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Conrad Murray Trial; Interview With Gloria Estefan; USS Cole Bombing Trial; Immigration Official Arrested; Obama's Back to School Speech; FBI Gets Man on the Run 41 Years; Battle for Gadhafi's Hometown; Amanda Knox Appeal Case; Palestinian Statehood Bid; Tyson Beef Recall

Aired September 28, 2011 - 13:59   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: It is 2:00 p.m. in the east and 11:00 a.m. here in Los Angeles in the second day of testimony in the manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's personal in-house doctor. Conrad Murray is accused of causing Jackson's death by giving him a surgical anesthetic to treat insomnia by ignoring the usual precautions and by deceiving paramedics, and ER doctors when Jackson's heart stopped beating.

The defense says Murray was trying to wean Jackson off the anesthetic, but Jackson took drugs that Murray didn't even know about.

On the stand now is Jackson's personal assistant. These are live pictures from inside the courtroom at this hour. The personal assistant is expected to relate Murray's response to finding his only patient lifeless on June 25, 2009, after a long and sleepless night.

Now, earlier today, the state focused not on drugs, but on money. Specifically, $5 million. Murray originally sought to work for Jackson full time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBORAH BRAZIL, PROSECUTOR: And just so we're clear, it is Conrad Murray who said, "I need $5 million a year for my services," correct?

PAUL GONGAWARE, CO-CEO, AEG LIVE CONCERTS WEST: That's correct.

BRAZIL: In your experience, is $5 million a year a usual sum for physicians for one-year time?

GONGAWARE: No.

BRAZIL: It's not unusual? Or it is unusual?

GONGAWARE: It is quite unusual.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Now, Dr. Murray eventually settled for $150,000 a month.

Joining me now to talk about the trial, the law, and the medicine, are L.A. attorney Ellyn Garofalo and CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Sanjay, let me start with you. Now, I understand that you have some new information.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, sources close to the defense, I just got off the phone with them. And they really wanted to point out a couple of things that may give a little bit of an indication where the defense is going.

First of all, you mentioned other drugs. They say that Michael Jackson was having procedures three to four times a week up until a couple of days prior to his death. And during these procedures, he was getting this medication Demerol.

They say this was happening very recently. Significant, because Demerol in the past was something that there were concerns that he may have abused. And people who are coming off of Demerol, withdrawing from Demerol, sometimes almost have a stimulant-like effect from the Demerol that causes them to have difficulty sleeping.

But perhaps I think the most interesting that they told me was that -- they sort of laid out this possibility that Michael Jackson, at the time of his death, when Conrad Murray was in the room giving him these medications, they say Michael Jackson was essentially playing possum. According to the defense, again, Conrad Murray walked out of the room. Jackson was in fact awake, woke up, took the Lorazepam pills, eight of them, into his stomach, but also injected Propofol into an IV that was in his body.

Not drank it, but actually injected this into an IV. He walked around with an IV, literally, that he would --

KAYE: Attached to him.

GUPTA: -- that was attached to him. And so that was very different than I think what we've heard over the last couple of days.

But, really, this idea that he was awake, playing possum, woke up and was cognizant enough to take the pills and inject himself with more Propofol, and that led to his demise, I think that's what the defense again is telling me now, and I think that's probably where we're going to hear their arguments going.

KAYE: So, before I move on to the legal angle on this, when you think about Demerol, Lorazepam, Propofol, all in this guy's stomach, or all in his body, what does that do to someone?

GUPTA: Well, you know, the Propofol is one of these medications that comes into the body and leaves the body so quickly that, during the time it's there, it can have a tremendous synergistic effect. It can compound the other drugs.

Now, I don't know how close the Demerol was to all of this, but at the time, he had Lorazepam, which is Ativan, an anti-anxiety medication, and then Propofol, which is essentially a medication used to induce general anesthesia. In hospitals, they are often giving at the same time, or given around the same time. But in this type of situation, without a breathing tube and things like that, the concern is that it could literally cause someone to stop breathing, stop having the drop to breathe, which is what sounds like happened here.

KAYE: Let me turn now to Ellyn Garafalo, who's also with us, a defense attorney.

Ellyn, you hear this, I mean, this is certainly what the defense is trying to show, that Michael Jackson did this to himself, that Dr. Conrad Murray did not cause his death.

How difficult is that going to be for the defense to connect those dots?

ELLYN GARAFALO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it really depends on the medical evidence, the autopsy reports, and the evidence, the testimony given by the doctors, who will have analyzed those reports.

One of the problems, it seems to me, that the defense has with that argument is the following. Michael Jackson, according to the defense, as I understand it, was addicted, had drug substance abuse problems that Conrad Murray was allegedly working to cure, to help Michael Jackson stop using these drugs. Why, then, would Conrad Murray leave the room with a client he believed to have substance abuse problems, who had a history of using significant quantities of unusual medications in unusual combinations?

Why would he leave the room filled with Propofol, Ativan, various medications within the reach of Michael Jackson, particularly if, as the defense has said, the Propofol is very quick-acting, in, out, quickly, and you wake up relatively quickly? Was that in and of itself risky, reckless conduct that rises to the level of criminal conduct?

KAYE: Well, let me ask you, Sanjay. I mean, first of all, you've been in the hospital. You've seen how quickly this stuff can work.

GUPTA: Right.

KAYE: You've shown us in some video from the OR.

I mean, is it even appropriate to have this in a private home?

GUPTA: Absolutely not. I mean, I completely agree with Ellyn on that point.

And I think that the defense said earlier on -- and again, my sources close to the defense have just said there were mistakes made here, and Conrad made mistakes -- Dr. Murray made mistakes, was not perfect. But this whole idea that -- what they are sort of seeming to lay out is that they gave this medication -- Conrad Murray gave this medication. It's supposed to come on and leave the body pretty quickly.

He waited over 10 minutes, where the Propofol essentially should have no longer been in his body, or no longer having an effect, and then he left, at that point thinking Michael Jackson simply fell asleep due to exhaustion. What they are saying is that Michael Jackson was -- again, they think was playing possum with him, feigning sleep. Murray leaves the room, he gives himself more medication, including Lorazepam, and more Propofol.

So, I think as Ellyn is intimating, how do you prove that? How do you know for sure? Who knows?

KAYE: Right.

GUPTA: But that seems to be where they are going with their arguments.

KAYE: Ellyn, what do you think the greatest challenge is right now for Ed Chernoff, Dr. Murray's defense attorney?

GARAFALO: I really still think that the greatest challenge is getting beyond this idea, this fact that this drug, this particular drug, which is used only in highly-controlled hospital and similar settings, is being used and administered in a private home without the equipment necessary should there be an emergency, just like the one that unfortunately happened. I think that's a hard fact to get around as long as the prosecution stays focused and keeps hammering on that fact.

KAYE: So, I mean, let's talk about Dr. Conrad Murray, because what could he really do, Sanjay, if a patient is deceptive? I mean, what is a doctor to do?

GUPTA: Well, this type of situation where you cannot control the potential outcomes here because you don't have all of the monitoring equipment, you don't have all the resuscitation equipment, he shouldn't have had this in this situation. I mean, it's one of the most basic things that we learn with regard to administering medications, performing techniques, is you have to be able to handle all of the potential outcomes. And he wasn't in a situation where he could.

So he probably created a situation where, if a tragic outcome occurred, he couldn't do anything about it.

KAYE: Could he have known or should he have known if he was faking being asleep?

GUPTA: Yes. You know, that's an interesting point.

I mean, you'd think if he knows him well, he could possibly tell. Or because Propofol behaves in a very consistent way, he would have expected him to sort of rouse after taking this for a little bit.

Again, what you're going to hear, I believe, over the next couple of days is that Michael Jackson essentially feigned sleep. So Murray thought that he had fallen asleep due to exhaustion. He was in these really intense rehearsals, performing over 1,000 moves, trying to learn all these things. He desperately wanted to sleep, and it finally occurred. So at that point Murray thought, you know, the man is finally asleep, that's what we wanted. And he leaves the room. I think that's what your going to hear. That's where they're headed.

KAYE: Yes. It's a tragedy no matter how you look at it, that's for sure.

GUPTA: Yes, and the outcome is obviously so tragic no matter what.

KAYE: Yes.

Ellyn Garafalo, Sanjay Gupta, thank you both.

GUPTA: Thank you.

KAYE: We'll check in with you a little bit later on in the show as well, Sanjay. Thanks.

(NEWSBREAK)

KAYE: Coming up, has the trial for Michael Jackson's live-in doctor already become a circus? Much more from the Conrad Murray manslaughter trial right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back to the program, live from Los Angeles today.

Today is the second day of testimony in the manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson's private live-in doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray. Jackson's personal assistant is currently on the stand detailing the events of Jackson's last night.

Joining me now is Diane Dimond. She is the author "Be Careful Who You Love: Inside the Michael Jackson Case."

Diane, thank you for coming on the show. You certainly have a lot of experience with this investigation and with this family.

Does this case basically hinge on at-home use of Propofol, do you think?

DIANE DIMOND, AUTHOR, "BE CAREFUL WHO YOU LOVE": I do. I think so.

A lot of people want to make this about Michael Jackson and his past and his drug abuse, but I think in the final analysis, what those jurors are going to be asked to decide is whether or not it was OK for a cardiologist, not an anesthesiologist, to be using anesthesia, not in a hospital, but in a private home.

KAYE: And how much do you think they're going to look at not only the fact that it was being used in the private home, but also look at Dr. Murray's behavior after that, not being forthcoming with the paramedics about the fact that he had given the pop star the Propofol and leaving the room? What do you make of that? DIMOND: Well, a couple of things. I think that him not being forthcoming with the paramedics and two doctors inside the emergency room is going to come back to bite Dr. Murray.

Now, I thought one of the most interesting things that the defense said yesterday in the opening was that he was trying to wean Michael Jackson off of Propofol. Why in the world would he then have ordered four gallons of Propofol? Let's set that aside for a moment.

But if he was trying to wean Michael Jackson off Propofol, we learned that, once it goes in your body, it dissipates very quickly. Within 10 minutes it's gone no matter how much you've administered.

So, he sat with Michael Jackson for half an hour or so, it dissipated, and he left the room. Yet, Michael Jackson is found with enough Propofol in his body to be legally intoxicated by it, according to the coroner.

Now, how did that get in there? If it dissipates within 10 minutes, and the doctor has left the room, there is some other ingestion or injection of massive amounts of Propofol that are in his body that don't get to dissipate because he dies before that happens. He dies so quickly, Randi, he died with his eyes opened, we heard.

KAYE: Right.

Now, I was in that courtroom yesterday doing some reporting for "ANDERSON COOPER 360" late in the evening, and I was sitting behind the Jackson family. And they have such a presence there. I mean, you have Janet, La Toya, his parents.

Tell me what impact you think that might have on the jury, that this is such a celebrity family.

DIMOND: Well, it is. And I understand when the jury comes in, in the morning, they can't help but just be right in the line of sight of the family.

As I wrote in the book, during the criminal trial the family showed up en masse there. And, of course, they command attention. They are the Jackson family.

But in the criminal trial, where he faced many, many years in prison, the family sort of dwindled away. They didn't keep coming.

So, I think to answer your question, I think it will hinge on how often they come. They are there now for the first couple of days. La Toya is tweeting from the courtroom, and that's compelling.

KAYE: Right.

DIMOND: But will they continue to come? I don't know.

KAYE: All right. Diane Dimond, thank you for your insight. Nice to see you.

DIMOND: You bet. Nice to see you, Randi. Thanks.

KAYE: Thank you.

Up next, if you're a Gloria Esfefan fan, well, we have got something that will make you want to get out of your chair and dance while you watch the show. The queen of Latin pop is out with a brand-new album. And if you like her old stuff, well, you are sure to love this.

She joins me live, next, to talk about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

KAYE: Oh, yes. That will make you want to get up and dance. Don't you think? That is the new smash hit "Wepa" from the goddess of Latin pop, Gloria Estefan.

She is out with her first English album in more than eight years called "Miss Little Havana." It is a return to her Latin dance floor roots, and she says it is one of the most exciting projects that she has ever worked on.

And we are happy to have Gloria Estefan joining us now from New York to talk a little bit about "Miss Little Havana."

Gloria, welcome to the show. We are all very excited about the new album. Tell me why you wanted to make it now.

GLORIA ESTEFAN, SINGER: Thank you so much, by the way, for that beautiful intro. I love it.

Why I made it now? Pharrell called me up on the phone and he said, "I have a project that I'd like to do with you." He had written the song "Miss Little Havana," for me, which he said to him, I'm Miss Little Havana, and we clicked.

It took a year and a half to get into the studio from our scheduling point of view, but once we got in there, there was a major click. And then he did an amazing nine songs, and my tried and true hubby produced four tracks as well, with some hard-core dance producers. And a lot of fun, top to bottom dance.

KAYE: And let's talk about the smash hit. I mean, this translates to what, "Wow Moment"? Is that right? Can you explain that?

ESTEFAN: Exactly. "Wepa" is -- to Latinos, you go, "Wepa!" when anything happens, good or bad, big or small, depending. But it's just like, "Wow!" It doesn't really mean anything, and it's just supposed to be a lot of fun.

And I call it my nuclear merengue, the "Wepa" song. It's supposed to be a tribute to all of the wonderful street festivals all over the world where people are just in the streets dancing wildly. And in the video we wanted to use some real streety, kind of edgy hip-hop dancers to go against what people would expect to seen, because you can dance to it any way you want.

KAYE: And your cover for the album is actually some little pieces of the past. How so?

ESTEFAN: Yes, it is. I took a picture, because we were going to shoot new pictures, of course, for this whole project, which we've done. We've done really great shots. But since there was so many pieces of my past musically on here, we wanted to reflect Miami. So I grabbed the hair from my first dance album in 1998, "Gloria." The face is from a picture --

(CROSSTALK)

KAYE: That's some great hair.

ESTEFAN: Great hair. I love that hair. And it's dance hair all the way.

The face had the attitude that I sang the record in. And I wanted a blank canvas with the black dress for the artist Libo (ph), who did the cover. He's a Miami artist, Miami grown. And I wanted to reflect visually what the sound of the music was inside.

KAYE: What is it like for you now that you're just a few years older since your last album that fans have been waiting for? You say that you're more comfortable in your skin than ever. Why is that? Give us some good advice on that one.

ESTEFAN: It's not advice. I think it just happens with time.

If you've lived a life and you get all these experiences, become a part of who you are when you're a writer or a musician, that's got to come into your music. So, I didn't plan the record to be as sexy as the lyrics are, but the music was reflecting that. And I definitely want the lyrics to match the music. And it just happened very naturally.

At the end of the project, I told Pharrell, "Hey, there's a story here." We didn't realize it, but we created this whole story for this persona, Miss Little Havana. And I put the songs in the order that would really make that come through.

KAYE: And this is a bit of a family affair, from what I understand, right? Your daughter also is on the album with you. She plays guitar. Is that right?

ESTEFAN: She is, indeed. She's the best musician in the family. I took advice from both my kids, actually.

KAYE: Oh, look at her.

ESTEFAN: My son actually turned me on to Libo (ph), who I loved already, but he said, "Mom, when I hear the music that you're doing, this is what it seems like to me." He did the Wepasodes (ph) on the Web site. And then, on the record, on one of the tunes called "On (ph)," that we did with a wonderful Haitian musician, Black Data (ph), he asked them to do a solo. And she's shredding on that electric guitar, so I'm a proud mama.

We worked in family. And when we're in the studio, Pharrell had his fiancee, his sun Rocket, people coming in and out. My daughter would come every day after school and join us and watch the process. She was enthralled by the whole thing.

KAYE: Can we switch topics here for just a second? I want to ask you about politics.

As you know, September is National Hispanic Heritage Month. And when you look at the Latino bloc of voters, certainly a large percentage of the voting bloc, one in every six.

What are your plans in terms of getting involved to get the Latino voice out for 2012?

ESTEFAN: Right. Well, I always tell the Latinos, we've got to go out and use our power to vote, because that is, in this country, really, what gives you strength and power. And I think that it's important that everybody that can vote, especially the Hispanics, get out there and do that.

I always like to watch to the bitter end, listen to everything as much as I can, listen to all the candidates, and make up my mind. You know, the Latino vote is not monolithic. It's very pluralistic, with a lot of different points of view, in the Hispanic community.

KAYE: All right. Gloria Estefan, thank you so much for coming on the show.

ESTEFAN: Thank you.

KAYE: We'll be sure to check out your new album as well. A pleasure speaking with you.

ESTEFAN: Always a pleasure. Thank you so much.

KAYE: Thank you.

All right. Let's take a look at some of the markets. Take a look at the Big Board.

Wall Street started the day on the plus side. It is down 75, but it's been a wild ride, that's for sure. And there now, it's down 79 already.

Other top stories, big news in the tech world today. Amazon has unveiled its new touch-screen tablet. It is called the Kindle Fire.

The device will be in direct competition to Apple's iPad, which commands 75 percent of the tablet market. Reports suggest it will run you about $199. Reebok says it's returning $25 million to customers who brought the company's toning shoes and apparel. The refund is part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over deceptive advertising.

The FTC says Reebok made unsubstantiated claims about its EasyTone walking shoes and RunTone running shoes, advertising that they strengthened muscles in the legs and the buttocks.

The head of south Florida's Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been taken into federal custody. The charges against him, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back, live from Los Angeles.

As you've been watching us this week, you know that we are here reporting for the Conrad Murray trial. That is Michael Jackson's doctor, now on trial for involuntary manslaughter.

But we've been getting a lot of questions about our set here on the balcony. We've had some jackhammer noise today, so we wanted to explain that.

And also, I've been tweeting out a lot of pictures and getting a lot of great responses on Twitter, @RandiKayeCNN.

So let me show you around a little bit and you can see.

Let's start right over here.

Over my right shoulder is downtown L.A.

Greg (ph), you're on that, right?

That's our shot from Greg Haines (ph), who's on the camera there.

Greg, if you pan around, I want to show our viewers, right over there, that beautiful building, that is the Disney Concert Hall, isn't that something? That is gorgeous. We get to see that every day up here on the balcony.

We're reporting from the L.A. Times Building. We're on the sixth floor. We like to call it Studio Six here at the L.A. Times Building. Over there is Superior Court, right over there. And if you swing around, right there, this big building behind me, not a very pretty sight, that is actually on the 9th Floor that is where Conrad Murray is on trial.

So we go back and forth from there. That's actually where O.J. Simpson was on trial. Beyond that building, which you can't see, is where Charles Manson was once on trial as well. That building has been taken down and now that is the court building that they used.

And here's the construction site, if you pan down, Greg. That's -- we're getting a lot of noise from that. So we apologize to our viewers. But, you know, that's what happens when you do the show outside in Los Angeles. We were hoping to show you more palm trees than construction, but that's what happens.

And one last shot over there that is city hall. You can see it, the flags, beautiful shot of city hall. Should we show them Stike on camera? There you go. He's our main camera and he's right behind there and that's what I get to stare into. That's where the teleprompter is on and the big plasma is behind there.

So I get to see when we're on TV and when we're not. So that's our little mini set. I have the computer here and CNN, we are always mobile. We can go anywhere, any time and bring you a great show. So that's our set. I hope you enjoyed the tour. We'll take a break, but we'll be right back with much more real news coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It is about half past the hour. Here's a look at some of the stories that you may have missed.

We have just learned that the Pentagon is on the verge of beginning its trial of the suspected mastermind of the "USS Cole," a Saudi-born former millionaire is charged in the 2000 bombing in the Yemeni Port of Aden that killed 17 sailors. The trial will take place at the U.S. Navy Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The head of Immigration in Customs Enforcement for South Florida has been arrested on child pornography charges. The Justice Department says that Anthony Mangione is charged of transportation of child porn, receipt of child porn and possession of child porn. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

Last hour, President Obama gave his third annual back to school address to students across the country. In it, he encouraged students to be the best that they can be and to work hard at their studies.

While the speech was intended to be non-political, some school districts did not broadcast the address live due to objections from parents.

It took 41 years, but the FBI got a long-time fugitive. They got him, all right. George Wright escaped from prison in 1970 driving off in the warden's car. He allegedly hijacked a Delta jet in 1972 dressed as a priest.

The FBI says Wright forced agents to deliver $1 million ransom dressed only in swim trunks to prove that the agents had no guns. Wright flew to Algeria and vanished until Monday. The FBI found Wright now 68 living the good life in a Portuguese resort town. He is fighting extradition.

Mexican drug gangs appear to be stepping up their grizzly threats against school teachers. Five severed heads were found in a sack yesterday near an elementary school in Acapulco. No one has actually claimed responsibility. The threats warned that teachers will become targets if they don't pay part of their salaries to the drug gangs. Some schools have actually closed due to the threats and the lack of security.

The decision to release a controversial jailhouse videotape to the public is in the hands of a Florida judge today. The Orange County superior court judge who presided over Casey Anthony's murder trial wants to hear arguments on whether the videotape should be released.

Previously the judge ruled the footage was, quote, "highly inflammatory" and kept it sealed ahead of Anthony's trial. An Orlando media outlet filed a motion to get the footage unsealed in July.

Coming up, the battle for Gadhafi's hometown. Our reporter is there. You will find this story only on CNN. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back, everyone. There is an invasion going on in Florida. That's right. Reptiles that should be found nowhere in the U.S. are being introduced into the state and could start causing some pretty major problems. In fact, the state has the worst invasive amphibian and reptile problem in the world. CNN's Rob Marciano reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There goes another guy. Right there. Look at this.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): One of many dangerous animals, reptile expert Chris Gillette has found in this area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He definitely bites.

MARCIANO: An exotic species that shouldn't be anywhere near the U.S.

(on camera): This kind of snake does not belong in Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, this guy is from Africa. This is an African species snake. They're very, very common in the pet trade.

MARCIANO (voice-over): And we found it right next door to an exotic pet importer along with frogs, lizards and more snakes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another one. Look at this.

MARCIANO (on camera): Right off the sidewalk so that's another python. When you find one, you often find more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've never seen a concentration of exotic reptile like this in any other spot.

MARCIANO: No, I have not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clearly that's got to be the source. MARCIANO: That has to be, absolutely.

(voice-over): The source according to University of Florida study is this exotic pet store, "Strictly Reptiles." The study finds that 25 percent of all established non-native reptiles have been legally distributed through this business. "Strictly Reptiles" agreed to comment on the phone.

MIKE VAN NOSTRAND, STRICTLY REPTILES (via telephone): Just because they found an animal loose around my facility does not mean that it's invasive species or that it's established itself in state of Florida.

MARCIANO: Still, what happens after an animal was purchased at any store is difficult to control.

KENNETH KRYSKO, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA HERPETOLOGIST: If it's a responsible owner, it's not a problem. However, if they're not responsible owners, they will release these animals illegally.

MARCIANO: Illegal but it's almost impossible to enforce. We asked Florida Fish and Wildlife if the laws are strong enough. They simply said, regulations alone will not solve the problem. We see the law as port of a larger effort to increase public awareness of the problem of releasing exotic animals.

The study ultimately found that Florida has the largest number of non- native reptiles and amphibians in the world. So far, there haven't been any widespread negative impacts on the environment, but the study's lead author says it takes decades to see the consequences.

KRYSKO: For some people to say, well, these have no consequences, no negative impacts on our environment at all. Well, OK, let us know in about 30, 40, 50 years. Let's see what actually happens then.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: That's the scary thing, Randi. There's a four-year lag time from when a species gets established and then you see an impact to the environment. So we just don't know, but we've seen other invasive species.

Huge African snails across parts of Miami actually eating stucco off of homes, fish that don't belong here and in backyards across America, there's likely plants that are invading your lawn. That shouldn't be there.

So it's a big problem. But surely the pet industry has caused an explosion in just the last 10 years. We've seen a quadrupling of the number of introductions at the pet industry has enabled.

So pet owners, be responsible. If you're tired of your exotic pet, bring it back to the pet store. More than likely, they will at least take it back, if not buy it back. Randi --

KAYE: All right, Rob, thank you very much.

The battle for Gadhafi's hometown is playing out right now in Libya. We'll have the very latest for you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Libya's rebel government says ousted leader Moammar Gadhafi may be hiding in the western part of the country protected by a Nomatic tribe. The government also says one of Gadhafi's sons may be hold up in his hometown of Sirte.

Right now the fierce battle for control of Sirte shows no sign of ending anytime soon. Gadhafi loyalists have dug in using snipers and machine guns and other heavy weapons. And what appears to be a fight to the finish.

In Italy, court is taking a break today in closing arguments in the Amanda Knox appeal case. Her lawyers are urging a jury to acquit Knox and her Italian co-defendant of murder.

Both Knox and her co-defendant have been convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering, Meredith Kercher, a British student. She was sentenced to 26 years in prison. Her co-defendant was sentenced to 25 years. Court is set to resume tomorrow.

At the U.N. today, the Security Council agreed to send the Palestinian application for statehood to its admissions committee for review. The first meeting of the committee is set for Friday. The U.S. is vowing to veto that move.

Up next, a new food recall out right now. Stay tuned for the details. We'll have them for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: A new, yes, a new food recall is out right now according to the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service. Tyson Fresh Meats is recalling approximately 131,000 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli. We have no reports of deaths or illnesses caused by any meat. But we will keep you posted on any developments.

One food that has been the cause of both deaths and illness, listeria- tainted cantaloupes. At least 13 deaths are being blamed on the fruit in less than a month making it the deadliest outbreak of a food-born illness in more than a decade.

Health officials also say at least 72 people have become sick from eating tainted cantaloupes. Deaths and illnesses have been reported in 18 states from California to Maryland. Investigators say the source of the outbreak appears to be Jensen Farms in the rocky region of Colorado.

Joining me now to talk much more about this is chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. This is pretty serious?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, we you talk about the deadliest in a decade. It seems like we're talking about food outbreaks all the time. So this is a very significant in terms of the number of people who this is affected, pretty broad region as well.

Dr. Tom Frieden is the director of the CDC, Randi and he's been doing briefings on this all morning. Dr. Frieden, thanks for joining us.

For a few moments, 13 deaths we're hearing confirmed now from this. I'm also hearing that the numbers of people both sickened and who could potentially die from this could still go up. Is that true and, if so, why, Dr. Frieden?

DR. THOMAS R. FRIEDEN, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Listeria is a rare but deadly disease. It can infect the brain, lungs, blood, and it has a relatively high case fatality rate, particularly for the elderly, for foetuses and newborn infants and for those with underlying health problems like cancer or on treatment that suppresses their immune system.

It also has a long incubation period. It can take a week to three weeks after you eat a contaminated product before you become ill and can take as much as two months to become ill. Furthermore, some people may still have the Jensen's Farm cantaloupe in their refrigerators.

If you have a cantaloupe that is labeled as something other than Jensen Farm then it's OK to eat. But if the label looks like this, that's what the Jensen Farm label looks like then it is not safe to eat. Throw it out. What is really important -- go ahead.

GUPTA: Dr. Frieden, first of all, can you say for sure that the cantaloupe is no longer available for purchase in stores? To your point, people may have them in their homes, but if they go out and buy it now, they are not going to buy contaminated cantaloupe? Can you say that for sure now?

FRIEDEN: The FDA issued a recall on the 14th of September that was two weeks ago. Usually cantaloupe doesn't last a lot more than two weeks in the food supply and also they've been taken back in.

If you have any doubt, ask your supermarket. If the cantaloupe you bought doesn't have a label on it and you want to know, ask the place you bought it from. This example of food-borne outbreak is something we're seeing more and more.

In fact, in this year alone, we've seen 12 multi-state outbreaks of food-born disease partly this is because we're looking better. We're finding things that out there. But partly it's because our food supply is more complex.

This is one of the many reasons why it's so important to have state, local, and federal public health agencies out there 24/7 identifying problems and rapidly intervening.

GUPTA: You've been on the job I think for a couple of years now. I remember when you started. How would you say -- regarding food safety, is our food safer now than it was before given some of the stats that you just shared? FRIEDEN: I think our food is getting safer. One of the reasons that it's getting safer is that we are getting better at identifying problems and stopping them before they become more widespread. Earlier this year, we identified a very serious E. coli infection in hazel nuts. We were able to get them off the market in a very short period time so it infected very few people.

So our ability to track this is extremely important. One of the big challenges that we face, though, is that over the past two years, there has been a reduction in budgets for state and local health agencies and because of that budget reduction, there are 44,000 fewer people working at state and local health departments than they were two years ago.

Because of that, it can take more time to identify an outbreak. The state of Colorado did a terrific job in this case. They're one of the 10 states that we fund to do more intensive identification and tracking of outbreaks and that's one of reasons that it was found so quickly.

GUPTA: Right. And I think -- but, as you know, Dr. Frieden, the headline that people are hearing is that this is the deadliest outbreak in more than a decade. Is there anything else that can be done?

Once food is identified as potentially being contaminated before it gets to people's tables, people's refrigerators, can something be done about the bacteria? Can it be radiated, sterilized, something to make it safer with regard to cantaloupe now specifically?

FRIEDEN: The Food and Drug Administration will look at that carefully. We don't yet know how this happened at this particular farm. Once we learn that, we can then improve the practices. If we look at listeria as a general problem, two decades ago it was quite common in deli meats and hotdogs.

We worked with the industry to reduce the level of listeria and we saw a big drop in the number of cases from deli meats and hotdogs, which are now much safer. But for our partners, that's something that we're still learning what's the cause and how can we prevent it.

And that's one of the reason it's so important to track infections not only so that we can stop an outbreak before it spreads too widely, but also so we can pinpoint the source, figure out what caused it and prevent it from happening in the future.

GUPTA: Yes, it's really remarkable. It's a true medical mystery to sometimes put these together. But melons are grown on top of the ground. Soil can be contaminated. That contaminated soil can get into the skin of the melons. That's my understanding. Is that what happened here? Is that how this listeria, this bacteria got into the cantaloupe?

FRIEDEN: Time will tell as the FDA does its inspection. But one of the rare things about the particular bacteria, listeria, is that it can grow at low temperatures. So even if it's in your refrigerator or a refrigerated holding area, that bacteria can continue to grow and multiply and the cantaloupe can become more infected.

It can become more contaminated. That's one of the reasons that it's quite challenging to reduce listeria. Most things if you put them in the refrigerator, they stop growing. Listeria keeps growing.

GUPTA: And finally, you know, if somebody is watching who thinks maybe I've eaten this a few weeks in the past. I'm worried that maybe I'm getting sick, how do they know that their illness is serious that they should see a doctor or they should do something more about it?

FRIEDEN: If you have flu-like symptoms and fever with other symptoms and you're older, if you're pregnant or have an underlying condition, such as cancer or you're on immunosuppressive treatment or you have HIV or something else that weakens your immune system, like long-term steroid treatment, then see your doctor and you can have your blood or stool cultured to see if you have listeria.

But if you've just eaten a melon and you don't know where it came from and you feel fine, we don't recommend testing at this time.

GUPTA: All right. Dr. Friden, head of the CDC. I know it's been a busy couple days for you and a busy few weeks still remain. But thanks for joining us for a little bit.

FRIEDEN: Thank you for your interest.

GUPTA: And Randi, you heard that they say that it actually gets into the skin of the cantaloupe. So even cutting it through with a knife can sometimes take the bacteria and put it into the melon on the part that you eat.

So really washing it is a general rule and washing your hands obviously, but even sterilizing your countertops and your vegetables drawers because it can live at low temperatures, you've got to clean all of that.

KAYE: Wow, certainly some good information and new information as well, Sanjay. Thank you for that.

GUPTA: Sure.

KAYE: Well, Florida may move its presidential primary and shake up the whole calendar. Yes, the whole nominating process. Peter Hamby will have the details for us next.

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KAYE: Well, we told you before the break that Florida may actually move its primary. So let's check in with Peter Hamby who's at the political desk in Washington. Peter, what can you tell us? You have details?

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITIAL REPORTER: Yes. We broke the story this morning on cnn.com. Officials in Florida will on Friday, the deadline for submitting primary dates, the Republican National Committee say that they are going to have their primary next year on January 31st. What does that mean? It means the entire primary calendar is basically out the window. It means that all these states that were guaranteed spots to go first, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, are going to move up to January to stay ahead of Florida.

Florida may be OK with that because they want to go fifth, but this is causing some heads to explode here in Washington at the RNC Headquarters because these plans were carefully laid out a year ago and it will be in a complete mess and the campaigns will be in Des Moines over the holiday season as they get ready for Iowa, which could be close to New Year's Eve, Randi.

KAYE: How does actually impact the candidates themselves? This can't be good?

HAMBY: Right. The candidates themselves and us, the press corps, we're all going to be decamping to Iowa certainly in late December as the candidates sort of sprint around Iowa to, you know, campaign there and then New Hampshire shortly after that.

One thing that is interesting to note, however, as we talk about Sarah Palin and Chris Christie, some of these Republicans that are still on the sidelines thinking about when they can get in. I mean, this moves the first contest up a full month so that leaves less time for Palin and Christie to hit the ground running.

They basically got only three months now instead of four months to start a campaign if they choose to do so. So the campaigns are certainly watching this closely. Again, Florida is likely to put the primary on January 31st of next year. That's against RNC rules. The deadline will be on Saturday, but they are going to do this on Friday, Randi.

KAYE: All right. Peter Hamby, thank you for the update. Appreciate that. That will do it for me from Los Angeles today. We'll have much more live from Los Angeles tomorrow. In the meantime, CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Brooke Baldwin. Hi, Brooke.