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Montana Rapist Released; Three Weeks From Financial Doomsday; New Trial For Woman Who Fired Warning Shot; Iran Talks Nukes; Michael J. Fox Returns to TV

Aired September 26, 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: Wolf, thank you. I'll take it from here.

Great to see all of you on this Thursday. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

We're now just now getting word that a rapist in Montana is out of jail after serving one month. You know the story here. This is Stacy Rambold's light sentence. It triggered national outrage, not just against him but against the Montana judge who ordered the 31-day punishment. The victim in this case was Rambold's 14-year-old student who later committed suicide.

And CNN's Kyung Lah reports on what the confessed rapist now must do.

Kyung.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, this former teacher will eventually have to show up here at probation and parole in Billings, Montana, because he's still technically under parole, but he is, for now, a free man having served his time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (voice-over): For the last 31 days, prison has been Stacey Rambold's home, having served just one month behind bars for raping his 14-year-old student, Cherice Moralez. As she waited for her teacher to face trial, Moralez's mother says Cherice was tormented by bullying and victim blaming. Before Rambold's case was heard, Cherice Moralez committed suicide.

AULIEA HANLON, MOTHER: She's beautiful. But hopefully he'll get justice. I hope.

LAH: Justice has failed at every step, says Cherice's mother. Not only did she lose her daughter, but then the judge, Todd Bah (ph), handed down the short sentence, saying Moralez looked "older than her chronological age," and was "as much in control" as the then 49-year- old Rambold.

LAH (on camera): Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.

LAH: I'm Kyung Lah from CNN. LAH (voice-over): The judge who has ducked CNN's questions has since admitted the sentence may have been illegal. State laws mandate a two- year minimum for this crime.

The sentence and the judge's comments sparked national outrage. Earlier this week, petitions with 140,000 signatures were delivered to a Montana judicial watch dog panel demanding Judge Bah's removal. In the courts, prosecutors have appealed Rambold's sentence to the state supreme court, hoping to send him back to prison. And for the victim's mother, a cry for justice. A hollow search along a trail of anguish.

LAH (on camera): Does that pain ever fade?

HANLON: No. No. I think we just get used to it. So - so you don't cry every day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: Charice's mother bracing for what she anticipates will be a horrible day. She is praying that she just doesn't run into this man.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: It is looking less likely that the federal government will have to shut down next week. That's because Republicans in Congress have decided to pick a new fight. And, folks, this could be a doozy because it could affect every single one of us. We're going to talk about that in just a minute and your real-life ramifications.

But first, here's the calendar. You see the number circled? That is October 17th. That is three weeks from today. That is the day the government is set to run out of enough cash to pay all of its bills. And it won't be able to borrow money unless Congress raises the debt ceiling.

And that is the battle that House Republicans are choosing to fight in a very, very big way. Their plan is this -- to load up the bill, to raise the nation's borrowing limit with their own agenda, a wish list, if you will. So as part of this wish list, they would like to delay Obamacare for a year, include tax reform, approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline, and reform some entitlement programs. Now, President Obama flat out calls this blackmail. He says he will not budge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The entire world looks to us to make sure that the world economy is stable. You don't mess with that. You don't mess with that. And that's why I will not negotiate on anything when it comes to the full faith and credit of the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So that was the president today. Not at all mincing words. So let's get down to the nitty-gritty, how this affects every single one of us, as I mentioned. This is Danny Boston, a professor of economics at Georgia Tech.

So, professor, welcome to studio seven.

DANNY BOSTON, ECONOMICS PROFESSOR, GEORGIA TECH: Great to be here.

BALDWIN: You heard the president say we don't mess with that, talking specifically about the world economy. He's not negotiating here. Let's -- this is just the what if game as we look ahead to the October 17th deadline.

BOSTON: Sure.

BALDWIN: What if Congress ultimately says no to raising the borrowing limit for 2014? How does that impact, first, just the U.S. economy?

BOSTON: Well, it could be catastrophic. I think, and I'm going to go out on a limb a little bit here -

BALDWIN: OK.

BOSTON: I think that we could be creating almost the perfect storm for a new recession because there's some things that are different now than they were in 2011 when we had this same debate.

BALDWIN: Such as?

BOSTON: Such as the economy is losing steam. The recovery is losing steam. We, believe it or not, we've been in this recovery for almost four and a half years. And the typical recovery, we've had 11 since the Second World War. Your typical recovery lasts just under five years. And you see all of the data. For example, we created only one half as many jobs as people who dropped out of the labor market last year. So there's some real reasons to be concerned with why we ought to continue to have confidence in the economy and allow it to continue to grow as much as possible right now and not intervene by causing a drop in confidence.

BALDWIN: So it's still very precarious?

BOSTON: It's precarious.

BALDWIN: What about real-life ramifications for folks like, you know, someone watching, for you, for me, if this thing doesn't go through?

BOSTON: All right, real-life implications.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BOSTON: And here's also what's different. The last time around, we didn't actually default, but we got so close that --

BALDWIN: Very close.

BOSTON: Right. Right.

BALDWIN: 2011. We all remember the coverage of this. BOSTON: Right. Credit ratings dropped.

BALDWIN: Yes, it did.

BOSTON: And everybody said, OK, well, dropping credit ratings, interest rates are going to shoot up, right? Interest rates didn't go up and everybody said, well, maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

BALDWIN: Uh-huh.

BOSTON: Well, that -- that was a different circumstance because at that point the U.S. economy was performing so much better than all of the other economies around the world that money was flowing into the economy, kept the interest rates low. That's not the case now. Money is flowing out of the economy. And if we default, those interest rates will go up because it will be a competition to get the credit that's available.

BALDWIN: So what happens to me?

BOSTON: What happens to you? That --

BALDWIN: As I'm just thinking this (INAUDIBLE) me, me, me. Why do I care?

BOSTON: You, you, you. All right, here's what happens to you, your interest rate goes up.

BALDWIN: That's what it is.

BOSTON: Right, if you want to refinance a house, you have to pay more. Housing has been driving the economy forward. That's going to slow that down. You want to make a retail purchase, particularly in a durable good, could be an automobile, it could be, for example, a refrigerator or anything that you have to finance, the price goes up.

BALDWIN: OK.

BOSTON: So bottom line is, you and I have to pay more. If we have to pay more, we spend less. If we spend less, businesses get less money.

BALDWIN: That affects everybody.

BOSTON: More people are unemployed.

BALDWIN: Professor Danny Boston, Georgia Tech, thank you.

BOSTON: My pleasure.

BALDWIN: Let's hope we're not having that conversation coming up. Appreciate it.

And now quite a turnaround for FaceBook here, talking about the markets and stocks. This stock hit $50 a share for the first time today. The price of the stock has nearly doubled since July. At last check, it was still hovering right around the $50 mark. So let's take a quick look at the big board. You can see the Dow up 16 points. Just above that 15,000 mark here as we are just under the two- hour window before the end of the closing trading day here.

Moving on, breaking today, a woman who fired a warning shot into a wall trying to scare off her husband is getting a new trial. We told you this story initially here. Marissa Alexander tried to use the standard your ground defense, but a jury didn't buy it. Now, an appellate court ordering an entirely new trial on a technicality involving the original instructions to the jury. So this is Gary Tuchman's original report on what exactly went down during that domestic dispute.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She walks down the jail hallway in handcuffs. Marissa Alexander is facing 20 years behind bars, convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. She says she was defending herself, standing her ground, from a husband who had been arrested before on charges of abusing her.

TUCHMAN (on camera): He was arrested for doing what to you?

MARISSA ALEXANDER, GRANTED NEW TRIAL IN "STAND YOUR GROUND" CASE: He choked me. He pushed me forcefully into the tub. He pushed me so hard into the closet that I hit my head against the wall and I kind of passed out for a second.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Her husband received probation after that incident. Months later, Alexander says she was in the bathroom at their home here in Jacksonville, Florida, when her husband started pounding on the door. She says he was in a jealous rage over text messages on her cell phone.

ALEXANDER: He managed to get the door open. And that's when he strangled me. He put his hands around my neck.

TUCHMAN: Alexander got away from her husband and then made a fateful decision. She could have run out the front door and escaped. Instead, she ran into the garage, but says she did not have her car keys and the garage door was stuck. So, instead, she grabbed her gun she kept in this garage.

TUCHMAN (on camera): And what did you think you were going to do with it?

ALEXANDER: I thought that I was going to have to protect myself. I --

TUCHMAN: Were you thinking you might have to shoot him?

ALEXANDER: Yes, I did, if it came to that. He saw my weapon at my side. And when he saw it, he was even more upset and that's when he threatened to kill me.

TUCHMAN: But how is he going to kill you if you're the one with the gun? ALEXANDER: I agree. I thought it was crazy, too.

TUCHMAN: But why didn't you run out the door at that point?

ALEXANDER: There was no other way to get the door. He was - he was right there threatening to kill me.

TUCHMAN: What if you would have gone around him to go out the door? Wouldn't -- your life would have been easier today if you did that.

ALEXANDER: Yes, but the law states I don't have to.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The law she's talking about is the controversial "stand your ground" law. Instead of running, she did what she thought was allowed by law. She believed she stood her ground and fired the gun into the wall. Nobody was hurt, but it was enough to scare her husband, Rico Gray, and he left the house with his two young children from a previous relationship. Alexander was safe from her husband but not from the law. She was arrested. Her "stand your ground" defense rejected, and found guilty by a jury.

TUCHMAN (on camera): Marissa Alexander's husband, Rico Gray, agreed to do an on-camera interview with us to counter his wife's allegations. But a few hours later, he made the decision not to do the interview, claiming that going on camera would put his life in danger.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): However, later, he sent us an e-mail saying he would do an interview if he got paid, which CNN does not do. But he has already said quite a bit. During a deposition with a prosecutor from the office of State Attorney Angela Corey and a defense attorney for his wife, Rico Gray acknowledged hitting his wife in the past and said this about the shooting incident. Quote, "if my kids weren't there, I knew I probably would have tried to take the gun from her. I probably would have put my hand on her." Marissa Alexander's attorney then asked the husband what he meant about putting his hand on her and Rico Gray responded, "probably hit her. I got five baby mamas and I put my hands on every last one of them except for one."

ALEXANDER: I believe when he threatened to kill me, that's what he was going to do. That's exactly what he intended to do. And had I not discharged my weapon at that point, I would not be here.

TUCHMAN: But later, at a court hearing to determine whether Marissa Alexander should get immunity based on the stand your ground law, Rico Gray changed his story saying he lied repeatedly in the deposition to protect his wife, claiming he did not threaten to kill her, and testifying, quote, "I begged and pleaded for my life when she had the gun." The jury deliberated for 12 minutes before convicting her. The Jacksonville NAACP wrote a letter to the trial judge saying Marissa Alexander may not have received justice because of her gender, race, or economic status. Some African-American news websites are saying much the same thing, that if Marissa had been white, her stand your ground defense would have been accepted and she wouldn't be facing 20 years in prison, but Alexander will not say if she agrees with that possibility.

ALEXANDER: I'm going to be honest with you, I'm uncomfortable answering that.

TUCHMAN: She had a baby girl with Rico Gray almost two years ago, but she only sees her child in photographs. That's because Rico Gray has custody. He's considered the victim, his wife the criminal.

ALEXANDER: This is my life I'm fighting for. This is my life. And it's my life and it's not entertainment. This is my life.

TUCHMAN: The 20-year sentence is a mandatory 20 years, meaning no chance of parole.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Gary Tuchman reporting for us.

By the way, we are expecting a news conference next hour on this, keeping a close eye on that story for you. We'll bring you the latest.

Meanwhile, very soon, a historic moment in New York, Iran and the United States meeting for the first time in 30 years. But it's what Iran's president said today about nukes that may show where these talks could be headed.

Also, the NFL community suffering another suicide after a former Chargers player, San Diego Chargers player, kills himself. We'll talk live to Paul Oliver's high school football coach.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Well, you know there was no meeting this week between President Obama and Iran's newest president at the United Nations. But the highest meeting, the highest level meeting between the U.S. and Iran in more than 30 years is about to happen between these two men, Secretary of State John Kerry meeting with his counterpart, the Iranian foreign minister. The focus of the meeting, Iran's nuclear program. And really the key question here, can Iran be trusted? Can Iran be trusted to enrich uranium, which is potential nuclear bomb fuel, within the confines of international rules? Speaking at the United Nations today, Iran President Hassan Rouhani says they can. And he took it a step further.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. HASSAN ROUHANI, IRAN (through translator): No nation should possess nuclear weapons since there are no right hands for these wrong weapons, as you, Mr. Secretary-general, have rightly put it. Now is determined to make every effort to realize the vision of a nuclear weapon free world without further delay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Nick Paton Walsh is our senior international correspondent live at the U.N.

And, Nick, before we talk about Rouhani's comments, let's just talk about this meeting today, this big meeting that's about to happen between Kerry and his counterpart in Iran. They'll be sitting down. Do we know what exactly is expected to happen there?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First of all, the permanent five members of the Security Council, plus Germany, will meet and then Mohammed Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, will join them. We'll see some pictures of that when it happens.

The issue, though, is, what are the substance of those talks. You've said, yes, this is the most high level diplomacy between Tehran and Washington for 34 years, so you can't discount this is a significant step. But we heard from John Kerry this morning, just walking through this building, he said quite simply, we need to know they're serious. And when we know they're serious, he'll let us know, were his words.

So the real focus is, what's the substance here? We know that the Iranians potentially talking to "The Washington Post." Hassan Rouhani suggesting maybe a lesser kind of enrichment for uranium could be on the cards. That will make it harder for them to develop a nuclear bomb quickly. And they also - they'd like a deal within three to six months. But the actual technical details, we're low on them now, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK, Nick, thank you.

Call it a comeback of monumental proportions. USA's Team Oracle sailed to victory at the 34th America's Cup in San Francisco and the team remained champs by beating out the Emirates team New Zealand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): The stars and stripes say it all. The comeback of 2013 is complete. America's Cup will stay in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You heard that announcer, it will stay in America. After trailing 8-1, America's team came back with a vengeance to defeat their rivals in that final race of the competition. Some called it the most monumental triumph in sporting history. It certainly received recognition in the House floor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: World witnessed one of the greatest moments in sports history and on a beautiful day. The America's Cup is the oldest and most prestigious trophy in yachting. Team USA won the very first race in 1851 and had successfully defended the cup for the next 132 years until 1983. Exactly 30 years later, the cup returned home, where it belongs, in the hands of American sailors who defied the odds, were so courageous, who were so disciplined, who were so focused, who had such a strategic plan to give our country, USA, USA, USA, a victory we will never forget.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Congratulations, USA. Meantime, a comeback story of a much different kind. Michael J. Fox. We have a preview of his first new sitcom in more than a decade. It premieres tonight.

Plus, who's to blame for Michael Jackson's death? Lawyers for Jackson's family say even though his doctor was convicted in his death, there is someone else to blame here. And a jury is about to decide that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Who is responsible for killing the king of pop? Michael Jackson himself, his doctor, or his last concert promoter? Well, as we take a live look inside this courthouse in Los Angeles, the Jacksons' attorney here is telling the jury right this very moment that concert promoter AEG Live is to blame. He has wasted no time telling these jurors that AEG Live is blaming everyone but themselves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN PANISH, JACKSON FAMILY LEAD ATTORNEY: I want to tell you from the heart what I believe the evidence has shown in this case.

We had (INAUDIBLE) come up here and accept no responsibility and put it all on Michael, Mrs. Jackson, Karen Fay (ph), Elif Sanky (ph), everybody but them. And when you point the finger at someone, you've got four fingers pointing back at yourself.

It's a case about shared responsibility, OK? We're not running from it. Michael paid the ultimate price. He's not here anymore, OK? Sure, he took Propofol. But remember, remember, every time he took Propofol, he didn't die, until one thing happened, an unfit and incompetent doctor, in a conflict of interest situation, did it in an inappropriate setting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That's one side. Meantime, in closing arguments yesterday, AEG Live attorney Marvin Putnam said that Michael Jackson is to blame for his death. Jackson's family is asking for anywhere between $1 billion and $2 billion, with a "b," for the pain and the suffering and for what they say Michael Jackson would have made on his tour. They blame AEG Live, who they say hired and supervised Dr. Conrad Murray. Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death and that jury there in L.A. right this moment is expected to get this case later today.

And tonight Michael J. Fox returns to television headlining his first series in more than a decade. You know the story. Parkinson's disease is the reason he has been on the sideline. But in this new role, he is playing a former TV news anchor with the same medical condition who wants to get back to work. And our own entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner has more on Fox's remarkable comeback.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 911, what's your emergency?

MICHAEL J. FOX, ACTOR, "THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW": No. 911? No, I didn't call 911.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 411 on Michael J. Fox, he's starring on his own TV show for the first time in over a decade.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, ACTOR, "THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW": You should come back to work.

FOX: Aren't you forgetting why I left?

TURNER: In his self-titled new sitcom, Fox plays a famous news man who put his career on hold after developing a serious medical condition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, ACTOR, "THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW": Since we're both here, can I get you to sign an autograph. My uncle's got Alzheimer's.

FOX: I've actually got Parkinson's.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Either way.

TURNER: Parkinson's, of course, is what sidelined Fox's own career temporarily. He left his hit sitcom "Spin City" in 2000 after his condition worsened. In recent years, he's guest starred on several TV shows, including "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, ACTOR, "CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM": Did you shake that up on purpose?

FOX: Parkinson's.

TURNER: And "The Good Wife."

FOX: You are Mrs. Warick (ph).

TURNER: But his new comedy ups the work load dramatically.

TURNER (on camera): Hello. How are you? Nice to see you.

TURNER (voice-over): When I talked with him at the Emmy's, he sounded up to the task.

TURNER (on camera): What's it been like?

FOX: It's been a lot of hard work, but it's been - it's been satisfying. It's been a learning experience to see what is difficult for me to do now and (INAUDIBLE) sense of what I'm capable of, and that I didn't give myself credit for being capable of.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I lied. They love you, man. The whole world loves you.

FOX: Co-star Wendell Pierce admires what Fox is achieving. WENDELL PIERCE, ACTOR, "THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW": He hasn't lost anything. He hasn't forgotten how to do it. He has, you know, just a little added challenge that we don't have. And that's the thing I really respect about what he does.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, ACTRESS, "THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW: Can I have a personal victory right now? We are starving.

TURNER: Michael J. Fox dishing out laughs and a generous helping of inspiration.

Nischelle Turner, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: That's awesome. Good luck to him.

CNN's Christine Romans says if there's no deal on the debt ceiling in all of three weeks, it could spell catastrophe. That's exactly what our economics professor said at the top of the show. Meantime, President Obama says he won't surrender on Obamacare, and Republicans suggest they won't either. So who blinks first? Let's talk to Candy Crowley about that one.

Plus, a new street drug that first surfaced in Russia, now popping up right here in the United States. And this drug can eat your flesh after you get a high. Ooh, don't miss this one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)