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Tropical Storm Lee Slams Gulf Coast; Uproar Over Handgun Raffle; Secret CIA-Libya Connection; Obama in Patterson; Gibson Under Investigation

Aired September 03, 2011 - 19:00   ET

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

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: That is tropical storm Lee. It is slamming into the Gulf Coast. This is what it looked like last night in Mississippi -- rough waves slamming that boat into the pier, eventually punching a giant hole into the hull. You see guys trying to save it. They are OK.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM this Saturday. I'm Susan Hendricks, in tonight for Don Lemon. Good to see you.

We are following that massive storm now stalled just off the coast of New Orleans. This iReport right here sent to us by Andrew Kalle of Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans. It doesn't look too bad now. But already, power has been knocked out to about 30,000 people in Louisiana. The governors of Louisiana and Mississippi have declared states of emergency for several parishes and countries. Parts of Jefferson Parish near New Orleans are under mandatory evacuation orders because of the threat of flooding.

Now, the mayor of New Orleans today warned residents to brace for a long ordeal from this storm. Up to 20 inches of rain could overwhelm the area.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has been tracking the impact of the tropical storm all day today, tropical storm Lee. He joins us now from Waveland, Mississippi, east of New Orleans.

Ed, how's it looking?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Susan, you know, I think a lot of people remember Waveland, Mississippi, back during the days of hurricane Katrina. This was a town that was simply devastated by that storm.

This is the beachfront. And you see as you look out into the Gulf of Mexico just how choppy those waters are and how dangerous it is out there. And a lot of that storm surge has been brushed up earlier this morning. We understand in many places around town here in Waveland and Bay St. Louis. In some of those low-lying areas, there was thigh- high water.

I look along the roads here, on this beachfront road, you can see all of the sand that you see here is what was brushed up and pushed inland from the shoreline here earlier today. Officials here tell us they anticipate that that will continue happening during the next 24 hours. But it comes in waves at this point. For the most part, when you talk to folks around town, they kind of feel like the worst of this is already over, that even though it's raining a little off and on, we really haven't seen any significant rainfall now for several hours.

So -- and in areas in the lower lying areas that were getting flooded out, the water was quickly dissipating. So that was good news.

But throughout the region, there is still that concern, because mostly, this is a very slow-moving storm as it continues to push north into inland in Louisiana and Mississippi and communities not just along the Gulf Shore here. There's that threat of continued flooding. So, we'll be on the lookout for that and continue monitoring that over the course of the next day or so.

HENDRICKS: Ed, do you think because they saw Katrina six years ago that they're thinking, OK, we can handle this. This doesn't seem too bad?

LAVANDERA: Well, you know what? What's interesting in a community like this, Waveland, not everybody has ever fully moved back here. In fact, some folks were telling us that about 1/3 of the population here in Waveland, Mississippi, ever returned after Hurricane Katrina. So, you know, they're talking about one of the sad things here is that there aren't many people left.

But the folks who still are here, imagine after you survive something like Hurricane Katrina, were in Bay St. Louis, several miles inland from where we are, they had 30 feet of water. A storm this magnitude doesn't really impress them for lack of a better term.

HENDRICKS: Exactly. Ed Lavandera, we're hoping for the best there in Waveland, thank you very much.

Now we turn to Jacqui Jeras at the weather center.

And she's going to tell us by her map -- it's looking like it is slow- moving. We talked about it before the show. It is very slow moving.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

HENDRICKS: What does that mean? That's not necessarily a good thing because it's hovering.

JERAS: Right. Well, if it stays over water, there's a chance for intensification. If it just sits there and hovers, that also means it could be more of a flood threat than it's already been. I mean, we've seen upwards to eight to nine inches of rainfall already associated with Lee. And if it sits here for another 24-plus hours, that certainly is bad news.

And inland flooding is really the greatest threat with this storm. Now, it does appear that the center might be pushing its way on the coast now. So, landfall is not all that important, honestly. What's more important is how quickly we can get this out of here and prevent the flooding.

The thing that's been saving us throughout the day today and why this is a little worse than what could have happened is that most of the heavy showers and thunderstorms have been down here into the Gulf of Mexico. And obviously nobody lives there. So, that is great.

But we are getting a nice burst of convection here along I-10, over toward Lake Charles, and into southwestern Louisiana. So, expect to see some heavy rainfall rates there. And then also over here towards Mobile, Pensacola, over into lower parts of Mississippi -- that's where some of the heavier rain bands and the threat of tornadoes has been for today.

Forecast track then showing you a slow mover, just barely making it to Mississippi by Monday. And then it starts to pick up a little of forward speed, and it makes its way up toward the Appalachians. The rainfall totals are expected to be on top of what we already have, somewhere between six and 10 inches. So, that's a whole lot of rain.

And the big issue in Louisiana and New Orleans in particular is that if all this comes at one time, that's a problem. If you spread it out a little bit, the pumps can keep up a little better.

Here's a few of the numbers we've already seen in New Orleans, in the Carrollton area, 8.82 inches. Slidell City, about eight inches there. And Pascagoula has had about three inches of rainfall.

Now, let's talk about where this is going, because timing is everything. We've got a cold front that's in the Midwest right now, and those two are going to try and hook up. We think this isn't strong enough that we could see Lee kind of maintain its identity in here and get cut off from the main circulation.

So, that's more of a concern as we head into northeastern parts of the country because we've already got flash flood watches in effect there across parts of Upstate New York and also into Vermont. So, if we get too much rain in there from the next cold front, a good one to three inches, if you throw moisture in from Lee, it's really bad news for those folks. So, still on high alert in the Northeast after that storm went through.

We also have Katia, OK? Katia's out here. It's now a tropical storm. Seventy-mile-per-hour winds, and believe it or not, some of the models are kind of intertwining Katia with the remnants of Lee. So, we're going to have to keep a close eye on that thing. The good news, it's been weaker than what we were thinking.

All right. Let's talk a little about the tornado threat. We've got a tornado watch box still in effect from New Orleans, extending over toward Mobile and into Pensacola. We also are watching severe thunderstorms in the upper Midwest, Chicago, over into Indiana.

The Notre Dame game, they evacuated the stadium in South Bend because of severe thunderstorms. That game might not get played today. It sounds like they might end that one here for today. There you see the location of the stadium. This is the first time in history they say that they've actually evacuated the stadium and delayed a game because of weather.

Also problems at the Tennessee game, the Iowa game, and the Michigan game because of storms. People want their football but --

HENDRICKS: I know --

JERAS: They want them safe.

HENDRICKS: Right. I don't think they want to risk anything. I remember covering a story, a young student at Notre Dame, Declan Sullivan was his name. He was filming the practice and the hydraulic lift fell over to his death.

JERAS: Right.

HENDRICKS: So, I would imagine that they're taking every precaution that they can, although some people may be upset with the decision, Jacqui.

Thanks so much. Appreciate it. A lot going on with Katia and Lee. We'll check back, thanks.

Also, we're covering Gabrielle Giffords. The last time we saw the congresswoman, she showed up for that important House vote the government from defaulting -- to keep them from so. There she was getting a standing ovation. Who could forget?

She has been traveling. She is spending the Labor Day weekend at home with family in Tucson. Gabby Giffords has been living in Houston while recovering from the near-fatal shooting in January.

Meanwhile, there's a political uproar brewing over the raffle of a handgun -- very similar to the model used in the shooting that killed six people and wounded the congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords. The Glock handgun rifle is fundraiser for Pima County, Arizona Republicans. But Democrats and others call the idea insensitive.

Tammy Vo of KGUN has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAMMY VO, KGUN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This Glock 23 could be yours for just 10 bucks, and it comes fully loaded. Pretty similar to the Glock 19 Jared Loughner is accused of using to carry out the January 8th shoot spree. We headed out to the Safeway where the shooting spree happened to find out does it come down to constitutional rights or bad judgment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I think it's OK to do that.

VO: Keith says no big deal.

But for the Slatterys (ph) who drive by these six crosses nearly everyday, it's just wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very negative as far giving a gun away in a raffle or guns period.

VO (on camera): It comes with three 12-round magazines, adjustable grips, and a case. Fully loaded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold me back. I couldn't want something less.

VO: So you -- would you contribute to this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No way. No way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, but no thank you. I would take it if they gave it to me.

VO (voice-over): We're not the only ones pressing the GOP for answers.

MIKE SHAW, INTERIM CHMN., PIMA CO. GOP: Some people are yelling at us and worse. And other people are calling and wanting to buy a ticket.

VO: So far, a dozen raffle tickets have been sold with about 100 more to go.

(on camera): Have you at all kind of second-guessed the decision to raffle off this gun?

SHAW: Well, I will say this -- that if I had realized the strong reaction that this got -- I certainly would have taken that into consideration when we decided to do this particular raffle. So -- you know, I will admit that.

VO (voice-over): Our local Democratic Party says, "It shows a stunning lack of judgment and sensitivity. It's a slap in the face of a still-grieving community."

House Democrats say, "The raffle is not common sense, it is sick, and the Pima County GOP should call it off."

(on camera): The Democratic Party calls on you guys to stop, change the prize to maybe an iPad, golf clubs, dinner with an elected official, something besides this gun.

Do you plan to change it?

SHAW: We do not plan to change it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: You may remember Jared Lee Loughner was charged with opening fire on Congresswoman Giffords and others on January 8th. A young girl died in that shooting.

In May, Loughner was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial.

Next, a CNN exclusive. Secret documents emerge in Libya revealing how U.S. prisoners were taken there for interrogation.

Also, comedian Pat Williams already in hot water for a recent rant about Mexicans. Wait until you hear what he had to say in another CNN exclusive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: A CNN exclusive now: the collapse of Moammar Gadhafi's regime is revealing Libya's secrets to the worlds, literally, including supposed agreements to take prisoners from the U.S. and the U.K. for interrogation. Libyan authorities left stacks of files behind when rebels forced them out of Tripoli.

Our Ben Wedeman has gotten a look at these documents. Again, this is exclusive.

Ben, how were you able to get them? And what did you find?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we found was in the basement of the internal security agency of the Libyan government -- basically, their CIA -- were thousands of documents that went into the details of the developing relationship beginning in early 2004 between the Libyan spy agency and the CIA, MI- 6 in the U.K., and others, over this program of extraordinary renditions whereby the United States or the U.K. would capture terror suspects and hand them over to countries like Egypt, like Jordan, like Tunisia, and it turns out Libya, as well, where they would be interrogated by the standard methods in these countries which oftentimes was torture.

So, what we saw was correspondence between the Libyan intelligence agency and the CIA. Some of it quite intimate, everything on a first- name basis with holiday greetings and all going into the finer details of how this relationship developed. And it appeared to be quite warm despite the fact that for year after year, the State Department, for instance, in its annual human rights report would document all the human rights abuses by many of these same agencies with which the CIA was cooperating.

HENDRICKS: This is truly fascinating as we're looking at pictures of the documents, of the files. Any reaction, Ben, from the U.S. or from Britain as of yet?

WEDEMAN: Well, the British government has said they don't comment on intelligence matters. And the CIA has declined to comment specifically on these alleged documents.

However, a spokeswoman for the CIA did point out that all of this cooperation, that it's normal for the CIA to cooperate with other countries in the effort to protect American citizens around the world. That seems to be the rationale. In the sense, in the world of spies, there's no such thing as a strange bedfellow -- Susan.

HENDRICKS: Again, our thanks to Ben Wedeman, in Tripoli

Sarah Palin makes an appearance in Iowa and take a swipe at the president and at least on GOP rival. But is she in the presidential race or out?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Thank you so much. Thank you, Iowa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Welcome back.

Well, no one really knows how to fire up the Tea Party faithful like Sarah Palin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: Polls -- they're for strippers and cross-country skiers. But --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: Did she say that? Yes, she did. There she is, Sarah Palin, stirring up the crowds as only she can. Sarah Palin was the star attraction today at an Iowa Tea Party rally. She went after some familiar political targets, but she also took a shot at one of her own party's new front-runners.

CNN political reporter Peter Hamby was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin delivered a series of sharp attacks against President Barack Obama and her potential Republican presidential rivals here at the Tea Party rally in Iowa on Saturday. And while Palin did not declare a presidential bid and is not expected to until the end of September, she did draw a sharp line in the sand against one potential opponent, Republican front-runner, Texas Governor Rick Perry.

PALIN: Some GOP candidates, they also raise mammoth amounts of cash. And we need to ask them, too, what if anything do their donors expect in return for their investment? We need to know this because our country can't afford more trillion-dollar "thank you" notes to campaign backers.

HAMBY: Perry is a prolific fundraiser who has long been criticized by his political opponents of rewarding campaign donors and political allies with government jobs and contracts. Palin repeatedly attacked, quote-unquote, "crony capitalism" throughout her speech, making clear that she's not going to cede any ground to her Republican rivals if she does decide to run for president. She tried to position herself as a populist outsider, a leader of the Tea Party movement.

So, we'll be watching her today as she campaign in New Hampshire and speaks to another Tea Party rally and possibly drops more clues about what her message might be if she does decide to run for president.

Peter Hamby, CNN, Indianola, Iowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: Yes, because we still don't know the answer to that. Peter, thank you.

The Republican hopeful that Sarah Palin was criticizing is forging ahead with his surging campaign. Texas Governor Rick Perry spoke to would-be supporters at a house party today in Manchester, New Hampshire. Perry is the party's new front-runner, according to the latest CNN poll. Sarah Palin not liking the poll.

He told listeners that a match-up between himself and President Obama would offer voters an obvious choice

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As we consider this economic misery that's spread across this country by the Obama administration, we don't need a nominee who's going to blur the differences between themselves and Barack Obama. We're going to have a nominee who draws a clear contrast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: Republican Jon Huntsman is also in New Hampshire trying to light a fire under his campaign in the state that hosts the nation's first presidential primary, so to speak. That is him right here, in Concord this morning, working the crowds at a gun show.

CNN's poll shows the former Utah governor trails Rick Perry and most other hopefuls by a wide margin.

Now, we want you to hear this. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATT WILLIAMS, COMEDIAN: If there's something anti-Mexican about what I said, I apologize for the anti-Mexican-ness of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: Was that an apology or not? Hear for yourself comedian Katt Williams tries to explain his rant targeting Mexicans. It's a CNN exclusive. Don't miss it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Comedian Katt Williams is backtracking a little bit on an apology for a recent on-stage rant. He's saying "I'm not sorry." Here's part of what he said in Phoenix.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WILLIAMS: Do you remember that white people used to say "go back to Africa," and we had to tell them -- we don't want to? So if you love Mexico (EXPLETIVE DELETED), get the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) over there. We were slaves (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Y'all just work like that at the landscapers!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: As you see, things got heated. Williams got into it a bit with a member of his audience who was Mexican after the man heckled him. The comedian angered many in the Hispanic community with those comments.

Williams' publicist released an apology, but the comedian is now saying, "I didn't approve that apology, I'm not sorry."

Here's what he said exclusively to CNN's T.J. Holmes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAMS: If a person starts their heckling with "f" America, then that gives me the right to defend my country. I couldn't be anti- Mexican -- my Mexican fan base is largely responsible for me even existing. So between them and the black community, it's really all I have.

But I don't think I need to apologize for being pro-American. The guy said that all of this is still Mexico, and I was just giving him geography. This is America, greatest country in the world.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, help us understand. So do you not apologize for anything? We're only -- we showed a 50-second clip.

WILLIAMS: No, sir --

HOLMES: It is like seven or eight minutes but -- go ahead.

WILLIAMS: I apologized for the fact that the word "anti-Mexican" is being said to a black guy in America.

HOLMES: But you don't apologize for what you said in that studio -- that standup?

WILLIAMS: I'm not allowed to. As a standup, the only thing that I sell is uncensored thought. So, I'm only telling them the way I think uncensored. So I'm not allowed to then come back the next day and apologize. That's -- that's for the Tracy Morgans of the world.

I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. I'm apologizing if somebody thought I was trying to be anti-Mexican. Mexicans are my friends.

HOLMES: So, Katt, why is it somebody's allowed to put out a statement apologizing on your behalf then?

WILLIAMS: Sir, they put out a DVD called "Katt Williams' Nine Lives," while I was in jail without my permission. We were in Phoenix, so this is a heavily Mexican-American crowd. I gave $5,000 out to a Mexican-American serviceman at this same show.

It was nothing like that the night of the show. This happened 19 days ago. It's just happening in the news yesterday because it's my birthday.

HOLMES: Well, help me understand then. What was it -- because it's clear that you were visibly upset, and you said you're a proud American. You defended this country --

WILLIAMS: I was. I was, yes.

HOLMES: So, is that essential what he it was? He was clearly out of line in your opinion. But he really got you hot.

WILLIAMS: I was -- I was offended because he was making a statement that we're not allowed to make in this country. In this country, you have to pledge allegiance to America first, and your country of origin second.

And so, the fact that he was blatantly disrespecting the law that we all follow, black people work too hard to become black Americans in this society. And we were slaves here. And we did a lot of free work.

Whatever they did was in another country, and we certainly applaud their history. But don't come here talking to sons of slaves about that.

And if there's something -- if there's something anti-Mexican about what I said, then I apologize for the anti-Mexican-ness of it. I was talking to one individual.

HOLMES: You understand at least, some people hearing that -- and you were talking to one guy. It's clear that other people in the crowd were laughing at what you were saying to him, even as you were going off on the one guy.

WILLIAMS: If I disrespected Mexicans, I wouldn't have been able to get out of there alive, sir, with all due respect.

HOLMES: But as people -- do you understand why people who do hear it maybe do get offended by it? Maybe who didn't read or listen to the whole seven, eight minutes of it, but maybe read a few comments? Do you think they have the wrong impression, or you understand why some people might think the landscaper comment might have been offensive, telling a Mexican like that guy to get to stepping back to Mexico, how that comes off as being offensive?

WILLIAMS: No, no. He said that we were in Mexico.

So, let me just say this -- yes, I can see what you're saying, T.J., and at the end of the day, I think those people should watch more of this CNN show so they can see there are real news factors going on in this country that -- things we should discuss like our president versus football rather than worry about what a comedian's saying.

If you don't like me, don't come see me. If you do like me, I'm here for you. But I love Mexicans, and I love Mexican-Americans. But I love America overall. Let's be very clear about it.

HOLMES: Any concern about how people might view down the road? How this could impact your career down the road?

WILLIAMS: No, no, sir.

HOLMES: People might not want to book you in Texas, or Arizona, or California?

HOLMES: People might not want to book you in Texas or Arizona or California, sir -

WILLIAMS: No, that would be - wouldn't that be fantastic? Let's let that happen. But let the statement be that I'm a Christian. I'm straight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, at least one activist in response to his comments is trying to organize a boycott of his standup act.

Checking the headlines for you. States of emergency have been declared in parts of Mississippi and Louisiana tonight. Some coastal areas are under mandatory evacuation orders. It is all due to tropical storm Lee. The system is basically parked just off the coast of New Orleans right now. Lee could stay there much of the weekend and dump up to 20 inches of rain. It is hovering.

Look at this, this is video shot on the Mississippi coast last night. Look at that boat. A group of people trying to keep it from getting battered up against the pier. But it was a losing battle. The waves were just too big, too rough. By morning, the boat was upside down with huge holes in the bottom. The folks trying to save it, they're OK.

President Barack Obama will see the damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Irene firsthand tomorrow. The president will visit Patterson, New Jersey, which was slammed by the storm, by Irene. The Passaic River, which runs through the city, reached its highest level in more than a century. The mayor says 6,000 residents were affected by the flooding. And he wants to hear how the White House will help out. Again, Barack Obama will be there tomorrow.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn on his way home to Paris. Here he is, the former IMF director is returning to France just days after New York prosecutors dropped sexual assault charges against him. Authorities decided not to prosecute because of questions about the accuser's credibility. Strauss-Kahn was widely seen as a contender in the French presidential election before he was charged with attempted rape. He denied the allegations. Again, charges dropped.

The maker of a classic American guitar, the Gibson, is under federal investigation. It's all about the wood used to make that iconic sound. And hear this - even the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, could be in trouble as a result. We'll let you know why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Gibson has been an internationally recognized name in guitars for more than 100 years. They are used by musicians ranging from B.B. King to Paul McCartney to U2, the Edge. But now the company is under the close scrutiny of federal agents.

David Mattingly spoke to the company's CEO about allegations involving smuggling.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It's a case of a classic made-in-America product at odds with Uncle Sam over how U.S. law is enforced.

(voice-over): He makes guitars that make America sound cool. But Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz is being ordered to change his tune.

(on camera): It's ironic that you're playing the blues right now.

HENRY JUSZKIEWICZ, GIBSON CEO: I got the blues.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): That's because in late August, armed federal agents raided his Tennessee factories for the second time in two years, alleging the illegal importation of rare protected wood. In this case, ebony and rosewood from India. An affidavit filed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service alleges Gibson falsely labeled the wood shipment to make it sound legal and suspiciously omitted the company's name as the recipient. But so far, no charges have been filed.

(on camera): It almost sounds like this company was engaged in smuggling these raw materials into the country.

JUSZKIEWICZ: Well, we were not engaged in smuggling. We have been buying fingerboard stock on a regular basis from India for 17 years.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): On the neck of a guitar, the tropical hardwood is prized for its look and durability. But it's subject to a law called the Lacey Act, aimed at fighting black market trade and protected animal parts and plants, and anything made from them.

(on camera): But the material that came in the box from India looked just like this.

JUSZKIEWICZ: Was very similar.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Juszkiewicz says the fingerboards Gibson imported from India were confiscated as illegal wood by the federal government. JUSZKIEWICZ: The law says that if a guitar or an instrument of any kind crosses a border, you have to know the species of wood that every component is made of and where it came from.

MATTINGLY: If this is true, could hundreds of international stars like Paul McCartney and B.B. King risk seeing their Gibsons confiscated at the border?

JUSZKIEWICZ: Michelle Obama gave a Gibson guitar to the wife of the president -- prime minister of France just a year ago.

MATTINGLY (on camera): The first lady may have broken the law?

JUSZKIEWICZ: Yes.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): The Lacey Act does give federal agents broad authority to pursue smugglers, but if you own a Gibson, don't worry. When we asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for clarification, it released this brief statement. "We target corporations and individuals who are removing protected species from the wild and making a profit by trafficking in them." And right now in spite of Juszkiewicz's claim of innocence, Gibson is a target.

JUSZKIEWICZ: A nightmare. It's a nightmare.

MATTINGLY (on camera): It took almost a week before Gibson got back into full operation, but the damage had already been done. Just the shutdown of that one day with the materials that were taken cost the company over $1 million.

(voice-over): And now the maker of the guitars that have commanded the spotlight for over 100 years has no choice but to play on and wait for its day in court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: No word from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Department of Interior or the Department of Justice about when or if charges might be filed. Back to you.

HENDRICKS: All right. David Mattingly, thank you.

Also under investigation, this - did a top-secret Apple prototype get lost in a San Francisco bar? And if so, why? What are the consequences? We'll examine that after the break.

But first, an estimated 30 million adults in the U.S. lack the basic skills to read the newspaper or fill out a job application. In tonight's "Perry's Principles," CNN education contributor Steve Perry sits down with a man who was forced to face his illiteracy head-on and now works in an unlikely place.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: David's mom always said, "No, David!"

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): John Zickefoose is known as Mr. Z. His mission, to get kids excited about reading.

JOHN ZICKEFOOSE: I'm having more fun than probably all of you. There's a special reason for that. Mr. Z didn't learn to read and write until I was 35 years old. Yes.

PERRY (on camera): How did you get out of high school not knowing how to read?

ZICKEFOOSE: Yes. Obviously that still hurts. I will say I was a master at deception.

PERRY (voice-over): As a young boy, Zickefoose was diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD.

ZICKEFOOSE: I'm not trying to jab at the education system. Today, we are so much better equipped at dealing with learning disabilities.

PERRY: He managed to keep his illiteracy a secret from everyone.

ZICKEFOOSE: Including my wife. She didn't have any idea until our son busted me. Sitting with my - both my boys, Sean and Adam, reading simple children's books, my son, Sean, would actually fix the words that I got wrong and say, "No, Dad, that's not what it says."

PERRY: Then Zickefoose had back surgery which made returning to his restoration job impossible.

ZICKEFOOSE: At that same time, my wife saw an article for the literacy program here at the library and called them. They said, come in. It wasn't easy.

PERRY: Not only did Zickefoose learn to read and write, he's now the outreach coordinator for the library.

ZICKEFOOSE: I know in my heart of hearts that when I do that and share my story, there's a child out there who's going through the exact same thing that I went through that says, "You know, if Mr. Z can do it, maybe I shouldn't give up on myself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Welcome back. A top-secret Apple prototype rumored to have been lost in a San Francisco bar. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE VALLE, BARTENDER: I could check the surveillance cameras. So I - that guy could come and talk to me. Maybe if he knows the date he was there, I could probably look into the cameras.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: This really happened. That was a bartender from the spot where an Apple employee apparently left a prototype for the iPhone 5 according to tech media web site, CNET. Apple has not even announced that it's releasing the iPhone 5 yet. Get this. The exact same thing happened last year with the iPhone 4 prototype.

I want to bring in tech expert Daniel Siebert to talk about this. He is the author of "The Digital Diet," by the way, the four step plan to beat your tech addiction and regain balance in your life. I know a lot of people should read that. Daniel, great to see you. I can't believe this happened -

DANIEL SIEBERT, AUTHOR "THE DIGITAL DIET": Susan, it's great to be with you.

HENDRICKS: Twice. When I heard it, I couldn't believe it, that not only did it happen twice, but at a bar. Explain what you know.

SIEBERT: Well, you know, first of all, Apple workers apparently need to learn that alcohol and prototypes do not go well together. They just don't mix. But the idea is that what we've learned in recent days is that apparently Apple did go to the San Francisco Police Department and searched through one man's apartment trying to find this iPhone 5. This rumored iPhone 5. Now, this is all speculation because Apple has not said anything about this.

The San Francisco Police Department did issue a press release that actually was titled "iPhone 5," so that may have tipped their hand a little bit. As you see, the iPhone 5 is supposed to be coming out at the end of September, early October. And evidently there is somebody at least they're trying to look into who may have come across this. You pointed out last year a similar thing happened. And today, two of these guys face charges as a result of finding this iPhone 4 back then.

HENDRICKS: So you and I are talking about this, an iPhone 5 that Apple hasn't announced it's coming out with yet. Do you think Apple could be behind this in any way?

SIEBERT: I just don't think so. You know, Apple doesn't need any more publicity around the iPhone. It's already extremely popular. I can't see why they would do something like this. And especially in light of this investigation. This seems legitimate. And of course Apple would love to get their hands on this, get it back. A prototype like this is very lucrative for the tech blog world. You know, to see this sort of early specs on the iPhone 5 before it comes out. Of course, Apple would like to keep that secret until the actual day that they release it.

HENDRICKS: Daniel, you bring up a great point. You're thinking, "Susan, come on, Apple, do they really need the publicity? People line up around the block just to get their hands on the iPhone when it comes out." All right. Let's move on to Facebook. They're getting involved with music. Is that true, and how so?

SIEBERT: Yes, that's the speculation. Apparently Facebook is going to announce music streaming as part of its Web site at an upcoming conference. The idea is that Facebook would not actually be storing music on its servers, but rather streaming the music to its 750 million users through services like Spotify, perhaps Rapsodee, MOG, RDO. These are streaming media sites. Now the question is - will people have to pay money? Because some of these services are free, but some of them are not. And so we're not sure what the payment structure would look like. But the idea is that Facebook wants people to be on Facebook all the time and maybe having streaming music as well will keep you there even longer.

Although as part of the digital diet, I would say sometimes you need to disconnect from Facebook once in a while.

HENDRICKS: You took the next words out of my mouth. According to your book, everything in moderation. Daniel Siebert, thank you, great to see you.

SIEBERT: Exactly.

HENDRICKS: Thanks.

SIEBERT: You bet, you, too.

HENDRICKS: Coming up, this has been very controversial. Despite the suicide of a cast member, the new season of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" will go on. Disrespectful or just good business? We'll talk about it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: You may remember this, it was one ugly affair.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're going to answer one day, boy, you're going to answer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: what? What are you talking about?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing, nothing. I'm not the one to threaten.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll threaten - I'll put you in a (INAUDIBLE) rose garden, you (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: Who can forget that? That was no script. Radaronline obtained what it said was an audio recording of Mel Gibson (INAUDIBLE) against Oksana Grigorieva, the mother of his baby daughter this week. This Hollywood scandal ended on a surprisingly low-key note. The details in just a moment but first to another real life Hollywood drama.

The suicide of Russell Armstrong, the husband of Bravo's "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." The season debut is going on as scheduled on Monday. Joining us now is CNN entertainment reporter Shannon Cook.

Shannon, Bravo has been receiving a lot of criticism for this. I know that his family members did not want this to go forward, but Bravo is. How are they handling it?

SHANNON COOK, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Well, you can certainly see why some would say it is in poor taste to kick of the season of the show barely three weeks after one of its regular cast members committed suicide, but you can see it from Bravo's point of view that the show might have the most captive audience yet. When you jump online and you read on the message boards as embarrassingly I obviously spent a lot of time doing, you will see that the hard core fans of the show just want it to come back on and they're going to watch it regardless.

Now Bravo has said that they do plan on airing public service announcements which are about suicide prevention throughout the show on Monday, but even so, it really does reek of insensitivity especially when you can see that questions have been raised about how stress from actually being on this show might have contributed to this man's suicide.

HENDRICKS: Yes, and Russell Armstrong's childhood friend spoke out about it and he said, "I just don't want to see my friend on this show after what he did to himself." It is sad all around. All right.

Let's talk about Mel Gibson and the rant that we heard. It was heard really around the world, his rage and ugliness involving custody of their baby girl, their daughter. What happened to the end of this, Shannon? What is the result?

COOK: Well, basically, Gibson was ordered by a Los Angeles judge to pay $750,000 to his ex-girlfriend over a period of five years which isn't a whole lot of money, when you consider that there were reports at one point that his ex-girlfriend was perhaps trying to push him for something like $15 million-plus. So, he kind of got off lightly, some might say. The pair have joint physical and legal custody of their 22-month-old daughter, and the judge also ordered that neither of them reveal any personal details about each other in any future book projects, so maybe this is the last we're going to hear this.

HENDRICKS: Yes, I think you described this, this ugly mess. It really is. I think it put a dent in his character and his career. Let's go on to Chaz Bono, the daughter of Cher who had a sex change operation, now on "Dancing with the Stars" and only have a couple of seconds left here. People are angry about this.

COOK: Yes, some conservative parent groups have sort of come out and said that he shouldn't be on the show, because a transgender contestant isn't really appropriate on a family friendly show, but Bono has received overwhelming support, not only from his mom, Cher, via Twitter but from the executive producer of "Dancing with the Stars" and also from gay and lesbian groups like GLAD who applaud the show for putting a transgender member on the show. So he's going to be on the show. He's not backing down. So you'll see him twirling and tapping his toes along with the rest of the cast members pretty soon.

HENDRICKS: And Nancy Grace on the show said, "Move it along, people, get a life and stop focusing on Chaz Bono" Shannon Cook, thank you. COOK: Thanks, nice to see you.

HENDRICKS: Just ahead a decade after they fell, the twin towers live on in the movies. A look at how the World Trade Center has played a pivotal role in film.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: One week from tomorrow our nation will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The World Trade Center towers may be gone from the New York skyline, but they appear again and again in film and on TV. Here is CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After a decade of images of the Twin Towers gushing smoke, maybe it is time to see them in the rosy glow of the movies. Inspiring awe in "Home Alone II" and cemetery backdrop in "Dog Day Afternoon," something to make "Crocodile Dundee" feel like he had arrived. Something to make you feel sad about leaving and now a New York film maker has made a montage of Twin Tower movie cameos featuring over 75 clips.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may find yourself in a beautiful house.

MOOS: Blink and you will miss the towers seen through the car's rear- view mirror, and it took video cartoonist Dan Meth seven months working on and off to compile the montage even using disaster movies. But mostly showing the Twin Towers as a compass in the background.

DAN METH, NEW YORK FILMMAKER: You have seen them burning and falling for 10 years now, but we don't get to think of it as 30 years of them standing there, so it is a celebration of that.

MOOS: Celebrated with a cast ranging from Superman to King Kong. After 9/11, the towers were removed from the "Soprano's" open. So was a "Spiderman" tease showing bank robbers in a chopper in a snare of Spiderman's web spun tower to tower.

But instead of staying stuck in images of destruction, Dan Meth celebrates the life of a building that even in its absence remains a huge presence.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: I'm Susan Hendricks at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. "CNN PRESENTS" begins right now.