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Amanda Knox Heads Home; Knox Case Sparks Global Interest; Christie on Verge of Decision; Perry Falls in New Poll; Michael Jackson Death Trial; Governor Christie Speaks at 1:00 PM ET; Study: Healthy Diet, Fewer Birth Defects; Red Tide off California Coast

Aired October 04, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Christine. Thanks, Ali. And good morning to all of you.

She spent nearly four years in an Italian prison. Now Amanda Knox is going to spend a few hours on a plane and then finally go home. This story spans three countries. CNN is in all of them. Matthew Chance in Italy where Knox's murder conviction was overturned. Sandra Endo is in Seattle, Knox's hometown. And Zain Verjee is in London, the victim, Meredith Kercher was British.

Amanda Knox, as we say, now on a plane headed back to Seattle. A place she has not been in four years.

CNN's Matthew Chance is in Perugia, Italy, where this story begins.

And Matthew, tell us about her last few hours there in Italy.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, she was released, of course, from custody late last night. She was very happy when you saw those pictures of her in the court. She was crying, in fact, she was so happy. Almost hysterical as she was let out of the court. She could barely walk when she was down there.

Afterwards she was reunited with her family outside the prison. They drove away to an undisclosed location, we believe it was a villa somewhere close to Rome. Since then she's been making her way back home to her hometown, back to Seattle where she said she wanted to go. She said she can pick up the pieces of her shattered life.

She's been photographed in Rome's airport as far as we know. We don't know which plane she's gone back but there's word that she's flying back to Seattle via London, although that's not been confirmed to us as yet. It's just news agency reports saying that. But clearly, she's doing everything she can to get back to the States as soon as possible -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: And Matthew, despite all the excitement over her departure, it is still possible that prosecutors can appeal this and they have said they plan to do so, right?

CHANCE: Well, not just possible, but it's likely that they'll do that. In fact, they said they will do it. The prosecutors are going to go to the Supreme Court of Italy to get the judges there to review the findings of this appeal court.

What that will mean in real -- theoretically, that means that, you know, if Amanda Knox is recalled or is found guilty by the Supreme Court that could mean this extradition proceedings against her in the United States in theory. In practice what people are saying here, legal experts, others associated with the cases, is that's not likely to happen. But it remains, obviously, a possibility.

SAVIDGE: Matthew Chance in Perugia, thanks very much.

Let's move on now to where Knox is headed. That's her home in Seattle. CNN's Sandra Endo is there.

And Sandra, what kind of homecoming is planned for her?

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Marty, the much anticipation arrival of Amanda Knox is expected to be around 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time here in Seattle. She is finally coming home after spending four years in an Italian prison. And you can see the headlines splashed across the "Seattle Times" this morning. "Nightmare is over, Knox coming home."

Now we're expecting once the plane touches down here in Seattle for the family lawyer and her parents to make a statement to the media. Now whether or not Amanda herself addresses reporters and the media that is a decision we understand she'll be making on the plane ride over here.

So it's unclear as of right now if we'll hear from her, herself. We do understand from family members, though, that after this they really want her to stay out of the spotlight. Stay away from the media and really spend time with the family to regroup, to reconnect and also get her state of mind after being in prison for four years -- Marty.

SAVIDGE: And Sandra, quickly, the mood of people there that have worked so hard to bring this moment about, are they feeling rejoiced or were they just feeling relieved?

ENDO: Oh, absolutely. This was a hard-fought battle for four years. When you talk about the legal bills alone, upwards of $1 million. There were fundraisers held for her in the Seattle area to raise funds for her defense. So clearly this was a long and exhaustive process for many of her friends, family members and supporters. So for four years they were fighting for her freedom and really ultimately her innocence.

SAVIDGE: All right, Sandra. Well, it's going to be a big day for you and for all of the folks there in Seattle. We'll continue to stay in touch. Thank you.

While Amanda Knox's family and friends, of course, were overjoyed, there is the other side of this. The family of the victim, Meredith Kercher. They are at a loss. Until yesterday they thought that justice had been served to her killers. The Kerchers support an appeal and they're waiting for the judge's report on why the murder convictions were overturned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYLE KERCHER, VICTIM'S BROTHER: The two who were released yesterday were not the guilty parties and we are now obviously left wondering who is the other person or people and really, for us, it feels very much almost like back to square one and the search goes on, really, to find out what truly happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Indeed. The family says that they are not open -- that it's not open to talking with the Knox's, at least right now.

The interest in the Amanda Knox case spans at least two continents. CNN's Zain Verjee is in London.

And Zain, what's being said about the case in other nations now?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: This -- this case has gripped the entire world, Marty.

Let's go straight to the headlines and look at "Daily Mail" here in the UK. The headline reads this, "Weeping foxy is freed to make a fortune." It says, "Four agonizing years, the family of Meredith Kercher have had to watch as her murder was picked over, detail by horrific detail and the torment will now continue after last night's dramatic court decision leaves them still wondering how exactly their lovely, lovely girl came to be so horrifically killed."

Check out the "L.A. Times." It says, "Beauty's price, the scapegoating of the Amanda Knox." It says, "Amanda Knox is nothing if not a good story. There was almost no material evidence linking Knox or her boyfriend to the murder and no motive. It became clear that it was, in fact, but Knox. Her femaleness, her Americanness, her beauty that was driving the case."

And then finally check out "Libero" in Italy. It says, "The Italian justice system is a worldwide embarrassment." It says, "Between rushed investigations and the circus of verdict announcements, each case becomes an unsolvable mystery." Marty?

SAVIDGE: Thanks, Zain, very much.

Now to politics. Will Chris Christie jump into the 2012 race for the White House? Or won't he? Sources tell CNN the New Jersey governor wants to make a decision this week, maybe within the next 36 hours.

Jim Acosta is on the phone, and, Jim, what are you hearing?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Well, Martin, I talked to a key Iowa contributor yesterday who is backing Chris Christie right now. This is a contributor who's part of a group of donors that tried to go to Trenton earlier this year to persuade Chris Christie to jump into the race. They actually had dinner at the governor's mansion in Trenton, according to published reporters.

And at that time the governor said, look, I'm just not ready to run. That contributor told me over the phone yesterday that he has been advised by his group to wait until Wednesday before jumping to another campaign. This contributor told me that he is ready to support another candidate. That he and his fellow donors have been getting some overtures from the Rick Perry campaign and they would like to start making some decisions here.

But they've been advised to wait. So that's some new information in all of this that there may be some word coming out of the Christie camp to many of the key donors out there to give the governor just a little more time.

But time is not really on his side, Martin. As you know, the primary schedule has been moved up considerably. We're now talking about the South Carolina primary on January 21st, the Florida primary on January 28th. That leapfrogging of state primaries has probably forced Iowa and New Hampshire to move their early voting dates to basically the beginning of the new year.

So that gives Governor Christie about 90 days from now to mobilize a campaign, get, you know, operatives out in the field in all of these early primary states, and to get a ground game going. So he is racing against the clock, as you mentioned. We're expecting a decision sometime this week, but as I heard from a close adviser to the governor, last week Governor Christie is going to make this decision on his own terms. He is a politician who doesn't necessarily play by all the rules -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: All right. Jim Acosta on the train filling us in on Chris Christie. We will have to wait and see. Thanks very much.

While Republicans wait on Christie, there is a new poll out that shows some changes with candidates in the race.

Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser has that story and very interesting it is, Paul.

Very interesting, it is, Paul.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Very interesting. I think you could say the old frontrunner may be the new frontrunner again.

Check this out, Martin. This is from ABC News and the "Washington Post" that came out overnight. You can see right there, among Republicans and independents who lean towards the GOP, for the nomination, Mitt Romney back on top, the former frontrunner, at 25 percent. But for the former Massachusetts governor who's making a second bid for the White House this is no surge. This is kind of where he's been all the time.

The big drop is Rick Perry. Look at that. Perry now down at 16 percent, the Texas governor who jumped in about eight weeks ago and became the frontrunner. And look at Herman Cain, the former Godfather's Pizza CEO who seems to be riding a wave lately. He's at 16 percent, Martin.

So a real kind of shakeup now and it points to the fact that maybe Republicans aren't just so crazy about the current crop of candidates.

What about Chris Christie? Take a look at this next number. The poll asked, should Chris Christie run? And you could see right there, plurality say yes, 42 percent saying yes, 34 percent saying no, about one in four unsure.

But the poll also asks the same question about Sarah Palin. And you could see it's a resounding no. Two out of three Republicans asked in the poll whether Palin shin should run said the former Alaska governor should not run for the GOP nomination -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: All right, Paul. Let me ask you something else, because there's a lot of buzz about what country singer Hank Williams Jr. said about the president. Tell us this story.

STEINHAUSER: Yes. Well, if you noticed last night on Monday Night Football for the first time in a long time you did not hear his song, "Are You Ready for Some Football." Here's why. Hank Williams Jr. was on the FOX News Network yesterday -- FOX News Channel, and he was talking about that golf summit. If you remember that earlier in the summer between President Obama, Vice President Biden, House Speaker Boehner and the Ohio Governor Kasich.

And Williams said he thought it was a very big mistake to do this, to have this summit. Take a listen to what else he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANK WILLIAMS, JR., COUNTRY SINGER: Come on, come on. That would be like Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu. OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Well, there you go. Little fighting words there and very controversial words from Hank Williams Jr. Here's what ESPN did. They put out a statement almost immediately after that. And they said, "We are extremely disappointed with his comments and as a result we have decided to pull the open from tonight's telecast."

Now Williams came back a few hours later and put out his own statement and here's what he said, Martin. "Some of us have strong opinions that are often misunderstood. I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me, how ludicrous that pairing was. They're polar opposites and it made no sense."

Now Williams did go on to say later in the day that he has always respected the office of the president, but, Martin, he pointed out in his words every time the media brings up the Tea Party, it's painted as racist and extremist, but there's never a backlash, no outrage to those comparisons.

Hank Williams, Jr., definitely in a controversy this morning -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: He definitely is. Paul Steinhauser, thanks very much.

We'll have your next political update in one hour. And a reminder, for all the latest political news, you go to our Web site, that's CNNPolitics.com.

And coming up, compelling testimony from the ER doctor who declared Michael Jackson dead. And the information she says that Dr. Murray failed to tell her.

Plus, we're about to get a look at Apple's newest iPhone. We'll talk about it today and the big reveal, and also go in depth on its importance in our very mobile society.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: All right. Let's hit the road and check stories "Cross Country."

In California, a hunger strike by state prisoners is growing. It now includes as many as 12,000 inmates. They are protesting what they call harsh prison conditions, including the excessive use of solitary confinement.

In Texas, environmental officials say initial air quality tests show no threat to the public in that chemical fire. Those flames have thick black smoke billowing into the sky. Nearby areas were evacuated, including an elementary school.

And -- I like this story -- Hawaii becomes the first state to make surfing an official high school sport. Next school year, students will be able to compete in school-sponsored events and surfing.

Now to the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. Today, jurors will hear from the woman on the phone with Murray when he realized that Michael Jackson was not breathing.

CNN's Randi Kaye has more from the E.R. doctor who testified in the case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the struggle to save Michael Jackson, Dr. Conrad Murray thought he felt a pulse. But emergency room doctors from UCLA Medical Center testified they didn't feel a thing. Still, they pushed ahead with efforts to revive Jackson at Murray's urging.

DR. THAO NGUYEN, CARDIOLOGIST: Dr. Murray did ask me one thing and he repeated the same request to Dr. Cruz, that we not give up easily and try to save Mr. Michael Jackson's life. He asked me --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that what you were trying to do?

NGUYEN: Yes.

KAYE: Emergency responders were ready to declare Jackson dead at home, but Murray insisted he be transported to the hospital.

DR. RICHELLE COOPER, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: My assessment when he arrived was that he was clinically dead. The resuscitation efforts would likely be futile.

KAYE: Doctors Cooper and Nguyen pressed Murray about what drugs that singer had been given. Dr. Nguyen told the jury Murray never mentioned the powerful anesthetic Propofol, even though according to the police affidavit, he gave him 25 milligrams of Propofol at 10:20 a.m., not long before Jackson stopped breathing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He never mentioned Propofol to you?

NGUYEN: Absolutely not.

KAYE: Dr. Cooper testified Friday that even if Murray had told them about Propofol, it would not have changed the outcome because Jackson had, quote, "died long before." Still, prosecutors wanted to make clear to the jury how dangerous the drug is and how rarely it's used outside a hospital.

NGUYEN: It is not anywhere in the hospital, it is designated place with designated personnel and equipment available. By equipment, I mean a crash cart should be available. Propofol could cause severe lung collapse, respiratory collapse, breathing collapse and it could cause cardiovascular collapse and Propofol does not have an antidote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you're prepared for any consequences

NGUYEN: Yes. It is a must.

KAYE: Dr. Nguyen also painted a picture for a jury of a flustered Conrad Murray who couldn't remember what time he called for help.

NGUYEN: And I asked him from the time that he pound that the patient was down what was the time that EMS or the 911 was called. And he couldn't remember that either. He said he did not have any concept of time. He did not have a watch.

KAYE: The defense tried its best to show if Conrad Murray had given Jackson only 25 milligrams of Propofol, that it couldn't have killed him. A key to the defense's theory that Jackson must have taken Lorazepam tablets and ingested more Propofol without Conrad Murray knowing.

COOPER: I couldn't imagine I would give a dose at 25 milligrams to an otherwise healthy 60 kilogram male and give it over three to five minutes because I would not expect that would produce any level of sedation.

KAYE (on camera): Employees from two cell phone companies also testified about Conrad Murray's cell phone records. They told the jury Murray got a call at 11:07 a.m. and placed four calls himself after that. The question is, if Murray gave Jackson Propofol at 10:40 a.m., was he monitoring him and making those calls from inside the room or had he stepped out for longer than his lawyers say he did?

Those call times are key in determining what Conrad Murray was doing in the hours before Jackson died.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And stay with CNN for the latest developments in the trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. And for expert coverage throughout the day, be sure to tune to our sister network, HLN.

A plan to create jobs coming from an unlikely source. We go to New York and the stock exchange for details on how Starbucks is planning to help our struggling economy.

And then Kim Jong-Il might be one of the most notorious dictators on earth, but he might have something in common with you. A teenager in his family is stirring up some trouble on Facebook.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: All right. Let's get your "Showbiz Headline" update for you. It was an emotional night on "Dancing with the Stars" with contestants interpreting stories from their lives. There was not a dry eye in the house after Iraq war veteran J.R. Martinez's performance, a look at the aftermath of his severe injuries inflicted by a land mine.

Nancy grace waltzed to "Moon River," telling the story of her difficult, high risk pregnancy. The HLN host said that she almost died while carrying her twins.

Moving, rumors are swirling that Madonna will play the Super Bowl half-time show in February. No confirmation from the NFL, though, or from Madonna's people.

And then singer Bret Michaels, he is barking up a different tree. The Poison front man is going to design for Petsmart. His pets rock collection will feature beds, bowls, collars and clothes.

How about this story? The teenage grandson of Kim Jong-Il is on Facebook and he's raising eyebrows with his posts. They are not what you'd expect to the family of North Korea's most notorious and mysterious dictator.

CNN's Zain Verjee is following this story from London and I have to chuckle on this as a parent.

(LAUGHTER)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And as someone who has been to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. You get it, right?

SAVIDGE: I do. I get it very much.

VERJEE: Yes, you know that there's so little information about the secretive regime in North Korea. So, any little, teeny little weenie bit of information that comes out and everybody just jumps on it.

So, what's been going on is that Kim Jong-Il's grandson, we believe, his name is Kim Han-sol. He is 16 years old is on Facebook.

Now, he apparently goes to this international boarding school in Bosnia-Herzegovina. And on the school's Facebook page, he's put out some posts and he's also gone on YouTube and made all these comments.

So, here's what he's been doing. He has a couple of pictures with him in a blonde hair do and he also has an image of him with an image with him with a woman at a party.

He talks about how he likes all these American movies. He likes to travel. He likes photography and, Marty, he likes going to spas, too.

Here's something pretty interesting, is that he actually asked for -- posted a poll where he asked his friends whether they believe in democracy or in communism and, guess what answer he picked? The alleged grandson of Kim Jong-Il chose democracy over communism.

Anyway, so, you can't really get this Facebook page any more. It's no longer available and the YouTube account has been shut down. But it does give us a little bit of a window into the secretive regime and what is going on behind the scenes.

They've done things like this before, but there have been mistakes about pictures and who they are just because we don't know a lot of stuff and what people really look like there.

SAVIDGE: Well, it's a delightfully human story from a regime that is just despicable and notorious. It was a wonderful little piece of teenage telling.

VERJEE: I don't think grandpa approves.

SAVIDGE: No, I bet grandpa would definitely unlike him. So, thanks very much, Zain.

VERJEE: Busy with nuclear facilities.

SAVIDGE: Starbucks, they are at it again talking about how to help the ailing economy. The coffee giant says it has a plan to create jobs.

Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.

Alison, I got to hear this. What's the plan?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Martin, do you drink coffee?

SAVIDGE: Oh, yes.

KOSIK: At Starbucks?

SAVIDGE: Sure, who doesn't?

KOSIK: OK. So, then, you're in this pool. So, what Starbucks is essentially asking everybody who at least drinks coffee is to donate money. That's what Starbucks is doing.

CEO Howard Schultz says this is all about Americans helping Americans. We're not going to wait around for Washington any more to create jobs at this point. We're going to take matters into our own hands.

So, here's what Starbucks has in mind. It's going to go ahead and take small donations from customers and employees, $5 or more. And what these donations will do will go to a group that lends money out to small businesses, the housing projects, the nonprofits. But the goal here: to get them to hire.

Now, as you know, Starbucks has been stirring it up, not just the coffee, but the economic conversation lately. You remember last month, Howard Schultz asked other CEO to boycott donating to Washington until our elected officials learn how to get along and play nicely in the sand box. We're not seeing that happen just yet -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: All right. Well, it couldn't happen at a better time. Let me ask you because yesterday, stocks took a pounding -- most of it due to worries about Greece and their debt problems.

Are we expecting more of the same today?

KOSIK: Oh, you said it. It is more of the same today. You know, we're going to start deep in the red today. The Dow could open triple digits lower.

And here's something we're watching for. We're going to be watching for the S&P 500 because it's on the verge of falling into bear market territory and what that means is a drop from 20 percent from the recent highs we reached in April. Yesterday, it closed off 19.6 percent from that high.

Fed Chief Ben Bernanke, he's going to be talking on Capitol Hill today. Not expecting a lot out of him and don't expect him to push any green into the market today.

Once again, opening bells, about two minutes away. Expect triple digits, a loss on the Dow -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: All right, Alison, we'll follow it through you, thanks very much.

Coming up, it's that time, again. Apple unveiling its newest iPhone. We'll take an in-depth look at its role in our ultra-mobile society.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Checking top stories now.

Amanda Knox took a flight from Italy to the U.S. today after a jury overturned her murder conviction of her roommate yesterday. Prosecutors plan to appeal the ruling.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta meets with Egypt's new leaders today after visiting Israel. Panetta is reaching out to Arab leaders, hoping to keep it from being more isolated in the region.

And "Occupy Wall Street" movement continues in New York similar events spreading to other U.S. cities. Protesters were upset between the titans of Wall Street and the regular folks of Main Street struggling to get by.

All week, we are going in depth on our mobile connected society and arguably, Apple has done more to get us here than any other company. And, today, coincidentally, is a very big day at Apple headquarters where the newest iPhones about to be unveiled -- and Simon is there.

And the anticipation, I imagine, Dan, is already in the air.

DAN SIMON, CNN SILICON VALLEY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Martin.

I guess there hasn't been this much buzz for the new iPhone since, well, the last iPhone.

SAVIDGE: Right.

SIMON: So, here we are. Apple going to be unveiling what has been unofficially called the iPhone 5. We'll know the new name for sure when things get under way, 10:00 a.m. local time, 1:00 Eastern. Some of the things that, you know, we're hearing about. You know, maybe a bigger screen, perhaps a bit slimmer and a better camera. Also some voice command capability.

But the bottom line is, we don't quite know and some of the past versions of the iPhone details leaked out in advance and this time things a bit quiet, but we'll know here shortly -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: This phone is being looked at as so important that one new cell phone carrier is actually, what, betting the farm practically on it.

SIMON: You know, those are the reports. Sprint, apparently, getting into the iPhone game. You know, they've been trailing badly behind Verizon and AT&T in part because sprint doesn't have an iPhone. Well, we are told that, at least some of reports are saying that Sprint committing $20 billion over four years to acquire rights to the iPhone. So perhaps, that may, you know, change fortunes for Sprint. But, again, that's something we won't know for sure until the press conference later today.

SAVIDGE: And what about Steve Jobs, is he anticipated to be there?

SIMON: You know, there's been some speculation about that. My guess is that he probably won't be here, but he has surprised us in the past. Of course, he stepped down back in August because of, you know, serious health concerns. So, whether or not he's here, you know, we'll just see.

But Tim Cook, the new CEO, is expected to give the presentation today. And, of course, there will be lots of scrutiny for how he performs.

SAVIDGE: Sure. Yes, it's his first time really doing that. All right. Thanks very much. We'll check back with you.

In the meantime, as we know, there is a lot of chatter about what this new iPhone will mean for the market, but, we also want to know what does it mean for consumers like you and I?

Tech guru Mario Armstrong joins us now from Houston. He hosts "Mario's Digital Spin" on Sirius XM Radio.

Thanks very much for being with us this morning. And let's talk about --

MARIO ARMSTRONG, TECH GURU: Sure, Martin. Sure.

SAVIDGE: Let's talk about this phone. So, what do you think will be its most exciting new aspect?

ARMSTRONG: You know, as the that's a great question. It's kind of loaded because we're looking at a new phone here that we really haven't seen quite yet. So, what I think is very interesting this time is actually not the outside of the phone, but what's on the inside.

I think what people will really be shocked about, or maybe not be shocked about, but really excited about, would be the actual software upgrade that we will see in the new operating system. Some are calling it operating system number five. This is not only available on the new phone, but also on previous iPhones, as well as iPod touches and iPads.

And the new software upgrade is going to enable us to do a lot of things that we haven't really done before and will give us some new features through the phone that we haven't experienced yet.

SAVIDGE: How will it be different than, say, what I can get on Android or some of the other operating out there and other phones?

ARMSTRONG: Well, you know, it's funny, you bring up Android. But actually, it looks like some of this is going to be -- some of it is actually a page stolen from the Android. For example, the notifications now on your existing iPhone, when they pop up, it's a little -- you have to fumble through to kind of get through to different notifications and open up at different apps and look at each one.

Well, on Android, it's a lot more smoother than that. So, one of the things that we will see through this new software upgrade is a better notification system menu or system screen. So, you'll see those updates.

You'll also see new things like the iCloud service, which is the storage and sinking service. Right now, iPhone and iPad owners have to sync their phones with a computer, with a wire, with a cable, USB cord, and that will go away and become more wireless. So, any updates I make on my phone should be available on my computer, or on my tablet or as long as I get to any Internet connected device.

SAVIDGE: All right. Well, then, I guess we'll continue to follow and wait for the big development this afternoon. I think a lot of us are very excited to see what it's going to be.

Mario, thanks very much. You'll be back, next hour, I should say, about your unplugged family vacation.

ARMSTRONG: Tech detox.

SAVIDGE: I'm interested to hear how you were able, or if you were able to pull it off. Thanks very much. We'll talk to you then.

ARMSTRONG: It's a four-step plan. Talk to you then.

SAVIDGE: The racist nickname of Rick Perry's hunting camp is causing a raucous on the campaign trail and rightfully so. But one CNN contributor says the scandal really isn't worth all the hype. Why he says the black community needs to refocus on real problems -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: It is shaping up to be another potentially gloomy day on Wall Street. For that, we want to check in with Alison Kosik. But I guess we're going to do that in a moment.

First, let's go to Paul Steinhauser, who has got breaking political news.

Paul, tell us.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Marty, good morning, again. I know we were just talking with you and me and Jim Acosta a few minutes ago.

Yes, an update on Chris Christie. He's just -- his office just put out a statement a few minutes ago that he will have a 1:00 news conference today in Trenton, New Jersey, in the state capital. So, everybody is wondering, is this going to be where he decides, makes a decision on whether he will or won't run for the GOP nomination.

We don't know. All we know is that he's having a 1:00 news conference. Of course, CNN is working to make sure we have live coverage of that event, Martin.

SAVIDGE: I mean, he holds press conferences all the time. Is there anything different about how he announced this, or who he notified?

STEINHAUSER: The only thing that's different on this one is that it was just announced moments ago. So, this wasn't a previously planned news conference. His schedule for today that came out yesterday did not include any public events. Now, just in the last 10 minutes, they announced the 1:00 news conference.

We're all working our sources here and trying to find out what he will bring up at this news conference. And once we knew, we'll get back to you.

SAVIDGE: I bet you are working your sources. Paul, thanks very much for the update. We'll be back in touch.

Let's get to Alison Kosik now, the New York Stock Exchange, where the opening bell has already rung I believe and we could be headed for another rough day.

KOSIK: Yes, it's already starting out to be a very rough day. We're seeing the Dow down 142 points. You know what, Martin, we always watch the Dow and the Dow has certainly taken its lumps over the past couple days. The Dow is losing almost 500 points in just two sessions.

So, sure, the Dow has really been hit hard, but we're really watching the S&P 500. It has officially hit bear market territory just a few minutes ago, and that means that we watched the S&P 500 drop 20 percent from its recent highs that were reached in April. And we really like to watch the S&P 500 because this is what our 401(k)s track. So, if you're checking out your portfolio today, you might want to take a deep breath.

Right now, the trend seems to be down and that's what we seen happen with all the major averages, but especially with the S&P 500 now in bear market territory for the first time in at least two years -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: All right. Alison, we'll continue to follow this story, as well. Thank you.

Rick Perry is fighting criticism about the racist name of the Texas hunting camp that he used to lease. It featured the N-word.

But CNN contributor LZ Granderson argues in a new opinion piece that the uproar over the name painted on that rock is really just a detraction from the issue truly dogging black Americans. And he joins us live from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

LZ, you write, "The black community is in a crisis. Being hit hard from a variety of cultural and socio economic angles and we're talking about rocks."

Is this just a blip on the radar?

LZ GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, we've been here before. You know, it seems that every so many months there's a person who's white in the media or a public figure who gets connected somehow with the N-word. We get in an uproar about it and it dies down and they may get suspended, they may get fired. But, ultimately, what remains unchanged.

And so, in this piece, what I'm trying to do is say, you know, instead of doing the same thing over and over like Groundhog's Day, why don't we take this moment to talk about what's really hurting us and not what happened on a rock 20 years ago.

SAVIDGE: And one of the things that I think you point to is pop culture as evidence of the black crisis, and lyrics in music. But -- I mean, entertainers really are trying to make money. So, they often will tailor their product to that audience.

Perry, though, is running for president. So, I'm wondering, shouldn't we have a different standard here?

GRANDERSON: Well, here's the situation, right. So Herman Cain is also running for president, but he's dismissed by a lot of black people because he's Republican as being a sellout, if you will. My question is, if Herman Cain is a sellout, then what are the people who are in our own communities selling drugs and poisoning us for money. Are they not too sellouts?

My question is: if we have people who are promoting violence and the music people are following for money, are they not as well sellouts?

And so, I hear your point. But I think there is a connection between what political figures are saying and how they're being interpreted and what we're seeing by ourselves and how that's impacting us.

SAVIDGE: Herman Cain also, I believe, uses the word "brainwashed" for referring to black people. Do you agree with that?

GRANDERSON: Yes. No, no, absolutely not. I mean, I have a lot of political differences with Herman Cain. But I think lost in that conversation about brainwashed is some ounce of truth and that is when the Democrats feel that the black vote will always be there for them, there's not much of a motivation to do things for the black community.

So, I think there is some piece of truth in there, but the word "brainwashed" is completely unfounded and, frankly, is quite unfair.

SAVIDGE: All right, thanks very much. We'll talk to you, again, LZ Granderson.

GRANDERSON: Thank you.

SAVIDGE: Check out LZ's opinion piece, by the way. "Rick Perry's rock, not our problem." It's posted now at CNN.com/opinion.

Coming up, why a healthier diet could cut the risk of birth defects for women thinking about getting pregnant.

And you don't see this every day. The Pacific Ocean goes glow in the dark. We'll explain, coming up.

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SAVIDGE: Checking stories cross country.

Police in San Diego are warning drivers to be on the lookout for a highway shooter. Yesterday a gunman opened fire in three separate incidents on the 805 and 5 freeways. One person was wounded.

The super dome in New Orleans is about to get a new name after undergoing a complete renovation. The stadium will soon be called the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

And talk about doing it all, Briana Ahmed (ph) is the first girl to play football for her high school team in Michigan. At half time she was called from the locker room to be crowned homecoming queen. AS the game was winding down she kicked a 30 yard field goal to win the game. Congratulations to her.

In Palm Beach, Florida, a group of college students wants the county to ban leaf blowers.

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ELIZABETH BACHELOR, STUDENTS AGAINST VOLATILE EMISSIONS: And you can't even have any type of conversation. You can't even hear your music. You can't hear the birds. It's just -- it's very annoying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: The students say that leaf blowers pose health and environmental concerns. Bring back the broom.

Eating healthy, of course, makes sense on so many levels and now it could be a simple way for moms to be to battle birth defects. A new study says that women who eat healthy before, healthy foods that is -- before and during pregnancy have kids with fewer birth defects.

Elizabeth Cohen has details.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Martin, researchers asked 10,000 women in the United States to keep track of what they were eating and then they looked at their babies to see if they had birth defects.

And what they found is that women who ate a healthy diet were much less likely to have babies with birth defects like spina bifida and cleft palate. Now of course the question is well, what exactly does it mean to eat a healthy diet?

Let's take a look at what these women were eating. The women who are less likely to have babies with birth defects they were eating lots of fruits and vegetables, lots of healthy grains and foods high in folate, iron and calcium.

So for example, fortified breakfast cereals, low-fat dairy, foods like that. And they were limiting the amount of saturated fats that they eat and limiting the amount of sugars that they ate.

Now, I want to be clear, a pregnant woman can eat a perfect diet and still have a child with a birth defect, it doesn't guarantee anything; it just lowers the chance that their baby is going to have a birth defect. Eating a bad diet increases the risk -- Martin.

SAVIDGE: Thanks, Elizabeth.

Something strange happened along the California Coast. A red tide is creating a blue glow. We'll explain what's behind that color mix and if there is a danger to humans. That story is next.

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SAVIDGE: A red tide off the California Coast could be a great danger for fish, but it's a real attraction for people. Take a look at that the red tide casting a blue glow. Here to explain it all for us, Rob Marciano. And -- and what is going on?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm just mesmerized by this I wish I was out there, live.

SAVIDGE: Yes.

MARCIANO: I mean Southern California is beautiful enough as it is, but when you see some of these pictures at night, I mean, a glowing ocean like that, the surf actually glowing blue. And here is what it looks like a little bit some more grand scale, some already coming in, we even have a shot of a surfer making its way through some of the wave.

You'll -- you'll see this in the Gulf of Mexico as well, it's a -- it's an algae bloom that happens. And when -- actually a boat goes through, it will kick up the bio luminescence behind it. You can see the surfer there as he cuts through the waves there, the waves behind it kind of get a -- a little bit in a way of blue. All right, cool stuff there.

Let's talk about why this happens, it's a red tide and it looks kind of reddish brown during the day. This is one of the -- one of the pieces of plankton, the molecules itself and it has this reddish brown type of glow to it during the day.

So by day it's brown -- red brown, it doesn't really look that great. People don't really want to swim in this, it's not really harmful to swim in. But by night, it glows blue because the waves shake up that plankton and they bio-luminesce, a chemical reaction within those molecules that causes that -- that -- that blue glow at night.

The -- the algae itself is harmful to shellfish, so you don't want to really want to eat shellfish that get involved in it but people, you know, you can swim through but you just don't really want to do that terribly too much.

And then -- and of course algae is -- is always beneficial to the ocean itself, but we can get these from time to time kind of instigated by man when you get runoff from -- from a lot of fertilizers after a heavy rain but this has been around for a couple of weeks and it'll probably will be around for a couple of more weeks.

So a good -- a good excuse to go out to southern California.

SAVIDGE: Yes, I still say that nature puts on the best light shows.

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MARCIANO: You're absolutely right about that.

SAVIDGE: Rob nice to see you again. Thanks very much.

Stories making news later today.

At 11:30 Eastern, a group of Republican freshmen in the House hold a news conference calling on the Senate to pass a budget.

And Apple's new iPhone, it will be revealed at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.

And then at 3:55 this afternoon, President Obama will speak at a community college in Mesquite, Texas. He will urge Congress to pass his jobs act -- nearly ran out of air.

We are following lots of developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first though with Matthew Chance.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Martin thanks.

Well, Amanda Knox's conviction for the murder of her British flat mate Meredith Kercher has of course been overturned and she's heading back to Seattle. But here in Perugia, the Kercher family are expressing their disappointment. Difficult decision, we'll have more on top of the hour.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: And I'm Paul Steinhauser at the CNN Political Desk. Chris Christie the New Jersey governor will hold a news conference at 1:00 p.m. today Eastern. And we have learned that he will announce whether he will or won't run for the White House.

Details at the top of the hour.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Christine Romans in New York. In about four minutes, the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will give his latest diagnosis of the economy and how well the Fed's stimulus efforts are working to keep the oxygen flowing in the U.S. economy.

I'll have that for you Martin at the top of the hour. SAVIDGE: Thank you all.

Also next hour, unplugging from our mobile society. We go in- depth with tech guru Mario Armstrong's about his vacation experiment.

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SAVIDGE: Hang on, here we go. I do sports.

The Detroit Tigers are one game from knocking the New York Yankees out of the playoffs. Tiger's ace Justin Verlander struck out 11 Yankees in a gutty 120-pitch performance. Delmon Young had the game winning hit for the Detroit team, a solo homer in the seventh. Tigers take the game 5-4 and can take the division series with a win tonight. Good luck to them.

Texas Rangers catcher Mike Napoli sends the David Price pitch out of the park. The Rangers take the lead in the third game of their playoff series with Tampa Bay. Still in the seventh inning, the Rangers Josh Hamilton smacks a two-run single. The Rangers hold on to beat the Rays 4-3. Texas leads that series 2-1 and can clinch it today.

Monday night football also in Tampa Bay. Bucs running back LeGarrette Blount breaks out for a 35-yard touchdown run against the Colts. The fourth quarter score puts the Bucs on top for good. The final Tampa Bay 24, Indianapolis 17, the Bucs are now 3 and 1. The Colts without Peyton Manning (INAUDIBLE).