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CNN Saturday Morning News

Anti-Muslim Filmmaker Questioned; Continuing Anti-American Protests Around the Globe; Libyan Attacks May Have Been Planned; Romney Response to Middle East Attacks; Romney Losing Edge in Swing States; Eastwood No Regrets; Hate Crime vs. Religious Freedom; Court to Hear Case of Jeffrey MacDonald; iPhone5 Unveiled; Four Heroes, Home Again

Aired September 15, 2012 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell. It is 8:00 on the East Coast, 5:00 out west. Thanks for starting your day with us, and we start with new images from overnight.

The man believed to be behind the anti-Islam film that sparked protests in the Middle East was escorted from his home by police. This is Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, bundled in a coat with a hat and a white scarf covering everything but his eyes. He left voluntarily. Nakoula was apparently questioned for a few hours before leaving on his own.

As part of his probation stemming from an earlier bank fraud conviction, he was supposed to have only limited access to the Internet and of course the trailer for his movie was found on YouTube.

KAYE: Now to anti-American protests. Specially-trained Marines have been sent to beef up security in Libya, Yemen and Sudan. American embassies and those of allies have been targeted by protesters.

Those protests haven't only been in the Middle East. This one took place in Australia overnight. Protesters there clashed with police near the U.S. consulate. We'll take you live to Cairo in just a minute or so for more on the massive protests that have been going on there.

BLACKWELL: The worst of these protests was in Libya. Four Americans were killed. Their bodies were returned to the U.S. Friday. Christopher Stevens was the ambassador to Libya and was instrumental in building relations with Libyan rebels during the uprising against Moammar Gadhafi. Sean Smith was an Air Force veteran who served in missions from Baghdad to Benghazi. Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were both former Navy SEALs who were working as diplomatic security officers at the consulate.

The bodies were met by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But even as voices of suspicion and mistrust seek to divide countries and cultures from one another, the United States of America will never retreat from the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: We've seen the anti-American protests popping up in more than a dozen countries now, but not all of them have been violent like what we've seen in Egypt or Libya. Many more of the protests have been peaceful like this one in Pakistan, with Muslim demonstrators voicing their anger over an anti-Muslim film produced in the U.S.

BLACKWELL: Some of the largest anti-American protests have been in Cairo where officials were forced to build large concrete walls in the streets just to keep protesters away from the U.S. embassy there.

Ian Lee now joins me from Cairo and we know that at points there's been lots of people, thousands of people, at least in Tahrir Square and then at some points not many people. Have the protests let up there now in the capital?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, all seems to be calm in Cairo right now. We saw some of the fiercest clashes yesterday evening between protesters and police, but earlier this morning it seemed like the police had enough and they had hundreds and hundreds of riot police officers move through the streets, dispersing the protesters with tear gas.

The protesters were pushed back to Tahrir Square, but even from there, the police moved in and were able to disperse them, the protesters melting away into the city and so far everything is calm right now. There's a heavy, heavy security presence in Tahrir Square and also around the U.S. embassy and we haven't seen any more clashes since.

BLACKWELL: Ian, we've learned that militants attacked a UN peacekeeping base in Sinai yesterday. What can you tell us about that?

LEE: Well, these are the multi-force, multi-national force observers and their mission is basically to watch the border between Egypt and Israel. This is part of the peace treaty, but militants in the Sinai have been threatening these observers for quite a while now and these observers make up many nations, but they also make up American soldiers as well and the militants have threatened to attack them.

And, yesterday, we saw them make good on that threat. The Egyptian military moved in with hundreds of soldiers. They moved in with tanks and then armored personnel carriers and were able to repel the attack, but not after four soldiers from Fiji were injured.

BLACKWELL: All right. The situation in Cairo changing hour to hour. Ian Lee live in Cairo, thank you.

KAYE: The FBI is expected to arrive in Libya today to begin investigating the attack that killed four Americans.

CNN intelligence correspondent Suzanne Kelly joins us now from Washington with the latest information about what the U.S. intelligence agencies knew and when they knew it.

Suzanne, what do you know?

SUZANNE KELLY, CNN INTELLIGENCE CORRESPONDENT: Right, Randi. CNN found out from a U.S. intelligence source that there was a cable sent to Cairo 48 hours before the attack warning about the existence of this anti-Muslim film on the Internet and also warning that they had seen an uptick in the number of people who had been clicking on the link and watching the film. So they sent a cable to Cairo warning them that that was out there. However, there was no specific warning attached that an attack was imminent.

A couple of things that intelligence did know going into this though. There are well-equipped groups already in place in Benghazi, a lot of al Qaeda sympathizers there as well, these pockets of al Qaeda sympathizers. Knowledge of this film, when you start to sort of pull all the pieces together, you get a little bit clearer image of what U.S. intelligence officials are looking at now as they are trying to piece together exactly how this got so out of control.

KAYE: There has also been a lot of conflicting statements from Washington as to whether this attack was planned or not. It seems to change daily. What do we know at this point?

KELLY: It does. As a matter of fact, it was very difficult sort of pinning down where the confusion was coming from.

I mean, take a listen, Randi, to just what was said as recently as last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: You know, we have no information to suggest that it was a pre-planned attack.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: This was a calculated act of terror on the part of a small group of jihadists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KELLY: Now, of course, we have officials in Libya also coming out and saying that they do believe this was pre-planned. So here's where I think that difference lies, Randi. The U.S. has said there was no actionable intelligence to suggest.

Now, we talked about what U.S. intelligence knew at the time. However, they say there was no link to know that this attack was actually coming. They had no transmissions. They usually get their intelligence through human information or signals intelligence where they intercept phone calls. None of that was on the radar.

However, that doesn't necessarily mean that the attack wasn't planned in advance, that there weren't some sort of level of coordination between some of those well-equipped groups we talked about and the al Qaeda sympathizers. We simply don't know and that's what the FBI and intelligence officials are continuing to look at now as this investigation continues.

KAYE: Yes, still searching for answers on so many levels there. Suzanne Kelly, thank you.

BLACKWELL: An attack at a military base in southern Afghanistan this morning has left two U.S. Marines dead and at least three others wounded. This base is home to American-run Camp Leatherneck and British-run Camp Bastion. Just look at the aftermath we can show you here. Smoke is rising from Camp Bastion. Military officials called it a sustained attack.

Here's that video and they say as many as 20 insurgents were killed. The Taliban has claimed responsibility. This is the same base where Prince Harry is stationed, but officials said he was -- he was not in the way of danger.

KAYE: We've got much more ahead this hour.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Here's what's coming up.

KAYE: They are breaking points, the thresholds of no return and maybe what separates peace from war. They are called red lines. All morning we're putting them in focus.

The dust is settling from the conventions, and new polls reveal some interesting changes, especially in the swing states. Our CNN political team breaks down the numbers.

Jeffrey Macdonald in prison for the grisly murder of his wife and daughters in 1970, but academy award winner Errol Morris says Captain Jeffrey Macdonald may be innocent. I'll talk to him live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: In the wake of the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans, Mitt Romney is highlighting his foreign policy. He said Obama has sent the world mixed messages.

KAYE: But now critics say Romney is the one mixing messages. CNN's national political correspondent Jim Acosta is following the Romney campaign.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Randi and Victor, aides to Mitt Romney say he watched the bodies of the slain diplomats arrive at Andrews Air Force base on television here in Ohio before going out to pay tribute to them at a rally. It was a moment that stood out in a day marked by both tough and lighthearted talk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): At a rally in Ohio, Mitt Romney set aside his attacks on President Obama's foreign policy to remember the U.S. ambassador and three Americans who lost their lives in America.

FMR. GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'd ask that you might each place your hand over your heart in recognition of the bloodshed for freedom by them and by our other sons and daughters who have lost their lives in the cause of America and the cause of liberty and we'll take a movement of silence together.

ACOSTA: The moment of silence was only a brief pause in his campaign- sharpened rhetoric. Earlier in the day running mate Paul Ryan suggested the president was showing a weakness on the world stage that invited the diplomatic attacks.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They are extremists who operate by violence and intimidation and the least equivocation or mixed signal only makes them bolder.

ACOSTA: On CNN, a senior campaign advisor claimed the violence would have been prevented under a President Romney, saying he would have been more engaged in the Arab spring.

RICHARD WILLIAMSON, FOREIGN POLICY ADVISOR, ROMNEY CAMPAIGN: We would be partners in this revolution, not running behind and not seen as part of that. I think that changes the dynamic and so yes, there would be a difference.

ACOSTA: At a New York fund-raiser, Romney slammed the president for not planning to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the start of the United Nations general assembly next week. Romney said it sends a message not just to Israel but throughout the Middle East and in some respects it's a confusing message. The rhetorical jabs came as the president paid tribute to the slain diplomats as their bodies arrived at Andrews Air Force base.

Despite his campaign, serious posture, Romney and his wife took time to make some light hearted comments to daytime talk show host Kelly Ripa in a taped interview that's slated to air next week. Romney weighed in on MTV's reality show "Jersey Shore" saying --

ROMNEY: I'm kind of a Snooki fan. Look how tiny she has gotten. She's lost weight and she's energetic, just her spark plug personality.

ACOSTA: Ann Romney talked about how she once walked in on former President George W. Bush getting a massage in the White House and when asked what he wears to bed the GOP nominee disclosed as little as possible.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: The Romney campaign is signaling their criticism of President Obama on foreign policy is only the beginning and it comes as several polls show Romney falling behind in key swing states like here in Ohio. As one Romney advisor put it to me earlier this week, it's a good thing they don't hold elections right after the conventions -- Randi and Victor.

KAYE: Jim, thank you very much.

It's not just the polls in Ohio. This week CNN's political editor Paul Steinhauser took a look at the polls in all the battleground states. Several showed Romney could be losing his edge.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, good morning guys.

With the political conventions over, we've seen a flood of new polls in crucial battleground states in the race for the presidency and some of them seem to suggest that Mitt Romney's path to the White House is becoming a bit more difficult.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I want to talk about some of the challenges we face here in Ohio.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: As Romney was talking about the economy, a new poll from NBC News, "Wall Street Journal" and Marist indicated the Republican presidential nominee trailing President Obama by seven points in the Buckeye State, but according to other new surveys out this week, the race for Ohio's 18 electoral votes is much closer.

It's a very similar story in Florida where 29 electoral votes are up for grabs. The NBC/"Wall Street Journal"/Marist poll has Mr. Obama holding a five-point advantage which is within the survey sampling error, but other polls show a dead heat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We'll win Norfolk again. We'll win Virginia again. We'll win this election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Four years ago Mr. Obama became the first Democrat to win Virginia in a presidential election since 1964. Romney hopes to paint the state red this November, but the latest polling gives Mr. Obama a five-point edge, again though within the sampling error.

A survey in Michigan suggests the president is up by 10 points in the state where Romney was born, new numbers in two other swing states, Colorado and New Hampshire, indicate closer contests.

Now put it all together and right now the map seems to favor the president. But we've still got seven weeks, three presidential debates and one vice presidential debate to go. Randi, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Paul Steinhauser, thank you, lots of polls to go too.

KAYE: Oh, yes, going to be a while.

BLACKWELL: Red line politics. The president has come under fire over the response to those protests in the Middle East, but will he change U.S. foreign policy because of it? We'll explore the options.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLACKWELL: Much of the Middle East has exploded with anti-American protests. The protests and violence were prompted in part by an anti- Muslim movie produced in the U.S. This morning we're talking about the attacks on the American embassies and the red line. That's the line between diplomacy and war. It's the line in the sand that President HW Bush talked about before going to war against Iraq.

Joining me now is Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Good to have you with us.

JON ALTERMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: What is -- we're going to start with this red line. What is the red line for the U.S. when dealing with the new threats in the Middle East? Right now the Marines are protecting the consulates and the embassies and those two destroyers are there just on standby, but what is the line for those men and women to go into action?

ALTERMAN: Look, I think the real line is when you start feeling that you have either a state or a state force taking action. What seems to be going on here, seems to me is three different things. One is you have yet another effort to get activists excited about protecting what's in danger, in this case Islam. We saw it with the Danish cartoons case about seven years ago. We've seen it periodically.

Second, you have new political leaders who used to be on the protesting side who now have to figure out what's the national interest, how do I relate to my former allies on the protest side and still lead the country and, third, you have very weak police forces after the transition that happened over the last year and a half.

So I think what you have so far is sort of a normal political activism and people are trying to -- governments are trying to figure out how to deal with it and the red line would be if the government starts going in opposition. I think at this point the governments are with us.

BLACKWELL: You say normal political activism, but there's an ambassador who is dead and three other Americans. Is that not the line in Libya at least?

ALTERMAN: But the ambassador was a friend of mine, so I don't take that lightly at all, but I don't think that that reflected the broad views of the Libyan people. I think what happened there, as far as we understand it, is there was a violent protest tucked into a larger protest. There are lots of weapons going through the Middle East, too, and that makes this all the more dangerous.

But I don't think there's any evidence that either the local government in Benghazi or local government elements or anybody in Libya was somehow trying to target Americans. What instead I think this is a consequence of is we have had diplomacy in the Middle East that's been all about our relations with governments. And what Chris Stevens was trying to do was remake diplomacy, deal a lot more with a much wider range of people outside of capital cities. Unfortunately, that's a mode that he gave his life for.

BLACKWELL: And for some of the people he was attempting to reach, let's talk about the red line for them and look at this from the other angle. What is the red line for them that would push them to again attack another embassy in another country? We know that there's these protests in more than a dozen countries around the world.

ALTERMAN: Look, I think social movements all over the place try to mobilize people by saying we are defending against a threat and I think there's a lot of bravado that goes on as people say, look, we're going up against this awesome power and the United States is a global power, but we will defend the honor of Islam, defend the honor of the prophet.

People sort of feel that this is protesting, not because they want to threaten Americans' lives, but because they feel under assault because their red lines for what's acceptable speech are different from ours.

I really don't see anything that is sort of different kind of anti- Americanism. I don't see something that's a different kind of violence. This feels to me like the kinds of things we have periodically seen throughout the Middle East, often about an offense against Islam which brings people out into the streets and then people go back into their homes.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about foreign policy for a moment. This is what the president said in a recent interview. OK, so we don't have the sound, but he was asked in an interview I believe with Telemundo if Egypt was an ally in his eye and he said they are not an ally, but they are not an enemy.

So, is the U.S. response to the attacks more about the attackers or more about the responses from the government, especially Mohamed Morsi's new government in the Middle East?

ALTERMAN: I think there's a perception that when non-governmental forces attack governments, that governments pull together because governments have an interest in protecting their relations with other governments. Mohamed Morsi came out of a protest movement. The Muslim Brotherhood was in opposition for 80 years and I think he was unsure where to position himself.

I think what he has discovered is you can't be unsure. You have to protect your relationships. You have to protect the rule of law. I think the Egyptians have come late to the idea that they have to be in the right place on this. I don't think they will be making that mistake again, but, again, it has to do with weak security forces, with political leaders who haven't had to figure out where they fit in.

That, I think, is really the change here, not that this represents a fundamentally different way the United States is going to have to work with governments and populations in the Middle East. BLACKWELL: And we'll see how President Morsi makes that transition from the opposition now to the establishment as we go through the weeks and years ahead.

John Alterman from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, thank you for joining us.

Next hour, we'll take a closer look at Iran and the red line for war. Are Israel and the United States really on the same page? Stay with us.

KAYE: Religion versus freedom of speech. An Ohio jury deliberates whether hair-cutting attacks in the Amish community was an expression of religion or a hate crime.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Checking stories cross country. No one wants to be left behind on a trip to Disney World, especially not Bob Bob the cat as he's called.

BLACKWELL: Not Bob Bob please.

KAYE: This little guy stowed away - there he is -- in his owner's bag and flew all the way from Ohio to Florida, a little stowaway kitty. The cat was discovered 10 hours later when his owner unpacked in her Orlando hotel room. She said Bob Bob was a hit shaken, but still purring.

BLACKWELL: So nice they named him twice.

This one you've got to see to believe. On a fishing trip in Alaska, 16-year-old Kate Curtis hooks an 88-inch, 375-pound halibut. It took over an hour to reel it in and the teen needed a helping hand from her father. The family didn't keep the catch though. It was released back in the water.

KAYE: 375 pounds, wow.

It says American as a seven-foot apple pie. Yes, a seven-foot apple pie. The super-sized dessert is the highlight of Indiana's Annual Nappanee Apple Festival and it's not for the faint of heart. It takes 100 pounds of dough and 19 bushels of apples. The final product weighs in at just 600 pounds.

BLACKWELL: Religion collides with American law in an Ohio courtroom. The unusual case of 16 Amish men and women on trial for Federal hate crimes over a series of haircutting incidents within their strict religious community.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Thank you for starting your morning with us. After a five-day teacher strike, a tentative deal in Chicago between the teachers' union and the city school board. Union officials will meet sometime today or tomorrow to draft framework for an agreement.

And jumping a little northwest, a circuit judge has tossed out a major portion of Wisconsin's collective bargaining law. The law backed by Republican Governor Scott Walker limits the rights of public -- public unions rather like teachers union. The judge ruled yesterday the law violates both the state and U.S. Constitution. But this legal battle is probably long from over. After the ruling, Governor Walker suggested the state would appeal the decision.

And finally, Clint Eastwood -- no regrets, at least about his empty chair speech at the Republican National Convention. Here's what he told our Nischelle Turner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR/DIRECTOR: One thing about -- one advantage of being my age is, you know, what can they do to you? You just have fun and then do as you think and -- and you can say what you think. You don't have to edit yourself.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: So you don't regret it at all? And I think I heard Governor Romney say on one of the Sunday shows last week that he enjoyed it. He liked it.

EASTWOOD: He did.

Yes. He's got a much better sense of humor than people think.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Eastwood, of course, came under fire for his speech. Many felt he stole Mitt Romney's thunder on the last day of the convention.

KAYE: Now to the Amish trial in Ohio. A jury is deliberating the fate of 16 men and women charged with federal hate crimes related to a series of hair and beard-cutting attacks in their strict community. Federal prosecutors say the attacks were motivated by religious differences, ordered by a leader named Samuel Mullet Sr. from a breakaway sect. Mullet denies operating as a cult. If convicted, he faces 20 years in prison.

CNN's legal contributor Paul Call joins us this morning to talk about this. So Paul -- good morning to you.

Since Samuel Mullet denies operating as a cult, where does the court draw the line between freedom of religion?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTORY: This case has created a lot of debate about, you know, this hate crime laws and how to enforce them. And it's a very, very difficult decision I think for the jury and the court. The federal government enacted a law that said basically if you commit a crime and that crime is based on hatred of a religion or a gender group or a sexual orientation you get punished in a much more severe way.

And you know, in this case there's a real struggle to decide whether when you have a religious cult like this and the claim is that this is a breakaway cult and members of the cult are fighting amongst themselves about what's appropriate religiously, should the federal government be involved in this? Should we be trying to look into their minds to decide why they did this beard-cutting?

So I mean, that's sort of -- that sort of the stage upon which this jury trial is being played out on.

KAYE: The defendants, of course, they are claiming that the attacks were nothing more than family feuds. They weren't hate crimes. What is the likelihood, do you think, of a jury seeing it that way?

CALLAN: Well I think they make very strong arguments to the jury. I mean the jury could throw up their hand and say it's none of our business to get involved in some Amish cult and indicating beards or no beards and so they may just think it's a waste of the federal government's money to be getting involved in this.

But you know, the sentence is very severe. As you indicated, 20 years in prison could be involved. The defense, by the way, has said, you know, this is not a hate crime. This is a crime that arises out of spiritual love of one person who participates in a religion for another. And some of the beard-cutting had to do with family feuds. And you know, why is the federal government devoting all of this time to people feuding about their own religion?

KAYE: Yes.

CALLAN: That's the question that's being asked and I think the jury will be asking that question as well.

KAYE: Certainly. Now usually though, the Amish resolve disputes without involving law enforcement at all, but concerns that Mullet was operating a cult caused them to go outside the community. Does this carry any weight, do you think, in court?

CALLAN: I think it does. I think a jury certainly won't look at this as a mainstream sort of respectable religion. They are going to look at it as a renegade cult arising out of from the Amish beliefs, but I -- and I think that makes for a stronger case for the prosecution. And I also think they make a strong case that to attack somebody because of religious belief, in other words and to shave a beard off, which for an Amish man is apparently just the most horrific thing you can do, that this has to be punished in an exceptional way.

You know, this whole thing arose out of the civil rights laws when African-Americans were being targeted as a result of the color of their skin and being forced not to vote, so the federal government said you discriminate against somebody based on a belief, you're going to pay a higher price.

KAYE: Right. CALLAN: But this is sort of -- when you follow it down a long road, we find ourselves in a -- you know a small Amish cult and shaving beards off and a lot of people say, you know, that's really not what this law was intended for.

KAYE: Meanwhile though to make things even stranger, the federal judge has allowed testimony of Mullet's alleged sexual activities with the wives of other men at his compound. How do you think this affects the case since this is about a hate crime and hate crime charges, not sex charges?

CALLAN: Well you know I think it strengthens the prosecutor's case because frankly you know if the jury just thinks that this is just about cutting beards off, they are not going to take it too seriously. But prosecutors are saying he was vengeful and as a result of these sexual relationships that were going on he was seeking revenge on his enemies and there is no better way to get revenge against a fellow Amish man but to cut his beard off --

(CROSSTALK)

KAYE: Right.

CALLAN: -- because that would be so devastating to him from a spiritual standpoint, so the claim is he was using religion to enforce, you know, his own view of the world and to get revenge because of these sexual relationships.

So, I think it helps the prosecutor's case actually in a very big way.

KAYE: It's certainly a strange one, that's for sure.

CALLAN: It is. That's for sure.

KAYE: Paul, stick around. Stick around because when we come back we're going to examine the reopening of this very high-profile murder trial that gripped the nation more than 40 years ago. It's a fascinating case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back.

It was a high-profile murder case back in the early 1970s that rocked a small North Carolina town and made headlines across the nation. A Green Beret Army doctor named Jeffrey MacDonald accused and ultimately convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and two daughters.

MacDonald stuck to his story that drugged-out hippies committed the crimes and then beat him up, even stabbing him. But prosecutors saw it as far-fetched, and he's currently serving three consecutive life sentences. And now there is a new book by veteran filmmaker Errol Morris that's raising doubts on whether MacDonald got a fair trial and whether the evidence in the case is even credible.

So let's bring in CNN legal contributor Paul Callan back with us now. Paul on Monday MacDonald's case goes back to federal court. The North Carolina Center for Actual Innocence is arguing for a new evaluation of DNA evidence. Could this give him a new chance do you think at freedom?

CALLAN: Oh it's a possibility. This case though, a very, very complicated case going back over 30 years and, of course, in the early years it was thought very clear-cut case of guilt and particularly after Joe McGuinnes (ph) wrote a very famous book about the case in which he concluded that MacDonald was guilty beyond all doubt.

But you know, a lot of people think MacDonald was innocent. I mean he was a Princeton educated doctor who was a captain in the military and very highly regarded at the time, and it seemed bizarre that he would kill his wife and children without really a clear motive.

KAYE: Yes.

CALLAN: So it's very, very controversial, but the federal court is looking at it. There's some new evidence that he's presented saying prosecutors were aware that there was this witness that would be helpful to him, a woman in a floppy hat who supposedly was one of the murderers and he wasn't told about this and there's a decision called the Brady decision that requires prosecutors to reveal this kind of information.

So there's a handle here that prosecutors -- that the court could look at to give him a new trial but you know it's hard to decide whether they will or not. It's a very old case and it's been looked at by the way, by a lot of courts.

KAYE: Yes.

CALLAN: Four appeals at least. It's already gone to the Supreme Court once and been upheld.

KAYE: What about Errol Morris, though, I mean, he's a very well- respected guy. He's known for being a really good digger. How much weight do you think he brings to the case?

CALLAN: Well, I think in terms of the court evaluating the evidence in the case, he doesn't bring any weight at all because the only thing the court is going to look at is what was admitted in court and what prosecutors should have revealed to the defense. But in a bigger sense, I mean, the reason we're talking about it and the reason a lot of people have been saying, oh, yes, I remember that MacDonald case, let me take a second look at that.

As a matter of fact, I was digging through the evidence last night because this was a fascinating case.

KAYE: It sure is.

CALLAN: And you know as the public looks at it, if there's sort of public sentiment that he was treated unfairly and that kind of has an impact on the court in an indirect way and you know, he was convicted on the basis of blood analysis and fiber analysis and a lot of things. Now this is back in the '70s and the '80s. Technology has radically changed since then.

KAYE: Yes, certainly.

CALLAN: And so what was thought to be a clear cut case based on that evidence back then, when you look at it now, it might not be so clear.

KAYE: Right. We've seen that happen already in cases where there's improved DNA. But Morris has blamed the media coverage of the case. I mean have you seen that before? I mean could, that have actually played a role in MacDonald's conviction?

CALLAN: Yes I -- and I do think that it played an enormous role, not so much in his actual conviction before the jury. I think, you know, the press coverage -- there was a lot of press coverage at the time of the trial, but it was the Joe McGuinnes book more than anything else. You know, McGuinnes goes out and he writes these books about crimes, infamous crimes and he befriends himself with the accused and basically MacDonald, I think thought McGuinnes was going to help him when he wrote the book.

Well, when MacDonald -- when McGuinnes wrote the book, he said are you kidding me? This guy is so guilty, it's not beyond reasonable doubt, it's beyond all doubt and kind of after that book was written that was the end for MacDonald. Nobody took him seriously anymore. He lost a lot of supporters and had the book gone the other way and said this is a very doubtful case, maybe people would have taken a second look at the case.

So I think the press can influence these cases and I think the MacDonald case is an example of where that's happened. So this new book, maybe it'll help him.

(CROSSTALK)

KAYE: What about motive, though? What about the lack of a clear obvious motive in this case? I mean how much weight do you think that had because --

(CROSSTALK)

CALLAN: Well, it's very important. The -- you have to remember, this case, by the way, you know he's accused of having killed his wife and his two children and he -- as I said, very, you know, highly-respected army captain, Green Beret at the time.

He said these hippies came into his house and one was saying acid is groovy, kill the pigs, and it was thought to be sort of he was trying to mimic the Manson killings and other things that were going on and he did sort of an amateurish job of it. So I mean, that was the background of the case at the time and when you go back now and you look at the motive issue in particular, there was really -- it was hard to come up with a motive, but there was one thing that was important. He was having an affair and his wife apparently had found out about the affair, so prosecutors were saying he was having a brutal argument with his wife. And they traced different blood types throughout the house and they tried to recreate what had happened from the time he started arguing with his wife in the bedroom until his kids ultimately were killed in a rather cold-blooded brutal way to make it look like outsiders had committed the crime.

KAYE: Yes.

CALLAN: So they had a motive, that there was an affair, and he was arrogant. He was sort of -- he thought he was above it all and too smart for everybody. And the thought was the jury didn't like him, and that hurt him in the case. So there was some motive, but it was -- that's kind of a very low-scale motive --

KAYE: Exactly. Exactly.

CALLAN: -- for mass murder, you know, but that's what they put up on the board.

KAYE: It's going to be so interesting at this hearing on Monday and see if this case does get another look.

Paul Callan, thank you.

CALLAN: Always nice being with you, Randi.

KAYE: And we want to get your opinion on this. Do you think Jeffrey MacDonald is guilty of killing his family?

You can tweet me @randikayecnn or Victor @victorcnn. We'll read your responses later this morning.

And you'll hear from filmmaker Errol Morris whose new book is raising doubt about the credibility and the evidence in the trial. He'll join me at 10:300 a.m. Eastern time.

BLACKWELL: Now, what's taller, faster, smaller and made entirely of glass and aluminum? It's Apple's new iPhone. If you want one, you want to go online right now and buy it, right? Well, you can't. It's sold out.

But, first, here's a quick excursion to Dubai. The UAE's tourism and trading hub for this week's "Travel Insider". Amir Daftari, a producer with CNN International takes you there.

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AMIR DAFTARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL PRODUCER: Most people around the world look forward to the summertime, but here in the UAE we dread it. Temperatures soar more than 110 degrees Fahrenheit. I haven't even been outside for five minutes and I'm sweating already.

So apart from staying at home, what do most people do to cool down? Many come to giant air-conditioned shopping malls like this one, but retail therapy doesn't really do it for me, so I head to a place where I can really chill out.

In the span of around ten minutes I've gone from the sweltering heat to the freezing cold. This is Ski Dubai. It's a man-made winter wonderland in the middle of the desert. And I think it's time that I hit the slopes, or rather the slope.

The thing is it's pretty expensive to get in here. It's around $50 just for a couple of hours of ski time, and I can't even imagine what it costs to power a place like this.

Now this place may not be the Alps or the Rockies, but what I like about it that it's a real escape from the boiling temperatures outside. I mean, it's basically a giant refrigerator and it is freezing. You've got to have your gloves. You've got to have your ski clothes, and above all it's just a lot of fun and I'll see you at the bottom.

So this is where I come to beat the heat in the desert.

Amir Daftari, CNN Dubai.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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BLACKWELL: IPhone fever is at an all-time high. I am a huge fan of the phone. I have the iPhone here, and another one over here.

The iPhone 5 is the sixth generation of the phone, and it's out now. Well, kind of. That's it because it sold out the first hour when it went on sale on Friday.

Mario Armstrong, HLN's digital lifestyle expert, joins us from my hometown of Baltimore.

MARIO ARMSTRONG, HLN DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: Yes, indeed.

BLACKWELL: Mario. Ok so the iPhone 5, we've seen the big reveal. Is it living up to the hype? What's new with this?

ARMSTRONG: I mean if you go with the pre-order sales, absolutely it's living up to the hype, and then some.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

ARMSTRONG: Because now you can no longer even buy it, at least online that is right now. I think a lot of people are trying to wait and see. Is this the right phone for them? Is this the right phone to upgrade to?

I've been saying look, if you've been on the iPhone 4S, you might want to really consider whether this is the right upgrade. If you own an iPhone 4 or earlier, it definitely makes sense. BLACKWELL: I'm on the 4S and I'm still trying to figure out what's in it for me other than, you know, a lot of people are concerned about having to buy new chargers because right now you can use the same charger for the iPad and the iPhone and the iPod, but now they have this new one.

ARMSTRONG: That's right. So what you're talking about is this connector.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Yes.

ARMSTRONG: That we're used to seeing for all of our devices. That has now changed from what was a 30-pin connector to what is now an 8-pin connector which means essentially all of these chargers that you own for all your other Apple products are no longer usable. And that's a big issue for a lot of people.

For example, let me point out something. This is a case that's also a battery charger. I'm supposed to be able to stick my phone inside this case. Well, when I get the new iPhone 5, I will not be able to use this $90 case that I've purchased. This is now obsolete and irrelevant, so that does pose a problem.

They have come out with an adapter that they are charging $39 for, for you to buy, but that just isn't the elegant solution that people were really looking for, and quite frankly they needed to make this -- they needed to make this different connector because they wanted to make the phone thinner.

And it is 20 percent thinner. It's Apple's thinnest phone ever. A lot of people want a thinner and lighter phone.

BLACKWELL: Well, let me ask you about the software updates for people with the 4S model and the 4. When do we get those updates?

ARMSTRONG: Yes. Those updates will be out on the IOS 6, which will be I think it's September the 19th, which is the new operating system so even if you're on the 4 and the 4S you can download the new operating system.

And that's a very important point you bring up, Victor, because in the operating system itself you'll get a lot of the enhancements that you're hearing that are being associated with the iPhone 5. And a lot of times I think there's market confusion, and I fight for the consumers. You don't necessarily need to get an iPhone 5 to get all of the enhancements. A lot of enhancements can be just software.

Obviously this is a different looking phone, a different feeling phone. So if you want a different --

BLACKWELL: And a lot there added.

Mario, thank you very much from charmed city this morning.

ARMSTRONG: Thanks, Victor. Appreciate it. Take care, buddy.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

KAYE: Remember the Americans killed in Libya. Words from President Obama and a moving look at the four lives our nation lost right after this.

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KAYE: President Obama is vowing to bring to justice the killers of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in Libya. Now, a look at the memorial in Maryland, remembering the lives of these four heroes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's tragic, so deeply saddening. It also makes us aware though of the kind of role that people like Chris and over the years are playing unsung but the critical role that they play.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ty would not want to be seen as a hero. He would want to be seen as the guy on his team who did his job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he did it well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And did it well. Did it the best he could.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Glen lived his life to the fullest. He was my brother, but if you asked his friends, he was their brother as well.

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: If the last few days teach us anything, let it just be this: that this work and the men and women who risk their lives to do it are at the heart of what makes America great and good.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Four Americans, four patriots, they loved this country. They chose to serve it and served it well. They didn't simply embrace the American ideal, they lived it. They embodied it. The courage, the hope and, yes, the idealism -- that fundamental American belief that we can leave this world a little better than before: that's who they were and that's who we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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