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The Calling Singer Abducted; Flames Threaten Homes of Rich & Famous; One-On-One with Prince William; New Conspiracy Claims in Diana's Death; The Risks of America's Game

Aired August 19, 2013 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, a good Samaritan loses his life while trying to stop a street fight.

And --

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MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: There's the baby. The new royal heir in the United Kingdom.

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BALDWIN: In his first interview since becoming a dad, Prince William tells CNN the biggest surprise.

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PRINCE WILLIAM: I think more shock and dauntingness (ph) is the feeling I felt.

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BALDWIN: And here we go. Good to see you. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

First up today, shocking new claims about the lead singer of The Calling. Think long and hard. You remember these guys? They had this one big pop hit entitled "Wherever You Will Go" back in 2001.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): If I could, then I would, I'll go whether you -

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BALDWIN: Remember that? So here's the news today. The lead singer of this band, Alex Band, says he was abducted, beaten and dumped on the train tracks in Michigan at 3:00 in the morning on Sunday. Alan Duke is working this for us. He's the CNN wire entertainment editor.

And we knew, Alan, that he has filed this police report. What does this police report entail?

ALAN DUKE, CNN WIRE ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR (via telephone): It tells us that the police were called to a hospital in Lapeer, Michigan, Sunday morning at about 4:30. And when they got there they found Alex Band, and another one of his band members there, Alex telling them that he had been abducted, beaten and robbed, forced into a blue minivan, while walking down a street at about 3:00 in the morning in that Michigan town. And then dumped, as you said. And a band mate picked him up, took him to the hospital and they called police. And the police say they're investigating. They are looking for two men. They've not released anything about the description other than a blue minivan.

BALDWIN: And I know we haven't heard from these guys in years and years, but I checked Alex Band's Twitter page and his last tweet was from Friday. He tweeted this, "thankful to be back on stage doing what I love. First show back is The Calling tonight."

So, you know, this weekend, officially, here they are announcing this comeback, and then this happens, you know, less than 24 hours ago. Questions are already, you know, coming out, is this a coincidence or could it be more?

DUKE: Well, as an entertainment reporter, we always try to do our due diligence and check things out. And what we found was just as this news was hitting this morning, we also got an e-mail from the band's publicity firm saying that they're making a comeback stronger than ever after, quote, "fighting through trials and addictions." They're bringing back a new band with a fresh new look.

Yes, it's suspicious timing. I'm not saying this abduction didn't happen, but I can tell you that the comeback announcement normally would have gotten little attention. We wouldn't be talking about it right now on CNN but for coverage of the allegation that the lead singer was abducted over the weekend.

BALDWIN: Keep us posted, Alan Duke. We appreciate you calling in live from Los Angeles.

Also this today. Families, they're being told to get out as this stubborn and dangerous wildfire scorches the community of Sun Valley, Idaho. And when you look at this thing, look, this fire has grown to more than 100,000 acres. Much of that area, home to some very pricey property. Just to name a few, you have actor Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis both own homes there. Twelve hundred firefighters are working to gain ground on these flames, trying to save the thousands of homes still in the fire's path.

Academy Award winning actor Richard Dreyfuss is among those expressing gratitude for these fire crews. You see it here. This is his tweet. Quote, "the Beaver Creek Fire is ravaging my family's hometown, Ketchum, Idaho. Thank you, firefighters, and be safe. Houses aren't worth lives."

Dan Simon is in Hailey, Idaho, for us at this hour. And, Dan, last tally, 2,200 homes being evacuated. How is the process going? What are the evacuees telling you?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we were just actually at a local high school. This is the one Red Cross shelter that has been opened. Obviously, you know, people are very worried about their home. The wind is picking up a little bit today. That's not good news.

I should tell you, Brooke, we're at the base camp. This is where those 1,200 firefighters meet every morning and they go up into the mountains to try to battle this thing. We've got a ton of resources, though. You have helicopters, you have the big DC-10 jumbo jet that's dumping retardant on these flames, trying to, you know, get this thing under control. As for the evacuation shelter, I want you to listen now to one of the people we talked to just a short time ago. Take a look at this.

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ORLANDA CABRITA, EVACUEE: It's pretty scary. I think pre-evacuation wasn't bad. But once evacuation came through, it's kind of reality.

SIMON: What's the most difficult thing about this, would you say?

CABRITA: Having to leave everything. And not knowing.

SIMON: Were you able to grab anything, take anything with you?

CABRITA: We got clothes. Pretty much just bare essentials.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: I will tell you something, Brooke. You know, for all of the resources out here, everyone battling this blaze, you know what, they really haven't lost any homes. You've had some outbuildings that have burned. But in terms of homes, they're looking really good right now. So the question always becomes, what's going to happen with the wind. As I said, it's picking up a little bit. That's not good news. But hopefully as the day progresses, the weather turns in the firefighters' favor.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: You know, Dan, as you talk resources and a different time of year, this is - this is ski country. Tell me about the snow guns being flipped on to help protect some of the areas.

SIMON: Yes, good question. You know, you have the Sun Valley Ski Resort, well known, and when you don't have a lot of snow, you bring out the snow guns. Well, now they're being put to a different use, very good use. They turned those guns on. They're basically dumping water on that area, on the hillside, on the mountainside, trying to keep everything really, really moist so if you have some embers that come that way, hopefully it won't ignite that resort community.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: Incredible. You don't hear about that very often, snow guns to help fight these fires.

Dan Simon for us in Idaho. Dan, thank you. On the day that would have been his girlfriend's 30th birthday, the man known as "the blade runner" wiping away tears in a South African courtroom. He's charged with her premeditated murder. Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius claims he mistook Reeva Steenkamp for an intruder when he fatally shot her. That was back on Valentine's Day of this year. The court set March 3rd as the trial date for Pistorius. The trial could take up to a year.

And he may be the future king of England, but right now, he's just dad. For the first time since the birth of his son George, who could forget this moment, Prince William is opening up about parenthood and, of course, he also talked about the moment when he walked out of the hospital with his wife and son to the insanity, the media frenzy, including our beloved royal correspondent, Max Foster, who was there, who covered it all.

I remember it broke on this show. It was so exciting. And congratulations. I mean here you have this sit-down interview with Prince William, his first official interview since a baby has been born. And in watching your interview, I love that he's like, you know, I'm ready to go back to work because I'm really tired. This baby is not letting me sleep.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: I know. It's something that so many fathers would want to say but didn't have the guts to say it. And, I mean, that was one of the little moments and it really gave away that he's doing things and Kate's doing things together on their own without all the support of the palace network.

So I think that's one of the things that was interesting about the interview. He came across as a regular, ordinary guy, Brooke. But, of course, he isn't, but we get an insight in that context for the first time.

BALDWIN: Let's watch.

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PRINCE WILLIAM: I think more shock and dauntingness was the feeling I felt. But it was -- the thing is, it's some - I think I was on such a high anyway, and so was Catherine, about George that really we were happy to show him off to whoever wanted to see him. As any new parent knows, you're only too happy to show off your - your new child and, you know, proclaim that he's the best looking or the best everything.

FOSTER: There's the baby. The new royal heir in the United Kingdom.

Were you comfortable there?

PRINCE WILLIAM: Yes, I felt, again, it was - it's - it's not somewhere I enjoy being, but I know that in the position I'm in that's what's required of me to do. And I think it's -- you know, it's one of those things and I'm - you know, it's nice that people want to see George. So, you know, I'm just glad he wasn't screaming his head off the whole way through. FOSTER: That moment when you came out with the car seat, I mean we had some warning that you might be doing that. Fathers around the planet will be cursing you for doing it so easily.

PRINCE WILLIAM: Believe me, it wasn't my first time. And I know there's been speculation about it. I had to practice. I really did. I was terrified that I was going to do some - you know, it was going to fall off or, you know, it wasn't going to close properly.

FOSTER: Yes.

PRINCE WILLIAM: So I had actually practiced with that seat (INAUDIBLE) before.

FOSTER: And your decision to drive off. I remember that moment as well. That was the most nerve-racking thing for me, having my family in the car. But that was something that you were clearly determined to do?

PRINCE WILLIAM: Well, I can be. I'm as independent as I want to be, and same as Catherine and Harry. We've all grown up, you know, differently to other generations. And I very much feel, if I can do it myself, I want to do it myself. And there are times when you can't do it yourself and the system takes over or it's appropriate to do things differently. But I think driving your son and your wife away from hospital (INAUDIBLE), it was really important to me and I - I don't like fuss, so it's much easier to do it yourself.

FOSTER: And you didn't stall.

PRINCE WILLIAM: I didn't stall. Well, it was an automatic, so it's all right.

FOSTER: The interpretation of the imagery we saw there, which went around the world, was that this was a modern monarchy and a new wave monarchy. But was it that? Are we reading too much into it? Is it just you doing it your way, you and your wife doing it your own way?

PRINCE WILLIAM: I think so. And I'm just doing it the way I know and, you know, if it's the right way, then brilliant. If it's the wrong way, then, well, I'll try and do it better. But, no, I just - I'm quite - I'm reasonably head strong about what I believe in and what I go for and I've got fantastic people around me who give me great support and advice.

FOSTER (voice-over): The prince says baby George is already quite a character.

PRINCE WILLIAM: Well, yes, he's a little bit of a rascal, we'll put it that way. So he either reminds me of my brother or me when I was younger. I'm not sure. But he's doing very well at the moment. He does like to keep having his nappy changed. And --

FOSTER (on camera): You did the first nappy, of course?

PRINCE WILLIAM: I did the first nappy, yes, exactly. FOSTER: The badge of honor.

PRINCE WILLIAM: It was a badge of honor, actually. I wasn't allowed to get away with that. I had every midwife staring at me going, you do it, you do it. He's a little - he's growing quite quickly, actually, but he's a little fighter. He kind of wiggles around quite a lot and he doesn't want to get to sleep (ph) that much, which is a little bit of a problem, but he's --

FOSTER: So you're up a lot at night. You're pretty tired.

PRINCE WILLIAM: A little bit, yes. Not as much as Catherine, but, you know, she's - she's doing a fantastic job.

FOSTER: How is she, OK?

PRINCE WILLIAM: Yes, she's very well. For me, Catherine and our little George are my priorities, and Lupo. And so -

FOSTER: I was going to ask you about Lupo.

PRINCE WILLIAM: Yes.

FOSTER: How's Lupo coping?

PRINCE WILLIAM: He's coping all right, actually. I mean as a lot of people know, who've got dogs and bringing a newborn back, they take a little bit of time to adapt. But, no, he's been all right so far. He's been slobbering sort of around the house a bit. So he's a - he's perfectly happy.

FOSTER: And how are you about going back to work?

PRINCE WILLIAM: Well, as a few fathers might know, I'm actually quite looking forward to going back to work.

FOSTER: Get some sleep.

PRINCE WILLIAM: Get some sleep, exactly, yes. So I'm just hoping the first few shifts I go back I don't have any night jobs.

FOSTER (voice-over): One of Prince William's great passions is savoring endangering species in Africa. He wants his son to experience the same Africa that he saw as a boy and as a young man, to spark in his son a passion for preserving the rarest wild animals, much as his father did with him.

FOSTER (on camera): You talked about your father possibly whispering quiet (ph) in your ear as -

PRINCE WILLIAM: Yes, sweet nothings.

FOSTER: As a young boy. Are you going to do the same for Prince George? Because it's such - it's a cause that you care so deeply about. Would you like him to pick up on it? PRINCE WILLIAM: Probably. At this rate I'd probably whisper sweet nothings in his ear and I'll have toy elephants and rhinos around the room. We'll cover it in sort of, you know, lots of bushes and that (ph) and make him grow up as if he's in the bush.

FOSTER (voice-over): He says the possibility of his son carrying on the royal family's legacy in Africa isn't his immediate concern.

PRINCE WILLIAM: At the moment, the only legacy I want to pass on to him is to sleep more and maybe not change his nappy quite so many times.

FOSTER: Like any new mother or father, parenthood has surprised and amazed Prince William.

PRINCE WILLIAM: I think the last few weeks for me have been just a very different, emotional experience. Something I never thought I would feel myself. And I find, again, it's only been a short period, but a lot of things affect me differently now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: He was emotional, actually, Brooke, and he didn't quite know why, whether he had changed within himself or whether he was just tired. But he was on good form, wasn't he?

BALDWIN: He was. And I love the transparency about the car seat. I love the question you ask him about the modern monarchy. And finally, I will say, I had to hit the Googles after I watched your interview because nappy, we say diaper. There you go. Learned something new from you today, Max Foster. Thank you so much.

FOSTER: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And I want to just remind everyone, Max's interview, this is all part of the bigger picture, a documentary, "Prince William's Passion: New Father, New Hope, "which will premiere on CNN September 15th. Max Foster with that.

Coming up next, another conspiracy suggestion in the death of Princess Diana. This time, the claim says she was murdered by British special forces. Find out how possible that is. The original investigation left something out.

Plus, 900 people have died in Egypt's crisis. Nine hundred people. You will hear the words from one man who says Egypt no longer matters. Wait until you hear why. Stay right here.

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BALDWIN: Scotland Yard is keeping tight-lipped about a stunning new allegation that goes right to the mystery surrounding the 1997 deaths of Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed. The newly revealed conspiracy claim alleges British special forces were responsible for their deaths. The allegation emerged amid the collapse of a soldier's marriage after the parents-in-law of a British special forces sniper first sent the claim to military authorities and then on to London police.

But British police seem to be knocking this down. Today, a spokesman for Lord Stevens, the investigator who led the British police inquiry into Princess Diana's death, commented on the allegations. This is what he said. Quote, "Lord Stevens presided over a thorough and far- reaching investigation at the time. If anything new has come to light, it should be passed to its rightful place at the met, who will no doubt look at the matter appropriately." The pair died nearly 16 years ago when the Mercedes-Benz they were traveling in crashed in that tunnel in Paris. CNN's Erin McLaughlin joins me from London.

And, Erin, how possible really is it that this original report could have miss something?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, it is possible. Scotland Yard is saying that this is the first time since the conclusions of that exhaustive inquest into the death of Princess Diana, that they are actually assessing new information, which as the British press and social media buzzing with speculation.

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MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): New questions launched by a shocking new allegation claiming British special forces were behind the deaths of Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed. It's the latest conspiracy theory about Diana's death, coming almost 16 years after that horrific, middle of night car crash, a high speed paparazzi chase through a tunnel in Paris with a deadly end.

Scotland Yard put out a statement saying it is, quote, "scoping" new information, "assessing its relevance and credibility." According to the British newspaper "The Sunday People," the claim surfaced in a seven page letter written by the estranged in-law of an unidentified special forces sniper. In a handwritten letter, they allege their former son-in-law boasted that the British SAS was behind the deaths.

MARK SAUNDERS, ROYAL ANALYST: People don't want to believe that somebody as loved as Princess Diana can just die in a road accident. It just isn't enough. They want more.

MCLAUGHLIN: Scotland Yard has made it clear, for the moment the new claims will not reopen the exhaustive investigation, which concluded that Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed were killed by the gross negligence of their driver and that the paparazzi chasing them that night.

Buckingham Palace is not commenting, but those who know the royal family have been quick to dismiss the claim.

DICKIE ARBITER, FORMER ROYAL FAMILY PRESS SECRETARY: There's not a lot they can do about it. There will always be people coming out with conspiracy theories and the best they can do is just get on with their lives in a normal way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCLAUGHLIN: The 16th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana is just days away. This information raising new questions about that tragic night in August when so many people had thought they had finally put this to rest, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Let me just ask you about that. When you talk about the timing, before the 16th anniversary of the death, is the timing suspicious at all?

MCLAUGHLIN: Well, I mean, it's difficult to say, Brooke, but at the moment, it looks coincidental. Scotland Yard, police at Scotland Yard saying that they were just handed this information, so that is why now they're considering it. And at the moment, they're being very tight- lipped with any information. They're even not even confirming what exactly they're looking at, Brooke. So, again, it's very difficult to say regarding the timing on this, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. Erin McLaughlin for us in London. Erin, thank you.

Coming up, what was described as a routine tackle at a high school football scrimmage turned deadly when a 16-year-old broke his neck. Former NFL player and dad Jamal Anderson joining me here in the studio. We'll talk about maybe what could be done to prevent this in the future and, hi dad, we're going to talk about your sons and about what you say to them.

JAMAL ANDERSON: Yes. Yes. Yes.

BALDWIN: The deal (ph), next.

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BALDWIN: It's the kind of story that absolutely rips your heart out and makes you think twice about America's favorite sport. This high school football player in suburban Atlanta died Friday night during a scrimmage. Witnesses say Deantre Turman went limp after making a tackle. The medical examiner says he broke his neck. His death is raising all kinds of new questions about the safety of the game that so many people love to watch. Jamal Anderson is here. He spent eight seasons in the NFL, and you're a dad. We're going to get into both of that here.

Before we go, just on the record, you are part of this class action lawsuit with the NFL when it comes to concussions.

JAMAL ANDERSON, FORMER NFL PLAYER: Yes. Right.

BALDWIN: Not only did you play, you're a dad. And when you woke up and you read this story, I mean I read it Saturday morning in the "AJC." It talks about this 16-year-old neck vertebrae being broken due to blunt force trauma.

ANDERSON: That's right, trauma.

BALDWIN: What was your reaction?

ANDERSON: It broke my heart.

BALDWIN: Yes.

ANDERSON: I mean, I love football. I love the sport of football. Football has offered me so many things in my life. And not only taught me so many things, I'm a big fan of college football, high school football. My son plays football. Both of my boys played football. My older plays hockey. But my youngest son plays football now. So it breaks my heart when things like this happen on the football field on a sport -- in this sport that I love.

BALDWIN: Not only that, as we were talking in the commercial break, this is a young man, 16 years of age, who was already offered a scholarship to play at the University of Kentucky.

ANDERSON: Right. Right.

BALDWIN: So what do you make of the fact that this was a talented, experienced player who could die like that?

ANDERSON: You know, it's so crazy, Brooke, you know, because it -- from all accounts, he was doing the right thing. And you talk about player safety, you try to teach kids how to tackle the right way, how to play the game the right way, how to not injure themselves on the football field, but some things are unavoidable. This is a freak accident that happened on a football field. I'm so, so happy that there aren't a lot of things - a lot of occurrences like this, especially as it relates to football. And this is a collision sport. So these things happen on the football field and it's just unfortunate that it happened to this kid, a talented guy who played not only on the defensive side but on the offensive side as well.

BALDWIN: You talk about having your two boys, your oldest, eight, plays football. There are former pro players who say, you've got to be kidding me, I'm not allowing my boys to play. You do.

ANDERSON: Right.

BALDWIN: Why?

ANDERSON: They love it. You know, and I love the sport of football. And, for me, I had very, very good football coaches growing up and they - and, again, they taught me so many things. I had such tremendous experiences on the football field playing. And when my kids, my youngest son wanted to go out and play football, I thought - I thought about it for a long time and then I said, he wants to do it. It's something that he's - he's very positive about and he's fired up about and I wanted to let him do it.

BALDWIN: Do you - do you, after reading the paper and learning about this young man this weekend, do you at all think twice about it?

ANDERSON: You know, these things -

BALDWIN: What's the takeaway?

ANDERSON: These things happen on the football field. Again, you try to make football as safe as possible. You see now in the NFL they're making guys wear their pads. They're trying to do -- they brought a whole new initiative in for concussions now, you know, and they try -- we're trying to do the best that we can to make football as safe as possible, but it's still football. These unfortunate things still happen on the football field. You just got to be hopeful and try to play the - play the game the way it's supposed to be played. But even in those instances, Brooke, there's no assurance of safety. It's football.

BALDWIN: People love it.

ANDERSON: Love it. A lot of people love it. It's the number one sport in America.

BALDWIN: I know. For a reason.

ANDERSON: It's not even close.

BALDWIN: Jamal Anderson, thank you very much.

ANDERSON: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Nice to have you in here.

Coming up, 900 people have died in Egypt's crisis. Nine hundred. Just try to wrap your head around that number. That includes dozens of Muslim Brotherhood prisoners in this brazen attack. Coming up next, you'll hear the perspective of one man who says Egypt doesn't matter anymore. We'll tell you why.

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