Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Saturday Morning News

More Details on Libyan Consulate Attack; Pro-Democracy Demonstrations in Libya; Romney 2011 Tax Return; Background on Secret Tape of Romney; Mother Confronts Bully; Senator Rubio Tweets About Flight Delay; Examining Candidates' Views on Terrorism and National Security; Truck Driver Welcomes Hitchhiker; A Killer's Bid for Clemency; Police: Georgia Teen Starved by Parents; Beach Boys Split Up; Paris Hilton Secretly Taped; Eye-to-Eye with a Cheetah

Aired September 22, 2012 - 08:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. It is 8:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 5:00 a.m. out west. I'm Randi Kaye.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. Thanks for starting your day with us.

And we begin this hour with new details on that consulate attack in Libya. It left four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, dead. Sources tell us the consulate was doused with diesel fuel killing Ambassador Stevens and IT specialist Sean Smith with toxic smoke.

We're also learning more about how the two other men, former Navy SEALs Tyron Wood and Glen Doherty were killed. The men were part of security team that an annex next to the consulate when the scene turned to chaos.

CNN national security contributor Fran Townsend explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: They get a phone call that their colleagues over at the consulate are taking fire, that it's chaotic and they need help. They leave the security of the annex compound and they run in the direction of the fire fight.

What they do there is they round up all the consulate staff. That includes Americans, foreign service nationals and it includes everybody working at the consulate. It also included regrettably at that time the body of Sean Smith.

They can't find the ambassador, but they must evacuate because they can no longer help defend the consulate and they take all these people to the much smaller annex where they secure them and they figure they are not taking fire there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Some Libyans are denouncing the attack taking to the streets to express outrage over those killings and to show support for democracy and the United States. Hundreds of people stormed the headquarters of the radical Islamist group that has been linked to the attack and say that they and not extremists represent the real sentiments of Libyan people.

KAYE: We go now to Benghazi, Libya, where senior international correspondent Arwa Damon has more on those pro-democracy demonstrators.

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, this probably is one of the few countries where we are seeing mass demonstrations, not just in support of the United States but more condemning the attack that took place on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. People taking to the streets yesterday in the thousands, demanding democracy, but more importantly demanding an end to these extremist militias whom people and the government here say were in fact behind that attack that took Ambassador Stevens' life and the life of three other Americans.

What happened is that at night on Friday, hundreds of these pro- democracy demonstrators began taking the situation into their own hands and storming various headquarters of known extremist militias in the city of Benghazi, including the headquarters of the militia known as Ansar al Shariah. And if you'll remember, the Libyan government has said that it has detained individuals who are part of Ansar al Shariah, an association with the attack on the U.S. consulate, although they say the group as a whole was not behind that assault.

We were with Libyans as they went through the compound, the Ansar al Shariah compound. They were not carrying weapons. They torched a vehicle. They said this is the real Libya, a Libya that exists without militias, but then things took quite a sinister turn.

In the fervor, in the euphoria that was found there, the situation was somehow manipulated. The government now says the location that was attacked right afterwards was in fact the headquarters of a battalion that is endorsed by the government. There was a fire fight that broke out there. There was complete and utter chaos. In total, at least four people have been killed, more than 70 were wounded.

The government now scrambling to inform and educate the public that some of these locations they are targeting are in fact those of units that have been endorsed by the government and should be wary of those who might be trying to manipulate the situation, like pro-Gadhafi loyalists and try to create sheer and utter chaos.

All of this, Randi, goes to the very core of one of the main issues here, the disarmament of these extremist militias and the formation of a true and credible nationalistic army and police force. The government fully aware of the necessity of that and it says that it is also fully aware of the need to keep going after those who are responsible for the attack against the Americans -- Randi,

KAYE: Arwa Damon, thank you very much.

BLACKWELL: Back here at home President Obama is expected to address the unrest that has spread to 20 countries throughout the Muslim world when he speaks to the U.S. -- U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. Officials say he will again decry the anti-Islam video that sparked violence linked to the deaths of four U.S. diplomats in Libya. While adding that the U.S. will, quote, "Bring justice to those who harm Americans."

The president is also expected to address concerns about Iran's nuclear program making clear that the country cannot be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.

KAYE: Now to Mitt Romney's taxes. His campaign has released the candidate's 2011 Federal return and here are the numbers. The Romneys paid nearly $2 million of around $14 million in earnings. That's a 14.1 percent tax rate.

The campaign also released a letter from their accountants that covered the 20 years from 1990 to 2009 and all it said was that the Romneys owed taxes during those years and averaged a 20 percent tax rate.

BLACKWELL: Let bring in CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser now.

Paul, we have the 2011 return from Mitt Romney and the note on the last 20 years. Why are we getting this now and what potentially could this mean for the campaign?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes. The timing is interesting. It happened on a Friday afternoon. Victor, you know usually a Friday afternoon or early evening dump here in Washington means you're trying to hide a story, but I think maybe in this case maybe it's just the opposite. Listen, we're talking about the tax returns now. We're not talking about Mitt Romney's tough week and those comments he made on that secret camera video at that fundraiser.

Also next week, Mitt Romney is doing more of a startup. He's going to be on the campaign trail more and the following week you've got the debates, so maybe the timing was fortunate, get it out now before then. The Romney campaign says, you know what? That had nothing to do with it. It wasn't politics here. They said the documents were done. That's why we got them out.

You also mentioned it was interesting that they released those 20 years, not of tax returns, but a summary. That could be a pushback against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, who suggested that he heard from a source that Romney didn't pay taxes at all. This seems to be a little bit of pushback there, Victor.

BLACKWELL: There was a lot of news on the campaign trail on Friday, but Medicare was the big issue of the day for the campaigns. Who had the best day with it?

STEINHAUSER: Maybe President Obama. Listen, both the president and Paul Ryan, the running mate on the Republican side, addressed the AARP convention in New Orleans. The president did it via satellite and he defended his health care law saying that this is helping preserve and save Medicare. Now, Paul Ryan had the very, very different view on that and he got a little bit of a rude reception. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The first step to a stronger Medicare is to repeal Obama care because it represents the worst of both worlds. I had a feeling there would be mixed reactions so let me get into it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Yes. I guess he knew it was coming. Listen Victor, seniors vote in big numbers and, of course, there are a lot of seniors in some important battleground states like say Florida. Victor.

BLACKWELL: Indeed. Paul Steinhauser in Washington. Thank you.

KAYE: We've got much more ahead this hour.

BLACKWELL: Here's what's coming up.

From CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's the tape that launched a thousand blogs and may have derailed a campaign. All morning we'll look at Mitt Romney's comments on the 47 percent and the anatomy of a leak.

His scheduled execution is in 12 days about, but now a condemned murder is saying his sexual abuse is a reason for clemency. We'll explain.

A break in a case that's 30 years old. New details on Princess Doe and who she might be.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: The big political news this week has centered around a controversial hidden videotape of Mitt Romney which raises the question, is there an expectation of privacy for public figures like politicians? It is our focus this morning. So let's start with the Romney tape and the reaction.

Here's Brian Todd.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Randi, a grandson of former President Jimmy Carter was instrumental in getting this videotape out of obscurity and into a media frenzy. Carter's grandson didn't actually make the videotape. That was done four months ago, in a moment Mitt Romney likely wishes he had back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FORMER GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What has to happen in the country.

TODD (voice-over): It starts with a videotape of Mitt Romney speaking last May at a fundraiser attended by wealthy donors inside a private home in Florida. He's asked how he's going to convince voters that they need to take care of themselves instead of relying on the government. Unguarded, Romney tells the group nearly half the electorate will vote for President Obama no matter what.

ROMNEY: There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them, who believe that they're entitled to health care, to food, to housing.

TODD: The video, showing Romney seemingly callous and out of touch, has blown up after being posted online on Monday by "Mother Jones," a liberal magazine, along with an article by reporter David Corn. Romney quickly called a news conference defending the message, saying the election is a choice between big government and personal responsibility. He also said this.

ROMNEY: It's not elegantly stated, let me put it that way. I'm speaking off the cuff in response to a -- a question. And I'm sure I could state it more clearly and in a more effective way.

TODD: But how did a videotape made four months ago become something so potentially damaging to Romney's campaign now?

(on camera): Parts of the video were posted in drips and drabs at first, mainly as blurry video and audio files on YouTube. In mid August, the "Mother Jones" reporter, David Corn, was put in touch with the source. The person who Corn says videotaped Romney and posted it online. Corn won't reveal who that source is. Last week, Corn was able to verify that the videotape was legitimate and he posted it this week on "Mother Jones."

(voice-over): This account was given to us by David Corn himself, who couldn't speak on camera because he's a contributor to another network. The middle man who got Corn together with the source, James Carter IV, grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, seen here on Facebook with Corn. Corn says Carter had done research for him in the past. On his Twitter account, Carter describes himself as an opposition researcher, political junkie currently looking for work.

HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, CNN'S "RELIABLE SOURCES": He obviously has his own agenda and trying to damage the Romney campaign. And without James Carter IV, this clearly wouldn't have happened.

TODD: David Corn says the person who videotaped Romney told him they weren't affiliated with any campaign, didn't go in with the intent to infiltrate the Romney camp.

The fundraiser who hosted the event is Marc Leder, who the Sunlight Foundation says has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to candidates from both major parties.

BILL ALLISON, SUNLIGHT FOUNDATION: He's private equities with a company called Sun Capital. I think they manage about $8 billion worth of investments. So he comes from the same industry. Actually, that's how he got into private equity, from meeting Mitt Romney.

(END VIDEOTAPE) TODD: We've called and e-mailed Marc Leder repeatedly to ask who the person was who videotaped Romney at his home and to ask who else was there. Leder's representative would only issue us a statement acknowledging that he hosted a fundraiser for a friend in May. We've also tried repeatedly to get the Romney campaign to tell us who they think videotaped him that night. We've gotten no response -- Randi.

KAYE: Brian, thank you.

We've got much more on this topic ahead, like does the Romney campaign have to take responsibility for letting a camera in the room in the first place? We'll answer that and find out how the game has changed just since 2008.

BLACKWELL: A lot of teens might be embarrassed if their mom made a surprise appearance on the school bus, but this mom came to confront a bully. She says she wanted to give him a whooping.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. Here's some of the stories that really caught our attention this week.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

KAYE: We've been talking about a few of them this morning. We want to show you this one. A mother confronting a 17-year-old student on a school bus the day after a bully had actually picked on her son. This is in Flagler County, Florida. You see this. I mean look at this. There was quite a scuffle right on this bus surveillance video which picked it up.

Listen to what she said about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FELECIA PHILLIPS, MOTHER: Words kept going back and forth whatever. He called me at my name and I smooshed him in his face, whatever. That's what they need, a good old-fashioned whooping and we're not able to do that because we end up in jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: I mean. Look, we all want to put an end to bullying. I just don't know if smooshing the kid's face is the answer. The police arrested her and she now faces charges for child abuse and trespassing.

BLACKWELL: The response on Twitter after this story first aired was that there were people who said you should go on to a bus if you stop the kid.

KAYE: Not the first parent to do it.

BLACKWELL: No she isn't and she probably won't be the last, but should you go on a bus and kind of abuse a kid? Essentially that's what that is. The answer to that, of course, is no. This story, one of my favorites. Remember the Spanish grandmother who decided to go in and touch up that 100-year-old fresco painting of Jesus, the one that ended up, yes, like that.

KAYE: That's a touchup.

BLACKWELL: It's a completely new painting. It's not really that good. Well, OK. She now wants royalties from the church because initially it was free to see. Now because it's gotten this international acclaim or attention.

KAYE: Yes.

BLACKWELL: They are charging and they have made thousands of dollars. She wants some of that money. She says she wants to donate it to charity. Her lawyers say she may even copyright the image. It's on T- shirts, posters. Should she get the money? Well we'll find out in court. Reminds us of this new species of monkey in the Congo, the compassionate eyes. That monkey is just saying I feel your pain.

KAYE: She worked so hard on that restoration, even if a lot of people weren't that impressed, I guess. The monkey looks pretty good.

OK. Senator Marco Rubio, stuck on a plane, so why not tweet, right? Let's just say he wasn't a very happy passenger. We'll take a look at his tweets and the airline's online response.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Politics now and Florida Senator Marco Rubio had a tough time getting back to Washington last night. Seems his American Airlines flight was delayed, so he used the extra time to tweet about it. He was not happy. American Air says maintenance problems. Yet suddenly s group of new passengers boarding, holding plane to get connectors on from delayed flight. Delaying flight for maintenance to squeeze connectors from other flight, he writes, oldest trick in the book. Feel bad for crew and his hash tag there. Besides American Airlines is come on, man.

Someone at the airline, well, they apparently follow him on Twitter. They saw this and they tweeted back right afterwards. They wrote, thanks for your patience, Marco. We hope you have a great flight. He also added by the way that the flight attendants were top notch on his Twitter feed. Why was Marco Rubio headed to Washington? So he could vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government. Well, he made it in time. The vote didn't happen until after midnight. Rubio voted no, but the measure still passed, so now the government will be funded for another six months instead of running out of money at the end of the month.

BLACKWELL: This morning we are keeping you informed by taking a closer look at some of the issues at the center of the 2012 presidential election. Earlier we looked at the candidates' stances on Middle East peace. Now we're looking at terrorism. Our intelligence correspondent Suzanne Kelly has more on where they stand on terrorism and torture.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE KELLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The killing of Osama bin Laden, undoubtedly the national security highlight of the Obama administration. Few argue it was a risky move for the president to give the order to invade Pakistani airspace and go after the al Qaeda leader. As a candidate in 2007, Romney questioned whether it was worth the time and money it would take to hunt bin Laden down. Later saying, of course, he would have given the same order.

Don't expect much of a difference between the two candidates on the issue of drones either. The program, started under President Bush, hit full speed under Obama who relies on the still classified missions to limit the numbers of troops on the ground by launching hellfire missiles from the air.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My most secret duty as president and commander in chief is to keep the American people safe and what that means is we've brought a whole bunch of tools to bear to go after al Qaeda and those who would attack Americans. Drones are one tool that we use.

KELLY: Romney supports the use of drones as well. Like his rival, even in the case where a U.S. citizen may be the target.

ROMNEY: And if there's someone that's going to join with a group like al Qaeda that declares war on America and we're in a war with that entity, then, of course, anyone who is bearing arms with that entity is fair game for the United States of America.

KELLY: But there are places where the two candidates differ, mainly over the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and the use of the interrogation tactic known as waterboarding where a detainee is made to feel like he's drowning. On the Guantanamo question, despite his 2009 promise to return the American people to the, quote, moral high ground, by issuing an executive order to close the facility, it turned out it was easier said than done for the president.

Romney, on the other hand, wants to keep Guantanamo open for business. On the question of torture, you have to know what it is to know where the candidates stand. While both have said they are opposed to the use of torture, Romney has so far refused to characterize waterboarding as torture.

ROMNEY: I just don't think it's productive for a president of the United States to lay out a list of what is specifically referred to as torture.

KELLY: Romney's lack of a specific definition worries security experts like Bruce Riedel.

BRUCE RIEDEL, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: I think that the governor really owes it to the American people to explain exactly what he means about he won't allow torture but that he doesn't want to comment on techniques of torture.

KELLY: Obama literally banned the practice as one of his first official acts.

OBAMA: Waterboarding is torture. It's contrary to America's traditions. It's contrary to our ideals. That's not who we are.

KELLY: A recent poll suggests that likely voters like Obama when it comes to national security issues. When it comes to terrorism specifically, 50 percent of likely voters polled last month said Obama would better handle terrorism; 43 percent threw their weight behind Romney.

RIEDEL: Any American president at this time is going to wage a relentless struggle against al Qaeda and associated movements because Republicans and Democrats alike recognize we still have a significant threat coming from al Qaeda and its allies.

KELLY (on-camera): Regardless of who occupies the oval office come January, the only certainty, say intelligence experts, is that the enemy will still be there, still plotting to do Americans harm.

Suzanne Kelly, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Stay with us for more on the issues. Coming up in our 10:00 hour, Syria and Iran. We'll see where the candidates stand on the powder kegs in the Middle East.

A man picks up a hitch-hiker, drives him around for days, even bringing him home for dinner with his family. The big surprise that awaited him. We'll tell you all about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Thanks for starting your morning with us.

A scare for the Romney's yesterday. An electrical fire forced an emergency landing for Ann Romney's plane. The nominee's wife was on her way to Los Angeles but made an unscheduled stop in Denver after the cockpit filled with smoke. The campaign later tweeted that everything was ok.

And if you buy Trader Joe's peanut butter, you better check the cover. The store is voluntarily recalling its Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter with Sea Salt. A possible link was found to 29 cases of salmonella in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. The peanut butter in question is labeled with use by dates from May 23rd, 2013 to June 28th, 2013.

A truck driver in Long Island picked up a hitchhiker and drove him around for four days. That story is odd enough there, but he then found out the man was wanted for murder, theft and forgery. The truck driver even invited the hitchhiker over for dinner with his family, twice. Police discovered he was a murder suspect during a stop at the George Washington Bridge. The driver obviously was shocked.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANUEL VELASCO, TRUCK DRIVER: I wasn't really shocked. I mean that's, because like I said, he was a very quiet guy. Like my wife told me, don't picking up any strangers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Apparently he wasn't shocked. The suspect, 52-year-old Charles Kelly, was suspected of murdering his roommate in Tennessee.

KAYE: In Pennsylvania, attorneys are making a last-ditch effort to save a killer's life, but their time is running out. 46-year-old Terry Williams is scheduled to be executed on October 3rd -- that is less than two weeks from now. No one is questioning whether Williams beat Amos Norwood to death with a tire iron in 1984, but attorneys are arguing that this case is more than a robbery-homicide.

They say Norwood had raped and abused their client starting when he was just six years old, a detail some jurors certainly wish they had known.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was no -- no information at all brought out about any sexual abuse, whether he was a child or from the two victims-- there was nothing at all brought out about that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now that I know about the sexual abuse and all that, it -- that's why I'm doing this video because I feel bad that this person is on death row and there was evidence or other things that we should have been told about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Let's bring in CNN legal contributor Paul Callan. Paul, good morning.

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.

KAYE: First up how unusual is this case? I mean you have a convicted killer now trying to avoid the death penalty for killing a man who he says sexually abused him for years? I mean some might say the victim deserved what he got and that Terrence Williams should not be put to death. What do you think?

CALLAN: It's a case that a lot of people have rallied around and including the former attorney general of Pennsylvania saying that Williams has been treated unfairly, that this claim that he was sexually abused should have been revealed to the jury.

So is it an unusual case? In some respects it is and you know, death penalty opponents rally around certain kinds of cases, cases that have a compelling narrative, a compelling story about the person being executed and certainly this sexual abuse angle that the jury didn't know about makes this a very, very unusual and interesting case.

KAYE: So on Monday the state failed to reach an agreement for clemency and on Thursday another hearing ended without a resolution so what would be next now?

CALLAN: Well, as it travels through the court procedures a number of things can happen. It can wind up with the Pennsylvania governor who, of course, could grant clemency. It could -- although the parole board has -- has acted against that. There's a court decision involving that. They could go back out into the federal system again and certainly before the individual ever gets executed with the death penalty the Supreme Court takes another look at it.

So we can expect this would wind up in front of the Supreme Court again, even briefly. Sometimes they just say, all right, we're going to look at it and they reject the stay. So I think we've got a lot of court things coming up and you're not going to see an execution in early October probably.

KAYE: You know I want to point out that Norwood's own widow has even asked for the execution to be called off -- the victim's widow in this case. But those pleas by -- by her and by -- and by so many others, I mean, 360,000 people have signed the petition. They are just not being heard.

How much time do you think attorneys have left to do their work and get this done?

CALLAN: Well, they are coming in to the -- to the home stretch on this, so they've a lot of work to do and I think they are facing tough arguments.

Now we haven't talked about the other side of the case and here's the other side of the case, Randi.

Prosecutors say this is nonsense. He could have raised this claim in 1984 at his trial. Williams testified at his trial. Not only did he not say that he was sexually abused by the victim, who by the way was beaten to death with a tire iron in a cemetery, but Williams said he wasn't even there at the time of the crime.

Now of course, the claim is being made not only was he there, but he had previously been sexually abused and by the way, there is a claim that he stabbed another man to death and the jury heard about that during the sentencing phase of the case.

So people don't get sentenced to death in cases that aren't very, very serious cases here, so there's another side to this case as well and a judge has got to look at it and say was the jury acting properly and with enough information in 1984 when all of the evidence in the case presumably that was available at the time was heard.

KAYE: I want to ask you about another case, another bizarre story also having to do with the death penalty from Ohio. In this case you have a convicted murderer, Ronald Post. He's also been on death row by the way since 1980s. His attorneys want his execution delayed because they say that he's too obese. They are arguing that lethal injection could be torturous and lingering death for the nearly 500-pound man. Have you ever heard of anything like this, Paul?

CALLAN: Well, I don't know. This is right up there. Yes. He -- he weighs over 400 pounds. And actually when I first looked at the case, I was thinking it was an -- an electric chair case and he couldn't fit in the chair. Believe it or not, there have been cases that are involved whether you can fit in the electric chair. There has been one other case involving an obese convict who tried to avoid the death penalty by saying that his obesity would render it cruel and unusual punishment.

And remember that here is the claim. They won't be able to find a vein --

(CROSSTALK)

KAYE: Right.

CALLAN: -- to inject. Ok, this is not an electric chair case and also it'll be hard to figure out how much of the drugs to give him and it'll be a lingering death. Yes. There have been claims like this. I don't think this one is going to fly. He might have other reasons to have the death penalty set aside, but the fact that he's overweight, I don't think that's going to get too far with the courts.

KAYE: Yes. Apparently he's tried to lose weight and now they are saying that he shouldn't be put to death because of this. All right. Paul, nice to see you. Thank you.

CALLAN: Always nice to see you, Randi. Thank you.

KAYE: Enjoy your Saturday.

A suburban Atlantic couple charged with unspeakable crimes. It is a bizarre tale that we'll bring to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Well, this story is really disturbing on so many levels.

KAYE: It is a story of alleged child abuse that began right here in suburban Georgia and moved across the country. Nick Valencia is here to tell us more about it.

So it's really hard to believe when you get to the facts of this case that parents could do this.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well it's all the more shocking when you take a look at this home and this quiet suburban neighborhood unsuspecting comfortable looking home. But this 18-year-old is alleging this is where he was held captive for four years in a blacked-out room. Neighbors -- the containment was so thorough that neighbors didn't even know that he lived there.

Investigators arrested his parents, stepfather and mother last week after they found this 18-year-old Mitch Comber wandering around a downtown Los Angeles bus station. In fact he was so emaciated, Randi, that the security guard who spotted him thought he was a child wandering around who didn't have parents.

KAYE: Oh, my goodness.

BLACKWELL: Wow.

KAYE: So how did it happen, though? I mean you said it was pretty hard to tell what was going on inside, that it's a pretty sleepy neighborhood. Nobody wanted to ask any questions.

VALENCIA: Unsuspecting -- the neighbors, like I said didn't even know this child was there. The sisters they are being investigated by authorities right now as well, 13 and 11 years old. They told investigators that they hadn't seen their brother in two years, so had been outside at least two years.

KAYE: Oh gosh.

BLACKWELL: So they put him on a bus with a list of homeless shelters and what's next for this -- this man, he's 18 years old?

VALENCIA: Well family has stepped up thankfully to take care of him while this investigation is being completed and we should also mention that the two sisters are in protective custody but there's a long road ahead, a big journey for this 18-year-old. He's 5'3", 97 pounds. When investigators spotted him, his skin was translucent, no doubt because he was malnourished during this -- these four years.

KAYE: You mentioned the two sisters. What's the -- what's their condition? Are they healthy?

VALENCIA: We don't know. A lot of details are still sketchy about this. We're still learning more and more information. We don't know the aspects of the room you know what type of room he was held in.

We don't really know too much about the parents either. They are scheduled to appear in court in early October. I'm sure more details about this investigation -- just a horrible story, guys, in Georgia just northwest here of Atlanta.

BLACKWELL: Yes unbelievable this could happen; that parents put you on a bus and just send you off.

KAYE: Yes.

BLACKWELL: All right, Nick, thank you.

VALENCIA: Thank you.

KAYE: A possible breakthrough in a cold case. For 30 years investigators have wondered about a girl known only as Princess Doe. So why do they have new hope now? I'll tell you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Forty-two minutes past the hour now.

It is a murder mystery that has baffled police for three decades, the case of Princess Doe. In 1982 her body was discovered, beaten beyond recognition in a cemetery in a rural farm town of Blairstown, New Jersey. This is a sketch of what investigators believe she may have looked like.

Police determined she was between the ages of 14 and 18, but that's all they've known, until now. Thanks to new breakthroughs in forensic science, they may be closer than ever to actually cracking this case.

Lieutenant Stephen Speirs joins me now. He's been trying to identify Princess Doe since 1999.

Lieutenant, good morning; when we spoke to you several months ago on this case, you had sent off some hair samples from Princess Doe's body in hopes of finding out some new information about her. Were you successful?

LT. STEPHEN SPEIRS, WARREN COUNTRY, NEW JERSEY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE: Yes, yes. Good morning, Randi. Thank you for having me back.

KAYE: Good morning.

SPEIRS: We had results back from the isotope testing on the segments of hair. Now, although it doesn't give us a precise location of origin, it did tell us some pretty amazing thing. We know that from ten months to seven months that she lived in a particular region of the United States which they refer to as region one which covers a good portion of the northeast and some -- some of the Midwest and then approximately seven months to five months what we discovered is that she was definitely transient. She went from one particular region of the United States to another which is region two.

And for the last five months she was in region two of the United States which puts her in the northeast area. Now, we also, and this is something we didn't discuss when I was here before, her tooth, one of her teeth was sent to another lab for isotope testing, and that was able to -- the results of those tests were able to provide us with some more informative information about her earlier years and that, along with the hair samples we've determined, that there's a potential she could have come from the Midwest area meaning quite honestly Arizona is what we're focusing our -- what we're doing now.

KAYE: It's fascinating when you talk about a hair sample. How does it work? I mean you're just testing the DNA from that hair sample that's able actually to pinpoint where she has been and where she might have been from?

SPEIRS: Well, it's not DNA, it's elements -- oxygen and a few other elements that are in the hair which are in the water and the soil in particular geographical areas of the United States. So, basically consuming the water, consuming food from those areas deposit these elements in her hair -- same thing for the teeth.

KAYE: Same thing for the tooth.

SPEIRS: Exactly the same thing with the tooth. The good thing about the tooth is younger years, her more informative years, there's more of those elements present. And we were able to say with a reasonable amount of scientific certainty, this is the area where she grew up, and we're kind of leaning towards the Arizona area.

KAYE: Well, I know one of the big challenges for you when we spoke about this case originally was that nobody came forward to say "I'm missing my daughter. I'm missing my sister," when she first was found. So since putting this new information out there, have you been able to get any new leads, anybody calling in, anything like that?

SPEIRS: Yes, thank you. As a result of our first airing on July 14th and with the exclusive on the composite, we've had a number of phone calls and a number of tips and leads. Again -- going back very quickly, we know for sure she was not foreign-born. She was definitely born in the United States which was something we were concerned about in the beginning stages.

But now we've gotten phone calls from three separate individuals in the Long Island area. When they saw the pictures of the composite as well as the picture of the clothing, three separate people told us they bought the exact same dress from a dress store in the Long Island area. And we have been focusing our efforts in the Long Island area as well.

KAYE: And this happened in New Jersey, so that would be not too far away. So you're still pretty hopeful. You think you're getting closer?

SPEIRS: Absolutely getting closer. And the more we get exposure, again, on this case, the more tips and leads we are getting. We've also got some calls in from some other tips where we potentially have an individual who was missing from the Connecticut area which is not too far off from the long island area. Just keeps coming in, and every tip we get we keep going forward and trying to follow this as best we can.

KAYE: Well, I know you've been working at it a long time. Wish you luck and keep us posted. Stephen Speirs, thank you.

SPEIRS: Thank you for having me back. Thank you.

KAYE: Victor.

BLACKWELL: A secret recording at the center of controversy now. A celebrity I'm sure you know caught saying gay men are disgusting and probably have AIDS. I'll play the tape after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC FROM BEACH BOYS)

KAYE: Say it isn't so. The Beach Boys splitting up -- sort of? BLACKWELL: Mike Love, Bruce Johnson said they are hitting their road with their own incarnation of the Beach Boys.

KAYE: Yes. It's kind of a sad day for Beach Boys fans. So I guess we have one more chance possibly to catch them all together. September 28th concert in London.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

KAYE: So we'll see.

BLACKWELL: Al, Bruce and David are out. After 50 years together.

KAYE: That's something.

BLACKWELL: Wow.

Well, we have not heard much from Paris Hilton or about Paris Hilton in a while, but she is back and offending a lot of people. Listen to this secret recording made of her talking to a friend in the back of a cab in New York.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

PARIS HILTON, TV PERSONALITY: Gay guys are the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) people in the world. They're disgusting. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Dude, most of them probably have AIDS. I would be so scared if I was a gay guy.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, this is all over the Internet, all over Twitter, Facebook earlier. I spoke with entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner about what backlash Hilton is receiving.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: And it happened on September 7th while she was in New York for fashion week and her rep told us yesterday that even though you heard what you heard, that Paris was only trying to express that it's dangerous for anyone to have unprotected sex. And that she is a huge supporter of the gay community and would never purposefully make any negative statements about anyone's sexual orientation.

Paris has now released a statement to GLAAD apologizing for the comments that were caught on tape by a cab driver who was, by the way, unknowingly recording her conversation.

She tweeted yesterday that she wanted everyone to go to the GLAAD's Website and read her mea culpa. In the apology she says that gay people are the strongest and most inspiring people that she knows. She also says that HIV/AIDS is something she takes seriously and that she shouldn't have thrown it around in conversation.

She also says, Victor, that she wishes -- and I'm sure she does -- she wishes that she could take back every single word that she said.

BLACKWELL: Absolutely, and I'm sure we'll be hearing more about this.

All right.

Clint Eastwood, last time we spoke about Clint Eastwood it was after the Republican National Convention and that empty chair moment. You got a chance to sit in a chair across from Clint Eastwood to talk about that and his new movie "Trouble with the Curve". What's this one about?

TURNER: Yes. There were no empty chairs in the room, by the way, during our entire conversation. Now this movie that he's in, "Trouble with the Curve", it opens this weekend. So it's going to be actually really interesting to see if Clint Eastwood's RNC invisible Obama chair speech and the subsequent "Esquire" magazine article that he did criticizing the President will have any impact on ticket sales.

When I sat down with him last week while he was promoting this movie, he told me that he has no regrets about that speech and that he also said when you get to be his age you really don't have to worry about what people say about you and the choices that you make anymore.

Now, I'm not sure that the studio likes to hear that because they want good publicity and a lot of buzz for their movie. But, you know, "Trouble with the Curve" also stars Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake.

And I will say this, Victor. I am no movie reviewer but in my opinion Amy Adams was fantastic in this film. I really thought she was great.

BLACKWELL: All right. We will accept that although I'm looking at the clip that they sent along with the promotional materials. Clint Eastwood is kicking furniture in that video. I don't know who chose that. I don't know if it's a table or a chair, but he's kicking furniture around. Who knew?

TURNER: He does do that. He does do that in the movie.

BLACKWELL: All right. Nischelle Turner out in L.A. for us, thank you.

TURNER: Sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: All right.

Check this out a group of safari tourists in Africa weren't expected to get this close to a cheetah, and then it jumped on top of their jeep just inches away from them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Wait until you see this. Tourists going on a safari want to get close enough to wild beasts to take that perfect picture, right, but some tourists in Kenya got an image of a cheetah they will never forget. Our Jeanne Moos has that. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was just another safari in Kenya when the cheetah the tourists had spotted decided to hitch a ride, or at least a seat. And thus began 45 minutes of eye-to- eye contact only a foot or two from a creature one couple dubbed --

CATE GIRSKIS, SAFARI TOURIST: Rita. Rita the cheetah.

MOOS: Cate Girskis's husband was the one shooting the video.

CATE GIRSKIS, SAFARI TOURIST: How are you feeling there Girsk?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God. My heart's going to beat out of my chest.

MOOS: Although not known for viciousness, they easily kill their prey.

C. GIRSKIS: I'm not sure that I was breathing. And my knees were buckling. My whole body was shaking. She was stunning.

MOOS (on camera): When the cheetah leaped up, the safari guide told the tourists exactly what not to do.

C. GIRSKIS: Don't move. Don't talk. Hakuna matata.

MOOS (voice-over): The expression made famous by "The Lion King".

(MUSIC)

C. GIRSKIS: She wasn't interested in us at all.

MOOS: For her the vehicle was just a perch with a view, so she could scan for prey. After 45 minutes, Edward the guide started the engine. And seconds later, Rita the cheetah stood up. But soon she presented a new threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't spray us now.

MOOS: Not at all farfetched. There's a famous Animal Planet video in which Keekaye (ph) the cheetah answers the call of nature -- through the sunroof into the napkin of a zoologist trapped below.

But Rita behaved.

(on camera): The tourists realized later that the license plate on their vehicle began with the letters KAT. Though spelling cat with a K is cheetah-ing.

Finally --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Thank goodness. Oh, man.

C. GIRSKIS: I can breathe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa. Bye-bye. C. GIRSKIS: It was elation and relief.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh.

MOOS: They had but one request of their guide.

GIRSKIS: Edward, if we could get a lion up there next.

MOOS: Actually, cheetahs parking themselves on cars and sunroofs are pretty common on YouTube. It's almost as if it's raining cats.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Wow.

BLACKWELL: That is beautiful.

KAYE: Isn't that great?

She was just posing and laying right there.

BLACKWELL: However, I'm going to need a guide when a cheetah jumps on to the vehicle to say more than hakuna matata. I need more than that.

KAYE: I think it is. Let's go.

BLACKWELL: There's a cheetah on the vehicle.

KAYE: That was amazing though.

BLACKWELL: Yes, it was nice. 45 minutes.

KAYE: She was as calm as could be though. Had no interest in them, as they said. I love that.

BLACKWELL: All right.

KAYE: Thanks for starting your morning with us. CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues right now.

(MUSIC PLAYING)