tv Campbell Brown CNN July 8, 2009 8:00pm-9:00pm EDT
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follow me on twitter.com. we thank you for being with us here tonight. please join us tomorrow. good night from new york. good night from new york. now, campbell brown. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com tonight -- here are the questions we want answered. what killed michael jackson, new disturbing evidence of drug abuse, track marks, collapsed veins, his body described as emaciated. more details come to light on the investigation. and why can't jackson's doctor, answer a simple question, is he the father of prince and paris? you have to hear it for yourself. also, why is sarah palin still so popular with republicans even after her controversial re controversy resignation. >> i'm certainly a fighter. >> is she outsmarting the pundits and clearing the decks
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for 2012. plus, mamma mia, a sex scandal, italy's prime minister facing down accusations of sex with prostitutes and says he has no regrets. and scientists create test tube sperm. seriously. medical miracle or bad news for boys. could men become unnecessary? or is this a potential breakthrough for infertile couples? >> announcer: is this your only source for news. "cnn prime time" begins now. here's campbell brown. >> hi, everybody. those are big questions tonight but we're starting out with our "mashup" looking at the stories with moments you may have missed today. we're watching it so you don't have to. if yesterday was about somber remembrance, today it was back to bizarre in jackson land. the pop star's dermatologist
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arnold klein went on television today and pretty much said, i don't think i'm the father of michael jackson's kids. who nose, check him out on abc's "good morning america." >> there is even reports that you are the biological father of the children, do you know -- >> not to nielmy knowledge. all i can tell you, to the best of nieknowledge, i'm not the far of these children. if push comes to shove, i can't tell you anything about it. to the best of my knowledge, i'm not the father of these children. >> dr. klein is going to be on larry king tonight. meantime, cnn is learning grim new details about jackson's physical condition at the time of his death. a source involved with the investigation tells us that jackson had, quote, numerous track marks on his arm. the source said he's never seen anything like it in decades of
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work. he described him as lily white from head to toe. and also the scalp was bald. and that jackson's veins were, quote, collapsed in both arms, suggesting frequent intravenous drug use. his final note, the body was emaciated. >> a whole lot more coming up on the developments in just a bit. it turns out more than 30 million people watched the service. the jackson sisters, rebbie, la toya and janet spoke we have that courtesy of tmz. >> we're extremely grateful for all of the support. we love you all. >> he's watching every last one of you. he'll be here for you, he loves you very, very much.
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>> we all support. michael will live in all of our hearts. >> thank you. >> still, no word on when or where michael jackson will be buried. back in the real world, president obama in italy tonight where the annual g-8 summit kicked off this morning. >> high on the agenda is climate change, the global economic recession and the danger posed by nuclear programs in north korea and iran. >> the g-8 which is made of america's six closest allies plus a sometimes adversary, russia, gets to the table to discuss the nuclear issue. >> it's very important for the world community to speak to countries like iran and north korea and encourage them to take a path that does not result in a nuclear arms race in places like the middle east. >> the summit is being held in
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l'aquila which was rocked by an earthquake three months ago. the president took time to tour the damage today. >> certainly, the president logging a lot of miles on the overseas trip, traveling from the russian capital to italy. friday, he heads to ghana. >> and our anderson cooper is also traveling to ghana with the president. his special reports air monday and tuesday on cnn. on the home front, republicans just hammering president obama. some democrat governors were also on capitol hill this afternoon saying the exact opposite. here's a view from the right and a view from the left. >> the purpose of the stimulus was putting the unemployed back to work. mr. chairman, these troubling job numbers have shown beyond a doubt, that so far, the stimulus has failed to do that.
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>> we are killing jobs with every proposal we see here. >> we're doing everything other than helping the current job. >> the american recovery and reinvestment act has really be a life line. it is helping us to create and save jobs. >> helped us retain thousands of teachers, social workers, health care workers and others. >> remember, just barely july, july, august, september, october, you will see unbelievable amounts of people coming back to work. >> i guess that depends on who you ask. nashville police say former nfl star steve mcnair was killed by his 20-year-old girlfriend who then killed herself. the police briefed reporters this afternoon. >> mcnair was seated on the sofa and likely was asleep. and we believe that kazemi shot him in the right temple then shot him twice in the chest and then shot him a final time in the left temple.
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kazemi then positioned herself next to mcnair on the sofa and shot herself once in the right temple and expired. >> to hear it from the police, the woman on the right side of the screen here who is the mistress of steve mcnair believes there's another mistress. she has it in her head. >> you talk about a krieccrime passion, when you shoot someone once in the temple, twice in the chest and another temple that say seriously ill person. >> mcnair leaves behind a wife and four children. >> in north korea, a rare sighting of kim jong-il appears and not looking well. >> this is the reports that he suffered a stroke. >> obviously appearing much thinner than we've seen in picturings in the past. >> the 67 leader walked with a
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slight limp, probably the lingering effect of that stroke. >> kim jong-il's youngest son is expected to take power when the time comes. well, it is getting july and it is getting pretty buggy out there. we found powerful people doinging fearsome flies. take this out. >> give it a swat like president obama. >> i'm trying to see if i can find it. [ speaking foreign language ] >> ask me to sit -- >> it's a fly. >> a fly. >> let me just tell you that barack obama went boom and got it. >> yeah, we need -- >> yeah. >> yes, we did add the sound effects, but, okay, people, learn from the master. >> hey. get out of here. >> that's the most persistent fly i've ever seen. nice.
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>> now, where were we? >> and that is how it is done. and finally, tonight, a palin powered punch line, a lot of ill literation to show tonight. >> sarah palin is announcing she is stepping down, she will no longer be the governor of alaska. she woke up and waved good-bye to russia. >> waved good-bye to russia! >> people are puzzled by this. they say, sarah, what are you going to do? insiders believe she hopes to be the next octomom. but i don't know. >> again, restraining -- >> but she's going to take the summer off and come back next fall in the 10:00 slot so that will be good. but friends of governor palin are saying she is resigning
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because she is tired of attacks from the media. that's why she's resigning. tired of attack from the media. thank god i didn't say anything. >> david letterman, everybody. that is the "mashup." michael jackson's doctor unable to answer the most basic question today, is he the father of two of the children? we're going to have a whole lot more on this coming up. plus, disturbing new details about the pop star's death. we're knocking down rumors. we're trying to focus on facts. the very latest in the investigation when we come back. a source involved with the investigation tells us jackson had, quote, numerous track marks on his arms and that those arms, quote, could certainly be consistent with a regular iv use of a drug like diprivan. as for jackson's body, the source said he had never seen anything like it in decades of investigative work. so many arthritis pain relievers --
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in a long line of amazing performance machines. this is the new e-coupe. this is mercedes-benz. tonight's newsmaker, no contest here. the man everybody following the michael jackson investigation has been waiting to hear from. and now, finally, jackson's dermatologist, dr. arnie klein is breaking his silence. if our "mashup" you heard part of a strange question about
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whether he fathered the jackson children. we'll have the whole answer later. now what he told abc's "good morning america," about the condition jackson was in, just days before he died. >> we are told that he weighed about 125 pounds. that he was in enormous pain. he was having trouble sleeping. did you know these things? >> no, i didn't know it. he was in no trouble sleeping in my office, okay. he had no trouble dancing in the office. he danced in my office. he's very muscular and happy and dancing. >> i want to give you a chance to respond to this. you know there's at least one account which says that your name has arisen of five doctors who gave him prescription medication? >> no, i'm not one of the five doctors. i've not been examined by anyone, okay? i've not been contacted by the police in los angeles. so i don't know what to tell you, but i'm not one of the doctorses. >> so that report is completely -- >> i was his doctor. >> -- untrue?
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>> i have given him medication, yes, but you could take all of the medication i've given him in a year and nothing would happen to you, okay? >> now, our randi kaye is uncovering new deal tails about michael jackson's health. she's in l.a. with jim from "inside edition." and rand di, you've got a lot to tell us about the condition of the body. >> i do. we talked to two sources, and they both painted a serious picture for us. i'm quoting here. one source said, quote, he had numerous track marks on his arms. the other source said he had, quote, collapsed veins which could suggest frequent i v drug use. the other sources told us as well, some of the marks on his arms were fresh, some were older. you have to keep in mind here, of course, the emergency personnel trying to save him may
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have used iv drips and such. and that could be what accounts for the fresher looking marks on his arms. but also, we were able to obtain today, quickly, i just want to show you the death certificate for michael jackson. the information here is provided by his sister, la toya jackson. it says -- what's interesting, it lists cause of death as deferred. which means to this point and still really today they don't know what caused his death. as far as the place of final disposition, where he will be buried. it lists forest lawn memorial park. that is the cemetery in hollywood hills where the family has visited a couple of times now. although we still don't have word that he's actually buried there. here's what's interesting. the type of disposition, temporary. so it doesn't appear at this point when this was filled out that they were suggesting that forest lawn cemetery would be michael jackson's final resting place. >> still plenty of questions with that.
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let me follow up with dr. rodriguez. you listened to what randi saying about collapsed veins. what can you deduce from that? >> well, what you can deduce, from anybody who has collapsed veins or scar veins, this is what i interpret as, is that this is something that doesn't happen overnight. for someone to have sclerosis of the veins, track marks is use of that vein, then it becomes inflamed and eventually, that turns into a scar. having that as evidence means this didn't happen overnight. this is a chronic, month-long, maybe year-long occurrence. >> jim, what does this mean for the investigation? >> well really, what we've been talking about. you're going to get the toxicology results. that may in fact tell you the cause of death. but as the doctors say, there's also a separate investigation looking at a broader range of the doctors treating michael
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jackson, over a period of months or years what they've been prescribing. in whose names they've been prescribing them so it's really a broader question than what killed him. as the doctor said, this is a chronic, chronic issue. >> randi, let me go back to you. aside from the needle marks, you also have information about the more general condition of his body. >> right, campbell, we all saw that video from the final rehearsal at staples center. he shsuch vigor on stage. we're being told by the two sources one who had actually seen the body in the hospital room after michael jackson had passed away and it was described as emaciated. completely emaciated. we're also told from the sources, quote, it was lily white from head to toe. white as a white t-shirt. and that his scalp was bald. that's also a direct quote, that may have been received from the injuries he received when filming that pepsi ad.
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>> and dr. rodriguez, dr. klein said he diagnosed michael for lupus and treated limited for vitiligo. is that consistent? >> vitiligo is when the body turns into its own pigmentation. there is a vitiligo where it could be throughout the whole body. and lupus, again is an autoimmune disease. you know, it could lead to baldness, but usually not to the degree that i'm hearing being described would any of those two diseases really attribute to that emaciated description that was just given. >> so does anything jump out at you? or it's far too early? >> well, it's far too early. i'm not saying this is what happened to michael jackson. if somebody in my office or my patient came in, you know, they had track marks or they had weight loss, to that degree, you'd have to think of chronic drug abuse where the person wasn't eating. that's probably the main cause of hair loss is protein,
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malnutrition. so, you know, chronic use of different types of substances could lead someone certainly into this state. that's what pops to my mind first. >> we'll be taking the story further and talk about the additional issues coming up shortly. many thanks to the panel. got to take a quick break. a cyberattack on the government. north korea topping the list of suspects. plus, sarah palin defies conventional wisdom, beltway pundits don't know what to make of her. but a new polle shows republican voters may still want to put her in the white house. >> i think of the saying on my parents' refrigerator, a magnet says, don't explain, your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you anyway.
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get a check of some of the other top stories of the day. erica hill with tonight's download. >> the five american troops, the bodies, killed fighting in afghanistan now back on u.s. soil. their caskets arriving today in what is known as a dignified transfer. a somber ceremony that the media was banned from a few months ago. admiral mike mullen spoke about that today. >> that's the most difficult part of fighting a war, those that we lose. we, as a country, owe both the kind of dignity that the ceremonies at dover speak to when you see them and respect for those who have sacrificed so much. >> admiral mullen says the decision to allow media coverage
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was an important one. a major security flaw in federal buildings exposed by the government accountability office. undercover investigators managed to smuggle bomb components into ten different government buildings in four cities. they then assembled the explosives in restrooms without anyone stopping them. the agency in charge of security now harass 60 days to improve its guard training. and homeland officials think no data has been stolen in a series of cyberattacks on u.s. websites. some have been hit along with south korea. south korea is blaming unnamed sources who blame north korea for the attacks. they say the attacks that starts on the fourth of july are primitive and have probably originated in china. and a breakthrough. lisa ling said her sister laura called last night after weeks of
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silence. she spoke to us by skype. >> without actually seeing her without people actually seeing her physically, it's very difficult to tell. but she was very specific about the message that she was communicating. she said, look, we violated north korean law and we need our government to help us. you know, we are sorry for everything that has happened, and now we need diplomacy. >> lisa ling would not say exactly what else the sister told her. but says she's now reaching out to the state department. you're laura ling and euna lee are now facing prison. and sarah palin defies conventional wisdom and is quitting the new winning? also michael jackson's doctor says he is not the father of the children, at least as far as he knows. the interview that is leaving a lot more questions than answers.
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all of us are saying, what is he saying? is he saying that he could be the father, but he doesn't know if he's the father? did he artificially inseminate anyone else? did he have sexual relationses with debbie rowe? did he have a relationship with her? stomers are stressed. so that's why, you know we've adjusted a lot of the different processes we have in place such as rolling out more innovative products to really meet the needs of the customers. we actually move with the economic times. customers who maybe have lost their jobs, we're looking at waiving fees for them. we've introduced add it up. our risk free cd. it's one stop shopping for all the answers they're looking for. you just kind of have to learn to, just you know, just be there. that's how we keep moving.
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and keep the economy going? it's the local pizza guy that needs to pay his supplier for the dough. during these times when you think most people would roll over, small business owners figure out a way to fight, and i just love being part of that kind of a team. we are able to provide customers with ways
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that they can keep their business running and profitable. and to really help them... help them get through this tough time. committing small business specialists like myself to the community, i think that speaks loudly to what bank of america thinks the heart of the community is - the small business. ever since sarah palin announced she is stepping down as governor of alaska, the questions have been flying fast and furious. why is he quitting? why now? what will she do next. our drew griffin is one of the reporters who tracked her down this week during a fishing trip. listen 0 what she told us. it was all a bit surreal, alaska's feisty governor in a white t-shirt and overall waders. >> everything changed august 29th in politics in alaska. that's date i was tapped to run for politics. >> everything changed august
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29th, date i was tapped to run for vp. that was obvious. >> when that opposition researcher bombarded alaska starting digging for dirt have not let up. they're not going to find any dirt. we've seen proof of that. >> is this your unconventional way of announcing you're going to run for president in 2012? >> as i said, i do not need a title. nobody does to effect positive change. >> are you out of it? >> i can't see me being totally out of public service, because that is within me. that is the way i'm wired. >> governor, i'm asking you, are you ever going to run for president? are you ruling it out? >> all options are going to continue to be on the table. i don't know what the future holds. can't predict what the next fish is going to look like much less what's going to happen in the next few years. don't know what the future holds. can't predict what the next fish run is going to look like so i certainly can't predict what's going to happen in the next couple of years.
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>> sarah palin's got very good reasons to keep her options open. 72% of republicans in a recent poll said they would consider voting for her for president in 2012. so is quitting the new winning, joining me, republican strategist, mary madeline with us tonight. the "daly beast, tina brown with me. and welcome, everybody. mary, let me start with you, you're a little out of lockstep with your republican friends with this decision and how she handled. yet, karl rove said he was rather perplexed by it. ed rollins calling it a disaster. but you disagree? >> well, it was unconventional, to be sure. and the ferocity or velocity, rather, with which the opinion class, and i'm excluding karl, it took it or unconventional. than were asked to give an opinion more quickly than it
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needs to be digested. what i find more interesting is the resistance to which everybody in the chattering classes refuses to accept her for face value. she couldn't do her job anymore. her family was under assault. she was receiving the political equivalent of a stoning. and she could not function in her job. so the reason i thought it was smart was that she can continue to be a strong voice, build political capital out there in the next two years. and get her equilibrium reset. they were a bit weak, and do what she does well which is communicate a conservative message. and you can see why the polls say republicans are fine with it. so i think we opine, the bigger lesson here, we opine too fast before we think -- there might be some rational reason for her doing it, and it was. >> you got to concede, the news conference, the announcement was
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a little over the map, huh? >> well i'm living in new orleans now, so maybe i've become an ordinary american. i love the setup, i like that they go all over the map as opposed to being completely scripted. she didn'tle say anything that i thought wasn't relevant, wasn't explanatory. i think we have a template. the way politicians, campbell, you worked here. how they're supposed to do it. when they're supposed to do it. with whom they're supposed to confer with before they do it. she didn't do it that way it's got people's hair on fire. >> tina, you comparled palin to princess diana. explain what you mean. >> what i mean, that speech when she resigned from the governorship just reminded me of the speech that dianale made in '93 when she suddenly got up at a charity benefit and said she was bowing out of public life because she needed more time and space and burst into tears.
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there's a certain fear i have when i listen to palin, a certain suppressed hysteria. i'm sympathetic to that. i think her life has been hell for the next few months. i would have much preferred it if she would have said, look, my life has become so complex, i need this time with my family. in fact, of all the politicians who say they'd like to spend more time with their family, i would welcome that. i think a lot of women would. but she didn't say that. she did this wacky stuff like it's better for alaska are i'm going to have a higher calling. it's almost as if she couldn't say i want to spend time getting myself straight. i think she understands that her own celebrity right now is bigger than politics. kind of a new politics out there which is hyper politics. to be a major political figure. >> and that's a fascinating point. do you agree with that? that celebrity may have
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overtaken, like actually doing the job? >> i absolutely believe that. remember when senator obama was running for president, and the ad came out, oh, he's just a celebrity. turns out that celebrity's a big thing. and i don't think that's new in politics. there is a celebrity culture. people are attracted to what they like. i do think, again, sarah palin made the right decision for sarah palin. i agree with tina, it probably would have been more cachet in telling the truth that i'm doing this for my family. again, for the people who like sarah palin or people who like any politician, the craziness or whackiness, those don't matter. it's do you connect with those people. if you don't have to respond, then you don't have to worry about explaining yourself. just do what you do. >> but, mary, what does she do next? if this was such a brilliant move, how did she capitalize on it? >> well, it's brilliant in the sense if you have two bad options, you take the least bad
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option. i want to speak to what tina said. this is still an unfortunate situation that women are judged differently in politics. so it would be great if she could say, and she said a version of, no family has been treated like this. if she would have said it the way tina said it which was quite eloquent, she would have been wiped out. everyone is disregarding the fact that she said she did this for alaska that was something false about that. she did it and she literally could not get any work done and it was costing lots of money. a small state like that, i don't know why anybody rejects it as an authentic answer. but it's sad that you couldn't say it the way tina said it because i think that was a huge big part of it. >> what do you think happens now for her? >> well, you know, i do think she's still got these great celebrity. she has a passionate following. i think it's really a question now of whether she can get her
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discipline together. because although it's kind of nono is, and i think part of her charisma is that she's a walking show. for the end, that's not good for politics. you do want a certain insteadiness in that look at the economy. i would prefer she genuinely absent herself now and get smart. really get up to speed on the issues, really deal with her family, really get herself centered. and emerge as a newly branded sarah palin. i think the biggest mistake is the way she's in constant combat with the media. she spent ten running days going over the thing with david letterman. talk about a firestorm which she kind of absolutely said, you know. >> got to end i there. many thanks to tina brown, mary
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matalin. and john earl. michael jackson's doctor, we were talking tab before, can't seem to answer a simple question are you the father of prince and paris jackson? if you think that's strange, wait till you hear what he says about the children's mother, debbie rowe. we will have the details when we come back.
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michael jackson's dermatologist dr. arnold klein is now in the center of the storm in the michael jackson case. this morning on "gma" gam, was asked a question that most people would be able to answer with a pretty quick yes or no, are you the father of any of the jackson kids. you got to see how klein responds. take a look. >> there was even one report that you were the biological father of the children. >> not to the best of my knowledge. all i can tell you, to the best of my knowledge, i'm not the father of these children. but i am telling, if push comes to shove, you know, i can't say anything about it, but to the best of my knowledge, i'm not the father of these children.
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>> best of your knowledge? >> best of my knowledge. >> that's an interesting phrase, best of your knowledge. >> i can't answer it any other way because you know what, i don't want to feed any this insanity going around. there's a lot of insanity going around. the death of his love is his children. >> to the best of my knowledge, really? let's bring back jim ray, in los angeles. and sharon braxton of the website "thewrap.com. you heard what he said, what do you make of it? >> that's completely convincing, isn't it. now that's settled, fantastic. that's somebody who wants to get more attention. you don't go on "good morning america" and say, gee, i want to go on national television to settle this question of having the paternity of michael jackson's children, for their
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own protection, peace of mind, just settle it once and for all and answer it that way. what that says, look at me, now you can have the media swirl about me. >> just about attention, john? or god forbid, like, could there be money as a motive here? >> could there be money around it? absolutely. i certainly don't have any proof. but i'm reminded of howard hughes' -- the mormon will. the man who came forward who said i have the will for howard hughes. here's somebody who has an opportunity to have a tell-all. to be in the tabloids to tell their story. why not? i would hope that he wouldn't. but as you say, how do you not know, to the best of your knowledge, especially considering how these kids were conceived. >> why on earth, jim, do you hedge on a question like this? >> i think for attention.
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i think that's only the reason. in california, the children were born to michael jackson and his wife while they were married. if he was a sperm donor, it doesn't matter, you give up parental rights. so there's no claim in the state of california. but he does put to rest the terrible rumors and not what do we do? we talk about dr. klein. >> jim, for people who aren't that familiar a bit, we kind of have the family tree up on the screen right now. explain the relationship between klein, between michael jackson and debbie rowe. >> dr. klein on the top. michael jackson was his longtime patient and also very close friend. debbie rowe worked for dr. klein. that is how michael jackson met debbie rowe. michael jackson married debbie rowe and had two with him. and she would give him custody. that's basically the love
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triangle as we call it. >> there's another interesting part with this interview with diane sawyer where she asked dr. klein. >> debbie rowe, of course, worked in your office, that's where she met michael jackson. >> absolutely. i wonder, if she wants custody of the children, do you thunk she should have custody? >> i can't make those answers. i will tell you one thing, it has nothing to do with whatever, these are brilliant children, and i want them in no way to be harmed because these are great, wonderful, fabulous children who he loved deeply. >> sharon, if debbie rowe does want custody of these children i'm assuming she's got to act pretty quickly, right? >> you would think so. old tapes of her were on abc last night where she was talking about that she had the children for michael, which by the way, which is what we knew to be the case.
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they were her gift to him. that she did not consider herself the parent because she carried the guy. michael was the guy who got up in the middle of the night, diapered them, changed them. when she had the baby, he sent her off to a spa in arizona. she's on the record as not having considered herself a pair. she didn't want them ever to call her mom. so her claim -- if she were to have one, is going to be very difficult, i would think. i'm not a lawyer, but you'd think she'd want to step in quickly. that was your question. we saw the children at the funeral, a very, very touching moment, this lovely young girl paris standing up and saying how much she loves her father, surrounded by the jackson family. that was pretty convincing. >> very quickly on that point, john, that family. >> for years, those kids were literally figures under shrouds. they became real life people yesterday. i think it's going to be very hard, beyond the legality of to
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make a case that these kids should be with debbie rowe or anyone else. >> we want to let everybody know that dr. klein is sitting down on an exclusive interview in just a few minutes on "larry king live." we will see if he clarifies the paternity questions at the top of the hour. a medical breakthrough for men when we come back. sperm created from stem cells in labor. the science, the ethics, what it could mean for infertile couples. if you look at infertility across the globe, a third of infertility is created by men. it could take place in three months where it takes 15 years for sperm to mature. so you get the idea how important this is. automatic s you've been in a front-end crash. do you need help? yeah. i'll contact emergency services and stay with you. you okay? yeah.
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this is the story that has got everybody talking today. scientists in the uk have created human sperm cells using stem cells. it could be a breakthrough in treating male infertility. and it made news all over the world. listen. >> this is the original research video filmed out of a microscope. the movement of the wiggling sperm they've made in the lab clearly visible. >> what they did, they took the
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embryonic stem cells. they added a little vitamin a derivative. and they used this green stain. i can't tell you exactly how they did it or you'd start doing it in the garage. they're trying to figure the cells out. the cells went out a specific process of division, the process is called my yosz. you don't need to remember that. over time, as they watched the cells over months, they were able to coax the cells there. >> the stem cells were taken over here. and thawed out, brought up to room temperature under this hood and then added to a chemical soup. and also, crucially, a genetic marker is tagged on to them. then taken to this incubator right here. and the early stem cells are here. they're the precursor cells that can go on to become sperm.
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>> of course, lab results are just the first step. and now the controversy begins. joining me to talk about that, arthur caplan, chairman of medical ethics at the university of pennsylvania. and dr. jamie burkco program director at nym, langlan medical center. realistic in our lifetime? how close are we? >> well, there's promising technology for men who have no sperm. what they've done is taken stem cells that can create sperm. they haven't shown that they can fertilize eggs yet. there's still a big leap that has to occur. this is a big step. >> so if this turns out to be true, let me ask you both this question, professor caplan, you start, if it's real, walk us through, i guess, the
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possibilities, both the good and the bapd. >> well, some very good possibilities as the doctor said, you could help people, men who can't make sperm or a very low sperm count downsize. tested again in animals again and again. this technique was tried in mice. a lot of the animals that were produced actually were born from this creative sperm, abnormal size, prematurely. you really have to be careful here because we're talking about using something to make you another person. it's got to work very, very well. another downside, well, you could see people starting to change the sperm, engineering traits into it, getting us into a big fight about the perfect baby. >> that's what i was going to ask. in theory, could you also take, you know, a piece of let's say, brad pitt's hair, and use that, and the dna from that, to make these cells or. or could, say, a woman, from her own stem cells create sperm? i guess in theory you could,
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right? >> in theory. in these experiments, they showed you couldn't do it from a female embryo. an embryonic stem cell. we still need men. all of these things that we worry about as potentials really, we've been worrying about them since the start of ivf, and we've talked designer babies since the early '90s and it hasn't happened. it hasn't happened because that's not what we do. we try to help patients with the problems. arthur is absolutely right. all the techniques that we do, we effect them in an animal model system before we apply them to a human. so there's a lot of work that needs to be done with this technique. and all of the techniques show that they work and can be used for human use. >> campbell, i was going to say, you got to be careful here because you're going to see some men saying, i'm infertile. i can't wait. i want to use this technique. so you'd be pressured to move it
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along. jamie is right, the field tries to be cautious and develop things. but this will be a lot of push and pull here. so you really do have to insist in this area, when making babies, using artificially produced sperm, and it's been done in many animals. i think we're a long ways away. >> i was going to say, the likelihood is quite a while for this becoming a reality? >> that's true. someone that's going to take that risk, until you do it in humans, you don't know how safe it is. you still have to do it in humans. that's happened with ivf and different elements of ivf. >> pafascinating stuff. appreciate it. president obama at the g-8 summit.
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cnn brings in hundreds of new feedings every day, reports from all around the globe. but we pick only one, the best one, to be the nightly breakout story. tonight, it's a sex scandal tall january style. cnn's atika shubert has the story of italian prime minister berlusconi. >> reporter: paying for prostitutes, absolutely not, pictured here with his grandson. i have never paid a woman, he said in the interview. i never understood what the satisfaction is when you are missing the pleasure of conquest. another day, another scandal, for italy's embattled prime minister. it all started when his wife of 19 years, veronica lario filed for divorce last month, accusing him of consorting with minors.
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allegations that made news far beyond italy's borders. then came spain's newspaper, publishing pictures of nearly nude women, allegedly attending a party at one of berlusconi's sardinian homes. the prime minister sued for invasion of privacy, photos now banned from publication in italy. in a recent interview with cnn, berlusconi dismissed the scandal as a political plot. >> translator: in the face of an accusation of this nature. i will react. i will explain exactly what the situation is. i will still have the italians on my side. once again, this accusation will boomerang against the people who started it. >> reporter: but now the prime minister faces allegations that this woman and several other women were each paid to visit the prime minister's home, and she says she's got these photos
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taken in berlusconi's house and a recorded conversation to prove it. i feel that i am the only one that is here telling the things that no other woman daresay. throughout the scandal, berlusconi has obtained high approval ratings but is this one step too far for italy's notorious prime minister. this woman says, as an italianings i am ashamed and i believe she should resign right away. it's a further indignity for those who didn't vote for him, this person says, but it has only increased his popularity among his followers. a messy divorce and naked pictures? that might be enough in some countries to force leaders to resign, but it seems, in italy. atika shubert, cnn, london. >> don't miss "larry king live," everybody. have a good night. but we also speak mpgs so you can fly by gas stations.
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