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Putin and Iran's Nuclear Plans; Ohio House Fire; Chester Stiles Arrested In Nevada; HUD Controversy; Out Of Voice Mail Jail
Aired October 16, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The racially charged Jena 6 investigation. Should offensive symbols like nooses be a federal hate crime?
Machine guns, silencers. Police show off a weapons haul they say is linked to Grammy winning rapper T.I. He's still in jail today.
Tuesday, October 16th. You are in the NEWSROOM.
First, the landmark trip. For the first time since the Stalin area, a Russian president is in Iran today. Vladimir Putin is there even though someone reportedly would like to kill him on this trip. Our Middle East correspondent Aneesh Raman joining us now live from Cairo today.
Aneesh, what is Russia's leader saying now about Iran's nuclear program? Is that what brought the alleged assassination attempt?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've heard from Russia's president, Heidi. He's saying Iran's nuclear program should continue as is. Those are strong words of support from Vladimir Putin for the Islamic bureaucracy. Iran, of course, maintains it's pursuing peaceful, civilian nuclear energy. But the west and the U.N. Security Council is highly skeptical of that.
Well, Russia is a veto member on that security council. Today the Russian president said he signed a declaration in essence affirming Iran's right to nuclear energy, saying the program can continue as is. Russia has recently said there's no "objective evidence," Heidi, that Iran's pursuing a nuclear weapon.
So what this does is essentially squash any chance of new sanctions coming out of the U.N. Security Council any time soon. It's exactly what Iran needed out of this historic trip. And Russia seemed to get a billion dollar contract going to build Iran's first nuclear power plant in the city of Bushar (ph). It's a Russian attempt really, Heidi, to thumb its nose a bit at the U.S. and show it has its own influence in the region.
COLLINS: Exactly (ph) what I was going to ask, Aneesh. I just am curious about what that does specifically to the relationship between Russia and the U.S.
RAMAN: Yes, exactly further complicates it. You'll recall a few days ago the Russian president kept the U.S. secretary of state and defense waiting for almost an hour for a photo op. He came out blasting them in rhetoric over a missile defense plan.
We have seen the Russian president really trying to distance himself from the Bush administration in recent weeks. And this is a brazen trip by him. The images, not what the Bush administration wants, Vladimir Putin side by side with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the words not what the Bush administration wants, the Russian president affirming Iran's right to have a nuclear program and saying that no other nation in the Caspian Sea area can be used to attack Iran -- Heidi.
COLLINS: CNN's Aneesh Raman on the story for us coming live from Cairo this morning.
Aneesh, thank you.
And border on the brink of crisis now. Iraqi prime minister Nuri al Maliki dispatching a high level delegation to defuse rising tensions with Turkey. He met with his crisis group this morning. Iraq's vice president already in Ankara for urgent talks. Yesterday Turkey's government asked its parliament for permission to go into northern Iraq. Turkey looking to put down a rebellion by Kurdish separatists. The U.S. has urged turkey not to send in troops and to try to resolve the crisis diplomatically.
New developments in the so-called Jena 6 case. This hour a House panel is looking into whether federal intervention is need. You may recall the case involves six black teenagers in the small town of Jena, Louisiana, accused in the beating of a white student. The incident happened after nooses were hung from a tree at the school. At today's hearing, the Reverend Al Sharpton is expected to call on Congress to expand halt crime laws to deal with racial issues like those in Jena. We are following today's testimony. You can count on CNN to keep you updated throughout the day. You can also watch it live for yourself right now on cnn.com.
We are getting some word of news coming out of Ohio this morning. Some type of house explosion. T.J. Holmes is working on the story from the news room for us this morning.
T.J., what do you know?
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning there.
We'll take you right to these pictures. Amazing picture of the house is just gone. You see the aftermath here. And you see firefighters still working through some of that home. But this was a home. This is in Beloit, Ohio, which is in the northeast corner of the state, 20 plus miles outside of Canton to give you an idea there. But these pictures coming to us from our affiliate there, WKYC.
But we don't exactly know what caused this explosion, but the house really does seem to be pretty much gone. You see a wall still standing there. Hard to make out what the house used to look like from the pictures we've been seeing. But we know that the parents and also two teenagers have been injured. We don't know the extent of their injuries, but they were injured in this explosion and had to be taken to the hospital. But don't know if they were just in the house and this might have woken them up this morning. And that's a heck of a way to wake up on a Tuesday morning, if that was the case.
But that is a better perspective there of what was their home. You can't make out what that home might have looked like, but the house seems to have just flat out exploded and is gone at this point. We will try to keep an eye on it. See if they can get any kind of answers to exactly what was going and why and what possibly could have made a house explode in such a way to leave that in the wake. But, yes, don't know the extent of the injuries either, but the mom and dad, the whole family there had to be taken to the hospital -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Well, let us know if you find anything else out.
HOLMES: All right.
COLLINS: T.J. Holmes, thank you.
"I'm sick of running," he said. Those words from a man suspected of raping a little girl and videotaping it. Chester Stiles behind bar this morning.
CNN's Chris Lawrence is outside the Las Vegas jail where he is.
Chris, how did Stiles react when police first confronted him?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the police officer say he was calm and cool. But, you know, he wouldn't be locked up right now if not for that routine traffic stop. Stiles was driving around with a car that had no license plate. And when the officers first pulled him over, he handed them a fake ID.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OFC. MIKE DYE, HENDERSON, NEVADA POLICE: I asked him, the driver, what his Social Security number, as which time he said he couldn't remember. And from my training and experience, that sound a little suspicious, too. So upon further questioning the gentlemen said that he was Mr. Stiles, the person wanted or on "America's Most Wanted" and so he came out with his name.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: Now this all goes back to that videotape shot about four years ago but just turned over to police last month. It shows in graphic detail a little girl being raped. Now when police initially too a look at it, they didn't know who the man was, who the girl was, or whether the girl was even still in danger today. As it turns out, she's now seven years old. She's with her mom. And her mom had no idea this assault had even happened. Apparently this assault took place while the mom was at work and while the little girl had been left with a babysitter -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. So, Chris, what exactly happens next in the case? And it is good to hear about the little girl, for sure. LAWRENCE: Yes. And we're told that the little girl has been through some medical evaluations and apparently doesn't remember what happened to her. As for Stiles, he's locked up now. As of early this morning, he doesn't have a lawyer, doesn't have a court date yet but he will be arraigned sometime within the next couple of days.
COLLINS: I think a lot of people are very interested in what will happen here, what the outcome will be.
All right, Chris Lawrence, thanks so much for the update, coming live from Las Vegas this morning.
Rapper T.I. will be spending the week in jail. A federal judge ordering him held in custody until a Friday bond hearing. T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, is facing federal gun charges. Authorities say he gave a bodyguard $12,000 to buy three machine guns and two silencers. Police say they found three more guns in his car and six other guns at his suburban Atlanta house. Harris is a convicted felon and not allowed to own guns. His attorneys say there are two sides to every story. He says he is confident the legal system will "work in T.I.'s favor."
Double trouble for O.J. Simpson. Now two of his co-defendants have cut deals. One of them is this man, Charles Cashmore. He another co-defendant have agreed to plead guilty to reduced charges and testify against Simpson and three other suspects. They are expected to say guns were used in the alleged incident. Simpson and the others were arrested last month in an alleged armed robbery as sports memorabilia from a Vegas hotel room. Simpson has said no guns were used and he was merely retrieving memorabilia that belonged to him.
Look at this. Trouble in Texas. Wind and rain pound the northern part of the state causing flooding and damage. A driver was killed when his car slid into a big rig on a wet road in Denton. A number of other accidents as well also blamed on this storms.
And a group of golfers in Garland -- boy, you can barely see the green there -- had to be rescued when a creek suddenly spilled over. A reprieve today but more bad weather could be headed to the region tomorrow.
Rivers on the rise across Iowa. Heavy weekend rains causing flooding in that state. More than four inches pounded some areas. The biggest problems are in the western and central parts of the states now. Montgomery County has been declare a disaster area. No word of anyone being hurt in the flooding, but more storms could roll in tomorrow.
Rob Marciano in the weather center now with the latest.
Geez, what's going on? I'm very confused.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Champagne corks are popping all over Denver. Probably this morning, still, Momosas, right? The Colorado Rockies are going to the World Series for the first time in team history. They did it with a monumental hot streak. Twenty-one wins in 22 games, including last night's final win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Rockies will face either the Cleveland Indians or the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. It's going to be fun.
Singer faces it music. Britney Spears surrenders to police, now facing charges in a hit and run.
Also, the housing secretary said there was no wrongdoing in his house.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALPHONSO JACKSON, HOUSING SECRETARY: Senator, I have not touched one contract. Not one. Now if you can prove that I've interfered with a contract, then you should do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now it's up to a grand jury to decide. We're keeping them honest.
And landlords joining the INS. Should landlords check immigrant status? Question and controversy ahead.
Mystery solved. Police now know the name of this accused pedophile, but they still need the public's help to track him down.
You are watching CNN and you are in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins.
This artist is an equal opportunity offender, but one drawing could cost him his life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said you would slaughter him like a lamb. Do you mean that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Muslim outrage over a cartoon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Back in class in Cleveland, Ohio, this morning. The high school where 14-year-old Asa Coon went on a shooting rampage last week open again. Four people were wounded before the young gunman took his own life last Wednesday. Today students and teachers were cheered as they entered Success Tech Academy. Big security changes there though. An armed security guard is on duty this morning and students now have to walk through metal detectors.
Britney Spears booked. The singer surrendered to Los Angeles police last night. She is charged in a hit and run accident. The paparazzi caught Spears hitting another car in a parking lot in August. She is charged in the fender bender and facing charges of driving without a license. Spears was fingerprinted and photographed before leaving the police station.
Controversy surrounding the housing secretary now. At issue, money, friends and accusations of wrongdoing.
CNN's Ed Henry is keeping them honest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The Bush administration was infamously slow responding to Hurricane Katrina. But it was lightning quick handing out a no bid Katrina contract to a golfing buddy of the president's housing secretary, Alphonso Jackson, who's now under federal investigation.
ED POUND, "NATIONAL JOURNAL" MAGAZINE: Well that's certainly the implication here is that Secretary Jackson did a favor for a friend.
HENRY: The friend, South Carolina stucco contractor William Harriston (ph) told "National Journal" magazine that Secretary Jackson helped him get the nearly $400,000 contract. As a construction manager, helping the federal government rehab homes devastated by Katrina. An aide to Jackson told the magazine the secretary passed along three names, including Harriston, for the job.
POUND: There's no question that Secretary Jackson, at least according to the account that Mr. Harriston provided to me, was involved in this particular contract.
HENRY: A major problem for Jackson. Back in May facing controversy about a previous contract, he testified to a Senate committee he does not get involved in contracts at all.
ALPHONSO JACKSON, HOUSING SECRETARY: I do not interfere with any contract that is given to HUD, period. Senator, I have not touched one contract. Not one. Now if you can prove that I have interfered with a contractor, then you should do that.
HENRY: CNN has confirm a federal grand jury is now trying to answer that question and determine whether Jackson misled Congress. Keeping them honest, we attended Secretary Jackson's first public event since the scandal broke, trying to ask him about the controversial contract. But after delivering brief remarks about housing reform, the secretary slipped out a side door so he didn't have to face any question.
In a telephone interview with CNN, Harriston refused to say whether Jackson helped him get the contract. But he stressed, "we've done nothing wrong," adding, he's expecting to soon tell the FBI his side of the story.
HUD has become synonymous with scandal. In the Clinton administration, Secretary Henry Cisneros got into hot water for lying to the FBI about payments to mistress. In the Reagan administration, 16 people close to Secretary Samuel Pierce were convicted in a massive influence-peddling probe. Why so much embarrassment at HUD?
THOMAS MANN, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: The amounts of money involved, their location in urban areas, it has all the ingredients of a potential for corruption by federal officials.
HENRY: CNN has learned that before this story broke, Secretary Jackson told close friends he's planning to leave the cabinet early next year for lucrative opportunities in the private sector. The question now is whether this investigation forces him earlier exit.
Ed Henry, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Bill Gates' next dream closer to becoming reality. The Microsoft founder sharing his vision of the future.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Well, kind of like we said yesterday, a look at the big board with one eye closed maybe. Dow Jones Industrial averages are down about 86 points at the time being, resting at 13,898. Nasdaq, I'm hearing, also down about 15. So we're going to continue to watch these stories and talk about all of the business headlines coming up in just a few minutes, including what the holiday season is going to look like.
Well important phone call. What if you never again had to leave a message on voice mail? Microsoft Bill Gates says it's possible and is closer than you think. Ali Velshi is joining us now to talk about the office of the future.
Boy, I like the sound of this.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, here's the thing, Heidi. It sounds really neat, but when you think about it, look at the way we work today. Look at the way we communicate today. We use office phones, we use cell phones, we use home phones. Then we have e-mail and instant message and we have little handheld computers and the desk computer.
The problem is, when you're trying to reach someone, you don't know which one to use. So experts say the future belongs to the technology that saves us time and effort in reaching other people. And as you said, Bill Gates says that it starts with getting rid of voice mail.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) VELSHI, (voice over): What if you never had to hear this again?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system.
JEFF RAIKES, PRES., MICROSOFT BUSINESS DIV.: I call you. I leave voice mail. You call me back. You leave voice mail. We want to break out of voice mail jail.
VELSHI: And even when you do reach someone on the phone, Bill Gates says you're probably still not getting enough done.
BILL GATES, CHAIRMAN, MICROSOFT: Well, the amount of time you waste calling somebody up, going through some pleasantries, saying please send me this thing or that thing.
VELSHI: So Microsoft is counting on something it calls Unified Communications. It's taking programs and devices that we already use and combing them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Renee.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Will.
VELSHI: Using a computer or a handheld device, Unified Communications lets you reach someone if they give you the green light indicating they want to be reached instantly, wherever they are and however they want to be reached. Whether it's instant message, e- mail, on their handheld device, or at whatever phone number they're using.
GATES: Well, it's time we brought the magic of software to the whole way we communicate. I want software to understand who I work with, how I want them to be able to get a hold of me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And here you see Francesca is in a meeting. Kevin is available.
VELSHI: And if you're all about the face time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you mind if I actually add video?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead.
VELSHI: These tools have all been available, but now Microsoft is combining them and it's betting that it will save your company enough time and save you enough frustration that 100 million people will be using Unified Communications within three years. And voice mail . . .
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To page this person . . .
VELSHI: Will be a thing of the past.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VELSHI: More exciting than you'd almost think it sounds, Heidi. The idea that you don't actually have to chase people around. Microsoft said one company tested this software, which said it saved them three weeks worth of productivity just by not having people chase each other around, be able to find them when they actually needed them to get work done.
COLLINS: Yes, I totally understand. I have friends who have four or five phone numbers. I never know where to find them. Take 10 minutes to ask which one to call him on and blah, blah, blah.
VELSHI: Well, other than being on an assembly line or being on the jobs we have where you actually have to be here and they know where to find you, apparently a lot of the working world spend as great deal of time trying to find each other.
COLLINS: Oh, there's no doubt about it. But what about the cost, though? Because usually when these types of technologies come out in the beginning, they do sort of leave people out, a little bit exclusive in their price points.
VELSHI: Well, this is going to be interesting. One of the reasons why Microsoft says it will have 100 million users and other technology companies and observers agree is because this is actually going to save money. It's kind of like how many people have gone to Internet phone. Putting the phone line on the computer probably saves a bunch of cost and this gain in efficiency is going to be very useful to companies. So like everything, there's an initial cost to switch over to this type of a system, but apparently it will save so much time and so many lost hours that it will be worth it in the end.
COLLINS: And stress, too.
VELSHI: Well, I don't know. Is it going to be less stress that they can always find you the second that you're available?
COLLINS: Well, it depends on which side of the finding you are on.
VELSHI: Yes, that's exactly right.
COLLINS: Ali Velshi, thank you.
VELSHI: OK. See you later.
COLLINS: Nevada police arrest a suspected child molester. At first they didn't recognize Chester Stiles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OFC. MIKE DYE, HENDERSON, NEVADA POLICE: He finally told us, hey, I'm Chester Stiles. I'm the guy you're looking for. And at that time he said "I'm sick of running."
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: Police call his crime despicable. Videotaping the sexual assault of a three-year-old child. What happens next? We're tracking the story.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Alessio Vinci in Baghdad.
I'll give you the latest about what Iraqi officials are doing to try to defuse tensions on the Iraqi/Turkish border. Stay with us.
COLLINS: And landlords joining the INS. Should landlords check immigrant status? The questions and controversy ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris is off today.
Police say he raped a little girl and videotaped it. Today he's in a Las Vegas jail. Chester Stiles was arrested last night during a routine traffic stop. He surrendered without incident despite fears that he could be armed and dangerous. Stiles was pulled over for not having a license plate. Police say he confessed his identity after officers said his driver's license looked suspicious.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OFC. MIKE DYE, HENDERSON, NEVADA POLICE: Me and the officer Gower were questioning him because we didn't believe the story of who he was, he finally told us, hey, I'm Chester Stiles, I'm the guy you're looking for. At that time he said I'm sick of running.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Stiles had been wanted for about two weeks that's when police identified him on the videotape. The little girl being assaulted was three years old at the time. Police say she is now seven, she's doing fine and has no memory of being molested. Police say the girl's mother was completely unaware of the attack.
We've shown you this face and now police have the name of a suspected serial pedophile. The Associated Press identifies him as Canadian Christopher Paul Neil.
CNN's Wayne Gray has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WAYNE GRAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A suspected child abuser on the run but the net is closing. This image taken at Bangkok International Airport last Thursday. The man flew in from South Korea where Interpol now believes he worked at a school teaching English. It's the latest dramatic development in a public man hunt led by the international police organization.
Interpol says he appears on the Internet in around 200 images abusing 12 different boys, some as young as six in Vietnam and Cambodia. In all of the original photos his face was obscured but investigators say they were able to undo that digital twirl effect. So Interpol released the unmasked images last week appealing to the public to help find a man they describe as a predator.
More than 350 people world wide have responded to the appeal helping police establish his identity and track him to Thailand. They now need help from the public again to pinpoint his exact location.
Wayne Gray, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: A landmark trip for the first time since the Stalin era. A Russian President is in Iran today. Vladimir Putin is in Tehran for a five nation summit despite reports of an assassination plot. Among other things he is defending Iran, saying the country must be allowed to pursue what he calls peaceful nuclear activities.
The Russian leader also warned other countries to reconsider any plans for using a former Soviet Republic to stage an attack on Iran. That warning believed to be aimed at the U.S. Washington has accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons.
Iraq responding to border tensions with Turkey. The government of Nuri al-Maliki worried it could find itself facing foreign troops on a new front.
CNN Alessio Vinci is live from Baghdad. Good morning to you, Alessio. Talk to us a little bit about what steps Iraq is actually taking to defuse the situation with Turkey.
VINCI: Well, Heidi, two significant developments today out of this region, the first one is the Iraqi prime minister chaired an emergency session of his cabinet out of it. According to a statement released to reporters we understand the cabinet, that during the session, they reiterated the Iraqi's efforts to go after the Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.
And also the prime minister announced that he will send to Ankara, the Turkish capital a high delegation of Iraqi officials made of both military as well as political officials. And the second significant development is that the Iraqi vice president is also currently in there meeting with top officials.
We understand the president and prime minister will be meeting with him and his mission there is quote -- according to a statement, "Defuse the crisis and remove the current tension on the Iraqi-Kurdish border." As you know -- the Iraqi Turkish border, I should say. As you know, the Turkish parliament is expected to adopt a request by the Turkish government to send in troops into northern Iraq to go after those Iraqi -- those Kurdish rebels.
And the Iraqi officials here are quite concerned that if that military operation takes place it could destabilize one area of Iraq that has been relatively calm. It is of course a great concern not just for the Turks and as well as for the Iraqis, but also, of course, for the American who have 160,000 troops here in Iraq.
COLLINS: Certainly, Alessio, even though we did just show a map, remind us why Turkey is such a key player for the coalition.
VINCI: Well, as you can see Turkey borders Iraq to the north. It's a key logistical base for the Iraqi -- for the U.S. troops here in Iraq. If you think about that 70 percent of all air cargo that supplies the U.S. troops here comes or goes through Turkey.
One-third of the fuel used by U.S. troop here either comes from or goes through Turkey and the U.S. officials are also deploying a new batch of mine resistant vehicles here in Iraq, 95 percent of those come through Turkey. So, it's extremely important for the U.S. military to have peace, if you want, on the border between the two countries.
COLLINS: Alessio Vinci live from Baghdad this morning. Alessio, thank you.
Take a moment now to check in with Rob Marciano. He's standing by in the weather center. Want to get a good report on the weather. Can you do that? Let's start with the good stuff. What you got?
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Landlords doing the government's work on illegal immigration. That's how some see it.
CNN's Dan Simon reports on the backlash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Escondido, California, a battleground in the war on illegal immigration. Frustrated by the federal government's inability to stem the flow its city council passed the burden to landlords requiring them to verify the immigration status of their tenants. Undocumented tenants faced evictions, landlords faced fines. Many here applauded the controversial measure when it was passed last year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like it, Escondido did exactly what they had to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody is passionate and angry and this has been brewing for quite a few years. And we're just finally fed up with it.
SIMON: But the ordinance was short-lived. Faced with a huge confrontation with this Hispanic community and a tough court battle the city did an about face. Still the measure had landlords across the state running scared.
MALCOLM BENNETT, APT. ASSN. OF SO. CALIFORNIA CITIES: We feel that it's not our duty, responsibility, to check the legal status of people into the country. SIMON: So landlord groups helped craft California legislation that would prohibit local governments from forcing landlords to check the immigration status of tenants. Governor Schwarzenegger last week, signed the bill into law.
BENNETT: We want to verify the identity on people, verify their source of income, previous residence, and do all the screening techniques, but to verify their right to be in the United States, we don't feel it's our responsibility.
SIMON: Back in Escondido, council members who voted for the original ordinance, blasted the governor's action.
ED GALLO, ESCONDIDO COUNCIL: I'm not going to go over this -- the whole argument there that the federal government's not doing what their supposed to do. And so, it's up to the local jurisdictions to kind of take the ball and run with it and try to do something to protect the citizens of their community.
SIMON: But in California, that can no longer happen, not on this issue.
(on camera): In the past two years, more than 30 towns nationwide have enacted similar kinds of measures that place the burden on landlords. Many of those towns have come under legal assault and so far, the courts have come down on the side of the landlords. California's law goes into effect on January 1st.
Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Well, this one didn't get away. Fishing party goes after grouper, comes back with 844-pound shark, and a lot of teeth. Just catching it was one battle, the whole war coming your way in just a moment.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange where we're seeing a repeat of Monday's action. Oil is at record highs, stocks are going in the opposite direction. We'll talk about what people are buying, next.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: I'm Gerri Willis, and this is Saving Money Now.
A five-minute phone call to your credit card issuer could save you hundreds, even thousands of dollars in interest rate charges. All you have to do is ask for a lower rate. Remember, credit card companies are competing to keep your business. Call the issuer of your higher-rate card and say hey, you're thinking of going with a lower rate card unless it matches that lower rate. Even if you don't get the response that you want, hang up and try a few hours later. Persistence pays. You may get a different customer service rep on the phone who is more willing to work with you. Of course, you'll help your case if you've had the credit card for a while, you pay your bills on time and you haven't maxed out on your credit limit.
If your credit card company just won't budge, you may be better off looking for another deal, or transfer your balance to a lower rate card.
That's this week's Saving Money Now. For more on saving money, watch "OPEN HOUSE" on CNN every Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time and Headline News every Saturday and Sunday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Get a load of this fish story. An 844-pound mako shark setting a record at a Destin, Florida, fishing tournament. A half dozen friends went out on a charter boat, just hoping to catch some grouper. It seems the shark was also after the grouper. One of the fishing buddies got the shark on a line and fought him for over an hour. The crew finally roped the shark, but were unable to get it in the boat -- not surprising. They decided to tie it to the stern, but it was quite a drag on the way back to the harbor. The 70-mile trip took more than four hours. Yes, but they got the picture.
Retailers take note, consumers are not expected to splurge this holiday season. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with details on this.
Good morning to you, Susan.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
COLLINS: Stormy weather throws a group of golfers off course. Look at that. This rescue came off to a tee in Texas, get it? Incredible pictures, we'll show you the story. We'll give you more in just a moment.
And this artist is an equal opportunity offender, but one drawing could cost him his life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: You said you would slaughter him like a lamb. Do you mean that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Muslim outrage over a cartoon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: An artist is standing by his rights, even with a bounty on his head. CNN's Paula Newton reports.
We do want to warn you, the story does include language that you may find upsetting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON (voice-over): Lars Vilks says he wanted to take a stand for artistic freedom. Now, because of that, police are telling him to lie low and check his car for booby-traps and bombs.
Why? Al Qaeda says Vilks is a marked man. They want him executed for sketching this: a cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a dog.
(on camera): You set out deliberately to provoke and insult Muslims?
LARS VILKS, ARTIST: Well, you have to understand the art world in this small place in Sweden.
NEWTON: Yes, but look what happened. It didn't turn into a small thing.
VILKS: No. But I don't think it should be a problem to insult a religion, because it should be possible to insult all religions. And it could be a -- in a democratic way out there, if you insult one, then you should also insult the other ones.
NEWTON (voice-over): This eccentric Swedish artist and sculptor says he's an equal opportunity offender, even depicting Jesus as a pedophile. CNN has chosen not to show details of his religious works. All of this now playing out in a menacing video.
(CLIP FROM AL QAEDA VIDEO)
NEWTON (on camera): There you are again.
VILKS: Yes. Yes. It's being shown, yes.
NEWTON (voice-over): Al Qaeda offers Muslims $150,000 to murder Vilks.
VILKS: "If I have the occasion, I should, inshallah, slaughter you."
NEWTON: Those chilling words written by this wife and mother, Amatullah (ph), who follows the most conservative tenets of Islam and lives just an hour-and-a-half away from Vilks.
(on camera): You said you would slaughter him like a lamb. Do you mean that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes.
NEWTON (voice-over): Amatullah has already been fined for threatening Vilks. Still, she says she won't stop until he's dead. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Call me a terrorist. Call me an Islamist. But I have the right to defend my prophet.
NEWTON: Swedish police, who would not comment on security, say they have warned Vilks al Qaeda sympathizers could be hunting him down here.
(on camera): Did you just get a death threat?
VILKS: "I will kill you, you son of a bitch."
NEWTON: Why aren't you afraid? You just received a death threat.
VILKS: You get use to it.
NEWTON (voice-over): Something else he's getting used to, driving every night to a location near a safe house. Then, we went along on his secret route, climbing walls through back gardens.
(on camera): Boy, this is crazy.
VILKS: Yes, this is crazy. But it's -- I think it's very good.
NEWTON (voice-over): This artist, now in hiding, makes no excuses, his drawing, his right, he says.
VILKS: If you don't like it, don't look at it. And if you want to look at it, don't take it too seriously.
NEWTON: Vilks knows such defiance could get him killed. Still, he claims his art is worth dying for.
VILKS: Good night. Good night -- night-night.
NEWTON: Paula Newton, CNN, Hoganas, Sweden.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Is this the face of a monster? A man suspected of raping a child on videotape is under arrest finally. We'll have the latest from Las Vegas.
And six black teens accused of beating a white classmate. Racial tensions in Jena, now the focus in Congress.
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