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Amanda Knox Murder Appeal; Whitey Bulger Locked Up; A Spike in Stealing Could Mean Economy is on the Upswing; Casey Anthony Deemed Competent; Video Game Ban Thrown Out; Campaign Funding Law Rejected; Warrant For Gadhafi's Arrest

Aired June 27, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Suzanne, thank you.

Well, 29 days into the first degree murder trial of Casey Anthony in Florida. We now know Casey Anthony is competent to be there. That's one verdict we weren't expecting only because it wasn't in question until Saturday, when Anthony's lawyers cast doubt on her ability to understand the charges and aid in her own defense. None of this came out until judge Belvin Perry took the bench this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE BELVIN PERRY, ORANGE COUNTY, FLORIDA SUPERIOR COURT: The court ordered that the defendant to be examined by three psychologists to determine her competency to proceed. Based upon the reports that the court has reviewed, the court will find that the defendant is competent to continue to proceed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Anthony's accused of killing her two-year-old daughter Caylee in 2008 and could go to death row if convicted. So, I want to bring in Holly Hughes, she's a former prosecutor here in Atlanta and now a criminal defense attorney, and one of our go-to experts on the Casey Anthony case. Holly, I want to ask you about the timing of this competency question. What is that about?

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It is highly unusual, Randi. I mean this case is going to be taught in law schools for years because so many things have happened here that are unusual. I have never seen, in all the cases I've tried, and all the high profile cases I've covered, a time where in the middle of trial, suddenly the defendant becomes incompetent.

So, it's highly unusual, and I think it's incredibly curious that it happened right after that huge emotional breakdown we saw her have on Friday. You'll remember that her brother Lee testified. He was very emotional, she was extremely emotional. You could tell there was some kind of connection going on there. And I have to wonder, is she finally realizing what this defense is doing to her family and was she having a little bit of guilt? Did she go in and say to her lawyers, all right, let's just backtrack, let's not accuse them of molestation.

So, to raise this at this point in time is incredibly unusual.

KAYE: So, it might have hit her is what you're saying.

HUGHES: Yes.

KAYE: So, but is this claim different from insanity, right? This is not about whether or not she's insane.

HUGHES: Correct. This is absolutely not. The insanity rule is something handed down by the supreme court called the McNaughton rule. And basically, it's a test that says, do you know the difference between right and wrong? Can you appreciate the nature of your actions? So of course, at this point, you know, the prosecution is saying, hey, she wrapped up this body, she hid it, she concealed it, she buried it out in the woods.

So, there's a lot of thought going into it. She clearly knew her actions were wrong or she just would have left the body lying out, not insanity. This is competency to stand trial and what they're asking is does she have the ability to understand what's happening in the courtroom at this point in time and can she assist her attorneys in aiding -- you know, aiding them in putting together her case. You know, is she able to hear the testimony and say to them, hey, it didn't happen that way, you need to ask this question?

KAYE: So, after she was examined by three experts, they determined that, yes, she was competent. Now, does the jury know anything about this? Will this affect her at all?

HUGHES: No, the jury will absolutely not know anything about this. They were probably just told, hey, something has arisen, you all have Saturday off, go back to the hotel and have a good time at the pool, OK? That's the last thing they were told was, you know, sorry, it's going to be a little longer. But no, because you don't want it to prejudice her in any way. You don't want the jury to kind of think what myself and according to the Facebook folks who get in contact with me are thinking, hey, maybe she's starting to feel guilty about this whole defense. Maybe she's realizing the trauma it's added on her family.

KAYE: So, after all that, the defense back at it today.

HUGHES: Yes.

KAYE: Pretty harsh in terms of looking at what the prosecution had put on the table in terms of the evidence. What stood out for you today in terms of attacking the evidence?

HUGHES: Well, you know, I think that Jose Baez did a really good job and it pains me to say that, OK, because I'm not a fan, I think that's clear. But he did a really good job with lead detective Yuri Melich. And what he did was, he put him back on the stand and the first thing he said was, when you testified last Friday, you misspoke, didn't you? You told the jury something that wasn't true.

So, of course the detective has to say, that's correct. I gave them bad information. So, the jury is sitting there thinking, wow, in a high profile, death penalty case, the lead detective is giving us bad info? And it kind of went downhill for Melich from there, because Jose went back and said, all right, did you pull George Anthony's cell phone records? How come you didn't investigate Kronk? And he went through a whole list of Casey's friends where the cell phone records were pulled.

So, it looks like, hey, you investigated all these people that were childhood friends, but you didn't go after the guy who found the body or George, who was at home the little girl went missing? So, he did a good job, he scored some points, I've got to give it to him.

KAYE: Raising some doubt. All right, we're going to continue this conversation in our next hour, Holly, so appreciate it, stick around.

Our "Sound Effect" today comes from a three-term member of Congress who doesn't much like government but wants to be president. Michele Bachmann, today, announced her 2012 campaign, not in Minnesota where she represents the 6th district but in Iowa, where she was born, specifically, Waterloo, Iowa. Here, a lawmaker beloved by the Tea Party pays her respects to the founders while spurning the state of the union.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Government thinks it knows better how to spend our money. Government thinks they know better how to make a better life for us. They think they create jobs. They even think they can make us healthier but that's not the case. We have to recapture the founder's vision of a constitutionally conservative government if we are to secure the promise for the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Iowa, of course, aside from being Michele Bachmann's birth place, is the site of the nation's first presidential nominating contest, the Iowa caucuses. A new state poll shows Bachmann in a statistical tie for the lead among GOP contenders.

In other news, the supreme court has thrown out a California law against selling violent video games to children. In a seven to two decision, the rule that the law violates first amendment rights. The ruling is a victory for the video gaming industry which argued that's its voluntary rating system is a sufficient warning for parents.

In another closely watched case, the supreme court rejected an Arizona campaign finance law. The court ruled that the state can't provide any extra funding to candidates who have been outspent by privately funded opponents or independent political groups. A five to four conservative majority ruled that the state's efforts, the level of the playing field, violates free speech rights.

Also today, the court said it will hear arguments later this year on the FCC's rights to regulate profanity and sexual content on broadcast television. We're going to talk more about these rulings with our legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin coming up later this hour.

The international criminal court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi. The charge is crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution. The court also issued arrest warrants for one of Gadhafi's sons and four of Gadhafi's head of intelligence who is his brother-in-law. Prosecutors say Gadhafi has used widespread and systematic attacks on civilians in his attempts to put down a popular uprising that began in February. Libya is not expected to honor the warrants.

A stunning twist in the appeal trial of Amanda Knox. The testimony that even shocked Amanda Knox herself. The latest from inside the Italian court, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Two years after being convicted of murder in Italy, the drama over an American student, Amanda Knox, in the murder of her roommate takes an unexpected turn today. During a hearing to appeal Knox's status as a convicted murderer. Knox says she was shocked to hear what this man told the court. You'll remember Rudy Guede, a drifter, is a key player.

In addition to Knox and Eric's boyfriend, Guede is the third person who was found guilty of murdering Meredith Kercher. Kercher was found dad with her throat slashed at the Italian house she shared with Knox in 2007. Now, fast forward to today, Knox still insists she is innocent. Dan Rivers was inside the courtroom in Italy, he joins us now with the latest.

Dan, Guede was called as a witness to testify about a statement that he had made that Knox and her ex-boyfriend were not involved, but his testimony turns out, didn't exactly go as the defense was expecting. What happened?

DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. They were hoping, I think, that Rudy Guede, who is one of the co-accused, what sort of crack under cross examination by Knox's defense lawyers. In fact, the very opposite thing happened. For the first time, he directly said that he thought Amanda Knox and her co- accused, (inaudible), were guilty of Meredith Kercher's murder, something he only sort of implied in previous testimony but never had really explicitly said.

In addition to that in previous hearings, we had been told that he had sort of confessed to fellow prison inmates that in fact Knox wasn't there on the night of the murder. Well, today he flatly denied that, saying he never spoke about the case in prison.

So, it was a day of further dramatic twists in this long- running courtroom saga. Also dramatic because Amanda Knox herself gave testimony or gave a statement anyway in court, in which, as you say, she says she was shocked by Guede's evidence.

She said he knew that we weren't in the house, that she said that she didn't know what really happened and that she expressed regret that she herself couldn't talk to Guede and couldn't question him herself to find out what happened. I think they were pinning a lot of hope on Guede sort of being tripped up in the cross examination. But in the end, he stuck firmly to what he's been saying all along, that he didn't do it and by implication, the other two did.

KAYE: And what was the reaction, Dan, by Amanda Knox's family. What have her parents said about this?

RIVERS: Well, I spoke to her mother immediately after Guede had given evidence, and he said -- she said, rather, that Guede was continuing to lie about her daughter, Amanda Knox, as she said that she was sort of devastated to see her daughter in such pain, because at one point during Amanda Knox's sort of statement, her voice faltered as if she was almost going to cry. She sort of regained her composure, but clearly that was very emotional also for her mother, who was just sitting a couple of feet behind her -- in the row behind her in the courthouse there. It obviously is taking a massive toll on the family at large and on Amanda Knox.

When she came into the courtroom, she was taking deep breaths, showing how nervous she was. And you could see her lawyers sort of putting their arm around her and trying to reassure her. But in the end, it wasn't what she or her defense lawyers wanted to hear. And now, they will look into a new investigation into the forensic evidence which may give them what they're looking for, i.e. that they win this appeal and she is set free.

KAYE: Yes, Dan, I wanted to ask you about that. They are retesting the knife and some other evidence that they had used to convict Knox. Any word yet on the results of that?

RIVERS: Not yet, no. And that's something that will be gone into -- in quite a lot of depth over the next few weeks. This appeal may last until the end of September. So, there's quite a long way to run yet, but it seems now that the defense's main hopes will be pinned on this DNA and forensic evidence, as you said, retesting alleged samples, DNA samples of Amanda Knox on the knife supposedly used to kill Meredith Kercher on the night in November 2007.

KAYE: Dan Rivers reporting for us. Dan, thank you very much.

And when we come back, Amanda Knox's father is going to join us live with his reaction. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Just turning 17 minutes past the hour. Time to check in on some top stories that we're following.

In Minot, North Dakota, the worst of the flooding is over now that the Souris River has stopped rising, but the fight is not over. Just about everywhere you look, you see streets and homes almost completely submerged. More than 3,000 homes in all affected. Three recovery centers are being opened today, two in Minot and one in Bismarck. Two nuclear power plants in Nebraska sit right near the flooding Missouri River, but according to reports, things are under control. As a precaution, authorities have put in place floodgates, sandbags and other barriers to help protect the facilities. The owner of the Fort Calhoun plant said key areas of the facility are not in danger of being flooded. The utility also set up a flood rumor control page to assure the public that there has been no release of radioactivity from the plant.

The jury has reached a verdict in the trial of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Charges against Blagojevich include trying to peddle the U.S. Senate seat that belonged to Barack Obama before he resigned to become president. Blagojevich has denied any intention of bribery. But stay with us because we are expecting to hear the verdict on 18 of 20 counts any time now.

A shadowy group that claims responsibility for a series of high- profile Internet attacks says it's disbanding. The group calls itself LulzSec. It claims to be the group behind a series of recent hacking attacks against government and corporate targets, including the CIA website. It also claims responsibility for posting a fake story on the PBS website falsely reporting that rapper Tupac Shakur was still alive. LulzSec's farewell message posted on multiple websites did not give any reason for the decision to disband.

All right, so joining me now, Amanda Knox's father, Curt Knox. He joins me from Seattle, I believe.

And, Curt, I appreciate you coming on. We've been talking about your daughter's trial. And we're glad that we were able to get you on the show today. First, though, we've been covering what happened in court there about this Rudy Guede, who was supposed to say that your daughter was not involved in the murder of her roommate, but, in fact, he said exactly the opposite. First, your reaction to what happened in court.

CURT KNOX, AMANDA KNOX'S FATHER: Well, first of all, within court today, he actually was answering questions specific to other inmates suggesting that he confided in them that Amanda was not there. He did not actually testify specific to whether Amanda was there at the crime scene. In fact, it was also talked about today when police were monitoring him on Skype at the very beginning of this process, that the police asked him a specific questions and he actually said Amanda was not there at the scene of the crime.

KAYE: But certainly this was not what you and your wife and your daughter had hoped would come out in court. You would hope that he would say that he knew for sure she was not there. So how do you feel about what did go down?

KNOX: Well, it's very disappointing that he will not own up to his responsibility in this particular crime. We're actually looking forward to the independent forensic expert report that's actually due out on Thursday of this week, which we believe is really going to be the turning point to help bring Amanda home. KAYE: And I want to ask you, we had spoken to our reporter, Dan Rivers, who was in the courtroom there in Italy for us. And he described Amanda as looking a bit nervous, even having some trouble breathing. Can you give us an idea of how your daughter's been holding up over these years?

KNOX: Well, you know, she has her ups and downs. I was able to talk to her on Saturday and this particular week is a very kind of crucial time as it relates to her appeal. So, you know, she's anxious, but she's also very focused and, you know, is looking forward to hopefully a positive result and being allowed to come home.

KAYE: So how often do you get a chance to speak with her?

KNOX: Well, we get a 10 minute phone call every Saturday. So we're allowed to talk to her when we're not actually in Italy. So that's as close as we come, you know, with the exception of letters and so forth.

KAYE: I believe that she's facing, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's about 27 years if she is -- if she does go to prison for this. Does she realize what's at stake here?

KNOX: Well, she's actually -- her current length of time is 26 years. And she's actually been in prison for three and a half years now for something that she didn't do. And she does really realize, you know, that this is, you know, a huge mistake and she's hopefully looking forward to it being corrected and being allowed to come home.

KAYE: She has said that she doesn't remember what happened that night, but can you give us an idea, I mean is there a defense here? What does she say she does remember?

KNOX: Well, she clearly says that she remembers that she stayed at Raffaele's house. And, you know, they had met each other and only been together for approximately six days and to come across with a theory of a sex crime, you know, involving an orgy with somebody that you've met for only six days is ludicrous.

KAYE: I know that Guede was able to sort of have this express trial, certainly at least that phase of his punishment, and he, I believe, got 16 years. He may end up serving only seven. Do you think that there's some kind of deal underway here?

KNOX: Well, Italy has a very different process than the United States. And he was originally given 30 years in what they refer to as the fast track trial. And then on -- upon his appeal, that reduced to 16. And with their, you know, parole process, it is very possible that he will be out in seven years.

You know, I can't say for sure if there's a deal going on, but everything that we have experienced as it relates to the prosecution's process has been very, very different than what you would expect in the United States.

KAYE: So what is the next step then? I know that they're testing the forensic evidence again. Is that the next step for you? And then what after that for your family?

KNOX: Well, it -- you know, as I mentioned, the independent forensic experts are going to submit a report related to the knife and the bra clasp which are two key components that are very, very questionable. And that report is going to be due on Thursday of this week. So we're hopefully going to hear good news that it's, you know, incompatible to Amanda and that, you know, it's not useful.

KAYE: And just remind our viewers, if you would, I mean her DNA had been found on the knife, is that correct? Can you remind us of the evidence that they have against your daughter?

KNOX: Yes. Essentially this knife that they're referring to as the murder weapon was actually found within Raffaele Sollecito's apartment. And it was in the kitchen drawer. And Amanda's DNA was on the handle because she did cook at Raffaele's house. And they're saying that there is DNA material, not blood, but DNA material that is so minuscule that by protocol standards in DNA testing, you're supposed to test things twice. They were only able to test it once. And in the United States, you have to have a true identification, where in Italy they say compatible or incompatible.

KAYE: Right.

KNOX: And so, once again, very different expectations.

KAYE: OK. Curt Knox, we certainly appreciate you coming on. And when this all does come down, we hope you'll come on again and bring us up to date. Thank you for your time.

Whitey Bulger behind bars. Locked up, but not forgotten in his Boston neighborhood. We'll take a look at his influence and infamy with the author of Boston-based crime novels "Gone Baby Gone" and "Mystic River." His interview next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Reputed mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger needs an attorney, but who's going to pay for it is the question. Friday he asked for a public defender, but prosecutors believe he can afford to hire his own attorney. The judge in the case wants an answer today so the case can move forward. Bulger's brother, a prominent former state senator, could possibly post bail and pay for his brother's defense. Meanwhile, Bulger is locked up in the infamous g unit of the Plymouth County Jail. G unit is called a jail within a jail.

Whitey Bulger's capture last week stirred up mixed memories of his brutal years running Boston's Winter Hill gang. Joining me now is Dennis Lehane, author of crime novels like "Mystic River," "Shutter Island," and "Gone Baby Gone." He's also in Boston.

Does this close the book on the Bulger years in Boston, do you think?

DENNIS LEHANE, AUTHOR, "MYSTIC RIVER" AND "SHUTTER ISLAND": I think it closes the book on Bulger. I'm not sure it closes the book on crime. It certainly doesn't close the book on questions of collusion with the FBI. I think that's still something that troubles a lot of people.

KAYE: And for people who don't know about Whitey Bulger's influence in Boston, give us an idea. I mean you know. How big of a deal was he? How big was he there?

LEHANE: Well, he was big for -- he was big for the Irish mob. I mean he was big for the Winter Hill gang. He was big for south Boston. And then as he used -- again, as he used the FBI to move out his rivals in the Italian mob, he got bigger and bigger and bigger. So he was pretty big.

KAYE: What do you think of the coverage that his case has gotten since he was picked up in California? I mean do you think that we, as a country, over glamorize gangsters?

LEHANE: I think sometimes we do, sometimes we don't. In this case, I don't think there's anything glamorous about the Bulger case. I mean you have to look at, he left a lot of innocent bodies in his wake. We're not just talking about other crime figures. We're talking about, you know, the truck driver, Michael Donahue, a completely innocent human being who was killed. And Roger Wheeler in Oklahoma, an innocent businessman who was killed. You know, I don't want that to get lost in looking at this sort of idea of romantic grandeur when you look at criminals.

KAYE: How do you think he's going to be remembered in the Boston area?

LEHANE: It depends upon who you ask.

KAYE: Well, give me an idea.

LEHANE: Well, I think there are people who believe in the legend. They want to believe that he was a protector of his neighborhood. That he was a type of a Robin Hood. I think there are other people who look at the, again, the innocent victims he left behind. They look at somebody who pumped his own housing projects with heroin, who was essentially a rat for the FBI. I mean that's another legacy.

KAYE: How does he think that he is looking at all of this? I mean, he's what, 81-years-old. He's an old guy. I guess maybe he thought he would never be caught. But he was living pretty well on the Pacific Coast, on the ocean there in California.

How do you think he's viewed what's happened here? Is he laughing at the police here?

LAHANE: I think he is. I think he is. I think the only thing I could ever say in Bulger's defense is that he's an extremely shrewd human being. He's very smart. He got everybody to do his bidding. Now he's 81-years-old. At the end of day, he won. He's making jokes in court.

KAYE: All right. Dennis LaHane, appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

Up next, the Los Angeles Dodgers file for bankruptcy. So what does that mean for the team and the fans? We'll tell you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: The latest sign of an economic recovery. Shoplifting is back. That's right. According to the National Retail Federation Security Survey, a spike in stealing could very well mean the economy is on the upswing.

Alison Kosik joins me live from New York.

Alison, all right. Help me understand this, because typically isn't an increase in shoplifting believed to be a sign of tough economic times?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, that's what you would think. That's what I thought too. But actually the numbers when you look at them say the opposite.

You look back to 2010, that's after the recession, retailers, Randi, say they lost $37 billion in sales because of theft like shoplifting, that's actually up almost $4 billion. If you compare that to 2009, when it was during the heart of the recession. Last year, by the way, more than 40 percent of retail losses were inside jobs, I'm talking about employees stealing from their employers.

Now here's the thinking on why numbers went up because during recession, retail employees are more afraid of being caught and fired so they're less likely to steal. But when the economy improves and the chance of finding another job improves, workers then take on more risk and theft goes back up, Randi.

KAYE: All right. Let's talk about the Dodgers, can we? What's going on with them? They filed for bankruptcy protection.

So what does this mean for the fans and the future of the season?

KOSIK: Exactly. So what's going to happen is the team is going to continue operating while it goes through this process of reorganizing. But, you know, you think about it, these financial troubles have really been the hallmark of the entire season for the Dodgers.

You know, quite a soap opera it's been with the very public divorce of its owners, apparently getting more attention than the team's play on the field. And, you know what, it may be hurting attendance because the average attendance is down by about 8,000 fans if you compare to last season. Now, the fact is the team owes a lot of money to players. Its top four creditors are either former players like Manny Ramirez, Andrew Jones, Hiroki Kuroda who is still on the team. And owing that money, Randi, to them means it's less money to spend on new players, which is not going to help the team at all, Randi.

KAYE: So what about ticket prices? Might they change? Maybe cost fans more or less?

KOSIK: Yes, you know what? If anything, fans can wind up expecting to get some good deals on tickets. In fact, they're offering $5 tickets for kids and that's about as good as it gets in the major leagues, if you ask me. Now, keep in mind, this is less because of the bankruptcy and more because the team isn't playing too well at this point -- Randi.

KAYE: All right. Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.

Alison, as always, thank you.

The Casey Anthony trial is back on today after an abrupt recess was called on Saturday. Casey was examined by three psychologists over the weekend after her defense team filed a motion to determine her competency to proceed. All three found her competent.

And here, these are live pictures of the trial back in session in Orlando, Florida. It was implied but not expressly stated that the motion was the reason for the abrupt recess I just mentioned on Saturday. Well today, jurors heard testimony from Orange County Sheriff's Office Detective Yuri Melich, the lead investigator in the case, and chemist Kenneth Furton (ph).

The Los Alamos National Laboratory is center for American nuclear science in New Mexico is closed today because of a nearby wildfire. There is no immediate threat to the facility and evacuations are voluntary said a spokesman for the forestry division. However, all non-essential workers are being hold to stay away. The most conscious fire was burning within a mile of the lab late yesterday. Special crews have been dispatched to protect the nuclear research facility. About 11,000 people work there. Officials say all radioactive and hazard material is accounted for and protected.

Well, talk about a close call. An asteroid about the size of a house passed within 8,000 miles of earth today, a distance that is inside the orbits of many communications and spy satellites. NASA says there was never any risk of impact, but it was close enough for earth's gravity to alter the asteroid's trajectory. Astronomers say even if it had hit earth's atmosphere, the asteroid would have probably just broken up and burned before reaching the surface.

Well, you can't yell fire in a crowded theater but video games in the eyes of the Supreme Court are a different story. I'll tell you that story when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: If you don't want your kids to buy violent video games, you're just going to have to stop them yourself. A law that would have intervened in California was today blown out of the water by the highest court in the land.

CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joins me on the phone to tell us more about the ruling and the fallout.

Jeffrey, are you surprised the court came down on the side of free expression?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Not really. This court is divided on many issues. But on the issue of free speech, it has been pretty united in its very protective approach to anything regarding Freedom of Speech. And this was a 7-2 opinion so it wasn't very close.

And the court really said this was not a very hard case. This was a case about what they characterized as art. People may not like it, but this was a kind of art and in the most entertaining part of Justice Scalia's opinion, he went through what children have been entertained by over the years, whether it's Grimm's Fairy Tales or Hansel or Gretel or the Iliad and the Odyssey and said, look, a lot of this is very violent and we don't want to get in the censorship business about it.

KAYE: And what about the makeup of the seven member majority here, Jeffrey? I mean, how often do we see Justices Scalia and Ginsberg on the same side?

TOOBIN: Well, they're together more often than you think. About 40 percent of the Supreme Court's opinions every year are unanimous. What makes this case unusual is the that two dissenters were Clarence Thomas, who is probably the most conservative justice and Stephen Breyer, who is certainly one of the more liberal. They came at the case very differently.

But, you know, the broad middle of the court certainly found this case one that was really much more about censorship than it was about children, particularly since there was no real proof that video games caused any direct harm on the kids who played with them.

KAYE: Right. The court also handed down one other big ruling before heading off on summer break.

Tell us about this campaign finance case from Arizona.

TOOBIN: I think in the long run that's actually going to be a much more important case because this is a case that really continues the citizens united line of thought. I'm sure many people remember the case from last year where they said that corporations had a right to free speech and couldn't be regulated.

Basically what the court appears to be doing is looking at any sort of campaign finance regulation, in this case, a law that was supposed to even up the playing field between rich candidates and poor candidates in Arizona, and they said it's unconstitutional. Any sort of limits on spending by candidates, on fundraising by candidates seem to be in serious jeopardy now. And if that trend continues, it could really transform American politics.

KAYE: All right. Jeffrey Toobin within the latest from the Supreme Court. Jeffrey, thank you.

A country in chaos. The whereabouts of its president unclear. We'll hear from Nic Robertson, the only western network reporter in Yemen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Globe Trekking begins with news of a warrant for the arrest of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued the warrant today, accusing Gadhafi of crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution. It also issued similar warrants for one of Gadhafi's son and Gadhafi's head of intelligence, who also happens to be his brother-in-law. Gadhafi has ruled Libya since 1969. His government is expected to ignore the warrants.

Now, to Yemen, which remains in a state of unrest. President Ali Abdullah Saleh has been in a hospital in Saudi Arabia, ever since he was wounded in an attack earlier this month. He continues to cling to power despite numerous demands that he steps down.

CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is the only western network reporter in Yemen.

Nic, there were reports that Saleh would make a public appearance today either in Yemen or Saudi Arabia. Do you know if that's happened?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It doesn't appear as if it's going to happen right now. We've had a presidential advisor saying in the middle of last week that President Saleh was about to come back and he would be back here by last Friday. That didn't happen. And this advisor then said that Saleh would make a public statement and it wasn't clear if he would do it in Saudi Arabia or back here in Yemen.

And then today, earlier today, we had the principal presidential spokesman saying none of the above, saying that's not correct. No public statement by the president.

But what it does is (AUDIO GAP) sort of a drum beat from those loyal to President Saleh that he is going to come back here. He's under huge international pressure to step down and he appears to just be ignoring that pressure. But why this confusion from within his loyalist grouping here, but it does have pure concern (ph) in the city and around the country. Right now, we're hearing gunshots throughout the city. That, we're told, is quite normal here.

People are seeing food prices going up threefold, gasoline prices going up sixfold. There are long lines at the gas stations, not able to buy fuel at the pumps. They leave their cars there, five, six or eight days, we are told. So, a lot of concern about security and basic living here because of (AUDIO GAP) this sort of flip-flopping, if you will, of what the president is about to do or may not do, Randi.

KAYE: You know, we're so lucky to have you there on the ground. It's very rare to get firsthand information that you are getting. You've been traveling around the country. But you talked about the difficulties there. Can you gauge the mood among the people there? ROBERTSON: There's uncertainty, when you drive through the streets by stay, you go through, perhaps, a several mile stretch of road to maybe two or three check points. And they're fairly relaxed. The soldiers check the car and let you through.

When you drive at night, multiply those check points by three or four, and every time you go through a check point, the soldiers shine their flashlights into the vehicle. You see people at the sides of the road now selling fuel out of their cars, out of gasoline containers that they have got stashed in the cars so they can get fuel through the black market.

The stores, perhaps two-thirds of the stores, maybe even more, three quarters of the stores are closed. Many people have lost their jobs. The tourism industry here has collapsed. Indirectly that essentially feeds a million people in this country of 4 million people (ph), the money from tourism.

So, there's a real level of uncertainty. And if you go out of the capital, there's al Qaeda militant Islamists who are really (AUDIO GAP) and much more intensely than is going on in the capital. So, it's very unstable and it will remain so (AUDIO GAP) until it seems the president steps down and an interim government is formed. That at the moment doesn't seem to be on the immediate horizon.

KAYE: Nic Robertson inside Yemen for us. Nic, thank you.

All right. So, you definitely need to stick around to see this. A new camera that lets you focus after you've taken those photo. Those Bigfoot and Loch Ness spotters? Yep, they are out of excuses now. Stick around.

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KAYE: An autofocus camera? Not new, not exciting. But a camera that lets you focus after you've already taken the photo and lets you focus anywhere within the image you want? That's got people talking and that is today's "Big I." Oh, yeah, it can also transfer a regular photo to 3-D. Did I mention that?

Let's talk with the 31-year-old entrepreneur Ren Ng, who created this concept while working on his doctoral thesis at Stanford. Thanks so much for joining us on the show from Mountain View, California. Tell us first about this technology and just briefly how it works.

REN NG, FOUNDER & CEO, LYTRE: Thanks for having me on the show, Randi. This technology is based on some work at Stanford, including my Ph.D. Research. I've been personally working on it for eight years. And now at Lytre, we're taking this technology out of the academic lab and making it available for everyone in the form of the world's first consumer Lytro camera that will be available later this year.

KAYE: And you can also, as we said, make a picture 3-D?

NG: Yes, that's right. Lytro (ph) cameras have many amazing capabilities. It's not based on just software on a regular photograph but it's an entirely new kind of camera. Collecting the life yield lets you, as you describe, get an immersive 3-D that goes beyond what you've seen in the movies even in one shot, as well as being able to focus after the fact or to take the shot with no delay right when you press the shutter button.

KAYE: So, can you give us an idea -- can you demo it a little bit for us or show us how it works?

NG: Yes. Let me try to show you some of this immersive 3-D for your viewers here. If we go to this laptop, what you see here is a picture of a boy on a boat. I took this in a fishing boat in Norway. And if you look in the background, it's focused on these mountains in the background as opposed to this boy's face --

KAYE: Yes, that looks like a lot of my pictures.

NG: Yes, well, you know, I think we've all taken this type of picture at some point. The amazing thing with this Life View camera is after the fact, we can focus in onto this boy --

KAYE: Oh, wow!

NG: -- or back to the mountains. We can make everything in focus at the same time if we want.

And then let me show you some of this immersive 3-D. You know, your viewers don't have any 3-D glasses on. And yet, even without the glasses, I think they'll be able to perceive some of change in perspective as we move the scene around.

Let me show you some other examples here as well. Here is a shot of a flying bird. This is from a real camera, single shot, single lens. Once again, you can focus from the background to this bird in the foreground or make everything in focus at the same time. And then here, I think your folks can start to see some of this 3-D movement that you get even without glasses. But when you do wear the 3-D glasses, it's full.

KAYE: It's amazing! Really. I mean, you can see it so clearly even without the 3-D glasses. Obviously, we're not wearing those.

But I'm curious, is it the camera or the software that's the key here? I mean, can you have one without the other?

NG: It's a combination of both. So, the camera itself has an entirely new kind of sensor, a light field sensor that replaces the image sensor inside a regular camera. And that's what records these missing dimensions of information that are lost in photographs. After that, you need a lot of very advanced software - we called it a light field engine -- that turns that light field into pictures. It makes an interactive picture, a living picture, that folks can play with on our Web site at lytro.com that I think really gives a visual sensation of how much has changed.

KAYE: And just really quickly, Ren, when will this hit the market and will it be affordable for folks?

NG: It's going to be out later this year. And we are developing this as a competitive consumer product for everyone.

KAYE: So, does that mean affordable?

NG: It will be competitively priced, and it's going to be available for everyone. And I think folks - it's going to be very broad appeal for everyone.

KAYE: OK! That's great. It is certainly cool. I think a lot of people are going to want one of those for sure, especially those who take photos like I do. Ren Ng, thank you so much. Very impressive.

An apology for Michele Bachmann. But the newest presidential candidate isn't ready to accept. Your political update is next.

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KAYE: Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann officially jumped into the presidential race today in Iowa. But it may be a TV appearance yesterday that is generating even more buzz.

CNN political producer Shannon Travis joining me from Washington. Shannon, what are we talking about here?

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Well, that yesterday appearance was on Fox News with Chris Wallace. And the host, Chris Wallace, asked Michele Bachmann if she was, quote, "Are you a flake?" He has since apologized. He's come out on his Web site and said, you know, I messed up, I didn't mean any disrespect.

But Congresswoman Bachmann is not exactly accepting that apology, Randi. She told ABC News today, quote, "It is insulting to insinuate that a candidate for the president is less than serious." So, she's not exactly accepting that apology from Chris Wallace.

On to another story. We're following a Senate race that's going to be a high-profile race next year. That's the re-election of Orrin Hatch. Now, he's the Utah Republican who is running for a seventh term in the Senate. Right now or a few moments ago, wrapped up. There were some Tea Party activists who went over to the national Republican Senatorial Committee, their offices, basically telling them, hey butt out. The NRSC is backing Hatch's re-election. And these Tea Party activists want them to stay out of the primary.

And one last story: our president, President Obama, is doing a little bit of a hook-up for Justin Bieber there, Randi. Not exactly a hook-up. But what happened was there was a 14-year-old that the president met at ground zero back in May. This 14-year-old's name was Payton Wall. And Payton said, President, Mr. President, I'm a big fan of Justin Bieber's. And the president said, maybe I can do a little something about introducing you to him. We learned today that that little meet-up happened last week in New York, Randi. KAYE: All right, Shannon Travis for us. Thank you, Shannon. And your next update from The Best Political Team on Television is just an hour away.