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CNN Saturday Morning News
Etan Patz Disappearance Suspect on Suicide Watch; Pope's Butler Arrested for Leaking Confidential Letters; Runoff Elections in Egypt; Unprecedented Security in London
Aired May 26, 2012 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. Here's the check of what's making news cross-country. If you think caps and gowns would keep new grads all covered up, well, think again. Take a close look at this graduation photo. It looks like one student in the front row is flashing the camera, but school officials in North Carolina investigated. They call it an optical illusion.
Heading to Nevada now, North Las Vegas, where 70 inmates just picked up a get out of jail free card. Nonviolent misdemeanor offenders were released early after dozens of jail workers called in sick. This comes just days after word leaked out about layoffs at the jail. Union says the sick calls are unrelated.
From CNN Center, this is "CNN SATURDAY MORNING." It is Saturday, May 26th. Good morning, everyone. Glad you're with us. I'm Randi Kaye. One of the men closest to the pope, his butler, under arrest for allegedly leaking confidential church documents.
33 years after Etan Patz disappeared, a suspect finally charged with the little boy's murder.
And we're watching the traffic this Memorial Day weekend as a new storm named Beryl forms.
33 years after Etan Patz disappeared while walking to his school bus stop, a man has finally been charged with his murder. Pedro Hernandez has been arraigned on a second-degree murder charge. He allegedly confessed to killing the 6-year-old boy by choking him and is being held on suicide watch at a Manhattan hospital. Susan Candiotti has been covering this case for us. She joins us now live from New York.
Susan, first of all, why is Pedro Hernandez in the hospital?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Randi. He was transferred to the hospital from a jail cell after police said he was on medications. They didn't say what kind, and so they didn't want to administer them at the jail.
Once at the hospital, according to sources, he said that he wanted to die, and so they put him on a suicide watch. So that set the stage for the arraignment that happened on Friday afternoon. We were all watching very closely as we watched this arraignment take place from the hospital. We were watching via a closed-circuit television in the courtroom where the judge was. And we listened to the defense attorney put into the record what we had been hearing as rumors throughout the past several days. The defense attorney said that his client has a long history of mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, as well -- disorder -- as well as schizophrenia. Here's the attorney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARVEY FISHBEIN, ATTORNEY: There is no plea at this point because there's a psychiatric evaluation.
Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: And so the defense attorney asked the court for a full psychiatric evaluation, and the judge agreed to it, Randi.
KAYE: And, Susan, apart from his confession, if that is indeed true and it holds, is there any evidence at all linking him to this crime which took place 33 years ago?
CANDIOTTI: Boy, that's the big question here. No. According to police, all they have right now are his own detailed statements. Pedro Hernandez allegedly telling the police he lured little Etan Patz from a school bus stop over to the basement of the store, the corner convenience store, where Hernandez was working as a clerk. He was only 19 years old, for the promise of a soda. And that's where he claims that he strangled the boy, put him in a trash bag, and then disposed of the body out in the street.
And so only beyond that, they have alleged confessions that he made to others, including family members and other people going back to 1981. And yet that's all they have. They have no physical evidence. They're still looking.
KAYE: And no motive either, which has some very skeptical about this confession, right?
CANDIOTTI: That's right. Juries always like to hear a motive, although prosecutors don't have to come up with one as part of proving their case. But they also don't have any evidence of any prior contact that this man allegedly had with this youngster, and he also has no criminal record, which also seems rather odd in a case like this, Randi.
KAYE: Susan Candiotti, reporting for us in New York City this morning. Susan, thank you very much.
Hundreds of Pope Benedict XVI's personal letters and other confidential papers leaked to an Italian journalist, and now the Vatican confirms an arrest. A man Italian media identify as the pope's butler. Journalist and author Barbie Nadeau is following developments from Rome for us. She joins us by phone.
Barbie, how did the Vatican crack this case to begin with? BARBIE NADEAU, JOURNALIST/AUTHOR: Well, you know, this has been a case -- has been -- basically these documents have been leaking out for almost a year in the Italian press. This journalist, Gianluiggi Nuzzi, has his own television program. He's published these documents, and last week he published a book called "His Holiness," which has the documents in full and sort of the back story behind each one of them.
The papal butler, who was arrested, Paolo Gabriele, according to the Vatican, now admits after they arrested him was one of the few nonclerical people in the pope's inner circle. They say they found documents in his apartment. He is one of the few people who lives inside the Vatican City state, which is the walled sovereign nation within the city of Rome. It was under their jurisdiction. They did a search of his house. Obviously they had been suspecting him for a period of time. They had set up this kind of operation in which they could catch him, knew that he had the documents in his house, went to his papal apartment, his apartment in Vatican City, and arrested him on Wednesday night.
He's in custody within the Vatican City state, which is separate from the Italian judicial system. Which means there's really no transparency. You know, someone is arrested in Italy, we have a little bit more access. We could ask the authorities -- and it has to be transparent. They have to follow (inaudible) rules.
Inside the Vatican, though, they can do basically what they want. Their methods of interrogation, their, you know, right to have a defense lawyer, all of those things are their own set of rules. Gabriele has, according to the Vatican, appointed two lawyers in his defense, but again, those are lawyers who are part of the Vatican inner circle. They can practice law within the Vatican tribunal, which means they're all part of this same small society.
KAYE: I guess so, you know, the question is, why would somebody so close to the pope do something like this? I mean, what was the motivation and the intention here?
NADEAU: According to Nuzzi I spoke to earlier this week, the person -- he won't obviously confirm that this is the person who leaked the documents to him -- but the person who did leak these documents for the book did it because they were, quote, "fed up" with the lies, basically, that one thing was going on inside the Holy See, and other things were happening were what the public was hearing about what was happening, on any number of issues from money laundering, from corruption, from the Vatican's alleged cover-up of two particular murder cases. You know, it's stuff movies are made of, really. But this person told the journalist Nuzzi, gave him the documents, went to him, sought him out, because he wanted this madness to stop, basically, stop the lies.
Again, we don't know from Nuzzi if this is -- he hasn't confirmed that this is the source. The Vatican hasn't necessarily given much to go on, except a name and a confirmation that they've arrested him. So it's definitely the beginning phases of what I'm sure will be a lengthy investigation. KAYE: Such drama in Vatican City. Barbie, thank you very much.
Astronauts literally open the door to a new era in space this morning. They cracked the hatch on Dragon, the first commercial spacecraft ever to dock with the International Space Station. Dragon, the creation of the SpaceX Corporation, is resupplying the ISS with food and some scientific experiments. The company is now contracting with NASA for at least a dozen more resupply missions just like this one. Pretty cool stuff there.
Police in Portland, Oregon are trying to solve the case of three small children found abandoned in a vacant shed. The oldest is apparently 3, the youngest less than one year old. Police have no idea who they are, and they are now looking for their mother, who, according to a witness, left them there. A 91 call led police to the shed behind a home where they found the kids among a group of homeless people.
Wildfires are burning in at least eight states today fed by tinder-dry conditions. This is the Duck Lake fire, that's in upper Michigan. 18,000 acres are burned, forcing evacuations. The fire doubled in size overnight, threatened a state park, and reaching Lake Superior's southern shore.
A wildfire near Walt Disney World in Orlando shut down Interstate 4, a major tourist highway, for several hours. That happened yesterday. Crews in six western states are also on the fire lines.
So the question is when will we see any relief from the dry weather feeding these fires? Well, on the East Coast, we've got a storm brewing. What a mess. Bonnie Schneider joining us now to make sense of it all. Good morning.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Randi.
For the fires, we do have some good news. Especially towards Michigan, where we've been monitoring the Duck Lake wildfires. So right now, quite a bit of acreage already burned, but scattered showers and thunderstorms are finally in the forecast. We do not want to see a strong gust of wind, but we do want to see rain. So any rain will be beneficial to this region. Notice how warm it is, it is 83 once again, but the winds coming from the east are better. It's an improvement. For the past few days I've been monitoring the weather for this region, and sometimes on the 24th we had wind gusts all the way up to 30 miles an hour. So there's been some fierce wind with this, Randi, so that's something at least today that will improve.
KAYE: That is some good news. I'm sure they'll take anything they can. Bonnie, thank you.
Egypt's historic presidential election is heading toward a runoff, but what do we know about the front-runners and what do the results so far mean for the U.S.?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Now to Egypt's historic presidential vote. Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi leads the pack, but it looks like he'll face a runoff with Ahmed Shafik, who served as prime minister under ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Brian Todd explains who Morsi is, and breaks down what a runoff would actually mean for the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He was the back-up, the spare tire candidate, but when the Muslim Brotherhood's leading man was barred from competing, Mohamed Morsi become the group's top choice for Egypt's president. And he has a good shot at beating an old ally of former President Hosni Mubarak in a runoff.
Analysts say the prospect that Mohamed Morsi could be Egypt's next president might be unsettling to the U.S. and its allies.
ERIC TRAGER, WASHINGTON INST. FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: In person, he's quite hostile towards westerners, and consistently says that he wants Egypt to be an Islamic state, and has very unpleasant things to say about key American interests, including the treaty with Israel.
TODD: Eric Trager was in Egypt during the Arab spring and has interviewed Mohamed Morsi. He says Morsi wouldn't rip up Egypt's treaty with Israel, but would take a harder line toward Israel than Mubarak did. Trager says Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood want to implement Sharia law in Egypt.
TRAGER: The Brotherhood has indicated that they won't force women to wear the veil or the hijab, but what we've seen in parliament is the Brotherhood is trying to first of all roll back the laws against sexual harassment, which they have said is due to women's nakedness, and secondly they've tried to repeal the ban on female genital mutilation.
TODD: Trager says Morsi and the Brotherhood see that ban as an intervention in the family. A Muslim Brotherhood ally of Morsi's responded.
ABDULMAWGOUD DARDERY, MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD PARLIAMENTARIAN: Do you yourself believe that, is that any democracy would allow this to happen? We're totally against this. Women have -- women's rights in Islam have been there for 1,400 years. We're not talking about a new civilization.
TODD: Abdulmawgoud Dardery says Morsi, who got a post-graduate engineering degree at USC and has two children with American citizenship, wants to build bridges with the U.S. But analysts say Morsi, like other Egyptian leaders before him, has also pledged to work for the release of Omar Abdel-Rahman, the so-called blind sheikh serving a life sentence in the U.S. for plotting terrorist attacks on New York.
DARDERY: You see, we would like to look at it as a legal case. If this man has legal rights, it's his rights, and we're going to support legal rights everywhere in the world.
TODD: I asked Trager a bottom-line question for westerners about Mohamed Morsi.
(on camera): Under his leadership, Egypt is the next Iran?
TRAGER: We might not have an Iran per se. We're more likely to have a Pakistan, in which a strong military intervenes in a radical political sphere at will.
TODD: I put that to Morsi's ally as well. Abdulmawgoud Dardery says if Morsi wins, Egypt won't be like Pakistan or Iran. Dardery said they won't move toward being a theocratic government, that Sharia law isn't scary as many westerners believe, and he says we shouldn't be listening to people he called Islamophobes, who are warning about what Egypt would be like under Mohamed Morsi.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: A job swap at the top in Russia today. Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev took over from President Vladimir Putin as leader of the ruling United Russia Party. Medvedev was appointed prime minister earlier this month at Putin's suggestion. In his acceptance speech, Medvedev asked party members to be more transparent and democratic.
More than three decades after a missing 6-year-old boy's face appeared on a milk carton, New York police have charged a man with his murder, but does his confession hold any water? We'll have our legal analyst weigh in.
And if you are leaving the house right now, just a reminder. You can continue watching CNN from your mobile phone. You can also watch CNN live from your laptop. Just go to CNN.com/tv.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: A 33-year-old mystery and a sudden confession. The story of Etan Patz's disappearance has raised many questions, and over the years several suspects. So how can police be sure this time they have the right man? I asked CNN legal contributor Paul Callan why some are skeptical about Pedro Hernandez's confession.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: My problem with it is, as a former prosecutor, to try to corroborate or provide additional evidence that his confession is accurate and true on a 33-year-old homicide will be very difficult. And he was brought back to New York, made a suicide threat, and is now in Bellevue hospital. His lawyer says he's a schizophrenic who suffers from bipolar disorder. So, it seems to me there's a strong likelihood that eventually there will be a claim that this is just a psychotic who has made a claim based on what he's read in the newspaper, or what he knew because he worked in the neighborhood at the time of the killing.
KAYE: Yes.
CALLAN: And that he's not the real killer.
KAYE: And especially when there's no evidence, right? I mean, there is no DNA evidence. They have never been able to recover Etan Patz's body. Even though they searched just recently in a New York City basement. So how much will that affect how they move forward with this so-called confession?
CALLAN: Well, you know, I think it will have a huge effect on it, because under New York law, a confession is not enough to convict somebody. They used to call it, you know, in the old crime movies, the corpus delecti, the body of the crime. There has to be additional proof that a crime has been committed by the individual involved. And they're going to have trouble with that.
And I'll tell you, Randi, just to complicate it even more, the Patz family, who have suffered so much through the years through the loss of this child, they were approached by a former U.S. attorney who said that he was convinced a child molester who's currently in jail was the killer. And as a result of that, they instituted a civil lawsuit against this man. They obtained a judgment from a court that he was the killer, and they have a money judgment against him.
KAYE: You're talking about Jose Ramos.
CALLAN: Exactly.
KAYE: He was officially named the killer back in 2004. But so, knowing that, then, I mean how could that impact the case regarding the current suspect, Pedro Hernandez?
CALLAN: Well, certainly Hernandez's lawyer is going to come in to court now, if he ever has to try this case, and say, this is -- there's reasonable doubt built into the case. We have a court has already adjudicated somebody else as the killer in the case.
Now, that wouldn't be binding on a jury, but the jury would certainly have to wonder whether this schizophrenic who's confessed is, in fact, the killer.
Now, I want to hedge on this a little bit and say, we don't know what the New York City Police Department knows. There is a possibility that he supplied some detail that has been held back and that only the killer could know. Did Etan Patz have a scar, or some kind of a mark that hasn't been released publicly, and that Hernandez has revealed that he knows about. There could be something that corroborates this confession.
But I must say, I have my doubts. And the fact that yesterday a New York City judge said I'm going to have this man examined by a psychiatrist -- it's called a 730 examination -- because he may not even be competent to stand trial makes me wonder about whether this is, in fact, the killer.
KAYE: And of course there's the case of motive. No motive at all listed. CALLAN: No. And that's, I find that, Randi, to be very, very strange. Because, you know, somebody who snatches a 6-year-old kid and kills him, they tend to be -- they are child molesters, they're child predators. This is not a one-time thing. They tend to be repeat offenders. Now, where's the history of him doing this to other people? I mean, he's in 33 years apparently he has not been arrested or charged in any other crime involving abuse of a child. That would be very, very unusual. You would expect to see a history with a child predator.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Speaking there with Paul Callan.
It is annoying and expensive, having your iPhone stolen. But don't lose hope. We'll show you ways to find it and get it back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Some International Space Station crew members are talking about the historic docking of the SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft and what it means for the future of space travel. Earlier today, the Dragon's hatch was opened, and space station crew got its first look inside the Dragon. The astronauts on the International Space Station then started unloading a thousand pounds of supplies, the big task. This is the first fully commercial mission to go to the space station.
iPhones have become our constant companions. We rely on them, so when it's stolen, it's annoying, expensive, and very inconvenient. But we can help you get it back. Earlier I talked to our digital expert, Mario Armstrong.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIO ARMSTRONG, HLN DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: So a lot of people are going to be traveling this holiday weekend, Randi. We don't want people to lose their devices or have them stolen. So to track it, on the iPhone or iPad, iPod Touch, you can use that. On the Android, you can use something called where's my Droid. Essentially, Randi, what these apps enable you to do is to be able to locate them. For example, I just used my iPad to locate my iPhone, so I can see on a map where my iPhone is actually located at any given time. I can lock it down, I can wipe the data, I can even send a message to the phone to let the person know, hey, I'll give you a reward if it's found.
KAYE: Wow, that is pretty good, I'm impressed by that. But you mentioned you can lock your device down. How so?
ARMSTRONG: So I think people should take some preventive tips. Number one, they should lock their devices down with a pin code. Everyone doesn't do this, Randi, and it drives me nuts. My brother doesn't do this. Several people in my family are, like, starting to finally get it. Put a pin code, a numeric pin code on your phone, so if someone does find it, they can't access the data onto it.
Now, I will tell you this, that pin code can be broken. I have found out that there's new software that's available. People can jail break, quote/unquote, it's a technical term, to get into these phones. So it's not totally foolproof, but for most people it will prevent them from losing their sensitive data.
KAYE: Yes, I know you're the guy with the tips, but I will offer one. I will add to that, because I actually forgot my pin code once, and I had to try to get into my iPad, and on the tenth time it completely reset and wiped out everything.
ARMSTRONG: Everything.
KAYE: So write your pin down somewhere.
ARMSTRONG: That's right, that's right.
KAYE: All right, so let's talk about laptops, though. I mean, is there software that you can use to track those down if they're stolen?
ARMSTRONG: Absolutely. It's called -- one of the ones that I tested recently, these guys sent me a few copies. They've been trying to get me to, like, review this stuff. I am like, OK, yes, I've heard of you guys, let me test it out. It's called Lojack for laptops. Works very well. It is a subscription fee, but just like the sound of the title says, it will help you by GPS track the location of the laptop. Now, it can only do that if the laptop connects to the Internet. So if you lose your laptop or it gets stolen, you can then see where it is because it's connected to the Internet, wipe the data off of it, or lock it down completely.
KAYE: So you can do that remotely? You can wipe it clean?
ARMSTRONG: You can do it remotely. And what you're really supposed to do with this, especially if it is stolen, is to then file a police report, and hand over the data as to the last location that laptop was seen connected to the Internet, and then hand that information over to the authorities and get your laptop back.
KAYE: What would be really cool is to be able to remotely turn on the camera you might have on your laptop or your stolen device, and see who has it, and then turn that in, right?
ARMSTRONG: That's been done before too.
KAYE: That's the next step. I like it. Get back at those guys who are stealing our stuff.
ARMSTRONG: But, look. The most important thing, Randi, is the data. A lot of people can maybe stomach losing the device or having the device stolen, even though they are expensive, but the data is what is precious.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Don't mess with us, I'll tell you.
Well, he spent nearly six years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. You can understand his joy, but we'll tell you why he's not even bitter.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Checking top stories. One of the men closest to Pope Benedict XVI is under arrest for allegedly leaking confidential church documents. Italian media identify him as the pontiff's butler. The Vatican launched an investigation after hundreds of the pope's personal letters and other confidential papers were leaked to an Italian journalist.
The Syrian opposition is begging for international help to stop what it calls the government slaughter of its people. They are fighting tanks and rockets with rifles. Activists say 88 people, many of them children, were killed in one town alone. The U.N. secretary-general is documenting what he calls massive violations of human rights.
A standoff and hostage situation in Indiana are over after the gunman shot himself to death. Police say the unidentified man barged into a Prudential office building yesterday and took several hostages. The gunman was said to be looking for someone that he believed owed him money. One female hostage was injured.
A man who has every right to be bitter says he isn't, and just wants to move forward. Brian Banks woke up a free man today. He's spent nearly six years in prison and lost a shot at a college football scholarship when he pleaded no contest to a rape that he did not commit. His attorney convinced him to take the plea rather than run the risk of a very long prison sentence. He might have served 40 years. The woman now admits that she lied. I talked with Brian and his attorney last hour about what made his case so difficult.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUSTIN BROOKS, ATTORNEY: You know, initially, the problem with his case was it wasn't unusual. You know, you had a guy convicted of a sex offense, and it was a he said/she said, and those cases are impossible to reverse. You need some kind of evidence. And that's really the tragedy in this case, is Brian took a plea deal because he was looking at 40 years in prison if he didn't. And his lawyer told him, hey, it's he said/she said. If you want to roll the dice and go to trial, you may never walk out of prison. And this is a 17-year-old kid who's got to make that decision.
KAYE: Right. So, Brian, I mean, I know that -- I'm sure this is all about looking forward for you now. You don't really want to look backward, I'm sure. But are you angry with your accuser?
BRIAN BANKS: No, not at all. You know, I've had those moments where I was very angry and very bitter, and this is around the time that I first received the six-year sentence in prison. But, you know, it was at that time that I realized that, you know, regardless of the situation that I am in, it was more important how I controlled myself while in those situations. And I just saw it was better for me, my health, and my future to just move forward and try to be the best person I could be regardless of what I am going through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: He is an incredible person. He wound up on a sex offender list wearing an ankle bracelet. He couldn't find work. But now he says that he still dreams of playing in the NFL and he is waiting for that call.
Vice President Joe Biden gave the commencement speech at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point less than an hour ago. He told the grads to savor the day that, quote, "you'll remember this the rest of your lives." He says the U.S. is dismantling al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and he credited the military for an incredibly daring raid that killed the world's most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden.
President Obama and Mitt Romney have both launched ad campaigns squarely aimed at Latinos. So far, Latino voter polls show the president has a commanding lead. CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser explains why.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Good morning, Randi. We're still in the early rounds, but so far the fight between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney for the Latino vote seems like no contest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: (speaking Spanish).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: The Obama campaign says it's spending a million dollars to put up TV commercials like this one, starring Hispanic community leaders. The ads are running in Colorado, Nevada, and Florida, three battleground states with a lot of Spanish-speaking voters that both campaigns will heavily court between now and election day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (speaking Spanish)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Meanwhile, Romney spent just a few thousand dollars to run Spanish language versions of its campaign commercials. Romney took a conservative stance on the issue of illegal immigration during the battle for the GOP presidential nomination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The answer is self- deportation, which is people decide that they can do better by going home because they can't find work here, because they don't have legal documentation to allow them to work here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: And that may have hurt him. A new NBC-Wall Street Journal-Telemundo poll matches other recent surveys in indicating that the president holds a very large lead over Romney among Latino voters.
Romney didn't mention illegal immigration this week when speaking at a Latino business summit here in Washington, but the issue will come up soon enough when the Supreme Court rules on Arizona's controversial law.
Then-Senator Obama won two-thirds of the Latino vote four years ago in winning the White House, and so far this time around, he's keeping his lead. Randi?
KAYE: Paul Steinhauser, thank you very much.
Two huge events in London this summer have security forces on edge and on alert, and their preparations are unprecedented. We'll show you what they're planning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back, everyone. London is ramping up for its biggest security challenge ever. The queen's diamond jubilee next month and the Olympics after that. Dan Rivers reports the planning is unprecedented.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This summer, Britain's security establishment will have perhaps one of the toughest policing jobs in the world. The Olympics and the queen's diamond jubilee bringing in an estimated 6 million extra visitors a day in a mega city of 12 million, which in the past has repeatedly been targeted by Islamist terrorists and the IRA. Already an amphibious assault ship, HMS Ocean, is anchored on the Thames, providing military backup for the police. The first priority will be securing the queen's diamond jubilee in early June, particularly the River Thames, venue for a floating royal pageant of a thousand boats.
Specialist police abseiling teams have been training to search all 14 bridges under which the flotilla will pass. I joined Colonel Richard Kemp on the Thames to discuss the challenges.
COL. RICHARD KEMP, BRITISH SECURITY: The bridges have to be secured. Each bridge that's being passed under has to have a security presence, and there has to be a pretty strong police presence among the crowds.
RIVERS: The police in Britain have plenty of practice in securing large-scale formal events, but this summer presents a unique security challenge. 5,500 police will line the River Thames during the jubilee pageant. A further 7,000 stewards will be on hand, and 12,000 police will be on duty at the Olympic venues on peak days, with many more patrolling the rest of the city.
Commander Bob Milton used to direct security for the police during big events and knows what it will involve.
COMMANDER BOB MILTON, FORMER METROPOLITAN POLICE COMMANDER: Then you have sort of like concentric rings of further protection coming out. RIVERS: He says covert officers like these will also be deployed in large numbers, some with specialist sniffer dogs to ensure the queen can safely go on a walkabout.
MILTON: It's extremely difficult to put in a security apparatus that allows the queen, the royal family to have good access to the public. So you have to plan it in by using, as you say, covert security measures. You have to have a partnership approach, so there the military play a massive role.
RIVERS: Like these Royal Navy helicopters with snipers aboard, prepared to take out any intruders on the river.
REAL ADMIRAL IAN CORDER, ROYAL NAVY: The helicopters alongside police boats and added (ph) some of our own boats to the Marines (inaudible) will close on that vessel.
RIVERS: Combined with the Olympics, the security operation will be unprecedented.
KEMP: This will be the largest military operation on mainland UK probably since the Second World War, involving huge numbers of military forces, more than we've got deployed in Afghanistan today. And, of course, very, very large numbers of police.
RIVERS: Hoping they won't be called on but prepared for any eventuality in case they are.
Dan Rivers, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: CNN's live coverage of Queen Elizabeth's diamond jubilee begins next Sunday, June 3rd, at 11:00 a.m. Join us for this royal celebration.
A big traffic jam where you wouldn't expect it, Mount Everest. The treacherous and potentially deadly journey isn't keeping adventure seekers away, though. We'll talk with a climber who's scaling Everest for the tenth time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: It is going to be another crowded weekend on the trails to the peak of Mt. Everest, just days after four mountaineers died on the world's tallest mountain. So many climbers could make the journey even more treacherous, even though today's adventure seekers have perks like skilled Sherpas, weather forecasts and titanium oxygen tanks. Earlier, I spoke by phone with British climber Kenton Cool. He's at a base camp on his tenth trip to the summit. I began by asking him if he knew any of the climbers who died last weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KENTON COOL, CLIMBER: No, I didn't. It was a very, very sad event on the mountain here, and obviously most of the base camp was shocked. I mean, it's one of those unfortunate things. I mean, there's lots to (inaudible) about, and when it happens, it saddens the whole community here.
KAYE: So just how dangerous is climbing Mt. Everest? We talked about the crowds there. Does that make it a lot more dangerous?
COOL: It all comes down to management, really. I mean, this is my tenth trip here. I still have 10 fingers, 10 toes, a nose, and I haven't had any frostbite in any of my trips. And I think it just comes down to good planning, good preparation, and then working with a very good Sherpa crew so the execution of the plan goes according to plan. Because, yes, unfortunately there were a few deaths this year, but then mountaineering is a very dangerous sport, and there are lots of people who go up to the top and back down very safely.
The crowds certainly don't help things, and weather this year meant that those crowds were concentrated into short periods of time, whereas normally it would be elongated over a longer period. But let's not forget, as I said, with good management and a good understanding about how the mountain works, then there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be quite successful getting up, and, safely, most importantly, back down.
KAYE: So are those who are choosing to climb this, I mean, are they properly prepared? Is that a little bit of a problem? Because it sounds like Mt. Everest is becoming a bit of a tourist destination.
COOL: Well, I mean, obviously Mt. Everest represents for many people the pinnacle of mountaineering. You only have to look back to 1920s and the British effort for the mountain. You know, it's the highest point in the world. So it does draw people to it.
I wouldn't necessarily say the crowds make it any more dangerous. I mean, I didn't know the people personally, so I can't tell you how prepared they were or they weren't. It's just one of those unfortunate things.
Up in the death zone, about 7,000, 7,500 meters, the human body is not really supposed to live. So I would call that a ticking time bomb when you get out there. You've only got a certain amount of time you can spend in that area before your body -- it slowly deteriorates no matter how much supplementary oxygen or food or anything else you have up there. So it's a very dangerous place to be, and people have to be very mindful of that, still.
KAYE: Well, listen, we wish you luck as you make your tenth attempt to the summit, your tenth trip. Amazing bravery. And I'm sure it will be amazing when you get there. Kenton Cool, thank you so much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Some incredible pictures there. "CNN NEWSROOM" starts at the top of the hour, and Fredricka Whitfield--
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I love the idea of the destination. But then that's a case where I don't know if I'd really enjoy the journey. I don't like to be uncomfortable.
KAYE: No, no, and the cold. He's a very brave guy.
WHITFIELD: But it's beautiful, and those images and stories are just harrowing.
KAYE: He has the perfect name, though, right, for that story?
WHITFIELD: He really does.
KAYE: Kenton Cool.
WHITFIELD: He does. Good to see you.
KAYE: So what do you have coming up?
WHITFIELD: Well, we have a lot coming up straight ahead. Of course our legal guys will be with us, Avery and Richard always bring us something fascinating, interesting. And this is a case involving Sharon Stone who is being sued by her ex-nanny, who is alleging racial harassment, sweatshop conditions and wrongful termination. Stone says the claims are false, are meritless. She says that this woman is just out for money. So our legal guys will be exploring the merits of this case. Does, indeed, this ex-nanny have a case?
And then of course it is the unofficial start of the summer season. Everyone is heading to the beach. I know you are heading to a coastline any day now. So what's the best sunscreen in which to reach for? Our Dr. Sujatha Reddy will be along with us. Big hint -- anything under SPF 50, under 50.
KAYE: Is not?
WHITFIELD: Is optimal.
KAYE: Oh, is optimal? Really? I always thought the bigger the number, the better.
WHITFIELD: That's what a lot of people seem to believe. So she's going to straighten that out for us.
And then big movie weekend. And of course you remember the game "Battleship," who sunk my battleship?
KAYE: Loved it.
WHITFIELD: Of course big movie at the theater as well too. We're going to be exploring not just the movie, but one of the big stars of the show, who is a real lifetime vet, war hero, Colonel Greg Gadson. He's going to be joining us later on today to talk about his experience, his inspiration, why he's in this movie, and why, you know, this opportunity has really kind of turned his life around.
KAYE: Wow. That will be a very interesting conversation.
(CROSSTALK) WHITFIELD: A lot coming up.
KAYE: Always.
WHITFIELD: And then before, we're going to see you again tomorrow, but then you'll be heading off to a nice little vacation.
KAYE: Oh, yeah. I'm out of here.
WHITFIELD: In the sun. But don't forget to watch our sunscreen segment, so you get the right thing.
KAYE: I promise. Good advice. Thank you, Fred. Check back with you in a moment.
A Memorial Day weekend break for jurors in the John Edwards corruption trial. But an issue came up before they headed home. We'll break it down.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Take a look at this. The video is going viral on Youtube.
Isn't that incredible? Both drivers lucky to be alive after a car collided with an overturned tractor-trailer. The truck apparently took the turn too fast. You see it happening here. It happened on a highway in Russia. And believe it or not, everyone is OK. Incredible pictures.
WHITFIELD: And wait a minute. Why did that camera just happened to be mounted and rolling? I have questions.
KAYE: You have a lot of questions, but we don't have time for your questions.
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: We'll get to you in a moment.
WHITFIELD: OK. Move on.
KAYE: The jury in the John Edwards campaign corruption trial is taking the holiday weekend off. Deliberations resume Tuesday. But before adjourning, an issue came up in a closed courtroom. Joe Johns is covering the trial.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The jury in the John Edwards trial has wrapped up its sixth day of deliberations. They got the case a week ago on Friday. It may seem like a long time, but they have only actually been deliberating about 33 hours.
Edwards is charged in a six-count indictment with accepting illegal campaign funds, false statements, and conspiracy in connection with the cover-up of his affair with his mistress, Rielle Hunter, during the 2008 presidential campaign. The jury has been sending out notes that may offer clues about their progress or lack of progress in the case. Earlier in the week, they asked for many of the exhibits presented during the trial relating to contributions or gifts from the late Texas lawyer Fred Baron that was used to keep Hunter away from the media. The jury asked for other things, among them a note from Fred Baron to one of Edwards' fixers, telling him to use cash and not credit, and a copy of an ABC News interview with Edwards in which he denied fathering Rielle Hunter's baby.
KEIRAN SHANAHAN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: What's long, eight days? It's a little hard to say, to be honest with you. But it's certainly longer than I think most of us anticipated. And yet given the way they seem to have approached the problem that they had been given, which is to say reach a verdict, they have asked for documents associated with first the Bunny Mellon counts, then they came back and asked for the Baron documents, now they have got all the documents. It appears that they are taking a very systematic approach to this deliberation. So that's why a full week doesn't surprise me.
JOHNS: The case could have a potentially serious impact on the way federal campaigns are conducted. But waiting for the verdict here has created some not so serious, though memorable moments. Passing the time, members of the media, attorneys participating in the case, and even the defendant himself have now been spotted attending baseball games at a local ballpark. And in the courtroom itself during breaks, four alternate jurors, who are not participating in the deliberations but still on standby just in case, have appeared in the courtroom wearing color-coordinated outfits. Yellow on one day, a reddish color the next. One of the alternates, who is not shy about making eye contact with the people in the courtroom, has more than once flashed a big smile at Edwards, and he has smiled back.
SHANAHAN: The entertainment value is very high. As a practical matter, probably very low. These four alternate jurors weren't excused, but they have been held and they have been put in their own room. Although the judge, quite surprisingly, takes a break in the trial, where they are now -- where the jury is actually having lunch with the alternates. So they are having a little fun. They are bored. You can see when they come out, they are happy, smiling, making eye contact. The jurors are hard at work with their heads down. But it's -- I think and hope at this point it's just sort of a pleasant distraction and a way of someone -- a group of people who have been told not to communicate are finding their own subliminal way of putting a smile on everybody's face, including the judge today, by the way. She gave them kind of a friendly smile.
JOHNS: At the end of the day on Friday, the judge cleared the courtroom to talk to the lawyers about an unspecified issue relating to a juror, and said that on Tuesday morning, before deliberations resume, she may have to revisit that very same issue.
Joe Johns, CNN, Greensboro, North Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Sounds like quite a drama there. WHITFIELD: A bizarre case that continues to, you know.
KAYE: Get even more bizarre.
WHITFIELD: Reaching a new apex in bizarreness.
KAYE: I hope you have a great Saturday, everybody. "CNN NEWSROOM" continues right now with Fredricka Whitfield.
WHITFIELD: Thanks very much, Randi.
