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O.J. Simpson in Jail; College Student Tasered by Police

Aired September 18, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

JUDY FORTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Department of Health and Human Services estimates these errors may cost individual hospitals up to $5.6 million each year. Study authors highlight the need to improve means of administering prescription drugs. Judy Fortin, CNN.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You're with CNN, hi everybody, I'm Heidi Collins. Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on September 18th. Here's what's on the rundown.

Political shocker... a college student demands answers from a U.S. senator, he gets tasered. A University of Florida spokesman live in just minutes.

And will he get bail? O.J. Simpson waits in jail. One co- defendant claims the alleged memorabilia heist was a setup.

New this morning, 4 billion hours, 3 billion gallons of gas wasted yearly in traffic jams. Going nowhere fast in the NEWSROOM.

O.J. Simpson in jail, looking ahead to a court hearing that could set him free. CNN's Chris Lawrence has developments now coming to us this morning from Las Vegas. Chris, Simpson is being held without bail. When exactly does he go before a judge to talk about this?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tomorrow morning. Tomorrow morning an attorney will represent him in court and is believed to ask the judge that Simpson should be released on his own recognizance. His attorney says the only reason Simpson is still in jail now is because his name is O.J. Simpson. The first judge who initially looked at the case right after Simpson's arrest denied bail because he felt O.J. Simpson didn't have a job here, no family here, no home here and felt that he could be a risk to flee.

COLLINS: We know, Chris, that the family of Ron Goldman is pursuing its own legal case against Simpson. What exactly can you tell us about that?

LAWRENCE: This last suspect who was arrested, Clarence Stewart, he was arrested and he's already been released on bond. But he had some of the alleged stolen sports memorabilia with him and he turned that over to police. The Goldman family is in court out in Los Angeles this morning basically asking the court to give them the rights to any future profits on any sports memorabilia that O.J. Simpson has. They feel this is a part of that settlement from 10 years ago in which O.J. Simpson was found to be liable in the death of Ron Goldman. They say they've been trying for 10 years to track down O.J. Simpson's assets and claim them. Again they are going to court now to make sure, to see if they can get the profits from the sale of this memorabilia in anything that comes down the pike in future years.

COLLINS: All right, CNN's Chris Lawrence following this story for us, as it seems to get more and more complicated as we go. Chris thank you for that.

We do want to get some more legal perspective on this now. Richard Herman is a criminal defense attorney and law professor at John Jay College for Criminal Justice. Hi there and Avery Friedman is a civil rights lawyer and has taught at nearly two dozen law schools. Hello to you as well. Hey, this is getting a little confusing. We've got some witnesses, we've got an audiotape. Tell me, Avery you first, how much trouble is O.J. Simpson in?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: A huge amount of trouble, Heidi. The fact is that, can you imagine a criminal case where you actually have the defendant talking and making remarks? You know, when you hear O.J. Heidi say, "up against the wall, M.F.," it sounds like you know "Airplane" or "Naked Gun" except its real life and it's a powerful piece of evidence.

COLLINS: Richard, yesterday we spoke with our legal analyst here at CNN who said I would be telling O.J. to quote, "shut up."

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Oh, Heidi, it's way too late for that. This guy can't shut his mouth and that has cost him so much trouble in this particular case. But Avery is right on, you know, when you try a case like this and the government or the prosecutor puts on a tape so devastating, like this tape, with O.J. on there, screaming and harassing and assaulting these people, and then when they finish playing the tape they look at the defense attorney and say, ok, cross examination, I mean what are you going to do? It is devastating! Videotapes and audiotapes are devastating to a case and his attorney has to start immediately having meetings with the district attorney to try to resolve this case.

FRIEDMAN: That's right.

COLLINS: Ok, well it kind of leads me to the next question then. I want you to listen with me just for a moment to what Walter Alexander, who was also arrested in this incident, he was on our "LARRY KING LIVE" last night. Listen for just a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALTER ALEXANDER, ARRESTED IN SIMPSON CASE: I believe he was set up. I believe the whole thing was a setup. You see it was taped. You know I believe that it was a setup. It was very obvious that Thomas Ricci had intentions to set O.J. up and that's what happened.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Avery, was he set up? I mean there is an audiotape. Why that was happening, why they were rolling on that, it raises a few questions.

FRIEDMAN: Well, it raises interesting questions, but from a legal perspective, Heidi, that tape is in. This was not a government effort. This wasn't in cooperation with the government. This was Tom Riccio recording him and I don't think he had any idea what was going to happen here. But the bottom line, that tape, and I think Richard is going to agree, is likely admissible.

HERMAN: Oh Heidi, that tape's definitely coming in and the tape backfired. They used the tape to go in and try to get these particular individuals to admit that they retrieved the materials or that they stole the materials, that they wrongfully obtained them. Instead, O.J. goes berserk in the room there. It's all caught on tape, it backfired. It's going to be admissible.

COLLINS: However -- however -- even if it is admissible it is audio, it doesn't show any visual clues, if you will, as to what exactly his role was in that room.

FRIEDMAN: It doesn't show a visual. But you hear O.J. screaming, "up against the wall!" And he's cursing at these people and it just rekindled thoughts of the calls that his ex-wife was making and hearing those audiotapes. I mean this is the most recognized, probably one of the most hated guys in the United States right now. Everybody wants him.

COLLINS: Yeah and Avery I want to ask you about that, public perception here. I don't have any statistics in front of me. I haven't done a poll, of course. But how big of a factor is that? There are a whole lot of people out there who want to see O.J. Simpson behind bars. I'm sure he has his supporters as well. How much does that influence the case against him?

FRIEDMAN: Well, Heidi, I don't think you need a poll. I think everyone understands who O.J. is. What's significant here, depending on the role of the judge, when that jury is selected, many jurors, most jurors, I'd like to think, understand the significance of their oath that they're going to judge the facts impartially. So the best thing that both sides are going to try to do is get a jury that understands the oath and give O.J. a fair trial. Although I do agree with Richard, I don't think this case could ever go to trial. Don't ever expect to see O.J. on the stand. Never.

HERMAN: Heidi, what's significant here is that all the co- defendants that are getting arrested are being released on bail. O.J.'s the only one not. That means those other people are cooperating against O.J. That's exactly what it means and the judge made a mistake. He should have granted O.J. bail initially and he will be granted bail tomorrow.

COLLINS: Why was that a mistake?

HERMAN: Because O.J. is one of the most recognized faces in the United States. There is nowhere for him to go. He knew he was a suspect here. He stayed in Las Vegas. He didn't flee those several days. He took interviews with the police. FRIEDMAN: What's he going to use to post? What kind of money has he got?

COLLINS: Yeah, where would that money come from?

HERMAN: I'm sure he has friends that will set up and post some money for him. I'm sure a lot of people will step up to bat for him.

FRIEMDAN: And you know what the next question is.

COLLINS: Yeah, well in fact, there are a lot of people who are watching this case very, very closely and no one closer than the Goldmans, of course. They are trying to get possession of some of this memorabilia that's really at the center of this particular incident, because they haven't gotten any money. You remember the civil suit against him, something like $33 million awarded to them.

FRIEDMAN: $38 million now Heidi, with the interest. Yeah, that's big, big money.

COLLINS: Yeah. Where do they fit into all of this? Will they be able to ever recover any of that money?

FRIEDMAN: I think in practical terms, that bond money is going to stay until the appearance is made. At the point where the money is released, the Goldmans may in fact have a shot at it, but again, when you have got a $38 million judgment, the value of the memorabilia might be worth several thousand, maybe a little bit more. It is not a big deal, a drop in the bucket, but believe me, from what we know, the Goldmans are going after it.

COLLINS: Richard, you're shaking your head.

HERMAN: Heidi, a third party is going to post the bond for O.J. so the Goldmans are going to not be entitled to a penny of that. As far as the items that were seized, there was an issue as the title of those items, who actually owns them, who paid for them. That's a whole other issue that will have to be litigated. The Goldmans, I don't think they're going to get any of this material in this case.

COLLINS: They're never going to get any money for that civil suit judgment, is that what you're saying?

HERMAN: Their judgment creditors, they're going to chase him. That's the obsession of Fred Goldman and I can't say that I blame him, but that's his obsession.

FRIEDMAN: Because of O.J.'s stupidity and the visibility that's happened here, "If I Did It" believe it or not, is going to remain number one on Amazon.com. They're going to get very little money, but they're going to get some money out of this.

COLLINS: All right, to the two of you today. Hey, thanks for your insight, both of you. We will continue this watch this one as I'm sure you would imagine. Avery Friedman and Richard Herman, thanks so much, guys. COLLINS: A college student refuses to stop asking Senator John Kerry question and gets the shock of his life. Tasered by police. National correspondent Susan Candiotti is in Miami this morning. So Susan, is Andrew Myer still in custody this morning?

SUSAN CANDIOTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well he is getting out of jail this morning after making a brief court appearance today. A judge has ordered Andrew Myer released without bond. Myer is charged with two counts, one resisting arrest with violence, that's a felony, and also disturbing the peace. Now University of Florida campus police tasered Myer during a student forum. Take a look.

BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW MYER: Get the [ deleted ] off me, man! I didn't do anything! Don't taser me bro! Don't taser me! I didn't do anything! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Let me go! Let me go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why? Why are you doing that?

MYER: Oh, my gosh!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Back up! Back up!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let him go!

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Heidi, what's especially interesting about this is how many cameras were actually rolling on this, still and video. Myer wouldn't give up the microphone. He was asking Senator John Kerry several questions. Senator Kerry is heard saying during the struggle, "Let me answer his question." Then Myer gets zapped after struggling with at least four campus police officers. CNN iReporter was also in line. She was in line to ask a question also and we interviewed her this morning on "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARISSA JESSUP, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA STUDENT: He seemed a little bit -- a little bit off. I was just thinking if I was in his position I would be freaking out, too. Because not once during the entire ordeal did the police ever say very clearly, "You are under arrest," or ever read him his Miranda rights or whatever after what I would consider putting him under arrest. And when they tasered him, from where I was -- it is not very clear in the video -- he was already on his stomach in handcuffs.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Of course Heidi, that's one of the questions that everyone will be asking, was Myer already on the floor and in handcuffs when he was tasered. The University of Florida administration is looking into this. It was their campus police that affected this arrest. And there is a rally being planned, a protest -- we don't know how big it's going to be -- at noon time today on campus. The students plan on marching over to the campus police station and they're making three demands. They want to see the charges dropped. They want the college to suspend the officers pending the outcome of this investigation and they want to ban the use of tasers on campus. We'll have to see what happens.

COLLINS: Yeah, we certainly will. All right, Susan Candiotti, thanks for that. Just want to remind our viewers that coming up on the program we're going to be talking with someone from the University of Florida about what happened and where the investigation goes from here.

Meanwhile, concerns about the economy. Today the Federal Reserve may step in to help. For the first time in four years, the fed is expected to cut a key interest rate. Most economists predict a quarter point cut. That could make it cheaper for people to finance certain credit card debt and help some homeowners with ARMs, adjustable rate mortgages. The expected fed move is seen in part as a way to keep the housing slump from pushing the country into a recession.

EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Emily Chang live in Rothley, England. The McCanns have a new front man in the search for their missing daughter. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Violence in Iraq. A series of deadly attacks rocking Baghdad this morning.

Plus, wasted days, wasted gas. Seems every hour is turning out to be rush hour in the big city. New findings this morning. Stay tuned for the NEWSROOM traffic report."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

They are suspects in their daughter's disappearance. A British couple fighting back through the media with an ally. CNN's Emily Chang is in Rothley, England now with the story. Good morning to you Emily.

CHANG: Good morning and yesterday a new development, the McCanns have a new front man for their PR campaign. He gave his first press briefing in front of their home this morning. His name is Clarence Mitchell, he's a former BBC correspondent who also work as a media advisor to the British government. He resigned from that job yesterday in order to take on his new role here today and he said he wanted to do this because he believes -- he strongly believes that the McCanns are innocent victims. Now this morning he addressed what has become increasingly lurid speculation about what happened to Madeleine. Let's take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARENCE MITCHELL, MCCANN FAMILY SPOKESMAN: There are wholly innocent explanations for anything that the police may have found in that vehicle or indeed in their former apartment. And if Gerry and Kate have to defend themselves at some stage formally, then they are confident that they will do so. They did not harm Madeleine, they just want her home.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

CHANG: We should point out that Mitchell has spent some time with the McCanns earlier in the investigation. The British government sent him to Portugal to liaise between the press, the family and the Portuguese authority. He said he spent up to 14 hours a day with them sometimes, and he said he never saw anything, anything suspicious. He says as far as the investigation goes, as far as he knows, there are no plans to re-interview the McCanns. Portuguese authorities have not given any indications that they will be charged any time soon. How he is being paid, he said he is not being paid for -- with Money from the "Find Madeleine" fund by he's being paid by an independent anonymous benefactor that wants to help the McCanns with their legal defense. This is certainly part of the McCann's reinvigorating their campaign, they want to turn the focus back to Madeleine. I did conduct a one on one interview with Clarence Mitchell and that will be up at the top of the next hour.

COLLINS: All right, very good. We look forward to that, Emily Chang, thanks so much, live from Rothley England this morning. Also want to let you know we'll have more on this important investigation, coming up tonight, join Anderson Cooper at 10:00 p.m. eastern, CNN goes inside the investigation. That's AC 360 tonight.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Several states on alert now for possible e. Coli contamination. Investigators again recalling bagged lettuce.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Fears over another case of e. Coli. Now, Dole recalling thousands of bags of lettuce sold in the United States and Canada. More now from medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): If you feel like this keeps happening, well that's because it does keep happening. Since 1995, there have been at least nine national outbreaks of e. Coli contamination in lettuce or spinach. Let me tell you about what you need to know to avoid getting sick from this one. This one involves 5,000 bags of Dole's Hearts Delight. That's a salad mix that's sold in the U.S. and Canada. Check for a "best if used by" date of September 19th, 2007. Also look for production codes. A24924A, or A24924B. The blend contains romaine, green leaf and butter lettuce. What happened in this situation is that authorities in Canada detected e. Coli in bags that were already in the supermarkets. Dole says that everything that came from the farm looked good, so it is not clear exactly how the contamination happened somewhere between the farm and the supermarket.

Now, with all of these outbreaks, it leaves many people asking how do you avoid e. Coli in lettuce since of course you're not going to cook the lettuce. One hint is that if you really want to lower your risk as much as you can, you can avoid these mixed bags. The issue with the mixed bags is that when one piece of lettuce has e. Coli in it and it gets mixed up with all the other pieces you contaminate the lot. You can buy individual heads of lettuce, remove the outer leaves and just use the leaves that are inside. Back to you.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: To get your "daily dose" of health news online, you can always log on to our website, you'll find the latest medical news, a picture of Sanjay, a health library and information on diet and fitness. That address, cnn.com/health.

O.J. Simpson in jail, waiting for the legal machine to crank up. He's got company today, too. Another suspect now in custody. The alleged armed robbery.

A major flap at a John Kerry event. A University of Florida student hammers the senator with questions. Police respond with shocking force. An overreaction? We'll talk with the university.

Ah, traffic! You got to love it. The absolute worst cities to drive in coming your way after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris is off today.

Want to get you straight to the story that we have been following all day long here. O.J. Simpson, he's waking up in jail and looking ahead to tomorrow now. Simpson is due in court for a hearing. He could actually be released on bond. Right now, he is being held because a judge says he's a flight risk.

Las Vegas police say Simpson was among an armed group of men who burst into a hotel room demanding the return of his sports memorabilia. Simpson says there were no guns, there was no robbery. He says he just wanted his stuff back.

Last night on CNN's "LARRY KING," we heard from an alleged victim in the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALFRED BEARDSLEY, ALLEGED VICTIM IN SIMPSON CASE: You know, this was a very small room in the seedy hotel that Riccio (ph) was staying at. And I only saw when this guy came over and ordered me at gunpoint to pack the items up in the boxes we brought them in, I refused. I was sitting in a chair, and I was told to get the F up, get the F up, and I did get up.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: We've also heard from one of the alleged robbers as well. Walter Alexander was also a guest of "LARRY KING" last night. He faces charges almost identical to O.J. Simpson's.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALTER ALEXANDER, ARRESTED IN ALLEGED SIMPSON ROBBERY: We've been friends for many years. Since he wrote the book, I didn't really consider myself his friend. Another situation happened where he proved not to be a friend, in May. And I haven't really considered myself his friend in some time. But I was just there for the wedding.

I believe he was set up. I believe the whole thing was a setup. You see it was taped. You know, I believe that it was a setup. It was very obvious that Thomas Riccio had intentions to set O.J. up and that's what happened, you know? Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now I'm in the middle of this mess. And I hate that it happened. You know, he was very accurate in the fact that he said he saw one gun, you know?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think can you leave it at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: That was Alexander's attorney reining in his client. Alexander has been released from jail. No bond was required.

New this morning, the college student who was tasered after refusing to stop asking Senator John Kerry questions. Now, Andrew Meyer, who you see there in the blue shirt, is headed to court facing charges of disturbing the peace and resisting police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW MEYER: Get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) off me, man! I didn't do anything! Don't (EXPLETIVE DELETED) tas me, bro! Don't tas me, I didn't do anything! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Let me go! Let me go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back!

MEYER: Let me go!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why are you doing that!

MEYER: Oh, my gosh!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Back up, back up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why are you doing that! Let him go!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The event started pretty calmly. Look at this, Kerry's speaking to students at the University of Florida. But then came the Q&A and that's when things got ugly. Meyer hammering Kerry, wanting to know why he never contested the 2004 election and refusing to leave the mic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEYER: I'll ask my question, thank you very much. I'll ask my question. He's been talking for two hours, I think I can ask him a question. Thank you very much. I'm asking my question. I'm going to inform you, I'm just asking my question.

There were multiple reports of disenfranchising the black voting on the (INAUDIBLE) in 2004 ...

SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: Right.

MEYER: There was also a voting scheme ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The tasering and now, of course, everything is under investigation.

Once again, Kerry's request to answer those questions were ignored. So, that's kind of when everything seemed to fall apart. Mr. Meyer's getting apparently very frustrated by that.

We want to talk more about this. On the phone with us this morning, Steve Orlando, he is with the University of Florida.

Mr. Orlando, thanks for being with us. I know you just came from a meeting with the university president. Can you tell us what came out of that meeting?

VOICE OF STEVE ORLANDO, SPOKESMAN, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA: Yes, good morning, Heidi. Thanks for having me on.

Yes, we discussed the situation. Obviously, we're well aware of the concerns that the community has about this. You know, we have our own concerns about it and so, we discussed what are the best ways to respond to this and to be fair to everybody involved.

One of the things I can tell you about a development from this morning is that our police chief has sent a letter to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement asking them to come in and to do an independent review of the situation and to come back with their recommendations on it.

COLLINS: OK, well, we always have a lot of reviews and a lot of investigating and a lot of questions answered. I want to ask you, just as a human being and someone who represents the university, what did you think when you saw this video?

ORLANDO: Well, you know, I think everybody looks at it and, you know, you come away perhaps a little surprised, any time you hear somebody screaming, certainly that's going to draw emotions from anybody. And I think that's what everybody felt when they saw it. Certainly, some of the responses we're getting from the public this morning in terms of e-mails and calls, certainly that's the same kind of sentiment other people are feeling and that's understandable.

COLLINS: What do university police say happened? Obviously, there's always two sides to a story. But as we look at the video, we kind of see exactly what was going down, this coming in from our i- Reporter, Clarissa Jessup, who's also a student at the University of Florida. What do they tell you, their side of why they used this particular type of force, with the taser?

ORLANDO: Sure, well, you know -- now obviously, again, I don't want o get out of hand of the review or whatever the outcome of that may be, but from what we're understanding from our officers, as you see in the tape, the student is up speaking. He becomes agitated at one point and has been asked to step away from the microphone. The officer does come up at that point then to remove him from the microphone because he is being disruptive.

He's brought up to the back of the auditorium, and then at that point is again -- the video shows -- you can see student is beginning to become very physical, he's flailing around. A couple of the officers were actually injured in the incident. And then, he is actually taken down by at least four or five officers at the back.

Now, the officers -- and you can hear him on the video, they are telling him repeatedly, now you need ...

COLLINS: He wasn't armed, was he, Mr. Orlando?

ORLANDO: The student? No, the student was not armed, that's correct.

COLLINS: OK, I know that you are well aware, I'm sure of this student protest that's going to take place I believe at noon today.

ORLANDO: Absolutely.

COLLINS: About a half an hour or so from now. A lot of student anger out there, at least from what we have been able to gather from our correspondents on the scene, and ...

ORLANDO: Sure.

COLLINS: I just wonder how does the university plan to address that kind of anger?

ORLANDO: Well, you know, and that's something I think that's very important to point out here. You know, this is an institution of higher learning and we respect the free exchange of ideas and people's rights to go and say what they need to say. The incident yesterday aside, students protesting, that's their right to do it. And we'll be out there to talk with them.

We do want to let them know, again, No. 1, that we've asked for this external review.

COLLINS: Right. ORLANDO: The president will be issuing a statement very shortly, which, an additional measures that we will be taking to address this situation ...

COLLINS: OK.

ORLANDO: ...in order to make sure that the community remains confident in the police department's ability to do its job as well.

COLLINS: OK, I've got some breaking news coming up here, Mr. Orlando. So, I want to get to it quickly. I just want to ask you, we've been trying to get some comment from Senator Kerry on this. Have you heard from him at all?

ORLANDO: No, we haven't spoken with him directly. I did speak with his press representatives yesterday to apprise them of the situation. So we're both -- we're in communication with him.

COLLINS: OK, all right, very good.

Thanks for your insight on this. We will continue to follow this story. Steve Orlando from the University of Florida today. Thank you.

Want to get to that breaking news we've been telling you about. Our Dana Bash is standing by now on Capitol Hill.

Apparently, Dana, Senator Larry Craig reporting for duty.

DANA BASH, CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He is reporting for duty, surprising certainly us and probably everyone of his colleagues that he is going to run into today. Our congressional producer, Ted Barrett, was coming into the U.S. Capitol just a short while ago and saw Senator Craig coming in to the Capitol. It was the first time that certainly we have seen him here in Washington. The first time we really know of that he actually was back for duty here in the U.S. Capitol.

It was very unclear since last month when this whole bathroom scandal broke whether or not he would actually come back to Washington, but he is here. And our producer Ted Barrett had an audio recorder with him. Let's listen to the exchange.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TED BARRETT, CNN PRODUCER: What brings you back to the Capitol today?

VOICE OF SEN. LARRY CRAIG, (R) IDAHO: Go to work.

BARRETT: Are you intending to vote today, sir?

CRAIG: That's my plan.

BARRETT: OK. Why did ...

CRAIG: Good morning, good morning.

BARRETT: Why did you decide to come back, today?

CRAIG: Because I am a serving United States senator from Idaho.

BARRETT: And how are you doing in light of the scandal and everything else?

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BASH: Now there, you hear Senator Craig telling our Ted Barrett that the reason he is back here in the U.S. Senate is because he is a United States senator from Idaho. He did say, as you just heard, that he is intending to vote for the first time since all of this broke, the first vote we do expect to be in about a half an hour.

And perhaps even more interestingly than to witness him on the floor of the U.S. Senate, which we might be doing in about a half an hour, is whether or not he is going to go to the weekly Republican lunch, Heidi. Every single Tuesday, Republicans have a policy lunch and these are Republicans who, almost for the most part, to a person at least with the leadership, they were the ones who were very clear publicly and privately that they wanted Senator Larry Craig not to come back to the U.S. Senate. They made clear that they essentially think that he is somewhat of a pariah.

So, this is going to be a scene that will be quite interesting to watch because, of course, Senator Craig did announce that he is going to resign if he cannot overturn the guilty plea that he signed, admitting to disorderly conduct. There will be a hearing, you know, Heidi, next week, September 26th. That is when he's going to try to overturn that in court. If not, his last day officially will be September 30th.

But, the interaction that we might be able to witness later this afternoon could be quite interesting considering the events that have taken place with his own Republican colleagues here.

COLLINS: Yes, and that is exactly what he said, that he would resign only if he could not clear his name. Who knows how long those legal procedures could take. So we could see him essentially, at many more votes. Not really sure on that.

We will continue to follow of course alongside you, Dana Bash, from Capitol Hill this morning.

BASH: Thank you.

COLLINS: Thank you, Dana.

Want to get to this news just in to us here at CNN now. Some video coming in of a pretty nasty accident that you can see there. This is happening at San Mateo Bridge, it's the East Bay out in California. Foster City, to be exact. Coming in from our affiliate KTVU. Boy, really, really a mess as far as traffic is concerned. Westbound side of the bridge is just at a complete stand-still. Apparently -- you can sort of see, there are three big rigs were involved. Not really sure about injured people. We understand that there was a medical helicopter that was brought in to remove some of the injured. Have no idea the numbers or the nature of their injuries.

Again, this all coming in to us from the Associated Press right now. But the interesting and perhaps frightening thing about this is exactly where this is taking place. You see the water below. It is in the middle of the bridge, so some of these people in their cars are actually stuck in the traffic with no way to get off that bridge. May sort of create a very uneasy feeling for them.

So once again, this is all happening on the San Mateo Bridge into the East Bay in California. We'll continue to follow this one for you, bring you any more information should we get it.

No matter where you are, traffic stinks. But out this morning, the official worst case offenders. The Texas Transportation Institute says if you've got extra time to waste, hit the streets. Rush hour traffic will drain any schedule and wallet.

So here's the list. Topping it, nightmare traffic snarls now in Los Angeles. You will spend three full days a year in your car, if you're there. That's just during the work commute, too. Rush hour, not so fun in Atlanta. We can all attest to that here in the control room. San Francisco, Washington, D.C., no fun either. At least 60 hours a year. They tie for second place.

Moving down the list now, just ten years ago, drivers in San Diego and Houston could expect to sit some 30 hours a year in traffic. Today, you need to add 20 more!

Traffic delays costing the nation a ton of money, too, more than $78 billion in 2005.

This live view now of rush hour in three of the most congested cities. So, what does it mean for the average American? Jacqui Jeras is watching this story for us today.

Jacqui, you guys are used to pulling up these traffic cams for weather scenarios and so forth. Is there any hope for any of us, no matter where we live if it's a big city?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it doesn't look that way now, does it? You know ...

COLLINS: No.

JERAS: ...I mean, you've got a lot of options though, right? You can do some mass transportation, you can try some carpooling. A lot of these big cities have the hub lanes or high occupancy vehicle lanes. And that can shorten your time down just a little bit. Los Angeles takes the cake as No. 1 in terms of the worst congestion. So the worst time that you waste on that interstates and on the highways as well as the most gas, unfortunately, that you're going to be burning.

This is real-time traffic information. You see those red dots down there on the Harbor Freeway on 110. Well, look at that. The speed right now, only 18 miles per hour. So, certainly looking on the slow side as we get on the tail end of the morning rush hour commute.

And San Francisco is No. 2 in both of those categories also. We've got a lot of red dots in San Francisco. We talked about the San Mateo Bridge and the accident there. Zooming in, look at all the red dots as you're trying to head into town and head towards the area. And we'll zoom in and google a couple of those for you. And take a look at what's going on I-80, eastbound, 21 miles per hour.

You know, if you add all the hours on average across the country of how much time you waste in your car, Heidi, it's 38 hours per person! Do the math on that one, think about it. It's the equivalent almost of a work week or five days of vacation. So, my suggestion is maybe play a little Jimmy Buffet in your car and just imagine ...

COLLINS: Just pretend.

HERAS: ...being on vacation as you're on your way, right.

COLLINS: Maybe wear the sunglasses, too. Wow. ouch.

OK, Jacqui Jeras, thank you.

A spectacular car crash last year in Malibu. Would you believe that's a Ferrari? Now, a passenger gets a jail sentence.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange where we're seeing a broad-based rally. But will this morning's rally be there in the afternoon? It all hinges on a decision by the Federal Reserve. We'll have a preview next.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: No matter what the Federal Reserve decides to do today about interest rates, there could be more pain ahead for the economy.

Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us about a very difficult decision. Boy, I thought this was going to be all good news, Susan.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

COLLINS: Violence in Iraq now. A series of deadly attacks rocking Baghdad this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: A series of deadly attacks in Baghdad today. At least 21 people are dead, more than 60 wounded. As many as four bomb attacks taking place in different parts of the Iraqi capital. At least two bombs targeting areas near the Iraqi interior ministry.

The Blackwater incident raising the profile of private contractors in Iraq. As this i-Report video shows, it's a dangerous occupation.

This video shot some time between December 2004 and December 2005 on a road between Baghdad and Tikrit. It was given to CNN by a former contractor in Iraq who doesn't want to be identified. He says his employer did work for the State Department in Iraq. The Humvee, part of a supply convoy hit by a roadside bomb, followed by small arms fire that you are hearing now. Both men inside the Humvee survived the attack. Incredible video there.

A young man who has dedicated his life to some of the world's neediest children, in one of the poorest countries in the world, Haiti.

Aaron Jackson is today's CNN Hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON JACKSON, CNN HERO: Haiti is the most water-poor country in the world. It's probably the most environmentally destroyed country in the world.

In Haiti, people get their water sometimes from puddles, streams. I've seen kids playing in sewage, and also drinking from the same water. Haiti not having proper sanitation. A lot of people are infected with intestinal parasites.

When you see a child with an extended belly, that's intestinal worms. The average worm eats up about 20 percent of a child's nutritional intake a day. This is the difference between life and death in a lot of situations.

My name is Aaron Jackson, and it's my goal is to de-worm the entire world. I grew up in Destin, Florida, playing golf every day of my life. I decided to travel. And when I traveled it really opened my eyes to what the world is really like.

In Haiti we have four orphanages, an intestinal parasite program, and also medical clinics.

When we show up to a community to de-worm we educate people on ways to prevent getting worms again. Washing the vegetables, cooking meat a little longer, wearing shoes when you go outside are ways to prevent catching the worms.

When we first go into an orphanage we de-worm, the, children look very zombie-like, no livelihood in their face. And that's scary thing, because you have tell kids that tonight worms will be leaving your body in some shape or form. And then after we de-worm they come back to life. Literally within weeks you can see that they're playing again and smiling. For a pack of cigarettes you can de-worm 250 children, a whole school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a good person, and I'm so blessed to know him and work together with him. My investment in children is investing in the country, and that will make things different in the future.

JACKSON: Me and the children we've become like family. You know, they call me Papa Jackson. These kids are my kids.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Lovely story.

You can go to CNN.com/heroes to see Aaron Jackson in the streets of Port-au-Prince, visiting one of his orphanages. And while you're there, you can also nominate a hero of your own. Winners will be honored during a special broadcast on December 6th.

A spectacular car crash last year in Malibu. And now a passenger gets a jail sentence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: You might remember this high-speed crash in California last year. A passenger in the car getting a 30-day jail sentence. Twenty-seven-year-old Trevor Carney (ph) pleaded no contest for giving police false information. Hardly anything was left of that Ferrari. Police say it was doing 162 miles per hour. The driver of the Ferrari was sentenced last November to three years in prison.

CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now. "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next. I'm Heidi Collins. I'll see you tomorrow.

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