Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
NATO Strike Kills 24 Soldiers in Pakistan; Iowa Conservatives in Secret Meeting; Supermarket Tricks to Make You Buy More; The "Legal Guys" on Conrad Murray, Gary Giordano and Sugarland; Teenager Opens Twitter Account with Mayor's Name; Shoppers Prepare for Cyber Monday; Actor Isaiah Washington Interviewed
Aired November 26, 2011 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We've got a lot straight ahead, including Pakistan, where there's a lot of activity there and growing outrage after the government says NATO helicopters opened fire on two military checkpoints. At least 24 soldiers were reportedly killed near the volatile border with Afghanistan.
Let's get an update now from Reza Sayah. He is live in Islamabad with more on this -- Reza.
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka, an angry reaction here in Pakistan to what Pakistani government officials are calling a NATO air strike on two Pakistani military check posts on Pakistani soil that has killed at least 24 Pakistani soldiers. This is an incident that has already sparked a number of anti- American, anti-NATO protests in Pakistan, some of those protests taking place in the city of Lahore. According to Pakistani government officials, this incident took place in Mohmand. This is one of the districts in Pakistan's volatile tribal region that sits right next to the Afghanistan border. There's a lot of militant activity along this border. Oftentimes, NATO troops conduct operations there. That's what was happening, according to NATO officials, in the early morning hours.
The agreement between the two countries is for NATO to stay on Afghan soil, but according to Pakistani officials, that didn't happen. These NATO air strikes hit targets, hit locations on Pakistani soil, and Pakistani government officials are angry, the prime minister issuing a blistering condemnation, saying he's going to protest this incident with NATO and U.S. officials.
Here's prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani earlier today in the city of Multan (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOUSUF RAZA GILANI, PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): This morning at 9:00 AM, there was an attack on Pakistan, an attack on Pakistan's sovereignty and an attack on Pakistan's security. Learning of this, I was going to attend meetings with my sons and brothers, but am now going to Islamabad to hold a special security session of the DCC. I'm calling on all the leaders of Pakistan to come and discuss the situation so that no one can even dare to attack Pakistan's sovereignty or Pakistan's security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAYAH: Tough words by the prime minister, who called an emergency meeting in Islamabad tonight with military and government leaders in an effort to formulate a response to this incident.
Also, we should note that the government has shut down the two NATO supply routes that go from Pakistan to Afghanistan. So at this point, Fredricka, you have about 40 percent of NATO supplies that usually go from Pakistan to Afghanistan sitting in this country. Not clear when those supplies are going to move again and not clear what other measures Pakistan is prepared to take in response to this incident.
WHITFIELD: All right, Reza Sayah, thanks so much for that update.
Meantime, back in this country now, three American students arrested during protests in Egypt are now headed home this weekend. They were accused of taking part in a violent protest in Tahrir Square. Egyptian officials say that the students threw Molotov cocktails from a rooftop during the demonstrations. The students deny the charges.
And NBA players and owners reached a tentative agreement early this morning to end the lockout. The plan is to start a shortened season on Christmas Day with a triple-header. We don't know which teams will play that day. The players still have to ratify the deal, but both sides say they've been under a lot of pressure to get this done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID STERN, NBA COMMISSIONER: The greater good required us to knock ourselves out and come to this tentative understanding. And so I think that there's still a lot of, shall we say, other issues to be finished because we have the broadest outline.
DEREK FISHER, NATIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS ASSN.: The most important key thing here is that, you know, our fans and the support from the people and the patience, you know, through a large part of this process. You know, that's what a lot of this credit goes to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: There will be 66 games, 16 games shy of a normal regular season.
Number five Syracuse won last night's NIT (ph) season tip-off without its assistant basketball coach. Bernie Fine is on administrative leave after two former ball boys say he molested them in the '70s and '90s. Police searched Fine's home yesterday but wouldn't say what they were looking for. The 65-year-old Fine denies the allegation. Meanwhile, the university has placed him on paid administrative leave.
A new chapter in the search for life on Mars is under way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- zero, and liftoff of the Atlas V with Curiosity, seeking clues to the planetary puzzle about life on Mars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, with that picture-perfect launch from Cape Canaveral, the rocket carrying NASA's Mars rover begins an eight-month trek to the planet. The rover, called Curiosity, will hunt for organic material in hopes it will yield clues about the presence of life on Mars. The mission will last one Martian year or 637 Earth days.
Social conservative leaders in Iowa are banding together to stop Mitt Romney's campaign for the presidency. We'll tell you why and who they are. A live report coming up next.
And ahead, "Face to Face with actor Isaiah Washington. Four years after his controversial departure from "Grey's Anatomy," he explains how that role shaped his life on and off screen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISAIAH WASHINGTON, ACTOR: Like you say, it's the pinnacle. I won. I'm winning, right? No, I'm not. I'm -- I'm -- I was almost that close to losing what I consider the most important thing to me, and that's my family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: In the race for the White House, it's just over a month before the Iowa caucuses, and now social conservative leaders in that state are banding together in a "Stop Mitt Romney" campaign. In fact, they held a secret meeting this week.
CNN political reporter Shannon Travis broke this story. He's with us now from Chicago. So Shannon, what happened, and who was at that meeting?
SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, what happened was that you had some of the biggest social conservative groups and representatives from those groups in Iowa coming together last Monday, Fred, in Des Moines to have this secret meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to see if they could kind of have a consensus around one potential Republican presidential candidate that they could all support. The goal is to avoid splintering the vote for the social conservative and -- their words, not mine -- stopping Mitt Romney in Iowa. A lot of them feel that he's not a true conservative. So that was the point of the meeting.
WHITFIELD: So who do they feel they could all support?
TRAVIS: Yes, excellent question. There seems to be a little bit of division in terms of who they could come around. They have narrowed down their options to four choices, Fred, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich. And they have actually crossed of Herman Cain and Ron Paul from their list of consideration. They have some concerns about whether or not Herman Cain really has his bona fides in terms of foreign policy expertise, and they have some concerns about Ron Paul's Libertarian leanings.
WHITFIELD: And so what does Mitt Romney's campaign say about all this, if anything yet?
TRAVIS: Yes. Yes, yes. Of course. I reached out to them, and Mitt Romney's campaign says, You know what? Governor Romney is going to be running a 50-state campaign. He's going to be reaching out to social conservatives and other voters, economic conservatives, to everyone for potential wins in Iowa and beyond.
And they seem to not really be taking this all that seriously. Of course, we know that he has a lot of support. He got a big endorsement from South Dakota senator John Thune the other day. And he's got a lot of money, Fred.
WHITFIELD: OK. And how important is that endorsement from Thune?
TRAVIS: Yes, that endorsement from Thune could be major. I mean, South Dakota is a neighboring state to Iowa. It could help Romney in the western region up there. And Thune himself considered running for the presidency himself, decided against it earlier this year. So this was a big get and it could help him.
WHITFIELD: OK, and where are the candidates, or some of them, this weekend? It's an important weekend, as we're just about a month away, a little over a month away --
TRAVIS: Yes --
WHITFIELD: -- from the Iowa caucuses.
TRAVIS: Yes, yes. Because -- that's right, because we're a month away, they are out there on the campaign trail, many of them, not all of them.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
TRAVIS: John Huntsman and Rick Santorum are pretty much all across New Hampshire this weekend. Michele Bachmann is in Iowa. And today Newt Gingrich is in Florida.
WHITFIELD: All right, Shannon Travis, thanks so much, from Chicago.
And join us every Sunday afternoon at 4:00 o'clock Eastern when we dedicate an entire hour to the presidential contenders in this 2012 election.
And just because "Black Friday" is now behind us doesn't mean that stores don't have more tricks to get you to buy. We'll tell you what they are and how not to fall for some of those tricks. That's next.
And in our legal segment, Conrad Murray finds out this week how much time he'll have to spend in prison for his conviction in the Michael Jackson involuntary murder trial. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories straight ahead, and we've got the latest on the case of a missing American woman in Aruba. The man being held in her disappearance will soon be freed. We'll tell you why.
Some "Black Friday" sales are still going on this weekend. The retail machine is now in full swing to lure you into spending lots of money. And in this week's "Smart Is the New Rich," a former marketing insider exposes the tricks some stores use to get you to buy. And you can also find out how not to fall for all that.
Here's our Christine Romans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN: It's hard to escape the grip the companies have on us, particularly if we don't even know it's happening, Martin. How do they get us? Give us some of the secrets.
MARTIN LINDSTROM, AUTHOR, "BRANDWASHED": Well, it happens everywhere. Just think about this. When you walk into a retail store like a supermarket, did you know that if we walk counter-clockwise throughout the store, we spend 7 percent more? And not only that, we actually (ph) are seeing now the supermarkets are putting in speed bumps into the floor so the tiles (INAUDIBLE) to vibrate slightly. It makes us slow down, and as we do that, we spend 6 percent more.
And not only that, we also know now that the type of music they're using in the retail store actually makes us spend more money. So actually, every signal (ph) we're exposed for every second actually has one single agenda, and that is to make us spend more.
ROMANS: Wow. It's like being in a Vegas casino where there are no windows and no clocks and the light is just perfect, except it's the supermarket and they're trying to make you reach into your pocket and spend more money. So next time we're shopping, what can we do differently not to fall for it?
LINDSTROM: I think one of the best advice is not to bring your kids with you. We know today that if you spend (ph) your kids with you, you could (ph) just spend 26 percent more. There's also another good advice, and it sounds stupid but it actually works very well. Use your music player or your iPhone and play some music, really hard (ph) music, you know, very high (ph) written (ph) because that makes you rush out of the supermarket very quickly.
And by the way, another advice, to always use very big dollar notes, you know, the $100 bills or the $50 notes, because they actually make you spend less because (INAUDIBLE) denomination effect. The idea is very simple. It is the less money you spend, well, typically (ph), it's directly correlated with the higher bills you had in your pocket.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: And it's another decision day for Michael Jackson's doctor. Conrad Murray finds out Tuesday whether he will have to serve time in prison. We'll check in with our "Legal Guys" for their predictions. And there they are, chomping at the bit, ready to go. We'll see them in a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, the family of a Florida A&M drum major who died last weekend may be preparing to sue the school. FAMU officials have indicated that Robert Champion's death was from hazing. The band had just finished playing at Orlando last weekend when the 26-year-old was found unconscious on a bus. No one has been charged, but Champion's family has hired an attorney. The school fired the band director this week, and he has since hired a lawyer to fight for his job.
Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, is about to find out whether he will have to spend any time in prison for his conviction in Jackson's death. His sentencing is scheduled for Tuesday.
Let's bring in our "Legal Guys," Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor in Cleveland -- good to see you.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY, LAW PROFESSOR: Hi, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor, joining us from Vegas, Las Vegas. Good to see you, as well.
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, LAW PROFESSOR: Hi, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, gentlemen, we're in the final stretch of this Conrad Murray case. Tuesday's sentencing. He could get probation or he could get a maximum of four years in prison. But we also know the situation with overcrowding in many California prisons, Avery. So what are the chances of his sentencing, in your view?
FRIEDMAN: Well, right in between what you just said. It's going to never be probation, Fredricka. It cannot happen. He's looking at the max. That's four years.
However, the General Assembly, the state legislature in California, changed that. They've come up with something called "realignment," which means four years equals two years, and discretion is given to the local sheriff. That means it goes to the Los Angeles sheriff's department. So frankly, the bottom line is you're probably sometime less than two years, maybe not even one year.
WHITFIELD: How do you see it, Richard?
HERMAN: Fred, I think that he's going to get house arrest, home confinement with a bracelet. That's what's going to happen to him. He's absolutely --
WHITFIELD: Why do you think that? HERMAN: -- eligible for that. Because the law in California is this. Once he gets sent to county prison, he's got a two-year sentence there. But since he has no prior criminal history, and the only crime that he's committed now is not, quote, a "violent" crime, even though it was manslaughter --
FRIEDMAN: That's right.
HERMAN: -- it's deemed not violent. He is entitled and should have house confinement.
WHITFIELD: Interesting.
HERMAN: So if he doesn't get house confinement, it's corrupt. So he needs to have house confinement. But moreover, the prosecution's going to ask for $100 million in lost profit against a -- a judgment against Conrad Murray to be paid to the children --
FRIEDMAN: That's right.
HERMAN: -- of Michael Jackson for the death of their father.
WHITFIELD: So Avery, you're in agreement with that, the $100 million, but you were in disagreement totally of everything else, house confinement, et cetera.
FRIEDMAN: Well, you know, all the prosecution has left here is the restitution issue. That's 100 million bucks. And they're going to make that a condition of substantial release, which is what Richard's talking about. I think he's doing -- he's got to do some jail time.
WHITFIELD: OK.
FRIEDMAN: I mean, they're going to argue the defense's bottom line, background, but I think really he's got to do some time.
WHITFIELD: So will this be the type of --
FRIEDMAN: He just has to do time.
WHITFIELD: -- sentencing where we will hear testimony one more time, Richard?
HERMAN: Yes, you may hear from -- members of the family may get up there and cry to the judge and talk about Michael's life and everything.
WHITFIELD: OK.
HERMAN: But the defense is going to say, Fred, Listen, this man lost his career. He lost his profession. He's hated. He's getting death threats. He's suffered, he's suffered immeasurably, Judge.
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
HERMAN: Just send him home, monitor him, and that's it. Enough is enough.
WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right, let's move on to the case in Aruba, Gary Giordano. He is the only suspect in the disappearance of Robin Gardner, a Maryland woman. And now, apparently, Aruban authorities are saying after four months -- he's been in prison, he's been questioned, they've been investigating -- he is likely to be returning back to the U.S. Under what conditions, Richard?
HERMAN: Home for the holidays, Fred. That's it. It's over.
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
HERMAN: He's done. They have nothing.
WHITFIELD: Case closed? It's over?
HERMAN: They can't put the case together. There's no body. They can't find -- no DNA, no nothing. So they're sending him home. But moreover, he is subject to extradition if they come up with something down the road, which you know they're not going to.
FRIEDMAN: That's right.
HERMAN: Worse off (ph), Fred, he took out of a life insurance policy, I think he's going to collect on it!
WHITFIELD: Will he be able to collect on that, Avery?
(CROSSTALK)
FRIEDMAN: You know what? You know what? That's not going to happen. That's not going to -- look, I think the insurance company --
HERMAN: Oh, really?
FRIEDMAN: -- knows exactly what went on. Yes. Yes. I don't think he's going to collect on it --
HERMAN: Well, they ought to come down there and --
(CROSSTALK)
FRIEDMAN: -- it goes to intent. Well, fine, what are they going to -- yes, is he going to testify about what he did and what happened? It's never going to happen. I think the insurance company's going to contest it. I think it's part of the evidence here.
The problem here, if you remember, is that Aruban authorities decided, You know what? Maybe we better take this seriously, and about two- and-a-half months after the disappearance, they brought in cadaver dogs. I mean, come on! It's just a ridiculous way of handling it.
HERMAN: Fred?
WHITFIELD: Wow.
FRIEDMAN: It's going to be definitely --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would not say it's over.
WHITFIELD: You're thinking reminiscent of --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Natalee Holloway's a very good example.
WHITFIELD: So apparently, Giordano was in jail four months. He cried, and next thing you know, he's now being released. However, Aruban authorities -- will they abandon ship on investigations? Will they continue to investigate? If they come across anything, extradition between it and U.S. fairly strong?
HERMAN: How do you know he cried, Fred, first of all?
WHITFIELD: Reportedly, he cried.
HERMAN: Second of all -- well --
WHITFIELD: Who wouldn't?
(CROSSTALK)
FRIEDMAN: Because she feels bad for him, that's why.
HERMAN: Fred, if they come with something --
(CROSSTALK)
HERMAN: -- the United States will honor -- I'm sorry. The United States will honor --
FRIEDMAN: If he comes back.
HERMAN: -- extradition if they come up with something.
FRIEDMAN: If he comes back.
WHITFIELD: OK. All right. Let's go on --
FRIEDMAN: If he comes back.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Let's move on to another case --
FRIEDMAN: If he comes back.
WHITFIELD: Yes, if, if, if, big old "if," huh? Oh, you think flight risk?
FRIEDMAN: That's right.
WHITFIELD: He's going to go somewhere else. That's what you're implying, aren't you.
FRIEDMAN: Sure, he is.
WHITFIELD: OK.
HERMAN: Oh, please.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, let's --
HERMAN: Right. He's going to collect that policy.
WHITFIELD: -- move on to another -- let's move on to another case taking place not that long ago, when everyone watched in horror the stage of Sugarland collapsed. Seven people were killed. Many people other -- others were injured. And now we have the case of 40 or so people, Avery, who are suing the music group Sugarland at this Indianapolis site.
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: They're not necessarily going after the organizers of the stage, those who put it up, but they're going after the music group. Why?
FRIEDMAN: It doesn't make any sense. They should be going after the promoters, the venue. I mean, the question really is, legally -- I mean, should Sugarland -- did they know or should they have known about the likelihood of the stage collapsing?
There's absolutely no foreseeability (ph). There's no liability. I think they were brought in as a necessary party. At least that was the thinking. But I think, ultimately, it's the owners of the venue and promoters that are on the line, not Sugarland.
WHITFIELD: Is that likely, Richard --
FRIEDMAN: There's no way (INAUDIBLE)
WHITFIELD: -- because they have the deeper bank account, presumably?
HERMAN: He's wrong. He's wrong, Fred. There was a provision in the contract that said Sugarland had the final call whether or not to put on the show or not due to weather. And Sugarland ignored all the weather reports and said, Yes, put the show on.
WHITFIELD: Oh!
HERMAN: Sixty-mile-an-hour gusts, crashed stage. I think Sugarland is liable. They're liable here. They're going to get hit hard.
WHITFIELD: So Sugarland should have been the one to say, Cancel the show, you know, this is not safe, we can't proceed any further, and they would be the ones held culpable here.
FRIEDMAN: Yes. How in the world -- HERMAN: They insisted on that.
FRIEDMAN: -- they're going to prove that is monumental. No way.
WHITFIELD: OK.
FRIEDMAN: There's no way.
HERMAN: You look at all the weather forecasts, that's how.
FRIEDMAN: We'll see. We'll see.
WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right.
(CROSSTALK)
FRIEDMAN: -- they're not experts on stage construction.
WHITFIELD: OK. Well, we know this is just the beginning --
FRIEDMAN: There's just no way (INAUDIBLE)
WHITFIELD: -- stages of that case. Something tells me we'll be talking about that one again. I know we're going to be talking about a couple of others coming up in about 20 minutes, Richard and Avery. We're going to talk about a teacher who the school, her school in California, has investigated for allegedly running a porn Web site from her school-issued laptop. We know you will have a lot to say about that.
Also, NATO supply lines in Pakistan are cut. It's Pakistan's response to a deadly military attack being blamed on NATO. Details of that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories now. Pakistan is condemning a helicopter attack on checkpoints near the volatile border with Afghanistan. Pakistan says at least 24 soldiers were killed. A NATO spokesman says it is highly likely its forces caused the deaths. Pakistan responded quickly. It shut down NATO supply routes into Afghanistan, and the prime minister called his military chiefs in for an emergency meeting.
And basketball fans will be getting a Christmas gift they really want, a season. The NBA players and owners reached a tentative deal early this morning. Their plan is to start training camps on December 9th and have a triple-header on Christmas Day. There will be 66 games, but that's only 16 games shy of a normal regular season. The players still have to ratify the agreement. President Obama commented on the deal, saying, It's good, and gave it a thumbs-up.
The Atlas V rocket carrying the Mars rover Curiosity is heading to the red planet at this hour. It began its eight-month journey this morning. The mission is to hunt for organic material that could yield clues about life on Mars. The mission will last one Martian year, or 687 Earth days.
Let's check in with our Bonnie Schneider. It was picture perfect for that launch in Florida. How's the rest of the holiday forecast looking?
(WEATHER BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A local mayor appears to have a Twitter account - "appears," operative word, that is, it's sending out rather inflammatory messages about him. So apparently it's really from a 17- year-old potential mayoral opponent. Can he do that legally? Our legal guys weigh in, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A teacher accused of running a porn website from a school- issued computer is on paid leave. Our legal guys are back, Avery Freeman and Richard Herman in Las Vegas.
OK, where do we begin on this one? Avery, this one is all over the charts. She's on paid leave, not solely because she used school property allegedly, but because she violated some ethical standards that all teachers are supposed to adhere to in this Lincoln district in California. Right?
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: That's why they suspended. What she did is absolutely legal. It's absolutely legal. It advances the public concern about affection for teachers and respect for teachers.
WHITFIELD: What?
FRIEDMAN: The problem --
WHITFIELD: You don't have to laugh --
FRIEDMAN: The problem is what she named the site. She named the site "Mysluttteachers.com." Not a smart thing. They took it off in about one day.
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Took it off.
FRIEDMAN: But at the end of the day, absolutely legal.
WHITFIELD: And then apparently there were some t-shirts with trying to gain more support from students?
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: The teachers were like "I heart teachers" and so all of this -- and you're saying that's OK, constitutional --
FRIEDMAN: Absolutely. Absolutely constitutional.
HERMAN: Apparently what happened, her boyfriend, a retired police officer, he's the one that got the domain name set up. And they did use a school laptop that was assigned to her. Apparently one of the sites went up for one day. It came down. Like that Motley Crue song, "Hot for Teacher," apparently the students in her class are supporting her. They don't want anything to happen to her bad.
FRIEDMAN: That's right.
HERMAN: And it happened outside school grounds. It was a private enterprise, had nothing to do with school. But her estranged husband is the one that notified the school about these activities, so no students found out --
FRIEDMAN: Is it legal?
HERMAN: Avery is absolutely right, it's legal --
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.
HERMAN: But it might be unethical.
FRIEDMAN: There we go.
WHITFIELD: You're in agreement. So she'll be able to keep her job, potentially?
HERMAN: No. No. It's bad judgment and unethical.
WHITFIELD: Fascinating.
HERMAN: She's going to lose her job.
FRIEDMAN: No, she won't. She'll get a slap on the wrist.
WHITFIELD: OK. Somebody else who wants to keep that you are job and somebody else who wants that job, we're talking about Sheboygan, Wisconsin. This is a mayor who says, you know what, unbeknownst to me a Twitter account has been set up, and the 17-year-old who wants to be a contender put up this site in the mayor's name. But then he's been writing things that are rather unsavory, uncomplimentary, and now he wants an injunction. Richard, is that likely to happen? Is there anything wrong with somebody else setting up a Twitter account in your name, presuming to be you, sending out tweets or other message? And it's OK or not?
HERMAN: Fred, the law is always ever-evolving. And there is no set standard on whether someone can form a Twitter account on someone else's name and then tweet.
WHITFIELD: My gosh.
HERMAN: So any sort of defamation, they have to prove that he put in intentionally false statements, which they're not going to be able to prove here. He was making fun of the mayor's drinking issues only. He's making fun, and it's parody. It will be extremely difficult to win defamation here.
WHITFIELD: Avery, so I guess he's not disputing the whole problem with alcohol, if the information is true, it's just embarrassing or not poach, then it's OK?
FRIEDMAN: Sure, it's parody, satire. Up on the site it says he wearing pink panties. Now, it's very simple for Mayor Ryan to show it's not true -- well, I wonder about that. But the bottom line is it's clear satire, clear parody, clearly protected under the First Amendment. And he's not going to get the injunction, Fredricka. It's not going to happen. It's protected speech, it's political speech.
WHITFIELD: OK. Last word on that.
HERMAN: People better protect their names with Twitter accounts and everything else, because someone like this situation would do one in your name and start posting. That's what the law is right now.
FRIEDMAN: It's satire, though. It's not malicious. I don't know.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: OK, fascinating stuff. Meantime, you two gentlemen do some amazing things in the spirit of the advancement of education for young people, Richard, with you and Howard University, and now Avery, you as well with Ursuline College in New Orleans and a scholarship that's been set up in your name.
FRIEDMAN: Wonderful.
WHITFIELD: Incredible. What does that feel like for you?
HERMAN: Wonderful.
FRIEDMAN: Very exciting. It's going to advance young people's education, advancing human rights. And my CNN family was a big help to that. Actually, Wolf Blitzer actually teased it for me, and now this exists. And it will last because it's endowed forever, helping young people advance human rights. Absolutely wonderful.
WHITFIELD: Congratulations. Let's take a listen to this.
HERMAN: Congratulations.
FRIEDMAN: Thanks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is something that will hang here at Ursuline College forever.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: That's very impressive, but I'm not surprised. You two do extraordinary thing all the time, so many more extraordinary things that people don't even know about. They see you on the air all the time, but you impact so many lives on a regular basis through what you do. That's fantastic. FRIEDMAN: How nice.
HERMAN: That's wonderful Avery. Congratulations. That's wonderful.
FRIEDMAN: Thank you so much.
WHITFIELD: We're very proud of you.
FRIEDMAN: Very lovely thing to happen.
HERMAN: You deserve it.
WHITFIELD: You have a great holiday weekend. Hopefully we'll see you next weekend.
FRIEDMAN: Absolutely.
HERMAN: Thanks. So long.
WHITFIELD: Cyber Monday is right around the corner. Maybe our guys will head out and get behind the computer and start doing their shopping. But is it really the best day to find the best deals online? Josh Levs will be along after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It's expected to be huge, with analysts expecting sales of more than $1 billion in just one 24-hour period. It's cyber Monday. But is it really the best day for you to find those deals online? Our Josh Levs is here to separate fact from fiction. Josh, is this hype or is this the real deal? It's kind of making people a little anxious.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It is making people anxious, and it's a lot of money flying around. It can be a good day to find discounts on some items if you're careful. I have new information for you folks that will reality check all this. It's from "Consumer Reports." They looked at whether prices are actually lower on cyber Monday.
One of the biggest things people look for is electronics. So "Consumer Reports" looked at what happened last year among electronics that they recommend, and what they found is a lot of online prices dropped after cyber Monday. So some were five percent or even more off -- excuse me, if you waited until December. So the idea is take a little time.
I've got a cool chart that will help lay it -- no, I don't. The screen is sticking here. The basic idea is what you want to know is you might find good deals if you're going lower end. And you will probably going to be able to find some lower end that might give you some good discounts that day.
And Fred, if what you're looking for is the high-end stuff that "Consumer Reports" would probably be in the business of checking out for you, you probably won't get a deal. Let me give you a few tips. First of all, experts say check out multiple sites. What you're seeing on the screen are some of the key sites. I'll show you some more in a minute. Also search for coupons, folks. If you find something you want, before you buy it what you want to do is Google for coupons for those individual items. And you might just find that you have exactly what you need.
A couple more here. One is that if you follow companies on social media, they will be announcing new deals during the day on their official pages on Facebook and Twitter. Let's say something you like, all of a sudden it pops up on Twitter. Boom, grab it then.
And you don't have to wait until cyber Monday. You can actually go on a lot of these sites today, Fred, and start finding what you need. Look at my page here. Everything you want to see is up on my page, CNN.com/Josh, also Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN.com. And Fred, what I have done is I've linked everything we're telling you about, also how to kind of navigate your way through the day, and some of the best ways to find deals and duds. We're giving you a guide.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness, so $10 billion to be spend that cyber Monday, 24 hour period. So about how many people are likely to be spending that money generating all that and hopefully avoiding all those scams too?
LEVS: We're expecting $1.2 billion, which is a ton of money. And they're saying 76 million people will be shopping online from their offices. And Fred, employers know this, but on Monday so many people are planning to shop from their desk, 76 million people expected to shop at their desks. That's a lot of employee hours as well.
WHITFIELD: I misspoke, not $10 billion. $1 billion is still a lot. Josh, thanks so much.
LEVS: You got it, Fred, thanks a lot.
WHITFIELD: All right. And he has stretched himself as an actor over the year, playing a love interest, a gay Republican, and a surgeon. Now -- we're not talking at all one. Now Isaiah Washington face-to- face telling me how his role on the hit television show "Grey's Anatomy" may have been the most life-altering in his career.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It's been a long time since Isaiah Washington played Dr. Preston Burke on the hit television show "Grey's Anatomy." In the four years since his controversial departure from the show, he has opened a school in Sierra Leone and starred in TV's "Law & Order." He also wrote "A Man from Another Land." In his book he writes "It didn't take long to realize the impact his character Dr. Burke had on himself, viewers, and his family. Isaiah Washington tells me face to face how he and his career were riding high.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Before you get knocked of the horse and you were at the pinnacle of your acting career success, and you were able to say, you know, these have been some of my favorite bodies of work, what were they, before "Grey's Anatomy".
ISAIAH WASHINGTON, ACTOR: It was projects I chose, like "Love Jones," always about 10 years before its time, "Get on the Bus," always 10 years before its time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Democrats want to keep us docile.
WASHINGTON: I did it intentionally, because I wanted people to think. Ironically this character ace name was George Washington, you know. So that was my favorite film. Any of my Spike Lee films were there. But "Dancing with September" I think was the one where I got to play at the height of my intellect, so to speak.
WHITFIELD: So when "Grey's Anatomy" came calling, no one could predict the kind of success that it was.
WASHINGTON: Oh, I did.
WHITFIELD: You did?
WASHINGTON: They changed the name to "Complications" for like eight days. I was the only one, including all my fearless leaders, saying it would be "Grey's Anatomy" because this is going to be one of the greatest ensembles in the history of television.
WHITFIELD: So you are loving this show, you are loving Dr. Burke. You had become him, he had become you. What was the most gratifying thing about this role?
WASHINGTON: Actually understanding the mysticism and glory of the human heart, and actually participating in several open heart surgeries. I didn't want to participate in one with a child because I had children. I just couldn't bear it.
WHITFIELD: So what came with this role is greater than here's an acting opportunity, a regular gig every day, the popularity grows, my salary grows. But there became a personal responsibility that you embraced as being this Dr. Burke of "Grey's Anatomy." Explain that to me.
WASHINGTON: I started believing that I could change the world with this guy. I never really knew the power that Isaiah Washington had. I didn't know, because basically working 18 hours a day, six days a week, I didn't know the power until after the crisis. I thought, wow, I didn't know anybody cared about anything I said or thought because we were so busy doing what we were doing.
WHITFIELD: You loved the work, but it took a toll.
WASHINGTON: It took its toll.
WHITFIELD: You had to be completely invested in this role working how many hours a day? WASHINGTON: It was 18 at least. In the beginning of the season, six days a week. I would come home at 6:00 Saturday morning and sleep through the weekend. It took its toll. But I had all the money in the world --
WHITFIELD: It was $5 million a year.
WASHINGTON: It was great. But the moment I was off the show, I went to pick up my son, who was born in 2002, and he pretty much didn't see me his whole young life because 2004 the show took off. He was running around the school, and I thought he was running around playing. I got out of the car, he was crying. And he had seen me pull up, and I got out to see what he was doing. He was crying, running around telling the children, see, I do have a father, he really is my father, I do have a real daddy. I told you I have a daddy.
WHITFIELD: My gosh, how much that had to hurt when you are thinking I've done all the right things to get my career, be able to provide for my family the way I want, but then come to find out there is some deprivation that my child is expressing right here.
WASHINGTON: That one -- that one rocked me to the core. Like you say, at the pinnacle, I won. I'm winning, right? No, I'm not. I'm -- I was almost that close to losing what I considered to be the most important thing to me, and that's my family.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Coming up at 3:00 eastern today, Isaiah Washington reveals face-to-face details about his controversial departure from "Grey's Anatomy."
Outrage and accusations after NATO choppers reportedly open fire in Pakistan, killing 24 soldiers. NATO's reaction is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories.
A spokesman for NATO's Afghanistan mission says it's highly likely its helicopters attacked two military checkpoints within Pakistan. It happened in the Mohmand Agency near the border between the two countries. Pakistan says 24 soldiers were killed.
The incident sparked protests and condemnation from Pakistan's government. Pakistan also cut NATO's supply lines leading into Afghanistan in response to the attacks.
And basketball fans in this country will be getting a Christmas gift they really want, that's a season. The NBA players and owners reached a tentative deal early this morning. The plan is to start training camps on December 9th and have a tripleheader on Christmas Day. It will be 66 games, but that's only 16 games shy of a regular normal season.
Coming up in the 2:00 Eastern hour, a huge push today for customers to shop at small businesses. We'll tell you why it's so important.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield. I'll see you at 2:00.
"YOUR MONEY" starts right now.
