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Toronto Mayor Allegations of Drug Use; New Reports on the LAX Shooting; Elections To Dominate Politics; Democrats Urging Clinton To Run; Kraft to Make Mac & Cheese Healthier

Aired November 03, 2013 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: OK. Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Top stories this hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Toronto's mayor is defiant. He won't resign despite reportedly getting caught smoking a crack cocaine pipe. Charges filed against this suspected LAX shooter -- this is new information surfacing about what happened after the FBI says he first fired a shot.

And problems on the website now in the courtroom. A big blow to the president's affordable health care law over birth control.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

WHITFIELD: First up, Toronto's mayor made an admission today. He has made mistakes. But he also says that he has no plans to resign. Even though police claimed they have video showing Rob Ford smoking a crack cocaine pipe. Nick Valencia following today's development. So Nick, the mayor, can we say he's defiant, even though he is apologetic?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's certainly digging his heels in. He's saying he has no plans to leave office. He mentioned he made an apology about unspecified mistakes. It's really been a tough couple of months since May really when allegations against the mayor surfaced that he reportedly smoked a crack pipe. Three reporters, two there locally in Toronto as well as one from Gawker saying that they saw this video that alleges to show the mayor smoking a crack pipe.

Now this week, the police chief of Toronto says they finally got their hands on that video and they have evidence, as has been reported in the media today on his radio show. Mayor Rob Ford of Toronto addressing that video. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ROB FORD, TORONTO: I want the police Chief Bill Blare to release this video for every single person in the city to see. That is the right thing to do. And, chief, I'm asking you to release this video now. Whatever this video shows, whatever this video shows, folks, Toronto residents deserve to see it. And people need to judge for themselves what they see on this video.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Now, this video was recovered from a hard drive. It's part of a police investigation into gang activity in Toronto. The mayor was featured prominently in that investigation. There's lots of pages, Fred, that have been redacted about the mayor's alleged drug abuse. But there were photos that surfaced of Mayor Rob Ford hanging out with known drug gang members as well as police say in front of a known crack house. There's also erratic behavior, questionable behavior by the mayor.

He was surveilled with his former driver who has since been arrested on extortion charges related to this video, allegedly threatening those that have the original copy of this video which, of course, show the mayor smoking from a glass crack pipe.

WHITFIELD: So just thinking further about what he just says. He says whatever it shows really does kind of imply that he hasn't seen it? He too only has heard description of this video.

VALENCIA: We don't know exactly why he would be so open about wanting to put that video in public other than really to show Torontoans, those there in Toronto, that this video is out there, that it's not him. Who knows exactly what the defense is. Whether or not, you know, he can defend himself as saying even if there is video of out there smoking from a glass pipe, you don't really know what's in it. And his approval ratings have gone up five percent since police announced that they got their hands on that video.

WHITFIELD: What's the explanation behind that? Or is there?

VALENCIA: He's just got a lot of supporters, Fred. He's got a lot of people that really like him. He's a very charming man. He's out in the public eye. He spends a lot of time with his constituents. He has this weekly radio program and he's got a lot of support there locally.

WHITFIELD: Fascinating story. Thanks so much, Nick, for bringing that to us. Appreciate that.

And there are new details about that deadly shooting at LAX. Prosecutors say the suspected gunman fired at a TSA officer at point- blank range Friday, walked away and then came back to shoot him again. That TSA officer, Gerardo Hernandez died. And the people who saw the terror unfold are now telling their stories. Stephanie Elam is live for us right now in Los Angeles. So Stephanie, what have you heard from people?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's really just - the terrifying nature of this, all these people who are in the terminal, Fred, and when you listen to them from talk about it, you can hear it. There was one man who came back to Terminal 3 today to pick up his belongings after seeing the shooting take place. And our photojournalist, CNN photo journalist, Tom Larsson, caught up with this man. His name is Scott Greene. Listen to what he says happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SCOTT GREENE, WITNESS TO LAX SHOOTING: He was the guy that was standing by the wall there. The guy had his gun (INAUDIBLE) downwards on him and he shot him twice. Oh my god.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was your first reaction when you saw that?

GREENE: To get my family out of there. Because I didn't know - the police I was hoping that we need to get out of here.

And everybody was running through security at that time. The TSA, they were pulling people through, trying to get to the terminal and so I was calling for my family and I look to the right and he was at the top of the escalator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: And what he believes now happens is that there was a silence after you've heard the first 10 shots and then he looked down and saw the shooter. He believed at the time when the shooter was running up the stairs and then went back down and that's when he saw him point the gun down at what we believe now was the lost TSA agent. He says that it took hours for him to reunite with his son and his wife. And they actually went out different ways from the terminal, Fred. And then reunited back at their car several blocks from here.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Incredible, harrowing moments. Frightening stuff and of course, you know, our hearts go out to those who were injured and of course, Mr. Hernandez who was killed. Thanks so much, Stephanie Elam.

All right. A Georgia man will be charged for accidentally setting fire to his wife by flicking his lighter near a gas pump. The video is shocking and it was all caught on surveillance camera at the gas station. The couple, as you see right there, standing outside their truck, near the nozzle when the flames simply shot out right there. The woman suffered second and third degree burns. Her husband faces one count of reckless conduct.

All right. We all know that the president's health care plan has some problems, the web site that is. First, it was the web site, most people simply couldn't get on. Now, the Affordable Care Act is having problems inside the courtroom. Details on a key provision being struck down. Next.

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WHITFIELD: A federal court takes a significant bite out of the president's health care plan. On Friday, we learned a three judge panel struck down a key provision on mandatory contraceptive coverage. Let's go live now to Washington and CNN's Barbara Starr. So Barbara, walk us through this court's decision.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, a provision of the Affordable Care Act requires some businesses with 50 or more employees to provide insurance for birth control or pay a substantial fine. This Federal Appeals Court decision has now struck that down, at least for now. The court ruled the company, Freshway Foods of Ohio, could not be forced to provide birth control. Part of the court's decision saying "They can either abide by the sacred tenets of their faith, pay a penalty of over $14 million and cripple the company they spent a lifetime building or they become complacent in a grave moral wrong.

What's going on here is the owners of the company are of the Catholic faith, an objective on religious grounds but the suit was filed in the name of the company. And, of course, a company itself cannot express religious belief. The courts said that the suit could not be filed in the name of the company but in two-to-one decision, they also said forcing the owners to provide birth control would challenge their religious belief.

So for now, they're allowing the suit to proceed to challenge the birth control coverage mandate. But - and here's a big but. They're about 75 federal lawsuits around the country on this matter. Three of them are on appeal at the Supreme Court. No word on when the court might rule. But it looks like it's going to have to go to the high court because there is so much activity, legal activity in this part of the Affordable Care Act. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Barbara Starr, thanks so much for bringing that to us.

It's going to be a pretty busy week in politics. We'll look at what to expect from this week's big elections.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, a busy week in politics this week. Political editor - I'm sorry. Paul Steinhauser - there's going to be a lot of attention in Virginia.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Fred. Chris Christie. He's one of the biggest names in the Republican Party. And the public opinion polls indicate the tough-talking New Jersey governor will easily win re-election over a little known Democratic state Senator Barbara Buono.

Christie's crisscrossing the garden state, part of a 90-stop campaign swing leading up to Tuesday's election. Christie's thinking about running for president in 2016. But he says it won't distract from his day job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE, NEW JERSEY: I can walk and chew gum at the same time, Christine. I can do this job and also deal with my future. That's exactly what I will do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Political analysts see Christie's re-election campaign as a stepping stone or tune-up for a likely bid for the White House. Keep an eye out for how large a victory he scores in democratic dominated, New Jersey. Across the Hudson River, in New York City, polls predict another landslide with Democratic Bill Deblasio hovering around 40 points ahead of Republican Joe Lotta in the race for the mayor of the nation's biggest city. Deblasio, New York's public advocate is running on a progressive platform.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL DEBLASIO, NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: After 12 years of Mayor Bloomberg, it's time for a new change in town.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Even though Democrats greatly outnumber Republicans in Gotham, there hadn't been a democratic mayor in almost 20 years.

The battle for Virginia governor is the closest of the major contest this year.

Businessman and former Democratic chairman Terry McAuliffe holds the edge in surveys over Republican Ken Cucinelli, the state's attorney general. With low turnout expected both campaigns are bringing in top- name surrogates to help energize their base voters.

The federal government shutdown and the national health care law have become big issues in this party battle for control for a crucial purple state. Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Paul. So this will be a pivotal week for the president and for his party. He's trying to get some of his nominees confirmed in a senate where GOP leaders are throwing up roadblocks. And his administration will, again, be working to get his health care web site back on track.

Let's bring in analyst Julian Epstein and Matt Schlapp, both in Washington. Good to see both of you.

Matt worked as a political director for President George W. Bush and is a Republican strategist and Julian is a democratic strategist and a former chief lawyer for the House judiciary committee. Good to see both of you.

MATT SCHLAPP, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Good to see you, Fred.

JULIAN EPSTEIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Great to be here.

WHITFIELD: OK. So Matt, you first. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney saying that the failed rollout of healthcare is really rotting President Obama's second term, saying that on "Meet-the-Press" today. Is it true or a little bit of sour grapes.

SCHLAPP: Well, I don't know why this was the moment that Mitt Romney chose to kind of come back and spring back on to the national stage when it comes to health care. But I think what he said was largely right. I mean the president's biggest legislative achievement is Obamacare. And he won reelection, at least partly on the fact that the American people believed in his policy vision, including that victory.

Now it needs to be implemented and they have this huge probable with the web site. Beyond the web site is this whole idea of being able to shop and choose your health care policy. And then after that, it's going to be health care delivery. I think the American people, if you look at the poll, if you look at the president's approval ratings, are very concerned with what they see.

WHITFIELD: So Julian, the president was in Boston earlier this week touting health care and complimenting Romney for that state's health care law, only for Romney to say that the president should have learned better from Massachusetts. So is the president being up staged by all of this criticism?

EPSTEIN: No, I think this is - this is sour grapes. Another example of Republicans overplaying their hand when Romney had a very similar program implemented in Massachusetts. They had a very similar experience. Most of the people had a difficult time getting people on the exchanges, most of the people went on to the Medicaid program. It's very similar with what's happening at the federal level.

But keep in mind, this debate about exchanges does not affect 80 percent of Americans. Fifty percent get their insurance through employers, another 30 percent through Medicaid or through the military, only 20 percent of Americans either don't have insurance or get their insurance in the individual markets. That's the 20 percent that would be eligible for these exchanges.

That's a pool of approximately 60 million people. What they need to get these exchanges to work is approximately seven million participating. The idea out of 60 million that they won't be able to get seven million to these exchanges is, I think wishful thinking on the people, on the part of people that don't want to see this program work. There is, all of the analysis shows that certainly for the uninsured that is about 45 million people, this was going to be a far better deal right now, even for the 15 million that have insurance in the private markets.

Kaiser says that they're going to be able to get much, much better deals for most of them for premiums that are lower. And in terms of the polls, you know, according to Kaiser, 47 percent of Americans like Obamacare or wanted stronger. Only 35 wanted to go to the Republican plan which is either go back to the status quo before Obama care or go to the Republican alternative.

So I think the president is winning the argument in the long term here.

WHITFIELD: Are they winning? Because it seems like the critics are getting most of the attention and some of the same critics are now threatening to throw up these roadblocks for the president's nominations this week. You know, and we're hearing everything from, you know, threatening to hold up the nominations unless the White House reveals more about Benghazi. Is this extortion or is this the way Washington simply works, Matt. SCHLAPP: This is the way Washington works and there is no question that there are - this is a polarized political moment. I think that the Republicans feel a little oxygen in their lungs after all the problems surrounding the shutdown and with the fact that Obama has really the lowest approval ratings of his presidency. It really has given them a new vim and vigor to fight. The fact is this fight over Obamacare is big. The problem for second term presidents, we saw this with the president I worked for, President George W. Bush, in his second term. The problem for those presidents is that as their poll numbers go down, it is harsh for them to have political victories all across the stage. I think that's what you're going to see with Obama on issue after issue if he can't get this Obamacare problem fixed.

EPSTEIN: I think the Obamacare problem, again, I think the roll out of the Web site has been a disaster. I think it's a temporary probable. That's my point. And Obama's numbers have been lower in the past. And he has bounced back. As I think he will here. So I think, again, I think Republicans are exaggerating and overplaying their hand on the health care issue.

In terms of the question about the polarization, yes, there's no question. There's incredible polarization over everything whether it's foreign policy or any of the domestic issues we need to talk to. Notice we don't really talk much about jobs today or the president's proposal to get the country moving again on a more vigorous job plan. But the Republicans are not winning the debate when it comes to any of that polarization. They lost the debate badly on the government shutdown.

As I say, the poll numbers, any honest reading of where the polls are on healthcare shows that the Republicans cans are not winning the debate, notwithstanding the problems -

(CROSSTALK)

SCHLAPP: Julian, let me be clear, only 26 percent of Americans actually say Obamacare is going to improve health care.

EPSTEIN: And about as many --

Yes, that's true. But if you look at the polls, you can't look at it that simply. If you look at the polls, it's 25 or 30 percent that like Obamacare. But anther 25 or 27 percent that wanted even stronger. Far, far fewer Americans like the Republican idea which is to go back to the status quo or replace it with some yet unarticulated Republican alternative. So even though the president has had a hard time with the roll out of this health care, I concede that. The Republicans are not winning the debate on any of the major issues in Washington, including healthcare.

WHITFIELD: So let's talk about (INAUDIBLE) who is getting an awful lot of attention by simply virtue of the name. Hillary Clinton and she is yet to even say that she is running in 2016. But already New York Senator Chuck Schumer in Iowa, who is kind of joining the chorus of throwing his support for her. Let's listen in to what he had to say while in Iowa. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: It's time for a woman to be president. And so tonight, here in Iowa, and I won't get this opportunity again, I am urging Hillary Clinton to run for president. And when she does, she will have my full and unwavering support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Julian, you first. These very public nudges, accolades. Will this inspire her to say something that yes, she is running.

EPSTEIN: Well, everybody is on this band wagon now. I think if you polled Democrats, you'd find 90 percent of Democrats and many independents wanted her to run. Every one agrees she would win the primary. Most people think she would win the general in part because of the enthusiasm she would generate from women voters including independent women voters.

I think the thing that you have to keep in mind though, this is a very personal decision for Secretary Clinton. She's not only committing to a campaign, she's committing to essentially 11 years right now. That's three years of campaigning and then eight years of governing if she wins.

And this is a very, very personal decision. You have to keep in mind, she's been running and working in politics for about 35 years now. So I think this is ultimately a very personal decision.

WHITFIELD: And Matt, real quick, do you think, if she were to run, is she going to distance herself from, you know, her former boss, good friend, President Obama because of his, you know, dipping approval numbers?

SCHLAPP: Well, let me tell you. That decision will be made at that moment when she looks at those numbers. If his numbers are just going south like they are now, she might do what Al Gore did to her husband and kind of leave him behind. So I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case of Obamacare (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it right there. Matt Schlapp, Julian Epstein, good to see both of you. Thanks so much from Washington.

EPSTEIN: Good to see you, Fred.

SCHLAPP: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back with much more on "The Newsroom" after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Bottom of the hour. Now, welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Here's three stories trending on cnn.com right now.

First up, Cher can't seem to forgive her late husband, Sonny Bono. During a recent Q&A on Facebook, the singer and actress was asked a whole lot of questions about the husband that she divorced back in 1975. Sam asked "Hi, Cher! If Sonny Bono were still alive today but you only had a minute to talk to him, what would you say?" Cher's response? "How hot is it where you just came from." Ouch.

And number two, "Saturday Night Live" tackles all the criticism that it has received lately over the shows lack of diversity on the cast. You might remember "SNL" Keenan Thompson making headlines last night by saying that he's not playing black female characters to protest the fact that there are no black women on the cast. So last night, guest host, Kerry Washington poked fun at the controversy. In one skit, she plays Mrs. Obama and then rushes off stage and comes back as Oprah Winfrey.

A member of the Russian punk bank Pussy Riot has not been heard from since being moved to a new jail, according to her family. They say they were supposed to be notified within 10 days of her transfer, but they haven't heard anything and they are worried. She was sent to two years in prison after a protest performance in a church bashing President Vladimir Putin back in 2012.

Kraft's Mac and Cheese will become healthier and maybe even a little less yellow. The company is making it more nutritious by adding more whole grains to the macaroni. They will also remove artificial food dyes and some sodium and saturated fats.

Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more. Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, after hundreds of thousands of parents signed a petition on change.org, Kraft is changing its formula from many of its Mac and Cheese products. Now these are products that have had a very similar format for quite a long time now. So what they said, they were going to be taking out these two dyes where there has been so much controversy. They're also going to have less saturated fat; they are going to increase the amount of whole grain per serving. They are also going to have less sodium and they said they are doing this because parents want more nutritious foods. They are not agreeing that there was anything wrong with these dyes in the first place they are just saying that parents want more nutrition.

Now, it's important to note that the changes won't be in all of their products. Their original Mac and Cheese is still going to have the same coloring. Now for the Mac and Cheese products that are changing Kraft says they're going to be using natural ingredients to get the color they are looking for. Using turmeric and paprika. Now we are not sure if those natural colorings are going to achieve that same bright neon yellow that kids have come to love.

Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much Elizabeth. All right. Straight ahead, Toronto's mayor tells the city's police chief to go ahead, release that controversial video. A video police says shows the mayor smoking from a crack cocaine pipe.

But first, country singer Clint Black's songs often capture the pain and the heart ache of life. But he is also working off stage to give a voice to victims of a mysterious disease. We talked to the country star about his efforts in this week's "Impact Your World."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (voice over): Country singer Clint Black is known for his signature cowboy hat and his classic sound. But beyond the music, Black is supporting the fight against the disease called Rhet Syndrome.

CLINT BLACK, MUSICIAN: My niece Courtney, my brother's Kevin's daughter was flipped with this and lost her battle with it at age 16.

WHITFIELD: Rhet Syndrome almost always affects girls. It's usually diagnosed by 18 months. Children can't communicate and require constant care. There is no cure yet.

BLACK: I think the human knee jerk reaction is to look away. Because it is really hard to see, and it is real suffering. But the more I see, the more I see the families and how hard they fight, the more I realize we can't look away we have to look, we have to see.

WHITFIELD: Black is the ambassador for the Rhet Syndrome Foundation. And his efforts help fund research. He says it all comes back to family and the music.

BLACK: I'm a song writer. So I do a lot of self examination, soul searching. So I've always felt inclined to do what I can. As I fight for my own successes, I feel like a part of the battle has to be for those things I can help along the way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Toronto's mayor admitted publicly today that he has "Made mistakes." He also said that he has no plans to resign.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAYOR ROB FORD, TORONTO: The police chief, Bill Blare, to release this video for every single person in the city to see. That is the right thing to do. And, chief, I'm asking you to release this video now. Whatever this video shows, whatever this video shows, folks, Toronto residents deserve to see it. And people need to judge for themselves what they see on this video.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And those who have seen that video say that you will see that mayor smoking a crack cocaine pipe. All right. Well joining me now to talk more about what might happen next to the mayor of Toronto. I'm joined by Danielle Moss; she's a criminal defense attorney. And Page Pate, also a criminal defense attorney and a constitutional lawyer.

All right, Danielle, let me begin with you. Clearly, this mayor has talked to his attorney before challenging, almost taunting the police chief. What likely has been advised why taunt the police chief or challenge the police chief to go ahead and release this video and say you know I've made mistakes but?

DANIELLE MOSS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I find it difficult to believe that his attorney would advise him to act in this manner. It seems more so that this is in keeping with his personality. He's a very gregarious person, very loud. I think it's just his decision to do this. I don't know if it's necessarily advice that he's received from counsel. I believe as an attorney, I would advise him not to speak on this matter. But I certainly would not advise him as you are saying to taunt the police chief to release the video.

WHITFIELD: So Page listening to his statement. Doesn't necessarily say yes, you know, I was that person on that video tape reportedly smoking crack cocaine. But instead, I have made mistakes. Very soft language for a reason. What is your view?

PAGE PATE, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It is a none denial denial. He's basically saying there's something that I did wrong, but may it's not as bad as the chief was saying. You know lawyers will routinely tell their clients not to answer questions about evidence in the media. But public officials are different. I've represented some elected officials before. No comment is not necessarily the best response. This guy has an election next year. I think his position is, look, enough speculation. You have the tape. You've told everybody you think it's me smoking crack cocaine. Well, let's see it. And then I can respond to it and then we can defend it.

WHITFIELD: Might he also be thinking about or calculating the what's next perhaps you know my future might be different I resigned versus whether I am fired as a result of what evidence there may or may not be?

MOSS: Well, it's my understanding that Canadian law, the only way he's going to be fired is if he's convicted of a crime, which would be the possession of crack cocaine or drug paraphernalia. And I don't think given his personality that he is going to resign.

WHITFIELD: Apparently, the police have said they have a 400 page report on drug gangs. And that not only is there video, but there might be some shots, some other images that put the mayor in crack houses interacting with people who are suspected to either be drug dealers or drug users.

PATE: It's not the video. I mean the video grabs the headlines, mayor may be smoking crack. But ultimately, like in any criminal investigation, it's the facts. And these long police reports, these witnesses they have talked to. He has his driver, and admitted friend, involved in an extortion allegation. So I think there's a lot more to the case than just the video. That's what we're going to see.

WHITFIELD: What's likely missing from this case?

PATE: Well any hard evidence that the mayor is personally involved in drug distribution. Maybe if they end up charging his friend and his driver, he's going to cooperate with the government. He's going to say, look, you need to know more things about the mayor then you know. And then the video becomes important. Because then it can collaborate what these other people are saying. And they may not be the best witnesses going forward.

WHITFIELD: It is a fantastic and really extraordinary spectacle because of who is involved and of course because of the gapping holes in this investigation.

We've got much more Page Pate, Danielle Moss. We want to talk about another what is now a highly publicized case. The Kendrick Johnson case, that 17-year-old boy who was found dead, rolled up in a high school gym mat in Georgia. His death was ruled an accident at first, but his parents have believed from the start that he was murdered. A controversy and now the federal investigation next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Major developments in a case that CNN has been digging into for more than six months now. A U.S. Attorney announced that he is launching a federal investigation into the death of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson. Johnson was found dead inside a rolled up gym mat at his high school in Valdosta, Georgia in January. Officials said Johnson suffocated after falling into the gym mat while he was reaching for a shoe. But his parents have long believed that he was murdered.

Back now with me, criminal defense attorneys Page Pate and Danielle Moss. So Danielle you first, the Feds are now going to be involved in this investigation. What will they be looking for that perhaps Georgia authorities may have overlooked or may have even collected?

MOSS: I believe what the Feds are going to look at now is the hours and hours of surveillance tape that is out there. It appears it was not looked through properly by the Lowndes County Sheriff's Department and to try to interview more of the students and determine who exactly was there and also whether or not the investigation was contaminated as a result of the fact that certain evidence was not properly collected. I think that that is the route they are going to take.

WHITFIELD: So, Page, are federal investigators involved here because they see that the investigation was not done so early? Or was there something that was gathered that they looked at differently some type of evidence that they just saw through a different lens and said you know what, this now reaches the level of our involvement.

PATE: I think that is it. It is very unusual for the federal authorities to step in and simply review a state investigation. There has to be a reason for it. And I think what we heard from the family retaining their own medical examiner, their own pathologist, to look at the body again in his report finding blunt force trauma is inconsistent with what the GBI expert said. So that is enough for the --

WHITFIELD: That's a big difference. And that's really hard, I think, even for the laymen to say how do you confuse blunt force trauma as a possible cause of death with suffocation? I mean isn't there going to be -- well the body in and of itself will be in a different condition, you might see some evidence of blow versus suffocation.

PATE: Pathology is science, but there's also an art to it. Different experts are going to have different opinions. I mean that is why in many criminal trials, you'll hear a defense expert, you'll hear a state's expert. And those witnesses won't always agree. But I think this is the Feds coming in to have this third look at it and maybe an objective look at it to make a determination of which one was right.

WHITFIELD: Do you worry; we're talking about 11 months now after this took place after his body was found in this gym. Do you worry that the evidence has been so compromised that there's no way to really conduct a thorough investigation this far out?

Danielle.

MOSS: It's problematic. You know. And we've seen this before with many other cases. Where crime scenes have been contaminated and it's very difficult to get that evidence back. So that's a problem now. But I do believe that there's enough potential evidence dealing with the surveillance tapes that they may be able to find something to help the family.

WHITFIELD: Page.

PATE: Danielle is right. You know the colder a case gets, the more difficult it becomes to investigate. But there's a lot of stuff out there that they simply didn't look at. The surveillance tapes, the shoes that were found, the blood on the wall. So the FBI has a place to start. Now where they finish that is another question. Because the Feds can't just prosecute them if they think there's a crime. It has to be a federal crime. So we will see where the investigation leads.

WHITFIELD: And what does your gut say, was this bad investigation or does this look like signs of a cover up?

PATE: To me, it looks like a sloppy investigation until you get to the point where they open the body and there's a bunch of newspaper in there. That is uncommon. I mean even the GBI their medical examiner say look we don't do that, we put the organs back in there and send it to the funeral home. The funeral home said it wasn't us; it was the prosecutor so that is odd.

MOSS: And I believe that there's a lot of conflicting evidence aside from the forensic reports regarding cause of death. The idea that this child fell into this mat, if in fact, he's reaching for the sneaker, why are his arms not in front of him. Why were his arms found inside, why are sneakers on the top of his body? It is my understanding the diameter of the mat is 16 inches and diameter of his shoulders are 19, there's plenty of factual inconsistencies in this case. Which I think warrant the Feds taking another look.

WHITFIELD: Danielle Moss, Page Pate thanks so much to both of you. Appreciate it.

MOSS: Thank you.

PATE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Each week, we're shining the spotlight on the top ten CNN Hero's of 2013. You can vote for the one who most inspires you at CNNheros.com. Nearly a quarter of American households don't have a computer. So students unable to log on are less likely to graduate from high school. Our CNN hero is driven to change that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ESTELLA PYFROM, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: I grew up in the segregated south. I started picking things at age six. My father, I used to hear him say if you get a good education, you can get a good job. So we knew that education was important in today's time. Many of our children don't have computers at home. And low income families don't have transportation to get to where the computers are. Kids who don't have access to computers after school will be left behind.

My name is Estella Pyfrom at age 71; I took my retirement savings to create a classroom to bring high-tech learning to communities in need.

All right, let's get on board.

Estella's green bus is a mobile learning center.

Are you ready to get on the computers?

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): Yes.

PYFROM: We want to do what we can do to make things better for all us. I see the bus as being able to bridge that gap between technology and the like of it.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): She helps me by having one on one and if I don't get it she will help me with it. I look forward to it a lot.

PYFROM: How are we doing here? It's not just a bus. It's a movement. We're going to go from neighborhood to neighborhood to neighborhood to making a difference.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. A busy week ahead. It kicks off with a big criminal case in South Florida. The Miami man accused of murdering his wife and posting a picture of her body on facebook goes on trial Monday. Derek Medena posted a statement on facebook saying, "I'm going to prison or death sentence for killing my wife." He told police his wife was physically abusive and he shot her in self defense. Tuesday is Election Day. And there are several key races to watch. New York City will elect a successor to Mayor Michael Bloomberg who has been in office the last 12 years. And Detroit holds its first mayoral election since the city declared bankruptcy.

Tuesday will also be a big day for tourists in the nation's capital. Public tours of the White House are resuming. They were stopped about seven months ago because of budget cuts known as the sequester. Government officials say the current budget resolution will allow tours to resume on a limited schedule three days a week instead of five.

On Wednesday, a major case goes before the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices will hear arguments in a case challenging the constitutionality of holding public prayers before town meetings.

And on Friday, we'll finally get a look at the October jobs report. The numbers were delayed one week because of the partial government shutdown.

All right. A lot straight ahead in the new work week. In the mean time weekend almost over and you know for a lot of people, the highlight of the weekend is? "Saturday Night Live." You thought I was going to say Don Lemon didn't you Don?

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I thought you were going to say me. It is.

WHITFIELD: I know you did.

LEMON: Come on let's be honest.

WHITFIELD: Yes, you are the highlight. But you probably stayed up late last night. I couldn't stay up that late. But did you watch?

LEMON: I did watch. I fell asleep on it, but I did watch. Because you know, I have this thing for Olivia Pope which is Kerry Washington.

WHITFIELD: Yes, OK. You are hooked; in fact I think she tweeted you, didn't she?

LEMON: She did. I was in Boston sadly working on the sad story and the World Series was on.

WHITFIELD: That part was not the sad story.

LEMON: No but we wanted to watch, everyone wanted to watch the world series and I'm like I want to watch "Scandal" and I tweeted and I said in a restaurant in Boston and everybody is watching the world series. And there she says, that is the first part I said, In a Boston restaurant. All TVs on #WorldSeries. Missing @ScandalABC. What am I missing? #Scandal.

She said change the channel! LOL. That is my Kerry Washington.

WHITFIELD: That's cool. She is very cool. I did get a chance to interview her before the whole scandal, same thing. We talked about a host of other things. But you know you and I both have a little, I guess, brush with SNL fame. That with a co-host, the guest co-host, Kerry Washington with you. And Mia Rudolph actually played me one night.

LEMON: Oh my God are you serious?

WHITFIELD: Yes a few back. If only I could get to be a guest comedian or something on SNL. Maybe I will work on that.

LEMON: I fell asleep right after they played one of our former colleagues, Thomas Roberts last night because he is hosting I think "Miss USA" or something. And I saw that and said oh, look, Thomas -- you finally make it. That's when, SNL, you've made Fred. Thomas made it.

WHITFIELD: I don't know if I've made it, but it was kind of fun.

LEMON: Do you want to watch a clip from last night?

WHITFIELD: Yes, yes, yes. Let's.

LEMON: All right. Let's look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): The producers at "Saturday Night Live" would like to apologize to Kerry Washington for the number of black women she will be asked to play tonight.

(Cheers and applause)

(Inaudible)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): And also because SNL does not currently have a black woman in the cast. As for the latter reason, we agree this is not an ideal situation and look forward to rectifying it in the near future.

Unless of course, we fall in love with another white guy first.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That goes for more than just SNL, my friend.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I like the moment, though, when Kerry Washington comes back as Oprah. I hope Oprah likes it, too.

LEMON: Well first she came, she was the first lady and they didn't have black female cast members so then she had to go away and then she had to be Oprah.

WHITFIELD: Yes. During that little disclaimer.

LEMON: There was a little bit of a buzz, a little bit of a hiccup. Remember Keenan talked about not having any black cast members and he got in a little bit of trouble about that. That's kind of a big deal for SNL.

WHITFIELD: That is kind of the infamous for that whole skit. So I guess it made for good TV last night. All right, Don, good to see you, have a great week, but, first, a good evening. Much more in the NEWSROOM straight ahead with Don.

LEMON: All right, have a good one Fred. Thank you.