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Paris Hilton Ordered Back to Jail; Fit Nation; Major Flight Delays; Atlantis Launch Scheduled for This Evening
Aired June 08, 2007 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good afternoon, everybody. And what a day it has been here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, my goodness.
NGUYEN: I'm sitting in today for Kyra Phillips, who is off, that lucky lady.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Yes, Betty. And Don Lemon off today as well. They are missing out on a lot of stuff today, namely Paris Hilton.
I'm T.J. Holmes, though.
We want to update you on what's going on with Paris Hilton. This is the picture from a little earlier, not too long ago, outside her home, where she was picked up, put in handcuffs, and put in a squad car by L.A. Sheriff's deputies, and taken to court for a hearing, where a judge wants to hear exactly what is her mental condition.
What is her medical condition that prompted -- that prompted a doctor to recommend that she be let out of prison just three days into her 23-day sentence for violating probation two times on a reckless driving charge?
And this is one of the latest pictures we have seen of her in that squad car, certainly a distraught and upset Paris Hilton. That hearing, we understand, is going on right now -- possibility she could be sent back to jail, possibility she could be sent back home. We do not know. When we get word, we will have that for you.
NGUYEN: It has been quite a saga.
And here is our other top story today, dealing with the case of Mary Winkler. Today, a sentencing hearing is taking place at this hour. Here's a live look at the courtroom.
Mary Winkler has a voluntary manslaughter conviction in the shotgun slaying of her minister husband. We are going to see what the judge decides as to her fate.
But, as I spoke just a little bit earlier, Mary Winkler did address her husband's family today, saying that she understands that they are angry with her, but that she prays for them every night to have peace. She also said that she thinks of her dead husband every day, and she will always love and miss him, but she hopes that the judge will let her go home today and be with her children.
However, she says, whatever the sentence is, it will never be enough punishment for what she has done.
So, we will see what the court decides. And, as soon as that comes in, we will bring it straight to you.
HOLMES: We do want to get now to our Rob Marciano, who is keeping an eye on a story.
And, Rob, certainly, two things you don't want to hear in the same sentence, FAA and equipment problems.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No.
HOLMES: Tell us, what is going on?
MARCIANO: Definitely not on a Friday afternoon as well.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: Apparently, there is an equipment problem with the FAA computers. More than that, we don't really know, except we can tell you that it's on the East Coast, notably, the Northeast. And it's affecting airports in New York City, namely La Guardia and -- and White Plains. So, those are the two airports that are -- are having ground stops or programs in effect, meaning they are not allowing planes to take off towards that airport or just getting delays.
All these other delays are mostly weather-related, so, an hour- and-a-half in Dallas. Philadelphia's got an hour-plus. Fort Lauderdale's got 30 minutes-plus there. And the -- and the delays at -- at Dallas-Forth Worth are increasing.
You know how these things go. Once you have a busy airport like La Guardia having an issue, well, then, it begins to domino effect all the way down around the rest of the country -- these, again, mostly because of volume and because of the weather. And that has been the main issue with these delays.
So -- and it's going to continue to be an issue, because this weather's all heading towards the East Coast, the I-95 corridor. A number of severe weather watch boxes are in effect. There's been five or six now posted by the Storms Prediction Center out in -- out of Norman, Oklahoma.
No tornado watches out, so, that's the good news with these systems. But, as we have been showing you the past couple days, these lines of storms, with all jet stream energy they have, can really throw down some huge straight-line winds and do some damage there.
So, that's the main concern with these storms. And there's a bunch of them popping up across parts of Alabama.
This is an area of concern, no severe weather watch out for southern and central Florida, but you can see, there's a disturbance here that's really kicking up some storms. And that's one of the reasons that Fort Lauderdale is seeing some issues, as is Miami.
But these are really popping up. And there's some hail with these, potentially, and some heavy rain, and, also, potentially, disturbing the flight plans for the space shuttle, which is scheduled to take off around 7:30 later on tonight.
Right now, the official forecast is at an 80 percent of that actually happening, but we will keep you posted as that goes on -- La Guardia and White Plains, HPN, having issues with the FAA equipment.
We will keep you posted on this story -- back to you, guys.
HOLMES: All right, Rob, appreciate that. And I did hear 80 percent chance that it will be OK for the shuttle.
MARCIANO: At last check.
HOLMES: All right. We appreciate you, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right.
NGUYEN: Yes, we will be talking with Miles O'Brien shortly about that liftoff today.
But, right now, want to get you the latest on the Mary Winkler trial, in fact, the sentencing that is taking place or has just wrapped up. We understand that a judge has decided that Mary Winkler should serve three years, 210 days behind bars, the rest of that on probation.
As you recall, Mary Winkler received a voluntary manslaughter conviction in the shotgun slaying of her minister husband. She claimed that there was mental illness in this case on her part, also that she was abused. And all of that was taken into consideration.
And, today, the judge has decided that she will serve three years for the voluntary manslaughter conviction, 210 of that behind bars, and the rest of it on probation.
And should there be any other developments in this story, of course, we will take that straight to you, the viewer. But that is the latest in the Mary Winkler case. A sentence has been read, and three years is what she's getting.
HOLMES: All right, we want you to take you to some new video that we are getting in here. Yes, it takes us back to our Paris Hilton story.
But this is new video we're getting from her leaving her home earlier today, leaving her home, being escorted from her home. Again, we saw this angle from on high when she was placed in this squad car in handcuffs. You can see her in the back seat there. Can't tell what she's doing. Certainly looks like she's speaking to the police there, has shades on in the back seat of that vehicle.
But this is when she was picked up by L.A. sheriff's deputies and taken back to the court, taken to court, a hearing that, earlier, we were told she was going to be able to just phone in and listen in to. But the judge didn't like that idea, and told sheriff's deputies, ordered them to go pick her up and bring her to court.
The purpose of this hearing, the judge wants to hear what was going on, the circumstances surrounding her getting out of jail just three days into her 23-day sentence for violating probation two times on a reckless driving charge.
Her psychiatrist -- psychologist had examined her in court and said she was on the verge -- excuse me, in jail, while she was there for a couple of days, and said she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, presented that evidence, that case to the sheriff's department officials.
And they agreed and said, OK, she can go home, and that is what is best for her. So, she's been home. The judge didn't like that -- a lot of fury going on about that right now. So, the judge ordered a hearing. She's been taken to court. We understand that hearing is going on right now.
When we get word what the judge decides, we will bring that information to you.
NGUYEN: Well, for those traveling to other places, shall we say, for millions of would-be travelers, the agonizing wait for a passport, that may be over.
Unable to handle a flood of applications, the Bush administration is suspending a plan meant to bolster border security.
With the story now live from New York is CNN's Allan Chernoff.
Allan, the biggest question is, what changed with the new plan?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, the changes are listed right here at the New York Passport Agency.
What is happening now is that the government is going to allow people who have applied for a passport, but are still waiting for to it come through, to actually go ahead and fly to Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean, as long as they can show proof that they actually have applied for that passport. And they can print that off from the Web site of the State Department.
So, it's a big change. This is only in place, though, until September 30. As you mentioned, the State Department has been swamped with applications because of this new policy. As of January, passports have been required for flights to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and now the government changing that policy temporarily to allow people to get away for the summertime -- Betty.
NGUYEN: All right, so just to be absolutely clear on this, this will be in effect until September 30, because, by that time, folks who applied should have gotten their passports back?
CHERNOFF: Yes, exactly, and also to deal with the summer rush.
Come October 1, it's back to -- let's say, back to the new policy, which is, again, for Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean, you do need a passport for flying.
Now, also, come next year, the policy will get even tougher. If you're planning to drive into Mexico or Canada, the plan is that you will also need to have a passport for that. Betty, that, of course, will increase yet again demand for passports, but more of a burden on to the State Department. The State Department is hiring more people to review those applications. They're hoping to catch up -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes, bottom line here, though, is, if you're planning to travel aboard anywhere, make sure you have a passport.
Allan, thank you for that -- T.J.
HOLMES: Paris Hilton is going back to jail. We have been watching this story all day. But the report now is that Paris Hilton has been ordered to go back to jail. She had served three days of a 23-day sentence, that sentence handed down by a judge after she had violated probation two times after a reckless driving charge, ordered her to 23 days in jail.
She was released after three days in jail because of an unknown medical reason, we're told. Reports are that her psychologist came in and examined her, said she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. This is video we saw earlier. The judge ordered sheriff's deputies to go to her home and pick her up and take her to court for that hearing.
She originally, the report was, was only going to call in and listen in on the phone to that hearing. The judge didn't like that idea, ordered them to go to her house and pick her up and bring her to that hearing. She ended up at that hearing.
And, in fact, the word we are getting now is that, yes, Paris Hilton is going to be going back to jail -- Betty.
NGUYEN: And we're getting some more information from TMZ.com, which says, not only did she leave the court in tears, T.J., but she was screaming, "Mom, mom, mom," obviously, a very traumatic situation for her.
But, from the onset of this, the judge, as you have been saying, T.J., ordered her to originally 45 days. And he reduced it to 23, but said you have to be behind bars.
And it was the sheriff that let her out, let her go home for confinement there with an electronic bracelet -- the judge not happy about that, said, you need to come back in court. We're going to have a hearing today. We're going to sort this out.
The interesting question is that, now that we understand that Paris will be ordered back to jail, for how long? Because we spoke with Sibila Vargas a little bit earlier, who said that there is some interesting math when it came to the numbers of days that she served in jail.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: It looks like it would be about three, but, according to her, they are counting it as five. So, she -- if that is the case, she would be spending less than 20 days behind bars, once she does get back inside the jail.
HOLMES: And we do want to welcome in our international viewers who are joining us here as well.
But the word is, Paris Hilton is going back to jail.
Our Kara Finnstrom was in the courtroom.
And we cannot wait to hear from you. What in the world happened in there?
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been kind of a crazy day here.
But we just left the courtroom. The judge, Michael Sauer, saying she is going to go back to jail to serve out the remainder of her sentence, that 45-day sentence.
We heard from both sides, who are both kind of arguing about who has the authority to decide how she spends that sentence, whether, you know, it's at home, under electronic surveillance, or whether it's in a jail.
And both sides argued. What it seemed to come down to in the end was, the judge said he never got anything from the sheriff's department laying out any type of a medical problem for Paris Hilton. He never got any of the information that would have allowed him to reach this decision and to alter his original decision.
The defense for Paris Hilton tried to create a situation where maybe Paris could go home and continue under electric monitoring. Well, they got some more time to present her case to them. And what they say is a -- a dangerous situation for Paris Hilton to return to jail.
But, in the end, the judge said, no, you know, at this point, I have received nothing from the sheriff's department outlining a medical reason for her not to go back to jail, that there are excellent facilities, in his words, there to treat inmates, and that, actually, Paris Hilton chose the particular facility she went to because of the medical expertise there.
HOLMES: All right. Did -- did...
FINNSTROM: Paris Hilton...
HOLMES: Did she get to speak?
(CROSSTALK) HOLMES: And did he ask her questions, the judge? Did she get to speak on her behalf or anything in court today?
FINNSTROM: No.
HOLMES: And how did she behave in court?
FINNSTROM: She did not get to speak, or she -- she did not at all. He didn't offer it to her and she didn't speak. She was very quiet.
She came in looking a little, I guess, disheveled for Paris Hilton, kind of with her head down and her -- her hands up to her face in a long gray sweater. She had a box of tissues in front of her. She appeared to be sobbing. I'm behind her, but she did appear to be sobbing throughout the proceedings.
She -- when it was over, she did let out a pretty loud cry, and was led out and actually kind of supported out by some of the deputies in there -- her family in the front two rows also crying. She said something along the lines of, this just is not right.
HOLMES: Well, we heard TMZ reporting that she made quite a bit of a scene, did a little yelling and screaming, and was screaming for her mom as well.
Was that the case? I know you are kind of describing what you saw there, but would you -- would you describe it as a scene being made in the court?
FINNSTROM: Well, you know, she was quiet throughout the whole proceedings. As she left, she was emotional. She was crying.
And it looked -- you know, the deputies came on both sides of her and kind of escorted her out. One person described it as carrying her out. I didn't quite see that. I -- I did hear her crying and -- and obviously very emotional.
HOLMES: What -- what about the judge? What was his demeanor? Because there have been several reports that he was upset about how this was handled, and the sheriff taking it upon himself to let her go home.
Was -- was it obvious that the judge was upset during this hearing?
FINNSTROM: Yes, clearly upset at the way this has all unfolded and at the communication, I guess, between the sheriff's department, the -- and his -- his -- you know, the judicial department here.
So, yes, there was a lot of references also to the role the media may have played. A little bit earlier, we were reporting we heard from the city attorney's office that this may -- this whole thing may take place by teleconference with Paris Hilton from home.
Well, the judge tried, and -- and talked to several people there, but could not figure out where this whole teleconferencing idea began with. The sheriff's department said it wasn't with them. At least, the representatives there said, to their knowledge, it wasn't.
And then it kind of came about that he believed it may have originated with some reports on TMZ. Well, we got confirmation, actually, from the city attorney's office later that this may be taking place.
But it kind of gives you an idea for how big of a circus, if I can use those words, this has become, with kind of everyone interplaying, and this information really getting mixed up.
HOLMES: All right.
And -- and, Kara, before we let you go -- last thing here -- I want to make sure we got this clear. She originally was going to be sentenced to 45 days, I believe it was. That was cut to 23.
So, is now -- are -- is she now going to have to do the 23, or is she going to have to do the 45 in jail?
FINNSTROM: You know, he just said the remainder of her sentence.
HOLMES: OK.
FINNSTROM: So, that was not clear. I obviously rushed down here to talk with you and get the latest news on the air. But I -- I'm not clear exactly what the day -- the day count would be.
HOLMES: Well, Kara, we appreciate you rushing down and giving us some insight into what was going on in that courtroom -- our Kara Finnstrom outside the courthouse, quite an interesting day.
Thank you so much for hustling.
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
The twists and turns in this case have really been phenomenal to watch, and a lot of folks really sick of it as well.
We have your e-mails and what you're saying about the whole Paris Hilton saga. Is justice served? Well, we will read what you think about it right after this quake -- this break.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, we are continuing to follow the situation out in Los Angeles with Paris Histon -- Hilton, that is -- who has been ordered back to jail, after a hearing today with the judge.
She was taken from her home by a sheriff's vehicle, and sent straight to the courtroom, where the judge said, despite what the sheriff said a little bit earlier, that you could have home confinement with a -- with an ankle bracelet, you are headed back to jail, and you will spend that time there.
Let's take a look at the mikes right now, as we're listening to this whole thing play out.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
ALLAN PARACHINI, COURT SPOKESPERSON: He heard the defense. He heard the city attorney. He ruled that he was remanding Ms. Hilton to the sheriff's custody to serve the remainder of her sentence at the Century Regional Detention Facility.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No! No! No! No! No! No!
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shut up...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shut up!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shut up.
PARACHINI: The judge did not address the contempt issue raised by the city attorney. I don't know if he intends to or not.
QUESTION: What about (OFF-MIKE)
PARACHINI: No, I really -- I'm not comfortable doing that. That -- to -- that would be walking over a line into describing an element of the case. I don't think that's appropriate for me to do.
You folks were there. You can describe it yourselves.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
PARACHINI: It was pretty short and sweet. He said that he had heard arguments, and he remanded her. And...
QUESTION: And then, as far as the issue of whether there will be a hearing on...
(CROSSTALK)
PARACHINI: It was not much more extensive than that.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) defense say anything about an eating disorder?
PARACHINI: No, not in court. You would have to ask them what their intentions are.
QUESTION: Whether the hearing -- whether he would have a hearing on her medical issues or not...
(CROSSTALK) PARACHINI: Wasn't addressed.
QUESTION: Wasn't addressed.
PARACHINI: Wasn't addressed.
She was remanded. The judge said repeatedly that he had been informed that the sheriff's department would file some documents with him. That didn't happen, as far as I know, still hasn't happened. That's...
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
PARACHINI: What I heard the judge say was, remand...
NGUYEN: All right.
As we're getting more information from that hearing today with the judge involving Paris Hilton, who was taken from her home back to a courtroom, after she was let out of jail after three days serving time there. She was let out under a medical condition. We're still trying to get to the bottom of what that condition is.
But, from what we just learned in that quick little interview, is that the judge, as we have been reporting, did say that Paris Hilton must serve the remainder of her sentence in jail.
Now, the question is, is that the full 45 or is that the 23, minus the three that she spent there? Are you following all of this? We're trying for you.
But, of course, this has become quite a spectacle. And, as you heard just moments ago, someone was screaming "No, no, no" as that was read.
The medical issue, again, not addressed, according to what we just heard, and the sheriff's department has not filed any paperwork with the judge to explain exactly what has happened -- so, a lot of questions in the Paris Hilton case.
But what we do know is that the judge has ordered her back to jail. And, as soon as we get more on this, we will bring it straight to you.
HOLMES: Christopher is dead. Silvio is in a coma, Tony Soprano's now life hanging in the balance, it's a source of intrigue and betting.
Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us what the smart money is saying.
Susan, I'm a huge "Sopranos" fan. I'm not too -- feeling too good about Tony's chances right now.
LISOVICZ: Yes, forget about it, right?
HOLMES: Oh, man, he went to the last episode. He went to bed...
LISOVICZ: But he had a -- but he had a big gun.
HOLMES: Yes. He was spooning a machine gun, essentially, when he went to bed.
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: Yes, that's right. And he had his eyes on the door...
HOLMES: Yes.
LISOVICZ: ... as I recall.
So, yes, it should be a big episode for HBO. I think it's called "Made in America." The fun money betting on whether Tony Soprano will be sleeping with the fishes by the end of Sunday's final episode, online gambling sites Bodogs.com and BetUS.com are taking bets. So far, the odds are, Tony lives.
The sites also offer bets for the fate for Tony's partners in crime, namely, Paulie "Walnuts," and the head of the Brooklyn crime family, Phil Leotardo.
The drama series has been a major blockbuster for HBO, which is owned by Time Warner, CNN's parent company.
But we don't have any ins as to what happens on Sunday, unfortunately -- T.J.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: That show is just too -- I want Tony to be all right. I really do. I want him to live happily ever after.
LISOVICZ: He might come back, you know?
HOLMES: He might. All right.
Well, we are going to talk about the richest man in the world. Now, who could have bet that, that a college dropout would end up being the richest man in the world?
LISOVICZ: Yes. This is -- Bill Gates' story is also larger than life. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard to devote his Ivy League smarts to a little startup called Microsoft.
Within a decade, he had become a billionaire. But something always nagged him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL GATES, FOUNDER, MICROSOFT: I have been waiting more than 30 years to say this.
(LAUGHTER) GATES: Dad, I always told you I would come back and get my degree.
(LAUGHTER)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LISOVICZ: Gates got an honorary Harvard degree yesterday. Harvard'S provost said it recognized its most illustrious member of the class of 1977.
Gates is dropping out, so to speak, of Microsoft next year to devote his energies to his charitable foundation that he runs with his wife and dad. Gates became the youngest self-made billionaire when Microsoft stock went public in 1986.
And he brought a lot -- he made a lot of other people billionaires -- or millionaires, I should say, as well, because of it.
As for stocks, well, we're seeing a nice rally to end what -- what has been a rough week, after three days of heavy selling. Checking the numbers right now, the Dow's got triple-digit gains, up 122 points. The Nasdaq composite, meanwhile, is up 27 points, each of them up about 1 percent.
Coming up, I'll let know how this roller-coaster finally week ends for stocks when I return for the closing bell -- in the meantime, T.J. and Betty, back to you.
HOLMES: We will see you then, dear ma'am. We will see you soon. Bye-bye.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: She's telling us about a roller-coaster week.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Just imagine today, OK?
Well, when your child asks for a candy bar at the grocery store or wants to stop by for a local burger, do you always give in?
Maybe it's time for you to stop, because Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more in today's "Fit Nation" report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These ads might seem shocking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dad, could you buy me some diabetes? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I drink another cup of sugar?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty please?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: The state of California hopes the ads will force parents to stop and think before they give their kids junk food.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't look unhealthy. But the food I ate sure was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: The ads warn parents that poor diet can lead to weight problems, illnesses, even early death.
KRIS PERRY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FIRST 5 CALIFORNIA: We're trying to convey to you that these little choices all day long, a cookie here, a doughnut there, a glass of juice, some chips, by the end of the day, your child has consumed far more calories than they really needed.
GUPTA: Now, the campaign is funded by the state's tobacco tax and is part of a larger state initiative to get kids fit. And the ads are getting noticed, even by celebrities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN")
ADAM SANDLER, COMEDIAN/ACTOR: A child obesity commercial came on. They showed a kid that's eating and eating. The family keeps feeding him. And, then, eventually, he gets diabetes and stuff. And we were watching it. It's a very powerful commercial. Me and my little girl just both took the cheeseburgers out of our mouth. And we're like...
(LAUGHTER)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: California is not the only state to take on childhood obesity, but it's the first to fund millions of dollars into an anti- obesity effort of this magnitude.
But states with smaller budgets can still do their part. Look at Arkansas. They were the first state to push for better nutrition in public schools by getting rid of vending machines. KEN STANTON, UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE: Arkansas would be a good example, because that's certainly not one of the most affluent states, and, yet, they were sort of the head runner in terms of where we started our obesity report card.
GUPTA: Back in California, state officials say, about 60 percent of all Californians have seen the ads since the campaign was launched about a year ago -- their hope: Parents will think twice the next time their kids ask for unhealthy food.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, live at the CNN headquarters here in Atlanta.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes.
A squad car, handcuffs, helicopter footage, and throw in a few tears.
NGUYEN: Yes, nobody taking the high road today as Paris Hilton is literally hauled back into court and ordered back to jail.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Well, if you haven't already heard, it is back to jail for Paris Hilton. Just a short time ago, the Hollywood celebutante was ordered back behind bars barely 24 hours after her early release. You see her there handcuffed.
A clearly distraught Hilton was driven to the court of Judge Michael Sauer, who apparently was angered that she was let out of jail to serve almost all of her six-week sentence at her West Hollywood mansion. Now, reports say the heiress cried throughout the hearing and left the courtroom screaming.
So joining us now from New York is Lisa Bloom of Court TV to help us all sort this out.
All right. She's been ordered back to jail for the full sentence. Now, are we talking the 45-day sentence or the 23-day sentence, which would mean that she had good behavior? Or does this break the whole good behavior deal?
LISA BLOOM, COURT TV: Well, my understanding is it's the 45 days. I don't know how good her behavior has been over the last few days.
I mean, we've heard reports that she was constantly pushing the medic alert button while she was incarcerated, causing the doctors to come. She was crying hysterically. And now there's these antics of, you know, working together with the sheriff's department and her private shrink to get her out. She goes home, she plans parties. and then she goes back, and she's screaming and crying out in court. I don't think that exactly constitutes good behavior.
NGUYEN: But Lisa, wait a second, is it really her fault if the sheriff let her out of jail? He let her out...
BLOOM: No.
NGUYEN: ... saying that she had a medical condition. Is that her fault? She should be punished for that?
BLOOM: True. No, she shouldn't be punished for that. And her attorneys did what any good attorneys would do.
They worked within the system to get her out. But she is responsible for her antics behind bars and her antics in the courtroom. And look, it's up to the judge to decide whether it's good behavior or not. I mean, certainly the behavior over the last few days has not been admirable on the part of Paris Hilton.
NGUYEN: I mean, what kind of medical condition does it take to give you the get out of jail not free, but the get out of jail pass? What would someone have to have said for her to be able to get out of jail?
BLOOM: You know, Betty -- none. I mean, look, there was a study done by the Department of Justice in 2002. Over 200,000 jail inmates, not prison, but jail inmates like Paris Hilton, were polled. Over one-third of them had serious medical conditions like diabetes, heart conditions, cancer, AIDS. Those people don't get out.
They get treated within the infirmary, within the jail. If it's more serious than an infirmary can handle, they go to the county hospital in Los Angeles that has a special wing for jail inmates.
Paris Hilton is not the first person who has become incarcerated who felt stress or who had an emotional problem or even a physical problem. There is an elaborate structure in place to deal with that. And I think the judge felt the way that most of us felt, that this was an insult to our intelligence to say she got out for a medical reason.
NGUYEN: Well, but should the blame here be placed on the sheriff who let her out?
BLOOM: Well, that is the question. I mean, it does not look good that at 2:00 a.m. yesterday morning Paris Hilton, with the help of the local sheriff, gets secretly taken out.
I mean, the whole thing, I think, smells to high heaven. And the judge was right to say, look, get into my courtroom this morning. I want some answers as to what has happened.
The judge's own order had said before Paris Hilton went to jail, no home detention, no electric monitoring, no work release. And this really seemed to be in violation of that.
NGUYEN: Well, just getting Paris Hilton to court today was quite a spectacle. You saw a sheriff's deputy come out to her home. She was in handcuffs, placed in a vehicle, taken to court.
Now, the question is, though, was she supposed to phone in today? Was it is supposed to be via phone, or was there a lot of miscommunication here? And why did it take so long after the sheriff's deputy arrived for Paris Hilton to be put in the vehicle and taken to court?
BLOOM: Well, a couple of different answers there. The judge has said that there was never a phone-in option for Paris. The judge has said that was simply a false report. I don't know whether that's true or not.
And I have to tell you, from my practice, sometimes parties were allowed to be present by phone. I didn't think that was such a travesty.
But the judge sent the sheriff's car to go pick up Paris. She was technically in custody even when she was under house arrest.
So, they picked her up, brought her into court. She was handcuffed. That is all standard procedure.
I think the message the judge was trying to send today is that Paris Hilton and any other celebrity will be treated the same as any other defendant. We're not going to have special privileges, we're not going to have house arrest. She's going to be cuffed, she's going to be brought in by the squad car. She's going to do her time like anyone else.
I think the judge is trying to restore a sense of dignity to the system that really was lost in the last 24 hours.
NGUYEN: But is she being treated the same, or is there a two- tiered legal system here?
BLOOM: Well, I think she is being treated the same now. I think anybody who has a DUI, gets probation, and then violates the probation, not once, but twice, would get a jail term of around one to two months. And that's about what Paris got.
It then got reduced initially to 23 days because of overcrowding. Again, I think that's right in line with what would have happened.
What would not have happened to anybody else is having a private shrink come in, talk to the sheriff after only a couple of days and get sprung. That is so extraordinarily out of line.
That's why the local sheriff's union president in Los Angeles yesterday said this is outrageous. I mean, these are people who deal every day with the system. And they know this was preferential treatment. Thank goodness, though, the judge has now straightened this out, I think, and remedied the mistake that was made. NGUYEN: All right.
Lisa Bloom of Court Television.
Thank you so much for trying to help us sort all of this out today.
BLOOM: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Thank you.
HOLMES: Well, all of you are trying to sort it out as well. You are e-mailing us about this whole spectacle we saw today.
NGUYEN: Yes. And we have just a small but colorful sampling of what you've been sending us. So let's start with Robert.
He writes, "I hope Paris is sent back and forced to eat bologna sandwiches and fruit cups. Maybe she should be put with the general jail population. I know then she would have a reason to fake a nervous breakdown."
Wow.
HOLMES: A few of all of you looked a little bit more sympathetic than the bologna sandwich-writing gentleman there.
Maggie writes, "Do I believe her sentence was unfair? Yes. She was given way too much time for a probation violation."
Ms. Hilton should simply serve out her sentence and let the attorneys fight it out. In the meantime, she will benefit from priceless publicity at minimal cost."
NGUYEN: Well, Renee writes, "Being rich and famous shouldn't excuse anyone of a crime. She was irresponsible by driving under the influence and put other people's lives in danger. If it happens again and she kills someone, would she be excused then also?"
HOLMES: Yes. "She needs to grow up, do her time. Not be allowed to sit at home with her pool, servants and credit cards. Hello, Paris. Welcome to the real world."
NGUYEN: And while many of you complained about our coverage, we did enjoy this e-mail from Ellen. It says, "I know you're probably getting a lot of e-mail complaining about your Paris Hilton coverage. I for one am willing to admit that I am loving it! I find the entire circus quite entertaining and comical."
"Keep up the good work!"
And thanks to all of you who hit "send".
HOLMES: Please don't encourage us by saying you like it. Don't encourage us. NGUYEN: You know we're going to continue reporting it. And, of course, you're going to continue sending in your e-mails. And we appreciate it all.
HOLMES: Well, another jail sentence not so much a spectacle like the Paris Hilton one. A split sentence for the wife of a slain Tennessee minister.
A short time ago, a judge gave Mary Winkler three years in prison, but she'll serve 210 days of that and the rest she'll do on probation.
Prosecutors had asked for the maximum sentence of six years. The defense wanted probation. Winkler was convicted in April of killing her husband after testifying to what she said was years of emotional and physical abuse.
Before her sentencing, Winkler told his family about how sorry she was and that she prayed every night for them to find peace. A number of people who knew the couple also addressed the court, including her mother-in-law and her sister.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANE WINKLER, MOTHER OF VICTIM: Mary, you have destroyed your husband's character. You've destroyed his good name. You've accused him of things, of being a monster who abused and belittled you, and yet for everything that you accused him of, there never was proof. Just accusations.
I think that's sad.
TABAETHA FREEMAN, MARY WINKLER'S SISTER: Before she was -- the only way I could describe her was the light had just gone out of her eyes. She didn't have -- she didn't have any fire in her spirit anymore. And then slowly she's come back -- she's come back to be that person that I first knew and needed in my life, and still need very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Mary Winkler says her sentence will never punish her enough for taking the life of the man she loves to this day.
Well, stay here. We're going to have an update when we come back after this break about problems we're having with equipment at the FAA. Not something you want to hear, but we're trying to get more details about exactly what they're -- what's happening with them and the equipment problems, and but it's causing all kinds of flight delays up and down the East Coast.
Stay here. We'll get an update right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We want to get to our Kathleen Koch now, keeping an eye on this story.
Again, like we were saying, it's not something you want to hear in the same sentence, FAA and computer or equipment problems.
But please, give us the update. What do they have going on, Kathleen?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Basically, what we're being told is that this morning at some point, we don't know exactly when, but it was a system in Atlanta, an FAA system. And the acronym is NADIN. It stands for the National Aeronautical Data Info Network.
Basically, it handles the processing of the flight information about an aircraft, all the tracking data -- the altitude, the speed, the heading. At some point this morning the system went down, malfunctioned for a while.
Now, according to FAA spokesperson Laura Brown (ph), the system is back up and running. And though the problem has been fixed, what's happening is, is a domino effect, a trickle-down effect as airports around the country are getting hooked back up and getting this flight plan information as they should. It's just taking longer in certain places.
In particular, Laura Brown (ph) said LaGuardia, the airport in Philadelphia, and another issue is thunderstorms. Brown (ph) said we're having absolutely one of our worst days of the summer so far with thunderstorms. She said basically from Canada to Texas. So, that's compounding this problem.
An official -- another official I spoke with at the FAA not too long ago said that it could be a couple of hours, perhaps even until tomorrow, into tomorrow, until we get all of these problems in the system resolved.
Now, I spoke with Doug Church (ph), who is a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, and Church (ph) said this has forced the air traffic controllers to basically enter a lot of this information manually in their computers. It just is slowing the whole process down.
Again, so with this trickle-down effect, the domino effect, things are slowing down. It's I know not what anyone wants to hear on a Friday afternoon.
HOLMES: You don't want to hear this on a Tuesday or a Wednesday either.
KOCH: Sorry. Bearer of bad tidings.
HOLMES: Yes. Well, Kathleen Koch, thank you so much for the update. Get a little bit better understanding.
KOCH: You bet.
HOLMES: Good news that it is back up, but like she said, it might be a little while to get some of these -- just get everything worked out and back to normal.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Well, we are just hours away from the scheduled liftoff of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. This is the scene on the launch pad at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Atlantis is scheduled to blast into space at 7:38 tonight.
And our space correspondent, Miles O'Brien, is standing by with a preview.
I think we're getting a first look, too, at the astronauts as they are making their way -- Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Your timing is impeccable, Betty, as you take a look at that beautiful picture of the -- just the tip of the external fuel tank of the space shuttle Atlantis. You can't see it from there, but it's got a lot of patches in it.
You'll recall back in February, a freak hailstorm came through here.
Let's take a look at the crew as they walk out right now if we could. And we'll tell you a little bit more about the hail damage and the foam in just a moment, as we look at those live pictures -- there they are -- coming out.
The commander of this mission is a Marine colonel. Rick Sturckow is his name. His pilot, Lee Archambault, by his side, Air Force colonel. I assume they still talk to each other.
Joining us to talk about what's going on in the minds of this seven-member crew as they get ready for this, the 28th mission of Atlantis and the 21st mission to the International Space Station, is astronaut Cady Coleman, herself with two flights in her log book.
Cady Coleman, they've suited up, they're getting ready. It's game day.
When does it start to seem less like a simulation and more like reality?
Well, you just witnessed a very special moment for them when they actually walk out that door. It's the same doorway that Mercury, Gemini, Apollo astronauts walked out of. It's quite a legacy, and you realize that you've got a job to do, and it's a very big one. They're pretty excited.
O'BRIEN: What goes on -- I've always been curious about the conversations in that silver Airstream vehicle -- the Astro Van they call it. What do you say at that point?
COLEMAN: Well, it all probably depends on the commander, what the tone is. And if I know C. J., he's actually a guy of few words. A very friendly guy, but a guy of few words. O'BRIEN: C.J. is Rick Sturckow. His handle in the Marines was Caustic Junior. And there's a long story. But go ahead.
COLEMAN: I never even knew what it stood for.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
COLEMAN: I just call him C.J. But a person of few words.
But, you know, it's a solemn thing that you're doing. It's time to take a few minutes and really think and be with yourself and think about your family.
O'BRIEN: So far, the countdown has gone off very smoothly here at the Kennedy Space Center. The weather looks good.
I was telling you about the problems with hail and the dents that were caused, as you look at them suiting up just a little while ago. It happened in February. Inch-and-a-half-size hail pounding that space shuttle orbiter.
Most of the orbiter is covered. But the external tank, of course, sticking out. And it caused a lot of damage to it.
Talk about freak events, first of all.
COLEMAN: You know, I think what I heard was that they actually thought about building a cover for the shuttle for just this very reason, and decided that the chances were so small, it was not worth the cost of doing it. It turns out maybe that wasn't the right decision. But, you know, it happens the way it happens and we're here to launch today.
O'BRIEN: You see the damage there. And since that time, they've though rolled it back to the pad, they took it -- they de-mated (ph) it, as they say, took the orbiter away from the fuel tank, and began a laborious process that puts an auto body shop bondo guy to shame, right, essentially?
COLEMAN: We've got some really special folks that do this work, know a lot about what they're doing. At the same time, this is a new frontier.
It's one thing to coat the tank and it's another thing to fix the coating on the tank. We've spent a long time looking at those fixes, understanding them, and making sure we're ready to go.
O'BRIEN: Any time you talk about foam, the external fuel tank, we think back to Columbia, the foam that fell off the external fuel tank, piercing the heat shield, causing the problems on reentry later that led to the loss of the vehicle crew.
Do you feel like they've got it fixed so that it's not going to pose a hazard?
COLEMAN: The biggest effect of the Columbia accident was that it woke everybody up and said, you know, look around, there are things that you have been seeing but not thinking about in the right way. You know, what could hurt us? Maybe there are more things out there.
And I think we think about a lot of different risks differently now. Certainly foam. I think we know much -- I know we know much, much more about it. And if they say that they've fixed and it we're ready, then we're ready.
O'BRIEN: Cady Coleman, astronaut, will be with us all throughout the evening. We're headed for a 7:38 p.m. Eastern Time launch, four hours and 40 minutes or so from now. We'll be watching it very closely, of course.
Right now the weather looks good, but it's Florida, it's June. You never know what can happen throughout the afternoon, Betty.
NGUYEN: It can always change.
O'BRIEN: Suffice it to say, we packed our umbrellas.
NGUYEN: All right. Well, hopefully it blasts off tonight. And we'll be here watching as always.
Miles, thank you.
Stay with CNN for live coverage of the space shuttle Atlantis launch scheduled for, as he mentioned, 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour. Wolf Blitzer will have it all for you in THE SITUATION ROOM.
We are going to be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, it just won't stop. We've got more developments, more things to tell you about in this Paris Hilton fiasco.
Our Kara Finnstrom on the scene for us there in Los Angeles, where Paris has been ordered back to jail.
Tell us, what's the update? You're getting some more info?
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we just actually got a hold of some of the sketches that were done by the courtroom artist. I'll hold them up. I think we actually took some stills of them, which may be a little bit steadier for you to see as well. But it gives you kind of an eye into the courtroom.
Bill Robles, our sketch artist, and he captured pictures of Paris Hilton in the courtroom. She came in very quietly, kind of looking down.
And the second picture here shows that she was sobbing throughout the proceeding. She had a box of Kleenex in front of her.
Quiet throughout the proceedings, but at the end became very emotionally upset and started crying. And in an outburst she actually was escorted out with deputies on both sides of her. And cried out, I'm told by the sketch artist, because I didn't hear this, for her mother as she was being led out of the courtroom.
HOLMES: All right. Kara Finnstrom on the scene there for us.
We do understand she is appealing as well her sentence. But right now we do understand she is going back to jail again.
It's been quite a spectacle there in California today.
Kara, thank you so much.
NGUYEN: Well, the closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street, that is coming straight your way.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. If today's news hasn't been enough for you, listen to this.
You've heard of Jesus and the Virgin Mary popping up on trees. But here's a new one.
Folks living in a Chicago suburb say this is the image of the town's late mayor, Donald Stephens. You see there on the tree? They say Stephens saved this particular sycamore tree from the chipper twice and he's now watching over it.
You see the picture? You see the eyes and the nose? Is that him? Could it be him? Hmm.
News of the weird. We're bringing it to you first.
HOLMES: Are you sure it's not -- you just said, it might be Jesus. It could be...
NGUYEN: Oh goodness. And there we go.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
HOLMES: Well, it's now time for us to head to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.
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