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Hurricane Dean Watch; Pedophiles and Your Children; "God's Warriors"; Utah Mining Accident Update

Aired August 18, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, large powerful, dangerous Dean. The hurricane is still gaining strength as it storms across the Caribbean.
Also, a live look from space now. Shuttle astronauts nix the fix, but cut short their trip because of the hurricane. We'll explain.

And this man admits he's a pedophile. He even blogs about it, but what can you legally do to keep him away from your kid? Those stories straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

ANNOUNCER: CNN, your hurricane headquarters.

WHITFIELD: A deadly storm churning in the Caribbean. We're tracking Hurricane Dean this hour. It's a powerful Category 4 storm right now on a collision course with Jamaica. Hurricane warnings are now in place there and forecasters say Dean could strengthen to Category 5 today. At least three deaths are already blamed on the storm as it slammed the islands of St. Lucia, Martinique and Dominica. It caused floods, damaged homes and downed power lines and destroyed crops.

Gulf Coast communities are preparing for Dean, although forecasters say it's too soon to tell whether the storm will eventually strike the U.S.

Haiti's southern coast is expecting high winds and heavy rain from Hurricane Dean. It's a country that is no stranger to devastating floods and mudslides. CNN's Karl Penhaul is on the phone now from Port-au-Prince. What are they bracing for?

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on phone): Well, so far, Fred, very few preparations seem to be taking place given the magnitude of this storm, and given the dangers that it represents. But it's the southwest peninsula of Haiti, including the capital Port-au-Prince that is likely to receive the full force of the hurricane winds. Now, the eye is not scheduled to pass across Haiti, but the winds, because they extend so far out, about 60 or 70 miles out from the center, then those winds will collide with Haiti.

But as I say, so far I've seen no signs of any of the inhabit tans here in the capital preparing for the storm. Now you might say that's because they're too poor, because remember more than 50 percent of Haiti's population survive on less than one dollar a day. That means they can't afford to go out and stockpile food. They can't afford to go out and buy heavy-duty timber to batten down their homes.

I was talking a little earlier to United Nations officials, and they've put out calls to the general population in Haiti, especially on the southern coast, to think about heading to churches and strong buildings by 6:00 p.m. tonight, that to ensure they're in some kind of safe place when the storm hits. But it is, of course, the predicted heavy rains and flash floods that are the greatest danger perhaps to the island.

I was here back in 2004 when a tropical storm slammed part of Haiti. And that produced some of those devastating flash floods. More than 1,500 people were killed in those floods, more than 300,000 were left homeless, so obviously Haiti hoping for no repeat of that, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Right. Karl Penhaul, thanks so much, from Port-au-Prince.

Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras who is in the hurricane center. This is a fierce storm.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, it really is. This is just shy of Category 5 status as we speak. Winds are up there at 150 miles per hour, you have to get over 155 to be a Category 5. That's the granddaddy of all hurricanes. So just immense power with this storm, and unfortunately in the direction that it's going, it's going to get over even warmer water and really no wind shear, as we call it, which can knock down the storm or weaken it a little bit, so as we look forward in the future with Dean, there's nothing to bring this down.

It only looks like unfortunately it is going to be going up and up and up. There you see the monster Category 4, and just a really, really specific, well-defined eye here. It's doing a bit of a wobble here, it's been doing it over the last couple hours, but the general direction is west-northwesterly. It's still bringing in outer rain bands here. I wanted to show you the Puerto Rico Doppler radar, because we can see the eye picking up here on radar just barely on the edge, you can see it's almost due south of Santo Domingo, and those heavier bands you know are over the Dominican Republic right now, they're just not picking up because they're too far away from Puerto Rico.

They're expecting to see a good five-plus inches of rainfall. And they do need to be heeding these warnings and get to the sturdiest building that you can, because that's the best that you can do because those hurricane force winds extend out about 60 to 70 miles from the center of the storm. That is going to cause some damage and flooding is a very great concern, so you want to get to high ground. We're concerned next then about what's going to be happening to Jamaica, could be taking a direct hit here, we think, by tomorrow afternoon into the evening hours as a Category 4, possibly a 5 storm. Here is the warm water that I was talking about, as it heads towards the Yucatan Channel. After that it goes into the Gulf of Mexico. We're expecting, it's too early to tell, Fredericka, if it's hitting the U.S. mainland or possibly Mexico, but this is a storm everyone in the western gulf needs to monitor very, very closely throughout the weekend and early into next week. WHITFIELD: All right. Well, certainly let's hope it changes its mind, but that 85, 86 degree warm water thing, that's the part that makes me a little nervous. All right. Jacqui Jeras, thanks so much.

Well, CNN I-Reporters are sending in pictures and videos of Dean's destruction, these coming in from executive chef Michael Sabourin at Sandals Resort in St. Lucia. The storm took a swipe at St. Lucia, knocking out power and causing some damage but Sabourin tells CNN things are already getting back to normal now.

Louisiana's governor is taking no chances in dealing with Dean. Kathleen Blanco has declared a state of emergency, critical state agencies are being staffed this weekend, and the state is still recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita back in 2005.

Texas is also taking precautions. Its governor has declared Hurricane Dean an imminent threat and ordered full-scale preparation. Our Jeanne Meserve reports that Texas is determined to prevent a Katrina- type disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After Katrina passed, 35 bodies were found at St. Rita's Nursing Home, patients who should have been evacuated, but were not. To avoid a similar tragedy, the Department of Health and Human Services is already tracking Hurricane Dean and doing computer simulations of its potential impact on the Texas coast, a possible point of landfall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you can see, these hospitals in here are at extreme risk for flooding.

MESERVE: Already there are daily conference calls among state and federal officials to plan and coordinate. Federal officials praised Texas for the attention it has given elderly and special-needs populations.

REAR ADM. W. CRAIG VANDERWAGEN, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: They have planned evacuation sites based on the level of disability for these people, very sophisticatedly and very pointedly, very nice plans identifying specific advance for a specific individual to a specific location.

MESERVE: But Texas officials don't believe they have accounted for them all. They are urging people with special needs to register for transportation in the event of evacuation.

MIKE MONTGOMERY, HARRIS COUNTY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: The bottom line is it will never be too late. We will never give up on people with special needs.

MESERVE (on camera): The path of the storm is still uncertainly, but because people with medical conditions may require special transportation arrangements, decisions on evacuating them may need to be made as early as Sunday night or Monday. Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: No weather in space, but Dean is prompting NASA to cut short today's space walk. Live images right now. Two astronauts are outside the shuttle. They're adding new parts to the International Space Station and should wrap things up this hour. I know that image is kind of hard to make out, but they are actually doing work there. NASA plans to bring Endeavor home Tuesday, a day early. If Dean veers toward Houston, the mission control team would relocate to Cape Canaveral in Florida. There, a wider shot. That's a little bit more clear.

We now know the names of all three men killed while trying to rescue the trapped miners. Flags in Utah are flying at half staff today for Dale Black, Brandon Kimber and Gary Jensen. Rescue crews are running out of time and options after that second mine collapse. Our Dan Lothian is in Huntington, Utah. Dan, I can't imagine what the families are going through right now.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, it really has been so difficult for the family members. First of all, of the family members of the six who have been trapped underground and for the family members of those who were injured or killed in the secondary collapse that occurred on Thursday.

You mentioned you identified three of the ones who were killed. Six others were hospitalized, three remain hospitalized. And we did get a bit of good news a few minutes ago. I talked with a spokesperson at a hospital in Provo, Utah, that is where one of the victims underwent six hours of surgery yesterday to repair some facial fractures. He also had some leg injuries. She told me he is doing well, he is progressing well after surgery and now has been upgraded from serious to fair condition.

So a little bit of good news there. Two other rescue workers remain hospitalized. Now we are awaiting a press conference, a media briefing, you know, federal officials and also mine officials always have these daily briefings. We are told now that there will be a briefing at place 4:00 at local time. That's in about four hours or so. At that time we'll get a chance to get an update on that fourth borehole. That is the latest attack in terms of trying to find out where those six miners might be.

We know that underground effort has been put on hold because of the collapse, so this is really the only area that they can go at right now. We will find out if they've been able to get down more than 1,400 or so feet to an area where they believe the six miners might be at this point, and then we'll be able to get a better understanding of whether or not they are there and whether or not they are alive. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And so, Dan, about that fourth hole then, what is the primary objective of it and the size, too, in terms of helping us understand what their planned use of that hole will be? Right, a small hole, essentially it's a chance for them to first of all put down a microphone in there, to see if they can hear, detect any noise at all. They will also send down a camera. We've seen the pictures of the cameras from the other holes where it can look around. Of course, if these men are alive, they can send down food, they can send down water, whatever supplies are need until they can create a larger hole to extract them.

All right. Dan Lothian, thanks so much for keeping us posted from Huntington.

Well, today at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, CNN will present a special on the "Tragedy at Crandall Canyon Mine." We'll look back at what has happened in the nearly two weeks now since this all began. Join me for that special one-hour program. We'll also be looking ahead about what's next in mines in general. That's here at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

Two more suspects now in custody in this month's deadly school yard shooting in Newark, New Jersey. Authorities arrested the two last night in the Washington area. One of them described as a key player in the case. Five people are now under arrest, and police are looking for a sixth suspect. In the August 4 shootings, three college students were gunned down execution style. Authorities have said robbery appears to have been the motive.

And evangelist Billy Graham is in the hospital today. Doctors in Asheville, North Carolina say Graham has intestinal bleeding, but they add his condition does not appear to be life-threatening. A hospital statement said his condition had stabilized following his admission, and Graham's spokesman says the bleeding has now stopped. Graham now 88 and frail with Parkinson's disease, turned his ministry over to his son Franklin back in 2000.

The man who choreographed Ronald Reagan's public appearances has died. Michael Deaver battled pancreatic cancer. He was 69. Deaver was a media master. He had a gift for perfect backdrops, camera angles and poses to convey the message of the moment. Deaver's ties to Reagan dates back to 1966 when he was elected governor of California, Reagan, that is. Deaver was particularly close to Nancy Reagan. That helped make him one of Reagan's most powerful advisers. He died today at his home in Bethesda, Maryland at the age of 69.

Straight ahead, a reality check, what should you do if your children have been playing with toys that have been recalled?

And Hurricane Dean is creating big concerns today. Jamaica is in its sights and Texas is keeping a close eye on the storm as well. CNN has the latest on where that storm is headed.

And NFL star Michael Vick has a big decision to make -- should he enter a plea to avoid a blitz by his co-defendants? Our legal experts will look at the case here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Because you wanted to know, a look now at some of the most popular stories on cnn.com. Leaders of Iran's elite military force, the Revolutionary Guards now threatening to punch the United States. The comments follow the Bush's threat to label the guards a terrorist group. Reports from Tehran quote the commander of the Revolutionary Guards as saying his troops will never bow to American pressure.

The Atlantic season's first hurricane causing a lot of worries from the Caribbean to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The storm is already blamed for several deaths. Right now it's making a beeline for Jamaica. Forecasters warn the Texas Gulf Coast could feel its impact by the middle of next week.

And a classic car once owned by the late actor Steve McQueen goes on the auction block. Wouldn't you like to have that? A car collector placed the winning bid for the Ferrari, just over, get this, $2.3 million. That's a lot higher than the expected selling price. McQueen died in 1980.

And there's a new effort to get recalled toys now off the shelves. The State of New York says its inspectors with make sure such toys are removed from the stores, returned to the manufacturers and destroyed. Many recalled toys were found still sitting on New York store shelves this week. A huge nationwide toy recall announced just days ago, so what do you do now to make sure your kids are safe?

CNN's Josh Levs joins us for this "Reality Check." I'm actually glad to hear that with New York because I found some of the items that were on the recall list when I saw them in the store that meant this must be the new batch, bought them, found out they're bad too.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You have to check all the time, don't you?

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

LEVS: The list keeps changing. There is always new things on it and all of a sudden what you have to go to through, all of the toys at home.

WHITFIELD: Why are you putting them on the shelves if you know they're on the recall list?

LEVS: I know. That's another big issue. Trying to figure out - some people could still be buying them. Yeah.

SO here's what we're trying to do. There's been so much news about this week, we want to boil it down for you. Here you go. Here's what you need to know.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEVS (voice-over): Barbie, Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, among around 11 million toys recalled in the U.S. this month. Over the last seven years, more than 15 million recalled by Mattel. The nation's leading toymaker produces hundreds of millions a year. Most are considered safe. BRYAN STOCKTON, EXECUTIVE V.P. INTERNATIONAL, MATTEL: We've had a history of trust. And when you look at the number of recalls, we think we make overwhelmingly safe products.

LEVS: Some recalled products have magnets that could fall out and be swallowed.

NANCY NORD, CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION: Mattel has now redesigned the product to make sure that that doesn't happen.

LEVS: Other recalled toys have lead paint. Mattel said it was used by a subcontractor of a trusted Chinese vendor.

NORD: There's no excuse for lead paint to be used in children's toys. It is outlawed in this country, it has been for 30 years.

LEVS: How can you know if your kids' toys are safe? First, check the recall lists, there's information at cnn.com, and at the CPSC Web site, where you can also sign up to be notified about future recalls.

Nearly all the toys recalled this year were manufactured in China, but a "Made in China" label does not automatically mean a problem. Parents concerned about toys can contact the CPSC. Also be vigilant. Swallowed magnets could lead to flu-like symptoms. Lead paint on toys often doesn't lead to symptoms, but it can have long-term effects.

Health officials say if you're concerned, take your child to the doctor for a simple blood test.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEVS (on camera): Now, toy companies are making some changes to try to avoid this happening again and obviously to keep kids safe. And I spoke with Mattel this week, and a spokeswoman told me there's no price tag on safety.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, but they better look out for the price tag that it's going to cost them, because this is huge recall.

LEVS: I know, it's so expensive. And that's one thing I tried to figure out how much. IS how much these retails are costing. It's a $22 billion industry, which means that they get $22 billion in sales, the whole industry, each year. So I thought, well, put together the recall figures, and you can show how much that is costing the industry. It turns out they're not doing it. I spoke with the Toy Industry Association, I spoke with the analysts, and they said you know what, the companies aren't coming out with the numbers. So we don't know how much retails in general are costing.

The only figure I got is this one -- for the recalls this month, $30 million for Mattel. That's the original estimate. And who knows, it could be more.

WHITFIELD: That's huge. And you have a little one, too, so I know you're concerned about what ends up in his hands, and eventually of course in the mouth, because that's where the toys go. LEVS: And any age can now be affected.

WHITFIELD: Well, thanks for the "Reality Check."

LEVS: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Well, coming up next in the NEWSROOM. Changing lives in Haiti, the story of a CNN hero.

And deal or no deal for NFL star Michael Vick. Our legal eagles will be here in the NEWSROOM tossing this, and more, back and forth.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Turning bleak futures into bright ones, Bobby Duval is working to turn the lives of impoverished children in Haiti away from despair and towards hope by giving them a purpose. Here's our CNN "Hero."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

ROBERT DUVAL, ATHLETICS FOR HAITIAN CHILDREN: In the main center for the last two years, the background music that we had while the kids were playing were gunshots, machine gunshots. Some of these kids have witnessed the worst atrocities. They live in the mud. And no running water. No electricity. No garbage pickup. No food. Nothing.

My name is Robert Duvall. I'm founder of the training center, they call l'Athletiques d'Haiti, Athletes of Haiti.

This is the women's team.

The kids never miss practice. And they're disciplined enough to keep focused on something positive. I left this country very young. When I came back. I had a shock. What happened to my country? You know?

I started asking questions and I was thrown in jail. When I came out, I was down to 90 pounds. That means skin and bones. That just turned my life around.

This field used to be a dumping ground. Now, it's basically an after school program. One of the driving forces that has made our program so successful is that one plate of food we give them a day. Because sometimes if those kids don't get that, they just won't get a plate of food.

We are soccer, track, basketball, table tennis and we have karate now.

A hero is a kid who accepts to uplift himself in the most adverse conditions, maintains the course and really does succeed in changing his life.

I feel that youth is important because the youth is the future. What I do is a drop in the bucket. A kid, he may have the most immense talent but if you don't nourish it, you never know what he could have become.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that's not all. There's a lot more about Boby Duval and his work to improve Haiti's future on our Web site, cnn.com/heroes. There you can also nominate a hero that you know for special recognition later on this year.

Feeling that threat of radical Islam.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Islam, and it's I believe one of the most major threats to the West and also to Western Europe and to the Netherlands today and more especially radical Islam is a major threat to all of society.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Christiane Amanpour reports on "God's Warriors in the NEWSROOM.

And where is Hurricane Dean headed? Stay tuned for updates on the storm's progress.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Top stories happening right now.

Rescuers in Utah are pinning their hopes and efforts on a fourth hole being drilled into a mountain to try to locate six trapped miners. Authorities suspended underground efforts to reach the men after three rescue workers were killed Thursday when a mountain bump dislodged part of a wall.

Hurricane Dean growing into a massive storm in the Caribbean. The Category 4 hurricane is heading to Jamaica. It's expected to strengthen to a Category 5 today, the most powerful on the scale, with winds above 155 miles per hour.

And Texas among those which are bracing for Dean. Of course it's not imminent whether in fact Dean will actually slam Texas with that kind of hurricane force. However, Governor Rick Perry has sent a letter to President Bush requesting it be declared a federal disaster area, which then opens the door for any kind of federal resources to help that state pre-emptively before the storm actually strikes.

CNN viewers are sending in video of their brush with Dean as well. This. OK. Sorry about that. We'll come to that in a moment, but first to Jacqui Jeras who's in the hurricane center. Sorry about that Jacqui.

JERAS: OK.

WHITFIELD: We'll get to those pictures. First you give us information. I'm sorry. JERAS: Yeah. Well, we got a new update at 2:00. So if you haven't paid attention to what the latest with Dean is you really need to watch this and stay with us all throughout the weekend and into next week, because Dean could be having an impact on the United States. It's been affecting Puerto Rico all day with some showers and some squall lines coming on through, but our next concern here is what's going on over Hispaniola, that is the island that includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic and getting some heavy squalls pushing in through Santo Domingo at this hour.

It's a Category 4 hurricane, extremely intense, maximum sustained winds are 150 miles per hour. You got to get over 155 to be the granddaddy of all hurricanes, a Category 5 as we call it, but this is certainly close to it. And unfortunately we're expecting it to continue to strengthen.

It's been taking a track on to the west-northwest. It's been really having this straight westerly component the last couple of days, but as of this morning we've seen that little bit more of a pull on up to the north, so we'll have to watch this very closely as it moves through the central Caribbean. Because if we get more of a northerly track, we'll be much more worried about Texas that you were talking about there, Fredricka, than you will be about Mexico.

We're also very concerned about the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. You remember Hurricane Wilma? Just took a pounding for Cancun and Cozumel. And unfortunately they're a big bull's eye at this time but you really need to focus on the cone of uncertainly as we call it and that lets you know that it could go either way. It's not an exact thing here.

And I want to show you the computer model forecast. We call them the spaghetti models because it looks like a bunch of little noodles of spaghetti. Each one of these lines representing now one of the models, and the forecast track that it's taking. They're very close together down here. You can see towards the Cayman Islands, but watch how they spread apart as we head towards the Yucatan and spread out even more as we head towards mainland Mexico and the United States. We still have a big question mark if and when that happens, Fred, that's not going to happen probably until the middle of next week.

WHITFIELD: Wow, all right. Well, a lot of folks are at the edge of their seats kind of afraid of what this storm just might do.

JERAS: Well, it's a really nasty storm, extremely powerful, and could be a real troublemaker for Texas.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot, Jacqui.

As I mentioned that storm has already brushed by a few other places. And so it also meant folks in those locations have sent in their images in the form of I-Reports. Stephen Gomez did just that on Devil's Bridge in Antigua. The storm whipping up wind and waves on the island's east coast, like right there.

Video from I-Reporter Erika Echevarria shows the winds lashing Puerto Rico. That region is no longer under a tropical storm warning. Big sigh of relief there. And I-Reporter Chris Evelyn sent in this video of Dean taking a swipe at St. Kitts. The island was also under tropical storm warnings because of Dean.

Hopefully that's the worst of it, just rustled some leaves there in the palm fronds. Well, as Hurricane Dean hits, you may be looking for ways to help the people who are affected and CNN can help you help them. Just go to cnn.com/impact, click on "natural disasters" for a link to various relief agencies. Impacting your world now just a click away at cnn.com/impact.

In Peru, a frantic search today in a seaside town of Pisco. Most homes in that city of 68,000 crumbled in this week's Magnitude 8 quake, the death toll topping 500 in Peru. It is expected to climb. One incredible story, a trapped man text messaged his location in the rubble. The U.S. is helping, a small Air Force medical team is leaving Texas today, to help the folks there in Peru.

A scary five hours, but a hijacking ends in southwestern Turkey. Two men took over an Atlas jet flying from Cyprus to Turkey. They demanded to go to Iran or Syria. The pilot landed in Turkey, apparently short on fuel. That's when most of the passengers actually escaped. The men surrendered after negotiation. Their nationalities aren't clear but passengers say the hijackers spoke a mix of Arabic and bad English, they say.

Well, it was a gruesome murder, a filmmaker, his throat cut in the middle of an Amsterdam Street, one latest fronts in radical Islam's war with the West. CNN's senior international correspondent Christiane Amanpour takes a look at the shifting battleground in a new CNN documentary, "God's Warriors."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Buyeiri (ph) gunned down Theo Van Gogh as he rode his bicycle, and then he cut his throat, nearly decapitating him.

EMRESON VERMAAT, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: The whole killing of Van Gogh in Buyeri's ill mind was sort of a holy killing, a sort of sacrifice, like killing an animal.

AMANPOUR: A holy killing? In the Netherlands? A country known for its windmills, its canals, and its tolerance. A new battlefront between God's Muslim warriors and the west. Buyeiri was part of a Dutch terrorist cell called the Halstadt (ph) Group. Another member had plans to blow up government buildings and kill politicians in parliament in a suicide bombing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Just as you have spilled the blood of Muslim citizens in Iraq, we will spill your blood here.

AMANPOUR: Many of the group's members were sent to prison. I traveled to the Netherlands to find that this country's one tiny Muslim community has swelled to more than a million, in a country of 16 million. This increased Muslim presence and violence like the Van Gogh murder play into the hands of right-wing politicians like Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch parliament.

GEERT WILDERS, MEMBER OF DUTCH PARLIAMENT: Yes, here we have nine seats.

AMANPOUR: Who fears the Dutch are losing their country to an alien culture. The party he's founded has staked its political future in large part on an anti-Islam platform. He's proposed shutting down immigration from non-Western countries, and banning birkas and niqabs, the head-to-toe coverings worn by some Muslim women, even though very few here wear them. Why have you chosen Islam as your battleground, so to speak?

WILDERS: Islam is, I believe, one of the most major threats to the West and also to Western Europe and the Netherlands today, and more especially radical Islam is a major threat to our society. Those are people that hate everything that we stand for, and are proud to use every means possible to kill us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The six-hour television event premieres next week, "God's Jewish Warriors" on Tuesday, August 21, "God's Muslim Warriors" on Wednesday, August 22 and "God's Christian Warriors "on Thursday, August 23, all at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. And if you'd like to know more now, go to cnn.com/godswarriors.

Deal or no deal? So far no plea deal for Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. He's accused of running a dogfighting operation at his Virginia estate. Falcons owner Arthur Blank tells the Associated Press talks are in overtime. According to Blank, now, "it seems to be a pretty indication there will be some sort of plea," end quote.

Three codefendants have pleaded guilty. They could testify against Vick if his case indeed goes to trial. Our legal experts have been following this case and they are chomping at the bit.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor. Good to see you.

FRIEDMAN: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. Good to see you as well.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hey, Fred. Down, Avery, down.

FRIEDMAN: Look who's talking.

WHITFIELD: Down. Down. Down. So, I wonder now, I guess a lot of folks -- not that everyone is presuming that he is a guilty man, but when you talk about his co-defendants who are all taking a plea deal in which to testify against him, it's going to be really tough defending him. So why at this point have we not heard about a plea deal from Michael Vick. Avery?

FRIEDMAN: Well, one of the issues is what effect does this plea going to be? There will be a plea and there will be jail time, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK.

FRIEDMAN: The question is, once he gets out, what's going to happen? Will he still be able to play football? What we're looking at right now is the legal equivalent of shock and awe. The government has all three defendants, co-defendants ready to go who are ascribing murdering, executing those dogs to Michael, underwriting the whole cost of it. The only thing he has left is what will his future be? And nobody really knows.

WHITFIELD: And if we're talking about a plea deal which maybe meant a year on those charges, OK, maybe he would get to play, but if you're talking about these other charges that a grand jury could next week start thinking about, which involves racketeering and gambling, NFL says no, zero-tolerance on gambling. There is no football career, right?

Avery - OK, Richard.

HERMAN: Well, that's right, Fred. And that grand jury is coming back on Monday and they're going to indict him Monday on a superseding indictment, including RICO charges.

WHITFIELD: So why even consider a plea. There is no plea deal after that, right?

HERMAN: There will be a plea, Fred. There's always an opportunity for a plea deal. There is going to be a plea deal in this case. Avery is absolutely right. This case will be pled out next week. They're just negotiating, they're dotting the Is and crossing the Ts on it. There's also a state prosecution that's rumbling now that is going to come down in September or October. But I do believe, and I'm going to say it right now, I do believe it's no more than a year in prison for him, 10 months, something like that, maybe even a house arrest for six months. He will absolutely be in the NFL next year, definitely.

WHITFIELD: Go ahead, Avery.

FRIEDMAN: I can't believe you said that. I don't think he's going to be in the NFL at all. The state prosecutor's in Surrey County still have to decide what they're going to do. This guy may be playing football, but he'll be playing for the London Lions or Zurich Zebras somewhere in Europe or something. But he is not playing in the NFL.

WHITFIELD: Is part of the hang-up, gentleman, the fact that I hear that this presiding judge I hear is one that doesn't always necessarily accept the plea deal. So you have Michael Vick through his legal team who says, OK, he's pleading guilty and the judge says I'm not taking it, so he's said publicly, I'm guilty, you're going to proceed with a trial, there is no jury pool now to be seated who doesn't believe that he is not guilty. So, Richard, that's a big problem?

HERMAN: Fred, right now this is a federal case, so the federal sentencing guidelines are not mandatory anymore. They're just there for the judges to rely upon. And the judges have discretion to go above or below the guideline range here, and if he gets indicted on a RICO charge and he pleads to RICO charge, the guidelines are going to be off the charts, like Avery said, maximum of 20 years in prison. And so this judge - and that's a very difficult jurisdiction, difficult meaning tough sentencing jurisdictions for defendants. Michael Vick must make a deal next week, he must try a year max in prison and must be a global deal with the state.

WHITFIELD: So quickly, Avery ...

FRIEDMAN: Playing in the NFL, Fredricka has to be the least concern on his mind.

WHITFIELD: What? The least concern?

FRIEDMAN: I'm telling you. If those RICO charges come out of the grand jury, and they will, he's not looking at a year, eight to 12 months. This judge is going to hammer him, and he's got problems.

WHITFIELD: Guys real quick, yes or no, did his attorney serve him well by not coming forward, negotiating some sort of plea deal much earlier in the process?

HERMAN: Fred, there's three co-defendants that are cooperating against him, there are at least four witnesses that are going to testify against him. It's building up. It's insurmountable for him right now. He will be in the NFL next year, absolutely.

FRIEDMAN: OK, we totally disagree on that. That will never happen. Never happen.

WHITFIELD: OK, we're not done with you guys. We're going to talk about another case coming up next, a man in California publicly says that he's attracted to little girls. Can you press charges on that alone? And what, if anything, could be done for others who are like him who are professing something like that? Can you keep them away from kids? Our legal experts will discuss this hot topic when we come right back.

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WHITFIELD: I think you'll agree, it's pretty creepy, a man publicly saying he's attracted to little girls and giving advice on the best places to go watch them. Apparently that in and of itself is not illegal. Our legal experts will join us in a moment, but first CNN's Chris Lawrence looks at the case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jack McClellan is very open about what he prefers.

JACK MCCLELLAN, PEDOPHILE BLOGGER: It's pretty much in my head that I'm more attracted to girls than women.

LAWRENCE: And how he lives. Sleeping in his car and collecting Social Security with no steady job.

MCCLELLAN: Just deliver pizzas, wash dishes, just odd jobs.

LAWRENCE: Police arrested him Monday for hanging around a daycare center at UCLA. He 's been charged with violating a restraining order, which makes it illegal to be within 10 yards of any child in California. Until recently he lived with his parents outside Seattle, he was also a registered voter and says he attended community college.

He also took pictures of little girls, or as he calls them, LGs, and online promoted the best place toss watch them.

MCCLELLAN: It certainly is possible, but 99 percent I'd never do anything illegal with a kid.

LAWRENCE: Psychotherapist Stacy Kaiser says most pedophiles are secretive. Although she's never examined him, she believes McClellan is either trying to prove a point or gather a following.

STACY KAISER, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: No, he truly believes what he's doing is okay and he's trying to get other people to sort of join his crusade, if you will.

LAWRENCE: Already one other self-proclaimed pedophile in L.A. has gone online, offering McClellan a place to stay.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is creepy. It really is disturbing.

LAWRENCE: Disturbing, yes, but as far as we know, he's done nothing illegal. Police say McClellan never posted naked pictures, and what he said online falls within his right to free speech.

MCCLELLAN: I really don't think the community doesn't have any fear from me going out and grabbing a kid. That's probably the biggest fear, but I have no history of doing that.

LAWRENCE (on camera): Now, as far as we know, that's true, but McClellan has blogged about the fact that he'd like to cuddle with little girls, and has shown a determination to go to the places where they're likely to be. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So authorities can order Jack McClellan to stay 30 feet from any child in California, but is that all they really can do? Let's see what our legal experts have to say, once again Avery Friedman, and Richard Herman. All right, you guys. I almost have an idea what you guys are going to say but can you nail someone simply on intent? Because that's all we have here, right, Avery?

FRIEDMAN: The answer is absolutely not. You can't be put in jail for what you think. You can't be put in jail for what you might do, but you can be put in jail for what you do. So the question that the Jack McClellan case presents, and Professor Fredricka, you know exactly where this is going here, is that if he does it -- that injunction, by the way, will ultimately not be renewed. It is unconstitutional. You have got to get your hands on a guy like this. That's law enforcement's responsibility, but constitutionally, until he acts, there's nothing you can do.

WHITFIELD: But you've got to get your hands on this guy how? I mean, what would be the reason that law enforcement could have to say, you know, we're going to detain you?

FRIEDMAN: No. They can't. They have to keep an eye on him. You know what he reminds me of? And I'll bet you'll agree. He's sort of like a John Mark Carr, he taunts everybody, he's a talker, but he's really not a doer. So all law enforcement can really do in this case is keep an eye on him.

WHITFIELD: So, Richard, is he kind of protected by his Web site, in that it's public domain, here he is on the Web site, there's no real policing of what you say unless we're talking about, you know, a threat to a country like, say, you talk about terrorist-type activity, but it's not illegal for him to say, hey, for those of you who are like me, like little girls, these are places to go. Nothing wrong with that?

HERMAN: Hey, law Professor Fredericka, you are absolutely right.

WHITFIELD: I love that label. You guys are killing me?

HERMAN: Unfortunately you are right. Only in California, only in la- la land do we see cases like this. In New York there would be street justice administered to this guy. I don't know, defense-wise, criminal defense purposes, they can't do anything right now until he acts to it if he ever acts on it. This guy is a freak, we're giving him way too much attention right now, but I think I disagree with Avery. I think that temporary injunction is going to become permanent injunction that he should say away from girls, 30 feet away.

FRIEDMAN: Nobody is representing him, Richard. He may get a permanent injunction, because he's not fighting it. I think you're right in that respect.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. And you kind of wonder if he's just out there, putting himself out there because look he's getting some intention and maybe is indeed someone starving for that kind of attention, and here we go.

HERMAN: Yeah, unbelievable.

WHITFIELD: Kind of what you said, Richard.

HERMAN: Yeah. Unbelievable. Very sick guy.

WHITFIELD: All right. Richard and Avery, thanks so much. It is an unbelievable story.

FRIEDMAN: It is. WHITFIELD: And let's hope that he's not encouraging anybody, as he says he is, on his Web site.

HERMAN: That's exactly right.

WHITFIELD: We'll find another strange story for you guys to tackle, another strange case for you to tackle next weekend.

FRIEDMAN: Next week, right.

WHITFIELD: But I have a feeling we'll be talking about Michael Vick, at least.

FRIEDMAN: And the judge, the pants judge.

HERMAN: Next week there will be a deal on Michael Vick. There will definitely be a deal.

FRIEDMAN: And a deal on the pants judges, too, I think.

WHITFIELD: That will be the follow-up. All right. Avery and Richard, thanks so much. Have a great weekend.

FRIEDMAN: Take care.

HERMAN: Have a good weekend, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right. Well, take a look, here today, c'mon, gone today as well. All right. What goes up eventually comes down. Don't you love those implosions? It's the weekend, so we always have at least one implosion for you. More right after this.

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WHITFIELD: Now you see it, there you go, now you don't. The big boom in downtown Salt Lake City this morning. Demolition crews imploded a 20-story office building. The bank building was still structurally sound, until the implosions, of course, but it didn't fit in with the plans for the new look of the City Creek Center.

So among the news stories we're following here on CNN, Hurricane Dean. We're tracking the storm. We'll keep you updated on where it is headed.

And then later on at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, CNN will have a special one- hour program on the tragedy at the Crandall Canyon Mine.

And at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, this week the pentagon reported an increase in the number of military suicides. Tony Harris speaks with the sister of a soldier who killed himself. The latest on Hurricane Dean is next, and then CNN's SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT, criminally insane. I'll see you at 4:00 Eastern.

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