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Jackson's Ex-Wife Testifies; Brewing Controversy; CNN's Hero Fights Poverty; Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons Buy Arena Football Team

Aired August 16, 2013 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Appropriate, yes?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Isn't it? Oh.

BOLDUAN: We did it. Welcome back to NEW DAY, everyone. It's Friday, August 16th. I'm Kate Bolduan.

PEREIRA: And I'm Michaela Pereira. Chris Cuomo has vacated the building. He's actually on assignment, had to leave early this morning.

BOLDUAN: He's given up on us. Let's just be honest.

Coming up this half hour, emotional testimony at the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial. Debbie Rowe, the pop star's ex-wife and mother of two of his children, breaks down on the witness stand. We're going to talk with Jackson's former attorney, Tom Mesereau. He's going to be joining us live. We'll talk about her impact on the case and what this means as its dragged on for so long.

PEREIRA: It really has.

Also, Prince William speaking for the first time since becoming a dad. He is speaking to CNN's Max Foster. That's going to happen Monday on NEW DAY. Be sure to tune in for that.

But, first, let's get you started with the five things you need to know for your NEW DAY.

At number one, Hannah Anderson seen in public for the very first time since her rescue. The teen kidnapping victim attending a fund-raiser thrown for her family last night in southern California.

A march in support of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy now underway in Egypt and a state-run newspaper reports one police officer was killed, another wounded in an attack at a checkpoint in suburban Cairo.

Children in Moore, Oklahoma, returning to the classroom today for the start of the new school year, but many will attend class in a temporary facility. Much of the town, you'll recall, was destroyed by a deadly tornado back in May.

Former tennis star Jennifer Capriati will appear in a Florida courtroom today. She's accused of stalking her ex-boyfriend and punching him. What makes it worse, it happened on Valentine's Day. Capriati is pleading not guilty to those charges.

"Operation Orange Fingers" at number five, underway at Seattle's Hemp Fest. The attendies are being given a bag of Doritos, along with a printed summary of Washington state's new marijuana law.

You know we're always updating those five things to know, so be sure to visit newdaycnn.com for the very latest.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, thanks so much, Michaela.

An emotional day on the stand from Michael Jackson's ex-wife. Debbie Rowe testified for a second day in the Jackson family's wrongful death lawsuit. Rowe broke down as she described her 15-year-old daughter's recent suicide attempt, saying Paris is devastated by her father's death.

For more on the latest in this trial, here's CNN's Ted Rowlands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a second day of testimony, Jackson's ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, mesmerized jurors, talking about her life with the king of pop, including his journey into addiction, which she said started after this horrific accident in 1984 that burned Michael Jackson's scalp.

But Rowe also talked about the good times. "He wanted to be the best parent he could be," Rowe said, as photos of her, Jackson and their children were shown in court. This photo, she said, was taken when she picked Jackson up on her motorcycle from a movie set. He stayed in costume while she gave him a ride.

And Rowe broke down in tears while this concert video was played from 1996 in Munich, Germany. Munich is where Rowe testified she saw doctors administer doses of Propofol to induce Jackson's sleep, the drug that eventually killed him. She said she told her boss, Jackson's dermatologist, Arnie Klein, that she was worried that Jackson was addicted to Propofol. AEG lawyers say that's why they called her as a witness.

MARVIN PUTNAM, AEG (ph) ATTORNEY: I don't know how she couldn't do anything but help our case. She just let everyone know that the people in Michael's life were worried about his Propofol use as early as the late '80s, early '90s.

ROWLANDS: The most dramatic moment came when she was asked about how Jackson's death affected the children. She referred to Paris Jackson's recent suicide attempt saying, quote, "she's devastated. She tried to kill herself. She doesn't feel like she has a life anymore."

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: All right. Thanks so much, Ted.

Now, I want to bring in criminal defense attorney and Michael Jackson's former attorney, Tom Mesereau, to talk more about this.

Tom, you heard there in Ted's piece a very emotional day on the stand for Debbie Rowe. She was called by the folks representing AEG Live. They're trying to prove, as Ted said, that Jackson had a long history with prescription drug abuse. What did we find out from her, do you think? Who did she actually help taking the stand?

TOM MESEREAU, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, first of all, this was daja vu for me because in Michael Jackson's criminal trial in 2005, the prosecution called her thinking she would help them. She came across as very emotional, very sensitive, very protective of Michael Jackson. She felt people were taking advantage of him. And this seems to have been similar type of testimony.

She's a powerful witness, very emotional. Her love and care for Michael Jackson, for her children is absolutely evident if you're in front of her. She takes over the courtroom.

I think she ended up helping the plaintiffs because I think she humanized these children who, remember, are the plaintiffs. They're suing, along with their grandmother. I think she showed that Michael was a very loving person, kind person, taken advantage of, a tragic person. And I think she added a lot to the plaintiff's claim that AEG had every reason to know that he needed the right doctor to deal with these prescription drug issues.

BOLDUAN: And Debbie Rowe also spoke very emotionally about some of the plaintiffs. Paris Jackson, his daughter, her daughter, had attempted suicide after Michael Jackson's death and she was really talking about the horrible impact this death has had on Paris Jackson. While emotional and horrific for them to have to go through, does that have any legal bearing in this case, do you think?

MESEREAU: Well, a lot of people have wondered why Katherine and the children are going through this lawsuit. But I always respond to those inquiries by saying this. Look, unless you've lost your son, unless you've lost your loving father, you don't know how they feel about this entire thing. It is stressful, it's lengthy, it's demanding. However, they want justice for their father. And I think Debbie's testimony emphasized the gravity of the loss of Michael Jackson for these children.

I just think it helped the plaintiffs. I know the defense thinks that anything they shove another direction when it comes to Propofol and Michael's prescription drug use will help them, but I don't believe that's true. I think, in the end, the jury's going to find that AEG assumed responsibility for Michael's physician, Conrad Murray. They paid him. They reminded him he was being paid. They had obligations to supervise him properly and failed to do so. And I think Debbie emphasized the tragic loss through these series of events.

BOLDUAN: Now, Tom, if you're not following this day-to-day, this is one thing that really surprised me. They are now in the 70th day of testimony in this case. This is a civil trial that started back in late April. Why is this dragging on so long?

MESEREAU: Well, I think the stakes are very high. Let's face it, the plaintiffs, Katherine and the three children, are suing AEG claiming they negligently caused the death of Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson was the greatest superstar on the planet. He'll probably never be equal when it comes to genius in choreography, dance, music, song, you name it. He never took a dance lesson in his life. He was the greatest dancer ever. Fred Astair said that. And I think that because the stakes are so high and because the plaintiffs are probably going to be asking for in excess of $1 billion, nobody wants to leave any stone unturned. They want to call every single witness they think might plausibly be helpful to their case.

BOLDUAN: And at the end, at the very basis of this, is AEG liable for Michael Jackson's death? We'll, obviously, be following this closely. And it is not over yet. Tom Mesereau, great to see you. Thank you so much.

Michaela.

MESEREAU: Thanks for having me.

PEREIRA: All right, Kate.

Next up on NEW DAY, if you drink a lot of coffee, then you're going to want to hear the results of a new study. It says too much java could be deadly. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here. We'll have a discussion about coffee.

And, the guys from KISS have certainly spent plenty of time in sports arenas, usually on stage, though. Soon they may be watching their own arena football team. Wait until you hear the team's name.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: All right, welcome back to NEW DAY on this Friday.

You might want to put your coffee down for this one. There is a new warning about your daily cup of joe. We Americans drink it by the gallon. But a new study says it's too much. Too much of it, in fact, can actually increase your chance of death. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now from CNN Center.

Good morning to you, good doctor.

First of all, yes, this kind of bad news on a Friday. How much is too much? Let's talk about that, first off.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think that's a really good place to start because they're talking about a lot of coffee here. About four cups a day, 28 cups a week. That may not be that much for some people, but it's a lot for most.

Let me tell you what the study was about. They looked at 44,000 people, Michaela, over 16 years, looking at their coffee drinking habits. And what they found was that there was an increased mortality among people who drank the most coffee. People who drank, again, 28 cups a week. The effect was particularly pronounced in people who were under the age of 55 and particularly pronounced in women.

Now, again, we're talking about quite a bit of coffee here, four cups per day. The average is about three cups per day. So we don't know how large a population of people this is overall in the country. But for reasons that you're mentioning, it got a lot of people's attention.

PEREIRA: Well, this is the thing I'm concerned about. Folks at home are saying, I can't keep up with all these studies. First they tell us it's good. First they tell us it's bad.

GUPTA: Right. Yes.

PEREIRA: We've heard all about the antioxidant properties that coffee can have, how it can lower risks of things of like prostate cancer or liver or colon cancer. How do we make sense of this? I understand you even -- you are a little skeptical?

GUPTA: Yes and for the same reasons, Michaela. I think first of all, this study -- a little bit of perspective -- this is in association study so we've talked about this before you and I, but this is not a cause and effect study.

And, you're right, coffee is actually our top source of antioxidants for most Americans. We know that it can raise -- lower insulin and estrogen levels. And there have been big studies that are shown quite the opposite.

But when you talk about an association, Michaela, I mean it opens up a wide range of possibilities the people who are drinking four cups of coffee. Who exactly are they? Are they -- do they have or they likely to have other potential health risk factors?

You know we know that people who drink coffee are also more likely to smoke. The authors tried to control for that but it may be very hard to control for something like smoking because it is so linked to disease.

But you're absolutely right, I think -- I think you've got to be skeptical when you read something like this.

PEREIRA: Well exactly your point. If you add smoking and moderate to heavy drinking to the mix, that's going to increase your mortality rate there.

GUPTA: Right and -- and again, who are the people who are drinking four cups of coffee a day? One of the possibilities --

PEREIRA: My producer.

GUPTA: Right a lot of people on the show, I'm sure.

PEREIRA: Right.

GUPTA: But the -- but the -- you know study authors even point out, that are these more driven, Type A, you know the people who carry around higher levels of stress and those things can all be confounding factors, as well.

PEREIRA: All right so bottom line, what moderation, as they always say.

GUPTA: I think yes this seem to be really dose dependent. I think it's really interesting because if you've got the low four cups a day, they really did not find that increase in mortality. So I don't know if there is a magical number here in four cups per day, but I think moderation is key. So I think if you cut it below that amount, I think that would be important.

And also something else, you know a lot of these coffees, the coffee drinks especially the ones that start with the word "frap" -- they have a lot of calories in them. They can have more than 500. So you know, I try and sneak that in every time Michaela but that may be a bigger issue than some of these other things.

PEREIRA: Most certainly -- the good doctor. Thank you so much Dr. Sanjay Gupta from the CNN Center and to be fair, Miguel says he only drinks two or three so.

GUPTA: Still a long shot.

PEREIRA: I have to back off my previous statements. He will, he will.

BOLDUAN: During the show two or three. That's the problem. Welcome to our hours.

PEREIRA: Thanks Sanjay.

BOLDUAN: All right. Now, we want to introduce you to this week's CNN's hero. He's transformed his life to help people living in poverty and he's saving the environment at the same time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Housekeeping.

JUDSON KINNUCAN, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: On a day-to-day basis there are tons of items that are thrown away. It's shocking to understand how much hotels have in excess. I was doing a lot of volunteering and I saw how desperately in need people were for all those types of things and I thought to myself, I could be that connection, that matchmaker.

My name is Judson Kinnucan and I collect donations around Chicago for charities that don't have the money and the manpower to do it on their own.

We get a multitude of different items donated and whatever charities need, we can get them those items.

They are four barrel of shampoo and conditioner and lotion for you. We partner with over 40 hotels and we work with dozens of companies. Oh fantastic that is just a lot of showers right there. They're going to love this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is a double impact here where it's being environmentally responsible and people are really benefiting.

KINNUCAN: Men and women who were struggling with the issue of poverty, they have as much personal dignity as anyone else. So anything that they can do to keep themselves looking good and feeling good is important.

It's a simple concept, but it's very labor-intensive.

This thing is full. But it's fun to me, when this is empty give me a call and we can come pick it up.

And if I can improve people's lives, it's a double bonus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: This appeals to the thriftiness in me.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

PEREIRA: I love that and that it's helping other people. Genius.

BOLDUAN: Well CNN heroes, they are heroes.

PEREIRA: I know.

BOLDUAN: And that's why we vote them right?

PEREIRA: Makes me want to be a better person.

Coming up on NEW DAY who knew it would take rock stars in heavy makeup to bring pro-football back to Los Angeles. My goodness it is worthy of John Berman's NEW DAY --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Oh yes.

PEREIRA: Award of the day award.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Not his typical music but it's still that time of the morning. John Berman is here to give us his NEW DAY "Award of the Day Award."

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So what do you say the one thing that is missing in football?

BOLDUAN: What is it?

BERMAN: Makeup, right? PEREIRA: Apparently.

BERMAN: There was definitely not enough makeup in football and I say that as a man who wears quite a bit of makeup.

PEREIRA: He does.

BERMAN: But I can tell you this.

PEREIRA: In his free time.

BERMAN: This is all about to change. The newest team in the Arena Football League they're going by the name of the L.A. Kiss, as in those guys Kiss led by the famous legendary Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. They're among the new owners of this new arena team.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are welcoming our newest member of the Arena Football family, the L.A. Kiss.

GENE SIMMONS, KISS: Faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive. There is nothing like AFL, we're proud to be part of the entire AFL family. Amen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: No one sells like Gene Simmons.

BOLDUAN: No one does. That's so true.

BERMAN: No one. So it's unclear if the players are going to have to wear spandex or armored spike things. What is your favorite kiss song? "Dr. Love", "Look It Up", "Rock 'n' Roll All Night."

BOLDUAN: It's like thinking on your children.

BERMAN: That is such a lovely ballad. That is such a lovely ballad, by the way.

BOLDUAN: I'm not a Kiss aficionado, I'm sorry.

BERMAN: Here's what you may not know about me.

PEREIRA: What.

BERMAN: They are my very close personal friends. I actually went on tour.

BOLDUAN: Do we have a picture of it.

BERMAN: There is me with my friends.

PEREIRA: No, no, no -- is that photo-shopped?

BOLDUAN: Is this one of those like #humblebrag thing? BERMAN: No, I'm actually not humble about it. I went to two cities with them. I flew on their private jet with them. It was extraordinary.

BOLDUAN: Did you follow on stage?

PEREIRA: That would be fascinating.

BERMAN: Here's a thing you don't know about Kiss. They do their own makeup. Those guys actually do their own makeup. They sit backstage, do it all by themselves. It's really made them.

PEREIRA: To that end, I was kind of hoping that he might have come on set with a little --

BOLDUAN: Well now we know why they end up looking like that, because they do their own makeup.

BERMAN: They taught me a lot. Let me give them an award. To my friends, to Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, I give you the "Already Better than the Jets" award. Too bad Cuomo's not here.

Whatever L.A. football team you have, whatever NFL team you have -- they're already better than the Jets. This is a trivia fact right here. Over the last 40 years Kiss has won the same number of Super Bowls as the New York Jets -- zero.

PEREIRA: They would argue in L.A. that they don't need a professional team, they have the USC Trojans -- so.

BERMAN: Dot-dot-dot.

PEREIRA: Dot-dot-dot. I know.

BOLDUAN: Here's the lingering question everyone. What is arena football?

PEREIRA: It's indoors.

BOLDUAN: I know. Seriously, what is --

PEREIRA: The rules are different and what is it -- I don't know.

BERMAN: It's indoors, smaller field with walls.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: You're a purist. You're a football purist.

BOLDUAN: I'm a purist.

PEREIRA: You are, there you go.

BERMAN: You forgot Indiana.

BOLDUAN: That's called the colts and they're amazing. We will be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to NEW DAY. A reminder on Monday, Prince William is speaking for the first time since becoming a dad. He hasn't spoken a word until now. CNN's Max Foster -- be sure to watch right here on NEW DAY. From the clips I've seen it's adorable and fascinating.

PEREIRA: I bet it is.

BOLDUAN: You don't want to miss it.

All right, that is it for us on NEW DAY. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello begins right now.

PEREIRA: Hey Carol. Hi.

BOLDUAN: Hi Carol.

Carol COSTELLO: All right, thanks. Have a great weekend. "NEWSROOM" starts now.

BOLDUAN: You too.

COSTELLO: Happening now in "NEWSROOM", new accuser.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEGGY SHANNON: Mayor Filner grabbed me and kissed me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: 67-year-old Peggy Shannon. She works at a senior center and uses a cane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANNON: I am a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: She's accuser number 16.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bob Filner needs to resign now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Also -- day of rage: Egypt on edge and America closely watching.