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Norman Mailer Remembered; Broadway Stagehands Strike; U.S Energy Woes Continue

Aired November 10, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, right now in the NEWSROOM. They say the show must go on but the curtain is closing for most of the shows on Broadway. We're live from the picket line.
Also, he's a dark horse in the race for the White House. But his campaign is bringing in millions, so who is Ron Paul? I'll be talking to the presidential hopeful a little bit later on in the NEWSROOM.

But first combative and controversial, a literary lion is gone. Norman Mailer is being remembered as one of the dominant American literary voices of the 20th century. The brash outspoken and frequently outrageous author, journalist and celebrity died in New York today at the age of 84.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): In his latter years, Norman Mailer liked to give readings of his novels in small book stores around the nation. As he liked to remind his listeners, they were listening to a legend.

NORMAN MAILER: So he is at home with everything that proves a little cleaner or a little filthier than it was supposed to be.

WHITFIELD: Norman Mailer's first book, "The Naked and the Dead", was an instant best seller in the years after World War II. He was a celebrity when he was 25. He spent a year in Hollywood but returned to New York City, where he spent the rest of his tumultuous life. In the mid 1950s he helped found the nation's most well known alternative newspaper, "The Village Voice." His fascination with drinking and drugs took a violent turn in 960 when he was accused of stabbing his then wife, Adel, with a pin knife after an all-night party. She made a full recovery and declined to press charges. As he grew older, critics liked his books, less and less. But he became famous for being famous. Appearing often on "LARRY KING LIVE" for instance.

MAILER: In the CIA they played tennis, in the KBG they play chess.

WHITFIELD: He wrote superb articles on boxing and loved to promote all that he did. Including this George Bernard Shaw play, "Don Juan in Hell." He became fascinated with journalism as well. His book on the Utah execution of Gary Gilmore, the executioner song was well-received in the late 1970s. In many ways Norman Mailer became larger than life. A description he never avoided.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A spokesman for Norman Mailer's family said a private service and burial will be held next week. A public memorial service will be held later.

No grinch stealing Christmas, at least not today. Not on Broadway. Stagehands are on strike shutting down dozens of plays and musicals. CNN's Jim Acosta joins us live from the heart of New York City where you have a lot of picketers behind you and I imagine you've seen all day long a lot of angry ticket holders who are pretty disappointed that the lights or the theaters are dark.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, a few ticket holders turning green and sounding grinch-like down here on 43rd street in Times Square in the Broadway theater district and, you bet, Fredricka, people are very disappointed about this strike and even though a lot of these shows have been canceled, they are getting a show down here. There's a bit of a Broadway production going on down here in that the stage hands have been picketing all day long. They have not been talking to us about why they're out there, what they're up to. But they're letting their picketing, their walking do the talking. The "Grinch" was expected to have its debut matinee this afternoon or actually this morning, 11:00 this morning and there were families, children showing up in droves. They were coming off of buses as far away as Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. You know, bus loads of 5 and 6 year olds piling out to go see one of their favorite story book characters come to life only to find out the show would not go on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We pull up and then all of a sudden we hear everything is going dark and the kids are like, what does dark mean? No lights? Yeah, basically, no lights and no show. So, it's a shame that, you know, they start with a kid's play. That's disappointing for the children. We're all adults, hopefully they would figure some adult solutions out and not take it out on the kids.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Not take it out on the kids, ouch. That's got to hurt. I'm no PR whiz, but I don't think that is good PR for the stagehands out here. But they're making their voices heard, you can see behind me the stagehands picketing underneath the "Grinch" marquee but on the other side of the street they're doing the very same thing in front of "Phantom of the Opera" and "Les Mis." Twenty-eight shows in all, the disagreement mainly has to do with theatre owners, they floated a proposal a couple of months ago, saying that they would like to limit the number of stagehands working on a particular Broadway production at any particular time to hold down costs and the stagehands have balked at that proposal. Both sides are at (INAUDIBLE). This is act one and act two has very much, you know, is very much yet to be resolved at this point. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: So, wait a minute, if I have tickets to any one of those shows, particularly the "Grinch" because we know that was supposed to have a matinee today. I want to know, am I going to get a refund? So what do these ticket holders do?

ACOSTA: You know at this point what they're going to have to do is contact these theaters. The theater owners have promised that if people out there have tickets to these shows they will either get a refund or get an exchange, but, you know, if you fly all the way across the country, you booked airline tickets, last time I checked a hotel room in Manhattan is pretty expensive. Boy, you can't get that back. So, you know, there are other things here to do in New York City, I have to tell you, it's a fun place to be. But, you know --

WHITFIELD: Of course. When you have your heart set on a show, you know, weekend in New York, you want to catch a show.

ACOSTA: Six year olds.

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

ACOSTA: Yeah, we were saying earlier today we could see the tears streaming down Cindy Lulu's face. You know, that's pretty disappointing to a 5-year-old when you come to see the "Grinch." My heart was breaking.

WHITFIELD: I know. All right, well Jim hopefully you'll bring us some good news next time we talk to you there on the picket line. Thanks so much.

ACOSTA: You bet.

WHITFIELD: Well, it seems like the new TV season just got started and already you may be facing reruns because of the same reason. A strike. Entertainment writers have now been on strike for six days and there is no sign of an agreement from them either. Comedian Ellen DeGeneres, well she's coming under fire from the writers' union. She honored the picket line the first day of the strike but then later resumed production of her show and so DeGeneres says she has a responsibility to her other staff members who would not get paid if she didn't return.

And then this, word from China. It's stopped exports of the popular toy known as aqua dots and bindeez beads. You want to take a close look here and make sure that you don't have these items in your home. That's because researchers have found that chemicals in the dots can break down into the toxic date rape drug. Some kids who swallowed the beads actually became seriously ill and one even fell into a coma. Earlier this week, U.S. safety officials recalled millions of those toys.

And now from person of interest to suspect. Chicago-area police officer Drew Peterson is getting a much closer look from police now, as his wife's disappearance morphs from a missing person's investigation into a suspected homicide case now. Stacy Peterson's family remembers or family members and friends hope it means that they will get some answers soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PAM BOSCO, STACY PETERSON'S STEPMOTHER: I have had mixed emotions. The family has gone through a lot this past week. So I think the news out today gives us new hope that we will find Stacy and we hope that this case will progress a little bit faster now.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Now a judge has also signed an order to exhume the body of Drew Peterson's third wife, who was found dead in a bathtub back in 2004. At the time her death was ruled an accident.

O.J. Simpson will wait until Tuesday to get back inside a Las Vegas courtroom. A judge will decide whether there's enough evidence to put him on trial for armed robbery. Well, so far, no witness has placed a gun in Simpson's hand, but two do say the men with Simpson were armed. So did Simpson know? That could be a critical factor for the judge. Prosecutors say Simpson robbed a sports memorabilia dealer. Simpson insists that he was only taking back his stuff.

An ex-top cop Bernard Kerik says he's a fighter and he's going to fight. The former New York City police commissioner is facing a 16 count corruption and tax fraud indictment, among other things prosecutors claim that Kerik accepted $500,000 in gifts while on city payroll.

And 9/11 made heroes out of Kerik and his boss then mayor Rudy Giuliani. In 2004 Giuliani endorsed Kerik's failed nomination to be homeland security secretary. Now a presidential candidate, Giuliani says that was a mistake. Some opponents in the White House race say his ties to Kerik put Giuliani's judgment now in question.

So, our legal experts will be joining me later on in the hour, Avery Friedman and Richard Herman weigh in on the Simpson and the Kerik criminal cases.

The eyes of the world right now are on Pakistan and this woman, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto talks to our own Zain Verjee about the future of her country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Three British newspaper reporters have been ordered to leave Pakistan. They are the first journalists to be expelled since President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency. The reporters work for "Britain's Daily Telegraph," which apparently harshly criticized Musharraf in a Friday editorial. A Pakistani official says the reporters are being punished for the editorial because it included an expletive.

There were more protests today in Pakistan, despite a promise by the government that President Musharraf's state of emergency will be lifted within a month. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto right there is no longer confined to her home, but she has been barred from visiting another prominent Musharraf critic, the ousted chief justice of the Supreme Court. CNN's Zain Verjee spoke with Bhutto who says she hasn't talked to President Musharraf in a week. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENAZIR BHUTTO, FORMER PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER: I have not spoken to him since we decided to part ways for these public protests. But before we parted ways I did speak to him.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: When did you speak directly on the phone or in person?

BHUTTO: Not recently. Not since we have decided as a party not to have any more contact.

VERJEE: But your advisors are speaking to his advisors, so there has been contact and discussions.

BHUTTO: I have told my advisors not to speak and that they're not mandated to speak. And I have told them that unless General Musharraf retires as chief of army staff, as constitutionally mandated and unless the election schedule is adhered to, we should not send conflicting messages.

VERJEE: So, you're saying on the record that you will categorically not speak to have any kind of communication with General Musharraf. Right now you have nothing to do with him.

BHUTTO: That's right, unless he meets these conditions and then we can review the situation.

VERJEE: What do you say to critics, though, who say Benazir Bhutto is really playing a double game here? You know, you're sitting on the fence, on the one hand calling for mass protests, on the other hand, you're sort of leaving the door open for negotiation. And you are the person in the country that can really mobilize the people on the street and you're using that as leverage for General Musharraf.

BHUTTO: Well, I would say that's partially wrong and it's partially true. I'm not playing a double game. I'm very open about it that I'm playing a middle game. I'm taking the middle bar. I'm not taking an extreme part, I'm taking a middle part and I have a different responsibility. There are some leaders in this country who do not have the strength to win an election and cannot form a government and they can take an extreme position and play to the gallery. But my responsibility and that of other regional parties that conform governments is a different one. And, so, I'm taking a middle part like them saying that these are the demands and this is what we want done. And if it's not done, well, he should step aside.

VERJEE: Do you commit yourself to restoration of the Pakistani judiciary headed by chief justice (INAUDIBLE). Just the way it was before the state of emergency was declared? Is that what you want?

BHUTTO: Well I certainly want the survival of the constitution and that includes the restoration of the chief justice and the other judges of the Supreme Court.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: And an unsettling milestone to report for U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Six American troops died yesterday when they were ambushed in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan. That brings this year's U.S. death toll there to at least 100. Take a look, 2007 is now the deadliest year since the invasion there in Afghanistan.

Well, they're not just calling this a snowfall. In Duluth, Minnesota, nope, they are calling it a burst. It came down yesterday so hard and so fast that the morning rush was a slip and slide. Duluth police say they responded to at least a dozen accidents.

Always expected to happen Jacqui on the first snowfall, just like a nasty rain. People can't drive. Even in a place like Minnesota where they're used to it.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Something everyone can identify with these days, we're all paying more at the pump. So, what has the Bush administration done to actually solve our energy addiction? We're keeping them honest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So, let's check out some of the most popular stories at cnn.com, shall we? Murder and rape charges are expected to be filed against two Missouri men today. 9-year-old Rowan Ford's body was found in a cave. One of the suspects in her death, the girl's stepfather.

And a London judge today jailed the husband of retro soul singer Amy Winehouse. Authorities say Blake Fielder Civil tried to persuade a man not to testify against him in an assault case.

And another Da Vinci code, perhaps? A computer tech claims that he has found musical notes embedded in Leonardo DaVinci's masterpiece, "The Last Supper." He says the musical score plays like a (INAUDIBLE) for the passion of Jesus.

Well, gas prices don't look to get better any time soon. That we know. Our Josh Levs has been wondering why, well, me, too. We're all wondering why.

JOSH LEVS: We all want to know what the deal is.

WHITFIELD: I know. We're stuck with it.

LEVS: Yeah we are and it doesn't look like it's going away. But don't you think you've heard for years that something will be done about it. Lots of talk. And the action, that's what we're going to take a look at.

WHITFIELD: Still paying more.

LEVS: No kidding. It just keeps loading up. Seriously and what happens is we started to look back and we saw that there have been all these statements over the years about gas prices, how concern some of our nation's leaders are. We wanted to take a look at what the president has said and see what he has actually accomplished.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEVS (voice-over): With gas prices soaring the president often says he's trying to solve energy woes.

BUSH: For too long our nation has been dependant on foreign oil.

LEVS: Has he helped relieve that addiction? During his years in office America's gasoline consumption has continued its climb from 8.6 million barrels a day to 9.2 million barrels. That's 385 million gallons every day. And the percentage of foreign oil has jumped. This is striking given what he said in 2000 when he was running for office attacking the Clinton administration.

BUSH: Today we import 56 percent of our oil. In 20 years on our current path, that figure could be as high as two-thirds.

LEVS: Guess what, under his presidency it's that high now. The U.S. imports two-thirds of its oils and critics point out that while he often talks about --

BUSH: Renewable sources of energy.

LEVS: His funding requests for renewable energy programs have actually stayed the same, at about $1.2 billion each year. Last year the president introduced new programs called the American competitiveness initiative and the advanced energy initiative, aimed in part at steering drivers away from gasoline. The White House Office of Management and Budget says the president has increased research funding and developed international partnerships to accelerate research and the use of clean energy technologies. Still, when it comes to breaking this addiction, even the president isn't promising much concrete success by the time he leaves office.

BUSH: Let us build on the work we've done and reduce gasoline usage in the United States by 20 percent in the next 10 years.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LEVS: That will bring it up to 2017. And of course by then, there will have been at least one if not two new administrations that will enact their own policies. And that they will assume responsibility, Fred, for doing something about these gas prices.

WHITFIELD: Perhaps those in position to kind of dispute, take on the president's task, the democrats in congress.

LEVS: Right, checks and balances.

WHITFIELD: So, what's their role? What are they doing?

LEVS: It's kind of another thing on the list of things that the Democrats made people think was going to happen in this congress and so far actually hasn't. Let's take a look, you know even back in June they were having this big news conference and celebrating what could be done about energy and they were saying, look, this is terrific. We've achieved so much. That picture is actually still up on the senate democrats website. It's from June when the senate passed a bill. But you know the way it works in congress. The senate can pass something and then you have somebody in the house they're supposed to get together, pass something, nothing happens, nothing happened, there's been no energy bill, which is yet another thing a lot of people are very concerned about. So far, concretely, no affect from congress on this at all.

WHITIFIELD: Wow. Still a work in progress, as they say.

LEVS: Let's hope there's progress. That's the positive view. But, yeah, there's going to be some progress.

WHITFIELD: Got to work out, come on people. All right, Josh, thank you.

The price of oil it's high and, guess what, now within striking distance of $100 a barrel. A huge number. But what does it mean really for you and me? Higher gas prices, yes. Larger heating bills, yes. Even more expensive gallons of milk. Huh? There's no help from Washington in sight they say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are not going to affect the price at your pump. Not going to happen. It may be a good thing.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow! Well, it's the trouble with oil. A special report coming up tomorrow night at 10:30 eastern. Yes, everyone wants to know the relationship between oil and milk. You have to watch at 10:30 to find out.

All right, well, green is a theme as this Kansas town rebuilds after a devastating tornado.

A quick look at what's happening right now. The space shuttle "Atlantis" taking almost seven long hours to settle in on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center. Lift-off is scheduled for December 6th.

CNN and the BBC are now back on the air in Pakistan, however, three British journalists have been expelled. Outraged journalists have been protesting the current state of emergency.

And for a short time today, former prime minister Bhutto joined the rally in Islamabad. She is no longer under house arrest. Pakistan's government says the state of emergency will be lifted within a month.

And that assurance is sitting well with President Bush, but a short while ago, Mr. Bush warned the U.S. ally against straying from the path of democracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We share a goal with the Pakistani people and that is to live in a free society. I haven't spoken to President Musharraf since I did earlier this week, but he knows my position and he knows the position of the U.S. government. I do want to remind you that he has declared that he will take off his uniform and he has declared there will be elections, which are positive steps. We also believe that suspension of the emergency decree will make it easier for the democracy to flourish and so, our message is consistent and clear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, Pakistan is a complicated country in a problematic part of the world, competing ethnic groups, al Qaeda, nuclear weapons. So, what if Pakistan were to fall apart?

We asked Special Correspondent Frank Sesno to look into that very frightening scenario.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK SESNO, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What if Pakistan comes unglued? We got a glimpse of it when former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's homecoming turned tragic, when General Musharraf declared emergency rule and even the lawyers took to the streets in protests. This place is an explosive mix in a volatile region at a dangerous time. There's al Qaeda and nukes, a military government, and a big drug trade. There are Sunnis and Shias, Punjabis, Pukhtus, Sindhis and others, the world's second most populous Muslim-majority country.

What if Pakistan gets really unstable? I put the question to an expert.

PROF. HUSAIN HAQQANI, BOSTON UNIVERSITY: There wil be the prospect of having not one, but four failed states.

SESNO: That's because Pakistan's rival ethnic groups and competing political and religious factions sprawl across four, far- flung and in places, lawless provinces. What if the center doesn't hold?

HAQQANI: What we are looking at is more smugglers, more gun runners and more terrorists having more space where there is no authority to clamp down against them.

SESNO: It's a failed state scenario that's especially chilling because of al Qaeda's foothold.

HAQQANI: More ability to plan attacks all over the world, not only in that area. It would be like Taliban control of Afghanistan, except on a much larger scale. SESNO: Sure, there are billions of dollars in U.S. military and economic assistance on the line, but an unstable Pakistan would mean big trouble, not just for Washington's high priority policies but for the region and the world. Everything, from fighting terrorism and drugs to keeping the lid on nuclear proliferation.

Frank Sesno, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, let's talk politics now. Topping our campaign trail mix, some candid comments from a candidate's mom. In an interview on MSNBC, John McCain's 95-year-old mother took a swipe at his Republican opponent Mitt Romney. Roberta McCain crticized Romney's Mormon faith and linked Mormons to the scandal surrounding the Salt Lake City Olympics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTA MCCAIN, JOHN MCCAIN'S MOTHER: As far as the Salt Lake City thing, he's a Mormon and the Mormons of Salt Lake City had caused that scandal and to clean that up, it's not even, again, it's not a subject.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The views of my mother are not necessarily the views of mine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: He says with an uncomfortable smile. McCain later told the Associated Press that his mother actually misspoke. He says Romney's religion should not play a role in people's decisions.

Well, Texas representative Ron Paul, the long-shot presidential candidate, drawing some pretty big crowds right now in Philadelphia. We're looking at live pictures from Independence Mall in Philly. Little shaky, but it's there. This is being billed as a Veterans Day weekend rally with the Republican candidate as the keynote speaker.

Paul has locked in low, single digits in most polls, but he still managed to raise more than $5 million for his presidential bid last quarter. That's about as much as several of his higher profile rivals, what they raised. We hope to speak to Mr. Paul when he gets done with this rally. He's promised to join us on the air here and hopefully, it will all work out.

Well, a planted question, now, it's an apology. An aide to Senator Hillary Clinton admits that planting a question is something that person did during a forum this week. It happened during Clinton's appearance at a biodiesel plant in Iowa, a student told the college newspaper that she was asked to pose a question about global warming. A spokesman says Senator Clinton had no idea the question had been suggested by her staff. Her campaign says it won't happen again.

And CNN is your campaign 2008 headquarters. Later this month, the GOP presidential hopefuls will square off in a CNN/YouTube debate. Post your questions at youtube.com/Republicandebate and, of course, you can watch it right here on CNN Wednesday, November 28th.

Greensburg, Kansas. Remember hearing about it, how that city was nearly vanished, kind of wiped off the map in the blink of an eye? It's flattened by a tornado in the middle of the night. Well, it looked like the end, well, instead, there has been a stunning rebirth.

It's an inspiring story you'll only see on CNN and our Betty Nguyen has it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA MUNTZ, TORNADO SURVIVOR: And you can just hear it ripping the house away. You can hear the roof going, you can hear things hitting the house.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): May 4th, 2007, an F-5 tornado nearly wiped Greensburg, Kansas, off the map.

MUNTZ: I really felt like we were going to die that night.

NGUYEN: In fact, 11 people did die. The rest are left with this: painful reminders of what the town used to look like.

MUNTZ: She lost her job, the church was gone.

NGUYEN: Pamela Muntz has lived here 32 years. She says the only way to heal is to focus on the future and, today, part of her future just arrived.

MUNTZ: And when it got here today, it became reality. It became reality. It's really here. It's going on the foundation. It's reality.

NGUYEN (on camera): And it's emotional for you.

MUNTZ: It is, it is emotional. It is. You don't realize how important your home is. To me, your home is your safe haven and we've not had a safe haven for five months.

NGUYEN (voice-over): She now finds peace of mind in this customized modular home. It comes already built, and it's designed to be energy efficient.

MUNTZ: And it's all together, it's one piece now, it's not two pieces.

NGUYEN: That's the beauty of starting over. The tornado wiped the slate clean and now, the town is rebuilding with a conscience. The goal is to go green, create a place that is so environmentally friendly, it sets the standard for communities across the nation.

(on camera): Where was your basement?

STEVE HEWITT, GREENSBURG CITY ADMINISTRATOR: Right here. NGUYEN (voice-over): Steve Hewitt, who also lost his home in the tornado, is the city administrator helping lead the way.

HEWITT: By building efficient homes, you're seeing less energy wasted and by not wasting energy, then, you have an opportunity to be friendlier to your environment, which is important because we're not building a town. We're not making ten-year decisions, we're making 100-year decisions. We're building a town for our kids, not just for ourselves.

NGUYEN: Which is why students are taking part in the design. Just listen to some of the ideas on the table.

LEVI SMITH, HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORE: Geothermal energy, they're talking about wind energy.

TAYLOR SCHMIDT, HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR: Use of a lot of natural lighting and we're going to have, we're trying to get -- Kansas has an opportunity to -- giving schools the opportunity to be wind powered and if that came through, it just would be incredible that we had our own wind turbine and we were completely self-reliant energy-wise.

NGUYEN: It's almost ironic how the same element that destroyed the town is being used to rebuild it. But according to city planner Stephen Hardy, it just makes sense.

STEPHEN HARDY, BNIM CITY PLANNER: They're really starting to understand that that means money. There is money blowing around in the air, that it's a resource that they can harness.

NGUYEN: While still in its early phases, the plan is already creating a buzz. It's attracted camera crews from the Discovery Channel. Producer Johnny Gould says Discovery plans a 13-part documentary called "Eco Town."

JOHNNY GOULD, PRODUCER, PILGRIM FILMS: For a lot of these people, green was a color on the wall and now, they're learning that building green can be a type of nail or a specific type of siding or a special window that you use that's more energy efficient.

NGUYEN: And that can be more expensive. Part of the challenge is getting people to make the investment now, so they'll save later. But when most of the town is still living out of FEMA trailers, there are those who just want their house built the fastest way possible, even if it's not green.

(on camera): How much of this town is going to be eco-friendly?

HEWITT: Well, our goal is to make everything eco-friendly. I think we've got to -- and is that a goal we can reach? I don't know. We're sure going to try.

MUNTZ: Do you see it moving?

NGUYEN (voice-over): And this grandmother of two is determined to do her part. MUNTZ: Well, I see this house and I'm so excited and I'm not even thinking about, you know, starting over. It is a new life and it's going to be good.

NGUYEN: For both her family and a town that's raising the bar on what it means to rebuild responsibly.

Betty Nguyen, CNN, Greensburg, Kansas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And we wish them well.

Hey, guys, well, it is Saturday, which means Avery, Richard will be joining me to explore all the big legal cases this week. I bet you can guess what tops the list. Orange juice, O.J. Simpson. See you guys in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS RICCIO, SPORTS MEMORABILIA DEALER: He said over and over again, I didn't see any gun. And there's -- you know what, there's a good chance he didn't see. He was three feet in front of the guy and maybe four feet in front of the guy with the gun. Or guns, I saw one gun. But, I moan, there's a good chance he didn't, but he, he kept saying over and over again, I mean, I didn't see a gun. I didn't see a gun. Maybe he didn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Interesting. Where in the world is this case going? Juicy testimony or dry in the O.J. Simpson case? It's been a pretty busy week in the Las Vegas courtroom. Among other places and other things, our favorite legal eagles are here to break it all down for us.

Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor. Good to see you, Avery.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. Good to see you, as well.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK, boy, is this case getting confusing or what? Just keeping up with the players, how many guns, were there guns, how many folks were there, who walked in first. So, Avery, are we looking like there is enough to establish, you know, reasonable doubt here? Can we see that this case is going to trial?

FRIEDMAN: Well, the question here is, is there probable cause, Fredricka? And so, it's a very low bar. And what we're seeing right now with the testimony of Bruce Fromong and Tom Riccio and what's coming up next week, the standard will easily be met and there's no question but that judge -- Joe Bonaventure will indeed bind this over, it's going to trial.

HERMAN: Fred, that's standard as whether there's a reasonable belief that a crime was committed ...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

HERMAN: ...and the district attorney is going so far overboard with this case ...

WHITFIELD: Really?

HERMAN: ...you don't need to put eight witnesses on at this time. He only needed to put two or three on. He's disclosing the entire prosecution case, he's showing all the inconsistencies with the testimony. He's playing right into the defense's hands here. I'm telling you, O.J. Simpson is going to win this case, Fred. He's absolutely going to win it. There's nothing to prove ...

FRIEDMAN: Oh, come on.

HERMAN: ...beyond a reasonable doubt.

WHITFIELD: Wow, and so, you're saying he's going to win this case because it is, indeed, going to go to a trial and you think that the prosecution really has not left any real mystery and the defense has it made, here?

HERMAN: This Riccio guy was in touch with the FBI and told them this thing was going to take place.

WHITFIELD: Right.

HERMAN: He's the one that rented the room in the hotel. He's the one that told O.J., come meet me. He's the one that opened the door to his room at the hotel.

FRIEDMAN: Nothing.

HERMAN: And there's going to be inconsistent testimony.

FRIEDMAN: All right, let's get -- can we get ...

HERMAN: (INAUDIBLE).

FRIEDMAN: Hold on, hold on ...

WHITFIELD: Yes, go, Avery.

FRIEDMAN: Can we get to the relevant evidence? The fact is there were three guys in addition to O.J. Whether Tom Riccio was involved in that, we don't know. But we've got Walt Alexander, who's O.J.'s golfing buddy, we've got the bartender ...

WHITFIELD: Right.

FRIEDMAN: ...we have Mike McClinton.

WHITFIELD: And what was their intent?

FRIEDMAN: And they're ...

WHITFIELD: Did they have guns? What was there threatening language, if at all?

FRIEDMAN: Well, they're -- their agreement was bring guns, bring guns, don't use them, bring guns.

WHITFIELD: And who asked them to bring guns, right?

FRIEDMAN: Exactly right.

WHITFIELD: Or who discouraged it?

FRIEDMAN: And what the prosecution is doing right now is setting up those basic elements of the four crimes, armed robbery, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy. Laid out perfectly.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

HERMAN: Fred, the key is the gun. The key ...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

HERMAN: ...is the gun because that makes it an armed robbery and then the armed robbery, it's mandatory prison time for him.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

FRIEDMAN: Right.

HERMAN: If there's a kidnapping, which will be easily proved with a gun ...

WHITFIELD: Or if -- yes.

HERMAN: ...that could be a life sentence. So, that's why the gun issue is so critical.

WHITFIELD: Right, or as ...

FRIEDMAN: And that's coming up -- by the way, that's coming up next week. We haven't heard that. All we heard was Riccio saying, he might have seen, he might not have.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

FRIEDMAN: There were seven people in the room, six said there was a gun, O.J. said there wasn't.

WHITFIELD: All right, and because of the holiday weekend, it means Tuesday before they're back in court.

FRIEDMAN: Right.

WHITFIELD: Let's shift gears, let's talk about New York now. Former New York police chief, Bernard Kerik, indicted on these federal corruption charges and we're talking about the top cop who is now facing jail for not enforcing the very, you know, or breaking laws that he was supposed to enforce.

FRIEDMAN: Right.

WHITFIELD: So, Richard, is he in trouble?

HERMAN: You know, Fred, this is a disgrace to New York politics and a disgrace to the United States. This is a very, very serious indictment, 16-count indictment, eight charges, four tax charges on here.

FRIEDMAN: Right.

HERMAN: Eight separate charges for false statements made to the federals, the federal government, the FBI, lying to the White House ...

FRIEDMAN: And the White House, right.

HERMAN: ...and his application there. This guy is facing a real 10 years in prison, Fred. A real 10 years.

FRIEDMAN: Well, well, the ultimate exposure, although it wouldn't happen, is a total of 142 years in the penitentiary, $4.7 million in fines ...

WHITFIELD: Oh my God.

FRIEDMAN: ...and it basically gets to the top cop in quotes, using contractors to fix up his place to pay his rent and then, this is astonishing misrepresenting facts, not just to the FBI, but also to the White House when he was trying to become head of Homeland Security. Wow!

WHITFIELD: Right, I mean, let's not forget he almost became the top dog in Washington.

FRIEDMAN: Right.

HERMAN: Incredible.

WHITFIELD: Or a top dog.

HERMAN: What makes this case so difficult to defend is that everything does not stem out of the same set of operative facts and circumstances.

FRIEDMAN: Right.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

HERMAN: There are four different separately unrelated charges against this guy. You can't defend against every one of them successfully. He's in big trouble.

WHITFIELD: Right. But innocent until proven guilty.

HERMAN: Yes, no question about it.

FRIEDMAN: Innocent until proven guilty, that's exactly right.

WHITFIELD: All right, Richard, Avery, thanks so much. Great to see you.

FRIEDMAN: See you soon. Take care.

HERMAN: So long, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Have a great weekend.

HERMAN: You, too.

WHITFIELD: All right, we're going to talk politics coming up because this man right here, yes, he's a dark horse in the race for the White House, but you know what, people? He's bringing in some big change, got lots of supporters there, in Philadelphia where he is right now and other places. Who is Ron Paul? He's going to talk to us and let us know.

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WHITFIELD: So, after months in the back of the pack, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is finally getting some attention. He set a one-day online fund-raising record this week and that has some folks taking a second look.

He joins us live from the campaign trail at Independence Hall in Philadelphia where you were joined by quite a few people there at the rally, Mr. Paul. So, people are still getting to know you, you know, what's your best pitch? How do you tell people who you are?

RON PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I'm a member of Congress, I have declared for the presidency in the Republican party and I stand for liberty, I stand for non-intervention support policy and bringing our troops home and I want very limited government, maximum amount of freedom, and a lot of Americans love the idea.

WHITFIELD: Do you like the idea that people are kind of calling you the anti-current administration Republican?

PAUL: Well, no, I don't particularly like that because, although I don't endorse most of the policies, but I haven't endorsed most of the policies of the Democrats for a long, long time. I endorse the Constitution and we drifted from the Constitution and my supporters understand this. They want constitutional law, limited government, maximum freedom, sound money, non-intervention foreign policy, and we have gone so far from that, I would say that I am a pro-Constitutionalist, pro-freedom individual rather than being narrowly defined as being anti-one single administration.

WHITFIELD: And so, a lot of folks might say that your campaign is kind of a throwback to the fundamental approaches of government, yet, when we talk about the amount of money that you were able to raise in such a short amount of time, I mean, you're light years ahead of many others in terms of using the Internet, really using this kind of modern-day approach to winning support. How did you come up with that and why, was this kind of a page out of the Howard Dean kind of how-to?

PAUL: Well, I think it's exactly opposite of being a throwback. The government is a throwback, the current government we have, our current transit is a throwback to tyranny where government runs things and individual freedsom is minimized. America was all based on maximizing the freedom of the individual and we've lost that. But that's a new idea.

Tyranny has been around for thousands of years and we have something new and wonderful and we want to just restore that trend that we were given a couple hundred years ago, but in terms of history, it's a very, very new idea. I don't think Howard Dean had anything to do with what we're talking about.

WHITFIELD: Now, how do you break it down to, I mean, this is a scramble now. We're looking at less than a year from now, we will know who is president or at least who is elected president, you know, of the United States. So, you know, are you really kind of cranking up the momentum of trying to reintroduce yourself to a lot of folks who don't, you know, who don't consider you a front-runner even though you're maybe the front-runner in terms of fund-raising? You still feel like you have a lot to prove to people?

PAUL: Well, I think the final proof is getting votes in a primary, but I think, obviously, the strength of the campaign is much bigger than we've been given credit for. And the numbers that turn out to the rallies and the number of dollars that we raise and the enthusiasm. No, I would say, the credibility is there. But I do agree that we have to prove ourselves and we have to take that money, run a good campaign, get the people out to vote.

But everything points to the fact that there's a lot of people who love the idea of freedom and limited government. So, I would say we're well on our way to proving ourselves.

WHITFIELD: And, you know, one thing that has been driving a lot of voters' opinions has been the war in Iraq. Where does the candidate stand, x, y, z? You've already reestablished the fact that you have been anti-Iraq War, but now we're finding out in recent polls that it's the economy that is now taking No. 1 priority among a lot of Americans right now. They want to hear from candidates. What are you going to do about the economy because everyone is kind of struggling? A lot more people are struggling right now. So, what's your best pitch, how do you convince folks that you will be just as adamant or, I guess strong-willed about the economy as you have been about -- against the Iraq War?

PAUL: And you bring two subjects up and they're interconnected, you can't deal with the economy without dealing with the foreign policy because the spending overseas is what's bankrupting the country and why the dollar is weak and all empires have ended when they spread themselves too thinly around the world and they can't afford it, and empires come to an end.

So, through financial means, the Soviet system didn't collapse because we attacked them, they collapsed for financial reasons.

WHITFIELD: OK.

PAUL: So, you can't separate the economy from the foreign policy. We want to save money, balance a budget.

WHITFIELD: Excellent, Mr. Ron Paul, thanks so much. We're just coming up against the break at the end of the show. Thanks so much for your time. Republican presidential candidate, good luck to you in the race ...

PAUL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: ...and thanks so much for your service as a former Air Force man, right, this Veterans Day weekend.

PAUL: Appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: All right, take care.

PAUL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, how many toxins are in your body? Find out why you may want to take a body burden test in the NEWSROOM. That's at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. And a check of the day's headlines is next. And then, CNN presents.

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