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CNN Live Saturday
Paul Hamm Keeps Gold After Judge Controversy; Iraqi Olympic Soccer Team Defeats Australia 1-0, Advances; American's Win Gold In Relay, Phelps Ties All-time Medal Winner
Aired August 21, 2004 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, fighters loyal to Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr still in control of a holy shrine in Najaf. Sporadic fighting has broken out today between the fighters and U.S. and Iraqi forces. The clerics representives say the mosque will be vacated when the situation calms down. Iraq's interim government wants al-Sadr and his militia to leave the mosque, dispand and join the mainstream political process.
Just over a week before the Republican National Convention gets underway. And President Bush is spending time at his Texas ranch. In his weekly radio address, Bush is touting his record on education and his No Child Left Behind Act. He vowed to increase school funding in next year's budget to $37 billion dollars. A 49 percent increase since 2001.
Senator John Kerry's running mate, Senator John Edwards, is on the attack today. In the weekly Democratic radio address, Edwards slams President Bush for supporting a law that trims over-time pay for some American workers. The law takes effect on Monday. Edwards says if he and Kerry are elected, they will not deny workers over-time pay.
Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
It is day 8 of the Summer Olympic games in Athens, Greece and more gold medals are up for grabs. And U.S. superswimmer Michael Phelps has his lion share. CNN's Mark McKay explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Athens conjures up images of ancient mythology and Greek heroes, but for the first week of the Olympic Games, Michael Phelps made the world focus on more recent history. The American teenager set out to surpass Mark Spitz's record 7 gold medals of the 1972 Olympics, but the quest to catch one of swimming's gods proved just unreachable.
MICHAEL PHELPS, OLYPMPIAN: I swam in the water and trained every single day to prepare for this. And, you know, I prepared as best as I could. And how I swam (UNINTELLIGIBLE) was the best way that I could swim.
MCKAY (on camera): Phelps got off to a quick start, winning the U.S. team's first gold medal on day 1 of the games. But his quest for Olympic immortality became history on day 2 when the men's 4x100 relay team took a dissappointing bronze. PHELPS: I wanted to come in here, I wanted to win 1 gold medal. And I did it the first night, so from then on out, I was just here to have fun and I was here to swim and I was here to represent my country as best I could. And you know, I feel that I've done that in this past week.
MCKAY (voice-over): With Phelps just 19 years old, his legend is still in the making. Spitz was 22 when he accomplished the feat. Phelps said he can't imagine his chances in Beijing four years from now, but he also couldn't imagine being this good this fast four years ago.
PHELPS: I've been gearing up for this for the past four years, and it's good to look back on it, excuse me, and right now I'm seven medals ahead of where I was four years ago. So I can't complain.
MCKAY: Phelps Olympic odyssey will end Saturday but not in the pool. After helping the team qualify for the final, Phelps gave up the butterfly leg of the medley relay to teammate Ian Crocker. While short of Spitz' seven gold's, a medal will make Phelps America's most decorated swimmer at a single Olympics.
Mark McKay, CNN, Athens.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. And Mark McKay joins us live now from Athens there you go. We get to see you twice. Once on tape, now live. All right well let's talk about gold medals and a little controversy involving the men's all around gymnastics gold medal. Paul Hamm gets to keep his medal after all even though the South Koreans are contesting, right?
MCKAY: Well yes it was a very confusing story in so many ways. Three judges were suspended because of that incident. Yes, the South Koreans thought that the gold medal winner Paul Hamm, there was a scoring error in fact committed in the gymnastics competition. Three judges were eliminated from at least they are suspended from their position. So this is a story that we're going to be watching the International Olympic Committee not involved the International Gymnastics Federation wants to look into it.
The South Koreans Fredricka want to go to the court of arbitration of sport to get their bronze medal winner to win the gold. Now lets go back to Michael Phelps for a second because I do have some news.
The U.S. men did win the gold in that relay event that we spoke about just a second ago Fredricka. They won the gold in the 400-meter medley in world record time. Germany takes the silver. Japan the bronze.
So Michael Phelps as I mentioned a little earlier, his Olympic odyssey is over. He earns a medal because he helped the team reach the finals. So, it completes medal haul here in Athens, Phelps picking up six gold's, two bronzes. Phelps ties the record for the most medals in a single Olympics. It's going to be quite a home coming to Baltimore.
There are so many good stories to report here at the Athens games, not the least of which the Iraqi soccer side, an underdog from the very start. Iraq went out on Saturday in search of a birth in the semifinal round, and they clinched it. A single goal, that's all that was needed against Australia. It came by a bicycle kick in the second half. And the Iraqis are now into the semifinals of Olympic soccer.
As you can imagine, fans back home in Baghdad were glued to their sets. After the final whistle sounded, celebrations (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Fredricka. We also heard celebrations here in Athens just a few blocks away, car horns blared into the night. And my colleague Michael Holmes reports that on the Island of Crete, where the match was played, even more partying going on tonight, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: I am not surprised to hear that. They are indeed the cinderella story. The sentimental favorites of these Olympic games.
So any idea who the Iraqis will be up against in the semis? Has their opponent already advanced, or completed a game?
MCKAY: No they haven't, actually. They're going to wait and see. When you deal with teams like this, they don't do a lot of looking ahead, especially the Iraqi side, Fredricka, they didn't even expect -- you know, who expected they would even be here at the Olympic games. They didn't qualify until late spring. They had to travel around the world just to play on playing pitches, since the infrastructure back in Iran (sic) is so -- back in Iraq that is, is so devestated.
So, for them to be here, I think they're just relishing the moment and take it step by step.
WHITFIELD: Yes. They deserve it. Just enjoy the moment. Take one step at a time.
All right. Thanks a lot, Mark McKay, from Athens.
Well, so far the U.S. leads in the medal count with 19 gold medals followed by China with 18. But the U.S. also has 14 silver and 12 bronze. And at 45 in all, the U.S. is boasting most medals overall.
Trouble facing one of the nation's most popular home builders. And why a job applicant is taking the company to court.
Sex, lies and days of audiotapes. Up next, in our "Legal Roundtable," we'll examine what impact the secret tapes will have on the jury here in Scott Peterson's double murder trial.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, an island illness tops our look at news across America. A gastrointestinal illness has sickened over 500 people at an Ohio resort area. The State's Health Department says the documented cases have increased since Friday at Lake Erie's South Bass Island. The cases include salmonella and Norah (ph) virus.
Windy weather could cause problems for fire fighting efforts in Washington State. Firefighters are trying to strengthen fire lines ahead of the winds. A wild fire has charred some 16,000 acres if central Washington, some of the more than 300 families who were evacuated are now being allowed to return to the Dryden area.
In Oregon, an animal rescue caught on tape. This 22-year-old Arabian horse tumbled down an embankment into this creek after getting spooked by another horse. The horse was taken to an animal hospital for treatment. The rider only suffered minor injuries.
And the old home of the Chicago Cubs might be foul. The city is trying to prove the 90-year-old ballpark is safe. It will send contractors to inspect the concrete. That means Monday night's home game could be canceled.
Quitting smoking may have gotten a little tougher in Utah, thanks to an anti-smoking campaign that's hit a foul snag. The story and the debate around this campaign coming up at 4:00 Eastern Time.
And the John Wieland Company has been named National Home Builder of the Year and developer of the decade according to its Web site. Well now it's named in a lawsuit alleging racism in hiring, a charge the company denies. The story now from CNN Denise Belgrave.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for an hour.
DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over) Eskridge wanted to be a sales agent for one of the south's premier developers, John Wieland Homes. She didn't get the job and until these tapes surfaced, she didn't know why.
UNINTIFIED FEMALE, HR EMPLOYEE: So why aren't we going forward with Amanda if you like her?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, Vice President: I chose Sheryl over Amanda for my position that I had available at Meadow Brook Glen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really? But we have Southampton open.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's not the profile that we're looking for per John, David, Terry at Southampton.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What profile are we looking for?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A non-African American person.
BELGRAVE: A bombshell for John Wieland, one of the top 50 builders in the country. What isn't apparent in the tape is that Eskridge and the other candidate Sheryl are black the tape indicates they were both considered for a position in what's considered a predominantly black subdivision called Meadow Brook. However the other position, Southampton is in what is considered a high-end predominantly white neighborhood. Eskridge says the company's rejection was a painful and humiliating shock.
AMANDA ESKRIDGE, PLAINTIFF: John Wieland is such a respected, influential prominent company in the Atlanta area, that it carried a level of prestige with it. I just didn't understand because I know that I met the qualifications. I knew that. I was being told that as I went through the process.
BELGRAVE: What Eskridge didn't know is that Attorney Roger Getman had been contacted months before by a Wieland human resources employee who is white. She secretly taped internal meetings about hiring practices at Wieland.
RODERICK EDMOND, PLANTIFFS ATTORNEY: She believes that because the senior management felt so comfortable with her, they believed that she was part of the crew and that she ascribed to the same racist notions that they were implementing.
BELGRAVE: The tapes show that more than one executive was involved in the Eskridge decision.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about Southampton?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, S. REGION PRESIDENT: You kind of have to be sensitive to demographics as far as the sales process.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you mean?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just have to know the demographics of who you're selling to and be able to - uh-not hurt sales by who you put into a certain neighborhood.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, now Catherine said something about because she's African American, and we're looking for Caucasians.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well that is what I'm saying too.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: The most important piece of evidence in this case is not the person that did the tape- recording, but the tapes themselves. What are important is what the owners and managers of this company said on the tape.
BELGRAVE (on camera): CNN contacted the John Wieland Company several times. The company declined to be interviewed on camera, but did issue a press statement.
From the statement company President John Wieland, "categorically denies that the company he has built would ever condone the type of conduct alleged in the complaint." He also added, "after several months, we canceled the job requisition due to lack of business and the position was never filled."
Denise Belgrave, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well let's turn to our "Legal Roundtable." And on the docket today, the Scott Peterson double murder trial. Phone calls between Peterson and his former lover Amber Frey take the spotlight all week. And it has taken the spotlight this weekend for us, too. Joining us from Cleveland, civil rights attorney and law professor Avery Friedman and in New York, criminal defense attorney, Richard Herman. Good to see both of you guys. How do you like that little gavel coming down there?
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It was great.
WHITFIELD: Just to add to the drama.
FRIEDMAN: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: All right so Amber Frey in court all week. However, her cross-examination had to be put off until next week because of some development in the case. How much of a disruption, Richard, might this be for her testimony?
HERMAN: Well, I think it's a great disruption. I mean the jury was ready to go. Geragos seemed to be ready to go and the jury wanted this cross-examination to begin and now what do they have? Another four days, five days off. Each time they've had delays like this in the past, it's been some sort of prosecutorial misconduct. And I'm sure here what we're hearing is that the prosecution failed to turn over some 6,000 pages of documents to Geragos and that's what's cause this had delay.
WHITFIELD: But Avery, clearly the judge is -- has become rather sensitive to all of these delays and perhaps they have a really good, a significant reason as to why they had to delay things. Do you believe in that?
FRIEDMAN: Well, there is a significant reason. There is no basis to conclude that there's prosecutorial misconduct. In fact there's a gag order on everyone. So for someone to guess that it's the issue, that's not the case. The fact is that the judge has tried to maintain the integrity of this trial. All it means is a two-day delay and we're going to see Amber on the stand on Monday, Mark gets his opportunity. I see no significance to this development, none whatsoever.
WHITFIELD: All right so Avery, what kinds of questions, if you were Mark Geragos, what do you need to ask her based on what you've already heard in the taped conversations so far?
FRIEDMAN: Well we have had a stunning number of conversations. We have a period of three weeks roughly. We have I think 42 separate conversations. What we're going to see is Mark Geragos essentially painting Amber as an agent for the police. He will succeed in some degree in discrediting her, although the bottom line is however much he beats her up, the tapes are what they are.
And let me tell you something when you hear Scott Peterson say the kind of things he says on that believe me, this is absolutely a fertilizer salesman. And I'm putting it mildly.
WHITFIELD: Richard I know you have a lot to say, because you were making some very funny expressions over there.
HERMAN: I'm ready to pass out.
FRIEDMAN: You will survive.
HERMAN: I think what Mark Geragos should do is he should take a page out of my friend's Bruce Cutler's book in "U.S. Be Gotti (ph)" take the 241 tapes, drop them in the wastebasket and tell the judge he has no questions for Amber Frey.
She did nothing to advance the proposition that Scott Peterson intentionally premeditated killed his wife. Those tapes are soap opera conversations they were done in the police station with the guidance of the police officers and detectives who were leading her on. I mean, come on. These tapes, 24 tapes were used out of 241 tapes. That's all. And not one of those tapes.
WHITFIELD: You're saying you heard nothing incriminating on that, only that it's established that he's a liar?
HERMAN: Absolutely Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And that's not enough to be --
FRIEDMAN: It is very significant. How can you pretend that those tapes aren't significant? Look, this guy was 80 miles from home at the same place that the bodies were found.
HERMAN: The tapes, the tapes Avery.
FRIEDMAN: And it impacts on credibility Richard.
HERMAN: The tapes, I'll tell you what Avery look the camera in the eye and tell everyone after 12 weeks of trial, the date, time, and manner that Scott Peterson premeditated and killed his wife. Do it after 12 weeks.
FRIEDMAN: It is circumstantial evidence like many other murder trials. This is no derivation from what we've seen for generations.
WHITFIELD: You guys are experienced lawyers talking. But how do you suppose the jurors try to digest this? Yes, they probably all concluded that he is lying, he's not in Paris but he is really right down the street having this conversation.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
WHITFIELD: But does that raise suspicion in the jurors' point of view that you know what this guy's hiding something. That he may have murdered someone.
HERMAN: It's a credibility issue.
FRIEDMAN: That's exactly right. It's a credibility issue. The key fact here is that he is at the site where the bodies are found. This impacts on his credibility. Granted, there are problems with the D.A.'s case. I'm not going to fight that issue. But the fact is, these people in central California get what this case is and I think Geragos is going to have to be masterful.
HERMAN: That is not in tape.
WHITFIELD: And Richard real quick, you get the last word then. What questions would you ask on cross-examination of Amber Frey?
HERMAN: I would just say look, there were 241 tape recordings made and not in one of those tapes did Scott Peterson tell you in any way, shape, or form that he killed his wife or that he had anything to do with it. Gloria Allred was right. These were bombshell tapes. They vindicate Scott, these tapes are acquittal tapes.
FRIEDMAN: We're looking at a completely different case I guess. I don't know.
WHITFIELD: OK, we'll be examining it again I assure you of that, maybe even as early as next week. All right Richard Herman, Avery Friedman, thanks so much gentleman.
FRIEDMAN: Thank you.
HERMAN: Nice to see you again. Take care.
WHITFIELD: Richard, I know you're about to get an e-mail any day now from Gloria Allred.
HERMAN: OK, great. Bring it on Gloria all wrong. I have 600 cable stations. She's on every one of them promoting Amber. I can't take it.
WHITFIELD: See you all next week.
HERMAN: I can't take it!
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, it's considered a doorway into the life and times of John the Baptist. Straight ahead, we'll go inside this divine discovery in the Foot Hills of Jerusalem.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Word of a secret cave outside Jerusalem could send shock waves throughout Christianity. An archeologist believes he might have uncovered the site where John the Baptist anointed and blessed his followers. CNN's Stan Grant takes us inside the cave of the Baptist.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John the Baptist in all his glory. You can see --
STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's a crude cave drawing but it could be proof John the Baptist existed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The eyes, a very long nose. The mouth.
GRANT: Two archaeologists Shimon Gibson, this cave is a doorway into the time of Jesus. For centuries hidden near Jerusalem close to where John was born only now giving up its secrets, a place where the fiery New Testament preacher carried out his cleansing rituals.
SHIMON GIBSON, ARCHAEOLOGIST: The evidence we have dates back to the late first century b.c. and early first century a.d. to the time of John the Baptist himself. And this is quite astounding.
GRANT: According to archaeologists this footprint represents an important part of the puzzle, it shows a break with Jewish tradition. It was here that followers would come and place their feet to be anointed with oil. They then undergo a new ritual, baptism performed by John.
GIBSON: People would then have immersed themselves in the water at the back of the cave, then they would have come out and put on new robes and they would have been purified and then they would have set out from the cave.
GRANT: Who was John? The bible says a man who preached in the wilderness, depicted as a wild figure living on locusts clad in camel skin with matted hair. He's believed to have been the cousin of Jesus and baptized him. Shimon Gibson imagines Jesus himself with John in this cave.
GIBSON: But this is a speculation. But it's nice to think about the idea that down these steps Jesus himself walked and then performed baptismal rites.
GRANT: But is all of this to be believed? There are no inscriptions, no written proof. The evidence Gibson concedes is circumstantial.
GIBSON: It would be wonderful if John the Baptist had something inscribed in the wall, I am John the Baptist and this is the place where I baptized but that's the nature of archaeological discovery.
GRANT: Gibson is ready for the debate. For five years, he has kept his discovery a secret since he was told about the cave by locals. The story of John, he says, is on the walls. The pictures of his decapitated head and severed arm, all pointing he says to one of the great archaeological finds of the gospels, the cave of John the Baptist.
Stan Grant, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Still much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY. At the top of the hour, it is "Next @ CNN." The black box is in cars and what information can be used in a criminal investigation into an accident. At 4:00 Eastern, "CNN Live Saturday." And "Dollar Signs" tips on how to save money on the added cost of a college education. Experts answer your phone calls and your e-mail questions. And at 5:00 Eastern "People in the News" today profiling pop music stars Britney Spears and Madonna. But first Erica Hill with a preview of "NEXT@CNN."
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 21, 2004 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, fighters loyal to Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr still in control of a holy shrine in Najaf. Sporadic fighting has broken out today between the fighters and U.S. and Iraqi forces. The clerics representives say the mosque will be vacated when the situation calms down. Iraq's interim government wants al-Sadr and his militia to leave the mosque, dispand and join the mainstream political process.
Just over a week before the Republican National Convention gets underway. And President Bush is spending time at his Texas ranch. In his weekly radio address, Bush is touting his record on education and his No Child Left Behind Act. He vowed to increase school funding in next year's budget to $37 billion dollars. A 49 percent increase since 2001.
Senator John Kerry's running mate, Senator John Edwards, is on the attack today. In the weekly Democratic radio address, Edwards slams President Bush for supporting a law that trims over-time pay for some American workers. The law takes effect on Monday. Edwards says if he and Kerry are elected, they will not deny workers over-time pay.
Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
It is day 8 of the Summer Olympic games in Athens, Greece and more gold medals are up for grabs. And U.S. superswimmer Michael Phelps has his lion share. CNN's Mark McKay explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Athens conjures up images of ancient mythology and Greek heroes, but for the first week of the Olympic Games, Michael Phelps made the world focus on more recent history. The American teenager set out to surpass Mark Spitz's record 7 gold medals of the 1972 Olympics, but the quest to catch one of swimming's gods proved just unreachable.
MICHAEL PHELPS, OLYPMPIAN: I swam in the water and trained every single day to prepare for this. And, you know, I prepared as best as I could. And how I swam (UNINTELLIGIBLE) was the best way that I could swim.
MCKAY (on camera): Phelps got off to a quick start, winning the U.S. team's first gold medal on day 1 of the games. But his quest for Olympic immortality became history on day 2 when the men's 4x100 relay team took a dissappointing bronze. PHELPS: I wanted to come in here, I wanted to win 1 gold medal. And I did it the first night, so from then on out, I was just here to have fun and I was here to swim and I was here to represent my country as best I could. And you know, I feel that I've done that in this past week.
MCKAY (voice-over): With Phelps just 19 years old, his legend is still in the making. Spitz was 22 when he accomplished the feat. Phelps said he can't imagine his chances in Beijing four years from now, but he also couldn't imagine being this good this fast four years ago.
PHELPS: I've been gearing up for this for the past four years, and it's good to look back on it, excuse me, and right now I'm seven medals ahead of where I was four years ago. So I can't complain.
MCKAY: Phelps Olympic odyssey will end Saturday but not in the pool. After helping the team qualify for the final, Phelps gave up the butterfly leg of the medley relay to teammate Ian Crocker. While short of Spitz' seven gold's, a medal will make Phelps America's most decorated swimmer at a single Olympics.
Mark McKay, CNN, Athens.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. And Mark McKay joins us live now from Athens there you go. We get to see you twice. Once on tape, now live. All right well let's talk about gold medals and a little controversy involving the men's all around gymnastics gold medal. Paul Hamm gets to keep his medal after all even though the South Koreans are contesting, right?
MCKAY: Well yes it was a very confusing story in so many ways. Three judges were suspended because of that incident. Yes, the South Koreans thought that the gold medal winner Paul Hamm, there was a scoring error in fact committed in the gymnastics competition. Three judges were eliminated from at least they are suspended from their position. So this is a story that we're going to be watching the International Olympic Committee not involved the International Gymnastics Federation wants to look into it.
The South Koreans Fredricka want to go to the court of arbitration of sport to get their bronze medal winner to win the gold. Now lets go back to Michael Phelps for a second because I do have some news.
The U.S. men did win the gold in that relay event that we spoke about just a second ago Fredricka. They won the gold in the 400-meter medley in world record time. Germany takes the silver. Japan the bronze.
So Michael Phelps as I mentioned a little earlier, his Olympic odyssey is over. He earns a medal because he helped the team reach the finals. So, it completes medal haul here in Athens, Phelps picking up six gold's, two bronzes. Phelps ties the record for the most medals in a single Olympics. It's going to be quite a home coming to Baltimore.
There are so many good stories to report here at the Athens games, not the least of which the Iraqi soccer side, an underdog from the very start. Iraq went out on Saturday in search of a birth in the semifinal round, and they clinched it. A single goal, that's all that was needed against Australia. It came by a bicycle kick in the second half. And the Iraqis are now into the semifinals of Olympic soccer.
As you can imagine, fans back home in Baghdad were glued to their sets. After the final whistle sounded, celebrations (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Fredricka. We also heard celebrations here in Athens just a few blocks away, car horns blared into the night. And my colleague Michael Holmes reports that on the Island of Crete, where the match was played, even more partying going on tonight, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: I am not surprised to hear that. They are indeed the cinderella story. The sentimental favorites of these Olympic games.
So any idea who the Iraqis will be up against in the semis? Has their opponent already advanced, or completed a game?
MCKAY: No they haven't, actually. They're going to wait and see. When you deal with teams like this, they don't do a lot of looking ahead, especially the Iraqi side, Fredricka, they didn't even expect -- you know, who expected they would even be here at the Olympic games. They didn't qualify until late spring. They had to travel around the world just to play on playing pitches, since the infrastructure back in Iran (sic) is so -- back in Iraq that is, is so devestated.
So, for them to be here, I think they're just relishing the moment and take it step by step.
WHITFIELD: Yes. They deserve it. Just enjoy the moment. Take one step at a time.
All right. Thanks a lot, Mark McKay, from Athens.
Well, so far the U.S. leads in the medal count with 19 gold medals followed by China with 18. But the U.S. also has 14 silver and 12 bronze. And at 45 in all, the U.S. is boasting most medals overall.
Trouble facing one of the nation's most popular home builders. And why a job applicant is taking the company to court.
Sex, lies and days of audiotapes. Up next, in our "Legal Roundtable," we'll examine what impact the secret tapes will have on the jury here in Scott Peterson's double murder trial.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, an island illness tops our look at news across America. A gastrointestinal illness has sickened over 500 people at an Ohio resort area. The State's Health Department says the documented cases have increased since Friday at Lake Erie's South Bass Island. The cases include salmonella and Norah (ph) virus.
Windy weather could cause problems for fire fighting efforts in Washington State. Firefighters are trying to strengthen fire lines ahead of the winds. A wild fire has charred some 16,000 acres if central Washington, some of the more than 300 families who were evacuated are now being allowed to return to the Dryden area.
In Oregon, an animal rescue caught on tape. This 22-year-old Arabian horse tumbled down an embankment into this creek after getting spooked by another horse. The horse was taken to an animal hospital for treatment. The rider only suffered minor injuries.
And the old home of the Chicago Cubs might be foul. The city is trying to prove the 90-year-old ballpark is safe. It will send contractors to inspect the concrete. That means Monday night's home game could be canceled.
Quitting smoking may have gotten a little tougher in Utah, thanks to an anti-smoking campaign that's hit a foul snag. The story and the debate around this campaign coming up at 4:00 Eastern Time.
And the John Wieland Company has been named National Home Builder of the Year and developer of the decade according to its Web site. Well now it's named in a lawsuit alleging racism in hiring, a charge the company denies. The story now from CNN Denise Belgrave.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for an hour.
DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over) Eskridge wanted to be a sales agent for one of the south's premier developers, John Wieland Homes. She didn't get the job and until these tapes surfaced, she didn't know why.
UNINTIFIED FEMALE, HR EMPLOYEE: So why aren't we going forward with Amanda if you like her?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, Vice President: I chose Sheryl over Amanda for my position that I had available at Meadow Brook Glen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really? But we have Southampton open.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's not the profile that we're looking for per John, David, Terry at Southampton.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What profile are we looking for?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A non-African American person.
BELGRAVE: A bombshell for John Wieland, one of the top 50 builders in the country. What isn't apparent in the tape is that Eskridge and the other candidate Sheryl are black the tape indicates they were both considered for a position in what's considered a predominantly black subdivision called Meadow Brook. However the other position, Southampton is in what is considered a high-end predominantly white neighborhood. Eskridge says the company's rejection was a painful and humiliating shock.
AMANDA ESKRIDGE, PLAINTIFF: John Wieland is such a respected, influential prominent company in the Atlanta area, that it carried a level of prestige with it. I just didn't understand because I know that I met the qualifications. I knew that. I was being told that as I went through the process.
BELGRAVE: What Eskridge didn't know is that Attorney Roger Getman had been contacted months before by a Wieland human resources employee who is white. She secretly taped internal meetings about hiring practices at Wieland.
RODERICK EDMOND, PLANTIFFS ATTORNEY: She believes that because the senior management felt so comfortable with her, they believed that she was part of the crew and that she ascribed to the same racist notions that they were implementing.
BELGRAVE: The tapes show that more than one executive was involved in the Eskridge decision.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about Southampton?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, S. REGION PRESIDENT: You kind of have to be sensitive to demographics as far as the sales process.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you mean?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just have to know the demographics of who you're selling to and be able to - uh-not hurt sales by who you put into a certain neighborhood.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, now Catherine said something about because she's African American, and we're looking for Caucasians.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well that is what I'm saying too.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: The most important piece of evidence in this case is not the person that did the tape- recording, but the tapes themselves. What are important is what the owners and managers of this company said on the tape.
BELGRAVE (on camera): CNN contacted the John Wieland Company several times. The company declined to be interviewed on camera, but did issue a press statement.
From the statement company President John Wieland, "categorically denies that the company he has built would ever condone the type of conduct alleged in the complaint." He also added, "after several months, we canceled the job requisition due to lack of business and the position was never filled."
Denise Belgrave, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well let's turn to our "Legal Roundtable." And on the docket today, the Scott Peterson double murder trial. Phone calls between Peterson and his former lover Amber Frey take the spotlight all week. And it has taken the spotlight this weekend for us, too. Joining us from Cleveland, civil rights attorney and law professor Avery Friedman and in New York, criminal defense attorney, Richard Herman. Good to see both of you guys. How do you like that little gavel coming down there?
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It was great.
WHITFIELD: Just to add to the drama.
FRIEDMAN: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: All right so Amber Frey in court all week. However, her cross-examination had to be put off until next week because of some development in the case. How much of a disruption, Richard, might this be for her testimony?
HERMAN: Well, I think it's a great disruption. I mean the jury was ready to go. Geragos seemed to be ready to go and the jury wanted this cross-examination to begin and now what do they have? Another four days, five days off. Each time they've had delays like this in the past, it's been some sort of prosecutorial misconduct. And I'm sure here what we're hearing is that the prosecution failed to turn over some 6,000 pages of documents to Geragos and that's what's cause this had delay.
WHITFIELD: But Avery, clearly the judge is -- has become rather sensitive to all of these delays and perhaps they have a really good, a significant reason as to why they had to delay things. Do you believe in that?
FRIEDMAN: Well, there is a significant reason. There is no basis to conclude that there's prosecutorial misconduct. In fact there's a gag order on everyone. So for someone to guess that it's the issue, that's not the case. The fact is that the judge has tried to maintain the integrity of this trial. All it means is a two-day delay and we're going to see Amber on the stand on Monday, Mark gets his opportunity. I see no significance to this development, none whatsoever.
WHITFIELD: All right so Avery, what kinds of questions, if you were Mark Geragos, what do you need to ask her based on what you've already heard in the taped conversations so far?
FRIEDMAN: Well we have had a stunning number of conversations. We have a period of three weeks roughly. We have I think 42 separate conversations. What we're going to see is Mark Geragos essentially painting Amber as an agent for the police. He will succeed in some degree in discrediting her, although the bottom line is however much he beats her up, the tapes are what they are.
And let me tell you something when you hear Scott Peterson say the kind of things he says on that believe me, this is absolutely a fertilizer salesman. And I'm putting it mildly.
WHITFIELD: Richard I know you have a lot to say, because you were making some very funny expressions over there.
HERMAN: I'm ready to pass out.
FRIEDMAN: You will survive.
HERMAN: I think what Mark Geragos should do is he should take a page out of my friend's Bruce Cutler's book in "U.S. Be Gotti (ph)" take the 241 tapes, drop them in the wastebasket and tell the judge he has no questions for Amber Frey.
She did nothing to advance the proposition that Scott Peterson intentionally premeditated killed his wife. Those tapes are soap opera conversations they were done in the police station with the guidance of the police officers and detectives who were leading her on. I mean, come on. These tapes, 24 tapes were used out of 241 tapes. That's all. And not one of those tapes.
WHITFIELD: You're saying you heard nothing incriminating on that, only that it's established that he's a liar?
HERMAN: Absolutely Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And that's not enough to be --
FRIEDMAN: It is very significant. How can you pretend that those tapes aren't significant? Look, this guy was 80 miles from home at the same place that the bodies were found.
HERMAN: The tapes, the tapes Avery.
FRIEDMAN: And it impacts on credibility Richard.
HERMAN: The tapes, I'll tell you what Avery look the camera in the eye and tell everyone after 12 weeks of trial, the date, time, and manner that Scott Peterson premeditated and killed his wife. Do it after 12 weeks.
FRIEDMAN: It is circumstantial evidence like many other murder trials. This is no derivation from what we've seen for generations.
WHITFIELD: You guys are experienced lawyers talking. But how do you suppose the jurors try to digest this? Yes, they probably all concluded that he is lying, he's not in Paris but he is really right down the street having this conversation.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
WHITFIELD: But does that raise suspicion in the jurors' point of view that you know what this guy's hiding something. That he may have murdered someone.
HERMAN: It's a credibility issue.
FRIEDMAN: That's exactly right. It's a credibility issue. The key fact here is that he is at the site where the bodies are found. This impacts on his credibility. Granted, there are problems with the D.A.'s case. I'm not going to fight that issue. But the fact is, these people in central California get what this case is and I think Geragos is going to have to be masterful.
HERMAN: That is not in tape.
WHITFIELD: And Richard real quick, you get the last word then. What questions would you ask on cross-examination of Amber Frey?
HERMAN: I would just say look, there were 241 tape recordings made and not in one of those tapes did Scott Peterson tell you in any way, shape, or form that he killed his wife or that he had anything to do with it. Gloria Allred was right. These were bombshell tapes. They vindicate Scott, these tapes are acquittal tapes.
FRIEDMAN: We're looking at a completely different case I guess. I don't know.
WHITFIELD: OK, we'll be examining it again I assure you of that, maybe even as early as next week. All right Richard Herman, Avery Friedman, thanks so much gentleman.
FRIEDMAN: Thank you.
HERMAN: Nice to see you again. Take care.
WHITFIELD: Richard, I know you're about to get an e-mail any day now from Gloria Allred.
HERMAN: OK, great. Bring it on Gloria all wrong. I have 600 cable stations. She's on every one of them promoting Amber. I can't take it.
WHITFIELD: See you all next week.
HERMAN: I can't take it!
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, it's considered a doorway into the life and times of John the Baptist. Straight ahead, we'll go inside this divine discovery in the Foot Hills of Jerusalem.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Word of a secret cave outside Jerusalem could send shock waves throughout Christianity. An archeologist believes he might have uncovered the site where John the Baptist anointed and blessed his followers. CNN's Stan Grant takes us inside the cave of the Baptist.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John the Baptist in all his glory. You can see --
STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's a crude cave drawing but it could be proof John the Baptist existed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The eyes, a very long nose. The mouth.
GRANT: Two archaeologists Shimon Gibson, this cave is a doorway into the time of Jesus. For centuries hidden near Jerusalem close to where John was born only now giving up its secrets, a place where the fiery New Testament preacher carried out his cleansing rituals.
SHIMON GIBSON, ARCHAEOLOGIST: The evidence we have dates back to the late first century b.c. and early first century a.d. to the time of John the Baptist himself. And this is quite astounding.
GRANT: According to archaeologists this footprint represents an important part of the puzzle, it shows a break with Jewish tradition. It was here that followers would come and place their feet to be anointed with oil. They then undergo a new ritual, baptism performed by John.
GIBSON: People would then have immersed themselves in the water at the back of the cave, then they would have come out and put on new robes and they would have been purified and then they would have set out from the cave.
GRANT: Who was John? The bible says a man who preached in the wilderness, depicted as a wild figure living on locusts clad in camel skin with matted hair. He's believed to have been the cousin of Jesus and baptized him. Shimon Gibson imagines Jesus himself with John in this cave.
GIBSON: But this is a speculation. But it's nice to think about the idea that down these steps Jesus himself walked and then performed baptismal rites.
GRANT: But is all of this to be believed? There are no inscriptions, no written proof. The evidence Gibson concedes is circumstantial.
GIBSON: It would be wonderful if John the Baptist had something inscribed in the wall, I am John the Baptist and this is the place where I baptized but that's the nature of archaeological discovery.
GRANT: Gibson is ready for the debate. For five years, he has kept his discovery a secret since he was told about the cave by locals. The story of John, he says, is on the walls. The pictures of his decapitated head and severed arm, all pointing he says to one of the great archaeological finds of the gospels, the cave of John the Baptist.
Stan Grant, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Still much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY. At the top of the hour, it is "Next @ CNN." The black box is in cars and what information can be used in a criminal investigation into an accident. At 4:00 Eastern, "CNN Live Saturday." And "Dollar Signs" tips on how to save money on the added cost of a college education. Experts answer your phone calls and your e-mail questions. And at 5:00 Eastern "People in the News" today profiling pop music stars Britney Spears and Madonna. But first Erica Hill with a preview of "NEXT@CNN."
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