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Thousands of Protesters Turn Out to Support Jena 6; Mortgage Mess; Youssif's Surgery; O.J. Simpson Back in Florida; Sperm Bank Shortage

Aired September 20, 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Kyra Phillips.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And in the crowd there which is partially dispersing, or at last relocating, our Kyra Phillips. She's in Jena, Louisiana, today, along with the several thousand spirited supporters of the Jena 6. It is possible these are the biggest crowds that this town has ever seen. And it is certainly the biggest story as well.

LEMON: Yes, and here is what the story is all about.

A half-dozen black teens charged with beating a white teen in an atmosphere that is certainly bristling with racial tension. CNN has been on the story covering all of the angles, and we're watching today's historic march and rally from all the angles as well with all the key players involved in this on the ground for us.

Our very own Susan Roesgen, she's keeping track of what's happening right now.

It looks like some of the crowds are dissipating behind you. But as Fredricka said, they are moving to another location, right?

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I think we have just about -- oh, there's still a few stragglers, Don, coming up the road here to the high school. But I think we have just about seen the last of the marches here at the high school.

I believe there are people gathering as well at a ballpark not far away. And then there's going to be another rally. More events happening tonight in Alexandria, Louisiana, which is about an hour away from here.

The Reverend Al Sharpton had told us that he and Michael Baisden were going to do the radio show together in Alexandria. So we understand that they have already left at last report. And I think eventually all these folks will go to Alexandria, the much bigger city, and then back to wherever they come from today.

It has been a peaceful rally, Don. We have not heard of any arrests, have not heard of any injuries, though we did see an ambulance here earlier. But I didn't see anybody being treated.

The Red Cross have finally come up and started giving water and potato chips to people. You know, something to -- it is ungodly hot out here today, Don. And it's been really -- you'd think it would be very difficult for a lot of these elderly marchers and a lot of the young marchers. Everybody.

But, you know, they were fueled by such passion, they believed that there has been racial injustice, racial inequality in the local justice system. And that's why they came.

Now, one of the -- here is an ambulance going past us there. But one of the big reasons that they came right here to Jena High School is because this is where it all began.

They came to Jena High School. They not only stood outside the containment fence, they actually went on to the school property, and this is what they were looking for, Don. They wanted to find that tree, the tree where the nooses had been hung by white students last September, the incident that set the racial tension in motion.

They didn't find the three. They didn't even find the stump of the tree. The tree has been cut down this year.

But they went to where they believed the stump of the tree had actually been dug out of the ground. Someone put an American flag in that spot. And they gathered around that spot to take pictures, to touch the ground.

It was like having a relic of some sort, relic of Christ's cross or something that you would have from some trip. They wanted just a little bit of that earth because this has really become for them less of a protest and more of a pilgrimage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just needed to feel like I'm a part or just being a part of this. Something that maybe a mother can see. One of the mothers of the children that are going through it, maybe she'll see that we all care. We are all here for them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not a sense of revenge. It's not a sense of us getting back at anyone for this. But it is a sense of seeing the origin of what has sparked it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: Now, whether this will truly become some kind of nationwide movement, you know, who can say at this point? Certainly a big rally here today. But you know, I can assure you that Justin Barker, the young man who was savagely attacked last December, is not anywhere near this rally.

I spoke to him two nights ago. He told me that his family has received death threats and hate mail. He was very angry and frustrated, he says, because there's so much support for the black students accused of beating him. And he felt as if he had been abandoned. He said that he and his family would be nowhere near this scene today -- Don.

LEMON: Susan, and you said you don't know if it's going to become nationwide, but as a matter of fact, today, even in other places, there are smaller, similar rallies happening as well.

Susan Roesgen reporting for us on the ground.

We appreciate that report from you. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So, as the protesters do march in Jena, Louisiana, and other parts, the district attorney is speaking out. And he, too, is urging people not to forget Justin Barker, the student who was beaten at Jena High School last December.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REED WALTERS, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, LASALLE PARISH, LOUISIANA: Justin is the young man who is the victim in this case. With all of the focus on the defendants, many people seem to have forgotten that there was a victim in this case.

The injury that was done to him and the serious threats to his survival have become less than a footnote. But when you're talking about justice in a criminal proceeding, you cannot forget the victim. And I will not.

The people who did it should be ashamed of themselves and mortified at the havoc that they have unleashed on this community. As to the incident in which Justin Barker was blindsided with no chance to defend himself, this has been frequently characterized as a "schoolyard fight". This was no schoolyard fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Barker suffered injuries to both eyes and ears, as well as cuts. His mother says his right eye also had blood clots.

Well, we want to hear from you. What do you think the Jena march will accomplish?

E-mail us. The address is cnnnewsroom@cnn.com. We'll read some of your responses throughout the afternoon.

And CNN takes a close-up look at the racial tensions in Jena, Louisiana, this evening. Tune in for a CNN Special Investigations Unit report, "Judgment in Jena". That's tonight, 8:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

LEMON: Let's talk now about Osama bin Laden, again going public with a message of hostility and jihad. This time, though, there is a switch.

The al Qaeda leader rails for 20 minutes, but not against the U.S. or the West. Bin Laden aims this call for a holy war at Pakistan and specifically President Pervez Musharraf.

We spoke earlier with a terrorism analyst.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA MANSFIELD, AUTHOR, COUNTERTERROR ANALYST: Al Qaeda has, to a large degree -- has a lot of influence in the area. There is a lot of tensions between al Qaeda and Musharraf, Musharraf's government. It has been for quite some time. And Musharraf has been under attack from al Qaeda for several years. (INAUDIBLE) the message from bin Laden and from Zawahiri.

So, yes, it's something that, you know, is going to need to be watched very carefully.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And on this new audiotape, bin Laden calls on Muslims to "carry out jihad" against Musharraf. The tape is relatively current. Bin Laden refers to a raid on a Pakistani mosque in July. Bin Laden and his followers are believed to be living and operating around Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

WHITFIELD: Now to business news. With mortgage foreclosures at record highs, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said today that he is ready to take additional steps to try to help consumers. But he's also predicting more trouble in the battered subprime sector.

With more on that story, live from Washington, CNN's Ali Velshi -- Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. Good to talk to you.

Ben Bernanke says, look, he doesn't know how bad it's going to get, but these adjustable rate mortgages that have caused all these problems will continue to cause problems for people. What he did say, however, is that, you know, the problem in the housing sector is not as bad as it might look to some people.

Let's take a look at that. Let's look at the price of -- the median price of a home right now.

The median price is the price at which half of all homes are higher and half are lower. An existing home is $218,000. That's a drop of almost $4,000 from a year ago. A new home, a little more expensive, $232,000. That's a drop of more than $5,000.

Most of the homes in America are existing homes. New homes are about 15 percent of that.

The other thing to think about is the mortgage issue. If you have good credit and you have a long-term mortgage, you are OK. A 30- year fixed is 6.29 percent. And Fred, that's not even a percentage point higher than it was a year ago. Look at that one-year ARM. That's the problem. It's 6.4 percent. Why would you take that risk of the fact that your mortgage rate might go down but it might go up?

That's what happens. People bet on the fact the rate will either stay the same or go down. They took these mortgages in 2003, 2004, 2005, and guess what? They reset a year or two or three later.

Those mortgages are higher. Those are the people getting burned and losing their houses. So, let's put it this way...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

VELSHI: ... it's not serious overall. But if it's your problem, it's really serious.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Well, today, the ARM looks higher, the percentage looks higher than...

VELSHI: Than the fixed, that's right.

WHITFIELD: ... the fixed. But usually the reason why people do opt for the ARM is because it's usually...

VELSHI: Is it's cheaper.

WHITFIELD: ... lower. And that's why now we are now in this fix.

VELSHI: It was a lot lower. There are people who had -- who took a teaser rate literally of as low as two percent, three percent.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And that's attractive.

VELSHI: And what happened? Did they not know, did somebody not tell them -- that's something that Ben Bernanke said, they're working with banks to say the disclosure's got to be there.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was sitting next to him and said he likes the idea of a one-page mortgage. Big print, everything very clearly on there.

The other thing that Bernanke said is, if you are one of these people who took the low rate, it adjusted higher, and you need to -- you've got some problems, talk to your bank. He said the Fed is talking to banks to say, rather than have these people foreclose, why don't you try and cut a deal with them, try and reschedule it, try and...

WHITFIELD: Yes. And overall, that's going to help the economy.

VELSHI: It's going to help everybody. That's right. People will have more money in their pocket, they'll continue to spend. And maybe they will be more careful.

WHITFIELD: And more people will get a chance to at least stay in their homes and try to make it work.

VELSHI: That's right.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ali Velshi, thanks so much for a little hope on the home front.

VELSHI: See you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Well, still a lot of financial information out there. But we've got it all compiled for you online to try to make it easier for you. And much more accessible.

For more solutions to the mortgage meltdown, just go to money.cnn.com.

LEMON: Destination, New York City. The president of Iran comes to the U.S. this weekend. Have you heard where he would like to visit while he's here?

That story's coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: And it's surgery day for the little Iraqi boy burned by attackers in Baghdad. It's an operation made possible in large part by you, CNN viewers.

We'll update the situation for him straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

LEMON: Here's a story now, Fredricka, a story that just touched a lot of people's hearts here in the U.S. and all over the world. A little Iraqi boy with a hardly (ph) scarred face had surgery today thanks to so many of you.

Nine months ago, masked men doused 5-year-old Youssif with gasoline and set him on fire in Baghdad. Today he underwent his first reconstructive facial surgery for which many of you have helped to pay.

CNN's Arwa Damon is in Sherman Oaks in California, and she joins us now with the very latest on that.

We are going to check back in with Arwa on that story. Let's move on now and talk about something else.

Thousands of people you, including the viewers, have responded to Youssif's story. And we talked about Impact Your World. It's an initiative we have here.

Your donations help make this treatment possible. If you are looking for a way to make a difference for Youssif, you still can. Just log on to CNN.com/impact and click on "Iraq Burn Victim". Learn how you can help take part in the solution of Impacting Your World, as we said, and just click -- it's just a click away. It's on CNN.com/impact.

We're going to get our Arwa Damon up to talk about this reconstructive facial surgery from Sherman Oaks in just a little bit.

WHITFIELD: Yes, we can't wait to hear more...

LEMON: But it's certainly...

WHITFIELD: ... because it's such a fascinating story. And what a remarkable turnaround of hope for this little boy and his family.

LEMON: Yes, absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Yes, they've been through so much.

LEMON: Can't wait to see how he's doing.

WHITFIELD: I know. I know. It's going to be exciting.

All right. Well, how about this? A pilot falling short of the runway. Pretty scary moments there, but actually manages to land on a couple of cars outside a mall. The case of crash and carry for shoppers-turned-rescuers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A little Iraqi boy with a hardly (ph) scarred face had surgery today thanks to so many of you. Nine months ago, masked men doused 5-year-old Youssif with gasoline and set him on fire in Baghdad. Today, he underwent his first reconstructive facial surgery for which many of you helped pay.

CNN's Arwa Damon is at Sherman Oaks Hospital in California and she joins us now with an update.

Tell us the good news, of course, we hope, Arwa.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, I have to say the surgery was very successful. It has been an emotional roller-coaster ride for the entire family and pretty much everyone who has been involved.

But here's what Dr. Peter Grossman, the lead surgeon, part of Youssif's burn team, had to say about today's procedures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. PETER GROSSMAN, SURGEON: It went well. I was very pleased to see that everything went the way we wanted it to.

Youssif was scared, but he was a trooper. And surgery really went without any complications. And we are very pleased at the outcome. (END VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: Now, here's exactly what they did today. They injected steroids into the thick, burned tissue on his face and also into his forehead. That is meant to flatten and soften the scars.

They also went in and inserted these balloons into his right cheek, where the good cheek tissue meets the scars, and also under his chin. The purpose there, they're going to be inflating these balloons gradually over the next three months to generate good skin. Then he will go back into surgery, they'll remove the scar tissue and stretch that good skin on top of the scar tissue.

They also removed the heavy scarring that's located around his nose, in this area. And there they placed temporary cadaver skin to try to stimulate the cells to grow so that when they do put in the skin graft after a few days it will -- there's better chances that it will take.

Now, Youssif has just woken up. This has been very successful. And again, an emotional roller-coaster ride for everyone who's involved -- Don.

LEMON: Absolutely, yes. And let's talk about that, especially his family, because not only coming here to the U.S., you know, and they're dealing with that, they have to set up their lives here. He's going to be here for a long time. And then dealing with this surgery.

Talk to us a little bit more about that, Arwa.

DAMON: Well, Don, I can just really best describe it in terms of his parents' reaction when they saw their son after the surgery.

He has got these huge yellow bandages around his nose right here. His head is wrapped in a big white bandage as well. And he was still asleep, and they walked in, they saw him. They both broke down in tears and turned away into separate corners, trying to regather their strength and also just let those emotions out. In fact, it took his father a good half-hour before he was able to turn back and stand at his son's bedside.

As I was saying, the emotions here have been highs and lows. Highs because they have been seeing Youssif's emotional transformation since the day he arrived in the states where he was sullen and withdrawn, to the Youssif that we began seeing especially towards the last few days before he went into the surgery.

He was laughing, talking to strangers, cracking jokes. But at the same time, as his father said, he's still unbelievably upset. Why? Because no child should have to go through this -- Don.

LEMON: All right.

CNN's Arwa Damon, live there in Sherman Oaks for the update.

We appreciate that, Arwa. Thousands of people, including you, the viewers, have responded to Youssif's story through CNN's Impact Your World initiative. Your donations helped make this treatment possible.

If you are looking for a way to make a difference for Youssif, well, you still can. Just log on to CNN.com/impact and click on "Iraq burn victim".

Learn how you can become part of the solution. Impacting Your World just a click away at CNN.com/impact.

WHITFIELD: Well, some business news right now.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right. Babies made to order.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ben (ph) and I both have blonde hair and blue eyes, so we pursued a donor who met my husband's physical characteristics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, now a new FDA ban leaves some infertile couples scrambling to find donors.

We'll tell you why straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello everyone. I am Fredricka Whitfield live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You are in THE CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: Happening right now, a sea of humanity in Jena, Louisiana. Still protesters are filling the streets in a show of support for six black teens accused of beating a white schoolmate. Civil rights leaders call the charges excessive and based on race. And this is the result of their call to action, thousands of people converging on the tiny town from across the country.

Michael Bell is a focal point of today's rally. Right now, he's the only one of the teens behind bars. Last week, an appeals court threw out Bell's battery conviction saying that he should not have been tried as an adult. Bell could still face charges in juvenile court.

LEMON: Here is a question that has been asked. When those nooses were hanged on the tree, right, what did the school board do? What did the school do? Did they exacerbate situation? Did they help, did they hurt?

Tony Harris joining us now on the ground and, Tony, you are outside of the courthouse. And I understand you have someone who can help with us with that question.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that's -- that's great, Don, because now I don't have to spend time sort of setting all of that up.

Jack (ph), let's widen this out, and let's bring Johnny Fryar in to the conversation here. Johnny Fryar is a member, an elected member, I should add, of the LaSalle Parish School Board. Jena High School is a part of that district. Johnny, thanks for taking the time to talk to us.

First of all, and I should tell everyone at home that you sought us out today. You certainly have been watching the coverage throughout the day. And you wanted to say what to folks at home about this school board and about this school district that you represent?

JOHNNY FRYAR, LASALLE PARISH SCHOOL BOARD: Yes, Tony. I think a lot of people in the nation and around the world got a wrong idea about Jena and about our school system. Our school system is not prejudiced. I've been on the school board for over eight years, and never once have I made a decision that related to race. And I do not believe that other board members or our administration does. Now yes, we are conservative, and we're pretty strict. But I don't think that we're unfair.

HARRIS: So Johnny, take me back to a year ago September, and the nooses hanging from the tree. Your part of the board that had a role in investigating that episode. Tell me why you handled it the way you did. We understand that there were suspensions, there weren't any expulsions. Tell me why that episode was handled the way it was.

FRYAR: Well, as most school boards, we are a governing body, and we make policies. As far as the investigation, the school didn't investigate, and the administration investigated the situation. And they found out that these nooses were hung. They said it was a -- some people say it was a prank. Of course, you know, it's deplorable, it should never have happened. And the students that did that were given in-school suspension, and they were suspended from school.

And of course, that was all before anything else happened. But that's -- the superintendent made the recommendations for these students to be suspended. And the school board ...

HARRIS: Why not expelled?

FRYAR: You know, he looked at the facts, and the committee that he had looked at the facts, and that was his judgment. And we, you know, that's his professional decision (ph).

HARRIS: The argument -- the counter-argument is, you know what, there was an opportunity there for the administration, for the school board, to step in, recognize what that symbolism means, and has meant for years to African-Americans and to set a marker down, a firmer marker down. And perhaps, although no one is making the linkage between the nooses and the attack on Justin Barker, perhaps there was an opportunity there to quell some of the racial tensions. What do you think?

FRYAR: Well, of course, when that did happen, the nooses, there was no Mr. Barker, there was no (INAUDIBLE) ...

HARRIS: Absolutely.

FRYAR: And so, we thought we handled that situation appropriately, or the administration did, and the school board backed up the administration. I mean, again ...

HARRIS: A prank?

FRYAR: Well, yes, that's what they say. They say it was a prank. The students -- I did talk to one of the parents who called me and said that their son thought it was a prank. He was naive to the fact of what it meant and that he was -- he was sorry, but it was a prank to him. And again, you know, it's deplorable, and I'm not making excuses for anybody. But I am saying that was the action that we took, and we thought it was appropriate at that time.

HARRIS: Is this a community with racial tensions?

FRYAR: No, I do not believe so. I live in LaSalle Parish ...

HARRIS: Johnny ...

FRYAR: ...it's all ...

HARRIS: ...is it, Johnny?

FRYAR: Racial tensions, you mean now?

HARRIS: Is this a community that before this march was a community where racial tensions were a part of the dynamic of this community?

FRYAR: Not any more than anywhere else, Tony. I didn't see it. Like I said before, and I can stand in front of the good Lord one day and said I did not make a decision based on race. I never said, have it done anything like that. And I do not believe that the other board members have either. And so, any more than any other community, I would say no.

HARRIS: OK.

FRYAR: I think that we have been labeled unfairly because we are from the south, and we are rule (ph), that people come here and say oh, well, that's Jena, Louisiana, that's part of Louisiana, they're automatically. And I think prejudice has been done a little bit against our town and against our school system.

HARRIS: So flash forward, if you would, to December. Some say school fight, others say attack on Justin Barker. Again, this is a situation where as you've laid out, there was an investigation. The administration does its work. Does the school board get an opportunity to weigh in on the findings of the administration?

FRYAR: The findings, not necessarily. What the school board does, again, as policy makers, if an expulsion is brought back, say the parents bring this back to the school board, and wants the school board to review it, the school board does review the expulsion. In this case, that did happen. I wasn't there at the meeting, another board member wasn't either, but the members that did -- that were there, did vote by majority to uphold the recommendation of the superintendent.

HARRIS: Would you have stood by that decision?

FRYAR: I usually stand behind the superintendent's recommendation. So, I'm not there, I didn't hear the facts. I can't say, but usually on almost all cases, I support our superintendent.

HARRIS: Were you surprised -- and I'm not asking you to speak for the district attorney. Were you surprised that this case was moved into the criminal arena?

FRYAR: Well, I don't know.

HARRIS: I'm asking for your opinion.

FRYAR: Moving to the criminal arena? I really don't have, I guess experience (ph) to say this ...

HARRIS: I'm asking this based on what you know, your ability to read the findings of any investigation, of any report, about what happened on that day.

FRYAR: Well, we usually -- Tony, as you know, a small, a small system, like we usually don't have this type of issue. We haven't had a student that's been beaten like this Barker student was. And so, this was something new for all of us.

Again, the district attorney is different from the school board, we do not try to influence his decisions or what he charges. And my whole angle and what I'm here today for is to say from a school system stand point, that I'll stand behind the school system. We are not again, prejudice.

We are a good school system, one of the top in the state. And I hate to see people label us as something we're not, because we have -- as stated earlier, we have black students and white students playing football together, and they shake hands, get along. This is an unfortunate incident, and we hope that this community can heal quickly over this.

HARRIS: Johnny Fryar, thanks for your time.

FRYAR: Thank you, Tony.

HARRIS: Perfect way to leave it right there.

And as you can see here, Don, I'm just taking a look back. This part of the rally and march is starting to wind down. All of the activity is really moving from this point on down to Alexandria. Going to head down there in just a little bit and take a look at what's going on down there. Been an extraordinary day here though, in Jena.

Back to you.

LEMON: Yes, very interesting, and Tony, real quick, if you can ask him about the reporting has been that the suspensions were overturned. His opinion about the suspensions being overturned by the school board.

HARRIS: Don is asking a question about the suspensions being overturned. And I think, Don, what you're referring to is the kids involved in hanging the nooses. Can you comment on why that was the case?

FRYAR: I do not know why that was. Again, a committee reviewed this. The findings to the superintendent and the superintendent made a decision. And at the time, nobody really investigated past that point. Again, he is the superintendent and we just ...

HARRIS: The sense was is that it was a prank. Is that correct?

FRYAR: I believe so.

HARRIS: OK, and maybe that's the answer?

FRYAR: Well ...

HARRIS: No harsher penalty needed to be meted (ph) out.

FRYAR: All I know is that one of the students -- that hung the noose did call me and tell me that their son thought it was a prank. He did not have any malicious intention with it. And as far as anything else, you know, legal side, I just don't know, Tony.

HARRIS: Johnny Fryar, thanks again.

FRYAR: All right, thank you.

HARRIS: All right, Don, back to you.

LEMON: Tony Harris, thank you so much for that report.

We will continue to check in with Tony throughout the day on CNN. CNN takes a close-up look at the racial tensions in Jena, Louisiana this evening. Tune in for a CNN Special Investigation report, "Judgment in Jena," tonight at 8:00 eastern, only here on CNN.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Speaking of storms brewing, when it comes to the O.J. Simpson case, do you need a scorecard to keep track of all the players? We are going to break it down for you and look at who is who and who is accused of doing what straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right. Now New York. I got you interested, didn't I? Request denied. That's from the city of New York to the president of Iran who wanted to make a side trip during his visit next week to the United Nations.

CNN's senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth joining us now.

Richard, no surprise, come on, that his request was denied. Right?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, no surprise. But I think it is too early to rule out where the Iranian leader may go in Manhattan. Though, security and the state department will be extra cautious, as they would with a lot of these world leaders in moving them around heavily congested streets due to security and a lot of other reasons.

But so far today, reaction has come in more criticism here in the U.S. President Bush defending the New York City police department's decision to not allow a visit to Ground Zero by the Iranian leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES., UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The local police will make the proper decision. And that if they decide for him not to go like it looks like they have, I can understand why would not want somebody running the country, who's a state sponsor of terror, down there at the site.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: Well, we asked Americans on the streets of New York and possibly some tourists included, what they thought on whether President Ahmadinejad of Iran should be allowed to visit Ground Zero as the Iranians have requested.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming down here for a photo op, he's going to use that to further promote the terrorists' ideals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't see why not. See what we are doing over here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe his coming down here would be taking our sorrow, our sadness, and taking our faces and grinding it into the mud of the tragedy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: We apologize. You might have seen the name of the U.S. ambassador of the U.N., the man wearing a hard hat was not the U.S. ambassador even though in the next few days things will be falling here at the general assembly a lot of words.

But yesterday, Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador, did say that he thought the visit by the Iranian leader would be a photo-op and should not be something that would be permitted in lower Manhattan at that site, at ground zero.

Also, Fredricka, the United States, U.S. official saying that a visa application denied. Also, for Iran's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, the quote we would never allow anyone to visit the U.S. who has taken Americans hostage. You can make your own inference there about that Iranian being linked to the 1979 takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in November.

Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Right. OK. Now while Ground Zero may not be the photo-op location for the president, if there are other places in Manhattan that he has expressed some interest, what might they be? Do you know?

ROTH: Well, there's some appearance scheduled at Columbia University. But these things have a way of also being on and off. There is an appearance before students there next Monday. He appears at the general assembly for his official speech on Tuesday afternoon.

And there are still sanctions against this country. The U.S. and other countries want to impose more sanctions down the road, if they can get agreement here, because of Tehran's failure to comply over the nuclear ambitions.

WHITFIELD: All right. Richard Roth at the U.N. Thanks so much -- Don.

LEMON: Let's talk about O.J. Simpson now. He is barred from any contact with his co-defendants as he awaits arraignment in his armed robbery case. A fifth man wanted in Simpson's case surrendered yesterday in Las Vegas. Charlie Howard Cashmore appeared before a judge this morning and is expected back in court tomorrow. Bail was set today at $32,000 for defendant Michael McClinton.

As for Simpson, he has flown back home to Florida. Exact whereabouts, unknown. Reporters staking out his home in south Miami say he has not arrived there. He returned to Florida from Las Vegas with his longtime girlfriend Christine Prody and his lawyer Yale Galanter.

With one glaring exception, it is hard to tell the players apart in the now infamous confrontation at the Palace Station Hotel in Las Vegas.

CNN's Randi Kaye puts names to the faces.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Surrender your passport.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If he did it, stage that less than daring raid on memorabilia dealers in Vegas, O.J. Simpson didn't do it alone. He was surrounded by a middle-aged posse. But hey, in a pinch, who are you going to call? Well, these not so wise guys, apparently.

Co-defendant number one, Walter Alexander. He's a 46-year-old Simpson golfing buddy, in Vegas for the wedding of a mutual friend. Alexander has no known criminal record.

WALTER ALEXANDER, CO-DEFENDANT: Unfortunately, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

KAYE: Co-defendant number two, Clarence Stewart. He's 54, lives in Vegas, and you guessed it, is another Simpson golfing buddy.

Co-defendant number three, Michael McClinton, 49, described by Las Vegas police as a key player in the alleged robbery. No word if he ever played golf with Simpson, though.

Another arrest, co-defendant number four, Charles Cashmore. Las Vegas police say they are looking for one more man.

If you think the suspects are not very interesting, wait until you meet the alleged victims. The dealers who all say they are or were Simpson's friends, too. Bruce Fromong is a 53-year-old Vegas based sports memorabilia collector who came to the Palace Station Hotel to do a deal on some Simpson collectibles, footballs, photographs, a hall of fame certificate. Fromong even testified for Simpson at his civil wrongful death trial. And as this tape posted on the TMZ.com web site shows, he did not take the event well.

BRUCE FROMONG: Nobody puts a gun in my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) face. I stool up for that (EXPLETIVE DELETED) in-in while he was in jail. I stood up for him in the press. I stood up for him on the ... on the stand.

KAYE: On Monday, Fromong suffered a massive heart attack. He's is in fair condition in a Los Angeles hospital.

Then there's the other dealer, Alfred Beardsley, also a longtime Simpson supporter and collector of Simpson souvenirs. At first, he told tales to the press of Simpson and company storming the hotel room.

ALFRED BEARDSLEY, MEMORABILIA DEALER: I was directed at gunpoint to pack the items up in the condition that they were brought in.

KAYE: Then -- well, he change his tune.

BEARDSLEY: At no time did Mr. Simpson hold any kind of firearm at all.

KAYE: Now Alfred Beardsley has a few legal issues of his own. It turns out this Simpson's fan was a fugitive with a warrant for his arrest in California. Nevada's fugitive task force placed him under arrest and he's sitting in a Clark County jail cell.

Finally, there is the snitch, Thomas Riccio, an ex-convict who says he called O.J. Simpson and told him people at the Palace Station Hotel, "Have a lot of your stuff and they don't want anyone to know they are selling it." What Riccio didn't tell Simpson was that he, too, was armed with a cell phone, ready to record and sell the sounds of the confrontation.

O.J. SIMPSON: Don't let nobody out of this room (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

Think you can steal my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and sell it?

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

All right. Babies, made to order.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband and I both have blond hair and blue eyes. We pursued a donor who met my husband's physical characteristics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But a new FDA ban will leave some infertile couples scrambling to actually find donors. We'll tell you why straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

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WHITFIELD: Almost 30 years, 30, after the first test tube baby was born, reproductive science has moved into niche markets. But now some of those markets are experiencing a shortage, if you will, of a key commodity.

CNN's Alina Cho explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This beautiful and healthy 8- month-old girl looks just like her parents, even though the man who is raising her is not her biological father. Abby's mom, who did not want to be identified, says her husband is sterile. So they went to a sperm bank, Cryos International, the only one in America that sells imported sperm from Scandinavia.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband and I both have blond hair and blue eyes. So we pursued a donor who met my husband's physical characteristics.

CHO: At Cryos, they even do a photo match. Abby's sperm donor is Danish.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People would say oh, when she smiles looks like me. When she frowns she looks my husband. She has my lips, my husband's eyebrows. People see what they want to see. CHO: Now mom and dad want a sibling for Abby from the same Danish donor. But the sperm bank is literally running dry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are running out of sperm. We have very little sperm left.

CHO: The FDA banned sperm samples from 30 European countries over fears that foreign donors might have a rare but fatal disorder linked to mad cow disease. Sperm samples donated before the 2005 ban are exempt. But they are selling fast.

Abby's mom bought the Danish Strauss, as they are called, before they ran out. But she only has enough for one more try. And at 41, she is afraid it won't work.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It came as a shock to me. I only found out because I expressed interest in becoming pregnant again. And now this leaves us scrambling.

CHO: Cryos is scrambling, too. The company has launched a racy ad campaign aimed at getting American men to donate sperm, hoping would-be parents will be OK with made in the USA.

Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: What can the government do about the home mortgage crisis? Two days after an interest rate cut the chairman of the fed reports to Capitol Hill. CNN's Gerri Willis is coming up in the NEWSROOM to tell us whether now is the time to refinance.

WHITFIELD: And politicians and protesters gathering in Jena. Rapper and actor Mos Def is there as well. He'll join us live straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

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

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