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Giffords Staffer Returns to Work; Facebook Plans "Something Awesome"; Casey Anthony's Future; DSK Attorneys, Prosecutors Meet Today; Picking Host City for 2012 Olympics
Aired July 06, 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: Checking the top stories now. The verdict's in but still lots of questions about Casey Anthony's future. She could go free at tomorrow's sentencing hearing on those charges of lying to police.
Search and rescue teams still scouring the waters off Baja Mexico, looking for missing Americans. Their chartered fishing boat sank in bad weather three days ago.
And Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will launch something awesome today. Perhaps new apps for your tablet or Skype video chat service.
Well, Casey Anthony is officially not guilty of her daughter's death, but public opinion, of course, is another thing. A lot of people are pretty outraged at the thought of her going free to continue her Bella Vita.
David Mattingly joining us live from Orlando. Let's go and discuss what's next for Casey Anthony.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what is next happens tomorrow. Casey Anthony is back in court. She's going to be before the judge to hear the sentence that he hands down for those four counts of misdemeanors where she lied to investigators during their search for information on this case.
What will happen is that each of these misdemeanors carries a maximum of one year. So the judge may have the option of sentencing her to four straight years to one year of all the sentences running concurrent or he could go with time served.
She's already been in jail for three years awaiting trial and while this trial was going on. So it's possible that Casey Anthony could walk out of that courtroom tomorrow a free woman. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, David Mattingly live from Orlando. We will obviously the next moves with you. Meanwhile, Casey Anthony could walk out of the courthouse as David point out free woman tomorrow morning and then what?
Criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Holly Hughes is back with us. There's talk that Casey Anthony and her family actually could make millions of dollars off of this, a book deal, a movie deal. You know, are there any restrictions on them with regard to selling their story?
HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, there are not especially since she was acquitted and found not guilty on these charges. It is free speech. It is free enterprise and commerce and market. There is nothing that prohibits her from making money.
And let's face it, Kyra. She doesn't have a lot of skills. She didn't hold down a job prior to being incarcerated. But what do we know she's really good at? Telling stories. I mean, she's famous for lying. You know, she's convicted of lying.
PHILLIPS: OK, what if she gets the book or that movie deal, right and all of a sudden says, yes, I did it? I mean, it doesn't matter, right? She still walks free and she can make even more money?
HUGHES: It's a done deal. The prosecution is over. They've got that one bite at the apple. It didn't happen. There's no conviction. So she cannot be retried on anything having to do with that crime.
PHILLIPS: Think of O.J. Simpson "if I did kill her, this is how I would have done it."
HUGHES: Exactly. She could stand on the courthouse steps and describe in detail. She could say I beat the child. I strangled the child. I dunked underwater and I drowned her. It doesn't matter. She's had her day in court. The jury has spoken. No matter what we think, it's a done deal.
PHILLIPS: Thanks.
Lawyers for Dominique Strauss-Kahn meet with prosecutors today. Yesterday, cameras caught the former IMF chief pretty plastered because he couldn't get the door to his apartment open.
Lawyers of the maid are accusing him of sexual assault. They want him to hand over a copy of a recorded conversation where a source tells CNN, quote, "there's money to be made."
Susan Candiotti joining me live from New York now. All right, let's start with the meeting today. What do you think, Susan? Could the charges be dropped?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Anything is possible, Kyra. As a matter of fact, we have just learned that the meeting is now under way. That's according to a source familiar with the case.
Now certainly most legal experts agree that the defense has the upper hand here. After all, all the sides in this know there are strong credibility issues with the alleged victim in this case.
On the other hand, everyone also knows that there is very strong forensic evidence that some kind of sexual encounter happened in that room. Believe me, Kyra. I would like to be a fly on the wall during that meeting.
PHILLIPS: And there's also this libel suit, Susan, that the accuser is filing against the "New York Post." Tell us about that.
CANDIOTTI: The challenge there is that the attorney representing the maid in this case is suing the "New York Post" for libel following a series of reports in which the "New York Post" quoting unnamed sources have called the maid a prostitute.
Now, the attorney representing the maid says that that's absolutely false. The paper knew it was false and yet published that information anyway and that's why they are suing for libel now.
The "New York Post" says through a representative that they stand by their reporting. The question is, of course, what will come of this.
Now, a source that has knowledge of the investigation has told CNN that at this time, there is no evidence that the maid is a prostitute. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Susan Candiotti, we'll follow it. Thanks.
Blogs and web sites in China tossing around rumors that their former leader may be dead. Jiang Zemin was president of China, his 10-year ending in 2003.
Jonathan Mann is here to help kind of clear up what we are hearing and all these web sites started that possibly he dead and then that all changed all of a sudden, which doesn't surprise us due to censorship, right?
JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, I mean, what would it be like to keep a secret from a billion people in the world's most busiest most intense internet community. It's what the Chinese authorities are trying to do now with the help in the whereabouts of Jiang Zemin who was president for about a decade.
The Chinese know him well. People here may recall him because of the glasses he wore and he would show up to toast at the White House every once in a while, but Jiang hasn't been seen in months.
He missed an important event back in December and then he missed a really big event, the 90th anniversary celebration of the Communist Party on July 1. And so people are wondering, where is this guy?
They are blogging about it as best as they can except they are getting censors. His name is disappearing from the web. His name means river in Chinese, so rivers are disappearing from the web.
References to the hospital where he may or may not have been treated disappearing from the web and each time these things disappear, they just don't go away.
They are replaced by a very clear official statement that the site has been blocked because of government regulation. So the Chinese government treats all these like a state secret. They're not telling anyone that they're doing it if they're doing, but somebody is doing it. Somebody is saying it's official and it all seems to have to do with Jiang Zemin. PHILLIPS: Well, it's interesting because bloggers kind of create their own language, right, to try and communicate the news because they are censored.
MANN: That's what's so funny about this. They can refer using all kinds of euphemisms, for example, dead is blocked, so they use the word "hung," which is a euphemism in Chinese.
And then every reference to something being hung gets blocked, pictures of empty clothes hanging on a hanger. Things like that eventually get blocked.
It's a game between the most devious and determined internet people. The biggest internet police force on the planet and it's going on right now.
PHILLIPS: All right, we'll following it with you. Thanks, Jon. A cheating scandal rocks the Atlanta school system, 178 teachers and principals accused of fixing test scores to show their schools were performing well. Educators face criminal charges.
More on the Casey Anthony murder trial. We're going to look at how the question of Caylee Anthony's paternity was used by the defense of getting her mom cleared of murder.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Let's take a look at stories cross country. A state of emergency in seven Montana counties after a ruptured Exxon Mobile pipeline sends thousands of gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River. High water levels and rapid river currents are hampering the clean-up effort.
In Columbus, Ohio, a train to blame for leaking diesel fuel in the Scioto River. They soaked up as much of the fuel as they could. Environmental damage is considered minor.
Check out this phenomenal sight nearby Mesa, Arizona. A massive dust storm, nearly 60 miles wide blackened the skies of Phoenix and beyond. The storm delayed flights, cut power. We'll have more on this with meteorologist Jacqui Jeras later in the hour.
In Tucson, cheers and applause greeted an aid to Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Ron Barber returned to work. He's one of 13 people wounded along with his boss back on January 8th. He's going to work part time as he continues rehab and recovery.
All right, when we hear of cheating in schools, we usually think of students, right? But an investigation of the Atlanta School System has uncovered widespread cheating by principals and teachers and it goes back a decade. CNN's Ed Lavandera investigates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two years ago, the head of Atlanta public schools, Beverly Ball was named the country's top superintendent. Back then she was credited for turning the Atlanta system into a model of urban school reform and accomplishing significant gains in student achievement.
But Georgia's governor says the state's just completed investigation into the Atlanta School District's standardized testing process found widespread fraud dating back almost 10 years.
GOVERNOR NATHAN DEAL (R), GEORGIA: Testing, results and targets being reached became more important than actual learning on the part of children. When reaching targets became the goal, it was a goal that was pursued with no excuses.
LAVANDERA: According to the report, cheating was found in 44 of 56 schools investigated involving almost 180 principals and teachers. Some of the educators could face criminal charges. Superintendent Hall stepped down from her job in June, but in a farewell video message, she suggested the culprits acted alone.
BEVERLY HALL, FORMER ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: Segment of our staff shows to violate the trust that was placed in them. Let me be clear, there is simply no excuse for unethical behavior and no room in this district for unethical conduct.
LAVANDERA: According to the investigative report, some teachers told investigators they felt pressured to cheat on the standardized test and school district officials missed significant and warning signs of test tampering.
Atlanta's interim superintendent says any educator who cheated should never teach in the city schools again.
ERROLL DAVID, INTERIM APS SUPERINTENDENT: We have cheated students. This angers us all. It's hard for us to quantify and often express that anger.
LAVANDERA: Across the city of Atlanta, parents of school children are dismayed by the investigation's findings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They clearly did not do their job and abused their power.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a sad time when adults put their interests in front of the children they serve.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: You wonder could this be happening nationwide not Georgia because there is incentive, right to do this. They get more money.
LAVANDERA: Well, I think that's the concern nationwide. You see in so many school districts where teacher performance, principal performance, salary kind of tied into how your students perform on standardized tests.
And I think the question is, I think a lot of people are asking, does this open up the door for this kind of behavior?
PHILLIPS: So investigators in other states could be looking at this as well. Maybe we should look at this school or maybe we should check is it possible?
LAVANDERA: I find it very possible. I think - but, I come on a day- to-day level. You hear a lot of parents talking, you know, are they just simply teaching for these kids to take the test. Not really teaching or learning.
Are you being taught just simply to take a test? This is actually one step beyond. In this situation, they were going through, from what the report said teachers erasing answers and filling in the correct ones. When they saw the pattern of blooming test scores, at one point it was unbelievable and literally it was unbelievable.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Ed.
LAVANDERA: You got it.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, more on the Casey Anthony verdict and how celebrities are reacting to the jury's decision.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: There's no shortage of reaction on the verdict of the Casey Anthony murder trial. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" host, A.J. Hammer is live in New York with a few of them. so what caught your eye most, A.J.
A.J. HAMMER, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Well, Kyra, I have to tell you the not guilty verdict had been read when the Kardashian sisters of all people instantly took to Twitter to convey their amazement over what had happened.
They tweeted throughout the trial with their fascination with our HLN coverage this real-life soap opera. So it wasn't that surprising to see just how quickly they reacted.
Let me get to one Courtney Kardashian tweeted. She's a mother herself. She wrote who watched the Casey Anthony verdict? My heart hurts for that precious baby girl. Children are so innocent. God Bless, Caylee Marie.
Courtney's sister, Kim was apparently at a loss for words other than these? When she tweeted, what? Casey Anthony found not guilty? I am speechless. A lot of people were very quick to point out the sort of irony of Kim's tweet.
Kim's father, of course, was the late Robert Kardashian. One of the lawyers who represented O.J. Simpson in his 1995 murder trial and a lot of celebs on Twitter were making the O.J. connection so many have been making to the Casey Anthony case and to the verdict in this case.
Ashton Kutcher re-tweeted this O.J. Simpson finds this verdict outrageous. Many more thought the jury might have just gotten it all wrong. She tweeted, whoa, shocked about the verdict in the Casey Anthony trial. Thought she was guilty for sure either way, tragic story.
Tragic story for sure and Kyra, I think it's safe to say so many jaws were dropping all over the place when the not guilty verdict was read yesterday. And addition to the shocking outrage over the verdict, Kyra.
I'm also seeing a lot of people tweeting how upset they are about the fact that Casey Anthony would be walking free after her sentencing hearing tomorrow.
PHILLIPS: Not only that, but potentially cash in from the story. You know Hollywood, she's probably going to get all kind of deals, movie deals, book deals, right?
HAMMER: It's inevitable that Casey is going to cash in and in a big way as the dust begins to settle. You got it right, book deals, interview opportunities, movies offers. They're going to start pouring in. I'm certain Casey will inevitably be hire in the publicist, probably an agent.
There are going to be a lot of offers to sort through. It's difficult to know the kind of income it's going to generate for her, but you know some experts are saying that Casey could be paid millions for a full interview.
As we all know, a lot of news organizations don't pay specifically for interviews. But there are shows out there that will licensed photos and videos for use during a story and that's where the real money is made.
As far as who's going to land that first big interview, that's all a guessing game at this point, but you know, Barbara, Kate and I guess, even Oprah is going to resurface try to go after the interview. I think it will be a while down the road. Actually, I see Piers getting the first shot.
PHILLIPS: Yes, they feel a lot of people watching. That's for sure. A.J., thanks. You want information on everything breaking in the entertainment. A.J. has got it, of course, every night at 11:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN.
One of the many unanswered questions about Caylee Anthony, who is her father. Nearly six years after her birth and three after her death. Nobody knows, maybe not even Casey. More on that, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Casey Anthony trial is over. The jury has spoken, but so many questions remain including this one. Who is Caylee Anthony's father? Here is Randi Kaye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is the other question in the Casey Anthony trial, who was her father? To answer the question, it's best to start with who we know it isn't. We know it's not Casey's own father George nor her Brother Lee. The FBI's DNA test ruled that out. But that didn't stop the defense from suggesting it during one of the most explosive moments of the trial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you asked to conduct a paternity test from Lee Anthony being the potential father of Caylee --
KAYE: Jesse Grand, Casey Anthony's ex-fiance isn't the father either.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got a paternity test to prove that I wasn't Caylee biological father.
KAYE: Grand says a pregnant Casey told him the baby was his. When Caylee was born seven months after the couple had met, he knew it wasn't true. Still, he wanted to be a father to her.
NANCY GRACE, HOST, HLN "NANCY GRACE": Did you love little Caylee like she was your own child?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A piece of paper couldn't tell me not to love her like she was my daughter.
KAYE: But Casey Anthony told different things to different people. According to this deposition by Britney Shiber, an old friend Casey told Britney, she didn't know who the father was.
Britney goes on to say that Casey's best friend told her KC said it was a, quote, "random one-night stand." Another old friend told detectives Casey at first said her fiance was the father.
After the couple broke up in May, 2006, Casey said Caylee's real father was a one-night stand named Josh. Casey gave no last name, but said he was from Georgia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did she tell you how old he was?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did she describe him to you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nope. She said he was really hot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She said what happened with Josh?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Josh passed away in a car accident shortly after Caylee's 2nd birthday?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 2007.
KAYE: And here's what Casey apparently told her mother after revealing that her ex-fiance wasn't the father.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who did you think Caylee's father was?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She gave me the name of Eric Baker.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ever meet anyone by the name of Eric Baker?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, sir, I have not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did Casey -- what did Casey tell you about this Eric Baker?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was two years younger than her and he was an old friend and she had seen him about the time she started seeing Jesse. He was in town and upset about a girlfriend and I guess they got together. It was one night. Eric lived out of state.
KAYE: However, Cindy said Casey had talked to her about Eric Baker in connection with other friends who later turned out to be fictitious people.
And although investigators did turn up a death certificate for an Eric Baker who died in a car accident, they don't know if he had a connection to Casey. Only further adding to the mystery and the tragedy of the story of this little girl. Randi Kaye, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Casey Anthony's courtroom drama is over. Legal experts wonder if her mom will face legal repercussions over her testimony. Prosecutor Jess Ashton addressed that question on the "Today's Show."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think there will be legal action taken against Cindy Anthony for perjuring herself on the witness stand?
JEFF ASHTON, PROSECUTOR: I think there could be. You know, that would be another branch of other office.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you pursue the case if you were staying in office?
ASHTON: I don't know. I honestly don't know. That would be a very, very difficult decision to make.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Holly Hughes is back with us once again. What do you think? She talked about being the one that went on the internet looking up chloroform. Her employer said nope, it wasn't her. It was back and forth on who really did it.
HUGHES: I think it's pretty clear that Cindy lied about this. But I do not see anyone pursuing her for perjury charges because the bottom line is, if they do go after her now, it's going to go like sour grapes.
The state's attorney, you don't want to be seen as going after the grieving grandmother. If nothing else, no matter what you think about Cindy, she is a grieving grandmother. I don't see them going after her for charges. PHILLIPS: Attorneys are good at that, by the way.
HUGHES: Absolutely. It's a skill.
PHILLIPS: What if the father of little Caylee's father does comes out of the wood work, I'm the father, could we see any other civil action?
HUGHES: It's possible. You know, if somebody came forward and proved through DNA they were Caylee's father, technically, yes, they could file a wrongful death suit.
But there's a couple things to consider. Number one, you didn't have a relationship with the child so what is your loss. And then although we understand there's a biological connection and there is a loss. What are you going to get from Casey Anthony?
Until she signs a book deal, she has nothing. At this point, I don't foresee that happen and quite frankly, it doesn't sound like Casey even knew who the father of the child was.
If no one has come forward yet, I think we are not going to see anybody come forward. I mean, it's possible that person doesn't remember they were with her.
PHILLIPS: A lot of things we didn't expect in the trial.
HUGHES: From start to finish, Kyra. You know, let's face it. The defense brought it and the jury bought it. There you have it.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Holly.
Coming up, President Obama is going to hold the first ever presidential Twitter town hall. He'll be asked about the economy, jobs and probably a number of other things. We'll find out what our political buzz panel thinks about this.
Michael Jordan's high school sweetheart says someone stole a love letter that he wrote her some 30 years ago, put a price tag on it and sold the memories to the highest bidder. Let's see what Lacueta (ph) Robinson thinks about that. She's going to join us live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.
President Obama has invited congressional bipartisan leaders to the White House tomorrow to talk about the federal debt ceiling. An August 2nd deadline looms to raise the ceiling or risk default.
Attorneys for Dominique Strauss-Kahn plan to meet in New York today. Prosecutors may be looking for ways to salvage the sexual assault case due to the accuser's credibility issues.
Jury selection begins this morning in a Roger Clemens perjury trial. The baseball legend is accused of lying to Congress about the use of performance enhancing drugs. All right. Time for "Political Buzz" -- your rapid fire look at the hottest political topics of the day. Three questions, 20 seconds on the clock.
Playing today: Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher, Sirius XM political talk show host and comedian Pete Dominick, and conservative talk show host Dana Loesch.
All right, guys, first question.
Mitt Romney still leading the polls with six months to go until the Iowa caucuses. Which of the other candidates should be the most worried?
Cornell?
CORNELL BELCHER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I like this question because he's the front-runner in the polls. National polls don't matter here. Here's a frontrunner on the national poll because he's an establishment candidate. The only poll that matters right now is the Iowa poll. And right now, he's in a toss-up with Michele Bachmann in our Iowa poll, CNN Iowa poll. So, he should be most concerned about the woman who just got into the race that he's in a toss-up race with right now.
PHILLIPS: All right. Dana?
DANA LOESCH, CONSERVATIVE RADIO HOST: I agree with Cornell. I think Bachmann is the biggest force with which Romney has to reckon. I mean, she's trailing him so closely in the Iowa polling. I think at this point, right now, I look at it as a race between those two. That's if you are rumored to get involved.
Possibly Sarah Palin who has volunteers there and then Rick Perry, who a lot of people are talking about. Those are definite game changers and it will throw everything into chaos.
PHILLIPS: All right, Pete.
PETE DOMINICK, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think Mitt Romney has to start worrying about David Duke. Yesterday, speculation began that the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan maybe running for president. And that means the whole field will have to move to right, Kyra, to make sure that they don't lose the hate vote.
But, really, Mitt Romney only needs to worry about old Mitt Romney, 2007-'08 Mitt Romney, the moderate Mitt Romney. That's his biggest concern.
PHILLIPS: Pete is totally insane.
All right. Question number two. Mike Huckabee's daughter, Sarah, joined Tim Pawlenty's campaign. What do you think? Is this the beginning of an endorsement, Cornell?
BELCHER: I think David Duke is calling me to work on his campaign. (LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Hey, he's a changed man. He's been a changed man.
BELCHER: It will take a whole lot of money (ph).
(LAUGHTER)
BELCHER: Endorsements don't mean what they once used to. You want them, but they don't carry weight, what it does is it gives Huckabee supporters a pause and make some look. But his problem is he has to make Mitt Romney fall for him to go up.
PHILLIPS: Dana?
LOESCH: Well, if Robert Byrd can change, then maybe David Duke has a shot in Hades. But I'll say this. I don't think -- maybe it will be an endorsement. I don't think that's out of the realm of possible. But I don't think anything is going to save Pawlenty. He's five people behind -- he's four people behind the front-runner and that's one undeclared candidate in front of him as well.
PHILLIPS: All right. Pete, you've changed this into a civil rights discussion here. Leave it to Pete to totally change the course of the conversation. All right. Pete, weigh in.
DOMINICK: What was the question, again, Kyra? Oh, right. Mike Huckabee's daughter has joined the Tim Pawlenty campaign -- the reason is because Mike Huckabee won the 2008 Iowa caucuses. His daughter was part of the reason.
But unless Sarah Huckabee Sanders can inject some of Mike Huckabee's personality into the otherwise boring Tim Pawlenty, who's polling below who haven't announced that they're running, I don't think Pawlenty's got a chance. But we'll see. Maybe she can perform for him.
PHILLIPS: All right. Your buzzer beater, 10 seconds on the clock, guys.
The president is holding a Twitter town hall today, as you know. Should he limit his responses to 140 characters? Dana?
LOESCH: I don't know that he would need to go over it. He's had Jesse Lee, the White House director for progressive media or whatever, defending White House policies for the past couple weeks. So, he may not have to go over 140 characters.
PHILLIPS: Cornell?
BELCHER: I think there's actually an important trend here. You know, 62 percent of the new electorate last time around were under 30. This is going to be a trend that I think all politicians are going to get into, the Twitter town halls.
PHILLIPS: Pete? DOMINICK: That all depends if the teleprompter can fit just 140 characters for the president to use. But, seriously, that was for Dana. But, seriously, Kyra, he's got a crowbar in the hashtag -- hashtag Casey Anthony and people will pay attention.
PHILLIPS: Oh, jeez. David, Cornell. He had to go there, right?
LOESCH: Good job, Pete.
DOMINICK: He's got to crowbar trending topics into his answers.
PHILLIPS: Cornell, I'm glad it was that person calling versus the other person we were afraid that would be calling you.
BELCHER: I mean, David Duke.
PHILLIPS: Yes, I was going to say, did you get that messed up? OK, Dana, Cornell, Pete, thanks guys.
Sax Fifth Avenue is named after the iconic Fifth Avenue in New York City. But, now, the luxury retailer is heading east. Far East.
Alison Kosik is in the New York Stock Exchange with the details. Now, there's a little bit of surprising location for Saks.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. And, you know, I'm thinking about you may be thinking Kazakhstan. People think of Borat. Well, now, I think you should think about luxury when you think of Kazakhstan because Saks Fifth Avenue is opening its first store in Kazakhstan next year. It looks like in summer of next year.
This is going to be part of a big new luxury complex. Take a look at what some of these pictures look like. What this place is going to look like. It's going to include L.V., Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Fendi. It's going to have luxury apartments, a five-star hotel and it's going to be right in the middle of Kazakhstan's biggest city to get all the tourism money -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Now, is there a market for these kinds of high- end stores in Kazakhstan?
KOSIK: Actually, there is. You know what? If you ask Saks, they'll you Kazakhstan's affluent population is really growing.
The country is doing really well. It's got low unemployment at 5.5 percent compared to our 9 percent unemployment rate. It's growing at 7 percent pace compared to our 2 percent pace.
And as the purchasing power of the people of Kazakhstan, the GDP per capita $12,000. You know, it's pretty good. It's comparable to Mexico.
And the reason that Kazakhstan is growing so well is because of its growing oil and gas industry -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Allison, thanks. Well, years before he was Air Jordan, he was teen Jordan taking his high school sweetheart to the high school prom. We are talking to her next.
Why? She says a picture and love letter were sold to the highest bidder. And she has no idea who did it. She saw it on the news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking stories cross country.
In Boston, Mass, accused mobster James "Whitey" Bulger has 2:00 p.m. court appearance. He's set to be arraigned for his alleged role in 19 murders. The 82-year-old was caught last month in California after spending 16 years on the run.
Controversy in California after lawmakers there approved a bill that would require schools to being teaching the historical accomplishments of gay, lesbian and transgender Americans. The measure awaits Governor Jerry Brown's signature.
So, just how cool of a band is U2? Well, check out this clip from a recent gig in Nashville.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
PHILLIPS: No, it's not the Edge playing guitar. Bono actually brought this band who happens to be blind up on stage to play "All I Want is You." Slightly more exhilarating than a game of "Guitar Hero," won't you say?
Well, Adam Bevell had been near the front of the stage holding this sign that said he wanted to play a song for his wife. Well, Bono obviously saw it over the course of the show and obliged after the encore. He even gave Adam the guitar and helped him off the stage. That's how cool U2 is.
So, you remember your high school sweetheart?
Laquetta Robinson remembers her. No, not just because he's really, really tall. Take a look. Do you recognize him?
Yes, that's Michael Jordan rocking the white tux in 1980, long before he rocked the Chicago Bulls uniform. It's a priceless memory for Laquetta she says someone put a price on it and actually sold it without her knowledge. And someone apparently stole and sold a love letter, too. A sweet letter that Jordan wrote her.
Laquetta is with me now.
And you say it's been a few years since you and Michael had talked, right? But you want him to know that you didn't sell your memories. Why is that important to you?
LAQUETTA ROBINSON, MICHAEL JORDAN'S HIGH SCHOOL GIRLFRIEND: It's important to me because that's not the kind of relationship we had. I mean, a lot of people in Michael's life betrayed him or hurt him. And I would never want to be a person that's on that list.
So, when I first found out this was out there, that was my main, that was my first concern was that he would think that I sold it. And I would just never want him to think that I would betray him in that way.
PHILLIPS: So, apparently, this letter was two pages long. Wow, he really confessed his love to you. Is there anything that you remember from the letter? I know we are going back a number of years, Laquetta. But a certain line or something that he said that will always stay with you?
ROBINSON: Just when he was joking with me, because that's just how he is. You know whenever he'd make -- he would make a compliment and then take it back or just say, you know, he'll always say don't let it go to your head. He was a big jokester. I remember those things.
PHILLIPS: How do you think the picture and the letter got stolen? And what did you tell authorities and why did they believe you and say, OK, we'll take it on?
ROBINSON: I think they believe me because I have other letters. You know, that spoke to my credibility, because -- and the timing that it was done. It done -- I was told it was sold in December, 2004. All these years later, if I was going to do something like that, they thought I would do it sooner. And they also felt like if I were to have sold one letter for that amount of money, then I would have sold them all to have gotten more.
So, that's why they believed it.
PHILLIPS: Well, you know, we have to have a little fun here. Are you married? Is there a special someone in your life? Just thinking, oh, my gosh, I got to compete with Michael Jackson or Michael Jordan. What if he comes back in the picture?
ROBINSON: No, I'm not married. Not married. So -- I just know that, you know, that God has someone for me. In his time, he'll find me.
PHILLIPS: Well, maybe Michael's got good friends he could introduce you to.
Laquetta, thanks for joining us today -- setting the record straight.
ROBINSON: You're welcome. Thank you. Thank you for having me.
PHILLIPS: You bet. It was a pleasure.
All right. Today's daily dose. The number of people diagnosed with colon cancer on the decline. According to a new study, between 2003 and 2007, the number of cases slipped by nearly 3.5 percent, also the number of people dying from colon cancer dropping from about 3 percent a year. Researchers say the declines are the result of more people getting screened and reducing their risk factor by losing weight and not smoking. Well, coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM with Suzanne Malveaux -- it's the letter that no parent of any trooper wants to get, a condolence letter from the White House. Now, the Obama administration is lifting a longstanding policy and sending letters to families of service member who've died by suicide. We'll talk to one grieving family and ask, is it enough?
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PHILLIPS: OK. If you haven't seen this, just take a moment to check it out. Talk about shock and awe. A different storm in Arizona, a literal wall of dust darkening nearly everything in its path.
Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras, give us some insight.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Amazing, isn't it?
PHILLIPS: What's it called? How does it happen? Yes?
JERAS: It's a haboob. Everybody is giggling at the name, all day long.
PHILLIPS: Oh, my, I'm glad I didn't have to say that.
JERAS: I know. But it's a serious term and it's just basically just a big storm and lots of pictures. The video has been amazing. Here is another one to show you from our iReporter Mike Obinski (ph). He's a professional photographer.
And you can just see the wall of dust comes through. You know, this goes up really high to the atmosphere, up to 10,000 feet it was and 15 miles wide. It just turns visibility down to nothing. The winds were strong, up to 70 miles per hour. So, a lot of people were without power from the storm as well.
Now, the one good thing about this, it comes during the monsoon season, which on average starts about the Fourth of July. And what happens is that the weather pattern changes, we start to get moisture in the mid-levels from the Gulf of Mexico at the same time, moisture from the Gulf of California. Combine that t with the heat, we get pop-up showers and thunderstorms and believe it or not, flooding from time-to-time.
And just two weeks ago, take a look at these pictures. This is what's been happening in Arizona. Wildfires have been ranging, out of control. That's the haboob, again.
But I just wanted to mention, both the monument fire, as well as the willow fire, Kyra, they're between 95 percent and 98 percent contained. So, what a difference a week can make with moisture and a little bit of rain in there.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Jacqui.
JERAS: Sure. PHILLIPS: Well, Tiger Woods will miss the next major golf tourney. He says he's still not healthy enough yet to play in next weeks' British Open. In a statement on his Web site, he says he's very disappointed but only wants to compete again when he's 100 percent. And he says he still believes his best golf years are ahead of him.
A Lamborghini is fast, but a squirrel may be quicker. Oh, yeah. Check it out, again. What happened to the squirrel that crossed the road? Well, he missed the upcoming Lamborghini that could have made him killed.
This video was shot during the event called the ultimate Lamborghini experience, but it's really the ultimate squirrel experience if you ask any of us.
There's many crossed fingers in Munich, Germany, right now, also Annecy, France. And, oh, yes, Pyeongchang, South Korea. The cities are awaiting the International Olympic Committee's announcement at the top of the hour on which city will actually host the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
CNN's Matthew Chance, Jim Bittermann, and Paula Hancocks are in all the bid cities.
Paula, let's go ahead and start with you.
PAULA HANCOCK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it is coming up at midnight local time here and the excitement is mounting. Everybody that I have spoken to here tonight has said that they are convinced that they will clinch the Winter Olympics this time around. It's the third time running that they have tried to get the Winter Olympics. Twice they have been runner up. They believe it's their turn.
Now, we heard from President Lee, he's put himself in center stage of this. He's really stuck his neck out for this bid. He was in Durban, South Africa, and he gave a very impassioned speech and in fluent English about why Pyeongchang should have the Winter Olympics, basically, because they say it hasn't been in Asia since 1998. Even then, it was in Japan, and that's the only Asian nation that's ever held the Winter Olympics.
They say that it will increase the interest in winter sports, open a huge new market to winter sports. It only takes 13 minutes to get to the different venues in this particular area, which is a plus sign as well. They are hoping they will actually look at the fact it should be in the same continent two times in a row. So, they are hoping there will be a rotation and it will come back to Asia.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm Matthew Chance in Munich. And you can see that hundreds of people are in (INAUDIBLE) Square, Munich. The Marine Platts, to wait to see what's going to happen when the Olympic Committee pick the 2018 Winter Games would be held. Of course, everybody here wants those games to come to Munich.
The event organizers have said it's going to be a festival of friendship. And I think what that means is they are going to emphasize fan participation, fan zones like this, huge plasma screens all over the area. (INAUDIBLE) try to get the fans involved in what's taking place. It's a very beautiful part of southern Germany.
The other aspect of the pitch that the organizers are emphasizing is that this is going to be a very environmentally friendly bit because the structures and any of the building that are necessary to stage an event like the Winter Olympics, well, they've already been built. They were built for 1972 Olympics, so they can be used again. (INAUDIBLE) we are the only city in the world to stage summer and winter games.
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jim Bittermann in Paris. Well, they're also playing that environmental card down in Annecy, where they'd like to see the Winter Olympics come about.
But unlike what Paula Hancock is saying, here, they are looking for the fourth time, they are hoping the fourth time will be the charm. They, in fact, staged three winter Olympics in France. Because of that, it seems somewhat unlikely that they'll be able to stage a fourth one in Annecy, down in the heart of the Alps and the shadow of Mont Blanc.
The pitch is, of course, that it's going to be environmental. It's going to be sustainable. That this is an area known to winter sports fans all over the world. And that between now and 2018, in fact, 70 million people will visit here and be kin of walking advertisements for the Olympics.
That's kind of the hope. But the expectations are not that high. In fact, they may be met --Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Guys, thanks so much.
And again, that announcement is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. And you are looking at a live picture actually in Durban, South Africa.
So, stay with CNN to find out the winner, just about five minutes away.
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PHILLIPS: The nation's first primary state weighing in with their picks for the presidential candidate.
CNN's Jim Acosta joining us with result of the new poll from New Hampshire.
So, is Mitt Romney still the front-runner, Jim?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra. If there's any debate -- if there was any debate over whether or not Mitt Romney is the front runner for this field for 2012, that debate may have ended this morning because in New Hampshire right now, Mitt Romney is really out in front among those voters in New Hampshire polled by WMUR TV. Mitt Romney, look at that number, 35 percent. He's just way out in front of everybody at this point. Michele Bachmann has inched up because of her successful rollout at 12 percent. And then you go through the rest of the field, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani and Rick Perry, those two have not even announced that they are running for president.
But look at the bottom five, because if there's another headline in all of this, it's some of the names in the bottom five here, Jon Huntsman who has staked much of his campaign on doing well in New Hampshire at 2 percent, despite a pretty large media roll out for his campaign just a couple weeks ago.
And then Newt Gingrich has just plummeted in the polls to 1 percent. And there are some new fundraising worries for his campaign. And so, this is not good news for Newt Gingrich.
And one of the other names mentioned in that poll, Tim Pawlenty, we should also note -- he has been banking his political campaign really on doing well in Iowa, Kyra. He has brought on a new adviser to his campaign with the name Huckabee. No, it's not Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, who won the Iowa caucus back in 2008. It's his daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
She was a close confidant and adviser to Governor Huckabee back in 2008 and will do basically the same for Tim Pawlenty. So, the former governor of Minnesota looking for some Huck luck, you could say, over there in Iowa -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Huck luck. That's cute. All right, Jim, we'll see you tomorrow. The next political update in just about an hour.
And a reminder, for all the latest political news, you can always go to our Website, CNNPolitics.com.
We both got a chuckle out of that.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Huck luck.
PHILLIPS: Take care.
