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Contractor Trying to Sell Nuclear Secrets; Homeland Security Money Given Out; Vick's Career in Limbo

Aired July 19, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, what happens in Oak Ridge stays in Oak Ridge, or is it supposed to anyway?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: This afternoon, a contractor at the East Tennessee Technology Park will go before a judge, accused of stealing and trying to sell nuclear secrets.

PHILLIPS: Hello everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the world head quarters in Atlanta.

MARCIANO: And I'm Rob Marciano in today for Don Lemon. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: Classified documents, a nuclear complex, a contract worker, and an FBI sting. Sounds like an action movie, doesn't it? But it's not. It's happening right now at the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge. Let's get straight to CNN's Kelli Arena. She's been working her sources on this. Kelli, what do you know so far?

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, I'm told -- I've got a name for you. I'm told by officials that it is a man named by Roy Lynn Oakley (ph), that he was indicted for trying to sell classified material to a foreign country in violation of the Atomic Energy Act. The material that he was allegedly trying to sell according to officials that are familiar with the case was equipment used in the enrichment of uranium.

Now officials say the individual was a contractor, who lived in a trailer on the grounds of that Oak Ridge facility when authorities learned of his possible intention to try to sell equipment back in January. The FBI and the Department of Energy launched a joint investigation, the FBI developed a sting operation, which resulted in the arrest. He will be appearing in federal court. I'm told in Knoxville at 2:30. At that time, all of the documents in this case will finally be unsealed, and it's very important to note, Kyra, that authorities say that he never got very far, that nothing ever got into the wrong hands, that they were on him from the very beginning back in January.

PHILLIPS: So, Kelli, we don't know right now at this point if this information got to, say, North Korea or Iran or ...

ARENA: Oh, no, no. I've been told very clearly, Kyra, that it got to nobody. That that was his alleged intention but ...

PHILLIPS: But it never went anywhere.

ARENA: Never got that far, no.

PHILLIPS: Good. Kelli Arenam, thanks so much.

ARENA: You're welcome.

MARCIANO: Well, it wasn't terrorism, but for a few long moments, that seemed like a real possibility. It's still too early to know exactly why a steam pipe ruptured yesterday in Manhattan. But the blast and the resulting chaos brought back some very bad memories of 9/11. One person died of a heart attack, and about 40 others were hurt.

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HEIKO THEIME, WITNESS: We heard a big rumble, the building shook a little bit. And what was surprising for me was the smoke immediately came up to the 27th floor. First white smoke, but I got a little nervous, to be honest, when there was black smoke coming up and rocks to the window. And I've never seen stones going up that high. Immediately we took the decision, an intern and myself, we were alone in the office plus another colleague in another office, to go down. One decided to take the staircase, and I took the elevator, which is a mistake, by the way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: On CNN's AMERICAN MORNING a former director of New York's Office of Emergency Management said cities with old steam pipes will face more incidents like this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE BYRNE, FORMER DIRECTOR, NYC OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: There has to be regular maintenance that's done. These pipes often don't signal when they're going to go, but when they give us a hint, the utilities have to respond. But the important thing to realize that is that these things have to be -- we have to be ready to respond to them, because they are going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: The pipe that exploded was 83 years old. The site had been inspected by a power company just a few hours before the blast.

Well, we received a lot of I-Reports from people who experienced the blast. I-Reporter Nick Parish works nearby, he says people were running and screaming to get away, he describes the geyser of steam sounding like a waterfall.

Naom Galai also lives nearby and managed to tag along with a law enforcement officer who was rushing to the scene. He took these incredible photos of the steam shortly after the explosion. Well, a day later, one question remains for New Yorkers, did the explosion send any harmful chemicals such as asbestos into the air? For more on that, let's turn to our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. Asbestos, not going you want to fooling around with, that's for sure.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely not it can lead to lung cancer, it can lead to lung damage, all sorts of things. But there is pretty good news in what happened here. The tests have been done and authorities say what they found is that there was no asbestos in the air. They did, however, find asbestos on the ground in the debris that was on the ground.

Now, in other explosions, what people have been concerned about, what authorities have been concerned about is that obviously these tests aren't done right when the explosions happen. They are done some period of time after the explosion.

So the concern is was there asbestos in the air at the time of the explosion and people that were flowing, might they have breathed it in. But experts are very clear. Asbestos is a problem when are you exposed to it long term. Workers who work with it year after year after year, a one-time exposure probably isn't going to do anything. You see the illnesses when it's long term.

MARCIANO: You hear a lot of people on the scene, speaking about scratchiness in their throat, maybe getting sick. Can you get sick immediately and how long does it take?

COHEN: Certainly you are going to get irritated and cough. That doesn't mean asbestos has done anything to you. In fact, if asbestos has mad you sick it is going to take 10 to 30 years for it to show up. It takes a long time. Not to be confused with what Rob was talking about. Obviously, people have coughs and irritation. There may have been other things that were in the air. But asbestos, it will take 10 to 30 years to make you sick.

MARCIANO: And you need to be exposed to it for a very long time.

COHEN: Right. Over and over again, correct.

MARCIANO: If you feel like have you been exposed to it, you undergo testing, is that the procedure?

COHEN: Unfortunately there is no testing, there is no way of knowing. There is no blood test they can do, there is no breath test they can do. Even x-rays won't show if you have asbestos in your lungs until you actually get sick. Unfortunately, it's a wait and see kind of thing when people have long-term exposure. Not what happened yesterday. But when people have long-term exposure, they kind of have to just wait and see.

MARCIANO: Seems like everybody from yesterday's incident should be OK.

COHEN: That's right. That's what it seems like. MARCIANO: Thank you. Elizabeth Cohen. Medical correspondent.

PHILLIPS: The Department of Homeland Security is handing out major dollars to help the nation's cities fight terror. But not everyone is saying thank you. Here is CNN's Chris Lawrence.

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CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Los Angeles International. Chicago skyscrapers, and New York bridges. Think of them as Homeland Security's children. And Michael Chertoff is the parent trying to keep them all satisfied and safe.

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: My job is about hard choices.

LAWRENCE: Chertoff decides who gets more or less money. And this year Arizona was the big winner. Tucson went from off the list to $5 million and Phoenix tripled its allocation to $12 million.

MAYOR PHILIP GORDON, PHOENIX: This is mayor of the fifth largest city that's very happy.

LAWRENCE: But like previous years, some bigger city mayors are crying foul.

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: I think the mistake that's always made is confusing what -- where you are vulnerable to where are you likely to be attacked.

LAWRENCE: Looking at the numbers, New York actually gained $10 million over last year. Contrast that too those who lost money, like Chicago. Boston officials are boiling at their cutbacks. And there is nothing laid back about L.A.'s response.

MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, LOS ANGELES: The practice of awarding homeland security dollars based on any consideration other than risk has got to stop.

LAWRENCE: Risk is actually number two. Population carries the greatest weight in where the dollars go. This year, a new index accounts for cities like Phoenix that are close to the border, or have military bases nearby. It's also home to the nation's largest nuclear power plant.

I spoke with Phoenix's emergency management coordinator about why his city lost so much funding last year. Only to get it back now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they simply prepared us for this. There will be years in which you will get less money. We didn't think we would get that much less money. But we did.

LAWRENCE: But they told you they would make it up to you this year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They told us if we were patient that they hoped to make it up to us this year or soon.

LAWRENCE: Phoenix officials say they needed every dollar they got, especially since they are post hosting the next Super Bowl right here. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Glendale, Arizona.

PHILLIPS: Political progress is being made in Iraq. There is lots of work to do still, though. And don't bank on the benchmarks, those words today from the U.S. ambassador to Iraq to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

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RYAN CROCKER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: I certainly will not try to present to you the Iraqi government as a model of smoothly functioning efficiency. Because it's not. It faces considerable difficulties. The stresses, the strains, and the tensions throughout society are reflected in the government, and if there is one word that I would use to sum up the -- the atmosphere in Iraq, on the street, in the countryside, in the neighborhoods, and at the national level, that word would be fear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: More on that hearing and the situation on the ground from CNN's Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon in just a moment.

MARCIANO: The charges are serious. Premeditated murder. The defendants are U.S. soldiers in the Iraq war zone. It's the case of an Iraqi man killed last month near Kirkuk, north of Baghdad. The U.S. military confirmed today that two troops, Sergeant Traker Ellis (ph) and Specialist Christopher Shore (ph) face murder charges. The Army is not saying much more. Only that an investigation is ongoing.

PHILLIPS: A secretary of defense, a secretary at war. Robert gates showed the weight of his position last night at a Marine Corps function in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Every evening I write notes to the families of young Americans like Doug Tzibiek (ph). For you and me, they are not names on a press release or numbers updated on a Web site. They are a country's sons and daughters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We're told that Gates reportedly sends personal, hand- written letters to the families of each American G.I. killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

MARCIANO: The sounds of brakes screeching down a runway. An airliner speeding to its doom. Images from Tuesday night's the disaster at Brazil's busiest airport. Wow. Just this morning another piloted aborted a landing there. Was the pilot of the doomed plane trying to do the same? A move is underway to shut down the airport in Sao Paulo until the crash investigation is finished. Meantime, the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorders are being sent to the United States for analysis.

PHILLIPS: Michael Vick's NFL career is on the line. Now he's probably thinking defense. We're going to talk to a lawyer that helped other pro sports players in big trouble.

MARCIANO: Plus this. He had a brief and stormy ride at the helm of the head of the National Hurricane Center. Bill Proenza tells Congress why he had to blow the whistle on faulty equipment.

PHILLIPS: A couple of grinches put the squeeze on the lemonade stand in Phoenix. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: We are coming up on quarter past the hour. Here are three of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

New concerns about nuclear secrets. A contractor at a federal nuclear facility in Tennessee is under arrest. He's accused of taking classified documents.

And parts of Manhattan are still blocked off after an underground steam pipe explosion near Grand Central Station. There is concern asbestos was released in the blast, but there is no sign of it in air samples.

And another doctor has been charged in connection with last month's failed terror attacks in Britain. Mohammed Jamil Asha (ph) arrested in northern England shortly after the incidents is charged with conspiracy.

PHILLIPS: Political progress is being made in Iraq. There is lots of work to still do, and that doesn't mean you can bank on the benchmarks. Those words today from the U.S. ambassador of Iraq to lawmakers in Capitol Hill. They were also heard from top military brass in Baghdad. Let's bring in senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre who has been monitoring it all. Jamie?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it's really a tale of two cities today. The difference of the view from Washington and Baghdad. Not exactly the best of times in Iraq, but Lieutenant General Ray Odierno laid out what he said were significant achievements achieved in the last month since the surge began. He noted he said that attacks were down, casualties were down, and IEDs were down in the past month since the operation began. He also said that 175 high-value detainees had either been captured or killed. He also mentioned that more than 50 percent of Baghdad have been brought under control. The unwavering message from U.S. commanders in Iraq is that the surge is working. It just needs some more time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. RAY ODIERNO, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL CORPS IRAQ: And my hope is that the policymakers and everyone else, the public within the United States listen and hear what we are saying because there is some progress being made. I will say that it's -- it's really been 30 days since we've begun this operation in the surge. And it is the beginning of progress. I would still like to see it. I'm hoping that this will continue over the next two to three months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: So General Odierno said the positive trend he wants to look at them in September and see if he thinks they're holding and he conceded that it is probably going to take beyond September to really know if the progress made in the surge is something that is going to be long term. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: So let's talk about the mood in Congress following this briefing. Especially after this all-night affair on the floor.

MCINTYRE: Oh boy. There couldn't be two different perceptions on what's going on. Clearly members of Congress are tired of hearing these optimistic pronouncements about how well things are going and just a little more time, things will work out. They have heard it all the last couple of years, they don't find it convincing. Listen to what Joe Biden said to Ryan Crocker, of course, Ambassador Crocker being one of the people who will produce that report in September, along with General Petraeus. But I think Biden's comments really sum up the frustration some members feel.

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SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Listen to the Republicans. We ain't staying. We're not staying. We're not staying. Not much time, political benchmarks better be met, or we're in real trouble, because we'll have traded a dictator for chaos, notwithstanding all of your incredible efforts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Again, what are you hearing from U.S. commanders is that they feel the strategy needs more time, but General Odierno recognizes that things are shifting in Washington. He said if they got a new strategy he hoped it was quote "a deliberate strategy" meaning he hoped it was something the U.S. military commanders could embrace and stick to until it produces some results. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Chief Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre. Thanks, Jamie.

MCINTYRE: Word something is happening on the West Coast. Let's go to Fredricka Whitfield in the CNN NEWSROOM with the latest on this story. Fred, what's going on.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Rob. Out of San Francisco, they are investigating now the body of someone has been found in a wheel well on a United Airlines jet which originated from Shanghai, and landed not long ago there in San Francisco. You are looking at new pictures in right now just of the aerial shot of the jet there at the jetway as they conduct their investigation. It's not clear how this body ended up in the wheel well. You know in the past on several occasions of some similar activity taking place, oftentimes this person was a stowaway, trying to get out of the country without a ticket, getting themselves in this wheel well, only to find out that they probably died of exposure and other sorts.

So we don't know more details about this body. Just that investigators are on the scene, trying to figure out how it got there and what the cause of death was and what it has done to the activity at the San Francisco Airport is not clear right now. We are working on details. Rob?

MARCIANO: Certainly a busy airport and we want to keep track on that side of the story as well. Thanks, Fredricka.

Well, back to our big story that was happening yesterday, and it's going to continue for several days. Pro football star in trouble. It's a story Manny Aurora has heard before. Ahead in the newsroom, a defense lawyer who has represented other NFL players. He is going to look at the case against Michael Vick.

PHILLIPS: Hot dog chili sauce recall. Officials investigate if a plant in Georgia may be linked to rare cases of botulism. We have got all the details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Well there, is a new food warning out. Federal health officials say certain cans of hot dog chili sauce have been linked to botulism. They have traced the cans to Casselberry food plant here in Augusta, Georgia. At least four cases of botulism have been reported, two children in Texas and a couple in Indiana. The warning applies to ten ounce cans of Casselberry's Ostex (ph) and Kroger brands of hot dog chili sauce. The cans have a best buy date from April 30, 2009, through May. If you have those cans, throw them out.

PHILLIPS: Well, if you have bought your child an Easy Bake Oven in the past 14 months, the maker and government want you to take it away now. An apparent design in the Hasbro product has led to fingers being caught in the opening with scores of burns reported. Today's warning supersedes a recall issued last winter in which Hasbro offered a retro fit. Most reported burns have happened since then, including one that required a partial amputation. Hasbro is offering vouchers to the purchase of another of the company's products.

MARCIANO: On Wall Street, stocks are back on track, as the Dow is once again flirting to 14,000. Somebody no stranger to flirting, Susan Lisovicz down at the New York -- I'm sure the guys down there chat you up pretty good down there.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's put it this way. There's no shortage of male traders on the floor. It's still pretty much a men's -- And that can be an advantage when you are a reporting trying to get some information, Rob.

MARCIANO: I'm sure you do your best.

LISOVICZ: I learned from a master, Mr. Marciano.

MARCIANO: Kyra? Yes.

PHILLIPS: Sorry, I just choked on my water.

LISOVICZ: All right, we're talking about the Dow flirting with 14,000. It is doing that. We are seeing a rally. Why is that? Once again, corporate earnings, but this time the reception is positive. And in particular, investors are cheering big results from Big Blue. After yesterday's close, IBM posted a 12 percent jumped in quarterly profits. That beat estimates, best quarterly results in about five years, that sending shares of the Dow component up more than four percent today to their highest level in about five years.

Also in the spotlight, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke doing an encore performance, he wrapped up his second day of testimony before Congress without scaring investors, one focus, the nation's subprime mortgage crisis. Bernanke once again said the Fed is taking steps to better protect consumers from abusive mortgage practices.

Let's take a look at the flirtation going on. The big board, the Dow Industrials did actually hit 14,000 within minutes of the opening bell, but having problems making a commitment I guess you could say. The gain, however, is up half a percent. NASDAQ composite up also a half a percent. Mr. Marciano, back to you.

MARCIANO: I see the guys lining up behind you wanting to give you new story ideas I suppose.

LISOVICZ: Yeah.

MARCIANO: Thank you, Susan. We'll check back with you later.

LISOVICZ: You got it.

PHILLIPS: Thousands of Katrina survivors were grateful to get them. But there could be a major hitch to those free FEMA trailers. Are they emitting toxic fumes? Congress is finally on the case next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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PHILLIPS: Hi, everyone. I'm Kyra Philips live in the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

MARCIANO: And I'm Rob Marciano in today for Don Lemon.

While the rest of his team is going to report to training next week, Falcons quarterback Michael Vick will be facing a federal judge in Virginia.

PHILLIPS: What happens to his NFL career? We're going to talk with a defense lawyer who has seen that kind of case before. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, the NFL's top brass is huddling today as a star quarterback's future remains in limbo. Michael Vick is due in federal court in one week to answer charges that he ran a grisly dog fighting operation in Surry County, Virginia. Vick hasn't publicly responded to the indictment, but back when the investigation started, he claimed that he had done nothing wrong. Manny Arora (ph), a defense attorney who has represented several high-profile athletes, joins us now to talk about this case in -- well, specifically.

And you and I, just even before we get into a few more details, he may never face prison, even if convicted, correct?

MANNY ARORA, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Correct. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, there is a base offensive level, it is sort of like a golf score. You get a number based on what you may be convicted of, assuming he gets convicted. And the lower the score, the lower the punishment would be.

And if you run the guidelines at this point, theoretically he could avoid a federal penitentiary sentence all together, even if convicted.

PHILLIPS: Now that is going to outrage animal right activists, it's going to outrage a lot of fans, it's going to outrage just a lot of people period, the fact that that can happen.

Explain that, because there are laws, animal cruelty laws, and if he's convicted of electrocuting and killing and burying these dogs...

ARORA: Sure. Well, what you have to understand is that the guidelines are discretionary for the judges. What you do is you get a guideline score, then you look at what the punishment should be. The judge can go below that or he can go above it in the judge's discretion.

In this case he's charged with one count of conspiracy for the dogfighting and gambling and other things. Under the federal guidelines, the maximum sentence for conspiracy is five years, period. So then you look at what exactly he's convicted of as part of the conspiracy and then you get a grid score. If he's convicted of the right things, arguably, he would be able to avoid jail time altogether.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about just the mentality here. You are an attorney. You have defended a lot of athletes that have been accused of a number of things. A number of them found not guilty, never convicted. Explain the mindset here. Here is someone with so much talent, so much money. Why would he even want to be associated with something like this? I mean, why risk so much for something that appears to be so cruel and so unethical?

ARORA: You know, that's a good question. If I could do that, I could pretty much corner the market on psychology. So I'm not really sure why people do it, why they hang out with the people they hang out with.

PHILLIPS: You've got to have a feeling though. I mean, you get to know these athletes, you get to know the lifestyle, the background, you've got to have a sense for it. What is it? Too much money, too much power, lack of education, bad family upbringing?

ARORA: Well, money and power may make your behavior bad as far as you think you can get away with stuff. But if you are actually doing these types of things with animals, that's a whole different type of psychology that money and upbringing really doesn't have anything to do with it.

It is just some people arguably are twisted enough to do horrible things and it's not a big deal to them and their moral compass perhaps is a little off.

PHILLIPS: What do you think about the NFL in this situation? They are saying, well, you know, until we see what happens in the courts, we're going to let him play. Now you represented "Pacman" Jones, a star player for the Titans, never convicted, but he's not playing. He has been suspended. So what is going on here with the NFL? Are they picking and choosing? Well, they are better player, maybe we are going to be a little more easy on these guys.

ARORA: Well, I'm optimistic that the commissioner's office will actually let the legal process go through the course that it needs to go through before they actually impose punishment in advance of being found guilty of anything.

Unfortunately, we didn't get that luxury. We're still working on that on behalf of Adam. And when his cases are resolved, hopefully in our favor, then the commissioner will reconsider. He'll be playing football again.

PHILLIPS: If you were -- let me ask you this. Do you think -- and here I am asking a defense attorney this -- but, seriously, are these athletes given just a little too much leeway for their actions?

ARORA: Well, I mean, you know, they are the athletes, they put seats in these stands, they sell the jerseys, they make a lot of money for the teams, and I'm sure the teams could do more to try to sort of curb the behavior, but at some point you have got to keep your star that's making money for you happy.

And I don't know what the medium is or what the responsibility really is. We can't all be the parent, and at some point you have got to accept responsibility for what you do.

And the process we were trying to explain to the commissioner is, let's go through the legal system, don't punish us in advance because what if we're found not guilty? Then you can't get those games back or that time back or the money back. And it's really just not fair.

So hopefully they'll do the right thing by Michael Vick. I don't think they've done the right thing by "Pacman" Jones.

PHILLIPS: For your strategy, let's say you were representing Michael Vick in this situation, would you be doing anything differently, or how would you be thinking about this case? What would you -- how would you be strategizing? ARORA: I mean, I'm not really sure what his defense team is doing. But I'm sure they are obviously very bright people up there in Virginia that are working on it. The first thing you have got to make sure is that there is some type of bail agreement in place for the government or at least have the bail hearing absolutely 100 percent ready to go so your client doesn't sit in jail for X-number of months before trial.

The second thing is, you have to review discovery, the state's evidence or the government's evidence very closely. The reason I say that is, in this case, there are so many specific details about what Michael Vick supposedly has done that the people that have to provide this clearly had inside information or were involved in the process.

So the issue becomes, what are those people gaining by cooperating with the government and saying, yes, it was Michael Vick, yes, it was Michael Vick? And those are the kinds of questions you need answered right away before you can really come into any type of defense strategy.

PHILLIPS: Do you think there is some sort of pattern here with football? We see a lot of football players getting in trouble? I mean, when, where is the last time we saw a golfer getting involved in something -- you know, there is something -- is there something about the culture, the mentality, I mean, what is it?

ARORA: I mean, I think football is probably the most popular sport in the country and, I mean, there are so many people that watch football, follow football. You've got networks dedicated to football like the NFL Network. I'm not sure what it is with golf versus football or anything else...

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Yes, but NASCAR, hey, people say there are more people watching NASCAR and going to NASCAR than football. And these guys know if they spout off or do something wrong, they lose their sponsorship.

ARORA: Well, I don't know how to answer the question, to be honest, because the sponsors are dealing with them on a one-on-one basis. It's not like you're a league and then you belong to a team and you have coaches. You have all of these other layers. I'm not really sure why.

But you know what, growing up, I didn't worry about NASCAR. Football is what everybody wanted to do. They didn't want to be NASCAR drivers, at least where I grew up, we all wanted to play football and be big stars.

PHILLIPS: And these players are keeping you in business.

ARORA: Thankfully.

PHILLIPS: All right. Manny, we'll stay in touch, keep talking about the case. Appreciate it. ARORA: Thanks.

MARCIANO: With the money NASCAR drivers are making, it's not a bad gig either.

Well now, the power struggle at the National Hurricane Center hit Capitol Hill today. Center Director Bill Proenza was placed on indefinite leave last week after just a half a year on the job. Proenza claims his removal was punishment for going public with his complaints about the NHC's parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Well, he kept up the criticism at a House committee -- subcommittee meeting today, blasting NOAA for its failure to replace an aging weather satellite.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL PROENZA, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: The fact is NOAA is one of the U.S. departments struggling right now with huge overruns, billions of dollars in this polar orbiting environmental satellite system, and still nowhere in there, nowhere in that design is there a new generation listed, QuikSCAT replacement until the year 2016.

An oversight? We're all concerned about the protection of life of our people. Perhaps, it was a way to cut costs. Whatever. I dared to call attention to it. I dared to call attention to it, and, by golly, I'm going to pay the price for bringing this to the attention of the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Even though NOAA has replaced Proenza with an interim director, Proenza insists he is still the rightful director and he wants to go back to work.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, the head FEMA reported to Capitol Hill today to get grilled about problems with trailers sent to Gulf Coast after Katrina. Intended for temporary emergency housing, some are being used nearly two years later and may be making people sick. Many of those trailers have flooring and cabinets that contain formaldehyde, which under hot, humid conditions can release toxic fumes. Dwellers have complained of coughing, burning eyes, and nosebleeds. And (INAUDIBLE) one that went to FEMA says that he didn't much satisfaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL STEWART, TRAILER RESIDENT: I called FEMA and told them what was going on and they told me that "I should be happy with the camper that I have and that we do not have any other campers to supply you."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, straight ahead, Elizabeth Edwards speaking her mind and sometimes, well, she and her husband speaking out together and they are not on the same page. Is it helping his campaign? We're going to take a closer look, straight ahead from the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Well, Scotland Yard charged another man today with terrorism crimes stemming from the London-Glasgow car bomb incidents. Mohammed Asha, he is a 26-year-old doctor born in Saudi Arabia, but a Jordanian citizen. The charge is conspiracy to cause explosions.

British authorities believe Asha is linked to the fiery crash of a jeep into Glasgow's airport terminal last month. That was one day after police found two cars packed with explosives in London. Nobody was killed in either place. Three other men face similar charges, two in the U.K. and one in Australia.

PHILLIPS: Pressure is rising again today on Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, a key ally in the U.S. war on terror. Today his country was rocked by another series of suicide bombings that killed dozens of people. CNN is just getting details of the last of the last -- or the least of those three bombings near a mosque at a purported army base in the country's volatile northwest.

Now calls for attacks against the military have surged after the recent raid of a mosque commanded by Islamic militants. President Musharraf faces a two-pronged opposition from militant and from pro- democracy activists.

MARCIANO: A desperate rescue effort is under way in the Indian city of Mumbai. Overnight a seven-story building, home to dozens of families, collapsed. At least 26 people were crushed to death. It is feared about that many more are still trapped under the tons of concrete. Eleven people are hurt and the Indian government is investigating whether unauthorized work was being done on the building at the time.

PHILLIPS: The State Department says it is outraged by the way Iran is treating two U.S. citizens right now. Two detained Iranian- Americans appeared on Iranian TV reading statements about alleged attempts to undermine Iran's government. U.S. officials say that the statements appear to have been made under duress. CNN's State Department correspondent Zain Verjee joins us live to talk more about this -- Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kyra, well, get ready for part two a little bit later today. As you said, Iranian TV broadcast a first segment of interviews with two Iranian-Americans who are being held in Iran, Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh have both been accused of threatening Iran's national security.

Now the program appeared to be an attempt basically by Iran to show their connections to a U.S.-backed plot, they called it, to try and undermine the Iranian government. The two detainees didn't make any explicit confessions, but instead they talked about their jobs, their roles in their jobs and about international conferences they attended. Also, Kyra, their short sound bites were actually edited between images of revolutions in places like Ukraine and Georgia, basically the implication being that the U.S. had similar plans for Iran. Both of them, in the images that you just saw, were placed in a comfortable room. But both of them are believed to be held at the notorious Evin prison.

PHILLIPS: And, Zain, just to ask you a question about the Evin prison, NPR this morning, I'm coming in to work, and I actually heard an interview with two Iranians living here in the United States right now, and they talked about what it was like in that prison. You don't get a lawyer.

They talked about being tortured, sleep deprivation, all these other forms of torture, and that the Iranians just put a sheet of paper in front of them and say, hey, confess, or we're never going to let you go. And then they make them do these television interviews.

So I guess, bottom line is, what is the State Department doing to try and intervene and do something about these Americans being detained?

VERJEE: Well, the State Department has basically said, first of all, that they are completely outraged and appalled at mistreatment of these citizens. They said that, you know, they are just being paraded around on TV like this, and apparently making statements under some kind of pressure.

The State Department has said they have got to be released immediately and reunited with their families. In terms what you are asking, though, you know, what are they doing? Well, they have the Swiss in Iran that represent U.S. interests there, so what they have done is they have asked the Swiss to try and get access to these detainees, at least to go in and see them.

There are four in total, not just these two. But the Iranians said to the Swiss, no way. And apparently, Kyra, the last request was made on the 3rd of July.

PHILLIPS: So what did Esfandari's daughter have to say when she actually saw her mother for the first time?

VERJEE: Well, she said that she was pretty shocked after having seen her. She said that her mother has been in custody in 70 days. Her daughter spoke to CNN a few hours ago, and this is what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEH BAKHASH, DAUGHTER OF HALEH ESFANDIARI: This was really the first image that I've had of her in about six-and-a-months months. To me, even though her voice was very strong, she looked pale, she has lost a lot of weight. She seemed a little bit stressed. And it was shocking.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VERJEE: She also says that her mother spent the past 10 weeks in a small cell, and, Kyra, you were describing the prison and some of the accounts that you have heard from prisoners that have been in that notorious jail.

Her daughter went on to say that she has been forced to sleep on the floor. She has been subjected to hundreds of hours of harsh and intimidating interrogations. She has been blindfolded often and just totally cut off from the outside world.

And as you also heard from accounts of other people that have been in that jail, they don't have access to any lawyers, and absolutely no response to any of the family's requests to see her.

PHILLIPS: OK. We'll continue to follow it. Zain Verjee, thanks so much.

MARCIANO: Elizabeth Edwards speaking her mind, and sometimes she and her husband aren't on the same page. Is it helping his campaign or hurting it? We'll take a look straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Elizabeth Edwards' cancer battle isn't stopping her from speaking out against her husband's critics. And this week her outspokenness put her in the middle of a new controversy involving Hillary Clinton.

CNN's Tom Foreman explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH EDWARDS, WIFE OF JOHN EDWARDS: I have been blessed for the last 30 years to be married to the most optimistic person that I have ever met.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Elizabeth Edwards touting her husband for president in a new campaign ad now running in New Hampshire. For her, it's another moment in the spotlight.

Earlier this week, she fired away at Hillary Clinton, telling the online magazine Salon that: "Sometimes, you feel you have to behave as a man and not talk about women's issues. I'm sympathetic. She wants to be the commander-in-chief, but she's just not as vocal a women's advocate as I want to see. John is."

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Despite her battle with cancer, Elizabeth Edwards refuses to be a shrinking violet. This was definitely a shot across Hillary Clinton's bow. And there's no question that Elizabeth Edwards is her husband's best political asset, especially when it comes to women.

FOREMAN: And here's why. Our most recent national poll of Democratic women finds Hillary Clinton far ahead of John Edwards. This isn't the first time camp Edwards has gone after camp Clinton. Last October, Mrs. Edwards compared herself to Mrs. Clinton, saying: "We both went to law school and married other lawyers. But, after that, we made other choices. I think my choices have made me happier. I think I'm more joyful than she is."

Edwards quickly called Clinton to apologize. She's also speaking out without telling her husband. Edwards got into an on-air battle with conservative pundit Ann Coulter after Coulter criticized her husband.

E. EDWARDS: I didn't talk to John about calling Ann Coulter. I got on the phone when I was watching her.

FOREMAN: And, last month, Mrs. Edwards surprised her husband by publicly splitting with him in support of gay marriage.

JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I didn't know, but nothing Elizabeth says surprises me.

(LAUGHTER)

J. EDWARDS: You can't control what she says, nor would I never want to. That's one of the great things about her.

FOREMAN: Tom Foreman, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: And you can hear more from Elizabeth Edwards tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE," that's at 9:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

What would you ask the presidential candidates if you could? Well, you can and you have. CNN is teaming up with YouTube for the upcoming presidential debates. And we have been collecting your questions for the candidates. Here is a sneak preview. And thanks for asking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good evening, distinguished Democratic candidates. I'm Jake Young (ph) and I'm 16 years old, and I hail from Rocky River, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. The 109th Congress passed 383 bills, one-fourth of which renamed federal buildings. The Congress was in session for a nearly record low amount of time. As president, how will you work with Congress to pass major pieces of legislation within a reasonable time frame? Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: OK. I bet his parents are proud. The next president of the United States right there. Join Paula Zahn with more of you video questions as we count down to the debate, that's tonight, every night this week, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Well, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. Yes, we got that part. But what if you make the lemonade and then get duped by a bunch of crooks?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just don't get it. Pick on me. Pick on someone your own size.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: A story that might sour you on the human race, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Passing counterfeit money is one thing. Passing it at a kid's lemonade stand, well, that's something else altogether. For CNN affiliate KPHO, Jason Barry has the story of a bump in the road for two budding entrepreneurs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very hot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lemonade! Lemonade! Get your lemonade!

JASON BARRY, KPHO AFFILIATE (voice-over): Eleven-year-old Paris Garcia (ph) and her sister Sterling (ph) have been working hard the past few weekends, saving up for a summer trip to San Diego.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We set up a lemonade stand so we could get some extra spending money.

BARRY: But this past Saturday, their lemonade business turned sour, thanks to some crooked customers who ripped them off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At first they gave us a $10 bill and then they were like, oh, wait, can you break a $50? And I said, yes, sure, I'll try.

BARRY: It turns out the $50 bill the girls got from two women was counterfeit, but at the time, the young entrepreneurs had no idea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At that point we just thought, well, it's $50, so let's cash it.

BARRY: The sisters rounded up all of their money, $38, and handed it over, thinking they had just been given a big tip. A few hours later, their dad broke the bad news, the bill was bogus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just don't get it. Pick on me. Pick on someone your own size. But my daughters, you know, that are honestly out there trying to learn the business world and sitting out in the hot sun.

BARRY: Fortunately their first experience with fraud wasn't enough to run the girls out of business.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here you go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, thank you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're welcome.

BARRY: They were back out selling again, you could be sure, however, if anyone else offers to buy a $2 cup of lemonade with a $50 bill, next time the girls will say no.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Literally you can't trust anyone anymore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And thanks to Jason Barry and that awesome photographer who shot that piece from our affiliate KPHO in Phoenix. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

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