Michael Jackson slurred his speech after visits to Dr. Klein, aides say

Witness: Murray asked for CPR device

Tune in to HLN for full coverage and analysis of the Conrad Murray trial and watch live, as it happens, on CNN.com/live and CNN’s mobile apps.

Los Angeles (CNN) — Michael Jackson slurred his speech after visits to Beverly Hills dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein, trips that became “very regular” for the pop star in the weeks before his death, Jackson’s personal assistant testified Wednesday.

Defense lawyers for Dr. Conrad Murray, who is on trial for involuntary manslaughter in Jackson’s death, contend that Klein addicted the singer to Demerol during those visits, something Murray did not know about.

His withdrawal from that Demerol addiction was what kept Jackson awake despite Murray’s efforts to put him to sleep with sedatives the morning he died, the defense contends, arguing that Klein is at least partly responsible for Jackson’s death because of the Demerol.

Michael Amir Williams, who worked for Jackson the last two years of his life, was asked by defense lawyer Ed Chernoff whether he went to Klein’s office with Jackson.

“At a certain point, it was very regular,” Williams said.

Chernoff then asked Williams whether he’d ever heard Jackson talk slowly with slurred speech, as he did on an audio recording played in court Tuesday.

“Not that extreme, but I have heard him talk slow before,” Williams said.

“And when he left Dr. Klein’s office, have you observed him sometimes to talk slow?” Chernoff asked.

Sometimes, Williams replied, “he would talk slow like that. I never heard it that extreme, but I can definitely say he has come out, and he’s a little slower.”

Jackson security guard Faheem Muhammad, who often drove Jackson, followed Williams on the witness stand Wednesday afternoon.

“There were times he would go almost every day” to Klein’s office, and Jackson often appear intoxicated when he left, Muhammad testified.

Jackson once told Muhammad that his frequent trips to the dermatologist were for treatment for a skin disease.

“My doctors tell me that I have to go, so I go,” Muhammad said Jackson told him.

At the start of court proceedings Wednesday, Paul Gongaware, an executive with the company promoting Jackson’s comeback concerts, said he noticed that Jackson had “a little bit of a slower speech pattern, just a slight slur in the speech” after a visit with Klein.

Medical records show that Klein gave Jackson numerous shots of Demerol in the weeks before his death, Chernoff told jurors Tuesday.

Jackson’s inability to sleep the morning he died was “one of the insidious effects” of Demerol addiction withdrawal, Chernoff said. Since Murray did not know about the Demerol, he could not understand why Jackson was unable to fall asleep that morning, Chernoff said.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor previously ruled that while the jury can see some of the records of Klein’s treatment of Jackson, the doctor would not testify. Demerol was not found in Jackson’s body during the autopsy, which makes Klein’s testimony irrelevant, Pastor ruled.

Testimony from Williams and Muhammad included emotional details about the chaos in the Jackson home and at the hospital the day Jackson died.

Williams described Wednesday a frantic series of phone calls that started at 12:13 p.m. June 25, 2009, the day the pop icon died.

“Call me right away, please, call me right away,” Murray said in a voice message to Williams, which prosecutors played in court Wednesday.

“Get here right away; Mr. Jackson had a bad reaction,” Williams said Murray told him when he called him back.

Williams then ordered a security guard to rush to the upstairs bedroom where Murray was working to resuscitate Jackson.

Muhammad, one of those ordered upstairs, described seeing Jackson on a bed with his eyes open and his mouth “slightly opened” as Murray tried to revive him.

“Did he appear to be dead?” Deputy District Attorney David Walgren asked.

“Yes,” Muhammad replied.

Jackson’s two oldest children were standing just outside the room, watching in shock, Muhammad said.

“Paris was on the ground, balled up, crying. And Prince, he was standing there, he just had a real shocked, you know, slowly crying, type of shocked look on his face,” he said.

His description of Murray’s efforts to revive Jackson raised questions about Murray’s knowledge of how to perform CPR.

It was several minutes before the guard called for an ambulance.

Williams and Muhammad later rode with Jackson’s three children to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, following the ambulance that carried their father.

Jackson family members slowly arrived at the emergency room and joined the children, who were kept in a private room with their nanny while doctors tried to revive their father, Williams said.

“Dr. Murray and the doctors walked out, and they closed the curtain and said, ‘He’s dead,’ ” he testified.

Williams described what he called an odd request by Murray at the hospital for a ride back to Jackson’s home after he was pronounced dead.

Murray told Williams he needed to go back to retrieve “some cream” from Michael’s bedroom that Jackson “wouldn’t want the world to know about.”

The prosecution contends that Murray wanted to retrieve evidence of his medical misconduct that led to Jackson’s death.

A lawyer hired by concert promoter AEG to draw up the contract with Murray testified that Murray requested a cardiopulmonary resuscitation machine and money to hire a second doctor to help him care for Jackson.

The additional doctor and the CPR equipment were never provided, since the contract was not signed before Jackson died, attorney Kathy Jorrie testified.

She told the court that it was her understanding that Murray did not want the CPR unit or the additional doctor until he arrived in London with Jackson in July 2009 for the “This Is It” concerts.

“I asked Dr Murray, why do we need a CPR machine?” Jorrie testified.

Murray told her he needed it since “given (Jackson’s) age and the strenuous performance he would be putting on, that if something went wrong, he would have it,” she said.

The second doctor would be necessary because “if (Murray) was tired or unavailable, he wanted to make sure there was someone else to be of assistance” to Jackson.

AEG is being sued by Jackson’s mother, Katherine, based on her contention that the concert promoter hired and controlled Murray when he was caring for her son.

The prosecution contends that part of the negligence that makes Murray criminally liable for Jackson’s death is the lack of monitoring and CPR equipment on hand when Jackson died.

The trial began Tuesday with prosecutors playing a stunning audio recording of an apparently drugged Jackson slurring his words weeks before his death. Prosecutors also showed jurors a photo of Jackson’s corpse on a hospital gurney.

Jackson’s struggle to sleep between rehearsals for his “This Is It” comeback concerts is central to the prosecution and defense theories of how the entertainer died.

Walgren blamed Murray for Jackson’s death, saying he abandoned “all principles of medical care” when he used the surgical anesthetic propofol to put Jackson to sleep every night for more than two months.

The coroner ruled that Jackson’s death was the result of “acute propofol intoxication” in combination with sedatives.

Defense lawyer Chernoff contended that Jackson, desperate for sleep, caused his own death by taking a handful of sedatives and drinking propofol while the doctor was out of the room.

Chernoff told the jury that scientific evidence will show that, on the morning Jackson died, he swallowed a sedative without his doctor’s knowledge, “enough to put six of you to sleep, and he did this when Dr. Murray was not around.”

Jackson then ingested a dose of propofol on his own, creating “a perfect storm that killed him instantly,” Chernoff said.

“When Dr. Murray came into the room and found Michael Jackson, there was no CPR, no paramedic, no machine that was going to revive Michael Jackson,” he said.

“He died so rapidly, so instantly that he didn’t have time to close his eyes,” Chernoff said.

Chernoff told jurors that Murray was trying to wean Jackson off propofol when Jackson died.

Jackson’s death was “tragic, but the evidence will not show that Dr. Murray did it,” Chernoff told jurors.

The prosecution contends that Murray wanted to retrieve evidence of his medical misconduct that led to Jackson’s death.

Murray appeared to become emotional at one point as Chernoff presented his opening statement Tuesday morning, dabbing his eyes at times. Mostly, though, the defendant remained stoic through the proceedings.

If convicted of involuntary manslaughter, Murray could spend four years in a California prison and lose his medical license.

Prosecutors played clips from Murray’s interview with investigators in which he described giving Jackson a final dose of the propofol after a long, restless night when the singer begged for help sleeping.

“The evidence in this case will show that Michael Jackson trusted his life to the medical skills of Conrad Murray, unequivocally that that misplaced trust had far too high a price to pay,” Walgren said. “That misplaced trust in the hands of Conrad Murray cost Michael Jackson his life.”

The most dramatic moment Tuesday came when jurors heard a May 10, 2009, recording, captured by Murray’s iPhone, of Jackson “highly under the influences of unknown agents,” as he talked about his planned comeback concert, according to Walgren.

“We have to be phenomenal,” Jackson said in a low voice, his speech slurred. “When people leave this show, when people leave my show, I want them to say, ‘I’ve never seen nothing like this in my life. Go. Go. I’ve never seen nothing like this. Go. It’s amazing. He’s the greatest entertainer in the world.’ I’m taking that money, a million children, children’s hospital, the biggest in the world, Michael Jackson’s Children’s Hospital.”

The tape, prosecutors say, is evidence that Murray knew about Jackson’s health problems weeks before his death.

Jurors also saw a video of the superstar rehearsing at the Staples Center in Los Angeles the night before he died. Jackson sang and danced to “Earth Song,” the last song he would rehearse on stage.

Prosecutors also presented a photo of Jackson’s lifeless body on a hospital gurney, about 12 hours later.

Producer Kenny Ortega, the first prosecution witness, said Tuesday he was jolted by Jackson’s appearance when the latter arrived at a rehearsal, on June 19, less than a week before he died.

“He appeared lost and a little incoherent,” Ortega said. “I did not feel he was well.” Ortega said he gave the pop singer food and wrapped him in a blanket to ward off chills. Jackson watched the rehearsal and did not participate that day.

Ortega was helping Jackson prepare for the “This Is It” world tour scheduled for London’s O2 Arena in autumn 2009.

In an e-mail early June 20, Ortega wrote, in part, to AEG President Randy Phillips, “My concern is, now that we’ve brought the Doctor in to the fold and have played the tough love, now or never card, is that the Artist may be unable to rise to the occasion due to real emotional stuff.”

The producer said Jackson appeared weak and fatigued on June 19.

“He had a terrible case of the chills, was trembling, rambling and obsessing,” he wrote. “Everything in me says he should be psychologically evaluated. If we have any chance at all to get him back in the light. It’s going to take a strong Therapist to (get) him through this as well as immediate physical nurturing. … Tonight I was feeding him, wrapping him in blankets to warm his chills, massaging his feet to calm him and calling his doctor.”

Jackson also appeared to be scared of losing the comeback tour.

“I believe that he really wants this … it would shatter him, break his heart if we pulled the plug,” Ortega wrote. “He’s terribly frightened it’s all going to go away. He asked me repeatedly tonight if I was going to leave him. He was practically begging for my confidence. It broke my heart. He was like a lost boy. There still may be a chance he can rise to the occasion if (we) get him the help he needs.”

AEG was the concert promoter.

Murray was unhappy that Jackson did not rehearse June 19 and told Ortega not to try to be the singer’s physician, Ortega testified, adding that Jackson insisted the next day he was capable of doing the rehearsals. Jackson was a full rehearsal participant in the days before he died, the producer said.

Jackson’s parents, brothers Tito, Jermaine and Randy, and sisters La Toya, Janet and Rebbie filled a row in the courtroom for a second day of the trial. Jackson’s three children are not expected to attend the trial or testify, according to a source close to their grandmother, Katherine Jackson

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Patriotism and the ‘God gap’

“And may God bless the United States of America” is a popular closing line in speeches by presidents and presidential hopefuls.

Does a higher power, if one exists, “shed his grace on thee,” as the lyrics of “America the Beautiful” proclaim?

And if so, does this make the United States of America the greatest country in the world?

Christianity Today crunched data from a Pew Research Center poll that asked more than 1,500 Americans for their views of the United States.

“Nearly all Americans think they live in the best country on Earth. While a majority of Americans believe there are other countries just as great, nine in 10 say no nation is better. Within this high view of America, there are differences between different religious groups,” the magazine noted.

To this end, Christianity Today suggested the existence of a “patriotism God-gap in America.”

Among those surveyed, evangelicals were the most likely to think the United States is No. 1.

“Other Christian traditions were less enthusiastic about America’s position in the world, but they still saw the U.S. as one of the best on the planet. About 40% of other Christians said the U.S. stands alone as the greatest country; around 55% said it and some other countries were equally great. As with evangelicals, only a few said there were greater countries in the world.”

“Those with no religion, however,” hold a much less favorable view, according to the magazine.

“Only one in five of those without religious beliefs said the U.S. is the best country in the world, an equal percentage agreeing that ‘there are other countries that are better than the U.S.’ ”

Not everyone is enamored with equating religious conviction and patriotism. Consider these excerpts from the comments that followed the Christianity Today article:

“To call yourself a Christian evangelical and still think that America is the greatest is ironic to say the least. God is not about country. God is about love and everyone is equal in his eyes, including the rest of the world.”

“What’s really sad is the widespread perception among evangelicals that there is some kind of link between America’s standing and the work and purpose and success of God’s kingdom. There is not. Two words: wrong kingdom. I repeat: wrong kingdom. It matters not a whit what America’s status in the world is. The kingdom of Jesus Christ does not depend on this in any way and will continue regardless.”

“When our astronauts look down at the Earth it doesn’t look like a classroom globe with lines on it. All of those lines are drawn in the minds of human beings. I am grateful to be an American. But sometimes I think that some elements of conservative Christianity really see their religion as patriotism, their scripture the Constitution and God their servant to gain their personal aims. This whole Earth is the object of God’s love and concern. And to claim that any one nation in today’s world is more favored than another may be promoting a Christian heresy.”

Flying the flag is among the easiest ways to display patriotism. Is it also an expression of religion?

In an article titled “Flag Desecration, Religion and Patriotism,” Temple University associate law professor Muriel Morisey suggested that for proponents of a constitutional amendment, “the American flag is the equivalent of a sacred religious icon, comparable to Christianity’s crucifix, Judaism’s Torah and the Quran of Islam. No court has designated patriotism as a religion for Establishment Clause purposes, but in every other significant respect it operates as a religion in American culture. Regardless of the religious beliefs we profess, we simultaneously practice patriotism.”

That said, a “God gap” may exist in the flying of Old Glory as well.

A Pew poll taken March 30-April 3 suggested that 78% of religious people display the flag on their clothing, in the office or at home, while 58% of nonreligious do likewise.

Evangelicals were the most likely to say they displayed the flag; those Americans unaffiliated with religion the least likely.

As to the religious identity of the nation, 62% said the United States is a “Christian nation” in a survey of 1,000 adults done a couple of years ago for Newsweek, while 75% of Americans call themselves Christian, according to the American Religious Identification Survey also done in 2009.

And earlier this year, writing for the CNN Belief Blog, Boston University religion scholar Stephen Prothero analyzed the religious affiliations of those elected to serve in the 112th Congress and concluded: “Is this a Christian nation? No way, says the Constitution. But U.S. voters are telling us something else altogether.”

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Transgender kids: Painful quest to be who they are

Berkeley, California (CNN) — One of the first things Thomas Lobel told his parents was that they were wrong.

The 3-year-old had learned sign language because he had apraxia, a speech impediment that hindered his ability to talk. The toddler pointed to himself and signed, “I am a girl.”

“Oh look, he’s confused,” his parents said. Maybe he mixed up the signs for boy and girl. So they signed back. “No, no. Thomas is a boy.”

But the toddler shook his head. “I am a girl,” he signed back emphatically.

Regardless of the fact he was physically male, Thomas has always maintained that he is a girl. When teased at school about being quiet and liking dolls, Thomas would repeat his simple response, “I am a girl.”

Thomas, now 11, goes by the name of Tammy, wears dresses to school and lives as a girl.

Her parents have been accused by family, friends and others of being reckless, causing their youngest child permanent damage by allowing her to live as a girl.

When children insist that their gender doesn’t match their body, it can trigger a confusing, painful odyssey for the family. And most of the time, these families face isolating experiences trying to decide what is best for their kids, especially because transgender issues are viewed as mysterious, and loaded with stigma and judgment.

Transgender children experience a disconnect between their sex, which is anatomy, and their gender, which includes behaviors, roles and activities. In Thomas’ case, he has a male body, but he prefers female things likes skirts and dolls, rather than pants and trucks.

Gender identity often gets confused with sexual orientation. The difference is “gender identity is who you are and sexual orientation is who you want to have sex with,” said Dr. Johanna Olson, professor of clinical pediatrics at University of Southern California, who treats transgender children.

When talking about young kids around age 3, they’re probably not interested in sexual orientation, she said. But experts say some children look like they will be transgender in early childhood, and turn out gay, lesbian or bisexual.

Gender nonconformity is not a disorder, group says

There is little consistent advice for parents, because robust data and studies about transgender children are rare. The rates of people who are transgender vary from 1 in 30,000 to 1 in 1,000, depending on various international studies.

Like Tammy, some children as young as 3, show early signs of gender dysphoria or gender identity disorder, mental health experts who work with transgender children estimate. These children are not intersex — they do no have a physical disorder or malformation of their sexual organs. The gender issue exists in the brain, though whether it’s psychological or physiological is debated by experts.

One of the most recognizable transgender celebrities is Chaz Bono, who currently competes on “Dancing with the Stars.” Born female to entertainers Sonny and Cher, Bono underwent a transition to become a man in his 40s. He wrote in his book “Transition” that even in his childhood, he had been “aware of a part of me that did not fit.”

Many transgender kids report feeling discomfort with their gender as early as they can remember.

Mario, a 14-year-old Californian who asked his full name not be used, was born female. He dresses and acts like a boy, because, he said, since he was 2 years old, he never genuinely felt like a girl.

“I feel uncomfortable in female clothes,” said Mario. “I feel like why should I wear this when it’s not who I am? Why should I be this fake person?”

But when a child starts identifying with the opposite gender, there is no way to determine whether it’s temporary or likely to become permanent.

“It’s important to acknowledge the signs of gender dysphoria, especially for children,” said Eli Coleman, who chaired a committee to update treatment guidelines for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, an international medical group meeting this week in Atlanta, Georgia. “By not addressing it, it could be really more damaging for the child than not.”

“It’s a very difficult area and there are a lot of children who have gender nonconformity. They will simply grow out of that. Many of them later on identify as gay or lesbian, rather than transgender.”

The American Psychological Association warns that “It is not helpful to force the child to act in a more gender-conforming way.” When they’re forced to conform, some children spiral into depression, behavioral problems and even suicidal thoughts.

Your comments: Too young to know your gender?

Do kids know who they are?

 

Since age 3, Thomas Lobel has told his parents that he is a girl.

Thomas’ mother, Pauline Moreno, observed that Thomas never smiled and his look was “of a child who was lost, that he simply couldn’t find his place.”

Two years ago, Thomas began transitioning, wearing girls’ clothes and now attends school as a female, Tammy.

Tammy plays with a doll in her bedroom, where she has a picture of Thomas on her wall.

Tammy’s mom said of the transition, Tammy’s “personality changed from a very sad kid who sat still, didn’t do much of anything, to a very happy little girl who was thrilled to be alive.”

Mario, 14, said he never genuinely felt like a girl, although he tried. “It felt it wasn’t meant to be.”

Mario, who passes as a boy in school, said some of his family members rejected his gender transition.

 

 

The journey of gender

Thomas Lobel’s metamorphosis can be told in pictures.

After his parents, Pauline Moreno and Debra Lobel, adopted Thomas at age 2, they observed that he was aloof. Shy and freckle-faced, he usually sat in a corner reading a book.

Unlike his two older brothers who were boisterous, athletic and masculine, Thomas was unusually quiet. Because of his speech impediment, he had to go to special education. Despite developing better speech skills, he didn’t want to engage in conversation or socialize.

“He seemed so depressed and unhappy all the time,” Lobel said. “He didn’t enjoy playing. He sat there all the time, not interacting with anybody. He seemed really lonely.”

In photos, Thomas appears small with a clenched smile and a glazed and distant look in his eyes.

Throughout his childhood, Thomas wanted to read Wonder Woman comics rather than Superman, wear rhinestone-studded hairbands instead of baseball caps and play with dolls rather than action figures. And, his parents said, he kept insisting he was a girl.

His personality changed from a very sad kid who sat still… to a very happy little girl who was thrilled to be alive.
-Pauline Moreno

His situation worsened when Thomas told his parents he wanted to cut off his penis. His parents tried to rationalize with him, warning him that he could bleed to death. But his request was a signal to them that this was serious and required professional help.

After seeing therapists and psychiatrists, the mental health specialists confirmed what Thomas had been saying all along. At age 7, he had gender identity disorder.

The diagnosis was hard for Moreno and Lobel to accept.

“The fact that she’s transgender gives her a harder road ahead, an absolute harder road,” Moreno said.

They have been accused of terrible parenting by friends, family and others, that “we’re pushing her to do this. I’m a lesbian. My partner is a lesbian. That suddenly falls into the fold: ‘Oh, you want her to be part of the lifestyle you guys live,’ ” Moreno said.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth, they said. People don’t understand how a hurting child can break a parent’s heart.

“No parent wants to be in this situation,” said Lisa Kenney, managing director of Gender Spectrum, a conference for families of gender nonconforming children. “Nobody had a child and imagined this was what would happen.”

Transgender kids do not come from lax parenting where adults “roll over” to their kids’ whims, said Olson, who treats transgender children.

“The parents are tortured by it,” she said. “These are not easy decisions. Parents go through a long process going through this.”

Moreno and Lobel allowed their child pick his own clothes at age 8. Thomas chose girl’s clothing and also picked four bras. Then, Thomas wanted to change his name to Tammy and use a female pronoun. This is called social transitioning and can include new hairstyles, wardrobe. Aside from mental health therapy, this stage involves no medical interventions. Social transitioning is completely reversible, said Olson, a gender identity specialist.

Every step of the way, her parents told Tammy, “If at any time you want to go back to your boy’s clothes, you can go back to Thomas. It’s OK.” Tammy has declined every time.

She continues to see therapists.

Tammy’s room is painted bright golden yellow, decorated with stuffed animals and cluttered with pink glittery tennis shoes. At home, Tammy dances through the hallway, twirling in her pink flower dress.

“As soon as we let him put on a dress, his personality changed from a very sad kid who sat still, didn’t do much of anything to a very happy little girl who was thrilled to be alive,” Moreno said.

iReport: ‘I am transgender, and I want my voice to be heard’

The hormone question

This summer, Tammy began the next phase of transition, taking hormone-blocking drugs. This controversial medical treatment prevents children from experiencing puberty.

Girls who feel more like boys take hormone-suppressing medications so they will not develop breasts and start menstruating. Boys who identify as girls can take blockers to avoid developing broad shoulders, deep voice and facial hair. The drugs put their puberty on pause, so they can figure out whether to transition genders.

The hormone blockers are also reversible, because once a child stops taking the drugs, the natural puberty begins, said Dr. Stephen Rosenthal, pediatric endocrinologist at UC San Francisco.

But if the child wants to transition to the other gender, he or she can take testosterone or estrogen hormone treatment to go through the puberty of the opposite gender.

This transgender hormone therapy for children is relatively new in the United States after a gender clinic opened in Boston in 2007. Programs for transgender children exist in cities including Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco. The kids are treated by pediatric endocrinologists after long evaluations by mental health professionals.

No statistics exist on the number of transgender children taking such medical treatments.

Medical practitioners have to be careful with children with gender identity issues, said Dr. Kenneth Zucker, head of the Gender Identity Service in the Child, Youth, and Family Program and professor at the University of Toronto. Giving children hormone blockers to kids before the age of 13 is too early, he said.

Zucker conducted a study following 109 boys who had gender identity disorder between the ages of 3 and 12. Researchers followed up at the mean age of 20 and found 12% of these boys continued to want to change genders.

“The vast majority of children lose their desire to be of the other gender later,” he said. “So what that means is that one should be very cautious in assuming say that a 6-year-old who has strong desire to be of the other gender will feel that way 10 years later.”

All of this leads to unsettling answers for families trying to understand their children. No one knows whether a child’s gender dysphoria will continue forever or if it is temporary.

The unsatisfying answer repeated by experts is that only time will tell.

Despite the murky science and social stigma that confound adults, Mario, who has lived as a boy since fourth grade, has a simple answer.

“Don’t change for nobody else,” he said. “Just be you and be happy.”

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‘M’ word on lips of MJ fans vying to get inside doctor’s trial

Los Angeles (CNN) — They came seeking justice as the sun rose Tuesday over a courthouse in the heart of downtown Los Angeles made famous by its celebrity trials — O.J. Simpson, Snoop Dogg, Phil Specter.

But there were almost as many definitions of justice as there were justice seekers. Some shouted “Murderer!” as the defendant, Conrad Murray, arrived at the Clara Foltz Justice Center for the start of his involuntary manslaughter trial in the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson.

“Dr. Murray,” corrected Beatrice Fakhrian, a supporter of the defendant. “He has earned that title.”

So began the long-anticipated trial of the personal physician accused of causing the death of one of the most famous people in the world. More than 100 people from France, Spain and Australia, as well as the far-flung suburbs of Los Angeles, crowded into the dingy courthouse plaza, jockeying for a chance at one of just six courtroom seats, or to say their piece in front of television cameras.

Some read psalms, some handed out sunflowers, some chanted “Justice for Michael,” and many of them carried signs, transforming a wall outside the courthouse into an international billboard.

“Bulgaria Loves Michael Jackson,” one sign said. So do the Netherlands, Romania and Malaysia, according to the signed poster taped to the wall.

A doctor in a while coat preached about safe ways to administer anesthesia.

A Michael Jackson impersonator preened for the cameras.

“Even in death, Michael Jackson can draw a crowd,” said Najee Ali, a Los Angeles civil rights activist who grew up in Jackson’s hometown, Gary, Indiana. Ali was the force behind the “Caravan of Love” to support Jackson when he was acquitted in Santa Barbara of child molestation charges in 2005.

Julie Jenkins, 31, came from Australia and was rewarded by winning the lottery for one of the courtroom seats available to the public. She has been a Michael Jackson fan since she was 7 and wore black jeans, a red shirt, a black armband and aviator sunglasses in honor of her idol.

“For me, it represents the first time I saw him in person,” she said, explaining her get-up, which was vaguely reminiscent of Jackson¹s look during his “History” tour. “It also represents blood, because we think he was murdered.”

She pounded a closed fist over her chest.

That sentiment is shared by many of Jackson’s fans, although Murray is charged with the less serious offense of involuntary manslaughter. He is accused of giving Jackson a lethal dose of the powerful anesthetic propofol to help him sleep as the pop star prepared for his comeback “This is It” concerts in June 2009.

Defense: Michael Jackson caused his own death

Murder also is a major theme for the group “Justice4MJ,” which was out in force on Tuesday, leading the crowd in chants of “Justice for Michael” as Jackson’s family walked into the courthouse.

Erin Jacobs, one of the group’s outspoken leaders, also won a seat for the trial’s first day. She has attended every pretrial hearing, and was tossed out of court last week during jury selection after getting into a staring contest with Murray.

She said she hadn’t slept. Like her idol, “I experienced insomnia last night,” she said. “I have been a fan my whole life. This is my passion, to work for Michael.”

Court officials warned Jacobs she would have to cover up her T-shirt in court. If she flashed her “Justice4MJ” logo, she’d lose her seat and be banned for the rest of the trial.

Karlene Taylor, 49, wanted a seat so badly she couldn’t sleep. She has been a Jackson fan since she was 8. “I remember ‘ABC’ Michael,” she said. Alas, the lottery gods did not smile on her Tuesday.

Robyn Starkand and Betty Byrnes of the fan group “Call for Love” handed out sunflowers, hoping to lead a respectful vigil on the courthouse steps, complete with songs and prayers. But they were upstaged by a Michael Jackson look-alike.

They started with “Heal the World,” but the voices soon waned, and Jackson impersonator Goward Horton stepped in with his version of “Man in the Middle,” complete with Jackson’s distinctive yips and squeaks.

“They’ve turned it into the Goward show,” Starkand groused. “This is really serious. It’s not the time for a Michael Jackson impersonator.”

It was time for the real one, their Michael.

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The Future of Facebook: Out with profile pages, in with the Timeline

I’m not entirely sure about the rest of the world, But everyone that i’ve encountered,  is none too happy about the recent updates in the facebook timeline, and other changes that have been made.  Honestly, in my opinion,  I think Facebook should allow the users to customize their own facebooks with the widgets, and capabilities they want. Make it feel “more like home”, because we customized it ourselves.  Here is more up to date happenings for the Facebookers itself.

Facebook users have noticed some changes rolling out to the social site in recent days, but odds are they aren’t prepared for today’s biggest social shakeup. At today’s F8 Developers Conference, Mark Zuckerberg took the stage (after look-alike Andy Samberg left it) to announce a wide swath of changes that will seek to keep the six year-old social network thriving — and growing.

Foremost among the announcements is the news that the humble profile page is getting a much-needed makeover — one that could steamroll Google+ and Twitter alike: the Timeline. Mashable has called the new feature the “biggest risk since launching the social network in 2004.” The Next Web calls the death of the profile page a “bit of a shock” and notes that the “massive makeover might just be a bit too much,” especially for less tech-savvy users.

Sweeping changes

Facebook’s new direction has a bit of a dual personality. At the dawning of the News Feed, Facebook loosed our status updates into the wild. While we once visited each other’s profile pages to trade messages and check in on friends (or acquaintances of interest, for better or worse), the News Feed has since eclipsed our personal pages when it comes to connecting on the world’s biggest social network. With today’s announcement of the Timeline and the Ticker, Facebook will seek to weave together these two modes into a richer, more immersive social experience than ever.

Two kinds of sharing

The Ticker will handle the Twitter-like real-time updates, which Zuckerberg refers to as our “lightweight” social activity. Recognizing that these micro-updates (the contents of your sandwich or your Words With Friends score, for example) often clog up our profile pages, Facebook is opting to siphon them off into a kind of miniature Twitter which live in a righthand sidebar. The distinction may just seem like housecleaning, but putting these tweet-esque updates on the periphery could mean a return to Facebook’s roots — and a very refined one.

Historically, Facebook has faced criticism for its opaque and often convoluted privacy policies. It may have taken the looming threat of Google+ on its turf to light a fire under the social giant, but Facebook is handing users the reins in a big way. In a series of updates that began popping up last month, the company is moving toward a model of selective sharing: rather than mass broadcasts, you can choose who you share with. Because your great aunt doesn’t need to know what happened after the fifth drink at Happy Hour, does she?

Choose the story you tell

Now, not only can we share selectively with greater ease than ever, but we can choose what story we want to tell. Facebook’s new Timeline feature looks to invigorate the lackluster, cluttered profile pages we’ve been slogging through for the past few years, replacing them with a dynamic, customizable portrait of our living histories — as told through Facebook of course. While remembering just how much information Facebook has stored over the years will prove unsettling to some, by curating our own past experiences (or their digital footprints, at least), we can better represent ourselves on the social network. In the Timeline, you can choose to star an event, which will give it more real estate on your profile page — or you can hide it entirely with the click of a button.

At today’s event, Zuckerberg emphasized a return to the profile page: “We wanted to design a place that feels like your home. You invest a lot of time in it and you curate it.” In reinventing the timeline, Facebook will considerably cut down on the site’s signal-to-noise ratio, transforming each profile page into what is essentially a blog. In Zuckerberg’s words, the Timeline will give you “a nice visceral feel for who this person really is” rather than a messy read-out of their latest Facebook activity.

Apps help tell the story

The other side of the coin is that external apps will have more power than ever. To create a “frictionless experience,” Facebook apps will broadcast to Timelines and Tickers separately — and automatically. Like a new song you hear streaming on Spotify? That “Like” will be zapped directly to the Ticker, but in theory your Timeline will feature a summary of your top artists that month. Once you authorize an app, it will fade into the background, collating your personal data like what films you watch on Netflix or Hulu and how many miles you just ran with Nike+.

Of course, you could disallow these services entirely — but Facebook wants its 800 million users to hand over the keys to third-party apps more willingly than ever. After all, who wants an empty Timeline?From news to movies and music, more apps plugged into the social site means less need to venture elsewhere. You could conceivably keep your browser pointed at your Facebook homepage for an entire day, hopping off only to follow the trail of an interesting link — in fact, many of us already do.

How to find the new features

The Facebook community doesn’t take kindly to changes — even minor ones, and this isn’t minor by any means. Dedicated Facebookers are already in an uproar about the changes that heralded today’s news: annoyed status updates have readily denounced Smart Lists, the Subscribe button, the Ticker, and even the new privacy settings. All of these tweaks are available now to most users, and when they appear, you should notice a pop-up prompt that will walk you through the changes. Can’t find the Ticker? It should appear on the right side of any Facebook page, above the chat box.

While many of the new features are now live, the biggest change — the Timeline— will roll out gradually. To be first in line, you can opt in now by clicking “Sign Me Up” at the bottom of Facebook’s official Timeline preview page. The first Timelines will be published on September 29, and we can expect to see them pop up for most users thereafter.

This article originally appeared on Tecca

More from Tecca:
Facebook’s Timeline preview in pictures New Facebook Features: What you need to know Tecca’s guide to Facebook How to use Facebook’s new privacy settings

Related articles

• Facebook at F8: Will the Timeline Work? (epiphanysolutions.co.uk)
• Facebook Announces Timelines and Improvements to Open Graph (hubspot.com)
• A Guide To Facebook’s New Changes: Timeline, Ticker & Social Apps (wlte.radio.com)
• All The Details on Facebook’s Newest Updates [Recap] (hubspot.com)

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George Anthony Says He Wanted To See Tot Mom Convicted In Caylee’s Death

George Anthony told Dr. Phil McGraw in an interview that aired Monday that, while he did not want his daughter Casey to end up on death row, he was disappointed that she was not convicted on felony charges related to granddaughter Caylee’s death.

“That’s being truthful,” Anthony told McGraw in the third part of an interview on “The Dr. Phil Show.” “…I don’t want to see my daughter put to death but I wanted her held responsible for my granddaughter. I did, and I still do.”

The portion of the interview that ran Monday focused mainly on George and Cindy Anthony’s reactions to the events of Casey’s trial and to a defense strategy that pointed a finger at George not only for complicity in covering up Caylee’s death but also for molesting Casey when she was a child. No evidence was presented to support either claim during the trial.

“I’m like, oh my god, my daughter is going to walk out of here and I’m never going to know about Caylee,” George Anthony said of his thoughts as he heard the jury’s verdict in court.

Casey Anthony was acquitted of murder, manslaughter and aggravated child abuse charges in July for her 2-year-old daughter’s 2008 death, but she was convicted on four counts of lying to police after Caylee was reported missing.

McGraw also asked the Anthonys if they would be comfortable with Casey babysitting for their other grandchildren if their son Lee ever has kids.

“I don’t think Casey’s evil,” Cindy explained after answering that she would not be concerned about it. “I don’t think Casey would allow anything to happen, especially to another child…I think she would be extra-cautious.”

Still, Cindy said she believed there was something wrong with Casey and she was afraid pregnancy could trigger it again, so until they find the cause, she would not want Casey to become a mother again, “for her own safety or for another child’s safety.”

Both of Caylee’s grandparents expressed anger at Anthony’s lead defense attorney, Jose Baez.

When Baez made the molestation allegation during his opening statement, George said, “I wanted to go and jump over this little railing that we had and I wanted to confront Mr. Baez on what he said.”

“George became his fall guy,” Cindy said, “and I was angry at Mr. Baez for that and still to this day believe they did not need to involve George in that scenario.”

Asked by McGraw, George adamantly denied ever molesting Casey, and Cindy said she believed him. If the allegations were true, she said, “he would not be sitting here today because I would have killed him myself or had him arrested.”

Toward the end of the interview, McGraw questioned Cindy about the possibility that she committed perjury during the trial when she claimed on the witness stand that she was responsible for internet searches for “chloroform” several months before Caylee’s death. Prosecutors presented computer records that indicated Cindy was at her office at the time of those searches.

Despite that evidence, Cindy maintained that she told the truth.

“On Caylee’s name—the one person that I hold most dearest in my heart—I would swear on her name that I made a chloroform search,” she said.

George Anthony said he was not sure if he could have a relationship with his daughter again after what she put the family through over the last three years. Cindy was more open to eventually reconnecting with Casey Anthony.

“I want to hug her,” she said. “I want to tell her I love her…I hope someday I get the truth.”

 

 

Casey Was Responsible for Caylee – No Matter What, Says Dad

 

George Anthony and Cindy Anthony’s highly anticipated interview began airing on Tuesday, and Dr. Phil McGraw wasted no time putting them on the hot seat.

His first question on Tuesday’s show: Does the couple, whose daughter Casey was acquitted of murdering their granddaughter, Caylee, believe that she was involved in the infant’s death?

“Well, the last one I saw Caylee with was Casey,” George replied. “To me, in my mind, that one and one adds up to two. She’s responsible for Caylee – that’s her daughter.”

Pressed by McGraw to elaborate on what his definition of “two” is in this equation, George added, “Casey and Caylee, when I saw them leave on June 16, 2008, [that] was the last time I saw them together. And Casey, again, is responsible for Caylee no matter where she was at or what happened.”

 

Cindy Anthony, whom McGraw has referred to as “very much in denial,” was less willing to call her daughter out on her admitted bad behavior, including lying, deception and theft.

She and her husband admitted Casey stole from their wallets and even their gas cans, but put forward a new theory on her daughter’s troubled actions, saying a variety of illnesses could be responsible.

“I want to find out what’s wrong with Casey,” she told the TV doctor. “I know there’s something wrong. She had a grand mal seizure after she came home [from prison] after the first time.”

Mental Illness

“I’m not making justifications for that but there’s a cause for those,” she added. “You don’t just have a grand mal seizure.”

She also suggests her daughter may have suffered from a brain tumor or post-partum schizophrenia.

Dr. Phil prompts her to consider that, perhaps “these are the behaviors of an unconscionable psychopath,” and at the end of the show offered his diagnosis to the audience. “As a mental health professional, I’m skeptical. I have not seen any evidence that Casey suffered from post-partum schizophrenia.”

He also said of Cindy: “I feel this mother is desperately reaching for any reason to excuse her daughter for her role in this tragedy.”

Part two of the interview airs Wednesday, but in the meantime, tell us:

 

TRENDING: New book on Palin blasted as ‘lies’

Washington (CNN) – Todd Palin released a scathing statement late Wednesday about author Joe McGinniss, whose new book about former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has grabbed internet and tabloid headlines, as well as received harsh criticism from The New York Times.

In a statement distributed to members of the media, Palin’s husband said the book “is full of disgusting lies, innuendo and smears.”

“This is a man who has been relentlessly stalking my family to the point of moving in right next door to us to harass us and spy on us to satisfy his creepy obsession with my wife,” Palin said. “His book is full of disgusting lies, innuendo, and smears. Even The New York Times called this book ‘dated, petty,’ and that it ‘chases caustic, unsubstantiated gossip.'”

McGinniss’ book, “The Rogue,” is set for publication next week and is the latest work from the bestselling author who first rose to national prominence with “The Selling of the President 1968,” which described the marketing of Richard Nixon during the 1968 campaign. He subsequently wrote a crime trilogy and two controversial books about the Kennedy family.

In early 2010 McGinniss moved to Wasilla, Alaska to begin research for a book about the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee and rented the house immediately next door to the Palins.

His arrival was met with criticism from the Palin clan and national media.

When asked about McGinniss’ presence in Alaska, Palin, who is considering a bid for the White House in 2012, told Fox News “Some people just need to get a life.”

“Bless his heart, he needs to get a life,” she said.

But in an interview with NBC News that aired Thursday, McGinniss said it was happenstance that the Palins’ neighbor was renting her house.

He said he wanted to write the book because Palin is a “phenomenon,” and the negative reaction he received was yet another example of Palin’s temperament.

“She overreacts. She has no modulation in her responses to stress,” McGinniss told NBC. “In other words, she freaks out.”

Although McGinniss said Palin instructed those closest to her not to speak with the author, he interviewed people in Alaska who he said knew the couple and used his months of research in “The Rogue.”

McGinniss’ book has not been made available to CNN for reporting and it has not yet been released in stores. However, the Times and NBC read the book and reported on the more salacious storylines in the over 300 page hardback, much of which received tough critiques from the news organizations.

“Although most of ‘The Rogue’ is dated, petty and easily available to anyone with Internet access, Mr. McGinniss used his time in Alaska to chase caustic, unsubstantiated gossip about the Palins, often from unnamed sources like ‘one resident’ and ‘a friend,'” the Times wrote in a review published Wednesday.

In the interview with NBC News, McGinniss said Sarah and Todd used cocaine in the past, a claim that has not been verified.

When asked by NBC how he substantiated the claim, McGinniss said “well you talk to somebody who snorted it with her.”

“You talk to many of Todd’s friends who describe him as having been on the end of the straw frequently in his youth,” McGinniss said. “I’m not saying Todd and Sarah Palin today abuse cocaine or even use it, but there is no question they both did at one point in their lives.”

According to NBC News, McGinniss alleged in the book that Palin had an affair with Todd’s former business partner Brad Hanson.

Hanson denied that charge in a statement Thursday.

“This is the same old story that went around in 2008,” he said. “It is a complete and outright lie. Todd and Sarah Palin have been good friends for many years, and in fact we still own property together. We sold a former joint business venture for business reasons, nothing more. These attacks are shameful and those making them seem to be out only to destroy good people and make money doing so.”

McGinniss also wrote, as reported by NBC, that Palin had a sexual encounter with former NBA star Glen Rice in 1987, before she was married to Todd.

The New York Times wrote that the book also rehashes “conspiracy theories,” including that she may not be the mother of her youngest son, Trig.

“It is perhaps the most blistering assessment of her character possible that many Wasillans who’d known Sarah from high school onward told me that even if she had not faked the entire story of her pregnancy and Trig’s birth, it was something she was eminently capable of doing,” McGinniss wrote in the book, according to the Times.

The Times came to this conclusion in their review: “There is one area, and only one, in which ‘The Rogue’ is dead-on. Mr. McGinniss knows how publicity works. He appreciates, not to say emulates, the way members of the Palin family cash in on celebrity and contradict themselves without penalty.”

Obama’s disapproval rating hits new high

Washington (CNN) — President Barack Obama’s disapproval rating has reached a new high of 55% while the number of Americans who think he is a strong leader has dropped to a new low, 48%, according to a CNN/ORC poll released Tuesday.

And a familiar pattern in public opinion on Obama again asserts itself: Americans don’t like his track record on major issues while they continue to like him personally. Nearly eight in 10 respondents say Obama is likeable; large majorities believe he is compassionate, hard-working, and has a vision for the country’s future. Three-quarters think he fights for his beliefs.

But only 39% approve of how he is handling unemployment, and just 36% approve of the way he is handling the economy, not surprising when more than eight in 10 think the economy is in poor shape.

Opinion on Obama’s economic track record is mixed, however. While fewer than one in 10 (9%) think his policies have made the economy better, about four in 10 (39%) credit them with preventing the economy from being even worse than it is today. On the other side, 37% say Obama has made economic conditions worse. Fifteen percent think his policies have had no effect.

Overall, 55% now say they disapprove of how he is handling his job as president. That’s one point higher than the 54% disapproval rating he routinely hit in polls taken in July and August. Forty-three percent now say they approve of how Obama is handling his job overall. That is not an all-time low for him; he hit 42% a year ago. Six in 10 say Obama has fallen short of their expectations.

 

 

 

Those numbers are not great, but they’re way better than the 15% who approve of how Congress is handling its job.

One piece of good news for Obama is that his standing among the Democratic base has turned the corner after a drop in the wake of the debt ceiling agreement. The number of Democrats who wanted the party to renominate Obama dropped to an all-time low of 70% in early August, but it rose to 72% in the previous poll and 76% in the current survey.

The poll was conducted for CNN by ORC International September 9-11, with 1,038 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. The sampling error for the question asked only of Democrats is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Related articles

• Obama’s approval falls in California (capitolhillblue.com)
• New CNN Poll: 65% give Obama thumbs down on economy (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)
• CNN Poll: Drop in liberal support pushes Obama approval rating down (politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com)