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Texas Inmate on Loose after Attacking Guard; Protestors React to Iranian President's Speech; GM Workers Strike over Contract Dispute; DEA Cracks Down on Steroids; Study: Colon Cancer Can Be Prevented by Healthy Diet; Ahmadinejad at Columbia University

Aired September 24, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: A head of state also called a hatemonger. A voice of defiance in the Middle East about to speak right here on American soil.
Yes, we're talking about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad talking to an Ivy League audience just minutes from now. And already angry crowds of protesters are talking back.

Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: We'll get to that developing story in a moment. But first, happening right now, this is out of Huntsville, Huntsville, Texas. You're looking now at woods. But also we're looking at some people there who are searching these woods.

They're searching these woods for a prison escapee. CNN has learned from one of our affiliates just moments ago, they believe that two Wynn Unit inmates overpowered an officer and escaped happening today. One is in custody and a search continues for a second man. This is according to our affiliate, KHOU.

They were on a work detail when they were attacked -- when they attacked a female guard. There's a name for the suspect at large. They said that suspect is serving 50 years for attempted capital murder. And he's believed to be armed. And Huntsville is the location of Texas' Death Row.

So, again, officials in Huntsville, Texas, looking for one prison escapee. They have one in custody, believed to have overpowered and attacked a female guard.

We'll continue to update you on this breaking story.

PHILLIPS: Well, he's accused of secreting building nukes, secretly arming Iraqi insurgents, and openly calling for Israel's destruction. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's words have earned him all sorts of labels, but today you can call him keynote speaker at Columbia University.

Let's go straight to New York City and CNN's senior correspondent Allan Chernoff. A lot of protests going on today.

Hi, Allan.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello. There actually are three separate protests ongoing. One, just one block behind me. The police have kept us over here. But the protest over there, a block up, of several hundred people in front of the main gate of Columbia University, saying that the Iranian president has no business being here at Columbia University.

There's another protest inside of the gates, on campus. Students are conducting that protest. And then there's a third protest downtown across from the United Nations, organized by some major Jewish groups. So lots of voices speaking in unity against the position of the Iranian president.

And let's hear from one of the students right now. She is Aziza Robin, a law student here at Columbia.

Aziza, the administrators here are saying this is a learning opportunity for the students.

AZIZA ROBIN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I respectfully disagree with the administration. I don't believe that there's anything to learn from the president of Iran. The students who are interested are already well aware of his views. And there's nothing to learn from lies at all. The Holocaust occurred, and there's nothing to gain from denying that.

CHERNOFF: And they say that they will be challenging the Iranian president, challenging his views. For instance, his claim that the Holocaust is a myth.

ROBIN: I believe that they can challenge him without giving him the honor of being on our campus and spreading his hateful views.

KING: Well, what the administration here has said is that the president of Iran can gain a platform anywhere, so why not permit him to come over here and give the students here a chance in the real world to actually challenge his thoughts, his opinions and see what comes of it? They're saying it is a real learning experience for the students here at Columbia University.

By the way, it's being sponsored, this speech is, by the School of International and Public Affairs. That's where a lot of students do go, students who want to become diplomats in their professional careers.

Back to you in the studio.

PHILLIPS: Allan, give us a feel for the security, particularly around the Iranian president. I mean, there are individuals that want the life of this man.

CHERNOFF: The security here is exceedingly, exceedingly tight. Since early this morning, and I was here at 7 this morning, there have been dozens of police officers. As you can see behind me, barricades set up, up and down, Broadway here, which is on the outside of the Columbia campus.

Going into the actual lecture hall. They have had a line set up, the first person was in line at 8:30. Everyone had to go through very tight security. Only students who registered in advance and faculty are actually permitted inside of that lecture hall. It's holding a little more than 600 people.

So the security exceedingly tight.

PHILLIPS: All right, Allan Chernoff. We'll continue to follow- up, obviously, throughout the day.

Ahmadinejad's appearance at Columbia University stirring some pretty strong reactions. So what do you think? Is it just a matter of freedom of speech or will it turn into a forum for hate? E-mail us your thoughts on the Iranian president's visit to CNNnewsroom dash -- at CNN.com. We're going to air some of your responses later in this news program.

And we're going to hear from the man at the center of it all in just a few minutes. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks at Columbia University at 1:30 Eastern Time. You can see it live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Plus President Ahmadinejad sits down with CNN's own Christiane Amanpour for a one-on-one interview. Be sure to tune into that, Wednesday night, 10 Eastern on "AC 360".

LEMON: And Kyra, thousands of union workers at General Motors head for the exits after contract talks break down. A nationwide strike against GM is now under way. Fifty-nine GM plants and 73,000 workers are affected by the walkout.

GM is the nation's biggest automaker, and it's the first UAW nationwide strike during auto contract talks in 31 years.

Reporter Rachel Bianco with our affiliate WDIV joins us now from Orion Township, Michigan -- Rachel.

RACHEL BIANCO, WDIV CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon.

This is the Orion assembly plant where the Pontiac G-6 is made. And just like they did at so many other plants across the country, at 11 a.m. this morning, some 2,500 workers poured out of this factory, and Steve Thompson is one of them. He joins me now live.

You've been out here since 11 a.m., immediately when that deadline came and went. What was it like in the plant this morning when that deadline passed?

STEVE THOMPSON, UAW STRIKER: It was very well organized. We stayed in there to make sure all the people got out and they understood the ramifications of the 11 a.m. deadline. And everyone came out peacefully and went home. BIANCO: As of this weekend we had heard that the talks were going well. What was the reaction of the rank and file to this?

THOMPSON: They were kind of expecting a strike because of the major issues that are on the table right now. And there's some big issues. It's not really about VEBA (ph); it's about two-tier wage. It's about the health care and the attempts that are working in the plant right now.

So there's a lot of major issues that can't come to grips with, especially, you know, guaranteeing us product at our plants instead of shipping them overseas.

BIANCO: And both sides are headed back to the bargaining table at about 1:15. Are you optimistic? Any predictions on how long this strike might last?

THOMPSON: I really can't predict. It -- it could be a very short one or a lengthy one, depending on, you know, how argumentative both sides have become. But, you know, it's -- it's pulling the UAW together as well as pulling GM together. I think both sides have actually need this to shore up their...

BIANCO: All right. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

Again, they've been out here since 11. Just one of the assembly plants in the Detroit area, Orion, about 40 miles north of Detroit. And they say they will be out here as long as it takes.

Reporting live in Orion, Rachel Bianco. Now back to you.

LEMON: All right. Rachel from our affiliate, WDIV. Thank you so much for that report.

PHILLIPS: CNN's Susan Lisovicz is keeping track of the latest developments in the strikes. She joins us now from New York.

Susan, what's the latest?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, this is just -- these contract talks and now this strike, they've been called one of the most pivotal times in the big three's history, Kyra. I mean, both sides have a lot to lose.

Tens of thousands of UAW, good-paying, solid jobs have been lost in the last few years. On the other hand, the big three have lost billions of dollars. So, the question I guess right now, who loses more? Depends on the length of the strike.

For instance, a couple analysts are saying that GM is in pretty good shape to take a short strike. One analyst I spoke to said, a couple days, no problem. It's got plenty of inventory.

Another analyst, a veteran analyst says, GM can take a strike up to a month and, in fact, it actually benefits them in the sense that they don't have to pay any workers. They've got plenty of cars and trucks out on the lot. They can handle it.

The UAW obviously has different issues. Its workers will be getting a stipend depending on whether you're single or you have a family: $200 if you have a family. The health care benefits, company health care benefits would expire within about a week. And then the UAW would have to help out there, too.

And obviously, the UAW's ranks are much diminished over the years because of all these massive restructurings that we've seen in Detroit and in auto plants throughout the country -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Susan Lisovicz live from the New York Stock Exchange. We'll be talking about this story, of course, throughout the day. Thanks for bringing us up to date, Susan.

LISOVICZ: You got it.

LEMON: A big blow today against the makers, takers and peddlers of performance-enhancing drugs. Federal officials are announcing the culmination of a major crackdown, involving arrests of 27 states -- in 27 states.

At least 9 foreign governments helped. And that includes China, considered the world's biggest supplier of raw materials, materials used to make steroids.

From Washington, here's CNN's Kelli Arena.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. More than 120 people were arrested as part of an international investigation. Fifty-six labs here in the United States have been shut down. More than 11 million doses of steroids were seized.

Now, more importantly, DEA officials say that they found thousands of names of customers here in the United States and the e- mail communications that they used to get their hands on those steroids.

Now, obviously the big question is, what will happen to those people? I mean, does the DEA indict them? Investigators have said that some of them are already cooperating, and they're tracking down some others. So, we're waiting to see how that develops.

The DEA says that it did get help from nine countries but most notably China. Investigators seized over 900,000 pawned pounds of raw material, raw powder from that country. China is the sole supplier of raw materials for steroids to the United States.

And so far, as part of this investigation one Chinese lab has been taken down. But U.S. officials say that they did provide intelligence, intelligence folders on 37 companies there. They do hope that the Chinese follow up on that.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, ready or not, here he comes. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, prepares to take the mic at Columbia University amid a massive uproar, both on and off campus.

PHILLIPS: And is it an object lessen in free speech or handing hatred a soapbox? We're going to let a couple of Columbia University students debate today's controversial appearance.

LEMON: Plus, medical news you can use. Is there really a way for men to dodge a top cancer killer?

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Word now in to CNN that the Texas prison break, this man, Jerry Martin, that police are looking for right now, apparently we're getting word they believe he has killed that female guard. Jerry Martin on the loose right now.

Two Wynne Unit inmates overpowered this female officer. Had escaped this morning. One is in custody. The search continues for this man, Jerry Martin.

We were told that the escapees were on a work detail when they had attacked that female guard, one of them getting away. One in custody. We're now getting word that female guard has died.

Jerry Martin serving a 50-year sentence for attempted capital murder. Believed to be armed and dangerous. Police looking for him right now.

As you know, Huntsville is the location of Texas' Death Row. Question now, what type of work detail were they on and what kind of security did they have? A female guard overtaken by this man and another man who is in custody.

Police on the search for him right now, Jerry Martin, believed to be armed and dangerous. We'll be following this throughout the afternoon.

LEMON: All right, Kyra, also have some developing news when it comes to that Delaware, Delaware State University, where two students were shot on Friday. We're being told this information just in from the Associated Press. A Dover police spokesman says authorities have a suspect in the custody -- in custody in the shooting of two Delaware State University students.

Do you remember on Thursday night, into the wee hours, early Friday morning, some sort of scuffle developed with a gun there? Two students ended up being shot, and the campus was on lockdown for most of the day.

Well, we're hearing now, and this is according to the Associated -- Associated Press, that there is a suspect in custody. Don't know the details surrounding this, how they found him, who the person is, him or her, in this situation, but we're going to continue to work our sources and try to find out as much as possible.

A suspect arrested in that-- two students who were shot last week, Delaware State University and also the campus put on lockdown.

Let's move on and talk about medical news now. Prostate cancer is the second leading cancer killer in men. More than 200,000 new cases will be diagnosed this year alone.

But a new American Cancer Society reports finds men can better manage their risk by better managing their diet.

Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with details.

Here's what I have to ask you: so can you really prevent prostate cancer by what you eat? Can your diet do it?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This new report seems to suggest that you can do just that, which is really exciting for a lot of doctors and a lot of men, because previously, if a man would say, "What can I do to prevent prostate cancer in my daily life?" there wasn't a whole lot that doctors could tell them.

Well, this report says perhaps there are some foods that are good to eat to prevent prostate cancer and some foods that are bad. The good foods, tomatoes and soy, seem to prevent prostate cancer. The bad food, red meat seems to prevent prostate cancer. I hear some groaning from my friend, Don, over here.

Now if you avoid meat and if you eat soy and tomatoes, are you guaranteed that you won't get prostate cancer? No, but they certainly could help. And you know what? Those are good rules thumb to go by, anyhow.

LEMON: Yes.

COHEN: Lower your consumption of red meat, eat more things like soy and tomatoes.

LEMON: I just grew up a meat and potatoes person, so you know, there you go.

All right, so what else. You said there's one thing, diet. But is there anything else you can do to help prevent?

COHEN: Yes. There are two other things that you can do. One is men can stay slim. There seems to be growing evidence that there's a link between obesity and prostate cancer. So, staying slim could help.

And the very most important thing that men can do to try to prevent prostate cancer is get tested. I know men don't always like to hear this. At age 50, all men need to have a PSA blood test and a rectal examination. At age -- you need to have those tests at age 45 if you're considered high risk.

What's high risk? All African-American men are considered to be at high risk for prostate cancer and men where prostate cancer runs in their family.

LEMON: OK, good advice. Good advice. And you know men hate to go to the doctor anyway. Right?

COHEN: I know. Well, especially for that exam. Yes.

LEMON: I'm glad you said that. I didn't want to...

COHEN: Right, right. Yes, let's put it out there. Absolutely.

LEMON: Not so much. All right. Thank you very much.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Right now, 1:19 eastern time. Here are the stories that we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Not exactly the toast of the town, but probably the most infamous person in New York City right now. Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he speaks at Columbia University this afternoon ahead of his U.N. speech tomorrow. His appearance is stirring up a lot of protest.

Protesters are angry over his past remarks about Israel, the Holocaust and Iran's involvement in Iraq. He will be taking questions from the audience. It should get interesting.

Picket lines, not assembly lines. The big news at General Motors today, more than 70,000 workers have walked off the job after their union and GM could not reach an agreement on several contract issues.

And doctors now say Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett may stand on his own two feet in a matter of days. He was injured during an awkward tackle against Denver in the Bills' season opener. Doctors initially feared he might never walk again.

LEMON: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Columbia University visit is causing divisions everywhere, including among veterans. We'll talk with two of them who also happen to also be students at Columbia. There's happening straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And as we go to break, let's look at live pictures here. And I'm not sure how long we're going to stay with this, Kyra. It looks like they might have a suspect in custody. You see that man there in the middle of your screen in the white shirt? He's in handcuffs.

A prison escape this morning. Two inmates escaped. One of them, or both of them, they believe, killed a female guard.

I don't know if we want to go to break while this is happening. But, again, this is a person that they are taking into custody here in Huntsville, Texas. Prison escape this morning where a guard is believed to be dead. We're going to continue to follow these feeds and this developing story and we're going to bring it to you, tell you what happens after the break.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Police in Huntsville, Texas, right now still looking for Jerry Martin, escaped prisoner there. A manhunt under the way at the Wynn Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Why are they looking for him? They believe that he, along with another inmate, John Ray Falk, who is now back behind bars, are guilty of overcoming a female officer, who has now been pronounced dead.

Once again, police on a massive manhunt looking for prisoner Jerry Martin. Police on horses, also from the air and on the ground, looking for this man, right now, believed to be armed and dangerous.

Just moments ago we had shown you some live pictures from the area. We don't want this to be confused with the search for prisoner Jerry Martin. Obviously, officers in the area checking everybody that's coming through. It's just proper procedure, to make sure that they haven't missed anything when it comes to checking all the roads, all the vehicles in the area, as police are looking for escaped prisoner Jerry Martin.

What we can tell you: this manhunt got under way just north of Huntsville, not long ago, within the past hour. This inmate, Jerry Martin, along with another one, John Ray Falk, had escaped from the Wynn Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. They were actually working at a field at the prison, along Interstate 45 when they apparently overpowered an officer, a female officer, who was supervising them later this morning.

They took her weapons, stole a Huntsville City vehicle and then took off. One behind bars, Martin still on the loose.

Michelle Lyons with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on the line with us now.

Michelle, can you give us any details about the search for prisoner Jerry Martin?

MICHELLE LYONS, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Just as you said, we have a massive manhunt looking for Mr. Martin. He is believed to be on foot, but he's also believed to be armed and dangerous. And so, obviously we're proceeding with caution.

We have officers who are on horseback. We have a lot of air presence and are searching for him. We have an area that has been blocked off along Interstate 45 that we're heavily concentrating on.

PHILLIPS: How many guards were out there on this field, Michelle, with the prisoners? How many guards to how many prisoners when they were working out in this field near Interstate 45? LYONS: Well, and we don't have those details yet. You know, right now our focus is on getting this offender back into custody, and then later we'll be able to look at, you know, how many offenders were actually in the field.

What we do know is that these two offenders were able to overpower a officer who was on horseback. They took her weapons and then fled in a vehicle belonging to the city of Huntsville that was nearby.

They did strike the officer with the vehicle. She has died. And we were able to apprehend Mr. Falk, and are still actively looking for Jerry Martin.

PHILLIPS: So, in -- do you know -- was it John Ray Faulk or was it Jerry Martin that actually struck that officer that has now been pronounced dead? Michelle, do you know?

LYONS: We do not yet have information on who was actually driving the vehicle. We know that, you know, obviously Mr. Falk was taken into custody. We'll be able to question him and find out some more details.

PHILLIPS: Can you -- so, the officer, was he actually killed with her own weapon?

LYONS: No. She was not shot. She was hit by the fleeing vehicle and died as a result. There were some initial reports that she was shot, that there were shots fired. And that was not true. She was not shot. She was hit and ultimately died of the injuries sustained.

PHILLIPS: Now -- well, and I can imagine that's just -- that's probably affecting everybody tremendously right now at the prison area.

Meanwhile, you're trying to find this man, Jerry Martin. You believe that he is armed and dangerous. Is he still in that vehicle? Or you were saying you believe he's on foot.

LYONS: No, he's on foot. He did abandon the vehicle, fortunately, and he is on foot. So, we are very, very aggressively concentrating on a particular area. But it is a wooded area. It is thick. And so we do have officers that are on horseback. We have tracking dogs who are being released, and we're hoping to have him back shortly.

PHILLIPS: So, you've got officers on horseback. You've got the dogs trying to track. What other assets do you have out there trying to track him down?

LYONS: Well, we have a number of local law enforcement agencies that are assisting us. And we also have quite an air presence. We have the Texas Department of Public Safety that has choppers in the air.

And honestly, through the news crews that are up there, you know, they're certainly helping us keep an eye on things.

PHILLIPS: What more can you tell us about Jerry Martin, the suspect still on the loose? He'd been...

LYONS: Right.

PHILLIPS: ...serving 50 years for attempted capital murder, correct?

LYONS: Right, right. He was serving 50 years for two counts of attempted murder out of Collin County, which is near Dallas. He was received by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in August of 1997. So he's been with us for about ten years.

He was assigned as a minimum-custody inmate. He was assigned to the field squad, and it is from there that he escaped.

PHILLIPS: Final question, when you're assigned to the field squad, what kind of work are you doing out there as a prisoner?

LYONS: Well, you know, in Texas obviously, we have a lot of agricultural operations, and so oftentimes the inmates who are assigned to these field squads are working farming. They are working the land.

PHILLIPS: So, it's not unusual to have -- have individuals that are being put away for capital murder to be working out in a field in -- near an interstate?

LYONS: Well, the field itself is not right next to the interstate. The perimeter that we've established is a little bit west of where the unit's actually located because, again, he was in a vehicle for a short time.

And, no, you know, a lot of the assignments are based not only on the crime and years that you're serving, but also on how long it would be before you're eligible for parole as well as your disciplinary history inside the prison.

You know, and it also should be noted that the offenders who were working out in the field are supervised by armed officers, and in this case something just obviously went wrong.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Michelle Lyons with the Texas Department of Justice; Michelle, I appreciate it.

Live pictures coming to us now from our affiliate KPRC. This is Huntsville, Texas, a massive man hunt under way right here just north of Huntsville, Texas. They are looking for the man you see there in the corner, prisoner Jerry Martin, serving 50 years for two counts of attempted capital murder. Right now we can tell you a member of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is dead. He was working out in the field with other prisoners, was able to overcome that officer. She has now been pronounced dead, hit by a vehicle that this prisoner took off in. He is now on foot. All types of assets out there trying to track him down from the air, on foot, on horseback. We'll keep you updated.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, he tried to come to the U.N. to win over some people here in the U.S. and some folks at the United Nations. But then he decided to go to Columbia University. And he's drawing some outrage. But some people want him to come.

We're going to join his speech live and hear him coming up. We're talking about the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, live pictures from Columbia University as you see students and people getting ready there to listen to the controversial president and possibly controversial remarks.

We'll follow it, coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello, everyone, I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips.

Protesters call him a hatemonger. University officials say he's an important world leader.

LEMON: You are moments away from the controversial speech of the Iranian president at Columbia University. We'll have it right here, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

As we wait for that speech to start, we're going to update you on some live, breaking news happening here. It's happening in Huntsville, Texas. There is a double prison escape. But here's the important part, one prison guard has died in all of this.

And they are searching for one inmate. His name is Jerry Martin. Jerry Martin and another inmate who has been taken into custody, but Jerry Martin is still on the loose. According to the Associated Press, this manhunt happening just north of Huntsville, inmate that escaped from the W.I.N. unit of the Department of Criminal Justice. Jerry Martin is the inmate we talked about. And then John Ray Falk, they were working in a field near the prison. It happened along interstate 45 when they apparently overpowered the officer who was supervising them and took her weapon. And we're told took a car as well and used that vehicle to kill the officer.

Again, Falk has been caught. Martin is on the loose and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice says a vehicle has been abandoned. The one that was abandoned has been recovered by them. Martin is 50 years old. He's been in the prison since 1997. Two counts of capital murder happening in a county in Texas. But again, a manhunt is under way in the woods right now. As we heard moments ago in CNN, on foot they believe this man is and they are trying every resource they can to catch him because he has killed an officer. We'll update you.

PHILLIPS: Live to New York, once again, our top story that we continue to follow, the "The New York Daily News" the headline today "The Evil has Landed," and we're talking about the president of Iran. He's been called a hatemonger and an anti-Semite, anti-American. But today he's the keynote speaker at Columbia University here in New York.

As you can imagine a number of protests taking place outside of Columbia University. We're told at any minute the Iranian president will hold court at this Ivy League school. Lots of protesters in the streets and a lot of students and administrators inside that auditorium waiting to have a chance to throw some questions at the president of Iran, a man that usually has full control of what the media says, when inside his own country.

We're actually going to talk to two students from Columbia University. They've also both served in the military. It will be interesting to see what they have to say as we wait for this infamous leader to stand up and probably make a pretty famous speech.

LEMON: Yes, it will be very interesting.

As we wait for that, we're going to try to get some other news in here.

Who is he and where is he? That's two questions that police in Nevada are desperate to answer. A man brought them a videotape. He says he found it in the desert. Police say he sexually assaulted a young girl. Police are putting out pictures of both hoping someone will recognize them. And as for the man who says he found the tape, police say he's not the suspect. But they have charged him with having child pornography. He allegedly held on to the tape for several months and showed it to other people before he turned it in.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's a story that just breaks your heart. Denver police asking that trash pickup be delayed today because they think the body of a 3-year-old girl might be hidden in a city dumpster. Nivea Gallegos was the subject of an Amber Alert on Friday after her mother said she had been abducted. Police quickly poked holes in her story and Miriam Gallegos and her live-in boyfriend were arrested. Police say that they believe the boyfriend Angel Ray Montoya had killed Nivea, wrapped her in a garbage bag and dumped her. Off-duty police even civilians have joined the search for her body. In the meantime, residents and businesses are being asked to check their trash bins carefully.

LEMON: A camping trip in the North Carolina Mountains turns into quite an adventure. Eight boy scouts and three of their leaders got a little off course on their way home. But all's well that ends well. And CNN's Drew Griffin was there when word came that they were out of the woods.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They were supposed to spend just two nights in the wilderness here in the Smokey Mountains, but when they didn't show up yesterday afternoon, it sparked a search for Troop 217. Eight boys ages 11 to 14 and their three scout leaders just did not show up and did not call in. After an all-night search, one of the scout masters followed the power lines to a road and was picked up by a meter maider. You can credit the meter maider with the rescue. Asked if they were really frightened or worried about their children, one of the scout leaders whose son is 14-year-old son was on the trip, said not really worried. Sort of.

RODNEY JONES, ASST. SCOUTMASTER, TROOP 217: I was concerned. I was not worried. I knew they would do what they were supposed to do and that is hunker down.

GRIFFIN: Not only well prepared but the boys had just earned their wilderness survival patches. They just weren't expected to use their skills so quickly. They are now on their way back to Raleigh, presumably back to school.

Drew Griffin in Caruso, North Carolina.

LEMON: All right, let's get you back to Columbia University in New York City. And you see there is some movement there. The president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, expected to speak at any moment it is guessed. Obviously he will come from behind that curtain and then go up to the podium and speak.

There's lots of outrage from students who are saying that he should not be allowed to speak here because of his positions and some are calling him evil. There are protesters outside. Others are saying, hey, he should be allowed to speak and we should be able to ask him the hard questions about everything, including about the Holocaust and about nuclear weapons as well.

So the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, expected to there speak at any time. If we comes out on the break, don't worry, we'll cut out of the break for you. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Live to New York where we're waiting for one of the most infamous leaders to Americans, especially here in the United States, we're talking about the president of Iran. He's been called a hatemonger, an anti-Semite, an anti-American, but believe it or not, he's the keynote speaker at Columbia University, and Columbia University receiving a lot of heat for the fact that they have welcomed the Iranian president to step up and speak at the mike.

We're hoping to talk to various Columbia University students, both serving in the military and outside. We can see the Iranian president getting ready to step up to the microphone. Are we able to listen in and see what kind of greeting he gets? Let's listen and see what kind of response he gets from the crowd.

All right, a light response there as they get ready to introduce him. You can see he's got his earpiece in for the sake of translation. But he's going to speak up to the podium and talk.

Do we want to listen to the head of the university here? OK, so the dean right now getting ready to introduce the president of Iran, a very controversial time here, especially with the war in Iraq. When the U.S. military has come forward time and time again and talked about the fact that Iran is supplying weapons to the insurgency and to loyalists there in Iraq, killing U.S. soldiers and innocent civilians.

It will be interesting to see what types of questions the president takes from students and administrators inside that Columbia University auditorium. We're following it closely. We'll bring you the speech live as soon as he steps to the mike.

LEMON: Yes, he's going to speak also, the president of the university is going to speak as well, and then, OK, I'm hearing now, Kyra, we're going to listen in.

PHILLIPS: To the dean.

LEMON: Yes.

JOHN COATSWORTH, DEAN OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: You may please now, note where the nearest exit is. You may leave the auditorium at any time, but to do so, but if you do so, the secret service may not allow you to re-enter.

As part of our school of international and public affairs and world leaders forum, we have today an extraordinary opportunity to directly engage the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

We appreciate everyone's patience in dealing with the arrangements that are necessary in an event of this kind.

To his day on our campus is defined by various forms of dialogue, intellectual debate and a remarkable student-sponsored forum. There will be many other opportunities to discuss the days events in the weeks to come, among ourselves, in our classrooms, online with others beyond the campus and with additional speakers who will come to Columbia this year to discuss issues related to Iran.

For those of us in this auditorium, our responsibility today is to listen and offer questions in an atmosphere of civility and restraint. As you know, the rules of university conduct do not allow us to disrupt or limit the free exchange of ideas, as that would undermine the core values of our institution and indeed our society.

I want to thank everyone in advance for displaying the patience and maturity and civility that are essentially to freedom of thought and expression. And, please, do remain seated.

Finally, a word about the program. Following President Bollinger's introductory remarks, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will address us and following his address, he will respond to questions.

Members of the audience are asked to write their questions on index cards, that have been -- that are available throughout the auditorium. You may write as many questions as you like. But, please, only one question per card. Pass the cards with your questions to the nearest aisle. The cards will be CEPHA Student Association, Pat Contreras will sort the questions into the topics and select the ones that are brief and to the point.

The selected questions will then be passed to me and to the speaker. If I think your question

Now, I am delighted to introduce to you the president of Columbia University, Lee Bollinger.

LEE BOLLINGER, PRESIDENT OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: I would like to -- I would like to begin by thanking Dean John Coatsworth and Professor Richard Bullitt for their work in organizing this event and for their work for the School of International and Public Affairs and its role -- and for its role in training future leaders in world affairs.

If today proves anything, it will be that there is an enormous amount of work ahead of us. This is just one of many events on Iran that will run throughout the academic year, all to help us better understand this critical and complex nation in today's geopolitics.

Before speaking directly to the current president of Iran, I have a few critically important points to emphasize.

First, since 2003, the world leaders forum has advanced Columbia's long-standing tradition of serving as a major forum for robust debate especially on global issues. It should never be thought that merely to listen to ideas we deplore in any way implies our endorsement of those ideas or our weakness of our resolve to resist those ideas or our naivete about the very real dangers inherent in such ideas. It is a critical premise of freedom of speech that we do not honor the dishonorable when we open our public forum to their voices. To hold otherwise would make vigorous debate impossible.

Second, to those who believe that this event should never have happened, that it is inappropriate for the university to conduct such an event, I want to say that I understand your perspective, and respect it as reasonable. The scope of free speech in academic freedom should itself always be open to further debate. As one of the more famous quotations about free speech goes, "It is an experiment as all life is an experiment." I want to say, however, as forcefully as I can that this is the right thing to do, and, indeed, it is required by the existing norms of free speech, the American university, and Columbia itself.

Third, to those among us who experience hurt and pain as a result of this day, I say on behalf of all of us that we are sorry, and wish to do what we can to alleviate it.

Fourth, to be clear on another matter, this event has nothing whatsoever to do with any rights of the speaker, but only with our rights to listen and speak. We do it for ourselves. We do it in the great tradition of openness that has defined this nation for many decades now. We need to understand the world we live in, neither neglecting its glories nor shrinking from its threats and dangers. It is inconsistent with the idea that one should know thine enemies. I'm sorry, it's inconsistent with the idea that one should know thine enemies, to have the intellectual and emotional courage to confront the mind of evil and to prepare ourselves to act with the right temperament. In the moment, the arguments for free speech will never seem to match the power of the arguments against. But what we must remember is that this is precisely because free speech asks us to exercise extraordinary self-restraint against the very natural, but often counterproductive. Impulses that lead to us retreat from engagement of ideas we dislike and fear. In this lies the genius of the American idea of free speech.

Lastly, in universities we have a deep and almost single minded commitment to pursue the truth. We do not have access to the levers of power. We cannot make war or peace. We can only make minds. And to do this, we must have the most fulsome freedom of inquiry.

Let me now turn to Mr. Ahmadinejad. First, on the brutal crackdown on scholars, journalists and human rights advocates, over the past two weeks, your government has released Dr. Haleigh Esfandiari and just two days ago Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, a graduate of Columbia with a Ph.D. in urban planning. While we are pleased to learn of his release from jail, Dr. Tajbakhsh remains in Tehran under house arrest and he does not know whether he will be charged with a crime or allowed to leave the country.

Let me say this for the record. I call on the president today to ensure that Kian will be free to travel out of Iran as he wishes. Let me also -- let me also report today that we are extending an offer to Kian to join our faculty as a visiting professor in urban planning here at his alma mater, in our graduate school of architecture, planning and preservation. And we hope he will be able to join us next semester.

The arrests -- the arrests and imprisonment of these Iranian- Americans for no good reason is not only unjustified, it runs completely counter to the very values that allowed today's speaker to even appear on this campus. But at least they are alive. According to amnesty international, 210 people have been executed in Iran so far this year. 21 of them on the morning of September 5th alone. This annual total includes at least two children, further proof that human rights watch puts that Iran leads the world in executing minors.

There is more. Iran hanged up to 30 people this past July and august during a widely reported suppression of efforts to establish a more democratic society. Many of these executions were carried out in public view, a violation of the international covenant of civil and political rights to which Iran is a party. These executions and others have coincided with the wider crackdown on student activists and academics accused of trying to foment a so-called soft revolution. This has included jailing and forced retirement of scholars.

As Dr. Esfandiari said in a broadcast interview since her release, she was held in solitary confinement for 105 days because the government believes the United States is planning a velvet revolution in Iran. In this very room, last year we learned something about velvet revolutions from Bots Hovel and we will likely hear the same from your world speaker this evening, both of their extraordinary stories remind us that there are not enough prisons to prevent an entire society that wants its freedom from achieving it.

We at this university have not been shy to protest the challenge and challenge the failure s of our own government to live by its values and we won't be shy about criticizing yours.

Let's, then, be clear at the beginning. Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator. And, so, I ask you -- and so I ask you, why have women, members of the B'hai faith, homosexuals and so many of our academic colleagues become target of persecution in your country? Why in a letter last week to the secretary-general of the U.N. did Akbar Ganji, Iran's leading political dissident and over 300 public intellectuals, writers and noble lariats express grave concern that your inflamed dispute with the west is distracting the world's attention from the intolerable conditions of your regime within Iran, in particularly the use of the press ban to oppose writers that criticize the system? Why are you so afraid of Iranian citizens for change? In our country you are speaking to our press and asked to speak here today.

And while my colleagues at the law school, Mike Dorf, one of my colleagues spoke, to Radio Free Europe, viewers in Iran on a short while ago on the tenants of free speech in this country, I propose further that you let me lead a delegation of students and faculty from Columbia to address your universities about free speech. With the same freedom we afford you today.

Secondly, the denial of the Holocaust. In a December 2005 state television broadcast, you described the Holocaust as the fabricated legend. One year later you held a two-day conference of Holocaust deniers. For the illiterate and ignorant this is dangerous propaganda. When you come to a place like in this makes you quite simply ridiculous. You are either brazenly provocative or astonishingly uneducated.

You should know -- you should know that Columbia is the world center of Jewish studies, is a world center, and now in partner with the Evo Institute of Holocaust Studies. Since the 1930s, we provided an intellectual home for countless Holocaust refugees and their survivors and their children and grandchildren. The truth is the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history. Because of this and for many other reasons, your absurd comments about the debate over the Holocaust both defy historical truth and make all of us who continue to fear humanity's capacity for evil shudder at this closure of memory, which is also virtue's first line of defense. Will you cease this outrage?

The destruction of Israel. 12 days ago you said the state of Israel cannot continue its life. This echoed a number of inflammatory statements you have delivered in the past two years. Including in October of 2005, when you said that Israel should be wiped off the map. Quote-unquote.

Columbia has over 800 alumni currently living in Israel. As an institution, we have deep ties with our colleagues there. I was personally - personally I have spoken out in most forceful terms against proposals to boycott Israeli scholars and universities saying that such boycotts may as well include Columbia. More than 400 college and university presidents in this country have joined in that statement. My question then is do you plan on wiping us off the map too? TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com