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Which Candidate Has Best Chance with GOP Voters; Jackson Defense Attorneys Go After Expert Witnesses; Did Underwear Bomber Confess to Protect Someone Else; Dewey Bozella Steps into Boxing Ring Tonight; Occupy Italy Turns Violent in Rome; Dozens Killed in Clashes Across Sanaa; Candidates Meeting For CNN Debate on Tuesday; McDonald's Cashier Beats Customers with Metal Rod; Jobs March in Washington

Aired October 15, 2011 - 17:00   ET

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

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Hala Gorani in tonight for Don Lemon. The occupy movement has gone global. What began as a public demonstration in a small park in Lower Manhattan today spread to cities around the world. You see it there on your screen. It was a worldwide display of sympathy and solidarity with the protesters of Occupy Wall Street. There was Tokyo in Japan, London in to UK, Rome, Sidney, Hong Kong, Toronto, Jakarta in Indonesia to name a few. Most were peaceful. Though some arrests were reported. Rome, however, stands out as the exception today.

Thousands of peaceful demonstrators suddenly scattered as anarchists began lobbying Molotov cocktails. And unknown number of people were hurt. There were some injuries. Now, numerous fires broke out. You can see riot police there on your screen responding. And a fire broke out in a government building, as well. Protesters broke out shop windows, riot police moved in with water cannons and tear gas.

And let's go to "Newsweek" reporter Barbie Nadeau. She is on the Italian capital for the very latest. So, Barbie, these anarchists, did they take advantage of the protest, this occupy movement to create havoc? Is that what happened today?

BARBIE NADEAU, NEWSWEEK REPORTER (on the phone): That's absolutely what happened today. And I think, you know, anarchists by nature are against police much more than they are against the government as an entity. And in a situation where you've got a planned protest that everyone's known about for weeks and weeks ahead. They had an ample opportunity to get themselves set up. And we saw the police in Italy saying, 500 anarchists who were all considered to be part of the black blocs movement, those are the most violent in the anarchists infiltrated the peaceful protests.

And it turned into a cautercag (ph) and it started about 20 minutes after the protest began with the breaking of windows and then the torching of a car and everything just went downhill from there. And it all culminated in a Porta San Giovanni which is a major square just off the edge of the historical district of Rome. And, you know, really turned violent with a one-on-one between these violent anarchists and the police. And it was very intense, and people were worried. There were a lot of people who were worried it would turn into a situation like we had in general in 2008 where, again, anarchists infiltrated a protest situation and one was shot. So, people were worried, and you know, things are calm in Rome right now, but it was a tense day.

GORANI: I just want to tell our viewers what they're seeing now. This was the Italian capital, not the way you're used to seeing the Italian capital, with cars on fire, shops front windows there being broken by anarchists, and people who just seem to be wanting to cause trouble. But what about the occupy movement protesters, Barbie? What did they do when this trouble started? And what are they saying about the violence?

NADEAU: They were terribly disappointed. I had several people come up to me and say, you know, this is embarrassing, this isn't what we're here for. We're actually here to protest peacefully, to demonstrate against, you know, legitimate complaints we have against our government, about taxes and joblessness and education cuts and a variety of issues. Right now they're planning to have another demonstration either Thursday or Friday if they can get city approval, which I think they'll probably get next week because their voices were hijacked by this violent movement.

GORANI: Right. Certainly their voices droned out today in Rome. We've seen these protests and other cities, we're going to talk about those in a moment. Thanks Barbie Nadeau is in Rome.

Let's take you back now to where this occupy movement began several weeks ago, Zucotti Park in Lower Manhattan.

Susan Candiotti is there. I'm wondering how people reacting in Manhattan to this global expansion of the occupy movement?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the organizers and members as we call them of Occupy Wall Street are very excited about that, Hala This is the kind of response they were hoping for, to grow the movement literally around the world. And it's been a very, very busy day here at the original camp here at Wall Street where protesters have been here throughout the day filling the park literally. A lot of people coming in from the outer boroughs of New York City to show their support. There was also a march here earlier this day. There were no problems or scuffles with police. However, there were two dozen arrests at a local branch of Citibank when some Occupy Wall Street protesters who have accounts at that particular branch went in suppose to have been saying, attempt to close their accounts.

When they went in the door, according to Occupy Wall Street, the door was locked behind them and they were arrested. Now, the Police Department's version of this is that when they went in there, the bank manager asked them to leave and when they wouldn't, that's when the people were arrested. So other than that, there is scheduled at this hour a rally in Time Square where organizers here said they were expecting up to 5,000 people. However at this hour, we understand it's a very small group of only about 50 or so according to our CNN people who are on the scene. Maybe a little bit more than that, but they're expecting that to go as the night goes on. So, it's going to be a very busy day -- Hala.

GORANI: Right. Let me ask you about the Citibank situation. Because from the protesters, we're hearing one thing, from the police we're hearing another. The protesters are saying essentially a group of 20, 25 people went into the Citibank, they wanted to close their accounts, and then a non-uniformed security person started cuffing people. The police has a very different version of events, but either way you look at it, I imagine, Susan, it's very tense what's going on.

CANDIOTTI: Well, police said that there was only one person who resisted arrest. So they describe the situation as being calm there. Occupy Wall Street is saying that they find it in their words incredible that people could go into a bank, attempt to conduct business where they have accounts, and yet were arrested and unable to do what they went in there intending to do. Clearly it's a statement that they wanted to make. At least they're certainly getting publicity about it. And so to that degree, you could certainly say they tried to make a point.

GORANI: All right. Susan Candiotti is there in Lower Manhattan. This is where the Occupy Wall Street movement began. And as we've seen today has spread outside of America's borders. We'll have a lot more on that and our top world news stories a little bit later.

Now we're going to take a break on CNN. Out of control at McDonald's. Look at this video. Customers jump the counter and go after a cashier, but it's the employee who goes on the attack. We will have more of this interesting video.

First, Las Vegas gets set to host republican candidates before the presidential hopefuls clash. There's already a battle brewing between two states. We'll be right back. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Well, ten people were killed in clashes in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa today. According to witnesses, take a look at this video.

(CHANTING)

A medic called it a sad day for the revolution as tribal fighters battled Yemini security forces. And activists said, snipers sprayed the crowd with gunfire, trying to end a demonstration against the government. Protesters are demanding that the President Ali Abdullah Saleh step aside.

Meanwhile, a security official said drone strikes killed seven suspected militants including the son of this man Anwar al-Awlaki. This so-called Osama Bin Laden of the internet was assassinated himself in a U.S. drone strike last month.

All right. Well, Las Vegas is the site for the next test for the Republicans battling to be the next president. CNN is hosting a debate on Tuesday with the western republican leadership conference.

T.J. Holmes is standing by live in Las Vegas for us right now. So of course, now who will come out on top of this CNN western republican presidential debate is the big question. T.J. Holmes, well, I imagine if you knew the answer to that, you would be in a whole different line of work. Set the scene for us.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. Well, we know who is not going to come out on top. Because Hala, as you know, we go through a lot to put on a debate. It's not an easy thing to do with staff and staging and planning and preparation. And would you believe that one of these republican candidates has now said, no thank you, CNN. He is boycotting our debate. Who? Of course we're talking about former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman. Now, he claims he wants to do this for, one, to focus on New Hampshire. But it's been all of his time, money, energy and effort there. But also he says he's upset with the state of Nevada and the GOP here for putting their caucuses on January 14th.

Now, what that has done is thrown the whole primary and caucus and early voting calendar into disarray. With Florida moving up to January 31st, now you've got Nevada moving up earlier to January 14th, you've got Iowa expected to go January 3rd. It doesn't leave a lot of room for New Hampshire to get a lot of attention. So, Jon Huntsman says, you know what? I'm going to focus on New Hampshire, take a stand with them, New Hampshire now threatening to do their primary in December. Well, I asked the head of the GOP here in Nevada, Amy Tarkanian, had her on this morning on my show, asked her point-blank, will you consider moving your caucus from the 14th and can we all just get along? Listen to her answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: 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 at finding their locations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: She says, you hear there, Hala, we're not even considering it. So what this means is now New Hampshire could possibly go as early as the first couple of weeks of December. Now, what does this mean for the voters? What does this mean for the candidates? The candidates means they won't get as much time to actually go out there, shake the hands, meet and greet the voters. It means the voters will be denied access to those candidates for a longer period of time. And it also means that the people of Nevada will miss out because you've got five candidates, only one boycotting our debate, Hala, but you've got at least five saying they will boycott the caucuses themselves. So, this could really be a, frankly, lose/lose for everybody in this situation, but you heard her, Hala, she says they are not budging. We shall see.

GORANI: Well, there's something interesting though about Nevada and its holding its caucus when it is. I mean, Nevada is more diverse than New Hampshire. Economically, it has been hit incredibly hard. So however this comes out, will tell us something, won't it? About this republican race, right?

HOLMES: Well, you hit it on the head and you said incredibly. Yes, it is incredibly difficult for the people here. I mean, you think of Las Vegas strip, and of course, you think of the gambling and the good time and, you know, a playground for adults, but it's a 14.2 percent unemployment rate in the Las Vegas metro. That is number one in the country for metro areas over million people. The state, highest unemployment of the 50 states. They have a dire situation, a quarter of the percentage in Nevada, the population Hispanic.

So there are issues, more diverse, like you said, more diverse than New Hampshire. This is a very important state and they wanted to move up, to get more of that attention. Well, now it seems the candidates could be denied, the voters could be denied, and opportunity here in this first in the west caucus. So, I don't really see -- nobody sees just yet how this is going to get worked out besides New Hampshire going as early as the first couple of weeks of December, Hala. And can you imagine us all in New Hampshire around the holidays? Christmas time? My goodness.

GORANI: I think I can. I don't know. We'll see. T.J., thanks. T.J. Holmes in Las Vegas.

HOLMES: Good to see you.

GORANI: The question, of course, who is as we were asking T.J. there is going to come out on top of this debate. Join CNN live from Las Vegas on Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Anderson Cooper will be asking the questions. We'll take a short break. When we come back, as we all know, cancer is a killer, but it turns out it is more of a killer if you are single. Details in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Well, YouTube video shows customers who are out of line leading to a cashier going out of controlled. It happened Wednesday when a server at New York City McDonald's questioned a $50 bill that two women had given him. One of the women in the video then starts cursing at him, slaps him, she even jumps the counter, her friend follows her. Now, the server reacts grabbing some sort of metal pipe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Stop! Stop! Stop!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Well, this is just -- this just got ugly. The clerk Rayon McIntosh no longer works at the McDonald's and has been charged with felony assault. The customers are in serious condition at the hospital and are facing several minor charges themselves.

Let's bring in human behavior expert Dr. Wendy Walsh, who also is a host on "The Doctors." OK, so, first off, what do you make of this kind of behavior that escalates all of a sudden? I mean, these are situations we all find ourselves in every day. Where we're irritated with somebody because they've questioned the validity of a bill. I mean, that's a small thing, right? How does it come to this?

DR. WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: Well, it comes to this because remember that all humans have a natural fight or flight response when they feel that they're being attacked. Now, we socialize it out of most of our children. The 2-year-olds that hit, we say, no, mommy is going to teach you not to hit. I'm going to hold you so you won't hit. No hitting, no biting, we teach consequences so that people learn to control their impulses. Unfortunately, even though in general America's become less violent, there are still some family systems that aren't teaching that. So in a stressful fight or flight situation, some people go to their primal state and go to fight.

GORANI: But it's not just sometimes education or upbringing, right? Some people are wired differently, they have a shorter fuse.

WALSH: Absolutely. Men are more likely to be this kind of aggressive, although we're seeing increasing rates of aggression in women as the genders are becoming more similar. But yes, we are all wired a little bit differently. But in general, there's a family upbringing piece too.

GORANI: Let's talk about this study that men who are single are at higher risk of becoming stricken with cancer. Now, first of all, you'd say, OK, it's bad enough that, you know, you can't find a mate, but then you're also more at risk for a deadly disease.

WALSH: Not that they're more at risk of becoming down with cancer, they're more at risk of dying. The mortality rate is much higher. It's a little higher for unmarried women too, but not as drastically as it is for men. You see, what happens is men usually don't go to the doctor, a lot of them don't even own health insurance. When there's a wife nagging them and caring for them, they go and get taken care of.

GORANI: Right.

WALSH: Because there is cure for cancer, it's called early detection.

GORANI: OK. So, it's not because they're say emotionally more content that somehow, their body reacts better to treatment. This is because a mate might sound the alarm earlier, right?

WALSH: Well, there are many, many factors, and I think having a strong supportive relationship is one thing that can help you get through a big illness for sure.

GORANI: OK. Let's talk about this. The wireless devices. In the United States, now I'm going to read this out. The wireless association CTIA found that cell phones and tablets now actually outnumber people in the United States by about 15 million.

WALSH: Amazing.

GORANI: It is amazing, but what does it say about how we interact, OK, with other people? How do we -- how do we establish. And this is an important question. How do we establish relationships? I mean, so many of our relationships now right, are texting, BBM-ing, whatever- ing. Now, we're spending less time face-to-face.

WALSH: We are spending less time face to face. And a lot of this technology Hala, was designed to keep us connected. But we're keeping in touch, but we're not touching anything tender. We're seeing a big gender divide. Men prefer text, women prefer talk. We're the emotional beings who do the relationship bonding part of our -- in our relationships. I think that there's another piece, too. The reason why there are so many phones and devices out there is that corporations have realized that if they also purchased these products for their employees, they get a virtual 24-hour employee. They get a workforce that never stops working. So, it's really the honest on us to make sure that we turned those things off and talk face to face. I mean...

(CROSSTALK)

GORANI: Dr. Wendy Walsh, that's easier said than done.

WALSH: Of course.

GORANI: One of the things that happens with these wireless devices, if you turn it off, there's always in the back of your mind the idea that you might be missing something. Something might be going on without you.

WALSH: It's so good for your brain. That's right.

GORANI: Right.

WALSH: But, you know, maybe you could be creating some utopian without it.

GORANI: Dr. Wendy Walsh, thanks very much.

WALSH: Nice to see you.

GORANI: Just ahead, will the real Tea Party candidate stand up please? Who is their choice in the republican field? More politics, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Civil rights leader 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 in this country. CNN's Athena Jones was there.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Reverend Al Sharpton held a march and rally for jobs and justice on the national mall. It's meant to coincide with the dedication of the Martin Luther King memorial and to honor Dr. King's legacy, not just as a fighter for civil rights, but also a fighter for economic justice. The organizers here want to see Congress and the White House work together on measures that could actually bring down this nation's high unemployment rate. Let's listen to what the Reverend Al Sharpton had to say when he took the stage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: We come today because this country has ignored the plight of unemployed and people that are chronically unemployed on Monday in this, the capital. They had the audacity to turn down a jobs bill. So if you won't get the jobs bill done in the suite, then we will get the jobs bill done in the street!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And so that's really the point of this march and rally, to keep the pressure on members of Congress and on the White House to work together to get something done. The Reverend Al Sharpton said that they plan similar events in 25 cities, all meant to keep pressure on members of Congress. Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.

GORANI: There's a new front-runner in the race for the republican nomination. And in 50 states few people predicted Herman Cain would be at top of the polls at this stage in the game. Let's talk about Herman Cain, the Tea Party, and Tuesday's republican debate with David Frum, he's the editor of frumforum.com and a CNN contributor.

Let's talk about Herman Cain, as I said, a bit of a surprise at this stage in the race. What do you make of it?

DAVID FRUM, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it's a total surprise. There's a lot to like about Herman Cain. He's got a lot of charm, he's got a lot of sense of humor, and he's certainly got charisma, which has been lacking from some the candidates in this race. And he has had a successful business career and he's had service on the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Those are all real accomplishments, but he's never been elected to anything. He's not governor of Georgia, he's not even mayor of Atlanta. He's never had an office of public administrative responsibility unlike the governors in the race. So, it's not the kind of biography that normally qualifies you for the presidency.

GORANI: Well, could that be part of his appeal? The fact that you said he's charismatic, he says things, he has nice little sound bites that are amusing in some cases. He's never been elected, but at the same time, he does have that businessman past that could give him some credit as far as the economy's concerned?

FRUM: Well, look, but what the president does is the president runs the government of the United States. The presidency is an administrative job. And you know, we've been through a number of years where presidents have not been successful at administering things and we've paid the price. Look at the present president. He's a man of extraordinary abilities in a lot of ways. But he's not a very good negotiator, he never had to negotiate anything. And as a negotiator, he has been unsuccessful again and again to the cost both very much of his own party and sometimes to the whole country. There's skills you only get from holding a public office. And that's why almost always we require you to have held a public office before you become the president. GORANI: Right, you are coming at this from the conservative side just so we tell our viewers. Let me ask you about Mitt Romney. Now, the Tea Party might not be happy with the Mitt Romney nomination. Has the Tea Party in essence, if Mitt Romney ends up becoming the candidate, has the Tea Party failed politically speaking?

FRUM: It will be an amazing thing if after all of this commotion about the Tea Party, if, after all their fury against the president's health care plan, that the Republican party nominates the man who is the grandfather of the president's health care plan.

About three-fourths of Republicans do not want to nominate Mitt Romney. But in this year of the Tea Party, they have been unable to produce a credible alternative. We've gone from Donald Trump to Michele Bachmann to Rick Perry, each of whom has staggered and failed in their own way. Now we've got Herman Cain. I think the air is going to go out of that balloon too. And the party will be confronted with this, that really the only plausible alternative to Governor Romney is Governor Perry, and he increasingly convinces Republicans that he's not up to the job.

GORANI: Right. Is he done, though? His fall from the heights that he was occupying just a few weeks ago is breathtaking.

FRUM: Well, done is maybe premature. He has raised a lot of money. But I think what he's shown, in a lot of national television, is he's not good at handling stress. The presidency is a stressful job. He's not good at thinking on his feet. You have to do that if you're going to be president. And he's got kind of an unbecoming whining. It was -- just the other day his wife was on television complaining that people had been brutalizing Rick Perry for his faith. If Mitt Romney had gone to an event and been introduced by somebody who had attacked Rick Perry's faith, then Rick Perry would have a valid complaint. But the shoe's on the other foot. It was his introducer attacking Mitt Romney's faith. If anybody has been brutalized, it was Mitt Romney. Yet, Mitt Romney never complains about anything.

GORANI: Let's circle back to this debate, then. Jon Huntsman won't be present. What can this debate -- how will this debate advance the process in terms of who Republican voters might choose as their nominee against President Obama?

FRUM: Well, I think these debates are fantastic. I'm just so delighted to have so many of them. Because what democratizes something that happens otherwise in living rooms of very rich people, if you have hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars to give to the Republican party or the Democratic party, the candidates will come to your house and the Houses of your friends and you'll have a chance over and over again to see them close up and get a sense of them as people. And too often, in the past, it's been the case that the rank- and-file members of the party don't have any experience like that. This debate brings the people into the living room of everybody with a cable connection, everybody with a high-speed Internet connection in just the same way that used to happen only to the very rich. And the Republicans have a sense of who their leader may be.

GORANI: David Frum, thanks very much. Pleasure talking to you.

FRUM: Thank you.

GORANI: Defense attorneys in the Michael Jackson death trial go after expert testimony on Propofol. But did Dr. Conrad Murray's lawyers help him or not?

But first -- let's talk to you about money. Tough economic times are hitting homeowners in the wallet, of course. But depending on your situation, refinancing your mortgage could put more money in your pocket.

Here's the explanation with Christine Romans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you have a mortgage with an interest rate above 5, 5.5 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 6 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. Refinanced today at a low 4.2 percent, the mortgage payment is only $978 a month. That's $2,650 a year less than the same loan at 6 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 could reach a couple of thousand at 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.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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 half the time, you build equity faster, and you pay thousands less in interest. The downside, your monthly payments are higher than with a 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)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: An expert witness in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor testified that treating Jackson's insomnia with Propofol was, quote, "incomprehensible."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ALON STEINBERG, CARDIOLOGIST: Propofol is, again, a very strong anesthetic medication. And we use it to facilitate -- to make you comfortable during a diagnostic procedure. We don't use it for -- for rest or for sleep.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GORANI: Right. So it's not just a sleeping pill, obviously.

Let's bring in our legal experts, criminal defense attorney, Holly Hughes; law professor, Avery Friedman.

Hi, there.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, LAW PROFESSOR: Nice to be with you.

GORANI: Nice to be with you.

So has the defense, Holly, been able to discredit, do you think, any of the testimony we heard that could be damaging to Dr. Murray?

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY & FORMER PROSECUTOR: Well, I think what we're going to see, Hala, is the discrediting is going to come when they call their own experts. When you put an expert on the stand, as a lawyer, you know darn well they know more than you. That's why they're the expert witness. So I think what they did do that was very helpful was, Flanagan, the defense attorney, managed to push the expert into sort of losing it a little bit. You know, he got a little bit uppity at times and too gleeful about how terrible --

(CROSSTALK)

GORANI: What does that do to the case when that happens? HUGHES: Well, the jury starts to wonder, why do you have a dog in the fight? You're supposed to be the scientific expert. Let's just talk about it. And they might resist that. We saw in the Casey Anthony how they didn't like when Jeff Ashton, the lead prosecutor, and Jose Baez got into it and sort of went at it like it was personal. And that's kind of how it looked between Flanagan and Dr. Steinberg from time to time.

GORANI: What do you think, Avery?

FRIEDMAN: I don't see it that way at all. I think you've got two powerful witnesses, not only with Steinberg but also Comanjar (ph), who is a sleep expert.

GORANI: Right.

FRIEDMAN: And both of these guys connected the behavior of Conrad Murray to what happened here. And it's going to crescendo on Monday to Dr. Steve -- who was absolutely wonderful. Steve -- I forgot his last name.

HUGHES: Schaefer.

FRIEDMAN: Right, Steve Schaefer, who -- by the way, thank you for that -- will end it by saying it was the way Propofol was administered. That's it. Now, what we're going to see will be the defense experts, and we're going to see Paul White, who people consider the father of Propofol.

GORANI: So you're saying this is a battle of the experts now?

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: Absolutely.

(CROSSTALK)

HUGHES: Absolutely.

GORANI: Because you know people -- when you talk to people, the prevailing opinion now, at the very least, is, look, an anesthetic that is used for operations in hospitals --

FRIEDMAN: In hospitals, sure.

GORANI: -- why would you administer that for someone who is having trouble sleeping at night?

HUGHES: But bear in mind, Hala, we've only seen the prosecution's case so far. And if they're not hitting it out of the park in their case, in chief, they should have never brought the charges. So I think we need to take a step back and listen and hear what the defense experts say because, you know, for everyone that says black in a court of law, you're going to be able to find somebody who says white, OK?

FRIEDMAN: Well -- I explain -- honestly, Holly, I think that the prosecution has hit it out of the park. They started quickly. And give credit to Judge Michael Paster (ph), who has controlled this thing within two weeks. We've seen this entire case go on. This isn't the O.J. case. This is moving and it's hard-hitting. And the prosecution has done what it's supposed to do here.

GORANI: So if the prosecution has done what it's supposed to do.

Quickly, Avery, on the Michael Jackson case, what does the defense now need to do? I mean, does it need to go after these expert witnesses?

FRIEDMAN: Well, that's done.

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: All they have left, Hala, all they have left --

GORANI: With their own witnesses.

FRIEDMAN: -- is Dr. Paul White, who is a superstar, works with a number of experts that have already testified. That's what's going to bring it home.

GORANI: Let's talk about this so-called underwear bomber, this young man who said he wanted to try to blow up a plane with explosives in his underpants. He has confessed to all of the charges.

Let me ask you, Holly, about -- and he represented himself. Why do that, do you think, as far as he's concerned?

HUGHES: I've got to tell you, Hala, that's a fabulous question, because I'm actually a little puzzled. Typically, when we see terrorists, they've got a message. They want it out there. When you see folks who are egomaniacs enough to represent themselves in court -- we saw that with Warren Jeffs. He wanted to get up there and basically proselytize and get his message out there. So when this fellow went ahead and entered a plea and basically gave up a stage, I've got to tell you, I'm shocked. But the only thing I can figure is he's protecting somebody a lot higher up than him.

FRIEDMAN: that's true. That's right.

HUGHES: And he does not want it to come out on cross-examination. He doesn't want their name mentioned in court, when they start saying aren't you friends with so and so. He's protecting someone.

FRIEDMAN: That's what is going to happen. In fact, he is an ideologue. He has made statements about his ideology. But, indeed, Holly's exactly right. What's happened here is the government will never find out the people behind this. But on the other hand, I think what's very important here -- I'd like to mention it -- is that this is the 600th successful prosecution by the government. This debate between military tribunals and civilian courts --

GORANI: If in a civilian court.

FRIEDMAN: -- this is where it belongs. GORANI: But you know what, the revelations in a trial like this one could be who is behind Umar Farouk Abdelmutalleb, the actual underwear bomber, and the failings also of the intelligence community of not having caught him earlier, which is also an issue that's been discussed very much in the case of this young man.

FRIEDMAN: That's exactly right.

HUGHES: He's protecting somebody, Hala.

GORANI: Thank you very much, Holly Hughes, Avery Friedman.

FRIEDMAN: Sure.

HUGHES: Thanks.

GORANI: A boxing match tonight in Los Angeles features a former convicted murderer on the card. We're going to explain how he went from Sing Sing to the boxing ring, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Dewey Bozella spent 26 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. Tonight, he'll step into the boxing ring for the first time, and for the first, I should say, and only professional bout of his life. It was day that seemed impossible just a few years ago. Bozella, who became a champion boxer in prison, always maintained his innocence. But the legal system seemed stacked against him until 2009, when he was finally exonerated and set free.

Well, we've brought our legal analysts back for this one.

Holly Hughes and Avery Friedman, explain for our viewers these extraordinary legal issues.

Avery, I'm going to start with you. 26 years in prison.

FRIEDMAN: 26 years in prison, and you know what? Dewey never gave up. The wonderful thing about this story is that, ultimately, if you persevere and you're innocent, like Dewey, you prevail. And it took lawyers -- in fact, two young lawyers in New York that actually represented him, were able to dig up law enforcement officer who actually, when he retired, took the file to help prove him innocent. There was another suspect who agreed that he was responsible for the murder. That helped Dewey walk. But it was a battle that took 30 years.

GORANI: It makes you think, how many are in a similar situation who have not been able to prove their innocence?

HOLLY: Well --

(CROSSTALK)

GORANI: One is too many. HUGHES: Absolutely. But it highlights two really oppositional positions here. What we see is how the system can go so wrong, so badly. And the problem with the legal system, Hala, it's made up of people.

FRIEDMAN: Right.

HUGHES: And what we saw here is that the prosecutors intentionally hid evidence. They had a fingerprint that did not belong to Dewey. They had a confession from another man saying I am the one responsible. And they never gave that to his defense team. So what you have is you have, not just a flawed investigation, not a bad eyewitness, I.D., you have maliciousness.

FRIEDMAN: Yes, you've got cheaters.

HUGHES: You have --

(CROSSTALK)

GORANI: What happens to the prosecutor in this case?

(CROSSTALK)

HUGHES: It's long since past. You know, the statute of limitations has gone. Well, I will say, on the opposite end of the spectrum then, you've got a detective who, in his gut, said this doesn't pass the smell test. I will testify to what I know, but I'm holding on to this file, and when I leave, when I retire, I'm taking it with me to preserve it because somebody's going to come looking. And those were his exact words, somebody's going to come looking for this file.

GORANI: Dewey had somebody on his side that fought for him. But still, for a quarter of a century, in prison, for something he didn't do.

HUGHES: Absolutely.

FRIEDMAN: That's exactly right, Hala.

GORANI: Avery, Holly, thank you so much.

HUGHES: Thanks.

FRIEDMAN: Lots of fun.

GORANI: Dewey Bozella fights tonight in Los Angeles, by the way. We'll have much more on his remarkable story tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. eastern.

Up next, a chef who lost his stomach to cancer. Why the cliche "you are what you eat" has a new meaning. Dr. Gupta explains. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) GORANI: Each week Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to a person that achieved remarkable things despite having to overcome major, major challenges. In today's "Human Factor," Dr. Gupta tells us about a man who helps others learn that food can be medicine. Take a look.

(HUMAN FACTOR)

GORANI: The occupy movement. First, it was Wall Street. Now it's the world. Protests go global. Most were peaceful. But this one took a turn for the worst. And the occupiers were not the instigators. Your top stories are next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GORANI: Let's check your top stories before the top of the hour.

The Occupy Wall Street protests are spreading across the pond to Europe. In Portugal, the language was different but the message was the same. Marchers turned out in Lisbon to demonstrate against the so-called 1 percent that they accuse of hogging the world's wealth. Police and protesters clashed in London as well. England has seen its own recent unrest with several days of rioting in August unrelated to the occupy movement. The fighting in Rome was more serious. 70 people were injured in battles between police and some angry anarchists in the Italian capitol. A spokesman for the mayor condemned for the violence. Firefighters tamed a blaze at the Interior Ministry. Eyewitnesses say a protester threw a molotov cocktail at the building. Now police said the demonstrations turned ugly not when the occupy demonstrators but when anarchists moved in to take advantage of the event.

In Washington, the Reverend Al Sharpton led a protest that wasn't part of the occupy movement, but had similar goals. A union leader demanded, quote, "jobs with justice." He also criticized mean- spirited Republicans and weak-kneed Democrats. Sharpton had his own warning for lawmakers, saying, if you can't stand up for the unemployed, we're going to vote to make sure you join the unemployed.

The son of this man, U.S.-born militant cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, is dead. A security official says he was killed in a series of drone attacks in Yemen last night. Al-Awlaki himself, once a key member of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, was killed in a drone strike a little more than two weeks ago.

And American 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 U.S. troops will be armed but the Pentagon says they're only armed to defend themselves.

I'm Hala Gorani at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. We're going to have a lot more of your top stories throughout the evening tonight. I'll see you back here one hour from now.

"THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer begins right now on CNN.