Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Memorial Held for Firefighters; Atlantis Heads Home; Sanctions Filed Against Mike Nifong

Aired June 22, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Kyra Phillips.

Well, California, here we come. The crew of the space shuttle Atlantis getting cleared for a landing. We're going to be live on the story.

LEMON: And North Korean nukes. A U.S. envoy on a mission to get that country to give up its nuclear ambitions reveals how it went.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

KEILAR: Atlantis astronauts have been circling the Earth waiting for the go-ahead to come home.

So what's the word there, Miles O'Brien, live for us from the Kennedy Space Center.

Miles?

Miles, Miles, Miles.

All right. We lost Miles there. We're going to check right back in with him in a few minutes.

LEMON: What we do know, though -- we know that -- I think Miles said it's going to happen around 3:49 Eastern Time, Edwards Air Force base instead, in California. Of course, they wanted to land at Kennedy.

So if we could get Miles back up we'd certainly appreciate it.

So, weather has been a factor for a couple of days, Brianna. I've been sitting here talking to Miles, and we've been trying to figure out when exactly it's going to land. We saw those ominous clouds there in the skies yesterday, as well as today, because the first attempt was scrubbed.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Nine caskets, thousands of mourners. The people of Charleston, South Carolina, packed a 9,000-seat arena today to mourn the nine firefighters who lost their lives in Monday's tragic furniture store blaze.

CNN's Heidi Collins joins us live with that.

Heidi, a very tough day. And as you said, one they certainly needed, right?

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Boy, oh, boy, it was a very tough day. You know, we had the opportunity sitting where we were all day long today, Don, to watch the family members come in after the processional that was held this morning, which was really spectacular. About 150 different fire trucks came through the middle of the city and right past the furniture warehouse where the scene of the fire that took the lives of all nine of these Charleston City firefighters.

Really, really something to see. And you see their faces now on the bottom of the screen.

We also had an opportunity to pick up one of these cards that the fire department sent out. I can show it to you here in just a minute. It has a list of all of the firefighters who died, a list on there, and then also some words of encouragement, talking about how brave and how strong they were and how they certainly did not die in vain, going in after someone that they thought needed their help, as they do every day and will continue to do from here forward. There are so many that I've spoken with who say, you know, we do what we do, we love what we do, and we will continue to do our jobs, and that is to save people's lives.

Let's listen for just a moment to some of the sound from the memorial service, which, again, was so very emotional. We heard "Taps," we heard "Amazing Grace," but certainly the person that everyone I think really found some comfort in was their fire chief, Rusty Thomas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF RUSTY THOMAS, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, FIRE DEPT.: The other night, Chief Mullen from the police department said, "Is there anybody that you don't know?" when we were trying to find the families. And I said, "No, sir. That's a part of my job, is to know each member. Besides just being a number and hiring the person, each member of the fire department I know personally."

Out of these nine, I hired six. I promoted every single one of them to their rank.

Monday, June the 18th is a day that our city will never forget. Never. We lost nine of the bravest men doing what they loved to do best -- fight fires. Those guys were the best.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: And Chief Thomas went through these incredible stories. He had a personal story about every single one of those guys.

And it really brought, I think, a moment of lightness and laughter. Funny, funny stories that he told. I think it really, really helped the people who were here today at the memorial service.

And, of course, that did not only include family members, but so many firefighters from across this country. I had about 30 or so on my flight alone when we came up down -- when we came up here from Atlanta. So, it was really an incredible day -- Don.

LEMON: Yes, it certainly was. And, you know, Heidi very emotional for everyone. And I was sitting with you here on the desk that day when the story broke, and we were imagining this very moment and how these folks were going to get through this, and especially the firefighters, how they were going to move on after nine members of their fire department perished.

COLLINS: Yes. And I think that it would be safe to say that their fire chief is certainly someone who is going to need help in doing that, as well. Even though he is the leader, this is something that is going to take a very, very long time for him personally to get over, losing -- losing his men the way that he did.

LEMON: Heidi Collins reporting for us live.

Heidi, thank you. We'll check back with you a little bit later on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The heroism of the South Carolina firefighters has moved so many of you, and we know you want to help, help to honor them. To make a difference and impact your world, visit our Web site, CNN.com/impact. You can find information there on the memorial funds that have been set up for the South Carolina firefighters -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Well, Six Flags and another company have shut down eight more rides nationwide after a horrifying accident at Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville. A 13-year-old girl lost both of her feet on the Superman Tower of Power ride yesterday. There's no word today on her condition, but one witness said he saw a cable snap and come up under the car, and he saw riders lift up their legs.

Other people at the park yesterday told their stories.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WILLIAMS, WITNESS: We had seen the cable break loose as soon as we got to the top on the right-hand side. And as the ride came down, the wire swung left, hit -- struck the young lady.

TREVA SMITH, WITNESS: When I got up there, the lady, she was just sitting there, and she didn't have no legs. She didn't have no legs at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Police aren't confirming anything just yet. Six Flags and another firm, Cedar Fair Entertainment, have shut down eight similar rides nationwide just to be safe.

So the question being, how on earth could something like this happen? Is it something you should be worried about this summer? And who investigates cases like this?

Some answers from roller-coaster safety expert Kathy Fackler. She spoke with John Roberts on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHY FACKLER, ROLLER COASTER SAFETY ADVOCATE: This is a mechanical issue, and it needs an impartial investigation to find out what the cause was. It could have been maintenance, it could have been a faulty cable to begin with, but this is not supposed to happen. There's supposed to be enough checks and balances in the system to avoid things like this.

Accidents happen everywhere, but it seems to me shameful in a case where a child's legs are severed that Congress would prohibit the federal safety agency from investigating something like that. If this child's legs had been severed by a lawnmower or in an airplane accident or a train accident, federal authorities would be there. If this was an employee whose legs were severed on that ride, federal officials would be there to investigate the cause, find out what happened, take steps to make sure this never happens on any other ride across the United States.

It would fill up the holes in certain states. If this accident had happened in Texas and someone's legs had been severed on a thrill ride, there's no government agency that has authority and training in ride safety to go in and do an investigation. The same if this happened at a theme park in Florida.

They're exempt at the state level and at the federal level from all safety oversight, no matter what the outcome -- fatality, traumatic amputation. So, primarily it would allow serious accidents to be investigated by trained public safety officials and engineers from the federal agency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Kentucky's agriculture department is responsible for inspecting amusement park rides in that state, and a spokesman for that agency told The Associated Press that they might never know what caused the accident.

LEMON: Two suspects are in custody in Illinois after a crime spree there, and prosecutors are meeting with Illinois police to sort the charges they'll face. It's bound to be a long list.

The men were arrested yesterday in a spree that includes a sheriff's deputy being shot, a high-speed chase, and five people being held hostage inside a bank. The deputy remains hospitalized with gunshot wounds to the torso and face. None of the hostages was injured.

KEILAR: NASA looking for a break in the clouds. The Atlantis astronauts are trying to head home and weather has been an issue. So, will they get down to Earth today?

LEMON: We certainly hope so.

A U.S. envoy makes a surprise visit to Pyongyang. He calls his talks very useful. Ahead, we'll hear what he has to say about the standoff over North Korea's nuclear program and look at how his visit could change the dynamics of the dispute.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

KEILAR: Atlantis astronauts have been circling the Earth. They've been waiting for the go-ahead to come home.

So let's go now to the Kennedy Space Center, where Miles O'Brien has some good news for us.

Hi there, Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Brianna.

Yes, in about a half hour's time, the shuttle crew of the space shuttle Atlantis will fire its orbital maneuvering system rockets, will slow down the space shuttle orbiter by about 200, 300 miles an hour, and that will be just enough to begin its inexorable plunge toward the Edwards Air Force Base in California. NASA trying repeatedly to see if they could get comfortable with the weather conditions here at the Kennedy Space Center, but in the end, the low clouds, the showers in the area, the thunderstorms, all the things you associate with Florida in the summertime, made it impossible for them to give a green light for landing here.

They prefer to land it here because it's easier for their schedules. This is where the orbiters, after all, launch from and where they're processed. But as you can see from those clouds, they weren't able to do it.

What they look for is inside this 30-mile disk. And you'll see the radar returns there. Some of the big ones are below the new development sign there. But you can see the kinds of radar returns that were out there and would be unsafe for the shuttle to fly through. The precipitation is not a good thing for the fragile skin of the orbiter.

So, they made the decision to go with Edwards Air Force Base. If you look at a live picture on NASA TV right now, you'll see what it looks like there.

That is the shuttle training aircraft, and it is being flown by Scott Altman, an astronaut who is testing it out there, seeing how the weather is. The visibility there is 60 miles, which is tremendous. And the winds are favorable. And so it's an ideal place today weather-wise for the space shuttle to land.

It's not as good logistically for NASA and costs the taxpayers about $1.7 million. But the crew, after its two-week-long mission, will be home there and then make their way ultimately back to Houston, and so will the space shuttle ultimately make its way back to Florida.

So, we'll watch it. The de-orbit burn, as I say, happening about a half hour. The shuttle will be on the ground at 3:49 p.m. Eastern Time at Edwards Air Force Base, 12:49 Pacific.

If you're in Los Angeles, southern California, it will be coming up from the south, from the Baja Peninsula, straight into the high desert. You might get a wonderful look and hear the sonic booms of the space shuttle Atlantis as it comes in that direction to runway 22 at Mojave, in the Mojave Desert at Edwards Air Force Base -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Thanks, Miles. And I know that's kind of a bummer for you. I mean, you've covered so many shuttle landings and launches, but I know it's always fun to hear that sonic boom. So sorry you're going to miss out on that. But at least the West Coast gets a shot there.

Thanks, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Exactly, as long as they're safe.

LEMON: He'll get to see the videotape and hear it from there.

KEILAR: Yes, he will.

LEMON: All right.

We have some developing news into the CNN NEWSROOM.

Mike Nifong, the Durham, North Carolina, district attorney, that's what the story is about.

We want to go to our Jason Carroll, who has been covering the story, to tell us about these new sanctions filed against Nifong -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically, I've spoken to some of my sources on this, and let me just tell you what's happened.

Defense attorneys have filed a motion asking a judge to find Nifong, Michael Nifong, in criminal contempt of court. Now, this is not the same thing as being charged with a crime. The way I understand it is it means basically that you've done something wrong, something to violate the administrative court proceedings.

And the reason why they filed this motion, Don, is because they say Nifong misled and provided false representations all regarding that DNA evidence. They basically say Nifong withheld exculpatory DNA evidence during the course of this case, and that is the reason why they have filed this motion, having him in criminal contempt of court.

There are some quotes here that I can read to you from what they've filed. They say, in short, "Mr. Nifong played a game of hide- and-seek and seek and seek and seek, and he should be made to pay."

Now, in terms of what's going to happen next, Superior Court Judge Osmond Smith (ph), he is the one who will make the final ruling, and he will do this on his own. This will not go to a jury or to a trial.

A possible penalty that Nifong could be looking at, he could be looking at jail time. We're told anywhere between 30 to 90 days possibly. He could also be fined, as well.

So that is what has happened today in a court in Durham, North Carolina -- Don.

LEMON: OK.

Jason Carroll.

Of course Mike Nifong -- thank you for that report.

We're going to get more on this. We're waiting to hear Jeffrey Toobin, our legal analyst, but of course this is for those Duke lacrosse players accused of raping or having misconduct with a stripper at a party. And it all turned out not to be true, at least that's what prosecutors in North Carolina found out.

Our Jeffrey Toobin joins us on the line now.

Jeffrey, give us some clarification on these sanctions and exactly what they mean.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Well, this is a very peculiar situation, because here you have former defendants in a criminal case asking for the prosecutor to be prosecuted criminally himself. That, of course, is Mike Nifong, who was the district attorney in Durham County, who has since been disbarred for his -- the way he conducted this investigation, who has been forced to resign as district attorney.

But the former defendants, the three lacrosse players, are not happy with even those sanctions. They want to see him prosecuted for obstruction of justice and related crimes.

So, what they're doing is they're trying to get the state of North Carolina to appoint someone to prosecute Nifong, because they're private citizens. They can't bring a criminal case. The Durham County district attorney can't bring the case, so this is a motion to get the North Carolina courts to appoint someone to weigh a criminal investigation of Nifong.

LEMON: I have to ask you with this, Jeffrey, what are the chance of that, considering how high-profile this was and considering the ramifications? I mean, this was seen around the world, and Mike Nifong really stuck by his guns until the very end on this.

What are the chances? TOOBIN: Well, I've been saying all along that I thought Nifong would sort of dismiss the case and that's all that would happen. But I've been wrong all along. I mean, this keeps going. And the story gets worse and worse for Nifong.

So, I'm tempted to say, you know, I think he's suffered enough. He's lost his job. He's lost his law license. But every time another thing comes up in this case, Nifong seems to lose again.

So, I don't think it's at all out of the question that there might be a criminal contempt finding against him and there might be further prosecution of him.

LEMON: And that would mean, as Jason Carroll said, possible jail time.

TOOBIN: An extraordinary turn of events.

LEMON: OK.

Our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin.

We thank you so much for that.

We're going to go back to Jason Carroll. Jason has some new information on this.

What do you have, Jason?

CARROLL: There was one other point that I wanted to add on this, Don. And this is according to a couple of defense sources that I've spoken to on this issue.

What really made them angry during that bar proceeding was when Michael Nifong made it clear that he still believed something had happened at that party. And when those defense attorneys heard that, they really took off all the gloves.

They decided from that moment on that they were really going to go after him even more, and that was the point that they really wanted to make. That was something that angered them to the core when Nifong said that during that bar proceeding.

LEMON: All right.

Jason Carroll, Jeffrey Toobin, thanks to both of you.

KEILAR: Iran denying a reported uranium claim. What did its interior minister say or not say about a uranium stockpile?

We're going to try and sort it out ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT) LEMON: All right. We have some breaking news we want to get to real quick.

T.J. Holmes at the breaking news desk.

This isn't exactly where you expect a tractor-trailer to end up, huh?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: No, in the water, off a road, no. It's supposed to stay on the road.

We'll take you to this picture, a fascinating picture here. But yes, this is in Miami-Dade County. This is right off State Road 836.

This happened a short time ago, about 45 minutes or so ago. But yes, this tractor-trailer went off this road.

Now, you can see the traffic still kind of creeping by, but certainly you understand this is going to be causing quite a problem.

But don't know what was going on, why this accident happened, if any other vehicle was involved, but we do see the result here, which is that that tractor-trailer ended up in the water below the state road. We also do know, it appears, the driver walked away, appeared to be OK, the driver of that rig appeared to be OK, was -- wasn't -- didn't have to be taken away, any medical attention that we know of, but walked away.

But certainly, wish we could have had a wider picture here. We're just getting this video in, so you're seeing some of it the first time as we're seeing it. But you can see what happened, the result there. Wanted to give you a wider shot -- there we go. It does pull out now, give you a better perspective of what's going on there.

And, again, not exactly sure why this happened, but traffic is -- State Road 836 still going in both directions. But, certainly, as people rubberneck a bit, it's going to slow down and cause all kinds of traffic headaches. So, we will certainly, maybe try to get some more answers and maybe more about the condition of the driver and just how that truck ended up where it wasn't supposed to be. Supposed to stay on the road there, Don. So, we're just -- some interesting pictures we thought we'd bring you.

LEMON: Yes, we can kind of laugh a little bit because the driver's OK.

HOLMES: Yes, I'm sure he is (ph).

LEMON: But I'm sure he walked away from that on pure adrenaline. Can you imagine it?

HOLMES: Well, maybe he had to -- I should have said he had to dog paddle away ...

LEMON: Oh swim away, yes. HOLMES: ...water, yes, but he got away nonetheless. It doesn't appear he had any serious injuries, Don.

LEMON: All right, check on the condition. We'll get back. T.J., thank you.

KEILAR: At a packed arena in north Charleston, South Carolina, nine fallen firefighters were saluted as heroes today. We've been bringing you portions of today's memorial service. And here's Charleston Fire Chief Rusty Thomas talking about two of the men, Captain Louis Mulkey (ph) and firefighter Earl Drake (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHIEF RUSTY THOMAS, CHARLESTON, S.C. FIRE DEPT.: Now, Louis thinks his station is the best in the Charleston Fire Department. He picks on everybody. He thinks his people are the best trained. Sometimes, you got to calm him down a little bit.

So Chief Joe (ph) was talking to me on the phone and Louis said something smart in the background which I didn't hear, and so he hung the phone up. The phone rang right back and I looked at it and it said Battalion Chief Ackerman (ph), and I picked it up and I said, yes, sir, Chief, what you need? And it was Louis. You know what he said? I just wanted to hear you call me chief one time.

(LAUGHTER)

I just wanted to throw it out. That was on Monday, and he hung the phone up on me.

Earl Drake, oh, my gosh. He's been a firefighter for longer than me. We came in the Fire Department together, except he was about a year or so ahead of me. We worked on Cannon Street together. And I got to tell you this story. This always sticks in my mind, and I told you before I started, these are the stories, if I got to this point in the program, I was to be OK, talking about him, because I love talking about him.

We were sitting -- back then, we weren't married, we were kind of young, and we'd stay up till two, 3:00 in the morning at the fire station, we'd never go to bed. And we got a call one night, and I was the driver. Earl has never been a driver of the truck, all he wanted to do was be a fireman. And I was the driver of the truck, and I promise you, this is a true story, 1977.

We get a call like 3:00 in the morning for a house fire at St. Phillip and Morris (ph). So I get around and I crank the truck up, and he's hollering, Rusty, get this thing going! And I said, what's the problem, I'm going as fast? He said, that's my house! So -- and it was. And it was a hot water heater on fire. But he wanted me to get this thing -- I mean, he had his head -- he opened up the window, he said, get this thing going! And I was going as fast as I can.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KEILAR: Some rare moments of laughter there for a mourning firefighting community there in Charleston. And, of course, those nine men died Monday as they were trying to put out a fire at a Charleston furniture store, and the cause of that fire is still under investigation.

LEMON: And the heroism of the South Carolina firefighters has moved so many of you, and you may want to know how you can help. You can help honor them. To make a difference and impact your world, visit our Web site at CNN.com/impact. You can find information there on the memorial funds that have been set up for the South Carolina firefighters.

KEILAR: Iran denying a reported uranium's claim. What did its interior minister say or not say about a uranium stockpile? We're going to try to sort it out, ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It could be Iran's last chance to avoid a third round of international sanctions over its so-called nuclear ambitions. There was a meeting a short while ago in Vienna in which Iran's chief negotiator sat down with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. This, as the Iranian government claims a report about its uranium stockpile isn't true.

CNN's Aneesh Raman joins us from Tehran with more. Aneesh?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don. Anytime an Iranian official says anything specific about the country's nuclear program, the world pays attention because we know so very little about where exactly Iran is in its nuclear capabilities.

So, you can understand why a lot of attention came this morning when a semi-state run news service quoted the interior minister as saying Iran has right now in storage just over 200 pounds of enriched uranium. Now, that number, analysts say, is about a fifth of what Iran needs to make one small nuclear weapon and that Iran could do that within a year.

Iran has consistently and vehemently denied it's pursuing a nuclear weapon. And late today, the same ministry, the Interior Ministry said the minister never said that. It's unclear exactly how that could be, given that all the news services here are either semi or fully-state run.

But of course, everyone grabbed on to that number. Now, it comes, as you mentioned, a day ahead of a critical meeting between Ali Larijani (ph), the top nuclear negotiator in the E.U. That is being described by virtually everyone as a last chance to find some diplomatic breakthrough. At the moment though, it seems unlikely they'll be able to do that, Don.

LEMON: All right, so, the Iranians deny it? The report says they have it stockpiled. How will this all end, then, Aneesh? RAMAN: It's completely unclear on the ground which of these four essential scenarios will play out. Either the world soon accepts an Iran that has a nuclear program, or sanctions get beefed up enough that it gets Iran to suspend its program. That hasn't proven successful so far. The third option is another diplomatic approach that hasn't been tried and the fourth is a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Now, no one is guessing exactly which of those four will happen in the end. But Iran has really established its position, so has the U.N. And this is the crux: Iran says, look, we'll cooperate with the IAEA, the U.N.'s nuclear watch dog. We'll answer all questions. Just take our files in the Security Council, take away the threat of sanctions and we'll be cooperative.

The U.N. says look, you didn't cooperate before with the IAEA, we have no guarantee you'll cooperate in the future, so suspend your program first, and we'll talk about everything later. That is the essential impasse, and it's hard to find any diplomatic breakthrough that can actually solve that, Don.

LEMON: Alright Aneesh Raman, in Tehran. Thank you, Aneesh.

KEILAR: A U.S. envoy makes a surprise visit to Pyongyang, North Korea, and he calls his talks very useful. Ahead, we'll hear what this nuclear negotiator has to say about the standoff over North Korea's nuclear program and look at how his visit could change the dynamics of the dispute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A top U.S. diplomat just back from Pyongyang says North Korean officials have indicated a willingness to shut down their nuclear facility. Assistant Secretary of State, Christopher Hill, held two days of talks this week. He called his meetings, quote, "very useful and positive."

In an exclusive interview with CNN's "American Morning," Hill said despite the positive vibe coming from his talks, there are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to the North Korean nuclear program.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER HILL, ASST. SECRETARY OF STATE: Transparency is not the name of the game there. They don't like to tell you stuff. So, what we do know is they have some kind of explosive device, so we don't know if they've been able to take this 110 pounds, you know, out of 110 pounds you can make something like eight, maybe even ten weapons, depending on weapons size.

So we don't know if they've ever been able to marry it with a missile. They certainly haven't tested that. But, the point is, if we can get ahold of the plutonium, then we won't have to worry about plutonium nuclear bombs.

JOHN ROBERTS, "AMERICAN MORNING" HOST: Alright. And what about, you mentioned this at the beginning here, this idea of the uranium enrichment program? That was the flash point a few years ago. Now the big question is to whether or not they had a uranium enrichment program at all. Do they?

HILL: Well, I wouldn't go that far, because what we do know, is they made a lot of purchases of certain very specialized equipment such as centrifuges and these specialized aluminum tubes that, by the way, only fit in these kinds of centrifuges.

So, there was a lot of equipment purchased, and that equipment is very much consistent with a highly enriched uranium program. Now, whether they were able to make it work, whether they were able actually to finalize things, it's hard to say. But, whatever, we need to know what they did with that stuff.

ROBERTS: Right.

HILL: If the centrifuges are sitting in a tunnel somewhere, we've got to have a look at them. So, we need to get at this program, and you know, we've had some preliminary discussions on that. But we're going to need a lot more discussions on it to get absolute clarity on what that was all about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Hill also said North Korea is ready to resume the six- party nuclear talks with the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea and Russia. Meanwhile, members of the International Atomic Energy Agency are expected to visit North Korea next week. And Christopher Hill's surprise visit to North Korea follows years of U.S. opposition to one- on-one talks with Pyongyang. But this time apparently, the situation called for a new strategy.

Here's our State Department Correspondent, Zain Verjee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: We got the message on Monday.

UNKNOWN MALE: Yes.

HILL: We had to work fast.

ZAIN VERJEE, STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: A last-minute invitation from North Korea delivered to U.S. Envoy, Chris Hill, while he was in the neighborhood, trying to jump-start stalled North Korean nuclear talks.

President Bush, Secretary Rice, and U.S. allies told him, go for it. So, for the first time in five years, a top U.S. official flew to Pyongyang, North Korea's capital.

HILL: We hope that we can make up for some of the time that we lost this spring.

VERJEE: There had been a breakthrough deal earlier this year, but it fell apart over a financial standoff. The U.S. froze $25 million in North Korean funds at the bank in McCow (ph), a bank the U.S. said was involved in counterfeiting.

North Korea refused to shut down its nuclear reactor until it got its money back. So, the U.S. gave it back, but still no nuclear shutdown. Now, the U.S. says no excuses. Let's get back to business.

SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEBARMENT SPOKESMAN: We are testing the proposition that North Korea has made that strategic decision to abandon its nuclear weapons programs and to abandon its nuclear programs.

VERJEE: But one of President Bush's former top advisers on Asia wrote a scathing op-ed column accusing the U.S. of rewarding bad behavior, undermining a policy of isolation he says was working.

"It is therefore perplexing to see the U.S. now take a series of unilateral steps to unravel this policy and reward North Korea for doing -- well, nothing."

But, Michael O'Hanlon, with the more left leaning Brookings Institution, says the gesture could pay off.

MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: IF a visit from an Assistant Secretary of State to Pyongyang can help grease the skids. Maybe it helps the North Koreans with a little bit of face.

VERJEE: Michael O'Hanlon says the key is to make sure that North Korea delivers on its promises and the U.S. doesn't allow North Korea to play the brinkmanship games it's so famous for.

Zain Verjee, CNN, at the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hi, I'm Sibila Vargas in Hollywood.

Paris Hilton speaks out from jail with just days on her sentence. What is the heiress saying about what she'll do next and how much might she be getting paid to do it? Well, have those answers straight ahead, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: She gets paid big bucks just for making a personal appearance. Dee, I'm talking about you. Director Dee, right there. Say, hi, Director Dee.

Actually, I'm not talking about her. I'm talking about Paris Hilton. So, why would jail be any different for the Hollywood socialite, Paris Hilton? Entertainment Correspondent Sibila Vargas joins me now from Los Angeles with new details about the hotel heiress. Sibila, I thought I missed all the Paris news but I guess I didn't.

VARGAS: No, no, you're not that lucky. Today it's a case of he said, she said, Don.

Paris Hilton's representatives are denying reports that she will be paid for her first post-jail interview or any photographs or video related to any television interview. Now that contradicts the "New York Post" reports that alleges NBC will pony up a whopping $1 million to speak to the celebutante.

The "Post" also said "People" magazine has secured a deal for Hilton's first print interview and photos of her release. Those photos were reportedly part of a $300,000 deal with Getty Images. NBC has not confirmed those reports to CNN, but if both deals are true, Don, the means jailbird will have earned over, get this, $56,000 per day for her 23-day sentence. And who says crime doesn't pay, huh?

LEMON: I was going to say we should all be so lucky. But I just move on. OK. Speaking of Paris Hilton, which we've been doing a lot of, you can understand why. I hear she made another phone call from jail yesterday. Did she talk to you? Who did she talk to?

VARGAS: No, she didn't. Ryan Seacrest got that phone call. He spoke to the heiress for about ten minutes. During the conversation Hilton told Seacrest that jail time has been horrible and really hard for her and that she is indeed claustrophobic. But despite everything, she's proud of herself for serving out her sentence, saying quote, "In a way, I'm really glad this happened because it changed my life forever."

Hilton went on to say, quote, "I just realized that the media used me to make fun of and be mean about ... Frankly, I'm sick of it. I want to use my fame in a good way."

Paris also told Seacrest one of the first thing she plans to do when she gets out of jail is hug her dad.

LEMON: OK, that's very interesting. So, when might that hug -- she wants to hug her dad, right?

VARGAS: Yes, yes.

LEMON: So, when will it take place? I'm know there's probably a Paris countdown. It's a couple days, right?

VARGAS: Oh, yes. Remember it was countdown to lockdown? Now its countdown for release.

By our calculations, though, Don, Hilton's projected release date would be Monday. That's the end of her 23-day jail sentence. Now, I just finished speaking to the L.A. sheriff's spokesperson who told me that Hilton is expected to be released late Monday night, possibly early Tuesday morning. But other reports say Hilton could be released as early as tomorrow. Either way, you can be sure there will be plenty of cameras present at the jail and at her house this weekend all weekend long.

And for everything and more on Paris, check out "Showbiz Tonight." Tonight, the secret payday for Paris Hilton. Much might money might Paris make for her first post-jail interview? And why is there such outrage over her possibly profiting from her jail stay? The inside story on TV's most provocative entertainment news show, "Showbiz Tonight," 11:00 p.m., eastern and pacific.

Hey, Don. Do you remember that "Indecent Proposal," that movie, with Demi Moore and Robert Redford?

LEMON: I do remember that, there was like this pool table scene, right?

VARGAS: Yes.

LEMON: Yes.

VARGAS: And then what about that scene where she's in bed with all the money surrounding her?

LEMON: Yes, yes, I remember that.

VARGAS: I can't get -- a picture of Paris Hilton on a bed with all that money surrounding her because ...

LEMON: You know what?

VARGAS: Yes?

LEMON: She had a ton of it anyway, so I mean, what does it really matter? She's an heiress. That the reason we cover her. If she didn't have the money, we wouldn't be covering her. Right?

VARGAS: Yes, but it doesn't hurt to get more, right?

LEMON: I guess so. Thank you, Sibila, you can roll around in that cash, too, all the money you're making.

VARGAS: That's right.

LEMON: Thank you. Have a great weekend.

KEILAR: With bluer skies in California, NASA gives Atlantis the green light. The shuttle is coming home, to the west coast, at least. And you'll see it right here, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It is a mystery, to be sure, but it's not clear whether this is a case for Sherlock Holmes or Jacques Couteau.

Chile is missing a lake and not a little one, either. This is what it looked like as recently as March. Five acre -- there it is, a five acre lake in the southern Andes. Now you see it, and now you don't. This is what it looks like now. Basically a 100 foot hole in the ground. Nobody seems to know exactly where the lake went.

One theory is that the water disappeared into underground fissures. But some say, that seems like a lot to swallow. The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

KEILAR: Hi there, I'm Brianna Keilar, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

KEILAR: And just coming into the CNN NEWSROOM right now, we want to update you on that infant, that baby that was dropped off on the doorstep of a residence in Ohio just days after Jessie Davis, that woman in Ohio went missing.

This just in, from the Wayne County Sherrif reporting that the baby has no relation to Jessie Davis. This is not Jessie Davis's baby. Apparently an adult female from Wayne County has confessed that she left the newborn infant on this doorstep shortly after giving birth. So again, not related to Jessie Davis, who again, is that woman who is about nine months pregnant when she went missing on June 13th.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com