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Naomi, Diamonds and War Crimes; Anna Nicole Smith Drug Trial; Charlie Sheen Avoids Jail; Giuliani Daughter Arrested; ABA's Top Lawyer Picks; Fighting Crime One Click at a Time; The Town that Outlawed Pinball

Aired August 07, 2010 - 12:00   ET

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

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Believing BP, we'll start there. Will the oil company revisit the disaster that they started to drill again? That is the question the credibility-challenged company is answering as its draws closer to permanently sealing the captured well.

CNN's Reynolds Wolf is our point man in Pensacola Beach this afternoon.

Reynolds, folks are probably hearing that little headline today and just shaking their heads and thinking, you've got to be kidding me?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely, although the assurance from BP that we've heard is that the relief wells are simply for just that, really putting an end game to this entire affair. And that, of course, will be with the -- not the static kill, which was performed, of course, earlier in the week, but the bottom kill. And that's the whole purpose for the relief well itself. The relief well being drilled some 17,000 feet down, and that is supposed to actually reach its final mark by this Friday.

They only have 100 more feet to go, Jim, before they can begin the bottom kill. The bottom kill itself possibly may last a week or so. So, it looks like, hopefully, this thing will come to a very -- to an end by the time we get to middle or towards the end of this month.

It is interesting, though, when it comes to the concerns that people have with this area. BP has admitted, of course, this is an area that is very rich in oil, they may come back and revisit it. but that's not going to be the purpose of any of the relief well drillings, as we speak.

I can tell you though; there is a sense of normalcy in many places on the gulf, things getting back to normal. The hotel where we're staying is filled to the capacity. They're expecting another busy night, tonight. They have a wedding here, that's actually going to be held. The beaches are great shape. They haven't seen oil in weeks. However, when get to parts of southern Louisiana, the situation is complexly different. Down in Plaquemines Parish, there's oil that has been inundated in many of the grasslands, the pristine grasslands that you have there. The marshes are coated with oil in many spots. In fact, in St. Bernard Parish, they've had 26 different times where oil has been identified in less than a 24 hour span. And so, the cleanup will continue there for quite some time. But again, a bit of the good news, some of the water has been reopened for fishing, especially off of parts of the Mississippi. People can now recreational fish, they can also fish commercially. But that only includes shrimp and some of the, what they refer to as "fin fish." The animals at the bottom, in terms of the oysters and crabs, that's going to be possibly held off for a couple of weeks, some additional testing, tissue testing is being conducted on some of the harvest oysters. So it's going to be interesting to see what those results might be in the coming days. Let's send it back to you -- Jim.

ACOSTA: And Reynolds, BP was very quick to, as you pointed out, to sort of clean up a little bit of what Doug Suttles had to say at that press conference, but he did indeed indicate that this is potentially something the company would look at down the road because they did hit such a gusher down there and even though it was a gush, they eventually could not control, it does say what is out there.

WOLF: Oh, there's no question about it. I mean, that's what they do. I mean, their job is to hunt oil. But it is also the job of people like Plaquemines Parish president Billy Nungesser to watch out for his people. And Nungesser's response yesterday was also equally as interesting where he says he doesn't trust them at all. So, it will be very, very interesting to see how this plays out in the days, months and years ahead.

ACOSTA: And I'm really glad to see you there in Pensacola Beach, Reynolds, because that part of the panhandle is just so gorgeous and they've been hit so hard by this crisis. And to hear that they are filled to capacity at the hotel where you're staying, that is terrific news. So, maybe the folks over at McGuire's Steakhouse, you know, I don't know if you've made it over to McGuire's, but I know the last time I was there, you know, they were hurting for some customers, so hopefully things are starting to turn around down there.

WOLF: Absolutely, Jim. You know, it is a multibillion dollar industry along the Gulf Coast. They need as many people as they possibly can at many of these hotels along the beach and, of course, places like McGuire's.

They are -- people are coming back, it seems as though the oil has not been showing showing up. The people have been coming back in droves. But the problem is, many of these industries, many of these businesses were really hurt during the key times of the summer. I'll take you back to the Forth to July when they were expecting people to be here and really, many places were only, say half or even only a third of the way filled.

So, that's money that many of them aren't going to be able to recoup. It's going to really damage them, long-term and it's going to be a tough time, also it's going to be a long struggle for them as they make their way to the winter months and of course the early spring, that's when things will get heated up. But, from now into the fall and the winter, that's really the slow time for them.

ACOSTA: All right, Reynolds Wolf, live in Pensacola Beach. Good to see you, Reynolds, appreciate it. In a couple of hours, CNN will take you inside the U.S. Supreme Court. Here is a live look at the court, right now. This is fascinating stuff. We don't get to go inside with our cameras very often. Today, we will witness the swearing in of Elena Kagan, the high court's newest justice. And our Supreme Court producer, Bill Mears is in Washington.

And Bill, Elena Kagan was in good form yesterday with the president. She's always good. You know, she can light up a room and she's got a heck of a sense of humor. I don't know if we'll see any of that humor on display today, I guess, right?

BILL MEARS, CNN SUPREME COURT PRODUCER: Right. And it really is the final chapter for what's been a month-long process for Elena Kagan. She's been through a grueling selection process; she's been through all the contentious Senate hearings and a vote and now comes the easy part. She gets to stand up, raise her right-hand and take a 62-word oath and becomes the 112 justice on this court.

ACOSTA: And, I guess, you know, one thing that I heard Elena Kagan say is you know that she's not always going to side with the government in her distinctions from the bench. Obviously she was the former solicitor general, so she was making the case on behalf of the federal government before the Supreme Court so many times. I guess it was interesting to hear her say that.

MEARS: Yes, and she has to put that aside, she's not -- she's representing the law now and the Constitution and not any particular party or her president. So, she wants to make that very clear from the start that while she enjoyed her time working in the administration, she's not going to be a mouthpiece for them when she takes the bench, she's going respect the Constitution and the rule of law, and she says she'll rule as she believes she should.

ACOSTA: And she's already said that she's going to be rescuing herself in certain cases that come before the court, correct?

MEARS: Right, she's been working for the past 17 months as the solicitor general of the United States, that's the office that represents appeals before the Supreme Court. She's been heavily involved with at least a dozen cases that are currently on the docket, she's going to have to recuse from and possible future case, too, possibly involving terror cases involving detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

ACOSTA: Yeah, and for this live look inside the Supreme Court, which will be fascinating, you know, it made me think about, I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, that Elena Kagan has said that she would like to see cameras inside the Supreme Court some day, isn't that right?

MEARS: She does. She's expressed that feeling to senators during her confirmation hearings. Sonia Sotomayor, who took the bench last year, has also expressed that. but whether her views will change when she gets on there. She's become very respectful of precedent and the traditions of this court and they're very clo to change over the years, they look on change with some skepticism, so whether there will be a consensus, unanimous consensus from this court to bring in cameras, I don't see that happening anytime soon.

ACOSTA: Yeah, well, she -- her powers of persuasion are pretty impressive, as we've noticed during her years at Harvard and now we'll see then up on the high court. Bill Mears joining us from Washington, our Supreme Court producer, thanks Bill, appreciate it.

And international aid workers, they've been gunned down in cold blood in Afghanistan. This has been a shocking story for us, all morning long. Six Americans were among 10 people ambushed and shot to death while on a medical mission, there. The Taliban, they say they have taken responsibility for this attack. The latest from our foreign affairs correspondent, Jill Dougherty in Kabul, Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Eight workers are dead, the Taliban are taking responsibility for those deaths. Most of the information on this now is coming from the organization for which those aid workers worked, that is the International Assistance Mission, a humanitarian group dealing mainly with medical help to Afghan citizens. It is a Christian group, although they are saying Christianity, in this case, had nothing to do with it.

These workers, we are told, some of them doctors, some of them medical staff, were traveling into a very remote part of Afghanistan. They were stopped by the Taliban. We understand from the police in that region, that they were forced out of their car, their belongings were taken and then they were methodically shot.

The International Assistance Mission says there were six Americans, one German, one British and two Afghans who were killed. Another two Afghans were allowed to go free.

Now, there was an interesting part to this and that is that the group, the team that was going into that part of Afghanistan did have a FaceBook page and on that, you can actually track the map showing where they were going up from Kabul and then going northeast into this area.

The Taliban say that these people were spies. The organization, of course, says that they were aid workers. But, the Taliban says they wanted to capture them alive, some of them decided to run and then the Taliban killed them. This, of course, raises issues, not only for that organization, but for other relief and aid organizations that are working in other parts of Afghanistan and concerned for their own security.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And switching to politics now, our CNN deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser is with the CNN Election Express.

Paul, we've some busy weeks ahead of us. We're closing in on November. What do you have for us? PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN SR DEPUTY POLITICAL DIR: You know, Jim, you're right. We're on the road to Colorado which is holding primaries in a couple of days. I tell you, with less than three months to go until the elections, the midterm elections, campaign politics is heating up. More on that in a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Well, the political season is heating up as midterm elections draw near. Our deputy political director is on the CNN Election Express, Paul Steinhauser, in St. George, Utah.

And Paul, what in the world are you doing in Utah and does John King know that you borrowed his bus?

STEINHAUSER: Hey, keep it quiet, here. Now, don't bust me because if they know I'm on the bus, I'm in big trouble. Seriously, you know, you're right, John King just had the bus in Arizona, remember we did all that coverage of the Arizona immigration law and we're moving the bus to Colorado. They got big primaries coming up there on Tuesday and the bus team, Dale Fountain, Jordan Placie, and Josh (INAUDIBLE) they're letting me, basically, hitch a ride for a couple of days. And right now we're in Utah, Jim, and it borders Arizona, as you know, to the north and immigration is big, here -- Jim.

ACOSTA: And how is the issue playing there, right now? I mean, you know, I think we've noticed there have been a couple of controversies there related to that subject. There was the issue of a list of supposed illegal immigrants that was released by somebody out there and a local radio station picked up on it, there was a brouhaha there, so obviously this issue is striking a nerve even in Utah.

STEINHAUSER: Oh, very much so. And Utah's one of about a dozen states that could have an Arizona-type immigration law, next year. Lawmakers up in Salt Lake City are working on that right now, it could become law as early as January or February of next year. And remember Senator Bob Bennet of Utah, conservative Republican, but he was a little moderate, I guess, to a degree on immigration, and that hurt him this chances for reelection this year. He is no longer now the Republican nominee. So, immigration a big topic here, economy though, still issue No, 1 -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. And switching gears to a little event that was playing out yesterday in Kansas City. Michael Steele, the head of the Republican National Committee, he was talking to his delegates out there in the summer meeting of that orgcation. And I noticed that Mr. Steele, the chairman was donning a different hat, you might say, than he probably normally wears as chair of the RNC.

(LAUGHTER)

STEINHAUSER: Yeah, well a red baseball cap. I think it said "Oust Nancy Pelosi" and that was one of his themes, yesterday.

Listen, Steele, who is the chairman of the party, they're very confident that they're going to do well come November, that they can maybe win back control of one of both houses of Congress and make gains with the governorships and the state legislatures, as well. And Steele said he's going to be taking a bus tour, I guess they got their own bus, not ours, and he's going to be going around the country and trying to raise money and trying to hope out Republican candidates across the country -- Jim.

ACOSTA: And he might use a little help from Sarah Palin if he can squeeze that in, correct?

STEINHAUSER: Yeah, and this was an interesting thing that happened, yesterday, good reporting from our Mark Preston and Peter Handy (ph) in Kansas City at those meetings. Palin, who's defiantly had her differences with Steele in the RNC, she is going to be helping the Republican National Committee raise money to help these candidates, so it seems like she's coming back, to a degree, in the fall. Republicans are energized, but we still there three months to go, anything could happen -- Jim.

ACOSTA: And you are heading to Colorado and that primary there is just fascinating, that's coming up between Michael Bennet and Andrew Romanoff and you know, Romanoff is making this a very tight race and the president and the White House, you know, they've really swung support of their support behind Senator Bennett who, as you know, is that fill-in there in the Senate and if it doesn't work out so well for Senator Bennett, I mean, that's not going to look good for the White House, is it?

STEINHAUSER: This is a great story, a great race here, very completive. Not only the one that you're talking about between Bennet and Romanoff on the Democratic side, but also a very tough and bitter primary on the Republican side. And this is a state, Jim, where the Democrats made a lot of gains in the last decade. Republicans think they can do well come November, maybe win back the governorship and hopefully they think they'll win back the Senate race, the Senate seat, as well -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Well, Paul Steinhauser, keep it on the road out there in Utah with the CNN Election Express looking pretty good behind you. It looks like it's maybe had a little bath recently. Might have pulled it through the car wash or something, there?

STEINHAUSER: Dale Fountain keeps this bus pretty clean. It's looking pretty spotless, right now.

ACOSTA: Looking very nice. All right thanks, Paul, appreciate it. Good talking to you.

Well, our legal guys are ready to weigh in on a few controversial rulings this week, among them the ban on same-sex marriage in California and the planned mosques just blocks from the 9/11 attacks in New York. Our legal guys, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Top stories now, two suspects from Texas are charged with killing four people in a suburb of Washington, D.C. The victims were two women and two young children. Police in Prince Georges County, Maryland tell CNN the killings were drug related.

In Pennsylvania, the state police tell CNN a twin engine plane slammed into the home of this house, actually in this neighborhood in northeast Pittsburgh. They say the house and the plane exploded on impact. Everyone in the house was able to get out safely, but it's not known how many people were aboard the plane or if any of those passengers survived.

And in California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state's attorney general all calling for the courts to allow same-sex couples to marry while the Proposition 8 appeals process plays out, there. California voter approved ban on same-sex marriage was ruled unconstitutional, this week.

And high above the earth, looking live here, astronauts are on a spacewalk to fix a broken part of the International Space Station's cooling system. They're removing and replacing a pump that failed a week ago setting off warning alarms, shutting down part of the system. More top stories in 20 minutes.

Well, back to the story about banning same-sex marriage out in California. Voters in California said yes, a federal judge, as we all know, says no it's unconstitutional. Our legal guys are on the case, right now. Civil rights attorney, Avery Freidman, joining us live from Cleveland; and New York criminal defense attorney, Richard Herman, in Honolulu, Hawaii. I guess at a very early hour in Honolulu, so we appreciate that Richard and I guess because of that, why don't we go to Richard first.

What do you make of this decision out in California? Pretty interesting that, you know, the voters go one way, but a federal judge says I'm sorry California, you just have it wrong, here.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTY: And Jim, that's ultimately why this case is going to end up in the United States Supreme Court. The appeal is going to be taken to the Ninth Circuit, which is an extremely liberal circuit, so I look for them to basically rubber stamp the judge's determination, here. A hundred and thirty-six page decision, the judge made an absolute finding that the California statute violated the equal protection clause and it served no legitimate interest by precluding guys and lesbians to marry. And by doing that, he paved the way for that type of situation to occur in California.

Of course, the opposition to that is saying that we voted for this, we voted for this almost every year, if the people of the state of California want to ban this type of marriage and we want to preserve the historic definition of marriage. And that's where it's going to end up.

ACOSTA: Well, Avery is shaking his head, so I got to go to Avery. And you can't agree with Richard even when he's in Hawaii? I mean, I -- you know, honestly.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTY: No, you know what, I think you want to know why, he had to get up too early, that's why he can't see what's going on, here. Look, I actually think, respectively, of Vaughn Walker, who's the chief judge, conservative judge, chief judge, actually originally nominated by Ronal Regan, was very careful in this 136 page opinion.

ACOSTA: He sure was.

FRIEDMAN: Eighty separate findings of facts and in fact, the Ninth Circuit, at least among scholars, understand that it is a circuit that has both liberals and conservatives. No doubt it is going to the Ninth Circuit, no doubt there will be a three-judge panel reviewing this and no doubt it will probably go to all 25 federal appeals judges, because it is fact based, however, there's a real question of whether or not the Supreme Court will take the case.

ACOSTA: Well, let's switch gears and go to the mosque debate in New York. The latest there is that a NYC commission turned down landmark status for that building where they want, I guess, that Islamic center wants to go in and put in this new complex. And I guess, Richard, does this just boil down to an issue of religious freedom. You know, these folks want to go in there and build this mosque and there's just not a whole lot the government can do to stop it?

HERMAN: You know, Jim, that's three pretty much it. And you have to look at that and decipher it on either an intellectual basis or an emotional basis. And if you go emotionally and you generalize that because the people that were involved in taking down the trade centers were Islamic, therefore all Islamic are bad, therefore we cannot have this type of facility near ground zero. You know, that's the rationale for that. and that is not an intelligent or intellectual rational. If you look at it legally and I'm sure you Avery will agree with me, he and I would fight until the end of the day to allow this type of operation or a church or synagogue or any other house of worship in that area.

ACOSTA: And Avery, you're not so sure?

FRIEDMAN: Well, you know what, I appreciate everything that Richard said. The first question is it freedom of religion, the answer is obviously yes. But we need to think more deeply. Is there value in considering the sensibilities of Americans who still suffer? So, again, just because there's a right to build, doesn't mean that's necessarily the right decision. Perhaps there is value in thinking more deeply and thinking whether or not it's smart to build now.

ACOSTA: But if the government were to somehow get in the way of that mosque being built, Avery, wouldn't you have a pretty easy case arguing that in court on behalf of the people who wants to build that mosque?

FRIEDMAN: Well, I absolutely agree with Richard. I mean, this is a clear first amendment, freedom of religion issue. The case that was filed this week is really -- and again, emotionally, I think Richard made a good point. Emotionally, we understand it, firefighter who suffered, lost, almost 100 of this friends. But the argument that there wasn't enough due process by the Landmark Commission is actually bordering on frivolous. The case is going to be thrown out. ACOSTA: And Richard, let's move onto this case in Minnesota where judge freed a man who was involved in that acceleration crash with a Toyota vehicle. A lot of folks think that this may have started a lot of the attention that was being paid to Toyota and these acceleration issues. What did you make of that, was that just a strange technicality that, you know, basically got this guy loose?

HERMAN: Well, you know Jim, it restores your faith in the justice system. I mean, the guy got convicted of vehicular homicide, he claimed that the gas stuck and therefore accelerated his car to 79 miles-an-hour. He was involved in an accident. As a result of the accident, people died, his lawyer was a complete abomination and basically told the jury, well he could have stepped on the accelerator and caused the accident, so, I mean, and the guy couldn't even speak clear English. So, the judge hammered him, gave him eight years and now with the Toyota situation and the recalls of the vehicles, the judge woke up, the prosecution woke up. This gentleman's getting his life back.

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: So many years later, Avery, and you guys have seen these cases time and again, you just can't give me people years of their life back.

FRIEDMAN: Well, but you know what, that's quite true, Jim. That's exactly right. But you know what? The wonderful thing about what the judge did here is she examined the question of ineffective assist tabs of counsel. Many people go to jail because the lawyers just don't the job. The judge in this case did it right.

Interestingly enough, both experts agreed that it wasn't the defendant's fault and even the families of the victim felt that he shouldn't have gone to jail justice prevailed this week.

ACOSTA: And history is being made, today. Well, Richard, let's -- we want to switch over to Elena Kagan, because her swearing in is taking place over the next couple of hours. Three women on the Supreme Court -- that is history, right? And, I mean, what do you make of soon to be Justice Elena Kagan, Richard?

HERMAN: Amazing president, Jim. It's, you know, mark the time in history what's happening, right now. You will remember it forever, she's going to be, I think, great jurist on that bench. She's a balancing jurist. She fills in for Justice Stephens, who was pretty much ultra-liberal. She may not be as liberal as him, but she'll keep the balance there and the Obama administration is hoping that through her abilities of persuasiveness, she'll be able to exact her views on Justice Kennedy who is always the swing vote and lean towards the liberal version.

ACOSTA: And Avery, I mean, how do you think she's going to affect the makeup of this court? Is she going to have a pretty big impact?

FRIEDMAN: Yeah, you know what? She walks in with enormous intellect, an enormous ability to persuade, but let's put this in American historical perspective. For 200 years, our nation, although 53 percent female had a total percentage of zero women on the Supreme Court. And today we're looking at a chapter in American history that is just so terribly exciting and absolute wonderful. She will be a powerful effect on the Supreme Court.

ACOSTA: Well said, well said. Well you'll remain our Supreme Court here on CNN NEWSROOM. Avery Friedman and Richard Herman. And we'll all consider the possibility of moving the show to Hawaii if this keeps up, Richard.

HERMAN: Absolutely, I'm behind you, Jim. Come on. Come on, Jim.

ACOSTA: It couldn't look any better, let me tell you.

It's 98 degrees in Atlanta, so we'll defiantly take that. Richard Herman and Avery Friedman joining us live, right now, our legal guys. We'll get back to you in a little bit, so stick with us. Thanks a lot. Appreciate it, guys.

And our legal guys, as we just mentioned, will be back to talk about intrigue at the Hague. Testimony of dirty diamonds delivered in the dead of night. Supermodel Naomi Campbell appears before a war crimes tribunal. What is that all about?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Well, I just got slapped on the wrist by our meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras. I said it was 98 degrees outside in "Hotlanta" and it isn't even close. It's 84 degrees. But, you know what? That's the temperature I give any city or any place I'm at when it's just really hot outside. So, my apologies.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's OK.

ACOSTA: Please correct the record.

JERAS: A lot of people feel it, you know? It just - it feels brutal -

ACOSTA: It is.

JERAS: -- and actually the temperature on the thermometer doesn't matter all that much, does it, really? What matters is what you feel like when you're outside, and, yes, it has been brutal, but not as bad today, only 98 in Atlanta. But your heat index could get close to 98 later on this afternoon, and no heat advisory there, and that's the good news. And that's, you know, really, one of the top weather stories today is that the heat is not nearly as widespread.

It is gorgeous - literally gorgeous in the upper Midwest, the Great Lakes and northeast and mid-Atlantic, even the mid south today, and temperatures are where we should be, finally. But, don't get used to it, because it's not going to last very long, unfortunately. All the red that you see on the map here today, those are heat watches, which means we are expecting the heat to come. And, by tomorrow, some of these advisories are going to kick in, and it's going to start feeling like the triple digits again.

This is going to be a significant heat wave, and this is going to last at least into the middle part of the week. So it's going to last a while. It's going to be brutal.

Excessive heat warnings in effect for Kansas City. It's going to feel like 110 easy, we think, tomorrow afternoon, and I think Monday is going to be the peak of all of this heat.

Now, what about today? Who's got the advisories? Everybody that you see here in orange. We've got it in Oklahoma City, Dallas, Houston, over here in Savannah, up towards Charleston, Memphis under the heat advisory. There you can see it over the tri-state area here, Evansville, Indiana stretching down towards Cape Girardeau, and those of you that live there, yes, unfortunately, it's not going to get better over the rest of the week.

But please do enjoy 84 in Chicago, 79 in Boston. What's that? Not even 80 degrees. You know, I'd cry for not even 80 degrees, personally, Jim. How about you?

ACOSTA: (INAUDIBLE).

JERAS: I know.

Thunderstorms. That's another thing that we're going to be dealing with today across the southeast. So be thankful if you do get the storms because it's going to cool you down a little bit. Not really expecting anything severe here today. It's going to be the upper Midwest that we'll be watching, really, for that threat.

And then we're also watching the tropics. You know, this time of the year, things get active and we've got three different areas that we're watching. Colin, a tropical storm, weakening a little bit. It's slowed down big time today, getting close to Bermuda, we think, late tonight or tomorrow.

This area possibly could develop into Danielle, but we don't think it's going to really affect anybody and not enough time for this to develop over there into the Western Caribbean. But just to let you know, lots of balls in the air going on out the Atlantic, Jim.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. And batten down the hatches in Bermuda, I think, would not be a bad idea, right?

JERAS: Yes. You know, a tropical storm, but they could see some big wave action, certainly, and some gale-force winds and a little bit of rain.

ACOSTA: OK. OK, very good.

All right, Jacqui Jeras, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Well, who would you pick as the best fictional lawyer of them all? Atticus Finch, Perry Mason, Avery Friedman, Richard Herman? No, they're real lawyers. We will ask our great American lawyers. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Checking top stories this hour, 10 medical aid workers, including six Americans, have been gunned down in cold blood in Northeastern Afghanistan. The Taliban are claiming responsibility for Thursday's attack.

Afghan police say gun men ambushed the group on a road, seized their belongs and then shot them one by one.

Elena Kagan becomes the newest member of the Supreme Court today. She will be sworn in less than two hours from now and you can see it live, right here on CNN. The Senate confirmed her nomination Thursday, largely along party lines.

Kagan will be the fourth woman to serve on the highest court in this country's history.

Fidel Castro did something today he hasn't done in four year, address a special session of Cuba's National Assembly. We have video of him, and there you see him right there, wearing the green fatigues and not the usual running outfit that he's been seen in recent years.

The former Cuban president has largely kept out of public sight while recovering from intestinal surgery. He called the special session to focus on what he says is the danger of imminent nuclear war involving the U.S., Iran and North Korea.

Well, let's get to our celebrity cases, with our legal guys, Richard Herman and Avery Friedman ready to weigh in. Guys, I sort of feel like Mary Hart here with this lineup we got coming up in just a few moment. We got to give Mary Hart a shout out, who's retiring from "Entertainment Tonight" after all these years.

But our - our first story is Naomi Campbell. That's right, the supermodel is testifying in a trial of former Libyan - excuse me, Liberian president, Charles Taylor. Did she tie him to any crime, Richard? What in the world was Naomi Campbell doing at this kind of trial?

RICHARD HERMAN, LAW PROFESSOR: Well, it appears in the darkness of night, a knock came on her door and two gentlemen appeared with a bag, and contained in the bag were a few of the rough cut blood diamonds that we all hear about -

ACOSTA: Wow.

HERMAN: -- that are basically contraband.

Instead of keeping them and having them polished for herself, she turned them over to Jeremy Ratliff - Ratcliffe, who was involved in one of the Nelson Mandela charities, and basically said to him, look, use this to help the charity. Ratcliffe kept the diamonds himself -

ACOSTA: Oh, goodness.

HERMAN: -- and now they're going to try to tie Ratcliffe in and use his testimony for the conviction here.

ACOSTA: And, Avery, I mean, when you - when you have a supermodel walk into a war crimes trial, what - I mean, is she taken with any kind of credibility here? I mean, not that all supermodels aren't credible. Please, don't write in and call with your comments (ph).

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, actually, I think your question nailed it. It nailed it, because -

ACOSTA: Oh, good.

FRIEDMAN: -- we're dealing with the murder, torture, mutilation of tens of thousands of people.

ACOSTA: Right.

FRIEDMAN: She takes the stand, Naomi Campbell, and says, you know, this is a little bit inconvenient for me. I mean, holy smokes. I mean, her testimony wound up being utterly useless.

But the fact is there's got to be subsequent testimony, there was yesterday, tying blood diamonds to Charles Taylor, a very important human rights trial at the Hague. I think she was their star power. It meant absolutely nothing.

And I think we're looking at a - by the way, the more important issue, looking for a conviction of Mr. Taylor.

ACOSTA: Well, let's switch gears because there's also this new wrinkle in the Anna Nicole Smith saga, which, you know, never seems to end. Howard K. Stern's trial started this week. He and two doctors are charged with 22 felonies, including illegally funneling drugs to Smith.

We always wondered whether this case would ever get resolved. I suppose this takes us in that direction, perhaps, Richard?

HERMAN: Yes, it does. The main charge, conspiracy to supply Anna Nicole with illegal drugs. These are all prescription drugs. They were prescribed to her legitimately. Stern was probably one of the people involved in giving her those drugs - getting her those drugs.

The testimony came in from a witness who got crushed on cross- examination because his credibility's hugely at issue. He sold this story, contradicted himself to the tabloids. He's all over the place.

I think Stern's going to get acquitted in this case. I'd say that early one.

ACOSTA: Avery, what do you think?

FRIEDMAN: Yes. I agree. I think, basically, his argument's, look, I'm a loser. I kept getting pantsed in high school. I couldn't believe that I wound up with Anna Nicole Smith. I love her so much. It's the doctor's fault. That's his defense.

ACOSTA: And moving onto Charlie Sheen, I mean, this one really jumped out on a lot of people because what a deal Charlie Sheen reached. I mean what - this is - this would have been one and a half men, I guess, the TV show would have been one and a half men if this turned out any differently.

FRIEDMAN: That's good. Good, Jim. That's good.

ACOSTA: Thank you. I try.

He can serve jail term - his jail term in a rehab center in Malibu? Is that with or without the - the Mai Tai's? How does that work? I don't understand that, Richard. And I go to Richard because I'm thinking Mai Tai's.

HERMAN: Mai Tai. I have one for you, Jim, here.

ACOSTA: Thank you.

HERMAN: They spray his face down with Cool Water every day, give him, you know, a cocktail sub - this Promises - what is Promises? He was already there a few months ago. This is a ridiculous, unbelievable deal made by his lawyer, Yale Galanter. You got to tip your hat to him. Lindsey Lohan should have hired him to get her deal.

Unbelievable. This guy has a history. He's getting out with no prison time, you know, and - and, interesting, Justice Kagan's going to take an oath today to uphold the law whether you're rich or poor. This guy makes $2 million a session on that TV show he does. This was clearly justice for the rich.

FRIEDMAN: Richard, you got to - you got to chill, man. I mean, you got to -

Look, it was really a disproportionate sentence. It's Richard's, obviously, favorite television star, and yes, he took a walk. It was money that bought him - that bought him freedom. The average schmo in a criminal case never sees anything like this.

ACOSTA: My goodness.

Well, you know, and let's move on to another story that caught our eye this week. Former Mayor Giuliani, his daughter was nabbed for shoplifting, and I - I always hate to talk about the children of politicians because they don't choose the limelight. Their parents do.

But this is a sad story, and, I guess, what do you make of it, guys? Richard?

HERMAN: You know, it's - it's a petty larceny charge from, of all stores, Sephora, which I understand is the bible for women.

ACOSTA: Right. HERMAN: So, you know, I don't know. They didn't want to prosecute her, but it was caught on video. A call was made. The police came in. It's going to be a slap on the wrist and an ultimate dismissal for her, but -

ACOSTA: Right.

HERMAN: -- just very embarrassing for her and the family.

ACOSTA: Yes. Avery?

FRIEDMAN: Twelve -- 11,000 petty thefts in New York City every year. She's a, I think, a sophomore at Harvard University. Hopefully, it will just be a slap on the wrist. She'll learn her lesson. Very sad.

ACOSTA: And these cases are often a cry for help, correct? I mean, this - we've seen this before.

HERMAN: Absolutely right. I think you absolutely nailed it. That's right.

ACOSTA: Yes. OK. Well -

HERMAN: (INAUDIBLE) strange (ph) from Giuliani.

ACOSTA: Yes, well, let's leave this on a lighter note, because, finally, gentlemen, I understand the ABA, American Bar Association, came out last week with its greatest American fictional lawyers. Here are the top five. Let's run through these.

Number one, Paul Newman as Frank Galvin in "The Verdict". Love that movie. Jimmy Stewart as Paul Biegler - is that Biegler? Am I pronouncing that correctly? In "Anatomy of a Murder".

HERMAN: In "Anatomy of a Murder". Right.

ACOSTA: Raymond Burr, who can forget, Perry Mason. John Houseman in "The Paper Chase". And Spencer Tracy as Henry Drummond in "Inherit the Wind." Those are - those are great choices. We're leaving out Atticus Finch, of course.

But let's run through these, guys. Richard, you go first. Anything we left off the list there?

HERMAN: Well, yes. I mean, I don't see Lieutenant Kaffee, you know, the JAG attorney on, "You ordered that code red, didn't you?"

FRIEDMAN: Oh, that's a great one.

HERMAN: "Come on. Admit it. You ordered that code red."

ACOSTA: "You can't handle the truth."

HERMAN: Tom Cruise was (ph) fantastic in that.

ACOSTA: Yes. Absolutely. FRIEDMAN: "You can't handle the truth."

ACOSTA: That's perfect. And Avery, that's - that was a great one. Richard, can you top Avery's? Or Avery, can you top Richard's, I mean?

FRIEDMAN: I - I can top it. Vincent LaGuardia Gambini. On behalf of all the yutes of America. No doubt about it. What is a yute?

ACOSTA: What is a yute, indeed?

FRIEDMAN: You can't - you can't beat Joe Peschi. Absolutely spectacular.

ACOSTA: Well, guys, those are two great picks, and I have to day, those - I think you may have topped the ABA. I think both of those should have been in there.

And - and perhaps Joe Peschi may have topped you, Richard. I don't know. That's was - that was a darn good pick, Avery. I've got to give Joe Peschi a tip of the cap there.

FRIEDMAN: I don't know. A lot of fun, man. Absolutely terrific.

HERMAN: Good pick (ph).

ACOSTA: And - and Richard, we don't want to let you go without saying congratulations. We understand you are tying the knot.

HERMAN: Thank you.

ACOSTA: That is why Richard is all the way out there in Honolulu. We don't just put that set behind him to make him think he's in Honolulu. He really is in the Aloha State.

HERMAN: Right.

ACOSTA: And he's tying the knot. Our best to you.

FRIEDMAN: Yes. Congratulations. Congratulations, buddy. Absolutely.

HERMAN: Thank you, guys.

You know, Jim, Abbey (ph) from CakeWorks, the best cakes in Hawaii, saved the day, so I really appreciate it. Thank you. All my best to everyone.

ACOSTA: Oh, that's terrific. Great to hear.

I always tell people when they're getting married, always - something small always goes wrong at a wedding, so you just got to go in there, enjoy it. Sit back. Soak it all in. It's the greatest day of your life.

FRIEDMAN: Looks like - looks like Richard's in good shape. He looks like he's in good shape.

HERMAN: Oh, yes.

ACOSTA: Terrific.

Well, Richard Herman, Avery Friedman, appreciate it very much, and - and all the best to you, Richard. Have a great honeymoon and enjoy your day today.

HERMAN: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: Thanks, guys.

HERMAN: Thank you. Thank you, Jim.

FRIEDMAN: Take care, Jim. See you later.

ACOSTA: All right. Good to see you.

All right, well, moving on to stopping criminals in their tracks. It is just one click away. Josh Levs tells us how you can make your neighborhood a whole lot safer, and we could always take - take that information, can -

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: All right. How much do you know about crimes happening near you? A series of web tools is designed to keep you informed, and our Josh Levs is here to show us how it works. And this is fantastic information for people who want to know what is happening in their neighborhood.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, and I'll tell you what happened. They came up in common (ph) conversation about something else during the week, and afterwards we got so many calls and posts from people asking us to please show them how they can access this themselves, because, the truth is, not that many people are checking it out.

And this is one of the places we've been talking about. Let's see how close we can zoom in, guys. There you. It's crimereports.com. And we're closing in on Columbus, Ohio. I'll tell you why I'm using this as an example.

Everywhere you see a little box with a letter in it, that's a type of crime in that area. So for example, TV is theft from vehicle. And these are reported crimes. They don't all turn into prosecutions. But as soon as you see it, you're concerned about it, you can click "send to a friend."

You can also sign up for alerts if something goes wrong. If so - there's a new crime near you. "A" is for assault. So you can see here, you can navigate it. You can do a larger radius if you want to.

They also have an iPhone app that they talked about in this video here, which, again, as - even as you're traveling, you can read where you are versus - on GPS and it can tell you right then what's going on.

ACOSTA: That's great.

LEVS: The reason we've been using Columbus, Ohio is basically we got a story from our affiliate just the other day about a woman in this area who is now using Crime Reports to get a neighborhood watch going in her community. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE PETREE, STARTED NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH: Hey. You can arm yourselves with this weapon, so to speak, and find the information out yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: And I'll tell, as we look at this video, one thing I really liked about it also is that it is an example of developing a new concept online, right?

ACOSTA: Right.

LEVS: And the guy who's behind it, his name is Greg Whisenant. He, just a couple of months ago, testified in Congress about the importance of more and more people having access to the internet, access to broadband because that's the only way that you could move forward in the economy -

ACOSTA: Sure.

LEVS: -- if people can develop new ideas.

ACOSTA: This is a good case to make.

LEVS: Perfect example of that. You know, economically, at a time people are trying to be entrepreneurs, what do you need? You need those basic tools.

Here's part of what he told Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG WHISENANT, FOUNDER, CRIMEREPORTS.COM: Unlike other types of investment, renewed commitment to and investment in broadband is more like lowering interest rates. It is meaningful to all players and simply accelerates the timeline toward greater efficiency and innovation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: So, basically we need those tools if you're going to innovate.

I will say, just not to give all the credit to crimereports.com, a couple of other websites that do the same thing's SpotCrime.com does this as well, and CrimeMapping.com. Each works a little bit differently. And I posted links to all of them up in my Facebook page, which is JoshLevsCNN. Check it out for yourself and let us know how well it's working for you. I will tell you, it's never complete. You can't take it 100 percent. But it's very, very helpful.

ACOSTA: It's actionable (ph).

LEVS: And you've used it before, I think.

ACOSTA: I have. You know, I was just telling you before we got started with this that we've moved several times over the years. The life of a television reporter.

LEVS: Right.

ACOSTA: And every time we've moved, we've tried to see if that local city that we're moving to has this kind of crime database because it helps you in trying to figure out where you're going to live and which neighborhood to pick. So it is actually a very useful tool and people should definitely check it out. Certainly.

LEVS: And the more people get on, the more information they have, and that would get even more up to date. So definitely worth checking out.

ACOSTA: Yes.

All right. Josh Levs, thanks very much. That's great information. Appreciate it.

Well, coming up, being a pinball wizard makes you a criminal in one New York town. Say it - say it isn't so. And, yes, there's got to be a twist to the story. We'll tell you what that is, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Well, a confession to make. I don't play the video games that let you stalk and shoot your prey. So this next story is right up my alley, and yours, I hope.

CNN's Allan Chernoff takes us to a town where playing pinball is against the law. Yes, I said pinball. Playing it in this town could land you in jail.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pinball, that fun, fast, all-American game is actually against the law in this city. Sixty miles north of New York City, Beacon prohibits any type of pinball or video arcade, even the vintage kind from the 50s and 60s.

Fred Bobrow is owner of the Retro Arcade Museum. Eighteen months after opening his doors, he says he was ordered to shut them.

FRED BOBROW, OWNER, RETRO ARCADE MUSEUM: It turns out that they were able to prevent me from operating by enforcing an arcane law that bans pinballs in the town of - in the town of Beacon, pinball arcades. And the fine is $1,000 a day or jail.

CHERNOFF: Beacon isn't the only city to have outlawed pinball. Believe it or not, the game was banned from the early 1940s to the mid-70s in most of America's big cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Lawmakers believed pinball was a mafia-run racket and a waste of time for impressionable youth.

GEORGE MANSFIELD, COUNCILMAN, CITY OF BEACON: Arcades in the '70s may have represented something, you know, maybe that a community wouldn't want on their main street or that would attract the bad, you know, kids or whatever.

CHERNOFF: Many local officials insist, Bobrow's Retro Arcade Museum is a good fit with Beacon and believe this unique business, part museum, part entertainment center, has the potential to draw visitors to the area.

For the past two months, the Beacon City Council has been considered a change in the law.

MAYOR STEVE GOLD, CITY OF BEACON, NEW YORK: The legislative process really does take its time, and council's really looked very closely at all of the letters of the law and look ahead to the future. It's a process that usually can't be done very quickly because we want to do right rather than do it, you know, right away.

CHERNOFF: But movement to rewrite the law has been slow and could come too late to save this pinball wizard and his business.

BOBROW: The town is on their own timeline that doesn't coincide with business. Business, you have to be open every day.

I'm shutting this machine off.

CHERNOFF: Allan Chernoff, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: I've got a question. If you go to jail for playing pinball, can you post bail with quarters? I mean, it's just a question. I don't know.

Anyway, a programming reminder for you today. Elena Kagan becomes the newest member of the Supreme Court. At 2:00 today she will be sworn in, and you can see it live right here on CNN. Kagan will be the fourth woman to ever sit on the nation's highest court.

And stay with CNN throughout the day for the latest breaking news. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.