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FBI Investigating NBA Referee for Possible Gambling; President Bush Reclaims Authority After Brief Colonoscopy; Winning the African- American Vote in South Carolina; Harry Potter Hysteria; Colon Cancer Screening; Leaving Iraq
Aired July 21, 2007 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back. Get back. Get back. Get back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You get out of here right now, young man. You leave!
I'm not that big of a person, but...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: Not that big. She's just 5'2". But this jewelry store owner stood tall when a pair of bandits came calling.
And traveling along the U.S. border with an elite group of trackers. The Shadow Wolves.
But first, an NBA ref, the Mafia and an investigation that goes far beyond the basketball court.
Good afternoon. I'm Melissa Long, in today for Fredricka Whitfield.
And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
It is a sports organization's worst nightmare, a referee with mob connections and a possible gambling problem. And now it may have happened to the NBA. Reports say a veteran basketball official is likely to surrender next week on charges that he bet on NBA games, including some he refereed. If true, it is a scandal of startling dimensions.
To get more on this story, we check in with CNN's Jim Acosta, who joins us live from New York -- Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Melissa.
Yes, a spokesman for the National Basketball Referees Association has confirmed to CNN that an NBA ref is the subject of a federal investigation. The union says the FBI is looking into whether the referee was betting on games he was officiating.
The ref in question is league veteran Tim Donaghy. Law enforcement officials tell The Associated Press they're looking into whether Donaghy made calls on the court to affect the point spread or margin of victory in certain games, potentially impacting millions of dollars in bets. All allegedly in an effort to cover his gambling debts with mob-connected bookies.
Donaghy's friends have no comments so far, except for one, an old basketball coach at his alma mater high school outside Philadelphia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE GARDLER, COACHED TIM DONAGHY: I just think this country is crazy with gambling, with slots and with horses and with lines and betting and all kinds of crazy stuff. So you hear so much stuff. I hope it's not true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: As for the NBA, the league's president, David Stern, has released a statement, essentially saying that he is outraged by all of this. It was a tough statement saying that this ref has betrayed the most sacred trust in professional sports. Donaghy's lawyer, a former U.S. attorney here in New York, is not commenting so far -- Melissa.
LONG: Jim, for those who don't perhaps follow the NBA on a regular basis, just how big of a concern is point-shaving?
ACOSTA: Well, it's a major concern, because there's so much betting that goes on with respect to sports. Not just the NBA. And each and every year, the rookie class that comes into the NBA is lectured extensively about not getting involved in gambling, because it not only affects the league's image, it can ruin careers.
And the historians in the world of sports will have to take a look at this, but it's believed by many in the sports writing business that this is the first time that an official of any major sport, professional sport in the United States, has been involved in something like this. So it definitely raises a lot of questions. It raises questions about the integrity of the league. But so far, the NBA is saying this is isolated to one official and that it doesn't spread beyond that, but we'll have to see.
LONG: Of course. We may find out a little bit more this week.
Thanks so much.
Jim Acosta, live from New York.
Now, President Bush is back in the saddle this hour after he briefly ceded authority to the vice president, Dick Cheney. Mr. Bush was sedated for about a half hour this morning when a physician removed five polyps as part of a colonoscopy. The whole procedure taking about two hours, in fact.
With more on this story and live from the White House, CNN's Elaine Quijano -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, to you, Melissa. Well, President Bush is said to be in good spirits and has resumed his presidential duties after that colonoscopy took place at Camp David earlier this morning. Now, to show that he's back in charge, the White House released a photo of President Bush taking a walk with his chief of staff, Josh Bolten, and the presidential dog, Barney.
Now, doctors did, in fact, find and remove five polyps described as small. Each of them less than a centimeter. A White House spokesman said none of the polyps were worrisome to doctors, that the growths were removed and will be examined.
Now, because the screening itself required anesthesia, President Bush invoked Section 3 of the 25th Amendment of the Constitution. He temporarily handed over his presidential authority to Vice President Dick Cheney. Now, this is only the third time since the amendment was ratified in 1967 that a president has used it, and according to a spokesman, during that temporary transfer of power, nothing occurred requiring Mr. Cheney to take official action as president.
Now, as for those five polyps, results on those five polyps that were removed could be available as early as Monday -- Melissa.
LONG: Elaine, so many people when they have a colonoscopy done, because they're sedated, they have someone drive him to the office, drive them back. I was surprised to hear that the president was planning on going for a bike ride.
QUIJANO: Yes. In fact, you know, we might be hearing a little bit more about that. It was scheduled to take place right around now, in fact. And if so, that would really be in keeping with president, trying to show he is continuing with his normal activities.
It's very common for the president to go on weekend bike rides. Wouldn't be surprised if we hear later today that that's exactly what president has done -- Melissa.
LONG: Elaine Quijano, thanks so much. Have a great Saturday.
QUIJANO: Sure. You too.
LONG: So, I don't know if you are familiar with colonoscopies. When should you get one? Well, you're going to find out in just about 20 minutes. Dr. Bill Lloyd is going to tell us the ABCs of colonoscopies in a live interview right here in the NEWSROOM.
And now to a first in the world of politics.
Monday night, CNN hosts a Democratic presidential debate using questions you submit on the YouTube Web sit. This groundbreaking live event will be held in South Carolina, the state with an early primary.
A new CNN poll shows Hillary Clinton with a strong lead among Democrats there. But Barack Obama and John Edwards are holding their own.
CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley reports winning the African-American vote in South Carolina will be critical.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you like the food?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good, the food is good.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Mac's on Main in Columbia, Barry Walker serves up soul food, peach cobbler and a fair amount of politics. This year, scrambled politics.
BARRY WALKER, RESTAURANT OWNER: You know, Bill Clinton was one of my greatest presidents. I loved him. I supported him.
Hillary Clinton, I'm supporting her, too. But I'm not really sure that I want to go with another Clinton in the White House right now. Barack Obama, to me, is a bright star.
CROWLEY: It's like that in South Carolina right now. An abundance of riches for African-Americans who make up 40-to-50 percent of the Democratic primary vote.
Coming after Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire, this first southern primary also offers the first truly diverse set of voters, which is to say the state can make or break the candidates who get this far.
REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D), SOUTH CAROLINA: I think that Democrats in South Carolina, want to be with a winner. They want to really be able to say we did launch this campaign.
CROWLEY: In the latest snapshot, a poll by CNN/Opinion Research Corporation found that black South Carolinians favor Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama by 16 points. A sizable gap, explained in part by our husband's popularity among blacks and by overwhelming numbers showing blacks believe she's more experienced, more electable and better understands community problems.
Politicos in South Carolina think Clinton's lead is nowhere near the state in a state and community still in flux over the '08 election. At Mac's on Main, Barry Walker has proof of that at home with his two 18- year-olds.
WALKER: He's a Barack Obama supporter. He believes that this guy looks like him, is young like him and represents what he believes in. I have another 18-year-old who is totally different. She's behind Hillary because she's a woman and she's a woman and she says this is what we want in America.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: CNN senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley, who joins us now live from the Citadel.
What a beautiful shot. A beautiful building right behind you, Candy. Thanks so much for joining us.
CROWLEY: It's a great place. Yes, absolutely.
LONG: Well, let's talk a little bit more about just the Internet in general and how it's impacting the election this year and will continue to do so in 2012 and in subsequent years.
How is the Internet changing, just the whole political spectrum and how the candidates have to campaign?
CROWLEY: Well, you know, you just have to go online and look around to see how much the Internet really has changed the election.
You know, in 2004, so long ago, Howard Dean used the Internet as a very effective way to raise money. But he was unable to sort of take that money and translate it into ground troops.
This year, we have seen some of these candidates come out and announce on the Internet. They go on YouTube. They have e-mails that they send out all over the place.
There is a lot of one-on-one in their own Web pages, where they invite viewers, listeners, writers to contact the campaign. So it is now well beyond raising money. In fact, there is more about voter contact than there is about raising money at this point.
LONG: And let's look to Monday night, the debate, a first of its kind event. We've received, I think, close to 2,000 entries so far. Clearly, they won't all be used.
So tell us a little bit about the format and how the clips will be used on Monday.
CROWLEY: The clips will be used to ask questions directly to the candidates. This is where the questions are coming from.
No journalists -- obviously, Anderson Cooper is there. He's the moderator. He will do follow-up questions. But the questions themselves will come from these videos.
They'll pick up about 30 or so from these 2,000 that have come in, trying to get a broad range of subjects. So that process is still going on now because people have until Sunday to turn in these video questions.
So, what will happen is you will see the video question on a big screen in the hall. The candidates will also see them in their podiums. And those questions will come out.
And I can tell you from looking at a lot of them, they're pretty intensely personal when they go to ask about issues. A woman with cancer talking about health care, that kind of thing.
LONG: CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley.
Candy, thank you.
CROWLEY: Sure. LONG: And you can get a detailed inside look at how the first CNN/YouTube debate will work online, also how you can take part. It's not too late.
Watch John Roberts and Kiran Chetry's debate countdown special tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
And then don't forget, as Candy just explained, on Monday, Anderson Cooper will host the CNN/YouTube Democratic debate, a first of its kind event you won't want to miss.
And, of course, the Republicans will debate in mid-September.
An historic mill in southern Massachusetts engulfed in smoke and flames today when an eight-alarm fire ripped through that building. The building was home to dozens of small businesses, and all were destroyed or damaged.
The fire was so big, firefighters from 30 towns rushed to the scene to help out. Three of them were treated for minor smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire? Not yet known.
Harry Potter, dead or alive? Inquiring muggle minds want to know as the Potter finale hits bookshelves around the globe.
And it was not business as usual for one jewelry store owner. She says enough to a pair of robbers. And what happened when she refused them?
Her story a little bit later in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Leaping wizards cheering for joy. In some cases, jumping for joy as the witching hour arrives. Harry Potter's final act is now in the hands of eager muggles everywhere. You try saying that fast.
This was the scene overnight in London. The last volume in a magical series went on sale just after midnight worldwide.
And in this country, Harry Potter hysteria is in full swing. Right now in homes all across the nation, readers are devouring "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". Both young readers and older mature readers.
Bonnie Schneider was there when the book went on sale just outside of Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How excited are you to get this book?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On a scale of one to 10, 20 million. SCHNEIDER (voice over): This fan is not alone. In bookstores around the world like this Barnes & Noble in Marietta, Georgia, wizard lovers waited in line for hours to get their copy of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".
Kids of all ages came dressed as their favorite character to celebrate the arrival of the long-anticipated last book of the popular series.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing was more important than this. Like, seriously, I've been planning this since, like, I knew when it was coming out.
SCHNEIDER: As the excitement built toward the midnight release, fans came up with their own scenarios as to how the seven-book series may end.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We actually printed out sheets of, like, different scenarios in what you think will happen. And we all like -- it's kind of like March Madness, you know. And we all decided what we think will happen and then we're going to compare predictions.
SCHNEIDER: Finally, it's 12:01 and the wait is over. Fans couldn't get their hands on the bright orange covered book fast enough.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am the most excited girl in the world. I've been waiting for this all -- like since the last book came out. This is the happiest day of my life.
SCHNEIDER (on camera): Once fans get a copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the question is, when reading the book, do they start with the first page or the last?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The last page, and then the whole thing straight through.
SCHNEIDER (voice over): Not everyone agrees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't ruin it by looking at the ending first.
SCHNEIDER: Bonnie Schneider, CNN, Marietta, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Take a moment to check out this tape. The store owner, jewelry store owner was shot at, but refused to give up.
And we're going to take a look at when it's happening in the West. Are those Utah fires likely to get even bigger?
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
And an unprecedented 12 million copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" went on sale in the U.S. over the weekend. So will Harry's final act beat sales of the other books in the series?
Here's a CNN Fact Check. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): A decade ago, the boy wizard made his public debut in J.K. Rowling's first book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". Readers and moviegoers quickly fell under Potter's spell.
By the time the second book, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," was published, the literary fuse was lit and Potter was a hot commodity. Book sales were magical. More Harry Potter books and movies stoked the flames of Potter mania, each book topping the success of its predecessor.
The magic of Hogwarts has been translated into 63 languages in more than 200 countries. The sixth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," hits stores in the summer of 2005, setting another new world record. It sold nearly seven million copies within the first 24 hours. It also set a record for the publishing industry -- an unprecedented 10.8 million copies in its first U.S. printing.
Worldwide, some 325 million Harry Potter books have been sold. More than 121 million copies in the U.S. alone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
LONG: And the story about a young woman who was fed up in Phoenix. A petite lady, a jewelry store owner who faced two armed robbers. Instead of raising her hands, she put up her fists.
More on this story from CNN's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL, JEWELRY STORE OWNER: Hey you.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tuesday, July 17th. Business as usual in at Gaston Jewelers (ph) in Phoenix, but not for long.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody on the ground. Get on the ground.
COOPER: Criminals posting as customers pull out guns and confront an owner refusing to give in.
CAROL: You get out of here right now, young man. You leave!
(GUNSHOT)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back! Get back!.
COOPER: Even as one of the suspects fires a bullet just inches away from her, the 5'2" woman continues to fight. Another surveillance camera captures the encounter.
CAROL: Get out of here right now, young man. You leave!
COOPER: As you can see, three employees obey the orders and get on the ground. But the woman, who only wants to be identified as Carol, battles back.
CAROL: What are you guys doing?
COOPER: Sounding more like an impatient schoolmarm than the victim of a violent crime.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, open the safe! Open the safe! Come on! Where you at?
CAROL: The safe's open.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Open the safe! Get on the ground! Get on the ground!
COOPER: Incredibly, even after almost getting shot, Carol follows them out of the store. We showed this tape to a former NYPD detective.
GIL ALBA, FMR. NYPD DETECTIVE: She owns the store, probably her life savings is all in their. And she's not giving it up to any two punks that come in, even with a gun. However, you put the other people in danger, you put the other employees in danger. She's forcing these guys to take action. They have the guns and those guns were loaded. So therefore, you know, give them what they want, let them get out as fast as they want.
COOPER: In 2005, more than 900 people were murdered in the U.S. during the course of a robbery.
CAROL: What is wrong with you guys?
COOPER: While police look for the robbers, we wanted to know what drove Carol to turn on her attackers?
CAROL: I'm not that big of a person, but whenever I see something like that, I don't think about my life. I was just livid that they would do this to me.
COOPER: And if this happens to Carol in the future? She says she'll be armed and ready.
CAROL: If I would have pulled a gun on them, somebody probably would have been dead. And I don't really want to kill anybody, but whenever my life is at stake or my employees or my customers lives are at stake, you bet I would fire.
COOPER: Anderson Cooper, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LONG: Despite the chutzpah, despite Carol's best efforts, the robbers did make off with about $100,000 worth of jewels. They are still on the loose.
Just before that story, we were sharing some video with you of four people that were being rescued just outside of San Antonio, Texas. They were trapped in the water.
Let's get the very latest on the water situation there and the flooding that's been taking place -- meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LONG: President Bush is back on the job right now after being screened for colon cancer earlier today. Doctors removed five small polyps during the colonoscopy procedure. The White House says the polyps do not appear to be dangerous, but they will be examined at the National Naval Medical Center as a precaution. Results are expected in two or maybe three days.
Now, colon cancer is the number two cancer killer in the U.S. Ninety percent of cases show up in people over the age of 50. And doctors say early diagnosis is key to survival. The screening, we mentioned, again, it's called a colonoscopy.
Dr. Bill Lloyd is with us now to talk more about it its importance.
DR. BILL LLOYD, SURGEON: Hi, Melissa.
LONG: Dr. Lloyd, thanks so much for your time.
LLOYD: Yes. Well, glad to be here.
LONG: Well, let's just first talk about the information I just shared, which is the age of 50 really seems to be the focus for the American Cancer Society on when both men and women need to get screened.
LLOYD: Yes, colon cancer is preventable if you get these screening exams. And we know that beyond the age of 50, the risk of developing colon cancer increases. So that's why they start this screening schedule.
If you have none of the risk factors for colon cancer, once every 10 years is enough if you're going to have this colonoscopy procedure like President Bush had.
LONG: OK. This colonoscopy procedure, a lot of people get a little bit nervous about having it. It's considered minimally invasive, but it's not necessarily something that people would take pleasure in getting prepared for.
Can you help people to understand it's not as bad as some people may think it may be?
LLOYD: I certainly can. I've had two myself. And you bring up an important point, Melissa, because half of American adults, slightly more than half, never have any of these cancer screenings. And colon cancer is at the bottom of the list of patients who take advantage of these screening techniques that could protect them from the cancer and save their lives.
So, the day before you have a colonoscopy you're going to have a bowel prep, basically a series of laxatives that will clean you out. Nothing to eat the night before, nothing in the morning.
You're going to go into the clinic or to the hospital, or for President Bush, you go up to Camp David.
LONG: Right.
LLOYD: And they're going on give you a slight sedative, a little injection. They'll probably put an IV in you as well just for safety sake.
So you have a little snookum (ph). You can take a little -- take a little nap. You're going to feel relaxed just like you're going to have a dental procedure. And that's it.
You're not going to get general anesthesia or put to sleep or anything like that. So you'll be aware of what's going on, but it will be a very comfortable experience.
As the procedure continues, the doctors are going to inject a little gas into your intestinal tract that will inflate things up, and that will allow the instruments to move upstream, if you will. A little camera and some lights that pass this tube up your intestines. And they'll get a full view of the 33 feet of your bowels, looking for polyps, just like they did for President Bush, and the possibility of a cancerous tumor.
LONG: All right. Dr. Lloyd, you seem to be quite excited about this procedure. I don't know if other people going in for it would be quite as excited about it. But I guess the good news on the other end of it is if you had a clean bill of health.
But in the flip side, you may find out that you have some polyps. So when is it a reason to be concerned?
LLOYD: Sure. All polyps are removed and studied under the microscope. The vast majority of them are hyperplastic polyps, non-cancerous. And studies have shown that if all you have are benign polyps or nothing, you can go 10 years without getting another one and you won't have a risk of developing cancer.
On the other hand, if they study polyps under the microscope that shows some early cancer-like changes in the cells, then you'll be recommended to have more frequent colonoscopies. Rarely, doctors will identify cancer the first time a colonoscopy is performed, but that's great news, because with an early diagnoses, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation can protect you from an early cancer death.
LONG: Dr. Lloyd, thanks so much for your professional expertise and also sharing your personal experience with the colonoscopies as well.
We appreciate it.
LLOYD: We'll talk again soon.
LONG: Thank you.
People still in trouble in the U.K. with flooding. They're making things quite unpleasant.
And is that true buildup in Iraq a success so far? Jamie McIntyre reports ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: This story from Britain. More than a dozen flood warnings remain in effect today after heavy rains blocked roads and railways. They've also prompted hundreds of flight cancellations.
Meteorologists say some parts of central England have seen a month's worth of end in a matter of hours. The Royal Air Force has been pressed into duty, rescuing hundreds of stranded citizens just all across the flooded countryside.
Leaving Iraq, it is proving more difficult by the day, even if the so- called surge of U.S. troops is successful.
CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre breaks down a popular misconception that military victory means a quicker exit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The U.S. military says the Wild West of Anbar Province, a former al Qaeda stronghold, is a success story. Last week, there were only 98 violent incidents in Anbar, compared to 428 for the same week a year ago.
So, the surge forces there should be able to leave, right? Not so fast, says their commander.
MAJOR GENERAL WALTER GASKIN, COMMANDER, MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-WEST: The key to this is having persistent presence, but I don't see it happening overnight. I believe it's another couple of years in order to get that to that.
MCINTYRE: A surge force of 120 Marines has been extended 30 days in Anbar to help lock in the gains of the past month, and that illustrates a common misconception, that, if the surge succeeds, it will allow U.S. troops to leave, while in fact success may create more pressure for the troops to stay until Iraqi forces can step in.
Here's what Major General Rick Lynch, another surge commander, told the AP: "It's going to be take me into next spring and summer to generate the sustained security presence."
So what about the September review? The number two commander in Iraq seemed to say he wants more time.
MAJ. GENERAL RAYMOND ODIERNO, COMMANDER, MULTI-NATIONAL CORPS - IRAQ: In order to do a good assessment, I need at least until November to do that assessment.
MCINTYRE: That apparently offhand comment drew a quick rebuke from the Senate Republican leader, who doesn't want to see November become the new September.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: I think September is the critical month.
MCINTYRE: In a statement, General Odierno insisted he was not moving the goal posts, saying, "My reference to November was simply suggesting that, as we two forward beyond September, we will gain more understanding of the trends."
But one trend is clear. U.S. commanders don't want to see the U.S. surge end too soon.
GENERAL JAMES CONWAY, U.S. MARINE CORPS COMMANDANT: If we pull out and are perceived to be pulling out without having achieved a measure of success, they win.
MCINTYRE: The consensus of the generals is that the biggest mistake of the past was pulling out U.S. troops too soon. So General David Petraeus is going to have a hard time recommending troop cuts if his commanders are dead set against it.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: She is tracking smugglers using traditional Native American skills. We will introduce you to the Shadow Wolves.
And when Barry Bonds breaks the big record, how will baseball fans react?
It's all ahead in the NEWSROOM.
Still to come also, after years of rigorous testing, scientists hope to have the so-called bionic eye out on the market soon.
Richard Louis (ph) reports on how this device will work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): A bionic eye that may be able it restore sight has been cleared by the FDA for clinical trials.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And now I see light.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And if successful, this artificial retina may open the way for millions more who suffer from degenerative eye diseases. DR. MARK HUMAYUN, DOHENY EYE INSTITUTE: Well, the ultimate goal is to allow people who are legally blind, meaning, can't read or recognize faces, to be able to read large font, recognize faces, and allow them to integrate with society.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The device called Argus II works like this: a miniature camera transmits images to a radio receiver implanted near the patient's eye. Now, the receiver sends a signal to a tiny silicone and platinum chip which allows its 60 electrodes to stimulate the ganglion cells that transmit visual information to the optic nerve and onward to the brain.
But a device like this may cost more than what an average person could afford. A $30,000 price tag is what is expected.
HUMAYUN: We already have made serious inroads in to that. So a third-party payer like insurance can pay.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Argus II may need another two years of trials and will not provide anything like normal sight. But for those who can see nothing, it is a ray of hope.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Hope you're having a good Saturday afternoon so far.
Now a story about an elite group of trackers that's making trouble for smugglers near the U.S.-Mexico border.
As our Kara Finnstrom reports, they're finding criminals the Native American way.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SLOAN SATEPAUHOODLE, SHADOW WOLVES: We're in the village of Sales (ph), Arizona, about 70 miles west of Tucson, Arizona.
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The front line in the war on drug and immigrant smuggling.
Sloan Satepauhoodle is a member of an elite customs unit of Native Americans, the Shadow Wolves.
SATEPAUHOODLE: Yes, we have the night vision. Yes, you have the sensors. But it's not going to show you a footprint. That's when it all just comes down to the person having to get out and look and see what's there.
FINNSTROM: And it's what the Shadow Wolves see that leads them to major drug busts.
At least 60,000 pounds of illegal drugs every year. Their patrol, the Tohono O'odham Reservation, an area the size of Connecticut. (on camera): Just a few miles to the south of us is Mexico. We're here in the U.S. in what could either be a smuggler's paradise or a smuggler's hell.
A smuggler's paradise because of all this open space that smugglers have to sneak into the country. A smuggler's hell, because in these extreme conditions, they can die out here.
(voice over): The smugglers, fighting dehydration and trying to hide, always leave clues.
SATEPAUHOODLE: This one in the Pedialyte.
FINNSTROM: Clues like fresh cut insation (ph) on blistering bottles.
SATEPAUHOODLE: What caught my eye was this right here. It's a shoe print.
FINNSTROM: Now Satepauhoodle is on a trail.
SATEPAUHOODLE: Those fine lines defined. If it was older, it would have been wiped out.
FINNSTROM: She's one of 14 Shadow Wolves tracking smugglers on Native American lands. To join their ranks, you must be from a federally- recognized tribe. Their strength, ancestral hunting techniques.
ALONZO PENA, IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: These Native Americans, they bring skills that they have honed for generations with the dedication that they're protecting their tribal lands.
SATEPAUHOODLE: Well, you have to go out and look for the deer, you have to go hunt the buffalo. You have to go where they are. And once we feel like we find something, you know, we call in the rest of the pack.
FINNSTROM: The smugglers counter the Shadow Wolves' techniques with tricks of their own -- carpet-walking, strapping carpet to shoes to wipe away prints, or strapping camouflage onto stolen SUVs filled with drugs.
The Shadow Wolves just look harder.
SATEPAUHOODLE: It would be great if we saw like a little bit of fiber...
FINNSTROM: Satepauhoodle searches for threads from backpacks used to carry drug loads.
SATEPAUHOODLE: Now, this is good, too, because the toe digs are deep. So if you're carrying something heavy, you know, you're going to leave a toe.
FINNSTROM: To catch the world's craftiest smugglers, the smartest weapon yet may be time-honored methods used one step at a time.
Kara Finnstrom for CNN, southern Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(NEWSBREAK)
LONG: OK, where and when? Those seem to be the two big questions looming around Barry Bonds and his attempt to break (INAUDIBLE) most celebrated record. For some fans, it's bated breath with every at- bat, but others don't think he's worthy of all of the historic homer hype.
And if you could ask the presidential candidates anything, what would it be? You'll be surprised at what some of our viewers are coming up with.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: San Francisco Giants' slugger Barry Bonds is in hot pursuit of Hank Aaron's all-time home run record. Giants are playing the Milwaukee Brewers this afternoon, in fact. Bonds is in the game, but not all fans are happy about it.
Here's Richard Roth.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): His name is Barry Bonds, and he has a lot to smile about. He's about to own a precious piece of Americana.
CHRIS HALT, MBL.COM: It's a special focus because he's going for the home run record, which is one of the most revered records in all of American sports, maybe the most revered record.
ROTH: But much of the country is not cheering Bonds' blast into history.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hate him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barry is just a phony.
ROTH: As the San Francisco sensation edges closer to the record, many fans think there is something to the suspicions that Bonds used steroids to advance his home run hitting process.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's not a hero.
ROTH: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because he cheats.
ROTH: And Bonds' attitude doesn't help. The star's hitting offense is not accompanied by a charm offensive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think about your place in history right now? BARRY BONDS, BASEBALL PLAYER: No.
ROTH: If Bonds was on steroids, which he denies knowingly using, it's possible he had company on the field, perhaps hundreds of other players before a league testing policy began.
BRUCE BECK, SPORTSCASTER: You know, I think this record is tainted, but I also think that he is the poster child of an era, the so-called steroids era.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hot dogs!
ROTH: Others believe Bonds is being made a scapegoat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm against, you know, booing him. I just think that nothing's been proven yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I challenge any member of the press to take steroids and hit a ball out of the park.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I certainly want to see Barry break the record.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's an accomplishment for baseball, and I hope he achieves it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he gets it, we should celebrate.
ROTH: The home run is part of baseball legend. The New York Yankees' Babe Ruth turned baseball into the national pastime starting in the roaring '20s. Ruth clobbered 714 home runs. Forty years later; Hank Aaron endured racial abuse when he broke Ruth's record.
Now with scandal in the air, Aaron does not plan to be at the game when Bonds breaks his record, saying recently, "I don't even know how to spell his name."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any comments on Hank Aaron not wanting to be there when you break the record?
BONDS: I don't have any comments on anything.
DANIEL ORTMEIER, TEAMMATE OF BONDS: Everybody asks, you know, "Do you know Barry Bonds? Do you play with Barry Bonds?" You know? And it's -- what a blessing and an honor to be able to say yes.
BOB NIGHTINGALE, "USA TODAY" BASEBALL WRITER: I think his legacy will be greater 15, 20 years after he retires. (INAUDIBLE) the greatest player of this generation, if not in baseball history.
ROTH: Baseball is in contortions, having to accept Bonds as the home run king.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like, if he hits one today, then it's cool to say, "I saw him hit one of them." But then I don't want him to break the record.
ROTH: Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Thank you so much. We have been receiving a lot of questions from viewers for the upcoming YouTube presidential debates, but sorry, not all of them will make that final cut.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you you all, my presidential hopeful brothers, and sister Hillary, plan on promoting and expanding civil rights to poor brother Addison Cooper (ph) here, doesn't have to do all of the work by himself?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: And that's just one of them. Jeanne Moos has more of what you won't see on Monday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: We're a little more than 48 hours away now from the first-ever CNN/YouTube debate featuring the Democratic presidential candidates, and you still do have time to submit your own question if you'd like to.
But as CNN's Jeanne Moos report, some of the debate questions are debatable.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As they prepare the presidential debate set, wait until you see the latest set of questions for the candidates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you really believe that god exists?
MOOS: Do you really believe some of these questions exist? Submitted to YouTube by a dolphin? By an alien?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is one among many.
MOOS: By a crab.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What will you do to stop the sexually transmitted diseases?
MOOS: A lot of the questions submitted to YouTube will go down the tubes. Especially the one delivered by a tube.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, little troopers.
MOOS: A few folks sang questions like who's going to be your running mate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to know who it is and why we should say wow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the world is the worst you ever did that you won't tell us?
MOOS: And then there's the catchy what would you do about telephone outsourcing questions?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't understand a word, a word that I have heard. Telephone outsources telephone outsources.
MOOS: Some parents apparently outsourced questions to their kids about hunting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What will you do to stop PETA?
MOOS: About health care.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can die by the time all the paperwork gets filled out.
MOOS: These three mounted stuffed ostriches in front of the White House to tell candidates not to bury heads in the sand.
CROWD: What's your plan to fix social security?
MOOS: They may be too young to vote, but those accusatory little pointed fingers hurt.
CROWD: How are you going to fix it?
MOOS: And then there was the guy who asked one question like this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, my name is David McMillan (ph).
MOOS: And another like this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you all, my presidential brothers and sister Hillary plan on promoting and expanding civil rights so poor brother Anderson Cooper here doesn't have to do all the work by himself?
MOOS: Don't expect YouTubers to keep their shirt on. Question for Hillary Clinton.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I be your intern?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe Biden, same question.
MOOS: Some lost their train of thought mid question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I'd like to know, whoever you are, what the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) are you going to do about it?
MOOS: At this debate, the questions might be more fun than the answers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does this Web cam make my boobs look weird?
MOOS: Honestly, yeah. But no candidate who wants your vote is going to tell you that.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: You can still send in your entertaining or serious questions as well.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Melissa Long, in today for Fredricka Whitfield.
The next hour of NEWSROOM with Rick Sanchez starts right now.
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