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CNN Saturday Morning News
Secret Service Investigation; Arizona Immigration Law Challenge; Search for Remains in Cold Case; Mel Gibson Ranting Again
Aired April 21, 2012 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. George Zimmerman speaks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, FORMER NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH OFFICER: I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: His parents plea at yesterday's bond hearing and why he might be set free as early as today. We'll have a live report.
Plus, we put the U.S. Secret Service in focus this morning, as more agents are implicated in a scandal in Colombia. Is the agency forever tarnished? And what are some of its great heroes saying?
And new leads in an old mystery. Why police are digging up a New York basement in the case of the 30-year-old disappearance of a now-famous child.
And later, comedian Bill Santiago on how to dial a star.
And what is Mel Gibson ranting about now?
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KAYE: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. It's 10 o'clock on the East Coast, 7:00 on the West. A lot to tell you about this morning, so let's get straight to the news.
George Zimmerman could get out of jail as early as today. A judge set bond for Zimmerman at $150,000 at a hearing yesterday. That means his family needs to post $15,000 to get him out while he waits for trial for the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
Zimmerman has called it self-defense. At the hearing, he took the stand and offered this apology to the teen's family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIMMERMAN: I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son. I did not know how old he was. I thought he was a little bit younger than I am. And I did not know if he was armed or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Zimmerman's attorney says he wants his client to be able to leave the state while he waits for the trial for security reasons but no decision has been made on that request.
The tally is now up to six agents who have left the Secret Service as a result of the Colombian prostitute scandal. Yesterday the agency said three more agents had, quote, "chosen to resign."
Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan has promised a complete investigation into what happened in those hotel rooms in Cartagena. The agency now says there are now 12 employees implicated in the scandal.
Earlier I spoke about the investigation with Congressman Elijah Cummings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D) MD.: I think that they are weeding out the bad apples, and I think that -- and I don't think that there are that many, by the way, but I also think that they know that they can perhaps do even better than what they've been doing.
In my conversations with the director, he's made it clear that he would leave no stone unturned, that he would look at this thing up and down. He looked at -- he's looking at every single person that had anything to do with this trip. That's why the most latest person -- and by the way, the new 12th person that they just found out about was as a result of that expanded investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Eleven members of the military are also part of this investigation.
The FBI is back at work this morning, tearing up a concrete basement in Manhattan. They're looking for evidence in the 33-year-old disappearance of Etan Patz. He was 6 years old when he disappeared on his way to school back in 1979.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM FLANNELLY, FBI: I don't want to qualify cautiously optimistic. Again, there is probable cause to believe that there is evidence at this location regarding the Etan Patz disappearance. Whenever law enforcement executes a search warrant, it's hopeful they're going to find what they're looking for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: His disappearance raised awareness for missing children to a national level. Etan Patz was one of the first to appear on a milk carton.
Family members are being flown in to identify victims of a commercial airplane crash in Pakistan. It's believed that all 127 passengers and crew have died. Helicopters hovered over the scene this morning as officials tried to find a few bodies that were still missing. It's believed that bad weather played a part in the accident.
Anti-government protests in Bahrain could disrupt a major sporting event there this weekend. Opposition activists say the government is cracking down ahead of Sunday's Formula 1 auto race. They say police killed one activist last night. The Formula 1 race was postponed twice last year because of the protests.
The L.A. County coroner said heart failure led to the death of conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart. Breitbart, who was connected controversy surrounding former Congressman Anthony Weiner and Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod had an enlarged heart as well as some heart disease. He died last month at 43.
A rare baseball card sold for what some may call a bargain price, that is if you consider $1.2 million a bargain. Take a look. Here's the card. It's a 1909 Honus Wagner card. It's the Holy Grail for baseball card collectors. Who knew?
Last year one of the cards went for $2.8 million, another went for just a little less than that in 2007. There are only about 60 of the cards left but few are in really good condition.
Some of you will get a little sunshine. Others perhaps a little bit of rain. If you're about to head out, you might want to wait because Reynolds is here with your weekend forecast. Hey, there.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi. It is going to be the turn for the eastern third of the country, where it's going to be really umbrella weather. Not so much any more in places like, say, Atlanta but right along the coast, all the way from, say, New England clear down to Florida.
There will be a chance of some scattered showers. Florida, South Florida, especially a chance of severe thunderstorms. We're going to talk about that in just a few moments.
You can see the rain all the way from New Orleans clear down to Miami, even Alligator Alley getting in on the action, and of course there's more to come as we make our way through the midday hours and into the afternoon. (Inaudible) we're talk about of course, your travel weather.
We do expect quite a few delays around the country. Not just on the East Coast but of course the West Coast, too. Always fun to have some delays out there. All right, back to you, Randi. We'll have more in a bit.
KAYE: Thank you, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
KAYE: Coming up next, we'll take you live to Colombia for the latest on the Secret Service prostitution scandal. Also ahead, massive protests and boycotts met Arizona's controversial immigration law. Well, next week, it goes to the Supreme Court. I'll talk with the former Speaker of the Arizona House, who stands by the law and says it's been derailed by ignorance.
Well, first, a very good morning to Washington, D.C. It looks like a lovely day there at the White House. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Immigration will be the focus at the Supreme Court next week. On the docket is a challenge involving Arizona's controversial immigration law. When it passed in 2010, protests immediately followed both for and against.
A district judge later put a stop to one of the most controversial provisions, the one that called on police to check the immigration status of anyone they detained and suspected to be in the country illegally. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer challenged the ruling and now it's made its way to the Supreme Court.
Kirk Adams was Arizona Speaker of the House when the bill passed.
Mr. Adams, good morning to you. First of all, what did you think --
KIRK ADAMS, FORMER ARIZONA HOUSE SPEAKER: Good morning.
KAYE: -- of the court's original ruling?
ADAMS: Well, I think the court erred. The court erred because it says Arizona does not have a right to jointly enforce federal immigration laws. The key point here in the court's ruling is whether or not federal immigration law preempts the State of Arizona from also enforcing that law, and we think that's where the court made an error and hopefully that's where the Supreme Court will fix that error.
KAYE: Now this is where you said about the provision allowing for police officers to check immigration status during, quote, "lawful conduct." I want to read it here.
"Any reasonable suspicion can be derived only through the investigation of another violation or crime. Those who are concerned that law enforcement can simply walk up to a person and say can I see your papers should keep this in mind.
"Arizona has plenty to do fighting the effects of illegal immigration. It's a shame that because of our efforts to protect our citizens and uphold federal law, we now have to fight ignorance, too."
So would you say -- I mean, are people focusing too much attention on that one provision of the law?
ADAMS: Yes. Where this got off the rails was from the very beginning when the president came out a with statement that was completely inaccurate, that a family going to get an ice cream cone could somehow be arrested. That's simply not the case. The charges of racial profiling in this bill have been proven to be completely unfounded.
In fact, the underlying bill has stronger protections against racial profiling than the underlying federal bill does. And this fallacy was revealed when the federal government in their lawsuit against Arizona did not even sue on the issue of civil rights or racial profiling. They focused their arguments strictly on the technical legal argument of whether or not federal law preempts Arizona.
And so when these charges against the state, that this would lead to racial profiling first came out, they were incorrect. And in many people's minds, they poisoned what 1070 actually does, which is simply this: when a person is arrested, an officer must make a reasonable attempt, when practical and only if there's reasonable suspicion, to check immigration status.
That's the core provision of this law that I hope will be upheld by the Supreme Court.
KAYE: The law really, though, what it wants to do is make Arizona so inhospitable to illegal immigrants that they leave, but couldn't that also have a negative impact on the state?
ADAMS: No. That's not what the intent of the law is. The intent of the law is simply to enforce existing law and to improve public safety in the state of Arizona. One-third of all the illegal entries in this country come through our state.
We have violent human smugglers and drug smugglers that are operating within the border regions of the state of Arizona. This creates a public safety problem for our citizens. What animates Arizonans about illegal immigration is nothing more than a public safety problem that we face. That is what we are concerned about.
That's -- you know, 1070 is what happens, frankly, when the federal government leaves a border state like Arizona to fend for ourselves. We're doing our best to address the public safety problems as a result of the lack of the federal government enforcing its laws and securing our border.
KAYE: But if the illegal immigrants are living there in fear, I mean, how can you say that that's not the goal of the law, to get them out of state? Why have the law to begin with?
ADAMS: Well, I don't know that illegal immigrants are living here in fear. You know --
KAYE: Well, they're fearing being stopped and they're fearing being kicked out of Arizona.
ADAMS: No. No. What we are focusing on is the criminal element, when a person is arrested, and when it's reasonable and practical and when it does not interfere in the course of another investigation, which is intended to protect victims of crime and witnesses of crime.
That is the only occasion when a police officer would have the option under this bill to ask a person's immigration status. Now, they're not -- this is not a new immigration scheme. This is not new law. This is simply enforcing existing federal law with all of the requisite protections to protect individuals' civil rights and against racial profiling.
KAYE: All right. Let me ask you this, because one of the arguments against the law is that it takes the job of immigration enforcement out of the hands of the federal government. You are now running for Congress. Would being in Washington change your mind on the federal versus the state argument?
ADAMS: No. The federal government does have the primary responsibility to enforce immigration law. States are able to supplement that and cooperate with the federal government, just like in any other area of law. This is not something new. What I would like to see, as a person running for Congress, is more federal resources on the federal border to secure our border region itself.
There's no reason why Arizona's 370-mile-long border should be left as vulnerable as it is. We simply need more federal resources. And when we do that, when we fundamentally secure that border, I think we'll see that 80 percent of this issue revolving around illegal immigration is resolved.
KAYE: Kirk Adams, nice to have you on the program this morning.
ADAMS: Thank you.
KAYE: Thank you.
ADAMS: Thank you.
KAYE: Special agents bringing disgrace on the Secret Service. We'll go in focus next with the agency's first female deputy director to talk about the culture and the dangerous work that they do. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: The sex scandal involving the president's Secret Service and the military just keeps growing. Three more agents have resigned, and a 12th agent has now been implicated. It's just the latest in the fallout over what happened inside this Colombian hotel with prostitutes.
Let's get straight to Drew Griffin, who is on the ground in Cartagena, Colombia, where all of this is happening this morning.
Drew, good morning to you. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan has ordered a comprehensive investigation, including interviews with hotel staff and these alleged escorts. And now you're getting word that the investigation is expanding to a second hotel?
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, if you thought this was going away, it's only expanding, especially down here in Colombia. I'm looking at the Hilton Hotel, which is the second hotel now involved in this, where some of the Secret Service agents apparently stayed. The Colombian authorities, just in the last couple of days, have been trying to track down all of the 21 women who were involved to get their stories.
And, Randi, that's not as hard as you might think. The women who are brought to hotels, specifically hotels that take in Western tourists, they must register at the hotel on entry. So they have their names and they're able to go out and find them, and it looks like the Colombian authorities here are looking for each and every one of them to see what their stories are.
KAYE: It's going be interesting to hear their story, Drew, because some of the Secret Service and the military members are reportedly saying that, what, they didn't realize that these were prostitutes? I mean, is that possible?
GRIFFIN: Yes. That's what has been reportedly said by some of these agents. I can tell you we went to the club involved last night. We met some of the women involved. And there's just no way. It would be impossible, unless these guys were just a bunch of hayseeds to not realize what was going on.
We went to the disco area, where they allegedly took these women for dancing and drinks, and there you are approached by many different men, offering you access to women. So it seemed inconceivable that anybody did not realize what was taking place here. I find that hard to believe, if what is reported to have been said has been said.
KAYE: And President Obama, as you know, I mean, he was briefed on the investigation yesterday, on Friday. I mean how is this playing there? How are Colombians reacting to this?
GRIFFIN: You know, it's -- I haven't talked to every single Colombian, obviously, but there is sort of a ho-hum attitude. They understand that it's a security or potential security breach that is a big deal. But sex tourism and tourists from the United States and other parts of Europe who come here for sex, it's not a big deal. It's quite open talk (inaudible).
What they are interested in is just to see how the U.S. reacts to this and how, if anybody determines that there might have been access to any of the president's information, and specifically what we're looking for is -- you know, what I'm looking for, Randi, is what was the pickup line? Was the pickup line, hey, I'm Secret Service working for Obama?
I mean, that would indicate that there was some sort of a security breach. And there are some indications at least from cab drivers and such that they -- that was what was happening.
KAYE: Yes. It would be really interesting to see what these women say and whether or not they knew that and what they were told.
Drew Griffin there in Cartagena for us this morning, Drew, thank you very much. We have been going in focus this morning on the Secret Service. Not just the scandal in Colombia. We're also taking a closer look at the job and the people behind the scenes. After all, these are the people who protect the president and are prepared to take a bullet.
One of those dedicated agents is Barbara Riggs. She was a field agent, who later became the first woman to be a deputy director.
Good morning, Barbara. Nice to have you on the show this morning. You've been out there. I mean, is this Colombia case an aberration?
FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR BARBARA RIGGS, U.S. SECRET SERVICE: Yes, it is. It is an aberration, because I spent 31 years in the Secret Service. I spent seven years under two different presidential protection division assignments, assigned at the White House.
I have conducted advances throughout the world, throughout the United States, traveled with the men and women of the Secret Service, and I have never witnessed anything like this in my career.
KAYE: These agents, as we understand it, were part of this advance team, going in before the president gets there. Can you help us understand what those responsibilities were at that time?
RIGGS: Well, I have not -- you know, I haven't -- receive no official briefings on this because I am a private citizen, but I doubt that they were part of the advance team because if they came in country only 12 hours or a day before the visit, the advance team is on ground -- on the ground long before that.
My sense is that they were probably coming in to support the security perimeters that were going to be established prior to the president arriving.
KAYE: We have heard quite a bit about the culture of the Secret Service. Now I'm sure it's changed quite a bit, especially when women started becoming agents in 1971. But can you tell us just a little bit about what it means to be an agent and to have that kind of responsibility in your hands?
RIGGS: Well, the -- I mean, the responsibility is huge. It's awesome. You're given the responsibility of developing and implementing a plan to protect the most powerful person in the world, so -- and that is our job.
Our job is to go out and design and implement a security plan, wherever it is, wherever it is in the world, the United States, Washington, D.C., so that the president can conduct business of the United States of America and to conduct foreign policy and domestic policy. And that is what our job is.
KAYE: You know, it's been said that female agents would never have gotten themselves into a mess like this with one and that there should be more female agents in the Secret Service. What do you say to that?
RIGGS: Well, no agent should be involved in a situation like this because it brings shame, not only to the agency, but it brings -- we're representing the United States of America when we're overseas. So no agent should be involved in any conduct as has been reported.
KAYE: Do you think, though, there should be more women in the agency?
RIGGS: Well, of course, being a woman, I would always love to see more women in the agency. But you know, it is a very, very tough assignment. It requires you to be away from home inordinate amounts of days and hours. It's a very physically demanding job. It's a lifestyle. It's not a job, I mean, it's not a 9-to-5 job. It's a 24- hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week job.
And there are people, men and women, who don't want to make commitment. The people who do make the commitment, the people I know in the Secret Service, have made that commitment. And they sacrifice so much every day, you know, to carry out the critical national security mission that has been given to the Secret Service.
KAYE: Barbara Riggs, it was a pleasure to speak with you. Thank you very much. I enjoyed your insight as well.
RIGGS: Thank you, Randi.
KAYE: We have focused on the Secret Service and their responsibilities in protecting the president. They also protect the first family, vice president, presidential candidates and visiting heads of state.
But there's another part of the Secret Service that you may not know about, protecting the nation's financial infrastructure by reducing losses due to counterfeit currency, financial and electronic crimes and identity theft. Since 2003, the Secret Service has been involved in around 30,000 arrests for financial crimes and have confiscated around $300 million in counterfeit currency.
FBI investigators are back to digging up a Manhattan basement. Their painstaking search for clues to a 33-year-old cold case. We'll take you live to New York City coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: A criminal in a maximum security prison is just a number once he walks behind those high walls, but to his family and kids at home, he is still Dad.
CNN Hero Carolyn LeCroy was honored in 2008 for helping kids stay connected to their incarcerated parents through video messages. And since then she's expanded her program to five more states. Actress Holly Robinson Peete was so deeply moved by LeCroy's efforts that she decided to see her work up close.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE, ACTRESS-SINGER: When I was involved with Heroes in 2008, Carolyn's Messages Project just touched my heart. When you think about the people in this world that need help, the last people on that list are the children of incarcerated parents. That, to me, is why I'm coming out here today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Approaching destination on the left.
PEETE: So what are the total number of messages delivered by the Messages Project now?
CAROLYN LECROY, 2008 CNN HERO OF THE YEAR: We're right at 9,000.
PEETE: Wow. That's a lot of children that have this opportunity.
Gate, please (ph).
So tell me about this facility.
LECROY: This is a maximum security (inaudible) pilot for California.
Good morning. How are you? I'm Carolyn.
Talk from your heart.
In 15 minutes, we're going to give you a signal.
Are we ready to roll? Here we go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, kids. I know that you're angry with me and you should be angry with me. The difficulties that you've faced over the years, that's my fault. Hold on a second.
PEETE: You can see that sadness, that guilt that they had for whatever decision they made that has impacted their children their entire lives.
LECROY: When you set these fathers down in front of that camera, they're Dad.
PEETE: I can't imagine with all the things going on in these children's lives, what this means to them.
On behalf of all of them, thank you so much.
KAYE (voice-over): And remember CNN Heroes like Carolyn are all chosen from people that you tell us about. To nominate someone who's making a difference in their community go to cnnheroes.com. Your nomination, you never know, could help them help others.
KAYE: Coming up, she says that she was bullied online, on Facebook. Now this Georgia teen's parents are suing her classmates. More on why coming up next. You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING, where news doesn't take the weekend off.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Bottom of the hour. Let's get straight to the news.
FBI investigators are back on the scene this morning digging up a basement in Lower Manhattan. They're searching for clues in a three decades old missing child case. Etan Patz was only 6-years-old when he vanished in 1979. Our national correspondent Susan Candiotti is live on the scene for us this morning.
Susan, investigators have been painstakingly searching this basement. Are they making any progress?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It seems as though they are, but it's a long, tedious job. And just to remind everyone, where I am standing is just a half a block away from where Etan Patz and his family lived when he disappeared, and his parents are still living there.
So this is a basement that is being dug up in a red brick building that is just behind me. FBI agents already brought up -- after using jackhammers, brought up chunks of concrete, brought it out, and right now they are sifting, they are raking, they are shoveling through all kinds of dirt in the basement floor, and they're looking for any differences in color and texture to see whether that soil had been moved over the years.
They tell me that they're digging about six feet below the ground surface to see whether again there's any indication of anything unusual as they look for any evidence that the boy might have been buried there.
I'm told that if there is something there, they say they think they're going to find it -- Randi.
KAYE: And the FBI, Susan, they were led to this location by some old and new information, as they say, they've also questioned this carpenter whose workshop was at the location. Is he a suspect, and what is he saying?
CANDIOTTI: The FBI says they are not naming any suspects and, no, that man is among many people who is being questioned, a carpenter by the name of Othniel Miller. And one of the reasons that he raised suspicion is that when they recently questioned him, he made a very odd comment.
He said, what if the body was moved? Well, that, in addition to some other information they had about him as well as bringing in a cadaver dog that made a positive hit, that's what in part led them to get the search warrant to start this dig.
However, Mr. Miller's attorney denies that this man had anything to do with the boy's disappearance. We do know from his family and through an author that has spoken with the family that Mr. Miller has been on and off the authorities' radar for quite some time.
They've been well aware of him for long periods, and now they obviously have a renewed interest, but the lawyer says this man did nothing. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MICHAEL KARKAS, ATTORNEY FOR HANDYMAN OTHNIEL MILLER: Mr. Miller has been cooperating with this investigation for over 30 years. And he has continued to cooperate on multiple occasions. And I'm going to assist him in cooperating to fullest extent possible.
CANDIOTTI: Now, the attorney acknowledges that Mr. Miller did know this boy for a long period of time and, in fact, even Etan's parents have said that he had befriended the boy. They knew him very well. And it also turns out that he had been in the basement with Etan the day before he disappeared.
Now, there has also been another suspect who was actually named as one for years. His name is Jorge Ramos. However, he has never been charged in this case, although he was civilly sued by the family and was found responsible for his death. But he's still serving out a sentence on an unrelated child molestation case -- Randi.
KAYE: Susan Candiotti for us with the very latest. Susan, thank you very much.
I want to talk about a case of bullying now. The parents of a 14- year-old Georgia girl are suing two of their daughter's schoolmates for libel after the kids allegedly set up this fake Facebook page showing their daughter in an unflattering light.
The classmates then friend-requested the entire school and littered the page with racial slurs and obscene language. The parents say their daughter was traumatized by the ordeal.
Even though this case sounds more like cyber-bullying than libel, the family was forced to take this legal route because here in Georgia there are no criminal sanctions against cyber-bullying.
Joining me now is 14-year-old Alex Boston, along with her father Chris, and their attorney Natalie Woodward. Thank you all, really, for being here.
This is such an important case to talk about. And, Alex, I'm so thrilled that you're here. You're so brave to come and talk about it with us. Tell me about this Facebook page and how you found out about it?
ALEX BOSTON, BULLY VICTIM: My friends, they were just talking -- it was like the day of Field Day and they were just talking about it, saying, Alex, why did you say this, Alex, why did you say that? I'm like, somebody must have hacked my Facebook page. And that's how it all started.
KAYE: And when you saw the pictures, I mean, they had shown these -- really these distorted pictures of you. How did that make you feel?
A. BOSTON: It was during study hall. We were taking pictures on like apps, I forget the app name, but it was like an app. It distorted your face just for fun. And he must have kept it and used it.
KAYE: So what did you do right away? Did you tell your parents, did you tell the school?
A. BOSTON: Yes, I told my parents.
KAYE: And what did you think might happen?
A. BOSTON: I didn't think it was going go this far, but...
KAYE: And was the bullying just online, just on the Facebook page, or were you bullied at school as well?
A. BOSTON: Just online.
KAYE: Yes. And tell me what that feels like as you were 13 at the time, right?
A. BOSTON: Yes. I was in seventh grade, yes. But it just kind of made me feel bad. Like I...
KAYE: Did you want to change schools?
A. BOSTON: No, it wasn't that bad to where I wanted to change schools.
KAYE: I want to ask your dad now. Chris, what was your reaction to the Facebook page when you first saw? What somebody and these students were doing to your daughter?
CHRIS BOSTON, ALEX'S FATHER: Anger, you know, that somebody would do that. So we tried every possible route to get in touch with the kids' parents, went through the school, and found out pretty much nothing could be done. So that's when we called Natalie and said, what can we do to help?
KAYE: Before we get to that, though, you went to the police.
C. BOSTON: Yes.
KAYE: And what did they tell you?
C. BOSTON: They told us that there's nothing they can do. There's no law in Georgia that takes this into account.
KAYE: No criminal sanction, right?
C. BOSTON: Right.
KAYE: And tell me how -- I mean, you saw with your daughter coming home from school, I mean, talk to me just as a parent what it was like to see her so hurt.
C. BOSTON: It hurt to see her hurt. I mean, it's -- it's not good to see your child hurt. So we tried to support her and talk to her about it and make sure that she knew we were going to try to help her.
KAYE: Had you ever met the people who might be responsible for this?
C. BOSTON: No, no.
KAYE: No. And, Alex, who -- you don't need to name names, but were these students that you had a lot of contact with?
A. BOSTON: One of them was like my friend through 6th and almost completely 7th before this happened.
KAYE: And did they think they were just being funny or did they...
A. BOSTON: To me he said that he was just going to do it for fun, just kind of put funny stuff. It just went farther that that.
KAYE: Certainly. Natalie, I want to bring you in. Explain why they're suing for libel and not for cyber-bullying on this case?
NATALIE WOODWARD, BOSTON FAMILY ATTORNEY: There's really nothing in Georgia on the books presently that would pertain to her situation except for defamation. There are seven states that have a law on the books that would relate to out-of-school conduct of this sort. Georgia is not one of those.
And so therefore the police were not able to do anything like they would normally be able to do in a juvenile matter where there was a criminal sanction on the books.
KAYE: So everything that their -- whatever protection there is would have to come from the school, is that...
WOODWARD: The school's hands are tied also. And that's one of the problems that we have in Georgia. The school had no resource at all to even discipline the students at all because this had happened at home while they were at home. And even though it affected a schoolmate, targeted her specifically, and they admitted to it, to the school, of doing it, there was still nothing they could do to them.
KAYE: Yes, from what I understand, the photo that was taken of you, that was then put on Facebook, that was at school and then I think the student, what, got a couple of days' suspension or something.
A. BOSTON: There was like two pictures. They got two days of SS (ph) for that because of the pictures.
KAYE: Do you that's enough?
A. BOSTON: No.
KAYE: No, I didn't think so. I want to share with our viewers, because there really are only 11 states with a criminal sanction against bullying. You can take a look at them there. Since Georgia is not one of them, and as you said, you're suing for libel, how unique is this?
WOODWARD: I think it's unique in Georgia. There was a law introduced in the house -- Georgia House, HB 310 last session, it never made it out of committee. And it was called the End of Cyber-Bullying Act. And it would have untied the hands of the educators to address conduct, even if the conduct happened off-campus. It left -- lost in committee, and so it would have to be re-introduced the next session to have a chance of passage.
But as it stands today, the Facebook page is still up, it's still there. And the only persons who can take that down are the creators of it, or Facebook, and neither one of those has done it yet.
KAYE: What would you like to see, Alex, happen here?
A. BOSTON: I would just like to see it get taken down and not have a problem with it later on because now since I'm getting older, people are now starting to look at Facebook as a tool to help see if they can hire me or not.
KAYE: So you don't want that to be on your record there on Facebook.
A. BOSTON: No.
KAYE: I understand that. I think you have a few years before anyone is hiring you yet.
A. BOSTON: I know, but still.
KAYE: But I understand. I understand.
And, Chris, what would be it for you?
C. BOSTON: I just want the kids to acknowledge they did it, their parents to be aware, Facebook to take it down. And hopefully we can get some laws in Georgia passed to help protect other kids in the future.
KAYE: And, Natalie, do you think this is a winnable case?
WOODWARD: I do. I do. I think that she has a slam-dunk case. That this defamed her character. It was done on purpose. And none of the statements are true.
KAYE: And, Alex, I'm just curious, you know this happens to a lot of kids. A lot of kids are bullied, been going on forever. What's your advice? I mean, you seem to have handled it so well at such a young age. What do your advise other kids?
A. BOSTON: It's just family support has been keeping me going by -- encouraged me to go on without kind of thinking, going back and thinking about it.
KAYE: Because it's what's in here, right? It's not what these other kids are saying about you.
A. BOSTON: Yes.
KAYE: You know that.
A. BOSTON: Yes.
KAYE: Well, you're a very brave beautiful young girl and I'm so happy you came on to talk about this, because we do need to get this some attention. So thank you.
A. BOSTON: You're welcome.
KAYE: And thank you to all of you.
WOODWARD: Thank you.
C. BOSTON: Thank you.
KAYE: And, of course, we should mention, we reached out to Alex's school, we haven't heard anything back. I'm sure you have a lot of thoughts on this, as I do as well, so if you'd like to sound off on this story or any stories about bullying, you can tweet me now or any time. Use the hashtag #bullyingstopshere, and you can find me on Twitter @RandiKayeCNN. Thank you.
Coming up, bittersweet video of the Space Shuttle Discovery making the voyage to its way to its final resting place.
And "live from New York," it's Mitt Romney? Why the candidate says he is open to hosting "Saturday Night Live."
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KAYE: The best way to protect your money and credit cards on vacation may be to think like a thief. We enlisted an expert in pickpocketing to give us some tips in this weekend's "On the Go."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER (voice-over): Pickpockets are everywhere tourists are, and Bob Arno should know. He calls himself a pickpocket artist. Arno travels the world watching pickpockets and studying their techniques.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The least thing in my mind was, like, he was going to grab my purse.
BOB ARNO, PICKPOCKETING EXPERT: Never leave sight of your bag.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: As a staged pickpocket artist, Arno says the principle is simple.
ARNO: Pickpocketing is about distraction. Get the victim to be having their guard down one way or the other.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Women's handbags are an easy target.
ARNO: Have it as high up into the armpit as possible. If you have a strap, it should go across the body.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: There are also travel wallets you can wear under your clothing and out of reach.
ARNO: They're not interesting in the cash any longer. They simply want the credit cards.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Be aware in crowds like on trains.
ARNO: It's not an issue of being paranoid. It's simply reduce the options for the thief.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Don't let the pickpockets steal the fun when you're "On the Go."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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KAYE: Welcome back, guess what? Mel Gibson is back in the news for another curse-fueled rant. Comedian and Huffington Post blogger Bill Santiago joining me now to talk about this and so much more.
Good morning to you, Bill.
BILL SANTIAGO, BLOGGER, THE HUFFINGTON POST: So much more. Good morning. How's your Saturday going?
KAYE: It's going well, very well. All right. So let's take a listen to what sounds a lot like Mel Gibson yelling at a screenwriter, and then we'll talk about it.
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MEL GIBSON, ACTOR/DIRECTOR: I go to work, you're getting paid, I'm not! (expletive deleted)! I am earning money for a filthy little (expletive deleted) who takes advantage of me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: As you can tell, there were just bits of that that we could air because it was so crazy. I mean, Bill, what do you make of that?
SANTIAGO: Well, I mean, he was due, right? It's cyclical with Mel Gibson. Every once in a while he blows up, we hear about it. In this case, it was his own friend and collaborator, Joe Eszterhas, who turned him in, taping him secretly. When your own friends are taping you and provoking into an outburst, you have to question your situation in life.
I wish Jodie Foster would just stop enabling the guy, stop telling him he's so great, and get him some help. You know, he has got this antisemitic, homophobic Tourette's syndrome, and (INAUDIBLE) blows up for no reason whatsoever. It's a problem, and I don't know why we're even talking about it. It's his problem.
He has got to take care of it. There's nothing we can do to help.
KAYE: No, apparently not. Not anyone can do to help at this point. All right. I want to ask you about this...
SANTIAGO: Did you hear them? I mean, they sounded -- did you hear them now? They sound like two drunken pirates out in Costa Rica where this was taped. And I can't believe that that's the quality of the stuff that becomes like global news. I mean, we're not the only ones talking about it. These guys can do anything and it blows up into the news cycle. It's amazing to me.
KAYE: Oh boy, I like that, the drunken pirates. Very funny. OK. We've got to talk about something else though. Have you heard of these new -- these services, there are "Dial-A-Star" services where you can pay by the minute and you can chat with so-called celebs: Lindsay Lohan's parents, I don't know...
SANTIAGO: Yes, so-called.
KAYE: Yes, so-called.
SANTIAGO: So-called stars.
KAYE: Yes, would you ever call one of these?
SANTIAGO: Would I call one? I mean, who wants to speak -- do you have any idea how much the cost? First of all, there's an initiation charge to join the service, right, that's a connection charge. And then there's like anywhere from $18 to $50 a minute to the Octomom and find out how many wipes she goes through in a day? I don't even understand how they use the word "stars."
It's a complete misnomer. They're not even D-listers. The people on this site don't even rank alphabetization. I mean, they're people you've never heard of. If you've been convicted of shoplifting or identity theft, this is where you end up. I mean, there are some stars on it but only after an epic fail.
KAYE: Yes, I saw it was 25 bucks to talk to Lindsay Lohan's parents, 25 bucks a minute.
SANTIAGO: Well, actually, there's a difference. I think her mom is $25. Her dad is like $18. There's a discrepancy. Somehow there's a difference in the value of talking to the mom or the dad. Who's paying to talk to these people? I mean, unless they're charging Lindsay herself to speak to her parents, unless they're that estranged, I don't understand who the service...
KAYE: Yes, and what do you talk about?
SANTIAGO: Although I hear Keith Olbermann has now signed on after he got fired and you can call him and find out from his own lips why he got canned again.
KAYE: Oh, boy. All right, Bill, thank you very much for the laugh. My cheeks hurt, I was laughing so hard there. So thank you.
SANTIAGO: All right.
KAYE: We'll see you next weekend.
SANTIAGO: We'll do it again.
KAYE: We'll do it again.
SANTIAGO: Bye-bye.
KAYE: Bye.
All right. Still ahead, well, you've probably never seen this before. A painting penguin. That plus some of the week's other best videos. You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING, where news doesn't take the weekend off.
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KAYE: It time to check out some of this week's stories that really caught our eye. Check out this one. It's McKenna, an African penguin in Idaho, of all places. Apparently she enjoys a morning swim, long walks through the zoo, and of course painting. You see it there. She's making art this week to raise money for the Idaho Zoological Society. Pretty cute stuff.
A little bit of a bittersweet story here. The retired Space Shuttle Discovery took off Tuesday morning for its final flight but not to space. Discovery piggybacked on a special Boeing 747 to fly from Kennedy Space Center to Virginia. What a sight, isn't that?
For its final good-bye, it did a flyover the space center and the surrounding area drawing a whole lot of people outside to watch. The shuttle will be on display at the Smithsonian. And if you're a history buff, well, it first took off in 1984. It has travelled more than 148 million miles, flew 39 missions, more than any other vehicle in the fleet. That is impressive.
KAYE: Fate and a bouncing truck? Give this little piggy a second chance at life. You won't believe how she escaped slaughter. That story two minutes away.
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KAYE: It's time to check out some of the stories making news around the nation. First to Portland, Oregon.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three, four, five, so one, two, three, four, five, six...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: That's clearly not the beehive but the rear window of a Lexus SUV. For some reason that swarm of honeybees decided that was the perfect place to nest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JENNA COOPER-GROSS, CAR OWNER: I went to pick up my daughter from school and didn't realize they were there and then when we got back out, there they were.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Lucky for those bees, the driver plans to leave them alone until they're ready to move out.
And speaking of luck, this is definitely one lucky little piggy in Iowa. This little pig was headed for the slaughter house but on the way bounced off the truck. She survived the fall, a local animal rescue league is now helping her heal from a broken leg. A little water therapy I guess does the trick. And oh by the way, they named her Olivia after Olivia the feisty pig from the children's books and the Nickelodeon show. This Olivia is now getting a second shot at life.
