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Found IDs Raise New Questions about Missing Soldiers in Iraq; Panel Finds Nifong Broke Ethics Rules; Routed in Gaza, Fatah Fighters Take Revenge on Hamas in the West Bank; Robert Gates in Iraq; New U.S. Offensive in Iraq
Aired June 16, 2007 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: The ethics verdict is in. Will District Attorney Mike Nifong's zeal in the Duke Lacrosse case cost him his law license?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN WEDEMAN, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: This is a taste of the mayhem to come. Fatah has now taken revenge on Hamas, destroying everything it can, burning their offices, killing their members.
ROESGEN: CNN is there as Palestinian infighting reaches new levels.
Plus, this soldier picks up where her best friend and husband left off. And --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOREHOUSE COLLEGE STUDENT: Every time it happens, I feel like I want to tear up because I've never been in that position myself. So I see it. I listen. And it honestly hurts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: American students making an effort in South Africa.
I'm Susan Roesgen, filling in for Fredricka Whitfield. And you are in the "CNN NEWSROOM."
North Carolina District Attorney Mike Nifong is about to learn his fate. The prosecutor in the Duke Lacrosse case has been found guilty of serious ethics violations. A panel from the North Carolina State Bar has begun the penalty phase of the hearing.
CNN's Susan Candiotti is with us live in Raleigh with more on the case -- Susan?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Susan. Embattled Attorney Mike Nifong may have said he made mistakes, he didn't do it on purpose and that he was terribly sorry. But that was not good enough and it did not impress the ethics panel, who found Mike Nifong guilty of the majority of the 19 ethics violations against him, that he grossly mishandled, they said, the Duke Lacrosse case, including failure to turn over critical DNA information and evidence that appeared to clear those players.
CANDIOTTI: The prosecutor even said, at one point, that Mr. Nifong, in his words, did not act as a minister of justice but a minister of injustice.
And here is the chairman of the panel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
F. LANE WILLIAMSON, DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation in violation of rule 8.4c of the revised rules of professional conduct. The answer is yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: And now that he has been found guilty, now the penalty phase continues. They are hearing testimony and have heard testimony from a couple of parents of the players, including Dave Evans, the father of David Evans, one of the accused players who has been exonerated in all of this.
He talked about the traumatic effect and impact this has had on their entire family, something he said that will haunt them the rest of their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVE EVANS, FATHER OF DUKE PLAYER DAVID EVANS: He believes that when he dies, that it will be reported, no matter what else he did during his life, that he was one of the three Duke Lacrosse players who was accused of rape.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Of course, yet to come exactly how Mr. Nifong will be penalized. The ultimate sanction, losing his license. Susan, back to you.
ROESGEN: OK, Susan, while you wait for that penalty to be announced, let's bring in our CNN Legal Analyst Avery Freeman.
Avery, Susan just mentioned what the penalty might be. Besides disbarment, what are the other possible penalties in this case?
Okay. We're having some technical problems bringing in Avery Freeman. Again, we'll stay on that case when they decide what they're going to do with District Attorney Mike Nifong.
The other big story, the faintest trace of two missing American soldiers, declared dead by militants in Iraq, today the military announced that it has found the IDs of Specialist Alex Jimenez of Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Private Byron Fouty of Waterford, Michigan.
Those ID cards turned up in an enemy safe house in Samarra more than 100 miles from where the soldiers were last taken, apparently kidnapped last month in a raid.
We spoke today with Private Fouty's step-father.
(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)
GORDON DIBLER, STEP-FATHER OF PRIVATE BYRON FOUTY: Well, our last conversation was on his birthday, April 17, and we -- he had been discussing his -- his desire to go in to being a medic. And I was real proud of him for that for wanting to be a healer. Our last actual words were that we loved each other.
ROESGEN: And if you could send a message out today, what would you say?
DIBLER: If I could send out a message today, that our hearts are anxiously waiting his return and that we love him very much and that his sisters and I are both waiting, with everything we have, and that his brothers and sisters that are helping support him are always thinking of him.
(END AUDIO FEED)
ROESGEN: And now with more on that search, CNN's Karl Penhaul is embedded with American soldiers in Samarra. He joins us now live -- Karl?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: The details that we're getting now about the discovery of these two ID cards sounds quite spectacular. This began as an intelligence-driven raid on June 9, last week, when a company of airborne paratroopers went in by helicopter to what was known to be an occasional safe house used by al Qaeda insurgents.
There was a firefight there. We're told that four insurgents fled out of the house. At that stage, paratroopers breached the house and in it they found an Aladdin's cave of intelligence information.
We've been told that they have found huge amounts of computer equipment, huge amounts of computer data. There is a lot of video devices. Seems this house was also being used as a production center for some of the video that these insurgents put out. There were also bundles of documents.
It was when the soldiers took back this bundle of documents to base that they suddenly discovered the two ID cards of Specialist Alex Jimenez and Private Byron Fouty.
It was at that stage that the battalion commander ordered a whole battalion back out into the field. They conducted a 72-hour search using forensics experts and search dogs to look for physical traces of these two missing soldiers. They were captured south of Baghdad on May 12.
After that intense search, the company -- what the battalion commander told us is that there was no indication that the two missing soldiers were ever present in this region. What is surprising and has taken them all by surprise is these two ID cards were found there at all. The area of Samarra where they were found, about six miles south of the city of Samarra, in a rural area surrounded by orchards, is about 120 miles north of Usaf here in the Triangle of Death where these two soldiers were captured in combat -- Susan?
ROESGEN: Karl Penhaul reporting live for us with the freshest information on the search of those two missing soldiers. Karl Penhaul embedded with our troops in Samarra.
Meanwhile, Palestinians are trying to sort out their future now. This week's Hamas victory in Gaza has put Gaza and the West Bank on two very different and bloody paths.
While Hamas is trying to consolidate its power in Gaza, the rival Fatah faction is trying to do the same thing in the West Bank.
CNN's Atika Shubert has been following developments in Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: After a humiliating defeat in Gaza, Fatah forces are now exacting their revenge across the West Bank.
(voice-over): Fatah militant group the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade stormed into the Palestinian legislative counsel in Ramallah today attacking the offices of Hamas legislatures. Most Hamas lawmakers stayed home precisely to avoid these type of attacks.
Still, Fatah gunmen attempted to apprehend the deputy speaker of Parliament, dragging him out before a crowd. But he was later released.
This is the kind of lawlessness that the new Prime Minister Salaam Fayad will have to face with his new emergency cabinet. But he could get a boost if the United States decides to lift an embargo on the Palestinian authority in place now for more than a year.
Palestinian President and Fatah Leader Mahmoud Abbas met with the U.S. counsel general today to discuss the lifting of the embargo. It was originally put in place because of U.S. and Israeli objections to the Hamas-led government. But now that President Abbas has dissolved that government, the U.S. has indicated that it may consider lifting those financial sanctions.
In Gaza, meanwhile, Hamas leaders insist that they are still in charge and leading the Palestinian authority. And while Hamas forces have taken over the streets of Gaza, they have not been able to control rampant looting there, including the home of the late Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat.
(on camera): Now that the Palestinian territories had been divided in two, many Palestinians are asking, who's in charge and when will law and order be returned? Atika Shubert, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: Here's another look now at the fighting there. A burning building in the West Bank is a powerful symbol of the rage among the Fatah supporters fighting the rival Hamas.
CNN's Ben Wedeman saw this attack firsthand and he brings us the story from the town of Nablus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fatah gunmen ransacked Hamas' media office in Nablus. Destruction, the theme of the day.
Fatah answers their rampage in Gaza with its own. On the streets below, Fatah fighters warn this is only the beginning.
We'll continue to do this until Hamas has been destroyed, says gunman Abu Scunda (ph). This is the law here, delivered through the barrel of a gun.
Blind rage smashing everything associated with Hamas.
(on camera): This is a taste of the mayhem to come. Fatah has now taken revenge on Hamas, destroying everything it can, burning their offices, killing their members.
(voice-over): This was the first Hamas supporter Nablus to be killed. 31-year-old Anees Salus (ph). Relatives say he was grabbed as he left a mosque Thursday, bundled into a car and driven away.
Mourners accuse Fatah of being behind the killing. Specifically, they blame Mohammad Da'lun (ph), who was Fatah's strong man in Gaza before it was overrun by Hamas.
No one is investigating how he was killed, Anees' (ph) father tells me. No one is investigating anything.
A few hope the carnage will end soon.
God willing, this was the last killing, says Nablus resident Abu Mohamed al-Halabi at the funeral, and we'll be brothers again.
With anger on both sides, it doesn't look like the bloody conflict between Hamas and Fatah will be so easily buried.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Nablus on the West Bank.
ROESGEN: Coming up in the "CNN NEWSROOM," a mysterious case in California, dead dolphins, killed not by any natural cause but by a gun. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROESGEN: And now we're going back to our top story today. The prosecutor in the Duke Lacrosse rape case has had the book thrown at him by the ethics panel. Here now deliberating what his penalty might be, he's going to find out shortly, we believe, what might happen.
Let's bring in our Legal Analyst Avery Freeman.
Avery, besides disbarment, what else could they do to him?
AVERY FREEMAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: There are a multitude of things that the panel has to do, Susan. Disbarment is the most extreme. Some of the things that they can consider are temporary suspension of a license, indefinite suspension of a license, fined or a multitude of things and any combination of things that one can see.
You know, we've heard disbarment used a lot. I'm really not sure that that necessarily may happen because right now, Susan, they are in the penalty face. They're hearing testimony from some of the parents. They're also going to hear a character witness speaking on behalf of Michael Nifong talking about nearly 25 years of otherwise ethical practice.
ROESGEN: Avery, isn't disbarment the ultimate punishment here?
FREEMAN: Yes, that's the death penalty if you're a lawyer. That's it. Now, remember, also that like in any other civil or criminal proceeding, and this is an ethics proceeding, Nifong has the right to appeal.
So even though he may appeal, let's say, a disbarment, we don't know yet, the disbarment will probably go into effect or the punishment will go into effect irrespective of whether he appeals.
ROESGEN: He's been described many times in this case as a rogue prosecutor.
FREEMAN: Yes.
ROESGEN: How much of a rogue do you think he is? How many other prosecutors across this country use similar tactics and what sort of message does his guilty verdict here, if you will, on the ethics violation, send to them?
FREEMAN: Well, that's a great question because in the history of American law -- in the history of American law, there has never been a more comprehensive record built against a local prosecutor.
Remember, the Bar Association filed a 291-paragraph complaint. There were 17 very serious charges. And of the 17 -- I should say 19, there were 17 findings including 6 of deceit, dishonesty, misrepresentation, and fraud. So this is an unprecedented in American jurisprudential history.
ROESGEN: The message for prosecutors: stop it with the pretrial publicity. That's one thing they accused Nifong of. And play by the rules. Is that the message? FREEMAN: If you reduced it to one sentence, Susan it is exactly that, play by the rules.
ROESGEN: As you said earlier, you think his next job is a greeter at Wal-mart. I'm not sure.
FREEMAN: No, no. Let's see what happens. This is a serious, sober proceeding. We'll see what happens. We're going through penalty. We're going to get a ruling today.
ROESGEN: OK. We'll be watching with you. Thanks, Avery.
Let's turn to Jacqui Jeras in the weather center.
Is it still raining in the San Antonio Houston area?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN WEATHER CENTER METEOROLOGIST: It sure is.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROESGEN: OK. Keep an umbrella handy. Thanks, Jacqui.
If you're a parent, you never expect to see this, a school principal selling drugs in his office.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: You might have heard about the principal and plea deal earlier this week, but now the police have released the undercover video of the principal Anthony Giancola buying crack in his middle school office.
Tampa reporter, Anna Tataris, has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA TATARIS, TAMPA REPORTER (voice-over): This is undercover video as Tampa police officers entered the middle school.
Giancola can be seen on video as he takes them into the office. Some parts are cut out to protect the identity of the two officers.
Also released were audio conversations in which the former principal encouraged them to come to his office.
(BEGIN AUDIO)
ANTHONY GIANCOLA, PRINCIPAL: Yes, I mean, you guys can come over to my office. That's no problem.
(END AUDIO)
TATARIS: In the video, can also hear Giancola and the officers joke about what he would do if someone walked in. (BEGIN AUDIO)
GIANCOLA: Let's say I stick it in my pocket. Do something stupid. I pull out my phone and it goes like this. I'd be like, "Oh, look what we found here."
UNDERCOVER OFFICER: Put it on some student?
(END AUDIO)
TATARIS: Giancola was sentenced earlier this week and made a public apology for his actions.
GIANCOLA: I made a mistake and it was a huge mistake and it cost me everything.
TATARIS: He will now serve time and hopes to be a drug counselor in the future.
But this video shows just how desperate he was before coming clean.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: And coming up, he is in Iraq. What is his take on the way things are going?
And South Africa, a day in the life of college kids who are trying to make a difference there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: Welcome back to the "CNN NEWSROOM." Happening now, new questions about the fate of two American soldiers missing in Iraq. The military reported today that a raid last week going in an insurgent safe house turned up the men's army ID cards. Coalition forces have done an extensive search of the area but found no sign of Specialist Alex Jimenez and Private Byron Fouty.
He's heard the verdict and now he awaits his penalty. A panel has found that Mike Nifong broke numerous ethics rules in his prosecution of the Duke Lacrosse case. And Nifong now could lose his license to practice law in North Carolina.
And thoroughly routed in Gaza, Fatah fighters are taking revenge on Hamas now in the West Bank. Gunmen have stormed the parliament and other Hamas-run institutions and dozens of abductions are being reported.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in Iraq today assessing the performance of the Iraqi government and reviewing the security situation on the streets. His visit comes just hours after the U.S. military began a new offensive in several al Qaeda strongholds.
CNN International Correspondent Paula Hancocks has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: The top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, says that in the past 24 hours his troops have been targeting specific al Qaeda hideouts around the area of Baghdad.
(voice-over): Now, he says that they have been targeting car bombers and also additional fighters that have come from those areas. This comes as the last U.S. troops have landed here in Iraq.
Now we know that the Fifth Combat Brigade is here in full and that means 160,000 U.S. troops are currently on the ground here in Iraq.
Now, the plan, according to the U.S. military, over the next few days and weeks and months is to try and target those areas where there has not been a consistent U.S. presence, which means those areas have allowed al Qaeda to put some roots down.
General Petraeus and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, still have to give that report to Congress in September, talking about how these extra brigades have performed.
(on camera): And certainly General Petraeus has said he hopes to see some progress in the next few months.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: Now to Soweto, South Africa, where a group of students from Atlanta's Morehouse College are making a difference in the lives of strangers. The work is hard, the hours are long, but the lessons will last a lifetime.
Here's our Fredricka Whitfield.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They know the rhythm of this South African road. They've been here before.
RYAN SHEPPARD, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE STUDENT: At this point it's almost like a second home.
WHITFIELD: But with each visit, Ryan Shepherd --
SHEPPARD: I had some rough days.
WHITFIELD: Clint Fluker.
CLINT FLUKER, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE STUDENT: He was all over his hand.
WHITFIELD: And Tristen Allen.
TRISTEN ALLEN, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE STUDENT: It was a natural transition, you know, to join Ryan and Clint.
WHITFIELD: Students a world away from their all-male Morehouse College in Atlanta, expect the journey might not always be smooth. An easy ride isn't why they founded a cross-cultural leadership and outreach program a year ago after Ryan's first visit to Africa with his economics class. An idea that would have made Morehouse college's most famous grad, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., proud.
RYAN SHEPARD, OUTREACH STUDENT FROM ATLANTA: I had a dream is kind of cliche of Morehouse. But I had a dream one night and I saw the faces of the children. And I was really moved and inspired. I got together with Clint and Teran, he's the other founder, and we started up this organization.
WHITFIELD: The group also gained Oprah's attention. She donated a million dollars. With any start-up organization, though, the unexpected will arise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to see you again.
WHITFIELD: They'll need a lot of those on this day. It's rainy, cold, and this HIV/AIDS clinic in poor, crowded Soweto has a sudden problem. State public service workers are on strike. No licensed medical staff, no patients getting their check-ups and anti-retroviral medicines.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not fair for the people who are sick.
WHITFIELD: But a disappointed young volunteer staff is here. Along with the woman who founded this community center called Nanga Vhuthilo, or Choose Life.
SIBONLGILE, FOUNDER, NANGA VHUTHILO CENTER: These are all my children that would go out and render a service. So I would really say this at the core of the program.
CLINT FLUKER, OUTREACH STUDENT FROM ATLANTA: It's not like we have loads of money to bring in, but as students we have a voice and we can tell other people like, hey, look what's happening here.
WHITFIELD (on camera): It's a huge undertaking but vitally important.
In this Soweto community alone there are up to a million people and just about every household is in one way or another affected by HIV/AIDS.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this your house?
WHITFIELD: Through this door, a lot of grief. This family's three-year-old died of AIDS days ago.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the mother of the child that has passed on, she's also HIV positive.
FLUKER: My stomach hurt when I walked in, truthfully. Every time it happens, I feel like I want to tear up because I've never been in that position myself. So I see it. I listen. And it honestly hurts.
WHITFIELD: Tristan, an American whose family has lived in this country for seven years, feels humbled.
TRISTAN ALLEN, OUTREACH STUDENT FROM ATLANTA: That I actually got to live in a township and see the everyday life of how 80 percent of South Africa lives as opposed to the 20 percent.
WHITFIELD: Whether it's spending time with the orphaned Adderageville (ph) South Africa, helping to renovate a city college in Johannesburg.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On behalf of the RK, our organization --
WHITFIELD: Or donating $700 to this Soweto HIV/AIDS clinic, no one leaves unchanged.
SHEPARD: Because I never feel as if we've done enough. In small things that people may overlook, like someone inviting you into their home, those are the things that keep me motivated, and that let me know that what I'm doing is helping.
WHITFIELD: And the hope of these Morehouse College men is that they can continue to convince others on their campus, and around the globe, to lead, if not follow, a similar path toward helping Africa's neediness. Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Soweto, South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROESGEN: And now Ryan Shepherd, whom you just saw in that piece and Morehouse Professor Walter Fluker are here to tell us more about this trip.
Ryan, so many memories that you have from there. Anything in particular that really stand out that you thought was so different from what you expected?
RYAN SHEPARD, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE SENIOR: Well, I think for me, the most beautiful experience from the trip was the children, interacting with them and the smile and the warmth and everything that they gave me. Despite the conditions and the circumstances, that's what really inspires me, and really drives me. And their warmth, how happy they can be in their circumstances is amazing to me.
ROESGEN: Professor Fluker, I know you lead this group. What's the future for this trip?
PROF. WALTER FLUKER, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE: The future of this trip is really what you're seeing right here. We expect to expand the program over the coming years. Especially programs that are student initiated, student driven, like the program that Ryan and Clint and Teran are part of. It's called Arcade.
We hope that our funding increases, of course. That's a plug. But there are also ways in which we're closely related to the Oprah Winfrey Foundation. And that support has just been incredible. And we're depending on them as well to help us think a little more strategically about some of the next steps.
ROESGEN: What about the rest of us? We who will not go to Africa, people who don't go over there. Ryan, what should we be doing now?
SHEPARD: Well, a part of our organization, an organization that spawned from the leadership center and the trips that they do, we host an annual summit at Morehouse College. That's something simple. We invite the greater Atlanta community to come out. It's our way to share our experience and to kind of raise awareness.
So something like being informed and taking the step to find out what's going on. And little things like support, moral support, something that goes a long way. Letting the students know that they're really behind us and what we're doing matters.
ROESGEN: For folks at home, we're in the internet age. Is there a website if people wanted to check out more information on this program?
FLUKER: Yes, it's on the home page of Morehouse College, that's www.morehouse.edu. There's a section from postcards from around the globe where you can actually read the journal entries of these young men who were there since May 21st through June 1st.
ROESGEN: Ryan, I think I read that you're a philosophy major. Is that right?
SHEPARD: Yes.
ROESGEN: Has this trip changed what you want to do in life?
SHEPARD: Well, yes, it has. Coming in as a philosophy major I was thinking of going to law school. From this trip and the program and the opportunity I really enjoy this work and I would like to do something maybe along the lines of non-profit work and humanitarian efforts and traveling. This is something really fulfilling for me. Being with those children and being in South Africa and the greater global community is something I've really taken a great interest in.
ROESGEN: I can see that how it would be life altering for a lot of the students. Thank you, Professor and Ryan, both for joining us here today.
FLUKER: Thank you.
SHEPARD: Thank you.
ROESGEN: Coming up, make sure you are not serving up something that will make your family sick on your Father's Day barbecue. We'll have some grilling tips.
And we'll have Josh Levs "Reality Check" on blonds -- Josh?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Can you hear me? There you go. Paris Hilton is going to stop acting dumb, which got me wondering where did that whole stereotype come from, the idea of the dumb blond? I'm Josh Levs. I'm going to have that coming up, CNN "Reality Check" -- Susan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: And happening now, you're looking at a live picture of that North Carolina ethics hearing, debating the fate of District Attorney Mike Nifong. The panel just announced a 15-minute recess before they say that they're going to come back with the punishment. He has been found, earlier today, in serious breach of ethics violations.
And even his own lawyer, Mike Nifong's lawyer, says he deserves to be disbarred. Here's what the lawyer had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In light of the findings of fact this commission has made, he has told me that he believes it has been a fair and full hearing of the facts, that he believes the disbarment is the appropriate punishment in this case. And he also wishes me to advise that he waives all right of appeal from these proceedings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: So the question is, is he afraid of something more serious than the disbarment? Let's bring in again our legal analyst Avery Friedman.
Avery, what do you think?
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY, LEGAL ANALYST: Susan, that is absolutely shocking. Whatever is motivating Michael Nifong in authorizing his lawyers to make a statement like that, waiving all right of appeal, and basically falling on a sword, you just don't see these kind of things.
That's an extraordinary, alarming, but understandable position to take.
ROESGEN: Wait, I'm confused. Why would it be alarming, yet understandable?
FRIEDMAN: Well, because look what he's facing. He's going to be facing criminal contempt, so he's trying to blunt that. Again, you know, we don't know what's in his mind. But to make a statement before the panel comes in and makes a judgment, clearly he's thinking he wants to minimize civil liability, he wants to minimize the criminal implications potentially of what he's done. So we understand it, but it's just extremely unusual. Frankly, I find it shocking.
ROESGEN: But you know those students are so furious about this whole thing and their parents are so furious.
FRIEDMAN: Yeah.
ROESGEN: I don't see how this would in any way stop them from going ahead and filing civil suits against him.
FRIEDMAN: That's exactly right, Susan. I don't understand the logic, the reasoning behind the idea of going public and saying, go ahead and disbar me, it's OK. Is he trying to pull the plug on the significance of what this panel is going to give us in the next 15 minutes or so? You really don't know. But generally lawyers just don't do this kind of thing.
And whatever is motivating him to do it, I really question if it's the smart and right and proper thing to do.
ROESGEN: OK. We'll be watching. Thank you. Avery Friedman, we'll stay on top of it.
Now, what they call the most brutal test of golf in the world, the U.S. Open. And this year's contest is no exception. With that story live in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, is CNN's Ray D'Alessio -- Ray.
RAY D'ALESSIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Susan, we were expected to see a number of high scores today on this tough Oakmont course. So far it seems to be pretty forgiving. In fact, a number of players have been able to shoot under par. Most notably, Tiger Woods.
Tiger, entering the day six shots off the lead. But he is charging. Woods with no bogeys on his scorecard. Even better, he has dropped in two birdie putts. Latest check he currently sits at plus three for the tournament and is only two shots off the lead and keep in mind should Tiger come up with a victory tomorrow it will be his 13th win in a major. The record is 18 by Jack Nicholas.
Susan, send it back to you.
ROESGEN: All right. He's just that good. Thanks, Ray.
We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: Well, it's the Father's Day weekend an you can almost smell the charcoal. In our "Living Well" segment a refresher course on how to grill without getting ill. Doctor Bill Lloyd joins us in Sacramento.
Doctor Bill, we've all heard of potato salad going bad, but what else should we remember if we're going to start cooking outside again?
DR. BILL LLOYD, SURGEON: Susan, millions of American families are going to be lighting up that grill for the first time this summer, so it's important that they know about a couple of other hazards besides undercooked meat.
There's lots of other items that can make you sick at a family barbeque, produce, vegetables, and fruit, for example. Make sure you wash everything. You have no idea how dirty a watermelon is. It's coated with dirt. Be sure you carefully scrub it indoors. You might even want to slice it up and put it in an ice chest before you take it outdoors.
Speaking of that ice chest, if it has undercooked meat in it, don't put anything else in it like soda and beer because you will be doing is inoculating the germs from the uncooked meat over to whatever else you're serving.
Think about things like cutting boards. Use a cutting board for uncooked items and a separate one for, again, fruits, desserts and other items. You have to think ahead.
ROESGEN: Speaking of thinking ahead, anything in particular we need to know about the grill? You get it out for the first time this summer and you go, duh, I've forgotten how to start this thing safely. Anything else we need to know?
LLOYD: Yes, a little advance preparation is going to help. You have to know is this party going to be in my backyard, or are we going over to a park? If so, you better go out there and reconnoiter. Look around for things like nails and broken glass, check out the playground. If there's any standing water you don't want anybody getting any kind of mosquito bites at your party. Be sure you bring a fire extinguisher.
If you're in the backyard, you an always turn the hose on. But if you're down the street you could be in trouble if the flames get ahead of you.
ROESGEN: You know, I hadn't thought about that. Is it really true that the crud on the grill itself can cause cancer? That you really need to get that stuff off?
LLOYD: It has to do with the heat. And meat that's cooked very, very hot for a very, very long time can lead to accumulation of little chemicals that we think are responsible for some forms of cancer. So scrub the grill clean. Use smaller pieces of meat that are very lean, not much fat. Don't make that fire too hot. And don't cook it for a very long time. Use small portions of meat and flip it over frequently. Flip it frequently.
ROESGEN: You have said, though, that you don't think undercooked meat is actually the biggest danger in a barbecue. What is then?
LLOYD: You know I think the biggest danger? It's marinade. Yeah. That syrup you make beforehand.
ROESGEN: The killer marinade?
LLOYD: You stick the meat in that little bowl of syrup and spices that has all the juices that came from the raw meat. You know what people do, they take the bowl outside and throw the meat on the fire, heat it to 165. That will kill the germs in the meat but then they take that marinade and start basting the meat again. What are you doing? You're re-inoculating those same germs from the raw meat back onto the meat you're going to serve. Some people even take a few drops and put the marinade on the meat just as it's being served to their guests. So, once you remove the meat from the marinade bowl, pour it down the sink, and don't use it again.
ROESGEN: Yes, I know people who put it on their dog's -- dog bowl food thinking the dog is going to like it better that way. Don't do it. We are prepared. We will flip the meat, and we will make sure everything is cold.
Thank you, Doctor Bill.
LLOYD: Wonderful.
ROESGEN: Still ahead, are they really thick as a brick? What is it with dumb blonds and dumb jocks? We're going to do a "Reality Check". Is this a stereotype or is it true?
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: Now before we go any further here today, I want to say to Josh Levs despite the strategically placed streaks I am a brunette, OK?
(LAUGHTER)
Because from Jessica Simpson to Paris Hilton you know a lot of the celebrity news these days are about blonds behaving badly.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is.
ROESGEN: Not brunettes, blonds.
LEVS: It's the blonds these days.
ROESGEN: Is there a link between hair color and intelligence? Come on?
LEVS: That is the theory. Isn't it? That's what I wanted to look into. You hear about this thing, the dumb blond. I get to hit different topics in "Reality Check", so this week I went --combing -- through the research, get it? To get to the roots of the myth.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Paris!
LEVS: People made fun of her for saying it but in a way, Paris Hilton was right. Last year, she said, I think every decade has an iconic blond, and right now I'm that icon.
Now she's told Barbara Walters she's going to stop acting dumb. Whether an act or not, the dumb blond thing has worked wonders for her, just like it did for others before her.
In the late 1970s "Three's Company" made Suzanne Somers a huge star.
SUZANNE SOMERS, ACTRESS: Oh, that's so beautiful.
What does he mean?
LEVS: Goldie Hawn kicked off her career in the 1960s on "Laugh- In"
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look that up in your "Funk & Wagnall's".
GOLDIE HAWN, ACTRESS: That's the dictionary, you know.
LEVS: Dolly Parton's breakthrough single was called "Dumb Blond." She always said the jokes don't bother her.
DOLLY PARTON, COUNTRY SINGER: Because I know I'm not dumb and I know I'm not blond.
LEVS: In the reality TV era it's Paris and Jessica Simpson, Americans went wild over this scene on MTV's "Newlyweds".
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why is it called chicken by the sea, or in the sea?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chicken of the sea, is the brand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.
LEVS: But where does stereotype come from? Studies show there's no correlation between hair color and intelligence. Researchers say since blond kids generally grow darker hair by adulthood, blond is associated with youthful naivete, which on a bleach blond adult can suggest a lack of intelligence.
Some icons have played that up. Researches say the dumb blond image was driven into the American psyche by "Gentlemen Prefer Blonds" First the book in 1925, then the star of the movie. Marilyn Monroe often used child-like ways of speaking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why didn't you ring for him?
MARILYN MONROE, ACTRESS: I didn't think of it. Isn't that silly?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: You know, what if I thought you were a real sexist I would smack you, but I think you gave us a lot of info there. What about the guys? The dumb jock stereotype?
LEVS: That's right. That's the equivalent. Honestly it's all untrue. That's what we're showing here. It's obviously all untrue.
But you're right, they say the same thing about guys, it's the dumb jocks. In fact, we pulled out some of those clips. No gender worries. Here take a look at these. We pulled out a little montage, as we like to say. There you go, remember him? Joey Lawrence, in "Blossom". Total archetypal, dumb jock.
ROESGEN: Hunky and dumb.
LEVS: Right. Chris Cline in "Election." He was another one just like that. Often these characters are harmless. Remember these guys? We were just seeing them? Sometime this is a dumb jock, the major muscle men.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pump you up!
LEVS: Got to love that. Sometimes it's the real bad guy. This is the bad guy who is a dumb jock. That's out of "Back To The Future." Now, often as you might know the dumb jock is actually hooked up to the dumb blond. We have a cut here from at TV show, "Dario" that I think just summarizes both stereotypes beautifully. Let's take a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh, Operation Watergate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Son, promise me you will come back and see me some day when you've got the Heisman (ph) Trophy and a chain of car dealerships, and I'm saving up for a second pair of pants. Will you promise me, Kevin?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I come, too?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: So, there you go. I mean, they're both all over the place. Keep in mind, on the blonds, our next president just might be a blond woman. So clearly it's not as though everyone thinks all blonds are unintelligent.
ROESGEN: And she's not at all dumb.
LEVS: There you go. Exactly. You got it.
ROESGEN: Thanks, Josh.
LEVS: You got it.
ROESGEN: Senator Barack Obama, this song is for you. Speaking of presidential candidates, a unique political tribute just ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROESGEN: And finally, here are the videos that the dot.comers are watching this hour. You might be one. "A crush on Obama," CNN's Jeanne Moos takes a closer look at an ode to Senator Barack Obama that is really heating up the Internet.
A missing five-year-old Illinois girl stumbles back to civilization after two days in the woods at the delight of her parents and everyone looking for her.
And boy balks at award. A sixth grader in Indianapolis is fighting back after he said teachers humiliated him at a ceremony. The boy was named "most likely not to have children" and "Sir Clown A Lot."
And bodies waiting to be buried; some 100 victims of Hurricane Katrina are still in a New Orleans warehouse.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Susan Roesgen. Our next hour starts right now.
Next in the CNN NEWSROOM, a small but vocal group protests the immigration bill.
A military raid in Iraq turns up a surprise, the I.D. cards of two U.S. soldiers missing for more than a month. We'll be talking to one of the soldier's stepfathers about the latest development.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation in violation of rule 8.4.C of the Revised Rules of Professional Conduct.
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