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Protesters March in Venezuela; Dying Young

Aired November 29, 2007 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A moment of hate could have meant a lifetime of agony for Youssif, but then came months of compassion and medical expertise, all leading up to today. Today, surgeons gave this young Iraqi burn victim a new face and new reason to smile. His lead surgeon joins us live from L.A. this hour.
Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at CNN Center in Atlanta. You're watching CNN.

Tens of thousands of protesters marching in Caracas this hour against President Hugo Chavez and his plans for the country's constitution.

CNN's Harris Whitbeck is there -- Harris.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kyra.

Tens of thousands are on the streets in the capital. They are all converging on (INAUDIBLE) one of the main concentration points for rallies here. Again, tens of thousands since early this morning have been marching there to express that they will not support, not vote for President Hugo Chavez' proposed amendments to the country's constitution. Why are they against those amendments?

They say that they would lead Venezuela to become a totalitarian states. President Chavez, on the other hand, says that those amendments, which would include doing away with presidential term limits, would give the president full authority over the central bank and over economic policy.

Chavez says that he needs those reforms to engineer Venezuela moving towards full socialism, socialism of the 21st century. So, those in opposition, of course, are staging this massive rally today. Tomorrow, Chavistas, those who support Chavez and his plans for socialism in Venezuela, will also be on the streets, this ahead of the referendum, which will take place next Sunday.

So far, no major acts of violence today; however, earlier this week, opposition students were gassed and fired at with water cannons when they tried to leave their universities to protest against these amendment proposals by President Chavez -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Harris -- let me ask you, Harris, just put this in perspective for us. We're watching live pictures right now.

And for us, we're just -- we're seeing these tens of thousands of people flood these streets. And we all know the power Hugo Chavez has and his family in that country. But what can happen here? Could this turn into some type of revolution? Could this student-led protest actually affect his ability to reign over this country?

WHITBECK: Well, student protests -- and we have to distinguish between students who are in the opposition and politicians who are in the opposition.

The students have said all along that they are not out on the streets in an effort, in a bid for bringing Hugo Chavez down. They don't care if he remains in power or not. Their argument is that the proposed amendments would do away with freedom in the country. They say that the extended presidential terms, they see that there's a restriction on press freedom in the country, and they say that that is what they are fighting for.

Now, President Chavez again says that he needs these constitutional tools to steer Venezuela towards socialism. He insists that he has the majority, that the majority of the people who are behind him.

And if you go into some of Venezuela's poorer neighborhoods, you do find a lot of support for him, but you also find a lot of opposition to him in other parts of the country -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Harris Whitbeck, you keep us up to date. We will follow those live pictures. Bring us anything that comes out of there, please.

Back here in the U.S., we're following this shooting. Apparently, Rodney King -- you will remember that videotape beating back in 1991 -- he led police on a high-speed pursuit. When they finally caught up with him, he was high on PCP, and then of course that beating was caught on videotape, that infamous videotape.

We're being told now through the LAPD that apparently he was shot last night. He rode his bicycle home in Rialto, California, then called the police department to report the shooting. He did receive superficial gunshot wounds to his face, arms, back and torso, but according to the LAPD, those wounds are not serious.

We're working on suspect information right now. Apparently the LAPD is putting that together at this time. We will update you as we get more on this story.

Now, Osama bin Laden speaks and the world listens, if only to marvel at whatever brazen claim the al Qaeda leader will make next. Today, Al-Jazeera aired a audio recording said to be that of bin Laden. We're working right now to authenticate it. Now, we don't know when it was recorded, but the message is textbook Osama.

He rails against European nations, urging them to get out of Afghanistan, reiterates that he and nobody else is responsible for the attacks of 9/11.

Now, as we talk about that new tape possibly from Osama bin Laden, the State Department says it's just old news and it's going to fall on deaf ears.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Again, not a new tactic, but I think the -- I think our NATO allies understand quite clearly what is at stake in Afghanistan as well as elsewhere around the world in fighting the war on terror.

Afghanistan has made great strides since the era of the Taliban. There are -- just one example is that there are tens of thousands of young Afghan children who are alive today just because of the kinds of medical care and vaccination care that has been provided by the international community who wouldn't have been alive today otherwise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, there's still no confirmation that voice is bin Laden's, as we mentioned. And there's no hint to when it was made. Bin Laden last released an audio message last month.

An angry reaction in London this hour to the fate of a British teacher jailed in Sudan. This afternoon, an Islamic court convicted Gillian Gibbons of insulting Islam for letting her students give the name Mohammed to a teddy bear. Gibbons was sentenced to 15 days in jail, five of which she already served, to be followed by deportation.

Just a short time ago, the British Foreign Office called the sentence extremely disappointing and demanded an explanation from the Sudanese ambassador. The director at the school where Gibbons taught called the verdict very fair, noting that she could have received 40 lashes and six months in prison.

New and horrific details are still coming out in the Riley Ann Sawyers case. You will recall that she is believed to be that 2-year- old girl whose body washed ashore last month in Texas. The child was called Baby Grace while police tried to figure out her real name and what had happened to her. They now they have a better idea after her mother talked to police.

It's a stomach-turning story of a discipline lesson turned deadly.

Reporter Kevin Reese (ph) of our Houston affiliate KHOU has the latest for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATTY TRENOR, MOTHER OF KIMBERLY TRENOR ZEIGLER: And since she's over 18, how could we stop her from going?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kimberly Trenor's parents in Ohio are devastated and defending their daughter. The attorney defending her says Trenor first contacted investigators as far back as November 14, that wilting under endless media coverage, she could no longer keep the secret between her and her husband, and wanted to tell somebody from the beginning. The attorney says that, without telling her husband, Royce Zeigler Trenor and the lawyer drove together to Galveston to tell her story. In a three-and-a-half-hour conversation videotaped by investigators, she described an authoritarian husband who stayed home from work that day in July because Kimberly wasn't following his discipline plan, wasn't tough enough on Riley.

She said he used a second leather belt that day, because the first one wasn't big enough. Trenor's attorney says what happened in the next few hours in that house in Spring was something that went on beyond the point it should have ever gone, and that there was no intentional desire to kill Riley.

Court documents say Royce Zeigler grabbed the little girl by the hair and threw her onto a tile floor. She died of three skull fractures. Her attorney says Trenor then went along with the plan to get rid of Riley's body because she was scared of her husband, whom she had married only a month before.

NEAL DAVIS III, ATTORNEY FOR ROYCE ZEIGLER: We're going to question each and every part of that statement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We met Royce Zeigler's attorney at the Galveston County Jail, where he had just talked with his client.

DAVIS: Right now, he's at the lowest point, justifiably the lowest point in his life. And it's killing him. It really is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Davis says he won't play the he said/she said game, but did say the entire truth has not yet been told.

DAVIS: And when we become more aware of actually what happened, her credibility is going to be a big issue, we feel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kimberly Trenor's attorney says she's despondent and remorseful and that the last thing she told investigators was she just wanted to make sure everybody Baby Grace's real name was Riley.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Kimberly Trenor and Royce Zeigler are jailed in Galveston under $350,000 bond.

A mother convicted of killing her teenager daughter is getting a new trial after 13 years in prison. Forty-four Lynn DeJac went free yesterday. A judge in Buffalo, New York, ordered the new trial based on DNA evidence suggesting DeJac's ex-boyfriend may have been responsible for the killing. DeJac is free without bail and her husband says she's overjoyed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK PETERS, HUSBAND OF LYNN DEJAC: She cried. When I first walked in there, she cried. Today's like the first day of her -- of a new life. So, it's time to start over. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: DeJac has been reunited with her 13-year-old twin sons, born just after she went to prison. Her lawyer says that she's looking forward to clearing her name.

PHILLIPS: Here's another good reason to keep your antivirus computer software up-to-date. The FBI warns today that cyber-thugs have hacked a million more computers in the past five months, secretly applications to do their dirty work for them.

The bureau blames so-called botnets for more than $20 million in losses for crimes, including identity theft and denial of service. In addition to antivirus protection, experts recommend you rig your P.C. with a firewall and create unusual passwords to keep botnets at bay.

What he accomplished in life is drawing attention to his death, but many, many young black men are dying victims of violence. We take a look at why.

Plus, or own Rick Sanchez spoke with Sean Taylor's father.

Bringing new hope to a badly disfigured Iraqi boy and his family -- Dr. Peter Grossman (ph) joins us in the NEWSROOM to talk about the latest surgery on little Youssif.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Three thirteen Eastern time. Here are some of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM right now.

A shocking account of the death of baby Riley believed to be the little girl who turned up dead in Galveston Bay last month. An attorney for the mother says a stepfather lost control because the toddler wouldn't say please or yes, sir.

A British woman teaching in Sudan has been found guilty of insulting Islam, but she will escape the lash. Gillian Gibbons let a student name his teddy bear Mohammed. And she could have gotten six months in jail and 40 lashes. But the judge let her off with 15 days in jail and deportation.

A 5-year-old Iraqi boy on his way back to normal appearance, hopefully. Plastic surgeons in Los Angeles have completed removing most of the scar tissue from his face. Masked men doused the boy and set him on fair in Baghdad last January.

On Saturday, all the NFL teams will wear the number 21 on their helmets. It's a tribute to Sean Taylor, the Washington Redskins standout who was shot in an apparent burglary attempt at his Florida home on Monday.

Rick Sanchez is in Miami, where police are looking for Taylor's killer.

And, Rick, I understand you got an interview with Taylor's father. What did he share with you about his son?

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you can only imagine.

And what's interesting about Pete Taylor is, Kyra, he's not only a father who's lost a son. He's also a police chief. He's one of the guys who is entrusted with trying to put an end to this insanity that is going on in the inner cities all over the United States, where 15 percent of men under the age of 25 are dying. That's an amazing statistic. Many of the others are in prison.

And it's a serious, serious problem, one that's being looked into here. But, for Pete, it's about a son that's now gone, and him trying to put the family back together again and trying to deal with it. He hasn't given a lot of interviews and doesn't plan to. We had worked together, because I had spent a lot of time in Miami.

So, I got together with him last night. Here's some of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Tell me about Sean.

PEDRO TAYLOR, FATHER OF SEAN TAYLOR: Sean? Sean is a young man that took a passion to football at a very young age. And not only that, he took a passion to a scholar -- to be a scholar athlete.

It's been a dream of his to accomplish so much. And he had a goal to reach. And that was to get to the top of the pyramid, which he did.

SANCHEZ: You're proud of him?

TAYLOR: Always.

SANCHEZ: You're a proud dad, huh?

TAYLOR: Always.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Yes, real, real proud of his son.

He said his son was for the most part just keeping to himself. He was being a dad. He was getting ready to get married to Jackie. He was doing the things that he needed to be a professional in the NFL. And he says he was constantly, constantly working out. He was really an unbelievable specimen when it comes to that part of his physical ability as well, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, you mentioned Jackie Garcia, Sean's girlfriend. You also had a chance to talk to her. What did she tell you about what happened the night that she -- or that he was shot?

SANCHEZ: You know, it's funny, because she hasn't spoken at all. In fact, we have been doing searches to see if she had been quoted anywhere to compare it to what she told me last night. She called the incident extremely horrible. She didn't want to get into any of the details.

She just -- she's defending Sean, because she's obviously bothered by the fact that a lot of people, Kyra, have been saying that he had changed his life because he had troubled past. She said, look, he didn't have a troubled past. He was here. And she pointed to the backyard, where we were. He would be in his backyard. He would be with his daughter. He would be with me. He would be working out or he would be fishing. It was his only other passion.

So, she's obviously very upset by the fact that people are saying that he had all types of troubles that he was trying to get away from. But, you know, you look at here. She's a beautiful blonde young lady who is hurting desperately. And you can see it in her expression. You can see it in her face. And when I asked her, "How are you going to cope; how are you going to go on?" she says: "It's all about my daughter now. I have just got to make sure my daughter is taken care of" -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, Rick, you're taking this story and you're looking at a much bigger problem involve violence in the lives of young black American men, right?

SANCHEZ: It's exactly what is going -- this is you know what?

We get lost in so many other stories that we tell. For example, let's do a comparison like with Iraq. We're getting close to 4,000 over there. Well, the number of young black men who are dying in this country is much bigger than that, somewhere between 6,000 and 7,000, young African-American American men who are murdered in the streets of our own country.

And it comes to the point where you need to start asking once again, well, what are we doing here? How are we funneling our resources to make sure that this doesn't continue to happen? Because it does seem like such an enormous waste.

And you do always hear a lot of the same patented solutions that you heard in the YouTube debate last night from people like Mitt Romney, suggesting at one point that we need more police, for example.

Well, is it just about police? Or is that about getting to the problem of crime after it happens? What's being done to prepare these kids in the inner cities? What is being done for them? What kind of resources are being put out here?

That's a really big part of this equation that we're going to be studying and looking into tonight, and talking to some people in this community, some of who are real angry and real passionate about this, Kyra, and others who are looking at it, and saying it's time to sit down and just get something done.

And it may be -- it may be Sean Taylor's death that serves as the exigence, the spark, if it will, that really makes something happen in this case. And wouldn't that be nice?

PHILLIPS: Rick Sanchez in Miami. Yes, it would, Rick. Thank you.

So many questions surround Sean Taylor's death, but one thing is painfully clear. What happened is not unique. You heard Rick lay it out right there. Young black men are being killed all across America. So, we're "OUT IN THE OPEN" in Miami tonight to take a closer look. You can join Rick Sanchez 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

You got tickets for a Broadway show tonight? Well, we will tell you why you're in luck.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: They say the show must go on, and it will. After 19 days, the curtain is going back up at dozens of New York theaters, now that producers and stagehands have come to terms on a contract. Most of the plays and musicals will be back in business tonight.

Good news for tourists who want to see a Broadway show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're very excited. We were hoping to see a show, but we didn't know if the strike was going to be over or what was going to happen, so it was really good news to us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We booked it well in advance. And obviously the strike happens. So we assume we couldn't go, so we didn't bother to book anything in advance, which is what we would normally have done. And then when we arrived and they told us at the hotel it was over, we thought we would take our chances and see what was about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Broadway obviously is a big draw for lot of people throughout the country, especially at Christmas time. You have the Rockettes. You have all the children's shows. So, it's really a great, great place to come with your family and friends to enjoy the city. And of course Broadway offers all that amazing talent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Terms of the contract agreement have not been announced yet.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Bringing new hope to a badly disfigured little Iraqi boy and his family -- Dr. Peter Grossman (ph) joins us in the NEWSROOM to talk about the latest surgery on our special little Youssif.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CHIEF TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jimmy Vivino days of doing this may be numbered, replaced with this. JIMMY VIVINO, MUSIC ARRANGER AND PROFESSIONAL GUITARIST: hen it's in tune, it will flash blue. See the red one? That's still tuning.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: He is strumming the new Robot Guitar from Gibson with a built-in computerized tuner.

HENRY JUSZKIEWICZ, CEO, GIBSON: What it does is remove a major hassle and allows you to concentrate on playing, as opposed to all the stuff that's maintenance.

O'BRIEN: All you have to do is select the key. This Les Paul knows the perfect pitch for each string. The computer sends commands to tiny motors inside the tuners. The strings get tweaked until they sound just right. The lights turn green, then blue, and Jimmy is ready to wail.

VIVINO: I'm rarely impressed with technology in guitars, because I think it's -- I'm a traditionalist in a lot of ways, but I'm still going to play traditional music. But it's better if it's in tune.

O'BRIEN: The Robot Guitar is not cheap, about $2,500, clearly aimed at guys like Jimmy, who's in the band on "The Conan O'Brien Show." But Gibson predicts robot guitars will soon become the norm.

(on camera): Man, this Robot Guitar rocks, baby! Even I can play.

Hey, you're ruining my shot. Get out of my shot.

(voice-over): Miles O'Brien, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Computers may not be your cup of tea, but they may soon be woven even deeper into the fabric of our lives.

TOBIAS HOLLERER, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR COMPUTER SCIENCE: If you wanted to select another object, you just make the outstretched hand gesture in the neighborhood of that tea pot here, for example, and then it will actually translate onto your hand.

O'BRIEN: Tobias Hollerer is demonstrating something he calls augmented reality -- three-dimensional graphics inserted into the real world using computers that you wear. Computer visionaries say this is where we are headed. See something you're interested in, just point and a 3-D model will appear.

HOLLERER: It's not technology that you will see everywhere in the next year, but a few years down the road.

O'BRIEN: In the meantime, in case you haven't noticed, computers have become a fashion statement -- really, an indispensable accessory. And soon you find the screen floating before your eyes -- projected on glasses, like the pair Thad Starner is wearing.

THAD STARNER, GEORGIA TECH, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF COMPUTING: I can actually have a research conversation with you and suddenly be an expert in something while, you know, still chatting -- while I'm still looking at you in the eye.

O'BRIEN: That's one way to ensure you always win trivia contests.

Ten years ago, wearable computers looked silly and drew stares. Now, they're much smaller and coming of age.

Miles O'Brien, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's get straight to the NEWSROOM now. Fredricka Whitfield working on the details of a developing story. What do you have, Fred?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Don, in South Florida, some pretty frightening moments at Senator Ron Klein's office building in Fort Lauderdale when they received some letters that appeared to be suspicious. It's unclear what about these letters made them suspicious, but it was serious enough to call in law enforcement, as well as HAZMAT authorities, who all descended upon this office building there in Fort Lauderdale.

Now, you're looking at the view of -- on one side of the building, where it houses a number of other offices. And then, of course, on the left, you see the result of HAZMAT authorities going in, investigating these letters. They came out, had to do the usual scrub down.

But the good news in all of this -- even though the entire building had to be evacuated, it is believed that the suspicious contents were not too dangerous. So everybody was allowed to go back into the building and resume business as usual.

But the investigation is still underway as to who would send this kind of suspicious material and why.

LEMON: Fredricka Whitfield, thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Another day in court for a member of the Jena 6. Defense lawyers are trying to free Mychal Bell, who's in jail for a probation violation. They say he's a victim of double jeopardy.

CNN's Sean Callebs joins us now from Jena, Louisiana with more -- Sean. SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

We can tell you that Mychal Bell's attorneys and his parents are here today at the courthouse.

If I step out of the way for just a moment, there in the red shirt is Melissa Bell. That is Mychal Bell's mother. We had a chance to speak with her yesterday at length about her son, who is being held in a juvenile facility. She says he is doing about as well as can be expected. Asked if there's any hope of having him released any time soon, she didn't have very much to say.

But, clearly, that is what the attorneys are inside working on at this hour. You talked about double jeopardy and that is exactly what the defense is contending.

Here is their argument. They say that Mychal Bell was first tried as an adult and convicted back in June of second degree battery. Then, later, an appeals court threw that ruling out. Now, the court is going back through, charging Bell as a juvenile. Now his attorneys claim that's simply unfair -- that he's already been tried once as an adult. So that is where double jeopardy comes into play.

But legal experts tell us they could have a hard road to go to try and make that case here -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, what else did they discuss, Sean?

CALLEBS: Well, they could be in there for some time today because there are of a couple of other serious motions coming up, as well. One, the attorneys want copies of the police report, which they contend simply does not exist.

However, CNN has been able to look at 55 statements -- witness statements taken were back on December 4th last year -- the day of the fight allegedly took place between those now known as the Jena 6 and Justin Barker, the white student at the center of this who was beaten so badly he had to be taken to the hospital.

And, secondly, a very typical kind of thing that comes up in a court case like this -- the defense wants the list of witnesses and they want to know if any of the witnesses have any kind of criminal record.

So that's what's going on here, Kyra. We'll keep you updated.

PHILLIPS: All right, Sean Callebs, appreciate it. We'll stay on top of it.

LEMON: Prosecutors in Las Vegas are laying out their case this hour against O.J. Simpson. The judge will decide whether the evidence even warrants a trial.

Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney in Cleveland, takes us through this case. Avery, we're sitting here listening in interviews -- especially CNN interviews. It's been coming up a lot here -- the judge and attorneys, everything these people say, the people who are on trial here and who are going to testify, it really comes into question in the courtroom.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yes, it sure does, Don. In fact, CNN is all over this. Between the Larry King interview and remember, Ted Rowlands got an exclusive with O.J. So all of these issues are going to come into play. Remember, again, a preliminary hearing is, is there probable cause to send it to trial?

And the argument, essentially, that the prosecution -- or the defense, I'm sorry -- is making is Bruce Fromong, the only witness we've heard, is a twit. Judge please acquit. But he's the first of eight witnesses to go.

And you know what? They were predicting two days. At this rate, I think we're moving into next week.

LEMON: OK. He's a twit, you must commit -- you must acquit. OK, Bruce.

FRIEDMAN: Give them my best (INAUDIBLE).

LEMON: I mean, OK, Avery.

FRIEDMAN: Give them my best.

LEMON: That was -- that caught me off guard. I can't even get it out.

FRIEDMAN: I'm really sorry. I threw you off on that one.

LEMON: Yes, you...

FRIEDMAN: I apologize.

LEMON: You certainly did. Yes, OK. So I'll let that one slide.

Let's talk about, though, the crux of this case and the whole reason that they're here today. It's because they're trying to figure out if there's even enough evidence to go to trial.

FRIEDMAN: Right.

LEMON: We talked about this a little bit earlier, but I want the viewer to hear the sound bite here, where Bruce Fromong talks about the evidence in that case and what happened in that room. He talks about the guns and what have you.

Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE FROMONG, SPORTS MEMORABILIA DEALER: The second man came in with a drawn semi-automatic, which was pointed at me. Two other gentlemen that I saw for sure came in, flanked him on the right hand side and there was screaming, "Put your phone down! "Put your phone down! Get off the phone!"

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But did you recognize these other individuals who came into the room?

FROMONG: By name or anything like that -- there was only one other person that I -- well, two other people. One would have been Tom Riccio that came in. And then O.J. Simpson.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK, Avery. So that talks about that. But I'm -- I want to play this other one before you even respond to that. Let's talk about the climate, sort of, the mood in the room and whether or not people felt threatened. And then we can talk about whether or not this even warrants this going to trial.

FRIEDMAN: OK.

LEMON: Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FROMONG: O.J. Was screaming, "This is all my -- this is -- " he kept using the word (EXPLETIVE DELETED). This is all my (EXPLETIVE DELETED). You know, this all belongs to me. You know, you guys stole this from me. And, you know, let's get this stuff packed up. Let's get out of here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK. So we're talking about guns and we're talking about a possible threatening mood...

FRIEDMAN: Yes.

LEMON: ...situation for the people in that room.

FRIEDMAN: Remember, the standard is probable cause. Is there enough at this point for robbery? Is there enough for kidnapping? Is there enough for assault with a deadly weapon? Is there enough for conspiracy?

What Bruce Fromong is doing for the prosecution, as the first witness, is laying the foundation. Then what we're going to see following this, Don, will be the three defendants, who I think Dan Simon called turncoats. But in any event, they're going to testify what the plan was. Believe me, the probable cause standard will be easily met here.

LEMON: All right, Avery, I'm out of time. So you think it will go to trial?

FRIEDMAN: Not even a doubt. LEMON: All right, Avery Friedman. You heard it first. Thank you very much.

FRIEDMAN: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Something is amiss at the Ronald Reagan Library. We're going to tell you what it is.

And big and rich could describe Fred Thompson. And the presidential hopeful is counting on the big and rich country music sound for his White House campaign. Can you name that tune?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Workers at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library are asking where did it all go? They can't put their hands on more than 80,000 mementos from the White House years. A federal audit wasn't able to say whether people walked off with all those things or whether it's simply sloppy record keeping. The audit took place after a former worker was accused of stealing.

PHILLIPS: Well, potential trouble for Rudy Giuliani's former top cop. It's the lead item on our political ticker right now. A federal grand jury reportedly considering tax evasion charges against former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik. Kerik pleated guilty last year to state misdemeanors. Giuliani is defending his friend to an extent, but admits that he made a mistake in recommending Kerik to head the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Don't get swift-boated -- that's former President Clinton's campaign advice for wife Hillary and the other presidential hopefuls. The former president warned yesterday that giving simplified answers to complex questions during a debate could lead to a Swift Boat kind of ad -- referring to the campaign against John Kerry in 2004. Clinton suggests the candidates talk about complicated issues only when they have enough time to give complete answers.

Well, it may not have been traditional campaigning, but the Tennessee's Republican presidential candidate, Fred Thompson, was at the Country Music Awards last night. Sometimes chastised for his less than breakneck campaign style, Thompson is a huge country music fan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED THOMPSON (R), FORMER U.S. SENATOR: To sit here tonight and see Big and Rich and The Eagles, and the period of time that they cover and, you know, my being fans of both of them, it's just -- it's just a wonderful -- it's just a wonderful night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, John Rich, half of the Big and Rich country duo, is a big Thompson backer. He's hosting a Thompson benefit concert and fundraiser tonight.

If you want the up to minute and best political news coverage anywhere, CNNpolitics.com is your one stop shop. Get behind the scenes details from the best political team on television and see why it's the Internet's premier destination for political news. That's CNNpolitics.com.

LEMON: An horrific rape and murder case gives an American exchange student an up close look and all too personal look into Italy's justice system.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Now, to a sensational murder case in Italy with an American connection. An Italian judge will decide tomorrow where police can keep holding one of their prime suspects, 20-year old Amanda Marie Knox of Seattle. On Friday, Knox's housemate and fellow exchange student, Meredith Kercher, was found with her throat slashed and her clothes half off in a locked bedroom. Knox's mother flew over to comfort her daughter, unaware of her legal predicament.

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MIKE JAMES, SEATTLE-PERUGIA, ITALY SISTER CITY ASSOCIATION: It's a very difficult situation for a mother. She left Seattle thinking she was going to help her daughter, who had found her roommate murdered. When she lands in Perugia, she finds out her daughter is one of the prime suspects.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Police are also holding Knox's Italian boyfriend, a Colognese (ph) man who runs a local shop.

PHILLIPS: Finland is in mourning and asking what turned a teenager into a killer. Police say the 18-year-old had hundreds of rounds of ammunition with him when he opened fire at his school yesterday, killing eight people before shooting himself. Police also say he tried to set the school on fire. They're going over video clips that he posted on the Internet that show him target practicing. And they have the suicide note that he left his family. Even though the school is closed for the time being, students have started a memorial of lit candles and notes.

LEMON: Well, just a few minutes ago, our Miles O'Brien walked us through some of the most wanted safety upgrades for U.S. air travel. But some things are just plain basic, such as engines that stay attached to the plane. Yesterday in South Africa, a passenger jet was forced to make an emergency landing at the Capetown Airport after one of its two engines fell off. Yes, it fell off. It was a 737 like this one -- some of whose passengers say they could see the engine coming off the wing.

Last hour, we spoke with Brendan Felser (ph), who describes how the flight crew reacted.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRENDAN FELSER: They were running up and down. They were looking very panicky. And basically they tried to take control of the situation the best they could. And they started preparing us for the worst. They told us to brace ourselves, put our heads between our knees and hold on and hope for the best.

LEMON: Whoa. You can't imagine, right? Now, people around you, were they screaming? Because I would only imagine my reaction in a situation like this. I would imagine I would be praying to whoever I could or trying to call whomever I could call.

What were people doing? Were they yelling out loud? Were they praying? Were they -- hat were they doing?

FELSER: Well, the women -- most of the women were crying a lot. And most of the bigger men were sweating profusely. And, yes, it was a lot of jabbering, a lot of talking and everyone looked very scared.

LEMON: Yes. Now, what -- when you got to the ground -- and this will be my final question -- when you got to the ground and you were safe, the first thing you did -- what did you guys do?

FELSER: Everyone just clapped their hands and applauded the pilots for getting us down safely, because it was, apparently, not a very easy thing to do -- land a plane with one engine on the left.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LEMON: Well, with some trepidation, Brendan says he flew on the same airline this morning.

They worked in critical areas at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, including the tarmac and the U.S. Customs Service says they were all illegal immigrants using fake security badges. An eight month investigation has led to the arrests of 23 illegal immigrants plus two employees at the staffing service that hired them. Documents filed in the case say staffing company employees knowingly hired the immigrants. They helped them get phony I.D. badges.

PHILLIPS: The closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street straight ahead.

Stay with us.

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PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to Jena, Louisiana.

Sean Callebs standing by with more on the double jeopardy motion regarding Mychal Bell, one of the individuals involved in that Jena 6 case -- hey, Sean.

CALLEBS: Hi, Kyra.

Well, the defense attorneys told us going in they thought it was a long shot. We can tell you from sources who were inside the courtroom that they -- the motions -- they -- that process has ended. The attorneys and Mychal Bell's parents have left. And, as expected, the judge in this case decided that double jeopardy does not play any kind of role in Mychal Bell's case. So everything is moving forward.

The next item on the agenda comes up on November 21st here, Kyra. That -- the media, of course -- CNN and a number of others -- have a petition, trying to have Mychal Bell's juvenile proceeding open to the public, because basically it's going to be a replay of what went on in his adult proceedings. So the argument is nothing should be kept secret at that point.

But the big story here at this hour, the double jeopardy clause will not have any impact, at this point, on Mychal Bell's case. What we know the defense is trying to do is basically build its appeal. So they have to go through every step. Some of it may appear very drawn out to them, but that's the way the process works -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Sean Callebs in Jena, Louisiana. Thanks, Sean.

The closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street now.

LEMON: Susan Li -- Susan Liso -- I'm so used to saying that.

Stephanie, will you forgive me? I'm so sorry.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Both of our names start with an S.

LEMON: Stephanie Elam standing by...

ELAM: Stephanie -- that's OK.

LEMON: ...with a final look at the trading day.

ELAM: I adore the talented Susan Lisovicz, so, I'll take that as a compliment.

LEMON: Well, we adore you, as well.

ELAM: OK. All right.

PHILLIPS: And the two of you look so much alike.

(LAUGHTER)

ELAM: Yes, we do. Do you like my red hair? I got it colored just for the show.

(LAUGHTER)

ELAM: Yes.

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