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CNN Live Today
Race to Register Voters Being Clouded by Allegations of Fraud; 'On the Big Screen'
Aired October 15, 2004 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: It's 30 minutes after the hour now. Welcome back, everybody, I'm Rick Sanchez.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's check out what's happening right now in the news.
And for that, we begin in Iraq. U.S. ground and air operations targeted suspected terror sites in Falluja today. The almost daily air assault on the city has been expanded following the collapse of peace talks. U.S. Military officials say the current offensive is setting the stage for an eventual operation to drive out insurgents.
There are no reports of violence in the Mid East today as Muslims attended prayer services on the first day of Ramadan. Tens of thousands of worshipers came to the Temple Mount complex in Jerusalem's old city. The Israeli government lifted limits on the number of people allowed to attend. Previously, government officials said they were concerned about the site's structural integrity.
A strong earthquake erupted off Taiwan's coast today. The quake measured around 6.7 magnitude. There were no initial reports of damage. In the last eight days, Taiwan has been hit by four earthquakes of at least 4.4 magnitude.
SANCHEZ: And here we go. The county that introduced hanging chad -- remember that -- into the political lexicon four years ago is running a test of voting machines as we speak. As we bring you this newscast, Palm Beach County officials had to postpone the test earlier this week when a computer server crashed during a power failure. Early voting in the county is scheduled to begin Monday. We'll let you know how that's going, by the way.
Florida is not the only state where there are concerns about voter integrity. CNN's Dan Lothian with this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The race to register voters in some states is being clouded by allegations of fraud. In the battleground state of Colorado, there's a list of people who have registered multiple times. And stacks of forms with bogus names, like this one killed out by Jason Kills Enemy.
Colorado's Secretary of State Donetta Davidson is fuming and has called for an investigation.
DONETTA DAVIDSON, COLORADO SECY. OF STATE: I don't care if the election's close or not, we cannot allow fraud to happen in our state.
LOTHIAN: In southern Nevada, the FBI is looking into allegations that registration forms filled out by Democrats at a private voters outreach office were destroyed and discarded, as this ex-worker claims.
ERIC RUSSELL, FMR. VOTER REGISTRATION EMPLOYEE: And she grabbed the Democrats, she handed them to her assistant, and he ripped them up right in front of us.
LOTHIAN: Republican officials in the state have their doubts but are demanding answers.
BRIAN SCROGGINS, CLARK CO. NEVADA GOP: Obviously any of these allegations are serious, and we're not taking them lightly.
LOTHIAN: In this election battle, locked in a statistical dead heat, allegations are amplified, especially in key battleground states like Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Colorado. Throw into the mix concerns over new voting technology, confusing ballot changes, and not enough poll workers, and the results, some fear, could be troubling.
DOUG CHAPIN, DIR., ELECTIONLINE.ORG: It's very unlikely that we will get through Election Day without some kind of a problem.
LOTHIAN (on camera): This Government Accountability Office Report indicates the Justice Department has made some progress since the 2000 election in addressing voter irregularities. But it also reveals not enough has been done.
(voice-over): Congressman Henry Waxman says the government is not ready for another close election.
REP. HENRY WAXMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: The Justice Department should have been prepared and maybe still can try to be prepared to stop any irregularities.
LOTHIAN: But in a statement, the Justice Department said it has been pro-active already, implementing significant changes, and that it can better monitor election activities and track voter complaints.
From Capitol Hill to the courts, an aggressive effort is underway to make sure every vote is counted without fraud, mistakes, or confusion.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: The Republican National Committee wants Rock the Vote to stop talking about the return of the military draft. The group's Web site has links to information on registering to vote and to sign up for news alerts about a possible draft. RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie calls the return of the draft an urban myth and notes that President Bush has come out against resuming the draft. Filmmaker Michael Moore says that is exploring legal action after a Pay-Per-View firm announced that it will not show "Fahrenheit 9/11" the night before the election. The company is called In Demand. It would not give a reason for pulling the movie from its schedule. Moore says the company was reacting to outside pressure from Republicans and people connected with the Bush campaign.
The subject of Michael Moore came up in a new interview with George H.W. Bush, Bush 41, and the former president did not pull any punches.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE H.W. BUSH (R), FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Total ass, a slimeball, and outrageous in his lies about my family.
When I saw him sitting at the Democratic convention with Jimmy Carter and then on the thing with Ron Reagan, I was saying what in -- how -- what depths will they go to to dishonor the truth?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Mr. President, how do you really feel? A veteran campaigner himself, the former president says it really hurts much more when your son is criticized.
The FCC says it will not block the airing of an anti-John Kerry documentary. Sinclair Broadcasting Group plans to show "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" on its 62 stations two weeks before the election. Eighteen Democratic senators had complained to the FCC. Chairman Michael Powell said there was no precedent allowing the panel to act.
SANCHEZ: The apparent war of words between the Cheneys and the Kerry/Edwards camp continued into last night. Lynne Cheney says that she was upset by Senator Kerry's reference to her, quote, "lesbian daughter."
Then, in an interview yesterday, Elizabeth Edwards suggested that Lynne Cheney's reaction suggested that she was ashamed of her daughter's sexual orientation.
Here's the latest reaction. It's from Mary Cheney's sister Liz. It was on CNN's "PAULA ZAHN NOW" last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIZ CHENEY, VP CHENEY's DAUGHTER: It has nothing to do with, you know, shame. And I think Mrs. Edwards was also out of line. Mary is one of my heroes.
And it has nothing to do with being ashamed of Mary. The issue is whether or not Senator Kerry -- or Senator Edwards, who did the same thing, frankly, in the debate with my father -- have the right to exploit her, to bring her up in a situation in which they're clearly trying to make some kind of political point or some kind of political gain.
And I think it's actually unprecedented in the history of American presidential politics that you would see that happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: In a statement released just yesterday, Kerry said that he was trying to say something positive about how strong families deal with homosexuality.
KAGAN: Well, you've heard both presidential candidates talk about illegal immigration. Coming up next, your chance to meet a few of the new faces in suburban neighborhoods. And find out why some people are packing up and moving out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back, everybody. I guess we're about to talk some business.
KAGAN: Yeah, talk some business, look at the markets on this Friday, which tends not to be so great. But things not so bad. Rhonda Schaffler at the New York Stock Exchange. Hi, Rhonda.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
SANCHEZ: An estimated three million people enter the United States illegally this year, emphasis on illegal. The vast majority want jobs and a better life. But their growing presence is upsetting a lot of communities.
Here's what the candidates had to say on the issue during Wednesday night's presidential debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't believe we ought to have amnesty. I don't think we ought to reward illegal behavior. There are plenty of people standing in line to become a citizen, and we ought not to crowd these people ahead of them in line. If they want to become a citizen, they can stand in line, too.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's against the law in the United States to hire people illegally, and we ought to be enforcing that law properly.
And thirdly, we need an earned legalization program for people who've been here for a long time, stayed out of trouble, got a job, paid their taxes, and their kids are American. We've got to start moving them towards full citizenship, out of the shadows.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: We here at CNN want to look into this a little further. This Sunday night here, we're going to have a hard look at the immigration issue. In this preview from "CNN PRESENTS, CNN's Maria Hinojosa explores the impact of rapidly-changing demographics in some American suburbs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): And I'm proud to be an American...
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): July 4 in northern Georgia in the cradle of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Who gave that right to me.
HINOJOSA: The people of Clayton, Georgia, are taking in the good life and feeling patriotic. But the ones who make this party possible are people like Gabe (ph)...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another plate? OK.
HINOJOSA: ... who asked us not to use his last name.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard work today. There's no Independence Day for us, just for the American people.
HINOJOSA: Gabe got here four years ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only I know Georgia for Atlanta the Olympics Games. Maybe this city is more rich. People is rich.
HINOJOSA: Gabe, his wife and son came here with a legal visa to visit Disneyland. They just never left. They were just getting by in Mexico, but they risked losing everything for a chance at something better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): In Mexico, we had less time to be together as a family. Here, we have more time to share together. Our economic situation is much better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lots of people have balloons today.
HINOJOSA: Just one hour south in Gwinnett County, Georgia, Jimmy Hercheck (ph), another proud Southerner, is also feeling patriotic, passing down his traditions to his daughters, Alice and Beatrice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throw her out some food, Beatrice.
HINOJOSA: Some Latinos watch the celebrations from a distance. Jimmy Hercheck thinks they're still too close.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see what's happening here in our county reminds me of what they call the barrios, you know, the poor neighborhoods in Southern California.
HINOJOSA (on camera): What's happening now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody is coming to pick up workers. HINOJOSA (voice over): Hercheck is living in a Georgia transformed. Some 100,000 Latinos have settled in his county, more than in any other county in Georgia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several dozen men out here looking for jobs, and there's just two or three jobs that they can get at one time.
HINOJOSA: About half of those Latinos are illegal. Hercheck says they're destroying his neighborhood. A year ago, he sold his house and moved.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It brings back a lot of memories. It was pretty much your middle-class family neighborhood. And now you look around, it's maybe half small families and the other half have become pretty much boarding houses. I'm afraid that America could become a third-world country. We're importing poverty by millions every year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Maria joins us now live.
Maria, I can't help but wonder, is the key word here, at least for these folks, the possibility of getting a chance to stay in this country? We saw the president's debate the other day and it seemed the candidates were very afraid to actually come out and say it, but is this what these folks are looking for?
HINOJOSA: Well, I think that while we were doing this documentary that's going to run on Sunday night, we didn't hear one person say that they want to be in this country without papers. All of them said, if we could, we want to be here legally. And that's one of the reasons why we were able to get such extraordinary access to the people like Gabe's family, who we profiled. Because, they said to me, we don't want to be seen as -- quote, unquote -- illegal aliens, who are criminal elements. We came here because we felt like we didn't have any choice. It was like, are we going to eat bread every day, or do we risk everything we have and try and make a better life? But what they get in response is having to live essentially underground lives. And we try to uncover those lives a little bit more in the documentary.
SANCHEZ: Quickly, is what they're looking for as they would say, "amnestia?"
HINOJOSA: I think that amnesty is something that they would appreciate. Many of them feel that if this border didn't exist, then they wouldn't have broken the law by getting here. But I think that what they would like is to be able to feel legal, to be given the right to be here legally, to be able to go home to Mexico, and some of them would like to become American citizens, absolutely.
SANCHEZ: Maria Hinojosa, thanks so much for that report. We'll look forward to it.
It's again this weekend, "CNN PRESENTS DOCUMENTARY, IMMIGRANT NATION: A DIVIDED COUNTRY." We'll explore the lives of four families on the front lines in the growing battle over illegal immigration in America. The documentary premieres this Sunday night at 8:00, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
KAGAN: Such serious topics. Every once in awhile we have to kind of lighten things up.
SANCHEZ: OK.
KAGAN: And we're going to do that. We're going to talk about a new movie out. The creators of "South Park" have something else up their sleeve, and they're taking their message of mischief and mockery to the big screen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Hey, I don't have any weapons of mass destruction, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Then let me look around, so I can ease the U.N.'s collective mind?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Puppets and politics, no strings attached.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You in the robes, put down the weapon of mass destruction and get on the ground. You're under arrest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: All right, it's not going to be P.C., so just go with us here for a second. If you're old enough to remember marionettes, who were once the fodder of children's Saturday morning TV shows. There were "The Thunderbirds," and before that, "Fireball XL-5." Now the creators of "South Park" have either resurrected, or hijacked, depending on how you see it, the string puppets for "Team America."
Film reviewer Russ Leatherman, also known as Mr. Moviefone, here to tell us all about that and some other new releases.
Russ, good morning.
RUSS LEATHERMAN, "MR. MOVIEFONE": Good morning.
KAGAN: You're giggling already.
LEATHERMAN: This movie is unbelievable.
KAGAN: You liked it.
LEATHERMAN: I mean, just when you think Hollywood has run out of ideas, here you have your first NC-17 rated puppet movie. Now they reduced some of the sex scenes to get an R-rating, but this thing is unbelievable. It's Team America, and they're really going to protect the world from people like Kim Jong-Il, who are out to spread weapons of mass destruction.
And as you're looking at these scenes right here, I can't help but laugh. For me, I thought it was one of the funniest movies of the year.
KAGAN: Wow.
LEATHERMAN: I laughed from the beginning to the very end. I know you're not surprised by this, Daryn.
KAGAN: Yes, juvenile humor.
LEATHERMAN: Come on, the thing that's brilliant about this movie is the fact that Trey and Matt, the guys from "South Park," they don't care, they're willing to lampoon anybody and everybody. They're equal-opportunity offenders. They take on Hollywood. They take on world politics, everything in this movie. And I just thought it was full of laughs.
Now with that said, if you like their sensibility and their sense of humor, you will think this is the funniest movie of the year, guaranteed. If you don't like their brand of humor, you may be mortally offended and never recover from this movie.
So when your kid comes up to you and says, mommy, can we go see the puppet movie this weekend? My suggestion is you don't take the kids to see this.
KAGAN: It's not for kids.
LEATHERMAN: No, this movie is definitely not for kids. But you know what, if you sort of have a loose sense of humor and you can go with this thing, it is unbelievable. You will laugh yourself to death.
KAGAN: Well, I'm so glad.
I'm also looking forward to "Shall We Dance." I know this is the movie that you're really excited about.
LEATHERMAN: Daryn, I'm going to surprise you here. I really like "Shall We Dance."
KAGAN: Stop.
LEATHERMAN: I did, I really liked this movie. And these are two people that I've certainly hammered on in the past, Jennifer Lopez, Richard Gere. Richard Gere plays a lawyer who has a fantastic life. He's got a great wife, a great house. But something's missing, so he keeps taking this train back and forth, sees J. Lo in the window of this dance studio, so he goes and decides to take some dance classes. Jennifer Lopez is stunning in this movie, the way they shoot her, the way they light her. She's just really absolutely stunning. And Richard Gere as much as you sort of want to hate him sometimes, he's a likable, charming, lovely guy in this movie. Susan Sarandon is in the movie. She's terrific. Stanley Tucci, who's a very funny guy, is in the movie. This movie is not for everybody. But if you go see a movie called "Shall We Dance" with Richard Gere and J. Lo, you're going to be fine with it, you're going to like this movie. I liked it, Daryn.
KAGAN: It's a remake of a Japanese movie?
LEATHERMAN: It is. And I, again, I think that it's a perfectly nice little movie. So look what you got this weekend. You've got puppets, and...
KAGAN: Puppet vomit.
LEATHERMAN: There is the best vomit scene you've ever seen in this film.
And, Daryn, the truth is, once you go puppet. I mean, you've heard that, right?
KAGAN: Can't go back.
LEATHERMAN: You know what I'm saying?
KAGAN: Yes, I hear what you're saying.
Thank you, Russ.
LEATHERMAN: Have a great weekend.
KAGAN: This is your first exposure to Russ Leatherman.
SANCHEZ: Wow. You can read more about "Team America" at the CNN Web site. Just point your little browser to CNN.com/entertainment.
Boy. "Shall We Dance?"
KAGAN: We shall.
SANCHEZ: We got enough with "The Kiss" lately.
KAGAN: They're still talking about that.
SANCHEZ: Our mothers are.
We'll have a look at the weekend forecast when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Polling U.S. troops in the upcoming election. In the next hour of CNN LIVE TODAY, there's a new survey out that finds out who the troops want as their commander in chief.
KAGAN: Also part of our weeklong series on breast cancer, how spas around the country are providing a sanctuary for cancer survivors, as the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 15, 2004 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: It's 30 minutes after the hour now. Welcome back, everybody, I'm Rick Sanchez.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's check out what's happening right now in the news.
And for that, we begin in Iraq. U.S. ground and air operations targeted suspected terror sites in Falluja today. The almost daily air assault on the city has been expanded following the collapse of peace talks. U.S. Military officials say the current offensive is setting the stage for an eventual operation to drive out insurgents.
There are no reports of violence in the Mid East today as Muslims attended prayer services on the first day of Ramadan. Tens of thousands of worshipers came to the Temple Mount complex in Jerusalem's old city. The Israeli government lifted limits on the number of people allowed to attend. Previously, government officials said they were concerned about the site's structural integrity.
A strong earthquake erupted off Taiwan's coast today. The quake measured around 6.7 magnitude. There were no initial reports of damage. In the last eight days, Taiwan has been hit by four earthquakes of at least 4.4 magnitude.
SANCHEZ: And here we go. The county that introduced hanging chad -- remember that -- into the political lexicon four years ago is running a test of voting machines as we speak. As we bring you this newscast, Palm Beach County officials had to postpone the test earlier this week when a computer server crashed during a power failure. Early voting in the county is scheduled to begin Monday. We'll let you know how that's going, by the way.
Florida is not the only state where there are concerns about voter integrity. CNN's Dan Lothian with this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The race to register voters in some states is being clouded by allegations of fraud. In the battleground state of Colorado, there's a list of people who have registered multiple times. And stacks of forms with bogus names, like this one killed out by Jason Kills Enemy.
Colorado's Secretary of State Donetta Davidson is fuming and has called for an investigation.
DONETTA DAVIDSON, COLORADO SECY. OF STATE: I don't care if the election's close or not, we cannot allow fraud to happen in our state.
LOTHIAN: In southern Nevada, the FBI is looking into allegations that registration forms filled out by Democrats at a private voters outreach office were destroyed and discarded, as this ex-worker claims.
ERIC RUSSELL, FMR. VOTER REGISTRATION EMPLOYEE: And she grabbed the Democrats, she handed them to her assistant, and he ripped them up right in front of us.
LOTHIAN: Republican officials in the state have their doubts but are demanding answers.
BRIAN SCROGGINS, CLARK CO. NEVADA GOP: Obviously any of these allegations are serious, and we're not taking them lightly.
LOTHIAN: In this election battle, locked in a statistical dead heat, allegations are amplified, especially in key battleground states like Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Colorado. Throw into the mix concerns over new voting technology, confusing ballot changes, and not enough poll workers, and the results, some fear, could be troubling.
DOUG CHAPIN, DIR., ELECTIONLINE.ORG: It's very unlikely that we will get through Election Day without some kind of a problem.
LOTHIAN (on camera): This Government Accountability Office Report indicates the Justice Department has made some progress since the 2000 election in addressing voter irregularities. But it also reveals not enough has been done.
(voice-over): Congressman Henry Waxman says the government is not ready for another close election.
REP. HENRY WAXMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: The Justice Department should have been prepared and maybe still can try to be prepared to stop any irregularities.
LOTHIAN: But in a statement, the Justice Department said it has been pro-active already, implementing significant changes, and that it can better monitor election activities and track voter complaints.
From Capitol Hill to the courts, an aggressive effort is underway to make sure every vote is counted without fraud, mistakes, or confusion.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: The Republican National Committee wants Rock the Vote to stop talking about the return of the military draft. The group's Web site has links to information on registering to vote and to sign up for news alerts about a possible draft. RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie calls the return of the draft an urban myth and notes that President Bush has come out against resuming the draft. Filmmaker Michael Moore says that is exploring legal action after a Pay-Per-View firm announced that it will not show "Fahrenheit 9/11" the night before the election. The company is called In Demand. It would not give a reason for pulling the movie from its schedule. Moore says the company was reacting to outside pressure from Republicans and people connected with the Bush campaign.
The subject of Michael Moore came up in a new interview with George H.W. Bush, Bush 41, and the former president did not pull any punches.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE H.W. BUSH (R), FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Total ass, a slimeball, and outrageous in his lies about my family.
When I saw him sitting at the Democratic convention with Jimmy Carter and then on the thing with Ron Reagan, I was saying what in -- how -- what depths will they go to to dishonor the truth?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Mr. President, how do you really feel? A veteran campaigner himself, the former president says it really hurts much more when your son is criticized.
The FCC says it will not block the airing of an anti-John Kerry documentary. Sinclair Broadcasting Group plans to show "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" on its 62 stations two weeks before the election. Eighteen Democratic senators had complained to the FCC. Chairman Michael Powell said there was no precedent allowing the panel to act.
SANCHEZ: The apparent war of words between the Cheneys and the Kerry/Edwards camp continued into last night. Lynne Cheney says that she was upset by Senator Kerry's reference to her, quote, "lesbian daughter."
Then, in an interview yesterday, Elizabeth Edwards suggested that Lynne Cheney's reaction suggested that she was ashamed of her daughter's sexual orientation.
Here's the latest reaction. It's from Mary Cheney's sister Liz. It was on CNN's "PAULA ZAHN NOW" last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIZ CHENEY, VP CHENEY's DAUGHTER: It has nothing to do with, you know, shame. And I think Mrs. Edwards was also out of line. Mary is one of my heroes.
And it has nothing to do with being ashamed of Mary. The issue is whether or not Senator Kerry -- or Senator Edwards, who did the same thing, frankly, in the debate with my father -- have the right to exploit her, to bring her up in a situation in which they're clearly trying to make some kind of political point or some kind of political gain.
And I think it's actually unprecedented in the history of American presidential politics that you would see that happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: In a statement released just yesterday, Kerry said that he was trying to say something positive about how strong families deal with homosexuality.
KAGAN: Well, you've heard both presidential candidates talk about illegal immigration. Coming up next, your chance to meet a few of the new faces in suburban neighborhoods. And find out why some people are packing up and moving out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back, everybody. I guess we're about to talk some business.
KAGAN: Yeah, talk some business, look at the markets on this Friday, which tends not to be so great. But things not so bad. Rhonda Schaffler at the New York Stock Exchange. Hi, Rhonda.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
SANCHEZ: An estimated three million people enter the United States illegally this year, emphasis on illegal. The vast majority want jobs and a better life. But their growing presence is upsetting a lot of communities.
Here's what the candidates had to say on the issue during Wednesday night's presidential debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't believe we ought to have amnesty. I don't think we ought to reward illegal behavior. There are plenty of people standing in line to become a citizen, and we ought not to crowd these people ahead of them in line. If they want to become a citizen, they can stand in line, too.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's against the law in the United States to hire people illegally, and we ought to be enforcing that law properly.
And thirdly, we need an earned legalization program for people who've been here for a long time, stayed out of trouble, got a job, paid their taxes, and their kids are American. We've got to start moving them towards full citizenship, out of the shadows.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: We here at CNN want to look into this a little further. This Sunday night here, we're going to have a hard look at the immigration issue. In this preview from "CNN PRESENTS, CNN's Maria Hinojosa explores the impact of rapidly-changing demographics in some American suburbs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): And I'm proud to be an American...
MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): July 4 in northern Georgia in the cradle of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Who gave that right to me.
HINOJOSA: The people of Clayton, Georgia, are taking in the good life and feeling patriotic. But the ones who make this party possible are people like Gabe (ph)...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another plate? OK.
HINOJOSA: ... who asked us not to use his last name.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard work today. There's no Independence Day for us, just for the American people.
HINOJOSA: Gabe got here four years ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only I know Georgia for Atlanta the Olympics Games. Maybe this city is more rich. People is rich.
HINOJOSA: Gabe, his wife and son came here with a legal visa to visit Disneyland. They just never left. They were just getting by in Mexico, but they risked losing everything for a chance at something better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): In Mexico, we had less time to be together as a family. Here, we have more time to share together. Our economic situation is much better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lots of people have balloons today.
HINOJOSA: Just one hour south in Gwinnett County, Georgia, Jimmy Hercheck (ph), another proud Southerner, is also feeling patriotic, passing down his traditions to his daughters, Alice and Beatrice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throw her out some food, Beatrice.
HINOJOSA: Some Latinos watch the celebrations from a distance. Jimmy Hercheck thinks they're still too close.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see what's happening here in our county reminds me of what they call the barrios, you know, the poor neighborhoods in Southern California.
HINOJOSA (on camera): What's happening now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody is coming to pick up workers. HINOJOSA (voice over): Hercheck is living in a Georgia transformed. Some 100,000 Latinos have settled in his county, more than in any other county in Georgia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several dozen men out here looking for jobs, and there's just two or three jobs that they can get at one time.
HINOJOSA: About half of those Latinos are illegal. Hercheck says they're destroying his neighborhood. A year ago, he sold his house and moved.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It brings back a lot of memories. It was pretty much your middle-class family neighborhood. And now you look around, it's maybe half small families and the other half have become pretty much boarding houses. I'm afraid that America could become a third-world country. We're importing poverty by millions every year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Maria joins us now live.
Maria, I can't help but wonder, is the key word here, at least for these folks, the possibility of getting a chance to stay in this country? We saw the president's debate the other day and it seemed the candidates were very afraid to actually come out and say it, but is this what these folks are looking for?
HINOJOSA: Well, I think that while we were doing this documentary that's going to run on Sunday night, we didn't hear one person say that they want to be in this country without papers. All of them said, if we could, we want to be here legally. And that's one of the reasons why we were able to get such extraordinary access to the people like Gabe's family, who we profiled. Because, they said to me, we don't want to be seen as -- quote, unquote -- illegal aliens, who are criminal elements. We came here because we felt like we didn't have any choice. It was like, are we going to eat bread every day, or do we risk everything we have and try and make a better life? But what they get in response is having to live essentially underground lives. And we try to uncover those lives a little bit more in the documentary.
SANCHEZ: Quickly, is what they're looking for as they would say, "amnestia?"
HINOJOSA: I think that amnesty is something that they would appreciate. Many of them feel that if this border didn't exist, then they wouldn't have broken the law by getting here. But I think that what they would like is to be able to feel legal, to be given the right to be here legally, to be able to go home to Mexico, and some of them would like to become American citizens, absolutely.
SANCHEZ: Maria Hinojosa, thanks so much for that report. We'll look forward to it.
It's again this weekend, "CNN PRESENTS DOCUMENTARY, IMMIGRANT NATION: A DIVIDED COUNTRY." We'll explore the lives of four families on the front lines in the growing battle over illegal immigration in America. The documentary premieres this Sunday night at 8:00, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
KAGAN: Such serious topics. Every once in awhile we have to kind of lighten things up.
SANCHEZ: OK.
KAGAN: And we're going to do that. We're going to talk about a new movie out. The creators of "South Park" have something else up their sleeve, and they're taking their message of mischief and mockery to the big screen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Hey, I don't have any weapons of mass destruction, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Then let me look around, so I can ease the U.N.'s collective mind?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Puppets and politics, no strings attached.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You in the robes, put down the weapon of mass destruction and get on the ground. You're under arrest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: All right, it's not going to be P.C., so just go with us here for a second. If you're old enough to remember marionettes, who were once the fodder of children's Saturday morning TV shows. There were "The Thunderbirds," and before that, "Fireball XL-5." Now the creators of "South Park" have either resurrected, or hijacked, depending on how you see it, the string puppets for "Team America."
Film reviewer Russ Leatherman, also known as Mr. Moviefone, here to tell us all about that and some other new releases.
Russ, good morning.
RUSS LEATHERMAN, "MR. MOVIEFONE": Good morning.
KAGAN: You're giggling already.
LEATHERMAN: This movie is unbelievable.
KAGAN: You liked it.
LEATHERMAN: I mean, just when you think Hollywood has run out of ideas, here you have your first NC-17 rated puppet movie. Now they reduced some of the sex scenes to get an R-rating, but this thing is unbelievable. It's Team America, and they're really going to protect the world from people like Kim Jong-Il, who are out to spread weapons of mass destruction.
And as you're looking at these scenes right here, I can't help but laugh. For me, I thought it was one of the funniest movies of the year.
KAGAN: Wow.
LEATHERMAN: I laughed from the beginning to the very end. I know you're not surprised by this, Daryn.
KAGAN: Yes, juvenile humor.
LEATHERMAN: Come on, the thing that's brilliant about this movie is the fact that Trey and Matt, the guys from "South Park," they don't care, they're willing to lampoon anybody and everybody. They're equal-opportunity offenders. They take on Hollywood. They take on world politics, everything in this movie. And I just thought it was full of laughs.
Now with that said, if you like their sensibility and their sense of humor, you will think this is the funniest movie of the year, guaranteed. If you don't like their brand of humor, you may be mortally offended and never recover from this movie.
So when your kid comes up to you and says, mommy, can we go see the puppet movie this weekend? My suggestion is you don't take the kids to see this.
KAGAN: It's not for kids.
LEATHERMAN: No, this movie is definitely not for kids. But you know what, if you sort of have a loose sense of humor and you can go with this thing, it is unbelievable. You will laugh yourself to death.
KAGAN: Well, I'm so glad.
I'm also looking forward to "Shall We Dance." I know this is the movie that you're really excited about.
LEATHERMAN: Daryn, I'm going to surprise you here. I really like "Shall We Dance."
KAGAN: Stop.
LEATHERMAN: I did, I really liked this movie. And these are two people that I've certainly hammered on in the past, Jennifer Lopez, Richard Gere. Richard Gere plays a lawyer who has a fantastic life. He's got a great wife, a great house. But something's missing, so he keeps taking this train back and forth, sees J. Lo in the window of this dance studio, so he goes and decides to take some dance classes. Jennifer Lopez is stunning in this movie, the way they shoot her, the way they light her. She's just really absolutely stunning. And Richard Gere as much as you sort of want to hate him sometimes, he's a likable, charming, lovely guy in this movie. Susan Sarandon is in the movie. She's terrific. Stanley Tucci, who's a very funny guy, is in the movie. This movie is not for everybody. But if you go see a movie called "Shall We Dance" with Richard Gere and J. Lo, you're going to be fine with it, you're going to like this movie. I liked it, Daryn.
KAGAN: It's a remake of a Japanese movie?
LEATHERMAN: It is. And I, again, I think that it's a perfectly nice little movie. So look what you got this weekend. You've got puppets, and...
KAGAN: Puppet vomit.
LEATHERMAN: There is the best vomit scene you've ever seen in this film.
And, Daryn, the truth is, once you go puppet. I mean, you've heard that, right?
KAGAN: Can't go back.
LEATHERMAN: You know what I'm saying?
KAGAN: Yes, I hear what you're saying.
Thank you, Russ.
LEATHERMAN: Have a great weekend.
KAGAN: This is your first exposure to Russ Leatherman.
SANCHEZ: Wow. You can read more about "Team America" at the CNN Web site. Just point your little browser to CNN.com/entertainment.
Boy. "Shall We Dance?"
KAGAN: We shall.
SANCHEZ: We got enough with "The Kiss" lately.
KAGAN: They're still talking about that.
SANCHEZ: Our mothers are.
We'll have a look at the weekend forecast when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Polling U.S. troops in the upcoming election. In the next hour of CNN LIVE TODAY, there's a new survey out that finds out who the troops want as their commander in chief.
KAGAN: Also part of our weeklong series on breast cancer, how spas around the country are providing a sanctuary for cancer survivors, as the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.
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