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Kidnapping Detailed; More Severe Weather

Aired February 24, 2007 - 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: You can't see anything but you can hear it. Severe weather hits the heartland, hail, tornadoes and snow. We're tracking it all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some guy just pulls up in a red truck and tells the kid to get in the truck or else he's going to shoot. Pulls out a gun, the kid gets in the truck and they take off.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And now the manhunt is on in Florida, searching for an armed kidnapper before he strikes again.

And swallowed alive, an unbelievable set of pictures in video, as a giant sinkhole opens up in a crowded city.

Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, you're in the NEWSROOM. Let's start with that severe weather, a major winter storm pounding much of the U.S. heartland this hour. Whiteout conditions are blamed for a huge pileup on Interstate 70, east of Denver, more than 30 vehicles involved, so far no serious injuries are being reported. And in the sky over one Texas town, this ominous scene, what's believed to be a tornado dropped from the clouds over McLean.

And listen to that, there's no mistake. Hail stones hitting a car in Kansas, as the storm moves into the upper Midwest, heavy snow is expected.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: In Florida, police on a serious manhunt today, south of Tampa Bay. They're trying to find this man, a kidnapper described as a short man in his 30's with dark skin. He drove an older model red pickup truck. And if you have information call the Manatee County Sheriff at 941-747-3011. The victim, a 13-year-old boy, who is now safe at home today. Here's reporter Peter Bernard in Manatee County, he's with Tampa affiliate WFLA.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER BERNARD, WFLA (voice-over): Five hours after being abducted at gunpoint from his school bus stop, a Manatee sheriff deputy gave a relieved looking Clay Moore a ride back to civilization and the people who care for him. Deputies say a man who looks like this is responsible for this crime. They say he's likely from this area, judging from the remote location where he took Clay.

DAVID BRISTOW, MANATEE CO., FL SHERIFF'S OFFICE: When he took the child, Clay, out to the remote area, it appeared he knew exactly what he was doing. He knew the area.

BERNARD: While deputies won't confirm it, Clay's aunt tells our coverage partners at "The Sarasota Herald Tribune," his abductor used duct tape and some of Clay's own clothes to tie him to a tree by his feet and hands. The aunt says the man stuffed Clay's sock in his mouth. He says her nephew used a safety pin to work the binds loose, then walked some distance to flag down a farmer for help. Students at the bus stop who saw the armed abduction say they ran behind a house to hide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some guy just pulls up in a red truck and tells the kid to get in the truck or else he's going to shoot, pulls out a gun, the kid gets in the truck and they take off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He told him to get in the car and then he had a gun in his hand and he wouldn't get in the car, so they were like, Clay looked like he was ready to cry.

BERNARD: At a quickly set up command post, Clay's frantic parents waited on every development, fearing they would hear the worst. But around 1:30 in the afternoon, Sheriff Charles Wells told everyone --

SHERIFF CHARLIE WELLS, MANATEE COUNTY, FLORIDA: Well we got good news, Clay Moore is ok and he's with my deputies right now out in East County.

BERNARD: After a checkout at Manatee Memorial, Clay returned to his Kingsfield Estates home. His family asked the media to let them be for now.

BRISTOW: They've been through by far the most traumatic day they've ever been through and hopefully will ever go through.

BERNARD: Looking ahead to Monday, if the attacker isn't caught, residents will see more activity around this area.

MAJ. CHUCK HAGAMAN, MANATEE COUNTY, FL SHERIFF'S OFFICE: We are going to beef up patrol and have more patrol units out roaming the areas of the bus stops in the hours the kids go to school.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Other stories making headlines across America, this is heartbreaking and unbelievable. A stunning surprise for a woman walking her dog in Richmond, California. She found an abandoned baby believed to be just hours old. The boy was stuffed into a bag and then hidden under some bushes. He is now at a hospital where authorities say he appears to be in good shape. The police are searching now for the parents.

A Missouri bus driver hailed as a hero and his quick thinking all caught on tape after a three year old girl, that little girl, hopped off the bus, headed straight into traffic. Well Chris Leslie, the bus driver, dashed out and then grabbed the child. A truck slammed on its breaks and screeched to a stop just in front of them. Leslie says when he got home that day the first thing he did was hug his own 2- year-old daughter.

A very dangerous situation here, for some Florida firefighters. These dramatic scenes as an apartment building in Orlando go up in flames. Right now there's no word of any serious injuries.

And call this a change in the skyline in Charlotte, North Carolina, workers using 400 pounds of explosives brought down the old Duke Power Company building this morning. The seven story building had stood for 80 years. It will now clear the way for new development.

NATO is voicing doubts about a newly surfaced video. An Islamic website claims this video shows insurgents launching a November missile attack against a U.S. base in Afghanistan. A NATO spokesman calls it video fiction. He says there's no evidence the fighters depicted on this video are attacking any NATO forces.

And now to the CNN security watch. Insurgents in Iraq have used improvised explosive devices to target U.S. troops, everyone knows that by now. Well how would the U.S. respond to an IED attack on American soil? That was the focus of a government drill in Washington today and CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano joins us live. Why would they carry out this kind of drill?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well good afternoon to you Fredricka. First of all the White House is strongly emphasizing that this drill was based on an entirely fictional scenario, not based on any kind of terrorist threat to the United States. Nevertheless officials of course, well don't want to create panic, they want to insure that they are ready. So this morning behind closed doors, about 90 senior administration officials from throughout the federal government were on hand discussing how they would respond in the event that terrorists did use IEDs, improvised explosive devices in the United States. The three-hour session was led by the president's homeland security advisor Fran Townsend, also taking part officials from the Justice Department, the FBI and the Pentagon, as well as Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Now this is the fourth time in a little over a year that the Bush administration has held these kind of drills. They call them tabletop exercises. Other exercises have focused on what they would do if there was an outbreak of pandemic flu, an outbreak of small pox or a major hurricane. Now President Bush we are told Fredricka did not participate, but we are told that the president's Homeland Security Advisor Fran Townsend did in fact reach out to the head of the governor's association who's in town, Governor Janet Napolitano, to talk about some of the exercise going on, that took place earlier today. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right Elaine, thanks so much for that update from the White House.

CNN security watch keeps you up to date on safety. Stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Disaster in a crowded city. A giant sinkhole, one you will not believe. It swallowed two teens and dozens of homes in its path.

And turn out the lights, at least some of them, why some people are being told to get rid of their old light bulbs.

And politics is all about star power, right? So what are some of today's political stars saying about Hollywood's biggest night.

And you can help authorities in Florida if you see someone who fits this description. He is suspected of kidnapping a 13-year-old Florida boy yesterday. The boy was later found safe and ok, but the search intensifies for the suspect. Call authorities at 941-747-3011.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A quick look at some of the most popular stories on cnn.com now. Fatal attraction, a pitbull named Fatal jumps through a car window to bite an 11-year-old on the thigh. The owner of the dog says the dog was provoked.

Near fatal crush, a man napping in a dumpster is tossed with the trash into a moving compactor. Lucky for him though, the driver heard his screams.

And fame, the golden boy, gets ready to shine. Behind the scenes as Hollywood prepares for Oscar night. It's all there at cnn.com.

And going global now, Virgin Trans founder Sir Richard Branson inspected the damage after a derailment in northern England. One person died and more than 70 more were hurt in the accident along Virgin's high speed London to Glasgow route. The cause is under investigation.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Jacques Chirac in Paris but there is no sign he won the French president's support for lifting an international embargo. The European Union joined the embargo after the hard line Hamas party won Palestinian elections last year.

And take a look at this, a giant, I mean giant sinkhole in Guatemala, it is huge, 330-feet is the depth of that hole. And it swallowed a dozen homes in Guatemala City, killing a teenage brother and sister and forcing nearly 1,000 evacuations in the area. Officials blame recent rain and underground sewage from a ruptured pipeline.

Now more than 20 loud explosions have been shaking Baghdad after night fall. The cause and the significance still not quite clear. You're looking at live pictures right now. Earlier nine people killed in attacks across the capital today. In another incident south of the Baghdad airport, eight Iraqi police were killed when gunmen sped up to a checkpoint and opened fire with guns and grenades. And two attackers were killed. Despite the bloodshed, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki insisted today that violence has dropped considerably since a U.S. led security crackdown began. Then within the last two hours dozens of bodies strewn in the streets, a truck bomb exploded close to a mosque, a school and a police station in Iraq's Anbar Province and our Arwa Damon joins us live from Baghdad. This certainly does not seem to be evidence of violence dissipating in any way in the area.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No Fredricka, it really doesn't, and this is one thing to point out that the U.S. officials here will also caution about as well and that is making any premature statements about the success or lack of success of the Baghdad security plan. Senior U.S. officials here fully expect that the insurgency will temporarily sit back, watch how the plan unfolds in the streets before they plan out their own counter attack. Violence that we have seen today, explosions in the capital, at least 20 of them happening within the last half hour. Currently we're hearing conflicting reports as to what the cause of these explosions have been. But this is a reminder to the population here that the violence is ongoing and that the insurgency can pretty much attack anywhere and any which way it wants to. Today's deadliest attack though not coming in the capital of Baghdad but instead in the volatile al Anbar Province just to the west. The attack took place in the small town of Habbaniya where a car bomb exploded outside a Sunni mosque, killing at least 39 Iraqis and wounding dozens of others. Now, this attack, this area is predominately Sunni and it is one of the al Qaeda in Iraq strongholds. It is not an area where we normally see attacks of sectarian nature. And what in fact did hear and what we do see in that part of the country are attacks between varying tribes or insurgent groups. Those that support al Qaeda and those that do not. And in fact, according to some reports, the Inman at that mosque had been critical of al Qaeda just 24 hours before today's devastating attack took place. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: So Arwa let me ask you as well, earlier in the week there were two women who made accusations of being raped at the hands of Iraqis. And then leading up to this weekend there were threats that there might be reprisals as a result of their allegations. Is any connection being made to this string of explosions and attacks this weekend to that threat?

DAMON: No, Fredericka, not at that point and really until we see a claim of responsibility for these attacks, it is very difficult to deduce who exactly is behind them. There are just so many different insurgent groups that operate in this country, but the incidents that you are referencing, one is a woman who was claiming to have been raped up in the northern city of Tal Afar and in fact, the Iraqi security forces, the Iraqi army, four Iraqi army soldiers there admitted to having raped her. But the more inflammatory incident is a case that took place allegedly in Baghdad, where a young Iraqi woman is also claiming to have been raped by Iraqi soldiers. And this is really such an inflammatory act, that it is not only further dividing people along sectarian lines with the Iraq Shia population for the most part supporting her claim, it's the Shia population saying that she's lying. The Sunni population supporting her claim but it really is causing problems amongst the Iraqi government itself. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much. Arwa Damon out of Baghdad.

Well here's Australia's bright idea. It is banning the incandescent bulb. After 2010 Aussies will have to light up with energy saving compact fluorescents. Gemma Haines from Australia's Channel 7 reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEMMA HAINES, SEVEN NEWS: It's brightened up our lives for more than a century. But for these kids, the humble light bulb is about to become history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to phase these light bulbs out.

HAINES: Claiming to prove its green credentials, the government wants to phase out the globes by 2009, pitching them in favor of less energy hungry devices like fluorescent lights.

MALCOLM TURNBULL, ENVIRONMENT MINISTER: We'll be putting 4 million times less carbon into the atmosphere than we are today.

HAINES: The traditional light bulb accounts for around 12 percent of household greenhouse gas emissions. Building and environmental groups believe it's a step in the right direction.

DAVID HALLETT, ARCHICENTRE, MELBOURNE: People liking to do what they can, they might not be able to do very much but every little bit is going to help.

DON HENRY, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FOUND.: The old incandescent light bulbs are really inefficient. In fact they waste 95 percent of the electricity going into them. It goes off as heat.

HAINES: But some retailers warn it will be a nightmare to implement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you want to put a larger wattage in this particular fitting, like so, it will not fit into the fitting.

HAINES (on camera): They're more expensive to buy up front, but fluorescent bulbs like these over the longer term can actually cut your power bill by up to $10 a year for every light.

TURNBULL: This is a win-win, a win for the environment and a win for household's budgets.

HAINES (voice-over): In (INAUDIBLE), Gemma Haines, Seven News.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So, Hollywood getting ready for the big night. So what do presidential candidates have to say about what they like to watch when they go to the movies. We'll tally their votes straight ahead.

And Democrats have a new Iraq strategy, they want to try out next week. Details on that straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Now, Hollywood hoopla meets presidential politics. You know what happens. Most politicians are quick to offer their opinions about everything from foreign policy to the price of corn. But what about a subject we all like to discuss. With the Academy Awards coming up tomorrow night, CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider decided to find out what the presidential candidates think about the movies and he joins us from Los Angeles. So they actually have time to watch movies?

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well they say they do. You know you hear a lot about who the hot candidates are here in Hollywood. So we turned that question around. We asked the candidates what are your favorite movies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): It's Oscar time, so we asked the presidential candidates the question of the moment. What are you wearing? No. What's your favorite movie? John McCain, the champion of campaign finance reform, his favorite movie is "Viva Zapata."

MOVIE CLIP: Elections are a farce, the people have no voice in the government.

SCHNEIDER: Hillary Clinton said one of her favorites is "Casablanca", where in the end public commitments trump private concerns.

MOVIE CLIP: But it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.

SCHNEIDER: Rudy Giuliani's pick, "The Godfather", a lesson in leadership.

MOVIE CLIP: I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.

SCHNEIDER: "Dr. Strangelove," John Edwards' favorite movie reveals the candidate's interest in civil military relations.

MOVIE CLIP: Now, it appears that the order called for the planes to attack their targets inside Russia.

SCHNEIDER: Bill Richardson likes "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid", it's about getting the job done.

MOVIE CLIP: Well that ought to do it.

SCHNEIDER: What does "Raiders of the Lost Ark", Mitt Romney's favorite movie say about his campaign?

MOVIE CLIP: I'm going after that truck. I don't know, I'm making this up as I go. (END OF VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: So what would be the favorite movie for political reporters covering the 2008 campaign? I think that would have to be, "From Here to Eternity." Fred?

WHITFIELD: Oh that's good, that's good. In fact the next two years is going to feel like an eternity, isn't it?

SCHNEIDER: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: All right well let's talk about a former presidential candidate, Al Gore. He's up for a couple nominations or at least his production is as well. So might whatever happen on Oscar night kind of make him reconsider getting back into politics perhaps?

SCHNEIDER: There are people out here who hope so. People around the country who are looking to Al Gore, especially after the squabbling among the Democratic frontrunners. They say we need someone who's been tested, who's been around the track, who shows electoral appeal, who has stature. Al Gore is a very big name, who knows what would happen if he goes up on that podium and is talking to a billion people, the biggest audience he's ever had?

WHITFIELD: And his name perhaps made bigger because people have said they feel like they've really gotten to know him now over the past couple of years.

SCHNEIDER: And he has an issue, a very big issue, one of the biggest issues facing the entire planet.

WHITFIELD: All right, Bill Schneider, thanks so much from L.A.

And this reminder, CNN is live from the red carpet at the Academy Awards. You don't want to miss our special, "Hollywood's Gold Rush," that's tomorrow night at 7:00 eastern, right here, on CNN.

And the top two players in the Democratic race for president are taking off the gloves, so who won this round?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE SEIDLIN: Anna Nicole Smith was one complicated individual. Shakespeare, she could have filled maybe the character in Shakespeare and Hamlet, Ophelia.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh boy, and were there any winners in this ordeal, judging the judge. Our legal team weighs in on the Anna Nicole Smith case and the various other, shall we say characters involved.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Half past the hour now, here's what is happening. Severe weather. Possibly today in the Midwest and throughout the South, tornado watches posted now for parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.

And behind the cold front blizzard conditions for the plains. This 35-car pileup in Colorado shutting down interstate 70. Late storm developments here on CNN throughout the day today.

Police south of Tampa Bay, trying to track down a kidnapping suspect. He's described as a man in his 30s, dark skin, about 5'7". Thirteen year old Clay Moore is now safe after freeing himself from duct tape. The boy was grabbed at a school bus stop on Friday morning.

A suicide car bomb outside a Sunni mosque in the Iraqi town of Habaniya in Anbar Province. At least 39 people were killed, more than 60 wounded, resident says the mosque's imam criticized al Qaeda during Friday prayers. In Baghdad after night fall some 20 explosives have been reported to have rattled the city.

Let's check in again with Jacqui Jeras. Severe weather, the tornadic activity is what's really frightening.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Wow. That's big. All right. Thanks a lot Jackie.

Well, sheriff's deputies in Manatee County, Florida are trying desperately to find this man. He's wanted for kidnapping a teenage boy from a school bus stop yesterday morning. Authorities say the suspect is in his 30s, dark skin and about 5'7".

The kidnapping victim, 13-year-old Clay Moore. Well, he was tied up and left in a rural area but freed himself and he escaped. Dave Bristow is a spokesperson for the Manatee County Sheriff's Office and he's with me now from Bradenton, Florida.

And so, Mr. Bristow, what have you learned from the young boy, the 13-year-old about a better description of this suspect?

DAVE BRISTOW, MANATEE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Well, what we've learned would be that -- this person is probably Hispanic. We're about 90 percent sure he's a Hispanic male and the car description is still probably the best thing we have to go on. A dark red metallic four-door pickup truck, older model, probably in the '80s with blue cloth interior and also a pinstripe, either faded yellow or white pinstripe down the middle of the truck.

WHITFIELD: And then what did Clay Moore, this 13-year-old tell you about what his voice sounded like or anything a little bit more concrete about his description, I mean, his personal description?

BRISTOW: Well, unfortunately they didn't talk a whole lot. So he didn't get a whole lot on that. They were only together, probably a half an hour. And that's how long it took to get him from the point where he was abducted out to the point where he was able to escape. And then he tied him up to a tree and he took off. So ...

WHITFIELD: And so how concerned are you -- sorry about that, how concerned are you now that this man, this alleged kidnapper might try this again in some capacity? What are you telling people so they can keep their kids protected and be on the lookout at the same time?

BRISTOW: We're extremely concerned, I don't think is time for anyone to panic, they need to be alert like they always should be and report anything suspicious, if you think you have seen this vehicle or anyone reassembling this man, you've been shown the composite, they need to call authorities immediately.

WHITFIELD: Dave Bristow, spokesman for Manatee County Sheriff's Department. Thank you so much for that very detailed and more updated description of the vehicle as well as the suspect.

BRISTOW: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Let's go to the presidential campaign trail right now. Former Senator John Edwards spends time in New Hampshire, he'll be pretty busy with stops planned in four cities there, Republican Senator Sam Brownback is in the other early state of Iowa, meaning early caucus, he's speaking at the Iowa Federation of College Republican convention in Des Moines and later New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson campaigns in Florida, he'll address a group of Democratic activists and donors in Broward County.

And even though the first primaries are still almost a year away, the presidential campaign seems to be getting very intense very early. CNN's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley takes a look at the recent dust up between the two leading Democratic front runners.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who is sorry now? Well, Barack Obama told the "New York Times" that his preference in the future is not to slip into playing the game as it customarily is played. Which sounds a little like he's sorry his campaign got into it with Hillary Clinton's campaign.

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: The both of them looked like 12 year olds.

CROWLEY: To review the bidding. David Geffen, a Hollywood producer, is a former fund-raiser and friend of the Clintons. Operative word, "former."

Geffen, while hosting a Hollywood fundraising for Barack Obama, let loose on his former friends in an interview with columnist Maureen Dowd.

Among other things he called the Clintons liars and suggested Senator Clinton was unelectable.

This sent Camp Clinton into orbit and it demanded Obama immediately condemn Geffen's remarks and give back the money Geffen helped raise.

Obama, though, responded with a caustic note saying the Clintons never had problems with Geffen when he was fundraising for them and staying overnight in the Lincoln bedroom. Ouch.

By week's end, Obama was saying he didn't know his staff issued that statement, which Clintonites don't believe. Anyhoo, add up the score the first mud wrestle of the season and give Camp Clinton points for following the candidates' rules laid out in her first trip to Des Moines in late January.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) NY: When you're attacked, you have to deck your opponent.

CROWLEY: She was talking about Republicans at the time but if the shoe fits -- on the other side give Obama props for neatly sidestepping the fact that Mr. Geffen had just raised $1.3 million for Obama's presidential bid.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) IL: My sense is that Mr. Geffen may have differences with the Clintons. That doesn't really have anything to do with our campaign.

CROWLEY: So who won? Answer? Well naturally, John Edwards et al.

DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: So I think round one went to what I call the second tier candidates who are waiting for the top tier candidates to stumble so that they can get onstage.

CROWLEY: And so it goes, 11 months before anybody casts a vote, they're throwing punches. Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So, I know you didn't miss this this week, from the judge to the boyfriend who is a lawyer, to the ex-boyfriend, the Anna Nicole Smith case has painted a rather colorful picture of the legal profession these days.

Our own attorneys will be weighing in straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The Anna Nicole Smith case is one of the strangest legal battles we've seen in a very long time. And guess what? It is far from over. In a moment our legal experts will weigh in. But first CNN's Jeanne Moos looks at one of the key figures in this courtroom drama.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is hard not to be judgmental about the judge.

LARRY SEIDLIN, FLORIDA JUDGE: It is what.

MOOS: When he starts to choke up even before he gets to his ruling.

SEIDLIN: I hope when it is read, we keep our cool.

MOOS: But the one who lost his cool was Judge Seidlin, who let out a grown as he started to read the ruling. Anna Nicole's boyfriends and mother buried their heads as the judge spoke of burying Anna Nicole.

SEIDLIN: I want her buried with the son, I want them to be together.

MOOS: It is tough enough lose control, but worse to know that your loss of composure will be the media's gain, destined to be shown over and over.

SEIDLIN: I feel I should apologize for being the only person who wasn't crying.

MOOS: Some referred to Judge Seidlin as Judge Larry, intimating he wanted to be the next Judge Judy.

JUDY SHEINDLIN, TV JUDGE: Sit down next to your mother.

MOOS: Entertainment Web site TMZ even reported he once compiled an audition tape, we have no idea if that is true, but his folksy comments.

SEIDLIN: This is life, we all come with some broken suitcases.

MOOS: Earned him headlines like "nutso judge."

SEIDLIN: And I was a former taxi driver.

MOOS: From the Bronx. Drove a taxi as he worked his way through school. Became famous at the Anna Nicole hearing for nicknaming attorneys after where they were from.

SEIDLIN: Texas, this testimony doesn't help you.

California, you'll do the speaking.

You too are very fine my Florida ones.

MOOS: The attorney nicknamed Texas caused a flap when he fainted just hours before the ruling.

SEIDLIN: What do you need as a diabetic right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Orange juice.

SEIDLIN: Here's my credit card now.

MOOS: The witness ended up fishing a protein bar out of her purse and it was handed to Texas the diabetic. After all the pithy quotes.

SEIDLIN: Don't test me anymore. Don't test me, I've been tested by the best. And find out who the father is, it is enough baloney here.

MOOS: After a video presentation of a pregnant Anna Nicole stoned on something, the judge finally got to his ruling and choked drumming his fingers as he tried to regain his composure.

SEIDLIN: And I hope to God you guys give the kid the right shot.

MOOS: The judge empathized with Anna Nicole.

SEIDLIN: She had to live all her years under this kind of exposure. I get a week and a half, and it is ready to flatten me down.

MOOS: There is nothing the unblinking eye of the courtroom camera likes better than eyes blinking back tears. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So the burial issue is settled, kind of, maybe, pending the appeal by Anna Nicole Smith's mother.

But our legal questions remain, including the paternity issue. Let's see what our legal experts have to say on all of this. And I mean all of this because boy, is there a lot.

Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor. Good to see you, Avery.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Glad to be here.

WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney. Good to see you as well, Richard.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So guys, I don't know where to begin, you've got the emergency DNA hearing, you got the battle over where to place a body, Anna Nicole Smith's body. And then of course the ongoing paternity suit. So I don't know. Maybe we'll begin, Aver,y with why did this take so long. The one about custody over the body. Did it have to take so long?

FRIEDMAN: The answer is no, and the difficulty is that Judge Seidlin, or Judge Sidebar or whatever they call him, Sideshow ...

WHITFIELD: There you go.

FRIEDMAN: ... should realize he's no longer a Bronx cabby. The difficulty is that I've never seen a proceeding where a judge asks a question, Fredricka, the witness starts to answer and then the judge takes off and then goes back to the witness forgetting what the question was. The fact that he actually came up with what appears to be the correct ruling -- the fact it was a legitimate proceeding when you compare it to what we see in real courtrooms is purely coincidental.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

So Richard, the guardian ad litem in the end gets custody over the body. But we are talking about a judge that -- did he kind of dismiss the testimony of all of these people, I mean, this was played out so long because of the testimony and because of the judge getting involved in the questioning but then he seemed in his ruling to dismiss all that was said.

HERMAN: You know, Fred, the Academy Awards are on tomorrow night. And it looked like everybody in this courtroom was petitioning to get involved there. The judge who had a complete meltdown when he read this decision, the lawyers, Deborah Opri (ph) at one point turned around and faced the camera to give a little speech. It was pathetic, it was outrageous.

And the decision he made here, while we all believe it was her intent to be buried in the Bahamas, that's where she purchased the lots. She didn't purchase them when her son died in California, or with dear old estranged mom in Texas. She bought them in the Bahamas. That's the right decision. He ruled that it is because the next of kin gets to make the choice. The guardian ad litem and there he's wrong under Florida law and that is why this appeal has merit.

WHITFIELD: Really?

HERMAN: I don't know what's going to happen here. Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: OK, so it has merit even though the next of kin, meaning the mother, has been estranged from Anna Nicole for many, many years. Doesn't that have great weight though on this appeal?

HERMAN: It has great weight. That goes to the legal analysis of this decision which I haven't seen, but it appears he just made ruling that the next of kin was a child under 18 and that child should have been disqualified. Now the issue is whether the mother should be disqualified.

FRIEDMAN: But at the same time ...

WHITFIELD: Go, Avery.

FRIEDMAN: In all fairness, there is a Supreme Court decision in Florida that deals with a court's responsibility to examine testamentary, testamentary intent and indeed, I think that is what the judge did. Actually it is a 19-page opinion, fairly reasoned.

I don't know when he wrote it or if the law clerk wrote it but the fact is that is what is o to the court of appeals. By the way, there is no appeal filed. There is a request to stay proceedings for some reason. Let's call them Texas as this judge did. Never filed a notice of appeal I think we're going to see a resolution on Monday because they have got to do something with this body.

WHITFIELD: Right. HERMAN: Avery, that was a two page document that was served late in the afternoon on Friday

WHITFIELD: It was confusing and now it's even much more confusing.

All right. Let's talk about the emergency DNA. Now the judge in that case says I don't even know if I have jurisdiction over this, because the baby is in the Bahamas. So what is he to do?

HERMAN: Avery is right that -- Go ahead, Avery.

FRIEDMAN: Well, I - go ahead.

WHITFIELD: Go ahead sorry. Richard, go ahead.

HERMAN: The baby was born in the Bahamas. At the time the baby was born Anna Nicole had residency in the Bahamas. There is a person who was residing with the baby's mother at the time, Howard Stern, who is given great deference under Bahamian law. And that why Larry Birkhead does not want to go to the Bahamas and litigate paternity because whether he is the biological father or not, Stern is going to take precedent in the Bahamas.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. That's still a ...

FRIEDMAN: And the legal issue, the legal issue, Richard is right about the Bahamian law. But what is interesting is they argued the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act which doesn't deal with custody of DNA, it deals with the custody of the child. So the reality is Judge Korda, who unlike Judge Seidlin was very judicious and did a wonderful job in being careful. We're likely to see Judge Korda rule that he does not have jurisdiction and it should be going to the Bahamas.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, interesting. And still - yeah, go ahead.

HERMAN: If $100 million wasn't on the line, and Anna Nicole had no money in her estate, do you think - let's put this out there because I don't know. Do you think all these people would be fighting over the body and over the baby?

WHIITFIELD: We all know the answer to that one. It's not bad to pose the question because everyone knows what is really at issue here. Right?

FRIEDMAN: The issue is so important and the sobriety of the issue on this six-month-old infant, everybody else looks like a cartoon character, but there is a very serious issue.

WHITFIELD: This five month old is really ...

HERMAN: And the circumstances -- How about the circumstances of Anna's death, let's not forget about that.

WHITFIELD: Right. And that's still unresolved. Still waiting for real decided factor as to why did she die two weeks ago. Thanks so much. Avery, Richard, good to see you.

HERMAN: Bye, Fred.

FRIEDMAN: See you soon, take a care.

WHITFIELD: All right. This very pressing issue all weekend long, the weather. Severe weather hitting the heartland. Hail, tornadoes, snow, all of it. We're tracking.

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WHITFIELD: Faith was lost but now she's found. The two legged dog misplaced by an airline during a flight from Oklahoma to Florida but the hound found at Orlando's airport has been found safe and sound. Faith was born with just three legs, one never quite developed, but she's managed to -- you know cover the ground anyway. Pretty impressive. Check out myspace page for faith.

All right. Straight ahead, a CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT REPORT. "MLK, Words that Changed a Nation," that is right after the latest on today's very severe weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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