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FBI, DHS Issue Alerts after Killing of Awlaki; Haqqani Leader Captured in Afghanistan; Amanda Knox to Speak in Final Appeal

Aired October 01, 2011 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, that's cruel.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: It is. And Huckabee was in there as well. I covered Huckabee in Little Rock when he was governor there. And he used to say to me, he said, T.J., I discovered the secret to losing weight, eat right and exercise.

WHITFIELD: And he did come down...

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: He did, he ran a marathon. He lost 100 pounds...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: That's uncomfortable, though, isn't it?

HOLMES: It seems mean-spirited in some cases is what it is.

WHITFIELD: Come on, people, be nice.

HOLMES: So on that note, it's all yours.

WHITFIELD: You have a great day, T.J., all right.

HOLMES: You do the same. I'll look for your tweets.

WHITFIELD: The pressure is on. Thank you very much.

All right. We have got lots straight ahead, beginning with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security out with a warning after the killing of an American-born al Qaeda leader in Yemen. The bulletin says Anwar al-Awlaki, that killing could spark attacks in the United States by home-grown violent extremists. That's the same kind of bulletin that was issued after Osama bin Laden was killed.

Awlaki was killed by a CIA drone in Yemen. His fluency in English and his technology skills made him a top recruiter for al Qaeda.

And there are reports that the missile strike that killed Awlaki killed Samir Khan. He was an American citizen of Pakistani origin. He grew up in New York City and North Carolina. And he was an editor of Inspire, that's al Qaeda's online English-language magazine. We're hearing reports that the drone attack in Yemen may have also killed a third alleged terror leader. Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri is a Saudi bomb-maker implicated in a number of terror plots against the United States. CNN's Athena Jones is live now from Washington.

So, Athena, what more are you hearing? This is an incredible notch in the belt for intelligence, U.S. intelligence.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said yesterday, this has been a bad year for terrorists. But what we're learning from a U.S. official is that there are indications that Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri might have been there, but it's unclear yet at this point if he was killed. It goes along what we're hearing from a Yemeni official who says that as of today the other operatives who were killed have not been identified.

And so this idea al-Asiri is one of them at this point is just a rumor. But this is an important man. He's the bomb-maker -- considered to be the top bomb-maker for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. He was behind that thwarted Christmas Day attempted bombing back in 2009 of that plane going into Detroit by the underwear bomber, the man known as the underwear bomber.

He is also said to be behind a plot later in the year, late 2010, to send explosives to the U.S. on cargo planes in those printer cartridges. And so as of right now, it's still not clear yet if he really was killed. So we're waiting to hear more about that and keeping watch -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And how seriously concerned are U.S. officials about any potential retaliation?

JONES: Well, as you noted in the lead-in, I mean, they put out a bulletin late last night, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, issued this joint intelligence bulletin, saying that the drone strike in Yemen could, quote, "provide motivation for homeland attacks by homegrown violent extremists."

And, of course, these are exactly the types of people, homegrown extremists, that people like Awlaki and their English-language magazine, Inspire, were trying to inspire and recruit to al Qaeda.

There's no indication at this point that anyone is planning an attack. And so it's really just a warning to remain vigilant as always -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Athena Jones, thanks so much, in Washington.

JONES: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. From Afghanistan now there's word of a major blow to a terror group you may not be that familiar with. Some experts consider the Haqqani network more dangerous than the Taliban. Now coalition forces have captured the network's senior commander in Afghanistan. Coalition officials announced the capture today. It happened Tuesday in southeastern Afghanistan. The operation was carried out by NATO and Afghan forces. The Haqqani network is based in Pakistan.

Now to the Amanda Knox trial in Italy. The American exchange student could be spending her final weekend in an Italian prison. She's appealing her 2009 murder conviction in the death of her former roommate. The verdict could come Monday.

Matthew Chance is covering the trial for us. So, Matthew, the expectation is Amanda will be speaking. That would happen Monday, right?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. She's definitely going to be doing that.

She's getting the opportunity from the court to make what they call a plea of innocence, that gives her 15 minutes to stand up in front of the judges and the jury inside this court here in Perugia, and to try and convince them that she is innocent of the killing of Meredith Kercher and to convince them that they should quash her 26- year prison sentence that she's currently serving in a prison just outside of this town, and set her free and set her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who has also been convicted of killing Meredith Kercher, free as well.

We're told by her father the speech is going to be in Italian. She spent the past several months deciding what it is she's going to say. And so it's going to be a very well-rehearsed and I assume very -- delivered with some passion.

WHITFIELD: Now, she, of course, is hoping for release, but prosecutors are saying they want her to actually spend even more time in prison, that the sentence would be extended, right?

CHANCE: Yes. That's right. They are asking a judge not just to uphold the conviction, but also to increase the 26-year sentence again her, the 25-year against Raffaele Sollecito to life imprisonment.

They say, you know, these people, I'm quoting the prosecution here, they may have young but they killed for nothing and they deserve the maximum sentence. Prosecutors went on to say, well, you know, they are just lucky that in Italy the maximum sentence isn't the death penalty.

WHITFIELD: Matthew, what can you tell us about the jury, the makeup of this jury?

CHANCE: It's five women, three men, two of those men are professional judges, which is a sort of strange thing about the legal system here. It's not all kind of civilians, as it were. Two of them professional judges. But it's -- the rest of them -- or the majority of them are women.

They are expecting to retire from the court shortly after Amanda Knox gives this little speech on Monday. It could take between three, six, eight hours before they reach a verdict. But we're expecting it sometime Monday night.

WHITFIELD: All right. Matthew Chance, thanks so much, in Perugia, Italy.

Our legal guys Avery Friedman and Richard Herman will be along in just a few minutes to dissect Italy's appeal process and look at the chances of Amanda Knox's freedom.

All right. Now for some political wrangling in this country. And it could have some of you making your choice for U.S. presidential nominee a little bit sooner than you thought. Florida has moved up its Republican primary to January 31st. That would make it the first state to hold a presidential contest. That's not sitting well with New Hampshire which traditionally holds the first primary. Now it can move its date up to December. That's right. December of this year, 2011.

Our political reporter Rachel Streitfeld is in Atkinson, New Hampshire right now.

So, first, Rachel, what exactly are state leaders saying about Florida's primary change and how it will impact everybody else?

RACHEL STREITFELD, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, New Hampshire leaders responded immediately after Florida moved up its primary. The secretary of state put out take statement on his Web site vowing to protect New Hampshire's cherished first-in-the-nation primary status. And he moved up the filing date, that's the date when candidates need to file their paperwork so they get on the ballot, which is a signal to us that the primary date could be moved up possibly into December, as you said.

The state Republican Party chair put out a statement calling any state who moved up its primary, saying they were doing a disservice to voters, and, again, backing up this New Hampshire -- this cherished tradition of having the first primary in the nation -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Meantime, some of the candidates are going full steam ahead there in New Hampshire today. Governor Rick Perry is campaigning. What is he saying and what is he also being asked about these days there?

STREITFELD: Rick Perry is on his fourth visit up here to New Hampshire since he declared his candidacy. And I can tell you what he wants to talk about, that's jobs and the economy and his jobs record in Texas.

And we've been hearing a lot about that. Also at his events he has been hosting town halls. We heard some questions from voters on social issues, people have asked him about climate change and his view on whether that's man-made. People have asked him about his views on illegal immigration and also Social Security.

And Rick Perry has continued to back up the things that he said about those issues previously. But I will tell you that the majority of what we're hearing about, questions about how to turn the economy around, how to get America working again, and that's an issue that the Perry campaign thinks will work for them.

WHITFIELD: OK. Meantime some say it's getting a little aggressive out there between some of the candidates, particularly between Romney and Perry. What's happening?

STREITFELD: I think it's safe to say we've moved into a new more aggressive stage in the campaign here in New Hampshire. After Perry's town hall last night, that was in Derry, New Hampshire, the Romney campaign, they passed out this booklet. I hope you can see it. It has got a picture of Rick Perry firing a gun. It's called "Rick Perry's Plan to Get America Working Again."

But then when you open up the booklet, most of the pages are blank. So that's the Romney campaign making a statement, pointing out that Mitt Romney put out a detailed jobs plan that's more than 160 pages full of charts and graphs and information. And we're still -- we're waiting to hear Rick Perry's detailed jobs plan. He had entered the race seven weeks ago. So we're still waiting to hear that.

WHITFIELD: And so has there been a response from the Perry camp about that booklet and how it's being interpreted from the Romney camp?

STREITFELD: I spoke with senior adviser Paul Young here in New Hampshire. He said if you want to know what Rick Perry's detailed jobs plan is going to look like, look at Texas. Look at his record of job creation there and that will give you an idea.

WHITFIELD: Rachel, thanks so much, from New Hampshire this afternoon.

All right. Everybody does it. You use your debit card. Not just once or twice in a week, but you use it probably daily. Well, guess what, now there may be a once in a month fee in which to use your debit card. Big banks earning billions by charging you to use your own money.

And then contaminated cantaloupes have claimed the lives of two more people. We'll break down the numbers and tell you what the CDC is telling us about the Listeria outbreak.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This is something making a lot of people very nervous. Two more people dead after eating cantaloupe contaminated with Listeria from a Colorado farm. The Centers for Disease Control says one person died in New Mexico and another in Colorado this week. The Listeria outbreak was first reported on September 12th and traced to Jensen Farms' Rocky Ford Cantaloupes.

Officials with the CDC say it can take weeks before symptoms occur.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS FRIEDEN, DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: 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 Farm cantaloupe in their refrigerators. If you have cantaloupe that is labeled as something other than Jensen Farms, then it's OK to eat. But if the label looks like this, that's what the Jensen Farms label looks like, then it's not safe to eat. Throw it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A total of 15 people in eight states have died after eating the contaminated fruit.

Would you spend $5 a month for the privilege of using your debit card? Big banks like Bank of America are betting that you will. CNN's Christine Romans breaks it down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Five bucks a month, that's how much it will cost Bank of America customers to make purchases with their debit cards. It's set to take effect in 2012. And customers are already voicing their displeasure.

RIAN KELLY, BANK CUSTOMER: Not too psyched about it. And that's why I'm switching.

ROMANS: The fee will not apply if you only use your debit card at ATMs or have a premium account with a high minimum balance. Why the new fees? A Bank of America spokeswoman says "the economics of offering a debit card have changed with recent regulations."

The regulation they are referring to is the Durbin Amendment. It goes into effect on Saturday and it reduces the amount of money banks charge merchants every time a debit is used to make a purchase. It will drop from $0.44 to between $0.21 and $0.24.

Now that difference may seem like pennies, but it's expected to cost banks $6.6 billion in revenue per year according to Javelin Strategy and Research.

And B. of A. isn't the only bank making changes, Chase and Wells Fargo are testing $3 monthly debit card fees in select markets, SunTrust started charging a $5 debit card fee on basic accounts this summer. And Regions Financial is expected to roll out a $4 fee on debit cards next month.

With the latest regulation along with legislation from Congress last year shutting down the banks' fee machine of overdraft charges, financial institutions are finding new ways to generate income. But all these new fees are leaving customers jaded.

ALLISON JOSEPH, BANK CUSTOMER: It's a matter of a very little time before they send you a notice that they are tacking on a fee in another way.

ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Michael Jackson's personal bodyguard testified, as did first responders, our legal guys are ready to dissect the first week of testimony in the Conrad Murray trial. They are next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Turning to some big legal cases now, first, Amanda Knox. She is the American exchange student convicted of killing her roommate in Italy four years ago. Her appeals trial is winding down and she's expected to speak to the courtroom Monday. Let's bring in our legal guys. Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor in Cleveland (ph), good to see you.

And Richard Herman, criminal defense attorney and law professor joining us from Las Vegas. Good to see you as well. All right. Gentleman, so this is the last stand in her appeals process, the last chance.

And, Richard, the prosecutors are saying, wait a minute, not only do we stand behind the investigations, we want her to get more time. Do they make a good argument to try and get that?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think it's kind of hard for them to seriously make that argument when three-quarters of their case was thrown out by the appellate court there, meaning the DNA, they claimed it was contaminated or degraded and not useful. So it's really grandstanding I think to say, oh, we want to put her in forever.

I absolutely think there is going to be a reduction, 50 percent of these cases that go on appeal in Italy result usually in some decrease in prison time. I think she's going to get a decrease, but I don't believe at this point that on Monday she's going to have a ticket to fly home. I just don't think it's going to happen.

WHITFIELD: Avery?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: I think she has got a shot, Fredricka. I think, well, much of it is, again, DNA being blown up. But, again, we have a different defendant. During the trial she was flippant, she was younger. I think that 15 minutes that she presents on Monday will have profound effect on these judges and jurors together.

I agree that we're going to see substantial reduction. I'd like to see an acquittal based on motive and based on lack of DNA. And I think that's probably what we're looking at, but no less than a substantial reduction, no less.

WHITFIELD: So let's try and look into the crystal ball if we can and look towards, what is it that needs -- what's the content that needs to be in Amanda Knox's appeal? Through her attorneys they have said the evidence just wasn't there, there's nothing to corroborate that she was, indeed, there and may have participated in this killing, Richard, but what can Amanda Knox, what can her voice tell this courtroom that they have not heard?

HERMAN: Just attack the credibility of the witnesses, Fred, that stood up and basically tried to destroy Amanda Knox. I mean, the co- defendant who is serving prison time now was the key government witness to testify against her.

So is his credibility really worth it? I mean, he did it for a reduced prison sentence. The other people who testified on behalf of the government, attack their credibility, and like Avery said, she has to be pristine when she speaks to these people, and pray, basically plead with them to let her go. But I don't think it's going to be enough. I think there was enough evidence to keep the conviction.

WHITFIELD: Avery, how much time does she need to spend on that night of her recollection of what did or didn't happen?

FRIEDMAN: Well, she's the only one who really knows at least at this point. Rudy Guede is in the penitentiary. His term was reduced and he actually was convicted on substantial evidence. So that's going to be a focus.

But the other thing that these jurors and two judges have to see is the sobriety by which she is presenting herself. She's going to demonstrate to them that, look, I've done everything -- while I've always been a good student, I've always been a responsible person, these circumstances are being used by the prosecution, who basically called her names, Fredricka, instead of dealing with the evidence.

Bottom line, her natural presence I think will sell and it will work.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's move onto Michael Jackson.

HERMAN: One quick thing, Fred. Fred, she's going to have to give them an alibi for that night. She has never provided an alibi. If she wants to get this conviction thrown out, she's going to have to give a credible alibi.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's move to the Michael Jackson-Conrad Murray case now. And so, Avery, in your opinion, what was the one thing that either the defense or prosecution really nailed this week to set the tone for week two?

FRIEDMAN: Well, it's clearly Mr. Alvarez's testimony, the logistics director, he's a security guard, and basically saying that at the time or shortly after death, Conrad Murray ordered him and assisted him in packing up propofol and other medications.

Well, Conrad Murray is not the cleanup crew, he's a doctor. The other part of that, of course, was the sort of theatrical effort to perform CPR. I mean, the guy is a cardiologist, Fredricka, and he had no idea what he was doing. Those two elements will resonate in the jury. And it's going to be very difficult to neutralize that. Those are the two highlights of this starting week in the trial.

WHITFIELD: All right. And, Richard? HERMAN: Fred, Alvarez's credibility was shot and he was impeached yesterday concerning the position of the body. He said the body was on the floor. Then when the paramedics came, they said the body was on the bed. He didn't remember it. They are going to come back in summation and bring that up to him.

But here is what stood out, Fred, when the paramedics got there, he had flat-lined. Michael Jackson flat-lined. He was dead. Conrad Murray is going to testify when he walked back into that -- and by the way, Conrad Murray is absolutely going to have to take the stand in this case.

He's going to say when he came back into that room Michael Jackson was dead, dead, nothing could bring him back. There was no pulse, there was nothing. He was dead. No paramedics could -- it's like if someone put a gun in their mouth and blew their brains out, it doesn't matter who calls the paramedics and when they call them, it doesn't matter what they tell the paramedics, what medications...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: But he's not disputing whether Michael Jackson was dead, he's disputing, is he not, whether he was negligent, whether it was Michael Jackson who took his own life by pumping his body with additional propofol.

HERMAN: Well, that's the point. That's the entire case. Who gave the fatal dose of propofol? If a jury believes that Conrad Murray only gave the 25 milligram injection, he's going to be acquitted. If they think he gave the fatal dose, it's over.

FRIEDMAN: But that's not going to happen. You know, the...

HERMAN: Why?

FREIDMAN: The defense is that Michael Jackson took drugs in addition. And then what we heard from Alvarez is that Michael Jackson had a catheter in him. I mean, Conrad Murray...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Yes, that he couldn't have stood up.

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: He could not have taken that additional drug.

WHITFIELD: OK. This certainly sets the tone of what we're going to see next week, a lot more that the prosecution and defense has to produce in order to try to paint a clearer picture about what happened.

So we're not done with you guys, though, however, we have got other cases we want to talk about. When we come back in a few minutes we'll be talking about the new cheating scandal. This one involving the SAT, a college student now under arrest for allegedly taking the test for other students. Right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: More Americans are traveling by train these days. To find out why, CNN's Reynolds Wolf got on board in this week's "On the Go."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Train travel is becoming a popular alternative to flying.

SARAH SPAGNOLO, TRAVEL + LEISURE: Ridership has soared. Amtrak has seen record breaking ridership seven out of the last eight years.

WOLF: Even though it's not much cheaper than the airlines.

SPAGNOLO: It may surprise you that the price to travel, for example, from New York to ,Chicago is about the same by train or by air.

WOLF: But passengers don't have to pay for their bags, you can take three checked bags and two carry-ons for free.

SPAGNOLO: Additionally, their loyalty program has improved so that the Web site is much more user friendly, is, of course, amtrak.com which has an interactive route map and all sorts of information about deals and packages.

WOLF: Trains are also becoming more tech savvy, expanding free wi-fi and adding at-seat power outlets to charge electronic devices. It does take longer to get there by rail but this just might be the season to try the scenic route.

SPAGNOLO: Fall is a fabulous time to travel by train, because you get an up close look at the changing, vibrant colors of the fall foliage. When you travel by train, the journey becomes part of the fulfilling experience.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. Video jurors in the Casey Anthony murder trial were not allowed to see has actually been released. The security video taken in 2008 at a jailhouse medical facility shows the actual moment Casey Anthony found out that remains of her 2-year-old daughter Caylee were found. Anthony heard the news on television. A judge said the tape was too inflammatory to be played in court. Anthony was, of course, acquitted of murder.

From Afghanistan there's word of a major blow to a terror group. Coalition forces have captured the Haqqani network senior commander there. It happened Tuesday in a province just southeast -- in the southeastern portion of the country, that is. The Haqqani network is based in Pakistan.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is on the phone now actually joining us from Kabul, Afghanistan.

So, Nick, what have you learned about the capture of the Haqqani network's leader?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Haji Mali Khan is said to be one of the senior commanders of the Haqqani network based in Afghanistan, although the Haqqanis are often based in neighboring Pakistan. He was arrested as far back as Tuesday. We understand that he was heavily armed but gave himself up, according to a NATO official.

At that particular point it seems to have taken them a while for them to have confirmed his identity and perhaps, some may say, act on some intelligence gathered during that particular raid.

But this is a key individual said to be in charge of their operations here. The Haqqani is a vitally dangerous part of the insurgency, behind the long attack on the U.S. embassy here a couple weeks ago, and many other high profile instances inside the capital city here.

So NATO, seeing this is very welcome news in a week in which they've heard reports about mounting violence across the country. Although certainly the Haqqani network, highly sophisticated part of the insurgency, known to be very adaptable and resilient, although now without key leader -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So I wonder, is -- the Haqqani network, is it rivaling the strength of the Taliban or even the al Qaeda network there in Afghanistan?

WALSH: They are very different beasts. I mean, the Taliban is much more associated with the former government here, much more of a sprawling fractured group. The Haqqanis seen as more sophisticated in some ways, more well-disciplined, almost like a mafia to a certain extent.

They have their supporters in Pakistan. They have their other interests across the whole region and were, of course, heavily involved in fighting the Soviets as well. Al Qaeda here are a very diminished presence, coming back, some say.

But certainly the Haqqanis the ones that are drawing the most attention in the past month or so because of these high profile attacks -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much, from Kabul.

The criminal charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn in the United States were dropped. Now he wants the civil suit thrown out. You won't believe what he is claiming to help him get those charges dropped. Our legal guys take on that case after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: Out of 34 wealthy nations, the U.S. ranks 25th in math and 17th in science. So "Sesame Street" is actually trying to do something about that with an initiative called STEM.

Christine Romans met up with one of the show's stars shows to find out what it's all about.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Elmo, what does STEM mean?

ELMO: Oh, that's hard. What does STEM mean?

CAROL-LYNN PARENTE, SESAME STREET EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Well, remember, Elmo, it's science, technology, engineering, and the easy one.

ELMO: Math!

PARENTE: There you go.

ROMANS: Do you like math?

ELMO: Yes, Elmo loves math.

PARENTE: You like math?

ELMO: Yes, because Elmo likes to count.

PARENTE: Well, can you count for me a little?

ELMO: Yes. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.

ROMANS: Is math fun?

ELMO: Yes. Math is a lot of fun because you're counting. You can use it when you're cooking. If you're going to use two eggs or three eggs, stuff like that.

ROMANS: Why is it important to get kids excited about STEM, about science, technology, engineering, and math? And why is "Sesame Street" trying to make this part of the season this year?

PARENTE: Well, as a nation we recognize we're falling behind in these areas. And it has always been "Sesame Street's" tradition to sort of give kids a head start, a leg up. And when you actually boil down the STEM curriculum, right, Elmo, it's perfect for pre-schoolers because it's about asking questions and investigating and experimenting.

ELMO: And experimenting.

PARENTE: Right. And that's how you learn.

ELMO: Experimenting. PARENTE: It's a big word, Elmo.

ROMANS: You've learned some words like I'm told you've learned about "amphibian" and "balance"?

ELMO: Yes, and "ingredient"...

ROMANS: Ingredient.

ELMO: ... and "liquid." Yes.

ROMANS: Why are you learning these words?

ELMO: Because they are really cool words. And it's really fun to learn what they mean.

ROMANS: You also learned "engineer." What's an engineer?

ELMO: Well, that's when you build something. You're an engineer.

ROMANS: So it's "creative."

ELMO: Yes, creative. That's a good word, "creative."

ROMANS: Yes, and not necessarily static numbers and math and tables, but something you're trying to show kids is part of learning and part of life.

PARENTE: It is. It's very physical. STEM is fun. It's physical fun. It's about testing out things. And any questions kids have, we encourage parents not to answer the questions that kids have but explore the answers with their kids together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Dominique Strauss-Kahn said he was going to do and Monday he did. He asked a New York judge to dismiss the civil suit filed against him by a hotel maid. His argument, he had diplomatic immunity.

Our legal guys are back, Avery Friedman in Cleveland, Richard Herman in Las Vegas. OK, gentlemen, so he's arguing he had diplomatic immunity as it pertains to this civil case. Why didn't he make the argument during the criminal phase of it as well, Avery?

FRIEDMAN: Because it doesn't apply. There's no diplomatic immunity. He held a position with International Monetary Fund. That's not a sovereign state. And, again, he's going to advance some very creative arguments. But at the end of the day he's looking for procedural ways to beat the case before the case ultimately has to go to trial.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, Richard, but he and his team are saying, I had diplomatic immunity. Did he? Would he? As the IMF chief at the time, would he have diplomatic immunity if he's on a trip on personal business paying for his hotel with personal money and not IMF money? Help us understand the whole diplomatic immunity, who has it, does he?

HERMAN: Well, his side is arguing he does. And they're saying for United States courts to rely on customary international law, which would grant diplomatic immunity to him. The United States will not grant it to him. And trust me, Fred, if there was any chance of him getting it, I know Ben Brafman, who represented him in the criminal case, and he's an extremely competent attorney, if there was any legitimate shot at diplomatic immunity, that would have been thrown in the criminal case.

It was not used then. It does not exist. But once the jury, if there is a jury, it goes that far, hears her on the phone, the plaintiff now, on the phone, talking to her boyfriend in prison, saying, I know he's a rich guy and I know how to deal with this, don't worry, I'll take care of it...

FRIEDMAN: It's a different issue. It's a different issue.

HERMAN: Once they hear that tape, it's over, it's over.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: So you don't see the civil case moving forward. Well, then, Avery, what about you? I mean, it would seem as though -- or an interpretation could be the defense, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, his attorneys, are kind of grasping at straws trying to figure out how do we make this civil suit go away? And so they bring this up.

FRIEDMAN: Well, sure. I mean, look, we just heard Elmo talking about amphibians. We get this. I mean, he has got to get out of this mess. He's raising procedural issues. He's raising these other issues. But ultimately there are genuine issues of material fact. The jury will have to resolve it if they can't settle it in advance. So nice try, not going to work. That's all.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, let's move onto these SATs. Very good try. They thought it was going to work. It did for a while but now you've got a college student who allegedly took SAT tests for six other students and all of them are facing now criminal charges.

Richard, why is it the school district wouldn't be dealing with something like this? Why is it these are now criminal charges that these students are facing?

HERMAN: Scheme to defraud, criminal impersonation, falsified business records, these are state crimes in the state of New York. That's why it's not staying just in the school district.

The gentleman who did the testing, the Mike Ross-type character from "Suits," who took the bar -- the LSATs for people, this real guy took it for the SATs. And he got all these charges levied at him. So he's going to cut a deal. He's going to tell the government everyone who he sat with. But, you know, Fred, this could very well be the tip of the iceberg, because how many of these standardized tests? Who sits in for these people? How do you stop it? There are medical tests, there are legal, law tests, there are SATs. The stakes are so high. The desire to get into the highest and greatest schools are so great. It's probably the tip of the iceberg.

WHITFIELD: Really, so the tip of the iceberg would mean that there might be others who may have allegedly taken the test for or there may be other students who took him or others allegedly up on the offer.

So, Avery, why would he be able to plea a deal, possibly? Why go ahead and say this is part of a very tiny network or whatever it is, you know, his story might be? Why?

FRIEDMAN: Well, the bottom line is the Nassau County district attorney has done the right thing. There's going to be some kind of deal. The kid has no record. The bottom line, Sam Eshaghoff, who is the one that did it, very smart guy, perfect score is 2400, this guy is nailing 2100, 2200 scores for other people.

But it really makes your blood boil, because we know those who teach, that there are wonderful students, working hard. They may not score as high as we'd like to see on their boards, and they are not getting into those good schools.

ETS that administers it doesn't punish, they say, well, we're going to invalidate the score, you can take it again. That's no deterrent. So you need a deterrent to stop this corruption at this level. Because when you have corrupt young people, Fredricka, they turn into corrupt government officials and corrupt business people. It's the right thing to do.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I guess a better question is not the why, but I just wonder, how would -- on what grounds would he be able to, you know, plead or get some sort of deal? Because if there's some admission, that, yes, I did assist, why would prosecutors say, OK, well, we're going to go easy on you.

I mean, that's assuming that's part of the deal. I guess I'm confused on...

FRIEDMAN: Yes. Well, they want his cooperation. They want to find out who else is involved, how broad this is. Believe me, it is a national problem. So I think it's the smart thing for prosecutors to do. Get a deal, find out who else is involved, reduce the terms.

WHITFIELD: OK. Richard?

HERMAN: Right. It's criminal law 101. The first one in makes the deal and spills the beans and rats out everybody else. When I said it's the tip of the iceberg, I meant, look, number one, we don't know how many other people he sat for and how many years he has been doing it. But take that aside. Forget about New York. There's a whole other 49 other states out there, who knows how many people are doing this?

WHITFIELD: All right. Richard, Avery, thanks so much. Always making us smarter.

HERMAN: Always fun.

FRIEDMAN: You too, appreciate it.

HERMAN: Have a great weekend.

WHITFIELD: All right. And always fun, you too. That's right. I heard that amphibian thing. That was hilarious. Thanks, guys.

All right. What do you get when you take two brown bears from the Bronx Zoo and add two pumpkins? Well, of course, you've got a viral video hit. You're going to see it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. We've got a little viral video a little bit early, Reynolds. When is the last time you've been to the zoo?

WOLF: It has been a while. But you can consider the wolf house where I live like the zoo. You know, three kids, you know?

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's good. I like that. That's cute.

WOLF: Yes, it's a zoo.

WHITFIELD: Well, maybe it's time to go to the Bronx Zoo. Because there are some cute little cuddly bears there. They are putting on quite a show this lovely October. They aren't that cute and cuddly, but I didn't mean in terms of small. But they are cute and cuddly when you see them with the pumpkins that have been tossed into the little pasture for them.

WOLF: Unbelievable. I'm perplexed. That's something that they normally don't have in their native state. Most bears don't have a giant gourd to start gnawing into. But wouldn't you think it would be basically anything you throw in there, they would do the same thing?

It could be, I don't know, I mean, it could be a watermelon, it could be anything at all.

WHITFIELD: That's true. But 'tis the season. They are carving their pumpkins in their own special way.

WOLF: But what do they do during Easter, do they throw in Easter eggs in there? What about...

WHITFIELD: They just might. Well, maybe not. Maybe they throw in some Peeps or something. Not like people peeps but you know the little marshmallow... WOLF: Are you sure about that?

WHITFIELD: I meant the little marshmallow Peeps.

WOLF: OK. Wow.

WHITFIELD: That's cute.

WOLF: It is cute.

WHITFIELD: I like that.

WOLF: It is a beautiful thing to see. Beautiful, this...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: That's when they look cute and cuddly even if they are 300 pounds.

WOLF: Yes. You know, you're talking about the change in seasons here, and that kind of fits into the whole pumpkin thing. It feels like October out there in a lot of places.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's fall now. Time to put away the sandals.

WOLF: Hey, let me show you something else, before we go away, Fred, take a look at this. And the rest of the viewers tuning in across the country. Take a look. You see (INAUDIBLE) parts of Pennsylvania even into New York, even portions of West Virginia and Maryland, we're seeing not only some rain, also seeing a little bit of pink pop up on radar, talking about freezing precipitation, some freezing air aloft.

We're not expecting any significant accumulation. But still kind of interesting to see. What is not interesting is the possibility of two to three inches of rainfall in parts of New York and into Pennsylvania. We don't need that to happen.

Looks like it might happen through the weekend. So any places that have been inundated by heavy rainfall over the last month, and trust me, there has been quite a bit of it, we might see a flooding situation. So keep that in mind.

Our friends tuning in from Pittsburgh, from State College back to Altoona, be advised, we could see that rain through the weekend. One of the reasons why we're going to see it, very quickly, this area of low pressure pulling in that moisture off the Atlantic, that cold air aloft, that's going to give that mix (INAUDIBLE) that gave you some of that freezing precipitation.

Sunny and warm out towards the west, and nice and warm for you in Texas. Highs in places like Billings, Fredricka, going up to 90 degrees today. Doesn't seem too fall-like there.

WHITFIELD: No, that doesn't same fair.

WOLF: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: I'm sure it will change. All right. Thanks, Reynolds.

WOLF: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right. Five military veterans are still serving their country one joke at a time. Their story when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Keeping your sense of humor in a war zone is not easy, but a group of GIs did it by find the funny side of their military duties. Here is CNN's Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAFF SGT. THOM TRAN, U.S. ARMY (RET.): I used to get in trouble so much I thought, "(expletive deleted), Private," was a rank, because every time I heard my name, it was like, "(expletive deleted), Private!"

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the "GIs of Comedy." All veterans. And as they like to say, still serving the country one joke at a time.

We sat down to talk at the famed Hollywood Improv Club where they have performed. Former Staff Sergeant Thom Tran started the standup comedy group.

TRAN: I wanted to get a group of guys together who are all comics, who are all professional comedians, who are all from the military or served in the military.

STARR: Meet the man known as G.

G REILLY, FMR. NAVY SIGNALMAN SECOND CLASS: This is bring-a- bouncer-get-in-free night?

G, no period, last name Reilly, R-E-I-L-L-Y, signalman second class.

STARR: Now fulltime comedians sharing the laughter born of observations of military life.

TOM IRWIN, FMR. PFC, U.S. ARMY: My first sergeant pulled me out of formation one day and sent me for psychiatric evaluation because he said that you never stop laughing, you don't take anything seriously and there's something wrong with you, boy. So tests were inconclusive.

STARR: Air Force Major Jose Sarduy saw some of the oddities in Iraq.

MAJ. JOSE SARDUY, U.S. AIR FORCE RESERVES: We would land. And I'm a cargo guy. So I would land, I'd be like, wow, it sucks here. All right. We'll see you guys.

(LAUGHTER)

STARR: All the guys say they saw the world somewhat differently even as children.

SARDUY: I came from a very funny family. We were deported from Cuba. As a kid my dad was...

TRAN: Deported from Cuba.

(LAUGHTER)

SARDUY: That's right. That's right.

My dad was a political prisoner. He protested communism. He went to jail.

TRAN: I know what you're thinking to yourself, you're thinking, there are 6 billion Chinese on the planet, I've never seen one with a guitar.

STARR: Thom's family were refugees from Vietnam. His father was a political prisoner. But one day in Iraq the laughter stopped.

TRAN: I got shot in the back of the head. I remember thinking, damn it, this uniform was clean this morning, now there's blood on it, I haven't taken a shower in three weeks, this is going to suck.

STARR: Thom stayed in Iraq and suppressed it all.

TRAN: And all that fear and anxiety built up until I came home and I snapped. And the PTSD set in like -- my roommate got killed before I came home. So comedy saved my life quite literally. Kevlar, helmet, whatever, comedy saved my life.

STARR: And now, a brotherhood of tears and laughter.

REILLY: We're beyond friends. We're brothers.

STARR: Barbara Starr, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Texas Governor Rick Perry is making the rounds in New Hampshire today. This is Perry speaking at an economic forum in Hampton this morning. But he may have less time than he thinks to campaign there. Election officials are frustrated by Florida's move to bump up its primary election to January 31st. Now they are considering moving New Hampshire's primary to December.

And it's October, and believe it or not, you need to start preparing your holiday budget. Karen Lee joins us at 2:00 Eastern time to help us start. And at 3:00, Dr. Bill Lloyd shows us how your birth order can impact your health and career. That's coming up later.