Guests: Steve Frady, Ken McKenna, Gary Busey, Steve Farese, Catt Sadler, Sheila Noone, Al Edwards, Terry Golden, Tanika Ray
RITA COSBY, MSNBC HOST: Good evening, Joe. And good evening everybody. I‘m Rita Cosby. And why wasn‘t one of the nation‘s super star quarterbacks wearing a helmet when he crashed his motorcycle. The same thing happened to actor Gary Busey. Gary Busey joins me live tonight.
And there is an all points bulletin out right now. The alleged sniper who shot possibly a judge and someone else multiple times, the very latest on the massive manhunt in just moments.
But right now, breaking weather news taking place. Developing story in Florida, where the first named storm of the year, Alberto will shortly make landfall. More than 20,000 people have already been ordered to clear out of the Gulf Coast. NBC‘s Jay Gray has the very latest from the Florida coast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAY GRAY, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Once considered little more than a rainmaker .
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I‘ve been here for 35 years. This is just a rainy day.
GRAY: Alberto grew into a much bigger problem. The outer bands of the storm are being blamed for this fatal plane crash. One person died and another injured when this plane crashed into this house shortly after takeoff from Davis Island near Tampa.
The soaking rains have also led to flooding in low lying and early winds have already pulled the tarps from roofs of homes that were still struggling to recover from the last two years of storms here.
As the storm barrels in on the Florida coast, it is gaining momentum. And even though it‘s just a warning at this point, local are still concerned about what could come next. I‘m errand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I‘m a little concerned about the winds because this is my first time here in Clearwater.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We‘ll watch it a lot closer than we were before.
GRAY: Suddenly, because hurricane season has started is al too real where survivors know all to well, the severe effects of even the smallest of storms.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSBY: And that was NBC‘s Jay Gray. Let‘s go live to NBC Weather Plus meteorologist Bill Karins who has been tracking the storm for us as we speak. Bill, what‘s happening?
BILL KARINS, NBC METEOROLOGIST: Well, Rita, we‘ve been watching all sorts of weather today. We‘ve had a few reports of tornados in Florida because of this storm. It really scared me this morning. It blew up in a hurry. Looked like it was turning into a monster. And the upper level winds once again took hold of the storm and are ripping it apart all afternoon and evening long.
Still a very serious storm. This is as strong as you can get for a tropical storm. I just saw one of the buoys out here reported 20-foot waves. That is really tall waves that are now heading towards the coastline with the center of the storm.
Yes, the storm is going to hit a highly unpopulated area, just missed the Tampa region. Up to the north, Cedar Key and a lot of the small towns here in this swampy area are going to watch a large storm surge moving in right now.
The worst of the storm is hitting for them as I speak. It‘s out a head of the center. So the storm is only now about 100 to 130 miles away from the coast and it‘s moving at about 10 miles per hour.
So as we head towards probably the mid morning is when the storm is actually going to make a landfall. We have got the hurricane warnings in place because of our strong storm.
I want to show you, we have a lot of our NBC News correspondents here in Cedar Key. That‘s where we expect some of the worst flood to be and also some of the strongest winds. Right now they‘re going through the strongest band wrapping around the storm, they‘re getting winds right now up about to 40, 50 miles per hour, that storm surge is pushing on shore as we speak and we‘re going to continue to watch this band raking the coast.
It‘s also, further to the south, right around Tampa, you have been dry all afternoon and evening. Now another band is getting ready to slam onshore with strong, gusty winds and even the possibility of isolated tornados as we go throughout the rest of the evening.
The center of our storm located south here of Apalachicola and we‘re going to continue to track northeast as we go throughout the overnight hours. The big problem is going to be the heavy rains. Not just for Florida anymore. This storm is going to track up through southern Georgia and portions of South Carolina. We‘ll take the bull‘s eye, it‘s going to be about six inches of rain here in this dark maroon color, Jacksonville to Gainesville, Florida.
The actual path of the storm—still could become a category 1 hurricane as soon as this evening, if not it could be in the early morning hours. We‘ll have a new update, Rita, form the hurricane center during this hour. And if it does become a hurricane, we will be the first to let you know.
COSBY: Great. Please come back to us if that is the case. Bill, thanks so much.
And everybody be sure to keep it right here on MSNBC. Right now, I understand that we have NBC‘s Jay Gray, who is right in sort of the thick of it all, right there in Florida? Jay, what‘s the weather like right now?
GRAY (on camera): Rita, we‘re getting another strong band of showers moving through the area here. We‘re in Safety Harbor, which is just north of Tampa. Safety Harbor, that name taking on even more significant meaning for the people here who are keenly aware of what‘s happening.
Most people thought this would be just a rainmaker with these strong bands of wind. They wake up this morning and find out actually, it could become a Category 1 hurricane. That‘s not something anybody in the state wants to hear. But especially not in this region.
A lot of people boarding up. There‘s a high demand on gasoline right now, generators being pulled out and tested to be sure they work. And again, people not taking any chances. Governor Jeb Bush has issued a mandatory evacuation notice in six of the coastal communities. And more than 20,000 people have already moved to higher ground here.
COSBY: Jay, thank you very much. Please keep us posted. If things deteriorate, or also hopefully improve.
GRAY: Absolutely.
COSBY: Thank you very much. In the meantime, let‘s go to our other big story tonight. It‘s an all points bulletin which is taking place right now for an intense search for a sniper who may be tied to two violent crimes today including a judge who was shot in Reno, Nevada.
Tonight police are investigate, whether or not you can see the picture here, this man, Darren Roy Mack could be responsible for shooting family court judge, Chuck Weller. He‘s a suspect in a killing at a Reno apartment. Also, police now say he‘s a person of interest, that is, Mr. Mack, of course, in the courthouse shooting.
Judge Weller was hit in the chest when a shot came flying through the window at his courthouse office. And joining me now with the very latest on the phone is Steve, he is with the Reno Police Department. Steve, what do we know about this guy, Darren Mack? What can you tell us as we put up the picture. Because it just came in.
STEVE FRADY, RENO POLICE DEPARTMENT (on phone): Right now, we‘re seeking Darren Mack as a suspect in the other homicide but also in the shooting of Judge Weller. Mr. Mack is a local businessman, he has been in the community for quite awhile. We are still searching for him and did locate the vehicle that he was driving earlier in afternoon. However, we‘ve not located him. There‘s still another vehicle that we‘re pursuing at this time.
COSBY: What‘s his connection to the judge, Steve? We hear that he may have had a divorce case before him.
FRADY: We believe there may have been a connection in the court, not been able to confirm that as yet. But we may be able to confirm that first thing in the morning. Our investigators are trying to compile information and contact witnesses and conduct their investigations. So, we may not have a lot of information available tonight. However, we do anticipate having more information in the morning, around 9:00.
COSBY: What‘s the judge‘s condition, too?
FRADY: Well, the judge, he was conscious. He was talking when he was removed from the courthouse. And he‘s being treated at the hospital. Right now, we have no other information on his condition at the request of the family.
COSBY: What can you tell us about this other murder that took place after the courthouse shooting?
FRADY: Well, this was reported about 3:00 this afternoon at 9900 Wilmermay (ph) Parkway in Reno. This is a non-related address, apparently not an address which Mr. Mack had been living. However, there is a connection there and Mr. Mack is wanted as a suspect in that one. Right now, we‘re not releasing the name of the victim or the gender of the victim pending notification of next of kin. We may have that information available in the morning.
COSBY: Well, Steve please give us, of course, if there‘s any further developments tonight be sure to let us know.
We‘re joined by the judge‘s colleague, family court attorney Ken McKenna. Ken, as we put up this picture of this guy here, Darren Mack. We‘re just showing the picture. if we can put that back up again. Do you know this guy? Have you seen him around the courthouse at all?
KEN MCKENNA, FAMILY COURT ATTORNEY: Darren Mack is a prominent businessman in our community. So, it‘s quite shocking to have his name associated with this potential crime.
COSBY: Oh, you know who he is? Give us some background on who he is.
MCKENNA: His family and himself have been in the community for many, many years. They‘re businesspeople in the community and he‘s very prominent.
COSBY: Any ideas if he had any violent tendencies in his background or criminal record that you‘re aware of?
MCKENNA: I don‘t know, none that I am aware. And I don‘t know if police are releasing any of that kind of information at this time.
COSBY: Have you seen him around the courthouse? And what kind of a guy is he?
MCKENNA: Well, it‘s hard to say given that he‘s a suspect in the crime. You know, your mind kind of races. But in reality, you know, as far as I know, he‘s just a very straight up, honorable businessman. So, it‘s quite shocking to have his name associated with this. And we‘ll have to see how it plays out.
COSBY: What kind of business does he do?
MCKENNA: He has, his family has a pawn shop business and some other real estate businesses in the community.
COSBY: Well, Ken, what‘s your reaction because they are calling him a suspect in the killing that took place after the courthouse shooting. They are calling him, quote, “a person of interest” in the shooting of the judge, your friend. What‘s your reaction to that? This guy that you have seen around the courthouse and a well known businessman?
MCKENNA: Well, certainly as an attorney, I represent people accused of violent crimes or murder and serious violent crimes so I‘m always very cautious into being judgmental. Certainly, if he‘s arrested on this charge, he‘s entitled like anybody else to representation and a fair trial.
But it is really disconcerting. And I think that everybody‘s concern right now is with Judge Weller and his family. And I know all our best wishes and concerns go out for him. And we hope that he recovers.
COSBY: You bet. And what kind of judge is he? Give us a little sense of the judge himself.
MCKENNA: Judge Weller is really an excellent judge. He‘s very concerned. He became a family court judge out of his concern for families. I will share with you, him and I had a trial many, many years ago against each other. And I will admit that he won. And ever since then, we have had a lot of respect for each other.
He‘s the kind of man you can call and ask questions. He would share his knowledge with you and give advice to younger attorneys when the time came. He had a column in the newspaper here for many, many years where he would answer peoples‘ questions that wrote in.
And just a real common man, a good man and an excellent family court judge.
COSBY: Well, Ken, good news, too. We‘re hearing from law enforcement that he‘s doing a little better tonight. And again, let‘s put up a picture if we could, because now we‘re hearing also details from Ken and others.
This is a prominent businessman who authorities are looking for. There‘s a manhunt on tonight for this guy. If you have any information about this alleged suspect, his name is Darren Roy Mack please call the Reno, Nevada police department, the number you see there on your screen, 775-334-2195. Again, 757-334-2194 - 2195, rather.
And everybody, please, call authorities if you see this man, he‘s considered armed and dangerous. And everybody, we‘re going to keep follow this developing story again. Again, update on the manhunt. This man wanted, not just for the shooting of a judge but in connection with another case. If you have any information, please, call authorities.
And everybody, there‘s a lot more coming up LIVE & DIRECT tonight. Take a look at what else is in store. Still ahead, high school cheerleaders exposed in a video for sale on the Internet. The girls had no idea they were the target of a perverted producer with an eye for smut. But wait until you hear why so many of our viewers are now blaming the cheerleaders.
And Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has a horrific motorcycle crash, why would an NFL superstar risk it all, apparently refusing to wear a helmet.
Actor Gary Busey barely survived the same kind of crash. Find out what he has to say about tempting fate on a bike. He joins me life live.
And talk about a dragnet, find out why this police officer is walking the high heels, a wig and a skirt. He or she joining me, coming up on LIVE & DIRECT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN ROETHILSBERGER, PITTSBURGH STEELERS: I think that‘s under discretion, I was in Pennsylvania it doesn‘t think that people need to without having a law, so ...
QUESTION: You wouldn‘t play football without a helmet.
ROETHLISBERGER: Well, there‘s a law, you got to wear it in football.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSBY: He says he doesn‘t wear a helmet when riding his motorcycle. And that could very well be the reason that Pittsburgh Steelers superstar quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is in the hospital tonight. The 24-year-old that helped lead the Steelers to a Super Bowl championship is in serious condition after being thrown from the motorcycle after colliding with a car. NBC‘s Tracie Potts has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TRACIE POTTS, NBC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It happened near downtown Pittsburgh. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was in a motorcycle accident.
I heard a really loud crash. And I looked over my shoulder and I saw his, a man‘s bike and a man on the ground.
POTTS: Roethlisberger‘s agent said he suffered some broken bones. Police say he was not wearing a helmet. At a nearby hospital a doctor confirmed Roethlisberger was serious but stable before surgery.
DR. LARRY JONES, MERCY HOSPITAL: He was talking to me before he left for the operating room. He was coherent, making sense, he knows what‘s happened. Knows where he is.
POTTS: The 24-year-old quarterback frustrated coaches and owners by refusing to wear a helmet. Three years ago, Pennsylvania changed its 35-year-old mandatory helmet law, allowing drivers and passengers to ride without one. Now fans hope he‘ll think twice about it.
MAURICE TRENT, PITTSBURGH STEELERS FAN: When you are driving, you worry about the person in the other vehicle. So, I pray that he takes better precautions.
POTTS: Two weeks ago, Roethlisberger met President Bush at the White House to celebrate his Super Bowl win.
QUESTION: Are you coming back next year?
ROETHLISBERGER: That would be nice. No promises though.
POTTS: Today, fans are hoping he‘ll even have the chance. Tracie Potts, NBC News, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSBY: And someone who knows all too well about the dangers of riding a motorcycle without a helmet is actor Gary Busey. He nearly lost his life back in 1988 after a motorcycle accident in California. Gary Busey joins us now live.
Gary, what goes through your mind when you hear about Ben Roethlisberger and what happened to him today?
GARY BUSEY, ACTOR: Well, it‘s a shame. Because helmets are a lifesaver and the man wears a helmet everyday to work. So when you get on a motorcycle and you have 750 pounds of metal, steel, and chrome and you go on the road, if you don‘t wear a helmet, you have nothing but air between your head and the road and when you hit the head on the road, I split my skull open and I had traumatic brain injury.
COSBY: Yeah, Gary. Tell us a bit about what happened, for our viewers in 1988, you had a really harrowing experience. Walk us through what happened to you.
BUSEY: December 4, 1988, I want and got on my motorcycle from Bartell‘s (ph) Motorcycle Shop. And I came out and I got on the motorcycle without a helmet. I came down the road, going 45 miles per hour. Remember, I had to get on the freeway and I turned left on to Washington, on Robertson, rather, off Washington. And my bike hit sand. I fish tailed and went into the curb head first and split my skull wide open and knocked a hole in it as big as a 50-cent piece.
So I landed at the feet of a police officer. And he was only there scouting the route of the marathon race. I went to the hospital, Cedar Sinai, Dr. Lauren Hooten (ph) operated on me, but if it had been three minutes later, I would have been dead. After my recovery, I went to Washington, DC and met with the George Herbert Walker Bush administration and HUD and gave them an idea about getting the federal government to come in and help brain injury. And President Clinton, six years later, signed my idea. I‘m the number one advocate and co-creator of the Traumatic Brain Injury Act and it has to do .
COSBY: What do you make of this? We just heard in the piece that Tracie was saying, Pennsylvania just changed the law to say basically it‘s OK to ride without a helmet. What do you think of these states that are repealing that?
BUSEY: I think it‘s stupid. In fact, in Michigan, I have the fact that Senator Allen Cropsy, he‘s taking away the mandatory helmet law.
COSBY: Yeah, it just came down today? What do you say to these legislators that are doing this?
BUSEY: I think they are stupid and I don‘t think they care about human life and they don‘t care about the families, or the people who are hurt forever by the accident. I‘m encouraging Governor Jennifer Grandslon (ph) - Granholm, excuse me, Jennifer, to veto this bill, repeal it. To veto it. And statistics go up high for fatalities, for deaths, when the motorcycle law, helmet law is repealed.
And I truly believe I‘m going to do my best to talk to my friends, Senator Orrin Hatch, Senator Bill Frist, Ted Kennedy and Senator John McCain - Senator Kennedy. To make the helmet law mandatory in every state of the union, not from just 21 years down.
That‘s what I did. I was told by some people that the helmet law should only be mandatory for only 16 years and down. That was wrong. When I found out what I did, because I was still in recovery when they put me in front of the press I went to the symposium on brain injury, a press conference and I had James Brady introduce me, asked him to introduce me. And I recanted everything I said. Then I went to Washington and I met with the White House briefing.
COSBY: Gary, what kind of damage do you think that Ben Roethlisberger is going to have - Roethlisberger is going to have in terms of injury, he‘s in pretty bad shape we‘re hearing, unfortunately.
BUSEY: Here‘s the deal about Ben. He is in serious but stable condition. He‘s got a 9-inch laceration on the back of his head. He lost some teeth they are going to calling in a plastic surgeon. He is coherent and he‘s making sense. And I pray to God, I pray that this is a wake up call for Ben to be the role model that he has been, by wearing a helmet and by everybody in the legislature, judicial and executive branches to make the helmet law mandatory and for these senators that want to repeal it, they are not thinking about the families and the hearts of the people of the families of the people that don‘t wear the helmets.
And Governor Jeb Bush is in the same position with repealing the helmet law and the statistics for death have climbed and climbed and climbed and they will keep climbing. We must put an end to the death on the streets by having this, by having this, which is a lifesaver. And still have the wind in my face. And I still fell the freedom of the air, freedom of the environment.
But we must be aware of the fact that without this, you are going to be able to split your skull wide open and be dead in a few minutes. This is the answer to safety. And bring the deaths down. The death rate down for motorcycle accidents without a helmet. And I‘m here to say .
COSBY: Gary, great points for everybody. And unfortunately, we have to go. And you keep up the great fight. It is obviously is very important in Pennsylvania. Thank you we‘d love to have you back on .
BUSEY: Rita, Rita.
COSBY: Real quick. Real quick.
BUSEY: Rita, it‘s an honor to be here and thanks to MSNBC for bringing me here. God bless you. And take care of your head by wearing your helmet.
COSBY: Thank you. Great advice for everybody Gary. Thank you so much. And we‘ll have you back on. Thank you.
OK. We‘re going to switch gears to the case of a Tennessee minister‘s wife who has been charged with murder. A few hours ago, a grand jury indicted Mary Winkler with first degree murder in the March killing of her husband, Matthew.
Well, the 32 year old reportedly confessed to the killing. There‘s still no word on a possible motive.
Today‘s indictment means Winkler will be back in court on Wednesday. LIVE & DIRECT right now is her attorney, Steve Farese, Steve, are you surprised by the indictment or the timing of it?
STEVE FARESE, MARY WINKLER‘S ATTORNEY: No, not at all. It came down as expected.
COSBY: What happens next and how is she doing?
FARESE: Well, I visited with Mary and I‘ll answer the last question first. I visited with Mary on Thursday. She was a little emotional because she hasn‘t been able to see or talk to her children.
But she‘s focused on the business at hand. And that is, her defense. The next step in this process is on Wednesday, we will formally acknowledge receipt of the indictment, enter a plea of not guilty and then the process begins. Pretrial motions and a tentative trial date.
COSBY: You said not guilty. Even though there‘s been so many reports, Steve, that she confessed. What‘s the defense going to be?
FARESE: Well, I can‘t tell you what the defense would be because then the prosecution would know it.
COSBY: We‘ve been hearing, obviously, that she had troubles, maybe postpartum, also issues within the family going on? Can you give us a sense if you have done any psychological testing and other things?
FARESE: Well, we‘ve done some psychological testing. But I don‘t think the results of that would net us a mental defense. I would expect our defense to be cumulative in nature.
COSBY: You would expect it to be what?
FARESE: Cumulative in nature. Not a singular defense.
COSBY: Do we know what the motive is? Has she given you a sense as to what happened?
FARESE: I don‘t know what the motive is as far as what the police say. I have received discovery and gone through it in a cursory fashion. But I can‘t say where they are coming from with what they think is the motive and as far as pre-meditation is concerned.
COSBY: All right and again, they did mention premeditated murder, first degree today. Steve Farese, thank you very much and please keep us posted.
And still ahead, everybody, everyone is buzzing about Britney Spears‘ breakdown in an exclusive interview. Wait until you hear what she says about her marriage to K-Fed and the other new man in her life.
And we knew there would be outrage over this vide we first showed you exposing high school cheerleaders on the Internet but who knew so many would be blaming the cheerleaders. Find out who is pointing fingers at the victim. That‘s next.
And you are going to be looking at pictures of the coast of Florida where we‘re tracking Alberto. That‘s the latest satellite picture. The first storm of the hurricane season is just hours away from landfall. Keep it right here for the very latest as we track the storm which could become a hurricane.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSBY: And tonight, there‘s even more outrage on a story that shocked everyone who saw it but it‘s not what you think. High school cheerleaders taped by a perverted producer who sold his videotapes on the Internet. Now we were the first ones to expose this video story and many of our viewers were outraged. But get this. They are blaming the cheerleaders‘ parents.
One viewer wrote us, saying: “Maybe the parents of these girls, who are so outraged, also need to take a look at the practice of parading their underage daughters around in those skimpy outfits.”
That‘s from Larry Ross, who wrote our show.
Joining me now is Sheila Noone—she‘s the editorial director of “American Cheerleader” magazine—and also Texas State Representative Al Edwards, who wants to ban what he calls suggestive performances at high school.
Sheila, first to you.
What do you think of that e-mail that we just got in, saying the parents shouldn‘t put their kids in those skimpy outfits?
SHEILA NOONE, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, “AMERICAN CHEERLEADER”: I think it‘s wrong on so many levels. I mean, no one does this to other athletes.
There are other athletes that wear uniforms that are equally revealing, just as equally less revealing. No one does this to tennis players, to volleyball players, to field hockey players. I think it‘s outrageous. And it‘s taking the attention off of what happened, which is, these cheerleaders have been taken advantage of and exploited for profit. It‘s terrible.
COSBY: Let me bring in Representative Edwards.
What‘s your reaction? I mean, do you think cheerleading is, just in and of itself, you know, sexually suggestive behavior?
AL EDWARDS, TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Well, you know, the proof is in eating of the pudding. The fact of the matter is, it has gone too far.
(CROSSTALK)
COSBY: How has it gone too far.?
EDWARDS: Well, when I say it‘s going too far, some of the—some of the dress is so provocative. Some of the moves, the acts, and the dances are too sexually oriented.
NOONE: I think that‘s—I‘m sorry. I have to disagree with you. This is—this is crazy. You are—you‘re holding them to different standards than you do to other athletes.
(CROSSTALK)
EDWARDS: It‘s not crazy. No, it‘s not crazy.
We are talking about us—really, young girls being taught to drop it low or all the names that you call those. It‘s not necessary. It was not done the day when you were in school.
(CROSSTALK)
NOONE: A man with perverted motives...
EDWARDS: And these are the kind of things that‘s happening.
This is—just like that guy is exploiting those young girls, that‘s what‘s happening a lot of times when they leave these football games. There‘s no reason for it.
COSBY: But, then, are you saying—are you saying, Representative, like no—no male gymnastics, no tennis? What are you saying?
EDWARDS: No. We‘re talking about young girls, even beyond young teenagers.
COSBY: But is there a double standard? You know, I think Sheila‘s question is a fair one. Is that a double standard? You know, you are singling out women, young women.
EDWARDS: Well—well, look at your basketball players out on the field. They—they have on—their—their bodies are not exposed, except for—for their shoulders and their legs.
NOONE: What about wrestlers? There are so many other ways we could spin this.
I—I just disagree with you so strongly. These girls have been exploited. That‘s the point of this story.
(CROSSTALK)
COSBY: Sheila, let me play—this is from—this is from two of the parents we talked to whose kids were actually videotaped, as we are looking at some of these clips. They‘re livid just in general. Let me play it.
This is what two of the parents had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don‘t want to have on the Internet. That‘s my daughter. I don‘t—I don‘t want to—this is really upsetting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are they going to try to make contact with my daughter, her friends?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSBY: You know, so, Representative Edwards, when you see that, I mean, should the schools be punished here? I mean, where do you draw the line?
EDWARDS: Well, I passed a—I passed a resolution in the Texas legislature that said that we don‘t want those overly sexy moves going on in—among our schools and having our children doing it.
And the commissioner of education wrote to the superintendents of all the schools in Texas. And she said to them to make sure they use their good common sense in monitoring this situation, because it was out of hand.
(CROSSTALK)
COSBY: So, Sheila? Sheila, go ahead. Good common sense?
(CROSSTALK)
NOONE: I‘m sorry?
COSBY: Sheila, what do you think?
NOONE: I think it‘s crazy.
I have seen the video from—from that game that was filmed. I mean, those girls were not dancing provocatively. They were not dressed provocatively.
EDWARDS: Well, now, I don‘t know what hole you have had your head buried in, Sheila.
(CROSSTALK)
NOONE: There is no other athletic activity, I think, where parents are more involved than cheerleading. Mothers know exactly what their cheerleaders are doing. They know their—their routine.
(CROSSTALK)
COSBY: You guys, let me put up a little quote here. This is from another viewer, because we were very surprised after we did the segment last week. We were just bombarded with e-mails, and a lot of them criticizing the parents. Here‘s another one.
It says: “Videos and eBay are a fact of life. Parents need to not be so dense and think things through before putting their daughters in a position where they could be exploited.”
I mean, do you think that parents need to be responsible here, Sheila?
NOONE: I don‘t think anybody could be responsible for the perverted motives of this other man. I just—yes, I think everyone has be aware.
If you see someone videotaping a game inappropriately, maybe from the ground up, yes, question that. But this...
(CROSSTALK)
COSBY: So, Sheila, what do you say to these people? What do you say
what do you say to Representative Edwards and others?
EDWARDS: Listen that‘s just like saying people on the street who sell drugs to our children, we shouldn‘t bother about what they do.
(CROSSTALK)
NOONE: This has nothing to do with that.
EDWARDS: We must take responsibility as adults for these children.
And let me tell you, you—you—you—I don‘t know where your head has been buried, or what hole it has been in, but we have allowed this to go too far. And it has caused too many problems with our young girls.
NOONE: No. I—I strongly disagree.
No one has seen more cheerleaders this year than I have. I have seen at least 50,000 cheerleaders this year alone. I do not think we can place any of the blame on these athletes. It takes away from what they do. They work very hard to get where they are. And this is very—it‘s just wrong to accuse them of expecting this treatment.
EDWARDS: But it doesn‘t take all of that overly sexy dancing and the dressing the way they are dressing.
And, listen, the picture that you may have seen about the—the girls who won national cheerleaders contest in the whole nation from Victoria, Texas, from down at Memorial High School, they said that you could not win if you had overly sexy moves of any kind or their dress—or their dress, Sheila.
(CROSSTALK)
COSBY: Let me interrupt both of you, because let me put up a full-screen.
This is another comment. This is from another viewer, too, who puts us on the other side. It says: “You know they televise the cheerleading national championships.”
Sheila, you know that better than anyone.
“Let‘s sue ESPN.”
Where do we draw the line? Where do we...
(CROSSTALK)
COSBY: ... Representative Edwards?
(CROSSTALK)
NOONE: The motives are different. The motives are different. The ESPN shows are showing the athletic prowess of these athletes.
EDWARDS: We have got to draw the line.
COSBY: Yes, but, Representative Edwards, do we—do we go after ESPN? Do we go after everybody who has televised these things?
EDWARDS: Well, I think parents and teachers should be called on the carpet.
I think parents should say to their teachers, they are not going to have it. And those principals and counselors should say to the teachers, like what we have done here in Texas, that we‘re not going to have it.
COSBY: All right, let me—let me interrupt—let me give Sheila—let me give Sheila...
NOONE: Yes.
COSBY: Sheila, you get the last word.
NOONE: Yes.
I just don‘t think we can forget that this man did something that I consider a crime. He—he—he came into a game. He exploited the cheerleaders. I mean, you could do this at any other event. It would be just as wrong. If you did it for tennis players, if you did this for volleyball players, beach volleyball players, anything would be wrong. It‘s just—it‘s—you can‘t call these girls on the carpet for something a pervert did.
COSBY: All right. This is going to have to be last word, everybody.
Thank you very much.
NOONE: Thank you.
COSBY: Certainly a very hot topic. Love to have you back on again.
Thank you.
And there‘s a lot more coming up here on MSNBC tonight. I‘m sure there will be some fireworks on Tucker Carlson‘s show.
Tucker, what do you have in store?
TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, “THE SITUATION WITH TUCKER CARLSON”: Oh, Rita Cosby, we‘re joined by the former lawyer of the accuser in the Duke rape case, who is going to explain why this case is still being prosecuted, when many in the know believe it to be a hoax.
Also, another teacher has sex with a student. In this case, though, the student is 18 years old. Should she go to prison for 20 years? We will debate that. It‘s going to be great.
COSBY: And we will definitely be watching, just a few minutes from now, Tucker. It‘s always good. Thanks so much.
CARLSON: Thanks, Rita.
COSBY: And still ahead, everybody: Everyone is talking about the Britney Spears exclusive interview about her baby, the one on the way, and also a rocky marriage to the K-Fed. We have the exclusive details. We will give you a sneak peek.
And next: This guy looks more like a cross-dressing streetwalker, but he‘s an officer of the law. Find out this—why this wolf is working the beat in sheep‘s clothing. It‘s an original idea. You got have to see this one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: If you have a story you want Rita to investigate, call our tip line, 1-877-TIP-RITA, or log on to our Web site, Rita.MSNBC.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRY GOLDEN, CROSS-DRESSING COP: We‘re doing this mainly to make the streets safer. We‘re targeting intersections throughout the city which have a history of very violent and tragic accidents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSBY: Well, these days, running red lights is becoming a real drag for many drivers in West Palm Beach Florida, all because of a cross-dressing who is getting sassy with traffic violators.
Officer Terry Golden stands on a busy intersection with size 13 pumps, a dress, a wig, and even makeup—his purpose, to catch unsuspecting drivers in the act.
Well, it works like this. Once he sees someone running a red light or speeding, Officer Golden radios into the squad. They then pull over the driver and hand them a ticket.
And joining me live is that sassy one, the officer, Terry Golden.
Terry, you know, you look quite different. Let—let‘s see if we can put up that video again, because you look a lot different there...
(LAUGHTER)
COSBY: ... than you do in the video.
How did you guys come up with this idea?
GOLDEN: Well, Rita, we—we came up with the idea. Our sergeant, Bob Olsen (ph), he actually used to be a motorman before he became a supervisor in our unit.
He used to dress up in plainclothes. And they would watch traffic offenders running stop signs in various areas within the city. When it was brought to our attention that we needed to do something about the intersections within our city that had problems with red light runners, we decided to dress up in different characters, and decided to use an unconventional approach to...
(LAUGHTER)
GOLDEN: ... to try to curb this issue, which is a very serious one in our city...
COSBY: Well, and I understand we have got...
GOLDEN: ... and many others.
COSBY: I understand we have got some video of all—you know, you getting ready. How long does it actually take you to make this transformation from a guy to this—this woman in the size 13 pumps?
GOLDEN: Well, it all depends, Rita. It could take anywhere from a
half-hour to an hour, depending on the—the outfit that I choose for the
the—the operation.
COSBY: And who decides the outfit? Do you decide? And do you have anybody? Do you have a wife or a girlfriend or someone who advises you?
(LAUGHTER)
GOLDEN: Yes, well, I have several advisers. My fiancee is the main adviser, who has fun dressing me up. And we go shopping for different outfits at thrift shops and different shoe stores. And we have fun with it.
COSBY: I‘m afraid to ask you this question. But they call you Officer Delicious. How did that name come about?
(LAUGHTER)
GOLDEN: Actually it came about—actually, the first time that I dressed up, there was a motorist who was stopped at a—a traffic signal. And he looked over at me. And he looked at me and said, you know, you look delicious.
(LAUGHTER)
GOLDEN: And ever since then, I said, hmm, OK, Officer Delicious, huh?
COSBY: You know, it—it‘s...
GOLDEN: And it kind of stuck.
(LAUGHTER)
COSBY: Some of these other disguises that you guys have done, very creative, construction workers, surveyors, utility pole repairmen, even a military camouflage.
What are the drivers—you know, obviously, they said the Officer Delicious.
But what are the reaction from the drivers when they find out she is a he, and he is an officer?
GOLDEN: Well...
(LAUGHTER)
GOLDEN: ... I get everything from people dropping their food while they‘re driving by, to dropping their cell phones, their makeup.
And, in a way, Rita, that‘s a good thing, because we want people to
become less active in their vehicle and pay attention to the road. So, if
you know, if Officer Delicious can help motorists pay attention to the roadway and—and their traffic habits, then, Officer Delicious is doing her job.
COSBY: Well, Officer Delicious, thank you very much.
(LAUGHTER)
COSBY: Keep up the good work out there. You look pretty good in those heels. Thanks so much.
And...
(LAUGHTER)
GOLDEN: Thank you very much, Rita.
COSBY: Thank you.
And still ahead, everybody: She‘s certainly not going to get the “Good Housekeeping” mother of the year award. But wait until you hear what Britney Spears is saying about being a mom and also her life with her hubby, K-Fed. It‘s an NBC exclusive, and it‘s coming up.
And you are looking at video from the coast of Florida. Right now, Alberto is just hours from making landfall. And, after last year‘s record-break hurricane season, no one is taking any chances. Keep it right here for the very latest, LIVE & DIRECT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
COSBY: Well, pop princess Britney Spears is telling all in an exclusive interview with NBC. Spears spills all about life with Kevin and about being a mom. She also breaks down when talking about life in the limelight and dealing with the paparazzi—all this and more in an interview set to air on “Today Show” this Thursday.
With me now for tonight‘s “Celebrity Dish,” two of our favorites, the host of E! Entertainment‘s “The Daily 10,” Catt Sadler, and also “Extra” correspondent Tanika Ray.
Catt, let me start with you.
She describes her boyfriend—her husband now, I should say—Kevin, as “awesome.” And she says—this is her quote that she says. She says:
“He helps me. He has to. I‘m an emotional wreck right now.”
Why is she defending this guy?
CATT SADLER, HOST, “THE DAILY 10”: Because I guess, Rita, he is indeed her husband. She‘s pregnant with their second child. And I think she‘s found herself in a position where people want to finally hear from her.
She‘s been our pop tart all these years. She‘s been on this decline, from the baby incidents, to this reported rocky marriage. And, finally, she has her voice and she‘s going to do anything but just defend this marriage. She‘s indeed married to him. She has got another child on the way.
And, you know, I don‘t want to be a pessimist, but what else is she going to do? Until the papers are on the table, until we—they are officially going to split up, of course she‘s saying that this marriage is OK, and, no, he‘s not living in the basement.
(LAUGHTER)
COSBY: You know, and, Tanika, speaking about papers, the papers have been writing a lot of about it lately.
Let‘s put some of the headlines—it says “Love Crisis,” “Britney Takes Off Her Ring.” “The Fight That Changed Everything” is another one. And, also, another one says “Britney‘s Life Without Kevin.”
Is the marriage a farce, Tanika, or is it awesome? Is it just because they are married; there‘s nothing she can do; she has got to talk nice?
TANIKA RAY, CORRESPONDENT, “EXTRA”: Well, I don‘t understand why she‘s speaking right now, to be perfectly honest.
We have had months and months, and, you know, about a year-and-a-half now since she‘s been with Kevin, where she hasn‘t said anything.
COSBY: Yes, what do you make of the timing of this, Tanika?
RAY: I do think it‘s interesting. It‘s like, doth protest too much, maybe a guilty conscience. Maybe there is something really wrong going on. And this is a good time to turn it around, a little spin for you.
She‘s brilliant at the media spin, so why not do it now? Obviously, it must be a close to a decline, or she wouldn‘t have a reason to speak.
COSBY: And...
RAY: She‘s a little suspicious to me.
COSBY: And speaking of spin, you know, remember those pictures of her with her little baby, baby Sean on her—on her lap as she was driving?
RAY: Absolutely.
COSBY: Got a lot of headlines.
This is what she had to as you know about this, you know, all the criticism that she‘s been getting.
She says: “I can‘t go anywhere without someone judging me.”
RAY: Oh, gosh.
COSBY: “I did it with my dad. I would sit on his lap and I would drive. We are country.”
(LAUGHTER)
COSBY: Tanika, is country a good excuse?
RAY: I love the hillbilly defense.
COSBY: Yes. Does that—does that work?
RAY: That‘s awesome.
(LAUGHTER)
RAY: Well, this is what it does. It makes it really clear how uneducated she is, the fact that she—her parents aren‘t there for her.
COSBY: Hey, there‘s some good hillbillies, Tanika.
(LAUGHTER)
RAY: I love hillbillies. Rock on.
(LAUGHTER)
RAY: But, when it comes down to it, she has exposed herself. Her parents need to get back in touch with her. They need to teach her how to raise her child.
You know, we see her as this big celebrity, this big star. And we think she knows everything. She doesn‘t. She needs some guidance these days. No, you cannot have your just born baby in the front seat. If there‘s a car accident, that baby is toast.
COSBY: Let me put up another quote, because she got emotional.
Have you answer this, Catt.
She got very emotional, particularly, you know, when she talked about the paparazzi and just everyone in her life following her everywhere. She was crying when she was doing with this Matt Lauer.
And this is what she said. She said, you know, talking to people:
“You have babies at home. And you have a life. And, if you don‘t, you have to realize that we‘re people and that we—we just need privacy. We need our respect. And those are things that you have to have as a human being.”
Is it—you know, are we being too hard on her, the media, and especially the paparazzi, Catt?
SADLER: Absolutely not.
She knows what she got into when she was a—a teenage girl. Paparazzi is part of the business. What‘s happening with Britney is, she‘s breaking down. She‘s at a breaking point.
As Tanika just said, she‘s crying out. She‘s doing whatever she can. She‘s speaking to the media, finally, once and for all. She‘s contradictory—contradicting herself, though. If you go to her Web site, on her official BritneySpears.com Web site, she—she has a poem there from her to her fans that says, remembrance of me, this girl that you used to be, this happy girl.
And, in this poem, she even addresses what appears to be K-Fed—he goes unnamed—but a cry for help, if you will, of her saying, you know—she talks about the pain that she‘s in. She makes biblical references.
She‘s at a breaking point. She‘s pregnant. I can‘t imagine the hormones that are flying.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
SADLER: But putting this all this on the paparazzi? No, this is not the paparazzi‘s fault. I think she‘s just had enough.
COSBY: Well, both you, I am going to be in a lot of trouble if I don‘t go to a commercial, because I will be in a lot of pain.
(LAUGHTER)
COSBY: Hang on, both of you.
When we come back, we will find out who this new man is in Britney‘s life. A bodyguard, a nanny or something else altogether?
Stay with us. Find out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSBY: And we‘re back talking about pop princess Britney Spears in tonight‘s “Celebrity Dish,” who reportedly has a third man in her life right now. She‘s been spotted around town followed by a beefy hunk, now dubbed her manny, or male nanny. But who really is this guy?
Back with us is Catt Sadler. We also have with us Tanika Ray.
You know, Catt, who is this guy? His name is Taylor, Perry. Some people are calling him a manny. I also love the other nickname, “Perry Poppins,” by some.
SADLER: I love that.
COSBY: Is he a nanny, a bodyguard? What is he?
(CROSSTALK)
SADLER: I love that you call him a beefy hunk, Rita. Is that your choosing?
(LAUGHTER)
COSBY: Yes. You know what?
(CROSSTALK)
COSBY: He is kind of cute. There‘s his credentials there, you guys.
SADLER: Yes, he‘s pretty cute.
I think, more than anything, though, this guy is rumored to be an upstanding individual. He‘s this ex-Navy SEALs. He appears to be clean-cut, very opposite of the K-Fed image that we‘re so used to seeing these days.
And, if anything, her fans and those people that are out there on those blogs, saying, bring our Britney back, bring Britney back, are so excited to at least see what appears to be a positive influence in her day-to-day life.
COSBY: You know, but now let‘s play the dumb role.
Tanika, why would some guy who‘s 28 years old—we just saw, you know, his background—why would he take this job? What‘s in it for him?
RAY: OK, so, he‘s got credentials, but he‘s still like, Britney Spears is hot. It‘s a good gig for the kid.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
COSBY: Yes, but to put—what, put manny on his resume? Is that it?
(LAUGHTER)
RAY: Absolutely. I love our catchphrases. They‘re awesome.
When it comes down to it, I think it‘s a little bit of Britney going, hey, K-Fed, you keep screwing up, I can replace you.
COSBY: What do you think, Catt? Do you agree?
SADLER: Maybe so.
I think the—the telltale sign is, though, we went 76 days, according to “Us Weekly,” without seeing Britney photographed with Kevin. We have seen her with this guy in the tabloids every other day. So, perhaps yes. Maybe this is a message loud and clear to her husband: Hey, I‘m over here. Let‘s pay attention.
COSBY: Hey, All right, gals, thank you both very much. We will have you back on soon, two of my favorites. Thank you, gals, very much.
RAY: Love it. Bye.
(CROSSTALK)
SADLER: Bye-bye.
(CROSSTALK)
COSBY: Bye, ladies.
And coming up tomorrow: The woman known as the world‘s first supermodel, Janice Dickinson, has a new racy reality show, where she picks the next hot model. That is going to be tomorrow night. She‘s going to tell us why she thinks she has what it takes to pick the next big superstar.
And that does it for me on LIVE & DIRECT tonight. Thank you for joining us, everybody. I‘m Rita Cosby.
“THE SITUATION” with Tucker starts right now—Tucker.
CARLSON: Thank you, Rita.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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