Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Police Look for Leads in Sean Taylor Murder; Sheriff's Deputies Killed in Accident; GOP Candidates to Square off in CNN/YouTube Debate; Mideast Peace Summit Talks Continue

Aired November 28, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the housing bust hits home. Whether you're trying to sell, shopping for a bargain or just staying put.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Consider this. You get on the ground floor of a fabulous subdivision just before the bottom falls out. Housing market horror stories, live from the suburbs this hour.

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.

First this hour, it has all the ingredients of an American tragedy. A star athlete and new father, his life and career starting to come into focus, cut down by gunfire inside his own home.

Washington Redskins star Sean Taylor died yesterday at a Miami hospital. He was 24. Police are trying to sort through what happened and who might have shot him.

Reporter Rosh Lowe of our affiliate WSVN joins me now from Miami -- Rosh.

ROSH LOWE, WSVN CORRESPONDENT: And that's right. You mentioned it here. There is an immense tragedy, because by all accounts, Sean Taylor was turning around his life. He had this little baby girl. In fact, that baby girl was sleeping in his room with his girlfriend, Jackie, who, by the way, is related to the movie star Andy Garcia, who has roots here in Miami.

They were all sleeping in this house behind me here in Palmetto Bay, a wealthy suburb of Miami, when they hear noises. And according to police, Sean Taylor did have a machete. But it didn't come into use. That's because, police say, this intruder just barges into the bedroom.

And we now know that the intruder shoots off two rounds, one that misses Sean Taylor. The other bullet hits Sean Taylor in the leg area.

Of course, Sean Taylor rushed to the hospital. There was some brief moments of hope. But then he would lose his life. And here is the very latest on the investigation. Initially, people thought that Miami-Dade police may have had someone, looking for someone. There was a lot of rumor, a lot of innuendo. Yesterday, though, it became very apparent that Miami-Dade police truly need the public's help. And they're asking, if anyone knows anything about what occurred here at the Taylor home, to please give them a call.

Of course, they are looking into several things now. We do know that in June 2005, Sean Taylor did have a run-in with the law. It was over ATV vehicles that he thought were stolen from him. He allegedly pointed a rifle at somebody. He later pled out to misdemeanors. The Miami-Dade police making it quite clear today they are drawing no link between the ATV case and this murder here.

They are also looking into the November 17 burglary at Sean Taylor's home. And in fact, it's ironic here. Sean Taylor was not playing for a couple of weeks. He had a knee injury. And he asked the team for permission to be at his house to look into that November 17 break-in at the home.

Police do say there are signs that there was forced entry at this house, but it is unclear whether that forced entry was a result of a November 17 break-in or the Monday morning murder.

We do understand this morning that Pedro Taylor, Sean's father, who came out last night and pleaded with the killer, look, turn yourself in. We now understand this morning that he boarded a flight to Washington, and he is currently speaking to Sean's teammates with the Washington Redskins.

This is a tragedy, not only about sports, but really about the human spirit. By all accounts, Sean Taylor was someone who played the game with a whole lot of heart.

There's one quick story that sums up Sean Taylor. There's a high school not far from here where Sean played. It's called Gulliver Prep. That team had not been to the state championship in a long time. A memorial service this morning where they say Sean Taylor almost single-handedly led that team to a state championship.

And this noon, the search continues for his killer. Twenty-four years old and gone.

PHILLIPS: Still a number of questions, as well. Rosh Lowe, we'll follow the investigation. Thanks for that.

LEMON: It has been a month since anyone has seen Stacy Peterson. Today, several Chicago media outlets are reporting a disturbing new twist in this case.

One of Drew Peterson's relatives says he helped to move a large sealed container from the couple's home into Peterson's SUV the day Stacy vanished. Sources tell the papers the relative described the container as warm to the touch. The man later became so upset he attempted suicide and was hospitalized. Illinois police have reportedly told volunteers working with the private group Texas EquuSearch to look for a large blue plastic barrel and to focus on areas of water.

CNN affiliate WGN spoke with Drew Peterson right after the story broke.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW PETERSON, SUSPECTED IN WIFE'S DISAPPEARANCE: I have no idea what anybody is talking about like that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Warm to the touch?

PETERSON: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He says he believes that he helped you dispose of your wife's body.

PETERSON: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you at least respond to that?

PETERSON: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not at all?

PETERSON: No response. Talk to my lawyer. I've got nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No truth to it whatsoever?

PETERSON: None. Nobody helped me with anything in such a manner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On October 28, where were you on October 28? This gentleman says he helped you carry a container out of your home.

PETERSON: Again, talk to my attorney.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Now, reports say the relative has not been charged and is not being treated as a suspect.

And we have much, much more on this case that we're going to bring you here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Some new developments happening. And ahead in the NEWSROOM, we'll talk to Jon Lieberman from "America's Most Wanted" for his take on the relative's claims -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: The financial hits keep coming for the battered housing market. New figures show home sales are down again, and the homes that do sell are selling for less.

CNN's Susan Lisovicz live on the New York Stock Exchange with more on that -- Susan. SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, well, sales of previously owned homes, by far, the biggest part of the housing market, fell last month for the eighth consecutive time. And each month just keeps getting worse.

October sales were the lowest since the realtors group began tracking this index in 1999. Not even falling home prices were enough to bring out the buyers.

The National Association of Realtors says the median price of a home sold last month dropped a record 5.1 percent from the year before. Before this current housing slump set in, it had been 11 years since existing home prices showed a year-over-year decline.

Well, needless to say, we're seeing a strong reaction on Wall Street. But not one you'd expect. Stocks are surging. And I'll tell you why in about 20 minutes. In the meantime, back to you, Kyra and Don.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. We'll be talking a lot about it. Even our Rusty Dornin is live -- that's right -- in one of the subdivisions. We were talking about this yesterday, Susan, all those houses that bottomed out. And she'll be live from a subdivision there.

Now, you know the movie line, if you build it, they will come but what if they don't? That question is part of our continuing coverage of the mortgage crisis today.

Today in the NEWSROOM, the impact of the mortgage crisis on the companies that build subdivisions. How will your property be affected if you're sitting next to empty homes like these? I just mentioned, Rusty Dornin is live in Atlanta in a suburb facing that exact problem.

Plus, renters, you're not off the hook either. Do you know for sure that your landlord is paying his or her bills? Personal finance editor Gerri Willis has answers for you. All that and more in the NEWSROOM today.

LEMON: A one-time NATO commander in Europe is setting his sights on the Middle East. Sources tell us retired U.S. Marine general James Jones has agreed to be the Bush administration's go-between in the Middle East peace negotiations. An announcement is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time.

Jones wouldn't be the first retired four-star to take on that job. Former Marine General Anthony Zinni took a similar role five years ago.

Middle East peace is the issue of the day, of the week at the White House. Here's a live look at the Rose Garden, where President Bush will speak next hour about his meeting this hour with the Palestinian and Israeli leaders.

Actually, you're actually not looking at the Rose Garden there. You're looking at the two -- at the three men there, meeting just before the press conference earlier.

The president is scheduled to take -- to speak at 2:05 p.m. Eastern. Of course, we'll carry that live. We've heard earlier from spokesmen on both sides.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAEB ERAKAT, CHIEF PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: There are six issues that need to be sold as a package. And these are Jerusalem, border, settlements, refugees, security, water. And I think the Israelis will go -- will not go less than end of claims, end of conflict. And we need to put an end to this.

MARK REGEV, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY: We're hopeful. We'll make every effort. I'm not in any way minimizing the difficult issues that are on the table. There are very serious challenges.

But today there's goodwill. And with a bit of hard work, a lot of international support, I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis, that we can reach a historical compromise in the coming year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Again, we'll bring you that Rose Garden event live in the next hour of the NEWSROOM.

And a quick programming note for you. President Bush will talk exclusively with CNN's Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM," 4 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Meantime, we want to get straight to the news room now. Fredricka Whitfield working the details of a developing story -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Don, some sad news coming out of South Florida. Two sheriff's deputies out of Palm Beach County, who were good friends -- one was planning to be the best man in the other one's wedding. Well, sadly, both have died in the same incident.

Apparently a high-speed chase had these two deputies involved. And after this stolen car apparently went over those tire deflation devices, the two sheriff's deputies got out of the vehicle to retrieve those devices and then they were struck by another law enforcement vehicle.

The deputies are now the fifth and sixth law enforcement officers to die in Florida this year alone.

One suspect of this stolen car incident is now in custody. Police are looking for the other suspect. The vehicle was abandoned in a nearby field.

But, nonetheless, the entire law enforcement community is grieving there in Palm Beach County after hearing that these two very good friends, both sheriff's deputies, have died in the very same incident. And all this taking place before this planned wedding involving one of those sheriff's deputies, where the other was to be the best man.

Very sad situation there. Fifth and sixth law enforcement officers killed in Florida this year -- Don.

COHEN: Fred, keep us updated. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Now it's the GOP's turn. Eight presidential candidates will take questions from the Internet tonight in the first CNN-YouTube debate for Republicans. Our Dana Bash will give us a preview, and we'll have some new pre-debate poll results.

LEMON: And how about this: high-tech autopsies? Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen tells us why they're not all saws and scalpels anymore.

PHILLIPS: And who laced Miss Puerto Rico's make-up and evening gown with pepper spray? We're going to ask Miss Puerto Rico if she has any clues.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Once again, O.J. Simpson saying he is not guilty. This, coming out of Las Vegas right now. The former NFL star has pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, robbery and assault in connection with the robbery of sports memorabilia in September at a Las Vegas hotel. A conviction on those charges could send Simpson to prison for life.

He is coming forward, telling the judge he is not guilty.

Two of Simpson's co-defendants, Charles Ehrlich and also Clarence Stewart, they also pleaded not guilty to the same charges.

Live pictures right now, via our affiliate right out of Las Vegas. That's actually one of O.J. Simpson's lawyers you just saw there for a second. He just got into the car after coming out of that courtroom.

And trial date, we are being told, is set for April 1. That was set by District Court Judge Jackie Glass.

Shot of O.J. Simpson right there, making hand gestures to the -- to the reporters there.

So, that just in. O.J. Simpson pleading not guilty.

LEMON: The sunshine state is in the spotlight as eight Republican presidential candidates face off tonight in a CNN-YouTube debate. Takes place in St. Petersburg, less than seven hours from now. So make sure you get in front of your TV soon.

And it comes five weeks before the first votes are cast in the race for the White House. The scene, a busy one today, as we see in the time-lapse video. Look at that, getting ready. Security sweeps are under way. And we're pouring over poll numbers.

A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll likely Republican voters in Florida. Among other things, 53 percent say Rudy Giuliani can best handle terrorism; 19 percent pick John McCain. Trailing them, Fred Thompson at 10 percent and Mitt Romney, 8 percent.

Asked who best -- who to best deal with Iraq, about a third say Giuliani. A third say McCain. Thompson and Romney trail at 10 and 9 percent.

For one of the frontrunners, Rudy Giuliani, Florida is seen as a firewall in the race for the White House.

Here's CNN's Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Villages, Florida's largest retirement city, where golf carts dominate the streets and many transplants from New York have an affinity for a certain mayor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The best choice right now to me and a lot of people here will be Giuliani. He's strong. I think he can help us.

BASH: Giuliani is trailing in other primary states but dominating here. In a new CNN/Opinion Research poll, Giuliani leads with 38 percent support, more than double that of Mitt Romney in second place.

Republicans here appear more tolerant of his stance on social issues like abortion rights. Only 19 percent of Florida Republicans say abortion should be illegal in all circumstances.

RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that Florida is going to determine the Republican nominee for president.

BASH: Giuliani long ago singled out Florida as his firewall. He trails in the first key nominating contests, Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, and is banking on a big win here on January 29 to reset the race and propel him into a crowded Super Tuesday that includes mega states, from New York to California.

Giuliani's Florida chairman concedes it's risky.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he doesn't win in Florida, the prospects for his being the nominee of the Republican Party are much less.

BASH: All the more dicey, because in the new poll, only three in ten say they've definitely made up their mind, and early wins usually ignite momentum. DARRYL PAULSON, DSF POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR: Over the last 20, 25 years, Florida has sort of reaffirmed the pattern of Iowa and New Hampshire. In that respect, it could be a problem for Giuliani.

BASH: Giuliani thinks this time is different. Florida's vote is earlier, and his pitch as a crime-fighting 9/11 mayor resonates...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was there day and night. He was always there and got everything going.

BASH: ... especially with those former New Yorkers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vote for Rudy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: CNN's Dana Bash is at the site of tonight's debate in St. Petersburg.

And Dana, first of all, how are you doing? I didn't even recognize your voice in that. Are you losing it?

BASH: You know, it's just all that hard work, Don.

LEMON: OK.

BASH: I'm doing fine. Just the way I sound.

LEMON: What's going on there -- I'm glad you're doing fine, but what's going on there this afternoon?

BASH: Much more importantly, exactly. Rudy Giuliani just arrived here at the debate site. He is the first in what we are going to see, really, all afternoon: the candidates coming here, getting a sense for the room, getting a feel for exactly how it's -- how it's going to go down.

Look, you know, these candidates, they have been to a number of debates. But at least for the Republicans, nothing quite like what they're going to be involved in tonight, of course, because it is a CNN-YouTube debate. They are going to be getting questions not from moderator -- Anderson Cooper, of course, will be moderating, but he will not be the primary question asker. That's going to be from the real people who submitted their questions.

Nearly 5,000 questions, Don, were submitted on YouTube. Hopefully, about 40 or 50 will get -- will get to the candidates.

And what is really so fascinating in watching this race is not just that the polls are so incredibly tight across the board, but there really are some pretty big differences on substance when it comes to the key issues for Republican voters: when it comes to immigration, when it comes to abortion, when it comes to taxes. So, that really will be illustrated, no doubt, in this debate tonight.

LEMON: And Dana, we -- we are waiting with baited breath for that. And take care of yourself.

BASH: Yes, we are.

LEMON: Lots of tea and honey, OK? And don't talk between live shots.

BASH: Deal. OK.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Dana.

The CNN-YouTube Republican debate is set for 8 p.m. Eastern tonight. Our Anderson Cooper will be live in St. Petersburg with the candidates. The best political team on television is choosing your questions for the candidates from thousands of submissions on YouTube. Your voice will be heard, only on CNN, your home for politics.

PHILLIPS: When the ripple effect from the mortgage crisis becomes a tidal wave, CNN's Rusty Dornin is live in one such suburban neighborhood, most of which was on the auction block -- Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What if you bought your dream house here in Lawrenceville, Georgia, only to have the builder foreclose on, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and a very uncertain future. Let's find out what happened, coming up next -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. More of Rusty Dornin in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It is 23 past the hour. Three of the stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Chicago media reports say a family member allegedly helped Drew Peterson move a large, heavy container out of his house. Peterson's lawyers dismiss those reports as fantasy. Peterson, a former suburban police officer suspected of killing his wife.

Miami police are still looking for whoever shot Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor. Taylor died early yesterday at the age of 24. There's still no description of a suspect.

And President Bush is meeting this hour with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to try to build on yesterday's agreement to resume Mideast peace talks. He met with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas a couple of hours ago. The president is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. Eastern.

We want to get you straight to the NEWSROOM now. Fredricka Whitfield is working the details of a developing story -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Well, Don, a bit of international news here. A cooperative effort between Hungary and Slovakia now leads to the arrest of three people who are suspected of trying to buy and sell some unspecified amounts of radioactive material. It's unclear exactly what this material is. Investigators are thoroughly examining it right now. But two of the arrests were made in eastern Slovakia and one in Hungary.

We understand that at least two pounds was part of the issue of the selling and/or buying. And apparently, this has been a cooperative effort between Hungary and Slovakia for months now, now netting these three arrests.

More information as we get it, Don.

LEMON: All right, Fred. Thank you very much for that.

PHILLIPS: The host, President Bush. The guests? Two men who are key to making and keeping peace in the Middle East.

Palestinian and Israeli leaders vowed yesterday in Maryland to try to reach a permanent, final peace agreement by the end of next year. Today, they're all back at the White House, where Mr. Bush will talk about the Mideast effort in less than an hour.

CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us with a preview.

Suzanne, what do you make of it?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we expect in about 40 minutes or so, you're going to see those three leaders side by side in the Rose Garden.

Now President Bush got a chance to meet with each of the leaders separately today: Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, as well as the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas. The three will again assemble.

Now yesterday was really the breakthrough day here. That's when they got this joint declaration, saying that they were going to launch these negotiations immediately and try to come up with a peace deal by the end of next year.

Today, as the press secretary put it, is kind of like after a big event, the after party, so to speak.

Well, Palestinians, some of those in the delegation who I spoke with today, don't put a lot of credit in terms of that joint declaration. I spoke with Gatel Amari (ph). He's the legal adviser to President Abbas, who said, look, he realizes this is really a P.R. gimmick, is what he called that document. He says it's got the shelf life of two days, because everything, essentially, could change.

Having said that, however, they do feel more optimistic that negotiations will perhaps be fruitful later on. And they say it's because President Bush -- President Bush -- is more committed this time around.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DANA PERINO, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: These are difficult, emotional issues. It's going to be -- it's going to be time-consuming as they work through them. And there could be sticking points.

And what the president encouraged them to do was to work with their negotiators, that there would be days when it looks like things were really tough, but that if you keep your eye on the big picture, you can help make sure that you'll have a successful negotiation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, Kyra, really today is more of that pep talk that President Bush is giving both sides here, to say, look, you're in it for the long haul here. It can get done in the next 14 months.

The reason why the Palestinian delegation believes that he's sincere this time around, they say, privately, as well as publicly, he talks about this being in the U.S. interest, national security interest. He also talks about Iran and countering the emphasis that Iran has, especially in its support of Hamas.

And then finally, of course, it's a legacy issue. President Bush does not just want the Iraq war to be his legacy, but rather Middle East peace, as well -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Suzanne Malveaux, live in the White House. Thanks, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

PHILLIPS: And a quick programming note. President Bush will talk exclusively with Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM" at 4 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. You won't want to miss that.

LEMON: When housing problems really hit home, neighborhoods can go on the auction block. What do you do when the Jones's can't keep up with you?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

PHILLIPS: I'm Kyra Phillips. When bad housing figures really hit home, more and more Americans are feeling the financial drag from the mortgage crisis. It's not just homeowners. We're breaking it all down here in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: When your bank becomes your neighbor. It's happening more and more, as home foreclosures go through the roof.

CNN's Rusty Dornin is live in Gwinnett County, Georgia, where much of one new subdivision went on the auction block, and it's happening more and more all over the place, Rusty.

DORNIN: Well, Don, it's a microcosm. This is really showing you the domino effect of what can happen, OK. Melissa and John Scoreless (ph) bought this house in September, thought the price was really good, in the mid 300s. It was a great neighborhood. It was on the development. But what happened is people aren't selling their homes in Florida and Texas and places like that.

So, they're not coming and buying places here in Atlanta, like they used to. So, the builder couldn't make his payments. He was foreclosed upon. And a few weeks ago, this went up on the auction block.

Now the Scorelesses were expecting to have houses built here. Now they really have no idea. We spoke to Scott Allen, another neighbor, earlier, who said everyone in the neighborhood is worried.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT ALLEN, HOMEOWNER: My major concern is that I wish that they build as nice a homes as are already in here so it doesn't bring the values of the existing homes down.

DORNIN: Does it make you nervous?

ALLEN: Yes, it does. It's unsettling.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: This is the new view for the Scoreless family. They've got a house, unfinished house right here, another empty lot. You can see a "for sale" sign. the block is full of them. And then, of course, another unfinished house here. Although we did hear a little earlier from one of the neighbors, it looks like someone might be interested in buying at least six of the homes.

But you can see, this makes people very nervous, even though they bought here to stay, this isn't something they were expecting to flip. They're worried about who's going to move in here and what kind of house are they going to build -- Don?

LEMON: All right. Rusty Dornin, thank you. Very good work out there. I mean, it is a microcosm. All these homes behind you, are they being built? What's going on with them? Are they just in limbo right now?

DORNIN: No idea. If you take a look at this house right here, you can see, they just stopped construction. And the neighbors have called the bank. We called the bank. They did not return our calls. So, we don't really know. They're not telling any of the folks in the neighborhood what's going to be going on as far as continuing the construction. They're trying to sell these things, get somebody else to take over the loans and finish the houses.

But the question is, are they going to come and build the same price house or are they going to build a lower-priced house here? Now apparently these houses are still being appraised for what the folks in the neighborhood bought them for. The problem was, the builder couldn't make his payments, because he couldn't flip the houses fast enough, because no one -- the same amount of people are not moving to Atlanta, because they can't sell their houses elsewhere. So that domino effect.

LEMON: Yes, if that doesn't drive the point home, I don't know what does. Rusty Dornin, thank you so much for that report.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: The new Miss Puerto Rico won her crown after her gown and makeup apparently were doused with pepper spray. We're going to speak to her live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Autopsies are grisly business. But some cases may be going high-tech. More on what's new at the morgue.

LEMON: Ingrid Marie Rivera is the new Miss Puerto Rico. But winning didn't come easily. Organizers say someone laced her evening gowns and make-up with pepper spray, making her break out in hives. Rivera is in our New York studios to talk to us about this.

Hello there. How you doing?

INGRID MARIE RIVERA, MISS PUERTO RICO: Hello. I'm good. How are you, Don?

LEMON: I'm doing well. You don't look like you have hives. I mean, you look pretty good to me. Come on, let's get ...

RIVERA: Thank you.

LEMON: ...a full shot of her. Where, where -- OK, where were the hives? Were they on your face, on your body? Point out to me where they were.

RIVERA: Well, it's basically all over. The thing was that at the preliminary night, it was in my make-up brush and also in my bathing suit. But the bathing suit they discovered on time and they changed it to another one. So, thank God I didn't use it. Then, on the final night was the November 23rd, on Friday. The final dress, the evening gown had pepper spray or whatever chemical they used. There's still an investigation to see if it was pepper spray or what.

LEMON: OK, Ingrid, we've got to -- let's talk about this because people are saying it. There are reports that are out there that saying that, you know, this was a hoax, that you staged this whole thing for the publicity.

RIVERA: Yes, I know.

LEMON: What do you make of that?

RIVERA: I don't make anything about that because it's not true. It's not invented. It did happen.

LEMON: Then, what is the proof ...

RIVERA: There is evidence.

LEMON: ...that it did happen? What's the evidence, what's the proof?

RIVERA: There's cameras, there's the brush, there's the dress, there's the bathing suit. There's the -- people from security that saw me that night. There's the people even from the press back home that noticed, and they talked to me and asked me at the press conference what happened to you the preliminary night, you look swollen, you looked this.

And that's when the national director then said like we need to put a hold on to this ...

LEMON: OK.

RIVERA: ...because it's not fair, and we need to do an investigation. And then, she began explaining whatever I was going through.

LEMON: OK, I understand that. You said there's cameras. What do you mean by there's cameras?

RIVERA: At the convention center we were having the activity, (INAUDIBLE), they have cameras, so.

LEMON: You mean surveillance cameras that saw whoever did this?

RIVERA: Yes, they can see who was going in and out of the dressing rooms when everyone was on stage.

LEMON: But the -- OK. The thing is, though, that they said not -- when I said it was a hoax, but that you did it yourself. And so, the evidence would be there that you would have hives, but that you did it to yourself.

RIVERA: There's no way. It's a beauty pageant. How would I affect myself burning, wanting to burn my skin? It's impossible to conceive that.

LEMON: OK, was there some sort of -- I understand beauty pageants, it can be, you know, I hate to say, can be catty. Am I right?

RIVERA: Based on this experience, yes, they could.

LEMON: They can be catty. So, were you a judge last year at the pageant?

RIVERA: Yes, I was.

LEMON: OK, so some of the contestants are saying that because you were a judge last year at the pageant that you had an unfair advantage and that you didn't deserve to be in the position that you were in, as high as you were in the pageant.

RIVERA: Yes, yes. This is true, some people -- some people have said that. But since the beginning, it was all strained out, you could say. All of us, the 30 candidates were in the meeting, the first day. And everything, every question was answered. They asked about me being a juror before, the year before.

LEMON: Do you think it's fair that you were a juror the year before? Do you think that gave you an unfair advantage? Would you -- what if there's someone else ...

RIVERA: No. There's no -- no.

LEMON: Wait, let me finish. What if it was someone else who had been in the same position, someone else who had been a judge before. You weren't the likely one to win, how would you feel about that?

RIVERA: It was -- they did different things in order to straighten out things. One of them, we got a meeting where all the questions were answered. It was commented to the International Organization of Miss Universe, and they said that there was no problem. The only condition was that the juror that were with me in that night last year couldn't be the same ones judging that night that I was going to be competing. And that was done.

The elements of evaluation both nights and preliminary and final night were discussed with the 30 candidates, so they will know what were being evaluated for, how was the points one through five or one through ten.

LEMON: OK.

RIVERA: So, there was no disadvantage at all.

LEMON: OK, and you know, I'm getting e-mails saying don't interrogate her, she's pretty. But I have to ask you ...

RIVERA: No, you can.

LEMON: I've got to ask you the questions.

RIVERA: When you are stick to -- with the truth, you don't have to ...

LEMON: Yes.

RIVERA: ...be scared of anything.

LEMON: Absolutely, and that's why I asked you those questions because you know those questions are out there as well.

RIVERA: Yes.

LEMON: So, what do you want people to learn from this, when it comes to beauty pageants and that sort of behavior? I mean, wrap this up for us. What would you like people to learn from all of this?

RIVERA: Just to be and stay positive. Keep on with the faith. If you have a dream, just struggle with it. Go your own way and just stay focused on what do you want, because ...

LEMON: Even with the hives and the pepper spray, you would say keep doing it anyway?

RIVERA: Yes. Even when you're burning, literally. You can do it. If you have faith in yourself. Whatever the results are, even if I didn't win that night, I'm sure I would be so satisfied with my own outcome that I had that night, that everyone saw that I was the best that night.

LEMON: Yes.

RIVERA: I would have won.

LEMON: Right.

RIVERA: And I would have got a lot about it (ph). It's 30 candidates, only one crown. Not everybody is going to be happy.

LEMON: OK, and again, you certainly don't look like you have hives to me. You look pretty good, Ingrid.

RIVERA: I have make-up.

LEMON: OK, all right.

RIVERA: I still do, and some creams.

LEMON: All right, even with the make-up, you look good.

RIVERA: Thank you.

LEMON: Ingrid Marie Rivera, I wish you a very successful reign. Thank you for joining us.

RIVERA: Thank you. I'm very happy. I'm going to Vietnam now.

LEMON: Yes -- oh you are, good. Well, I hope this all -- you figure out who did this and it comes to a conclusion. Thank you again.

RIVERA: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: All right, Ingrid doesn't need make-up. She's talking about burning skin. That woman is on fire. Ingrid, you are gorgeous! You know what? If we just keep Ingrid up, OK ...

LEMON: Our ratings would just go up, right?

PHILLIPS: Scottie, let's keep her -- yes, keep her right there. And we'll do the whole rest of the newscast looking at Ingrid. And our ratings are going to soar. Thank you, Ingrid. RIVERA: I would love to be in the news with you, you and -- yes.

LEMON: Well, come up -- hey, if you come to Atlanta ...

PHILLIPS: I would lose a job if you came up here and did the news with me, sweetheart.

LEMON: Are you going to stop in Atlanta at all?

RIVERA: Maybe I will. But you can be sure that if I do, I'll come by, pass by through the studios.

LEMON: Absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Oh, boy. Attention, attencion, attencion!

LEMON: Thanks, Ingrid. Keep it up.

PHILLIPS: All right, Ingrid.

RIVERA: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Thanks for being with us.

PHILLIPS: Well, where you live could affect your mental health. Take a look at the most depressed states in the country. We're going to do it for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Feeling (ph) depressed, your state of mind could somehow be related to your state of residence. According to a study commissioned by the group Mental Health America, states where more people say that they can't afford health care have more people depressed. According to their stats, here it is. Utah has the highest depression rate in the nation. West Virginia, Kentucky, Rhode Island and Nevada round out the top or bottom five. At the other end of the spectrum, South Dakota has the lowest depression rate. It might not surprise you that Hawaii is the runner up, then there's New Jersey, Iowa and Maryland.

LEMON: Part of the medical examiner's tool kit, but autopsies are going high-tech, too, with a study finding CAT scans can be really valuable in some cases. CNN's medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here with all the details. No more scalpels and whatever. It's all high-tech now. Is it laser? What's going on?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it won't be all high-tech.

LEMON: OK.

COHEN: But there is an interest in making autopsies a little bit more high-tech because, as you said, traditionally it's been saws and scalpels and a very low-tech procedure. But there's some evidence now coming out of a medical meeting that CT Scans can be helpful. Let's say, for example, the medical examiner gets a body that has tons of damage ...

LEMON: OK.

COHEN: ...and they're thinking all right, what's the cause of death? You can look in on an MRI and you can -- on a scan, rather, on a CT Scan. If you see this red line right here -- do you see it right there? I'm circling it.

LEMON: Yes.

COHEN: It's a little bit hard to see, but you can see it. And when they see that, they know that that's a sign that some blood has leaked in the brain, that line right there. And so, when they see that, they think -- that let's them think, you know what, maybe what's going on here is that it's the blunt trauma to the head that killed this person, because there was bleeding. So, there's really some thinking that CT scans can be helpful.

LEMON: And I'm just looking over my notes here that you guys sent us about all of this. And you said there was -- you spoke with a doctor who could think of a specific kind of case where CT scans might help?

COHEN: That's right.

LEMON: One kind of case?

COHEN: That specifically -- he said, think about it this way. Let's say you have a murder of a woman where you think it might have been domestic abuse ...

LEMON: OK.

COHEN: ...but there's a question, accident, domestic abuse. Said wouldn't it be great if you could scan her body to look for previous fractures that have healed?

LEMON: OK.

COHEN: Because you can imagine the naked eye, it's kind of hard to see fractures that have healed. You want to look head to toe. A scan can pretty easily show, wow, this woman had a lot of breaks. This woman had a lot of breaks in her body that have healed. Maybe she was a victim of domestic abuse in the past. I mean, so that's one example where it could work nicely.

LEMON: Yes, I wanted to clear that, because I wanted to see -- this is sort of a 360 ...

COHEN: Right, right, right.

LEMON: ...on this thing. Is there -- can CT scans possibly, one day, replace just traditional autopsies at all? COHEN: You know, many people hope that they could because for example, some people have religious objections to an invasive autopsy. They don't want the body desecrated in that way.

LEMON: Right, right.

COHEN: But the doctors that I talked to said you know what, we don't think it's ever going to replace the traditional autopsy. It'll be a tool to make the traditional autopsy even better.

LEMON: Ah! This is really cool stuff there.

COHEN: Yes, it's neat, it's neat.

LEMON: Yes, very neat, very neat. One kind of mark means one kind of case, yes?

COHEN: Right, right. It gives you an indication of sort of who done it and what did it and how it happened.

LEMON: Boy, we really are going high-tech.

OK, thank you very much.

COHEN: Thanks.

LEMON: Elizabeth Cohen.

PHILLIPS: Want to take a live look at the White House right now where President Bush is going to speak in just a few minutes from the Rose Garden about his meeting this hour with the Palestinian and Israeli leaders. The president is scheduled to speak at about 2:05 Eastern time. We will take it live.

The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, we all know the stock market can be a rollercoaster ride. We say that all the time. Kind of a cliche, but it means more than ever, it rings true now. Some days it's up, some days it's down. It takes a correction after the closing. Today, up 319 points right now. You can see that. So, you can call this a sore.

We're going to get our Susan Lisovicz hooked up in a minute here and bring you the latest -- tell us exactly what's going on. But just in 30 seconds I've been talking here, gone from about 316 to 321, 322. We'll keep checking on it and see what's happening on Wall Street -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: It was speed versus spice in the finale of that hot TV dance contest, "Dancing with the Stars." And guess which one won.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Helio and Julianne! (END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. I remember we interviewed Helio Castroneves on this show. He said he's going to put the trophy between the two that he got for winning the Indy 500. He came in to the final contest in second place, but beat Melanie Brown, also known as Scary Spice of the Spice Girls. Thanks to the audience vote, by the way, Castroneves' partner, Julianne Hough also won last year with Olympic speed skater Apollo Anton Ohno.

LEMON: Whatever happened to Marie Osmond in all this?

PHILLIPS: I don't know. I'm just still checking out Helio. Hello.

LEMON: Well, this guy -- that's not Helio right there. That's Ron Paul. He raised $4 million in one day. And we'll tell you a lot more about the candidate who is picking up support, especially -- especially online.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com