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Iranian President Visit to the U.S. Sparks Protests; Jena 6 Threats and Churchgoers Seek Spiritual Guidance; Kevin Everett Will Walk Again; Search Continues for Missing Chicago Woman; Wildfire Destroys 6 Homes in Washington State; L.A. Mudslide Traps 14 People; Marcel Marceau Dies at Age 84.

Aired September 23, 2007 - 17:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: Plus, a search for normalcy in the middle of racial tension. Sunday in Jena in Louisiana after a march that brought thousands of protesters to the small Louisiana town.
And without saying a word, Marcel Marceau reached out to millions by reviving the art of mime. Today we say goodbye.

Hello again, everyone. And you are in the NEWSROOM.

He has been deemed by some, a card-carrying member of the 'Axis of Evil.' But Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he's ready to change such perceptions as he begins a controversial trip to the United States. The Iranian President is arriving in New York for this week's U.N. General Assembly and CNN's Richard Roth is at the U.N. Jim Acosta is in New York covering the Columbia University angle where Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to speak tomorrow. And now, surprisingly, protests are well under way. Let's begin with you, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, that's right. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is planning to speak at Columbia University tomorrow. That speech is still on schedule to happen tomorrow afternoon. But the crowds at Columbia are planning to do a lot had more than just listening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Before he boarded his plane for New York, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he's on a mission to deliver correct and clear information to the American people. But when the Iranian leader arrives at Columbia University for a scheduled speech as part of his official visit --

DOV HIKIND, NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY: I call on New Yorkers to make the life of Ahmadinejad, as he is in New York, miserable! Make his life miserable!

ACOSTA: Ahmadinejad might find himself on the receiving end of a message from New Yorkers. You seem to be actively encouraging what?

HIKIND: Civil disobedience. If New Yorkers would stop this man from coming into this University, you know, sort of along the line of Martin Luther King civil disobedience, I think that would be very proper. No violence, God forbid, but civil disobedience. ACOSTA: New York's Jewish leaders can see there's no stopping the Iranian President from addressing the United Nations as a Head of State, just as he did last year. But Columbia, they say, is different; especially, considering Ahmadinejad's statements calling for the elimination of Israel. Paula Blank's family visits relatives in Israel every year. So in your mind, is Ahmadinejad a terrorist?

PAULA BLANK, NEW YORK CITY RESIDENT: Without a doubt. He says it. He doesn't deny it. He says what his goals are.

ANITA KHALILI, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I think it's very important for him to see how wrongs he is, how students are going to react and protest against him.

ACOSTA: Columbia student, Anita Khalili, is conflicted. Born in Iran but also Jewish, she wants the Iranian leader to see how free speech really works, even though she says she's ashamed of the image he offers of her homeland.

KHALILI: To be Persian now means to be associated with someone that is a cruel dictator. That's not what it means at all.

ACOSTA: University officials who invited Ahmadinejad says it's about an exchange of ideas.

RICHARD BULLIET, PROFESSOR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: It's an educational benefit for the Columbia community to be able to have a firsthand acquaintance with the man.

ACOSTA: Not good enough, says Senator Hillary Clinton.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), SENATOR, UNITED STATES: If I were the president of the University, I would not have invited him. He's a supporter of terrorism, holocaust denier. He's a supporter of terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Last year Columbia University invited Ahmadinejad to deliver basically the same speech and then withdrew the offer citing concerns about security. That appears to not be the case this time around. Columbia is planning to still make their University available to the President of Iran, an we do have some late breaking information on his trip to the United States. We have confirmed that he has landed here. He is here in the U.S. as we speak, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Okay. Jim Acosta thanks so much. Of course, we want to hear more from students at Columbia University so coming up we're going to talk to two students live who have two very different views on Ahmadinejad's planned speech at Columbia. We'll hear from them both coming up at 5:30 eastern. Stick around. Just less than 30 minutes from now.

Meantime, let's go straight to the U.N., Richard Roth is there where no protests are expected that we can think of, right? Instead, folks are kind of welcoming him with open arms? Is that a stretch by saying that?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there will be a thousand handshakes and 500 hugs and 400 pats on the back. I can tell you that. He'll also have Columbia here, the Nation of Columbia, among the 192 members of the U.N. Ahmadinejad is going to, by remote location, talk to the National Press Club in Washington also tomorrow for questioning before he speaks to the General Assembly on Tuesday afternoon a few hours after President Bush addresses the General Assembly. And, you're likely to hear similar discussion and rhetoric from the Iranian leader on Iran's nuclear program and how that country sees it as something designed to help the people of Iran with electricity and power, not for building a nuclear weapon as the U.S. and others have charged. The U.N. Security Council is at least weeks away from another resolution that might impose sanctions on Tehran, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, Iran is getting lots of attention, but so will Iraq and Afghanistan. All holding talks this weekend at the U.N., for starters, and then what's to come of the week?

ROTH: Well, the week is well under way, you might say. Sunday is starting things off; we have a large Middle East meeting. There are several of these during the year. Still no peace agreement in the Middle East, if you've noticed, but Tony Blair who used to be one of the world leaders speaking at the roster(ph) General Assembly, he's now a special Middle East envoy for the so-called quartette which includes the United States and the U.N. And, he is at this meeting that's currently going on now, Secretary of State Rice is there, and it's chaired at least today by the U.N. Secretary General, Bongi Moon(ph), who has a new practice he has started where every guest signs in that visits his office. It's like a little diplomatic hotel there. You see the guestbook there. But nobody is going to be signing a peace agreement here. Secretary Rice is outlining to the others there how President Bush sees an upcoming big international peace conference on the Middle East, possibly in November, and outlining who's coming, who may not be coming and there are a lot of concerns from Arab nations to what is the agenda of the session, what are the goals.

WHITFIELD: Alright, Richard Roth thanks so much, from the U.N.

Meantime, an Iraqi official tells CNN that criminal charges are pending against employees of Blackwater Security. Allegations stem from a shooting incident last weekend in which the Iraqi Government says as many as 20 civilians were killed. Blackwater says its guards were responding to an attack. As for prosecuting the firm's employees, the Iraqi Government has no jurisdiction over security firms hired by Washington. In this country, Blackwater employees are under investigation for possible arms smuggling into Iraq.

Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson both want protection for the families of the Jena 6. Sharpton says in a statement that some families are getting threatening phone calls and on Friday CNN first reported existence of a white supremacist website. It reports to list the addresses of five of the black teens at the center of the racially charged case. The FBI is investigating and a spokeswoman says the site essentially calls for lynchings. Today in Jena, churchgoers asked for spiritual guidance for their troubled community. The story now from CNN's Sean Callebs. Sean, did it appear these church services were a full house and all kind of responding to what took place on Thursday?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well if not a full house, certainly they offered a lot of food for thought. As you may have mentioned, the deep chasm separates this community and a lot of people would like to see it bridged. The big question is exactly how? Well, no big surprises, on this Sunday a lot of residents are looking to their church for answers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: The attention in Jena, Louisiana, switched from the streets to the pulpit. Now, many residents here say, is the time for the community to begin to heal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love the boys that are being accused of these things and I love the buys that were attacked. I love them all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just hate what's going on but I know God can fix it.

CALLEBS: The congregation at the Midway Pentecostal Church is convinced. Many people across the United States look at Jena as a racially intolerant and insensitive town and that, they argue, isn't fair. The congregation at historically black Antioch Baptist Church remained upbeat after Thursday's peaceful demonstration. The Reverend Brian Moran says people here, too, want reconciliation. But he says before wounds can heal, a big chunk of this community must first admit there has been a long, simmering problem.

BRIAN MORAN, ANTIOCH BAPTIST CHURCH: How don't you see a problem? It ain't about race, it ain't about this, it ain't about that. I mean, there have been racially motivated things that have taken place.

CALLEBS: Many residents in this town that's 85% white resent the nationwide scrutiny. But for those who think the protest ended with the march last week, members of this church has a message -- think again.

ANTOINETTE JOHNSON, ANTIOCH BAPTIST CHURCH: I believe that the white community and the black community need to come together as one, as we have in this rally. We all need to come together as one instead of, you know, apart and separate. We need to march just like we marched Thursday, all of us need to come together as one and march. White community, black community, of all races, color and creed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Midway Pentecostal is one of the few white churches in this area to remain open on Thursday, the day of demonstration, opening their doors and parking lot for many the protesters. And for those people in this community who would like to see this issue simply fade away, here is one more item to consider. We know the Reverend Al Sharpton plans on going to Capitol Hill this week in his effort to get a Congressional Investigation. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Alright, Sean Callebs thanks so much. Well that story jumped off the headlines and so did this one. Pro-football player, Kevin Everett, suffers a devastating injury. Just two weeks ago doctors thought he was paralyzed for life. Now it is said that he will walk again, thanks to treatments two decades in the making.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kevin and my injury are about exactly the same. Look at the difference. I'm still paralyzed 22 years later and he may walk out of the hospital. That's how far research has come.

WHITFIELD: Wow, the miracle of the 'Miami Project' still ahead in the NEWSROOM, plus this. Candle, song and prayer as the search for a missing Chicago woman intensifies.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Chicago area police have stepped up their search for amissing pharmaceutical sales rep. Friends and family held a vigil for Nailah Franklin last night, a day after her car was found near an abandoned building in Hammond, Indiana. She was last heard from Tuesday in text messages that she was having dinner and would call later. Well, she never did. The police have been retracing her steps.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We miss her, and we love her. We just want her to come home.

LEHIA FRANKLIN-ACOX, SISTER OF NAILAH FRANKLIN: When I saw the scuba divers and heard that the pond was being searched, my heart fell. It fell into my stomach. But I know that it was a necessary step and I appreciate that that was done. But I was extremely happy to hear that nothing was found in the pond. That was wonderful, wonderful news.

WHITFIELD: So there is still a lot of hope. Police say the 28- year-old woman had recently filed a report about threatening phone calls. But it's unclear if that information is connected with her disappearance. And anyone with information about Nailah Franklin is urged to call Chicago police. The hotline number is 312-746-9259.

Students return to class tomorrow at Delaware State University. Police are searching for the gunman behind Friday's double shooting. They want to question a third so-called person of interest, however. Meanwhile, the two wounded students remain hospitalized but are recovering. Our Kathleen Koch spoke with the mother of one of the victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There have been no arrests in the case. University police say they believe the gunman is a male, is a Delaware State University student and that he is no longer on campus. Now as to the two 17-year-old victims from the Washington, D.C. area, they remain hospitalized. Shalika Middleton, shot twice in the abdomen, is in serious condition. Nathaniel Pugh, shot once in the ankle, is in stable condition here at Bay Health Kent General Hospital. Pugh's mother tells CNN he was not involved in any kind of dispute or argument before the early Friday morning shooting. She says her son says that the shots came from out of the dark at him and a group of eight students.

MICHELLE BLACKWELL, MOTHER OF NATHANIEL PUGH: He didn't see who the person was, but he just remembers. They congregate out on the campus, the kids do, so, you know, there were a lot of people out there. I don't know where -- who was the intended target, but it wasn't my son.

KOCH: So he didn't know who the gunman was, didn't even see him.

BLACKWELL: No. He didn't see anything.

KOCH: With the gunman still at large, Pugh is worried about her son's safety. She says she has requested and been denied police protection for him. Michelle Blackwell says this has all been a frightening ordeal.

BLACKWELL: It's just been difficult. It's just been difficult, period. Like I said before, it's not easy for me as a mother anyway just to send my son off to school. You always see your child, no matter how old they are, as your baby.

KOCH: The Delaware State University campus is open and back to normal today. Classes resume on Monday. Pugh's mother says she doesn't know when or if he'll return to class. Kathleen Koch, CNN, Dover, Delaware.

WHITFIELD: Well it had to be a frightening experience, drivers trying to slide through streets packed with soggy, thick mud.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My car was floating in the mud.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy, well that's not the only weather story brewing. Isn't that right, Jacqui?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. We had a lot going on today, Fredricka. Some severe storms from that same system are now in the Midwest. We also have tropical moisture heading along the gulf coast and the tropics themselves are trying to heat up a little bit. We'll have the latest on subtropical storm Jerry. That's ahead. Josh?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there Jacqui and hi to everybody. You know what? The world has lost a genius, Marcel Marceau. And, I know a lot of us think of the mimes as those annoying people on the sidewalk who want your change but this guy turned out to be one of the most fascinating people I've ever had the chance to interview. Why millions of people, all over the world, turned out to watch that and which of today's superstars were inspired by it. That's all coming right up here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) Weather extremes on the West Coast this weekend; in Washington State, residents are returning home as crews get the upper hand on a raging wildfire. Strong winds had fanned the fire which broke out Thursday near White Salmon in the Columbia River Gorge area but the winds were calmer yesterday, and the blaze has destroyed six homes; the cause still under investigation.

Meantime, in southern California, a horrible scene right here. What's being called the first big rainstorm of the season left behind a pretty nasty mess -- a mudslide near L.A.'s Griffith Park. It trapped more than a dozen cars yesterday and nobody was injured. That's great news. But the slide covered parts of the road with more than two feet of mud, which also seeped into two nearby apartment buildings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My car was floating in the mud, and they made us turn around and come back this other way, and this is as far as I got.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a staircase back there, and the mud and debris were just running down the steps.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, it's hard to see the bright side out of all of this, but, Jacqui Jeras, it certainly could have been worse. Mudslides in that part of country; in particular, we know how lethal they can be.

JERAS: Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, those burn areas were a real concern. I remember the Griffith Park fire we dealt with earlier this year, this actual mudslide was not in the burn area, however. That rain has pulled out and has moved across the Great Basin now, also through the Rocky Mountain States and starting to pick up across the Midwest and in its place, some very cool air has moved in. So things are going to be feeling a lot better and with calmer winds and more humidity that will help the fire danger, too, that's still ongoing across especially the Pacific Northwest. Severe thunderstorm watch just issued here across parts of the Central Dakotas, on into central parts of Nebraska. Not a lot is going on just yet, but we've got a little firing line just developing to the south of Rapid City. We're expecting that to be expanding over the next couple of hours and some real blustery conditions with those south to southwesterly winds ahead of it, could be as strong as 40 miles per hour with gusts around 45. So use a lot of caution if you're still traveling around for tonight. Into the Southeast, the remnants of tropical depression number 10 and also some new moisture coming in. Tropical moisture is bringing in some very heavy downpours, about an inch an hour over Lake Pontchartrain, just off to the west of Sly Dell and moving on into a northerly direction; could be picking up a couple of inches here over the next couple of days, also very stormy across Florida with heavy showers and thunderstorms. Subtropical Storm Jerry is starting to take on some tropical characteristics out in the middle of the water. Not threatening anybody, but things are getting pretty active in the tropics. By the way, Fredricka, we've got four different waves we're watching and, all of which, have potential for something to happen in the next 24 to 48 hours.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui.

Well, a man who moved millions without ever saying a word has died. Marcel Marceau, the French artist who revived the art of mime, died yesterday at age 84. Marceau discovered pantomime in his theater classes and grew to become one of France's most famous exports. CNN's Josh Levs had the opportunity, a very unique opportunity indeed, to interview him and you say it really was one of the more memorable interviews of your career.

LEVS: Amazing guy -- brilliant. And I went into it like most people really not knowing anything about mimes, just knowing that they kind of put on funny makeup. Did he have a voice and what was that going to be like? The whole thing was amazing but first of all, I went to his performance and it was just this astounding phenomenon because you think of it as someone who puts on the makeup and moves around funny but what you end up seeing is he, single-handedly, brought back an ancient Greek art form in which he's up there, right? No sets, no costumes, almost no props, just him, and no dialogue, entirely alone, and he brings up every emotion in the world. He presents every emotion. You start to see the human experience. I talked to him a little bit and he told me that he creates this concept of sound that doesn't exist in nature.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

MARCEL MARCEAU, FAMOUS MIME: Nothing is silent. The fish are not silent. Nature is not silent. You have the wind, the birds sing beautifully and silence does not exist. But to create silence is very difficult because you have to create a musical sound which is silent and you receive it because you breathe the sound of silence.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

LEVS: So, you see, he put so much thought into everything he did and, you know, his life story is on CNN.com, it's fascinating. But, you know, a young Jewish kid born in France before World War II, lost his dad in the holocaust but became all about love, this amazing artist who put all that love right up there on the stage.

WHITFIELD: Wow, that's my first time hearing his voice. His voice is as eloquent as the art he would present and eliciting the kind of emotional response out of anyone who watched him.

LEVS: That's right and people watched him all over the world and millions turned out for it. And, as you and I both know, one of the people watching, Michael Jackson, right? Who said he got the moonwalk from him. There they are meeting and Michael Jackson said that's where the moonwalk came from, one of Marcel Marceau's old skits. There you go the two superstars together.

WHITFIELD: What a fascinating admission. I bet you nobody knew that or very few knew that before. Thanks so much for bringing that to us. Thanks, Josh.

Well, should this man be allowed to speak? Or no? That's the big question today. Ahead of the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's forum at Columbia University? Two students there debate the issue next in the NEWSROOM.

Plus, take you to the scene of what's being called a 'Brit and Run.' Oh boy, this gets uglier and uglier, doesn't it? Could mean jail time for the tabloid favorite, Britney Spears.

Beautiful. And the sound of music heard around the nation today, still ahead, the man behind the music, Opera Legend Placido Domingo joining us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: The Big Apple, big controversy. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has just arrived in New York ahead of this week's U.N. General Assembly. He left Tehran this morning with a blessing of the country's religious hardliners but not necessarily that of his people. Reports have some Iranians debating the merits and motives behind Ahmadinejad's trip to New York.

They're not the only ones. Many New Yorkers object to Ahmadinejad's presence in their city, and his scheduled speech tomorrow at Columbia University. The protests have already begun.

Let's hear both sides of this debate right now from students at Columbia University. Waqas Chaudhry is a Columbia grad student who plans to be there for Ahmadinejad's speech tomorrow? And Christopher Gess is a Columbia grad student who objects to Ahmadinejad and his visit on many levels.

Good to see both of you.

If you can both hear me, I hope, Christopher, let's begin with you. You are on what side? You are protesting this speech. Why?

CHRISTOPHER GUEST, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY GRAD STUDENT: I'm protesting -- first of all, I'm protesting against the politics of Ahmadinejad. His government harasses and tortures and executes dissidents. There's no freedom of speech in Iran. There's no freedom of assembly. Even worse, he's calling for an elimination of the state of Israel from the pages of history. He is, in fact, calling for murder. He's calling for the death of Israel. That's why I'm also the second thing I'm protesting against the decision made by Columbia University to invite him to speak in a leader's forum.

WHITFIELD: So, Waqas, if you were in a position where you have a ticket to listen to Ahmadinejad speak -- and I understand you snatched up the ticket as soon as you learned they were available -- what is it that intrigued you about the fact that the Iranian president will be on your campus?

WAQAS CHAUDHRY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY GRAD STUDENT: Well, I actually got the ticket and I am going tomorrow to listen to him. And the reason I want to listen to him is to go and see him, why he is so against U.S. and Israel and get my own opinion and then judge him from there in person.

Like, I think it's freedom of speech is the reason Columbia is doing it, so people can see in person why he is so against U.S. and Israel and what are the reasons for that.

WHITFIELD: And so, Waqas, what does it say to you your university taking the position the fact that because there is so opposition -- and we're hearing that today -- the university is saying if there is a forum in which to allow this president to speak, it would be a university campus. Is your university trying to make a statement, in your view?

CHAUDHRY: I think in a way it's doing a good thing because every year there are leaders coming to the university. There's nothing wrong with Ahmadinejad coming there. I know a lot of people who want to go there and listen to him in person and get a feeling for themselves what kind of a person he is. And this will give us a better opportunity to listen to him and to understand what his ideology is. And Columbia, I think it's doing a great thing by doing that.

There are people who disagree with that, and I don't oppose to them. They have the freedom of speech to do that. I want to go and listen to him. And I think they shouldn't have any objection with that.

WHITFIELD: Christopher, it's expected to be a full house of 600 and maybe even some more seats will be added because it seems as though this is going to be a pretty popular event. Well, what's the matter, in your view, with dialogue being exchanged between this controversial leader and some of your fellow students? Might there be some potential that there would be some real impact on the president or perhaps even influence him, in your view?

GESS: Well, I think the main problem in this had whole thing is that the university is sending a signal out in the world that his thoughts are -- like, you can't discount the thoughts. That's the signal they sent out. As it takes place in the scientific community, a signal is also that there might be some truth in his statements. There's no truth in a statement about Israel like that. You can't count on that. There's no room for compromise. There's no room for discussion. And there's no room for an opening exchange of ideas in this statement. These are the statements he does.

WHITFIELD: Are you saying there might be some real harm that may come of this because these are topics you believe that don't merit any further discussion? Christopher?

GESS: Well, I mean, you can discuss a topic where he is totally clear about. That's not a point of view. It's not an opinion he expresses. This is call for a murderer.

So I don't want to prohibit freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is a good thing. When he walks up and down the streets in New York, I have no problem with him saying something. The problem is that Columbia University, on their own will, invited him to the university and present him, give him a stage where he can speak.

WHITFIELD: Waqas, last word -- do you see any real potential harm, or do you see only gains in this invitation?

CHAUDHRY: I think it's a good thing because if you think something that holocaust never happened, it's his opinion. It's not a fact and it doesn't change anything. We should look at it like that, that it is a fact that holocaust did happen and that's his opinion and we shouldn't, like, think about that, that whatever he's saying and don't even want to, like, deal with him on issues.

Because we need to sit with him and sort out the issues because we don't need to go into war with Iran because we already have a bad situation in Iraq. We don't want to create the same thing all over again.

WHITFIELD: All right, Waqas Chaudhry and Christopher Gess, thanks so much.

Christopher, I understand you're going to be -- you plan to protest of outside, yes?

GESS: That's right.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, both of you, your time. Hopefully we'll get a chance to follow up with you here on CNN, see just how the day goes tomorrow.

CHAUDHRY: Thank you.

GESS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Now take a listen to this.

That is beautiful, right? That is "La Boehm". And this man right here, you know the face and you know his voice, Placido Domingo. He's the director of the Washington National Opera with a rather inventive way to get all of you engaged in opera. We'll talk to him in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: One of the world's great voices silenced earlier this month with the death of the famed tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Pavarotti often appeared as one of the three tenors. Placido Domingo was another. In addition to singing, the Spanish opera star is director of two major U.S. opera companies.

Today his Washington National Opera performed a live-time simulcast of "La Boehm" to what could be the largest ever opera audience.

Placido joins us from our Washington bureau. Great to see you.

PLACIDO DOMINGO, OPERA SINGER AND MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: So was it a success? Was it exactly how you had planned it to be?

DOMINGO: Well, it really was a great success. We have a performance at the Kennedy Center, the Washington National Opera. And it was simulcast. It's the third year we've been doing simulcast operas. The first was "Porgy and Bess," last year "Madam Butterfly" and now "La Boehm". Not only was at the National Mall, which I was there during the performance, there were 14,000 people. It went also to 31 schools, college university, high schools all across the country. And also to some of the sites which in Santa Fe, in San Jose, Dallas San Diego, Memphis, New York, and Washington, D.C.

WHITFIELD: So reaching everyone all over the country. So the real objective here, primarily, try to appeal to young people, try to engage them in opera?

DOMINGO: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think to go to the schools is one of the most important things because we want one day that somebody will say, I love opera because the first time I heard the performance it was simulcast coming from the Washington National Opera and I was in school. Now I -- that will probably be one of our artists. The artists of any opera house in the world, which is, of course, very important for the culture and for the developing more and more of our public, young public, which is remarkable.

WHITFIELD: That's remarkable. So this is the third year. Something tells me you've got a fourth planned, too.

DOMINGO: Sorry?

WHITFIELD: Probably you have a fourth year planned on this project as well if this is number three, right?

DOMINGO: Yes.

WHITFIELD: You hope this to keep going?

DOMINGO: Absolutely, keep going. Not only that, I think we have the plans to do probably another one in the summer, even in the season, and just to continue. It's something that has been going so much around the world. I have done it in Europe for many years, at London, in Munich, in Madrid. It was also done at the Metropolitan Opera last year for the very first time, even going to some cinema houses.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

DOMINGO: So I think we are developing something. We will do it also in Los Angeles in December. So I think it's going to every place. And I think it was history today because going to the schools I think has been the very first time. And we are very proud.

WHITFIELD: That's wonderful. It seems like this is also a bittersweet time for you, too, given you and the rest of the opera world, still mourning the loss of Luciano Pavarotti. How do you hope that his legacy will play on?

DOMINGO: Well, I think that he, of course, has been one of the great artists, great friend. And I think that his voice, of course, influences everybody. And I know we did many, many things together, and one of those things was really to try to get the new public. And I think we have been successful. So everybody will remember him with a great love and all of his colleagues.

WHITFIELD: Seems like you're doing that indeed with this project alone, in fact, by passing the baton.

Placido Domingo, thanks so much for your time.

DOMINGO: Thank you very much. Thank you.

Much more in the "NEWSROOM" straight ahead.

TONY HARRIS, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Placido Domingo? This show is so huge. I'm sorry, Fred. I didn't set you up here. I apologize.

WHITFIELD: You look good. You look good.

HARRIS: Is it okay?

WHITFIELD: Yeah, even with the top button undone. It's all right.

HARRIS: Good to see you. So huge. Got to tell you a couple of things we're working on for tonight's 10:00 show. Iran's president, heading to the United States to speak to the General Assembly on Tuesday. But, of course, all of the stir is being caused by the visit planned tomorrow to Columbia University.

So we are going to ask the question, is this the worst idea since the last really bad idea that you can think of? We will sort that out. We've got a great guest on tonight's program to sort that out, the back and forth.

Beyond that, you know that moment when you're walking past the television display at a mall and you see video, whoa, what was that? It stops you and you happen to see it?

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

HARRIS: We have a host of pictures that will make you do that tonight. We'll bring those to you.

WHITFIELD: Want to give us a little teaser, action shot?

HARRIS: Huh-Hu. I thought about showing...

WHITFIELD: Some, oh, my gosh. I can't believe what I'm seeing?

HARRIS: Exactly. And some sound where, if you're in another room you hear this and say, whoa, whoa, what is that? We've got some of that.

WHITFIELD: You hooked us in. We've got to watch.

HARRIS: We're going to do that tonight as well.

And then in the days before and since the Jena 6 rally in Jena, Louisiana, last Thursday, we've been hearing that there is bias, bias against African-Americans in the criminal justice system. You know, we're going to explore that tonight. I've invited former prosecutors to join us on the program tonight. We're going to ask it, is it true? Is the system bias against African-Americans? And to the extent it is, how is it expressed in those offices? Is it simply overcharging? How is it expressed? So...

WHITFIELD: That's going to be tough getting that out of a prosecutor.

HARRIS: Yes. But we're going to do it.

WHITFIELD: All right. If anyone can do it, you, Tony, my friend, can do it.

HARRIS: Are you kidding me? You got Placido on. Will you come back and help me with this? Come on.

WHITFIELD: No help. All right, thanks a lot, Tony. We'll be watching. HARRIS: Sure thing.

WHITFIELD: All right. Someone who does need a little help, don't you agree? Britney Spears. She's had her share of smash hits, but it's a different kind of smash causing her the latest legal nightmare. The pop star has been charged with hit and run and driving without her license. The charges stem from this slow-speed crash in an L.A. parking lot last month.

After checking out the damage to her car on camera, Spears walked away. Three days later, after not hearing a peep from Spears' camp, the driver of the other car filed a police report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM ROBARD-RIFKIN, VICTIM OF HIT AND RUN: I found out it was Britney Spears who hit my car, and I was sort of shocked, sort of, like, oh, only this could happen in La La Land. And, of course, she'll get to leave because obviously there were a lot of paparazzi there, and kind of person wouldn't realize that this wasn't going to be on TV? And she had to be responsible and contact me?

I felt a little bit invaded and a little bit uncomfortable with more and more people calling me up asking me questions about this. And afraid to sort of say anything because I didn't know what they were going to say that I had said. And I didn't want to come off as an idiot or somebody that was greedy in trying to get something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy, she's got a lot to say there. Well, Spears is already fighting a legal battle with her ex, Kevin Federline, over custody of the couple's two children. Last week a judge ordered her to undergo twice-weekly drug and alcohol tests.

And then remember that moveon ad in the "New York Times" slamming the U.S. commander in Iraq? When we come back, possible regret from the newspaper's management.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Now the growing flap over a political ad by moveon.org. Many say that the liberal activist group took an unfair shot at General David Petraeus. The "New York Times" has defended its decision to run the ad, but now it turns out the ad may have violated the paper's own standards.

Our Ed Henry has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A black eye for the "New York Times." Its public editor revealing the newspaper violated its own written standards by running this ad slamming the U.S. Military commander in Iraq as General Betray Us.

HOWARD KURTZ, "THE WASHINGTON POST": This is a self-inflicted wound for the "New York Times" because its own cover story about how there was no discount from moveon has now been eviscerated.

HENRY: Contrary to earlier assertions, the in-house watchdog now says moveon.org did get a steep discount to launch the attack, paying just over $64,000 for an ad that should have cost $142,000.

The ad also contradicts the "Times' " own manual prohibiting opinion ads, quote, "that are attacks of a personal nature."

NEWT GINGRICH, (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: I do not believe that serving American soldiers, Marines, airmen, seamen, should be attacked in that kind of a scurrilous and dishonest ad.

HENRY: And Howard Kurtz notes the miscues have only given Republicans more ammunition.

KURTZ: The "New York Times" gave the White Houses and the Republican Party a big, fat gift, a distraction to argue about, turn the debate from what was happening in Iraq to the moveon ad and whether the moveon organization got an unfair discount from the "New York Times". And it's the gift that keeps on giving because now the story is going to have legs even beyond the original controversy.

HENRY: The president has already called the ad disgusting and used the flap to chide Democratic presidential candidates for not taking on anti-war liberals.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was disappointed that not more leaders in the Democratic Party spoke out strongly against that kind of ad.

HENRY: One of those presidential contenders fired back Sunday, noting Mr. Bush previously did not stand up to fellow Republicans who questioned John Kerry's war record and suggested Max Cleland was soft on Osama bin Laden.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I thought it was sorry when his campaign attacked Senator Kerry's record of service and when they attacked Senator Cleland.

HENRY (on camera): A spokeswoman says the "Times" apologizes for initially providing incorrect information about the transaction. Moveon, meanwhile, stands behind the content of the ad and says they didn't know there was a discount. But out of an abundance of caution, the group is wiring the newspaper the $77,000 difference in price.

Ed Henry, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And this is inspiring. Doctors thought he might never walk again. Buffalo Bills football player Kevin Everett suffered a devastating spinal injury, but another player's accident 22 years ago may have saved his life. What some are calling the Miami Project miracle, next in the "NEWSROOM." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Doctors were afraid Buffalo Bills' tight end Kevin Everett may never walk again. Two weeks ago, he suffered a spinal cord injury and was paralyzed from the neck down. Now he could be walking again within weeks. Credit is being given to a treatment developed by the Miami Project.

Our Ray Delessio explains.

RAY DELESSIO, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fifteen minutes after Kevin Everett collapsed lifeless from a hit, 22 years of spinal cord research spearheaded by someone who once suffered the same fate may have saved Everett's life.

MARC BUONICONTI, AMBASSADOR, MIAMI PROJECT: Kevin and my injury are about exactly the same. Look at the difference. I'm still paralyzed 22 years later, and he may walk out of the hospital. That's how far research has come.

DELESSIO: Buoniconti has made much of that possible. Paralyzed playing football in 1985, he joined his father, Miami Dolphins' Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti, to start the Miami Project to cure paralysis.

Bills' team surgeon, Dr. Andrew Cappuccino, had heard a lecture on the groups' mild hypothermia treatment and after administering steroids turned to it as soon as Everett entered the ambulance.

DR. ANDREW CAPPUCCINO, BUFFALO BILLS TEAM SURGEON: We commenced flushing his body with cold fluids in order to lower his temperature. Lowering his temperature has been shown to help in spinal cord sparing.

DR. BARTH GREEN, PRESIDENT, THE MIAMI PROJECT: The doctor happened to remember something from the lecture a year ago and had the bold vision to go ahead and institute it, knowing it was either buying a wheelchair or giving this kid an opportunity.

DELESSIO: Experience with stroke and heart attack patients has shown lowering the body temperature a few degrees buys critical time. Animal studies also shows effectiveness in some spinal cord injuries. The key is lowering the body's natural reaction to injury, which can cause even more severe damage.

GREEN: The secondary injuries are from lack of blood, lack of oxygen, compression of the spine and chemical destruction that goes on.

DR. W. DALTON, DETRICH SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR, MIAMI PROJECT: What's exciting is it touches almost all of those processes in contrast to a drug, which affects just one of those processes.

DELESSIO: There are plenty of things that need to go right before, during and after surgery to keep Everett alive and possibly out of a wheelchair, like Buoniconti. If Everett does walk again, there will be plenty of credit to go around, no small share of which should go to Buoniconti's Miami Project.

BUONICONTI: It's got to start somewhere and with someone. Maybe it started a long time ago with me, and it snowballed into something that maybe -- it's supposed to be about everyone else.

GREEN: In the future, people will be taking that step and using this treatment because it's very low-risk and the potential is quite significant.

BUONICONTI: Kevin could be first one to stand and say, the Miami Project cured me, and it can happen to you. I think that's what we want. If anything, I think his injury will lead to a legacy of many cures for many people.

DELESSIO: Ray Delessio, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow, that is amazing.

So much more ahead on CNN. "Lou Dobbs This Week" is next. And at 7:00 eastern, "CNN SIU: Judgment in Jena," an Encore presentation.

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