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CNN NEWSROOM

Awaiting Fate of A-Rod; 10th Woman Accused Mayor Bob Filner; Closing Arguments in Whitey Bulger Case; Teen Boy Beaten on Bus; "Jeopardy!" Ruling Sets Off Social-Media Frenzy.

Aired August 5, 2013 - 13:30   ET

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


SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: We're following the big sports story of the day. What's going to happen to Alex Rodriguez? What's going to be the fallout for Major League Baseball's investigation at the Bio- genesis drug scandal?

Well, Joe Carter, he joins us with the very latest in today's "Bleacher Report." Joe, we are waiting on pins and needles here. This is a big, big deal.

JOE CARTER, "BLEACHER REPORT": You know what, Suzanne, we've been waiting for a while, it seems like. Two sources did tell CNN today is the day, Monday, that we'll finally find out what A-Rod's suspension will be.

According to these reports, the Yankee slugger is actually going to avoid a lifetime ban and instead receive a 214 game suspension and that's going to be for violating the league's drug policy. And even though that sounds bad, 214 games, obviously this is a win for A-Rod. Because if he's suspended only under the league's drug policy, he will get to play while he appeals the process.

So the appeals process could last more than a month so we certainly be talking about this for some time. The Yankees do play tonight. They play in Chicago and yesterday manager Joe Girardi said that A-Rod is penciled into the lineup tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE GIRARDI, YANKEES MANAGER: He's in there and I'm going to play him. That's the way of the situation.

As I've said, you'll probably hear about everything before I will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARTER: There's trouble brewing for Johnny Football, Johnny Manziel. According to ESPN, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner is being investigated for being paid to sign autographs. Manziel reportedly signed hundreds of photos and helmets that were deemed real by authentication companies. If Manziel accepted money or gifts, both the Aggies and Manziel could face punishment if found in violation of rules. Johnny Football could be ruled ineligible for a few games during the 2013 season or the entire season. Speaking of football, the NFL season officially kicked off last night. The Cowboys and Dolphins hitting the field for annual Hall of Fame game in Canton, Iowa. Many starters on both teams sat this one out, giving the young guys plenty of time to make a good impression. The Cowboys won the opener 24-20 but obviously, in pr-season, nothing really counts.

Little piece of breaking news that came down, Suzanne. I'll tell that "FOX Sports" -- this is "FOX Sports" reporting that 12 players will be suspended for their connection to the biogenesis clinic. That's 12 players suspended. That does not include Alex Rodriguez. This is a "FOX Sports" report. Major League Baseball has not yet confirmed. Suzanne, we're waiting for an announcement connected to Alex Rodriguez as well as the number of players reportedly connected to this clinic and will be suspended for this season -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Thank you very much. We're going to follow up on that.

The sports world is waiting to see what he will happen to Alex Rodriguez. He's the highest paid player. And whether or not that suspension -- what kind of suspension he'll get, how long it will last and what this means for the sport of baseball.

I want to bring in Dave Zirin, sports editor of "The Nation" magazine.

Wow. Dave, just react to the news. You have 12 players already, if this is true, who are facing suspension.

DAVE ZIRIN, SPORTS EDITOR, THE NATION MAGAZINE: I was looking down the list at those 12 players. The story is all 12 of those players, a lot of casual fans might not know the names but they're all born outside of the United States. They're all either from the Dominican Republic, Venezuela or Nicaragua. This speaks to one of the issues of Major League Baseball. They invest billions in Latin America, in countries where performance-enhancing drugs are legal and available over the counter. Some say it's a case of Major League Baseball trying to have their anabolic cake and eat it too.

MALVEAUX: Wow. What do we anticipate with A-Rod today?

ZIRIN: We anticipate A-Rod to appeal the suspension. He just turned 38 years old. If he repeals he gets another month to play and remind fans why they fell in love with him or I should do say, quote, "Fell in love with him." He's never been the most lovable of players. The risk is if he loses the appeal -- and that's highly probable -- that means he doesn't get to go back on a major league field until 2015, the year he turns 40.

MALVEAUX: A-Rod suggests they're going after him because they don't want to fulfill the rest of his contract, which is about $100 million. We know it's about cheating. We know it's about banned drugs. How much of this is about the money?

ZIRIN: It's not just Alex Rodriguez saying that. Buck Showalter, the manager of the Baltimore Orioles, said the same thing. Even if Alex Rodriguez gets suspended for the 200 games, that's a saving for the Yankees of $34 million. The New York Yankees are the highest spending, most freewheeling club in baseball, but even for them, $34 million is a tremendous amount of money relative to their payroll. And it's something they would love to not pay Alex Rodriguez, who hasn't been a productive player in several years.

MALVEAUX: Do you think if they suspend him for life or a certain number of games, what is does this mean for the sport in general? Does it mean it becomes clean and it will be effective in preventing other players from cheating?

ZIRIN: It's not going to do it. The one issue with biogenesis that no one is talking about, this entire scandal we're discussing, is none of these players turned up a positive steroid test. Everything is happening because some local reporters in south Florida did the kind of shoe-leather journalism that cracked the case about this one particular anti-aging clinic. The testing procedures are still flawed. Major League Baseball does nothing to make sure that the academies they are setting up in Latin America are clean. There's a lot more work Major League Baseball has to do going forward. Contracts are not abridged by coming up positive on any of these tests. Until that happens, this quote, unquote "cheating" still plays off for players in the long run.

MALVEAUX: That's an excellent point. We'll be watching closely the developing news of those 12 players already suspend, and what will happen with A-Rod, coming up next.

Thank you very much.

We're also following this. Another woman has come forward accusing San Diego mayor of inappropriate sexual advances. We'll take a look at her allegations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The mayor of San Diego begins two weeks of behavior counseling today to deal with sexual harassment allegations. A tenth woman has come forward accusing Mayor Bob Filner of unwanted sexual advances.

Casey Wian joins us from Los Angeles with more of the details.

Casey, last weekend, you had chance to talk to one of women. Says that he pinched her on the butt. What does this woman say he did?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, it's a little bit different of situation here. This accuser says that she met Mayor Filner in church, at a fundraiser for African refugees. At the end, she went to the mayor and reintroduced herself to him because she had met him before. And he looked in her eyes and took her by the hand, she said, and said, you're so beautiful I can't take my eyes off of you. And then, despite the wedding ring, he asked her if she was married and asked her if she would go out on date with him. While this does not rise to the level of some of the other accuser who said he had them in the infamous Filner bear hug and slobbered down their chin and outrageous things accusations, it does have a pattern that he would ask if they were married and ask them on a date in a very public setting -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Explain what this behavior counseling involves. What will take place at this facility?

WIAN: I'm not sure to be honest with you. They are keeping the location secret. They won't discuss what kind of therapy he's going through. When you hear someone going away to rehab, you think they will be removed from daily activities. That's won't happen with Mayor Filner. He's still going to be briefed twice a day on what's going on in the city of San Diego. He still will retain control over the city of San Diego. He has delegated some responsibilities but it's a very strange therapy -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: All right. I know quite a number of people who are saying he should step down. We'll see if the therapy follows those complaints.

Thank you, Casey. Appreciate it.

We're also watching this. This is closing arguments being made. This is the trial of James Whitey Bulger, the alleged crime boss accused of 19 murders during his 20-year reign of terror in Boston. Each side has three hours to make its final case before the jury decides his fate. Over the past seven weeks, jurors have heard from convicted gangsters, ex-drug dealers, families of the victims.

I want to bring in Deborah Feyerick, outside the courthouse in Boston.

It's been extraordinary, right, the kind of detail you've learned from the people who have taken the stand. And now the defense just starting its closing arguments, yes?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. The defense came out strong. They said is, why aren't some of the witnesses, the hit man, the enforcer, the killer, responsible for some 20 murders, why are they still out there? Why are they walking the street? They're playing to the jury's emotion, trying to remind them this should be shared equally. Bulger is not the only one responsible. That's what they came out as their first sort of salvo.

But the prosecution took about three hours to make its case. And they said -- they tried to sum up seven weeks of evidence and testimony for more than 70 witnesses and how it relates to the 32 counts Bulger is facing. The prosecutor said, look, as leader of this organized crime ring, Whitey Bulger is legally responsible for all of it, either s a principal, aider and abettor, or as a conspirator. He implored the jury to find him guilty on every count. He said Whitey Bulger pulled the trigger over and over again. He knew where the bodies were buried, because he's the one who were there, when they were put in a dirt floor or shoved into holes where they were all found together.

As for the extortion victim, the prosecution made it clear that Whitey Bulger took any chance he got to shack down people for tens of thousands of dollars and shoving a rifle into a man's mouth. They said Bulger's eyes would light up at the thought of it.

The defense now has its turn. They're breaking it down and going back to the 1960s to show why the government was involved in this.

MALVEAUX: Right.

FEYERICK: Back when the Mafia was their priority and Whitey Bulger helped them bring it down -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: All right, Deborah. Sorry we're running out of town. It's an extraordinary case. We know he's not taking the stand.

Ahead on NEWSROOM, a brutal beating on a school bus caught on video. Now there are questions over why the bus driver didn't step in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: You see the pictures, this home is about to be demolished by the city as early as this week. Castro imprisoned and raped three women for years in that house before they escaped. He agreed to a plea deal of life in prison plus a thousands years for his crimes. He's also going to pay for the cost of the demolition as part of the deal.

Police in Florida are criticizing a school bus driver for not stopping this vicious beating of a 13-year-old while on the bus. This video is hard to watch. But this is an important story.

Pamela Brown brings it to us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN MOODY, SCHOOL BUS DRIVER: No, you got to get somebody here quick, quick. They about to beat this boy to death over here. Please get somebody here. There's nothing I can do.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): School bus driver, John Moody, looks on in horror pleading with the dispatcher to stop the vicious attack.

MOODY: I got a fight. I need help in a hurry. I need help in a hurry. I got a fight.

BROWN: Police say three 15-year-olds attacked the 13-year-old after he told school officials that one tried to sell him drugs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: You can hear the 13-year-old's cries for help as he's mercilessly punched and stop. They broke his arm and stole his money. The three boys were arrested on aggravated battery charges.

According to Pinellas County school policy, the driver is not required to intervene, only allowed to call dispatch.

Moody said he was too afraid to intervene.

MOODY: The three boys just jumped on him and started pounding. And it did I can, looking -- It was like -- like I was in shock. I was petrified.

BROWN: Pinellas County leaves it up to the driver, but many counties actually forbid drivers from physically stopping fights.

Gulfport Police say Moody won't face charges but the 64-year-old could have done more.

ROBERT VINCENT, CHIEF, GULFPORT POLICE: There was clearly an opportunity for him to intervene and or check on the welfare of the children or the child in this case. He didn't make any effort to do so.

BROWN: While his attorney says that was not an option, Moody said he's haunted by the attack, wondering if he could have done more.

MOODY: I wanted to help him so bad. I wanted to help him so bad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Pamela Brown joins us.

Pamela, you can see both sides of this. The bus driver, who might have been afraid, but nobody wants to see this poor kid suffer the way he did here. What happens now?

BROWN: The bottom line is the bus driver was in a tough situation. It was up to his discretion to intervene and break up the fight. There was nothing under the law that said he had to do that. He did what he was required to do, which is to call dispatch and call for help, as we heard in the story. If he did intervene, then that could bring up more problems. He could have been injured. Other kids could have been injured. And you open the door to assault charges if he touches a kid. There's a reason why the prosecutor's office did not charge the bus driver in this case.

MALVEAUX: Do we have any idea of the status of that poor kid?

BROWN: We don't. We know that he broke his arm. He had two black eyes. And it's kind of incredible, when you look at that video, Suzanne, that he didn't suffer worse injuries. It's horrific looking at that video and seeing what those teenage kids are doing to that poor victim. I think the bottom line here is, where were the parents?

MALVEAUX: Absolutely.

Pam, thank you. Appreciate it.

Floodwaters are rolling through the streets. This is in Kansas. This is parts of the country getting ready for more severe storms. Going to find out from Chad Myers, where is the threat today?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MALVEAUX: As wild, wet summer weather keeps on going, Chad Myers tells us about the threat of more severe weather, heavy rain in parts of the country.

What are we facing?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Over the weekend, crazy in Kansas, now parts of Arkansas. Take a look at Wichita, about five inches of rainfall. Understand, they've had 13 inches in the past 45 days out there. So it's just one storm on top of another. Farther up in Hutchinson, had some hail as well. But the flooding just still continues this morning. This is a storm, that system that developed in the overnight hours. Typically you expect the rain to be all day long. This was an all-night-long rainfall during the night. This was Saturday night into Sunday morning. Now we're pushing you ahead until today. More scattered rain over Chanute, Kansas. And there are spots. Now, I know the radar picks it up well, but there are spots you'll see that are in the white, the pink, and that's ten inches of rainfall or more in the past 48 hours here across parts of Kansas and into Missouri. And there's just more rain coming. When you see a front that's blue, red, blue, red, that means it's stationary, it's not going anywhere like a stationary bike. And if a front's stationary, then rain starts and stops in the same places. Stationary rainfall causes a lot of flooding.

MALVEAUX: Thanks, Chad. Appreciate it.

Kids week on "Jeopardy!" left a 12-year-old near tears, fans outraged. We're going to show you why some are crying foul.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: I want you to meet the mayor of Dorset, Minnesota. This is Bobby Tops, just elected to his second term in office. If he looks a little young, he is. He's only 4 years old. Dorsett has a population of fewer than 30 people. So there's no formal city government. So the mayor is elected through ballots, which each cost $1. So you can vote as much as you like. The money goes to the town's big festival here. And the mayor, well, he's going to have a busy schedule his second term. Comes fall, is when he starts preschool. Good for him.

(LAUGHTER)

And this ruling on the game show, "Jeopardy!" against a 12-year-old contestant. This has set off a social-media frenzy.

John Berman looks at what happened to this eighth grader.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's being called the saddest moment in "Jeopardy!" history. An eighth grader loses "Final Jeopardy" during kids week for misspelling a word.

ALEX TREBEK, HOST, JEOPARDY!: Emancipation -- well, because he misspelled it badly, "emanciptation," you put a "T" in there, proclamation. That's unfortunate. The judges are ruling against you.

BERMAN: 12-year-old Thomas Hurley III held back tears after his loss. He later told his local newspaper, "I was pretty upset that I was cheated out of the 'Final Jeopardy!' question. It was just a spelling error."

The incident blew up over social media with many commenting on "Jeopardy!'s" Facebook page. "When did "Jeopardy!" become a spelling bee"? And, "He got the answer right. He misspelled it. Big deal."

Hurley's parents claiming they were less upset about the loss and more upset about how Alex Trebek and company handled it, telling CNN they were, quote, "smug."

TREBEK: Because he misspelled it badly, "emanciptation" --

BERMAN: Jeopardy's producers released a statement: "If 'Jeopardy!' were to give credit for an incorrect response, however minor, the show would effectively penalize the other players. We love presenting young people as contestants on our show and make every effort to be fair and consistent in their treatment."

Last year, a contestant was penalized for mispronouncing "Wimbledon."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is Wimbledon?

TREBEK: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

We have to take some money away. I'm informed that you clearly said Wimbleton, not Wimbledon.

BERMAN: But nobody as badly or boldly as Cliff Claven (ph) on "Cheers."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREBEK: You bet it all Cliff. Why would you do something like that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: But this is real life for Hurley and his family, who are still smart from the loss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: John Berman brought us that story.

And Hurley should still be proud. Your parents are proud of you either way.

That's it for me. Brooke Baldwin takes it from here.