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Last Gasp of Gadhafi Regime; Reno Crash Investigation; Death Row Inmate's Last Chance.

Aired September 18, 2011 - 18:01   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. It is the top of the hour. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Don Lemon. Thank you for joining us.

Right off the top here, I want to warn you what you are about to see is graphic, but it does illustrate the reality of war. So, we begin tonight in Libya where loyalists to Moammar Gadhafi are putting up a fierce fight to cling until the final strongholds of a new defunct regime.

One of those strongholds is the desert town of Sirte where TNC fighters are encountering bold resistance. It is there a CNN crew was caught in a cross fires of RPG fire. And it was all captured on camera in this report from CNN's Phil Black. And again, a warning -- the video you are about to see is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Revolutionary fighters advancing through Sirte.

The commander sees movement in the distance. He calls for one gunman to fire. The rest of the unit joins in, shooting wildly.

(GUNFIRE)

BLACK: They come under fire.

(GUNFIRE)

BLACK: An ambulance is hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. They and we are caught in the open.

(GUNFIRE)

BLACK (on camera): (INAUDIBLE) a pot shot. There's something in the distance. A lot of the fighters opened up and there was some big return fire.

(voice-over): CNN producer Ian Lee was hit.

IAN LEE, CNN PRODUCER: I've been shot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down, down. Down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go!

UNIDENTIFEID MALE: Get down! Behind, right side. Go to the right side of everything. Go, go! That's it. Good. Other way.

(voice-over): We start to check Ian's injury. It looks like there is a piece of shrapnel inside.

(on camera): You can feel it?

LEE: Yes, I could feel it. When he was moving around, I could feel it inside.

BLACK (voice-over): At a nearby field hospital, medics help Ian -- while dealing with their own grief.

(on camera): A colleague of these men was killed in the same attack just meters away from where the RPG, we think, hit the ambulance that was near us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our colleague. He is paramedic and at the same time he's an ambulance driver.

BLACK: What was his name?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

BLACK: And how old was he?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's old about 27, 28.

BLACK: Tell me about him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today at morning, at 9:00 a.m., he woke up me in my bed in the hospital and tell me he was going to the front line. We are joking at the ambulance, we are coming here, he's very happy. Suddenly, he came to us and he's like --

BLACK (voice-over): This medic was there, too. He saw his friend die but he must keep working.

Casualties keep coming. On this day alone, more than 20 revolutionary fighters are killed in the chaotic battle to Sirte.

Phil Black, CNN, Sirte, Libya.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Another story now from overseas. It is going to be at least a few more days before two American hikers are freed from prison in Iran. An attorney for Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer says a judge who must sign the paperwork to free the two is on vacation until Tuesday. Separately, a delegation of American Muslim and Christian leaders asked Iran's president to release the hikers.

President Ahmadinejad said recently the pair would be released in a couple of days. The two Americans have been held for more than two years on spying charges after being arrested while hiking along the Iran/Iraq border.

The peace of a Sunday service peace shattered at a Lakeland, Florida church. A gunman opened fire, hitting both the pastor and the associate pastor. Fifty-seven-year-old Jeremiah Fogel is now in custody after the shooting at the Greater Faith Christian Church. Police say parishioners tackled him and held him there until officers arrived. Affiliate WFTS is reporting that Fogel killed his wife before going to the church. Both the pastor and associate pastor are being treated at a hospital.

The TSA says it has fired 28 employees at Hawaii's Honolulu International Airport. The move is after a probe revealed several screeners weren't properly checking bags before putting them on planes. Sources said the security lapse occurred for several months and involved thousands of bags that were not screened for explosives. In addition to the firings, the TSA also suspended 15 people. It is believed to be one of the biggest terminations in the agency's history.

And speaking of screenings, NFL fans now have to endure a little more on the way in to stadiums across the country. Security guards are now doing full-body pat-downs instead of from the waist up. NFL says the upgrades were planned before an incident last week when a fan allegedly used an illegal taser during a fight inside the stadium at the Jets-Cowboys game.

In his first interview since charges of sexual assault were dropped, Dominique Straus-Kahn says the only thing he's guilty of is moral weakness. The former head of the International Monetary Fund told a French television station today that his relationship with a New York hotel maid was a, quote, "error," a mistake. He denies any sexual assault took place but stops short of any details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN, FORMER IMF CHIEF (through translator): What happened was -- was neither violence nor constraint included in this, nor aggression, nor any act, and any illicit act. That is what the prosecutor has said, what happened was not only inappropriate relationship but more than that -- an error, a mistake, a mistake concerning my wife, my children, my friends but also a mistake for the French people that placed their hope for change in me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, Strauss-Kahn said he doesn't intend to negotiate any kind of settlement with his accuser who has filed a civil lawsuit against him. Tonight at 10:00, I'm going to speak with her attorney.

Identifying the victims in that deadly air race crash in Nevada. One of those killed a paralyzed young man on a father/son trip with his dad.

And a family tortured and murdered. One of the killers is already sentenced to death. Monday, the trial of the second suspect begins. Ahead this hour, a family friend on how the husband and father, the only survivor is coping, and how they will handle reliving the crime again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Some important new developments to tell you about in the investigation into that deadly plane crash Friday at the Reno air race. It turns out the plane contained some electronic equipment that could help to determine what caused the disaster.

Nine people died in the accident, including the pilot.

CNN's Dan Simon is standing by for us in Reno right now.

Dan, what are investigators saying about this.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, the NTSB just held what they said would be their last press conference related to this crash and they released what could be a treasure trove worth of information.

What we found out is that, number one, the plane, the p-150 Mustang, was equipped with a video camera. It faced outside, and they also recovered at the crash scene some memory cards that could be associated with that camera. They are not sure yet. They need the send them back to their lab in Washington, D.C. for analysis, but that could be an important factor in determining what happened.

Second, the plane was equipped with what could be described as sort of a crude black box. It recorded information such as oil pressure, RPMs, speed, things of that nature. That information was also wrote on a memory card, but the data was also transmitted wirelessly to the flight crew on the ground. So, either way, it looks like they have that information.

Let's listen now to what the NTSB had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ROSEKIND, NTSB BOARD MEMBER: We do have the telemetry data that has been examined and will be sent for further analysis to Washington, D.C. I'll talk about that as well. It has multiple variables, including information from the engine such as oil pressure and oil temperature, but also includes GPS information, altitude, velocity, latitude, longitude and other variables. These could be critical for us to perform analysis that would allow us to examine certain structural or medical issues, based on this information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, Dan, they may learn about the cause from that, but also I understand a few of the victims have been identified. What are we learning about them? What can you tell us?

SIMON: Right. We know nine people died as a result of this crash. At this point, four people have been identified. Of course, the pilot, Jimmy Leeward.

And also authorities announcing that Michael Joseph Wogan, 22- year-old from Arizona who suffered from muscular dystrophy, wheelchair bound, was also in the VIP section and died. Mr. Wogan described as a magna cum laude graduate of ASU had his own web development business and lived, you know, a life filled with independence despite his disability.

We are told that George and Wendy Hewitt died. They lived in Seattle area. Airplane aficionados, members of an airplane enthusiast club there in the Seattle area. In terms of the remaining five deceased, we are told that at this point, a medical examiners office still needs to still identify some of the victims or notify next of kin, Don.

Back to you.

LEMON: CNN's Dan Simon -- thank you very much, Dan.

Another plane crash is under investigation this weekend. This one in West Virginia. It happened at an air show in Martinsburg. The pilot of the T-28 had just completed an aerobatic demonstration Saturday when the plane dived toward the ground. Investigators are talking to witnesses.

Part of President Obama's plan to reduce the deficit is to tax millionaires more. How will that fly? We're going to discuss it with our political panel next.

And then, is the state of Georgia about to execute an innocent man? We are looking at the evidence against convicted cop killer Troy Davis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: President Obama often says the wealthy should pay what he likes to call their fair share. Now, he's taking some action on it. Mr. Obama will unveil a new minimum tax rate Monday for people making more than $1 million a year. Wealthy people like Warren Buffett -- seen here with President Obama -- would have to pay at least the same percentage of their earnings in taxes as middle-income taxpayers.

Republicans are already blasting the idea as class warfare. The tax will be announced as part of the president's long-term deficit reduction plan.

You know, the "Warren Buffett Rule" -- that's what it's being called. It's already getting a lot of talk around Washington and beyond.

So, I want to bring in two of our regulars here.

Will Cain is in New York. He is a CNN contributor.

LZ Granderson is in Washington. He is a CNN contributor -- contributor to CNN.com, and then also a senior writer for ESPN.

OK. I'm going to ask you guys yes or no question and then I'm going to ask what he is trying to accomplish.

So, first up, LZ, is it going to fly?

LZ GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: No.

LEMON: OK. Will, is it going to fly?

CAIN: No.

LEMON: No. OK.

Will, what's he's trying to accomplish with this idea?

CAIN: No, I don't know, Don. It's true that it's unfair that millionaires often pay less in effect of taxes than their secretaries, but it's also unfair that you're not taxed on getting your health insurance through your employer and those that buy it are taxed on it. It's also the tax code unfairly rewards homeowners over renters.

The point I'm making to you here is, that all of these unfairnesses are symptoms and the sickness is a tax code that's riddled with exemptions and loopholes and deductions.

Now, President Obama has suggested, he's given lip service, to actually correcting that. But when he comes out with a patch like this, Don, designed to catch the rich guy, it sounds a lot more like class war populism than it does actually attempting to fix the problem.

LEMON: OK. So you are repeating what Republicans have said, that, oh, this is class warfare, taxing. Is that why you think it's not going to work because of the reasons that you said or just because Republicans in Washington don't want to work with the president?

CAIN: I dismiss the idea that the Republicans don't want to work with the president. Republicans have suggested they will go for tax reform, all right? President Obama has said he will go for tax reform. President Obama has now put forward a proposal, Don, that is something he knows Republicans will put up a fight against.

Why not go for something both sides have suggested they are willing to consider?

LEMON: All right. LZ, you said it's not going to fly. Why do you think? Is it because that or because people say the president just doesn't want to work with Republicans? I mean, Republicans don't want to work with the president, excuse me?

GRANDERSON: The Republicans do not want to work with President Obama to solve any issue coming down though 2012 election. And I think it's -- Will, I love you. You're my brother, but you know you're crazy.

The Republicans are not going to do anything that's going to make President Obama look good. They talk about class warfare while ignoring the fact that they have been trying to disassemble one of the last sort of barriers that middle class Americans have in terms of dictating what their income can be and that's through the unions. That to me is class warfare.

CAIN: LZ, you're just --

GRANDERSON: Anytime you allow the education system to get dictated by how much you make versus how important it is to actually be educated, that's class warfare. So, I think it's ridiculous to have that argument.

LEMON: Go ahead, Will.

CAIN: You are a much bigger cynic than I am, obviously. Are you telling me if President Obama didn't put together a package that had both corporate tax reform and individual tax reforms, that did away with reductions and loopholes? Have about this -- and even put in entitlement reform, the Republicans just wouldn't go for it because you know what, they don't want to give President Obama victory?

LEMON: OK. All right. All right.

GRANDERSON: Of course not.

CAIN: They wouldn't go for that? I'm asking.

GRANDERSON: No. They wouldn't do anything to help him look good before the 2012 election, period.

LEMON: OK. Let's stop it there, end it there, because I want to move on. Let's a little bit more talk about presidential politics here. We had the CNN presidential debate this past, this week, this past week. And, you know, we had some new numbers on the economy as well.

So, I want you both to listen to former President Bill Clinton. This is him this morning on CBS. He is explaining why Democrats shouldn't panic as James Carville, his former adviser suggested in the column on CNN.com. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I understand what James was saying, and he wants President Obama to be re-elected. But when you are out there running against yourself and people feel miserable, it's hard to see your numbers go up. When he's got a real opponent and people get to evaluate real alternatives and they get to see other Republicans respond to his speech and his plan, including a lot of ideas they have supported in the past, then I think we will be in a different world politically.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. That's why I stopped you guys, because that's sort of a continuation of the conversation that we are having.

LZ, is it -- is it panic time for the president, or is Bill Clinton right?

GRANDERSON: You know, I was really disappointed that James Carville used the word "panic" because I think he had a lot of really good ideas. And, unfortunately, if President Obama implements any of them, it's really easy to tie that into looking like President Obama is panicking now.

So, I agree with President Clinton. I think he's a brilliant politician. He's absolutely amazing. And that it is very, very early and he's right. Obama is running against himself. People are feeling terrible.

LEMON: All right. Will, I let you finish up.

CAIN: Yes. I think the Republicans would absolutely win this next presidential election if they'd stop revealing who their candidates are. I think that at this point, we got about two weeks of hope left. Bill Clinton --

LEMON: Whoa, say that again. Say that again.

CAIN: Bill Clinton -- I said we'd win this election if we stop saying who our candidates are. The point I'm trying to make is we got two weeks to put forth a candidate that doesn't shoot himself in the foot.

Now, listen, Mitt Romney has a real chance to win this election. President -- listen, President Clinton entered his race on October 4th. That gives us two weeks left to put out a candidate, that, look, this is my own personal opinion, like Chris Christie, or Paul Ryan or Jeb Bush -- they would win this thing in a landslide.

GRANDERSON: I love Paul Ryan. I actually love that more than Michele Bachmann getting in the ticket.

LEMON: You cannot make me -- you can't let me in. You got to finish that. Why?

GRANDERSON: Because, I think when you look at the things he said over just the past six months, you cannot tell me that middle America, the moderates are going to support that man in the White House, him having that power and that authority based upon his politics, and his class warfare, yes, I would love for him to get in the race.

LEMON: We're with out of time.

CAIN: LZ, I love you, buddy, but I didn't hear a single reason there.

LEMON: All right. We're out of time. To be continued. Thank you, guys. Always appreciate it.

You know, three days from now, the death by lethal injection -- well, the call to save a man on Georgia's death row grows louder. We are looking at the evidence that sent convicted cop killer Troy Davis to death row. That's next here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: One last chance for Georgia death row inmate to have his life spared. And it's happening less than 24 hours from now.

On Monday morning, Georgia's five-member will hear a clemency request for Troy Davis. Davis is scheduled to be put to death on Wednesday for the 1989 fatal shooting of Savannah officer Mark MacPhail. Davis has maintained his innocence and seven of nine witnesses later recanted their testimony. The case has inspired protests all across the world. Groups like Amnesty International and the NAACP are leading a campaign to save his life.

I want to bring in now CNN's David Mattingly. He's going to be at the hearing when Davis' fate is decided.

So, David, I want to talk about the physical evidence in the case, which has been picked over really now for 20 years. But what about -- what's the controversy over these ballistic results?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, when you hear his many supporters saying that there is no physical evidence against Troy Davis, that's why there is so much attention being focused on the shell casings. He was convicted not only of killing this police officer but also in a shooting earlier that same evening.

At the time of his conviction, there was expert testimony saying -- matching those shell casings from the earlier shooting to the shooting of the police officer. In the time since then, there have been re-examinations of the shell casings. His attorneys have gone to federal court arguing since that time, the new examinations of the shell casings shows that they are not an absolute match. They are not conclusive, and his supporters have latched on to that saying, look, this is one more piece of what you call your physical evidence that's not quite adding up here.

But at the same time, others have come in, entering their opinions, as well. That this still matches the same type of weapon, if not the exact type of weapon. But this shows how much scrutiny has been focused on this case.

LEMON: Every single aspect of this case can be argued, I think. Every single -- including the witnesses recanting their testimony.

MATTINGLY: And it has been argued in the federal court level. That was argued, the recantations. Also, the ballistics testing. All of that has been argued in the courts. It's been argued before the pardons and parole board.

And Troy Davis has lost at every step of the legal process. He's also failed. He went and asked for clemency before this board once before, and they denied that to him once before.

LEMON: We are going to talk more about that board you're going to introduce and tell us about. That is coming up a little bit later here on CNN.

But I want to talk about this. But why now? Why all of the interest all of a sudden, two decades later?

MATTINGLY: This has been a slow, building volcano. And he's had three near misses with executions so far in the state of Georgia. This is his fourth and final time. He's going to go back before the board that once before denied him clemency.

A lot of this stems with his own family. They believed wholeheartedly in his innocence. They have been the ones out there beating the drum for 20 years now to try to get support for this. They have won over support of organizations that are typically against the death penalty, the NAACP, Amnesty International. But they have been able to present the evidence in a way that has made people look at this and make up their own minds.

That's why you are seeing hundreds of thousands of people around the world signing petitions in his favor.

LEMON: Yes. And we're going to find out tomorrow and you're going to be at that hearing.

MATTINGLY: Yes.

LEMON: Thank you, David Mattingly. We'll see you a little bit later on here on CNN. We appreciate it.

You know, I had another crime story to tell you about. A family tortured and murdered. One of the men who killed a mother and her two daughters has already been sentenced to death. Well, tomorrow, the trial of the second suspect begins. A family friend will tell us how they will handle reliving the crime yet again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Without a doubt this was one of the most graphic trials, murder trials in recent history, in recent years - the case of a Connecticut family brutally murdered in their home back in 2007. One of the suspects in the case is Joshua Komisarjevsky, who will be in court on Monday as opening statements begin. You'll recall, though, his alleged accomplice, Steven Hayes, was convicted and sentenced to death last year.

And the family of the four - of four was beaten in their home, I should say, by two men who later set the house on fire. The father is William Petit. He escaped the burning home, but his wife Jennifer and their three daughters all died. Dr. Petit will be allowed to testify at the trial with the suspect Joshua Komisarjevsky. And joining me from now New Haven, Connecticut, a very close friend of Jennifer Petit. Her name is Marilyn Bartoli. Marilyn, thank you so much for talking to us today.

First, I want to ask you. How do you think that Dr. Petit will handle having to relive the death of his family, the murders all over again?

MARILYN BARTOLI, FRIEND OF JENNIFER HAWKE-PETIT: Don, I think he'll handle it with the same grace and courage that he's demonstrated throughout. It's been a very long road for him and all of us who love Jen and the girls and the Petit Family. This is the last lap that he has to go, and I'm sure that he'll handle it superbly as he always does.

LEMON: What can you share about the memory of the Petit Family and your connection to - to Jennifer?

BARTOLI: I knew Jennifer through Cheshire Academy, through my son who is a graduate there and Justin gravitated to Jen as all the students did. She had a very special way with children. And we're both registered nurses, so we had a lot in common and grew to be very fast friends.

And I wish you could have known her, Don. She was a woman who loved life and loved children and gave so much to her family and her friends in the community. It was a loss, a great loss.

LEMON: Have you've been in touch with Mr. Petit? And can you tell us how he's holding up and share any part of the conversation that you might want to share that you've been having with him?

BARTOLI: I saw Dr. Petit a few months ago. As a matter of fact, our nephew is a pre-med student at Johns Hopkins. And he had come up to me with Dr. Petit. He has a little e-mail relationship going with him and Dr. Petit is giving him a lot of tips and counseling for getting through medical school and has been very supportive of Noel (ph).

And he, just as I said, a man of great grace and courage. And, you know, he has changed everyone he's touched for the better.

LEMON: Yes. You know, we talked about the family, but this really hit the community hard. I mean, this was just a terrible incident that happened in the community. Do you think that the community will ever be able to move on from this and find some peace?

BARTOLI: You know, Don, a lot of people asks me that. I don't think that will ever have closure. But I think when these trials finally come to an end, hopefully there will be a sense that justice has been served for Jennifer and the girls.

If you've ever been to Cheshire, we describe it as Mayberry, USA. It's just a small town, good people helping their neighbors, never dreamed that anything like this would come to our community. The devil walked there that night and it's changed all of our lives.

LEMON: Are you going to go to the court proceedings? BARTOLI: Yes, yes.

LEMON: Thank you very much, Marilyn Bartoli. Best of luck to you.

BARTOLI: Thank you.

LEMON: A new school year begins in Libya with a big part of that country's history erased from the text books.

And what happens when two billionaires disagree on national television? What else, a fist fight. We're globe trekking next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. We're in mid-September and many of us are pulling out the sweaters for the first time in months.

Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras joins me now where the cooler temps are all over the country. She's going to tell us where. Jacqui, you know I don't like it, right?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know you don't and it make me so sad because I still love it. It's my favorite time of the year, Don. I'm going to get you on the fall train.

LEMON: All right.

JERAS: I'm going to tell you. You're going to end up loving it within a month, all right? I'm going to promise you apples, pumpkins, cider. It's all good, sweaters, boots. You got the -

LEMON: Especially the cider.

JERAS: You got the argyle socks out, right? That's kind of a fall thing, right? Just saying.

Hey, to go along with that, we've got some rain, though, and this is one of our big stories happening at this hour is that some of the thunderstorms are reaching severe levels. And so we are expecting to see possibly some hail, some damaging winds associated with them along with some downpours.

Now, this is a bit of good news actually across parts of Texas. Any kind of rain we want to see that we've got to watch out for those lightning strikes and these watches are in effect until 11:00 local time.

Now we do have lighter rain showers in the Upper Midwest and unfortunately not a great day to get outside. But it is cool and it's crisp. It is causing some airport delays in Chicago. At O'Hare, we've got delays around two hours and 15 minutes now. So it does take a little bit longer to shoot that instrument approach and line those planes up a little farther apart so that they can land safely when you've got that kind of cloud cover.

Here's the cool temperatures. I mean, it's 61 right now in Minneapolis, as well as Chicago; only 78 in Memphis; a gorgeous day in Atlanta with 76 degrees. And if you like the taste of fall, good news, another cold front is going to be making its way across the country throughout the week. So another cool, Don, we're talking about 10 to 20 degrees below average once again. So these series of fronts are going to be moving on through and keeping that taste of fall around, which officially arrives officially, Don, on Friday, the 23rd.

LEMON: Yes. Bah humbug. OK. Thank you, Jacqui Jeras. Appreciate it.

You know, some proof out of Russia even if you make 10 digits a year, it wouldn't necessarily buy you self control. Video from YouTube shows billionaires in a fist fight on a Russian TV show. OK. We're going to explain what triggered the billionaire blowup in just a moment.

But first, we're going to go globe trekking. There's a new government in Libya as the children start their school year. And CNN's International Editor Azadeh Ansari joins me now.

Azadeh, those kids have a lot of catching up to do.

AZADEH ANSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: They do, Don. And because of the escalated violence, the school year had to actually end earlier than expected. So their summer started earlier.

But the thing is that one thing they can look forward to now - and we're looking at video here out of Benghazi, which is the rebel stronghold and the second largest city in Libya, and the teachings and the curriculum has also changed. Because prior to this, Gadhafi played such an instrumental role and a critical role not only in the government, but also what was taught in school.

So his way of his way, you know, was the way that they would be taught and he has, you know, his green book that everyone knows his controversial green book and his philosophies on religion, and politics and economics, and -

LEMON: That all has to change.

ANSARI: Yes. And it's starting at age 8 -

LEMON: Right.

ANSARI: -- for two hours a week these kids would have to study the ways of Gadhafi.

LEMON: Oh, wow. Indoctrinated -

ANSARI: Right.

LEMON: -- as they say. Look at those cute faces.

ANSARI: I know. And they're holding up peace signs.

LEMON: Awesome.

ANSARI: They're excited.

LEMON: That is awesome.

So I want to go - I want to tell you - let's do this real quick. This king crab invasion, is this a sign of climate change? What's going on?

ANSARI: Well, it is, Don. And this is - well, that is not the king crab there. That is a picture of Gadhafi's green book that we were referencing -

LEMON: Yes.

ANSARI: -- earlier.

But just to highlight the issue that's going on right now. So we have an invasion of these king crabs in areas in the Antarctic where they weren't expected to be at this time.

LEMON: Oh, wow.

ANSARI: And a lot of it is being attributed to the warming of the oceans. And so, again, this is a story we're going to follow and I'll give you more on this going into the weeks ahead -

LEMON: OK.

ANSARI: -- but it's a huge problem.

LEMON: All right. OK. So let's talk about this millionaire fight in Russia. This was on YouTube. These two Russian billionaires get on - what are they fighting for? What's going on?

ANSARI: OK. So you've seen the video.

LEMON: Yes.

ANSARI: It almost looks like an episode out of Jerry Springer, right?

LEMON: Yes.

ANSARI: But it's crazy. Like these guys you'd think that with all the money that they have they could get it together right.

LEMON: Oh, my God.

ANSARI: So this guy in the gray suit right here, he's Russia's media mogul, Alexander Lebedev. He is just what - the comments that he's hearing from his business rival, right there in the black, as we can see, Sergei Polonsky, just don't sit so well with him. So the heated debate goes and it's is on the global economic crisis.

So this debate just gets heated and heated and then finally he just like he loses his cool, Lebedev in the gray and he just socked him. And as you can see, his opponent there just like falls to the ground, sprawls out.

LEMON: Wow.

ANSARI: Yes. And you would think that - and he's one of the richest men in the world, believe it or not.

LEMON: Good TV, though. Good TV. And finally let's talk about Oktoberfest. We hear a lot about Oktoberfest. Yes, but this is the mother of all Oktoberfests.

ANSARI: Well, it is and it's the largest beer festival in the world, as we know, and we're expected to see about seven million tourists at this thing. And how much beer do you think that they will consume over this three-week extravaganza?

LEMON: A lot.

ANSARI: A lot.

LEMON: Heck of a lot.

ANSARI: You know, I was shocked to find out. But there's a website dedicated to this - to Oktoberfest, but they estimated around six million liters, Don.

LEMON: Yes.

ANSARI: Six million liters. That's a lot of beer.

LEMON: That picture made me thirsty. Did you see that beer? Awesome. Thank you, Azadeh.

ANSARI: You're welcome.

LEMON: Big news today in college sports. Two schools jumping conferences. NFL Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is in the house to talk about - well, it looks like another round of conference shake-ups and a controversial ending to last night's big fight. We're going to show you next.

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LEMON: Oh, this is the controversy heard around the world. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the new WBC Welterweight Champion, but boxing fans are going to argue for years to come over the way he got his belt. Mayweather took on defending champ Victor Ortiz in last - last night in Las Vegas.

Well, in the fourth round, in the fourth round, the referee took a point away from Ortiz for head butting. And then Ortiz appeared to be leaning in to apologize to Mayweather, but Mayweather clocked him hard and sent him to the canvas. Ortiz couldn't get up before the referee's 10 count and it was all over by then.

Ortiz says he was blind sided. He blames a miscommunication with the ref. Mayweather never won for modesty later said, quote, "You have to protect yourself at all times." All is fair in love and war.

Boxing to football, Peyton Manning and Michael Vick, you hear them laughing over here. A couple of quarterbacks making big news already in the NFL season. I'm joined - talking about favorite Hall of Famer - Hall of Fame Quarterback Fran Tarkenton and founder of the website OneMoreCustomer.com - OneMoreCustomer.com and numerous businesses. Man, do you ever -

FRAN TRANKERTON, NFL HALL OF FAME: I never stop.

LEMON: All right. Let's start with Peyton Manning -

TANKERTON: Yes.

LEMON: -- and his neck injury. He's going to be out they say for - for how long now?

TANKERTON: They don't know. They're saying for unlimited time.

LEMON: Oh, jeez.

TANKERTON: Two weeks have gone by in the season. I hope he stays out for the year. It's a neck injury. Necks are serious. That's a tough thing.

LEMON: They said maybe two to three months, but is this something that will keep a player on the sideline for a long time - a long time? There are certain injuries that, oh, quick, you're done. You'll get over it. But this one?

TANKERTON: This will stay a while. He's also 35.

LEMON: Yes.

TANKERTON: Quarterbacks, we all, about this time, some before 35 start to deteriorate, shoulders go, knees go, arm goes. This is a serious deal. I hope he stays out the entire year. But it also shows - with a quarterback late, right?

LEMON: Yes.

TANKERTON: But the quarterback, their contenders without him, nothing.

LEMON: That's easy for you to say, but if you're Peyton Manning, you want to get in there. If you're the team - because is there another team that - that the quarterback is more important than - than this team?

TANKERTON: It's a quarterback's leg, but he is the most important to his team -

LEMON: Yes.

TANKERTON: -- because his team is not great. Brady has a better supporting cast than Peyton Manning does, but he's at that time of year. I hope he stays out and tries to get well for next year and try again. This year's lost.

LEMON: Got you. All right. Let's talk about Michael Vick now. He's back in Atlanta this week. He's one of the all-time great comeback stories, from prison to his new $100 million contract with Philadelphia, and there's incentives there. Some people say it was a bit overblown, it's not that much, but with the incentives, it adds up to that much.

He admits when he was with Atlanta, he says he wasn't focused and he should have been more mature. Do you think he's matured enough now to get to the - the Super Bowl?

TANKERTON: Yes, and all quarterbacks have to be lucky enough to be with a great organization, great coaching, great stability. He's with Philadelphia, Andy Reid is a terrific quarterback coach, great stability.

And this guy has made a tremendous comeback. I give him all the credit in the world. He is capable of winning Super Bowls. He has one liability. Can he stay well? Because he's fearless. He's a little guy and he'll run at people, over people, into people, do anything to try to win. To his credit, he's got that, but he's got to stay well. Quarterbacks have got to keep themselves on the field.

LEMON: OK. I want to switch gears now. It was announced today that Pittsburgh and Syracuse officially leaving the Big East Conference and they're going to join the ACC, and Texas and A&M apparently - apparently is heading for that. So are we heading to a place now where it's just going to be like two big conferences? What do you know?

TANKERTON: I think so. It's going to be 16 team leagues. It's really going to come down to three.

LEMON: Three?

TANKERTON: I think the PAC 16, the PAC -- the 16 and the big 10, and the SEC will be 16. This announcement is really kind of a non- announcement, because the ACC's a basketball conference. Pittsburgh and Syracuse are basketball schools. They're not football schools anymore. They used to be football schools.

And Jimmy Brown, if you're out there, I know you were a legend at Syracuse, and the greatest football player I've ever seen, but they isn't what they used to be.

LEMON: All right. So you said not two, but three. It's going to come down to three, you think Super Conference.

TANKERTON: I think the West Coast, what used to be the PAC 10, the big 10, the SEC, everybody wants to be like the SEC because the SEC is a Junior NFL.

LEMON: All right. So, finally, tell me about this new website. FantasyFran.com.

TANKERTON: FantasyFran.com. It's not a porn site.

LEMON: That sounds good. I'm glad you said it! I'm like, FantasyFran.com.

TANKERTON: Forty million people play fantasy football, and I decided - it is great. And we're having more fun with it. It's just so much fun. It really is. Fantasy - FantasyFran.com. Here we go.

LEMON: We should just end it there.

TANKERTON: Just right.

LEMON: Thank you. There's the website. Thank you, Fran.

TANKERTON: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: You're crazy, man. I love it, though. I love it.

The bright lights are on and the stars are out. One of Hollywood's biggest nights has arrived. Right now, we're live from the red carpet where the celebrities are already arriving for tonight's Primetime Emmy Awards. Right after this break, we're going to take you there.

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LEMON: Oh, it's a big night for actors on the small screen. The 63rd Annual PrimeTime Emmy Awards are less than two hours away.

CNN's Kareen Wynter looking gorgeous is on the red carpet outside L.A.'s Nokia Theater with a preview for us. So take it away, Kareen.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, we've spoken to so many actors and actresses all afternoon long on this blazing hot red carpet.

I found the coolest actress, you're about to see Miss Kathy Bates from "Harry's Law." I think you've got it right with that fan here. Is it helping, though?

KATHY BATES, EMMY AWARD NOMINEE, "HARRY'S LAW": It is helping. I think it's going to be a lifesaver. I picked it up in Paris a couple of years ago. It's handmade by this wonderful woman named Modeelle (ph) and it's saving my life today.

WYNTER: You know, I have to think about that accessory next year, very, very smart. Talk about your big nomination tonight. Such an honor to just be really recognized among your peers, "Harry's Law," lead actress nomination, huge! How are you feeling going into the evening?

BATES: I'm feeling very relaxed. You know, I don't have any illusions. I don't think it's going to be my night tonight. You know, from all I've read, it's going to be Julianna Margulies or Elisabeth Moss. But I'm just so proud of being here. We were only on the air for 12 shows. We got terrible reviews and we had a great audience number. And so thankfully, we're back for a second season. The show's going to be really great. We air on Wednesday at 9:00 - at 9:00 P.M. So we're hoping to bring our great audience with us. So it's just a real honor to be here and talk about the show.

WYNTER: Kathy, again, I've got to let you in on a little something. I just - just a few minutes ago spoke to Julianna Margulies and she paid you the highest compliment as well. Just the fact that, you know, she's also being recognized among such a distinguished group of actresses. So there's a lot of love going around.

You know, I saw you talking to Jimmy Fallon, who, by the way, hosted the Emmys last year, did a great job. Is this what this affair is really about, catching up with some of your best buds in the business?

BATES: Oh, that's what the best part of this is. You know, I ran into Jimmy Woods last night. On Friday night a lot of the nominees were honored with their certificates at the Pacific Design Center. Got to see Beau Bridges and a lot of old friends. So it's been lovely to catch up with everybody.

WYNTER: What are you hoping to see, to hear maybe, a little dance number, some singing from Jane Lynch? We're all on the edge of our seats.

BATES: I can't wait to see what she's going to come up with. I think she's wonderful.

WYNTER: And we have Loretta Devine. Loretta, we're live on CNN.

LORETTA DEVINE, EMMY AWARD NOMINEE, "GREY'S ANATOMY": Hi! She let me touch her. I'm just so glad.

WYNTER: Well, ladies, we know you have a long carpet ahead of you. Thank you so much. (INAUDIBLE) -

LEMON: You can continue. Hey, listen. Loretta Devine looks beautiful. She's walked away. She looks - she looks fantastic and we like surprises on the red carpet.

We're hearing people cheering. I guess there are spectators there watching. Who else are you seeing there, Kareen?

WYNTER: Oh, we have seen so many people. We've bumped into a lot of people from "The Office," cast members, like I mentioned, Julianna Margulies, and I know you're always interested in fashion, Don. Who is in stride (ph). You know, I'm seeing a lot of gold gowns, purples, burgundy.

In fact, I'm dying to talk to Jane Lynch. She's supposed to be coming by. Her publicist said, yes, we're going to talk to CNN. We want to get some of the inside scoop on tonight's show. She says she's confident going into it. She's been preparing all week, working with the producer of the show, famed Survivor Producer Mark Burnett, so she has her number down. We're hearing that maybe we'll see a little "Jersey Shore" skit come out. Snooki apparently tweeted a picture of Jane Lynch, so, hint, hint, that there may be something there. And she's looking to wow the audience. I'm hoping to bring in a bigger audience this year, younger viewers compared to last year, so we'll have to see.

But an incredible night ahead for all the nominees and the people who get to cover such a fun event like this, Don.

LEMON: Oh, very nice. Very nice. Take a look behind you. I'm looking at a small - at a small screen, so I can't really see who's behind you, but it looks like there's some big, fancy folks there.

Hey, listen, we're going to come back to you, especially if Jane Lynch - Jane Lynch shows up, let us know, we'll get you back on TV.

Kareen Wynter, nice job.

WYNTER: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: Thanks as always.