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Earthquake Rocks Northern Chile; Gambling Ring Busted in Atlantic City; Arguments Wrapping up in O.J. Preliminary Hearing; Investigators Say Many of Blackwater Shootings Unjustified; Black Sea Oil Spill No Surprise to Environmentalists

Aired November 14, 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: Seven point seven, and now two aftershocks. One 6.0. As earthquakes go, the one that just hit Chile was major. It was deep, and it was also a blessing. New pictures now of the damage this hour.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: This could be the hour O.J. Simpson learns whether he'll stand trial for armed robbery. The prosecution's burden is low, and the Las Vegas judge has heard plenty. We expect to get a ruling any time now.

Hello, 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.

Panic in the streets. That's where we begin as a major earthquake rocks northern Chile. It happened a little over two hours ago and prompted a tsunami warning that was quickly cancelled.

The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.7, damaged buildings and roads and toppled power lines. Now we're hearing about two aftershocks. And so far no reports of serious injuries. The quake hit deep underground but still was felt in neighboring Peru and Bolivia.

We're following this developing story. We'll have much more during the newscast.

LEMON: And another developing story here in the U.S., specifically, Pennsylvania/New Jersey area. Our Fredricka Whitfield on top of that one for us.

What do you have, Fred?

FRED WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it is believed to be a $22 million sports gambling ring that has been busted there in New Jersey, involving a pretty prominent Atlantic City resort, the Borgata Hotel and Resort there.

Apparently five -- among those who were arrested, five employees of the Borgata, as well as five known mob associates from the Philadelphia area. In all, the prosecutors there in the New Jersey area and the attorney general's office are saying that 18 people have been arrested. And they're still looking for others, so more arrests could be taking place.

We don't know the details of the kind of sports gambling ring that was taking place. But apparently, according to prosecutors, part of the gambling was, indeed, taking place in the Borgata Hotel in a poker room.

So as we get more information on this, we'll be able to bring it to you. Meantime, in about an hour from now, 2 p.m., the attorney general's office is expected to have a press conference to expand on this big sports gambling ring that has been busted and perhaps the other arrests that they are now seeking.

LEMON: Gambling, of course, big are -- big interest in that area, Atlantic City. So we'll be sure to check on this. Fred, let us know if you get some new information. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's D-Day for O.J. Simpson. Pictures now from a Las Vegas courtroom where a judge is expected to rule today whether Simpson will have to stand trial over his confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers. If so, Simpson faces charges that could put him in prison for life.

Our Thelma Gutierrez has an update for us now.

Hi, Thelma.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, Simpson's attorney right now is in court. He's summarizing the case, and basically up to now he has said that this whole case is about Mr. Simpson trying to recover his property, property that rightly belongs to him. It is about nothing else.

However, it was a very difficult day on the stand today, Kyra, for 45-year-old Alfred Beardsley. He is the eighth and final prosecution witness to take the stand in this case.

On direct examination Beardsley said there were guns involved, that O.J. Simpson came into the room with several men, that one of the men actually frisked him and then threw the other dealer, Bruce Fromong, into the corner at gunpoint and shoved him there.

He says that, however, Simpson was not armed. He was not carrying a weapon at any time. He said that he was very upset and very emotional.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALFRED BEARDSLEY, WITNESS: I was trying to calm him down, because I know that he wanted some answers. I could see it in his face. He wanted an explanation as to why we were there with this property.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTIERREZ: Now on cross-examination, Simpson's attorney called Beardsley's credibility into question. He got him to admit that he's actually incarcerated right now at Clark County Detention Center, resulting from a parole violation as the result of a conviction of domestic violence back in California.

He also got him to admit that he had suffered a nervous breakdown some time in his past.

Now, he testified that he and Bruce Fromong actually talked about profiting from this incident. They talked about all of the money that they could make from selling their story about the incident to the tabloids.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEARDSLEY: We were just robbed by a bunch of thugs, and my adrenaline was pumping. That's why, Mr. Galanter. Your client was foolish enough to -- to allow it to happen.

YALE GALANTER, O.J. SIMPSON'S ATTORNEY: Is the TMZ tape where you say to Mr. Fromong, "Listen, we're going to make a lot of money off of this," is that an inaccurate statement?

BEARDSLEY: Absolutely -- probably not inaccurate, because he's a high-profile person. People have been waiting for him to screw up, and he screwed up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTIERREZ: Now the defense is summarizing its case. Next goes the prosecution. Then it will be up to the judge to determine whether or not to hold Mr. Simpson and the other two co-defendants over for trial.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thelma Gutierrez live in Las Vegas. We'll keep checking in with you.

Well, she's published plenty of juicy books in her day. "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star," well, that one comes to mind. But Judith Regan's own story may end up out-juicing all of them.

Regan has filed a $100-million defamation suit against her former bosses at Harper Collins, owned by News Corp. At the top of that corporate ladder, you'll find media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Regan claims News Corp urged her to lie to federal investigators about her past affair with former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik.

Kerik has got his own troubles now: federal tax fraud and conspiracy charges. But Regan says it's Kerik's close friendship with Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani that did her in.

Regan says that News Corp's political agenda centers on Giuliani, and she was smeared to protect him.

News Corp's response: quote, "The claims are preposterous."

Much more on the story coming up when we talk with CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.

PHILLIPS: It was a deadly shootout in a Baghdad square that left 17 civilians dead. The gunmen worked for the U.S. security firm Blackwater.

They said that they thought that they were under attack, but the FBI was called in to investigate. And now "The New York Times" reports investigators have already determined that some of the shootings were unjustified.

Let's bring in Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr for more -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, that is what "The New York Times" reported this morning, that at least 14 of the 17 killings of Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in September by Blackwater personnel were not justified.

We've talked to a number of sources in the government. We've also talked to Blackwater today. A Blackwater spokeswoman tells us, to the best of company's knowledge, the investigation is not complete and none of the five personnel of -- employees of Blackwater that were alleged to have been shooters that day, none of them have been interviewed by the FBI.

A few minutes ago the State Department spokesman, Sean McCormack, also told reporters the investigation still remains open, and that it would be up to federal law enforcement authorities about whether or not to prosecute.

But this is always becoming, really, the fundamental question in so many of these cases: can they develop the evidence? Can they reconstruct a proposed crime scene? Can they get the witnesses to come forward all the way from the war zone to testify in a U.S. court and to really prosecute a case? That remains to be seen.

The Blackwater company also issued a statement which said, quote, "If it is proven that there was wrongdoing, we want that person or persons held accountable."

And, Kyra, while all of this goes on, the Iraqi government in Baghdad is continuing to work on new laws that would restrict contractors, that would make them accountable to the Iraqi government, and that may be the problem at the end of the day about whether American security personnel really want to work in Iraq and be held accountable to the Iraqi court system.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon -- Don.

LEMON: Another major opposition leader in Pakistan is under arrest. Police seized Imran Khan at a student rally today in Lahore. He had been in hiding after escaping from house arrest, days after President Pervez Musharraf's recent emergency declaration. Khan is a former cricket star who heads the Movement for a Justice Party. And he is an outspoken critic of the emergency declaration.

In an interview today, Musharraf addressed his critics and their call for his immediate resignation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN: We have to see if there's a way that my going will ensure balance and stability in Pakistan. That is the best time I would like to quit, OK? And I'm seeing that. I'm looking at that. Now if my requirement is there to ensure that there is -- turmoil is avoided and we go into election and an elected government comes in, that is the best way of handling it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: In Washington deputy secretary of state, John Negroponte, is getting set to head to Pakistan. After his arrival on Friday, he's expected to urge Pakistan's president to end emergency rule and allow free and fair elections.

PHILLIPS: We could be learning more this hour about what led to the environmental disaster in San Francisco Bay. National Transportation Safety Board inspectors are talking about what they've learned so far, and the Coast Guard is reviewing its response to the collision of that cargo ship with the Bay Bridge.

Fifty-eight thousand gallons of oil spilled into the bay on Wednesday, forcing California's governor to suspend all fishing in the bay. That means the commercial crab season, set to open tomorrow, won't begin until December 1 at the earliest.

LEMON: Imagine you've spent a half century with your husband or your wife, and all of a sudden you lose them mentally to Alzheimer's Disease. Then you lose them emotionally to another man or another woman.

That's exactly what's happened to retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. In an interview this week, her son Scott reveals that his dad has begun a relationship with a fellow Alzheimer's patient in an assisted living center. He says his mom isn't jealous but happy that dad has a new lease on life.

This is apparently a pretty common phenomenon among Alzheimer's patients. Well, a little later on this hour, we'll hear more about it from our Dr. Sanjay Gupta -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Bonnie Schneider now, following up on that earthquake in Chile. We've had two aftershocks.

Bonnie, are you hearing of anything else?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we are getting some updates on those aftershocks. Originally we thought one was a 6.0, but that has been downgraded.

If we show you Google Earth now and zoom into the region, we can show you the two aftershocks that were so close to the large 7.7 magnitude earthquake that occurred earlier. One was 5.1 and a second one was 5.7. So some very sizable aftershocks just within hours of this large quake.

Now, taking a look at our next map, I want to show you as we walk over here. What we're also looking at is where we felt the effects of the earthquake, how far north and south.

To the north we have Peru. Just to the areas to the east we have Bolivia. And as you can see by the area highlighted in yellow, really hundreds of kilometers away from the epicenter of the quake it was felt and well into countries to the north.

Now, the original earthquake was felt about 37.7 miles deep. And that's a pretty deep earthquake. If it had been more shallow, we would have seen more of a widespread area.

And remember, this is part of a larger area where we tend to see earthquakes, known as the Ring of Fire along the Pacific. It's a large area where we do tend to see earthquakes and, unfortunately, we do see them across a good portion of the Pacific. It does include areas to the north.

But in terms of areas in our region, as far as Hawaii goes, there's no tsunami warning in effect for that area, but you may see some differences in sea surface temperatures in terms of wave heights later on. There's the Ring of Fire for you in the Pacific.

Back to you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK, Bonnie, appreciate it.

A $22 million mob-run -- or a mob-run gambling ring, rather, is busted. CNN's Deb Feyerick is on that story for us.

LEMON: Also, an environmental disaster so bad, it could take months to clean up. We'll check in live with Matthew Chance for the latest on a huge oil spill in southern Russia.

PHILLIPS: The prayers are said, but the wait for rain goes on. We're going to take a trip to the Florida Gulf Coast, where a water war in the south could run some livelihoods -- ruin livelihoods, rather.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Unquestionably, Atlantic City, New Jersey, one of the nation's premiere gambling spots, but how much does the mob have to do with it? We're getting word now of a multimillion-dollar bust involving the mob in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

We go now to Deb Feyerick in New York, who's covering that. She's going to bring us the very latest.

What do you have, Deb?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, the alleged mop- run gambling ring was operating out of the Borgata Casino. According to a police source with knowledge of the investigation, it was being run specifically out of one of the poker rooms reserved for high rollers. This from a police source with knowledge of the investigation.

Five reputed mob associates right now in custody, along with 13 others who are suspected of taking the bribes and the bets and running the day-to-day operations.

Sources say that they made more than $22 million over a two-year period. The illegal bets were made on college and professional basketball and football games. This was called Operation High Roller, and it may have been operating also out of other casinos, as well.

The source says the gamblers who placed the bets will not be charged, just those involved in this alleged mob ring. Five people in connection with this still at large. They're now being sought after.

And this whole thing discovered in March of '06 by detectives from the New Jersey State Police.

The attorney general is expected to have a press conference at 2 p.m., and that's when we'll get a little more details on what exactly they were doing -- Don.

LEMON: All right. We look forward to that. Thank you very much, Deborah.

PHILLIPS: Black gunk all over the southern coast of Russia. More than half a million gallons of fuel oil have seeped into the Kerch Strait since an oil tanker split in two in a violent storms.

CNN's Matthew Chance on the phone.

Matthew, we're hearing that it could take months to clean up. Is that true?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the authorities here that are engaged in cleaning up the oil slick on the beaches of the Black Sea coast say it will take between seven and ten days before the initial stage of their operation is over, before the big mounds of stinking oil and seaweed and dead seabirds and fish can be taken off those beaches.

Another 45 days before all of the remaining traces of the oil on land are cleaned up.

But what environmentalists say is that it will be years until the effects of this environmental damage of spilling 560,000 of fuel oil into the Black Sea following that storm when the tanker broke up, it could be years before the effects of that -- while the effect of that are being felt.

PHILLIPS: And you were able to see it firsthand. Tell me exactly what you saw, Matthew.

CHANCE: It was a really, really quite sad sight. We walked along the very beautiful stretches of sandy beaches on Russia's Black Sea coast. And they're absolutely covered in a thick layer of sludge and oil and dead seaweed, dead fish.

A lot of dead seabirds. A lot of seabirds dying, as well. There have been estimates that some 30,000 seabirds have been affected by this and have been killed by this. That's certainly the most sort of visual casualty -- visible casualty, rather, this catastrophe.

But, again, the catastrophe goes much deeper than just the seabirds, disastrous as that is. Environmentalists are saying that concentrations of oil in the water here will be above normal levels for more than five years, or at least five years, underlining just how dangerous and how risky it is transporting petroleum products through these very delicate waterways.

PHILLIPS: We're seeing pictures now, too, of the birds affected. It's pretty heartbreaking when you see so many, Matthew.

Meanwhile, environmentalists there in Russia, they -- they actually said this was a disaster waiting to happen, right?

CHANCE: Yes. There are dangers; there are risks with transporting oil by sea all over the world. But what's making environmentalists particularly angry in Russia is that this is something they have been warning against in Russia specifically for several years now, because even when there are safeguards, the strictest safeguards put in force, it's dangerous.

In Russia those safeguards, environmentalists say, simply don't exist. For instance, many of the vessels that were shipwrecked or grounded -- there were 11 vessels grounded in the storm last weekend, one of which was that -- was that oil tanker that split in half. Many of them were not even meant for transport on the sea but instead for rivers. And they were being used on the sea.

In addition to that, many of them are old and poorly maintained. And this is something, they say, the Russian government has to take responsibility for and has to address, if it's going to continue to transport, what, 25 percent of its oil -- and Russia is the biggest producer of oil in the world next to Saudi Arabia -- by sea, something they're going to have to address, the infrastructure used to transport it.

PHILLIPS: All right. Matthew Chance. We'll continue, obviously, to follow up on that disaster there in Russia in the Black Sea -- Don.

LEMON: Talk about picking a fight, Kyra. Fired published Judith Regan files a giant lawsuit against her former bosses. She says they were afraid her past affair with one of Rudy Giuliani's pals could hurt Giuliani's presidential bid.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A lot of people bank on this every year, and if you are hoping to pay for your holiday shopping spree with your tax refund, well, the IRS says there could be a problem.

Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange to explain all that.

Hi, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, don.

Well, the problem here, it actually boils down to what's called the alternative minimum tax. You may have heard to it referred to as the AMT. It's a cash-all tax that was enacted nearly 40 years ago, originally created to prevent rich people from avoiding taxes altogether. But because it wasn't designed with inflation in mind, this rich people tax has been hitting millions of middle-class folks.

Congress has yet to come up with a long-term solution to the problem, and has instead put patches in place. But this year's patch isn't in place yet, and the year end, of course, as we all know, is fastly [sic] approaching.

So the IRS is warning that the inaction could lead to a delay in sending out refunds. The IRS says it can take ten weeks to reprogram its computers to reflect changes in the law, and Congress is not expected to pass an AMT bill until, hopefully, next month, Don.

LEMON: OK. Some other assumptions by holiday shoppers may not pan out either. Man, you're just full of bad news today.

ELAM: I know. Full of bad news for people who are trying to do some holiday shopping.

LEMON: And it's supposed to be happy for the holidays. What are you doing to us?

ELAM: I know. Well, I'm trying to help people get prepared. See? More knowledge. I don't want to be the bearer of all bad news here, but the discounts may not be as deep as some expected during the holidays.

"Wall Street Journal" says that, despite a weaker economy, retailers are still in pretty good shape. They've cut labor costs and kept inventory under control. So many of these retailers aren't feeling an urgent need to slash prices like they have in years past.

But wait. Are you thinking, wait, didn't we just hear about Wal- Mart and what they've been doing since October? That's true. We've heard about them drastically cutting back their prices ahead of the holiday season.

But those were carefully planned price reductions. What the "Journal" is talking about is those panic price cuts, ones in which shoppers can really clean up when they get here, closer -- as we get closer to the holiday.

(STOCK REPORT)

ELAM: You think the foreclosure crisis won't affect you because you pay your mortgage on time? You might have to think about that again. And I'll tell you how your home could be affected in the next hour of NEWSROOM.

Jeez, even that tease makes me sound like more bad news bearing I have to do here -- Don and Kyra.

LEMON: All right.

ELAM: Are you sighing?

LEMON: Yes, that was a sigh. Did you hear it?

LEMON: Yes, I felt it -- I felt it, actually, all the way up here.

LEMON: All right. We'll check back in. Thank you, Steph.

ELAM: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: A tug-of-war over water. Georgia prays but who pays? Southern anguish over the drought.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We have more on that Wisconsin prison lockdown now. Fredricka Whitfield has some new details for us. Fred?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the central part of the state that lockdown is going on for a few hours. Now the lockdown has been lifted. Apparently prison officials were able to negotiate the release involving an inmate who took a dental technician there in the health complex of the prison hostage. It's unclear what the demands were that were being made. Prison negotiators were able to win her release. It's unclear whether, you know, she's been at least emotionally traumatized. Apparently physically she was not hurt. It's unclear what will happen to the 37-year-old prison inmate who carried out this hostage taking right there at the prison. Again, the lockdown that had affected all 1,200 inmates there's at the prison in would Waupun, Wisconsin, just northwest of Milwaukee by 80 miles. That lockdown has been lifted. So all is back to normal, whatever normal might be there, in Waupun, Wisconsin at that prison. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Fred.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Also update you on a developing story happening in north Chile. The earthquake hit there earlier today, a huge earthquake. The preliminary registration of that was a magnitude 7.7. Also getting word there, you can see the video there of just cars crushed. That should have been the entrance to a building, an overhang on top of that car. Getting reports of aftershocks, at least two of them. One 5.1 magnitude, the other 6.0 magnitude. No reports, this is the good news right now. There are no reports of any injuries or any deaths in this but officials are warning us that it happened in a remote region. So the reports from that region, which is far north, have not come in yet. So they are concerned about that. But you're looking at video now happening from Chile, a magnitude 7.7 quake. The reports are still coming in at this point. We will continue to update you.

PHILLIPS: He's been quoted saying, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Unless you're O.J. Simpson. You're looking at live pictures from a Las Vegas courtroom. It's the fourth day, reportedly final day, of Simpson's preliminary hearing. A judge is expected to decide today whether Simpson will stand trial for a confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers in September. Two men, who were with Simpson testified they told them to carry guns, show their weapons and look tough. Today witness Alfred Beardsley testified that guns were used and emotions were running high.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALFRED BEARDSLEY, SPORTS MEMORABILIA DEALER: I was trying to calm him down because I know he wanted some answers. I could see it in his face. He wanted an explanation as to why we were there with this property.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: If a trial goes forward, Simpson faces 12 criminal counts. He could potentially spend the rest of his life in prison if he's convicted.

LEMON: This story has it all. It has sex, it has media, it has politics, alleged skullduggery and a royal flush of bold-face names. We can't wait for the mini series in all of this. That's all we have to say. Jeffrey Toobin joins us with the legal skinny on publisher's Judith Regan's lawsuit and explosive claims it makes. It's true, it has all of it, Jeffrey. And it's kind of convoluted here. Can you work this out and explain to us what this is all about?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: I think we need to pause first and let everybody at home get out a pad and paper. Because they are going to have to take some notes so they understand exactly how this works. First of it, it involves, who else, O.J. Simpson. Because you Judith Regan, the publisher, she was at a company called Harper-Collins. In November she announced she was going to publish "If I Did It," which was the book by him. That set off a big storm, outrageous. How can you make money off of this? And Harper-Collins, which is owned by News Corps ...

LEMON: Which also --

TOOBIN: Which also owns Fox News, Rupert Murdoch owns it, got outraged and wound up firing her.

LEMON: Yes. TOOBIN: She has now filed a lawsuit saying that this firing was unjust and in part politically motivated and that's where it gets very interesting.

LEMON: OK. Politically motivated. Now she's bringing in her relationship with Bernard Kerik?

TOOBIN: Bernie Kerik, right.

LEMON: And saying they tried to keep her from doing a story on him because it may in some way interfere with Rudy Giuliani's run for president and their programming is based on him.

TOOBIN: There's a lot of names here. So this is the story. It is now acknowledged that Judith Regan and Bernie Kerik, the disgraced former police commissioner of New York, were having an affair. And using an apartment that was supposed to be given to the rescue workers by the world trade center to carry on their affair. In the course of Newscorp's investigation of the circumstances of her firing, she says in her lawsuit that she was told to lib abolie about Bernie Kerik because Fox News was so dedicated to helping Rudy Giuliani get elected president, Kerik and Giuliani are very close, or they were very close. That's where this lawsuit goes from O.J. Simpson to the presidential race. The issue is, does Fox News have an agenda to help Rudy Giuliani? And did some people at Fox or their parent company, tell Judith Regan to lie to help Rudy Giuliani?

LEMON: OK. Just because we want to be clear on all of this. I'm going to read this statement. It's from Judith Regan's website. It says "defendants were aware that Regan had a personal relationship with Kerik. In fact a senior executive in the Newscorp organization told Regan she had information about Kerik, that if disclosed would harm Giuliani's presidential campaign. This executive advised Regan to lie to and to withhold information from investigators concerning Kerik." What proof does she have, Jeffrey Toobin, if any?

TOOBIN: We have no idea. But she at this point is not obligated to put forward her proof. She's just filed the complaint yesterday. She could simply have her own testimony. She could have tapes. She could have memos. She could have e-mails. She could have other people's testimony. We don't know what kind of proof she has. All we have is the allegations.

LEMON: That's an actual quote from her, from the lawsuit I'm being told, not necessarily from the website. Also, was she questioned about the feds about this relationship? Because you know Bernie Kerik obviously in the middle of this whole mess. He pleaded not guilty just last week to this. Has she been questioned by the feds?

TOOBIN: Don't know. I would assume she has, because the FBI is thorough. But she doesn't say she was in the lawsuit and that's not public information and not something I have been able to find out at this point.

LEMON: Let me ask you, and I would think, I mean, I'm not a legal person but I would think that this would be hard to prove unless you have some really, really strong evidence in this case. What are her chances? What does she have to bring to the table in order to prove that these accusations are in fact true?

TOOBIN: Well, it's a civil case so she has to prove only that it's more probable than not that there's a preponderance of evidence that she was fired unjustly. This is a case fundamentally about whether she was fired for good cause, and whether her contract was violated and whether she was defamed. Whether they damaged her reputation unjustly. I don't know whether she's going to win this case or not. It's like -- if it was going to be settled, it probably would have been settled already. Certainly the lawyers have been in contact. It's been a year since this controversy erupted. So it is likely that this controversy will linger at least for quite a few more months and every day that Bernie Kerik's name is in the news for one reason or another is not a good day for Rudy Giuliani's campaign.

LEMON: Yes, I was just going to say, first the Kerik situation, because he was sort of under Giuliani. And then now Judith Regan making these accusations. And, Jeffrey, just as well we have a response from Newscorp. It's from Howard Rubenstein -- actually, it's from Terry Everett's who's Newscorp's spokesperson. She says, "We believe her claims are preposterous." That's her quote.

TOOBIN: That's why we have trials. To figure out who is telling the truth.

LEMON: Yes and we shall see. OK. Jeffrey Toobin, much appreciate. Thank you.

TOOBIN: OK Don.

PHILLIPS: That's been the story for months in Georgia where a historic drought has endangered the main water source for millions of people. Georgia's governor prays for rain and calls for Washington to slow the flow of river water downstream. CNN's John Zarrella is along Florida's Apalachicola River. That's not going to work either, is it, John?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No Kyra, that certainly isn't. Water behind me from the Apalachicola River comes from a long way up north, by you, not far in Atlanta. And in the grips of that terrible drought, the folks in Atlanta are calling on the Army Corps of Engineers to reduce the flow of water out of Georgia. The folks here say that could lead to a catastrophic collapse of an industry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA: Five days a week for the past 20 years Eugene King has made a living on the oyster beds of Apalachicola Bay on Florida's panhandle. For King and Chris Golden on the next boat over, this is a way of life.

CHRIS GOLDEN, OYSTERMAN: Just dried up. That's all we know.

ZARRELLA: But their way of life, they fear, may be coming to an end.

GOLDEN: Used to be heavy here. They are light now. Because they are not getting enough fresh water.

ZARRELLA: The fresh water in the bay comes from here, the Apalachicola River. For eons, it has provided the perfect mix of salt and fresh water to sustain a smorgasbord of aquatic life. But the historic drought in the southeast has slowed the flow of fresh water from its source hundreds of miles north in Georgia. And now officials there are calling on the Army Corps of Engineers to further reduce the amount of water leaving Georgia.

DAN TONSMEIRE, APALACHICOLA RIVERKEEPER: We need the water just as much as they do.

ZARRELLA: Dan Tonsmeire heads River Keepers, a group dedicated to preserving the Apalachicola River.

TONSMEIRE: I don't know what the future holds for them without fresh water.

ZARRELLA: The signs are already there. As the saltwater from the Gulf of Mexico replaces fresh, upsetting the perfect balance. Cat tails along the river bank turning brown. In the bay, saltwater creatures that feast on oysters are moving in.

GOLDEN: That's a major predator problem right there.

ZARRELLA: Scientists are not sure how long it will take without fresh water before the environmental damage would be irreversible. State officials say losing the oyster industry would cost Florida $126 million and bring an end to a way of life.

GOLDEN: Sad to say, I will probably be the last generation in my family.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA: Tomorrow may be a very big day. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is expected to issue what's called a biological opinion on the impact of further reducing the flow of water that comes down here to the Apalachicola River and in December the governors of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama are supposed to get together not far from here in Tallahassee to try to cobble out some sort of a water compromise. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right. We will be following it. It's an interesting concept. Thank you so much, John.

LEMON: Your spouse loses their memory to Alzheimer's, and then falls in love with someone else. Could you deal with it? More on a high-profile case coming up.

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PHILLIPS: Well, talk about heartbreaking. Retired Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor has to put her husband of more than 50 years in an assisted living center due to Alzheimer's. But his memories of his past are faint. He meets a fellow patient and he falls in love. O'Connor's son said that she is grateful her husband is happy. But, wow, that's got to be really hard. It's not unheard of, though, as our Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: A lot of people will look at the situation and say it's bizarre, John O'Connor falling in love with another woman at his residential care facility. We are hearing from experts this is something that's actually not that uncommon and speaks to the point Sandra O'Connor, the former Supreme Court justice said, she was actually relieved by the whole situation.

Keep in mind dementia is a disease that ravages the brain. But the desire for intimacy is something that exists on a much more fundamental level, which could still be preserved, even if someone has this memory-rotting disease sort of affect their brain. That seems to be what's happening here at least by all accounts. We don't know some of the specifics here. But the residential care facilities often become a person with Alzheimer's entire world. That is their world. Sometimes they lose their previous life altogether or they keep certain remnants of it, desire for intimacy, yet they find that intimacy in a person in this new residential home. That seems again to be what happened here. We heard from the O'Connor's son, for example, that the father, John O'Conner, was actually so depressed and so suicidal until he found this new love in his life. And it is something that really seems to have motivated him and kept him going.

A lot of people ask, well, what to do about this, if you find yourself in this situation? It will become an increasingly common situation with the number of people with dementia, and Alzheimer's dementia increases. A few things to keep in mind. And this is not necessarily easy to do, but focus on acceptance, for example. Try to depersonalize the situation, recognize that a person with dementia may have started their life anew. And also to seek counseling. I hardly ever recommend movies, but there is a movie called "The Way from Her," which I saw at the Vancouver Film Festival, which was almost this exact story line. Again, really speaks to the point this is becoming an increasingly possible common situation. Back to you for now.

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PHILLIPS: In our 3:00 p.m. eastern hour, we will be joined by a guest by the name of Tom Eggland. His parents went through the same type of ordeal. We will get some personal insights and he has some advice.

LEMON: And now it's 1:47 in the east. Here some of the stories we are working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Crashed cars and collapsed buildings, the aftermath of a major earthquake in northern Chile, preliminary magnitude 7.7. No immediate reports of injuries but authorities still have not heard back from some areas.

The state rests in a hearing to determine if the case against O.J. Simpson will go to trial. The defense is up next. Yesterday, two men who accepted plea bargains said Simpson told them to bring guns to a confrontation with a sports memorabilia dealer.

And in Pakistan, opposition leader and former cricket star Imran Kahn was arrested by police. A vocal critic of Musharraf's state of emergency, Kahn had been in hiding since escaping from house arrest.

PHILLIPS: All right. We've got more on the Chile quake. We told you that the 7.7 magnitude had two aftershocks; one 5.0, the other 6.0. I hope I'm getting those numbers right. I should say -- OK, 5.1 and 6.0. Bring us up to date, Isha. Tell us the effects of it. Actually, we're going to talk to her coming up right after the break.

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PHILLIPS: Well, northern Chile hit by a 7.7 magnitude quake. We are getting word now those aftershocks were 5.7 and 5.1. Isha Sesay is on the quake desk for more on what's happening in Chile. What do we know, Isha?

ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Kyra, I'm pleased to say that we have on the line a journalist, Amaro Gomez-Pablos. He is there in Santiago, Chile. Let's go now to him and get the latest on those areas closest to the epicenter. Amaro, what can you tell us about the situation?

AMARO GOMEZ-PABLOS, TVN CORRESPONDENT: Local authorities are headed to the rule areas to get a real sense of the impact of the earthquake that hit the towns of Ica and Lima in northern Chile. It shock for seven seconds around lunch time at 12:40 local time. It was panic and havoc at first with people evacuated hospitals and shopping malls. No major buildings collapsed. The government, in spite of the fact that 20 percent to 40 percent of homes have structural damage, the little town with 24,000 people was the hardest hit. The quake there reaching 80 degrees on the Richter scales with 40 injuries but no fatalities to regret. We've had replicas of around 5.7 degrees on the Richter scale, successive replicas but the threat of a tsunami has been absolutely discarded, Isha.

SESAY: You're saying the survey is reporting several aftershocks, including two large magnitude 5.2. What can you tell us about this region close to the epicenter? You gave us some sense of the population but what about the landscape? Tell us more about the situation on the ground there, the landscape.

GOMEZ-PABLOS: You have major cities but out of them basically some indigenous communities and some far remote, rural areas. It's one of the most arid regions in the world. It's a desert. As you know, also, an important fact is Chile is the major copper exporter in the world. And this region hit is home to the major mining companies. Many in fact had to stop drilling the last two, three hours. The good news is there's no major damage there. The mining is now taking place with emergency power supplies. There's a general blackout in all of the area. Now the port where copper is shipped to the world is also in relatively good condition. SESAY: Now Amaro, I know you're in Santiago, Chile. I spoke to some people earlier on. Some say they felt something. Some say they didn't. What was your experience?

GOMEZ-PABLOS: We did feel the earth moving somewhat. But it was not obviously, quite as hard in those regions. We are about 1,300-odd kilometers away. And in the high-rise buildings, there it was felt. It was strongly felt. You would sense the movement of the building themselves, is what I heard from some of the people up there. But basically in Santiago we did not have quite a hard shake.

SESAY: Now, following the 7.7 magnitude earthquake, there was a tsunami warning in effect. That has now been lifted. What authority is there in Santiago, what are they saying? Is there a sense the situation is now under control?

GOMEZ-PABLOS: There is a strong sense that the situation is under control. Nonetheless, they want to have a good grasp of what's going on in the rule areas, in the far, more remote areas where you have some peasant communities, some indigenous communities, and so local authorities are traveling at this moment to those far reaches and to get a better sense of degree of destruction we might have had there. We won't have that information until a few hours later. That's going on right now, as we are talking.

SESAY: All right, Amaro Gomez-Pablos, journalist with TVN, I want to thank you for joining us. Many thanks. Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Isha, appreciate it.

LEMON: No more hiding his face. A cop suspected in his wife's disappearance gives a national interview.

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LEMON: Third wife and missing fourth wife, showed signs of being emotional unstable. That's according to Drew Peterson. A police sergeant and police suspect in an interview on NBC's "Today Show." Stacy Peterson hasn't been seen since October 28th and Drew Peterson hasn't participated in any of the searches. This morning he explained why.

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DREW PETERSON, WIFE MISSING SINCE OCTOBER 28: She never told me she was seeing another man. She -- well, maybe she did. But I believe she is with somebody else right now.

MATT LAUER, NBC TALK SHOW HOST: Let me just go back, did she or did she not say to you I'm seeing someone else, drew.

PETERSON: It wasn't put like that. She found somebody else, that was her exact words.

LAUER: You believe she is now not dead, that she is actually run off with another man? PETERSON: I believe that, yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Yesterday the body of Peterson's ex-wife Kathleen Savio was exhumed. Investigators have reopened the probe into her apparent drowning death.

PHILLIPS: No answers yet in the death of Donda West. L.A. County Coroner's office says her autopsy was inconclusive pending toxicology results. The mom and manager of the hip hop star Kanye West, Donda West passed away Saturday, a day after undergoing cosmetic surgery. Her funeral will reportedly take place Tuesday in Oklahoma City. Meanwhile questions are being raised about the doctor who operated on her. Dr. Jan Adams maintained a high profile often appearing on TV but he had some low points, too.

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