Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Online Drug Pharmacies Under the Microscope on Capitol Hill; Search Continues For U.S. Troops Missing in Iraq; Wolfowitz Out?; Yolanda King Dead at 51; Falwell Legacy Debated
Aired May 16, 2007 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
VARGAS: ... graduated with a journalism degree from Yale. And, while the end has arrived for the popular CW program, with seven seasons worth of shows, no doubt, it will be in syndication in no time.
And that was very good from Christiane Amanpour. Great performance.
Well, tonight, on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," we're going to shift gears, because Paris Hilton is counting down the days to her jail sentence. And "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" is asking, why has Paris become the celebrity so many people love to hate?
The story on TV's most provocative entertainment news show, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on Headline Prime.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Did you talk to Paris about that?
VARGAS: No, I haven't spoken to Paris yet.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: She might be able to answer that for you. All right.
VARGAS: Could you please say hi to Kyra for me? I have missed her.
LEMON: Hey, Kyra.
She's sitting right here. Say hi yourself.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, Sibila, I love you.
VARGAS: Hi, Kyra.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: I missed you, too. Good to see you.
LEMON: Aww.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: We all love each other.
PHILLIPS: A little love fest.
LEMON: The next hour...
VARGAS: We do. We do.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: ... of the CNN NEWSROOM, it starts right now.
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.
Holding out hope and praying for the best.
PHILLIPS: A two-star general admits there's more than manpower and reward money fueling the search for three missing soldiers in Iraq. We're on that story.
And you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Beating the bushes, combing the Triangle of Death, working hundreds of tips -- it's an all-out search in Iraq for three American soldiers unaccounted for, after a sneak attack five days ago that killed five comrades.
The U.S. military has posted a $200,000 reward for information leading them to the missing troops, getting the word out with leaflets dropped from helicopters. And, of course, it's searching the old- fashioned way.
A U.S. spokesman in Iraq told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that this mission will end only one way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJOR GENERAL WILLIAM CALDWELL, U.S. ARMY SPOKESMAN, COALITION FORCES IN IRAQ: There's literally thousands of soldiers, both coalition forces, but also Iraqi security forces. They're very much involved with about 2,000 Iraqi security forces down there, assisting us and helping us, not only on the ground, searching, but also helping with us intelligence assets, too, to further work the neighborhood and the surrounding areas to help us see if we can pick up any more leads.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: You can hear much more on Caldwell's conversation with Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM," right here on CNN.
Three soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter were confirmed dead in that ambush last Saturday, one of those soldiers, Private Christopher E. Murphy, 21 years old.
CNN's Brianna Keilar is in Private Murphy's hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia, today -- Brianna. BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra.
We're actually at Private 1st Class Chris Murphy's church, which is in Lynchburg. This is Unity in the Seven Hills Church. This is about 20 or so miles from his hometown of Gladys, a very small town here in Virginia.
But I did sit down here at this church with his parents, Rosemary and Darrell (ph) Bailan just a short time ago. And they described to me that was Chris was very generous, and that he was quiet, and that it was clear from a very young age, from about the time that Chris was in eighth grade, that he wanted to go into the military.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSEMARY BAILAN, MOTHER OF KILLED U.S. SOLDIER: I did have Christopher for this time, and that he did what his heart desired. He didn't like the war.
But his honor that he felt in serving his country and being with his fellow soldiers and his comrades was so strong, you couldn't help but get swept up in it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Chris Murphy went to a local high school here, William Campbell High School. And he graduated in 2004, not that long ago.
And, so, there are still some students there who are familiar with him. Earlier, they were putting up a banner at the high school to -- to remember him there. And Chris' parents told me that he was back here about a month ago on leave from Iraq, and he told them that, despite some very close calls, despite the fact that he wasn't he thrilled about the reason for going to war -- the -- going to war in Iraq, he wanted to reenlist, and he was thinking about making a career in the military -- Kyra.
LEMON: CNN's Brianna Keilar, thank you so much for that report.
A New Jersey forest in flames -- more than 13,500 acres have burned in less than 24 hours. Hundreds of homes are at risk. And it wasn't lightning that sparked this one.
CNN senior correspondent Allan Chernoff joins us from the leading edge of this fire in Warren Grove.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: (AUDIO GAP) yards from where we're standing right now. You can see the black smoke, but, believe it or not, that's actually not part of the main fire.
This is actually part of a containment fire set intentionally by firefighters. They're basically trying to fight fire with fire, get rid of the fuel that could extend the main fire.
Off in the distance, about a mile away, back and forth all day, we have been seeing a helicopter dropping water on the main fire. And the whole point is to contain that wildfire, so far, only 30 percent contained. It has been a tough battle. As you can see, it's pretty windy here. And it is extremely dry today as well -- that, of course, helping the fire to spread.
Now, there has been some damage, 50 homes damaged thus far, five of them burnt completely. And, also, we have had plenty of people evacuated, more than 2,500 homes evacuated, fortunately, only two minor injuries to firefighters.
Now, the fire has been in a relatively unpopulated area of New Jersey. But one border of the fire, the New Jersey Garden State Parkway, and on the other side of the parkway is the relatively heavily populated Jersey shore.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DREW LIEB, NEW JERSEY STATE POLICE DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT: The fire IS to the west, western side of the Garden State Parkway. If it does jump the parkway, which would be a major problem, the -- amount of the population is much more significant on the eastern side of the parkway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: So, of course, the main push right now is to protect that side of the parkway.
How did all this happen? Well, we're standing, actually, in a firing range. Yesterday, a couple of F-16s were flying above. They fly here all the time, and they were dropping some flares. Typically the flares burn out in the air. But, apparently, that didn't happen to one of them yesterday, dropped to the ground, and ignited the fire.
The Air Force is investigating further -- Don.
LEMON: Has this -- has this happened before, Allan?
CHERNOFF: Actually, Don, five years ago, also on this test range, a bomb was dropped, a practice bomb made of metal. It hit some rock and sparked another fire. So, yes, indeed, it has happened. And, by the way, that fire five years ago did jump over the Garden State Parkway.
LEMON: If there's some precedent here, do we know if they paid for that, or are they willing to pay for this mistake?
CHERNOFF: Actually, already, the Air Force has had some personnel visit a couple of the shelters where people who were forced out of their homes spent the night. They have provided some funds already. And a spokesperson did say that, after this investigation, if they find definitively that this accident did spark the entire fire, that they will step up to the plate and actually pay people for their losses.
LEMON: Allan Chernoff, thank you for that report. Firefighters in Florida and Georgia are still working round the clock, trying to beat back dozens of wildfires in those bone-dry states. Now, the largest is burning right along the border nearly 400 square miles so far. More than 700 homes have been evacuated, some for a second time. On the Florida side, the fires are about 50 percent contained, less on the Georgia side.
PHILLIPS: Back to our top story. Want to update you quickly on those missing soldiers that troops are looking for in Iraq, as you know, that eight men were ambushed last Saturday just south of Baghdad. Three American soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter were soon confirmed dead, one of the bodies so badly burned, he couldn't be identified.
We are told now, through Fort Drum, that the DNA tests are complete. They need to notify the next of kin. And, pretty soon, we will know the identity of that one soldier.
Lieutenant Colonel Paul Fitzpatrick just talked about that moments ago at Fort Drum.
Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIEUTENANT COLONEL PAUL FITZPATRICK, ARMY PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER: a repatriation flight arrived last night at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, carrying five fallen comrades, including the three already named and two yet to be identified.
We believe one of those yet to be identified is that of the Iraqi army officer who was serving with the team, and the other yet to be identified, one of our soldiers from 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry.
Identification of the 10th Mountain Division soldier should be complete later today. And notification will be made to his family as soon as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And, as soon as that happens, and we find out who that soldier is, once those DNA tests, the results of those DNA tests are released, and the next much kin is notified, we will let you know the name of that American soldier.
LEMON: British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrives in the states today, as part of his farewell tour before he leaves office. It is a working visit. He and President Bush will talk about Iraq, World Trade and Darfur, among other pressing matters.
Minister Blair has been the White House's number-one partner in Iraq, and that effectively cost him his job when much of Britain turned against the war. His last day is June 27.
PHILLIPS: It seems that, every time gas prices go up, Congress holds a hearing. And a House Judiciary Committee task force is meeting today, trying to explain the most recent surge past $3 a gallon. With prices closing in on $4 in Chicago and San Francisco, consumer groups want more government oversight of the oil industry.
Now, around this time every year, gas prices do soar. We complain, but keep on buying.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): If you think prices at the pump are high now, figure in inflation, and you will discover they're actually lower than 1981, when prices were at a record high. Of course, that fact doesn't take the sting out of paying more than $3 a gallon today. So, who's to blame?
Some analysts point to a worldwide increase in demand for oil, essentially in China and India, unrest in Nigeria, which has helped cut production by 30 percent, and unexpected refinery shutdowns in the U.S..
Another culprit, American drivers. Despite high prices, Americans keep on buying, in part because gas takes a smaller bite out of household budgets than it did in the early '80s. One analyst says that, if half of American drivers used a gallon less of gas in the month of June, the market would plunge.
But will it happen? Probably not. Analysts say American drivers' thirst for gas is huge and growing. There's a silver lining of sorts. In Europe, prices are much higher. The Dutch shell out the most for a gallon of unleaded, more than $6.50, right behind them, the British, where a gallon goes for just under $6.50.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Three Chicago police officers have been charged with aggravated battery in that bar fight caught on tape back in December. The four businessmen involved in the brawl have also filed a federal lawsuit seeking damages. They say they suffered broken bones, bruises and spinal injuries in the fight.
One of the officers' lawyers says the businessmen were drunk and belligerent and instigated the whole thing. The men say they were playing pool, when the off-duty cops attacked them.
PHILLIPS: Who needs an M.D. when there's DSL?
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Online drug-sellers are attempting alternatives for people who don't like doctors. But cyber-pharmaceuticals can be hazardous to your health. They are under the microscope next.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Almost 15 past the hour. Here are three stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Yet another state is battling a monster wildfire. About 700 people remain in shelters in New Jersey about 25 miles north of Atlantic City.
In Iraq, a new tactic in the hunt for three U.S. soldiers: a reward of up to $200,000 for information on the troops' whereabouts or kidnappers.
A new Israeli airstrike in Gaza, as Palestinian factions fight among themselves -- a new cease-fire was supposed to go into effect about two hours ago, but three earlier agreements fell apart very quickly.
Vicodin, Valium, Ritalin, all dangerous drugs, and all just a mouse click away, available for purchase online. For some, it is a prescription for disaster. And, for one mother, it's a fight playing out today on Capitol Hill.
Our Kathleen Koch has been monitoring a hearing on rogue online drug pharmacies. And she joins us now with the very latest -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, frightening information today for parents who think that, by locking of their medicine cabinet, they will keep their kids away from powerfully addictive prescription drugs.
A California mother this morning shared the story of her 18-year- old son, Ryan Haight. A straight-A student at the top of his class, Ryan played varsity tennis, loved to ski and snowboard, that is, until six years ago, when Francine Haight found Ryan lifeless in his bed from an overdose of the prescription pain killer Vicodin. He had secretly bought it over the Internet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCINE H. HAIGHT, FOUNDER, RYAN'S CAUSE: Ryan had made up a story. He had said he was 21. He said he had been in a car accident and had back pain. And he made up a doctor's name, Dr. Thomas, which happened to be his middle name.
Dr. Robert Ogle, whom Ryan never saw and was never examined by, prescribed them in an Internet pharmacy. Clayton Fuchs of Mainstreet Pharmacy delivered them to our home. I was in shock.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: When you go online and search purchasing pharmaceuticals without a prescription, you will get more than a million hits.
Experts today pointed out that most online pharmacies only ask you to fill out a questionnaire. You never see a doctor. So, they say that makes it particularly easy for kids who want to get prescription drugs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH CALIFANO, CHAIRMAN AND PRESIDENT, NATIONAL CENTER ON ADDICTION AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE: The Internet has become a pharmaceutical candy store, its shelves stacked with an array of addictive prescription drugs, offering a high to any kid with a credit card at the click of a mouse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: Well, some want to require an in-person consultation with a pharmacist before drugs can be sold online. Others are proposing setting up a new investigative group to root out such transactions and give search engines, Internet service providers -- providers and also credit card companies evidence to shut down rogue pharmacies and stop suspect sales.
But one major problem, only a quarter of rogue online pharmacies are based in the United States, and, thus, even impacted by U.S. law -- Don.
LEMON: Kathleen Koch, thank you.
KOCH: You bet.
PHILLIPS: In one corner, an 11-year-old girl, in the other, a 19-year-old man allegedly bent on abducting her -- details on how she fought back and what's happened since.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, we may not be able to live like billionaires, but we can certainly try to mimic them, at least when it comes to investing.
Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us where some of the big money is going.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra.
And we can mimic that, but certainly not in terms of the size of the transactions. You know, we can buy maybe three shares. They can buy 3,000 or three million.
So, let's start with the biggest guru of them all. And that would be Warren Buffett. The corn-fed capitalist says, of course, that we should buy things we know from companies with management we trust. He's putting his trust in railroads and health care.
Buffett recently bought stakes in Norfolk Southern, Union Pacific, and Burlington Northern. He's also bullish on health care. He owns a chunk of WellPoint, and recently bought more Johnson & Johnson.
Buffett's online bridge partner, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, is going decidedly low-tech for his foundation. He's investing in a tractor company and a Chinese restaurant chain, P.F. Chang's.
And then there's Carl Icahn, the man who staged a yearlong battle to control CNN's parent, Time Warner. Well, he cut his stake in the media giant nearly in half over the first three months of the year. But he bought up shares of oil and gas giant Anadarko Petroleum. He must be looking at those gas prices -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, we hear another big name in finance is making an investment, right, in Alan Greenspan?
LISOVICZ: That's right, the maestro and the bond king. Investment firm Pimco has signed up the former Fed chief to be an be economic consultant. The deal calls for Greenspan to hold quarterly strategy sessions with Pimco execs, and correspond with them up to twice a week.
Word is, Greenspan will also make private comments to Pimco about interest rate policy. He hasn't done that since leaving the Fed last year. And everybody's still interested in what he has to say. It will interesting. Alan Greenspan says he does his best thinking in the bathtub. And the guy who runs Pimco, Bill Gross, is an avid yogi, takes yoga every day.
Namaste on that.
(LAUGHTER)
LISOVICZ: As for the markets today, well, investors are pretty bullish today, too, Kyra. Stocks are holding on to solid gains. Word of those high-profile investments is helping to boost sentiment -- checking the numbers, the Dow industrials closed at a record high yesterday, and it looks like no problem doing the same today, up 67 points. The Nasdaq composite is up half-a-point.
And we will find out if the blue chips can hold on to those gains and swing a second straight record close when I return in about 30 minutes.
In the meantime, I will turn it back to you, Kyra and Don.
PHILLIPS: Namaste. I love it.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: You're my guru in many ways, my dear friend.
LISOVICZ: Likewise, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You help me get in that meditative mode.
Thanks, Susan.
LISOVICZ: We do our best, Kyra.
LEMON: Ohm to that.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: In one corner, an 11-year-old girl, in the other, a 19- year-old man allegedly bent on abducting her -- details on how she fought back and what's happened since.
PHILLIPS: Bolt from the blue -- lightning comes dangerously close to two kids. We have got the amazing video, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: More than 250 wildfires in Georgia and Florida this month alone. So far, no one has been seriously hurt. And the credit goes to some remarkable forecasting.
CNN's Rob Marciano takes us inside Florida's largest fire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): As firefighters battle fatigue through the smoke on the ground, a fire truck escort lets some evacuated residents make sure their homes are still there.
WINTON THOMAS, EVACUATED RESIDENT: Just check and make sure the sprinklers are still working, and how it's wetting down everything.
MARCIANO: Just five miles from the fire, the Thomases nervously walk their property, making sure things stay wet as the blaze gets closer.
THOMAS: It's a little scary. You know, you have worked all your life. When they evacuate you, it's possible you could lose everything.
MARCIANO: From the air, you can see the wide scope of the fire. And, on the ground, the scorched land is bone-dry.
(on camera): It has been so dry in Florida, that this swamp has turned into a tinderbox. And firefighters know that just hoping for rain is not enough. An accurate fire weather forecast is key.
(voice over): Tony Edwards is a field meteorologist trained to forecast wildfires. He needs data on the front lines of the fire.
(on camera): What are you looking out?
TONY EDWARDS, NOAA METEOROLOGIST: Right now, I'm looking at a readout of the current weather conditions that this station is measuring. We have got air temperature of 81 degrees, relative humidity 42 percent.
MARCIANO (voice over): Temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction -- powered by the sun and connected via satellite, this weather station provides life-saving information as it happens.
EDWARDS: We have a thunderstorm out there, sending a gust front. So, we had crews, you know, two miles west of this station. If it picks up that wind gust, I can see it, and I can warn the crews that, hey, you're getting some gusty winds coming, you know, and they can pull off the line and -- and get out of harm's way.
MARCIANO: Crucial information for both crews on the ground and evacuees -- a weather forecast here can be the difference between life and death.
Rob Marciano, CNN, Lake City, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, we have got an incredible image to show you. It comes with a lesson, though. Seek immediate shelter during a storm.
This home video shows two kids running home and nearly getting hit by lightning. Watch again and see how close they were to that strike. Our Dallas affiliate KTXA provided us with this amazing picture. It was actually shot by a neighbor.
And witnesses -- well, and witness the force of nature. A tower in Toronto becomes a magnet for lightning during thunderstorms. I- Reporter Bob Dunkin was safe in his home about a half-mile from this tower. He tells CNN this particular tower gets hit by lightning about 70 times a year.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz hanging on to his job by his fingernails as the bank's board meets for another day of discussions on his fate. Now, it comes amid a shift in stance by the White House and an aggressive stand by Germany.
CNN State Department correspondent, Zain Verjee, is live from Washington.
And Zain, what did Wolfowitz say to the board yesterday?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Well, first let's just start with what CNN is learning just now from several U.S. officials. Essentially, that the U.S. and the World Bank board, along with Paul Wolfowitz, are in final negotiations for him to leave the World Bank.
Now, under the proposed deal, Wolfowitz would resign over this scandal of arranging the promotion and the pay of his girlfriend, Shaha Riza. But the World Bank would also acknowledge responsibility for its role in the whole matter and how it was handled.
Now, a source close to Wolfowitz says to CNN that this is all just too premature and not accurate at this point. His lawyer, Robert Bennett, in the past has said that Wolfowitz would not resign under a cloud.
Now, the board has been meeting over the last two days, essentially reviewing a report that found Wolfowitz broke World Bank rules. Late on Tuesday, he made an appeal to the full World Bank board to hold on to his job. Wolfowitz said that he acted in good faith the whole time, he acted upon the bank's instruction, as well.
Now, the White House has been supporting Wolfowitz all along, but amid huge international opposition and pressure for him to resign, it appears that the White House is now coming to the conclusion that he can't stay -- Don.
LEMON: And talk more about that international opposition, because as you said, the White House has been standing behind him, but not internationally as much.
VERJEE: No. The momentum really has been growing.
There's enormous opposition. I mean, today there was a real sharp slap from the German government. The development minister saying that Paul Wolfowitz isn't welcome in Germany next week.
He was supposed to attend a meeting giving aid to Africa. The development minister says that he would just be a distraction if he was there.
Also, Paul Wolfowitz today was supposed to travel to Slovenia, and World Bank officials are telling CNN that that trip appears to be on hold. But in capitals around the world, Don, they're saying Wolfowitz just can't lead the World Bank effectively and credibly, and the whole reputation of the bank is at stake.
LEMON: So, Zain, real quick, is it only then just a matter of time?
VERJEE: Well, that's what many are saying, it's just a question of time. And the fact that they're out there trying to hammer out some sort of deal -- and the White House -- really key to the whole thing here, if they're shifting, then it seems as though it may just be a question of time.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Zain Verjee.
PHILLIPS: Actress, activist, author, first daughter of the civil rights movement, Yolanda King, the eldest child of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, died suddenly last night after a speech in California. She was just 51.
The cause of death isn't clear. Relatives say it may have been heart related.
Throughout her life, Yolanda King championed her parents dream of racial harmony, often taking the national stage, as she did after her mother died last year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOLANDA KING, MARTIN LUTHER KING'S DAUGHTER: In the example of her life, our mother's radiant light, we stood in the sunshine of her being, we knew first hand the enduring power of love. Her life expressed as artist, activist, mentor, champion of peace, freedom and justice, mother and wife, blazed with passion.
I often teased my mother that the Amazon and Trojan women had nothing on her. Not a thing. She did not just wear out her assistants, she rusted them out.
Mother's commitment to peace through loving action gave us so much energy. It gave her the energy to nurture us and to extend that love to include the world family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: By her family, Yolanda King was known as "Yoki".
Funeral arrangements are pending.
Yolanda King was on the board of the King Center here in Atlanta, where the flag has been lowered to half staff.
Reverend Joseph Lowery, a close friend of the King family, remembers her this way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. JOSEPH LOWERY, CLOSE FRIEND OF KING FAMILY: She was strong in spirit. And she embraced the movement in principle and in activism, although she chose her own channel. She liked -- she was in the arts.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
She was an actress, a producer. And she chose that vehicle for transmitting the message, which she adopted as her own about justice and truth and brotherhood and peace.
HARRIS: Yes.
LOWERY: And so, she was a crusader for justice in the tradition of her family, but in her own context. She was a charming person. I called her "princess" because the daughter of kings is called a princess.
HARRIS: Yes.
LOWERY: And she wore that mantle with dignity, with charm, and was an activist in her own way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And the Reverend Al Sharpton had this to say about her: "Yolanda was the torch bearer for her parents and a committed activist in her own right. Yolanda never wavered from a commitment to nonviolent social change and justice for all, never shamed her parents or her co-activists. We will miss her greatly."
Reflections also are coming in at the King Center.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's just no words. There are no words. You know, apparently her mission and her time was up. And whatever it is that she was born to do in the world, she fulfilled her purpose big-time, in such a profound way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I needed to come down and just pay my respects to the King family, what they mean to me and my family, and to everybody's family. You know? I'm shocked and I'm just stunned at the news this morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And from the White House, Press Secretary Tony Snow said President Bush and the first lady were sad to learn of Yolanda King's death. Their thoughts are with the King family.
LEMON: Controversy in death, as in life, for the founder of the Moral Majority. Reverend Jerry Falwell's hard-line sermons on abortion, pornography and homosexuality, among other things, helped turn conservative Christians into a strong political force. After his death yesterday at 73, Americans are divided on whether he was spreading the gospel or spreading hate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS, AUTHOR, "GOD IS NOT GREAT": The empty life of this ugly little charlatan proves only one thing, that you can get away with the most extraordinary offenses to morality and to truth in this country if you'll just get yourself called "Reverend". Who would even at your network have invited on such a little toad to tell us that the attacks of September the 11th were the result of our sinfulness and were god's punishment if they hadn't gotten some kind of clerical qualification?
People like that should be out in the street shouting in horror with a cardboard sign and selling pencils from a cup. The whole consideration of this horrible little person is offensive to very, very many of us who have some regard for truth and for morality, and who think that ethics do not require that lies be told to children.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": Earlier on the program, Christopher Hitchens was on, and he -- obviously, he's an atheist. He believes that Falwell was sort of -- didn't truly believe in what he was preaching.
Everyone else I've talked to seems to disagree with that wholeheartedly. Whether you agree with him or disagree with him, many people seem to agree, he did truly believe in his heart all the things he was saying, right or wrong.
FRANKLIN GRAHAM, SAMARITAN'S PURSE: Absolutely. And listen, Jerry was a man of god. And there has been a great statesman, a Christian statesman that fell today. He was a giant.
I don't know of anybody who will be able to replace him. He was controversial because he spoke the truth. And what I mean by speaking the truth, he opened up god's word, and he said this is what god says.
Now, there are statements that Jerry made that I didn't always agree with, but when he opened up the bible, he said, this is what god says. And I agree with Jerry, and I admire him because he had convictions and he wasn't willing to take the political correct avenue and try to appease everybody, where everybody would love him and like him.
He wanted to say what god had to say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Falwell also founded a university and a church. His body will lie in repose at Liberty University tomorrow and Friday, at Thomas Road Baptist church Sunday and Monday.
PHILLIPS: In one corner, an 11-year-old girl. In the other, a 19-year-old man allegedly bent on abducting her. Details on how she fought back and what's happened since.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, a Brooklyn sixth grader can thank mom's good advice and her own quick witts and courage for escaping an alleged attacker.
Lisa Colagrossi has the story now from our New York affiliate WABC.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA COLAGROSSI, REPORTER, WABC (voice over): Walking hand in hand with her Xochil Garcia has reason to smile. She escaped a would- be kidnapper who followed her into her apartment building on Ocean Avenue.
XOCHIL GARCIA, FOUGHT ATTACKER: When he caught me, he hit me against the window and pushed me. So he grabbed my mouth and said, "Don't scream." I couldn't bite him.
COLAGROSSI: The man, who stood 6'2", dragged her back down the stairs to the lobby. Then Xochil made her move.
GARCIA: He looked at my wrists. He was holding my wrists pretty tight. He loosened me a little bit and thought I didn't know.
So I took advantage of that and cut loose and ran outside. That's when they -- when I buzzed my brother and told him to come downstairs.
COLAGROSSI: That's when her brother and two neighbors sprang into action.
TIMOTHY ISAAC, NEIGHBOR: It was a natural reaction. You saw the way she was shaking and crying. And I got a little sister and a little niece, so it struck a nerve in me. You know? It could have -- it could have been one of them standing out her he did that to.
COLAGROSSI: They held the suspect until police arrived. Her family is proud and relieved.
HERIBERTO RODRIGUEZ, STEPFATHER: She alerted neighbors, and they responded and they were able to capture the guy before he really got away. So that helped a lot also.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And we talked to Xochil Garcia's family today. They say the suspect, 19-year-old Bernard Mutterpool (ph), is out on bail, and they're outraged that police didn't notify them of his release. They say they're concerned about their daughter's safety and the safety of other children in that neighborhood.
LEMON: Filling a hole in border security. A major smuggling superhighway shut down, but are others wide open?
That's ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: CNN "Security Watch". The feds are scrambling to fill some major holes in border enforcement, immigration control and the war on drugs. And when I say major holes, I mean major holes.
CNN's Casey Wian reports from the inside and out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This gaping hole under the U.S.-Mexico border was discovered in January 2006. It was an underground super highway for drugs, illegal aliens and potentially weapons and terrorists.
HECTOR MONTALVO, CUSTOMS & BORDER PROTECTION: Most likely this tunnel was done -- it was done by my miners. Because it took a lot of effort. They have a concrete floor. They have lighting along the tunnel. They have ventilation.
WIAN: Now, contractors working for the Army Corps of Engineers are filling it with concrete. This is what that looks like through a robotic camera. We were the only news crew ICE invited to view the tunnel it before it was filled.
(on camera): At 200 feet this is the longest tunnel ever discovered under the U.S.-Mexico border. At it's starting point in Mexico it began at 80 feet below the surface of the ground. When Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents discovered this tunnel more than a year ago they found two tons of marijuana on the Mexican side of the border and 200 pounds of marijuana on the U.S. side.
(voice-over): The tunnel ended in this warehouse, leased as a front for the Arellano Felix cartel. Drugs were moved out in produce trucks. More than two dozen smuggling tunnels have been discovered under the border since 1993 according to the new border tunnel task force.
FRANK MAYWOOD, IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: I would be astounded if there were not other tunnels out there. At any given time, the tunnel task force is working on multiple sites. I don't think we have an interstate system yet underground. I hope not.
WIAN: ICE says it took so long to begin filling the tunnel because it had to deal with private landowners, insurance companies, and other government authorities including the Environmental Protection Agency.
The tunnel likely cost drug smugglers hundreds of thousands of dollars to construct. Now U.S. taxpayers are spending three quarters of a million to fill it in.
ICE says it's 99 percent sure that no drugs or illegal aliens have moved through the tunnel since it was discovered.
(on camera): As for the other tunnels yet to be found, ICE says it's working with the Mexican government. They hope to be able to uncover 90 percent of future tunnels before they reach the surface in the United States. Right now, they're finding about half.
Casey Wian, CNN, Otay Mesa, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: For people with more dollars than sense, check out these cantaloupes. The pair set a new record at the annual melon auction yesterday in Japan.
What's so funny? They're cantaloupes.
A department store in Sapporo paid a grand total of $16,600 for both. Melons are highly prized in Japan and frequently given as gifts. Still, $8,000 for one cantaloupe is a lot, even in Japan, where it's not unusual to pay as much as $100 for one at the grocery store.
Closing bell about to ring on Wall Street.
LEMON: Susan Lisovicz standing by with a final look at the trading day.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: We now take you to "THE SITUATION ROOM".
LEMON: And Wolf Blitzer.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
