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Will U.S. Avoid Recession?; Judge to Decide on Caucus Sites for Casino Workers; Rough Landing Avoids Disaster at London's Heathrow; New Test Screens for Prostate Cancer Risk
Aired January 17, 2008 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, and you also got to know where. A federal judge in Vegas is deciding whether Democrats can hold presidential caucuses in casinos.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And what are your odds of getting prostate cancer? You and your doctor may soon be able to find out. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with painless, we are told, details this hour.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Once again, it is the economy, stupid. And with more and more of us feeling the pain, Washington is trying to show us it cares.
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke makes promises on a very snowy Capitol Hill. Congressional leaders are on the phone with President Bush right now, and the debate has shifted from whether action is needed to what action is need, all in an effort to stem the steady stream of housing foreclosures and layoff announcements forcing us to the brink of a recession.
Testifying on Capitol Hill today, Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke predicted America will avoid a recession. Is Wall Street buying that?
Let's ask CNN's Susan Lisovicz. She's at the New York Stock Exchange with the very latest on that. She's on the floor, as a matter of fact.
Are consumers buying that?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you that we're certainly seeing pronounced weakening in consumer behavior. And that is certainly one of the reasons why the Federal Reserve chairman, the president, and many people in general are concerned about the economy.
What the Fed chairman did offer this morning was a conditional support of an economic stimulus plan. Basically, he wants something intense but temporary: intense in the form of $50 to $100 billion in economic stimulus. But temporary, meaning that this would not be with us forever, so as not to exacerbate the federal deficit.
What we've got so far is know Democrats and Republicans also want economic stimulus. Democrats haven't unveiled theirs yet. For that matter, neither has the president. We're expecting it closer to the State of the Union address later this month.
Democrats are expected to propose rebates for individuals. They do not want permanent extension of tax cuts. Republicans not only want rebates, but perhaps they're interested in lower tax rates for businesses. And we are told that lobbyists are in overdrive in Washington, trying to make sure that their cash cows are not affected by any economic stimulus plan.
But no matter what the Fed chairman was saying today, the fact is that the Dow Industrials and the market in general are reporting their sixth sell-off in the first 12 trading days of the year. Check it out. Another triple-digit decline for the blue chips, down 176 points right now.
We've got declining issues swamping advances by nearly a 4 to 1 margin here at the New York Stock Exchange. And the NASDAQ also down substantially. It's down 25 points. And in fact, it's selling accelerated once the Fed chairman started speaking, Don.
LEMON: And you know what, Susan? I have to ask you, why is this sell-off accelerating? Shouldn't Bernanke's comments be good news for the market? It would appear that way.
LISOVICZ: Now, here's a couple of factors. One thing, though, one trader pointed out to me, Don, is the fact that the Federal Reserve chairman is independent. It is not that often that he is coming to Washington. He's sitting down and saying, "Let's get an economic stimulus plan that involves -- involves White House and Congress to work together." He remains independent.
And he's already told Wall Street and, basically, the world at large that help is on the way from the Federal Reserve. But the fact that he is saying we need an economic stimulus plan sort of underscores the magnitude of the problem in some traders' minds.
And the other fact -- and this is very significant -- is we got more bad news. Merrill Lynch reporting a $10 billion in quarterly losses, a big drop in home sales last month, as well as for the year. And a terrible factory report, all just adding fuel to the fire, Don.
LEMON: All right. Susan Lisovicz on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. We will be checking back with you for sure throughout the day. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, the White House now agrees some kind of economic stimulus is called for.
CNN's Kathleen Koch is following it from that angle -- Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed, Kyra. Because basically this White House, this president, is feeling the pressure, and it comes, certainly, not only from this long string of dismal economic reports but also from Congress.
Before President Bush even returned to Washington from his nine- day trip to the Middle East last night, the members of Congress were blasting him for not being involved when it comes to the economy. And at that point deputy press secretary Tony Fratto took issue with that, and he told me personally that the president will be taking action on the economy, quote, "soon."
Well, within the hour, the president is doing just that. He's having a conference call with congressional leaders. And they're going to be talking about what Fratto calls a, quote, "soft patch" in the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY FRATTO, DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: What we certainly do want to see, a short-term effect. We're dealing with short-term concerns with the economy. The headwinds that we're dealing with right now are things that we see over the next coming quarters. So we do want to try to pass something quickly.
I see no obstacle to that. It seems to me that both sides of the aisle and both houses of Congress want to try to get to an agreement. I think the conversation that the president will be having in about an hour with leaders will get a better sense of what their thinking is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: And Democrats say that they want to see a stimulus package passed, signed into law by mid-February. Fratto wouldn't talk again about the time lines, specifically, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this morning didn't make a pitch for measures like the tax rebate, something that would pump the money out directly into the economy immediately.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We had to spend the money, invest the resources, give the tax relief in a way that, again, injects demand into the economy. It puts it in the hands of those who need it most and into the middle class. Injects demand into the economy so that we can create jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: Now off the table, say Democrats and now many Republicans, is making the president's tax cuts that expire in 2010 permanent. Fratto today said that is still something the White House is committed to.
But very important to point out that even the Fed chairman today on the Hill, in a mayor blow to the president, said that he doesn't believe that making those tax cuts permanent is something that will really help the economy in the short-term, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Kathleen Koch live from the White House, appreciate it.
And it's not just Wall Street that's feeling the pinch these days. The economic challenges are affecting all of us. And we're going to be looking at that throughout the day.
Thelma Gutierrez and Gerri Willis will talk about foreclosed homes and why an owner's misfortune can be a buyer's windfall. And Allan Chernoff is looking at soaring energy prices and what the presidential candidates promise to do about that. All that is straight ahead this afternoon, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And you can get more on how proposals to stimulate the economy could affect your taxes and your wallet at CNNmoney.com.
LEMON: It could only happen in Las Vegas. A plan to set up Democratic caucus sites inside casinos has landed in federal court. We expect to learn in the next few minutes whether that will be allowed.
The idea was to make it easier for casino workers to take part in Saturday's caucuses. But here's the rub. The union representing most casino workers has endorsed Barack Obama.
Six people -- six people and a teacher's union with ties to Hillary Clinton's campaign filed suit, claiming the caucus sites give casino workers an unfair advantage over others who also have to work on Saturday.
Now the Clinton camp itself, including the former president, vigorously denies any role in that suit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON (D), FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We had nothing to do with that lawsuit. I read about it in the newspaper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But people who have supported...
CLINTON: So when you ask me that question, your position is that you think the culinary worker's vote should count -- A, it should be easier for them to vote than for anybody else in Nevada that has to work on Saturday. That's your first position.
Second when they do vote, their vote should count five times as much as anybody else. That's what the teachers have questioned.
So if that's your position, you have you it. Get on your television station and say, "I don't care about the home mortgage crisis. All I care about is making sure that some voters have it easier than others and that, when they do vote, when it's already easier for them, their vote should count five times as much as others." That is your position. If you want to take that position, get on the television and take it.
Don't get accusatory with me. I had nothing to do with this lawsuit. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, that practice of casino workers and caucus sites is part of a much wider battle. At this point there's no Democrat frontrunner and a victory in Nevada could be huge for the winning campaign.
Here's CNN Ted Rowlands.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're the army that keeps the Vegas strip churning 24 hours a day. And if they take part in what they say could have a big impact on Saturday's Nevada caucuses.
People like Jimmy Beckham, who deals black jack at the Hard Rock Casino. A registered Republican, Jimmy says the war in Iraq and the immigration issue are his biggest concerns. He says right now he's supporting Fred Thompson.
Leila Sweeney works retail at Win Las Vegas. She's an undecided Democrat who says her biggest issue is the economy, specifically, minimum wage.
Executive Paul Bartolotta is a registered Democrat. For him the Iraq war and the economy are at the top of his priority list.
More than 200,000 employees work on the Las Vegas strip, and Saturdays are their busiest days. And that could create a problem for some voters on caucus day.
JIMMY BECKHAM, BLACK JACK DEALER: I would love to participate in the caucus. I still have to check with the bosses on whether or not I'm going to get the time off.
ROWLANDS: Beckham has to find time for leave work and make it to his neighborhood to participate in the Republican caucus.
Democrats, on the other hand, want to bring the caucus to the casinos. They say to make it easier for employees to have a voice.
LEILA SWEENEY, CASHIER: It's just work is so convenient because you're here.
ROWLANDS: So nine glitzy casinos for a day will become at-large caucus sites. In conference rooms and places like the Bellagio, Paris and the Wind, open for any employee to join during lunch breaks.
PETER EARLY, HUMAN RESOURCES: These are at-large caucuses facilitate a group of people that are critical to our community. They're every-day working people. They should be allowed to participate.
ROWLANDS: But at the 11th hour the casino caucus plan has turned into a political battle among Democrats. A lawsuit filed on behalf of the Nevada teacher's unions challenging casino caucusing, saying it's somehow unfair to other workers who won't have the same conveniences.
But strip employees say casino caucusing is the only way for them to participate.
PAUL BARTOLOTTA, EXECUTIVE CHEF: How else are we going to get a real sense of what the public is thinking about such an important issue which is who's going to be our next president, you know, than to have it at a place where everybody can participate?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And here's a reminder for you, we expect to hear a decision any minute now on Democratic caucuses inside Las Vegas casino. We'll bring it to you just as soon as that is announced -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: New support for Barack Obama leads our political ticker today. It comes from Obama's Senate colleague, Patrick Leahy, chairman of the judiciary committee.
Obama has received several endorsements from Democratic senators in recent days, the most notable being John Kerry of Massachusetts, the party's 2004 White House nominee.
Obama also received an apology today. Clinton supporter and fund-raiser Bob Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, apologized for comments that he made last weekend. Johnson made an apparent reference to Obama's acknowledged drug use as a teenager. In a letter to Obama obtained by CNN, Johnson calls his remarks "very inappropriate."
Republican John McCain has assembled a so-called Truth Squad to counter any negative ads or attacks that might come his way this week. In 2000 McCain was hit with a barrage of anonymous attacks in South Carolina.
But some of his opponents are questioning the need for such a vigorous counteroffensive. They say they are -- they, too, are being hit with negative attacks. In an ad by Fred Thompson says McCain is, quote, "trying to make McCain the victim."
And Hillary Clinton found time to have a little fun on board the jet that her staff has nicknamed Hill Force One. She played the role of flight attendant while flying between Las Vegas and Reno, and she welcomed the reporters aboard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Once we've reached cruising altitude, we'll be offering in-flight entertainment: my stump speech in as many variations as there can be.
Once again, thank you for joining us on Hill Force One. We know you have choices when you fly, and so we are grateful that you chose the plane with the most experienced candidate.
Thank you all, have a great flight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Sensing an opportunity, Clinton also asked her passengers not to use electronic devices during the flight, especially those that, quote, "could transmit a negative story."
A softer Hillary, a tougher Obama. What kind of America do the candidates stand for? Next Monday, January 21, the Democrats may face their toughest questions yet when they debate before the Congressional Black Caucus. That's Monday night, January 21, 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
LEMON: A terrifying ordeal at one of the world's busiest airports. A British jetliner lands short of a runway at Heathrow, tearing its underbelly and skidding to a stop. We've got the very latest.
PHILLIPS: And if you're a man worried about prostate cancer, an easy new test that determines your risk is in the works. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will tell us all about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We have some new developments now on a story that we have been following for quite a while here, Fred, and it involves that -- that Marine who was killed, allegedly by a former boyfriend.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Right. Very sordid mystery. It gets more complex by the day, it seems.
While the manhunt is still underway for Corporal Cesar Laurean, we understand that CNN has obtained a copy of the affidavit now that has been supplied by the willingness of Christina Laurean, who is the wife of this suspect.
Apparently, according to this affidavit, she actually accompanied her husband to a Jacksonville attorney just last Thursday, and she apparently reported the death of the -- to the Onslow County authorities the death of Maria Lauterbach. So what this does is it simply underscores that she had knowledge that something terribly wrong took place.
And we also learned that, consequently, not long after that, the burned remains -- in fact over the weekend, the burned remains of Lauterbach were found in the backyard of Laurean.
This is the latest information we're getting, according to these court documents, this affidavit -- affidavit that has been presented. And apparently, the wife also turned over a note to the authorities, a note that was written, apparently, by this man here, saying that Lauterbach actually died by way of suicide.
So very sordid details. Still quite the mystery, especially since the fact the prime suspect is still on the loose -- Don.
LEMON: Yes. And still unraveling. And, as you said, can't find him. Thank you very much for that, Fred.
PHILLIPS: Well, less than perfect landing at London's Heathrow Airport this morning. A British Airways flight fell a little short of the runway.
CNN's Richard Quest on the scene for us.
Richard, what happened?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a very good question. What did happen, Kyra? That's what people are going to be trying to find out in the next few days.
But what we can do is go to -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) plane takes off. What we can do is go to one of those passengers on board the aircraft. Jeroen was on board the 838 from Beijing. He joins me now.
Tell us what happened when you came in to land. What was your experience?
JEROEN ENSINK, PASSENGER: Well, my experience was that, until we actually hit the ground, I thought we had a normal landing. It was at the moment the emergency exit door was opened that we were told to get out that I saw the wing and realized that it was not a normal landing.
Out of the plane from the slides and walking away from the plane I realized that the landing gear was missing and the plane was on its belly and we had missed the landing strip.
QUEST: So as you came in to land, there was no emergency landing procedures, there was nothing to indicate to the passengers that this was anything other than a normal landing?
ENSINK: Yes. The air hostesses sitting in front of me very calmly composed. There was no sign that this was not a normal landing.
QUEST: And was there any indication? I mean, were the engines making noises? Did it seem as if the engines were working? There are all sorts of rumors, as you well know, of these situations going around at the moment.
ENSINK: To me, when we landed, even when I got out of the plane, everything felt normal, felt like a normal landing. A very, very bumpy one, one of the worst I've had, but it felt like a normal landing.
QUEST: And what was the mood on board the aircraft when it landed? Or when you realized and the emergency exits and all the emergency oxygen masks came down?
ENSINK: The BA side (ph) was very quick opening the emergency exit. I -- to me it felt very calm and very collected.
QUEST: And then afterwards the injuries were mainly from people coming off the aircraft down the slides or on board due to the bumpiness?
ENSINK: I don't know. I had only seen three people being transported out. I didn't see bumps or bruises. Two or three people in the place (ph) -- the place where we all gathered.
QUEST: OK. And finally, as you look back now, and you've seen the pictures of what it was like, what are your thoughts?
ENSINK: Just to realize it could have been a lot worse, and that I've had a very, very close one.
QUEST: Thank you very much, sir. I'll let you go. Thank you very much.
Jeroen joining us here at Heathrow Airport, Kyra, in what has obviously been a terrifying ordeal for him. But interestingly, what he says is, no warnings. It seemed like it was a normal landing until the accident happened.
PHILLIPS: That's good news. All right. Richard Quest, live from London. Thank you.
LEMON: Predicting cancer. Well, we'll tell you about a new test that can help determine a man's risk of getting one of the most common forms of the disease.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: One twenty-one here in the east. Three of the stories we're working on right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
The White House agrees the economy needs a jump start. President Bush and congressional leaders are talking by telephone.
A big fire at a Florida tire recycling plant. Firefighters in Cocoa are battling flames there.
And the politics of polar bears. Administration officials assured Congress today that the new gas and oil exploration in Alaska won't threaten the polar bears. But some Democratic congressmen disputed that position.
PHILLIPS: Two off-duty police officers in suburban Atlanta gunned down in cold blood. We've got an update now on the search for their killers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Don't give over-the-counter cough and cold medicines to toddlers under the age of 2. That's the word today from the Food and Drug Administration, which found the medicine doesn't work in small children and may have life-threatening side effects.
Last October, the FDA's advisers said such remedies shouldn't be taken by anyone under age 6, but today's official ruling focused on those under age 2. The CDC says that over a recent two-year period, 1,500 babies and toddlers wound up in emergency rooms after taking those drugs.
LEMON: A very important story coming here about men's health, so pay attention.
For men who hesitate at the prospect of prostate cancer screening, a new and easy test may be on the horizon. And our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he joins us now.
Sanjay, how will this new test work, compared to the PSA, which has been the standard test before for prostate cancer?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's very different but very interesting at the same time. This is a genetic test, Don. So basically, what they say is that there are markers for prostate cancer, five different markers.
If these markers come back positive and you have a family history of prostate cancer, that means your chance of developing it yourself is nine times higher than if you didn't have these markers.
So this is basically a test to try and determine if you are likely to develop prostate cancer at some point in your life.
PSA test, interestingly enough, sort of tells you if you have a problem with your prostate now.
LEMON: Right.
GUPTA: It could be benign, it could be malignant, or it could be something completely insignificant.
LEMON: Right.
GUPTA: But it's not so much a screening test as it is -- as this test would be, which is a genetic test.
LEMON: This is the future. So when are we likely to see this, if at all, in doctors' offices?
GUPTA: Well, you know, it's funny. Usually, when I get asked that question, I say, you know, it's years down the road or something like that. But with this one, they actually say it could be a couple of months down the road.
The test already exists out there. There's a Web site where you can get more information about it. And basically take a look at Web site there. You can actually sign up for your e-mail, and when the test actually becomes mainstream, they'll send you an e-mail saying it's available.
Don, the way that it works, it's actually a saliva test. So you actually just produce some saliva, and based on that alone, they can tell you if you have these markers for prostate cancer. And it's not just when you turn 50 that you should get this done. Anybody at any age can find out now if they're at risk for prostate cancer. Even a child...
LEMON: Wow.
GUPTA: ... can know that information early on. That's sort of the exciting thing about genetics versus, you know, a PSA test that gives you that piece of information at that time.
LEMON: Fifty used to be sort of the mark where you go, OK, you should be getting a prostate exam or a test of some type. But here's what I want to know. If the test comes back positive, God forbid, then what do you do?
GUPTA: That's a great question. Because a lot of times you develop tests, and there's no sort of recourse for the patient if the test comes back positive.
Here, it really has to do with this idea that you're going to get screened more often; you're really going to start paying attention to this. You're going to get those PSA tests and probably be more diligent about yearly checkups.
As you said in your lead, Don, no one is excited about these things. But if you know you're at increased risk for this, you're going to be more diligent about it.
But Don, take a look at those four things. The basics still apply here. Despite all that we know about medical technology and medical advancement, those four things there can do a lot to erase, potentially, a lot of these problems that we spend so much time talking about.
LEMON: Don't smoke, watch your diet, lose weight and exercise. You're right, that's the basics. That's the -- what we should be doing.
GUPTA: Yes.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much. Important stuff here. Thank you very much, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
And a reminder about Dr. Sanjay Gupta. You can watch more on Sanjay and his show. It's called "HOUSE CALL." It's this weekend. "HOUSE CALL" airs Saturday and Sunday mornings, 8:30 Eastern only here on CNN. Thanks again.
Are you one of millions who have gone online to see Glenn Beck's rant against medical maltreatment? Well, our Elizabeth Cohen has the do's and the don'ts for emergency room patients. That's just ahead in our "Empowered Patient" segment in about 20 minutes, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: New details on the search for a wanted Marine. Where is Corporal Laurean and why -- what did his wife know and when did she share it with authorities? We'll have the latest from an FBI special agent, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips.
Investigators on the trail of a killer. Now an important piece of the puzzle, a murder weapon. The FBI joins us for more; what's shaping up to be an international man hunt. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
As we just reported a short time ago, CNN has learned the wife of the missing man suspected of killing a fellow Marine knew of the death of Maria Lauterbach. Just a day before she told police. A police affidavit says that Christina Laurean learned of the death last Thursday, shortly before her husband Corporal Cesar Laurean disappeared.
Also today, the FBI is in touch with its Mexican counterpoint amid indications the Corporal Laurean may have fled to his native land. Joining us from Washington, FBI Special Agent and Spokesperson Richard Kolko. Richard, thanks for being with us to update us.
We wanted to stay on this case from the very beginning obviously, trying to figure out how this could have happened and how Laurean could have gotten away, and now could be hiding out in Mexico. Let's start with the latest information about what we've learned about his wife knowing about this a day before she went to authorities.
Could she be held accountable?
RICHARD KOLKO, FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Thanks, Kyra, for having me. I have got to start off by trying to separate the two different things that are going on here. You've got the murder investigation that's happening in North Carolina, and you have the fugitive investigation that the FBI is handling.
I'd prefer to leave the events around the murder to the sheriff's department who is actually handling that investigation. They would have the specifics on that. But obviously, any information they can gather from her or from interviews may assist the FBI as we conduct the fugitive investigation.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's move into the fugitive investigation then. The fact had he all these aliases. Were you aware of Corporal Laurean and any type of past record or history of violence, or any types of crimes before this happened?
KOLKO: To the best of my knowledge, I'm not familiar with any specific indices in his past as far as any criminal activity. This is a basic fugitive hunt. There's two kinds of things we do here, one is get information out to law enforcement so police are out there doing their job, and the other is to try to get information out to the public, people like CNN. The media has been very, very helpful. Every time we see this picture we are engaging another set of eyes to try and find Corporal Laurean wherever he may be. We certainly had information he may have moved into Mexico, but as a fugitive that word itself means he wants to be on the move. So, we don't want people in the states to give up.
So, if they are in a bus station in Texas or Illinois or California, and you see this guy sitting next to you, we want them to call 1-800-call-FBI and give us a tip.
PHILLIPS: Well, what leads you to believe that he in fact did flee to Mexico?
KOLKO: Well, I know that the media now has seen part of the complaint where he talked about going to Mexico if he was in trouble. He is a Mexican national, speaks Spanish. So, it's certainly -- is a potential that he is down there, and has crossed the border. Somewhere he may feel more comfortable.
PHILLIPS: Does he have family there? Has he been in touch with family members or friends in Mexico?
KOLKO: Well, asking about being in touch with the family, these would all be the kind of things that the investigators would do while they're trying to track him down. I wouldn't want to give any of that -- part of the investigation away right now.
What we have done though is, we have FBI special agents and other employees stationed in the embassy in Mexico City. They liaison with the authorities in Mexico, and we've got a great working relationship with the Mexican authorities.
Historically, they've helped us track down murderers, and rapists, and child pornographers, and money launderers, and these folks will get turned over. So, the important thing right now is keep pushing out in the media and out to the law enforcement to keep looking for this guy.
Pick up the phone, call FBI. We want to get the information out. We want the tip that we need to get in. We want to get the cuffs on this guy.
PHILLIPS: Well, Richard, if you do locate him in Mexico, there is going to be a number of challenges in order to bring him back. Correct? what's the process, what are the politics?
KOLKO: The process and politics are really not something that the FBI is overly concerned about. We want to find him and put handcuffs on him, get him in custody. The issues of bringing him back to the United States to face justice is usually handled by the Department of State and Department of Justice.
But again, historically we've been able to get fugitives from American justice returned to the U.S.
PHILLIPS: Are you concerned about the fact he is a trained Marine, he knows how to fire an M-16, he's learned all types of survival techniques by being a Marine. How will this make your hunt for him tougher, or do you think it won't?
KOLKO: When you talk about survival techniques, especially with the Marines, you're talking about surviving off the land, out in the open, out in the woods. Like Eric Robert Rudolph who lived for five years in the North Carolina mountains. If that's the kind of fugitive Laurean decides to be, it could be difficult to find him.
But, you're going to find that being a fugitive is not really as easy as most people think. It is not like the books or movies. So, if he's in a town or city, he has to get food, he has got to get clothes, he's got to get money.
These are all the kinds of things that could make him come across either law enforcement or somebody who's seen that poster on CNN or on our Web site, FBI.gov, will recognize him, will call the FBI, get the reward and get him arrested.
PHILLIPS: Are you concerned he could kill again?
KOLKO: Well, we don't have proof of what he's done at this point. But certainly, we consider him armed and dangerous. He is a fugitive. He is obviously avoiding the law. So, we can never really predict how he will act when he is finally cornered and caught by law enforcement.
PHILLIPS: Richard Kolko, Special Agent with the FBI. Appreciate your time.
KOLKO: Thank you.
LEMON: Police in suburban Atlanta have arrested a second suspect in the shooting deaths of two off-duty police officers and are still looking for others. The first suspect was arrested last night. Both men are charged with two counts of murder. The officers were gunned down early yesterday while working security jobs at an apartment complex.
Police say Ricky Bryant, Jr. and Eric Barker were investigating a suspicious person when they were ambushed. Barker had worked for the Dekalb County Police Force for four years, Bryant for two. Both men were married with children.
A Texas woman accused of leaving her six children to fend for themselves while she went to Nigeria to get married won't be getting them back, at least for now. The children ages one to 16 are in state custody.
The younger ones were left in the care of the 15-year-old sister at the family's home, while the 16-year-old went to stay with a friend. Authorities say the mother, Shanell Monique Mosley apparently went to Nigeria to marry a man she met on the Internet. She is expected to return to the U.S. in the next few days. Mosley is charged with child endangerment and also abandonment.
O.J. Simpson has just arrived back home in Miami, Florida this hour after a blistering lecture from a judge in Nevada. She doubled his bail to a $0.25 million for violating terms of his earlier release. Simpson has pleaded not guilty to charges he planned the armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers.
The former football star got out of jail late last night after five of his friends reportedly put down 15 percent of his bail in cash. His trial is set to begin April 7th.
Something new from our friends at CNN.com and truTV. They teamed up to bring you best crime coverage on the web. Go behind the police tape and into the courtroom like never before at CNN.com/crime.
PHILLIPS: The foreclosure crisis isn't bad news for everyone. We're going to take you on a very unusual bus tour.
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LEMON: Once again it is the economy, stupid. And with more and more of us feeling the pain, Washington is trying to show us it cares. Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, makes promises on Capitol Hill. Congressional leaders are on the phone with President Bush, and the debate has shifted from whether action is need to what action is need.
All in an effort to stem the steady stream of housing foreclosures and layoff announcements forcing us on the brink of recession. The credit crisis is literally hitting people where they live. In Stockton, California, foreclosures are so rampant, realtors are giving bus tours.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez went along for the ride.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, welcome to the repo home tour.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. We're going to start the tour.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Armed with listing sheets and info on comparable properties, these buyers filled two boldly titled buses, eager to find a deal among the hundreds of foreclosed properties in Stockton, California.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm (INAUDIBLE), I'm an investor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm interested in looking at some properties as an investment property.
GUTIERREZ: Sweet music to the ears of realtor Cesar Dias, who came up with the foreclosure tour idea when business all but dried up this summer.
(on-camera): Stockton, California ranks among the top five foreclosure markets in the country. Back in August, sales were flat. But the company owner says that when the foreclosure tour started about three months ago, sales went up more than 300 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This house is listed at the unbelievably low price of $224,900.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Asking price, $215,000.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) ...the price is $285,000.
GUTIERREZ: We went along on the tour to see if buyers are really ready to jump back into a market battered by the mortgage mess.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, this is the one. Lets put a bid on it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Features four bedrooms, two and a half baths.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you think?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like it. It's nice.
GUTIERREZ: The weekly tours are fast. In and out in under ten minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a $105 per square feet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes? That's cheap.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A builder cannot build for that.
GUTIERREZ: Is it really a deal? A comparable house in this neighborhood goes for about $329,000. The discount here -- $44,000. And some predict the free fall isn't over yet.
(on-camera): Do you really think you are getting a deal?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beyond a deal. They say that the nightmare is not over.
ANDREW YSIANO, INVESTOR: You couldn't pick up stuff like this -- you know, three years ago.
GUTIERREZ: You're going on a foreclosure tour, does that feel a little bit strange?
JON HERNANDEZ, FIRST-TIME HOME BUYER: Not to me. It doesn't feel strange. I feel that it actually represents a market that's out there for home buyers that haven't had a chance to buy homes yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we go. We're rounding the corner.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my gosh!
GUTIERREZ: Like the Noel family, who say they found their first home, their dream home, on the repo home tour. Foreclosed property, the Noel's say they would not have been able to afford it just last year.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Stockton, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: America's mortgage meltdown going south. We'll take you to Atlanta where some real estate speculators play financial salmon, swimming upstream against a rising tide of home foreclosures.
PHILLIPS: And, waiting to be waited on in the emergency room. What can you do to get treated in a timely fashion? Become an empowered patient, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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PHILLIPS: You're in pain, your doctor is unavailable, so you head for the nearest E.R. And you wait, and you wait some more. Most of us just endure it. Glenn Beck, host of the "GLENN BECK SHOW" on CNN "HEADLINE NEWS" speaks out about the frustrations over his recent hospitalization on YouTube, you can check it out, and on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."
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GLENN BECK, CNN ANCHOR: The doctors were fantastic. The worst part of it -- and the reason why I think this is a story, because honestly, it is butt surgery. I don't know why a million people watched this video on YouTube -- except it's that we've all had these kinds of experiences. Where you go into the hospital, you go in for the emergency room, and it is like you are invisible. They don't even -- it took me almost two hours before anyone actually looked me in the eye. When I was going in after my outpatient surgery, went in to the E.R., nobody even looked at me like a human being.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, on the case for us.
You talked to E.R. doctors about Glenn's situation, were they surprised? And by the way, I got hand it to Glenn Beck for saying butt surgery ...
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Butt surgery on the air...
PHILLIPS: ...I mean come on. You know, he's not even trying to hide what went down. He's just laying it out for us. That's right.
COHEN: Right, you know, Kyra, when I called emergency room doctors and said, gosh, did you hear what happened to Glenn Beck? Have you seen it on YouTube? And they all had. And I expected them to say, it's a red herring, that hardly ever happens. Poor Mr. Beck. But no, we usually give excellent care. That wasn't what they said.
They said, yes, we always try to give the best care, we always try not to have patients wait but, yes, I can see how this has happened. This has happened, probably, in my emergency room. That's what several E.R. doctors said to me. As a matter of fact, one of them said, you know what, we often have 40 people waiting in my emergency room. And he said five years ago, we almost never had 20. So they've gone from having 20 at the most to often having 40 people waiting in the space of five years. That's a big deal.
PHILLIPS: You have so many people that are going in for medical care that don't have insurance. They're coming because the baby's sick or they have a cold. And then you've got emergency type situations, and there you had this whole situation with over-crowding, and lack of care.
All right, so what can you do to get better care?
COHEN: These E.R. doctors and nurses actually had very specific things that people can do to try to avoid this situation that Glenn Beck was in. Let's go over them.
The three things that you can do to try to get good care in the emergency room. There are three don'ts. Don't forget to call your own doctor on the way to the E.R. If your doctor can call the E.R. and say, hey, Mrs. Smith is on her way, this is her problem, she's my patient, there is an excellent chance you're going to get service when you get there.
Here's another don't, don't use an ambulance to go to the E.R., unless you really, really need it. Sometimes people have this mythical idea in their head that if you go in this an ambulance you're going to get better care. Not true. If they see you didn't need it, they might actually get kind of mad at you.
Thirdly, don't forget the phone. This is the last-ditch thing to do. If you really aren't getting the attention that you really think you need, look around in that waiting room. You're probably see a house phone. Pick it up and ask for the hospital administrator on call. Hospitals always have an administrator on call. And say I'm sitting in your E.R., I've been here for hours, no one has taken care of me, I'm in terrible pain. And, chances are, they're going to move to help you. Administrators don't want to hear that.
PHILLIPS: Well, you know what's interesting, too? Here's Glenn Beck, he has the power to go on international radio, television and completely blast the situation. So it goes to show no matter who you are, whether you -- whatever your economic status is, you can get still get hosed.
COHEN: Right. Because it's interesting you say that. There was a study came out of Harvard this week that showed waits are longer than ever in emergency rooms. It showed that one out of four people who is having a heart attack and is in E.R., they're going to wait for about 50 minutes. That's a 50-minute wait when you have a heart attack. And they said it didn't matter what color you were, it didn't matter how much money you made. It didn't matter -- none of that mattered. None of that mattered.
PHILLIPS: Yes, it's going to be an ongoing -- it's going to be very interesting to see, too, what the next president of the United States does about health care ...
COHEN: Right.
PHILLIPS: ...that's for sure.
COHEN: Oh, for sure.
PHILLIPS: All right, Elizabeth, thank you.
COHEN: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: And for more on the dos and don'ts of visiting the E.R., go to the Empowered Patient section of CNN.com/health. You can also share your E.R. horror stories.
LEMON: Attention parents of little ones. Well, we'll tell you about an FDA warning about certain cold and cough medicines for those under age two.
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LEMON: New explosive allegations about world famous actor Tom Cruise, his wife Katie Holmes and the Church of Scientology, all part of an unauthorized biography by controversial author Andrew Morton. Morton makes personal claims about Cruise's high-profile role in the church and about his marriage. While Morton stands by his claims, both Tom Cruise and Church of Scientology deny the allegations.
I spoke with Morton about how he got his information and why he went after Tom Cruise.
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LEMON: Just reading the book, you would -- one would get from this, and I would get from this, is that it seems that you think that Tom Cruise is using his platform and his level of celebrity to promote scientology and you don't think that that is right or correct to do.
ANDREW MORTON, AUTHOR, "TOM CRUISE": What I say is that Tom Cruise is a modern breed of what I would call celebrity advocates who uses his celebrity to gain access to the corridors of power, to meet presidents, to meet prime ministers, to extol and expand on his proselytizing mission to put his faith not just in America but around the world. And it is well worth examining what his beliefs are and why he's doing it.
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LEMON: In the book, Morton claims Cruise is the de facto No. 2 leader within scientology, a claim the church denies. He also tells me about new support he claims he's getting from former members of the church about his book. More on my interview with Andrew Morton in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.
The Church of Scientology was founded more than 50 years ago. Here's a look at its founder, L. Ron Hubbard.
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LEMON (voice-over): Lafayette Ron Hubbard took an unlikely path toward becoming the messiah of scientology. His career as a freelance writer spans genres, from Westerns to horror to science fiction. He was an explorer, stunt pilot, sailor and a photographer. He served in Naval Intelligence during World War II. And he ended his military career as a patient in a California naval hospital, suffering from several war-related ailments.
His hospital stay apparently fed his ruminations about the mental problems of man. After the war, he began his quest for a science of the mind, a new system for mental health. Outlined in his controversial book "Dianetics," the system promised to cure all mental and physical disorders and later, led to the establishment of the Church of Scientology.
The church has long been embroiled in controversy. Doctors and psychiatrists accuse scientologists of practicing medicine and mental therapy without a license.
The church has had a myriad of legal problems, faced allegations of misusing funds and fraud, filed lawsuits against journalists and publishers critical of scientology and brought challenges against the FBI and the IRS over allegations of illegal searches. Many of the lawsuits were settled out of court. Today, the scientology movement operates in more than 150 countries.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Candidates love to campaign with celebrities, but does a famous face on stage mean extra votes at the ballot box? We're going to dig in to the impact of celebrity politics.
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PHILLIPS: Here are some of the most-watched stories on CNN.com this hour.
The i-Report seen around the world, everyone still abuzz at the sighting in Texas of a purported UFO.
Also hot, the crash landing at London's Heathrow Airport. Some scary moments, but no deaths, eight people injured.
And another hostage apparently alive in Colombia. The clue: a heart-wrenching letter. We're going to have more on that from our Karl Penhaul in the next hour.
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