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Kidnapper on the Loose; Escort in Secret Service Case Speaks Out; Live Feed: Panetta Addresses Troops in Georgia; Beastie Boys' MCA Dies at 47
Aired May 04, 2012 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, top of the hour now. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Brooke Baldwin.
Anyway minute now, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will address troops at Fort Benning, Florida. This isn't any speech, though. We're told Panetta will essentially tell service men and women to be on their best behavior, this after high-profile incidents in Afghanistan, from racy pictures of war to the burning of Korans. We will keep an eye on that, and we will get that live report from the Pentagon to you as well.
But, first, a warning now to women. There's a frightening suspected kidnapper on the loose prowling for women. He tried to snatch two in Atlanta, and police believe he will strike again. This is what he is believed to look like in a sketch the victims helped the police create.
This man is suspected of dragging one woman at gunpoint right off her front porch and then throwing her in the trunk of his car. She escaped by clawing her way through the liner, struggling with the latch, and then jumping out of the trunk as the car was speeding away.
The would-be kidnapper struck again just about 20 minutes later, grabbing and punching a woman who was walking to her car. She escaped, and is now actually on the phone with us now, but she still fears for her safety and her life, and so she does not want her name or her picture shown.
First of all, how are you feeling?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm feeling fine right now. Thank you.
WHITFIELD: OK.
So you were walking to your car. Was this in the middle of a neighborhood, in the parking lot? And then what happened?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was in the neighborhood by my friend's house. It's a pretty safe neighborhood, in my opinion, and right before I got to my car, a car pulled up next to mine and stopped and a man got out.
WHITFIELD: And then what? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I started running because I immediately knew something was wrong because this wasn't a busy street. I saw he had a gun, and then he dragged me by the hair, and tried to and got me into the trunk.
WHITFIELD: And what did he say? Were there any words at this moment?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He just kept telling me to get in the trunk, and I kept yelling, and once I kept yelling, he kept telling me to shut up.
WHITFIELD: So he grabbed your hair. He is holding you at gunpoint. How did you get away?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I continued to yell and just kick and fight, and then eventually a neighbor heard me, and they came outside, and yelled, what was going on, and at that point the man stopped and I ran to the neighbor.
WHITFIELD: And then he just got in the car and then took off?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
WHITFIELD: OK. You say that miraculously after hearing those details that you are feeling pretty good, so you weren't scratched, bruised, nothing like that, but I imagine very much emotionally shaken?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Emotionally shaken, and I do have like a black eye, split lip, and he did try to choke me at one point. But it's all minor.
WHITFIELD: So while you are at a friend's house, perhaps you don't have any worries that he, you know, would return or think that you might be returning to that location. That is the place that you live. Do you have any concerns about your safety at this point?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I'm hoping that he will know not to return to that area, considering the neighbors immediately came out -- like came not too long after, and now that there were cops all over the area, hopefully, he learned his lesson.
WHITFIELD: Now, you and another alleged victim assisted police in order for them to come up with to that sketch. What do you remember about him, about seeing him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He had a mask on when he tried to attack me, so I didn't see anything, but the neighbors who ran out saw him, so they were the main ones who...
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: So you weren't going to recognize him if you were to see -- encounter him again? You wouldn't recognize him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. That's the scary part.
WHITFIELD: So I understand, at least according to the police report, the only real description I guess you had for him is that you would recognize his hair.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once again, that would be the other victim. I never -- I -- once I saw him with a mask, I immediately ran. And...
WHITFIELD: So the mask covered his entire head, covered his hair as well?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. It was a ski mask. So I couldn't see anything.
WHITFIELD: I see. OK.
So now what -- from this point on, how are you able to help in the investigation or what do you do now from this point forward after being victimized in this way?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have been trying to help identify the model of the car and also just general details, such as height, what he was wearing and such.
WHITFIELD: All right.
Well, thanks so much for your courage for coming forward and describing what happened to you. And all the best.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right.
Coming up next: She's the escort at the center of the scandal involving the U.S. Secret Service, and today she's revealing all, and we're talking booze, flirting, sex, and what happened inside that infamous hotel in Colombia.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, she wanted $800, but it ended up costing the U.S. Secret Service much more than that.
Dania Suarez is the escort at the center of the agency's scandal in Colombia. She's breaking her silence about the wild night that turned into a wicked hangover for the men in black.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIA SUAREZ, CARTAGENA ESCORT (through translator): And I told him to wake up and to give me my gift that I asked him for, and he says no. Just go (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I'm not going to pay you. And then he -- he just put out, what, 50,000 pesos for the taxi, and I was like -- I was in shock in that moment when he just said that.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: That spat snowballed into a scandal that could take the agency years to mop up.
I want to bring in CNN Espanol's Fernando Del Rincon, who was listening to these sordid details.
She seemed very at ease in describing exactly what happened. But where does this investigation go from here or how does her life -- how has her life now changed?
FERNANDO DEL RINCON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Fred. Thank you for having me.
I actually think that she's going to try to take advantage -- I'm going to explain to you later why -- because of this whole situation.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
DEL RINCON: But, first of all, I want to explain to you what happened that night and what she's saying about that night.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Yes.
DEL RINCON: Because, actually, she said it was a regular night. She was out just having fun with some friends, and then suddenly one friend of hers introduced her to the eight agents.
And they were drinking a lot of vodka. They were having a lot of fun. He was a lousy dancer. That's what she said.
(LAUGHTER)
DEL RINCON: And at some point, they were talking about having a gift. She asked him for a gift, that she wanted a gift.
And at the end of a day...
WHITFIELD: What does that mean?
DEL RINCON: Well, that's what I want to explain to you.
WHITFIELD: Oh.
DEL RINCON: At the end of the day, that gift was around $800. She was asking for some money.
So, I think the agent was aware that it was a deal in exchange of sex, but let's listen what she said about it.
WHITFIELD: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUAREZ (through translator): And I said, yes, I can go out with you, but I want a little gift. I mean, I directly -- I didn't say how much. We danced. We had drinks. And then when -- at the time he wanted to leave, I told him well, dear, you know, you have to give me $800.
That's the gift that I want, so I can go with you, and he said, OK, baby, let's go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(CROSSTALK)
DEL RINCON: She actually said that if she knew that the -- he was a secret agent, well, she will refuse to go with him.
WHITFIELD: Oh, really?
DEL RINCON: Yes. She find out -- said she found out the next day that he was a Secret Service agent.
WHITFIELD: So she was with another friend, but then, you know, in the end, we understand that there are at least a dozen involved. Was this part of a group of ladies who are working together?
I mean, did she explain any of that in this interview?
DEL RINCON: Yes, yes.
Actually, she said that there were around 20 between the agents and her friends, and everything started because of one of her friends wanted to hook up, hook up with one of the agents.
They have some sort of thing going on, not necessarily business. So she decided to go with all of them to the party, to the hotel, and everything started over there. So, she was actually working. She was asking for the money, as we can tell, but everything started just because of that.
So she explained about that night going with them, but her friend was the excuse to start all of this.
WHITFIELD: And so now she's pretty unapologetic about it, but now she's actually cashing in on this in another way, right?
DEL RINCON: Yes, absolutely.
She is asking, actually, right now for around $400,000 to pose nude in a magazine.
WHITFIELD: Wow.
DEL RINCON: I don't know if they're going to pay her.
WHITFIELD: Is the magazine -- is there a particular magazine that's offering that, or it's just kind of an arbitrary number she came up with?
DEL RINCON: Well, she didn't tell -- she didn't tell which magazine.
WHITFIELD: Oh. She doesn't want to blow the deal.
DEL RINCON: But she is actually having an offer or trying to get that amount of money. So...
WHITFIELD: Wow.
DEL RINCON: So she's going to get a big deal, instead of $800, a big deal amount of money...
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: That's quite the return, isn't it?
DEL RINCON: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: OK. Fernando, thanks so much. Good to see you. Appreciate it.
DEL RINCON: Thank you so much. Good to see you.
WHITFIELD: All right, cellulite, nobody wants that one. Well, 80 percent, by the way, of women have it. No fair. But the government just signed off on a new treatment that could change everything. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins me live on the side effects and whether it actually works, so don't be too excited just yet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, this is kind of bad news; 80 percent of women have it; 100 percent of women hate it. And I'm talking about cellulite.
The first FDA-approved long-term treatment is actually on the market.
More now from CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. JAY KULKIN, WOMEN'S INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH, ATLANTA: These are actually areas of fat that are protruding through the skin.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cellulite, more than 80 percent of women develop it and spend millions of dollars on over the counter creams as a temporary fix.
SHEKIA RICHARD, 33-YEAR OLD CELLULASE PATIENT: I have been working out my entire life. Very athletic, have been forever, used to be in the military. I still have issues.
(LAUGHTER)
GUPTA: So Shekia Richard chose to get cellulase, a new FDA- approved procedure that targets cellulite from under the skin.
KULKIN: There are fibers in the fat that are actually pulling the skin down. And what we're going to do is going to release those fibers.
GUPTA: According to a small study of 10 women, with funding by the company, with one treatment, cellulite is gone. And results last a year or more.
The patient uses a local anesthetic, and is awake the entire time.
KULKIN: You feel a little needle there.
GUPTA: Once numb, a laser is inserted under the skin.
KULKIN: Right this moment, I'm melting the fat that is causing the bulges up in her skin. Cellulite has bulges and dimples, that cottage cheese appearance everyone complains about. What I'm first doing is melting the bulges.
All right, so we've done all of our green circled areas. Now we're going to go after those things that are pulling down the skin.
GUPTA: Here what is cellulase looks like from the inside. First, the laser goes in, melts the fat cells that cause bulges. Next it cut and vaporizes the fibers under the skin which cause the dimples. The laser heats the skin which allows new collagen to form.
KULKIN: This is nothing somebody that happened overnight a. Dynamic process and we get people who want the quick fix and we can't deliver that.
GUPTA: It can take three months after the procedure to see the full results. But too soon to say how long these results will last.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.
OK. Sanjay Gupta joining us now.
So much buzz on this new procedure. It is expensive, and there are some potential side effects with everything, right?
GUPTA: Yes.
I mean, like with anything, you got to weigh the risks and benefits and, with cosmetic procedures, I think even more so. About $2,500 to do a single area on both legs.
WHITFIELD: How large is that area?
GUPTA: I don't know. It's a single area...
(CROSSTALK) GUPTA: ... like I think the back of the leg.
WHITFIELD: OK.
GUPTA: Start adding other areas, and you can see how the cost goes up.
WHITFIELD: So it adds up.
GUPTA: The biggest -- biggest potential side effect or complication is a wound infection. You saw there you have to -- it's an invasive procedure, as you pointed out, tough to watch as well.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Yes.
GUPTA: But a wound infection, obviously, is no small problem. So those are things you have to weigh along with the costs.
WHITFIELD: And then do you need any of that fat? I mean, is there any potential danger from removing, you know, so much fat between your muscle and skin?
GUPTA: Well, there doesn't appear to be.
The idea of removing fat, that concept has been around for some time, and usually it's extra fat.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
GUPTA: I think the idea of cutting some of those collagen fibers that you saw down, one of the things that the doctors made mention of is they actually heat the skin to try and get the collagen to form again, so you don't lose the elasticity of your skin.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Wow.
And then she gets up and walks away because it was a local anesthetic, right?
GUPTA: Yes. She was wide-awake through that whole thing.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: She could have done the interview too.
GUPTA: You were fainting a little bit, but she was wide awake.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: I know. I was like, oh, I can't handle it. I'm weak.
(LAUGHTER)
GUPTA: Right. But, you know, it's funny because these people spend a lot of money on these creams and stuff like that. And I thought this was interesting. A lot of the creams basically just sort of plump up the skin.
WHITFIELD: Wow.
GUPTA: They increase the blood flow, so it sort of reduces the appearance of cellulite, but to get a more permanent fix, you see it there.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. Wow. So this is likely to be popular, expensive, but going to be popular.
GUPTA: It is expensive. And again -- we have year-long data so far, so we know it lasts a year. Obviously, if you are going to spend that kind of money, you want it to last forever, presumably. So we don't know that yet.
WHITFIELD: And why is that dudes don't have to worry about this?
(LAUGHTER)
GUPTA: Well, some of it has to do -- frankly, has to do with poor blood flow to the leg. That's part of what makes it worse. Pregnancy, for example, is a big risk factor because you're reducing blood flow or blood drainage from your legs at that time.
That can make it worse, and just inactivity also associated with when you are pregnant. But, you know, guys can get it, but certainly not in the same number as women.
WHITFIELD: No fair.
GUPTA: Sorry, Fred.
WHITFIELD: That's all I got to say.
GUPTA: You are going to still have me back on the show still, won't you?
WHITFIELD: I will still have you, still a friend.
GUPTA: OK. All right.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, good to see you. Thanks so much.
GUPTA: Thank you. You, too.
WHITFIELD: Have a good weekend, too.
GUPTA: You, too. WHITFIELD: And, of course, you don't want to miss your appointment with Sanjay Gupta this weekend. He will be here. The doctor is always on call, right?
GUPTA: Yes.
WHITFIELD: "SANJAY GUPTA M.D." airing Saturday, 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, and on Sunday 7:30 in the morning.
All right, more than 100,000 jobs were created last month. Pretty good news on that, right? Well, economists say, not so fast.
Plus, more on our developing news. A Beastie Boy has died, and we're about to hear from one of his bandmates next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: He will always be remembered as the man who fought for your right to party.
Adam Yauch, better known as MCA of the Beastie Boys, is dead at the age of 47. Yauch and his two partners, Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz, brought rap to the suburbs and then went on to become international superstars.
In 2009, Yauch was diagnosed with cancer, forcing the Beastie Boys to cancel shows and push back an album. Well, last month, they were inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. But MCA couldn't be there. Before Yauch's death, Mike D said his friend wanted to be at that ceremony so badly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: How is Adam doing?
MICHAEL DIAMOND, BEASTIE BOYS: He is doing -- you know, he is -- unfortunately, he couldn't be in Cleveland because he has been undergoing treatment. And it was just too hard for him to be there. But he definitely wishes he was there, but he wrote a great speech, so, yes.
QUESTION: Did you call him up from sitting at the table or anything like that?
DIAMOND: Yes. We -- we -- there was e-mailing and calls going on. So that was sweet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: MCA had the gift of rhyme, a prankster's spirit and place in rap history. He will be missed.
Oil prices plunge on disappointing jobs numbers. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta tells troops misbehavior is hurting their image, and the latest in the soap opera trial of John Edwards.
Time to play "Reporter Roulette."
(FINANCIAL UPDATE)
WHITFIELD: All right, next on "Reporter Roulette": Defense Secretary Leon Panetta reminding U.S. troops to be on their best behavior.
CNN's Barbara Starr is on that story from the Pentagon.
What is he expected to say?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, right now, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is speaking at Fort Benning, Georgia, to a group of Army soldiers about to deploy, but really speaking to the entire military force.
There's been a number of these high-profile incidents of misbehaving, videos showing urinating on dead insurgents, videos showing troops posing with dead bodies, a number of incidents, including Koran burnings, that have caused problems, Panetta saying he knows that the vast number of troops perform very admirably, but that these incidents have to stop, telling them, in part, that these incidents "show a lack of judgment, a lack of professionalism, and a lack of leadership on the part of some of our men and women in uniform."
So the secretary basically saying, cut it out, shape up when you're on duty -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: So, Barbara, is he making his rounds, going to other bases as well?
STARR: Well, he is starting at least at Fort Benning with his major message, but I have to tell you the commandant of the Marine Corps is going around to several Marine Corps bases, and he is very scathing in his criticism.
He has issued a letter to the entire Marine Corps command structure pretty much saying the same thing, that this kind of behavior cannot continue. And, of course, 12 U.S. troops remain under investigation for their potential misconduct while President Obama was in Colombia -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Barbara Starr from the Pentagon. Appreciate it.
All right, next on "Reporter Roulette," CNN's Joe Johns at the John Edwards trial in Greensboro, North Carolina -- Joe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: We're at the end of the second week of the Edwards trial here in Greensboro, North Carolina.
A top adviser, Peter Scher, recounting how he asked Edwards in a 2006 meeting in New York whether he was having an affair with Rielle Hunter and warning Edwards, if he was having an affair, he should not run for president. Scher said Edwards claimed he was not.
Weeks after finding out that Rielle Hunter was traveling with Edwards, despite warnings, Scher recounted an angry conversation on the phone with Edwards. Scher said Edwards told him to back off, that he did not need a baby-sitter. And Scher Edwards told him to go blank himself.
Meanwhile, Bryan Huffman, an interior designer and friend of wealthy Edwards benefactor Bunny Mellon, wrapped up testimony. When asked what the 101-year-old Ms. Mellon thinks about the case today, he said she doesn't condemn affairs, but thinks you should pay for your girlfriend yourself. Huffman also said she had no idea what the money was being used for. "We knew nothing about a baby or a girlfriend" -- Fred, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Joe Johns. That's today's "Reporter Roulette."
All right, a bizarre twist in the abuse case involving Deion Sanders and his wife -- police say they want to file a more serious charge against the football legend, and it involves what he apparently did with evidence.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: Time now for the "Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Greg Olsen is a certified financial planner and partner at Lenox Advisors; Lynnette Khalfani-Cox is the founder of the financial advice blog askthemoneycoach.com.
Guys, thank you for coming in.
Lynette, question to you from Rick in Ohio. He wrote in that his parents are retired and ready to withdraw from their IRA accounts. He wants to know should they withdraw from their Roth or their regular IRA first?
LYNNETTE KHALFANI-COX, FOUNDER, ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: Maybe their traditional IRA first, but it really sort of depends.
Here's why. You know, obviously the differences between the traditional Roth and the traditional IRA and the Roth IRA is sort of you get to take the money out tax-free on the back end with your Roth, but you have to have it in there for at least five years, so I don't know exactly when the parents put the money into the traditional versus the Roth, but if they did only have it in for a couple of year, they want to make sure that they meet that criteria to be able to take it out tax-free on the back end.
All of the taxes on those. Thank you.
Greg, your question comes from Tom in California. Tom is 41 years old, has several mutual funds and index funds and his retirement portfolio. He wanted to know what are the risks in redirecting all the funds into dividend funds. He is basically wanting to get some returns there.
GREG OLSEN, CFP, LENOX ADVISERS: Sounds like he has a diversified portfolio already, so I understand that the allure of doing that, because dividends are all the rage right now. With bonds paying only 2 percent, 3 percent, going into a stock fund that's paying 2 percent, 3 percent. However, the risk is that you take a diversified portfolio and make it undiversified.
Should he want to put 50 percent into dividend funds, that's OK, but make sure the other 50 percent is completely diversified, so it balances out that overweight towards dividend.
HARLOW: So do it, but do it halfway, not all the way. All right. Thank you guys very much.
If you have a question you want answered, just send us an email any time to CNNHelpDesk@CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Drew Peterson is back in court. You remember Drew. He is the ex-cop in Illinois who's charged in the murder of one wife and police are searching for his fourth wife, who is missing. This case is famous enough. Actor Rob Lowe played Peterson in a made-for-TV movie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stacy Peterson, the young Illinois mother who vanished last October.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Results of the autopsy came back with the cause of death being accidental drowning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her husband, Drew Peterson, is now considered a suspect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He needs to be arrested.
"DREW PETERSON": Any time you're under a microscope, people only want to see the negative. They knew the facts about me. They would know that there's no way that I could be involved in any crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Joey Jackson is "On the Case." Joey, good to see you. So this case has been on hold since July of 2010, so what happened today?
JOEY JACKSON, LEGAL ANALYST: Well, what happened is two critically important things. Number one is what he had to do is go back to court and determine who the judge was going to be. Why? Because during the course of this and since there was a delay, the actual judge retired. Number two, they have to determine when the matter is going to go forward to trial, so there's some issues as to when it could likely go. The new date is May 17th. Not for trial, but for another status conference so that they can pick a trial date.
WHITFIELD: So if they were to pick a trial date, are we talking months from that point, or even years?
JACKSON: You know what, I don't think years. I think we'll see it happen relatively soon. Remember, the delays have been about these hearsay statements as to whether or not his ex-wives can testify from the grave.
And so it was important from a defense perspective to keep those statements out. Well, an appellate court has ruled that they come in, and now the defense has said we're not going to challenge the statements anymore. He has been in jail for three years, it's time to move forward, and as a result of that I think we'll see something this summer.
WHITFIELD: OK. So there's one ex-wife he is charged with killing, but then there's a fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, who vanished back in 2007. What's happening with that case?
JACKSON: Well, right now he seems to be a person of interest, right? That's what we call our suspects, people of interest, and I think what's happening is there's an ongoing and active investigation. It becomes less significant if he is convicted on this, of course, not that her life is not overwhelmingly significant. Everybody's is.
But the point is if he gets convicted, Fredricka, he is going to be in jail for life anyway, so that's justice in and of itself. So the case is ongoing. It's investigated. In the event that he is acquitted, in this case I think we'll see a very active investigation on the fourth wife, and a potential prosecution as well.
JACKSON: All right. Let's turn to another case which, can I just describe as, boy, this is getting messy, isn't it? Deion Sanders, that divorce battle. A couple of other words that we are hearing. Stormy, tumultuous. So it's a War of the Roses, add this now to the latest.
Police in a Dallas suburb are filing a new complaint against the former NFL star. Both Sanders and his wife, Pilar, face assault charges in their claims that each hit the other. So what is this latest charge now, Joey?
JACKSON: Well, what happens is apparently when he was attacked, there was some phone that her friend, his wife's friend had that was held up to his face. He took the phone, and he discarded the phone.
The phone was then damaged and technically, Fredricka, in the eyes of the law it's a crime. It's called criminal mischief. If you damage someone's property without permission and authority, you could be held accountable. It's a misdemeanor offense, and they're looking to prosecute him for that. WHITFIELD: You're kidding. OK. So, in the meantime, you know, I think it really got rather ugly earlier in the week. Sanders was on ABC's "Good Morning, America." Just take a listen to a small portion of that interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEION SANDERS, FORMER NFL PLAYER: Trust me, and I can put this on my mama. Never touched her. Never did anything derogatory to her in front of the kids and never will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK. So now what is being said is attorneys for Pilar said that he violated a gag order. He shouldn't have gone on the air like he did, and he shouldn't have tried to reveal all that he wanted on that case. So where does it go from here?
JACKSON: Exactly. What happens is there's a gag order in effect, and what does it mean? It means you zip it. Don't speak about the case or any issue about the case while it's ongoing. What does he face if the judge determines he violated the gag order? It's either a fine or a jail sentence. I think a jail sentence is somewhat punitive.
Of course, Fredricka, he is going to argue, look, I wasn't speaking about the case. I was addressing the latest charges. I shouldn't have been assaulted. It had nothing to do with the divorce case. It had to do with a separate incident entirely.
And so we'll see what the judge rules on that issue.
WHITFIELD: He wanted to clear the air, but now he may have gotten himself into some other trouble.
All right. Joey Jackson, thanks so much. Appreciate that.
We mentioned -- we mentioned a bit earlier that Leon Panetta was at Fort Benning talking. Let's listen in a little bit to the defense secretary.
(BEGIN LIVE FEED)
LEON PANETTA, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: -- that turned them -- these incidents in their favor at the very moment that they are losing the war. So I want all of you to always remember, always remember who you are, and the great country that you serve and that we are all part of. You are part of the best fighting force on the face of the earth. Never forget that.
(APPLAUSE)
This greatness lies in the quality of our people. We've got great aircraft. We've got great tanks. We've got great technology. But let me tell you something, it is the character and the standards that each of you bring to the battle that makes us strong. We can often be better than our word, but we can never be better than our actions. Our actions speak a lot for all of us. Never forget that, and never forget that you have responsibility to look after your fellow soldiers and to represent the American people that you are sworn to defend.
I know that all of you can meet this challenge. You are the best, and I have the greatest confidence in your ability to make all Americans proud by demonstrating the very finest character, integrity and judgment and willingness to fight. The bottom line is that all of us have to be willing to fight to make this country great.
There's a great story that I often tell. The rabbi and the priest, who decided that they would get to know each other and learn about each other's religion, so they went to events together.
One night they went to a boxing match, and just before the bell rang, one of the boxers made the sign of the cross.
The rabbi nudged the priest and said, "What does that mean?"
The priest said, "It doesn't mean a damn thing if he can't fight."
(APPLAUSE)
PANETTA: Now, ladies and gentlemen, we often pray that our country will be OK and that somehow we will be able to prevail. But I got to tell you, it doesn't mean a damn thing if we're not willing to fight for it.
(APPLAUSE)
PANETTA: The Hammer Brigade has always been willing to fight to keep America safe, to make sure our kids have that better life, but most importantly to always make sure that we have a government of, by and for people. God bless you. God bless this brigade. And God bless the United States of America. Thank you very much.
(APPLAUSE)
(END LIVE FEED)
WHITFIELD: All right. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta there at Fort Benning, Georgia, talking to the men and women there, asking them to uphold a standard while in uniform in representing this country anywhere they are around the world.
All right. A huge development in the battle over a blind activist who made a dramatic escape in China. Get this, is he actually coming to America. Possibly. For college. So what kind of message is the U.S. sending to political prisoners?
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WHITFIELD: The blind activist who gave his Chinese captors the slip may come to the U.S. after all. New York University is offering Chen Guangcheng a fellowship here in the States, and it looks like China might actually let him travel here with his family to take it. And it could allow both countries to save face and avoid a diplomatic catastrophe.
Our Stan Grant is in Beijing, so, Stan, within the last hour, CNN has received a statement from NYU. Tell us what it says.
STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, basically the offering, the opportunity here for a fellowship if Chen Guangcheng is actually able to make it to the United States. He has a long-term relationship with a leading professor there, going back many, many years. So obviously there is a connection immediately there.
The big problem is actually getting from here to the United States. This is the thing that Chen has always said he wants. He doesn't feel safe here anymore. He believes threats have been made to he (sic) and his family after he fled house arrest more than a week ago to hole up inside the U.S. Embassy.
Right now Chen is inside a hospital here in Beijing receiving treatment. He is surrounded by heavy presence of Chinese security. But China has opened the door just a little, Fredricka. What they're saying is that he can apply like any other Chinese citizen for a passport and then seek a visa to study abroad.
The United States is saying that they will then activate that as a priority. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has been here for top level trade talks over the past few days, she's calling this a breakthrough. She says that this is very encouraging.
But there is still some way to go. China is still playing hardball with the U.S., demanding an apology for harboring Chen and also saying that if the U.S. wants good relations with China, it needs to watch its actions in the future to ensure this type of thing doesn't happen again, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And, Stan, how is this being reported in China?
GRANT: Yes, great question. You know, once this story started to break, there was an information blackout. It was not reported in state media at all. You couldn't search it on the websites, either.
When I spoke to ordinary (ph) Chinese, many people said they had never heard of Chen Guangcheng, which is extraordinary when you think of the amazing story that's been swirling around him over the past week or so. It started to break down a little bit. There is more reporting of this now, particularly as it starts to reach conclusion.
What the Chinese government is trying to do is to pave the way amongst its own people to create its own spin. That spin is America and Chen Guangcheng is the bad guys who are trying to spin this as a victory for China.
WHITFIELD: All right. Fascinating stuff. Stan Grant, thanks so much from Beijing. OK, well, something else that has a lot of you talking today, "Vogue" magazine says no more model who are too skinny. I'm about to speak with a former model who says this news could change the industry.
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WHITFIELD: All right. "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer is coming up in a matter of minutes, Wolf joining me now with a preview. Hi, Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Hi, Fred, thanks very much. I had a good chance to speak with Alan Gross today, he's the American citizen who's been in a prison in Cuba now for almost 21/2 years. He's got a 15-year sentence or so for doing stuff that the Cuban government did not like. He's allowed to make one phone call a week from Cuba.
He called me today. We spoke on the phone at length. We're going to play the interview for our viewers. They can hear from him, many of them for the first time, about what's going on. So that interview with Alan Gross, the American. He had brought some cell phones into Cuba, he was trying to --
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WHITFIELD: Yes, I remember that.
BLITZER: -- help the Jewish community there and obviously got himself into deep trouble with the Cuban government. So we'll speak with the interview -- we'll play the interview with Alan Gross. That's coming up.
Plus all the day's other important news. We've got two hours of lots of news coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
WHITFIELD: Excellent, Wolf, we look forward to that, thanks so much.
All right. And this, a sad ending to a bear story that we brought you last week. Remember the bear made famous on the University of Colorado campus, that takes that fall, the video catching the tranquilized bear falling from the tree over the mattress below to cushion the landing.
Well, the bear then was relocated to a wilderness area about 50 miles from Boulder, and this should have ended happily, but it's not to be. Colorado officials says the bear was hit by a car, and then killed early yesterday.
All right. If you're too skinny or too young, forget about appearing on the pages of "Vogue," the magazine putting a new ban in place. My next guest, a former model, says it's a big, big move. We'll be talking to Sara Ziff. She'll be joining me live.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: So it turns out you can be too young or too thin for the pages of what many consider to be the Bible of the fashion industry.
Editors of "Vogue" magazine are pledging to stop using models who are under the age of 16 or who look like they have an eating disorder. They're going so far as to check models' IDs at the door to be sure that they are not too young.
Sara Ziff was discovered and started modeling at the tender age of 14. She's founder of the nonprofit Model Alliance, which works for better conditions for young women in modeling.
Sara, good to see you.
SARA ZIFF, MODEL AND ACTIVIST: Good to see you.
WHITFIELD: So, first off, what did you experience that prompted you to become an advocate for better treatment of fashion models?
ZIFF: Well, I started working when I was 14 years old as a model, so I have seen both the good and the bad sides of the industry, and I know first-hand what young models can go through. I think that "Vogue" is really taking a very positive step in not hiring models who are under 16.
WHITFIELD: So what do you mean, what models go through? Like give me an example of what you consider to be quite harsh for a young 14-year old breaking into the business, or other young teens?
ZIFF: Sure. Well, if you look at any other group or performer, whether it's actors or dancers, they have unions. And models don't have any kind of support like that.
So not only are they minors, but they're working in an adult industry without any kind of structural support, and so there are issues, ranging from lack of financial transparency, pressure to stay very skinny, obviously, that adolescent physique is tied to youth, and so I think that "Vogue" is really addressing the thin issue, that size 0 issue by saying we're not going to use models under 16.
WHITFIELD: What do you remember hearing about the whole weight issue, about what it would take to fit into the clothes, to make sure the clothes are being showcased, because your weight had to be, you know, at its lowest point or a certain size? What do you remember specifically?
ZIFF: Well, it's sort of a vicious cycle. Everyone likes to point fingers. People, the editors say the designers, by cutting their sample sizes on the runway to a size 0, then that means that the models who are being cast for those shows have to be a size 0.
And then the editors are hiring them for the magazine. So I think that "Vogue" is actually taking a stand and saying, you know, we need to change this. This has been going on for too long. WHITFIELD: And so perhaps that's the advantage for plucking very young models, you're 14 at the time, that maybe you don't have as many weight issues or don't have to worry about how hard it is to stay thin if you're younger.
Did you feel that kind of pressure to look as youthful as possible, but at the same time, kind of, you know, be a grown woman at just the tender age of 14?
ZIFF: Well, obviously when you're 14, 15, your body hasn't really developed yet, so you can naturally have that kind of gangly adolescent body.
And I think the problem with eating disorders really kicks in when kids feel that they have to maintain that body type. Obviously, it's just unnatural to try to, you know, have the body of a 14-year old as you're growing up.
OK. So now let's show this six-point plan that "Vogue" has come up with. Let's run through it quickly, and then I definitely want to hear your thoughts on this.
So number one, no models under the age of 16 or who appear to have a eating disorder. We went over that. And asking casting directors to be involved, to check models' IDs. Help structure mentoring programs where more mature models actually help guide younger girls.
Then, number four here, encourage healthy working conditions backstage, including healthy foods and respect for privacy, and encourage designer to consider consequences of unrealistically small sample sizes, which you talked about, of their clothing. And then to be ambassadors for the message of healthy body image. What do you think about those six points?
ZIFF: I think it's a great start. What a lot of people don't realize, though, is the models are the faces of this industry, and yet they don't really have a voice within it. And so that's what I'm really working to address through the Model Alliance.
I think that we deserve rights and protections like any other worker, and so we're trying to give models a voice and not just ban models who are too skinny or of a certain age.
We're saying, hey, we deserve maximum working hours, we deserve the right to a lunch break, we deserve to get paid for our work. A lot of people don't realize that many top designers don't actually pay models any money for their work.
So there are a lot of issues that kind of go beyond the body image stuff that we're working to address. But I think that "Vogue" is really making a good start.
WHITFIELD: All right. Sara Ziff, thanks so much for helping to paint a picture of what really can be a pretty vicious cycle. But perhaps now, some change on the horizon. Thanks so much, Sara, appreciate it.
ZIFF: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right. That's going to do it for me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Thanks so much. Much more straight ahead. Let's go to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: Fred, thanks very much.
