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Philly Armored Car Robbery Suspect Apprehended; Marion Jones Pleads Guilty on Steroid Use; More Clues in Florida Boat Case
Aired October 06, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN center, this is the CNN NEWSROOM and it is Saturday, October the 6th. Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, hello everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen. Straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARION JONES: I want you to know that I have been dishonest. And you have the right to be angry with me.
NGUYEN: From Olympic champion to tainted gold. We are going to take a closer look at Marion Jones' fall from grace. Also...
HOLMES: That's a tough video to watch here. That's a police officer actually using pepper spray on a teenager. There's a lot more to this story. You'll find out what's behind this arrest coming up. Also this story.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will not be buying anything from your dealership, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not right. Your advertisement is unbelievable.
NGUYEN: Is it really? No screaming announcers, no naked people. So what is so controversial about this car dealer's new ad? We're going to show it to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: We'll have those stories in a moment, but first, news out of Philadelphia this morning. An arrest has been made in a deadly armored car robbery. Surveillance video captured pictures at the suspect during Thursday's brazen attack. Police say three armored car employees were servicing an ATM when a gunman opened fire on them. Two guards were killed and another was wounded. Police say an anonymous tip led to the arrest of the suspect identified as 36-year- old Mustafa Ali. The authorities say they've impounded the car Ali apparently used during that robbery. The widow of one of the guards expressed relief that an arrest has been made.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONNA ALULLO, WIDOW OF SLAIN GUARD: We hope that it is the suspect that did do this to our husband and their father so that he is off the street and doesn't do it to anyone else.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Police say Ali is charged with two counts of murder, armed robbery and other offenses. He is expected to be arraigned some time today.
HOLMES: Want to get back to that video we showed you a bit of just a moment ago; that dramatic dash camera video. Police in Ft. Pierce, Florida, trying to arrest a 15-year-old girl. Now that 15- year-old was said to be breaking curfew. Now, take a look here for yourself at how all this played out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OFFICER: Stop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not doing anything. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, sir. But I'm not doing anything. I'm sorry. Ow.
OFFICER: Don't bite me!
HOLMES: The officer says the girl did become violent and actually bit him as he tried to put the handcuffs on her. This was actually in July, the video just being released. The police chief says that, in fact, this officer acted appropriately. The teen was in court this week. She faces a felony charge of battery and a misdemeanor charge of resisting a law enforcement officer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: We have more video to show you. Phoenix police released video of a woman just before she died in an airport holding cell.
HOLMES: We're also getting a more detailed account of the woman's death. Police say she apparently strangled herself while trying to maneuver out of her handcuffs. Here now CNN's Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is about 12:30 p.m. on Friday, September 28th. Carol Ann Gotbaum arrives alone at the Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix en route from New York to a rehab center in Tucson. Her family says the 45-year-old mother of three is battling alcohol abuse and depression.
MICHAEL MANNING, ATTORNEY: We know that when she landed in Phoenix, she was absolutely committed, determined and absolutely stone-cold sober. When she landed here, about 12:20 and she was very calm and very determined to get to Tucson to get well.
JOHNS: Her demeanor changes when Gotbaum is told she missed her plane. Police say she becomes loud and disruptive. She calls her husband, Noah Gotbaum, several times. The family's attorney says the first call was heart-wrenching. MANNING: She said, Noah, three quarters of my journey is over. I am going to do this for our kids. I'm going to do this for you, and I'm going to do this for myself. So it -- it was on that continuum of happy, confident, determined and committed to getting well, to being very distraught and upset that she couldn't get on that plane.
JOHNS: Shortly before 3 p.m., police are alerted. Gotbaum's husband, Noah, makes a desperate phone call from New York to Phoenix, pleading with an emergency operator to connect him with the officers holding his wife saying, "My wife is at the airport, and she's in a very, very fragile mental state." He continues, "She is alcohol abusive," Gotbaum implored, "but she is also in deep depression and the police have to understand that they're not dealing with some lout who's just drank too much on the airplane. This woman is suicidal." But police say the arresting officers say they had no knowledge of any of Mrs. Gotbaum's personal issues.
ANDY HILL, SERGEANT, PHOENIX POLICE: There was no information that she had personal issues.
JOHNS: A security camera shows Gotbaum walking through the terminal. Witnesses say she was screaming, at one point crying out, "I'm a mother who needs help." Police say they tried to calm her down.
HILL: Based upon witness statements, she's screaming at the top of her lungs, "I'm not a terrorist. I'm not a terrorist." After they have no alternative, they attempt to affect an arrest. She pulls away from the officers initially and two officers grabbed both arms of her and she just goes to the ground.
JOHNS: Gotbaum is arrested. A witness told us, she was tackled.
VOICE OF PAIGE HARMON, WITNESS: One of the officers ran towards her and grabbed her and then the two other officers came up and they -- one threw her to the ground. And then it was as if they were tackling her. One of them pulled her arms behind her with extreme force. I thought that they were going to -- or they had separated her shoulder. It looked very, um, very forceful.
JOHNS: Police deny any wrongdoing saying their actions were proper and justified and no excessive force was used. Gotbaum is taken to a holding cell where police say she continued to be uncooperative and told them she was, quote, "a depressed, pathetic housewife." Gotbaum was handcuffed behind are her back, the cuffs attached to a 16-inch shackle that was attached to a bench. Soon the worst would happen. Just hours after initially walking into the airport, Carol Gotbaum is pronounced dead. Joe Johns, CNN, Phoenix, Arizona.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Got an update here for you now on the search for the suspect accused of raping a young girl on videotape. Chester Arthur Stiles is the focus of a nationwide manhunt. Police have identified Stiles as the man seen on a homemade videotape sexually assaulting a little girl. She was around the age of 3 at the time. She is now 7 years old and has been found safe and with her mother. Authorities are now re-examining another case of allegations that Stiles sexually assaulted another young girl in 2001.
NGUYEN: Well, a warning now to parents from a father who says his daughter ran away to be with someone she met online. Authorities say that someone was this guy, William Joe Mitchell, a high-risk sex offender. Police are still searching for Mitchell, but the 15-year- old girl was found. Her father says he never saw the danger lurking on the computer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RODGER FRANK, FATHER: Watch your children, folks, okay? My baby was in front of me on her computer. I mean, in front of me. Not in her room. It's centrally located. It can be seen from the back porch of the house. It can be seen from the kitchen, the dining room, the living room, okay? She didn't act suspicious. She didn't flip screens or roll anything on the computer to hide anything as we walked by. People, you all got to watch your children. You got to learn how to take care of them a little better than what we think we know how.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, we're going to go in depth with this because Mr. Frank and Polk County Sheriff, Grady Judd, will be guests on CNN NEWSROOM today during the 4 p.m. eastern hour. You don't want to miss this.
HOLMES: New developments in New Jersey this morning where police say 41 people are charged in a child pornography ring. More arrests expected. Authorities say the suspects in custody range in age from 14 to 71. They allegedly sent and received child pornography, including rape photos and videos over the internet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNE MILGRAM, ATTORNEY GENERAL, NEW JERSEY: What we've seen from the case today is that we know there are individuals who trade and distribute child pornography, who have specific profiles on MySpace and FaceBook. That concerns me deeply.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Police say they know of many more people who have distributed the material and authorities say they will be arrested as well.
NGUYEN: Well, earlier, we spoke with Gordon Simatrino, the Chief Investigator in the sting, and he described the types of things those in a child porn ring would do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORDON SAMARTINO, SERGEANT, NEW JERSEY POLICE: There's digital movies and images of these crime scenes of young children being graphically raped by individuals. And then they distribute these movies over the internet and make them available for these individuals of different age groups to view them. It's -- there's no shock value to individuals anymore and with all the media and press we've gotten about child pornography over the years, it's kind of desensitized the public to what child pornography really is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Now, suspects convicted in the case could face 18 months to 10 years in jail.
HOLMES: Alright, it's time for us to turn to weather and actually a guy who is a bit under the weather.
NGUYEN: Poor Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A little bit, a little bit, but see, real champs, they go to work anyway.
NGUYEN: That's right, they suck it up and they go to work.
WOLF: We go to work and we infect everybody else.
NGUYEN: Oh, wait. Hold on. That's not part of the plan, right? It's a good thing you are there and we're here.
WOLF: Our good friends at home can't see that there's a protective screen between me and you guys. It's about two, three feet thick, something like that. Scattered showers this morning in the Sunshine State of Florida near Ben Hill Griffin Stadium right off of I-75, home of the mighty Florida Gators who lost this past weekend to the Auburn Tigers, that's right. Now, we're going to see those showers continue through much of the afternoon. Also in Jacksonville, look for the raindrops. As we head farther north up to the Great Lakes from, let's say, well, back over to Minneapolis, to Green Bay, even near spots like Mackinaw Island. You could see some rainfall this morning, some scattered showers may be heavy at times but they should last into the early hours, into the evening but by tomorrow, things will get better. Let's talk about precipitation of an entirely different type. We're not talking about raindrops, but snow. Very pretty images. This was in the Sierra just yesterday, up to eight inches of snowfall in some spots. Just a fantastic thing to see if you are a skier. It is going to be just incredible as this snowfall makes its way back into the Rockies and take a look as we go to the weather maps. It's going to be this area, this double-barrel low that's going to drift its way into the Rockies. With a lot of cold air funneling from the north, some spots near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, by the time we get to late evening, looking at a foot of fresh snowfall. So, it's going to be pretty interesting, plus, on the other side of the system though, looking at the possibility of strong thunderstorms, maybe some tornadoes later this afternoon. That's your forecast. Let's send it back to you, germ-free, in the News Center.
NGUYEN: Well, you know, you're right. That was pretty interesting but wait until you see this, Reynolds.
WOLF: Bring it on.
HOLMES: Roll that beautiful footage. Oh, my goodness. Unbelievable. They should know by now that we are implosion, what?
NGUYEN: Happy.
WOLF: Who needs coffee? Who needs cereal? All you just need is just a great tasty implosion in the morning.
NGUYEN: I mean look at that, is that not a sight to behold on a Saturday morning? T.J. was gone last week but we're trying to make it up to you today.
HOLMES: Because you did an implosion without me.
NGUYEN: Yes we did and we're paying for it today. But, let me tell you there's more to come because Kodak is getting rid of two more buildings in Rochester, New York and this is where Kodak researchers develop film. Remember that stuff?
HOLMES: Oh, yeah.
NGUYEN: Yeah, way back when you had to actually put it in the camera. Well, since digital cameras are so popular, Kodak doesn't need the buildings anymore. So, over the summer it took down three other buildings and more are to come so T.J., we'll make it up to you.
HOLMES: So, 'Implosions R Us' brought to you by Kodak.
NGUYEN: CNN, yeah, that, too.
HOLMES: We're sponsored now.
NGUYEN: So we're going to go from that to this. From Olympic Gold to athletic infamy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARION JONES, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL WINNER: It is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust.
NGUYEN: Marion Jones is prepared to face the consequences. But what does her admission mean to her Sydney teammates?
HOLMES: Also, another big hamburger recall. Not on a Saturday. Not on football Saturday. No.
NGUYEN: Not on barbecue day.
HOLMES: No, not on this day. We've got a big one here to tell you about. Stick around for that. Also, we've got this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I think it's nonsense to think that a car dealer's commercial on television is going to encourage anybody not to learn English. NGUYEN: A car dealer reaches out to his Hispanic audience in a novel way, and that stirs up an unexpected controversy. We have that story later in the NEWSROOM.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: I have never, ever used performance enhancing drugs and I have accomplished what I've accomplished because of my God-given abilities and hard work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Not so much. Marion Jones. That was then. This is now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: And so it is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust. I want all of you to know that today I plead guilty to two counts of making false statements to federal agents. Making these false statements to federal agents was an incredibly stupid thing for me to do, and I am responsible fully for my actions. I have no one to blame but myself for what I have done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Marion Jones there was offering a tearful apology. She was at the federal courthouse in White Plains, New York. Moments earlier, the Olympic star plead guilty to lying to a federal agent during the Balco Labs investigation. She also admitted to using steroids during the 2000 Summer Olympics. In those games, she won five medals, including three golds and was hailed as a darling of those Olympics. Those achievements now will likely be wiped off the books.
NGUYEN: But, you know, there is so much more to this story. CNN's Sports, Larry Smith, is here to help us get through it because it's not just about Marion Jones anymore. She was on a relay team that won gold. What does that do to those other relay members?
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: They could lose their medals too. There's an eight-year ban as we've talked about before, an eight-year period where, let's say 1999 World Championships. It's been eight years. Her accomplishments there won't be touched. But in 2000, all five of those medals could be wiped out, including the gold that she won in the 4 by 400 meter relay. And there is precedent, where we've seen before, where some other relay members have lost their medals back in 2003, the World Championships that happened with Great Britain.
HOLMES: That was America's darling. Okay, it's hard no matter what, if people are upset with her. Still, seeing that tearful apology yesterday you can't help but feel for her. But the apology is coming after that emphatic denial. She didn't just say I didn't do it. She was, in your face, I am angry with you all. How dare you say I cheated. How much, of us replaying that video now, I mean, can she do to repair her image?
SMITH: Time. She's not the first to do that. Pete Rose was adamant he did not gamble. He since has said so. Michael Vick in April pointed a finger everywhere else and eventually came back to point it at himself. And, with time it will happen, but again, it's a thing that she was an American -- she is an American icon. We all rooted for her in the 2000 games. The great smile and the incredible athletic ability, she was a star basketball player in college and certainly a star track star, as well. Time can heal but her career certainly is over. She now is a mother of two, married again and certainly her priorities are much different now than what they were back then. Back then she was trying to salvage her career. Now it's over.
NGUYEN: You say time can heal but what has this done to tarnish America's image when it comes to athletes, you know, these world class athletes that go out into the Olympics and win big. Now you hear them, like Marion Jones, say, you know what? I was on steroids.
SMITH: Well, anytime you've got a competition, you're going to have people who are going to try to test those boundaries. You want every edge you can to try to get as close as you can to perfection. Some people will cross the line either willingly or unwillingly or whatever the case is. It happens. Back in the ancient Olympic times, it's happened. And the 2004 games, I recall we were in Athens. We, as reporters, were disappointed we couldn't talk about the great accomplishments so much because every day there was another doping scandal. Not just Americans, from Russia, from other countries, the Russian female shot putter, the Greek sprinters. In fact, if that 2000, one of her medals in the 100 that she won gold in the 100 meters. If that is vacated, the woman who finished silver, Katarina Thonue(ph) from Greece, she was one of the sprinters who was involved in the major drug scandal of the 2004 Olympics. She went AWOL for the test. It overtook the games for the first third of the games. It was all about her and this other sprinter. This is not an American problem. This is a part of sports, a part of competition, an unfortunate part, but I think, again, we'll get over it, in time.
NGUYEN: Larry, we appreciate your time this morning.
SMITH: My pleasure. No problem.
HOLMES: We'll have to get you up here when it's not a sport scandal.
SMITH: Exactly, love to do that. We'll work on that.
HOLMES: Thanks, Larry.
Well, of course Marion Jones not the first athlete to admit to illegal steroid use. Unfortunately, she probably will not be the last. But how do the athletes continue to cheat the system? We'll take a closer look at steroid tests and why doping is so hard to detect.
EARL STEWART, CAR DEALER: I wasn't trying to make a political statement. I was trying to sell more Toyotas.
NGUYEN: Well, he may consider it smart, this new ad campaign, but others are calling it a cynical play for Hispanic shoppers. We'll let you decide, that story straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Alright, so if you are grilling out today, a health warning about frozen hamburger patties to tell you about. This one at Sam's Club stores, E. coli concerns causing the Walmart subsidiary to pull American Chef's Selection Angus beef patties off the shelves nationwide. Those patties were produced by Cargill. And, Cargill says the recall affects boxes purchased after August 26th. The suspect patties have an expiration date of February 12th, 2008. Four cases of E. coli in Minnesota have been traced to that meat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. KIRK SMITH, MINNESOTA HEALTH DEPARTMENT: To the best of our knowledge, it's just Sam's Clubs right now, but of course, it's being investigated much further and we may come out with additional information sometime here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: One child remains hospitalized, and there are more than 500 Sam's Club stores nationwide.
Well, the auto industry has been struggling as of late. And the sales nationwide, well, they are down too. Even for some unusually strong performers.
HOLMES: And that includes Toyota. One dealer in Florida trying something new to attract business, but it's not being met with the desired reaction. CNN's Susan Candiotti has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Without cue cards, Earl Stewart doesn't speak a lick of Spanish, but he knows how to sell cars. His family has been in the business for 70 years in West Palm Beach, Florida. He figured; why not advertise in Spanish with subtitles on English language TV to reach Latinos who might be watching.
EARL STEWART, CAR DEALER: I wasn't trying to make a political statement. I was trying to sell more Toyotas.
CANDIOTTI: Viewers started calling with a vengeance.
VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will no longer be buying anything from your dealership. Thank you.
VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not right. Your advertisement is unbelievable.
CANDIOTTI: Within days, he got more than 200 angry e-mails.
STEWART: I find your Spanish commercial stupid and insulting. I would never buy a car from someone who doesn't know what country he lives in. This is not Mexico.
CANDIOTTI: This one says, tell Earl he's a traitor and un- American.
When you started to run these ads, did you ever think it would create such a stir?
STEWART: I had no idea. I was shocked.
CANDIOTTI: On the other hand, Sedano's Hispanic Supermarket chain is running a combo Spanish/English commercial on Miami's English language TV with no complaints.
MERCEDES CUBAS, SIBONEY USA: People who advertise in Spanish are just trying to expand their consumer base. They are being smart. They want to sell their products.
CANDIOTTI: We asked one of Stewart's customers to watch the ad. She gets it but doesn't think it helps Hispanics assimilate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They help draw the people in, which is what he wants, but they don't help them learn English.
STEWART: I think it's nonsense to think that a car dealer's commercial on television is going to encourage anybody not to learn English.
CANDIOTTI: Stewart shrugs off e-mails like, "Anything to make a buck, right Earl?."
STEWART: I did do it for the almighty dollar. I did it to sell more Toyotas.
CANDIOTTI: If you think those Spanish language ads had a negative impact on car sales. Remember those people who said they would never set their foot inside this dealership? Well apparently just the opposite has happened. Earl Stewart says he had a record sales month in September. He says he won't mess with success. In the words of Tom Petty, you will not back down.
STEWART: I am not going to back down. I'm going to continue to run my Hispanic TV commercial, and it will be a permanent part of my television advertising from now on.
CANDIOTTI: Susan Candiotti, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: Well, the difficult task of catching illegal doping.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New drugs are being created every day to enhance performance. The testers just can't keep up with it. They find the drug by the athlete using it first.
NGUYEN: So we're going to show you how athletes beat the system and what investigators are doing to catch them. Also...
HOLMES: We'll also be telling you about a worldwide day of protests to support the monks of Myanmar.
NGUYEN: And a new trend in travel and on the internet. I'm going to tell you more about the world of 'couch surfing.' It might be a way to see the world for cheap, but is it safe? I'm going to have the details next from the Dot Com Desk.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Let's update you on our top stories. Police have arrested and charged a man in Thursday's deadly armored car robbery in Philadelphia. The suspect is identified as 36-year-old Mustafa Ali. Two guards were killed and another was wounded in the robbery.
HOLMES: Also, track star Marion Jones now admitting she used steroids during her Olympic gold medal performances. Jones plead guilty to lying to a federal agent about her drug use during the BALCO labs investigation. She could face prison time for that.
Meanwhile, a fourth bullet casing turns up aboard a Florida fishing boat -- another clue that the crew of the Joe Cool likely came to a grim end. A judge has said he believes circumstantial evidence points to four homicides. And today family members are holding a memorial at sea near the Port of Miami. But Jeff Branam, the uncle of Captain Jake Branam, tells CNN that other relatives are still out searching in hopes the missing crew members could still be alive somewhere. They were last heard from on September 23rd. Two suspects are expected to be arraigned for next week.
NGUYEN: Well, there is new information now on Michael Devlin. On Monday, the accused kidnapper is expected to change his plea to guilty. Devlin, you'll remember, was arrested in January after police found two abducted boys in his St. Louis apartment. One of them, 16- year-old Shawn Hornbeck, had been there for more than four years. Devlin is expected to plead guilty in the Hornbeck case first. Sentencing for that is expected on Tuesday.
HOLMES: A Florida prosecutor arrested in a sex sting operation has committed suicide. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Atchison was accused of flying to Detroit to molest a 5-year-old girl. He was arrested after weeks of Internet conversations with authorities posing as the mother of a 5-year-old. Officials say Atchison was found unresponsive in his cell yesterday. He is being -- or was being held in a special unit at a federal prison outside of Detroit.
NGUYEN: Let's get some more now on track star Marion Jones. She is no longer an Olympic hero. She has admitted to using steroids during her Olympic gold medal performances. Jones
Pleaded guilty to lying to a federal agent about her drug use during the BALCO labs investigation. She faces up to 10 years in prison for that.
Jones offered this tearful apology on the courthouse steps.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARION JONES: I want you to know that I have been dishonest. And you have the right to be angry with me. I have let them down, I have let my country down and I have let myself down. I recognize that by saying that I'm deeply sorry, it might not be enough and sufficient to address the pain and the hurt that I have caused you. Therefore, I want to ask for your forgiveness for my actions and I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
It is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust. I want all of you to know that today I pled guilty to two counts of making false statements to federal agents. Making these false statements to federal agents was an incredibly stupid thing for me to do and I'm responsible fully for my actions. I have no one to blame but myself for what I have done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: And with that, Jones will likely have to return her Olympic gold.
HOLMES: Well, Marion Jones did fail a drug test at the 2006 U.S. Championships, but she never failed a test at the Olympics, where she now admits to using steroids.
NGUYEN: OK. So that raises the question, why didn't she fail?
CNN's Randi Kaye is "Keeping Them Honest".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How can this still be happening -- athletes pumping themselves up with steroids, yet somehow the drugs are escaping detection?
Sports attorney Ryan Smith says the tests use to spot them are simply outdated.
RYAN SMITH, SPORTS ATTORNEY: New drugs are being created every day to enhance performance. The testers just can't keep up with it. They find the drug by the athlete using it first. So they're automatically behind the eight ball.
KAYE (on camera): For decades, athletes have been becoming up with creative ways to beat the system. They've used diuretics, even catheter tubes under their clothing, so they can empty their bladder of the tainted urine, and replace it with a clean sample. SMITH: In the early '80s, it was always you can switch urine or have somebody take the test for you, before people caught on and said, let me stand in the urinal.
KAYE (voice-over): These days, some athletes use masking agents, like one called "clear," taken by Marion Jones.
(on camera): "Keeping Them Honest," we found the greatest threat to a clean game seems to be the human growth hormone. Experts say it enhances an athlete's performance by increasing muscle mass and reducing fat.
The problem is, professional sports teams don't test for it because instead of urine, it requires a blood sample.
SMITH: You're finding out a lot more about that player than just whether or not they took HGH or THG. You're finding out if they might have AIDS or a sexually-transmitted disease, and those things could potentially be used to terminate a player. So the players unions have always, always been against blood tests. And I don't think that's going to happen any time soon.
KAYE (voice-over): CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta says tests look for a pattern of molecules that make up the steroid. But athletes are using new synthetic versions, which are harder than ever to detect.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's testosterone, but they will add a specific molecule here just to sort of escape the test. The test isn't -- if the test isn't designed yet to catch the specific change, you won't find it. As soon as you give the substance to someone, it breaks down back into testosterone. So it still does the same thing, but evades all sort of testing.
KAYE: Still, some, like the U.S. Doping Agency's Gary Wadler, predict the days of doping are coming to an end, because he thinks tests are getting better.
GARY WADLER, WORLD ANTI-DOPING AGENCY: There is no question we have arrived at a point in time where the likelihood of getting away with doping has become a very unlikely scenario.
KAYE: He may be right -- one day.
Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And you can find out more about Marion Jones' fall from grace at CNN.com.
NGUYEN: And Myanmar's crisis draws attention...
(VIDEO FROM PROTEST)
NGUYEN: It is also drawing outrage from all around the world. We have those details straight ahead. HOLMES: Also, Betty Nguyen could not get the weekend off to attend the conference there in London as she usually does.
NGUYEN: Because I'm all inked up.
HOLMES: She is all inked up. But that ink is flowing not on paper, not on skin there. Tattoo fans of all ages lining up for the London Tattoo Convention.
NGUYEN: My favorite time of the year.
HOLMES: It is.
NGUYEN: Hey, check this out. You've heard of couch potatoes, but couch surfing?
Yes, it's a new way to see the world on the cheap.
HOLMES: It's on the couch, maybe.
NGUYEN: Well, that, too.
HOLMES: It may be on the couch.
NGUYEN: We're going to be choked up. We'll tell you how, a little bit later.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIK TORKELLS, EDITOR, "BUDGET TRAVEL": Some travelers feel guilty because they've heard that flying contributes to global warming. Now there's one way to lessen the guilt and counteract greenhouse gas emissions from flights.
Find what are called carbon offsets. The money you spend helps plant trees or fund renewable energy sources like solar and wind power.
When you book with Delta, you get the option of donating $5.50 for domestic round trips and $11 for international round trips to its partner, The Conservation Fund. Travelocity also partners with the organization. When booking with them, you can donate $25, which they say will offset the effects of air travel, a four night hotel stay and a rental car.
Before buying an offset, find out how it's calculated. Some organizations factor in plane type, seat class and other details, while others are less precise. Make sure the organization will disclose the details of projects it invests in, the percentage of funds that goes to those projects and whether the organization is a non-profit or not.
The carbon offset industry is largely unregulated, but there is a gold standard operated under the World Wildlife Fund. Look for it at an offsetted Web site.
And while offsets aren't environmental pardons, experts do say they might spur innovation, including the financing of carbon reducing projects that might otherwise not happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: President Bush speaking up and standing firm. We're going to tell you what he has to say about interrogations of terror suspects. That's straight ahead in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Myanmar's crisis draws attention and outrage from around the world. These pictures came to us from London -- just one of nearly three dozen cities taking part in a day of global protests against the reclusive nation that's also known as Burma. Amnesty International organized the marches to denounce the violence against pro-democracy demonstrators, mainly Buddhist monks.
Myanmar's military regime began cracking down more than a week ago. Official reports say 10 people have been killed and hundreds of monks detained. But dissident groups say the death toll is more than 200 and nearly 6,000 people are being held.
NGUYEN: Well, while the Amnesty International marchers criticize the policies of Myanmar's government, some Burmese immigrants point accusing fingers at another country.
At a rally outside the United Nations, the group, Coalition for Regime Change accused China of propping up the repressive military regime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALA HTUN, COALITION FOR REGIME CHANGE IN BURMA: China is the main international backer of this regime. They provide diplomatic cover at the U.N. they vetoed several U.N. Security Council resolutions. They provide military aid -- guns, tanks, bombs -- enabling the Burmese government to massacre its own people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Thus far, both China and Russia have opposed U.N. Security Council action against Myanmar, saying the trouble is an internal affair that does not threaten international peace and security.
HOLMES: And official vote counts -- or, rather, those are the unofficial -- not from the U.N. Here -- unofficial counts of votes in Pakistan show that President Pervez Musharraf has been re-elected to a third term. But Pakistan's Supreme Court could disqualify him because he still holds the title of military leader. Opposition parties either abstained in today's vote or boycotted it as part of a protest demanding that Musharraf abandon his position as Army chief. Election results won't be ratified for at least 11 days. NGUYEN: President Bush says the United States is not preparing to attack Iran. In an interview with Arab television, Mr. Bush says he is committed to working to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program diplomatically. Arab media have reported Mr. Bush ordered top military officials to prepare for an attack on Iran in January or February. The president called those reports, "baseless gossip."
HOLMES: How do you define torture?
And maybe more to the point here, and maybe more importantly, how does the White House define it?
For now, at least, very few people are on that need to know list. And that's ruffling a lot of feathers in Washington.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Despite fresh accusations that the U.S. tortures suspected terrorists in its custody, President Bush insisted he'll continue to do whatever it takes to protect the American people.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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.
MALVEAUX: But Mr. Bush insists the harsh interrogation methods he signed off on do not amount to torture.
BUSH: This government does not torture people. You know, we stick to U.S. law and our international obligations.
MALVEAUX: But how do we know?
Thursday, "The New York Times" revealed a once secret Justice Department memo from February of 2005, which alleged the administration approved harsh interrogation techniques, including simulated drowning, head slapping, and exposure to extreme cold.
Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Jay Rockefeller, said that's a lot more information than he got when he and other committee members were briefed by the administration. He lashed out, saying, "I'm tired of these games. They can't say that Congress has been fully briefed while refusing to turn over key documents used to justify the legality of the program."
The White House says they've been as open as they can.
DANA PERINO, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: What would make it better?
What would make it better?
That we should tell everybody exactly what we have?
(CROSSTALK)
PERINO: You want to know the techniques that we use so we can tell exactly al Qaeda what we're going to do?
That's absurd.
MALVEAUX (on camera): So does the U.S. engage in torture?
Well, it depends on how you define it. Those who know the definition are pledged to secrecy, leaving the American people to trust, not to know.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, tonight on " THIS WEEK AT WAR," the latest from Iraq. Fewer troops are dying.
So is it a turning point or a statistical blip?
Also, security for hire -- Congress wants stricter oversight on independent contractors. "THIS WEEK AT WAR" airs tonight at 7:00 Eastern and tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
HOLMES: All right, we've all been to enough of these events -- banquets and things where they have a raffle and they might say hey, bring a kid up, pull out the raffle ticket for me.
NGUYEN: Right. OK.
HOLMES: We've seen all that kind of stuff. People use all kinds of folks to pull the raffle ticket.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: How about using a bear...
NGUYEN: A bear?
HOLMES: ...to pull out a raffle ticket?
Yes.
NGUYEN: Uh-oh.
HOLMES: These guys here are using a bear. We'll explain this coming up in just a couple of minutes.
NGUYEN: In his mouth, no less.
HOLMES: Right.
And let's say good morning to Veronica over there. VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They, there, guys.
Good morning to you, too.
Traveling on the cheap -- we're going to tell you all about a new Web site that will take you couch surfing.
I'll have the details next on the Dot-Com Desk.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. You ready?
Time now for a look at some of the most memorable stories this morning.
So we start in New Hampshire -- check it out -- with a spinning bear. Yes, he gets to choose the winning ticket. And, oddly enough, the spinning bear raffle is raising money for the local Humane Society.
HOLMES: And what would they be giving away, Betty?
NGUYEN: Well, take a look. That's kind of a clue. But it's really...
HOLMES: A stuffed bear.
NGUYEN: ...ironic, huh?
HOLMES: And it's made of real bear hair.
NGUYEN: Bear hair.
Why?
HOLMES: We thought that was a little strange.
NGUYEN: We don't know.
HOLMES: We're working on that.
But the winner apparently threw a little honey on his ticket and that seems to do the trick.
NGUYEN: It worked really, really well.
HOLMES: We want to talk now to the game last night, the Yankees, the Indians.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: , you know, we talk about steroids in baseball and cheating.
NGUYEN: OK. HOLMES: Well, Cleveland did a little something to cheat here. They brought out some insects. Really, it was an onslaught of insects last night. Midges -- if you're into insects -- are what the things were. But they're little flying, annoying little bugs. The fog of the bug spray didn't really slow the things down.
NGUYEN: No, the midges really seemed to feast on the Yankees' pitchers. The bugs and the Indians beat the Yankees in extra innings, to take a two games to zero lead in the five game series.
HOLMES: And Betty is usually not here this time of year. This is the first time, I think, in maybe five, six years you've missed this convention.
NGUYEN: It really is. And it hurts me to be here and not there, because I do want to get all inked up.
HOLMES: Yes. Well you're -- I mean you don't have any more spots you could cover on your body, really, Betty.
NGUYEN: That's true. There are a few left.
HOLMES: Well, this is happening in London. This the site -- you're seeing here -- of the London International Tattoo Festival. It's a three day event expected to draw more than 15,000 visitors, minus Betty this time around.
NGUYEN: Well, you know, we make fun of my butterfly tattoo, which I don't have. But T.J. Is the only one up here who truly does have a tattoo.
HOLMES: I don't have a...
NGUYEN: Yes you do.
HOLMES: OK. I have one tattoo.
NGUYEN: We won't ask you to show it.
DE LA CRUZ: Betty, actually, you wanted to get the T.J. "forever" tattoo, right?
NGUYEN: Oh, yes. Right here.
DE LA CRUZ: "T.J. Forever."
HOLMES: Because we have that kind of bond. You have to have that with your co-anchors.
NGUYEN: We're tight like that.
HOLMES: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: I have "I heart T.J. ," actually.
HOLMES: Where? DE LA CRUZ: I'm not even going to tell you where that one is.
HOLMES: You pointed to your arm. That's unfair.
(CROSSTALK)
DE LA CRUZ: It's not on my arm. I heart T.J. .
HOLMES: So, hello.
How are things going?
DE LA CRUZ: Hi, guys.
HOLMES: We were talking about, what, couch surfing?
DE LA CRUZ: We're going to do some -- yes, couch surfing.
NGUYEN: My favorite.
HOLMES: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: Couch surfing. We're going to talk about budget travel for a second. People around the globe, they are packing up their bags. And we want to show you a Web site. It is called couchsurfing.com. This is really a social networking site. It has some 300,000 members. And think of it like a big Craig's List for places around the world to crash. There are posts from more than 200 countries. There are more than 22,000 -- 30,000 cities, actually.
But there's no freeloading here. The trick is you have to hang out with your host. You can't just go and crash and go see the city on your own. So the idea to experience another culture, hopefully make a new friend. And they take you around and they show you their city.
So, what do you guys think?
NGUYEN: Well, it depends on who they are.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: I mean I might want to get a criminal background check just to make sure, you know?
DE LA CRUZ: I know. I know. No, you guys have a point there.
Also, what was interesting on the site, if you are germophobic, you might want to think twice about applying because some of these couch surfers have admitted to spending a night or two on a pretty grimy sofa.
NGUYEN: Ewww.
What kind of vacation is that?
DE LA CRUZ: Because you're right, you can't really do a background check.
And it brings us to the big question of, is this safe?
NGUYEN: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: You know, is it safe?
The members have to provide references. Couchsurfing.com can verify a person's name and address. But really, truly, you have to kind of trust your gut, which is, I mean...
NGUYEN: How?
DE LA CRUZ: You know, how -- yes.
HOLMES: You could get somebody good.
DE LA CRUZ: And I guess you -- well, you could...
NGUYEN: You're kind of rolling the dice with that one, aren't you?
HOLMES: You are.
DE LA CRUZ: You are. And you think about all these stories, the MySpace stories and the Facebook stories.
NGUYEN: Exactly.
DE LA CRUZ: You know, kids who think they're talking to somebody who is their own age and they're talking to like a 46-year-old.
NGUYEN: And you get there...
yes.
DE LA CRUZ: And you never know. But couchsurfing.com -- I think it's a pretty cool concept.
NGUYEN: It is an interesting one.
We'll keep our eye on that, especially when...
DE LA CRUZ: Betty is going to go couch surfing.
NGUYEN: Don't think that I'm going to be doing it, because my couch is off limits.
DE LA CRUZ: To go the U.K. for her new tattoo.
NGUYEN: Right.
At least, so what you can't see...
HOLMES: Thank you, Veronica.
NGUYEN: ...check this out -- can hurt you, really. We're going to tell you about a silent killer in some of the nation's lakes.
HOLMES: Also coming up at noon, an unusual custody case in North Carolina. It's not over children, it's over a limb.
Jeanne Moos -- who else -- is going to explain this one to us. That's later in THE NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: She gets a leg up on this story.
HOLMES: Oh, wow!
You were really holding onto that one (INAUDIBLE).
NGUYEN: I was.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. This is that time for us, you know, that time for us to head up to New York and check in with Kiran Chetry that's what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING" next week -- hello there, dear lady.
KIRAN CHETRY, CO-HOST, "AMERICAN MORNING": Hi, T.J. .
Great to see you.
You know, all week we've been watching this crisis in Myanmar, with the calls to stop the crackdown on demonstrators from the top U.S. diplomats in the Asian nation.
Well, earlier in the week we showed you executive video and eyewitness reports obtained by CNN from people who witnessed the bloodshed with their own eyes, some even risking their lives to smuggle the pictures out of the country.
So a big weekend. Also, a lot ahead as we continue to follow the story next week, T.J.
HOLMES: And, of course, this is getting a lot of reaction from Buddhist monks, really, around the world.
CHETRY: It has, actually. Tibetan spiritual leaders are supporting the monks, of course, leading the protests in Myanmar. And next week the Dalai Lama -- and, of course, Tibet's top spiritual leader -- is going to be here in New York City.
I had a chance to actually speak with Richard Gere about that. He made his admiration for the Dalai Lama well known and we also talked about his meeting with the Dalai Lama next week and also his thoughts on the Dalai Lama's exile.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Do you see a day when the Dalai Lama can return to Tibet?
RICHARD GERE, ACTOR: Yes. All it takes is for the Chinese to say we really have nothing to fear from this non-violent man who has an enormous non-violent effect on other people. And, in fact, he may well be our best partner in achieving the greatness that we want to achieve.
And as soon as that click is made in the Chinese mind, this can change overnight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And you can more of my interview with Richard Gere. That's all next week on "AMERICAN MORNING".
By the way, T.J. , you know, I've got to tell you, as a girl, sitting down with Richard Gere still makes your heart flutter.
HOLMES: Yes. OK.
Well, you just deal with that over the weekend, OK?
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Have a good weekend, dear lady.
We'll look forward to seeing you next week.
Of course, folks, Kiran Chetry, John Roberts, "AMERICAN MORNING" Monday, 6:00 a.m. Eastern.
NGUYEN: Hello, everybody.
It is Saturday, October 6th and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes.
Straight ahead this hour, we have some breaking news. A suspect in a deadly armored heist caught on camera. This morning, police make an arrest. We've got the latest on that.
Also, we've got this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: I want you to know that I have been dishonest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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