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Fugitive Marine Due to Return to States; Internet Culture Blamed for Teen Beating; Documents Released Relating to Polygamist Ranch Raid; U.S. Targets Mortar Fire in Baghdad; Black College Students Share Views on Racism in U.S.

Aired April 11, 2008 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CO-HOST: One Marine finally captured, one Marine still mourned. But will this suspect ever, ever face justice here in the states? We're awaiting a news conference from North Carolina.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CO-HOST: Plus new details revealed today. What went on behind the walls of that polygamy compound in Texas?

LEMON: And our conversations with black America continue. We're live on the campus of an historically black college, and we're live on the air with one of the nation's top -- top black radio hosts, none other than Michael Baisden. It's going to be very interesting. A very interesting day here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: Looking forward to all that.

LEMON: I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters here in Atlanta.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

All right. Want to take you straight to the severe weather center. Because there are some pretty threatening storms taking place, particularly in Tennessee. Reynolds Wolf is on top of it all.

Reynolds, what do you have?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, let's take a look first at the big picture that we have behind me. You'll notice we have a tornado watch that is in effect for parts of Tennessee back into Alabama, even into Mississippi. That is this big red shape you see.

We do have a tornado warning that's also in effect for Lawrence County in Tennessee just to the west of Lawrenceburg at this time. The storm drifting to the north-northeast, 45 miles per hour.

Now with the storm there is the potential of some large hail, some damaging winds, heavy rain, deadly lightning and perhaps even a tornado. There has been -- there has not been a visual confirmation of a tornado there just yet, but there is that potential.

Also we are seeing a tornado watch that has just been posted for parts of southern Michigan and back into Ohio and even into Indiana, where later this afternoon we could see some strong storms develop and potential tornadoes in this part of the world, too.

As we zoom out even more, we're going to see that this storm system is just enormous. Not just the potential of making strong storms but even some snowfall back towards the Twin Cities and the Grand Forks southward into Sioux Falls. Even Omaha could see snow flakes before the day is out.

So again, it's a full plate in terms of your weather story. We've got it all for you. Rain, sleet, snow and potential tornadoes all to talk about throughout the afternoon.

Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Reynolds.

WOLF: You bet.

WHITFIELD: Don.

LEMON: On the run no longer, missing no more, a fugitive man who's also a Marine, also a murder suspect, is in jail today south of the border. The three-month international manhunt for Cesar Laurean comes to an end.

Let's go to CNN's Harris Whitbeck in Jacksonville, North Carolina, with the very latest on this.

What have you learned, Harris?

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Don.

Prosecutors here say that they are confident that Cesar Laurean will be here in North Carolina sooner rather than later. They have told CNN that Laurean has waived his right to contest the extradition that would take place in Mexico and that he would actually be here rather quickly.

Now by waiving the rights of the extradition, that doesn't mean that prosecutors in the states would now be free to seek the death penalty in this case if he were to be found guilty. Mexico has said all along that it will only extradite Laurean to the United States if prosecutors agree not to seek the death penalty. That was an agreement that was reached several months ago.

Prosecutor said that he would have hoped that Laurean be caught in the United States so that he could seek capital punishment.

But again, prosecutors now say they expect to see him soon. The sheriff here told me this morning that he expects Laurean to be in this county jail for quite some time while he awaits trial -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Harris Whitbeck in Jacksonville, North Carolina. We appreciate that report, and we hope to learn a lot more about Laurean's time on the run and his capture in Mexico. We should learn that very shortly. A news conference is planned for 2 p.m. or so Eastern Time from Jacksonville, North Carolina. When it happens we'll carry it live.

WHITFIELD: A vicious beating of a classmate caught on tape. This hour the six girls and two boys involved are in court, where prosecutors say they will be tried as adults.

CNN's Susan Candiotti takes a look at the case of teens gone mean.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Horrifying images from Lakeland, Florida, where police say six girls ages 14 to 17 pummeled another teenager. They said she was trash-talking them on the Internet.

SHERIFF GRADY JUDD, POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA: It was a pack mentality. And they really didn't care how bad they hurt her.

CANDIOTTI: The girls allegedly intended to post the attack on YouTube, but a parent intercepted it.

Being a bully, experts say, is all about getting attention, and gender doesn't matter.

(on camera) Why girls in particular? Why do we seem to be seeing more of them now in these videos?

MELINE KEVORKIAN, NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY: If they're not the prettiest, if they're not the most athletic, if they're not the smartest, they have to find a way to get the popularity, the attention and things that they need.

JUDD: We as a society must say this is enough. We must say, "Why does YouTube run any of this that would encourage this kind of behavior and activity?"

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The victim's mother says today's culture is to blame.

TALISA LINDSAY, VICTIM'S MOTHER: These kids, I feel, are lashing out because it's their trend. They see everything on, you know, the Internet, the medias [SIC] of people beating the snot out of each other. And they think it's funny. In a sense it's just warped their minds to think, "Well, I'll be the next one to do it."

CANDIOTTI: YouTube doesn't prescreen material but insists it pulls violent videos once they're flagged. Its guidelines state, quote, "If your video shows someone getting hurt or attacked, don't post it."

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Bartow, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: CNN has a producer in the courtroom for the teens' first appearance. And as soon as we hear what happened inside the courtroom, we'll let you know.

LEMON: And Fredricka, we have some new developments in the investigations of that polygamist compound in Texas. We have our first look now at what police discovered once they got inside.

CNN's Sean Callebs has more for us. He's in San Angelo, Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're in the town of San Angelo, which is about 40 miles from where the compound of the sect is located. And before me, 88 pages of information that details the items that have been seized by Texas authorities from that compound.

Many of them very mundane: items such as photographs, diaries, family tree information. But a certain amount of this information certainly catches your eye. Not the least of which, correspondence with Warren Jeffs. He is the former sect leader who is now in a Utah prison, serving two consecutive terms for five years to life for his role in arranging marriages with underage girls.

Not only is there correspondence with Jeffs, there's also something listed as his records, also correspondence with prison and something detailed as correspondence with a house in hiding. We have no idea exactly what that means.

A couple of other items also raised eyebrows. One is listed as cyanide poisoning documents. And another, firearms training documents from someone named Nettie (ph) Jeffs. Again, we don't know exactly what role this plays in the investigation. But certainly, something authorities have seized and are looking into.

Also there is an 8 millimeter videotape that was taken that is, quote, "the tape of the breach of the temple vault." We can only presume that is the area where a number of the men stood in front of in a very passive way to try and stop authorities from going inside what they considered a very sacred area.

Also, a great deal of white clothing has been seized, as well. Lots and lots of computers, cell phones, paper shredders, even the documents that were in the shredders themselves have been seized. To find out more a little bit about this information and where it could possibly lead in this ongoing investigation.

Sean Callebs, CNN, in San Angelo, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And for the fourth straight day, chaos at some of the country's biggest airports. American Airlines canceling hundreds more flights today as it carries out inspections on its fleet of MD-80 jets.

The FAA ordered the inspections because of concerns about wiring in the wheel wells that could cause fires or problems with the landing gear. Since Tuesday, at least 250,000 passengers have been affected by the American cancellations. And American says it has lost tens of millions of dollars.

The carrier, the nation's biggest, says it hopes to have its entire fleet of MD-80s back in operation by tomorrow night.

Straight ahead, CNN's Miles O'Brien joins us from New York to tell us why there is such a serious concern about the potential wiring hazard.

Well, the troubled U.S. airline industry takes another hit. Frontier Airlines is seeking bankruptcy protection, the fourth carrier to make that move in the last few weeks alone.

Frontier says it will continue flying as it reorganizes. The company says it was forced into bankruptcy after its main credit card processor said it would withhold a greater share of proceeds from ticket sales. ATA Airlines, Skybus and Aloha Air Group filed for bankruptcy in the last two weeks.

So let's take a look at the numbers we're following. The Dow down over 170 points. We're going to continue to watch the markets throughout the day here on CNN. And much more ahead from Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange, as well.

LEMON: All right, Fredricka. We've got a very serious piece of video to show you here. Sadly, you're looking at some men who are about to die.

Well, this is Baghdad, the volatile neighborhood called Sadr City, as seen through the cameras of an unmanned U.S. military aircraft. The men in the crosshairs, well, they don't even know it, but a very accurate missile is headed right for them.

For more on this, let's go straight to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.

Jamie, they don't even know it.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. These unmanned aerial vehicles as they're called -- this is a Predator in this case -- are extremely quiet. I was just down watching a demonstration of one at the Quantico Marine Base recently, and I can tell you, when they're overhead you can barely see them and barely hear them.

But what happens in this case is the U.S. military has increasingly been getting attacked in the so-called international zone or Green Zone; increasingly accurate mortar and rocket attacks from neighborhoods nearby. And this is part of the effort to go after those teams.

The U.S. military insists that they were able to tell from this unmanned plane that this was, quote, "an active mortar team." And you see a group of five men meet up with some more, about seven altogether on the ground. And they appear to be setting up mortars. That's when the authorization is given to fire a Hellfire missile from this unmanned Predator spy plane. And it hits the group, killing, we're told afterwards, six people, injuring a seventh suspected mortar firer.

And again, this is part of the back and forth that's going on in Baghdad now. These attacks on the Green Zone have been increasingly accurate and increasingly deadly. Just last week two Army officers were killed and 17 others wounded when a rocket hit inside the Green Zone.

And you saw when the screen went black there a moment ago, that's actually when the missile hit. Again, video released from an unmanned spy plane. Part of the counterinsurgency tactics now going on in Baghdad -- Don.

LEMON: Hey, Jamie, I've got a question for you. Today's incident in the Persian Gulf, I should say, U.S. Navy ships encountered Iranian boats, right? That was today?

MCINTYRE: Yes. A little bit reminiscent of that dust-up back in January. But we are told by all accounts that this was a fairly minor encounter.

What happened was the U.S. patrol boat, USS Typhoon, was operating in the Persian Gulf outside Iranian waters. It was approached by three small Iranian boats. Two of them kept their distance, but one came within about 200 yards of the Typhoon. The U.S. ship radioed. They call it bridge-to-bridge communications to the Iranian boats. Got no response.

When the one little boat came closer, they fired a flare, the U.S. ship did, as a warning. At that point it turned around and left. So there was really no big confrontation. No -- no arms were observed on the small craft. And the U.S. ship didn't really think it was a threat.

But again, it's an indication of sort of the tensions that are there in the Persian Gulf as U.S. and Iranian ships operate side by side.

LEMON: Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre. Jamie, thank you.

WHITFIELD: And as we stand by for a news conference in North Carolina on the capture of a U.S. Marine accused of murder, we'll take a closer look at how long it might take to extradite Corporal Cesar Laurean from Mexico where he was arrested.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hello, everybody, from Greensboro, North Carolina, the campus of North Carolina A&T University, the latest stop on CNN's black in America, historically black college tour.

You can see we've got a party going. We've got the music going. Everybody is having a good time right now. But still, we're having serious conversations out here, as well, about what it means to be black in America. Talking about moving on, moving past some of that racial resentment of the past.

And I have been on historically black colleges, two different campuses, the past couple of days. And you might be surprised at what some of these students have to say about being black in America. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, some nasty weather in the southern region of the country. Alabama also being hit pretty hard. Reynolds Wolf is in the severe weather center.

WOLF: Well, Fredricka, we were expecting more of these storms to pop up across parts of north and central Alabama. The temperatures getting a little bit warmer; the air mass is very unstable. And already, the storm prediction center has posted this tornado watch in effect until 4 p.m. in the afternoon. This entire red area is where tornadoes at this point are most likely, through portions of Tennessee and into Alabama.

We start off in Tennessee. We're just to the north of Lawrenceburg. We have one storm drifting its way to the north and to the northeast. Should move north of the Nashville area.

We also take you north of Nashville. We have another tornado, possible tornado that is moving just near the Tennessee and Kentucky line. This tornado with the time of impact is about six. People affected, around 8,000.

Just over the past hour, these storms had a great deal of electricity. Some lightning strikes well exceeding 1,000 just in the last, say, 17 minutes or so.

And then of course, now, Walker County, Alabama, just to the west of the community of Jasper, we have this warning that just popped up. This will remain in effect for the next 30 to 45 minutes.

Now one thing with these storms, at this point we do not have any visual confirmation on any of them. But there is potential to see many of these storms pop up across parts of the southeast and into the Great Lakes, too. Because now we have another tornado watch that is in effect for parts of central and southern Michigan and into just a corner of northwestern Ohio and back into Indiana, as well.

All the same deal. We've got all that moisture coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. Also low drop (ph). That combined with this frontal boundary moving from west to east. And a little bit of the daytime heating will keep the atmosphere very unstable.

And farther back out to the west we're not seeing just rain; we're seeing some snow. Some of it could be heavy in parts of the Twin Cities and into the Dakotas.

That's a look at your forecast. We're going to be with you and stay on top of the situation throughout the afternoon and into the evening, if need be. Certainly, a full plate for us, but we will handle it. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Round the clock. Right?

WOLF: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right, Reynolds. Appreciate it -- Don.

LEMON: Last Friday we began a series of conversations with black America. We looked at the concerns, the perceptions and the aspirations of African-Americans 40 years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Today we are continuing that dialogue.

We want to go now to our T.J. Holmes. He is at North Carolina A&T State University, an historically black college in Greensboro.

And T.J., I bet it's very interesting on an historically black college to get their perceptions on race and -- here in America.

HOLMES: It is interesting. And it's surprising in some ways, as well.

We're set up out here, of course, as you said, as part of our black in America tour. Take a look at kind of what we've got going on back here. This is -- everybody is having a good time, but some serious topics and some serious things going on. They're participating in this conversation. They're doing their I-Reports. They're talking about their feelings, taking a poll, as well. Just kind of gauging how they feel about the state of black America and what it's like to be a black American.

Now, a lot of these kids behind me, born in the late '80s. Some of them even as late as 1990. These are young people who grew up late '80s, '90s. They didn't grow up with some of that oppression and some of that racism, that blatant in-your-face racism that so many of their forefathers had to deal with.

But would you believe that some of their opinions and some of their racial resentment still permeates? And they don't -- they don't mind telling you about it and being honest about it.

I'm here at A&T now, but I was in North Carolina Central yesterday. And just listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voice-over): Black students at North Carolina Central and campuses across the country have inherited a better America from their grandparents and great-grandparents. But some seem to have also inherited racial resentment.

RACHAEL PIERCE, NCCU FRESHMAN: We still have, like, racist people here. And it's still an issue, obviously.

HOLMES: Would you find -- would you at all say this is a racist country?

PIERCE: It is.

HOLMES: You believe it?

PIERCE: It really is.

HOLMES: Today, 2008, the United States of America is a racist country?

PIERCE: It is.

HOLMES (voice-over): These students have never been forced to sit in the back of a bus. They had the right to attend the school of their choice and have enjoyed many other rights that generations of black Americans before them didn't have.

Still, all say unequivocally that this is a racist country. When asked to explain their experiences that have shaped their opinion, they don't cite personal experience with racism; they cite new stories. The Jena 6.

VENISSA NELSON, NCCU FRESHMAN: Those boys were -- should -- I don't feel like they were treated fairly.

HOLMES: Michael Vick.

JERMAINE GETER, NCCU FRESHMAN: Racism in America is, like its highest, I would say, like right now in the past year. Because even in the news, last year Michael Vick got arrested for dog fighting. You know, we've seen that all over the news.

HOLMES: Some students like Don say many young people use racism as a free pass to underachieve.

DONALD LASTER, NCCU SOPHOMORE: Just an excuse they can find for them -- for them not working, basically. Them not having no work ethic. They want to blame society and say, "Oh, just because I'm black, people are looking down on me and I can't find a job."

HOLMES: Though the students we talked to haven't lived racism themselves, they've heard stories from older family members.

WESLEY LINZY, NCCU GRAD STUDENT: These are things or issues that everybody talks about on a daily basis. They may not say it in front of everyone's face. But I know they talk about it behind the scenes. And I just think it is a good topic and it is a good subject. And I think it's something that we need to talk about and move on.

HOLMES: People are talking. It's the moving on that is proving to be difficult.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And so there may be the challenge. If our younger generation still holds on to some of that racial resentment, even though they, themselves, have never gone through that racism, then where does that leave us? And Don, I will leave with you this. I asked many of the students, asked all of them a last question: are you a black American first or are you an American first? Overwhelmingly, everyone said, "I am a black American first." But Don, then in the next breath, they could admit to me that they, in fact, are part of the problem. If they believe that they're a black American person, not an American first, then we still have got a lot of work to do.

So very interesting and in some ways surprising to hear some of the opinions of such young people who did not have to go through a lot of that racism.

LEMON: Yes. And it is surprising. And again, they're on the campus of an historically black college.

I wonder -- I wonder, T.J., and I'm not sure if you would even have an answer for this. If it would be different if you were on a campus that was more integrated, you know, rather than HBCU (ph), if your responses might be different?

HOLMES: Of course there is a difference. There's a togetherness and camaraderie on an historically black college. They sort of feel like they are black students and they are in this together.

So who knows? That's an interesting question there.

But again, just to hear some of these students who can admit themselves, Don, that they are wrong to believe that way. They say, "Yes, I should want to be an American first," but they can still admit and be honest that, "You know what? I'm a black American above all."

So you can see some of this going on behind me.

LEMON: They're very happy about it. You can see that, right? Very happy about being a black American.

All right, T.J. Hey, we're going to talk to you a little bit later on. T.J. Holmes on the campus of North Carolina A&T, continuing our conversation with black America. We'll see you in a bit, buddy.

Stay here in the NEWSROOM for more conversations with black America. We're doing something a bit different here. Since things went so well last Friday, we're trying it again. We'll tune into black talk radio with Michael Baisden. Michael Baisden in the house. He is the host of a nationally syndicated radio show. This time he brought his show to us. He is here, broadcasting live from CNN Radio.

We'll also hear from Rose Rock, the mother of comedian Chris Rock. She also has a radio show. And she's the author of a funny and thought-provoking book about parenting, "Mama Rock's Rules."

And Mama Rock rocks, doesn't she?

WHITFIELD: She does, indeed.

And we listen in to Michael Baisden's radio show in the 3 p.m. hour. You, too, can join in on the conversation. Call the number you see right here on the screen: 877-622-3269. Or you can log in at www.MichaelBaisden.com.

LEMON: B-A-I-S-D-E-N. B-A-I-S-D-E-N.

WHITFIELD: Right there.

All right. Also straight ahead, you can't get there from here. More American Airlines flights canceled today. Mechanics hard at work. Miles O'Brien explains what they're doing while the passengers wait.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. First we were talking about Tennessee, then Alabama. Now we understand there's a tornado watch in Kentucky. Reynolds Wolf is in the weather center -- Reynolds.

WOLF: Yes, they're all just starting to stack up right through parts of -- let's see -- we've got Tennessee in the mix, Alabama, parts of Mississippi, and then, of course, you just mentioned now into Kentucky. We also have another one farther to the north into Michigan, too.

Right now strong line of storms moving right from Columbus from Mississippi back into Alabama. Not too far from the University of Alabama and Tuscaloosa. Now near Walker County. Near Jasper we're seeing some -- well, fairly strong thunderstorm right now. Still no visual confirmation on the storm. But this storm is definitely a hail maker. So that is going to be a problem for many people there.

As you make your way back up into Tennessee, we've been watching this intense line of storms just over the past hour or so mainly to the south now of Nashville, just moving to the east of the city. We have some video from Nashville.

We're going to show you that coming up in just a few seconds. The video showing these storms going right on through. Believe that's going to pop up in a few moments. And let's see. Whenever we have that video we're going to show you, again, we have the rain that's been coming down, just as we expected. We've got some drier air that's moving in right behind it.

So Nashville, for the time being, you've seen the worst of it on the western side of the city. Downtown, you've got the scattered showers and a few thunderstorms. The east side of Nashville is going to get hit, I would say, by the bulk of these storms just within minutes.

Now, let's go back to the weather computer if we can. You'll notice these watch in places like, let's say, Lewisburg. You are certainly under the tornado watch. But a warning just to your immediate west and then farther to the north we go. We've been watching this individual cell. You can see the path right here bringing from parts of Tennessee into Kentucky. This one also racing off to the northeast about 45 miles an hour. You'll notice the watch actually extends as far north as, say, Lexington and Richmond.

Although you don't see a lot of activity on the other side of this box, the right-hand side, if you will, the storm prediction center really anticipates a lot of this unstable activity to drift its way eastward, right along parts of I-65. So if you happen to be tuning in, in parts of, say, eastern Kentucky into the afternoon, it's coming. So get ready for that rough weather.

Same story for you in Detroit back over to Pontiac and Kalamazoo. Doesn't look bad for the time being. The atmosphere is incredibly unstable. Certainly, that possibility of strong storms will exist for you into the late afternoon hours, as well as into the evening.

That is a look at your forecast. We have a very unstable mess to deal with. We're going to be here walking you through it step by step.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll check back with you. Thanks so much, Reynolds.

WOLF: Talk to you soon.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Well, he certainly doesn't look like a United States Marine anymore, but that is a fugitive, fugitive corporal under arrest in rural Mexico. Who is he? Why is he wanted and how his run for justice ended coming up, in a news conference that's planned for the 2:00 hour Eastern or so from Jacksonville, North Carolina. When it happens, we'll carry it for you live.

WHITFIELD: Plus American Airlines scrambles to wrap up a safety inspection ordered by the FAA. We'll find out more about the potential wiring problems that are behind these inspections.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Well, for the fourth, fourth straight day, American Airlines cancels hundreds of flights, as the company carries out safety checks on this fleet of MD-80 jets. What's behind all the chaos? A bundle of wire in the jets' wheel wells.

Details now form CNN's Miles O'Brien.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a bundle of problems for American airlines, and a warrant of woes for thousands of its grounded and increasingly grouchy customers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody needs to help us so we can get out of here. O'BRIEN: American mechanics have their heads buried in those MD- 80 wheel wells for the second time now, trying to comply to the letter of the law with a federal mandate to straighten out potential problems with some high-voltage wires that are oh so near to a fuel tank.

GERARD ARPEY, CEO, AMERICAN AIRLINES: We obviously failed to complete this air-worthiness directive to the precise standard set by the FAA, and I take full, personal responsibility for that.

O'BRIEN: American CEO Gerard Arpey told reporters it's all his fault, and he regrets the inconvenience it has caused his customers. But, that was not the end of the mea culpas on this day of chaos and cancellations. On Capitol Hill senators focused their ire on the FAA's safety boss.

VOICE OF SEN. JOHN ROCKEFELLER (D), WEST VIRGINIA: You're responsible, but you don't have to take responsibility. You don't have to be accountable? You are responsible, but don't have to be accountable?

NICHOLAS SABATINI, ASSOCIATE MINISTER FOR AVIATION SAFETY, FAA: I am accountable, sir.

ROCKEFELLER: Well, if you are accountable, you should have been howling in my office and Kay Bailey Hutchinson's office some time ago.

O'BRIEN: Law makers are angry the FAA lowered the boom on American only after a house committee brought to light serious inspections lapses at Southwest Airlines. The inspection and maintenance brouhaha, and the ensuing travel horror stories are rekindling calls for an airline passenger bill of rights.

SEN. FRANK LAUTENBERG (D), NEW JERSEY: The bottom line is this, passengers have rights and airlines have obligations, and we have an obligation to make sure that we have an FAA that functions effectively.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: American says the fix take anywhere between two and six hours, but the big choke point apparently right now is FAA inspections of the work to see if the do-over of the do-over is in fact what they want. Don?

LEMON: OK, so all these inspections that have turned up, have they turned up any real problems -- real problems with wiring?

O'BRIEN: No, no. The whole thing began with concern about chaffed wires. Chaffed wires mean possibly a spark, these wires are near a fuel tank. We don't have to be rocket scientist to figure out you don't want that. In all of these inspections, in all these work and rework situations, no mechanic has found a chaffed wire.

So, the problem which was the concern at the outset has not manifested itself inside these planes. So, what we are talking about here is technical specifications, running through technical hoops to meet an FAA requirement with no real clear and present safety danger.

LEMON: CNN's Miles O'Brien. Miles, thank you.

O'BRIEN: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: We have locked up in Mexico, three months after fleeing the United States and murder charges, Cesar Lauren, a United States Marine accused of brutally killing a fellow Marine in North Carolina. Maria Lauterbach was 20-years-old and eight months pregnant, when her burned remains were found buried in Lauren's backyard.

Keep an eye out for a news conference set to begin in Jacksonville, North Carolina. We'll carry that live as it happens. And lot of you probably have questions about that vicious beating of a teenager by some of her fellow class mates reported at the top of the hour. That video ring a bell? Well, they're now facing very serious charges. In Florida this hour, attorney Paul Callan a former New York City prosecutor joining us now. Good to see you, Paul.

PAUL CALLAN, ATTORNEY: Nice to be here.

WHITFIELD: What kinds of charges are these young men and women looking at?

CALLAN: Well, the talk is of a whole variety of charges -- some very, very serious ones including kidnapping, battery and very serious level of assault.

WHITFIELD: Well, kidnapping, that usually means even a federal charge could be part of it.

CALLAN: Yes, it could be a federal charge, although most states have local kidnapping statutes, as well. By the way, a kidnapping charge carries a life sentence with it. So, if prosecutors go forward with these charges, we are looking at a very, very serious thing for these teens.

WHITFIELD: Wow. This is incredible. So, now how about parents that might be complicit -- anyone else that we don't see in the court today that could potentially be complicit in this, as well?

CALLAN: A lot depends on what we are going to find out about this case. There's been talk of a gag order, and it's hard for the press to get to the bottom of it. But, if people were aiding and abetting this, i.e. setting up the filming, setting up the studio, you could have a number of additional people if there was that sort of a conspiracy.

WHITFIELD: Aiding, does that mean YouTube would be aiding?

CALLAN: Well, no, I don't think -- no. I think YouTube would be protected from being prosecuted. I'm talking about there may be other people who helped with the filming. Now, that's an interesting theory though. Could YouTube be held responsible maybe civilly in a lawsuit for money damages? Maybe you'll see them named eventually, but I don't think they'll be involved criminally.

WHITFIELD: All right, Paul Callan, thanks so much from New York. We're going to be seeing you again later on in the show to talk about the Cesar Lauren case, as well. Thanks so much on your insight on this one.

CALLAN: Nice to be here.

WHITFIELD: Don?

LEMON: All right, Fredricka. New clues in a two-year-old mumps mystery. What happened? Our medical correspondent takes a closer look in the newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, the Democratic primary race may be too close to call in Pennsylvania, but one thing is for sure, people can't stop talking about it. CNN's Josh Rubin is listening in, in this week's ELECTION EXPRESS YOURSELF.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH RUBIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Barack Obama, or Hillary Clinton? Philadelphia, time to express yourself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One half of me is supporting Obama.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm supporting Hillary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know who I'm supporting yet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I lean pretty much toward Hillary, but I could be swayed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Clintons have been around, and we love them, and they did a great job, but it's time to go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually like her programs better. Her health care program, I think, is more cost effective.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't go for a lot of her policies, I also don't like the idea that basically if I vote for her, I'll be voting for her husband, again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like the fact that Obama can -- seems to be able to pull a lot of people together.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But, whichever of them wins it's far less important than that a Democrat win the general election.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, the year was 2006 thousands of Americans were coming down with mumps and ever since, health experts have been trying to figure out why. Let's bring in our Medical Correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What happened, and why?

WHITFIELD: And why? It was really -- mumps was like --

COHEN: That's right. Mumps was gone.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

COHEN: Exactly, because for decades, the vaccine worked just fine and people didn't get the mumps. So, what happened in 2006? Well, they think the answer might have something to do with what was going on in England at the time, all I'll explain in a second. In the United States, in 40 states 6,584 people were infected with mumps, 85 of them ended up in the hospital. No deaths.

Many of these people were college students, who of course, lived in close quarters. But, the England connection -- there is some evidence that the outbreak here was connected to a much bigger outbreak that was happening in England. 70,000 that's 7-0 thousand people got the mumps, and that was attributed to people who were saying just say no to the -- who were -- to the mumps vaccine because of autism concerns.

WHITFIELD: Oh.

COHEN: And of course, germs don't need a passport. They can go wherever they want, so the concern is is that people who are not getting vaccinated in England end up getting people sick in this country.

WHITFIELD: OK, but then, so many of, you know, young kids here in this country are vaccinated with the mumps right away. Are we saying that many of the parents made a decision, well, I don't want my kids to get this mumps vaccination for fears of other things too, like autism?

COHEN: In England at that point, a lot of kids were not getting the mumps vaccine. But in the United States on the other hand, most kids -- the vast majority are vaccinated.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

COHEN: So, then the mystery: if they're vaccinated, how are they getting the mumps ...

WHITFIELD: Then why are they getting it?

COHEN: ...because the vaccine is not perfect.

WHITFIELD: Oh, gosh.

COHEN: So, that's the big problem is that a small number of people do still get the mumps even when they've been vaccinated. It's just -- it's just not perfect. And so, when you have it coming over from another country, some people are going to get sick.

WHITFIELD: Wow, all right, so what can be done, if anything, to prevent another sort of outbreak, especially if we're talking about most kids in the U.S. do get the vaccination.

COHEN: Right, there are some thoughts that maybe they need to improve that vaccine, maybe they need to make it even closer to a 100 percent. You probably could never get 100 percent, but at least closer. And also, some thoughts that maybe they should be giving kids a third booster shot. Right now, they have two (INAUDIBLE) ...

WHITFIELD: Oh boy, another shot.

COHEN: Right, another shot.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh.

COHEN: Another shot, but it's because really other kids aren't getting the shot.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

COHEN: That's sort of what's behind it.

WHITFIELD: I've lost count of how many shots those kids will have to get.

COHEN: I know, it just keeps going, right.

WHITFIELD: Oh well. All right, thanks so much, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

LEMON: Strong storms in the South, a blizzard up north. Forget a serene (ph) spring. Reynolds Wolf is in the CNN center tracking it all for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, we're talking and we're listening today in the CNN NEWSROOM. It's part of our "Conversation with Black America."

LEMON: That's right, Fred.

And that conversation includes more than just African-Americans, of course. I asked some white visitors, just to be honest, some white visitors here at the CNN Center to share their opinions. And I even asked them what term should be used to describe black Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I have a question.

LEMON: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had a conversation with somebody about how they say they're Afro-American when that's not really the right term for because somebody from Africa isn't necessarily Afro-American, but that's a label that's given to blacks overall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is an interesting book where one guy said my grandfather was a Negro, I'm an African-American, and my children are black. I mean, it's really a big question about what word to use. What word would you feel most comfortable with? I have to ask you. How should I address you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Want to know how I answered?

WHITFIELD: Yes, I was going to say. Should I ask that? How'd you answer the question?

LEMON: I was going to answer yes, I don't know what -- I, for me, and Woody (ph) was asking, basically, should I call you black, should I call you African-American. What should I call you? And to me, it's interchangeable, it doesn't matter. I said it doesn't matter as long as you're respectful, you can pretty much call me anything. But it doesn't matter, it's what I think about me.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEMON: You know, if you're calling me a derogatory term, of course, it doesn't matter what you say, it's what I think about me. So, it doesn't matter. But for some people, it's very specific.

And to be honest, a lot of times, you know, white people are afraid to talk about race. We've had this conversation, we've heard Senator Obama talk about in his (INAUDIBLE) ...

WHITFIELD: People in general can be afraid to talk about race in this country.

LEMON: Because they're afraid to use the wrong word ...

WHITFIELD: Right.

LEMON: ...and it may be offensive and I think we have to get over that in order to have a real conversation about it, so.

WHITFIELD: And that's why we're having this conversation today.

LEMON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: And really, every day for quite a while now on this network, to engage people on talking about issues that concern them, issues of race, et cetera.

LEMON: We're going back to North Carolina to talk with ...

WHITFIELD: We are. LEMON: ...students there. We're going to add (ph) Michael Baisden, right?

WHITFIELD: That's right, 3:00 Eastern. We'll listen in actually, on Michael Baisden's show. You can join in the conversation if you'd like to, as well. Call 877-622-3269 or you can log on to www.michaelbaisden.com. He's broadcasting live from CNN's Radio Studios this time, this time, because last week, you saw him on the air, and that was mostly in Memphis. He was joining a number of other black radio hosts. But this week, today, 3:00 Eastern, call 877-622- 3269 to get involved in this conversation.

Also straight ahead, we also hope to learn more about Marine Corporal Cesar Laurean's time on the run and his capture in Mexico. In just a few minutes from now, a news conference is planned for 2:00 or so Eastern. You see the live shots there with a podium set up, poised, ready for things to get started in Jacksonville, North Carolina. When it does happen, we'll carry it live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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