joe jackson interview. the late michael jackson's father speaks out for the first time since his son's death. what he thinks should happen to his three grandchildren, what he believes killed the king of pop. it's an abc news exclusive. the fountain of youth diet. if you eat fewer calories, could you live to 100 or even longer? new research suggests it might work, but would you really want to live forever? plus on the front lines, we're embedded with a band of young american soldiers in the heart of taliban country. >> find out what their shooting at! >> up close and personal in the afghan war. but which side is winning?

captions paid for by abc, inc. good evening. as the world waits for toxicology results which should help reveal what caused the death of michael jackson, one man is in no doubt about what happened. michael jackson's father joe jackson speaking exclusively to abc news earlier tis evening saying that he believes his son's sudden demise was not self-inflicted, but involved what he calls foul play. this stunning allegation came on the same day los angeles police chief william bratten said that the detectives have not ruled out the possibility of a homicide. joe jackson was also adamant about what should happen to his son's three children. prince, paris, who spoke so movingly at her father's

memorial service, and blanket, as chris connelly now reports. ♪ >> as questions continue to swirl about the last hours of michael jackson, his father joe jackson is speaking out. recallingng his reaction on jun 25, as he learned that his son was being rushed to the hospital. captured here by hollywood.tv. what was going through your heart as you heard this news? >> i just couldn't believe what was happening to michael because i just couldn't believe it. you know? and i do believe it was foul play. i do believe that. yes. >> from the family compound in encino where floral tributes to the late king of pop can be seen everywhere, the 79-year-old jackson patriarch says he wants to know why his 50-year-old son died so suddenly, and at the second autopsy commissioned by the family has yet to revile any answers. meanwhile, as world attention

turns to the fate of jackson's three children, joe jackson leaves no doubt about what he thinks would be best for paris, prince michael and blanket. who do you think should raise these children now that michael is gone? >> their grandmother and i. yes. there's no one else to do what we can do for them. you know, keep them all together, and make them hapy. and feed them like they're supposed to be -- to be fed and get rest and grow up to be strong jacksons. >> whether katherine will get that opportunity may begin to be determined at a hearing on monday. one family law expert says that michael jackson's will is not the last word on who will eventually get custody. >> legally it's not a finding pronouncement by michael jackson. you cannot like you could with a piece of property or a car or a boat or a piece of jewelry, you can't give your kids away.

you can't bind the court. in part that's because of course kids are wholly different in nature. they're not property. you have always got to look out for the best interests of the children when you're the court. >> to that end, one of the keys may be katherine jackson's physical vitality. >> the lawyer for katherine is going to come into court and is going to do her very best to tell the court why katherine is the person best suited to care for these kids. what her relationship has been, what her knowledge of the kids is, what her skills to be a parent are, that she has the energy, capability and the stamina to keep up with three kids who are 12, 11 and 5. >> as for joe, with his sons and their show biz dreams, he was as he calls themselves very demanding. but no one could doubt the key role he played in molding them into the jackson 5 and shaping the talent of the young star who would become an international sensation.

♪ >> then in the wake of tragedy, at the memorial service, he was a grieving father. now, he seeks to transform from doting grandfather to parent. eager he says to provide a home for the children who need one. i'm chris connelly for "nightline" in los angeles. >> joe jackson's comments are certain to trigger yet more controversy. he was of course excluded from his son's will and it was his wife katherine who was named as the temporary guardian of their grandchildre our thanks to chris connelly. you can see more of the interview tomorrow on "good morning america." could eating all fruits and vegetables and no cheeseburgers and fries help you live to be 100? new research that suggests that the fountain of youth diet may be no fat at all ♪

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it's no medical mystery that a balanced diet can be critical to your health. but could a diet consisting of far fewer calories actually help you live well beyond your golden years? well, a two-decades scientific study was released today, one we have been following since 2006 and the findings suggestht e answer may be yes, but not every expert agrees with the conclusion. as vicki mabry now reports. >> just lookingt the pictesur you'd think the animal on the left had been starved, while the one on the right was healthy and well fed. when actually, it's exactly the opposite. eior, the plumper, healthier looking one has been on a diet for 20 years. from his picture, poor owen

looks every one of his years. they're being studied in wisconsin if madison which is where we had suited up and visited owe think and another calorie restricted monkey. >> a lot more fat on owen. >> owen is much fatter than this lean animal here. >> are the calorie restricted monkeys miserable? hard to know. but when their food comes, they grab and hoard it. the control monkeys ate leisurely, knowing there would be more. so these guys you can tell they're still -- they're hungry. >> yes. >> today, the center released the findings of its 20-year study, the headline says researcher rick wine trick says eating less can prolong year life. what can people learn from seeing these monkeys? >> they can learn that monkeys on caloric restriction look like they're aging at a slower rate and their health is staying better longer. >> joe kordell says he's living proof of that. i spent a day with him and tried

to follow the calorie restricted diet he's been on now for eight years. >> wait a minute, that's not just peeled apples. those are the apple peels. >> exactly. we figure most of the nutrition is in the peel, and the main calories are in the apple. >> most us feel virtues you if we eat an apple than a chocolate bar. >> you can get more bang for your buck with the nutrition. >> i joined him for his typical breakfast of frozen berries. >> these are 80 calories apiece, so 160 calories there. >> nuts. and apple peel. >> is it good? >> not y. >> joe is pa of the caloriee restriction movement which boasts thousands of members in the u.s. alone. people who like him are looking to extend their lives fo decades to 100, 120, 140 years if possible. he blogs and tweets about it

under the name the calorist. organic, great for apples and best cr fruit -- wild blueberries. what's the goal for you? >> certainly the longevity is nice, don't get me wrong. but you feel so much better. you enjoy much better health. >> to do that, ty cut their calorie intake by 30% or more, loading up on fruits and vegetables, nuts and grains with perhaps a bit of lean meat and they prefer the fruits and veggies raw. lunch for joe most days is at the salad bar, three pounds of raw veggies. >> there's no small amount of food here. >> so you're piling it right on. >> we'll start at four miles an hour. >> like the monkeys joe is being studied by gerontologist fontana at the washington university school of medicine in st. louis. >> not eating hamburger, french

fries and half a can of one of the sugary beverages but he's eating a healthy diet where you get rid of the empty calories and you eat lots of dense food. >> this is not just saying i'll only eat half of the pizza that i love so much. >> right. >> no, because that's calorie restriction with malnutrition. >> joe kordell is 51 now and after all those years of eating 1,800 calories of rabbit food a day, he's 130 pounds at 5'9". he runs a string of divorce law firms, said he openeseven more offices since we last saw him, all from the focus and health that he gets from the calorie restrictions. >> if you asked me before could i enjoy a diet like that i would have said no. but the reality is that's not true. you can eat a fairly limited

range of food and enjoy that as much, as you did the first. >> but is it really worth it? critics like professor jay feelen an evolution biologist at ucla don't think the wisconsin study is definitive. >> i think that based on these results, to start a caloric restriction diet would be silly and maybe even ill advised. if you have ever tried to restrict your caloric intake, it's very, very, very hard. and to have to do it for decades to get a benefit that hasn't been demonstrated yet, you have to weigh that tradeoff. for me at least that's not worth it. >> after all, he says, what's the point of living longer if you spend that life hungry? >> if you've worked with caloric restricted rodents, and you see how much they want to escape from their cage and you feel them bite your leather glove that you don't have to wear when you work with control animals, i

think you'd be left concerned. >> joe kordell hopes for not just longer life, but a decrease in the illnesses of old age, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease. if that turns out to be true, cutting out the cake and chips may be worth it. i'm vicki mabry for "nightline" in new york. >> never ending search for the fountain of youth. our thanks to vicki mabry. when we come back, embedded hit amer an sols ieramn a land largely controlled by the taliban. occasional irregularity... n, you had i know that you were just living with it. that was my normal. i thought thatwas normal. what chaed? saw activia in my mom's fridge, tred it for a couple of weeks. and it' liberating. hummm. announcer: activia is clinically roven to help regulate your digetive system in two weeks when eaten evry day. ♪ activia and now try a delicius blend of cereal, fiber and activia yogurt. new activia fiber.

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a powerful bomb blast south of kabul killed 25 people today in afghanistan. meanwhile a military surge that includes thousands of u.s. marines battles the taliban in the country's helmand province. in the southern territory of sabul, a group of army soldiers is fighting in isolation, and

awaiting reinforcements. our nick schiffren has been with them. >> deep in southern afghanistan, 50 young americans are under this is their home, the taliban have launched an attack on their base. charlie company has been dug in here for six months. and this area the enemy is as strong as ever. >> did -- >> the men are led by lieutenant patrick higgins. two years ago, higgins was in college. today, the 24-year-old is in charge of the district of afghanistan's province. the taliban control 90% of the area. >> the challenge in is how much can you control with what you have, and that's the challenge we have been trying to meet out here. >> on the base, a few romanian soldiers, 75 afghan forces, the company mascot, and higgins' men. >> we're supposed to disrupt the enemy movements. this is one of the main routes

that the enemy uses from pakistan to get into the central heart of afghanistan. >> on this day, he happened to receive a purple heart for the 2007 mission when his bradley was destroyed. he helped save his gunner that night, though he would later die in the hospital. what does it mean you that he got to see his family? >> to be perfectly honest, that's the only thing i can actually see why i'm still doing my job. he got to see his family. he got to say his good-byes. most guys don't have that chance. >> it is love for their fellow soldier and love of fighting that keeps these guys going. they serve in one of the most austere provinces in the country. literacy is under 10%, schools have been threatened and only a handful are open and there are only a few roads, dirt or paved. >> it's a difficult situation

these people are facing out here. they want to hold out hope for the government or a better alternative, but here you have the taliban and shaking guns in their faces and they're wondering when is this going to change? >> every mission is designed to bring about that change. for charlie company, the idea is to create a blanket of security. >> basically, i want you to go down to the river bed, cross, go in between the orchards. >> and each mission, the afghans lead, followed by the army. but higgins always decides where they go. >> the river bed, it's right in our backyard. so they come down here. and kind of show them we're satisfied. >> today's mission starts out as routine. the dog joins the fight. higgins walks with his translator nicknamed skel aor the. they joke about the isolation. >> i haven't seen a woman in over six months. yeah, it's horrible. >> but the quiet is short lived.

>> what are they shooting at? find out what they're shooting at! they're shooting at some dude up there? black foot 3-6, go ahead. i'm going to need mortars. >> afghan troops have opened fire ahead of the americans. higgins calls for backup and tells his men to shoot only if they see someone with a gun. >> tell him to watch and shoot. cover. >> the backup arrives in humvees which the soldiers use as cover. >> after the humvees arrive, the soldiers continue to push up toward the firing which is still going on. but we still don't know what's up there oar -- or what we'll find. afghan sources have targeted one taliban spotter and then they

targeted another one. >> i think this enemy is in the south. >> some of his men rushed out of the base so quickly, they didn't even have time to put their pants on. >> wow. >> rpg's. >> tell them to watch and shoot. >> are the afghans listening to you? >> it's a language barrier. they get overeager sometimes. >> higgins pushes as far as he dares. taliban fighters have disappears and he makes a decision -- it would be too risky for the soldiers to chase them. >> we're limited in the operations we can do, clearing this orchard is one of them. but that's why the whole troop surge thing is going to be a bonus. we can do more than just disrupt the enemy in here, we can come down to destroy them. >> that surge is the cornerstone of the new u.s. strategy across southern afghanistan.

in nearby helmand, thousands of marines arrived a few months ago and have now launched one of the war's largest operations. thousands of soldiers will be arriving in the next month the begin their own push. until then, nothing will change. >> we can go wherever we want, and so can the taliban. until we can stop them from doing that, yeah, we're not winning. until that point. is that point coming? absolutely it's coming. >> it's something we're good at. you know, seek and destroy the enemy, that's what we're trained to do. >> but seeking and destroying is just part of the job. higgins and his men admit that to win this war they will have to fire fewer bullets and drink more tea. today's mission, the village of mukaret and the more confidence they create in the local population. >> you have to earn their respect. you have to follow through. if we deliver, they're inclined to be more -- they're more receptive to our questions and more open to our answers. so basically if you give a

little, you get a little. >> but even though it's a few miles from the u.s. base, it is a taliban transit town. militants come here for the night and leave quickly and they come here more often than u.s. soldiers. >> they want to come into the valleys, through those cuts and back mountain trails. that's not much we can do to stop them, but come out here periodically to hope we'll get them. >> talk to the commander and he says what's wrong with the u.s. he can't defend himself against if taliban. and the u.s. doesn't have enough troops to help defend this village all the time. we're fed up with the taliban and we're fed up with you, he says. i am lost. and that is how the war goes. the u.s. tries to build up afghan police and soldiers, but they are still undermanned and condition -- undertrained. the u.s. tries to prove they're here to help, but they haven't done that everywhere. they try to beat back the

taliban but hasn't yet completed that mission. >> if we had -- to be sufficient in the fight, we could really effectively stop the training and the movement of the taliban coming into afghanistan. but we don't. >> the u.s. has been in afghanistan for almost eight years. but eight years of presence doesn't mean eight years of progress. as one u.s. official told me, afghans will help the u.s. defeat the taliban once they think the u.s. is going to win. but right now, it's not clear ono's winning. i'm forward operating base in afghanistan. f >> our thanks to nick schiffren. we'll be right back. ♪

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