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Obama Comments on Debt Limit; The Final Four; Scandalized Tabloid Shutting Down; Thousands in London's Trafalgar Square for the Premiere of Last Harry Potter; Doctors Grow Organs In Labs

Aired July 07, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, Suzanne. Thank you so much.

And to our viewers, we are seconds away from seeing the president of the United States step into the briefing room right here. This is a live look right now. This was not planned. Not expected.

But we got the heads up just minutes ago that the president would be making comments, live comments in that briefing room.

As you may know, the president has been busy today in meetings with the top leaders from both parties at the White House over this debt ceiling. We are told that unless the debt ceiling is raised by August 2nd, all hell will break loose on the economy. At least that's what many people will have you believe. Nobody wants us to go without raising that debt ceiling.

But still, the talks have been going on today. The president said he wants to make comments. And here he is.

Let's listen.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, everybody. I'm going to make a brief statement.

I just completed a meeting with all the congressional leaders from both chambers, from both parties. I have to say that I thought it was a very constructive meeting. People were frank. We discussed the various options available to us. Everybody reconfirmed the importance of completing our work and raising the debt limit ceiling so that the full faith and credit of the United States of America is not impaired.

What we decided was that staffs, as well as leadership, will be working during the weekend. And that I will reconvene congressional leaders here on Sunday, with the expectation that at that point, the parties will at least know where each other's bottom lines are, and we'll hopefully be in a position then to start in engaging in the hard-bargaining that's necessary to get a deal done.

I want to emphasize that nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. And the parties are far apart on a wide range of issues.

But, again, I thought all the leaders came in a spirit of compromise, in a spirit of wanting to solve problems on behalf of the American people. Everybody acknowledged that the issue of our debt and our deficit is something that needs to be tackled now. Everybody acknowledged that in order to do that, Democrats and Republicans are going to be required in each chamber, everybody acknowledged that we have to get this done before the hard deadline of August 2nd, to make sure that America does not default to the first time on its obligations.

And everybody acknowledged that there's going to be pain involved politically on all sides -- but our biggest obligation is to make sure we're doing the right thing by the American people, creating an environment in which we can grow the economy and make sure more and more people are put back to work.

So, I want to thank all the leaders. I thought it was a very constructive meeting. And I will be seeing them back here on Sunday. A lot of work will be done between now and then.

All right?

REPORTER: What are the odds of a deal?

HOLMES: The president not taking questions, and not necessarily breaking a whole lot of news. If anybody had their fingers crossed that a deal would have been reached in one day of negotiations at the White House -- well, that's not going to happen. But, still, the president saying things were constructive but, still, and a key part, saying nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to, saying the two sides are far apart.

As you know, the backdrop to all of this, the country needs to or has to -- or I should say Congress, has to raise the debt ceiling by August 2nd. We're told that's the hard date before the United States will not be able to pay its bills, essentially. And that would be a first.

By that day, literally, the next day, the country would not have enough money to pay all of its bills.

The president now is bringing both sides, the leaders from the House and the Senate to the White House today for discussion. There were a number of people there, including the vice president, the Senate majority, the minority leader in the Senate, and also their counterparts in the House as well for this meeting today. It has wrapped. He said they will come back now on Sunday.

The staffs will continue to work throughout today, tomorrow, the weekend. But then on Sunday, he will have the leaders back. He said at that point the parties will know where each other's bottom lines are.

Our Brianna Keilar is standing by at the White House for me.

Now, Brianna, hello to you.

And the president didn't necessarily tell us that any kind of deal was reached. We heard he was going to be coming out, so make there would be news to be made. OK, he tells they're going to meet again on Sunday. But it sounds like, at least, in the couple of things he said, Brianna, that they still are a long way apart.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly what he said. No deal has been reached, T.J.

I can also tell you, though, talking to sources on both sides of this equation, they didn't expect that something or a deal would be reached coming out of this meeting.

I think we just saw there was the president really striking an urgent tone, trying to show that work is being done, that they're working to come to a compromise.

And let's be honest, this clock is ticking. And I think we're getting into the nerve-racking time where people and the markets are starting to wonder when are these differences going to be bridged, especially what we saw over the last, basically, couple of weeks, a seeming standstill or impasse over tax increases that Democrats wanted and Republicans were saying no to.

Now, I have to tell you, we just heard at the top of this briefing after the president spoke, T.J., the White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said he wasn't going to do a readout of the meeting, wasn't going to disclose details, and that there's actually a commitment on the parts of these eight lawmakers and President Obama, not to get into details.

We've heard the White House say before they don't want to jeopardizes the progress on the discussions that they're having, which, T.J., they don't really have an agreement at this point.

HOLMES: Remind us, Brianna, what the president has been saying. He said he had confidence that maybe over the next couple of weeks, something could be ironed out. And we know this hard August 2nd deadline, nobody wants to get to that.

But going by the president's timeline and what he has said over couple of days and weeks about these talks, when would he like and what is reasonable for us to expect a deal to be made?

KEILAR: He said the other day, T.J., that he wanted something done in a couple weeks, because this isn't like trying to avert a government shutdown going right down to the wire of August 2nd. So, that would put us somewhere around July 20th or something like that, giving some breathing room between then and August 2nd.

Now, there's no guarantee that they're going to come to an agreement by then.

Something we do know, that President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner have been discussing, is actually a much more ambitious deal than was discussed a couple of weeks ago when the Biden talks dissolved. And that is a plan for about $3 trillion to $4 trillion in deficit savings over the next 10 years, Democratic sources telling us that, a Republican source telling me that this would put Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, all of the entitlements, on the table along with tax reform.

Can you imagine? That is biting off a whole lot. And it's possible, I'm told by this Republican source, that some of this might not get done by August 2nd, so there would obviously need to be something built into negotiations if this were -- at least part of this were to move past August 2nd, certainly to get the dead ceiling raised. No guarantee they'll get it done -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Brianna Keilar for us from the White House -- Brianna, we appreciate you as always.

And to our viewers, we are going to move on to a couple other really big stories we've got going on today -- one of them being Casey Anthony will walk out of jail a free woman in six days. Now, you hear that, and think back now to 48 hours ago. It was at this time Tuesday that Casey Anthony was facing the possibility of life in prison, maybe even facing the death penalty.

And what a difference 48 hours makes, because today, she is counting the days until she walks out of the jail a free woman. She is counting down to six.

You know by now, Casey Anthony was acquitted of murdering her 2- year-old daughter Caylee, but convicted on four counts of lying to investigators. Those were four misdemeanor counts -- just before sentencing, the defense tried and failed to reduce down to one.

So, here are those four counts. Count four of the indictment: lying about working at University Studios. Count five: lying about Caylee being with a nanny, the fictitious "Zanny" you heard so much about. Also, count six: lying about Caylee being missing. And count seven: lying about speaking to Caylee on the phone.

Well, this morning, the Judge Belvin Perry gave her the maximum to each of those counts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE BELVIN PERRY, ORANGE CO., FLA., CIRCUIT COURT: I will sentence you to one year in the orange county jail, imposing a $1,000 fine on each count, all four counts to run consecutive to each other, giving you credit for the time that you have previously served.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: OK. It wasn't so cut-and-cried. It got complicated here.

We all were trying to do a little math on this. So here we go. We know Anthony has been locked up for almost three years, but inmates get extra credit for good behavior. So, in Casey Anthony's case, that apparently worked out to about 412 days.

She's set for release on July 13th. That is six days from now.

Now, after all of that, she'll still be headed back to court. And here is why. A woman by the name of Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez -- that's the name that Casey gave to the non-existent nanny who is supposedly had kidnapped Caylee, is suing for defamation.

Also, the state of Florida wants Casey to repay the cost of investigating Caylee's disappearance and death.

Also, a private firm, Equusearch, is considering a suit to recoup more than $100,000 it spent to search for Caylee in July of 2008.

Let me bring in CNN's Martin Savidge for us now. He was in court for this sentencing today. He's been covering this for us.

A lot of people were scratching their heads. She got the maximum that the judge could give her and she's still going to be walking out in six days.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're right, T.J. I mean, he threw the book at her. The only problem was he didn't have much of a book to throw by that point. I mean, once she had been found not guilty of three main charges, then she was left with the four misdemeanors.

As you so clearly pointed out, once you do the math, it works essentially that she will go free next Wednesday. It could be any time after midnight, Tuesday night. In other words, it could be 12:01 Wednesday morning, all the way through the day, there's no particular time.

And, quite frankly, the deputy's office -- or actually that's the Department of Corrections for Orange County, will probably not be announcing exactly when she will go free. They had already stated that there would be extra security measures that she wouldn't be walking out of a door per se, that they would probably release her somewhere within the community. And we anticipate that a member of her defense team will whisk her away to points unknown.

As far as the demeanor inside the courtroom, I'm sure you saw her, T.J., she looked very different. She literally had let her hair down. That shows you, what a dramatic difference from when she was sentenced two days ago to the atmosphere today. She had a much more relaxed appearance. Her hair was no longer up in pony tail or a tight bun where it had been ever since her trial began back in the end of May.

And it was clear to many who are watching that she thought she would get out today, because she was all smiling, she was chatting to people, and then once she heard that, no, it's not going to be today, stone-faced. We saw that whole face of hers close down again, her family quickly left. That was mom and dad, Cindy and George. They were in the courtroom as well.

So, that's pretty much how it played out down there.

Out here -- well, there were protests, but they fizzled pretty much, and only a handful that are left, T.J. HOLMES: Martin Savidge, that was the first thing people commented on when we saw her in court -- the hair was down, you could tell the demeanor had changed completely. Maybe she did think she was about to walk out of jail today, but still she doesn't have to wait too long.

Martin Savidge for us -- we'll be checking in with you again. Thank you so much.

Now, as I mentioned just a moment ago, we had a couple big stories we were following. The other big and still developing story, a major British tabloid is being shut down, and it's all the results of a massive phone hacking scandal. Those details are here for you next.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. In less than 24 hours, we will witness history. We think. The final launch of a U.S. space shuttle. Yes, Atlantis supposed to take off. I say suppose because you can see in this live picture they've got some weather issues right now in Florida. We don't know if weather will permit tomorrow. Everybody still has their fingers crossed. But on board Atlantis, a crew that everyone's calling the "final four." And our own John Zarrella caught up with the "final four" to see if these astronauts are truly aware of their place in history.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A beautiful shuttle. Beautiful day.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You guys are going to be the last shuttle flight. What's going through your mind? Are you going, oh, man, you know, why me or like this is --

REX WALHEIM, SHUTTLE MISSION SPECIALIST: It's kind of like being at Disneyland late at night and thinking, OK, am I going to get to the front of the line before the ride closes or am I going to actually get to -- get cut off right at the very end? So when we finally got assigned the flight, it's like, wow, you know, you kind of squeaked by. And then to realize that this, you know, probably will be the last space shuttle mission ever was -- it really felt like an honor to be a part of it.

CAPT. CHRIS FERGUSON, SHUTTLE COMMANDER: We want to make sure we get the job done. And when the job is done, we can look back and reflect and think about where the place in history lied for this final flight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The crew getting the last looks at the space station complex.

SANDRA MAGNUS, SHUTTLE MISSION SPECIALIST: We've got more transfer and logistics supplies to send to the station than we ever had on any other mission. We're very, very busy in training. It's very -- it's a very challenging mission.

ZARRELLA: You represent thousands of workers for 30 years who have poured their, you know, heart and soul into these vehicles.

DOUG HURLEY, SHUTTLE PILOT: That's exactly right.

ZARRELLA: And you guys are representing them on the final flight.

HURLEY: It is, and I think that's where I feel the most pressure, to be able to represent them the way they deserve to be represented and finish out the program on a high note with a successful mission and then be able to thank -- thank them all afterwards ideally.

ZARRELLA: Would you say the shuttle program then has been a success?

HURLEY: I think at times it is the -- I hate to use the cliche, but it sometimes has been the Rodney Dangerfield of the space program over the years. And -- but it's just -- the amount of payload it can take to orbit, the amount of payload it can bring back, seven people on top of that, you know. Where else have we seen that in the space program?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Want to wrap it up. We can head back to the airlock.

FERGUSON: It was a defining moment. It was a successful program. We essentially have command of low earth orbit. We know how to get there and back very easily. So much so that we set the ground for these commercial providers that will come. And I'd like to think the stage is set to go beyond low earth orbit, which is where NASA belongs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Houston, at least, we have wheels stop.

ZARRELLA: What do you think is going to be going through your head there when you call "wheels stop"?

FERGUSON: Yes.

ZARRELLA: I mean that's it. It's over.

FERGUSON: Yes. You know, you're calling "wheels stop," not just for you, the orbiter, your crew, but I think that that moment will really -- it will be a defining moment for a lot of people. It will be at that moment when it's finally over that you'll be able to exhale, take a breath, understand the significance of the moment and it will probably take a little while to get me out of the shuttle, but I'm bound and determined to be the last one out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: So I mentioned that we are supposed to see history tomorrow, weather permitting. And I don't know if this is a good sign because you see our John Zarrella, that jacket he has on. Those are the jackets CNN gives us to go cover hurricane. So I know it's not a hurricane not necessarily bearing down on you, but you've got some nasty weather there and it doesn't look to good.

ZARRELLA: Yes, that's right, T.J. And, you know what, it is tropical moisture. This was a tropical system that came up out of, you know, out of the Caribbean. So I guess it's kind of appropriate that I'm wearing the red rain jacket.

We just had a heck of a storm blow through here with thunder and lightning. No wind, fortunately, but heavy rain. And they're expecting more of that throughout the day. And in the meantime, you know, NASA is trying to roll back the RSS, the rotating service structure, that encases the shuttle while they're doing work at the pad. They have to roll that back in advance of the launch. That's supposed to happen at about 2:00 this afternoon.

Then they thought about moving it up earlier before the weather came in. They couldn't do that. So now they're just really waiting for a window of opportunity to get that RSS rolled back. And then, of course, the next big milestone will be tanking in the overnight hours when they have to load the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the giant external tank.

But right now, no, the weather does not look good at all for a launch tomorrow. Saturday and Sunday looking a little bit better. So we might have a couple extra days here in Florida waiting for this liftoff.

T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Well, history is coming one way or another in the next day or so.

ZARRELLA: Yes, it is.

HOLMES: John Zarrella, good to see you as always, buddy.

And be sure to join or John Zarrella, along with Brooke Baldwin and Anderson Cooper for our special coverage of the final shuttle launch Friday, we think, we hope. That will be at 10:00 a.m., at least the special, right here on CNN. But we'll keep you updated as soon as we hear if there's a change and when that shuttle will take off.

Also, up next, the tabloid accused of hacking into the phones of murder victims and celebrities has just announced it is closing. Richard Quest with the new details. He is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, a shocking development in the British hacking scandal. British tabloid "News of the World" will shut down after Sunday's issue. Its owner, News International, is giving that news to us here at CNN. The development follows accusations that the tabloid hacked into phone messages of murder and terror victims, celebrities and politicians. Let's head over to Richard Quest of CNN. He's standing by for the latest.

A shocking development here. And remind our viewers here, if you can for us, Richard, just how long this tabloid has been around and how big of a deal it really is.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the tabloid's been around for more than 160 years. It is Britain's biggest-selling Sunday newspaper. It says it's the largest English-speaking newspaper in the world. And it is sort of the back-bone of the Sunday newspapers or the tabloid papers on Sunday.

But what started out as a celebrities hacking scandal rapidly turned into a scandal when they hacked into a murdered girl's voicemail. Then the revelation that they were hacking into bomb victims from 7/7. Their voicemails. And now the revelation that they've been hacking into soldiers' voicemail from those fighting or killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.

So, finally, the statement from James Murdoch, Rupert Murdoch's son, James Murdoch, saying that "News of the World" has been sullied (ph) by behavior. If allegations are true, it is inhuman that the paper and the company had failed to get to bottom of repeated wrongdoing. And what it says here is wrongdoers turned a good new room into bad. And this Sunday's newspaper won't carry any advertising, but all the money from subscriptions and -- will go to good causes and it will be the last edition.

HOLMES: And, Richard, just because the end of "News of the World" doesn't necessarily this means the end of the investigation or the scandal?

QUEST: Oh, there are two investigations at the moment. One into how far the -- well, there's going to be an official inquiry. One into the phone scandal, hacking scandal. But there's another one which is equally serious. Documents have been revealed showing the newspaper paid the police either for tips or whatever. That's another investigation. And on top of all that, there's whole questions of civil litigation. No, this is not going away. But why the (INAUDIBLE) paper will be the interesting question. Was it just on moral grounds alone or, T.J., commercial grounds? This was a brand that was destroyed.

HOLMES: All right, Richard Quest, we appreciate you, as always. Richard, thank you so much.

Well, we're getting close to the bottom of the hour here on this afternoon edition of the CNN NEWSROOM and we're going to turn to your Harry Potter fans out there. We know there are a lot of you. And a big, big moment for Harry Potter fans right now. The final installment. The last Harry Potter movie. We're going to take you live to the red carpet premiere in London. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, this is it, folks. This is the last movie in the whole Harry Potter franchise, all right? There is a big premiere happening in London right now. This is "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows." Look at this. People are going nuts for this. They're dressed up. They do what they do out there for these premieres. We have seen this time and time again as these movies have premieres. Our Becky Anderson is live for us on the red carpet, talking to fans about this new movie.

And, Becky, can you help me? School me a little bit. What number -- what movie is this now? We're up to movie number 27 or something? Which one is this?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is part two of the last movie, which makes a series of eight movies in what has been a multibillion dollar movie franchise. $6.5 billion worldwide this franchise has made. It's quite unbelievable. And let me tell you, this, as a red carpet event, is as big and as bold as I've ever seen.

You've got people here -- there's 8,500 people in Trafalgar Square. The roads around here are closed off. Some of these people, some of these fans have been here since Monday camping out to get a glimpse of the cast of what is the last movie, as I say, in this franchise. And it's quite remarkable. And the weather has been predictably unpredictable. Anyway, it can't dampen their spirits.

Let me bring in a friend for you to see. This is Tom Feldman, aka Draco Malfoy.

TOM FELDMAN, "DRACO MALFOY": How are you doing?

ANDERSON: (INAUDIBLE)

FELDMAN: I know, it's quite bizarre. I'm not sure if Nelson ever envisioned this as a view from up on his post but it's very exciting to be here, for sure. We're doing it -- we're ending in grand style.

ANDERSON: You finished filming, in fact, a year ago. I guess you're trying to move on at this point but you can't really when you have a night like tonight.

FELDMAN: Yes. Everybody's been saying what (INAUDIBLE) when this is finished and we've been kind of looking forward to this. This is kind of like closing night, really. Yes, I can see it getting very emotional to be honest with you. For sure.

ANDERSON: If you had one endearing memory of what has been a decade that you have grown up with this movie during, what would it be?

FELDMAN: Endearing memories. I mean, I met most of the adult cast as 11-year-old who had subsequently no idea who Michael Gammon (ph) and all these great actors were. So -- and it was weird later on in life becoming more and more shy of them the more I realized how big these guys are. But it's been great learning that they're actually exceptionally normal and very funny people to work with.

ANDERSON: Are you going to Draco?

FELDMAN: Of course. Yes. I'm there every night firing spells in my bedroom. It is a sad to leave a character behind that I've been playing for so long. So, yes. ANDERSON: Good stuff. I'm going to let you go because it's a long walk this red carpet this evening. We're hoping, of course, also to speak to all the other members of the cast here. Daniel and Emma, of course, doing the rounds as we speak. And hopefully J.K. Rowling. It's going to be an emotional night, of course, for her.

Quite phenomenal the amount of books that have been sold around the world. The numbers are just ridiculous. As I say, $6.5 billion as a movie franchise, as something that we possibly won't ever see again. Many of the crowd here don't remember life without Harry Potter or Hogwarts and as the cast walk the red carpet for the last time, do remember that this is a movie, a magical movie that will continue to move through the generations, the very last of the Harry Potter series.

Back to you.

HOLMES: All right. Well, thank you for schooling me on Harry Potter.

Becky Anderson, good to see you as always.

We'll be checking in with her again with all the madness going on there.

But you can check in with us here and our own Larry King. You can go behind the scenes with this final chapter with Larry King. He has your all-access pass to never before seen footage, plus interviews with the film's three young stars. Don't miss Harry Potter: The Final Chapter of CNN's special hosted by Larry King, Sunday night 8:00 Eastern. Again, that's right here on CNN.

And up next, a deadly grizzly bear attack at Yellowstone National Park. Those details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's about 34 minutes past the hour. I'll give you a look at some of the stories making headlines right now.

Casey Anthony will be walking out of jail in a matter of days. You remember, it wasn't too long ago she was looking at life in prison and the death penalty. But now she is going to be walking out of jail on Tuesday. Now, despite receiving the maximum sentence of four years in jail today, and an additional $4,000 in fines, that was for lying to the police, she will actually be released next Wednesday after the judge factored in time served and credit for good behavior.

President Obama made a surprise appearance just moments ago after a crucial meeting with congressional leaders. He called today's talks on raising the federal government's debt ceiling constructive, but said no breakthroughs were reached. He announced he would be meeting with the leaders again on Sunday to hopefully begin hard bargaining before the August 2nd deadline to raise that debt ceiling. The president has signaled a willingness to include reductions in entitlement programs, such as Social Security and Medicare as part of a broad agreement to cut up to $4 trillion over the next decade. Defense spending and tax reform also on the table.

A man was killed by a grizzly bear yesterday at Yellowstone National Park. That's according to the National Park Service. The visitor was hiking with his wife when she surprised a female bear with her cubs. The park service said that the bear attacked and fatally wounded the man in an apparent attempt to defend her cubs. This is the first bear-caused human fatality in Yellowstone since 1986. All Yellowstone trails and back-country camp sites have been closed unit further notice.

And a suspect has been arrested in connection with a theft of a 1965 Picasso pencil drawing that's worth over $200,000. That's according to the "San Francisco Chronicle." It's a drawing titled "Head of a Woman." It's a Picasso original that is no bigger than a standard piece of paper. It was stolen from the Weinstein Gallery on Tuesday. This footage here is showing apparently the man walking out, walking down the street holding the drawing.

The Atlanta school board meeting right now, talking about the report that uncovered one of the largest cheating scandals in U.S. history. So what's the fallout from this huge cheating bust? We will take you there next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We are learning more now about the cheating scandal that's rocked the Atlanta public schools. The interim superintendent Errol Davis is discussing the official report at a special board of education meeting. The state investigation found that as many as 178 teachers and principals at nearly 50 schools in Atlanta we are involved in perhaps the largest cheating scandal in U.S. history.

Right now there could be criminal charges pending in this case and Davis promises that none of the educators implicated in this report will teach in the district again.

Carl Azuz joins us now, live outside the board of education meeting with more.

Carl, hello to you, I hope you can hear me all right there. Tell us, what is supposed to be happening in this meeting? What was the point of it?

CARL AZUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, T.J.

Well, right now, T.J., the plan was to outline a plan, so to speak. We have an interim superintendent. His name is Erroll Davis. And what he's doing is outlining a plan on how to move forward following this massive cheating scandal.

So what he's done is he's presented to the board some suggestions on exactly how to do that. And his suggestions including some tenets that I have for you right here, one of them internal audits. If anybody starts complaining about ethics in Atlantic public schools, the internal audits would go directly to the Atlanta board of education, so right to the top on that. A few other things he wants to put in place. Trigger mechanisms. If CRCT scores which really were the heart of this problem, if CRCT scores in the school suddenly rise, then that would trigger, according to his new plan, a mechanism that would review and certify those scores through Atlanta public schools. They also want to survey employees to eliminate the culture of intimidation that allowed this cheating scandal to happen.

And one other thing he mentioned was to give students who were harmed, the remedial education that they missed as a result of the cheating scandal.

HOLMES: And one other thing here, Carl, before we let you go. What is this talk about the possibility of criminal charges? What is the update there? Who could possibly be charged criminally in this case?

AZUZ: You know, it wasn't something said about that T.J., but there was a pretty strong implication made. Superintendent Davis has said in the past that these teachers, these 178 educators and principals would not be in front of kids again. And something he said today implied they wouldn't be employees of Atlanta public schools.

Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERROLL DAVIS, INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT, ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Those who have cheated our children or those who have permitted our children to be cheated, either knowingly or unknowingly, will have forfeited their right to remain in our system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: One other thing he said, T.J. was that culture will always trump strategy. So whatever the strategy was in Atlanta public schools, (AUDIO GAP) they're going to be (AUDIO GAP) a superintendent wants to make sure that the culture (AUDIO GAP) cheating scandal is eliminated.

HOLMES: All right. Carl Azuz for us today in Atlanta.

Carl, we appreciate you, as always.

We're coming up on 41 minutes past the hour here now. Britain's royal newlyweds, a big hit in Canada. We will take you live there, but we'll see shortly if they're also going to be a big hit in California. The report is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. We've got a little treat for you now because we told you this final Harry Potter movie, the last one in the series coming out. They're doing a red carpet premiere in London as we speak.

Our Becky Anderson is standing by with one of the biggest stars of that movie.

Becky, you take it away.

ANDERSON: Absolutely. One of the biggest stars of the Harry Potter franchise, the multibillion dollar franchise. And this is part two of the last movie, the last of eight, of course.

I've got Emma Watson, aka Hermione with me here.

What a remarkable turnout.

EMMA WATSON, "HERMIONE GRANGER": It's unbelievable. I mean, I was told that when the premiere was going to be in Trafalgar Square, I thought it might be difficult to fill. And actually, it doesn't seem to have been at all. It's absolutely packed. It's just amazing.

ANDERSON: There are 8,500 people just in the square alone. The roads around Trafalgar Square here in the center of London have been locked off.

What are your -- what are your feelings tonight, Emma? Because this has been an awfully long time, hasn't it? A decade of your life.

WATSON: I know. It's really hard to try and take in. It's overwhelming to try and even describe how I feel. You know, this has been -- I've spent more than half my life playing this role and being this character, and it's so sad that it's come to an end. And I'm also aware I will probably never see anything like this in my lifetime. I mean --

ANDERSON: I don't think I will. I've never known a red carpet event like this. It is remarkable.

WATSON: I think it's going to be the biggest red carpet in history. I think it's three quarters of a mile long. As you say, there's over 8,000 people here. It's incredible.

ANDERSON: Listen, what is next?

WATSON: Just I feel like I just graduated from the toughest, best film school in the world. And it as though I'm propelled now to go and try and put everything I've learned into practice and just keep doing good work.

ANDERSON: Good stuff. Well, thank you very much.

Who designed the dress?

WATSON: This is Oscar de la Renta.

ANDERSON: She looks marvelous. Doesn't she?

Well done and thank you very much. Enjoy the movie this evening.

WATSON: Thank you. ANDERSON: Some of the cast haven't actually seen this movie yet. I have, and I've got to say, it is a roller coaster of a ride. But if really -- I've got to say, if there had to be a best movie for me, this one would be the best of the lot. It's in 3-D. It's good over evil, love it. Whatever you want, it's all the right things, and you get in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two."

Back to you guys. I can hardly hear you.

HOLMES: Well, that's all right, Becky. You're making me want to watch this movie after you just gave me that review.

Becky Anderson for us. We appreciate her jumping in front of the camera for us and grabbing one of the biggest stars of that movie. Again, the final installment coming out now. They're doing the premiere over in London.

Well, coming up, we told you the royals have taking over Canada, but how are they going to be received in California? We are checking in with our royal correspondent, next.

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HOLMES: Well, Prince William and his wife, Catherine, are wrapping up their nine-day visit to Canada with a stop today in Calgary, Alberta. The royal couple will attend a series of event today and tomorrow before then heading to California for a three-day tour.

And our Max Foster is live for us in Calgary.

Hello to you. And a lot of our viewers here want to know, I mean, haven't they been in Canada long enough? Come on down. It's time to come to the U.S.

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I know, not long now. They are in cowboy country, of course, and when they arrive here, T.J., they are going to be given white hats, it's a tradition, welcoming ceremony, if you like. And we also got the same white hats, so there you go. Been told I have to do this. This evening they will go and see some stampede events.

You're laughing.

HOLMES: A little bit.

FOSTER: Some stampede events. You're going to see them throwing a barrel into the back of a chuck wagon, you're going to see them looking at a lassoing demonstration, riding bulls as well. It's going to be a very, very colorful even. And then in the morning, they are going to launch the Stampede Parade.

So very colorful end to this Canadian tour for them, T.J.

HOLMES: Now I would assume it would be rude of them not to go through all of that, because they might not want to be -- I don't know, a caught looking like you do right now in the hat. It's a good look for you. I don't want to say it's not, but you know --.

FOSTER: I thought I pulled it off. I think that's unfair.

They are going to wear the whole thing as well, by the way -- jeans, cowboy boots. They are going to -- you know, they're not going to wear a suit jacket.

HOLMES: Oh, wow. OK.

When they wrap up, then they are heading to California. Now, when are they expected there, and I guess what are they expected to do in Cali?

FOSTER: Well, afternoon California time they will arrive, and there's a whole series of events, and it's going to be great sort of picture story really.

On Saturday night one of the highlights, a big red carpet event. It's full frocks and rocks for the duchess, we're told. So she will look fabulous on the red carpet, no doubt meeting lots of stars on the way.

On the Saturday morning there will be a polo match. Prince William will play in that out in Santa Barbara and the duchess will present the trophy, hopefully to her husband, I'm sure.

They're also heading to Skid Row to meet young homeless people, that's been a theme of this tour and also meet some veterans of Afghanistan as well.

So a busy weekend, but it's going to be very colorful as well.

HOLMES: Max, I give you a lot of credit, my man. And you're right, you pulled off that hat just fine.

Max Foster with us on the tour with the royals. Good to see you, Max. We'll talk to you again soon.

And to our viewers, you can find out more about how Max is doing on his whirlwind tour across Canada by visiting our website CNN.com. He's written up a behind-the-scenes look at what life is like covering a royal tour, from eating lobster sandwiches with William and Catherine to details of the entourage that surrounds them.

Well, we're getting close to the top of the hour now. Listen to this. Can you just imagine a cancer patient given less than a month to live saved not by an organ donor but an organ grown from his own cells? The fascinating procedure that could save countless lives, that's coming up.

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HOLMES: All right. Every day on this show we do a segment called the "Big I." It's about big ideas, innovations and solutions to problems. Today, we're taking a look at a cutting-edge procedure that could save countless lives. Cells from a dying cancer patient are taken to grow the one organ he needs to save his own life.

Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here to explain this.

And did I explain that about right?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You did. I think I can go now.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: I need details here.

What organ are we talking about here?

COHEN: We're talking about the trachea.

HOLMES: OK.

COHEN: That's the tube you breathe in air. It takes this -- the tube takes the air down into your lungs.

And so this is a 36-year-old man who was dying of cancer from the trachea. And so he had this huge tumor on his trachea, and doctors did everything they could. And they said, look -- see that green thing, that's a tumor. All of that green is a tumor, so as can you see it's quite large.

And they said, we need to cut off that section of your trachea and give you one from a cadaver. But you know what? It's going to take a long time. There's a long line of people waiting for that, and you will die before you get it so we're going to make a new one.

So they used plastic. They made him a new trachea out of plastic, but the problem was if they just put it in his body, his body wouldn't really accept it. You know, it wouldn't really work. So what they did is they coated that plastic trachea that you're looking at right now with the guys own stem cells. They took stem cells from his bone marrow, they coated, like sort of painted it basically, put it in him and his body thought that it was him and the vessels starting growing into it, if you can sort of picture that, and it works.

HOLMES: You trick the body a bit.

COHEN: Trick the body. The body thought oh, look, this is us, here we are.

HOLMES: How long did it take to grow, the whole process take?

COHEN: It didn't take that long. I mean, you take the bone, take the cells out of the bone marrow, you just sort of paint them on and you surgically put it in him. They watched him. This happened a month ago, almost exactly, and they watched him in the hospital, watched him for a while and he's being discharged.

HOLMES: OK. So if we are hearing this is successful, I assume they didn't just roll the dice and get lucky here, so this apparently works. Can everybody line up for this now?

COHEN: It would be really wonderful if this really worked because trachea cancer is really tough because by the time you catch it usually there's not a whole lot you can do. So they're going to watch this guy and see how he does. Then they're going to study with about 10, 20 people to see how they do. And if everyone does well, this may really become sort of standard practice to do for patients who need it.

HOLMES: How much time would they need to know, OK, this works? Will they have to watch him for years?

COHEN: You know, that's a good question.

First of all, it wouldn't be just him. They would want to do a study with several dozen people before they would know. And they would want to watch them for at least awhile to make sure they didn't have some kind of reaction to it or whatever.

HOLMES: OK. Is this just -- I mean, I'm -- I'm amazed here, but this has widespread implications now, and won't we just start doing things like this? I'm sure it's not as simple as it sounds, but still, it sounds so promising.

COHEN: It does sound promising. And when you think about the people who die every day waiting for an organ, you would think wouldn't it be great to create them out of plastic.

So the trachea is a pretty good place to start because it's pretty basic, it's kind of a tube. It's not like making a heart, which is all sorts of parts and pumps and whatever built into it. But the hope is that this is the first baby step towards constructing new organs.

But, again, it is a baby step. You know, this is not going to cure-all these problems tomorrow, but it's -- it's a step on the way.

HOLMES: What else do we know about this patient? Do we know age, race, background?

COHEN: Thirty-six. He's from Africa, he's from Eritrea. And he got this -- this whole effort to build him this new trachea, it came from doctors at Harvard in Boston, doctors in London and doctors in Sweden. So this was a real international effort to try to give this guy a plastic trachea.

HOLMES: Great stuff today. Very promising, but that's our "Big I."

Elizabeth, our medical correspondent, joining us for the "Big I" today. Good to see you, as always.

COHEN: Thanks. Good to see us.

HOLMES: And for more on the procedure, you can check out the Facebook page of one Randi Kaye, there she is, at RandiKayeCNN, again on Facebook.

And we're coming up on the top of the hour here on CNN.