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Senator Larry Craig Hearing; Missing Madeleine Mystery; Bizarre Bank Heist; Warren Jeffs Facing Prison; Blackwater Probe; Myanmar Protests
Aired September 26, 2007 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The picture on the right is Madeleine McCann. The other little girl, looks an awful lot like her. But in the search for a long missing toddler, apparently kidnapped or worse, close isn't close enough.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: The bank robber had a bomb, in Hollywood, Florida. But wasn't he really a robber? Was it really a bomb? The money's really gone, but the rest, police are still trying to figure out.
Hello, everyone, I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: We begin with yet another twist in the case of Idaho Senator Larry Craig. You'll recall he was arrested this summer an airport sex sting and later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
Let's go straight to congressional correspondent Dana Bash. She's in Edina, Minnesota, where Craig's attorneys are trying to take back that guilty plea.
What do you have for us, Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Don. And, in fact, in about an hour and a half, that's exactly what Senator Craig's attorneys are going to try to do. They are going to try to convince a judge in the courthouse behind me to withdraw a guilty plea that Senator Craig signed admitting to disorderly conduct. That's something that happens very, very rarely.
And also it's important to note that no one expects the judge to actually rule on that today. And it is also important, Don, to look at the calendar. Today is September 26th. Four days before the September 30th deadline that Senator Craig set for himself, the day that he said he intended to resign. Now, Senator Craig is not here for this hearing. He is back in Washington at the U.S. capitol. Our congressional producer, Ted Barrett, caught up with the senator and talked to him about today.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED BARRETT, CNN CONGRESSIONAL PRODUCER: Think you'll get a ruling today, sir?
SEN. LARRY CRAIG, IOWA: No. But I work out of state today.
BARRETT: And are you sorry that you're not there to present your own case?
CRAIG: No, not at all. My attorneys and the judge in an oral argument case oftentimes defendants aren't there.
BARRETT: Are you confident that the judge will reverse this decision, sir?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, you heard Senator Craig tell Ted Barrett that he is going to issue a statement later today.
Now, one source involved in discussions with Senator Craig tells CNN that what he is now planning on saying is that he will stay in the U.S. senate beyond September 30th, until the judge rules on the motion on whether or not to withdraw his guilty plea. The source also says that Senator Craig is suggesting in private discussions that if there actually is a new trial on this case that perhaps the senator would stay in office until that trial is complete.
But it is important to note that, then to remember the intent, intense pressure, Don, that senator Craig is getting from his own republican leadership who aggressively pushed him to resign late last month. And that's why another source tells us that it's still kind of fluid what Senator Craig will do. Senator Craig told us yesterday he has not sent his resignation letter to the Idaho governor and he said he is waiting for the legal deliberations to be completed -- Don.
LEMON: Getting even more interesting. CNN's Dana Bash. Thank you for your report, Dana.
PHILLIPS: New developments in another story we've been following. A photo taken last month in Morocco raised new hopes for the search for the missing British girl Madeleine McCann. Reports in Britain say the girl in the photo is not the missing child.
CNN's Emily Chang joins us now from London with more. Emily, what did you find out?
EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, today we learned that several journalists traveled to Morocco today to track down the girl in that photograph and a British journalist with "London Evening Standard" newspaper believes he has found her. Indeed, it is not Madeleine, though she bears a striking resemblance to Madeleine. This is actually a 5-year-old living in that Moroccan town, and she is the daughter of an olive farmer.
So this shows, again, the dramatic twists and turns. The family spokesperson for the McCann's saying tonight this is very disappointing news, however, he had urged caution all day long when viewing this photograph. He said there have been over 400 sightings of Madeleine since she disappeared. Some of them seeming very credible. But they have all come to nothing.
So Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine's parents were encouraged by this photograph, but they didn't get too excited about it, because they've learned not to. It's become such an emotional roller coaster for them. And again tonight the question remains, what happened to Madeleine McCann.
PHILLIPS: OK, Emily Chang, live from London, appreciate that update.
LEMON: Leaving the picket line and punching the clock. GM workers are heading back to work in light of a tentative contract agreement to end a nationwide strike. And right now other U.S. auto workers are watching for the fine print as they gear up for contract talks, too.
CNN's Ali Velshi has been following the story and he joins us now from New York. Hi, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, I would like the fine print. This has been a big secret. We didn't know the strike was coming on Monday morning. The United Auto Workers let workers walk off the job two, about an hour and a half before they made the announcement. And middle of the night they tell us they've got a deal. We have confirmation from the UAW and GM that they've a deal but we haven't seen the fine print. And the workers will have to vote on it this coming weekend. The United Auto Workers have told their workers to go back to work. And we need to see the deal and whether they will ratify it.
Here's the deal, General Motors has effectively passed on the responsibility for the care, the health care, of 340,000 former workers, retired workers and their spouses. That's what they wanted to do. They wanted to unload that. Now, the union is going to be managing the trust fund that pays for those -- that health care.
In exchange, what the union wanted, and this is what got them to walk off the job, they wanted job security. They're not getting that. Instead they are some getting lump-sum additional payments. But General Motors has said to the union because they are saving some money in this contract, they might be more inclined to save some jobs or invest more money in factories in the United States.
So, here's what's going to happen. On the weekend, Don, United Auto Workers members are going to vote. The strike is not cancelled. It's not off. It's sort of suspended until such time that they vote. After that, the United Auto Workers is going to announce, or not after that, actually, before that UAW will announce who the next target of negotiations is. Is it Ford or is it Chrysler? They will try and take the contract that they got and copy it over to Chrysler and Ford.
There's still 100,000 workers not covered by this deal because they don't work for General Motors. So it's a very interesting series of developments, interesting for the workers, interesting for other autoworkers and also interesting, were Don, for anybody who is unionized or has a company that pays their retirement health care benefits.
LEMON: Yes. Absolutely interesting and for spouses and retirees and their spouses in the long run, this could be very interesting news for them.
Ali Velshi, thank so very much for that report.
VELSHI: Pleasure.
PHILLIPS: New developments in another story. South Florida cops trying to sort out a bizarre bank heist today. It involved a bank worker, an alleged bomb and a large amount of cash.
Susan Candiotti has been investigating and getting the latest on a puzzling case, no doubt. What did you find out, Susan?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, police, Kyra, are not ready to close the books on this robbery. Why? Because they say there are still pieces of the puzzle that are missing. A police will not share with those inconsistencies are, but they are asking a lot of questions.
Now meantime, the 22-year-old possible victim here, spent hours and hours at the police headquarters overnight, until the wee hours of the morning, voluntarily answering questions about exactly what happened. He told police, for example, that it was his day off when these three masked robbers barged into his home, started grilling him about bank procedures, and then taped what he thought was a bomb to his chest.
They forced him and his girlfriend into a car, with one of the masked robbers in the car with them, armed, drove to the bank, forced him to go inside, where this bank teller cleared out the bank vault of more than $25,000.
Here's the Hollywood police spokesman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not only the bank employee but his girlfriend are cooperating fully with our investigators. They were here last night until 2:30, 3:00 in the morning providing statements. Unfortunately there are some inconsistencies in those statements. And as such, you have to afford our investigators an opportunity to corroborate one way or the other, these inconsistencies before we can truly classify the bank employee and his girlfriend as true victims, possibly participants in this bank robbery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now, at this time, police are still not releasing the name of this possible victim, and his girlfriend. So, at this time, CNN has learned through a law enforcement source that that device that was taped to his chest? It was a hoax. Wasn't real. But, Kyra, one thing was that bank robbery gone, more than $25,000, gone, the bank robbers.
Back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Susan Candiotti. Appreciate the update.
LEMON: Self-proclaimed prophet to prisoners? Well, Warren Jeffs could face anywhere from five years to life behind bars when he's sentenced on November 20th. Yesterday a Utah jury convicted the polygamist sect leader for being accomplice to rape by forcing a 14- year-old girl into marrying her 19-year-old cousin. The jury reached a verdict even though one juror, for still unexplained reasons, was replaced just yesterday.
Here's what some of the jurors told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEIRDRE SHAW, JEFFS TRIAL JUROR: He was very calm, a lot calmer than I would have been. He really didn't show much facial expressions at all. Almost like a sedative look. He on was no smile, no scowls, nothing. Just very calm, straight-faced the whole time.
RACHEL KARIMI, JEFFS TRIAL JUROR: All of us truly set aside the fact that he was very important in his community, and that he did have a lot of followers. But we just kept going back as a group and just making sure that we were sticking to the reason he was on trial, and that -- to make sure that that wasn't playing a role in the decision at all.
BEN COULTER, JEFFS TRIAL JUROR: I had kind of just listened to the testimony and kind of made a determination that he wasn't guilty until I actually got a chance to look over, you know, the laws and read them over and over again. And once I was able to read the laws, make that determination, by following the laws rather than just kind of emotion, that's when I was able to, you know, go for the guilty verdict.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, Jeffs' lawyers argued he was being persecuted for his religious beliefs which include practicing polygamy as a way to salvation.
PHILLIPS: The victim in this case, says it's not about religious persecution. Elissa Wall, who is now 21, testified that she was forced into marriage and sex with her older cousin, now her former husband. She spoke out, right after the verdict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELISSA WALL, VICTIM: This trial has not been about religion or a vendetta. It is simply about child abuse and preventing further abuse. I hope that all FLDS girls and women will understand that no matter what anyone may say, you are created equal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Wall's former husband testified for the defense, saying she entered the marriage as a willing partner.
LEMON: What happened to the crew of the Joe Cool? A federal judge has lots of questions for the passengers found alive.
PHILLIPS: Plus, some U.S. tourists don't come for the scenery. They come to see a doctor. When they don't pay up, guess who foots the bill?
LEMON: With the democratic presidential hopeful's again debating tonight, we'll take a look at who is in front in New Hampshire. And the lead may surprise you.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Fourteen -- 15 past the hour, now, three of the stories we're working on for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A source tells CNN that Senator Larry Craig will announce he plans to stay in office at least until a Minnesota judge rules on his case. He had said he intended to resign by the end of the month. A little more than an hour, a judge starts considering Craig's petition to overturn his guilty plea in an airport sex sting.
A London newspaper says it's not her. The paper reports the child seen in this picture is not Madeleine McCann. The British girl who vanished in may while vacationing with her parents in Portugal. But officials are still taking a closer look at the photo.
The massive pro-democracy protest led by Buddhist monks in Myanmar, well, they may have turned deadly. Unconfirmed reports say up to five protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces.
PHILLIPS: Chad Myers in the weather center, keeping his eye on some of the angry storms right now. Chad, bring us up to date.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Kyra, the water is hot and it is tropical season and that's what we have here down around Vera Cruz and Tampico, Mexico. Tropical depression number 13. An airplane is actually on the way to the storm. In fact, well, here it is. Coming now all the way down here toward the low, which we think is still right there. They found that tropical depression low, wasn't strong enough to make a storm.
When it becomes a storm, I think it probably will before it makes landfall. Notice all the models, though, taking it into Mexico. It will be Lorenzo. We'll have to see. We'll have to see if it has. There's the plane. It's kind of neat, you can actually see where the plane is. The technology we have now is really phenomenal compared to the old satellite where you rip off a piece of paper and go, yes, that kind of looks like a hurricane. We'll watch this today and so will the hurricane center. We'll watch for that the spin become a name.
We're not seeing a spin here but we're seeing an increase of moisture and convection moving towards Nassau. We'll watch for that later on. Here's the bay of Campeche. This is how big it is. This is Lorenzo. This is tropical depression 13. If it becomes a storm, that's why you see that symbol. It will move on to Mexico City. We always have to see if you get a storm that stalls over a big city you can obviously get that flooding that's possible, not the storm surge.
Here is Karen out in the middle of the Atlantic. It's a big storm and it is, 70 miles an hour. It's going to be a hurricane pretty soon. But it's not going to hit anything. We call these fish storms, because all they really hit are the fish. But the fish know they're coming. They swim a little bit deeper and everything's OK.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Don was saying, I wish we could do that. Appreciate it, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
LEMON: Joe Cool is back in port. But still no sign with the crew it left with last weekend. Meantime, questions and charges for the passengers on the mysterious cruise. Details, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Under the microscope. Blackwater, the secretive security firm paid to protect American VIPs in Iraq. A democratic congressman says the Bush administration is getting in the way of its committee's investigation of that company. Iraqi officials accuse Blackwater employees of an unprovoked killing of Iraqi civilians. House oversight committee Henry Waxman says, the state department blocked a request for certain Blackwater documents. The state department says it is cooperating fully. Iraq's prime minister wants Blackwater kicked out of the country.
PHILLIPS: And this just in. There's word today that defense secretary Robert Gates is trying to get to the bottom of this very serious charge.
Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, with us right now. What are you expecting him to do?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well Kyra, it's a remarkable change of tone from last week when the Pentagon was saying it's a state department problem and we're only asking a few questions to make sure that everything is OK with contractors under D.O.D. authority.
Well, after the questions, Secretary Gates was not happy with the answer, said he had serious concerns about the Pentagon's oversight of private security employees. And he's taken action. He's dispatched a team to Iraq and the deputy defense secretary has dispatched a memo outlining the responsibility that U.S. commanders have in making sure that they hold these contractors in line.
Here's Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: The notion that there's not -- that they are not authorities in place to deal with rogue contractors or contractors who are breaking the law is nonsense. We have the means to go after them through the department of justice. We have the means to go after them through military courts. Just because there has not been a prosecution brought does not mean that the authority does not exist, to deal with people who misbehave, who break the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: Clearly the Pentagon has the means to oversee those contractors, but the question here is, are they doing it? And what this memo from the deputy defense secretary directs commanders in the field to do is to review the contracts, make sure they have the appropriate language, make sure that all weapons are authorized, make sure that contractors who misbehave are, in fact, disciplined. It reminds them that they have the authority and the responsibility to do that.
So, this is part of a review that comes at a time, of course, when the Iraqi government is contending that U.S. contractors are acting as if they're above the law, without adequate oversight and are considering passing their own legislation to try to revoke the immunity now enjoyed by those contractors -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And Jamie, you've been to Iraq and I've been to Iraq. This has been an ongoing discussion for years now. This is nothing new. When you have a government that can't even operate on its own, how do you hold other contractors, say, like Blackwater, accountable? Because it's like -- it's sort of -- everyone's trying to figure out what the law is and how do you abide by the law? And there are many people even outside of these contractors not being held accountable for these type of actions.
MCINTYRE: Well, you know, obviously it's clear that many of the U.S. companies that provide contract employees in Iraq do not want them to be under Iraqi justice. They don't have any confidence in that system. They believe it's corrupt. It's subject to bribes. So, that's not seen as the answer.
But what the Iraqi government is looking for is some evidence that the U.S. is holding these people accountable, and so far, no contractors have been prosecuted for any excessive use of force. That's in contrast to what we've seen in the U.S. military, where U.S. military personnel who are accused of killing innocent civilians or excessive force are being held accountable under the military system of justice. So, what Secretary Gates is saying is, let's make sure that we're holding them accountable so we can go back to the Iraqi government and say, yes, these people are not acting with impunity even though they are not subject to Iraqi law. And, of course, the ultimate resolution of whose going to have jurisdiction over them is something that the U.S. and the Iraqi government are going to have to work out through the efforts of the state department and a special joint commission.
PHILLIPS: And then pending lawsuits. That's a whole other story, right, Jamie?
MCINTYRE: Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: All right. Jamie McIntyre live from the Pentagon, appreciate it.
LEMON: A major part of General Motors and United Auto Workers agreement reached this morning is something called a veba. Which of course begs the question, what's a veba?
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange to fill us in on this story. It sounds like a funny word, but for all these auto workers it's not. What is a veba?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very serious and all the folks in Detroit know this. It's an acronym that many of us don't know it outside of motor city but we're likely to hear it in future labor talks as it is the centerpiece of the UAW deal reached this early morning.
Basically, a veba or voluntary employee beneficiary association is a trust that helps pay for health care. So General Motors instead of paying for retiree health benefits directly will instead contribute cash and stocks to establish a fund. The union administers the fund. Meaning it will become the union's job to invest that money wisely so it grows and lasts for generations of retirees.
If the money grows faster than the cost of health care, the trust will remain funded. Of course, keeping pace with rising health care costs, no easy feat. Employer health care premiums rose an estimated 7.7 percent last year alone. Two times the rate of inflation -- Don.
LEMON: All right, Susan Lisovicz. What else do you have to talk about? You want to talk about the markets? Or do you have something for us to talk about?
LISOVICZ: Well, I actually wanted to talk about kind of the risks involved with the veba, Don, because this has been tried before. It's a relatively new concept, but tried before. And failed spectacularly. The UAW tried it in 1998. By 2005, the fund was bankrupt. The advantage for the union is that it has the money in hand. It can't be pulled off the table.
Now, the union needs to take another look at what benefits are provided and perhaps make some changes. It also needs to figure out how to invest this money. GM is putting a large portion of the $51 million it owes its retirees into the veba, but not the whole amount. So GM is laying out a huge amount of cash now, but the agreement caps its obligation over the long term. That could help level the playing field for GM to take on Toyota, its other overseas automakers.
By the way, big reaction on Wall Street. GM shares, easily the best of the Dow 30 stock, Dow 30 stocks. Shares are up five percent. Ford is up five percent, too. So are auto parts suppliers. They are all up sharply as well. The Dow doing nicely. It's up 81 points or better than 0.5 percent. The NASDAQ is up 0.75 percent. Coming up, one down, two to go, the UAW's next hurdles in the next hour of NEWSROOM.
Kyra and Don, back to you.
LEMON: See, I knew you had more to add about veba. It's such an important story. I knew you had more. Thank you.
LISOVICZ: Thank you, Don.
PHILLIPS: Well, he says he was kidnapped and forced to wear a bomb and forced to take part in a bank heist. P.S., he works at the bank that was robbed. The latest on the bizarre crime coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live in the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
All right, you never know what's going to happen with this one, but it appears Idaho Senator Larry Craig might stay in Washington past the end of this month. A source close to Craig tells CNN it all depends on what a Minnesota judge decides and when. In about an hour Craig's attorney -- attorneys, I should say, plan to ask the judge to set aside Craig's guilty plea on a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge.
The long-serving Republican was arrested in June in airport bathroom sex sting. Well, two months later he pleaded guilty. Craig said he didn't nothing wrong; he just wanted to make the case go away. Craig had announced plans to leave the Senate by September 30th. He's expected to have more to say later today.
PHILLIPS: This story that was already strange, empty boat, missing crew, two passengers found drifting in a lifeboat. But now bizarre new details about the two men who hired the Joe Cool for that trip to Biminy.
Reporter Reed Cowan of CNN affiliate WSBN in Miami has the twist.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REED COWAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Day four in the boat to Biminy mystery, and the men who were brought in cuffed and blanketed Tuesday are today facing a judge. Kirby Archer and Guillermo Zarabozo in deep trouble. Archer to face charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, after allegedly stealing $95,000 from this Arkansas Wal-Mart.
And Hialeah's Guillermo Zarabozo, for giving a false statement to a federal agent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got to be so heartless.
COWAN: Meanwhile family member of four missing boaters, who Archer and Zarabozo paid to charter the Joe Cool wonder if the two men floating on a lifeboat had something to do with the vanishing of Jake and Kelly Branam, Scott Campbell and Sammy Cary (ph).
JONATHAN BRANAM, MISSING BOATER'S COUSIN: What happened? We found you two guys on the inflatable raft that was off the Joe Cool, and just explain to me why you two were found and the rest of my family and friends are gone.
COWAN: The Joe Cool, reportedly torn apart on the inside, now a floating body of evidence. The boat, a potential bridge to other charges for Zarabozo and archer.
Meanwhile, 7 news obtaining records of Archer's past. Divorce papers about Archer having a gay relationship with a Florida man, and a published report quoting Archer's ex-wife who alleges archer met Zarabozo when Zarabozo was a child refugee at Gitmo, where Kirby Archer was a military police investigator.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, that was one of our affiliate reporters reporting there.
Has this happened to you? I'm sure I know the answer to this question. It's happened to most people. Stuck on the tarmac, or in the terminal, with nothing to do, no where to go, for hours. Flight delays are a growing problem across America. The FAA says they're up 20 percent this year. And right now, the problem has the attention of a congressional panel. Hearings are being held this afternoon. And we'll check in with CNN's Brianna Keilar in just a bit for the very latest on what's going on with that.
PHILLIPS: All eight Democratic candidates for president face-off tonight in the first primary state, New Hampshire. This debate will take place at Dartmouth College. And at a new CNN/WMUR poll of New Hampshire Democratic primary voters shows that Hillary Clinton widens her lead. Since July, she's more than doubled the gap between her and her newest rival -- or nearest rival, rather, Barack Obama. Asked which candidate has the best chance of beating the Republican nominee in November, 54 percent said Clinton, 13 percent, Obama, 8 percent Edwards.
CNN senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley, with us from Hanover. Candy, is there any good news for the other candidates? CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POL. CORRESPONDENT: Reporter: Well, let me look at it from the standpoint of the campaigns. And here's how the Obama campaign looks at it. More than 50 percent of the -- those who say they will vote in the Democratic primary here in New Hampshire haven't made up their minds. They're still thinking about it. So that's the vote obviously that Barack Obama goes toward at this point. They argue that, look, Hillary Clinton is the best-known candidate. Her positions are the best known. Therefore, they think that that 54 percent or so is a very fertile field for Obama to capitalize on.
If you're the Edwards campaign, what you're catching watching here is the decline of Obama. Because everyone sort of parses this race, looks at it and says, this will be Hillary Clinton and whoever can go after Hillary Clinton to try to take the nomination away from her. So, if you're Edwards, you're looking at Obama, who has stayed at No. 2, who is now dropping, whereas Edwards has stayed pretty much in the same position, a little nudge up. So they're watching that.
So those are how at least the two camps look at these numbers. But you cannot take it away that Hillary Clinton still has a very commanding lead in this state.
PHILLIPS: Let's talk more, then, about the poll numbers -- 36 percent of New Hampshire voters think that Hillary Clinton will bring about change. A lot of Democrats, you know, starting to position themselves as agents of change. Will this mean that they'll go on the attack in tonight's debate and challenge Senator Clinton even more?
CROWLEY: You know, this is going to be interesting tonight at the debate, because Obama has set himself up as someone who brings a new kind of politics. He doesn't go on the attack. He's the politics of hope. So it becomes a little difficult, he's a little bit in a corner, because what you need at this point is to try to chip away at Clinton's lead, to chip away at that feeling that she is on her way to this nomination. So that's very hard.
Now, if you're Edwards, you're kind of looking at and it you have a choice. Do you go after Obama, or do you go after Clinton? Clinton has the easiest choice of all. She obviously is the front runner, gets to stay above it. I think you'll hear a lot, well, we all basically agree on this, we agree on that, because at this point, she doesn't have to do anything but sit on that lead.
PHILLIPS: All right, Candy Crowley.
By the way, what do you think of the new bus there, Candy Crowley?
CROWLEY: Yes, absolutely. Do you like it?
PHILLIPS: It's a pretty phat ride there. Yes, we got the full tour yesterday.
CROWLEY: Yes, absolutely. And guess what, it's air-conditioned in there?
PHILLIPS: OK. Hallelujah, because we all know how Mr. Schneider sweats in there. Yes, we got to keep good care of him.
Candy Crowley, we'll be talking to you soon.
CROWLEY: OK.
PHILLIPS: Well, you can see all the day's political news any time. Check out our new the bus, day or night, see Candy Crowley's wonderful reports at CNN.com/ticker. We're constantly updating it for you and the latest from the candidates on the campaign trail.
LEMON: Air-conditioning is important. Of course that heats going to be important too in the Midwest. All those primary states.
Nightfall, of course, brings calm to Myanmar, where security forces and demonstrators clashed today as Buddhist monks protests in the country formerly known as Burma. At least one monk reportedly has been shot dead. And the U.N. secretary-general will send a special representative to Myanmar after a quickly arranged Security Council meeting on the situation.
CNN's Emily Chang reports on how it came to this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHANG: The military has been in power in Myanmar for more than 40 years pursuing a Burmese form of socialism that has pushed the country toward economic ruin. These protests started when the government raised fuel prices sharply, even as it spends lavishly on building a new capital in the north of the country. Amid scattered protests in August, monks joined in, but one of their demonstrations was reportedly broken up by government agents. Thousands more than took to the street, demanding an apology from the government.
PATRICK CRONIN, INTL. INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES: The monks are revered by the average person in Burma because they represent a much more harmonious path, a true path, a way of life that is the ideal and for them to get involved means that there is a real problem inside the society.
CHANG: The government has historically responded to descent with force. Security forces killed more than 3,000 pro-democracy protesters in 1988. The leader of that movement has been under house arrest for most of the last 18 years.
AMARJIT SINGH, ASIA DIVISION, EXCLUSIVE ANALYST: There hasn't really been any issue in terms of protest in Myanmar because the reaction from the army can be very, very extreme.
CHANG: Fear has kept descent at bay until now.
CRONIN: Civil resistance throughout history, but certainly in recent decades, has proven to be an extraordinarily powerful force and so if you're in the military right now, you're very worried that what grew from 1,000, 10,000 to 50,000 to 100,000 you know may keep growing.
CHANG: Emily Chang, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Destination ER. People are coming to the U.S. for emergency medical care, then going home, leaving U.S. taxpayers to foot the bill. Details, coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Who is this young blonde? Well, the parents of Madeleine McCann, the young girl that's been missing now for almost a year, they thought possibly it could have been her. We've got the photographer on the phone, actually, Rashid Razaq, a reporter from the "Evening Standard."
Rashid, I understand that it has just been confirmed that this is not Madeleine McCann, but why don't you tell us how you came across this little girl and why you thought it was her?
VOICE OF RASHID RAZAQ, EVENING STANDARD: Sure, hi, there, hello.
Well, we -- like everybody else, we saw the picture. We saw the uncanny resemblance to Madeleine, we tracked down the village where the photo was taken, it's about 90 minutes from Tangier. And when we got there, we started talking to locals.
And it became apparent this picture was actually of a local girl called Bushra (ph). And we were directed to her family, a family of farmers, and we saw her in person. And although she does have a resemblance to Madeleine, it was obvious that this girl wasn't Madeleine McCann, and she was the one that was in the photograph. So, sadly, it's not Madeleine.
PHILLIPS: So, how was the final determination made, Rashid? Obviously, you went there, you talked to the villagers and by talking to them, you found out this wasn't Madeleine through these individuals. But, did anything else have to happen? Did the parents get involved? Did they look at these pictures? Did you have conversations with them?
RAZAQ: Sure, we spoke to them. And actually, the woman carrying Madeleine in -- sorry, my mistake -- carrying the girl in the photograph, is this girl's mother, and the other young girl is her sister. The picture was actually taken about two minutes from their home. And just spending, you know, a few minutes talking to them, it became quite apparent that this is, obviously not Madeleine.
PHILLIPS: So what was going through your mind when you first snapped the photo, that initial photo we're about to see, where she's sort of -- she's in a little -- she's being carried on the back of who you say is a parent.
RAZAQ: Yes.
PHILLIPS: How did you see her, and were you just in a certain place at a certain time, or did you get reports that it might be her? RAZAQ: Sorry, that photo, I think there might be some confusion. That photo was taken by tourists three weeks ago.
PHILLIPS: OK, so you followed up and went and got the other photos.
RAZAQ: Followed up -- which -- and if you look at these, the photos that we've got, I think it becomes quite clear that that's not Madeleine McCann. I think the surprising thing here to say is that there has been an interpol search for three weeks since these pictures were taken. But the locals and this girl's parents say that the police haven't been to see them. If the police had been to see them, they would have been able to discount this lead, and not raise these false hopes.
PHILLIPS: Right.
RAZAQ: There has been some shortfall on the police's part.
PHILLIPS: Well, you were able to bring the truth about, because there were so many people talking about that initial picture.
Rashid Razaq with the "Evening Standard," sure appreciate you talking with us.
RAZAQ: No problem, thank you.
LEMON: New developments today in the Michael Vick trial and the Michael Vick case. Let's head straight to the news room now. Fredricka Whitfield working on that story for us.
What do you have, Fred?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well Don, one day after the Falcons quarterback, or former quarterback now on indefinite suspension, learned that he'd be facing state charges of dogfighting. Now, we're learning today that some stricter pre-trial impositions have been put on him, because of testing positive for marijuana use.
Apparently, his probation officer said that he tested positive back in September 13 of marijuana use. And then was able to go to a judge and say, stricter pre-trial release conditions need to be put in place, such as in the form of being confined to his home. And so, apparently the judge says that there will be some restrictions imposed, some electronic monitoring, suited up for his home. He's not allowed to leave his residence between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.
We have not heard any comment from his attorneys or any reaction from his camp. But it just seems like one thing after the other as of recent being piled upon Michael Vick. This being the latest with a marijuana drug testing of positive -- Don?
LEMON: All right, Fredricka Whitfield, following the details of that developing story. Thank you, Fredricka.
Destination ER. People are coming to the U.S. for emergency medical care, then going home, leaving U.S. taxpayers to foot the bill. Details, coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Visit the U.S. and there's plenty to see, from the Statue of Liberty to the Grand Canyon, and don't forget hospitals. That's right, hospitals. Some tourists come specifically for medical care, problem is they're not paying for it.
CNN's Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with all the details on that. What is going on?
ELIZABETH COHEN, MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is an amazing story, and you don't hear very much about it. But hospitals in border states are beginning to come out and talk frankly about this.
What they say is happening is that people who are in other countries, that's a lot of South American and Central American countries as well as others, too, are looking for medical care. If they can't afford it in their home country or maybe it's not available, so they get on a plane with the specific purpose of trying to get free care in the United States. That's what U.S. hospital executives are saying, because they know that if they show up at a hospital ER, that there is an excellent chance that they'll be admitted and that they'll get free care.
It's become so common, Don, that one hospital staff member says, the doctors and nurses joke about it as D-R to the ER.
LEMON: D-R, E-R.
COHEN: D-R meaning the Dominican Republic. But they say they see it all the time and it costs millions of dollars.
LEMON: OK, so, what are they coming in for and are they staying a long time for all this?
COHEN: They are coming in for all sorts of things. They're coming in for cancer, they're coming in for pacemakers, they're coming in for a variety of illnesses, and sometimes they're staying for months.
Let's take a look at two examples that we got from a hospital in Florida. A woman from the Bahamas came in with colon cancer. The cost of her care, $218,000, the hospital says she didn't pay a penny. She was in the hospital for seven months.
Here's another example. A Haitian woman was in a hospital for a cervical cancer. Her cost: $28,000. It's just -- it's just amazing.
Now, a hospital executive says he has another example.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN LEVINE, CEO, N. BROWARD HOSPITAL DIST.: One example, we have a gentleman who was sick, he needed a cardiac defibrillator, pacemaker. A pacemaker costs about $30,000, so the doctor told him go to the United States. The cost to the taxpayers, well over $50,000, $60,000.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: And we're hearing that also from other hospital executives in hospitals in border states, as well as in other states as well.
LEMON: Let me guess who's paying for it?
COHEN: You and me.
LEMON: Taxpayers, yes.
COHEN: Taxpayers are paying for it.
For example, the gentleman who we just heard from, Alan Levine, he's in Broward County, Florida, is -- these are public hospitals, so taxpayers there pay for it. Often, it's private hospitals, in which case, the private hospital will just eat (ph) the cost.
LEMON: Yes, but -- can't the hospitals just go no, we can't take you, we're not going to do this?
COHEN: You know what, this gets very tricky. The way that the federal law works is if you walk into a hospital, no matter who you are, no matter what your citizenship, and let's say you're having a heart attack or let's say it's a woman in active labor, they have to take you. The law says they have to take you. You can't send someone away if they're about to bleed to death.
However, if someone comes in and maybe they need a pacemaker, but they're not about to drop dead any minute. Some lawyers will tell you they don't have to take these people, they could send them away, but hospitals are reluctant to do that, partly because of humanitarian reasons ...
LEMON: Yes.
COHEN: ...but also, they're worried about getting sued ...
LEMON: Yes.
COHEN: ...because sometimes these people do, they come in, they get free care and if they don't like something, they will sue.
LEMON: Yes, and you don't know if they're really, really sick until you treat them or whatever, so yes (ph).
COHEN: Right, sometimes it's a real fine line, absolutely.
LEMON: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.
COHEN: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Dangerous toys recalled but not removed from store shelves or toy boxes. We're going to take a closer look at why, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Her videotaped arrest has lots of folks buzzing about stun gun laws. Hear her story straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: Dangerous toys are still on store shelves and possibly still in your play room. That's despite a record number of recalls.
CNN's Greg Hunter lays it all out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eric Salsado (ph), an Illinois state inspector, is trying to keep unsafe toys away from kids. His job: making sure the public knows about recalls.
LISA MADIGAN, ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL: It should be prominently displayed and posted so that when you walk into the store or you go to the toy shelf, that information is right there for you to actually read.
HUNTER: Illinois is one of the few states that has a law giving the attorney general the power to enforce toy recalls. Still, there are compliance problems, like at this K-Mart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...and Thomas the train.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, these have to be posted so customers ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Visible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instead of just in a binder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My first day here.
HUNTER: K-Mart told CNN, "K-Mart takes our customer safety very seriously. We plan to remind all of our stores the requirement to post all CPSC recall notices."
Attorney general Lisa Madigan says her team is stepping in where the Federal Consumer Products Safety Commission falls short.
MADIGAN: We find that it's very spotty in terms of actual compliance with these recalls.
HUNTER: These toys with magnets were recalled in 2006. Madigan's team took them off the shelves. The magnets are so powerful that if swallowed, they can stick together and block a child's intestines.
Two years ago, Seattle mom Penny Sweet's son Kenny, died after swallowing the same type of toy magnet.
PENNY SWEET, VICTIM'S MOTHER: I just don't want this to happen to another child or another parent and have to live through this type of thing. This has been awful.
HUNTER: Madigan wants the CPSC to do more.
MADIGAN: The reality is they're underfunded, they're understaffed, but at times, they also seem completely uninterested.
HUNTER: The CPSC says it affectively keeps problem products off store shelves, but says few consumers actually return them after a recall. It urges consumers to sign up for recall alerts on their Web site. Ultimately, parents are the last line of defense.
JULIE VALLESE, CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION: The best way to protect yourself is to do an inventory of your home, to go on to our Web site and to compare what's in your home against the recall notices that are on our Web site.
HUNTER: Greg Hunter, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, you're stuck in an airport terminal or on a tarmac for hours. How long should you have to wait? It's an issue Congress is now getting involved in at this hour. Details coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: First, he said he's guilty of disorderly conduct. Then, he said he's leaving the U.S. Senate effective Sunday.
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