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Deadly Bus Crash; Escort Service Scandal; Tale of the Trailers

Aired March 09, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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


DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Kyra Phillips.

LEMON: A controversial Nation of Islam leader gives CNN a rare interview. Louis Farrakhan sounds off on accusations of anti-Semitism politics and his own mortality.

WHITFIELD: Whose names are on this woman's list? An alleged former Washington madam is threatening to release names of her clients. We've got details on what she did in court today.

LEMON: And fiery protests greet President Bush on his tour of Latin America. Details on what he hopes to accomplish there, straight ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is the top of the hour. And we start with another tragic turn in that fatal but crash in Atlanta. A fifth baseball player from Bluffton University has died of his injuries.

Freshman Zach Arend had been in critical condition since last Friday's crash. His family was by his side.

Four other players were killed when their charter bus careened off an overpass to the interstate below. Also killed, the bus driver and his wife. More than two dozen others were hurt, four still in Atlanta hospitals.

WHITFIELD: And moments after the bus plunged off the bridge, help was on the way. Witnesses and survivors were dialing 911, most understandably confused about what they had seen or even been through.

Here's the call from one of the passengers.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

OPERATOR: Atlanta, 911 Emergency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we've just been in a bus accident. I don't know where we're at.

OPERATOR: I need a location.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are we at, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're on 75 South.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 75 South.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got somebody coming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We've got somebody coming. OK. A lot of people. Please hurry.

OPERATOR: OK. What all is going on, sir? Talk to me. What's going on?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. A lot of people laying down on the ground in different places.

OPERATOR: About how many? Give me an estimate so we'll know how many ambulances. How many?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're talking 50. Or not 50. At least 33. Thirty-three people were on this bus.

OPERATOR: OK. You're all on the expressway or are you on the street?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we fell off the expressway. We hit a road and fell off the actual bridge.

OPERATOR: The bus fell over the bridge?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

OPERATOR: OK. Now, we've got some help coming out there now. So they'll be there shortly, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got to get out of here.

OPERATOR: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Bye-bye.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Federal investigators have gone over the crash scene inch by inch, even reenacting the accident. No definitive cause released as of yet.

LEMON: Well, the question everyone is asking, could this tragedy have been avoided?

CNN Investigative Correspondent Drew Griffin takes a revealing look this weekend in an hour-long special.

Here's a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It is not until you actually approach this split in the road that you're directed to exit left or stay straight on southbound 75. For reasons we will never know, Jerry Niemeyer steered his bus left, on to this exit ramp. He apparently didn't realize it.

(on camera): It's at this moment Kyle King, seated four rows behind the driver in this seat, is listening to music half asleep, and hears the only warning.

KYLE KING, BUS CRASH SURVIVOR: And I woke up to the bus -- the driver's wife screaming.

GRIFFIN: Jean Niemeyer was sitting in the front with her husband.

KING: She said something like, "This isn't the exit or the on-ramp," or something, and then I remember the bus driver saying something. Then I actually heard the tires squeal of him trying to get it back on control.

GRIFFIN: Despite being on a clearly marked exit ramp, stop signs ahead, and a "Stop Ahead" warning painted on the pavement, Atlanta police say bus driver Jerry Niemeyer hit the intersection without braking. His bus blew through the stop sign, across four lanes of traffic, and headed straight for a retaining wall.

MAJ. C.W. MOSS, ATLANTA POLICE: We don't have any evidence on the roadway suggesting that the bus had attempted to stop. There were no skidmarks laid down that we were able to determine. As to the reason for that, that remains under investigation. We hope we'll ultimately get an answer to that.

GRIFFIN: This skidmark of wheels turning right is the only evidence of Niemeyer's futile attempt to avoid disaster.

A.J. RAMTHUN, BUS CRASH SURVIVOR: I woke up as soon as the bus hit the overpass' wall, and that's when I looked up, and the bus landed on the left side, which is the side I was sitting on. And I just looked out and saw the road coming up after me. And that's all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And Drew Griffin joins us now.

Drew, we were both out there -- you at the hospital. I'm not sure, were you ever at the scene once? No.

GRIFFIN: Yes.

LEMON: You went to the scene as well.

GRIFFIN: The scene on Friday night.

LEMON: Just a horrific accident happening.

Looking at that intersection, what are investigators saying? Are they believing that the -- now that the driver is at fault and mistook that HOV exit?

GRIFFIN: Nobody -- nobody is saying that. Jerry Niemeyer, the bus driver, was a great guy, was a great driver, was not tired, was not drinking, was not anything, right?

LEMON: Had just taken over. He and his wife, right.

GRIFFIN: Just taken over. But everything we see points to this being a horrific mistake.

And Don, once the mistake is made, once you exit that freeway, the questtion is, why does he keep going?

LEMON: Why does he -- right.

GRIFFIN: Why does he keep going up that ramp at such a speed that would send him the over side? Why does he pass through the stops without noticing them?

LEMON: And you saw -- it was clearly marked. It said HOV exit. There are several stop signs, or at least one stop sign. But there are signs that say "Exit," and then of course it's marked there on the ground.

Now, we were listening to the baseball player speaking yesterday from his hospital bed saying he woke up and heard the driver's wife saying, "You're not on the highway anymore."

What are they saying about that?

GRIFFIN: That is the only case we know that at moment, whatever that moment was of that scream, that that's when the Niemeyers, both in the front seat of this bus, right...

LEMON: Right.

GRIFFIN: ... realized that they're not on that highway.

LEMON: Right.

GRIFFIN: But the question still remains. Because we took a bus out there. We took this exact same type of bus out there and just drove it.

LEMON: Right.

GRIFFIN: And the gravity of going uphill slows the bus down, even without touching the brake.

LEMON: At the speed limit, it will slow it down?

GRIFFIN: Correct. The minute you start heading up that ramp, the natural tendency is that gravity pulls the bus back. So the bus should have been naturally slowing. We just don't have the answers.

LEMON: Are we waiting on an autopsy from the bus driver? Could he possibly have had an heart attack, maybe, or something, some sort of physical ailment?

GRIFFIN: Possible, yes. Probable, here's the evidence that points to not. Because just before he gets to the wall that he hits, he swerves. So, at that moment he makes a deliberate move of the bus.

Was that the moment his wife screamed? Hard to imagine you could get that close to the wall and still not realize you've gone off a highway.

LEMON: Yes, unbelievable. And, I mean, you can imagine the parents, you know, send your kids off on the bus -- these kids are amazing kids, I've spoken to a lot of them, as well as you. And I'll be very interested in watching your story, 8:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Am I correct?

GRIFFIN: On Saturday night, that's right.

LEMON: Yes. I want to see what you uncover.

Thank you, Drew Griffin.

GRIFFIN: Thanks, Don.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: 8:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, right here on CNN. "Fatal Journey: The Atlanta Bus Crash." Don't miss that. Our Drew Griffin will host that right here on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: Deborah Jean Palfrey, haven't heard that name before, right? Well, get ready to hear a lot of that name. She's an alleged madam, and right now the talk of the town in Washington, D.C. She was in court this morning in a case that has a lot of people nervous.

CNN's Brianna Keilar is standing by with details on why so many people are nervous -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fred.

Deborah Jean Palfrey pleaded not guilty to five counts, including racketeering and money laundering. Her lawyer in the civil proceedings of her case says that she was running a legal firm that specialized in adult fantasy, but the government says she was running a large-scale prostitution ring here in D.C. from 1993 to 2006.

The indictment against her says as part of her hiring process, Palfrey had male testers who agreed to and did meet with women who wanted to work with her company to determine the ability of those women to perform the appropriate prostitution activities. Very tawdry stuff. And it's made even more salacious, Fred, by the fact that Palfrey, who alleges that she's broke and can't pay her defense fees, wants to sell phone records from her company.

Her attorney in her civil proceeding says this amounts to more than 10,000 former customers, contact information, addresses, phone numbers. More than 10,000 former customers.

So, as you say, some very nervous people, and even more people, Fred, who are just curious to see who's on this list.

WHITFIELD: And Brianna, where is Palfrey now? Is she in custody?

KEILAR: No, she's not. She was not taken into custody. The judge agreed with federal prosecutors to put her under electronic surveillance, so obviously some type of ankle bracelet or something like that. She's going to be able to travel within California -- that's her home state -- as well as to Florida, where her mother lives. She had to turn in her passport and she's going to have to report weekly to the court -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Brianna Keilar, thanks so much, from Washington -- Don.

LEMON: Are they moving or aren't they? FEMA trailers sitting empty less than three hours from Desha County, Arkansas. Tornadoes that hit the county last month left dozens of families in need of temporary housing.

Our Gulf Coast correspondent Susan Roesgen joins me now with an update from New Orleans.

Hi, Susan.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.

You know, those tornadoes in Desha County wiped out more than 30 houses, more than 25 businesses. So folks there could use some mobile homes or trailers to get back on their feet. But the Arkansas governor's office says because President Bush did not tour that area and didn't declare it a disaster area, they are not eligible for any federal help.

However, FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is trying to find a way to get a few of those unused mobile homes and trailers in Hope, Arkansas, on the road to Desha County. But it hasn't happened yet -- Don.

LEMON: Well, Susan, what's the final holdup here? Why hasn't it happened?

ROESGEN: You know, that's really what everyone's asking.

You have to remember that without a federal disaster declaration, FEMA cannot, by law, give away any of those mobile homes or trailers. But right now FEMA is trying to find a way to use another federal agency to unload some of them as excess inventory. And yet, the Arkansas governor's officer says what seems to be tying things up now are the logistics, things like who's going to drive those mobile homes and trailers to Desha County, who's going to install them, and who's going to pay for them.

LEMON: Well, has anyone said why those 8,000 mobile homes are just sitting there? ROESGEN: You know, that is the question of the century, certainly the question we've had for the last year and a half here on CNN, Don.

Those mobile homes were purchased by FEMA right after Hurricane Katrina, and then, of course, FEMA realized that they could not be sent to a flood zone, which precludes the Gulf Coast from getting any of those mobile homes. So FEMA decided to use that area there in Hope Arkansas, as a staging area for future disasters, just like tornadoes. And yet, as we're seeing, it isn't happening without a federal disaster declaration. And we'll have to see what happens next -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Susan -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right.

Let's go straight to Washington, D.C. We talked about the alleged madam who is now facing charges in court. Well, Deborah Jean Palfrey is now speaking outside that courthouse.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

DEBORAH PALFREY, OWNED AN ESCORT SERVICE: ... operated as a legal, high-end erotic fantasy service. They employed independent contractors ages 23 to 25 years of age, and up to age 55. For two to four years (INAUDIBLE) many had graduate school education, who either worked and/or attended school during regular business hours (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: We need to apologize for the audio there. It's not your television sets. We're unable to hear it as well. So when we get an idea of what Deborah Jean Palfrey is actually saying there, we'll be able to bring that to you -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Fredricka. Thank you so much.

Talking presidential politics with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Do you think that Barack Obama is the answer to George Bush?

LOUIS FARRAKHAN, FMR. NATION OF ISLAM LEADER: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, wait until you hear what he has to say about Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani.

My conversation with Louis Farrakhan straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And some prescriptions are just what the doctor ordered, but sometimes they cause more problems than they actually solve. A look at painful prescription side-effects and what to do about them, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM. LEMON: All right. Pay attention to this one. You're going to thank me for it this weekend. Daylight Saving Time is being sprung on us a few weeks early this year. We'll shed some light on the reason, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's a quarter past the hour. Here are a few of the stories we're working on here in the NEWSROOM.

(NEWSBREAK)

LEMON: Well, we take prescription drugs to get better, not sicker, but in many cases the drugs can be painful, even dangerous -- have some dangerous side-effects. CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me now to tell me about that.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, hello.

Part of the big problem here is that sometimes those horrible, even deadly side-effects are not listed on the label. The reason for that? The side-effects didn't actually show up until the drugs went on the market.

So, antidepressants, drugs for ADHD, Vioxx, those are all examples where problems did not show up until after the drugs went on the market. So there were no warnings for doctors, no warnings for patients. Well, Consumers Union, which publishes "Consumer Reports" and others, are concerned about this. Consumers Union had a press conference today, people spoke whose loved ones died after the side- effects of prescription drugs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CATHY HARTER, SON COMMITTED SUICIDE: If the FDA hadn't waited so long to release the information, the black box warning, which came two weeks after we buried our son, he may still -- he might have still been with us. Steven (ph) was our only child. There are so many milestones that -- that we will never see with our son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Cathy Harter's son died after taking an antidepressant. He killed himself.

Suicidality is now known as a side-effect and is now on the label for antidepressants. However, it wasn't on there when her son was taking the drug.

Consumers Union now wants to see changes in how the FDA requires labeling and in how they approve prescription drugs -- Don.

LEMON: OK. So what specifically then are they asking for?

COHEN: There's some very specific changes that they're looking for. And actually, the Senate is considering legislation like this. First of all, what they're looking for is clearer disclosure of side- effects. The FDA says we disclose side-effects of drugs, it's all there. But Consumers Union says it's hundreds of thousands of pages. Finding that side-effect can sometimes be like finding two-point type in the Manhattan phonebooks. That's how they put it.

Also, a more efficient label-changing process. Consumers Union says right now it can take months or even years to change a label when the need is out there. FDA says they do it in a timely fashion.

Also, elimination of conflicts of interests. This is a very interesting one. Right now there are doctors who are receiving money from a drug company, let's say, to -- the drug company gives the doctor money for speaking engagements. Well, that doctor can sometimes be sitting on an FDA committee when that company wants to have a drug approved. And some people would say that's a huge conflict of interest, how can that doctor be objective when he's actually getting money from the drug company?

So Consumers Union and others want to see that changed.

LEMON: I bet they do.

Now, when doctors do prescribe a drug, how do they know what the side- effects are? Are they -- are they getting their information from the FDA, or where?

COHEN: They do to some extent get their information from the FDA, but they also get information from medical journals. And lots of people are concerned that drug companies only tell medical journals what they want them to know.

And secondly, doctors get information when representatives from drug companies come to their offices. They often bring lunch for the whole staff, and they talk to the doctors and the nurses. And people say that drug reps sugarcoat those side-effects so that doctors won't really be thinking about them. Drug companies, of course, say that they don't do that.

LEMON: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much for that information.

COHEN: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Well, Don, last hour we heard President Bush and the Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, talking about trade, talking about biofuels and education.

Our Ed Henry is traveling with the president with more on all that was said and promised -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fred.

That's right, you know, really, the bottom line is no news at this press conference. And, in fact, the president, President Bush, directly sidestepped a question about Hugo Chavez and all of the various statements he's been saying, such as "Go home, Gringo," just the latest insult from the Venezuelan strongman.

The president not wanting to get drawn into a one-on-one with Chavez. The White House feels that will only elevate him, give him the attention that he so desperately craves.

But nevertheless, it's clear that this shadowboxing between the U.S. and Venezuela is really front and center on this seven-day swing through Latin America. The president, earlier today, was touring a biofuel plant with his Brazilian counterpart. They inked basically an ethanol deal between the two nations.

And the point here is that part of the effort here is to try and choke off some of Chavez' power by eating into his oil revenue. That's really his base of power in this entire region. And by trying to find more alternative fuels, not make various nations in Latin America so dependent on Chavez' oil, the White House clearly hoping that that will cut off some of his power.

Now, the various protests that have been building all through Latin America around this visit really being whipped up by Chavez, a lot of his anti-American rhetoric. In fact, tonight he's planning a massive rally in Argentina, not far from here, in a soccer stadium.

And what U.S. officials are privately now alleging is they believe that a lot of the protests we've been seeing in various Latin American nations are not happening by accident. They believe in fact that Chavez is paying some of these people to show up, build the crowds builder, and try to show up the U.S. president -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: That's an interesting little twist there.

Ed Henry, thanks so much from Sao Paula, Brazil.

HENRY: Thank you.

LEMON: Talking presidential politics with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Do you think that Barack Obama is the answer to George Bush?

FARRAKHAN: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And wait until you hear what he says about Senator Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani.

My conversation with Louis Farrakhan, straight ahead in CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: LEMON: Last week's stock market tumble raised concerns about the health of the economy, but today Wall Street got a reassuring answer.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Kyra Phillips.

LEMON: A controversial Nation of Islam leader gives CNN a rare interview. Louis Farrakhan sounds off on accusations of anti-Semitism politics and his own mortality.

WHITFIELD: Whose names are on this woman's list? An alleged former Washington madam is threatening to release names of her clients. We've got details on what she did in court today.

LEMON: And fiery protests greet President Bush on his tour of Latin America. Details on what he hopes to accomplish there, straight ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is the top of the hour. And we start with another tragic turn in that fatal but crash in Atlanta. A fifth baseball player from Bluffton University has died of his injuries.

Freshman Zach Arend had been in critical condition since last Friday's crash. His family was by his side.

Four other players were killed when their charter bus careened off an overpass to the interstate below. Also killed, the bus driver and his wife. More than two dozen others were hurt, four still in Atlanta hospitals.

WHITFIELD: And moments after the bus plunged off the bridge, help was on the way. Witnesses and survivors were dialing 911, most understandably confused about what they had seen or even been through.

Here's the call from one of the passengers.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

OPERATOR: Atlanta, 911 Emergency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we've just been in a bus accident. I don't know where we're at.

OPERATOR: I need a location.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are we at, sir?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're on 75 South.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 75 South.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got somebody coming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We've got somebody coming. OK. A lot of people. Please hurry.

OPERATOR: OK. What all is going on, sir? Talk to me. What's going on?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. A lot of people laying down on the ground in different places.

OPERATOR: About how many? Give me an estimate so we'll know how many ambulances. How many?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're talking 50. Or not 50. At least 33. Thirty-three people were on this bus.

OPERATOR: OK. You're all on the expressway or are you on the street?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we fell off the expressway. We hit a road and fell off the actual bridge.

OPERATOR: The bus fell over the bridge?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

OPERATOR: OK. Now, we've got some help coming out there now. So they'll be there shortly, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got to get out of here.

OPERATOR: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Bye-bye.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Federal investigators have gone over the crash scene inch by inch, even reenacting the accident. No definitive cause released as of yet.

LEMON: Well, the question everyone is asking, could this tragedy have been avoided?

CNN Investigative Correspondent Drew Griffin takes a revealing look this weekend in an hour-long special.

Here's a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It is not until you actually approach this split in the road that you're directed to exit left or stay straight on southbound 75. For reasons we will never know, Jerry Niemeyer steered his bus left, on to this exit ramp. He apparently didn't realize it.

(on camera): It's at this moment Kyle King, seated four rows behind the driver in this seat, is listening to music half asleep, and hears the only warning.

KYLE KING, BUS CRASH SURVIVOR: And I woke up to the bus -- the driver's wife screaming.

GRIFFIN: Jean Niemeyer was sitting in the front with her husband.

KING: She said something like, "This isn't the exit or the on-ramp," or something, and then I remember the bus driver saying something. Then I actually heard the tires squeal of him trying to get it back on control.

GRIFFIN: Despite being on a clearly marked exit ramp, stop signs ahead, and a "Stop Ahead" warning painted on the pavement, Atlanta police say bus driver Jerry Niemeyer hit the intersection without braking. His bus blew through the stop sign, across four lanes of traffic, and headed straight for a retaining wall.

MAJ. C.W. MOSS, ATLANTA POLICE: We don't have any evidence on the roadway suggesting that the bus had attempted to stop. There were no skidmarks laid down that we were able to determine. As to the reason for that, that remains under investigation. We hope we'll ultimately get an answer to that.

GRIFFIN: This skidmark of wheels turning right is the only evidence of Niemeyer's futile attempt to avoid disaster.

A.J. RAMTHUN, BUS CRASH SURVIVOR: I woke up as soon as the bus hit the overpass' wall, and that's when I looked up, and the bus landed on the left side, which is the side I was sitting on. And I just looked out and saw the road coming up after me. And that's all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And Drew Griffin joins us now. Drew, we were both out there -- you at the hospital. I'm not sure, were you ever at the scene once? No.

GRIFFIN: Yes.

LEMON: You went to the scene as well.

GRIFFIN: The scene on Friday night.

LEMON: Just a horrific accident happening.

Looking at that intersection, what are investigators saying? Are they believing that the -- now that the driver is at fault and mistook that HOV exit?

GRIFFIN: Nobody -- nobody is saying that. Jerry Niemeyer, the bus driver, was a great guy, was a great driver, was not tired, was not drinking, was not anything, right?

LEMON: Had just taken over. He and his wife, right.

GRIFFIN: Just taken over. But everything we see points to this being a horrific mistake.

And Don, once the mistake is made, once you exit that freeway, the questtion is, why does he keep going?

LEMON: Why does he -- right.

GRIFFIN: Why does he keep going up that ramp at such a speed that would send him the over side? Why does he pass through the stops without noticing them?

LEMON: And you saw -- it was clearly marked. It said HOV exit. There are several stop signs, or at least one stop sign. But there are signs that say "Exit," and then of course it's marked there on the ground.

Now, we were listening to the baseball player speaking yesterday from his hospital bed saying he woke up and heard the driver's wife saying, "You're not on the highway anymore."

What are they saying about that?

GRIFFIN: That is the only case we know that at moment, whatever that moment was of that scream, that that's when the Niemeyers, both in the front seat of this bus, right...

LEMON: Right.

GRIFFIN: ... realized that they're not on that highway.

LEMON: Right.

GRIFFIN: But the question still remains. Because we took a bus out there. We took this exact same type of bus out there and just drove it.

LEMON: Right.

GRIFFIN: And the gravity of going uphill slows the bus down, even without touching the brake.

LEMON: At the speed limit, it will slow it down?

GRIFFIN: Correct. The minute you start heading up that ramp, the natural tendency is that gravity pulls the bus back. So the bus should have been naturally slowing. We just don't have the answers.

LEMON: Are we waiting on an autopsy from the bus driver? Could he possibly have had an heart attack, maybe, or something, some sort of physical ailment?

GRIFFIN: Possible, yes. Probable, here's the evidence that points to not. Because just before he gets to the wall that he hits, he swerves. So, at that moment he makes a deliberate move of the bus.

Was that the moment his wife screamed? Hard to imagine you could get that close to the wall and still not realize you've gone off a highway.

LEMON: Yes, unbelievable. And, I mean, you can imagine the parents, you know, send your kids off on the bus -- these kids are amazing kids, I've spoken to a lot of them, as well as you. And I'll be very interested in watching your story, 8:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Am I correct?

GRIFFIN: On Saturday night, that's right.

LEMON: Yes. I want to see what you uncover.

Thank you, Drew Griffin.

GRIFFIN: Thanks, Don.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: 8:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, right here on CNN. "Fatal Journey: The Atlanta Bus Crash." Don't miss that. Our Drew Griffin will host that right here on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: Deborah Jean Palfrey, haven't heard that name before, right? Well, get ready to hear a lot of that name. She's an alleged madam, and right now the talk of the town in Washington, D.C. She was in court this morning in a case that has a lot of people nervous.

CNN's Brianna Keilar is standing by with details on why so many people are nervous -- Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fred. Deborah Jean Palfrey pleaded not guilty to five counts, including racketeering and money laundering. Her lawyer in the civil proceedings of her case says that she was running a legal firm that specialized in adult fantasy, but the government says she was running a large-scale prostitution ring here in D.C. from 1993 to 2006.

The indictment against her says as part of her hiring process, Palfrey had male testers who agreed to and did meet with women who wanted to work with her company to determine the ability of those women to perform the appropriate prostitution activities. Very tawdry stuff. And it's made even more salacious, Fred, by the fact that Palfrey, who alleges that she's broke and can't pay her defense fees, wants to sell phone records from her company.

Her attorney in her civil proceeding says this amounts to more than 10,000 former customers, contact information, addresses, phone numbers. More than 10,000 former customers.

So, as you say, some very nervous people, and even more people, Fred, who are just curious to see who's on this list.

WHITFIELD: And Brianna, where is Palfrey now? Is she in custody?

KEILAR: No, she's not. She was not taken into custody. The judge agreed with federal prosecutors to put her under electronic surveillance, so obviously some type of ankle bracelet or something like that. She's going to be able to travel within California -- that's her home state -- as well as to Florida, where her mother lives. She had to turn in her passport and she's going to have to report weekly to the court -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Brianna Keilar, thanks so much, from Washington -- Don.

LEMON: Are they moving or aren't they? FEMA trailers sitting empty less than three hours from Desha County, Arkansas. Tornadoes that hit the county last month left dozens of families in need of temporary housing.

Our Gulf Coast correspondent Susan Roesgen joins me now with an update from New Orleans.

Hi, Susan.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.

You know, those tornadoes in Desha County wiped out more than 30 houses, more than 25 businesses. So folks there could use some mobile homes or trailers to get back on their feet. But the Arkansas governor's office says because President Bush did not tour that area and didn't declare it a disaster area, they are not eligible for any federal help.

However, FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is trying to find a way to get a few of those unused mobile homes and trailers in Hope, Arkansas, on the road to Desha County. But it hasn't happened yet -- Don. LEMON: Well, Susan, what's the final holdup here? Why hasn't it happened?

ROESGEN: You know, that's really what everyone's asking.

You have to remember that without a federal disaster declaration, FEMA cannot, by law, give away any of those mobile homes or trailers. But right now FEMA is trying to find a way to use another federal agency to unload some of them as excess inventory. And yet, the Arkansas governor's officer says what seems to be tying things up now are the logistics, things like who's going to drive those mobile homes and trailers to Desha County, who's going to install them, and who's going to pay for them.

LEMON: Well, has anyone said why those 8,000 mobile homes are just sitting there?

ROESGEN: You know, that is the question of the century, certainly the question we've had for the last year and a half here on CNN, Don.

Those mobile homes were purchased by FEMA right after Hurricane Katrina, and then, of course, FEMA realized that they could not be sent to a flood zone, which precludes the Gulf Coast from getting any of those mobile homes. So FEMA decided to use that area there in Hope Arkansas, as a staging area for future disasters, just like tornadoes. And yet, as we're seeing, it isn't happening without a federal disaster declaration. And we'll have to see what happens next -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Susan -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right.

Let's go straight to Washington, D.C. We talked about the alleged madam who is now facing charges in court. Well, Deborah Jean Palfrey is now speaking outside that courthouse.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

DEBORAH PALFREY, OWNED AN ESCORT SERVICE: ... operated as a legal, high-end erotic fantasy service. They employed independent contractors ages 23 to 25 years of age, and up to age 55. For two to four years (INAUDIBLE) many had graduate school education, who either worked and/or attended school during regular business hours (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: We need to apologize for the audio there. It's not your television sets. We're unable to hear it as well. So when we get an idea of what Deborah Jean Palfrey is actually saying there, we'll be able to bring that to you -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Fredricka. Thank you so much.

Talking presidential politics with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Do you think that Barack Obama is the answer to George Bush?

LOUIS FARRAKHAN, FMR. NATION OF ISLAM LEADER: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, wait until you hear what he has to say about Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani.

My conversation with Louis Farrakhan straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And some prescriptions are just what the doctor ordered, but sometimes they cause more problems than they actually solve. A look at painful prescription side-effects and what to do about them, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: All right. Pay attention to this one. You're going to thank me for it this weekend. Daylight Saving Time is being sprung on us a few weeks early this year. We'll shed some light on the reason, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's a quarter past the hour. Here are a few of the stories we're working on here in the NEWSROOM.

(NEWSBREAK)

LEMON: Well, we take prescription drugs to get better, not sicker, but in many cases the drugs can be painful, even dangerous -- have some dangerous side-effects. CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins me now to tell me about that.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, hello.

Part of the big problem here is that sometimes those horrible, even deadly side-effects are not listed on the label. The reason for that? The side-effects didn't actually show up until the drugs went on the market.

So, antidepressants, drugs for ADHD, Vioxx, those are all examples where problems did not show up until after the drugs went on the market. So there were no warnings for doctors, no warnings for patients. Well, Consumers Union, which publishes "Consumer Reports" and others, are concerned about this. Consumers Union had a press conference today, people spoke whose loved ones died after the side- effects of prescription drugs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CATHY HARTER, SON COMMITTED SUICIDE: If the FDA hadn't waited so long to release the information, the black box warning, which came two weeks after we buried our son, he may still -- he might have still been with us. Steven (ph) was our only child. There are so many milestones that -- that we will never see with our son. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Cathy Harter's son died after taking an antidepressant. He killed himself.

Suicidality is now known as a side-effect and is now on the label for antidepressants. However, it wasn't on there when her son was taking the drug.

Consumers Union now wants to see changes in how the FDA requires labeling and in how they approve prescription drugs -- Don.

LEMON: OK. So what specifically then are they asking for?

COHEN: There's some very specific changes that they're looking for. And actually, the Senate is considering legislation like this.

First of all, what they're looking for is clearer disclosure of side- effects. The FDA says we disclose side-effects of drugs, it's all there. But Consumers Union says it's hundreds of thousands of pages. Finding that side-effect can sometimes be like finding two-point type in the Manhattan phonebooks. That's how they put it.

Also, a more efficient label-changing process. Consumers Union says right now it can take months or even years to change a label when the need is out there. FDA says they do it in a timely fashion.

Also, elimination of conflicts of interests. This is a very interesting one. Right now there are doctors who are receiving money from a drug company, let's say, to -- the drug company gives the doctor money for speaking engagements. Well, that doctor can sometimes be sitting on an FDA committee when that company wants to have a drug approved. And some people would say that's a huge conflict of interest, how can that doctor be objective when he's actually getting money from the drug company?

So Consumers Union and others want to see that changed.

LEMON: I bet they do.

Now, when doctors do prescribe a drug, how do they know what the side- effects are? Are they -- are they getting their information from the FDA, or where?

COHEN: They do to some extent get their information from the FDA, but they also get information from medical journals. And lots of people are concerned that drug companies only tell medical journals what they want them to know.

And secondly, doctors get information when representatives from drug companies come to their offices. They often bring lunch for the whole staff, and they talk to the doctors and the nurses. And people say that drug reps sugarcoat those side-effects so that doctors won't really be thinking about them. Drug companies, of course, say that they don't do that.

LEMON: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much for that information.

COHEN: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Well, Don, last hour we heard President Bush and the Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, talking about trade, talking about biofuels and education.

Our Ed Henry is traveling with the president with more on all that was said and promised -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fred.

That's right, you know, really, the bottom line is no news at this press conference. And, in fact, the president, President Bush, directly sidestepped a question about Hugo Chavez and all of the various statements he's been saying, such as "Go home, Gringo," just the latest insult from the Venezuelan strongman.

The president not wanting to get drawn into a one-on-one with Chavez. The White House feels that will only elevate him, give him the attention that he so desperately craves.

But nevertheless, it's clear that this shadowboxing between the U.S. and Venezuela is really front and center on this seven-day swing through Latin America. The president, earlier today, was touring a biofuel plant with his Brazilian counterpart. They inked basically an ethanol deal between the two nations.

And the point here is that part of the effort here is to try and choke off some of Chavez' power by eating into his oil revenue. That's really his base of power in this entire region. And by trying to find more alternative fuels, not make various nations in Latin America so dependent on Chavez' oil, the White House clearly hoping that that will cut off some of his power.

Now, the various protests that have been building all through Latin America around this visit really being whipped up by Chavez, a lot of his anti-American rhetoric. In fact, tonight he's planning a massive rally in Argentina, not far from here, in a soccer stadium.

And what U.S. officials are privately now alleging is they believe that a lot of the protests we've been seeing in various Latin American nations are not happening by accident. They believe in fact that Chavez is paying some of these people to show up, build the crowds builder, and try to show up the U.S. president -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: That's an interesting little twist there.

Ed Henry, thanks so much from Sao Paula, Brazil.

HENRY: Thank you.

LEMON: Talking presidential politics with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Do you think that Barack Obama is the answer to George Bush?

FARRAKHAN: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And wait until you hear what he says about Senator Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani.

My conversation with Louis Farrakhan, straight ahead in CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: LEMON: Last week's stock market tumble raised concerns about the health of the economy, but today Wall Street got a reassuring answer.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Security is tight south of Baghdad today, where some four million Shiite pilgrims have gathered at a shrine in Karbala. More than 300 have died on attacks on their pilgrimage since Monday. The Shiites are observing the end of a 40-day mourning period following the anniversary of the death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson.

WHITFIELD: And we hear news from Iraq every day, but the reports by correspondents like CNN's Arwa Damon, are just one part of the story.

Arwa is in New York today. And on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," she talked about what it's like to live and work in Baghdad. She also told our Miles O'Brien and Soledad O'Brien about the courageous people she meets on the streets of Iraq all the time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: What are the stories that do tend to stick with you? And is that in some ways emotionally difficult?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is very emotionally difficult to be in Iraq. I mean, we're watching people go through this all the time.

That university student you just mentioned, we met him in the hospital after the twin bombing in Amastone (ph) City University that killed over 70 students and employees. He was in the hospital, both his legs were broken, his face was incredibly scarred.

He told this tragic story that how at the time of the bombing, he was meeting this girl that he had had a crush on for quite some time but had never admitted it to her. All of a sudden, he meets her, a massive explosion takes place. A female body that he knows is dead falls on top of his, saves his life, and he thinks that it might be this girl that he's had a crush on, that he might never be able to see her again.

And you really look at these students and you remember -- I mean, I flash back to my college days when, what was I worrying about? My grades and whether or not the guy that I thought was cute was in the cafeteria. It never even crossed my mind that I could, at that time, go through something like this. And you look at the students and you think, how do you not give up? And that's what's astounding, is that most of them don't give up.

That young man was going back to school as soon as he was well enough to go back because in his mind, he was not going to let the terrorists win. And you just meet these types of utterly amazing people there all the time. O'BRIEN: Why do you keep going back?

DAMON: I think, in a certain degree I'm very attached to what happened there. I've been there for so long, and I've met so many amazing people. And I also feel that, as a journalist, we have a responsibility to tell the people's story, soldier and civilian. And I also think as a member of the global community today, we have a responsibility to Iraq to keep telling the people's story and what's going on there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you can see "AMERICAN MORNING" every weekday from six to nine a.m. Eastern, here on CNN.

LEMON: Well, he is one of the most revered figures in America and one of the most reviled as well.

At 73, Minister Louis Farrakhan is nearing the end of a long and controversial career as leader of the Nation of Islam. Farrakhan is suffering from prostate and colon cancer. And last month's appearance in Detroit was billed as his last major address.

A picture here at a rally in 1963, with Malcolm X, Farrakhan became the leader of the Nation of Islam in 1970 -- in the 1970s.

While he is credited with helping to rebuild the group's influence among African-Americans, his controversial pronouncements sparked outrage among many whites. He once referred to Judaism as a dirty religion and spoke positively about Adolf Hitler.

The state department accused of Farrakhan of cavorting with the likes of Moammar Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, and Fidel Castro. That didn't phase Farrakhan's followers.

His crowning achievement however, was the Million Man March in 1995. Hundreds of thousands of black men filled the Washington Mall to hear messages about self-respect and self-reliance.

Earlier this week I interviewed Farrakhan at his home in Chicago. We began by talking about his health.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN, NATION OF ISLAM: I was vomiting, but nothing was coming up, and pushing out blood at the same time. And so I was in constant, constant pain, and I was dying. And it got so bad, some of natropath (ph) physicians told me they didn't want me to take the operation, because it was horrific, because it was a complete pelvic exoneration, where everything in the pelvis would be taken out. And my medical doctor said if I didn't take the operation, I would surely die.

I came out four weeks after the operation, and then had the speech six weeks after the operation.

LEMON: In your speech, you talked about the war in Iraq.

FARRAKHAN: Yes, I did.

LEMON: You talked about the president. You say he should be impeached.

FARRAKHAN: Oh, definitely. The president lied to the American people. That's a high crime, and our babies, black and brown and Asian and poor white, are dying because of a lie that this man told.

What America's doing is bringing democracy at the point of a gun and at the point of a gun she wants to make another country Democratic, but we're losing democracy at home. This man will throw America deep into Armageddon if he's allowed his way and the Democrats seem so weak and cowardly to confront this thing.

LEMON: You're talking about Democrats, one of which who's running for president who lives in your very neighborhood. What do you think of him?

FARRAKHAN: I like him very much. I'm not saying that I'm going to vote for him, but I like him, because he's fresh.

LEMON: Do you think that Barack Obama is the answer to George Bush?

FARRAKHAN: No. I think he's capable of being an answer, but who will provide him with the money so he can contend with Mrs. Clinton and her big bank or Giuliani and McCain and their growing bank? So the people that bankroll you, they're the ones that ultimately call the tunes.

LEMON: So what are you saying?

FARRAKHAN: I'm saying that no matter who sits in the White House, if you don't uproot the structure that corrupts them, you still don't have a president, you have a figurehead.

LEMON: Do you think Barack Obama can do that? FARRAKHAN: No, absolutely not. He knows some of the ugliness of politics, because he's been in it long enough, but the real wickedness of the face of politics, you're looking right into the face of Satan himself, And Satan doesn't intend to be uprooted by an upstart from Chicago or Ms. Clinton from New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Louis Farrakhan does not mince words. And he is a mesmerizing speaker, but he has been accused of stirring up hate with his words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: There are a lot of people that have a lot of opinions about you, not all positive. People say you're an anti-semite.

FARRAKHAN: I've never been an anti-semite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, Farrakhan answers his critics.

WHITFIELD: And daylight savings time has been sprung on us a few weeks early this year. We'll shed some light on the reasons, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So here's a little reminder. You miss church on Sunday if you don't spring forward before you turn in Saturday night. Daylight savings time starts early this year, supposedly to save energy. Some call it a whole big waste. CNN's Bob Franken clocks in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The airline industry calls the early jump ahead an onerous challenge. It messes up schedules, particularly overseas. The literally down to earth farmers don't like it either. Of course, they never did like daylight savings time. They already get up early enough. And it confuses their cows. It upsets the milking schedule. It can also really play havoc with Saturday night/Sunday morning's bar time. So if you're among those who are not pleased, blame this guy.

REP. ED MARKEY, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: It lowers the number of traffic fatalities when the hour of daylight is moved to the evening. It helps people who have trouble seeing because in the light they can move around in the evening much more freely. It helps, you know, with the issue of energy savings.

FRANKEN: Congressman Ed Markey bases his conclusions on those energy reductions on studies done in the 1970s. But many U.S. government officials are skeptical, pointing out that was then and this is now. CRAIG STEVENS, DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY: Today we have energy efficiency. Today we have conservation. Today we have better technologies and better appliances. So I think we're all going to be curious to see, once this is all over in November, to see what the difference is.

FRANKEN: The law requires that in November, the Energy Department will begin to study whether the extended daylight savings time really did make much of a difference. But according to Congressman Markey, it's an idea whose time has come, an hour early, of course.

MARKEY: In addition, it also brings a smile to people's faces.

FRANKEN: Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Oh, look at that, bounding a tall building in a single bound -- leaping a tall building, but that is the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey clown, Bello Nock.

WHITFIELD: That's a brave clown.

LEMON: Well, or.

WHITFIELD: Brave or scary.

LEMON: He's scaling the side of Madison Square Garden to remind New Yorkers to set the clocks ahead. It's daylight saving, no "S" -- saving time.

WHITFIELD: Right now he looks like he's holding on for dear life, even though he's got rope on him.

LEMON: I know, I hope he's wire and not just holding onto the big hand.

WHITFIELD: No he is, he like repels down from the top of the building. But just the way he's holding on to the second hand.

LEMON: And we're joking here, but it is serious, because it's a couple weeks early. And so that's going to wreak some havoc on computers and other devices.

WHITFIELD: Let's hope not.

LEMON: Let's hope not. So get your BlackBerry updated and your cell phone.

WHITFIELD: And everything else as well.

LEMON: So there you.

WHITFIELD: Springing forward.

LEMON: A little fun in New York.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be springing forward soon with entertainment news. And Sibila Vargas -- Sibila, what you got?

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. Another major rock star is headed for rehab, and a wedding to die for. All that and more when CNN NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Who doesn't love Michael Jackson's music?

LEMON: It reminds me of my childhood.

WHITFIELD: I know. The Jackson 5? So great.

LEMON: Very nice. Let's talk about him. That's why we're playing the song, he can still draw a crowd, of course. Oh my goodness, a paying crowd at that.

The one-time king of pop is visiting Japan for the first time in almost a year. Yesterday fans shelled out, get this, $3,400 each to have photos taken with him. More frugal fans however, turned out today for an appreciation party in Tokyo. Organizers said Jackson would talk to everyone there for a mere $130 a head.

WHITFIELD: Gee whiz.

All right. Well, Johnny Depp, he has often said the role he cherishes most is that of being a dad. And today, dad is breathing a huge sigh of relief.

Entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas joins us with more on that, and the other top Hollywood headlines. Big sigh of relief for him and the family.

VARGAS: Definitely, absolutely. The actor's real life drama is taking a turn for the better, Fred.

We reported yesterday that Johnny Depp's 7-year-old daughter was in serious condition in a British hospital. While CNN's request for confirmation has not been returned, in according to "In Touch" magazine, Lily-Rose is being treated for blood poisoning.

Good news is that Depp and his long-time partner Vanessa Paradis, say that their daughter is doing much better. The couple is in England, where Depp is about to shoot a big-screen version of the hit musical "Sweeney Todd."

Meanwhile, life has delivered a few hard knocks for music star Eddie Van Halen as the rocker announces he's headed to rehab for alcohol abuse. On the band's Web site, the legendary guitarist says he needs to work on himself so that in the future, he can be at his best for his fans.

The timing couldn't be worse for the famed guitarist, who along with his oponomous (ph) fan, will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Get this, Monday night. In fact, bassist Michael Anthony is now the only original member of the group expected to attend the New York ceremony. David Lee Roth, the band's first frontman, said he won't attend because officials won't let him sing there. And while his brother Alex, the group's drummer, has also sent signals he won't be there either.

OK, while many of us have dreamt to that fairytale wedding, when it comes to dream-like nuptials, actress Elizabeth Hurley, she just might just take the cake.

The "Austin Powers" star has wrapped up a week of lavish wedding celebrations in India today. How lavish, you ask? Well, if having a civil marriage in an English castle last week wasn't enough, today's main event in India boasted the kind of pageantry saved for maharajis.

Hurley's new husband, the 42-year-old Indian businessman Arun Nayar trotted down an aisle in a white horse, surrounded by camels and elephants, while the 41-year-old cover girl was covered in elaborate henna tattoos.

Of course, all of this took place before about 240 guests, singers and dancers while the couple was showered in flower petals. Sounds a lot like my marriage, I remember that.

WHITFIELD: Fancy-shmancy.

VARGAS: Maybe not so fancy. I lied.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, you know, it pays to fantasize a little bit. So what else is coming up on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT"?

VARGAS: Well, tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" we are shifting gears. Cheating co-stars? Why do so many Hollywood stars fall in love on the set and break up their marriages?

"SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" investigates TV's most provocative entertainment news show. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on "Headline Prime."

Back to you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, sounds great. We'll be watching. Thanks a lot.

Have a great weekend.

LEMON: You guys know where the Simpsons live, right?

WHITFIELD: The Simpsons?

I know, that was rotten, wasn't it, sorry.

LEMON: It is Friday, I can tell. You've had a long week.

They live in Springfield, but which one? There are dozens of Springfields, from Maine to California. I was always thought it was Springfield, Illinois, I don't know why.

So producers of the new Simpson's movie have issued a challenge, sixteen of them. Each is invited to submit a short film that documents that Springfield's ties to the cartoon town. One will be chosen to host the movie's premiere in July. You've got to say it like you're in Springfield -- premiere in July.

WHITFIELD: All right, that sounds good.

So, the famous arches at the Los Angeles Airport are in danger of falling down. That cannot be. That seems to be the trademark, right? Last month a half-ton chunk actually fell off, forcing officials to close the iconic structure indefinitely. The restaurant perched on top of the arches has been shut for months already. Kind of dark pictures, but you get the idea when you see the famous arches.

Well, LAX Airport hopes to save the historic building, the first step is a thorough inspection, followed by extensive renovation.

Her client list rumored to hold 10,000 names. An alleged madam threatening to expose Washington's playboys. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

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