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Fighting in Tripoli, Lebanon; Tuberculosis Patient in Denver, Colorado; "Dr. Death" Released From Prison; Hurricane Season

Aired June 01, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm T.J. Holmes, in today for Don Lemon.

A fresh round of fighting in Lebanon, but who fired first, Lebanese government soldiers or al Qaeda-linked militants?

Our Brent Sadler has a live report.

PHILLIPS: And he defended Dr. Death for years. Now Dr. Jack Kevorkian is out of prison. We're asking Attorney Geoffrey Fieger will his former client kill again.

You're live in THE CNN NEWSROOM.

Fighting in Lebanon flared up again today. Tanks and artillery fire and reports of at least two Lebanese soldiers killed. It's all happening far north of Beirut, around a Palestinian refugee camp. Inside, an Islamic militant group the army is trying to roust out. This is the worst internal fighting in Lebanon since 1990.

It's after dark now in Tripoli, after 9:00 p.m. actually, and we want to get straight to CNN's Brent Sadler to give us an update -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Kyra.

At nightfall, an eerie calm descended over the Palestinian refugee camp -- just some sporadic gunfire of late. But this after 12 hours of intense ferocious fighting that really did involve heavy caliber artillery fired by Lebanese government forces -- soldiers -- against strongholds of Fatah al-Islam militants, particularly at the northern and southern entrances to this shantytown camp, once home to some 30,000 Palestinian refugees, 20,000 of whom evacuated during recent lulls in the fighting.

But amid this intense artillery fire from .155 calibers, from naval gunships offshore, as well as tanks, there remains the unknown fate of some 8,000 to 10,000 civilians still caught in this fighting.

Now, Lebanese Army sources say that soldiers have overrun several -- possibly as many as three -- important positions on the perimeter of the camp, making some headway against those militants. But the level of the fighting this day suggests that Fatah al-Islam has at times, over the past two weeks since this siege began, Kyra, to dig in, to entrench themselves and really put up fierce resistance against the army -- militants who they say will fight to the death -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Brent Sadler, we'll follow it through the night.

Thanks, Brent.

HOLMES: The T.B. traveler is speaking out for the first time. Andrew Speaker flew to Europe and back in commercial airlines. And in an interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, he says health officials never warned him he'd be a risk to fellow passengers. Speaker claims they only told him that after he was in Europe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "GOOD MORNING AMERICA," COURTESY ABC NEWS)

ANDREW SPEAKER, HOSPITALIZED WITH TUBERCULOSIS: I said what's changed?

When I left, I was told I wasn't a threat to anyone. When I was left, I was told that I wasn't contagious.

What's changed?

Why are you abandoning me like this and expecting me to turn myself over for an indefinite time?

What has changed?

And they didn't have an answer to that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Andrew Speaker is at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, which specializes in treating drug- resistant forms of T.B.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is there and joins us now live.

Hello there -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, T.J.

Well, right now, Andrew Speaker is in that isolated room. It's a special room with a special air filtration system that will ensure that other people in the building would not be contaminated with this infection.

But the tests continue to go on, as Andrew Speaker is here in his second day. He arrived here yesterday morning. And one of the things we're waiting to hear the results on is a C.T. scan and a lung x-ray that we understand was done yesterday afternoon.

Doctors here have been saying that those tests will give them a better indication of what they need to do to treat Andrew Speaker here in the weeks and perhaps months ahead. In another room, there is a sample of the infection from his lung that has been taken and doctors are working on that, trying to figure out the best combination of antibiotics to use on Andrew Speaker. So they're doing those tests separately from what is going on in the room where he is in the hospital behind me. And doctors here have talked a little bit about what might be going on inside Andrew Speaker's body right now.

DR. GWEN HUITT, NATIONAL JEWISH MEDICAL AND RESEARCH CENTER: The incubation time period can vary extensively. So a patient can inhale the bacteria and in one degree it can remain -- the body can actually kill it, as it is supposed to do, if your immune system is functioning at 100 percent. In other cases, the body will take care of it for a period of time and then in -- for some undue reason -- maybe it's a stressful situation, maybe it's some other illness -- the germ which has laid dormant someplace in the body can reactivate and cause active disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: Throughout all these tests doctors here at the National Jewish Medical Center continue to say that Andrew Speaker has been feeling well. In fact, they say that he has shown very low signs of communicability, that he's not very contagious, essentially. So things are looking good on that front. And they remain hopeful that they will be able to treat this infection that he has -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Ed Lavandera for us in Denver.

Ed, thank you so much.

Meanwhile the hospital that is treating Andrew Speaker has scheduled a news conference for 3:30 p.m. Eastern time.

We will have it live right here in the NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Health investigators looking for him, his passport flagged. Still, Andrew Speaker managed to cross the border into the United States.

CNN's homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, explains how that could ever happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Andrew Speaker and his wife arrived at the Champlain, New York border crossing on Thursday, May 24th.

According to a homeland security official, at 6:17 p.m. a Customs and Border Protection officer swiped Speaker's passport through an electronic reader and an alert displayed on the officer's computer screen. But Speaker was not stopped. In less than two minutes, he was waved across the border. MICHAEL CUTLER, FORMER INS AGENT: If this guy could get through, the question is who might also be able to get through, whether it's someone with a communicable disease, whether it's somebody who's wanted because of being a suspected terrorist. The system has holes in it.

MESERVE: The Centers for Disease Control had informed Customs and Border Protection on May 22nd, two days earlier, that Speaker should be stopped, isolated and public health authorities notified. The information had been put out to all ports of entry, including Champlain, and the lookout for Speaker showed up on the front line officer's computer screen instantaneously and in an obvious way, according to a homeland official.

"Even the finest and most well regarded law enforcement agencies in the world will experience human error," says the official. "Our personnel understand they have to be right 100 percent of the time."

The Champlain port of entry is one of the five busiest on the U.S./Canadian border -- processing about 5,500 people every day. And some believe the pressure on border officers to move people and products quickly could have been a factor in this incident.

(on camera): Senator Charles Schumer says the incident shows that border officers are understaffed and overworked along the northern border, although investigations into exactly what went wrong and why have reached no firm conclusions.

In the meantime, the officer who cleared Speaker into the country has been moved to administrative duties.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now we want to hear from you. After hearing Speaker's story, what do think? Would you have boarded the plane? E-mail us. The address is cnnnewsroom.com. We'll read some of your responses here in just a few minutes from THE NEWSROOM.

And stay in the NEWSROOM. Next hour we're going to ask a close friend of Andrew Speaker's how the drama of the diagnosis unfolded. Dave Rich -- a live interview, 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

Optimism today in the case of a British journalist kidnapped months ago in Gaza. Alan Johnston is a reporter for the BBC, snatched at gunpoint in March. A radical group called the Army of Islam released a video today that shows Johnston in apparent good condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN JOHNSTON, KIDNAPPED BBC REPORTER: First of all, my captors have treated me very well. They've fed me well. There has been no violence towards me at all and I'm in good health.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Well this is how British TV audiences know Alan Johnston. The video released today is the first sign of him -- the first sign that he's alive since his abduction. We have no way of knowing, of course, how long ago that video was made.

PHILLIPS: The man known as Dr. Death says he hasn't changed his views about assisted suicide.

But will he change his ways?

We're going to talk with Dr. Jack Kevorkian's former attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: Also, it's hurricane season again.

What can you do to keep that home of yours possibly from blowing away -- literally?

That's ahead in THE NEWSROOM -- a few ounces of prevention.

COMMERCIAL

HOLMES: And we're coming up on 2:15, and here are three of the stories we're working on in THE CNN NEWSROOM this hour.

We're waiting to bring you a news conference at the Denver hospital where Andrew Speaker is being treated. Speaker is the Atlanta lawyer who flew to Europe, even though has a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian has been released from prison. He's on parole now. The man who became known as "Dr. Death" served eight years for helping people kill themselves. We'll talk to his former attorney, Geoffrey Fieger, at the bottom of the hour.

And there are two tornado warnings in the Quad Cities area along the Illinois/Iowa border; the other in northwest Illinois.

Our Bonnie Schneider is also keeping her eye on the Gulf.

We'll have more from the Weather Center coming up in just a few minutes.

PHILLIPS: Watch out for Barry, Chantal, Dean maybe more. It's June 1st, the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season. Federal forecasters predict there will be 13 to 17 named storms this year. Seven to 10 will become hurricanes, with three to five growing to category three or later. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, says it's ready for a busy six months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID PAULISON, FEMA DIRECTOR: I am very comfortable where we are. We're comfortable that we are ready for this hurricane season. We have good communications plans in place. We have pre-positioned supplies across the Gulf Coast and up the Atlantic Coast. We're ready to pre-deploy as soon as we do get a hurricane and, again, making sure that we have these open lines of communications with the states, so we know what those needs are and we can work together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, even today marks the official start to the season, Andrea couldn't wait. The tropical storm formed in early May off the East Coast but didn't make landfall.

Bonnie Schneider getting word now on not one, but possibly two or three tornado warnings -- Bonnie.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Kyra.

It is the first day of hurricane season, but we're still in tornado season or severe weather season, the springtime.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Well, from special shingles to garage doors made to withstand the fiercest wind, there are several things you can do to make certain your home survives any storm. And the cost of these renovations is far less than what you stand to lose.

CNN's personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, takes a look at what's on the market and what you need to look for.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

GERRI WILLIS, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: We're standing here in front of what is probably your home's biggest vulnerability when it comes to storms.

MIKE RIMOLDI, FEDERAL ALLIANCE FOR SAFE HOMES: That's right, Gerri.

The garage door is like a sail on a ship -- it's a large open area. The wind hits it, it wants to take it in. And once the wind has gotten inside the home, it pressurizes the home and expands the walls, possibly taking off the roof. It's more cost-effective to just replace the door.

WILLIS: How much does it cost?

RIMOLDI: Say, between $1,500 and $2,000 for a wind rated door.

WILLIS: And, of course, the danger here is the wind rushes into your house and pops your roof like -- like a cork, right?

RIMOLDI: Yes. As we said, once the wind gets inside and pressurizes it, this has nowhere to go but out or up. And most of the time, going up is the easier path for it.

WILLIS: Well, let's go up.

RIMOLDI: OK. WILLIS: You brought us some good shingles here.

Why are these different from what people typically have?

RIMOLDI: Right. These are new style shingles, Gerri, which -- they're rated for wind resistance. One of the leading indicators is the Miami-Dade acceptance. It means they're approved for Miami-Dade usage.

WILLIS: How are they different, though, than from regular shingles?

RIMOLDI: The adhesive, the resistance to tearing, the resistance to tear-off or shear in a wind. You know, you figure your shingles are just sitting there...

WILLIS: They're stronger?

RIMOLDI: Exactly. And, you know, you have your nail points, but it still has to resist a certain amount, because we've all seen the pictures of in the wind, it will flap up the edges. And if it tears, it's the zipper effect. When you lose one shingle, you're going to lose many.

WILLIS: Wow!

OK. So, is there anything different about the way they're affixed to the roof?

RIMOLDI: The big thing folks need to remember is these are affixed following the manufacturer's installation instructions, which now often require two nails at each one of these points. Years ago, we could get away with putting maybe a nail, maybe three nails in the whole shingle. And now the insulation instructions require more nails per shingle.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

HOLMES: All right.

And Gerri Willis joins us now from New York -- Gerri, we hear those tips and that could help us and to protect the home. But just in case something bad does happen, we need to make sure we've the right homeowners insurance.

WILLIS: Right.

HOLMES: All right, what do we need to do to make sure you've got the right stuff?

WILLIS: Well, hey, T.J. good to see you.

Well, first off, you need to read your insurance policy. People never do this, but you need to know if you're going to have enough insurance coverage in case the worst happens. It happens to so many people. Particularly after Katrina, people just didn't have enough coverage.

Make sure that you're going to get the money you need to rebuild in today's dollars. That's the big difference. You may not have enough coverage to build it today after all the inflation has taken place since you both the house in the first place.

Call your local building association and figure out what costs are per square foot, then apply that to your house and you'll know if you're at least close to what you need.

HOLMES: All right, and you talk about enough coverage there. That's a dollar amount.

WILLIS: Right.

HOLMES: But I guess people will assume I've got homeowners insurance, I'm covered head to toe -- everything is covered.

Is that the case?

WILLIS: No.

HOLMES: No?

WILLIS: No. Not really. I've got to tell you, flood insurance is a great thing to have, particularly if you live in these areas that are close to the ocean front, close to the water. Anywhere that floods, you're going to need to have that coverage. And you get it from -- the federal government actually underwrites this. You can find out more at floodsmart.gov. It's a great place to go to find out the details of the coverage.

But you'll buy it from your local insurance agent, because, you know, the federal government doesn't have an insurance sales force, so they have to have somebody sell it.

HOLMES: All right.

Well, that's a lot of stuff to kind of try to wrap your brain around here, Gerri.

So is that it? Are we good now? Or do we need to know about something else here?

George W. Bush well, you know, you need to think about other things, as well, to make sure you have adequate coverage for the contents of your home. A lot of people don't think about this -- you want to make sure you have replacement cost coverage. This means that if the stuff in your house -- your sofa, your dining room table, if it gets damaged, if it gets broken, whatever, it will pay to replace that rather than just giving you the value of that table in today's dollars. It's a very big difference when you're talking about all -- everything in your house that you want to have covered -- T.J.?

HOLMES: All right. Gerri Willis.

Ma'am, always a pleasure.

You've always got good stuff for us, good tips.

Thank you so much.

We'll see you soon, I know.

WILLIS: Thank you.

Good to see you.

HOLMES: And, of course, the bottom line here -- you don't have to spend a fortune to make your home storm-proof.

And Gerri has even more advice on what to do and what to avoid in a special edition of "OPEN HOUSE." It's called "Prepare and Protect." It airs tomorrow morning at 9:30 Eastern. Don't miss that.

PHILLIPS: The man known as Dr. Death says he hasn't changed his views about assisted suicide.

But will he change his ways?

We'll talk with Dr. Jack Kevorkian's former attorney, next in THE CNN NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: And a sky diver's survival story -- after this disastrous fall caught on tape, can you believe the guy wants to jump out of a plane again?

You'll hear from him ahead in the NEWSROOM.

COMMERCIAL

PHILLIPS: Imagine jumping out of a plane and

Your parachute doesn't open. You reach for the backup and that one doesn't work, either.

Michael Holmes experienced just that and it was all caught on tape. This is from his helmet cam. Take a look at the video.

Holmes fell 12,000 feet, muttering what he thought were his last words -- "I'm dead. I'm dead. Bye."

That's exactly what you hear.

Amazingly, though, he lived to tell the tale.

Holmes and his sky diving partner, who videotaped the fall, as well, talked to John Roberts on CNN'S "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL HOLMES, FELL 12,000 FEET: Usually when the first parachute malfunctions it's no big deal. You just pull the cutaway cable, it releases it and then you're free to open your reserve.

JOHN ROBERTS, CO-HOST: So you went to open the reserve and what happened?

HOLMES: No, I went to cutaway. And I pulled the cutaway handle and it released, but it's -- it released from the attachment points, but it still remained snagged somewhere.

ROBERTS: So it was still up above you billowing?

HOLMES: It was still -- it was still above me. I was completely out of control. It was spinning me around, as you can see on the (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

ROBERTS: What happened when you pulled the reserve chute?

HOLMES: Well, I took my time to -- I didn't pull it straight away. I waited until just below 1,000 feet, because I didn't want to pull it straight away knowing that it would go into the mess that I had behind me.

And when I pulled the reserve chute, nothing -- nothing happened.

ROBERTS: So what went through your mind?

HOLMES: Exactly what I said, that I thought -- I thought that was it for me.

ROBERTS: And you were conscious all the way right up until when?

HOLMES: Right until I hit the ground.

ROBERTS: Did you feel it?

HOLMES: No, I didn't feel it.

ROBERTS: When you came upon him, what kind of shape was he in?

JONATHAN KING, PROFESSIONAL SKYDIVER:. He was in surprisingly good shape. You know, it's -- it was -- you know, I was expecting to see the worst. And my priority was to get there as soon as possible, just in case he wasn't breathing or something like that. So it was -- I can't -- I can't really -- it's hard to explain and put it into words, you know, when you see somebody that's been through that and they're in such good shape. And I thought, wow!

ROBERTS: Because his lips were starting to turn blue as you came up on him?

KING: Yes, it was just -- the breathing was kind of erratic and, you know, going in and out of some -- some state of consciousness. So...

ROBERTS: So how did you revive him?

KING: Talking to him. And I gave him a little pinch on the cheek just to kind of keep him with us, so...

ROBERTS: When you revived, did you realize what had happened?

HOLMES: No, I didn't. I knew something had gone wrong and I was sort of -- as time went by, I sort of realized I was -- I was backtracking through what actually happened. But I didn't actually take in the fact that I had actually survived. I was just going what -- trying to figure out what just happened.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, perhaps even more amazingly, Holmes dared to jump again. And he says he plans to continue jumping.

HOLMES: Well, pain at a pump -- that's translated into misery for Detroit's automakers over the past few years.

Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange for us, to tell us if the nation's car companies saw any relief last month.

Let's hope they did. They've been hurting for a while -- Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. That's a good point. And I think considering the fact, T.J. that May saw an all time high for gasoline prices, at $3.23 a gallon, on average -- that was according to AAA -- that May being a mixed month for the nation's automakers isn't too bad.

G.M. was the standout. Sales rose nearly 9 percent. That was much better than expected. G.M. says it saw strong demand for its new crossover vehicles and pickup trucks. DaimlerChrysler posted a 4 percent rise in U.S. sales, but that was worse than expected.

And Ford's sales fell nearly 7 percent. That drop, however, was still better than expected.

For Ford, there are definite signs high gas prices are changing consumer habits. Sales of the company's best selling Explorer SUV and F Series pickups each fell by double digits.

Edmunds.com says that overall, better weather and more incentives helped lured customers back to dealerships

But just to put things in perspective, Toyota saw a nice increase of 14 percent increase in its U.S. sales last month -- T.J.

HOLMES: OK.

Yes, we always hear about the Asian automakers doing so well.

Is there absolutely any area -- anything that Detroit can point to and say that they are doing better than the Asian rivals?

WILLIS: Well, we're not quite there yet...

HOLMES: Yes. WILLIS: ... I'd say, T.J. But a closely watched report shows American automakers are narrowing the gap when it comes to productivity. The Harper Report shows that Ford, G.M. and Chrysler cut the amount of time it takes to make a vehicle by 2 percent last year. Time is money, after all.

At the same time, productivity for rivals Toyota and Nissan fell.

Still, the Asian automakers are way ahead when it comes to profitability.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

HOLMES: Well, the man known as Dr. Death says he hasn't changed his views about assisted suicide, but he will change his ways.

We'll talk with Dr. Jack Kevorkian's former attorney, Geoffrey Fieger. That is next in THE CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips live in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes sitting in today for Don Lemon.

A notorious nickname, "Dr. Death," and a history of pushing the legal envelope got Jack Kevorkian a stint in the slammer.

PHILLIPS: Today, he walked out of a Michigan prison. Has he changed his mind about assisted suicide? We'll ask his former lawyer, Geoffrey Fieger, you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Jack Kevorkian walked out of prison today, paroled eight years into a second-degree murder sentence. Throughout the 1990s, Dr. Kevorkian fought the legal system with his firm stance on assisted suicide. Attorney Geoffrey Fieger represented him in much of that fight.

Geoffrey Fieger joins me now from Southfield, Michigan. Geoffrey, good to see you.

GEOFFREY FIEGER, FMR. KEVORKIAN ATTORNEY: Thank you, good to be here.

PHILLIPS: Just as he walked out of prison, it was his first moment of freedom. Let's take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JACK KEVORKIAN: One of the high points in life.

QUESTION: How are you feeling?

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: All right. He said he's feeling all right, but it was the high point of his life, those eight years in prison, he's keeping his sense of humor, isn't he?

FIEGER: Yes, he said one of the high points of life was leaving the prison, but still the same clip-on tie, still the same terrible haircut that I'm sure he gives himself, still the same blue cardigan, just a little weaker in voice and stature.

PHILLIPS: So, what do you think, will he do it again? Will he help his patients ...

FIEGER: Yes, of course.

PHILLIPS: He will do it again? He'll help his patients ...

FIEGER: He's 100 percent ...

PHILLIPS: Go ahead.

FIEGER: He's 100 percent committed. What's going to happen to him, though, in the short term, he's on probation for two years. They've got him on a short leash. And these are the same people who imprisoned him unjustly for the last eight years, they want to continue to torment him.

And until our governor commutes his sentence, which he should do as a political act of bravery, since I appointed her originally as the attorney general and she subsequently got elected as the governor when I lost that election, she should do it as an act of bravery, so that he doesn't continue to be tortured by these people who want to pull his chain. But if she doesn't do that, he'll have to live by their rules for two years and then he'll be free to help patients.

PHILLIPS: All right, you know, you have -- you helped him with his legal circle, you talked to his attorneys, you have communication with him. You truly believe -- and has he said to you, I'm out of jail, I'm going to be on parole, but if a patient comes to me and says, Dr. Kevorkian, I need your help, I want to die, he's going to say yes to that patient? That's what you're telling me?

FIEGER: By the way, all the people around him are people that I put around him, his attorney, his -- the people he lives with, his physician, but it's not a question of him telling me that. It's a question of me knowing him as well or better than anybody else. And he's committed. He's not a liar. He said he wouldn't do it, he's going to keep his promise, I imagine, during the next two years.

But he's absolutely committed to his patients, and I know Jack Kevorkian. He is not going to let the opposition forces beat him. He just isn't going to let them do it.

PHILLIPS: So you're saying while on parole, because he's been told not to do it, you say on parole he's not going to do it, but after that, he will go forward and help whatever patient wants or comes to him for help? FIEGER: Not whatever patient. He has a strict criteria, but if he's still the same Jack Kevorkian that I knew for ten years before he went to prison, nobody was going to tell him what to do.

PHILLIPS: He's going to -- he'll help them die? He'll help them to die?

FIEGER: Of course ...

PHILLIPS: All right.

FIEGER: If he's still the same Jack Kevorkian, and I don't think he changed after age 70.

PHILLIPS: "LARRY KING LIVE" did an interview with the two in 1999, let's take a listen to what Dr. Kevorkian said then.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Jack, do you wonder why you bug people?

KEVORKIAN: Yes, because I'm very forthright and strident.

KING: You know you're strident?

KEVORKIAN: Absolutely. I'm strident purposefully because I'm angry at such an idiocy trying to make this a crime, trying to make it a crime to help a suffering human being. Larry, the AMA and the medical profession says the humane way now is to allow patients to starve and thirst to death. If you did that with an animal, you'd be in jail immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: You're saying he hasn't changed that tough stance on what he believes in?

FIEGER: It's not a tough stance. It's a rational stance. He's a 100 percent right. What I'm concerned about is that in every state in the country, when the doctors can kill you involuntarily through malpractice, they've succeeded in passing laws where we can't sue them. But if you want to die because you're suffering, they put you and the doctors in jail. Now, what kind of hypocrisy is that? And Jack Kevorkian understands that. He didn't have a brain transplant.

PHILLIPS: Geoffrey, where is he going to live now? Who will be in his circle? Will he just go right back to the doctor's office? What are his plans now that he's out?

FIEGER: Well, he's got Dr. Stan Levy (ph), who's one of my best friends, who will maintain his health. He's the best diagnostician that I have ever seen. He's got Mike Morganroth (ph) to sort of shepherd the interviews. There's no legal issues, so he really doesn't need a lawyer. And then he's got a family, he asked me not to disclose who he lives with. Eventually, Jack'll want to live on his own. He just -- I doubt very much that he's going to continue living with a family. He's always lived on his own before, and I assume he'll do it again.

PHILLIPS: Geoffrey Fieger, good to see you and good to talk to you.

FIEGER: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Well, just days after his release from prison, Jack Kevorkian will sit down once again with our own Larry King. Would the man known as "Dr. Death" help someone commit suicide again? We asked Geoffrey Fieger, he says yes. You can find out what exactly Dr. Kevorkian will say on "LARRY KING LIVE" Monday night, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.

HOLMES: The immigration debate, Americans held in Iran and the departure of a confidant. President Bush has a lot on his plate on a Friday.

Our Elaine Quijano, at the White House. The president has a lot on his plate and into his weekend.

ELAINE QUIJANO, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and let's start with immigration. You know, T.J., it is a full-court press essentially, on this issue of immigration. President Bush would like to get what he calls a comprehensive immigration bill to his desk by August, basically before '08 presidential politics greatly complicate the picture.

But, the president has been under fire from conservatives, members of his own party, who view the immigration deal that was hashed out by Senate negotiators, they see that as amnesty, while the president is pushing back. Today, he met with representatives of various groups with interest in immigration policy, including business leaders, immigrant advocates, and the president insisted that the bill that was crafted does not amount to amnesty, and he says, lawmakers, he believes this is essentially the right thing for you to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think this is risky, frankly. I don't view this as risk/reward. I frankly review it as doing what you ought to do. See, people ought to be running for office to do what's right for the United States of America. That's what I believe people run for office for. And so, I want you to know that you've got an administration that looks forward to working with people. I will do my best to make sure that this debate does not denigrate into name-calling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: And so, President Bush there, T.J., trying to lower the temperature just a bit in what's been a very heated and emotional debate over immigration, but still not backing down from what he says is a good immigration bill. Todd -- T.J.?

HOLMES: Oh Elaine, one of these days, you're going to know -- you're figure out who I am. QUIJANO: I've been standing out here for a little while. It's a little hot.

HOLMES: All right, well let's try to wrap this up and get you on out of there. Tell us also, we're hearing details from the Bush administration as well about the three detainees being held in Iran? What are we hearing, what are the details?

QUIJANO: Yes, that's right. President Bush issued a written statement on this serious subject, the issue of these Iranian- Americans being detained by Iran. President Bush essentially called on Tehran to release those Iranian-Americans immediately, a message echoed by the president's National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN HADLEY, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: It is not helpful to resolving these outstanding issues we have with Iran, whether it is Iran activity in Iraq that destabilizes that nation or progress on the nuclear issue, for Iran to be capturing innocent Americans who are in Iran on peaceable business, visiting relatives or other acceptable activity. It's an unfortunate development, and these people need to be let go promptly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: And President Bush essentially reiterating that sentiment in his written statement, saying that these Iranian- Americans pose no threat -- T.J..

HOLMES: All right, Elaine Quijano for us from the White House, thank you so much.

QUIJANO: Yes.

PHILLIPS: A tribute to America's pastor. Hundreds of people on hand for the Billy Graham library dedication. We'll tell you about it, straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Three former U.S. presidents gathered in Charlotte, North Carolina to pay tribute to Billy Graham and dedicate a new library in his honor. Former President Bush gave the keynote address, getting choked up as he spoke about him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: We're gathered here today, because Billy Graham, the man, the preacher, the humble farmer's son who helped change the world is a spiritual gift to all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Oh. From the ordinary Joe's to the powerful, Billy Graham has reached out to all of them. Forging friendships with some and influencing many more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILLY GRAHAM, PREACHER: The old testament looked solid to him, the new testament looks back to him, but the center of the scriptures is Christ.

PHILLIPS (voice over): Billy Graham's singular message and unfaltering faith in God has made him a trusted resource for Americans of all backgrounds. But nothing cemented his status as the nation's premier preacher like his ties to the White House and its chief residents.

JIMMY CARTER, FMR. U.S. PRES.: I think all of us felt, in the time of greatest challenge and responsibility of our public lives, that would be the presidency, that we needed some Christian or religious counseling from a completely trustworthy and objective and fair source to guide us through those difficult times.

PHILLIPS: What started out as a historic and unprecedented single visit with President Truman, became a regular occurrence with Richard Nixon. The powerful pair spent many hours together, publicly and privately, talking about religion, politics, and the pressing social issues of the day. But that cozy connection caused criticism when an old tape surfaced 30 years later.

In 2002, the National Archives released a taped Oval Office conversation, laced with anti-semitic slurs. When President Nixon ranted about what he saw as Jewish media control, Reverend Graham joined in.

GRAHAM: This stranglehold has got to be broken or the country's going down the drain.

RICHARD NIXON, FMR. U.S. PRES.: You believe that?

GRAHAM: Yes, sir.

NIXON: Oh boy. I can't ever say that, but I believe it.

GRAHAM: No. But if you get elected a second time, then we might be able to do something.

PHILLIPS: Graham's comments sparked outrage, Jewish leaders expressed horror that a role model with high access would tolerate, let alone actually make, such statements.

CHARLES COLSON, CHIEF COUNSEL FOR PRES. NIXON: I've been in those meetings, Nixon was a very dominant personality. He could do that, and of course, he's president of the United States, sitting behind that desk, and a certain awe goes with it and even Billy Graham is influenced by that.

PHILLIPS: In a written apology, Graham said the recording did not reflect his true views. He also apologized in person to Jewish leaders meeting in Cincinnati. Abraham Foxman, President of the Anti-Defamation League, issued a statement accepting Graham's apology.

NIXON: I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.

PHILLIPS: In the wake of the Watergate scandal, the evangelist was forced to confront the notion that the man he considered a friend had not always been honest with him and that he had been made a political pawn.

WILLIAM MARTIN, GRAHAM BIOGRAPHER: He said, I knew what I had said to the president. And I knew what he had said to me, but when I saw all those memoranda circulating in the background, I felt like a sheep led to the slaughter.

PHILLIPS: Relations with future administrations would be different, less political, more pastoral. Billy Graham hop scotched the globe with his messages of salvation, freedom and peace. But close friendships with two particular families brought him back to the U.S. and back to the White House, despite being burned in the past.

MARTIN: With Reagan, they had been friends since the '50s. He had known Reagan for a long time, and visited the White House a great deal during the Reagan administration, but it was always -- almost always kept private. He said we never discussed politics. He also said he wasn't really interested in politics. He wanted to talk about the old days in Hollywood.

PHILLIPS: Graham had also known, then Vice President, George Bush. Since his 1957 New York Crusade, and even vacationed with the Bush family in Kennebunkport.

G. H.W. BUSH: Just two hours ago, allied forces began an attack on military targets in Iraq and Kuwait.

MARTIN: Before launching the first Gulf War, President Bush at the time, invited Billy Graham to the White House, and then asked him to lead the prayer service the next day with the army brass and others in the Pentagon in the White House.

PHILLIPS: Once again, critics questioned whether a U.S. president was using Reverend Graham to endorse a war, but others said it was natural for President Bush to call on his old friend at that crucial time.

COLSON: And if there was ever a time that you want the reassurance that you're doing God's will, the reassurance that God is sovereign and watching out for you, that you have God's blessings, it's when you're in that crunch.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Billy Graham's influence continues through his evangelical organization and the new library dedicated yesterday is in CharLotte.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: And straight ahead from the NEWSROOM, hear from the Atlanta man who many people have been exposed to, those airline passengers, due to a rare and often deadly strain of tuberculosis.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. Michael Jackson, Demi Moore and news that's, well, out of this world. All that in entertainment when the NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Alright. For decades, the name Jackson has been synonymous with big money in Motown. Now the latest auction in Sin City proves not much has changed. And Entertainment Correspondent, Sibila Vargas, joins us now with more. Hello to you, kind ma'am.

VARGAS: Hi, T.J.

There was a time, you remember when everything Michael Jackson touched seemed to turn to gold? Well, it appears he hasn't lost that Midas touch. The first half of a two-day Jackson memorabilia auction in Las Vegas has netted a cool half million. Of the items being sold at the Hard Rock Hotel, a military-style coat with the letter M on it, fetched an impressive $24,000. While a set of gold and platinum "We are the World" albums earned an easy $20,000. Interestingly, the profit from the auction is not going to Jackson or his family, its all going to Universal Express, a luggage company in Florida that acquired the items from a third party in bankruptcy court. And they spent about five billion dollars so they haven't made their money back but half a million, not bad.

HOLMES: Not bad at all, you've got some Battle Star Galactica news for us, please?

VARGAS: I know, well it seems to be going off the air, I know it's hard to believe that a show this popular on the Sci-Fi channel would be canceled so soon, but it's true. Battlestar Galactica will soon be going far, far away. The fourth season of the hit will be its last.

After months of speculation, the show's producers have decided the upcoming 22 episodes bring the series to an appropriate end. They say the story of the Battlestar were always meant to have a beginning, middle and end, and so it will be. But, not to worry, because things will be going out with a bang.

Fans of the show can look forward to the final season starting in November with a special two-hour episode and picking back up again in 2008.

Meanwhile, in movie news, it turns out Demi Moore prefers violence to love, well, sort of. We caught up with the actress to chat about her new thriller "Mr. Brooks." And she told us that she prefers killing to kissing on the big screen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEMI MOORE, ACTRESS: I would say killed. Most definitely. I just have more discomfort -- I don't know if it's from being so madly in love and -- I don't know, I think carefully when I read things that involve sexual relationships on film.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: The 44-year-old movie veteran is apparently so happily married to 29-year-old Punk'd star, Ashton Kutcher, that she can't even bear to kiss another man on screen. Rub it in, Demi.

To be young and in love. Meanwhile, Moore's new flick, "Mr. Brooks" shows her killing plenty of bad guys as a police detective determined to catch a serial killer played by Kevin Costner. The film is rated R and opens in theaters today.

HOLMES: Alright, to be young and in love, got worked up there for a second. We were worried about you.

You've got your big show coming up tonight and maybe some Paris Hilton news, which of course is why I always watch, getting the Paris Hilton update.

VARGAS: Of course, certainly not last, the big screen thriller to a real-life thriller, at least for Paris Hilton, it's countdown to lockdown. The hotel heiress, who was sentenced to jail for violating probation, has until Tuesday night to report to the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynnwood, California.

Tonight on "Showbiz Tonight," is Paris pampering just days before her stint in the slammer? Paris Hilton reportedly getting hair and makeup. Now there's outrage over how Paris is walking the concrete carpet like it's the red carpet. More on TV's most provocative entertainment news show, "Showbiz Tonight." Join us tonight 11:00 p.m. eastern and pacific on headline prime.

HOLMES: Alright. We will see you there, and good to see you here, Siblia. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: They can spell words that can stump adults, many times his age, so what's the secret of his success? We'll hear from this year's champion speller just a bit later in NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the Georgia Aquarium is welcoming its newest residents. Take a look. Two young whale sharks from Taiwan. Their arrival comes just four months after the death of Ralph, the aquariums prized whale shark. All together, five whale sharks will now be on display at the aquarium. Folks there say the six million gallon take should be roomy enough for all of them.

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