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Hundreds Turn Out for London Protest; Jobs and Justice March in Washington; Nevada and New Hampshire's Caucus Date Battle; Why Refinance?; Dr. Conrad Murray's Trial; American Detained in Aruba; Drone Attacks Kill Al-Awlaki's Son; G-20 Tackles European Debt; Martin Luther King Jr.'s Children Reflect on Their Father's Dream

Aired October 15, 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: All right, topping the hour. The voices of protests are being heard around the world today. The Occupy Wall Street movement has gone global from Tokyo to Toronto and hundreds of other cities protesters are on the march.

Organizers say rallies are being held in 82 countries. Demonstrators are angry over a number of issues, most of them related to economic problems like unemployment.

The anger turned to violence today in Rome. Protesters set cars on fire in the streets of the Italian capital. Barbie Nadeau, a reporter for "Newsweek" is on the phone with us right now from the Italian capital with more on the violent protest there.

So Barbie, what more can you tell us about all that's taking place. Apparently large crowds, cars have been burning. What else is happening?

BARBIE NADEAU, NEWSWEEK REPORTER (via telephone): That's right. Right now you've got a standoff in one of the major piazza, the San Giovanni, which is generally where protests (INAUDIBLE) were - I mean, a spot where demonstrations are held, between the police and a violent faction of these protesters.

What - I think it needs to be noted that the majority of the people who came to these demonstrations, hundreds of thousands of Italians, are not the violent ones causing the problems right now. Police are telling us that around 500 anarchists under the umbrella of the Black Bloc have infiltrated this peaceful demonstration and they came to Rome today with the sole purpose of butting heads with the police, and that's what they're doing right now.

The area is thick with smoke and tear gas and, you know, Molotov cocktails and explosions are echoing in the - you know, on the cobblestone streets in the city. It is really quite an - a tense situation.

A lot of the peaceful protesters have - have gone home. A lot of the - the anarchists are being bolstered by, I would say, you know, not (INAUDIBLE) more violent anarchists, a lot of kids down the streets trying to find their way to the - these piazzas to get part of the action. It's - it is really very tense, and I don't think that the night is over yet.

There have been a confirmation of two very serious injuries. One young man lost half his hand in one of the car explosions, and a police officer has been seriously injured.

But I've seen dozens of people that will - are in need of some sort of medical care, whether stitches or - or some care of - from these - the demonstrations and from the - the sites with (INAUDIBLE) and explosions of these cars that have been very (ph) in the streets.

WHITFIELD: So it sounds like, Barbie, there are two different organized groups here. You have the peaceful demonstrators who are trying to make a statement about the economic situation there in Italy, but then they were kind of upstaged by the anarchists. So now I wonder if those who had organized the peaceful demonstrations, trying to call attention to the economy and the falling economy there in Italy, feel like they're now going to dismantle or discontinue any kind of organized protest they had for the days coming so that they're not being, I guess, confused with -

NADEAU: Well, you know, the -

WHITFIELD: -- the anarchists out there.

(CROSSTALK)

NADEAU: -- very much a situation which these - these peaceful protesters do have a lot of legitimate complaints right now. A lot of the signs that we saw before the violence started were in support of, you know, again, such as basic cuts to education, joblessness. Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister just won a confidence vote yesterday.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

NADEAU: Lots of Italians were demonstrating it as well.

But these violent groups, I don't think have - have anything to do with those peaceful protesters. They were coming in for the purpose of - of hijacking situations, taking - taking a - taking over and claiming it as their own.

WHITFIELD: Yes. OK. Well, Barbie, it's certainly underscoring there the message of these clashing demonstrations and the clashing intent.

Barbie Nadeau, thanks so much, from Rome.

All right, London is one of the most important financial centers in the world, and protesters there holding a rally today as well. One of the speakers, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

CNN's Erin McLaughlin is in the British Capital.

So, Erin, give us an idea of what's taking place there, if it is indeed all protests or if we're seeing kind of, you know, the same kind of sentiment that's happening in Rome, is it bubbling up there in London? ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka.

Well, a certainly peaceful protest here today in London. As you can see behind me, a large crowd is still gathered outside of St. Paul's Cathedral. They originally planned on occupying the London Stock Exchange, which is very near to here, but the police have cordoned off that area and wouldn't let - and would not let them.

And, as you mentioned, Fredricka, Julian Assange did make an appearance. He's the editor in chief of WikiLeaks. He was allowed out of house arrest for this occasion.

He was actually one of the few people that after a certain period of time the police allowed into the area immediately around the cathedral. They have cordoned off the surrounding area, allowing very few people in and out.

Now, (INAUDIBLE) Vaughn. He is a volunteer here for Occupy London Stock Exchange. Peter, how is things going so far?

PETER VAUGHN, OCCUPY LONDON ORGANIZER: It's been going amazing. People congregate here about 12:00 noon, about 1,000 maybe 2,000 people, and it swelled now to over 3,000, we think. People have been having a general assembly on the steps of St. Paul's for over three hours, discussing the logistics of how we're going to make a camp, how we're going to occupy this space.

MCLAUGHLIN: OK, Peter, so how has the movements that we've seen, especially in the United States, Occupy Wall Street, how has that influenced the events today?

VAUGHN: It's directly inspired what has been happening today because what happened in Wall Street showed that not only do we need an occupation in London, but because what we realized, what angers Americans is what angers us. We're paying for the same - the same crises none of us caused.

MCLAUGHLIN: Thanks, Peter.

Well, Fredricka, we've already seen several people set up tents. Many here say they're going to be here or hope to be here for quite some time.

WHITFIELD: All right, Erin McLaughlin, thanks so much, in London.

All right, here in the United States, protests have spread from New York to the West Coast. Things got pretty ugly in San Diego when police tried to make demonstrators leave a downtown plaza where they have set up tents and tarps. Police used pepper spray and arrested some of the protesters.

And then onto Tallahassee, Florida, there were no reports of any violence as protesters there marched and rallied.

And demonstrators also gathered in Flint, Michigan. They marched in front of the Bank of America branch in downtown Flint. Civil rights activist, the Reverend Al Sharpton, is leading a march on Washington this hour. His Jobs and Justice March is designed to push Congress and the White House to work harder to reduce the 9.1 percent unemployment rate.

Athena Jones is live in Washington at the rally right now.

So, Athena, the rally's taking place right now, just a day before many - thousands are to come to Washington for the dedication of the memorial of Martin Luther King Jr. So what's taking place here? How are they either separating or maybe even combining the two?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, these are supposed to be attached, Fred. The - the whole idea of this rally, they were going to have it a day before the dedication back in August, but, of course, the dedication had to be pushed off because of Hurricane Irene. And so the idea here is to honor Dr. King's legacy. He was partly about, of course, fighting for economic justice, and so this is about keeping pressure on Congress and on the White House to do something on jobs.

We've seen the crowd grow quite a bit in the last hour or so. We've already heard from a lot of the unions that are here, some of the other organizations, like the NAACP, the ACLU, the National Organization of Women and other groups.

We haven't yet heard from the Reverend Al Sharpton. He was expected to take the stage in a little while. But I spoke with him earlier today and asked him about his message for today. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: Well, I will be saying today that we are going to branch from here and call a day (ph) in 25 cities that we will have a national march on jobs and justice. We are going to - if we do not see a jobs bill by Dr. King's birthday in January, we're going to bring back what he wanted, and that was the resurrection of the city, a tent city right here in Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And so you heard the Reverend Sharpton say that this is supposed to be the beginning of a larger movement, and he even made a sort of a reference to the idea of Occupy Wall Street that's been talking about a tent city. He has talked about Occupy Wall Street and expressed solidarity with that movement, that - which he says is about fairness and the - the whole idea of economic justice.

And so we expect this to be just the beginning of them trying to keep the pressure on the president and on Congress to - to come together to get something done, even though right now it's going to mean passing elements of this jobs bill and not the whole thing.

Back to you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Athena Jones, thanks so much, in Washington. All right, still in Washington, Republicans and Democrats seem to have found common ground on at least one way to create jobs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R), MAJORITY WHIP: Our one such area of common ground, they opened the door to thousands of new jobs and billions more in exports across the nation. They removed job killing barriers to trade by creating a fair playing field between America and these other nations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, the president is taking his jobs plan back on the road Monday. It's a three-day bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia.

All right, why is the GOP boycotting Nevada? It all has to do with the state of Florida. We'll explain after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at one of "Money" magazine's top jobs in America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you want to go from a top gun to a top job, then become a pilot. Pilots make an average of $89,000 a year, and more job openings are expected over the next few years.

It's easy to see why it landed on "Money's" Best Jobs list, especially if you are leaving the military. As a pilot, you enjoy a flexible schedule and never have to take your work home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, Las Vegas is the place, Tuesday the day. The next big debate between those eyeing the White House takes place at the Venetian. The CNN Western Republican Presidential debate begins at 8:00 Eastern Time p.m., and all but one of the GOP hopefuls plans to be there.

The GOP presidential hopeful who will not be attending the Las Vegas debate is Jon Huntsman. He plans on boycotting the event out of deference to New Hampshire, which is locked in a political scheduling fight with Nevada.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So I say, if you're going to boycott Nevada, if you boycott the debate, you do it straight up, you do it fully loaded. And so, Tuesday night, we're going to be here, as we will be on Monday, campaigning and doing town hall meetings and sharing our vision with the people of New Hampshire and answering questions that people out here have about where this country needs to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is in Las Vegas right now. All right, Paul, so Nevada has moved its primary date up. Is it sticking with this January 14th date?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It is, Fred. In fact, it was just about 90 minutes ago that the chairwoman of the Nevada GOP, Amy Tarkanian, was a guest with our T.J. Holmes, and he asked her a bunch of times, T.J. asked her, are you going to move back the date to accommodate New Hampshire? He asked her two or three times, she kept saying no, no, no. They are sticking with their date, she says, that she and the executive committee will not budge on the date of January 14th.

And here's the problem. Let's take a look at the calendar right now, and this is January just coming up. We're just a few months away.

It all started when Florida moved their date, their primary date, up to January 31st. Well, the four states that are supposed to go early, the four states that the parties have allowed to go early, Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, well, they vowed, well, we'll go earlier.

So, South Carolina was next. They said we're holding our primary on the 21st. Then Nevada announced we're going to hold our caucus on the 14th. Iowa, we think they're going to go on the third, and that's kind of boxing New Hampshire in, Fred. They have a state law that says their first in the nation primary must be a week before any other contest. Well, if the 14th is when Nevada is going to be, New Hampshire says we may go as early as December.

And, as you just said, five presidential candidates - Huntsman, as you mentioned, and four others as well - Michele Bachmann, the congresswoman from Minnesota; Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker; Herman Cain, the Godfather's Pizza, the former Godfather's Pizza CEO; and Rick Santorum - have all said they will not take part in that - that caucus here in Nevada unless they move the date.

So we've got some serious, serious issues here. But, as you heard right here on our air, no, Nevada's not moving as of now - Fred.

WHITFIELD: Oh, OK. But - but the debate is scheduled for Tuesday in Nevada, and most of the candidates will be there. What's the significance of this debate being held there now?

STEINHAUSER: Well, a couple things. As - first of all, Nevada's, as you can see, going to be one of the early voting states, so that's one of the reasons why we're holding the debate.

Another, it's the only debate or the first debate really to concentrate out here in the west. There was a debate in the Reagan Library, but this is the first debate that's going to be held out in the west since then. And there's some big issues here that - like illegal immigration, that are really important to the western Republicans that we haven't heard in some of the other debates.

So a couple of reasons why out here in the west they're - we are ready for another presidential debate.

WHITFIELD: All of these candidates stand, you know, to gain a lot by doing well in the debate, but is there one candidate in particular that really needs to kind of nail it down during this debate, needs that kind of support in order to continue to stay in this race?

STEINHAUSER: Well, I don't know if he - he will be dropping out, but I - listen, a lot of people will be checking out Rick Perry, the Texas governor. Again, remember, he was dropping in the polls. He used to be the frontrunner. He's been on the decline in the polls.

It was thought that he needed a big breakout performance at the last debate last week in New Hampshire. He didn't have it there, so all eyes will be on him.

I think Herman Cain, who has been surging in the polls, will be - again, a lot of scrutiny, and we saw that last week with his 999 Plan coming under attack with a lot of the other candidates. So expect to see that as well here on Tuesday night, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right Paul, we'll look for that, and we'll continue to look for you. Thanks so much, from Las Vegas.

And of course you'll want to -

STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: -- be sure to tune in for the CNN Western Republican Presidential Debate. That's coming up Tuesday night at 8:00 Eastern Time, from Las Vegas. CNN's Anderson Cooper will be the moderator.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, straight ahead, our legal guys take on the fast paced trial of Dr. Conrad Murray. Murray's attorneys are just days away now from presenting his case.

But first, tough economic times are hitting homeowners in the wallet, but depending on your situation, the equity in your house could be the key to more money in your pocket.

Christine Romans reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: If you have a mortgage with an interest rate above five, five and a half percent or higher, you need to check into refinancing that mortgage. Rock bottom rates can spell huge savings for homeowners.

How big? Consider a house with a $200,000 mortgage. Three years ago, a six percent mortgage rate was common and the payment, excluding property tax, would be $1,199 a month. That same home refinanced at 5.5 percent a year ago would cost you about $1,135 a month.

Refinance today at a low 4.2 percent, the mortgage payment is only $987 a month. That's $2,650 a year less than the same loan at six percent. A lower monthly payment, you would save $79,000 in interest over the life of that loan.

The math is clear, so why aren't thousands of people running out to refinance? It takes money. Home appraisals can run you upwards of $400, and closing costs can reach a couple of thousand dollars at a minimum. It takes time and patience and paperwork, and if you bought a year or two ago and your home has lost value or your credit score has dropped, you are likely frozen out.

GREG MCBRIDE, BANKRATE.COM: The single biggest impediment to refinancing and taking advantage of these low rates is the lack of equity that many homeowners have. What it really takes to qualify and get these low rates is good credit, proof of income, and some equity in the home, and it's that lack of equity that's really the main obstacle for so many homeowners.

ROMANS: For everyone else who plans to stay in their house a few years, mortgage brokers say, do it.

MELISSA COHN, PRESIDENT, MANHATTAN MORTGAGE: You know, the good thing about lower interest rates and the people refinancing is that it puts more cash in the consumer's pocket and hopefully that will get people to start spending and help really get this economy to really recover.

ROMANS: While the 30-year fixed mortgage remains a popular refinancing option, applications are up for 15-year fixed loans as well. The advantages for the 15-year, you'll own your house in half the time, you build equity faster, and you pay thousands less in interest. The downside is that monthly payments are higher than what the 30-year fixed loan.

For more on saving money in your housing expenses, check out "Smart is the New Rich."

Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, for more on finance, check out Christine Romans' book, "Smart is the New Rich."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: An update now on the investigation into cheating on college entrance exams. It's no longer just Great Neck North High School on Long Island. A district attorney says authorities are looking at two more public school districts, as well as a private school.

Last month seven current and former students at Great Neck North were arrested. One of them, now a college student, is accused of taking the SATs for the others in exchange for money. All right, in Los Angeles the prosecution is wrapping up its case against Dr. Conrad Murray. He was hired as Michael Jackson's private physician and was with Jackson when he died.

To our legal guys now. Here with me, Avery Friedman, civil rights attorney and law professor, usually out of Cleveland but here, right here in the studio -

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: How wonderful to be with you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Great to see you, too.

FRIEDMAN: This is just terrific.

WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman, a criminal defense attorney and law professor in Las Vegas, with our other crew out there, and soon, we know, Richard, you're going to be here in the studio as well, when your calendar allows.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely, Fred. Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: All right, good to see both of you. Let's talk about this Conrad Murray trial.

The prosecution is just about to wrap up its case, Avery. So, did they do a good job? And how in the world is the defense going to come out swinging?

FRIEDMAN: Well, they did a spectacular job, as a matter of fact. They ended this case, and they will end this coming Monday, with three extraordinary experts. The first was a cardiologist, the second a sleep expert, and it will crescendo to Monday with one of the superstars dealing with Propofol. In fact, he's delivering a paper this weekend, had a death in the family, will be back on Monday to talk about Propofol, and that's Dr. Steven Shafer.

WHITFIELD: And it's significant that a lot of this testimony that we've seen, Richard, means that now the defense is kind of changing its approach to the whole notion of Propofol, whether Michael Jackson ingested it orally. Now they're ruling that out. Or whether he injected it himself, all as a result of the witnesses that the prosecution brought on, right?

HERMAN: Well, it was a little sign of weakness to all of a sudden abandon the position that he may have ingested it orally. But Fred, sometimes witnesses can go overboard, and here, what I'm seeing is paid testimony.

These witnesses, these expert witnesses are basically saying the mere fact that Conrad Murray woke up that day, that's gross negligence. I mean, every single thing he did is going overboard -

WHITFIELD: So you're challenging the credibility of many of these witnesses. HERMAN: I'm challenging the - the quality of the testimony of all three of them so far. And the judge will instruct the jury at the end, even though someone is deemed an expert the jury has the right to either accept or reject the testimony.

Some jurors - Fred, there's going to be some juror nullification in this case. That tape recording of Michael Jackson showed what kind of shape he was in. Some people - many people believed he was a ticking time bomb. It was just a matter of time before he died, and they're not going to blame Conrad Murray.

WHITFIELD: OK, but what, you know, is at the root here is negligence. And so, Avery, the defense -

HERMAN: Gross negligence.

WHITFIELD: Gross negligence. The defense has to come up with either a good explanation -

FRIEDMAN: Right.

WHITFIELD: -- to counter all that they've heard or - or, in addition, actually put Conrad Murray on the stand. They don't have to -

FRIEDMAN: Actually -

WHITFIELD: -- but do they need to at this point?

FRIEDMAN: Well, that's one of the big questions that - that ultimately no one really knows the answer to. To be honest with you, I think it would be suicidal to put that guy on. I mean, when you've heard the kind of things that we've heard from the emergency technicians, from the security on what Conrad Murray did, put that guy on the stand, I think it would be crazy.

On the other hand, if we don't have some explanation about why he did these things, I - I don't agree with Richard. I think we're looking for a conviction. I think that's - that's what's going to happen.

WHITFIELD: OK. And so, Richard, reasonable doubt? I mean, you know, the jurors are left with that, potentially, if they don't hear from Conrad Murray?

HERMAN: Well, Fred, that means - first of all, there's no way Conrad Murray's going to testify now. They played his version of the events. That's his testimony.

The question's going to be are jurors going to believe that the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Conrad Murray gave the lethal dosage of Propofol? If they believed that beyond a reasonable doubt, he's going to be convicted.

But I don't think they linked it up. Like the Casey Anthony case, there was no link up here, and I think it's a problem for the prosecution. WHITFIELD: OK. All right, let's move on to another case that's very puzzling still. We're talking about that investigation in Aruba, an American still missing and another American who continues to be in jail. No charges have been filed against Gary Giordano.

So, I wonder, Avery, you know, is there a point, is there a deadline on which Aruban authorities have to adhere to? How can they continue to hold someone for, what, now more than two months -

FRIEDMAN: Two months already. Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- without any evidence, without a body, without any charges?

FRIEDMAN: Well, there's certainly no body, but one of the motives that - that the solicitor general in Aruba, such as that exists, is that there's a motive. He's trying to cash in a $1.5 million insurance policy.

But, I agree, it took two months for the Aruban authorities, Fredricka, to get cadaver dogs involved in this case. Why have they waited until now when the body's been missing since early August? It's -

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: So his attorneys, Gary Giordano's attorneys, will be able to argue that, you know what, you just don't have it, based on the investigation. Time to let him go.

So, Richard, if they do allow him to return to the U.S., you know, is there - what's the extradition agreement between the U.S. and Aruba? If eventually Aruban authorities feel like they have the merit to charge him, would he be extradited?

HERMAN: Yes, he absolutely could be extradited. There are treaties. The United States is bound by the extradition with the Netherlands and Aruba, so they potentially could extradite him.

But his attorneys wouldn't be making the application. CNN's reporting today, as we see, that he wants to change lawyers and get new lawyers in.

You would think - Avery's so right. You would think that they in Aruba learned something from the Natalee Holloway case. To bring in cadaver dogs two months afterwards is just so absurd and, you know, they just don't know how to investigate crimes in Aruba.

This guy, it looks like there's absolutely no evidence other than the purchase of that life insurance policy that's going to tie him into this - this death here. It's horrible.

WHITFIELD: OK, we're not done with you guys. We got a couple of other cases we want to tackle. You're going to be sticking around.

In about 10 minutes or so from now, we're going to talk about the sudden end to yet another trial, this time involving the Underwear Bomber. What happened with suddenly a guilty plea but apparently with no deal, right?

We'll be right back with you guys in just a moment.

But first we'll bring you up to speed on what's happening today, including the Occupy Wall Street protests that are now going global. We'll zero in on the scuffles now taking place in San Diego as well, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now, the son of U.S. born militant cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki is dead after a series of drone strikes last night in Yemen according to a security official.

A U.S. drone attack last month killed the elder Al-Awlaki, a key leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The Yemeni defense ministry says Friday's attack killed seven other suspected militants including the group's chief media officer.

The world's top 20 finance ministers are meeting in Paris today to tackle European debt problems threatening an already flagging global economy. Key issues at the G-20 meeting, how to stabilize global financial markets and ease the Greek debt crisis.

The Occupy Wall Street protest has spread around the world. Organizers say rallies are taking place today, in 82 countries. Most of them are peaceful. But in Rome, the demonstration turned violent with protesters setting cars on fire and clashing with police.

Here in the U.S., the protest in San Diego turned violent when police tried to get demonstrators to leave a downtown plaza where they had set up tents and tarps. Here is reporter Salvador Rivera with our affiliate KGTV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALVADOR RIVERA, KGTV (voice-over): Protesters try to hold their ground as officers try to hold protesters back. We don't need police is what they were saying as officers formed a wall and pushed protesters away.

A few minutes later, officers used more than just their might to get a handle on the protesters. Some protesters scramble to get water and other liquids to wash away the effects of the pepper spray.

ERIC HAUSER, PROTESTER: That's not right. We're trying to protect something we stand up for and they are coming in here with force.

RIVERA: Eric Hauser says the officers went too far. Only one person was arrested during the confrontation. This all happened after officers began removing tents, especially this one, which, according to protesters, held a symbolic meaning.

"FISH", PROTESTER: To us that tent represents every house that's being for closed on. That tent represents every kid that's going to be out on the streets.

RIVERA: Police say they were very patient, but the tents have to come down to prepare for the World of Dance event taking place this weekend at Golden Hall.

CHIEF WILLIAM LANSDOWNE, SAN DIEGO POLICE: We understand that people have a right to protest, but somewhere along that line people have a right to conduct business. That's what this is all about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: How many times have you heard watch what you post on Facebook? Our legal experts back to talk about the case of a Georgia teacher who lost her job over it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A heartbreaking case now closed. A Connecticut jury finds Joshua Komisarjevsky guilty of murdering a mother and her two daughters in 2007. Police say he and another man beat and tied up Dr. William Petit.

Raped and strangled his wife, molested one of the daughters and then set the house on fire. Dr. Petit managed to escape. He calls the verdict a relief. The other defendant Steven Hayes was found guilty last year and sentenced to death.

All right, now to the case of the so-called underwear bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. He was charged with trying a bomb a plane with explosive hidden in his underwear. Let's bring back our legal guys, Richard Herman in Las Vegas and right here in-house here in Atlanta, Avery Friedman.

All right, gentlemen, well, what happened here? Richard, it wasn't that long ago that federal authorities thought, OK, we're doing to try and strike a plea deal with this young man, get a little more information about the 24-year-old. He seemed to get the upper hand by pleading guilty. But there's no deal, right?

HERMAN: There is no deal. He worked for them for several months. He provided great information for them. At some point, there was a breakdown in discussions. So he was forced to go to trial.

He made the brilliant decision to represent himself. Shortly after the trial began, he made a proclamation that he wants to change his plea and that he's guilty. He gave some kind of rant and rave to the judge. That was it. I mean, he's facing life in prison right now unless he makes another deal.

WHITFIELD: OK, you were kind of facetious when you say the brilliant idea of you know, representing himself, but in the end, Avery, he kind of does get the upper hand because he didn't have to provide the kind of information the feds were hoping to get from him because they don't suspect he did this alone?

FRIEDMAN: Well, of course, he didn't do it alone. I mean, I don't see that he got the upper hand. I think this is another example, probably the 600th conviction of a terrorist, which has been done very well in civilian courts.

I think this case involving Abdulmutallab is the best example why Congress got it wrong. Let's get these terrorists in front of federal judges like this guy. They are all going to gave you, going to get convictions. This was a wonderful victory for the United States. If there's more information, sooner or later we're going to get it.

WHITFIELD: So, Richard, you agree with that. That this does exemplify why perhaps the civilian court is the best route to go when suspected terrorists are apprehended?

HERMAN: I'm not so sure of that, Fred. But I know in this case, really, what was the defense. He loaded himself up with explosives. He was on the plane. He tried to detonate the explosive. I don't know how you defend this one. It's over and out.

He will look to make a deal. They will look for a Rule 35 from the government to try to reduce his time so he can see light of day again.

WHITFIELD: So instead of life in prison he could potentially get what?

HERMAN: Yes, he could get a rule 35 and get a reduced sentence and be able to see the light of day again.

FRIEDMAN: If he provides information.

HERMAN: He provides substantial assistance.

WHITFIELD: Still wiggle room for a deal.

HERMAN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's move onto another case where this Georgia teacher says I don't like the deal that I got. She apparently went on vacation. She admits to posting pictures on her Facebook. Some pictures included her actually holding a drink and showing she was having a good time.

Apparently, there was quite the fallout in her school district. Parents and teachers say we don't like this. She says the school district, Avery, forced her to resign. For that now she is suing the school district.

FRIEDMAN: Well, she tried to get emergency relief. This week a state court judge in Georgia denied that. She still has a right to go forward. The problem with her case is real simple. Under Georgia law -- that's the law that governs this.

If you resign with a gun to your head, like what the superintendent did to her, you probably are not going to win. So she's got a very difficult way to go to get her job back. She's given it up, in grad school, but I think this case unfortunately is going down. WHITFIELD: Interesting, so Richard, you know, Ashley Payne, says she wants back pay. She also wants the school district to compensate her for her legal expenses, uphill battle?

HERMAN: Yes, my boys, they want everything, Fred. But you can want and want, but the point is this. Queen had that song, "Pressure", "Ice Ice Baby" he copied. Pressure is the issue here.

She claims, they told her. They said, listen, if you don't resign, we're going to refer you to the Professional Standards Committee, you're going to lose your license.

So she resigned. But Georgia law says if you resign, we don't care what the terms are of your resignation. If you resigned, you resigned.

WHITFIELD: If she would have been fired, she would have been able to make this same kind of legal route and maybe potentially get that back pay?

HERMAN: One hundred percent, Fred. That's the mistake that was made in this case.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. OK, I wish we had more cases because we're out of time now. This has been fun. Avery, you being here in Atlanta.

FRIEDMAN: So wonderful to be with you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Richard, sorry, you're not here. Sorry, you're in Vegas. I know that's home away from home. You love to be in Vegas.

HERMAN: But everybody is out here. All CNN is out here. I'm hanging out with T.J. is here.

FRIEDMAN: Everybody but Fredricka and me.

WHITFIELD: Richard, we look forward to you being here in Atlanta in a couple of few weeks. Next time we need you both here in the house at one time. We'll never get anything addressed or settled.

FRIEDMAN: We're going to be fighting about it even if we're sitting next to each other.

HERMAN: We put you in the middle, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Then there's Halloween so we've got to look forward to that. We have a tradition around here, right? Richard, Avery, OK? We're going to uphold that.

All right, Richard, good to see you from Vegas. Avery, great to see you too. We're going to see you a little bit later on throughout the day. We have other things to keep you busy with. Thanks so much.

Meantime, take a look, this bicycle racer was in second place when this happened. Can you believe that? I know. Rewind. It has gone viral. He's OK, we understand. Just seeing something like that happen. This is South Africa, by the way. We're going to have much more of this after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. This is one of our favorite moments. Bonnie and I get to talk about the stuff that has simply gone viral. It makes people go crazy. They see it on YouTube and they want to see it over and over again.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I love this video. This is so funny.

WHITFIELD: Well, let's check it out. All right, so biker just going along and, boom, out of nowhere, a gazelle or antelope or something takes him out. This being in South Africa and you know what's really convenient, his buddy just happened to have a camera and was rolling at that very moment.

SCHNEIDER: Doesn't it look like the animal was like cued, like, get him.

WHITFIELD: Yes, like this guy isn't supposed to be here in the bush riding his bike. My goodness, I guess he didn't see it in his periphery? It didn't look like he was letting up at all on the phase of his biking. I mean, his head doesn't even turn.

SCHNEIDER: It's perfect timing.

WHITFIELD: He just probably was so concentrating on biking. He's all right, though.

SCHNEIDER: He's all right. He's fine. Those mountain bikers pop back up.

WHITFIELD: This isn't a typical sight, but the cameras are rolling. All right, what do you have?

SCHNEIDER: We got some windy weather, Fredricka. We're definitely looking at windy conditions out there across much of Michigan. You'll be finding we have some strong winds popping up there, 56 miles per hour across parts of Michigan.

A lot of these winds will continue to persist and be very strong as we go through the next few days. We have 50 miles per hour gusts. Eventually we'll see some changes, 30 miles per hour is a little further to the south. We'll be watching for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Tomorrow is the dedication of the newest memorial in Washington, a stone carving of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and 16 inscriptions of his quotes. It's a moving tribute particularly for his children.

Earlier, I sat down with Bernice King and Martin Luther King III about their thoughts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Was there a point when you all thought, because this has been a 14-year long process, was there a point where you thought this isn't going to happen. You didn't necessarily believe it would come to fruition, there would be this moment?

MARTIN LUTHER KING III, SON OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: No, I think from my personal perspective, I think there was a specific time when we began to focus on which is really getting ready to happen. I want to add one additional thing because what is most remarkable is in the midst of presidents and war memorials. We now have a man of peace.

REVEREND BERNICE KING, DAUGHTER OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: This particular monument took less time than most of them if not all of them. I think that speaks volumes we were able to move it along in that time period.

But you know, the irony is that his life span in terms of impact in this world was just about 14 years. So there's some kind of parallel to the work that he did as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Dedication ceremony takes place tomorrow. It was originally scheduled for August, but had to be postponed because of Hurricane Irene. Stay tune to CNN for complete coverage of the ceremony including the speech that will be taking place by President Barack Obama.

Even if you can't attend the dedication ceremony this weekend, you can visit the memorial online right now in some rather new ways. Our Josh Levs is here with that and with some of your thoughts on the memorial, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Hi, there, Fred. I want to pick up on what you were talking about with the King family there because this design of the memorial is based on a critical inscription. Folks, you saw a little bit of the video here.

This is the memorial here, it's designed as a mountain with a piece pulling out of it. The reason is -- it's explained in a subscription, which is right next to the monument itself out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.

This is designed based on something Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said in his "I have a dream" speech, a mountain of despair, a stone of hope. This is the stone of hope pulling forward from the mountain of despair.

I have a virtual video here that shows you what it looks like and takes you through it. I'll tell you where that is located because obviously not everybody can be there itself. Now this is a statement for America. It's a statement for the country and the world. It's a change in our capital. So we've been opening up to you today and asking, what does this mean to you? What is the statement? What is said when the United States officially dedicates this memorial.

Let's go to some of these quotes. First one came to us from Charlene who wrote this. She said, because of another person's ultimate sacrifice we all can live a life that many didn't think possible. Of course, many never got a chance to see. I'm grateful and proud to see the MLK Memorial finally come to fruition.

But there's some controversy as well, some disagree, take a look what Joan wrote us. He was a pastor who stood up for rights, but so did so many other citizens. Put the statute in his hometown, but not in our capital. He's with the presidents memorials. Ridiculous.

A lot of people disagree with Joan. This was from Son. I'm very happy as a non-American this has been done. Presidents and the memorials have one thing in common with this, the important contributions they made to the USA.

Next one is really interesting from Jimmy. I'm a proud southern man who honors his confederate ancestors, but strongly believes in King's dream. This man gave his life for all of us, black and white. A lot of people talking about the money. I want to use this quote now talking about that.

This is from R. Hayes, who wrote us, $120 million during hard times when people are losing their jobs and their homes is the stupidest waste of money. Let's go back to me for a second. I want to talk to you all about the money.

A $120 million is the total expense for this memorial, but $110 million privately raised. There's $10 million in congressional matching that was achieved back in 2006. So I don't want anyone out there who hears this figure in the media to be left with the impression it's $120 million taxpayer dollars.

Finally, let's end with this one last quote. I want you to see here. It's very interesting and kind of moving from Jane, who wrote us kind of striking out against people criticizing this. She said, words do not mask the truth of all who claim silly reasons for this monument should not be here.

It seems once again Martin will stand against bigots and haters although this time no one can fire a shot against the stance democracy should proclaim each and every day. We're all created equal. That's from Jane.

You can join the discussion on the blog on Facebook and Twitter. I'm at joshlevscnn. So, Fred, definitely we're interested to hear all the views out there, but I wanted to get that reality check about the money in.

WHITFIELD: That's fascinating stuff. All right, thanks so much, Josh. We appreciate that.

All right, a shocking scuffle taking place at a fast-food restaurant. The story from New York is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. Violence in the streets of Rome as the Occupy Wall Street protests spreads around the world. Police say anarchists joined the protest in Rome setting fire to cars and then setting buildings on fire. One of the buildings was a government building.

A cashier at a McDonald's in Manhattan is charged with felony assault for beating two customers. Police say it all started when two women argued with the cashier who questioned a $50 bill they had used.

One of the women cursed the cashier and slapped him then she's actually climb over the counter as you saw there. The cashier is striking that person allegedly with a metal object. The women were injured and taken to the hospital. Both women also face charges. The restaurant's owner says the cashier is no longer working there.

All right, did you know you can negotiate your medical bills? The Dolan join us at 2:00 Eastern Time to show us how and then at 3:00 Eastern, should you upgrade to the iPhone 4S. That's coming up later.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.