Suspected Militants Killed In Dagestan; U.S. Clinches First Olympic Gold Medal; Olympic Sponsors Back Equality For All
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we have much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM and it all gets to restart right now. Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Here are the top stories that we're following in the CNN NEWSROOM. Russia carries out a deadly raid in the shadows of the Sochi Olympic Games. The crackdown in Dagestan straight ahead. And firing back, Woody Allen writes a column in "The New York Times" addressing allegations he sexually assaulted his adopted daughter. Hear his side of the story and his daughter's response straight ahead. Plus, key testimony is underway right now in a murder trial that has made headlines across the country. A Florida man kills a teenager after getting into a fight over loud music being played from the car. Was it self-defense? Our legal guys weigh in this hour. Russian forces aren't letting up on their intense security operations surrounding the Olympic Games. A Russian security source tells CNN Special Forces carried out a deadly raid in the Republic of Dagestan targeting a group of suspected militants. Our Ian Lee joins us now live from Sochi. So Ian, what more are you learning about this operation?</s>IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, five militants were killed in the operation and one person was captured. This is part of the militant group that was tied to the bombings that we saw last December in Volgograd where over 30 people were killed by suicide bombers there. And this just highlights the ongoing security operation around these Olympic Games. Here in Sochi, you're not hearing anything about these raids. Russian TV is all about the Olympics. There's somewhat of a media blackout going on, but the Russians are taking security serious and Dagestan isn't that far from where we are right here. The Russians do not want to see anything that happened in Volgograd happened here and thus, we're seeing these sorts of operations take place -- Fredricka.</s>WHITFIELD: So, Ian, apparently, there is a lot of concern over you know cybersecurity. How athletes or even tourists might be protected against hackers. What more is being said about that or what at least is the strategy?</s>LEE: Well, the U.S. State Department has said that when you come here to Russia, just expect that all your communications, whether it be phone calls, any Internet activity is going to be monitored by the Russian authorities. The Russian authorities have said, you know, this is something that is going to happen. They say that it's because of this ongoing threat of terrorism. That they want to make sure that these Olympic Games are secure. And just kind of give you the highlight of what they're monitoring. That is going on. Earlier, a Russian official has said they have videos clips from hotel rooms of people leaving the water on and destroying their rooms. This highlighted a lot of privacy concerns that the Russian officials were monitoring guests. They said it's not the case, but there is a lot of concern about privacy here at these games.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, Ian Lee, thanks so much in Sochi. And some big news on the medal front, the U.S. actually won its first gold medal today. Sage Kotsenburg clinched first place in the snowboard men's slopestyle event. That is one of the new snowboarding events. He tweeted this, "Wow, I just won the Olympics, bringing back the first gold here to the USA." And then this is what he told reporters later.</s>SAGE KOTSENBURG, U.S. GOLD MEDALIST: It feels like a dream right now. Just winning a gold on the first day and the first event of slopestyle ever being in the Olympics is seriously the craziest thing ever. You know, like, I thought about it a little bit, but I never really, I don't know. I didn't really think it would happen.</s>WHITFIELD: Well, here's a look at the medal count, where it all stands right now. We'll have of course more on all the Olympic events, the winner, losers and all the highlights later on this hour. Of course, you can always get complete results at CNN.com. All right, if you're someone who pays attention to commercials, then you definitely caught this one perhaps last night. So, this is the new ad for Chevrolet. The first to feature gay families during an Olympic broadcast according to GLAAD, this comes at a time when a fairly new Russian law banning gay propaganda has drawn international criticism. And Chevy isn't the only U.S. corporation sending a message of equality. Our Erin McPike has the story.</s>ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid the spectacle of the opening ceremonies, the United States sent a message to Vladimir Putin that Russia's antigay propaganda law is wrong. In the U.S. delegation, two prominent former and openly gay Olympians, figure skater, Brian Boitano and hockey player, Kaitlin Cahow. President Obama drove the point home on</s>NBC. BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We wanted to make very clear that we do not abide by discrimination in any forms, including on the base of sexual orientation. One of the wonderful things about the Olympics is that you were judged by your merit.</s>MCPIKE: Around the world, activists are demanding that big corporate Olympic sponsors go further than the general support for LGBT rights they've expressed so far and specifically condemn the Russian law. And they're pressuring NBC to cover the controversy. (on camera): Groups like the Human Rights Campaign are keeping a close watch on the network during the two week event and ramping up the pressure on the game's sponsors.</s>TY COBB, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT, HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN: I think Coca-Cola and McDonald's, several of the IOC corporate partners have been leaders in the movement here in the U.S., but they've been silent when it comes to defending LGBT rights in Russia.</s>MCPIKE (voice-over): They're praising AT&T; for calling the Russian law, quote, "Harmful to LGBT individuals and families and it's harmful to a diverse society. They point to Google, which changed its home page to a rainbow theme and posted the Olympic charter, calling for every individuals to have the possibility of practicing sport without discrimination of any kind. Madonna and other celebrities have spoken out. Back state side in Washington, gay rights groups are holding fundraisers to keep the momentum alive for their counterparts in Russia.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All we're worried about is when the lights are out in Sochi and the athletes go home, it will be a terrible time for LGBT people in Russia.</s>MCPIKE: And we reached out to both McDonald's and Coca-Cola, and both of these corporations provided statements to us saying that value diversity and they do not condone discrimination of any kind, but they didn't go so far as to specifically condemn that Russian antigay propaganda law that stirred up really so much controversy, but I would say that gay rights groups have viewed this as a big opportunity over the next two weeks to really push their message -- Fred.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, Erin McPike, thanks so much in Washington. Joy and relief in a New York courtroom, after more than two decades in prison, we'll tell you what a set of convicted murders, what set them free and what they're feeling. An next, Woody Allen is giving his take on accusations of sexual assault against him and he says it's the last time he's talking.