>> the greatest entertainer in the world. >> we'll have the latest as the trial of jackson's personal physician finally begins. plus, missile nightmare. could u.s. commercial planes be a target of thousands of surface to air missiles looted and sold to al qaeda? tonight, disturbing new information and questions whether the obama administration has acted quickly enough. brian ross investigates. and just breathe. hollywood icon goldie hawn says our kids are stressed out and unhappy. and she's on a mission to change that. >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," september 27th, 2011. >> good evening, i'm cynthia mcfadden. we begin tonight with a startling new look at the death of one of the world's greatest

entertainers. the trial of michael jackson's personal physician opened today. dr. conrad murray is accused of acts and omissions that led to the star's death. and for many inside the court and out, the new evidence stirred emotions two years dormant. here's abc's jim avila for our series "crime and punishment." >> reporter: it is the day before michael jackson's death. and he is under the lights, in full makeup and dancing up a storm. the jury saw this image of michael and they saw this one, too. a shocking police photo of jackson, lying dead in a hospital gurney. a death mask. eyes closed, mouth open. >> the evidence in this case will show that michael jackson trusted his life to the medical skills of conrad murray. that misplaced trust cost michael jackson his life. >> reporter: it is the crux of

the prosecution case against dr. conrad murray, accused of involuntary manslaughter, the unintentional killing of michael jackson. >> what happened during that time frame is that the acts and the omissions of michael jackson's personal doctor, conrad murray, directly led to his premature death at the age of 50. >> reporter: the trial began in explosive fashion, with a revelation not about the defendant, but about jackson's often suspected drug use. >> we have to be phenomenal. >> reporter: that is michael jackson's voice. slurred speech, recorded on conrad murray's iphone, a month before he died. >> when people leave my show, i want them to say, i never seen nothing like this in my life. >> reporter: prosecutors tell the jury the sound of jackson's voice should have been a warning to dr. murray that his patient was out of control.

>> that is what conrad murray is seeing and observing and what does he do with that knowledge? he orders 40 of the 100 milliliter bottles of pro foe foul, just two days after that recording was made. >> reporter: the stakes are high for murray, who could permanently lose miss medical lie sense and be sentenced to four years in prison if coin convicted. >> it was conrad murray's gross negligence, unskilled hands and his desire to obtain this lucrative contract of $150,000 a month that led dr. murray not only to abandon his patient, but to abandon all principles of medical care. >> reporter: the jury, and the world, was shown for the first time crime scene photos of jackson's bedroom and they heard, for the first time, audio tapes of conrad murray's interview with police, describing the early morning hours of june 25th.

>> unfortunait was 4:30 in the and he was wide awake. and then he complained, "i got to sleep, dr. conrad. i have these rehearsals to perform." i've been watching him for long enough period that i felt comfortable. then i needed to go to the bathroom. >> reporter: but in that same conversation, murray reveals to police that the administration of propofol was far from a rare occurrenc occurrence. >> more than ten times? yes. >> more than 20 times? >> 30 days a month, roughly. every day. >> reporter: in fact, murray had ordered 225 bottles, four gallons of propofol, for his one and only patient in a two-month period. the defense had its say today, too, beginning by portraying murray as a regular doctor, saving lives. >> dr. murray is no celebrity doctor. he doesn't have an office in beverly hills. he's a cardiologist.

he literally saves lives. >> reporter: they say murray wanted to get michael off the propofol to get him to sleep naturally. but on that fateful night, michael was desperate and demanded a fix. murray relented and says he administered a small dose of propofol before going to the bathroom. >> then i came back to his bedside and i was stunned in the sense that he wasn't breathing. >> reporter: jackson was dead. >> he died so rapidly, so instantly, he didn't even have time to close his eyes. >> reporter: according to the defense, it was jackson who delivered the final fatal dose of a sedative and propofol. >> michael jackson self-administered a perfect storm in his body that killed him instantly. >> reporter: then, onto the first witness of the trial, kenny ortega, the director of jackson's "this is it" concert, painting a happier picture of a

michael jackson he spoke to just one day before his death. >> michael was feeling great, he looked at me and asked if i was happy, i said i was happy. he said he was very happy. >> recall him saying that he felt the dream, or words to that effect? >> yes, he felt like we were accomplishing the dream. >> reporter: and that was just the first day of the trial expected to last six weeks. for "nightline," jim avila, abc news, los angeles. >> we will, of course, continue to monitor that trial. and just ahead, the loose micele thre missile threat one senator calls our worst nightmare.

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the bigger one... the smaller one... and the one that plugs in. they're all a little different, just like us. >> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with cynthia mcfadden. >> for months now, libya has

been a lawless zone open to fighters who would have poured in from across africa and beyond. it is feared that those fighters include al qaeda members, and tonight, a disturbing new addition to the mix. thousands of missiles have gone missile, missiles that could take out a plane. tonight, abc's brian ross reports. brian? >> reporter: cynthia, the u.s. has known for years about the danger posed by the portable missiles to civilian aircraft but concluded there were very few really available to terrorists. now, that calculation has changed, because of the chaos in libya, which had a stock pile of 20,000 of the missiles before the war. no one knows tonight where they all are. just one of these missiles in wrong hands could be a disaster. as seen in this u.s. army test of an american-made missile locking in on a small aircraft. >> they are heat-seeking missiles. so, they lock in on the engine of these airplanes when they're

flying relatively low. and they very easily can take out a civilian airplane. >> reporter: in 2003, iraqi insurgents used one of them to hit a dhl argo plane out of bag gad, which burst into flames but was able to land. >> this isn't something that somebody's making up. a terrorist with a shoulder-fired missile is now our worst nightmare. >> reporter: now made real with what's happening in libya. with an unknown number of the country's 20,000 missiles has gone missing, looted from warehouses, the empty crates left behind. >> it is one of the greatest stock piles that's gone on the loose. >> reporter: this man saw the missile missiles in a recent trip. >> i could have removed them myself. >> reporter: the u.s. says it's been working with the rebels to secure the arms depots. >> we are making progress and we

expect over the coming days and weeks, we will have a much greater picture of how many are missing. >> reporter: but the missiles are continuing to disappear. peter took these pictures just three weeks ago, showing even more of the portable missiles being carted off in the back of a pickup truck, despite the best u.s. efforts to shut the door. >> well, i certainly think that they realize that they are in a very difficult situation now. once the missiles walk away from the facilities, they are difficult to get back. >> reporter: and there is great concern they could end up in the hands of al qaeda which is active in the region. >> i think the probability of al qaeda being able to smuggle some of these stinger-like missiles out of libya is probably pretty high. >> reporter: with the exception of israel, no country has spent the money to protect its passenger jets from heat-seeking missiles. they are easy targets. today in congress, that fear led to calls for the defense department to provide civilian aircraft with new systems that

could defeat the missile threat. >> i think we should ensure that the wide-bodied planes all have this protection and that's a little more than 500 of these planes. >> reporter: over the last fuhr ye four years, two different companies have developed systems that can detect a missile and then fire a laser beam to divert it from its path. >> the system drives the missile away from the aircraft. >> reporter: the estimated total cost would be almost $6 billion to equip and maintain the systems on the planes most likely to fly overseas. >> the vast number of these surface to air missiles have disappeared and nobody really knows where they are today. so, i'm sure many people in washington in the weapons community are very concerned about what's happening in libya now. >> reporter: asked about our abc news report today, white house press secretary jay carney said the u.s. is planning to send more people to help expand the efforts to secure those storage

sites in libya. but clearly a large number of the missiles are already gone and officials will not say how many of them they have been able to recover. cynthia? >> oh, thank you, brian. a frightening story we know you will continue to follow. next up, here at home, american kids and stress. how a hollywood icon has created a lesson plan for smiles. what's in the mail? well, it just might surprise you. because this is how people and business connect. feeling safe and secure that important letters and information don't get lost in thin air. or disappear with a click. but are delivered. from person to person. and, sometimes, even face to face. have a great day. you too. for some of the best ways to connect and protect... it's all in the mail. learn more at usps.com/mail.

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well, here's a shocking fact. according to unicef, american kids are among the least happy kids in the world. there are plenty of reasons, but few solutions. enter one iconic academy award-wink actress, who says a couple of minutes every day can make a huge differences. goldie hawn, known for her sunny personality, is trying to restore happiness, one school at

a time. we talked to her yesterday at her home here in new york city. she's still got it. that trademark goldie giggle. made famous on "laugh in." cemented in "private benjamin." and "overboard." and as one of the trio of discarded divorcees in "the first wives club." goldie hawn knows she can make people laugh. >> can you dance? >> reporter: make them happy. and that is no small feat. not just on the screen, but off. >> i suppose i've always felt that i was given a gift. and so there's a part that says, okay, you have -- you've been given this, now what are you going to give back? >> reporter: ten years ago, after 9/11, she started worrying about the sorry state of childhood today and thought, she

did have something to give. >> once upon a time -- >> reporter: she was shocked to discover american kids are some of the least happy in the world. >> i started seeing stats. suicide rates going up. depression going up. children, for the most part, i guess, 1 in 3 now is medicated in the united states. >> reporter: so, she created is hawn foundation. >> hi, everybody. good morning, guys, how are you? >> reporter: and has been working with scientists on ways to help kids train their brains and focus. to be, well, happier. >> when you're like, doing your work, writing your reading, you know how to calm yourself down. it's cool because it's like, you're in the driver's seat, right? >> reporter: yesterday, we went with her to the oliver street school in newark, 1 of 220 schools in the u.s., great britain and canada that use her technique. >> did you learn anything about

the brain? >> it helps us, too. >> awesome. >> reporter: i am certain there were plenty of people saying, okay, very hippie-dippie, very sunny goldie, but come on. >> for me, it was really about science. so, we did research on this. we did very extensive research. >> reporter: so, before you tried to get them to adopt this, you were -- >> we talked about it. i've been doing this ten years. this is the first time i've actually sat down to talk about what i have done because i want proof. how about a 63% rise in optimism in the classroom? how about a 30% drop in aggression on the play ground? how about full attendance? >> reporter: thes pence of her program is this. mindfulness. being aware of your surroundings, taking a deep breath, taking what she calls a brain break. all of which she's detailed in her new book, "ten mindful

minutes." >> this is brain fitness. this is something we've not done about our children. we know way too much about the brain to keep them in the dark. >> reporter: working with children is a natural fit, she says. what is the best thing you did as a mother, do you think? >> the best thing i did as a mother? probably meet kurt. >> reporter: kurt is, of course, kurt russell, her partner of 28 years. several lifetimes in hollywood. they never married but they have raised four kids together. among them, movie star daughter kate hudson. i interviewed your beautiful daughter. she seems to be so comfortable in her own skin. >> yeah, she is. >> reporter: a gift from you. >> i'm very proud of katie. she really, really is comfortable in her own skin. i think all our children like who they are. we just have that kind of -- i think it's part of the way we raised our kids. we're a big laughing family. >> reporter: a big laughing family? >> we really are. we've been thrown out of restaurants before, before the way, for laughing so much. >> reporter: but do you think that's part of the secret of

raising happy kids is being happy? >> children mirror who you are. why? because we're hard wired to do that. that's what our brains tell us to do. we have mirror neurons. i love your eyes, they are dancing, i'd like to dance with your eyes, because i'm -- it t activates that. the same with our kids. they are just -- they're going to replicate the very things you show them. >> reporter: so, a happy, mindful mother and grandmother. but what about movie star? you haven't been in a movie for awhile now. >> no, i haven't. >> reporter: why not? >> i've been doing mind up. ten years. ten years, it's the most interesting thing i've ever done. i really love what i'm doing. and it's sort of that thing, when you get to a certain age, you ask yourself, what next? and i did. and i dreamed this. and it's been probably the

hardest thing i've ever done. but it's the greatest thing i've ever done. >> reporter: maybe there's some of what you put out in the world is what you get back, right? >> it is, i have a pillow that says the smile you give out is the smile you get back. so, i believe that. >> reporter: goldie hawn knows a lot about that. "ten mindful minutes" is in stores today. and finally, many of you asked if a sequel to t"the first wive club" is in the works. no sequel, but there is a possibility of a movie reuniting the stars. thank you for watching abc news. we're always on at abcnews.com. see you right back here tomorrow. have a good evening, america. >> dicky: tonight on an all-new "jimmy kimmel live" -- >> jimmy: if i was on "dancing with the stars," i was watching rob kardashian, i would do a lot of this. >> dicky: eva longoria. >> oh, my gold. >> jimmy: you really