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Catholic Bishop Indicted; Cars, Building Burning in Rome Protests; Pennsylvania Capital Files for Bankruptcy; Jobs Group: U.S. Needs Immigrants; iPhone 4S Features; BlackBerry Outages; Nevada GOP Wouldn't Budge on Caucus; MLK Children React to Memorial; Building the Dream Online; Critic Grade New Movies; Hero Helps Children in Haiti; At 52, Boxer Makes Professional Debut; Jurors Hear Dr. Conrad Murray; "Occupy" Protests Goes Global
Aired October 15, 2011 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Worldwide protests against corporate greed, poverty and government cutbacks turned violent in Rome today. Italian police are blaming anarchists for infiltrating what was otherwise a peaceful protest.
Police say the anarchists began torching cars, smashing windows and even set a government building on fire. We'll have more from Rome in a minute.
And a very different scene in London, where thousands gathered near the heart of the city's financial district. Unlike in Rome, the London protest remain peaceful.
Financial protests like this are going on in at least 82 countries. They're rallying against corporate greed, grinding poverty and government cuts. The protests began last month in New York's financial district.
Civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton is urging Washington to get America working. At a march today, he called for Congress and the White House to end the gridlock and do a better job of reducing the unemployment rate. Right now, it stands at 9.1 percent.
Sharpton backs the president's jobs bill and wants Congress to pass it.
American combat troops are heading to Central Africa to help hunt down the leader of a notorious rebel group blamed for thousands of rapes and murders. The Pentagon says about 100 troops will be involved. President Obama says they will not fight unless it's necessary for self-defense.
And the next Republican candidate debate is set for Tuesday in Las Vegas, but you wouldn't see former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman on the stage. He'll hold a town hall meeting in New Hampshire instead. He's skipping the debate out of deference to New Hampshire, which is locked in a political fight with Nevada over primary election dates.
And a new chapter is being written in the ongoing Catholic Church priest abuse scandal. A grand jury has indicted a bishop in the Kansas City's St. Joseph Diocese for not telling police about suspected child abuse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN PETERS BAKER, JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI PROSECUTOR: The state of Missouri has charged Robert Finn and the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City, St. Joseph. In count one, failure of mandated reporter, the failure to report suspected child abuse.
So the grand jurors of Jackson County charge that the defendant in the first count is Robert Finn, Bishop Finn, that commit - he committed that class A misdemeanor, a failure to mandated reporter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Our Jim Spellman is in Kansas City with the latest on this investigation. Jim, what more can you tell us?
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN ALL-PLATFORM JOURNALIST: (INAUDIBLE) a very troubling story. (INAUDIBLE) again here at St. Patrick's Catholic Church was having computer problems and an IT technician found inappropriate images of a little girl on his computer. Brought that to the church, the church confronted the priest, and the priest only a couple days later attempted to commit suicide and left a note saying he hoped that God would forgive him for what he had done.
But the church then, according to the - to the indictment, didn't go to the police. Instead, they relocated the priest to another facility, and the priest then for months was continuing to do this, according to these documents, continuing to take inappropriate photos of - of girls in his church.
That's what's led to these charges, that five-month - it wasn't until May of this year that Bishop Finn finally went to the police. Very troubling for survivors of - of priest abuse, that a bishop, the first time (INAUDIBLE) a bishop being charged is huge news.
I caught up with one of them, who was abused in an unrelated case. He had this to say, that it's about time. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPELLMAN: Do you think these new charges against the bishop might start to create real transformative change with the church?
JON DAVID COUZENS, SURVIVOR OF ABUSE: I hope that it does, and this is why, because it's just proving that there's no priest, bishop, cardinal, the Pope - no one should be above the law. They're not above the law.
But it's going to take the grand jury, other victims to speak out, principals to report it, teachers, deacons, whoever you are, to report it and join forces and to prove that no one is above the law, and that things can be done to protect these children.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SPELLMAN: And take a look at this, Fredricka. The church itself put together their own view of what went on, and amongst their recommendations was this flowchart on how to report and - and deal with cases of misconduct. It's got many options here. The (INAUDIBLE) to be simple.
The first hint of anything inappropriate with children should equal a call to 911. That's what they're saying. They're hoping (INAUDIBLE), that they of -
WHITFIELD: All right, Jim Spellman, thanks so much.
We apologize. We're having some audio problems, so it's not your television set. We, indeed, are going to try and work that out.
Thanks so much.
Meantime, the Archdiocese of Kansas City issued this response, saying, quote, "Bishop Finn denies any criminal wrongdoing and has cooperated at all stages with law enforcement, the grand jury, the prosecutor's office, and the Graves Commission," end quote. Of course, we'll continue - or, rather, this is a continuation of their statement, "We will continue our efforts to resolve this matter," end quote.
Our Avery Friedman is going to be here. He is, in fact, here in the Atlanta studio with us, and we'll have more on his take of the legal obstacles and hurdles that may be ahead for the Kansas City Diocese.
All right, now back to those protests in Rome. Italian police fired tear gas and water cannons on protestors. According to police a group of about 500 anarchists took over the protests, setting fires - setting cars on fire, rather, and smashing shop windows and torching a government building.
Last hour, I talked with "Newsweek" reporter Barbie Nadeau. She is covering the protest in Rome.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBIE NADEAU, NEWSWEEK REPORTER (via telephone): You've got pockets of these anarchists who are still causing trouble throughout the city. One - the first week (ph) of the scuffle, the Italian networks are reporting, showing video of a Germany train station which looks like it's getting a little bit violent.
There is still a lot of - a couple - I'd say a dozen that they're saying right now of these more violent anarchists who are still holding out in that Piazza San Giovanni where the - the bulk of the violence was earlier. And those protesters are still battling with the police right now, the police using tear gas, water cans, trying to - trying to - sort of get around them so that they can cart them off.
Dozens of these protesters have been taken into custody at this point and there have been dozens of injuries reported, a lot of police officers injured and lots of the peaceful protesters are injured.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, this may be a global protest today, but it began last month in this country as Occupy Wall Street. Take a look at the live pictures right now from New York's financial district, where protesters have been gathering since September 17th. The protesters plan to hold a rally in New York's Times Square a few hours from now.
And, coming up, can a city file for bankruptcy? Our very own Avery Friedman is here in the studio with us. (INAUDIBLE) today. He is going to tackle that issue when we come right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, with the economy in the tank, American cities are becoming increasingly cash strapped. In fact, Pennsylvania's capital city of Harrisburg is so broke it can't pay its bills, so the city council voted this week to file for bankruptcy protection.
But, in this is case, the economy is actually not to blame. This is. Take a look right here - a trash incinerator that was built on borrowed funds. It put the city in the hole $310 million. But Pennsylvania says the city council's vote to file for bankruptcy is illegal and on Friday lawyers for the state and for Harrisburg's mayor asked a federal judge to throw out the Chapter 9 petition.
Very complicated case, that's why we've got our Avery Friedman here.
The city's situation there of Harrisburg, well it has sparked a whole lot of political debate as well and, of course, a legal debate. So helping us through in navigating all of this civil rights attorney and law professor, Avery Friedman, as promised, right here.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Good to see you.
FRIEDMAN: Nice to be with you.
WHITFIELD: OK, so this is very complicated because, you know, the city is in trouble financially.
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And, usually, when an individual or an entity is in trouble, they want to file for bankruptcy. Why is it the case that it could potentially be illegal? At least that's what the state is saying.
FRIEDMAN: Well, in the last day of the legislature in Harrisburg, which is the state capital, they passed a law that said the cities can't file bankruptcy. So the state is saying, Fredricka, no, this is illegal. You can't do it.
But, the question is, does the city, like a person, have a federal right to exercise bankruptcy? And that's what's going on right now. A federal bankruptcy judge will have to answer that question.
WHITFIELD: And how is that kind of legal road going to be paved?
FRIEDMAN: A complicated one. A complicated one because on the one hand, the mayor, Linda Thompson, is saying we don't want to file bankruptcy. We'll just raise taxes. We hear that a lot. And also, we'll stave off the creditors. Well, the creditors don't want to be staved off, and - and they're saying, pay us now. They can't do it.
So the city council, four to three, the four of them voted to hire their own lawyer, brought suit, filed in bankruptcy court and are saying - and, in fact, what's interesting about bankruptcy law, the second you file is the second all your debts are held up.
WHITFIELD: Well, that's what I was going to ask. So once you file, I mean, everything's kind of frozen. Nobody can touch you -
FRIEDMAN: Right.
WHITFIELD: -- so there's that protection, bankruptcy protection, et cetera. Does it apply here?
FRIEDMAN: It applies instantaneously.
WHITFIELD: Even while it's being argued whether it is legal or not?
FRIEDMAN: Well, Judge France, who's the federal bankruptcy judge, said we're going to - I'm going to have a hearing on Monday, this coming Monday, and the - and we'll invite the city to file documents. And the city says, we want this done right now. The federal bankruptcy judge is saying, well, I'll take the response from the four members of council in late November. So we've got a long way to go on this case.
WHITFIELD: Whenever you're trying to file of gets the federal court involved or any court involved, you got to wait and see when there's availability on the docket, on the calendar, and usually it's later rather than sooner.
FRIEDMAN: And - and even though bankruptcy is being argued by the city, by the mayor, we don't want this to happen right now. You got to do something, Judge. The judge is saying, well, we're going to sit back and take a look (INAUDIBLE).
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. OK, so this is really just the tip of the iceberg.
FRIEDMAN: Just the tip of the iceberg. Exactly right.
WHITFIELD: All right. And then those legal questions about tip of the iceberg investigation might be applied to the other case we're going to talk about the next hour, and that's with the Kansas City Diocese -
FRIEDMAN: Very serious.
WHITFIELD: -- and whether that investigation is just the tip of the iceberg.
FRIEDMAN: Exactly right.
WHITFIELD: We'll see you again on that one.
FRIEDMAN: OK.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much.
All right, many of America's most iconic companies were founded, at least in part, by immigrants - Levi Strauss, Google, Yahoo!, just to name a few. So, taking that into consideration, the new group that advices President Barack Obama on creating jobs says immigration rules should be changed in a big way.
CNN's chief business correspondent Ali Velshi takes a look in this week's "Fortune Brainstorm."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: What do companies want?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They want to be able - and, according to this particular report, they are venturing into the very sticky area of immigration reform, in a very thin, thin layer. Highly skilled foreign workers - they wanted to have more H1B visas, to bring people in from other countries to do highly skilled jobs in this country. They want to also have automatic work permits for any foreign student who graduates from an American university with a degree in science, technology, engineering and math.
Now, all of this is something that's been discussed many, many times. We do have lots of programs in place, including one that anybody who wants to invest, an entrepreneur who wants to invest $500,000 to $1 million can immediately get a certain kind of permit to come to the country and do that. There are a lot of different kinds of - of work permits and the like.
But this comes at a time when you have 14 million people unemployed in this country and - what? Twenty-seven percent underemployment or something? So it will clearly be a politically-charged debate, no question.
VELSHI: Richard, let me bring this in, though, from a - a larger perspective, a global perspective of attracting talent, assuming you're not in a recession, because companies and governments have to sometimes plan for those days when times are good and we are going to be competing for workers around the world. What's your take on this?
RICHARD QUEST, HOST, CNNI'S QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: And that is exactly the point. Lord help me, I'm agreeing with Ali Velshi. The truth of the matter, you don't make public policy for just one year or two years.
For instance, if you look at the highly qualified visas, the cap that has been on there for some years, year after year after year, industry in the U.S. has - has butted against that cap and demanded more highly qualified visas. This year, they're not going to. They haven't even reached the cap yet. So they're OK on this year.
But the STEM visas for education, now that's a really interesting one, because the fear here is that with every diploma that you give, you'll hand out an H1B or some sort of green card visa. And, if that happens, although the prestigious universities will be doing it in an honest, bona fide way, this could be a backdoor way to wholesale - I wouldn't say fraud, but wholesale blurring of the rules -
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: And Ron, you brought that point up that - that the - if you're going to do something like this, whether you agree with it or not, there have to be safety checks in place so that you don't all of a sudden start giving birth to schools that just exist to get people visas.
RON HIRA, CO-AUTHOR, "OUTSOURCING AMERICA": Yes. That's right. That's a very -
QUEST: Absolutely.
HIRA: That's a very important point. But I think another point is to separate the H1B, which is a guest worker, a temporary nonimmigrant visa, versus a green card.
I favor increasing green cards, but I don't think that the - at least the proposals that have been on the table, which is stapling the green card to every advanced degree in STEM is a good way. In fact I think we should bring highly talented professions in things like broadcast journalism as well and - and offer them green cards.
So I think we have to be careful about disentangling the temporary guest worker visas versus green cards. Very different animals.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, next in "Gaming & Gadgets," the new iPhone is now on sale. Is it worth it? Our tech expert will be telling us all about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, time for our "Gaming & Gadgets" segment. Tech expert Marc Saltzman is here to discuss this week's top tech news, and you know what that involves, the Apple iPhone 4S.
Everybody wants to get their hands on it, and you already do. I bet you had it before it was even available in the stores, because that's how you roll.
All right, so what do you like about it?
MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: Yes. Well, we all know, I think, if you'd been reading the news, it's got a dual core processor, so it's much faster; has a better wireless radio technology, so fewer dropped calls and faster downloads; a better camera.
But, by far, the killer app, the feature that everybody is buzzing about, is Siri, S-I-R-I. This is best described as a personal assistant that's voice based, so you can ask a question. I'd love to give you a couple of demos here.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
SALTZMAN: And you will get a humanlike response back. You're going to love this, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: OK.
SALTZMAN: Check this out.
Message Kelly Saltzman, I'm going to be late for dinner. See you soon.
So she's going to tell - open up a message to my wife.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here's your message to Kelly Saltzman.
SALTZMAN: And it shows what I said. It transcribed it. So it showed what I said, transcribed it into text, and then you can verbally -
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, I will send it.
SALTZMAN: She's saying, "OK, I will send it." She's verbally confirming that - you can verbally confirm to send it or not.
So it's very powerful. You can say find me an Indian restaurant in Miami. So it goes online, talks to the Yelp service.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've got a number of Indian restaurant.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) Florida, U.S.
WHITFIELD: You are kidding me (ph).
SALTZMAN: So you can tap on the one that has the highest rating.
And let's have a little bit of fun with Siri. What's the meaning of life?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Life, the condition that distinguishes animals and plants and organic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity.
SALTZMAN: OK. So sometimes she gives you a cheeky answer -
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.
SALTZMAN: -- like, "It's a movie," you know? Or, in this case, she gave me a literal description.
And by - on that note, by the way, you can ask a dictionary, you know, what does a word mean and it'll show the different dictionary definitions. So, very powerful.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my God.
SALTZMAN: Siri can really change how we interact with smartphones and really makes the iPhone 4S shine. It's awesome.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Siri, it's - it's also going to change the way we interact with one another, and it's just super great. I can see so many situations where your just hands are just not available - driving, holding a baby, all that good stuff -
SALTZMAN: Right.
WHITFIELD: -- and this is going to come in handy.
Wow. OK.
SALTZMAN: For a start.
WHITFIELD: Let's talk about something else, another feature called the iMessage. What - what's that all about? Is this new?
SALTZMAN: Sure. So that debuted on Wednesday for all iPhone and iPod Touch and iPad users. The iOS 5 download from Apple is a free update that adds 200 new features to the platform.
IMessage can best be described as a BlackBerry Messenger-like program, or BBM, where it lets people chat for free with text or with - you know, you can send files and - and broadcast a group message all for free and quickly between users of iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It is actually a little bit more appealing than BBM because if you give, say, a - a tween or a young teenager a - an iPod Touch, it's not a phone but with a chatting application that works over Wi-Fi it kind of feels like it's their own cell phone.
So it's iMessage. It works very similar to BBM, and it's - it's getting a lot of great reviews this week.
WHITFIELD: All right, that other handheld device/smartphone, et cetera, that people have been, you know, they just can't separate themselves from, BlackBerry, but boy, did it have big problems with that major outage that meant millions of people were disconnected. What happened there, and how is that making sort of the investors of RIM, the company that owns BlackBerry, feel?
SALTZMAN: Yes. Fortunately, things are back on track for the company. But, by far, it was their longest and most widespread service outage. It began on Monday, with problems in the Middle East and Africa and Europe, with a - a server that went down in the U.K. and then there was a domino effect with their servers in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, causing a shortage in North America and parts of South America. So, yes, it was not a good week for Research In Motion. They vowed to turn things around. They have, three days later.
And, interestingly, their stock is pretty much unaffected. It closed on Friday at about $24 a share, similar to what it was before the week but, you know, let's face it, a far cry from $140 or whatever it was back in 2008. So the company is, you know, it's - there's rumors of buyouts as per usual, but, at this point, it seems like their stock is pretty unaffected despite all their PR problems this week.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Well, lucky them, following a streak of a lot of bad luck.
All right, thanks so much. Marc Saltzman, appreciate that.
SALTZMAN: Thanks. Thanks, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And of course for more high-tech ideas and reviews, just go to CNN.com/tech and look for the "Gaming & Gadgets" tab.
All right, some high-tech help allows you to get a peek at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial dedication ceremony that's scheduled for tomorrow. A look at the online tools that will make you feel like you're there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, for now forget Republicans versus Democrat. A more interesting political debate is - is taking place between two states over when they will hold their GOP caucuses.
Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is joining me now, live from Las Vegas, site of Tuesday's Republican debate. So Paul, could this fight really, I guess, push some caucuses and even primaries into December?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It could, and you're absolutely right, Fred. We've got a fight brewing here between Nevada and New Hampshire.
Here's how it all started. Let's go to the calendar of January, and I'll explain what happened. Nevada announced they were going to hold their caucuses here on January 14th, and then a couple days later, Iowa, we think, announced they think they're going to put theirs on January 3rd.
So this is a problem for New Hampshire. Remember, New Hampshire's supposed to hold the first primary in the nation. It's got a law that it has to be seven days before any other contest. So they're kind of boxed in by Nevada and Iowa right now. They're asking Nevada to move back a couple of days, otherwise they're threatening to move to December, as you mentioned.
So, the chairwoman of the Nevada GOP was on CNN earlier this morning. She spoke with our T.J. Holmes. Here's what she said. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is it even an option, is it even on the table for Nevada to switch its caucuses from the 14th back just three days to the 17th? Is it even on the table?
AMY TARKANIAN, CHAIRWOMAN, NEVADA REPUBLICAN PARTY: No, it's absolutely not. We're going to stick to our date. Our state is working really hard in finding their locations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: That's Amy Tarkanian, the chairwoman of the Nevada GOP. You just heard her say, no, they are not thinking about moving it.
Well, five presidential candidates right now say if Nevada doesn't move in deference to New Hampshire, they're not coming here for the caucuses. Those five - Michele Bachmann, the congresswoman from Minnesota; Herman Cain, the former Godfather's Pizza CEO; Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker; Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania; and Jon Huntsman, the former Utah governor.
And, Fred, Huntsman is going to go one step further. He's not even going to come here to our debate at the Venetian right behind me on Tuesday night. He's going to stay in New Hampshire instead, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. All right. It's going to be quite contentious from this point on, isn't it? All right. Thanks so much, Paul.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, it is.
WHITFIELD: All right. Washington is bracing for quite the crowd tomorrow to attend the dedication ceremony for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. Earlier, I spoke with two of Dr. King's children about how they felt when they first saw that granite tribute.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD (on camera): 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 that it would come to fruition, that there would be this moment?
MARTIN LUTHER KING, III, MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.'S SON: No. I think from my personal perspective, I think there was a specific time when we began to focus on this is really getting ready to happen. And, you know, I want to add one additional thing, because what is most remarkable is amidst - in the midst of presidents and war memorials, we now have a man of peace.
REV. BERNICE KING, MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.'S DAUGHTER: This particular monument took less time than most of them, if not all of them. So I think that speaks volumes that we were able to move it along in that time period. But, you know, the irony is that his - 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 VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Hurricane Irene delayed the original dedication services back in August. Organizers say the memorial, which is on a four-acre site, is designed to evoke the memory and spiritual presence of Dr. King. And his kids say that was achieved.
All right. Tune in tomorrow in the 2:00 Eastern hour for more of my in interview with Bernice King and Martin Luther King, III.
All right. Even if you can't be at the dedication ceremony, you can visit the memorial online right now in some new ways.
Our Josh Levs is here. So, Josh, how close is this virtual tour to the real thing?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's actually very close. It's really impressive and interactive, for, you know, so many people who can't be there, you can visit it online, as Fred was just saying.
Take a look at first here from the website of it, MLKMemorial.org. It shows you this 30-foot likeness of Dr. King.
But I want to jump it over to something - I haven't gotten to show you this yet. This is really impressive. This is a time lapse video. You watch this with me. You're now going to se the actual creation of this memorial within seconds due to the magic of time lapse there.
And as we see it, I'll you what they did. They took 159 granite blocks and assembled them. And once they were all up, then the artist came in, Lei Yixin, and did the fine carving in order to achieve that likeness of Dr. King.
And you're also seeing this in a few separate pieces out here is the section in the front that is Dr. King's likeness and then there's a section in the back that is a mountain. And there's a reason for that. It's actually symbolic.
I'm going to take you over to a different page here. I'm going to show you what the symbolism is of that. There's a famous quote from his "I Have a Dream" speech that this refers to and this is what it is. We're going to zoom in to the inscription right on this part. And what it will tell you - note, "out of a mountain of - all right. It's not going quite close enough in.
Let's go ahead and I'll take - go to the video and I'll tell you about it as we're looking at the video. There's an inscription on the side that refers to a line in his "I Have a Dream" speech in which he said, "Out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope." So that right there in front of you is designed as a stone of hope emerging from the mountain of despair behind him. Very impressive the way they designed it there. And as we're talking about it, it took years. It was actually Congressional action going back to 1996. And now 15 years later, it is in place.
I also want to show you some Google Earth now to put it in place in Washington next to the other memorials. Take a look at this here. It's right up against the Tidal Basin. And one of the things that's so fascinating about it is right there, that's the Lincoln Memorial where he gave the "I Have a Dream" speech. And if he would have looked out to his right, he would have seen this, which is the memorial itself. Very impressive. Obviously a significant location and he's looking out to the horizon.
Fred, the organizers tell me that is a suggestion that he's looking to what has been created as continuing hope for the future.
Everything I just showed you, you can see it online. I linked it for you. It's up at my pages at Facebook and Twitter Josh Levs, CNN and at the blog, CNN.com/Josh. You can check it out for yourself, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Wow. And it really is primo real estate. That's like one of my favorite parts of the mall in Washington near the Tidal Basin. And, of course, it's a favorite for, you know, a lot of joggers and people who just go therefore a stroll or just to enjoy the cherry blossoms. So that's a place that's going to attract a whole lot of people.
LEVS: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: They are going to be moving now very quickly and then they are going to stop to take that in.
LEVS: Yes. I mean, the thing is, you know, this is a statement to the country and to the world about what the United States is all about. That's how big this moment is as this appears.
WHITFIELD: All right. Josh Levs, thanks so much for that view.
LEVS: You got it.
WHITFIELD: All right. It is October. You know that. And there are plenty of fall festivals, haunted houses and even scary movies to enjoy right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody was attacked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it seems everyone is fine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Either someone miraculously healed themselves or someone is not who they say they are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. Movie critic Matt Atchity will be joining us a bit later to review "The Thing."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Two movies, one common denominator - remakes, but are "The Thing" and "Foot Loose" worth your box office bucks?
Here to talk about it is Matt Atchity with RottenTomatoes.com joining us from Los Angeles. Hey, Matt. Good to see you.
MATT ATCHITY, MOVIE CRITIC: Good to see you, too.
WHITFIELD: OK. So let's begin with "The Thing," the sci-fi mystery taking the audience all the way to Antarctica. Let's look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me show you why you flew 10,000 miles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We estimate this has been here 100,000 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to take a tissue sample.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you really think that's a good idea?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK. So, Matt, was it creepy and thrilling and scary?
ATCHITY: It was good. I really like this movie.
WHITFIELD: Really?
ATCHITY: Now, this can easily - you know, it's a little difficult to talk about this movie without talking about the 1982 John Carpenter "The Thing" starring Kurt Russell. This new one is a prequel to that and it's set in the days before. And it's a really solid film.
It's essentially the same movie. It's a shape-changing alien that can disguise itself as people and taking out the crew of this base one by one. You don't know who you can trust. It's essentially the same movie, but it's pretty well made and I enjoyed it.
WHITFIELD: Oh, good. That means you gave it a great grade or a good grade.
ATCHITY: I gave it a good grade. I gave it a good it a "B." Although, I have to warn you, it's not for the squeamish. There's plenty of gore in this film.
WHITFIELD: Well, it's the whole idea of going to a sci-fi thriller.
ATCHITY: Exactly.
WHITFIELD: You want to be able to scream. Did you scream or you don't scream?
ATCHITY: I didn't scream but I did jump a few places.
WHITFIELD: OK. You don't want to go to a scary movie with me because you will leave the movie deaf because I'm a screamer. Just saying.
ATCHITY: That's awesome.
WHITFIELD: OK. Let's move on to another popular remake or I should day it was a popular movie in the '80s and now it's been remade and I'm talking about "Footloose." Take a look at a little clip of "Footloose."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KENNY WORMALD, ACTOR: Is it worth all that attitude?
JULIANNE HOUGH, ACTRESS: You want to see something.
Wormald: First time for the police and I'm going to pull through it (ph).
HOUGH: What, you can't keep up?
What, am I grounded, do I got to go to prison?
DENNIS QUAID, ACTOR: What am I going to do with you?
HOUGH: There is nothing to do, Daddy. This is it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: OK. So everybody kind of remembers the premise, you know, dancing is forbidden, but this young lady whose dad said you're really not going to do this or else does it anyway. So, was it holding true to the classic of the '80s or is it, you know, kind of with a modernized look?
ATCHITY: You know, I have to say a lot of people - a lot of people loved the 1984 movie that starred Kevin Bacon. But you know what, this one is a better movie.
WHITFIELD: It's a better one?
ATCHITY: A lot of people are going to be upset. It's a better one that actually, this is directed by Craig Brewer who brought us "Hustle & Flow." And this was the movie that inspired him to get in directing. He co-wrote the script, made some good updates that actually make it more emotionally involving.
I had a great time at this movie. It's a lot of fun. There are a couple of holes in it. It gets a little cheesy at times. But I really like this and I think that if you're a fan of the original, you are going to be satisfied with this. If you weren't a big fan of the original, this is the better version and I really recommend seeing it. WHITFIELD: And is it better in your view, too, because of the dancing? You know, dancing is so particularly popular right now because of, you know, the "Dancing with the Stars" show, et cetera.
ATCHITY: The dancing is definitely updated. Yes, the dancing is fantastic. The dancing in this is really, really good. It's definitely an update from the original. But, you know, the performances are better. And I think the story overall is just a better film.
WHITFIELD: OK. And your grade?
ATCHITY: My grade, I give it a "B." I really recommend it.
WHITFIELD: All right. Two Bs. That's pretty good. We had a good little, I guess, preview for the rest of the month. So now everything else is going to have to hit the same mark, right?
ATCHITY: Yes. Especially considering that these are remakes and people get so upset about remakes.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
ATCHITY: You actually got two really good films this weekend.
WHITFIELD: Very good. All right. Matt Atchity, thanks so much. Thanks for bringing us some good reviews.
ATCHITY: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Have a good weekend.
All right. Coming up next, meet a cancer survivor who teaches soccer and life skills to Haiti's poor children. He's also one of the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2011.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All year we've been introducing you to everyday people who are changing the world. We call them CNN Heroes. I'd like you to meet one of this year's top 10 CNN Heroes.
After being diagnosed with cancer, Patrice Millet, dedicated his life to helping children in his native Haiti. His nonprofit youth soccer program gives equipment, coaching and food to hundreds of kids. He is joining us right now on the phone from Port-au-Prince.
Well, congratulations, Patrice.
PATRICE MILLET, TOP 10 CNN HERO FOR 2011 (via telephone): Yes.
WHITFIELD: Well, you know, I'm wondering how being named a CNN hero has changed, improved this program for you.
MILLET: Can you repeat the question, please?
WHITFIELD: How has being named - being named a CNN hero changed your program?
MILLET: How do the CNN Heroes?
WHITFIELD: Has it made your program better, more popular?
MILLET: Oh, yes, for sure. You know - and I would like to say hi to you, Fredricka, and say thanks to CNN.
And, really, since the nomination, I have been - I had a lot of small contacts. You know, more people are calling me about my work and I think it will be benefit for the kids, for the underprivileged kids that I've been for four years now and I believe (ph) it has been a lot of change for us now.
WHITFIELD: How has this program changed the lives of these young kids?
MILLET: What?
WHITFIELD: How has your program helped the children? How has it changed their lives?
MILLET: Does it change my life, the nomination?
WHITFIELD: For your children - for the that you're helping, this has improved their life, hasn't it, the soccer program? In what way?
MILLET: Well, you know, I don't hear you very well.
WHITFIELD: OK. All right. Well, we're wishing you the best. Congratulations on being named a hero and congratulations on being a top 10. And everyone will be watching and many people rooting for you.
Patrice Millet, thanks so much.
And go to CNNHeroes.com to vote for the CNN hero that inspires you the most. All 10 will be honored live at "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" hosted by our own Anderson Cooper, Sunday, December 11th.
All right. It's that old - age old question that we face each fall. Do you need a jacket if you're heading out? You're going to want to stick around for the forecast to find out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. You know we've got a lot going on out here. We're talking about Halloween.
ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This is great.
WHITFIELD: This is like we're having a good time.
STEELE: That's right. Your son's going to be a shark, Jagger's going to be Aurora, the princess phase. She's in to the princess phase.
WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. October and the Halloween is so fun.
STEELE: It's so much fun, but you know what we've seen with the winds and the rains, this is the worst recipe for apple picking, pumpkin picking and the fall foliage.
WHITFIELD: Oh, no.
STEELE: This is the worst thing, the saturation of the ground. Now these gusty winds, the winds are incredible in the northeast, Midwest today blowing off those beautiful leaves off the trees.
WHITFIELD: Oh, darn.
STEELE: And a lot of places right at peak foliage.
WHITFIELD: Oh, darn.
STEELE: So it's kind of a bit of bummer, I know.
WHITFIELD: So give us good news, then.
STEELE: All right-y then. All right. Let's talk about it.
And, of course, I want to show you this. This is what's kind of cool, kind of a nice snapshot of the atmosphere in the Northeast and the Midwest. Now, of course, this is the radar, so that's where the rain is, the light blue, the light or the green, of course, the heavier rain. But also, those incredible winds 20, 30-mile-per-hour wind gusts, part in parcel to what we've got going on.
And exiting area of low pressure, high pressure coming in, and that's called the pressure gradient and that's what we're seeing this incredible pressure gradient causing the winds not only today, but really we'll work through the next couple of days.
So this is the strongest wind. We've got 50-mile-per-hour wind gusts. You know, to give you a little perspective of how the winds work with the water. On Lake Superior because of the strength of these winds, we've got 40-foot waves. So a very windy day today.
We'll see the winds, here's the wind forecast. Now, just so you know, the yellow and the green, 20, 30-mile-per-hour wind gusts. But the blues and the pinks and the purply color, we're looking at 20 to 30- mile-per-hour wind gusts, as well.
So as we look towards the next couple of days, even into Monday we're going to see some strong, gusty winds in the forecast. So, unfortunately, that's kind of a deal. We'll see a little bit of a drier day in the northeast. That is the good news for tomorrow.
So, looking at the big picture, sunshine, a little bit more, that's for sure in the Northeast, New England and Western New York, tomorrow then today.
But also, the story south of these fronts, we've got incredible warmth out there. How about flirting with some records tomorrow? Take a look at this. Phoenix, Arizona, 101, could flirt and break the record from 1991; Tallahassee, Florida, 90 could break your record from 1990; Little Rock, Atlanta, Georgia, mid to upper 80s the forecast for tomorrow. Look at this dating back to 1897.
WHITFIELD: Eighty-five.
STEELE: Yes. Pretty nice here in Atlanta.
WHITFIELD: I was so cold this morning, I walked in with boots.
STEELE: I know, right?
WHITFIELD: And tomorrow I should walk in with flip-flops.
STEELE: And a bikini.
WHITFIELD: Well, we wouldn't go there.
STEELE: All right. We'll talk more about the forecast.
WHITFIELD: Maybe I'll be bold with the flip-flops only.
STEELE: All right. I'll wear flip-flops, too, instead of high heels.
WHITFIELD: All right. Very good. All right. Thanks so much, Alexandra.
All right. Well, tonight in Los Angeles, a boxer makes his professional debut at the tender age of 52. Dewey Bozella waited a long time for this chance, spending 26 years in prison for a murder that he did not commit. His conviction was overturned two years ago. Well, despite over a quarter century of unjust incarceration, Bozella is not bitter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEWEY BOZELLA, PROFESSIONAL BOXER: It hurt. Don't get me wrong. You know, I went through a lot of stuff with this, you know? It wasn't easy. But it made me a better person and made me understand the value of freedom and also made me understand the value of other people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Bozella fights against on the under card of 46-year-old lightweight heavyweight Bernard Hopkins, the oldest boxer ever to defend a world title.
All right. The trial of Michael Jackson's doctor, lawyers are getting close to wrapping it up. One of our legal guys thinks there's reasonable doubt. He'll make his case in a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: 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. Earlier today I talked with Richard Herman and Avery Friedman about testimony in this case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER: 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 believe 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 -
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS LAWYER: Gross negligence.
WHITFIELD: Gross negligence. Defense has to come up with either a good explanation to -
FRIEDMAN: Right.
WHITFIELD: -- to counter all that they've heard.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
WHITFIELD: 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: That's one of the big questions 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 don't agree with Richard. I think we're looking for a conviction. I think 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, first of all, there's no way Conrad Murray's going to testify now. They've 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 believe 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And you can catch our "Legal Guys" every Saturday noon Eastern Time. And then later on today, Avery joins me right here in the studio to talk about an American Catholic bishop who is now in legal trouble.
