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Marion Jones and Steroids; Fatal Armored Car Robbery; Blackwater Investigation; African Burial Ground Memorial
Aired October 05, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: About giving up the cash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBBIE COLE, FOUND BAG OF CASH: Not one second thought. Not one. As a matter of fact, my first thought was really for the Loomis guy because I figure he's going to be in big trouble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: How cool is that? The money returned to the owner and no reward for her good deed? Cole's boss says public employees can't accept rewards.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown.
The truth. For years an Olympian hurdle for Marion Jones. Now the track star reportedly admits steroid use.
COLLINS: Newly released video shows an airline passenger's arrest, but not what happened minutes later. Death in police custody.
HARRIS: A new national monument in Manhattan honors Africans. We will talk live with poet and author Maya Angelou on this Friday, October 5th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
At the top this hour, tarnished gold. Track superstar. An Olympic gold medalist, Marion Jones, reportedly ready to admit using steroids. She is due in federal court later today. Mary Snow live in New York now with details.
And, Mary, good to see you.
Marion Jones is going to walk into that court at some point today and that is going to be a huge media event. Just the crush of cameras will be insane. Do we know what time she's actually due in court?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony, we learned that it's going to be happening this afternoon at 4:00. And that is when Olympic star Marion Jones is scheduled to appear before a federal judge here in New York. She'll reportedly admit to two counts of lying to federal investigators about taking steroids. Now it comes after years of denials that she ever used illegal performance enhancing drugs. This admission, first reported by "The Washington Post," came in a letter that Jones sent to family and close friends in which he told them she used the steroid "the clear" for two years before the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. She won three gold medals that year, as well as two bronze medals.
Now according to the account by "The Washington Post," Jones says her coach told her it was flaxseed oil, but that she later realized it was a substance that was banned and later lied to federal investigators. Now according to this report, her coach is due to stand trial also, her former coach, that is, this November.
Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis was on CNN earlier this morning. He reacted to the news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARL LEWIS, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: See, I was surprised because it's very rare that people that get away with it ultimately admit it. But what's great about this is that it shows what -- that this is America's problem and that between government and the sport and you saw it in all the powers that be came together and stayed on it until they found out and she had to admit it finally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. SNOW: Now in her letter, Jones indicated she could face up to six months in prison. But, Tony, each count of lying to federal investigators carries a maximum penalty of up to five years.
Tony.
HARRIS: Mary, I'm wondering why now. Look, she's denied it for years. She wrote an autobiography and one of the pages there, 172, 173, she issues another denial. In her autobiography, do we know why she's coming forward now?
M. SNOW: You know, as we had mentioned, her former coach is standing trial this November and he faces charges of lying to federal agents. And, you know, we contacted "The Washington Post" reporter who broke the story. She's suggesting that Marion Jones was really coming under heavy pressure to cooperate and come forward at this point.
HARRIS: Ah, Mary Snow following this story for us in New York.
Mary, good to see you. Thank you.
M. SNOW: Sure.
COLLINS: A track superstar tripped up by allegations of steroid use. Today, Marion Jones reportedly ready to come clean after years of denial. Want to give you the details now from CNN's Patrick Snow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MARION JONES, OLYMPIC ATHLETE: There exists no one who can truthfully testify that I have ever used performance-enhancing drugs simply for the reason that I never have.
PATRICK SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Words which appear to be coming back to haunt the American athlete, a triple gold medalist to the Sydney Olympics in Australia in 2000. The U.S. newspaper, "The Washington Post," is reporting Jones recently sent a letter to close family and friends saying she did, indeed, use steroids before those very games down under, that she took the performance enhancing drug known as "the clear" for two years starting in 1999. A substance she claims was given to her by her former coach, Trevor Graham, who told her it was flaxseed oil. Up til now, Jones vehemently denied that she'd ever taken any kind of drugs to enhance performance.
JONES: I know how clean this young lady is sitting right here. And that's 100 percent. I cannot speak for anybody else. And I won't do that. I refuse to. But I know that I'm an athlete that has always been drug-free. I am right now and I will always be. I can't talk for anybody else. It would be unfair to do so.
If they're going to condemn an athlete or say an athlete has used performance enhancing drugs, that they need to show us. We all ant to know. I want to know what they have. Why are you dragging my name through the mud?
P. SNOW: "The Washington Post" reports that in her letter Jones said she used performance enhancing drugs until she stopped training with Graham at the end of 2002 and that red flags should have been raised when Graham reportedly told her not to tell anyone about any substances she was taking. The paper also claims Jones plans to plead guilty Friday in New York City to two counts of lying to federal agents about her drug use and an unrelated financial matter.
CNN has so far been unsuccessful in reaching Jones to this point, but her husband didn't dispute the contents of the reported letter when reached by "The Post."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: We'd like to know what you think. What's your reaction now to Marion Jones' reported steroid use? Are you shocked or not surprised? Send us an e-mail and let us know what you think at cnnnewsroom@cnn.com. We're going to read some of those e-mails a little bit later in the show.
HARRIS: New revelations in a mysterious airport death. Phoenix police release surveillance video of Carol Anne Gotbaum moments before she was found dead in an airport holding cell in handcuffs and shackles. The Phoenix police investigators explains the tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. MIKE POLOMBO, PHOENIX POLICE DEPARTMENT: You can see by the -- the video doesn't have any audio. However, but based upon witness statements, she's screaming at the top of her lungs, I'm not a terrorist, I'm not a terrorist.
There's some TSA personnel over here who will make contact with her. You can see he's doing that now. And he's trying to calm her down. Earlier in the video you could see passengers looking back that way to see what the commotion is.
She's still yelling and screaming. Two more TSA people come up to make contact with her and attempt to calm her down.
The first officer arrives right here responding to the call from the gate agent. He makes contact with Ms. Gotbaum and he begins to talk to her in an attempt to calm her down, find out what the problem is. Two additional officers follow him.
She's continuing to yell at the top of her lungs, and then finally, after they have no alternative, they attempt to effect an arrest. She pulls away from the officers initially and two officers grab both arms of her. And she just goes to the ground. As you can see, they went down to the ground with her to ensure that she wasn't injured on the way down.
She's placed on her stomach and they're having a hard time pulling her right arm from underneath her stomach, which was pinned against the ground. They roll her over to the right a little bit, which pops her arm out and both handcuffs are placed on her.
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HARRIS: CNN security analyst Mike Brooks says it appears police did their jobs.
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MIKE BROOKS, SECURITY ANALYST: I see absolutely no -- all police procedures followed. They didn't use excessive force, in my opinion. After 26 years of law enforcement and then after I got out I was in training of law enforcement, from this tape, Anderson, it looks like they did everything they could to try to calm her down. And then she was still combative, put her on the ground, handcuffed her. And it shows even after taking her away in handcuffs, she locked her legs up and they had to drag her away. But we didn't see any use of any Taser, no pepper spray. In my opinion, no excessive force was used here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Carol Anne Gotbaum was the mother of three. Her family's lawyer says the woman's husband talked to her by phone during her airport layover and he called emergency dispatchers there to warn that she was deeply depressed and maybe suicidal.
COLLINS: Quickly want to get you to some tape now that we have of the president making some comments from the Oval Office regarding the economy and a couple other issues. Let's listen.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Last month our economy added 110,000 new jobs. And that's good news for people here in our country. It's an indicator that this economy is a vibrant and strong economy.
The folks briefed me on the fact that the numbers for July and August were revised. The job numbers. Job creation numbers. And, you know, this economy added 118,000 new jobs in July and August as well.
This means, you know, with these revisions, it means that we've had 49 consecutive months of job creation. And that's the longest, uninterrupted job growth on record for our country. You know, I am really pleased with the economic news, but I don't take good news for granted.
I understand people are, you know, worried about their mortgage payments or concerned about sending their child to college. I know that people are concerned whether or not they're going to have enough money to meet their needs. And so my call to the United States Congress is keep taxes low.
If you want this economy to continue to grow and if you want to reinforce the fact that we've got entrepreneurship is strong and people are working, don't raise taxes. And I'm looking forward to working with the Congress to set priorities on how we spend the people's money. But I'm also going to make it very clear to people in Congress that we're not going to raise the taxes on the working people. And so I'm real pleased.
I thank you all for coming in to bring this good news to me. This good news is a real tribute to the hard working Americans. The people out there, you know, working hard to put food on the table. And it's a tribute to the entrepreneurial spirit of the country.
I want to say something else.
There's been a lot of talk in the newspapers and on TV about a program that I put in motion to detain and question terrorists and extremists. I have put this program in place for a reason, and that is to better protect the American people.
And when we find somebody who may have information regarding a potential attack on America, you bet we're going to detain them and you bet we're going to question them because the American people expect us to find out information, actable intelligence, so we can help them -- help protect them. That's our job.
Secondly, this government does not torture people. You know, we stick to U.S. law and our international obligations.
Thirdly, there are highly-trained professionals questioning these extremists and terrorists. In other words, we've got professionals who are trained in this kind of work to get information that will protect the American people. And by the way, we have gotten information from these high-value detainees that have helped protect you. And, finally, the techniques that we use have been fully disclosed to appropriate members of the United States Congress. The American people except their government to take action to protect them from further attack. And that's exactly what this government is doing. And that's exactly what we'll continue to do.
Thank you very much.
COLLINS: There you have some of the comments made by the president earlier today from the Oval Office, beginning first on the economy and he says 49 consecutive months of job creation. He is happy with the economy. Also addressing the issue of interrogation techniques, saying that the people who are conducting those interrogations are professionals and they do what they're doing for a reason.
HARRIS: As we've been telling you throughout the morning here in the CNN NEWSROOM, track superstar and Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones reportedly set to admit to using steroids later today in federal court, 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena, is on the phone with us now with some additional information.
Kelli, good to talk to you. What have you learned?
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we can confirm and government officials do tell CNN that Jones will be charged with two counts of making false statements to federal agents. She has acknowledged using steroids. And as you said, we expect a court appearance later on this afternoon in New York. This is just a court proceeding. We're not expecting any public announcement yet.
You know, this, of course, you know, really big news because this could cost her her five medals that she won. I mean this would have nothing to do with law enforcement, of course, but that she won at the Sydney Olympics. So she will be, at least as far as our sources are telling us, be making -- pleading to those two charges. Just basically lying to federal agents.
HARRIS: Yes. And I do -- I don't know, we're trying to get at the why question now. And I don't know if you've been able to sort of ferret that out a little bit for us, Kelli, after so many years of denying these allegations, have you been able to make any headway as to why now? What the pressure has been that's been mounting against her and perhaps this moment why she's choosing this moment now?
ARENA: You know, I have been asking that question. And as you know, you know, when you talk to, you know, law enforcement officials, government officials, you know, they stick with just the facts, ma'am. So, you know, they've give me the bare bones here. And, you know, she allegedly sent out a letter to family and friends sort of explaining her decision. And I'm trying to get my hands on that. And I think that will at least give us some illumination as to why she chose to take this action now.
HARRIS: Good to talk to you. Kelli Arena, our justice correspondent. And also Mary Snow is following this story as well for us in New York. And Mary will be following events at the federal courthouse, 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time today, certainly here in "The Situation Room" on CNN.
COLLINS: Want to take a moment to talk a little bit further about this very story with someone who has been following it for quite some time. Jon Wertheim is a senior investigative reporter for "Sports Illustrated" and si.com. He joins us now by telephone to talk more about this.
Jon, do you know anything about this letter that Marion Jones allegedly, as we've just said her eon CNN, sent out to her family and friends?
JON WERTHEIM, SR. INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Well, I think the letter was to preempt today's announcement. I think Kelli hit on it. We had been tipped off that there was going to be an interesting announcement in White Plains, New York, today. And I think everybody thought it was an extension of this signature pharmacy case, the one in Florida. I don't think anyone expected it to be Balco and Marion Jones, which had sort of seemed to stagnate a bit. So the timing of this is interesting. But, you know, if you -- people who have been following this, I don't think it's a great shock that Marion Jones is finally conceding this. Just sort of the circumstantial evidence was mounting. But the timing is really the mystery.
COLLINS: What do you hear from readers and possibly those who are looking at si.com as well? You already mentioned not really a surprise. Perhaps to those of us who have followed this story within the business. But what about fans and what about to those who just really thought, hey, she's a phenomenal athlete, someone to look up to for our kids and those who are interested maybe particularly in the sport of track and field?
WERTHEIM: Yes, I mean, this is probably the most decorated, not just in terms of medals, but in terms sort of, you know, of sort of more general laurels. This is one of the most decorated sprinters ever. And this is another blow to track and field. Sort of another sort of log on the pyre. But if you look at Marion Jones' history since the Sidney Olympics, you know, everything from the man, the company she had kept, her first husband, you know, C.J. Hunter, and Tim Montgomery, her boyfriend for a certain time, the father of her son, who is implicated in this. Trevor Graham.
COLLINS: Her performance on the track.
WERTHEIM: Yes, yes, right and coinciding with that her performance on the track. You know, her big defense, not unlike Barry Bonds, was that there was no positive drug test. And it was a little counterintuitive because the whole appeal of these Balco substances was that they were advertised to be undetectable. So it was pretty flimsy. And I think people that follow this pretty closely, you know, had awfully strong suspicions. But again, the fact that she's actually going to make a formal plea is a little odd. It will be interesting to see why that's happening and why it's happening today. COLLINS: Can you tell us any more, just for people who may not know the process, and that could be a lot of people too, John, about a company like Balco Labs. What usually happens here? I mean they're the lab that performs the testing.
WERTHEIM: Well, Balco is this lab in the Bay area run by Victor Conte, and it was sort of one of these renegade facilities. He had a number of contacts with trainers in different sports. And, you know, he basically had concocted this substances, "the clear" and "the cream" he called them. One was sort of a testosterone base and there was also a blood doping procedures and he basically had concocted these substances which he believed to be undetectable. You know, take these and even if you get tested, it won't be detectable. And a number of athletes were clients. You know, there are all sorts of documentation and calendars and so forth. And in most cases, there is the absence of a positive test. So, you know, it was a little hard to formally charge these athletes. But just the -- I mean if you look at the circumstantial evidence for anyone involved in that pretty much . . .
COLLINS: Yes. You know what, it makes people really mad. I mean, especially when we go back and we look at some of the video that we're looking at now and we hear some of those old press conferences and you consider the book that she wrote vehemently denying over and over again. It just makes people mad.
HARRIS: Disappointed.
WERTHEIM: Yes. And, you know, it also does -- and I think a number of people have raised this point, too -- it also sort of casts doubt on every other athlete. Right. Not only did she clearly cheat, but there was a long process of vigorous denial. You know, there was a lawsuit against Victor Conte for him intimating that he had helped her and, you know, clearly that's all collapsed now. But this is, you know, not a good day for track and frankly not a good day for sports.
COLLINS: You know, I ran it for 12 years and I'm mad, too. I think there's a lot of people out there who just want these athletes to be who they say they are. And, unfortunately, we don't get to hear from the mass of athletes who really are the real deal when these things happen. So I want to do them justice, of course, as well.
Jon Wertheim, we appreciate your thoughts here today. Senior investigative reporter for "Sports Illustrated" and si.com.
In the meanwhile, we want to hear a little bit more about what you think. What is your reaction to Marion Jones' reported steroid use? Are you shocked or not surprised? Send us an e-mail, let us know what you think at cnnnewsroom@cnn.com. We'll read your e-mails a little bit later on the show.
HARRIS: This hour, in Alexandria, Louisiana, a hostage standoff at a lawyer's office ending in deadly violence.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Philadelphia police are asking for the public's help in the search for the gunman who killed two armored car security guards. I'm Jim Acosta. This story coming up in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Toxic toys. Tainted Campbell's soup. Even contaminated Scout badges. Important recalls you need to know about.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
He was a strong, healthy boy who just went for a swing in the lake and then something unimaginable happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's beyond description to watch your most precious, beautiful, wonderful loved one go -- become a vegetable essentially and then die.
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HARRIS: Killer in the lakes ahead.
COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins.
Welcomed back from the war by family and friends, but not by their own government. Soldiers' benefits wrapped in red tape.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: While you were sleeping, a hostage situation coming to a violent end. Alexandria, Louisiana. A lawyer's office taken over by a former city worker. Police say the worker shot five people, killing two of them. Three others escaped or were rescued by police. The gunman, identified as 63-year-old John Ashley, held off police through much of the night. But just hours ago police used explosives to get into the office. The gunman killed in a brief fire fight.
COLLINS: Manhunt in Philadelphia. Police trying to pin down a suspect who killed two armored car guards. CNN's Jim Acosta has been following this story for us and joins us now live.
Jim, what's the latest?
ACOSTA: Good morning, Heidi.
Yes, the manhunt is still on, but police still don't have many leads in the search for this gunman who killed two armored car security guards. The violent attack jolted this city's morning rush hour yesterday morning. Police did identify the two armored car security guards who were shot and killed by this gunman. They have been identified as former retired -- I should say Philadelphia police officers, Joe Allullo and William Widmaier. Police announcing their names yesterday and saying that they will stop at nothing until they catch this gunman. And last night family members and friends of the two retired officers responded to the attack telling reporters here in Philadelphia that they are devastated. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARILYN LEVIN, VICTIM'S SISTER: My brother was a good-hearted, easy-going, very, very good, very domesticated and faithful. I mean he was like one of a kind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And police released these still images from the surveillance video at that bank where the robbery and shooting unfolded yesterday. Not many leads being produced as a result of these images, but they do show the gunman dressed in dark clothing wearing a yellow cap. They believe he escaped in a black Acura TL. But as you can see in those images, the gunman's face is not really shown. At this point that may be what's holding back this investigation.
Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, it's just such a tragedy. Twenty-years plus those guys who were acting as the guards.
All right, Jim Acosta, let us know if anything develops. Appreciate it.
HARRIS: The guilty verdict stands says a judge. Doesn't matter says the senator from Idaho. He is sticking around.
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COLLINS: Good morning, everybody. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.
An athlete dogged by steroid allegations. Now she's ready to come clean. Track star Marion Jones set to appear in federal court this afternoon. The International Olympic Committee says Jones is expected to plead guilty to lying to Federal agents about using performance enhancing drugs. According to "The Washington Post," Jones admits using the steroid known as the "clear" in a letter to family and friends.
Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis reacts to reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARL LEWIS, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Well, actually, I was surprised because it's very rare that people that get away with it ultimately admit it. But what's great about this is that it shows what -- that this is America's problem, and that between government and the sport and you saw it in all the powers that be that came together and stayed on it until they found out and she had to admit it finally.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: For years, Jones adamantly denied using steroids.
COLLINS: A star of the 2000 Olympics, Marion Jones once considered one of the greatest female athletes in the world. Larry Smith of CNN Sports is here with a look at Jones' career.
You know, we keep on saying she was one of the great athletes, but now knowing what we know, hard to know if, in fact, she was one of the great athletes because, apparently, she was using steroids and she has admitted it.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS: Yes.
COLLINS: And will admit it later in court today.
SMITH: Yes, I think of her in the 2000 Olympics, and I always made a comparison with another great athlete who was a two-sport star, and that's Jackie Joyner-Kersee ...
COLLINS: Exactly.
SMITH: ...who people forget was a freshman all-American, a great basketball star at UCLA, just as Marion was a great basketball star at North Carolina, as part of that 1994 national championship team. Certainly now, you know, with this coming the way that it is, it's going to be tainted.
COLLINS: Yes, I got to say I'm a little disappointed in Carl Lewis as well, saying that this is America's problem. Is this not a personal choice to do these things?
SMITH: Well, I mean, let's face it, this is not the first time we've had problems with athletes and steroids.
COLLINS: No, no.
SMITH: I mean, look at the Olympics over time, and that's the issue is that you want your athletes and you want everything to be clean, to be without problems, and it's ironic that the coach, her coach, Trevor Graham, who has a trial for his own BALCO incident, he was the one who turned in the vial that began this whole thing, all the testing, because of the masking agents that Sanjay Gupta has talked about before ...
COLLINS: Right.
SMITH: ...the masking agents that prevented people -- the test from being detected. So, you want your athletes to be clean. This is a problem in sports by and large. It is a societal problem in some parts of society, but this is not the first time we've heard of this.
COLLINS: No, it's definitely not. This particular drug, the "clear," as you mentioned Sanjay was telling us a little bit earlier about what exactly it is. Flaxseed oil, did she really think she was taking flaxseed oil? Now, I know that's a hypothetical question to you, but are we at a point where professional athletes should be thinking about, OK, I am not going to take anything that anybody gives me without finding out exactly what it is consistently. I don't know, taking it to a lab themselves first before ingesting it.
SMITH: Now, one thing in the "Washington Post" story that she says is that she began -- she was given the flaxseed oil in 1999. She later figured out that it was the "clear." She took it for two years. Once she stopped taking it, at what point, you know, do we know it's illegal, not illegal? We don't really know that.
I mean, in athletics, everyone wants an edge. I mean, you want to take it -- you know, Sanjay also mentioned -- we talked about Andro and Mark McGwire in baseball admitted to taking Andro in the '90s.
COLLINS: Yes.
SMITH: At the time, it was a legal substance, now, it's a banned substance. So, athletes are always going to want to try to find the edge, the question is to try to do it legally.
COLLINS: Yes.
SMITH: And we don't know where that line falls with Marion Jones.
COLLINS: We don't, but we know that everything was vehemently denied in the beginning. And you got to admit, when you look back at some of that video and those press conferences and even in the book, so strongly denying it. It's going to be hard to walk into court today.
SMITH: And the thing for her, for Marion Jones now is she becomes, if she is convicted of this, and again, what we're talking about is lying to Federal agents as part of the BALCO trial, if she does serve some time, she becomes the first athlete to be convicted as a result of the BALCO trial, and the question now is what else will she -- what other names will she give, other information, because the International Olympic Committee, they have a BALCO file that's been sitting there, basically it's not moving since 2004.
COLLINS: OK.
SMITH: They would love to get information from Marion Jones to find out who else has been a part of this as well. So, she's the first. She's not -- she's the first athlete, not the first person, to kind of come under fire because of BALCO, but she could start off -- trigger an avalanche of names in the future.
COLLINS: That's what I was going to say. Do you think that's going to change anything?
SMITH: Well, change anything in terms of?
COLLINS: In terms of what could happen next, athletes looking at this and saying, wow, you know, she could spend some time here.
SMITH: Well, you would hope it would be a deterrent. At the same, everyone wants the edge, and you want to push that envelope as close as you can to the line. Some are willing to cross that line, and I don't know if that changes.
COLLINS: Yes, all right, CNN's Larry Smith. Thanks so much, Larry.
SMITH: OK, sure.
HARRIS: And we want to hear from you. What's your reaction to Marion Jones' reported steroid use? Are you shocked, not surprised? What do you think? Send us an e-mail, let us know what you think, CNNnewsroom@CNN.com and we will read your e-mails.
Why don't we read a few right now? Can we do that? All right, there we go, we've got them. All right, Ray from Houston writes, "When Marion Jones stands on the playing field next to her competitors, it is obvious that she took steroids. In doing so, she took wins away from the competition that probably ended careers prematurely. Not only is this immoral, it is also criminal."
And Gerald from Tennessee writes, "I am disturbed by this because she was seen as a role model. She is a very good actress as her 2004 press conference shows. Maybe she can trade all those medals she stole for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame."
And Katherine from Montclair, New Jersey writes, "One word, disappointment."
What are your thoughts? Send us an e-mail, CNNnewsroom@CNN.com.
In other news that we're following here in the CNN NEWSROOM, the Blackwater investigation certainly continuing right now. The FBI, we are hearing reports they will be taking over the investigation from the State Department.
Our Zain Verjee is following this story from our Washington Bureau. Zain, good to see you, what's the latest?
ZAIN VERJEE, STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well Tony, the State Department has moved really quickly here. An initial review of the overall security practices in Iraq is out. Amid the Blackwater saga, the State Department has sent a high profile panel, led by Patrick Kennedy, to Iraq. Now, just a short while ago, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack says Kennedy has suggested actions to be taken, so Blackwater and all contractors are held much more accountable in the field.
Now, based on the report, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has approved some initial steps, and this is what some of them are. Diplomatic security agents will now accompany each Blackwater protective detail convoy outside the Green Zone. The other thing that Patrick Kennedy recommended that -- to have a better record, an easier review of the litany (ph) of incidents. They should start recording radio transmission, installing cameras in vehicles.
Kennedy also recommended that they just need to have better links and constant communication with U.S. military in the field. He told Secretary Rice that he's going to continue to review the situation and come up with a more complete report.
And Tony, just to emphasize, this is just an initial stab at what's expected to be a much fuller review of how private contractors work for the State Department.
HARRIS: And once again, Zain, we are talking about that September 16th shooting incident involving contractors with Blackwater. Eleven Iraqis were killed.
Zain Verjee out of our Washington Bureau. Zain, good to see you. Thanks.
COLLINS: Sacred site, a memorial on the burial grounds of long forgotten slaves in New York. I'll talk to the woman in charge.
GERRI WILLIS, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: I'm Gerri Willis.
Want to start your own business or get out of debt? We'll tell you how next on Top Tips in the NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: Gerri Willis, time to clean out the inbox. People out there need your help. There you are. Good to see you.
WILLIS: Hey, good to see you, too, Tony. Happy Friday.
HARRIS: Happy Friday to you! You want to get started with the very first one?
WILLIS: Hey, let's go, baby.
HARRIS: All right, Reed from Brooklyn writes, "Oh, Gerri, I need your help. How can you tell if foreclosure prevention companies are actually legitimate?
WILLIS: This is a great question from Reed. You know, complaints about foreclosure rescue companies have doubled within the last 12 months. That according to the Better Business Bureau, but not every foreclosure prevention company is a scam. You should beware of companies that take the personal approach and stuff a handwritten note in your mailbox.
Don't do business with any company that discourages you from getting outside opinions or recommendations. And, of course, check with the Better Business Bureau to see who's legitimate out there.
First off, you should try to work with your lender to prevent foreclosure ...
HARRIS: Yes. WILLIS: ...not, you know, pick up a flyer somewhere and work with those folks.
HARRIS: Yes.
Boy, this is a good question. This next one, Kay from Texas writes, "Gerri, I have a problem. I can't stop spending! I have several credit cards maxed out and five delinquencies. I don't want to keep asking my parents for help. I want to become a real adult here, but I can't sleep at night. I have over $30,000 in credit card debt and $35,000 in graduate school loans." Well, what -- what -- Gerri, what can she do?
WILLIS: Well, Kay, Kay, Kay, first ...
HARRIS: Yes.
WILLIS: ...step back, take a breath. You know, you're probably really anxious, and so it may make you want to spend even more, but job No. 1, leave the credit cards at home. Don't carry them with you. They are obviously just a temptation. Now is the time to start changing your spending habits. Your No. 1 job for some time here is going to be paying down that debt.
HARRIS: Right.
WILLIS: One thing you can do, if you have a mortgage, you can roll your debt into that mortgage. No. 2, automate credit card payments so you pay your bills on time, and you're not paying fees for being late. Get a low-cost credit card, and don't worry, there is help out there.
Check out the National Foundation for Credit Counseling at nfcc.org. You may be able to enroll in a debt management plan, and, remember, you can dig yourself out. It'll just take a lot of work.
HARRIS: Very good.
Dorothy from Georgia writes, "I am a 27-year-old woman that wants desperately to open a small breakfast restaurant, but I have no collateral and don't make very much money. Am I completely out of luck, Gerri?
WILLIS: No, Dorothy, you're definitely not out of luck. But, you will first need to get a good business plan. First move, check out the Small Business Administration at sba.gov. The SBA can help you get a loan from your bank or small non-profit organizations. You can also get advice and counseling about starting a business through a local business development center.
Now look, the SBA also has free -- yes, free -- counseling made of -- from retired executives who can help you figure out how to get started and you can also call the SBA to get a free startup kit that will help you figure out the cost involved. This way, you can tally up what the flour will cost for the biscuits ...
HARRIS: Yes.
WILLIS: ...or how much you're likely to spend on maple syrup. Phone number for SBA 800-U-ASK-SBA.
And if you have any questions, send it to us at Top Tips at CNN.com. We love hearing from you.
HARRIS: Very quickly, "OPEN HOUSE," because I love this show, and I want everybody, everybody to watch it.
WILLIS: Thank you, yes. For the latest on the mortgage meltdown, we continue to look that, and does it pay to go green? Join us for "OPEN HOUSE" 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning right here on CNN.
HARRIS: Good to see you, Gerri.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
HARRIS: Thank you.
Minorities and high-cost mortgages. What's the connection? Gerri is back and going beyond the numbers next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: He promised to leave, but sex sting Senator Larry Craig still at work at the Capitol. His new fight, in the NEWSROOM.
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COLLINS: A solemn ceremony on sacred ground. This morning, the African Burial Ground National Monument is unveiled in New York. It is the country's newest monument to some of its earliest blacks. Most of them, African slaves who helped build the city. The burial ground was discovered in 1991 by construction workers in lower Manhattan. Remains of more than 400 people have been excavated. Blacks were banned from burial in churchyards and later, the city was literally built on top of them. Some 10,000 people buried where Manhattan office buildings now stand.
The woman trusted with caring for this memorial joins me now live from New York. Tara Morrison is superintendent of the African Burial Ground Monument.
Tara, I know there's a lot of activity behind you today, so I'm going to try and speak loudly so that you can hear me. Tell us a little bit more about the physical makeup that everything that is set up in this park.
Tara, I'm going to repeat the question because I know it's loud behind you. Just tell us a little bit more about the new monument, if you could describe it for us.
TARA MORRISON, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: Right, the new monument is located -- the new memorial is actually located on the site of the National Monument. The African Burial Ground itself is 6.6 acres in size, but the National Monument is a quarter of an acre, and the memorial that's been trusted (ph) here that we're dedicating today is in honor of the estimated 13,000 Africans who were intered here between 1690 and 1790.
The memorial designer, in his design, has constructed a transition for us. Getting to where people were coming from Africa and their lives of struggle, coming through a chamber that you may see behind me, and entering into a libation court where people are able to pay their honor and their respect and their homage to these people that were intered.
So, through a walk through of the memorial, it's really an opportunity to take that transition as an individual today, going back over time and understanding the history and the conditions and the struggles in which those people lived, and understanding what they've overcome and that what we today can overcome and how we can make contributions to our society.
COLLINS: Well, we are listening to some beautiful music behind you as you speak. I just want to make sure that everyone understands exactly what this is all about because I know it took a very, very long time to get this project completed.
MORRISON: Yes, yes. Burial ground was actually rediscovered in 1991, and during that time, there was tremendous struggle and dedication and perseverance to ensure that the African Burial Ground was preserved and commemorated appropriately in honor of the Africans before interred here.
So today, we honor the completion of the memorial and also the dedication of the National Monument as a new unit of the National Park System. So that collectively, the National Park Service and the community can ensure that never again will this story be forgotten.
COLLINS: What do you want people to take away from this? Not only on this day, but as visitors come and they go and they look through everything that has been placed at the memorial. What do you want them to feel?
MORRISON: I'm sorry, I need you to repeat that.
COLLINS: Just want to know what you want people to take away from this when they come and visit. What do you want them to feel?
MORRISON: Right, to feel that, again, even though it took a tremendous amount of time and struggle, that this is really a day to be pleased and to feel that we, too, have an opportunity to make a contribution.
I think for me, it gets back to understanding our history as a nation and understanding the contributions of these Africans, but learning from that experience, learning that how we collectively treat one another impacts our future generations, so that every action we take each day has an affect on our future generations and what can we do to make this a better society.
COLLINS: Well, it's a terrific message, and it looks to be a terrific day as well. Congratulations to you and all your hard work.
MORRISON: Thank you.
COLLINS: I know a lot of people will be coming by to check it out, and (INAUDIBLE).
MORRISON: Absolutely.
COLLINS: Tara Morrison, the National Park Service. Thanks so much, Tara.
MORRISON: Thank you.
COLLINS: Taking a stand by sitting down. One man's protest against Wal-Mart. Not even dynamite gets him to move.
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HARRIS: Six boys, six deaths, and a killer that lurks unseen. CNN's John Zarrella reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They were all healthy and young.
RAY HERRERA, JACK'S FATHER: Played sports, played lacrosse.
ZARRELLA: Ray and Deidre Herrera lost they're 12-year-old son Jack in August. He'd been swimming in Lake LBJ in Austin, Texas.
R. HERRERA: It gets -- beyond description to watch your most precious, beautiful, wonderful loved one go -- become a vegetable essentially, and then die.
ZARRELLA: Jack died from a microscopic organism, an amoeba, that entered his brain through his nose. Something the Herreras had never heard of.
DEIDRE HERRERA, JACK'S MOTHER: It's the United States of America. Why -- cutting edge technology. Why does no one know about this? Why haven't we never heard about this before?
ZARRELLA: Because health officials say it is very rare, but not this summer. Six deaths now in lakes from Florida to Arizona. The most recent, a 14-year-old swimming in Arizona's Lake Havasu. The amoeba lives in the shallows of fresh water lakes. It flourishes when water temperatures go above 80 degrees. It can kill within two weeks. Because symptoms mimic the flu, health officials say it often goes misdiagnosed.
DR. KEVIN SHERIN, ORANGE CO. HEALTH DEPT.: If they've been in the fresh water bodies, in the intervening week or two prior, that certainly has to be considered.
ZARRELLA: Health officials have no idea why it seems to affect primarily young boys. They may be more likely to rough house in the water, stirring up sediment and amoebas.
But why so many now? During the past two decades, there have been only 23 cases in the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because it's been such a hot summer, that it has contributed to warmer water temperatures and lower water levels, and that's an ideal environment for the amoeba.
ZARRELLA: And if climate change means hotter, drier summers become the norm, some health officials worry that may translate to more cases of amoeba deaths in the future.
(on camera): The Centers for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency are both looking into the amoeba deaths. The EPA late yesterday afternoon issued a statement saying, it is working with state, local, and federal agencies to try and find ways to reduce the risk.
Right now, the only way to reduce the risk if you're going to be going swimming in lakes that are over 80 degrees, wear one of these, a nose clip.
John Zarrella, CNN, Orlando, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM this morning, she is not running from it anymore. Track star Marion Jones' doping admission. The story, in the NEWSROOM.
A check of the big board. New York Stock Exchange now, the DOW, the markets responding positively to that upbeat jobs report. The DOW up 53, the Nasdaq plus 21.
You're in the NEWSROOM.
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