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Paula Zahn Now
Rutgers Basketball Team Speaks Out; Father of Anna Nicole Smith's Baby Revealed
Aired April 10, 2007 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everybody. Glad to have you with us tonight.
Here's what we're bringing out in the open tonight: Can Don Imus hang on to his job, especially after today's response from the women he insulted?
Also:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY BIRKHEAD, EX-BOYFRIEND OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH: I hate to be the one that told you this, but I told you so.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: So, tonight, the big mystery is finally solved. So, when does Larry Birkhead get to take his and Anna Nicole Smith's baby home?
And we continue our weeklong series "Debtor Nation" -- tonight, the dirty little secret behind the national mortgage mess.
Out in the open first tonight: the women at the center of the firestorm over racist and sexist remarks by radio host Don Imus. They happen to be members of the Rutgers University women's basketball team. How did they feel when, after losing the national championship, Imus called them nappy-headed hos?
Well, after keeping quiet for nearly a week, and with Imus' job now on the line, the women finally had their say today.
And we sent Jim Acosta to spend what turned out to be a really memorable and moving day at Rutgers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Putting on their game face, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights took on the Don Imus firestorm. Led by their no-nonsense coach, Vivian Stringer, the team called Imus' comments despicable and described what it is like to be a victim of a racial slur from the radio giant.
C. VIVIAN STRINGER, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH: We have all been physically, mentally, and emotionally spent, so hurt by the remarks that were uttered by Mr. Imus.
ACOSTA: All the more painful, the players say, having made it to the women's basketball championship finals, only to see that golden moment crushed.
HEATHER ZURICH, RUTGERS BASKETBALL PLAYER: What hurts the most about this situation is that Mr. Imus knows that not one of us personally.
ACOSTA: The players confirmed they will meet with Imus to hear the apology he has promised. The date and location remain a secret, the team says, so Imus has all the time he needs to explain these words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "IMUS IN THE MORNING")
DON IMUS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: That's some nappy-headed hos there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Far from it, says Coach Stringer, who says the team maintains a 3.0 grade point average.
STRINGER: These young ladies that you have seated before you, before you are valedictorians of their class, future doctors, musical prodigies, and, yes, even Girl Scouts.
ACOSTA: Stringer is a fitting coach for this team, having been a trailblazer herself. At 16, she had to fight to become the first African-American cheerleader at her high school. Now she says it's her players' turn to overcome.
Showing us some of her moves on the court, the team's captain, Essence Carson, told me she's looking forward to going one on one with Imus.
(on camera): What will you tell him? What will you say to him?
ESSENCE CARSON, RUTGERS BASKETBALL PLAYER: You know what? I think the most important thing with this meeting with him will be to hear what he has to say. That's the most important thing. We really haven't heard too much from him.
ACOSTA: More than what you have to say, it's what he has to say?
CARSON: Yes. We want to hear the other side of the story.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Before the players broke their silence, Imus appeared on NBC's "Today Show," vowing once again to clean up his act.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE TODAY SHOW")
DON IMUS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I'm going to serve it without whining, because, as bad as I feel, I don't feel as bad as those young women at Rutgers do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: Imus must go. Imus must go.
ACOSTA: A performance that fell flat for protesters outside NBC studios.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He must go to send a signal to everyone else that this type of behavior, this type of talk, is not tolerated in this country at all.
ACOSTA: But, on the Rutgers campus, the debate over the right punishment is far from over.
KARI SMITH, STUDENT, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: Some people think that he should be fired, but I'm also hearing the other point of view of it, where they shouldn't go that far, to the extent to fire him.
ACOSTA: And she's not alone. The Scarlet Knights also graciously stopped short of calling for Imus to step down. They may have lost the national championship game, but these ladies proved today what winners really are.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Piscataway, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And, a little bit earlier on tonight, I spoke with the team's head coach, C. Vivian Stringer, who you just saw in that piece, and asked her about Don Imus' original comments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: When you first heard it, did you think this guy should be fired for what he said about your teammates?
STRINGER: To be honest with you, I think that we all did, you know, right from the beginning, because no person should have that right.
And the question that I have, and as I posed it to so many of the media types, and that is, what's happening here? You know, what examples do we show society? And the name of the game is not black, white, but it is green. And, so, is it the money? Is that what allows people to say what they say and to excuse themselves?
And, while we should all be given an opportunity to be heard, and that's -- that's the attempt, to determine whether or not Mr. Imus is sincere in his apology, from what direction did it come. Two wrongs don't make a right. It was clearly a wrong thing to do. And he hurt some young ladies, who should have been able to come back to campus amidst the greatest celebration that there is.
And five of these young ladies, less than a year ago, were graduating from high school, and they accomplished great things. And he stole our dreams.
ZAHN: But, coach, you have just conceded to me that you think he should have been fired. So, what is it that he could say to you in this meeting that might change your mind about that or soften your position?
STRINGER: Paula, you know, I don't know. If I did know, then there would be no reason to have the meeting. I can tell you that I will approach it with an honest mind, as I hope that everyone would do.
I'm here in defense of my young ladies and for all women across the nation. It is time that the sensitivity to these issues be addressed.
ZAHN: I want to play for you a small part of an interview he did earlier today on "The Today Show," where he telegraphed what he wants to say to you and the women who play on your team.
Let's listen together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE TODAY SHOW")
IMUS: I want these young women to know that I didn't say this out of anger and that I didn't say this out of meanness, and I didn't -- I didn't turn my microphone on and say, this is what I think of the young women at Rutgers.
And, believe me, I know that that phrase didn't originate in the white community. That phrase originated in the black community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Is that a cop-out on Imus' part?
STRINGER: You know what? To be honest with you, I'm disappointed to hear that part, because to try to place blame on someone else is disappointing. Whether it came on black lips, white lips, blue lips, green lips, tall, thin, fat, skinny or whatever, it's wrong. And, so, I'm disappointed, because he's had time to reflect on this.
ZAHN: Does that mean you're pessimistic, then, going into this meeting, given what he said this morning?
STRINGER: No, I'm not pessimistic. I promise I'm not. I'm going to hear him again. I sure hope that he thinks about it. But I can tell you, I have some pretty bright young ladies and some smart young ladies. And, if you think that this issue is dead, that we're going to accept that it's OK, you have got another think coming.
I think we better understand and we better hear something that makes some sense. And, yet, I promise you, I will open my arms, my heart, because I really want this world to change.
ZAHN: Coach Stringer, we will be watching this all closely. Thank you so much for your time. And, again, congratulations on a stellar season.
STRINGER: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: And, tonight, Don Imus has some more problems on his hands.
Bloomberg News is reporting that two of his sponsors, Staples and Bigelow Tea, have just pulled their ads to protest his remarks.
Imus was on Reverend Al Sharpton's call-in show yesterday, even though Sharpton wants him to be fired. And one of the people who called in is Democratic Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Michigan. She happens to chair the Congressional Black Caucus.
Good to have both of you with us tonight.
Reverend Sharpton, I am going to start with you.
There are a lot of folks out there tonight saying there's a certain hypocrisy with the aggression with which you have gone after Imus, and -- and that that hasn't been consistent with going after rappers who have used equally vile language directed at women, women that -- you know, language that's totally degrading to all of us.
AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: I think that those people are ill-informed. We have gone after that.
There's been a national campaign against the N-word. I have even wrote op-ed pieces in papers here in New York.
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: You're not boycotting rappers' music that contain the same kind of language.
(CROSSTALK)
SHARPTON: Rappers do not use the pulpit, with senators and anchormen, of a radio show. That's one.
We have said that we don't want them to be able to continue. I met with FCC on this a year-and-a-half ago. I have talked about this on your show. So, that's just not true. I think the reverse is true. I think, for us to reprimand rappers, those of us who have, and not go after Imus is for the rappers to say, oh, you pick on us because we're easy targets. Why don't you go after this guy that is such a darling of the media world?
I think that's the problem.
ZAHN: But we haven't seen anybody really get punished. I mean, here you have got a guy that has got suspended. You have got national sponsors pulling out of his show.
SHARPTON: And you had national sponsors...
ZAHN: We haven't seen similar reaction to these rappers.
SHARPTON: Absolutely.
You have had -- I remember when you had a talk show host lead a campaign where Pepsi backed away from one of the rap artists, and none of us jumped out there and said anything. That is not true at all.
And I think that rappers have had conference with Oprah Winfrey and others. That is absolutely not true.
I think what people want to do, which I think the coach of -- in a very dignified way -- and I think those young ladies, by the way, and the coach made all of America proud today.
ZAHN: They were amazing.
(CROSSTALK)
SHARPTON: They said, are we really looking for a way to cover Imus by blaming rappers?
So, now are we going to have a contest of who is the most guilty, rather than how we deal with trying to make the situation whole? All sides -- if one of the rappers was hosting a radio show, FCC, I would have the same position.
ZAHN: Congresswoman Kilpatrick, what was your reaction to Imus saying today he didn't originate those words, that those were words that came out of the black community?
REP. CAROLYN KILPATRICK (D), MICHIGAN: I think that's irrelevant.
The thing is that the man misspoke. We have outstanding young women who have dedicated their lives, who have made sacrifices, who have entered Rutgers, main -- academic standards, and continued to grow and excel. That's the issue.
And, for someone to look out, regardless of who they are, and say what he said, he just did not say that statement. It was a conversation with both he and the executive producer. I want both of them fired. I think it hurts America. It hurts American families. So, whether rappers -- that's not the issue.
The issue is, where do we go from here? Do we continue to degradate families and children? Or do we rebuild America for the children's sake? I err on the positive side.
(CROSSTALK)
KILPATRICK: And I would hope we wouldn't say this or that. He was wrong. He's done it before. And we need to correct that. His firing will be a first step, if he doesn't resign.
ZAHN: Well, let's see if either of those two happen.
I want to put up on the screen now something that a colleague of mine, Gwen Ifill, wrote today in "The New York Times," that -- that one of the worst harms caused by Imus was that the targets of his comments were "not old enough or established enough to have built up the sort of" -- I'm missing a word here -- "black women in particular develop to guard themselves against casual insults."
Sorry. I didn't have the full quote there.
What is your reaction to that? Do you agree?
KILPATRICK: Are you talking to me?
ZAHN: Yes.
KILPATRICK: Insults? Don't belittle this. This is a major thing that's happened here over the last 72 hours.
There are women of all races who are absolutely appalled by it. And for us to trivialize it and take it about black women -- it's about America. It's about families and children. Do we build them up, so that they take part in American society and become God's children to rebuild? Or do we work with some idiot, some ignorant person, who didn't know the -- the beauty, the scholastic ability of these young women?
You know, don't -- Paula, please don't trivialize it. It is much bigger than that.
(CROSSTALK)
KILPATRICK: And I would hope that, as we have this discussion, we talk about that.
ZAHN: Right.
KILPATRICK: He's incidental.
ZAHN: Well, those weren't my words. I didn't write that. Gwen Ifill wrote it, a very, very smart woman...
(CROSSTALK)
KILPATRICK: And I love Gwen Ifill. She's a wonderful woman.
ZAHN: Right.
KILPATRICK: She's a wonderful woman.
The issue before us today is, do we rebuild America and its family and make opportunity available?
ZAHN: Right.
SHARPTON: Or do we let idiots say anything, and it's OK, with a two-week suspension?
ZAHN: Well, Reverend Sharpton, you get the last 10 seconds. You're a radio guy. I know you can do this.
SHARPTON: Last 10 seconds...
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: You have got two sponsors that have pulled out of "Imus." What is your prediction? Is he going to resign? Is he going to get fired?
(CROSSTALK)
SHARPTON: My prediction is that many other sponsors will be called upon to do it. What sponsor wants to identify with this? And I think that he has created this with the words that came out of his mouth. It doesn't matter the color of the lips. What matters is that no one should go after someone's gender and race and feel that they can just walk away unscathed.
ZAHN: Reverend Al Sharpton, Congresswoman Kilpatrick, thank you both for joining us tonight.
So, if Don Imus ends up getting kicked off the air, what would presidential candidates do without him?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: He's said that he's deeply sorry. I'm a great believer in redemption.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Out in the open next: how the Imus firestorm could actually affect the political landscape as we move into this election season.
And we want to hear from you tonight. Should politicians avoid Imus' show? Just pull out your cell phone. Send us a text message to CNNTV. Text message PZYES, PZNO. We will have the results a little bit later on.
Later, and also coming up: mystery solved. The DNA test reveals the true father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby. We will introduce you to him when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: A lot going on here tonight.
In just a little bit: A DNA test proves that Larry Birkhead is the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby. So, who is he? And what's next for him and his little girl?
First, I want to bring another part of the Don Imus story out in the open. If his bosses ultimately fire him and pull the plug on his radio show, it could have a huge effect on U.S. politics. Yes, really.
Over the years, Imus' program has become an obligatory stop for both Democrats and Republicans.
And we asked Carol Costello to check out his guest list and find out who would dare to talk to him now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is no excuse.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's been condemned throughout the country -- Al Sharpton calling him a sexist, a racist -- journalist Gwen Ifill, once an apparent target of Imus, describing his Rutgers slur as "a shockingly concise sexual and racial insult, tossed out in a volley of male camaraderie by a group of amused middle-aged white men."
So, why the long silence by some of those men and women running for president?
We did hear from Senator John McCain, a frequent 'Imus' guest, who said:
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: He has apologized. He said that he's deeply sorry. And I'm a great believer in redemption.
COSTELLO: That any politician would agree to appear on "Imus" again didn't seem to faze the targets of Imus' so-called bad joke.
ESSENCE CARSON, RUTGERS BASKETBALL PLAYER: When you're a politician, when you're -- when you're in the public eye, you're trying to convey a message as well. And what better place to convey a message where -- where -- where you're getting ratings like Mr. Imus?
COSTELLO: What does disturb others is that it took so long to hear from other presidential candidates, like Obama, Clinton, Edwards, Biden, Giuliani, and Romney. It was only after Imus' suspension that we started getting responses -- Barack Obama saying, "The comments of Don Imus were divisive, hurtful and offensive to Americans of all backgrounds."
And Hillary Clinton?
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I certainly don't ever intend to go on his show. And I felt that way before his latest outrageous, hateful, hurtful comments.
COSTELLO: Neither candidate said whether Imus should be fired. In Newark, New Jersey, where some of those Rutgers players are from, Councilwoman Mildred Crump is not happy.
MILDRED CRUMP, NEWARK, NEW JERSEY COUNCILWOMAN: The presidential candidates need to step up to the plate and acknowledge the fact that they don't support him.
COSTELLO: Some say the slow response is, well, politics. What candidate wants to get caught up in an ugly controversy? And, hey, it's hard to dis Imus. His show has clout.
Rudy Giuliani has been an "Imus" favorite.
RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), FORMER MAYOR OF NEW YORK: And I called him a little while ago to talk to him about it personally. I take him at his word. I take Don at his word that he -- he understands the gravity of what he did.
COSTELLO: But don't expect to catch Newark's mayor, Cory Booker, on "Imus."
CORY BOOKER, MAYOR OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: Decisions have to be made. And seeing the impact of his words within my community, within young people in my community in particular, and how hurtful it is and how severe it is, it's just something that I wouldn't choose to do.
COSTELLO: Carol Costello, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: Let's go straight to tonight's "Out in the Open" panel, Republican political strategist Amy Holmes, and Ben Ferguson, a nationally syndicated radio talk show host and author of "It's My America, Too."
Welcome, both.
Ben, would it be the kiss of death for any politician to go back on the air with Imus, assuming he's coming back after this two-week suspension?
BEN FERGUSON, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: No. I think it's going to blow over. I think it's going to blow over.
And I think part of it is because we're making this man out to be some sort of moral figure or character that we're all supposed to be shocked by. He's a talk show host that entertains people for a living. I don't know where he got all this clout. Do a lot of people listen to him? Yes, because they want to be entertained on the way to work.
But for people to freak out and act like this man somehow ruined everything for everyone in America is -- to me, is -- what he said was horrible. It was stupid. It was irresponsible. He's not an elected person. His ratings are going to bigger, I guarantee it, when he comes back, because everybody is going to want to hear what he has to say and -- say.
It's the same thing with Howard Stern. People listen to him to be shocked. And this man, all of a sudden, people anointed him as some nice guy, which he's never been, he's never claimed to be. And he's always said crazy things. And now, today, it happened to be something that people considered racist, whereas we don't freak out about Donald Trump when he calls a woman a fat pig or makes slurs about her being a lesbian, when he did with Rosie O'Donnell. Nobody said cancel "The Apprentice" then, you know?
But we say with this guy, he's got to be fired. I mean, he doesn't have that much clout.
ZAHN: Well, in spite of what Ben is saying, doesn't it suggest he does have clout when Hillary Clinton is basically saying she is not going to ever go on his show again?
AMY HOLMES, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think it does.
And, you know, I, for one, did speak out when Donald Trump said those vile, disgusting things about Rosie O'Donnell. And I think it's completely unacceptable. And I think Ben here is diminishing the words that Don Imus used to insult these young ladies.
And, today, at this press conference, they could have not been a more devastating reputation of Don Imus' ugliness. They comported themselves with absolute class and dignity.
(CROSSTALK)
FERGUSON: Because they have class. Amy, they have class. They're women that are...
HOLMES: Of course they do.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Hold on, Ben. Hold on. Hold on.
And being a talk show host is not a right. It's a privilege. And MSNBC and CBS and his sponsors do not need to subsidize or financially support someone who goes out and makes these racial slurs against these women.
(CROSSTALK)
ZAHN: All right. But, Amy, come back to the question of the impact it has on these politicians, because, over the years, they have found his show to be a very productive place to get business done.
So, if he goes back on the air in two weeks, how cautious are these politicians going to be?
HOLMES: Well, unfortunately, Paula, you know, I think that we will be seeing them go back on the air.
I was very disappointed with John McCain and Giuliani today. Don Imus has yet to apologize in person to the Rutgers basketball players themselves. So, to me, they rushed out way ahead of when a public statement should have been made.
(CROSSTALK) ZAHN: OK.
You two, I want to go on to something that Imus told Matt Lauer today on "The Today Show" about the words he has used along the way and where they came from.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE TODAY SHOW")
IMUS: I may be a white man, but I know that these young women and young black women all through that society are demeaned and disparaged and disrespected by -- by their own black men, and that they are called that name. And I know that that -- and that doesn't give me, obviously, any right to say it. But it doesn't give them any right to say it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Amy, quick closing thought? Is it more damaging when a white man uses these words than a black man, directed at women, particularly black women?
HOLMES: It's equally -- it's equally vile and disrespectful. And, at this point, Don Imus does not need to be trying to shift blame.
But this is a question worth investigating. I know, Paula, you have done a lot of shows on this. And this is what seems to be a ritualistic denigration of African-American women in our popular culture. And, today, Imus is going to -- he's going to take his lumps. Unfortunately, he's going to be back on the air. But I think that it's a broader topic worth exploring.
ZAHN: I think there's a ritual denigration of black women, white women, whatever color we are. You know that, Ben.
FERGUSON: Sure. Absolutely.
But I just -- the thing that amazes me about this is, I'm not defending what he said. He's a vile human being who said something really stupid. And I think he admits that. And I think that I don't give him that much credit. I think that's the part that bothers me the most, is that people give him this much street credit, that he's somehow...
HOLMES: Ben, he has millions of listeners. And he sells millions of books...
FERGUSON: He has millions of listeners because..
(CROSSTALK)
FERGUSON: Hold on a second. I let you talk. Hold on one second.
ZAHN: Quick, quick, quick.
FERGUSON: He has tons of people that listen to him because he entertains people. And they can choose to turn him off or to listen to him. And, if they turn him off, then, you know what? The ladies win.
ZAHN: All right, you two, we have got to leave it there.
Amy Holmes, Ben Ferguson, thanks.
We want to know what all of you have to think about this. Should politicians stay away from Imus' show? Vote by sending us a text message to CNNTV. Text message PZYES, PZNO. We will see the numbers you came up with at the end of the show.
Also out in the open tonight: It was a mystery even before Anna Nicole Smith's death. Tonight, we finally know the answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIRKHEAD: I'm just happy to, you know, have this behind me and just to be able to start a life with my daughter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: So, out in the open at last: the real father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby. So, who is this guy?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: The Anna Nicole Smith story out in the open once again.
Just hours ago, we finally learned who is the father of Smith's baby daughter, Dannielynn. It has been two months and two days since the death of the former "Playboy" model, reality show star, and a widow to a billionaire oilman.
Well, today, DNA tests finally resolve the paternity question, one of the many tangled legal issues Smith left behind.
Here's entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY BIRKHEAD, EX-BOYFRIEND OF ANNA NICOLE SMITH: I hate to be the one that told you this, but I told you so.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For months, Larry Birkhead has maintained that he is the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby, Dannielynn Hope. And, today, it became official.
QUESTION: What about a percentage certainty?
BIRKHEAD: Ninety-nine-point-nine-nine-nine-nine-nine-nine-nine- nine-nine-nine.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Larry Birkhead, in this entire saga, has been the gallant figure. He's the one who shed tear after tear talking about Anna Nicole. He's the one who has come off as actually caring about her as a human being and not just a commodity.
VARGAS: The world first got to know Birkhead shortly after the death of Anna Nicole's son, Daniel. After Anna Nicole died, Birkhead talked about their love.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE")
BIRKHEAD: Actually, Anna asked me to -- to marry her several times throughout the relationship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: Larry Birkhead was born in Kentucky. He attended Doss High School in Louisville, and later had a short acting career, with small roles in films and commercials.
Working as a photographer, Birkhead met Anna Nicole in May 2004.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE")
BIRKHEAD: It was at the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Derby party.
I bumped into her and...
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": The rest is history.
BIRKHEAD: The rest is history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: History that led to a huge paternity battle.
(on camera): As Anna Nicole's personal photographer during their relationship, Birkhead made a lot of money selling exclusive pictures of her. And today starts yet another chapter in Larry Birkhead's life.
BIRKHEAD: It's been a long road. And I'm just happy to have this behind me and just to be able to start a life with my daughter.
VARGAS (voice-over): Birkhead's next role will be to show that he can be a good father.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZAHN: Still a lot more legal battles ahead over Anna Nicole Smith.
Here now to see what is in store, Court TV anchor Jami Floyd.
Welcome back.
JAMI FLOYD, COURT TV ANCHOR: Good to see you.
ZAHN: When does Larry Birkhead get to take his baby home?
FLOYD: Well, at the very soonest, about 30 days. It will take that long for the court, if they give him custody, ultimately, to process the whole matter. But it could be a lot longer than that if Virgie decides to fight.
ZAHN: All right.
Virgie is Anna Nicole Smith's mother. Now, this is a very strange change in this story. So, now you have Larry Birkhead, the biological father, who is going to team up with Howard K. Stern, who professed to be the father all along.
FLOYD: That's right.
ZAHN: Help me with this.
FLOYD: It seems that Stern is most anxious to keep Anna Nicole's wishes in mind. And he feels, clearly, that she didn't want Virgie to be a part of it.
He wants Larry Birkhead to be the sole provider for this child.
I know it's odd.
ZAHN: I'm rolling my eyes.
(CROSSTALK)
FLOYD: But that's where he's at.
ZAHN: You're talking about over $400 million here.
FLOYD: Yes. Well, there is the 400 ...
ZAHN: Is it -- is the money really what is at the core of all of this?
FLOYD: There's $474 million at the end of this long rainbow that we're all making our way towards.
And, yes, a cynic would say it's about the money, and maybe it is. But now you've got three people who want to be a part of the baby's life. And the Bahamian courts have to work that out.
ZAHN: And I understand historically, the Bahamian courts love moms.
FLOYD: Mothers.
ZAHN: And they prefer mothers over fathers. So ...
FLOYD: And they prefer grandmothers over fathers.
ZAHN: So, Anna Nicole Smith's mother may have a real shot at this.
FLOYD: Yes, she does. I mean, a lot of the experts are saying slim to none. I think it's better than that in the Bahamas.
Here she'd have no chance, because our courts have said biological fathers trump everyone other than biological mothers. But not so in the Bahamas.
She's a woman, and that's going to hold some weight with the court.
ZAHN: Do you think this little girl will ever see a fraction of this money?
FLOYD: Possibly, not likely.
ZAHN: Not likely.
Who gets it?
FLOYD: Well, there is a lot of fighting. The Marshalls say they're fighting on. And I say, give her a few million. I mean, you've got 474 plus. Give her some money. And they say, "no."
ZAHN: They're going to spend tens of millions fighting this thing and run this into the ground.
(CROSSTALK)
FLOYD: It's personal, Paula. You know how it gets with these family matters. It's personal. They're fighting to the death.
ZAHN: Jami Floyd, thank you for dropping by. Appreciate it.
Can't imagine we'll be talking about this much more. But you never know.
This week we're bringing a nationwide financial crisis out in the open. Tonight, the dirty little secret behind the national mortgage mess.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It takes more training to become a hairdresser than it does to become a mortgage broker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Wow. Next, our series, "Debtor Nation," reveals why some mortgage brokers may not have your best interests at heart, and why they might also not have any training at all. Also, should politicians avoid Imus' show? Send a text message to CNNTV. Text message PZYES, PZNO.
We'll have the vote for you a little bit later on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Today, one of the biggest homebuilders in the country says the number of new homes that sold in the last three months was down nearly 40 percent.
It's another sign of bad times in the housing market, mostly because of the meltdown in the market for loans to people who have poor credit.
Well, all week long we're bringing out in the open the secret struggle millions of Americans face with crushing debt. And in tonight's biz break, we continue our series, "Debtor Nation," with a look inside an industry you may never have heard of -- now taking a lot of the blame for the number of people losing their homes.
Personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, joins me now from Greeley, Colorado, which was among the hardest-hit towns by the nation's foreclosures crisis last year.
Gerri, it's really sad when you look at all these people getting wiped out.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR, GREELEY, COLORADO: Paula, you know, right here in Greeley, Colorado, in February alone the foreclosure rate was one in every 200 homes, so the problem here very big indeed.
In fact, when you're buying a house, you use a lot of professionals along the way to guide you through the process. It's very complicated.
And certainly, you have to be aware of these people. It is buyer beware when you're buying a home, because not all of these professionals have your best interests at heart.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) we've got the lowest costs.
WILLIS (voice-over): Chances are, it's the biggest purchase of your life. And it's overwhelming. Not only do you have to worry about finding the right house, but you have to figure out how you will pay for it, how you'll find the right loan.
Who's there to help? Increasingly, it's a mortgage broker. They now act as middlemen for more than half of all new mortgages.
But are they looking our for your best interests? Bob Molten (ph) has been a mortgage broker for nearly 20 years. He says they provide a vital service, helping consumers sort through the web of confusing loan options out there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's 300 products that are available out there, from auction ARMs to interest only to a myriad of adjustable rates, and then to your traditional fixed rate mortgage.
WILLIS: But federal officials and consumer groups say mortgage brokers are largely responsible for the record foreclosures across the country, and the near collapse of the subprime mortgage market.
They say brokers put borrowers in loans they don't understand or can't afford.
One of the biggest recurring complaints about brokers? Minimal or no training standards.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are roughly 44,000 licensed mortgage brokers in the United States. Mortgage brokers are typically required to obtain a state license, but frequently there are no testing or educational requirements as part of that process.
WILLIS: Each state has different requirements for a license. Some states are beefing up their standards, like New York, which recently passed requirements saying brokers must attend 18 hours of training.
But many states still have few or no standards.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It takes more training to become a hairdresser than it does to become a mortgage broker. It is one of the least regulated professions in the country.
WILLIS: Another worry? How brokers get paid.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When people go to a mortgage broker, they believe that the broker is helping them find the best possible loan.
That's not necessarily true.
And I think the real problem is the system of compensation, the fact that they are paid extra for higher interest loans, and the borrower doesn't know that.
WILLIS: Brokers have no legal responsibility to make sure buyers can afford their loan, or that they're getting the best loan.
Lawmakers in Washington are pushing for standards that would require brokers and lenders to give borrowers the best loan for their financial situation.
Some brokers do agree that stricter licensing requirements and changes in how brokers are paid will make getting a loan safer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are 95 percent -- maybe even higher -- of good loan officers in this country. And the unfortunate thing is there's a small lot that's creating a bad image for a big group of people.
(END VIDEO)
WILLIS (on camera): Well, to protect yourself, Paula, you've absolutely got to shop around. Get quotes from three lenders.
You don't even have to go to a mortgage broker. You can go directly to the lender. Get names from friends and family, people you trust, of both mortgage brokers and mortgage lenders.
It's up to you to educate yourself.
If you get loan terms through a mortgage broker or a lender that you don't understand and they won't explain it to you, don't sign the paperwork. They've got to explain it to your satisfaction to get the right loan -- Paula.
ZAHN: We're listening to you. You always have great advice.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
ZAHN: Gerri Willis, good work with that wind machine going on out there tonight.
Getting back to our top story tonight, if you think some of the things Don Imus says are insulting, you haven't heard anything yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: He is moving all around and shaking, and it's purely an act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: Out in the open next. Why aren't some of talk radio's other stars in as much trouble as Don Imus?
Also, should politicians avoid going on his show? Assuming it's coming back after the suspension. Tell us what you think. Send a text message to CNNTV, text message PZYES, PZNO.
We'll be tabulating throughout the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: Back to our top story tonight, out in the open. The firestorm over radio host Don Imus' racist remarks about the Rutgers University women's basketball team.
But if Don Imus didn't test the limits of offensiveness, outrageousness and intolerance, he'd never become one of the most popular radio hosts in the country.
Danger is built into what he and so many other radio personalities do every day of the week.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
ZAHN (voice-over): They are controversial for a reason. Their on-air rants provoke outrage from some listeners and dogged loyalty from others.
It all adds up to millions of dollars a year in advertising revenue and millions of dollars for the hosts.
And while radio host Don Imus calling the Rutgers University women's basketball team "nappy-headed hos" is certainly beyond the bounds, it is not the first time offensive comments have been spewed on the radio.
Conservative Rush Limbaugh, who has offended just about every minority group, drew special criticism for attacking actor Michael J. Fox.
LIMBAUGH: In this commercial he is exaggerating the effects of the disease.
ZAHN: When Fox appeared in a campaign ad for Democratic candidates supporting stem cell research, he was trembling from his Parkinson's disease.
Limbaugh accused him of faking his symptoms.
LIMBAUGH: He is moving all around and shaking, and it's purely an act. This is the only time I have ever seen Michael J. Fox portray any of the symptoms of the disease he has.
ZAHN: Limbaugh later apologized. But the criticism for that low blow hasn't stopped him from lashing out at presidential hopeful, Barack Obama, calling him "Halfrican."
LIMBAUGH: Barack Obama has picked up another endorsement, Halfrican-American actress Halle Berry. As a Halfrican-American, I am honored to have Ms. Berry's support, as well as the support of other Halfrican-Americans.
ZAHN: Liberal Randi Rhodes relentlessly suggests that the president and his administration are mainly preoccupied with breaking the law.
RANDI RHODES, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST, AIR AMERICA: This is a criminal enterprise. It's just on such a large scale, and you just can't imagine anybody hating Americans as much as this Bush crime family does.
ZAHN: Atlanta-based Neal Boortz described a black congresswoman this way.
NEAL BOORTZ, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST, "THE NEAL BOORTZ SHOW": I saw Cynthia McKinney's new hairdo. Have you seen it, Belinda?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
BOORTZ: She looks like a ghetto slut. It looks like an explosion in a Brillo pad factory.
ZAHN: Similar to Don Imus' words, and Boortz did face public outcry. He apologized, but was never punished.
Michael Savage, host of a nationally syndicated show called "The Savage Nation," rants often about homosexuality, calling it the seminal issue of our time.
MICHAEL SAVAGE, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST, "THE SAVAGE NATION": The homosexual mafia that controls virtually everything that you read, everything that you see, everything that you hear, everything that you wear ...
ZAHN: Back to Don Imus. He's clearly not afraid to offend even his bosses.
When referring to what he called the "Jewish management" of CBS Radio, he said this.
DON IMUS, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST, "IMUS IN THE MORNING": I tried to put it in terms that these money-grubbing bastards could understand.
ZAHN: Imus' comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team have earned him a two-week suspension from those bosses.
One likely factor in their decision to take disciplinary action, short of dismissal, as long as Imus is on the air, his loyal fans will listen.
(END VIDEO)
ZAHN: Let's take another turn to talk to two experts on talk radio. Michael Harrison, editor and publisher of the talk radio trade journal, "Talkers" magazine. And Jerry Klein hosts a talk show on WMAL radio in Washington, D.C.
Good to have both of you with us.
Michael, I'm going to start with you, and I want you to take another look with us now at what Neal Boortz had to say when referring to Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney.
"She looks like a ghetto slut. It looks like an explosion in a Brillo pad factory."
Well, he apologized. That was that.
A lot of people find what Imus said wasn't even as inflammatory as that. So, why is he being suspended?
MICHAEL HARRISON, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER, "TALKERS" MAGAZINE: It's a great question. He's being suspended, because there's heat over it. And why is there heat over it? Well, some people have decided to go after Imus.
Imus has a 30-year history of being a bully in the media. Whether you like him or not, or whether you defend his First Amendment right, the man is a nasty guy and has bullied a lot of people.
I think a lot of people are enjoying seeing him play the role of the bully who's being bullied by stronger forces and groveling a little bit, whereas Boortz hadn't made that many enemies.
ZAHN: Do you see that as the motivation behind this, Jerry?
JERRY KLEIN, TALK RADIO HOST, WMAL RADIO, WASHINGTON, D.C.: I don't see this as a free speech issue at all. I think there is a clear difference between being obnoxiously offensive and being controversial and prompting discussion, which is what the role of a talk show host is in the first place.
ZAHN: So, how do you draw that line, Michael? What can you do? What can't you do?
HARRISON: There is no line.
ZAHN: And the public continues to buy it, don't they?
HARRISON: Well, there is no line.
ZAHN: And corporate America continues to sell it.
HARRISON: Talk radio is a combination of entertainment, journalism, editorial opinion, provocation. It's just a very unusual hybrid. And the rest of the media isn't far behind.
The same companies that built Imus and put him out there and have endorsed him are now punishing him and making the whole controversy over him news, which is also getting ratings and selling products.
And it's amazing.
ZAHN: But Jerry, what about that? Jerry, if you couldn't get a rating with this kind of trash talk, would the talk go away?
KLEIN: This is a sham. Look, Don Imus needs to be fired. If CBS Radio and NBC and MSNBC were serious about disciplining him, as they should have a very long time ago, he would have been off the air today -- not suspended beginning next Monday.
And that -- a two-week suspension for Don Imus is a vacation. It's coming in the beginning of a ratings period, a critical ratings period for radio.
I am more than a little bit suspicious about why he's on the air this week.
I've heard the stories about that he's got a fund-raiser, a charity event to do. But that's baloney.
If you want to discipline somebody, if you are serious about reining in -- and I disagree slightly with Michael, that I believe there is a line that you can't cross in talk radio -- but if you're serious about it, you've got to do something significant. He has to feel pain.
This is about personal accountability and responsibility for what you do on the public airwaves.
ZAHN: All right.
Michael, I want to close with a -- I'm going to put the full statement from the Women's Media Center up on the screen, but I'm only going to read part of it.
And basically talking about how radio is so egregious, "a medium that holds staggering statistics: 85 to 90 percent male management, and decisively male domination on the air. A lot of 'atta boy' winking has been going on in this particular locker room for too long."
Is it time to make an example what far too many men have been doing on the radio for years to women, humiliating them and degrading them?
I don't know about your wife or your daughters and how they feel when they hear some of this stuff, but it makes me sick.
HARRISON: Well, again, that might be a segment of radio. There's also a lot of female-oriented radio. There's music radio.
So, there's a lot more to radio than just the segment that's being discussed tonight. So, out of fairness to the entire radio industry, it's not accurate to paint those statistics for all of radio by a narrow segment that happens to fit that particular definition.
ZAHN: Of course, there is that small part of it that engenders so many firestorms, particularly when it comes to gender. You've got to admit that, Michael.
But we all live there. We'll bring you back for another discussion, another time. Jerry Klein, you as well. Thank you for joining us.
And one of the most important people in America's Muslim community is a woman. She's one of the people you should know. You're going to meet her next.
And then coming up at the top of the hour on LARRY KING LIVE, Howard K. Stern's sister on today's announcement that her brother is not the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby. Hope you could follow that one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ZAHN: In tonight's "People You Should Know" segment, you're going to meet a remarkable woman who has become one of the most powerful Muslim leaders in North America. But she's very different than what you might expect.
Randi Kaye has her story.
(BEGIN VIDEO)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Dr. Ingrid Mattson became president of the Islamic Society of North America, she was reminded how little most Americans know about Muslims.
DR. INGRID MATTSON, PRESIDENT, ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA: The most hate mail I got was from white supremacists, who felt that somehow by being a Muslim, I had abandoned, you know, the white community.
And I found that very disturbing and telling about the extent to which Islam as a religion is considered to be a racial category in America.
KAYE: Mattson grew up Catholic. But in college she was drawn to Islam, attracted by the Muslim way of life.
She is now one of a growing number of converts in the United States.
As one of the most influential Muslims in America, Mattson says she hopes to dispel some of the myths and misconceptions about Muslims.
MATTSON: The perception of who we are and what we believe is heavily influenced by international events. We face this suspicion and this fear that somehow we represent a foreign threat.
KAYE: With an estimated seven million Muslims in this country, Mattson says it's time Americans start to recognize the importance of the Muslim community.
MATTSON: We are the best asset for America in understanding what is going on in the Muslim world. And so, we need to be treated as that and welcomed as equal partners in this struggle for a peaceful and civil world.
KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN.
(END VIDEO)
ZAHN: Coming up, we change our focus. Your thoughts on tonight's text poll. We'll have that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAHN: The results are in. Two-thirds of you think politicians should avoid going on Imus. That's it for tonight. Have a good night.
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