up next, michael starr, the new book about redd foxx. tavis: michael starr is a writer whose previous books include biographies of art carney and raymond burr. his latest book is about redd foxx, "black and blue: the redd foxx story." good to have you on this program. my favorite part was learning the nickname that he was given as a child. smiley sanford. because he was always smiling. i had no idea. what to do you think people -- when you started researching his life, what were some of the more surprising things about him? >> there were a few things. his relationship with morocco max. i got into it into the book how close they were done in harlem. redd foxx -- they were dishwasher's together. they ran together. they have a lot of schemes, they sold the suits off rooftops. they were very close. that was one of the things. also that he started out to be a singer, not a comedian and cut six r&d sites -- sides. tavis: when i discovered that in the ?, it did not surprise me because he was always singing. that did not surprise me. it is wanti

michael starr thank you. >> thank you. >> and you can read an excerpt on our web side today.com. >>>morning on "eat mart today" the best packaged food. chances are your pantry is full of items coming in a box, bag or can, and a lot of them come loaded with fat, sodium and preservatives. >> what are healthier options? carrie glassman is nutritionist and contributor to "women's health" magazine. how did you choose what is healthy? >> it should go without saying of course we want to eat real food but that's not always reasonable. "women's health" chose 125 of the best foods taking into consideration nutrient profile, taste and ingredients. >> snacks are of the most common packaged foods we find ourselves eating. >> exactly. >> beanitos. >> i love these beanitos. the first ingredient is black beans. so this little bag right there is going to have six grams of fiber, six grams of protein no, corn, no potato if you're concerned about that and that barbecue flavor is satisfying. >> really good. a little salsa good with that, too. >> kelp chips. >> you know package foods have come a long way

barbara starr reporting live for us from washington. >>> still ahead, the trial against michael jackson's some of the last words jackson's daughter, paris, said to dr. murray. her words revealed in court. it's 35 minutes past the hour. loaded potato with bacon. lw that's what we like to hear. ring, ring. progresso... ...switch our phone service? ...no, i think we're pretty happy with our phones. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. ♪ we're centurylink... a new kind of broadband company committed to improving lives with honest, personal service, 5-year price lock guarantees and consistently fast speeds. ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] the road is not exactly a place of intelligence. highway maintenance is underfunded, costing drivers $67 billion a year, and countless tires. which drivers never actually check because they're busy, checking email. this is why we engineered a car that makes 2,000 decisions every second. the new audi a6 is here. the road is now an intelligent place. ♪ >>> it is 36 minutes past the hour. the senate rejected president obama's $447 billion jobs bill.

starr, the bride wore an ivory dress made by her new stepdaughter, fashion designer stella mccartney. >>> another big event in the uk this weekend, a star-studded tribute to the late king of pop michaeln. with michael jackson's death making headlines in a courtroom in los angeles, this was a concert focusing on his life and his musical legacy. our report tonight from nbc's kevin tibbles. >> reporter: a night to remember and sing and celebrate the king of pop. some of michael jackson's family did attend the musical tribute, his mother watched from a seat in the stands at the stadium in wales, filled with 50,000 fans. >> it was a great time to celebrate all the beautiful things that my brother stood for. >> reporter: other family members and some big name acts, however, stayed away, as it took place at the height of the manslaughter trial of dr. conrad murray, accused of giving jackson a lethal dose of sedatives. >> i was hesitant about this and i thought i have to do it for him. and i did. >> i think they have a right to whatever they feel, but we're celebrating the positive side of our brother's life. >> reporter: michael jackson may have left this world more than two years ago -- >>

starr, was among the guests there. this is mccartney's third marriage and chevelle's seconds. >>> i'll be back with more news at the top of the hour. now back to "fareed zakaria: gps." >>> michaeltraordinaire. unfortunately for many of the characters, the stories he tells are nonfiction. in his new book "boomerang," he's on a tour of the world's financial disasters. among his stops, iceland, ireland, and greece. now he's setting his sights closer to home, in fact at home. lewis says his home state of california and others like it face the nightmare scenario. welcome, michael lewis. >> thanks for having me back. >> so when you talk about greece, ireland, you write that the cause of their problems was the same, essentially, too much cheap credit, too much easy money. but the consequences were different. why? >> well, this is absolutely right. the cause was the temptation of free money. the banks ceased to do credit analysis. they became numb to the risk. one that happened, people could borrow money who shouldn't be able to borrow money. the temptation gets created. the societies responded to the temptation in very different ways. and i think the answer is they're very different p

starr at pentagon. thank you, barbara. >>> another emotional day of testimony at the trial of michael jackson's dr. conrad murray.ice, murray says jackson pleaded for propofol to help him sleep and the doctor finally gave in. >> i wanted to [ inaudible ] during that period [ inaudible ] then i needed to go to the bathroom. so i got up, went to the bathroom. then i came back to his bedside, and discovered that he wasn't breathing. i was gn i wouone i would say p about two minutes. >> saying he overdosed and propofol and conrad failed to revive him. >>> and the front-runner for president is mitt romney and hoping this announcement from christie will cement it. >> we know he brings the best of both for what we need for america right now. he brings that great private sector experience and he brings the experience as governor of massachusetts knowing how government works. not a legislator trying to figure out how to use executive power, but an executive who's used executive power to make american lives better. that's why i'm endorsing mitt romney for president of the united states. >> christie said his decision to bac