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Second American Also Killed in Yemen; Report: Top Al-Qaeda Bombmaker May Be Dead; President Obama to Address Gay Activists; Obama to Address Gay Activists; Gay Advocates Disappointed Obama Hasn't Supported Same-Sex Marriage; E.R. Doctor Testifies in Michael Jackson Case; Christmas Day Bomber Fires Lawyers

Aired October 01, 2011 - 17:00   ET

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

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there. I'm Susan Hendricks at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Don Lemon is off tonight. Want to get you caught up in the latest headlines. We start with this. The U.S. government believe that's killing of a high-level Al Qaeda leader in Yemen could provoke revenge attacks against Americans. A CIA drone attack is credited with killing American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and several others. The FBI and the State Department are warning the killing could insight anti-American attacks inside the U.S. and around the world, too. A government official says al-Awlaki has been under surveillance in Yemen for two weeks when the opportunity arose to kill him with a missile.

Three others were killed in an attack on al-Awlaki. It's believed one of them may be explosives expert Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri. A U.S. official says, there are indications he was on the scene at time. Al- Asiri is suspected of making the so-called underwear bomb that was worn by a Nigerian man on a flight to Detroit on Christmas day 2009. He is also believed to have been behind the failed plot to place bombs disguised as printer cartridges to board airliners last October. You may remember that.

Another American was among those killed in Friday's drone strike. Samir Khan was considered vital to al Qaeda's propaganda efforts and produced an online English language magazine called "Inspire." Khan used to live in Charlotte, North Carolina at one point.

Molly Grantham of our affiliate WBTV spoken with people who knew him and asked how she was able to track down Khan last November but the federal government could not.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MOLLY GRANTHAM, WBTV (voice-over): We started off by ringing the door bell of Samir Khan's parents' house. No answer. So we talked with Jibril Hough, he's the spokes person for the family.

JIBRIL HOUGH, FAMILY FRIEND: As you can imagine, if it was your child, a number of emotions, embarrassed. Frustrated.

GRANTHAM: Jibril says, the ideology that Samir promoted and brought about was wrong. He says, Samir was dangerous but he won't take the next step. (on camera) Was Samir a terrorist?

HOUGH: That's a good question. He definitely was a terrorist supporter.

GRANTHAM: But you wouldn't say he was a terrorist?

HOUGH: Did he actually commit an act of terror? You know, I don't think it's ever been proven that he has.

GRANTHAM: Would propaganda, would the words he used against people online, would that not be considered an act of terror?

HOUGH: I don't know, because he was doing the same thing while he was here.

GRANTHAM: So he was backyard terrorist here?

HOUGH: If he was that while he was here, I would say he should have been arrested and tried for that.

GRANTHAM (voice-over): The federal government might agree with him on that one. At one point Khan was listed as the number two guy in al Qaeda when it came to propaganda. Last year, a U.S. Representative Sue Myrick said, she couldn't believe we could track him down yet they couldn't.

If he is the number two guy, how did federal intelligence let him get away? Move from Charlotte, hop a plane, go to Yemen when I can find him in a parking lot.

SUE MYRICK, U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: I know, Molly. It's crazy. And that's the thing -- those are the questions I'm asking right now.

GRANTHAM: Jibril says, he tried to council Samir years ago, as did other Muslim Americans in the Charlotte community, including Samir's own father. It didn't work. Even so, Jibril says, this is not a day to celebrate.

(on camera) There are some Americans who has said, this is a huge day to rejoice, because he was dangerous, he was a terrorist, and now he was taken out along with Anwar al-Awlaki.

HOUGH: Yes, but I'm not one who rejoices in the loss of a human life, regardless if they had it coming or not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: Molly Grantham having really some great questions there. Thanks to her. She is from affiliate WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Drone attacks meanwhile have been a game changer in the war on terrorism. CNN international correspondent Nic Robertson filed this story two years ago about how a drone or UAV can deliver a kill shot even though the person pulling the trigger is thousands of miles away. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Watch these two men in Iraq. They have no idea they're being hunted by a deadly UAV. It is following their every move, even recording them fire their weapons.

They have no idea their insurgent activities have been spotted and no idea the UAV operator thousands of miles away is about to fire a missile at them. It's what makes UAVs or drones a must-have for the US military.

DAVID DEPTULA, GENERAL, US AIR FORCE: The real advantage of unmanned aerial systems is they allow you to project power without projecting vulnerability.

ROBERTSON: This is Creech Air Force Base, where drone pilots remotely fly missions over Iraq and Afghanistan. These pilots saw a surge in mission requests from front line commanders after weapons were first installed on drones.

CHRIS CHAMBLISS, COLONEL, CREECH AIR FORCE BASE: When we put Hellfire missiles on a Predator, now you've got these airplanes that are capable not only of providing the pictures, the full-motion video that you need, but now they're also capable of taking out targets where there may not be any other assets available.

ROBERTSON: An estimated 40 or more countries, including China, Russia, and Pakistan, are also developing drones. Even Hezbollah, the Lebanese-based political party and paramilitary group, has used them against Israel.

No one feels the urgency of staying ahead of the competition more than the personnel at Creech Air Force Base.

CHAMBLISS: Right now, we're hanging onto everybody in this system. We've mobilized the Air National Guard, mobilized reservists. If you are assigned to Creech, right now, we don't allow you to move out.

ROBERTSON: Already, commanders are considering ways to cut out pilots altogether.

DEPTULA: We're looking at a future where we can program unmanned aerial vehicles to operate autonomously and within groups among themselves.

ROBERTSON (on camera): With weapons?

DEPTULA: With weapons or without weapons.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Unimaginable a few years ago, new weapons appear destined to work with less and less human input.

PETER SINGER, AUTHOR, "WIRED FOR WAR": There's nothing that is a technologic barrier to using armed autonomous systems. And there's -- we think about it as a never-ever-ever thing, and yet, it's not the technology that's holding us back. It's trying to figure out the applications of it.

ROBERTSON (on camera): Unmanned technology is here to stay. Wars will never be the same again. If ever there's a moment to borrow a line from a science fiction movie, now is it. Mankind is "boldly and irreversibly going where man has never been before," towards an uncharted era of warfare.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Creech Air Force Base, Nevada.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENDRICKS: Now, killing al-Awlaki and Khan, American citizens, has sticky ethical ramifications you could say for the White House, but the death of Hassan al-Asiri could be consider an unequivocal success. Al-Asiri as we mentioned is a top bomb maker for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

I want to bring in our Athena Jones standing by live for us in Washington. And Athena, first, we want to talk about who is al-Asiri and what would his death mean for al Qaeda as a whole. What does it mean?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you mentioned, this could be a big success for the U.S. If he is, in fact, dead. We spoke with a U.S. official earlier today who said that by all indication -- there are indications that he was on the scene. But they just don't know yet whether he was, in fact, killed. That backs up with some of the other things we have been hearing from a Yemeni official who said that operatives who were killed in that attack have not yet been identified. But if he was killed, it's important because of his technical capabilities. He was said to be the top bomb maker for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and so, his loss would be a big blow. He was behind that thwarted Christmas Day bombing when the underwear bomber tried to blow up that plane headed into Detroit back in 2009. He was also behind a plot later on in late of 2010 to put explosives on printer cartridges and put them on cargo planes headed into the U.S. And so, if he is in fact dead, this will be a big blow to them -- Susan.

HENDRICKS: Athena, you bring up some great points, something that we all remember. And it certainly changed the way security is at airports. Are we hearing anything about the White House and are they reacting to the drone attacks that reportedly took these men out, if, in fact, they did.

JONES: Well, certainly we know that Anwar al-Awlaki was killed. And the president spoke about that yesterday. He said, the death of al- Awlaki is a major blow to al Qaeda's most active operational affiliate. As you know, AQAP was behind these big attempts that we have heard of lately. And so, killing al-Awlaki is a big blow to them. He said it marks another significant milestone in the broader effort to defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates. So, we have that larger reaction. We have not had a reaction about people like al-Asiri because again, we are still trying to -- they're still looking into what happened regarding him.

HENDRICKS: Switching gears a bit, let's talk about President Obama, what he's doing tonight. The president has said right now, as of now, that he supports civil unions, but not same-sex marriage. And tonight, he is addressing thousands on that topic.

JONES: Well, that's right. He's going to a dinner, the human rights campaign. It's their 15th annual national dinner. There will be several thousands of people there. Nearly 3,000. We expect it to be a pretty, good reception for him. The human rights campaign endorsed his re-election a couple months ago. And they don't expect to hear him make any news on the marriage topic. We've heard from the president that he is evolving on that topic. But I wouldn't expect any big announcements today. You probably can expect to hear the president tick through some of his accomplishments. Namely for instance, the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

But I expect it to be a pretty positive reception there from a lot of supporters at the human rights campaign. Of course, there are other groups, the Log Cabin Republicans and other groups called Firm Demiri (ph) who say, the Log Cabin Republicans say, hey, this is basically just a big rally. And they want to see the president come out more firmly in support of gay marriage. And also the people from Firm Demiri (ph) want him to do the same thing.

HENDRICKS: Yes. And the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," certainly I could see getting standing ovation tonight. Athena Jones, thank you. I appreciate it.

JONES: Thank you.

HENDRICKS: CNN will bring you the president's speech tonight, that's live around 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

All right. Imagine having to face a judge because you failed to predict this earthquake that killed hundreds of people. Well, it is happening to a half dozen scientists. That story after the break. Also American student Amanda Knox may learn this Monday, this Monday whether she will be free from a prison in Italy. Her parents have been waiting for years. It is a murder case that has drawn international attention. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Welcome back. Checking some headlines from around the world. Amanda Knox could learn her fate as soon as Monday in a murder case that has drawn international attention. You may remember her. The American student, she is appealing her murder conviction in Italy. There she is. She was found guilty two years ago of killing her roommate brutally, Meredith Kercher and sentenced to 26 years in prison. Her lawyers say, she's innocent. Prosecutors say, Amanda Knox and a former boyfriend are killers and their conviction should stand. Her mom, Amanda's mom said, she has hope but is not celebrating just yet.

The trial of seven people accused of manslaughter in Italy in connection with the 2009 earthquake has been delayed to the middle of the month. The defendants were members of a government panel that met on March 31, 2009 to address concerns about recent seismic activity. They are accused of giving quote, "As rough generic and ineffective assessment of seismic risk." One week later a quake struck that killed more than 300 people. So, now they're paying for it. A city near the epicenter is also asking for $68 million in damages.

Thousands of civilians are fleeing the fierce battles near Sirte, Libya. Groups are trying to deliver desperately-needed supplies to the city without luck. A Red Cross boat had to turn away from Sirte because of the violence. Some 5,000 fighters, local to former leader Moammar Gadhafi are thought to still be in the city loyal to them. Sirte is Gadhafi's hometown and one of the last places held by his supporters.

All right. We are switching gears a bit. Imagine this -- a marriage with an expiration date. Almost like leasing a car. A bill in Mexico City would allow engaged couples to decide how long their marriage will last. More traditional couples can choose until death do us part for their contract. Those who don't want to be tied down can pick as few as two years. The bill is designed to solve the problem of painful and costly divorces by letting marriages end easily. The Catholic Church, as you can imagine, they are not for it. They call it absurd.

Next, a tear jerker to put it mildly at a Texas Rangers baseball game. We'll explain after the break. But first.

In a recent international test, 15-year-olds in the U.S. ranked 25th in Math and 17th in Science out of 34 wealthy nations. Not so good. China had the top scores, but South Korea, Japan and Finland were among others topping the U.S. "Sesame Street" has made a goal of getting kids learning about these topics called STEM.

Christine Romans met with one of the show's stars and producers to find out what it's all about, including Elmo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Elmo what does STEM means?

ELMO: That's hard. What does STEM means?

CAROL LYNN PARENTE, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "SESAME STREET": Well, remember Elmo, it's Science, Technology, Engineering and the M is the easy one.

ELMO: Math.

PARENTE: There you go.

ROMANS: Do you like Math?

ELMO: Yes. Elmo loves Math.

ROMANS: You love Math?

ELMO: Yes. Because Elmo likes to count.

ROMANS: Can you count for me a little bit?

ELMO: 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 fun because you add this. 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, Math? And why is "Sesame Street" trying to make this part of the season this year?

PARENTE: As a nation, we realize we're falling behind these areas. It's 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 preschoolers because it's about asking questions and investigating and experimenting.

ELMO: Experimenting.

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

ELMO: Experimenting.

PARENTE: It's a big word, Elmo.

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

ELMO: And ingredient.

ROMANS: Ingredient.

ELMO: And liquid. Yes.

ROMANS: Why are you learning these words?

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

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

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

ROMANS: So it's creative.

ELMO: Yes. Creating.

ROMANS: Yes. 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 VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: Who does not love Elmo? This generation of preschoolers may thank Elmo and his friends in adulthood. Demand for STEM jobs is expected to grow by 17 percent by 2018. For more info about STEM and other high-growth job sectors, you can check out Christine's book "Smart is the New Rich." Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Welcome back. There were a lot of tears at the Texas Rangers baseball game. And it was not because of the score. It is so sad. The tears were at the start of Friday's playoff game when the 6- year-old son of Rangers fan Shannon Stone threw out the first pitch. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch for game one of the...

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: It was the first time Cooper Stone had been back to the Rangers ballpark since his dad fell out of the stands trying to catch a ball for his son. That is Cooper Stone. Look at the hugs. That was his dad. The 20-foot drop killed the firefighter. You have to wonder, is this the right time for the boy to return to the place where he lost so much. He lost his dad.

Joining me now is Dr. Wendy Walsh, human behavior expert, co-host on "The Doctors" now and a friend to me. Wendy, this story is so sad and Shannon Stone died in July. What I would think, and this is my opinion, not being an expert as you are, that maybe this will bring some closure to Cooper in terms of losing some of the guilt that it wasn't this little boy's fault. What do you think?

WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: You know, as traumatic as it might be to throw out that pitch and go to the stadium again, the time to do it is when he's young, before he's developed years of fears or anxiety or a kind of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder around, you know, stadiums, groups of people, et cetera. So, I'm sure his family has worked closely with therapists to help him through the grieving process and this is sort of a final stage of desensitization if you will. Traumatic, yes, but the time to do it is now, not when he's 35.

HENDRICKS: And I can't imagine the guilt from the baseball player who threw up the pitch to the dad. This is just a tragic accident that occurred. And there it is. Look at that hug. Brings tears to my eyes. It's so sad. But I think that you're right, that it is a good time now before he gets too old, the little boy.

WALSH: Exactly. To prevent him from developing fears around stadiums, around groups of people. Around cheering crowds, all those kinds of things that could be debilitating as an adult.

HENDRICKS: All right. From great behavior Wendy to rude behavior we're talking about. I think our viewers have all seen bad customer service out there. Some even put their experience on YouTube, watching this clothing store clerk. Now, a new study from a Georgetown and USC finds one-third of people surveyed experience rude behavior. Let's take a look at it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED CUSTOMER: How do you figure? Aren't you supposed to try them on so you know you get the right size?

SALES MANAGER: One of each color?

UNIDENTIFIED CUSTOMER: Yes.

SALES MANAGER: Have you shoplifted before?

(INAUDIBLE)

That's not the question I asked.

UNIDENTIFIED CUSTOMER: I'm asking the question.

UNIDENTIFIED CUSTOMER: This one's got a little bit of sass.

UNIDENTIFIED CUSTOMER: Is this how you treat all your customers?

SALES MANAGER: Just you, buddy. I'll have you know that I'm the manager (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED CUSTOMER: I'll be back tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: All right. Wendy, I know that everyone has a bad day. It is true. We should try not to take it out on other people. Should you say something on the spot if you're in a store? Should you just kind of hold it in and leave the store? What do you think?

WALSH: No, you absolutely should say something, because at the corporate level, companies need to know why certain stores are losing money and not being as productive. And sometimes it's because there are these toxic employees at different stages. But we've become sort of casual culture any way. You know, in casual attire, in casual language. I think the only place where you get first class service now is still sort of those five-class hotel industries that even teach them the language. My pleasure, right this way. May I help you? But I think we have to get back to that if we're hoping to get the business we want and grow this company.

HENDRICKS: The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, I believe, even has a whole schooling on how to treat people. But even in a dental office, they could be rude to you and people won't go back because of it. A good friend of mine said, I'm not going back there. They're mean to me.

WALSH: Yes.

HENDRICKS: Let's take a look at this now...

WALSH: You've got to vote with your checkbook.

HENDRICKS: Exactly. Vote with your checkbook. Good point. We're going to talk about this. It is baffling. A new phone app called is my son gay. Twenty questions get you to answer questions like, does he like football? Does he take a long time do his hair? Does he like musical comedies? The French developer says, it's meant to be funny. It's not funny. Those are my words. What is your take on this one, Wendy?

WALSH: Well, we have to remember that all comedy is tragedy viewed from across the street. And it depends on how wide that street is for you to find the humor in it or not. The problem I see with this is, you know, this subject matter is highly sensitive here in America, especially right now with so many young teen suicides taking place. Look, besides this, it's not even psychologically based and it doesn't test for the right things, and it's full of stereotypes. If anything it might vaguely test for if somebody is sort of a more feminine male, but that has nothing to do with sexual orientation. So, that's the problem. They are lumping gender role right in there with sexual orientation. And with some light questions that really don't have any psychological base.

HENDRICKS: Exactly. At the end of the day, if you take too long do your hair, you don't like football, so be it. What shall be, shall be.

WALSH: Exactly.

HENDRICKS: Wendy Walsh, always great to see you. Thanks.

WALSH: Good to see you.

HENDRICKS: The U.S. issues a new security warning following a drone attack that killed a top al Qaeda leader. That and more top stories are next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: I'm Susan Hendricks. Checking the headlines for you now, the U.S. government believes the killing of a high al Qaeda leader in Yemen could provoke revenge attacks against Americans. A CIA drone attack is credited for its killing America born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and several others on Friday. The FBI and the State Department are warning the killing could incite anti-American attacks inside the U.S. and around the world.

In just about two hours, President Barack Obama will appear before thousands of gay activists. He is giving the keynote speech at tonight's Human Rights campaign dinner. President Obama is coming off a major victory for gay rights with the repeal of the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell, going into effect less than two weeks ago. But many advocates are disappointed that he hasn't supported same-sex marriage. We'll carry his speech live at 7:00 p.m. eastern on CNN.

The case of two missing people in California has been solved by a family who took matters into their own hands. The children of 68- year-old David Lavau found him 200 feet down a ravine on Thursday in the national forest. Lavau had crashed his car last week. When they had not heard from him for five days, they searched themselves, for a detective, and helped him pinpoint Lavau's last cell signal. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA LAVAU, CRASH VICTIM'S DAUGHTER: We stopped at every ravine and looked over every hill. And then my brother got out of the car and we kept scream, and the next thing we heard dad say, help, help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: They found him. Lavau is recovering in a hospital. He ended up near another wrecked car with a dead man inside. Authorities believe the body to be an 88-year-old Melvin Gelfand, the guy who died next to him, in the car next to him.

New images of Casey Anthony from the moment she learned remains had been found in the search for her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. If you look closely, you can see she's literally bent over in pain, crying. The security video is from a county jail medical facility back in 2008. It shows Casey Anthony hunched over, rocking back and forth after seeing the news on TV. About a week later, the remains were identified as her daughter, Caylee. Anthony's attorneys had this video sealed for trial, claiming it was inflammatory, but a judge overturned that ruling on Friday, clearing the way for the release now. That's why you're seeing it.

It's the first day of October, today, and you can feel it across much of the country. We like it, right? Some cooler weather is hitting the east.

Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras joins me now.

We know how hot this summer was and how wet in the northeast. They don't need more rain.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They don't. They've got it.

HENDRICKS: And you have video of Chicago as well you want to show.

JERAS: Oh, yes. Let's start there. Incredible pictures, if you have not seen this yet. There's some big waves on Lake Michigan yesterday. We've had this upper level low-pressure system, so those winds were over the lake. And there were joggers --

(LAUGHTER)

-- who got caught up in it. People were actually injured. Nothing seriously, from what I understand. They tried to block off this whole area off the lake shore, but people either didn't get the message or ignored them, and went for a jog any way. Look at that. He goes right into the waves. They knock him back down. Those winds were gusting as strong as 50 miles per hour. And some of the wave heights were over 12 feet, so some incredible conditions on Lake Michigan there yesterday.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HENDRICKS: Love the fall weather. And if you want an excuse in Chicago to not run, to not to exercise, you have it.

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: There you go.

HENDRICKS: I'm scared of the waves. I can't do it.

JERAS: No waves.

(LAUGHTER)

HENDRICKS: All right, Jacqui, good to see you. Thanks.

JERAS: Sure.

HENDRICKS: The president attends the Human Rights campaign dinner in less than two hours from now. Congresswoman Betty McCollum will also be there. She has been an outspoken advocate for gay rights, which is tonight's theme, as you know. We will talk to her and to see what she expects from the president. Looking forward to that. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Less than two weeks ago, the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy was wiped off the books. Expect President Barack Obama to hit that detail hard when he appears tonight in front of thousands of gay and lesbian activists in about two hours from now. We'll be covering it. The president is the keynote speaker at tonight's Human Rights campaign dinner in Washington.

Minnesota Congresswoman Betty McCollum will be in attendance. She's a Democrat, an outspoken advocate for gay rights. She joins us now.

Congresswoman, it's an honor to speak with you. Thanks for taking the time.

REP, BETTY MCCOLLUM, (D), MINNESOTA: Thank you for covering this speech. It's very important tonight.

HENDRICKS: We're very excited about it. We'll be following it. The president got Don't Ask, Don't Tell repealed, which is huge, but he doesn't say that he supports gay marriage, you could put it. Even Governor Chris Christie, from my home state, recently told Piers Morgan, he says, I support civil unions. By the way, he says he's not in the running for president. But it seems the P.C. thing to say, to say, yes, I support civil unions. But they won't take that extra step to say they support gay marriage. Do you think it's time President Barack Obama does that?

MCCOLLUM: The president will certainly speak for himself. But I was very pleased at his strong support in making sure that our military men and women can all serve proudly, freely, and with great equality in the military. So I'm very pleased with that. And then the work that work that President Obama is doing with our attorney general, Eric Holder, in making sure that those parts of DOMA, which are offensive and unconstitutional, that the federal government will not be part and party in supporting unconstitutional actions against our citizens. So President Obama has taken a lot of positive steps forward. And I know that there are many to see. As he says, he's opinions have all been on the issue of gay marriage, and see where he comes out of it. But I'll have to let the president speak for himself. I've not had a conversation about this.

HENDRICKS: Repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell is certainly huge for so many people, not only the military, but military supporters as well, and family members. Do you believe that gay rights supporters are expecting too much too fast from President Obama? That has been something that I have heard in the past, that they're expecting too much too soon.

MCCOLLUM: In the gay rights community and those of us who support gay, there are many people who would like to see action move quicker. There's others who feel that positive steps have been taken forward. They're watching public opinion change on this. And as more states move forward affirmatively allowing gay marriage as part of -- you know, of a civil ceremony of marriage, we will have to see what other states do in the future with that. I think we're seeing more and more states move towards full equality for loving partners.

HENDRICKS: Which is a good thing. And you recently signed a letter to the IRS to give better guidance to same-sex couples when they file their taxes. Do you think President Obama will touch on that tonight at all?

MCCOLLUM: I don't know. I would like to hear what we will do with the IRS as we have states and the District of Columbia that recognize gay couples in union of marriage. We need to make sure that they're not discriminated against in the tax code federally. So there's a lot of confusion out there. And I would look towards the president's leadership in helping to straighten all that confusion out.

HENDRICKS: Congresswoman Betty McCollum, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it. We'll be following it, as I'm sure, you will be too.

The president's speech, 7:20 p.m. eastern time.

Thanks again. Appreciate it.

MCCOLLUM: You're welcome.

HENDRICKS: Coming up after the break, Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks with "American Idol" finalist, Casey Abrams, about the severe mental condition -- you may not have known this -- that threatened his career. We'll tell you about it. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENDRICKS: Each week Dr. Sanjay Gupta profiles an extraordinary individual in a segment we call the "Human Factor." Today, we meet Casey Abrams, one of the top-six contestants on this past season of "American Idol." Casey says his medical struggles almost stopped his musical career before it started.

(HUMAN FACTOR)

HENDRICKS: Maybe some acting. Maybe we'll see him in the future.

Our thanks to Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Coming up, when we come back, we will examine high-profile legal cases making news, including the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray, accused of killing Michael Jackson with a lethal dose of drugs, Propofol.

Back in two minutes.

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HENDRICKS: The E.R. doctor who pronounced Michael Jackson dead testified the pop superstar had signs of a dying heart and was clinically dead on arrival. It's been said that he flat-lined at the home where he was staying.

Ted Rowlands has a recap of all the drama of week one, and a look ahead of week two of Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial.

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TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Week two of the trial will likely be picking up right where week one left off. Remember, on Friday we heard from the paramedics that reported to Michael Jackson's house after the 911 call was made. The paramedics told the jury that, when they arrived, Michael Jackson was cold to the touch and that never throughout their resuscitation process, did they ever feel a pulse or see one on the heart monitor. But, of course, the most damning evidence against Murray from the paramedics is that they asked him what drugs were in Jackson's body and Murray never mentioned Propofol.

We started to hear from one of the emergency room doctors at UCLA on Friday. We'll extend that testimony starting early next week. And the doctors at UCLA are going to tell much the same story as the paramedics, that they, too, asked Murray what was in Jackson's body. And, again, no mention of Propofol at all. We'll also likely start to hear from the detectives that were assigned to the case. They will determine -- or detail to the jury their investigation throughout this. They've been sitting in the courtroom throughout the week. Jurors are starting to get to know them because they've been referred to a couple times by the attorneys. Well now, they'll really get to know them because they'll be on the stand for quite some time.

And then, later in the week, we may hear from two of Dr. Murray's girlfriends. One of the girlfriends lives here in the Los Angeles area. That was the apartment that Dr. Murray was sending the drugs to throughout this. We'll hear from her likely. And then we'll hear from the other girlfriend in Houston, Texas. This was the woman that Dr. Murray was on the phone with when he realized that Michael Jackson was in trouble.

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HENDRICKS: All right, our thanks to Ted Rowlands there in Los Angeles.

Testimony resumes on Monday. We will be there. We'll bring you all the highlights.

We want to bring in legal analyst, Holly Hughes. She has been following this. She is a criminal defense attorney and a former prosecutor.

Holly, yesterday, on the stand, was Richard Senace (ph). He was a paramedic, firefighter, 20-plus years. He was there on the scene right after. He said that Michael Jackson was extremely thin. He says this guy has an I.V. in him. And he says to Dr. Conrad Murray, what's wrong with him? Oh, nothing. Nothing. All I gave him was a sedative. There is nothing wrong. So they tried, of course, to revive him, being a paramedic. And he said there was a flat line. So how damaging is that testimony?

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY & FORMER PROSECUTOR: This is so bad. It goes to what we cal consciousness to guilt, Susan. And when you remember, listening to that paramedic testify, the first thing he said was, this man is cold to the touch. When did this happen? And the doctor says to him, it just happened, just now. And he says, I'm thinking in my head, that does not add up. Then he says, what did you give him? Nothing. He says nothing at first. Then the paramedic says, no, really, what did you give him? Oh, just a little sedative. He says, that's not making sense because I'm looking at the floor and there's lidocaine vials everywhere. So he says to him, he's passed away. He's dead. And at this point, Conrad Murray becomes insistent, no, he's not. You have to attempt resuscitative measures. You have to take him out of here. From a legal standpoint that, is so damaging, because what the prosecution is going to point out in their closing is he did not want Michael Jackson declared dead in that bedroom because, you know what would have happened, Susan? They would have left the body there, closed off that scene. The medical examiner would have come to the house. We would have had photographs of that poor man dead in his bed. We would have seen all of the evidence littered about the floor. And there would have been no cleanup of the crime scene because it would have been roped off.

HENDRICKS: Right. And by the way, no mention of Propofol, by the way, ever, by the way, in that room.

HUGHES: Ever.

HENDRICKS: Ever, at all.

All right, Holly Hughes, so much information.

After the break, we're going to talk about the so-called underwear bomber about to go on trial. Guess what? He's his own attorney. Holly Hughes will talk about this one with me. Stay with us.

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HENDRICKS: We're joined again by legal analyst, Holly Hughes.

The death of al Qaeda leader, Anwar al Awlaki, is considered a major blow to the terrorist organization. Among other things, he is credited with masterminding the failed Christmas day attack we have come to know as the underwear bomber. Umar Farouk Abdulmetallab goes on trial in Detroit, October 11th, I believe it begins. He's fired his lawyers, plans to represent himself.

What is he thinking here? We've heard this in the past. It always seems to backfire, Holly.

HUGHES: Absolutely. There's a reason the old cliche has survived, that he who represents himself has a fool for a client. In this case, a fool for a lawyer. The problem with these types of folks is their ego is so massive, they think they can convince everybody their point is right. We saw it with Warren Jeffs in the trial. He was not going to let somebody else speak for him. These men feel that they are empowered by some kind of religious authority. So between their religious zeal and their egos, they get themselves in trouble, Susan, because they don't know the procedures. They don't know the rules of evidence. They don't know what can be done in the courtroom and what can't. They end up frustrating the jury, frustrating the judge. And it just turns into a circus-like atmosphere. Remember, Warren Jeffs just sitting there silent, I'm not going to speak.

HENDRICKS: Each lawyer gets a certain amount of time. He took every minute. Most -- he spoke for one minute. The rest he just sat there in silence. The judge was very smart because the judge didn't want this coming back and gave him every second allowed to by law.

HUGHES: Absolutely. They have a right to represent themselves. Now every smart judge we see -- and it's happening here -- will appoint a real attorney who's, you know, actually a member of the bar to sit there and to assist them so that they don't get in horrible trouble and, again, so that their rights are protected. Because most folks who want to represent themselves don't even know what rights they have. Therefore, they trample on the procedure, trample on the process. But a judge has to be really, really careful here and the prosecutor has to be careful. It is very hard up against a per se defendant.

HENDRICKS: And, Holly, I know, as an attorney, you try your best to give the best advice. But some people just don't listen to that advice. Again, this trial of the so-called underwear bomber starts on October 11th. We'll be following it.

Holly Hughes, as always, great advice. Great information for us to decipher through all of the cases. Thank you so much.

HUGHES: Thanks, Susan.

HENDRICKS: I'm Susan Hendricks at the CNN center in Atlanta. "The Situation Room" begins right now. Stay with us.