plus, billy ray cyrus. much more than miley's dad. he has lots to say about the country he loves too. that's all tomorrow night. anderson cooper starts right now. >> >> a lot of breaking news tonight. syria crossing the chemical weapons redline and brutal weather. and keeping them honest, going to make your blood boil. a few cancer charities have taken hundreds of millions in donations. we found out what they're really doing with your money and it's not helping the people in need. later, he was on the most wanted list with osama bin laden. now whitey bulger is back in court in boston. 19 families are still mourning the loved ones he's accused of murdering. we begin with breaking news of fires that have turned thousands of acres in colorado and hundreds of homes to ashes. the worst wildfires in state history.

the flames have also sent tens of thousands fleeing. martin savidge has been there from the start. >> reporter: colorado's black forest fire is barely contained. and now deadly claiming two lives. the number of homes destroyed by colorado's black forest fire in less than 24 hours has more than tripled. it's now the most destructive blaze in state history, and officials say it's far from done. jack hitton was one of many to get the bad news. >> when you hear a total loss, you almost go numb. you look at each other and we cried a little bit, and we just try to decide what is next. >> reporter: but the racing flames are consuming homes faster than officials can keep track, even reburning in areas previously spared. >> homes we knew were standing yesterday i personally witnessed go dn last night. >> reporter: many evacuees could

wonder what they will find once they are allowed to go home. >> it is what it is. so i either have a house or i don't have a house. there is nothing i can do about that. >> reporter: black forest is a type one fire, the worst there is making it a national priority. already thousands have been forced to evacuate with more joining them daily as the evacuation zone continues to grow. hundreds of firefighters struggle against 30 to 35-mile-per-hour winds that force the winds in ever-changing directions. helicopters and military planes drop water and flame retardant and black forest is one of three fires scorching colorado. to the south is the royal gorge fire that continues to burn in the popular tourist destination. at least 20 structures have been destroyed and a suspension bridge damaged. while a lightning sparked fire burns hundreds of acres in rocky mountain national park. for now, weather forecasters predict no end to the severe conditions feeding the fires, or to the heartache the flames continue to bring.

>> images are stunning. har martin savidge joins me now. you've been talking with fire commanders, what will take to stop these fires, particularly that black forest fire? >> reporter: it's going to take a change of the weather. and specifically, it's got to take the dropping of the winds. they say that's the biggest problem they are dealing with right now. it's a huge problem because the winds keep shifting and with it, of course, the flames and unpredictable when it gets into certain areas like the valleys. that's the biggest problem. the wind has to die down and on top of that, temperatures have to go down, humidity levels have to come up. nature is controlling everything right now, anderson. >> it's been less than a year since the previous record of colorado forest fires. are they increasing because of the drought? >> reporter: they are, they are increasing and that's a worry for anyone living on the front range here. it's a significant problem. waldo canyon fire, that was 346 homes that were destroyed at that point. many people said it will be a long time before we're threatened that bad. it wasn't a long time.

it was less than a year. i covered that fire and authorities here are facing something even worse and the problem is 346 is where that fire ended. this one is still going and ramping up. the problem is drought, as you mentioned, the other problem is the fact that is a very popular area. people love to live here. more have come. the other problem is a lot of these homes are built into the trees they love but are so dangerous right now. >> what is the answer, more firefighters, equipment? what? >> reporter: you know, the fire officials say that there are times and conditions where it wouldn't matter what you have, and we're in those conditions right now. they say you could have a fire engine on every street. they could not have stopped these flames. it's not more equipment, people, and aircraft. it's basically going to require a change of lifestyle. homes have to be built differently, codes toughened, fire resistance will have to be built in, and this is something that will take years to bring about, but it has to be a change of mindset first of all.

anderson? >> marty, thanks. stay safe. we are joined by jeanette and christian. they got to safety and their home was destroyed. they watched it burn on the news from a local firestation. unbelievable. jeanette, christian, i'm sorry for your loss and so glad you're safe. how are you both holding up right now? >> we've had a couple days to process. we knew on tuesday, we saw it live on tv. so, you know, with 48 hours to think about it and deal with insurance and everything, we've got a refreshed state of mind. >> janette -- >> we have a lot of friends and family supporting us. >> you have a lot of friends and family supporting you. janette, you got home when you saw the smoke. what do you do in that situation? >> i went to see what it was because i wasn't sure what it --

if it was very big, and when i got out there, i realized it was probably bigger than something i should deal with, so that's when i dialled 911, ran home and called christian. he lives -- or he works very close to our home. he raced home. we literally had five minutes and we left because it was -- the flames were there. >> five minutes, what do you -- what do you take? what do you grab? >> the first thing i grabbed was the baby album, then i grabbed our personal computer because all of our pictures are on that computer. we grabbed the fire box which houses our passports, social security cards and that was it. we had to leave. >> thank goodness you had a fire box. that was incredibly smart and well-prepared. christian when you got home and saw how close the fire was, what first went through your mind? >> i didn't actually see the flames like janette did. i saw the smoke bearing down and i was freaked. you can't describe what goes through your mind. >> jeanette, you wouldn't have been allowed back in your home,

but you saw it burning on television. i can't imagine anything worse than that. >> yeah, it was probably the worst thing i've ever seen in my life. you have that moment where you say is that really my house? but we knew it was. however, now i'm grateful that i know. a lot of people here just don't know and we are able to process it because we know where we stand. unfortunately, we saw it 50 times over and over and over on the news but at least we know. >> christian, what do you do now? i mean, how do you pick up and move forward? you said you had time to process this, but how do you start picking up the pieces? >> one minute at a time. >> we don't know yet. >> yeah, at this point, you know, we have no idea of the status of our property, if it's -- you know, if all our trees are completely burned down

or, you know, if it's something we can rebuild on -- >> we're focused right now on our friends and family that are still -- our friends and neighbors still impacted by this fire. it's a completely out of control situation, and i really am worried about the people around us, the people we care about and our community, and i think that's what we're trying to focus on right now, and we'll figure out where we head tomorrow. >> well, you're good neighbors and i appreciate you talking to us and again, i'm so sorry for your loss of your house and thank you for taking the time to talk with us. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> as you can see from the wind there from the report, the weather plainly making things tough for firefighters, as well as dangerous storms. i want to check on chad myers in the weather system, chad. >> to be able to hear the wind whistle through those microphones was just something, you could just tell how that wind was affecting those fires. for a time about four hours ago, the wind was 38 miles per hour

right over the fire zone. red flag warnings around the fire right now. not necessarily in the fire zone but close. winds 35, 40 miles per hour. things are calming down. the fires go down and so does the wind at night. the winds calm down and the fires settle a little bit. this is when you get a chance to get a handle on some of it. let me take you down to this fire. i think a lot of you think about colorado or california wile fires and they are in the mountains. this isn't in the mountains. the front range here. colorado springs, all the way up, even into denver along i-25, take you to the black forest. this is an area that is forested, well east of the front range, well east of where you think the trees really are and even east of i-25. this area, we'll spin it around, you can see pikes peak. this is the red zone that we know has burned. not every home in the red zone is lost.

there are homes that were saved. look how much here is already burned. you notice this green, this dark green, that's still forest. that's still forest that hasn't burned. that's still area that could burn if the winds pick up again and the firefighters can't get ahold of it. now we'll talk about the storms. they would love to see some rain out to the west. we had a lot of rain over d.c. we had rain and thunderstorms over rockville. we had a tornado that ran across leesburg, virginia, over rockville, maryland, through into laurel and off to the east. that was right through here earlier today. a couple of tornadoes around into the carolinas, as well. small ones at best. even some wind damage in atlanta right now that just rolled through as these thunderstorms rolled through in the past half hour or so. they are now south of the city. things are calming down tonight. we don't really have to worry about that -- all that derecho thing we were worried about yesterday, where these could go all night long. i think now the sun is set.

things are calming down, things are cooling down and so will these thunderstorms. they're becoming less and less, and that's some of the good news. they could fire up again tomorrow, a little further to the south. maybe a couple of days of reprieve for severe weather for a while. we hope so. anderson? >> chad, thank you very much. let us know what you think. follow me on twitter. next, the white house says syria has been using nerve gas on its own people, crossing the red line president obama talked about would be a game changer. tonight, the question is what changes and how deeply involved is america going to get in syria? keeping them honest report. if you are a regular viewer of this program, we've exposed charities that abuse the hard-earned dollars that you donate. we've looked at veterans charities, but we've never seen anything like these alleged cancer charities. we'll show you them ahead.

more breaking news tonight. president obama called it a red line, a game changer, solid evidence syria is using chemical weapons against its own people, or has. the white house says it has that evidence and are acting on it. they are sending more support quote, different in scale and scope. so a lot of questions, how was this decision reached and the timing of it, what happens next and what are the complications. here with answers john king, chief international correspondent. christiane amanpour, and former george w. bush homeland security adviser fran townsend, two currently sits on the cia external advisory board. what do you make of this? >> the president came to the

conclusion the allies have come to, that chemical weapons have been used, 100 to 150 people have been killed by the assad regime, not by the rebels as some were trying to claim. the british and french made that interview weeks ago and his doctors on the ground that told us about their tests, body samples, soil samples that prove sarin had been used. why is he doing it now? i think he'll be meeting with a lot of these leaders during the g-8 plus they are freaked out and should be that iran and hezbollah has gone in and captured a very strategic town, and now they're very concerned that the assad regime is going to go against aleppo and get aleppo. i was just talking to someone who is very, very concerned about the head of the syrian military con sell on the ground in syria. they are very worried that the whole ground shifted and he's on

the verge of potentially of winning but they need much more than what ben roads did not outline. we don't know what they're getting. >> what do you make of the timing of this? do you see it as a coincidence? >> no, anderson, they are ringing their hands for weeks and our allies have been very clear that they believe this is the case. we know that the u.s. military had gotten planning orders, that doesn't mean they will act. it was clear a year ago the u.s. military was playing with different contingencies, the see cures of chemical depots, a no-fly zone. the question becomes did they wait until they had made internally a decision not one they are yet to announce about what actions they're going to take as a crossing of the red line. otherwise it's incomprehensible. >> in terms of what actions they are willing to take, they haven't gone into many specifics today on a call and other than, you know, arming the opposition, what -- i mean, there is a lot of details that need to be worked out, what that would mean.

>> a lot of details that need to be worked out, anderson and once you get in, in a limited way, if the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate and go in assad's favor, will you do more? i will tell you this, the administration is being careful with details. i am told by a senior administration official that there is now direct u.s. military assistance on the ground in syria, something that did not exist if we were having this conversation a few days ago. as to what that is, the administration is not prepared to talk about that of yet. some members of congress have been briefed about this. i'm told we will hear from the president about this, if not tomorrow, in several days. they understand the white house has decided to step across this red line with the assad regime and they need a better explanation to the american people what they're prepared to do and not do. >> and who they're prepared to give this aid to. >> there is a syrian opposition, they know who they're giving

these weapons to. they need to bolster the moderates, because otherwise guess who's getting the weapons? the extremists. yes, from wherever they can get them. so if you want to back the people who you know and may be friendly to you, get in there and help them. right now they are telling me that they have ak-47s, rpgs and not much else. assad has air power and heavy artillery. he has support from hezbollah. it is a very unbalanced situation. >> a lot of americans do not want to see the u.s. get involved militarily again in the middle east, given what's going on in afghanistan and what went on in iraq. is this a potential quagmire? >> look, anderson, there's no question, because what people must understand is the proxy nature of what's going on. you not only have the extremists of the front and you've got the rebels who are fighting and trying to just survive at this point. you also have hezbollah and

iranian influence there. you have the russians who care about the port. we have spoken about that the last few years. there's a real -- >> huge sectarian divisis, as well. there's all these different groups. >> that developed by the force of inaction. the force of inaction has created what we're seeing on the ground right now. all the scare tactics and the worst case scenarios that the administration and others talked about, some of them legitimate have now happened because of force of inaction because the grounds has been cemented with the assad regime having the majority of the fire power and manpower and the rebels being left alone until the extremists come in and get their weapons from people no one wants to see have power in syria. >> anderson, the fact that we're having this conversation tonight shows how much the coin has flipped, if you will. for more than a year, the president of the united states has staid it is not a question

if assad will fall, it's a question of when. tonight, because of the advances on the ground in the last week or so, it is a question of if, and the administration realizes that. assad has regained the upper hand which complicates things here. none of the choices are good. the white house say it ranges from bad to worse to very worse. but you have what fran calls rightly so, a proxy situation in syria. the iranians are invested, hezbollah is invested. you think it can't get worse or more complicated and it does. the president is making an investment, and the question is, how deep is he willing to go, how much support is he willing to give. and when he sits down with the leaders of the g-8, how much more will the brits, the french, the allies willing to do? >> christiane amanpour, fran, thanks. john king, as well. while ben rhodes was briefing the media on syria, president obama was speaking and made no

mention of syria, perhaps keeping his distance from the issue. next, we don't use superlatives like unbelievable very often, but cancer charities that abuse your hard-earned donations like none we've ever seen before. we're keeping them honest. i urge you to watch it. later, one of america's most wanted fugitives goes on trial. whitey bulger, the prosecution calls him a hands-on killer. what could be the final chapter to a truly incredible crime story when we continue. face moisturizer. [ female announcer ] only aveeno® has an active naturals total soy formula that instantly brightens skin. and helps reduce the look of brown spots in just 4 weeks. for healthy radiant skin. try it for a month. then go ahead and try to spot a spot. aveeno® positively radiant. naturally beautiful results.

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keeping them honest tonight, a year-long investigation with the "tampa bay times" shows a

small but aggressive segment of the charity world seems to care little about helping others. instead, it generates six-figure salaries for people that run them and feeds a multi-billion-dollar facility that only cares about profit and what we also found out is no matter how blatant the scam, or how obvious the proof is that donations are being squandered, no one seems to be going after them. cnn's investigative correspondent drew griffin tonight keeping them honest. >> reporter: drive down these country roads in knoxville, tennessee and into this small industrial park and you'll find the headquarters of a family conglomerate of cancer charities that return lavish salaries to the owners but according to their tax records donate very little to dying cancer patients and the last thing the people running this charity do is answer questions. >> don't -- don't turn your camera on me. okay?

>> reporter: across the country in mesa, arizona, another outpost of the conglomerate, it's called the breast cancer society. it's ceo and executive director, the man escaping in the truck, james reynolds jr. >> excuse me, sir, mr. reynolds, hey, excuse me, mr. reynolds, right here, buddy, mr. reynolds, hi, hi, can you stop for a second? where you going mr. reynolds? mr. reynolds. back in knoxville there is another cancer charity, the children's cancer fund of america, and this one run by yet another member of the family, rose perkins. hi, is rose perkins in? >> she's not available and not doing interviews. >> reporter: why isn't she doing interviews? she's running a charity for kids with cancer. that seems like a good idea. >> i've just been told to tell you she's not doing interviews. >> reporter: can you tell me what you guys do, any positive things you can do with the money you collect? >> you can send your questions to her e-mail. >> reporter: okay. what is that e-mail?

>> and we'll answer it. >> reporter: if you asked us for money what would you say you do with our money? >> we help children with cancer. >> reporter: how do you do that? >> what do you mean? we help children with cancer. >> reporter: yeah, how? in what way? >> we provide them financial assistance. if you have any other questions, please send them to her e-mail. >> reporter: my question -- rose perkins did e-mail us and tells us her charity has a clear conscience because they feel they are making a difference in people's lives but also said an interview is not something we can consider. that may be because of the questions we'd like to ask her and the other members of her extended family who are essentially making a living on your donations. rose perkins, the ceo of the children's cancer fund is paid $227,442 a year. her ex-husband james reynolds senior is president and ceo of

cancer fund of america. he gets paid $236,815 and james reynolds jr., president and ceo of the breast cancer society has a salary of $261,609. it's money that comes from donors like you who in 2011 sent these three charities $26 million in cash. how much of those donations actually went to helping cancer patients? according to the charity's own tax records, about 2% in cash. example, the cancer fund of america raised $6 million through it's fundraising campaign in 2011 and gave away just $14,940 in cash. but that is not what you would hear from the telemarketers hired by the cancer fund of america run by james reynolds, sr.

>> how much of my $10 would go -- who is this to? >> cancer of fund america support services. 100%. we purchase medical supplies for the cancer patients. we also do the hospice care for the terminally ill and supply over 600 hospice supplies all over the united states. >> but how much of my $10 will go -- >> it goes all directly. i'm calling from the charity. >> that's great, then. >> reporter: according to the iowa attorney general's office that gave us these recordings, those phone call statements are one great big lie. the callers were telemarketers being paid to make the call. the state of iowa fined the telemarketing company $35,000 for making false representations. as for donations to other charities, the cancer fund of america claimed on the 2011 tax filings, it sent $761,000 in so-called gifts in kind, not

actually cash, to churches, some hospitals and other programs around the country. when we called or e-mailed those other charities to check, many of them said they did get something, things like these supplies. but several of the groups told us they never heard of the cancer fund of america or don't remember getting a thing. the cancer fund also takes credit for serving as a middleman, brokering transfer of another $16 million worth of gifts in kind to individuals and other charities, many of them overseas. those contributions double up both as revenue and donations on the same tax forms. back at the cancer fund of america's corporate office, even the chief financial officer, who by the way has a salary of $121,000, couldn't explain what was happening. we just have all these -- mississippi north medical center, never heard of you.

yolanda barko oncology institute, nothing. >> again, you would have to talk to him. >> reporter: the him is james reynolds senior. the founder who finally told us in an e-mail, his boy thought it unwise to talk to cnn. even though in a different e-mail he called the news of phantom donations quote most disturbing. as for his son, james reynolds jr. and his charity in arizona. >> hey, how are you? >> the camera needs to stay outside. >> can he stay there? is mr. reynolds here? >> i'm sorry, he's not here right now. >> reporter: the public relations officer for the breast cancer society married to james reynolds jr. sent us e-mails telling us the breast cancer society's guiding mission is to provide relief to those who suffer from the effects of breast cancer and we made a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of men and women. but declined our request for an

on-camera interview and when our camera found james reynolds jr., he made sure we got the message with a single finger salute. >> drew, this is just unbelievable. i mean, you've done so much great reporting on this and on veterans charities that are scams. these people's faces i feel like should be put on t-shirts and people should see their faces and know their names because what they are doing is horrific. the fact they are running away like cockroaches from your cameras is all you need to know. if you're asking for people's money and running a charity, you should have nothing to hide. if you are doing nothing wrong, you should have nothing to hide. it's unbelievable to me. what is your estimate on how much cancer patients and some community groups actually did receive from the cancer fund of america and these other charities? >> we took a look at these tax records, their own reporting, along with the centers of investigative reporting and

"tampa bay times," anderson, we think it's just about 2%. think of it, you give one of these charities a dollar, they will give 2 cents in good to somebody out there, and that's just kind of our best guess of this. it's ridiculous. >> and the fact that it's like fathers and ex-wives and the girlfriends and brothers, i mean, this is just insane. these people are probably living it up in country clubs in the communities and i bet people in the community have no idea of what they are doing and people they are socializing with. these people should be, you know, put on posters i feel like. are regulators concerned because it seems like they should be? >> look, you and i have been doing these stories, anderson, for a year and a half. we do know, we have a source with direct knowledge that says cancer fund of america leaders have been deposed in part of a multi-state review of these charities by various state agencies, but let's be honest, we've been laying this out for a year and a half.

we had interest from the senate finance committee. i'm coming from cincinnati where irs workers had time to review applications for tea party groups but nothing seems to get done when we lay it all out. we and our partners have a list of the 50 worst charities in america on our website and we're showing you how bad it is. i just don't understand why no one in government, whether it be state or federal, can do anything to stop this. >> do we have still photos? control room, do we have still photos of these people? let's just put them up. i want to look at these people again and say their names. james reynolds jr. there on the left, james reynolds, sr. the charming guy who said his board thought it wasn't a good idea. and rose perkins. these people are running away like in the old 60 minutes piece and mike wallace walks into a garage and people run away. why are y'all running away like cockroaches. that's what these people are doing. i challenge any of these people -- if you don't want to

talk to drew, you can talk to me any time, anywhere. i'll come down and meet you if you don't want to talk to drew. this is unbelievable. we'll stay on this. thank you. incredible. just ahead, at 83 years old, the boston mob boss whitey bulger is standing trial for crimes he committed as a much younger man. 19 murders, the drama inside the courtroom. plus potentially damaging testimony in the michael jackson wrongful death trial. what executives from the parent company are saying about the pop star just days before his death. [ female announcer ] only aveeno daily moisturizing lotion has an active naturals oat formula that creates a moisture reserve so skin can replenish itself. aveeno® naturally beautiful results. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare,

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"crime and punishment" now. day two in the trial of whitey bulger. the defendant now 83 years old, charged with crimes he committed decades ago as a leader in south boston. this opening statements, prosecutors describe him as a hands on killer, a kingpin who did his own dirty work. he's charged with racketeering and 19 murders. but first, randi kaye traces his path to infamy. >> reporter: whoever would have guessed this bright-eyed, blond haired teenager would grow up to be one of the most notorious gangsters of our time?

born in 1929 in south boston, james bulger was a fitness buff whose platinum hair earned him the nak name whitey. it wasn't until his 20s that he started robbing banks. and cultivating his image. reporter shelly murphy says he wanted to be seen as an honorable criminal. the robin hood of south boston. he would cruise the neighborhood offering rides home to the elderly. when people would sit around saying he's out there, he's a robber, he's a criminal. the women would say that jimmy, bulger, he's a nice boy. >> reporter: a nice boy with a nose for trouble. in the 1950s he was sent to federal prison for bank robbery and then transferred to alcatraz. after his release in 1965 bulger became a top lieutenant in the winter hill gang and began to solidify his reputation as a vicious gangster. >> nothing happened in south

boston without whitey's blessing and people were terrified. >> reporter: terrified because bulger was considered a cold-blooded killer. after he and his partner gained control of the winter hill gang in 1979, bulger allegedly took part in 19 murders, including these two women who may have known his secret. whitey was working with the fbi. kevin weekes was bulger's right-hand man. >> they were killed and then their teeth were pulled to prevent the identification. >> reporter: bulger denies harming those women and denies ever helping the fbi but in 1997 the "boston globe" revealed he had been working with fbi agent john conley since 1975. it may have worked to his advantage, if someone went to the fbi with information about whitey, he heard about it and those people got killed. >> this is about a corrupt relationship with the fbi.

the government tried to hang it on one agent and make him the scapegoat for all the failings, but we've seen files that show the fbi and justice department at very high levels knew he was a suspect in murders, at least four murders just in a two-year span and continued to use him as an fbi informant. >> reporter: conley was prosecuted for racketeering. and obstruction of justice. other members of the gang said he agreed to leak information to him and his partner as a favor. his brother was president to the massachusetts senate. they grew up together in south boston. whether or not bulger was using information he gained from the fbi to take out his enemies, while the fbi was protecting him will be a key issue at his trial. in 1995 when investigators decided to indict bulger, it was john conley who warned him giving him time to skip town. whitey bulger fled boston, was

later joined by his girlfriend, catherine greig, and managed to disappear. after tips and alleged whitey spottings all over the world he and greig settled into a modest apartment in santa monica. they paid rent in cash and neighbors knew them as a retired couple charlie and carol gasco. for 16 years they avoided capture but in 2011 investigators got the break they needed, thanks to a national ad campaign spotlighting whitey's girlfriend. >> have you seen this woman? the fbi is offering $100,000 for tips leading to catherine greig's whereabouts. >> reporter: cnn broadcast a story about the ad and a former beauty queen living in iceland recognized greig. she used to live in the same santa monica neighborhood as greig and bulger, so she quickly called the fbi. after brief surveillance to confirm the tip, agents moved in. after all those years on the

run, finally, at 81 james whitey bulger was in custody. >> we have captured one of the fbi's ten most wanted fugitives, a man notorious in boston and around the world. >> reporter: inside the couple's apartment agents found more than $800,000 in cash, stuffed into the walls. in 2012, kathryn grieg was sentenced to eight years in prison for helping whitey. >> she was and is in love with mr. bulger, and she does not regret what she did in living her life with him. >> reporter: now, it's whitey bulger's turn. >> the two things he most wants to prove at trial is he was not an fbi informant, and he wants to prove he did not strangle two women among the 19 victims he's accused of killing and the reason for that is good bad guys don't strangle women and do not rat on their friends. >> reporter: whitey bulger's defense team says he may take the stand but not before jurors spend the next few months

listening to testimony from law enforcement and henchmen who now want to see their former crime boss pay. randi kaye, cnn, atlanta. >> incredible history. cnn's deborah feyerick was in the courtroom today and joins us now from boston. what was it like in the courtroom and how does this guy appear to you? >> reporter: yeah, it's so fascinating because you have to remember this is a man that spend decades trying to avoid the spotlight and now he's completely exposed. he sits in the center of the courtroom between the witness box and the jury. he never moves. he barely moves. he just sits, looks straight ahead. he never acknowledges the witnesses. he never looks back to see who is sitting in the back rows. he looks at the monitor and switches out glasses now and then. otherwise, he sits there very stoically. i only saw him move when prosecutors introduced weapons, one of them a mag 10 pistol with a silencer. more than 12 inches long. that's the only time i saw him

turn his head but he's listening to this litany of crimes that he's been accused of and the evidence against him. he barely moves, anderson. >> it would be fascinating if he did take the stand. those surveillance videos of him from 30 years ago are interesting to look at. they were played in court today, yes? >> reporter: they were. that's another interesting point. these are surveillance videos taken 30 years ago when whitey bulger was at the height of his power. it shows him meeting with known mob figures, both irish and italian. it's important those who are italian because he said he couldn't have been an informant, and you also see him at phone booths placing calls and whether he knew until he was arrested that those videos existed because he thought he had the lock on making sure when he was being investigated, when he was being watched, there was no evidence of that. >> amazing. thanks very much. coming up, testimony in the

michael jackson wrongful death trial reveals what executives from the concert promoter's parent company were saying about jackson's mental well-being days before he died and the "ridicu-list" ahead. ed gold. [ female announcer ] the gold standard in anti-aging. roc® retinol. found in roc® retinol correxion deep wrinkle night cream. it's clinically proven to give 10 years back to the look of skin. now for maximum results, the power of roc® retinol is intensified with a serum to create retinol correxion® max. it's proven to be 4x better at smoothing lines and deep wrinkles than professional treatments. roc® retinol correxion max. nothing's better than gold.

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tonight, randi kaye is here with a "360" bulletin. randi? >> anderson, testimony in the michael jackson wrongful death trial reveal that his concert promoter ceo wrote to another executive that jackson was having a mental breakdown days before his death and that executive replied asking was it preshow nerves bad or get a straightjacket, call our insurance carrier bad? the judge in the george zimmerman murder trial announced today that juror also be sequestered for what is expected to be a two to four-week trial. jury selection now under way. one person was killed and at least 75 others were injured when an explosion rocked a chemical plant south of baton rouge, louisiana. this photo taken by a plant worker and given to our affiliate wafb shows people fleeing the plant with flames behind them. no word yet on what sparked the explosion. the inspector of the building that collapsed in philadelphia last week has taken his own life. the incident left six people dead. there's a criminal probe under way.

however, authorities say the inspector was not a target of it. steven spielberg is predicting an implosion of the movie industry, according to the hollywood reporter. spielberg says, with several high budget films flopping, that could drive ticket prices way up. a california man accidently sold his wife's $23,000 wedding ring at a garage sale for $10. he thought he was selling an empty watch box. low and behold, his wife put her ring in there before he went to the hospital to have a baby. anderson? >> randi, thanks. we'll be right back.

time now for the "ridicu-list" and we're adding heavy metal haters. that's right, you heard me correctly. i'm going to bat for heavy metal music, more specifically, heavy metal songs about me like uptown girl and tiny dancer before me, i anderson cooper are the subject of a soulful ballot. it's called anderson cooper and has an understated charm much like myself, if i say so myself. the band's name is cryptic murmurs and it captures my easy going essence.

♪ >> eat your heart out, metallica. take note wolf blitzer. i shall henceforth be known as anderson cooper. cyborg. i've been called worse but if you indulge me, sit back and get ready for another soothing clip from my theme song. ♪ >> does face rhyme with hurricanes? it's the musical equivalent of a warm bath, if you ask me. it's true, i sometimes do stand in the middle of hurricanes. but i reject the idea that i always have a stern look on my face. sometimes i have an annoyed look on my face. thank you very much. i can't get mad because this song is making me feel so warm and cozy. you have to soak in more of it. ♪

>> yeah, yeah, thank you, thank you. all these years i've been waiting for someone to come along and vouch for my hardiness chops and the folks at cryptic murmurs are reminding everybody i never once lost my composure accept when i laugh uncontrollably like a little girl. we won't play that clip again so just calm down. but let's check in with cryptic murmur and see what they have to see about me, perhaps my nose for news or my dapper suit coats. ♪ i stole my hair from the main of a pegasus. do not trip me up with references to greek mythology. by degree, i mean i googled what pegasus is and second of all, what are they talking about? okay. whatever. that pegasus wishes he had my hair not to mention my blue eyes but no worries cryptic murmurs

thank you for your tribute and i am flattered to the extent that my cyborg body will allow me to feel any emotions at all. and for you heavy metal haters, wipe that certain look off your face or you bont get invited many to party backstage on "ridicu-list." thanks for watching. "early start" starts now. deadly fire fight in colorado. wildfires killing two people, destroying hundreds of homes. the flames are spreading. we are live. a deck collapses at a miami waterfront sports bar. victims tossed into the bay. the king has returned. lebron james helping lead the heat to a victory over san antonio. the nba finals. >> oh, it's so good. good morning, welcome to "early start" for this friday. hi, don. >> i'm don berman. it's friday, june