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Search for Steve Fossett; Madeleine McCann Case; Tropical Storm Gabriel

Aired September 08, 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: Hello. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, two missing people, two mysteries. First, where is Madeleine McCann, missing for months now. And now suspicion turning to her own family.
And then, the search for Steve Fossett. Rescue crews continue to comb the mountains of Nevada, searching for any signs of the millionaire aviator. First, let's turn our attention to weather, some pretty threatening weather, a subtropical storm warning now in place along the North Carolina coast as Gabrielle heads that way. The region is getting ready for high winds, heavy rain and pounding surf. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is tracking the storm in the CNN Hurricane Center. And how frightening is this storm?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Medium.

WHITFIELD: OK. Because it's not hurricane strength yet?

JERAS: Right. It's not a hurricane. But it has it certainly has its threats with it. And it's something that you want to watch and you want to take it seriously. Because if you play your cards right, you'll be safe and it won't be a problem for you. But if you're one of those people who think look at those waves, good day to get out into the water, huh. Not so smart and it could be a big problem then. One of the biggest concerns will be the rough surf, the threat of rip currents and also the strong winds that will be associated with that and that is one of the big differences between the tropical storm and subtropical storm, by the way. Is that in a tropical system, the wind field is very concentrated. It's all right around the center of the storm. But in a subtropical system, those winds can be way out from the center of this storm. In this case, with Gabrielle, the winds extend out about 115 miles out from the center of this storm. That's where we're seeing of the strongest winds, right in here, in this cluster of thunderstorms.

So until it becomes more organized and we get that cluster towards the center, this will stay classified as a subtropical system. And that's one of the big differences here.

Now, it's still more than 200 miles away from the coast line. Where you're going to be watching the conditions change pretty dramatically I think in the overnight hours for tonight. And we'll watch them progressively increase through the day tomorrow. If this thing makes landfall, we think that's going to happen late in the evening for tomorrow and then kind of curve away and pull away from the shore. We'll also worry about a little bit of beach erosion. If you play yourself properly and you follow all those rules, you'll be all right with Gabrielle. But we'll have to watch it very closely. A couple of models bring it a little stronger, closer towards hurricane. Right now, it looks like we'll be staying at 45 miles per hour for now. Could see some intensifying though over the next 12 to 24 hours.

WHITFIELD: What is it, 74-mile-an-hour-mile-per-hour winds in order to be Category 1?

JERAS: That's absolutely right.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, stay in the 60s,Gabrielle, or less. Thanks, a lot, Jacqui.

Well, four months after a young British girl vanished in Portugal, there are new suspects in the case, the little girl's parents. A family spokesman confirms that Portuguese police are questioning Gerry and Kate McCann about the disappearance of their daughter, Madeleine. CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney is standing by in Portugal with the very latest developments. Fionnuala?

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, this is a story that's gripped Europe and, indeed, much of the world over the last four months. And there have been many twists and turns into the investigation and disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann as she lay sleeping in the holiday apartment that she was staying in along with her parents as they were dining in a nearby restaurant.

And there have been so many appeals and Web sites set up. And as I say, the future and the disappearance of this girl have been much discussed throughout Europe. Only now the latest twist in this tale have been the official naming as suspects of the parents Gerry and Kate McCann. We're standing in front of the drive way of the house they are now staying in.

Gerry McCann, the 39 year old father of Madeleine McCann emerged late last night from a Portuguese police station having been told he is now also an official suspect. The police apparently linking new DNA evidence that they have discovered in a rental car that had been leased by the McCann parents some 25 days after the three-year-old went missing. And this has been the focus now of the police investigation.

As a result, they have officially named them suspects, which in some ways actually gives them more rights under Portuguese law. They're allowed to have a lawyer. They're allowed to remain silent. Now the lawyers, the police say they have 10 days in which to charge the McCann parents. They had been due to fly home on Tuesday after giving up, to a certain extent, on their fight for Madeleine here in Portugal. But now that they're not allowed to talk officially to the press, we've been hearing from their friends and family. And one of those people who has been talking back in England has been the mother of Kate McCann.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN HEALY, KATE MCCANN'S MOTHER: Kate doesn't have an aggressive bone in her body. I think she's being forced into a situation where she has to - I think she will not bow her head down over some things that is absolutely ludicrous that she had nothing to do with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SWEENEY: Now we understand that the McCann parents will not be speaking to the public to any great degree as a result of their now being suspects. As I say, we're hearing from friends and family. They say that we won't be seeing them for the next 48 hours or so. And we understand from the police that there won't be any significant developments, at least until Monday at the earliest. But indeed, all eyes here and many press cameras here on the driveway of the house focused behind us. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And so Fionnuala, the parents, they had been staying in Portugal for the past four months, and I understand that they have expressed wanting to go back to Great Britain, but now, if they are primary suspects, they can't go anywhere, can they?

SWEENEY: Well, there's been some debate about this. In the last week, Fredricka, it was an indication they wanted to go back to Britain. They also have twins that they want to resettle in Britain who have been here with them over the past four months and when it emerged they were now official suspects in this case, there was still some talk that they would actually go back to Britain and try to clear their name there. But what we understand from a family spokesperson, is that they now have decided to stay on. They will no longer be returning to Britain as planned on Tuesday. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Fionnuala Sweeney, thanks so much.

Well, John Walsh is the host of the long-running TV program "America's Most Wanted." He says the media should avoid a rush to judgment in the Madeleine McCann case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN WALSH, HOST, "AMERICA'S MOST WANTED": I hope that the media worldwide doesn't jump to conclusions. I think we all remember the Jon-Benet Ramsey case that was never resolved because the entire police focus was on the family, on the mom and dad.

This family went and met with the pope. They came to America. They have support in England from the prime minister, and celebrities in England. My experience, in the last 25 years, has been that if a family member, a husband or wife -- like Susan Smith. If you remember the lady that drowned her two boys in South Carolina. They don't go before the media. They may do it for two or three days and then don't go and beseech the help of the media.

This is a small police agency in Portugal that has never dealt with the case of a missing child, has very limited resources, is having all kinds of scrutiny from the media, throughout the world. It's not unusual for them to focus back in on the family when they're frustrated and don't have any other suspects. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: When I spoke with John yesterday, he noted that Gerry McCann has discussed his daughter's disappearance with U.S. experts from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALSH: The impression of the experts at the National Center that have dealt with thousands of cases of missing children that he was very sincere and that he was relentless in his efforts to try to find out what happened to his daughter. So, this is a very confusing case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: John Walsh's own son, Adam, was abducted and murdered more than 25 years ago.

Meantime, still no sign of millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett. Search crews are flying grid patterns across Nevada's jagged mountain terrain again today. Let's check in with Kara Finnstrom who is at like the command central there in Minden, Nevada. And there was a press conference in the past hour or so. Any new developments from there, Kara?

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No real new developments. And as this rolls into day five of this huge search effort, the words that these rescue crews are using is they're frustrated, but not undaunted. And they say that this huge rescue effort will continue to roll full force into the weekend.

In fact, they say because it is the weekend, they will have more pilots to pull from. Civil Air Patrol, which has been heavily involved with this, has a lot of volunteers. And those volunteers aren't working on the weekends. So they say they'll have a lot of fresh pilots to replace those that have been flying all week.

Now the other word we got is that we've been reporting that about 26 aircraft are involved in this effort. They now tell us that an additional 20 aircraft are being contributed by the Flying M Ranch, that's a ranch that's operated by the big Hilton family. And the Hilton family, which owns that ranch, that's the ranch also where Fossett flew out of on Monday, that private air strip. Here is what the rescuers had to say about the operations there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. CYNTHIA RYAN, CIVIL AIR PATROL: They did some of their own work, based on the knowledge of what Mr. Fossett's habits were. They've done an amazing job in keeping track of just what they've searched, how they've searched it. They've been very methodical for people who are not trained in this area of expertise, they've done an amazing job.

(END VIDEO CLIP) FINNSTROM: Yesterday, some brief excitement as the wreckage of a plane was found. That was later discovered not to be the plane of Fossett. But six such discoveries have been made since this big search effort began. And one of the side stories out of this is that a lot of these undiscovered planes may now be identified and the remaining family members of those pilots, who disappeared so long ago, may finally get some closure out of this. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Kara Finnstrom, thanks so much from Minden, Nevada.

Oprah Winfrey. Well, everyone knows she has clout, but political clout too? Tonight, the talk show queen hosts a star studded fund- raiser for presidential candidate Barack Obama. We'll have a preview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Let's talk a little politics, shall we? For that, we turn to CNN senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, joining us live from Washington. Good to see you, Bill.

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Huge event this evening, huge, meaning lots of celebrities, lots of potential fund-raising money and it's big, because you've got the O in there. And I mean Oprah and now you also have Obama in there too. So we know she really does have a lot of clout when it comes down to endorsing a book, but how about in politics?

SCHNEIDER: Never been tested. Never been tried. She's never endorsed a candidate before. So it's going to be tested now because she's endorsing Barack Obama as a candidate. She has not just an audience, but a following among women. As you indicated, she can sell books. Can she sell a candidate? Well, they're going to try. There's discussions, nothing is confirmed, that she may play a more visible role in the campaign, not just raising money behind the scenes, but possibly appearing at rallies, possibly even TV ads. We don't know.

We know that she could help Obama. She might be able to help Obama, untested, compete on women's votes where Hillary Clinton right now has a very big lead. And Hillary Clinton, of course, has a formidable weapon on her own side. Namely, her husband, Bill.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Now let's shift gears and talk about the Republican Party. Which some people say seems to be showing signs of a little hemorrhaging, so to speak, because of just a litany of things that have taken place.

And now you've got a Republican that, Chuck Hagel, rumors swirling, saying he's decided to call it quits and will is not going to be pursuing the presidential candidate after all.

SCHNEIDER: That's right. Republicans only need to make a net gain of only one new seat in the Senate to reclaim the majority but it looks more and more difficult. In fact, it looks like Democrats are going to be making gains next year. Right now, there are four Republican-held Senate seats being vacated, Chuck Hagel being the fourth one. This is the state of Nebraska, which is a very heavily Republican state. But if the environment looks bad for Republicans, there could be strong Democratic candidates, possibly a former Democratic senator from Nebraska, Bob Kerrey, now living in New York, the president of the New School University, who could go back to Nebraska and try to take that Senate seat back.

WHITFIELD: OK. That's interesting. This last point, for the first time, more than half Americans polled seem to be thinking that Osama bin Laden will never be brought to justice. A new CNN Opinion Research poll finds that only 42 percent of Americans think bin Laden will eventually be captured or killed. Americans were much more optimistic back in 2001, when 78 percent thought bin Laden would be killed or captured.

And so, you can see here the percentage has dropped steadily ever since. Bill, the reason why we're bringing up this poll, we know there's been this new tape that's surfaced and that new message, et cetera. But really, how significant, perhaps, is this tape when it comes down to the American voting public, when it comes down to influencing, perhaps, the politicians, the candidates as well?

SCHNEIDER: I don't think it's really very significant. It's a rambling, incoherent and very ill-informed tape. It didn't contain any new threats. But it does remind voters that he is still out there. He has not been captured.

Republicans are hoping to rerun the 2004 campaign in 2008 and make it a referendum on terrorism and national security, depicting Democrats as weak and defensive. But the Democrats say they're not going to let it happen this time. They're much better prepared and just this past week John Edwards made a very important speech in which he talked about a new, multinational alliance against terrorism, comparable to the NATO alliance against communism. So it looks like Democrats are saying, if you want to try that, to the Republicans, and run this as a campaign about the war on terror, we're going to be ready to fight back.

WHITFIELD: All right. Bill Schneider, thanks so much. Part of the best political team on television. Good to see you on this lovely Saturday.

SCHNEIDER: OK.

WHITFIELD: All right.

SCHNEIDER: Well, General David Petraeus, well, he is scheduled to testify before Congress next week. For months, we've been hearing that progress in Iraq will be measured in the Petraeus report. Guess what. There isn't such a thing called the Petraeus report. Where did that come from? Everyone seems to be calling it that.

CNN's Josh Levs is here to explain in his "Reality Check."

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah.

SCHNEIDER: But there is a report. It just can't be called Petraeus report? It's going to be delivered by the man named Petraeus, too, right?

LEVS: Right, explain that. It sounds like I'm splitting hairs here, but has major political repercussions. In fact, lately, the White House and the Defense Department have been all over this. They've been having news conferences and making statements. And actually the other day, they said, and this is a direct quote. They said, "There is no such thing as the Petraeus report."

They really want people to understand that. Here is why. This is what's going on. There are a lot of people who expect General Petraeus to be submitting a written report. Because there's been this term, "the Petraeus report."

Then when they hear President Bush is doing it, a lot of people are complaining saying, wait a second. Is he going to fiddle with what General Petraeus is supposed to be submitting? So it's already been causing political problems. So what we've been seeing lately is the White House and the Defense Department trying to make clear to everyone what to expect. I want you to know what to expect next week. So here is the reality check.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: General Petraeus.

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) HOUSE SPEAKER: General Petraeus.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT: General Petraeus.

LEVS (voice-over): The pressure is on the top U.S. commander in Iraq as he prepares to tell congress how things in Iraq are progressing. Don't be fooled by the term "the Petraeus report." Lawmakers talk about it in news releases and news conferences ...

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R) MINORITY LEADER: The Petraeus report in September ...

LEVS: There isn't one. Even the Defense Department says there is "no such thing." The general will testify to Congress, as will U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker. Expect some sharp questioning.

PELOSI: The facts are self evident that the progress is not being made.

LEVS: The written report about the state of affairs in Iraq comes from the president. Congress mandated that he submit it by Saturday September 15th. He says he'll go largely by what these two say.

GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: The main ingredients in that report from me to report to the country will be what General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker report. LEVS: What can we expect his report to say, based on his remarks during his recent surprise trip to Iraq, we know he'll argue the troop increase is helping.

BUSH: The surge of operations that began in June is improving security throughout Iraq.

LEVS: As for the idea of withdrawing some troops, he gave no suggestion that such a step could be imminent.

BUSH: If we begin to draw down troops from Iraq, it will be from a position of strength and success. Not from the position of fear and failure.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEVS (on camera): Now, CNN has learned that Petraeus will not be recommending any troop withdrawals before the spring when what's called the surge is already scheduled to start pulling back, to start phasing out.

But really, Fred, it's up to the president. That's what this whole idea is about, people trying to remind the country, the whole political scene, that in the end it's President Bush on the line here, him saying exactly where things stand in Iraq.

WHITFIELD: All right. A lot of eyes will be watching and ears listening this week, thanks so much, or next week, I should say.

LEVS: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: Bye, Josh.

All right. Well, we have a lot of winners, actually, to tell you about. A retired couple hits it big with the Mega Million lottery. And then this woman gave TLC and money to kids who wanted an education. Her story and theirs when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We begin the school season. Imagine if this happened to you when you started first grade. Someone promised graduate from high school and I'll pay for your college education. In Oakland, California, a woman named Oral Lee Brown did just that. How she kept her promise is what makes her today's CNN Hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ORAL LEE BROWN: These are our kids. We should at least take them to a position in their life that they can lead their way. And they can't do it without an education. An education can get you everything you want. You can go wherever you want to go. It's the way out of the ghetto, bottom line.

YOLANDA PEEK, FORMER SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: She said give me your first graders who are really struggling and who are most needy. I want to adopt the class, and I want to follow the class until they graduate from high school. And she said that she was going to pay their college tuition.

BROWN: How many of you are going on to college? And at the time, I was making, I think, $45,000, $46,000 a year. So I committed $10,000 to the kids.

I grew up in Mississippi. I lived off $2 a day. That's what we got, $2 a day for picking cotton. And so I really feel that I was blessed from God. And so I cannot pay him back, but these kids are his kids. These kids -- some of them are poor like I was.

LAQUITA WHITE, FORMER STUDENT: When you have that mentor like Miss Brown, a very strong person, you can't go wrong, because she's on you constantly every day -- what are you doing, how are you doing?

BROWN: The world doubted us. I was told that, lady, you cannot do it. And I would say, you know what? These kids are just like any other kids. The only thing that they don't have the love and the support.

You're looking at doctors and lawyers and one president of the United States. When you give a kid an education and they get it up here, nobody or nothing can take it away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: You can hear about Oral Lee Brown's remarkable commitment to her kids on our Web site cnn.com/heroes and while you're there, you can also nominate a hero of your own. You only have until September 30th to do so to get your nominations in. Selected winners will be honored during a special live global broadcast on December 6th, hosted by our own Anderson Cooper.

And saying good-bye to a musical hero. Family and friends of opera giant Luciano Pavarotti in church for funeral services this morning in Modena, Italy. The lavish mass celebrated by the archbishop and 18 priests. A chorus of voices raised to honor the renowned classical tenor who took opera to the masses.

Pavarotti's white maple casket was covered in sunflowers, his favorite. He died Thursday from pancreatic cancer. He was 71.

(MUSIC)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: News happening right now. First Lady Laura Bush having surgery today. The White House says it's a minimally invasive procedure to relieve pressure on pinched nerves in her neck. The White House not revealing where or what time the first lady will have the outpatient operation.

The search for missing aviator Steve Fossett intensifying today with more Civil Air Patrol volunteers joining in the effort. They're flying grid patterns over Nevada's mountainous terrain. Fossett disappeared Monday in a single engine plane.

Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras, because we're keeping a close watch on a confusing system out in the Atlantic. Not quite a tropical storm, certainly not a hurricane. What is it?

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Emergency aid finally arriving to some desperate survivors of Hurricane Felix. Remember that name? CNN's Harris Whitbeck reports from Sandy Beach, Nicaragua.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Swarming around aid helicopters, residents of Sandy Bay on the Nicaraguan coast clamor for bottled water and much needed food.

Supplies are flown in by the U.S. military. Some cases, the first aid deliveries since Hurricane Felix smashed into this remote part of Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast last Monday.

The food is military issue MRES, meals ready to eat. It is a concept not understood by these Miskito Indians, many of whom speak only a local dialect and who have lived in isolation for centuries.

I'm showing them how to use this, because I don't want them to think that they can eat the heating element. You know, these MRES are great, only if you know how to use them. They're just thrown at these people, who have never seen them before. You have to show them how to use it. So since we learned how to use it when we were embedded and stuff, I just want to show them and make sure they don't get into trouble.

Not only do the people of Sandy Bay worry about how to feed themselves, they're also anxious about some still missing in the aftermath of Felix. Like most of the men in this village, Joni (ph) and his cousin Malicio (ph) are fishermen. On the day of the storm, they were lucky. They had finished catching lobster and had returned to port before Felix hit. But are worried about their teenage cousin, Simon (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I worry about my family. He's only 16. He went out fishing with a group of 20 boats and none of them have been heard from.

WHITBECK: The memories of the horror of that morning are still fresh. Local people say some 300 men of this town of just 1,000 are still missing. Other estimates are lower, but virtually all of the buildings here, many of them rudimentary shacks, were destroyed. And while emergency aid is now arriving for these desperate people, their future remains clouded in uncertainty. Harris Whitbeck, CNN, Nicaragua.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And as a child during Sudan's civil war, Alek Wek was forced to flee her family and walk hundreds of miles to safety. Since then, she has gone even further, to London as a refugee and onto magazine covers and runways as a supermodel. You recognize her. The hardships she's faced have helped her put her success into perspective, and that's why she has written a book called: "Alek: From Refugee to International Supermodel."

Alek Wek joins us now from New York fresh off the runway this week after Fashion Week. Good to see you.

ALEK WEK, MODEL: Good to see you too, thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: We're glad to have you and glad that you are able to fit us into your schedule, because we know you are very, very busy, given this was Fashion Week there in New York. You worked it this year. But was it different this year, given the fact that you're a supermodel and an author?

WEK: Oh, absolutely. There's no doubt about that. This book has been such a journey. And just since I went back three years ago, that's when it was really evident that I still had to come back and not just continue my life, but I had to really put these memoirs to writing.

WHITFIELD: It really is a remarkable book because you talk about the journey. It is not a book that documents the journey of the fashion world.

WEK: No.

WHITFIELD: Which, of course, fascinates a lot of folks. They see you on the pages of the magazines and they want to know about that. But this book really does delve into your journey as a Sudanese in a warring nation and what it was like for you and your family. You've got eight brothers and sisters and how your family worked so hard to try to keep everyone together.

WEK: Right.

WHITFIELD: And not be separated as a family who was in the middle of a refugee crisis as well.

WEK: Correct.

WHITFIELD: So, what was the turning point for you and how you decided to kind of pick and choose some of those elements in your life and put it into this book?

WEK: Well, I couldn't really pick and choose. That was the thing. Either I really go for it and really revisit all those moments, which were really sensitive for me.

As people, I believe that when we evolve and we're fortunate enough to have opportunities, such as to have a job and so forth, we kind of don't want to revisit certain sensitive moments.

But for me, it was important. Especially going back three years ago, and seeing the tremendous amount of destruction the war had done to Sudanese people and also to the country. It really touched me very much.

And also seeing my mother really emotional, because she hasn't seen her parents, you know, her stepmother that literally raised her, because her mother passed away at a very early age.

I was very moved, because she was really the rock of the house. And I realized it wasn't just my mother. She's also a person, you know.

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

WEK: That, for me, was really -- it really struck a cord with me. And I said, you know, I really have to come back. There was no way I could just pick up and move on with the life that I have at the moment.

And at the time, I felt that it was important not to just read an article on Alek, but to actually understand where she came from. It's not all glamorous, obviously but I think it's important.

WHITFIELD: It really is gritty. You really do talk about details from the hardships of what it was like growing up in your village.

WEK: Correct.

WHITFIELD: And I imagine there must have been moments where you felt a little conflicted, too, once you had moved on from a lot of those hardships at home.

WEK: Right.

WHITFIELD: And incredible detail about your escape to get into Khartoum by cozying up to a neighbor and claiming him to be your father.

WEK: My father, yes.

WHITFIELD: Along the way, were you feeling conflicted about being separated from your family and then going on to such successes and riches, as you're experiencing now, and knowing what it's still like and how it's worsened in your homeland?

WEK: I mean, like I always say, you can take the girl out of a small town, like where I was born and raised in southern Sudan, but you can't take that out of me.

Of course, there are certain personal things again that really dawn on you. I would like to address them so that I could move forward and let the evolving process take place.

And that's one of the reasons why I really took the opportunity, once those peace agreements in line and taken place, I felt that was a start for a breath of fresh air for Sudanese people, to be able to at least start to kind of rebuild the community.

And if I could help in some way and give back, especially one of the most amazing things that the fashion industry has given me, the voice to really be able to shed light where it's needed.

WHITFIELD: Before I let you go, too, I just want to ask you if you're encouraged at all by next month, Sudan and Darfur leaders as well as U.N. leaders are supposed to be meeting. Do you feel encouraged or do you feel like here we go again?

WEK: No, I think it's great. I'm so touched with how everybody is really emphasizing, and seeing that it's really important. And it's about time. And the fact that people that really are in certain positions can be able to take the time or even lend their voice instead of to just something else that's not a human life.

I think we should really go back as people and really value another human life. And that's really bigger than all of us. And I think, you know, now is the time that we're all actually coming together. And we know, you know, as a unit, as a force, we can really make such a difference.

WHITFIELD: Well Alek, we're glad you took the time to write this book and really just open our eyes in so many ways. It really is a beautiful book. I'm enjoying it. I'm halfway through right now. The book is "Alek: From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel." Thanks so much for your time.

WEK: A pleasure, thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: And we're back in a moment with our legal briefs. We'll talk more about the Madeleine McCann case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A stunning twist in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. She's the little girl who disappeared from a hotel room in Portugal last May. The investigation is focused now on the 4-year- old's parents. A family spokesperson says they've been named formal suspects. CNN's Anderson Cooper takes a look at the case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR(voice-over): It's May 3. A smiling girl sits by a pool. Her name is Madeleine McCann. This is the last photograph taken of the 3-year-old. She vanished just hours later.

KATE MCCANN, MOTHER OF MADELEINE MCCANN: We need our Madeleine. Sean and Amelie need Madeleine, and Madeleine needs us.

COOPER: The story has received international attention, catapulting Madeleine's parents into the world spotlight. There have been dozens of interviews, celebrity pleas, even a personal meeting with the pope.

Despite all the rumors and reports, one fact remains painfully clear: Madeleine is still missing. Her story begins innocently enough, Kate and Gerry McCann, a British couple, take Madeleine and her twin 2-year-old brother and sister on vacation to a resort in Portugal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cheer up, Gerry. We're on holiday.

COOPER: On the evening of May 3, after the children were asleep, Kate and Gerry left their ground floor room and the kids alone to have dinner at a restaurant about 300 feet away. A short time later, Kate went to check on the kids and says she discovered Madeleine was gone. Gerry's relative describes what he told her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said that Madeleine had been abducted. She's not the type of wee girl to wander off. And they had been checking every half-an-hour on the children. The three children were sleeping in the one room. When Kate went back to check a half-an-hour after Gerry had checked, Madeleine was missing. The window was open. The shutters were open. None of that had been left like that.

COOPER: Local police are called. There's a search of the resort that is expanded to surrounding areas.

Within days, the McCanns make this heartbreaking public plea.

K. MCCANN: Please, please do not hurt her. Please don't scare her. Please tell us where to find her or put her in a place of safety, and let somebody know where she is. We beg you to let Madeleine come home.

COOPER: In the early stages of the investigation, place say Madeleine was kidnapped, but believed she was alive. By the second week, her image was broadcast around the world. A multimillion-dollar reward was offered.

Famous faces, like "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling and soccer star David Beckham, asked for help.

DAVID BECKHAM, PROFESSIONAL SOCCER PLAYER: If you have seen this little girl, please, could you go to your local authorities or police and give any information that you have, any genuine information that you have?

COOPER: Back in Portugal, the police pursued a number of possibilities. There were reports of Madeleine sightings and that a man was seen dragging a girl near the hotel.

There was speculation that Madeleine may have been taken by a child sex ring. At one point, authorities zeroed in on a British man staying at a nearby villa. He was questioned, the home searched, and then nothing.

In fact, none of the leads were verified. And the McCanns criticized authorities for mishandling the case. They also created this Web site, findmadeleine.

GERRY MCCANN, FATHER OF MADELEINE MCCANN: We would like to again thank the thousands, if not millions, of people who are doing little things in their own way.

COOPER: The McCanns traveled throughout Europe, holding press conferences. They flew to America to meet with missing children experts. On May 30, they had a personal audience with Pope Benedict XVI.

K. MCCANN: He said that he would pray for us and our family.

COOPER: Then, in early August, a potential major break: A newspaper says traces of blood were found on the wall of the room where Madeleine was staying.

G. MCCANN: Can't comment on any specifics and forensics. And we wouldn't do that.

COOPER: But the news was followed by words no one wanted to here.

OLEGARIO SOUSA, CHIEF INSPECTOR, PORTUGUESE POLICE: The little child could be dead. But we have not decided until this moment. We must wait for -- for the results from the lab.

COOPER: And, this week, Portuguese investigators are holding separate witness interviews with Gerry and Kate. Through a spokeswoman, the couple say they are happy to help police, and Kate believes her daughter is still alive. Anderson Cooper, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Let's see what our legal experts have to say about this case. Avery Friedman is a civil right attorney and law professor. Good to see you.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: 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: Hi, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, you guys. This is a tough, tough case. It's so difficult for anyone to piece it together, obviously. But how strange would it be, Avery, that the suspects or, if these parents, indeed, were responsible for their child's death or the fact that she's missing -- how strange would it be that they would stick around Portugal for four months?

FRIEDMAN: Well actually, I think it's very significant that they're sticking around. These are physicians, who practice medicine in England, unlike a lot of people we know, O.J. and Scott Peterson, this couple, Gerry and Kate, have stuck around. They've done everything possible. They've been highly visible. They've done everything responsibly. It strikes me that, based on what we know right now, it's inconceivable, at least to me, that this couple could possibly be reasonable suspects in this case.

WHITFIELD: Richard, do you think they have the wrong ones? HERMAN: That's the problem with this investigation, Fred. This crime scene, these investigators are in the Stone Age here. They found evidence, DNA evidence of her blood and other DNA evidence in the hotel room suggesting that the crime was committed there. 25 days later, the vehicle rented by the parents, the trunk of that vehicle had DNA evidence from this young girl.

Fred, these parents should have been interrogated day one. They should have been suspects day one. In the United States, they absolutely would have been. That's the mentality that they are British, that they are doctors, that they're professionals that the police did not zero in on them.

This is a very significant finding, Fred. They've been now charged as suspects and they've been given all the evidence that police have, and in 10 days, the Portuguese police and Portuguese law enforcement must make a move whether to prosecute these parents.

WHITFIELD: Right. In 10 days, Avery, a lot can happen or nothing can happen. I mean, they have to -- they meaning the Portugal authorities, have to feel pretty good about the kind of forensic evidence that they have gathered, right?

FRIEDMAN: I don't agree with that. It strikes me that the kind of expertise that was necessary was, frankly, ignored. It actually -- the blood that was referenced in Anderson Cooper's package was actually -- came about through canine exploration. That was a British canine, that was not Portuguese. So, there have been problems along the way in the way that police have investigated the case.

Fredricka, I think the reality is that there is not going to be evidence. The couple have subjected themselves to inquiry by the police. They don't have to do it. Portuguese law, by the way, has changed. The EU, many of the countries have a right to remain silent. They don't have Miranda warnings, but have the right to remain silent.

And you know what, Fred? What they've done is they've come out, they've testified. In Kate's case, she testified at one time over 11 hours and the police have nothing.

WHITFIELD: Right. Or at least publicly not revealing what they have.

FRIEDMAN: Well, right, right. But it doesn't appear that there's really anything there.

HERMAN: I think there is something there. I think that there's been a lot of inconsistencies in the interviews here, Fred. Avery is absolutely right. The investigative tools that were used here are just abominable. It looks like Aruba all over again. But I've got to tell you Fred, these are significant DNA findings here. I would not be surprised to see these parents get charged in this case.

WHITFIELD: Wow, but you know, you talk about the 20 something days, weeks after the little girl claimed to be missing and then this kind of DNA evidence found in a rental car. FRIEDMAN: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: It still doesn't really quite add up, because if, for some reason, this little girl was killed or something happened on the date of her reported disappearance, that's a long time.

HERMAN: That's 25 days.

WHITFIELD: For suddenly there to be blood now in a whole new location?

FRIEDMAN: It makes no sense. It just makes no sense. And again, the quality of the DNA evidence right now is tainted. This required immediate attention. You really wonder for those -- the law enforcement in Portugal, how in the world did they wait this amount of time to do the samples, to do the testing?

It just is -- whether it's a problem with law enforcement or whether there's just no evidence there, this is problematic. I can't believe Gerry and Kate are responsible.

WHITFIELD: And Richard, you just kind of argue it's archaic?

HERMAN: The DNA evidence is not tainted, Fred. It's a very significant finding in this particular case. It really, really is. The stories that are told, we checked on the kids every half hour after leaving them alone. The working theory is that these are doctor, they medicated this child, it was an accidental death and then they made her disappear somehow, came back and moved her 25 days later. That's a working theory.

WHITFIELD: OK, well we're out of time. Sorry guys. It's a really complicated case. I know we're going to be talking about it again because we've got a long way to go before this case is closed. All right, Richard and Avery, thanks so much. Have a great weekend, guys.

FRIEDMAN: Take care.

HERMAN: Have a good day, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right and when we come back, we'll hear from a couple of mega millionaires. You can't wait to hear their story, I bet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Two down. Two to go. Another winner has stepped up to claim his share of the Mega Millions lottery jack pot. New Jersey's John Belowsky bought one of the four winning tickets in the August 31st drawing worth a whopping $333 million. He and his wife will get $48.6 million before taxes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BELOWSKY, MEGA MILLIONS WINNER: These pants were the first thing I bought because all my pants were too small for me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you play the lottery?

BELOWSKY: Yes. Not at a real consistent player, but usually when the pot gets bigger and bigger, I start playing consistently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, well earlier, a Maryland winner came forward and the two other winning tickets were sold in Texas and Virginia. But still no word on who those winners are.

A check of the top stories coming up right after the break. And then, stay tuned for "CNN SIU: Firehouse 54-4" with our Larry King. Back in a moment with headlines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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