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Severe Storms Hit Northeast; Obama And Romney Hit Campaign Trail; Romney Campaigning In Virginia; Four Killed In Afghan Suicide Blast; Pentagon: Bin Laden Book Inaccurate; "Very Disappointing: Negotiations; Teen Prevented From Flying; Peterson's Next Move; Jackson's Health Questioned In Suit; ; The "Legal Guys" on NFL Lawsuits; Lynyrd Skynyrd Still Rocking

Aired September 08, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: That is going to do it for me this morning. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Fredricka Whitfield.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, good to see you. I know you're a big tennis player, a tennis fan as am I.

KAYE: The U.S. Open is not going to happen.

WHITFIELD: Might get rained out, but maybe Alexandra has got some good news for us today. We're going to be watching it all day long. All right, thank so much, Randi. Appreciate it.

All right, so the northeast is in for a day of severe weather. The New York area is getting hit especially hard at this hour right now. Meteorologist Alexandra Steele is tracking the storm system.

All right, so Alexandra, a lot going on in the New York area, always, but then particularly this evening you got the women's U.S. Open finals, the last thing they need is a heavy downpour so what's it looking like?

ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not good. You said I hope Alexandra has good news and I definitely do not. This, Fredricka, is actually just the beginning of an incredibly severe weather day. So we'll talk about where the tornado warning is and the big picture is as well, where they all are.

Here are the watches. This is the line of strong storms pushing eastward so all of this has yet to go through the northeast. Tomorrow, a clear fair weather day, even a taste of fall with temperatures about 15 to 20 degrees cooler than today, but in advance of that, that's where we have the atmosphere setting up for severe weather as expected and it certainly is delivering.

Here's where a tornado watch is, just to show you how big it is, we're talking about Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, that's until 9:00 tonight. So atmospherically it will be ripe throughout the day and into tonight. So here is where they're firing up right now if you're watching us, believe it or not from Fairfield County, Connecticut, and Eastern Westchester County in New York, of course, we're talking about millions of people being impacted with this.

Here's where this tornado, now this tornado is Doppler radar indicated, meaning severe weather that they've seen on Doppler radar indicated a spin, a rotation in the cycle and with that, tornadoes, has not been seen by people, but rotation within the radar so here's a look Norwalk, Wilton, Connecticut, you can see this is just about six miles northwest of Stamford, Connecticut, obviously a huge place with millions of people here through Fairfield County.

This has been moving northeast at 35 miles per hour so areas being impacted Bethel, Danbury, you are all in the line as this moves northeast at 35 miles per hour so Ridgefield, and you can see there's a little bit of movement here.

Here is where the potential rotation is, Stanford, Bedford, Ridgefield, Wilton, Westchester, you can see eastern Westchester, Fairfield County, Connecticut. So let me show you the bigger picture, that's where the tornado warning is until 12:30 this afternoon.

And then, of course, with the cycle of things I bet another tornado warning will come up as these storms push east and northeast. Here's the big picture, of course, now this is Poughkeepsie. This is the Hudson Valley of New York.

About a half hour ago, right along the Hudson River of New York in the Hudson Valley, that's where we saw a reported tornado as well, so Washington, Hyde Park, Poughkeepsie, here's the setup, cold front very strong for this time of year pushing eastward, pushing into this warm, moist air.

And also aloft, we've got atmosphere conditions really ripe for this as well. The biggest threat though today expect it to be very strong winds so what we're seeing potentially 60, 70-mile-per-hour wind gusts, hail up to an inch in diameter.

And here is the area, from Bangor to Boston, so New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, all expecting some strong storms predominantly later tonight. Fredricka, kind of the bulk of this, the biggest access of the storms are still well west.

This is just an area we've seen with the tornado warnings around metro New York ahead of this cold front and this warm, moist atmosphere. So it's a long way to go, a lot of severe weather today we'll be reporting on.

WHITFIELD: All right, keep us posted on that all day long. Thanks so much, Alexandra.

STEELE: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right, the presidential race is intensifying in two key battleground states in particular, Virginia and Florida. Mitt Romney is holding two events in Virginia today and President Obama is courting votes in the sunshine state.

Both candidates are fighting to win over undecided voters, and time to Election Day just 59 days now. So let's get started in Florida where President Obama has just kicked off a two-day bus tour there.

This past hour, he spoke at a college in St. Petersburg near Tampa. The president blasted Romney's economic plan saying it's all about tax cuts for the wealthy and gutting regulations for Wall Street.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: This is a choice between two fundamentally different paths for America, two fundamentally different visions for our future.

Now ours is a fight, on behalf of that basic bargain that built the largest middle class and the strongest economy the world has ever known, the bargain that says if you work hard, it will pay off.

The bargain that says responsibility will be rewarded, and everybody's got a fair shot, and everybody does their fair share, and everybody plays by the same set of rules from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington, D.C.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Later today, the president heads to Kissimmee, Florida. Tomorrow, he'll be making stops in Melbourne and West Palm Beach.

So the man who would like to take over as commander in chief is discussing his battle plan in the all important state of Virginia. Mitt Romney is campaigning at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach in about an hour from now.

Our political editor, Paul Steinhauser, is already there, as is a pretty sizeable crowd. Paul, what are the expectations today in what he has to say to that crowd?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Fredricka, we are down in Virginia Beach, Norfolk area, a big military area, a lot of military workers here, a lot of people from the defense industry.

So I think you're going to hear Mitt Romney talk a lot about that and argue that President Obama would put together some defense cuts that could hurt this area, that will be Mitt Romney's theme today when he speaks just behind me, we're in the hangar of the Military Aviation Museum.

You could see some World War II fighter planes behind me. We have a big crowd now. About an hour ago, there was almost nobody here. They're starting to pack in. Mitt Romney will be introduced by Virginia's Republican Governor Bob McDonnell.

Fred, this is what is very interesting here, the unemployment rate here in Virginia is 5.9 percent, much lower than the national average. So you may not hear Mitt Romney talk a lot about jobs today, but he did react yesterday after the unemployment report. Take a listen to what he said on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He said that he'd create jobs and instead we have unemployment now still over 8 percent for 43 straight months. He said by now it would be down to 5.4 percent.

Now by the way, those numbers, 8.1, 5.4, what difference do they make? Let me tell you what difference they make. The difference in those numbers is 9 million Americans working. That's the difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Both candidates spending a lot of time. This is going to be Mitt Romney's seventh trip to Virginia. Barack Obama, the president, was just here last Tuesday. He's also made seven swings through the state.

Remember, four years ago, then Senator Obama became the first Democrat to carry Virginia since 1964, both campaigns think they can win this state, a lot of money being spent on ads, a lot of visits, 13 electoral votes at stake. These people are going to see a lot of the candidates -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, keep us posted on that. Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much there in Virginia Beach.

And of course, you can get an up close and personal look at the two men vowing to hold the country's future in their hands, find out what Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are really like, tomorrow night, beginning 8:00 Eastern Time.

When we profile the Republican presidential nominee in "Romney Revealed: Family, Faith and the Road to Power" and that's followed at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time by "Obama Revealed: The Man, the President," right here on CNN.

All right, six people are dead in a suicide bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. The bomb went off near the headquarters of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. Afghan police say five people were wounded and some of the dead are children. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for that attack.

Military officials tell CNN's Barbara Starr a book by a former Navy SEAL on the killing of Osama Bin Laden is inaccurate. The book "No Easy Day" claims Bin Laden had been shot by a SEAL when he peeked in the hallway of the compound.

The book says he lay twitching and convulsing as the SEALs entered his room and then killed him. But senior Pentagon officials say Bin Laden was standing in the room when the SEALs entered and they shot him believing he was a direct threat.

Officials also say it is possible that the author who was a few seconds behind the lead SEAL never actually saw Bin Laden standing. The nation's third largest school district is bracing itself for something it hadn't seen in 25 years, a teacher strike. The latest on the face-off in Chicago and why the nation is watching.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It will be an intense working weekend for leaders of the teachers union and the school district of Chicago. They are trying to keep 29,000 teachers from walking off the job on Monday. Yesterday, talks broke down according to affiliate, WLS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN LEWIS, PRESIDENT, CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION: We did not make much progress at the table. We are very disappointed. We thought it would be infinitely better than it was so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Major points of contention? Teacher pay and a move to change the way teachers are evaluated. Four hundred thousand students right now will not have school come Monday.

After a summer long absence from Capitol Hill, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is now out of the Mayo Clinic, where he was receiving treatment, recently became known dogged by accusations of corruption, suffers from bipolar depression. His chief of staff said Jackson Jr. is now back at home in Washington, with his family.

He was all set to make a trip home to California, but the airline said he couldn't get on board, and now his parents want to know why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Did an airline carrier prevent a teenage boy from flying with his parents because he has Down Syndrome? The boy's parents are furious and say American Airlines discriminated against their son and they plan to sue.

Carolyn Costello with our affiliate, KTLA has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLYN COSTELLO, KTLA REPORTER (voice-over): This home video shows Vedee Vaderhorst at a Journey concert. The 16-year-old boy called up on stage and given a guitar by the band.

His parents describe him as outgoing, fun loving and charming, but they say the son they loved was singled out and discriminated against because he has Down's Syndrome.

JOAN VANDERHORST, TEEN'S MOTHER: We were not --

ROBERT VANDERHORST, TEEN'S FATHER: We never went down.

JOAN VANDERHORST: We were not allowed on the plane because this man saw my son and made a decision.

COSTELLO: Joan and Robert Vanderhorst who spoke with us through Skype tell us as they waited to board an American Airlines flight with their son they were told they weren't allowed on.

JOAN VANDERHORST: My question is why are you singling me out? Why aren't you telling them and them and them and all these people that have children that they have to --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are in a security controlled area, you cannot be recording this.

COSTELLO: Joan pulled out her cell phone and began to videotape documenting what she believes was a violation of her son's civil rights and the Americans with disabilities act.

Her son labeled a flight risk can be seen in the video sitting at the gate, quietly playing with his hat. In the video, you can hear Joan sobbing and her husband expressing disbelief.

ROBERT VANDERHORST: He's behaving. He's demonstrating he's not a problem.

JOAN VANDERHORST: I kept saying is this only because he has Down's Syndrome.

COSTELLO: The family has flown together dozens of times. The only thing different they had upgraded for the first time to first class.

JOAN VANDERHORST: If that little boy just had a seat in first class area, and for some reason they didn't want that, that wasn't acceptable.

COSTELLO: American Airlines released a statement that reads in part, "The young man was excitable, running around and not acclimated to the environment. The pilot attempted to calm him down and acclimate him to his surroundings. His efforts were not successful. For the safety of the young man and safety of others American Airlines offered to book another flight for the family."

But the family says that statement is untrue. They say they'll sue American Airlines and hope their experience will teach the company and people in general a valuable lesson.

ROBERT VANDERHORST: To respect each person's dignity. Every one of us should be treated with equal dignity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: CNN reached out to American Airlines and the airlines released this statement saying, quote, "American's actions and procedures are in full compliance with the air carrier access act. We do not have a formally lodged complaint from the family.

But the refund of the upgrade is in the process, however, because of the denied boarding, we must respond to the family in writing within ten days of the travel. The Vanderhorst family will hear from us very soon," end quote.

And we have our legal guys on standby. We'll be getting their take on this case and others on our docket in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Earlier before the break we told about an airline carrier not letting a Down's Syndrome teenager on board. The boy and his parents were set to fly from New Jersey to California on American Airlines and even upgraded to first class.

But then the family was told their child was disruptive and a security risk. The Vanderhorst say they have videotape to prove he wasn't and they plan to sue.

Let's bring in our legal guys, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor joining us from Pittsburgh today. Hello, good to see.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor joining us from Las Vegas. You two never stand still. We have to keep up with you. Thanks so much.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Moving and grooving.

WHITFIELD: That's right. OK, so do the Vanderhorsts have a case? Avery, you first, they say that they were denied access. It was the pilot's discretion or eyewitness account against theirs. Can they go forward with a legal suit? Should they?

FRIEDMAN: Yes, I think they will and I think they should if the video establishes what went on. I mean, what do you expect the pilot to say, he was perfectly fine? Of course, they're going to say he was unruly, but they wouldn't even let him on the plane.

But, you know, the irony of this, Fredricka, is American Airlines says you know what? He wasn't good enough to fly our plane, so we booked him on United. What the heck does that mean?

If he's not good enough to fly on American, he's not good enough to fly anywhere, so booking him on a different airline makes absolutely no sense. I think the airline's in trouble on this one.

WHITFIELD: Really. So Richard, that's actually a really great point, why would he be OK to fly on one airline and not the other, if the pilot generally has the discretion to make an assessment whether a passenger could be threatening.

And denied boarding on their flight and that seems to be what American Airlines is saying that they are within, let me find that statement again, they acted within full compliance of the air carrier access act.

HERMAN: Right. It's not a good point, Fred. Unfortunately, it's just not a good point. This young man was seated in first class, close to the pilot's cockpit. The pilot is the general. The pilot has to prove the safety of the aircraft and everybody on that plane.

If in the pilot's discretion he makes this call, unless you can prove the pilot's whacked out or drunk or on drugs, whatever he says is going to be binding. It's going to trump disabilities act, it's going to trump everything.

FRIEDMAN: It is not.

HERMAN: He made this decision for the safety of the plane and for the passengers on it. They tried to put him back in the coach section, there were no other seats, so they agreed.

And offered to book him on another American flight in coach, that's what they tried to do. The fact that the young man was sitting in first class close to the cockpit is what caused the problem here.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. OK, so American Airlines once again said they have not received a formal complaint and when they do, they will respond accordingly.

All right, gentlemen, there is a couple other cases we want to talk about, let's talk about that former suburban Chicago police sergeant, Drew Peterson, found guilty of murdering his third wife, but the murder conviction may not be the last word. The lawyers are already bracing for what could be Peterson's direct move, a direct appeal, on what grounds -- Richard?

HERMAN: What grounds? I don't know maybe about 100 different grounds in this one, Fred, starting with prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel. There is a host of grounds for appeal. This verdict was absolutely shocking and devastating.

WHITFIELD: Why?

HERMAN: Let's face it, he was arrogant, he put himself out there, everybody hated this guy, but when you go to court and you're charged with murder, you've got to prove that case based on credible evidence.

This case was entirely proved on hearsay and double hearsay. They couldn't tie him into the crime scene. There was nothing there to show he was at the crime scene and for this jury to come in with this verdict, it's beyond outrageous, Fred. It's a catastrophe for the legal system.

WHITFIELD: And hearsay, we're talking, Avery, specifically about 70 motions that were filed to keep hearsay testimony out, and that being wife number four, who is now missing.

But before she went missing, apparently had a conversation with a divorce attorney saying it was her belief that Peterson killed his third wife, and that testimony ended up being called into question.

It found its way into the court by the defense team, however, so given that, how would the defense be able to appeal when potentially it was their own mistake that may have incriminated their client?

FRIEDMAN: Well, yes, there was a multitude of hearsay. I hate to agree with this guy but you know what, the hearsay really --

WHITFIELD: This guy meaning Richard?

FRIEDMAN: Yes, I mean, look, I think hearsay is going to reverse it. I thought there was sufficient evidence on forensics. We had predicted that there was going to be a conviction, where I think the conviction does go up in smoke ultimately is the hearsay.

You know, the state legislature in Springfield actually passed a law saying in the interests of justice, you can introduce hearsay. What the heck? There's absolutely no reliability in this hearsay, and I don't know that the Illinois Court of Appeals or the Illinois Supreme Court, Fredricka, will buy it.

But if this case gets to the U.S. Supreme Court, believe it or not, as arrogant and as crass as this guy is, I think he's actually in line for a potential reversal.

WHITFIELD: Wow, that's extraordinary.

FRIEDMAN: We'll see.

WHITFIELD: I wonder what the outcome of this case, whether there's appeal or not, how might that impact kind of the other closed cases or not closed, but I guess mysterious cases surrounding the mysterious status or, you know, missing persons.

FRIEDMAN: Of wife number four.

WHITFIELD: Of wife number four. Richard, you first.

HERMAN: Well, it shouldn't. I think it's going to embolden the prosecution to do something about it, but there's even less evidence in that case and I think it would be a problem. You have to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. I don't know how they would do it. Those cases stand on their own.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I guess, they are cold cases.

HERMAN: That's right.

WHITFIELD: That's the more proper term to use.

HERMAN: Cold.

WHITFIELD: OK, so now let's look --

HERMAN: Cold freezing.

WHITFIELD: Let's look at the case involving Michael Jackson and his promoter, AEG, Lloyd's Of London, which was the insurer of AEG, the promoter of his "This Is It" tour is saying that they shouldn't have to pay out any of that $17 million settlement. Because there are e-mails that have now surfaced that AEG knew that Michael Jackson was, quote, "locked up in his room drunk and despondent." So Richard, is this a legitimate argument that the insurer can make.

That they may have known that he was physically or mentally in trouble and that the promoters should have done more to protect their client as opposed to now trying to cash in on insurance?

HERMAN: It's a core argument, Fred. You remember in the movie "Scarface" when Frank Lopez tells Tony Montana, don't be a hazard, Tony, don't be a pig. Well, listen, in this particular case, AEG has made over $260 million upon the death of Michael Jackson, without one concert being held.

Now, they sue AEG because they took out -- excuse me, they sue Lloyd's of London because they took out an insurance policy for $17 million to say if Michael couldn't perform, therefore they're entitled to this type of money.

But AEG is absolutely blown the lid off the case. They've shown that Lloyd's of London has blown the lid off the case showing AEG knew Michael Jackson's condition was horrendous and they knew that he could never perform these concerts. Therefore, this claim is specious and should not be brought. I think Lloyd's of London will get a dismissal.

WHITFIELD: Really, OK, Avery, do you agree with that, is that the root here, greed?

FRIEDMAN: Yes, I think Lloyd's of London's position on this. One of the e-mails that surfaced was that AEG was satisfied with the "fine medical care" that Conrad Murray was providing Michael Jackson.

I mean, he was drunk and despondent and you know what's really interesting there was discovery. The obligation of AEG was to turn this evidence over. They never did. It came out because it was a leak from a friend of the Michael Jackson family. That's how this stuff surfaced.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and apparently leaked to media outlets, right?

FRIEDMAN: Yes.

HERMAN: By the Jacksons I'm sure.

FRIEDMAN: For "Time" and CNN, right. Well that's the allegation, that's a different order, but I think Lloyd's of London will prevail and that $17 million they're not going to have to pay it, if they paid it, they get it back.

AEG never turned that evidence over even though under the federal rules they're required to and I think they're in trouble on this one.

WHITFIELD: OK, all right, gentleman, we're not done with you. We'll see you later on in the hour and talk about other cases including at least one New Orleans Saints player that may be taking to the field as early as tomorrow, now that the suspension of --

HERMAN: New Orleans.

WHITFIELD: Yes, of that bounty plan.

HERMAN: The Saints are going forward with it.

WHITFIELD: We'll talk about the collective bargaining case and why this is not being played out in a traditional court instead. You're going to be back with this to help assess. Thanks so much. We'll see you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The financial crisis means many pet lovers can't afford to care for their animals. Well, this week's "CNN's Hero" has helped hundreds of animals (SIC) keep their dogs healthy and out of shelters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIE WILSON, SOMERVILLE, MA: Good boy!

Charlie means everything to us. He was diagnosed with cancer about two years ago. We went with the amputation and he's been doing great, but a couple of days ago, he had this other growth on his chest.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Given the fact that he had an aggressive type of tumor, things like this should really come off.

WILSON: I recently got laid off and we're expecting our first baby. We were faced with this huge vet bill and we were just at a loss.

MARLO MANNING, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: I think we definitely will be able to help you out. I know how much you love your dog.

The economy being what it is, people are faced with the choice of having to give up their dogs because they just can't afford them anymore. They're doing their best to get back on track, and then a crisis happens with their dog, and it's just one more thing.

I'm Marlo Manning, and I lost a beloved puppy named Ladybug. Now I provide temporary aid to dog owners, keeping dogs healthy, out of shelters and with loving families. Dogs live in the moment. They bring you to their place of happiness, no matter where you are in your life. If we can help with food, medical visits, or even surgery, to keep this family together, they're able to take that burden away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, sweetie!

WILSON: We're going to put our maximum amount on Charlie, which is $800.

It was just such a blessing, and we'll be forever grateful that Charlie gets this second chance.

MANNING: What we do is a tribute to Ladybug. If I had to get through the grief to find this path, then we were meant to lose her so that we could be inspired to help others.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And remember, all of our heroes come from your nominations. So if you have someone you'd like to tell us about, go to CNNHeroes.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories now. Mexican police say they have arrested the man behind the killing that ultimately exposed the mistakes of Operation Fast and Furious. Lionel Sanchez Jesus Mesa (ph) allegedly murdered border patrol agent Brian Terry.

It was a probe into Terry's death that set off the investigation of Fast and Furious, an effort to track weapons, allowing them to end up in the hands of drug cartels. Well, U.S. authorities are now seeking to bring Jesus Mesa here to the U.S.

In Syria, warplanes are bombing several key cities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Allah-u Akbar! Allah-u Akbar!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Russia discussing the war in Syria. The cities of Aleppo and Damascus are being constantly bombarded by President Bashar al Assad's forces. And four rockets fired from Syria landed across the Iraqi border, killing a 4-year-old girl. Across the country, in Syria, at least 68 people have been killed today alone.

Tonight, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh takes us on a journey to see what people living in the most populated Syrian city are facing day to day, where the sounds of gunfire and bombs haunt the streets, and the hospitals are ill equipped to handle the injured.

Watch "Crisis in Syria: Inside Aleppo" tonight, 7:30 PM Eastern time right here on CNN.

The commissioner said they couldn't play, but when the Saints take to the field on Sunday, some banned players will be in uniform. Our "Legal Guys" are here to give us the rundown. They'll try and tackle this issue on how the NFL commissioner got sidelined in this pay-to- injure bounty scandal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) sacked (ph). (INAUDIBLE) sacked (ph).

WHITFIELD: Sacked (ph). OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right, four NFL players will be eligible to play this weekend after their suspensions were dismissed. Our "Legal Guys" are back with us, Avery Friedman in Pittsburgh, Richard Herman in Las Vegas.

All right, gentlemen, let's see if you can tackle this one. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended the players in an alleged scheme that paid players for big hits against key opponents. Those suspensions were overturned by an NFL arbitration panel, but the coaches and a GM who were suspended remain out of the game. So because this was a collective bargaining process, it puts the players' lawsuits up against the commissioner on hold.

OK, Richard, this is very complicated. How did this come to be that the suspensions were overturned by this arbitration or appeals panel?

RICHARD HERMAN, LAW PROFESSOR, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Because the players were allowed, pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement, to take this level of appeal. And the arbitrators ruled that the commissioner exceeded his authority. He did not have the power to be judge, jury and executioner, which is what he was in this case. And he got spanked, and he got sacked, clearly, Fred. And these players are going to -- Vilma will be on the field this weekend, if he's, you know, physically healthy enough.

WHITFIELD: If he's well...

HERMAN: But I'll tell you...

WHITFIELD: ... because, apparently, he's injured. He may not. But Will Smith...

HERMAN: Right.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, LAW PROFESSOR, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Right.

WHITFIELD: ... the defensive end, apparently might, right, be able to play.

HERMAN: Right. And the coaches should -- in the spirit of this decision and in good faith, the coaches should be reinstated, as well, right now.

FRIEDMAN: Oh!

WHITFIELD: Yes, that's what I was wondering. So Avery...

FRIEDMAN: No!

WHITFIELD: ... if some are reinstated or the suspensions are overturned, meaning those players, why wouldn't the coaches and that GM be allowed to continue on with the game or be involved?

FRIEDMAN: Because it's a different standard, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Why? FRIEDMAN: I mean, with the players, it's a collective bargaining agreement, and it was pretty obvious that Commissioner Goodell is not the king. He's merely the commissioner. And the three-person panel, two retired federal judges and a Georgetown professor, said, You know what? You can make a recommendation, that's about it.

But I got to tell you, Fredricka, this case isn't over because if the special master recommends to the commission -- commissioner that there is to be punishment -- we don't know what's going to happen here. Yes, they're reinstated, but we don't know what's going to happen, ultimately. It's going to go back to the commissioner. So this case is really far from over.

It's great for Sunday. You got some of those players back on the field. But this case has got a long way to go before we're done with it.

WHITFIELD: All right, so not long after this decision, you know, player Jonathan Vilma did express his emotion on Twitter saying, you know, "Victory is mine." And then here's Roman Harper...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For now.

WHITFIELD: For now. And then here's Roman Harper and what he had to say to -- as television cameras were rolling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMAN HARPER, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS: You know, after this off-season, nothing surprises me anymore. There is no crazy. There is no -- you know, it just -- it is what it is, you know? We just continue to go on about our days and continue to work as we always do, and you know, whatever happens, happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK, so anything could happen still. But what does this say about this whole plot of, you know, bounty?

HERMAN: What it says, Fred, is that there was insufficient...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Sorry!

HERMAN: There was insufficient evidence -- I'm sorry. There was insufficient or specious...

FRIEDMAN: No! That's not the ruling!

HERMAN: ... evidence. It's flimsy, not good evidence...

FRIEDMAN: That's not the ruling!

HERMAN: ... for -- for the commissioner to make this determination. He had nothing, and he made it based on nothing. That's what the spankdown was.

FRIEDMAN: There is nothing -- I don't agree, Fredricka. There's nothing in this opinion that talks about the evidence. They merely said, this three-person panel, that procedurally, the commission -- the commissioner has no authority to do it. It goes back to the special master.

That's why I say it's not over because, ultimately, I do agree that they're going to have to look at what standard of evidence, which had nothing to do with this ruling, and that's what's on the horizon. That's why I say this case is far from over.

WHITFIELD: Oh, OK. All right. Well, let's move on to something else, still within the confines of the NFL, you know, discussions and concerns. So the league has asked a judge to actually toss out that lawsuit by former players who say they have suffered brain injuries from concussions, from, you know, years of hits, et cetera. So Avery, why would they do this?

FRIEDMAN: Well, because the NFL is saying that anything having to do with health or safety is subsumed within the collective bargaining agreement, meaning the federal court has no jurisdiction. They filed a 40-page motion for dismissal this week, claiming that the cases all have to be thrown out of court.

The exception to that is that if the players can prove concealment by the NFL and the helmet makers, the case stays alive. So right now, the court has to hear that question of whether or not it's thrown out. And you know what? I actually think the NFL has a chance, unless the players can show concealment.

WHITFIELD: So again, you know, so Richard, this is a case of, you know, collective bargaining, keeping it within the confines of the NFL jurisdiction, or whether this should be in a traditional court. And so is this, you know, issue of proving concealment at the core of this case?

HERMAN: That's at the core -- yes, Fred, and they're not going to be able to prove concealment here. And the collective bargaining agreement does control for all of these athletes. And the NFL says, Look, it wasn't an NFL decision. It went down to each team, and each team ultimately made the decision whether or not that player was physically fit to get on the field.

But to bring an action against the NFL, which these players have done, claiming that the NFL was responsible for encouraging them to continue to play and concealing -- concealing the level of injury that's caused by concussion upon concussion -- that lawsuit is going to be thrown out, Fred. The NFL is going to win this motion.

FRIEDMAN: But we haven't even done discovery yet. We don't even know what documents exist. I actually think that it's like the tobacco cases. Somewhere on the inside -- somewhere on the inside -- whether it's a memo or an e-mail, there's some evidence of concealment. That's my expectation, my opinion, my guess. I think it's going to surface. That again remains to be seen. WHITFIELD: Yes, and if not, you wonder why...

FRIEDMAN: But I think there's something...

WHITFIELD: ... 5,000...

FRIEDMAN: ... in the background.

WHITFIELD: Yes, if not, you would wonder why 5,000 plaintiffs, including, you know, players or family members, you know, survivors of players, would be involved if they didn't feel like they didn't have a good case. But we'll see.

(CROSSTALK)

FRIEDMAN: Briefly moving back, Fred, you know, Jonathan Vilma's defamation case against the commissioner is looking much better today than it has a week ago, let me tell you.

WHITFIELD: Is it?

FRIEDMAN: Maybe. But again, there's no evidence -- it's not an evidence decision. It's a procedural decision.

WHITFIELD: And that, too...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: That's in a traditional court setting, as opposed to a case that's only by the collective bargaining.

FRIEDMAN: Right. That's correct.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. All right.

HERMAN: Exactly.

FRIEDMAN: That's exactly right.

WHITFIELD: Very complicated! OK, thanks so much, guys.

FRIEDMAN: Yes, it is.

WHITFIELD: It really is, but you all help...

FRIEDMAN: See you soon.

HERMAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: ... help us all understand. Appreciate it. All right, good to see you. Thanks so much, Avery and Richard. Have a great rest of the weekend.

Our "Legal Guys" are here every Saturday, thank goodness, at this time to give us their take on the most intriguing legal cases of the day and help bring a lot of clarity to stuff that is just so complicated. All right, three, two, one, boom? Only this collapse, though, wasn't supposed to happen -- that one right there. Scary details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A frightening incident in south Florida -- a parking garage suddenly collapsed into a cloud of dust near Broward County courthouse yesterday. Luckily, the structure was being torn down so that no one was actually in at the time, but engineers are now investigating.

A demolition contractor made a big mess not just during but after he tore down this home in Arkansas. Why? Because it's actually the wrong home. The contractor, Youngblood Demolition, told our affiliate KIRT he offered the owner 2,000 bucks to make amends. The owner wants $50,000. Now the two sides are having to talk through their lawyers.

Lynyrd Skynyrd, best known for hits like "Sweet Home Alabama," "Freebird," "What's Your Name" -- face to face with some of the band members. We talk about how they see and love to enjoy generations of fans in the concerts.

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WHITFIELD: All I need to do is mention "Sweet Home Alabama," "Freebird," you know exactly who I'm talking about, Lynyrd Skynyrd defining the sound of Southern rock since the '70s. Well, even after a tragic plane crash in 1977 killing three of the band members, Lynyrd Skynyrd played on, cranking out hit after hit, album after album over the years. Well, now on tour with a new album, "Last of a Dying Breed," Lynyrd Skynyrd's first album since 2009's "Gods and Guns," and it's giving them their highest "Billboard" chart debut since the 1970s.

I talked face to face with vocalist Johnny Van Zant and guitarists Gary Rossington and Rickey Medlocke on a tour stop in Atlanta, and I asked them, after 60 albums, are there any stories behind the records and the songs that they can share?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY ROSSINGTON, GUITARIST, LYNYRD SKYNYRD: Oh, yes, but we can't discuss them on this program.

(LAUGHTER)

ROSSINGTON: Yes, but you know, everything throughout our career has had a story, and that's what we write about. And we'll be able to last so long, I guess, people can't understand the stories we tell and the songs. And we just try to play for the people, you know, and do our thing for that.

WHITFIELD: And people, you know, love the ones that I just mentioned and so many others. But when you -- even when you come out and you're launching, you know, your new tour, your new album, new songs, people in the audience are chanting, you know, "Freebird"! When are we going to hear that?

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What song is it you want to hear tonight?

FANS: "Freebird"!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got it, buddy (ph).

ROSSINGTON: We always do the old favorites and stuff. You know, we love to do those for the people. But it's fun every once in a while to do a new tune here and there, so it keeps it fresh.

WHITFIELD: What happens when you look in the audience and you see those who have been growing with you, and then they're bringing their kids.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes.

ROSSINGTON: Some of the songs, "Simple Man" and "Tuesday's Gone" or "Freebird," you can see women or people crying sometimes. They think about their sons being overseas or something in the service. There's memories that come up. It's kind of like a lifetime of memories through our music.

RICKEY MEDLOCKE, GUITARIST, LYNYRD SKYNYRD: I think what's cool is that the stories that you hear from, you know, people all over, years, you know, and the stories that they have about certain songs, how certain songs of the band has touched them in a certain way, you know.

And it's just -- it's amazing to me to listen to all the different ones from graduation to, you know, even parents saying, Oh, our child was conceived during "Freebird."

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'm, like, Enough information!

WHITFIELD: OK, a little TMI on that one!

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: I hear "Freebird," and I think about my high school and junior high dances. And you know, it was just the buildup, and everyone, you know, gets excited about the song and takes, you know, to the floor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's good to dance to, yes.

WHITFIELD: And I think -- yes, it's very nostalgic. But you know, for you, Johnny, is it nostalgic when you play, you know, kind of those -- you know, the older tunes, the signature tunes, but then you got to introduce the new stuff, too, and it becomes a different tone on stage, doesn't it? JOHNNY VAN ZANT, SINGER, LYNYRD SKYNYRD: Yes, well, right now, you know what I mean, we've got the new record out, "Last of a Dying Breed." I love it because we start our show off -- I'm kind of giving it away, but Gary comes out, you know, playing the slide. We got this wolf (ph) thing happening, you know?

(CROSSTALK)

VAN ZANT: And it's just a lot of fun for us. And you know, I've been here in the band for 25 years, and you know, my brother, Ronnie, started the band with Gary and Alan Collins (ph), and you know, it's been my pleasure to be out here and see how it's grown, and you know, see all the young fans come into this and love the old with the new.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: There's more from Lynyrd Skynyrd at 4:00 o'clock Eastern time today on CNN. Remember how the Confederate flag used to be a symbol of the band on the album jackets and the backdrop? Why the band made a change.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM later today, President Obama talking today in Florida, and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney campaigning in Virginia. We'll have all of that, 2:00 o'clock Eastern time.

Also, at 3:00 PM, the founder of the organization Save the Elephants joining me from Kenya to talk about poaching and the illegal ivory trade that is killing majestic, gentle giants.

And you don't want to miss part two of my interview with Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd. I talked to them about their new album, the band's roots and the use of that Confederate flag long ago, why they stopped doing it, what was the impetus for that.

All right, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.