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CNN NEWSROOM

Death Penalty Cases in Question; Backlash Over FBI Training; Violence Rises in New Orleans

Aired September 16, 2011 - 12:00   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Top of the hour. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Let's get you up to speed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're in this town that is partially under the control of the rebels, but there are other parts of it that still remain loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. Obviously, this situation is very fluid at the moment.

(GUNFIRE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Ben Wedeman with Libyan rebels. They are making a new push against fighters holding out for Moammar Gadhafi. Rebels are attacking several towns today, including Gadhafi's tribal home of Sirte. We're working on a live report from Sirte later on this hour.

Libya's new political leadership is sending a team to Niger today to retrieve Gadhafi's son, Saadi. Officials say they let him into the country on humanitarian grounds. Saadi Gadhafi is reported to be under house arrest at a luxury village near Niger's presidential palace.

And President Mahmoud Abbas told the Palestinian people a short time ago statehood is their right. Abbas plans to ask the United Nations to declare Palestine a state next week over the objections of Israel and the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD ABBAS, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): -- to demand our legitimate right, which is to become a full member of the United Nations as a state of Palestine. We will take with us as a Palestinian delegation all the suffering and pains of our people in order to achieve this goal and to end a historical prejudice against our people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The Obama administration says it will veto the move. Washington says Palestinians should achieve statehood through peace talks with Israel. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We believe strongly that the road to peace and two states living side by side does not go through New York. It goes through Jerusalem and Ramallah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Abbas says he'll personally hand the petition for statehood to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday.

President Obama has just signed a new law that modernizes the U.S. patent process. He did it at a high school in Virginia. The new law streamlines the patent's process. The White House predicts the easier the process is, the easier it will spur corporate innovation and create jobs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to do everything we can to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit wherever we find it. And we should be helping American companies compete and sell their products all over the world. We should be making it easier and faster to turn new ideas into new jobs and new businesses. And we should knock down any barriers that stand in the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The law will create 2,000 new jobs almost immediately at the U.S. Patent Office.

The man underneath this burning car right there is talking about Monday's crash. He says he is "forever in debt" to the people who risked their lives to get him out.

Brandon Wright, a 21-year-old Utah State student, is pretty banged up, but he should actually be OK. Wright says he doesn't understand how he slid under that BMW when his motorcycle hit the car. He was edged under that vehicle so tightly, that he couldn't even turn his head.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON WRIGHT, MOTORCYCLIST SAVED FROM BURNING CAR: I just wanted to thank all the heroes that put their lives on the line to save mine. I'm forever in debt. I can't thank them enough. I just hope they know how much they mean to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And Wright is lucky so many times over. Take a look again when they lift the vehicle and then they pull him out from underneath. You'll notice he wasn't wearing a helmet.

Form he NBA player Javaris Crittenton was expected to make his first court appearance in Georgia last hour. Crittenton was extradited from Los Angeles. He is charged with killing a young Atlanta mother in a drive-by shooting last month. Police say she wasn't Crittenton's intended target.

Amnesty International plans 300 vigils and rallies across the country tonight for Troy Davis. The Georgia man faces execution Wednesday. Several witnesses have changed their stories, claiming police coerced them into lying. Nine others have signed affidavits implicating another man. Georgia hears Davis' request for clemency on Monday.

Duane Buck was minutes from execution last night in Texas when the U.S. Supreme Court said hold on. Buck says Texas shouldn't put him to death because a witness made a racist statement at his sentencing hearing. The Supreme Court will take a look at his case to determine if the remark influenced the jury to go with the death penalty.

All right. So let's take a closer look at these two death penalty cases. Sunny Houston from "In Session," on our sister network, truTV, joining us live right now from New York.

Good to see you, Sunny.

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION," TRUTV: Good to see you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So why so many lingering questions now about both of these cases?

HOSTIN: You know, death penalty cases certainly get a lot of scrutiny because the appeals process takes a very long time, Fred. I mean, if you're talking about the case of Troy Davis, this is a case that's been going on for over 20 years. And so through the appellate process, typically new issues come up and the initial case certainly in the trial is really scrutinized.

And I think that's why you hear so many new things come up. So many people are surprised at that.

They say things like, well, why didn't this come forward at trial? Well, oftentimes, these things happen after trial. New evidence comes up. Witnesses recant their testimony, which is the case in the Troy Davis matter.

And so that really is why we're hearing so many new things about these types of cases.

WHITFIELD: In the Troy Davis case, you're talking after 20 years, then, some of the jurors say they've second-guessed themselves on this case. So kind of spell out the process for us.

In the case of Troy Davis, how many appeals is he able to get? How many times before this parole hearing to see if indeed his case could be reconsidered?

HOSTIN: His case certainly is very unique in the sense that there's an automatic appeal when you're convicted and given the death penalty. And then that takes many, many, many years to wind its way not only through the state system, and then sometimes through the federal system, all the way to the Supreme Court, which is what happened in his case.

I mean, what's interesting, Fred, is that in his case, the Supreme Court granted what's called an innocence hearing. It's the first time the Supreme Court has done this in 50 years. And so his case is very unique in that sense, but we want those appeals to happen when you are talking about the death penalty, right? Because that's irreversible punishment, and you never want an innocent person or a person whose guilt is called into question to be put to death.

And I think that's really the takeaway here and that's what people need to understand about why people are on death row for so long. It's because the initial decision to put someone to death is questioned over and over and over and over again by the higher courts of the land.

WHITFIELD: And now, in the case of the Texas case, Duane Buck, at issue here, not necessarily guilt or innocence. At issue is what may have influenced the jury as it pertained to this sentencing phase of his conviction, that a psychologist said that blacks and Hispanics are more likely to commit crimes, and that that may have been too influential in this death penalty.

HOSTIN: That's right. I mean, apparently, what this witness said in front of the jury is that blacks are more likely to re-offend. And so there's almost no chance for rehabilitation.

And you put that in front of a jury, then that jury may be more likely to sentence someone to death if they think they're incorrigible and there's nothing that can be done with this person. And that's a really inflammatory remark, let's face it, to say that by virtue of someone's race --

WHITFIELD: Yes.

HOSTIN: -- they're going to continue to commit crimes.

WHITFIELD: Well, I'm surprised that wasn't knocked down as it happened, but --

HOSTIN: Well, you would think. You would think. But I think our country has come a long way, and it's certainly reviewing these things.

And it's very interesting to note that the Supreme Court now has stepped in and has said, well, there's a problem here, we're going to review it. And I think that's a step certainly in the right direction in terms of our legal system, especially in terms of death penalty cases.

WHITFIELD: Right. All right. Sunny Hostin, thanks so much. Always good to see you.

HOSTIN: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Here is what's ahead right now "On the Rundown." First, a Florida millionaire accused of murdering his wife is proving hard to defend because of some strange behavior, say some.

And an FBI training manual comes under fire because of the way it portrays Muslims.

Then, why a key Democratic strategist says it's time for the president to panic and fire some people.

Also, if your iPhone has a problem, call the iPhone doctor. Meet a young entrepreneur whose business is actually booming.

And later, a sailor finds a message from Japan on a beach in Hawaii.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here's your chance to "Choose the News." Text "22360" for the story that you want to see.

Text "1" for the new gold rush. That's what it's being called, and that gold rush is now causing a mining boom. Prospectors are coming from near and far in the hunt for gold, all because of the surging price of gold.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Hello, my darlin', hello, my baby --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Who can get enough of that? Text "2" for Web fame. You've seen that cute couple whose webcam video went viral. Guess what's happening to them now? Here's a hint -- Hollywood. They're calling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Contain yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And text "2" for welcome home dogs. They are for war vets returning home, and soldiers say these specially trained dogs make all the difference in the world.

You can vote by texting "22360." Text "1" for "The New Gold Rush"; "2" for "Web Fame"; or "3" for "Welcome Back Dogs."

The winning story airs later this hour.

The FBI is getting some backlash over a training presentation that depicted mainstream Muslims as terrorist sympathizers.

Our Brian Todd reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TODD (voice-over): In the often-tense relationship between the Muslim community and the U.S. and law enforcement, another potential problem, fallout over an FBI training presentation which claimed that mainstream Muslims sympathize with militants.

Wired magazine says it obtained slide presentations from FBI whistle- blowers, slides that were shown at the bureau's training facility in Quantico, Virginia. In the series of slides entitled strategic themes and drivers in Islamic law, it says the prophet Mohammed ordered the assassinations and execution of his critics. That Islam's world view is that there can be no peace between Islam and others until Dar al- Islam conquers and assimilates its adversaries. And it characterize as Mohammed as a cult leader for a small inner circle.

James Zogby of the air of Arab American Institute calls the cult reference horrific. Says Mohammed didn't order his opponents to be killed. I read him another passage.

Then he says the strategic themes animating these Islamic values are not fringe, they are Mainstream. What do you make of that?

JAMES ZOGBY, ARAB AMERICAN INSTITUTE: Again, I say this is the propaganda of the Islamophobes. This is what they have been preaching. This is way they have been stopped the building of mosques. They want to paint an entire community, entire faith community as extremists and radical and violent and prone to violence. It's bigotry of the worst sort.

TODD: Contacted by CNN, the FBI wouldn't comment on that and would not allow us to speak to the analyst who wrote that presentation. An FBI spokesman acknowledged that that training session took place, but he says that was six months ago, one time only. That it was quickly discontinued. That policy changes are under way and that instructor no longer provides training for the FBI.

But the instructor is still an FBI analyst. Since September 11th, the FBI often invited Muslim leaders to talk with agents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: True or false, all Arabs or Muslims and all Muslims are Arab.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: False.

TODD: I asked former FBI Assistant Director Tom Fuentes if the counter-terror agent he's dwelt with would believe any points in that presentation.

TOM FUENTES, FMR. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, FBI: No, they don't believe it. And they furthermore believe strenuously in a strong outreach program.

TODD: Fuentes says the publicizing of this training segment could play into al Qaeda's hands for propaganda, says it could diminish the FBI's ability to get the American Muslim community to help in investigations. But he says hopefully the fact that the FBI acted so quickly to terminate the program may give the bureau more credibility with Muslims. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: If you're a pro-football fan, you'll want to listen to this. The NFL might look a little bit like an airport security checkpoint this year.

The league wants fans to get enhanced pat-downs from the ankles up, not just the waist-up anymore. The idea is to keep everyone in the stands safe. So you might want to get to the game a little early, earlier than you did last time. It may take a little bit longer to get through.

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. When your Apple gets bruised, who do you call? The iPhone doc. The iPhone doc is in, and business is booming, by the way, as you are about to see.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Six years after Hurricane Katrina, people in New Orleans are still rebuilding, but violence is now the storm tearing apart communities. The murder rate in New Orleans is 10 times the national average, and it's primarily young black men killing each other.

Suzanne Malveaux looks at why this matters for all of us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARENCE NERO, THREE BROTHERS KILLED IN NEW ORLEANS: This is my sister Mika (ph), my youngest brother, Hasad (ph). This is my brother Sean (ph), the one who was recently murdered, and my brother Zachary (ph).

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Clarence Nero has experienced unthinkable loss, three brothers murdered on the streets of New Orleans.

NERO: The hardest part is just experiencing so much violence over years, losing family members, people that I grew up with, that I've loved, that I was close to.

So I see we do have a problem in the stats (ph) with run-ons and comma slices.

MALVEAUX: As an African-American man raised in the bayou, Nero's story is tragic but not unique. He says the cultural violence is a persistent problem that's being ignored.

NERO: I remember feeling like no one cared when my brothers were killed. It would just be another black man dead and society would just keep moving on.

MALVEAUX: In New Orleans, African-American are 91 percent more likely to be victims of violent crimes than whites.

MAYOR MITCH LANDRIEU (D), NEW ORLEANS: We have to call the nation to purpose on this and fix it.

MALVEAUX: Since taking office in 2010, Mayor Mitch Landrieu is addressing these alarming statistics.

LANDRIEU: We primarily have young African-American men killing young African-American men at an unbelievable pace. The level of violence is unnatural. What's unique about what's going on now which didn't go on 10 years ago is that 83 percent of these individuals know each other.

Some of it is drug-related, but it's not gang-related. And so, evidently, what we have is a whole generation of young people who have learned how to resolve even the slightest difference by a violent act.

MALVEAUX: Peter Sharp is a criminologist at Tulane University's School of Public Health and has researched this issue for years. His studies show some residents have become accustomed to violence.

PETER SCHARF, CRIMINOLOGIST: I mean, murder is normal. Kids walk around the yellow tape at school. There were sneakers of dead kids hanging between the buildings, so it became part of the culture of some neighborhoods. It's just true.

MALVEAUX: Who's responsible for making sure those young men are safe?

LANDRIEU: It's everybody's job. It's a problem that starts in the home. It's a problem that continues through the school. It's a problem where people fall through the cracks. So this whole social network has to be brought together, and we have to drill down on this in a very aggressive way.

MALVEAUX: Nero credits education and strong role models for his success. He recently organized an essay contest in honor of his brother Sean (ph) to inspire teenagers to break the cycle of violence.

NERO: There is hope. You can make it and you can be successful through education, making the right decisions. You know, just because you live in this space doesn't mean that you have to die there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And according to "The Times-Picayune," 136 people have been murdered in New Orleans this year. Tomorrow, the mayor's office will host "Saving Our Sons," a crime action summit to address this issue.

Tough times for President Barack Obama. The economy is still sputtering, and political fights on Capitol Hill aren't getting any easier. We'll take a closer look at what the president is facing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here's a rundown of some of the stories we're working on. New, why Democratic strategist James Carville says President Obama should panic and fire people.

Then, a millionaire caught on tape dancing in his prison clothes says he didn't kill his wife.

And later, your iPhone has a crack. Call the doctor. The iPhone doctor, that is.

Oh, yes, it's been a pretty rough week, particularly for President Obama. New jobs numbers are grim. A solar power company goes belly up, along with more than a half-billion dollars in taxpayer loans. Terrorists launched new attacks in Afghanistan. And in special elections, Republicans win two congressional races.

Political analyst James Carville, who helped Bill Clinton win the White House, has some advice for Mr. Obama. He says it's time to panic and fire some people.

Listen to his comments earlier in the NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CARVILLE, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Identify what your problem is, change the policy and change the personnel that are working with the policy, and tell the public you get it. Don't lose two races and come on TV and tell everybody it's fine when everybody knows it's not fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Columnist and CNN contributor John Avlon is with us now from New York.

So, John, what do you make of James Carville's comments?

JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The "Ragin' Cajun" is back. He's telling some hard truths to the White House.

Now, look, he loves to throw a hard punch, and that makes some news. And I'm not sure really the solution to the White House's problems is to hit the panic button and just fire a bunch of people. But clearly, they've got to recognize there is a problem. I don't think the Turner special election or Nevada election are real bellwethers, but Democrats and the president need to realize they're facing some tough headwinds going into 2012, and they need to take action to make the case to the American people directly.

WHITFIELD: So is the problem then the staff, the White House, who is equipped to make some decisions, call the shots? Or is the problem that so much -- the house is falling around the White House. There are so many things going on, it's such a big plate and it's difficult for the White House to manage.

AVLON: Yes. I've never been sympathetic to, you know, the, A, it's too hard argument, or B, it's the personnel. It's kind of like blaming the equipment in golf. But I do think, clearly, the fundamental fact of Washington is a divided government in a hyperpartisan time.

Now, we've done great things with divided government before -- you know, interstate highway system plan, Marshall Plan, all the Reagan achievements, Clinton working with Gingrich to turn the deficit into a surplus.

The problem is, right now, with this divided government, we also have hyper-partisanship. The parties are more polarized than ever before. And I think some folks really believe that working across the aisle, that's not cooperation; that's collaboration.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

AVLON: And so the president has got a real -- an incredibly difficult problem. That's why he put forward a bipartisan plan. And even some Republicans are now opposing tax cuts. Got to be the first time that has ever happened.

WHITFIELD: Yes. OK. Case in point, let's talk about House Speaker John Boehner. He is out with ideas on how to create jobs. It is clear the White House plan is going nowhere on Capitol Hill if you listen to John Boehner. More of the same?

AVLON: Yes, well, a little bit more of the same.

Look, I don't think this -- the bill is DOA. That's way overstating it. This is the beginning stage of a negotiation. I think when the president put forward how he was going to pay for his bill, some of that centrist credibility of having bipartisan policies got taken off. But it is the start of a negotiation.

Here I think -- look, John Boehner, when he is talking about the super committee, nothing should be off the table. Everything should be on the table. Everything should be at the table. That's the nature of how you deal with the deficit and debt. But the question is with tax reform. We can achieve it. The question is, he's saying no tax hikes. Fine.

Here's the big question Republicans need to ask and conservatives need to ask Republicans. Is closing tax loopholes, is that raising taxes as some folks on the far right think or is that taking earmarks that are embedded in the tax code out? That's really where the key debate will be in the next couple weeks.

WHITFIELD: OK. Republicans are not the only problem. Democrats are the problem, too. The Obama White House was a little upset that Democrats would go publicly, talk to reporters, it would be in "The New York Times," et cetera, about what they don't like about the plan, as opposed to, the president says, why not come to me?

AVLON: Well, look, I think the horse is spooked when it comes to the House. Every incumbent realizes that there's a lot of voter anger out there. Independents are angry at whoever is in power. President Obama's approval rating is underwater. Guess who is worse? Republicans in Congress.

I think the folks on the left of the Democratic Party are really frustrated with this president. They don't think he's been far-left enough. But I think there's a certain divergence from reality here. The schizophrenic time of our politics is this. Folks on the far right think the president is a socialist. Folks on the far left think he is a Wall Street sellout. You can't be both.

I think the president needs to get his shop in line. But he has been a pretty effective leader of the Democratic Party. You got around 70 folks on the far left of the House that don't want any entitlement reform, but it is a relatively small group.

WHITFIELD: OK. Fascinating stuff. All right, thanks so much, as always, John Avlon.

AVLON: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Libyan rebels try to mop up the fighting. They have launched a new assault on regime holdout in Sirte, Moammar Gadhafi's hometown. We will go there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Battles for Libya are raging at Moammar Gadhafi's last remaining stronghold, including his hometown of Sirte.

Our Phil Black is on the outskirts of that town right now.

So, Phil, tell us what you are experiencing.

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, it's been quite a day, really.

Thousands of rebel fighters advanced on Sirte earlier this morning, entering the city where they came against some pretty stiff resistance, a bit harder than I think than they were expected.

Now it hasn't gone to plan. They were hoping to take or secure a good part of the city today. They haven't done so. They advanced to certain points, but they have now, as darkness begins to fall, decided to pull back. So if you look around me, these are just some of the rebel forces that have pulled back or are in the process of pulling back from Sirte.

The fighting today, it was intense. They advanced through the outskirts of the city with considerable ease. But then once they got to the built-up areas, it would seem that the Gadhafi fighters' numbers and firepower were both smaller and less impressive than what these guys were able to turn out, but in that sort of environment, they were still able to slow this force from advancing and making the sort of progress they had hoped to make -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And, so, Phil, what about regular people, just ordinary civilians? What are they doing about food, water, safety, et cetera? BLACK: Well, in this city, Sirte, it is difficult to get a sense of that. It is almost difficult to get a sense of who is a civilian and who isn't.

In the areas that we were in today where there was very, very heavy fighting, we did not come across people who you would just describe as regular civilians. The fighters tell us that the people they were coming up against, the pro-Gadhafi fighters on the other side, they say they were dressed as civilians, not in uniform.

So it is unclear if they are former members of Gadhafi's military services, if they are just civilians within the town who are dedicated to fighting for Gadhafi's cause or some blend of both. But what they hope is that by entering the town today, showing that they can go in there and take them on, that they will now a rethink, those residents or those pro-Gadhafi loyalists within the town, and perhaps considering surrendering peacefully.

That's the hope. Otherwise, they're going to go back in and have another shot tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: I see.

All right, Phil Black, thanks so much. Be safe outside of Sirte.

A Florida millionaire accused of killing his wife is raising questions with his bizarre behavior, say some, in jail, dancing and doing a pretend striptease? Here what Bob Ward says actually happened in their Florida mansion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, time now for the Help Desk, where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, the founder of the financial advice blog askthemoneycoach.com, and Stacy Francis. She's a certified financial planner and also president of Francis Financial.

Thanks for being here, ladies.

The first question for you, Stacy, comes from Alexandra in Maryland. Alexandra says: "I have never invested in stocks. I don't know where to begin."

Any advice?

STACY FRANCIS, PRESIDENT, FRANCIS FINANCIAL: Well, I will tell you, the CNN Web site has a great amount of information there to help you sort through stocks and how to invest in them.

And also you may want to invest in actually joining an investment club. And betterinvesting.org, if you go to that Web site, you will see that there are many investment clubs around the U.S. and I bet you there is one in your hometown.

HARLOW: That's true. Get some advice from some friends, some peers. Lynnette, your question comes from Monica in Osaka,Japan. Monica wrote in and she said, "Look, I have worked outside the U.S. for nine years. I'm going to continue to do so for seven or eight more years."

She's asking if she still will be eligible for Social Security when she retires and what kind of retirement plan to get into other than just straight investments.

LYNNETTE KHALFANI-COX, FOUNDER, WWW.ASKTHEMONEYCOACH.COM: Well, here's the thing for Monica.

Because you are outside of the United States, you're earning foreign income, which is typically not subject to Social Security taxes, except under certain circumstances. One is if you're working in a country where the U.S. has what's called a bilateral Social Security agreement.

Essentially that means you're not going to be taxed twice. And so Japan happens to be one of those countries that is covered. Long story short, all of your contributions that you have made to Social Security over the years, not just the recent years she's been in Japan, and the amount of money you have put in and the time you have put into Social Security is what determines whether or not you're eligible.

I'm thinking that she likely, yes, still will be. You can get more information from this though -- from the Social Security's Web site. It's socialsecurity.gov/international. And that's a great place to get more information.

HARLOW: Sure. Lots of rules to read for this one.

KHALFANI-COX: Yes.

HARLOW: Thank you, ladies.

If you have got a question you want answered, just send us an e-mail any time at CNNHelpDesk@CNN.com.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It might take an extra day or two to get your mail because of proposed cutbacks at the U.S. postal office.

The U.S. Postal Service is looking to slash costs to close to $10 billion -- to close, rather, a $10 billion gap, likely shutting down 252 of its mail processing centers over the next three months, a move that would eliminate 35,000 jobs. It also wants to end Saturday delivery and raise price of a first-class stamp. Because of e-mail and online billing, snail mail volume has dropped by half over the past decade.

All right, he's not a medical doctor, but if your iPhone, iPad or MacBook needs repair, well, Dr. Brendan is on call. A year ago, he was fixing everything Apple from his apartment. But a lot has changed since then.

CNN Money's Poppy Harlow reports on this doc in high demand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENDAN MCELROY, "DR. BRENDAN": We do everything from, you know, from iPhones, iPads, the iTouch.

HARLOW (voice-over): Remember him? Dr. Brendan, AKA the iPhone doc. We introduced you to him last year when he was fixing everything Apple out of his tiny New York City apartment.

MCELROY: Courtesy of China. And that is a new iPhone screen there.

HARLOW: But a year's been good to the doctor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, come in.

MCELROY: How's it going?

HARLOW: His business has exploded like Apple stock.

This is your first shop?

MCELROY: This is my first shop right here. My office is my apartment and coffee shops and the fiat.

HARLOW: Now, he's got four stores, eight employees, and boasts 300 percent growth since January, thanks to customers looking for a quick fix.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're welcome.

HARLOW: Did you think about going to apple?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To be honest, no, I didn't.

HARLOW: Emily Spalino (ph) has come here six times.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was bending down to tie my shoe in Philadelphia, and my phone dropped about 12 inches on the concrete.

HARLOW: The most common fixes, iPhones averaging $100 and MacBooks averaging $200.

(on camera): One broken screen, two. You've got hundreds of them in here. And you know what that means? Big business for Dr. Brendan.

(voice-over): But it's about a lot more than that these days. The website's been expanded for more mail-in repairs and his team now makes IT service house calls in the Dr. Brendan mobile.

MCELROY: Your Mac Pro was actually blowing the heat exhaust directly on to your server switch.

HARLOW (on camera): This is one of the downsides of house calls -- $115 parking ticket.

HARLOW (voice-over): One secret of Dr. Brendan's success -- hiring employees right from Apple, like Travis Slost (ph).

MCELROY: We're not going after Apple's business. We love Apple. The product is simply so popular for very valid reasons, that's one of the reasons why we're here. There's simply so many of them out there.

HARLOW (on camera): Do you ever question that the demand for Apple products will fall and that would hurt your business?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a great question. No.

BRENDAN MCELROY, "DR. BRENDAN": This is where, you know, work with customers.

HARLOW (voice-over): The offers have started rolling in from franchisees and private equity firms. But he's not interested.

MCELROY: In the beginning I think it's smart to just do everything by yourself as much as you can handle. And I really didn't want to get in over my head in something I really didn't understand.

HARLOW (on camera): You're not ready to hand this business over to anyone yet?

MCELROY: Not yet, no.

There's another shop right there.

HARLOW (voice-over): In fact, Dr. Brendan's got his eye on global expansion.

HARLOW (on camera): You're seeing strong growth, but the economy's tough. Are you worried?

MCELROY: Um, no. No, I'm not worried.

HARLOW: Why?

MCELROY: Because I started this business in the middle of the economic meltdown. OK, if I was going to be worried, I would have been worried then, not now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: And, Fredricka, you know, I asked him if he's heard from Apple yet? Did Apple come calling trying to buy the company or interested at all? He said he hasn't heard from them. At least not yet. I think it's very interesting that here's such a successful small business owner when times are so tough for small businesses. It proves you need a good idea for a product that is in demand and your business can absolutely explode.

One note, though, for folks. If they are getting their iPhone, iPad, et cetera, fixed outside of Apple by Dr. Brendan or someone else, what they need to know is that their warranty very well may be broken if they don't shave it fixed within Apple.

Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: OK. All right. Thanks so much, Poppy Harlow. I'm not surprised that Apple's not calling him. He's kind of taking away some of their repair business. All right, thanks so much.

All right, a Florida millionaire accused of murdering his wife says it's not true. She killed herself. But that's not what he said in this call to 911.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPERATOR: Sir, what's the emergency?

BOB WARD: I just shot my wife.

OPERATOR: You just what?

WARD: I just shot my wife.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Our Gary Tuchman takes a look at both sides of this story and the defendant's bizarre behavior behind bars.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A millionaire developer accused of shooting and killing his wife in their Florida mansion is on trial right now in Orlando, Florida. The defendant, Bob Ward, says the shooting was an accident. But as CNN's Gary Tuchman reports, his bizarre behavior outside of the courtroom is raising eyebrows.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Florida millionaire bob ward is on trial for the murder of his wife. His defense -- she shot herself as he struggled to stop her. But it was a much different story he told on the night of her death two years ago.

OPERATOR (voice-over): Sir, what's the emergency?

BOB WARD (voice-over): I just shot my wife.

OPERATOR: You just what?

B. WARD: I just shot my wife.

OPERATOR: Where is your wife?

B. WARD: She's right here on the floor.

TUCHMAN: Three more times in the same 911 call he admitted he shot her.

B. WARD: I just shot my wife.

OPERATOR: Where's the weapon at, sir? Is she breathing?

B. WARD: She's dead. She's done. I'm sorry.

TUCHMAN: Later in the call, Ward said the shooting was an accident, but there was never any emotion in his voice. In court, a very different picture from his attorney.

KIRK KIRKCONNELL, BOB WARD'S ATTORNEY: This entire incident happened in the blink of an eye. Her death was an unexpected and tragic accident. No crime was committed by Bob Ward on the night of September the 21st, 2009.

TUCHMAN: But from the prosecution --

ROBIN WILKINSON, PROSECUTOR: Ladies and gentlemen, this case is about the fact that it was Bob Ward that shot her almost dead between the eyes.

TUCHMAN: Police say his story changed during his police interrogation.

B. WARD: It was an accident. And I will tell you more about it later.

TUCHMAN: His demeanor also changed as time went on. And his bizarre behavior has made defending him more of a challenge. The emotionless man on the phone became the jokester, as captured on jail video. Here he was doing a striptease of sorts.

PAULA SAARE, BOB WARD'S SISTER-IN-LAW: I'll make sure that -- no, I wouldn't do that. No, do you want to hear --

TUCHMAN: What makes this video even stranger is who is visiting him. The woman talking to him, his dead wife's sister. The woman in the background, Bob and Diane Ward's daughter.

SAARE: She's had, you know, hundreds of phone calls about you and everybody is very, very supportive. Um, you know.

TUCHMAN: The three in this video all thought it was a hoot that the plumbing wasn't working in the cell.

MALLORY WARD, BOB WARD'S DAUGHTER: Such a change of -- such a lifestyle change for you. I can only imagine. I know you're missing a bidet.

B. WARD: Let me turn the water on. See this? No water.

M. WARD: He's showing there's no water.

SAARE: No water in the toilet?

B. WARD: Nobody seems to care though.

M. WARD: Well, I do. And I know you do. And I also want to let you know how nice I think that you look right now. I've been trying to get you to wear pajamas for years now. That's really -- that's a lovely fall collection that I think you've got on.

TUCHMAN: Prosecutors hope to build their case on these points. They say Bob Ward's DNA was found on the gun and that his wife was shot from more than a foot away. Much farther than someone who would shoot themselves. They also say Diane Ward was about to give a deposition in a financial investigation against her husband. But the defense says Diane Ward had high levels of antidepressant drugs in her system. It will be up to the jury to decide which Bob Ward to believe -- this one --

KIRKCONNELL: Diane Ward was killed by a single gunshot wound as she struggled with her husband over a load gun.

TUCHMAN: Or this one.

OPERATOR: OK, what's going on there?

B. WARD: I just shot my wife.

TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: "The Orlando Sentinel" reports the couple's daughter, Mallory Ward, took the stand today. She testified about arguments her parents had in the past and how she sometimes advised them to drink less when they became, quote, "a little loopy."

All right, you told us what you wanted to see. Your "Choose The News" story just moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: You voted. We listened. Here's your "Choose The News" winner. They are called welcome home dogs and they are trained to ease the stress for service members coming home from war. Here's Bob McDonald (ph) from CNN affiliate WXIN.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB MCDONALD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're returning from overseas but not quite home yet. These soldiers from the Illinois National Guard will spend the next few days here at Camp Atterbury getting processed and debriefed. It's a huge transition from their service in Kuwait, but one that's about to become easier thanks to some visitors waiting outside.

KRISTI RUSH, LEAD DOG TRAINER, BEST FRIENDS PET CARE: It can be tough on them. You know, they're overseas. They're go, go, go 24/8 for however many months they gone. They come back over here and they're processing. So it's a lot of sit and wait. And it can be tough on them to go from, you know, one lifestyle to another overnight. The dogs just give them something to do and something else to think about while they're waiting.

MCDONALD: They're called the Welcome Home Dogs. Atterbury is one of only two bases in the country that uses specially trained dogs like these to ease the stress of returning veterans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My cousin's dog does that all the time.

MCDONALD: The dogs and their volunteer handlers go through more than a year of training to become pet therapy certified. They provide a sense of normalcy for soldiers who have often served in Iraq and Afghanistan. War zones where nothing is normal.

LT. JESSE SHERMAN, U.S. ARMY: As a soldier, you're missing family, the dogs. And with this long process, it's kind of nice to have a little break between something different.

RUSH: Within 10 minutes or so with the dogs being next to them, they relax. They're smiling again. They're talking to everybody. They're playing with the dogs. You can see how much the dogs really help them.

MCDONALD: These soldiers are anxious to return home. The process they're going through can seem tedious at best. The dogs provide a welcome distraction and a first taste of home.

SPC. KALAB CAPPES, U.S. ARMY: I'm a dog owner and I miss my dog a lot. So this helps a lot.

SHERMAN: You see everybody's faces light up as soon as the dogs started to run around. And you can pet them and know that you can sit there and play with them.

MCDONALD: And in the end it's not just the soldiers who are left smiling, the handlers know they've given back and providing a welcome home that only a best friend can provide.

RUSH: We enjoy what we do. We enjoy watching our dogs with the soldier and seeing that it can help them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Oh, dogs make everyone feel better.

All right, if your choice did not win or you just want to check out the runners-up, we'll have links to them on our page at facebook.com/suzannecnn.

All right, the CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye.

Have a great afternoon, Randi.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: You as well, Fred. Thank you very much.