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Demonstrations Continue, Unrest Affects United States, Wisconsin Budget Battle, GOP-led House Passes Spending Measure; Violence Spreading in Libya; Berlusconi Sex Scandal; Atlanta Foster Homes Credited With Saving Hundreds to Close After 40 Years; Math and Science Teachers Wanted; Unrest In Mideast, North Africa; Wisconsin Battles Budget

Aired February 19, 2011 - 12:00   ET

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

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Well, from Algeria to the Persian Gulf, another day of protests. Demonstrators are on the march once again demanding a bigger voice in the way they're governed. Violent confrontations in a number of those places, the death toll climbing. But in Bahrain, a dramatic turn of events, protesters there are now celebrating. CNN's Rima Makati is on the phone from Pearl Square in Bahrain's capitol -- Rima.

RIMA MAKATI, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well Martin, it's a dramatic change of moods. Yesterday, there was blood being shed here, but today it's parties, celebrations, speeches, people happy. I do not see any police officers around, nor the military, and I see people getting ready to spend the night here. Blankets all over on the floor, people sitting down, talking, chatting and (INAUDIBLE) it looks like those protesters are planning to stay here all the night.

SAVIDGE: Rima, what triggered this turnabout?

MAKATI: Well, the speech given by the crown prince today and the orders, the military to withdraw and to the police and allow the protesters to just express themselves and be in Pearl Square without any violence against them.

Now, the opposition is considering the next step, as we are speaking, there are meetings happening and the coming days will decide how far this will go, and if the opposition will sit on the same table with the regime, royalty and the government and discuss some solutions.

SAVIDGE: And, Rima, as a result of them sort of stepping back a bit there, are the protesters still demanding that the royal family step down?

MAKATI: They want the government to step down. Among the protesters, we hear slogans like, "we want the king to leave, we want the government to change, we want more rights, we want to be more involved in the rule and in the regime." However, when I talk to opposition members, they said they want this government to go, and they are ready to meet with the royal court and with the conference and discuss solutions and more involvement in the political regime.

SAVIDGE: And is it clear that the protesters, or those leading the protesters, do they have a specific plan or are they sort of playing it day by day?

MAKATI: Well, some parts of these demonstrations are spontaneous, some parts of it, but these demonstrations are by political parties, they are mainly strong Shiite parties and they have certain demands. They want a government elected by the people, a parliament, powerful and elected by the people, and they want a constitutional monarchy. They want more to the right, they want more better living conditions and more jobs.

SAVIDGE: Rima Makati for CNN joining us from Bahrain, thanks very much. We'll stay in touch with you.

In Libya there are reports of a surging death toll as protesters spent their anger at Muammar Gaddafi. A doctor in Bingazi, Libya's second largest city, tells CNN that helicopters fired at demonstrators, today. He says the city is effectively under siege. A human rights group says that security forces have killed at least 84 people across Libya during these protests. That number has not been confirmed by CNN.

And a deadly confirmation today in Yemen's capitol, hundreds of anti and pro-government protestors clashed at Sanaa University. Witnesses and a local human rights group there say the gunshots were fired into the crowd killing at least one person. Several others were wounded. The protests in Yemen are now in their ninth day.

And the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa could have a serious impact, of course, on the United States. A number of issues affecting every single American in play here from the war on terror to the price of oil. Here's CNN's Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence with that part of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Waves of protests have toppled some governments and forced concessions from others, but each country presents unique concerns for the United States. Take Yemen.

U.S. intelligence officials say the al Qaeda group based there has become the No. 1 threat to America. The U.S. spends hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, trains Yemen's counterterrorism force, and has been allowed to use drones to go after terrorists.

Yemen's protesters have already forced the president to step down at end of his term. New leaders may not be as cooperative with the U.S. on counterterrorism.

Then there's Djibouti. Thousands of protesters are demanding the president step down, but he's allowed the U.S. to use his country as a hub from which it trains other country's security forces. American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines are all based there.

There have been violent protests in Bahrain, and more peaceful demonstrations in Kuwait. Those two nations, along with countries like Qatar and the UAE, have agreed to accept American missile defense systems designed to counter any potential threat from Iran.

JAMES CARAFANO, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: If you string all that stuff together, you actually have, across the region, going from Israel through the Gulf Coast states, you have a much more robust capability to kind of counter the Iranian missile threat.

LAWRENCE: Bahrain is also home port to the Fifth Fleet, dozens of U.S. Navy ships that patrol hundreds of thousands of square miles of ocean and protect a big part of America's oil supply.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And, Chris, what about some of the larger countries in the region like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, what's the level of concern there?

LAWRENCE: Yes Marty, well, in Egypt the military is now in control, and the U.S. military has a very close relationship with its Egyptian counterparts, so the feeling there is that the Egyptian military being in charge is a good thing for U.S. interests. As for Saudi Arabia, there could be some problems in that it does have a sizeable Shiite Muslim population and what happens in Bahrain could spill over into Saudi Arabia. But from the folks we've spoken with, the U.S. sees it like this, that the Saudi royal family is so ingrained in the fabric of the country through inner marriage and personal business relationships that there wouldn't be a problem and if all else fails, Saudi royal family has a ton of money to throw at any problems they may face.

SAVIDGE: All right, we'll see. Chris Lawrence, thanks very much.

Somali pirates, they've struck again, hijacking a yacht, this time with four Americans on board in the Indian Ocean. The yacht is the S/V Quest it was headed to Oman after leaving India. The owners of that yacht, Jean and Scott Adam, are a retired couple from California. They're on a worldwide cruise, but it's not clear if they were on board. The U.S. military is monitoring the situation with the Somali government unable to stop it, piracy of course has flourished off of the coast.

Frustration and anger is boiling over in Wisconsin where a budget battle is pitting the Republican governor against thousands of public workers and several Democratic lawmakers who have now fled the state. Let goes right to CNN's Casey Wian covering this unprecedented protest at the state capitol -- Casey.

CASEY WIAN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes Martin, it really is unprecedented. We've got thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of people already here at Wisconsin state capitol. You can see behind me they're starting to gather for a rally that's not supposed to officially start for another hour. One of the reasons we've got such a big crowd here today is that for the first time we've got an organized effort for those who support Governor Scott Walker and his plan that would severely restrict the rights of public sector unions in this state. It would also require them to contribute more money to their health and benefit plans. He says it's necessary to help the state balance its budget deficit, and to save 6,000 public sector jobs over the next two years.

This controversy, though, as we've seen all week, we've seen tens of thousands of teachers and other public sector union members out here protesting all week. We've seen schools shut down for the past three days, it has bitterly divided people in this state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's why we're here today, because I don't think it's given a very good image of the good hard working people much Wisconsin. Our governor has come out very strongly and he's not going to bend. That's why we elected him. That's what we elected him to do. And so that's why we're here today, to show the good people of Wisconsin, or the good people of the country that we are supporting him. Not everybody's against him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The governor lied. The governor was voted in on a 66 percent voter turnout. He won the electoral by 52 percent, so 33 percent of the voice of Wisconsin is saying, hey -- and the governor ran on the platform he was going to create 250,000 jobs for the state of Wisconsin, not that he was going to take away the rights of the working class.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIAN: So bitterly divided people here on the state capitol, also bitter divisions inside that chamber. Lawmakers are at an impasse -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Casey Wian, thanks very much. We'll stay in touch with you.

Staying with the U.S., a looming budget showdown on Capitol Hill. In a marathon overnight session, the GOP-led House passed a spending measure with massive cuts. Senate Democrats are calling it extreme and the fight could lead to a government shutdown. Here's congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar with more.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Martin, a series of long nights in the House of Representatives culminating in a vote shortly before 5:00 a.m. this morning. The House on a mostly party line vote passed more than $60 billion in spending cuts, cuts that applied to the remaining seven months of the current budget. This process took so long because Democrats and Republicans were able to offer hundreds of proposed changes.

The most controversial of these amendments to pass, one that aims to defund health care reform. Republicans had said, as they were trying to repeal health care reform outright, they would also try to cut the funding to implement it and this was the opening salvo in that fight. Republicans also succeed in pushing a measure to cut federal funding for Planned Parenthood which sparked an outcry from many Democrats, as you can imagine.

Now Democrats in the Senate as well as president Obama, they're not on board with this bill that undercuts so many of their priorities, and that raises the specter of a government shutdown. The House and Senate are in utter disagreement on how to go forward, and that stopgap measure that is currently funding the federal government, it will expire on March 4, in just two weeks -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Trouble on the horizon. Brianna, thanks very much.

Well, something you might not know about Iman, the former superstar model now runs a multimillion dollar company. CNN's Fredricka Whitfield come "Face to Face" with the fashion icon, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IMAN ALI, SUPER MODEL: I was adamant I was going to be involved in politics. And within a day my whole life changed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: CNN's Fredricka Whitfield comes "Face to Face" with a woman who commands attention. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: She's one of the most photographed women in the world and is known by a singular name: Iman. These days the fashion icon's name is also synonymous with business mogul. Iman Cosmetics is a multimillion dollar enterprise. Her fashion reality show completed its second season, and her accessories and home designs are about to reach new heights.

But the Somali-born beauty tells me "Face to Face" at the core of her early success is her upbringing by her equally strong parents.

Iman, great to see you, wonderful to sit "Face to Face" with you in your Seventh Avenue office. We have a whole lot of things to talk about, everything from of course you being a fashion icon to a business mogul, a philanthropist, and I know Africa is near and dear to your heart, obviously having lived in Somalia, being a Somali and a Kenyan, but you also lived in Egypt which means you're watching closely all that's transpiring. Your thoughts?

IMAN: Oh, I'm -- I pray religiously every day in the hopes of, you know, a peaceful transition.

WHITFIELD: What was missing to you in that country that you're hoping one day it will attain?

IMAN: Democracy, as simple as that. If we're going to say Democracy, we should practice Democracy. And they really want to be allies with America. And it's just a very precarious place to be and how to navigate all that, but at the same time I could not be more proud to see a revolution happen so peacefully and let's hope it stays that way.

WHITFIELD: But since we're talking about North Africa and Egypt, let's stay there for a moment and trace back to almost the beginning of this phenomenal career.

IMAN: Well, first of all, I was raised in Somalia. My father became an ambassador years later after Somalia got their independence in 1960. So my family, we started very poor. I mean, I've never really felt or known poverty because my parents always took care of us, but we always were poor.

WHITFIELD: But at the time, what did you envision for yourself with this degree in political science?

IMAN: I was my father's daughter, I was going to follow his footsteps. I don't know about ambassadorship, but I thought maybe the United Nations. Yes. I was adamant I was going to be involved in politics. And within a day my whole life changed.

WHITFIELD: And a photographer sees you and is struck by your beauty. What was it like when Peter Beard first approached you?

IMAN: I was on my way from work to go on to the campus and he stopped me on the street and asked me if I've ever been photographed before. I've never seen modeling magazines or fashion magazines or -- was not even aware of the word "model" existed. I never wore makeup or heels, for that matter, and so I had no concept of what he was talking about. The only thing I've seen in terms of women was my brother's "Playboy" and I was not that girl.

(LAUGHTER)

So I told him -- and then I thought, maybe he just thinks, is he being white, I thought maybe he thinks all Africans have never seen a camera. And so I said, of course I have been photographed. And he said, who? And I said my parents. And he said, no, professionally. Then I thought, oh, he thinks "Playboy." I said I'm not that kind of a girl. So, he said no, I mean like (INAUDIBLE) I want to take portraits with you. And he kept walking with me, I wasn't buying it, and then he said the magic word, I'll pay you. And so I asked for tuition, he pay for $8,000 toward my tuitions.

WHITFIELD: $8,000 he paid your tuition.

IMAN: He paid my tuition. That was --

WHITFIELD: That's an extraordinary amount.

IMAN: That was the exchange we made.

WHITFIELD: Was there a moment -- I don't know, was there trepidation? Where you nervous about what does that $8,000 mean if I accept it?

IMAN: No, I knew what I was going to do and what I was not going to do and since we said he's going to just take portraits of me, I said I'm not that kind of a girl, right? So I knew, but then I took a friend with me to the shoot. I wouldn't go alone. And then I thought, that was the end of that. Right? And then --

WHITFIELD: That call would take Iman from Nairobi to New York and right into the center of a clash involving high fashion, high stakes and race. Want to hear more on that from Iman? Go to my blog at CNN.com/Fredricka and hear more of imam "Face to Face." Next hour in my "Face to Face" with Iman, how she recognized the power potential behind her fashion photos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And we'll look forward to that.

Well, turning to other stories, Drew Peterson's murder case back in the headlines. Will the court allow hearsay evidence from his wives? Find out next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Well, let's check what's on our legal docket. Hearsay evidence in Drew Peterson's upcoming murder trial. A motivational speaker who's been charged with three deaths at a sweat lodge, and then there's that teacher insulting personal blog.

Our legal guys are ready. Civil rights attorney, Avery Friedman is in Cleveland, my hometown, and then New York criminal defense attorney, Richard Herman in the very great city of Miami, today.

Well, let's start with the Drew Peterson case. In case you don't know, Drew Peterson's lawyers were in court for a key hearing, Peterson's a former police sergeant from Bolingbrook, Illinois, he's accused of killing his third wife and also being investigated in the disappearance of his fourth wife, that's Stacy Peterson. So, at issue here is hearsay. In other words, can -- well, you know what, I don't want to get ahead. Avery, explain to us hearsay. Tell bus us about it, it Avery. What exactly is hearsay?

AVERY FREIDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hearsay is information evidence that is not direct. In other words, it's coming from a third party. And as a general rule, and most people know this, that hearsay is generally not admissible. However, the rules of evidence provide for exceptions. And what was argue you've this week before a three-judge panel, Marty, was whether or not third persons can testify in the murder trial involving Drew Peterson, and that is specifically evidence from the dead third wife, who told her sister something about Drew, and the missing fourth wife, that's Stacy, who told her minister about something.

Bottom line, the court has to resolve the question of probative value, that is, will it help, getting to the truth against the prejudice, and that is will the prejudice outweigh the probative value? The trial court said no. That's what the three-judge panel has to resolve and the arguments --

SAVIDGE: Richard, I can see you shaking your head. Go ahead.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, basically, Mart, it's a statement made by someone other than the declareant (ph). So, Avery is right. What the prosecution is trying to do is put in evidence of statements that supposedly his third wife made to other people and his missing wife made to other people. And they're going to try to tie that in to show some sort of intent to commit murder against his wife.

Now, listen. The trial judge who heard the motions on this back in May ruled that the evidence was not reliable and therefore it is not going to be admissible. And he applied the law as it stood in the state of Illinois to that ruling. The prosecution had 30 days to appeal that decision, Marty, 30 days. It's simple. You must appeal it in 30 days. And they didn't.

MARTIN: Yes, they missed the deadline.

HERMAN: They did not go to court, they didn't ask for an extension of time, they just blew the filing deadline. So before we get into the intricacies of the hearsay laws in Illinois, it's over and out. They lose.

SAVIDGE: All right, I got to keep you guys on the schedule, because I know how it goes. Let's get on to our sweat lodge case. Jury selection begins, this is speaker, James, he's a motivational speaker, James Arthur Ray, and he's charged with manslaughter death of three people in this sweat lodge.

Now, let me ask you this, if Richard, what is the prosecution's case here? What are they maintaining?

HERMAN: The prosecution maintains this guy's a lunatic. He put these people in a perilous situation in some sort of smoke house there. They were pleading to be released from the place. He wouldn't let them out. He made them go back in there, he forced them in there and three people died, Marty. I mean, it's ridiculous. It's -- where's the common sense here? This -- the defense here is the sweat lodge was built improperly, that's their defense. No jury is going to buy that. This guy's going to get hammered, 12-1/2 per death plus a flood of civil lawsuits against him.

SAVIDGE: All right, well that seems pretty cut and dry, so let's go to the teacher's case, because this really is pretty fascinating. This is the Pennsylvania teacher, she has a personal blog, she writes some not so nice things about her students and now she's been suspended. First of all Avery, First amendment, isn't it? I mean how can she be suspended? What's going on?

FRIEDMAN: Absolutely. Not only does it violate the First Amendment, Marty, but it also violates the 14th Amendment due process clause, because the school district had no policy when it came to Internet use. The fact is that there was nothing inappropriate for this teacher in her words, in her blogs, rather, about what she does, and the fact is that if school districts government will punish teachers for their expression in a private blog, that essentially not only blows up the first amendment, but it blows up the due process rights of every public school teacher in America.

SAVIDGE: Richard, do you agree?

HERMAN: Yes, no names, Marty, anonymous, no names, no names of students, no name of school district, wasn't uncovered until a year later, done maybe tongue in cheek, maybe not, I don't know. But Avery hit it on the head, there were no rules and regulations prohibiting this, so the First Amendment's going to protect her. It's going to be OK. They can't fire her for this one.

SAVIDGE: She's going to have more to blog about, that's for certain. Richard Herman, Avery Friedman, we'll talk to the both of you a little bit later. Thanks very much.

Well, American student Amanda Knox is imprisoned in Italy for murdering her roommate, but now her parents are in legal hot water and as I mentioned our legal guys will be back to weigh in on this controversial case a little bit later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Well, the unrest that's sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa is reaching a boiling point today, especially in Libya. A human rights group says at least 84 people have been killed by government security forces in the past three days. We want to go straight now to CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney who joins us from Cairo. What's the latest you're hearing -- Fionnuala.

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, there reports we have stress, they're unconfirmed because journalists can't get into the country, but what is emerging is a picture of consistent clashes with security forces in various towns in Eastern Libya. And because journalists can't get into the country, but what is emerging is a picture of consistent clashes with security forces in various towns in Eastern Libya. The focus, Martin, on a town called Benghazi where there have been persistent clashes, daily, since Tuesday night.

We're hearing that protesters marched to bury from between 30 and 40 people who died in clashes, yesterday, and that there was an attack on them by security forces. These attacks have been described as intense and ongoing throughout the day. Benghazi is where they called, again, on Tuesday night. Protesters, there, protesting the (INAUDIBLE.) These clashes, Martin, are spreading to other parts of the country. What is significant is that we're also hearing clashes in a Moseroka (ph), which is a city some 260 kilometers from Tripoli, which is caused a penodeductive (ph) strong hold. One person is reported to be dead, there, in clashes between the security forces and protesters.

SAVIDGE: Fionnuala, we're hearing, you know, this violence is escalating and we've also heard that the government's brought in these special military units. And now that the police and the military have deserted the streets, though in -- am I saying this right, Ashtabia (ph). What's the situation, there?

SWEENEY: There were clashes in Ashtabia two nights ago, one person died. But what we're hearing is now the protesters and the people have taken that town down back. But, I think, we need to exercise extreme caution when we're discussing any such thing, because it simply means that, for the moment, the military are stepping out of the picture.

We are hearing unconfirmed reports that in Benghazi, for example, that the military -- elements of the military have gone over to the side of the people. But there's one military camp which is, apparently, the source of the fire on the protesters who were coming from that funeral earlier today. It is an unfolding situation, and I have to stress that the picture that we're painting is not so much inconsistent, but it is unconfirmed. But there is no question that what is taking place in Libya, and what began last Tuesday night, is escalating. Not only in the coastal city of Benghazi but to the west as well.

SAVIDGE: All right. CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney, talking to us from Egypt about the situation in Libya, where reporters are not allowed to go. Thank you very much.

Well, the Italian prime minister has been rocked by scandal, now faces charges of having sex with an underage prostitute and abuse of his powers. Our legal experts have a lot to say about this one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: You know, much of the southeast enjoying great weather, but there's a powerful storm that's bringing snow and rain to parts of California and other areas of the western U.S. Reynolds Wolf here to tell us all about that.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. Good to see you, Marty. And I'll tell you, you're right. Out in the west coast, they have had trouble with the weather, we're already seeing some effects that it's having on your travel. Take a look. In San Francisco, you get a grand stoppage until about 10:00 a.m., local time. But in the east coast, we also have a few issues here and there, too.

New York at JFK International and Newark the ground stoppages for an hour, some places a little bit more, and, then, down in Washington, Dulles is just slightly less at 55, for the time being. That should improve in the afternoon.

But the big culprit that we have in the northeast is the strong wind and plenty of it. Out to the west, though, as we mentioned, the story is altogether different, that has to be the snow. In the valleys, primarily a rain event. But when that moisture gets up into the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada, the Wasatch Range and back to the central Rockies, it's all snow. From about 5,000 feet and upward, it may stack up and get pretty heavy. In some places, there's a possibility of one, perhaps even two, feet of snowfall as we make our way through the rest of the weekend.

Now, the thing is, though, that area of low pressure, in parts of the central Rockies, is not going to stay put. It is expected to drive up towards parts of the northern plains, and it will bring the heavy snowfall with it into portions of the Dakotas back into portions of, say, the Twin Cities. They may see up to a foot of snowfall. And, then, as we fast-forward into Monday, as we get right into the noon hour, plenty of showers in parts of the -- let's see, parts of the Ohio Valley.

And, then, as you get to the northeast, yes, the possibility of more snowfall. But that is then. As we wrap things up quickly, your high, 67 in Memphis, 73 in Atlanta for the high, 37 in New York, 67 in Albuquerque, and for our friends in San Francisco expect the highs to rise to 44 degrees. That's a quick snapshot in your forecast.

We've got so much more coming up, right here on CNN. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: All right. More legal talk is on the docket right now. Amanda Knox's parents charged with libel and the illegal immigration activist may face the death penalty, and Italy's prime minister, he's always a man generating news, and he could be put on trial.

So, let's go to our legal guys, Civil Rights Attorney Avery Friedman in Cleveland and New York Criminal Defense Attorney Richard Herman, right now in Miami. We'll find out why later.

All right. Amanda Knox's parents and the libel case. Richard, let me start with you. You know, this is the parents of the American student imprisoned in Italy for murdering a roommate. And, now, they're indicted on charges of libeling police. What goes on here, Richard, and what are they going to do about it?

HERMAN: Marty, obviously, these prosecutors are drinking too much of that good Italian wine. I mean, this is such a ridiculous, stupid scenario, I just can't believe it. Apparently, the parents told the press, in Italy, that their daughter told them while she was being interrogated she was abused, physically and verbally, in the interrogations. Based on that statement, she -- the parents, now, have been indicted for defamation and they're actually going to go to trial by some ridiculous trial court in Italy. This is truly, Marty, a ridiculous abomination.

SAVIDGE: Avery, let me tell you this. This is, apparently, what the parents have forgotten, that they're not in the good old U.S. of A, at least in their daughter's case.

FRIEDMAN,: They don't have the first amendment over there in Italy. I mean, those guys, the prosecutes, are indicting novelists and bloggers and now they indicted mom and dad. Look, the best advice anyone can give Mr. and Mrs. Knox is don't get on a plane to Italy. They're -- you know, what's going on, there, as Richard said, is that the prosecutors are going after everybody. Unfortunately, they're not going to be able to sit with their daughter as this case proceeds.

SAVIDGE: All right, well let's -- I want to move on to Arizona -- an Arizona jury, that is, will soon decide the fate of an anti- illegal immigration activist. She was killed -- or convicted, that is, of killing a Latino man and his nine-year-old daughter, during a visual anti-raid in Arizona. Ashanna Ford is the woman who's been convicted. And there are two counts of murder, here. Should she get the death penalty, Avery, start with you.

FRIEDMAN: Yes. The jury had an opportunity to consider all the evidence. She was the one who set up the scheme to bust into the trailer, to, basically, shoot these people, as far as the evidence was concerned. I don't know if there is a case more deserving of a death penalty, it's apropos, here. I think that's what we're looking at.

SAVIDGE: Yes, it seems very horrendous -- Richard.

HERMAN: Yes, she's one of the three participants, Marty, and whether she pulled the trigger or not, whether she was in the car outside waiting, she got convicted of this murder, death penalty is on the table. Jury had an opportunity, they convicted her. No juror nullification there. They voted the right way, and she's going down.

SAVIDGE: All right. Well, then, let's move on to Italy, once more, and the case of the case of the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. He faces charges of having sex with an underage prostitute and the abuse of power. I imagine that everybody, not just in Italy but the world over, is going to be glued to this case. Richard, what are we going to expect here? First of all, would it have made a difference if she was not under age?

HERMAN: If she was not under age, it would be in a patronizing --

SAVIDGE: Yes, in other words, he used --

HERMAN: Patronizing a prostitute.

SAVIDGE: Right.

HERMAN: But, Marty, listen. We could take it seriously if we just heard this one case. But this man has been prosecuted for the last ten years and spent over $400 million defending himself, and he's won every single time. So, these prosecutors are insane. They've got political agendas, and they're bringing these frivolous lawsuits against him which go nowhere. This one's going to go nowhere.

SAVIDGE: Well, you think so. What do you say to that? First of all, as you pointed out, I'm not sure it's illegal for prostitution in Italy. And not -- I won't speak from experience, I'm just saying --

FRIEDMAN: Well, it is. It is illegal.

HERMAN: Come on, Marty, it sounds like you know.

FRIEDMAN: Well, wait. Do you speak Italian? Marty. Marty, do you -- do you speak Italian?

SAVIDGE: No, sir.

FRIEDMAN: Marty?

SAVIDGE: No.

FRIEDMAN: No. Well, bonga bonga, those are the parties. Now, it's Richard's birthday, today. I don't know if he's going to have a bunga bunga party, but that's what the case is about. Ruby, who is underage is the basis of one of two charges, including using influences of prime minister, but the way the system works it will be years and years and years. He's 74 years old. Don't count on quick Italian justice. There's no such thing.

SAVIDGE: All right, Richard, you're going to have the last word on this.

FRIEDMAN: Talk about Teflon Don. Marty, talk about Teflon Don.

(CROSSTALK)

SAVIDGE: Why do the Italians keep -- why do they keep electing him? He's gone through several elections. Why do Italians keep electing him knowing what he does?

FRIEDMAN: Because it doesn't bother them. He's doing a good job in his appointed office there, in his elected office as an official, and they love him. That's the bottom line. They love him in Italy.

SAVIDGE: Well, that is the bottom line I suppose.

Oh, by the way, I understand, Richard, it's a special day for you, and, well, we want to recognize your birthday.

HERMAN: Marty, thank you. You know, two years ago, I was lying in a bed with acute leukemia dying and here I am with my friends, you guys and I'm going swimming now. So, life is good. It's trippy, but it's very good.

FRIEDMAN: Way to go, man. Way to go.

SAVIDGE: Yes, that is. That's wonder. Richard, thank you very much. Avery Friedman, thank you very much. Happy birthday, by the way, and thanks for uplifting us after some not so uplifting stories with your own personal one. Thank you.

HERMAN: Thank you, Marty. Thank you, Avery.

FRIEDMAN: Take care.

HERMAN: Thank you CNN. All the best.

SAVIDGE: The forgotten population. Abused teens credit an Atlanta foster home with changing their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming here to the Bridge was, I guess, the breaking point to a radical change in my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: But after 40 years, the foster home is set to close its doors.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: The struggling economy has been hurting nonprofit services all over the country, with donations down and state funding tight. Now, an Atlanta foster home for troubled adolescents will close this month after 40 years, possibly leaving troubled youth homeless and on the streets.

CNN's Julie Peterson has more in this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA PETERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Home --

KYLE, FORMER RESIDENT, ATLANTA FOSTER HOME: It's a lot different than when I was here.

PETERSON: -- can be a very special place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get chills and I'm really happy to see you. You're doing so well.

KYLE: Thank you.

PETERSON: Nineteen-year-old Kyle is returning to the Bridge. A place he called home in his earlier teen years, a nonprofit residential treatment facility on Atlanta's west side. Thirty-two youth sleep, eat and go to school here.

KYLE: Coming here to the Bridge was, I guess, the breaking point to a radical change in my life.

PETERSON: It was his 11th home while under the care of Georgia's Department of Child and Family Services. Kyle says this placement changed his life.

KYLE: None of the group homes I've been to, placements or nothing, I never had nobody to treat me the way the Bridge has.

PETERSON: Kyle credits all the services, including intensive group therapy, with making the difference. He's even grateful for the behavior control room. KYLE: I came down here to calm down several times.

PETERSON (on camera): Did it work?

KYLE: It does. You're taking personal time.

PETERSON: They would carry you in here? Put you in here?

KYLE: They would -- if you get physical, in any way, and stuff like that, and won't walk, then they will escort you down here.

PETERSON: And that happened to you?

KYLE: That did happen to me.

PETERSON (voice-over): All the residents endured abuse and neglect at home before moving into foster facilities. Kyle's memories of the abuse he says he suffered at home, the ones that led to state care, are fresh.

KYLE: I would be raped and stuff, sexually assaulted and abused for her to get, you know, a nick (ph) or whatever she was trying to score.

PETERSON (on camera): How old were you when that was happening?

KYLE: When it first started happening, I was six years old. When I go to sleep, I have bad dreams about it. I still think about it and stuff like that. There's no way you can try to get rid of that image. Someone being sexually assaulted is going to follow them from that day on.

PETERSON (voice-over): It cost $3.2 million to run The Bridge. Three quarters of this came from the government. The rest from private sources. Tom Russell has run the Bridge for the last dozen years. He describes the facility as Atlanta's only place for high-end 24/7 care.

TOM RUSSELL, CEO, THE BRIDGE: These doors are metal doors.

PETERSON: He says it's a place for kids who can't handle public school. Many of whom have a history of running away.

RUSSELL: I, often, describe these kids as the forgotten population. Most people aren't familiar with these youngsters, most people aren't familiar with their needs. And they remain invisible.

PETERSON: Russell says the adolescents, here, are lost and angry. With this in mind, even the cafeteria's furniture is designed to minimize injury and damage when residents' anger boils over.

(on camera): Tell me about this chair. I'm going to use it -- tell me, I'm going to sit in the chair and it's specially designed because why? It looks like a rocker.

RUSSELL: The chair is designed so that they're not easily tipped over.

PETERSON: So, pretend you're one of the other residents and I am, too. You come up to me, I'm mad, you're mad, what happens? How would it transpire?

RUSSELL: I may come at you like this and try to push you back.

PETERSON: And throw me back but I can't go all the way until an adult comes over and has time to intervene.

RUSSELL: Right, sure.

PETERSON (voice-over): Special services and therapies gave Kyle a new life. He's graduated from high school, is off medications, and lives on his own. He's confident about studying to be a social worker, and he volunteers with current foster care kids, sharing optimism and hope.

KYLE: The best thing I've done is tried to stay positive and look at a -- and have a plan in place.

PETERSON: The Bridge's money runs out at the end of February, and the nonprofit will shutter its doors. Between now and then, the 32 residents will be moved, yet again, to other facilities around Georgia. Tom Russell isn't hopeful.

RUSSELL: If programs like The Bridge aren't there, many of these youngsters are going to end up on the streets, homeless, in jail, and dead.

PETERSON: One former client, who is none of those things, is living a grateful and productive life.

KYLE: This is my second home.

PETERSON: The result of this unique, safe, home away from home.

Julie Peterson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: You know, nearly half a million children are in the foster care system across America. What can be done to help care for them? Well, coming up in the 3:00 hour, I'll talk to two people who have some ideas.

The president has a plan to STEM America's educational decline, but it involves a lot more than just throwing more money at the problem.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: President Obama's 2012 budget calls for $4.3 billion for recruiting and training new teachers and principals. A portion of that have money will go toward recruiting teachers in the so-called STEM fields. That's science, technology, engineering and math. The goal is to get 100,000 new STEM teachers in schools over the next decade, but that might be easier said than done.

Here's CNN's Christine Romans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NAGELHOUT, MATH TEACHER: You really think she's right? Yes, she is.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After 31 years as an engineer, Gary Nagelhout is starting a new career. Math teacher at Faith Christian Academy in Poughkeepsie, New York.

NAGELHOUT: I was very comfortable where I was. I loved my job, but my heart was to be with the kids, and to work with students.

ROMANS: President Obama wants to hire 10,000 highly qualified science and math teachers, like Gary Nagelhout, in the next year; 100,000 over the next decade. A lofty goal to fix a critical problem.

NAGELHOUT: Everybody good with that?

KATE WALSH, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL COUNCIL ON TEACHER QUALITY: You have top CEOs in the nation going into the president and screaming that the workforce that they're getting is not the workforce that they absolutely require to sustain a growing economy.

ROMANS: It's a catch 22. U.S. students lag in achievement in math and science. Those who do go into these fields, often, don't want to trade six-figure corporate salaries for lower teacher pay.

NAGELHOUT: I can afford to do it, because I'm old enough to retire.

ROMANS: Nagelhout who designed chips at IBM, also got help paying for his teacher training and certification from IBM which says its investing in its future workforce.

This is getting the skills of a math or scientist in the real world, in corporate America, getting it into a classroom so kids can learn from that experience.

ROBIN WILLNER, VICE PRESIDENT, IBM GLOBAL COMMUNITY INITIATIVES: They made their money, they put their kids through college, and now they're saying, you know, that was always my passion.

ROMANS: IBM has put 31 teachers in the classroom, so far, but it's a drop in the bucket.

WALSH: We're going to have to be looking to compensation, we're going to have to be starting much earlier at training the next generation of teachers, by providing much more solid mathematics education in the way other countries do.

ROMANS: What students need is another 99,999 Gary Nagelhouts.

NAGELHOUT: I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. This is fun. It really is a blast.

ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: No, letup in the demand for change, anti-government protesters are back in the streets in north Africa and the Middle East. We'll fill you in on where the hot spots are.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Top Stories, now, from Algeria to the Persian Gulf, another tense day on the streets. Anti-government protesters are keeping up their call for change.

In Bahrain, celebrations after the crown prince pulled the military out of a landmark square in the capital.

Protesters are demonstrating, again, outside the state capitol in Wisconsin, today. Teachers and other state workers are upset about the governor's proposed budget. Among other things, it would cut public workers' benefits, and most collective bargaining rights, in an effort to reduce the state deficit.

Budget problems loom in Washington as well. Early today, after a marathon session, the Republican-controlled House approved a budget for what's left of this fiscal year. It includes $60 billion in cuts. The measure, now, heads to the Senate where it's sure to meet heavy opposition from Senate Democrats who call the cuts extreme.

In our 2:00 p.m., Iman talks face to face with Fredricka Whitfield from her evolution from supermodel to business mogul.

And then at 2:30, a special presentation, "FASHION WEEK: BACKSTAGE PASS."

"YOUR MONEY" starts, right now.