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Solar Power Saves Millions; End of Don't Ask Don't Tell; Death For Troy Davis; Obama Praises Libyan People at U.N.; Former Afghan President Assassinated; Air Show Victims Identified; End Of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"; Japan Typhoon; The Petit Family Murder; GOP Questions Obama's Israel Policies; Fighters Take Pro-Gadhafi Stronghold of Sabha

Aired September 20, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: For 18 years, it was military policy borne of political compromise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The joint chiefs of staff have agreed to remove the question regarding one's sexual orientation from future versions of the enlistment application, and it will not be asked in the interim.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: That was President Clinton announcing Don't Ask, Don't Tell in 1993. It opened military service to gay men and women so long as nobody knew they were gay and it was problematic from the start. More than 13,000 gay troops were kicked out after their secrets leaked out and the government accountability office says you and I, the taxpayers, spent more than $100 million replacing them.

Today, Don't Ask, Don't Tell is no more. Repeal took effect at 12:01 a.m., nine months after President Obama signed a measure from the waning days of a lame duck Democratic Congress. And one full year after a federal judge declared the old way unconstitutional. Gays can now serve openly in every branch of service and all those discharged service members can try to reenlist. Key word, try. Turns out repeal is one thing, reality is a little bit different. Much more on that in our next segment moments from now.

More than 22 years after former army ranger and off-duty police officer was shot to death in Savannah, Georgia, the man convicted of killing him is once again set to die. The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles today rejected Troy Davis' last ditch appeal for clemency. That means Davis will almost surely be executed at 7:00 p.m. Eastern tomorrow despite a global campaign promoting doubt in the evidence against him. The state relied almost entirely on witness testimony and seven out of nine witnesses who implicated Davis have since recanted or changed their stories.

Amnesty International is one of several groups that has lobbied, rallied and collected hundreds and thousands of signatures on Davis's behalf. In light of today's decision, it says, and I quote, "Allowing a man to be set to death under an enormous cloud of doubt about his guilt is an outrageous affront to justice." This much is certain, a 27-year-old husband and father of two was killed while trying to protect a homeless man from attackers who wanted his beer.

Over the years, Mark MacPhail's family has watched Troy Davis avoid execution three times. They say enough is enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANN MACPHAIL: It has been hell because I would like -- I would like to have some peace. I would like to have the situation over with. We are the victims. And those people that recanted, why did they wait 17 years before they recanted? They should have done it if they felt that way earlier, not when the final time has come now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And CNN's David Mattingly was at the parole board hearing yesterday. He joins me now with the fallout. So David, is his execution now inevitable?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Probably yes. We heard from his supporters, they still have a couple of wild cards to play here. They are going to put pressure on the D.A. from the county where this case came from. They're wanting him to go to a county judge there who signed the order for the execution to rescind that order for the execution, that's a big long shot. They're also looking at the possibility of trying to get the board, the prison board that denied clemency, to reverse its decision, something that they've never done before, again, another long shot. The head of the NAACP also said that they might even ask the president to get involved, another long shot. But again, it's looking like that this fourth -- this fourth appointment with the death penalty for Davis is the one that's going to be the most certain for him.

KAYE: Yes. Anyone who looks at this really could say it's a case study in death penalty appeals but really did come down to those final hours of testimony yesterday. What do we know that was said?

MATTINGLY: Well, both sides came out of that hearing feeling like that they got their points across. They were actually very enthusiastic thinking that the board was listening to them, they were actively engaged, asking good questions. They -- the board heard about the arguments about the seven out of the nine witnesses who have changed or recanted their stories. The board also heard about other witnesses coming forward saying another man did this crime. But in the end, it was the family who had the final say before the board, the family of Mark MacPhail, and they were very strong, they were very emotional, and they came out feeling that they -- their point was heard from their heart and they expressed that to the press afterward.

KAYE: Yes, I know. His daughter spoke so let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MADISON MACPHAIL, MARK MACPHAIL'S DAUGHTER: In a few weeks, I'm going to be 24. And so in three years, I will be older than my father, and a couple of years after that so will my little brother. So, in about a matter of five years, my dad's children are going to be older than he is. He is forever frozen at 27. And it's just -- it's hard. It was a future of the life that we never got to experience and a life he has taken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: That was MacPhail's daughter. She was just a toddler at the time he was killed.

KAYE: So emotional. But there is still, on the flip side of that of course, so many who still believe in his innocence. Will they continue that fight? Is there any point at this point?

MATTINGLY: Well, they haven't stopped. There's going to be a demonstration tonight. They're planning demonstrations tomorrow. You heard about what sort of avenues they're pursuing now, however much of a long shot that may be, they're not prepared to give up just yet. And if they fail and the execution goes forward, they are also saying they are going to go to the Justice Department to ask for an investigation into how that county investigates murder cases.

KAYE: I know when we talked earlier, last week actually, you had given me the record of this parole board. I think, what, in 30 years, they've had about eight reverses -- they've granted clemency about eight times I think.

MATTINGLY: Well, they've never reversed a decision on clemency. Every time they've come through and said, no, we're not going to give you clemency, as they did to Davis in 2008, they have never ever gone back on that decision.

KAYE: So, you're not surprised.

MATTINGLY: Right. And this track record is still intact.

KAYE: All right. David Mattingly, thank you for the update, appreciate that.

Checking other developing stories that we're following. The pressing issues of Libya, the war in Afghanistan, the Palestinian bid for statehood topped President Obama's agenda at the United Nations today. First up, talks this morning with the chairman of the new Libyan government. Mr. Obama praised both the Libyan people and the international community for liberating the country from ousted leader, Moammar Gadhafi. But he warned that tough days remain because some Gadhafi loyalists continue to fight.

A former president of Afghanistan and key player in talks with the Taliban was assassinated today. Berhanu Dean Rabbani was meeting with members of the Taliban at his home in Kabul when a suicide bomber blew himself up. One of his top advisers was wounded. Rabbani was the chairman of the Afghan High Peace Council which was charged with finding a political end to the war with the Taliban. He also was head of the main political opposition.

Officials have identified seven of the 10 people killed last week when a vintage airplane crashed at an air show in Reno, Nevada. They include the 74-year-old pilot, Jimmy Leeward. We have some new video of that crash and we have to warn you, it is disturbing. The World War II era plane veered off course Friday, crashed into the VIP seating section, some 70 people were injured. The plane was equipped with data and video recording devices. Investigators hope they'll shed some light on what caused that horrible crash.

It is a good day for gays and lesbians in the military but for thousands who were kicked out under the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, their future is not so certain. Up next, we'll tell you about their difficult road back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: The end of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy today is welcome news for gays and lesbians still in the military and for those who want to join up, but for many of the 13,000 service members kicked under the policy, the end is bitter sweet. They can apply to re- enlist if they want but as Chris Lawrence reports, there's really no guarantee that they'll get back in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hundreds of American troops who got kicked out of the military for being gay or lesbian are about to get hit again with a reality check.

JEREMY JOHNSON: If I was trying to go back in active duty right now versus reserved, the Navy wouldn't take me in the job I was doing before.

LAWRENCE: Jeremy Johnson was discharged in 2007.

(on camera)

You basically wrote a letter to your commanding officer outing yourself.

JOHNSON: I did and it wasn't something that I wanted to do. It was something that deep down I felt I was forced to do in order to kind of maintain my sanity.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): Mike Almy had finished a tour in Iraq and had been recommended for a promotion for lieutenant colonel, then he was outed by another officer and kicked out of the air force.

MICHAEL ALMY: Obviously, I've had a five-year gap at this point in my career so it's -- nothing's going to fully repair the damage that has been done to my career. But I'm hoping that I can just at least get back in there where I left off, resume my career.

LAWRENCE: Both are applying to get back in but the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell is no guarantee. JOHNSON: I'll be honest, I've talked to people who wanted to back in and they started making the phone calls to recruiters and found out that their set of circumstances just wouldn't allow it. And there's letdown, I mean you can hear it in their voice.

LAWRENCE: Some are too old now, their specialties are no longer needed or their jobs are fully staffed. The military is getting smaller and more people are staying in. And the Pentagon says service members who have separated under Don't Ask, Don't Tell will be evaluated according to the same criteria applicable to all others seeking re-entry, in other words, there's no waiver. I think it would be awesome if that could happen but I know the hard truth is that it's not practical --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And Chris Lawrence joins me now from the Pentagon. Chris, talk to me a little bit here about this -- what really is a tremendous sense of loyalty among the military members. I mean, so many of them have been kicked out for being gay or being lesbian and now they still want back in.

LAWRENCE: You know, you're right, Randi. I mean, in one sense, if you think of them as sort of a grieved employees, you know, you think they would be upset with their former employer and not want anything to do with it, but a lot of them do want to get back in because they say, you know, this wasn't just a job, they felt they were part of something a lot bigger than themselves, on an emotional level and have told us that the jobs they've had in the civilian world just haven't measured up. Also, you've got to take into account, a lot of these people were pushed out against their will. So, in a practical sense, a lot of them career-wise had planned to do a full 20 years to retire, to get the pension, to sort of retire at a certain rank.

We talked to one man who was, you know, at a rank and then even as the military was sort of filing his paperwork and pushing him out, at the same time he was being recommended for a promotion. So, a lot of them feel like they have unfinished business and would like to get back in and finish what they started.

KAYE: And when you talk about those who want reentry, I mean how does it work now? They just go, they can start today and they can just start signing up and they don't have to disclosure sexual orientation?

LAWRENCE: They don't have to but if they do, they can walk into the recruiters office and say, I'm gay or I'm a lesbian and the recruiter would ostensibly say, thanks for the information, I'll fill out this paperwork. You know, the young man in the piece we just did, Jeremy Johnson, we just got an e-mail from him a couple minutes ago, he had already put in his paperwork like a lot of other people did, the military has been sitting on it for a couple of weeks until today, and he just found out that the military is now starting to process his paperwork to try to get back in. KAYE: And how does it work in terms of the numbers? I mean, how many are usually allowed re-entry? And is there a chance that maybe even budget might affect this?

LAWRENCE: Budget is a huge part of this, Randi. I mean, if you look at the year that Jeremy got out of the military, the military was taking in around 15,000 prior service troops. Last year, that number had dropped to less than 5,000. So, more troops want to stay in because, look, the economy is pretty horrible right now. There's not a lot of jobs in the civilian world. So more people are staying in, their recruiting levels are at an all-time high. They're just not that many open slots to go around.

KAYE: Yes. And so now we know that "don't ask, don't tell" is behind us. That's done with. But there's still some thorny issues, right, for the military when it comes to these issues?

LAWRENCE: Yes, I mean, gay and lesbians will be able to designate anyone as their beneficiary for life insurance or say a caregiver in the Wounded Warrior Program. But the federal government does not recognize gay marriage. And so the military can't recognize gay marriage. And so you're going to have some situations where, you know, perhaps partners won't be -- have access to health care plans or their partner's pensions. Down the road you may have a situation where say a couple that is -- a gay couple that is married legally in one state gets transferred to another state, which happens a lot in the military, where their union is not recognized. So these are some big thorny issues that the military and really the federal government as a whole is going to have to sort through and figure out over the next few months and years.

KAYE: Yes, this certainly isn't the end of it. Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon. Chris, thank you.

LAWRENCE: You're welcome.

KAYE: Coming up, a typhoon heading straight for Japan. Millions of people now being told to evacuate. And that crippled nuclear plant, right in its path. We'll have an update on that for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: More than a million people in central Japan are being asked to evacuate right now as a powerful typhoon moves closer to the shore. Our Chad Myers is all over this story, which we think has been quite under covered, in fact.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It has been.

KAYE: So what is the latest there?

MYERS: The latest is that this is the storm that Irene was supposed to be for New York City. And this is the storm that Tokyo is going to get. Yokohama will get. Twenty-five or so million people in the way of this. A million people already being told to get out of the way for flooding. Does that sound like Vermont, New Hampshire, New York from the last Irene?

It is a category two. It's called a typhoon. Typhoon Roke. But it's the same thing. If you don't understand, cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes are all the same thing. They're all the same storm, they're just in different oceans so they're called different things.

Typhoon Roke heading straight on up toward the northeast, right into Tokyo Harbor. I'm sure ships are just leaving town at this point in time. Right over Yokohama and right over in a couple of days, because it makes landfall tonight here south of Tokyo. But in just in a couple of days, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant right here.

Now, you have to understand, along the spine of this country, a huge mountain range. And if you pile water with rain up along that spine, all this water has to drain back to the ocean. There will be massive flooding and massive mudslides with this storm as it runs up to the north and to the northeast. Here you go. It keeps on going. It moves away from -- but that's not until Wednesday -- it moves away from the state and the country, all the way up to the northeast then.

It is a significant storm. It will be a rain maker. This purple and white areas here from Tokyo, that would be Mount Fuji right there, all over 10 inches of rain. And all of that has to run downhill at some point in time.

What are we talking about? Here's the harbor. Here's Tokyo. Japan, the length here, north to southeast. Here we go. Right up here from Tokyo, right into Yokohama. A very populated area. Shipping containers all through here. All the way over towards Chiba. And that will take you right into downtown Tokyo. If wind speeds here -- because right now they're 110 -- if wind speeds in Tokyo are 95 to 100, this is the storm that Irene was supposed to make for New York City and has no chance at all, at least at this point in time, of losing any significant threat here or wind speed.

Here's some video we have for you right now just of people being evacuated. And this is just from things that are -- days and days away from what's happened. Here's the water splashing onshore. Look at the waters already. This storm doesn't even make landfall for another 16 to 20 hours. But it's been raining for a couple of days. Now everything is saturated. That saturated ground will only run off and the flooding will get worse. Literally millions, if not tens of millions of people in the way of this category two hurricane/typhoon.

KAYE: Wow. That is terrible to see, Chad, heading their way after all that they've been through.

MYERS: That's right.

KAYE: Thanks for keeping an eye on it.

MYERS: You're welcome.

KAYE: Coming up, another trial began this week in a horrifying home invasion that ended with the deaths of a mother and her two daughters. One man has already been sentenced to death. Now his alleged accomplice is on trial.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: "Crime & Consequence." In New Haven, Connecticut, the trial of a second defendant in a gruesome triple murder case got underway this week. This case is as heartbreaking really as it is terrifying. Joshua Komisarjevsky is charged with killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, during a 2007 home invasion. Mrs. Hawke-Petit was strangled. Her two daughters, both tied to their beds, died of smoke inhalation after the house had been set on fire.

His co-defendant, Steven Hayes, was sentenced to death last year. Both men already had long criminal histories when their paths crossed. Now a look at Komisarjevsky and what brought him to the Petit's home on the morning of July 23rd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE (voice-over): A hint of violence. A disturbing prediction of what might come, buried in this letter from prison.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "I need someone like you who knows a little about my past to keep me grounded in the future when my criminal demons start to wander."

KAYE: Joshua Komisarjevsky, now accused of killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, was worried about his criminal demon. Days after the attack, we interviewed this woman who told us she was a close friend. She asked us not to show her face, but shared the letters she says he sent her from prison years before.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Prison was a hard pill for me to swallow. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't get angry. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel the pain of being taken from my daughter."

KAYE: He writes about his dreams of becoming a real estate developer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "My daughter needs me and I can't accomplish my goals when I'm locked up.

KAYE: But now Komisarjevsky is back behind bars on charges including sexual assault and murder.

Police say Komisarjevsky followed Mrs. Hawke-Petit and one of her daughters home from the grocery store in July 2007 and chose them as his next victims. If that's true and these men did kill the three family members, it doesn't fit their MO.

KAYE (on camera): Neither suspect has ever been arrested for murder before, though they are hardly strangers to crime. In fact, between the two of them, they've been arrested nearly 50 times. On Hayes' rap sheet, 27 arrests, including illegal possession of a firearm, burglary and forgery. Komisarjevsky's past is just as ugly. Twenty arrests for burglary and larceny. Police say he sometimes used night vision goggles.

KAYE (voice-over): Both have served time in prison. But it was here at the Silliman Halfway House in Hartford, Connecticut, where they first met. They were roommates for four months. What might have driven them to sexually assault and strangle Jennifer Hawke-Petit and leave her two beautiful daughters to die in a fire they had set? Forensic psychiatrist Helen Morrison has studied cases like this.

HELEN MORRISON, FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST: And it appears that both of them were really consumed with rage at the unfairness of their lives, so to speak.

KAYE (on camera): Komisarjevsky was adopted as an infant. His grandfather was a leading Russian theatrical director and the son of a princess. His grandmother, a well-known modern dancer. A family friend told us his parents, born again Christians, had trouble controlling him.

KAYE (voice-over): His friend told us that just five days before the murders, Komisarjevsky was distraught over a break-up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was really, really depressed.

KAYE: She said if he did kill Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her girls, something snapped.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He put the terror into these poor girls' hearts and he was the person that they spent their last hours in fear for their lives. And he left them to burn.

KAYE: A senseless act, not even a history of crime can explain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Komisarjevsky wrote about the gruesome details of the crime in a diary from prison. He shared that diary with a Connecticut reporter who wrote a book about the crime and interviewed Komisarjevsky numerous times. Now, in that diary, he portrays himself as the ring leader in this case. The words could come back to bite him. If he's convicted, he could be sentenced to death.

Netflix rebrands one of their services. But in their haste, they forgot to secure one very important piece of real estate. That is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Now let's get you caught up on some of the stories you might have missed. The Pentagon has officially ended its "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, in place since 1993. It now welcomes gays and lesbians to openly serve in the military. And the estimated 13,000 service members kicked out under the old policy can now apply to reenlist.

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency today for death row inmate Troy Davis. The decision came one day after a last-minute appeal by Davis. Since his conviction in 1991, seven of nine witnesses have recanted their testimony, sparking a worldwide clemency campaign. Davis is now set to die by lethal injection for the 1989 murder of police officer Mark MacPhail (ph), his execution, delayed three times, now scheduled for 7:00 PM tomorrow.

Charlie Sheen's character was laid to rest last night on the season premiere of CBS TV's "Two and a Half Men." A new character played by Ashton Kutcher arrived to replace him. Sheen was fired last March by Warner Brothers, which produces the series. "The Los Angeles Times" reports that the studio is finalizing a settlement deal that would pay Sheen $25 million. Warner Brothers is owned by Time Warner, which also owns CNN.

You've probably heard that Netflix announced some rebranding over the weekend. Its DVD-by-mail service is now called Qwikster. But as it turns out, there's a slight problem. Someone already owns the Qwikster Twitter handle. It belongs to a guy named Jason Castillo (ph), whose tweets clearly don't reflect the brand. Some of them we can't repeat on television. And if Netflix wants control of that Qwikster handle, it is going to have to pay. Castillo says he won't turn it over until he's, in his words, "making bank."

President Obama defending his record on Israel, the issue becoming red meat for hungry Republicans. So how important is that Jewish vote? It's "Fair Game" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Time to go beyond partisan talking points to the heart of the political debate, where all sides are "Fair Game." Today the Jewish vote and the impact on the 2012 presidential campaign. President Obama today visited the United Nations, where Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is expected to push for statehood. The U.S. promises a veto.

But that hasn't stopped the criticism of President Obama when it comes to relations with Israel. Rick Perry says Mr. Obama has made unfortunate errors. Michele Bachmann says he isn't standing by Israel. And Mitt Romney says the president threw Israel under the bus.

So in the end, how important is that Jewish vote? Joining me now is Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, CNN contributor John Avlon, and Clifford May, president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Welcome to all of you.

John, let me start with you here. How critical is the Jewish vote?

JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The Jewish vote's an incredibly important coalition, but every constituency is important. Here's the reality check that needs to be put in place. Resident Obama's approval rating among Jewish Americans is still around 15 percent higher than any other group. He's (ph) in (ph) his (ph) average mean.

So we hear -- every election cycle, there's this idea that Republicans are going to all of a sudden claim the Jewish vote wholesale, particularly in the 2004 election. It never happens. Is he going to get less support among Jews in his reelect than he did initially? Probably. Is he going to come anywhere close to losing the Jewish vote? Doubt that's going to happen.

KAYE: Maria?

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Look, he got 78 percent of the Jewish vote in 2008. And to John's point, is he going to get the same? He's certainly going to try. And what he needs to do to do that is continue to underscore that there's been no administration that has done more to solidify and strengthen the military cooperation, which is the basis of our relationship with Israel, than this administration.

And don't take my word for it or even President Obama's. Take Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has stated that the relationship and the cooperation between Israel and the United States under this administration is unprecedented.

KAYE: Let me share this with you. "New York" magazine has dubbed President Obama "the first Jewish president." Is he really? When you look at this cover -- I want to show you here -- is he really as anti-Israel, Clifford, as his critics say?

CLIFFORD MAY, FOUNDATION FOR THE DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: I don't think he's anti-Israel. I think he has to a great extent misperceived the situation in the Middle East. He doesn't seem to get that what has happened in the Middle East is that when Israel gave up Gaza, it was taken over by Hamas, which is a client terrorist organization of Iran.

When Israel withdrew from a buffer zone in Lebanon, it was taken over by Hezbollah. Hezbollah is a proxy terrorist organization, instructed by Iran. He doesn't understand, I'm afraid, the gestalt.

One other important point that has to be made here. Israel is not just an issue for Jewish voters, it's a issue for millions of other voters who worry that America's most reliable ally is under attack and that we need to stand up for it. Now, I think it's important, if Obama does, as we expect, veto the Security Council revolution (sic), that's important. What he says about why he vetoes it, that will be very consequential, as well.

KAYE: So is this -- I mean, is this whole issue of statehood for the Palestinians going to be a big wedge issue, do you think, John, for 2012?

AVLON: No, because -- no, because there's broad agreement. Look, I mean, the Obama administration is widely expected today to veto that bid through the U.N. That is an important stand, consistent with American policy for decades, that Israel is America's closest ally in the Middle East. And the Obama administration is standing up for those principles. It's increased military aid to Israel over its tenure. And I appreciate Cliff not simply taking the partisan talking point and saying he's -- the president's anti-Israel. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are policy disagreements about the process of achieving a two-party solution. But previous Republicans administrations have also been in favor of a two-party solution. So let's take a, you know, deep breath here and realize that all this rhetoric doesn't comport with reality.

KAYE: But no doubt, there are those -- Maria, this one to you -- there are Jews that feel neglected because of Obama's stance and because he has been tough on Israel. So how does he get around that? I mean, I know that they're sending some e-mails to Jewish supporters, trying to hold onto them and maybe even bring more into the fray. But how does he get around that?

CARDONA: Well, look, first of all, the Jewish vote is not unlike every other demographic in this country, which is it's not monolithic. You're going to find people...

AVLON: Right.

CARDONA: ... on every range (ph) of the political spectrum within the Jewish vote. But as a whole, they still very strongly support President Obama, and he's going to continue to talk to them very closely about everything that his administration has done to strengthen that relationship with Israel.

And I would give a warning to the GOP presidential candidates. This issue is important -- is so important that it should be beyond partisan politics. The fact that they are bashing this president so much says to me two things. The first one is, I think that they are actually strengthening the Palestinian position, and number two, it tells me they are not ready for primetime.

KAYE: All right, we'll have to leave it there. Maria Cardona, John Avlon, Clifford May, great to have you all on to discuss this growing heated topic.

CARDONA: Thank you.

KAYE: Thank you.

CARDONA: Thanks, Randi.

AVLON: Thank you.

KAYE: Libya, its future and its government are critical, but still open-ended issues the United Nations will have to carefully tackle in the coming days. The outcome could have a big impact on Washington and the Middle East.

President Obama met with the chairman of Libya's new governing group, the National Transitional Council, and he announced the U.S. ambassador will return to Tripoli to reopen the embassy there.

But the big question is how involved the U.S. will be in shaping Libya's future. The president emphasized the U.N.'s role and suggested a limited role for the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is how the international community should work in the 21st century, more nations bearing the responsibility and the costs of meeting global challenges. In fact, this is the very purpose of this United Nations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: In the meantime, troops loyal to Libya's new leaders are gaining ground on Gadhafi strongholds, including in Sabha, a town in south Libya. That's where Ben Wedeman is standing by. He was there when the fighters overtook that town. And Ben, you were the only crew, actually, when the troops took over the town, when this all went down. So what happened?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the troops were expecting really a lot of resistance, but what happened was we essentially just drove right into town. And rather than being met by RPGs and bullets, there were people by the side of the roads cheering as the rebel fighters went in. And even the rebel fighters themselves were shocked by the fact that there was so little resistance.

As the day proceeded, however, there were some clashes to the north of the city, in the northern part of the city, where about 12 fighters were killed and three Gadhafi loyalists. But the fall of this city to the rebels is critical because all the people from the old regime who want to flee from Beni Walid and Sirte and other parts of Libya, if they're going south to place like Niger and Chad, they have to pass through Sabha.

And now Sabha and the area to the south of it are under the control of the rebels. So for instance, if Moammar Gadhafi is somewhere in Libya, he's -- possibly the door has been shut for him to exit. So one of the missions of these fighters is to look for Moammar Gadhafi, those of his sons who are still on the loose, and people like Abdullah Sanusi (ph) his notorious intelligence chief.

So this is a major victory for the rebel fighters, and it certainly does seem to be the beginning of the end for Moammar Gadhafi in Libya -- Randi.

KAYE: Yes, you mentioned that there was very little resistance. So what do you think that says about Gadhafi's forces there.

WEDEMAN: Well, you know, I spent a lot of time talking to people here about what happened because everyone was expecting this to be the biggest, the bloodiest battle since the fall of Tripoli.

And what they told me was that very -- almost imperceptibly, the police disappeared, government officials disappeared, the army slowly sort of disappeared off the streets, as well, to the point that, essentially, they woke up this morning and they saw the rebels come in, and all the green flags went down and the rebel flags went up. The suspicion is they've fled south (INAUDIBLE) once Sabha has fallen, there's no way that they can escape from Libya -- Randi.

KAYE: And still no clear location for Moammar Gadhafi, correct?

WEDEMAN: No, we're working on rumors and speculation and third- hand reports. There was one report in an Arabic newspaper published in London that Moammar Gadhafi was sighted two days ago on the north -- one of the northern districts of this city. For quite some time, rebel commanders have been saying they don't believe he is in Sabha. They thought he might be in an oasis about 60, 70 miles to the south of her. But now the rebels have taken over that oasis, so they've sort of marked that off.

So it's really -- nobody knows at this point. It may be a lot like the situation in Iraq, where the regime fell in April and it wasn't until December of the same year that he was actually caught. It may be a long hunt -- Randi.

KAYE: Ben Wedeman in Libya. Ben, be safe. Thank you.

A satellite in space is heading straight for the earth. We've got the latest for you next.

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KAYE: Time right now, about 46 minutes past the hour. Let's check on some top stories.

The two U.S. hikers detained in Iran will have to stay there for now. The attorney for Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer said their release was delayed again because of the lack of the judge's signature. The attorney says the judge failed to return to court to sign the men's release documents. The courts did not indicated when the judge will actually be back.

The International Monetary Fund is lowering its outlook on the global economy, saying the world is in a dangerous new phase. The IMF released excerpts of its latest world economic outlook today. In it, the forecast for U.S. economic growth is sharply reduced for next year.

And the satellite is still on track to hit earth this weekend. It's unclear exactly where it will land, but NASA says the risk of debris hitting anyone is small. The 13,000 pound satellite is expected to break into pieces as it reenters Earth's atmosphere sometime between Thursday and Saturday, so look out below.

Up next, how a video game led to a possible AIDS research breakthrough. It's an amazing story. We'll have it for you.

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KAYE: Let's go "In Depth" on a subject that's often ignored: poverty in America. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 46.2 million people are living below the poverty line in this country. The poverty line for a single person under the age of 65 is $11,344 earned a year. And for a family of four, $22,314 earned a year. But not everyone living in poverty shows up in this statistic. There are those who live paycheck to paycheck, just a step away from financial ruin. CNN's Casey Wian introduces us to Mary Bates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mary Bates doesn't show up in government statistics on poverty. It's 7:00 a.m. as she signs her time card at Burton Street Elementary School in Los Angeles.

MARY BATES, LIBRARY AIDE: I come to work an hour and a half early and give that to the district so I can get my clerical work done.

WIAN: She earns $16.37 an hour. Her title is library aide. But she does the job of a librarian.

BATES: This is my library inventory. Plus the ones that are on the cart on the other side that I'm currently working on. We have approximately 14,000 books in this library.

WIAN: Bates says she works eight to 10 hours a day at the school library and at home, but she's only paid for six hours. With time off for summer, she earns about $20,000 a year. She recently received a notice from the Los Angeles Unified School District that later this month her paid hours will be cut in half to three per day.

BATES: I was stunned. I didn't think that it would happen. You can't maintain a library in three hours. It's impossible.

WIAN: For students, the cuts will mean fewer reading opportunities.

BATES: If they don't read, they're not going to succeed.

WIAN: For Bates, the loss of income will put her below the single person federal poverty threshold of $10,890 a year.

BATES: You think about that, $16.37 an hour. Gas is $4 a gallon. Milk is $5 a gallon. A box of cereal is $5. Clothes to put on people's back. You got utility bills that every other month and we're raising the water, we're raising this. I wouldn't be able to pay my bills, literally. I will not be able to make it. I can't live on three hours.

WIAN: Life already is complicated. Bates has diabetes and could eventually lose her health insurance because of the impending reduction in work hours.

BATES: If I had no medical insurance, I don't think I could afford the $1,400 a month for the pills and insulin.

WIAN: She also cares part time for her two granddaughters, six- year- old Natalie, and 12-year-old Amber.

BATES: I'll work wherever I have to work. You know, I have to make a way for, you know, my grandkids and myself.

WIAN: State budget cuts also will force her to a new school farther from home, so she's looking for other work.

BATES: I can't imagine doing any other job. Those kids are like my extended family.

WIAN: Living on the edge of poverty doesn't allow much planning ahead.

WIAN (on camera): Where do you think you're going to be a year from now?

BATES: Oh, I don't know. I couldn't answer that question because every month is a challenge.

WIAN (voice-over): Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And as you heard, Mary is also taking care of her two granddaughters, and right now, 22 percent of all children in this country live below the poverty line.

Up next, how a video game could help find a cure for AIDS. We'll be right back.

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KAYE: All right. You may think all video games are about violence, guns and brutality. And for good or bad, those games do make millions of dollars.

But my next guest is taking video games to a whole new level. He is one of the developers of an online game called Fold It, which challenges players to solve real-world scientific puzzles. And we're not talking simple stuff here. They tackle big things like Alzheimer's and cancer research.

Just this week, a team playing on the application unlocked the structure of an enzyme that could lead to an AIDS fighting protein. It's important to note that they worked on code causing AIDS in monkeys, not humans.

But it's still pretty amazing that a group of gamers spanning three continents solved a puzzle that's stumped top scientists and engineers for the past decade. Joining me for today's "Big I," Zoran Popovic, associate professor of computer science at the University of Washington.

First, Professor, how could a bunch of gamers solve something that computers and experts haven't been able to?

ZORAN POPOVIC, DIRECTOR OF CENTER OF GAME SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: Yes, well, there are several reasons for that. One is that by the time they play the game for an extended period of time, they're not just a bunch of gamers. They've actually developed a level of expertise that matches that of the scientist. The other reason is that they're able to collaborate and share the individual skills together toward a joint problem in the way that potentially scientists don't currently do.

KAYE: And so who exactly are these gamers?

POPOVIC: They're actually people from all walks of life. We have sort of retired grandmothers, 13-year-old boys, lawyers, unemployed people. Anybody who actually has heard about the game and turns out to have a particular propensity toward spatial reasoning problems and has gotten better and better over a long period of time of playing the game.

KAYE: So can you tell us -- in really understandable terms for the laymen like myself -- how this worked? I mean, how they were able to discover this?

POPOVIC: Yes. So, basically, they are presented with a challenge. And the challenge is a little bit like Tetris only in 3D and a lot more complicated. It's basically -- think of it sort of as a necklace that has instead of beads a lot of weird shapes on it. And the problem is actually trying to make that bead sort of -- necklace be as tight as possible. And so, that's the actual problem.

So what they do is actually interact with the protein through a game by pulling it from many different directions. They can attach rubber bands, apply special power tools like wiggle and shake, and then share those solutions with other people who are on their team. Perhaps try many different hypotheses between them. And then over time, look at their score, which is directly related to the actual energy function of how well the protein (AUDIO GAP).

KAYE: So, did they know what they were on to here once they discovered this?

POPOVIC: They know that their score is really, really good and sort of above the threshold of what scientists have been able to get. But of course to finally confirm it, there were a number of scientists that actually tested this protein in the laboratory. And lo and behold, it actually was confirmed, and that's actually the cause for the nature publication that came out this Sunday.

KAYE: So, where does it go from here? What might this lead to? I mean, how significant is it?

POPOVIC: Yes, so as you can imagine, anytime you know the shape of this protein is, you know how to attack that virus. So, you can now start talking about how do we design a particular drug or a vaccine that can actually neutralize the virus once you know its shape.

Other -- we also basically are pushing this whole concept of scientific discovery games to other areas of science and biochemistry, trying to find cures for diseases, et cetera.

KAYE: Professor Popovic, thank you so much for your time and for letting us know just exactly how it works. It sounds like a pretty good discovery. We'll keep an eye on it. Thank you.

And for much more about Fold It, you can check out my Facebook page, Facebook.com/RandiKayeCNN.