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Economic Growth Revised Up; Terror Plot Using Model Planes; Witnesses Recall Dr. Murray's Actions; Former IMF Chief Confronts French Accuser; Facebook's "Most Radical Changes" Yet; Stocks Set to Pop at the Open; Interview with Senator John McCain; Why Government is Broken?; Christie a Big Topic on TV Talk Shows

Aired September 29, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: But first this hour, a terror investigation unfolding. Remote controlled model airplanes at center of it. The FBI says a Massachusetts man planned to pack the model aircraft with explosives and slam them into Washington landmarks.

We'll have more on that in just a moment, but first, the encouraging news that Christine was just talking about. Digesting the latest data which came out just about half an hour ago. Christine said, OK, it's not such a bad day to look at our 401(k)s.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Not such a bad day after all, Kyra. You're right.

Well, your futures are up about 141 points right now on the Dow. We'll see if it holds, but quite frankly, a couple of things we're looking at here. Jobless claims. You always hear me talk about how you want to see that fall below 400,000, and it did in the most recent week, 391,000, the number of people who, for the very first time, applied for unemployment benefits.

It's been really at 400 or higher since April. That's really not conducive to cutting the unemployment rate but a good number this week. It fell to 391,000 and that's better than we had expected. Another important report to watch. The final read on how fast the economy grew in the second quarter.

This is the GDP report. Gross domestic product. It's the sum of everything that this economy puts out and it grew at 1.3 percent. So for all those people who are talking about a double-dip recession, this number shows it isn't technically a double dip recession right now. In the second quarter you had economic growth and economists are telling me that for the third quarter they think that there was growth there, as well.

So you've got an economy that's growing, you have fewer people than expected who filed for jobless benefits. It sounds like a couple of non-negatives, which it is, but taken together that's positive for the market, at least this morning -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Great. We'll keep watching all the numbers and we'll know even more so in about 28 minutes. Christine, thanks.

All right, now, let's talk about that bizarre terror plot using remote controlled airplanes. Now before you dismiss it as some farfetched scheme, consider this. The accused mastermind has a degree in physics.

Fran Townsend is a former homeland security adviser to President Bush. She is now a CNN national security contributor.

So, Fran, how credible do you think this threat was?

FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: Well, this was -- this is a guy who not only had intent, but capability and in the counterterrorism world, that's where the threats really -- they're real serious, threats are.

This is a guy who literally had gone to Washington, done surveillance, understand distances to the capitol, to the Pentagon, to use these remote drones. He rented a storage facility. He made clear to a cooperating witness, according to the complaint, that he's -- he was driven to do this. That he had to do it.

It was the only way to sort of take revenge on the enemies of Allah, and so this is, I think this was a pretty serious case and the FBI, I suspect, based on reading the complaint, was directed to him from this -- from intelligence sources, probably a cooperating witness.

PHILLIPS: And the FBI also said that the airplanes, that was just phase one of the attacks, right? Tell us about part two that involved snipers.

TOWNSEND: Right. He was going to have a team of six other individuals that when -- after these drones flew into these buildings, the capitol and the Pentagon, he rightly suspected what would happen was employees, people would run out of the capitol and the Pentagon, and the plan was to have two teams of three, deployed in each location to mow down people with AK-47s as they left the buildings.

By the way, this second wave, the notion of a follow-on attack is very much an al Qaeda hallmark. And so not surprising. But he had really thought this through -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Do we know anything else about this guy? His background? If there's an existing rap sheet?

TOWNSEND: You know graduated from Northeastern University here in the United States with a degree -- I think it was in physics. So this is a guy who had some technical training and understanding. Not clear, and I think authorities will want to look at this pretty closely, what drove him, what radicalized him to this view to want to plan this attack?

You know, we heard a lot in the Nidal Hasan case. That was the Ft. Hood shooter. He was radicalized over the Internet by Anwar al- Awlaki, an American now in Yemen who's a radical preacher.

But we don't know, was it an Internet-based radicalization? Was there -- are there others involved? Had he identified the six? I suspect that the FBI will focus on all those questions now in the immediate aftermath of the arrest.

PHILLIPS: We'll follow it. Fran Townsend, thanks so much.

TOWNSEND: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Let's take -- take a look at some live pictures right now. Engineers are actually spending a second day repelling down the Washington monument. Still searching for any damage from last month's earthquake that rattled the East Coast. They're actually scanning and recording every inch of the monument after those jolts caused some damage inside and out.

We actually saw the cracks day after the earthquake. The landmark has been closed nearly five weeks now as a precaution. We'll follow exactly what engineers are doing throughout the day.

Now lawmakers in the House are expected to approve the spending bill that got so much attention earlier this week. As you remember, they've been bickering over the funding for FEMA's disaster aid. The congressional deadlock actually threatened to shut down some government agencies after tomorrow, but the Senate did hammer out a compromise.

Congress has to do it all again next week because the funding actually runs only through Tuesday.

Well, he's lagging in the polls and hasn't had much luck holding on to his staffers, but presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich says that he has new ways for Americans to pay their taxes, buy health insurance and save for retirement.

So, Paul Steinhauser, can this new contract with America actually reignite the Gingrich campaign for the White House?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Kyra, a little bit of deja vu here, right? I mean this is so 1994.

All right. Well, let's re-rack, 17 years ago, right now and that was then Congressman Newt Gingrich and he introduced the "Contract with America," and it helped the Republicans win back control of the House of Representatives, first time in 40 years, and Newt Gingrich, of course, became House speaker. And we remember what happened after all that.

OK. Fast forward back to present day. And as you mentioned, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich coming out today with a 21st century "Contract with America." Where is he going to do it? Iowa. Of course the first state to vote in a primary caucus calendar. His spokes people tell us that guess what? He typed a lot of what is in this contract on his thumbs. Will it boost him in the polls? Maybe, maybe not. What it will do is give him a little bit of -- at least for today -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, now, some primary date shuffling going on right now, too, right?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, I know you and I and the rest of us have been talking about this for a couple of days. Today, Georgia, down your way, and South Carolina right next to Georgia, they're both going to announce when they're going to hold their primaries.

And tomorrow, as we've been reporting, we expect Florida to say they're going to hold their primary on the 31st of January.

Well, what does that mean? That means that New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada, which are supposed to go first, are probably all going to move up into early January if Florida actually stays with the 31st. We're not sure where Georgia is going to go.

But, Kyra, this all means that, you know what, for the candidates, well, they better -- they better just, you know, speed things up because now they have one less month to campaign and to reach out to voters in all these early states.

And for people like Chris Christie and people like Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin, who are thinking of maybe jumping in, well, if they -- they better do it quick because everything is going to fast forward a month -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Paul, thanks.

We'll have your next political update in just about an hour. And a reminder for all the latest political news, you can always go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.

Well, witnesses describe the dramatic moments after Michael Jackson stopped breathing. It all happened yesterday during the pop star's death trial.

CNN's Don Lemon is in L.A. covering the trial for us.

And Don, we actually heard pretty emotional testimony about Jackson's kids and where they were when their father was dying.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Kyra. It's heartbreaking. Heartbreaking, as you can imagine, as a new mom.

Listen, let me set this up for you. So Michael Jackson -- Michael Jackson's assistant is on the stand and his security guard and they tell the story. They say that the -- the personal assistant says that Conrad Murray calls him frantically and says Michael Jackson has a bad reaction, get over there.

The assistant calls the head of security and gives him permission to go upstairs. The head of security says he goes upstairs and what he sees is Conrad Murray administering -- trying to revive, I should say, Michael Jackson with one hand. He's on the phone with another hand, and then he asks the security guard, Kyra, is there -- do you know how to revive someone?

The whole while Michael Jackson's two older kids are there watching it. Michael Jackson laying on the floor, his eyes open, his mouth open, he is wearing a condom catheter, they're looking at it. Here's the testimony of what the guy said on the stand yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAHEEM MUHAMMED, HEAD OF JACKSON'S SECURITY DETAIL: Paris was on the ground balled up crying and Prince was just, he was standing there and he was just -- he just had a real shocked, you know, just slowly crying type of look on his face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Yes. Those two kids doing that. Finally, the paramedics do arrive. They take Michael Jackson to the hospital. The kids are in the SUV following the ambulance to the hospital. And then two hours later, once they pronounce him dead, Dr. Conrad Murray, according to the assistant and the security guard, said, I want to go back to the house, Kyra, I need to go back to the house because there's some cream there that would embarrass Michael Jackson, he wouldn't want the world to know.

The prosecution is saying that this is what they believe is the cream. They believe that this Propofol, this is an actual bottle of Propofol. That's what Dr. Conrad Murray wanted to get back to in order to clean it up so people wouldn't find out.

PHILLIPS: So what -- what do you think we can expect today, Don?

LEMON: We can expect more emotional testimony. And if it keeps coming -- yesterday was so, there were so many things that were brought up. They're going to bring up again this Demerol defense, Dr. Arne Klein, his dermatologist. The defense is going to say that Michael Jackson was hooked on Demerol because of that.

You're going to hear from a security guard who will say that Michael Jackson's speech was slowed when he visited Dr. Arne Klein. Sometimes as many as five times a week and he would get Demerol shots. That's what the defense is going to say today. We're going to hear from another security guard, the chef, and then the two paramedics who arrived first, and then we're going to hear from -- not hear from the family, but we'll see the family's arrival and then I'll see them in court and see their reactions, as well.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll talk again tomorrow. Don, thanks.

Let's go overseas now. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the disgrace former chief of the International Monetary Fund, went face-to-face with another one of his accusers. This time it's the French woman who claims that Kahn attacked her eight years ago.

CNN's Zain Verjee following that story for us from London -- Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Kyra.

In France they call it confrontation to meet face-to-face with no lawyers and with only police present down at the station and that's basically what Dominique Strauss-Kahn did today, coming face-to-face with a woman who accused him of attempted rape. Her name is Tristane Banon. She alleges that he tried to rip off her clothes and there were -- there was a lot of kicking and punching, and accuses him of attempted rape.

Now Dominique Strauss-Kahn says, you know what, he admits, he says, that he made advances but he says at no time was there any violence, and he is planning on suing her for slander.

So what happens next, Kyra? Well, the police are going to file a report based on the questions that they were asking the two of them at the police station. And by the way, they didn't talk to each other directly. The police were speaking to them individually, but they were in the same room.

The police do a report, they hand it over to the judge and then the judge has three options, either drop the case, investigate further or go to trial -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, we'll follow it. Zain, thanks.

And coming up, license, registration and immigration papers, please. Today enforcement begins on what some describe as the strictest anti-illegal immigration laws in the nation. We'll tell you where.

Plus, the new face of Facebook. A lot of users making a big stink over the latest changes. We'll tell you what's happening and why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stories "Cross Country."

Today, the state of Alabama begins enforcing what some are calling the toughest immigration laws in the nation. It comes amid protests and after a federal judge upheld key parts of the measure as constitutional. The law allows police to verify the immigration status as suspects already in custody.

In eastern Pennsylvania, more flooding woes for residents still trying to dry out from tropical storm Lee earlier this month. Recent heavy rains made cleanup or frustrating. In Wilkes-Barre, there are concerns a hotel may collapse from the flood damage.

And plenty of job seekers in Louisville, Kentucky. Yesterday, G.E. discontinued taking applications after 6,000 people applied in less than an hour.

Privacy issues continue to dog Facebook, and the latest uproar has reached all the way to Capitol Hill. Congressmen Ed Markey and Joe Barton just asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the site's practices, specifically its tracking of people's web use even after they logged out of Facebook itself. The site insists it hasn't used or stored any information improperly.

Well, Facebook's 800 million users are all a ticker, I guess you could say, over the site's latest evolution. Some changes were introduced last week, but the biggies still yet to come. Just to give you a little preview, here you go.

On the left, the CNN iReport Facebook page, a familiar layout. More text than graphics.

And on the right is what your new profile page will look like once the Timeline format rolls out.

Christina Warren is the entertainment editor at Mashable.com and she says these are Facebook's most radical changes yet.

OK, Christina, we've seen the side by side. So, explain in more detail the differences, if you don't mind, as soon as you'll log on and see that profile page.

CHRISTINA WARREN, MASHABLE.COM: Sure. So, what Facebook has done with the timeline, they created what they're calling kind of a scrapbook-like look at your life, where you can highlight photos, important status updates and important events and lay it out in a way that is easy to browse and easy to look through. It's actually quite beautiful.

And it's a way you can go through major milestones, if you had a baby or if you got married. You can also look back through the years of your activities on Facebook and even add activities that didn't take place on Facebook like when you were born or when you got your driver's license.

PHILLIPS: All right. I heard you say it is beautiful, but I was also reading that you say it's creepy.

WARREN: Yes, it is. It's beautiful, but it's also a little bit creepy. The way that it works is that they go through your entire history of Facebook and they're able to pick up on what events they think Facebook was most important to you, based on how many comments took place, who you tagged in your photographs and other cues. And it's actually successful.

But it can be a little bit creepy because, for instance, if you had a lot of people -- you know, if you dated people throughout the years, it has a list of people you were in a relationship with, even if you never tagged them as being in a relationship with you. Just because of the photos that it knows that you were tagged in. And that's a little bit creepy.

It's also a little bit creepy that can highlight certain major milestones, even if you weren't necessarily sure that is what you would want to be on your profile. You can, of course, hide these things, but by default anyone who is your friend, they can see your friend status updates, will be able to look at this new timeline and see all these new major milestones in your life in a very easy navigate way.

PHILLIPS: Now, you say that a lot of people are pretty ticked off about these changes, but at the same time, you say, they're not going to quit.

WARREN: No, no. People are upset, as they always are with Facebook changes. And to be clear -- I mean, these are the most radical changes that Facebook has had. We have been hearing a lot at Mashable.com as we've been doing our reporting from people saying, oh, I'm going to quit, this is too much.

As I said, no, you really aren't going to quit Facebook. I think it's become too important that too many people's Internet lives that the changes, although they are radical, I think ultimately, people will end up liking a lot of the features. And if anything, maybe an opportunity for people to have better understanding of how to control and share things with only their friends or with only certain types of people.

PHILLIPS: All right, we'll follow the reaction as it moves forward. Christina, thanks.

Well, coming up, a letter addressed to "Dancing with the Stars" caused a brief scare at CBS studios. What was inside? That's next.

And Prince William cuts the ribbon on a new cancer treatment center for children. We'll tell you its connection to his late mom, Princess Diana.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's get to your "Showbiz Headlines."

A letter addressed to "Dancing with the Stars" caused a brief scare at CBS studios. Inside, white powder was examined and tested for anthrax but ultimately, the L.A. police say it was harmless.

According to "Forbes," Tina Fey and Eva Longoria are the highest paid actresses on television. Each hauled in $13 million this past year. Collectively, the entire top 10 earned $94 million.

And you could own the wedding ring that Joe DiMaggio put on Marilyn Monroe's finger in 1954. It's expected to fetch as much as $500,000 at an auction of Hollywood memorabilia.

Also for sale, a pair of ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz." The three-day auction begins December 15th.

Well, Prince William and Kate have picked up the baton once carried by the late Princess Diana, helping the youngest victims of cancer.

Zain Verjee has more in today's ceremony at Royal Marsden Hospital.

Zain, tell us more about it.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi there, Kyra.

Yes, they're opening $25 million cancer unit for children. They're actually there right now. There's so much excitement. They're going to be meeting with some of the patients of the cancer unit there, as well as their parents.

You know, they also are very committed to this kind of a charity. They support many charities. But the one interesting thing to note about the Royal Marsden Hospital here is that Princess Diana was very involved in it. When she died, Prince William a few years later kind of took over as the president of the Royal Marsden Foundation Trust.

So, he's been very hands on with this. The couple have been keeping a very low profile. They've been in North Wales. William has been training as a search and rescue pilot. He wants to get promoted to the rank of captain.

Meanwhile, Kate has been going through training on how to be a royal at public events, charities and things like that. So, she's busy picking the kind of charities that she wants to support because she can really bring her star power to it and put the charities on the map -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And I can just imagine the two of them probably have so many people asking them to get involved in various charities and, it's pretty special they're picking something that was close to mom's heart.

VERJEE: Yes, exactly. It's really the things that were close to mom's heart and William and Harry grew up seeing her being so selfless and spending time with AIDS patients, with cancer patients and things like that. So, it really is following in their footsteps.

But, also, at the same time, I think that Kate, at least, wants to be able to define for herself who she is and what she likes. So, she is taking her own time to pick her own passions and charities.

Bullying was one of the things that they wanted to support -- you know, to support kids who had gone through bullying and kind of campaign against that. So, we'll see what she ultimately picks. But this is an important moment for Kate Middleton stepping out like this.

PHILLIPS: Zain Verjee out of London -- Zain, thanks.

Well, Apple is holding a big event next week and rumors are already swirling around about what will be announced.

Carter Evans at New York Stock Exchange.

All right, Carter, what are you hearing?

CARTER EVANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we've all heard the iPhone 5 is going to be introduced. And that's highly likely. I'll be willing to bet on that one.

What you may not have heard, though, is that the iPod Classic and the Shuffle might be killed off. This comes from the unofficial Apple web log and it's not confirmed, but the blog sites an unnamed source that says they could be killed off. And it really kind of makes sense because Apple teased a product transition during its last earnings call. Also, iPod sales have been falling since the iPhone was released. If you have an iPhone, you really don't need an iPod.

Still, Apple has sold hundreds of millions of iPods since the first one was introduced back in October of 2001, about 10 years ago.

PHILLIPS: Wow, 10 years ago.

Hey, listen, we were talking with Christine Romans at the beginning of the newscast about some good news that we got on the economy. Not a bad day to look at your 401(k). How often do we say that?

So, what do you think? What kind of impact will this make on the market?

EVANS: Well, I want to caution you, though. If you look at your 401(k) and you haven't looked at it for a long time, it will not be where it was, but it certainly better where it was yesterday.

Futures popped on the positive economic news. We got a report that new unemployment claims tumbled to 391,000 last week. It's a huge drop, down nearly 40,000 and we're below that key 400,000 mark. We've only been below that two times in the past four months.

And basically, it's a sign that layoffs slowed significantly last week.

We also got a final reading on our second quarter gross domestic product showing that our economy grew at a rate of 1.3 percent. That is not good, but it's a lot better than expected. And both reports positive news out of Europe are pretty much squashing recession talk today at least -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Carter, thanks so much.

And still ahead, an imprisoned American enters a decisive day in court. We're going to tell you about the final arguments challenging the murder conviction of Amanda Knox, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking top stories now:

Updating the case of Jared Loughner, the suspect in the Tucson shooting spree that wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. "The New York Times" is reporting that a judge's ruled Loughner will spend four more months in a psychiatric facility. Then a decision could be made on whether he is competent to stand trial.

Health officials are trying to make sure that no more listeria- tainted cantaloupes are going to get to consumers. Thirteen people have died in the deadliest U.S. outbreak of a foodborne illness since 1988.

And Dominique Strauss-Kahn faced off today with the French woman who has accused him of attempted rape. The ex-IMF chief and his accuser answered questions by police in Paris.

Well, the trial -- the Michael Jackson death trial continues. And the jury will hear more testimony on the chaotic minutes after the pop star stopped breathing. And as CNN's Randi Kaye reports, prosecutors are trying to paint Conrad Murray as a man more concerned about hiding evidence than saving his patient's life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And does this depict --

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You're looking at the bedroom where Michael Jackson took his last breath, shown inside the courtroom. One of Jackson's security guards had been called to the house when Jackson stopped breathing and described the scene for the jury.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And when you came around to the far side of the bed, what was Conrad Murray doing? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He appeared to be administering CPR. He appeared very nervous. He was on his side, he was sweating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At that time, did you see Michael Jackson's face and his full body?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what did you observe about his face at that time?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That his eyes were open and that his mouth was slightly open.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he appear to be dead?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

KAYE: Mohammed said at one point Dr. Murray asked Jackson's security guards if they knew how to revive someone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had Conrad Murray asked you and Alberto Alvarez if you knew CPR?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did you see Alberto go over and assist Dr. Murray with CPR?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. KAYE: By the time, Mohammed had arrived, 911 had already been called, but 911 was not the first phone call Conrad Murray made when Jackson stopped breathing.

In court, new insight into Murray's state of mind from Jackson's personal assistant, Michael Williams. He painted a picture of a doctor on the edge. On June 25th, 2009, Williams received a frantic voice message from Murray which was played in court.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please call me right away.

KAYE: That message was left after Michael Jackson had suffered cardiac arrest. Murray gave no indication of that on the message only saying Jackson had had, quote, "a bad reaction." Murray called Williams, not 911.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were you asked to call 911?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you, upon hearing that message, call Dr. Murray?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he ask you to call 911?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sir.

KAYE: In court, Williams was also asked about Murray's strange behavior at the hospital, as news spread that the king of pop was dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What, if anything, was the request of Conrad Murray?

MICHAEL AMIR WILLIAMS, JACKSON'S FORMER PERSONAL ASSISTANT: He said that there's some cream in Michael's room or house, I believe room, that he wouldn't want the world to know about and he requested that I or someone give him a ride back to the house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you agree to take Conrad Murray back to the house?

WILLIAMS: No, sir.

KAYE: Williams told the court he was so spooked by Murray's behavior, he asked Jackson's security to lock up the house and not allow Murray back inside. But defense attorney Ed Chernoff pointed out Williams waited months before sharing his concerns with authorities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Williams, the very first time you told the police about Dr. Murray wanting to get some cream on August 31st, 2009, correct?

WILLIAMS: Yes, sir. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was over two months after Michael Jackson had died?

KAYE: Williams told the jury he frequently saw oxygen tanks at Jackson's house. Oxygen is required by the FDA to be on hand when Propofol is being used, in case the patient has to be resuscitated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you describe what you personally saw in that regard?

WILLIAMS: It was normal for oxygen tanks to be there. If they were there, we'd bring them to the bottom of the stairs and the chef or the children would bring them up. But it was normal to see the oxygen tanks the last few months.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That would be a period of time that you knew Conrad Murray was coming on an almost nightly basis?

WILLIAMS: Yes, sir.

KAYE: Even with all those oxygen tanks, Michael Jackson never had a chance. As the defense says, he died so quickly, he never even closed his eyes.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And be sure to check out our sister network, HLN, for in-depth coverage and analysis of the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. It's your place for coverage throughout the day.

Coming up, our CNN "In-Depth" series, why is the U.S. government so broken? CNN's senior political analyst David Gergen says our fractured politics are a result of being a fractured country. He'll explain, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, U.S. Senate delegation just arrived in the Libyan capital to assess the situation and actually meet with transitional leaders. Senator John McCain is part of the group.

Matter of fact, touched down not too long ago, and we were just able to connect with him live from Tripoli. Senator, can you hear me okay? And welcome to the program.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Thank you, thanks for having me on.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's get right to it. You were just telling me moments ago that you have met with members of the transitional council. What is your overall impression, and how concerned are you about extremists hijacking the new government?

MCCAIN: Well, we met with the chairman, the prime minister on numerous -- quite a large number of the transitional -- TNC. My impressions are is that they are making progress. They have gotten some of the money freed up that is necessary to supply goods and services to the people. They do have significant challenges in a variety of ways, including the fact that a lot of the militias that are out there taking part in the fighting against Gadhafi forces are still not under their control.

There is some Islamic elements that, obviously, would like to take over this revolution, which was not a religious one. It was against a cruel dictator. We still have a couple places still under Gadhafi's control, and I think it's pretty clear that they've got a lot of work to do to unite the country.

PHILLIPS: How active is the search for Moammar Gadhafi right now?

MCCAIN: I think it's very active. Just recently heard a rumor that he may be in Algeria now, but, you know, you've heard all kinds of rumors. There's no doubt that he's done, but there's also (AUDIO GAP) associated with the capture or killing of Gadhafi.

PHILLIPS: And that was my next question. What is the feeling there? What is your feeling with regard to capturing him, dead or alive?

MCCAIN: I think that the people of Libya, the ones that I would like to talk to would like to catch him alive. They would like to see him on trial for the horrendous crimes he has committed.

You know, every few days they come across another grave. Some of them with hundreds of bodies in it. There's no doubt that this guy was hated by the people of Libya, and I think they'd like to see him brought to justice more than they'd like to see him dead.

PHILLIPS: Senator John McCain, we'll follow your trip there in Tripoli. We appreciate you talking with us on such last minute's notice. Thank you, sir.

And coming up in our CNN "In-Depth" series, why the U.S. government is so broken. CNN senior national - or political analyst David Gergen says our fractured politics are a result of being a fractured country. He'll explain, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, let's check stories "Cross Country" now. Catherine Gray, the 60-year-old reputed girlfriend of Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger, goes to court again today. She's hoping to get a judge to grant her bail. She's been behind bars since June when the feds caught the couple in California after 16 years on the run.

In New Jersey, a depressing replay for the flood victims of Tropical Storm Lee earlier this month. Dozens of cars got carried away in yesterday's flash floods and, unfortunately, more rain is possible for today. And from Hawaii, take a look at this picture. Taken by a tourist visiting the USS Arizona memorial. It's a picture of the water surrounding the ship wreck and something else.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN DEVANNY, AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER: I showed my husband. And I didn't say anything, I just said, have a look at the photo. And he said, "oh, my gosh, it's a face."

Just sad, really sad and young. The face to me looked young. I don't know if it represents the men of that time who perished.

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PHILLIPS: More than 1,100 U.S. sailors died aboard the Arizona during Japan's surprise attack in 1941.

All right, continuing coverage of our CNN "In-Depth" series. Why is the U.S. government so broken? Well, a thought to consider. Quote, "Either we hang together or we will surely all hang separately."

I wish I could take credit for that great quote. Our senior political analyst, David Gergen probably wished he could, too, but he can't because that warning was actually given a long time ago by Benjamin Franklin.

But David, it still applies. And in your CNN.com Opinion piece you used it. We used to be so unified as a country and now one of our biggest downfalls is that we're so divided.

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: We are extremely divided. And, you know, there's been a tendency, Kyra, to put all the blame on the politicians and they have not done a good job representing us in Washington in recent years.

But the fact is the politicians we have are often a reflection of the country at large and one of our central problems is that we used to have a consensus when I was growing up in this country. And a lot of us who are older can remember that there was a general consensus about the role of government.

The government shouldn't do everything, but what it -- what it did do it could do well. Like when the cold -- like when World War II that helped to get us out of depression, like they helped keep us prosperous in the 1950s, like helping us advance civil rights in the 1960s.

But that consensus broke down in the late '60s and early '70s and we have gradually moved to more and more of a fractured country. And what we see now, I was down -- I was down at Southern Methodist University a couple of nights ago with Bob Gates, our former defense secretary and a world class statesman.

And he said, you know, one of the biggest threats to our national security today is right here at home. And it's the disappearing middle. The sense that there were a lot of people in the middle, who may have different views, but they wanted to make the system work and they were willing to compromise. You saw that at the grassroots level. Many people belong to -- to clubs together. There was a social, what's called a middle tier of institutions which held people together. And at the national level, there were people like Howard Baker and Bob Dole and Bill Bradley on the Democratic side.

You can go through the list. A lot of those folks either went home disappointed, they were tired or they got beat.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: So what --

GERGEN: -- go ahead. Please.

PHILLIPS: What -- what happened? I mean, what caused that -- that disappearing middle? That fracture that you write about in your piece?

GERGEN: Well, the -- the fractures really began with the Vietnam and Watergate period. Then we also have had a long period of stagnation and incomes in this country that started in the '70s and a growing sense of disillusionment. We've had spikes upward or a confidence in government and a belief that government can get things done.

Ironically, one of the big spikes came with Ronald Reagan, the conservative who wanted to have less government. But Bill Clinton got some of that and we saw that some around 9/11. But over time and you can look at the CNN poll that just came out yesterday, it just show -- it showed just 15 percent of Americans now have confidence the government is going to do the right thing, you know, all or most of the time.

Back in the -- in the early '60s and the '50s when I was growing up those numbers were up in the '70s and '80s. That's the fracturing that we've seen and it's -- it's -- the polarization that we've seen in Washington is a reflection of the growing polarization we see among voters around the country.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: But you do --

GERGEN: Now there is an argument -- yes. Well, let me just --

PHILLIPS: -- you do bring up a good -- ok I was just saying you do bring up a good point, though, at the end of your column. There is a generation rising. A generation saying, ok, we've got to change.

GERGEN: Yes, I agree with that. And the Millennials are people born between 1980 and 2000 are much more, are much less polarized than the rest of the country. And in this coming election, I recently learned they make -- make up as much of a quarter of the electorate. That would -- so there's change coming.

The question is, can we get from here to the change. Can we govern ourselves in such a way or are we going to and -- or are going to be in decline as a country? And I think that's a very, very big looming question right now.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Well, that's going to be your next column. David, thanks.

GERGEN: Ok, thank you.

PHILLIPS: And you can read David's column, "Is America becoming a house divided against itself?" Just go to CNN.com/opinion. Our coverage of CNN "In Depth: Our Broken Government" continues all week.

Well, baseball playoff dreams go on for two clubs but ends for two others. We've got highlights from last night's big games. Sports in seven minutes.

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PHILLIPS: Stories making news later today.

At 11:00 a.m. Eastern, the House of Representatives set to vote on a temporary funding bill that would avoid a partial government shutdown.

At 1:00 p.m. Eastern, NASA holds a news conference on what its asteroid hunting spacecrafts called Wise has recently discovered.

And at 5:30 Eastern, in Baton Rouge, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie joining his Louisiana counterpart, Bobby Jindal for a GOP fund-raiser.

We'll take a quick break, we'll be right back.

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PHILLIPS: All right. Baseball's postseason begins tomorrow. Can it get any more exciting than the end of the regular season? Jeff Fischel?

JEFF FISCHEL, ANCHOR, HLN SPORTS: The answer is no. I mean, really and I'm not exaggerating. It had to be one of the great days in baseball history. Last day of the season, four teams with a shot at the final two playoff spots.

All right, let's start in Baltimore. Boston, 76-0 with a lead going into the ninth. The Sox just need one strike. But the Orioles tie the game. Nolan Reimold ground rule double off Jonathan Papelbon, that ties it.

The next batter Robert Andino, he comes through with a single to left field. Carl Crawford cannot catch it, dives. And Reimold slides home with the game winning run. The Red Sox end with an ugly seven and 20 September. That leaves the door open for the Rays to take the wild card. But they are down seven runs to the Yankees and down to their last strike. Pinch hitter Dan Johnson homers to tie the game at seven. They go into extra innings.

To the 12th just three minutes after the Red Sox lose, Evan Longoria, the home run to win the game and the wild card. The Rays were eight and a half games back of Boston back on September 5th and now they're going to the playoffs.

How about the NL, the St. Louis Cardinals going after the National League wild card and they wasted no time against the Astros. The Cardinals have put up five runs in the first inning in Houston. St. Louis goes on to win 8-0. Chris Carpenter a complete game shutout. The Cardinals in NL best 18 and 8 record in September, now they just need a Braves loss to make it to the playoffs.

So what happens? They had to wait until the 13th inning to find out. It's an measly infield single by Hunter Pence. That scores Brian Schneider for Philadelphia. The Phillies win knocking out the Braves.

The Cards meanwhile watching all this celebrate from ally to enemy. The Phillies will face the Cards in the first round of playoffs. The Braves go home after a horrendous 9 and 18 September. Not as bad as the Red Sox perhaps but two of the worst folds in September Major League baseball history.

An incredible night. This all happened in about a two-hour span. All four games wrapping up a great night for baseball fans.

PHILLIPS: Wow, ok. You got me excited.

FISCHEL: Yes, that's the point, right?

PHILLIPS: Thanks Jeff. Yes, not as exciting as your son's t- ball of course.

FISCHEL: Of course, of course the poor little guys.

PHILLIPS: Yes, he's out to today, he's here actually back behind us but we're not going to take a shot of him. Because he's really shy right now. But we'll see, we'll watch his T-ball. Thanks, Jeff.

Well, another big question surrounding New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Governor Chris Christie's profile gets bigger, so does the issue of his size.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: All right.

MOOS: Now that he's a national figure, comedians are starting to make his waistline a punch line.

DAVID LETTERMAN, TALK SHOW HOST: Take a look. I mean, does he show up and go -- and go to Google Earth.

MOOS: From late night to daytime talk, Chris Christie's weight is being tossed around.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Can you see him as president?

BARBARA WALTERS, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": You say no? Ok. Why not? Because he's hefty.

MOOS: For a while they danced around the f word but then --

(CROSSTALK)

JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": I don't think the country is ready for a fat president again.

WALTERS: I think that's ridiculous.

ELISABETH HASSELBECK, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Imagine this conversation about an overweight female candidate.

MOOS: Governor Christie is a bonanza for cartoonists like Jeff Danzinger (ph) who drew Republicans in a life raft seeking rescue while Chris Christie is belly up on the beach.

CHRIS MATTHEWS, MSNBC ANCHOR: I saw him the other day. I was amazed by him. He must be 300 plus. And that's something you just have to deal with because you're not going to say I'm going to cut the budget. How about starting with supper?

MOOS: But Chris Matthews would go to bed without his supper for that remark if Mike Huckabee had his way.

MIKE HUCKABEE, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ARKANSAS: To criticize Chris Christie because of the amount of his skin is absurd.

MOOS: The amount of Huckabee's skin used to be excessive. He lost 110 pounds.

His weight may be the elephant in the room but Chris Christi talks about it comfortably.

CHRISTIE: I'll let all of your audience in on a little secret, Wolf. I'm overweight.

The thing that I feel most guilty about, my weight.

PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST: Where do you fold out in terms of dealing with it?

CHRISTIE: I eat too much. I mean it's not a complicated thing. MOOS: When it comes to portly presidents, William Howard Taft was America's biggest at over 200 pounds. Taft was famous for getting stuck in the White House bathtub. Aides had to come and get him out. He then had a new tub made big enough for four men. At a Christie town hall, one voter saw beyond size.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think having a governor that is smart and that has the perseverance to do what's right is hot and sexy.

MOOS: Contrast that with Letterman's top ten ways the presidency would be different if Chris Christie were president.

LETTERMAN: Number two, instead of Iraq, we'd invade iHop. And the number one --

MOOS: Prepare for a steady diet of jokes.

Jeanne Moos, CNN --

(CROSSTALK)

BEHAR: No more vetoes, only Cheetos, yay.

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)