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Rallying Against Hate Crimes; Playing Hardball: Barry Bonds Indicted; Killer Cyclone: Bangladesh Hit Hard; Civil Rights March On Justice; New Attorney General Issues Strong Message On Hate Crimes

Aired November 16, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It looks like a cold, sounds like a cold, feels like a cold, but this cold can kill. It's a mutant strain, and our Elizabeth Cohen puts it under the microscope this hour.
Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

Don Lemon on assignment. He's going to join us in just a moment from D.C.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Marching for justice, that's what they are saying. It's a big rally going on right now in Washington, D.C. Demonstrators are calling on the Justice Department to step up its prosecution of hate crimes.

Don Lemon is there -- Don.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Kyra, how are you?

Listen, the permit has run out to open up some of the streets, but they're still marching around. They've got three more times to march around here.

This lady right here grabbed my hand and said hello to me.

You're actually from here in Washington.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I'm from southeast D.C.

LEMON: Yes. Why did you -- why did you come? And you brought your daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I brought my daughter because I wanted her to know that it could be her, one of the Jena Six. It could be anybody, our next door neighbor. And because I want her to know that the nooses and the kind of racism that is here is what we have to fight against. We cannot be undervalued, as we listen to WOL and what Joe Madison says every day.

LEMON: All right. I've got to ask you, what do you think of all these people? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's amazing. I just can't believe this many people turned out. Me and my mom have been trying to here all morning. It's just -- it's amazing.

LEMON: So that's the sentiment of a lot of people here, the people who are just marching.

All right. Can I have my hand back?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You surely can.

LEMON: Thank you both for talking to me. It was very nice to talk to me.

I want to talk to Representative -- right here -- Sheila Jackson Lee. She's here from Texas.

You've been finding for hate crime legislation for a long time.

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS: Since 1995, and as we walk with Reverend Sharpton and the president of SELC and Martin Luther King III, it is restarting history, because the most vulnerable of Americans should be able to have confidence in the Department of Justice.

LEMON: I've got to say this -- the Justice Department did not want to talk on camera, but they did release a statement to us saying, you know what? When it comes to civil rights legislation and civil rights crimes and violations, that they are actually up in prosecuting those cases, and that the legislation, some of the legislation that you guys are marching for today, already covered under the Civil Rights Act.

JACKSON LEE: Well, you know, it's interesting. By their own interpretation they make those representations.

The numbers show differently. And that is that they have the lowest number of prosecutions since 1996. And I remember through history that the Department of Justice at the time of the civil rights legislation were also saying that they were doing what is right. They are not doing what was right, evidenced by the Mychal Bell case, the Jena Six case, and many other cases that have yet been brought for prosecution by the department.

LEMON: OK. Real quick because we're running out of time here, bottom line, what do you guys want here?

JACKSON LEE: Bottom line is we want the lights turned on, we want a restored civil rights division. We want it replenished in terms of staffing and funding which the Bush administration has cut, and we want the new attorney general to wake up and understand that vulnerable Americans need to have confidence in the Department of Justice and the civil rights division.

LEMON: OK. There you go.

Thank you very much.

Kyra, that's it.

And I want to show you this. This is live here. This person, look, holding a noose there and saying that's what this is all about, the noose hangings, the incidents since the Jena Six, since you reported your special about the Jena Six and your special on nooses. That symbol, some people believe, is a symbol of hatred and should be deemed a hate crime if you display it.

There are others who are saying, you know what? It's your First Amendment right. You can you hang it, you can do whatever you want with it, that's what America is about. But these people believe that all these incidents that happened, especially after Jena, should fall under the Federal Hate Crimes Act, or that legislation should be expanded to include that.

So you've got the Reverend Al Sharpton here. You've got Martin Luther King, Jr. III. If that's not symbolism, I don't know what it is. His dad led the march back in 1963.

We're going to continue to talk to regular folks who have come here from all over, all over the country to get their message across and to march.

Also, I want to tell you, go to CNN.com. We're streaming live on CNN.com. We have a camera right here. There's (INAUDIBLE) who's walking around (INAUDIBLE).

You can be part of the march at CNN.com -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Don Lemon right there in the middle of the rally. You can see CNN.com, streaming live video. Don right there in the middle of the march via our wireless technology.

We'll keep checking in with you, Don, talking with your guests and talking about this march for justice there around the Department of Justice.

With a bat in his hands Barry Bonds is virtually unstoppable, but now off the diamond a different kind of challenge. Baseball's homerun king is under federal indictment, accused of lying to a grand jury about steroids.

CNN's Kara Finnstrom has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: While all of America was watching Bonds chase that homerun title, prosecutors were chasing him, slowly and quietly putting together their case.

Just behind me here you can see AT&T Park. This is where he slugged out a lot of those homers. The claim of prosecutors is that he used performance-enhancing drugs to artificially boost that power, and that he then lied about doing so to a federal grand jury that was investigating the use of such drugs by professional athletes.

Now, the charges that he's facing, perjury and obstruction of justice, carry up to a maximum of 30 years in prison. So what's the evidence against him?

Well, prosecutors have released a 10-page indictment that says that they have found evidence that he did test positive for using these performance-enhancing drugs. There's also been some talk that perhaps Greg Anderson -- that's the personal trainer of Bonds who up until now has refused to answer questions -- might flip and might actually answer questions about Bonds. But his attorney has told the "L.A. Times" that is not the case and that he will remain quiet.

Bonds' own attorneys have been pretty quiet thus far, although they have said speaking to reporters late yesterday that they don't believe the evidence is there to support these charges.

MICHAEL RAINS, ATTORNEY FOR BONDS: Now that their biased allegations must finally, finally be presented in open court, they won't be able to hide from their unethical misconduct any longer. The public is going to get the whole truth, not just selectively leaked fabrications from anonymous sources.

FINNSTROM: Well, Bonds is due to first appear in court on these charges on December 7th. This is an especially difficult time for him to be facing all this because he didn't re-sign with the Giants, and right now he's looking for another park to call home.

Kara Finnstrom for CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Pakistan's president says he's introduce the essence of democracy whether anyone believes it or not. There's no shortage of doubters. Pervez Musharraf has sworn in a new cabinet. All of them handpicked and Musharraf-friendly.

Their job? Warm the seats in government until elections in January.

Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is free after three days of house arrest and wasting no time criticizing the new regime. She says Musharraf is an obstacle to democracy.

Deputy U.S. Secretary of State John Negroponte is in Islamabad. He's going to try to persuade Musharraf to end the emergency rule.

Madeleine Albright was secretary of state when Musharraf took the reins. She talked with CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" about what Deputy Secretary of State Negroponte will try to accomplish while he's there in Pakistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FMR. SECRETARY OF STATE: I think that Secretary Negroponte has a very difficult job. As you pointed out, President Musharraf has basically dissolved everything, but there cannot really be legitimate elections unless he lifts the emergency regulations. And so phony elections are no elections.

And I think that what we have to do is say that he has to return and move towards restoring the Constitution and having real elections by lifting the emergency and allowing Benazir Bhutto and the opposition parties to really field candidates and get involved in it. I think it is very worrisome, because we depend so much on Pakistan for what we're doing in Afghanistan, and it puts us in a very difficult position of what to do when a military dictator is not, in fact, allowing his people to have any voice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Negroponte is expected to meet with opposition leaders in Pakistan as well. He's already spoken with Benazir Bhutto by phone.

A killer cyclone barrels into Bangladesh. Hundreds of people are dead, tens of thousands are homeless. Now the first live pictures from the region.

We want to get straight to CNN's Cal Perry, who made it to the capital of Dhaka. He's the first correspondent to get up live in that area.

Cal, tell us, what's it like?

CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a really logistical nightmare here, Kyra. We're trying to get information from the south and it's incredibly hard.

The storm was incredibly impactful on the infrastructure here in Bangladesh. We're seeing our first pictures now from the south. That is the coastal area. That is the area where the storm came ashore. And we're hearing from local aid organizations that 60 to 70 percent of all structures in that coastal area have been destroyed, absolutely decimated.

You can see in the video it just is reminiscent of what we saw almost in the tsunami. It is reminiscent of what you normally see during a massive storm surge.

We're talking about an area of the country that is just a few feet above sea level, and when you're dealing with a 15-foot storm surge, that's the real danger. What's not blown away by the wind and is not pounded by, of course, the rain, can be absolutely washed away by the storm surge.

Now, we're understanding the numbers that we're hearing so far -- and again, as we have been reporting the past 24 hours since the storm came ashore, these are very preliminary numbers as we try to get more information from the south -- at least according to local media, 1,100 people are confirmed dead. It depends on which aid organization you listen to. That number could rise as high as 2,000. But again, there is that possibility that number could jump as we get more information from the south.

Here in the capital, it's obvious that the bureaucratic structure, that the infrastructure of this country has been decimated. The phones are out, the power is out across the capital, and this is some 200 miles north of that coastal region, so a very deadly storm -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll keep checking in with you.

Cal Perry, first reporter there for CNN to bring us the live coverage. We're getting these new pictures in. Because of Cal, for the first time we're seeing the devastation. Obviously we've been hearing about it, talking about it, all the people left homeless.

Cal Perry, great job. We'll talk to you again.

Marchers on Washington want justice and they want it now. They say the law sometimes gets in the way, especially with hate crimes.

Live pictures there out of D.C.

And call it the uncommon cold. There's a cold virus out there that can kill you. How can you tell which one you have?

Lindsay Lohan does time, 84 whopping minutes. "The Parent Trap" runs longer than that. How did she survive?

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

PHILLIPS: Got the common cold? Maybe not. A new strain of a cold virus has already killed 10 people in the U.S.

CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here with more.

Ten people, it doesn't seem like a lot, but then again, it's 10 deaths.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. It's 10 deaths...

PHILLIPS: And don't know what it is.

COHEN: ... from a cold, from the cold virus.

PHILLIPS: Right.

COHEN: That's something you don't expect, and so this is something that people don't need to panic about but something you definitely want to know about and be educated about.

What this is this is an illness that's called adenovirus, which is a fancy way of saying the common cold virus. There are 55 varieties -- excuse me, 51 varieties. This one that's causing the problem is number 14.

What's funny is that it's been around since 1955, but it seems to have grown and matured and gotten smart and has learned how to be even more vicious. So here's what it's doing in various states in the United States.

First of all, in Oregon, there have been 31 cases of illness from this cold virus, including seven deaths. In Texas, 106 cases, all of those are at Lackland Air Force Base, so people living in close quarters, and that includes one death.

In Washington, three cases and one death. The death -- that patient in Washington was an AIDS patient. And in New York, there was the death of a 12-day-old baby.

So, again, this is something where a virus has just gotten smart and has mutated and found ways to be even more vicious.

PHILLIPS: How do you even know if you have the virus?

COHEN: This is the problem, is you don't really know. There's no real good way of knowing.

So the doctors we talked to -- we said, look, what do you do? Nobody goes to the doctor for a cold, usually. So what do you do? How do you know when it's time to go to the doctor so you don't die from this virus? And they all said the same thing.

They said if you have an upper respiratory infection that is not going away, it's lingering, it's making it difficult for you to breathe, you're really coughing, and if you have a fever that's not going away, either one of those things or both together, you need to go see the doctor. The lingering part is what's really important here. Especially important, Kyra for kids.

If your kid has a fever and it's not going away, don't just say, oh, well, I'm sure it will go away. Take them to the pediatrician.

PHILLIPS: And I guess -- what will your doctor do if you have the virus? And how exactly -- I guess -- how do they -- what will they do and how will they know how to treat it?

COHEN: right. If they go -- if you go to the doctor and the doctor thinks, you know, this looks like more than just a cold, this looks like something I need to be worried about, they can do a culture and see if it's this adenovirus number 14. And if it is, what they can do is that they -- they can't give you an antiviral for this. Unfortunately, there is nothing they can give you to get the virus itself, but they can look for pneumonia, because that's what usually kills people. And then if you get pneumonia, they can try to treat the pneumonia.

So they can keep an eye on you, and so they know to be really vigilant about looking for that pneumonia and treating it.

PHILLIPS: All right. A little scary. Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: A little scary, but remember, it's, you know, 10 deaths. Not huge numbers.

PHILLIPS: Right. Not spreading. OK. Thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, there were sparks, even a little heat in last night's Democratic debate right here on CNN. And front-runner Hillary Clinton was often the main target.

One issue involved and now withdrawn, a New York State proposal to grant drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants. Previously, Senator Clinton shied away from a direct answer on whether she favored the plan. Last night she said simply no.

Her opponents shared the views.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am not proposing that that's what we do. What I'm saying is that we can't -- no, no, no, no.

Look, I have already said I support the notion that we have to deal with public safety and that drivers' licenses at the state level can make that happen. But what I also know, Wolf, is that if we keep on getting distracted by the problem then we are not solving it.

JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, but I don't accept the proposition that we're not going to have comprehensive immigration reform. What I do support and what I will do as the president of the United States is move this country toward comprehensive immigration reform. And anyone who is on the path to earning American citizenship should be able to have a driver's license.

SEN. CHRIS DODD (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think drivers' licenses are the wrong thing to be doing in terms of attracting people to come here as undocumented.

REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You give people a path to legalization and you work to make sure that you don't criminalize their status any further. And again, I take exception to the way you framed that question.

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D-NM), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My answer is yes, and I did it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Before last night, Senator Clinton often said that she favored giving governors the chance to promote public safety in their states. Some people took that to mean that she favored granting licenses to illegal immigrants.

What do they want? They want justice, and they want it now. Thousands of people in D.C. saying it loud.

Our Don Lemon is right there with them -- Don.

LEMON: Hey. You know what, Kyra? People wonder how so many people came out today, how did they get the word. And so many of the people are young people like Quentin (ph), Brandon (ph) and Roland (ph) here. They drove all night, and we're going to tell you their story, how they got here and where they heard about this march.

Coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

They are saying it loud so Washington can hear, and they want justice. And they have got a champion, a man who's trying to purge racism from the system.

He's talking to us in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Up to this point the Justice Department didn't want to say anything about those thousands of people that are marching around its department. Seven times they are circling. You can see the thousands of protesters. It's wrapped up. They are now listening to a number of speakers.

Inside the Department of Justice we've been wondering what's going on. We've been talking to our producer, Terry Frieden. Apparently now, Terry tells us, we have a statement from the new attorney general, a response to these protests happening outside his building.

Tell us about it, Terry.

TERRY FRIEDEN, CNN JUSTICE PRODUCER: Hi, Kyra.

Yes, we've been asking repeatedly for some statement or comment by the Justice Department, and we now have the new attorney general, Michael Mukasey, his comments today on the issue. And it is fairly brief, so I'll read it to you. He says that they -- "the Justice Department is investigating aggressively dozens of noose hangings and other recent racially and religiously motivated threats around the country. He says in order to be most effective those investigations do not occur in the public eye."

And then he says the Justice Department shares with those who demonstrate today, their objective of bringing together in justice those who commit criminal acts of hate. And it shares their vision of eradicating hate in our society. He does say, at the same time, the department must follow the law and the principles of federal prosecutions in every case it investigates and prosecutes. And although there are limitations and challenges in bringing successful hate crime prosecutions, he says that the department takes each case seriously and is prepared to vindicate the rights of victims when prosecution is warranted by the facts and by federal law.

This is Attorney General Michael Mukasey in his fourth day on the job and then his concluding sentences are, the mission of the Justice Department Civil Rights Division is as vital today as it was when it was created 50 years ago. Those who are marching here today should be commended for highlighting the issues of tolerance and civil liberties. We hoped that all can agree that it's the criminals who commit violent acts of hate who deserve the loudest protest and as long as hatred and racism exist the Justice Department will continue its hard work and effective work on behalf of all victims of hate crimes. And that's the statement, basically, in its entirety. And it is the first official statement that we've gotten at all relating to these events here today.

PHILLIPS: Well, you say it's his fourth day on the job. Welcome on the job, sir. Here's your first protest.

FRIEDEN: Right. He obviously didn't want to go before cameras to make the statement, but he did want to have his own name on the statement, and so he put it out personally.

PHILLIPS: All right. Terry Frieden inside the Justice Department there, our top producer. Appreciate it so much for getting that statement to us, Terry.

We want to go back outside now where these live pictures are and check in with my co-anchor Don Lemon, who is there at the rally.

Don, have they -- so the march -- they are still marching. I thought they made this seven times around, no?

LEMON: Kyra, this is the last time around.

PHILLIPS: OK.

LEMON: Last time around and they have actually opened traffic back up in some areas, but a lot of folks have gone back to Freedom Plaza because they completed seven times, this part of the rally, though, still one more time around. I think this is the last time.

I want to tell you, Quentin, Brandon, Roland, young people from Detroit, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LEMON: They drove all night, eight hours to do this, didn't take a bus. Why were they inspired by this? We take a look at that.

OK, well -- Kyra, we had a story that talks about why young people are getting involved in the new resurgence in the interest of civil rights, and talking about the young people who one day hope to take over for the people who had been fighting for civil rights, people like Al Sharpton and the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King Jr. III, who sometimes are criticized saying, every time something happens. You go to Al Sharpton, you go to Jesse Jackson, you go to these leaders that you hear about all the time.

But we wanted to profile some young people, at least one person, who is doing something in his own right, who is a young person and we also profile someone who went to the original 1963 March as well, and talked about why this was so important. He felt that this was so important to do this, and the difference between this one and that one. And how young people have used the Internet, and how they have used the radio, people who are in power now and that have that platform, have used the radio in order to get these thousands and thousands of people marching here in Washington.

And, some would say in effect, forcing a statement from the new attorney general, which was just read by our producer; forcing a statement from Michael Mukasey. We've got these young people here from Detroit who drove all night. We have folks who came from all over the country on buses. Many of the buses in cities were sold out, at least 10 from Atlanta, organized by someone who is in their 30s, so there you have it.

Last time around, going back to the plaza, Kyra. And we're going to talk to some more people who are inspired to come to this march, a little bit later on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. See you soon, Don.

That march, again, hate crimes has drawn thousands of people -- as you can see right there -- to the nation's capital. Marc Mauer is executive director of the Sentencing Project and leading authority on racism in the criminal justice system; he joins me now live from Washington.

I'm surprised you're not there, Marc, but I'm glad because you're here talking to me. We can take it to a different level. What do you think of the protests and all the marchers there circling the Department of Justice?

MARC MAUER, EXEC. DIRECTOR, SENTENCING PROJECT: You know what's remarkable, I think the Jena 6 case, and like cases have brought them together, but it really tells us something about the degree of anger and hostility or frustration that is felt in so many communities of color. I think it's tapping into deep frustration about the state of race and criminal justice, where people of color in many communities have felt they have not been treated equal, and I think, the Jena 6 case just helped to expose that. It's really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how this system is perceived in many places.

PHILLIPS: Now, the Justice Department isn't -- no one is giving us an interview, a live interview. We did just get a statement and I think it's probably come after a lot of pressure that they were putting on them to try to get someone to speak to us. Because we just got the statement a few minutes ago. What kind of message does that send out? They say, look, we're doing every thing we can. We're have a civil rights division, we're prosecuting crimes that we believe should be prosecuted. We're doing our job.

MAUER: When it comes to specific actions, just this week the United States Sentencing Commission was considering a proposal to make a change in crack cocaine sentencing, retroactive. Basically the commission has an amendment that would reduce the crack sentences that disproportionately effect African-Americans, about 85 percent of the defendants, and would apply it to 19,000 current people, currently serving sentence in federal prison. The Department of Justice response was uniformly opposed to it, basically saying it was too bureaucratically difficult. It would cost money. They would have to transport prisoners to court. This is for people who would have their sentences reduced by about two years, on average, and the only response was that it would cost too much money to implement that form of justice.

PHILLIPS: And looking at the Jena 6 situation and African- Americans saying, See, look, there's a double standard when it comes down to blacks and when they are brought into court. Then you look at the U.S. Justice Department that puts out this statistic just recently. Blacks five times more likely than whites to be in jail. What is your reaction to that statement -- in addition to this outcry about a double standard? Where do you stand looking at those two points put together?

MAUER: Well, you know, it doesn't mean every police officer and every prosecutor and Justice Department official is racist or consciously aware of this, and some of this problem clearly goes beyond the criminal justice system. It has to do with crime and it has to do with economics. But our whole set of policies over the last 30 years, so-called get-tough policies, the war on drugs, have had a devastating effect on African-American communities. When we've had opportunities to address these issues through drug treatment and prevention, socioeconomic development. And we've refused, essentially, as a society to deal with this then the criminal justice system comes into play.

So, I don't fault the Justice Department completely on this. This is a broader problem than that. But certainly the Justice Department has been a very strong advocate of tougher sentences, harsher policies that have not effected crime very well. And yet have caused rates of incarceration, particularly in African-American communities.

PHILLIPS: And these marchers are bringing up the example of the nooses. I mean, it's unbelievable that in 2007, you know, people are hanging nooses to send out a type of message. It's sick and it's sad, but do you believe that hanging a noose should be prosecuted as a hate crime?

MAUER: Well, you know, there's a broad difference of opinion, and the other issue in Jena, is that these were juveniles, who did the noose, and there's fundamental questions about whether the Justice Department, at the federal level, should be going after juveniles. In many ways the real problem here is the school and the community in Jena. I mean, here we had a simmering problem that was going on for years and years.

PHILLIPS: And it wasn't dealt with. It was ignored.

MAUER: It was not dealt with by the school or by the community. Everybody in town knew they had a terrible racial tension. You had this so-called white tree in the school in a school. To allow that to go on is just intolerable. And it tells us we're much too quick to use the justice system, when we should be addressing issues at a much more fundamental level.

PHILLIPS: And let me -- on that note. This was really interesting, this Pew Research Center survey that came out, a number of African-Americans interviewed. And it said -- it came out that the reason many black people can't get ahead? And African-Americans, 30 percent said discrimination; and 53 percent said it's our own responsibility.

MAUER: Well, you know, it's really a mix of both. The problem is we don't all start out with the same options in life. We don't all start at the same starting line. Some of us were born and knew that we were going to go to college; we knew we'd have good jobs. We had family resources to help us. Others people come from low-income families; they have poor schools. They have poor medical care. And to somehow expect that we're all going to have the same opportunity in life when we start off that way, that's the real tragedy. So, yes, individuals have to use their own initiative and yes, we all have responsibility for our actions, but we need some context. Until we equalize the possibility for opportunity in our society I think we're fooling ourselves to say that every individual has the same choices in life. That's far from the case right now.

PHILLIPS: And there is something that is definitely going on in this country, and we're seeing the protests and I just -- I sense a change that is going to happen, somehow on a higher political level, do you agree?

MAUER: Well, I think so. I think we're seeing much more resonance of these issues in Congress right now. On the campaign trail there's much more discussion. We have to risk the possibility of turning into two societies. We are the wealthiest society in the world. We have the resources to create opportunity. If we don't, I think we all pay a terrible price. And that's what we need to avoid.

PHILLIPS: Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project. Great talking to you.

MAUER: Thank you, too.

PHILLIPS: This Jack will never meet a Coke. It's out of the mix. We'll pour the facts on the Tennessee sippin' whisky's fate. Say it ain't so.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Well, the end of the world is coming, they say, and they are not coming out. More than two dozen members of a Russian doomsday cult are barricaded in a forest hideaway. CNN's Matthew Chance has more on this group and its leader.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A bizarre standoff being played out in central Russia, Orthodox monks scaling down a snow-clad ravine to make contact with members of a strange doomsday cult, hiding in a cave and threatening to blow themselves up if they are disturbed.

The dozens of religious zealots are living in freezing conditions waiting for the end of the world. They believe it will come in the spring and are reported to have horded enough supplies to last until then, including fuel and blankets and half a ton of honey and jam.

GENNADY SERIY, POLICE OFFICER (through translator): Those there have made no demands. When we contacted them, they said they have only one request, to leave them alone, because they wanted to pray underground.

CHANCE: But concerns are increasing, especially for a number of children believed to be among the group, at least one as young as 18 months. The authorities insist they will not storm the cave, but pressure is growing for them to act.

DR. LEONID ROSHAL, PEDIATRICIAN (through translator): No one is entitled to endanger a child's life. Probably deprive him of life, and impose on him the harshest living conditions.

CHANCE: The man who found the cult is now in police custody at a mental hospital and has appeared on Russian television. Pyotr Kuznetsov -- or Father Pyotr, as he's known -- said he order his followers into the cave but didn't join them because he was waiting for more people.

PYOTR KUZNETSOV, CULT LEADER (through translator): We decided to make a large cave that would fit all of us, to isolate ourselves from the village folks. They have complained about us to local authorities, urging them to evict us from the village.

CHANCE: Police say before they charge him, he needs psychological treatment. Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Granny goes to the hoop and she's not rejected. See these seniors score a three-pointers.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kareen Wynter in Hollywood. The writers strike is in full force. Could the Oscars be in danger? I'll have that, and more, when NEWSROOM continues.

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PHILLIPS: Let's get a quick check to see the top stories this hour at CNN.com.

Theologian debate the religious merits of the flying spaghetti monster. Go al dente on this one, OK?

No. 2, a doomsday cult threatens suicide as they take refuge in a Russian cave.

And No. 3, on the most popular chart, battle scarred veterans square off for another fight. This time with the Veterans Administration. Find out why, all along, with today's top stories right here, at your fingertips, CNN.com.

Another sweeps week has come and gone and the writers are still on strike. Entertainment Correspondent Kareen Wynter joins me now with an update.

Hey, Kareen.

WYNTER: Hi, Kyra.

You know, as the feud between the Writers Guild of America and the Producers Alliance rolls on, many are looking to the upcoming awards season as the latest potential casualty. That's right, striking writers could be on a collision course with the Golden Globes, the Grammys, even the Oscars, to name a few. Not only do these shows rely heavily on scripted material, should writers choose to picket these event strong support from the Actors Guild could mean all those famous faces, well, they won't be crossing the line.

And now in the case of the Academy Awards, Jon Stewart is set to host, but if he's not even hosting his own nightly program, who is going to write his Oscar material for him. That's a big question there.

PHILLIPS: Either side saying whether they would call a truce for such events?

WYNTER: Well, you know, since neither side knows how long the strike will last no one, right now, Kyra is saying anything, but with expensive, "for your consideration" ads like these, all over the trades, it's clear that many at the studios are still banking on an awards season.

At least one awards show will still be a go, the AMAs, the American Music Awards. They are set for this weekend, boasting quite an impressive lineup. It will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel; A-listers like Fergie, Rhyanna (ph), Celine Dion, maybe more, they're all set to perform. And leading the pack with nominations are superstars like Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Linkin Park and Daughtry, who all have three nods. The 35th Annual AMAs are live this Sunday night.

PHILLIPS: All right, Kareen, it wouldn't be a little entertainment update without a little Paris, Britney, Lindsay. WYNTER: Of course, it wouldn't!

PHILLIPS: All right, so which one is it going to be?

WYNTER: OK, who do you want to dish about? Want to talk about Miss Lohan?

PHILLIPS: OK, go right ahead.

WYNTER: She's today's celebtant du jour. Miss Lindsay Lohan, you know, the 21-year-old actress went to jail yesterday for a whopping 84 minutes, becoming the latest celebrity to sever less than a day for a DUI. Lohan turned herself into the L.A. County detention center at Lynnwood at 10:30 a.m.; she was searched, Kyra. She was fingerprinted. And even placed in a holding cell, but she was released at 11:54. Not a lot of time there.

Officials say because of overcrowding, this is standard procedure for a non-violent offense with someone who has Lohan's record. The brief penalty stemmed from incidents in May and July in which Lohan was found the to be driving under the influence. The actress later made a plea deal and she also did a little community service on the side.

Now, as most know, Lohan has since apologized for her crimes. She says that her life is, you know, completely unmanageable. Oh, well. And spent several weeks in rehab. Want to hear more about Miss Lohan and her peers? Well, you can check out "Showbiz Tonight." They will have even more about Lindsay's brief jail stay.

Britney Spears, also, Kyra, get this, runs over another person's foot. And the ridiculous rumors about Angelina Jolie, what is going on in Hollywood? Can someone tell me here? A special report on TV's most provocative entertainment news show, "Showbiz Tonight" 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific. So much, always busy, and so much to talk about. We need four hours.

PHILLIPS: That's why we have "Showbiz Tonight."

WYNTER: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: There you go.

WYNTER: I'll see ya.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Kareen.

Their motto, die with your tennies on. Granny joins a basketball league. Check it out.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I told friends and family, you know what the first thing they did? Laugh.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Over 50, under 90, and still scoring.

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PHILLIPS: It survived Afghanistan but will Old Glory survive Fayetteville, North Carolina? Staff Sergeant Matt Lundell, and his wife, were in a store looking for a frame for this flag. The one that he carried during his entire deployment. Tending to their son, they left it in a shopping card, and it disappeared. Now the Lundell's are praying for Old Glory's return.

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JODI LUNDELL, SOLDIER'S WIFE: Up by the stars, there was a line of bullet holes. And down in the right corner, there was -- it was all frayed, and we had to kind of piece it together to figure out how it was going to go in the frame.

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PHILLIPS: A search of the store came up empty handed. Store management is offering a $500 reward now.

And if you love sipping Tennessee whisky, well, we have a little warning for you. You might find this story a bit disturbing. Hundreds of bottles of Jack Daniels could have had a date with the drain. Tennessee authorities confiscated about a million dollar's worth of the hard stuff from Lynchburg and Nashville. They say that someone was selling it without a license.

Some bottles are more than 90 years old, and might have been stolen from the distillery. It's unclear how much Jack will get poured out, but as one Jack fan said, "The whisky is innocent." I guess it's what you do with it.

A league of their own: We found a group of women who aren't nearly ready to retire. They are actually rather, they're on the rebound, I guess you could say. Here's reporter John Garcia of our affiliate WLS.

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JOHN GARCIA, REPORTER, WLS TV (voice over): They are grandmothers and great grandmothers. Some have played organized basketball.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a little rusty, but it will come back. It will come back.

GARCIA: Others, not so much. But they are all here to try out for teams in the Granny All-Star League.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shoot! We got one!

GARCIA: The only qualification, they have to be older than 50.

(on camera): What do your friends and family say when you tell them you're doing this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I told friends and family, you know what the first thing they did? Laugh.

GARCIA (voice over): The league will play Six-on-Six Basketball based on a league that started a decade ago in Iowa. Barbara Lee Cohen got the idea after seeing a story about the league.

BARBARA LEE COHEN, LEAGUE FOUNDER: They were 52 to 100 years of age, so I went ahead and decided to find out who they were.

GARCIA: At the time she was thinking it would be good halftime entertainment for a Bulls game. Instead, now she's starting a league. One of the coaches, 53-year-old Mary Kay Monaghan, had a brief professional career for the old Chicago Hustle in 1978. The skill level here, just a little bit different.

MARY KAY MONAGHAN, LEAGUE COACH: There are some women that are here that, you know, have no idea, have never played basketball or touched a basketball.

GARCIA: The term Granny Ball is not actually a reference to the age of the players but to the style of shooting. See, in Granny Ball you get two points for shooting it overhand, but three points for shooting it underhand, Granny style.

(Voice over): The turn out, on this, the second day of try outs is encouraging to organizers. They had no idea what to expect. But it turns out there are plenty of women, seniors citizens, anxious to get out and play.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To me, this is wonderful. This is what I dreamed of.

GARCIA: John Garcia, ABC 7 News.

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PHILLIPS: Next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

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