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Fit Nation; Explosive Device Discovered at Arizona Nuclear Power Plant; Dealling with Obese Patients in Hospitals

Aired November 02, 2007 - 15:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: You have seen the awful pictures and heard the awful details, seven college students dead in a beach house fire in North Carolina. Six others barely got out with their lives.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Any second now, investigators plan to tell reporters what they have learned about how that fire started. You will hear it live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips in the CNN Center in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We're being told we're about 10 minutes away or so from a live news conference right here in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. You will remember that beach house that went up in flames, college students jumping out of the windows, actually a number of survivors from this fire. Seven students, though, died from the University of South Carolina and Clemson University.

We're expecting to hear the state bureau of investigations report given to reporters and to all of us live in a news conference about nine minutes from now. We will bring it to you as soon as it happens.

LEMON: In the meantime, we have another developing story involving the secretary of state.

T.J. Holmes working on that for us from the NEWSROOM -- T.J.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, the secretary of state has been subpoenaed in a conspiracy trial -- or, rather, an espionage trial. A judge has OKed subpoenas for Secretary of State Rice, also the national security adviser, also the deputy national security adviser in this case involving two pro-Israel lobbyists.

These are two former members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, two lobbyists who are facing espionage charges. And what they are saying, the lawyers for these two who are up for trial, which is expected to start next year, they are saying that the testimony of Condoleezza Rice and other U.S. officials could help prove their innocence, and that these people, including the secretary should be forced to testify at this trial.

Now, we do not know how much resistance the government will now give to fighting these subpoenas. There had been some resistance before, but a federal judge has OKed these subpoenas now. So now we wait to see what goes forward and if the secretary of state, among others, will end up in fact having to testify and talk about what they talked about with these former lobbyists who are now up on espionage charges.

Kind of a complicated story, hasn't gotten a lot of press, hasn't been talked about that much, if you will, a lot on the air, and even here on CNN, but still this will certainly moved to the forefront a little more now that the secretary of state has been subpoenaed, so something certainly we can keep an eye on for probably some time to come. That trial expected to start next year -- Don.

LEMON: All right, thank you very much for that update.

HOLMES: All right.

PHILLIPS: Now the verdict of Mike Mukasey from Patrick Leahy. The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says that he will not support President Bush's pick for attorney general.

Leahy says that Mukasey hasn't taken a strong enough stand against torture. Mukasey was one considered a sure thing, but support began slipping when he refused to say whether he considers water- boarding torture. Even if all 10 committee Democrats unite in opposing Mukasey, they could still advance the nomination with no recommendation, allowing a vote by the full Senate, at least theoretically.

LEMON: In Galveston, Texas, a search for clues in a case that breaks your heart. A candlelight is planned this weekend for the girl known only as Baby Grace. Her remains were found inside a storage box that washed ashore along Galveston Bay earlier this week.

A preliminary autopsy show she had suffered at least one skull fracture. Investigators are getting ready to release a sketch of the girl. She was wearing this, white shoes from Wal-Mart and a pink pullover top and matching skirt believed to be from Target. The girl had long blonde hair.

Earlier, in the CNN NEWSROOM, an officer with the Galveston County Sheriff's Department talked with CNN's Heidi Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. RAY TUTTOILMONDO, GALVESTON COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: She's more to us than just a case number, more to us than just an unidentified body. She is very much a human being. She is someone's child, someone's grandchild, someone's cousin, someone's best friend, and to us that's the most important part about this case, but in looking at this box that she was found in, this is not a way for her to end her life.

The medical examiner has indicated that there were skull fractures. He indicated that there were no other broken bones to be found. As for anything relating to chronic abuse, old injuries, things like that, those are parts of the investigation that we still need to look at. Fortunately, we have had numerous calls over the past couple of days ranging into the hundreds, I understand, that have people giving us information, and we certainly appreciate those calls. Have any of them turned up anything? Not really. A number of them we followed up on have led us to go check on other children. Fortunately, we found all of them safe and sound, but nothing that's absolutely made a home run hit yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Investigators plan to publicize the case around the world as they search for the girl's identity.

PHILLIPS: Developing news out of Arizona. Let's get straight to the NEWSROOM.

T.J. Holmes working details on this story -- T.J.

HOLMES: Well, this has turned out to be a scary one we have been talking about this morning. The nuclear power plant out in Arizona where a suspicious device was found by a contract worker who was entering that plant for work today, in fact now it was a credible explosive device, is what it's being described as now.

So what you have here is the nation's largest nuclear power plant and a contract worker trying to enter that power plant with an explosive device. We have been able to confirm that now. Now, again, what had happened is that the contractor was entering for work through a security checkpoint. One of the security guards just thought something wasn't quite right in the backseat or the back of that vehicle, stopped the person there.

That person has now been detained and being questioned. The plant was locked down for some time. And now after some tests, they have determined that this is a credible explosive device that this worker was trying to enter the site with.

Now, we do need to let you know that as this person was entering the security checkpoint, we understand it's some half-mile or so from the actual power plant itself. So the person was not able to get very close to the power plant itself with this explosive device, but again this is the nation's largest power plant.

It's about 50 miles to the west of Phoenix. It's called the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. It supplies power to some four million people in four different states, but in fact now it has been confirmed by us that this was a credible explosive device that someone tried to get onto the nation's largest nuclear power plant. So, some scary stuff, and alarming news we're getting now.

A lot more to come out on this. We have been monitoring this story all day, since it broke earlier. And we will certainly continue to stay on it.

PHILLIPS: OK. We will keep checking in with you. T.J., thanks so much. HOLMES: All right.

PHILLIPS: And a new worry for police in Nebraska. They're searching for a middle school teacher and a 13-year-old student who apparently have skipped the country.

Police say that Kelsey Peterson's car was spotted crossing into Mexico from California late Tuesday night. She's 25, a math teacher and basketball coach whom a warrant now charges with kidnapping, child abuse and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Investigators are trying to determine whether she and the boy have a sexual relationship. Court documents show they exchanged e- mails and love letters, some of which were turned over by Peterson's father, who apparently found them in his daughter's apartment.

We will bring you updates when they happen here on CNN and online at CNN.com.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

PHILLIPS: And we're expecting a live news conference to happen any moment now with the findings from that horrific fire that took this beach house in Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina. Seven college students died, six of them from the University of South Carolina, one from Clemson.

We're now being told that the state bureau of investigation will release its report telling us about the findings to how this fire started. It should happen any time now. We will take it live when it does.

A quick break. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And we are waiting for that news conference to happen. You will remember that fire you see there at the top of your screen, that fire that engulfed that beach house that took the lives of seven college students, one from Clemson University, six from the University of South Carolina.

As soon as the state bureau of investigation steps up to the mike, we will take it live. We are hoping to hear the findings from that fire investigation, hopefully leading us to some answers on why that fire started. We will bring it to you as soon as it happens.

LEMON: Also a developing story, Kyra, concern a power plant.

T.J. Holmes following that for us.

What's new with that, T.J.?

HOLMES: Well, what's new is that in fact the nation's largest nuclear power plant, in fact, someone tried to get an explosive device on to the grounds of that plant today. This person was a contract worker who was apparently showing up for work, went through the proper protocol by going through security. A security guard just recognized something a little suspicious, didn't quite sit right with him. So, that security guard pulled this person over, stopped and checked it out.

The person has been detained, a contract worker, again, going onto the grounds. And as bomb squads were called in and people were called in to investigate this suspicious device which -- initial reports was that it looked like some kind of pipe, and, again, just didn't quite look right.

Well, in fact, the folks did determine that it is an explosive device. So, what you have here is a worker who was trying to get an explosive device onto the grounds of this country's largest nuclear power plant.

That person has now been detained. The officials there at the -- at this nuclear power plant, which is the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, which is just outside of Phoenix, about 50 miles west of Phoenix, folks there wanted people to know that there was, at no point, any threat really to the power plant. There was no threat to the public at all.

Where this security checkpoint is, where the person was stopped, is some half-mile from the actual plant itself. So, you have to go through the security checkpoint and then drive still a half-mile or so before you get to the actual heart and soul of the power plant.

So, that person never got anywhere really past the security gate, which is a good thing. And right now the folks at Palo Verde are applauding their security measures, saying that this person did what they were supposed to do. Something didn't sit right. Something was suspicious. So they checked it out, and in fact it turns out it was a credible explosive device is what it's being described as.

We're expecting a lot more details on this, but turned out to be really a scary situation and a scary thing to say, that someone is trying to get an explosive device onto this country's largest nuclear power plant.

So, a lot more details to come on that, and we're following right here.

LEMON: Mm-hmm. As you said, we're going to find more information on this, T.J., and we're going to bring it to you after the break.

Thank you, sir.

HOLMES: All right.

LEMON: Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

CAPTAIN PAUL CHAGOLLA, MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: At this point, what we have learned from our explosive ordnance disposal team, which is a part of the sheriff's office SWAT team, is that this is, based on preliminary examination and testing, that it is a viable explosive device.

We are conducting an investigation at this time. The sheriff's office is the lead agency that is investigating the matter. As we get more information, we will be happy to release that to you, but at this point it's just the preliminary stages of the investigation. We need to determine how the device came onto that property.

LEMON: A viable explosive device at the largest nuclear plant in the country.

Joining us now by phone, Mark Fallon from Arizona, Arizona Public Service.

A viable explosive device sir, what does that say to you?

MARK FALLON, SPOKESPERSON, ARIZONA PUBLIC SERVICE: Well, good morning.

But, first of all, given the size of it, because my understanding it was relatively small, it could mean a number of things, depending on what investigators determine the actual volatility of that device might have been, which we do not know at this point.

LEMON: OK. According to what we have here, this is Victor Dricks, who is a regional spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission...

FALLON: Chris,.

LEMON: ... said that it was a capped pipe...

FALLON: That's true.

LEMON: ... found in a truck bed. He said the pipe had suspicious residue, but he also said the initial checks failed to show any explosive material.

A capped pipe that had residue on it? I mean, that seems pretty...

FALLON: Well, yes, it was -- it was noted as part of the normal search of any employee's vehicle coming in, in the early morning hours or any other shift into the site.

It was in clear view in the bed of a pickup truck of a contract employee. Obviously, our personnel acted cautiously and appropriately, demonstrating our security processes and procedures work as they're designed. They detained the individual and called the sheriff's department and their bomb squad for further analysis.

LEMON: OK. So, where does it stand? They detained the individual. Is he still in custody?

FALLON: I believe, at this time, he's in the custody of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.

LEMON: Was there a threat at any point? Do you believe that he was threatening or something he left in this car?

FALLON: Not to my knowledge. You know, he never got past the vehicle checkpoint at the edge of our property.

LEMON: What I'm asking you is that do you think that he was intending to try to blow up this plant or to set off this explosive?

FALLON: You know, I really couldn't say at this point. And I think that will come out as part of the sheriff's department investigation. The FBI is involved as well. And, of course, we're cooperating fully with all of those agencies.

I don't believe that they have made a determination one way or the other at this point.

LEMON: OK. So how would you qualify this? You said there's no determination of whether he was trying to do that. Certainly, if they took him into custody, that that would mean that there was some threat, even though you're saying at some point -- at no point anyone was threatened, but maybe there was some intent there.

FALLON: Well, I have no way to determine what intent he had, or even if he had knowledge of that device being in the back of his truck.

There are any number of ways it could have gotten into his truck. If he had put it there, he clearly wasn't attempting to hide it. From what I understand, it was in plain view of the security officers as they searched the vehicle.

LEMON: So, the entire facility was evacuated...

FALLON: No, no.

LEMON: ... or was put on shutdown or lockdown?

(CROSSTALK)

FALLON: Yes. At that point, when they determined that this device could be viable, the gates were locked. No employees or contractors or delivery personnel were allowed to enter or exit the site, and we remain in that shutdown at this point IN time until our security personnel can determine that it is safe to resume normal traffic and operations here at the site.

LEMON: OK. So if people are in that area and near that nuclear plant, what do you want them to know right now?

FALLON: Well, that we at this point believe that everything is as it was, and it is safe. And if we get knowledge of that changing in any way, we are going to let them know immediately.

LEMON: OK. Mark Fallon, Arizona Public Service Department, we thank you for joining us.

FALLON: My pleasure.

PHILLIPS: We want to get to our affiliate reporters who is there on the scene, our affiliate KTVK, Courtney Zubowski.

Courtney, I don't know if you could heard that interview with Mark Fallon, but he's saying everything's safe, there's an all-clear. Do you agree? You're there on the scene.

COURTNEY ZUBOWSKI, KTVK REPORTER: Yes, that's what we're hearing from the spokespeople out here, that everything is all clear.

The plant is set far away from homes, miles away, so it's not like homes are sitting right across the street from this plant. As far as traffic, the traffic is flowing right past it. There are guards stationed at the front of the plant, because at this point, again, the plant is under lockdown. No one can enter the plan, no one can leave, as they do that security sweep.

But everyone is pretty calm out here. We are learning a little more information about this man, this contractor. They tell us that he's from out of state. We're hearing possibly South Carolina. And he does have an apartment here in Phoenix.

He is in custody right now of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. They're questioning him, trying to figure out why, first of all, had a pipe bomb in back of his bed -- the bed of his pickup truck. But also if he went through the whole background check with the FBI, why did he not know better to bring a pipe bomb onto the plant area here? So, that's one of things they're looking into.

We want to tell you that this man had access to some of the most protected areas on the plant. Different people have access to different parts. He was a contractor, and he dealt with computer software. He's an engineer out here. So, he did have access to some of the more protected parts of the plant.

So, right now, they're just trying to figure out, look, if he really knew that he shouldn't have that on property, and he shouldn't have had that in the first place, why in the world did he bring that pipe bomb onto property with no plans to do anything with it?

PHILLIPS: So, Courtney, how big was this pipe bomb? And was it out in the open in the back of his truck? Could you actually see it when he pulled up to the gates?

ZUBOWSKI: I haven't seen it myself, but sheriff's deputies are telling us that it was in plain view in the bed of his pickup truck.

When somebody enters the plant out here, they go through a security check for about five or 10 minutes. Two armed guards walk around the car. They use even mirrors to look under the trucks and cars. So, it was in plain view. In no way do they say that he was trying to hide it.

I haven't seen it myself, but they say that it was a viable explosive device and it appears to be a pipe bomb.

PHILLIPS: OK, Courtney Zubowski with our affiliate KTVK, appreciate the update there.

We will stay on top of that story as well.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Ever been fat? Of all the reasons not to be, one of the biggest is the abuse and outright discrimination that overweight people face all the time.

In today's "Fit Nation," Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at bigotry against the obese and what some people are trying to do about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Let's face it. Our society says thin is beautiful, thin is hip, which makes it tough to be obese. Studies show that overweight people are constantly discriminated for jobs, at school, even by doctors and nurses.

The Orange Coast Memorial Hospital Center for Obesity in Southern California wants to change that attitude. Their secret weapon is Lorraine Foran. Lorraine is a sensitivity trainer for the center. Every week or so, she slips herself into a suit that visually adds a couple of hundred pounds to her frame.

LORRAINE FORAN, ORANGE COAST MEMORIAL HOSPITAL CENTER FOR OBESITY: If you walk in the shoes of a patient of size, what better way to gather at least a little understanding of what they go through?

GUPTA: The center sees about 1,000 morbidly obese patients a year, most looking to have weight-loss surgery.

Dr. Peter LePort heads the program.

DR. PETER LEPORT, ORANGE COAST MEMORIAL HOSPITAL CENTER FOR OBESITY: It's very embarrassing, in this society especially, to be overweight, much less morbidly obese. So, we're here to help these parents and not in any way ridicule them.

GUPTA: After suiting up, Lorraine walks the hospital grounds to see what kind of reaction she will get from passersby. The day we followed her, she found people refused to make eye contact.

FORAN: People, when you meet them, just to encounter them walking, they purposely turn, so they don't have to look at you.

GUPTA: She shares her experiences with other staff workers to help them understand how difficult it is to be obese. The hospital hopes the training will persuade employees to be more empathetic when it comes to dealing with their overweight patients.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: What were his intentions behind bringing in a viable explosive device inside an Arizona nuclear plant -- the largest in the country?

We'll try to find out, coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Officials in North Carolina holding a press conference right now to talk about that terrible fire that killed seven students in Beach Isle -- Ocean Isle, I should say, Beach in North Carolina.

Let's just look at the flames coming from that home. But here's what investigators are telling us from that press conference coming out right now. They said that they failed to firmly establish the cause of a fire that killed those seven South Carolina college students last weekend. According to the mayor, he says that the fire started on the back deck. It was a three level beach house. But the extensive damage made it impossible to say exactly what sparked the flames. She said investigators could not rule out the fire started because smoking materials were improperly discarded and they have no reports of any other possible ignition sources. Also, according to the mayor, investigators saw absolutely no evidence of arson here.

And just to reiterate, six students from the University of South Carolina and one from Clemson University were killed early Sunday when flames erupted at that beach house. They can't figure out exactly what caused it. They know where it started, but they're ruling out arson, as well.

PHILLIPS: More on that contract employee that tried to bring in a pipe bomb into an Arizona nuclear plant.

On the phone with us now, CSIS Homeland Security Director David Heyman.

David, let me ask you -- I know that you have simulated or conducted, rather, simulations of nuclear power plant attacks.

What exactly happens when something like this rolls out -- when you've got an employee able to get through security one way or another and has an explosive device like today?

What's your first plan of action?

DAVID HEYMAN, CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL & STRATEGIC STUDIES: Well, unfortunately, they didn't get through all the layers of security. What the NRC has required the Department of Homeland Security to put in place are these buffer zones, which require perimeter defense. It looks like, probably, in this case, a half a mile away from the nuclear power plant, so that if they detect something suspicious, they've got enough buffer between the reactor and where the problems could occur and a security perimeter. And they can deter, defend or thwart an attack.

That looks like what happened here. They detected it a half mile out. If they were to get within the perimeter and the next level of defense is they would deploy other assets. These are usually heavily armed guards and others. And they can also start shutting down the reactor, if need be.

This particular reactor has a, I think, an emergency shutdown procedure which -- where the rods actually -- where the nuclear energy is created -- do in underground. And so they're almost immediately shut down.

PHILLIPS: And, so apparently, according to information that we're getting, that there is no expectation that this -- there will be an arrest in this case. The employee, apparently, they are saying, wasn't trying to hide this device -- this pipe bomb that was in the back of the truck. It appeared to just have been tossed in the back of it, more or less, possibly a random act.

Are you hearing anything or are any of your contacts telling you anything?

And does this make sense to you?

HEYMAN: Yes. I mean it would be foolish for somebody to bring an open -- an exposed explosive device and not expect to be caught.

I'm not sure what exactly the situation was. But if it was a small explosive device, unlikely to do serious damage to these very secure facilities.

And my -- also expectation here is that you have a number of folks in the federal government who were probably immediately notified.

What we saw was that the reactor went to their lowest level of alert. They've got four levels of alert. So that goes automatically to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and others were notified, as well.

PHILLIPS: And a final thought. If, indeed, this pipe bomb would have gotten inside this facility, how catastrophic would that have been?

What could have happened, David?

HEYMAN: Probably not catastrophic at all. I mean in order for them to do some serious damage, they need, probably, a bigger device than a pipe bomb. But they also need to be able to get to the important places where they need to get to. As I said, the Department of Homeland Security has put in place buffer programs. They've spent millions -- tens of millions of dollars across the country in critical infrastructure, making sure that if you get through one layer of defense, you've got to get through another and another. They've got gates. They've got guns. They've got guards. And before you get to that reactor, you're going to go through a whole lot of security with one pipe bomb and it's just not going to make like that much difference.

PHILLIPS: CSIS Homeland Security Director David Heyman.

Appreciate your time, David.

HEYMAN: Sure.

Thanks.

LEMON: He was born in Michigan, was governor of Massachusetts, but Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney appears to have found a home in Iowa. He is the runaway leader in Iowa polls, but still trails his rivals in virtually all national polls.

Of course, our Bill Schneider is in Marshalltown, Iowa, aboard the CNN Election Express.

I love that bus -- Bill.

I love that bus.

So how do you explain Romney's performance...

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It's a great bus.

LEMON: It is a great bus. It is. I saw it the other day. I hung out on it.

SCHNEIDER: That's right.

LEMON: How do you explain Romney's performance?

SCHNEIDER: Well, there's a conventional explanation, which is he's spent a lot of time and a lot of money here. He has a lot of money. But the -- I think, you know, when I came here, I wanted to know it must be more than that. There's got to be a message. There's got to be something about Romney that the voters here are finding impressive.

And when you speak to the voters -- and to the governor, in fact -- you find out what he's promoting is his background as an executive, a successful businessperson, the governor of Massachusetts, someone who ran the Winter Olympics some years ago in Salt Lake City. And he talks about that all the time. Voters here talk about that. It's not an issue or an ideology, it's the sense that he's competent, he knows how to make things work and he comes out of the private sector -- which Republicans, in particular, find very impressive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I believe the people in Iowa have connected well with my message of strengthening this country. I believe that given all the challenges we face, that instead of retreating or declaring defeat, we have to strengthen our families, strengthen our economy so we have good jobs for the future and also strengthen our military. And that message of strength is something which the people in Iowa believe is right for America.

But I also have to indicate that the polls look good at this stage for me, but things are going to narrow. They're going to go up and down. And you certainly can't count the chicks before they hatch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: Now, that was the governor's response when I asked him why he thought he was resonating. He said strength -- you see it on his campaign signs.

But I went a little further and found out why do people see him as strong?

And the answer is his background.

LEMON: OK, Bill.

That's in Iowa, that he is leading in the polls or ahead in the polls, the frontrunner. But nationally, it's Hillary Clinton.

I understand you guys talked about that?

SCHNEIDER: Yes, we did. And I asked the governor, you know, whether he thought Hillary Clinton had the right experience. And that's where he draws his background as a sharp contrast with Hillary Clinton's background. He does it in his current ads and he talks about Hillary Clinton as not having comparable experience as he does.

LEMON: All right.

Senior political analyst Bill Schneider.

Thank you so much for that.

And enjoy that bus. I hope to get out there and hang out with you guys on it.

SCHNEIDER: OK.

LEMON: All right.

Well, who sold the "Dog" out?

Here's a hint -- it appears it was an inside job. Wait until you hear the rest. His attorney talked to us in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Mark Goldsmith spent his corporate career making you look good. But after three decades in the cosmetics business, he decided to help ex-cons stay out of prison.

Mary Snow has this week's Life After Work.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prison -- for those who enter, the odds are there will be a return visit upon release.

MARK GOLDSMITH, CEO, GETTING OUT AND STAYING OUT: The recidivism rate at Rikers is 66 percent. Two out of three guys end up going back who have been there before. In our classes, we talk to them about that.

SNOW: Mark Goldsmith is the cofounder and CEO of Getting Out and Staying Out.

GOLDSMITH: And then we tell them our statistics. Of the 250 guys who have taken this program seriously, no more than 25 have gone back. So that's 10 percent.

SNOW: His New York City nonprofit assists 18 to 24-year-old inmates with education and job training.

GOLDSMITH: They've entered a jail and eventually some will be going to prison upstate. And within those confines, I'm talking to them about what it's going to be like when they get out. It's very future oriented, rather than past.

SNOW: Goldsmith's past was as an executive in the cosmetics industry, where he worked 35 years prior to retirement. Volunteering as a principal for the day at a prison school opened his eyes to the revolving door problem. So Goldsmith designed a solution to work with prisoners while they're locked up and when they get out.

GOLDSMITH: We are there for them as they go through the process of applying for school.

How do you apply for a job?

What does that application look like?

How do you handle the fact that you've been incarcerated?

We don't just tell them what's out there. We help guide them through the process. And when I get back from those guys, once that process starts to happen, are rewards I never ever got in the corporate world.

SNOW: Mary Snow, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, well, who sold out the "Dog?"

Here's a hint -- it looks like an inside job. Wait until you hear the rest. His attorney talks to us right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: OK, apparently, a tabloid offered a bounty for dirt on the "Dog" and the "Dog's" own son collected. Dwayne Chapman, TV's "Doug: The Bounty Hunter," was caught on tape unleashing a racist rant on his son over the phone.

Chapman's lawyer says his son is the one who recorded the call and sold it to the "National Enquirer" for a lot of money.

Well, the "Dog" dropped several "N" words in a heated conversation about his son's black girlfriend.

Well, Court TV's Star Jones talked with the girlfriend's mother just minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY COURT TV)

LINDA SHINNERY, MOTHER OF "DOG'S" SON'S GIRLFRIEND: When I heard this on the phone, I thought that it was one word or two words. It was a total ramping -- a raging about how he was going to bring them down. And, you know, it just so happened that she was not the one to do it. A lot of people who are sending her e-mails saying that she was the one that did it or she was the one that prompted him. She did not.

I don't know what happened to push him to that level where he felt that he had to do that, but it must have been something that he really felt that was threatening her.

If people could please stop -- and it's not just whites, it's blacks as well -- sending her nasty, hateful e-mail on her MySpace, because I feel that her safety may be in question, because people are spouting things that I didn't even imagine in the worst horror movie that they want to do. And it's -- it's very terrifying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was from Star Jones on Court TV. Chapman has apologized for the rant and promised to make things right.

As you heard on that tape, Chapman was very concerned about what might happen to his career if people knew he used the "N" word. It appears his fears -- well, they have now come to fruition. And for now, the bounty hunter appears to be the forgiveness seeker.

Chapman's lawyer, Brook Hart, joins us now by phone from Honolulu, where A&E has stopped production of "The Bounty Hunter Show" for now.

You say this is all about money.

BROOK HART, ATTORNEY FOR DUANE "DOG" CHAPMAN: Well, I don't say it's all about money. I think, though, that the root of the problem is that Tucker -- who is one of Dwayne's sons and who is on parole -- was doing something to compromise his mandatory drug testing. And Dwayne was going to turn him in for doing that and believes -- Dwayne does -- that Monique assisted Tucker with compromising the drug tests.

So that was kind of the background of it.

LEMON: OK.

HART: And Dwayne got information that Monique was in the parking lot behind the business with a tape recorder and was going to come into the business and try to tape record Dwayne or anybody else inside who might use the "N" word. And given Dwayne's history growing up in the South, his prison experience and his overall kind of street orientation, from time to time that word might have been used, although I've known him for seven years and I've never heard him use it once.

LEMON: Is that a defense?

That's -- I mean come on.

HART: I don't think it's a defense in the sense that it's appropriate to use the word. And Dwayne will never use it again, as far as he's concerned. I think he's learned a lot from this experience. And he apologizes to everyone, including Monique and Tucker, for having used the word -- and to those who he ever used the word with. But let's face it, the word is used from time to time by people, even in an endearing sense. It's not appropriate. Dwayne recognizes it's not appropriate and he's done with it.

LEMON: And that's the whole controversy with that word, because it's actually -- it's the same word, but a different sort of dielectric when you said it's used in an endearing sense.

HART: Yes, that's right...

LEMON: And listening to...

HART: And that's when it might be used...

LEMON: If you listen to the...

HART: ...around the office.

LEMON: Absolutely. We are not disputing that.

HART: The context in which he used it on the telephone call, that was just wrong.

LEMON: Right.

HART: And Dwayne wants everyone in the nation to -- if they are sending any hate mail or e-mails that are negative to Monique, to stop that now. That's just not appropriate.

LEMON: OK, well, let's talk about this. And I'm glad you clarified that, because the way he said it was definitely not endearing.

HART: Right.

LEMON: And I don't think anyone...

HART: Correct.

LEMON: ...anyone would think that.

HART: And he is very remorseful for it.

LEMON: Yes. OK. So you -- then we say that there's a partial -- partially about money and then drugs. That's something that we didn't know before.

So are you saying they were trying to shake down "Dog" and get some money out of him and are you saying the son was...

HART: I'm not saying that. I'm saying the son tried to get back at Dwayne for having...

LEMON: OK...

HART: ...for having told the son that a recording of him in the office was not OK.

LEMON: Yes.

HART: And in the course of that, Dwayne said all those inappropriate things and he is very sorry that he did.

LEMON: Do you know how much money -- apparently his son got money, is it from the "National Enquirer," correct?

HART: That's correct.

LEMON: Do you know how much money?

HART: I have some ideas but I don't have certainties. But I know that it was a lot.

LEMON: I just want to make sure, because have a certain amount. I just want to see if you can confirm it.

HART: Well, what amount did you have?

LEMON: Yes. I -- we're not going to go into that. I just want to make sure...

HART: OK. Well, then I can't...

LEMON: Yes.

HART: I'm not going to name the amount, because I don't have personal knowledge of it.

LEMON: Yes.

OK.

HART: I'll call you back.

LEMON: OK.

Are you there?

HART: I am here.

LEMON: OK.

HART: But I don't...

LEMON: Real quick, is he going to make a public statement?

That's what we're hearing.

HART: I think that's the plan and, you know, there are a number of people who impact on Dwayne's life, from his television show and from other areas of his life, that he has to listen to and be guided by, in addition to his counsel. So I hope that he will. I hope that he will do so soon. I know that he wants to and I'm sure that he will in the not distant future.

LEMON: OK.

I just -- but I'm getting some information from our entertainment folks. I just want to make sure that I get this in before we go. Two days after the tape surfaced repeatedly using the "N" word (INAUDIBLE) is pulling all episodes of "Dog."

So they're pulling all of the episodes. It's going to affect him financially. They're pulling all the episodes. You're his attorney. You should know this. The show has been shut down. So as much we know...

HART: OK. Well, the show...

LEMON: ...no bounty hunter.

HART: ...the production has been suspended and A&E will make a decision after they've investigated. Now, the public reaction here in Honolulu is running 55 percent versus 45 percent to retain the show and keep "Dog" on the air.

LEMON: So it's not been canceled?

HART: That's correct.

LEMON: It has not been canceled.

HART: That's correct.

LEMON: Because we're hearing now that it's possibly been canceled -- from our entertainment folks.

HART: Well, if it is, it's something that happened within the last few hours. I haven't heard that. LEMON: OK.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Brook Hart.

HART: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Well, the Dow tumbled nearly 400 points yesterday.

How will the week end?

We're going to find out in just a few minutes.

And a very important reminder before you get some shuteye this weekend. The Dow Industrials up 24 points.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The closing Bell is about to ring on Wall Street.

LEMON: Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at the trading week -- yes, huh?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, what week.

Kyra and Don, here's your feel good Friday takeaway. You get an extra hour of sleep on Sunday. Daylight Savings Time ends on Sunday -- a week later than usual. It began three weeks earlier than usual. All of this to save energy. So remember, fall back on Sunday.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

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