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Health Care Forum; Further Iran Sanctions; Captured British Troops

Aired March 24, 2007 - 17:00   ET

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

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. UNITED NATION'S CORRESPONDENT: Well if I must give a first night review, there were fundamental differences still between Iran and this UN Security Council. And it doesn't look like they're going to be solved any time soon. Expect more confrontation diplomatically down the road. Here at the Security Council, 15 nations agreed on a resolution. Once again, telling Iran to freeze its uranium enrichment program, come back to negotiations. You can have a peaceful nuclear program, but only if you give up any ambitions for some type of program that would lead to nuclear weapons.
Iran's foreign minister is currently addressing the Security Council. He promptly and immediately rejected the resolution. He said the council's act was unlawful, it was unjustifiable and the council is trying to prevent the Iranian people from their inalienable rights. He says Iran's nuclear program is completely peaceful. However, acting U.S. Ambassador Wolf earlier said Iran sadly continues to defy the will of the international community and the decisions of the Security Council.

As you know, the president of Iran cancelled over a visa dispute, the U.S. is challenging that, the president's stand-in you might say at this drama is the foreign minister. Back to you, Rick.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Well the question, of course, is are these sanctions going to have a bigger bite than any of the others we've heard about in the past? What makes them different, Richard?

ROTH: Well they're limited sanctions, I don't think they're going to have a bigger bite. There are asset freezes on individuals who are related to the Iranian nuclear missile programs, have revolutionary guards, but some of the sanctions have to be -- in effect, are voluntary on nations to watch travel movements of some Iranian officials. It may take stronger measures to get Iran's attention.

SANCHEZ: How about Ahmadinejad, any chance that we're going to be seeing him in the United Nations? There's been a lot of talk about it and then there were cancellations. What's the latest on that, do you know?

ROTH: If you see him here, it would be an imposter. Because there's no chance at the moment while this meeting is under way that he's going to be here. It's Iran's foreign minister who will also speak to the press outside the Security Council meeting. No discussion inside this debate on the Iran-Britain sailor stand-off, by the way. SANCHEZ: All right, we're going to get to that right now. Richard Roth doing great work for us there. We thank you for bringing us up-to-date as this story is still developing.

Let's go now to the developing story that's taking place in Tehran itself, and that of course is the British marines and the British sailors have been taken into custody by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Here is CNN's Aneesh Raman on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): For a second night 15 British military personnel remain in Iranian custody. Earlier on Saturday, a top Iranian military official said all of them confessed to illegally entering Iranian water. Authorities didn't provide any more information on those confessions, but Iranians say they have evidence suggesting the British marines as well as sailors knowingly violated the international boundary and entered Iranian water. Now the British Ministry of Defense, of course, vehemently maintains that their military personnel were in Iraqi, not Iranian waters. Iranian officials say the Brits have been moved to Tehran, where they are being questioned. No word though on when they will be released. For that, we have to look to the past as some sort of predictor. In June 2004, a number of British military personnel were seized by Iranian authorities in this same area that the Friday incident took place. They were held for three days and that is what is causing a lot of people on the ground at least to assume this matter will be resolved in a matter of days and not weeks. Of course, Iran has just been slapped with another round of sanctions over its nuclear defiance. Whether those tensions will affect the fate of the British military personnel in Iran is unclear. That said again, Iran has given no indication as to when they will be released. Aneesh Raman, CNN, Tehran.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: This is obviously a developing story, one we're going to be staying on top of. Tonight at 10:00 we'll have the latest as well on the isolation that Iran now faces, including a chat with Aneesh Raman about this, that particular part of the story. Again that's tonight right here at 10:00 eastern.

And another big story we're following, floods this hour, swamping, parts of the corn belt. We've got some pictures we can show you, take a look at this. This is Hamilton County, Indiana, it's just north of northeast part of Indianapolis, if you can get that description. They've taken a lot of rain already and it didn't take much to push the white river over its banks. Similar scattered flooding as we understand now occurred in Iowa. Look at these cars seemingly under water. Now obviously these are not parked cars, there are cars that are obviously used for spare parts. Still, severe spring storms could hit tonight. We're told it could happen tomorrow.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: Speaking of people who are concerned about something, thousands of pet owners are worried tonight. A poison found in pet food has already led to at least 16 animal deaths. New information on that is up next.

There's a hero's welcome. No, that's not Rocky, but, boy, she can certainly dish it out as well when somebody tries to mess with her. That's what happened here when somebody -- look at this. You remember this attack? Well, there's an update on this story. And we're going to tell you about it. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: The big story people have been talking about all over the country, accidentally feeding their pet poisoned food. That's what millions of pet owners are worried about right now as state officials of New York found that rat poison and its chemical in several cans that have been recalled of that wet pet food that we've been showing you. The tainted cans were recalled last week after several animals died and hundreds got sick. Now the chemical can cause renal failure, so it's going to affect their kidneys. And it's banned in the U.S., still unclear by the way how it got into the pet food. The manufacturer, Menu Foods, is advising retailers to pull all their brands from the shelves just as a precaution. And one of the affected brands Nutro Pet Food has released this statement. "It is simply unacceptable that all this has happened and we are preparing to implement additional guidelines that will ensure that the quality control measures used by our co-manufacturers and their suppliers are strengthened so that this deeply troubling situation never happens again." Once again, that's their statement. The pet food scare has now convinced some dog and cat owners to go organic. CNN's Jim Acosta visited an organic pet food store in New York where he says business is booming.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You won't find people panicking over the pet food scare at The Barking Zoo in New York City.

JAY ENGLISH, THE BARKING ZOO: I'm surprised that it took this scare to make the public aware of how poorly made a lot of these foods are.

ACOSTA: That's because nearly all of its products are organic or natural foods for dogs and cats. As store owner, Jay English asked us, ever see a dog food label that looks like this?

ENGLISH: The first four ingredients here is turkey, chicken and then turkey meal and chicken meal.

ACOSTA: Sales of organic and natural pet foods have soared to an estimated $400 million a year, thanks to dog owners like Mike Bryan, who wouldn't have it any other way.

MIKE BRYAN, ORGANIC PET FOOD SHOPPER: If you're going to put something into your body, a dog feels the same way you do, thinks the same you do, why wouldn't you feed your dog the same thing you're going to feed yourselves?

ACOSTA: Now the industry is expected to get a boost after the scores of horror stories from pet owners this week. Anita Bacci says she lost her two dogs to the tainted food.

ANITA BACCI: They mean everything. They are our family.

ACOSTA (on camera): And it's not just pet owners who are outraged. Investors may soon be howling over how some well-known brand names are managing this public relations crisis.

MARC BABEJ, PARTNER, REASON INC.: Pet food is different from any other product in that if something goes wrong, it's not like I'm going to do you much good by refunding you the price of your cat or dog.

ACOSTA: Dog owner and marketing strategist Marc Babej says the big pet food companies impacted by the scare have a short window of opportunity to repair the damage.

BABEJ: Where I would place the emphasis would be to come out, to be the first brand to come out with some kind of policy that is going to prevent such a thing from happening in the future.

ACOSTA: At least one of the companies says it's already looking at ways to improve quality controls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No dog food scare here.

ACOSTA: Something organic pet food shoppers say they don't worry about. Jim Acosta, CNN, New York.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: To politics now. Two days ago, presidential candidate John Edwards announced that his wife was, once again, suffering from cancer. Both are back on the campaign trail together. There is a live report on this coming up. It's just ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Largo has not been a job to me. Largo has been a passion. Largo has been my passion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God doesn't accept every one.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Also coming up, the emotional last ditch effort of a transgender trying to keep his job as a city manager.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: Well, spring, you might say, has sprung in a big way in the Hoosier state. Look at this, this is from suburban Indianapolis, parts of which are submerged because of some flash flooding that they've had there. Playgrounds, stop signs that you can barely see. Days of rain have prompted road closures in Hamilton and Madison Counties. By the way, we keep looking at that picture there, just to be sure as we're looking at that picture, it looks more like a junkyard than an actual parking lot. And then there's this, storm chasers on the Texas New Mexico line capture on video one of at least a dozen tornados that moved right through an 80-mile stretch. It's between Clovis and Logan, New Mexico. Here is what Logan looked like after the storm. Dozens of mobile homes and vehicles have been tossed about, buildings have been damaged. Look at that. Cars literally thrown about. In all, 35 people were treated for injuries. Some of which were critical. No deaths though, thank goodness. Emergency damage assessment teams are headed to the area, we're told right now. As we get more information from them, we are going to be sharing it with you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: There's another big story we're following for you, this has to do with politics. It's taking place in Las Vegas, and it's really about health care. But reporters have been very mindful in keeping an eye on something else. In fact, let's go over to Sumi Das, she's going to give us a tease on what she's going to be following out there. It has to do with somebody who made a very important announcement about his life this week, doesn't it?

SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, absolutely Rick. Senator and Mrs. Edwards make their first public appearance here in Las Vegas, this is the first appearance after announcing that Elizabeth Edwards' cancer had returned. But the topic was as you mentioned, health care, with 47 million Americans uninsured it's going to be a hot topic on the campaign trail. How do candidates plan to tackle the problem? I'll tell you, coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess they're just bad at heart. They don't have any heart at all. They're cowards, I would say.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Two spunky ladies. Boy, she's back, on her feet after this unbelievable video of her being attacked by a mugger. She's a feisty 101-year-old woman. She's coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED VOICE: It will kill you in half a minute, so you decide. It's your game. Do you want to live or die?

(END OF AUDIO CLIP) SANCHEZ: This is a bizarre story about a cell phone prank that led to a stroke for this woman, it really is a story worth sticking around to hear because a lot of folks are going to be talking about it. You will too and so will we. Stay with us, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM. Want to bring you something a little different now. When you're taking in a movie these days, as much it's a feast for the ears as it is for the eyes, right. But with all the new technology that they have now with sound systems, they even pass out Oscars for the best movie's sound, the best movie's music, you've heard scores. That doesn't resound much with America's deaf or hard of hearing. For them, it doesn't mean much. CNN's Gary Nurenberg reports now on how a little high-tech tweak now lets millions of those people enjoy a night out at the movies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The National Association of the Deaf wants you to hear this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People who are deaf and hard of hearing have been left out of going to the movies. Because they don't have access to the sound track.

NURENBERG: Activists think the answer is open captioning, words on the screen, but --

ROSALINE HAYES, NATIONAL ASSN. OF THE DEAF: Less than 1 percent of all movies being displayed today are actually displayed with captions.

PLINY PORTER, FILM PRODUCER: It's a real issue, because it's a visual medium and for those who are not impaired and are seeing the actual lettering on the image, it detracts for them.

BEN AVERCH, MICROVISION, IN: Our product is a see-through wearable display that super imposes digital information on your field of view.

NURENBERG: The industry is experimenting with alternatives that let individual movie goers see captions while the general audience doesn't. These glasses allow viewers to read text on a green screen below the main screen. That's it over his left shoulder.

ROGER HIBBARD, ULTRA STEREO LABS: The glasses run about 19 cents.

NURENBERG: Washington lawyer John Stanton sued theaters to force better accommodations for the deaf. He now uses a device offered by some theatres called rear window.

HIBBARD: They just simply put it in the cub holder and then they adjust the reflective device to find the rear window screen.

NURENBERG: Although Stanton says the deaf community prefers open captioning --

JOHN STANTON, ATTORNEY: I prefer now to go, take the technology we have right now to go enjoy the movies rather than hope that movie theaters or the general public, if you may, becomes more accepting of open captioning.

NURENBERG: Regal Theaters, which offers open captioning, recently invited the deaf community to sample alternatives.

RANDY SMITH, REGAL THEATERS: Maybe develop a system that is more user friendly which will enable us to then have captioning at every show time.

NURENBERG: Just what deaf movie goers want to see. Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Some good ideas.

Well it's about 30 minutes past the hour now. So let's try and bring you up to date on what's going on. Some very serious stories. Iranian diplomacy being put to the test again this afternoon. The British government is demanding that there is a safe return of their 15 troop members, marines and sailors, snatched by a part of Iran's navy. Also about 90 minutes ago, the United Nation's Security Council voted unanimously in favor of new sanctions for Iran. Iran has refused to suspend its uranium enrichment program. Britain's ambassador to the U.N. talked to reporters just a few minutes ago. In fact, let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMYR JONES PARRY, BRITISH AMB. TO U.N.: Undeniably, the development of the civil nuclear capability in Iran. No one is seeking to deny Iran of its right. What we are seeking to do is eliminate the possibility of Iran having nuclear weapons. Thank you.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: As for U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, she is in Egypt as part of a four-day mission to the Middle East. She's trying to mend political fences between Israel and the Palestinian authority.

"Associated Press" is reporting as many as nine officers, including four generals may be held accountable for mistakes that led to Army Ranger Pat Tillman's death in Afghanistan, nearly three years ago. Tillman died in the aftermath of the friendly fire incident. You might recall that he was a famous football player, gave up his NFL career so he could go defend and fight for his country in Afghanistan. CNN is working to confirm this report as we get more, we'll going to be sharing it with you.

Menu Foods says it still has no idea how the chemical usually found in rat poison wound up in its product for dog food and cat food. At least 16 animal deaths have been reported thus far. More than 90 brands of pet food products have been recalled. White House reaffirming it's support of embattled U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, it comes on news of a joint investigation. Recently released document showing Gonzales was at the meeting where the firings of the U.S. attorneys were discussed.

The country's escalating healthcare crisis sparks a lot of emotion and a lot of debate. Democratic presidential candidates are in Las Vegas now talking about how they would tackle the problem if they were elected, speaking in future tense, of course. CNN's Sumi Das is following it for us. She's there, she's live and she's joining us now.

Sumi, what are they saying?

SUMI DAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Rick.

They said that they were going to make health care their top priority. And it's not surprising, given that there are 47 million Americans that are uninsured in this country. Now, the organizers of this forum were pleased with what they heard. They said they achieved their goal to putting health care in the spotlight.

And they liked that candidates were using the phrase universal health care. All of the candidates from, both parties, were invited. Seven of the candidates from the Democratic Party accepted, among them Senator Barack Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every four years, somebody trots out a white paper, they post it on the web. But the question we have to challenge, ourselves, is do we have the political will and the sense of urgency to actually get it done?

I want to be held accountable for getting it done. I will judge my first term as president based on the fact of whether we have delivered the kind of health care that every American deserves and that our system can afford.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAS: Of course, there was some criticism of the current U.S. health care system from many of the candidates. Among them, Senator John Edwards, who said that the current system is dysfunctional and that his plan would cover all Americans and that it would fill in the gaps.

Now, before he laid out his agenda, however, he took a moment to thank the support that they have received, him and his family, from many people across the country in light of the news that Elizabeth Edwards' cancer has returned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a great privilege for me to be here. Let me say first, a personal thank you to all of you and to people who have been so kind and so generous over the last few days, including, by the way, my fellow candidates, who will be here today. I'm very proud to have my wife, Elizabeth, here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAS: Senator Edwards' competitors have reached out to his family, privately, but some of them took the opportunity today to do so publicly. Among them, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico and Senator Hillary Clinton of New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we all want to make sure to send our thoughts and prayers to Elizabeth and John Edwards, and I'm very -- I'm very impressed by Elizabeth's strength and optimism. And I'm looking forward to seeing both Elizabeth and John on the campaign trail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAS: As is the case in most campaign events, there was a lot of applause that interrupted speakers. But perhaps some of the strongest applause, which you heard right there, was when speakers acknowledged the battle that Elizabeth Edwards was facing with cancer.

She was present at the event. She sat at the side of the stage, and she greeted her husband, when he walked off stage. There was a quick kiss, an embrace. They waved to the crowds and the cameras. And then they moved backstage as the applause continued. She did not speak today, but she will be speaking in Ohio at the Seed (ph) Club of Cleveland on Monday night -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: You know, it seems like a very selfless thing that she's doing for him, but one can't help but wonder -- I'm wondering, if she was maybe asked this question or he was. Given the severity of her cancer, should she -- so soon --- be on the campaign trail with him?

DAS: You know, she said a couple of days ago on Thursday that she was feeling fine. And the only thing that was hurting her was that broken rib, which ultimately led them to detect that the cancer had returned. She said that she planned to do all of the things next week that she had done last week.

It seems that her health is good. That is something we also heard from her doctor, Dr. Carey. So, it seems like the campaign will continue. And that they aren't going to make any exceptions or slow down at all. They did, however, cancel one event that was scheduled for Reno. I reached out to one of John Edwards' aides and asked why they canceled that event but have not received a response yet, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Sumi Das following the story for us from Las Vegas. Thank you for bringing us up-to-date.

In just a few minutes, we'll have a live interview with James Kotecki; now he is a YouTube celebrity, who is giving free advice to presidential candidates. Of course, he's very young. You have to be kind of young to know this stuff, right? This is really an interesting and illuminating look at the whole new political battlegrounds so the rest of us can perhaps understand it.

And this story, city commissioners in Largo, Florida, fired their city manager after learning he was planning to have a sex-change operation. Reporting from Largo, Florida, he's CNN's Carol Costello.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Steve Stanton is ready, surrounded by his wife, and his attorneys ready to fight, not just for his job, but the compassion of his community.

STEVE STANTON, FIRED CITY MANAGER: Largo has not been a job to me. Largo has been a passion. Largo has been my passion. And one does not just replace one's passion.

COSTELLO: Hundreds of residents of Largo City, Florida, a town of just 75,000 lined up for hours to hear Stanton explain why he should be allowed to keep his job as their city's manager.

NADINE SMITH, EQUALITY FORUM: Tonight was the last chance really to stand up for equality and fairness. And to tell the commission this is job discrimination. It doesn't matter how they try to pretty it up. What they're doing right now is firing someone because this person announced they're changing gender.

COSTELLO: Many came to tell their board of commissioners they want him gone before he gets a chance to fulfill his plans to become -- a she.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God doesn't accept everyone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will break the city. It would be a disaster. This community is not ready for that.

COSTELLO: Stanton argues that for 14 years he has been a beloved public servant, one who has increased the town's revenues improved it's services. He performed so well, he even got a raise. But it all fell apart when the media forced him to reveal his secret. This 48-year-old man was planning to become a woman. Public reaction was fierce.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Terminate Mr. Stanton.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ethics bother me a lot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody in the city of Largo is just supposed to roll over and accept that.

COSTELLO: Although several commissioners had promised their support, they voted to fire him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I support the removal of the city manager from office because I find it to be in the best interest of the residents of our city of Largo to do so.

STANTON: I don't know, maybe there's a greater role for me in some other Largo, far, far from Florida. I'll find out.

COSTELLO: Carol Costello, CNN, Largo, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: We'll keep tabs on that.

Meanwhile, this, two Tennessee teenagers are in big trouble today. This after pulling off what may be the most unfunny joke ever. Larry Flowers from our affiliate WSMV takes the story from here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY FLOWERS, REPORTER, WSMV (voice over): In the small Putnam County town of Algood, a phone call to Beverly Dixon was anything but good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, Beverly. I want to play a game. You need to decide if life is worth living for. We have one of your friends hidden in your house.

FLOWERS: Mrs. Dixon was in a funeral procession when she checked that voice message and what she heard was much more than she could handle. She was rushed to the hospital, suffering from a stroke.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is a toxic gas that will be fogged through in ten minutes. It will killed you in half a minute. So, you decide. It's your game. Do you want to live or die?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's doing OK. She's still nervous. But she's going back to work.

FLOWERS: Two 13-year-old girls from Winchester confessed to making the call in the early morning hours of March 3rd. Beverly Dixon's husband says the girls carefully chose their words. They were quite similar to the R-rated movie "Saw."

Algood Police Chief says he hopes this will be a wake-up call to those thinking about making harassing phone calls, prank, or not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A conversation with all of you and so far we haven't stopped talking, and that's really good. I intend to keep telling you --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And there's this story. A new look at politics, slick campaign ads making someone's personal computer at home. That's how easy it is. Next, in the NEWSROOM, the latest trend in campaign videos.

Also, remember this disturbing surveillance videotape? A 101- year-old woman beaten and rob bid a man. We have a positive update on this. One you won't want to miss. In fact, you're going to want to cheer for her.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Here we go, talking politics now: It's a clip you're about to see from Internet campaign ad attacking Senator Hillary Clinton. Now, you don't have to be an advertising executive to make political ads these days. All you need is a computer, some technological know-how and then, of course, a little bit of creativity. These Internet ads have become the new campaign battleground.

Let's talk start to a self-made expert now on these campaign videos. James Kotecki is a political geek -- self-described, I suppose. He's a senior at Georgetown University, he has turned YouTube celebrity now. He has his own website where he offers free advice to presidential candidates on their campaign videos, sometimes using sock puppets. We're looking at some of that video now.

Hey, James, thanks for joining us. Let's start with that Hillary Clinton that we're talking about -- everybody has been talking about this week.

JAMES KOTECKI, POLITICAL BLOGGER: Right.

SANCHEZ: People are saying this is the first really big volley in the -- in a new type of technology that we're going to be seeing a whole lot more of in the future. Are they right?

KOTECKI: Absolutely. They're absolutely right. What's so interesting about this technology is that it's no longer groups with his a lot of money that can make these campaign ads. It can be a person with a Macintosh computer and skills at video editing.

SANCHEZ: That's what it was in this case.

KOTECKI: Exactly.

SANCHEZ: He happened to have a lot of skills because he worked for a company that did this, but he did this on his own. In fact, he got fired for it.

KOTECKI: Yeah, he got fired for it, bit I think in the future, you'll see a lot more people doing this, because it is so easy. And the age of user generated content, you're going to see a lot more users actually making the content for them, and some politicians are not going to have as much control over what goes out.

SANCHEZ: Let's talk about the effect that things like YouTube are having on the campaigns. For example, there's this one.

I think we can put this up if we can, Roger. This is Hillary Clinton singing. It got a lot of attention. In fact, she said at one point she was a little bit -- let's listen a little bit here. Let's see if we can pick her up.

This got a lot of play, James. Why?

KOTECKI: Can you say that again, please?

SANCHEZ: This got so much play. Why? What does it mean? What's the significance of it for her?

KOTECKI: The significance of this is, that if you're a candidate you've got to put out there stuff that people actually want to watch. The reason people wanted to watch this, was because, it was funny. They liked seeing her in a casual, off-the-cuff way, and a lot of people actually like making fun of her, and watching that.

So, if you're a candidate, you have to be more natural, more relaxed. And put something engaging out on YouTube, don't just regurgitate your stuff from other media channels. YouTube is a different kind of channel.

SANCHEZ: We're gonna look at Barack Obama and his "Monday Night Football". Did you like that, did you think that was good usage?

KOTECKI: I loved it, I liked it because it worked really well as a TV commercial, but also as a viral video. Because it was a funny video, it was short and in fact the very reason I saw it was because someone forwarded it to me. It worked very well on the Internet.

SANCHEZ: You used a term our viewers may not be familiar with, could you define it for us? What's a viral video?

KOTECKI: A viral video, as I would describe it, is the video that people want to forward to somebody else. A video that is engaging, is captivating, and you actually want to share with your friends. That's what a lot of politicians aren't putting up on YouTube right now. They're putting up their speeches from C-Span. And I don't think anyone is going to want to forward a speech from C-Span to their friends most of the time.

SANCHEZ: So they're not being smart about the way they use technology and certainly the way they use this particular medium. Dennis Kucinich: some people are saying he's one of the smart ones out there. Let's take a look at his, and you tell us what you think.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm still at work, I just want to let you know, how much I appreciate hearing from you. It think we've had some good --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Sounds kind of conversational, like he's having a conversation with somebody, doesn't it? KOTECKI: Absolutely. YouTube really should be a two-way conversation. It's not just a one-way conversation where candidates broadcasting their message anymore. It shouldn't be. And Dennis Kucinich is the only candidate so far to use YouTube as a two-way conversation. It happened to be with me. But other candidates should take this on and have that conversation with other users at the site. And other people who post videos to them, they make responses, responding personally to that person. That's what they should be doing.

SANCHEZ: So, it shouldn't just be another political speech? It should be a conversation?

KOTECKI: We want to see them as human beings. Exactly.

SANCHEZ: Go ahead. Everybody is talking about your website. You can give it to us. What's is it?

KOTECKI: Jameskotecki.com. I guess my name is on the screen, so ad a dot.com to it, and there you go.

SANCHEZ: There you go, it's pretty simple. Thanks, James.

KOTECKI: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Smart guy.

Time to change the phrase you can't keep a good man down.

Seems to be now you can't keep a couple of ladies down. Next in the newsroom, a few indestructible women survive the unthinkable.

You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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SANCHEZ: We welcome you back to take you "Across America" now.

In Florida, the skeletal remains of eight people have been found in Fort Myers. And it looks like the remains have been there a while, probably several years. Police are exploring a potential link to a now-closed funeral home. It was shut down for the improper storage of bodies. There's a clue.

A California judge wants the rights to O.J. Simpson's never- published book auctioned off. It is the book in which Simpson talks about how he might have killed his ex-wife and Ron Goldman. Auction proceeds and any profits from the book would go to Ron Goldman's family.

Jeb Bush won't be getting an honorary degree from the University of Florida. The school's faculty voted to deny the former governor the distinction. Some expressed concern about his record in higher education. The university's president says he's tremendously disappointed with that vote. University of Florida, by the way, is a state school. Today, the FDA reissues a warning for people not to drink five specific brands of Jermuk brand mineral water, imported from Armenia. Test samples of the water found higher-than-acceptable levels of arsenic in it, which a poison to people. No illnesses have yet been reported.

We've been telling you about the situation with sanctions in Iraq (sic), a story we've been following out of the United Nations, and obviously how it may be directly or indirectly linked to the fact that there are 15 British sailors and Marines that have been taken custody now -- taken into custody, I should say -- by the Iranians. It's a major international story.

And we now have an opportunity to talk to someone who is representing his country, here at the United Nations, Sir Emyr Jones Parry.

Ambassador Parry, thanks so much for joining us, sir.

SIR EMYR JONES PARRY, AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: Pleasure, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Would you tell us what your position is on the situation right now? This conflict that you seem to be having with the Iranians?

PARRY: We very much regret the tension that has arisen. As far as I'm concerned, of course, sitting in New York, I've been dealing with an issue which has been here for 12 months or more. And that is the question of how do we respond to the possible threat of an Iranian nuclear capability?

But the separate issue, which concerns us very much, is that two days ago, we believe with no basis, Iranians arrested 15 Royal Navy sailors. They're holding them in detention. We don't believe with any correct basis for doing that.

SANCHEZ: What do you make --

PARRY: We call for their release immediately.

SANCHEZ: Mr. Ambassador, what do you make of the statement that was released by the Iranians, within the last 24 hours, saying, that in fact, they were in their waters, being Iranian waters?

PARRY: Well, our information is that they were in Iraqi waters, that they were pursuing the boarding of vessels, pursuant to resolution 1723 and acting perfectly legally.

SANCHEZ: So, again, your contention is that they were not in Iranian waters at any time?

PARRY: That is our belief, yes.

SANCHEZ: And that would mean that they have been taken illegally then by the Iranians?

PARRY: We believe there is no basis for their detention.

SANCHEZ: Why would the Iranians do something like this at a time like this? Especially when there's these hearings that have been taking place at the United Nations about incrementing their sanctions?

PARRY: I think you probably better direct that question to Tehran. I can't answer that.

SANCHEZ: Well, you're a diplomat. Have you had any conversations with the Iranians there at the United Nations to try and get a sense of why they would be doing something like this? Have you asked them?

PARRY: No, absolutely not. Because this is an issue that is bilateral. It's one being pursued in that way. The Iranian ambassador was summoned to the foreign office in London today for the second time. We're pursuing it in that way.

Let me be clear. What I've been doing which is sponsoring a resolution, which we've adopted unanimously this afternoon, to actually make clear that Iran has to meet its obligation under international law, conform with what the Security Council has asked, and we've upped the pressure on Iran by adopting some incremental, additional measures against Iran precisely to do that.

SANCHEZ: Let me ask you a question. Did this incident, that is taking place, Mr. Ambassador, in the Persian Gulf heighten the sanctions, or made you more apt to want to enforce these sanctions now? Than, let's say it was, three or four days ago before this incident took place?

PARRY: It had no impact at all on our decision, nor, I believe, on the decision of any other members of the council. We're pursuing this because of genuine concern about the possibility of Iran moving towards a nuclear weapons program.

Mr. Ambassador, Sir Emyr Jones Parry. We thank you, sir, for taking the time to clarify some of these matters for us. You're very kind.

PARRY: My pleasure.

SANCHEZ: We promised you the story about the elderly woman being attacked by a mugger. And there's breaking news that has changed our plans. We'll have it for you later, though, in just a little bit.

Still more ahead, right here on CNN. Up next, on "Lou Dobbs This Week" a special report on aggressive efforts by corporate elites to force an amnesty bill for illegal immigrants through Congress. That is at the top of the hour for you.

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