hello, everyone. i'm don lemon in los angeles.

we start tonight with breaking news. we have just confirmed that former nfl quarterback steve mcnair is dead. mcnair's body was found in nashville, tennessee, where police are investigating a crime scene. police say two bodies were found shot to death at this apartment complex, one of them has been identified as mcnair's. now, the other body has not been identified. mcnair played 13 seasons for the houston oilers and the baltimore ravens. he was the conference co-player of the year back in 2000 and we'll be following this story all evening for you. we're expect agnews conference at any minute now to update us on the situation. joining me now is dennis edwards. fill us in now on mcnair, who he might be for people in our audience, dennis, for people who might not know him. >> obviously, don, stunning and very sad news and came from a small town in mississippi and basically lived the american

dream. he had desires of becoming a big-time quarterback and, you know, had a difficult time getting getting big schools and colleges to sign him on as a quarterback. they all wanted him to play defense and became one of the most proliffic passers in college football and he finished third in senior year and then was drafted third overall by the then houston oilers who later became the tennessee titans. he took them to the super bowl and, if you recall, a very exciting game that ended in the last seconds and kevin dyson coming up just a few feet short of a touchdown and potentially winning their first super bowl. he'd never really get back to the super bowl, but had many awards and played for 13 seasons and, you know, finished up his

career with over 30,000 yards passing, which was good enough for 28th on the all-time list. >> incredible passer. >> do we know anything about his personal life? was he in trouble before or in the headlines or a quiet player? >> only in trouble a couple years ago, he was charged as enabling a dui, he was a passenger in a car that he owned and someone else was driving the car who was drunk at the time. those charges were eventually dropped. so, beyond that, you know, absolutely clean slate and, you know, just really this whole thing is just coming out of no where and just shocking. >> he's a second black football player quarterback to go to the super bowl, correct? >> that's correct. >> sports editorial director stand by, dennis, we'll have continuing breaking news coverage on the death of nfl quarterback steve mcnair.

his body was found in nashville, tennessee, where police are investigating a crime scene. local reports are also there and they say that two bodies were found at this apartment complex, not exactly sure who the second body is. one body has been confirmed to be steve mcnair. details as they become available here on cnn. meantime, other breaks news to tell you about out of south carolina. where a drought is under way for a suspected, a dragnet for suspected serial killer who killed five people in the past week, including a 15-year-old girl. cnn's richard lui joins us from gaffney, south carolina. is this being called a serial killer or a spree killer? >> good morning to you, good afternoon to you, don. as we talk about this, we have just learned of what they are calling, they are terming a serial killer by fbi definition. that's what the sheriff says here in cherokee county. we now, two hours ago learning that homicide victim number five, a 15-year-old, abby tyler

has died this morning at 11:25 a.m. local. she was fighting since thursday when she was initially shot along with her father at the family business and now that makes five homicides over three shooting incidents in six days and that has got the town here on edge, don. we went out to speak to some of the residents this afternoon and one firework stand seller saying he is ready and i'm ready to take on this suspect. he showed us a .9 millimeter as he was working the fireworks stand very clearly and on the flipside, there was one father who said he was scared. in fact, his 4-year-old son came to him last night and said, dad, come to sleep right now and i'm worried if you stay up you're going to get hurt and that night his 4-year-old son slept in the same bed with both that father and his mother.

so, you have a mix of both folks in a small town of 13,000 that are ready and very resilient and there are those that are much more scared. what you will notice, though, as you drive through the town as we did today, there are hundreds of vehicles out here, many of which are law enforcement vehicles. and, so, we asked the police chief today, what is the reaction of the residents, this is what he said. >> that is something i would like to sincerely thank those businesses, those citizens that have come up in support of us by either sending supplies or just give notes and just knowing that we have their prayers on our side. we have many comments that they are doing that for us, for the families, for the families of the victims. that is something we are sincerely thankful of.

>> so, don, an emotional moment in recent press conferences from these local law enforcement officials. just to give you an example. as we were driving down the roads to the various crime scenes, we have seen some five law enforcement cars in five minutes and we were pulled over twice. don? >> richard, we understand that they have been updating the sketch on the suspect. do you have any developments in that why they keep updating and changing? >> yeah, don, you're right. they updated that picture yesterday evening. they are now saying in this new picture that they have on this new flier, $2,000 reward that they believe the person to be 6'2" and 250 pounds and a white male with salt and pepper hair and a beard that is about three to four days old at the time of one of the incidents and that he's driving a two-door ford explorer that is either gray or champagne in color, faded they do believe. in fact, we were at one of the

checkpoints, don. the highway patrol physically stopping two door ford explorers. we saw that happen twice. that is the latest information in terms of the suspect. they have received more information since then. we will let you know if we get an updated sketch. >> cnn's richard lui in gaffney, south carolina. thank you, richard. a tragic start to the july fourth holiday today in north carolina in the outer banks there. a truck carrying fireworks for tonight's celebration on ocracoke island blew up while it was being unloaded at the deck. ferry service was temporarily shut down but has since resumed. we'll talk politics now and alaska governor sarah palin. she has made a career out of defying the conventional wisdom and she's at it again. her stunning announcement that she will resign by the end of the month has everybody talking, but no one seems to be sure why she is quitting or what she's

going to do next. here now are senior political correspondent candy crowley. >> reporter: the governor of alaska the political world from her backyard going out palin style. >> only dead fish go with the flow. >> reporter: she's quitting her job. what's that about? pretty much a dealer's choice. >> sounds like perhaps she's trying to keep her options open for 2012. >> reporter: speaking fees and a book deal and roam freely in the lower 48 with influence in the political system. or she could be doing a 180. a source close to the family thinks palin is done with politics and wants to be with her kids. a hint of that when the governor mentioned her youngest son, trig. >> i know that he needs me and i need him even more and what a child can offer to set priori priorities right know that time is precious. >> reporter: it was a curious unreadable event and a press

conference called so hastily most reporters couldn't get there in time. >> i just want to say hi to alaska. >> reporter: palin was expected to say she wouldn't run for a second term to walk away with a year and a half left in your first is something else altogether that was unclear what. >> she made this announcement of washington politicians and both parties have gone nuts and suggests to me that she has done something pretty smart. >> reporter: or not. >> i think this is a stupid, stupid move. it will cause speculation that she got chased out for some reason. >> reporter: the governor offered multiple reasons for her abrupt departure. first, that she was the political blood sport distra distracting from state business. >> you are naive if you don't see a full-court press from the national level picking away right now. >> reporter: and then she said she doesn't want to be like all the other lame duck governors. >> they hit the road and draw a paycheck and kind of milk it. >> reporter: despite the reasons she offered and multiple theories thrown into the swirl,

at the end of the day it still seemed like a piece of the puzzle was missing. candy crowley, cnn, washington. >> now from candy, let's talk about governor paline's decision on someone who keeps an eye on both alaska and washington. thank you for joining us here on cnn. have there been any rumblings that sarah palin was stepping down or did this come as a complete surprise to everyone, including people in alaska? >> i think this was a huge surprise to everyone and everyone in alaska. people met with her in recent days, including one of the senators from the state who met with her, talked with her at length about issues and had no clue that this was coming. >> what do you think is behind this? is it personal or is she aiming for a run in 2012? can anyone really answer that question right now, erika? >> that seems to be the favorite game in washington this holiday weekend. trying to figure that out. you can take her at face value and listen to exactly what it is

that she said, which is that she has some family issues and some other stresses that seem to be driving her decision or you could look at the whole idea of 2012 and if this is about 2012, a lot of the folks that i spoke to yesterday and today said, you know, this is the silliest thing that she could have possibly done. >> yeah, that's, that's kind of my next question to you because some people are saying that this is not a smart political move to give up your office before the term is up. >> right. i mean, some of the folks i spoke to said, you know, if you want to hire office, you have to first prove yourself in the office that you're currently in. you have to do a good job at that. also the idea that this came from the other alaska senator, which is that there is a sense of disappointment that she abandoned her post and that she abandoned the people of alaska by giving up the seat that she was elected to only two and a half years ago. >> do you think pack funding could have had anything to do with this because those numbers

come out at the end of the month. >> so many different things that, that you could, you could hook this on. and, yeah, it will be great to see those numbers and see really if she was able to raise a lot of money and that is one of the things that is driving her decision. >> all right, erika, thank you so much. she's in the washington bureau. if you get any more information, please, let us know. everyone is wondering, why, why, why, erika. the investigation into the king of pop. michael jackson right here on cnn. plus, no holiday for u.s. troops in iraq or afghanistan. we'll visit them. also, time for you to weigh in on our show and become part of our team here. logon to twitter, facebook or myspace.com. we're back live from los angeles moments away. (announcer) introducing new tums dual action. this tums goes to work in seconds and lasts for hours. all day or night. new tums dual action.

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here in los angeles, intensive preparations are under way for tuesday's memorial service for michael jackson. as of this morning, more than a million people have registered for a chance to get a pair of tickets to that service, but they face really long odds. 8,750 people will be randomly selected to receive the tickets later today. also, cnn has just confirmed that singer jennifer hudson will be among the performers at tuesday's service. meantime, no word on where jackson will be buried. his body will not, will not be brought to staples center for tuesday's service and there will

be no funeral procession. drew griffin has an update on the investigation into what killed singer michael jackson, including the report that the powerful drug has been found inside of his home. >> what we do know is that michael jackson asked for diprivan, by name, just months ago. telling this nurse in april diprivan was the only drug that could help him sleep. >> that was odd. >> reporter: not for a regular sleeping pill. >> i said, have you taken sleeping pills? he said, they don't work. he said, i don't want those things, they don't work. i want it in an iv. >> reporter: nurse practitioner cheryl lee described how it is administered. iv drip, instant sleep. we also know from several sources that jackson traveled with a doctor in the mid-'90s who carried a mini clinic and we know from jackson's own friends

that sleep problems, surgeries left him to depend on prescription drugs. while officially investigators mentioned no drug or drugs, the direction of the investigation has this week pointed towards drug s michael jackson may have been taking. detectives returned to his home and left with what we are told, medications. the federal dea and california's attorney general office announced he, too, was involved trying to find out who may have administered these medications. drew griffin, cnn, los angeles. >> all right, drew griffin joins us now with the latest on this investigation. drew, we heard from cheryl ann lee what she claims that michael jackson asked her about and we're hearing from the associated press and the "l.a. times" about that powerful drug,

diprivan. what are police saying tonight? >> police aren't saying anything officially. there is a leak somewhere in this case telling the "l.a. times" today in fact, on its website, don, not just diprivan but bottles of diprivan both empty and full were found in that mansion. cnn has not been able to corroborate that. and the other thing i think we need to keep in mind here, this is still a death investigation, not a crime, as far as we know. and from our sources, the reason the dea and the attorney general's office here in california have been brought in is to determine, really, if any of the supply of drugs in that home is a crime in and of itself. in other words, were these prescriptions proper? were these drugs there properly to be administered to a guy who had a lot of medical attention through the years? all of this hinging on the fact of what actually did cause michael jackson's death and was it drug-related? those are questions we're all

waiting for as the police continue to at least outwardly tell us this is still death investigation, not criminal. >> and, drew, i would imagine that, you know, since it has to do with medical records and hipa, information is really hard to come by because you're talking about private medical documents. >> and you're also talking about a couple of guys at the coroner's office supposedly that know everything. this is under a security lockdown and they're trying to keep a lid on it. the other problem is, though, you had a second autopsy by the jackson family. that information should and has been somewhat leaking out as they move along. so, i think at the end of the day we will all have to wait and see officially what the coroner decides was this death related to the drugs or was that an accidental overdose or was there, indeed, a crime committed here by somebody who may have

given those drugs to michael jackson. >> cnn special investigations unit correspondent drew griffin. thank you very much for that. a lot of rumors when it comes to this case about tuesday's service and an incredible amount of work that the l.a. police are putting into crowd control, security and everything else required for an event that is going to be this large. my next guest believes it is going to be the largest the world has ever seen. he joins us tonight from los angeles, as well. thank you, sir, for joining us tonight. i know that you're here to talk about tuesday's service, but is there anything as far as the investigation, you've heard what drew had to say. the lapd is being pretty tight lipped about this case. what is the reason for that? >> it's an ongoing investigation and it's our practice not to comment on an investigation until it concludes it's a complex one, we have good people working on it and the experts are working and when it's completed, we will be able to share hopefully more with you at that time.

at this time it's ongoing and not appropriate to talk about it. >> how are you classifying this? still a death investigation or could it change to a different type of investigation here? >> i mean, it's a death investigation at this point. could it change? i think anything could always happen. we're dealing with it in a manner that we seem to be appropriate, comprehensive and work its way through to completion. >> chief, i spoke to you about this, criticism about the lapd not securing the crime scene properly. do you feel that you secured that crime scene properly enough to get all the evidence you need to investigate this case? >> as i mention, we have good people out there and those people who go to the scene make the determination, as always, people will criticize from a distance and feel it should have been done different. i think they make the call at the time based on the information that they have and the investigation concludes we'll be able to determine better maybe things could have been done differently and maybe they were done absolutely on

target. so, that's something that remains to be seen but we're comfortable moving awhed the investigation. >> all right, chief, let's talk about tuesday. a huge undertaking and i believe you said you believe this is going to be one of the biggest events in the world. >> well, you know, as far as the type of event, i think, when you look at some of the other major notables in the world. you look at elvis when he died, the crowd there was about 75,000, i understand that at princess diana's the crowds lined the street and the crowd estimate there about 250,000. the estimates here is still, i think, speculation. we're asking very, very sincerely that people who don't have a ticket do not come out to the event. we will have the area surrounding staples secured and, you know, from a couple blocks to the north, the southeast and the west, if you don't have a ticket, you won't be coming inside the area directly around the venue. so, for those who decide they want to come out and be part of this whole thing, they'll be

standing on the city street in the hot sun and probably a lot of other people, but our goal is to keep it peaceful, keep it orderly and keep it respectful and as best we can to keep traffic moving and allow people to conduct traffic in los angeles on tuesday as normally as possible. >> chief, we're hearing that jennifer hudson is going to perform on tuesday. are you hearing anything about any other stars or people attending that we didn't get in an update since the last update you are on cnn? >> i'll leave that to aeg, the people putting it on. they're working with the family on putting together what you'll see live on tuesday. what i'll talk about is the public safety plans. we've worked very hard on this, there's been talk about how much money is being spent on it. i think the bigger challenge, you know and the planning that goes into something of this magnitude is explaining to the public why sufficient planning didn't go into it at the end if things did not turn out as well

as they will. >> chief, thank you. i know you are very busy and fourth of july holiday here and you have this big event coming up on tuesday and the chief offered to come in and talk about the events on tuesday and drew griffin and i appreciate you answering them. thank you. and make sure you tune in, all right, thank you very much. tune in for cnn presents special on the life and music of michael jackson. "man in the mirror" airs tonight 8:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. no holiday for u.s. troops in iraq and afghanistan. and no better way to show the significance of the fourth of july.

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my name is specialist daniel and i want to wish my family a happy fourth of july and special mention to my wife, i love you, i'll be home soon. troops in iraq are not letting the holiday pass without making the best of it. even though they are far from home. well, someone in that thick, yellow haze the all-american pastime of sopt f softball was the order of the day. despite the heat and sandstorms both sides played hard and played to win. also marking the fourth in iraq, vice president joe biden among his official duties today was presiding over the naturalization ceremony for 237 service members swearing them in as american citizens.

>> on this fourth of july, i'm reminded that you're carrying the torch of our, our founding fathers for 233 years ago and, yes, as of today, they're your founding fathers. get used to it, guys. they're your founding fathers. >> reporter: we know adding to the symbolism, the ceremony was held in one of saddam hussein's former palaces. in afghanistan, fierce gun battles today in the eastern province of paktika who claimed the lives of two u.s. service members. at least 42 taliban fighters were killed as they launched two separate attacks on american posts. and to the south, thousands of u.s. marines this week move under to the southern province of helmand, one of the largest military operations in the region to date. helmand is more than a taliban stronghold and once the bread basket of afghanistan with

bumper crops of wheat and corn. today, those grains have been largely replaced by opium poppies. the raw material for heroin and other narcotics. 90% comes from helmand. such fertile ground that it accounts for two-thirds of all the opium grown and they don't even have to harvest it in may and other people come in to the fields to collect the raw opium. retired army colonel pat lang joins us now from washington to explain more about the latest u.s. military strategy in afghanistan. thank you, sir, we appreciate you coming in on this holiday weekend. why helmand province? what does the u.s. hope to accomplish there? >> that part of afghanistan has been pretty much redoubt for various taliban groups now for a long time and with the increase

in troops that president obama is aolowed to command afghanistan to have, it's natural to expand operation there's where the british have been trying to deal with that for a couple years with insufficient numbers. really, the strategy that president obama has announced is that we're going to disrupt and disorganize the groups of enemies and seek to prevent significant terrorist threats to the united states or emerging afghanistan. a natural thing to move into that province. there's a lot of money there, as you just pointed out. a lot of agriculture and you expect unit marines back in there a lot and same thing over to eastern afghanistan with the army. >> we talk about all the money they make from opium and on the poppy fields there and narcotics. we're told the troops are not there to destroy the poppy fields. why not? >> i don't know. it's policy with regard to to the government's taking up that you have to find some way to substitute crops and income for

these farmers to keep them from supporting the various taliban groups. i've seen one suggestion made and i think it's probably a good idea that if we can't substitute food crops for what's going on there, we are going to buy it at the gate and take it out and burn it and dump it in the ocean or something ourselves. we to put money in the pocket of these farmers and something of that kind has to be done. >> okay, well, the current opium crop has already been harveted how can the u.s. persuade not to plant poppies next fall? is it possible? >> not to plant them and unless we can come up with a cash crop that will produce a better income for them than opium does. if we can't, we'll have to do something like buy it from them ourselves. the taliban groups who are mixture of tribal groups, bandits, some vaguely islam organizations and some related directly to al qaeda. they are all looking to live off these farmers and the farmers

there are the main target for our operation and the enemy, as well. >> thank you very much, joining us from washington, d.c., to talk about what's going on in afghanistan. we appreciate it, sir. have a great holiday weekend. new information about the death of former super bowl quarterback steve mcnair. moments away right here on cnn. with zero percent apr for 72 months on select '09 chevy models. including silverado xfe. with an epa estimated 21 mpg highway. that's better than toyota tundra. and now get zero percent apr for 72 months on any '09 silverado half-ton with an average finance savings of over $7,800. but, hurry, time is running out. the 72 hour sale ends monday. see your local chevy dealer.

back to our breaking news on cnn, nfl former quarterback steve mcnair has been killed in a shooting in nashville, tennessee. this apartment complex is the skrim scene and we heard from police just moments ago. >> at 1:35 this afternoon the police department received a call of persons injured inside one of the condominiums behind me when police officers arrive in response to that call they found two individuals who had been shot to death inside the residence.

one female, one male. we now know that the male deceased is steve mcnair and the female deceased has been tentatively identified. we're working to confirm that and then notify her next of kin. at this point, we don't know the circumstances of these shooting deaths. the investigation is going to be conducted by the police department's centralized homicide unit. those detectives have assembled here at the scene and the condominium still has to be processed. there's a lot of work yet to be done and it will take many hours to process the scene. i don't have any answers for you now as to what's happened, who's responsible, what the circumstances are. >> cnn is reaching out to our sources in the area and around the country to get more information on that and none better to talk to now is cnn law enforcement analyst mike brooks. he has been working his sources. he has new information for us. what do you have, mike? >> don, i am talking to a source close to the investigation that

said the body was found right around 1:30. we heard from the spokesman 1:35 p.m. but they believe this happened probably late last night early this morning. now, apparently, the bodies were found by one of steve mcnair's former body guards, who had not been able to reach him. and when they came in, they found steve mcnair was shot in the head and it was his girlfriend who was there with him and, in fact, it was the girlfriend's condo in downtown nashville where both the bodies were found. they can't put an exact time frame on it. we don't know if it was murder/suicide or just a homicide, we don't know. they're still investigating that right now. they're there on the scene still working the crime scene. so, as we get information in, we'll definitely let you know. >> don't know if it was burglary or robbery or what the circumstances were. i bet our mike brooks will be on

top of it. give us information as soon as you get it. >> thank you, don, i'll talk to you soon. >> our law enforcement analyst on cnn. news overseas. another show of defiance from north korea today. fired seven short-range missiles during a nine-hour period in defiance of united nations resolutions. the white house had no comment on it. observers said it appeared to be a direct slap at the united states time to coincide with independence day. last month the japanese newspaper reported that north korea might try to fire a missile at hawaii, but the missiles fired today were believed to have a range of only 300 miles. jim walsh is an international security analyst and he joins me now from newton, massachusetts, on this independence day. thank you for joining us, sir. is there an imminent danger where north korea is concerned here? >> by imminent danger, don, do you mean we'll have a war tomorrow, next week, next month?

i don't think so. the only way that happens is if the parties involved grow out of control. as a deliberate act i don't expect to attack south crea and japan and the u.s. and we won't attack them. this is more with internal politics within north korea and succession than it does with actually a military confrontation. >> well, tim, you know, so many people in this country consider north korea a huge threat. do you think that they are as big a threat presently as we picture them to be? >> no, i really think in some ways the threat north korea poses is the threat of weakness. all right, their economy isn't doing well and they're not very well developed and they're surrounded by countries that they see as their adversaries and not a very good strategic situati situation and they are in no position to go attack south korea and multiples of north crea and same thing for japan. we're a great power and they are

not. i think this is something else, not about them trying to come after us because they're not going to get anything out of us. probably about changing leadership about kim jong-il who had a heart attack in august of last year to his youngest son and that's always a touchy time in any country, particularly a country like this. >> hey, jim, let's talk about the recent missile launches. are these as alarming as they seem? i think they have the potential, we're told, you can tell me if this is true, to reach hawaii? >> certainly not the missiles we saw today. the missiles that people talk about for hawaii are the long-range, three-state ballistic missile. i have real doubts whether that could hit hawaii. but that aside, the missiles we saw today were medium-range missiles. what is the impact? the impact is not that they're going to land on a city. the real short-term impact is that japan, understandably, freaks out about this sort of thing to have missiles launched near them and this royals

through domestic politics in japan and very unwelcomed and, of course, it violates the security council resolution. most of the consequences are really political and not military. but we'll see more of this, don, this is not the end of this because this process that they're going through will continue and will continue for several months, if not years. >> international security analyst jim walsh, thank you, sir, have a good weekend. >> have a good fourth. fans are registers by the thousands to win tickets to michael jackson's memorial service. we're learning more details we're learning more details about his will.

a quick update on the michael jackson death investigation. the associated press reports that the powerful drug diprivan was found in jackson's home after his death. the former jackson nurse tells cnn that jackson requested that drug by name from just a few months ago to help him sleep. now, as for tuesday's memorial service, there's been staggering public demand for those tickets and our susan rosegesgen has mo on that. staggering may not describe it. >> more than 1.2 million, don, that's where it is at right now. we're at the michael jackson

family home where on the sidewalk this shrine has been growing with more balloons, more flowers and more hand-written notes and even flags from different countries, sri lanka, turkey, people from all over the world have been coming here and many people coming to bring things to this shrine are registering to get tickets. more than 1.2 million fans have registered online at staplescenter.com website and, yet, only 17,500 tickets will be given away. so, they know the odds are slim, but as so many people told me here today, dan, if they don't try for a ticket, they won't have a chance to get a little piece of history and get closure to say good-bye to a superstar. don? >> boy, oh, boy, susan, i don't know if your photographer could hear us. i would love to see some of the big memorial there. if you guys could pull out. looks like a lot of people are gathering there. >> underneath the trees all the balloons and hand-written notes and so many flowers, don.

they bring fresh flowers every day. people have flowers in their hands ready to put down here. this sidewalk memorial keeps growing. >> susan, thank you. you can see the crowd. on tuesday, susan, we know there will be more people who are gathered here in los angeles for michael jackson's memorial service. we appreciate your hard work, susan. thank you very much. the biggest issue surround oing michael jackson's death is custody of jackson's three children. let's get insight on this from an estate attorney and former lawyer for the james brown family. lou, thank you for coming in on a holiday weekend. give thus facts. what are the facts of the michael jackson's will and the children and katherine jackson who, i believe, is 79 years old. there is a provision if she is not around or able to take care of those children. >> let's start with the principal. the state has a residuary clause in wills which says that

everything, essentially everything after expenses are paid go to a trust. and that trust is designed to benefit whoever the beneficiaries are and that trust is not a public document, so we don't know the answer to who the beneficiaries are. the children's interests would be handled by their guardian, who is currently mrs. katherine jackson. >> everyone, katherine jackson is the matriarch of the family and beloved by many around the country and around the world and the truth is she is 79 years old and, so, there are some concern, some people are saying maybe debbie rowe should come in and have some parental rights with these children. what does she have, what recourse does she have, or legal rights does have to these children about cust sdmae. >> no question when it comes to the issue of minor children a superior court or probate court

retains the ultimate decision making on what is best for the children. that doesn't mean they won't pay attention to the nomination of mr. jackson, but, ultimately, the decision is what is in the best interest of the children and if the court considers mrs. jackson's health or other time constraints wouldn't permit her to do what's best for the children, the court would consider the successor, which i believe is diana ross and she would be considered and determined to be qualified or not qualified and then ultimately the court might pass over all the nominees and appoint someone else. >> i've got to ask you this because debbie rowe's attorney just yesterday said, the day before yesterday, said my client really hasn't decided whether or not she's going to seek parental rights for the kichildren. she hasn't made that decision yet. listening to the attorney and so

reading the reports, do you think she'll make a play for this or not? >> i would be surprised if she didn't make some effort to gain control of the financial of the interests of her children. she is the natural parent of the child and the law recognizes that other than the father who's no longer alive, then the natural surviving parent would have primary decision-making. again, considering that the nomination of mr. jackson would have to be considered by the court. >> all right, lewis levenson, estate attorney, worked with the james brown estate, we appreciate it, thank you, sir. be sure to tune in for a "cnn presents" special on the life and music of michael jackson. "man in the mirror" airs tonight, 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn.

tonight i want to introduce

you to a very special cnn hero. meet a woman who is changing the perception of the united states one family at a time. her name is carolyn manning and she lost a loved one on september 11th. but through that tragedy came a connection to other victims and to a world-wide crisis. today she is helping people from all over the world rebuild their lives. >> this is "cnn heroes." >> we have an explosion at building number one. there's smoke all over the place. >> one of the towers went down. >> my brother-in-law was killed in tower one on september 11th. after september 11th, i saw a picture of an afghan family who had also lost a family member because of the taliban and they had to flee their country. our family, we lost a family member too. we've just naturally went from that to let's show the refugees that we welcome them. my name's carolyn manning and i started the welcome to america project to help refugees in

phoenix, arizona. how are you? the families that we help come from places where there's been war and genocide. the refugees have never lived with indoor plumbing and never flushed a toilet. the welcome to america project is the community. and it operates by community volunteers. my husband and i many a time have been out here hauling furniture. before work, after work. this is our life. >> thank you very much for all your help. >> all right, let's go out to that family. >> when they set foot in the united states they have been invited here. i want the refugees to feel that this is their home. >> welcome to america. >> and that's what america has been built on. it's our history. it's who we are. and they're part of it. >> tell us about your heroes at cnn.com/heroes. cnn just learned new information on the michael jackson memorial service on tuesday.

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so, april... yeah? you know, your charger is still using energy when it's plugged into the wall, right? yeah, but that's not my charger. i don't even have a cell phone. [ballad ringtone playing] uh-oh. um... [music stops] heh. announcer: millions of kids are using their energy wisely.

all right. we want to get some of your feedback. here's what dee dee said. palin's political career is over. you can't quit and expect to be seriously considered for higher position. up to something. janets says reports do not begin to measure how much nashville loved steve mcnair. what a loss. princess m says of palin, doesn't seem like a smart move. makes you wonder if the ethics commission talking up with her. and mobernstein says, don, do you think things will be in control for the michael jackson memorial on tuesday? well, police here say they had better be, a zero tolerance policy. stick with myspace.com and ireport.com to be part of the conversation. don lemon with the latest on the michael jackson investigation plus the other news of the daw. you'll only see it right here