr. murray did treat michael jackson, he did.

he treated him for things like toe fungus, for supplication of the p hihip, treated him for a broken foot, tested his heart, did blood tests to see if his liver was okay. on two occasions michael jackson told dr. murray, i have anxiety and i have trouble sleeping. two occasions. and dr. murray, who knew nothing about the real problem that michael jackson had, prescribe ed -- which you will learn from michael jackson was about as effective as water. now, i don't recall if mr. walgren told you this, he

may have, in his opening statement. but what you will learn in the evidence in this case is that michael jackson didn't have insomnia. insomnia is a medical condition or a symptom. you won't learn that he had insomnia. he didn't have trouble going to sleep. he didn't wake p up in tup in t of the night, watch tv and have a bad day the next day. michael jackson had an absolute, total and thorough inability to sle sleep. not for minutes, not for hours, but p ffor days.

on june 27, 2009 -- mr. walgren mentioned this, i want to be a little more specific about what happened on that day -- two days after the death of michael jacks jackson, dr. murray and myselfed and michael pena, sitting over there, from houston who knew dr. murray, we met with police detectives at the ritz-carlton marina del ray. the only thing that we chose was the location because we were staying there and the time because we had to fly in. you will learn that everything

else at that meeting was decided by the police, detective martinez and detective smith. you will learn that prior to that meeting a phone call was made to dr. murray and michael pena returned it immediately and said, yes, of course we will come and talk. and you will learn that it wasn't just dr. murray that had a lawyer in this case. nine of the people's witnesses also had a lawyer in this case. it was just that type of case. now, prior to meeting with dr. murray drn a-- and by the we scheduled the meeting for 2:00, you'll hear, they rescheduled it for 4:00. with we were ready to go. >> you've been listening to the

defense attorney make his case, his opening statements, in the trial of his client, dr. conrad murray. we'll have much more from that trial in just a moment after we take a very quick break. (screams) 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.

whether it can be done safely and responsibly. at exxonmobil we know the answer is yes. when we design any well, the groundwater's protected by multiple layers of steel and cement. most wells are over a mile and a half deep so there's a tremendous amount of protective rock between the fracking operation and the groundwater. natural gas is critical to our future.

at exxonmobil we recognize the challenges and how important it is to do this right. can make it from australia to a u.s. lab to a patient in time for surgery may seem like a trumped-up hollywood premise. ♪ but if you take away the dramatic score... take away the dizzying 360-degree camera move, and take away the over-the-top stunt, you're still left with a pretty remarkable tale. but, okay, maybe keep the indulgent supermodel cameo... thank you. [ male announcer ] innovative medical solutions. fedex. solutions that matter.

welcome back. we are reporting live from los angeles. we want to return you now to the defense opening statements in the trial of dr. conrad many murray. >> now, dr. murray told investigators this took him back, this didn't make any sense to him. and michael jackson told dr. murray how propofol was applied. he told dr. murray that it needed to be used with lidoca e lidocaine. he had a nickname for propofol. he called it his milk. when with you see it in person, you'll understand why he called it milk. michael jackson told dr. murray that the lidocaine that was provided, you had to give it with lidocaine. otherwise, it would burn. and he called this lidocaine, a nickname for it, was antiburn.

dr. murray told police investigators he was surprised that he knew so much about propofol. he was concerned when with michael jackson said he was going to use propofol irrespective of dr. murray. and so dr. murray told investigators that, yes, he agreed, he agreed to help michael jackson sleep, he agreed to provide propofol. and mr. walgren pointed out they'll have experts say that the mere act of providing propofol for sleep is negligent. he spent a long time in his opening statement talking about that. what you will learn from the evidence, though, is this --

dr. murray provided propofol for sleep for two months for michael jackson, for two months. for those two months that he provided propofol to michael jackson, michael jackson slept, he woke up, and he lived his life. he went to work, and he continued with what he needed to do, what he felt he needed to do. the evidence is not going to show you that michael jackson died when dr. murray gave him propofol for sleep. what the evidence is going to show you is that michael jackson died when dr. murray stopped. what mr. walgren did not tell you in opening statement but

what you will learn in this case, what you will learn in this trial, is the agreement between, as he told police, himself and michael jackson to provide propofol for sleep was satisfied for michael jackson as long as he continued to provide propofol. but what dr. murray told police investigators is that he believed his role in this partnership was to find a way, a way to help michael jackson sleep normally. now, he had always told michael jackson, you can't keep using this. what happens when your tour is over? why can't you sleep normally? why won't you let me work with other sedatives, something else that will help you to sleep? you will see in these applied

pharmacy records not just the propofol that was ordered -- and by the way the amount of propofol that was ordered was exactly the amount that dr. murray, as you'll see, our experts will show, the amount to do exactly what he said he did and no more. but you'll see in those applied pharmacy records dr. murray also ordering ma taz lamb and lorazepam because he hoped he could switch to those sedatives so wean michael jackson off, off of propofol, so he could sleep naturally. what he told police investigators and was left out in the opening statement was that on the day that michael jackson died, this was the third day of a weaning process. you see, on june 22nd, three

days before michael jackson died, michael jackson finally agreed to let dr. murray try to cooperate with him to try to get him off this propofol. and you will learn that on that day dr. murray gave half the propofol he would normally give. normally he would give 50 milligrams in an injection and then a drip to keep the blood levels up. that would be his normal process for the two months prior. but on the 22nd he gave half of each and gave lorazepam and midazolam. and michael jackson slept. he slept. and the next day he got up and he went to work. on the 23rd -- it's 23rd, 24th,

because the evening goes into the morning. the next day dr. murray provided m michael jackson no propofol at all. it was the first night in two months that he slept without propofol. and he used only midazolam and lorazepam. on the night, the day that he died, the plan was not to give propofol, the plan was to go to the midazolam, the lorazepam. that's why you hear this recording, please give me the propofol, because for ten hours on the 25th, the morning of the 25th, for ten hours dr. murray

refused instead giving him midazolam and lorazepam. dr. murray told police investigators that as 10:00 approached michael jackson started begging for propofol. he was confused. he told police investigators he didn't understand why he wasn't sleeping. why wasn't he sleeping? he had slept the night before. he told investigators that he was so confuseed he literally reached under the bed sheets to see if maybe the medicine that he was giving him was leaking onto the bed, just wasn't getting into michael jackson. he didn't know what was happening. he didn't understand.

one of the things that you're going to -- one of the things that the evidence is going to show you in this case, that you're going to learn in this case, you're going to learn about certain personality traits that michael jackson had. not bad traits but personality traits. what you're going to learn about michael jackson is that he had a habit of compartmentalized relationships. packaging relationships. like spokes in a wheel. the wheel in his life turned, but the people that he associated with, the groups of people were wilike spokes.

>> defense attorney ed chernoff will continue his opening statement, but we have to take a very quick break. we'll be right back to talk with jeffrey toobin and michael car doze za about both the prosecutor and defense opening statements today in the trial of dr. conrad murray. you're watching live coverage right here on cnn. meineke's personal pricing on brakes.

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.

let's return you now to live coverage of the trial of dr. conrad murray here in los angeles. >> daniel freeman marina hospital in marina del ray. what he will tell you is that, looking at these medical records -- and we will show you these medical records, graph them out for you -- that michael jackson, he believed -- rather, let me just say this. dr. arnold klein addicted michael jackson to demerol, and

he will tell you that one of the insidious effects, the most difficult things about demerol, addiction and its withdrawal, is an inability to sleep. and for some patients it's an absolute inability to sleep. when dr. murray was reaching under the bed sheets trying to figure out where all the medicine was going, why this man didn't sleep, dr. murray was not part of that package. he did not know that michael jackson was receiving this demerol. you will hear the conversation that he had with police at the marina del ray ritz-carlton where they asked him, did you know about the demerol? and dr. murray said, what

demerol? i just saw that on tv. what was that about? dr. walton will talk about the events that were heard. you heard some of it from mr. walgren today, the events that occurred the week before michael jackson's death. and you will learn that michael jackson received a shot of demerol on june 16, 2009. he had rehearsal scheduled that day. he attended that rehearsal. you will learn that he attended the next rehearsal on the 17th but he missed on the 18th, just didn't show up, and on the 19th, as mr. walgren told you, he was

absolutely unable to perform. he had chills. he was in pain. he was sick. and dr. waldman is going to explain to you what he believes was happening during that week. he's going to explain to you what he believed was happening thereafter as we got to the 25th of june, 24th/25th of june. and what he's going to tell you is that michael jackson was suffering from the demerol withdrawal, his insomnia was partly at least a result. now, michael jackson told dr. murray that his insomnia was a result of his mind always racing, always moving, always producing. he just couldn't keep still. it was the genius in him, and perhaps partly that was true.

we know about people like that. but dr. waldman will tell you it was also the demerol. dr. murray explained in much greater detail about what happened when he eventually agreed on the 24th to give 25 milligrams of propofol. he explained not just what you heard. you're going to hear and see a lot more than that. you're going to see what transpired between dr. murray and michael jackson during that period of time. it wasn't just what you heard. you're going to hear it in context. and what michael jackson told

dr. mur wearay around 10:50, wh he hadn't slept for ten hours, he was up and around, in other rooms, lying down, but his eyes were wialways open, couldn't sleep. what he told dr. murray was, if i don't sleep, if i don't get some sleep, i can't complete my rehearsal. if i can't complete my rehearsal, i can't do my show and i will disappoint my fans and i will fail. if i don't get that propofol. now, these were not false words to michael jackson. they were not false words to dr. murray. because what you will learn is that the week prior when michael jackson failed to show up for rehearsals on the 18th, when

with he was unable to perform on the 19th as they moved this entire production to the staples center, the meeting that was held on june 20th was not for michael jackson's benefit. it was an emergency meeting. this would have been the third meeting that they would have had to have, and you will see an e-mail between kenny ortega and randy phillips where the conversation was about pulling the plug. after the emergency meeting on june 20th, michael jackson's performance was much better on the 23rd and 24th. you will see video of that. what you will not see is video of the other rehearsals. so when michael jackson told dr. murray, i have to sleep, i

have to get some sleep, they will cancel my rehearsals, i will lose this performance, he meant it, dr. murray knew he meant it. at 10:40, while michael jackson was saying this and dr dr. murray -- >> you've been listening there to dr. murray's defense attorney ed chernoff making his opening statement there to the jury. i want to bring in our michael cardoza who's with us, a criminal defense attorney. what struck you? were you moved at all by conrad murray's apparent tears there as his lawyer made his opening statements? >> i was a little bit. he certainly is humanizing him. he's telling the jury they're going to bring his patients in, people that know him. so he's beginning the humanization process, that murray's not the big devil that

the district attorney talked about in their opening statement. and then he got into michael jackson, as we all know he's going to have to go after michael jackson. if you notice, in the district attorney's opening they used a tape of michael jackson where he was apparently more than intoxicated. why did the d.a. do that? it was to lessen the sting of the defense from doing that. otherwise, you would have seen that in the defense's opening statement because that's exactly what the defense wants to show, that michael jackson is a drug abuser and he begged for these drugs and as the defense attorney said, he needed them to go on tour. without it, he couldn't go on tour. bad timing when dr. murray tries to wean him off the dip row van and then one of the other interesting things that i heard was the demerol. dr. murray said, what demerol? i've not heard about that. >> he didn't even know he was

taking demerol according to his attorney. >> exactly. and demerol causes insomnia. you have a doctor treating a patient without the full panoply of what he's ingesting. that's an interesting part. >> one of the key things i think he said was michael jackson caused his own death. that really is going to be and has to be the defense mratd form here. >> it does. keep in mind the defense doesn't have to prove anything. it's not that they have to prove michael jackson caused his own death, just raise a reasonable doubt about how this happened. so there's a jury instruction in california that talks about circumstantial evidence. if circumstantial evidence is susceptible to two reasonable interpretations, one of which points to guilt, one of which points to innocence, you as a juror must go with the one that points to innocence, in other words, not guilty. so they will show there are other reasonable explanations

for how michael jackson met his death and per chance he was the cause, therefore how can you convict the doctor beyond a reasonable doubt when with you don't know beyond that doubt what caused had his death. >> what do we make of the defense attorney said that the evidence is not going to show that michael jackson died because conrad murray gave him propofol but he died when conrad murray tried to stop giving him the drug and wean him off of. >> interesting. certainly a play on words. is he saying the propofol didn't kill him, the amount that i gave him didn't kill him, but he wanted it so badly he needed it so badly that he ingested it himself by reaching up -- because i know there's a needle up above -- and pushing the needle to give him more propofol. it could be a reasonable explanation as to what went on here. that's what the defense will pound at. and when you hear michael jackson as intoxicated as he was, you think, boy, would he

make any right decisions if he's half asleep? >> right. >> it's a possibility. >> but, given all that, no matter what, there's still the issue of negligence, when you think about the fact that dr. conrad murray left michael jackson taf attached to an i.v. his bedroom. there's no disputing that. the doctor has said that, there's a question of how long. >> there is disputing that. was he there in the room making phone call snz did he simply step out to take a restroom break? jurors can forgive that. is he going to go 20 hours without ugz the restroom? that won't happen. if they can get the jury to believe he just left for a bathroom break, they're in a good position. but the d.a. has a very, very strong case here. and it all goes back, to me, hiding the propofol and all the things that happened after. but, most importantly, and i think mr. toobin spoke to this, is when he didn't tell the truth to the emts that came in. they're trying to save his life. tell them what you gave him.

he leaves that out. that needs an explanation. therefore, testify, doctor. you better tell the jury why. >> and what does he need to say? would you put him on the stand? >> you know, i would certainly lean toward that, and i would imagine with dr. murray, from all i've seen, he would fight me on that. really afraid of the stand. so you'd really have to take him

through mock cross-examinations, bring other attorneys in to cross him, to see how he does. to see how he'll stand up under a grueling cross-examination from walgren, the district attorney. how good a cross-examiner? that's one of the things i consider before i put my client on the stand. how good is this d.a.? is he just good at direct? because mostly they do direct because a lot of people don't put their clients on the stand. but how good is he on cross? i'd want to find that out. if he was an excellent cross-examiner, i'd maybe rethink whether i'd put him on or not. but my inclination in this case, put him on, prepare him, get him ready and that may be your only chance in this case. might be your only chance. >> we'll see if he does that in the days and certainly weeks ahead. michael cardoza, thank you so much. >> you're welcome. >> we're going to take a quick break. we'll be right back with more live coverage from los angeles.

welcome back. here is a look at the headlines and some other news you may have missed today that we want you to know about.

here in los angeles, opening statements in the trial of dr. conrad murray, the physician treating michael jackson for chronic insomnia with the surgical an thet ick propofol. prosecutors say he was grossly njts. the defense said jackson caused his own death by taking more drugs than dr. murray gave him. he could face four years in prison if convicted. the government may not shut down in weekend after all. in a rare display of bipartisanship, the senate has approved a funding bill to keep the government running into mid-november. senators were able to sidestep a disagreement over funding for the federal emergency management agency after fema officials concluded that the agency has enough to get through fiscal 2011 which ends on friday. the house is out of session but a special vote is expected this week on a temporary extension and the full measure goes before the house next week. here in california a bake sale planned today at uc berkeley is being called racist.

campus republicans are selling baked goods on a sliding scale based on race and gender. $2 if you're a bhiet man, $1 if you're latino, 75 cents if you're african-american, women get a 25 cent discount. the group's president says he knows it's racist and that's the point. it's to get people thinking about affirmative action and to protest a state bill that allow college hes to consider race and gender in the admissions process. uc berkeley says it condemns the use of discrimination by any student group. doritos has died. he psed away at 97. to honor his legacy, his daughter tells the dallas morning news that the family will toss doritos into his grave before he's buried. in case you didn't know it, doritos hit the marketplace in 1964, apparently the name came from the word doridito, which means little golden in spanish. th