welcome back. this is incredible. police say a 34-year-old man accused of groping a 10-year-old girl in the toy aisle at walmart. tried to make a run for it. here's where it gets good, because someone stepped up. people are screaming for someone to stop him. a man in a wheelchair makes the tackle, stopped this guy and joins us now. i have the honor of welcoming this hero, cameron ulner is here. i hope you know you're an inspiration to all of us. your first day on the job, right? you're working for comcast there at the front of the walmart and what do you hear?

>> i hear a man yelling from the back of the store saying "stop this man, stop this man. he grabbed a little girl." at first i thought he stole something. so when he said he grabbed a little girl, it got my interest and i saw him coming around the corner and next thing i know i'm tackling him into the coke machine and we're going at it on the ground. >> wow. how did you pull off the tackle? when he's coming up to you, he's making the run for it, you know you're going to do something, what is going on in your mind and how did that play out? >> actually, not much was going through my mind, besides i was hoping that somebody else was going to step up and tackle him for me. i never thought that i was going to be the person that would take him down. i saw him running towards me and i anticipated, you know, since

nobody stepped up, i did. >> you made the tackle. what happens then? now i'm guessing you're wrestling the guy, he's probably still trying to get out of there. >> no, as soon as i grabbed ahold of him, there was -- he had a look of astonishment on his face, he didn't quite know what hit him. from that point on, it was just downhill for him. the gentleman who was chasing him and yelling at him to stop, he came up and helped grab him and subdue him and we waited for the police to show up. >> have you come to grips with what you have done? if this guy gets out of there, he may have the opportunity to try this with another little girl. >> yeah, but i mean, everybody keeps calling me a hero and saying that, you know, that i've done this wonderful thing. but for me, it's stepping up when someone is in need, and i think everyone needs to do that. >> well put. i want to bring in officer james

bulger. james, you were on the scene there, right? >> that is correct. >> because you believe what tratrap -- transpired here, it is good when we help each other out like this, isn't it? to a point, i guess. >> you know, everything went down in the right manner in this instance. you know, the little girl who needed help knew to scream loudly and look for an adult and we're fortunate we had the witnesses that were on scene that heard this going on and came to her assistance. >> have you -- what's been the reaction from the police department to cameron? did you guys get a chance to thank him? >> you know, i don't know personally exactly what all has gone on. i know that he needs to be commended for his actions. >> yeah. you know, i know cameron you have -- you're uncomfortable being called a hero. but you are an inspiration.

someone else might hear this story and be a little more likely to step up. that has to make you feel good. >> definitely, definitely makes me feel good. i'm glad that i was able to be in the right place at the right time. >> ever done anything like this before? >> no, most definitely not. this is by far a first for me. >> you made the tackle. had you played some football in the past, you kind of knew where you wanted to do here? >> yeah, i played texas football, so as you can imagine, that's about as rough as you can get. and i've also played basketball and so, i had an idea of how i was going to hit him. but like i said, i didn't really -- nothing was going through my mind. i just knew he had to be stopped and i was going to stop him. >> nice job.

again, i know you're uncomfortable with the hero label, but you are an inspiration to us all and an honor to talk to you. >> thank you very much. coming up, talking about michael jackson, the autopsy is out. and we're finding out it's not exactly the sickly skeleton he had been portrayed in the tabloids. a healthy 50-year-old man, no illegal drugs in his system. that has got to be trouble for dr. conrad murray. it has been an exciting week here on hln, the debut of "the joy behar show." check it out tonight at 9:00 eastern.

welcome back to "prime news" on hln. we're getting news on the michael jackson story. his autopsy has been released. as we look over this story. what's most shocking is what's not in it. the coroner says jackson was a healthy 50-year-old man. you wouldn't think that. it said he had nothing but pills in his stomach. "the globe" saying jackson injecting heroin, fighting anorexia. that potent sedative administered in the hours before his death, you look at this, this cannot be good when you talk about that man, dr. conrad murray. one of the defenses that we speculated on is going to be well, how many other doctors have been in his past?

what did other doctors do? he's the scapegoat because he was the last man standing. if michael jackson is a healthy 50-year-old man, it wasn't cumulative, it was one time. so we're going to get much more on this autopsy and what it could mean in the case. >> there's no question, for nfl player carey rhodes, fitness is a job. on the field. off the field. even on twitter. >> a lot of people have been asking me to give them workout tips and what do i do, what do i eat? that right there is setting you up for failure. >> tip number one, map out a fitness plan. >> i usually do three sets of

ten. >> and start slow. >> take your time to get to that point where you can do more. >> he says it's about setting reasonable goals and keeping your routine interesting. >> do creative things to not get tired and used to doing the same thing over and over. >> during the off-season, a typical meal, an early morning sack, banana, oatmeal and toast for breakfast. a high protein lunch, and for dinner, a chicken salad. he loads up on water, fruit, green tea to help stay full throughout the day. >> i get four meals, whether that's a snack or an energy drink for one meal. >> his advice, make fitness a priority. >> put on pain whatever you want to do, overall where you want to be. just be active. >> dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting.

we send our kids off to school, runner ands, little league practice, but there's no reality they're coming home. that's the reality for the family of derrien albert, beaten on his way home from school. i want to welcome richelle carey joining us. what do you have, richelle? >> what makes his death so much more senseless is the number of people who did nothing. it seems the code on the street known as no snitching has kept people quiet. this is hard to watch, but you need to see it, if you haven't already seen it. this is cell phone video that someone shot. there were about a dozen people who stood around and did

nothing. didn't even call police and are not calling police now. what can be done to get people to step up? joining me now is director of cease-fire and i want to start with you. i know that derrien is going to be buried tomorrow. i know you've been in touch with his family. i saw something this week where a member of his family said that the way they were getting through is praying for inner r forgiveness. how are they getting through? >> you know, this is a hard thing to deal with. community wise as well as family. but they're just getting through it the best way they can with the prayers and support that's been coming in and just really trying to plan his funeral and get through tomorrow as far as the funeral and healing process for his sister rea.

>> this same person also said that he didn't understand why young people were so angry. can i get you to speak to that? >> yeah, there's a lot of anxiety in the community, depression, a lot of guys are frustrated because of hopelessness. they come from dysfunctional families and they feel they've been disen franchised from overall society. there's a serious epidemic going on in chicago and violence is just at that particular level right now. last year in chicago we had 510 homicides and 80% were homicides committed against african-american youth here. the leading cause of death of african-american cause in the united states between the ages of 15 and 34 is homicide. >> wow. that should make people mad, not just sad. that should make people mad. i want to talk about the

investigation now, because this is something else i think should make people mad. i know there are four people in custody but they're looking for three more and they have not been able to get people to call in. even though the people who were responsible, their pictures have been all over tv. can you talk to me about what this no snitching is about? and before i get you to do that, i want to play something for you and get your response to this. so sit tight and listen to this. >> don't snitch. it's not your business, okay? >> is that something somebody told you or something you tell people? >> that's the way of the streets. you snitch you're going to get stitches, put it like that. >> explain what in the world this is. >> that's handed down behavior. most people believe that because there's a lot of distrust for the police department across the nation. however, you can break the code of silence by talking your friends out of not shooting somebody.

that's how you break the code in reverse. at cease-fire, we mediated our 286 conflicts this year because guys talk to us. so we can stop a homicide with the information. that's what the people need to step up and start doing. looking at what happened to derrion, somebody in the crowd should have said stop it. you have a lot of people that had influence over the crowd. somebody should have said look, that's one of our brothers and what's happening in america also, african-american youth are not looking at each other as brothers anymore. everybody is choosing sides. you don't have to break a code, you know, as far as telling on people all the time. there's a big mistrust out here. what i'm saying, break the code by stopping it on the front end. >> but if we're not stopping it on the front end, are you telling the young people that they do need to pick up the

phone and help the police solve this murder, are you telling young people that? >> there's too much hype with the code of silence first of all. people have broken the code across the united states. that big motion picture "american gangster" he told on everybody. >> so you're telling me don't believe the hype, correct? >> don't believe the hype, that's what i'm talking about. people are breaking the code. >> i wanted to read a comment i got on my facebook page. this person appeared to be not a young kid that said, well, the police get paid to investigate and solve crimes. why should the public do their jobs for them? if that's the case, pay them a lot less. can i get you to respond to that? >> you know what? one thing that i want to discuss the about how the family feels. they lost derrion and the community as well has lost these young guys that are going

through the process of being convicted and away from their families. his family wants the community, the city to know it has to stop. it has to stop. their hearts go out to the families that are going through the process of going up to the county jail every day to see their sons. and we have to bring the neighbor back in the hood. and the albert family wants to rally up with us and cease-fire and partner up with us to say, look, stop it. we are brothers, we are sisters, we are mothers. it must stop. i can't comment on what the police officer's jobs are. i know what my job is and i know that that beating shouldn't happen. someone needs to step up and we got to take control of our community. this is our community and our brothers and sisters, yes, they are angry because of the dynamics of how the public schools are closing and they have to commute over to another

territory. but we have to take our communities back and the albert family sends their condolences out, not a death condolence, but as far as the families that tha sons to their sons' beating. it's unacceptable. >> tio, is there a dynamic different in chicago than other cities? because there are did errions unfortunately every day, but it does seem the problem appears to be worse in chicago. is that a myth? >> no, it's not a myth. 75% of the youth in chicago are on the defense. they're afraid themselves. see, nobody wants to be victimized here in chicago so most of the young people, they call it being mounted up. they're prepared for anything. we have to get chicago to a safe place here where young men and women feel good enough about going to school every day and they're not in fear. most of the young guys walk past each other, they don't speak to one another. people are paranoid and there's a history of gang violence in

chicago that dates back about maybe 40 years. a lot of the young men and women in chicago are fighting for reasons they don't know nothing p. then also i want to make sure i make this clear. 60% to 75% of of the violence in chicago is interpersonal violence. people get into the pettiest of violence and they end up killing themselves because they go one to ten in the kill zone immediately. >> i'm about out of time. let me pose this question to you and see if you can do it in 15 seconds. please tell me that you're hopeful. i need to hear that you two are hopeful. >> oh, yeah. >> we're hopeful. we have an opportunity now for the mayor and all of the -- the president to come back and put the city back on track as well as with the communities and the families. we have come together and we bring the hope back into chicago. >> we're out of time. thank you both. appreciate it. )$)$)$)$)$)$)$)$)$

tonight -- one of the craziest videos police have ever seen. a 61-year-old man accused of killing his wife is unbuttoning his shirt and dancing. this doesn't look like a husband in mourning. cops say this man shot his wife, then called 911 and confessed to the murder. now he's behind bars, joking with his daughter and talking about being released. what's up with this guy?

and jon gosselin's fighting back. the former star of "jon and kate plus eight" claims he had an epiphany and wants his children taken off the reality show. an epiphany? really? funny how his sudden enlightenment comes less than a week after he got the boot from tlc. now that he's out of the picture, he suddenly feels the tv show is unhealthy for his kids. wild coincidence? plus, a late night bombshell. david letterman admits to having sex with his co-workers, telling the live audience he was blackmailed by a colleague from cbs. cops say an emmy award winning producer from cbs' "48 hours" threatened to expose letterman's sexual affairs if he didn't pay up $2 million. letterman allegedly gave this guy a phony check. now the tv producer's behind bars. this is the same kind of story he exposes on "48 hours." if true, what was he thinking? "issues" starts now. tonight -- shocking behavior caught on jailhouse video and released to the public. j. robert "bob" ward charged

with shooting his wife to death inside their $3.5 million south florida mansion. cops say the high-flying real estate developer called 911 and actually confessed. quote, i just shot my wife. she's dead. she's on the floor of the master bedroom, end quote. then, a bizarre twist, bob ward being taken into custody in this home video from wftv.com reportedly changes his story. according to cops, ward said his wife was trying to commit suicide and shot herself. he was just trying to get the gun away from her. but that's not even the strangest part of this very bizarre story. what you're looking at right there, video from inside the orange county, florida, jail. bob ward then begins to do a strip tease. his daughter and his sister-in-law clowning around and joking with one another. mind you, the younger woman just lost her mom. the older woman just lost her sister. meanwhile, here's what the millionaire murder suspect, bob, said about his accommodations.

>> i'm in some kind of lockdown right now to keep me safe supposedly. i told them i'm not worried about anybody so get me the hell out of here. i'm protected from the general population. which is a bunch of crap. i'm not worried about anybody here. you know, i just would like to get out of this nasty cell that doesn't have any water. il mean, this place hasn't been cleaned in i can't tell you when. >> yeah, but it's not a hotel room, bob. published reports indicate this real estate mogul's empire had recently collapsed during the housing crisis and his company had declared bankruptcy. friends say he had been complaining his wife was spending too much money, and tonight's big issue, do florida's sunshine laws which permit all this jail video to be released to the public help or hurt justice? straight out to my awesome expert panel. mark eiglarsh, criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor, lisa bloom, cnn legal analyst.

dr. gail saltz, clinical psychiatrist and professor of psychiatry at new york presbyterian hospital and drew petrimou petrimoulx, reporter. he's been tracking this case. give us the back story of this seemingly wealthy couple and what was happening in their lives before she wound up dead with a bullet to the head. >> they came to orlando from atlanta in 2007. bob ward started a real estate company called land resources, which really had a hand in real estate all over the country developing luxury townhouses and homes and developing neighborhoods. you know, they made a lot of money. he was making -- the company pulled in hundreds of millions of dollars during its prime. but as a lot of businesses has happened during this economic downturn, business went south and they had legal problems with certain developments and their house here in orlando was foreclosed on. so the economic tough times really took a toll on this man's

business and apparently his family as well. >> yeah. and among the hours of jailhouse tapes that have been released to the public, there were only a few references to the victim so how does she fit in in this entire story? where's the motive here? let's listen. >> hello? >> hey, handsome. >> do i look weird? >> you look good. i'm completely here for you, 100%, because you know that you're my hero. i also want to let you know how nice i think that you look right now. i have been trying to get you to wear pajamas for years now. >> oh, god, you look great. you look really, really good. >> yeah. i'm hanging in there. i'm showering daily which is obviously very important. you know how we feel about hygiene. i'm glad to see you're showering. i'm so disappointed you have to keep putting the dirty jumpsuit back on. >> dr. gail saltz, this is so bizarre. i mean ths, this is a family in

crisis, a woman that they supposedly all love and they're related to has died a violent death. and they're joking about wardrobe and hygiene? >> you know, it is entirely bizarre and this just goes to show that you really can't evaluate someone's mental health by just looking at them or listening to them. we don't know what each of them is thinking. so until someone has sat down and asked them, you know, what is the laughing about? what was your relationship like? what was going on? i mean, this looks so completely out of place that you would almost wonder if this wasn't group, you know, psychosis or something because no one is reacting like there's been a death. we really don't know. >> lisa bloom, according to published reports, he had complained to two friends at least that his wife was spending too much money. you heard about the fact that his company went into bankruptcy and he was experiencing the downward spiral of going from tremendous wealth into money

problems. that's obviously a stressor. could that be something prosecutors use as a motive here? >> absolutely. money is the oldest motive in the book. we see it in case after case. i think the most telling fact is that when he initially called the police, he said that he shot her. in the shock of the moment, in the crisis of the moment, people generally tend to say the facts. they say what's true, then later on, he's got to backtrack and call it a suicide. my goodness, if it was a suicide, wouldn't that be all the more tragic? wouldn't that make them even more somber when they're in the jailhouse talking to each other? this just does not make a lot of sense. >> jane, he's definitely jeopardizing his own case right now. at a maximum, this could affect the criminal case and it could be used in evidence against him. at a minimum, he has a bond hearing potentially coming up, second-degree murder here in florida is a non-bondable offense. the judge is the only one in his discretion who can give him a bond.

his actions on this videotape will be considered by this judge as someone who, hey, listen, you might be a flight risk. so i say in short, there's three things we know right now. one, you don't eat meat. number two, lisa has a phenomenal smile. and number three, this guy -- >> neither does lisa, by the way. >> just trying to butter me up. i'm still going to argue with you. >> you're giving the suspect a run for his money, mark, with your little quirky observations. bob ward and his daughter spoke about everything under the sun including wardrobe. here's a very interesting sample of their bizarre conversations. >> hello. >> hey, handsome. >> see the all the beard? >> you look good. i'm completely here for you. 100%. because you know that you're my hero. 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.

>> oh, god, you look great. you look really, really good. >> yeah. i'm hanging in there. i'm showering daily, which is obviously, you know, very important. you know how we feel about hygiene. i'm glad to see that you're showering. i'm just so disappointed you would have to keep putting that dirty jumpsuit back on. >> dr. gail saltz, this is so strange. honestly, we watched hours an hours of this stuff and it was hard to decide which clip to use because there were so many bizarre clips. is he trying perhaps to set himself up for an insanity defense or is it perhaps that he is losing it because he's lost so much money? we have seen so many people recently in the bernie madoff case and in the housing crash, the stock market crash, lose their shirts, and some of them go a little loopy. >> yes. there are many people who have lost their shirts and subsequently lost their minds. we've seen a number of suicides of very, very wealthy people who have lost it all being and i think it is a huge stressor that can actually cause someone to have a depression, to have a

psychotic depression but what's very bizarre in addition is his daughter's acting bizarrely. she's not acting like someone who's just lost her mother to suicide or murder, and frankly, she has sort of a really strange intimate talk with him there about how he looks and how she looks and how she's bathing and that's all very strange. >> and how he's her hero. >> exactly. >> a hero? when did the standard to become a hero be reduced to someone who admits to killing their wife? i guess we're all heroes. >> what strikes me -- >> you know what else, jane -- >> the questions that you would ask of somebody who's accused of killing your mother. all right. more on this very bizarre jailhouse video in just a bit. plus, speaking of bizarre, jon gosselin says he's had it. suddenly he wants his kids off the reality show. this just a couple days after he was basically booted from the show. so was this really an epiphany or is there a timing issue here? but first, dancing, stripping, and laughing.

a man accused of killing his wife, shooting her in the head, joking with family members from inside his jail cell. doesn't exactly look like a grieving family to me. >> they like watching me go to the shower. >> all i can say is don't drop the soap.

believe me, i'm not here in the ritz. >> such a lifestyle change for you. i can only imagine. i know you're missing a bidet. >> this place hasn't been cleaned in i can't tell you when. >> well, i'll definitely get housekeeping for that. i'll call housekeeping right now and make sure and have them put a mint on your pillow, too, okay? >> oh, my god. ha, ha, ha. big laugh. a woman's dead. related to them, with a bullet in her head. tonight's big issue, do florida's sunshine laws which permit all this stuff to be released to the public help or hurt justice? listen to bob ward's sister-in-law actually caution him about that. >> the media can request transcripts of this so we want to be pretty much as bland as possible because these guys, you know, we just don't want to give them anything. >> "as bland as possible"? they're putting on a show that's being called the most bizarre jailhouse performance of the century. if the format of this video

looks familiar, well, take a look. casey anthony also in custody, the orange county florida sheriff, same place. during visits from her parents, casey provided the media and public lots of colorful rants. we all saw them. what about hulk hogan's son, nick? his words came back to bite him after pinellas county florida released audio of him complaining about his tiny holding cell and his desire for a reality show, even though he had been charged with reckless driving after an accident that left his friend and passenger paralyzed. drew pet remow, you're the reporter down there in florida. are these liberal sunshine laws making florida seem like it's the capital of crime because obviously the media gravitates to these stories since they're so colorful, since we see them all on videotape? >> well, they definitely make my job a lot easier, frankly, but you know, there's something to having a transparent system like that, where everything is shown to the media and available to everybody. it's not just the media that can see it. you can go to the courthouse and get all these documents and get this stuff for yourself.

it is very liberal. one thing i will say, the 911 call, where he allegedly admitted to shooting his wife, that hasn't been released. i guess police are saying that that's part of their investigation and too sensitive. so there are some things they won't release but of course, it will be very interesting when they do release that, because allegedly, he admits to murdering his own wife. >> all right. i want to debate this issue. mark eiglarsh, you're a former prosecutor, a criminal defense attorney, you work down there in florida. are these extremely liberal sunshine laws in florida which are described sometimes as the most liberal in the entire country helping or hurting justice in florida? >> well, let me defend florida. we don't have the kind of crime that people think based on what we see every night on this program and others. the bottom line is the media will not show something unless there's something to see. so if the story was, well, we heard, someone overheard him acting inappropriately, that wouldn't be on the news. so the fact that there's a

videotape with him, casey anthony and the other examples you gave, makes people then see and thus they think erroneously we have more crime here than others. >> yeah, but don't blame the media. lisa bloom. don't blame the media for that. >> thank you. >> we're reporting what we see. >> that's right. >> if we were to keep this quiet, people would say, well being you wouldn't show this because he's a rich guy. and if he was a poor guy -- >> i'm not blaming the media. it's a fact. i'm not blaming the media. i'm just saying i understand your function and you then show it on the news. >> lisa -- >> but listen, listen, the judicial system is a branch of government, just like the legislative and executive. we're all paying for it. we should have transparency in all three branches of government. i think the other 49 states should follow florida's lead. >> me, too. >> we should know what's going on in our courts, our police and our jails. and in our jails and by the way, everybody is warned. this guy and everybody in jail is warned, you are being videotaped. you are being audiotaped. when you're on the phone. hello! and they go ahead and engage in

this behavior anyway. i was an anchor on court tv for eight years, we loved florida because florida had the sunshine laws and we could get our cameras in. it's good for the system of justice for people to see what's going on, be educated about what's going on. i'm a big first amendment absolutist. i applaud florida for having the sunshi sunshine law. >> there's no debate here. i know you want to debate with me and lisa. i don't disagree. i believe steak is great. you disagree. on this issue, i don't have a problem with that. i don't mind them putting it out there as long as the public knows -- >> all we're saying is every single state in the union should open up and have the same sunshine laws. >> kumbaya, we all agree. i don't disagree with you on that issue. >> finally you came around and agreed with me. i like when that happens. >> but most defense attorneys do not want this kind of tape out there. they're going sa to say it will taint the jury pool. we will see this guy looking like an idiot. it makes him look guilty. most defense attorneys don't like it. >> right. if i was defending him, that would be my position. personally? let it out there. >> we have to leave it right there since we all agree. thank you.

we're excited to welcome "the joy behar show" to our prime time lineup. it airs every night at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on hln. here's just a little nibble, a taste of what you are going to get. it's her "not for nothing" commentary. >> not for nothing, but all i keep hearing is that president obama is trying to do too much, that he has too much on his plate. rush limbaugh has too much on his plate. barack obama is the president. he's supposed to be busy. sorry, but after two terms of a president who had more time to work on his tan than george hamilton, obama looks like a guy with hyperactivity disorder. by the way, how you spend your time is also important, may i just add that. obama has spent the last eight months trying to pass health care reform and negotiate a ban on nuclear weapons. bush spent eight years just trying to pronounce the word "nuclear." president obama hasn't taken on too much.

he just has to work too hard to achieve anything because a lot of people in congress fight him at every turn. you know, it's easy to sit on your behind and criticize. my staff is doing that right now. i see you. i'm watching all of you. rather than accuse obama of being overextended, why don't these blowhards in congress come up with some alternatives or solutions? all you hear is this endless stream of no, i don't want to, you're going to do what? they sound like me on my wedding night. may i offer up this solution. when these lazy s.o.b.s come up for midterm election, just tell them you would have voted for them but you were just too busy. that's just me. >> joy's guests tonight, two of my favorites, kathy griffin and vanessa williams. that is 9:00 p.m. here on hln. once again, thank you, fantastic panel. now we're talking sex, blackmail and late-night television. we'll take a look at david letterman's admitted sexual affairs and the network tv

producer who allegedly tried to extort him for $2 million. but first, americans across the country marching for farm animals this weekend. 10 billion farm animals slaughtered for food in the u.s. every year. you'll meet the man leading the charge to treat them with decency and kindness and eliminate the cruelties of factory farming.        

jon gosselin fighting back. the former star of "jon and kate plus eight" claims he had an epiphany and wants his children taken off the reality show. an epiphany? really? funny how his sudden enlightenment came less than a week after he got the boot from the tlc show. wild coincidence? plus, a late night bombshell. david letterman admits to having sex with his co-workers, telling the live audience he was blackmailed by a colleague from cbs. cops say an emmy award winning producer from cbs' "48 hours" threatened to expose letterman's sexual affairs. if he didn't pay $2 million. tonight -- jon gosselin fires back at his

meal ticket, tlc. he wants filming of his family's hit reality show to stop for good. and guess why? he says the show is bad for the kiddies. too bad it took him four years of using his eight kids and cashing those fat tlc checks for him to see the light suddenly. >> i'm asking not to be on the show and i'm asking my children not to be on the show. i mean, i don't want them to film anymore. i don't think it's healthy for them and the reason i don't think it's healthy for them is we're going through a divorce right now and i don't think it should be televised and i think my kids should be taken off the show. >> jon's self-proclaimed epiphany has some pretty interesting timing. just a few days ago, tlc announced that the show would now be called simply "kate plus eight." the network said it was just trying to evolve along with the family or devolve. translation, mom and dad gosselin can't even be in the same room together since their separation. so is jon's change of heart in response to his dwindling role in the show?

he claims he made the first move asking to be off the show weeks ago. so what is the truth? back out to my fantastic panel and we're delighted to have paul peterson, president and founder of a minor consideration, a group that works to watch out for these showbiz kids. and very happy to have amy palmer, senior editor of "in touch weekly." amy, so many back and forths, it's hard to keep up. what is the very latest on this one? >> the very latest is that jon gosselin has gone mad. i mean, the guy every single day it's something new. i think he feels empowered by his new management team. it seems they're telling him take back your life, be empowered, you're the man of this family. that's what we're seeing. he's trying to do what we all thought he should have done months ago but it's a little too late. >> yeah. i would say so. jon gosselin suddenly a father with a conscience? listen to him explain his newfound clarity and how kate's attorney responds to it. >> i had an epiphany one day. i just looked in the mirror and

said i don't want to be this person anymore, i made mistakes, i know i messed up. >> it's clear that his timing is connected to his diminished role on the show. just last week, september 25th, he was taping with the children. all of a sudden, he has an epiphany. maybe he'll have another or new epiphany tomorrow. or maybe he'll have another epiphany the following week. >> paul peterson, president and founder of a minor consideration, you look out for these showbiz kids, but this show is being taped in pennsylvania, not exactly hollywood. he's made some rumblings, jon has, about violations allegedly of child labor laws. what can be done to protect these children in this ugly, ugly mess? >> well, first, all of us must not kill the messenger because of the message. jon gosselin admitted that the kids did not have the pennsylvania permits required to be on a television show. we already know they're not

being fairly compensated. this is a mess of huge proportions, because now we have hundreds of kids on reality shows, and let me repeat this so people understand. if a state does not have individual child labor laws for entertainment, the kids are without protections. when kids are employed on these shows, and they are performers, in every sense of the word, they need to have the full weight and protection of our industry. that means a competent teacher welfare worker always present. limited hours. mandatory education. no goofing around with the health, safety and morals of the minors. no filming potty training and babies taking a bath. we have got to stop. i've had enough. haven't you? >> well -- >> hear, hear! >> i think this is a huge, huge mess. i can tell you that tlc insists that it has done absolutely nothing wrong but what i'm hearing you say, paul, is that even though the messenger, jon, may be dirty himself in some senses, and the timing very suspicious, you believe

essentially that what he's saying has validity, even though he's been doing this show for seasons and didn't seem to notice these problems until they tried to kick him off the show. >> well, he's about the only one in the country. first of all, i trust nothing tlc says. i have publicly been saying for the last two years, it's time to go. time to quit. the harm being done to these children is genuine, and pennsylvania department of labor and industry must step forward. they have been investigating this family and the work circumstances for eight months. >> lisa bloom, what do you make of this? >> listen, i agree with paul. not just because my mother represents him. i think that children are really the heart of this case. jon and kate are going to fight, who cares? there are eight kids here and as paul points out, money is supposed to be set aside for them. god forbid they all reach the age of 18 and find out they have zero from all of this work they have been doing as children. now, i don't know if tlc is

complying with the laws or not but i do think it's unhealthy for children to grow up surrounded by cameras, crews, sound equipment, lighting equipment, producers telling them what to do. we only see what's in front of the camera. we don't know what's going on behind the camera but all of us who work in television know it's a lot. >> of course it is. it's stressful to be on television. we're all stressed at the end of the week. you feel like you're limping to the finish line because it takes it out of you. at least me. >> exactly. >> maybe because i'm arguing all the time. but it does seem to take it out of you by the weekend. but i have a follow-up question for lisa bloom because i want to ask you a specific question. jon seems a tad overmatched in this battle against kate and tlc. check out this pitiful sign he posted on his property. it read notice, no film crew or production staff from tlc permitted on this property under penelty and trespass. johnathon gosselin but

unfortunately, penalty and his own name were misspelled. so how can this guy be taken seriously? but beyond that, lisa, you're a lawyer. can he keep the crews out given that he's arguing his name is on the title of this house? >> here's what happened, obviously. he's in negotiations with the network. they couldn't reach an agreement as to money. he wants money so he goes to his lawyers and says how can i ramp up my leverage against the network? i know! they get a bright idea. it's his house, his property or at least 50% if they're getting a divorce. he can say who can come on the property and who can't. let's put up no trespassing signs and keep the network off. i mean, it was a bold move. it was a creative move. you got to hand it to him. maybe there's a little tiny part of me that always likes it when the little guy sticks it to the network. i know that's wrong. i know it's wrong. >> this guy is the father of these children. so if he says these are my kids, you cannot videotape them -- >> yes. >> -- then he's on strong legal ground. >> doesn't he have a legal standing? >> on trespassing and the fact he's custodian of the kids, he can make decisions as to what they do and can't do. he's obviously doing it to leverage money for himself.

i think we can all see that. that's what makes it distasteful but legally, i think he's okay. >> gail, you're the psychiatrist. how is this impacting the children? you see their ages here, approximately. >> right. >> are they too young to understand what's going on or do they sense the toxicity? >> they're too young to understand some of it but that doesn't mean it's not having impact. really, this should have all stopped the minute the parents were saying we're not getting along. divorce has a huge impact on children. their mental health, physical health, long-term well-being. for this to be happening under the cameras, never mind that obviously they're not in treatment, they're not getting help with what's really happening in their world, which is their parents are getting divorced which is really the demise of the child's world. so the parents need to be investing themselves in that instead of fighting with each other and with tlc. >> i just have to say, tlc fired back, they issued a statement calling jon's behavior erratic and opportunistic. kate said basically i'm saddened and confused by jon's media statements. yada, yada, yada. it's going on and on.

paul peterson, bottom line, does jon, do you think, have the power to stop the taping of a show involving his kids? either on his property, that he co-owns, or on somebody else's property. >> i think he does. but here's what's really important. we have the power to stop this. this is a mess. the children are at risk. and if we can devote time to the welfare of animals, surely we can find some time -- >> it's not a competition, paul. >> we can do both. >> -- to help these children. >> as a matter of fact -- >> isn't it? >> -- people who abuse animals often abuse children. when you go to a house where somebody's abusing animals, chances are, the guy's beating up on the wife and kids, too. it's not a competition. lisa bloom. >> and here we have a circumstance where publicly the children are being placed at risk. we must all speak up and step up. >> lisa, i'll give you the last ten seconds. >> well, hear, hear, i agree with that. again, i don't know if tlc is

complying with the labor laws or not. you know, that's the key thing. the children are what we have to remember. are they being protected, is their time limited on camera and is money being set aside for them? that's my concern. >> we'll have to see how this plays out. so great having all of you on. paul peterson, especially. thank you for coming on. you're doing great work with your group, a minor consideration. randy quaid and his wife finally paid up but that doesn't mean they're in the clear. could this hollywood couple get thrown in jail for running out on their hotel bill? plus, david letterman exposes an extortion plot. we'll give you the juicy details in this extraordinarily bizarre sexual blackmail case. next.

more details coming to light after david letterman's shocking announcement that he was

involved in an extortion plot over his sex secrets. we'll give you the latest in a minute. but first "top of the block" tonight. randy and evie quaid pay up. the famous couple has reportedly paid the remaining balance on the roughly $10,000 hotel bill they allegedly skipped out on. the first half was paid last week, shortly after a warrant was issued for their arrest. the rest was reportedly paid off yesterday but that doesn't mean they're in the clear. the quaids still face charges of burglary, conspiracy, and defrauding an innkeeper. they are expected in court october 19th. you can bet your bottom dollar "issues" will be there. that's tonight's "top of the block." whoa! this one, wild story. steamy sex secrets and vicious blackmail. inside a $2 million hollywood extortion plot. well, sort of. the target, late night funny man, david letterman. check out the scandalous headlines. this is unbelievable.

today's "new york post," i had sex with staff. "the new york daily news" reads $2 million sex extort plot. love when it when there are dual headlines on these papers in the city. on cbs' "the late show" dave describes how it allegedly all began. he got a mysterious package. >> contained in the package was stuff to prove that i do terrible things. at 6:00 in the morning and maybe this looks better to you at noon, but 6:00 in the morning, all you can think about is every terrible thing you've ever done in your entire life. >> i love david letterman. he's so funny. letterman then dropped this bombshell on his live audience. >> what was all the creepy stuff that he was going to put into the screenplay and the movie?

and the creepy stuff was that i have had sex with women who work for me on this show. now, my response to that is, yes, i have. i have had sex with women who work on this show. and would it be embarrassing if it were made public? perhaps it would. perhaps it would. especially for the women. >> oh, boy. leave it to letterman to get a laugh out of this whole thing. during an elaborate sting, dave gave allegedly wrote his blackmailer a phony $2 million check. cops swooped in and busted the unlikely suspect. this is perhaps the most shocking twist of all. the suspect is a big-wig cbs producer. cbs says the alleged mastermind behind the scheme is joe

halderman, an emmy award winning producer for "48 hours." now this tv producer could face up to 15 years in prison. he has pleaded not guilty, but mr. halderman know about letterman's top-secret sex with co-workers? straight out to my expert panel. also joining us, mike walters of tmz. mike, i need a scorecard on this one. dare i ask what is the very latest? >> well, you asked how he knew. he dated the girl. the girl that dated letterman. and that's how this all came about and the really interesting part is like you said, he pled not guilty but if you go back to what happened in the sting, apparently he wrote a screenplay like he actually wrote all the women david had been with throughout this big entire screenplay. that's what he dropped off with photos, a diary, e-mail correspondence, and basically said if you don't call me in a couple hours, i'm going to release this, i'm going to make

it a book, a movie, whatever. so letterman did what anybody should do that's watching this, too. call your attorney, they got with the special prosecutors at the manhattan d.a. and they set up this sting. now, my favorite part of this whole story is, okay, look, this happens in hollywood where extortion, people have money, this happens. this guy who works for "48 hours" and i have talked to people over there, apparently he's a brilliant producer but he asked for a check for $2 million and then tries to cash it in his personal bank account. it's, like, what in the world are you thinking about this, especially trying to go after somebody as big as david letterman. but trying to get a check, and you know -- >> didn't he have money problems, mike walters? doesn't this guy have money problems? >> i was going to say, i'll end with this, we dug up his divorce in 2004 with his ex-wife and he had to, at the end, he had to pay $6800 a month in child support, which is a lot of money. not saying we know for a fact he has money problems, but it looks like he has some woes there and just to end it, we just heard the clip, my favorite part of this, how david letterman delivered this.

did you hear all the people laughing? like it was a joke. >> it's brilliant thaxt. that's why he is where he is. >> unbelievable how he delivered that. >> mike walters, tmz, doing an amazing story on this, as always. explaining how this guy allegedly got the dirt on letterman's escapades. "the new york post" is reporting halderman's ex-girlfriend told him she had slept with letterman years ago. now, we do not know who this woman is. but "the new york post" reports halderman's most recent ex is a lo longtime "late show" staffer. you keeping up with all this? tmz got their hands on this clip of a woman named stephanie burkette appearing on "the late show." >> would you care to demonstrate the heimlich on stephanie or rupert, either one. >> this is what you do. >> stephanie, pretend you're choking to death, stephanie. okay. all right. let's just hope the wife's not

watching. >> tmz reports stephanie lived with joe halderman until recently. lisa bloom, we have no idea whether she had sexual relations with david letterman, but this is a can of worms. could this young woman, who we would love to get her comment, her comment and feel free to come on our show and tell us your side of the story, could she be in any legal quandary? >> i doubt it. it sounds like this was behavior between consenting adults. bottom line for me, he's apparently the victim of a very serious crime. most of us would be terrified as he says he was when he gets a package in his car at 6:00 a.m. which mentions his 6-year-old child and threatens him unless he gives this guy $2 million. that's a horrendous thing. >> jane, one thing -- >> the one thin we don't have

here is addiction but a lot of people are battling addiction, and i'm one of them. in my new book, you'll learn about my struggle with alcoholism. it's "iwant" and click on cnn.com/jane.