Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Preparing for Hot Dog Eating Contest; Jury Could Get Anthony Case Today; Military Homecomings Caught on Tape; Fox News Twitter Feed Hacked; A Look at the Duchess' Royal Style; Lockout Could Impact Team Readiness

Aired July 04, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, let's check other top stories right now, a much more serious story out of Baja, Mexico, a boat full of tourists as we told you had capsized of Baja Peninsula tossing a lot of people into the water. Dozens of people, actually, at least six people are still missing, 27 Americans, though, are accounted for.

And a war crime theory, Mladic has been suspended indefinitely after Bosnian general disrupted today's proceeding. He actually refused to enter a plea and then kept interrupting the judge.

And Mexican authorities say they have arrested a drug lord connected to the killing of a U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement agent. That agent was ambushed in Mexico in February.

The prosecution in the Casey Anthony trial is getting a last chance this morning to up its case. After that, the jury gets to decide or get its first chance to deliberate.

CNN's David Mattingly joining us live once again from Orlando. So David, tell us what's happening right now and what could we see today?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, the prosecution is wasting no time going after some of the assertions by the defense particularly the theory that they that Caylee Anthony drowned by accident in the family pool.

And then it was her grandfather, George Anthony, who conspired to wrap the body up and dispose of it in that Florida swamp near the family home. Here is Prosecutor Jeff Ashton as he's makinge1 his point that he doesn't believe that's a credible idea at all. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF ASHTON, ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY: Getting past the fact that there is just no conceivable reason why anybody would put duct tape on the face of a dead child. I said it before. People don't make accidents look like murder. That's absurd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And now this jury is going to have so much to consider, 33 days' worth of testimony, scores of witnesses in this case. They're the ones that are going to have to sift through all of this and decide whose story here is the most credible and the most compelling.

This is a circumstantial case, remember. There is no direct evidence linking Casey Anthony to the death of her child. So that jury has a lot of work to do, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, David Mattingly live out of Orlando, Florida. David, we'll follow the trial and everything that happens today right there with you.

In Montana, cleanup crews hoping to make some progress today. An oil pipeline that runs under the Yellowstone River got 42,000 gallons of crude got into the water. Reynolds Wolf is monitoring it all for us. So what do you think, Reynolds, how bad is it?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the face of it is (inaudible). I mean, you think about Yellowstone National Park, you hear about the Yellowstone River. They're not necessarily connected, but just the idea of oil and yellow stone sounds absolutely horrible.

Well, we've got some video you're seeing it there. We've got some good news to go with the story. The good news is that it was a relatively small area that was affected, about a 10-mile stretch of river.

It was anywhere from say 750 to 1,000 barrels of oil, again, that really spread out across the area much of it on the surface. They were able to skim quite a bit off, but there's still a lot of clean up to go.

And one of the biggest issues that will be, again, affected in this area is going to be, of course, with some of the wildlife, the fish, the birds that eat the fish, of course, the bears that feed on the trout.

Let's zoom in if we can on a few locations. Again, Yellowstone Park to the south, the river, thankfully flows away to the north and to the north east as it does so it's going to push some of the oil a bit farther towards billings.

This took place, let's see right on July 1st around 11:30 in the evening. It only spilled for about 30 minutes or so, but still, plenty of oil in that water. Thankfully, though, it's a very swift- moving river.

It has got a rocky bottom and with that, a lot of this oil is expected to break up. That's the good news, but still, you never want to have a mess in the area this pristine and importantly bad situation.

PHILLIPS: We'll keep tracking. Thanks, Reynolds.

The president is hosting military heroes and their families today at the White House for the Fourth of July. CNN's Brianna Keilar has the details. Brianna -

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Kyra. Well, you know, July 4th is not just Independence Day at the White House, it's also the birthday of Malia Obama and she is 13.

So, yes, officially there is now a teenager living in the White House, but big Fourth of July festivities today. This evening, we'll see the first family. They have invited military families, military heroes and their loved ones along with administration officials.

They'll be having a barbecue. There will be a concert and really one of the best views in all of Washington, D.C. to see the fireworks on the National Mall. One of the things they're contending with that really struck us as we walked in this morning, quite the mess that has almost been cleaned up.

We had some pretty severe storms overnight here, big branches down all over the White House campus. The National Park Service has been working to clean that up. And we have some pictures that our producer, Emily Schultz has taken.

But Kyra, there's another big mess, arguably a much bigger mess that the White House is contending with right now and that's this impasse that they're having with Congress over the raising the debt ceiling, as you know, and yes, Fourth of July today, a good day to celebrate. But it's also a reminder that the clock is ticking.

We're less than a month away from that August 2nd deadline where if the U.S. does not raise its debt ceiling, it would default on its loan obligations and it would be at least in the words of White House Press Secretary Jay Carney calamitous, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, why the impasse? Is it still over whether there should be tax increases?

KEILAR: It is. It is. Right now, Democrats are saying and this is what you're hearing from the White House that they want a balanced approach, they want -- if there are going to be spending cuts tor programs that are affecting poor Americans, elderly Americans, they want corporations and they want wealthy Americans to share in that sacrifice through tax increases.

For their part, Republicans right now are insisting no tax increases. They say to have anything in the way of tax increases would hurt the economy. This is really the position these negotiations have been in for about a week and a half right now.

PHILLIPS: All right, Brianna Keilar live from the White House. Brianna, thanks so much.

Coming up, we're going to talk to the man who created a popular internet blog. It allows returning soldiers to post videos of their homecoming. We'll have that in less than 10 minutes.

Just last hour, we showed you the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arriving at the Government House on Prince Edward Island. Let me tell you these two have been pretty busy.

Will and Kate have visited kids in a cancer ward, played foosball, met with homeless youth, even took some lessons from a top-rated chef. CNN's Max Foster joins us now live from Charleston. Max, it looks like the royals are definitely charming Canada.

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You should have seen in the last hour, they've just left here actually, but the crowds went absolutely crazy for them. They set of in their carriage, which is just behind me right now.

The Canadians say the duke and duchess just left that and they brought their carriage back here and the crowds absolutely loving every moment of this. The duke and duchess currently setting off to a series of events.

It's going to be a great day. You're going to see them in two dragon boats racing each other, each steering a different dragon boat. They're very competitive so that will be good.

And a risk game moment coming up as well, Kyra, because William is a search and rescue pilot and the Canadian teams are world renown in that particular area. He's going to go up in a helicopter with them and they're going to carry out an emergency landing on water, which only the Canadians do.

I know the palace aids are probably a bit nervous at this point getting ready for that, but I'm sure he will be fine.

PHILLIPS: So the question is, will Will actually take the stick? Will he get to chance to fly?

FOSTER: We're told he's not actually going to fly it. It's a very dangerous maneuver. Apparently, -- but he's going to be - actually going to be in the helicopter.

I have a chance to speak to both the duke and the duchess last night and they're really, really enjoying this tour. There's no wonder when you look at the reception they're getting everywhere.

Even in Quebec City yesterday where I was with them, there was a huge reaction to them and that's the anti-monarchy stronghold and it's fascinating because they're still anti-monarchy, but they're very pro- William and Kate, fascinating.

PHILLIPS: All right, Max Foster. We'll keep talking as in we follow their trip. Also to Kate, she just looks fabulous every time you see her, right? In about 30 minutes, we're actually going to talk to her former stylist about the fashion perfect duchess.

And do you feel the tension growing, the weigh in is over. The annual Fourth of July hot dog eating contest is less than an hour away. We're going to go live to Coney Island.

Also, a blogger celebrates one of the greatest joys a military family can experience when their loved ones come home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Checking stories making news cross country, a police officer and father of two shot to death at a hotel in Memphis last night. Police say Officer Timothy Warren was responding to report of shots fired at the hotel. The shooting suspect is now in custody.

And take a look at this video, a sea boat crashes into another boat during a race. It happened at a regatta on the Ohio River and it's not the first time either. Another speed boat hit a rescue boat in the same area. Three people were injured in that crash. Two of them seriously hurt.

And the last American drafted to fight in the Vietnam War is about to retire. Command Sergeant Major Jeff Mellinger is returning to civilian life after 39 years in the Army. Shortly after he was drafted in 1972, the U.S. went to an all-volunteer force.

He had great penmanship and was full of compliments for his lady. Coming up, we're going to tell but a love letter from basketball great Michael Jordan. He actually wrote it to his girlfriend in high school.

Things are tough all over, unless it seems you worked for the White House. We're going to tell you six figures salaries, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJOR NEVIN BLANKENSHIP, ARMY GUARD, HARRISONBURG, VA: This is Major Nevin Blankenship with the 116th PCT in Camp Shelby, Mississippi, getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan.

I wanted to give a shout out to my wife, Vicki, my daughter, Alexis, and my son, Jason. Happy Fourth of July. Love you and miss you all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Capturing the moments of joy when military families welcome home loved ones from war. It's an internet site that we're talking about letting the rest of the world share in a family's happiness. Take a look at one example.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- has a brother in Afghanistan and she wishes to be here today. I know what that's like. My wife and I had a son in Iraq in the Marines. Jessica, when you see your brother --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Chase Holfelder is the one that created the welcome home blog. He joins me now from Wilmington, North Carolina. I don't know if we can get the rest of that home coming if we're still rolling it.

But the best part is when the brother embraces the sister, surprises her at graduation. When we watch this, Chase, tell me why you set up this blog and what inspired you to do this?

CHASE HOLFERDER, WELCOME HOME BLOG: Well, you know, before I set up the blog, I remember coming across several military homecoming videos on the internet thinking there needed to be a central location for people to watch videos of this kind.

So one weekend I just created the blog and started to promote it online and before I knew it, I had military families from all over the world sending me their reunion videos.

PHILLIPS: Now here's what's amazing is that your dad was in the Air Force during Vietnam. Other than that, you have no connection to the military. You're still in college right now, right?

HOLFELDER: No. I'm a recent college graduate.

PHILLIPS: OK. You just graduated.

HOLFELDER: Yes and that's true about my dad. I don't really have any other connections to the military other than that. But I don't think you need to have a connection to the military to enjoy the videos. They're undoubtedly heartwarming and pretty much guaranteed to make you smile.

PHILLIPS: On that note, let's take a look at another one. Let's roll it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dad!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dad!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My God! My golly! Lord.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, Chase, I understand once word got out that all these folks across the country just started sending you their surprise moments of when a son or a daughter or a father or someone came home to surprise a family member. And how many hits a day do you get and how many people are sending you in videos?

HOLFELDER: I'll wake up to an e-mail box full of videos from different people. Not all sent in by the actual families, but some sent in from the families. And, you know, it's great. I get thousands and thousands of hits a day and it's something that struck a chord at the public.

PHILLIPS: And just looking at all -- it has struck a chord. It struck a chord with us, as well. As we all endure two wars, these men and women are dying for us. These are stories of those that get the chance to come home. Tell us why you think it's important for all of us, at least once a day, once a week, once a month, at least, take a look at this. HOLFELDER: Well, you know, I try to keep the blog away from my political stance or anything like that because I feel that the videos transcend that. So it's something that regardless of you're feeling about the war, the clips are undoubtedly heartwarming so that's really something that I think is --

PHILLIPS: Yes, they are. I love how creative families get to surprise each other. Chase, this is so fabulous what you've done. Chase Holfelder, it's welcomehomeblog.com. What a great thing to talk about on this Fourth of July. Thanks, Chase.

HOLFELDER: Thanks very much.

PHILLIPS: You bet. All right, some showbiz headlines for you. A shake up at McKinley High, one student won't be returning to Fox's hit show "Glee." Apparently, "Weekly" is telling that show creators have decided not to renew Chord Overstreet's contract as the series regular.

In Taiwan showing Lady Gaga some love. A city there declared Sunday Lady Gaga day to honor her first performance on the island. The mayor actually gave her a key to the city and school kids performed for her.

PHILLIPS: And "Transformers, Dark of the Moon" blew the competition away this weekend, set a July Fourth Box Office record. It made over $97 million here in the U.S. this weekend.

A love letter from Michael Jordan shows that he was a real player even back in high school love letters show he was a player, even back in high school.

He wrote the note to a prom date at the age of 18. It sold as auction for $5,000 and was recently made public. One thing we did learn about the basketball legend, he was full of compliments for this lady.

Working at the White House sounds like some pretty good perks. You get to know the president, you have great health care benefits and how about a six figure salary?

Alison Kosik is in New York with the details. Alison, how much are White House staffers getting paid?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, overall, Kyra, you look at it, they're getting paid $37 million a year. This is among 454 staffers who run the White House office. Now this doesn't include house staff like butlers and chefs.

Now if you look at the median salary, that $70,000 that's smack dab in the middle. Half are above that number and half of the people working there have below that. But one out of every three people working at the White House make at least six figures, $100,000.

Now, there is a cap on how much they can make. The maximum salary that's allowed is at $172,200. Of course, we all want to know who makes that. Well, the most of the recognizable staffers, that's who. Press Secretary Jay Carney, Counterterrorism adviser John Brennen, Chief of Staff Bill Daley and adviser David Plus. Seventeen others also make that $172,000 figure, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now six figures is good for just about anyone, but for these guys not so much because a lot of them gave up higher paying private sector jobs.

KOSIK: Yes, they did, but you know what, this is what public service is all about. I mean, $172,000, it's kind of chump change for them. Think about Bill Daley, he made $9 million at J.P. Morgan. David Plus made $1.5 million at his company, Plus Strategy.

But you know what? Working for the president, it sometimes increases your marketability even more after leaving the White House. So they can take that with them. You can't really put a price on that. Get who gets the top salary, Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Who?

KOSIK: Come on. President Obama, $400,000 a year.

PHILLIPS: I thought you were trying to throw me on some odd statistic here. He makes like what, $400,000 a year or something like that?

KOSIK: Exactly, $400,000. He also makes millions in part from his book royalty, but yes, he gets the top salary. I wasn't trying to trick you. It's a holiday.

PHILLIPS: OK. I just wanted to make sure. I thought, I don't know if it if I want to go with the obvious.

All right, after seven weeks of testimony, some very dramatic testimony, the Casey Anthony trial is wrapping up. The jury is expecting to get the case today. Sonny Hostin, former federal prosecutor has been following the trial for us, for "In Session" on TruTv. Sunny, has this ended -- is it expected today?

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL ANALYST, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: It is expected today. The prosecution is in its rebuttal argument phase and that's because the prosecution, Kyra, gets the last word. The burden of proof is on the prosecution.

So, certainly, you're looking at a picture of Linda Drain-Burdick. She is co-counsel to Jeff Ashton, the lead prosecutor and she is giving her rebuttal argument. I will say this. It has been fashion fascinating to watch.

The prosecution certainly came out swinging this morning. Jeff Ashton started out this morning by attacking the defense's closing arguments of fantasy forensics piece by piece by piece. They rebutted the medical experts, the dug experts, and the chloroform.

And finally, one of the most important arguments I think this prosecutor made was even if you think Casey accidentally used too much chloroform to silence her daughter and she died as a result of that, she is still guilty of felony murder, which is capital murder.

And I think it's so interesting because it shows he almost had his finger on the pulse of what so many people think because my Facebookers are telling me that's what they think. People on the street are telling that's what they think.

They think perhaps Casey Anthony used chloroform as a baby-sitter and her daughter accidentally died because of that. The prosecution says even if you believe that theory that is certainly felony murder.

So certainly a big day of buttoning up their case for the prosecution today and they're still in their rebuttal argument. They've got probably about an hour to go and then it goes to this jury.

The judge will give some instructions and instruct them on the law, and then it's up to the jury to decide Casey Anthony's fate.

PHILLIPS: All right, we're watching closely. Sunny Hostin, thanks.

President Bill Clinton says President Obama shouldn't blink during debt negotiations with Republicans. We'll talk about that in political buzz.

Also, we're heading live to Coney Island. Yes, the excitement is in the air. The dogs and buns, all laid out. The annual hot dog eating contest nearly here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: This just in, we're being told the attorney for a French woman says that she will seek charges of attempted rape against former International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Strauss-Kahn was released from house arrest in New York last week after a charge of rape appeared to be falling apart. Now, another woman coming forward alleging that Straus-khan attempted to force himself on her in 2002.

Checking other top stories, Thailand will have its first female prime minister. Yingluck Shinawatra's party won a majority in yesterday's parliamentary election.

And two people, including a police officer, are dead after a shooting at a Double Tree Hotel in Tennessee. The suspect is in custody and what's believed to be a domestic dispute.

Unknown attackers hacked the Fox News Twitter feed. The hacker sent out false tweet that President Obama had been assassinated.

And your "Political Buzz," your rapid fire look at the hottest political topics of the day. Three questions, 20 seconds on the clock and playing today, Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, Sirius XM political talk show host and comedian Pete Dominick and Republican strategist and "The Hill" newspaper columnist, Cheri Jacobus.

All right, guys, first question, this weekend, Bill Clinton said that President Obama should not blink when he negotiates with Republicans during the debt talks. So should Obama follow that advice or take a softer approach? Cheri --

CHERI JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: You know, when Bill Clinton was president, he lost the Congress because of his policy and then he had to play ball with Republicans.

We got the balanced budget. We got a surplus and welfare reform because he did work with Republicans. So I can only think that the advice he's giving Obama is designed to make lose so that Bill Clinton can be the only two-term Democratic president in his lifetime.

PHILLIPS: Maria.

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: When you have a president who was the president who preceded over the largest economic expansion in history, created 22 million jobs and he actually worked for the middle class and it worked for him, as well, I do think that Obama is going to take his advice because it's advice based on fairness and that's what the American people want, where you spread the pain equally.

PHILLIPS: Pete.

PETE DOMINICK, HOST, "STAND UP! WITH PETE DOMINICK": Kyra, President Obama has been the king of compromise. Way too much for his progressive and liberal base. On every major piece of legislation, he's made huge compromises. He blinks so much as presidential portrait should like this -- I mean, on the stimulus plan, on health care, on Wall Street reform -- all he does is blink. If he blinks on the debt ceiling negotiations -- we'll know the truth, whatever that meant.

PHILLIPS: So far, the 112th Congress, one of the least productive in recent memory. By the "Chicago Tribune's" measure, they're worse than 1948's do-nothing Congress. But we're going back to the history books now.

Now, what's your explanation, Maria?

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I think you have to look at the difference between now and what happened in the last Congress. The last Congress was actually the most productive Congress that we've had in history where you had everything that Pete has mentioned that was passed for the benefit of the middle class and the working class.

And then what happened? Democrats lost the House. Republicans are now in charge of the house. They haven't done one thing to save one American job.

PHILLIPS: Cheri?

CHERI JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: You know, I think last fall's elections were when the America spoke loud and clear that they want Congress to do less. I want politicians to take the Hippocratic Oath like doctors: first, do no harm.

So, that's the message from the voters. They want Congress to do less. They don't want them to spending our money.

I think it's better when Congress is on vacation. We don't need Washington so heavily involved in our lives. When Congress gets too busy and does too much, you know, the voters tend to know how to tear care of that.

PHILLIPS: Pete?

DOMINICK: Well, that would be great if Congress didn't do anything, actually, did nothing at all, the budget would be balanced because the tax cuts would expire. But the truth is, if this is true that this Congress has done less than the 1948 Congress, whatever you mentioned, that just -- it's so bad.

There's nothing getting done and I think people do want something done, jobs. They want jobs and not, you know, invading women's uterus issues. That's not what people want. People want jobs and they have passed -- doh!

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. Let's move on. Buzzer beater time, shall we? Ten seconds left on the clock, or for each of you in the clock, rather.

Saturday, Michele Bachmann said that she will help President Obama find a job if she wins the White House. So, what kind of job do you think she'd get the president?

Cheri?

JACOBUS: I think the president should stand in line like millions of other Americans for some of those jobs, with those shovel-ready projects that he promised, you know, when he needed almost $1 trillion of our tax dollars to spend on his failed stimulus package. So, let him get in line with the rest of America and see what it feels like.

PHILLIPS: Maria?

CARDONA: Well, in this alternative universe which frankly will never happen where Michele Bachmann is president, she'll probably appoint him ambassador to the country where she believes it's his country birth, Kenya.

PHILLIPS: Uh-oh! Pete?

(LAUGHTER)

DOMINICK: Yes. I think PolitiFact checked Michele Bachmann's statement on this and it's pants on fire a lot. I mean, I don't know, if she said anything about jobs, that will be great. Maybe she can help find a new job for the president. But, you know, we got to have jobs for everybody and she's not said anything about that yet. We'll see.

PHILLIPS: Happy Fourth of July, Cheri, Maria and Pete. Thanks for weighing in.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: OK. It's become as American as apple pie. We're talking about Nathan's famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, of course.

Senior correspondent Allan Chernoff -- he's a senior correspondent, he always get, you know, the top story of the day.

Allan, we understand you're going to show us the dunk, a very famous tradition or strategy, shall I say, in this hot dog eating supremacy.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. It is really the only way that you can consume a hot dog bun. I mean, look at it. It's so hard, so stiff. But what you need to do is you need to actually dunk it in the water. This is what the competitors do.

There we go. Not too bad, huh? I don't think I can make it up on stage, but that makes all the difference and that explains partly why some of these guys are able to consume so many hot dogs.

The record is 68 in only 10 minutes held by world champion Joey Chestnut.

PHILLIPS: And, of course, the big news broken today right here with you, we're going to have a female table. No longer to these women so to compete with the guys. They got their own fierce competition.

CHERNOFF: That's right. A great day for women in America today, really, around the world. The women's champion is going to earn a pink belt rather than the mustard yellow belt that the men hold. It's sponsored, by the way, by Pepto-Bismol. That's why it's pink.

A lot of marketing here today.

PHILLIPS: Allan Chernoff, keep us posted.

All right. Only a short time ago, Prince William got a bride and the world got a new fashion icon. Next, we're going to talk to the former stylist to Kate Middleton. Her take on the closest the commoner went global.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPC KEVIN BELL, U.S. ARMY: My name is Specialist Kevin Bell. I'm from Rochester, New York. I'm serving here in Baghdad, Iraq. I like to give a shout-out to everyone back home on the Fourth of July. And thank you all for your support. I appreciate it very much.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And checking stories making news across country:

Wildfires have burned through entire forests in New Mexico. But police are letting at least 10,000 evacuees back in their homes. That's pretty much the entire population of Los Alamos right near where this is happening. And just in time for the busy holiday, the Minnesota zoo is back open this morning despite the state's government shutdown. A judge ruled that the zoo could use money from other sources like membership and parking to keep it running.

And the apartment where James "Whitey" Bulger was arrested is a hot property right now. Bulger is the reputed Boston mob boss who is on the lam for 16 years until his arrest two weeks ago.

The apartment's owner in San Monica says he's getting lots of calls. One reason could be those callers are looking for money. You may remember, the feds found more than $800,000 stashed away in the walls of that apartment.

To the royal couple, William and Kate, well, they are in the middle of their tour in Canada right now with stops in Quebec City, Montreal, Prince Edward Island, and they'll soon be heading to Los Angeles.

And we're curious to see if she'll be paying a visit to her former stylist, Nikki Pennie.

Nikki joins us live now talking about her trip to Canada, upcoming trip to L.A.

So, I'm curious, Nikki. You actually worked with Kate before she became the duchess. What -- how have you seen her evolve from her tastes then to her tastes now?

NIKKI PENNIE, FMR. KATE MIDDLETON STYLIST: You know what, Kyra, it's a really interesting transformation. And what's so lovely about it is actually her style has always remained the same. Her style ethos, which is classic, elegant, chic, effortless, timeless -- that always remained the same.

But what is so nice about now, what she's doing, is she's actually using her clothes as an expression to put across her message to the world -- so all of her outfits that she's been wearing in Canada have very much been for a reason. You know, the first outfit she wore was actually by a Canadian designer, Erdem, who lives in London.

And then every outfit she's worn has been making a statement and all about thing fashion diplomatic which -- diplomat, which is what she is doing perfectly.

PHILLIPS: So was that always important to her when you knew her prior to becoming the duchess? Did she -- did she think that much about what she wore?

PENNIE: Well, I think -- I think she's always thought carefully about what she wears and how she presents herself. And, you know, comfort is one of the most intrinsic things to Kate and I know that.

But what is so nice now, in her new role, she's really using, you know, taking the time and really doing her research and putting together outfits herself that she feels convey the right message as a young royal. And so, all the outfits that she's been wearing in Canada, they all are for, you know, conveying a message of, you know, the way she feels about Canada.

And, you know, every designer she's been wearing has been just gorgeous and they've been selling out. I mean, every dress she wears has been selling out within eight minutes on the Internet.

PHILLIPS: What's another one of your favorites?

PENNIE: My favorite dress, actually, was the beautiful Catherine Walker dress that she wore on Diana's 50th birthday. And what was so nice about that was that was one of Diana's favorite designers who actually Catherine passed away sadly last year. But that was a really nice touch and a really nice message, again.

PHILLIPS: What color was that one? Which picture is that? Do we have that picture?

PENNIE: Yes. That's the beautiful gray dress. It was quite simple.

And, again, every outfit is just beautifully simple and fitted on her body. But it's just -- you know, very poignant moment that she wore that dress on Diana's birthday.

PHILLIPS: So, so far, she's doing well.

PENNIE: She's doing very well. And I can't wait to see what she wears this week. And I'm so excited to see what she's going to wear when she comes to L.A. I mean, maybe it's going to be Victoria Beckham. Who knows?

PHILLIPS: Now, there's an interesting fashion icon right there.

PENNIE: Yes.

PHILLIP: Nikki, thanks for weighing in. Appreciate it.

A wet weather can ruin Fourth of July fireworks shows, but so can dry weather. Details and the forecast from Reynolds Wolf, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

2LT JOHN TODD, U.S. ARMY: Hi. I'm Lieutenant Todd here at FOB War Horse. I'd like to wish my family and friends in Lexington, Kentucky, a happy Fourth of July. Love you all and have a great day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Nothing says Fourth of July like fireworks, right? But many cities will be celebrating without them due to unusually dry conditions, which would make it just a little too dangerous.

Reynolds Wolf is here to explain what happened.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And what an unfortunate situation been we Americans love our explosives, don't we? Actually, I'm going to be really loud because I'm going to turn on my microphone here for a few moments.

PHILLIPS: Or you can talk really, really loud.

WOLF: How is that for an explosive update? There we go. The microphone is now on.

All right. Let's get back to work.

Yes, it is one of the big issues we have. A lot of people not able to enjoy the fireworks plain and simple, it's because of dry conditions. You got dry conditions, windy conditions across parts of Texas and the four corners. It's one of the reasons why the wild fires have spread like crazy across parts of Arizona into New Mexico. Although assuming same conditions are going to exist into Texas and back in Oklahoma, even into a sliver into the Southeast, back into Florida, Mississippi, even into Arkansas and Louisiana. And check out, even Oklahoma.

So plain is simple, what you got to do is if you're not so sure if you should or should not, call your local county government, they'll let you know. Sheriff's office, same deal.

Again, one of the issues, again, lack of rainfall. That's going to be the situation for some people in the four corners, but that's not going to be the case for you in the Upper Midwest, chance of severe storms. And in parts of the southeast, you might have a rumble of thunder perhaps even here in Atlanta by later this afternoon.

That's a quick snapshot at your forecast. OK? Let's send it back to you. Full volume, how about that?

PHILLIPS: Turn it up, pal. Thanks, Reynolds.

Well, NFL owners and players plan to get back to negotiations this week. They're turning up the volume, that's for sure. A lot of them are worried that even if the two sides reach a deal, the lockout will hurt team readiness. Here's our Joe Johns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We're nearly four months into the NFL lockout and still no deal in place as owners and players argue over how to split up over $9 billion in annual revenue.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Greed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's ridiculous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pathetic.

JOHNS: To say fans are getting testy would be putting it mildly. James Brown, a nationally known NFL sportscaster, offers his take.

JAMES BROWN, CBS SPORTS: I would like to think that prudent heads will prevail in coming up with something that effectively is a win-win situation and doesn't alienate your fan base.

When you look at folks who are dealing with day to day issues, being cut back to 80 percent and 90 percent of their workweek, and 90 percent and 80 percent of their pay and more, or others losing their jobs, home foreclosures -- one has to be very sensitive to that.

JOHNS: President Obama is already on the record saying, work it out, and he did it with a little tone in his voice.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For an industry that's making $9 billion a year in revenue, they can figure out how to divide it up in a sensible way, and be true to their fans who are the ones who obviously allow for all the money that they're making. So, my expectation and hope is, is that they will resolve it without me intervening because it turns out I've got a lot of other stuff to do.

JOHNS: Owners say the economic model has changed and that there's a need to restructure. But with the average career span of a player at about six years, players are reluctant.

Fans we talk to tend to side with the players, but they also say, get a deal done already.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a business, so they can come to a win-win situation. I don't think it has to be a win-lose. I really don't.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think actually both sides should just end it and get back to what they do.

JOHNS: As for the product on the field --

BROWN: I think absolutely the product will suffer if, in fact, training camps are delayed in a very significant fashion. And certainly one of the biggest concerns are injuries.

JOHNS (on camera): If a deal isn't reached soon, training camps, preseason games and the regular season would be in jeopardy and stadiums like this one would go empty, meaning less revenue, which is something nobody wants to see happen.

Joe Johns, CNN, Landover, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the police and federal agents tried everything they knew and still came up empty when it came to catch ago suspected serial killer. That's when they went to an unlikely source, a federal prison. That stories, after the break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPC SARAH COSSABONE: Hi. I'm Specialist Sarah Cossabone from Joint Base Balad in Iraq. I'd like to say happy Fourth of July to my family and friends in Hammonton, New Jersey. And I just want to say, I love you, guy. I miss you and I can't wait to be home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Now, a CNN story in-depth.

Federal agents tried for months to catch a suspected serial killer. And, finally, a prosecutor working at a cold case determined an imprisoned drug killer might prove helpful.

CNN's Brooke Baldwin has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Convicted drug dealer Jimmy Keene was 10 months into his sentence when federal prosecutor Larry Beaumont brought him in to talk.

JIMMY KEENE, CONVICTED DRUG DEALER: It scared me. I thought it was some trick.

BALDWIN: Keene watched nervously as Beaumont pushed a folder across the table.

KEENE: And I opened up and the first thing I've seen was a picture of a mutilated dead girl, and I flipped the page and there was a different mutilated dead girl.

BALDWIN: And there was a portrait of Tricia Reitler.

KEENE: And that moment, I looked up at Beaumont, and he said, Jimmy, we need you to help with us this case.

BALDWIN: Beaumont wanted Keene to go under cover, to transfer from his low security lock-up to a dangerous prison and to befriend alleged serial killer, Larry Hall.

KEENE: He says if you can get solid confessions from him, and if you can help us locate the bodies that are still missing, we're willing to completely wash your record.

BALDWIN: Keene's mission, to learn where Tricia Reitler was buried.

LARRY BEAUMONT, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: The purpose of this operation was to find that body.

BALDWIN: Beaumont made it clear -- no body, no early release. Keene would have to serve the rest of his 10-year sentence.

But Beaumont believed Keene could do it.

BEAUMONT: He's smart. He's articulate. He's not afraid. And I knew he wanted to get out.

BALDWIN: For Keene, it was a chance for redemption, to restore his family name, and -- says author Hillel Levin -- to get his life back on track. HILLEL LEVIN, AUTHOR: This deal was a way for him to get home, and it was also a way for him to do good, to kind of take this bad thing he had done, and to somehow turn it back inside out and make it something that would solve a crime.

BALDWIN: But it wouldn't be easy.

(on camera): Fair to say, he was risking his life. He could have been killed.

BEAUMONT: It was dangerous. Absolutely.

KEENE: It was highly risky. These people on those types of places don't have anything better to do but try to hurt you and kill you, too.

BALDWIN (voice-over): was unsure, but a phone call home put his doubts to rest. Keene's stepmother said his father had suffered a stroke.

KEENE: She said he's in really bad shape. We wish you were here. This is terrible that you're on the spot when you're in right now because we could lose him.

BALDWIN: Keene need to get home (INAUDIBLE) fast and there was only one way to make that happen. He had to face an alleged serial killer first.

KEENE: I decided, you know what, however bizarre or far out or whatever this mission that Beaumont wants me to go on, I'm going to do it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh, talking about an intriguing mission. Has this ever been done before?

BALDWIN: Never been before. What a story. So, basically, the deal is you have Larry Hall who is in prison. He's a convicted killer. He's in prison for kidnapping and killing a 15-year-old girl. A lot of these investigators that we talked to over the course of many months believe that's not the only girl he's killed.

Now, I spoke with his twin brother and he looked at me in the face and said I believe my brother is the most prolific serial killer in history.

So, what they essentially set out to do was take Jimmy Keen, who was, you know, your hometown hero football star, who was already in prison for selling drugs, and he -- it was his mission to try to get in and to get information, girls, bodies, from Larry Hall. Does he do it? Find out tonight.

PHILLIPS: Tonight.

BALDWIN: Ten o'clock. PHILLIPS: Ten o'clock, Eastern Time. All right, Brooke, thanks.

BALDWIN: Thanks, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, coming up in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM with Suzanne Malveaux, the sexual assault case against former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, it's crumbling. But today, new allegations are coming to light from a French writer who says she was a victim, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: You expect this -- there's no holiday if you're running for the White House.

CNN's deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joining us from Washington. So, let's talk about where all the candidates are today, Paul.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: OK. Let's start in New Hampshire. I've got some live pictures. Let's go there right now.

This is Amherst, New Hampshire. And we're going to see Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman both marching in this parade in a little bit. We haven't seen them yet, but we're keeping our eyes on this little town, about 20 miles southwest of Manchester.

Also, guess who's going to be in New Hampshire later tonight, as well? Herman Cain, who's also running for Republican presidential nomination. Remember, New Hampshire holds the first primary in the battle for the White House.

Meanwhile, in Iowa, you've got Bachmann, you've got Gingrich and Santorum.

It is a busy day on the campaign trail, Kyra. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: OK, Paul. We'll be watching. Thanks so much.

That does it for us on this Fourth of July. Hope you're enjoying your barbecues, your fireworks, anything that you might do.

I know Suzanne Malveaux is getting ready after the show to enjoy the holiday weekend.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: I'm going to have a little barbecue, of course. It's going to be nice.

PHILLIPS: It will be the American thing to do.

MALVEAUX: Jump in the pool a little bit.

PHILLIPS: There you go.

MALVEAUX: Nice to see you, Kyra. PHILLIPS: See you soon.