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Jena Six Racial Backlash; Nooses Found in North Carolina School; Delaware State University Shooting; American Hired Guns Controversy: Iraqi Prime Minister; Chicago Police find Missing Woman's Car
Aired September 22, 2007 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Up first, growing outrage that Mychal Bell is spend another weekend behind bars. Bell is the only one of the so-called Jena Six still in jail. Six Black teens have been charged in the beating of a White classmate. A judge denied bail for Bell, even though his conviction in the beating was tossed out by an appellate court. This week's massive rally on behalf of the Jena Six now revealing disturbing signs of racial backlash.
Details now from CNN's David Mattingly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Web site proudly displays a swastika on its home page. Inside, one posting reveals the addresses of the Jena six saying, "in case anyone wants to deliver justice." The site is editing by a White supremacist whose own words can be heard in this streaming audio.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to go down there and put a bullet in each one of those little black kids that they have acquitted or they've let off on these convictions for beating this White child.
MATTINGLY: Asked if he brought any harm to the Jena Six with his postings, the editor told CNN, "I don't know that doing justice can be considered doing harm."
Just 24 hours after a massive violence-free rally in the Louisiana town of Jena, the FBI is looking into a racist backlash, seemingly menacing acts online and on the streets.
Forty-five minutes south of Jena, two teens were caught on tape in this exclusive CNN i-Report in Alexandria. They had nooses tied to the back of their pickup and driving past crowds of people who had attended the marches and rallies. Alexandria resident and i-Report contributor, Casanova Love, couldn't believe his eyes.
(on camera): Do you think the chance was there that somebody could have gotten hurt?
CASANOVA LOVE, I-REPORTER: Possibly. Possibly. You never know. It's 50/50. It's 50/50 chance.
MATTINGLY: It happened right here on Main Street. A large crowd had gathered at this bus station after the rally, people wanting to catch a bus and go home that night. That's when someone in the crowd noticed a pickup truck driving by with the nooses attached. There was a police officer on duty right here. He was alerted. And that truck was stopped in just a matter of blocks.
(voice-over): Another exclusive i-Report shows the police taking one of the two into custody. 18-year-old Jeremiah Munson was booked on misdemeanor charges of inciting a riot, driving while intoxicated and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He's out on bail. His 16-year-old companion remains in juvenile custody, accused of under age drinking and a probation violation. In the arrest report, the teen tells police he has a KKK tattoo and his parents were active in the Klan. Alexandria police say there is no indication any group was involved.
(on camera): Was it a prank?
CHIEF DAREN COUTEE, ALEXANDRIA POLICE DEPT: Obviously more of a prank than anything else. We think so anyway. But during this kind of atmosphere, of course, pranks like that that don't go over very well.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): The crowd applauded as police took them away. Officers found an unloaded rifle and brass knuckles in the car. But investigators do not believe the two suspects intended to use them. Police and the mayor say felony charges are being explored, as well as charges of hate crimes.
David Mattingly, CNN, Alexandria, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And tonight, Kyra Phillips gets to the heart of the crisis. "Justice in Black and White," an encore presentation of "Judgment in Jena," a can't miss CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT special, tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
More nooses found at a school, this time in North Carolina. Students and faculty say four nooses were hung from a tree in Andrews High School in High Point. School officials quickly called in police and sent out a letter to parents informing them of the incident and vowing to prosecute those found responsible.
And new developments this hour at the double shooting in Delaware State University. We're learning more about the identity of the victims and the search for the shooter. CNN's Kathleen Koch is in Dover.
Kathleen, what's the new information?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka, we have confirmed the names of the victims. A spokesperson for the Washington, D.C. public school system tells us they are 17-year-old Shalita Middleton and 17-year-old Nathaniel Pugh of Washington, D.C.
In the early morning shooting, early Friday morning, Shalita was shot twice in the abdomen. She, as far as we know, is still in serious condition. Nathaniel Pugh was shot one in the ankle. He's in stable condition.
But right now, to give us the latest on the investigation as it's proceeding, is school spokesman Carlos Holmes.
Mr. Holmes, tell us right now about who has been questioned in this incident and what has been their degree of cooperation?
CARLOS HOLMES, DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY SPOKESMAN: Well, we have had numerous people questioned. A lot of interviews have taken place. The university campus -- the university police on campus and they've talked to a lot of people. In particular, they had two persons of interest which they located yesterday, and they questioned them and released them.
KOCH: Now also Mr. Pugh, the 17-year-old victim is question as well, I understand. How is he cooperating?
HOLMES: I don't know the name of the 17-year-old victim. I haven't been told the name and I'm not dealing with the name.
KOCH: But, is he cooperating?
HOLMES: He's a 17-year-old male. Yes, he is cooperating. The police have talked to them. They asked him questions, and he answered them.
KOCH: How close are investigators getting, though, to getting a description, a name of the gunman?
HOLMES: I haven't talked to the police within the last hour, but they are still working on the investigation. They're working with the information.
KOCH: With so many witnesses, what's taking so long?
HOLMES: It might be inconsistent information. Obviously, they have not been comfortable they have come up with a solid description and we don't want to release a description to the media to help us out with this until we have something solid. And so they are awaiting until they feel comfortable with the information. They have not had an opportunity, at least as of last night, they haven't had an opportunity to interview the other victims, the 17-year-old female, and I'm sure that they're looking forward to doing that and finding out from her if she can help them in that way.
KOCH: Mr. Holmes, how concerned should people in the community be and students, indeed, when you still have a gunman on the loose who according to police yesterday fired four to six shots, early Friday morning, strike two people?
HOLMES: Well, certainly it should be a concern. We hope the guy went and left and took off to far, far away place somewhere. However, we don't know. We don't even know who he is yet. We feel reasonably comfortable with the amount of police that we had on campus and the searches that took place that he is not on campus, that he is not on campus. But where he is, I don't know. Anybody that pulls a gun out and starts firing is a menace to society. So, certainly there should be concern for that.
KOCH: Now, as far as what's going to be happening on campus, it's Saturday. Monday will classes resume? When will that decision be made?
HOLMES: We'll have discussions today, maybe some discussions have already gone on. I'm just getting TO campus myself, and I've been rather busy with you folks before I even get to that. But, we did close classes today, we do offer a few classes on Saturday. We closed that, and we canceled some meeting type activities that were supposed -- we usually have a farmer's market on campus and that was canceled today.
KOCH: All right, Carlos Holmes, thank you very much for giving us the latest on the investigation.
HOLMES: You're welcome.
KOCH: And, again, so this 3,700 students who attend Delaware State University will simply have to stay tuned to find out through Web sites and certainly through postings that will be occurring on campus and public announcements that will be made whether or not life will get back to normal come Monday morning -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, let's hope it can. Thanks so much, Kathleen Koch in Dover.
Meantime, American hired guns taking heat in Iraq and at home. Sources say federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the security firm, Blackwater, illegally smuggled weapons into Iraq. Blackwater guards were involved in a shooting incident that claimed the lives of several Iraqi civilians last weekend. CNN's Alessio Vinci in Baghdad with the very latest.
And in addition to this investigation of the smuggled weapons, it's kind of the off again and now on again business of Blackwater in Iraq, right?
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is correct, Fredricka. Let's start with the Blackwater company, here operating. We understand they are back into normal business. U.S. officials here at the embassy saying that the Blackwater is now again escorting U.S. civilian convoys outside of the Green Zone, the 45 international zone controlled by the U.S. military.
We understand in consultation with Iraqi officials who have not commented yet on this latest development that clearly they are backing away from the original demand to try to get rid of Blackwater altogether, kick them out of the country and even suggesting that the U.S. State Department should hire a different company.
Regarding allegations that Blackwater has been involved or was involved in illegal smuggling or sale of weapons, here in Iraq, Blackwater has issued a statement, basically saying that indeed, two of its employees were caught stealing weapons from Blackwater and then reselling them on the market here without the company's consent and, indeed, those two employees were fired back in 2005 and were turned over to federal authorities so they can conduct their investigation. So, Blackwater quickly acting on those two employees, those two rogue elements within this organization that were illegally selling weapons in this country.
But Blackwater said that basically original reports that it -- the company was involved into a federal weapons probe, are saying these allegations are simply baseless -- Fredricka back to you.
WHITFIELD: Back to the issue of why Blackwater is able to operate again, was it simply a situation of the U.S. feeling the Iraq diplomats were between a rock that they really limited -- there are limited options on other contractors who could protect them on such short notice?
VINCI: Well, in the immediate future, is it no secret that the United States Department, the embassy, here, needs Blackwater, you know, to protect its embassy staff, it's civilian. We understand more than 1,000 Blackwater security guards are involved in such operation. And the United States State Department uses two other companies, but certainly here in Baghdad, they rely heavily on Blackwater, and therefore, in the immediate future, certainly in order to operate here, they need Blackwater.
At the same time, though, the United States -- U.S. officials have said that they are reviewing the entire security operation, here. They have launched a joint commission with the Iraqi officials here in trying to figure out exactly what happened and perhaps move toward, perhaps establish more under which authority. For example, these security firms operate here, the rules of engagement and of course to make sure that incidents like last Sunday where, according to Iraqi officials, up to 20 civilians were killed, no longer happen again.
Of course, this is a long investigation and will take some time, they come out with a series of joint recommendations. But it will take time and in this meantime, the U.S. officials they have to move around to do their business and, therefore, Blackwater is still working. Which, by the way, operates without a ministry license -- Iraqi ministry license, because it is hired by the State Department which overrules any Iraqi license, here -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, interesting stuff. All right, Alessio Vinci thanks so much for the update from Baghdad.
Meantime, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki is in the U.S. He's got meetings today at the United Nations with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
And also coming up, at the U.N., Iran's controversial president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He is due to arrive in New York tomorrow for the U.N. General Assembly meeting, and the city is already mobilizing security for possible protests. The Iranian leader has already been denied a request to visit Ground Zero, but he's still scheduled to speak at Columbia University in upper Manhattan. His appearance there getting a mixed reaction from students as well as religious and local leaders. We'll be following that. And looking ahead, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sits down with CNN's Christiane Amanpour for a one-on-one interview, that's Wednesday. Be sure to tune in for that Wednesday night, 10:00 p.m. Eastern on "AC 360."
A big sigh of relief on the Gulf coast now that a tropical system has fizzled.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, but it is bringing some much-need rainfall to parts of southeast and farther out west, we're not talking about rain, we're talking about snow and a lot of it. We'll give you the full scoop coming up in a moment.
WHITFIELD: It seems early for that.
All right, meantime, one of Hollywood's biggest and hottest stars, now nursing some broken bones. What happened? The latest on George Clooney's condition and what took place to send him to the hospital.
And sure, these look good. You remember just gobbling them up as a kid. Did you ever think about what they are made of? You might not want to know after all. Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Time to talk severe weather. Reynolds Wolf is in the Weather Center.
I'm really intrigued by the snow thing, but I have a feeling you want to talk about the rain thing first.
WOLF: Well, you know what? Here, we're going to talk about everything. We're going to talk about exactly what you want to talk about. It's about me making you happy.
WHITFIELD: I want to talk about snow.
WOLF: OK, you want to talk about snow? OK, we'll first we'll talk about rain. OK, we're going to get to -- we're going to end it on a good note.
WHITFIELD: It's not my day, then. All right.
WOLF: It'll happen. You've have to give it some time. We've got some good news to talk about and that is the Tropical Depression Tim really did not become the big force that we thought it might. Earlier this week, it was swirling out in the Gulf of Mexico, it could have actually gotten a lot bigger, it didn't and it came onshore and brought some very beneficial rainfall.
Let me show you what I'm talking about. Let's go right to the weather computer. You can just make out that area of low pressure, just through parts of Louisiana and that wind spinning counterclockwise around that center of circulation is bringing a lot of that moisture in places that desperately need it. Places like, say for example, Crestview, Florida where they had nearly three inches of rainfall; Apalachicola, Florida had 2.39, Valparaiso, Florida about an inch an a half, almost that amount in Albany, Georgia, even Dothan, Alabama get in on the action with .51 inches of rainfall.
Right now the heaviest rain falling just to the west of Tampa and meanwhile, back over towards Mobile Bay we're seeing some scattered showers peppering up from Fair Hope back over to the I-10 corridor just north of, let's see, Dothan Island, back over to, well, near Fort Morgan, Fort Gaines, you see the rainfall continue there.
Now, let's talk about what Fredricka wants to talk about, the heavy snowfall. We still have that moisture coming in from the Pacific. As it makes its way across from west to east, it's bringing rainfall through San Francisco. But once it gets up into the high Sierra, we're going to see some heavy snow. Some spots near Mammoth Lakes could get 12 inches of snow by the time we get to the late evening hours. That is the latest. We've brought it to you, Fredricka, we talked about the rain on the Gulf Coast.
WHITFIELD: Wow. I know, you delivered. I like that.
WOLF: Hey, it's all about making you happy.
WHITFIELD: Hey, I'm happy all the time. Thanks so much, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
WHITFIELD: All right, well let's talk a little bit more about what some dangerous weather has done. Cleanup time now in Eustis, Florida, after a tornado ripped through the town about 30 miles north of Orlando. And Jonathan Petramala of affiliate Bay News-9 brings us this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN PETRAMALA, BAY NEWS 9 CORRESPONDENT: The second day, neighbors are waking up to a surreal scene here in Eustis, Florida. As you can see, there's still a lot of damage left behind from an F-1 tornado that tore through this town on Thursday evening.
About 20 homes were left uninhabitable by this storm, another 30 were damaged by the tornado. But residents have taken it all in stride. As you can see here, it took a lot of work, but they were able to stack up debris about shoulder high along the street. It goes up and down the street.
Tarps are on roofs, people back to work. We've talked to several people, for instance, some neighbors that live a few blocks away, they weren't affected by the storm, but they were out surprising a friend of theirs, picking up limbs off the yard, random scattered debris.
There's also been some charitable organizations that have stopped by, offered free help to neighbors that can't clean up, because it's overwhelming, basically. So today, that's what's happening; they're coming in, trying to get rid of all of the debris that left behind from the tornado that tore through here Thursday evening.
Jonathan Petramala, Bay News-9.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, that storm system also caused damage in parts of South Georgia as it moved north. More than an inch of rain fell in Albany and farmers at least are smiling because the region has been suffering under severe drought conditions for a month now.
Well, one of the best-known televangelists of the 1970s has died. A family spokesman says the Reverend Rex Humbard died yesterday of natural causes in a Florida hospital. He was 88. Humbard began televising his Sunday services back in 1953. And by 1979, his message was broadcast worldwide from his 5,000-seat Cathedral of Tomorrow.
And new this hour, WLS in Chicago is reporting that police confirm that they have found the car of a missing woman, missing since Tuesday -- 28-year-old Neala Franklin reportedly sent a text message to her boyfriend in Milwaukee on Tuesday, but she hasn't been seen or heard from since. Police say Franklin had recently filed a report alleging she had been threatened and harassed by an acquaintance, but she had not asked for protection.
And San Diego's mayor does a 180 on same-sex marriage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JERRY (R), SANDERS SAN DIEGO: I want for them the same thing we all want for our loved ones. For each of them to find a mate whom they love deeply and who loves them back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: We'll explain further what prompted his dramatic change of heart.
And you know you love these, from a kid, even into adulthood, but who knew that Twinkies were an engineering marvel?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Artificial colors, take the place of natural ones.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And those colors actually come from, oddly enough, petrochemical industry, from benzene and aniline and other chemicals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Have you lost your appetite yet? Well, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta deconstructs the Twinkie, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: A great weekend in New York and here's new video to prove it. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki arriving at the United Nations building in New York just a few minutes ago, greeted by the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. Mr. al Maliki will greet and meet with the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice a little later on today. And we'll talk live with our Jim Acosta about al Maliki's visit a little bit later on in the NEWSROOM. And then also expected tomorrow is Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, also going to be joining all of the others for the big U.N. General Assembly meeting.
Meantime, let's talk a little health and losing your appetite? Well, Twinkies, who didn't love them as a kid? But would you still love them if you knew their ingredients? CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta took a closer look inside the Twinkie for his special report this weekend "Fed Up! America's Killer Diet."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice over): With more than 500 million sold every year, chances are pretty good you've tasted a Twinkie, but have you ever wondered, what's in one?
We asked Christopher Kimball, host of "America's Test Kitchen" to deconstruct the Twinkie for us.
CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL, "AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN": The Twinkie is one of the finest examples of modern engineering and here's why. It started out in 1930 as a basic sponge cake with the basic ingredients, you know, milk, butter, eggs, et cetera. And they filled it with cream and it lasted well maybe a couple days, three days in the market. Hence the problem, now how do you create something that's going to be shelf stable. It's not going to change over time.
GUPTA: To do that, Hostess replaced the egg yolks with lecithin.
KIMBALL: It's an emulsifier like egg yolk, which means it takes lots of disparate ingredients and sort of lets them blend together.
GUPTA: Cellulose gum replaces fat.
KIMBALL: It brings in moisture, holds moisture and gives you that mouth feel you get from fat.
GUPTA: Artificial colors take the place of natural ones.
KIMBALL: And those colors actually come from, oddly enough, the petrochemical industry, from benzene and aniline and other chemicals, which in quantity is actually poisonous, but the small quantities used here, the FDA has approved.
GUPTA: In response, Interstate Bakeries, makers of Hostess products, says the core ingredients have been the same for decades -- flour, sugar, water. Adding that deconstructing the Twinkie is like trying to deconstruct the universe. Some people look at the sky and think it's beautiful, others, try to count the stars.
Urban legend would have you believe a Twinkie can last for years. Hostess says just 25 days.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: No more Twinkies for me. Be sure to catch Dr. Sanjay Gupta's special, "Fed up! American's Killer Diet" tonight and Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
Hillary Rodham Clinton is on the campaign trail and she's taking digs at the vice president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton has called vice president Cheney "Darth Vader."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh-oh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Uh-oh is right. Jeanne Moos takes a look at name- calling and politics. Is it fair game? Straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Plus, they are nine of the most influential people in America. Everyone agrees on that, hands down. But, what do you know them as U.S. Supreme Court justices? We'll take you inside the secret world of the U.S. Supreme Court.
And his followers call him a prophet, but he soon could be called a felon. The latest on the Warren Jeffs trial on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: But at the end of the day, what really pays to buy organic?
URVASHI RANGAN, SENIOR SCIENTIST, CONSUMER REPORTS: It's a great question. And people don't have umpteen dollars to spend, and there's often a premium associated with organic.
WILLIS: As much as 50 percent, right? I mean, a lot of money.
RANGAN: That's absolutely right. Yeah, and there are some ways to cut that. You can shop at local farmers' markets, as well.
But if you're going to prioritize your organic dollars, you're buying, say for health reasons. But there's also certain vegetables and fruits that typically contain higher numbers of pesticide residues.
WILLIS: So, Urvashi, when I'm picking up cleaning supplies, there are lots of labels that are confusing. I don't know if they're marketing labels or they actually mean something. Are these meaningful? Or is it just a marketing gimmick? RANGAN: A number of cleaning products make a lot of natural claims. And if you see something that sounds vague or just meaningless, treat it as such. Take the product, flip it over. You're going to need to do some additional work.
So, if something says "natural," for instance, there are no standards for what that has to mean.
WILLIS: I'm Gerri Willis and that's this week's "Modern Living."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A quick look now at what's happening in Louisiana. No bail for Jena Six defendant Mychal Bell. Bell's case now in juvenile court. He's one of the six black teens charged with beating a white student. On Thursday, thousands of protesters marched into Jena, some calling for Bell's release.
And in Dover, Delaware, the hunt is on for a suspect in a double shooting at Delaware State University. Police say Friday's shooting was not random. Two students are hospitalized with gunshot wounds.
And in central Florida, severe weather, including a tornado damaging some 50 homes. Other parts of the Gulf Coast now breathing a huge sigh of relief after a tropical depression fizzles out over land.
The fate of polygamist leader Warren Jeffs now in the hands of a jury. The so-called prophet of a religious sect is accusing -- or as, rather is being accused of being an accomplice to rape.
CNN's Gary Tuchman has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The five men and three women on the Warren Jeffs jury will be back on Monday to deliberate his fate. Warren Jeffs is considered a prophet of God, a descendant of Jesus Christ by his followers. But he's accused of being an accomplice to rape.
Prosecutors say he ordered and presided over the marriage between of 19-year-old Allen Steed, one of his followers, to a 14-year-old girl named Elissa Wall. We're able to show you her picture when she was 14 and say her name because she and her lawyer have given us permission.
Prosecutors say that Jeffs told them to multiply and replenish the Earth. They consummated their marriage and they say therefore, Warren Jeffs is guilty.
And what the jury doesn't know is that Warren Jeffs is on the top ten FBI most wanted list because he is accused of doing this to many girls under the age of 18, but Elissa wall's the only one to come forward and testify in this case. Defense attorneys during their closing arguments refer to Jeffs as a prophet on a couple of occasions. They said he is innocent, that he is not responsible for the sex the couple had.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It happened because Elissa wanted it to happen, it happened because Elissa consented to sexual relations. No different, and no reason to believe that the sexual relationship that this sexual component, that what happened in the bedroom was any different than any other aspect of their relationship where Elissa did exactly what Elissa wanted to do.
TUCHMAN: I sat next to Elissa Wall and her new husband in court. She looked none too pleased when she was basically described as a promiscuous 14-year-old. Warren Jeffs was very quiet in court, he looked serene, so were did his 15 or so followers who were also in the courtroom.
So the jury has to decide is this an attack on religion or is this the prosecution of a polygamist pervert.
This is Gary Tuchman, CNN, in St. George, Utah.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And now, they are supposed to be impartial. But the U.S. Supreme Court justices are also human. They have beliefs and quirks that can influence their rulings, and those decisions can shape the nation where as we know help determine who wins a presidential election.
CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is author of a new book, "The Nine, Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court." And Jeffrey Toobin joining us now from New York.
Good to see you, Jeffrey.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, Fred.
WHITFIELD: You're going to have to give me some lessons on time management because how you're able to write this book, which is a very comprehensive one indeed and still be our legal analyst, and, look, we've got two of you, in fact, today, that kind of really underscores, you know, how you're pretty remarkable.
TOOBIN: Well, I appreciate that.
WHITFIELD: Congratulations on the book.
TOOBIN: It was -- this was -- this was really a labor of love. You know, I've been covering the court on and off both for CNN and at the "New Yorker" where I work ...
WHITFIELD: Right.
TOOBIN: ...for about 15 years, and you know, it was just a wonderful opportunity to tell a story that shows them as the human beings they are, not just the black robe mysteries they appear to be.
WHITFIELD: And knowing -- you know, you really do set the tone by the title in and of itself. You know, the secret world of the Supreme Court Justices, so this was quite the challenge to kind of lift the veil so to speak to find out who they are as individuals, who they are as justices, so what provoked to you take on this challenge of really trying to dissect them as individuals?
TOOBIN: Well, I think the court's at a real turning point in its history. Since almost the Nixon years, the court has really been very evenly divided between liberals and conservatives. And now, with the addition of President Bush's two appointments, Samuel Alito and John Roberts, the court is poised to become a very conservative institution. At the moment, it's still pretty evenly balanced, although Anthony Kennedy now usually sides with the conservatives.
But the real issue is the 2008 election. In 200 -- after 2008, almost for sure, three of the liberal justices are going to leave the court. John Paul Stevens, who's 87-years-old, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who's 76, and David Souter, who's somewhat younger, but doesn't really like it that much. If the three of them leave and are replaced by a Republican appointees, the court is going to be very conservative, easily for a generation, but, frankly, that's how it should be, because that's what elections are about in part.
WHITFIELD: Wait, you talk about the 2008 being a pivotal election and will be demonstrated on the Supreme Court. Well, let's go back, 2000, decision 2000 was pivotal, too, for the Supreme Court because we were able to see, as ordinary citizens, that even too, the Supreme Court justices are swayed by politics. That given -- a lot was revealed about Sandra Day O'Connor, you spent a lot of time in your book talking about her, and how, as a Republican very devoted to the Bush family, but she kind of changed her point of view over the years, didn't she?
TOOBIN: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: A real disappointment in the Bush administration.
TOOBIN: Well, really, a remarkable personal story. Sandra Day O'Connor, the former Republican state senator from Arizona, the decisive vote for President Bush in Bush versus Gore, but the story of the court really between 2001 and 2005 was Justice O'Connor's increasing alienation from the Bush administration over civil liberties in the war on terror, over affirmative action, over, what she regarded as the change in the Republican party.
But at the same time, there was a terrible personal drama she was undergoing because ...
WHITFIELD: Yes, her husband.
TOOBIN: ...her husband was slipping into the grip of Alzheimer's disease and in 2005, she decided she had to leave the court to take care of him, but almost as soon as she left, her husband really kind of disappeared into the grip of Alzheimer's, so she wound up losing both the court and her husband and it really is a tragic personal story.
WHITFIELD: Oh, it's so, so sad and someone else who felt really conflicted, too. Justice Souter, he was -- he's expressed in some way, shape, or form, because I know you're not going to reveal your sources on this because it is so inside, but he felt real conflicted too, that he was proud of his job, and understood the responsibility of, but he too is disappointed in the Bush administration and actually wanted to call it quits?
TOOBIN: Well, it's really, again, Justice Souter was such a revelation to me in this book. He's the New Hampshire bachelor, people may remember. He didn't even know what Diet Coke was when he arrived at the court. He'd never heard of the singing group called the Supremes, which is usually pretty familiar to the justices.
But you know, a very intelligent, very accomplished judge, and the decision in Bush versus Gore struck him as so wrong and so political, that he seriously considered resigning, he wound up not leaving, but that just shows how emotionally fraught the Bush versus Gore decision was even for the justices.
WHITFIELD: Wow, well, it's a fascinating book. Really, I'm trying -- I've been trying to just kind of zoom through some of the chapters just to prepare for this interview, but it is comprehensive and thick, I couldn't get through it fast, but I like it, Jeffrey.
TOOBIN: Well, thanks, Fred. You know, we're going to be doing three nights about it on "AC 360" this week, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we're going to be talking about different parts of the book. So, I hope people will both read the book and watch "AC 360."
WHITFIELD: All right, well, I'm going to do both, as I continue to get through the chapters, I'll watch your interviews, too.
TOOBIN: Thanks, Fred ...
WHITFIELD: All right, Jeffrey Toobin.
TOOBIN: ...there's going to be a quiz, so.
WHITFIELD: I know, I know. I'm going to bone up. All right, thanks a lot.
TOOBIN: All right, see you.
WHITFIELD: Take care.
Well, how about this, a real-life hero. Coming up, the police officer who risked his life to pull a driver from the fiery wreckage of a car, and a Republican politician in tears as he announced he is now in support of gay marriages. Why? Find out when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, well, this might not be surprising, but more than 100 domestic flights are officially late at least 70 percent of the time. And while you may not be able to control the weather, you may be able to stop it from getting between you and your destination.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIK TORKELLS, EDITOR, BUDGET TRAVEL: Bad weather can make flying a nightmare. With airlines so financially stretched, there are even less likely to be accommodating when bad weather strikes, so it's up to us to plan around it.
To avoid delays and cancellations, try to get on the earliest flight possible. Many flights are delayed because the plane was late arriving from its previous location. So, your odds are better in the morning. And get on an airline that has more than one flight to the destination per day. If yours is canceled, at least you'll have a backup.
In the days before your departure, if you have reason to think that the weather may turn bad, call the airline and see if it'll change your itinerary. Program the airline's phone number in your cell phone, along with your frequent flyer number. As soon as you hear the flight is delayed, call as you dash to the nearest agent. You may also find better luck at the gate for the next flight to your destination, or at one of the airline's self-service kiosks.
If it's beyond anyone's control, airlines don't have to give you anything if your flight is delayed, but it never hurts to ask. From meal vouchers, hotel recommendations and discounts, anything.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, how about this? Supporters of same-sex marriage get an unexpected boost from a big city mayor. Nationwide, only 40 percent of those polled say gay marriages should be legal, compared with 57 percent who disagree.
Well, until this week, the San Diego mayor was against gay marriages. Kara Finnstrom explains why he changed his mind.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Monday, San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders promises to veto a proposal endorsing marriage for same-sex couples. Tuesday, San Diego City Council passes that proposal anyway. Wednesday, a dramatic reversal for Mayor Sanders. A father, choking back tears.
MAYOR JERRY SANDERS, SAN DIEGO: I have close family members and friends who are members of the gay and lesbian community. Those folks include my daughter, Lisa, as well as members of my personal staff. I want for them the same thing that we all want for our loved ones. For each of them to find a mate whom they love deeply, who loves them back. FINNSTROM: Sanders, who had previously favored civil unions but not full marriage rights for same-sex couples, now says he will not veto the resolution. He says a discussion with his daughter Lisa Sanders helped changed his mind.
SANDERS: She said that whatever way I went, she'd be supportive. And when I thought about it, she was trying to protect me on something I should have been protecting her.
FINNSTROM: The Republican mayor is up for re-election and his reversal may have political costs.
One reader commenting online to the "San Diego Union-Tribune" called the mayor, Jerry "Judas" Sanders, saying he'd betrayed the voters. Others have applauded Sanders's honesty, including former San Diego counsel member Harry Mathis, who has an openly gay daughter.
HARRY MATHIS, FMR. SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCILMAN: It's hard for a parent when you love your daughter to see her and folks like her characterized in some of the ways that I heard.
SANDERS: I couldn't look them (ph) in the face and tell them that their relationship, their very lives were any less meaningful than the marriage I share with my wife, Rana. Thank you.
FINNSTROM (on camera): Lisa Sanders was not at that press conference and hasn't been available for comment. We did speak with the chairman of the Republican party in San Diego. He tells us it's too early to tell whether this will affect the mayor's re-election campaign. He says the mayor has a strong record of Republican values, but, that on this particular issue, most Republicans would disagree with him.
Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And how about this? Take a look. Dramatic dash cam video, the man in the car is pretty lucky to be alive. Affiliate WEAR is reporting that when police tried to pull Scott Sansom over, he kept driving, leading them on a chase. When he blew out his tire ...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT SANSOM, RESCUED BY OFFICER: I didn't realize police officers was behind me, and I guess I tried to pull over and hit a tree, and the car burst into flames. Well, I was knocked out at that point.
OFC. OZZIE TEETERS, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA POLICE DEPT.: When I got up to the door, the driver's side door, it was locked. And I was trying to check on the condition, and there was no response or nothing. I seen that the fire was starting to come through the dashboard, coming up under the floor there.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: And so then, that officer busted in the car's back window, unlocked the car and pulled Sansom to safety. Seconds later, that car became a ball of fire. Sansom says he can't thank the officer enough, and he probably doesn't even mind if he does get a citation after the fact.
Well, presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani doesn't just answer to the voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hello, dear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Ring! Well, yes, he also answers to his wife, even when she calls during a speech. That story, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Plus, a Hollywood heartthrob on the mend after a motorcycle crash. Next, we'll tell you how George Clooney and his girlfriend are doing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: I'm Reynolds Wolf. and this is a look at today's allergy report.
And any spot on the map where you happen to see red or orange, well, that indicates high traces of ragweed and that's exactly what we've got for you in parts of the Central Plains.
But on the other side of things where you see greens and blues, well, that indicates low traces of particulates in the atmosphere, cleaner air to breathe. In that situation, parts of the Northern Plains, the Pacific Northwest, for much of the west coast and even the extreme northeast.
That is a look at today's allergy report.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Some top stories on CNN.com right now. A motorcycle accident leaves actor George Clooney nursing a broken rib, and friend Sarah Larson suffered a broken foot. Both were hearing helmets, but obviously, not full armor gear.
An inspiring sight, thousands of Buddhist monks on the march in Myanmar. The protest is aimed at the country's repressive military regime. Simmering discontent boiled over last month when the government raised fuel prices.
And tasered! Lots of folks clicking this link, a Warren, Ohio, officer is on administrative leave after -- oh, that's horrible -- after using a stun gun at least twice on a handcuffed woman. Police say that while the woman was in a cruiser, she kicked out a rear window and tried to crawl into the front seat. And click on to CNN.com for details on all of those stories.
And as sound bites go, well, this one is a doozy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D-NY) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can always tell when the Republicans are restless, because the vice president's motorcade pulls into the Capitol, and Darth Vader emerges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. Hillary Clinton takes on the vice president, straight ahead, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Mr. Candidate, your wife is calling, again. Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani took a moment while trying to woo skeptical members of the National Rifle Association and then this ...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIULIANI: Hello, dear. I'm talking -- I'm talking to the members of the NRA right now, would you like to say hello?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. Well, it's not the first time Giuliani interrupted a campaign event to take a call from his wife. The NRA crowd kind of laughed politely. By addressing the powerful gun lobby, Giuliani appears to be changing his tune on gun control. Well, he told the group that they had very legitimate and mostly similar views. Maybe not on the phone call issue, but as mayor of New York, he joined a lawsuit against the gun industry.
I'd say that was an awkward moment.
So, comparing the vice president to one of the most notorious movie villains ever? Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton takes campaign trail name calling to a whole new level.
CNN's Jeanne Moos explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One thing for YouTubers to mock the vice president with their juvenile videos, equating him with movie villain Darth Vader. Did we say juvenile?
(on camera): Hillary Clinton has called Vice President Cheney Darth Vader.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Uh-oh.
DARTH VADER: Don't make me destroy you.
MOOS (voice-over): Hillary didn't seem scared. At a fundraiser, she was making a point that Vice President Cheney had to reign in members of his own party wavering on the Iraq war.
CLINTON: You can always tell when the Republicans are restless, because the vice president's motorcade pulls into the Capitol and Darth Vader emerges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's harsh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is Darth Vader, but that's such an old school, old hat designation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he's worse than Darth Vader. I think she complimented him by calling him that.
MOOS: But Darth Vader is practically an endearment by celebrity name-calling standards.
DONALD TRUMP: Rosie O'Donnell's disgusting.
ROSIE O'DONNELL: This man is like sort of, one of those snake oil salesman.
TRUMP: She's a slob.
O'DONNELL: Frankly, here's my comment to him.
MOOS: World leaders don't stick out their tongues, but remember the tongue lashing President Bush got from Venezuela's president.
HUGO CHAVEZ, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translator): And the devil came here yesterday. Yesterday, the devil came here.
MOOS: At least George Bush Sr. didn't call Al Gore the devil.
GEORGE BUSH SR., FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know what a call an ozone man? This guy is so far off in the environmental extreme.
MOOS: But ozone man turned out to be an inconvenient nickname, given Al Gore's documentary blockbuster, "An Inconvenient Truth."
Jon Stewart impersonated Darth Vader to give Vice President Cheney some advice.
JON STEWART, "THE DAILY SHOW" HOST: He said the force is with you, but you don't to have to use it every time.
MOOS: Darth Vader's name has even escaped Vice President Cheney's lips.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I suppose sometimes people look at my demeanor and say, wow, he's the Darth Vader of the administration.
MOOS: But when Hillary said it, the vice president's office responded by saying Mr. Cheney doesn't want to engage in name calling because he's not focusing on the presidential campaign.
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