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Alfonso Rodriguez Convicted of Murdering Student Dru Sjodin; Polygamist Arrested; Hit-And-Run Spree in San Francisco; Heavy Violence Today in Iraq

Aired August 30, 2006 - 13:59   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Eresto in Florida, the hurricane that wasn't. Now it's not even a tropical storm. Still, the Sunshine State is getting drenched as the now tropical depression slowly spins to the north.
So far, Ft. Lauderdale has seen about two inches of rain and minimal damage. The storm came ashore in Plantation Key around midnight. By dawn, the winds and rain were much more of a nuisance than anything else. But Ernesto isn't done yet.

Expect this storm to take a swipe at the Carolinas next. Projections show it could make landfall again between Charleston and Georgetown, South Carolina, tomorrow afternoon, dumping several inches of rain along the way. And North Carolina is alerting its emergency teams already.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MIKE EASLEY (D), NORTH CAROLINA: We evacuated 150 National Guard soldiers to be deployed with one group in the west, one group in the east. Also with them will be two Black Hawk helicopters that can be used for aerial rescue, along with our swift water rescue teams.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Ernesto isn't the only fish in the sea. As it were, Hurricane John is menacing the west coast of Mexico and it's making Ernesto look like a drizzle.

Jacqui Jeras tracking them both from the weather center.

Hey, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Kyra. Yes, very different extremes on both of those storms.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Appreciate it, Jacqui.

Well, monster storm, super typhoon, whatever you call it, it's headed for Wake Island, which now is all but deserted. People who live there flew to Hawaii on Monday. With winds as high as 161 miles an hour, Tropical Storm Yoke (ph) is the strongest in the central Pacific in more than a decade. When weather becomes the news you can become a CNN correspondent. If you see severe weather happening, send us an I-Report. Just go to CNN.com and click on "I-Report," or type in ireport@cnn.com on your cell phone and share your pictures or video with us.

Grabbing what they can and getting out. With an out-of-control wildfire burning in the hillsides, people are evacuating two communities near San Bernardino National Forest in southern California. The fire is about 60 miles east of Los Angeles. It's burned two homes, 2,000 acres, and is just 10 percent contained.

Let's get straight to the newsroom.

Fredricka Whitfield working details on a developing story -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Kyra, the jury in North Dakota has spoken. Guilty for 53-year-old Alfonso Rodriguez. Now the jury will try to decide whether he should get life in prison without parole or the death penalty for the kidnapping, the stabbing, the rape and murder of 22-year-old Dru Sjodin. She was the University of North Dakota student who went missing for quite some -- some time from her campus, and then suddenly her body was found in Crookston, Minnesota, just across the border.

Well, the investigators put the two and two together, convinced the jury that Rodriguez, who was a convicted sex offender from Crookston, Minnesota, was the man who carried out this heinous attack on this 22-year-old woman. And now the jury will decide whether it's life in prison without parole or the death penalty.

This is the first time in about 100 years that a jury in North Dakota has had to contend with a death penalty case. And so, soon they will be making that decision -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jacqui -- or thanks so much, Fred.

I'm thinking of Jacqui Jeras and the storm.

Fredricka Whitfield, thank you.

Well, jailed without bail, in Vegas for now, but what's the next stop for polygamist prophet Warren Jeffs? Two states, Utah and Arizona, have charges pending, and then there's the FBI.

CNN's Dan Simon has more now on Jeffs' alleged misdeed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Warren Jeffs may have spent his last day as a free man. Of the five charges he faces, two carry a maximum sentence upon conviction of life in prison.

MARK SHURTLEFF, UTAH ATTORNEY GENERA: We have the strongest charges. There's no doubt about that. SIMON: That's why Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff would like to see Jeffs go on trial first in Utah. Jeffs is charged here with two counts of rape as an accomplice. In layman's terms, he's accused of arranging a marriage between an underage girl and an older man.

SHURTLEFF: If you're charged with accomplice to a rape, ordering, facilitating and so forth, then you're guilty of the same thing and that's what we hope to have him -- have to prove his guilt on that.

SIMON: The penalty, five years to life in prison for each charge. Jeffs' also faces charges in Arizona. He presides over polygamist communities in both states. Colorado City in Arizona and Hilldale in Utah. The towns sit side by side. Prosecutors in those jurisdictions will want first crack at Jeffs, but Shurtleff vowed the competition will be civil.

SHURTLEFF: It's not going to be about turf. We're going to work together on this.

SIMON: Still, he couldn't help point out the disparity in the sentences. In Arizona, the total amount of prison time Jeffs would face if convicted is only six years.

Jeffs is charged in Arizona with two counts of sexual conduct with a minor for allegedly performing marriages in that state between older men and young girls. He also faces an additional charge of conspiracy.

TERRY GODDARD, ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL: This, as I said, isn't the end of the road, but it certainly is a very important development for the people of Colorado City. We've made a lot of progress on many fronts. But I think the most important is proving to everyone that Warren Jeffs couldn't flaunt the rule of law.

SIMON: Prosecutors want Jeffs held without bail because of his history as a fugitive and his alleged criminal behavior.

SHURTLEFF: Ripped kids away from parents, and kick kids out into the desert, make little girls marry old guys. This guy's a bad guy and he belonged on the 10 most wanted list for these reasons.

SIMON: Thanks to good law enforcement, that list, for the moment, is now down to nine.

Dan Simon, CNN, Salt Lake City, Utah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, bye-bye Boulder. John Mark Karr will soon be bound for California after being ruled out in the murder of JonBenet Ramsey. Yesterday a Colorado judge ordered Karr's extradition to Sonoma County to face five-year-old child misdemeanor porn charges. Karr had agreed to extradition back in 2001 as a condition of bail, bail he later skipped. Karr appeared calm during most of the evening but grew upset when prosecutors refused to return a photo of JonBenet and her mother Patsy. Prosecutors originally sent the photo to Karr in Thailand hoping to track him when he picked it up.

SUV on a rampage, hit and run again and again in San Francisco. Police there say a driver deliberately ran down pedestrians and cyclists, leaving one dead and at least 13 hurt.

Details now from reporter Lilian Kim of CNN affiliate KGO.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LILIAN KIM, REPORTER, KGO (voice over): It was chaos on the streets of San Francisco as a driver began mowing down anyone in his path. At least 14 people were hospitalized. Witnesses say the driver of this Honda SUV was deliberately running down people in the street and on the sidewalk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He hit a Chinese lady and two Mexican fellows. The two Mexican fellows rolled one way, she rolled another way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he came across and he just hit everything and knocked the bags out of my hand and jerked my shoulder.

KIM: Police arrested the man they say was behind the wheel, 29- year-old Omeed Aziz Popal, who according to his lawyer, has a history of mental illness. It took nearly 20 minutes for officers to box him in at the corner of California and Spruce streets.

SGT. NEVILLE GITTENS, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE: Fortunately, the officers had a pretty good description. The communication was well that they could kind of figure out exactly which direction he was heading, and they were able to take him into custody right here.

KIM: The only person killed was in the East Bay, where it all began. Police say Popal ran over a 54-year-old man in Freemont. Forty-five minutes later, people started getting hit in San Francisco from one intersection to the next. There was plenty of evidence of the rampage: a mangled bicycle, a shoe, eyeglasses in the middle of the street.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just look really wired up. I mean, I don't know exactly what, but I didn't know what was going on. At first I thought he was just trying to go by me, but then he just -- as you looked around the whole neighborhood, you'd just see people going down.

KIM: Witnesses can't believe more people weren't seriously hurt. Many say what happened today will haunt them for a long time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't know if it was cold or if it was me, but I think it's because I've seen and now I'm hearing all these stories that it's pretty frightening. It's the most horrific thing I've ever seen. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, straight ahead, three more suspects are formally charged in the British airline terror plot. The latest on this unfolding case.

Plus, blockade roadblock. These men can't agree on the naval blockade against Lebanon, even after the end, more or less, of hostilities.

That's straight ahead on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to the newsroom and Fredricka Whitfield.

What are you working on for us?

WHITFIELD: Well, out on the West Coast, just 60 miles outside of Los Angeles and the San Bernardino National Forest, right on the edge there, a pretty significant fire that firefighters are trying to contain.

So far, 10 percent has been contained. It scorched about 2,000 acres, which is about three square miles.

Two homes have been destroyed and there have been evacuations ordered for two very small specific areas. One being the Mountain Home Village, which is home to about 60 homes, and then a Christian camp that was operating in the area. Even a portion of Highway 38, which is near Big Bear Lake, has been closed off.

You're looking at the active fire right now; however, the fire investigators are feeling rather confident that they will have all of this contained by Friday evening because of the strategy that they're using to try to squeeze the life out of this blaze. But right now it is still burning and you're seeing the plumes of smoke and the active fires -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Fred.

No budging on the blockade. U.N. chief Kofi Annan failed today to persuade Israel to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon.

CNN's Chris Lawrence standing by in Jerusalem for us -- Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, Kofi Annan and Ehud Olmert agreed on some points. But on others, Israel and the U.N. are not on the same page.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): Despite a friendly greeting between the heads of Israel and the U.N., the tense relationship is being tested.

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: I've been urging for the immediate lifting of the blockade on Lebanon.

LAWRENCE: Kofi Annan is pushing Israel to reopen Lebanon's ports of entry. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert won't do it until the U.N. enforces an arms embargo against Hezbollah.

EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: It has to be effective, it has to be strong, and it has to be in all entry points.

ANNAN: But in the meantime, I do believe that the blockades should be lifted.

LAWRENCE: Annan accused Israel of violating the cease-fire agreement and jeopardizing U.N. Resolution 1701. Olmert shot back, questioning when a full international force will be deployed to the border.

OLMERT: The sooner it will take place, Israel will pull out entirely from Lebanon and there will be no basis for any arguments or any accusations.

ANNAN: But we need to be flexible. We shouldn't insist that the only way to do it is by deploying international forces.

LAWRENCE: Annan says 2,500 troops are already on the border. He hopes to double that number within a week, but says Israel should continue its pullout now. The two did agree, in a way, on the two Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah. Annan met with their families and promised to work for their release. Olmert says it should be immediate and unconditional.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Now, Lebanon's prime minister believes the blockade could be lifted within the next few days, but there are some complications. Israel also wants an international force deployed on Lebanon's northern border with Syria to stop the flow of weapons from there. Syria considers the presence of an international force on its border a hostile act -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Chris, has anyone in the region seen any proof that these Israelis soldiers are still alive? The ones being held captive?

LAWRENCE: Well, when Jesse Jackson was -- was in Syria just a day ago, he met with some top leadership in Hamas and he said as far as that soldier was concerned, he was told that the soldier is OK, the soldier is alive, and the soldier is being held in a safe location. Kofi Annan, while not having seen the soldiers, said he believes right now that the soldiers are alive and he hopes to at least try to start the negotiations to get them released.

PHILLIPS: All right, Chris. Thanks so much.

Well, Lebanon is offering roughly $33,000 to citizens who lost their homes in the fighting with Israel. Two weeks ago Hezbollah began handing out $12,000 payments in southern Beirut.

Let's get back to Fredricka Whitfield working on another developing story for us -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: This time out of Hillsborough, North Carolina, Kyra, where investigators there say that they have someone in custody after a report of shots being fired at Orange High School. You're looking at an aerial view, live shots right now from our affiliate, WTVD.

Reportedly, a young man drove to the school around 1:00 Eastern, didn't stop for security, got out of the vehicle, then fired eight shots toward the school. Reportedly, according to WTVD, a female student was shot in the shoulder. A male student has been injured by broken glass there. And that deputies say they have one person in custody.

This taking place at Orange High School in Hillsborough, North Carolina. You're seeing the police tape there. The vehicle, presumably, the suspect got out of and allegedly started opening fire there leading to the injuries of at least one student gunshot injury and the injury of another student by broken glass.

We're continuing to watch this. All of this taking place just within the past couple of hours now. The scene still very active in the investigative phase.

We don't know whether the students are remaining inside the Orange High School there. You're not seeing any other activity in terms of a large number of people streaming out of the school. So, presumably, they are all still in the school, but, of course, we're still working our sources to find out exactly what happened here and how they are proceeding with the investigation -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Fred. Thanks.

Well, a cult where women are property and books are burned. It's right here in the U.S.

Coming up on LIVE FROM, an inside view of the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints told by a woman who risked everything to escape.

Plus, a fast-moving wildfire in southern California. Two communities threatened. Live pictures now from our affiliate KABC.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to the newsroom again. Fredricka Whitfield with more on a story we told you about earlier on.

WHITFIELD: Right, out of North Dakota. This being the jury finding a guilty verdict for Alfonso Rodriguez, a 53-year-old convicted sex offender. This time finding him guilty of kidnapping, raping, stabbing and leaving for dead 22-year-old Dru Sjodin, taking place there -- the crime taking place in Crookston, Minnesota, where her body was found. She was a University of North Dakota student.

And one of the reporters who has been following this case as it's been in court, Beth McDonough, of our affiliate, KMSP. And Beth joins us now.

Was this a verdict that came quickly for this jury?

BET MCDONOUGH, REPORTER, KMSP: It was an extremely swift verdict. And I must mention that, you know, after three years of investigation, the trial only lasted three weeks. Jury deliberations only lasted three hours.

And just a short time ago the panel of seven women, five men, they returned to the courtroom, they returned a verdict that brought relief to the family of Dru Sjodin. They said that Alfonso Rodriguez is guilty in the kidnapping resulting in her death.

Now, the jury deliberations, they didn't ask any questions, they did not ask to review the evidence. Apparently, they thought they heard plenty in court that convinced them that he, indeed, did kidnap her, abduct her in the parking lot of a Grand Forks mall, drive her across state lines, where he then raped, tortured, slit her throat and left her body in a ditch.

Of course, this is a case that has really just stunned the upper Midwest area, because her body was not found until five months later. So there was a massive search to find her body.

Now, in the courtroom, this was actually just the first phase of this trial. This was the verdict phase. Now we go on to the second phase, which is the sentencing phase. And there are two aspects of that sentencing phase that are really very critical.

The first aspect, jurors must determine -- the same panel of 12 jurors must determine if this crime is eligible for the death penalty. Then, secondly, they will determine if -- Alfonso Rodriguez, rather, deserves the death penalty.

Now, just a few moments ago, Dru Sjodin's mother and father, they walked outside the courtroom. And they were told by the judge not to talk to the media because, of course, they will be keep witnesses during this sentencing phase. But they did tell us that this has been a very hard time for them, very difficult on their family.

I asked Mrs. Walker -- Linda Walker, Dru's mother, "For the people across this country who empathize over the past three years, what would you like for them to know?" She said, "I would like to thank them for their prayers and their thoughts. We move on to the next phase."

Of course, the next phase now being the sentencing phase which begins just after Labor Day. The judge giving jurors a break after this very emotional trial. The next phase beginning Tuesday -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, Beth, in that phase, if the jurors do not agree on a death penalty, then it's life without parole, that's the other option?

MCDONOUGH: They have two options. They can either agree on a death sentence, which would then send Alfonso Rodriguez to the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. Or if they cannot agree unanimously -- it has to be unanimous -- then the sentence would be life in prison without the possibility of parole.

And we should mention that throughout this three-week trial, his defense attorneys, they never even tried to prove his innocence. Right from the start they said that "We do not deny his involvement in her killing, but we do question where she was killed." That was a big mitigating factor in this case. So, instead of trying to prove their client's innocence, they tried to spare his life.

WHITFIELD: Beth McDonough of KMSP in Fargo, North Dakota, reporting for us.

Thanks so much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK, Fred. Thanks.

Another developing story that we're following. Six hundred firefighters on the line and using everything they can from bulldozers to planes to corral a wildfire raging just east of Los Angeles. You can see right here via our live pictures it's burning through the San Bernardino National Forest, about 2,000 acres and two homes so far.

People in one community have been forced to leave. Folks in another are being urged to do the same. The fire sparked yesterday is barely 10 percent contained.

Jacqui Jeras, are firefighters going to get any help today from the weather?

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, if you ever said, "I want to report for CNN," now is your chance. CNN has launched I-Report, with you, the viewer, as our eyes and airs. If you capture a great picture or video on your camera or cell phone, send it to us.

Just log on to CNN.com or punch ireport@cnn.com on your cell. Your I-Report is your chance to share what you have witnessed.

Today we look at a video clip from Molly Borgstedt of Pueblo, Colorado. Her area was deluged by a powerful storm just four days ago and a gully was flooded. The driver of this SUV apparently underestimated the depth of the water and tried to drive through it but got stuck. He was able to get out safely, but the SUV was swept away, and it's still stuck, at last check, in some trees at the end of that gully.

Now, if you've got pictures like Molly's, go to CNN.com, send an I-Report, and join the world's most powerful news team.

A huge apartment complex in Manhattan is up for sale. It could be the biggest property deal in U.S. history.

Susan Lisovicz is not bidding on it, but she is joining us live from the New York Stock Exchange to give us all the details.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I already moved out of Manhattan because I couldn't afford it. And this is one of the last remaining affordable places to live in Manhattan. It may not stay that way for long.

The property in question is the well known Stuyvesant Town in Peter Cooper Village, a stretch of 110 apartment buildings along New York's East River.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Iraqi security forces securing Iraq on their own. The top American general there says it could happen in 12 to 18 months. Today, though, like so many days before it, nightmarish violence.

CNN's Michael Holmes is in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): August has been a month that U.S. and Iraqi military officials have been relatively pleased with. Because of Operation Together Forward, where problematic neighborhood were searched house by house for insurgents and weapons, they had felt that the numbers of attacks had dropped significantly. Well, that was until this week. Since Sunday, 200 Iraqis have been killed, more than that number wounded.

Today, Wednesday, has been a particularly bloody day. The main Baghdad marketplace in Shurja in central Baghdad has been hit for the third time this month alone. This was, by far, the biggest bomb to have struck the marketplace, however. It is a wholesale market. Food, clothing, electronics and the like. Twenty-four people killed, 38 wounded.

South of the capital, 100 kilometers south, 12 people killed, 38 wounded, when a bomb was detonated outside an Iraqi army recruitment center. The bomb apparently had been rigged to a bicycle. There were many other attacks around the country, as well. A double bombing a couple of hours ago near a Petrol station in Baghdad. One bomb went off. Police and other officers gathered around. And then a car bomb went off. Two dead, 15 wounded.

And also, in Baquba, a problematic area for security officials, there were two roadside bombs, one of them targeting a minivan full of civilians. Six members of one family were killed in that bombing, a couple of others wounded in the other roadside bomb. Three killed, ten wounded. The target in that case an Iraqi police patrol. So, a tragic end to a month in which U.S. and Iraqi officials had been relatively pleased with a reduction in the number of attacks. Michael Holmes, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, U.S. marines in court. Hearings start today at Camp Pendleton for seven marines and a Navy corpsman, all charged with murdering an unarmed Iraqi man four months ago. Prosecutors say the troops took the victim from his home in Hamdaniya, shot him, then tried to make him look like an insurgent. Defense lawyers question the credibility of the Iraqis, who reported the killing. The hearings will determine whether to recommend court's martial.

More charges for more suspects in that alleged liquid bomb plot in Britain, and another trip to court. CNN's Robin Oakley has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three more suspects in the alleged plot to blow airliners out of the sky en route from Britain to the United States appeared in court today to be charged with conspiracy to murder and with acts preparatory terrorism, by smuggling onboard the airliners materials for assembling and detonating improvised explosive devices.

Mohammed Uddin, Nabeel Hussain and Mohammed Gulzar were remanded in custody as eight others had been in earlier hearings, charged with the two major offenses. Of the 25 suspects originally arrested, 11 have now been charged with conspiracy and four others with lesser offenses. Three, including a woman, Cossar Ali, are charged with failing to disclose information which could have prevented a terrorist act; and one, a 17-year-old boy, with possessing materials useful to a terrorist.

As police investigations continued, five suspects remained in custody without charge. Police had to apply to the courts Wednesday to hold them, if they wished, for the final seven days of the 28 days permitted under British law for the holding of a terrorist suspect without charge.

Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism chief has revealed, unusually, that evidence against those charged include surveillance material, martyrdom videos and bomb-making equipment. But one senior ex- policeman believes that was a mistake.

JOHN O'CONNOR, FMR. SCOTLAND YARD CMDR: I find it unprofessional, I find it totally unacceptable. And I find that it could be, actually, catastrophic to the successful prosecution of these very serious cases.

OAKLEY: The problem, he says, is that seeking to prove a conspiracy is being complicated by the international carelessness over Britain's sub judice laws by world media pressures and by political interference.

O'CONNOR: Some of the things that have occurred with the breach of sub judice -- the release of details of the quality of the evidence and an attempt to persuade the public and to persuade the world at large that this is a serious, ongoing conspiracy -- may very well prove to be the trap which will let these people get released.

OAKLEY: Investigating officers see it differently. The legal process is moving on, slowly, but remorselessly. So is the investigation.

(on camera): With 15 of those arrested already facing charges, police are clearly feeling confident about the strength of their case. Previously, only around 170 of the 1,000-plus suspects arrested under anti-terrorism laws have faced terrorism charges in court, a much lower proportion.

Robin Oakley, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, they cater to tourists, but some vacation meccas in Mexico are hoping to avoid a certain blowhard named John. A huge hurricane is menacing Mexico's Pacific coast. LIVE FROM fills you in, coming up next.

Plus, a fast-moving wildfire in Southern California, two communities threatened, live pictures from KABC. We're going to stay on the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Busy day in the newsroom, Fred. Working another story.

WHITFIELD: It is, indeed. Well, it's hard to understand this one, Kyra.

An Ohio couple in court today -- we're about to show you pictures of Liz and David Carroll, Jr. They're in court facing murder charges for the death of their 3-year-old foster child. Authorities say that the Carrolls wrapped the toddler, Marcus Fiesel, in a blanket, put him in a closet so that they could go out of state to a family reunion.

When they got back, that toddler, Marcus Fiesel, was dead. Today the couple actually pleaded in this case. They pleaded not guilty. Bond has been set at $10 million.

Now, just to take you back, shortly after that child was found dead in that closet, this couple had reported the boy missing and that helped launch a massive search for the boy only to find out that these two, these foster parents, were going to be held responsible and charged for the murder of this little boy who was abandoned in the closet after being wrapped up so that this couple could, apparently, go out of state to a family reunion -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Fred, appreciate the update. It's an extremely sad story. Well, a cult where women are property and books are burned. It's right here in the U.S., and coming up on LIVE FROM, an inside view of the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints told by a woman who risked everything to escape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, maybe you don't think Warren Jeffs sounds like a guy who belonged on the FBI's 10 most wanted list. But, before you decide, listen to Carolyn Jessop tell about losing control of her own life and a split-second decision that changed everything.

CNN's Anderson Cooper has her pulse-pounding tale.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Carolyn Jessop grew up in a polygamist family in the FLDS sect in Colorado City, Arizona. She dreamed of going to college and becoming a pediatrician. Her father went to ask the prophet for permission, and was told Carolyn Jessop had to get married first. That was nearly 20 years ago. The prophet then was Rulon Jeffs, Warren Jeffs' father.

CAROLYN JESSOP, FORMER FLDS MEMBER: I didn't really know what to do with it. It was just like you can see something really bad's coming down. You can see your life's going in a direction that's the worst place you would ever want it to go. But you -- there's nothing you can do to stop it.

COOPER: The man chosen to be Carolyn's husband, a 50-year-old man who already had three wives, and would eventually take several more.

JESSOP: I get in this car with this strange man, 32 years older than me, and we're going to get married that day, and drive to his house to meet his family. It was like watching a horror movie, except for I was in the front seat of it.

COOPER: Carolyn moved into her husband's home.

JESSOP: It was bad from the beginning. I mean, there was few, if any, happy moments. You're not allowed any form of birth control. And to say, you know, "I really can't handle it; I'm having too many children; I'm having them too fast," is a mortal sin.

COOPER: She had eight children in 15 years, including a son who was severely disabled. Eventually, there were five wives in her home and 54 children. Life became more extreme when Warren Jeffs took control of the sect, after his father's death in 2002.

JESSOP: A lot of things changed when he took over. The children were pulled out of public schools, and put -- everybody was put into private schools, and then they burned all the books.

COOPER: Shortly afterwards, at the age of 35, Carolyn started thinking about the unthinkable: escape. JESSOP: Living in these polygamist homes -- or the one that I lived in -- is like living in a police state. Everyone reports everything on everybody else.

COOPER: One night, she had an unexpected opportunity. Her husband was out of town, and all eight children were home. She called her brother in Salt Lake City.

JESSOP: And he said, you know, Carolyn, I will do anything and everything I can to help you, but if I leave right now, the soonest I can be there is at 5:00 in the morning. I said, "Will you do it?" And he said, "I'll be there, but I don't want to come into the community." So he wanted me to drive three miles outside of the community and meet him at a store out there that's called Canaan Corner.

The next issue was not letting the children know. There's no possible way they would have come with me knowing what I was doing. They were terrified of the outside world. So I had to come up with a story, so I got them up about 4:00 that morning and I told them that Harrison was extremely sick and I had to take him to the doctor, which was common. That was life.

And then I told them, well, Arthur's here and so I want to get family pictures. And so everybody's coming with me this time. One of Meryl's (ph) other wives walks in on my oldest daughter getting dressed and starts demanding answers, and so about 4:30 that morning, I hear over the intercom Meryl wants to talk to me on the phone. I knew I was -- I knew they were on to me.

COOPER: Carolyn began piling her children into the van.

JESSOP: The last person I went in and got was Harrison. I took him off his oxygen, put him in his car seat and I thought everybody was there. I got in the front seat and I was just about to put the key in the ignition.

COOPER: But her oldest daughter was missing.

JESSOP: You know, honestly, it was one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had in my life, I mean, because I knew I was out of time. And do I leave her? Do I leave one and save seven? Or do I go back in and get her and none of us get out?

COOPER: She made a split second-decision and ran inside her house.

JESSOP: But she didn't want to come. And she was crying and, you know, she said, mother, there's something you're doing that's wrong. Why doesn't father know what you're doing?

COOPER: Carolyn grabbed her daughter and pulled her into the van.

JESSOP: Now after I got out of the community, then the realization that my van was completely out of gas, so it was like just making it on a prayer that I could get three miles out of town. And about a mile before I got to Canaan Corner, the van was sputtering, it was definitely out but I made it there.

COOPER: She met her brother and reached safety. Her life began all over again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Wow. Jessop's story is one of several told in the 2005 documentary "Banking of Heaven" about the polygamist world of the fundamentalist Latter Day Saints. You can catch Anderson Cooper tonight and every weeknight, 10:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

Entertainment news now. Jessica Simpson loses her voice, country crooners gain some honors and Katie Couric sheds some pounds the PhotoShop way.

"SHOWBIZ TONIGHT"'s A.J. Hammer joins me now from New York. Boy, that was a tease.

A.J. HAMMER, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" HOST: Yes. Well, let me give it to you here, Kyra. The most popular newlywed and now divorcee Jessica Simpson certainly knows a thing or two about "A Public Affair." That happens to be the title of her new album and single.

(MUSIC)

HAMMER: So, the CD is now in stores, but the bad news for her is she's been so busy promoting the release of this album that she actually lost her voice in the process, damaged her vocal cord. Simpson has had to cancel performances because, in her own words now, she sounds like a donkey. She is under doctor's care, hoping to rest between tomorrow night's MTV Video Awards and Friday's scheduled appearance on "The Today Show."

It's definitely an exciting morning for the country music community. The nominations were announced for the 40th Annual CMA Awards. Brad Paisley not only co-announced the nominees this morning, but he was actually nominated himself six times, including once for entertainer of the year.

(MUSIC)

HAMMER: Along with the wildly popular Paisley, Brooks & Dunn also lead the pack with six nominations. The duo received such top nods as entertainers of the year and album of the year. The 40th Annual CMA Awards are going to air live on Monday, November 6th on ABC.

So, as you alluded to, Kyra, a svelte photo of Katie Couric that appeared in the network's promotional magazine, announcing her new assignment on the CBS Evening News, was trimmed down, literally. The picture looks as though the newswoman lost about 20 pounds since leaving "The Today Show." Well, that didn't happen. She's still the same Katie. The image was actually retouched on a computer. About all this, Couric definitely kept her sense of humor, saying she liked the first picture better because there is more of her to love. And Kyra, to be clear, Katie didn't know this was taking place. CBS management says they didn't know this was taking place. Somebody just got a little overzealous in the photo department in retouching this photo. And we know that happens all the time with publicity pictures.

PHILLIPS: Hey, how about our pictures. They touch them up all the time, don't they?

HAMMER: Not mine.

PHILLIPS: No, not yours, you're right. You're just gorgeous, period.

HAMMER: Well, and you bring up an interesting point that we're going to get into tonight. We're going to be talking about Katie's digital makeover on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." We're also going to be asking this question: do TV newswomen face a double standard when it comes to their looks? It is the current controversy. We'll get into it on TV's most provocative entertainment news program, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." We'll see it at 11:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN Headline Prime.

PHILLIPS: Sound good. Thanks, A.J.

HAMMER: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, an award-winning journalist jailed for trying to get the story. We're going to have the latest on Paul Salopek, accused of being a spy in one of the most dangerous corners of the world.

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