Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Michael Vick Pleads Guilty to Dogfighting Charges; Alberto Gonzales Resigns

Aired August 27, 2007 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, his critics say it's about time. His boss says it's a crying shame. Alberto Gonzales says being attorney general was one of his greatest privileges, but enough's enough.
Michael Vick says he's guilty and sorry and totally responsible for the dogfighting that got him in trouble. He still doesn't know just how much trouble he's in.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

After months of denials, Michael Vick came clean today to illegal dogfighting. Vick pleaded guilty in Richmond, Virginia, to a single federal count of dogfighting conspiracy. In doing so, the suspended NFL quarterback threw himself on the mercy of a federal judge, Henry Hudson. He announced he will sentence Vick December 10.

Later, Vick begged forgiveness and vowed to seek redemption.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL VICK, CONVICTED NFL QUARTERBACK: What I did was very immature. So, that means I need to grow up. I totally ask for forgiveness and understanding as I move forward to better Michael Vick the person, not the football player.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: I spoke this afternoon with former Atlanta Falcons All-Pro lineman Bob Whitfield. He says his former teammate can get his life straight, but is likely to wear a scar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB WHITFIELD, FORMER VICK TEAMMATE: It's crazy the amount of things that football players, basketball players just do in our spare time. And there's no right answer to that.

It's just that you make a decision in life and sometimes it's the wrong decision. And this time he made a very wrong and bad decision, and, you know, he's going to have to repent for that for a number of years. The shame that's on him, the embarrassment, it's going to last for a lifetime.

PHILLIPS: There's been a lot of talk, too, since this was all revealed about dogfighting, a very pervasive activity in the NFL. Do you agree with that? Do you see a lot of this type of activity?

WHITFIELD: No, you know, you see the guys with the big dogs with the rottweilers, the pit bulls. But this is the first I heard of actually dogfighting them. And I think this is not going to stop, you know, guys from having the dogs, but they will act more responsible with their pets.

PHILLIPS: So, let me ask you, then, in sort of a different way. This whole dogfighting scenario, is it cultural? Is it ignorance? Is it just plain stupidity?

WHITFIELD: You know what? I think in Mike's case, it's probably stupidity. You know, I don't think that, you know, everybody just comes from a background of, you know, fighting dogs, fighting chickens or anything. It's something that you just grew up -- you know, not everybody grows up doing that stuff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, later this hour, we're going to talk with sports columnist Jeff Schultz of "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution." He's had a lot to say about Michael Vick.

Alberto Gonzales, for months now, you haven't heard that name without the word embattled in front of it. Now the battle is over. The attorney general has resigned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I have lived the American dream. Even my worst days as attorney general have been better than my father's best days.

Public service is honorable and noble. And I am profoundly grateful to President Bush for his friendship and for the many opportunities he has given me to serve the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Gonzales has been bombarded with questions for months, but he refused to answer any of them today, and so did his boss.

Let's get straight to the White House and Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, this really is an extraordinary reversal by President Bush even to accept his resignation here. President Bush as recently as three weeks ago saying, of course, he had confidence in the attorney general. He again said he had confidence in him today. But we're told that when Attorney General Alberto Gonzales called him on the phone on Friday to offer his resignation, the president did not try to talk him out of it. He certainly didn't call for his resignation. But he did accept it.

This is all, of course, part of a calculation that the administration and this president is making here, looking at the next 17 months. Clearly looking at this picture, that it was not worth it to hang on to this embattled attorney general.

Now, during that phone call, we're told that the president invited Gonzales and his wife, Becky, out to the Crawford ranch on Sunday. That is where they shared a casual lunch, the two couples there. And then it was today that President Bush made that announcement after Gonzales and expressed his gratitude.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's sad that when we live in a time when a talented and honorable person, like Alberto Gonzales, is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, Kyra, you can probably hear there is a bit of bitterness from President Bush in this whole -- the way this whole thing has played out.

But they are thinking about a number of things. The president obviously thinking about his legacy, thinking about the domestic policies that he wants to put forward the next 17 months, the change in Iraq.

And at the Justice Department itself, a great deal of people who have been demoralized by this process. A lot of aides inside and outside the White House for a long time have been calling for him to resign, and finally the president agreed that it was time -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Suzanne, let's talk a moment about a likely replacement. Of course, we have heard the name Michael Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security.

MALVEAUX: We have heard his name as a possibility. There are other senior aides who are waving us off that, saying they don't think it's a good idea because of his role as the secretary of homeland security during the time of Hurricane Katrina.

We have also heard the name as well -- this is the solicitor general -- Paul Clement, who is actually going to be the acting attorney general. Other names that have come up, former Solicitor General Ted Olson, Larry Thompson, as you know, with Pepsico. Well, several people have said he's not interested in leaving the private sector, but that may be a possibility. And George Terwilliger, he was a former deputy attorney general. He is also a lawyer as well. All these names being floated out there.

As you know, it's a Washington parlor game to try to figure out who it is going to be. But we're told that this is going to be a fast-track process and they hope that whoever they select that they will get through the Senate fairly quickly.

PHILLIPS: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, live from the White House -- thanks, Suzanne.

Ari Fleischer knows a lot about White House departures. The former White House press secretary joins us from Indianapolis.

I will tell you what, Ari. You look at resignation after resignation, so many political analysts coming forward saying, who's next, what's next? What is happening within the Bush administration? It's one big player after another leaving.

ARI FLEISCHER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, Kyra, you know, the White House is not the Hotel California. You are allowed to leave. And that is what happening...

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: But these are big players. These are big players in major positions.

(CROSSTALK)

FLEISCHER: Sure. But, in the Clinton administration, in eight years, you only had one Cabinet member last all eight years, and you had hardly anybody in the White House last eight years.

It's the nature of the job. It's that hard. It's that fast- paced. It's that long hours and that low a pay. And, certainly, with Judge Gonzales, when you're under political attack, there's also a point where you just say to yourself, I don't need this anymore. There are other things that my wife and I, my family, can do.

And I think that's what happened with Judge Gonzales.

So, it is an inevitable, nasty, natural part of Washington these days. And it's regrettable, because I think a lot of good people just aren't going to come in to public service, and good ones like Judge Gonzales are going to leave.

PHILLIPS: So, are these good people? Are these -- are you defining all these individuals that have resigned as good people that couldn't handle the job, or is the president picking the wrong people to surround him?

FLEISCHER: No, Kyra, I think this is a question of partisan politics in Washington is so hot and furious, and both parties do it to each other, that nobody lasts very long in these jobs.

You know, President Clinton, my old job, had five press secretaries in eight years, because it's so hard to do certain aspects, like work with the press, all the time. And when you're in the Cabinet working with the opposition party in the Congress can be very tough. Both parties do it, though.

And I remember Republicans were just bitterly tough to Janet Reno, and the Democrats were brutal to John Ashcroft and now to Judge Gonzales. The problem is really everybody in America suffers while, for everybody in Washington, it's just a game. PHILLIPS: What about you?

FLEISCHER: And I think that's one of the reasons why everybody in Washington has such low job approval ratings, especially in the Congress now.

PHILLIPS: Why did you leave?

FLEISCHER: Burnout.

PHILLIPS: So...

FLEISCHER: After two-and-a-half years at the White House, a year-and-a-half on the presidential campaign.

The hours are brutal. You get up at 5:00 in the morning every morning. I got home around 8:00 or 9:00, had dinner, went to bed, and did it again. And, even on Sundays, my job was to watch the morning shows and then take calls all afternoon from reporters about the morning shows we all just watched.

(LAUGHTER)

FLEISCHER: It's -- it's the nature of the job. And it's so hard.

What also happened was that, with the last election giving the Congress to the Democrats, it is a lot harder to be in the administration in the White House now, because Congress is hunting for scalps. And that makes it a lot harder to stay in those jobs, just because of the intensity and the pressure of it all.

PHILLIPS: Obviously, Gonzales...

FLEISCHER: But the country is missing something. It's just become too brutal, too tough. And I do consider Judge Gonzales to be a good man, an honest man who has been hounded out of office.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's talk about what he did that you see as something that will go down in his legacy as something that he should be very proud of, because it seems like lately, we have just been talking about all the controversy, whether it's the...

FLEISCHER: Right.

PHILLIPS: ... wireless -- or the wiretapping, to the firing of U.S. attorneys.

FLEISCHER: Well, the number-one thing is, we haven't been hit. Kyra, we haven't been hit since September 11, 2001.

And living out in the country now, not in Washington, D.C., and with two little kids, that's the first thing I want from my government. And whether it was Judge Gonzales or the other people in the administration, who have taken the tough actions, particularly in the world of espionage, what some say are violations of civil liberties, which I think are protections of American lives.

Judge Gonzales has been at the forefront of keeping us safe, as White House counsel, and now at the attorney general job. So, that's something I'm always going to be grateful he was there for.

PHILLIPS: Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary, so, honestly, tell me, now that you left, are you happy? Are you less stressed? Are you sleeping? Did you make the right decision?

(LAUGHTER)

FLEISCHER: I'm much happier I'm retired, of course.

(LAUGHTER)

FLEISCHER: I loved what I did, but I love raising a family and just having normal hours now.

PHILLIPS: Ari Fleischer, appreciate your time.

FLEISCHER: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, he was fired. Now he's firing back. Former U.S. attorney David Iglesias, he's going to join me live to talk about his former boss, probably going to say the complete opposite of what you just from Ari Fleischer.

That's going to be right after this break.

Also, floodwaters starting to go down in parts of the Midwest. Now we're following the cleanup.

And denied as an adoptive dad because of his weight, a Texas man goes to the extremes to try to tip the scales in his favor -- details straight ahead from the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Three thirteen Eastern time. Here are three of the stories that we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM: Alberto Gonzales soon out of a job; Michael Vick benched.

Let's start with the attorney general, who has announced his resignation after months of criticism from both parties. President Bush is still defending Gonzales, saying his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons.

Now to Michael Vick. Shortly pleading guilty to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge the Atlanta Falcons quarterback apologized for his actions. But the team's owner says the Falcons have not yet decided to cut Vick and his multimillion-dollar contract, though he remains indefinitely suspended.

Three higher-ups in the New York City Fire Department relieved of their commands, and it's all because of this August 18 fire at the Deutsche Bank building near ground zero. Two firefighters were killed in that blaze, which sparked questions over why they were sent into the vacant building in the first place.

Well, we have been calling him embattled. Now Alberto Gonzales is giving up the fight. The attorney general says he's resigning after months of criticism over his leadership, much of it centered on the controversial firings of several U.S. attorneys.

David Iglesias was one of them. He joins us now live from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

And, David, are you surprised about what's happened today?

DAVID IGLESIAS, FIRED U.S. ATTORNEY: I'm a little bit surprised. I thought he was going to step down back in the April to May time frame. But, if you're going to leave Washington, August is the month to leave.

PHILLIPS: Why is that?

IGLESIAS: Well, because that's when Congress is out. And that's when you get the least amount of pushback from members opposite to your party.

PHILLIPS: So, you think this was strategic, what he did today?

IGLESIAS: Oh, clearly.

And I think it's absolutely linked with Karl Rove leaving two weeks ago, probably for the same reason. You know, we don't know all the facts right now, but, ultimately, we will know exactly how this played out.

PHILLIPS: What is it we don't know about the Bush administration?

IGLESIAS: Well, what -- what we don't know yet, despite thousands of documents being produced and hours of testimony, terrible testimony, I might add, is, we don't know who put our names on the list to be fired. And we don't know the actual reason why we were forced out.

You have to understand, the number one, number four, and number seven most productive United States attorneys were all forced out, with no good reason proffered.

PHILLIPS: Ari Fleischer, former White House press secretary, was on just before you. And I know you were not able to hear that whole interview.

But he said, look, this is the politics of Washington. It's a brutal job. It's not the competency level of the player. He supported, of course, the attorney general and said this is what happens when you're in a controversial job. Everybody goes after you, and sometimes the pressure's too much to take, and that's why he's out.

Do you agree? IGLESIAS: Do you want a reaction to that?

PHILLIPS: Yes, I do.

IGLESIAS: Well, I think -- yes.

I think that that's being very generous. What triggered all this was the attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, going in front of the United States Senate and not being fully candid, telling half-truths, having very convenient memory lapses.

I mean, had he shot straight with the American people and shot straight with the Senate, perhaps a lot of this would have been mitigated. But you have to have credibility as the attorney general. People have to trust you. And when he went forward and told these half-truths, it was devastating.

PHILLIPS: So what do you think about the credibility of the Bush administration? These are two big names in a short period of time, Karl Rove, the attorney general, Alberto Gonzales. These aren't the only two resignations that have happened obviously within the term of the president right now.

Is this normal, you think, within an administration's time, like Ari Fleischer said earlier on? Or do you think this is a sign that there is more than just a small issue going on in this administration, a few people not being able to handle the pressure?

(CROSSTALK)

IGLESIAS: This is this is very abnormal. I'm not aware of the Justice Department losing so many top-level people probably since going back to the early '70s during the Watergate scandal. So, this is very unusual.

And what does this say about the credibility? Well, this is what happens when there's no check and balance, when you have one party in control of the House, the Senate and the White House. And, all of a sudden, you have a new sheriff in town, so to speak, that want answers to hard questions. So, yes, this is very unprecedented. And I hope your viewers understand that.

PHILLIPS: Well, we have been talking about Michael Chertoff, his name being named as a replacement, the head of Homeland Security, also Paul Clement, the solicitor general. What do you think of those two names?

IGLESIAS: You know what? I'm not really commenting specifically. I mean, I have worked with both of those folks. I just hope that the next attorney general is a person that understands the core mission of the Justice Department is not to play politics, but it's to enforce the law and it's to give the president hard advice that he sometimes doesn't want to hear, like: Mr. President, you can't do that. It's not constitutional.

That's something Mr. Gonzales I don't think ever said. PHILLIPS: Do you feel you ever had the opportunity to step up to the plate and react that candidly to your boss?

IGLESIAS: Well, my boss was the deputy A.G. And, yes, I called him up to have him reverse himself on a death penalty case. So, yes, I have had the opportunity to do that.

But, please understand, U.S. attorneys do most of the yeoman's work out in the districts. We don't typically handle national issues. That's the job of the attorney general.

PHILLIPS: David Iglesias, former U.S. attorney, appreciate your time today.

IGLESIAS: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead: An NFL star falls. Will Michael Vick ever play pro football again? "Atlanta Constitution" sportswriter Jeff Schultz weighs in on the plea deal and Vick's prospects -- straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, Hawaii's $95 million Superferry is open for business, at least for now. The first-ever ferry service between the islands launched yesterday, but not everyone is happy about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Go back! Go back! Go back!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: About a dozen surfers blocked the Superferry from docking on Kauai. They fear that twice-daily runs will pollute the water and harm whales. And they are hoping to get an injunction from a court. Some 500 passengers paid $5 apiece for the ferry's maiden voyage. Before now, the only way to travel among the Hawaiian islands was by an aircraft.

An NFL star falls. Will Michael Vick ever play pro football again? "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" sportswriter Jeff Schultz weighs in on the plea deal and Vick's prospects -- straight ahead from the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

No shortage of opinion on the Michael Vick plea deal, especially here in Atlanta. We're going to talk live with sportswriter Jeff Schultz of "The AJC." He's termed Vick a coward, and that's just for starters. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Some news to report now that's tough for any journalist who work in our business. We're getting word that a CBS News translator was killed by insurgents, an Iraqi translator that actually worked in CBS' Baghdad office. His name was Anwar Lafta Abbas. And, apparently, he was taken from his home earlier this week in Baghdad.

He had left work, had stopped by a hospital to visit a relative. His brother and sister were waiting for him at home. And then it wasn't long after that he did get home, that his family is saying they received a knock at the door. That's when a death squad came through, overwhelmed him actually as he reached for his weapon and killed him at that time.

CBS News now coming forward with a statement. The head of CBS News, Sean McManus, president of news and sports, he said: "Our deepest sympathies go to Mr. Abbas' family and friends. This is not the first time the CBS News family has suffered the worst loss possible, the life of a colleague. We certainly hope it is the last. But the pain and sorrow will be with us and his family for a very long time."

Clear skies, trashed ground, receding floods from last week's storm reveal a soggy mess in the Midwest. This was Des Plaines, Illinois, near Chicago Saturday. People are breaking down the sandbag barriers now, trying to put that flood-damaged carpet and furniture on the curbs, trying to dry out.

Several thousand people in Illinois still don't have power. And scenes like from Wisconsin earned disaster declarations from Washington. The leftover moisture has people worried about mold. And Ohio's governor expects a federal disaster declaration today for parts of the Buckeye State. That will free up federal money for recovery.

Let's hope people in the Midwest have enough time to dry out.

How is it looking, Chad Myers?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know what? I don't think this week is going to be as wet as last week. Yes, there will be storms, but these storms will be moving.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Chad Myers -- we'll continue to follow up. Thanks you.

Well, a one-two punch from Ohio. While parts of the state start to cleanup from the severe flooding, other parts are surveying damage from heavy thunderstorms. High winds blew down trees and power lines in Central and Southeastern Ohio, and so far, no word of any major damage or serious injuries.

And a tornado in North Dakota had people scrambling for safety. It hit last night in Northwood, a small town just outside of Grand Forks. One man was killed. More than a dozen people were hurt. Today the town has turned off electricity just to be safe because the twister knocked down so many power lines. Downtown is pretty much off limits because of unstable buildings.

Most American high schools teach Spanish. Some teach French. All, we assume, teach English.

But what about Arabic or Chinese?

CNN's Kara Finnstrom looks at the attempt to fill a gaping need in a changing world.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Securing the nation in the post-911 world -- one Bush administration initiative has nothing to do with high tech weapons or secret agents.

(VIDEO OF LANGUAGE CLASS)

FINNSTROM: The mission?

Teaching America's teenagers to speak little known languages like Arabic and Chinese.

The idea?

We can't better foreign relations and remain competitive if we can't communicate.

(VIDEO OF LANGUAGE CLASS)

FINNSTROM: This intensive five week summer program in Irvine, California is part of a nationwide effort to increase language learning between kindergarten and the university years. Some students taking part have Chinese heritage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's kind of important for me to learn the culture on my mom's side of the family.

(VIDEO OF LANGUAGE CLASS)

FINNSTROM: Others, like Steven Yadlowsky, simply think learning Chinese is smart.

STEVEN YADLOWSKY, STUDENT: I have a lot of Chinese friends at our school and with the economy over there, it seems like it's worth a shot, especially because I'm interested in computers and electronics.

FINNSTROM: Yadlowsky is here because his high school doesn't offer Chinese. Very few do.

Nationwide, the Department of Education reports 69 percent of high school students studying foreign languages learn Spanish; 18 percent, French; and less than 1 percent take other languages, including Chinese and Arabic. TIM CHENG, STARTALK PROGRAM, IRVINE: Even the Chinese class in the high school are increasing, but still in big shortage throughout the country.

FINNSTROM: Perhaps one reason why?

Chinese isn't based on the English alphabet and is tough for Westerners to learn. This class uses innovative computer programs.

(on camera): To give you an idea the challenge these students face, when learning English, you're working with an alphabet of 26 letters. When learning Mandarin Chinese, you're memorizing characters like this one, and teachers here say students must learn about 500 of these characters in order to just read a newspaper.

YADLOWSKY: When I started, I knew pronounce -- just how to pronounce things and now I can speak sentences and I've learned a little bit of the grammar.

FINNSTROM (voice-over): The hope here?

To improve America's dialogue with countries around the world, one voice at a time.

(VIDEO OF LANGUAGE CLASS)

FINNSTROM: Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Irvine, California.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: A teenage son of wrestler Hulk Hogan is out of the hospital after a serious car crash last night in Florida. Police say that Nick Bollea was speeding when his car hit a median, flipped and slammed into a palm tree. A male passenger is in critical condition and police say they don't think alcohol was a factor. Seventeen-year- old Bollea is best known as Nick Hogan on the reality show, "Hogan Knows Best."

Actor Owen Wilson reportedly hospitalized in Los Angeles. Several entertainment Web sites say that paramedics were called to Wilson's Santa Monica home yesterday afternoon. No word on his condition or the circumstances behind the reported emergency. Wilson has starred in such movies as "The Wedding Crashers" and "The Royal Tenenbaums". His current project is "Tropic Thunder" with Ben Stiller.

An NFL star falls -- will Michael Vick ever play pro-football again?

"Atlanta Constitution" sportswriter Jeff Schultz weighs in on the plea deal and Vick's prospects straight ahead from the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Michael Vick is seeking mercy from the law and a disappointed public. The fallen star of the NFL pleaded guilty in Richmond, Virginia to a federal dogfighting charge. He'll be sentenced, probably, to prison December 10th.

Speaking later without a script, Vick expressed shame and remorse and vowed to redeem himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL VICK, ATLANTA FALCONS QUARTERBACK: What I did was very immature. So that means I need to grow up. I totally ask for forgiveness and understanding as I move forward to bettering Michael Vick, the person, not the football player.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, in the grand scheme of right and wrong, is the Vick case being overblown?

Some believe it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING")

ERROL LOUIS, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": I was really struck by all of the outrage, not just the public outrage, but the attention from prosecutors that went onto this one case. And it's a horrific case, for sure. But I started to think about all of the different cases involving domestic assault, drunk driving, other kinds of bad behavior against humans that have gone on with professional sports figures in recent years and it just doesn't get -- when you start to line it up, it doesn't get nearly the amount of attention, number one. And not even nearly the amount of prosecutorial attention, where you get sort of a suspension for horrific attacks on people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Columnist Jeff Schultz with the local paper here, the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution".

We've been talking about this.

JEFF SCHULTZ, "ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Right.

PHILLIPS: We were sitting here going through all the examples Errol laid out about various players that have beaten their pregnant wives, smashed their heads into windows.

SCHULTZ: Sure. Right.

PHILLIPS: and they take anger management classes and they're back on the field after being suspended a little bit.

What's going on here?

SCHULTZ: Well, I think there's two different issues. One is that this commissioner, Roger Goodell, is hammering down on legal matters more than any commissioner has in the NFL has before. So, on and off all the other cases that have been brought up wouldn't have been handled the same way under this commissioner. So that's number one. Number two is I think is, once again, a case of perhaps as bad as the crime is, the cover-up and the lying being worse than the crime. Michael Vick seemed very contrite today in a statement, very apologetic. It seems like he legitimately wants to move in his life and to put this behind him.

PHILLIPS: Did you believe him?

SCHULTZ: Well, you know what?

I've always believe that it's less the words than the actions. But I thought today was a first good step. We're never really going to know until we see how he lives his life.

PHILLIPS: Because you've written some pretty tough things about him.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

PHILLIPS: You know, you call him a coward.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

PHILLIPS: And that way -- tell me when this first happened why you took such a hardcore approach against him.

What were your feelings when you started to cover this story?

SCHULTZ: Dishonesty. I mean I just I felt he was dishonest from the outset. I thought there was a mountain of evidence. There were -- from the outset, there were four cooperating witnesses right away. Then the three co-defendants all flipped on him right away. He was still denying it. He lied to the team, the lied to the league, he lied to fans.

I don't like dishonesty. I don't like lying. And even beyond the legal situation, and, really until today, he hadn't really stepped up.

Now, in terms of did he really mean it today?

Well, we'll wait and see.

PHILLIPS: He has, obviously, players coming forward supporting him.

We heard from Bob Whitfield today, who used to play with him.

This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB WHITFIELD, FORMER ATLANTA FALCON: I definitely believe he does deserve a second chance to come back to the league, pay his time in prison, whatever the judge demands, and, you know, that will alone give him a lot of time to think about what he's done. And just let him come back to a league that he can flourish again and be a star football player again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Does he deserve that second chance?

I mean this is someone who has had a pattern of behavior.

SCHULTZ: Right.

PHILLIPS: Obviously, this is pretty hardcore when you talk about killing dogs and being involved in dog killing -- or dogfighting.

But he hasn't had a clean rap sheet.

SCHULTZ: Well, he -- this is actually the first legal matter that he's had. He's had a lot of unofficial situations.

Do I think he deserves another chance?

I think if he serves his time and he seems healed, I guess you could say, and goes through the process of reaffirming himself with the commissioner of the NFL, yes, I think he does deserve to come back in the league.

But I do think Roger Goodell is going to make him jump through quite a few hoops before he comes back. And to be honest with you, I think the biggest think holding Michael Vick from playing again is the mere fact that he's a quarterback. I think if he played another position -- and I'm not suggesting that he change positions -- but if he played another position, like wide receiver or running back, it's sort of easier to slide him onto a team.

He's a quarterback. He's a leadership position. So you're asking, basically, an owner and a coach to introduce him to a city, introduce him to a fan base and say you're our leader, go take us to the Super Bowl now.

PHILLIPS: Lesson to other athletes here?

SCHULTZ: The lesson to other athletes is don't be so arrogant. And when something goes wrong, admit guilt.

PHILLIPS: Character check.

SCHULTZ: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Jeff Schultz, I always like reading your columns. Appreciate it.

SCHULTZ: Thank you.

I appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: Well, falling from a fireball in the sky -- a woman makes a terrifying leap from a burning hot air balloon. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The balloon skyrocketed straight up. And I thought, OK, it's do or die. So I got my legs over the balloon and as I was leaving the balloon, I put my arms out to the woman next to me and I took her with me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We're going to hear more from that survivor, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And denied as an adopted dad because of his weight, a Texas man goes to the extremes to try to tip the scales in his favor. Details straight ahead from the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it was supposed be a gentle ride over Western Canada, but a sudden fire turned a balloon and its basket into a deathtrap. The balloon caught fire right before it was supposed to launch and broke loose. A woman and her adult daughter couldn't make it out in time and burned to death. Eleven other passengers were hurt. Some had to jump for their lives with their clothes on fire.

One survivor talked this morning with Heidi Collins on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING")

DIANA RUTLEDGE, BALLOON FIRE SURVIVOR: I had never been in a balloon before and I knew that there was going to be a certain amount of heat. But all of a sudden fire came -- a shot of fire came right past my face. And I thought, well, this doesn't seem right. And then another shot of fire came from behind my head, past my face. And the girl I was with, my friend, started screaming, "Diana, we're on fire! We're on fire!"

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Diana, where was the pilot at this point?

RUTLEDGE: He was right -- he's in the center of the basket. And we were off to one side of the basket. The basket is very tight. It's worse than a sardine can.

COLLINS: Yes, I...

RUTLEDGE: Worse than a sardine can.

COLLINS: I've never been in a balloon where there's 12 people. It sounds like a lot.

RUTLEDGE: It is really a lot. And the pilot was right in the center. He ended up jumping off from -- from what I (INAUDIBLE).

COLLINS: Was he telling you to jump?

I mean how did you actually make that decision?

You looked down below you, which I understand you're about three or four stories high in the air.

RUTLEDGE: Right. Well, listen...

COLLINS: How did you finally decide that, yes, I have to jump?

I've got to get out.

RUTLEDGE: Well, at the beginning I saw that the balloon was about 20 feet off the ground. And I kept saying, Leeanne (ph), come on, let's get off of this balloon. And I was trying to grab my friend Leeanne (ph) to get her off the balloon. But she was behind me and it was very tight and I couldn't get her. And she was saying jump, Diana.

So then I looked and because some people had jumped off the balloon, the balloon shot straight up in the air, because of the lack of weight. And we were at a -- oh, 60, 50, 60 feet.

And I looked down and I thought, it's do or die. You better get off this balloon or you're going to die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, the pilot reported to be in stable condition right now. That balloon set three trailers and several vehicles on fire when it crashed. No one on the ground is reported hurt.

Going under the knife to adopt a child -- a judge told Gary Stocklaufer he was too heavy to be a father. He and his wife already had biological children, but were trying to adopt a 4-month-old relative who had been living with them since he was a week old. The judge denied the request because Stocklaufer weighed 558 pounds. So he underwent gastric bypass surgery over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY WFAA)

GARY STOCKLAUFER, HAD GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERY: I hold my eldest son Bobby when he cries and asks daddy, "Why did the judge do this to him? Why did the judge take his brother away from him?"

And the only answer I can give him is that daddy will do what it takes to get his brother home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Stocklaufer lost more than 80 pounds prior to that surgery and hopes to be a couple hundred pounds lighter when he goes back to court.

High fructose corn syrup is a common sweetener in soft drinks and snacks. But a new study sees an unhealthy link with diabetes.

CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen looks at the debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Now, no one ever sets out to have a meal with high fructose corn syrup. No one ever says, gee honey, let's have high fructose corn syrup for dinner tonight. But there is an excellent chance that by the end of the day, you'll have many products with high fructose corn syrup.

It's in so many things. It's in sodas. You would expect it to be in there. It's also in cookies. It's in protein bars. You might not expect not to find it there. And it's in ketchup. That was a surprise to me. It's used to sweeten ketchup. It's used to sweeten barbecue sauce.

Now, the reason why food manufacturers like it is because it's very sweet and it's very inexpensive.

But a new study out from Rutgers University casts some shadow a bit on high fructose corn syrup. The study found that it contains some reactive compounds that could cause problems. It could cause tissue damage that's linked to diabetes. And this is not the first study that's found problems with high fructose corn syrup.

But to be fair, there are many, many scientists out there that say high fructose corn syrup -- sugar -- it's all pretty much the same. Your body doesn't really recognize one from the other, that if you eat too much of either of them, you can get fat and you could get diabetes.

Now, as I said, it's very, very hard to not eat products with high fructose corn syrup. But these days more and more alternatives are coming out there. You have to be very careful and read the labels.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, Dunkin' Donuts trying to shape up. The doughnut chain is trimming trans fats in its doughnuts and other menu items. The company says it's developed an alternative cooking oil, a new blend of palm, soybean and cottonseed. It says its menu will have less than one half gram of trans fat per serving by October 15th.

Its ice cream chain, Baskin-Robbins plans to reach that goal by January 1st.

A massive Hindu temple opens in Georgia. An elaborate dedication ceremony draws devotees from across the country.

Plus, the closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Time now to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

He's standing by in "THE SITUATION ROOM" to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour -- hi, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Hi, Kyra.

Thanks very much.

One big player after another leaving the Bush administration. Much more on what's going on today. Karl Rove two weeks ago. Now Alberto Gonzales. We'll take a close look at what this means for the man still at the White House, President Bush.

The Tour de France champion and cancer survivor, Lance Armstrong, caught in the middle as presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and John Edwards duel over health care.

We're also taking a closer look at the presidential candidates who themselves have had to deal with their own cancer.

And missed opportunities -- you won't believe how tantalizingly close U.S. troops may have come to the world's most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden.

All that, Kyra, coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

PHILLIPS: All right, we'll be watching.

Thanks, Wolf.

Well, a piece of ancient India in the U.S. A Hindu temple has opened up just outside Atlanta.

Catherine Kim of our affiliate WXIA reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

CATHERINE KIM, WXIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a moving collage of Indian culture and Hindu tradition on the streets of northern Georgia.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's amazing.

KIM: This parade a display of sacred Hindu images. Thousands have waited for this moment. It is, in many ways, a welcome home to the Hindu Gods that ends here. And it's here where these sacred images will be placed inside to guide worshippers for the next thousand years. There are only three others like it in the U.S. -- a temple or a mendeer (ph) precisely built from Hindu scripture.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which you'd find in India 500 or 1,000 years ago. So it's kind of a piece of the past brought here to the present.

KIM: Its beauty is in its details -- painstakingly chiseled into 30,000 square feet of imported marble, sandstone and limestone. One pillar alone a reflection of 1,700 man hours. But it's also within these details that people here say reflects the Hindu philosophy of peace and spirituality.

This moment, one many here say only happens once in a lifetime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, growing up here in America, I never thought I'd see the day where we'd have something like this, which is traditionally found in India, to happen in the streets of Lilburn, Georgia. So it's an incredibly exciting time for us.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, that was WXIA's Catherine Kim reporting.

We're told that public tours of the temple will begin September 1st.

The closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.

Stephanie Elam is standing by with a final look at the trading day -- hey, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra.

How about Ben Franklin?

Did you know he was getting a little makeover?

PHILLIPS: He is.

ELAM: He is.

PHILLIPS: Giving him a little hair. Giving him a little -- a little rouge.

ELAM: No, they're not going to deface one of our founding fathers. But the new $100 bill will get all kinds of new special security features.

Are you ready for this?

When you look at it and you move it up and down, the image of Ben appears to move side to side. And then when you move the bill from side to side, the image appears to move up and down. It's very Jedi, or, I guess current day would be Hogwarts.

But Ben Franklin's portrait will also get an update, as we were saying, with all these other little colors inside. It's actually taking 650,000 tiny lenses and they're using them to microprint just one $100 bill. So, a lot of technology going into it.

All this, of course, to prevent counterfeiting of those new bills and so it should create quite a challenge for those that want to print out their own.

Also, just so you know, it won't be out until late next year. The $5 bill is also going to get a revamp, too, because people were bleaching them and then printing a $100 bill over them. So that didn't work too well.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Now let's take you to "THE SITUATION ROOM and Wolf Blitzer."

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