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Autopsy Conducted on Anna Nicole Smith; Several Feet of Snow, Bone-Chilling Temperatures in Western New York; Pelosi Plane Politics

Aired February 09, 2007 - 10:59   ET

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


TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed.
I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming in to the NEWSROOM on this Friday, February 9th.

Here's what's on the rundown.

The sudden death of model-actress Anna Nicole Smith -- an autopsy taking place right now. News conferences from the police and coroner coming up today.

HARRIS: A New Orleans teen shot dead on this street corner after a fistfight. A mother accused of giving the alleged shooter, her son, a gun, telling him, get revenge.

COLLINS: The plane, Pelosi and partisan politics. Should the speaker fly home on a big jet or a small one? Nonstop debate in the NEWSROOM.

An autopsy conducted right now on the body of Anna Nicole Smith, one day after her sudden death in Florida.

Let's get right to CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti at the Broward County medical examiner's office -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Heidi, new information we started reporting to you within the last hour, and that is this, more news on what was found inside Anna Nicole Smith's hotel room at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. CNN has confirmed with law enforcement sources that multiple prescription drugs were found in the room.

What does this mean? We don't know yet. That is the job of the Broward County medical examiner, where an autopsy of Ms. Smith is currently under way.

Naturally, they'll be trying to find out whether she died of natural causes or whether any prescription drugs, legal or otherwise, were found in her bloodstream. If in fact they find any, a full toxicology report and study naturally would be in order. And it could take some time to get the full results.

We are expecting the medical examiner to hold a news conference later today to share with us what he can of the autopsy -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Susan Candiotti outside the medical examiner's office in Broward County, Florida.

Susan, thanks so much.

HARRIS: "Entertainment Tonight" host Mark Steines has followed Smith's roller-coaster career, including the most recent dispute over the father of her young daughter. Mark goes over the last few days of her life. He also reveals she attempted suicide after the death of her son Daniel.

Smith's attorney and partner, Howard K. Stern, found her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK STEINES, "ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT": We have found out that after the death of Daniel, at some point Anna did jump in her pool, attempt suicide at that point, and was found by Howard face down in the pool. Howard screamed for help. Her bodyguard Mo (ph) came out, who is a paramedic, and took her from the pool, administered CPR, and saved her life at that point.

So I don't know if that led up to this, where she just didn't feel like she could conquer all of the DNA stuff that's going on in her life, the accusations of Howard K. Stern murdering her son Daniel, and a TrimSpa lawsuit that is pending as well, and J. Howard Marshall. I mean, there was so much going on, and I don't know if that was just too much for her.

She never indicated that to me. I mean, that certainly could be -- it's a great observation.

She was depressed quite often. In fact, after the interview last week, in our conversations with Howard, he told us she never really, really recovered from the final part of that interview where she was talking about Daniel.

She did have a fever. I can tell you, the last few days of her life, when she came here, she had a fever when they got here. Before they came, Howard was actually suffering from the -- from the flu.

When they got into the hotel room behind me, there was a point where Anna's fever had reached 105 degrees, at which time they put her in an ice bath. This was when her private nurse was with her, Howard was there in the room, to get her temperature back down.

Her temperature went back down, they got her out of the ice bath, she was OK. The next day, which would have been Wednesday, Anna was in the bathroom, she slipped, she fell. They heard something.

They went to her and she was in her tub with no water, nothing else. And they had asked her if she had fallen, and she seemed a little bit out of it. But they checked her for any bruising or contusions or swelling and there was nothing. She got out of the tub, she had a nice meal. Everything was fine. Then she went to bed. And that led to yesterday, when after taking a nap, I believe, she never came to and never woke up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So now let the paternity battle begin. Two men both claiming to be the father of Anna Nicole Smith's infant daughter.

Today, in Los Angeles, the attorney for one of the men plans to file an emergency order seeking DNA samples. Man.

CNN Entertainment Correspondent Brooke Anderson joins us live from Los Angeles with more on all of this.

Brooke, good morning to you. What can you tell us?

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony.

Yes, the paternity battle over who is the father of this 5-month-old daughter has been raging for the past few months. Larry Birkhead, former boyfriend of Anna Nicole, says he's the father, insists he's the father, and filed a paternity lawsuit.

On the other hand, Howard K. Stern, long-time lawyer and partner, says he's the father. In fact, Howard K. Stern's name is on the birth certificate for the baby in the Bahamas.

Now, I'm here at the L.A. Superior Court in downtown L.A., where it's a media circus. A court hearing is scheduled to begin in about 30 minutes.

Now, that is in response to an emergency order filed by Debra Opri, attorney for Larry Birkhead, to expedite DNA testing on Anna Nicole's body. Opri said that doctors have informed her and Birkhead that DNA testing needs to be done within the first 48 hours of Anna Nicole's death to preserve the evidence.

Now, this is in stark contrast to what attorney Ron Rale, attorney for Anna Nicole Smith, told me this morning. I spoke to him on the phone and he said that there's no rush here. He's spoken to experts, and those experts have told him, there's no rush, that Anna Nicole's DNA is not even necessary to determine the paternity, which I've also been told that by other sources as well. But that DNA may be needed later on down the line in a custody case.

Ron Rale also told me that it's despicable -- he thinks it's despicable that Opri is doing this, that it's making him crazy, that it's less than 24 hours after Anna Nicole Smith's death that they are coming here for a court hearing in this whole paternity battle. Larry Birkhead, we're told he's not going to be here this morning, that he's home, he's devastated.

Debra Opri told me yesterday that he's inconsolable, that he loved Anna Nicole Smith very, very much, and that their first priority now is the baby. And she told me the baby is in the Bahamas at this point -- Tony.

HARRIS: Oh, OK. So a little clarity on that point.

Brooke Anderson for us this morning.

Brooke, appreciate it. Thank you.

COLLINS: Snow, high winds, and bone-chilling temperatures the miserable winter reality in western New York. CNN's Chad Myers will have a complete forecast and weather for the rest of the country. But first, we want to go live to Rob Marciano. He is braving the elements for a second day in a row in very hard-hit Oswego, New York.

Some of it funny, some of it really not funny at all, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, the fact that it's pretty windy and it's pretty cold, that is making life fairly miserable here in upstate New York. The good news is that the snowfall has -- is not nearly as intense as it has been the past couple days.

Just some flurries right now. As a matter of fact, the sun is trying to break through.

We're on the frozen shores here of Lake Ontario. Inland, where they're trying to battle all this snow, as you can imagine, just trying to keep the roads open, the towns open, for that matter, that's an ongoing battle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This lever here is the front plow.

MARCIANO (voice over): For Dave Barnett (ph), the job of keeping roads open in Oswego County is endless. With snow falling at a rate of up to five inches per hour, visibility can drop quickly.

(on camera): It looks pretty heavy. You see a big sheet of White out there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Slow down. As soon as you see a whiteout, the first thing you do is slow down. Move it into the curb (ph) a little bit and you can feel your wing there so you know where you are, basically.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice over): Cleared roads can also mean buried cars, clogged sidewalks, and stranded residents. And when there's nowhere else to push the snow, it gets hauled and dumped here, an old reservoir, where it will sit to spring.

SCOTT STEIGER, METEOROLOGIST PROFESSOR: They've been plowing since Friday, last Friday.

MARCIANO: Dr. Scott Steiger teaches meteorology at Oswego State.

STEIGER: Hey, Jason. So what's going on right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you can see there's more northwesterly winds.

MARCIANO: With labs and instruments right on Lake Ontario, he and his students know lake-effect snow, and they're trying to figure out who's getting it and how much.

STEIGER: Well, it's very difficult to forecast exactly where it's going to hit. These bands are only five to 10 miles wide.

MARCIANO: They're also trying to determine how much longer this area will have to deal with this marathon-like event.

STEIGER: It's definitely not over yet. And then as we go into Saturday, the winds are going to realign out of the west in the same area. Northern-central and northern Oswego County could see another two to three feet on top of the 70 inches they already have -- 78 inches they already have.

MARCIANO (on camera): An historic event?

STEIGER: Historic event, I would say, for sure.

MARCIANO (voice over): And this arctic blast has made southern shores of Lake Ontario look more like the South Pole. Waves freeze as huge mounds of ice and white caps break in the distance against darkening clouds, as the next band of lake-effect snow rolls in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: Well, if you haven't been to the Great Lakes, you can't really appreciate the size of these lakes. They're called "great" for a reason. They're more like mini oceans, and they act as such.

We're standing on the first 10 feet of the shoreline. Don't want to go much further, not sure how thick the ice actually is. But waves have been crashing in for the past couple of weeks with bitter cold temperatures.

Mounds of snow and ice have built up here on the shoreline, and you look off in the distance, you can see actually broken pieces of ice kind of rolling in with the surf. And there's actually water behind it. You see white caps, you see swells, 10, 12, 15 feet, acting more like an angry Atlantic Ocean.

We do have winds gusting at times, 30, 40 miles an hour. Wind-chills are very low, but right now winds aren't quite set up, Heidi, for a tremendous amount of lake-effect snow today. But lake-effect snow warnings remain in effect until Monday morning because winds may very well switch tonight and tomorrow and crank thinks up again to add on top of what is already five feet here and seven feet in the eastern parts of this county -- Heidi.

COLLINS: I think you're going to be sticking around for the weekend, Rob. Thanks so much.

A live report from -- Rob Marciano, live from Oswego, New York.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM, chaos erupting today on the streets of Old Jerusalem. Clashes at a holy site coming up in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Central England and the heart of a terror case. A tale of kidnapping and beheading. This morning it unfolds in court.

We'll take you there, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Taking aim at the House speaker. Republicans try to ground Nancy Pelosi's reported travel plans.

That story ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Faith and fury collide. New violence erupts in Jerusalem's Old City. It's a holy site revered by both Jews and Muslims.

Earlier today, Israeli police stormed the site as Muslim worshippers finished their noon prayers. The latest flash point sparked by Israel's repair work at the site.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IBRAHIM SARSOUR, ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN ISRAEL: Five days have passed since the Israeli government began its excavations in (INAUDIBLE). We do believe that what the Israelis are committing is simply a crime against the humanity, against this holy city, not only for Muslims -- for Christians and for Jews. The international community must impose more sincere and constructive pressure on the Israeli government to stop these excavations, to stop this crime, because this crime will not contribute anything to the international and regional stability, peace and security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Israeli officials say they're only replacing a damaged ramp and have even established a Web cam so concerned Muslims can oversee the work. They say extremists are using the renovation as a pretext to stoke anger. The standoff was diffused by an Israeli-Arab lawmaker who helped broker a deal. At last report, 15 Israeli police officers were injured, along with some 15 Palestinians.

COLLINS: New developments to report in the British terror case. Police have now charged five men in a terror case that drew international attention last week.

At the center of it, you may remember an alleged plot to kidnap and behead a British Muslim soldier. One man is charged with hatching that plot. The other four face different terror-related charges. All five are due in a British courtroom this morning.

CNN "Security Watch" keeps you up to date on safety. Stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security. HARRIS: The plane debate, have you been following this? It is nonstop talk on Capitol Hill. House Republicans criticizing Speaker Pelosi over her ride home to California.

CNN's Andrea Koppel has a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On the floor of the House, Republicans pounced.

REP. ERIC CANTOR (R), CHIEF DEPUTY WHIP: A request was made by the office of the speaker for a plane that, according to the Air Force, has a game room, a state room, entertainment center, bedroom, shower, and seats 42 to 50 people.

KOPPEL: For hours Republicans accused the speaker of arrogance and hypocrisy.

REP. PATRICK MCHENRY (R), NORTH CAROLINA: It's about the Democrats' abuse of power since they've taken office just a short month ago.

KOPPEL: Pelosi fired back.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: I have never asked for any larger plane. I have said I'm happy to ride commercial, and if the plane they have doesn't go coast to coast, I'm happy to ride commercial.

KOPPEL: But Pelosi is insisting she fly nonstop. And in a statement, the top House law enforcement officer said he recommended it due to the post-9/11 threat environment. Even the White House seemed to come to her defense.

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It is important for the speaker to have this kind of protection in travel. It was certainly appropriate for Speaker Hastert.

KOPPEL: But in a letter to Pelosi on Wednesday, the Pentagon indicated the offer wasn't open-ended. "While every effort will always be made to provide nonstop shuttle support, such support is subject to aircraft type and availability and therefore may not always be guaranteed."

An Air Force spokesman told CNN Pelosi would likely travel on the small Gulf Stream jets owned by the military.

(on camera): Now one of her top lieutenants, Pennsylvania Congressman Jack Murtha, has told CNN since Republicans have raised the subject, he's planning on holding hearings this spring, not just on congressional travel, but on travel on military aircraft by administration officials as well.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: A life lived in the tabloids. Now the shocking death of Anna Nicole Smith. Questions today about custody of her 5-month-old baby coming up in the NEWSROOM.

And police stunned. They say a mother gave her son a gun to kill another boy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does any police department make up for huge deficiencies in parenting?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: A mother's advice, a chilling crime. That story, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: In New Orleans, police are searching for a 17-year-old boy accused of killing a rival. But there's more. His mom allegedly told the boy to go out and get even after losing a fistfight.

Jill Hezeau of CNN affiliate WWL has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL HEZEAU, REPORTER, WWL (voice over): At first he walked away, but this intersection of Simon Bolivar and Clio streets later turned into a murder scene after police say 17-year-old Clarence Johnson's mother told him to get revenge.

SGT. JOE NARCISSE, NEW ORLEANS POLICE: Ms. Johnson, after hearing the details of the story, provided her son, the 17-year-old, with a handgun and instructed him to go back, find the victim, along with any of the bystanders, and kill them all.

HEZEAU: According to police, Johnson obeyed one of his mother's commands and shot the 17-year-old he had previously had a fight with in the stomach. The victim later died at Elmwood Medical Center. No one else was hurt.

Police have since arrested 44-year-old Vanessa Johnson and charged her with principal to second-degree murder.

NARCISSE: While arresting her we found an amount of cocaine there inside the house, along with pictures of her son Clarence posing with money and a handgun in his hand. So this kind of also speaks to the home environment and, perhaps, his mindset.

HEZEAU: A mindset police say is hard to combat.

NARCISSE: How does any police department make up for huge deficiencies in parenting? How does a police department do that? Well, we struggle with that question every day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: OK. Tomorrow morning's lineup here in the NEWSROOM.

Get this, Barack Obama, Joe Pesci and the Beatles.

Betty and T.J. here now with a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: He is one of the most popular Democratic hopefuls for 2008.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, maybe you heard about this guy, Barack Obama. Well, Senator Obama, now, he's scheduled a major campaign announcement for tomorrow morning, and CNN with the best political team on TV, will bring you live coverage when that happens.

NGUYEN: Also, should married couples, get this, be required to have children or face annulment? A group wants to make that a law in Washington State. And so find out why and what it has to do with same-sex marriage.

HOLMES: Plus, what happens when you have Joe Pesci and the Beatles?

(MUSIC)

HOLMES: Well, it just puts you in the mood. We're going to run down...

NGUYEN: Or out of it.

HOLMES: ... run down the worst love songs of all time for Valentine's Day.

NGUYEN: And that one is up there, believe you, me.

All that, plus live reports from around the world. That begins tomorrow at 7:00 Eastern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The death of Anna Nicole Smith raising legal questions. Who is her baby's father? And what about her late husband's oil future (sic)? Fortune, that is. Our legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin tries to untangle these real-life soap opera questions, coming up live in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Autism in America. The biggest study yet shows the disorder is affecting more kids. We will break down the numbers for you in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Winter wonderland. Not if you're in it, though. Parts of New York shoveling and shivering, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And also ahead in the NEWSROOM, take a look at this -- the boy who nearly became a snake snack. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Tony Harris and Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.

Anna Nicole Smith, well, she certainly led a high profile and sometimes troubled life. Preliminary results from an autopsy could be released later. That autopsy being done as we speak at the Broward County, Florida medical examiner's office. "Entertainment Tonight" host Mark Steines says Smith was still having nightmares about the death of her 20-year-old son last fall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK STEINES, ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT: After the interview, we talked about Daniel -- at the end of the interview, we talked about Daniel and she talked about the emotional toll is took on her life. How she still has nightmares of him -- of him trying to find his way in the afterlife, trying to find someone that he could connect to, perhaps J. Howard Marshall. And she was really concerned about him. And I felt the drifting away from Dannielynn. She didn't seem to be the attentive mother that she used to be back in October when I saw her. She didn't seem to know at times where Dannielynn was, where in October she knew exactly where she was and would hear her cries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: She leaves a mountain of legal issues behind. The most important one, the fate of her baby daughter. I talked about it earlier with CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: The first thing that needs to be done, obviously, is someone has to care for this child. This is a 4-month-old baby or 5-months-old. And the question is, who is her legal guardian? That leads to the question of who is her father.

That's what the first hearing this morning is aimed at resolving. There are two people who claim to be the father. There's Howard K. Stern, who also claims to be the husband of Anna Nicole Smith, although that's not entirely -- we don't know for sure if that's true.

And Larry Birkhead, who was her boyfriend for a while, who has been asking, even before Anna Nicole Smith died for DNA tests. Curiously, Anna and her supposed husband have been reluctant to do that. But that is the one question here, who is the father that will likely be resolved with some certainly pretty soon.

COLLINS: And obviously someone is taking care of that small child right now. Just not sure of those details. Probably none of our business at this point.

But the next thing to talk about is her deceased husband, Howard Marshall's estate. I mean, just a phenomenally huge estate, a huge sum of money. Where does that stand? We saw so much publicity about this case and whether or not she was going to get the money that he left.

TOOBIN: Right. You know, that lawsuit has been going on for 12 years already. So there's a long way -- that has been a legal nightmare. And everybody has called Anna Nicole Smith a fortune hunter. She's never gotten a dime out of that lawsuit yet. As many people know, there was that case went all the way to the Supreme Court.

COLLINS: Right.

TOOBIN: Last year. And Anna Nicole Smith won that round. But that didn't resolve the case for all time. And it's still on appeal in the 9th circuit court of appeals in California.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: And quickly, just want to update you there when we did that interview, we were not aware of the whereabouts of the baby daughter of Anna Nicole Smith.

We do know now, though, according to our reports here and from our correspondent Susan Candiotti, that apparently that baby is being taken care of by the wife of the minister of immigration in the Bahamas. They are apparently friends of Anna Nicole Smith.

So we'll continue to follow that as well as this news conference that will be coming up shortly in Broward County, Florida, where the autopsy on Anna Nicole Smith is being performed right now.

We expect medical examiners to be coming to the microphone shortly to give information about their findings in that autopsy. We'll have live coverage for you when it happens.

HARRIS: Western New York, a study in white. The result of the massive snowstorm that's left the region under several feet of snow. Man, look at this -- nearly eight feet of snow on the ground right now in Oswego County, New York.

I wonder if that's outdated? I wonder if there's even more on the ground. The state disaster emergency is in effect for the county. And schools are closed for a fourth day. Even for this snow savvy region, this storm has become, well, it's overwhelming, the frozen tundra of Oswego County, New York.

Man Chad, what to do? A warm up would be nice, but it doesn't look like it's in the offing here.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Out of Disney, in lots of trouble. A 20-year-old man who plays Goofy and the Beast at the Disney theme park has been arrested on child porn charges. Our affiliate station WKMG reports the suspect had explicit photos of children ages three and up at his apartment. And he's charged with 51 counts of child porn possession.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. RICK MANKEWICH, ORANGE CO. SHERIFF'S OFFICE: He gave us consent to search his apartment. In his apartment, in his bedroom we located several images of young children posed in pornographic positions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Police think the suspect got the pictures from the Internet. They do not think he did anything wrong at work.

HARRIS: Bloodshed crossing all boundaries and America's borders, it seems. Experts say violent street gangs are extending their reach and the outcome has been deadly. Now, the question, how do you clean up American cities? Law enforcement officials have convened a summit to search for answers. Here's CNN Casey Wian.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): No one knows how many illegal aliens are among the nation's estimated 750,000 gang members. San Diego police say up to 40 percent of their gang members are illegal aliens. In Los Angeles, they make up at least 60 percent of the notorious 18th Street Gang.

STEVE TIDWELL, FBI: Los Angeles is ground zero for modern gang activity. Those gangs that are born in L.A. now have grown, matured, and they're in 40 states and seven foreign countries. They're more diverse, more dispersed and more dangerous than ever.

WIAN: Law enforcement officials from throughout North and Central America are holding a gang summit in Los Angeles. A key focus, the impact of open borders on the spread of gang violence.

BRIAN TRUCHON, FBI: Unfortunately, the gang does not respect international borders. The fact that they're able to move back and forth across the border is very troubling to us

WIAN: The FBI says Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, is the world's most dangerous gang. It was formed by Central American illegal aliens in Los Angeles to counter the power of Mexican-dominated gangs.

CHIEF WILLIAM BRATTON, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPT.: The issue of gangs and the their ability to go across borders, particularly Latin American, Latino gangs, it is critical that we not give them sanctuary in any of the countries that are inflicted by their violence.

WIAN: While overall crime in Los Angeles is down sharply, gang violence jumped 14 percent last year. City officials are trying to crack down. MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA (D), LOS ANGELES: We must work to address gang violence in a truly comprehensive way. That means coordinating efforts at the local, state, federal, and international levels.

WIAN: But when asked at the National Press Club two weeks ago if he would support stronger border enforcement as a way to combat gang violence, Mayor Villaraigosa disputed the notion that many gang members are illegal aliens. And Los Angeles continues to prohibit city police from asking criminal suspects about their immigration status.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WIAN: On the federal level, immigrant and customs enforcement is trying to target illegal gang members. Under Operation Community Shield, ICE has arrested for than 4,000 in the past two years. Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.

COLLINS: An order of fries, but hold the trans fat, would you? A second major U.S. city may ban the artery-blocking fat. Details coming up in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And they're now called the lovers of Volvero (ph). But what was this couple's past? One theory offered in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Want to take you to the scene now in Broward County, Florida. Look at that, all the media set up outside the medical examiner's office there. This is in response to the announcement that there would be a press conference of some kind at the conclusion of the autopsy that is currently being performed on Anna Nicole Smith.

The 39-year-old actress and former "Playboy" Playmate who by now, I'm sure you have heard, died on Thursday. Pronounced dead at the hospital after finding, according to our correspondent, and the police there, a whole lot of prescription drugs inside her hotel room, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Broward County. We'll continue to watch the microphones and bring that to you live as soon as it happens.

HARRIS: Autism in America, U.S. health officials say it's an urgent concern and far more common than previously thought. The CDC is out with results of the largest American study of the disorder. The reports estimates that one in 150 children has autism. That compares to previous estimates that one in 166 children had the condition. All told, the CDC suggests 560,000 children and young adults have autism.

Government scientists say it is too soon to make conclusions about trends and they note that some of the nation's most populous states were not included in the study. But advocates are hoping that the report will lead to more government funding and research and services. COLLINS: In Philadelphia, you'll still get your cheese steak, but those fries must be trans fat tree. The mayor expected to sign a trans fat ban passed by the city council. The measure prohibits restaurants from frying foods in trans fat or serving trans fat based spreads. The ban goes into effect September 1st. New York has a similar ban beginning in July.

To get your daily dose of health news online, log on to our Web site, you'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.

Coming up in the NEWSROOM, the boy who nearly became a snake snack. You don't want to miss it, I don't think.

HARRIS: And keeping track of your kids. How about these sneakers? What's so special about them? Find out in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Keeping track of your kids. It can be tough but this man hopes his sneakers can help. They have GPS capability. The shoemakers says the technology could be used in emergencies like helping parents locate missing children at the touch of a button. It doesn't come cheap, though. An adult version of the sneakers is due out next month, about $350 a pop. The kids line is expected this summer.

HARRIS: I love that.

Well, earlier this week, Steve Jobs called on record companies to drop some of their anti-piracy measures and one of the world's biggest labels may already be moving in that direction. Susan Lisovicz with this story, I love this, from the New York Stock Exchange. Oh tell all, Susan.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

HARRIS: Video you have just got to see out of Brazil. The big thing on the ground there, a dead anaconda. The 16-foot snake had the boy in a death squeeze. And it was about to chomp on him there, Don. The grandfather showed up just in the nick of time. Police say it took nearly 30 minutes of beating the snake with rocks and a knife to free his grandson.

COLLINS: See, now that's the story, the grandfather stepping in. Look at that thing. I thought they were supposed to be nice, sweet snakes.

HARRIS: Anacondas?

COLLINS: Just a joke.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: So you didn't get the striped blue tie call this morning, did you?

COLLINS: How about that? LEMON: Obviously Tony and I did.

COLLINS: I like how you guys call each other.

HARRIS: It works, huh?

LEMON: I'm going to wear this today. Let's sure we match throughout the day here on CNN.

A lot of serious stuff today. Yes, her life, loves and her losses. All an open book. Anna Nicole Smith continues to make headlines, even in death.

Today in the "CNN NEWSROOM," we're following up on why she died, who gets custody of her infant daughter and who gets control of her estate. We'll cover all the angles in the story everybody is talking about, and talk with legal experts, including our very own Jeffrey Toobin.

The CNN NEWSROOM gets under way at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.

COLLINS: And quickly, we want to get this in, as you go, Don. We've got some new sound coming in Ron Rale. He is the attorney for Anna Nicole Smith. This is a conversation that he apparently had with Howard K. Stern this morning. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RON RALE, ANNA NICOLE SMITH'S ATTY.: I have talked to Howard.

QUESTION: Just give us a sense of how he's doing.

RALE: I am deeply concerned about Howard. Howard is in a bad state of mind right now, and hopefully he'll be OK.

I'd like to be in Florida right now. I wish I could be there helping out Howard right now. He was also a friend of mine. But unfortunately, I have to deal with this.

QUESTION: How is it going to go this morning?

RALE: I'm not sure how it's going to go. Really the result of this is irrelevant in terms of paternity for Mr. Birkhead. It doesn't matter if they have Anna's DNA or not.

QUESTION: How is Mr. Stern doing, sir?

QUESTION: Why are you concerned about Howard?

RALE: Howard is just emotionally a wreck obviously. Anna was his everything, and he's having a hard time just...

QUESTION: Ron, can I ask...

(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: There you have it, some sound there with Ron Rale. He is an attorney for Anna Nicole Smith, talking about this, the day after her death. We are also awaiting the news conference out of Broward County, the medical examiner's office there. You see all of the press lined up. That autopsy being performed right now on Anna Nicole Smith. So apparently we'll be hearing from the medical examiner's office at the conclusion of that. We'll bring it to you when it happens, live here on CNN.

HARRIS: And still to come, a dog with very expensive taste. One bite, five grand, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

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HARRIS: OK. You already know to catch us weekday mornings from 9:00 a.m. until noon Eastern. Appreciate that. But did you know you can take us with you anywhere on your iPod. The CNN NEWSROOM podcast available 24/7 right on your iPod.

COLLINS: You can go ahead and say it now. Look at this, aww. Kids are loving some of the newest members of a Colorado Zoo. Isn't that great? These cute little guys are the first lion cubs born at Pueblo Zoo in at least a half century. Now it's naming time. Zoo officials holding a contest like they often do, asking the public to submit names for the three brand new cubs, and there's no shortage of opinions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anna and Crissa and Donna.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sniffy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They should name them something Coloradoish, like the San Isabel Cubs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: And the kids are cute, too, right? People have until next weekend to submit suggestions for them.

HARRIS: Talk about diamonds in the rough. When Tina Burlett's $5,000 wedding ring disappeared, she thought she had been robbed. But suspicions soon shifted to Missy, the pit bull. Sure enough, the X- ray revealed the ring was inside Missy's tummy, right there in her belly there. The vet knew just what to do. Missy coughed up the ring a short time later.

COLLINS: Maybe she should have taken it to a pawn shop, made some money, got great doggie treats or something.

HARRIS: The way you think.

COLLINS: CNN NEWSROOM is continuing just one hour from now. Kyra Phillips and the team working hard to -- it's not Kyra; it's Betty Nguyen. HARRIS: No, no, no, it's Betty Nguyen.

COLLINS: Yes, Betty Nguyen is going to bring you the very latest, along with Don Lemon on several big stories that are developing story.

HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home, but one more reminder, before we go, when the news conference begins with the Seminole County Police Department, or the one from the Broward County medical examiner's officer, we will bring that to you live.

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