Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Satellite Plunging to Earth; Philly Basement Abuse Case; Cain Slammed on Abortion Stance; Death of a Dictator; Troops to Leave Iraq by December; New Campaign Against Bullying

Aired October 22, 2011 - 22:00   ET

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

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Retracing a suspected ringleader's steps, investigators dive into this woman's past. They think she ran the operation that kept mentally disabled people in prison in order to steal their social security checks. We're tracking down other people who may also have crossed her path.

Then Republicans who want to be president on the stump in Iowa. Now would you be surprised, their wagons circling around Herman Cain on the hot button issue of abortion.

And later, happy wives get the word their husbands are coming home from Iraq. We'll show you how one army base is handling the news they have waited so long to hear.

At this moment, somewhere overhead, an old broken satellite is plummeting to earth. No one's quite sure exactly where it will land. It's not the first time we faced a threat from space. Experts say it won't be the last. Earlier I spoke with Tariq Malik, managing editor at Space.com. He explained why we're likely to face this threat more often.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

TARIQ MALIK, MANAGING EDITOR, SPACE.COM: This isn't the last one that's going to be coming down in about a couple years in 2013. A U.S.-Japanese satellite is going to fall out of space. And we just saw a huge NASA satellite fall last month. These satellites are old. This one that's coming down tonight 21 years old. Similar ages for the other ones that are coming down now.

There's a lot of stuff, thousands of pieces of space, three hundreds of dead satellites over the years that are going to have to be dealt with one way or another.

FEYERICK: When it comes back into the atmosphere, how big are the pieces expected to be, and do any of them pose sort of a radioactive danger to people?

MALIK: No, there's no serious contamination threat from this satellite in particular. Basically, the big pieces, the big components of its mirrors, this was an x-ray satellite designed to look out at the universe and you know peer at x-ray emissions from stars and galaxies. That big mirror they think is going to survive on the way down. That's probably the biggest piece. And then more of its optic systems, these ceramic chunks hardened against extreme environments space. They think it will weather the fiery entry on the way down and possibly hit either an ocean or the ground.

If it does fall over ground, it will be a 50 mile long track that the debris could be spread across. And if it's over a populated region, it could light up like a fireball and be visible from the ground.

FEYERICK: If it were to hit the earth full impact, would it create some sort of a crater or meteor-like effect we sometimes see or is it simply not going to be that big and that powerful.

MALIK: Well, it's definitely not as powerful as the large meteor, but these big pieces, I mean, they're fairly heavy, something like 1600 kilograms would be the biggest piece. You wouldn't want that falling anywhere near you. It could damage a car, you know, something like that.

Now it could cause a pretty good visual spectacle if you're able to see it. Whether or not you're actually going to get hit by debris or your house get damage, that's pretty rare and remote for this.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

FEYERICK: And meteorologist Alexandra Steele is here with us now. More on this falling satellite.

But you just don't want it to come anywhere near you. Forget about your car. I'm worried about the family.

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right. I mean, I wouldn't say it's the watch out below scenario, right? But Tariq really made a lot of great points. So let's talk about this.

Here's the Rosat satellite. This is what it looks like. It's the shape of a minivan, the size of a minivan, to give you a little perspective. Weighs over two tons.

Now again it's called the Rosat. It was launched in 1990, but it was retired in 1999 and since 1999, it's been lowering in altitude. So now believe it or not, it's been circling as of last June only 205 miles above the ground. So that's pretty low.

All right. So now most of the satellite as Tariq said will burn up upon re-entry. About 30 pieces most likely will not. And he spoke of kind of the one biggest piece, the heaviest piece. It's the mirror of the telescope. And it's heat resistant. That's like the biggest caveat and certainly we will allow it to probably last and survive. 800 pounds but this is the key, right? Are you looking up? Where will this thing fall?

All right, let me give you a little perspective. He talked earlier tonight about where it's going to go. 53 degrees north to 53 degrees south. Now what in God's name does that mean?

Here's a map of the world. North America where we live, South America, of course, this is Africa. This is Asia. And this red is the track of Rosat. Its orbit track. This is where it is right now, Australia.

So earlier Tariq had said Europe is totally out of play. And Deb, remember when he said that, you said, and I'm sure people were like why. What does that mean?

Well, this is Europe. You can see why that's out of play because this is the track.

So risk of anyone being hit 1 in 2,000. Now we're talking about a population of 6.8 billion. So the risk of you at home one in 13.7 trillion. So the odds are certainly quite slim.

FEYERICK: All right, Alexandra, thank you so much. I'm still looking up at the sky when I know it's coming.

STEELE: All right.

FEYERICK: That's all I'm going to say, you know. I'm just hedging my bets. Thanks so much.

STEELE: Sure.

FEYERICK: Well, new developments in that disturbing case out of Philadelphia. Four mentally disabled adults were found imprisoned in a darkened basement, severely malnourished with just a bucket for a toilet.

Investigators are trying to determine whether the accused ringleader was holding the men and women in order to steal their social security checks.

Susan Candiotti spent the day in Philadelphia. She joins us with new details.

Susan, what have you learned about the people who were doing this?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): You know, they're trying to leave no stone unturned on this case, Deborah, because it seems to be expanding more and more.

So far, they're looking at five states -- Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and possibly others. They're looking at every single identification card that they found on the suspected ringleader Linda Weston.

She had again at least 50 of them to figure out whether these are people who are dead, who are alive that she and the other people who are charged in this case might have cared for. To find out whether they might have died under suspicious circumstances. And to check out each one of these people. And so they have a lot of territory to cover, and it could take them, they said, a very long time, to see whether there are potentially other victims out there. Remember, they think this is someone they suspect was preying on mentally and physically disabled people for their social security checks.

FEYERICK: You know, and Susan, we know that this woman, Linda Weston, was convicted of a similar crime, killing her sister's boyfriend by locking him in a closet and starving him.

Authorities, they are now caring for other people who were in the home including children. What do we know about clearly this investigation now, those five states? What do they think they're going to find? Do they think there could be even a dozen more victims?

Oh, they're very suspicious of that. They do think it is possible that they could find other people who are also linked to this woman. And it's taking them to a lot of different places.

For example, they're talking with police in Norfolk, Virginia, because there in 2009, they know of a woman whose name is Maxine Lee who was a roommate of the suspected ringleader Linda Weston. And she died according to the medical examiner, of both meningitis but also of starvation. And so today, we spoke with the family of Maxine Lee in Philadelphia. And they want the Norfolk police department to reopen that death case.

They suspect that Linda Weston, they said at the minimum may have played a role in the death of Maxine Lee. And so they are hopeful that the police will re-open that case. They're very upset about what happened here.

CANDIOTTI: All right. Well, truly remarkable and truly horrifying. Susan Candiotti for us tonight live in Philadelphia. Thank you so much.

Well, GOP presidential hopefuls Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann are slamming Herman Cain over his comments on abortion. Tonight he told social conservatives in Iowa abortion should be outlawed with no exceptions.

Earlier this week in a CNN interview, he said the issue was up to families to decide in cases of rape or incest.

Our Shannon Travis has been at the event in Des Moines.

Shannon, boy, he's sort of going back and forth on the comments he made earlier to our Piers Morgan.

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Absolutely. I mean, Herman Cain as you mentioned, he made those comments to Piers Morgan on Wednesday. He came here to this event to organize by the Iowa Faith and Freedom coalition. It's about 1,000 Christian conservatives here in Iowa and six of the Republican presidential candidates came here to court their vote.

But as we're talking about Herman Cain, he came here to essentially, Deb, try and drive a stake in this controversy. This controversy over whether or not he's -- he says clearly that he's personally pro-life, but whether or not he believes that the government should declare it illegal or what have you. He tried to drive a stake in it.

Take a listen at what he said tonight here at this forum.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will not sign any legislation that in any way allowed the government to be involved in it. I would strengthen all of our current laws that prevent abortion. I believe that abortion should be clearly stated an illegal across this country, and I would work to defund planned parenthood and I will make sure that I appoint judges that will enforce the constitution. No activist judges. And I would also make sure we didn't allow any bureaucrats to get in the way in order to protect the life of the unborn.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

TRAVIS: So, no ambiguity. That should clear it up, right, Deb? Well, not quite. Rick Perry came on stage, and he had some things to say about this very controversy.

He basically was still saying that Herman Cain is trying to have it both ways. That Herman Cain is personally pro-life, but is a little bit queasy in terms of the government overturning or courts overturning Roe Versus Wade.

And take a listen at something that Michele Bachmann said. We caught up with her after her speech. And I'm going to read this quote to you. She said "We're a pro-life party and the president of the United States says that he is personally against abortion, but he doesn't believe that the government shouldn't be involved," and that is the statement that Mr. Cain made, and that's very disturbing for a lot of people.

So Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry both weighing in on this controversy after Herman Cain thought that he drove a stake in this issue. Deb?

FEYERICK: All right, Shannon Travis, thanks so much. Always a little bit dangerous to be out front. Thanks so much.

Well, the date of the Nevada caucus is moving again. Facing threats the candidates would boycott, the state's Republican Party caved to pressure today, and switched it back to February 4th from January 14th.

The January date would have forced New Hampshire to hold its first in the nation primary a month earlier in December. Florida already threw the calendar into disarray by setting its primary for January 31st.

And looks like Louisiana Republican Governor Bobby Jindal is sticking around for a second term. He is the projected winner of the state's blanket primary today.

Our affiliate WWL and The Times-Picayune reporting he is the clear victor. Before today's vote, Jindal was polling at 57 percent. His nine opponents were tracking at that time a combined 15 percent.

And Australian police say teeth marks show it was like a great white shark that killed an American diver today. The 32-year-old Texas man was in waters off the coast of Western Australia. Officers say the man had been diving alone when his friends who were not in the water noticed a lot of air bubbles followed by a plume of blood. Then the man's body rose to the surface. The victim was living in Western Australia. His name was not immediately released.

We'll be right back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Many Libyans felt the revolution wouldn't be over until Moammar Gadhafi was dead. Now that he has been killed, they're turning out in droves to see the body of the tyrant who ruled their nation for 42 years.

CNN's Dan Rivers looks at the mystery over how Gadhafi died.

DAN RIVERS, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Deb, controversy is still swirling around the final minutes of Colonel Gadhafi's life. The NTC here is facing pressure for an independent autopsy as hundreds of people line up to see his body.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIVERS (voice-over): As Saturday outings go, this is surely one of the most bizarre and macabre. A long line to see the body of Moammar Gadhafi being stored in a meat market on the outskirts of Misrata.

Some have brought their children here. They look uneasy, perhaps because of what they're about to see. Some of the children are young enough to be scared by a thunderstorm. But old enough apparently to stare at the bloodied body of a tyrant. Masks are handed out as people record their visit for posterity. And then they're let in. A few at a time. What you're about to see is not for the squeamish.

Gadhafi's body is lying next to his son, Moatassem. We've decided not to the show you what appears to be a bullet hole in Moammar Gadhafi's temple. It seems he may have been shot through the head.

(on camera): The NTC said they would treat Gadhafi's body with dignity. But now, he and his son have been turned into a ghoulish freak show with people queuing for hours to see the former dictator of Libya.

Why have you come here today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To see the end of the tyrant, the end of a dark era that Libyan people has been lived for 42 years.

RIVERS (voice-over): Said Ali Sherif is 16 years old and has just seen the body. He says, "To tell you the truth, I've never seen Colonel Gadhafi in real life. So I just wanted to see how Misrata's rebels had captured him."

Doaa Mohammed says she wants to see Gadhafi to know him. She says everyone gets to see the end of every tyrant. After all the things he's done, she says, there is a God and there is a judgment day.

Tahir is 8 years old brandishing his own toy gun. He too looked into Gadhafi's eyes. He says, "I saw him. I saw his whole face full of blood. I didn't feel anything."

In Sirte, the remnants of Gadhafi's convoy are being cleared of bodies. 95 in this area, 10 of whom were executed according to the New York-based human rights watch which is concerned Gadhafi was also deliberately shot dead.

PETER BOUCKAERT, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Well, it's very unfortunate that on the first days, the very first day of Libya's freedom, this killing took place, and it wasn't just Moammar Gadhafi who was executed. We also found some bodies of wounded fighters.

RIVERS: We may never know how Gadhafi died, but his hometown is now a chilling monument to his last stand and the bleak savage reality of war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIVERS: This all on the eve of the declaration of Libya's liberation. As you can hear, they're already beginning to celebrate here, but the questions about how Colonel Gadhafi died just won't go away. Deb?

FEYERICK: Dan Rivers for us in Misrata.

Well, the new Libyan government is to officially declare the country liberated on Sunday. Defeating Moammar Gadhafi was tough, replacing him will also be a challenge.

While the nation celebrates, the National Transitional Council is planning for the future. The NTC hope to hold elections within eight months. Libyans will first elect an assembly to draft a new constitution and after that, national elections will be held to choose a president and a parliament.

Well, the Arab spring protests have now led to the down fall of dictators in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

Joining us now again, two people who have taken part in these protests. Sameh Abdelaziz took part in the demonstrations in Cairo's Tahrir Square. He is co-founder of the Atlanta Arab Committee and Ali Gebril is a Libyan expatriate who rushed to Tripoli after the city fell. And, Ali, you first. Seeing Colonel Gadhafi lying there, what goes through your mind as a Libyan?

ALI GEBRIL, LIBYAN EXPATRIATE: As a Libyan, first of all, we can see the closure here after all these years. The Libyan people waited for this moment. Dreamed some of them, some of them did not live to see this moment, where Gadhafi is not part of their life anymore.

The other thought is the heavy price the casualties, the injured and the dead, the martyrs, the lives that we lost. Thousands upon thousands have been lost just to reach this moment. These two thoughts come to my mind at the same time.

FEYERICK: Do you think it's important that an autopsy be done to see whether, in fact, he was executed after he was captured? Would a capture and keeping him alive and trying him, would that have been different? Does it matter to you? Does -- do people question whether the new people coming in will act in a way that is democratic if this is the way they get rid of Gadhafi?

GEBRIL: You have to remember that this came at the end of a very horrific and very terrible and very scary and costly war. So the psyche of the people, the psychological or the mind-set for them maybe is not as we expected, that they demand an autopsy, they demand this, they demand that.

We have to understand what they went through all these months. And actually all these years. So maybe in some -- in the minds of some Libyans, maybe this is not necessary. And, of course, some will demand that, some will keep asking the question how he was died and who killed him and all that.

FEYERICK: But in the end, it's about a transfer of power. It's about a democracy.

GEBRIL: It's a new beginning. It's a new beginning.

FEYERICK: A new beginning.

Let's talk about that, because, do you feel, we all saw those pictures of President Hosni Mubarak in the cage as he was being tried. What about the government now? Is it what you expected? Because the military is still in control.

Was that a real shifting of from a dictator to a democracy, or was that simply something else?

SAMEH ABDELAZIZ, ARAB SPRING PROTESTER IN EGYPT: Debra, this is a beautiful question, but before I start, I was not in Tahrir Square when it happened.

FEYERICK: OK.

ABDELAZIZ: I was actually demonstrating next to CNN.

(CROSSTALK) ABDELAZIZ: Exactly, so it is our Tahrir Square, however, I visited Egypt immediately after Hosni Mubarak left the government just to see him enjoy and talk to people over there. So this is --

FEYERICK: We appreciate that.

ABDELAZIZ: Just one comment.

FEYERICK: OK.

ABDELAZIZ: Regarding your question, I'll tell you that I came to your show immediately after or during the revolution, and definitely, I understood the difficulty of the transition. However, I believe it proved to be much more difficult than what I expected.

You're absolutely right. It shows multiple things. There is a joy. There is a hope that we didn't have before because we knew Hosni Mubarak, we knew the regime for 32 years. And there was no hope that it would reform.

Today, we don't have exactly what we asked for. However, we still have the young people that started all of this. They will still insist on something that's shared between all people around the globe. It's freedom. It's democracy. It's giving their kids better life.

FEYERICK: The difference I see between Egypt is at least there was a government that immediately stepped in.

Is that the case in Libya? Is there something that can immediately replace what is now lost? Or is there a possibility that whereas the military is in control in Egypt, that's not going to be the case? There's going to be a lot more chaos in Libya?

GEBRIL: I expect that thing will go smoothly because people have gradually gained their freedom, and Libya was liberated step by step, town by town. And the people became very familiar and very linked to the National Transition Council. So it became a representative in the minds of the people. So and people they understand, it's a transitional period and they have experienced eight months living with Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, for example, the head of the NTC.

FEYERICK: Right.

GEBRIL: And there isn't that such power vacuum as we expected. I think there is expectation that things will go smoother than some people think.

FEYERICK: OK. Well, I could actually sit here for the next hour or two and speak with you. But gentlemen, we are so grateful for you coming and sharing your insights in clearly such an interesting time for the Arab world. And it's going to be fascinating meet again in ten years to see where each country is, and what the young people, what they have done to change the future.

Gentlemen, thank you very, very much. We really appreciate your time. ABDELAZIZ: Thank you, Deborah.

FEYERICK: And when we come back, this Libyan journalist predicted his own death in the name of freedom. We have a tribute to one hero of the Libyan revolution.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: She's the little girl who captured the heart of the nation. Baby Lisa Irwin has been missing for more than two weeks.

Coming up, new details about cadaver dogs picking up the scent of a dead body in her parents' bedroom.

And beware, another satellite could crash into earth at any moment.

Those stories coming up, but first, the death of Moammar Gadhafi reminded us of our earlier coverage of the courageous Libyans who stepped forward to report the fight for freedom in their country.

Here now is our tribute to journalist Mohammed Nabbous, who paid the ultimate sacrifice after making several reports on the dangerous conditions, when he spoke to CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MOHAMMED NABBOUS, LIBYAN JOURNALIST: Check, can you hear me? We are right now being attacked from everywhere. A plane has crashed right now. Right now, I'm in the back of the truck. Everybody look out. We're on top of this bridge.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mohammed Nabbous is one of those many people who literally risk their lives and paid the ultimate price just simply to get the news out. The real news out about what was happening in his own country. He was one of those young, bright, inspiring minds everybody who met him grew to respect him.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Be in touch and be safe, OK?

NABBOUS: I'm not sure I would be there tomorrow because I'm not sure if I'm going to survive tonight. But there's going to be another group tomorrow with you, hopefully.

DAMON: Mohammed Nabbous was one of those many people who was our eyes and ears on the ground risking his life, as he did there, to speak to you over the phone.

And somehow he'd also managed to get those pictures out bypassing whatever systems the Gadhafi regime had been trying to put into place, bypassing those fire walls just to get the message out. He was one young man out of many who passionately believed in this cause and this battle for a free and democratic Libya.

PERDITA NABBOUS, WIDOW: I want to let all of you know that Mohammed has passed away for this cause. Please keep the channel going. Please keep videos, post videos. And just move every -- every authority you have to do something against this. There is still bombing. There is still shooting and more people are going to die. Don't let what most started go for nothing, people.

NABBOUS: When they knew that I was live on CNN and people saw it on CNN, they all came here running. They were like, Mohammed, what do you need? We would like to help.

PERDITA NABBOUS: He was amazing even before all of this. He was special. To me and to everyone that knew him. He just had this -- he loved -- I mean, he loved life and he was so full of it. And he had so many plans. He had so many ambitions. And I just -- I'm keeping every single memory I have of him and I'm going to just, you know, give everything to my child. As long as the baby is inside of me, I'm not scared. I'm doing this for you and the baby. And I want the baby to be proud of his dad.

DAMON: I'd like to share one of his favorite quotes. And that is, "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Checking some of our top stories. A dramatic turn in the case of baby Lisa Irwin reported missing 18 days ago in Missouri.

Court documents now show cadaver dogs picked up the scent of a body in the bedroom of Lisa's parents. The 11-month-old disappeared October 4th from her Kansas City home. Lisa's mother has admitted she was drunk the night the child disappeared, but Deborah Bradley insists she would not have harmed her daughter while under the influence.

And race car driver Dan Wheldon has been laid to rest in St. Petersburg, Florida. He died last Sunday in a fiery, fifteen car crash at a Las Vegas Indy 300. The two-time Indy 500 winner was remembered as a driver with the heart of a lion. NASCAR is giving teams at the Talladega Super Speedway a decal this weekend featuring an image of a knight and a word "Lion Heart" in his honor.

And Americans in Kenya are on alert. The U.S. Embassy is warning them of an imminent threat of terrorist attacks. That's after Kenya sent troops across the border in Somalia to find Islamic militants linked to al-Qaeda. Embassy officials say the threat is directed at prominent Kenyan sites and places where foreigners are known to congregate like malls and nightclubs.

And the heir to the Saudi throne has died. Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdel Aziz Al Saud died early Saturday in a New York hospital. King Abdullah's half-brother was thought to be in his 80s and was reportedly battling cancer. Prince Sultan served for decades as the Saudi Defense Minister and was described by President Obama as a valued friend of the United States.

Well, the worst flooding in nearly half a century in Thailand is not going away anytime soon. The Thai prime minister told residents during his weekly TV address that even more flood waters could soon pour through the nation's capital city. The government has set up more than 1700 shelters for victims affected by the flooding.

And a decommissioned satellite is plunging toward earth and no one is quite sure exactly where it will land. Scientists believe Europe, Africa and Australia, while they are safe from the debris, the rest of the planet is fair game. This is the second satellite to fall to earth. One crashed last month into the Pacific Ocean.

And President Obama has fulfilled a campaign promise. He's pulling all combat troops out of Iraq by the end of the year. Next, we head to Fort Bliss, Texas, where military families are welcoming an early holiday gift from the president.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BROOKE TRAPNELL, WIFE OF FT. BLISS SOLDIER: It's been too long. Definitely too long. I mean I can't say anything because a lot of his guys have been deployed four times over there and this is his first one, but I think it's time, definitely.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: The war in Iraq will officially end December 31st. That's when President Obama says all U.S. combat troops will be home from Iraq. The timing is important.

Polls show a steady decline in support for the war. Slightly more than half of Americans said they were in favor of the war in Iraq when it began back in 2003. That number has now slipped to just 33 percent. And a Pew Research Center poll found more than half, 57 percent, say the fight was not worth the cost and effort.

Regardless of how people feel about the war, Fort Bliss in Texas is among the military bases sharing the president's decision.

CNN's Martin Savidge is there.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are coming home. Those are probably about the best words that any military base can here and certainly here at Fort Bliss in Texas, well, it's no different.

Rumors have been circulating for a while but it wasn't until President Obama made the announcement yesterday that it was official, which means now that the 3500 or so members of the 1st armored division that have been serving in Iraq will now be headed home no later than December 31st. I was speaking with Denise Young. She got the news with other military spouses, Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENISE YOUNG, HUSBAND COMING HOME: Derby is yelling and screaming and clapping and crying and yes, it's very emotional. SAVIDGE (voice-over): Her husband John Samank (ph), it's his second deployment, and Denise says this good-bye was harder than the first.

YOUNG: It's always a worry. Anytime he's gone, whether it's at a training exercise, especially obviously when he's in Iraq because you don't know the situation they're going into.

SAVIDGE: For Brooke Trapnell, it's her first deployment, well, actually, for her husband, Tyrone. He's a logistics officer. She's thrilled he's coming back and thinks that it's time that everyone comes back from Iraq.

TRAPNELL: It's been too long. Definitely too long. I mean, I can't say anything because a lot of these guys have been deployed four times over there, and this is his first one, but I think it's time, definitely.

SAVIDGE: Morgan Herrera can't wait to see her husband Leonardo, neither can apparently their nearly 2-year-old, Elial (ph).

(on camera): When you heard the news, about now your husband's deployment apparently being a lot shorter than you thought it was going to be.

MORGAN HERRERA, HUSBAND COMING HOME: We were ecstatic. Very happy.

SAVIDGE: Thank you very much.

HERRERA: I mean, we're just happy, excited, ready for him to come home.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): By the way, Denise Young never really felt far from her husband. She took one of his old uniforms and made it into a purse. You could say he never left her side.

SAVIDGE: Where did you get the idea?

YOUNG: I had seen, you know, I just -- I'm a purse -- I love purses. And so I said let me cut this up and see what I can make.

SAVIDGE (on camera): While the families here prepare to celebrate, everyone also realizes that the Iraq war had a cost. And it was a high one. At least 52 soldiers from Fort Bliss died in Iraq. And then on top of that, there are another 5,000 soldiers from here that are serving currently in Afghanistan. For them and their families, their worries and that war are far from over.

Martin Savidge, CNN, Fort Bliss, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: And former President Jimmy Carter says ending the Iraq war is long overdue. CNN's spoke with him in this exclusive interview. (BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's long overdue. We never should have been in Iraq to start with. Once we were there, of course, we accomplish our goal, and now it's important I think for us to get out of Iraq. And then as soon as possible, out of Afghanistan, as well.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

FEYERICK: And more than 4400 American troops lost their lives in Iraq since the war began in 2003. Thousands of others have been injured.

Well, millions of girls are suffering in silence with a problem that haunts them in school, in their neighborhoods, even online. Adult women even struggle with this.

Up next, we're shining a light on a dark subject, a new film exposes girl on girl bullying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Two women who were bullied growing up are doing their part to put a stop to this horrible practice. They've created a group that's traveling across the country to help girls dealing with the same things they did.

Don Lemon has tonight's "What Matters."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATALY BEACHAM, FIFTH GRADER: She called me chubby, fat. She said that she had -- she was perfect and that she was better than me.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nataly Beacham's torment started early from a classmate. Nataly was just 7 years old.

BEACHAM: Saying ugly things that she's not really supposed to say.

LEMON: She was only in second grade.

BEACHAM: I didn't want to go school. I didn't want to see anybody. I didn't even want to see my parents.

LEMON: But Nataly survived. And in her effort to help girls bullied like her, she discovered the Kind Campaign, a non-profit, anti-bullying project behind a new documentary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just wanted to kill myself because everybody kept making fun of me.

LEMON: These bullying stories struck a nerve with the documentary's creators, Lauren Parsekian and Molly Thompson. Both victims of mean girls in grade school. LAUREN PARSEKIAN, PRESIDENT, CO-FOUNDER KIND CAMPAIGN: Actually, in seventh grade I was bullied pretty badly and the effect of that left me just so alone and really just questioning myself at the age of 12, 13 years old.

LEMON: So after meeting in college and graduating, the friends hit the road, driving cross-country to document the effects of girl- on-girl violence, the Kind Campaign was born.

MOLLY THOMPSON, VICE PRESIDENT, CO-FOUNDER KIND CAMPAIGN: You hear, you know, heart breaking stories from girls about their experiences and even women recalling experiences from when they were younger, or you know, currently dealing with things in the workplace.

LEMON: The influences are everywhere, says psychologist Susan May.

DR. SUSAN MAY, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: We know that kids are growing up feeling as though it's normal, as though it's acceptable. If you look at YouTube or Google fights and people are uploading things and kids at schools are saying, did you see that one? They misperceive being bullying or intimidating as somehow being strong and powerful.

LEMON: That's what Molly and Lauren hope to change. They're on their third tour so far. More than 300 schools and organizations.

PARSEKIAN: Your current experience in school is not your entire world. There's so much more ahead of you.

LEMON: And if anyone knows that, it's Nataly.

BEACHAM: When you can stand up for yourself and you have your own confidence in yourself, help others. So that little by little, you can help make a difference.

LEMON: One student, one mission, not only changing lives, but saving them.

Don Lemon, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Well, a big day for former presidential candidate John Edwards as his oldest daughter gets married. She tied the knot with her long time bow.

Coming up, pictures from the big day and their images are everywhere.

Four musicians with iconic painted faces have created one of the most enduring and successful rock bands. After the break, a look at the marketing genius behind the mega rock band, Kiss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Kiss is a lot more than an over-the-top rock band. It's also one of the most successful brands in modern marketing.

CNN's Poppy Harlow takes us on a backstage tour of the mystique behind the lucrative name.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, rock USA! You wanted the best. You got the best. The hottest band in the world!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now the fun begins.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kiss!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 38 years ago, we put together the band that we never saw on stage, but wanted to. And we did it by the seat of our pants. We were not marketing gurus. We didn't know what a brand meant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fundamentals of how Kiss is run are the fundamentals that make for a successful business.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN MONEY.COM: Look at these heels. Look at these heels. What man gets to put red lipstick on nightly? How many people can say that they have done Gene Simmons makeup?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say none.

HARLOW: Gene, is this all your hair? Where did that hair come from?

GENE SIMMONS, KISS: That's a good question.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I take my lunch in here.

Shout it shout it shout it out loud.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at this.

HARLOW: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shout it out loud.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no problem wearing a suit here and getting up on stage, and looking like your mom's worst nightmare. And I know your mom so cut it out. We literally invented the idea of licensing and merchandising.

Come on in. You'll see what I mean.

HARLOW: This is what we heard about. Oh, my goodness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have Kiss lotteries, scratch but you don't sniff. Kiss Mr. Potato heads. The Kiss boots. You know, you kind of go like that. One forward, then put all your weight forward.

HARLOW: Is that good? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's really good.

HARLOW: Am I rocking?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not so much but pretty good.

HARLOW: I've heard there's a Kiss coffin. Is that true?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is true. Would you like to call in it? Look at the quality. They also double as coolers.

HARLOW: What's your favorite piece of merchandise in this entire place?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My favorite piece of merchandise is me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have created four iconic images known round the world. Have we always been on top? No, but we've always stuck to what felt right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For 38 years, we've defied the odds. We've buried all the critics in our backyard. We are mythic gods who actually do walk the face of the planet. We are rock gods.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: And can't get enough of Gene Simmons and the boys? Much more on the Kiss phenomenon. It is coming up Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on "CNN Presents."

And the daughter of former senator and presidential candidate John Edwards married her college sweetheart today. The wedding of Kate Edwards and Trevor Upham took place at a church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Later the couple was joined by family and friends at the Edwards' family home for the reception. Cameras caught John Edwards as he left being escorted by a police officer.

And recent comments from Rush Limbaugh have sparked an uproar in the U.S. and even Africa. He criticized the president for sending troops to Uganda to help fight a terrorist organization. Now a woman who's a victim of that group has a message of her own for Limbaugh.

Plus, a warning tonight. Chunks of a German satellite could fall to earth any moment. Details where it all could land, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: A survivor of a brutal abduction by a violent African army is speaking out because of conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh. On his program, Limbaugh criticized President Obama for sending 100 troops to help bring down Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army. Limbaugh defended the LRA saying they are "Christians," and accused Obama of sending troops to wipe-out Christians in Uganda.

Evelyn Apoko says she knows what the LRA is capable off. And tonight she explained why she could not ignore Limbaugh's comments. Apoko lost part of her face in an explosion that struck while the Lord's Resistance Army enslaved her.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

EVELYN APOKO, FORMER SLAVE OF LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY: Actually it made me like upset a lot. I get very angry and I would like don't want to talk about it, but I embrace myself. I say I cannot keep quiet on what he had said because it's not right. So I decide to do something about it, to take action out of this. So to let the world know that sometimes what we hear without getting the background of it, sometimes is not true.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

FEYERICK: And hear my full interview with Evelyn Apoko and her response to the fact Limbaugh has not backed down from his statements, that's tomorrow night during the 6:00 p.m. Eastern hour here on CNN.

Minnesota Vikings corner back Chris Cook has been arrested for the second time this year. Cook was charged early Saturday with two counts of domestic assault. The Vikings say he will not play this weekend against the Green Bay Packers. In March, Cook was arrested for allegedly threatening a man with a gun. He was later cleared in that case.

A decommissioned German satellite has re-entered the earth's atmosphere. But it's not yet known if any debris has struck land. Scientists say Europe, Africa and Australia right now are safe, but they are not sure exactly where it did hit.

I'm Deb Feyerick in for Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. Thank you for spending part of your Saturday here with us. I will see you right back here tomorrow night, 6:00, 7:00, and 10:00 Eastern.

Have a great night.