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Madoff Faces Judge; Madoff's Path to Prison; Honduras President Zelaya Still Reeling From Yesterday's Bloodless Military Coup, Iran Conducts Partial Recount of Votes; All U.S. Combat Forces to be Out of Iraqi Cities Tomorrow; Celebrating Gay Pride Around the World

Aired June 29, 2009 - 09:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We are learning more about the final moments of Michael Jackson's life. His doctors, lawyer, and Jackson's father both speak to CNN.

A colossal swindler faces the music. Bernard Madoff is sentenced for defrauding investors out of more $13 billion. And backlash in Texas over a police raid of a gay bar. Protesters say officers use excessive force.

It is Monday, June 29. Hi, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

This morning, we have our crews in place all over the world to cover the news and bring it directly to you. First off this morning, CNN's Dan Lothian is at the White House. What does the administration have to say about this military coup that's happened in Honduras? We'll go to him for that.

And then also we have CNN's Reza Sayah. He's at our Iran desk this morning. There were some protests over the weekend that we want to hear more about. An important deadline coming up today. He'll have the very latest on that front.

And also, we are talking more about the countdown to change in Iraq. U.S. troops are about to see a dramatic change in their mission. We'll tell you why U.S. troops are packing up and heading out.

We begin this hour with Michael Jackson. Questions hanging over his death. His family grieves their loss. Last night, his sister Janet somberly took the stage at the BET Awards. It was her first public appearance since Jackson died on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANET JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S SISTER: My -- my entire family wanted to be here tonight. But it was just too painful. So they elected me to speak with all of you. And I'm going to keep it very short, but I'd just like to say that to you, Michael is an icon. To us, Michael is family.

And he will forever live in all of our hearts. On behalf of my family and myself, thank you for all of your love, thank you for all of your support. We miss him so much. Thank you so much. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Janet Jackson was not the only family member to speak out last night. Patriarch Joe Jackson tells CNN he has many concerns about his son's final moments.

CNN's Dan Simon is in Los Angeles now with the very latest on all of this.

Dan, good morning to you.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. You know still pretty early here on the West Coast, but let's just kind of bring you up to date with what we know on this case.

First of all, you can see this giant makeshift memorial behind me in front of the family's home in Encino. It's continuing to grow. And in about three hours from now, Reverend Al Sharpton is expected to come to the house, talk to the Jackson family about funeral details.

Again, we don't know anything about those details when the funeral might happen. Reverend Al Sharpton actually going to assist the family make those arrangements.

Meanwhile, for those of us who are at the BET Awards last night, it really was quite a surprise to see Joe Jackson make an appearance there. He actually stopped by the CNN area to talk to our Don Lemon and he talked about certain things about the case.

Didn't really get into specifics. But we can tell you there are a couple of headlines here. One thing he mentioned is that he and his wife are actually going to be seeking custody of Jackson's three children.

COLLINS: Yes.

SIMON: That was something that we had never heard before. He also talked a little bit about the case, saying that he had concerns, but he had his attorney there with him and really couldn't go into any more detail.

And he also talked about in a way how sad it was that Michael Jackson never got to hear all the kind words that people were saying about him.

Let's listen to that part of the interview. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S FATHER: To know that he's supported all over the world. And I'm sorry to say again that this tragedy that happened to him, had to happen like it did, and he be recognized. This should've happened. I mean, he should have been recognized before all of this happened. He was the biggest superstar in the world, and they're just now recognizing right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: All right. So let's sort of transition where we are now with the investigation over the weekend. We can tell you that Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's personal physician, along with his attorney, met with detectives from the Los Angeles police department.

The detectives say that they were very cooperative and right now Dr. Murray not the focus of any criminal investigation.

We should tell you that Dr. Murray's lawyer appeared on "AMERICAN MORNING" just a short time ago to clear up some of the questions and perhaps some of the medications that Michael Jackson was given under his -- Dr. Murray's care.

Let's listen to that part of the interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED CHERNOFF, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL JACKSON'S DOCTOR: Dr. Murray never prescribed Demerol, never administered Demerol, never saw him, Michael Jackson, take Demerol. And that goes, as well, for Oxycontin. So I think those are just rumors. When toxicology comes back, Kiran, that's going to be all cleared up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: All right, so back here at the house, Heidi. Again we're waiting to see Al Sharpton here in a couple of hours. He is expected to come out of the house as soon as he's done meeting with the family and make some kind of a statement. And perhaps we'll get a better sense in terms of when the funeral might take place. Heidi?

COLLINS: OK. Very good, Dan Simon. Sure appreciate the update. Thanks.

One country, two presidents. This morning, there is little agreement on who the rightful leader of Honduras is. The Central American country is reeling from yesterday's bloodless military coup.

President Jose Manuel Zelaya says he awoke to the sound of gunfire in his residence. He was still in his pajamas when the military forced him to leave the country. Within hours the head of Congress Roberto Micheletti was sworn in as provisional president.

The lawmakers who approved him have been -- write a resignation letter but the ousted president emphatically denied that he wrote it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE MANUEL ZELAYA, HONDURAS PRESIDENT (through translator): It is totally false, it is slander. It is a process that is totally being manipulated. This is what is showing me it is not a military coup, that it is a conspiracy of the elite political and economic groups with the purpose of grabbing the small wealth that Honduras has.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The deposed president says he will not surrender power and many world leaders say he remains the country's democratically elected president. President Obama among those speaking out against the coup.

CNN's Dan Lothian joining us now from the White House with more on this.

So, Dan, what exactly is the administration saying about this?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, you know, the president saying that he's deeply concerned by this coup. White House saying that both the president and senior aides have been briefed on the situation there and the White House put out a statement, the president saying, in part, that, "I call on all political and social actors in Honduras to respect democratic norms, the rule of law."

The president going on to say, "Any existing tensions and disputes must be resolved peacefully through dialogue, free from any outside interference." And a little stronger language from a senior State Department official who called the coup, quote, "unacceptable and a terrible move."

Now the U.S. does have a relationship with Honduras. Some 550 troops are on the ground there on a base mainly involved in counter- narcotics operations. An administration official saying that they will remain on the base there and that they will not be impacted at all by this coup, Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Well, we will watch, Dan, closely to see if the president speaks out about this at all. Appreciate that.

Dan Lothian at the White House this morning.

Turning to Iran now. And the latest on the disputed presidential vote there. Here's what we know. Iran's top election body today ordered a partial recount of 10 percent of the vote.

Iran has released five British embassy staff members while continuing to hold four others. Iran has blamed Britain for what it calls a heavy role in recent disturbances. And President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is calling for an investigation of a young woman's death.

Iran has rejected eyewitness reports that Neda was shot by malicious snipers near an opposition rally. The Iranian government restrictions on international media reporting in Iran do remain in place.

CNN's Reza Sayah, who had been reporting from Tehran just a few days ago, is now monitoring these developments from our Iran desk.

So, Reza, we just mentioned this partial recount. Something like 10 percent. What's that going to do? REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Heidi, Iran's the opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi has repeatedly said he doesn't want a partial recount. But today Iran's Guardian Council said we're going to do it anyway.

A spokesperson for Iran's top legislative body went on state-run TV today and said 10 percent of the vote is being counted right now and it's being counted in front of television cameras.

Remember, though, Iran's supreme leader himself has said even with the partial recount the outcome of the elections won't change because of the wide margin of victory by President Ahmadinejad.

Also today. New developments in the shooting death of Neda Agha Soltan. She's, of course, the 26-year-old woman who was shot and killed before cell phone cameras in a couple of Saturdays ago. President Ahmadinejad today called her death suspicious and he wrote a letter to Iran's judiciary asking for an investigation.

But based on his statement, it looks like the president is already convinced Neda was not killed by Iranian security forces. The massive propaganda of the foreign media as well as other evidence that the president proves the interference of the enemies of Iran -- of the Iranian nation.

In the meantime, let's show you video of what looks like Iran, but it's not. This is Los Angeles, California. Big turnout at a rally in front of the federal building. Thousands of Iranians coming out to show their support for Mir Hossein Mousavi and the protesters in Iran.

Of course, California is one of the biggest Iranian populations outside of Iran. Many of them, Heidi, live in Los Angeles.

COLLINS: Yes, well, wearing that green there, obviously. So, Reza, we are also getting word the Iranian government is using the Internet now to go after protesters. What do you know about that?

SAYAH: Yes, that aggressive crackdown on that part of the government has really been effective in snuffing out the protesters, but they're not stopping there. The government going after these protesters using an Internet Web site.

Take a look at this. This is a government Web page with a number of people. They look like protesters, all of them singled out, and the government is asking anyone with information on these individuals to contact authorities.

You see one of them according to this Web site has been picked up and arrested. So, again, the government continuing to apply pressure on the protesters.

COLLINS: Yes, before we let you go, Reza. Have you also heard word about Rafsanjani over the weekend? Was there an appearance?

SAYAH: He -- there wasn't an appearance. He hadn't been heard from for a while.

COLLINS: Right.

SAYAH: But he did come out and make a statement. A lot of people were calling him a difference maker if he chose sides.

COLLINS: Yes.

SAYAH: But he came out with a statement that wasn't really critical of the government. All he did was call for general calm in Iran.

COLLINS: OK. Very good. We are following the developments alongside you, Reza Sayah, thanks so much.

Also now, the man behind a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme learns his fate today. Bernard Madoff is sentenced. We've got a live report from right outside the courtroom.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano at the CNN Severe Weather Center. Record heat continued over the weekend, some spots getting over 110 degrees. When will it cool down? Weather is coming up in just a little bit. The CNN NEWSROOM will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Tomorrow is the deadline for U.S. combat troops to pull out of Iraqi cities. And despite a spike in violence in the run-up to the deadline, U.S. military leaders say Iraqi forces are ready to take over the urban areas.

Here now is CNN's Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A deadly wave of insurgent bomb attacks across Iraq cities. Cities in the insurgent cross hairs as a crucial deadline approaches.

By Tuesday, all U.S. combat forces are to be out of the cities. They will operate out of bases in rural areas. Some advisers and military trainers are likely to remain in Baghdad.

While the latest attacks are causing anxiety with some Iraqis, the top U.S. commander believes security is improved.

GENERAL RAYMOND ODIERNO, U.S. COMMANDER IN IRAQ: I do believe they're ready, John. They've been working towards this for a long time. And security remains good. We've seen constant improvement in the security force. We've seen constant improvement in governance. And I believe this is the time for us to move out of the cities and for them to take ultimate responsibility.

STARR: Success seemed far away back in 2006 when the bombing of the holy Shiite shrine in Samarra led to months of bloody sectarian violence. President Bush eventually sent thousands of additional troops in to combat.

MICHAEL O'HANLON, SENIOR FELLOW, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Somehow the surge and everything that went with the surge managed to bring down the violence by a factor of 10, by 90 percent.

STARR: But the withdrawal of combat forces from the cities is just one step in bringing home the 130,000 U.S. troops remaining in Iraq. There's still problems, including ensuring the continued loyalty of the so-called Sons of Iraq, Sunni fighters who helped quell insurgent violence.

O'HANLON: We also then saw a number of political reforms by the Iraqi government. Especially through last year. They've slowed down, unfortunately, and so we're hardly out of the woods yet in Iraq.

STARR: What happens next? Commanders still have to announce troop draw down plans. But by August 31st, 2010, all U.S. combat forces will leave the country. Still, up to 50,000 U.S. troops will remain, focusing on training Iraqi forces, hunting terrorists, and protecting military and civilian personnel. And then by the end of 2011, all U.S. forces will be out of Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Barbara Starr joining us now from the Pentagon.

Barbara, I'm just curious about some of these possible problems with this drawdown or pullout or however we're really explaining it. What are officials most worried about? And by that, I mean military officials.

STARR: Well, Heidi, what they worry about is, of course, the unexpected. What if there's some threat to the government of Iraq, stability of the country, a security situation that would become so dire that Iraqi forces simply couldn't handle it.

And that's a big what if. If that were to happen, General Odierno says there would still be plenty of U.S. troops in the country to step in and lend a hand. But right now, he doesn't think it's going to be a problem, Heidi.

COLLINS: But they'll be in training roles, right? I mean that's what their mission will be unless something happens.

STARR: Well, it's a combination of training and advising, being there to conduct counter terrorism missions, that sort of thing. So still, the U.S. commanders say there will be plenty of fire power in the country available to them. But make no mistake, they plan to be out of the cities, off the streets, and really trying to turn this over to Iraqi forces once and for all. Heidi?

COLLINS: All right. Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. Barbara, thanks for that.

And we will have more on this story. Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell is going to be joining us in just about 20 minutes or so. So make sure you stick around for that.

Bernard Madoff could be sentenced today to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Madoff and 11 of his victims will be speaking out in court about what may be the biggest investment fraud in history.

CNN's Steve Kastenbaum is outside the courtroom in New York for us this morning.

So, Steve, a big day, a lot of people have been waiting for this day. Let's start with what we expect to have happened, exactly.

STEVE KASTENBAUM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that there will be somewhere around a dozen of Bernard Madoff's victims speaking here in court. They'll be giving victim impact statements, Heidi, explaining what has happened to them as a result of this fraud. How their lives have been destroyed.

We've seen some of the letters that they wrote to the judge prior to today, and the stories are completely heartbreaking. We hear about entire life savings completely wiped out, about people literally losing their homes. Some homes being foreclosed on. Other people saying they've totally lost their trust in humanity.

We're going to see about a dozen of those folks speaking here to the judge and they're all going to ask the judge to sentence Bernard Madoff to the maximum.

Bernard Madoff himself may speak here as well. And we do know that the defense had asked the judge to sentence to just 12 years in prison. The prosecution calling for the maximum here 150 years behind bars. Bernard Madoff is 71 years old. If he does get the maximum, needless to say, he'll spend the rest of his life behind bars.

COLLINS: Yes. What about compensation for the victims? I mean we've gone round and round about that.

KASTENBAUM: Yes. You know, that's the big issue right now. The victims say it really doesn't matter how much time he gets behind bars. For them, justice will be if they get back their money.

COLLINS: Yes.

KASTENBAUM: But the problem is, where is that money? The investigators have been digging through so much paperwork here trying to trace the money, see where it's all gone. And it could take years before a lot of these victims get any sort of compensation.

The thing that we're hearing about now, Heidi, is some victims may be suing other victims of this Ponzi scheme. Folks who withdrew money before Bernard Madoff came forward and pleaded guilty before his company filed for bankruptcy.

Those folks who withdrew money, they're victims, too, well, some of the victims who didn't withdraw any money are actually going to sue those other victims to try and recover those funds and everybody's wondering, well, how do you recover funds that are already spent? COLLINS: Yes.

KASTENBAUM: So you can see this is going to be a long legal mess ahead of us.

COLLINS: Yes. No question. And likely to be a long day. All right. We'll check back in with you, Steve.

KASTENBAUM: Yes.

COLLINS: Thanks so much.

A heated discussion of Bernie Madoff, in fact, on our blog this morning. We are asking what you think his sentence should be. Just go to CNN.com/newsroom and then click on my picture.

Tracking Bernard Madoff's path to prison. Our Josh Levs is following each and every step.

Hey there, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi, yes. We've got the date of his alleged confession then the role of various family members, how it all played out, and ultimately pictures of the prison where he's currently being held. It's all right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The United States Supreme Court will hold its final session today before adjourning until October. The court also says farewell to Justice David Souter who retires today.

A couple of high-profile cases on the docket, too. A decision is expected on the reverse discrimination case involving 20 New Haven firefighters who say they were denied promotions because of their race.

The court also decides if Troy Davis, the convicted Savannah cop killer on death row, gets a new court hearing.

We have CNN crews covering both of these cases and we'll be bringing you the latest information just as soon as we get it.

Rob Marciano joining us now from the Severe Weather Center. Maybe we just call it, like, the hot weather center.

MARCIANO: Yes. We can do. That's been the ongoing weather story, although temperatures will subside. I want to say cool.

COLLINS: Yes.

MARCIANO: But subside a little bit as we go through this week.

COLLINS: That's good. OK.

(WEATHER REPORT) COLLINS: Yes, I guess so. All right. Rob, we'll check back later on, thanks.

MARCIANO: Sounds good. All right.

COLLINS: Movie stars, well-known charities, and retirees you've never heard of. All victims of Bernie Madoff. He gets sentenced today. What do they get? We'll take a look in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: It is the first day of a holiday-shortened trading week on Wall Street. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with a preview of how this session is shaping up.

Yes, everybody hoping for fireworks this week, right, before the real fireworks on the Fourth?

(LAUGHTER)

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I don't think we're going to see fireworks on the Fourth.

COLLINS: Come on.

LISOVICZ: With experience, yes, my guide here. Yes, everybody gets out of town by the middle of the week.

COLLINS: I know.

LISOVICZ: We're going to have a lot of action, though. No question about it. Expecting a quiet open, market's closed, of course, on Friday for the long Fourth of July holiday weekend.

A lot of action leading up to it. Tomorrow, Miss Collins, marks the end of June, the end of the second quarter, and the end of the first half of the year. So it could be volatile. Maybe that translated to fireworks. But certainly been a wild year so far for investors.

We're getting key readings on the U.S. economy, reports on housing, manufacturing, the labor markets, expected to dominate the bay. Including the jobs report for June as the opening bell rings, and that could bring fireworks, too.

We're also anticipating some end to the quarter portfolio to be bring back and move stock prices. The market's been weak over the past two weeks after a big spring rally.

Apple shares right now are climbing. Steve Jobs set to return to the company today or tomorrow after a six-month medical leave during which he received a liver transplant. Investors have been critical of Apple arguing that it has not been fully honest about the state of its CEO's health, but the stock has been a standout gainer. And, of course, the headline today, Bernie Madoff finds out his fate in the next hour. Some expect this to be the last day the Ponzi schemer ever puts on a suit for the rest of his life or at least one that isn't orange.

COLLINS: Yes.

LISOVICZ: Madoff face a sentence as long as 150 years.

What we're seeing to the first minute of trading, well, it's kind of quite poor on the plus side -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. We'll take it.

LISOVICZ: Yes. It's going in the right direction.

COLLINS: All right. Susan, thanks so much.

LISOVICZ: I'll be back.

COLLINS: A colossal swindler faces the music, as you just heard. Bernie Madoff is sentence for defrauding investors out of more than $13 billion. We'll tell you who some of those investors are.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The extent of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme still mind boggling, months after it was uncovered. And today, Madoff will be sentenced. But will his victims ever really get justice?

CNN's Christine Romans is in New York this morning with more on this.

So, Christine, it's been obviously difficult for investigators to trace the money and sort of try to untangle this whole elaborate scheme.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It's very, very complicated, taken months, all kinds of forensic accountants and investigators from the government, and lawyers, frankly, Heidi, trying to figure out where the money went.

You know, Ponzi scheme is very simple on its own. It's where, you know, he paid out investors. He took it on investors, took their money, and when they wanted their money back or they wanted a profit, he paid them the money with new investors. In the end that all came tumbling down. And now they're trying to figure out where's the rest of the money?

Some 1,300 investors identified over $13 billion traced, losses actually traced, but they've recovered, they've collected about $1.3 billion. So there's a lot of money still missing, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. I remember very well, charities were hit particularly hard in all of this. ROMANS: Very early on in the coverage, there's a lot of talk about the Hollywood investors and the charities. First, some of these charities, some of them, frankly, absolutely devastated by the losses here because they had invested, either knowingly or unknowingly into this Madoff scheme.

New York University also on here $24 million. The Elie Wiesel Foundation more than $50 million. Yeshiva University. Elie Wiesel, a man of peace, quite frankly, who has said that he would like to see the first 5 years of the sentence for this guy where he would have to look at the photographs of the people he had scam, and hear over and over again how badly he had hurt them.

You know, people, very, very, very still feeling the pain of all of this.

COLLINS: Yes, obviously.

So, are victims going to be able to recover that money at all ever? I mean, it's probably too early to know.

ROMANS: They will get some money. And already SIPC has identified some couple of hundred people who will be able to get some money back from the consumer protection that's offered from that. But not everybody is covered by that.

If you went through a feeder fund, you might not be. And also now as you heard earlier, some of the investors are suing other investors trying to make sure that there's more money put in the pot for the people maybe at the last minute who got some of their money out. It is a big, big mess, Heidi. And him going to prison doesn't end this. This is just the beginning of more legal battles for his investors.

COLLINS: No question. See, this is why I didn't become a lawyer. Exactly why.

All right, Christine Romans, thanks so much. We'll check back later.

It has been six months since Bernard Madoff was arrested. Since then, he has steadily watched his fortune disappear. And for the last three months he's been incarcerated.

Our Josh Levs is here now to walk us through Madoff's path to prison.

He wasn't always in jail. There was a lot of talk about him being in the penthouse still.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Exactly.

I mean, that's one thing that's interesting to see that he has been held now for a few months, and we're obviously going to find out the official sentence today.

But I'll take you in on this. You know what, days like today, there are fine folks at CNNmoney.com who make my job pretty easy here.

Let's zoom in for a second. I want to show you something.

A lot of our stories on Madoff have this thing called a timeline. And we take you through step by step. So let's do this. We have some graphics for you.

I want to trace you through some of the key dates, starting with this one right here.

We're going back to December 10th. And that's because on December 10th, that was when Madoff allegedly confessed to his company advisers and also to his two sons who have been informed the authorities, and then it was the next day that Madoff was arrested. December 11th, 2008, that he was arrested. At that point he was charged with one count of securities fraud. Obviously, it grew after that.

Let's jump ahead four days now. It was December 15th 2008 that he was placed under house arrest at his apartment, and in that sense, Heidi, is pretty much been under the watchful eye of authorities ever since last December.

There's something I want to show you that happened in February that is also significant in the story of the Madoffs. That was when the secretary of state in Massachusetts said that Ruth Madoff, his wife, had withdrawn $15 million the day before her husband's arrest. So that step has also gotten a lot of attention as people try to trace the path of Madoff's fortunes.

A couple of more things. Let's skip ahead to March now, because that's kind of what brings us up to today. It was in March that his attorney said Madoff would plead guilty to 11 counts. And then just a couple of days later, March 12, that's when the judge accepted the guilty plea. That's when the sentencing was scheduled, and that's kind of what brings us up to now. Well, we're finally having this ultimate decision.

And since then, Heidi, he has been held at a correctional facility. We have a picture of it here. Let's zoom back in. I'll show you. It's on one of our stories.

I believe this one right here. There you go.

The MCC, The Metropolitan Correctional Center. You can see the kind of lifestyle he's been in there, Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, a little bit of a change there, obviously.

LEVS: Little bit of change.

COLLINS: All right, Josh. We are covering this thing and watching it very closely once that sentencing phase begins 10:00 Eastern this morning.

LEVS: That's right. COLLINS: Thank you, Josh.

LEVS: Thanks, Heidi.

COLLINS: And on the blog this morning, we are asking what you think Bernie Madoff's sentence should be.

Here now are some of the responses. Let's go ahead and take a look. Once again, cnn.com/newsroom.

Let's head over to the blog. Heidi Mac here, let's go ahead and pull it up.

The first one, we hear from Walter Mar who says this, "He destroyed lives. His victims may never recover their retirement and losses. I would give him 100 years and a day."

All right. Also this one coming to us from Molly, says this, "He should have to make personal apologies to the people he has devastated and stolen from. He would probably have to do this via video since none of these people would want to be in the same room as him. He should also be forced to volunteer at soup kitchens, old age homes and with underprivileged groups to try to learn from his mistakes."

So there you go. Just a couple of different blogs this morning. If you would like to weigh in, you can certainly do that at CNN.com/newsroom.

Meanwhile, in less than 24 hours before U.S. troops will be pulling out of Iraq's major city. But is the country ready to handle its own security? We're going to be talking live with Pentagon press secretary to get some answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Tomorrow marks the beginning of a new era in Iraq. The country will move in a new direction without the presence of thousands of U.S. troops. A deadline set for U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq's major cities is up tomorrow. Which means Iraq's army will now be in charge of its own security.

A number of U.S. troops leaving Iraq are expected to be transferred to the war in Afghanistan.

CNN international correspondent Atia Abawi is joining us live from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

So, Atia, good morning to you. What are soldiers who have been deployed to both wars see now in the differences of the missions in those two countries?

ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Well, we did go on patrol with some of these soldiers who have been deployed to both wars, Iraq and Afghanistan. These soldiers told us that the biggest difference that they're already seeing is terrain and culture. Afghanistan's a very mountainous region in this part of the world. And they're also noting just in one patrol, we had MRAP vehicles as you can see behind us. We have an MRAP vehicle right there. It got stuck in a creek and in the mud three times, having to be pulled out.

This is going to be a big difficulty for these soldiers to face. But, also, two soldiers told us that another thing that they notice is in the people, in the regions compared to where they deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are noticing that the people actually come out and they're friendlier to them. They are more welcoming to having them.

But then again, this is the Parwan Province region. There are regions in Afghanistan where they won't be getting that same welcome.

Heidi?

COLLINS: Sure, understood.

All right. Atia Abawi, sure do appreciate that from Bagram Air Base this morning.

More now on the U.S. troop withdrawal deadline in Iraq tomorrow. There's been a recent spike in street violence just as U.S. troops prepare to leave. It is raising questions if now is the right time to trust Iraq with its own security.

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell is joining me now live.

Geoff, nice to see you.

GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Pleasure.

COLLINS: Maybe we should start by reminding our viewers exactly what's going to happen tomorrow, because this is just turn on the light switch, get everybody out and turn it off.

MORRELL: Well, in fact, Heidi, according to General Odierno, it has already happened. We have now removed all of our combat forces from Iraqi cities and towns. The deadline, as you mentioned, is tomorrow. But we pulled out entirely over the weekend. And we are now down left to basically advisers and trainers and other support staff who remain embedded with Iraqi units in cities and towns throughout the country. The combat forces, though, are now forming layers of defense outside major cities and focusing more on Iraq's external borders. But right now, things are already in the hands primarily of Iraqi security forces in Iraqi urban areas.

COLLINS: OK. So to hear you say that, does that mean that the Pentagon and the military leaders, including General Odierno are happy with how this went?

MORRELL: I think it went rather smoothly. Obviously, there was a spike in violence leading up to this handover. It was one that we anticipated. Sadly last week, we saw two very high profile attacks, one in Kirkuk, just south of Kirkuk, one in Sadr City, resulting in 400 innocent civilians being killed. That is certainly unfortunately.

But overall, violence levels are down to 2003 levels, the lowest in the history of this conflict. So we believe that there's overall, the security situation is stable enough for Iraqi security forces to take on this added responsibility. It's one that they want, and it's one that the commanders on the ground feel that they are capable of taking on.

COLLINS: OK. But, really, I mean, is that OK? I mean, there are more than 400 civilian casualties. If everyone knew that this was possibly going to happen. What sort of measures were put into place upon the deadline to pull out of Iraq so that it wouldn't happen?

MORRELL: Well, twofold. It has to be OK because there's a legal agreement which forces us to abide by these timelines. As you know, signed a security agreement under the Bush administration, late last year.

COLLINS: Right.

MORRELL: The Obama administration obviously has to honor it, and it calls for us to remove our combat forces from the cities by tomorrow.

COLLINS: No matter what?

MORRELL: No matter what. Unless the Iraqi government were to say we need your help. So far they have not said that. That does not preclude the possibility that if a situation were to deteriorate in any one place, that we could not go in at their request and provide assistance. And we're prepared to do just that.

COLLINS: OK. In fact...

MORRELL: The key thing, though, Heidi, to keep in mind, though, here is despite these recent high profile attacks, we have not seen the retaliatory attacks that were so common in 2006, which created this vicious cycle of retaliatory violence.

And we are heartened and the Iraqis are heartened to see that attempts by al Qaeda and extremists on the Shiite side, as well, have not resulted in that kind of sectarian violence that really tore the country apart a couple of years ago.

COLLINS: All right. Well, just yesterday on "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JOHN KING," General Odierno was saying when asked what his biggest worry was in all of this was exactly that. It was about a breakdown in stability in Iraq.

If, in fact, that continues, what sort of contingency plan is there when we're talking specifically as we just heard from our correspondent in Bagram Air Base about a lot of these troop members going from Iraq to (INAUDIBLE) in Afghanistan now? Who will be available? Like, what will that look like if indeed the Iraqi government puts out that invitation?

MORRELL: Look, Heidi, there are already, there are still 131,000 U.S. troops on the ground. That is a huge number of forces. Although the focus is now turning to Afghanistan and that's becoming our top military priority. By comparison, there are only 57,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan. And although the trend lines will move forces from Iraq to Afghanistan, there is still a huge force presence in Iraq that is more than capable of responding to any incident, which may come up that the Iraqi security forces asked for our assistance.

Right now, though, we think the overall security situation and trending in the right direction. There are tensions that you heard from General Odierno yesterday, particularly Arab-Kurd tensions in the north that we're particularly concern about. There are still vestiges of al Qaeda in Mosul. And, obviously, we're still seeing some Iranian meddling through some of their surrogates, as well. But, overall, we're pleased with the trend that we're seeing on the ground.

COLLINS: You know, we were supposed to talk with you a few minutes ago, but I know you ended up having to have a meeting with your boss Defense Secretary Gates.

So what did you guys talk about?

MORRELL: We talked about actually an upcoming speech we're going to be giving on the budget later in July to push back on some of the pushback we're getting on the reforms that he has put on in his new 2010 budget, which is going to overall get us to focus more of our dollars on the current fights we are in and the asymmetric threats we believe we're going to continue to see in the future.

And just slightly adjust the rheostat so that it's not totally focused on the conventional threats that we've traditionally faced and more on the wars we're fighting and we anticipate fighting in the future.

COLLINS: Wow. All right. A lot of money, obviously.

We sure do appreciate your time. We could talk Honduras, we could talk Iran, so you'll have to come back.

MORRELL: Any time.

COLLINS: Geoff Morrell, we sure do appreciate your time this morning. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense.

Thanks again.

MORRELL: My pleasure.

COLLINS: Turning now to Iran and the latest on the disputed presidential vote there. Here's what we know.

Iran's top election body today ordered a partial recount of 10 percent of the votes. Iran has released five British embassy staff members while continuing to hold four others. Iran has blamed Britain for what it calls a heavy role in recent disturbances.

And President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is calling for an investigation now of a young woman's death. Iran has rejected eyewitness reports that Neda was shot by militia snipers near an opposition rally.

Police say bar patrons came on to them in a very intimate way. The gay activists tell a different story about how a bar raid went down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Rob Marciano joining us now from the "hot weather center," we've renamed it obviously for reasons that continue to come up because it's -- I mean, it's supposed to be getting a little cooler but not that much?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: All right. I'm out of here. I'm taking off for Minnesota in a matter of moments.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We'll miss you.

COLLINS: Cooler there.

All right. Rob, thank you. Appreciate it.

MARCIANO: OK.

COLLINS: There is an awful lot going on in the near hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's get a look at it. Our crews are in placed to break it all down for you.

We begin now with Reza Sayah at the Iran desk.

Hey, there, Reza.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. New developments today in the shooting death of Neda Agha Sultan. Also, a partial recount under way in Iran.

And American rock legend Jon Bon Jovi getting involved in the election controversy in Iran. Heidi, we'll have more for you at the top of the hour.

LISOVICZ: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. This is the day of reckoning for Wall Street's most infamous criminal. It could be the last time Bernard Madoff ever wears a suit and tie. We'll have more on his long-awaited sentencing at the top of the hour, Heidi.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I'm Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. It's a milestone U.S. troops thought might never come. More in the next hour. COLLINS: All right, guys, thanks so much.

We will also have the latest on a con man in court. Minutes from now, the sentencing hearing gets under way for Bernard Madoff. His victims will get their chance to speak.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Gay pride parades over the weekend around the world and across the country, from India to San Francisco. They road, they strutted and marched. The Rainbow Parade celebrates Gay Pride Month.

Some 40 years ago, a police raid on a Manhattan bar touched off the gay rights movement. Now a round up at a gay bar in Fort Worth, Texas has some activists calling foul.

Sandra Hernandez of Texas affiliate KDAF in Fort Worth reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTORS: Hey, hey, ho, ho! Police brutality has got to go!

SANDRA HERNANDEZ, KDAF REPORTER (voice-over): The homosexual community wants answers, outraged over what they're calling police brutality at the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, a predominantly gay bar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew they came in and they harassed us. I knew they walked in the bar but I never saw them actually coming in with a patty wagon, sitting in the parking lot, knowing they were taking out a cart load of (BLEEP), and that's exactly what they think when they came in here.

HERNANDEZ: Chris Hightower was inside the bar last night. He says his friend, Chad, suffered head injuries and remains hospitalized.

CHRIS HIGHTOWER, FRIEND INJURED: And the cop just came out and shoved him against the wall and handcuffed him. They're even trying to spread his legs and they had his head yanked all the way back. And he turned and asked what's going on, and they sent him to the ground and now he has head injuries, in the ICU.

HERNANDEZ: Police say at least three intoxicated patrons made sexual explicit gestures, one even grabbing TABC agent's groin.

In a statement police say, alcohol beverage code inspections are conducted frequently at establishments in Forth Worth. They are conducted in order to ensure a safe environment for all.

The bar's general manager Randy Norman says that "The bar has been opened for a little more than a week and they try to work with police."

RANDY NORMAN, GENERAL MANAGER, RAINBOW LOUNGE: Every time someone walks in the bar, there's no way to know if they had a drink before they came in. We do watch for the signs to see if they are intoxicated.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTEST: All rights are human rights! Equal rights now.

HERNANDEZ: At today's million gay march in Dallas, what happened in Forth Worth was very present in the minds of protestors.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) was raided in a very similar fashion to what happened in Forth Worth last night 40 years ago.

DANIEL CATES, PROTESTOR: What happened last night in Forth Worth was absolutely disgusting, and I support strong, severe action against the Forth Worth Police Department.

HERNANDEZ: Forth Worth Councilman Joel Burns who was openly gay read a prepared statement on the courthouse steps.

JOEL BURNS, FORTH WORTH COUNCILMAN: Unlike 40 years ago, though, the people of this community have elective representation that will make sure our government is accountable and that the rights of all citizens are protected.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Forth Worth police deny using excessive force, but say the allegations will be investigated.