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Wesley Snipes Headed to Prison?; Accused Terrorist's Day in Court;

Aired April 24, 2008 - 15:00   ET

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

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: There is Turkey Creek itself. Let's just kind of zoom in. This is Kansas City proper. You have Kansas City, Kansas, and, then, obviously, Kansas City, Missouri.
We will take you into Turkey Creek and the flood control project that they were working on here. And you will be able to see that this area here is kind of a ditch. And they have taken this ditch and they have tried to take this what's now a tunnel. You can see the tunnel right above the word "Just in," and then they're trying to take this water and take it all the way up into the Kansas River.

Well, that's the interstate that you have been seeing on all the live shots here, as the people going under it, they are looking for the people. And here is the radar picture from last night adding up all of the rainfall that occurred. So, we're looking at really this area here kind of in the southwestern Kansas City, almost the Mission area.

And an inch, maybe inch-and-a-half at the very most, up here by the airport, up toward Leavenworth, these orange and yellow areas. That's two to three inches. But that water would not have been in this creek, into the Turkey Creek, to get into the Kansas River. That would have actually been in the Missouri and already probably running off anyway.

So, here you go, guys. Just you know that these guys are working as hard as they can to get these guys out of here, two guys out.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

MYERS: Two guys out, two guys still in there. We will keep you advised.

LEMON: And, again, Chad, as we hang on...

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: There's the interstate I was talking about there, yes.

LEMON: Yes. We're trying to get some official or someone involved in this rescue operation on the phone here to talk about this. But there you go. We're telling you about two of those workers who had been brought out.

And it appears -- I'm not exactly sure -- we don't have control of these pictures because they're coming from our affiliate. But it appears that they were laying something on the ground here. This is new video just in from KMBC, Chad Myers.

I'm not exactly sure. That may have been a piece of equipment there, actually, and not a person. But it's good at least that they got two of those guys out. And we're hoping to get some new information in here.

But, again, just to update the viewers, Chad has been talking about flooding in that area for the last couple of days. But he's saying it wouldn't have been in the Turkey Creek there. It would have been more in the Missouri River. So, that may not have played a factor in this.

But they said the water was too high. And so that caused the boat that they were in to capsize. And then of course they called for help and the rescue workers were hanging on. And I just wanted to linger on these pictures a little bit, because it's new video. Not exactly sure what we're going to get here. But it appears we don't see any of the actual rescue -- or people who were rescued from that tunnel.

So, as soon as we get more information on that, we will bring it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And, KMBC, thank you so much for those pictures there in Kansas City.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Prosecutors in Florida are hoping to make an example of Wesley Snipes. They're pushing a judge to give the action star the maximum sentence for three tax convictions. And we should know soon what that judge thinks.

Meantime, CNN's Susan Candiotti joining us now from Miami to tell us what is going on -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brianna.

Well, this is a hearing, a sentencing hearing, that's been going on since 9:30 this morning, with the exception of lunch break, much longer than most sentencing hearings occur. But it is going on at a federal court in Ocala today.

And as you indicated, the government is saying, look, Wesley Snipes may be wealthy, may be famous. But they're saying he's defiant and thinks he's above the law for failing to pay his taxes. And a jury, in fact, did convict him of three misdemeanor accounts of tax evasion.

And the government says he owes from like $14 million up to $40 million. And they want to put him behind bars for at least three years and pay a fine of $5 million. But Snipes' defense attorneys have said all along that he's an innocent victim in all this, that he got bad advice from tax advisers, that he wasn't trying to defraud the IRS by not paying his taxes, but instead, as they put it, engage the IRS in a dialogue about why he didn't think he had to pay taxes.

In any case, it's now sentencing day. And Snipes, among the -- other his two other co-defendants, have been entering letters of reference, for example. And that's very commonplace. Hollywood pitching in, in this case. Judge Joe Brown, who has his own TV show, is in court providing some support for Snipes and saying things like, he means well, but perhaps sometimes he's too trusting.

Denzel Washington has stepped up, sent a letter to the judge comparing Snipes to a mighty oak tree, saying that he's a man of principle. And his co-star in the movie "White Men Can't Jump," Woody Harrelson, he also wrote a letter on Snipes' behalf saying that he's a role model, a caring father and doesn't deserve to be sent to prison.

In fact, Snipes is asking for probation. But no one is quite sure whether he will be going to prison or back to a movie set -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Very interesting, Susan Candiotti.

And Sunny Hostin, our legal analyst, expecting that he's going to get time. So, we're going to see what the judge says. We know you're keeping an eye on things there from Miami for us. Thanks.

LEMON: All right. This one takes place in another courtroom. This is New York City. Tomorrow, a judge in New York hands down a verdict in a manslaughter involving cops and an unarmed man.

Sean Bell is his name. And he was shot dead by the NYPD outside a strip club back in November 2006. Whatever the verdict here, cops don't want to be caught understaffed on the streets.

And CNN's Deborah Feyerick is in New York.

And they don't want that because they're afraid that there may be some possible violence or rioting, Deb.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's always a risk of that happening. But right now, it's not clear that there's any evidence that that will indeed happen.

The community activists who has been following this case and been lending support to the family, they're urging calm. Reverend Al Sharpton yesterday on the steps of city hall saying that this was nonviolent, that they're not going to be doing anything.

Of course, everyone surrounding the family and the victims want these three detectives to be found guilty. The judge tomorrow at about 9:00 scheduled to hand down his verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK (voice-over): Nicole Paultre-Bell, has waited more than a year-and-a-half for this day, justice for Sean, she says, killed by NYPD detectives the morning the two were to marry .

NICOLE PAULTRE-BELL, FIANCEE OF VICTIM: I think about my wedding day every day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired.

FEYERICK: Everything collided just before dawn that morning, November 25, 2006. Sean Bell and friends were winding up his bachelor party at this strip club in Queens. They didn't know a team of undercover NYPD detectives was inside investigating complaints of drugs, guns and prostitution.

At closing time, Bell and his friends left, but not before witnesses say an argument broke out. Believing one of Bell's friends was going to get a gun from the car, one of the undercover officers followed the men.

What happened next is at the heart of this trial.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm an undercover police officer. There are shots fired, shots fired.

FEYERICK: Police opened fire 50 times. Detective Michael Oliver, who reloaded his semiautomatic, fired 31 shots. Detective Gescard Isnora fired 11 times, Detective Marc Cooper four times. Their lawyers say the detectives thought their lives were in danger when Bell at the wheel tried, they say, to run down one of the detectives.

But witnesses, including the two friends in the car, say they never heard undercover detectives identify themselves as police when they drew their weapons, and that Bell, in a panic, was trying to get away from the armed men.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For those naysayers that say that the police officers was just doing their jobs, they should imagine their child in that car being shot by the police for no reason.

FEYERICK: No gun was found around Bell or his friends. Prosecutors charged detectives Oliver and Isnora with manslaughter, assault and reckless endangerment. Cooper was charged with reckless endangerment.

As for the bereaved bride, she legally changed her name to Bell and is now raising the couple's two small daughters alone.

PAULTRE-BELL: I tell that her daddy is in heaven. He's watching over us. He's our guardian angel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Now, federal authorities have been watching this case very closely.

If the three detectives are acquitted, not found guilty, then in fact federal authorities will step in to see whether in fact there were any civil rights violations. And they will do that by examining all of the evidence that was presented at that trial -- Don.

LEMON: All right, CNN's Deborah Feyerick in New York -- Deb, thanks. KEILAR: Hillary Clinton has a couple of campaign events today in North Carolina. That's the state that is sharing the spotlight with Indiana on May 6, the next primaries. Now, she also has extra cash for the road ahead. Her campaign says it's brought in $10 million in new money since Tuesday's victory in Pennsylvania.

LEMON: Barack Obama is taking a breather today. He's home in Chicago with no public events on his schedule. Aides, though, are no doubt taking note of Clinton's claim that she's pulled ahead in the nationwide popular vote. She's right, but only if you count results from Florida and Michigan. Neither state's delegates are being counted because their primaries were held too early.

In Michigan, Obama wasn't even on the ballot. Without those states, Obama has almost 300,000 more votes than Hillary Clinton.

KEILAR: And presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, he is in New Orleans. It's the latest stop on a weeklong tour of what his campaign calls forgotten areas of the country. He got a look this morning at the flood-ravaged and still struggling Lower Ninth Ward.

LEMON: Well, they're young, they're tuned in and they're American Muslims.

Our Rick Sanchez talking with some first-time voters.

KEILAR: And the rocketing price of food. If the richest nations are feeling the pinch, imagine the impact on the developing world. If there's barely enough to eat today, what about tomorrow?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Think the global food crisis affects only poor faraway nations? Think again. Just go to some warehouse stores today, such as Sam's Club or Costco. Those and other retailers are limiting the rice that each customer can buy. Some stores say they have actually run out while prices for corn, flour and oil have just gone through the roof.

But the situation is much worse overseas, riots in Egypt, angry marches in the Caribbean and Indonesia and the Philippines. Rocketing food prices no longer just hit the pocketbook. They're now hitting the kitchen.

LEMON: Well, as the price of rice in Thailand is the food industry benchmark, well, that's where traders and analysts look to gauge and set the cost of a staple food for half the world. Rice per bushel in Thailand has almost tripled since January. That's great for growers, but for consumers, especially in poor nations, it is devastating.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EUNICE YOON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ASIA BUSINESS EDITOR (voice-over): Chinese farmer Wu Yuan Shang is preparing the earth for the first crop of rice this season. Last year, he left much of the land untilled. The costs were so high and the selling price of rice was so low. But this year, he's filling his fields with the Asian staple.

WU YUAN SHANG, CHINESE FARMER (through translator): Fertilizer and seed have been so expensive, rice was hardly worth planting. Now, I'm getting more money.

YOON: The Chinese government now pays farmers more to grow rice amid fears of a global shortage. Rice prices are soaring worldwide. Demand up and supplies down. But not in China.

(on-camera): Rice sold in markets like this one is far cheaper than it is in most parts of the world. That's because the Chinese government keeps the cost of this grain in check using price control.

(voice-over): Rice here sells for $350 a ton, about a third of what most rice goes for worldwide. China keeps the prices down to ward off social unrest.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the Chinese, few things in life are more important than a good meal. An old greeting (SPEAKING IN CHINESE) translates to, have you eaten yet?

And these days, the answer is a resounding yes. During the 1970s, though, when almost everything seemed to be in short supply, a Beijing resident was rationed to less than three kilograms of meat every year. Now, though, the Chinese consume on average about 20 times that amount, 50 kilograms of meat every single year.

And while consumption is set to rise, there's still a ways to go before they catch up to the Americans. They consume this much meat every single year. That's 100 kilograms of meat.

China's farmers are now raising more livestock to try and meet that demand. But at the same time, they're importing more grain to feed those animals. Up until 1995, China was a net exporter of soy, which is used to make animal feed. But last year, this country imported 30 million tons of soy. And it takes about three kilos of grain feed to produce just a kilo of pork, seven kilos of grain for a kilo of beef.

And prices at this marketplace and across China are way up compared to a year ago. And that looks set to continue as well, because as the Chinese get richer, they're asking not only where's the beef, but where's the pork, the chicken, the fish and almost everything else?

John Vause, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: The attorney and the alleged terrorist. A military lawyer talks about the case of a lifetime, defending the man accused of being the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT) KEILAR: Could hourly auto rentals be the next big thing for beating traffic and high gas prices? Zipcar is hoping so. It is the world's largest car-sharing service, and it is today's "Next Big Thing."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MYERS (voice-over): This and this could mean, the next big thing in car ownership is not owning a car.

RICHARD MULLIGAN, ZIPCAR MARKETING MANAGER: We have to get people thinking about living a car-free existence, using public transportation, car-sharing, cars on demand, and not necessarily always driving.

MYERS: That's certainly how car-sharing company Zipcar thinks. It rents cars by the hour or the day for a monthly fee that includes gasoline. Zipcars are kept on college campuses and in urban parking lots in more than 50 cities. Renters reserve them online and pick up the cars themselves. It's all self-serve.

MICHAEL GAITAN, ZIPCAR MEMBER: I work for a major airline, and I'm able to get a car in New York, Portland, Atlanta, and San Francisco, too. I have saved $600 a month without having a car.

MYERS: Zipcar has been around since 1999. But now it's rolling out promotions to attract more Zipsters. At events like this one in Atlanta, people donate their cars to charity and get a free Zipcar membership in return. Last year, Zipcar merged with its competitor, Flexcar, but now it's getting more competition. Hertz, Enterprise and U-Haul now offer hourly rentals.

HELEN JONES, ZIPCAR MEMBER: I think it is catching on. It's simpler. Who wants to stay in traffic for two hours each way every day?

MYERS: Chad Myers, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: The attorney and the alleged terrorist -- a military lawyer talks about the case of a lifetime, defending the man accused of being the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Hi there. I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We're working on several developing stories for you here today in the CNN NEWSROOM, including this one, a tragedy in Pennsylvania. At least five people are dead after a van and a tractor-trailer collide south of Pittsburgh. The van was reportedly carrying residents of a group home for the mentally disabled. And we're standing by for a Florida judge's sentencing of Wesley snipes. The actor was convicted of failing to file his tax returns. And he faces a maximum of three years in prison and a $5 million fine.

A dangerous weather system is headed east across the nation's midsection. Severe storms and possible tornadoes ripped through Texas this morning. Lots of homes near Fort Worth, well, they suffered damage, but no serious injuries to report there.

We're also working on a developing story out of Kansas City, Kansas, a couple of workers, construction workers, trapped inside a tunnel.

Now, just a couple minutes ago, we learned that two of them had been rescued. Not exactly sure of their conditions. They were trying to go through this tunnel in a boat, but the water was too high, so the boat capsized. This tunnel goes from Turkey Creek to the Kansas City River.

As soon as we get more details on this rescue effort, we will let you know right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

KEILAR: This has got to be the legal challenge of a lifetime, the United States vs. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks. This infamous defendant will have a lawyer, of course, a lawyer, in fact, who is a member of the U.S. Navy.

He talked with our justice correspondent, Kelli Arena.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's a small time lawyer with a gargantuan case. Defense Attorney Prescott Prince is a navy reservist recently called to active duty and ordered to represent one of the most notorious accused terrorists in the world, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

CAPT. PRESCOTT PRINCE, U.S. NAVY LAWYER: I could have said no. I don't think I would have been doing honor to myself or honor to my calling.

ARENA: Mohammed is accused of planning the September 11th attacks. The government says he even confessed but also admits he was water boarded. Prince has a problem with that.

PRINCE: Even the greenest deputy sheriff or rookie police officer in a skunk holler county knows that if you rough up a defendant, anything he says after that is not going to be admitted in to court.

ARENA: But it could be admitted in this court -- a military commission, where civilian rules do not apply. The government is seeking the death penalty.

Prince says he doesn't have the resources normally available in a capital case. So private legal groups are stepping in to help by recruiting civilian lawyers to aid the defense.

PRINCE: We are going against the entire United States government.

ARENA: These are uncharted waters for this navy captain -- and he knows it.

(on-camera): Have you gone over in your head what you're going to say?

PRINCE: Only a hundred times.

ARENA (voice-over): He's never taken a death penalty case to trial and his client has been held in isolation for years.

PRINCE: I'll be the first person who can literally look at him in the eyes and say I am here to help you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And Kelli Arena, our justice correspondent, joining us from our Washington bureau.

And I know, Kelly, that you have been in touch with Captain Prince since he's arrived in Guantanamo Bay.

What did he tell you?

ARENA: Well, Brianna, he e-mailed me yesterday. He was actually hoping to meet with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed then, but said that procedural issues got in the way -- no elaboration. And his plan was to try to spend some time with him today. And I don't know, Brianna, if that was successful. Prince didn't even know if Mohammed knew he was there or whether he will ultimately accept him as his lawyer. Don't forget, Mohammed does get to say yes, you can represent me or no.

KEILAR: And it's just so interesting, Kelly, because you've been able to interview someone who has such an amazing vantage point to just history, really.

Thanks for sharing that interview with us. We appreciate it.

ARENA: Sure thing.

LEMON: They're young, they're tuned in and they're American Muslims. Our Rick Sanchez talking with some first time voters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, let's check what's tops over at CNN.com.

Running at number one, Britain's buxom beauty queen, 17-year old Chloe Marshal, has qualified for the finals of the Miss England pageant even though she way weighs nearly 180 pounds.

Is that big? I mean, I don't know. She looks pretty cool to me.

KEILAR: By beauty pageant standards.

LEMON: All right. Well, she says she hopes she's helping redefine beauty. A hundred and eighty pounds, I think, is beautiful anyway.

All right, teens on cell phones are running afoul of child pornography laws by photographing themselves in compromising positions. In Utah, a 15-year-old boy is facing a third degree felony charge for that. Authorities say kids don't always recognize their actions could lead to trouble, such as a sex offender designation.

And a 14-foot long crocodile removed from a Miami canal -- wildlife officials say it's part of an encouraging trend, the comeback of the once endangered American crocodile. That is a big one.

These stories and much, much more CNN.com.

KEILAR: Well, it's seen as a campaign too important to pass up. Voter registration rules are rising ahead of November's election and CNN is talking with first time voters all across the nation.

Here's our Rick Sanchez sitting down with a group of young Muslims.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When you hear the words "war on terror," what do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many Muslims are confused about this war. Is it a war against terrorism or is it a war against Muslims and Islam?

SANCHEZ: Raise your hand if you think the war in Iraq was a mistake. Every single one of you thinks the war in Iraq is a mistake.

Why is it a mistake? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's miscommunication about weapons of mass destruction. There's miscommunication about what terrorism really is. There have been groups in Iraq that have been oppressed for decades.

SANCHEZ: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And those groups are fighting against those oppressors. And we are getting the wrong image and connecting the wrong people in thinking that terrorism from the 9/11 attacks is linked to Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think if the U.S. was really concerned about fostering a stable democracy in Iraq, it would look to the kind of indigenous forces that are really in favor of democracy. I don't think it's fair to assume that all Iraqis oppose democracy. But when it's framed as something that's like a foreign imposition and some people see it as almost like new imperialism or something like that, then I think it's just really counter-productive at achieving that. SANCHEZ: You think our policy in Iraq and our policy throughout the Middle East in the last six, seven years has actually helped Osama bin Laden?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

SANCHEZ: We've given him what he wanted?

Is that what you're saying?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It gives him more people to sympathize with his cause.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The reason we have the image we have overseas is because of this idea that we can bulldoze and not be aware of cultural differences, not be aware of sensitivities.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A key point that makes me want to vote for Obama is he's open to dialogue. He's a man of action and serious about peace.

SANCHEZ: Would you say that's the most impressive thing about his platform?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would say like that he's really open and he's really accepting of others and he'd be willing to at least compromise if it's possible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he's a leader who will take this country to the next century, you know, as a global superpower.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking for a new leadership with a new direction. We need a leadership that will work to enhance and restore the American image abroad, especially in the Muslim world.

SANCHEZ: Raise your hand if you're planning to vote for Barack Obama.

Raise your hand if you're planning to vote right now for Hillary Clinton.

Two in the back.

Raise your hand if you're planning to vote for John McCain. Nobody voting for John McCain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Well, this election, you can get the facts and have some fun. You can join the League of First Time Voters, where you can learn about the candidates and the issues. You can also meet other people who are also voting for the first time. Just check it out at CNN.com/league.

LEMON: And, Brianna, we have an update on those four construction workers that were trapped inside of a tunnel. They were doing some work there when their boat capsized. They were trapped for a while.

But here's what we are learning -- and it is some good news.

Those four construction workers trapped in that flooded tunnel have all been rescued. And this information coming to us from "The Kansas City Star" and also our affiliate there, KMBC, which has been providing us with these pictures.

Thanks again, KMBC.

And here's what they're telling us. The four workers were treated for hypothermia at the scene and released. So it appears they were released. They didn't go to the hospital. So they must be in good condition.

Just to give you a little bit more background on this, they were involved in a flood control project this afternoon. They were traveling by boat through the tunnel that links the Turkey Creek and the Kansas River. But excess water in the tunnel caused the boat to capsize. Officials say workers routinely use the 90-year old 1,200- foot tunnel to travel between the two waterways. All four rescued, treated for hypothermia at the scene and all released -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Well, some new Republican attack ads are trying for a one-two punch, targeting Barack Obama and local Democrats.

Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet Barack Obama, the Republicans' new media star.

NARRATOR: A vote for Don Cazayoux is a vote for Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. Obama and Pelosi voted to raise income taxes. So did Don Cazayoux.

TODD: Cazayoux, a Democrat running for Congress in Louisiana, has not endorsed Obama or any other candidate. But an official with the National Republican Congressional Committee, which put out this ad, says they believe it's fair to compare Cazayoux's record on taxes with Obama, whom they characterize as far out of the mainstream.

Obama is becoming more of a fixture in these Republican ads, and GOP strategists say his primary success means he'll be a springboard for more attacks on Democratic candidates lower down on the ballot. They also say Obama's recent rating as the most liberal U.S. senator adds fuel.

TERRY HOLT, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Some of the rock star qualities have paved over some of those considerations. But over the next few months, it's going to become clear that he's way too extreme, an extreme liberal, to be elected president in the United States.

TODD: Obama campaign officials wouldn't go beyond saying Americans are tired of divisive politics. But the Republican National Committee and John McCain are going one step further. They've asked the North Carolina GOP to stop running this ad -- just unveiled -- using Obama's association with Pastor Jeremiah Wright to attack two Democratic candidates for governor.

REVEREND JEREMIAH WRIGHT, BARACK OBAMA'S FORMER PASTOR: Not God bless America. God (EXPLETIVE DELETED) America...

NARRATOR: Now Beth Perdue and Richard Moore endorsed Barack Obama. They should know better.

TODD: In a letter to North Carolina's GOP chairwoman, McCain calls the ad offensive.

LARRY SABATO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: It's win-win for McCain. McCain looks like a saint in denouncing the negative advertising, but he also ensures now that the media -- the news media will run that ad repeatedly for free. So the message of the ad will get out.

TODD: A McCain campaign official calls that absolutely absurd, says any suggestion that he benefits from this situation is wrong. The campaign official says the ads are a distraction from the real differences in this campaign. But Obama seems to apply some indirect pressure to McCain.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I assume that if John McCain thinks that it's an inappropriate ad, that he can get them to pull it down, since he is their nominee and standard bearer.

TODD (on-camera): But an official with the North Carolina GOP says they're going ahead with their plan to start running the ad on Monday. They say they respect Senator McCain and the RNC, but they believe it's legitimate to question Obama's judgment and they say this ad does that fairly.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Hardship on a whole another level. Disabled Iraqi athletes endured physical struggles and wartime violence to reach a national competition.

KEILAR: This elephant flipped out and made short work of a temple in India. This one ended badly for three people. We've got details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Well, believe it or not, this started as a small gap. And now, of course, it is a gigantic hole, 14 feet, wide 20 feet deep. And the sinking pavement closed two westbound lanes of Interstate 70 in Frederick, Maryland. This is -- people use this road to get to work, so this is really troubling. Highway crews say that they're going to be working well into the night filling that hole back in. LEMON: All right, well, this one is not animal act. It's very real and it's very frightening -- a very frightening scene in Southern India. The adult male elephant belongs to a Hindu temple. And yesterday, well, it went crazy at a festival that they were having there. And the animal killed three people -- stomped them and impaled them on its tusks. One of the dead is the elephant's handler, trying to bring it under control. There's no word on what set it off or what happened to the elephant after that rampage.

KEILAR: Iraqis have had to endure a whole lot these past few years. But the challenges facing one group are very unique.

CNN's Jill Dougherty talks to disabled Iraqi athletes who are competing on a national level.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Beating the odds comes naturally to these athletes -- competitors at Iraq's Disabled Athletes' National Championship. They're here from all over Iraq -- 250 men, women and even some children. Many of them are victims of this war.

Three years ago, Sabrina Wardi was an amateur gymnast and runner.

SABRINA WARDI, ATHLETE (through translator): I was on my way to computer class when a car bomb exploded nearby. It knocked me over and I was hit by shrapnel.

DOUGHERTY: She lost her leg and her hope that she would play sports again. But her friend encouraged her to join a sports club and Sabrina took up the shot-put and javelin.

The violence in Baghdad makes training difficult.

WARDI (through translator): I'm afraid go out alone because of the security situation. My mother needs to go everywhere with me.

DOUGHERTY (on-camera): Athletes with disabilities in any country have a lot to overcome. But these athletes are competing in the midst of a sandstorm with explosions going off in the distance.

(voice-over): The National Organization for Iraq's Disabled Athletes has no training center. Its secretary says they need cars for transportation and better equipment. Their ability to overcome these challenges, he says, makes their accomplishments even more extraordinary.

FAKHIR ALI AL-JAMALY, IRAQI NATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE (through translator): We are the school of life against terrorism. Our determination and participation proves to the world we love peace.

DOUGHERTY: Hussein Abdul Zahara is 11-years-old. He says he's been running since he was six. A year ago, he was shot in the head as he stood on a street corner and lost his sight. HUSSEIN ABDUL ZAHARA, ATHLETE (through translator): After I was shot, I didn't know what happened. I was awake. I was bleeding and my eyes were closed.

DOUGHERTY: He says he feels sad a lot of the time. Today is not one of those days. A coach ties a handkerchief to Hussein's hand and guides him down the track.

Exactly how many people this war has maimed is not known. The head of the Paralympics Committee estimates there are some three million disabled throughout this country of 27 million. For these competitors, bombs and bullets have hit their bodies, but not their spirits.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right.

You're looking -- those are pictures of Wesley Snipes, obviously just filed video there. But we're waiting to hear how a judge is going to decide if he's going to have to go to prison and if he does, how much time he's going to have to go to prison for and how much he's going to have to pay back.

Exactly what's going on here?

Well, the government says he didn't pay taxes for three years and so they brought a case against him. We're still waiting to hear exactly how they decided in this case.

KEILAR: Our Jeanne Moos found an Obama campaign event memorable less for what he said than for who he stood in front of. Shirting the issue with the Abercrombie & Fitch guys -- that's straight ahead.

LEMON: And the closing bell and a wrap of all the action on Wall Street. I thought they were going straight to the big board.

The Dow up now 87 points. A final check of it with Susan Lisovicz. Wow! It jumped to 91.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Have you noticed the type of soda the actors drink in the movie you just saw?

Maybe you recognize the laptops in your favorite cop show. You know about product placement. Well, it happens in politics, as well, sometimes even behind a candidate's back.

Our Jeanne Moos found proof.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There was Barack Obama's message of hope, his message of change, his message of Fitch -- as in Abercrombie & Fitch, the store.

OBAMA: It's easy to get caught up in the distractions and the silliness.

MOOS: Distractions like the three guys behind you, Senator -- each decked out in the Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirts. They booed on cue.

OBAMA: He's offering four more years of a war with no exit strategy.

(BOOS)

MOOS: They cheered.

(CHEERS)

MOOS: Sure, Hillary may have had a guy with boxing gloves behind here playing up the "Rocky" theme.

UNIDENTIFIED SUPPORTERS: Yes she can! Yes she can! Yes she can!

MOOS: But the Abercrombie & Fitch guys had the blogs buzzing about product placement. Barack Obama brought to you by Abercrombie & Fitch. A&F, by the way, caters mostly to teens and college kids and is known for ads full of half naked bodies. Even their cologne bottles feature rock hard abs. Bare-chested models adorn their stores, like this one in New York's Fifth Avenue, where we went hunting for Obama's Abercrombie & Fitch guys.

(on-camera): You're not one of those guys, are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no, I'm not.

MOOS (voice-over): A group called Improv Everywhere organized an event in which over a hundred regular unchiselled guys descended on the store and took their shirts off. At least the Obama boys kept their chests covered.

All campaigns try, to some extent, to arrange their backdrops. When Michelle Obama appeared at Carnegie Mellon University, a reporter for the student paper overheard an event coordinator saying "get me more white people."

What campaign isn't looking for a nice racial mix -- but a nice retail mix?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is very definitely strategic placement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They went to the mall that day, picked out some nice shirts and said let's go onstage behind Barack Obama.

MOOS (on-camera): So you don't think it was intentional?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not intentional. MOOS (voice-over): The Obama campaign laughed off a question about the Abercrombie boys. And the company itself told the "New York Times" it had nothing to do with the trio. To us, they seemed like genuine Obama supporters waving at the Senator, even getting to shake his hand. If they're going to distract from a candidate, they could have at least altered their T-shirts to Aberobama & Fitch.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And the so-called Abercrombie boys, they contacted CNN to tell us that the outfits they actually wore weren't planned. Brandon Ferguson (ph) of Bloomington, Indiana, his brother and a friend who works at an Abercrombie store say they like the clothing and they just happened to wear it to the Obama event. And they say that actually they ended up behind the Senator when someone recruited volunteers.

Yes, right.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: Yes. No. Just kidding.

LEMON: I don't know.

You think Wolf Blitzer believes that story?

KEILAR: I don't know.

Let's check in with him. He's in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I don't know if I believe it, but they should get a fee from...

KEILAR: Sure.

BLITZER: ...from that retailer...

LEMON: Abercrombie & Fitch, yes.

BLITZER: ...for all the good work that they did for them.

Guys, thanks very much.

Coming up at the top of the hour, U.S. officials say a nuclear reactor in Syria was only weeks or months away from operation when Israeli warplanes bombed it last year. We're standing by for brand new evidence of an alleged link between Syria's nuclear program and North Korea's.

Also, are white voters privately turning their backs on Barack Obama? Obama supporter and Massachusetts governor, Duval Patrick, he'll weigh in. And food shortages are causing people to riot worldwide. But right now, some U.S. retailers are limiting the amount of rice shoppers can buy. We're looking at the reality behind the rice hysteria.

All that, guys, coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM".

KEILAR: All right, thanks, Wolf.

LEMON: And we're also awaiting word from a Florida judge who to decide, really, Wesley Snipes' fate here -- accused of not paying his taxes for three years. They brought a case against him and a judge is preparing to decide. That could do it today. If so, we'll bring it to you later on today on CNN.

Meantime, the closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.

KEILAR: Yes, let's check in with Susan Lisovicz for a final look at the trading day -- Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brianna and Don.

We've been talking so much about how expensive it is for one barrel of oil, or one gallon of oil. Let's talk about unwashed and down right dirty baseball jersey. It collected $175,000 on eBay. Yes, it was the David Ortiz number 34 Boston Red Sox jersey that was pulled out of the new Yankee stadium that is still under construction. Put up on eBay, and there was some feverish bidding today.

I just want to point out, completely impartially Don, and Brianna, that David Ortiz is batting .188 this year. I just want to point that out. Completely impartial -- .188. They're still two and a half games ahead of the Yankees.

And by the way, Chicago Cubs, the Cubbies, best record in baseball early in the season, Don.

LEMON: Cubbies, Cubbies, Cubbies.

KEILAR: I wonder who Susan roots for.

LEMON: She's a Yankee.

LISOVICZ: It's been a long time for the Cubbies.

Now listen, I also want to tell you tomorrow we're going to be talking nothing but nets. That's not about baseball -- or basketball, I should say. It's about malaria -- World Malaria Day. Our special guest will be someone we know well at CNN, Ted Turner here at the New York Stock Exchange.

So of course, you have to stay tuned for NEWSROOM.

In the meantime, oil declined $2.25 today. Yay.

Stocks went up accordingly. Some big winners today. Apple shares up right now nearly four percent, another blow out quarter, despite the slowing economy. And Ford -- Ford shares on fire, up nearly 12 percent right now. It posted a surprise quarterly profit. So you're seeing some progress there --

LEMON: Look at you with the good news today. My goodness.

LISOVICZ: It's been a long time and I'm happy to report it. I asked for extra time to bring it to you. I'm sorry with all the bad news -- just don't shoot the messenger. The closing bell about to ring on a nice (INAUDIBLE) rally.

See you guys tomorrow, Don and Brianna.

LEMON: All right. Have a great day.

LISOVICZ: You, too.

KEILAR: And let's head now to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.