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CNN Live Saturday

A look at U.S. National Security; "Novak Zone:" Interview with Michael Chandler, "Boss" of USAF's Thunderbirds

Aired May 28, 2005 - 14:00   ET

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

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is 2:00 p.m. at West Point; 11:00 a.m. in Santa Maria, California.
Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta.

Ahead this hour, motorcycles take over the nation's capital but it's for a good cause.

She's a member of an elite group. David Letterman's her boss, and if you haven't heard of this young woman, you must not be an Indy 500 fan.

And this...

ROBERT NOVAK, NOVAK ZONE: Coming up in the "Novak Zone," we're at Andrews Air Force base, and we'll talk to Mike Chandler, the boss of the Thunderbirds, the U.S. Air Force demonstration squadron.

WHITFIELD: And Bob Novak's in the thunderbird zone, but will he ride off into the wild blue yonder? These stories in a moment, but first, a look at the headlines.

Will the French say oui to the EU? They cast votes tomorrow on the new European constitution. If polls are right, France will be the first country to vote down the charter. It's designed to strengthen European unity and decision-making, but many French say their sovereignty and national pride is at stake.

A Saudi source tells CNN King Fahd is hospitalized this weekend with pneumonia-like symptoms. His condition is described as serious but not life-threatening. After a stroke, the king turned over day- to-day control to the saudi kingdom to his half-brother 10 years ago.

And, a murder suspect is jailed in Atlanta today, ending a 57- hour drama atop of a construction crane. Police grabbed Carl Roland, and then tasered him as he reached for a drink of water. Later, he was strapped to a stretcher and lowered 350 feet to the ground. Roland now faces extradition to Florida where he is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend.

A special group forged by historic events, today's graduating cadets at West Point entered the military academy shortly before the September 11th attacks. That day, however, has since defined their careers. CNN's Bob Franken joins us from the White House with a closer look. Bob?

BOB FRANKEN, NAT'L CORRESPONDENT, WHITE HOUSE: Well, the president rotates among the different service academies and so his speech this year came the Naval academy. So, at the West Point Academy, which is for the U.S. Army, that speech was delivered by the president's chief military adviser, the chairman of the joint chief of staff -- actually, the outgoing chairman -- General Richard Myers. But the message was pretty much the same, which is, at any of the service academies, war and the war on terror, the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, are much more than an academic exercise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, CHMN. JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Our nation is at war and I know this has been brought home to you as on many days, you've heard announcements of the fallen or injured of past West Point classes who were bravely doing their duty. They faced an enemy who seeks to destroy our society, an enemy that has no tolerance for individual freedoms or the free expression of ideas. They view their -- the values that we represent as a threat, and their weapon of choice is fear. They know absolutely no limits, be they territorial or moral. So that's why failure is not an option, and we will not fail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And for so many of these graduates, four years of incredibly hard work will be followed by almost direct trip, Fredricka, to a battlefield somewhere in the hostile world. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And Bob, while the cadet's lives were marked by 9/11, it appears this week perhaps the president's legacy may have been marked by some of the events taking place earlier in the week.

FRANKEN: Well, it's interesting because we have a lame-duck president about. One way is -- to avoid getting put into that category is to be working hard on legacies and he was working extremely hard this week.

First of all, he's attempting to go after Middle East peace, which is something that has alluded presidents for generations. He had a meeting with the new president with the new Palestinian authority. He also spent his 33rd trip in his 27 states talking about changes he wants to make to Social Security reform. Those are two huge issues; success in either one of those would be a legacy that's pretty large.

WHITFIELD: And this weekend, the president escaping a very windy White House right now, instead at Camp David. Perhaps next week, where might he be?

FRANKEN: Well, he's going to be, among other things, going to his -- another state, Kentucky, to be talking about Social Security. But right now, he's taking the weekend off to some degree at Camp David, and I hope the weather, which is not far away, is a lot better than it is here in a couple of minutes.

WHITFIELD: Bob Franken, take some cover before the storm arrives. All right, thanks so much.

Well, it has been a deadly 24 hours in Iraq with 28 people killed and more than 40 injured in various insurgent attacks throughout the country. In Japan, the family of Achijito Saito (ph) are reacting to a video shown on an Islamic website that claims the hostage has been killed by his chapters. Saito was one of five foreign workers abducted earlier in the month.

Two separate bombings killed 13 people and wounded 23 others in northwest Iraq. It happened near the joint U.S.-Iraqi military base in Sinjar. Most of those killed were Iraqis working at the base, and Friday night in Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit, two more car bombings killed nine and wound another 44 people. The bombings came half an hour apart near a communication's building. The second bomb apparently targeted emergency workers responding to the first explosion.

Well, on this Memorial Day weekend, Americans are remembering the men and women who've given their lives for this country. In Washington, D.C., Rolling Thunder is under way. The annual motorcycle ride pays tribute to Vietnam veterans and honor American troops now serving in Iraq and in Afghanistan. About 300,000 motorcycles roared through the nation's capital in last year's event.

The Memorial Day holiday takes on a special significance for the troops of Charlie Company, 3rd infantry regiment, better known as the "old guard. " It is their duty to make certain the sacrifices of fallen soldiers are not forgotten.

Here's CNN's Bruce Morton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UM: One, two, three...

BRUCE MORTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Charlie Company, 3rd infantry regiments of the old guard. They're in Arlington Cemetery doing what they do every Memorial Day, putting flags in front of the tombstones here. The flag is planted one foot, one soldier's foot, in front of the stone.

Aaron Nelson, 23, from Hibbing (ph), Minnesota, says the spring rains have softened the ground, made it easier this year.

PFC. AARON NELSON, MEMBER OF THE OLD GUARD: Countless war heroes are buried throughout this cemetery. I mean, even just put a flag on it is just a small honor, and that's one thing that I like to -- that's one thing I'm able to do for them.

MORTON: They trained for combats, who here firing the anti- armor javelin missile, but they are the old guard. They guard of the tomb of the unknowns. It gets flags, too.

This is a new grave. No stone yet, but a flag.

They're the honor guard at funerals here. Aaron Nelson likes the army, but he only seen one funeral before he joined, and the ones here, he says, are not easy duty.

NELSON: You have to see the family. You have to see the wife, the children, you know? Just babies that are left. They don't even know what's going on, you know, and they're left with no father, no mother. I mean, it's sad to see that. It's something you don't want to see, see 8-year-old girls crying. It's just not a sight that should be seen.

MORTON: The work goes on, flag by flag, row by row. The 1,100 men of the old guard will plant more than 280,000 flags this day.

And finally, as the day wanes, the work is done. Aaron Nelson and other men of Charlie Company can head home now. The cemetery, full of memories, full of grief, and pain and honor, rests now, ready for Memorial Day.

Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: CNN "Security Watch" is coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MESERVE, CORRESPONDENT: Some people are dumb-founded that in this post-9/11 world of heightened security, where even a traveling grandmother could be subjected to extra scrutiny, someone like Depres (ph) with his odd demeanor and appearance and cache of weapons crossed this border so easily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A -- one man, this man, crossed the U.S.-Canadian border with a sword, a hatchet, a knife and a chainsaw, and then? The real trouble started. Jeanne Meserve tells that story.

Our legal gurus weigh in on Michael Jackson's week in court and on what happens next.

And could this be the face of the next Indy 500 winner? We'll be right back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH SEMPREVIVO, JOSEPH'S LITE COOKIES: I love what I do and I ask myself, could I do the rest of my life for free? And the answer is, yes.

UM: Joseph Semprevivo's boyhood passion still drives him. He's head of an award-wining, multimillion dollar cookie company. Diagnosed with diabetes at age nine, he was determined to satisfy his sweet tooth and by 12, created the first ever sugar-free ice cream.

Three years later, he released the first-ever sugar-free cookie into the market and founded Joseph's Lite Cookies with his parents. For Semprevivo, knowledge and hard work are the ingredient for success.

SEMPREVIVO: Learn everything about that product and service and you become an expert so people have confidence in you. Make a solid business plan to realize that you're going to have to give up your life for so many years because that's like a marriage. You have to give 100 percent to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: After 9/11, border security is a priority for the U.S. but Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve looks at an incident that's raising questions and concerns at border stations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello (INAUDIBLE)

MESERVE: The place where the St. Croix River slices between Canada and the U.S. has its share of unusual characters, but the man who showed up at the quiet border crossing at Calais, Maine, on April 25th, 22-year-old Gregory Depres, was more than unusual.

Eddie Young was also trying to enter the U.S. that day.

EDDIE YOUNG, CROSSED BORDER: Aw, he was quite the funny-looking person. His eyes were wide opened. His hair was all wet, and the mohawk, and the hair came down in the center of his face.

MESERVE: Even more unusual, what he was carrying. Court records show he had a homemade sword engraved with his name and a swastika; a hatchet; a knife; two homemade brass knuckles; pepper spray; zip cuffs; a flak jacket; and a small chainsaw, spotted with what authorities say appeared to be blood.

YOUNG: America border patrol had the swords out and doing -- you know, swinging them around. The chain saw got picked up and it was going, you know -- they looked things all over. They were, you know, putting the bass knuckles on, stuff like that.

MESERVE: Depres had dual Canadian and American citizenship. A police report says Depres told border officials he was the sergeant in the Marine Corps, had a helicopter waiting for him and worked for the president.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection held him here in Calais, maine, for two hours. They ran his name against criminal databases, talked to law enforcement on both sides of the border. Having found no outstanding warrants and having determined that he was a U.S. citizen, they let him into the country. Customs and Border Protection would not talk on camera, but a spokeswoman tells CNN, "There was nothing that we could hold him for, and being a U.S. citizen we couldn't foce him to go back to Canada or anything like that."

MESERVE: Agents did confiscate his weapons, but just one day after Gregory Despres crossed into the U.S., a horrific discovery at this small house in Minto, New Brunswick: two bodies.

The victims -- Veronica DeCarry, known as Verna, and her common law husband, Fred Fulton, a well-known local musician.

MICHAEL RICHARDSON, FRED FULTON'S NEPHEW: He played everything. He would play everything and he was a big Chet Atkins fan, so he loved his music, and...

MESERVE: Didn't I say -- hear he was called the Chet Atkins...

RICHARDSON: The Chet Atkins of Minto.

MESERVE: Gregory Despres lived in this small shed on the property next door to Fulton's home. It has been dismantled in the weeks since the murders. Denny Petitpas lives down the street.

DANNY PETITPAS, VICTIM'S NEIGHBOR: I knew the young fellow was strange. I mean, he would get mad go into his shed or in his camper and smash things and scream.

MESERVE: For two years, neighbors say, Despres escalated a feud with Fulton over a property line, a drainage ditch, and other issues.

PETITPAS: He wouldn't met you halfway. He just -- if you had a problem with what he was doing, well, you was going to have a bigger problem with what he's going to do next.

MESERVE: After one confrontation, Despres was convicted of assaulting Fulton's grandson with a knife. Just hours before he was to be sentenced, the murders occurred. Sargent Gary Cameron of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

SGT. GARY CAMERON, ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE: And it was very bloody scene, and it was very traumatic.

MESERVE: An RCMP report alleges that Despres kicked down a kitchen door and made his way to the bedroom where he stabbed Verna DeCarry and Fred Fulton several times. Fulton tried to barricade himself in the bathroom, but after a struggle, he was decapitated, his severed head left in a pillowcase next to his body.

PETITPAS: The investigator that was investigating this from Toronto, he said, you guys don't really know how lucky you are, because once he had done what he had done there, he had nothing to lose. He could have cleaned the whole neighborhood.

MESERVE: Instead, authorities alleged Depres took Fulton's car and abandoned it near the U.S. border. Right after the bodies were discovered, the Mounties and FBI put out lookouts for Depres, who they now realized had crossed the border. Depres' Massachusetts driver's license number led to a marina in Mattapoisett, near Cape Cod, where he had once lived in an old cabin cruiser. Suspecting he might come back, Mattapoisett police made up wanted posters. Late on the day the bodies were discovered Officer Andrew Murray was distributing those posters.

OFC. ANDREW MURRAY, MATTAPOISETT, MASS. POLICE: Right around this corner up here, I observed a subject walking, matching the physical description of the subject who we were looking for.

MESERVE: Murray came back to question the young man through the window of his cruiseer.

MURRAY: His poster was face up on the passenger seat. At that time I reached over, flipped them over, so he wouldn't recognize his own picture.

MESERVE: The young man identified himself as Gregory Despres from Canada. Murray pretended he didn't know Despres was wanted and pulled into a parking lot to wait for backup.

MURRAY: We handcuffed him right here. He's laying down, proned out, face down on the ground.

MESERVE: Despres was wearing a flak jacket.

MURRAY: He had light brownish-reddish stains on his flak jacket, which would be consistent with blood, dried blood.

MESERVE: How does he explain that?

MURRAY: He just said it was from skinning deer.

MESERVE: Underneath Despres's clothing, a 10-inch swastika tattoo on his back. Despres told police he was on a secret mission with the Marines and was wanted for murder in Russia, but now he is charged with two counts of murder in Canada. He's not yet represented by counsel there and his family declined comment.

Some people are dumb-founded that in this post-9/11 world of heightened security where even a traveling grandmother could be subjected to extra scrutiny, someone like Despres with his odd demeanor and appearance and cache of weapons crossed this border so easily.

But a former Customs and Border Protection lawyer says the agency had no alternative. No crime had been discovered, and Despres, a U.S. citizen, had a right to enter his country.

STUART SEIDEL, FMR CUSTOMS ATTY.: We still have a country of laws. We still have a constitution, and I think what they did here was appropriate.

MESERVE: Though extradition proceedings are under way, it is unclear how long it will take for Despres to cross back to Canada to face the music.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve.

Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Well, you probably heard about the young Australian woman convicted of drug smuggling in Indonesia, but you did know an appeal could end in the death sentence?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In Indonesia, lawyers for an Australian woman convicted of drug smuggling are plotting legal and political ways to win her freedom. The 20-year jail sentence given to the defendant has sparked outrage in her home country. We get the latest now from Tim Palmer with the Australian broadcasting company.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM PALMER, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING COMPANY: Schapelle Corby's appeal would be in the hope of her going home or at least receiving a reduced sentence. After her lawyers concede there is the risk things could go the other way, with the appeals court having in the past increased the sentence in a drug's case to the death penalty.

VASU RASIAH, LAWYER'S SPOKESMAN: It's possible, but we are confident that in a normal court we could get it lessened.

PALMER: Today the prosecution was putting the finishing touches to its appeal for a tougher sentence and issued the same warning.

IDA BAGUS WISANTANU, LEAD PROSECUTOR (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): That's a possibility, if, in considering the evidence, judge seen no reason to be lenient, it could come to the death sentence.

PALMER: From the defense side, they say they'll accept government help, but insist they knew nothing about any offer from the government last March to provide barristers (ph) then to advise on the case.

UM: But on appeal today, no (INAUDIBLE) has called us, contacted us. Unitl today, not at all.

PALMER: But according to one of the first QCs on offer again on for the appeal process, the Corby defense team were phoned twice in March but never called back.

RASIAH: Nothing. No reply. Never replied. Which was is their prerogative but it was strange given that they had seemed to be enthusiastic about accepting that assistance in the first place.

PALMER: Indonesian law experts John Ingleson believes arguing the appeal for Schapelle Corby will require more substance than put in the trial just ended.

JOHN INGELSON, UNIVERSITY OF N.S.W.: All right, you would have to say as an outsider -- we're all outsiders -- that the defense case does not appear to be all that strong.

PALMER: A point conceded by one of the QCs now offered to the defense who repeated the same problems about the supposedly key witness, Victorian (ph) prisoner John Ford, that were raised by Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty.

MICK KEELTY, FED. POLICE COMMISSIONER: Well, it's obviously he had problems with that evidence.

PALMER: The QCs will be starting from the basics, saying they know little about the first trial beyond media reports.

Meanwhile, the Corby family has asked Australians to boycott Quantas, which is part a tourism protest against Indonesia and even some of those already in Bali are in the mood to respond.

UM: I'll boycott it. I wouldn't come again. (INAUDIBLE)

PALMER: Even the weakest of Indonesians, it seems, are to pay for the perceived miscarriage of justice. The Red Cross, World Vision, and other charities now say they're receiving numerous calls from donors who now want to get back the money they'd offered to assist Indonesian advantages in the Aceh tsunami. The Australian government's fears that the Corby case could spill out of court to affect the way the country's people think of each other may yet be realized.

Tim Palmer, ABC News, Den Passar (ph).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, Indonesia is one of Bill Clinton's stops as he visits tsunami-devastated areas in south Asia. The former president is the United Nations special envoy for tsunami recovery. Right now, he's in Sri Lanka where he's pressing the government and rebel forces to cooperate in distributing aid to tsunami victims. A U.N. official says Clinton, however, today canceled a stop in the Maldives due to exhaustion.

Michael Jackson's trial wrapped this week here in the States. Our legal team assesses the case so far. For instance, did celebrities in the courtroom help or hurt his case?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here's what's making news right now. It appears a Japanese hostage kidnapped in Iraq earlier this month has been killed by his captors. Both Iraqi and Japanese authorities believe indeed he has been killed. An Islamic Web site has posted a video showing the man before and after his death.

Thousand of bikers are in Washington, D.C. this memorial day. Their Rolling Thunder tribute at Tombs of the Unknown is to remember fallen soldiers at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial as well. The veteran's advocacy group has been holding its annual POW/MIA demonstration since 1998.

And this year's West Point Military Academy graduates will find their careers defined by the terrorist events of 2001. General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, told the new lieutenants, they arrived in peace and leave in war. Nearly 70 percent are expected to see combat in Iraq or Afghanistan.

And hundreds of thousands of Armenians spent part of this day holding hands and dancing around the country's highest mountains. It's a celebration of unity, the nation's founding, and other historic events.

The end is near in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial with closing arguments set for later next week.

CNN's Ted Rowlands has the latest from Santa Maria, California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The jury in the Michael Jackson case has heard all of the evidence that they are going to hear in this case.

And the last bit of evidence that they were exposed to was a videotape interview of the accuser detailing what he claims Michael Jackson did to him to police early on. The videotape, which was an hour in length, showed the accuser being interviewed by police detectives. He detailed at least two acts of molestation at the hands of Michael Jackson.

It was expected that the defense would put on what is called a sur-rebuttal, basically, an answer to the tape. But in somewhat dramatic fashion, they had a conference, turned to the judge and said, "Your Honor, we rest."

From here, the jury will have a four day weekend. Then they are expected to hear closing arguments next Wednesday, possibly Thursday. It's safe to say they will have this case at some point next week.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Santa Maria, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that gets us to our legal roundup with our own legal eagles, Avery Friedman and Richard Herman.

Good to see you both of this holiday weekend.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Nice to see you. Nice to see you, Fredricka.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good afternoon. WHITFIELD: All right. Avery, let me begin with you. The prosecution played a police tape, an interview of the accuser in court. The defense could have perhaps even called the accuser to cross-examine. They chose not to. Any surprise there?

FRIEDMAN: Yes, big surprise. I don't know what the thinking of the defense was here. This was an hour testimony by the victim directly to the jury. When the lights went on, the jury was hushed. I just don't understand the thinking of the defense of putting on at least one witness to try to rebut some of the power, the compulsion of that video. I think a serious, serious error on the part of Tom Mesereau.

WHITFIELD: Richard, you agree with that? They should have indeed called the accuser back.

HERMAN: Absolutely not. Would have been the worst thing in the world to call that accuser back. The position of the defense was that the testimony and the actions of the accuser were scripted. Based on that video, Mesereau looked at the jury and said, I'm not even going to give it the time of day and that's what he will argue in his summation. It was a very powerful move in the defense and I really disagree with Avery on this. It was a great strategy by the defense.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, lets talk about that summation then, possibly coming up next week, unless anything else strange were to occur beforehand.

Well, Richard, how do you see the prosecution -- I mean, what are going to be their closing points as well as the defense?

HERMAN: Well, look, the prosecution's case was hey, look, Michael Jackson did it before. He did it in '92. He did it with other -- other people. And you know, he's so weird and so crazy, he absolutely did it here again and you've got to convict him on this. The defense's position is that obviously the mother scripted everything. She prepared this family in the J.C. Penney case for money. She's a liar. She's committed fraud before and she's done it again, folks. Don't buy it!

WHITFIELD: Avery, how do you see it unfolding next week?

FRIEDMAN: I see it a little bit differently. I think the prosecution used 10 weeks of piling up evidence and the focus will be on an issue that may be an appeal if there is a conviction, and that was the similar acts. We saw a lot of other testimony of people who were purportedly molested. So there's going to be a focus in on that. If I'm defending the case, obviously, I want to deal with the inconsistencies. But, again, the problem now is the jury now has four days of pondering that very, very powerful video, Fredricka. And I'm not sure how they get around that. Accept when it comes down to Tom Sneddon vs. Tom Mesereau, this is going to be a very exciting week of closing arguments.

WHITFIELD: So might over this long weekend they also be pondering these -- the star-studded witnesses? Jay Leno, who came in. Macaulay Culkin. Whether these witnesses in any way really helped the defense just by sheer value of the star power.

FRIEDMAN: Star power. Well, I think -- I think the reality is that's all we saw was star power. Jay Leno was very amusing, but had very little to add. Chris Tucker was a little bit more compelling, but it was just star power, nothing more than that.

WHITFIELD: All right, Richard, go ahead.

HERMAN: Yes, Avery, happens to be right on that. They didn't deliver the bombshell the defense wanted, but they were defense witnesses. They had the jury laughing and that's always good for the defense. Look, Fred, next week, will absolutely be off the wall and a thriller. And I think what's going to happen to Michael, the conspiracy's going to be acquitted probably on the drinking the alcohol he'll be acquitted. On the four counts of the molestation, I think he'll get convicted on two of the counts.

WHITFIELD: Wow, Richard -- I mean, Avery, you see this very differently? You're seeing a conviction not acquittals?

FRIEDMAN: To early to predict. I think if we're going to be responsible as legal analysts and I'm surprised that Richard did that, let's wait till next week. Both of us are going to come up with the decision of what we think's going to happen. Let's hear those closing arguments. Lets see how good Sneddon.

WHITFIELD: But is it closing arguments that really do influence the jurors? Haven't they already made up their mind based on the witnesses, the evidence or the lack thereof?

FRIEDMAN: No. The closing arguments I think will compel the jury to put the little pieces together. That's where the power is. Opening statement/closing argument, very critical parts of this case.

WHITFIELD: So, Richard, are you, at least, in agreement that perhaps the jurors need the closing statements in order to help put these piece together? That it's just both sides have just been scattered all over the place?

HERMAN: Fred, there are statistics that say once the openings take place, the jurors have taken the blind-up and taking their position and are looking for validation during the trial. I think here, as a very conservative jury pool, I think if Michael gets convicted on two counts, the best he can hope for here. I think all of the rest is acquittal. I think the prosecution case was horrible.

WHITFIELD: Now, there are some cases where analysts would say it's a mistake for the defendant not to take the stand. It didn't happen in this case. No one really thought Michael Jackson would take the stand. So, Richard, do you think it kind of ends up shooting the defense in the foot by him never take the stand to at least dispute the prosecution's allegations.

HERMAN: Absolutely not, Fred. Tom Mesereau is do good of an opportunity. Michael Jackson was a wild card up on that stand. I mean, it could have taken him up, down, around on cross examination. I don't think he would have held up. I don't think he would have been a sympathetic witness. He's just too strange. It's too conservative, the jurisdiction. Mesereau absolutely, 1,000 percent did the right thing by not putting Michael Jackson on the stand. Reasonable doubt will be charged to this jury and will be argued strenuously in the summation.

WHITFIELD: So, Avery, how do you see it? And do you think that jurors will in any way hold it against Michael Jackson, that he was late a couple of times. He had a couple of strange moments. Appearing in his pajamas, at least, one point of those times? Does that leave an indelible impression to for jurors -- when it comes down to the molestation charges.

FRIEDMAN: Yes. The jurors have been instructed by the judge not to consider that, but you know what Fredricka, you could resurrect Clarence Darrell (ph) from the dead. And the fact is, that Michael Jackson is Michael Jackson. Tom Mesereau was correct. Richard was correct. You're not going put a guy like that on the stand. And you know what, we've seen enough of him in videotapes. So the jury has what it really needs to deliver. Again, I think it's important to wait until next week before we make those predictions.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, we'll be talking about it again. I assure you guys. Avery Friedman, Richard Herman.

HERMAN: You think next Saturday?

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes.

HERMAN: You think next Saturday we'll be talking about this case?

WHITFIELD: I do think we're going to be talking about it. What do you think?

All right, thanks so much, guys. Good to so you this holiday weekend.

HERMAN: Take care, have a great weekend.

WHITFIELD: All right, you too.

Well, we are heading into the wild blue yonder when CNN SATURDAY continues. Our guides are the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. They're flying high in the "Novak Zone." Bob Novak talks with the commander of the Precision Flying Team coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, he's known as "The Boss" and Lieutenant Colonel Michael Chandler is the top man in charge of the military's elite flight demonstration teams. Colonel Chandler joins CNN's Robert Novak in this week's edition of "The Novak Zone."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ROBERT NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to The Novak Zone." We're at Hangar Number 6, Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland with the U.S. Air Force Demonstrates Squadron, the Thunderbirds. Talking to the commander, leader of -- the "Boss" of the Thunderbirds, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Chandler.

Colonel Chandler, what is the mission of the Thunderbirds?

LT. COL. MICHAEL CHANDLER, USAF THUNDERBIRDS: Well, sir, it's just really to go out and represent the men and women of the United States Air Force. So we have over 690,000 people right now in the active duty air national guard air force reserves out there serving our country. And it's our job to go out and show the American public truly what their -- what their machinery can do and what the men and women can do for their country.

NOVAK: How long has -- has the average pilot in the Thunderbirds been in service? Are they former combats pilots?

CHANDLER: Absolutely. We -- wide range. Generally, each our aviators has 1,000 -- at least 1,000 hours of fighter trainer time. A lot of folks, a lot of the officers have served in combat. So, a good experience level in our -- on our team.

NOVAK: Colonel Chandler, you're the -- you fly the number one jet in the Thunderbirds and you're in command both on the ground and in the air. What does that entail for you?

CHANDLER: Well, in the air I'm the leader of the demonstration. We have six airplanes flying, so I'll lead the diamond formation, which is the four airplanes when we're flying around together and leading them through all the maneuvers. And then at the end of the show, we will join up as a six ship, which we call our delta formation, and be leader of that portion of the demonstration also. On the ground I'm the commander in charge of 130 people in our squadron. So, all the details and the things associated with command in a normal air force squadron, I do the same thing.

NOVAK: Lieutenant Colonel Mike Chandler, you graduated from the Air Force Academy 1986 and your first assignment was a graduate assistant with the Academy football team.

CHANDLER: It was.

NOVAK: Did you think then that you'd end up as commander of the Thunderbirds.

CHANDLER: I did. I had my wildest dreams. I actually came in the air force having watched the Thunderbirds preform at a air show, just like many other people that have joined the air force. And hoping one day that I could fly airplanes. And then I never thought it'd come true. I had this dream come true that I'd be one, flying with team, and then two, to be the commander of the team. It's pretty awesome.

NOVAK: You fly F-16Cs in this show. How does that compare with the combat aircraft that are flown in Iraq?

CHANDLER: It's the same airplane that's flying over in Iraq right now, doing great things for our country and a lot of our allies are flying the same airplane. We make a couple of modifications to the jet. We take out the gun and we put in a smoke system, so when we're flying these beautiful formations out there in the air show, people can see the smoke trailing out in behind. But other than that, maybe a few other avionic pieces.

NOVAK: You travel -- the Thunderbirds travel all over the country, all over the world. What's the experience like? Is that pretty much a grind or is it exciting?

CHANDLER: It's very exciting. You know, it's -- what I try to tell everybody when we start out the season, it's a marathon. Definitely. Right now, we're on show number 20 and were going to do 72 shows this year at 35 different sites to include some shows out of the country. But every weekend we go to someplace different. And just to go out there and meet all the different people that are around the country. And just to be able go in through a certain place this weakened in Washington, D.C., and have all of the people come out, wave that red, white and blue flag and to cheer us on. It's great experience. And it's a different location every time. So it never gets old by any means.

NOVAK: Where have you flown out of country.

CHANDLER: Last year, we took a tour over to the Pacific. We performed in Guam, Japan, and Korea. And this year, we're going to go down to Central America. We'll preform in Guatemala, El Salvador and then back into Mexico before we finish up our traveling season with the show in Texas.

NOVAK: That's fabulous. In the last 10 years, there's been a great number of female pilots in the U.S. Air Force, but you have none in the Thunderbirds. Do you think they'll ever been any female Thunderbirds?

CHANDLER: Absolutely. We have -- we have a finalist in the Thunderbirds this year for one of our demo positions. And we have not made that selection yet. But if not this year, then in the very near future because the women out there doing some great things for us in the air force. And I expect them to be part of our team here shortly.

NOVAK: And now the big question for Lieutenant Colonel Mike Chandler, the boss of the Thunderbirds. Colonel Chandler, couple of years ago on "The Novak Zone" we interviewed Russ (ph), the head of the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy counterpart of the Thunderbirds. And he says naval aviators as they call them, have to land on carriers, says they are much more skillful pilots than we have in the air force. And in the spirit of inner-service rivalry, do you have a response to that.

CHANDLER: I just say that, you know, us air force aviators will put our -- we'll put our -- we'll go up and put our skills on the line any day as being the best of the best. I think we're important to have two great demo teams that go out and represent their service to the best of their ability. And you know, we're honored to represent our air force just like they are to represent the navy. And also just to serve right alongside with them.

NOVAK: Mike Chandler, congratulations and thank you. And thank you for being in "The Novak Zone."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: If only Bobby took flight with those guys. Well, you can see more of Bob Novak tonight at 7:00 p.m. on the "CAPITAL GANG." The gang's guest tonight is Congressman Charlie Rangel of New York.

Well, about this time tomorrow, the starter will say "Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines." And Danica Patrick is the lady that he will be addressing. She's already proven that she can go faster than the boys at Indy, most of them at least. Well, the question now, can she win tomorrow's big race?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, some folks around the country are looking at a wet holiday weekend. Meteorologist Rob Marciano takes a look at weekend conditions.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot, Rob.

Let's check the stories making news across America this weekend. And we'll admit, they're a bit on the strange side.

A white Shiatszu (ph) ended up on the rocks in Oregon. The pooch's family drove off, not meaning to leave little Tinky Winky behind. Well, someone tried to help, but frightened Tinky Winky literally went over the edge. And then firefighters came in and they were able to pull him to safety. Right there. We'll see it right there, that rescue.

Well, a Boston-area man is 39 years late, but hey, who's counting? Rob Forester (ph) took his wife to the Waynelet (ph) High School prom last night. He dropped out of high school back in 1966 and went to fight in Vietnam. Well, now, finally, he has his high school diploma, and the prom experience.

And Robert Rochester is a doubly luck man. He holds the winning lottery tickets in the New York Lottery. Yes, tickets, plural. Rochester forgot he bought the first and then purchased a second set of numbers. Well, guess what, both tickets hit the jackpot. Earning him $12 million.

Well, get revved up. The Indianapolis 500 is tomorrow. And Danica Patrick is trying to become the first woman to out drive the men.

CNN's Aaron Brown takes a look at this rising star. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Danica Patrick gets noticed for all the right reasons.

STEVE BALLARD, INDIANAPOLIS STAR: Since she got here to the Speedway and began practicing in preparation for the Indianapolis 500, she's obviously created a tremendous amount of buzz with what she's been able to accomplish. And just right from the first day on the track, right up through the last day of practice, she's just been absolutely flawless.

BROWN: A go-kart racer at 12, off to race real cars in Europe at 16, to Indy on Monday at 23. A member of the Rahal/Letterman team. A young woman in a he-man's world.

BALLARD: I remember when it was announced that Bobby Rahal had hired her, and that she would be running the full season this year, including the Indianapolis 500, and the story I wrote that day that ran in "The Indianapolis Star" the next morning, I was loaded up with e-mails and phone calls of people complaining that it was just another gimmick by a racing series that's desperate for attention.

BROWN: So far, she's proved to be the real deal. Maybe not quite ready to win, but certainly ready to compete.

SCOTT SHARP, DRIVER: She's the real deal. She's fast, she's in great equipment. So it's someone you really have to watch.

SAM HORNISH, JR., DRIVER: Of the female drivers I've raced against, she's probably the best driver. And she's the best-looking. So you have -- that's a good combination to have.

BROWN: Yes, she's pretty, but don't hold that against her. And she is a wisp of a thing, just 5'2", barely 100 pounds.

TONY KANAAN, DRIVER: When she has her helmet on, I can't tell if she's a guy or a girl. So to me, she's just one more competitor.

BROWN: In an event that has been buffeted by racing politics in recent years and seems to have lost a bit of its luster, it is another reason -- and not a bad one -- to watch.

BALLARD: It does bring more national attention to this race. And the good thing is that it's bringing it for the right reasons. It's not bringing it because there's some novelty act here this year, but it's bringing the attention because there's a young woman out here who is proving to be as good as anybody else in this race. And with a very legitimate chance to contend for the win.

BROWN: Aaron Brown, CNN, New York

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Go, Danica! We'll be watching.

Still much more on CNN SATURDAY.

At the top of the hour, "CNN PRESENTS: AUTISM IS A WORLD." Autism through the eyes of a young women that lives it.

At 4:00 Eastern, "CNN LIVE SATURDAY" continues.

And at 5:00 Eastern, "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS." Today a profile of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the insurgent leader in Iraq.

We'll have the headlines straight ahead.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired May 28, 2005 - 14:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is 2:00 p.m. at West Point; 11:00 a.m. in Santa Maria, California.
Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta.

Ahead this hour, motorcycles take over the nation's capital but it's for a good cause.

She's a member of an elite group. David Letterman's her boss, and if you haven't heard of this young woman, you must not be an Indy 500 fan.

And this...

ROBERT NOVAK, NOVAK ZONE: Coming up in the "Novak Zone," we're at Andrews Air Force base, and we'll talk to Mike Chandler, the boss of the Thunderbirds, the U.S. Air Force demonstration squadron.

WHITFIELD: And Bob Novak's in the thunderbird zone, but will he ride off into the wild blue yonder? These stories in a moment, but first, a look at the headlines.

Will the French say oui to the EU? They cast votes tomorrow on the new European constitution. If polls are right, France will be the first country to vote down the charter. It's designed to strengthen European unity and decision-making, but many French say their sovereignty and national pride is at stake.

A Saudi source tells CNN King Fahd is hospitalized this weekend with pneumonia-like symptoms. His condition is described as serious but not life-threatening. After a stroke, the king turned over day- to-day control to the saudi kingdom to his half-brother 10 years ago.

And, a murder suspect is jailed in Atlanta today, ending a 57- hour drama atop of a construction crane. Police grabbed Carl Roland, and then tasered him as he reached for a drink of water. Later, he was strapped to a stretcher and lowered 350 feet to the ground. Roland now faces extradition to Florida where he is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend.

A special group forged by historic events, today's graduating cadets at West Point entered the military academy shortly before the September 11th attacks. That day, however, has since defined their careers. CNN's Bob Franken joins us from the White House with a closer look. Bob?

BOB FRANKEN, NAT'L CORRESPONDENT, WHITE HOUSE: Well, the president rotates among the different service academies and so his speech this year came the Naval academy. So, at the West Point Academy, which is for the U.S. Army, that speech was delivered by the president's chief military adviser, the chairman of the joint chief of staff -- actually, the outgoing chairman -- General Richard Myers. But the message was pretty much the same, which is, at any of the service academies, war and the war on terror, the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, are much more than an academic exercise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, CHMN. JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Our nation is at war and I know this has been brought home to you as on many days, you've heard announcements of the fallen or injured of past West Point classes who were bravely doing their duty. They faced an enemy who seeks to destroy our society, an enemy that has no tolerance for individual freedoms or the free expression of ideas. They view their -- the values that we represent as a threat, and their weapon of choice is fear. They know absolutely no limits, be they territorial or moral. So that's why failure is not an option, and we will not fail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And for so many of these graduates, four years of incredibly hard work will be followed by almost direct trip, Fredricka, to a battlefield somewhere in the hostile world. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And Bob, while the cadet's lives were marked by 9/11, it appears this week perhaps the president's legacy may have been marked by some of the events taking place earlier in the week.

FRANKEN: Well, it's interesting because we have a lame-duck president about. One way is -- to avoid getting put into that category is to be working hard on legacies and he was working extremely hard this week.

First of all, he's attempting to go after Middle East peace, which is something that has alluded presidents for generations. He had a meeting with the new president with the new Palestinian authority. He also spent his 33rd trip in his 27 states talking about changes he wants to make to Social Security reform. Those are two huge issues; success in either one of those would be a legacy that's pretty large.

WHITFIELD: And this weekend, the president escaping a very windy White House right now, instead at Camp David. Perhaps next week, where might he be?

FRANKEN: Well, he's going to be, among other things, going to his -- another state, Kentucky, to be talking about Social Security. But right now, he's taking the weekend off to some degree at Camp David, and I hope the weather, which is not far away, is a lot better than it is here in a couple of minutes.

WHITFIELD: Bob Franken, take some cover before the storm arrives. All right, thanks so much.

Well, it has been a deadly 24 hours in Iraq with 28 people killed and more than 40 injured in various insurgent attacks throughout the country. In Japan, the family of Achijito Saito (ph) are reacting to a video shown on an Islamic website that claims the hostage has been killed by his chapters. Saito was one of five foreign workers abducted earlier in the month.

Two separate bombings killed 13 people and wounded 23 others in northwest Iraq. It happened near the joint U.S.-Iraqi military base in Sinjar. Most of those killed were Iraqis working at the base, and Friday night in Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit, two more car bombings killed nine and wound another 44 people. The bombings came half an hour apart near a communication's building. The second bomb apparently targeted emergency workers responding to the first explosion.

Well, on this Memorial Day weekend, Americans are remembering the men and women who've given their lives for this country. In Washington, D.C., Rolling Thunder is under way. The annual motorcycle ride pays tribute to Vietnam veterans and honor American troops now serving in Iraq and in Afghanistan. About 300,000 motorcycles roared through the nation's capital in last year's event.

The Memorial Day holiday takes on a special significance for the troops of Charlie Company, 3rd infantry regiment, better known as the "old guard. " It is their duty to make certain the sacrifices of fallen soldiers are not forgotten.

Here's CNN's Bruce Morton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UM: One, two, three...

BRUCE MORTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Charlie Company, 3rd infantry regiments of the old guard. They're in Arlington Cemetery doing what they do every Memorial Day, putting flags in front of the tombstones here. The flag is planted one foot, one soldier's foot, in front of the stone.

Aaron Nelson, 23, from Hibbing (ph), Minnesota, says the spring rains have softened the ground, made it easier this year.

PFC. AARON NELSON, MEMBER OF THE OLD GUARD: Countless war heroes are buried throughout this cemetery. I mean, even just put a flag on it is just a small honor, and that's one thing that I like to -- that's one thing I'm able to do for them.

MORTON: They trained for combats, who here firing the anti- armor javelin missile, but they are the old guard. They guard of the tomb of the unknowns. It gets flags, too.

This is a new grave. No stone yet, but a flag.

They're the honor guard at funerals here. Aaron Nelson likes the army, but he only seen one funeral before he joined, and the ones here, he says, are not easy duty.

NELSON: You have to see the family. You have to see the wife, the children, you know? Just babies that are left. They don't even know what's going on, you know, and they're left with no father, no mother. I mean, it's sad to see that. It's something you don't want to see, see 8-year-old girls crying. It's just not a sight that should be seen.

MORTON: The work goes on, flag by flag, row by row. The 1,100 men of the old guard will plant more than 280,000 flags this day.

And finally, as the day wanes, the work is done. Aaron Nelson and other men of Charlie Company can head home now. The cemetery, full of memories, full of grief, and pain and honor, rests now, ready for Memorial Day.

Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: CNN "Security Watch" is coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MESERVE, CORRESPONDENT: Some people are dumb-founded that in this post-9/11 world of heightened security, where even a traveling grandmother could be subjected to extra scrutiny, someone like Depres (ph) with his odd demeanor and appearance and cache of weapons crossed this border so easily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A -- one man, this man, crossed the U.S.-Canadian border with a sword, a hatchet, a knife and a chainsaw, and then? The real trouble started. Jeanne Meserve tells that story.

Our legal gurus weigh in on Michael Jackson's week in court and on what happens next.

And could this be the face of the next Indy 500 winner? We'll be right back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH SEMPREVIVO, JOSEPH'S LITE COOKIES: I love what I do and I ask myself, could I do the rest of my life for free? And the answer is, yes.

UM: Joseph Semprevivo's boyhood passion still drives him. He's head of an award-wining, multimillion dollar cookie company. Diagnosed with diabetes at age nine, he was determined to satisfy his sweet tooth and by 12, created the first ever sugar-free ice cream.

Three years later, he released the first-ever sugar-free cookie into the market and founded Joseph's Lite Cookies with his parents. For Semprevivo, knowledge and hard work are the ingredient for success.

SEMPREVIVO: Learn everything about that product and service and you become an expert so people have confidence in you. Make a solid business plan to realize that you're going to have to give up your life for so many years because that's like a marriage. You have to give 100 percent to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: After 9/11, border security is a priority for the U.S. but Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve looks at an incident that's raising questions and concerns at border stations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello (INAUDIBLE)

MESERVE: The place where the St. Croix River slices between Canada and the U.S. has its share of unusual characters, but the man who showed up at the quiet border crossing at Calais, Maine, on April 25th, 22-year-old Gregory Depres, was more than unusual.

Eddie Young was also trying to enter the U.S. that day.

EDDIE YOUNG, CROSSED BORDER: Aw, he was quite the funny-looking person. His eyes were wide opened. His hair was all wet, and the mohawk, and the hair came down in the center of his face.

MESERVE: Even more unusual, what he was carrying. Court records show he had a homemade sword engraved with his name and a swastika; a hatchet; a knife; two homemade brass knuckles; pepper spray; zip cuffs; a flak jacket; and a small chainsaw, spotted with what authorities say appeared to be blood.

YOUNG: America border patrol had the swords out and doing -- you know, swinging them around. The chain saw got picked up and it was going, you know -- they looked things all over. They were, you know, putting the bass knuckles on, stuff like that.

MESERVE: Depres had dual Canadian and American citizenship. A police report says Depres told border officials he was the sergeant in the Marine Corps, had a helicopter waiting for him and worked for the president.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection held him here in Calais, maine, for two hours. They ran his name against criminal databases, talked to law enforcement on both sides of the border. Having found no outstanding warrants and having determined that he was a U.S. citizen, they let him into the country. Customs and Border Protection would not talk on camera, but a spokeswoman tells CNN, "There was nothing that we could hold him for, and being a U.S. citizen we couldn't foce him to go back to Canada or anything like that."

MESERVE: Agents did confiscate his weapons, but just one day after Gregory Despres crossed into the U.S., a horrific discovery at this small house in Minto, New Brunswick: two bodies.

The victims -- Veronica DeCarry, known as Verna, and her common law husband, Fred Fulton, a well-known local musician.

MICHAEL RICHARDSON, FRED FULTON'S NEPHEW: He played everything. He would play everything and he was a big Chet Atkins fan, so he loved his music, and...

MESERVE: Didn't I say -- hear he was called the Chet Atkins...

RICHARDSON: The Chet Atkins of Minto.

MESERVE: Gregory Despres lived in this small shed on the property next door to Fulton's home. It has been dismantled in the weeks since the murders. Denny Petitpas lives down the street.

DANNY PETITPAS, VICTIM'S NEIGHBOR: I knew the young fellow was strange. I mean, he would get mad go into his shed or in his camper and smash things and scream.

MESERVE: For two years, neighbors say, Despres escalated a feud with Fulton over a property line, a drainage ditch, and other issues.

PETITPAS: He wouldn't met you halfway. He just -- if you had a problem with what he was doing, well, you was going to have a bigger problem with what he's going to do next.

MESERVE: After one confrontation, Despres was convicted of assaulting Fulton's grandson with a knife. Just hours before he was to be sentenced, the murders occurred. Sargent Gary Cameron of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

SGT. GARY CAMERON, ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE: And it was very bloody scene, and it was very traumatic.

MESERVE: An RCMP report alleges that Despres kicked down a kitchen door and made his way to the bedroom where he stabbed Verna DeCarry and Fred Fulton several times. Fulton tried to barricade himself in the bathroom, but after a struggle, he was decapitated, his severed head left in a pillowcase next to his body.

PETITPAS: The investigator that was investigating this from Toronto, he said, you guys don't really know how lucky you are, because once he had done what he had done there, he had nothing to lose. He could have cleaned the whole neighborhood.

MESERVE: Instead, authorities alleged Depres took Fulton's car and abandoned it near the U.S. border. Right after the bodies were discovered, the Mounties and FBI put out lookouts for Depres, who they now realized had crossed the border. Depres' Massachusetts driver's license number led to a marina in Mattapoisett, near Cape Cod, where he had once lived in an old cabin cruiser. Suspecting he might come back, Mattapoisett police made up wanted posters. Late on the day the bodies were discovered Officer Andrew Murray was distributing those posters.

OFC. ANDREW MURRAY, MATTAPOISETT, MASS. POLICE: Right around this corner up here, I observed a subject walking, matching the physical description of the subject who we were looking for.

MESERVE: Murray came back to question the young man through the window of his cruiseer.

MURRAY: His poster was face up on the passenger seat. At that time I reached over, flipped them over, so he wouldn't recognize his own picture.

MESERVE: The young man identified himself as Gregory Despres from Canada. Murray pretended he didn't know Despres was wanted and pulled into a parking lot to wait for backup.

MURRAY: We handcuffed him right here. He's laying down, proned out, face down on the ground.

MESERVE: Despres was wearing a flak jacket.

MURRAY: He had light brownish-reddish stains on his flak jacket, which would be consistent with blood, dried blood.

MESERVE: How does he explain that?

MURRAY: He just said it was from skinning deer.

MESERVE: Underneath Despres's clothing, a 10-inch swastika tattoo on his back. Despres told police he was on a secret mission with the Marines and was wanted for murder in Russia, but now he is charged with two counts of murder in Canada. He's not yet represented by counsel there and his family declined comment.

Some people are dumb-founded that in this post-9/11 world of heightened security where even a traveling grandmother could be subjected to extra scrutiny, someone like Despres with his odd demeanor and appearance and cache of weapons crossed this border so easily.

But a former Customs and Border Protection lawyer says the agency had no alternative. No crime had been discovered, and Despres, a U.S. citizen, had a right to enter his country.

STUART SEIDEL, FMR CUSTOMS ATTY.: We still have a country of laws. We still have a constitution, and I think what they did here was appropriate.

MESERVE: Though extradition proceedings are under way, it is unclear how long it will take for Despres to cross back to Canada to face the music.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve.

Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Well, you probably heard about the young Australian woman convicted of drug smuggling in Indonesia, but you did know an appeal could end in the death sentence?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In Indonesia, lawyers for an Australian woman convicted of drug smuggling are plotting legal and political ways to win her freedom. The 20-year jail sentence given to the defendant has sparked outrage in her home country. We get the latest now from Tim Palmer with the Australian broadcasting company.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM PALMER, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING COMPANY: Schapelle Corby's appeal would be in the hope of her going home or at least receiving a reduced sentence. After her lawyers concede there is the risk things could go the other way, with the appeals court having in the past increased the sentence in a drug's case to the death penalty.

VASU RASIAH, LAWYER'S SPOKESMAN: It's possible, but we are confident that in a normal court we could get it lessened.

PALMER: Today the prosecution was putting the finishing touches to its appeal for a tougher sentence and issued the same warning.

IDA BAGUS WISANTANU, LEAD PROSECUTOR (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): That's a possibility, if, in considering the evidence, judge seen no reason to be lenient, it could come to the death sentence.

PALMER: From the defense side, they say they'll accept government help, but insist they knew nothing about any offer from the government last March to provide barristers (ph) then to advise on the case.

UM: But on appeal today, no (INAUDIBLE) has called us, contacted us. Unitl today, not at all.

PALMER: But according to one of the first QCs on offer again on for the appeal process, the Corby defense team were phoned twice in March but never called back.

RASIAH: Nothing. No reply. Never replied. Which was is their prerogative but it was strange given that they had seemed to be enthusiastic about accepting that assistance in the first place.

PALMER: Indonesian law experts John Ingleson believes arguing the appeal for Schapelle Corby will require more substance than put in the trial just ended.

JOHN INGELSON, UNIVERSITY OF N.S.W.: All right, you would have to say as an outsider -- we're all outsiders -- that the defense case does not appear to be all that strong.

PALMER: A point conceded by one of the QCs now offered to the defense who repeated the same problems about the supposedly key witness, Victorian (ph) prisoner John Ford, that were raised by Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty.

MICK KEELTY, FED. POLICE COMMISSIONER: Well, it's obviously he had problems with that evidence.

PALMER: The QCs will be starting from the basics, saying they know little about the first trial beyond media reports.

Meanwhile, the Corby family has asked Australians to boycott Quantas, which is part a tourism protest against Indonesia and even some of those already in Bali are in the mood to respond.

UM: I'll boycott it. I wouldn't come again. (INAUDIBLE)

PALMER: Even the weakest of Indonesians, it seems, are to pay for the perceived miscarriage of justice. The Red Cross, World Vision, and other charities now say they're receiving numerous calls from donors who now want to get back the money they'd offered to assist Indonesian advantages in the Aceh tsunami. The Australian government's fears that the Corby case could spill out of court to affect the way the country's people think of each other may yet be realized.

Tim Palmer, ABC News, Den Passar (ph).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, Indonesia is one of Bill Clinton's stops as he visits tsunami-devastated areas in south Asia. The former president is the United Nations special envoy for tsunami recovery. Right now, he's in Sri Lanka where he's pressing the government and rebel forces to cooperate in distributing aid to tsunami victims. A U.N. official says Clinton, however, today canceled a stop in the Maldives due to exhaustion.

Michael Jackson's trial wrapped this week here in the States. Our legal team assesses the case so far. For instance, did celebrities in the courtroom help or hurt his case?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here's what's making news right now. It appears a Japanese hostage kidnapped in Iraq earlier this month has been killed by his captors. Both Iraqi and Japanese authorities believe indeed he has been killed. An Islamic Web site has posted a video showing the man before and after his death.

Thousand of bikers are in Washington, D.C. this memorial day. Their Rolling Thunder tribute at Tombs of the Unknown is to remember fallen soldiers at the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial as well. The veteran's advocacy group has been holding its annual POW/MIA demonstration since 1998.

And this year's West Point Military Academy graduates will find their careers defined by the terrorist events of 2001. General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, told the new lieutenants, they arrived in peace and leave in war. Nearly 70 percent are expected to see combat in Iraq or Afghanistan.

And hundreds of thousands of Armenians spent part of this day holding hands and dancing around the country's highest mountains. It's a celebration of unity, the nation's founding, and other historic events.

The end is near in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial with closing arguments set for later next week.

CNN's Ted Rowlands has the latest from Santa Maria, California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The jury in the Michael Jackson case has heard all of the evidence that they are going to hear in this case.

And the last bit of evidence that they were exposed to was a videotape interview of the accuser detailing what he claims Michael Jackson did to him to police early on. The videotape, which was an hour in length, showed the accuser being interviewed by police detectives. He detailed at least two acts of molestation at the hands of Michael Jackson.

It was expected that the defense would put on what is called a sur-rebuttal, basically, an answer to the tape. But in somewhat dramatic fashion, they had a conference, turned to the judge and said, "Your Honor, we rest."

From here, the jury will have a four day weekend. Then they are expected to hear closing arguments next Wednesday, possibly Thursday. It's safe to say they will have this case at some point next week.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Santa Maria, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that gets us to our legal roundup with our own legal eagles, Avery Friedman and Richard Herman.

Good to see you both of this holiday weekend.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Nice to see you. Nice to see you, Fredricka.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good afternoon. WHITFIELD: All right. Avery, let me begin with you. The prosecution played a police tape, an interview of the accuser in court. The defense could have perhaps even called the accuser to cross-examine. They chose not to. Any surprise there?

FRIEDMAN: Yes, big surprise. I don't know what the thinking of the defense was here. This was an hour testimony by the victim directly to the jury. When the lights went on, the jury was hushed. I just don't understand the thinking of the defense of putting on at least one witness to try to rebut some of the power, the compulsion of that video. I think a serious, serious error on the part of Tom Mesereau.

WHITFIELD: Richard, you agree with that? They should have indeed called the accuser back.

HERMAN: Absolutely not. Would have been the worst thing in the world to call that accuser back. The position of the defense was that the testimony and the actions of the accuser were scripted. Based on that video, Mesereau looked at the jury and said, I'm not even going to give it the time of day and that's what he will argue in his summation. It was a very powerful move in the defense and I really disagree with Avery on this. It was a great strategy by the defense.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, lets talk about that summation then, possibly coming up next week, unless anything else strange were to occur beforehand.

Well, Richard, how do you see the prosecution -- I mean, what are going to be their closing points as well as the defense?

HERMAN: Well, look, the prosecution's case was hey, look, Michael Jackson did it before. He did it in '92. He did it with other -- other people. And you know, he's so weird and so crazy, he absolutely did it here again and you've got to convict him on this. The defense's position is that obviously the mother scripted everything. She prepared this family in the J.C. Penney case for money. She's a liar. She's committed fraud before and she's done it again, folks. Don't buy it!

WHITFIELD: Avery, how do you see it unfolding next week?

FRIEDMAN: I see it a little bit differently. I think the prosecution used 10 weeks of piling up evidence and the focus will be on an issue that may be an appeal if there is a conviction, and that was the similar acts. We saw a lot of other testimony of people who were purportedly molested. So there's going to be a focus in on that. If I'm defending the case, obviously, I want to deal with the inconsistencies. But, again, the problem now is the jury now has four days of pondering that very, very powerful video, Fredricka. And I'm not sure how they get around that. Accept when it comes down to Tom Sneddon vs. Tom Mesereau, this is going to be a very exciting week of closing arguments.

WHITFIELD: So might over this long weekend they also be pondering these -- the star-studded witnesses? Jay Leno, who came in. Macaulay Culkin. Whether these witnesses in any way really helped the defense just by sheer value of the star power.

FRIEDMAN: Star power. Well, I think -- I think the reality is that's all we saw was star power. Jay Leno was very amusing, but had very little to add. Chris Tucker was a little bit more compelling, but it was just star power, nothing more than that.

WHITFIELD: All right, Richard, go ahead.

HERMAN: Yes, Avery, happens to be right on that. They didn't deliver the bombshell the defense wanted, but they were defense witnesses. They had the jury laughing and that's always good for the defense. Look, Fred, next week, will absolutely be off the wall and a thriller. And I think what's going to happen to Michael, the conspiracy's going to be acquitted probably on the drinking the alcohol he'll be acquitted. On the four counts of the molestation, I think he'll get convicted on two of the counts.

WHITFIELD: Wow, Richard -- I mean, Avery, you see this very differently? You're seeing a conviction not acquittals?

FRIEDMAN: To early to predict. I think if we're going to be responsible as legal analysts and I'm surprised that Richard did that, let's wait till next week. Both of us are going to come up with the decision of what we think's going to happen. Let's hear those closing arguments. Lets see how good Sneddon.

WHITFIELD: But is it closing arguments that really do influence the jurors? Haven't they already made up their mind based on the witnesses, the evidence or the lack thereof?

FRIEDMAN: No. The closing arguments I think will compel the jury to put the little pieces together. That's where the power is. Opening statement/closing argument, very critical parts of this case.

WHITFIELD: So, Richard, are you, at least, in agreement that perhaps the jurors need the closing statements in order to help put these piece together? That it's just both sides have just been scattered all over the place?

HERMAN: Fred, there are statistics that say once the openings take place, the jurors have taken the blind-up and taking their position and are looking for validation during the trial. I think here, as a very conservative jury pool, I think if Michael gets convicted on two counts, the best he can hope for here. I think all of the rest is acquittal. I think the prosecution case was horrible.

WHITFIELD: Now, there are some cases where analysts would say it's a mistake for the defendant not to take the stand. It didn't happen in this case. No one really thought Michael Jackson would take the stand. So, Richard, do you think it kind of ends up shooting the defense in the foot by him never take the stand to at least dispute the prosecution's allegations.

HERMAN: Absolutely not, Fred. Tom Mesereau is do good of an opportunity. Michael Jackson was a wild card up on that stand. I mean, it could have taken him up, down, around on cross examination. I don't think he would have held up. I don't think he would have been a sympathetic witness. He's just too strange. It's too conservative, the jurisdiction. Mesereau absolutely, 1,000 percent did the right thing by not putting Michael Jackson on the stand. Reasonable doubt will be charged to this jury and will be argued strenuously in the summation.

WHITFIELD: So, Avery, how do you see it? And do you think that jurors will in any way hold it against Michael Jackson, that he was late a couple of times. He had a couple of strange moments. Appearing in his pajamas, at least, one point of those times? Does that leave an indelible impression to for jurors -- when it comes down to the molestation charges.

FRIEDMAN: Yes. The jurors have been instructed by the judge not to consider that, but you know what Fredricka, you could resurrect Clarence Darrell (ph) from the dead. And the fact is, that Michael Jackson is Michael Jackson. Tom Mesereau was correct. Richard was correct. You're not going put a guy like that on the stand. And you know what, we've seen enough of him in videotapes. So the jury has what it really needs to deliver. Again, I think it's important to wait until next week before we make those predictions.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, we'll be talking about it again. I assure you guys. Avery Friedman, Richard Herman.

HERMAN: You think next Saturday?

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes.

HERMAN: You think next Saturday we'll be talking about this case?

WHITFIELD: I do think we're going to be talking about it. What do you think?

All right, thanks so much, guys. Good to so you this holiday weekend.

HERMAN: Take care, have a great weekend.

WHITFIELD: All right, you too.

Well, we are heading into the wild blue yonder when CNN SATURDAY continues. Our guides are the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. They're flying high in the "Novak Zone." Bob Novak talks with the commander of the Precision Flying Team coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, he's known as "The Boss" and Lieutenant Colonel Michael Chandler is the top man in charge of the military's elite flight demonstration teams. Colonel Chandler joins CNN's Robert Novak in this week's edition of "The Novak Zone."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ROBERT NOVAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to The Novak Zone." We're at Hangar Number 6, Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland with the U.S. Air Force Demonstrates Squadron, the Thunderbirds. Talking to the commander, leader of -- the "Boss" of the Thunderbirds, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Chandler.

Colonel Chandler, what is the mission of the Thunderbirds?

LT. COL. MICHAEL CHANDLER, USAF THUNDERBIRDS: Well, sir, it's just really to go out and represent the men and women of the United States Air Force. So we have over 690,000 people right now in the active duty air national guard air force reserves out there serving our country. And it's our job to go out and show the American public truly what their -- what their machinery can do and what the men and women can do for their country.

NOVAK: How long has -- has the average pilot in the Thunderbirds been in service? Are they former combats pilots?

CHANDLER: Absolutely. We -- wide range. Generally, each our aviators has 1,000 -- at least 1,000 hours of fighter trainer time. A lot of folks, a lot of the officers have served in combat. So, a good experience level in our -- on our team.

NOVAK: Colonel Chandler, you're the -- you fly the number one jet in the Thunderbirds and you're in command both on the ground and in the air. What does that entail for you?

CHANDLER: Well, in the air I'm the leader of the demonstration. We have six airplanes flying, so I'll lead the diamond formation, which is the four airplanes when we're flying around together and leading them through all the maneuvers. And then at the end of the show, we will join up as a six ship, which we call our delta formation, and be leader of that portion of the demonstration also. On the ground I'm the commander in charge of 130 people in our squadron. So, all the details and the things associated with command in a normal air force squadron, I do the same thing.

NOVAK: Lieutenant Colonel Mike Chandler, you graduated from the Air Force Academy 1986 and your first assignment was a graduate assistant with the Academy football team.

CHANDLER: It was.

NOVAK: Did you think then that you'd end up as commander of the Thunderbirds.

CHANDLER: I did. I had my wildest dreams. I actually came in the air force having watched the Thunderbirds preform at a air show, just like many other people that have joined the air force. And hoping one day that I could fly airplanes. And then I never thought it'd come true. I had this dream come true that I'd be one, flying with team, and then two, to be the commander of the team. It's pretty awesome.

NOVAK: You fly F-16Cs in this show. How does that compare with the combat aircraft that are flown in Iraq?

CHANDLER: It's the same airplane that's flying over in Iraq right now, doing great things for our country and a lot of our allies are flying the same airplane. We make a couple of modifications to the jet. We take out the gun and we put in a smoke system, so when we're flying these beautiful formations out there in the air show, people can see the smoke trailing out in behind. But other than that, maybe a few other avionic pieces.

NOVAK: You travel -- the Thunderbirds travel all over the country, all over the world. What's the experience like? Is that pretty much a grind or is it exciting?

CHANDLER: It's very exciting. You know, it's -- what I try to tell everybody when we start out the season, it's a marathon. Definitely. Right now, we're on show number 20 and were going to do 72 shows this year at 35 different sites to include some shows out of the country. But every weekend we go to someplace different. And just to go out there and meet all the different people that are around the country. And just to be able go in through a certain place this weakened in Washington, D.C., and have all of the people come out, wave that red, white and blue flag and to cheer us on. It's great experience. And it's a different location every time. So it never gets old by any means.

NOVAK: Where have you flown out of country.

CHANDLER: Last year, we took a tour over to the Pacific. We performed in Guam, Japan, and Korea. And this year, we're going to go down to Central America. We'll preform in Guatemala, El Salvador and then back into Mexico before we finish up our traveling season with the show in Texas.

NOVAK: That's fabulous. In the last 10 years, there's been a great number of female pilots in the U.S. Air Force, but you have none in the Thunderbirds. Do you think they'll ever been any female Thunderbirds?

CHANDLER: Absolutely. We have -- we have a finalist in the Thunderbirds this year for one of our demo positions. And we have not made that selection yet. But if not this year, then in the very near future because the women out there doing some great things for us in the air force. And I expect them to be part of our team here shortly.

NOVAK: And now the big question for Lieutenant Colonel Mike Chandler, the boss of the Thunderbirds. Colonel Chandler, couple of years ago on "The Novak Zone" we interviewed Russ (ph), the head of the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy counterpart of the Thunderbirds. And he says naval aviators as they call them, have to land on carriers, says they are much more skillful pilots than we have in the air force. And in the spirit of inner-service rivalry, do you have a response to that.

CHANDLER: I just say that, you know, us air force aviators will put our -- we'll put our -- we'll go up and put our skills on the line any day as being the best of the best. I think we're important to have two great demo teams that go out and represent their service to the best of their ability. And you know, we're honored to represent our air force just like they are to represent the navy. And also just to serve right alongside with them.

NOVAK: Mike Chandler, congratulations and thank you. And thank you for being in "The Novak Zone."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: If only Bobby took flight with those guys. Well, you can see more of Bob Novak tonight at 7:00 p.m. on the "CAPITAL GANG." The gang's guest tonight is Congressman Charlie Rangel of New York.

Well, about this time tomorrow, the starter will say "Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines." And Danica Patrick is the lady that he will be addressing. She's already proven that she can go faster than the boys at Indy, most of them at least. Well, the question now, can she win tomorrow's big race?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, some folks around the country are looking at a wet holiday weekend. Meteorologist Rob Marciano takes a look at weekend conditions.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot, Rob.

Let's check the stories making news across America this weekend. And we'll admit, they're a bit on the strange side.

A white Shiatszu (ph) ended up on the rocks in Oregon. The pooch's family drove off, not meaning to leave little Tinky Winky behind. Well, someone tried to help, but frightened Tinky Winky literally went over the edge. And then firefighters came in and they were able to pull him to safety. Right there. We'll see it right there, that rescue.

Well, a Boston-area man is 39 years late, but hey, who's counting? Rob Forester (ph) took his wife to the Waynelet (ph) High School prom last night. He dropped out of high school back in 1966 and went to fight in Vietnam. Well, now, finally, he has his high school diploma, and the prom experience.

And Robert Rochester is a doubly luck man. He holds the winning lottery tickets in the New York Lottery. Yes, tickets, plural. Rochester forgot he bought the first and then purchased a second set of numbers. Well, guess what, both tickets hit the jackpot. Earning him $12 million.

Well, get revved up. The Indianapolis 500 is tomorrow. And Danica Patrick is trying to become the first woman to out drive the men.

CNN's Aaron Brown takes a look at this rising star. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Danica Patrick gets noticed for all the right reasons.

STEVE BALLARD, INDIANAPOLIS STAR: Since she got here to the Speedway and began practicing in preparation for the Indianapolis 500, she's obviously created a tremendous amount of buzz with what she's been able to accomplish. And just right from the first day on the track, right up through the last day of practice, she's just been absolutely flawless.

BROWN: A go-kart racer at 12, off to race real cars in Europe at 16, to Indy on Monday at 23. A member of the Rahal/Letterman team. A young woman in a he-man's world.

BALLARD: I remember when it was announced that Bobby Rahal had hired her, and that she would be running the full season this year, including the Indianapolis 500, and the story I wrote that day that ran in "The Indianapolis Star" the next morning, I was loaded up with e-mails and phone calls of people complaining that it was just another gimmick by a racing series that's desperate for attention.

BROWN: So far, she's proved to be the real deal. Maybe not quite ready to win, but certainly ready to compete.

SCOTT SHARP, DRIVER: She's the real deal. She's fast, she's in great equipment. So it's someone you really have to watch.

SAM HORNISH, JR., DRIVER: Of the female drivers I've raced against, she's probably the best driver. And she's the best-looking. So you have -- that's a good combination to have.

BROWN: Yes, she's pretty, but don't hold that against her. And she is a wisp of a thing, just 5'2", barely 100 pounds.

TONY KANAAN, DRIVER: When she has her helmet on, I can't tell if she's a guy or a girl. So to me, she's just one more competitor.

BROWN: In an event that has been buffeted by racing politics in recent years and seems to have lost a bit of its luster, it is another reason -- and not a bad one -- to watch.

BALLARD: It does bring more national attention to this race. And the good thing is that it's bringing it for the right reasons. It's not bringing it because there's some novelty act here this year, but it's bringing the attention because there's a young woman out here who is proving to be as good as anybody else in this race. And with a very legitimate chance to contend for the win.

BROWN: Aaron Brown, CNN, New York

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Go, Danica! We'll be watching.

Still much more on CNN SATURDAY.

At the top of the hour, "CNN PRESENTS: AUTISM IS A WORLD." Autism through the eyes of a young women that lives it.

At 4:00 Eastern, "CNN LIVE SATURDAY" continues.

And at 5:00 Eastern, "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS." Today a profile of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the insurgent leader in Iraq.

We'll have the headlines straight ahead.

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