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CNN Saturday Morning News
D.C. and Maryland Police Searching For Suspect in Incendiary Package Incidents; Major Medical Publications Call Study That Linked Autism and Vaccines 'Elaborate Fraud'; New Technologies On Display at CES in Vegas; Scott Sisters Freed from Prison; Trump Considers White House Run; The Road to the Royal Wedding; Big Legal Cases of 2011; This Week's Big Sports Moments; From Wall Street to Main Street
Aired January 08, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
An intense search for a suspect is underway in the nation's capital after an incendiary package is found at a Washington post office. It was addressed to the Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano. Could it be linked to devices sent to Maryland's governor? We have the latest on the investigation.
We are also tracking a developing story that puts WikiLeaks, Julian Assange and Twitter at the center of a Federal court order. What it means for the controversial site and the rights of anyone who uses social media coming up.
Those androids, iPads, billboard size flat screen TVs, they are so 2010. We are going to show you the next generation of electronics including some surprisingly affordable new gadgets. It's early and we are on it.
From CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is January 8th. Good morning everyone. I'm Randi Kaye in this morning for T.J. Holmes.
First, postal facilities in and around our nation's capital are on alert this morning after an envelope addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano ignited at a postal sorting facility Friday afternoon. It comes on the heels of two packages delivered Thursday in Maryland that injured two state employees.
CNN's homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve with the latest.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Randi, the device was found at this postal sorting facility in northeast Washington addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Nobody was injured. Authorities say it ignited when a postal worker through it into a bin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF CATHY L. LANIER, D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE: The package had been described as popping, smoking and with a brief flash of fire and then it went out and extinguished itself. (END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: The device looked and acted like two devices found Thursday in Maryland, one addressed to the governor, the other to the secretary of transportation. All three devices described as a white box about the size and shape of a box that would hold a VHS tape. Now authorities aren't saying if the device found here in Washington contained a note, but the two devices found in Maryland did. It read report suspicious activity total expletive. You have created a self- fulfilling prophesy. It was signed with either an X or a Roman numeral 10. The superintendent of the Maryland state police said there are no suspects and no claims of responsibility.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. TERRENCE B. SHERIDAN, MARYLAND STATE POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: We've got to make sure we go after this person and get them off the street and get them behind bars because these kind of things are very, very dangerous. We just don't know where this person is going with it. We don't know what they're thinking about now. But we are very concerned about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: The postal service will be trying to determine where these packages were mailed. Meanwhile, investigators have a lot of forensic material to work with because these packages did not incinerate. They will be analyzed at the FBI lab in Quantico. Meanwhile, authorities are on the lookout for any additional suspicious packages.
Randi, back to you.
KAYE: Thank you, Jeanne.
Twitter is being ordered to hand over information involving WikiLeaks and founder Julian Assange. That's according to documents posted online by Salon.com and CNet. The Justice Department wants subscriber names, screen names, even their addresses. It's all part of the investigation into the leak of thousands of sensitive government cable and documents and the involvement of Private Bradley Manning. Manning you may recall is accused of giving the information to WikiLeaks. We'll have much more on this story throughout the morning.
It is coming up on three minutes past the hour. Time now for a check of the weather with meteorologist Reynolds Wolf.
Good to see you, again.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAYE: Here are some of the other stories we are watching this morning.
People in northeast Australia haven't seen the worst of the flooding yet. Some areas could see two more months of rain. Massive flooding from swollen rivers has already covered an area bigger than the state of Texas, washing away homes and roads. One government official says it could take years to repair the 20,000 miles of roads already underwater.
New York police are looking for this man as a possible suspect in the killing of a Portuguese tourist in a Manhattan hotel. He's also believed to be a Portuguese tourist. Police say a 65-year-old man was beaten to death at the Intercontinental Hotel. We'll bring you more details on this story of course as we get them.
There is new information in the investigation of a former Pentagon official's death last week. The manager of a taxi company says John Wheeler called for a cab to take him from Wilmington, Delaware to Philadelphia on the night he died, but he disappeared before the cab arrived. You're looking at Wheeler in this surveillance video. His body was later found at a Delaware landfill. Police are still looking for suspects and of course still trying to figure out where Wheeler was killed.
It was a tearful reunion overnight in Florida for a pair of sisters who walked out of the Mississippi prison on Friday. CNN the only network there for that reunion. The Scott sisters were released after 16 years on the condition that Gladys Scott donates a kidney to her ailing sister Jamie. Otherwise, they would have waited until 2014 for their first chance at parole. They spoke just hours ago to our Soledad O'Brien.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE SCOTT, SPENT 18 YRS IN PRISON FOR ARMED ROBBERY: At one point, I knew that I wouldn't make it to 2014. I thought I was really going to die because it seemed like my body was just going down and my spirit was going down with it.
GLADYS SCOTT, SPENT 18 YRS IN PRISON FOR ARMED ROBBERY: We going to fight this. I said your grandson needs you. She told me, she said you going to give me your kidney? I said yes we both going to have one kidney walking out of prison.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And this is video of them leaving prison in Mississippi. They drove to Pensacola, Florida for the reunion with their mother and their own children.
Good news on the job front. The unemployment rate has dropped from 9.8 percent to 9.4. To put this in perspective, the 9.4 number is the lowest we've seen since May of 2009 and the biggest one month drop in the unemployment rate in more than a decade.
But there's two sides, of course, to the story. The drop is partially due to the addition of 103,000 jobs. But it's also because of the 260,000 people falling of the roles. That means they have given up hope and are no longer actively looking for work. Finally, most people go to the mall to shop, right, not to get married. But that's just what one Boston couple did, flash mob style. At the right time, people just started popping out of the crowd, singing and dancing, all for their ceremony. The couple says it was nerve-racking to arrange, but everything that they hoped for.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON KLEIMAN, GROOM: It came to us at the dinner table. Karen is a dancer and I'm a musician and so this was also a way of us fusing our loves.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So how long did it take to plan?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: It is show and tell this morning as well. We'll head to Las Vegas to show you the latest and greatest tech gadgets to hit the market.
Plus, a little Elvis Presley music this morning for you on what would have been his 76th birthday. We'll tell you how some are remembering the king.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: It is 11 minutes past the hour. So glad to have you with us this morning. Time to head across the country.
That is Edison Pena. He serenaded me with an Elvis song when I interviewed him a few weeks ago. Pena led Elvis sing-a-longs during the 69 days he was trapped in that mine with the 32 other miners. Edison Pena got a personal tour of Elvis' home, Graceland in Memphis yesterday. He calls the visit a trip of a lifetime, adding in his words, being able to see it myself, I feel in the clouds.
A close call in Splendora (ph), Texas. A father and his year-old daughter are recovering after a traffic accident. Their pickup hit a hog and burst into flames when it spun into a tree. Police say a man who witnessed the accident, Tom Porter (ph), ran to the pickup, cut the child out of her car seat. Dad and his little girl were not seriously hurt.
And check out this video from Fairfield, Connecticut. Kind of unusual to find an electric wheelchair rolling down the interstate wouldn't you say? Police did not issue the elderly driver a ticket but pointed out it is illegal to travel on the highway in an electric wheelchair or scooter.
Autism and childhood vaccines, a contentious report claims the two may not be related after all but the debate continues. Before you decide, one mother wants you to hear her story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: A landmark medical report on autism is again being called into question this week. "The British Medical Journal" is now calling Dr. Andrew Wakefield's 1998 study a quote, elaborate fraud, saying he intentionally misled the medical community and more importantly, parents.
Wakefield defended himself during an interview with our Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANDREW WAKEFIELD, AUTHORED AUTISM STUDY: The claims to whether the vaccine caused their children harm or not came from the parents, not me. I didn't have a preconceived notion about this at all. I hadn't heard of autism since medical school. This was a clinical examination of children on the merits of their clinical problems by the best people in the world, best clinical experts in pediatric gastroenterology in the world and they came to the diagnosis, not me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: We should explain that most of the other authors listed in that study have since taken their names off the report. The British journal "The Lancet" retracted the study, saying the science was flawed. But now, we have gone from just flawed to claims of outright fraud.
All this hasn't ended the debate. Some parents are steadfast in their belief in the link between vaccines and autism. Our Matthew Chance has one mother's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's already teenager, but with a severe form of autism, Robert Fletcher still has the mental age of a small child, can't walk or speak or feed himself, not since his mother says she took him for a routine vaccination as a baby for measles, mumps and rubella.
JACKIE FLETCHER, MOTHER: I'm wholly convinced and have been convinced from the very beginning because the reaction he had 10 days after the vaccine was given was such a major reaction.
Here he is at about six months.
CHANCE: Robert was just 14 months when he got the MMR shot. His mother told me he was a bright, curious baby, learning to stand, even mouth his first words. Then he started having fits and the spark in his eyes she says faded.
(on camera): Even though you know that there's a body of scientific evidence that that link between MMR and autism, doctors, scientists around the world say that that's not true. You still cling on to this idea. FLETCHER: The Department of Health keeps saying that it's not been caused by vaccines, that vaccines don't cause any harm. But you only need to look at the drug companies own vaccine damage product sheets, in there, they list the adverse reactions that they know are associated with the products (INAUDIBLE)
CHANCE (voice-over): Her belief and that of thousands of other distressed parents is that those adverse reactions aren't quite as rare as made out.
(on-camera): The fact is, this idea that autism and other conditions in people like Robert can be explained by a vaccine has sunk deep into the popular imagination. Despite no evidence of a linkage and the debunking of earlier research, many parents are still not giving children the vaccinations they need for fear of what might happen.
In Britain, that fear has seen a plunge in MMR vaccination rates. An action group set up by Jackie Fletcher in 1994, years before the now discredited Wakefield study was published still advises parents not to give their kids the shot.
Doctors say that exposes children to potentially fatal diseases and is irresponsible.
FLETCHER: I think it's irresponsible of the Department of Health faxing policymakers not to provide a full range of choice (INAUDIBLE).
CHANCE: Though proven wrong, even fraudulent by experts, for many parents the MMR autism link endures. Perhaps the comfort of an explanation for their child's illness even from flawed science is difficult to let go.
Matthew Chance, CNN, in Warrington, northern England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: The newest tech gadgets on display this weekend in Las Vegas. We'll get a sneak peak. Plus, we'll go over some of the big names who could have a significant impact on the race for the White House in 2012.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
A new tablet some people are calling the iPad killer. A camera that lets you shoot in 3-D and a laptop you can watch in 3-D on the go. That is just some of the really cool stuff on display this weekend at the annual Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas.
Our digital lifestyle expert, Mario Armstrong is joining us from there. Good to see you, Mario.
MARIO ARMSTRONG, DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: Hey, Randi.
KAYE: I'll bet you're having fun there.
ARMSTRONG: Early morning to you.
KAYE: You too. Let's start with this Motorola zoom being dubbed as an iPad killer. That's a lot to live up to.
ARMSTRONG: It is a lot to live up to in terms of the expectation. But let me tell you, it is absolutely living up to that expectation and exceeding it. It's the hottest buzz here at the consumer electronics show. Everyone is talking about it. Everyone wants to know more about it. And some of the reasons why is, number one, it has some capabilities that some of the other products have.
The biggest one probably is that right off the bat, this is made by the Google Android operating system which is running the newest version of that operating system called Honeycomb and that's a big deal because it's designed specifically for this form factor. And that's going to play out in how you actually use it and the applications that you can use with it.
It also has a dual core processer. It's a 10.1 inch screen, very light in the hand, very, very solid competitor in the tablet category, no questions asked, 720 HD display, looks beautiful, feels great and it's got a lot, a lot of buzz and it's going to have fast speed because you'll not only be able to connect to the 3-G network, but you can also easily upgrade to the 4-G network through Verizon.
KAYE: So anyone who got an iPad for Christmas is cringing right now. I know you have a couple of other things for us.
ARMSTRONG: Yes. Absolutely we do.
KAYE: One that shoots in 3-D and the other to play in 3-D. So walk us through those.
ARMSTRONG: That's right. So we have two different cameras here, both made by Sony, 3-D was a big push last year and continues to be a push this year. So what you have in this hand is the VSC-WX9 (ph). This is a digital still camera that can also shoot video and it can take pictures in 3-D, looks beautiful.
But here is one of the things that really caught my attention. I like video. I think families are going to love this because it's very small. This is a digital video camcorder Randi. You can shoot birthday parties, graduations, celebrations in 3-D and then you can actually look at the screen without glasses, without 3-D glasses to see what you just shot in 3-D.
KAYE: That is very cool.
ARMSTRONG: Yes, very cool.
KAYE: Not everybody is walking around with 3-D glasses. So you have one more thing for us, something actually for the older consumers, something about a health monitor. ARMSTRONG: Yes. Yes. Yes, a health monitor. This is made by Sonomba (ph) and this one's getting a lot of buzz at the show. Mobile health in fact is getting a lot of buzz at the show. It's a whole category, a whole tech zone. This particular product enables you to track and follow, has sensors that follow seniors or grandparents or those you want to be alerted to if they move out of a certain zone or a certain area. It has games. You can also have communication, a web portal.
But the key is, you can have your iPhone and be sent alerts from this system right to your iPhone. So this is great for those distant family members that may want to still be able to connect to you, but maybe they can't afford around the clock service or maybe they can't afford to have you in a nursing home. We're seeing more mobile health products like that, being able to accommodate those type of problems.
KAYE: That's really amazing. So in other words, if there isn't a lot of activity around that monitor, then the family will be alerted and be able to maybe go check on their older relative.
ARMSTRONG: That's right, even medication reminders, medication alerts. So I'm just touching the surface of it. But it really is a well thought out personal help type of system that can help you help your family better manage your health care.
KAYE: All right, Mario, go get busy because I know you're going to be coming back in our 10:00 hour to show us some other cool gadgets. We'll find those (ph). One is a product that actually lets you upgrade your TV into an Internet TV. So we'll check that out with you in our 10:00 hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Just about 30 minutes past the hour. Welcome back everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Thanks for starting your day with us.
Checking top stories now.
Post offices in and around the nation's capital on alert this morning all because an envelope addressed to Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, ignited at the postal sorting facility Friday afternoon. That incident comes on the heels of a similar one. Two packages delivered Thursday in Maryland ignited and injured two state employees there.
Twitter is being ordered to hand over information involving WikiLeaks and founder Julian Assange according to documents posted online by Salon.com and Phoenix.
The order is for things like subscriber names, screen names and addresses. It's part of the investigation into the leak of thousands of sensitive government cables and documents and the involvement of Private Bradley Manning. Manning is accused of leaking the information to WikiLeaks.
After 16 years behind bars, two sisters who were serving life sentences in prison are waking up free women today. Friday, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour suspended the sentences of Gladys and Jamie Scott on the condition that Gladys donate a kidney to her gravely ill sister. Both women spoke exclusively with Soledad O'Brien.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): So how does it feel to be free?
GLADYS SCOTT, RELEASED FROM LIFE SENTENCE: Oh it's very -- because I don't have to worry about a wake-up call, nobody -- I have to go (INAUDIBLE) I have to go the bathroom. Oh it just feels great.
O'BRIEN: How are you feeling? You look tired.
JAMIE SCOTT, RELEASED FROM LIFE SENTENCE: I am tired. But I feel -- I feel great. You know, it -- like I say it's -- it's just a -- a dream come true. You know how you dream for so long. And then when it finally comes, you -- you -- you're scared to wake up because you scared it's not real. And it's -- it is wonderful.
O'BRIEN: When did you first get sick?
G. SCOTT: Well, they told me January of 2009.
O'BRIEN: So you thought you might die in prison?
J. SCOTT: Yes, yes. I thought I was going to die in prison.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And you can see much more of that remarkable interview in our 10:00 hour.
Time now to take a look at the hot topics crossing the CNN Political Ticker, that includes news on some big names who could have a significant impact on the race for the White House in 2012.
Here is CNN's deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, good morning, Randi. Let's talk about the next race for the White House. And here's a name everybody knows, Donald Trump.
Well, for a while he's been flirting with possibly running for the Republican presidential nomination. Now he says he's seriously thinking about it. And he's seriously talking to friends; they are talking to him.
Take a listen to what he told our John King on "JKUSA."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT, THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Well, I am seriously considering it. I see what's going on with the country. I see how other countries are just absolutely taking advantage of us like we are whipping post. I see what OPEC is doing.
You know John, when they talk about the economy is getting better. It can't get better because every time it gets better, OPEC raises the price of oil --
(CROSSTALK)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
TRUMP: -- and they drain the blood out of the country.
So I see what's going on and I am seriously considering it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: You know, Randi, when you're running for president, one thing that really comes in handy is money and well, we know that Donald Trump has a lot of money.
How about another New Yorker who also has a lot of money? And that is the mayor there, Michael Bloomberg. Remember, he got a lot of criticism for how the city handled that big snowstorm a couple weeks back.
Well, check this out. Brand new polling indicates New Yorkers, Randi, don't think so highly of him anymore. His approval rating is 37 percent now; as you can see he used to be 50 percent back in October. Randi, that's what I've got in the CNN Political Ticker right now. Back to you.
KAYE: Thank you very much, Paul.
Arriving by car and leaving in a carriage. Kate Middleton officially becomes a princess in April, but her prince, who may someday become king, would never have gotten that chance if another monarch hadn't fallen in love.
We'll explain that in our "Morning Passport."
And some high profile court cases from last year are still playing out this year. "In Session's" Sunny Hostin is going to tell us just what's going on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Did you know, neither Prince William nor his father Prince Charles would be in line for the throne of England if not for a love story that played out in the last century?
But before we get into that, cheap knockoffs of Kate Middleton's engagement ring are hitting the market. Nadia Bilchik joining me again for the "Morning Passport".
So where can we get these?
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: In China or Brazil for about $3.
KAYE: Three bucks?
BILCHIK: Now I mean, isn't it amazing how international the story is. And this year we are going to be hearing a lot about Kate, the ring, the sapphire and diamonds the ones that are --
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: First it was the dress, now it's the ring.
BILCHIK: Exactly, now the dress -- now Danielle Issa Halayel (ph) who designs the dress; she's a Brazilian born British designer. Have you ever heard of her before that? Well, now of course she's a household name or will become officially if she designs the wedding dress.
So it'll be interesting to see who does that. But we have been talking so much about the wedding and yet just a month ago, Prince William's cousin Sarah -- Princess and son also daughter got engaged. Do you know even know who to? Exactly, because she's only 12th in line to the throne (INAUDIBLE) but I have to look that up.
So we only hear about it because it's fairly incidental --
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: It's all about Kate right now.
BILCHIK: It's all about Kate and William because he is second in line to the throne. But none of this would have happened if -- so right now we have Queen Elizabeth who is the Queen. Her father was Prince Albert. And he was only a Prince. And Edward, his brother was supposed to be king.
But Edward fell in love with a twice-divorced woman, Wallace Simpson, and he has to abdicate and that's how the current Queen's father, Albert, known as Bertie, became King George VI.
KAYE: Nadia, you have done your royal research. I am impressed.
BILCHIK: My royal research but this is what Edward said. When he fell in love with Wallace Simpson I mean, he knew twice-divorced it meant losing the throne. But he said, "After long and anxious consideration, I have determined to renounce the throne to which I succeeded on the death of my father and I am communicating that my final and irrevocable decision."
So that was an enormous choice and would you choose being the king over love. The real -- this is one of the greatest love stories of the world.
Now, there is a movie out at the moment. And Randi, a must see. It is called the "King's Speech".
KAYE: I heard it's fantastic. BILCHIK: It is fantastic.
KAYE: I haven't seen it yet.
BILCHIK: And it's based on the current Queen of England's father who was King George VI. Here it is, let's take a look at Collin Firth and Geoffrey Rush in the "King's Speech".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You do have a (INAUDIBLE) tummy and we need to spend some time strengthening your diaphragm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Simple mechanics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jack and Jill went up the Hill --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Went up the hill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BILCHIK: You see, Prince Albert who became the king had this terrible speech impediment. But he never thought he was going to become king. When he hears he's going to become king, he thinks I better get some speech lessons.
KAYE: Oh yes.
BILCHIK: And it is a beautiful film and tells the story that impacts our lives right now. Because --
KAYE: And so timely.
BILCHIK: Isn't it so timely, "The King's Speech". So do go and see it. Because that is actually is superb. Geoffrey Rush is amazing, Collin Firth as -- and looking at Queen Elizabeth as a child, they've got this adorable girl playing Queen Elizabeth. So Kate Middleton would not be a household name if it wasn't for King -- well, Prince Edward marrying Wallace Simpson.
KAYE: It goes all the way back.
BILCHIK: Seventy-five years ago. If you think Elvis is 76 today and this happened 75 years ago, we are being impacted and we're still listening to Elvis music.
KAYE: All right, before I let you go I want to see this. Did you get one of those cheap knock off ring?
BILCHIK: You know I have been looking. I do want you to know if I find a really good one, I will. If we do it for $3, it will be my gift to you.
KAYE: All right, how sweet of you. Thank you, Nadia. Well, bullying and e-mail hacking, big headlines and even bigger criminal trials. We preview some high profile cases coming your way next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Some of last year's biggest headlines could become a few of this year's highest profile criminal trials.
Here are just a couple. There's the home invasion targeting the Petit family in Connecticut. This video shows Dr. William Petit whose wife and two daughters were murdered in 2007. A second goes on trial next month.
Another is the Amanda Knox case. She was convicted in Italy for the 2007 murder of roommate Meredith Kercher. She was successful in getting a hearing for an appeal.
Plus one of the most high profile teenage bullying cases to date: 15-year-old, Phoebe Prince committed suicide and six teenagers go on trial for rape, civil rights violations and harassment related to her death.
And if you've ever been tempted to read someone's e-mail, one of the most eye-opening cases involves this man. If convicted Leon Walker could face up to five years in prison for reading his wife's e- mail. Walker faces charges under Michigan's anti-hacking law.
Joining us to talk about these cases and so much more, Sunny Hostin from "In Session" on our sister network, truTV.
Sunny, great to see you.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: It's good to see you.
KAYE: You and I are very familiar with this case, Joshua Komisarjevsky. This is the case of the Petit family murders, the home invasion. He is the second defendant now to stand trial in that brutal home invasion in Connecticut three years ago.
You covered the trial of Steven Hayes. I actually covered the crime when it happened. This is the case that is going to get a lot of attention probably just because of the sheer brutality of it, right? And how random it was.
HOSTIN: Well, absolutely, I really think Randi, that it struck a chord with America, because you have this incredibly wonderful family that was decimated by what people are just calling true evil in their own home. A home invasion is something that I think strikes at the heart of -- of -- of the sanctity of our homes.
And that's why it really -- I think it's going to get a lot of attention. Komisarjevsky however, was allegedly the master mind behind this home invasion. Steven Hayes, who was the co-conspirator was convicted, was given the death penalty. And now, it's Komisarjevsky's time at trial. And -- and I believe that Dr. Petit his entire extended family will be there every single day of the trial as they were at Steven Hayes' trial. And so yes, one of the large -- one of the biggest cases of 2011 will be this case.
KAYE: And how much do you think the diary that Komisarjevsky has written in prison will actually play in court? Because in that, he actually admitted to the murders, even described how his victims handled their deaths with grace. I mean, it was very disturbing stuff, as you know.
HOSTIN: It was disturbing. Very creepy, I think it will be a significant part of his trial. It was a part of Steven Hayes trial. They did read excerpts of that diary in the Hayes trial. And so there's no question, Randi, that this will be front and center in Komisarjevsky's trial in February.
KAYE: Let's talk about Amanda Knox. A judge just agreed to hear her appeal and ordered an independent review of the evidence. How big a deal is this that the judge is now going to take another look at the case and has ordered new DNA tests on the physical evidence linking her to the 2007 murder of her roommate?
HOSTIN: This is a big, big victory for the Amanda Knox defense team. They have all along Randi, contended that the DNA evidence in here was shoddy, that the collection was shoddy that the analysis we're shoddy and that the results were unreliable.
Now, a court has determined that the University of Rome will review that DNA evidence from the beginning, just a completely new review and that was the evidence that tied her to this heinous crime. And so in terms of a victory, this was as big as it could get for this defense team.
KAYE: So if it turns out her DNA wasn't on the handle of that knife, is that enough to overturn her conviction. Is it that simple?
HOSTIN: I think it very well could be because the international community really has come out in full force to indicate that the DNA testing for the Amanda Knox trial didn't even meet the minimal standards of DNA collection and analysis internationally. And so, you know, Italy has been embarrassed, I think, by this case. And certainly if the DNA results are sort of thrown out, then absolutely, I think we could see Amanda Knox free and back in the United States.
KAYE: And lots of folks still talking about the case of Phoebe Prince. She was the Massachusetts teenager who was allegedly driven to suicide by some other teenagers who are now standing trial; one of the most well-known cases. How much do you think this case will set the tone for bullying cases around the country?
HOSTIN: Well, I think this is going to set the tone, actually Randi. I mean this, again, is a woman, a girl who was bullied to death. At least that's the allegation here. Six teens charged with various things: civil rights violations; three were charged as juveniles, three as adults. But this really, this case in particular, sort of shone the light and exposed this bullying epidemic that we are seeing in schools.
And so if they are convicted, I think we'll see legislation coming out. We've seen a lot of anti-bullying laws coming out and so 2011 will be the year, in my view, that bullying will be front and center stage as a crime as opposed to just sort of this schoolyard thing that we have seen in the past.
KAYE: And anyone who reads e-mail, this case has their attention. Leon Walker accused of reading his wife's e-mails, now his ex-wife and actually hacking into them. Is this really a case of hacking?
HOSTIN: This is astounding. It's sort of -- in my view when I read it, it's the case of the snooping spouse. I mean how many spouses -- not me myself -- but how many spouses have snooped in their spouses e-mail?
This gentleman did that and he's been charged under sort of an archaic statute, a 1979 statute in Michigan that I think was really targeted for identity theft, sort of credit card fraud, hacking.
But the prosecutor thinks it has a pretty strong case. The prosecutor has been quoted as saying, you know, I have a good case. I'm going forward. He was hacking.
I will say that there's been just such a pushback from the legal community, Randi. I don't know that any jury is going to convict this man and send him to prison for five years.
KAYE: Yes, I mean --
HOSTIN: This is a case to watch though.
KAYE: I get the reasonable expectation of privacy, but come on. This seems crazy. Beware.
HOSTIN: It's really bad. It's really bad.
KAYE: Beware of reading anyone's e-mail.
HOSTIN: Snooping spouses. Look out.
KAYE: All right Sunny, always a pleasure. Great to see you. Have a great weekend.
HOSTIN: Great to see you, Randi. You, too.
KAYE: Win or go home. The playoffs start today in the NFL. It is wild card weekend. We'll take a look at one of the bitter rivalries.
And a homeless man born with a voice of gold; finally getting a job and the recognition he deserves. I'll tell you the latest in the Ted Williams story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: Wild card weekend starts today in the NFL's postseason with the highlight being the Indianapolis Colts going head-to-head with the New York Jets. And the city of Indianapolis is gearing up for all of it. Ray D'Alessio is here to tell us more about that.
RAY D'ALESSIO, CNN SPORTS: Randi, I worked in Indianapolis for five years before coming to CNN. Never knew how they did this. Now I know and it's pretty fascinating. Of course, anybody who's ever watched a Colts game at night, they've seen how the city lights up some of the buildings for instance. That's the downtown Indianapolis Light and Power Building.
KAYE: How cool.
D'ALESSIO: Well, back in the old days, they used to change us those lights by hand. Now, it's all done by a flip of a switch. It's computerized. They have everything going on there.
However, the New Marriott, which is set to open next month, their horseshoe consists of 21 floors, 100 rooms, there's no computer program here. There's a look at it; there's no computer program there. They actually have 21 employees --
KAYE: Oh my gosh.
D'ALESSIO: -- who go to each room, they have to open the drapes. Some of the drapes have to be opened all the way, some have to be closed half the way just to get that perfect horseshoe. Unfortunately -- and they actually have to shut power off to some of the building in order to get that horseshoe because some of the rooms have permanent lighting.
So they said once the hotel opens up next month, more than likely they won't be able to do that anymore.
KAYE: So, what is your job? You open the curtains for the horseshoe.
D'ALESSIO: I open the curtains and put the lights on. You see that little horseshoe, I did that.
KAYE: That's great.
What is this about another disqualified golfer on his birthday, no less?
D'ALESSIO: Camilo Villegas, I mean what a story -- I feel so bad for this guy.
KAYE: You have to.
D'ALESSIO: It all started on Thursday at the season opener in Hawaii. Now watch here, Villegas you see, he's trying to get the ball up on the green but starts rolling back now. Villegas, unknowingly, doesn't even think about it goes -- and you're going to see him swat away a piece of the grass. Now that is a rules violation which was not caught at the time. And I have the rule here. It's rule 23-1. It states when a ball is in motion, a loose impediment that might influence the movement of the ball must not be removed.
Well, that's exactly what he does there. Nobody caught it at the time. Nobody caught it. He finished his round, signed his score card. A golf rider and others noticed the mistake when they watched the highlights. They called the PGA. They said, hey, you know you guys didn't disqualify him for that.
Well, they in turn they looked at it. They said that's a rules violation. He was informed of it that night, came back the next day, on his birthday which was yesterday and they said, happy birthday, unfortunately you are disqualified for the tournament. The reason why is because you signed an invalid score card when he was actually given two more strokes so it was an invalid score card.
KAYE: Didn't that happen to somebody similar to that other guy -- can't remember his name -- who stepped in and he didn't know it was a sand trap? It was the PGA or something like that.
D'ALESSIO: Right. It's happened before. It's happened a number of times. Guys, you know -- it's happened a number of times before, guys, you know, signing an incorrect score card not knowing. Had they told him about this before he signed that score card, they would have added two more strokes, he would not have been disqualified.
But Dustin Johnson was the one you were talking about.
KAYE: Yes. Right, that's it.
D'ALESSIO: He stepped in the sand trap.
(CROSSTALK)
D'ALESSIO: It's an unfortunate situation. And he understood when they told him. He wasn't -- he was upset about it but he said "I understand". It's a rules violation.
KAYE: All right Ray. Thank you.
One guy, by the way, who has never been disqualified, of course, is meteorologist Reynolds Wolf. I know Reynolds you have never been disqualified on the golf course, ever, right?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Golf? The type of golf I play Randi basically has the giant orang-utan that moves its hands like that.
(CROSSTALK)
D'ALESSIO: Miniature golf, yes.
KAYE: A miniature golf course. Ray called that one.
WOLF: Exactly. That's the kind of golf I play.
D'ALESSIO: I heard he's the guy on the miniature golf course.
KAYE: Oh, he is.
D'ALESSIO: He's the putt-putt genius, aren't you?
WOLF: Exactly, in more than one way. You guys have no idea.
Hey, you guys have no idea what kind of delays we are going to be seeing around the country today. This area of low pressure we have moving to the north east is going to cause all kinds of backups. In fact, we expect plenty there.
And then as we fast forward into tomorrow's forecast, more travel woes, this time for the southeast. All along the Gulf Coast from Texas clear over to parts of Alabama. Even into Atlanta, we could see some major delays into tomorrow especially tomorrow night.
But your expected delays, let's get started with today. All of your New York Metros due to the snow could be on the ground for over an hour. In D.C., all your metros there, even into Philadelphia, same story all due to the snow.
Now out in Los Angeles, you are going to have a little bit of a backup. They really can't do much about this, a closed runway. Yes, that tends to be a little bit of a problem. So just with the overflow there, you're going to have anywhere from 15-minute to a 30-minute weight. In Salt Lake City, even in San Francisco you might be on the tarmac for an additional 30 minutes to maybe even a full hour. But it's all due to the low clouds.
So again, that's a quick snapshot of what you can expect weather- wise in terms of your delays. Expect more of them to really stack up by tomorrow. Again, tomorrow afternoon into the evening is where things could get a little bit crazy. If you are trying to go anywhere like maybe out towards Arizona to watch the BCS football game, you are leaving for Atlanta -- might be tough times. It strikes close to home.
Let's send it back to you guys.
KAYE: It sure does.
WOLF: You bet.
KAYE: All right Reynolds. Thank you.
WOLF: You bet.
KAYE: Up next, why Detroit is in the driver's seat next week with thousands of visitors showing up and millions of dollars getting pumped into that city.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: New wheels, new bank fees and a new jobs report that offers some hope for a recovering economy. Here is our round-up of business news with CNN Money's Poppy Harlow, Stephanie Elam and Alison Kosik.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Randi.
Jobs were the big focus on Wall Street this week. The latest government report showed the unemployment rate tumbled to 9.4 percent in December, down from 9.8 percent. But analysts say the unusually large drop is misleading, as many people simply gave up and stop looking for work. They weren't counted in the unemployment rate.
The economy added 103,000 jobs last month, solidifying a recovery in the labor market. Unfortunately though, Fed chief Ben Bernanke said on Friday that at this pace, it'll take five years for the job market to return to normal. He said the jobless rate will still be high in two years, probably around 8 percent.
Despite the mixed jobs report, stocks posted gains for the week. History shows that the first week sets the tone for the year - Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Alison.
Facebook could go public by 2012. The social-networking giant is now worth about $50 billion. That's triple its value from three years ago.
Bank of America is hitting its customers with new checking- account fees of $9 to $25 a month. The nation's largest bank says some of the fees can be avoided by minimum requirements. Other banks are doing the same, as recent financial regulations cut into their revenue.
And finally, IKEA is pulling the plug on incandescent light bulbs. The retailer will stop selling the bulbs in August. It comes ahead of a government mandate to phase out incandescents (ph) by 2014 because they're not energy efficient.
Poppy has a look ahead at the week in business news - Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: All right. Thanks, Steph.
Well, the North American International Auto Show kicks off on Monday in Detroit. And with the economy in recovery mode, automakers are expected to build flashy displays and roll out up to 40 new vehicles. There's talk of a new Toyota Prius, a Mercedes-Benz C Class and GM will introduce a new, smaller Buick.
Now, the focus this year is going to be on a lot of small cars, and also on U.S. automakers. Surveys from J.D. Power put the home team on top in terms of quality and owner satisfaction. This week also kicks off the fourth-quarter earnings season. Alcoa, Intel and JPMorgan Chase will all report their earnings, and expectations are pretty high. Reports on the labor market, inflation and retail sales will also be released.
Back to you, Randi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
