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Perry Seeks Trump's Blessing; Bachmann's Former Aide Says She Lacks Focus; Two Dead in Norwegian Cruise Ship Fire; Rogue Trader Costs Swiss Bank $2B; Hot Spot for Terrorists; Facebook Pushes Back IPO; How Greece's Bank Crisis Could Affect You; America's Number One High School; Handcuffed Houdini Escapes

Aired September 15, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. Thanks so much.

Well, Donald Trump, he has definitely made billions of dollars, so can he also make the next president of the United States?

Texas Governor Rick Perry is the latest Republican candidate to seek the Donald's blessing. And Perry did receive praise, but not an all- out endorsement.

Senior political editor Mark Preston in Washington.

OK, Mark, saying that he's probably the godfather is a little too strong, but he's definitely a stop on the way to the top.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes, he certainly has this election cycle. Donald Trump has been a must-get if you are running for president. We've already seen Sarah Palin sit down and eat pizza with him and talk to him. We're going to see Mitt Romney stop by in a couple of weeks, as well, to talk to Donald Trump.

And of course Rick Perry, the Texas governor, was there last night. They had dinner in New York City, they also met.

What's also interesting, Kyra, is that Rick Perry also met with three of Donald Trump's children, Don, Ivanka and Eric, as well. You know, I spoke to Michael Cohen who is Trump's top political adviser. I just got off the phone with him. Cohen said that he spent some time with Perry, as well. They talked about the economy, they talked about jobs, they talked about family.

These are all topics that we would expect to come up during the conversation with Donald Trump.

So what's the takeaway from Trump? Well, Cohen tells me that Trump likes him as an individual and that he also likes what Perry has done in Texas, as far as creating jobs and also to make it a pro-business state.

But Donald Trump is not ready to make any endorsements yet. As I said, Mitt Romney will be in New York in a couple weeks to meet with Donald Trump -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, and he hasn't ruled out his own presidential bid, right?

PRESTON: No, he is leaving that on the table. You know, Donald Trump, if he endorses in this presidential election and that person gets the nomination and, of course, he says he won't run. But Cohen tells me that they are preparing for Trump to run in June of 2012, if you can imagine that. Just a few months before the election would actually take place.

That would happen after "The Apprentice" comes off air on NBC. Trump would run as an independent. However, at this point, though, I think Trump is seriously surveying the field and the chance of him really running right now, I think, is slim, Kyra. But as Donald Trump always does, he leaves everything on the table and, in fact, Michael Cohen has a Web site up called d shouldtrumprun.com, which is going to serve as a hub for Trump's candidacy if he decides to run -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Mark, thanks.

Meanwhile, the attacks are getting much sharper between Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann, but the most damage against the congresswoman may be coming from a former member of her inner circle.

CNN political reporter Shannon Travis in Des Moines, Iowa.

So, Shannon, what exactly do we know about this insider?

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, this insider, his name is Ron Carey. He's Michele Bachmann's former chief of staff. And he has some pretty stinging words, Kyra, for his former boss.

Now let me just set this up. You know that Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann basically almost trying to play to their supporters who's more conservative. Rick -- Michele Bachmann criticized Rick Perry on Monday at our Tea Party debate about the 2007 executive order that he signed requiring young Texas school children, girls, to get this HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer.

OK, so Michele Bachmann, she's been hitting him on that saying, you know what, basically implying would a real conservative do this? On -- I'm sorry, on Tuesday on the "Today" show Michele Bachmann went on and said, you know what, I heard from a woman who told me that her daughter took this HPV vaccine and then suffered from mental retardation afterwards.

Now health experts say that that is just not possible. So this sounds like a gaffe from Michele Bachmann. But take a listen at that former chief of staff that I just mentioned. Take a listen at what he had to say about his boss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON CAREY, BACHMANN'S FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF: Her impulsive nature coupled with the fact that she sometimes doesn't digest information as carefully as she should leads to these kind of impulsive statements that sometimes are just off the mark enough that it makes her into more of a provocative, controversial figure.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS: Now that's what her former chief of staff had to say. The Bachmann campaign released a statement to CNN, Kyra. I'm just going to read it here.

Quote, "Governor Perry abused his power of the executive order in imposing mandatory vaccines on 12-year-old girls and engaged in crony capitalism with donors in sealing the deal. That's the truth."

But notice, Kyra, notice they did not address this linkage that Congresswoman Bachmann made between the HPV vaccine and mental retardation which again health experts tell us is not true.

One last thing, Bachmann mentioned in that statement crony capitalism. She accused Perry of that. Perry denies that. At issue there is there was a former chief of staff of Perry's who worked for the drug manufacturer that made that vaccine -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Shannon Travis, thanks so much.

And also later this morning House Speaker John Boehner will formally swear in the two newest members of Congress. Republicans Bob Turner and Mark Amodei won special elections in their home state of New York and Nevada respectively.

Now Republicans say the victories are a clear referendum against President Obama and his policies, and now one Democratic guru says the administration needs to recognize the sobering reality. It's time to, quote, "panic."

Democratic strategist James Carville has strong advice for the White House now, beginning with this. "Fire somebody. No, fire a lot of people. This may news to you, but this is not going well."

Carville even evokes one of the worst military disasters in history saying, quote, "For precedent, see Russian Army 64th division Stalingrad."

Well, next our "Political Buzz" panel will weigh in on this and debate it. Meanwhile for all the latest political news go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.

And happening right now, two people are dead after a fire engulfed a cruise ship right off the coast of Norway.

Let's get straight to Max Foster. He's in London.

Max, what exactly do you know?

MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, we think the two people that died are crew members. This is a fire that started in the engine room of a cruise ship. Some horrific images coming out from Norway right now. And actually the fire took hold in quite an isolated area near the town of Alesund. So what you've got is a situation with the local fire department, a town of only 40,000 people, a local fire department tried to deal with this. Two people have died. None of the passengers, none of the cruisers, as it were, were injured or hurt. There are more than 200 of them. They ended up at a local hospital. They're trying to get them home.

But a dreadful situation for this -- for this cruise ship company and the local area and people from all over the world were traveling on this ship, Kyra. So we're trying to get more details. But that's what we have so far. Two people have died and nine injured. A fire in the engine room on that cruise ship in Norway.

PHILLIPS: Max, let us know when you get more. Appreciate it.

Also overseas a banking giant says that one of its traders went rogue and blundered away $2 billion in unauthorized deals.

Christine Romans, rather, is following it for us out of New York.

So, Christine, this raises questions about a lack of oversight, once again, in the banking industry.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean when you're talking about a potential $2 billion hole, that's an awful lot of money. How could this happen? They're calling it unauthorized trading from UBS. They're not using the word rogue trader. But there was an arrest, we know, in London of a 31-year-old for abuse of his financial position.

So a lot of people are looking to see what we can learn more about this 31-year-old person who's been arrested here. But we've got a long history of some very big gaffes, quite frankly. I mean when you hear these rogue trader stories, you think, don't they have the -- you know, the processes to make sure this doesn't happen.

And here's a couple of infamous rogue traders, you might remember, Jerome Kerviel. This was a Societe Generale story of a few years back. That was a $6 billion trading scandal.

There was another one that was a Sumitomo metal trader scandal. That was $2.6 billion, as well. And you might not remember this one. It's about 1999 and this is in the '90s Barings Bank, Nick Leeson became a household name. A $1 billion trading fraud, basically. Took down an entire bank.

I mean, you think of that. That one person, you know, sitting there at the computer could take down a whole bank. So, UBS says it's going to have to post a loss, Kyra, but that the health of the bank is still in tact.

Something interesting, as well, the UBS logo, Kyra, is three keys. Those keys stand for confidence, security and discretion.

PHILLIPS: We'll be talking a lot more about this story for sure, Christine. ROMANS: Sure will.

PHILLIPS: The search for the elusive leader Moammar Gadhafi still in full gear and right here in the U.S., the Pentagon is still concerned that the fall of this ousted leader could lead to a rise in terrorism.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr following that for us.

So, Barbara, what exactly do we know about this possible terrorist infiltration?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, what Pentagon officials and Defense officials are telling us is they are growing increasingly concerned that al Qaeda and other terrorist groups may be trying to gain a foothold in Libya now that Gadhafi is gone and this New Transitional National Council still doesn't have a really firm grip on the country.

This is an analysis. They say that, you know, they really don't know for sure. They don't think thousands of fighters from al Qaeda are moving into Libya, but they are worried that perhaps dozens of fighters are gaining a toehold there, getting an organization and a network going while the country there remains so uncertain.

You know, this is the perfect time for them to set up shop, keep a low profile while there's not a firm, central government in control, and gain their toehold. And of course, in Libya the concern always is, there's thousands of weapons, basically, floating around that country now with no real government control. And that's the kind of thing, they don't want terrorists to get a hold of -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, and there's concerns that terrorists could be working on the inside within the National Transitional Council.

STARR: Well, you know, there is concern that people with terrorist sympathies perhaps are part of the TNC, working with the TNC. Again, they don't see any evidence of any kind of official linkage at this point. But even just yesterday, the top U.S. general in charge of U.S. military relations with Africa said he was concerned about the growing terrorist toehold in Africa everywhere from Nigeria in the west across North Africa, Libya, Somalia, all of it. So a lot of concern that Africa itself may be becoming the new safe haven for terrorist organizations -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr, live at the Pentagon. Barbara, thanks.

Well, it's the highest military decoration and today the president awards the Medal of Honor to a U.S. Marine. Dakota Meyer saved the lives of three dozen U.S. and Afghan comrades. He also braved withering gunfire to try to recover the bodies of four Marines who died in that 2009 shootout.

Meyer says he'll accept the Medal of Honor. The men he calls his brothers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SGT. DAKOTA MEYER, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Every single day I think about what happened and how I'm going to carry on my life and honor those guys, and I think what it does, it gives you an extra -- it gives you an edge to everyone else because, you know, it's not just -- it's not just me, you know, I'm not just going around for myself now.

Now I'm doing it for other people. And I think once you have that instilled in you, it's not -- it gives you an extra edge. And I got -- if I can't look down and I don't have a reason to push on, I've got four reasons on my wrist. And that's why I keep their names on my wrist.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Meyer met with the president over a beer yesterday on the patio outside the Oval Office. The 23-year-old Kentucky native is the first living Marine to receive the Medal for Honor for actions in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Well, lots of questions but very few answers as to what that mysterious light was that lit up the sky and later 911 switchboards. We'll investigate.

And a bicycle shop in California gets an unexpected drive through window and it's all caught on tape. We'll take you "Cross Country" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We'll check your stories "Cross Country" now.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

PHILLIPS: Band Phish was back in their home state of Vermont last night, headlining a benefit concert to help victims from tropical storm Irene. Thousands of people turned out for the show.

And find a parking space with the help of social media. Louisiana State University says it's using Twitter and mobile phone apps to help students avoid parking headaches. So far, more than 500 people have signed up.

And from Mission Viejo, California, a woman attempting to park at a real close call with customers at the bicycle shop. And the near-miss was all caught on tape. Everyone was OK, but the store. It was just remodeled last week, may need a little more updating now.

Well, sheriff departments across the southwest got a flood of calls overnight from people wondering exactly what was that bright light they saw hurdling through the sky. Was it a falling star? A meteor?

Well, Rob Marciano --

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: UFO? Flying saucer?

PHILLIPS: What do you know exactly? Aliens? MARCIANO: I love that everyone has got a camera phone. We get so much stuff that 10, 20 years ago that we would just say, we got reports, there were calls.

PHILLIPS: Right.

MARCIANO: So, at least now, we can look at it and analyze a little bit better. Let's show it to you. Here we go. These pictures out of Arizona -- I believe this is at a football game near Phoenix, around 7:30, 7:45 p.m. And this fireball just streaked across the sky.

So, most people there saw it. Obviously, some folks had their video cameras handy. At the point you could see it could be green or purplish and then we also have some stills shot in Chandler, south and east of Phoenix. It was also seen in places like Las Vegas, and also southern California.

PHILLIPS: What's your take? Get to the nitty-gritty. What is it?

MARCIANO: It's a UFO, which is an unidentified flying object. We haven't identified it.

It's probably a meteor --

PHILLIPS: OK.

MARCIANO: -- because they have these colors, green and purple and things like that, that tells you there could be magnesium or nickel in there and when it's orange it tells you that it's streaking through the atmosphere at a certain speed.

PHILLIPS: Not just random debris.

MARCIANO: No, actually, there's a satellite, a NASA satellite, old one. We have used it for upper atmosphere measurements. That's supposed to fall through the atmosphere here through the next couple months and we expect that to land in the ocean. But we don't think that's what this was.

PHILLIPS: OK.

MARCIANO: That would come across a little bit more, maybe celebrated.

PHILLIPS: Got it.

MARCIANO: Yes. No worries. I saw a movie last night that showed aliens coming to earth through meteors and then like fighting people. It was a horrible movie, but, anyway, just happened to coincide with this report.

PHILLIPS: Ironic. We'll follow it, literally.

MARCIANO: Nothing to be seen here.

PHILLIPS: Well, coming up, a pack of dogs jump ropes into the record books. You know, from meteors to jumping dogs. That's right. We'll tell you about the Guinness Book's whacky new entry, next.

Plus, the new Jackie Kennedy book is out. We just can't get enough of the first lady's personal revelations. Her thoughts on the Cuban missile crisis, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's get to your showbiz headlines, shall we?

White House party crasher and "Real Housewife," Michaele Salahi, has not been kidnapped. Her husband reported her missing and possibly in danger on Tuesday. Well, guess what? She is actually on the road with the band Journey, since she is, quote, "good friends" with one of the guys.

And a day after her x-rated photos head the Web, Scarlett Johansson's lawyer has reached out to a bunch of sites demanding they remove the, quote, "stolen copyright protected private pics." Meantime, the FBI confirms it's on the case. It's been investigating the hacking ring targeting female stars for months.

And the medical drama "House" is appointment TV for a whole lot of people. Star Hugh Laurie has just been named the most watched leading man on television in the new Guinness Book of World Records. Get this -- he bumped David Hasselhoff out of the top spot.

Let me tell you, that's one of the tamer entries in the new Guinness Book. Max Foster walks out all over to the wild side -- Max.

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Let's first introduce you, Kyra, to Aevin Dugas. He's a 36-year-old social worker. He's from New Orleans and he's also got rather large afro, the largest natural afro in the world.

Check that out, taken 12 years to grow. And it's an incredible four feet four inches in diameter -- circumference, rather. Unbelievable.

But, Kyra, I let you guess what Christine Walton's claim to fame is.

PHILLIPS: OK. Please tell me. Oh, boy, I'm scared.

FOSTER: Where are they?

PHILLIPS: OK. That's disgusting.

FOSTER: Fingernails. Fingernails -- 10 feet, two inches on her left hand, would you believe? She's a 45-year-old singer, stage name the "Dutchess." She hasn't cut her fingernails since 1990.

How does she do anything? She do make-up though, clearly.

Here in the U.K., we're a bit more sober, as you know, Kyra. Here is our world record this year. It's the cucumber. It is 47 inches long. It is an Armenian cucumber and belongs to Clare Pierce. Look how proud she is. But, we have to go to Asia for our last one because this is a pretty unusual one. This is one circus there in Japan. They have a particular trick and here it is.

PHILLIPS: Max, you say this is an unusual one and what makes the others not unusual? Please explain.

FOSTER: Thirteen dogs skipping. And we just have to dream something up, Kyra, because no one else is going to try to that supposedly about the record.

PHILLIPS: I'm seeing this being added to the 12 days of Christmas right now.

Max Foster, thank you very much.

(MUSIC)

PHILLIPS: Facebook's IPO is expected to be one of the biggest ever, but their stock on Wall Street that the company is pushing it back.

Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.

I'm sorry, I'm still laughing -- I know.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The nails. Ewww!

PHILLIPS: That's all we have to say. One word: ewww!

KOSIK: All right. So, you want to know about Facebook instead.

PHILLIPS: Yes, please.

KOSIK: All right. So, we're not getting -- we're not getting an official word from Facebook about its IPO, but Wall Street had expected Facebook to make its public debut late this year, early next year. Well, now a "FT" report came out, saying you know what, Facebook is pushing it back to the end of next year.

Now, according to the "FT," Mark Zuckerberg, he is the head of Facebook, he wants to wait to keep workers focused right on product development because the fact is, if the company goes public, employees with shares could cash out. They could get a big payout and who knows, maybe wouldn't return to work after that big payout because shares are selling in the private market right now, they're valuing Facebook at about $65 billion -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, what's the advantage to going public and what's the rush?

KOSIK: You know what, going public is a way to raise cash. It gives more room to expand, to hire, to develop new products. But analysts say, you know what, Facebook really doesn't really need the cash and it probably doesn't want the big headaches that go along with it, too. They would have to answer to shareholders. Also, it may not be such a great time to go public. Look at the economic environment. But "Wall Street Journal" says, you know, most IPOs this year are now trading below their initial offer price. Still, Facebook looks like it could still go public next year because, you know how it is, cash is king -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. Speaking of cash, the markets -- a lot of economic reports coming out this morning. What do you think? How are things are going to look say 4 1/2 minutes from now?

KOSIK: Well, right now, stock futures are much higher. A bunch of reports came out that weren't good. One downbeat report on manufacturing, another on new jobless claims showing that they rose more than expected last week to a total of 428,000. It's the highest level since June. That's not good news.

But, yes, once again, Dow futures are up about 90 points. Europe is really driving the action today in the markets. The ECB just announced new liquidity measures to help the debt situation in Europe. So, the focus on Wall Street today is on Europe and that's why we see stocks looking at a higher open in about four minutes -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll talk more -- Alison, thanks.

Another potential default in Europe could push the U.S. economy into a tailspin. Christine Romans is talking more about that with us. We were talking about this on Friday and how it has impacted the markets through the week.

Also, he's on death row and only hours from his scheduled execution. Today, human rights group launch a desperate race to save Troy Davis' life. We'll have the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now.

The lawyer for two imprisoned American hikers said he's filed the paperwork for their release on bail, but Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer may have to wait until at least Saturday for an Iranian court to rule.

One trader blamed for an investment bank's $2 billion loss. The Swiss bank UBS is investigating. It may have to post a trading loss for the third quarter.

And foreclosure filings jumped 7 percent in August. Expert says the rise is due to lenders finally pushing through foreclosure paperwork following the robo-signing controversy.

Now, this week, Greece teeters on the brink of default. And new fears are rippling all the way to the fragile U.S. economy.

Christine Romans is part of our CNN Money.

Christine, before we talk about Greece, though, let's quickly mention this week's jobless numbers. CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I want to tell you about those. Jobless numbers were worst than expected -- 428,000 first-time unemployment claims in this country. And that was something that was the big story until about seven minutes ago and now, everyone is talking about this emergency intervention by the European Central Bank, Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan, the Swiss National Bank injecting money into the European system and you've got European markets soaring right now. European stock markets up, maybe, I don't know, maybe 4 percent, 5 percent.

So, the story has switched from being very concerned about the job situation in the U.S., those -- that data from the U.S. concerning, showing more people laid off, first time unemployment up 428,000. But now, it's going to back to this big international picture again, Kyra.

Everybody is talking about how do you make sure that Greece doesn't take down the European Union, how do you make sure that Greece's problems can be overcome, and you got this concerted effort by the European Central Bank, the Fed here and five central banks altogether coming together and putting in emergency measures to support the European system.

So, that's what the big story is at this minute, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes. And we keep following Merkel and Sarkozy, you know, trying to figure out a rescue plan because this will have a huge impact on us. I hope we won't see the protests and the rallies like we did months ago.

ROMANS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: All right. Christine --

ROMANS: Our futures are up pretty sharply here.

PHILLIPS: OK.

ROMANS: So, I think you can look for a bit of a rebound here this morning because you had three days higher. A lot of people are talking about a Greek relief rally. These central banks coming in just after three higher days in stocks to put more confidence into the system, more money into the system. And so, I think you're going to see a pretty decent reaction this morning in U.S. stocks. We'll see a triple-digit advance here.

So, as we get more details about what looks like a coordinated effort, they're calling it a dollar intervention. But what it basically means is injecting support, injecting money, injecting confidence from the Federal Reserve, from all of the big central banks in the world saying we are going to be able to step in and be able to defend the European system.

PHILLIPS: All right, Dow Industrials, looks like, you said, still positive territory right now up 110 points. Thanks, Christine.

ROMANS: You're welcome. PHILLIPS: All right. In less than a week, a convicted cop killer is scheduled to die right here in Georgia. Next hour, human rights groups will deliver hundreds of thousands of signatures asking that he be spared.

Gary Tuchman has the story of Troy Davis, a name you'll be hearing a lot about in the next week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's anything but a routine question.

(on camera): How scared are you of possibly being executed?

(voice-over): But it's relevant, because the man I'm talking to, Troy Davis, may soon be a dead man. A jury only took a few hours to decide he was guilty of murdering a police officer in Savannah, Georgia, a few more hours to decide on lethal injection.

Brenda Forrest was one of the jurors.

BRENDA FORREST, JURY AT TROY DAVIS'S TRIAL: He was definitely guilty. All of the witnesses, they were able to, you know, to ID him as the person who actually did it.

TUCHMAN: There was no DNA or physical evidence against Davis. The primary reason he was convicted: witness testimony. The slain police officer's wife trusted the witnesses.

JOAN MACPHAIL, WIDOW OF OFFICE MARK MACPHAIL: They were just so adamant about what they saw, when they saw it.

TUCHMAN: But this is how the juror feels today.

FORREST: If I knew then what I know now, Troy Davis would not be on death row. The verdict would be "not guilty."

TUCHMAN: What she knows now is this: almost all of the prosecution's star witnesses have changed their stories. Some saying police pressured them to say Troy Davis did it.

One of those people is Darrell Collins, a prosecution witnesses who signed a police statement implicating Troy Davis.

DARRELL COLLINS, WITNESS AT TROY DAVIS' STATION: I've told them over and over that I didn't see this happen. They put what they wanted to put in that statement.

TUCHMAN (on camera): Savannah Police Officer Mike MacPhail was working an off-duty job here. He was providing security at night for this bus station and for this Burger King restaurant that is currently out of business.

There was a homeless man in this parking lot. He was being harassed, intimidated. He yelled for help. The officer ran over, and seconds later, Officer Mark MacPhail was shot and killed. It was tragic, horrifying and chaotic. And two decades later, it all still is.

(voice-over): The man who admitted to harassing the homeless person went to police the next day and told them he saw Troy Davis shoot the officer. Wanted posters went up all over Savannah. A reward offered to catch the so-called dangerous cop killer. Racial tensions enflamed.

After the shooting, Troy Davis was in Atlanta four hours away, his sister says scared for his life.

MARTINA DAVIS-CORREIA, SISTER OF TROY DAVIS: So, my brother decided to turn himself in. They already had a shoot-to-kill order on him.

TUCHMAN: This man, Derek Johnson, a pastor, got in touch with Davis. He volunteered to pick him up and drive him back to Savannah to surrender. He says Troy Davis insisted he was innocent. The pastor, who has never told the story to a reporter before, was stunned the D.A.'s office never interviewed him.

(on camera): You're with this man for hours, and you're bringing him into Savannah, into police custody. He never interviewed you?

DAVIS-CORREIA: Never talked to me.

TUCHMAN: Never asked you a question about your journey?

DAVIS-CORREIA: Never.

TUCHMAN: What he said, if had a weapon? If he admitted to the crime, he didn't admit to the crime?

DAVIS-CORREIA: Nothing. And this is the one case nobody wanted to know. I don't think now looking back that anybody cared.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The pastor is one of many who now believe facts be damned, Troy Davis was going to be arrested for murder.

As for Savannah police, they have always said their witness interviews were taken properly. No coercion. And prosecutors have stood by the conviction.

But a number of witnesses have signed affidavits changing their original testimony. Dorothy Ferrell is one of them, a former prison inmate. She writes, "I was scared that if I didn't cooperate with the detective, that he might find a way to have me locked up again. So, I told the detective that Troy Davis was the shooter, even though the truth was that I didn't see who shot the officer."

And a witness named Jeffrey Sapp now writes, "The police came and talked to me and put a lot of pressure on me to say Troy did this. They made it clear that the only way they would leave me alone is if I told them what they wanted to hear.

During the trial, Davis' attorneys tried to convince jurors a man named Sylvester Red Coles was the killer. We tried to find Coles to give him a chance to have his say. We talked to his family members but could not track him down.

MACPHAIL: I don't that believe Red Coles is the one that killed Mark at all.

TUCHMAN: But among those who believe the case should be reopened are politicians who don't always agree with each other, ranging from former President Jimmy Carter to conservative former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr.

Troy Davis has been hours away from execution three times. He's now week away from his fourth execution date/

Gary Tuchman, CNN, Savannah, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Stay with us. Next hour, CNN's David Mattingly will be at the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles for delivery of the international petition request that asks for Davis' life to be spared.

Also straight ahead, the best high school in the land. Students take algebra, geometry, pre-calculus and calculus all in one year. And guess what? They love it.

And hear what Jackie Kennedy really thought of Martin Luther King. The former first lady pulled no punches in a taped interview.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stories cross country.

In Tacoma, Washington, a judge ends a two-day old teacher strike ordering nearly 2,000 educators back to the classroom today.

In Graves County, Kentucky, eight Amish men serving jail time for refusing to comply with state law that requires slow-moving vehicles to display an orange safety triangle. The Amish refused, citing their religious beliefs.

And from Arlington, Texas, Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton hitting a grand slam last night. Quite a score for customers of a looking roofing company. CC Carpet is running a promotion offering refunds to recent customers if Hamilton hit a bases loaded home run. By the way, the Rangers won, 9-1.

The new Jackie Kennedy book is officially out today and it's already a best seller. It's number one at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The instant success is due to incredible interviews that the first lady recorded in 1964. We have been hearing bits and pieces of it all this week

Deborah Feyerick joins us now with more.

Hey, Deb.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kyra. Well, you know, listening to Jacqueline Kennedy, I was struck really by the conviction of her opinions. This is 50 years ago. But also, the gentle, very wispy sound of her voice. She was a product of the '40s and '50s when women's roles were much different and she viewed her primary responsibility as easing her husband's worries during the presidency and really taking care of the children.

But at the same time, she was exposed to the most powerful figures of the 1960s and her candor is refreshing. She called French President Charles de Gaulle an egomaniac, said the vice president, Lady Bird Johnson, was, quote, "like a trained hunting dog." And described communist witch hunter Senator Joseph McCarthy saying, quote, "He smelled of drink and his eyes looked awful."

Here's what she had to say about Martin Luther King, Jr.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JACKIE KENNEDY, FORMER U.S. FIRST LADY: Well, I said what an incredible speaker he was during that freedom march thing and he acknowledged that having made that call during the campaign got them. Then he told me of a tape that the FBI had of Martin Luther King when he was here for the freedom march. And he said this with no bitterness or anything, how he was calling up all these girls and arranging for a party of men and women, I mean, sort of an orgy in the hotel and everything.

Oh, yes. At first he said, oh, well, you know, and I said, "Oh, but, Jack, that's so terrible. I mean, that man is, you know, such a phony then."

(END AUDIO CLIP)

FEYERICK: You know, and her comments, it seems, are not so much of a condemnation of the civil rights movement, but a critique of Martin Luther King Jr.'s role as husband and reverend. She was just 24 when she married her husband. She really loved him, was excited when she made him proud of her.

The book is filled -- the book, which is a transcript of the recordings clearly show lots of personal, interesting moments. Gifts JFK chose her on their tenth wedding anniversary. Presidential advisors catching glimpses of her wearing her nightgown.

So, it's really an intimate look. But you have to look at it in the context that this recording was made almost 50 years ago, at a very different time in our history and it certainly has very interesting insights, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. So revealing.

Deb Feyerick, thanks.

Book worms are pretty proud of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody is a nerd, in a way, right? Some more than others. But we're all nerds -- inside we're all nerds, and that's what got us here and that's what will get us through here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: At this school, students take so much math and science, it will make your head spin. It was ranked the number one school in the country and we'll show you why, right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, graduation rates, advance course offered, SAT scores through the roof; all these things make schools really great.

Well, CNN's Ed Lavandera takes us to a Dallas school recently voted number one by "Newsweek" magazine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok, these colors you will see, I just got them yesterday.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Don't let the crayons and baby wipes fool you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's in a bunch of tiny dots which are the pit bulls.

LAVANDERA: This isn't child's play. These students are learning how to write Java, a widely-used computer programming language.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to have a quiz on Thursday.

LAVANDERA: At the Science and Engineering Magnet School in Dallas, this is considered a basic course for freshmen.

JOVAN WELLS, PRINCIPAL, SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING MAGNET SCHOOL: We want them to really quench that thirst for knowledge.

LAVANDERA: Jovan Wells is the principal of the School of Science and Engineering. "Newsweek" ranked it the number one public high school in America. Here's why.

(on camera): Some of your students take three math classes a day?

WELLS: Absolutely.

LAVANDERA: I didn't even know you could take that much math.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have some students that can handle that challenge or taken Algebra 2, Geometry, Pre-Calculus and Calculus all in the same year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then third thing you need to do is this. LAVANDERA: Students takes a rigorous series of math and science courses that most schools don't even offer dozens of college level labs in their junior year. The students have won so many academic contests they run out of room to show off the trophies.

WELLS: So all of these are our trophies and then we have a ton of trophies here in boxes. Just everywhere.

LAVANDERA: This school has a unique culture and sense of humor; 400 students, all completely infatuated with learning. Christian Uyowa (ph) is a senior. He says students feel at home here.

CHRISTIAN UYOWA, STUDENT: Everybody here is a nerd, in a way, right. Some more than others but we're all nerds. Inside we're all nerds and that's what got us here and that's what's going to get us through here.

LAVANDERA: It's not a question of if you'll go to college, but which top school you'll get in to. Alfredo Arpedo's (ph) father didn't graduate from high school. Now this freshman has his sights set on MIT. Getting the acceptance letter to this school was the first step.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would go check e-mail and I was upset because I wouldn't find it and I thought, the day I told my mom, I don't think I'm in and she went to go got -- and she went go get the mail and it was there. I was so happy. I was relieved, too.

LAVANDERA: American students are falling behind the rest of the world in math and science. Parents like Silvia Carlson says the school is preparing the two kids she sent here to compete.

SILVIA CARLSON, PARENT: That's what our country needs. And so, what better way to foster scientists, entrepreneurs, engineers, the things that we need for our country to continue to continue to climb that mountain and to stay on top.

WELLS: Here everyone has a common bond because everyone loves math and science. Everybody understands the physics joke that you just told. I mean it's just a great environment. And I felt that way. They are funny -- you know they are funny to our -- our group here.

LAVANDERA: And that's the point. Creating a space where young minds flourish.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: There's a lot of ideas on how to fix our schools and improve education and there's a lot of things schools are doing right.

Coming up at noon Eastern, a recipe for a successful education system.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Stories making news later today: 11:45 Eastern, in Washington, First Lady, Michelle Obama talks about better nutrition for children.

Then at 12:30 Eastern, House Speaker John Boehner talks to the Economic Club in Washington.

Then at 2:30 Eastern at the White House, President Obama will award the Medal of Honor to Marine Corporal Dakota Myer.

We're following lots of other developments in the next of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with David Mattingly -- David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, I'm in Atlanta, Georgia where we are entering the 11th hour of a death row execution scheduled for next week but 20 years in the making. That inmate is now finding some high-powered help. I'll have that story next hour.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Christine Romans in New York where we're following the jobs market. The most recent report on jobless benefits shows more layoffs last week than anybody would have liked. So what's it going to take to just fix this jobs market now? I'll have that at the top of the hour -- Kyra.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano on the CNN Severe Weather Center. We're tracking cold air coming in from Canada. Also some stuff coming in from outer space. A fire ball streaking across the southwest skies last night. We'll have the pictures and a possible explanation in the next hour -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, guys.

Also next hour, a controversial lawman is being courted by one Republican candidate after another. Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio joins us live in about 20 minutes. I'll ask him, why he's so popular with the presidential hopefuls.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, the Phillies are the first team to clinch a spot in baseball's postseason. Roy Halladay got his first shut-out of the season as the Phillies beat Houston one nothing. No champagne yet for the team though, they've reached the postseason five straight years.

All right. Detroit Tigers looking like a playoff team. One guy they can thank is well, Jose Valverde. There you go strikes up the side in the bottom of the tenth. He is 44-0 to save opportunities this year. The Tigers won their 12th straight -- team's best streak since 1934.

And a fan makes his own great play at the Rays/Orioles game. He (INAUDIBLE) in as the guy in the orange T-shirt and plaid shorts, you'll him in a moment, then gets a home run ball before any other fans. And he barely has to move. He catches a second home run, the fallen fly here. The fan is so good, he was interviewed by ESPN after the game. No word on whether he got a job offer.

All right and was Patriots quarterback Tom Brady actually encouraging fans to booze it up before Sunday's game? Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADY, QUARTERBACK, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: Yes, start drinking early. Get nice and rowdy, 4:15 game. That's a lot of time to get lubed up. And come out here and cheer for their home team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right, so Patriots spokesperson had this correction. Quote, "Brady meant that the fans should stay hydrated, drink water and drink responsibly."

Well, a criminal suspect handcuffed and placed in a locked patrol car suddenly vanishes.

CNN's Jeanne Moos investigates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sometimes suspects are guilty of being deviously ingenious. Take the bank robber who when captured ate the alleged hold up note, bon appetite. But why is this guy licking his handcuffs?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Am I going to jail for something?

MOOS: After allegedly brandishing a knife, Quincy Alexander was handcuffed in the back of a West Bloomfield, Michigan police cruiser. The first thing he managed to do is to move his cuffed hands from behind him to in front. He also emptied his pockets which police say contained heroin.

And then he used his mouth to lubricate and apparently lose handcuffs. Let's time it to see how long it takes him to take off the cuffs. Left alone in the cruiser with the radio on, Alexander gnawed, salivated and tugged for a mere 17 seconds before the cuff came off, a veritable handcuffed Houdini. He kept looking around for the officer. You could almost see him think.

(on camera): And while we're at it, shouldn't the suspect be wearing a seatbelt? And then, there's the minor detail of how he managed to open a window to get out. The barrier between the front and back had been left open. So Alexander just crawled into the front seat. Watch the light change as he presses the button, opening a rear window. Out the window he went. This cruiser was parked.

A hand-cuffed burglary in Utah threw himself out the window of a moving police car. The window was open because he'd been throwing up. When he threw himself out, he was not seriously injured, though he was recaptured.

And so was Alexander. Just three hours later, his Freddie Mercury moment short lived.

(MUSIC) MOOS: But if you're going to break free, at least turn off the radio.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)