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Gang Warfare Escalating in Los Angeles?; Sports, Women & War; Who Will be John McCain's Running Mate?
Aired March 07, 2008 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Megawatts out of manure. How, you ask? Of course, you ask. Before you turn up your nose, consider this. A California dairy farmer is using cow dung to produce methane gas, which is used as a biofuel at a local utility. And he hopes the project will generate enough natural gas -- ha-ha -- to power about 1,200 homes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now, losing a job is painful. I know Americans are concerned about our economy. So am I.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Concern becomes alarm as the nation's payrolls shrink. But the president urges, give stimulus a chance.
KEILAR: The White House won't say recession, the R-word, but it is now bracing for the prospect of negative GDP.
Hi there. I'm Brianna Keilar, in today for Kyra Phillips, at CNN Center in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
It has been three days since 18-year-old Lauren Burk was shot to death near the Auburn University campus. With her killer's trail getting cold fast, Burk's family is getting involved.
And CNN's Rusty Dornin is following this tragedy for us and she joins us now to talk about the investigation.
And, Rusty, we just saw the press conference a short time ago. Not sure if it is still going on, but you were listening in as well.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. And they are very tight-lipped, Don. They are not releasing hardly any details about what they know into Lauren Burk's death, although they are saying that there is the gas can that was found in the downtown area.
Now, remember, her car was found burning on the campus, in Auburn, about 20 minutes after they received the call that she had been injured. Also they do say that she was not sexually assaulted. Police are revealing a picture of the car, a Honda Civic, that they claim looks very similar to Lauren Burk's car. They want people to be on the lookout for that car.
Investigators say they have interviewed several people. They're continuing to interview several people. They have strong, very promising leads, but no arrest is imminent so far. And they are also saying -- assuring parents and students of course on the campus at Auburn University that they have allocated a lot of manpower and that folks there are safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody's worried about it. You know, I have even had a friend ask me to drop them off at the baseball game and, you know, so they don't have to walk there at night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DORNIN: The police as well saying that they -- that students are safe on campus. They say they don't know when they're going to have another press conference with any news about an imminent arrest.
Meantime, the family of Lauren Burk has started a fund for her, a memorial fund, that will go towards the apprehension of the person suspected in killing her. Also, the governor of Alabama also had announced a $10,000 reward for any leads leading to an arrest in this case.
LEMON: And, again, the pictures, they have got photographs of the car. Now, what's the deal with that?
DORNIN: Well, they're saying -- they didn't actually say it was her car. They said it was a car similar to her car. So, they want to know if anyone saw that car in the downtown area on Tuesday night.
LEMON: Right.
DORNIN: And they are urging people to call the Auburn Police Department if they have seen that car.
LEMON: A 2001 Honda Civic. It appears to be dark in color, and so they are asking, I guess trying to get some clues for that. Also they said they located a gas can in downtown Auburn, because we were listening in on this as well, and they going to look for DNA testing on that gas can.
DORNIN: Right. And they are saying they are not even sure, but they are pretty sure that a petroleum accelerant was used. And so it's very suspicious that they would find a gas can in that area. So, they're going to be investigating that.
LEMON: It's so sad, 18 years old, life ahead of her. Anyone is killed, but obviously an 18-year-old, it's just horrible.
Rusty Dornin, we appreciate you following this story for us. Thank you very much. Want to turn now to some breaking news, Rusty and Brianna. Coming just across the wires here, we are being told that one school is on lockdown. This is because of a bank robbery. It's happening in Baltimore County. Baltimore Police, county police, are investigating a Friday-afternoon bank robbery.
The incident occurred at the Central Credit Union on LaSalle Road. It was just a few minutes after 1:00 we're told. We're told that one school, Calvert Hall College High School, indicated the school was on lockdown. We're being told that two schools are on alert because of this bank robbery and, again, one reportedly on lockdown.
This is coming from our affiliate WBAL, WBAL reporting this, and we hope to have some pictures and more information in just a minute. But you see where that's happening, Baltimore, Maryland, obviously, big city there, and Baltimore county, the surrounding area. Again, we want to find out exactly why two schools are alert, one reportedly on lockdown. And we want to see if there's a gunman on the loose. And any more details we can get, we are going to try to bring it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: Meanwhile, turning a corner from that story we just heard from Rusty Dornin, police two states away have another college student killing to solve. The victim in this one, Eve Carson, 22 years old. And she was the student body president there at the university of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
She was shot and killed before dawn Wednesday in a neighborhood near campus. A short time ago, police released their discovery that Carson was shot in the head with a handgun and at this point they still don't have any suspects.
An estimated 5,000 fellow students gathered last night on campus to share their shock and their disbelief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUDDY SIMS, TEACHER: There's not that many good human beings around anymore. And she was really one of them, and just a person who was going to do good things for other people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Carson's SUV was found yesterday about a mile from where she was killed.
For the best crime coverage on the Web, check out CNN.com/crime. This is the new effort from our friends at truTV and CNN.com. You can go behind the police tape. You can go into the courtroom like never before. That's at CNN.com/crime.
LEMON: New economic worries today. The latest report from the U.S. Labor Department shows 63,000 jobs were cut last month. That's the steepest drop in payrolls in five years and the second straight monthly decline. A number of economists say it's more evidence the nation is in or near recession.
KEILAR: Hoping to ease the credit crunch, the Federal Reserve making another $100 billion available to banks to lend out. Word came just after this morning's sobering jobs report from the Labor Department.
LEMON: Well, last hour, President Bush told the nation what most of us already know. The economy is in a slowdown. But Mr. Bush says spending those tax rebate checks can help, at least in the short term. And the long-term outlook is improving.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I know this is a difficult time for our economy, but we recognized the problem early, and provided the economy with a booster shot. We will begin to see the impact over the coming months. And in the long run, we can have confidence that so long as we pursue pro- growth, low-tax policies that put faith in the American people, our economy will prosper.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The president's chief economic adviser says the rebate checks should jump-start the economy. He also says it's possible the economy may not merely be stalled, but actually contracting.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
LEMON: The presidents of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela are meeting face to face today and they have a lot to talk about and some of the language they are using, it is not very polite.
Now, here's the issue. A few days ago, Colombian soldiers, allegedly without permission, crossed their border with Ecuador to raid a rebel camp. An angry Ecuadorian president sent tanks and troops to the border in response.
Over the next few days, Venezuela and Nicaragua broke off recommendations with Colombia.
It's a standoff diplomatically and militarily, and CNN's Karl Penhaul is on the border between Colombia and Venezuela and CNN's Rick Sanchez is in the Dominican Republic, where the country's leaders are talking and sometimes shouting.
Rick, we will start with you, please.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they tried to talk, but I have got to tell you, I have been witnessing this thing throughout the day, and what I saw was a contentious ruckus, conversation between world leaders.
In fact, before we do anything else, I want you at home to watch this exchange. This is between President Correa of Ecuador, the country that as we have mentioned had the troops from Colombia go into it -- he's protesting that -- and the president of -- President Uribe of Colombia, who is the country that's being accused by so many of these countries of having this incursion into another country without informing that country. Now, here's where they go at it
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL CORREA, ECUADOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Your insult is causing more harm than your killer bombs. Leave the fallacies. Stop trying to justify what cannot be justified, and recognize that you had no right to hurt Ecuador, that you have been lying. Make a commitment to never again assault a country, and you don't even believe these things you're saying about the FARC.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: It's amazing. At one point, Uribe called Correa a communist. Then Correa shouted back that he was a liar. These are presidents of countries with this unbelievable disagreement right now. And it's not just Correa.
When you think about it, it's most of the left-leaning new administrations in countries like Ecuador and in Brazil and in Nicaragua and in Argentina, joining forces, it seems, with Chavez, who also now has amassed his troops at the border of Colombia, as has Ecuador. So you have five or six countries known to be somewhat left- leaning, all anti-United States in some measure or another, attacking Colombia.
As Chavez said later on in the conference -- and this is maybe what makes it so interesting is, he said that the reason it's happening is because Colombia essentially is doing the work of the United States, same old story. Imperialist is the word he went on to use many times.
So, at least as far as we can tell, as I send it back to you in Atlanta, this thing did not in any way come to anything other than a boil today. And it seems that as though they were searching peace, they haven't been able to find it.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Rick Sanchez in the Dominican Republic, thank you, sir.
Our Karl Penhaul is on the border between Colombia and Venezuela. He joins us now with new information on that -- Karl.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there have been some important developments, in fact, today inside of Colombia, Don. That raid that Rick was talking about that sparked off this diplomatic spat was inside Ecuador just about a week ago and that resulted in the death of one of the members of the FARC rebel group seven-man leadership council. That was the seven men who lead this group of some 20,000 rebels.
Now, what the army has said just now, in fact, in a matter of the last few minutes, is that they have succeeded in killing a second member of this (AUDIO GAP) man leadership council. To put that into perspective, the importance of that, the army in 44 years of civil conflict, until last week, had failed to kill one single member of that leadership council.
And now, in the space of less than a week, it is saying it has killed two of those members, leaving just five to run this 20,000-man guerrilla force. The second development we're also hearing from and President Uribe referred to that in comments in Santo Domingo, that he said that there has been an incursion by Venezuelan soldiers or, rather, the National Guard troops, into Colombian territory.
He gave no more details. But we are seeing unconfirmed reports from other media outlets that it was a national guard unit that crossed the border several hours north of where I am now and a shot was fired at that stage. But we do hear that that situation is now resolved, Don.
LEMON: All right, Karl Penhaul, thank you very much, and our thanks to Rick Sanchez as well.
KEILAR: Teaching Iraqi women the rules of the game. Our Kyra Phillips live from Baghdad on young women escaping the war through sports.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: After weeks of shooting in Los Angeles, many worry gang warfare is on the rise. Many of the victims were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
And CNN's Kara Finnstrom joins us with one family's story -- Kara.
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we have what was a very, very difficult interview for Army Sergeant Anita Shaw. This was the first interview that she's done since returning home to bury her 17- year-old son, Jamiel Shaw.
Jamiel Shaw was a star running back for -- for the local Los Angeles High School who we're told was already being recruited by big- name universities. His parents say that he had always steered clear of trouble and of gangs.
Well, about an hour ago, we sat down with Sergeant Shaw and she told us that it was a commanding officer and a telegram that informed her son had been shot to death just yards away from their home. She says she was in utter disbelief and that she then picked up her phone and called Jamiel's father, asking if this could possibly be true.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGEANT ANITA SHAW, U.S. ARMY: He told me they shot him. He was three doors down. No, no, no. I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe it. I'm thought, if I didn't talk about it, it wouldn't be true.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SHAW: Now, Sergeant Shaw says she wanted to speak with us because she wants people to know who her son was.
Don, as you mentioned, there has been a recent spate of violence here in the Los Angeles area, police saying that they believe that this crime, this shooting, of Jamiel Shaw, was gang-related, but that they don't believe he had any links to these gangs.
And what is disturbing about so many of these recent shootings and what has police so alarmed is that a lot of these victims very innocent, and they say they are taking a closer look at all of this.
We will have more on Jamiel Shaw's story tonight on "A.C. 360" and throughout the day in NEWSROOM -- Don.
LEMON: Oh, my goodness. OK, Kara. Very sad story. It's tough just to even hear her in that interview. Thanks again, Kara.
And, again, as Kara mentioned, check out "ANDERSON COOPER 360" tonight. Anderson is going to have a lot more about that rise in killings in Los Angeles and the links, the links, to gangs.
KEILAR: Now, amid all of the violence in Iraq, there are some signs of change, most notably for women. Our Kyra Phillips is on special assignment in the war zone.
And, Kyra, you really know only too well the risks that regular Iraqis take every day there.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it's pretty inspiring. This time, we went to Baghdad University's College for Women's Sports.
And I was sitting in the gymnasium and one of the teachers, coaches, she was looking at these women playing basketball on the court, and she said, I wonder what it would have been like if I would have grown up in the United States and had this same love for sports. Would my life be any different right now?
All these girls want is opportunity.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: What do you love so much about tennis?
SINAN HISHAM, BAGHDAD UNIVERSITY TENNIS COACH: Self confidence, speed, strength, flexibility, endurance and I love it because the whole people watching me and I love it.
PHILLIPS: And Sinan Hisham can be forgiven if she hams it up a little. Once a star on the tennis team, she taught me a few things on the court. Oh, you know, I can't get logged. And about life in a war zone.
HISHAM: The war, at first we are happy and we are free, free, free. But then the, you know, things get bad and bad. Nothing happens. PHILLIPS: So now, Sinan has come back to where she started, but this time to coach.
HISHAM: I want them to put a goal and to fight for it.
PHILLIPS: This is the sports college for women at Baghdad University. These women are breaking out of traditional roles, aspiring to jobs and professions that could take them anywhere now. And to do this, they and their teachers risk their lives every day just to get here.
"If I don't put myself in danger," anatomy Professor Maitham Mahdi tells me, "and these girls don't put themselves in danger and other Iraqis don't do so, our whole nation will stand still and never improve."
And don't let the makeup and jobs fool you. These women got game.
(on-camera): A lot of Americans think that women are wearing their scarves and they don't play sports and they do what the men tell them to do.
(voice-over): "You're embarrassing us," Norse Samir (ph) says. "This is wrong," and the wrong perception of women in Iraq.
Each one of these girls has a dream, coaching, teaching, maybe even going pro. "Being here elevates our ambitions," Nubras Sebras (ph) tells me. "It makes things better. Our society is a closed one now but we still have hopes and aspirations. Sports is our outlet."
For these athletes, stepping into the gym doesn't just lead to a college degree. It's an escape from war.
"We're used to these conditions. We leave it up to God. We walk with the explosions behind us as if they don't even exist. We just want to get here, live our lives like nothing is going on outside."
Any thoughts of winning a war are sidelined here as these young women concentrate solely on winning the game.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: But there's still another battle, Brianna, sexism. As this country moves towards a democracy, that means more groups have more voices in the system. And now these women, they tell me, they're battling conservative Muslims, and they're not too happy about women playing sports.
KEILAR: And you have been bringing us just some really amazing stories during your visit to Iraq. So, I'm wondering what we're going to be seeing from you next week, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, we're taking a turn and doing an investigation this time around. I was really interested in the issue of smuggling, Brianna. You know, this country brings in $5 billion a month in oil revenue. And you tend to wonder, where is that money going? Well, a big problem is oil smuggling.
So, I sat down with the minister of oil and tried to get some answers, some questions answered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: I spent time with a smuggler. I talked to him about how he smuggles the oil, how he hides it in his ship. He showed me the holds. He showed me where he takes it.
How do you stop these smugglers? What are you doing to put a stop to these guys?
HUSSEIN AL-SHAHRASTANI, IRAQI OIL MINISTER: I have always been telling the minister of defense, minister of interior, if she can sink a couple of those boats, this would be the best message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: So next week, Brianna, we're going to bring you that investigation, take you inside the life of a smuggler. And you're going to see exactly how he does it and learn about his number-one client, the country of Iran.
KEILAR: All right, going behind the scenes again with Kyra Phillips. Kyra, there for us in Baghdad, thank you.
And, right after this break, we're going to have a quick check of the markets.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BUSINESS REPORT)
KEILAR: Well, father/daughter time taking on a whole new dimension for Bill McGahan. He and his daughter decided to take on one of the world's highest mountains. That's Mount Kilimanjaro.
And their story is today's "Fit Nation" success.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mount Kilimanjaro, one of the highest peaks in the world -- an outstanding achievement for any climber. For Bill McGahan, it was an unusual way to lose weight, but also a way to spend time with his daughter.
BILL MCGAHAN, FATHER: Fathers who are about my age, in their mid-40s, I think sometimes struggle to find things to do with their seventh grade daughters. They're typically the things that they're not interested in.
GUPTA: After trolling the Internet for some ideas, dad and daughter settled on an ambitious plan.
MCGAHAN: We decided to we'd climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
GUPTA: Working out three times a week, running seven miles a day and building intense lower body strength, together they scaled one of the highest peaks on the planet. Dad lost 30 pounds in the process.
MCGAHAN: We were about 100 yards to the top and we knew we were going to make it. And I put my arm around Sara and I said, you know, you did it, Sara. This even gets me a little misty now. And she said, no, dad, we did it together. It's really one of the -- you know, one of the great moments of my life.
GUPTA: So what did it mean to Sara?
SARA MCGAHAN, DAUGHTER: At first, I was really nervous and kind of freaked out about it. I love my dad. He's really funny. And I was glad that I took the climb with him.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: An adviser to Barack Obama steps down after making remarks about Hillary Clinton. And who's going to be John McCain's running mate? Our political bloggers and roundtable folks, they might have some answers for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. The Democratic presidential contest heads to Wyoming, but the candidates have their eyes on Pennsylvania. And Republican John McCain keeps getting asked the same question over and over. And we know what that question is. I'm not even going to tell you now. I'll ask it to our panelists.
Let's talk about all of this.
Carl Jeffers is in Los Angeles. In New York, Ben Smith. He's a senior reporter at Politico.com. And Republican strategist Cheri Jacobus; she's in Washington. A contributor to the Huffington Post, that's what Carl Jeffers is, and a radio talk show host. I just wanted to make sure that I got that in.
So, I want to ask you guys what in the world is going to happen with Michigan and Florida?
Everybody is saying, you know what, we're going to have to redo it, we're going to have to redo it, it's going to have to count, but where's the money going to come from -- Carl Jeffers?
CARL JEFFERS, CONTRIBUTOR HUFFINGTONPOST.COM: Well, actually, Don, CNN gets a little scoop today because my plan -- the Jeffers plan for Michigan and for Florida just went up on the Huffington Post today. And here it is as succinctly as possible. We know they've got money in the campaigns. They don't have it in the state and they don't have it in the parties.
So let's do a primary recount -- a new primary, because that's what Hillary wants. But let's also do a new caucus in both states, because that's what Obama wants and he does well.
The Hillary campaign the state Democratic Parties and the DNC split the cost of the primary vote. And the Barack Obama campaign pays the cost of the caucuses. Instead of proportional votes --
LEMON: Oh, my gosh, Carl.
JEFFERS: Yes?
LEMON: We're going to have to -- we're going to have to just read your post --
JEFFERS: OK.
LEMON: My gosh you're going on and on about that.
JEFFERS: But we do need to address it...
LEMON: It looks good on...
JEFFERS: ...so that's good.
LEMON: ... It looks good on the Internet here, as I look at the computer.
But, Cheri, will this work?
CHERI JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, look I think what -- the Democrats keep stepping in it and getting themselves deeper and deeper in trouble. The whole superdelegate issue has blown up in their faces.
And I think, first of all, this has to be about democracy, not about, you know, Howard Dean and how he wants to run things. And I think that Dean really made a blunder when he right away, right out of the gate said the national party isn't going to pay for a redo.
LEMON: But it's looking --
JACOBUS: Here you see people coming up with new ideas, like Carl came up with an idea.
LEMON: But, Ben -- I'm going to --
JACOBUS: It's something that should be discussed.
LEMON: Ben, I'm going to get you in here, because I know that you've been talking to some people lately. But I want to ask Cheri really quickly, does it look like it's a done deal that it's going to have to be a redo?
JACOBUS: I think so. They can't just not seat those delegates. They're going to have to redo it. And I think they're hurting themselves the longer they have this fight about who's going to pay for it.
Like I said, Howard Dean showed an astonishing lack of leadership right out of the gate, saying we're not paying for it, rather than listening to different ideas like Carl had, you know?
LEMON: All right, Ben Smith from "The Politico".
BEN SMITH, POLITICO.COM: Yes, at this point --
LEMON: Samantha Power resigning. You were on a conference call. Tell us what you heard.
SMITH: Well, there have been conference calls all day about this. A senior adviser -- a foreign policy adviser to Senator Barack Obama called Hillary Clinton a monster when she was on her book tour in the United Kingdom. She...
LEMON: And I think we have a quote of that. We've got it -- he said "she" -- Clinton -- "is a monster, too. That is off the record. She is stooping to anything."
Continue Ben...
SMITH: And so she was forced, basically, to resign over that. I mean it gets in the way of Obama saying that he's the -- that he's kind of above the fray and Clinton is the one throwing the punches. And then today, just now, the Clinton campaign is attacking her again, because in a different interview in the U.K. she basically said that while Obama's plan to withdraw really quickly from Iraq is a best case scenario, that's kind of all it is.
LEMON: Yes.
SMITH: That it's -- you know, that it could change.
LEMON: You're saying -- I mean, as a matter of fact, during the setup to this interview, we were doing mike checks with you guys. You were on the phone listening to a conference call about that.
SMITH: Yes, that's the next big thing.
LEMON: OK...
SMITH: The Clinton people were so proud of this they said this was so important that it was their second conference call.
LEMON: And I want to tell you what she said. Samantha Power, her resignation apology today, she said: "I made inexcusable remarks that are at marked variance from my oft-stated admiration for Senator Clinton and from the spirit, tenor and purpose of the Obama campaign."
So she did apologize. But, again, they announced today that her resignation, at least.
Let's talk about the Republicans now.
Cheri, why does John McCain get the same -- get asked the same question over and over everywhere he goes?
Don't respond to that. Let's take a listen and then we'll respond.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: How about Governor Perdue for a running mate?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I'd just like to say that Governor Perdue is a great, great leader. As you know, the people of Georgia endorsed his service in the most important way."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: I know one thing about Governor Crist and that is that he is a great governor and he does a great job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. So that was today in Georgia, where he was asked -- Sonny Perdue would be -- have you ever considered Sonny Perdue being, you know, your running mate, the vice president? And he says oh, he does a great job.
Then yesterday in Florida he was asked, do you ever think Charlie Crist could be your running mate. Why -- why does he keep getting -- asking this question? And do any of these guys stand a chance, Cheri?
JACOBUS: You know, every time he goes to a different state, they're going to raise up their highest profile and most loved Republican and ask if, gee, can that be your vice president, because, of course, everybody wants their home state guy or gal to be the one.
He's getting asked this question, of course, because we have our nominee on the Republican side and the Democrats don't, although you see Hillary talking a lot about, you know, hinting, wink-wink, I'll have Barack Obama as my vice president.
So this is just something that people are talking about because, again, John McCain is already basically our nominee. That's not going to change. And they don't --
LEMON: And, Cheri --
JACOBUS: And so I think it's -- it is up to him, though, at this point, for him to start talking about what he wants to talk about. So you're going to see him really going out there and meeting with different foreign leaders and talking more about foreign policy and really showing what he has in stark contrast to the Democrats.
And then he'll have the edge. But, you know, these are questions he's going to get wherever he goes.
LEMON: But as you --
JACOBUS: They're fun questions, really.
LEMON: And you can see, Cheri, and any of you -- you can see the guys standing behind him no matter where he goes -- if it's a governor or if it's a head honcho in a state, you can see the ambition just oozing off of them, wondering, oh my gosh, do I have a chance?
JACOBUS: You know, to be John McCain's...
JEFFERS: Well, you know, Don --
JACOBUS: ...to be John McCain's vice president would be a pretty great job.
LEMON: Yes.
JEFFERS: If I could just...
LEMON: Go ahead, Carl.
JEFFERS: ... If I could just jump in. First of all, John McCain would be a fool if he doesn't at least try to talk Colin Powell into coming on to the ticket as his vice president.
And if Obama is not the candidate, then he really has a serious chance to get Colin Powell, although we know Colin Powell has been advising Obama and that might make it difficult for him to accept it. But he has to at least try.
LEMON: Yes.
JEFFERS: The reality is that if he doesn't get Colin Powell, Charlie Crist really looks like a very prominent candidate, and much more so than most other governors. And that's one of the reasons that John McCain will continue to get these questions, because, frankly, the only other questions that John McCain can get relate to his relationship with the Bush administration and the last eight years of Republican rule...
JACOBUS: Oh, oh, oh, no, no.
JEFFERS: ...and he doesn't want to have to deal with that. So I know we don't want to -- we don't want to go onto that. But, Don, let me just make one last point on this --
LEMON: Well, no, Cheri -- no, I want Cheri go -- Cheri, go ahead. I want her to --
JEFFERS: Cheri...
JACOBUS: You know, I think that the one thing that we all think about with John McCain is his strong foreign policy experience. And, again, we've seen -- there was a Rasmussen poll that came out that, when you look at the Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama ads about picking up the phone at 3:00 a.m. -- when the phone rings, who do you want picking it up? More people far and wide want John McCain to be the guy to pick up that phone.
JEFFERS: Well, but the problem is, Don, though...
JACOBUS: So I think we know where his strengths are --
JEFFERS: The problem is, though, Cheri --
JACOBUS: And he doesn't need to talk about the Bush administration.
JEFFERS: There's going to be -- by the time we get to November -- by the time we get to November, too many Americans won't be at home picking up the phone...
LEMON: Ben, Ben...
JEFFERS: ...at 3:00 a.m. because...
LEMON: ... Ben, you've got to help me out here.
JEFFERS: ...they'll be working on their second job.
SMITH: Well, he's, I mean, you know, McCain is in a tough -- McCain is in a very tough place. He's -- there's this incentive to pick some kind of superstar who's in the middle who would appeal to centrists like Colin Powell, like Joe Lieberman. But a lot of Republicans don't like him.
LEMON: Yes.
SMITH: He's got to pick a Republican.
JEFFERS: Hey, Ben, I've got to ask you something real quick -- or any of you guys, because, Ben, you're always on the phone. You're just -- you were on the phone just before this. But we hear, though, that John McCain got angry, sort of blew a cork with a reporter on his plane earlier today.
SMITH: Yes. Yes.
LEMON: There's been some question about his temper. Have you heard anything with that?
SMITH: Yes, he blew up at Elisabeth Bumiller, who was asking him questions about -- he had said something four years ago and seemed to have since contradicted himself. And Elisabeth Bumiller from the "Times" was pressing him about it and he blew up a little. I mean it's not like -- I don't think it raises questions about his temper. I mean he's a guy who, at time, has a bad temper, so...
JEFFERS: Yes.
SMITH: ...and that's kind of part of the deal. JACOBUS: You know, he's also more open with the press than any other candidate, possibly in history.
SMITH: That's true. That's...
JACOBUS: So the candidates have had hours have hours...
SMITH: That is very true.
JACOBUS: ...and days and days of access to this man...
JEFFERS: OK.
JACOBUS: And they have, you know, five seconds where it gets a little bit terse, you know, I don't think it's fair at all to say that this has anything to do with his temper...
LEMON: Carl, have you got a different opinion about this?
JACOBUS: These people have longstanding relationships. He's very (INAUDIBLE).
JEFFERS: Well, certainly. We have already established that John McCain has a temper. I do not believe his temper will be a negative for him in the campaign. I think John McCain has got far more serious problems than just his personal temper.
Anger management can straighten that out, but nothing can straighten out the economy. That's why at 3:00 a.m. most Americans won't be able to answer the phone, because they'll be looking for jobs.
(LAUGHTER)
JEFFERS: But the last thing on Samantha Powers, though, Don. The problem is not Samantha Powers. The problem for Barack Obama is that things like this keep him off of his message about hope and inspiration...
LEMON: OK.
JEFFERS: ...and makes him just like a usual politician...
LEMON: OK.
JEFFERS: ...and that favors Hillary Clinton.
JACOBUS: Right.
LEMON: Carl, Ben...
JEFFERS: Yes, sir?
LEMON: ...Cheri, we've got to go. But I could go all day long talking about this, because I want to talk about the possible, you know, in Florida, they don't have to play by the rules as far as funding this thing, so they could actually get, you know, a corporation or a company to pay for it and it could be, you know, pick a name -- the Coca-Cola primary.
SMITH: The Tropicana primary.
LEMON: Or the Tropicana primary or whatever it is, you know, so...
JEFFERS: Well, how about Diebold, one of the voting machine companies?
LEMON: Yes. That's very interesting. But we do have to go. Save that until Monday, when we can get back with you. But it's great.
You guys have a great weekend.
JACOBUS: You, too.
LEMON: And it's always a pleasure having you.
JACOBUS: Thank you.
JEFFERS: It's good to be here and visit with everybody.
KEILAR: Why all the fuss for Wyoming?
This year's Democratic battle is close, the 12 delegates -- just 12 -- at stake in tomorrow's Wyoming caucuses, will they actually count for something?
A closer look now at this big state and some things you might not know about it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR (voice-over): Wyoming is big on the U.S. map -- the ninth largest state -- but tiny in population. It ranks last. The last Census reported just over 515,000 people who made it their home on the range.
The biggest city, Cheyenne, the state's capital, is home to nearly 55,000 people. Wyoming is a state of firsts -- the first state in the nation where women could vote, serve on juries and hold public office. The state motto -- equal rights.
Wyoming is also home to the world's first national park -- Yellowstone. And now, for the first time since 1960, Wyoming is playing a big political role.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wyoming's vote will make the majority for Senator Kennedy.
KEILAR: That's when the state's delegates officially made John Kennedy the party's nominee for president at the national convention.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KEILAR: And in case you didn't know, Wyoming, known as the Cowboy State, is Vice President Dick Cheney's home state. He was actually a congressman from there.
LEMON: A Boston teen gets into a fight at school. Police say his dad led a group to school to settle the score.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A U.S. Navy SEAL has been killed in a training accident in Arizona. We know it happened today during parachute training at a facility north of Tucson, but the Navy isn't giving anymore details.
We also know it's the second SEAL death in parachute training at that facility in less than a month. Training is on hold for what the Navy calls a safety stand down -- Brianna.
KEILAR: It's not your usual fight in the high school lunchroom. Police say a Boston man led a group of people into West Roxbury High so they could confront a student who had fought with the man's son the day before.
Police say the adult allegedly surrounded the victim, who was punched repeatedly by the man's son before the whole group fled. The father, Edwin Reyes, is facing a range of charges. They include assault and trespassing. And school officials are promising to boost security there.
LEMON: Politics not for the faint of heart or for those who faint easily. Supporters swoon for their candidates.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It is time now to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
KEILAR: He is standing by in "THE SITUATION ROOM" to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Lots coming up, guys, including major news on the economy. It's not good news for the country and it could have a huge impact on the race for the White House. Our correspondents are out on the campaign trail from Wyoming to Georgia with the candidates.
Plus, the super-delegate and former Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle. He's here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
What would he say to other super-delegates to convince them to support Barack Obama?
And the former president of the United States, Bill Clinton, he's in Philadelphia right now, courting some very influential voters.
Can he make the case?
I'll ask the Pennsylvania governor, Ed Rendell. He's live here in "THE SITUATION ROOM," as well.
All that and a lot more, guys, coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM".
KEILAR: Thanks, Wolf. See you in a few minutes.
LEMON: Political analysts are always talking about candidates resuscitating their campaigns.
But what about their swooning supporters?
CNN's Jeanne Moos takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is there a doctor in the race?
OBAMA: There's somebody who fainted.
H. CLINTON: Did somebody faint?
OBAMA: It looks like we have somebody who may have fainted.
H. CLINTON: Oh, we need a doctor right here.
OBAMA: That's OK. This happens all the time.
MOOS: It happens so often that conspiracy theorists speculated the fainters were fakes planted by the Obama campaign to make it seem like his supporters were swooning. But, hey, Hillary and Bill's fans swoon, too.
It's become so common the candidates are starting to sound like doctors.
OBAMA: They probably just need some water and then some juice, get low blood sugar.
MOOS: Good call, say medical experts.
(on-camera): So how do the candidates compare in terms of bedside manner?
We decided to award stethoscopes on a zero to five scale.
(voice-over): For instance, the first thing the candidates always do is reach for water.
H. CLINTON: Here comes a little bit of water.
OBAMA: You got some water?
H. CLINTON: Sir?
Mr. Secret Service man, would you hand that water? MOOS: We award four stethoscopes.
GUPTA: What you probably really need to do is get them fluids. The reason they fainted, they simply probably don't have enough fluids in their body.
H. CLINTON: Can somebody take one of those posters and just kind of fan?
OK, good.
MOOS: More good advice -- four stethoscopes. And guess which politician tends to physically come to the rescue?
For actually picking up the student, we award Governor Schwarzenegger five stethoscopes.
And just listen to Dr. Arnold's subsequent advice.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: Loosen up your knees. Don't stand with stiff knees, OK, because that's how you faint.
GUPTA: Yes, you know, Governor Schwarzenegger has a good point there. You want to make sure that you're getting some of the blood flow from the legs back into the torso.
MOOS: And watch this 12-year-old's eyes roll back as he keels over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...for all of our students.
MOOS: Again, Arnold to the rescue.
THEO SCOTT-FEMENELLA, FAINTING VICTIM: I'm sure that deep down, one side of me was thinking cool. The governor is helping me up. And I fainted. Wait a minute, I fainted in front of the governor. Oh, no.
MOOS: How about fainting behind Bill Clinton?
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And by a proven cost savings in the health system that everybody agrees are there, it'll work. And it's very important...
MOOS: That's Chelsea in the background, winning five stethoscopes for coming to their aid.
Maybe all the fainting is a hint.
OBAMA: That's a sign I might be speaking too long.
UNIDENTIFIED SUPPORTERS: No!
MOOS: Politics not for the faint of heart.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: The new --
KEILAR: That is so -- that was one of the funniest Jeanne Moos packages I've ever seen.
LEMON: And we wouldn't be making fun of them if they weren't OK, right?
KEILAR: No. Of course, they're fine. But I love the ranking of the stethoscopes.
LEMON: Isn't that (INAUDIBLE) they stand there a long time and wait for the candidates and sometimes it's hot.
KEILAR: Yes. It's hot.
LEMON: Or whatever, you know.
KEILAR: Yes.
LEMON: There you go.
KEILAR: They're just overcome with the passion of the campaigning.
LEMON: With emotion.
KEILAR: It's great.
LEMON: Yes. Loosen up your knees. Stand up.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: The closing bell and a wrap of the action on Wall Street straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, everyone. I'm Chad Myers.
A quick tornado warning for you for New Smyrna Beach, really, up by Menorca. And that's the north part of the island. And also Daytona Beach Shores. This storm right here south of Daytona Beach will quickly, quickly be into the ocean.
But for now, we do have enough spin to issue the tornado warning from the Weather Service. Don and Brianna, back to you.
LEMON: All right, thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
KEILAR: And the closing bell is about to ring.
LEMON: Stephanie Elam is standing by with a final look at this trading day.
Hey, Steph.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Don and Brianna.
You know, Daylight Savings Time kicks in this weekend, right? You guys are prepared (INAUDIBLE)...
KEILAR: Lose sleep, gain daylight. It's a tradeoff.
ELAM: Exactly. It is a tradeoff. That's true. And in Indiana, it's a different kind of tradeoff, because Daylight Savings Time will kick in for the residents. And there, they'll be able to kick back a few a little bit.
Indiana's alcohol and tobacco commission will allow the sale of alcohol until 4:00 a.m. Local time on Sunday because of the time change. Normally, liquor sales end at 3:00 a.m.
And just to be clear, so everyone's on the same page here, we'll be moving our clocks forward by one hour Sunday at 2:00 a.m. So no excuses for getting into work late on Monday, guys.
LEMON: Oh, man.
ELAM: Yes.
LEMON: You're the one who should talk.
ELAM: I know. It's worse for me, because I have to be at work on Sunday.
LEMON: Yes. There you go.
ELAM: Fredericka was smart to not work this weekend. I'm like oh, boy. Then I've got flights and stuff.
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