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11th Circuit Denies Latest Schiavo Appeal; Red Lake Tribal Leader's Son Arrested

Aired March 30, 2005 - 15:00   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.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what's happening right now in the news.
President Bush lands in Iowa with a challenge on Social Security. Mr. Bush says politicians will pay a political price if they balk at shoring up the popular retirement program. His opponents say the president's privatization plan would only make the current problem worse.

Now if you're a worker who's 40 or older, you're covered by a ruling on age discrimination by the U.S. Supreme Court. Today, the high court made it easier to sue an employer. It said it doesn't even matter if the alleged discrimination is intentional or not.

The man who led a peaceful revolt against the hard-line leaders in Ukraine will get a warm welcome in Washington. A joint meeting of Congress will convene next Wednesday for the new Ukrainian president, Viktor Yushchenko. He's to meet with President Bush as well.

And the sharks split the scene after swarming close to the shore in south Florida. Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach and Palm Beach all closed yesterday. Well, they're open today. An expert calls these black-tipped sharks, he says that they don't eat humans, but they do bite.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hard to believe, but the Schiavo case back in the courts, with Terri Schiavo now without food, without water for 12 full days. That appeals court in Atlanta is considering granting an emergency hearing in the parents' continuing legal effort to keep their daughter alive. The father spoke to reporters just a short time ago.

CNN's Bob Franken was there to hear what he said in Pinellas Park, Florida -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And while the appeals court hears in effect the same appeal with new evidence, new considerations, the hopes here have been raised just a little bit, but so has the tension.

We are now having what amounts to a full-scale search of every car that comes down this road. This is new. It was instituted at about 11:00 Eastern. It was a procedure put into effect because of a bomb threat at this hospice which resulted in a major search yesterday. They are greatly increasing security. Meanwhile, the family continues to try to make point that it's not too late for action. There is an increasing discussion about whether Terri Schiavo has past the point of no return. But Bob Schindler, who is her father, took some friends in with him just a short while ago. And they all came out to say that they were pleasantly surprised.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB SCHINDLER, FATHER OF TERRI SCHIAVO: I'm asking that nobody throw in the towel as long as she's fighting, to keep fighting with her, particularly anyone that's up in Tallahassee that is considering any kind of legislature -- she can still come out of this thing. And they've got to help her.

JUDY BADER, SCHINDLER FAMILY FRIEND: Terri is very much awake. She's still trying to track people in the room with her eyes. She is still very much there. She hasn't gone anywhere. She's still fighting very hard to stay alive. We just have to help her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And a man who wanted to see for himself got in quite a bit of trouble this morning. Not only was he arrested for trying to trespass when he tried to bring water in, but as the police officer held his arm, he smacked the police officer's arm. That has resulted in, among other charges, a felony charge of battery on an officer of the law.

So, tensions are increasing here outside. That's where the tensions are. Inside, in the peace of the hospice, Terri Schiavo is clearly operating on limited time -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Bob, going back to where you started there, on those searches of those cars, are there specific threats that police are responding to or is this just a matter of where the time is and what the assumptions would be?

FRANKEN: Well, there was two bomb threats that were called in yesterday. And they conducted a significant search. But, in the last few days, tempers have been getting a little bit short and the police have been responding to that.

And this is just another step in the direction of doing everything they can to make sure that there's no major incident.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Bob Franken in Pinellas Park, thank you very much.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson met this afternoon with Florida Governor Bush as part of a last-minute bid to keep Terri Schiavo from dying. After that meeting, Jackson spoke with reporters just moments ago. You saw it here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REV. JESSE JACKSON, FOUNDER, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: A kind of legal, detached objectivity while a woman dies whose life is in our hands. We must all, across political lines, evaluate the ramifications of this.

Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Be sure to catch "INSIDE POLITICS" today, Candy Crowley filling in for Judy Woodruff. Jesse Jackson will be a guest; 3:30 p.m. Eastern is the time of that program.

LIN: Well, another story that's captured the national attention is A story about this man. He spent 39 years working for the Boy Scouts of America. And now Douglas Smith is facing jail time for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.

Our Ed Lavandera is covering that story in Fort Worth, Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sixty-one-year-old Douglas Smith Jr. pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child pornography. Federal investigators say that, on his home computer, they discovered more than 500 images, sexually explicit images of boys under the age of 18 engaged in sexual acts.

However, the prosecutors are saying that these images were only tied to his home computer, that his affiliation with the Boy Scouts -- Mr. Smith had been working with the Boy Scouts as the national director of programs -- the Boy Scouts said that he had no connection and had not been working closely with young people. But prosecutors say that none of these were found on his work computer. In fact, they say that this interest in child pornography was something completely separate from his work with the Boy Scouts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was able to discipline his addiction just to his home computers, and certainly that is a relief to the Boy Scouts of America that literally there are no tie to the Boy Scouts in this case. It was all just on his own at his home computers.

BRET HELMER, ASSISTANT U.S. DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I also hope that people realize that this is a man who, for his entire life, has been a good man, has been a good family man, has been a good representative of the Boy Scouts, and I would hate, even though this it's inclination, I'm sure, I would hate for his entire life to be judged by one stupid act.

LAVANDERA: Mr. Smith will be sentenced in July, but until then, he will remain free. He faces between five to 20 years in prison.

But the judge in the case says he does not consider him to be a danger to others, and that's a sentiment that prosecutors in this case are echoing as well. You know, it turns out that this case was brought about because of an interesting twist in November of 2003. German investigators were looking into a man they suspected to be involved in trafficking child pornography.

That's where they came across Douglas Smith's e-mail address. And they continued to correspond with him. And that's where they say that they noticed that these pictures were being transmitted over the Internet. Investigators then passed that information along to investigators with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Washington, where they tracked down Mr. Smith, confiscated his computers, and found more than 500 images on his home computer.

But, again, they say that he was not in any of the pictures and that this in no way was connected to any of his work with the Boy Scouts.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Fort Worth, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Now some other news across America.

Joan Kennedy is in a Boston hospital recovering from a concussion and a broken shoulder. Her son, Congressman President Patrick Kennedy, says he is grateful to a passerby who found her lying unconscious on a Boston street and got help. The Rhode Island Democrat is seeking permanent legal guardianship of his mother, who has fought a long battle with alcoholism.

Patrick Kennedy is ending speculation he might seek a seat in the U.S. Senate, because, today, he announced he will not run against Republican Lincoln Chafee next year. Kennedy says he can best serve Rhode Island by staying in the House.

A trial lawyer who has a gift for words, courtroom flair, and, according to those who knew him, a genuine desire to right the wrongs, is being remembered today. Johnnie Cochran died at his Los Angeles home yesterday of a brain tumor. He was 67.

Reverend Jerry Falwell is said to be doing better at a hospital in Lynchburg, Virginia. Doctors have taken him off a ventilator and upgraded his condition from critical to serious but stable. Doctors say the 71-year-old Falwell has congestive heart failure, not pneumonia, as was reported earlier.

O'BRIEN: The Vatican revealed today the pope has a feeding tube. It's designed to give him nutrients through his nose. But we don't know how long he's had it or if it is permanent. It wasn't visible during the pope's appearance at a window today. The Vatican says the pope is slowly recovering from his throat surgery last month.

LIN: And a powerful aftershock rattled nerves today on Indonesia's Sumatra Island. And there are no reports of any casualties or damage. The United Nations now confirms at least 500 people were killed in Monday's huge earthquake. Officials fear that number, though, could double.

CNN's Hugh Riminton is there in Nias Island, where there's massive destruction and overwhelming desperation. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the commercial heart of Gunung Sitoli. It's the main town, if you like, on the island of Nias, the administrative center.

Now, when the earthquake struck just before midnight, you can see what happened to these buildings. The cement, the heavy buildings, just collapsed in on top of themselves. And there was simply no prospect for anyone who was inside these buildings to survive. We've been watching people during the course of the day looking for bodies inside these sorts of buildings. In some cases, they have found them.

We've not, at least not while we've been looking, managed to see anybody pull out, anybody who is still alive. These earthquakes, of course, every disaster is extremely capricious. Some things live. Some things don't. And over here, on the other side of the road, these buildings seem remarkably unaffected, even though the road is cracked. And among these buildings, just over here, there is a building. It's a Buddhist temple. It's a Buddhist meeting hall, and it's being used at the moment as a makeshift morgue.

There are 37 bodies in here. They're lined up inside. They get brought out. Some prayers get said over the dead. It's a grief full, grievous place. They're quickly buried or put into these coffins. The coffins are nailed down and they are taken away for burial. And that is just in one little stretch of 50 meters or so of Gunung Sitoli.

This is Hugh Riminton on the island of Nias, Indonesia, for CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And our thanks to Hugh for just feeding those remarkable pictures in. Of course, you can see many more images of the aftermath of the Indonesian earthquake and an interactive guide to how earthquakes are rated. All you have to do is log on to CNN.com/world.

O'BRIEN: People across Alaska on alert last hour, as officials tested the state's tsunami warning system. It involves a signal broadcast over radio and television, much like severe weather bulletins. The system in place since 1967, with alerts issued locally, that changed to statewide after December's deadly tsunamis in South Asia.

LIN: We've got a check of the markets straight ahead.

Plus, the plot thickens in that deadly Minnesota school shooting spree, a tight-knit community torn apart at the seams by the latest arrest. We've got details on LIVE FROM.

O'BRIEN: And, later, is Britney Spears with child? Hollywood is abuzz about the possibility of a baby Britney.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER UPDATE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Well, another blow and another tear in the social fabric for people of the Red Lake Reservation in Minnesota. This time, it is the arrest of a tribal leader's son in connection with last week's deadly school rampage.

CNN's Keith Oppenheim has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLOYD JOURDAIN, RED LAKE TRIBAL LEADER: Our community is devastated by this event.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a tight-knit community, the connections could be uncomfortably close. A day after the shootings at the Red Lake Indian Reservation, the tribal leader, Floyd Jourdain Junior, led off a news conference.

JOURDAIN: We look forward to your continued support.

OPPENHEIM: Immediately followed by Michael Tabman, the FBI special agent in charge.

Tabman was asked about 16-year-old Jeffrey Weise, the troubled teen who allegedly shot and killed his grandfather, three other adults, five students and then himself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this time we believe he acted alone, but we certainly have to explore all possibilities.

OPPENHEIM: The twist in the tale is that now tribal leader Jourdain acknowledges that his son, Louis, has been arrested.

Louis Jourdain was escorted out of federal court in Duluth. "The Minneapolis Star Tribune" reports he has been charged with conspiracy, plotting with Weise to attack Red Lake High School.

HOWIE PADILLA, "MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE": They had been planning it for about a year and possibly Jeff had done it maybe at a different time than what was planned is what's being alleged out there.

OPPENHEIM: In a statement, Floyd Jourdain said, My heart is heavy as a result of the tragic events that unfolded here at our nation, but it is with optimism that I state my son Louis' innocence. I know my son and he is incapable of committing such an act.

As for Jeff Weise, investigators are still trying to understand why. And now the question is, who else is involved? Was Weise a troubled loner plotting his attack by himself or did he share his ideas and plans with others?

LEE COOK, AMERICAN INDIAN STUDIES, BEMIDJI STATE UNIVERSITY: I know the FBI is investigating now with the understanding that there were other young people involved and that there are other young people that at least sort of knew that this kid was going to do something; that other homes had been searched and other computers had been taken with the notion of looking for the interconnect between Jeff and his friends.

OPPENHEIM: In the meantime, Red Lake High School remains closed.

The school's principal tells CNN the damage inside is so great the building may stay shut for the rest of the year.

More than a week after the shootings, the mourning goes on. Funerals for teacher Neva Rogers and security guard Derrick Brun.

FRANCIS BRUN, VICTIM'S FATHER: The tragedy is too great for many people to bear right now. We want to, you know, go put Derek at rest.

OPPENHEIM: In a close-knit population of just a bit more than 5,000 people, it may be difficult to come to terms with what happened.

Tribal members are now just learning the son of their leader, and possibly others, might have known something, might have been able to do something to stop the deadly shootings.

Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(FINANCIAL UPDATE)

O'BRIEN: Ahead on LIVE FROM, the Britney baby buzz. Some insist the pop star is pregnant, something her people say she's denied. Up next, we'll see why all the speculation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: All right, this just in to the CNN Center.

We have learned that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals right here in Atlanta has denied Terri Schiavo's parents. They are refusing for the court to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case. Essentially, what happened is, the court allowed the parents to file papers last night to have their case considered. We just got the ruling that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied to rehear or even hear what they are saying is new evidence in this case.

Let's go straight to Rick Sanchez, who is standing by outside the federal appeals court.

Rick, when this came down, give me your read on the language and what the court said.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Somewhat expected, they released the information in the form of the Web site here at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. And some had considered that, for the most part, some of the folks inside that building that you see behind me, Carol, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, they're judges, but they read newspapers.

And they feel political pressure as well and they knew that this was a dire situation and they wanted to make sure that all the I's dotted and T's were crossed as well. They've given this some consideration in terms of acceptance, but at this point, it appears, as we look at this decision, that they did not accept it to give it full consideration. They haven't. They are not considering it, which means at this point they will not be sending it back to the district court in Atlanta, who the attorneys for Mary and Bob Schindler were saying did not give the original case its due by considering all the facts in the case, including some of the information that had come in later.

So, essentially, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is denying it, which also means -- and I guess, Carol, this is probably the most important part of this -- they would not then issue a temporary restraining order. They would not issue any immediate relief or any kind of stay. And those are the things that are necessary for the Schindlers to be able to have some kind of medical action to intervene, to reinsert the feeding tube, if you will, to try and keep their daughter alive.

LIN: All right, thanks very much, Rick, for breaking that news for us.

Let's go straight down to Pinellas Park, outside the hospice, CNN's Bob Franken standing by there.

Bob, the parents had made a case to the courts that they had new evidence or at least an eyewitness that may give the courts reason to hear the case. They claimed that they actually had a hospital worker who witnessed Michael Schiavo saying, no, he and his wife Terri had never discussed what she would want to do in a circumstance like this. The court, though, has rejected this latest appeal.

FRANKEN: And, in fact, this is all stuff that has been hashed out in court before. The appellate court was giving, as Rick just said, every chance for some sort of way to come in there, so it could at least prove that it had not ignored the heavy emotion in this case.

It's been a day of bad news for the family and weeks of bad news. Tallahassee really has produced no result. The Reverend Jesse Jackson has not been successful in getting the state legislators to reconsider action there. As a matter of fact, we're hearing from our sources that he -- quote -- "significantly angered" -- close quote -- the members of the black caucus there. So, it looks like there's going to be nothing successful out of Tallahassee.

Meanwhile, Terri Schiavo is, of course, deteriorating, although her family says, her immediate family says she is still hanging on -- Carol.

LIN: All right, thanks very much, Bob Franken.

All the legal analysis that we've had up until this point, even through this latest appeal to the court, indicated it would be a long shot.

I want to double-check things, though, with CNN's legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, who joins me by telephone from New York.

Jeff, does this ruling come as a surprise to you?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Not at all.

This was clearly a last-ditch effort. And late last night, the Court of Appeals, all they really did was allow the Schindlers to file their brief and agreed to read it. The court did read it and rejected doing anything further. Given the extent of the litigation here, including by these very judges, this wasn't a very -- this wasn't a surprise at all.

LIN: Jeff, what was new, though, is that the parents say that they could produce a witness to say that Michael Schiavo even admitted to somebody, a hospital worker, that he had never, in fact, ever had this conversation with his wife, Terri Schiavo, as to what her last wishes would be.

TOOBIN: You know, last minute new factual assertions are really looked on with disfavor by courts.

Barring a really dramatic new matter of proof, courts aren't going to get involved in relitigating something that has been so exhaustively litigated already. So, an unsupported claim like that is unlikely to undue, literally, years of litigation here.

LIN: All right. Jeff, so do you thing that this is it as far as the legal road? I know we have discussed this with you before. It's hard to know what the parents' attorneys could come up with next, but what's your read on what might happen next or is this it?

TOOBIN: I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the family's attorneys file something new and a court to consider it, but in terms of anything -- any legal decision changing the status quo, I think that's extremely unlikely at this point.

LIN: All right, Jeff, thanks very much. Jeff, please stand by, as we're trying to explore the latest options, if there are any more options and any other developments, as to what Terri Schiavo's parents may do next -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right, down in Pinellas Park, Florida, at the hospice, CNN's Bob Franken has been holding vigil there for us, along with many, many supporters of the Schindler family, as they have engaged in this exhaustive and persistent effort to continue to pursue this on a legal front, in the federal courts, as well as appealing directly to state legislators and the governor of Florida.

Every time I say, well, that's got to be it, Bob, there seems to be some other avenue that comes up. But, at this juncture now, 12 days in here, it's difficult to come up with another scenario, isn't it? FRANKEN: Well, it is. But there's a dictum that we're going to invent here. Where there are lawyers, there are lawsuits. And never say die is one that we're not making up. But the family is saying that Terri Schiavo has not died yet. They have lawyers who are combing over the books.

We said that they would do this. They would look for some other way, if anything else, to be creative, because you never know. But they're really now in the dwindling hope, the faint hope category. But I've got to believe -- in fact, I can tell you for a fact that they are pouring over the precedents to look at some other approach.

O'BRIEN: Bob, just kind of a side note here, but I have been curious about this. Who's paying all these legal bills?

FRANKEN: Well, they've sought contributions. The involvement of some of the organizations that have been involved here has come with money attached to it.

We learned in a report that first came out from "The New York Times" yesterday that mailing lists have been sold, so that has provided quite a bit of the money as this has gone on.

O'BRIEN: And on the case of Michael Schiavo, who is funding his efforts as well legally?

FRANKEN: Well, there were some malpractice settlements earlier during this entire ordeal after Terri Schiavo was injured. And that's where the money has come there. We're also told, however, that legal bills have mounted up.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's set the scene there as well. You've been talking a little bit about how this consistent pattern of bad news, a lot of people there who feel very strongly in their hearts about all this. Emotions kind of ebb and flow. Where are they now?

FRANKEN: Well, there is sort of an undercurrent of sadness and of an undercurrent of anger among those who feel strongly enough about this, particularly those who have strong religious convictions, to come here and maintain this vigil.

And every once in a while, the bad feelings erupt just a tiny bit. You have arrests. You've had a couple of occasions now where somebody has had to be restrained by the police. You have that type of thing. We reported earlier on the bomb scares that were brought in yesterday. And police took them seriously enough not only to investigate, but to institute a new policy now. When you drive into this area, down the narrow road that leads to this hospice, you are stopped and your vehicle is searched.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Bob Franken is in Pinellas Park, Florida. He's not going anywhere. We are going somewhere, but that doesn't mean our coverage will stop.

CNN's Candy Crowley is standing by for that.

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Aired March 30, 2005 - 15:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's what's happening right now in the news.
President Bush lands in Iowa with a challenge on Social Security. Mr. Bush says politicians will pay a political price if they balk at shoring up the popular retirement program. His opponents say the president's privatization plan would only make the current problem worse.

Now if you're a worker who's 40 or older, you're covered by a ruling on age discrimination by the U.S. Supreme Court. Today, the high court made it easier to sue an employer. It said it doesn't even matter if the alleged discrimination is intentional or not.

The man who led a peaceful revolt against the hard-line leaders in Ukraine will get a warm welcome in Washington. A joint meeting of Congress will convene next Wednesday for the new Ukrainian president, Viktor Yushchenko. He's to meet with President Bush as well.

And the sharks split the scene after swarming close to the shore in south Florida. Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach and Palm Beach all closed yesterday. Well, they're open today. An expert calls these black-tipped sharks, he says that they don't eat humans, but they do bite.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hard to believe, but the Schiavo case back in the courts, with Terri Schiavo now without food, without water for 12 full days. That appeals court in Atlanta is considering granting an emergency hearing in the parents' continuing legal effort to keep their daughter alive. The father spoke to reporters just a short time ago.

CNN's Bob Franken was there to hear what he said in Pinellas Park, Florida -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And while the appeals court hears in effect the same appeal with new evidence, new considerations, the hopes here have been raised just a little bit, but so has the tension.

We are now having what amounts to a full-scale search of every car that comes down this road. This is new. It was instituted at about 11:00 Eastern. It was a procedure put into effect because of a bomb threat at this hospice which resulted in a major search yesterday. They are greatly increasing security. Meanwhile, the family continues to try to make point that it's not too late for action. There is an increasing discussion about whether Terri Schiavo has past the point of no return. But Bob Schindler, who is her father, took some friends in with him just a short while ago. And they all came out to say that they were pleasantly surprised.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB SCHINDLER, FATHER OF TERRI SCHIAVO: I'm asking that nobody throw in the towel as long as she's fighting, to keep fighting with her, particularly anyone that's up in Tallahassee that is considering any kind of legislature -- she can still come out of this thing. And they've got to help her.

JUDY BADER, SCHINDLER FAMILY FRIEND: Terri is very much awake. She's still trying to track people in the room with her eyes. She is still very much there. She hasn't gone anywhere. She's still fighting very hard to stay alive. We just have to help her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And a man who wanted to see for himself got in quite a bit of trouble this morning. Not only was he arrested for trying to trespass when he tried to bring water in, but as the police officer held his arm, he smacked the police officer's arm. That has resulted in, among other charges, a felony charge of battery on an officer of the law.

So, tensions are increasing here outside. That's where the tensions are. Inside, in the peace of the hospice, Terri Schiavo is clearly operating on limited time -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Bob, going back to where you started there, on those searches of those cars, are there specific threats that police are responding to or is this just a matter of where the time is and what the assumptions would be?

FRANKEN: Well, there was two bomb threats that were called in yesterday. And they conducted a significant search. But, in the last few days, tempers have been getting a little bit short and the police have been responding to that.

And this is just another step in the direction of doing everything they can to make sure that there's no major incident.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Bob Franken in Pinellas Park, thank you very much.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson met this afternoon with Florida Governor Bush as part of a last-minute bid to keep Terri Schiavo from dying. After that meeting, Jackson spoke with reporters just moments ago. You saw it here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REV. JESSE JACKSON, FOUNDER, RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION: A kind of legal, detached objectivity while a woman dies whose life is in our hands. We must all, across political lines, evaluate the ramifications of this.

Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Be sure to catch "INSIDE POLITICS" today, Candy Crowley filling in for Judy Woodruff. Jesse Jackson will be a guest; 3:30 p.m. Eastern is the time of that program.

LIN: Well, another story that's captured the national attention is A story about this man. He spent 39 years working for the Boy Scouts of America. And now Douglas Smith is facing jail time for receiving and distributing child pornography over the Internet.

Our Ed Lavandera is covering that story in Fort Worth, Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sixty-one-year-old Douglas Smith Jr. pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child pornography. Federal investigators say that, on his home computer, they discovered more than 500 images, sexually explicit images of boys under the age of 18 engaged in sexual acts.

However, the prosecutors are saying that these images were only tied to his home computer, that his affiliation with the Boy Scouts -- Mr. Smith had been working with the Boy Scouts as the national director of programs -- the Boy Scouts said that he had no connection and had not been working closely with young people. But prosecutors say that none of these were found on his work computer. In fact, they say that this interest in child pornography was something completely separate from his work with the Boy Scouts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was able to discipline his addiction just to his home computers, and certainly that is a relief to the Boy Scouts of America that literally there are no tie to the Boy Scouts in this case. It was all just on his own at his home computers.

BRET HELMER, ASSISTANT U.S. DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I also hope that people realize that this is a man who, for his entire life, has been a good man, has been a good family man, has been a good representative of the Boy Scouts, and I would hate, even though this it's inclination, I'm sure, I would hate for his entire life to be judged by one stupid act.

LAVANDERA: Mr. Smith will be sentenced in July, but until then, he will remain free. He faces between five to 20 years in prison.

But the judge in the case says he does not consider him to be a danger to others, and that's a sentiment that prosecutors in this case are echoing as well. You know, it turns out that this case was brought about because of an interesting twist in November of 2003. German investigators were looking into a man they suspected to be involved in trafficking child pornography.

That's where they came across Douglas Smith's e-mail address. And they continued to correspond with him. And that's where they say that they noticed that these pictures were being transmitted over the Internet. Investigators then passed that information along to investigators with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Washington, where they tracked down Mr. Smith, confiscated his computers, and found more than 500 images on his home computer.

But, again, they say that he was not in any of the pictures and that this in no way was connected to any of his work with the Boy Scouts.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Fort Worth, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Now some other news across America.

Joan Kennedy is in a Boston hospital recovering from a concussion and a broken shoulder. Her son, Congressman President Patrick Kennedy, says he is grateful to a passerby who found her lying unconscious on a Boston street and got help. The Rhode Island Democrat is seeking permanent legal guardianship of his mother, who has fought a long battle with alcoholism.

Patrick Kennedy is ending speculation he might seek a seat in the U.S. Senate, because, today, he announced he will not run against Republican Lincoln Chafee next year. Kennedy says he can best serve Rhode Island by staying in the House.

A trial lawyer who has a gift for words, courtroom flair, and, according to those who knew him, a genuine desire to right the wrongs, is being remembered today. Johnnie Cochran died at his Los Angeles home yesterday of a brain tumor. He was 67.

Reverend Jerry Falwell is said to be doing better at a hospital in Lynchburg, Virginia. Doctors have taken him off a ventilator and upgraded his condition from critical to serious but stable. Doctors say the 71-year-old Falwell has congestive heart failure, not pneumonia, as was reported earlier.

O'BRIEN: The Vatican revealed today the pope has a feeding tube. It's designed to give him nutrients through his nose. But we don't know how long he's had it or if it is permanent. It wasn't visible during the pope's appearance at a window today. The Vatican says the pope is slowly recovering from his throat surgery last month.

LIN: And a powerful aftershock rattled nerves today on Indonesia's Sumatra Island. And there are no reports of any casualties or damage. The United Nations now confirms at least 500 people were killed in Monday's huge earthquake. Officials fear that number, though, could double.

CNN's Hugh Riminton is there in Nias Island, where there's massive destruction and overwhelming desperation. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the commercial heart of Gunung Sitoli. It's the main town, if you like, on the island of Nias, the administrative center.

Now, when the earthquake struck just before midnight, you can see what happened to these buildings. The cement, the heavy buildings, just collapsed in on top of themselves. And there was simply no prospect for anyone who was inside these buildings to survive. We've been watching people during the course of the day looking for bodies inside these sorts of buildings. In some cases, they have found them.

We've not, at least not while we've been looking, managed to see anybody pull out, anybody who is still alive. These earthquakes, of course, every disaster is extremely capricious. Some things live. Some things don't. And over here, on the other side of the road, these buildings seem remarkably unaffected, even though the road is cracked. And among these buildings, just over here, there is a building. It's a Buddhist temple. It's a Buddhist meeting hall, and it's being used at the moment as a makeshift morgue.

There are 37 bodies in here. They're lined up inside. They get brought out. Some prayers get said over the dead. It's a grief full, grievous place. They're quickly buried or put into these coffins. The coffins are nailed down and they are taken away for burial. And that is just in one little stretch of 50 meters or so of Gunung Sitoli.

This is Hugh Riminton on the island of Nias, Indonesia, for CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And our thanks to Hugh for just feeding those remarkable pictures in. Of course, you can see many more images of the aftermath of the Indonesian earthquake and an interactive guide to how earthquakes are rated. All you have to do is log on to CNN.com/world.

O'BRIEN: People across Alaska on alert last hour, as officials tested the state's tsunami warning system. It involves a signal broadcast over radio and television, much like severe weather bulletins. The system in place since 1967, with alerts issued locally, that changed to statewide after December's deadly tsunamis in South Asia.

LIN: We've got a check of the markets straight ahead.

Plus, the plot thickens in that deadly Minnesota school shooting spree, a tight-knit community torn apart at the seams by the latest arrest. We've got details on LIVE FROM.

O'BRIEN: And, later, is Britney Spears with child? Hollywood is abuzz about the possibility of a baby Britney.

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(WEATHER UPDATE)

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LIN: Well, another blow and another tear in the social fabric for people of the Red Lake Reservation in Minnesota. This time, it is the arrest of a tribal leader's son in connection with last week's deadly school rampage.

CNN's Keith Oppenheim has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLOYD JOURDAIN, RED LAKE TRIBAL LEADER: Our community is devastated by this event.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a tight-knit community, the connections could be uncomfortably close. A day after the shootings at the Red Lake Indian Reservation, the tribal leader, Floyd Jourdain Junior, led off a news conference.

JOURDAIN: We look forward to your continued support.

OPPENHEIM: Immediately followed by Michael Tabman, the FBI special agent in charge.

Tabman was asked about 16-year-old Jeffrey Weise, the troubled teen who allegedly shot and killed his grandfather, three other adults, five students and then himself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this time we believe he acted alone, but we certainly have to explore all possibilities.

OPPENHEIM: The twist in the tale is that now tribal leader Jourdain acknowledges that his son, Louis, has been arrested.

Louis Jourdain was escorted out of federal court in Duluth. "The Minneapolis Star Tribune" reports he has been charged with conspiracy, plotting with Weise to attack Red Lake High School.

HOWIE PADILLA, "MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE": They had been planning it for about a year and possibly Jeff had done it maybe at a different time than what was planned is what's being alleged out there.

OPPENHEIM: In a statement, Floyd Jourdain said, My heart is heavy as a result of the tragic events that unfolded here at our nation, but it is with optimism that I state my son Louis' innocence. I know my son and he is incapable of committing such an act.

As for Jeff Weise, investigators are still trying to understand why. And now the question is, who else is involved? Was Weise a troubled loner plotting his attack by himself or did he share his ideas and plans with others?

LEE COOK, AMERICAN INDIAN STUDIES, BEMIDJI STATE UNIVERSITY: I know the FBI is investigating now with the understanding that there were other young people involved and that there are other young people that at least sort of knew that this kid was going to do something; that other homes had been searched and other computers had been taken with the notion of looking for the interconnect between Jeff and his friends.

OPPENHEIM: In the meantime, Red Lake High School remains closed.

The school's principal tells CNN the damage inside is so great the building may stay shut for the rest of the year.

More than a week after the shootings, the mourning goes on. Funerals for teacher Neva Rogers and security guard Derrick Brun.

FRANCIS BRUN, VICTIM'S FATHER: The tragedy is too great for many people to bear right now. We want to, you know, go put Derek at rest.

OPPENHEIM: In a close-knit population of just a bit more than 5,000 people, it may be difficult to come to terms with what happened.

Tribal members are now just learning the son of their leader, and possibly others, might have known something, might have been able to do something to stop the deadly shootings.

Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(FINANCIAL UPDATE)

O'BRIEN: Ahead on LIVE FROM, the Britney baby buzz. Some insist the pop star is pregnant, something her people say she's denied. Up next, we'll see why all the speculation.

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LIN: All right, this just in to the CNN Center.

We have learned that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals right here in Atlanta has denied Terri Schiavo's parents. They are refusing for the court to intervene in the Terri Schiavo case. Essentially, what happened is, the court allowed the parents to file papers last night to have their case considered. We just got the ruling that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has denied to rehear or even hear what they are saying is new evidence in this case.

Let's go straight to Rick Sanchez, who is standing by outside the federal appeals court.

Rick, when this came down, give me your read on the language and what the court said.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Somewhat expected, they released the information in the form of the Web site here at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. And some had considered that, for the most part, some of the folks inside that building that you see behind me, Carol, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, they're judges, but they read newspapers.

And they feel political pressure as well and they knew that this was a dire situation and they wanted to make sure that all the I's dotted and T's were crossed as well. They've given this some consideration in terms of acceptance, but at this point, it appears, as we look at this decision, that they did not accept it to give it full consideration. They haven't. They are not considering it, which means at this point they will not be sending it back to the district court in Atlanta, who the attorneys for Mary and Bob Schindler were saying did not give the original case its due by considering all the facts in the case, including some of the information that had come in later.

So, essentially, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is denying it, which also means -- and I guess, Carol, this is probably the most important part of this -- they would not then issue a temporary restraining order. They would not issue any immediate relief or any kind of stay. And those are the things that are necessary for the Schindlers to be able to have some kind of medical action to intervene, to reinsert the feeding tube, if you will, to try and keep their daughter alive.

LIN: All right, thanks very much, Rick, for breaking that news for us.

Let's go straight down to Pinellas Park, outside the hospice, CNN's Bob Franken standing by there.

Bob, the parents had made a case to the courts that they had new evidence or at least an eyewitness that may give the courts reason to hear the case. They claimed that they actually had a hospital worker who witnessed Michael Schiavo saying, no, he and his wife Terri had never discussed what she would want to do in a circumstance like this. The court, though, has rejected this latest appeal.

FRANKEN: And, in fact, this is all stuff that has been hashed out in court before. The appellate court was giving, as Rick just said, every chance for some sort of way to come in there, so it could at least prove that it had not ignored the heavy emotion in this case.

It's been a day of bad news for the family and weeks of bad news. Tallahassee really has produced no result. The Reverend Jesse Jackson has not been successful in getting the state legislators to reconsider action there. As a matter of fact, we're hearing from our sources that he -- quote -- "significantly angered" -- close quote -- the members of the black caucus there. So, it looks like there's going to be nothing successful out of Tallahassee.

Meanwhile, Terri Schiavo is, of course, deteriorating, although her family says, her immediate family says she is still hanging on -- Carol.

LIN: All right, thanks very much, Bob Franken.

All the legal analysis that we've had up until this point, even through this latest appeal to the court, indicated it would be a long shot.

I want to double-check things, though, with CNN's legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, who joins me by telephone from New York.

Jeff, does this ruling come as a surprise to you?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Not at all.

This was clearly a last-ditch effort. And late last night, the Court of Appeals, all they really did was allow the Schindlers to file their brief and agreed to read it. The court did read it and rejected doing anything further. Given the extent of the litigation here, including by these very judges, this wasn't a very -- this wasn't a surprise at all.

LIN: Jeff, what was new, though, is that the parents say that they could produce a witness to say that Michael Schiavo even admitted to somebody, a hospital worker, that he had never, in fact, ever had this conversation with his wife, Terri Schiavo, as to what her last wishes would be.

TOOBIN: You know, last minute new factual assertions are really looked on with disfavor by courts.

Barring a really dramatic new matter of proof, courts aren't going to get involved in relitigating something that has been so exhaustively litigated already. So, an unsupported claim like that is unlikely to undue, literally, years of litigation here.

LIN: All right. Jeff, so do you thing that this is it as far as the legal road? I know we have discussed this with you before. It's hard to know what the parents' attorneys could come up with next, but what's your read on what might happen next or is this it?

TOOBIN: I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the family's attorneys file something new and a court to consider it, but in terms of anything -- any legal decision changing the status quo, I think that's extremely unlikely at this point.

LIN: All right, Jeff, thanks very much. Jeff, please stand by, as we're trying to explore the latest options, if there are any more options and any other developments, as to what Terri Schiavo's parents may do next -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right, down in Pinellas Park, Florida, at the hospice, CNN's Bob Franken has been holding vigil there for us, along with many, many supporters of the Schindler family, as they have engaged in this exhaustive and persistent effort to continue to pursue this on a legal front, in the federal courts, as well as appealing directly to state legislators and the governor of Florida.

Every time I say, well, that's got to be it, Bob, there seems to be some other avenue that comes up. But, at this juncture now, 12 days in here, it's difficult to come up with another scenario, isn't it? FRANKEN: Well, it is. But there's a dictum that we're going to invent here. Where there are lawyers, there are lawsuits. And never say die is one that we're not making up. But the family is saying that Terri Schiavo has not died yet. They have lawyers who are combing over the books.

We said that they would do this. They would look for some other way, if anything else, to be creative, because you never know. But they're really now in the dwindling hope, the faint hope category. But I've got to believe -- in fact, I can tell you for a fact that they are pouring over the precedents to look at some other approach.

O'BRIEN: Bob, just kind of a side note here, but I have been curious about this. Who's paying all these legal bills?

FRANKEN: Well, they've sought contributions. The involvement of some of the organizations that have been involved here has come with money attached to it.

We learned in a report that first came out from "The New York Times" yesterday that mailing lists have been sold, so that has provided quite a bit of the money as this has gone on.

O'BRIEN: And on the case of Michael Schiavo, who is funding his efforts as well legally?

FRANKEN: Well, there were some malpractice settlements earlier during this entire ordeal after Terri Schiavo was injured. And that's where the money has come there. We're also told, however, that legal bills have mounted up.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's set the scene there as well. You've been talking a little bit about how this consistent pattern of bad news, a lot of people there who feel very strongly in their hearts about all this. Emotions kind of ebb and flow. Where are they now?

FRANKEN: Well, there is sort of an undercurrent of sadness and of an undercurrent of anger among those who feel strongly enough about this, particularly those who have strong religious convictions, to come here and maintain this vigil.

And every once in a while, the bad feelings erupt just a tiny bit. You have arrests. You've had a couple of occasions now where somebody has had to be restrained by the police. You have that type of thing. We reported earlier on the bomb scares that were brought in yesterday. And police took them seriously enough not only to investigate, but to institute a new policy now. When you drive into this area, down the narrow road that leads to this hospice, you are stopped and your vehicle is searched.

O'BRIEN: CNN's Bob Franken is in Pinellas Park, Florida. He's not going anywhere. We are going somewhere, but that doesn't mean our coverage will stop.

CNN's Candy Crowley is standing by for that.

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