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Two Tennessee Children Missing; Angry Muslims Attacked Buddhist Shrines in Homs; Deadly Attacks Across Iraq Today; First Presidential Debate Wednesday Night; Another Mona Lisa Painting Appeared in a Market
Aired September 30, 2012 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, you're in the NEWSROOM. I'm Fredericka Whitfield.
It is crunch time for the presidential candidate, President Obama and Mitt Romney have just three days now to prepare for their first debate, Wednesday night in Denver. President Obama will prepay in Nevada. He already arrived there just in hours ago. And so, he will be holding an evening rally in Las Vegas and then he will be focusing on debates prep.
Mitt Romney has to Denver tomorrow. He will also hold a rally and then concentrate in preparing for Wednesday night showdown.
So what is at stake in this first debate? CNN's Athena Jones takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Both the Obama and Romney campaigns are doing their best to lower expectations ahead of Wednesday's debate.
DAVID PLOUFFE, OBAMA CAMPAIGN'S SENIOR ADVISER: We have expected all along that governor Romney will have a good night. He's prepared more than any candidate in history.
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: President Obama is a very gifted speaker. The man's been on the national stage for many years. He is an experienced debater. He has done these kinds of debates before. This is Mitt's first time on this kind of a stage.
JONES: Ryan's words echoed to memo from Romney adviser, Beth Myers, who said the president was widely regarded as one of the most talented political communicators in modern history. Myers even pointed to a CNBC poll showing a 25 point advantage for Obama on who voters take will win the debates.
The Obama camp likes to remind voters that the president hasn't had as much time to prepare for the debates because he's busy being commander in chief. When it comes to just how much debates matter, it depends.
ALEX CASTELLANOS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: Most often debates don't make that big a difference. Very few candidates win an election with a debate, but quite a few have lost an election with a debate. So, it can matter.
JONES: These match-ups can produce some memorable line. Like 1980, between then governor Ronald Reagan and president Jimmy Carter. And Lloyd Bentsen's wipe at fellows some Dan Quail in 1988.
LLOYD BENTSEN (D), 1988 VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I served with jack Kennedy, I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine, senator, you're not Jack Kennedy.
JONES: And then there were the moments that seemed to say more. Like president George H. W. Bush looking at his watch in 1992 debate with Bill Clinton.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't.
JONES: Texas Governor rick Perry's oops remark.
RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS GOVERNOR: Oops.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Rick, I tell you what.
JONES: Romney's high dollar wager.
ROMNEY: A $10,000 bet?
JONES: And Obama's comment to then rival Hillary Clinton in 2006.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You are likable enough.
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: Thank you so much.
JONES: One thing analysts agree on. The debates maybe Romney's big chance.
CELINA LAKE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: He's got two very tough competing goals, be likable and may out a contrast. It is hard to be likable when you are the attack one.
CASTELLANOS: We have gotten to know Barack Obama pretty well. We have seen anymore as president for four years. There is not a lot room left on his canvass to paint. Mitt Romney, he has still got a little white space on his canvass, he can still show us who he is and where he would lead us.
JONES: The president spends the first part of the week in the battleground state of Nevada where he will be doing debate prep with Massachusetts senator John Kerry who is playing Mitt Romney.
Governor Romney will be in Colorado, another swing state where he will be practicing with Ohio Senator Rob Portman who is playing President Obama.
Athena Jones, CNN. Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: President Obama and Mitt Romney face to face as American voters weigh the choices. The first presidential debate starting Wednesday night October 3rd. Watch it live right here at 7:00 eastern time on CNN and on CNN.com.
All right, police in winter springs Florida are investigating a deadly shooting this morning outside a veteran of foreign wars lodge. Our affiliate WFTV says a group of bikers was getting ready for a charity motorcycle ride when a group of armed suspects showed up and then opened fire. Two people were killed, one injured.
What happened to two Tennessee children before fire destroyed their house? That's what police are trying to figure out this hour. Their home burned down a week ago, but police say still no trace of 7-year- old Gauge Daniel and 9-year-old Chloe Leverette (ph). Their grandparents' remains were found in the debris.
Susan Candiotti is following this story and joins us live now from New York -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred.
You know, at this hour, a team on in-state investigators using dogs is combing a wider area of the woods in both sides of the road around the house that was incinerated. What's so confusing is what happened to the children. Police found no physical evidence, nothing in the ashes to show that those children were home when their grandparents died in the blaze.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): More than a week after shifting through ashes and debris, investigators have found no sign of 9-year-old Chloe Leverettte and 7-year-old Gauge Daniel. No sign the youngsters were there and so far no evidence they weren't when an inferno swept through the home where they lived with their grandparents. Friends and family don't understand and neither does anyone else.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think something's very fishy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The more you find out the more questions you have.
CANDIOTTI: Helicopters equipped with infrared cameras found no signs of the children in surrounding woods either. The children were seen playing in the neighborhood about three hours before the fires started last Sunday night.
Did somebody take them? The Tennessee bureau of investigation used an amber alert Friday night calling the missing children endangered. Authorities don't know what caused the fire adding to the mystery.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said it was not an intentional fire, but obviously there's more to it than that.
CANDIOTTI: Chloe's parents are not considered suspects according to police. MARY LAM, SISTER: We are tired, but we want this to continue on until we find out what's really happened to these children.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: And that's the thing, Fred, everyone wants to know what happened to those children and so far, there just aren't enough clues to let police know.
WHITFIELD: And do we know anything more about the living arrangement at the house?
WHITFIELD: Well, we do know that the children have been living with their grandparents for a few years at the very least. According to authorities, it seemed to be an arrangement that had been agreed upon.
We also know that Chloe and Gauge's parents do not lived together. They have had some legal troubles in the past, but again, police say that the parents are not considered suspects, and they tell us that all members of the family - even the family that lives in the area there, they are all cooperating with authorities.
WHITFIELD: Are other states involve in the search in any way?
CANDIOTTI: Not as far as we know. But certainly, a various agencies within the state in that locality as well are all helping out to try to find these children. So, they're fanning out among the area. They are going to the school. They are talking to neighbors, trying to figure out when's the last time anyone saw these children. Where there any problems at home? Could someone have taken them? Did anyone have a disagreements with the grant parents? These are the kinds of questions they are asking.
WHITFIELD: All right, Susan Candiotti. Keep us posted from New York.
An elderly man has his neighbors to thank for rescue that you have to see to believe.
Laura Thoren of our affiliate News 12, the Bronx, shows us this heroic catch.
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LAURA THOREN, REPORTER, NEWS 12 (voice-over): A leap of faith from a burning building into a arms of friends and neighbors.
RONNIE POE, JUMPED FROM BURNING APARTMENT: I'm glad I'm healthy. I'm getting a heck of broken bones.
THOREN: 72-year-old Ronnie Poe says he miraculously suffered only a bruised heel. He fell three stories from this Walten (ph) Avenue apartment after his kitchen caught fire Thursday afternoon.
POE: I couldn't breathe so I ran back to my room, close the door. I close the door. The smoke is coming in to my room. THOREN: He tells me he first yelled out this window for someone to call 911 and then began climbing out to escape the smoke. Eventually, hanging by just one arm on to the window's ledge.
Vanessa, a good friend of Ronnie's was on the street below, she said she started yelling for a crowd to come help catch him.
VANESSA, RONNIE POE'S FRIEND: I said gather around and let him jump.
POE: I held my arm right here and waited, and waited until I couldn't hold on anymore.
THOREN: Falling feet first into the group assembled question low.
KEISHA, HELPED CATCH VICTIM: We said are you all right? Are you OK? He said, yes I'm good.
THOREN: Ronnie tells me is served in the U.S. army for several years and was trained as a paratrooper to safety jump from planes. He said says he wouldn't have survived yesterday's fall without the help of good Samaritans.
POE: I knew what to do when I jumped by the window. If I hadn't jump and land, (INAUDIBLE).
THOREN: Fire officials tells the flames were contain to run into apartment and nobody was seriously injured in the fire or during this heroic catch.
Reporting from Walten (ph) Avenue, Laura Thoren. News 12, the Bronx.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Wow, incredible close call there. I'm glad he is alright.
All right, a theft in the Vatican, some important papers missing and now the Pope's former butler is on trial. We have the latest details and what's happening in court.
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WHITFIELD: All right, now, checking come international stories this hour.
In Syria, people are getting out of the Damascus neighborhood as government forces bomb the area. Syrian activists say at least 127 people are dead in today's violence. There's also a fierce battle raging in the city of Aleppo and several historic sites are being destroyed in the fighting.
In Bangladesh, crowds of an angry Muslims attacked Buddhist shrines in Homs, near the capital. The assault happened after a photo of a partially burned Quran was posted on facebook. The attackers say a Buddhist boy burn the Muslim's holy book. The army and police are now guarding the area. On to Venezuela, thousands gathered for a rally in support of the candidate running against president Hugo Chavez, just one week to go before the election day there. The rally was held in a Caracas plaza where president Chavez usually brought huge crowds.
Pope Benedict's butler is on trial - the former butler, for allegedly stealing hundreds of secret documents and leaking them to an Italian journalist. Paolo Gabriele admits he did take the papers and if he is convicted he could spend some time in prison. Only eight journalists are being allowed into is trial. No reporting devices are permitted. Reporters can't even bring their own pen.
I ask Vatican expert, Gerard O'Connell earlier today. What Exactly happened in that first day of court?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GERARD O'CONNELL, VATICAN EXPERT: The first thing was the decision by the judges to separate Gabrielle's trial, the butler's trial from that of the computer expert. That was the first thing. The second I think important thing was the decision that they would not bring in to the court the evidence of the commission of cardinals whom the Pope has appointed to get a broader picture.
WHITFIELD: Is it likely because of the secrecy of these documents that while the documents will be entered as evidence into court, it's still possible that very little about the content of that document would be made public simply because the Vatican wants to keep these private papers private?
O'CONNELL: Well, some of the private papers are in the public domain. The real question is that the butler said that he had decided to put those documents, make them available to the media because he had seen so much evil and corruption around him. He said the Pope, he believed the Pope was not aware of this and he was doing so inspired by the holy spirit to protect the Pope.
Now the question is that anybody would want to ask him what evil and corruption did you see around you? If that question wasn't answered, I would be very surprised. If it is answered, then we might have some interesting material.
The second question, he said that he was one of a group of about 20, so who are the 20? This would be an obvious question to ask him, but whether we get the answers to those questions I'm not sure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And that former butler is expected to testify in court in Rome, Tuesday.
Suicide bombings are on the ride in Afghanistan. In a CNN exclusive interview, we talked to a would be bomber who's now in prison.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: At least 30 people are dead in the series of deadly attack across Iraq today. The shelling Muslim community appears to the main target of the blast. There were seven explosions in and around Baghdad alone and a car bomber is spotted near Shiite shrine, close to the city. Baghdad's Shiite dominated government blames the recent attacks on Sunni insurgents with al-Qaeda ties.
Two Americans, one civilian are dead after a fire fight broke out in Afghanistan. It happened at a temporary checkpoint being operated by coalition troops west of Kabul. Three Afghan soldiers also died in the clash that officials say may have been provoked by insurgent fire.
There has been a rise in attacks by militant stress as Afghan soldiers and suicide bombers. Suicide attacks are a common tactic for the Taliban.
In an exclusive interview with CNN, Anna Coren talks to a would-be suicide bomber who is now in prison.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 25-year-old Ruhullah believed he was carrying out God's will when he and his friends planned an attack on American soldiers in Nangarhar province. He said he agreed to wear a suicide vest and kill as many foreigners as possible.
It's a special feeling that comes to you when you are ready for a suicide attack, he tells me. No one can stop you, no one could stop me. That is, except the law. When police arrested him five months ago in Jalalabad, during the planning of the attack. He's now awaiting trial. Proudly a member of the Taliban, Ruhullah says no one encouraged him to do this.
RUHALLAH, SUICIDE BOMBER (through translator): Look at our situation, the foreigners kill our people, they insult our religion, burning the holy Quran and making cartoons about the Prophet Muhammad. If we don't defend Islam, then we are not Muslim.
COREN: Suicide bombings, as other attacks, (INAUDIBLE) occurrences in the war in Afghanistan. And the methods of the insurgents are constantly changing. According to the prison boss, General Khan Mohammad Khan.
KHAN MOHAMMAD KHAN, GENERAL, PUL-E-CHARKHI PRISON (through translator): The enemy don't use their old tactics, now they use women, sometimes children and teenagers. They even get dressed up in military uniforms. They don't fight face to face. They're cowards.
COREN: While the Taliban denies recruiting children as a suicide bombers, the facts tell a very different story. Authorities say just a few days ago, a 10-year-old orphan boy managed to escape some insurgents who are going to make him wear a suicide vest so he could blow himself up in front of coalition troops.
Ruhulah has a 4-year-old son who he says he loves and misses very much. When I asked him how he would feel if his child was used as a suicide bomber. He tell me, he wants to be a suicide bomber when he gets older, well then, no one can stop him. If he follows Islam and does it for Islam, then that's a good thing.
At times, he speaks with hatred in his eyes. And then, there are moments when he smiles explaining, this is all a test from God.
RUHULLAH: Our real life starts after doomsday, so this is not our real life. This is world is a paradise for pagans and a hell for Muslims. We just need to be patient.
COREN: The Afghan intelligence services and armed forces say they have foiled dozens of attacks in recent months, and while that's an encouraging sign, Ruhullah says there are thousands of others just like him, ready to put on a suicide vest and die for their country and their religion.
Anna Coren, CNN. Kabul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Back in the U.S., a few questions being addressed should gay couples be allowed to be marriage and should college admissions be based on race? Two of the top questions being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court starting this week. We will go in depth straight ahead.
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WHITFIELD: Both presidential candidates are starting at the week in two key battle ground states.
President Barack Obama is in Nevada right now to hold a rally in Ls Vegas in just a few hours. The president will stay in that state and prepare for his first debate against Mitt Romney. That showdown is Wednesday night in Colorado.
Mitt Romney meantime, heading to the swing state of Colorado tomorrow. He will hold a rally there and then concentrate on debate preps.
The focus of this first debate will be domestic policy and Jim Lehrer of PBS will be the moderate for. The vice presidential debate is the following week, October 11th in Kentucky. ABC News correspondent, Martha Raddatz is the moderator, both domestic and international issues will be discussed.
October 16th, Obama and Romney faced off again at Hofstra University in New York. Our own chief political correspondent Candy Crowley will be moderating that event. The focus, foreign and domestic policy.
And the final debate will be strictly on foreign policy. It is October 22nd in Florida. Bob Schieffer of CBS is the moderator at that time.
President Obama and Mitt Romney facing off as the American people weigh their choices. The first presidential debate this Wednesday night, October 3rd. Watch it live right here on CNN 7:00 p.m. eastern time and then of course on CNN.com.
All right, the U.S. Supreme Court justices celebrated a red mass this morning at Saint Matthew s cathedral in Washington. It is some saying justices have been before a new sessions since the 1950. So, that means they are officially back at work tomorrow.
One of the first big issues the court could tackle, voter id laws ahead of the November election. You can also see rulings on gay marriage and affirmative action involving the University of Texas.
CNN's Joe Johns looks at how the divisions within the court could play out in this session.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Fred at the beginning of new session, the Supreme Court is going to be closely watched for signs of strain between the uses or anything else that suggests things may have changed since the health care ruling, which arguably was is biggest opinion by the court since Bush versus gore more than a decade ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS (voice-over): Right after the Supreme Court's health care decision in June, chief justice John Roberts joked to colleagues that he would find an island fortress to escape the political heat. Here's how justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg describes the eventful spring.
RUTH BADER GINSBURG, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: The chairman has been more than usually taxing. Some have called the term of the century.
JOHNS: Now, three months later, the court is back and there are no signs of it cooling down.
THOMAS GODSTEIN, PUBLISHER, SCOTUSBLOG.COM: The justices are moving from the frying pan right into the fire. They are tackling some of the most difficult legal question of today. Across the board, probably the biggest term in at least a decade.
JOHNS: Cases involving the contentious issues of affirmative action, same-sex marriage, voting rights and abortion are all likely to come up this term which kicks off Monday.
CARRIE SEVERINO, JUDICIAL CRISIS NETWORK: There's some very exciting cases already on the docket and amount more in the pipeline that may - that the court is going to be making a decision on soon.
JOHNS: Another set of big decision will bring even more scrutiny on the chief justice. Rumors surf as the healthcare ruling be authored caused a personal writ with fellow conservative colleagues including justice Antonin Scalia. A claimed Scalia denied to CNN's Piers Morgan.
ANTONIN SCALIA, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: No, I haven't had a falling out with justice Roberts.
PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST, PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT SHOW: Not words exchanged?
SCALIA: No.
MORGAN: Slamming of doors?
SCALIA: No.
MORGAN: Nothing like that?
SCALIA: Nothing like that.
JOHNS: The other big question, will the chief justice take the court in an aggressive new direction. Liberal fear a more hard line, automatic shift to the right.
ELIZABETH WYDRA, CONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTER: A lot of progressives are concerned that this might mean that chief justice Roberts has built up some capital, some good will and will now push the conservative agenda.
JOHNS: Tom Goldstein who has argued before the court thinks Roberts wants a more conservative court. But that he will do it gradually.
GOLDSTEIN: He is not trying to move the law radically quickly. I think Justice Scalia or justice Thomas, really want to get to the end answer as quickly as possible and make the law could form to what they really understand. Whereas, the chief justice is more incrementalist. JOHNS: The conservative court watcher, Carrie Severino, doesn't believe much will change any time soon.
SEVERINO: Certainly this is not a crusading conservative court, until we have a shift, I think in the membership of the court, it's impossible to call it a court that means more to the left or to the right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: For the opinions that could be close, 5-4 decisions will also be pay to justice Anthony Kennedy who's the swing vote in some of the toughest cases -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Thanks so much. Joe Johns from Washington.
All right, do you think you could feed yourself for a week on just $29? Phoenix mayor Greg Stanton wanted to know what that was like. He was challenge to tried it out, so he did, living on food stamp by just for seven days after being challenged by a community group in fact.
I spoke with him earlier and asked him, what he took away from that experience?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR GREG STANTON, PHOENIX: There's too often stereotyping that goes on about people living on food stamps. The vast majority of people live on food stamps, they don't want to be doing that. They are going through incredibly difficult times, but temporary times. And these are people that need to be supported during these times and when the economy comes roaring back and it's in the process of doing so, I'm an optimist, I believe that they are going to be a big part of the future of our economy.
So number one, don't present negative stereotypes for people who happen to be living on food stamps. Number two, there's a lot of kids, a lot of families with children that are going through these difficult times and need our help. And so, I'm telling people that if you want to support me and what I did, what you can do is donate money or food to our local food banks that help to supplement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The federal government says right now, almost 47 million Americans are currently on food stamps.
An astounding new picture shows the earliest stages of the universe. We will show it to you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)
WHITFIELD: You know that song, Billy Joel's "My Life." It is from his album, " 52nd Street" which was the very first commercial CD ever released. The compact disk turns 30, can you believe it, tomorrow.
And when the first CD player actually hit market in 1982 and sold for $730. By today, standard disk is more than $1700 per CD player.
All right, an astounding new picture shows the earliest stages of the universe. It is the furthest image ever taken.
Josh Levs has it for us.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, this is incredible. What's behind me right here, this is literally the deepest thing ever of all time, it is unbelievable. It's new from NASA, the Hubble space telescope has come up with this. And what you're seeing here is the farthest look out to the universe ever. You are seeing some galaxies here that are 13.2 billion years ago, that's how far a Hubble manage to look out into this little tiny chuck of space.
And I want everyone to understand how small this is. The width of what we're seeing here out in space is much, much smaller than the moon. So imagine that you go outside at night. it is a full moon and you kind a go like this with your hand and look through it. So, you can only see a tiny little position of the moon. Then you move your hand over the sky, it's just that tiny little piece of sky, of space that you are seeing. But it's so deep, it just keeps going on and on and gone for billions of years because of the way it takes for light to come in here.
Let's go to the video. I want you to see exactly where it is in the sky for people who have followed this, it's in the constellation Fornax. We were able to zoom in, thanks to NASA, way in. You can see it's going out, out, out, out. And when we get to those images, in this extreme deep field that what they call it, what we're going to see is there is some red and some blues. And the red ones are the galaxies that at the time were already kind of mature. And the blue ones are the ones that were new at the times. So, the base could become red after colliding together.
Our Chad Myers had a really strong explanation, this is wild, of how far this is away from us. Take a look at what Chad said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: 80,240,000, 000, 000, 000,000,000 miles away is the farthest dot that you see on that map.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: The Sixtillion has 21 zero. So, it is unbelievable. This is - I bet NASA, there were able to interact with this images. It all comes from the Hubble space telescope. And they are doing some incredible things with the Hubble space telescope. I want you to be able to see this. So, you can scan it up at the cnn.com light year's blog and I'm tweeting it, putting it on facebook right at joshlevsCNN.
Fred, what do you think.
WHITFIELD: It looks like a lot of Christmas light. That's what it looks like.
LEVS: And it looks like Christmas lights.
WHITFIELD: But, that's amazing, sextillion miles away.
LEVS: There you go. It's on going and going and going and going.
WHITFIELD: Very cool. All right, thanks so much, Josh. Thanks for bringing that us.
That is amazing. And we have another amazing view, but this is life under sea. The people who bring you Google maps now taking their cameras under water to give you a virtual tour of Australia's great barer reef.
CNN's Phil Han shows at some of the gorgeous images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL HAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice0over): Get ready to explore the great barrier reef. The best part, you don't even need to get wet. Scientists have teamed up with Google to offer high definition under water panoramas of the reef to anyone with access to the web.
Tens of thousands of images have been stitched together to create the virtual dive in the hopes that it will bring attention to how to climate change is affecting the 2300 kilometer long reef. Google users will be able to log on to take a dive, the lead scientist behind the project says it could even bring some unexpected surprises.
OVE HOEGH-GULDBERG, UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND: What I found was four new species records of Carl's for the great barrier reef and a brand- new species of pigmy sea horse.
HAN: A especially designed camera explored death which means 30 and 100 meter, a region that makes up 93 percent of the reef. The 360degree panorama shows in crystal clear quality the brimming sea life and corals. People will even be able to help scientists with the study by measuring the size of is coral and the number of fish in the area. If it's a success, the project could be expanded to other parts of the world.
Phil Han, CNN. London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Wow. Magnificent.
All right, it's a case that's making headlines around the world.
A 14-year-old Christian girl goes to a Pakistani court to fight blasphemy charges but her accuser could be in trouble too.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
All right, A 14 -year-old Pakistani girl accused of blasphemy will be in court tomorrow and the Muslim cleric who accused her of it could be facing charges himself.
Our Reza Sayah has the story from Islamabad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of people will be watching two important hearings on Monday here in Islamabad, on the blasphemy saga that's made headlines worldwide in the past couple of months.
The first hearing on Monday is for Rimsha Masih, the 14-year-old Christian girl accused last month by her neighbors of burning pages of the Quran. The way things stand right now, things look to be in her favor and there are indications the case against her could be dropped but it's not clear when that will officially happen. Of course, three weeks ago the court granted her bail.
Last week police submitted the findings of their investigation. Police essentially saying we didn't find any evidence against her, in fact they found that the town cleric tried to frame her by planting, according to police burned pages of to the Quran in a bag she was carrying.
Also Monday morning, a hearing for that particular cleric, he could be facing blasphemy charges in what could be a dramatic turn of events. A lot of unpredictable twists and turns in this story, both of the individuals scheduled to appear in court, although it not clear if they will. Many see these particular case and its developments is an opportunity to make changes to a law that's often exploited to settle personal scores. Although, at this point, there's no indication any lawmakers are taking serious steps in changing the law.
Reza Sayah, CNN. Islamabad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And this country, a young woman who last 160 pounds in a little more than a year and she document did whole journey in photos. Here are her before and after pictures. I will ask her how she did it, straight ahead.
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WHITFIELD: Bonnie and Clyde's guns are sold. We told you earlier today, the guns were on the auction block in New Hampshire. Well, a bidder bought them for more than $500,000. These are the guns and the notorious bank robbers actually had on them when police ambushed and killed the couple back in 1934. The bidder also got an extra clip for bullets and a letter from the son of one of the Texas' rangers who killed the couple.
All right now, to a story about change. A young woman lost 160 pounds in just over a year and documented it all in photographs. Julia Kozerski weighed more than 300 pounds when she started taking pictures of herself in dressing rooms. She says the images helped her to come to terms with her changing body during what was also a very stressful time.
Julia Kozerski is joining me now from Milwaukee. Good to see you, Julia.
JULIA KOZERSKI, LOST 160 POUNDS IN A YEAR: Thank you for having me.
WHITFIELD: OK, so you had a pretty amazing year, a wedding, being a full-time college student, taking care of your parents. That's what we mean by saying a very stressful time. So, what provoke you to kind a change your habits and then document this transformation?
KOZERSKI: Sure. Well, one day I got on the scale after having a giant scale after having a giant meal and I saw 338. And you know, you used to having women and men say, you know, 100 pounds and you look down and you see a three. And it takes you back and you live with this self for so long. And for me, I hadn't been weighing, you know, stepping on a scale for years. So, all of a sudden, I see this three and I know that I'm different. And I didn't want to have that feeling. And I felt guilty for eating. I felt, you know, like I didn't fit in and that it was time to change.
WHITFIELD: So, you changed you're eating habits? In what way?
KOZERSKI: Sure. The first week easy things, you know, less salad dressing, I started adding measuring things. I started adding more fresh fruit, throwing more vegetable in my salad. Just little things, I stopped eating junk food, no more fast food, no more soda. It was little things and they just added up to things I would never, ever have expected.
WHITFIELD: Amazing. And so, you started seeing results, and then, what gave you this idea when you go to a dressing room, you know, to start taking these pictures?
KOZERSKI: Well, the first time, you know, I started out wearing a pant side that was a 28 to 30. So the first time, the first couple weeks, I was down to a 26. So I took the picture because I was excited. I was happy that it happened. And as I kept going and going, I could fit in to different sizes. I could fit in to what they call real clothes where I wasn't, you know, shopping at specialty stores. I eventually made it down to juniors.
Then, I just wanted to see, you know, what I was doing, how I could change my actual body throughout this. And the images really helped me along the way to say, you know, I could go back and flip through my phone and see here I was 20 pounds ago. Do I want to go back? Do I want to go forward? Do I want to keep doing what I'm doing? And how is it affecting me physically.
WHITFIELD: Wow. And the pictures are just so effective. Of course, it showing how, you know, physically you were being transformed by these new habits. You know, some habits you were letting go and new habits you were taking on. But even the expression, your face, you were just starting to look so refreshed and happy about the results.
KOZERSKI: Sure.
WHITFIELD: So, these changes, did it change you in more ways than you could have ever anticipated?
KOZERSKI: Oh, sure, sure. Everything has changed in the last couple years. It's just incredible. The way I live my day today life, the way I look, the way I present myself, if you asked me to come on this show at 338 pounds, would have said no. So, it's given me an incredible lease on life. And there's things that I think that I can do that I never thought I could do before.
WHITFIELD: And there were even pictures of you tearful.
KOZERSKI: Sure.
WHITFIELD: You know, you were crying. I guess this was just a moment where it all came together for you. Can you describe what you were feeling at that point?
KOZERSKI: Sure. The two pictures that I know that you are referring to, where I was trying on a wedding dress. My husband and I were going to have a vow renewal for our second year anniversary. And I put on a dress that was a size 16, and I literally broke down. I could not understand who was in the mirror. I didn't feel like the woman that I remember on my wedding day. And I think it was overjoyed and it was scared and it was just everything came together and I could not understand who I was looking at anymore. But it is - it is good in the end. It just was scary at the time because, you know, you're in these rooms by yourself and you're anxious. And no one knows what you're going through on the inside.
WHITFIELD: So now is there just a lifestyle change for you that you feel like you're going to adhere to? How do, you know, you move forward at this point?
KOZERSKI: Well, at first when I was losing weight it was about a number. It was about being a certain size. It was being, you know, being able to wear certain clothes. And it's not like that for me anymore. I'm actually up from my lowest weight on purpose because I want to feel good. It's not about a number anymore. It's about listening to my body, what my body needs and you know, how I can live happily.
So that's the main goal now, is living happy and living how I want to. Everything in moderation, still keeping the healthy aspect to it but just really listening to inside.
WHITFIELD: Julia Kozerski, thanks so much and thanks for sharing these pictures. You put them on the web for all to see. And we appreciate that. And you are so beautiful. Thanks so much.
KOZERSKI: Thank you so much. Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, a young player faced one pitch in the major leagues, a fastball that almost ended his career, and it could have actually ended his life. Well now, he's got a second chance at bat.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, it was his best day and his worst difficult all at once. Adam Greenberg was up at bat for the first time in the majors, playing for the Chicago cubs July 2005. A fastball at 92 miles an hour hit him straight in the head as you see there. The injuries he sustained pretty much ended his dream of playing in the majors until now.
The Marlins are giving him a shot next week for one day. He got a lot of help in this quest from a self-described Cubs fanatic, Matt Listen. I talked to both of them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADAM GREENBERG, CHICAGO PLAYER IN 2005: It's a chance for me to really realize my dream as I had my whole life as a child wanting to play major league baseball. And obviously what happened several years ago did. And that dream was kind of shattered. And I didn't ever get to enjoy being a major leaguer. With obviously the help of Matt Listen and this one at-bat campaign, you know, he's enabled me to kind of get back and now truly realize the dream. And I'm honestly just saying, I'm soaking it in and loving every second of it.
WHITFIELD: That's fantastic. And so, you know Matt, you all have become tight now. But, you didn't know him from Adam, so to speak. You didn't know him. You were a fan but you got this campaign going. Why? MATT LISTEN, CHICAGO CUBS FANATIC: Yes. Well, you know, I remember Adam's first at-bat. I'm a Chicago Cubs fanatic. And I remember of the day he played that game in 2005, July 9th, I thought I was about to see the center fielder of our future. And I remember when he got hit in the head, it was devastating. And I remember watching the games after that thinking, well, where is Adam? When is Adam going to get to play? And he never got called up again. He never played again for the Chicago cubs.
So, that at-bat was always burned in my brain. And then, you know, I would always check in to see what Adam was up to online. And he still didn't get the call up. And then, right before this season started, I was actually watching the movie "field of dreams" with my wife. I couldn't believe she had never watched it before.
Anyway, so we were watching it. And she said she mentioned the character in there, Moonlight Graham who is always -- Adam is always compared to Moonlight Graham. She said, man, I feel sorry for that Moonlight Graham character. And I said Moonlight Graham doesn't have anything on this guy, on Adam Greenberg. And so, I started telling her the story of Adam Greenberg. And then, I thought he's only 28, 29 years old, we can't let this moment pass, this window of opportunity.
WHITFIELD: I wonder, Adam, how are you going to be at bat Marlins Tuesday and not have tears in your eyes? I mean, how are you going to be able to concentrate on that moment? Will you be thinking about what happened years ago? Will you be thinking about your fitness, your training, your readiness? Can you tell me what you might be feeling?
GREENBERG: Yes. Here is the one thing that I want to make very clear, this campaign and this at-bat is a success already. So, the result of what happens on Tuesday, it's one at-bat, but obviously, it is resonating with so many people showing the power of the human spirit, the power of perseverance and just staying positive and not letting yourself stay down.
But it's not -- you can't do it alone. You need support. And I didn't ask for it certainly. I didn't know Matt from a hole in the wall. He wasn't a friend of mine, a relative, an agent, nothing. He's just a genuinely nice guy, and passionate baseball fan and passionate person. So, all those emotions I'm getting to relive and talk about it and share it right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Fantastic. We're going to be rooting for you Adam Greenberg. Tuesday, Marlins game. Of course, we're wishing him -- they have a great relationship, too. Wishing them the best. Isn't it magnetic just to see them, Deb?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. You know, you have to believe in fate. Because these two people connected and they're making a difference in each other's lives.
WHITFIELD: They really are. FEYERICK: It's amazing. It is really amazing.
WHITFIELD: They've inspired so many other people. I feel so inspired after hearing them talk. I love that.
FEYERICK: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much. That's going to do it for me. You're up next. Much more of the NEWSROOM, in for Don Lemon.
FEYERICK: Thanks a million, Fred. Have a great evening.