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Former Enron CEO and Founder Found Guilty; Keeping America's Children Safe, New Orleans Aquarium Reopens; Bird Flu Clues in Clusters

Aired May 25, 2006 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It was a huge company and then a huge scandal. Now Enron represents a huge win for prosecutors, who persuaded a jury in Houston to convict Enron's founder and former CEO of fraud and conspiracy.
You heard the verdicts first from CNN's Ali Velshi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the verdict that America has waited for, for four years: Ken Lay guilty on all counts; Jeff Skilling, the former CEO and president of Enron, guilty on 19 of the 28 charges against him.

Both of these men, if they do not succeed on appeal, will spend many years in jail, Ken Lay probably the rest of his life.

The two men will be free until September 11, when their sentencing will be heard. It's unclear as to whether they will have to serve their sentences while appealing the verdict. Right now, they are allowed to -- to be free. But their passports have been surrendered, and they have had to post cash bonds.

Jeff Skilling and Ken Lay have maintained throughout this trial, and, indeed, since the collapse of Enron, that they didn't do anything wrong, that it was their underlings, particularly one person, Andy Fastow, the former chief financial officer, who set up dummy companies to hide the debt that Enron was -- was faltering under.

Nonetheless, the jury did find that they were responsible, whether or not they knew what was going on. Since the collapse of Enron, laws in the United States have changed, so that CEOs can no longer say that things happened that they didn't know about. Now CEOs have to sign their financial statements, saying that they know what is in them, that they understand them, and that they agree with what is -- what is inside them.

That said, this brings closure to the thousands of people who lost their jobs and maybe the millions who lost their investments in Enron, but it doesn't bring that money back. There are still civil suits under way. And there's another chapter to the story yet to unfold.

In front of federal court in Houston, I'm Ali Velshi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And the Enron debacle cost people jobs, livelihoods, and long-held hopes for a prosperous future. The numbers are staggering.

Here's a CNN "Fact Check."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): August 2000, Enron stock hit its all-time high, $90 a share. It was the seventh largest firm in America, a Wall Street wonder. Scarcely one year later, that stock that had soared so high could have been purchased for about a quarter a share.

The total loss, some $60 billion in market value, the most colossal corporate collapse in U.S. history. Some of the stock losses were absorbed by Enron employees, who were banned by the company from selling in a desperate effort to halt stock skid. It didn't work.

And, on December 2, 2001, the day Enron went bankrupt, some 5,600 people were on the way to losing their jobs, their total pension losses, more than $2 billion.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Who squealed on domestic wiretaps? Well, the FBI wants to interview some in-the-loop members of the House of Representatives, hoping to find out who tipped "The New York Times." The Capitol Hill newspaper "Roll Call" broke that story. And one of its reporter's elaborated on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AMERICAN MORNING")

JOHN BRESNAHAN, "ROLL CALL": Right now we're a little unsure about the Senate, but they've definitely broached the subject with the House.

We talked -- we spoke to the House intelligence chairman, Peter Hoekstra, and the ranking Democrat on the committee, Jane Harman, and they had -- both aware that the FBI had requested interviews, particularly Mr. Hoekstra. He even hired a personal lawyer to deal with any eventual interview. So, they're going to take this pretty seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, things are pretty tense between Congress and the feds right now, between the NSA leak investigation and the FBI raid on a congressman's office.

And right in the middle of everything, House Speaker Dennis Hastert is suggesting that a leak to ABC News trying him to -- tying him, rather, to the Jack Abramoff lobby investigation, something both he and the Justice Department insist is untrue, well, it may have been payback for his public outrage over the FBI raid. Hastert is demanding a retraction from ABC News, even while discussing some of the other details with other reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You did write a letter to the interior secretary, trying to quash the building of a casino that would have competed with one represented by Jack Abramoff, correct?

REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Well, you know, I'm not sure what Abramoff's connection was. I really don't.

Jim McCrery from Louisiana asked us. And 30 -- and 33 of us signed a letter, because we also have underlying concerns. And this is venue shopping by tribes in areas that they weren't necessarily in before to put casinos down. We have a problem in Illinois with the Miami Indians, in central Illinois. We also have a problem in my own district with the Kansas Potawatomis, who want to do the same thing. So, it was a letter saying this precedent shouldn't be set.

BASH: And the fact that it was written after you had a fund- raiser at Jack Abramoff's restaurant?

HASTERT: Well, I mean, that's -- that's a coincidence.

BASH: And what do you -- what do you make of the fact that this investigation or this story got out there the same time -- at the same time that you are -- have a confrontation publicly with the FBI over the Jefferson raid?

HASTERT: Well, you know, first of all, what we want to do is not protect people who broke the law. But we need to protect the division of powers in the Constitution of the United States. And that's one of the things that I talked to the president about. That's one of the things that we're concerned about in this issue.

And that's an ongoing discussion that we have. Now, I don't know if this leak out of the Justice Department or wherever it came was a coincidence or not, but I will let anybody else try to, you know, connect the dots.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: Is someone trying to intimidate you?

HASTERT: I wouldn't say that. I don't know.

(CROSSTALK)

HASTERT: That's speculation.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: What is your remedy from ABC News at this point? What -- what would you like to see from them? HASTERT: Well, you know, that's something that my lawyers are taking care of right now.

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That was our Dana Bash, by the way, that got that interview for us.

And, as for ABC, it says that the feds' denial means only that Hastert is not a formal target of the investigation. The network is still standing by its report.

Let's get straight to the White House.

Ed Henry, you actually asked Tony Snow the same questions.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely.

Tony Snow says, first of all, on the matter of Congressman Jefferson's documents, the White House is engaged in some conversations right now, some negotiations with the Republican leaders on the Hill, trying to see if there's a way for the FBI to give these documents to some other third party, maybe the House Ethics Committee, maybe some other panel, so that, while the legal and constitutional issues about the raid on his office Saturday are sorted out between the House of Representatives and the executive branch, maybe somebody else can hold the documents.

The FBI certainly does not want to do that right now.

Secondly, on the issue of whether or not this was -- the ABC leak last night, whether that was retaliation against Speaker Hastert, Tony Snow said firmly he's checked into it, and that he is told this was a bogus report. So, he's, you know, told confidently and believes that the Justice Department did not try to retaliate against Speaker Hastert.

But when I asked him generally about the fact that this does not -- might not bode well for the president, that you have the Republican speaker of the House feeling like maybe he was retaliated against by a Republican Justice Department, Tony Snow pushed that aside and said, they are not worried about it.

But you have to wonder about this -- this very high-profile showdown between a Republican speaker and this administration -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And I understand we have actually got some sound that you're referring to. We got it racked up. Let's take a listen to it.

HENRY: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I know everybody wants -- you know, you want to be able to put on your calendar: We leave on this date. It's just -- it's not going to happen.

Boy, I'm sure a lot of people wish that that were possible, but, again, in a war, conditions constantly change. Sometimes, things are worse than you expected. Sometimes, they're better than you expected.

I will repeat the same phrase. I know it's frustrating, but it's the truth. I can't go beyond it. You react to the conditions on the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, Ed, tonight...

HENRY: Now, Kyra...

PHILLIPS: Yes, go ahead. I'm sorry.

HENRY: That -- that was actually about Iraq, that particular sound bite, Tony Snow there talking about the visit tonight.

Just in the next couple of hours, we will have an arrival from British Prime Minister Tony Blair, some high-level talks, obviously, with President Bush.

And there's a lot of pressure on the administration to come up with some sort of timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops. As you know, the new Iraqi prime minister yesterday said he thinks that Iraq may be able to take care of its own security by the end of 2007. Tony Snow was actually referring there to that whole question. And he may be trying to downplay expectations a little bit and say, look, you can't put a timetable on this. You have to wait for facts on the ground.

And another interesting note: Tony Snow said, based on this prime-time press conference tonight between Mr. Blair and Mr. Bush, do not look for people to be kissing in Times Square tomorrow. And then he corrected himself and said, well, they may be kissing in Times Square, but not because we're bringing U.S. troops home -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Ed Henry at the White House, sorry about the mixup. Thanks, Ed.

HENRY: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: CNN will have special live coverage of the Bush-Blair news conference. Wolf Blitzer will be in THE SITUATION ROOM at 7:00 Eastern. The leaders meet reporters at 7:30. Stay with CNN for complete coverage.

Will the vice president be a witness for the prosecution in the trial of his former chief of staff? Well, court filings by the prosecutor indicate Dick Cheney could be called in the Lewis Scooter Libby case -- at issue, conversations that the two men had about an op-ed piece that criticized the administration's Iraq policy. It was written by former Ambassador Joe Wilson, whose wife's position as a CIA operative was later revealed by the media.

Exactly who leaked the information still isn't clear. Libby resigned from Cheney's staff last October, after being indicted on charges of lying to investigators about how he learned of Plame's identity.

Let's get straight to Fredricka Whitfield. She's working a story for us in the newsroom.

Fred, what do you have?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, while the search is still on for that computer laptop, as well as the hard drive information that concerned -- contained personal information of millions of veterans, well, now some incentive, perhaps, for the public to get involved.

The Department of Veteran Affairs -- Veterans Affairs -- and the FBI are now offering a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the recovery of those items. The Montgomery County, Maryland, Police Department is also helping to work with those two federal agencies, ever since the burglary took place earlier this month, impacting at least 26.5 million veterans -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Fred, thank you.

Well, it's a closure for the families who lost everything. Is it? We don't know that yet. But the pressure was definitely on for the members of the Enron jury. We're going to speak with one of them about today's verdicts -- more LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Wal-Mart on one side, small town on the other -- which one is Hercules? Wrong. It's the town showing huge amounts of muscle against the retailing Goliath.

CNN's Carol Costello sized up the battle for "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They pack city hall, these residents of the small San Francisco suburb of Hercules to witness a municipal David take on a retail Goliath.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I say throw the bums out.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

COSTELLO: The five-member town council voted unanimously to seize 17 acres of waterfront property, on which the nation's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, planned to build a new big box store and shopping center. The town did it by invoking the power of eminent domain, the right to take private property from its owners for the public good.

ARTHUR FRIEDMAN, ATTORNEY FOR WAL-MART: The notion that Wal-Mart has been trying to force upon this community something that it doesn't want or the notion that Wal-Mart has been not caring about this community's vision is simply not true.

COSTELLO: Opponents argued a Wal-Mart mega-store would wreck the small town flavor of Hercules.

BRENDA SMITH-JOHNSON, HERCULES RESIDENT: Small businesses to be forced out, total lack of respect for the desires of the majority of citizens in Hercules, our vision crushed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't fit our community plan that was adopted five years ago of small neighborhood stores.

COSTELLO: Wal-Mart bought this 17-acre site back in November. The company first proposed building a 142,000-square-foot store near the waterfront, but says it scaled back development plans to address concerns of residents.

FRIEDMAN: Wal-Mart has spent close to a million dollars specifically redesigning that application to respond to the desires of this community.

COSTELLO: Wal-Mart says the newly configured store would create hundreds of jobs and inject a half-million dollars in sales taxes into the local economy. At the city hall meeting Tuesday, only five residents of Hercules spoke in favor of Wal-Mart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got two stores in here. You cannot make the city work on boutiques. Boutiques don't do it.

COSTELLO: But, in the end, there was overwhelming support for Hercules city fathers and the effort to keep Wal-Mart out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the city of Hercules could pay more than $15 million to buy back the property. Wal-Mart rejected the city's offer earlier this year. And, so, it appears the dispute will have to be resolved in court. You can see other reports from Carol Costello weekdays on "AMERICAN MORNING" with Soledad O'Brien, Miles O'Brien, 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

Let's get back to the White House, Ed Henry.

Yesterday, Congressman William Jefferson's attorney filed -- I think it was yesterday -- I'm trying to remember -- it all kind of runs into the same day -- but filed these papers to get these documents back that were seized when his office was raided. Now the president is stepping in on this?

HENRY: That's right. The president is stepping in.

The news here -- some breaking news -- the president has ordered the Justice Department a 45-day freeze on the documents obtained from the raid on Democratic Congressman Bill Jefferson's office on Saturday night. As we were just talking about a moment ago, this has been a big dispute. Republican leaders, led by the House speaker, Dennis Hastert, demanding that the administration step in. They feel that there are constitutional and legal problems with that raid on Congressman Jefferson's office that would set a bad precedent.

So, earlier today, Tony Snow had told me in the briefing, stay tuned, that they were trying to work this out. Sure enough, a statement now from the president saying -- quote -- "I'm directing the Department of Justice to seal all the materials recovered from Congressman Jefferson's office for the next 45 days and not to allow access to anyone involved in the investigation. I am also ordering the sealed materials to remain under the custody of the U.S. solicitor general, who heads a separate office within the Justice Department and is not involved in the investigation."

The president adds that this would basically give all sides time to sort out the legal and constitutional issues. But then the president concludes -- quote -- "Let me be clear. Investigating and prosecuting crime is a crucial executive responsibility that I take seriously. Those who violated the law, including a member of Congress -- those who violate the law, including a member of Congress, should and will be held to account. This investigation will go forward and justice will be served."

So, you see the president there, he's clearly giving Republican leaders, led by Speaker Hastert, what they wanted, some sort of a temporary freeze. But he's also making clear that this is not going to stop the investigation of Congressman Jefferson, and if in fact he broke the law, the Justice Department will still pursue this.

But you can bet the FBI will not be happy about the fact that these documents are now basically being pulled back, at least for 45 days -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And just to remind our viewers real quickly, this is the congressman under fire for possible corruption charges, bribery charges, possibly the money found in his freezer. These documents that were seized, we are talking about phone records, computer records; is that right?

HENRY: Well, they were in his office on Capitol Hill starting on Saturday evening, I think somewhere around 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. And they stayed overnight, into Sunday, all kinds of records from his office.

Frankly, we don't have everything -- we don't everything that they were able to get. That's certainly one of the concerns House leaders have. They want to know exactly what was taken. They feel like that is material that belongs to the House of Representatives. So, while they sort this out, they will have 45 days to sort it out.

And -- and you're right, yes. This is the congressman. There was $90,000 in cash allegedly found in his home freezer here in Washington. Obviously, investigators want to know, where did he get that cash? They say it matches up, the bill numbers, with money that was included in this bribery scheme. He denies, obviously, those allegations. We will have to stay tuned for the rest of this investigation -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ed Henry, thanks so much.

Well, 40 people walked right past a dying mountain climber. Cruelty or the harsh reality inside Everest's death zone? The blame game at the top of the world straight ahead.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Stocks finally halted their recent slump yesterday, but can they make it two in a row?

Susan Lisovicz, live from the New York Stock Exchange, with that.

Hey, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra.

There has been so much news today, we haven't really even gotten to the markets. We have ignored them, to some degree. But stocks are holding on to solid gains, after the first quarter GDP was revised to show the economy grew at a 5.3 percent rate. While that was higher than the initial estimate, it was slower than what economists were expecting for the second reading. And that's calming some fears about inflation and another possible interest rate hike ahead of next month's Federal Reserve meeting.

Let's take a look at the Big Board -- the Dow industrials right now up 66 points, or about two-thirds-of-a-percent higher -- the Nasdaq composite up 21 points, or 1 percent higher.

And, of course, big headline today coming from Houston, the convictions of Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling in the Enron trial. And the question is, any impact on Wall Street? No, because Enron has not traded since its bankruptcy filing back in 2001.

Five years ago, it was one of the biggest companies in the United States. Its all-time high was 90 -- nearly $91 a share in the summer of 2000. When it filed for bankruptcy protection in December of 2001, its shares were going for 25 cents.

We have a far better story to tell you about in terms of share prices, a big Wall Street debut to tell you about, shares of MasterCard more than 15 percent higher in their first day of trading. The world's second biggest credit card association offered $2.4 billion worth of its stock to the public, priced at $39 a share. MasterCard is trading under the ticker symbol MA, this IPO coming just one day after a disappointing debut by the Internet phone company Vonage. Its shares are dropping another 13 percent, after a similar decline yesterday, on fears that the company may never turn a profit.

I interviewed the CEO of MasterCard today. He said they did not have cold feet about going public today, even with the market in the funk that it's been the last two weeks -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, you mentioned the phone industry. It looks like callers are going to be get a bit of a tax break on the telephone bill?

LISOVICZ: That's right, Kyra.

The Treasury Department said it will eliminate a tax on long- distance calls and refund about $13 billion collected from callers. The tax was originally imposed in 1898 to pay for the Spanish American War. Back then, telephones were, understandably, a luxury, and so the tax only affected the very few. Taxpayers will be allowed to claim refunds on their 2006 refunds. But the refunds won't amount to much for individuals. The tax will officially disappear on July 31, but you will still see a federal tax on local calls for now.

And that's a quick look at business news. We will see you in about 30 minutes -- Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good, Susan. Thanks so much.

I'm being told right now we're expecting Ken Lay to step up to the microphones. We may hear from him.

If you are just tuning into CNN, Enron former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling and Ken Lay, the founder, were found guilty of conspiracy and fraud in the granddaddy of all corporate fraud cases. We heard a little bit from Jeffrey Skilling, a lot from his attorney. Now we're waiting to see if Ken Lay comes to the mike. We will bring it to you live if it happens.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And we are waiting for Ken Lay to step up to the microphone. As soon as that happens, we will take it live.

If you haven't heard -- but I bet you have -- Enron chief executive Jeffrey Skilling and Ken Lay, the founder of Enron, were found guilty today of conspiracy and fraud in -- today in court.

And we have heard from Jeffrey Skilling. We have heard from his attorney. Now we're waiting to hear from Ken Lay. And, of course, we heard from the prosecution as well. We will bring you up to date.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Many of us have experienced the panic of temporarily losing a child in a crowd at a picnic, perhaps leaving a ball game. When we find the lost daughter or the lost son, or they find us, you can't even describe the instant feeling of relief.

And, then, more irked than anxious, we urge our child to take more care, and we make a mental note to ourselves as well, we should take more care. But for far too many of the parents of some 800,000 missing children this past year, there will be no such feeling of relief.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's a parent's worst nightmare. And we bring it up because this is National Missing Children's Day.

There are all kinds of strategies. One big one, Amber Alerts, are helping

PHILLIPS: Well, it's a parents worst nightmare. And we bring it up because this is National Missing Children's Day. There are all kinds of strategies. One big one, Amber Alerts, are helping finding kids all over the country.

On CNN's AMERICAN MORNING, the head of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children pointed out prevention is the best idea of all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERNIE ALLEN, NATIONAL CTR. FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN: We're not trying to frighten parents. We're just saying you need to be alert and aware. You think about the awful cases like Carlie Brucia in Sarasota, who was abducted by a car wash -- the camera captured it. There's comparative safety in numbers. Parents can't be with their kids every minute, but at least they should be with other kids. Use the buddy system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The post office picked Missing Children's Day to roll out a stamp honoring Amber Alert. The program was named after 9-year- old Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped and murdered in 1996. Postmaster General John Potter says if the stamp educates even one person, it can save a child's life.

Well, an Amber Alert and futile search in North Dakota. Three- year-old Reachelle Smith disappeared from her bed the night of May 16th. Police suspect she is taken by her guardian's live-in boyfriend. He's been found dead of an apparent suicide, but there's no trace of Reachelle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE SMITH, REACHELLE'S GUARDIAN: I must stress that Reachelle does have asthma, and on occasions will need a nebulizer treatment. She will know them as treatments. Reachelle has never been away from us this long before, ever, so if someone does have her, please return her as soon as possible. We all miss her very much. She is our peanut.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Police say they haven't ruled out the possibility that other suspects might be involved.

Once again,we're waiting to hear from Ken Lay out of Houston, Texas. As you know, he and his partner Jeffrey Skilling were found guilty today of conspiracy and fraud charges in the corporate scandal involving his company, Enron. As soon as he steps to the mikes, we will take him live.

Could you pass a dying person and not stop to help? Some 40 climbers on Mount Everest apparently did just that a few weeks back, to the horror of Sir Edmund Hillary. The first man to conquer Everest says human life is more important than reaching any mountaintop.

Here is ITV's Harry Smith with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRY SMITH, ITV REPORTER (voice-over): The summit of the world. It's a magnet for climbers from all over the Earth, drawing many to their death. Among the latest casualties, David Sharp, who died after reaching the peak. Like most of Everest's 200 victims, his body still lies on the mountain.

Since it was first conquered by Edmund Hillary 53 years ago this month, Everest has been scaled by more than 2,000 climbers. Among the latest, Mark Inglis, who reached a summit despite having both his legs amputated after an earlier climbing accident. He was one of 40 people who passed David Sharp as he lay dying. The brutal realities of life at this altitude meant they had no choice but to leave him where he lay.

It's the so-called death zone, above 26,000 feet, that climbers fear most. That's where body and mind begin to shut down. Somewhere around 28,000 feet, the climbers found David Sharp, but he had run out of oxygen several hours earlier. They believed he was effectively dead and decided there was nothing they could do to save his life, so they carried on to the summit.

Inglis says it was a very hard decision, but they had no choice other than to leave him.

MARK INGLIS, CLIMBER: A lot of people have died this year, and a lot of people have suffered injury because they haven't been with a competent team. They haven't been with competent people. I was very fortunate that I was with Russell Bryce (ph), Himalayan Experience, and his sherpa Fimley (ph).

PHILLIPS: Mr. Sharp is believed to have been climbing alone and without a guide. His family, who live in the northeast of England, say they don't blame anyone for not helping him.

Harry Smith, ITV News. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, live pictures now from New Orleans. The tanks are full, spirits are high. It's a grand reopening for the New Orleans Aquarium. We're going to tell you -- or take you inside for a little look. Wait until you meet the penguins. They're pretty cute. But according to Sean Callebs, they can really get at you, too.

And, again, the founder of Enron, Ken Lay, may speak outside the courtroom where he was convicted today. We're going to take that live when it happens. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Still waiting to hear from Ken Lay. He was found guilty on all six counts of conspiracy and fraud today. The former head of Enron, along with Jeffrey Skilling, his partner in crime, both found guilty on a number of charges. Of course, one of the biggest corporate fraud cases we've seen. We will take it live when he steps up to the mike.

Let's get straight to Fredricka Whitfield. She's working another developing story for us right now in the newsroom -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well this, Kyra, involving the White House and its orders now coming from President Bush that those documents that were seized from Congressman William Jefferson's office during a raid apparently be sealed for 45 days. This is coming to help work out a dispute between the House and the FBI. The Louisiana congressman is at the center of a bribery probe, and these documents at issue were seized during a raid of his D.C. Office.

And by the way, it's the first time the FBI has executed a search warrant on a Capitol Hill office of a sitting lawmaker. And while the White House has gotten involved, the issue has brought bipartisan support demanding the Justice Department return the materials. So for now, the White House is ordering the records not be returned, but instead be sealed for 45 days as they try to rectify this search and whether it was warranted or not -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Fred, thanks so much.

Well, happy and sassy. Everything is going just swimmingly for the penguins and other residents of the Aquarium of the Americas. They're finally back home in New Orleans, and ready to see their fans again.

Our Sean Callebs is there a day early, but he's been giving us a firsthand look at everything.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I've got my hands full!

PHILLIPS: Yes, I understand you have your hands full. They're pretty frisky little creatures, aren't they.

CALLEBS: He hates this microphone. Watch if I get it in the air. See, he just can't stand the microphone. Poor little thing. This is a 23-year-old penguin named Patience. Come on, Patience.

PHILLIPS: Patience? He doesn't look very patient.

CALLEBS: She.

PHILLIPS: Oh, she. Oops. That's true. Women are never patient.

CALLEBS: Run like the wind, Patience. Run like the wind.

I'm here with Tom Dyer. He's one of the biologists for the penguins. These two guys here -- it's like they worship up. They're all at our feet. Really amazing exhibit. These guys have been through a lot, haven't they, Tom? They were here right after -- what? About a week after they were flown to Monterey Bay Aquarium. Tell me about that.

TOM DYER, AQUARIUM BIRD HANDLER: Yes, when we got back after the storm, there was no power. Of course, the sky lights in here, very hot. The water was 94 degrees. We usually keep it at 62 degrees for them. So we were so grateful to Monterey Bay Aquarium. They arranged to fly them out on a cargo plane, and that's what we did.

CALLEBS: And they just arrived back in New Orleans this week. And we were talking earlier and they said that these guys knew they were home. They all marched right in. They kind of come right to here when they feed and they immediately went to this area. So they knew they were home again. You could tell that they are happy.

Those three guys in the corner, that's pretty interesting. Those are actually South American rockhoppers, is that correct?

DYER: That's right.

CALLEBS: Around here, those three are called "The Three Tenors" because they always just hang out by themselves. They are a little standoffish, and the rest of them are blackfooted South African.

DYER: They are from South Africa. They're called blackfooted or African penguins.

CALLEBS: And tell me about them. I mean, they are all pretty social, aren't they?

DYER: Well, in the wild they live in huge groups. Each one gets a nest about this big, so they like to live in big groups, crowded conditions.

CALLEBS: And you can see, if I can get Kevin, our cameraman, to pan around here, you can see, these are the little homes that they all hang out in. And one thing, these things turn out eggs quite frequently but there are so many. I think there are 40 different aquariums around the country that have ...

DYER: We've had lots of babies and they've asked us just to stop breeding them so they can have fresh genetic material in the gene pool.

CALLEBS: So what they do, when these penguins have eggs, they go through and they have to take the egg out of the nest, so then they put a fake egg in, because if they didn't put the fake egg in, they would just lay another one and begin hatching again. So this black glove is what they wear when they go in to take egg out.

I want to show you, Kyra, how much they dislike this. They know what this is, so they just want this black glove gone.

PHILLIPS: They want it to go away.

CALLEBS: And believe me, those teeth are extremely sharp. I mean, they are made to rip fish apart.

DYER: Anything that has to catch fish for a living usually has a sharp something. For penguins it's their beaks.

CALLEBS: Now, tomorrow's going to be a great day, and these guys are the sweethearts, the darlings.

DYER: And I think Patience in particular.

PHILLIPS: And what kind of penguin is this that Tom has, Sean?

DYER: She is our de facto mascot.

CALLEBS: Tom, this is a blackfooted or an African penguin, right?

DYER: Right.

CALLEBS: And, Kyra, true or false -- all penguins are south of the equator?

PHILLIPS: False.

CALLEBS: It's true.

PHILLIPS: It's true, really?

CALLEBS: No penguins in the North Pole. If you ever see a picture of a polar bear and a penguin together, it's either Photoshop or a zoo.

PHILLIPS: That's right, because polar bears are only in the north, and then you've got penguins like in Antarctica. You never see polar bears in Antarctica.

DYER: She loves the camera.

CALLEBS: These flippers here -- don't do that, Patience. These flippers are extremely tough, too, I mean, because they can swim about 30 miles an hour underwater and they can hold their breath for, what, five minutes. DYER: Right. They usually don't have to, though. Most of the food they catch lives at the surface. So, I mean, they can do, they can dive pretty deep, but they mostly stay at the surface.

CALLEBS: Now which one of these is named David Blaine? Joking. Well, Kyra, what do you think of this? I mean, it's really amazing how much work they've done. The only visible damage left from Katrina one window panel got knocked out. This aquarium didn't lose any windows. It was built to withstand winds of 140 miles an hour.

What happened? It lost power. When they turned the generators on, the fuel lines were clogged in the generator so they lost power completely, and then you remember New Orleans got simply chaotic in the immediate days after. The staff had to evacuate. That's when they lost the 10,000 animals, so a very painful time back then.

But it's amazing. Zoos across the country from really New Jersey, California, Tennessee, Houston, Dallas, they've all chipped in to provide animals for this zoo. I can tell you the staff is ready for the grand opening tomorrow. And this city needs something to feel good about, and this is going to be that feel-good type story.

PHILLIPS: Yes, it already is. So why doesn't Tom have emperor penguins there?

CALLEBS: No emperor penguins?

DYER: No, these are the kind we have. We're not set up for the cold. The emperors do like the ice and snow.

PHILLIPS: Yes, and they're like five feet tall.

DYER: Like you said, this city needs something good to ...

CALLEBS: The "March of the Penguins," right? I mean, that's what these guys are famous for. But these guys are famous in their own right. I mean, their gene pool is spread across this entire country, basically.

DYER: Yes. And I'm thinking right now Patience is probably the most famous penguin on the planet.

CALLEBS: Kyra, one final question. Guess how old Patience is.

PHILLIPS: Oh boy.

CALLEBS: If you guess how old she is, then you can have her?

PHILLIPS: Really, that could be kind of fun. How can you tell how old a penguin is? I have no idea.

CALLEBS: I asked Tom. That's how I found out.

She is 23 years old. That's pretty old for a penguin. They say in captivity if they live to be about 30 then that's very old. And another thing, their fur is so dense right there. Like, they were telling me the average human has so many hairs per square inch, but these guys have, what, 70 times as much?

DYER: For an average bird maybe 10 feathers per square inch. Patience has about 70. And that's what keeps them dry and warm when they're in the water or out on a cool day.

CALLEBS: Let's turn Patience loose and let her enjoy the day. We really appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Sean.

CALLEBS: Kyra, it's been amazing being here. We've got to see some amazing exhibits. This place opens tomorrow. And I can't wait to see Patience just attack our cameraman there. You can tell she is poised.

PHILLIPS: Poor Kevin. Sean and Tom, thanks so much you guys. Everybody needs to head to New Orleans and check out the aquarium. There you go. Meet Patience for yourselves. Thanks, guys.

CALLEBS: Patience got me though earlier.

PHILLIPS: I'll have to see the scars. Oh, Patience really got you. All right.

CALLEBS: Patience really got me.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Well, we're waiting for another live event that is happening right now. We're actually waiting for Ken Lay to come up to the mics there and speak.

As you know if you have been watching CNN, Enron former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling and founder Ken Lay were found guilty of conspiracy and fraud charges today. We've heard from Skilling, his attorneys. We hope to hear from Ken Lay when he comes to the mic. So we'll bring it to you live if we still have that picture.

And U.S. senators nearing a vote on the immigration bill. We're going to let you know what happens. More LIVE FROM coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Live pictures once again from the microphones outside that Houston courthouse. We're waiting for Ken Lay to step up to the mic. You know, a government investigation, it took four-and-a-half years.

Prosecutors presented evidence, laying out Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling as orchestrating a conspiracy to inflate profits in the Enron company and also hide millions of dollars in losses and represent the true nature of the company's finances.

So they were both found guilty today of conspiracy and fraud. Pretty much the granddaddy of all corporate fraud cases. So when Ken Lay comes to the mic with his attorneys, we will take that live. Well, dig carefully and you never know what you might find. That's the instruction right now to work crews at this Michigan farm where former Teamster's leader Jimmy Hoffa may be buried.

Live pictures right now as they continue to dig up the concrete floor where this barn once stood until yesterday, hoping to find something underneath there. Hoffa disappeared, as you know, back in 1975, about the same time that the barn was built on this farm. And it was owned by a Hoffa associate at that time.

Six-week-old boy snatched from his mother in Los Angeles safe today with child welfare workers in Dallas. These two women are under arrest, Annette Bryant and Sylvia Nunn. They were picked up last night. This is the baby, actually. The two women, these women were picked up just south of Dallas. And police say the women kidnapped Devon Calloway after trying to buy the baby for $6,000. Mother and son won't be reunited just yet. Social workers say the Calloway home is in such poor condition that the woman's other child has been placed in protective custody.

A Georgia toddler run down Tuesday in a fast food parking lot has died. Police call it murder. This man was the driver, 46-year-old Lanny Barnes, now facing charges of felony murder and murder with malice. That's in addition to aggravated assault and battery. Barnes is being held without bail pending mental tests. Of the five people he allegedly targeted outside McDonald's in suburban Atlanta, three were killed.

Seven family members infected with bird flu in Indonesia, six of them are dead. Health workers say it's only the first victim who had possible contact with sick or dead birds, actually. And the World Health Organization says that samples show the virus has not mutated to allow easy human-to-human transmission. So what's going on? Well actually this isn't the first time that bird flu has spread among family members. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more in looking for bird flu clues in clusters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With regular flu, a single sneeze ejects millions of tiny viruses into the air. And the virus can live as long as two days, even on a cold surface like a doorknob.

LAURIE GARRETT, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: The problem with flu is it is orders of magnitude more contagious than the dreaded Ebola virus, the smallpox, than just about anything, except common cold.

GUPTA: Now imagine a new flu just as contagious, but killing half its victims. That's the nightmare scenario. Dr. Robert Webster has been studying flu viruses for more than 50 years.

ROBERT WEBSTER, ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL: If this virus learns to transmit human to human and maintains that level of killing humans, you've got a global catastrophe. GUPTA: Which brings us back to Jakarta, Indonesia, and the mysterious case of Rinny Dinna (ph), a 40-year-old woman who died of H5N1. And her 8-year-old nephew Daus, who caught the virus, but somehow was barely sick.

Testing in Daus' neighborhood found no sign of bird flu, but what about the home of his aunt, where he often spent time?

(on camera): Your wife, did she have any contact at all with birds or chickens? No contact.

(Voice-over): In fact, when investigators scoured the neighborhood, they saw birds everywhere. However, when they tested the birds, none had H5N1, but the virus did turn up somewhere else -- in the fertilizer Rinny Dinna (ph) used to tend her a garden of house plants. Made from chicken waste, the fertilizer was contaminated with the deadly virus.

As bird flu cases pop up, a pattern is starting to emerge.

GARRETT: If you look at the list of the cases, many of them are family clusters. You have to either say everybody shared the same common chicken source or were exposed to the same infected chicken, or somebody was exposed to the chicken and then gave it to the rest of the family.

TIM UYEKI, DOCTOR, U.S. CENTERS OF DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION: The occurrence of clusters demands urgent investigations.

GUPTA: Tim Uyeki, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, worked with Indonesian scientists to investigate the latest bird flu cases.

UYEKI: Some of the issues that you really want to try to figure out are did this person have direct contact with poultry? By direct contact, we're talking about actually touching, holding the birds. The other question that's really important to ascertain is, is it possible that there might have been person to person transmission?

GUPTA: As for Daus, he's back at full speed. No one knows why his illness was so mild. Or why a handful of other infected people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Let's go straight to Ken Lay at the mikes.

KENNETH LAY, FORMER ENRON CEO: Certainly we're surprised. I think probably more appropriately to say we're shocked. Certainly this was not the outcome we expected. I firmly believe I'm innocent of the charges against me as I have said from day one. I still firmly believe that as of this day.

But despite what happened today, I am still a very blessed man. I have on my left this beautiful lady, that's my wife. I have a very warm and loving and Christian family that support me. A lot of friends, including some out there in the audience right now. And most of all we believe that God in fact is in control and indeed he does work all things for good for those who love the Lord.

And we love our Lord and ultimately all of these things will work for good. Thank you so much for all of your courtesies, all of your interest. And obviously as time goes on, we'll have more things to say, but that's all I want to say today. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Enron former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling and Enron founder Kenneth Lay were found guilty today of conspiracy and fraud in the granddaddy of all corporate fraud cases. We heard for the first time from Kenneth Lay as he still says that he's shocked and surprised by the charges. He says he's innocent. We'll take a quick break. More LIVE FROM coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street. Susan Lisovicz live from the New York Stock Exchange with a round-up of the trading day. Busy day news-wise as well with the Enron verdict.

(MARKET REPORT)

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