Body of Michael Jackson to be Taken to Neverland, Public Viewing Planned; Michael Jackson's Will to be Filed Today; Nurse Claims Michael Jackson Begged for Drugs; Fans Flock to Apollo Theater to Pay Tribute to Michael Jackson
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: We're coming to the top of the hour now, on this Wednesday, July 1st. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.</s>JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Here's what's on the agenda this morning. The big stories that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes. A nurse who claims that she treated Michael Jackson is telling her shocking story to CNN this morning. Cherilyn Lee says back in April, Jackson begged for a powerful intravenous sedative that's used in operating rooms so that he could sleep. That nurse spoke exclusively to CNN overnight.</s>CHETRY: And details are also trickling out about Michael Jackson's will which could be made public later today. We're also learning that there may be a public viewing as well as a private memorial service at Neverland Ranch later this week. We're going to get more on that live from the Jackson family home in a moment.</s>ROBERTS: And it only took about eight months but Minnesota finally has a new junior senator and he could give Democrats the ultimate weapon in Washington. More on that coming up in just a minute.</s>CHETRY: We begin, though, this morning with developing news on the investigation into Michael Jackson's death. And a nurse who claims she treated Jackson is speaking out, making some shocking claims that Michael Jackson was desperately seeking a very powerful sedative. It's a drug primarily used in operating rooms and have very dangerous side effects. Overnight, the nurse, Cherilyn Lee, sat down exclusively with our Drew Griffin. Their conversation is brand new this morning. It's something you'll see only here on AMERICAN MORNING.</s>DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Michael Jackson wanted a medical attendant to give him an IV drip of Diprivan just so he could sleep.</s>CHERILYN LEE, NURSE WHO CLAIMS SHE TREATED JACKSON: Yes. Yes.</s>GRIFFIN: Scary.</s>LEE: Very scary. This is why he started doing it. I had this medicine before. It worked for me before. And I said, well, you know -- then he says the name, and I didn't understand. I said, well, who gave it to you? My doctor. And he was so adamant, like he totally believed that his doctor said this is safe. He said this is --</s>GRIFFIN: Did he say what doctor?</s>LEE: He wouldn't tell me. I said who is the doctor? And if he gave it to you, where is he? I mean, why are you asking me? You know? And he said, I don't know where he is. It was a long time ago. But I know this worked for me. And he -- he actually sat there and he said, I'm telling you, when he put -- when I have that IV in my hand, when I have it in my hand, he just kind of went on -- when it drips in my body, the first drop, I'm asleep. And all I want to do is sleep. You know, I've watched my children, they're sleeping. You know, I just want to go to sleep. I want to sleep eight hours so I can be refreshed the next day.</s>GRIFFIN: But don't you think it's odd he's asking for this super strong medicine?</s>LEE: Super strong. Yes, that was odd.</s>GRIFFIN: Without asking for a regular sleeping pill.</s>LEE: Yes. Well, this is -- and 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. I don't want pills. I don't want any pills.</s>GRIFFIN: You said no?</s>LEE: And I -- oh, my goodness, not only did I say no, I didn't know the medication. And I went to my office to get my PDR. So I said the physician's desk reference. It's just like the bible of medicine. I said this medication is not good. He said I want to sleep. And I looked at him and that was the first time I got this chill through my body and I said, Michael, if you take that medicine, you might not wake up.</s>GRIFFIN: What was his response?</s>LEE: He said, I need to have somebody here to just monitor me. I said, it isn't having someone monitoring you. You just don't need to have this. He said if somebody stay here and monitor me with this IV, then I would be OK. I would be OK because they're going to be here 24 hours or 12 hours to monitor me so I could sleep eight hours.</s>ROBERTS: Wow.</s>CHETRY: It's astounding what she's saying. And we're going to hear in just a few minutes a little bit more from Cherilyn Lee about this frantic call that she got from Jackson's security team she says last weekend and why -- why she's deciding to come forward now. She said she's not seeking fame, but she felt it was important to put it out there and try to set the record straight.</s>ROBERTS: Yes, exactly. So many people are saying so many different things.</s>CHETRY: Yes.</s>ROBERTS: There are so many other new developments this morning as well surrounding the death of the pop icon. We could get our first look at a will that Michael Jackson apparently filed back in 2002. We're also learning more about a public viewing being planned at the Neverland Ranch and when Jackson's body will be taken there. Our Ted Rowlands is live for us outside of the Jackson family home in Encino, California. What's the latest on the will, first of all, Ted?</s>TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the latest is the family has it, the family attorneys have a copy of this will. We do expect that that will be filed as early as this morning in Los Angeles court. You remember two days ago when the family went to court, originally, they said in their petition that there was no will in existence. Well, now, they acknowledged they have a copy of it. And they say that they do expect that to be a major part of the probate process as it moves forward because it is the only will out there that has surfaced. It is a little -- you know, from 2002, one of the things in that will, we're told, is that the children -- Michael Jackson's wishes for his children are that his mother, Katherine, take care of them. That is a huge thing that the family, of course, has petitioned for as well. Those proceedings going on. But the bottom line is there's a will, and the Jackson family has acknowledged they've seen it and it appears to be valid.</s>ROBERTS: One of the other big developments that we're following here, Ted, its reports of a big public viewing at the Neverland Ranch. What's the latest on that?</s>ROWLANDS: Well, the latest is it's getting late. It's Wednesday morning now. We've been told that on Thursday morning that Michael Jackson's body will go from Los Angeles up to the Neverland Ranch, and that there'll be some sort of public viewing into the weekend and then some sort of private memorial service tentatively scheduled for Sunday. Now, Jackson's family attorneys say that nothing has been set in stone and they are still working out the details. But it appears that Neverland Ranch is going to be in the mix here in terms of the memorial service for Michael Jackson.</s>ROBERTS: What's the thinking on the funeral? I heard potentially Sunday?</s>ROWLANDS: For the private funeral?</s>ROBERTS: Right.</s>ROWLANDS: Yes. That's been laid out there. But, again, the family attorney last night says that none of this had been set in stone. But it appears, though, they're ramping it up for a public ceremony of some sort, possibly a viewing, and then a private ceremony after that on Sunday after the fourth of July.</s>ROBERTS: All right. Ted Rowlands for us this morning in Encino. Ted, thanks so much for that.</s>CHETRY: Well, thousands lined up in the spot where it all began. Fans came to the world-famous Apollo Theater in Harlem for a poignant celebration of Michael Jackson's life. The superstar was only 9 years old when he made his debut there winning Amateur Night. Jackson and his brothers once did 31 shows at the Apollo in a week. They got paid $1,000 for that at the time. Our T.J. Holmes is there for the tribute. And, you know, it's funny, Amateur Night, that's a tough crowd. If you can get them to cheer for you during Amateur Night at the Apollo, you got it made. But it was --</s>T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": They made that point yesterday. It was pointed out. They said, you know what, today you got this "American Idol" and all this stuff. You get to text in your vote. You know, you had a crowd, you had to get in front of them.</s>CHETRY: Right.</s>HOLMES: And you need to perform.</s>CHETRY: And they either booed you off the stage or they loved you.</s>HOLMES: And Amateur Night continues to this day. They're doing Michael Jackson tributes again tonight for Amateur Night. But yesterday, I mean, Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, Billie Holiday, before we knew those names, before the world knew those names, those had to play (ph) in the Apollo. The same goes for Michael Jackson. And that is why it was so important for thousands to be there yesterday. They didn't come to cry. It wasn't a solemn scene. It wasn't a sad scene. Let me show you what it was.</s>HOLMES (voice-over): Thousands of people but just 600 at a time filed through Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater on Tuesday to celebrate Michael Jackson's life and legacy. Some cried, some laid flowers. Everybody danced.</s>JUSTIN AUSTIN, MICHAEL JACKSON FAN: I'm here to support Michael and just have his legacy live on because his music will never die, never die. He was a wonderful man.</s>GREG PACKER, MICHAEL JACKSON FAN: I came out, celebrate the life and legacy of Michael Jackson and to remember all the good things that he did in his life and the good music he brought to us.</s>SHARLOT ADRIND, MICHAEL JACKSON FAN: I want to pay tribute to someone whom I loved ever since he was knee high.</s>JACKSON FIVE: ABC easy as 1-2-3.</s>HOLMES: Jackson was only 9 years old when the Jackson Five won the Apollo's Amateur Night contest back in 1967.</s>REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: You are our Michael then. You are our Michael now. You'll be our Michael forever.</s>BILLY MITCHELL, APOLLO THEATER HISTORIAN: He is our legend. Michael started here with these people, but he became world renowned.</s>HOLMES: Fans waited hours. Some waited all night long for a chance to pay their respects to the King of Pop.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michael Jackson? Oh, Lord, I thank God for Michael Jackson the way he left us.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael Jackson will never die. That he's going to live right here forever.</s>ADRIND: You can still feel the love that you have and giving it out to everybody. And I'm so</s>HOLMES: And really guys, that was kind of the thing we saw yesterday as well. Of course, Michael Jackson, world renowned. People all over the world love him. But yesterday it was almost like the community there -- the black community reclaiming this man. And there was at times even a rift, seemingly, at least, with the black community that, oh, he's going off and he's forgetting where he's from. That kind of an attitude. No. Yesterday, it was all Michael Jackson. We helped launch him. We were with him every step of that journey. We never left him. And it was really a sense of he's ours (ph).</s>CHETRY: You know, it will also be interesting to see how many people go out there if there is indeed a public viewing of Michael Jackson at Neverland Ranch.</s>HOLMES: Oh, wow. I can't imagine what that's going to be like. I mean, just yesterday -- and again when James Brown -- they did the same thing with James Brown at the Apollo. But James Brown, they brought his body there to the Apollo. So those lines were unbelievable down the road as well. Of course, Michael Jackson's body wasn't there at the Apollo yesterday. But still, as I was explaining earlier, 125th is where the Apollo is. The line went down to 135th. We're talking ten blocks, a hot, hot day. And then they got drenched. There was a storm. We had to shut down our live truck for a while, the Setra (ph), because the storm was so bad.</s>CHETRY: Yes, it was bad.</s>ROBERTS: Yes.</s>HOLMES: So they were standing on it. They stayed in it. And just about all of them got to go in yesterday.</s>ROBERTS: Some good memories there.</s>HOLMES: Yes.</s>ROBERTS: T.J., thanks so much for that.</s>CHETRY: Nice to see you.</s>HOLMES: All right.</s>ROBERTS: Also new this morning, former "Saturday Night Live" comedian Al Franken is heading to Washington. The state's highest court ruled him the winner of Minnesota's Senate race after months of recounts and challenges. Franken's opponent, incumbent Republican Norm Coleman, conceded yesterday. This gives Democrats that magic number, a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the Senate. The governor of South Carolina revealing more intimate details about his life. In an interview with "The Associated Press," Governor Mark Sanford says he crossed the line with a handful of other women during his marriage but not to the point of actually having sexual relations. Sanford also went on to say that his mistress from Argentina is his soul mate, but he's trying to fall back in love with his wife. The state's attorney general is looking into the governor's travel records to see if any state money was used to pay for his dalliance. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he's checking with lawyers to change the way service members are discharged for violating the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. Gates says that he is especially concerned about members of the Armed Forces who are ousted by jilted lovers or other third parties. This comes just one day after President Obama reaffirmed his pledge to overturn that law.</s>CHETRY: Well, we told you a little bit earlier when we heard from her, a nurse who claims she treated Michael Jackson back in April then he asked her for this powerful sedative that's usually only given in hospitals in operating rooms. Well, now, she talks about the warnings she gave Michael Jackson saying it could kill you. In her own words when we come back. It's 12 minutes after the hour.