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CNN Saturday Morning News

Accused 9/11 Plotters in Court Today; Obama Kicks Off 2012 Campaign; Battle Over North Carolina's Amendment 1; Colombian Escort's Bombshell Revelations

Aired May 05, 2012 - 07:00   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, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. It is 7:00 on the East Coast. Thanks for waking up with us.

Let's get you caught up on the news.

Today, the man who is possibly the most notorious terrorist alive will be in court. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, dubbed KSM, has proudly admitted he masterminded the 9/11 terrorist attacks, planning the hijacking that brought down the World Trade Center towers and damage the Pentagon, taking thousands of innocent American lives.

But today, he and four other alleged terrorists plan on pleading not guilty in front of a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They all face the death penalty if convicted. But that could take years. Families of 9/11 victims want to see justice, like Chris and Christina Russell whose brother was a firefighter inside one of the towers when it collapsed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS RUSSELL, BROTHER DIED IN 9/11: It has to be the death penalty. It doesn't have to be an ugly death. You can select what you wish off the menu. But they have experts that deal with.

CHRISTINA RUSSELL, BROTHER STEPHEN RUSSELL DIED IN WTC: Life in prison drags it out and costs us government money, and it just -- it lingers in the back of your head that these people are still alive. I mean, they're not glorious, it would bring closure.

CHRIS RUSSELL: Hopefully.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Other families of 9/11 victims arrived in Cuba yesterday to see the arraignment. Objections by defense attorneys could further complicate the trial. It's taken years just to get to this point. In fact, some top military attorneys say could it turn in a legal circus. We'll, of course, keep an eye on it for you.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the enemy may be losing the war on the battlefields in Afghanistan, but he's warning troops heading off to the Middle East: don't let terrorists win the public relations war. At Fort Benning, Georgia, Panetta told soldiers that just one misstep, one embarrassing photo can put fellow troops' lives and Americans' entire standing at risk

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: These incidents concern me. And they have to concern you. They do concern our service chiefs, because a few who lack judgment, lack professionalism, lack leadership, can hurt all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Panetta's warning follows a Pentagon report detailing several embarrassing incidents in Afghanistan, including the release of a video showing marines urinating on corpses.

There has been plenty of political news this week: Newt Gingrich dropping out of the presidential race, the jobs report, and President Obama officially kicking off his reelection campaign.

CNN's political editor Paul Steinhauser is live in Columbus, Ohio, for us this morning.

Good morning, Paul.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Good morning, Randi.

KAYE: So, how important are these jobs numbers for the president's campaign, do you think?

STEINHAUSER: You can't say enough how important they are. Listen, we know that for years now, for about four years now, the economy has been the top issue on the minds of American. And what's the most important economic issue when it comes to American? Jobs, jobs, jobs.

That's why that release of that report yesterday, the unemployment level going from 8.2 percent down to 8.1 percent, but only 110,000 new jobs created which, was a lot lower than what economists have predicted. So important hovering over everything.

You know, President Obama and Republican presumptive nominee Mitt Romney both speaking about the report yesterday. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: After the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, our businesses have now created more than 4.2 million new jobs in the last 26 months. More than 1 million jobs in the last six months alone.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: So that's the good news. But there's still a lot of folks out of work, which means we have to do more.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As a matter of fact only 115,000 net new jobs were created. That was well beneath what it was expected to be. It should have been in the hundreds of thousands. The reason the rate came down because about 340,000 dropped out of the workforce.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

STEINHAUSER: And that's Romney's argument, people are giving up and not being counted in the unemployment report.

You know, Randi, for Mitt Romney, the whole idea here is to make the election a referendum on President Obama and the job he's doing, creating jobs. About six hours from now, you can see right behind me there, that's the Schottenstein Center at the Ohio State University. That's where the president is going to hold its first official reelection rally of his campaign.

And you can see right behind me on the left here, we've got the CNN Express. So, we're ready for a big day, Randi.

KAYE: I'm sure you are. But let's talk about Ohio for a minute, Paul, because the unemployment rate in Ohio is actually lower than the national average, I'm sure you had a chance to talk to voters there. I mean, who are they crediting with that?

STEINHAUSER: It's not ironic that here in Ohio and in Virginia where the president has the second rally of the day, the unemployment level is below 8.1 percent national average. So, what do people nationally think about this in Ohio?

Well, first, take a look nationally. This is a CNN/ORC poll recently, why, and you can see Americans are pretty much divided on who would do a better job, the president or Mr. Romney in moving the economy forward?

What about here in Ohio? To your question. Well, check this out, a brand new poll from Quinnipiac University, when it comes to the economy, Randi, it seems like Mitt Romney has a slight advantage over President Obama right here in this crucial battleground state -- Randi.

KAYE: All that hammering home of his business executive background I guess, maybe folks are listening.

And how many trips has the president made to Ohio now? I think I've lost track. All right, Paul.

STEINHAUSER: He's done 20 already. This will be number 21 to Ohio since he became president.

KAYE: Wow. All right. It must be a very important state. Paul, thank you very much.

STEINHAUSER: Yes.

KAYE: He fled house arrest in Chinese village for the U.S. embassy in Beijing. Now, the blind Chinese activist who appealed to President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for help is under heavy guard at a hospital in Beijing.

But his next stop might be the U.S. The Chinese government says Chen Guangcheng can apply for a travel visa.

Now to Canada, where a Canadian hang gliding instructor has been granted bail after he was charged with obstructing justice related to a fatal accident one week ago. The woman in the glider with him dropped to the ground. Investigators say the instructor may have tried to hide the key evidence about what happened by swallowing a memory card that has video of the fall. That video is now in police custody.

Visionary, trail blazer, legend, just some of the tributes pouring in for Adam Yauch, a founding member of the groundbreaking rap group the Beastie Boys who has died after a three year battle with cancer. Yauch, a self taught bassist and vocalist is survived by his wife and daughter. He was 47.

It is Kentucky Derby day, so the big question besides who might run the run for the roses is what's the weather going to look like at Churchill Downs? Of course, we turn to Reynolds who has all the answers.

Good morning, again.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, good morning. It looks like the rain was very rough yesterday. Today, it's certainly going to be kind of heavy this morning and possibly intermittent into the afternoon. I know that you want perfect weather. But it looks like it is going to damp in at least, at a minimum, very, very humid.

Right now, it's rain all through parts of the Blue Grass Region, but it will be interesting this afternoon. Temperatures are in the 80s, and a chance of those thunderstorms refiring up once again. We're going to have more on that coming up in a just few moments, Randi.

KAYE: OK, Reynolds, thank you.

And here's the run down of some stories that we're working on for you.

We're focusing on North Carolina's marriage amendment one and how it could affect people's live. It's not just about same sex marriage this time. Voters head to the polls Tuesday.

And if you have good weather and clear sky tonight, well, you may be able to catch a glimpse of this super moon.

Plus, we're going live to Guantanamo Bay where Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other men charged in the 9/11 attacks will be arraigned.

And a Colombian escort said she was involved in the secret service scandal. She's spilling all the details.

We've got a big show this hour. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: In just three days, North Carolina voters will be making a big decision at the polls. The decision to change their state's constitution with something called Amendment One.

So, what is Amendment One? It is a measure that will define marriage as between a man and woman -- something several other states have already done. But this amendment goes a step further. Not only would it ban same sex marriage, which is already illegal in North Carolina, it would also invalidate civil unions and domestic partnerships between unmarried heterosexual couples as well.

As you can imagine, the measure raises all kinds of legal questions and is causing a heap of controversy in the state. Both sides spending millions to convince voters to go their way. Recent polling has the amendment passing right now with 54 to 40 margin.

So, this morning, we're focusing on Amendment One -- talking to supporters and opponents. Everyone gets a voice here.

Joining me now: North Carolina's House majority leader, Representative Paul Stam.

Good morning, Representative.

One of the measure's biggest champions, of course, is you. So, tell me this -- North Carolina already bans same sex marriage. So why take such a drastic step of changing the constitution?

STATE REP. PAUL STAM (R), NORTH CAROLINA: Well, we've had marriage between a man and woman for 343 years. The reason we have to put it in our state constitution is that half a dozen other states have by judicial fiat, had a handful of judges change the laws of those states. And we have the same provision in our state constitution from 1868 that they did, and this just leaves the decision with the voters instead a handful of judges.

KAYE: So, but when you look at this measure -- I mean, it would also ban civil union and domestic partnerships. I'm just curious how do either of those threatening marriage as you see it?

STAM: Well, first of all, there is no common definition for either of those terms. We don't have those in North Carolina. We have a handful of cities and counties out of our 625 cities and counties that have what they call domestic partner benefits. But the measure would not prohibit those cities and counties from providing benefits if they do it in a different way. In other words, not by recognizing that as a status, but rather to objective criteria, who lives in the household.

KAYE: But if it's the same in the end -- I mean, if you have to say, OK, so these benefits go to someone who pays rent in my house, or someone I share my home with, or my roommate, I mean, there is still a partner. So, in the end, if they still get the benefits, why all -- why all the fuss going through this?

STAM: Well, I don't consider it a fuss at all to re-establish marriage in North Carolina as one man and one woman. It also, by the way, prohibits polygamy, because that is the best environment for raising children in a society.

KAYE: What many people don't seem to know, Amendment One would dissolve partnerships of straight couples as well --

STAM: I don't know what you mean by that. The amendment specifically allows contracts between individuals to be enforced, so if you would tell me what you mean I could address what you mean.

KAYE: Because there is a chance those contracts won't be enforced. So, straight couples say that they are at risk as well and by that doing --

STAM: The amendment -- the amendment specifically says that private contracts may be enforced by the courts. So, whatever the amendment does, it doesn't do what you just said it does.

KAYE: Well, I think anyone who's ever been involved in a private contract knows that they are risky. I'm just saying. That's what some of the couples are saying. Some of the straight couples say that they are at risk as well.

So, by doing this, I want to ask you aren't you saying some families are better than others, that they deserve more protection than others?

STAM: Well, are you are assuming the conclusion a family does exist if it's unmarried people. And in North Carolina, we consider marriage between married people and their children either adopted or natural.

KAYE: Clearly, there are a lot of strong opinions about this. I mean, the measure has its critics. North Carolina's pediatric society, psychological association, psychiatric association, they all oppose Amendment One, saying that it would impact health care coverage for all unmarried households. And we are talking, of course, millions of children that could be affected.

So, I want you to listen to the TV ad put out by the coalition to protect North Carolina families, which opposes Amendment One.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My fear with Amendment One is that my daughter would lose her health insurance and she would lose it immediately, simply because we're unmarried. And that's really unfair and it is completely arbitrary. If you look at a classroom full of kids and you say, well, which ones do you not want to cover? Some would say, why are you doing that?

But this is -- this amendment is doing that. Amendment One will take away my daughter's health insurance and that's extremely unfair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: How would like to respond to that? What would you say to Melissa?

STAM: Well, she is completely wrong on her premises. Vast majority of insurance in North Carolina is private, which would not be affected at all. The vast majority of governmental insurance would not cover her child anyway, and those handful of cities and counties of that nature, if they reformat it so that they want to cover the unmarried household members and all the children at the -- they could do that if they want to. Now, that would be poor insurance policy but it would be legal if they want to do that.

That's really a red herring been brought up by the opposition because they refuse to talk about marriage. That's why the opponents call it Amendment One and there is no such thing as Amendment One.

KAYE: Representative Paul Stam --

STAM: They don't want to mention the word "marriage."

KAYE: Mr. Stam, thank you very much for your time this morning. Appreciate it.

STAM: Thank you. Thank you.

KAYE: And we should mention that coming up, about 8:15 Eastern Time, we're going to speak with Reverend William Barber. He's president of the North Carolina NAACP. He has different feelings than the representative there on this one. He's a big supporter or a big opponent of the Amendment One. So, we'll talk about that.

Aside from the horses, they are some of the most famous images of the Kentucky derby, the hat. And this year, they may be more functional than fashionable. Find out why when Reynolds Wolf joins me next.

Plus, rocks are falling from space and landing in California. And guess what? They are worth a whole lot of money.

And look a this weekend's big meteor hunt.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Big hats, strong drinks and fast horses, it can all only mean one thing -- it is time for the Kentucky derby. But a gloomy forecast has some fearing that this day at the races could be overshadowed by rain.

Reynolds Wolf is back with us.

So, what can folks at Churchill Down expect later today, Reynolds?

WOLF: Unfortunately, more of the same of what they had yesterday. Yesterday, we had some really strong winds that came through the area, some heavy thunderstorms. And with it, Randi, we had over 100,000 people that are actually evacuated from the Churchill Downs area.

This morning as it stands, we have some rain now drifting just south of part of the Ohio Valley, Louisville here not far from it. Of course, you have Churchill Downs. We do expect skies to clear out a little bit. But into the afternoon, as things begin to heat up once again, we might see more rain develop, possibly some thunderstorms.

In fact, the forecast for the derby, it looks like 82 degrees, not bad. But with the moisture, it's going to feel very muggy out there -- a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms. So, just keep that in mind as we make our way through the afternoon. So, that is a look at your derby weather.

Now, in terms of another big thing that's happening today, it's going to be the opportunity to see the super moon. Once every year, the moon gets closer to the earth than any other time of the year. For us tonight, it's going be the night. It's going to appear about 14 percent larger, especially as it goes up over the horizon, 11:30 is when to watch.

Clear skies can be expected for much of the central and eastern Great Lakes, even parts of the Northeast, partly cloudy in the southeast, still some showers expected for the Carolinas, a tough luck for you, I think. But partly cloudy across parts of the Central Plains and clear out to the west.

That's a wrap on your forecast. Randi, let's send it back to you.

KAYE: All right. Reynolds, thank you very much.

Where do you guys want to go next? All right. Let's talk about the employment rate. It has dropped again. Good news, right? May be or may not. Well, we'll tell you why it's still open for debate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back.

Optimism over the economic recovery may be wavering now. Oddly, the unemployment rate dropped in April. But that may not actually be good news.

So, take a look at the numbers with me. We're down to 8.1 percent. The economy added 115,000 jobs. But that's only around half of what was expected.

Joining me now is Alex Munoz, the owner and principal of CSR, a small business consulting firm.

Good morning, Alex.

ALEX MUNOZ, OWNER, CSR BUSINESS CONSULTING: Good morning, Randi.

KAYE: So, let's talk about jobs and latest numbers. A lot of folks are asking, well, how can it be bad news when the unemployment rate goes down? So, help everybody understand that.

MUNOZ: Well, sometimes the unemployment rate goes down because some people decide they will give up looking for a job. It's a little misleading. I mean, you have to think of it in terms of the numerator and denominator of the equation who is looking for a job versus who's decided to kind of hung it up.

KAYE: Yes, what about 340,000 workers or so dropped out of the labor force?

MUNOZ: That's right. I tend to work with small companies, and what I'm seeing is things are certainly better than they were a year ago and a lot better than two years ago. But there's still some a lot of hesitation in some of my clients to go and actually make that job offer. They'd rather keep things with as much flexibility as they can and have whoever it is that they bring aboard be more of a contractor than a permanent employee.

KAYE: And is that the trend you're seeing in small businesses?

MUNOZ: I see that a lot. There's just a real reticence for a business owner to say, OK, I'm going to have this variable expense become a fixed expense. I'm going to go have this person come on board and particularly if they are over a certain size, they're going to end up getting locked in having to pay potentially health insurance and other benefits that if they were just using them as they needed, they wouldn't be committed to doing.

KAYE: So, would you say they are not hiring or as much as we would like to see them hiring.

MUNOZ: Well, define hiring, right? If you mean hiring and having to be a permanent employee, I still see that lagging.

I do see substantially more activity over even at last year at this point of folks that are bringing on help. Things are definitely picking up, but business owners are just -- they feel more comfortable having folks come on as a contractor or as a part-timer. That gives them a lot more flexibilities. So, things kind of bottom out again, they are not tied in the employees, what do they do then, right?

KAYE: Yes. We're looking at a chart where the jobs are, and you say actually that move away from service is good for the market. How so?

MUNOZ: Well, some of my clients are in the service industry, as well as manufacturing. My manufacturing clients interestingly enough are picking up the work that they are doing. As things become more expensive because of the dollar being low -- I'm sorry, the other way around. As things become more expensive because of some of the other countries in the world -- Brazil, Russia, India, China -- going and buying more and more of the raw commodities, folks are turning back to the U.S. to try to manufacture some of those things that used to be cheaper to buy offshore.

So, some of my manufacturing clients for example in the fertilizer industry are aiming up, seeking to expand their workforce. These are more hourly employees to work in their plants. But it is a move away from some of the service components to the industry.

KAYE: All right. Alex Munoz, thank you very much for your time.

MUNOZ: My pleasure.

KAYE: So, today could mark the path to justice for families of the victims of 9/11. The man accused of masterminding the worst attacks on U.S. soil will face a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, today. Families of the victims have flown in to witness the historical court proceedings.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. It is half past the hour. I'm Randi Kaye. Thanks for starting your day with us.

Remember the day you saw the World Trade Center towers come crumbling down and you thought who could possibly do this? Well, today, the man accused of planning the 9/11 attacks will be in court.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others alleged terrorists are being arraigned in Gitmo.

Mohammed is the admitted mastermind of 9/11, blamed for planning the attack that killed more than 3,000 people and changed America as we knew it. It will be a rare look at the man dubbed KSM. After Osama bin Laden's death, he is probably the most notorious terrorist alive in the world.

Our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence is at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for us this morning.

Chris, good morning to you.

Attorneys are saying, it could start a legal circus, why is that?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Because simply, Randi, nobody knows what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other defendants are going to do. This will be the first time anyone outside of his lawyers and the Red Cross, anyone outside of Guantanamo Bay, has seen Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in years. We're just about 90 minutes away from his court appearance. A lot of the family members are here today. They, too, are just, you know, less than two hours away from taking their first look at him for some of them.

And no one knows what's going to happen. Do they plead guilty? In which case all this moves toward a sentencing phase. Or does Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the others keep the soapbox and the opportunity to continue to bash America and plead not guilty some of these crimes that he's actually boasted of planning in previous court appearances?

One of the family members that we spoke to last night says the United States is going a bit overboard in its efforts to be culturally sensitive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Do you blame like the Obama administration, do you -- for dragging this out?

CLIFF RUSSELL, BROTHER DIED IN 9/11: I blame us for trying to too good. Too much better than them. We're trying to be too good.

You can't have a nice war. War is war. A soldier accidentally shoots somebody, he gets put on trial.

CHRISTIAN RUSSELL, BROTHER DIED IN 9/11: This wasn't even -- this wasn't even a war. This was totally innocent people.

(END VDIEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Cliff and Christina Russell lost their brother Steven in the World Trade Center attacks. And basically, what he's referring to is that the fact the families have now been dragged through this for years and years, that the original rules of this military commission were scrapped, rewritten. Eric Holder, the attorney general, tried to move the hearing to New York. There was intense public pressure so it got pushed back down here to Guantanamo, and the families are really wondering at what point do they start to see a light at the end of the tunnel -- Randi.

KAYE: And as far as what's going to take place in court -- I mean, will these suspects, will they have a platform today? I mean, is it possible that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will actually be speaking today?

LAWRENCE: It is very possible. First, they've got to get some motions out of the way, the defense has objected to some of the conditions here at Guantanamo Bay, including, they have alleged that the government has seized and opened and read some of the correspondence, the written letters between the defendants and their attorneys, which they say violates attorney-client privilege.

Once those motions are out of the way and things proceed, the defendants, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will have the opportunity to plead guilty, in which case it would move to a sentencing phase. Or they can plead not guilty, in which case they would have opportunity to speak because the convening authority is going to be asking them questions and asking them about, you know, do you feel comfortable with your attorney, is this what you believe. And so, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will have the opportunity to look at the people around in the courtroom and have his say.

KAYE: I'm sure it's going to be a very interesting moment there today. Chris Lawrence, thank you very much.

So, grab your coffee cup, here's a check of the morning headlines:

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has a message for troops heading off to Afghanistan: don't misbehave. At Fort Benning, Georgia, he warned deploying soldiers the enemy is always and just one misstep, one embarrassing photo can put fellow troops lives and America's standing at risk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: These incidents concern me. And they have to concern you. And they do concern our service chiefs, because a few who lack judgment, lack professionalism, lack leadership, can hurt all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And Panetta's warning follows a Pentagon report detailing several incidents in Afghanistan including a release of a video showing marines urinating on corpses.

There has been a horrible incident at a packed campaign concern in Armenia's capital. Gas filled balloons exploded when they were released into the air yesterday. Police say more than 140 people were injured, some with serious burns. Armenia's president promises a full investigation.

Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather are ready to rumble in Las Vegas tonight. At stake, the super welterweight of the World Boxing Association. Cotto is the defending champion. But Mayweather, nicknamed "Money," is favored to win. Win or loss, Mayweather gets 32 million bucks just for showing up. What a deal.

The case of the dead and missing wives, former cop, Drew Peterson, back in the courtroom spotlight. And a key witness may be beyond the grave.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back.

Remember Drew Peterson? He's the former Illinois police officer charged with murder. He has been locked away more than a year but was back in court Friday for allegedly killing his third wife, Kathleen Savio, back in 2004. She was found dead in her bathtub, and her death was originally ruled an accidental drowning. But prosecutors exhumed her body and reopened the case after Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, vanished in 2007.

And there is another twist to all. Friday's hearing comes after a controversial ruling. The Illinois appellate court has ruled statements against Peterson made by his missing and dead wives can be used in court. Usually, hearsay statements like this cannot be introduced in a trial unless the defendant can cross-examine who made them.

Criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Holly Hughes is here to talk about this.

This is really amazing. I mean, just how uncommon is it to allow statements like this, which could be incriminating. This is a big deal.

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This is huge. It's groundbreaking. And what we're going to see, this is a tough case for the prosecution, this case about the murder of Kathleen Savio. It is mostly circumstantial. They had to go back and reconstruct, exhume her body, and do an autopsy.

So, they don't have a lot of physical evidence, but if they get a conviction, you better believe based on this ruling from the appellate court, we're going to see this go all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

This is extremely common in domestic violence murders, Randi. Back in the day, as I like to say when I was prosecuting, you could use those hearsays. They were considered excited utterance, or gist, that if you told your girlfriend, my husband beats me, he's going to hurt me really bad, if I turned up dead, he did it. And the friend used to be able to testify about that.

Then the Supreme Court came down with the case called Crawford versus Washington said no more of that, because it violates the defendant's right to cross-examine the person saying it. They're dead, right?

So, the Illinois appellate court, the prosecutor went to the legislature, give us permission to use hearsay in the case, they said yes, what we might see, it might stand -- we might see an exception carved out of domestic violence murders, because those are the kind of cases, where if you kill your victim, you kind of get a benefit from the fact they are not around to testify against you.

KAYE: So, we mentioned that they exhumed the body, and she died in 2004. I mean, what would they be looking for, because they had already ruled it accidental drowning?

HUGHES: Right. But at that point, what they're back and they're going to look, because let's face it, there's not going to be a lot left. So, they're going to reexamine the skull and see, you know, was there some type of trauma to the skull that we didn't necessarily notice that might have been blunt force trauma, was she hit in the back of the head, was there a crack or fracture that's not necessarily attributable to her falling down on her own, because remember, she was found in a dry bathtub, which is very odd.

And her hair is not wet, how could she have fallen and hurt herself in a dry bath and not been able to get help? So, when they exhume, they are looking for anything they can still find. You know, if they preserved any of the brain matter, they're going to look for like subdural hematoma, something that proves this might not have been as accidental as they thought.

KAYE: So, the trial could begin in 60 or 90 days. What do you think the greatest challenge might be for the defense?

HUGHES: The greatest challenge is quite frankly their own client. His public perception is just awful, because when his fourth wife, Stacy, who we haven't talked about, went missing, and still to this day missing, there was a lot of controversy. He was alleged to have done something to her.

And instead of being respectful and saying, you know, gee, I've got one dead wife and one missing, maybe I should be quiet. He's out in the press running date Drew Peterson contests, and trying to get young girls to go out with him. And so, the defense's biggest problem will be in the voir dire process, in the picking a jury, people who really don't have a bad opinion about this guy and it might affect the way they vote in those deliberations.

KAYE: And the second case, obviously, Stacy Peterson case, vanishing in 2007 -- it's been a long time. Do they have to wait to go ahead with this case, wife number three before they even start to look at him for wife number four?

HUGHES: They don't necessarily have to wait. There's nothing in the law that would say you have to do it in order, but there is so little evidence there and there is a witness -- but unfortunately that witness has mental problems, and there is not a lot of evidence.

I think what we're going to see, Randi, is when her body surfaces and usually all those things done in darkness will come out in the light, if and when they find her body, I think then we will see a prosecution.

KAYE: Holly Hughes, can't believe we're still talking about this case and this man.

HUGHES: I know. Sad.

KAYE: All right. Thank you very much. Nice to se you.

HUGHES: Thanks. You too.

KAYE: Drinking alcohol like it was water and dancing the night away at a seedy bar. An escort spilling bombshell revelations about what Secret Service agents were doing in Colombia. But find out why she says she would never have turned them in if it weren't for 800 bucks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Secret Service agents buying and drinking alcohol like it was water. Acting crazy, dancing on bar tops and leaving sensitive files open in hotel rooms. That is what a now former escort is saying about the Colombian prostitution scandal that's implicated two dozen members of the Secret Service and the military.

Dania Suarez gave her side of the story to a Colombian radio station. She offered a laundry list of the accusations aimed at those agents. And I talked about it with Drew Griffin of CNN's Special Investigations Unit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: The woman did not know that these guys were Secret Service agents, otherwise, she said she wouldn't have turned them in to police.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT: It was an amazing moment in this very casual interview, I should say, Randi, because the Secret Service was really intent on making sure that the prostitutes, the girls, or whatever, did not know they were Secret Service agents. So that would mean the president's security was never threatened. But she says this probably would have never happened had she known that.

It started out as a very casual kind of party in a bar, sounds like, some outlandish behavior. A lot of drinking, a lot of fun. One of her friends attracted to one of the Secret Service agents, whom again she had no idea who they were.

KAYE: And she says these guys were dancing on the bar, and drinking a lot of vodka, and pulling up shirts. And then a friend introduced them?

GRIFFIN: That's right. I mean, it sounded like your typical, rowdy, raucous pick up scene. And that's where she says it led.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIA SUAREZ, ALLEGED ESCORT (through translator): My friends nor I, you know, we didn't know they were agents, you know, Obama's agents for -- you know? And then we left and we went to this place to buy condoms. And then we went to the hotel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who went?

SUAREZ: Well, my friend -- well, wait, she's not really a friend. She's acquaintance. And the agent who was with me and the other one, and the four of us. And then my friend went with him because she liked him.

No, I don't understand, because she liked him. It wasn't the same thing I was doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: And what she says she was doing, she admits, was trying to get payment for, quote-unquote, "escort services." She said she and the agent she was paired with had an agreement, an $800 gift if she spent the night in that hotel room and she did. She went at 1:30 to 6:30. She won't say what happened, but she will say what happened after it ended.

KAYE: So, what happened the next morning? Because the hotel called, and said that she had to go.

GRIFFIN: That's right. And she wakes up the agent, whom she is a friend, right, and says it's time to pay me. And take a listen what she says happens next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUAREZ: And I told him to wake up and to give me my gift that I asked him for and he says no, just go (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I'm not going to pay you. And then he just -- put out 50,000 pesos for the taxi. And I was like -- I was in shock, in that moment when he just said that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Fifty thousand pesos is about 30 bucks. She was not going to leave with $30 after being promised $800. That -- she spent the next three hours getting the Colombian police, getting other agents to pull the resources, eventually leaves with $250, not knowing until the next day this was all, quote-unquote, "Obama's agents."

KAYE: Wow. And that's money that the other agents pulled together.

GRIFFIN: That's right. This guy would not open his door.

KAYE: And so now she is saying that selling her body is not something she is going to do anymore, according to this interview. But she's not opposed to, I guess, posing in men's magazine.

GRIFFIN: Not opposed. It's been rumored that there might be some deals in the works. She wouldn't release any of those details -- I mean, let's face it has been two weeks since her claim to fame. She's probably still figuring out where she's going to go with this.

KAYE: Drew Griffin, thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: The Kentucky Derby is today, but the threat of severe storms may dampen the mood.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Are you ready? Heck yes, you are.

It's going to be a huge day for sports, folks. If the NBA playoffs weren't enough, and the Miguel Cotto and Floyd Mayweather fight wasn't really enough to associate any appetite for sports, it's also the Kentucky Derby, a race that actually has been dated back all the way to 1875.

But severe storms could dampen the big day. In fact, we had some rough weather yesterday that moved through parts of Louisville and Churchill Downs.

Joe Carter is joining us now.

Joe, my good friend, it was certainly a rough day there yesterday. We had the thunder, we had the lightning, we had the heavy rainfall. It looks like it might be a little bit better today. But it was rough yesterday, wasn't it?

JOE CARTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was. And you're right, it is better now. Yesterday, there was a pretty wicked storm that blew through around 5:00, 5:30 Eastern Time. They actually had to evacuate the grounds here for a little while.

It was during the Kentucky -- or before the Kentucky Oaks Race, which is essentially the biggest horse race the day before the Kentucky Derby. So, there was 112,000 people here for that race, Reynolds.

So, it was a little bit of a problem, but they did get the race off. We really had some wicked storms throughout the night last night -- I mean, to the point where the crew and I as we drove in this morning, were talking about how the thunder was shaking our windows throughout the night.

But it's done raining. Actually, the sun is starting to peek out but the track is going to be an issue for these horses today. Right now, a lot of standing water on the track. They do have the tractors out trying to grade it up.

But In 137 years, Reynolds, they have never cancelled or postponed the Kentucky Derby. So odds are they're going to get this race in and on time as well -- Reynolds.

WOLF: You know, Joe, what's amazing about is the race does not last very long. It's pretty short in duration, so a lot of the day is I guess the preparation for the race, the pageantry of it, as well as those fun and very weird fashions.

Have you seen a lot of weird hats, that kind of thing?

CARTER: Weird, strange, creative, architecturally engineered, I mean, you name it. I was on the plane yesterday I sat with a woman that she spent $3,000 on. She said it starts with the hat and you build the outfit down from there.

But it's a time-honored tradition. They say it's a chance for women to express their inner Southern belle, a chance for them to be creative, individuality. But hats are such a time-honored tradition here at the derby, it's pretty neat. But men wear them, too. I've seen a lot of fedoras as well.

But expecting a record crowd here today, Reynolds -- 165,000 people are expected to show up. The field looks like it's going to be wide open. Race experts say eight to 10 horses could win. There's a lot of names being thrown around, like Creative Cause, Booty Meister (ph) and there's a white horse called Hanson. A lot of people are buzzing about that.

But race experts say is your guess is as good as mine. So, your guess is as good as mine.

WOLF: Oh, come on now.

(CROSSTALK)

CARTER: -- whatever horse --

WOLF: Come on, you've got to tell me, who do you like? There's got to be one favorite of yours. Which one do you like?

CARTER: I'm going to say it once, Reynolds, Creative Cause.

WOLF: OK. We're going to mark that down, my brother. All right, man. We're definitely going to do that.

Joe, it's great seeing you as always. Stay dry out there. Enjoy it. And I can't wait to see what's going to have -- you're going to have -- hopefully we'll have some video tomorrow. I'm sure you got some surprises for us.

All right. Man, I'll talk to you soon.

CARTER: Absolutely.

WOLF: All right. Folks, something different. We're going to shift gears a bit. How much would you pay to take your derby hat on a plane? On one airline, you pretty to buy a separate seat for the thing. We're going to tell you who's charging big money for carry-on bags. That's coming up in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Good morning and welcome back. It is just a couple minutes before 8:00 on the East Coast and 4:58 on the West Coast. Let's get you caught up on news that may have been off your radar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE (voice-over): Here's something to get your blood boiling. Airline travelers, now, you have to pay 100 bucks to carry on your little bag on the plane if you want to have it make the round trip with you -- all courtesy of Spirit Airlines.

They call themselves an a la carte airline, pillows, blankets, all for a charge. But carry-on? Come on.

Even this guy is shocked. This Edvard Munch famous masterpiece, "The Scream," sold for nearly $120 million. This price tag blew the previous painting ever sold which was a Pablo Picasso which went for $106.5 million. No word yet on who bought it.

Skinny models are so last year. Editors at "Vogue" are making big changes. First of all, models now have to be healthy looking.

There's also a new age restriction. You aren't in "Vogue" if you're under 16 so bring your ID. So, bring your ID to the runway or the fashion show, or else you don't get in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Thanks for starting your morning with us. We've got much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING which starts right now.