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Sunday Spotlight: Democratic Presidential Hopeful Chris Dodd
Aired June 24, 2007 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Nine months pregnant and so decomposed, it's hard to identify her. Now we're learning about somebody who tried to clean up the evidence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Said that there is more bleach in this house than I had ever seen anywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: What was somebody planning to do with one of these six- year-old boys? It's astounding to think about.
Imagine something like this coming right at you. Senator Chris Dodd wants to be president. His plan is to change our image around the world. So who does he want to use to do that? You. No matter what language you speak. He's in our Sunday spotlight and in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And hello again, everybody. We find ourselves here once again in "B" control, where we've just gotten in some more surveillance footage of Jessie Davis. Perhaps the last pictures that were taken of her alive. Here they are. Here's Davis, as you can see, nearly nine months pregnant. She's shopping on the day that she is believed to disappear June 13. There she is in the circle. Her body was found yesterday in a northern Ohio park. And a medical examiner confirms it tonight that it was in fact hers.
There are several other developments in this story as well. Perhaps the biggest at all, though, is that there has been a second arrest. Let's show you that. Myisha Ferrell, as you've been hearing, has been charged now with obstruction of justice. Her arrest comes just 24 hours after Bobby Cutts, a cop. He was charged with two counts of murder. He's the father of Davis' 2-year-old son. He's also believed to have fathered her unborn child.
Tonight, Cutts and Ferrell are both in jail. And they are both due in court tomorrow. Now that's the latest. Let's try and fill in the gaps for you. We now know that last night, police searched Myisha Ferrell's apartment. They were there in fact earlier in the week. What were they there looking for, though? And what did they find? Here now, we start off with CNN's Jim Acosta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Authorities say they charged Myisha Ferrell after searching her apartment just last night.
(voice-over): The arrest came less than one day after authorities smashed their way into the home of 29-year-old Myisha Ferrell, but investigators are so far revealing little about her involvement in the disappearance of Jessie Davis, the pregnant mother whose body was found on Saturday just outside a national park north of Canton.
RICK PEREZ, CHIEF DEPUTY, STARK CO., OHIO SHERIFF'S DEPT.: Myisha Lynn Ferrell is charged with obstructing deputies and agents in the investigation into the disappearance of Jessie Davis.
ACOSTA: Justin Lindstrom, who lives above Myisha Ferrell's apartment, says investigators were on the lookout for a comforter.
JUSTIN LINDSTROM, FERRELL'S NEIGHBOR: While they were here, the sheriffs were specifically asking about the comforter they found in my laundry in the basement. And it was my comforter and all, but at the same time, you know, it doesn't take a genius to put that together.
ACOSTA: A comforter disappeared from Davis' home at the same time the pregnant mother vanished more than a week ago. Lindstrom says investigators also appear to be hunting for a source of bleach found all over the crime scene.
LINDSTROM: I could hear them talking about a lot of bleach that they found, said that there was more bleach in this house than they've ever seen anywhere.
ACOSTA: Investigators entered Ferrell's home just hours after authorities charged Davis' ex-boyfriend, Bobby Cutts, Jr., a police officer, with two counts of murder. A source close to the search told CNN Cutts directed investigators to the location of the body. Last week, Cutts denied involvement in the disappearance to a local newspaper reporter.
TODD PORTER: Bobby, did you have anything at all to do with the disappearance of Jessie?
BOBBY CUTTS, JR.: No, I didn't.
ACOSTA: The family of Jessie Davis is now in mourning. Outside Jessie's home, flowers and offers of condolences are piling up.
(on camera): Investigators say they're still searching multiple locations and talking to a variety of people in connection with this case. And both Cutts and Ferrell are scheduled to appear in court tomorrow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: There are a bevy of reporters covering this story. Maureen Kyle with WKYC is one of them. She's good enough to join us live. Maureen, first question, do we expect at some point police will say that what she did was actually help move the body? MAUREEN KYLE, WKYC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: You know, that remains to be unseen. Of course, they're going to hold on to all the evidence until actually laying it out possibly for a trial.
SANCHEZ: Well, what else could it be? I mean, is she possibly being investigated for something that would be much worse, maybe even something including Davis' death?
KYLE: You know, I asked the chief deputy there if there was going to be any other charges filed. And he said that's it for today, thank you very much. So it's unclear whether she'll face more charges, maybe more serious charges, and exactly what her role is, but that bleach that they found in her house is suspicious.
SANCHEZ: Why?
KYLE: Well, of course, because there was a big bleach stain next to Jessie Davis' bed. So that was one thing that they were looking for in the search warrant that Justin Lindstrom actually found in the house there. He said that the search warrant listed bleach bottles and cleaning agents, as well as cell phones, bed sheets, and a comforter.
SANCHEZ: So there is then some thought out there that she not only may have moved the body, although police haven't said that yet, but that she may have tried to hide some of the evidence using bleach and perhaps other substances?
KYLE: You know, obstruction of justice is a very broad term. Police haven't really let on exactly what they have against Myisha Ferrell. But from what we understand, we've also have gotten a tip that there was an SUV parked in the driveway sometime on Thursday, that Thursday when Jessie had first gone missing. And it's unclear whose SUV that is. I haven't heard any word on whether or not Myisha Ferrell has an SUV, but we haven't seen Bobby Cutts with an SUV so far.
SANCHEZ: All right, listen, thanks so much. Interesting. I mean, the way the twists and turns of the story have come in over the last 48 hours is amazing. We thank you for bringing us up to date on this. We expect more on this story.
Now how strange is it for a man to kill his wife or his girlfriend? Unfortunately, not strange at all it seems these days. Tonight, another case. This man, 32-year-old Christopher Vaughn, you'll see him there at the bottom of your screen, charged with killing his wife and three children. Their bodies were found near an Illinois freeway ten days ago.
Now listen, Vaughn told police that his wife was the shooter, that she had shot him. He even showed them where he was shot in the leg around the area in the thigh. Well, yesterday, he showed up at the funeral for his wife and the three kids. The same three kids police now say he shot and killed. It was there at the funeral where police arrested him, as friends and family all there to mourn instead looked on. Happening now in California, high winds are making things tough on firefighters around Lake Tahoe. 50 homes and more than 500 acres have been destroyed by the Angorra (ph) Lake fire. Mandatory evacuations are in effect in several areas, including the Angorra (ph) Lake resort.
Take a look at these flames. Hundreds of other homes and other parts of buildings are being threatened. And we're told that there is a mass evacuation that might be taking effect in the area. We're going to keep tabs on that.
Let's go over to Bonnie for more on this. Boy, this particular part of the country has been seeing a lot of heat lately, haven't they?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: They sure have. We have seen not only heat, but very warm winds coming in from the southwest. So that ushers in even more dry air. And you can see from the video how quickly the fire is spreading due to those strong wind gusts and hot temperatures.
Right now, the winds are coming in out of the south. They don't look too bad, but we've seen them kind of fluctuate to about 15 to 17 miles per hour. But notice the gusts at 23 miles per hour.
And this is very interesting to note. We've had reports from amateur weather spotters that there's -- under the plume of smoke, we're starting to see more accumulation of ash. And that makes the air quality very dangerous. So a dense smoke advisory is in effect, not just tonight, but straight through tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. because the smoke is likely to spread.
So if you're in this region, where you see the smoke highlighted, obviously you want to stay inside tonight and tomorrow morning because as temperatures cool tonight and, Rick, they'll get down into the 40s, what'll happen is that ash will fall even further. And the smoke cloud will actually be more on the ground than it is right now.
SANCHEZ: Hmm. So stay indoors if you can.
SCHNEIDER: Yes.
SANCHEZ: And hit that recirculation button in the air conditioner in your car.
SCHNEIDER: Good idea.
SANCHEZ: Thanks a lot, Bonnie.
Let's talk politics now and the big issue dividing Washington. I'm talking, of course, about immigration. What else? The Senate bill that was given up for dead just weeks ago appears to have some new life now, but it still faces some long odds with marchers on both sides of the debate hitting the streets today. The clock is ticking on leaders in Washington. Here to put it all together with you is CNN's Ed Henry. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This week is make or break on immigration reform in the Senate. So supporters of the bill rallied Sunday in Los Angeles, but opponents are also mobilizing to drive home a potent message of their own.
PATRICK BUCHANAN, FMR. PRES. CANDIDATE: I think this is a blanket amnesty for wholesale illegality. And I think it will result in another invasion of the United States that's even greater than this one.
HENRY: President Bush is desperately trying to counter that argument in order to salvage a key legacy item.
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is not amnesty. There will be penalties for those who come out of the shadows. They pass a strict background check, pay a fine, hold a job, maintain a clean criminal record, and eventually learn English, they will qualify for and maintain a "Z" visa.
HENRY: The problem is that too many of the president's fellow Republicans, even fellow Texans are not buying it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't like what's in it now. I think the amnesty, the cut-off after five years of the guest worker program I think is completely unworkable.
HENRY: Ironically, Democrats are praising the president's approach, including a provision providing an immediate infusion of several billion dollars to secure the nation's border.
SEN. RON WYDEN (D), OREGON: This new approach is going to provide about $4 billion for technology. It's going to provide additional money for sentencing. So it'd be a lot more in the area of border security.
HENRY: But if the bill again fails to clear a procedural hurdle, Democrats anxious to rack up legislative victories will move on to other issues. And then the calendar gets hijacked by the 2008 presidential campaign, when an issue as divisive and emotional as immigration reform has no chance of passage.
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MINORITY WHIP: If we don't get it done in the Senate now, it will not be done in the Senate this year or next year, and not before sometime in 2009 when who knows who will be president.
HENRY (on camera): In a sign it's do or die time for this legislation, the president will hold yet another immigration event on Tuesday. And he'll be working the phones, lobbying the few lawmakers who are still on the fence, and warning of the cost of doing nothing.
Ed Henry, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SANCHEZ: Does anybody at this table know who Christopher Dodd is?
It's this guy. So hard to break through when you're in the so- called second tier of presidential candidates, but Chris Dodd has a plan. Wait until you hear it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I unbuckled our seat belts and I unbuckled Morgan, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: What kept these little girls from becoming a roll away tragedy. You'll see it.
A man of God, against gays. Then everything changed. Boy, has it. God and gays when we uncover America in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We welcome you back to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Gay pride celebrations taking place around the country and parts of the world today. The day commemorates the 1969 Stonewall uprising when gay patrons of a New York City bar resisted a police raid. In New York, the parade ran down posh Fifth Avenue, all the way to Greenwich Village.
Well, her presidential hopeful husband is against gay marriage, but spouses often don't hold the same opinions. Today, Elizabeth Edwards made her personal views on the issue known. And here's what she had to say at a news conference just before San Francisco's Gay Pride Parade.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH EDWARDS, WIFE OF JOHN EDWARDS: I don't know why somebody else's marriage has anything to do with me. I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Well, as you may know, many, many Americans disagree with the entire notion of the gay lifestyle. One evangelical minister was among those always equating being gay with sin. Then for Bishop Carlton Pearson, suddenly everything changed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARLTON PEARSON, BISHOP, NEW DIMENSIONS CHURCH: You know when you're a true shepherd because the holy, righteous indignation rises up inside of you.
SANCHEZ (voice-over): He was one of the hottest tickets on the Christian evangelical circuit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want you to welcome Bishop Carlton Pearson back to life today. Would you welcome him right now.
SANCHEZ: This Tulsa, Oklahoma bishop spent 30 years saving souls. His tears, his dancing, his singing got Christians excited about serving God. He ministered in high political circles, praying with both President Bush and Bush senior. Jim Bakker counted him as friend before and after his downfall. Just like most other evangelists, Carlton Pearson's concept of sin included homosexuality.
PEARSON: The people who were gay were disfigured and dysfunctional and confused. And I mean, those are the only explanations we had. And that God would not be pleased with that. It's not natural. This is of the devil. It's - you know, we need to rebuke this thing and bind it. And I had all of my gay friends fasting and praying and seeking God. We were anointing them with oil and in encouraging them to go further into counseling.
SANCHEZ: That was then. This is what he preaches now.
PEARSON: Do you ever see anywhere in scripture where Jesus rejected anybody? Period. From the prostitute caught in adultery to the tax collector.
SANCHEZ: After his change of heart, the bishop is accepting sinners for who they are and allowing gays to just be.
PEARSON: Why do you have a judge a person based on a label or a title with which you attach to them. Are you all hearing me? We just love God. We just love people. And we are the most radically inclusive worship experience in the city of Tulsa.
SANCHEZ: His revelation has nearly ruined him. Christian magazines and leaders have labeled him a heretic. His new preaching cost him everything. Most of his 5,000-member megachurch abandoned him. He can no longer afford the church property. Lost his place to minister. And his speaking engagements, which made up three-quarters of his income, went dry.
PEARSON: Everything that I had -- that I felt was secure became profoundly insecure. My whole life's work went up in smoke.
SANCHEZ: So what led the bishop, who had it all, to take what evangelists call a detour, a way from God? For one, his best friend told him he was gay.
PEARSON: I couldn't see sending him to hell. He was spiritual. He loved the Lord. He loved gospel music. He was a physician. I'd seen him go through med school. And he was part of our family.
SANCHEZ: Then it was seeing how most people in Tulsa weren't leading righteous lives despite being a bible belt city.
PEARSON: We have one of the highest - second highest divorce rates, second only to Savannah. We have one of the highest out of wedlock teen pregnancies. And I kept thinking all this hyper conservative fundamentalist religion is probably not working.
SANCHEZ: Then he wrestled with the scripture issue. The bible does say thou shalt not lay with mankind as with womankind. It is abomination. However...
PEARSON: It also says slaves, obey your masters. That's new testament. It says if you -- Jesus says you must hate your mother and father if you want to take that - or in brother and sister if you're going to follow me. If you want to take that literally, I mean, I've got to hate my parents to follow Jesus.
SANCHEZ: Pearson decided God was not going to send all sinners to hell. They were already saved by God's grace.
PEARSON: The scripture says that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting men's sins against them. So if God doesn't count men's sins against them, why are we Christians or religious people so comfortable doing that?
SANCHEZ: Today this Episcopal church is all that's left of his Tulsa ministry. He leases space for his service with dozens of other churches that don't have a home of their own. But he's gaining a lot of fans by preaching what he calls the gospel of inclusion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is courageously suffering and lost so much and rejected by so many for people like us. Now that's our hero.
SANCHEZ: In May, Bishop Pearson was one of dozens of religious leaders who went to Washington to support adding gays to hate crime legislation.
PEARSON: I think we have idolized the bible and used it, and I call them bible bullets, to denounce anything that we don't like or understand or anything we fear. And I would like for that to be corrected in the Christian consciousness.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And coming up, some say that a picture is worth a thousand words. The story behind this picture might just break your heart. Is this the new enemy in the war on terror? Plus...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Who is Christopher Dodd?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No idea.
SANCHEZ: Who is Christopher Dodd?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have no idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Well, if you're like these women and many Americans, then you need to stay tuned. Senator and presidential candidate Christopher Dodd has been stuck in that proverbial second tier. Now he's in our Sunday spotlight coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. I'm Rick Sanchez. This is our incoming wall. And what I want to show you now is our top three picks. Let's start with number three. We take you to India. They're saying dozens of people have died there as a result of this monsoon. Aid workers have come into the area. You see the rain. They said that they've been relentless. They've not only affected much of India, but also parts of Pakistan as well. And they say hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced because of these monsoon-like conditions.
Now I want you to listen to one little girl and her story. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, the air comes from the water, the water was coming out. It looked like we were almost drowning, but we didn't. It didn't get like all fulled up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: She was almost drowning, but she didn't. And the reason -- her dad's car that she was in with her sister rolled back into a lake. Thank goodness she was able to take her sister, there she is, out of her seat belt, take herself out of the seat belt. And they both able to get out alive, so to speak, which is so important.
Now in fairness to the dad, he did leave the car with them in it. He did, though, have the emergency brake on, though one of the little girls accidentally moved it with her leg. And that's why it dislodged it and they rolled back into the lake. They're both fine, though.
This is another story that a lot of folks have been talking about. This one having to do with Afghanistan. One of these two little boys is actually wearing a vest. And he went to an Afghan soldier and he said, would you please help me remove this vest. When the Afghan soldier took a really good look at it, what he realized it wasn't just an ordinary vest. It was actually a suicide bomb that had been put on him by one of the Taliban fighters. And they told him to go to the soldiers, to go to the Afghan soldiers and to blow himself up.
The little boy confused instead just wanted to be taken off. Forces there are saying -- U.N. forces are saying that this shows to what lengths some of these Taliban fighters will go to continue their acts of terror.
Here's another story that we're going to be bringing you in just a little bit. It's the very latest on how this delivery can have something to do with terror. We'll put the two together for you. Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: We welcome you back. We don't often hear about U.N. peacekeepers getting attacked, especially in Lebanon. It happened today. At least five U.N. troops were killed by a car bomb in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel. At least two other peacekeepers were seriously wounded.
Now we got some dramatic video from the moments right after the attack. There it is. You can see here some of the U.N. troops carrying one of their colleagues away from the scene. That soldier there fortunately was able to walk under his own power despite his wounds. We'll keep an eye on it.
Well, his name is Ali Hassan al Majid, and he is the cousin of Saddam Hussein. You've seen him before. You probably know him as his nickname, though, "Chemical Ali." Today in Baghdad, Chemical Ali was one of three people sentenced to death by hanging. He was convicted of war crimes for ordering the use of chemical weapons to put down a Kurdish uprising back in the 1980s.
Could a chemical attack happen here in the United States? Officials want to be ready just in case. So in Philadelphia today, volunteer postal workers went door to door testing their ability to distribute emergency medications. Health officials say today's test is the one way to prepare for the absolute worst.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL RAUB, DR., HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DEPT.: Wrapped around all of this would be a continuing public health message that in effect says shelter in place, we'll keep you informed. In this case, we will bring the medications to you. It'll be enough medications for everyone. And that medication is free.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: By the way, in a real emergency, the postal workers would be given the medication first. They would then head out to deliver it to homes on their usual routes. To others.
Coming up, Democrat Chris Dodd. He's one of only two presidential candidates who's, did you know, fluent in Spanish.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS DODD: (Speaking Spanish.)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: We'll explain the laughter. I'll have a little fun with him and then put him to the test in our Sunday spotlight.
Also ahead -- something you don't hear about every day. A tornado in Canada. Tornado warnings are now in effect there of all places. Look at this monster. We'll tell you all about it.
We'll be back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We welcome you back, here. I'm Rick Sanchez. Tonight in the "Sunday Spotlight" Democratic presidential candidate Christopher Dodd. If you don't know him it's because he's part of that so-called second tier of presidential candidates. He has something to say. In fact, he has a new plan, he says, that he says, will make America respected again, both internally, domestically, and internationally.
First, though, how are average Americans responding to this second tier of candidates, you know, the Chris Dodds?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (on camera): Christopher Dodd?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Christopher Dodd? Name sounds familiar, but I can't put a face with it.
SANCHEZ: He's running for president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, he is. Oh, OK?
SANCHEZ: Christopher Dodd, what do you think of him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No opinion.
SANCHEZ: Do you know him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
SANCHEZ: Who is Christopher Dodd?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No idea.
SANCHEZ: Who is Christopher Dodd?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have no idea.
SANCHEZ: Who is Christopher Dodd?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No idea.
SANCHEZ: Can you name somebody running for president on the Democratic side?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a Republican.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Who?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Giuliani?
SANCHEZ: He's a Republican. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said I'm Republican.
Wait, wait, wait, give me a minute.
SANCHEZ: Can anybody help her?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hillary Clinton.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Barack Obama.
SANCHEZ: Barack Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yep.
SANCHEZ: One more?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give me a minute.
SANCHEZ: Good hair?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, John Edwards.
SANCHEZ: John Edwards.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And the good news for the Christopher Dodds is it's a long way before the election. And they are working hard to get known. So, here, as a part of that is our interview in our "Sunday Spotlight" with Senator Christopher Dodd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Senator, thanks so much for being with us, sir.
SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD (D-CT.), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, Rick. Thanks very much.
SANCHEZ: What is the plan?
DODD: Well, the plan is basically for universal service. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in the 1960s. I served in the National Guard and the Reserves. And I want everybody to serve our country. We live in a remarkable place. And I think it's very little to ask of each and every one of us to find some time to give back to this country.
SANCHEZ: Let's --
DODD: With that we get more of a shared experience with people.
SANCHEZ: Let's take it apart pragmatically, though.
First of all, you want students, before they graduate, to be mandated to do some type of service. Something with a charity or something where they are helping somebody else? DODD: Yes. That's very little to ask and will help provide the resources, unlike No Child Left Behind. I don't think you should mandate resources without providing the resources to the schools to do it. Because I realize it is going to be costly, not terribly costly, but it's almost unlimited. Whether it's church groups, a community- based thing, veterans hospitals, hospices, working in environmental cleanup, the options are as wide as your imaginations can run.
Many are doing it already. But the idea that in high school, I would even begin it earlier if I could, in middle schools, that notion -- and it becomes addictive, Rick. I think those that end up doing this discover what a joy it is, what incredible self-satisfaction you get. It's almost like being smug. That wonderful notion you made a difference in someone else's life. And it need not wait for a hurricane or a natural disaster, or a man-made one.
But there are people everyday -- I guarantee you, right now, there's a guy in a veteran's hospital who hasn't been visited in weeks. I promise you there's someone in a hospice that hasn't had someone come by and spend an hour with them.
SANCHEZ: But you know, we're living in a me society. How do you sell this to people who can barely get off the couch, and kids who can barely get away from the video games?
DODD: Rick, I get the best response in the world when I talk about universal service. It cuts across every ideological and political line. It is amazing to me. I talk about and it I say, I think everybody ought to serve the country and I get an eruption of applause by people. Because they all want their kids to go through this.
We look back at the generations before us. I went down yesterday in Charleston, I went to the memorial service for those nine firemen who lost their lives, in that fire in Charleston, last Monday. That service -- service to your community. People talked about it there.
I met today with a bunch of kids from Americorp, here in Nashua, New Hampshire. They are so proud of what they have been doing, making a difference. They're mentoring kids in elementary school, teaching to read, engaging in after school programs. Everywhere I go people are dying to be asked to give. People have said to me a million times --
SANCHEZ: Let me stop you for a minute. You're talking about the domestic side. Let's talk about the international side, because as I remember the Peace Corps people, like yourself, went overseas. They grew, they learned, as a result of experiencing someone else's culture. And I think it was also a goodwill -- as Americans, people then respected the United States because they got to know an American, right? We don't do a lot of that anymore. Is that a part of your plan, also?
DODD: Absolutely. I will double and triple the size of the peace corps and support -- there are a lot of other international voluntary organizations that do great work, as well. They ought to be encouraged and supported, as well. Again, Rick, you are so right. Look, I went over as a 22-year- old to the Dominican Republic. I dropped down in a mountain village in Benito Vancione (ph). I came out two years later a very different kid. I learned a foreign language. I appreciated a culture. And I grew to love my country in ways I never imagined before, coming back again. And I was enriched by it, as a human being. I learned a lot more than I gave. It is presumptuous in many ways, but it was enriching to me. They got to know me. It cost the government $100 bucks a month.
(CROSS TALK)
SANCHEZ: Will it end that xenophobic feeling that we experience in this country, and that we're certainly seeing now, perhaps more than any other time of in our history at other people looking back at us?
DODD: I think so. I don't think you can -- you can't hate America if you know Americans. I believe that. I meet with volunteers all across the country, all across the world. I was in Jordan a few months ago and met with 20 volunteers, retiring (ph) there. They were telling about their experience there; all of them Arabic speakers.
They make a difference in places and ways that can never reach other people, because these are kids, they're younger people out doing things, working with them every single day. We need more of that. We need to regain our footing and our moral authority in the world, to once again be the nation that people thought of as doing good things, doing positive things for people. The Peace Corps is one way to do it, not the only way.
SANCHEZ: Do you hold the Bush administration's feet to the fire on this one? Do you blame this administration for that xenophobic feeling that we just talked about that is being exhibited all over the world?
DODD: I think, in part I do, and I say that regretfully. People have asked me why did I join the Peace Corps, back in 1966? I did because an American president asked me to; he asked a whole generation of us to be involved in something --
SANCHEZ: Yes, but that's not my question. My question was, do you hold George Bush responsible?
DODD: I know, I've got your answer. I'm drawing a comparison here.
SANCHEZ: All right. Go on. I'll give you the time.
DODD: The comparison was at the end of 9/11. I'll never forget this. People spontaneously joined up to do blood drives, get out and help, whatever they could do. People wanted to be a part of joining together as a country after the attack of 9/11. And then, I remember -- whether it was you, or someone in the media asked the president what he thought the American public ought to do.
And as long as I live I'll never forget the answer, his answer was go shopping. I'm thinking to myself, what a change with a president who asked me to join the Peace Corps and American president told me to go shopping. The American public hadn't changed at all. We're still basically the same as we were in 1966. Our leadership changed. They are not asking us to sacrifice. And I will, as president.
SANCHEZ: I feel a passion in you about this.
DODD: I care about it a lot.
SANCHEZ: I can tell. It's interesting. Thank you for explaining to us and taking us through it. And the best of luck to you, sir.
DODD: Thanks, Rick, appreciate it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Let me ask you this question. You saw some of mine. What would you ask a presidential candidate if you could? Here's your chance. CNN is teaming up with YouTube for the next presidential debate, the Democrats on Monday July 23, the Republicans Monday July 17 -- pardon me, I misspoke -- Monday September 17. Don't want to get that wrong.
You can submit your videotaped questions just go to cnn.com/youtubedebates. It's part of the best political coverage on television.
Assassination plots, illegal wiretaps, even break-ins, all secrets kept by the CIA until now. That is just a tip of the iceberg. We got the rest.
And then Paris Hilton, the soon to be ex-con. That's right. She is about to walk and we're going to be talking to her.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We welcome you back to V Control, as we roll along. I'm Rick Sanchez. Let's talk now about assassination plots, illegal wiretaps, break-ins. And it was all paid for with your tax dollars. What we're talking about is the CIA's darkest little secrets, but this week, they decided that those skeletons would be coming to light for all to see. They'd be coming clean as a top secret file is now being declassified. This is news. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Wiretapping, surveillance, break-ins, opening mail, infiltrating dissident groups. The CIA is prohibited from those operations domestically, but did so anyway in the 1960s. CIA Director Michael Haden says next week he will declassify and make public more than 700 pages of old internal documents called "The Family Jewels".
TOM BLANTON, NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVES: This is the CIA's internal assessment, written by the senior CIA officers of what might have been illegal, what crossed the line, what was over the edge, what was outside the charter.
TODD: Among the activities they found -- wiretapping and surveillance of several journalists, including Brit Hume, in 1972, when he was a researcher for investigative reporter Jack Anderson.
PETER EARNEST, INTERNATIONAL SPY MUSEUM: They use the phone, they see people, they travel about, they drive their cars, so at any given time they're exposed to circumstances in which their phones could be tapped, their movements monitored.
TODD: Other illegal activities exposed in the documents? The infiltration of antiwar groups, opening mail to Americans from the Soviet Union and China, including four letters to Jane Fonda.
EARNEST: It was doing what it believed to be what it was being directed to do by the executive office, by that I mean the White House.
TODD: A front-page story in 1974 on eavesdropping prompted an internal review by the CIA director at the time, but the agency kept the lid on "The Family Jewels" for 30 years.
Then-National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger argued in a 1975 meeting, quote, "If they come out, blood will flow."
For example, Robert Kennedy personally managed the operation on the assassination of Castro. The plot never came to fruition, and political assassinations are now counter to U.S. policy.
(on camera): Current CIA Director Michael Haden says he is working to make the agency as open as possible. Today there is far more oversight from Congress and the debate over privacy versus intelligence is more public. But as these documents show, it is just as controversial as it was decades ago. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Let's talk now about stories that are making news "Across America".
A small plane crashes in eastern Utah; it kills a man and a woman on board. The plane hit a power pole and burst into flames just a mile away from the airport. No word on what the cause was.
On the Atlantic City boardwalk area today, fire damaged part of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission headquarters. Cause? Still under investigation. No one was inside at the time. The same fire destroyed a building across the street, housing retail shops. Atlantic City officials say no worries, the dice will keep rolling.
This Houston teenager has had hardship early in life including two kidney transplants, so the Make-A-Wish Foundation decided to grant him his wish, to trick out his Honda Civic. The problem is somebody stole it from the school parking lot, new rims, new hood, and all. Today a tow truck driver recognized the car from local news reports and led police to an impound lot where the car had been stripped of its parts.
Quick program reminder for you. This is one you certainly don't want to miss. Paris Hilton, expected to get out of prison in the next 48 hours, and when she does, she is going to talk first to Larry King. That's right, be sure to watch CNN Wednesday night at 9:00 Eastern. This is going to be a CNN exclusive, Paris Hilton's first TV interview after her release. Again that's Wednesday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
Coming up, storm chasers, once again, and they are on the hunt. Look what they found.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God! Holy crap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Holy what, Batman? We're going to give you some of the pictures that they shared with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Bonnie Schneider is joining us now to talk about something that is interesting -- tornadoes. And should we show it to them first?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Let's take a look at the video, it's incredible.
SANCHEZ: Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get some pictures, Dave. Yeah, we got to get out of here pretty soon.
Isn't this amazing? You know, usually tornadoes hit, people go the other way, Listen to these guys. They are so into it. Not one, not two, but three different tornadoes were spotted all along the Canadian Prairies late last night. And now, you can see the pictures. Listen to them talking about it.
Talking about tornadoes that were about 70 miles an hour and hail. OK. We'll say it again hail the size of -- drum roll, please -- golf balls. Why is it always golf balls?
SCHNEIDER: Well, that's how you measure. It's just so people can understand. But it's incredible video. I know that is their job to go ahead and chase them. The problem with that is you really can't tell which direction the tornado is going to go. I know it looks like its going one way, but that's a dangerous hobby to have.
SANCHEZ: It's amazing. Also there's this, this is kind of a weather story. You'll enjoy this. It started raining today n inside LAX. You ready? Inside LAX, not outside. Hundreds of people had to be evacuated from a terminal at the Los Angeles airport when a broken pipe caused sprinklers to suddenly malfunction, giving some travelers an unwanted shower. It got a little chaotic, we're told, when people started running for the exits. Some flights were delayed and there was some minor flooding in the baggage and in the screening areas. Obviously, it was a malfunction.
It wasn't really weather-related, Bonnie, I guess you probably figured that out.
SCHNEIDER: I did. But the rain, inside, that must have been quite confusing for every one.
And tonight, if you're traveling, trying to get back to New York.
(TRAVEL/WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Coming up, dancing amid desolation. That's right. Look at these pictures. It's modern dance that's bringing hope and relief to people who are just struggling to survive. The man behind this project is tonight's "CNN Hero". You will meet him next. One of our favorite segments here at CNN. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We welcome you back. Here is one of our favorite segments. They dedicate their lives to helping others. We call them "CNN Heroes" and we're bringing the stories to you this year.
We found tonight's hero in a country with one of the largest displaced populations in the world, Cambodia (sic). He's Alvaro Restrepo. He is sharing his craft with poor children and he's really got them moving, here's his story in his own words.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Cartagena is a -- 1 million people, 1 million inhabitants city, where 70 percent of the population is living below poverty line.
My name is Alvaro Restrepo. I co-direct the College of the Body. We work with kids coming from poor, difficult neighborhoods Cartagena, teaching them dance and through dance values that can change their lives.
For a kid like Jose -- well he was born in the midst of something that for him is natural.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Sometimes here we see violence, almost every Friday or Sunday someone is killed.
RESTREPO: They have the courage to realize, yes, I can become somebody with doing this. So when you're teaching a simple exercise you are speaking about concentration, about self-esteem, you are learning to work with others. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Whenever I performed, I was afraid. But Alvaro encouraged me. He tells me there are two options, either you do it, or you do it. I have to do it.
RESTREPO: From the very beginning we started to realize that we were plowing in very fertile soil. We are able to prove that if these kids are given an opportunity they can become great human beings.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: You can help us out, if you know a hero. Just let us know about him or her. Just log onto CNN.com/heroes and nominate your "CNN Hero". By the way I misspoke, I said Cambodia. Obviously, it was Columbia.
What was I thinking about? Maybe the fact that I'm going on vacation tomorrow.
I'm Rick Sanchez. Thanks so much for being with us. Stay tuned now for CNN Special Investigations Unit, "Poison Food". See you again.
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