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Collar Bomb Robbery; Battle Over War; Infections and Antibiotics
Aired July 11, 2007 - 08:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins. Good morning.
Watch events come into the NEWSROOM live on July 11th.
Here's what's on the rundown.
Forced to wear a bomb and rob a bank, this man's claim in 2003. Today, charges expected in his bizarre -- in the bizarre heist.
HARRIS: Democrats leading a new blitz to force a troop drawdown in Iraq.
COLLINS: A U.S. senator linked to a second refuted madam. This one in New Orleans.
The gumbo thickens in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And at the top this hour, a memorable mystery may soon be solved. The collar bomb robbery, remember this? Federal investigators in Pennsylvania ready to make an announcement in just a few hours.
Here's CNN's Jason Carroll.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a frightening moment, one that became a mystery lasting nearly four years -- this pizza deliveryman, Brian Wells, handcuffed, minutes away from death, police unsure if he's a victim or a bank robber -- Wells telling them a bizarre story, saying, armed gunmen forced him to rob a bank and attached a so-called collar bomb around his neck. And time was running out.
"Why is no one coming to get this thing off me? I don't have a lot of time."
But no one knew how much time. Minutes earlier, surveillance video had captured Wells as he walked into this PNC Bank in Erie, Pennsylvania. He had a gun shaped like a cane in his hand, a lollipop in his mouth, and, as you're about to hear in this 911 call, a strange object around his neck.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The guy just walked out with -- I don't know how much cash in the bag. He has a bomb or something -- or something wrapped around his neck.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CARROLL: With police finally caught up with Wells, he told them they had the wrong man. Listen as he tried telling them the story about the gunman who he says put the bomb around his neck.
BRIAN WELLS, KILLED IN BOMB EXPLOSION: He pulled a key out and started a timer. I heard the thing ticking when he did it. It's going to go off.
CARROLL: Minutes passed. A bomb squad raced to the scene. They didn't make it in time.
We cannot show you what happened next. Wells was killed in the explosion. His family called him a victim, proclaiming his innocence on a Web site.
JOHN WELLS, BROTHER OF BRIAN WELLS: My brother told them it was a group of strangers that accosted him at gunpoint, shot at him when he tried to run away.
CARROLL: Now, finally, almost four years later, a break in the case. A knowledgeable source tells CNN investigators are expected to charge Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Kenneth Barnes with conspiracy to commit bank robbery.
It's not clear at this point if they knew Wells. Diehl-Armstrong is already in prison, serving time for the murder of her ex-boyfriend, James Roden. Barnes is behind bars as well in Erie County Prison, being held on a drug charge.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Jason Carroll joins us now.
And Jason, I just -- let me search your mind here. Is there any connection between Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Kenneth Barnes to Brian Wells?
CARROLL: Well, what we are hearing is that the two suspects are fishing buddies, and that's how they know each other. At this point, it seems to be unclear, though, if those two suspects knew Wells. Perhaps at this press conference later on this afternoon we'll get more clarification about how all of these people may or may not be related in some way.
HARRIS: And then there's some story about a prostitute seeing, I guess, one of the suspects and Wells together. Anything to that at this point, or is that just another detail that we'll have to sort out at this press conference?
CARROLL: Again, it's one of those details that's sort of emerging at this point...
HARRIS: Sure.
CARROLL: ... one of those unconfirmed details that's emerging. But, you know, what we want to point is Wells' family says he is, in fact, just an innocent bystander. But at this point, authorities have not said that he's an innocent bystander, nor have they said that he's a suspect in any way involved in this.
So, again, we really have to wait for the authorities to come out and give us more details about what they have found with this investigation.
HARRIS: But what is clear is that Armstrong and Barnes, at least at this point, are not expected to be charged with murder.
CARROLL: Not at this point. But that could just be because we are still in some ways in the early stage of this investigation. It's not unusual at all for authorities to come out, list some charges, and then later on...
HARRIS: Continue...
CARROLL: ... add more charges, exactly.
HARRIS: Yes. OK.
Jason Carroll for us in New York.
Jason, thank you.
COLLINS: Increased concern for America's safety this summer. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff warning of greater risk of a terrorist attack. Chertoff says there is no new specific intelligence suggesting any imminent plot, and no reason to raise current threat levels nationwide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We're entering a period this summer of increased risk. We have seen a lot more public statements from al Qaeda. These things give me a -- kind of a gut feeling that we are in a period of -- not that I have a specific threat, you know, that's -- that I have in mind right now, but that we are entering a period of increased vulnerability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Chertoff insists al Qaeda's intent to attack the U.S. remains as strong as it was before 9/11.
CNN "Security Watch" keeps you up to date on safety. You can stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
On Capitol Hill, senators begin a new debate this morning on a troop withdrawal plan. President Bush calls it setting a date for failure in Iraq.
Here's CNN White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Despite Democrats' calls to bring American troops home and Republican pleas to change strategy, right now President Bush is refusing to do either.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, we can accomplish and win this fight in Iraq.
MALVEAUX: Mr. Bush used a town-hall meeting in Cleveland, Ohio, to defend his Iraq strategy, which keeps the current level of U.S. troops in Iraq until his top general there, David Petraeus, instructs him otherwise.
BUSH: And that's the way I'm going to play it as the commander in chief.
MALVEAUX: But the commander in chief is facing mounting political pressure to show progress in Iraq now.
BUSH: And I fully understand how tough it is on our psyche.
MALVEAUX: Mr. Bush will deliver within days an Iraq progress report expected to show that the Iraqi government has failed to meet nearly all of the benchmarks set by Congress. Democratic lawmakers eager to cut war funding and Republicans frustrated with the execution of the war are running out of patience. Mr. Bush pleaded with them to give him until September, when General Petraeus will come back with another progress report.
BUSH: And I believe Congress ought to wait for General Petraeus to come back and give his assessment of the strategy that he's putting in place before they make any decisions.
MALVEAUX: But Mr. Bush's effort to buy more time may no longer work with the American people, analysts say.
JON ALTERMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: What time gets you is time lets you keep placing bets. But time doesn't mean that the bets pay off. And what you're seeing in Congress and among the American public is the sense, I'm tired of placing these bets.
MALVEAUX (on camera): The one message the Bush administration keeps stressing is that U.S. troops will come home once the security situation in Iraq improves. But that is the one thing that this administration has not figured out how to do.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Quite a bit of weather going on in the country. Want to get straight to Chad Myers now.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: For treatment, not prevention. A new study on urinary tract infections suggests giving your child antibiotic to prevent a repeat of the infection could be a bad thing.
Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is here now.
So, Sanjay, we have talked about antibiotics and giving kids too many of them for a long time, but giving them for this could actually really be the wrong thing to do.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, to be clear, if someone has a urinary tract infection, an adult or a child alike, they're going to need antibiotics for that. A full course, usually seven to 10 days. What gets confusing is, what about a child who has recurrent urinary tract infections?
COLLINS: Sure.
GUPTA: What should you do then? One thing is to check for why this is happening. Look at the anatomy of why it is happening.
But also, the question was, could you give prophylactic antibiotics? And for a long time, a lot of doctors have been doing that.
A new study coming out saying maybe not the best idea, for two reasons. It doesn't seem to work. The kids still seem to get the urinary tract infections despite those antibiotics. The second reason is that it might do exactly what you are saying, Heidi, cause these resistant bacteria to form, making an infection much harder to treat in the future.
The study was about 700 children, 6 years or younger. So it's not the biggest study in the world. A lot of doctors are going to look at this study, maybe change some of their practices. But it's an important thing to remember if your child does develop one of these infections.
COLLINS: Yes. As a parent, you try tot not to do the antibiotics, but you want the child to feel better, too.
So, with this particular affliction, if you will, urinary tract infections, we know what causes them in adults. It can be too much caffeine, it can be too much sex. It can be sexually transmitted diseases. What in a child causes this type of infection?
GUPTA: Well, one thing -- and this is something I've just learned about as a parent recently -- is that it can actually be an anatomical problem. So the urine doesn't go in the right direction, if you will. Sometimes it can actually back flow a bit into the kidneys or back into the bladder through the urethra.
COLLINS: Yes, I've heard of that.
GUPTA: And that can be a problem. That's something that should be looked at if a kid has urinary tract infections frequently.
Also, you know, a kid who's older just might be holding it for too long, and you might potentially develop a problem there.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: A younger kid could have dirty diapers for too long, simple things like that. Sometimes it can be incredibly difficult to know that your child has a urinary tract infection. It's not always fever and burning. A kid just might be more tired than normal. It could be something more vague like that, as well. Just something to look out for.
COLLINS: OK. So if you shouldn't really give them the antibiotics to prevent the infection, what could you do? Cranberry juice?
GUPTA: Well, it's interesting about cranberry juice, because people always talk about it.
COLLINS: Completely not true?
GUPTA: Well, in adults it appears to have some effectiveness, but in kids, it just hasn't been proven to work. So I wouldn't hang your hat on cranberry juice.
COLLINS: It tastes good.
GUPTA: It does taste good. You can give it for that reason.
But I think the important thing is to look for those symptoms and to get a kid treated immediately when they do have the urinary tract infection. So, you know, be a diligent parent, health care provider. Look for these things. If the kid has it, certainly give the antibiotics. But just don't always give it prophylactically to prevent it.
COLLINS: OK. Real quickly, when you talk about building up a resistance if you take too many of these particular antibiotics for this particular infection, could the child become resistant to other types of infections, or only just the urinary tract?
GUPTA: No, absolutely, it's a good point. I mean, antibiotics obviously are something that are affecting your whole body. So you could be killing good bacteria in other places of your body, possibly developing resistance, as well. Giving antibiotics sort of indiscriminately, I think everyone agrees not a very good idea.
COLLINS: Yes. No. All right.
Well, good to see you. Thanks so much.
GUPTA: Any time.
COLLINS: Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
GUPTA: Take care.
HARRIS: A new attempt to crack down on illegal immigration to tell you about now drawing loud protests in one community.
CNN's Brian Todd takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hundreds of protesters converge on a government building in Prince William County, Virginia, channeling their wrath toward one man. The crowd, mostly Hispanic, accuses county supervisor John Stirrup of racism, harassment. Stirrup's trying to pass a new law which would turn police into de facto immigration agents.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP (CHANTING): (SPEAKING IN SPANISH)
JOHN STIRRUP, PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY SUPERVISOR: When they encounter an individual involved in a violation of a crime or an ordinance, to ask that question among other questions that they ask during a typical preliminary interrogation. Ask that question of their immigration status.
TODD: That may apply even to routine traffic stops. Then the police would send that information to federal agencies with the idea of getting that person deported.
(on camera): But Stirrup is not stopping there. He eventually wants people applying to send their kids to local schools to be asked the same questions about their immigration status, as well as people using fire and rescue and other emergency services.
(voice over): Under federal law, the county cannot deny anyone these services, but Stirrup wants to use the services to flag any illegal immigrants. He says he's doing this because he got numerous calls from constituents complaining that illegal immigrants were overpopulating neighborhoods, trashing the streets, causing crime to skyrocket, and draining resources. But these protesters and other immigrant advocates say Stirrup's proposed solution is nothing short of profiling.
RICARDO JUAREZ, MEXICANOS SIN FRONTERAS: Why they would ask that to us, to the brown people, to the Latino people. So I don't know if under this law the white officials or the white workers on the county will request the same questions to white persons. TODD: The county police are also against the proposal. They say it will add too much to the officers' workload and turn the immigrant community against them.
Brian Todd, CNN, Woodbridge, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Not talking, but she is heading to Capitol Hill anyway. A former White House aide says she will testify this morning about the firing of U.S. prosecutors.
COLLINS: Paying for the war in Iraq. The troop increase bringing with it a surge in spending.
Counting the costs just ahead.
HARRIS: And they faced it. They're addicted to debt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember one time walking into the BMW dealer to buy a pair of gloves. And so I walked out with the gloves and a new BMW.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Oh, man. Compulsive buying, many struggle with it. How one woman recovered.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Sara Taylor is not talking. At least not now.
President Bush's former political director says she's follow orders. She won't testify about the firings of federal prosecutors, but Taylor says she will talk if courts rule against the presidency's use of executive privilege. Democrats have subpoenaed Taylor and former White House counsel Harriet Miers.
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing set to begin this hour. We're going to bring you live coverage of it.
HARRIS: A senator unseen. Louisiana Republican David Vitter out of the public eye now in the wake of a startling admission.
CNN's Sean Callebs has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): ... Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani. But as soon as vitter admitted ties to alleged D.C. madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the staunch conservative was nowhere to be seen on Capitol Hill. He skipped hearings and stayed away from his office. The 46-year-old father of four issued a statement saying, "This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible. Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling."
The editor of an alternative New Orleans newspaper, Clancy DuBos, says there is too much at stake for this issue to die easily.
CLANCY DUBOS, EDITOR, "GAMBIT WEEKLY": You have a woman on trial for racketeering in Washington. She is about to go to jail for a long time for a series of transactions, one or more of which was with David Vitter.
CALLEBS: Federal say prosecutors say this woman, Deborah Jeane Palfrey, ran a prostitution ring under the auspices of an escort service, and that she made more than $2 million dating back to 1993. Palfrey says, nonsense, it was a legitimate business.
Vitter's apology may have come from the heart, but Palfrey's lawyer says it was prompted by a question from "Hustler" magazine about phone records allegedly linking him to the escort service. Attorney Montgomery Sibley says "Hustler" contacted Vitter's office. Hours later, Vitter issued his statement.
Vitter has made traditional family values the cornerstone of his political career. Some of his constituents are shocked and saddened.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a shame that it happened. I'm very sad for his family, but his family has dealt with it.
CALLEBS: Active in his Catholic church, Vitter's strong social conservative statements have raised ire in the passed. Last summer, as New Orleans struggled to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina, and the war in Iraq raged, Vitter told the "Times-Picayune" newspaper that gay marriage, which he strongly opposes, was the most important issue facing America, and that infidelity, divorce and deadbeat dads are contributing to the breakdown of traditional families.
Constituent Silas Lee says Vitter drew a line in the sand.
SILAS LEE, POLITICAL POLLSTER: And for him to cross that line in the eyes of voters, that is -- for some might be perceived as the height of hypocrisy.
CALLEBS: But history shows voters can have short memories. Vitter was elected to the Senate in 2004, and he has three years to try to put this behind him before he needs to worry about reelection.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And more pressing, maybe Vitter's future with the Giuliani campaign. When asked the admission, Giuliani said, "Some people disappoint you." He also said no decision has been made on whether Vitter would continue as his southern campaign chairman.
COLLINS: Senate Democrats trying again to force U.S. troops out of combat in Iraq. President Bush again threatening a veto.
HARRIS: And the collar bomb case. It ended with the death of a pizza deliveryman. Now investigators are closer to solving the mystery.
COLLINS: Get Fido fixed or you get fined. One state takes up a plan to restrain the pet population.
Tell you about it after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: OK.
We are waiting for the opening bell coming in on this Wednesday, July 11th. It's going to happen --
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let there be sound.
COLLINS: -- in just a minute.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
HARRIS: There's the plan and then there's what happens, right?
COLLINS: You see, that's what's good about live television.
HARRIS: Exactly.
Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.
Good morning.
I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: Hi, there.
I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: Let's get you to Chad Myers now -- and, Chad --
COLLINS: There was supposed to be a (INAUDIBLE) --
HARRIS: Well, there's a (INAUDIBLE) --
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: A renewed battle over the Iraq War. Senators starting new debate this morning on a plan to begin withdrawing troops within four months. It should be completed by April.
Well, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid points to the numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: The surge is not working. No matter how many different ways you explain it, it hasn't worked -- six months, 600 dead Americans, $60 billion.
I think it's very important that the American people understand that we are going forward, as we speak, with legislation that has some teeth in it, that means something to the American people. The American people are outraged. They're demanding a change of policy in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: President Bush calls the Democratic plan, "setting a date for failure." He vows to veto any legislation that sets a withdrawal timetable. He is defending his strategy to hold troop levels in Iraq steady until he hears otherwise from his top general.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But I believe that it's in this nation's interests to give the commander a chance to fully implement his operations. And I believe Congress ought to wait for General Petraeus to come back and give us an assessment of the strategy that he's putting in place before they make any decisions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The president is sending his national security adviser to Capitol Hill today. Stephen Hadley will try to shore up eroding GOP support for the war.
HARRIS: The surge in spending -- the cost of the war in Iraq.
CNN's Tom Foreman checks the numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): The cost of America's international war on terror is a whopper. You are spending $10 billion a month in Iraq alone. It goes up another $2 billion, to $12 billion a month, if you add in Afghanistan and all the other international anti-terror efforts.
The total tab for all of that so far is $758 billion and counting.
Democrats say it's getting out of control.
REID: The surge is not working. No matter how many different ways you explain it, it hasn't worked -- six months, 600 dead Americans, $60 billion.
FOREMAN: That $60 is money Congress gave the president for the surge.
As for the president, he says get used to it.
BUSH: We just started. He got all the troops there a couple of weeks ago. He asked for, you know, 20 something thousand troops. And I said, if that's what you need, commander, that's what you get. And they just showed up and they're now beginning a -- beginning operations in full.
FOREMAN: Translation -- as long as the generals say they need the troops, the surge in spending will continue.
The Congressional Research Service report is the most comprehensive accounting to date of what has been an accountant's nightmare. It tracks costs from the start of the Iraq War right through today.
So, keeping them honest, we decided to look at how else we might use that $10 billion a month.
A state-of-the-art high school, like this one built in Seattle, Washington, can cost $75 million. Ten billion would buy 133 of them.
Let's say a local public hospital isn't keeping up with growth. A major expansion and upgrade can cost over $100 million. Ten billion would get you 100 of those.
Or take the new prescription drug benefit for the nation's elderly, estimated to cost $70 billion a year. Getting that passed into law was a huge fight. With $10 billion a month, we could almost double that benefit.
And where does the money come from?
The short answer is, we're borrowing it. The national debt is now creeping on $9 trillion. Some say it's a war we can't afford to fight. And others say it's a war we can't afford to lose.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COLLINS: Pet project -- California state lawmakers are taking a proposal to force most people to spay and neuter their pets.
CNN's Chris Lawrence explains.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): Every year, about half a million dogs and cats with put to death in California. Now a proposed law would make it mandatory for owners to get the pets fixed or get fined $500.
BOB BARKER, ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: There are just too many cats and dogs being born.
LAWRENCE: On one side, animal rights activist Bob Barker who support the bill. On the other, the actor that played Lassie's owner on the original TV series.
JON PROVOST, ACTOR: Lassies have, since the 1940s, had a certain look bred into them by the Weatherwax family and that's what we're trying to preserve. I mean there's -- there's no other collie that looks like Lassie.
LAWRENCE: Critics say public education and programs that pay to spay and neuter are already working in places like Los Angeles, which euthanizes 18,000 animals a year, down from 60,000 10 years ago.
DOUGLAS SURBER, SAVE THE DOGS: There is no immediate crisis. The state is showing good progress.
LAWRENCE: The bill is based on a local ordinance enacted 12 years ago in Santa Cruz. Supporters say it reduced the number of animals going into shelters by 60 percent and if the state bill passes, California will save millions of dollars on euthanizing all those unwanted pets.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obviously, we have much better places where the money could go and less cruelty to the animals. So it would be very nice.
LAWRENCE: Mary Ellen Richards (ph) says she chose to get her dogs fixed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't agree with the government having to come in say you have to do this.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: Well, the man in charge of America's security with a reminder -- terrorists don't take the summer off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I believe we're entering a period this summer of increased risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Huh.
Michael Chertoff's gut feeling and the dire warning.
COLLINS: Not smart mart?
Critics cry racism over a 7-Eleven tie-in with the Simpsons.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's see if I can even do this.
Hmm.
Is that close?
Simpsons' movie premier. Homer -- was that close?
Was it even -- all right.
Homer calls for a small town -- all right. The consensus is in. That was really bad.
Springfield, Vermont, has won the right to host the world premier of the Simpsons movie. The Vermont town submitted a video shot by a teenager. It shows Homer chasing a giant pink donut through town. In an online vote, the Vermont town beat out 13 other Springfields around the nation.
Kowabunga!
Yes, that's a bit of a -- there you go. There you go.
Next hour, the winner talks to us live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: A cartoon stereotype is showing up in some real life settings and that's stirred up a convenience store controversy.
CNN's Allan Chernoff reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE SIMPSONS," COURTESY FOX TELEVISION)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE:
The aspirin is $24.95.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Ph.D. the greedy and unethical Kwik-E-Mart owner in "The Simpsons" cartoon, who would gladly sell you a dirty hot dog off the floor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE SIMPSONS," COURTESY FOX TELEVISION)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it isn't crusted with filth. Ah, well. Let's sell it anyway.
CHERNOFF: Now, Apu is part of a promotional stunt for 7-Eleven. In a tie-in this month with the upcoming movie, a dozen 7-Elevens have been turned into real life Kwik-E-Marts. Indian-American blogger Manish Vij charges 7-Eleven has created a racial caricature mart. Apu's accent, he complains, is entirely unrealistic -- part of a distortion of his ethnicity.
MANISH VIJ, FOUNDER, WWW.ULTRABROWN.COM: He's a very stereotyped racist caricature of an Indian-American. And with the 7-Eleven promotion, it's the first time this has jumped into the real world.
CHERNOFF: Indian-American Serge Haitay, a store owner in California who declined to appear on camera, writes on the Internet he's insulted that the own parent company would embrace what he calls a racist portrayal.
"This is an absolute embarrassment for our company," writes Haitay. "I am not willing to accept to be compared to Apu. I cannot imagine any store willing to rebrand to Kwik-E-Mart, even for a day." The fact is, though, half of the rebranded 7-Elevens are owned by Indian-Americans, like Andy Chaudhari in Manhattan. He and other 7- Eleven franchisees from India say their fellow immigrants need to lighten up.
ANDY CHAUDHARI, 7-ELEVEN OWNER: It's fun. It's about fun. It's a cartoon.
CHERNOFF: (on camera): So you don't think this is racial in any way, or racist?
CHAUDHARI: No. Nothing at all. Nothing at all.
CHERNOFF: There is no debate that the promotion is good for business. Specially-made Simpsons foods like Buzz Cola and Crusty-Os Cereal are literally flying off the shelves here. In fact, owners of stores that have been converted to Kwik-E-Marts say their sales this month are more than double what they were this time last year.
CHAUDHARI: And I can't explain to you how good it's going on. People are -- customers are so happy.
CHERNOFF: (voice-over): Hundreds of 7-Elevens are owned by Indian-Americans, according to the company, which says they overwhelmingly approved of the Simpsons tie-in. And 7-Eleven says no store forced to participate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE SIMPSONS," COURTESY FOX TELEVISION)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much is your penny candy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Surprisingly expensive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: In "The Simpsons," Apu's Kwik-E-Mart overcharges for rotten good. That's OK, says 7-Eleven. We can laugh at ourselves.
MICHAEL JORGENSEN, 7-ELEVEN INC.: No, I would say it certainly is positive. It's a -- a cartoon. And it's meant to -- to be funny.
CHERNOFF: 7-Eleven is hoping all Americans can laugh along with "The Simpsons," as they snap up Crusty-Os and pink movie donuts.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COLLINS: They've faced it. They're addicted to debt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember one time walking into the BMW dealer to buy a pair of gloves. And so I walked out with the gloves and a new BMW.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Compulsive buying -- many struggle with it, but how one woman recovered.
HARRIS: And the bizarre case of the pizza deliveryman. He claims he was forced to wear a bomb and rob a bank. Today, new developments to tell you about right here in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: So do you know what's in your toothpaste?
More concerns about that today. This time, the focus, Connecticut. More than a thousand tubes confiscated from some discount and dollar stores in the past week. State officials are worried about counterfeit Colgate and other toothpastes made in China. Officials say they could contain an anti-freeze component.
Massachusetts issued a strong warning about potentially harmful toothpaste last week.
HARRIS: In debt and great shame -- one woman comes out of the shadows to share her story of beating the addiction.
CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): It is, perhaps, the one secret few people talk about.
(on camera): How many of you felt some shame that you had let yourself get into this situation?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's huge.
FEYERICK: (voice-over): A secret people keep even from those closest to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If anyone knew this, they wouldn't think of me as an adult anymore, as a responsible person. And it might hurt my business standing, my image, my reputation.
FEYERICK: In an age when sex is spoken about openly and few subjects are off limits, this one remains taboo.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt like a thief.
FEYERICK: Which is why these people agreed to speak with us on condition we not show their faces.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Jonathan and I'm a debtor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Jonathan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Jonathan. FEYERICK: That's right -- the secret is debt. Americans owe a record $880 billion on credit cards alone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remember one time walking into the BMW dealer to buy pair of gloves. And so I walked without the gloves and a new BMW.
FEYERICK: Jonathan owed $225,000 when he attended his first Debtors' Anonymous meeting and discovered he was not alone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like, you'll have the anxiety about the money, and then you'll manage the anxiety by going and using the credit card and debting more. And then it just builds and builds and builds.
FEYERICK: April Lane Benson is the author of the book, "I Shop, Therefore I Am."
Is compulsive buying akin to an addiction like alcohol or drugs?
APRIL LANE BENSON, AUTHOR, "I SHOP, THEREFORE I AM": Very much so. You know, you have to buy more and more to get the same kind of a high and it gets out of control.
FEYERICK: Benson, a psychologist who treats compulsive shoppers, says there are an estimated 15 million nationwide. More people, she says, than who suffer eating disorders.
(on camera): So for example, this outfit, I will look so perfect --
LANE BENSON: Yes?
FEYERICK: -- that my whole life will come together like in an instant?
LANE BENSON: Absolutely.
FEYERICK: They think that way on some levels?
LANE BENSON: Um-hmm.
FEYERICK: Are they filling a need within themselves, an emptiness perhaps?
LANE BENSON: Sometimes it's an emptiness. Some --
FEYERICK: Could it be an anger?
LANE BENSON: It can be anger. It can be boredom.
FEYERICK: Loneliness?
LANE BENSON: Loneliness.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would go shop to make myself feel better. I was like shopping every day. I'd to buy something. FEYERICK: (voice-over): Leighann Fraley knew she had lost control -- from the stacks of up opened credit card bills to the binge shopping -- buying, then returning.
LEIGHANN FRALEY, BLOGGER: Every time I would make more money, I would just buy more expensive things, you know?
I would never where I would actually pay it down or I'd, you know, I was still living paycheck to paycheck, because the minute you get -- make more money, they'll send you more credit cards, you know?
FEYERICK: Leighann found her road to recovery online with a blog, writing down every penny she spent and sharing intimate details of her money problems with total strangers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're like, close, close friends, you know?
And because we associate, we found something that, you know, we all had in common, you know, that we were in debt.
FEYERICK: Her site, Save Leighann, started anonymously. Now, she's out in the open.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did it every day, almost every day for a year and got the money paid off in one year and two months.
FEYERICK: Her $20,000 debt is now $3,000 in savings. As for the debtors we met earlier, some paid everything off. Others are still working on it. And all meet regularly to prevent a relapse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God, grant me the serenity --
FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.
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HARRIS: Meeting global demand. Chinese imports on the rise, even in the midst of the growing safety concerns.
COLLINS: A quick step for cash -- caught on surveillance tape, dance moves the police say are absolutely criminal.
HARRIS: And it won't be Sprint to the finish for some cell phone customers. We told you about this yesterday. Cut for too many customer service calls.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, COURTESY WARNER BROTHERS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Allow it to fill you up. Keep trying, Shamus.
(END VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (voice-over): "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" opens at midnight tonight as Harry Potter mania sweeps the United States once again.
And our I-Reporters show us just how much they're fans of that young wizard.
Nikki and Charlie Grudy (ph) are dressed up as Harry and Ron in this picture, sent by their grandmother, Beverly Contestable (ph).
This is 9-year-old Haley Hillison (ph) as her favorite concrete, Hermoine (ph). Haley read all the books and her mother Michelle says that anything that can get her daughter to read is a good thing.
And this is Harry Putter. Louis Bohannen (ph) dressed his terrier with Harry's trademark glasses and the colors of Griffindor (ph).
To check out all the Harry Potter photos from our I-Reporters and even in one of your own, just point your browsers to cnn.com.
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COLLINS: Don't call us. We'll drop you. Sprint cutting off customers for too many customer service calls.
CNN's Mary Snow reports.
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MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): It's not the message you expect from your cell phone provider -- you are disconnected and it's because you've called customer service too much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to Sprint, now together with Nextel.
SNOW: Sprint penned the equivalent of a "Dear John Letter" to about 1,000 customers, telling them: "The number of inquiries you have made to us during this time has led us to determine that we are unable to meet your current wireless needs."
Some consumer groups are seeing red.
CHRIS MURRAY, CONSUMERS UNION SENIOR COUNSEL: If customers calling into the care center, there's generally a reason and companies shouldn't just be terminating people because they feel that they're calling too much.
SNOW: But Sprint says hold the phone. The people affected called customer care 40 to 50 times more than the average customer every month over an extended period.
Does the company have the right to fire its customers?
MICHELLE SALAMI, SPRINT CUSTOMER: I would say if someone is calling their cell phone service 40 to 50 times a month, I wouldn't blame Sprint for cutting them. RYAN HOPE, SPRINT CUSTOMER: If I need their customer service, I want them to be there. I don't want to be dropped just because I'm asking questions.
SNOW: A spokeswoman for Sprint told us: "We need to make sure that the other 53 million customers who are, on average, calling less than once a month, are being serviced to the best of our ability and that we are able to service them."
ERIC DEZENHALL, CRISIS MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT: This really is a landmark decision because the old rules of thumb are the customer is always right and the old rules of public relations are make nice, make nice.
SNOW: But before it shows its customers the door, Sprint tells them one more thing -- if they have any questions regarding the search of their number to another wireless carrier, please call the customer care department.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
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