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U.S. Envoy Holbrooke in Critical Condition; L.A. Dodgers Ownership Limbo; Jim Morrison Pardoned Forty One Years Later; U.S. Military Takes Steps Towards Stronger Security Measures to Stop Leaks; Face-to-Face With Steve Harvey
Aired December 11, 2010 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: CNN NEWSROOM continues with me, Deb Feyerick. The country's top diplomat to Afghanistan and Pakistan is in critical condition in a Washington hospital. Richard Holbrooke fell ill during a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Doctors, this morning, completed surgery to repair a torn aorta.
CNN's Jill Dougherty joins us on the phone.
Jill, what do we know?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Deb, you know, that obviously is a very serious thing, a tear in his aorta, he is in the hospital, that hospital, George Washington University Hospital, by the way, is right down the street from the State Department.
And this happened yesterday, Friday morning, when he was at meetings up on the 7th floor of the State Department where the major offices, including Hillary Clinton's office is located. And he went to the hospital and then, of course, surgery ensued. And his family is there now.
You know, I think some of our viewers and people on the Web site would know him best for brokering that peace agreement among the warring factions in Bosnia, back in 1995, it led to the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, and that's really his claim to fame.
But most recently he's been the special adviser, special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan for President Obama and for Hillary Clinton. And that has been, as you can imagine, very intense for the past couple of years, traveling to the region, sometimes in very remote locations.
And now they are putting together that Afghanistan policy review that should be out next week, assessing the surge. So a very intense time for him. He is 69 years old. And really one of the key foreign policy people in this administration.
FEYERICK: Jill, you've known him for a long time. Has he had a history of medical problems? My understanding is no. So this clearly was sudden I seems. What do you know? DOUGHERTY: Well, I understand there might have been some heart issues before, but he's a very vigorous person. He's very tall, very impressive, physically and he was seen by some members of the media shortly before this happened. So he was very much in the fray working right up until this last minute.
You know, when you think of diplomats, I have to say, the impression sometimes is these pinstriped suits and a lot of cocktail parties and receptions, but Holbrooke really is the muscle, you know, the brain power and the muscle behind the pinstriped suit. He's the person that does the deals. And when he did the Dayton Peace Accords, that was a major accomplishment.
So, when they invited him to come back and urged him to come back at the administration, at that age he wouldn't want to do that, but certainly he was a person who could really put together that policy. And he is the creator of this AFPAK, as it is referred to sometimes, Afghanistan, Pakistan policy.
FEYERICK: All right, Jill, thank you so much. Certainly, 70 years old, boots on the ground kind of guy, in critical condition, his family at his side.
Breaking news now, another story from New York. Convicted swindler, Bernie Madoff's son Mark, has been found hanged in his Manhattan, apartment. His death, an apparent suicide. Our Susan Candiotti is with us now from New York.
Susan, what are you learning?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's some additional information now that we have learned that Mark Madoff, that's the son of Bernie Madoff, as you indicated, was found at about 7:30 this morning, his body discovered according to law enforcement officials, by specifically his father-in-law.
And what has happened authorities say, is this, that they -- he was discovered hanging from a pipe from his living room ceiling and that a black dog leash was tied around his neck, all this while Mark Madoff's 2-year-old son was asleep in the bedroom and the son is fine.
Evidently his wife, Mark Madoff's wife, was not home at the time, but had been in Florida. Evidently, according to police, before he apparently hung himself he sent an e-mail, Mark Madoff sent an e-mail to his wife saying that someone should check on the 2-year-old son.
At that point she evidently contacted the -- her father and he came over to the apartment and made the discovery and called authorities. So, right now there's a crime scene there while authorities look, as a matter of course, to determine the circumstances surrounding his death.
Coincidentally, this apparent suicide comes on the second anniversary of Bernie Madoff's arrest in New York. Of course, right now, he is serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to bilking investors of billions and billions of dollars. His son, Mark, has never been charged with any crime.
Back to you.
FEYERICK: And not only has he not been charged, though, this week, according to "The Wall Street Journal," Irving Picard, a lawyer who's representing so many families, actually slapped him with another lawsuit saying that, in fact, Bernie Madoff had transferred funds not only to Mark Madoff and also Andrew, Mark Madoff never recovering from the disgrace of what his father did. And in fact, we're -- according to "The Wall Street Journal," had lost contact. They had not spoken in two years. Moving on to --
(CROSSTALK)
Oh, go ahead, Susan.
CANDIOTTI: I was going to say obviously all of that will be part of what they are looking into as to what led up to this, but clearly the family has been troubled for quite a long time. I did ask whether any kind of note had been left, a message had been left and so far police are still looking into that.
FEYERICK: OK, Susan Candiotti, thank you so much. We'll check in a little later, find out whether the medical examiner is on scene.
Moving on, those closest to Elizabeth Edwards and people who never met her, today they were gathering in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her funeral is said to begin in an hour at the church where she and her family worshipped. Edwards was 61 when she died Tuesday after a public six-year battle with cancer. Martin Savage is at the church.
Marty, what is going? What are we expecting?
MARTIN SAVAGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Deborah, as you say, the funeral service expected to get underway about an hour from now and you can anticipate that the United Methodist Church, here in downtown Raleigh is going to be filled to absolute capacity.
There's a light, chilly rain that's begun to fall, but that hasn't diminished the crowds of people that are lining up. Many of the crowd inside the church, of course, is going to be connected to the realm of politics. That would be natural with John Edwards, of course, her husband. She was also very much part of his political campaigns for president.
But on top of that there are going to be a lot of strangers, just a lot of people who are motivated and moved because of her life experiences and especially how she was able to handle the negatives, the downturns in her life. Not to mention the cancer, of course, which she was diagnosed with in 2004, it went into remission and came back in 2007 and that's what she died of earlier this week.
As she handled that, she was an inspiration to many people, with the courage, but most openly an outspokenness of handling this disease. Then on top of that, of course, the death of her teenage son at the age of 16 and the infidelity of her husband. All of those have been issues that she has had to deal with quite publicly. Most people would deal with them with a deep sense of personal realm. She had to deal with it under the scorching, searing light of the public spotlight and that's why many people considering her a hero, that's why they want to be here, today.
There are also protesters, the Westboro Baptist Church; they're notorious, coming out of Kansas. They are more commonly known for demonstrating at funerals of service people killed in the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan, they're here. Only five members, actually, counter- protesters, right now, they're numbering, as I look down the street, about 150 to 200. They're clearly out of visual view of anybody coming to the funeral service, here -- Deborah.
FEYERICK: OK, Marty, thank you so much. And just, according to the rundown, it does not look like her husband will be speaking, but f course her three children will be there, as well. We'll check in with you a little later. And for those of you at home, stay with us, we're going to be bringing you live coverage of Elizabeth Edwards funeral beginning at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, that's right here on CNN.
And next, CNN's Fredricka Whitfield comes face-to-face with funnyman, Steve Harvey. She finds out what relationship advice, that's right, relationship advice, the entertainer is giving to women who think they intimidate men. That's coming up, right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: A 12-year-old kidnap victim, last seen in Virginia is found safe in California. The story top our look across-country, this morning. Police in San Francisco say an alert shopper tipped them off Brittany Smith was seen at this area supermarket.
Also seen with her was the girl's accused kidnapper, Jeffrey Scott Easley, who once dated the girl's deceased mother. The body of Tina Smith was found Monday. Police say they'll question Easley about the mother's death.
In Escondido, California, bomb experts are sifting through a ashes of a house they intentionally burned to the ground Thursday. It was full of homemade explosives. They want to make sure there's nothing toxic left.
And from Detroit, the parents of Josh Tolen come face-to-face their 9-year-old boy helped save by donating his organs. Kidney recipient, Jake Roedell personally thanked Dan and Ranelle Tolan for Josh's lifesaving donation. CNN affiliate, WDIV reports Josh will be honored by the Gift of Life Float in the upcoming Rose Bowl Parade. Certainly, very brave and very emotional.
And Bonnie Schneider, snow and frigid temperatures across the country. Boy, we thought winter would never come, now it is here with a vengeance.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Deb, and just, you know, we had the Arctic blast last week, and then we're slowly recovering. Well guess what, it's back again for more. So, snow and bitterly cold temperatures with a fierce wind-chill that will plummet into the negative 20s. The negative 20s, that's how we'll feel in Minnesota, tonight.
(WEATHER REPORT)
FEYERICK: Thanks, so much and hopefully I'll be getting home to New York tomorrow and not be keeping my fingers crossed while sitting on the tarmac. OK, so now we're going to take a look at Fredricka Whitfield's fascinating look at a funnyman who has some very serious things to say to women.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: "Face to Face" with Steve Harvey.
The 53-year-old multi-talented mega star, just wanted to be a standup comedian, now he's everywhere, hosting television's "Family Feud," leading national youth mentoring programs and turning his radio talk show into a no holds barred couples counseling session. With a colossal first printing of 750,000 copies, his latest book "Straight Talk, No Chaser" is just that, straight talk.
Face to face, Harvey tells me he wrote this with women readers in mind and has this message for those who seem convinced they intimidate men.
STEVE HARVEY, COMEDIAN AND AUTHOR: I thought I had said it all, but I discovered something along the way about women. Women are the absolute best. Man, once women get to digging around and asking questions, there's no one better on planet earth.
So, I had written this book and I thought I've covered everything, this will straighten it out and women at these seminars, I'd have -- I was at Essence, and the seminar had 6,000 women in it. I was just at a seminar in New York, 2,000 women, I was going, wow. And I passing out cards, but the questions in the seminars were going deeper into the pages, much deeper and they were more inquisitive than I had given them credit for.
WHITFIELD: They wanted to know things like you devote this one section to myth. They want to know why men don't like -- or why women are intimidated by strong women or successful women.
HARVEY: Right. I explained to them, that's a myth. You all create To make yourself feel better about yourselves. You all came up with the term that we intimidate men because we're independent and we're strong.
No man is -- there's not a man living afraid of you. I mean, look, it's like this, it feels good to say that. It empowers you. It gives you the credit that you deserve. You've earned a degree, you've got a great position in corporate America, you're climbing the ladder, you're successful. OK, cool. So, when you say, I intimidate men, well, that makes you feel good. Truth of the matter is that may very well not be the case at all.
And as I talk to friends of mine, the real deal behind, is it really that the man is intimidated or he is ashamed that maybe he hasn't quite gotten himself to the point that he wishes to be at this stage in life and you have. And now when he meets you, this gorgeous woman, like yourself, and he's sitting across from you and wants to say something to you but, wow, I don't really have it together myself. Let me back up.
Now, there's something you can do with that, right there. But if it's "I intimidate him" and you walk around thinking a guy is scared of you. You just killed probably a great guy. The guy ain't scared of you. Please understand.
WHITFIELD: More "Face to Face" with funnyman and author, Steve Harvey, next the answer to the age old question tackled in the popular iconic movie "When Harry Met Sally," can men and women just be friends?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: Well, we will certainly look forward to that.
Also, should WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, be prosecuted in America? What would the charges be? Our legal guys will be talking about that and much, much more. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: Checking our top stories, authorities say seven people believed to be civilians died in a NATO Afghan military operation, Saturday. Officials say forces were trying to arrest a suspected insurgent and accidentally killed seven construction workers. An Afghan deputy provincial government said the insurgent was arrested, an investigation is underway to look into the civilian deaths.
Elizabeth Smart said she would like to be a prosecutor; her comments after a Utah jury convicted her kidnapper and rapist. Brian David Mitchell had claimed insanity, but jurors rejected that defense. Smart says she's thrilled with the verdict. Mitchell is expected to be sentenced to life in prison in May.
An Auburn quarterback, Cam Newton, is expected to receive the Heisman Trophy, tonight. But his father will not be at the ceremony. The NCAA found Cecil Newton committed a violation by seeking $100,000 from Mississippi State for his son to play there. Cam Newton ended up at Auburn. The NCAA determined he had no knowledge of his father's dealings.
Now that WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange is in a British jail, some people want to prosecute him in America. Well, let's see what our fabulous legal guys have to say. Civil rights attorney, Avery Friedman is in Cleveland. Criminal defense attorney Richard Herman is in New York.
Well, Avery, let's start with you. First of all, Julian Assange, what crime could the government get him on, specifically because, frankly he leaked the documents, he did not steal the documents? So, what are they going to get him on?
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Under the 1917 Espionage Act, there's authority that he can be prosecuted not if he didn't steal them, but rather if he was part of the gathering process.
So, therefore there is some legal theory upon which the government is now exploring, it was ordered by Eric Holder, the attorney general, and we'll see if the 1917 law, as well as other sections of the U.S. code, can be used to prosecute, because you can't extradite unless you charge him. He hasn't been charged, yet.
FEYERICK: Now Richard, you were shaking your head. So, clearly you do not agree with that position.
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, I respectfully disagree with what Avery just said. Deb, in the Pentagon Papers case in "The New York Times" in 1971, during the Vietnam war the United States Supreme Court clearly held that in order to preemptively prevent the publication of information, of sensitive information, you need to show it's unconstitutional. It's the same thing, here. There's no way the United States can prosecute this guy. If they do, it's a travesty.
Under the Espionage Act which failed in 1971 in "The "New York Times" case, with the Pentagon Papers, it will fail again here, too. They have to show a specific intent by Assange to work with other foreign powers to disclose sensitive, private information about the United States. They can't do it. They don't have the case and if they try to extradite him under the Espionage Act, it's really a travesty. It's an embarrassment to the United States, what's going on. But look, five months ago we saw this coming. Congress did nothing about it, nobody has done anything about it and right now there is no legitimate prosecution against him.
FEYERICK: Well Avery, it's interesting, because even Attorney General Holder has been dancing around the topic. There's nothing, it seems, that can really get his hands around it. It's like a slippery fish. How do you get a guy who is being looked at for other crimes, specifically the interaction he had with several women, how do not make it look completely political.
If they had something, don't you think at least we have a better understanding of whether he is going to be accused of something? I mean, it doesn't take that long. They clearly would have to be careful. I'm not trying to dismiss that, but you know, if they had something, chances are they'd be getting him on it.
FRIEDMAN: Well, I think that they can. I think actually you nailed the issue, because you got to charge in order to extradite. Well, this Tuesday the U.K. is going to extradite Assange to Sweden. So, the question is can we get him back to the United States from Sweden? Believe it or not there was a treaty that was passed in 1963. The problem is that it's a treaty for common crimes. If Sweden believes it's a political form of behavior, which it clearly is, Sweden is unlikely to extradite. So, even if holder can solidify his theory, Deb, it's unlikely that we will ever get him back here to the United States, ever.
FEYERICK: OK, we're going to switch gears a little bit. I know Richard you're shaking your head, but I'm going to give you the first answer on this next topic and that is New York City taxi drivers, a lot of them feel unsafe now, after a very public shooting in New York City. The shooter captured on camera, pulling the trigger. Taxi drivers now say they want to be able to profile. That if there's somebody they simply don't feel safe with that they needn't pick him up and yet, they're licensed. Is that legal?
HERMAN: Well, you know, I think "Guns and Roses" wrote that, "Welcome to the Jungle" to New York City. I mean, it's dangerous driving a cab around New York City, it really is. and there's about 300 attacks against taxi drivers per month in New York City. So, recently when someone got shot, when a cabdriver got shot, the president of the taxi federation stepped up and said, look, guys, you've got to protect yourselves, you're going to have to profile in some manner in order to protect your safety. And so while the general profiling --
FRIEDMAN: He said racial, he didn't say general.
HERMAN: He said black and Hispanic. I understand. He said black and Hispanic.
FEYERICK: Well Avery, let me ask you this question. Is it racist? A lot of the drivers themselves are ethnic. Is it racist -- Avery.
FRIEDMAN: Yes, of course it's racist. The question is, is it legal? And that's what's important here. There are federal, state, local, public accommodations, laws that would make that lawful. If the city of New York participates with the union, to Mr. Mateo in directing his drivers to engage in racial profiling, not general, they're in trouble, there's civil conspiracy claims. Somebody better get their act together in New York. No one is minimizing the violence, but to suggest that 99 percent of crimes, murders are committed by blacks and Hispanics, which is exactly what the union guy said, is a real outrage. Something has to be done about that.
FEYERICK: Well, it's certainly very tricky and -- go ahead, Richard, last comment.
HERMAN: Yes, that was a real generalization, a horrible statement to make, but if you drive through certain crime areas late at night. I mean, you're a driver and Deb, you've seen it in New York City, those guys go by with lights on, they don't even stop. I mean, that's what's going to happen, here. They're absolutely going to profile to protect themselves.
FEYERICK: Certainly is the kind of job where you do have to exercise common sense, as well. but we want to move on. I want to talk about Wal-Mart, because this is very significant, first of all the issue, the suit against Wal-Mart, do these women have a chance of succeeding? Avery, let me toss it to you quickly?
FRIEDMAN: Very quickly, it isn't what the Supreme Court is going to decide. That goes back to the trial court. What the Supreme Court decided to do is whether or not six women can represent 15 million. The Supreme Court is likely to say, and I hate to say, they are likely to deny it. That means there would have to be 1.5 million separate cases. That's going to blow it up.
FEYERICK: Well, Richard, what do you think is the kind of impact that this has on Wal-Mart, from a litigation perspective. Do you think this takes Wal-Mart down? Do you think it's a major statement? How do you describe it?
HERMAN: Actually, it helps Wal-Mart if the class is not certified, so they can deal with these things individually. However, I don't agree with Avery. I think the Supreme Court is going to approve this. Judge Sotomayor recently granted an eight million class suit. This is only 1.5, I think they've got a good chance of getting certification, here.
FEYERICK: OK, so it sound like -- I know --
FRIEDMAN: You'll see, it won't happen.
FEYERICK: OK, so Avery's prediction is bye-bye class action. Richard, maybe it will happen. OK, gentlemen. Thanks very much.
HERMAN: It helps Wal-Mart if it doesn't.
FEYERICK: Always a pleasure to speak with both of you. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon.
We're now going to turn to Elizabeth Edwards, a political wife and mother and lawyer who courageously who fought cancer and put on a very brave front when her marriage collapsed. Today, her friends are celebrating her life.
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FEYERICK: This country's top diplomat to Pakistan and Afghanistan is in critical condition in a Washington hospital. Richard Holbrooke fill ill yesterday during a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Doctors completed a surgery to repair a torn aorta.
CNN's Sanjay Gupta joins us on the phone. Sanjay, thank you so much.
First of all, from the description out there, it sounds like he gasped, got up and walked from the room. What does that suggest to you?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, you know, someone who has something like that, sort of sudden pain in the chest area. There are lots of different things that were probably being considered at the time. Just that piece of information you worry about, whether this is some sort of problem with the heart, some sort of problem with the lungs.
In this case, what it turns out to be is something a little less common, which is a tearing of one of the layers of the walls of the aorta. The aorta, Deborah, is the major blood vessel that takes blood away from the heart.
There are three layers. Normally the blood flows inside those three layers. Sometimes blood can sort of trickle or dissect into and between those layers and that's exactly what this aortic dissection or aortic tear typically means.
FEYERICK: Is this something that can be picked up on a routine cardiogram for example or does it happened suddenly? How does it usually occur?
GUPTA: It typically happens very suddenly and you know, this is different from a problem that people typically think of with the heart where some of the blood vessels going to the heart become blocked. This is not that.
This is a situation that you may not have advanced notice of. It is typically associated with blood pressure. It typically occurs in men between the ages of 50 and 70. So I don't know Ambassador Holbrooke's previous medical history, but my guess is hypertension, high blood pressure may have been something that he had in the past. That's one of the biggest risk factors for this.
FEYERICK: Is there -- what are some of the other potential complications? For example, is there a clot? Is there a possibility that some damage could have been done to the brain for example?
GUPTA: Great question and you know, the biggest concern in this situation is that the blood that typically is leaving the heart and going to other places in the body may not be doing that as well, because it's sort of instead going into the aorta itself, into these layers of the aorta. That may be a problem getting to other places in the body, the brain, but also organs in the abdomen.
We don't know enough right now to know exactly where this tear occurred. Was it right close to the heart, was it further along done the aorta. That would determine what, if any, other side effects would occur. My understanding, Deborah, and we've been listening to your reporting, is that he's had an operation now to try and fix that.
That typically involves bringing layers of the aorta back together so that no further dissection can occur. If that's done quickly and the aorta is intact, meaning it hasn't opened up, that can be a very good procedure and you know, can take care of the problem.
FEYERICK: OK. Sanjay, thank you so much. We will definitely continue to keep everyone posted and we'll check back with you a little later on. A packed church expected in Raleigh, North Carolina, as family and friends of Elizabeth Edwards gathered to say goodbye. The wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards died Tuesday after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Our national political correspondent Jessica Yellin joins me from Washington. Elizabeth Edward, I'm reading her book "Resilience" right now. She really made an impact in her 61 years, didn't she?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: She really did, Deb and for so long she was a model for other Americans who have gone through a lot of suffering and how to suffer in public gracefully and sort of be open about it. She didn't keep her personal travail, private.
And of course, we know how many came into public view in later years and she went through so much especially in these last three years when she learned all at once that her cancer had reoccurred, that it would probably be fatal, and, then of course, this devastating news of her husband.
But she taught us all about how to speak openly and teach your family how to deal with these issues. For that reason she's a real model to many Americans.
FEYERICK: She really is and she seemed to always overcome or at least be able to deal with the things that came her way really with elegance and grace. She knew this was coming. We were told she was taken of the sort of cancer drugs and then the next day she passed away. Did she plan her own funeral?
YELLIN: So the guidance I'm getting from the people close to her is that she was involved to some extent, but she didn't map out the specific details of, for example, who would speak and when. One thing she wanted was that she was adamant it be open to the public so that anybody who wanted to could come and participate.
It is today open to the public and you know, one of the big things we've all noted -- taken note of is that she'll have a friend -- two friends and her daughter speak, but, of course, her husband John Edwards is not speaking. I'm told that wasn't her decision. It was a decision of the family, because, essentially, you know, we can interpret that if he were speaking the story would largely be about him and the drama.
This is a day to celebrate and remember Elizabeth Edwards. They want to keep the focus on her. Deb, I'd also point out that among the people the pall bearers who've been chosen today is Cate, their oldest daughter's fiancee, but also four childhood friends of Wade, their son, who died when he was a teenager and somebody they spoke of often.
You know, they have three living children, but Elizabeth Edwards would always say I'm the mother of four so four of his friends will be participants in the funeral today, Deb.
FEYERICK: Which is really remarkable and also shows certainly her integrity and love for her son. She had written in her book, death looks different for someone who placed a child in the ground. So we will definitely continue to keep an eye on the funeral, keep it right here for live coverage of Elizabeth Edwards' funeral. It will be in about 20 minutes and Jessica, we're going to check in with you as well. Thanks so much.
Well, an unusual question in a California divorce case, who gets custody of the Los Angeles Dodgers. That's a question for our legal guys to field. That's coming up just ahead.
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FEYERICK: Well, one of the most legendary teens in baseball is caught in the middle of a divorce case. A judge threw out an agreement that gave Frank McCourt sole ownership of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Lawyers for his ex-wife claim that effectively makes her the co-owner.
Well, we're going to bring our legal guys back. Civil Rights attorney Avery Freidman is in Cleveland and criminal defense attorney Richard Herman is in New York. I know I told you guys you could go, but we changed our minds.
HERMAN: Trying to get rid of us, Deb.
FREIDMAN: It's not that easy.
FEYERICK: Of course. Well, listen, I'm going to start with you, Richard, on this one. First of all, in New York it's all about Derek Jeter, in Los Angeles, it's about the McCourts and who is going to get the Dodgers. What did the judge say this week, Richard?
HERMAN: The judge basically said that this sort of prenuptial agreement that was drafted before they get married relinquishing any claim the wife may have had toward the Dodgers, that's gone. I don't acknowledge it. I don't agree with it.
So basically what the court has said is this is up for grabs. However, what the Senior McCourt is saying, listen, I owned the Dodgers before I got married. Therefore, it should not be community property. Meanwhile, Mrs. McCourt is putting together an investment team to wrest it from him and buy the Dodgers. Up in the air, months and months, maybe a year plus until this is decided.
FEYERICK: Well, Avery, what are we talking about here? First of all, how much is it worth? But also there is the issue, how does that come into play if he did own it before?
FREIDMAN: Well, the value of the team is somewhere between $800 million and $1.1 billion. So there's a lot of money on the line. Frank McCourt takes a very interesting position. He said, look, this agreement may have said that I wasn't the sole owner, but I owned the team before I ever married Jamie so it really doesn't matter.
He's actually threatening an appeal. While Richard and I have agreed on absolutely nothing today, I'll bet he'll agree that with this ruling by Judge Scott Gordon, that increases the likelihood of these parties getting together, resolving the case. The winners in that if it happens are the ball players.
FEYERICK: Yes, well, definitely high stakes in that. Let's turn now to Howard Stern. OK, he just signed another contract with his radio deal. What's so interesting is that he continues to be as outrageous as ever, as funny to listen to, as risque, and yet the FCC still seems not to go after him. What has changed? Avery, why are they kind of not going after him?
FREIDMAN: Because there's no law. Since 1934, the Federal Communications Act has governed the practices of owners and stations and Congress has had an opportunity to change that law. The FCC has likewise had a chance to change it.
Back in 2004, they pondered regulating cable and regulating satellite. You know what, Deb, they didn't. So the bottom line is Howard can get out and do whatever he wishes to do and he's going to continue to attract millions and millions of listeners by doing that.
FEYERICK: Richard, do you think the FCC should try to get some control, if that's what their mission is supposed to be?
HERMAN: No. Avery is right. XM is not licensed by the FCC so there is no jurisdiction and trust me, the execs over at XM Radio. They're wiping their brow this week that their pot of gold, their Derek Jeter resigned with them because they need him. He's the moneybag right there.
FEYERICK: OK, and we're going to end on Jim Morrison, now would he have been blown away to find out that he's been pardoned. Would he care? Richard?
HERMAN: In the end, the riders on the storm reached out and touched him. They proved they loved him madly and lit his fire. A posthumous pardon in Florida, he's OK to come back to Florida now.
FEYERICK: Exactly. Avery, your thoughts.
FREIDMAN: Yes, Charlie Crist is so nice. He said, you know, that the family is suffering, but interestingly enough Patricia, his wife, objected, if you can believe this, Deb, to the pardon. Again, Richard identified three songs. I think the song that applies to his wife is "You're So Strange."
It's a wonderful victory for the family. There was a real question of the evidence. To be honest with you, to answer your question, I don't think Jim Morrison could have cared less, but it's a fait accompli, it's what Charlie Crist wanted to do. It's done.
HERMAN: Avery, it was five songs I gave. In the meantime, they say he exposed himself in an open arena concert in Florida, Deb, and yet not one picture could show any evidence of the exposure. It was ridiculous case --
FREIDMAN: You got a song. You got a title for that one. FEYERICK: Yes. But again, it was also before digital cameras, you know, before everybody had a cell phone, Blackberry, everything else. I'm sure those pictures would have been --
HERMAN: Those Kodak. Those little Kodak --
FEYERICK: Yes, but not everybody carried them. Gentlemen, thank you so much. Always fun and always a pleasure to have you on. Take it easy, guys.
All right. Now, the eternal question, can women and men be just friends? Comedian turned relationship expert Steve Harvey says, no, they can't. He explains why in a face-to-face conversation with CNN's Fredricka Whitfield. That is coming up after the break and you won't want to miss it.
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FEYERICK: The U.S. military is taking action to try to stop new leaks, this comes after WikiLeaks began publishing thousands of classified documents taken from the Pentagon's secret network. Josh Levs is here with details -- Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Deb, this is really interesting. Yes, we know the government has condemned the leaks. The Pentagon has condemned the leaks all along. Private First Class Bradley Manning had said that he downloaded hundreds of thousands of files from the Defense Department's computer network and then put them on a CD marked Lady Gaga. That's how all those files got out.
Now reporting we're on CNN.com from "Wired" magazine that the military is telling troops to stop using things like CDs and DVDs and other types of removable media on the computer network. I got a quote for you here. Take a look at this.
It's a cyber control order directing troops to immediately cease use of removable media on all systems, servers and stand alone machines. Now this report, this growing fear of what some are referring to as a possible cyber war, you know, hackers out there infiltrating more and more sites, particularly businesses or people speak out against these kinds of leaks.
In recent days,, the web sites of Visa and MasterCard were hacked apparently by a group of hackers calling themselves anonymous. After those corporations stopped processing donations to WikiLeaks, that's when it happened. The former chief security office from MySpace spoke to us about this problem in the newsroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEMU NIGAM, FOUNDER, SSP BLUE: Visa and MasterCard you would expect pretty strong defenses, and the fact that these folks have been able to take them down is really a wakeup call. In essence, it's a red alert situation for any company who decides or any individual or any web site or any government agency who says we're going to turn your back on the crusade you are doing. We don't agree with you. If you say that, you have to worry whether or not your web site will be attacked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: So basically you've got the military has been taking new steps, private companies taking new steps and individuals taking new steps. I will tell you. Internet experts, security experts have told us that they don't think these WikiLeaks-related attacks constitute a cyber war.
But it's also nebulous what a cyber war would be. In fact, there's a headline right here where we talk to you about this is WikiLeaks engaged in cyber war? There's one here written by experts who says, why WikiLeaks hackers are a glitch not a cyber war.
I've posted all these for you online. Take a look at my pages, Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN. You can weigh in on the latest in this effort to protect computers whether it's the military or businesses nationwide. We obviously will be following this step by step.
FEYERICK: All right, Josh. Thanks so much and it's an impossible crime to stop simply because it's an internal crime. So that's a difficulty.
Now CNN's Fredricka Whitfield comes "Face to Face" with comedian Steve Harvey who is delivering straight talk instead of punch lines in his new book on relationships. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Remember in the classic movie "When Harry Met Sally" and the character played by Billy Crystal said, men and women can't be friends? Well, hugely popular syndicated radio and talk show host Steve Harvey agrees in a big way.
In his latest book on relationships, "Straight Talk No Chaser" Harvey tells me face-to-face why women who think he's just a friend are delusional. It's kind of frank talk is why expectations are high, but straight talk will rival his first breakthrough best seller.
So where this come from --
STEVE HARVEY, ENTERTAINER/AUTHOR: I mean, it's a blessing, true enough, but really it was just me sitting down being honest. All my friends are men. I don't have female friends. I don't. I'm incapable of that?
WHITFIELD: Why? What do you mean?
HARVEY: Well, because, you know -
WHITFIELD: Because you have a wife?
HARVEY: Well, I have a wife and I don't really have female friends because, look -- OK.
WHITFIELD: I want to know why.
HARVEY: OK, let me tell you this. Let's get rid of the myths. You're an attractive woman. There's some guy somewhere saying, yes, we're friends. No, that's not true. He's your friend only because you have made it absolutely clear that nothing else is happening except this friendship we have.
We remain your friends in hopes that one day there will be a crack in the door, a chink in the armor, trust and believe that guy you think is just your buddy, he will slide in that crack the moment he gets the opportunity because we're guys.
WHITFIELD: You think most men think this way?
HARVEY: Ninety-nine point nine percent of us think that way. You tell this to a woman and it blows her back. No, I have male friends. You have male friends because they know it can be nothing else right now.
I'll tell you what, all your male friends just ask them in a friendly way, if I wanted to date you, would you be OK with that and watch the fireworks. Watch. I'm telling you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: More "Face to Face" with Fredricka and Steve Harvey, up next, the funny man turned relationship expert elaborates on how his new book "Straight Talk No Chaser" may help women get the most truthful answers out of a man.
And stay with CNN. The funeral of Elizabeth Edwards is about to begin.
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